So Many Thanks, So Little Time

Just taking a moment to breathe, in between trying to find pumpkins for carving, readying a hundred or so candy bags, working on month-end bookkeeping and preparing for the Ancestors Dinner I'm attending tomorrow night.

And in that breath, I must remember to be thankful.  Thankful for the busy-ness that is my life, because it means that I have a job, friends, a home to clean and fun gatherings to go to.  And thankfulness because in the few moments I have to sit and rest each day, I get to read such lovely, insightful blogs written by the most wonderful people! 

I haven't had much time to comment and post myself lately, but I've been here, and find it a joyful respite for days with too much 'stuff' crammed into them to sit and read, even for a few minutes. 

I'm also thankful for those who pass on awards to me - even though most of them know how painfully short I fall at re-posting them.  (Right now I'm thinking of Mar Zel and Debra who I'm sure gave me awards earlier this Summer that I never got to posting....)

And before another month goes by, I'd also like to thank:

Mother Moon for this Prolific Blogger award (which was created by Advanced Booking.)  Most of you know Janie, but if you haven't 'met' her - please stop by her blog.  She has the biggest heart and a beautiful blog, and I just adore her.

Last month Cellar Door at I Hope They Have Pudding gave me this Versatile Blogger award, and then Lady Cattra from Cattra's Magickal World and Jennifer from Confessions of a Kitchen Witch (who I've been following since she was "Barefoot In the Sand") passed this, plus the following two awards on to me, as a triple award.

So many thanks to you ladies - I enjoy your blogs so much and am thrilled that you wander into my little corner of the blog-verse too!

Please stop by and say hello to the bloggers listed in this post.  They are all so unique and talented, and are really great reads!

Award Winning Monday

Today was a nice change of pace from a typical Monday.  A nice crack from the chiropractor this morning followed by a pretty gift on my desk at work.  Inside was a gorgeous journal from one of my co-workers as a thank you for doing a Tarot reading for her last week. 

Work flew by and then on the drive home I caught the brand new Pink song "Raise Your Glass" which had me jumping in my car and getting strange looks from passersby.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways..."  ~ Pink

And to top it off, Jessica from The Magical Mundane gave me this award:

I am a big fan of Jessica's, so please pop over and check out her blog.  Although...if you are squeamish like me....you  might want to skip today's post.  *shiver*

I have been shamefully lax on re-posting awards given to me in the past, so I'm going to play by the rules for once.  Which are:

1. Post the award and link back to the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass it on to other bloggers that you have newly discovered.
3. Let the bloggers know they’ve been chosen.

I have come across some new-to-me blogs lately which I'm enjoying.  Here are a few to check out:

~ A Witch In the Tea Closet
~ Burning Moonlight
~ Natures Cat
~ Sips From the Fire Hydrant

You all have very lovely blogs!

Hope everyone has had a great Monday!

I Really Want To Not Suck....And World Peace

The Frog Queen over at Frog on the Pumpkin, passed on this award to me....two weeks ago...

Although I seem to be falling desperately short on my blogging duties, The Frog Queen is on top of her game! (And seemingly addicted to a game called "Plants vs Zombies.") Not only that, but she is one-half of the husband and wife team that brings you the Davis Graveyard every year. (Well - one third, if you count Halloween Cat.) This haunt is definitely on my list of places to see!

The award comes with rules, of course. Which I will break, of course.

The rules are:
1) Link back to the blog/blogger who nominated you.
2) Paste the picture of the award in your award post
3) Nominate bloggers you think deliver great comments to your blog
4) E-mail/post/tweet or do whatever you need to do to inform these bloggers they have been nominated for an award.

Okay - seriously. Do you know how many great bloggers comment on my little space on the web? Everyone who comments gets a virtual squeeze from me, because I am just so damn thrilled that anyone cares a lick about what I post.

I should first say, that I am one of those people who don't always have the "right words" when commenting on your blogs. Sometimes it's a hit. The rest of the time, not so much. Sometimes I worry that I come off a little passive or uninterested, or placating.

Please know, that if I say "have a great weekend" - what I really mean is: "you rock. I want nothing more for you than to have the best weekend OF YOUR LIFE and if you win the lottery, meet the man/woman of your dreams, and get a movie deal, it would still not be all that you deserve." Unfortunately, all I seem to get out sometimes is "have a great weekend."

Having said all that, I'm going to give a few shout outs. Merely for the sake of not being a consistently sucky award-recipient.

Mary over at Moontides is just the most wonderful woman. I feel a bit like she's my big sister or my fairy god-mother! She always has something wonderful to say (and several blogs to follow) and she is always positive, even when going through trials. She is a beautiful soul - do go spend some time with her!

And since I'm listing bloggers who I've somehow decided are actual family members, I will mention Ryan from Old Man Sutton who has far too many similar tastes not to be my brother. He is much more well-spoken than I am, and has a wonderfully insightful blog that you must read! Plus - he cross-stitches. Enough said.

Debra at She Who Seeks is witty and brilliant. And her lol-cat menageries that she puts together are too much fun. Just don't drink while looking at them - diet coke doesn't feel good coming out of your nose! She is also detailing a spectacular trip her and her Rare One took to Glastonbury. You must see the pics! (Plus, I must confess that I love her because she is from Winnipeg, and you must love people from Winnipeg as they are forced to live through 6 months of Winter, and they are still happy people!)

And a few others, who sprung to mind, and who I'd love to rave about, but am worried about the length of this post....

Halloween Spirit at Orange and Black.
Lyon at The Wandering Hearth.
Ange at Signed By Ange.
Jeanne at The Candy Corn Chronicles.
Jessica at Chronically Vintage.
Dede at Brightest Blessings Wiccans.

But seriously. I really, really love you all!

Not That You Need More "Me" But...

Witch By Nature, Bitch By Choice over at Antics of a Tameran Witch sweetly passed me this award. You should definitely pop over and check out her blog - she's great! Plus, she's posted pics of her Yorkie puppy Titan, who will be coming home in a few weeks, and those images are good for a whole day's worth of smiles! Not to mention she's a very talented artist - check out her illustrations in her BOS!

Seven Rules:
1. Thank the person giving the award.
2. Copy the award to your blog.
3. Place a link to the blog who passed the award to you.
4. Name seven things people dont't know about you.
5. Nominate other bloggers who you admire.
6. Place a link to these bloggers.
7. Leave a comment on their blog notifying them of the award.

I believe I did this last Fall, so please don't feel that you have to read more about me - lol!

My Seven Things:

1. I've suffered from nightmares my entire life. I can still sleep 8 hours though!

2. I hate the thought that I might be making someone go out of their way for me. This is part of the martyr complex I am trying to rid myself of.

3. I eat garlic-stuffed olives like candy. Which may explain why I haven't had a date in a while...

4. I will avoid, rather than confront.

5. I have more martini glasses than anyone should rightly have. I could open a bar.

6. My name is Jen. Rue came to me and wouldn't leave, so it became my Path name. (One of my very first posts explains.)

7. I am a real person. (Bet you didn't know that!) But I HATE being photographed. So this may be one of the few photos you ever see of me: (Excuse the baggage, I didn't sleep well last August when this was taken!)

I am in awe of all the bloggers I read every day - and can't pick favourites (I could never play Red Rover as a kid either) but these are a few people who popped to mind today and I wanted to pass on this award to them:

Faerwillow at Serendipity

Lavender Moon at One Magickal Year

Jeanne at The Candy Corn Chronicles