I Would Like to Thank the Academy...

I started this blog on a whim and kept going simply because I enjoy it. But truth be told, I also really like knowing that other people are reading it and enjoying it, too.

So imagine my delight when I received this Honest Scrap Award, along with one of the nicest compliments ever, from a fellow blogger and high school classmate (who I probably haven't seen since the ol' GHS days). I don't actually know why it's called the Honest Scrap Award, but these days I'll take the kudos wherever I can get them.

Here's how it works:

1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
Thanks, Dobbygirl! You should all check out her Spry on the Wall blog to learn WAY more about the hottest fashion, coolest hotels and other textile-related gems than you'll ever learn here at Juni&Pip. Plus you might get a glimpse of her sweet red-headed baby as a bonus.

2) Share "10 Honest Things" about myself.
Brace yourselves.

3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me. See list at the end of this post.

4) Tell those 7 people they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving. Check your latest post for a comment from me, fellow bloggy friends.

Now for the 10 Honest Things:

1. I have never been to a Nascar race. I don't really want to go to one, but feel that it's a gap in my Southern Girl pedigree (which includes eating barbecue and knowing how to dance the shag).
2. I read the funnies every day in the newspaper. I skip "Family Circus," "Wizard of Id," "Hagar the Horrible," "Beetle Bailey," "Curtis" and "B.C." because I just don't think they're funny. Life is too short to waste on bad comics.
   
3. In high school, I totaled my mother's Volvo by accidentally running a red light. It really was an accident and I really was on my way home from volunteering at the homeless shelter. I still think about it every time I drive through that intersection and remember that I'm lucky to be here.
4. My husband has no sense of smell (seriously), so I can fart quietly at home and he never knows it.
5. I find extreme pleasure in peeling the little clear clingy covers off of electronic gadget screens.
6. Before I go to the Harris Teeter at our fancy-schmancy neighborhood shopping center, I feel compelled to put on lipstick. I do not have the same urge when I go to Costco, Food Lion or Kroger.
7. I am not good at walking in high heels, so I don't own them. This makes me sad because I think they're sexy and my husband probably does, too (on me, not him, just to be clear).
8. I had mono when I was 30. And no, I did not get it from kissing. But lost a lot of weight and strangely enjoyed being super thin.
   
9. I love to eat hot dogs and drink Diet Coke at football games. I do not think about what is in either one -- it's better that way.
10. Although I should be old enough to know better, I still get insecure from time to time about whether or not my friends really like me.

TMI? Well, if you need something else to read now, check out these bloggers and newest recipients of the Honest Scrap Award (in no particular order):

• Canape at Don't Take the Repeats - My friend who inspired me to start this blog. I get to live across the street from her (thanks for not moving away!), but you can pretend you do too if you read her fantastic blog.
  
• Abby at My Sweet Babboo - Fellow Triangle Mama blogger and super crafty (in a cool, not-obnoxious way) smart mom. If you're stuck on a rainy day with your kids, you want tips from Abby's blog.
  
• Kristy at Le Petit Blog - I was her babysitter when I was 13. Now she's a grown-up graphic designer offering recipes, decorating tips and pop culture news on her stylish blog. I figure she needs to come redecorate at my house as payback for letting her stay up past bedtime when she was 8.
  
• Stella at So Beautiful and So Ordinary - My long-lost high school friend, delightfully rediscovered on FB, she writes honestly about teaching, parenting and living in San Franciso.
  
• Stephanie at Figments - One of the first bloggers I didn't know in real life who started reading and commenting on my blog (thank you!). Like me, she writes about parenting, work, life, and whatever catches her mind -- good stuff and a lovely design.
  
• Postmark Here - Reading this blog, by a friend from my British-grad-school days (and former L.A. Times reporter), is like getting digital postcards in your blog reader. You'll enjoy the peeks into her travels, whether overseas or just to the corner bar. And her masthead is perfect.
  
• Damon at Little Circostas' Media Grab - Another neighborhood blogger, this is the only blog in my reader written by a dad. He's funny, clever -- and his son is adorable. His wife also has a great blog, but you have to know the secret handshake to get in.
  

Ta-da!