The Sunshine Award…

I was very flattered to receive the Sunshine Award from Amy over at From One Mommy to Another. Amy is one of my very favorite people in the whole world. We met (what seems like eons ago) in a Gymboree class that our sons were both attending. Right away we found that we had lots in common – we shared many common friends, were both educators, and were both a bit type-A. I remember being absolutely awe struck at the strength she had even during the darkest times in her life. Eventually we would wind up working together as Instructional Coaches before she abandoned me left chilly Wisconsin for the warmth of Arizona.

Amy is also a sleep coach and works miracles on children. Seriously. Why I didn’t know that she had this magic touch when my son was refusing to nap, I’ll never know. I guess it was so I could keep my local Borders in business buying every “expert” book in the store. But I digress…

The Sunshine Award comes with a few rules:

1. Put the award on your blog and/or within your post.
2. Pass the award on to twelve (12) bloggers.
3. Link to the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you received the award.

1. Purple Haze Mama – otherwise known as my beautiful cousin Jean. Jean is one of the warmest, most kind-hearted people I know. AND she never complained when she (and her brothers and sisters) would to visit when we were kids and I would force them to put on musicals with me. (Ones that I had written and that had very weak plot lines and soundtracks. I seem to remember making Jean’s brother Mike hold up a mini-globe while we all sang “He’s got the whole world in his hands”. There’s a reason I became an educator rather than a playwright.) Jean has two of the cutest boys on the planet, so head over to her blog and check them out!

2. Audrey at Barking Mad – Audrey is a great writer, is incredibly honest in her writing, and even stomps down trolls like the bugs that they are! Plus, Audrey could use a few virtual hugs right now as she has a lot going on. I won’t go into it as it’s not my story to tell, but just go and give her some bloggy love, ‘kay?

3. Jodi from JodiMichelle.com and 4. Stacey from Stacey Says – These two amazing women put together Gleek Retreat (which was a rockin’ blog conference!) all by themselves. They had just the right amount of structure and learning but also left room for the socializing and fun that we all need. Perfect.

5. Sandy from Organize with Sandy – Sandy is an amazing lady I met at Gleek Retreat. I learned as much sitting and having a glass of iced tea with her as I did at all of BlogHer last year. And she introduced me to Collective Bias for which I will be forever grateful!

6. Shanda from Parents with Style – Shanda was another one of those instant friends I made at Gleek Retreat (are you beginning to see why I raved about the conference???) Shanda is smart and stylish and (best of all) makes me feel short! At 5’9″, that’s not easy to do. Her blog is filled with all kinds of helpful tips and reviews, so be sure to check it out.

7. Jennifer from The Big Binder and 8. Katie from A List Maker’s Life – These two fabulous ladies were my roomies at Gleek Retreat and both have great blogs. (And they don’t snore!)

9. Jolon from Savvy Chic Saving and 10. Jennifer at Five Dollar Shake and 11. Melissa at Bargain Shopper Mom – These ladies taught me a lot without even knowing it. Before I met them, I would clip an occasional coupon, stick it in my bag and then pull it out a year later, expired, and throw it away. I didn’t know what Register Rewards were, I didn’t know that you can use a store coupon WITH a manufacturer’s coupon and that it’s called “stacking”. Heck, I didn’t even know that “couponing” was a word! After meeting all of them at, yes – you guessed it, Gleek Retreat, I went home and looked up their blogs to, you know, be nice. Now I’m hooked! I’m walking out of Walgreens with bags of stuff, having paid maybe three dollars and my pockets stuffed with Register Rewards. Go check out their blogs – it’ll save you a ton of cash!

12. And last, The Nap Warden from Napwarden.com (I noticed that she does not have her name anywhere on her blog and I don’t want to be giving out information not meant for the general public). Nap Warden is fresh and sassy and an oh-my-god-TALENTED graphic designer. Whether you go to her blog for a laugh at the Smokey Chuck Project or to her design site for a make-over, you will be impressed.

So there you have it – I will try and track all you ladies down, one way or another. If, for some reason, the link to your blog doesn’t work, please let me know so I can fix it. (I tried to check all of them, but sometimes I miss things.)