Holy Accolades, Batman!

Wow - many thanks to my friend Renee at Flamingo Musings for passing me the Honest Scrap award on her blog.  This is the first award I've ever received and I'm just thrilled to my toes.

This award comes with instructions, which are as follows: This award came with some fun instructions:
1. Post the award on your blog. Present this award to seven others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged you.
2. Tell those seven people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP, inform them of these guidelines, and ask that they link back to you.
3. Share TEN HONEST THINGS about yourself.

Wow ... ten honest things about myself ... well, here goes nothing. :)

1. I was terrified of walking down the aisle on my wedding day because I get really nervous when people look at me and I turn bright red.  So I was convinced that in every picture of me walking down the aisle, I would look like a tomato with hair.  As it turns out, I was so darn excited about getting married to my beloved husband that in every picture taken of me, I am beaming from ear to ear.  I look slightly ridiculous, but unbelievably happy.

2. I think about my Grandpa Stan every day of my life.  He passed on a few years back, but he's very much with me in spirit.

3.  And speaking of spirits, I am convinced that our house is occasionally haunted by the guy who used to own it.  Our spirit is named Vern.  He keeps things together.

4.  Although I like to believe that I'm a cynic, I am pretty gullible at times but have learned to keep my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself until I know that I'm not getting my leg pulled.

5.  When I was a kid, I couldn't stand my younger cousin Tracy.  But now that we're older, I cannot imagine life without her.

6.  There are days where I am so much like my parents, it scares me.

7.  I talk in my sleep and sometimes I walk in my sleep.  My sleep walking has put me in precarious situations - i.e., waking up at the top of the stairs in my childhood home, almost locked outside a hotel room in Rapid City, South Dakota, etc.

8.  When River Phoenix died, I became a vegetarian for a year.  Considering that my father is a farmer, that did not fly too well in my parents' household, but my folks were amazingly tolerant of my schemes.

9.  I do have a temper and have worked over the years to corral it.  I feel terrible whenever I lose my temper.  One of the worst things I ever did when I lost my temper was I threw a lit and burning candle at my kitchen wall.  As you can imagine, it splattered wax everywhere once it hit its target.  I called my mom later and told her what an idiot I had been.  "Well, what did you expect to happen?" she very sagely asked.

10.  I don't answer my phone very often.  It's one of the worst things about me.  I just really hate talking to people on the phone.  The irony is that when I was younger, I could spend HOURS on the phone with my friends.

I'm passing on the Honest Scrap award back to some of my blogger friends.  I've been doing this for over a year now and I remember how cool it was when I'd get emails back from some of the bloggers I had been following throughout my blogging journey.  I am so appreciated of the support, friendship and inspiration I get from all of you guys ...

Deb at Pladsen Family
Lan at Angry Asian Creations
Paula at Dragon's Kitchen
Katie of Salt and Chocolate
Michelle at Big Black Dog
Jenn at The Unmarried Housewife
Elle at Elle's New England Kitchen

And so many thanks to Renee. :)  I really appreciate it.