the envelope, please

This is the award I was given by Vikki North of Red Chair Gallery. It's called the ARTE Y PICO


This award was created and to be given to bloggers who inspire others with their creativity and their talents, also for contributing to the blogging world in whatever medium. When you receive this award it is considered a "special honor". Once you have received this award, you are to pass it on to 5 others."


The rules for passing this honor on:
1) Pick 5 blogs that you would like to award this honor to.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

So here is the link to the blog of origin - I hope you speak Portugese.

Now for the hard part. The five. Only five. Sophie's choice. For every one I've picked there five others who deserve it at least as much. Here are my five:

Sandy C. at Momisodes.
Sandy is a Stay-At-Home-Mom (now, but not always), a former model, a NeoNatal Nurse and an incredibly warm and wise woman who happens to be mother to the most gorgeous little girl you're likely to see. She has become a friend whose opinion and critique I trust and value. And I find inspiration in her ability to roll with the punches.

Veronica at Sleepless Nights.
Veronica is an amazing young (19) Tassie woman who is now, finally, pregnant with her second child. Her daughter and her partner and everyday living in rural Tasmania are grist for her mill. She is funny, and warm and real. And she invented the word 'schwacking' - it's how she attempts to handle the occasional rodent that might invade her premises.

Fred at Moneythoughts.
Fred is an artist and a retired banker. As a 'retired banker', he regularly blogs about the current money crisis in this country. He manages to make complex money stuff simple enough for even me to understand. He's like a college education in layman's terms. As an artist, he displays his work on the weekends, on his blog. His work is creative and inventive and I love it.

The woman whose name I don't know at Velvet Verbosity.
Velvet (Actually, I THINK her name is Jennifer, but I can't swear to it so I just call her Velvet) is a single Mom, a feminist and an activist. She is wise, witty, opinionated, soft and warm and hard as nails. And you can disagree with her and she will STILL talk to you. She is also the author of the 100 Word Challenge, which is growing in participants and content.

Hyphen Mama at Mommy Needs Five Minutes.
Another woman I love whose real name I don't know, although how anonymous can a future participant in a three-way be? HM is married to Mr. Hyphen and has two children, one of which is in the early stages of potty training. She is a 'quasi WAHM' and she blogs about her life. She finds humor in the sorts of things that would drive ME crazy. She has become a friend. A supporter. And I read her whenever she posts.

This has been so hard. People like Lotus and Rebecca and Allison and Holly and Kim and Kelley and Janet and Siobhan should be on the 'list', as well. And all of the others I read every day. The ones I read because they are funny or sarcastic or obscene or just REAL. But I have had to choose 5, and only 5. I wish I could have chosen you all.