The Marvelous Muffin Link!

So every now and then I check out my site's stats to see what dishes are popular, who's reading and from where, and how people are finding me.  In the left margin of my page is listed my top ten most popular dishes based on page hits. I find this interesting and sometimes see items move up or down the list.  Anyways, a few months back, I noticed my Sausage and Cheese Muffins came out of nowhere and zoomed to near the top.  Wha?? I was perplexed!  I mean I know they are simply fabulous, but that wouldn't explain their sudden rise in popularity.  :-)  I decided to find out what caused their jump. 

I did some sleuthing and tracked a link in my stats that I hadn't seen before.  It was to VegNews of all things.  I clicked on the link and found this wonderful article, "7 Out of This World Vegan Cheese Dishes."  In no particular order are listed seven dishes from the vegan online world that they rated as the seven best that had vegan cheese as an ingredient.  And, my humble muffins made the list!  They even put in a lovely description of them.  There is no photo, but they had a link to my recipe, and that explained the huge jump. 

I am not one to blow or even slightly toot my own horn, but this was so much fun, I thought you'd enjoy hearing about it, too.  The only thing I wish is that VegNews would have popped me over an e-mail or something just to let me know.  I'm very honored to have been noticed by them.  So, if this doesn't convince you to make those muffins, then nothin' will!  :-)

Personal News Update, A New Family Member - Mowr!,Vegan Picnic, And One Lovely Blog Award

PERSONAL NEWS UPDATE
Hello, Everyone!  I first wanted to assure you all that I have not abandoned my blog.  There have been some extenuating circumstances since I last posted that have kept my attention elsewhere.  I will try and encapsulate as briefly as possible what has been going on.  Since my last post, we have endured three deaths.  Unfortunately, there is a fourth one that is imminent, and when that comes to pass, I may be off again for a couple weeks.  That one is sadly related to another death that happened last year, which I didn't mention at the time.  I am trying to stay matter-of-fact, but this has been a very emotionally draining time for my family.  One of the three deaths resulted in many consequences: somebody came to live on our couch for about a month; that person also had a psychotic break while I was at home with my children, schooling them; we had to have that person removed for a short time for an emergency psychiatric evaluation, and thankfully, they are someplace safe now.  G has been running himself ragged due to all of this, and basically collapsed on the couch.  The doctor diagnosed him with medical exhaustion, and to top it off, he has a gall stone, which is causing him constant nausea.  I have been trying to be the comforter of my family, and we've been spending a lot of time in prayer.  School kind of took a back seat during some of this - my children were learning life lessons, instead.  It's been a lot to handle to say the least.  So, just to let you know, if some of you thought that I had up and left my blog without saying anything, I would never do that.  If I am off for a time, it could be any number of things: I'm sick, I'm focused on educating my Blessings, I'm having crazy computer problems, or sadly, it could be something more tragic like these events.  If I never come back on, then you can assume something's happened to me.  In any case, if I ever decide to stop posting on my blog, I will put up a post saying so; I will not just leave without a word.

A NEW FAMILY MEMBER - MOWR!
That all said, one good thing came out of all of this.  One of the deceased hoarded cats and birds, among other things.  She had over a dozen birds and nineteen cats.  One of the cats is missing one eye, and needed to be adopted by a family that could keep her inside.  G and GR both have cat allergies, so I didn't give it a thought.  But, G kept bringing her up - she's such a darn friendly cat!  So, we decided to take her in on October 1st.  She's five and half years old, and so far G and GR seem to be doing fine with her in the house.  Mindy and Abby, our doggies, love her, and she is tolerating them.  Sparkly and Charlene, our two old lady kitties, are also making their way inside more and more because of their age and cold weather, so we have quite a zoo on our hands now.  The new kitty was originally named KC, but when her eye was removed at five months, her name was changed to Karma.  I didn't like that: one, I don't believe in karma, and two, I don't think a kitten did anything to deserve her eye removed, so karma wouldn't apply here.  I wanted a beautiful name for her, so I thought of how cats are revered in Egypt, and I named her Cleopatra.  She's beautiful.

