The Chicago Marathon

This weekend my daughter kissed her two young children goodbye, left her home in West Virginia and traveled to Chicago to run in a marathon.

She’s been getting up at five o’clock in the morning to run, get the children off to school and then go to work all day, for months. Her dedication does not surprise me, she’s always been dedicated to life, and everything it has to offer.

Evaluate your goals to gain,

assign a value to your pain,

give it all, leave no remains.

Nothing tried, nothing gained.

Negatives should all be told, 

bogus plans cannot be sold,

make new plans, learn from the old.

VICTORY rewards the bold.

Seek out those who are end-users,

avoid the shouters and abusers,

resisting change is for losers.

Set the stage become a mover.

Champions are made not born,

express your values, shine the worn,

glue together what is torn,

Achieve your goals, be reborn.

-Michael Charles Messineo

Congratulations Michele!

 Love, Mom

ABC Award

In the midst of getting my book launched two very special things happened; I was nominated for a Versatile Blogger Award and an ABC Award! (My mom always said good things come in three.) I literally jumped for joy. You see, I’ve struggled to get my blog up and running and have made a few embarrassing mistake along the way… Thats why no one could have been more surprised or delighted by these awards than I.

I accepted the Versatile Blogger Award in my last post, so now its on to the ABC (Awesome Blog Contest) Award. I received this award from Ms. Katykins at Beforiforget. Even though we’ve never met (only through our blogs) I feel as if Kate is a true friend. Her blog is without a doubt my favorite, she writes and shares everything and anything, do check it out! Thank you Kate 🙂

The award asks recipients to name 26 alphabetical things about themselves and then nominate other bloggers…

A = Alive and well and living in Norway.

B = Blond hair and blue eyes.

C = Cake, I love it.

D = Divorced and remarried.

E = Eager to please.

F = Fussy, about certain things.

G = Grandmother to four and one on the way.

H = Harry is my husband.

I  = Invisible at times.

J = Jane Austin, my favorite.

K = Kind to all.

L = Lucky in many ways.

M = Mother to six.

N = Nag, yes its true if I want something I can be a real nag.

O = Overwhelmed, lately.

P = Pessimistic, I see the glass half empty.

Q = Quality over quantity, is what I believe.

R = Realist, is that another word for pessimist?

S = Scrapoholic. I love to scrapbook.

T = Tea, I drink countless cups a day.

U = Unsure of myself.

V = Vacuum, I do it a lot.

W = Worker!

X = Xmas, my favorite holiday.

Y = Yawn, sorry its getting late.

Z = Zucchini, I throw it in everything.

Since I live in Norway, I think I should do the three extra letters in the Norwegian alphabet as well.

Æ = Ærlig, it means honest.

Ø = Øl, it means beer. Make mine cold.

Å = Åpenhet, it means openness. You can’t get any more open or honest than writing a memoir.

Now for the blogs I nominate…

Its All About Purple – reading this blog is like taking a five minute coffee break (tea break for me) its always short, sweet and colorful.

Rendezvous With Renee – This blog makes me laugh out loud and lets face it, we all need to do that.

One More Morning – I love poetry but can’t write it myself, thats why I come here. Lily’s beautiful poetry always pulls on my heart strings.

Expat Alien – She’s lived everywhere… Here is where I go to meet the world.

I Was An Expat Wife – I have a connection with this blog, because I too was an expat wife. (Who has now come home).

Wordgeyser – This is a special blog written by a special lady, who has kindly answered all my desperate messages asking which widgets I need for what.