Last Sunday afternoon I took a break from cleaning the dog-hair infested and muddy paw incrusted Mortroski Midcentury and checked in to read blog comments. Thank you to everyone who leaves them or hits the “like” button—sometimes I wonder if anyone other than Bruce is actually reading, especially when I write about non-garden stuff.

One special comment was awfully nice to see: a big THANK YOU to TailorFairy nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award and the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Learning about the award while being dirty and sweaty from fighting dog-hair covered dust bunnies, cleaning toilets, and the like was kind of funny. I was the very picture of an amateur domestic goddess (sorry no photo of that pretty sight).

That’s why I waited until now to accept this honor. There are rules after all and I wanted to put the appropriate thought into my responses and nominations.

So without further adieu, here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you.

2. Add The One Lovely Blog Award / The Very Inspiring Blogger Award to your post. (already did)

3. Share 7 things about yourself.

4. Pass the award on to 10 nominees.

5. Include this set of rules. (Done!)

6. Inform your nominees by posting a comment on their blogs. (will do that momentarily)

Here goes:

1. THANK YOU, TailorFairy! It was so sweet of you to nominate SowSewSo and the other 9 blogs.  I hope to learn more about sewing by reading your blog.

2.

(I’m also going to follow Sue Vincent‘s lead and make a separate Awards page to make it easier for people to know if I got nominated for an award already.)

3.

7 (random) things about me:

First: I’m the shortest person in my family and while I’m the butt of many height jokes at work, I never hit my head boarding or leaving commuter jets.

Second: My nickname at work is Hollywood, jokingly bestowed upon me by my boss after Bruce and I appeared on an HGTV show called Get Color (aka Color Confidential). Most of my friends just call me jooles.

Third: I am a citizen of two countries: the US of A and Canada, eh!

Fourth: Although SowSewSo paints me as a homebody I like nothing better than to hit the road and head out on an adventure.

Fifth: Reading a good cookbook is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon, although it drives me to snack.

Sixth: I’m not afraid of power tools, just losing typing fingers.

Seventh: I’ve had to work really hard over the past 18-ish years to become a morning person. Some days it works better than others.

4. 10 blogs I nominate for this award (I tried not to nominate anyone who has already been nominated and I am very sorry if I messed up and nominated someone who’s been nominated, but hey, at least you know that I love your blog, right?):

Blog 1: Ps, Qs & Ws
With a tagline like “Don’t be yourself, be someone nicer,” Ps, Qs & Ws reminds us all that in our busy world, graciousness and civility is not only appreciated, it’s very much needed. Though she hasn’t been blogging long, etiquette expert and event planner Laura McPherson Best’s posts are great lessons of how to be a bit better. Full disclosure: Laura is also my college friend and sorority sister.

Blog 2: The Kitchens Garden
The Kitchens Garden inspires me with stories of life on a farm as told by a NZ girl named Celi who is married to an American fella, living on the prairies. I like that she’s growing, cooking and eating using sustainable and organic methods. Added bonus: cute baby animal photos!

Blog 3:  Leaf and Twig
A daily nature photography blog where observation and imagination meet nature in poetry. Frequently breathtaking, always inspiring.

Blog 4: C.J. Black
I love poetry and always have. Most of us don’t get enough poems in our daily lives so I’m thrilled that Chris Black is sharing his published and unpublished manuscripts on a near daily basis. He’s from Wexford (I believe that’s Ireland, but if I’m wrong, someone please correct me) and has been writing and publishing poetry for the past twenty years.

Blog 5: The Adventures of Bipolar Girl
LaurelsCrown provides words of comfort for the neurotic in all of us. She is an educator who lives in paradise but through her blog you’ll understand why beautiful surroundings aren’t always enough as she shares her struggles, her joys, and her ever-tested faith. Full disclosure: LaurelsCrown is also my college friend and sorority sister.

Blog 6: loving homemade
I love to bake but I don’t do it enough to blog about it. If you want to see the results of time and effort well spent, check out Loving Homemade. Today’s post is about cupcakes, one of my favorite things to bake. Yum.

Blog 7: the drunken cyclist
I confess: I’m not a huge fan of the bicycle. Still have a facial scar and a roadrash arm scar from an unfortunate tangle with my 10-speed’s handlebars and the street when I was 15. I’m not really a fan of math either, but I love wine. And food. This is a great blog to learn more about nice things to eat and drink with a side of cycling info and a tiny smidge of math.

Blog 8: Austin Vivid Photography
I love Austin and would love to live there one day. So when commercial lifestyle photographer Heather Scramm started following me, I followed her back. She shoots beautiful images for advertising but also captures my favorite city in Texas so well.

Blog 9: Daddy’s Tractor
You may have noticed that I have a thing for growing stuff. That’s why I’m following the events on the Marshall Farm. It’s a family farm in Missouri. Since I’m pretending that I too have a farm, I like reading real farmers’ blogs.

Blog 10: Hollis Plample
Sarcasm amuses me. So do cartoons. If I could draw at all, I have a feeling my blog might look a bit like this.

Again, I am very honored to receive another award, especially considering I haven’t been blogging all that long. Thank you for your encouragement, likes and comments.

Happy Saturday, y’all!