You like me...you really like me!

Well, Gina does, anyway. At least...I think she does...because she was sweet and gave me an award - my very first, in fact! Thanks, Gina!

The Dardos Award is in appreciation of the merits - cultural, literary and individual- of every blogger who expresses him/herself on his/her blog.

The conditions are to:
Be tickled pink,
Copy and paste the award picture to your blog,
Write down the regulations,
Link the blog who bestowed you the award,and finally
Nominate 15 blogs for the award.

I am delighted, which I hope will be an acceptable stand-in for "tickled pink". I've followed the rules (as much as I ever do), and will now get on with the nominating.

1. Rachel at The Waxing Moon - her blog is part poetry, part environmental crusade, part photo-journal of life in the Yukon. I dig her.
2. Kit at Kitmama's Penseive - she's not just a real-time friend, she's a spot of crunchy granola goodness punctuated with accents of nature, kids, cooking, and occasional Internet goofing-off.
3. Tanis at Attack of the Redneck Mommy - I don't know her in person, but anyone who make me laugh out loud (and then have to tell the Evil Genius that I won't read him what made me laugh because it's adult in content) deserves a prize.
4. Susan at Stop Calling Me That - she's had some rough days recently, but she still brings the funny...and maybe a bit of grace under fire, too.
5. Charlie at Back to the Fridge - dude makes weight loss seem almost like fun. Almost.
6. Marcy at The Glamorous Life Association - her take on vintage ads is hilarious, and her recent series on Swedish Rock Bands almost hurt me, I laughed so hard. Her slices of California life are cool, too.
7. Laurie at Foolery - if you don't know why, you haven't read her...but here's a hint - she's almost as deeply weird as I am, and she's way cuter.
8. Shawn at Backpacking Dad - he's well spoken, thought provoking, and dang it...he's cute!
9. Mrs. G over at Derfwad Manor - she's who I would like to be if I ever grow up.
10. Elden at Fat Cyclist - someone I have never met, never spoken to, but has made quite an impact on my life. I think about his wife, his family, every day, and constantly send them little blessings because they need them. Despite that, he manages to be gracious, funny, and generous with his blog, time, energy, and dollars.
11. Suzy at Hollywood: Where Hot Comes to Die (R) - she's one funny, tart, witty woman who is way underemployed.
12. Mizz Magpie at Magpie Musing - she is warm, welcoming, a real Lady, even when she's not.
13. MereCat at More MereCatherine - she's considering hanging up her hat, but I hope she doesn't - she's fun, bright, and good-natured, and the world needs all of those it can get!
14. Sean at Writer Dad - well spoken, well written, imaginative, creative, and industrious - need I say more?
15. Black Hockey Jesus at The Wind in Your Vagina - there is no way to quantify him, you just have to go read his words to understand.
16. (yeah, yeah, sixteen). Becky at Mommy Wants Vodka - if for no other reason than she's ninety-months pregnant and still has a sense of humor.

Please understand, it wasn't easy for me to narrow it down- I read all those blogs on the sidebar every day, and a few more besides...and every one of them is engaging and worth the time. I didn't mention Mum and her blog, or my dear friend M and hers, because they haven't been writing much of late - but I love them nonetheless. I didn't mention Noble Pig, BloggerDad, Organized Doodles, Boobs Injuries and Dr. Pepper, Baby on Bored, Namasdaisy, and a dozen others because I was trying to follow the rules. Sigh.

Thanks, Gina, for thinking of me!