Forget the Oscars, it's all about the Candids

A while back I hosted an impromtu contest, and some of my unsuspecting readers and commenters were entered without even knowing it. Because the results were pretty much inconclusive, I decided to award all six entrants with a prize. I was going to merely do a post about why I love visiting each of the blogs belonging to the nominees, but after much thought, I realized that all six have one main thing in common, and that is that all of their blogs are honest, open, frank, sincere, outspoken...in a word "Candid" representations of who they are and what they think. So, I've decided to create my own Blog Award, the Candid Blogger Award, given to those bloggers I believe represent themselves in a refreshing and honest way.

And the Candid Goes to:

Frigga - Because she's not afraid to state her opinions on everything from what music is crap to what she thought of a particular movie, to her political beliefs. I may not always agree with her, but I fully respect that she is a woman unafraid to speak (or blog) her mind, and has passion for everything she says. Besides, she loves Christian Slater, so how could I not love her?

Lil'Mouse - For posts like this one, where she managed to keep her civility (and that inherent niceness I like so much about her) even though the situation called for much stronger and angrier language (well, for me it would have that's for sure). And really, simply because the last line in the post made me laugh out loud.

Ana - Because in posts such as this one, she lays it all out there for us to see, and yet, does it in such a poetic way that you read every word with anticipation of the next. And then there are the times she makes me laugh out loud with how easily she can turn the most mundane of situations into an art form, like here.

Lisa - Just her photography alone gives you a glimpse into what a beautiful person she must be to capture such beauty with her eye. And then you learn more about her and her amazing family, and you can't help but be impressed. She is the true definition of candid and honest on her blog, and I am constantly amazed by her strength.

Joy T - I'm not going to lie to you, Joy's is one of my favorite blogs to visit on my grumpy mornings, because as much as she tries to deny it, she is one of the funniest women I've "met", even when she's just telling you about her day. And she'll try to tell you otherwise, she'll also try to tell you she's grumpy and mean, but that's all a facade! Just ask Mushu. But I do love how she's going to tell it like it is, and if you don't like it, TOUGH, it's her blog!

Pamela - who leaves me the greatest comments, and has the BEST blog header and name out there. With posts such as this one about her childhood, you get to learn about the Pamela of her youth, and with posts like this, about her grandkids, you get to laugh right along with the Rockin' Grandma Pamela.

Enjoy it ladies, it's well deserved. And don't pass this one on, this one is just for you to hold onto and display proudly on your mantles...uh...sidebars. I wish I could do something fancy like give you html code so you could post the photo to your sidebar with a link back to my blog, but I have no idea how to post that information within a post without making it actual html code, so uh...yeah, whatever, just display it as a picture if you want to. ;-)

For the rest of you, don't be jealous, I just might bestow a Candid upon you when you least expect it.

I'd like to thank the Blogosphere...

I've been a bad bad blogger! Over the last few weeks (perhaps even months) a few of my fellow bluddies (blog+buddies=bluddies) have presented me with various awards and tokens of their appreciation for me as a fellow blogger. And I may have appeared ungrateful to them all, because I have not acknowledge these awards. Let it be known that I am absolutely grateful to each and every one of them for each and every one of these. I've had a draft "thank you" post going for a while, and yet kept getting sidetracked. But without furhter ado, I give you my awards, and the wonderful people who've nominated me. As well as some nominees of my own:

My girl JennieBoo (who has been away from her blog for a while due to an injury...I miss you Jennie and hope you are well and back soon!) awared me with this one. It is the You Make Me Smile Award. The creator of this award said: "the thing that I love most about blogging is that I learn so much about a person just by reading their blog. I have met MANY wonderful people with wonderful stories to tell, and I am grateful every day for each person that I have the pleasure of crossing paths in life with. I wanted to create something special for the top ten people who have inspired me through their blogging; the stories they tell, and the lives that they lead with grace and dignity. I visit their blogs for inspiration and encouragement. Please grab your badge and wear it(with a smile) proudly, and pass it on because you inspire and encourage me, thank you. So, now it is my turn to pass it on." And Jennie said: "Thanks ladies, for your sweet, honest, wonderful "blogginess"! I am honored to be in the company of such great ladies...." Thank YOU Jennie, you have a heart as big as they come!

I'm going to hand this one off to the following bloggers:

Susan at A Slice of Life - Because her posts always make me smile. Read this for example...see what I mean?

