God Save the Queen!

Awwwww, look what I got! Thanks, Rae! I will certainly be using this to my advantage when the children arrive home today from camp. To share the joy:

1. List Seven Things That Make You Awe-Summm!
2. Pass the award on to seven bloggers you read religiously.
3. Tag those seven bloggers.

Okay, first off, my awe-summmness:

1. I am flexible. Throw me into any situation, throw anything at me, and I can deal with it. I can take it or leave it. In circumstances high or low, rich or poor, better or worse, in locations big or small, near or far, I'm good. There might be a little foot-dragging, but I get over it. If something's not working, I can make it work. Our homeschooling is evidence of that.

2. My friends. I have a wide range of friends. They all inspire me in some way to do better, to be better.

3. Nerves of Steel. Medical disasters? Natural disasters? I'm the one to call. I may not be the most sympathetic person around, expecting everyone else to buck up, but I'll get the job done with no drama.

4. I am the Queen of Packing. I can take five people around the globe in four small bags. Once we even went all carry-on.

5. I give my kids a lot of leeway. I trust them to make decisions (and make mistakes) and always treat them as individuals with different, sometimes conflicting needs. I even tolerate a little backtalk for pure argument's sake.

6. Low maintenance. I can live without electricity or indoor plumbing and be comfortable. Some of the clothes in my closet have already come back in style. Most of our furniture is (at least) secondhand. I only got a pedicure because my friend Val made me.

7. I'm game. I think I'd try anything once.

Hmmm. That doesn't sound so awe-summm. Maybe because I surround myself with like-minded individuals. How about having an intimate encounter atop a Mayan temple? Never being arrested? Teaching my dogs to wipe their feet on the mat when they come in? You decide.

Seven people -- and by that I mean female people because the male bloggers I enjoy on a regular basis (HERP&ES, O'Donnell Web, Outer Life, Pharyngula, and The Meming of Life probably wouldn't appreciate it -- I regularly read:

Diary of a Mad Editor
Farm School
Get In, Hang On
Indefatigable
Mental Multivitamin
Quiet Life
The Women's Colony

And though I have touched you with my mighty scepter, feel free to play, or not. I'm flexible (see #1.)