To participate in Share Your Sunday Best, you can share any post from the last week.

Instructions:

• Please visit and comment on some of the posts before yours.
• Make sure your post is family friendly.
• A link back would be terrific so that your readers can find more Sunday Best posts.
• Come back next Sunday and repeat!

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

Share Your Sunday Best was such a wild success last week that it took me all week to visit half of the links!

I’m delighted that so many of you participated! I Stumbled and bookmarked and commented on a little over half of the submissions last week.

My Favorites from Last Week’s Sunday Best

I loved Boss, My OTHER Teenager, a clever post about the family dog.

A second post I loved was about the 5 things the contractor left behind. (None of the 5 things had anything to do with the renovation.)

Share Your Sunday Best

To participate, you can share any post from the last week.

Instructions:

• Please visit and comment on the two or three before you.
• Come back next Sunday and repeat!
• A link back would be terrific so that your readers can find more Sunday Best posts.

© 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

If you normally read Feels Like Home through a reader like Google Reader, you may want to click over to the main site. Apparently, I broke something yesterday and my most recent post didn’t come through.

Instead of my most recent post, you may have received 9 posts from 2008 and 2009. I’m sorry about that! (And many thanks to Carol for alerting me to the mess.)

Today’s post is called Friends.

Yesterday’s post was called 10 Things to Cook in a Muffin Tin.

The posts before yesterday did show up in my reader, so hopefully they showed up in yours, too.

I think I’ve fixed the problem.

I hope!

Coming up tomorrow – a review of the BusyBodyBook wall calendar.

© 2010, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

© 2008, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

Dear Reader, I know that you’re just dying to learn more minutia about me and mine.

I’ve been tagged again, twice, and I’m oh-so-happy to oblige. I really do enjoy reading these things about others, so I assume you really do enjoy mine.

Let me live on with my fantasy, okay?

My friend and Foodie Mama boss, Kelby, @typeamom on Twitter, tagged me about the same time as Heather, @HomeMadeMom, did. They both tagged some really awesome people and bloggers, so I’m not sure why they included me.

ha! Dear Reader, I’m kidding! We all know I’m terrific.

For this little activity, I’m supposed to write about six or seven things you wouldn’t know about me from reading Feels like home and then tag six or seven new people. Here goes:

1. I had my cat cremated when he died, and his ashes are in a decorated wooden box on top of my television.
2. I have a blue front door.
3. We have only two televisions in our home: one in the family/game room in the basement, and one in the living room. I do not forsee a day when there will be a telelvision in the kitchen, dining room, or any of the bedrooms.
4. I love soda pop. Love it. I know it’s bad for me and drinking it prevents me from losing weight, and I still love it. I try to drink it no more than once per week.
5. I can tolerate a lot of clutter before I will clean up.
6. There are 71 framed photographs of my family hanging in my living room. No, I’m not kidding, and no, it’s not very big.
7. I love board games. My all-time favorites are Scattergories and Scrutinize, but I also love Rummikub, Apples to Apples, Upwords, and Scrabble. We play a lot of games.

Then, you’re supposed to tag six or seven people to do the same on their blogs. I tag

1. @jerseymomma
2. @ResourcefulMom
3. @mandygregory
4. @amcmoore
5. @avertua
6. @boxofchocolates
7. @mommyinstincts

© 2008, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

My friend, Lisa, bestowed upon Feels like home a prestigious award. I’ve already sung Lisa’s praises to you, so you know that I love her. I hope you’ll check out her blog.

© 2008 – 2010, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

My friend Robyn is a real writer. Unlike me, who’s really just a writer wannabe, Robyn writes a weekly column in the newspaper and has written some books. She’s very talented.

Sarah Palin delivered a great speech tonight — for her party, for John McCain, for herself, for what she set out to accomplish. This was America’s first real glimpse at the Alaska governor, and what we saw was a boffo politician who speaks in a plaintive prairie voice that channels America’s Heartland like a chilling breeze rippling a field of wheat, who knows how to tell a joke, how to bring down the house and bring a tear to a few eyes. She is proud of her family, as she should be, and there is much to admire in her own “personal journey of discovery” (don’t we all have these, by the way?) including her efforts to raise her son Trig. It is indeed nice to think that there would be an advocate for such children inside the corridors of the White House, although I’d surely like to hear what — if anything — she’s done for special needs kids as governor of Alaska.

But…it was a great speech — written for someone else, a male in fact, days before the Palin selection was even a gleam in John McCain’s eye, but a great speech nonetheless. The pundits are fawning over it as I write this — Tom Brokaw said she could not have been “more winning and more engaging” — and in a world that is dominated by horse race journalism I can understand why, because I agree that Palin’s one-of-a-kind story has given her long shot running mate a decent chance now of pulling this one out at the finish line.

It’s a good metaphor, a horse race, because in the end it finishes right near where it started — just as it will be for America if John McCain and Sarah Palin are sworn in on Jan. 20, 2009. Yes, it was a great speech politically, and a great night for her family, but an empty speech for America — and for America’s families. It was defined by its lowest moment, Palin’s shameless lie about “the Bridge to Nowhere.”

