My First-Ever Blogging Award! The Versatile Blogger Award

 Meeting New Friends and Sharing the Love!

    A couple of weeks back I was reading through my comments from my awesome readers when I discovered I had been nominated for my very first blogging award, The Versatile Blogger award!  I couldn’t believe it!  Me!  An award for my blog! Woohooo! I have seen this award on many blogs, but I never thought I would be nominated!  So at this point I want to give a big ‘thank you’ to Lorna K. of Life With RA is a Pain for my nomination!
   As part of my acceptance of the Versatile Blogger award I am supposed to share seven things about myself then nominate 15 other bloggers/blogs who I have either recently discovered or frequently visit along with a short bit about why I like them.  So without further ado…
7 Things About Myself
1.  My favorite color is purple.
2. I am a water baby!  I love, love , love swimming and being in the water.  
3.  My dearest dreams are to have a baby and a house of my own one day.
4.  If I won the lottery, I would open a shelter for cats to find them their forever homes.  At every apartment complex I have lived there are stray cats and I always wind up feeding them.  At our last apartment, during a 3 day rainstorm, I put out a large plastic box with towels in it for a mama cat and her three week old kittens.  She saw me do it, took one sniff inside and immediately brought her kittens in it where they stayed until the rain stopped.  It became their nighttime bed.  It breaks my heart to see stray cats and dogs!
5.  I have a BS degree in Early Childhood Education, but have not used it in years.  One day I hope to get re-certified and go back to teaching.
6.  I have an incurable sweet-tooth.
7.  I am a recovering addict, who became actively addicted to pain killers as the result of a car accident four years after graduating college.  I have been sober now for a little over 3 years.
  Now for the most difficult part as I have met so many incredible people who write amazing blogs!   Here are the 15 bloggers/blogs I want to nominate…
1.  Shonna of  Bargain Hound Daily Deals because of all the great deals she posts daily, plus she gives great tips on couponing, stockpiling, green living and more!   She is also always willing to lend a helping hand!
2. Patricia of Tricia’s Treasure because she is one of the first people I met when I joined Facebook and began getting interested in blogging.   We helped each other through the beginning of our blogs and continue to be friends today! She has been, and still is, a huge supporter!  I love her reviews of the latest and greatest make up and beauty products.
3.  Jennifer of Jennifer’s World Reviews because not only has she also been there since the beginning, but she does a wonderful job of vlogging product reviews!  A totally different take on blogging! She always makes me laugh, and her faith is so inspiring!
4. Susan of  Budget Earth and Mew Review runs two awesome blogs!  One that has great green tips, and the other wonderful product reviews.  Where she finds the time to do TWO blogs, I have no clue!  Plus she has been a huge help to me with advice when it comes to blogging!
5. Lisa of  The Baby Bottom Line, another of my favorite Mommy blogs that offers wonderful children’s product reviews and awesome giveaways!  She has the cutest blog!
6.  Cyndee of Rude Mom has an awesome look-out on life and it shows in her writing!  Not your typical mommy! Great posts that cover everything from product reviews to giveaways to tips for everyday living.   She is always willing to help out!
7.  Allie of Gator Mommy Reviews gives informative and honest reviews of kid-friendly products, plus tons of the best giveaways out there!  She also has a great sense of humor!
8.  Kelly of Kelly’s Thoughts on Things  not only offers reviews, giveaways and tips, but she also shares her stories of raising a child with autism.  A very strong woman who I much admire!
9.  Mellissa of Something Like Life has great recipes, family friendly reviews and awesome tips on gardening.  She is very creative! 
10. Brie of Beautiful Incentives  offers reviews, giveaways, crafting tips, recipes and more!   Her blog looks great, and I love her writing style!
11.  Melinda of My So Called Balanced Life is a great compilation of recipes, creative ideas, tips, reviews and more!  She is also such a nice person, always willing to help!
12.  Bonnie of This and That Reviews has great reviews on products, delicious recipes, coupons and more.  She comes up with some incredible recipes!
13. Bre of Peacoats and Plaid has the cutest craft ideas with easy-to-follow instructions, and some great blog hops where you can find even more awesome blogs!!  She is incredibly creative!
14.  Jonna and Steph of Mama Break gives every busy mom a place to find reviews of new products, creative tips,  the best bargains and more.  Two women who provide some much needed breaks from mommy-hood!
15.  Dee of Bella Savvy has a wonderful blog full of recipes,, reviews, giveaways, parenting advice and tips, beauty and fashion posts and so much more.   I love her blog, and she is an awesome woman, too!

Congratulations to all of you!!  If I nominated you above, and you want to accept the nomination and share the love, here are the rules.
1.  Thank the person who nominated you for the award and be sure to have a link back to their blog.
2.  Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.
3.  Choose 15 other blogs that you have either just discovered or that you love to frequent.
4.  Tell a bit about why you like each of those blogs and include a link to their blog.
Thanks again to Lorna of  Life with RA is a Pain!