Thursday Thirteen: I am so not worthy edition

This is the place the awards come to rest...until I snap out of my tardiness, bring out the shine and get rid of the tarnish to restore the sparkle and pass them along to blogs likely more deserving than little ole me ... /mine?

So that is what today is about. I introduce you to thirteen blogs which you should visit when you get the chance. Some you likely already know about; others perhaps not.

This first award I received more than a little while ago from my pal Kami. And it is such a sweet award, I feel selfish for hanging on to it so long without passing along the love.

I bestow this first baby onto the following blogs:

1) Karen at Rocking Pony: Because she's got a great name. But beyond that, I love reading about her life with her lovely children. She's got it together, this lady.

2) My buddy C at Random Thoughts and Musings from the Island (Manitoulin): This woman is sweet beyond words. And reading her blog, about her life on the farm, her teaching, her cooking and now her little baby on the way (soooo excited)... you just gotta love her. She was one of my first blog friends, and I've actually met her IRL as well.

3) Laskigal at From the Cheap Seats: She's a teacher, a writer, a first time mommy to a beautiful little guy. And she's wicked funny. Finally, she's a fan of SYTYCD and 80's music, in a really bad way... enough said.

4) Siobhan at ABritDifferent: I've been reading her blog, but not nearly enough, since late last year. I'm totally in love with her voice, I will not deny it. Her lovely Scottish lilt, as demonstrated every Wednesday. Her most recent posts, however, have been so brave and honest, I have fallen even more in love...

Next award, the above mentioned C just awarded to me a matter of days ago and yay, I'm posting about it now.



These blogs make me smile...

5/ Kami's Khlopchyk, yes I need to pass something back to Kami because sometimes it seems as if I'm listening to myself speak when I'm reading her posts. Separated at birth by a decade and completely different backgrounds (or perhaps Polish/Ukranians were genetically linked to the Chinese at some point LOL?). She always brings a smile to my face.

6/ Debbie's Etc. Etc. Etc. Okay, this lady, who's been in Japan for 17 years, is hilarious. And she's a teacher, so she's in a position to influence minds. Reading her blog is so refreshing, a glimpse of the fascinating every day life of an American living and raising her family (cute boys too) in Japan. While drinking beer, hula dancing and sharing her love of flamingos and all things Matthew McConaughey... well, you just have to visit.

7/ Maureen at I'd Rather Be Blogging : I love reading Maureen's take on everyday things - she has such a wonderful way of telling a story, always humorous, always witty. She's just terrific.

8/ Heidi at Green Mountain Country Mama : another Alt 80's music lover, she lives in such a beautiful spot with her family, with gorgeous gardens. And I particularly love her posts that include photo-riddles. She's a smartypants too.

9/ Sleepnita at Drowning in Laundry: Sometimes I'm laughing before I even finish the first sentence in a post. She is that engaging. And she works in a sleep lab. Get it? You need to check it out.

And the final award, passed onto me a few days ago by Debbie, yes that hilarious Debbie above, is this brilliant badge:



There are rules for this one, and I'm supposed to pass it along to 7 other bloggers. But I follow the rules IRL, so I'll be a rebel and just finish off my 13 here. Cuz it's my blog and I'll do it if I want to....

10/ Kim at Jogging in Circles. Gorgeous and sweet, I'm hooked on her blog and her hilarious musings, posts about her sweet little boys and wonderful photography. And did I mention that she's gorgeous? But so nice, I won't hold that against her.

11/ Mishelle at Secret Agent Mama. You probably know her blog, or have seen her indescribably beautiful photos. If not, go there, fast. You will not believe it until you see it. How she has time, I do not know. But I'm so glad she does.

12/ Miss at RuraandMiss: Miss and I "met" plurking our sorrows together about our non-attendance at the blogger fest in San Fran. She writes from her soul, very powerful words indeed. She recently started a new Photoblog which features contributions from some awesome bloggers... and me. Just One Look. Go sneak a peek.

13/ April at It's all about Balance. A gutsy lady, a single working mom, an amazing role-model to her little girls. I am in awe.

