Seventy Times Seven

Suburbia has graced me with an award... and a meme. Probably best to do both at the same time.
Thank you Suburbia!

So. Sevens...

7 Things I plan to do before I die:

~Finish getting my pilots license (halfway now!)
~Speak Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese fluently
~Do photographic work in almost every country of the world
~Walk on the wall in China and ride the Orient Express
~Live in Europe for a while, then retire in Italy
~Perfect my tango
~Learn to play the violin


7 Things I do now:

~Photograph
~Travel
~Dance & Sing
~Explore & dream
~Paint
~Study
~Try new things, often


7 Things I can't do:

Can't is a 4 letter word that doesn't cross my lips.
I'll list 7 things I won't do.

~Discriminate
~Betray
~Invest directly in the stock market
~Lie, steal or cheat
~Use anyone; ever
~Give up when things are tough
~Live in the past


7 Things that attract me in the opposite sex:

~Thoughtfulness and kindness
~Passion
~Honesty, integrity and honor
~Humour and wit
~Intelligence
~Dedication
~Moral strength


7 Things I say most often:

~I love you
~Please and thank you
~Yay! Great! Fantastic! Beautiful! Wonderful!
~It's going to be alright
~Amen
~Good morning
~Hello and good-bye


7 Celebrities that I admire:

Let's just go with famous people, not necessarily celebs.

~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
~Sojourner Truth
~Princess Diana
~Leonardo da Vinci
~Mother Theresa
~King James I of Scotland
~Amelia Earhart


7 Favourite foods:

~Chocolate
~Pasta
~Fresh fruits & vegetables
~Bread
~Honey & peanut butter
~Mexalianesethai
~Good wine


7 Bloggers who need to do this:

Ok, here's the deal. If you do the meme, then you get the award. Let me know if you do it, because I'd love to come by and read all about you!

And, as I have been errant in delivering this one from Vanilla to it's rightful recipients:


We haven't met anyone in the blogosphere that we wouldn't consider to be a friend. If you come here to visit Viaggiatore and I, then please put this in your pocket when you leave, our gift to you, from our hearts.

The Little Black Box

Vanilla gave me this lovely award (thank you!!):

And she tipped me off about these fun albeit addictive little widgets...
And please drop by Caroline's new book Black Boxes



Click on the box... right on DECIDE... make your choices and see where your path may take you!

Visit HERE if you'd like to add a Little Black Box of your own.

I am compelled to admit it. I am completely addicted to this new form of travel and friend finding. The only reason I stopped long enough to write this post was because someone's Little Black Box brought me home to my own page. Now, it's time to go again.

If you found your way here via a Little Black Box, then please let me know; say hello, and tell us where you are from!

Scarlett & Viaggiatore (the Shameless Lion)

'Tis The Season!

I love our blogosphere for many reasons, but the biggest one is that it affords me an opportunity to meet so many wonderful new friends.

Today I find that Sameera and Suburbia have very kindly and thoughtfully gifted me with some delightful awards. Thank you so much, ladies!

It is better to give than to receive, SO without further ado, let the awards season begin!


I love all the blogs in my blogroll, but in an effort to keep this short and sweet, I will gift this to five of them:
Guilty With An Explanation
Writing In A Vacuum
Absolute Vanilla
The Inner Minx
Bleeding Espresso



Won't Let Life Define Me
Girl With A Mask
The Oort Cloud
Leslie Hawes
The Laughorist


Kat's Random Thoughts
LAEvanesce
Molly Bawn Chronicles
Thinking About - Jules
Under The Microscope
Made For Weather
SomePinkFlowers
The Passionate Palate
Humanyms

Wilde Woman Award

Caroline Smailes
Guilty With An Explanation
Won't Let Life Define Me
Girl With A Mask
Absolute Vanilla
The Inner Minx
ExSkindiver
Bleeding Espresso
SomePinkFlowers
The Passionate Palate
Single City Chick
Humanyms
Made For Weather


And Now...
Because I truly enjoy both Sameera and Suburbia's blogs, I am gifting them with these favorites of mine:

Rolling Out The Red Carpet

Absolute Vanilla has definitely started the awards season off with a bang! She very generously gifted me with an armload of awards which I am very glad to pass along!

And so without further ado... (I didn't tuck my dress into the back of my pantyhose, did I?)

For my kitchen shenanigans and mishaps:

To:

Jon at Writing in a Vacuum

Irrelephant

Diana at Piffle

The Laughorist

Hearts at Guilty with an explanation

Christina at Single City Chick

Because I am a Blogger of the World in 2007 and 2008:

This is gifted to each and every one of you, if you're bloggin', you get it. Keep on blogging!!

Because Vanilla loves us!

