"Stylish Blogger Award"

Howdy, fine friends!

I awoke to a very sweet treat in my blog comments from my last post, "Wordless Wednesday."  Actually, more than one treats - I had 5 comments, which I never get that many comments, so that means people are "opening" up more and sharing more, which is GREAT!  Most of the comments said that my picture was so cute with the two cats in the "kitty condo."  Thank you for complimenting my "boys."  Unfortunately, Tora, the kitty on the top of the condo is no longer with us.  He died last September when his heart threw a clot into his hind quarters and he was paralyzed.  The vet said his heart was very weak and he was going to die soon.  We chose to euthanize him, the more humane way to leave this Earth than to suffer any longer than he had to.  He will be forever missed!! He was a very sweet kitty.  We love you, Tora!

The other kitty, the one inside the condo is Jack.  He is still with us.  Oh, boy, is he!  He is very high maintenance.  He requires ALL of your attention.  But he, too, is very sweet and loving.  You can read more about Jack on my "Schranz Ranch" page.

I HAVE BEEN AWARDED THE "STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD!!!"  Thank you so much, Shawn Becker, for awarding this to me!  It's an honor to receive it.  I work so very hard on my blog that it is almost like a full-time job.  I love to blog and I hope it shows!!  Below is the precious award and I also will put it on my right side bar, too.  That way it will show always and not be buried by new posts.  Click on it and it will take you to Shawn Becker's AWESOME blog.  Be sure to visit her and see the Thanksgiving theme she has going on her blog.  It is terrific!! Here is my award:

Isn't it cool?  Here are the rules for accepting the award:

 1. Thank and link back to the blog of the author that gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward and give this award to 15 blogs that you have newly discovered.

4. Notify the blog owners that you have chosen and let them know about the award.

Okay, here we go.  I already did the first one. Now on to the second rule.....share 7 things about myself:

1. I LOVE stuffed animals of any shape, size or form.  I've got two gigantic teddy bears that I love to cuddle, especially if I feel down or depressed.  They help to cheer me up!  I call them my "cheerleaders."

2. This one I'm sure everyone already knows.  I absolutely LOVE cats.  Especially Jack.  He is so cuddly and knows just the right moment to come and "snuggle" with me.  He's nosey, curious and loves boxes and anything he can get into.  I wouldn't have him any other way!

3. My all time favorite food is lasagna.  Of course!  I can't have pasta anymore (or in very limited portions) because of my diet.  It turns into sugar and isn't good for my diabetes.  So I'll give my serving to Garfield!!  LOL........

4. I LOVE to read Janet Evanovich books.  I just finished "Wicked Appetite"  and that was sooo good I couldn't put the book down for very long!!  I read on her website that it will be a series.  I also love her "Stephanie Plum" novels, too.  

5. I absolutely ADORE blogging and making blog friends.  I can spend hours of reading other people's blogs and getting very involved in their lives.  It gets my mind off of what's to come with the bariatric surgery and how my doctor STILL hasn't done her part and given us the letters of medical clearance for surgery and monitoring of my weight and diet.  I also need referrals to the psychologist and pulmonologist. 

6.  I LOVE music of all kinds....but NOT rap or hard rock.  I love Christian music and singers like Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Mark Schultz, Mark Harris and many more.  I love the '80's genre, too.  That was when music was REALLY at its best.  With all this rap and crap, you just can't understand what they are talking about.  And all the little dance moves they do - looks ridiculous in my humble opinion.  If you are a rapper, sorry.  That's how I feel.  You can always go and make your own blog and sing its praises! (no pun intended!)  :0)

7.  I LOVE spending quality time with my family.  Life is so very short that you never know how long you will have someone around.  Sounds morbid, I know.  But what this means is to love what you've got and cherish those around you.  I do this as much as possible.  When my mom died, that taught me BIG time to support my friends and family whenever I can.  They all deserve it!!

I will be doing rule numbers 3 & 4 a little each day or so.  I will post who I've chosen in a future post.  I hope that is OK, but I don't want to feel rushed or anything about this.  This is an honorable award and I want to give it to the BEST blogs. 

Ok, that will be it for today!  My poor feet are swelling up and my hubby and I need to do some grocery shopping.  Oh, sounds like a blast, doesn't it?  We will go to Walmart and I will ride the motorized scooter they have out for those who need it.  I have my walker, but I can no longer walk very far because the pinching pain is so severe in my legs and rear end that it takes my breath away.  I hope that in a year or two I can look back at these posts and see how far I've come.  That will be so much fun!!

God bless you all!!

Until next post,

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!!  Thank you so much to those of you in uniform (and to the retired veterans that WERE in uniform) that fight for us to remain free.  Pictured here from top to bottom are: my grandpa, Victor P. Churchill, who served in the U.S. Army in WWII.  My father, Robert A. Karchunas, who served in the U.S. Army in the 1960's, stateside.  And my father-in-law, Frank J. Schranz, SR. who served in the U.S. Army, Korean War, stateside.