I got an award!! (but it wasn't for my legs)

My good friend, neighbor, and blog-pal, Alida, did the kindest thing yesterday - she gave me my first-ever blog award (that wasn't a picture of a potato boat)!  CLICK HERE to see her super-cool post about it.  Alida is awesome and it totally made my day.

Before you see the actual award, I should point out that the vast majority of my blog readers are female, and the percentage goes even higher when you look at the comments.  I don't know why that is, I really don't.  I know less about females than your average guy, just ask the Mrs. HTF - so I wouldn't have the vaguest idea of how to write things they'd want to read.  Sometimes I chalk it up to the female compassion thing - "Oh look, there he goes, trying to write again, ahhh, I feel for that guy, therefore I will read what he wrote and even act interested sometimes."  Anyway, I'm not sure, but I'll certainly take what I can get and I'll say unequivocally that MY READERS ROCK!  That being said, it's time for the unveiling of the award (you're about to find out why I even mentioned the whole female reader thing):

 

That's right friends!  My award is a skinny lady with a huge hat and a tiny dog.  Pretty cool, huh?! - I'm kinda sure that I'm supposed to be the Terrier, cuz the legs on the lady don't look much like mine.  Now getting this award has some strings attached: (note that the use of the word "fabulous" is not really my thing, it was a copy/paste and I'm scared of messing up the chain letter thing)

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.
(SEE FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS BELOW if you won)

So, here are 5 awesome fabulous bloggers that I bequeath this award to in no particular order, intentionally choosing some of the most frequent HTF contributors:

1.  Marie from Kansas Johnsons.  She a strong mommy-blogger who also writes pretty funny stuff that happens with her family.  Marie's had a bunch of posts that have left me laughing for a long time.  Her kids are hilarious.  She's semi-dry and to-the-point, two of my favorite blogger skillz.

2.  Becca from Rebecca's Ramblings.  Also a lot of great family stories and you can tell she writes what she thinks.  She also mixes in some culture and some refreshing randomness (good name for a rock band).  This girl gets the award for most frequent blog redesign - and she's a great writer. Cool photos sometimes too.

3. Gonzalo from A Nice Deed.  You might remember my good buddy Gonzalito from the day my blog was hijacked.  His posts always make me think and the pictures/video are usually amazing.  Also, he inspires me to change the world for good, at least a little bit.  He always has.

4. JJ from The Conroys.  She always has a stylish design and a super-cool signature that she sometimes drops at the end of posts.  I like that she writes about real-life, but isn't afraid to include the warm & fuzzy.  She comes strong with the photos too.

5. AGM from Permanent Signage.  Probably the most frequent HTF contributor.  Hopefully you read along with her blog because we share a few jokes/references back and forth.  AGM hits on pop culture, politics, muppets, an ongoing saga with the water department and high-fashion,  I'm sure there's a master plot in there that none of us are bright enough to figure out yet.  The posts always crack me up.

Now the 5 odd fabulous HTF addictions: The West Wing, counting to 16 before I turn off the shower, fleece, fiber-one chocolate bars, and Dave Barry.

I hope you were able to make it through this super-long post.  Coming soon - the "winners" (air-quotes intended) of the drawing and the Top HTF Posts of 2008!

Other instructions for the winners that I was commanded to copy/paste:  Upon receipt of this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget. Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog. Congratulations!