Monday, November 23, 2009

Weekend Mishmash: Must Be Awards Season

It’s been over a week since my film fest madness, and I still feel as though I’m playing catch-up. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that we’ve moved – yet again.

Nevertheless, in honor of last weekend’s closing night awards ceremony, I think it’s high time that I pass along a couple of blogalicious awards, which two online pals were generous enough to pass along to me.

First up is the Humane Award, which Deb L. Strange bestowed upon me in late October. I’m not certain that I deserve such an award – especially since my blog focuses on the people, places, and entities that interest or inspire me, and not on humanity or causes or the “big things” in life. But I feel grateful nonetheless, so thanks, Deb!

Now, per the instructions of this award, I believe I’m supposed to accept and post it to my blog – done! – then link to the person who gave it to me – done! – then pass it to five other worthy bloggers. This part is a little tougher. Since entering the blogosphere this April, I’ve discovered a wealth of wonderful blogs out there, many of which I’ve already honored with previous awards and many more that I’d like to call attention to. But, after much thought, I’ve decided to honor the following bloggers for their remarkable humaneness, which, for the purposes of this award, I took to mean their compassion, charity, grace, and helpfulness toward their readers and fellow bloggers:

- Jennifer J. Bennett of, well, Jennifer J. Bennett, who generously offers book reviews, writing contests, and more

- Tabitha Bird of Through My Eyes, for her inspirational posts and poems

- Roni England of Fiction Groupie, who has inspired and informed countless writers with her thought-provoking posts

- Donna Hole of, well, Donna Hole, who loves to share her online finds with others

- Susan R. Mills of A Walk in My Shoes, whose fun but informative posts always give writers food for thought

Thanks to all of you for filling my head and brightening my days.

The second award that I’ve recently received is the Honest Scrap Award, given to me earlier this month by Donna Hole. And, as with the above award, I feel incredibly grateful for the nod.

For this one, I’m supposed to accept and post it to my blog – done! – then link to the person who gave it to me – done! – then pass it to five other worthy bloggers. Although I’d love to honor a wide array of blogs, I’ve decided to obey the rules and only choose five – the ones that I count on most for their courageous honesty:

- Bane of Anubis of Bane’s Blogging Blues

- Bridget Chicoine of J.B. Chicoine...Aspiring Novelist

- Steph Damore of Stephanie Damore

- Becky Johnson of Becky’s Blabber

- Deb L. Strange of Ranch Girl Ramblings

The “Honest Scrap Award” has an added requirement – to share five personal tidbits about myself – so in the interest of keeping this short, here goes:

1. My favorite color is green – from the shade of trees to the hue of mint chocolate ice cream – which would be fine, except that Dan’s favorite color is also green, meaning that we often fight over things like toothbrushes and mini-golf balls.

2. Recently, it occurred to me that, as a travel writer, I have the worst sense of direction and the strongest susceptibility to motion sickness of anyone I know. Perhaps I should switch careers.

3. Given my sensitivity to heat, aversion to spicy foods, and lack of an accent, Dan often jokes that I’m the worst New Orleanian ever. He could be right.

4. I once dated a boy who had two pythons, a tarantula, a scorpion, and an iguana, all of which ended up on me at one time or another. I AM a horror aficionado, remember?

5. I’ve had a crush on Robert Duvall ever since I was twelve, when he played Gus in Lonesome Dove, a television mini-series that has sadly not held up through the years.

For more goofy tidbits about me, check out this previous post. And feel free to ask me whatever you want. Yes, that’s right, I said whatever – although I can’t promise full disclosure, I’ll try hard to earn my “Honest Scrap Award.” Honest.

21 comments:

Deb said...

Congrats Laura! And thanks muchly for passing along the Honest Scrap :)

Okay, here's my question. If you had to put down permanent roots, where would it be? and why?

Roni Loren said...

Thanks for the award! You're too sweet. Congrats on receiving them as well. :)

And your #4 is scary. I dated a guy in college that had one snake and that was more than enough. One day he waited until we were making out to inform me the boa constrictor had escaped and he wasn't sure where it had gone. Um, needless to say, I hopped off the couch like it was on fire and refused to return to the apartment until the snake was found, lol.

Joshua McCune said...

Robert Duvall, hmmmmm? Lonesome Dove -- written by my fellow Rice alum, Larry McMurtry (a bit of an oddball, that one).

Thanks for passing along the award, but double thanks for the personal info. Green used to be my favorite color, too (back when I was a huge Oakland A's fan), but now I've switched to blue (b/c it sets my eyes off, of course :)

Laura Martone said...