This was a Speech to Nowhere.

It was a Speech to Nowhere when Palin said that “I told the Congress ‘Thanks but no thanks’ on that Bridge to Nowhere, because that was a lie, and the worst kind of lie in American politics, a blatant falsehood that showed utter contempt for the American people that Palin pledged to serve, assuming we are too stupid to look up or know that truth, that she pushed for those funds in Congress and while she got great political mileage out of announcing that she was killing the project, she still has not returned the funds to American people.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin also boasted seconds before that other lie of fighting against wasteful earmarks in Congress, even though she pushed for and accepted $27 million of such grants when she was mayor of Wasilla.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin said that “we’ve got lots” of oil and gas this country, and while one supposes that all depends upon what you definition of the words “lots” is, the production of oil in the United States has been irrevocably on the decline since 1970, and with her words she showed this nation that she and John McCain will perpetrate the dangerous myths that began with Ronald Reagan at his acceptance speech in 1980, that sunny optimism is the solution to all our energy woes, and not a posture that put energy research on a war footing, or requires moral leadership on conservation, mass transit, or any other common sense answers whatsoever.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin boasted that “I stood up to the special interests, and the lobbyists, and the Big Oil companies,” and the audience cheered — after eight brutal years of the same crowd’s cheering for two oilmen in the White House who fiddled while $4-a-gallon gas burned and while American men and women died in a needless war fought on top of an oilfield, and while lobbyist friends like Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed got rich at the same time.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin had the nerve to talk at length about John McCain’s “torturous interrogations” in the very same speech when she all but condoned the continuation of similar, abhorrent practices that have been directed for eight years by our own U.S. leaders, when she stated that Democrats are “worried that someone won’t read them [terrorism suspects] their rights.”

It was a Speech to Nowhere because Palin belittled “community organizers” — thousands of Americans who work long hours for little pay in some of the toughest neighborhoods, trying to assist the American Dream that even the poorest among us can pull themselves out of the muck with a helping hand. Palin and other GOP speakers have turned a noble job into a dirty word tonight — shame on you! Listen to what CNN’s Roland Martin said after Palin’s speech was over.

My two parents are sitting home in Houston, Texas and they are both community organizers and the GOP and Sarah Palin might have well have said “being community organizers doesn’t matter” to my parents face. I’m disgusted. Community organizers keep people in their homes, keep their lights on, keep food in the fridge.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because it made no mention of the men that Sarah Palin and John McCain are running to replace — their names are Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, in case you’ve forgotten this week — and no acknowledgment that as many 80 percent of Americans believe this country is on the wrong track, or that you can’t solve a nation’s problems when you deny they exist.

It was a Speech to Nowhere because…well, I urge everyone to read the text, without Palin’s sharp delivery or her adoring fans in the crowd and in the press box, and tell me where there is any kind of policy at all — except for the short boilerplate passage on energy — or any mention of the issues that concern everyday Americans, including the No. 1 issue of the economy. Show me the part where this “grand slam” of speech touches on ho
w citizens can afford health care or sending their kids to college.

But more than anything else, it was a Speech to Nowhere because for all the acclaim, the great bulk of it was devoted to one thing, and that is the one thing that millions of Americans are talking about in 2008 when we talk about “change” — to the ugliest kind of “pit bull” politics, to use Palin’s words, that tear down the other side with cheap ad hominem attacks, surrounded by a cloud of half-truths (uh, those “Greek columns”…did you actually even watch Obama’s speech? Because there weren’t any) and ridiculous innuendo about “parting the waters” which means nothing but fires up a big hockey rink full of Dittoheads. These kind of vicious attacks — without having the grace to acknowledge that, despite some real differences on issues with Obama, that he has already accomplished something impressive that says something positive about America and the progress we’ve made — were utterly lacking in class. And this is what Tom Brokaw considers “winning” — have we really sunk that low as a nation?. The people of America want and deserve a real debate, now trash talk from the basketball point guard who was once called “Sarah Barracuda.”

I hope America wakes up tomorrow and realizes that Sarah Palin’s words were rousing — and completely empty, that they offered no road map (let alone bridge) for America other than more of the bogus partisan name-calling that has gotten us into the mess that we’re in now.

Actually, let me rephrase that.

I hope America wakes up tomorrow.

© 2008, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I’ve received three blogging awards recently. How about that? A year goes by, nothing. All of a sudden, three awards from the blogosphere. I feel like one of the cool kids at the party.

It’s really an honor to have blogging friends who think you’re cool. My friend Lisa, from Blessed with Grace, gave me the BFF Award. The rules for this award are

• You can give it to 5 people: 4 of them should be followers of your blog, but one of them should be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
• Please link back to the person who gave you the award.

I don’t want to downplay the coolness of getting an award from my friend. It’s really great and fun, and it has never happened to me before.

