Yay! Who doesn't love getting an award every now and then? This one came my way via my friend - my partner in crime - my sister, the equally beautiful Traci of Beauty in Rare Form, Babygirlz Magazine and M.O.C.A.E.D. (Mothers of Color Against Education Discrimination). Yeah, she's all kinds of awesome.

Its the Beautiful Blogger Award, and it was shared with me because of Notes to Emma. Traci said,

"I have seen this in movies - but only when a person thinks they are about to leave this earth. In Barbara's case, she just wanted to offer something to her daughter, to answer all her questions about life, about herself, about her mommy. Beautiful and very inspiring."

Thank you again for the beautiful words and the recognition. I'm sure that Emma will be delighted to know that her life and her history is award winning. Now its time for me to do some sharing. In my opinion, every single writer that I am following is a beautiful blogger! Since I stopped following the rules along time ago, I was tempted not to award 15 specific bloggers with this, because, you know, like I said, all of you are beautiful, BUT, I want to highlight a few of you for your awesomeness =).

So, here goes...

1. Miss Nico of Mama Bear - Single Mom Meets UC Berkeley
Aside from the fact that this beautiful woman has opened her home to me and my daughter, taking our Cal refugee selves in, she is just straight up brilliant! She has overcoming and is still overcoming, like so many of us, "clawing our way out of the gutter with no claws!" To hell with boots and boot straps, at this time, us Cal moms and former Cal moms are on a whole other level of survival, for ourselves and for our children. That in itself is a beautiful thing.

2. Mama C of Mama C and the Boys
Catherine is such a breathe of fresh air. She is a fellow single mama, raising two little handsome boys. And, did I mention that Mama C is mothering a beautifully blended family? She's white, with one black son and one biracial son, and is co-parenting them with her brother. The way that we choose, and are chosen in life, are amazing. Check her out to read about her unique perspectives and enlightening experiences.

3. Rue of Outdoor Afro
Calling attention to the lack of exposure of black folks in the outdoors, Rue turned her passion into a business, bringing awareness and inspiration. Just this past Sunday, she collaborated with a couple of organizations in an effort to get black bicyclers out on the roads and visable to other black folks in our communities. It was a beautiful success. Check her out for more information on blacks in the outdoors, and if you are a person of color (not just African American) who loves the outdoors and you would like to share your experience, she is always looking for features.

Alrighty. Run along and get to reading. And seriously, this award is for all of you, so feel free to accept, link back here, and if you want, share it with other beautiful bloggers. Just remember to let them know that you've awarded them.

Before today, I fantasized about spending the entire day pampering myself in preparation for a romantic evening. And then I fantasized about a lunch date, where my little girl would stuff her face full of cheese and olive pizza, and another little girl would be sitting across the table from me, on her daddy's lap, getting help with her slices, and my little girl and his little girl would then join hands and run off to play in the kiddie area of the pizza parlor.

Instead, I pulled myself outta bed, cleaned and packed up some more things before getting myself and Miss J dressed, then surprised her with a little gift.

She pulled out the contents of the bag, then went back for the card.


She read the card and then burst into laughter.


And contemplated which side of her Princess and the Frog nightgown she would wear tonight.


And while I put on my makeup, she read all about how Marley the dog kept getting into all kinds of trouble. We had a table for two at McDonald's, where she ran into a little guy from school that she plays football with everyday.

Yes, instead of being sad about a lack of romance, I decided to make today all about my daughter's happiness. I'm blessed enough to know exactly what she likes, so her smiles are always abundant. Today was no exception. The perfect gift, the perfect meal... all for the perfect little person who appreciates me the most.