Patrice over @ Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman just awarded me with not one but TWO awesome bloggy awards – she must ❤ me like well a person who really ❤ ‘s another person, huh? Thanks Patrice, I ❤ you, too. So, who wants to check out my newest bling? Seeing as there might be something in it for you, I’m thinking you should take a gander at…

The rule for this cute little award is to give it to 10 blogs I love at least

<—–this——>

much, but I’ll let you in on a little secret, I love these bloggers even MORE than that – and let me also tell you, I thought this would be easy peasy, and then I made a quick list of my bloggy essentials – and there were thirty of you at least – so if you don’t see you’re name on this list and that surprised you, you can guess you were in my initial round up and know that it was with heavy heart that I eliminated you from the round up. Anyway here are ten (of the 30) bloggy friends who I’d either take a bullet for OR give this award:

• Andrea @ Chocolate Fingerprints
• Jen @ Daily Mish Mash
• Scrappy Girl @ Four Seasons Farm
• Mama Zen @ The Zen Of Motherhood
• Sues2u2 @ My Musings
• Jen @ Our Daily Big Top
• Amanda @ Funkepunkemonke
• Jen @ Stuff Jen Says
• Jean @ Working Momma 247
• Andrea @ Red Knows How

But we’re not done there folks! The next award from Patrice is all about BOOKS – ooohhhh – now you know why I won it. First, here’s the bling:

I know all my book loving friends right now are swooning and going, “Pick me, choose me, love me!” Well before I do that, here are the rules: Pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences…The CLOSEST BOOK, NOT YOUR FAVORITE, OR MOST INTELLECTUAL!

Okay, so unfortunately none of the books I’m reading right now are anywhere near me, I’m trying to keep temptation at bay so I’ll focus on my NaNoWriMo novel (and you see how well that’s working out…) but I lucked out because for some reason when I was digging around the piles of stuffs on my desk I found a book and it’s interesting – like, “Darn, if I’d known you were here this whole time, I wouldn’t have had to go to the library last week…” But I digress, here’s a passage from the book I’ll be reading when I’m done with the three on my “nightstand”:

Around us, parents, kids, and teachers were shifting to stations that had been set up around the perimeter of the gym. Drama club, math club, surf club, cheerleading. And of course, the snack table. I wondered idly what kind of cakes Laura had brought, but it didn’t really matter. At the moment, all I cared about was my brilliant and accomplished daughter.

-From California Demon (The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom) by Julie Kenner

I know if you read the excerpt you’d never guess it came from that book, but that was page 56, sentence 5, so there you go. Sorry for the lack of stakings and action-packed-fun. If you’d given me looser parameters, I’d have cooked up something better for you. Something like:

She kept one hand tight around my neck, but to reach the drawer, she had to shift her weight off of me. When she did, I twisted, then managed to get my hand out from under her and around to my back pocket.

By the time she realized what I was doing, it was too late. I had the ice pick out and aimed. And in one snap movement, I drew on all my strength and slammed the thing home.

I know, I’m a cheater – but isn’t that a way better sentence to entice you with (from page 101 by the way)? Your welcome. Okay, here are the five people I’m choosing to play along to this fun game and claim the above bling as their very own:

• Andrea @ Red Knows How (I know I gave her the I ❤ you bling, too, but I KNOW she’ll have a great book to share)
• Karen @ Write From Karen
• JC Martin @ The Bizzare Ramblings of JC Martin
• ChefDruck @ Chefdruck Musings
• Commonwealth Girl @ Commonwealth Girl

Congrats to all you proud new-bling owners – use it well!