Spreading A Little Sunshine

My dear friend Andrea over at Maybe It's Just Me presented me this lovely award the other day. She is so very awesome, isn't she? Thank you, Andrea!

"The Sunshine Blog Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blogosphere".  Me--positive AND creative!  I think that we can all agree that Andrea was drinking a lot of eggnog when she decided to give me this award. But as I've said before, I am always in search of validation for my low self-esteem issues, so I'll take it!



So now that I've accepted this award, I have to do this quid pro quo thing:

* Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.

*  Answer the following questions below.

* And pass the award to 10 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs and let them know you awarded them.

My answers to the questions:

Favorite color? Whoever said that it pisses God off to walk by the color purple and not notice? I don't remember, but I love purple.  But not the pastel purple.  I am very definitely not a pastel person; pastel people are way more cheerful than I can handle without alcohol.

Favorite animal? Cats. I know that if I were mouse-sized, they'd all take turns whacking me around until I died, and then they'd leave me on the doormat the way a person might leave a couple of bucks on the nightstand after a misbegotten shore-leave.  I find them fascinating, except for the hairballs.

Favorite number? 3 or 8.  I could say that my favorite number is 73, but I don't spend a lot of time thinking about numbers outside of work.  Math is evil.  

Favorite drink? Iced tea, straight up. Followed by a good chardonnay or malbec.

Facebook or Twitter? Both. I like Facebook, even though my aunts are kicking my backside on Words with Friends, but Twitter satisfies my "24/7" brain.  Twitter was made for people with ADHD.

Your passion? Reading and then writing.

Giving or getting presents? Giving!

Favorite day? Any day that I get to sleep in. Truly.  They don't really talk about that aspect of parenting. 

Favorite flower? Cactus flowers. You have to wait until after it rains, but then the vibrancy of the colors are so gorgeous, you'll forget about the exceptionally painful and extremely difficult to remove spines.

Ten Fabulous Bloggers?  Here they are.  If they want to pass the award on, that's great, but it's not a "have to" sort of thing.  I just wanted to give credit where it is most certainly due. 

Pam over at Over 50 Feeling 40  She is an extremely cheerful person who blogs about attitude and fashion and weight loss and other fun stuff. She is a teacher and a journalist.  She posts pictures of the outfits she chooses. Of course, she looks marvelous. All without a net!  I have trouble picking out a sweats, so her choices inspire me and give me hope that one day I won't look like one of those Glamour Don'ts pictures.

Caren over at  Cat Chat with Caren and Cody  Some cat blogs try too hard to be cutesy and fluffy, and it is really difficult to maintain that sort of thing without medication. Caren and Cody don't do that. There's the cute, but there is also helpful advice, interviews, giveaways, and pictures of grandchildren.

Red over at Amazing Australian Adventures   I can't say enough good things about Red.  Her travel blog is so full of cheerful imagery and gorgeous pictures. Plus, she is funny. I love her so much that when I am driving around, sometimes I think about stopping to take a picture so I can be like Red.

Galit Breen from These Little Waves  is not only an excellent writer, but a constant source of positive support.  Other bloggers seem to gravitate toward her; she gives such encouragement and finds something positive to say every time.  When I hear her voice in my head as I read her comments, she speaks with an Irish accent.  I have no idea where that came from, but I've just accepted it as part of the weirdness that is my brain. 

Sweaty from Do Sweat the Small Stuff   She's an awesome writer who seems to put her heart out on her sleeve every time she starts typing. 

Lance from My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog  He's not kidding--his blog is that tough..  This guy can write.  Read his stuff.  It's gritty and it's real, even if it might be fiction.

Jillsmo over at Yeah. Good Times.
Jim over at Just a Lil Blog 
Lizbeth over at Four Sea Stars 
Grace over at That's Right I Said It Dot Com 

The above bloggers are parents of children with autism.  It's an extremely tough job, even on a good day. There's all sorts of ups and downs and sideways that just don't happen to other parents.  As tough as it is, and as frustrating as it can get, these parents are determined to help their kids find their path in life.  They are fighting for services and fighting for acceptance, and they've turned that fight into something positive and funny on most days.  I think that is awesome.