Wicked H at Avert your Eyes - Because not only does she make me smile...she makes me outright laugh most days. Check out this post and you'll see what I mean.

Beckie at Give it a Try - One Day at a Time - because I love her blog and posts like this one, and also because whenever she comments on any of my posts, she makes me smile.

I also was once again awarded with the "Nice Matters" award by the fabulous Frigga! (Jennieboo had previously presented me with this one as well).

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”

Frigga went on to say about me that "This woman has a heart bigger than her shoe collection - and that's pretty darn big!" Besides making me laugh out loud, it mad me all verklempt...Aww Shucks!

I'm passing this one on to:

Qualcosa Di Bello at Piacere, It is a Pleasure - because I just think she's a nice person who totally deserves a "Nice Matters" award. If you read any of her posts, you'll see exactly what I mean. Try this one for starters: Pretty in Pink

Also a while back I was also awarded this one:

by my buddie Literary Feline. At the time I promised to pass this one on in the future, but have yet to do so...today is that day, and it goes to:

Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso - because of posts like this, and this and then ones like this...because not only does she think of others and what is going on in society around us, but then she gets us all involved in thinking about it (and discussing it) as well.

Also a while back, the lovely and wonderful Julia awarded me with a "Blogging Star" award.

"This award is for bloggers who shine their light throughout the Blogoshere. Some do it with humor, others with creativity, and others with their kind and thoughtful natures. We all know more than a few of them so why not give them some recognition?"

About me Julia said: "Karina is a two-blogger gal who posts her thoughts, photos and commentary on Candid Karina, and fiction on Creative Karina. Her poetry is fresh and unexpected, and her delight with shoes is quite contagious. Her Wordless Wednesdays got me started with a weekly feature I truly love. Shine on, Karina!"

About Julia I say: YOU JUST MUST visit her. Start with this post where she accepted her own awards, and handed them off to others, for just a peek at her creativity, and then stay and browse around. You'll love her.

So, I'm handing off the Blogging Star award to:

Frances - because nobody deserves it more. Talk about a blogging star...not only does this lady have...umm...wait let me count them...SIX blogs of her own (I may be missing some here), but she also is our fearless leader in the She Who Blogs yahoo group, and heads up our She Who Blogs BLOG. And she does it all with such grace and finesse. She's a SuperStar in my eyes.

Mushu at A Spot of T - Hey, this is the first time I'm giving an award to a blogging pet...but Mushu is such a superstar he deserves it...and he totally should have his own blog. Hopefully mom won't be too jealous of his award, I wanted to give her the "Fabulous Award" but she just gave that one to me...so...

Last, but definitely not least, Joy T just awarded myself (and all my fellow SheWhoBloggers) with this one:

As I said above, I'm totally handing this one back to her, so Joy, consider yourself re-awarded.

I'm also going to give one to:

Julia at A Piece of My Mind - Because she is totally fabulous.

I could give many many more of these away, but I should totally get some work done now and stop playing around in the blogosphere.

This is not about quantity folks, it's about quality, and all of the above are some QUALITY bloggers. Be sure to visit them, and tell them I sent ya!

Thank you EVERYONE for the lovely awards. I really love them and feel special for getting them!

Also, if you have also presented me with an award and I missed you, I SUCK I'm sorry, and please let me know so that I can properly thank you. (This goes for any memes you may have tagged me for that I have yet to respond to...please give me a gentle (GENTLE I SAID) reminder and I promise to respond.

Gonna Find Out, Who's Naughty or Nice...

My buddy JennieBoo, over at O So Mo Love has awarded me with the lovely award above. This means a whole lot coming to me from Jennie, because I happen to think she is one of the NICEST people I've met in the blogosphere.

From her post:

"This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you've been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

And here I was thinking I was doing a good job of covering up my "niceness" with wit and sarcasm. No? Well then, in that case, I'd like to thank the Academy, my fans...What? Oh, not an Oscar? UH...okay, moving on the awarding ceremony then...

I'm supposed to award 7 (Seven) others, but I see that most of the bloggers I was going to award, have already received this award. That does not mean they don't deserve to receive it twice, but I'd like to share the wealth, and award it to those who have not receive it yet. So, I'm not going to proceed with the awards ceremony just yet.

