Not really. But it seems like an appropriately humble response to being given a blog award, so please just use your imagination and make believe that I am. Speechless.

Okay, okay, moving past the (lame) attempts at humor, I am honored.

Kerry kindly nominated me for this weblog award some time ago, and I have been woefully negligent to allow it to sit unacknowledged in the drafts folder for so long; more so because her generous words were enough to make me blush.  So thank you, Kerry (albeit belated), for thinking of me.

Now it’s my turn to pass the award along.  Before I list seven bloggers, I’m obliged to mention the rules:

The rules: (dun dun dun!) (sorry, I couldn’t help adding that for dramatic effect)

Put the logo on my blog
Link to the person you received your award from
Nominate at least 7 other blogs
Put links to those blogs on your site
Leave messages on the blogs you’ve nominated

1. Heidi, Minnesota Mom.  Heidi is smart, funny, and the mother of an adorable little girl you will want to smother with kisses the moment you see her picture. She (Heidi, not Heidi’s adorable little girl) also happens to be a talented photographer, which makes her blog even more of a treat to visit. Tip: I’m pretty sure you could bribe her to be your friend with a cookie.

2. Jules, Enjoying the Story. I’ve never met Jules in person, but hers is the kind of blog that makes you feel as though you’re catching up with an old friend the very first time you stop by.  She’s just so genuine and warmhearted it’s impossible not to warm to her immediately.

3. Stacey, Tree, Root, and Twig. Stacey makes me laugh. More importantly, she is my partner in whine, a fellow sufferer of the Texas Gulf Coast heat. Okay, maybe not more importantly — of equal importance.  (Ha!  Kidding, Stacey!)  Her blog is definitely worth reading.

4. Rachel, Can Moving Be A Hobby. Rachel’s kids are funny — they must get it from their mom. 

5. Melanie, Four Squares Melanie has a wonderful offbeat sense of humor (my favorite kind).  She also takes some great photographs. And she studies Latin. And she appears to have a few cow friends. Don’t pretend you aren’t curious.

6. Megan, Half Pint House. Megan writes with variety, and I love that — you never know what you might find her blogging about from one day to the next, but you do know it will be interesting (or funny, or crafty/creative, or thought-provoking, or… whew, I could be at this for a while. Just go read her blog.)

7. Catherine, The Picket Fence.  Catherine’s blog is new to me, but I’m already hooked.  I love her gentle and thoughtful posts, and reading about the interesting things she comes up with to do with her kids (for example, re-enacting famous paintings).  Lovely.

Wait — that’s seven? Already? (One, two threefourfivesixseven.) Yep. Seven. Huh. Well, these aren’t the only brilliant bloggers around. Some of my other favorites are listed in my blogroll (aside: am I the only one who thinks that “blogroll” sounds like something edible?).

I’ve also been enjoying the weblogs belonging to people who stop by and leave me a comment; finding a new blog that way is almost as good as unwrapping a piece of Dove dark chocolate. Possibly even better, because the blogs don’t have cheesy quotes printed on the inside, like “Dance in the rain,” or “Blow someone a kiss today.”

My point: it’s a beautiful thing, this Internet.  HT: Al Gore, for inventing it!