tres chic! the versatile blogger award now graces this blog

Can you believe it? Emily from Naptime is My Time has honored my voice by giving me "The Versatile Blogger" award. I'm excited to accept! I read and comment on Emily's blog a lot - after all she's chasing her dream of eco-friendly domestic bliss like myself. Emily, it was awesome of you to choose me and flattering to know you like my blog!

Anyone receiving the Versatile Blogger Award must follow the rules to pay it forward, if you will. The rules are as follows:

• Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
• Tell your readers seven (7) things about yourself.
• Give this award to fifteen (15) recently discovered bloggers. 
• Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news!

Seven things about me:

1. I love to garden with native plants. I am a total native wildflower NERD, complete with Latin names to back it up.

2. I took private voice lessons for 8 years. As a teen I used to sing at weddings, funerals, and everything in between. Now I save my singing for lullabies with E or campfire sing-alongs at the Nature Center.

3. I want to do my part to help kick our nation's plastic addiction. I've got a huge stash of re-usable totes and baskets that I take to the grocery store religiously. I'm doing my best to take them into EVERY store (not just groceries) since plastic bags are unavoidable.

4. Again on the plastic, I avoid eating from (and definitely NOT heating up) any plastic ware for food. There are weird chemicals in the plastic that I don't trust...and I don't want to ingest them. Yes, even the BPA and pthalate-free stuff contains wild-card chemicals that science doesn't fully understand. It grosses me out just thinking about it.

5.I learned some of my most important lessons about working with children through volunteer work at the Maryland School for the Blind and RICA (a lock-down facility for emotionally disturbed teens). You don't know what trouble is until you've walked a mile in their shoes.

6. I was an artist-in-residence for a fantastic organization called Young Audiences of Maryland. I worked with Baltimore City youth to create large-scale art installations to teach about the Chesapeake Bay. I am an enthusiastic supporter of community arts programs.

7. In my spare time (when there's time to spare) I'm a visual artist. I create non-objective paintings. These are selfishly my own abstract expressions. I've exhibited all over, but not so much in the last year. Now that E is getting older, I am longing to do more of my personal art. (I love painting owls and turtles, but that's not really for me, now is it?!)

I feel bad going on and on about myself like this - I hope you don't think I'm obnoxious! I just really wanted to share interesting things that hadn't come up in any of my posts yet. Them's the rules - share seven things - and I did it.

As far as selecting 15 bloggers to pass the award on to, I decided to consult the enormous list of blogs that I subscribe to. It was very difficult to decide on my faves! Without any further adieu (drum roll please) here are my highly deserving, wonderful recipients of the Most Versatile Blogger award:

1. http://www.mybabysgreenblog.com/
2. http://www.natural-kids.blogspot.com/
3. http://jenandjoeygogreen.blogspot.com/
4. http://www.coolprogeny.blogspot.com/
5. http://mummysdress.blogspot.com/
6. http://sprout5.blogspot.com/
7. http://gizelleandchris.blogspot.com/
8. http://crazygreenmommy.blogspot.com/
9. http://ourdailygreenlife.blogspot.com/
10. http://granolamommyof2.blogspot.com/
11. http://ricochetdreamer.blogspot.com/
12. http://madebynicole.blogspot.com/
13. http://projectsbyjess.blogspot.com/
14. http://twigandtoadstool.blogspot.com/
15. http://greensheenblogger.blogspot.com/

Congratulations new honorees! You deserve this award, so shout it from the roof tops! Yay for fabulous bloggers everywhere!

Hey - you talkin' to me? Did I win an award for my cuteness?