This one is also for every single one of you... missed you lots, so glad to be back!

Kisses for everyone!

The purpose of this award is motivated by:
the desire to hand some of that love and kindness back around to those who have been so very, very, very good to me in this bloggy world. My hope is that those who receive this award will pass it on to those who have been very, very, very good to them as well. It's a big kiss, of the chaste platonic kind, from me to you with the underlying 'thanks' message implied. I really do appreciate your support and your friendship and yes, your comments. ... Mwah!

And from Viaggiatore and I, for the Shameless Lions Writing Circle (please choose whichever color you like):

My incredible friend Shannstress at Shannon

My very funny and dear friend Robin at The Road Less Traveled

Rel, whose words I devour like a fine buffet at Under the Microscope

Sognatrice whose words always find a mirror in my soul at Bleeding Espresso

Some Pink Flowers, who takes me on many wonderful journeys of the mind and heart

Tricks and Treats

Absolute Vanilla gifted me with a treat! A very sweet award which came hand in hand with a meme... is that the trick part? Ha, ha, ha....

Thank you Vanilla!

* 1. After your intro, copy/paste this line and the rules below it: The originator - one Damien Riley - wants to see how far it goes so please keep his link intact: http://rileycentral.net/

* 2. Encourage people to post with the incentive of a link by including those who have passed it along here: Audrey, Celtic Angel, JM, Romance Writer, Deep Thinker, Absolute Vanilla.

* 3. Visit at least 3 on the list who’ve written and passed this meme. Leave them a comment. Then you are supposed to, “pick three things that enrapture, consume, fascinate, or otherwise enliven you more than blogging. Next, write a few lines about each to explain what the nonblog activity does for you, why and how.”

Thing One~ Life Isn't life something else? The tides of our own time that pull and push us, that tear and soothe us, that carry us ever onward until they carry us away... washing the past away like sand from the shore while it refreshes us anew every day. I passionately love all of the nuances of life... all of the wonderful joys, glorious love, fiery anger, bubbling laughter, echoing solitude, cocooned comfort in the arms of someone trusted, searing pain, enlightening learning every day, humbling forgiveness, overwhelming excitement, and even all the deep sorrows... how could we know just how good the good is without measuring the depth of the bad? And don't the lows make the highs SO precious... when we know just what they are worth? Every minute of our lives is something new to be savored and experienced to it's fullest, to be given it's ultimate possibility, whether simple or great, and each minute passes silently through us and we are changed, again and again.

Thing Two~ Family and Friends I never want to know what life would be like without them. These are part of the foundation of my existence.

Thing Three~ The "Using my only wish to wish for more wishes" trick: Chocolate, tea, prayer and meditation, sleeping in, holding hands, good books, equality, corvettes, good music, good hugs, airplanes, cameras, kindness, good weather outside, being inside when there is bad weather, performing arts, thick warm blankets and soft pillows, flowers, ferris wheels, sunrises and sunsets, forgiveness, the ocean, some art, planetariums and all the things we can see when we look through a telescope, dancing, surprises, red nail polish, bubbles, holidays, seasons, leaving footsteps in new places, libraries, letters/cards and packages in the real mail, teaching someone something that will be of value to them.

I'll get back to you on who I am tagging. To satisfy my Libra character, I want to look over past memes and new friends and find those who haven't been tagged yet.

To be continued....

Nice Smile!

Part I

The "Nice Matters Award"

Verilion at A Wanderer in Paris and Jeni at The Passionate Palate have gifted me with this mischievous cheshire cat Nice Award. Thank you Jeni & Verilion! I like it very much, as I tend to be a good blend of nice and mischievous myself. Balance is important, you know. If you look closely at the picture, there's mischief in the cats eyes and smile, and a snake wrapped up in the cats tail around that tree trunk. Someone else will have to explain the umbrella to me, but I like the way it looks, and I'd walk down the street under it, if there was rain.

I shall pass this award on to a few of those who I believe to be well balanced in both Niceness and Mischief.

La Cubana Gringa ~ one of the funniest and most honest writers I have ever had the sheer delight and thrill to read. A lady, a doctor, a lover of cheese and a Brit, a San Francisco girl, a lightening sharp wit, and a brain that doesn't stop. Betcha can't read just one post.... oh, and fair warning: NO CONSUMPTION OF LIQUID OR FOOD WHILE READING HER BLOG; there's a real good chance that there will be no controlling it.

Ally at Tangerine Zest ~ Formerly of Crazy Dust in my Coffee fame, this woman is absolutely worth every single minute spent on her blog. Sassy and sweet, strong and funny, wise and smart-Ally, this one always makes me laugh, makes me think, makes me smile. So glad to have you back, lady- you were missed. **Just now she's featuring a "Tell me something I don't know" contest.... definitely worth a look!

