An Award for Little ole Me? Why, thank you! *blush*

Recently, I received two blog awards.  I love getting awards!  Seriously, I love it - probably stems from the fact that I was such an under-achiever growing up.  My older siblings all got awards in school but I didn't get nary a one!  I drifted through school, pretty much happy-go-lucky, with fair-to-middling scores in everything except math which tended more towards the lowest end of middling wherever that might be!   So, if I really love getting blog awards now, it's probably in part to make up for my early lassitude.

Judith, over at Unexpected Gems decided to pass on to me the "One Lovely Blog Award."

And Robin, over at Your Daily Dose bestowed on me the "Beautiful Blogger Award."

The funny thing is that both Robin and Judith have blogs that I appreciate so much, it seems like I should be giving them the awards, not the other way around.  You two ladies inspire me both in completely different ways.  Robin, I so appreciate your honesty.  It helps me remember my own frailties and faults and struggles in a way that reminds me to stay humble and recognize my need to not just "settle in" but keep pushing for better in my own life.  Judith, you, on the other hand, help me to remember God's goodness, His love and care and grace in my life, in a way that helps me to remember the "peace that passes understanding" - that gift from God that comes not through my own work, but simply because of how wonderful our Heavenly Father truly is.  So one of you seems to encourage me to keep pushing on, and the other one of you seems to encourage me to rest, but I appreciate both perspectives for their own unique place in my life.

So thank-you to both of you for passing along awards to me, and I hope you don't mind that I've decided to combine them both in this one post.  My little recovering feline patient is keeping me very busy with her demands so posting has become a bit of a luxury at the moment.   

The rules for accepting the blog are:

1).  Thank the person who gave you the award
2).  List 7 things about yourself
3).  List 7 inspiring blogs to whom you would like to pass the award.

So, Judith and Robin, please consider yourselves thanked!  It was particularly encouraging to receive these awards this week because it has been such a difficult week for me to even get to my blog.  So thank-you for your kindness!

7 Things About Myself:

1).  My eyes are not exactly brown, not exactly hazel, but sort of a tawny yellowish colour, but they change too depending on the light and what I'm wearing.  My youngest brother has exactly the same colour eyes - if they happen to be the same colour at the same time as mine.  :)

2).  I am the shortest person in my family and I am 5'6" so I'm not exactly short.

3).  I was named after two aunts - my mother and my father both had sisters with my name.

4).  I didn't get married until I was 34 and I really had no confidence that I would be "better" at marriage than any of my friends and relatives whose marriages failed.  I thought marriage was probably going to be the hardest thing ever and got myself all worked up about it - and then discovered that marriage is the most amazingly wonderful joyful experience ever!  I can't imagine life without my husband now and am so thankful for him.  He makes every day so much better by laughing with me (and yes, sometimes AT me), by holding me when I cry, and being the best life partner day-by-day that I could ever imagine.

5).  Some of my very best friends include my parents and my siblings even though we also can fight like crazy at times.   Must be an Italian thing.  :)

6).  I really love bookkeeping.  I know it should seem boring, but honestly, I just love taking the time to make sure everything adds up neatly and that it all falls into place where it's supposed to.  Very little in life fits so neatly into columns, it's kind of a relief to work with numbers that belong in specific spots and can be ordered there by the stroke of a keyboard.

7).  My name isn't really Ro Magnolia.  That is a nickname that was given to me many years ago and stems from my maiden name.  Maybe someday I'll share my real name but for now I just love the sound of "Ro Magnolia" - it has a certain southern belle kind of sound that I love and I have often thought I would use it as a pseudonym if I ever decided to write romance novels.

7 Inspiring Blogs:

I've chosen these 7 for such totally different reasons, but each one brightens my day with their posts - either by making me really think, or making me really laugh, or making me really smile, or even sometimes, making me just take a moment and breathe in a thing of beauty.

So to you 7, please feel free to collect either one or both of these awards.  You deserve them!  My life is enriched by your blogs on a daily basis and I feel like you have become part of my network of friends even though we've never actually met.  :)

Never Growing Old
Fill My Cup...with Beauty
Bringing Pretty Back
Two Knit Monkeys
Life by Chocolate
Australian in Athens
Beyond the Kitchen Window