"Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." ~ Mother Teresa

First things first. Winner for Doodles for Dinner, by Random, was comment #20:

Congrats Angela! Please email me your address!!

I've been feeling super gushy and grateful lately.  Could be due to Spring, could be relief that my kids are still learning at home, could be this sign I found pinned outside my son's wall the other morning.  It also could be that I've received some wonderful blog love recently and am thrilled to pass them on :).  

Awhile back, from Jarka at From Now Till Then and in Between, and then more recently Melissa at The New Mommy Files: Memories, Milestones, and Missteps I was awarded:

And from PinkCatJo at Pink Cat Custard and Cake I received the:

I am completely honored and flattered so many many thank yous!!!  If you have ever received one of these, then you know I have to report 7 facts about myself and then award 10 other bloggers with these awards, then ask them to do the same.  So here goes:

1)  I love to" bake-n-run", well, not literally go running.  I mean I like to bake something really delicious, then give it to someone else and say "ok, gotta run, enjoy!!".   I do save some for the kids and a taste for myself, but the truth is, if I keep whatever I made, I would eat it ALL!!

2)  Between the beach and the mountains, I am definitely a mountain girl.  I would rather hike than sit on the beach anyday.  With that said, after living in FL for so long, the beach has grown on me a bit and the kids never seem to get tired of going there.  Wherever we decide to move, mountains by view, and beach by drive would be nice :).

3)  Having been a Navy brat growing up, I lived in Japan, California, then moved back to Japan before my dad retired.  Now, married into a French family, I can say without a doubt that being exposed to so many different cultural influences has changed me forever.  One of my hopes for my children is for them to catch the travel bug, better than any other bug I can think of :).

4)  I am certified to teach handwriting with Handwriting Without Tears, but the big joke is, I have the worst handwriting ever!! It's chicken scratch actually.  My excuse is that I was never taught to write cursive.  When I moved from Japan to the States in 3rd grade, apparently I missed that lesson!! So, I made it up on my own.  And you know what, it didn't really matter!! (So don't worry if your kids can't seem to "get" cursive--print is so much easier, more legible and faster for some kids!!!)

5)  I met my hubs in high school.  He use to sit behind me in Algebra class and irritate me to no end.  Though we never dated then, I had a funny feeling I hadn't seen the last of him after we graduated.  Eight years later we ran into each other at the YMCA.  He had put on about 20 pounds of muscle and grew his hair long, but everything else about him was the same.  Three weeks later, by the time we had our first dinner date, he lost that 20 pounds and had chicken pox marks allover his face.  Poor guy.  I loved him from that moment on.  (By the way, he wants me to emphasize that he almost died.)

6)  I am proud to say my dad is buried in Arlington National Cemetary.  He was in the Navy for many years and was in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.  My kids have never met their grandfather, but being able to take them to Arlington last year was one of the most moving moments I had ever experienced :).

7)  I can't sing to save my life.  I have always wanted to be able to sing (along with playing an instrument), but my vocal cords just won't co-operate.  A friend of mine has a vocal coach and gave me the phone number, and for now the number sits, pinned to my board.  It's on the bucket list though, it just hasn't creeped high enough on the list yet :).

So now I pass on this award to ten blogs I enjoy.  I am going to split it up and pick five for the Kreative Blogger award and five for Stylish Blogger.  Please spread some Blog Love and make a visit to these blogs if they are new to you.  I promise it will be worth your time!!

For the Kreative Blogger award:
1)  My Pangaloon
2)  House Full of Jays
3)  Clover
4)  Under the Humble Moon
5)  Loving {Almost} Every Moment

For the Stylish Blogger award:
1)  Freckles Family
2)  Habit of Being
3)  Make Happy
4)  Peace Mama
5)  Scraps of Starlight

I'll leave it up to you if you want to share your seven things and pass the love along :), no feelings hurt here if you don't, busy-ness is a common trait among us :).  If you have already received the award, then sorry for the repeat, but then you know you are totally awesome :).

'Til tomorrow, peace and love....