I am giving the BFF Award to

• Mommay’s Mayhem – Jenn and I bonded on Twitter over our favorite (apparently now cancelled) tv show. She is a mom of three small kids, and her blog is always entertaining. She’s gotten a bunch of other awards lately, so I wanted to bestow one upon her that she doesn’t already have. 
• Here’s to Dreams & Friendship & Life – Holly is one of my Prego Pals. She is an artist, a professional photographer, and I think she’s just amazing. And she takes her baby into bars. 
• I am my father’s Daughter – =) is the pen name of another Prego Pal. She’s funny and sarcastic. You’re going to love her take on the world. 
• Not a DIY Life – Though not a Prego Pal, Heather’s daughter is also a June 2007 baby. Heather’s blog is always an inspiration to me. I especially love her series about how she and her husband met. It’s wonderful.
• Math Mommy Musings – Carol has the cutest son in the world. Really, he is a doll. She’s a university math professor, which I really admire. Her blog is funny and sweet.

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An even bigger honor, to me, was the second award. It’s called The I Heart Your Blog Award. For this award, you’re supposed to nominate seven blogs that you love. I was nominated by Heather at Finding Me in the Madness.

That’s not the part that really touched me because, naturally, Dear Reader, people love me, and they love my blog.  

The part that touched me was that I got this award from a person I’ve never had a conversation with. She put my blog on her list, and we aren’t friends yet. We will be soon.

Wow! Heather said some really nice things about me. Things so nice that I probably don’t deserve them. 

Thanks, Heather. You really made my day!

I am passing the I Heart Your Blog award on to:

1. Lisa – I first read Lisa’s blog because it is called Blessed with Grace. We both have babies named Grace. Lisa and her Grace are funny and stylish, and I am always entertained by their blog.
2. Kristen – I love We are THAT Family. If you don’t read it, you should. It’s hysterical and real. Kristen and her kids do all of the stupid things that the rest of us do, and they make it funny. My personal favorite? Her baby taking off her diaper in the middle of the Salvation Army.
3. Mindy – I’ve been reading MindySaid for as long as I’ve been reading blogs. She has an awesome series about marriage that I read every Friday. Her blog is definitely one of the best out there.
4. Amy – I met Amy, the Crunchy Domestic Goddess on Twitter. We have a lot in common, including an interest in canning and preserving food. She has a great blog.
5. Stephanie – I don’t remember how I found A Year of Crockpotting, but I know for sure that I’ve read it every day all year long. She has committed to using her Crockpot every day of 2008, and she’s done some freakin’ awesome recipes. Plus, she is very helpful. On a couple of occasions, I made one of her recipes but had trouble with it. I posted a comment and she got back to me right away to help me out. Did I mention that she appeared on the  Rachel Ray show?
6. Amber - I met Amber on Twitter. Her blog, Imperishable Beauty, is honest and inspiring. It’s a lot like Feels like home in that it’s an eclectic mix of essays, narratives, memes, and other random stuff.
7. Carole - Carole’s Thoughtful Spot is a blog I found on Entrecard. I haven’t been reading long, but I really like what I’ve seen so far. My favorite post is this one, about a scrap of paper she found in her Bible.

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Would you believe that I had all but finished this post, and Mindy gave me a third award? I decided to do some editing to the original post and add her award rather than starting over. I had no idea that Mindy read my blog on a regular basis. I adore her blog, and I am honored that she thought of me for the Brilliante Weblog Award. Yeah!

The rules for this one are as follows:

• Put the logo on your blog.
• Link to the person who gave you the award.< /li>
• Nominate 6 bloggers, and include their links in your post.
• Leave a message for each of your nominees.

I’m giving this award to some women that I think are brilliant. They are all very successful, and they’re working really hard at what they do. They are:

1. Kelby – Kelby runs KelbyCarr.com, FoodieMama, Type-A Mom, and writes for a plethora of other sites.
2. Amy - Amy is another blogger that I met on Twitter. MomAdvice is the most professional mommy blog I’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t mean that Amy is impersonal. She’s not. We had a long conversation one day not long ago about bread machines. She rocks.
3. Jessica – Jessica is the Chief Mom Officers for Wishpot Baby, owns JessicaKnows, and has started a handful of other sites. She’s also one of Walmart’s 11 Moms project.
4. Stephanie – Stephanie runs Stop the Ride! and the Make It From Scratch carnival that I usually participate in.
5. Jenn – Like Jessica, Jenn is on of Walmart’s 11 Moms. Her blog is called FrugalUpstate. I did the copy editing on part of her site, but that’s not why I picked her. She’s brilliant and innovative and really cool.
6. Amy - Amy is a teacher who is currently staying home with her kids. She runs several websites, including ResourcefulMom, and is also working on a book.
7. Angela – Angela started the Positive Living Ning group, and she has encourages other bloggers to be positive, rather than being a bunch of complainers. She also writes a blog I like called Unexpected Art.

Phew! This took a lot longer than I expected, but I wanted to spread around some linky love.

PS. I hope you’ll play along, but I totally understand if you don’t. In either case, post your award and let others know that I think you rock. 

© 2008 – 2011, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

Remember my big news last week, Dear Reader?

© 2008 – 2010, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.

I have big news, Dear Reader!

© 2008 – 2010, Feels Like Home Blog™. All rights reserved.