Sweet Surprises!

Yep! That says it all!!! Been a GOOD WEEK!!!

I have people to thank this week, and I need to first say I am sorry I was away from the blog and blog-land so much. I sort of feel like I lost a week~~it flew by, dragging me through the dirt with it. My plans (and I use that word loosely) all got turned upside down so I just had to wing it. I'm sure y'all have been there...
A LONG OVERDUE (bad bad me!!!) thanks first for this:

I got this from M.A. at Magpie's Mumblings longer ago than I even care to discuss. I am soooo sorry!!!  This is a sweet award for small blogs under 300 followers. At the time I received it, I think I was still in the 180-something range, then OWOH happened, then our Michael de Meng   class happened, and then, and then......well, you know how things just go crazy all at once. M.A.~~I am not even going to pretend I remember what I was supposed to list with this but to my blogging friends who have a blog with UNDER 300 FOLLOWERS, please feel free to grab this and know you are getting a dose of Blog-L♥ve from El Milagro!!!
Second sweet surprise, Laura at Shine The Divine: Creativity IS a Spiritual Practice gifted me with this: 

Sending out a big thanks to you Laura, and thank you to the folks who came by and visited! I much appreciate it! Both of these ladies have blogs that you should take time to go to and peruse at length. Totally different, both completely enjoyable!!!
Third surprise; my friend Audrey at The Magic, Miracles And Joy of an Artist completely shocked me when she made the post that the above link connects to~~you see, there was a colorwash competition in MDM's class, and *clueless* here was out in the ozone (as usual) and did not know I had won with my baby, *Crypt Corrosion*. I had won an original piece of his work, and Audrey was kind enough to write about it and wake me up to the fact!!! That is a GOOD FRIEND.....  ;-)
Soooooo, I am off again to try and dig out the studio. I have been reading a great art book I want to share with you some time next week and working on a little hand made journal, which is a post in itself...omg.......LOL! I am not cut out for bookmaking, but it is a funny story.
In the meantime,

....Here's looking at YOU kiddies!!!! Have a great weekend!

Pax....

An Award??? MOI???

Okay, I was channeling The Grinch there for a moment.......heehee! 
I was delighted to be presented this award by an exceptional illustrator, Amalia K at Translucent Blue
If you have not visited her blog or Etsy shop, you need to. I have plunked down some change there and when receiving the exquisite prints did a rather peculiar Happy Dance! (*I* was peculiar; the work is beyond description when held in your hot little hands! Photos just don't do justice to the actual piece....)
Thank you Amalia; this is special coming from you! :-)

As with any blog award, I now have to pass it on to others but first I have to disclose seven things about myself that no one knows. I did ask Amalia if she knew if I would get to blog from jail.....LOL!
Hmmmmmm.......


1. I originally busted my right knee while running from the cops in my teens, out doing naughty things on Halloween. I landed smack into a rock garden. It was never the same. (no, I didn't get caught)

2. I miss playing my bass and listening to the Ramones and Misfits at earsplitting levels more than I care to admit. Truly, truly.....I do.


3. I really have not grown up and don't intend to. It's over rated. And people get all MEAN when they think they're grown up.

4. I have had opportunities in the past that I did not take for fear of failure or rejection. (that's changed!)


5. Life after you turn 50 is like being let out of jail; you realize that there IS an expiration date, you're getting closer, and WHOOO-HOOO! You can still rock with the best of them. (you just have to be to bed by 11 p.m.)

6. Stockings trump pantyhose any day of the week, and I am sure pantyhose were an invention that crawled right out of the Arse of Satan!


7. I have been blessed with Spiritual Mentors through out life, at the right times, with the right level of high intelligence tempered with great humor. They keep me on the somewhat straight and narrow and know how far they can push before I totally walk off. For this, I cannot say thanks enough. It has kept me exceptionally alive. (I probably am the only person that would put that after the comment on pantyhose...oh well....)


Okay, that's the dirt; now for the hard part and fun~~passing this along. First, I had to adjust the color some to get it to show on my background; if you want the *Black Tux and White Tie* version, please visit Amalia's blog to snag it. Well, visit her blog anyway!

1. Silke at Metamorphosis 

2. Cathy at Artsy Butterfly


3. Corrine at dosfishes


4. Pam at Frippery


5. Mita at illustration poetry


6. Elena at My Quest


7. Audrey at The Magic, Miracles and Joy of an Artist

8. Deb at Midlife Poet

All these ladies are stylish and add a unique view to the blog world. It is a mix of blogs~~different content, but all one's I enjoy visiting. Some I have visited a long time, some are new, but every single one is a delightful read or look or both! 
Grab a cuppa, kick back, relax, and travel through the bloggosphere, finding more places to visit and be awed!


Pax....

Oh Boy.........

What can I say??? He must get up at night and have a ball on this thing! Not picky either....cocoa, whipped cream, porcelain cup and a silver spoon. Can I manage that......

