Random stuff: thanks (!) awards, a guessing game and news!

Wow, lots of things happened while I was away! My Pewaukee trip was fun. Mr. CJ and I hung out with my mom, sisters, their husbands and kids, just gabbing and eating yummy food. I also lost a game of SPUD to my nieces and nephews, OD'ed on Jalapeno Krunchers, and got a whole lot of lip from my Packer-freak family about Brett Favre coming to the Vikings.

On Saturday, my sister, who is a super-fabulous professional photographer, took my official author picture, a total exercise in Carolyn Crane narcissism where I learned that I sometimes make a weird mouth. She was like, You're making a weird mouth again, Carolyn! Honestly, I wasn't aware I do this, and I'm not entirely sure what it looks like. If you ever see me in person and I'm making a weird mouth, please avert your eyes. Anyway, I can't wait to see the pics.

THANK YOU!!!
I am so grateful to whoever nominated me for the BBAW week award. What a kick!

Here is the official description: Funniest/Most Humorous Blog – This blog cracks you up. You make sure you’re never drinking anything while reading this blog for fear you may snort it out of your nose. You’ve been known to forward the posts from this blogger to friends, saying, “This is so funny! You have to read this!”

Thanks also to Barbara at Happily Forever After - she awarded me the Excellent Blog award. So wonderful! (She is also up for a Book Blogger award. Good luck!)

Also, thank you Hilcia, fellow Keith Partridge lover and proprietress of Impressions of a Reader, She awarded me this very mod "I'm Okay You're Okay" award, which is "for bloggers who review across the spectrum of romance, who do so with laughter and a good will, and who aren't limited to the expectations of their audience. They open doors."

From Jenre at Well Read, Christine at The Happily Ever After and Tracy at Ahhhhhhh Romance: Kreativ Blogger!

With this award, I'm supposed to think of 7 of my favorite things and then nominate 7 bloggers to pass the award onto. Hmmm.

1. Hanging around with my husband. It sounds silly, but just on the road trip we took this weekend, we had such fun in the car talking and laughing. I can't think of anybody who I would've rather spend time with. I am totally lucky!

2. Reading in bed. I so look forward to getting in bed at night with a book. (Tonight's fare: Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase. Ooooh, I'm LOVING IT.) I didn't discover romance and fantasy until my adult life, and it has been such a revolution in my life to always have a book I'm hugely looking forward to.

3. My cats. Even though I exploit them terribly here on this blog, they are the best kitties ever.

4. Popcorn at the movies. I love to load tons of salt on and just CHOW DOWN. It can be a bad movie, but the popcorn is always so satisfying and I will always eat an embarrassing amount of it.

5. Running. I like to just empty out my head and turn up the music and run. It's my favorite time of day.

6. Pedicures. I love when somebody fusses over my toes and paints my toenails.

7. Getting into a sun-warmed car. Even when it's summer, when I first get into the car after it's been sitting in the sun, I don't open the windows for a minute or two, because I love the oven feel of it. But just for a couple minutes.

Upcoming giveaway!
Be sure to stop back on Thursday the 27th when we'll be talking about Jill Sorenson's new book, Set the Dark on Fire, and giving one copy away to a lucky visitor. Today you can win a copy at KatieBabs. Go on over, but wouldn't you rather wait until Thursday and win one here?

Congratulations, Renee!
Stop over and wish our lovely reading addicted pal Renee a happy one-year blogiversary! I can't believe all that she has built in a year. That girl is TOGETHER! While you're there, you can WIN BOOKS from her renowned TOP FIVE lists.

Now for a super FUN GUESSING GAME!
Okay, we are going to do something different here with the awards. Did you see those seven items above? The Kreative Blogger favorite things? I lied: one of the seven items is not something I love at all, but rather, something I hate! It is something I avoid at all costs!!

Whoever guesses which of the seven things I actually hate gets ALL the awards above (except the book blogger one) PLUS three extra free entries on the Thursday's contest for Set the Dark on Fire. In case of a guessing tie, I will do a drawing. Deadline is whenever the Jill Sorenson post goes up on Thursday. Whew!

UPDATE: Deadline is now FRIDAY noon CST, and the prize is three free entries plus the ULTIMATE RULING BLOG of all time award.
Top Image: Les grimaces (Funny faces). Lithography by Louis-Léopold Boilly from Wikimedia.