Monday, November 28, 2011

Paying it Forward - Blog Lovin'


Hello!

Welcome to Long Winded Monday! I'm your host, Melissa...also known as The Girl Who Types Too Much.

Don't let that scare you, because today I'm not only talking about only ME - also known as The Girl Who Is The Center Of Her Own Universe and Possibly The World Of Which She'll Rule Some Day In A Tiara And Sparkly Cape (but who shortens it to Ms. Queen)  - I'm pointing out some great minions writers, that you'll really want to check out...that is if I can figure out how to articulate what I'm actually thinking. Hey, do you smell smoke and burning gray matter?

It dawned on me, while trying to organize this post, that during my creation I got in the wrong line when it came time to bestowing organizational skills. Mine are tantamount to a monkey attempting to counsel a hoarder on what to keep or toss all the while saying, "Oooh look! Shiny stuff!" Or, as the monkey might say, "ooo eee uughgugh"  {translation might not be exact, go figure that Google doesn't have a translate Simian option}.

In my case, I'm not organizing stuff as much as thoughts.

The reason for putting effort into this post and not just doing my typical fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writing is that I need - and want - to pay forward some blog love.

Here is why:

 Desi at TheValentine4 and The Laine List honored me by bestowing the Versatile Blogger Award and the Kathyrn Ingrid Creativity Award (of which I don't have a snazzy icon because I haven't found one to steal use yet).



And Jane In Her Infinite Wisdom honored me with...



 I had to look up what these meant and they are both very similar so I'm tweaking them to fit my needs and desire to Pay It Forward (which by the way was an extremely rude movie for surprising me with such a shitty ending - I still haven't gotten over it *sniff*).

These are the guidelines I followed: 

1) "Thanking the person bestowing the honor and linking back to their blog", which I gladly have done. In Desi's case, TheValentine4, she gave me the honor back in early October. I couldn't figure out how to put the icon on my page (still not sure) and so I sort of forgot. But, I'm going to figure it out...I swear! Please visit their blogs, all three of them are incredibly talented writers. The kind of talent where their words sprout fingers that grab you and draw you in. You won't be sorry if you add them to your reading list.

2) "List 7 random things about yourself" - Oh dear. This makes me sweat and feel all hivey and it is much easier to just link back to a post I did with 25 Random Things. Twenty. Five. - it's like twice the goodness, at least in Melissa Math!!

3) "Pass the torch to 15 other bloggers" - My goal is to spotlight writers I aspire to be like. Writers that make me want to write better. As well as bloggers who are just starting out and have big dreams.

Those who've given me awards will see themselves here - please note that it is not in the spirit of reciprocating (meaning: because you awarded me, I'm awarding you back). It is because I truly enjoy everything they have to say, whether I've followed for awhile or just recently. I'm not asking them to go through the whole award process again, I just want to express my admiration for their writing and how much I enjoy reading about their lives or what's on their minds. And, with whom I feel that I've made a connection (which, may be news to them).

1) The Valentine 4 
2) Is This The Middle
3) Jane In Her Infinite Wisdom
4) Bad Luck Detective
5) The Laine List
6) Coffee and Spellcheck
7) Melissa Ann Goodwin
8) KarenLynn
9) Rough and Rede 
10) Scheiss Weekly
11) Life Lessons Half Way Through
12) So This is Love

I haven't discovered as many new blogs as I would've liked during NaBloPoMo. The reason being, I cannot keep up with the reading. There are tons of fabulous bloggers out there, but I am the type that would rather be loyal to a few. I love comments, I live for them (o.k. perhaps comments are a close second to coffee and dessert and...possibly...my family), but it feels equally as great to give comments (maybe that is a tiny little white lie, but that's just between you and I...we both know that getting good comments is a wee bit more a.w.e.s.o.m.e.).  I can't give that kind of attention if I follow eleventy bazillion blogs...or even 100. I just can't. So, I'm selective...just thought you'd want to know.

One of the other components of these awards is to say why I blog. I was hoping YOU could tell ME. I created a Blogger account back in 2006, because joining is what I do. When people were all in a tizzy over MySpace, I got an account - and have never used it since. Then there was CafeMom and then Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and BlogHer (2008) and yada yada yada.  I join sites, so creating a blog was just another thing to do. I never, and still don't, envision myself as a writer working toward more writing. I just write because sometimes I need to and sometimes it is fun and other times, it's to help chase the brain fog away. The more I read other blogs, the less inclined I am to pursue writing as a career - it's a mix of admiration, envy and fear. Blogging, for me, is a creative outlet and a way to discover more friends and to know that I am not alone in whatever quirky thought/feeling/endeavor - there are others like ME out there (y'all might want to be a teensy bit afraid of that).


Finally - These types of awards are meant to recognize writers/bloggers for their efforts and to provide an opportunity for readers to discover new talent. Some of the links for the bloggers I mentioned above will bring you to their own award page where they mention other bloggers. I encourage you to check out their recommendations and discover some new favorites of your own. 


Enjoy & Peace!

p.s.
Leave a comment...'cause they make me happy.

p.p.s.
You are more than welcome to get me more coffee. It *may* (if you get the coffee/creamer ratio right) put you in my good graces for when I'm Queen of the Universe and Planet Earth.

p.p.p.s.
This was a lot harder to do without pie than I thought. 3rd cup of coffee with whipped cream, while nice, is merely a side-kick to, and not a replacement for, pie.

p.p.p.p.s.
I've never had this many p.'s before. 

8 comments:

  1. Awesome, Melissa! Another great post! Thank you for your thoughtfulness and including those who have honored you. Great idea! I'm going to check out some of those blogs.
    OH! And a Kathryn Ingrid award badge is coming - I'm working on it.

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  2. So honored to be mentioned in the same post with so many interesting and talented bloggers. Hope to see many of you in Commentland.

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  3. Aww ;) Thanks for including our blog!! You rock! And I agree, I like to be loyal to a few, because there are SO. MANY. BLOGS... I can't possibly read them all. I'm so glad that NaBloPoMo brought me to you!

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  4. Have I told you lately that I love your writing? If not, shame on me. I'm honored to be among your respected list! Holy cow, I'm a terrible writer! (a work in progress) Thanks so so much! Nice to meet you all, I'll be visiting.

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  5. Should I give a speech, I haven't prepared a speech?! And I most definatly do not have a thing to wear! Gah.

    You are too kind and way too awesome. Congrats on your awards!

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  6. Congrats on the awards Melissa! I had fun reading your 25 random things, though I think that you are in fact a REAL blogger already. Because, in my opinion, all you have to do to become a real blogger is to blog. :-)

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  7. I can't read them all either...but I'm happily reading you!

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  8. WOOOT!!!! Hooray for you! Thank you for including me, but mostly I'm so grateful to have stumbled across your little piece of the great wide interwebz. One day, my Jamaican Juggler, my Stickbug, and my Fuzzy Nerd and I will be in your part of the world. At which time we must ditch the kids and drink until we're slurring! (Did you know that beer is an excellent race recovery drink? Just sayin'.)

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