A challenge, a nomination & a request…

Well, folks, I’m back. I’ve had several of you ask for some pictures from my camping trip and I do plan to get some up here… at some point. The truth is that I find uploading, resizing and posting pictures to be somewhat of a pain. Like taxes, I put it off as long as possible. And, my brother, who is the photographer of the family, doesn’t have a photo blog to which I can link. I wish he did; he took some amazing photos while on our camping trip.

The trip was good. We got back on Friday from a six-day camping trip in Cherokee, NC. The time away was nice but I’m glad to be back home too. I missed my cat although she was in the capable care of Aunt Jane, who was kind enough to come stay at our house to cat-sit.

We had the cutest cabin that was right on the river. Our deck overlooked the prettiest rocky river where we saw an otter swimming around one morning. The whole cabin area was just so very serene. We weren’t roughing it though, by any means. Our cabin had electricity, stove, fridge, air conditioning, heat, shower, toilet, sink, a fireplace and cable television. So, that was really nice. I could live in that little cabin!!!

We went into the mountains a lot, to Cade’s Cove and Newfound Gap. I walked a bit on the Appalachian Trail which was VERY cool. I can now see why someone might want to dedicate six months of their life to walk the whole thing. Not me but someone. It was a lot of fun even though it was cold and very windy that high up in the mountains.

As for wildlife, we saw tons of deer, a fox, elk, the aforementioned otter, roosters, pigs (on an old pilgram farm), coyotes. We didn’t see any bears although that would have been super-cool!

So, it was a really nice trip, a good reprieve from the hum-drum of daily life. Of course, some say that the best part of a trip is coming home. While I see both sides of that, I don’t totally disagree. It was nice to finally get home after a long drive.

Pictures to come soon… I promise… !

In other news, I’ve noticed since getting back that my blog is looking pretty hairy these days. The sidebar is all wonky and not spaced evenly and the sidebar widgets, or whatever they are, won’t let me edit them at all. So, my hands are tied in that I can’t clean up my unfortunate-looking blog at all. If anyone has ANY knowledge of WordPress blogs, widgets, how to post badges, etc., please let me know! It would be much appreciated. I need all the technical help I can get.

Since I’ve not been very good at all about posting lately, I’ve decided to challenge myself to undertake the NaBloPoMo project. Technically, it starts at the beginning of November buuuuuuuuuuut, I’m breaking that rule a bit. So, in light of this undertaking, I will endeavor to write here everyday for a month. I’m not going to kill myself though trying to get a post in daily. If I happen to be out of town or sick or something earth-shattering like that, I won’t be writing. But, on the whole, I will do my best. I’m not totally convinced that I will have something interesting to say each day but I will try. I promise.

(Wow… I’ve made a lot of promises in this post… Eeeeeek!)

I was honored this past week to be nominated for the Rockin’ Girl Blogger award. While this nomination is very flattering, it is particularly flattering because it came from Emilie of Captain Cat’s Diaries. This woman is truly amazing. She undertakes some of the most interesting adventures through her job and her interests. She is one of the most open-minded people I’ve ever had the privilege to “know” and her life is seriously like a novel. She is more deserving of admiration than anyone I know. If you’ve not read this blog, please do!

I was also honored to be nominated with Stacie from Nomadic Creations. I’ve known Stacie through her blog for awhile now but had the distinct privilege of meeting her and having coffee with her some time back. She is also truly amazing. The gusto with which she pursues her dreams and interests is amazing. She is also one of the most talented and creative ladies I’ve met. Very talented writer as well. I encourage you to visit her blog too.

So then, it is my turn to nominate someone for the Rockin’ Girl Blogger award. My choice was not an easy one since I love you all but this particular gal is especially deserving. Not only is she a true sweetie, she is very interesting as well. She is very reflective and in-tune with herself, whether she realizes it or not. And her recent resolve to stop needlessly buying and reduce waste is so very admirable. If you’ve not met Melissa from Just Me, please do so soon. Melissa, you deserve this nomination! I’ve LOVED getting to know you! (She has some pretty darn cute kids too!)

Following in the vein of one of Melissa’s recent posts, I want to invite you all to send me any questions or writing prompts that you might have. Since I will be endeavoring to write everyday, I’m sure I will be very open to suggestions, questions, prompts, inspirations, etc. that you might have. Send them on!

So, that is all from me today. I’ve missed you all and will enjoy getting to re-connect with you via my NaBloPoMo challenge. See you tomorrow (hopefully)! xo…

P.S. If ANYONE knows how to get the NaBloPoMo badge on my sidebar, PLEASE let me know. Thanks!