I’ve been tagged by Margie Newman at FlackRabbit for a memo about me so let’s do it regarding seven random and weird things about myself.

1. I have recently lost more weight (I did about three years ago as well) so none of my clothes fit. Except for one pair of jeans, I can take them off without unzipping them. This, alas, isn’t a vanity thing. It’s a stress thing. My accumulated weight loss in the last few years could be the size of a thin sixth-grader.
2. I could live on anything pickled. If you pickled an acorn, well if you could find one, I would most likely give it a whirl and try it.
3. I have a blind dog and a partially deaf parent, both of which have come from age. I worry about both of them.
4. When I wake up, I have to immediately get out of the bed. I am not a lying-in-the-bed-in-the-morning kind of person. I’m usually up within seconds.
5. As Margie does, I sing a lot to amuse myself. Mabel likes it when I make songs up and sing to her. I also like to make up off-color hymns to the tune of “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Homer does this too.
6. I like all music but adult contemporary ANYTHING and Southern Gospel.
7. I think Weird Al Yankovic is misunderstood.

I’m supposed to tag some folks. I’ll go with GingerSnaps, Jim Voorhies, Beth, ChristinaJade, LeBlanc, Chez Bez and Lovable Liberal.

Head to Margie’s abode for the rules.

I really need to get back into the meme game because I actually enjoy them. Mabel, however, has been tagged by Mrs. Wigglebottom to answer some questions about herself.

As Mabel adores Mrs. Wigglebottom, she immediately wanted to respond.

So here are six things about Mabel that you probably don’t know and now you will.

1. If anyone gives me a hug, Mabel barks. From my dad, Homer, Squirrel Queen, the nieces, my friends (I’m a huggy person), she will bark like a maniac and if she feels like I’ve gone over the line, will nip at the feet of the hugger. She’s a jealous little bitch.
2. Mabel has had a lot of boyfriends. Her last boyfriend was a Mountain Kir named Trapper. He passed away sadly about a year and a half ago. Mabel has outlived all of her beaus. She’s like a black widow spider. Unlike Mrs. Wigglebottom, she has never been married.
3. Mabel sleeps next to me, under the covers, every night. She’s done this for nine years. I secretly adore it and there are times that I wake up and she is asleep with her head on my pillow, snoring gently.
4. Mabel is the shortest dog of the three I have but she is a log making her the heaviest. I think that’s the Corgi coming out in her because, seriously, when you pick her up, which she demands, it’s like picking up an Acme Anvil.
5. Mabel is not the best dog kisser in the house. She’s consistent and will lick you for hours (and she demands it is in your face which can be annoying). Kirby, the blind dog, is the best kisser but she’s stingy with them so when you get one, you know you did something right. Mabel just whores those kisses out, but if I’m having a bad day, I know she will cheer me up.
6. Anytime I’m sick, she won’t leave me. When Squirrel Queen’s father passed away a couple of years ago, she refused to leave him. We were tired and it was one of those moments where after being up for days that I found myself nodding off while I was sitting with him. She would get down, nudge me awake and then get back on the bed with him. After a time she got down and kept heading to the bedroom where SQ was and kept coming back to me like she needed me to do something. She did this several times going from the bedroom, to the chair I was in and on to the hospital bed where he was. Finally, after I knew that Squirrel Queen had gotten a nap and at Mabel’s insistence, I went to get her up to relieve me because I was whupped after being up for about 40 hours straight. Mabel then left his side and went to bed with me. About 20 minutes later, her father passed away. It was one of those moments where Mabel sort of guided the way. I think she knew and that SQ needed to be with her father in those final moments.

I’m sending this to Bruiser and Sully for the win.

I am a bad meme girl recently, but I had to think about this one, having been wrangling raccoons from the jaws of rabid corporate coyotes lately and my brain is a bit fried these days.

Alas, the world of Newscoma.

But back on September 5th, Frank honored me with an award and, I must tell you, I was delighted and thrilled. Frank at Left of the Dial is one groovy cat and I wanted to make sure I did this right.

It’s called a Blogger Reflection award, and it’s a nice one. So, after dropping the ball for the past three weeks, I’m going to offer my Blogger Reflection Awards to some fine folks who keep me coming back for more.

Rules of participating:
1. Copy these rules.
2. Reflect on five bloggers and write a least a paragraph about each one.
3. Make sure you link to this post so others can read it and the rules.
4. Leave your chosen bloggers a comment to let them know they’ve been given the award.
5. Put the award icon on your site

Where to start, where to start … there are so many so I’ll just dive in.

And, let me say, these are in no particular order, so awaaay we goooo:

1. Big Stupid Tommy. Man, I love me some BST. He makes me laugh, he’s honest. And that’s why I like him. He can write something heartwrenching and then find the most bizarre cartoon for our viewing pleasure. He’s also an excellent writer. He can turn a phrase as good as anyone and he does it in a way that is refreshing and intensely personal. I just adore his blog where he has been jamming french fries into my brain for quite a while. He gets this first award hands down (He also likes Harlan Ellison. WOOT!)

