Home from Vacation to do some Claiming!

This past weekend, I headed out into some fairly majestic mountains for camping and an awesome family reunion, where the fact that everyone smelled like campfire, river water and bug spray meant that it was okay I did, too. We got to hang out in surroundings like this:

And play and laugh and reminisce. And I came home to some fabulous blog awards from some fabulous bloggers!

First off, Cherie at Ready. Write. Go. gave me this award. --> (Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner, Cherie!) And really, what could be cuter than that puppy? Thanks, Cherie!

Then I got the Liebster award, which spotlights up and coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers. I found out from CherylAnne Ham that it means "friend" in German. How appropriate!

I would like to thank Jessie at B-Word for first giving me the award. (And apologize for it taking me a full week to post about it!) I'd also like to thank CherylAnne Ham at CherylAnne Ham, TaraNator at More Than Fiction, Leah at Leah Writes Pretty Fierce, and Carrie Butler at So, You're a Writer...

Thanks you guys! You're the best!

The rules of the award are:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
5. And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

I love that in the writing community, everyone supports everyone so well! Here's my picks to receive the Liebster Award. Go check 'em out!

1. Lani Wendt Young at Sleepless in Samoa. Ohmygosh. This lady is HILARIOUS. I actually laugh out loud at some point in every single one of her posts. I absolutely love every second spent on her blog. (And while you're there, check out her Rejected. By a Sandwich. post on her sidebar.)

2. Kelley Gerschke at Between the Bookends. Kelley recently made the transition between writing for fun and writing because she wants to be published. Her posts are always interesting and fun, and her excitement toward writing is infectious!

3. David Powers King at The Cosmic Laire of Science Fiction and Fantasy. David has a great writing voice that makes his blog fun to read. His posts are helpful and enjoyable. And psst! If you become a follower on his blog, he'll do a shout-out to you and link to your blog!

4. Barbara Kloss at The Adventures of a Writer. Whenever I go to Barbara's blog, I just stare at it for a while before I get to reading. Her blog is so pretty! (And not just because we have an affinity for the same fonts.) Her writing voice is AWESOME. She has fabulous writing posts and great book reviews.

5. Leigh Ann Kopans at The Naptime Novelist. I love the title of her blog! Leigh Ann does fabulous posts on writing, and has a wonderful writing voice.  And she gives great comments.
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