Sentiments LONG overdue!

I have been a bad blog friend ... so bad. But I am hoping that this post will make up for it! I've got some LONG over-due "Thanks!" and Happiness! sentiments to give to some wonderful blogland friends! So, please allow me to include you in the joy . . .

First, to Anna.
You may remember my 200th post back in May. In it, I gave away a few little goodies to one lucky friend,  and lovely Anna over at Frosted Pentunias WON! Yippie! I mailed out a little package full of happiness to Anna. Well, you'll never believe what this silly girl, Anna, did! Shortly after mailing my package to her . . . I received the most delightful mailing . . . from HER to ME!!! Oh, the joy and pitter patter I felt as I opened her gift . . . and you WON'T BELIEVE what I received . . .

If you think it was beautiful . . . IT WAS!!!! If you think it was magical . . . IT WAS!!!! If you think it was one of the most delightful packages I have ever been blessed enough to received, I'll tell you . . . IT WAS!!!

Here's the thing with Anna - she is amazing. She is gifted and talented and creative and brilliant and cool and all of the wonderful things rolled up into one. If you don't know her - I strongly encourage you to take a little visit over to her blog, Frosted Petunias. Her blog is so pretty, and she creates such lovely things, that I often feel I'm just not worthy to visit. (Have you ever felt that way about a blog?)  So, a great BIG and LONG OVER-DUE THANK YOU to Anna at Frosted Petunias! You continue to inspire me, daily!

Next, my dear friend Leslie.
I can't remember how long I've been following Leslie - but she is one of my longtime blog friends who I just adore. Leslie's blog is Words of Me Project, and she has been inspiring me with her words, stories, and energy for a while! Leslie and I joke that we seriously could have been separated at birth because - aside from the fact that she doesn't like chocolate (I KNOW!), we are VERY similar peeps!! A few weeks ago I won a Jillian Michaels book and some goodies from a give-away Leslie had, and sure enough . . . their arrival made my day!!!

The book is surely something I need in my life, and the scrapbook tags and goodies - AWESOME!!!! So, just how inspiring is Leslie? Well . . . let me tell you. She is motivating all of her followers to participate in a fanTAStic creative challenge beginning July 26th through August 25th called . . .

You can read more about Leslie's challenge by linking to her post about it here (you can also pick up her button for the challenge on her site.) I don't know about you . . . but committing to 31 days of creating is going to be hard. BUT, I do know that when I give myself time to CREATE (even if only in focusing on taking photos of my garden for 10 minutes one day), I feel . . . whole. I feel complete. I feel energized. I feel really really good. So, I am UP FOR IT!!! Are you??? So, yes, I love that Les! Thanks, dear, for the goodies, and for continuing to inspire me!

Next, my dear friend, Cindi!
Cindi has been my friend for 20+ years, and let me tell you - this girl is a good one! She's a fantastic Mom, she's a loving daughter and sister, she's an inspiring friend, she is THE Digital Scrapbook Guru, and I just love her! She ALSO has hit her 100th Blog Post this week! WHOOO HOOO!!!! You can catch it here. So CONGRATS to YOU, Cindi! For the BIG 100!!! (Oh, and she also came up with this adorable little button for her blog  . . . . how cute is that!?!?)



Finally, my dear friend, Peggy!
Peggy is an old soul (SOUL, PEG! I said 'old SOUL') who I am blessed to call a friend. She is my sounding board for my creative side and a great motivator who ALSO came up with a handy dandy button this week that I want to CELEBRATE! About time, PK!!! So glad I can easily link to you - because, you know, typing your blog address is just WAY TO HARD!!! ;) And check out her button - those are all photos Peggy has taken of the flowers in HER GARDEN through the years (gorgeous - aren't they??)  LOVE this lady!




So, there you have it. Just a few shout outs to some folks I really adore - who make me happy - and who inspire me. I live to be inspired, you know? And these 4 are the best! I look forward to more from them all! More words, more stories, more art, more photos, more joy and much much more blogging! Keep it up, ladies!

Oh, and just to spread the love a little more . . . . here are a few more blogs I've been LOVING! They are my first stops every blog trip:

Nicole over at Destination Unknown (SO honest. So real. So smart. So . . . Nicole. Just love her.)
Lisa over at Curious Girl (the ABSOLUTELY most brilliant photographer! Just LOVE her blog!!!)
Michelle over at Blissful Babble (Ooooo, she's an especially funny one!)
Betty over at Bossy Betty (LOVE this lady!! Oh, and I don't think she should be allowed to vacation any longer - I missed her too much!)
Gigi over at Kludgy Mom (just fun . . . I enjoy her greatly!)

What about you - what are your favorite blogs? Maybe you should write about them. I think we all need to feel the love from time to time, don't you? Leave me a comment with those blogs you simply HAVE to stop at daily (or as often as possible). I'd love to know . . . so spread the joy!!!!