2. For Lack of a Better Word:
Holly is many things. A fan of Ryan Adams, a teacher in a town not much bigger than Hooterville. Former Nashvillian (like myself) and she’s truthful and ethical about the journeys that she has chosen for herself. I read her sometimes and I get the insecurities and the celebrations of her personal victories. Well-written and thought out, her posts sometimes are an internal debate about her new life, and she questions the steps she takes methodically and with a fiery determination. Holly is so worthy of being in your blog roll if she isn’t already.

3. Graceless in Love: Oh, Grace. How I love your blog. Once again, I use the word honest. She talks about her life in the single world, she is frank in her sexuality of dealing with dating and seeking love and acceptance and, you know, sex. And, she is funny. She is damned funny. It’s best to remember that Ms. Grace is not always safe for work (well, never really) but she can create the most interesting dialogue about sex with such self-deprecation that you just can’t help but adore her. I recommend her highly, but will also warn, if you don’t want the NC-17 conversation around you, then you might better go look at some LOL cats.

4. VivaLaLesley: You always know where Lesley stands on an issue. She doesn’t mince words, she has a playful snark about her and she’s genuinely funny. Whether it’s talking about marketing in the modern world, her war against squirrels (HEY, they started it) or what she eats as a hard-core vegetarian, you can find it at Lesley’s place. I had to include her because she also is extremely funny when she is on Twitter and she leaves some of the best comments around the web. And, if you haven’t noticed, she’s been posting some excellent stuff over at Music City Bloggers. She’s amazing and you just need to embrace her Lesleyness.

5. Kathy T. at here, here, here and here. People, this woman is a genius. She lives in LaVergne. She writes for the local paper. She is marketing herself in such a way that is awe-inspiring. I’m sort of a geek when it comes to people taking what they know and presenting it in different formats and I love me some marketing (I’m weird that way). Kathy is brilliant. She writes about motherhood, being a wife, living in an extended family, her job as a real estate agent, Girl Scouts, her brother the musician and all if it is so fresh and true. I consider Kathy one of my dearest buddies on the web, but I’m not including her for that reason. I’m including her because she is revolutionary in utilizing the innertubes in expressing herself honestly (the theme of these awards for me at least.)

I had to give her the recognition that I believe she deserves because she is wicked smart and nice on top of it all.

6. I’M GIVING ANOTHER ONE! Sue me. I’ll go ahead and put in a call to my lawyer. Chez Bez. I have to include Chez Bez. It had to be done. I go every day and read about his children, the thoughts he has in the middle of the night. The love for his wife and family. Our mutual adoration of Tom Waits. His surreal and beautiful photography. He is one of the good guys in the blogosphere and he has an air of mystery about him. And he’s got a great smile and easy disposition that makes you just want to hang out with him. So, Michael, you get this award too because I just couldn’t leave you out.

Guys, there were more. There were a ton more, but these are the folks I chose. They are in feed reader, they keep me coming back for more and they make me reflective.

So many blogs, so little time.

The lovely Tits McGee, who has so graciously taken me under her ample and yet very inviting bosom over the past year to the point that Cuppa, she and I call ourselves the wondertriplets has honored me with the Thinking Bloggers Award. I feel like Sally Field, as this is the second time I’ve been bequeathed this high honor, and I’m once again humbled and delighted.

As you know, this is a meme, and that I dig memes, I must give this honor to five bloggers who have impacted me, made me think and that have challenged me. As I was given this award back in the spring by Kat Coble, I decided this time I would honor some new bloggers who have recently come into my line of vision that I believe deserve to be read. They may have been around awhile, but I just found them and that is of the good.

And the nominees are:

1. Vibinc: Smart, politically savvy and a great read out of Memphis. Both Vibinc and Stacy Mac keep it read with very concise political commentary, pop culture references in line with the outrage that comes from living in this day and age. Both Vibinc and Stacy Mac need to be read, blogrolled and then I think it would be totally and completely appropriate to buy them a good, imported draft beer. Hell, I think I will next time I see them.

2.The Chrone Speaks: There is firepower as The Chrone and her cast of writers fight the good fight everyday in regards to politics, women’s issues, health care debacles and keeping it real. I dig the Chrone, and read her back in the day at Thoughts of an Average Woman. Like a Phoenix from the flames, she’s back. And, many times, she ain’t happy about the day to day issues coming out of Washington. (Have I ever told you I love the word ‘ain’t’.) Heh.

3. Bitter Betty. You can call her Betty, you can call her Princess Crankypants and, although I’ve been reading her for more than a year, you will laugh. She is biting, funny and has a way with a phrase that will ruin your computer screen because you will spew whatever beverage you are imbibing in at the time. She’s good. I mean, when the URL is tasteslike purple, you know you are in for a fun time.