Loretta at Failed Painter ~ If you rolled all the women in "Steel Magnolias" into one woman, it would be this woman. She is a brilliant artist and writer, her heart is bigger than Australia, her mind is as deep and wide as the ocean around that country, and she never fails to reach me on many levels. What a diamond in the rough.

Molly at Molly Bawn Chronicles ~ Words to live by, places to see, life to laugh at, cry over and share as each day zips past us... it's all here. Molly is a woman who looks at the world in a way that opens windows and doors for everyone else, she is many things I admire in a truly good woman, from top to bottom. No one is perfect, and she doesn't pretend to be, but she's got a good grip on it all, and I learn a lot about who I am, who we all are, and where we could be from her.

Jules at Thinking About is another great California girl. Her blog is peppered with great humor, keen insight, family devotion and good introspect. Always interesting, current and insightful! Love this one.

Chesca at ExSkin Diver is a realistic, sassy, funny, sweet, oh so very thoughtful, devoted mother who is always right on the edge of everything and always takes my mind, heart and humor to new places. What an adventurous, cool, exciting and awesome lady!

Christina at Single City Chick is definitely in the right group here! Smart, deep, fun, definitely sassy and a lover of good words; this is one of those places I know I can find good book, a good laugh, and a good look at life. A girl who speaks Scarlettese in many ways, this is one not to miss!

Some Pink Flowers at Some Pink Flowers, a wanderer like me, who loves to travel and see and experience, and who has just been to a wonderful ball... she snaps photos of the coolest things, and takes us on delightful excursions to the most interesting places. LOVE visiting her page!

And the only gentleman to make this first list: Pawlie Kokonuts at The Laughorist - an irreverent, intelligent, very funny, word play genius baseball fanatic scamp. Got all that? It's not even close to everything, but what a fabulous playground for my brain, what a great place to visit... think and play. Sheer gold. He's also one of my favorites because he likes to slide Latin in here and there throughout his posts. Ex Nihilio. Love that!

***GO ROCKIES!***

Part II

The "You Make Me Smile Award"

Bonnie at Words from a Wordsmith was very kind and gracious and has bestowed this lovely smiley flower award on me. Thank you so much, Bonnie, that's very sweet!

Here's to some of those people who make me smile constantly!! No limits this time ~ I'm going to put my nose in the air and give this to as many people as I want. Humph! Time to bend the rules in half again ;o)

Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso
Irrelephant at Irrelephant
Kay at As It Happens
Jon at Writing in a Vacuum
Seamus at Shameless Words
Sarala at Blogaway
Diana at Piffle
Pearl at Humanyms
Jeni at The Passionate Palate
Rel at Under the Microscope
Kelly at My Utopia
Cleo at Confessions of Cleopantha
Caroline at Caroline Smailes/In Search of Adam


***And a very special and honorable mention to Neil at LAEvanesce who is a wonderful poet and very good writer, as well as the newest member of The Shameless Lions Writing Circle; for Neil and his lion Cheshire, Viaggiatore and I are very excited and proud to give both of these awards. We've been cheering him on and hoping that he could become a member, and it finally happened! Welcome to the circle, and congratulations!!***


And now... to play along with Moon Topples Phoctober, let's go for a walk to the park and see a statue called "Resistance". On the day that I went, I got a lovely surprise. There were glittery soft pink lipstick kisses all over the sculpture of this woman. All over her face, her back, her bottom, her arms, her breasts, her hands... everywhere. Lots of love. Perhaps if you click on the photos, the kisses will show up.

Schmoozing with His Majesty, King Elvis... 30 Years Later

Today is the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. The King of Rock and Roll... the swooner, crooner and living legend who sings with angels now.

If there was anything you ever wanted to know about the king, you'll find it here. Thanks to them for the photo, too.


After you read that and learn everything about him, you can take an Elvis quiz here.

Elvis always makes me smile. He one upped me once, posthumously of course.
I was chatting with a little girl in the second grade who said she was a bit behind in her studies at school. She had a couple of chapter books to read before she was all caught up.

I looked at her seriously and said, "You have to read those and catch up! Reading is very important, it makes you smarter."

Without missing a beat, she looked at me and replied, "I know, Scarlett, you read all the time and you're the second smartest person in the world."


Everything in my head came to a grinding halt. Back handed compliment. "Uh... thanks, but who do you think the smartest person in the world is then, if it's not me?" the sting was smarting a bit.

She looked at me as though I'd just falled off of the turnip truck. "Well duh! Elvis!"

I was now dumbfounded. "Whahuh?"

She hopped off my lap and walked around me, saying with casual indifference... "He's dead and he makes $40,000,000 a year."