This is Cleopatra (Cleo, Patty) in her new bed, which sits right on my desk.  She's resting next to me now.  Her right eye was removed when she was a kitten, but it doesn't seem to hinder her.  She's our newest spoiled kitty.

VEGAN PICNIC
Amazingly, during all this chaos, we went to the first annual Vegan Community Picnic in Sacramento organized by a group whose name escapes me right now, sorry.  It was great.  There were several food vendors there and informational booths.  My mom joined my family and we pigged out.  I signed up to be a volunteer for next year.  JK dressed as Larry the Cucumber and joined in the Veggie Parade!

 There's JK in the center as Larry the Cucumber after the parade.  The corn was the leader.  There were about twenty parading vegetables marching around.  You've got to make this photo go full screen to see how much fun JK is having.

ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD

Ah, a few months ago, Alessandra at Vegan Recipes, awarded me and ten other bloggers with the One Lovely Blog Award.  This is my first chance in passing it on.  Thank you, Alessandra, for thinking of me!  The rules state that I list seven facts about myself and pass this on to fifteen other bloggers. 

*I will try and list seven new facts about myself that I haven't listed before.*

1.  I love playing Internet backgammon, hearts and spades.  If you see an English-speaking expert playing, it could be me...  Watch out, though, I'm good!  :-)

2.  I am thinking of starting a YouTube Channel on cooking up my recipes from my blog and/or promoting vegan cosmetics, skin care, etc.  What do you think?

3.  I'm a fledgling writer.  I've submitted four manuscripts so far, two children's books, and two non-fiction Christian books.  One was with the publisher for a year but didn't make the final cut.  I'm finishing up my first novel, women's fiction, and will be sending it to agents later this year.

4.  I've run a half-marathon, but I can't run anymore because...

5.  ...I tore my meniscus, which has led to early arthritis in my right knee.  So sad!  Won't be doing my dream of running a marathon.

6.  I'm a birth doula with no clients, sigh.

7.  I'm very romantic.  I love Love.  Passionate with a capital P.  TMI???

*The 15 Bloggers who will get this award?  If I've messed up on a link, please let me know.*

1.  My "old" friend, Andrea at Andrea's easy vegan cooking .  One day I hope to meet my Seattle buddy.

2.  Has to be SV at The Shenandoah Vegan .  She always sticks with me, even when I'm gone for weeks at a time.  I usually get a scolding, though.

3.  How about Joey at Flicking the Vs .

4.   For a wonderful outlook on life and beautiful food, there's Gluten Free Happy Tummy .

5. Someone I would like to get to know more is Ingrid at Ingrid Improves .

6.  Someone else I'm still getting to know: Rachel at Miss Rachel .

7.   Millie always cares about me over at  Nuestra Cena-American & Latin Vegan Cuisine .

8.   Let's hear it for a male vegan blogger!  Monkey Man at Simply Vegetarian .

More than halfway there, whew!

9.  Enjoying her journey, is Vivacious Vegan over at Adventures in Veganism in Midwestern America .

10.  Of course, I have to add Food Feud .

11.  Give Claire a try at Almost Skinny Vegan Food .

12.  Another homeschooling mom deserves this award - Jenny at Vegan and so Forth .

13. Why not a singing vegan?  Look at An Opera Singer in the Kitchen .

14.  A not-so-chubby vegan at Chubby Vegan Mom .

And last but not least...

15.   For a rundown on nutrition, food and homeless animals, check out, Get Skinny, Go Vegan .

Thank you all for reading this far down.  It will take me a few days to catch up on all the blogs, and even to notify the winners of this blog award.  I hope to be posting regularly again.  I've got recipes lined up in the queue to share with you all.

Take Care!!