NOW, notice I said "just yet"...what I'm going to do is save this award, and grant it to bloggers I think deserve it over the next few weeks. There are some lovely and very NICE bloggers that I visit regularly. There are also others I'm just beginning to visit...I'm going to get to know these bloggers better, and award as I become more familiar with them.

I will award SEVEN per the rules, and I will also announce the awards right back here at my blog. I'm just going to drag out the process a bit...yep, that's me, being difficult.

Thanks JennieBoo for the award, I love it! :D

And remember:

Nice guys finish last, but we get to sleep in. - Evan Davis

UPDATE:

I also just discovered that I've been awarded the following:

My friend Literary Feline bestowed this honor upon me. She said:

"Karina, whose blog not only offers me food for thought, but because she has such a kind spirit that comes through in each of her blog posts."

Wow...I'm not even really sure how to respond to that. Thank you seems inadequate, but that's all I got...Thank YOU.

The blog world has given me many gifts, and among them is the opportunity to meet such fantastic ladies as these two. Do check them out.

I will be awarding both of these awards to other bloggers in the future...stay tuned.

You schmooze...you win!

My new friend Frigga at AnyApples has nominated me for this award! I'm completely flattered, super excited, and just a little bit verklempt..."Talk amongst yourselves"....

Okay, where was I? Ah yes, the award..."As it goes, schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship."

This award is especially meaningful to me coming from Frigga, because pretty much from the first blog entry I read of hers, I knew we'd be buddies. We're still in the "getting to know you" stage of our friendship, but I can just tell the blogosphere has probably succeeded in finding me a new friend. Anyway, enough with the mushy stuff...onto the nominations!

I'm not really sure how many people I'm supposed to nominate, and I'm semi-new to the world of blogging, so that I don't have all that many regular blogs I visit and comment on regularly...so I decided to go with lucky number THREE...here they are:

JennieBoo at OSOMOLOVE is one of my new SheWhoBLogs buddies. I just love this girl, she's a bright spot in the blogosphere, and never fails to comment on my blog entries, always with something sweet, informative, constructive, or just plain nice. And I know she does this with not just me, but all of her blog friends, therefore, she definitely deserves the SCHMOOZER Award! ;-)

Frances over at Blog Jem definitely earns this award as well. After all, it was through her power of Schmoozing that the SheWhoBlogs group was even created. She also always makes sure to pop over and comment to let you know she's reading and enjoying your blog.

Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso gets my next one. One of my favorite things about her blog is how she keeps the conversations going in the comments section, always replying to comments, and even using the comments as topics for future entries. I'm still working on the art of replying to all comments, but she's mastered it, and that shows her true power as a Schmoozer.

Now, put your own schmoozing power to work, and go visit these ladies and tell them how great they are! Get out there and mingle!

I totally Rock!

Well, I'm all giddy and excited because two of my fellow SheWhoBloggers have awarded me with a "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award. My thanks to both JennieBoo at OSOMOLOVE and Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso.

So, my understanding of this award is that I'm to pass it on to other Rockin' Girl Bloggers, and I'm happy to oblige.



First of all, I'd like to give my first one to all my SheWhoBlogs Buddies, because they all ROCK in their own way. Just check out the photos Frances took this weekend, or JennieBoo's amazing introduction post, or Wicked H's hillarious tale about house alarms or any of the other posts by all these amazing ladies and you'll see exactly what I mean. They all have their own individual blogs as well, which you can check out on my sidebar.

My second award is going to my good friend Literary Feline over at Musings of a Bookish Kitty. I've known her for a while now in other circles, but her blog is one of my favorites and always a first stop when I'm looking for suggestions on what I should read next. Her book reviews are always detailed and thorough with just enough bite to grab you and make you want to read the book yourself.

Thirdly, I'm awarding Frigga at Any Apples because she is fast becoming one of my favorite bloggers. Her posts constantly make me laugh, her Thursday Thirteen is always an audience participation one, which is OH SO FUN, and today, she gave us this. Really, this girl ROCKS.

And finally is Miss Frou Frou over at I Used to be, but I'm alright Now, because I just love her. I tend to be more of a lurker over there, but the two of us have so much in common that I find myself nodding my head in agreement as I read her posts. Oh yeah, and it just so happens we share a birthday too.

I'm finding other amazing and ROCKIN' girl bloggers as I stroll through the blog world, but since I'm more of a stalker than a visitor at most of these blogs, I'll stop here this time.

Keep on Rockin' girls!