4. For Lack of a Better Word Holly should have already been tagged for this meme and if she hasn’t, then there is no justice in this world I like personal journals that convey happiness, fear, transparency and faith. Holly is a good writer and her blog is a good one. Just go over there and read it. Holly writes for no other reason than it is something that makes her feel good, and thus we all benefit from it.

5. Graceless In Love. Sometimes there’s grace, sometimes she’ll tell you there’s not, but I don’t think there is a better blog that conveys being single, looking for love something wonderful and the trials and tribulations of being an unattached girl in the big city. The thing I like about this blog the most is that she unabashedly documents her life and, believe me, what you see is what you get. Having met Grace, she is a light even in the darkest nights, a time she enjoys. Read her, she’s funny and clever. I honestly think I want to exude the confidence that Grace does when I grow up.

So, there it is. Thanks Tits, and thank you kind readers. There are more of you and I like this meme because I get to spotlight folks who give me a happy.

Okay, I’m a nerd ’cause I love me some memes. I do. I have no idea why. I tried very hard to be put out because other people did it when I started blogging but I can’t help it, I love ‘em. I refuse to lie about my inner meme love any longer, dang it.

The Exquisite Arch Crone marked me for this one and being that I love talking about me, I just shivered with delight and said to myself “Damn Skippy.”

First of all:

THE RULES

1. All right, here are the rules.

2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.

3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So, here we go:

1. I love traveling. If someone called me today and said we want you to travel and just write stories about juke joints, odd people and bad yard art, it would make my day. I would be in the car faster than they could say “DICK’ Cheney.” See here for random reference.
2. I don’t politically blog as much as I used to because it gave me an ulcer. I think our government is insane and scary right now. I am hoping for change and I will write about it or link to things that I think are important, but I started out with aspirations of being a progressive/liberal/anti-current White House blogger. I realized that didn’t make me happy because I was saying the same stuff that other people were saying. When I moved to wordpress in December, I decided to just blog for fun. I am paying attention and I throw it out my dissatisfaction but I’ve found that I can get as much done behind the scenes and that, my friends, is of the good. This country needs a breath of fresh air, soon. I haven’t changed my mind over that.
3. I actually like living in Hooterville. I just want to get out more than I get to. I get very bored.
4. Blogging has helped me learn new things. I am spiraling into middle age these days much happier than I was even two months ago. This is also of the good.
5. It took me more than 30 years to realize that I’m okay being me.
6. I listen more than people think I do. And, yeah, I take notes in my brain for further reference.

Update: I need two more. I was blinded by something bright and shiny. Cu-rap. JP noticed just as I did. Here we go again:

7. I like avocados on sandwiches. I just think it give a sandwich savoir-faire. It also tastes good.

8. I do not like showers. These kinds: Wedding Showers, Bridal Showers and the like. I really just don’t dig those sorts of things. They give me the vapors.

Thanks JP.

So, I’m supposed to tag. Let’s tag some new folks who will probably just freak the hell out I’m tagging them. (I love memes, give the ‘Coma some love and just do it.)

I choose these fine individuals:

Sarcastro (cause he’ll probably bitch), PShaw (Cause I wanna), Lynnster (Cause I wanna), CeeElCee (cause he probably won’t do it), Graceless in Love (cause she’s groovy and her heart is full), Squirrel Queen (cause she’s been a blogging fool recently), Jeff P. (cause I want to read more than just about his brilliant cats) and BB Logan (Cause I dig her blog.)

If you’ve done it before, just do it again. If you don’t want to do it, That’s cool too.

Ahh to be young with the wind in my hair and to sleep and dream of innocence. I’ve been tagged so I will oblige Hollywood Ron who has asked me to participate in this meme.

I think I’m supposed to list six things I do before I hit the hay every night.

• I usually go to the bathroom. Umm, I think that’s a standard for most everyone.
• I really hate messy bedsheets but then again, I hate making the bed. Each and every night I go through a jumbled thought process as both of these issues collide. Most evenings, I end up straightening the bed sheets out. I am a failure at neatness.
• I look for Mabel the infamous and Duff, the smelly dog. They tend to go to bed with me at night. I sort of feel weird after years of this occurring if I don’t know where they are. The blind dog, Kirby, sleeps in my recliner at night. It is her way.
• I hate wearing pants or socks to bed. Hate it. I do not like being tangled up.
• I usually have to stick my leg out from under the sheets and comforter, as it works as some sort of thermometer for me for some weird reason.
• I used to like to go to sleep with classical music playing softly in the room. I really hate to sleep with the television on. I am too ADD to not watch it, but I took my CD player to work. I guess I need to bring it back because there is nothing like a little Mozart playing in the background as you are counting sheep.

So, I played nice. Didn’t give away all my secrets because, you know, there, ummm, secret, and I guess I’m supposed to tag people. I actually kind of dig getting tagged, but I know some people don’t. So I’ll tag some folks anyway. I’m going to go with Squirrel Queen, LeBlanc, Lindsey, Wyldebrat, Elizabeth and Freezertroll.