Thanks, Deb! And you're welcome. You're one honest gal... at least online (wink). As to your question, wow, what a tough one. Part of why Dan and I roam around so much is that we haven't yet figured out where we'd like to settle. Because I love trees, water, beaches, and mild weather, my first guess would be North Carolina. But I'd miss L.A., New Orleans, Florida, Michigan, and all the other places we go something awful. Can I get back to you on this one? ;-)

Laura Martone said...

You're welcome, Roni. You definitely deserve a slew of awards for all that you do in the blogging world. ;-)

As for #4, I guess I don't think of it as scary... so much as weird. But I love creepy-crawly things... except roaches. I draw the line at roaches - course, as a former New Orleans gal, you probably feel the same way.

As for your own creepy-crawly story, I'm not THAT brave. If my boyfriend said his snake was on the loose, I don't think I'd be in the mood either. ;-)

P.S. So, WAS the snake ever found?

Laura Martone said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Laura Martone said...

Bane - Yep, I love Duvall in most things, especially OPEN RANGE. But I didn't realize McMurtry went to Rice (I did, however, assume he was an oddball)... hmm, the things you learn.

You're quite welcome for the award. You definitely deserve it. You're one of the more candid bloggers I know (which is a good thing, btw). Oh, and I'm just full of personal info.

And how ironic is this - blue USED to be my favorite color... but along the way, green usurped it. And neither has much to do with my eyes, which are light brown. ;-)

Roni Loren said...

Laura, he found the snake two days later hanging out under his fridge, perfectly content.

dolorah said...

You're awesome Laura. Thanks bunches.

Guess what?1? I actually managed to post the pix this time. Excuse me while I do a happy dance.

............dhole

A misinterpreted wave said...

Congrats on your awards Laura, deserved in every way. Good luck with the move, you are so cheery about something that would be conjuring up dread deep within my heart (hehehehe).

You've certainly given me a lot to look at tonight, thanks for all the new blogs to investigate.

Carrie Harris said...

Congrats on the awards! You = awesome. How're you settling in?

Stephanie Damore said...

Congrats Laura for the awards and thanks. Speaking of pythons, remember my husband breeds them. Let me know if you want to repeat the experience and I'll FedEx one down :)

Laura Martone said...

Roni - Haha! That's hilarious. Isn't that always the way with animals? We tear the place apart looking for them, and all along, they're relaxing in a nook somewhere, wondering what all the fuss is about. My cat has even been known to do that once or twice. Sigh.

Donna - You're welcome! And I'm so delighted that you were able to post the pic. Enjoy your happy dance!

Chris - Thanks for the kind words, as always. Oh, and the move went well. We found a cool little place in the French Quarter, where we'll stay through the holidays, and then it's off to the Florida Keys. Woohoo! As I've stated before, I'm not a big fan of packing, but I love experiencing new (or at least revisited) places! Enjoy the new blogs!

Carrie - Thanks! I appreciate it. And I'm settling in just fine. More importantly, the kitty seems happy in her new digs. Thanks for asking.

Steph - Thanks and you're so welcome. As for pythons, that's right! I forgot about your hubby's line of work. Strange as it might sound, I would love to have a snake someday. Lemme just have a chat with the hubby first. ;-)

Becky said...

Thanks Laura! You're a sweetie! I'll try to figure out how to "receive it", and blog about it when I get a chance. With 2 kids off all week and a recent move of our own, it may be next week or so. Hope your move goes well too!

Laura Martone said...

You're so welcome, Becky! You're one of the most honest bloggers I know, so you definitely deserve a nod. It's the least I can do. And I'd be happy to help you "receive it" when you're ready. ;-) In the meantime, enjoy the time with your kids. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

J.B. Chicoine said...

Laura,
Thanks so much for the 'Honest Scrap' award. This one I shall graciously accept with gratitude. I do so try to be honest, even if I come off as squirrelly much of the time.

J.B. Chicoine said...

Oh yeah, and congrats on your awards. (I'm such a doofus)

Laura Martone said...

You're very welcome, Bridget! You definitely deserve it - I've been impressed time and again with your honesty... especially when you call yourself names. Kidding, of course. ;-)

Congrats and thanks!

J.B. Chicoine said...

Now I just have to follow through on the rules--and I will, just don't be surprised if it takes a few days.

Laura Martone said...

Oh, please, it took me nearly a month to pass along Deb's Humane Award. So, a few days is nuthin'!

Laura Martone said...

Besides, Bridget, it's Thanksgiving! Time for eating... not blogging. :-)