In the meantime, while I have a few minutes of use of MY computer, I was presented an award by Leslie over at Leslie's New Works And Thoughts

Despite what others might think, I am a Versatile Blogger!!! (thank you Leslie and I'm sorry it has taken this long to post, but you can see what I am up against.....)

Now I am supposed to list seven things about myself.....ay-yi-yi.....I could end up in jail!

1. I did NOT wreck the beer truck eventhough Deb tried producing evidence that I did!

2. I now have a third parakeet, handicapped (only one leg) and it is a beautiful bird! I had to install special platforms for it to use the whole cage.

3. I am beginning to really enjoy blogging again. It was a wierd summer and I almost stopped.

4. I hate people who try to *act* honest and are anything but.

5. It is the small rare moments in life that are the most enjoyable, and I don't wait for the *big events*.

6. I am completely content with where I am artistically, but continue to learn. No, that's not a contradiction.

7. After a year of being down with the two hip surgeries, I had time to look *IN* and found more of the Holy Spirit looking *OUT*. Which was a surprise and very nice!

And now, as I am a dreadful rule breaker, I offer this award to anyone who wishes to take it. If you fit the bill of being versatile then please do what I did; acknowledge where it came from, list seven things about yourself, and pass the joy along!

Okay, I have to check the studio for bugs....or more precisely...A BUG.

Pax....

All I Can Say Is WOW.......

                    

....in the past three days, I have been the greatful (and surprised!) recipient of five...count 'em...FIVE awards. This leaves me at a loss for words, which some of you might find a bit on the humorous side, since I lean toward the verbose, given half a chance.  ;-)

The first three come from Susie Jefferson (who designed my luscious blog header) at 1st FLOOR FLAT . It was odd because before I opened her post that had me receiving an award, I had been thinking about how much information she puts out into the blogosphere and the amount of time she invests in other bloggers, trying to make the home of their words and art look so lovely and unique, and that she indeed deserved a special award.
Hmmmmmm........I recall instructions coming along with these.......oh boy. It is probably That I have to tell you a bit about myself but for the most part, my life is on this blog!
Let me go on to the second person to surprise me, marianne at marianne's art blog . I was most surprised when I found she had passed the Beautiful Blogger Award on...and believe me, I am anything but BEAUTIFUL at the moment!!! HA! Marianne and I sort of bumped into each other by chance through a mutual list and I have been smitten by her art ever since. If you love mixed media, and I do mean MIXED....wonder things!....give her blog a spin and check out how incredible her work is! (and photos too....I cannot forget those)

Now finally, again, I was gifted with The Deborah Award from my long time friend Jan at Laughing Dog Arts. Jan told me I didn't have to post this but she knows how well I listen at any given moment, and I wanted to give her blog another shout out so here I am Jan! Misbehaving again!!!
All kidding aside, I can't express how much these mean, and it was a heck of a week last week---I mean a stinker.....sometimes things come to you when you need them most.
And now, to pass them on.
OH MY.
I would like to give these out to everyone, but I think maybe I will narrow it down a little and hopefully there won't be wounded feelings or a war......

The Sugar Doll shall go to:

Deborah @ Midlife Poet
Audrey @ http://magicmiraclesjoy.blogspot.com/
Bunny @ http://creativehare.blogspot.com/

The Humane Award is off to:

Jan @ http://laughingdogarts.blogspot.com/
Mary Helen @ http://maryhelenfernandezstewart.blogspot.com/
Ulrike @ http://lingeringshade.blogspot.com/
KJ @ http://karenjasper.blogspot.com/

One Lovely Blog sent to:

Robbie @ http://robbiespawprints.blogspot.com/
QMM @ http://queenmothermamaw.blogspot.com/
Kate @ http://thegardenbell.blogspot.com/
M.A. @ http://magpiesmumblings.blogspot.com/
Anna Rosa @ http://annarosadesigns.blogspot.com/
Beautiful Blogger is flying to:

Marie @ http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/
Gypsy @ http://gypsyluludelights.blogspot.com/
Georgina @ http://lloronaarts.blogspot.com/
Silke @ http://silkepowers.blogspot.com/
Elena @ http://elena-myquest.blogspot.com/
Lulu @ http://mypinkturtle.blogspot.com/
Vicki @ http://themiddlesister-vicki.blogspot.com/
Pam @ http://yoborobo.blogspot.com/
Ces @ http://cesandherdishes.blogspot.com/
All The Girls @ http://foxontherunarts.blogspot.com/
Marilyn @ http://ourvictoriancottage.blogspot.com/

WHEW!!! I am worn out and know eventhough I have scrolled through my blogroll several times, I probably have forgotten someone and if so, just e-mail me and you'll get what you want because I just want ALL y'all to be happy and not fuss!!!
And that is that for today........I think I'm heading for the Tylenol now.......  LOL!!!
The awards will be in the sidebar to grab them from; the top pic is just a montage to get them all in.
I hope EVERYONE has a really wonderful day!

Pax.