Inspiration

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Bree at Thought Provoking Moments gave me a Very Inspiring Blogger Award! Here are the rules:

1. Display the award image on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers and link to their sites.
5. Notify the bloggers that they have been nominated and link to the post.

For some odd reason, I love sharing odd facts about myself with the entire interwebs. Hadn’t you noticed? Here goes!

1. I’m left handed, and I love pointing out to righties how many things they take for granted. Like pens and coffee mugs. Put a pen in your left hand and see which way the text reads. And unless your mug has two images, you won’t see anything when you drink from it with your left hand.
2. I have a system for shuffling cards. I’m told it’s highly entertaining to watch. Straighten, divide, tap left on right, tap left on table, bridge, straighten, turn deck 180° counterclockwise, repeat. I should probably make a video.
3. I share too much weird crap about myself. Everything I’m coming up with for this post has already been listed somewhere on this blog.
4. I’m a thermostat Nazi. Thermostats are for saving on energy costs, not comfort!
5. I prefer silence in the house when I’m doing pretty much anything. No TV, no radio, no white noise.
6. If I could only have one book, it would be The Waste Land and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot.
7. I love Yahoo! Answers. I mostly hang around the Women’s Health category explaining to teenage girls how their bodies work.

So there you have it, more about me! And now I have to list 15 bloggers who inspire me. This is going to take a while.

1. Sarah at Running on Words. I’m pointing the finger here. This is the gal who inspired all that you see here. Sarah is the reason I started this blog. I found her on Twitter through a giveaway, and loved reading about her running exploits. Finally I figured, hey, I should do this too. I’d closed all my online journals elsewhere, and I had no outlet. Thank you so much, Sarah, for being my friend and inspiration.
2. Belle at Scrambled Eggs. Belle inspires me every day to value myself and to be more confident. To stand up for myself and to be a voice of reason for others. To tell all of my stories, because even if they’re too afraid to say it out loud, someone else is reading, nodding, and thinking ‘me too.’
3. jjiraffe at Too Many Fish to Fry. Most recently, jjiraffe has inspired me to take more pride in my appearance. Her posts about wardrobe planning and fashion have me getting up in the morning and putting on real clothes that fit properly and match, including accessories. As anyone with depression can verify, making a commitment to do this every single day is a huge deal.
4. tigger at Lifes Little Reflections. Tigger inspires me to be honest with myself. Brutally, painfully honest. To understand that sometimes, even if I don’t want to, I have to say no. I can’t take care of everything by myself, as much as I want to do that. She’s taught me that it’s okay to tell friends when they’ve screwed up.
5. Emily at a blanket 2 keep. Emily inspires me to have faith. I’m not a religious person, but Emily has encouraged me to spend more time thinking about the faith that I do have, my faith in myself and others. 
6. Kathy at Bereaved and Blessed. Kathy inspires me to be proactive in my interactions with others. She has taught me the value of just checking in to make sure that everything’s okay, and to be a shoulder when it’s not. 
7. Lori at Write Mind Open Heart. Lori inspires me to be mindful. I’m glad that I take a lot more time now to enjoy and appreciate the value of the everyday. I’m glad that Ian and I can look at each other and say “perfect moment?” and laugh together.
8. Nisha at The Prairie Plate. Nisha inspires me to stand up for myself and do what I think is the right thing to do, even in the face of animosity and dissent.
9. Rice Cakes & Redemption. She inspired me to keep writing, especially when a certain person was giving me a hard time about it, however indirectly. She inspires me to keep searching for the pot of gold, because there are a lot of ways to get to it.
10. M at A Miracle in the Works. M inspires me to keep hope alive, because sometimes, things just happen at the right time.
11. Traathy at Happily Ever After. Traathy inspires me to keep trying to build a relationship with my daughter’s other mother. To believe that one day, things will be easier.
12. Jenny at Blessings & Raindrops. Jenny inspires me to work hard, but be prepared to wait for good things. To be thankful for the blessings that I have, and continue to strive for the blessings that will come.
13. Izzy at Eggceptional Blues. Izzy inspires me to trust that risks can come with great rewards.
14. ozifrog at maybe baby, J-man & the adventures of hub-in-boots. ozifrog inspires me to stay strong and keep fighting through adversity. 
15. Ian. My husband inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing, because it seems to be working out pretty well this time. I love you!

When I started this post, fifteen seemed like so many; now it doesn’t seem nearly enough. Bree and Stasy inspire me with their quotes. SRB inspires me with her good cheer. marwil inspires me with her perseverance. Addison inspires me with his dedication. alie inspires me with her curiosity. Jeanette inspires me with her bravery. Justine inspires me with her kitchen skills and insights. And so many more. Thank you.

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