Friday, February 02, 2007

ta daaaah!

What on earth is that obnoxious trumpeting noise?

Could it be fanfare over the fact that Nora (She of the 7 Plagues*) only woke up screaming twice last night (a vast improvement over the previous five nights)?

Could it be the celebration of Ethan’s acceptance into the gifted program I was so worried about– the program that almost makes up for the fact that next year he will be attending the armpit of all Junior Highs – the same Junior High I attended 25 years ago and the same Junior High that made us say when we bought our home “It’s a great house but we’ll definitely have to move before Ethan gets to 7th grade”?

Could it be voices praising God for the snowfall we received last night – the snow that cleared out the gunky air that had been pressing down on our valley and clogging up our lungs for the past 2 weeks? (I walked out to start up the van this morning and had to stop and stare at the incredibly beautiful mountains – white and glowing with highlights of pastel colors. Breathtaking. How is it even possible that I live in such a surreal place?)

Could it be the hoopla over the much anticipated release of the final Harry Potter book?

Nope, sorry, it’s just the sound of me tooting my own horn**. I’ve been nominated for a Share the Love blog award. There are roughly 8 gazillion other blogs nominated, most of which are far more interesting and popular than mine, so I’m trying not to let it all go to my head and order new business cards or anything. But I am flattered by the acknowledgement. I’ve even been nominated in two categories: Best Humor and Best Writing.

Of the two, I think I’m more excited about the Best Writing nod because, as you may have surmised, I tend to SHED BLOOD over each post, which, I confess, sometimes makes for labored prose and sticky keys. Often I write and re-write a paragraph until the words begin to swim in front of me and stick out their little pixilated tongues in mocking defiance. “Nya, nya, you only think you can write. Go make yourself useful and wash some dishes or something you pathetic human.” And I keep typing anyway because, Hey, words can’t swim and don’t have tongues. So there.

And then there are those nights when I wake up with the compulsion to double check my spelling on a previous post. Does asinine really only have one “s”? Shouldn't it have two? And did you know that headbutt has no hyphen, while butt-head does? Too bad they don’t have a blog award category for “Most full of totally useless trivia” because I would be all over that one.

Anyway, the voting has started at this place. You don’t need to own a blog to vote. Everyone is allowed one vote in each category. The top 5 blogs go on to a finalist round and the winners will be announced on February 14. May the best blogs rise to the surface of the vast pool.

*1. RSV, 2. Sore throat, 3. Ear infection, 4. Cutting first tooth, 5. Simultaneously cutting second tooth (seriously, they both started poking through this week. Poor thing), 6. Constant, acidic diarrhea, probably from the antibiotics for plague #3, 7. Diaper rash developed as side effect of Plague #6.

**feel free to snicker at the unintended fart joke here. Or just go visit The Smiling Infidel who puts my fart jokes to shame and deserves the “Best Humor” award far more than I do.

11 comments:

Millie said...

Congratulations on your nominations! (There must be an easier way to word that)

That's one thing we miss about living in Utah - those gorgeous mountains everywhere we go. I guess we'll have to content ourselves with Mt. Hood and what's left of Mt. St. Helens.

Bill C said...

I will now exercise my world-famous Floridian voting skills.

An Ordinary Mom said...

I am proudly wearing my "I Voted Today" sticker! Hmm, wonder who I voted for?!?

Jane said...

Congrats! Gotta run...off to vote!

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

~Dons her Vote for Julie hat and parades around the bloggisphere trying to catch peoples attention (people who avoid making eye contact and hastily shuffle off)~

You deserve both awards, in my not so humble opinion.

Lara said...

Well, I would have nominated you for all the awards but I didn't want it to go to your head.

I forgot to watch Groundhog's Day today. I'm so depressed! I wanted to be cool like you but now I will have to wait a whole nuther year! Wait a minute. My Mother called to wish me a happy birthday today which it wasn't because it isn't. Since she celebrated my birthday today then maybe I'll go ahead and celebrate Groundhog's day on my birthday!

Ballpoint Wren said...

Good luck to you, Julie! Your attention to detail shows in your blog!

Kaye for Zing Pictures said...

I read your post about setting a goal to laugh and nodded as I achieved a rueful smile.
This post did it for me though, I managed an out loud laugh. Still rueful - of recognition on how past posts have such a mental afterlife while current and future ones do force their attentions.
Keep at it.

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Yay! Thanks for the shoutout, Julie! I voted for you in the "Best Writing" category. I too am obsessive compulsive about how blog posts turn out. So many times I haven't blogged for days on end because I can't make an entry "perfect." I'm trying to let that go by assuaging myself that its better to just write something than go all psycho over minute details.

Thanks for the shoutout for The Smiling Infidel: Home of The Worlds Finest Fart Jokes.

Heth said...

Best Writing? Yep, that's you. Your posts blow me away. They are like little masterpieces. (see how I threw the word "piece" in there for you...)

Best Humor? Yep, that's you too. You crack me up every day. This post in particular is a gem.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I voted for you in both categories, but then I'm your mother. Do those count?
Your Dad's comment was, "I would have nominated her for more than two categories."
He even checked all of them to make sure.