A Blog with Substance

My friend Lori gave me a blog award! There are 3 rules to this:

1. Thank the blogger that awarded you.

2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using five words.

3. Pass it on to 10 other blogs that you feel have real substance.

Ok, here goes...

1. Thank you so much, Lori. You're awesome, and I'm so glad we have these blogs to keep up with eachother. I think it's so funny we know more about eachother now through our blogs than we did in real life. You inspire me with your upbeat attitude, strong faith, and honesty. Keep it up, girl.

2. This is a hard one!

{1} Real {2} Life {3} Love {4} Fun {5} Journey

3. Well, it's a little unfair, since Lori picked two of my favorites... but I'm going

to give it to them anyway. There girls, consider yourself extra-awarded. :)

{1} Jess at Dude and Sweeties, because she's just so darn awesome. She's honest and real and absolutely hilarious (sometimes without even trying). Her determination to hold her family together, despite some crazy circumstances is totally inspiring.

{2} Heather at Chicago Mom is the other one that Lori also awarded, and it's not hard to see why. She's interesting, funny, and loveable. She leads a life that I would never be able to pull off, so of course, that totally fascinates me.

She's also the author of Forever in Blue Jeans, which is a fun fashion blog. I want her clothes. And legs like hers. But I'll just have to settle for the clothes. She has the cutest kids, and it's been so fun making friends with someone I've never "really" met (however, we're going to fix this soon, fingers crossed!!).

{3} Lis at the House of Lis because she's my friend and is awesome. She's so funny and very honest, and I like that in my friends. She's a total comic book junkie, so if that's your thing too, go check her out.

{4} Katie at Team Cowan at Home because she's not only a friend, but a fun read as well. She's crafty and interesting and has some seriously cute kids. If you don't know her, you'll still like her blog. Good stuff.

{5} Anna at Sams Club Stories is one my favorite people in general. She's a good friend, a great mom, and an incredible writer. She has that unique ability to take you on a journey... if she's writing about the beach, you can hear the ocean. She does some great craft posts, as well, if you're interested. And if you're still not convinced, she has a cutiepatootie of her own that's at least worth "aaawwww"-ing over. :)

{6} Dani at Straddling the Century Line because she's not one of those annoying neighbors. You know, the kind that either complain about "your leaf" blowing into their yard... or the kind that has crazy parties every weekend. Ok, yes, there's more than that. Her blog is cool because she gives a perspective on today's culture from someone who wasn't born in the 90's. She has an interesting style that makes her fun to read.

{7} Laurina at Random Rantings of a (Not So) New Mom because she deserves it. She has three kids under the age of 4, is in the process of moving, and still finds the time to blog. And when she does, it's pretty entertaining to say the least. She's another one of the great neighbors, and we're really going to miss them. Plus, their kiddos are oh-so-cute.

{8} Anna at The Colorful Living Project is another one of my high school buds I'm awarding. Not because of the association, neccesarily, but because she's an amaaazing photographer. Seriously, very talented, so go check her out if you need one. Fyi, she travels. And if you're not in the market for a photographer, still go look at her pictures. You won't be disappointed. And yes, she has a cute baby too. :)

{9} Jill at Now Seating: Yarbrough - Party of 4... but she's going to have to change that, because they're currently expecting the 5th family member. Jill is full of spunk and energy, and it shows in her posts. She's one of Brad's old buddies, and I can see why he thought she was fun to hang out with.

And last but not least...

{10} Patrick Downing and his self titled blog are mostly music based, but there's some other stuff in there as well. I went to elementary and middle school with him. He was talented back then, grabbing the guitar and playing some Hendrix and Nirvana after chapel services. lol. So while you may not be interested in music reviews and show stories, definitely go check out his band Silver. And if you're lucky enough to be able to attend one of their shows, then by all means, go! They're even better in person.