Cleaning House and Action Items

I am not good about posting blog awards. You’ll just have to believe me when I say that my intentions are as good as they come. I call myself “action item challenged.”  You call it whatever you want. I hate labels anyway.

As I wrote this today,  I recognized something important: Once relentless messages of self flagellation saying, “Well, it’s about time!” filled with school marm bite, have faded into the distant past. Surprise- I have a history as my own worst critic.

I tell you this because if you recognize this way of being – stop. Don’t waste another minute. It may feel  right and as if this is the only way to treat yourself, but you would be wrong. Trust me. Isn’t it weird how easily we know exactly what is best for others, but not for ourselves?

So this is my rambling, over-thinking way of saying “sorry” and “thanks” to the people who have recognized Life in the Short Lane recently. Okay, kinda recently. I am cleaning house metaphorically (blogaphorically?). Beats the heck out of scrubbing real tubs.

Back in August I was named runner up in Post of the Day for my post Lavender Feast by the fabulous Authorblog. David at Authorblog is a recent discovery for me. Besides being just plain delightful, his blog seems to serve as a nexus for creative bloggers from all across the world. His special place in blogland is like an elegant dinner party filled with fascinating guests. Check it out!

Ann at A Nice Place in the Sun started the You Cheer Me Up award and passed it along to me a while back. This fits perfectly because Ann’s blog reigns as most positive humor blog I’ve come across. Anyone who loves Lucy, quotes Maya Angelou and invokes the name of my late boyfriend, E.B. White, all in one post, is at the top of my reading list. And besides, I consider cheering anyone up to be the hugest of compliments.

This award must be making the rounds… I got another You Cheer Me Up award this past week from one of my first blogging friends, Staci, at Just Bloggled: When Life Gets a Little Baffling. The girl’s a riot – readers can always count on her telling it like it is.

Last but not least, is the Your Blog is BLEEPING Fabulous from my friend Lin at Duck and Wheel with String. She says she likes me even though I write about bikinis. I like her even though she writes about frogs, and other critters, some allergenic, some not, as well as other backyard flotsam and jetsam. I hope she will still like me even though I’m not following the rules. I still love her even though this award contains the F-word – I know that as a fellow mother of teenage girls, outside of blogland she reserves the usage of the F-word for those special emergencies.

Without meaning to go all schmaltzy,  instead of passing these awards on, I just want to say you all cheer me up.  And I think you are all *bleeping fabulous*. Seriously. Even if you never comment. That’s quite a gift you have! There are at least five or six or you -  right?  But jump in and comment if you ever feel like it – but you don’t have to!

And for all of you who are in US – don’t labor too hard today.