Liebster Blog Award

A thank you goes out to Farrah at Carrot Top Vegan who bestowed the lovely Liebster award on me.  I'm not really sure who the original Liebster is, but I'm sure they are a very intriguing person.  So, this award needs to passed on to five bloggers who have less than 200 followers and who show their support during MOFO.  So, I thought I had better get on this, instead of procrastinating past October!

The amazing, stupendous bloggers that I have chosen are...(drum roll, please!):

1.  Maud at Food Feud

2.  Carissa at Coffee and Sunshine

3.  Millie at Nuestra Cena-American & Latin Vegan Cuisine

4.  Molly at Vegan Flower

5.  Jessica at Veggie Cookie

Be sure to check out these wonderful blogs, including Farrah's, and if you feel inclined, add yourself as a follower!

Versatile Blogger Award

Rose over at Dandelion was kind enough to honor me with this award. I like it because I can list obscure things about myself, and I think I have a lot of those! So, the rules are for me to list seven obscure things and pass this on. Please enjoy my obscurity. On a side note, and not to be included in the following list, but obscure anyways, is that this is the first time I've made an actual link! 'Bout time, don't you think? On with the show!




Seven Obscure Things About Myself:

1. I contracted pneumonia as a baby and almost died from it.

2. During summer camp when I was about six, I earned a ribbon for The Brightest Eyes.

3. When I was twelve and fourteen, I bicycled with my father down the California coast from the Oregon border to the Mexico border, and from Seattle to San Francisco, respectively.

4. When I was about fourteen, a producer of commercials saw me working in my father's office on summer break and offered me the lead in two nationwide commercials. The hitch was he wanted a private meeting with me at dinner, with no parents around. His secretary even called that night to seal the deal with me. I declined if I had to be alone with him, and I ended up seeing those very commercials a few months later with other actresses in them.

5. I've dreamt in Spanish, Russian and Sign Language.

6. I met my husband on the shoulder of a road: he was walking to the bus stop, and I was jogging before work.

7. I can do a unique clicking sound with my tongue that NO ONE else has ever been able to do.


The oh so lucky bloggers that I bestow this award on are:


1. Amanda over at Amanda's Domestic Adventures has a beautifully organized blog that is already well-received and recognized, but that doesn't stop me from publicly admiring it, as well.

2. Lyn Rose at Beautiful Vegan with her three friends has created a very special and unique blog, indeed. It is replete with activism as well as yummy recipes.

3. Sara at Busy Vegan Mama is a busy, vegan mama like me, so, well, you know...

4. Jacklyn at Go Vegan Meow! is one of my new go-to-faves. She has an incredible blog that is relatively new with photos in abundance.

5. Jenna at Healthy. Happy. Well. is a blogger that I've recently discovered, and I'm happy that I did. She offers very healthy, sometimes raw, vegan recipes.

Happy 101 Award and fun stuff!

I received this cute award from Rose at http://www.flyawayvegan.blogspot.com/. If you've never been to her site, you are missing out on one of the most outstanding gourmet, beautifully photographed vegan blogs that exist! Can anybody say "cookbook"? Please?

Thank you, Rose! So, without further ado, here's how the award works: I list ten things that make me happy. Then I list ten blogs that make me happy. Please keep in mind that there are way more than ten blogs that make me happy, so this is just a short list. I also like more than ten things - can you tell I don't like being restricted? But, I did my best. Read on!

Ten things that make me happy in no particular order:

1. Cooking, creating recipes, trying new recipes, reading cookbooks, cooking with my children, blogging about cooking, reading cooking blogs.

2. Organizing small things like cupboards, drawers, closets, making lists (lovin' this!), creating budgets, creating homeschool lesson plans, micromanaging.

3. Watching Rutger Hauer and Adrian Paul movies/television shows.

4. Spending real quality time with my husband, where we can actually look into each other's eyes without a big splotch of food landing on my cheek or hearing something crash in the next room.

5. Photographing my children, my husband, my parents, my pets, nature.

6. Spending time with the Lord either in His Word or in prayer or in song or in thought.

7. With my husband enjoying individual daughter/son dates with our children where they can pick the restaurant and the activity for the night.

