The Happy Award comes to Do Beautiful Things

I am excited to receive the Happy Award from Simone at The romantic query letter.  I have long followed her through my other blog, Southern City Mysteries, and was pleased that she stopped over here and became my first follower.  Simone writes beautiful poetry that disguised as prose.  Historical fiction, romance, call it what you like, but stop by her blog and read a sample.  You won't be sorry that you did.

The Happy comes with a few conditions, which I repeat for you here:
1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. List who gave the award to you and link to his/her blog
3. List 10 things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blogs to let them know!

First, for ten of the things that make me happy...

Snow sparkling in the sun................................
.........................................................................My children laughing together...
Bartlett Pear candles from Bath&BodyWorks......................
.......................Creative jewelry from Moon&Lola..................................................
Yoga and the healing voice of Margaret at Yoga Garden...............
.......................................My husband....
...........................................................Blog comments (I can't help it!  It's invigorating!)
Thinking like a writer--writing every moment in my head........................
..............My son using big words like "injured" and "actually" (he's 4)...
The quiet that sets in when my children are asleep and my husband is ready to go to bed.  The house has settled and we are all at peace.  It is time, our hearts say, to rest for the night.  A good book, a quick thanks to God for our day and our lives, and we will close our eyes to dream.  No worries about the next day.  Just the darkness and the warmth and the closeness of each other......................................................

(The picture above was assigned to me by Simone when she gave out the Happy Award. If she thinks it is a "beautiful thing," it is worth re-posting here. Thank you, Simone!)

I give the Happy Award to:

Chris at Living with Fibromyalgia -- I learn so much from her!

EmcogNEATO of EmcogNEATo -- because I think she could use a little cheering to get her through having no ice in her freezer!

Kris of The Cajun Book Lady -- because she is creative and pretty darn cool.

And, though she has received it before (maybe even from me, I can't remember!), L. Diane Wolfe of Spunk on A Stick's Tips--she has guest blogged on Southern City Mysteries, supported me here on this blog and is an all around great blogging friend.

Thank you, friends.  And I encourage you all to click on all the links and check out the fabulous blogs!

What kind of Snow Thing are you?

I promise to post snow pictures tomorrow, but in honor of the beautiful white powder still covering the ground, and because of the red cheeks crowning tired smiles on little faces at my house, here is a snow quiz for you:

Are You a Snow Bunny?

I am!

"When it comes to snow, the more snow you get the merrier you are.

You believe that snow is magical and beautiful. Just seeing the snow fall makes you feel peaceful.

You love to be out and about in the snow, whether you're making a snowman or hitting the slopes.

You don't even mind shoveling snow. If that's the price you have to pay for a winter wonderland, you'll gladly pay it."

I don't know about that shoveling part, but the rest is true.  Did you get snow this weekend or this winter?  What did you do when it fell?

Project for Booklovers and Parents

I am a reader.  I LOVE BOOKS.  I love them so much I am writing my own.  In fact, that is how I got into the blogging thing.  My first blog (my main blog) is Southern City Mysteries.  It wasn't until I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and needed a place to bleed and emote that I began this one.  Luckily, it has turned into more of a happy place than a drown your sorrows type of cesspool.

But back to the point of this post...My father's birthday was January 9th and he is an avid reader as well.  He reads mostly mass-market paperbacks and doesn't hesitate to break their spines or dog-ear their pages, but I thought a nice accessory would be a good gift.  Enter the bookmark.

I have children.  My son loves to draw and my daughter loves stickers.  But you can't just cut a bookmark out of regular notebook or construction paper - too flimsy.  So resourceful me grabbed an old birthday card and cut it into strips.  Because of the card's design, I was actually able to make five bookmarks.  Some superhero/Scooby Doo stickers and several shades of ink later--voila!  Homemade bookmarks!  The kids loved it, the grandfather will love it and I appear the creative mom for a day.

Just thought I would share.  Do you have any creative ideas to share?  I'm always looking for new projects to do with my children, and I am sure other readers are as well.

Fun Quizzes

I had a fun weekend.  Yesterday I was playing 'dress up the Disney princess' on The Official Princess Website with my daughter (my son also loves this game, but it happened to be my daughter this time), when I noticed some other Disney links to click...And I found some fun quizzes!  So here they are for your time-wasting pleasure...

1. Which Pixar character are you?
I am...

"Lightning McQueen"

Self-confident, adventurous, and competitive, you're also a bit of a show-off. And why not? You pride yourself in your appearance and rarely leave the house without being fully buffed and polished. You enjoy long bubble baths, regularly scheduled maintenance, and cruising around town with your sweetie.

2.  Which celebrity couple are you?

My husband and I are...

"Jada Pinkett-Smith & Will Smith"

You're friendly, easy-going and accessible, superstars among friends and strangers alike. Were you to choose your own careers in Hollywood, you'd likely be wildly popular among all four movie-going quadrants -- male, female, young, old. Wherever you go, people love you. You may not be saving the planet any time soon, but you're great parents and a rock solid couple -- and you've got your own set of fans counting on you to make it all look easy.

3.  What kind of adventurer are you?

I am the...

"Accidental Adventurer"

So you don't exactly plan every detail ... you don't need to! Like Russell, adventure finds you! You're the kind of traveler who never gets lost: you always make discoveries to render even the most unintentional detour worthwhile. Your tireless optimism means you rarely see a downside to anything -- you can have a great time in the midst of a grand adventure, or an everyday activity. Every adventure crew needs one of you!

4.  What's your star style?

I am...

"Classy"

You're not only classy, you're a classic. Like so many fashion icons before you, you appreciate good fabrics, great cut, and fine tailoring. You read all the fashion magazines and keep up on the runways shows in Paris, Milan, and Manhattan -- if only on a fantasy level. Your favorite quote is from Coco Chanel: "Fashion fades, only style remains the same."

5. Which Disney Princess are you?

I am...

"Ariel"

You are Ariel. You are beautiful but impaired. At times you are naive. Still, your innocence and good heart make you sought after and loved.

(Beautiful but "impaired?"  What does that even mean?  Should I be insulted?  I posted a similar quiz on my mystery writing blog, SouthernCityMysteries, a while back.  It said I was Belle: bookish but incredibly pretty.  I think I'll stick with that one! Click here for that post/quiz.)

Have fun!!