I just sat there. She had a point. How can you argue with a second grader about that? I'm not going to be making 40 million a year when I'm dead. Probably. How did she know that? Dang! She's right!
But... I'm still the second smartest person in the world.

So that's something.


I'm also a schmoozer... apparently. Absolute Vanilla has awarded me the Schmoozer award!
Thank you Vanilla!

It goes like this:

"Schmoozing is the natural ability 'to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection'. Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship.”


And so it is with a bit of smiling, winking and elbow rubbing that I pass this along to some other schmoozers who really get around in a great way! I know... it's supposed to be 5. I'm a rule bender by nature though, and these are some serious schmoozers. I didn't name everyone on my blogroll this time... though, so it's closer to the guidelines. Who wrote those guidelines anyway?

Rel at Under The Microscope
Seamus at Shameless Words
Diana at Piffle
Christina at Single City Chick
Chesca at Exskindiver
Ally at Crazy Dust In My Coffee
Jelly Jules at Thinking About...





Keep on schmoozin' y'all.


Rebel Scarlett & Viaggiatore (V! Why are you covering your eyes with both paws? What are you shaking your head for? V! Was that a groan?)

Thinking Thoughtful Things

Thoughtful

thought·ful

Pronunciation: 'thot-ful
Function: adjective

1 a : absorbed in thought : MEDITATIVE b : characterized by careful reasoned thinking

2 a : having thoughts : HEEDFUL b : given to or chosen or made with heedful anticipation of the needs and wants of others

thought·ful·ly
thought·ful·ness-noun

I have been gifted with the Thoughtful Blogger Award by two wonderful bloggers who host two of my favorite blogs. Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso and Absolute Vanilla (& Atyllah) have graciously bestowed this lovely award to me for being a thoughtful blogger, which is what most of us are, I believe. Thank you both, that's very nice.



It is with thoughtful consideration that I wander through my list of friends on other shores. Instead of choosing 5 bloggers (as has been done by others), I will do the most thoughtful thing I can think of, and give it to all those on the list. I don't want anyone who should get it to be left out.


If you've already gotten it, consider yourself twice as thoughtful, and thank you for being so.

"Yes'm, old friends is always best,

'less you can catch a new one

that's fit to make an old one out of."

--Sarah Orne Jewett

Award for Viaggiatore & A word from Viaggiatore

Rooooooaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

I would like to thank each and every member of The Shameless Lions Writing Circle who voted for me. I greatly appreciate this award, and I choose to share it with all of the lions, as each of my brothers and sisters is beautiful in a different way.

I look forward to writing and working with each of you, for a long time to come. It is my honor to be in this circle; thank you Seamus for the opportunity to do this.

Viaggiatore

Rock ON!

Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso awarded me with the "Rockin Girl Blogger" award!





THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!



This is my first blog award for anything, so there is extra reason to celebrate in delight. I am completely thrilled! I shall endeavor to continue whatever work it was that made her think of me when she was passing this award out.



And as a token of my gratitude, I shall pay the goodness forward!



To Minx, who is a fabulous blend of saucy, naughty, nice, witty and wise, and who can epitomize class, coolness and be completely (and acceptably) audacious... simultaneously... better than anyone I know. What a great pleasure to be in her company.


To Jelly Jules... a lady who is bold and sweet, intelligent and fun, and who walks in places I used to know. She brings such a myriad of parallel thoughts to my mind, every time, it's uncanny. Comfortably so. A sister of the first water.


To Ally at Crazy Dust in my Coffee, a brilliant woman who sees things from a deep, fun, very female perspective. A lady whose blog I read almost every day... must have crazy dust in my coffee, which is just the right spice for me, and she is just the girl to give it!!

To LMNoonan at the Failed Painter, who is a great artist, excellent writer, incredible mother, and an inspirational photographer, and she binds all of that together with charm, grace, and compassion. She is a tapestry of feminine wonder and a wondrous mystery.

To Starshine, who has been sharing her step by step journey to the altar with her beloved ESuitor, and has finally (June 30th) tied the knot. She is a woman of deep faith, true honor, boundless love, delightful happiness and what's more than all of these, she is a member of the sisterhood of red-heads. GO RED. Blessings and best wishes on your new life, for every morning you awake to find that your dreams have come true, all my best to you.

All of you are Rockin Girl Bloggers... and it is my privilege and pleasure to have befriended each of you. It is with gratitude for past thoughts shared, and in anticipation of many more wonderful smiles and laughs to come, that I bestow this award to each of you... and a double hit to all the girls in my list who already have it, you have it again from me.

To Sognatrice, thank you once again, kind lady, yours is the blog that has been a light for mine to follow. Grazie Bella, Grazie Mille.

Scarlett