Congratulations! You have been given the “Tell the Darkness to Get Lost” Award!
This award was created to celebrate the rock stars who were kicked in the teeth by life and kept going anyway and those who inspired me to do the same. It’s a tribute to the bad ass gem of a human I see in you. Thank you for encouraging me to pick myself back up when I all I want to do is stay down. You remind me to keep the faith, to keep going, and to never give in to the darkness. Your light brightens my world and gives me strength to tell the darkness to get lost. I celebrate you, I thank you, and I adore you.

This award was presented to me by the most amazing Joanna http://momentumofjoy.wordpress.com/  Joanna is my blog crush.  She manages to write an outstanding blog every single time she posts.  Her blogs are honest, clever, and heartfelt, whether she is being funny or if she is exposing parts of her life that are sensitive.   She is both thought provoking, and has the ability to make me feel varied emotions.  These are the highest compliments I can pay someone.  We joke that she is “young me” because I remind her of herself, but she is truly a person whom I aspire to be like.  Please check out her blog!
Rules for accepting the award:
1. To me, awards and rules shouldn’t be paired together. It’s like a great book and a forced book report. It goes from fun reading to work. So these are suggestions and ideas. You do what you feel inspired to do. If you change it wildly, that’s awesome! As I said before, you’re a bad ass. I would love to see what coolness you instill in this, but this whole thing is an optional gig. You’re a bad ass no matter what.
2. Share one thing about you that is funny, interesting, or unique. Ideally tell something that you haven’t shared before, but again, it’s your call.
3. You may display the award or not. It’s your blog, so I’m not going to dictate website aesthetics.
4. You may nominate 5 or more or less other bad asses whom you believe deserve this award. I don’t know how many I listed below, but I wanted to include countless more. We all feel inspired by others and sometimes it’s beautiful to tell them how much their words have helped you when you needed it most.
5. Tell those people who you have tagged why they matter even if it’s just a word. Kindness, bravery, resilience, laughter, quirkiness. Whatever comes to mind. Just tell them why you thought of them when you decided to share this with them.
6. Know how much I genuinely appreciate you. You matter. This world is infinitely better because you are in it.

I feel like I have shared a lot of the different or unique personality quirks that I have, but here’s one that might be odd coming from me.  I believe in love at first sight.  I consider myself a practical, logical person, so this is sort of an anomaly.

I nominate the following:

http://thegsandwich.wordpress.com/  Honesty.  Beautiful writing.  Thought provoking.

https://www.thisismytruthnow.com/  Amazing person.  Amazing writer.  Amazing drive and determination.  Has been instrumental in inspiring me and helping me find my voice

.http://bridgesburning.wordpress.com/  Thoughtful writing. Truly thinks things out.

http://mnghostt.wordpress.com/ I don’t think Jim does awards, but he makes me laugh every day.  And think.

http://roseelaineblog.wordpress.com/  The most optimistic, inspiring person.  She always makes me smile, and I always feel a little better after reading her.

There are many blogs I would love to honor, but I think I have 1 award left, and I don’t want to inundate anyone!

As always- participate if you want.  No harm no foul if you don’t!