Now I know I said 13, but I'm adding my final blog of honour to make it 14.

I've been baking banana bread like there's no tomorrow (3 loaves in a week, people. I do NOT bake).



Therefore I feel it's my prerogative to make my Baker's 13 an even 14.

14/ Maria at Immoral Matriarch. I knew she was gonna be big, and she's getting there fast. She so deserves this because (a) she's an incredible writer and social networking fiend/friend (b) a radical blogger who's not afraid to write from the heart ...and she'd have my back in a mommy-fight-club and (c) she's a Blogher celebrity, who took me with her on a stick.

Happy Thirteen!

PS: So you may have noticed that I changed the look and did NOT kill my blog ... major cause for celebration!!! Thanks for the comments! I found this on a great site The Cutest Blog on the Block which the lovely C recommended. Awesome backgrounds and the bonus is that many are free!

I'm one of THOSE Moms, but you still love me, no?

The second major project of the year for L arrived at home with a little less fanfare than the first. This one was a silent, insidious one that hung around for a weekend and then had to gather speed because the due date snuck up on us within the week.

Remember for the first project how I maintained that I was going to do my best not to actually DO the project for my son? This time I thought I should leave well enough alone. The topic was "Create an Invention" using two simple machines (ie. pulley, wheel and axle, lever etc.). Ugh. Physics was never my strong suit. Dad would have to do his share this time.

I was impressed with L, though. He had to come up with a problem. It's amazing that sheer laziness is sometimes the mother of invention. Here's his problem:

"My problem is that when I get into bed I forget my book is on the ground. My invention is great for bunk beds."

His invention: A Bunk Bed Book Lift.

Basically, if you're on the top bunk, and you forget your book, you get your little sister/slave girl to attach your book onto the binder clip, and then you can turn the crank and the book comes up to you. It looks like this:

It uses a pulley, wheel, axle and lever. Ian loves this stuff.

I went to the dollar store to pick up some better string for the pulley. While I was perusing the aisles (amazing the stuff you can get there), I noticed some bristol board. I knew L had to write plan, so I thought it might be easy enough to draw it out on the larger board so he could talk to the pictures, as opposed to reading from his page.

Here's where the high-achieving mother got involved. Can you tell that L's Mom has worked in a field that requires proper labelling and clearly defined process? Check out the colour coded labels:




Should have given him a laser pointer to go with it. He aced his talk; I think the schematic made it easier to discuss his plan. That's our story and we're sticking to it. Well, at least we didn't do a full blown Powerpoint presentation with flying bullets...we'll leave that for the next project.

I still think it's his unique way of telling us he wants a bunk bed.

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Well, it's awards season and I've been a bit remiss in acknowledging some lovely honours bestowed upon me from some of my uber bloggy friends. Sandy at Momisodes passed this Treasure award to me. I am truly honoured, she's a friend I made during NaBlo 07, she's got a great blog herself that you should check out. She's hilarious, has a gorgeous little girl, and I just love following her daily posts as she rocks Blog 365. (I wimped out). Others certainly have been as she's getting quite a following.

I'd like to bestow this award to the following blog treasures:

Don Mills Diva - she blows me away with her posts; they are exquisite in every way, from the hilarious to the poignant. A wonderful writer, mother, and hip mama. Replace the boar head with this treasure Kelly!

Ohmommy at Classy Chaos - she's an amazingly down-to-earth beauty with three adorable kids, such an interesting background, I love catching up on her observations on her busy life.

Rimarama- laugh, is what Rima makes me do. Often to the point of tears. But every so often she'll throw you a doozy and make you really think. And cry for another reason. I loves her blog.

Badness Jones - another fave blogger of mine. A talented artist, wife, mother, she tells it like it is. I love her honesty, her openness.

And one of my first blogger friends, now a friend in real life as well, C from Manitoulin Island, has named me as one of her daily doses. She is such a sweet lady, I love her blog about her life on Manitoulin after being a city chick. Stop by for a lovely slice of island life.


I read so many of your blogs on a daily basis I would run out of room here giving this out one by one. So if you're reading this, have a sweetheart on me. This drug's good for you.