Send this to seven other friends or get seven years of bad luck

My blog-friend Corrie sent me a virtual blogging award. This is a chain-letter type deal, where you're supposed to:

• Thank the person who has given you the award. (Thanks, Corrie!)

• Copy the logo and place it on your blog. (I linked it, but I cannot post it in good conscience because it does two things that I consider borderline evil. First of all, it misspells the word "creative" as "Kreativ." Secondly, it uses a K when a C is supposed to do the job. Other perpetrators of this atrocity include: Kountry Kitchen, Kwik Sew, Krazy Glue, and Kool Aid. Krispy Kreme gets a pass because of sheer deliciousness).

Corrie, please don't be offended by my persnickety ranting.

• Link to the person who has nominated you for the award. (Corrie)

• Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

1. When one of my children has a scab, I have to fight the urge to pick it.

2. The baby, in a terrifying new development, can open doors. My sacred BM time was interrupted this morning by the booming slam of the door, and a lumbering 13-month old approaching me, arms outstretched like Frankenstein.

3. When I was in high school, I wasn't cool and I wasn't a dork. People mostly didn't notice me at all. A common signature in my yearbook was, "You're so quiet, maybe I'll get to know you better next year."

4. When I read an editorial this morning suggesting that the representative from South Carolina heckled the president because he was black, I must admit that the thought never occurred to me. Does this make me a racist or not a racist? Am I color-blind or simply blind to the continued racial struggle? My white guilt suggests that I still have much to learn.

But then again, John McCain fell asleep during one of President Bush's speeches, and that just confirms my belief that as a senator, he is awesome, but when he runs for president, he loses his Maverick-y deliciousness. (That, by the way, is the closest I will ever get to a political posting).

5. I still judge a person by his or her taste in music. I judge silently, but I do judge.

6. I've lost count of the number of times people have said, "I know that you must cringe when you read my writing because of my bad grammar." (Not true).

7. When Owen and I were sorting out his toys for an upcoming garage sale (all proceeds go to adoption/foster care services--contact me if you're local and interested in donating!), I would donate two toys for every one he insisted on keeping, when his back was turned.

• Nominate 7 other bloggers. I'm going to nominate bloggers I haven't already named. Here's the original link of additional writers I love. If I listed you before, consider yourself nominated as well.

Bloggers: The New Class

Paul is a friend from high school, who is now a pastor in California. I agree with some of his ideas, disagree with others, but I appreciate the intellectual discourse. He's very smart. Kinda scary smart. I'm not married to this Paul, and will henceforth refer to him as "California Paul."

My cousin, David, is good at everything he tries. He's also one of the kindest people I know. Check out his blog to learn more about welding and animal life, amongst other things.

My aunt, Alice, is so very thoughtful. I'm grateful for this window into her life.

Sarah is a friend from college. I'll always remember celebrating her 21st birthday in Hong Kong. She is a therapist and musician and mother of two, living in Bisbee, AZ. She's so incredibly funny and insightful.

I used to work with Brian, who is both humble and scary-intelligent. He's raised thousands of dollars running marathons to fight Leukemia and Lymphoma. He's also funny and notices absurd and beautiful details.

Jen is another friend from college, and I just recently re-connected with her via Facebook and her blog. She kinda lives my dream life---living in Montana, writing a local column for the newspaper. She gardens. She drinks coffee, quite snobbishly, I may add. She refuses to clean the deer her husband hauls home each season. She's my kind of girl.

Finally, I love reading Kim's blog because I'm looking for inspiration. She's half my age, and a better mother than I could ever hope to be. I wish, someday, to be as grown-up as Kim.

• Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate. (Uhhhh, I just did that).

• Leave a comment on each of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.(I will do that at some point soon).

That's it for now. How to end this blog in a witty, thoughtful manner?

Forget it: I'll just do it the Owen way: WEASEL!