8. Standing outside, regardless of the weather, looking at the sky whatever time of day, looking at trees, watching critters.

9. Cultivating our garden and watching my husband do the same.

10. Sleeping in a cozy bed, stretching under the covers, not hurrying anywhere, able to slumber luxuriously with or without the kids in bed with me/us.


Ten blogs/bloggers that make me happy in no particular order:

1. Carissa at http://www.elilaiann.blogspot.com/ shares my love of the Lord and the vegan life.

2. Fayinagirl at http://www.glutenfreeveganfam.blogspot.com/ makes very creative dishes, which her site's name exemplifies.

3. Shenandoah Vegan at http://www.shenandoahvegan.blogspot.com/ questions who she is and why she is here on her unique vegan blog.

4. Maggie at http://www.livingfoodjunkie.blogspot.com/ is a vegan and part raw-foodist young mom.

5. Michelle at http://www.lovinlivinvegan.blogspot.com/ makes vegan dishes to feed herself and a very supportive omnivore hubby.

6. Stacy at http://www.shortycanburn.blogspot.com/ is doing a great job with her brand new vegan blog.

7. Evelyn at http://www.evelynparham.com/ is a raw foodist that also offers helpful advice.

8. Michelle at http://www.lillythedirtyduck.blogspot.com/ shares her daily fumbles and joys with the animal friends she has, her husband, and her love of vegan food.

9. 100 to Go at http://www.99togo.blogspot.com/ is working on her journey of losing weight and getting to her goal.

10. Susan at http://www.fruitfulwords.wordpress.com/ is a local Christian woman and friend of mine who periodically pens encouraging words.

Thank you, all, and have fun!

My First Award and Reciprocations

Well, I had a pleasant surprise when I returned from a long weekend away. Brandi over at Adventures in Veganism... (http://vivaciousvegan-intentionalliving.blogspot.com/) surprised me with this adorable award! Yay! I love being associated with sunshine. Thank you, Brandi. So, now it's my turn to pass it on. I'm going to simply copy the rules of the award that Brandi had on her site.
The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world.
The rules for accepting this award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award onto twelve bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love, and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Now, keep in mind that I make no claim to being a computer genius, so I still haven't figured out how to make a link, although I've tried. I will someday do it though. So, drumroll please... The following twelve bloggers are like rays of sunshine to me. Aww.

1. Tarissa at http://homeschoolblogger.com/inthebookcase is a young lady who is currently being homeschooled and puts out short, clever posts meant to encourage reading.

2. Brandi at http://vivaciousvegan-intentionalliving.blogspot.com/ Right back at ya, girl! Very inspiring and creative lady.

3. Rose at http://flyawayvegan.blogspot.com/ makes amazing, gourmet vegan delights.

4. Millie at http://nuestracena-vegancuisine.blogspot.com/ is a Puerto Rican lady who makes vegan food spicy and exotic!

5. Alicia at http://veganepicurean.blogspot.com/ has been my constant healthy voice in the kitchen.

6. Sarah at http://sjgourmet.blogspot.com/ runs a non-vegan site, but is open to vegan cooking and makes desserts that I will veganize. :-)

7. Diane at http://theincredibleshrinkingfamily.blogspot.com/ is a homeschool mom, like me, who is on a journey with her weight who has a sense of humor and unique insight.

8. Jenn at http://www.jennifervalerie.com/ offers wonderful Christian tips and advice and is also a vegan and occasional raw foodist.

9. Judy at http://rawsierra.blogspot.com/ is an honest, raw foodist who struggles with her cravings and offers yummy recipes.

10. Andrea at http://cookeasyvegan.blogspot.com/ offers delightful dishes with a dose of humor and anecdotes.

11. Penny at http://svh2.wordpress.com/ is a wonderful Scottish lady that offers vegan fare who homeschooled her children.

12. Pet at http://joyformourning.blogspot.com/ frequently offers Scripture to ponder.

Have fun checking these worthy sites out.