Well, I’ve made it. Not only was I nominated for a pay-it-forward blog award, but I’m actually accepting it and selecting some worthy recipients. Professor Pop Culture himself, Clay Morgan, chose me to receive The Stylish Blogger Award. If you haven’t checked out Clay’s blog, EduClaytion, head over there. He’s a great writer, and he seems to know something about everything (or is it everything about something?)
I find it ironic, though, that the acknowledgment I’m getting is The Stylish Blogger Award. The last time the adjective stylish was used anywhere near my name, it was in the context of The Before Picture.
Still, I’m taking it, just like I would anything shiny or imaginary.
But first, the rules of the award dictate that I must tell you 7 things about myself. If you can’t leave the room, you may wish to sit down.
7 Facts About Me You May Be Better Off Not Knowing:
- I can sneeze like Donald Duck.
- I am the 1999 Bahraini Women’s National Caber-Toss Champion.
- I am the third funniest woman my husband’s ever met.
- My bad habits include leaving lights on and cupboard doors open.
- I’d rather go to the dentist than do a craft.
- I grew up on a farm, inhaling pesticides, which could explain a lot.
- I’m abandoning my family to go to Oprah’s Post-Oscar Party in L.A.
There you go. Now, it’s my turn to pass on the love. There are lots well-deserving bloggers out there, many of whom Clay mentioned in his post. But there are others too, some of whom I’m naming below.
Here are my 6 nominees for The Stylish Blogger Award:
Comedy of Errers: Marianne is the Queen of Self-Deprecation; she’s intelligent and out-there hilarious.
Evelynn Starr: My good friend for 20 years. She’s smart, opinionated, and has a great tagline: “The life and times of a 40-something super action heroine.”
Julie Gardner: She’s a writer, a mom, and a former English teacher. On days when I look at my marking pile, I envy her.
Lori Dyan: Funny and saucy and driven. To borrow her phrase, she’s my sister-from-another-mister.
See Theo Run: Harriet Fancott describes her experiences parenting in an open adoption. She is funny, honest, and charming; she also loves movies I’ve never heard of.
Worn Ragged – Mommies on the Edge: Lorraine is a mother from Calgary who writes with a side order of snark. She’s the only blogger I follow who has a PhD in Medieval Gynecology.
In order to accept The Stylish Blogger Award, these nominees must do the following:
- Write seven things about yourself.
- Present the award to six bloggers.
- Contact those people.
- Create a link back to the person who did this for you.
If these nominees do not wish to accept the nomination, they can donate money to Kiva or ignore this post. The choice is theirs.
And for the rest of you, if you’re still reading, thanks for sticking around. Now go visit their blogs. It might help to get the Donald-Duck-sneeze-image out of your head.
Leanne Shirtliffe is the mother of seven-year-old twins, Thing 1 and Thing 2. She lived in Asia for eight years, which turned out to be a build-your-own-family adventure. Leanne writes for Nickelodeon and pens a humour column for The Calgary Herald. She is represented by Jill Marr of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency in California. 
Well-deserved, IM. And I thought that you looked quite stylish in the thumbnail (as in newborn’s thumbnail) photo that accompanied your last column. Is that your normal sledding get-up?
Are you going to take your SBA to the Oprah shindig? She’ll be impressed.
Explanation of the caber-tossing thing. Please.
Thanks, Chase. Maybe I’ll have to write a post about my Caber Toss victory. It was sweet, in that bruise-your-collarbone-tossing-a-telephone-pole way. If I bring my SBA to Hollywood, do you think Oprah will let me share the stage with Colin Firth?
Thank you, oh great one.
You make me blush, Ironic Mom… and want to faint…. Need to think about this… Kiva vs. exposing my weaknesses to the world… hmmm…
Yes, it’s a hard decision. Microloans or microcomplaints… I chose the latter in my humanitarian way.
You are, and always will be, my sister in snark. I’m so pleased that all of my online stalking of you is finally paying off
Thanks!
p.s. Stylish? My armpit hair is growing dreadlocks and I haven’t put on make up since New Year’s Eve, but I’m taking it!
Online stalking has its merits. Maybe we should start a National Measure the Length of Your Armpit Hair day.
Congrats, IM…I got the SB Award too…nobody I know in real life considers me stylish!
I can’t sneeze like Donald Duck, but I’ve been told that my snoring rivals the sound of a chainsaw!
Looking forward to checking out your nominees!
Wendy
Thanks! And by the way, the rule is that you can’t believe other people who tell you that you snore. They ‘re just projecting…
Did anyone else catch the fact that our beloved IM is, um, a former caber toss champ? WHAT! That’s the one that leaves me breathless.
Can’t wait to see what the next batch comes up with! Great job.
My son would be very impressed by your Donald Duck sneezing ability.
I’m going to have to google caber tossing….
You’ve reminded me how I’m once again late with my homework – I still have to fulfill my SBA duties from receiving one right as I was in packing hell for our vacation. Old habits die hard.
