Stylish Blogger Award

If you're getting Simplicity by email, this will be the second post of this day (because Blogger is deeply annoying...I'd scheduled the first post in time to go out in this morning's email...grrrrrr). Anyway, don't forget to scroll down to see the cards for today or yesterday or whatever.

Both Jennifer and Julie have awarded me with the Stylish Blogger Award. Thanks so much, ladies!

To accept this award I have to meet a few requirements:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pass it onto 8 bloggers
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award.

I'm supposed to share 8 things about myself. Since I share so much of myself on my other blog, some of you who read it might get bored, so I'll try not to be redundant.

1. When I was in first grade, I was small for my age, but the bullies feared me. Whenever I saw them picking on other kids, I got in their faces (or chests if that was all I could reach) and dressed them down. Bullies really are cowards if a midget five-year-old can subdue them. When I hit puberty, I was the victim of bullying. No one came to my rescue so I simply ignored the bullies and they left me alone pretty quickly.

2. I was a brother in the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity while in college. (Yes, all members were called brothers...APO was originally founded as a group for Eagle Scouts but eventually let in any man who wanted to serve and then in the 1960s became co-ed.) APO was not affiliated with the Greek council, and many of the brothers (both men and women) were members of traditional Greek organizations, but APO was as Greek as I got.

3. I spent 20 years being the designated driver for drunk USAF aviators. My hubby's call sign was Spot, so when I would walk into the Officers Club, everyone would cheerfully yell, "Mrs. Spot!" They were so glad to see me because they knew I'd drive them anywhere they needed to go. Once, a drunken captain slumped across my back seat said, "Susan, you're a good sh*t." I took it for the high compliment it was.

4. I've only been drunk once in my life, when I was 21 years old, and that was quite enough, thank you.

5. The dust bunnies in my house are golden, and I've made peace with them.

6. My first job after college was writing on-hold phone messages for different businesses in the greater Sacramento area. Who knew reading Shakespeare and Chaucer and Milton prepares you for writing 20-second advertising blurbs? My favorite job ever was teaching college English. My worst job ever was working at Hardee's (a fast-food chain).

7. I see dead people. [Just kidding. This is getting long and I wondered if you were still paying attention.] All my life, people confided in me and told me their problems. I often don't know what to say or wonder if what I say is right. So I am studying to be a Stephen Minister, and now I'm learning that I shouldn't say much of anything. Listening is really all most people need, which is oddly relieving.

8. Ironically, a lot of people drawn to Stephen Ministry love to talk. But then, y'all already knew that about me, didn't you?

Now I'm supposed to give 8 other blogs the Stylish Blogger Award. This is why I don't usually post awards people give me. I can't pick just a few and it feels strange doing so. What I'm going to do instead is update the sidebar links to blogs I enjoy. I haven't touched that in a long time, and it certainly needs refreshing. Check back over the next few days as I add more blogs to it. If they're listed there, I think they're stylish!