An Award! And a warm welcome to new friends!

Look at what I woke up to this morning!

Joy of Desserts gave it to me! Thank you so much for viewing my blog as award-worthy! What a great feeling!

The guidelines for accepting this award are...

• Thank the person/people who gave it to you.
• Tell 7 things yourself.
• Pass the award on to 15 bloggers, whom you have recently discovered, and think are fantastic.

 So, seven things about myself. Hmmm... I'm a fairly simple sort of gal, so it's going to be tricky coming up with seven new things I haven't yet shared, but I'll try...

1. I can't cook fish. Not only do I hate the smell and taste of all sea, lake, pond, drainage ditch, and puddle creatures , I really can't cook it. It never comes out right. Probably because my heart's not in it. Because it's gross.
2. I love tempeh (it's fermented soybean cake), but the way it's made really grosses me out. Essentially, it's controlled rotting. I can only consume tempeh if I don't think about the process. The same goes for cheese.
3. I have a mildish dairy intolerance. I love cheese. Love it. And ice cream. And heavy whipping cream. And yogurt. And sour cream. However, after I eat the stuff, I am congested for hours. That can't be a good thing. I really want to get off the dairy.
4. I can't/won't eat meat on a bone, veal, rabbit, venison, bison, ostrich, or any other exotic meat. I can't physically get the fork past my lips.
5. The first time I attempted gravy, I ended up with milky-colored water on top and a solid mass of cornstarch cemented to the bottom of my pan. To this day, I don't know what I did wrong. That was 12 years ago. Yes, I've only been cooking 12 years. I'm only 31 -- a veritable baby!
6. I always send extras in my children's lunchboxes so that they can share with friends. Because their friends always want to try their home-made lunch goodies, and I don't want my kids trading allllll of their wholesome, well-planned lunches for packaged, processed junk.
7. It's hard for me to go out to eat and enjoy my meal, because now that I cook everything from scratch, restaurants don't measure up. I think it would be better for me to save my money and go out once or twice a year to a 5 star restaurant and be dazzled by creativity.

Whew! I did it....and managed to keep the focus on food, which is what my blog's all about!

And now, onto fifteen awesome blogs that I've recently stumbled across that are great!

1. Laurie at Simply Scratch, who, like me, strives to make everything from scratch.
2. Betty Crapper :o), because her name brings a smile to my lips and her honest writing is fresh and fun.
3. Christy at From Glitter to Gumdrops. She's so creative. She doesn't know it yet, but she just posted the perfect gift for some of my Army friends who are moving away this summer.
4. Megan at Confessions of a Bake-A-Holic, for her inspiring food photography and delicious recipes.
5. Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, for her fun Cooking Thursdays meme.
6. Anjanette at Eat from Your Pantry. Another blogger striving to serve and eat real foods. :)
7. Susan at FatFree Vegan Kitchen for her delicious, healthy creations that anyone can enjoy!
8. Keli at Feeding Four, for her awesome reviews, giveaways, coupon-sale match ups, freebies, and more!
9. Yenta Mary at Food Floozie. She was on the Early Show for her award-winning cupcakes. Run. Go to her. Now.
10. Hip Mountain Mama for her down-to-earth, green, natural way of living in the most beautiful state in the country (Yes, in my opinion), Colorado.
11. Amy at Just Another Manic Momday, who writes about her adorable son and all things motherhood.
12. Mickey at Monster Mama for her Kid-Friendly recipes
13. Angela at Soap Mom's Kitchen. Check out her desserts.
14. Jules at Stone Soup. Great pictures. Great directions. Killer recipes.
15. The Answer is Chocolate. So crafty! Go congratulate her on 100 followers. :)

If you're visiting from a blog hop, thanks for stopping by. I will always follow back, so be sure to leave me your blog link in your comment so it's easy for me to find. Have a happy Friday!

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