I was given this lovely award by Gayle at The White House and then had to ask her what I was to do with it. Turns out that you can be nominated by other bloggers for awards! How cool is that! Thank you so much Gayle and ....here goes.


I am supposed to list 10 things that make me happy.

1.) My husband makes me happy! He is a nifty guy, gets me coffee, talks me off the crazy train when I get overly anxious (as happens on occasion) and is a wonderful provider.

2.) My three awesome chilibeans!! They actually still speak to me after all this time and for that I am quite grateful. The worst part about being a parent is that just about the time you think you may have a little insight-the wee-small people are gone and grown-ups have replaced them. I thank God daily that they grew up to be such wonderful adults- even with a marf for a mom!

3.) My puppies-enough said. Just check out the pictures on previous posts-little masked bandits, pooping and peeing and making me laugh.

4.) Chocolate chips--oh, how I love thee. But, alas, I am on the wagon....for now.

5.) WINE!!

6.) Gardening! Now, while this makes me happy-it also causes me much grief. I strive for the lush beautiful gardens in books and mine just never quite get there. I fear "color mishaps" because for some reason I CANNOT read a color wheel....just what do they do???? Is it supposed to be good to have colors close to each other on the wheel? Right straight across? Does it really matter??? (see sometimes I do get overly anxious)

7.) Crackling fires and a good book!

8.) Scrapbooking. I have really neglected this for the past couple of years. I think I actually like purchasing scrabooking supplies almost as much as I like scrapbooking. I plan on changing this.

9.) Cooking and cookbooks!

10.) Sunshine in February. Preferably on a beach or on a cruise ship and Nora Jones on the ipod=Heaven.

I am now supposed to list blogs that make me happy. Gayle is an experienced blogger and has her answers linked to the site. I don't know if I can figure out how to do this. Here goes.

1) http://twopluseightblogspot.com/ I found Gayle's blog on Facebook. It makes me laugh to see her as a grown up(I babysat her when she was little) Can't wait to see how the gardens shape up this summer--you go GIRL!!

2.) http://cheerstomediocrity.blogspot.com/ This is my lovely daughter's blog! She has been away at college for three years and I love to see where college life has taken her. She has come a long way from the girl who was voted most likely to be killed first in a horror movie her senior year. Now we think she is the most likely to survive the longest and have the zombies laughing while sharing a cupcake with the aliens--she will be serving the tea.

3.) http://littlehousebytheharbor.blogspot.com/ This is my other lovely daughter's blog. She lives in Valdez and I love to read her posts (although she does not do this ENOUGH) My life has taken a bit of a nasty turn since she left. I have discovered that dishes do NOT wash themselves, laundry piles do NOT go away by themselves, and floors actually need to be washed. All this time I thought I was quite the housekeeper....I am not...it was my wonderful, organized daughter doing EVERYTHING. Thanks toots!

4.) http://sudsburyfamily.blogspot.com/ JO-my dear...I hope the pregnancy is going well and that you are no longer....urpy. Your blog makes me happy to see that all is well. You are going to be an awesome mommy.

5.)http://www.communicatinginastupidworld.blogspot.com/
Nicole! I met Nicole when I took Steph down to school. I thought she was so pretty and energetic. I plan on sharing a martini or a glass of wine with her the next time I am in Moscow-or better yet when she comes to Alaska for a visit!

And ...I have run out of time. I am on my lunch break and it is now over. So in keeping up with my typical half-A**ed behavior...I will end with half the amount that is required.

Now to see if my links are linked......