On wolves, maybe?

Cherio, good people!

I'm over at the Burrow Blog again today where I offer my advice on... Oh, I won't give it away here, of course. You'll have to run over there to find out!


I do have a little something for here too, though. See, I keep getting these awards. I know, what a hazzle, right? Nah, I’m kidding, of course. I LOVE awards, because it makes me feel all blog loved (bloved? Lovged? Blovged?) plus it is a wonderful opportunity for me to discover new blogs. So yay!


I am terrible, terrible at passing them on, though. So I thought that since I planned to write a “head over to the Burrow” post today anyway (makes me sound like the world’s worst blogger – yesterday I didn’t so much post as show you pictures of my coffee mugs… Sheesh!), I might as well take this opportunity to share some blove (after much consideration I think this is the term I’ll coin).

A small clarification is in order, though. Most of these awards come with conditions such as “pass on to 173 bloggers” or “write 52 interesting things about yourself”. While I like rules as a rule (hah), I also like to break them… I will pass these awards on to a few, very deserving bloggers, regardless of rules. It’s just the way I roll…

First of all Clarissa at Listen to the Voices (a blog that offers great tips and clues for writers, by the way) gave me the Supportive Commenter Award. I have lots of supportive commenters, and I cherish them all (and try to reply to them and visit back every now and then), but there is one that practically never misses a post. Thus, I hereby award the Supportive Commenter Award to Yvonne of Welcome To My World Of Poetry. Congratulations!

Secondly, I have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award from Rosie and Jamie (or The Powdered Toast Man. Hope I didn’t just reveal his superhero identity). I already accepted this one in all its “Reveal Seven Things About Yourself” glory, so this time I’ll stick to passing it on to one awesome blogger: my dear friend Chary at Bronx Tales and Inner Musings. Chary is a member of the Burrow, so we go back way before we became bloggers. However, I am really glad she dived into blogging as well, because her point of view as a writer/mom/wife/daughter/sister/American/New Yorker/Puerto Rican/teacher/[insert many more labels], expressed in drabbles/memoirs/short essays on debate topics/[insert form of writing] always provide food for thought.

Finally, I was much to my surprise awarded another award this week, by Mohamed Mughal. The Trendy Blog Award astonished me because I never think of myself as “trendy” (and frankly, it baffles me that anyone else would think so). But I very much appreciate it. Mohamed is one of those writers that have so many clever thoughts (and ponderings) that I almost am afraid to comment. He is also very down to earth, though, so there really is no need to worry. You should all click “open link in new window/tab” (since I don’t want you to disappear from here before I have said everything I wanted to say…) and go check his blog out.

Anyway, the irony isn’t lost on me that I received this award directly after having read a post from Deb and Barbara at The Middle Ages about how they were annoyed with “Hot/Not” lists made by people who apparently elevate themselves to judges over what is trendy and not. The post triggered a nice debate where the common consensus appeared to be that it is more important to find what you like and your own style than to mindlessly follow trends. I am not criticizing the award or those of you who do like to follow trends – after all, staying tuned with trends can be a great way of exploring new things – but I would like to add an extra element into this award.

To me, trendy isn’t just following what’s “in”, but rather sticking with your own style and voice, and make others see the value of this. After all, that is how trends are made. Thus my final award today goes to a lady who is not afraid of speaking her mind. She definitely has a style of her own, and she proudly displays it. She definitely inspires others to do the same. That is as trendy as it gets to me. Thus, February Grace, you have been given the Trendy Blog Award!



I actually have one more award up my sleeve (what a misleading “finally” it was up there, you might think), but I will hold that one a little bit longer. I might consider following the rules for that one (ish).

Now that I have said everything I wanted to say here, I suggest you go there and see what I really meant to say today. (It might have something to do with the title of this post. But then maybe not.)