This is great way to find other awesome blogs.
Now, if only I could sneeze like Donald Duck while tossing the caber. But that would send me to the ICU.
Um, how does one get a ticket to Oprah’s Oscar party?! There must be a story there worth telling. And will you be bringing a camera to take embarassing photos of celebrities? I would imagine your newly-annointed style skills will be required when chosing what to wear to that occasion, no?
P.S. if you see Colin Firth, please have him call me.
Well, I’m planning on bring Mr. Firth home with me. Since you live close, you can come by and visit anytime. His French wife is not invited, however.
The story of how I got the tickets isn’t that excited: entered a lottery at Oprah’s website and was one of the winners. Still, that’s pretty exciting for me.
IM:
And just so you know, I so wanted to nominate you for this amazing (and so very imaginary) award, but I was thrilled to have my completely distorted face appear next to yours on Clay’s top picks list. Gotta love that boy. He sure does know how to share the love. 
Okay true statement: I had to Google caber tossing. I love you even more now.
As Neil Young once sang: “Keep on bloggin’ in the free world.” (Or something like that.)
xoxoRASJ
And you quote Neil Young! And the modernization takes the lyric into the 21st century. Twas an honour to receive a SBA beside you. Getting misty now…
Not JUST a caber tosser. A Bahraini Women’s Champion. Which begs the question: What have you been doing to defend your title these past twelve years? Hmmmm?
Okay. Now that I got that out of the way. Thank you SO much for the Stylish Blogger Award. Since someone already beat me to armpit hair as evidence of lack of style, I will hearken back to older blog posts in which I reveal wearing my running shorts backwards (more than once) and attending a new, fancy gym in a pair of capri pants I’d patched with duct tape and a piece of my husband’s dress sock. Winner.
I must also admit, and I’m very ashamed to do so, that my brother-in-law administrates my blog. I am a techno-dinosaur who writes the stuff, sends it to him, and he then publishes it. I have no idea how to add a link and couldn’t “Pay it forward” if my armpit hair depended on it.
Truly, my dear IM, I am so so so (so) sorry. Because I’d absolutely LOVE to brag to everyone about this award, but instead I had to reveal the truth about me: I can barely tie my own shoes. Which is why I work from home in slippers.
Please don’t hate me because I live in 1999. At least with regards to technology skills. But, hey. I hear that was a good year for Caber Tossing…
ROFL.
Regarding what I’ve been doing since 1999, umm, maybe sitting on my butt, watching it hang over the chair. Let’s just say I know how to go out a champion. Or something.
And please give me your address. I gave some mending that’s in need of duct tape. (Thanks for cracking me up).
Ohmigosh! I think Julie just got added to my, “She just made me pee in my pants a little” list. Which is getting kind of long. Dang. Maybe time to call in a Medieval Gynecologist?
We should Google Medieval Gynecologists Who Offer Group Rates.
(the whole “sabbatical thing” has taken its toll on my bank account. but maybe they take insurance???)
I can’t wait to see all the hits my blog’s going to get from the phrase “Medieval Gynecologists.” But who knows? It could be easier to get an appointment with a Medieval Gyn than a 21st century one.
Well your blog is very stylish, and thanks for calling me charming.
Ah armpit hair, the mere mention sends shivers, and not good ones.
Is this true (well is must be actually)! I’m abandoning my family to go to Oprah’s Post-Oscar Party in L.A. If so, WHO will you be wearing?
Well, it’s a morning party (i.e. taping at the Kodak), so I’m probably going to be wearing Gap or Mexx or some other multinational line that has children enslaved in poor conditions.
Oh! Flabbergasted! The international medieval gynecology community thanks you, Dear Ironic, for shining a light on our important work. May I suggest that some of you look into membership in our sister organization, the international medieval armhair association. (Or perhaps just a really good waxer.) Or, and I know this might be a little “out there,” but perhaps IM could wear a knitted garment, made from. . . well, you know. Any of you crafty?
LMAO. When I was in Grade 7, I knit one slipper for Home Ec and my mom knit the second one. My teacher’s comment was, “Improved greatly.”
I look forward to checking them out. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoy. Lots of talent there, and amongst the commenters too!
Thanks for the award. Do you think Oprah will let me in the award show if I show security that I got this award? I am going to have to think long and hard about what I want people to know about me. It probably won’t be the fact that I am trying to get a group of friends to go to the Breaking Dawn premiere in Utah. Oops.
PS I am very jealous of your caber-tossing abilities. I would threaten to do that to my kids on a daily basis. They would probably like it, though.
Love the idea of tossing kids. You’re right. They would probably like it…
You had me at: I’d rather go to the dentist than do a craft.
Amen, sister, amen. Particularly if there are good post-visit drugs on deck.
I forgot about the pain meds. Great point… And it beats vacuuming up the remnants of crafts…
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