Acknowledgements

I've been so spoiled by all the support I've received from you guys, and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for the wonderful comments you've left for me over the past six months, especially on my last two posts. A lot of these posts take hours or even days to complete, but based on the feedback you've given me I know it's time well spent. You guys are awesome, and you make this blog more enjoyable every day.

There are a few bloggers in particular that have acknowledged me in new and unexpected ways:

Nicole at Rivera Runs Through It shared my post on StumbleUpon -- which I'm still learning to navigate. Her comment on my last post was so surprising and sweet, it made my day. And if I remember correctly, the last time she left me a comment the Kreativ Blogger award came with it. She's just full of surprises!

And speaking of Blogger awards...

Thank you to Andrea at The Enchanted Writer for my second blogger award:

I'm not entirely sure what a Liebster is, but I'll take it :) This award comes with the following rules:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.   Done.
2. Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you.  Done.
3. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.   Done.
4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less.     
5. Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.

Five blogs, eh? Hmmm... I had to pass the Kreativ Blogger award on to seven people, and many of them already had it. Now I have to find five that haven't received either award and have less than 200 followers? Aw, that's too hard. How about I just pick five that I didn't recognize the first time, m'kay?

Jeanne at Barefoot Girl 

Hazel at Pablo's Angel

Catherine at Rainbows and Unicorns

Mark at The Rambling Person

Jax at Raviolis and Waterworks

If you've already received this award or blog awards aren't your thing (Cat), no worries. Consider this a free 'plug' for your blog. I can't expect everyone to follow the rules when I skirted them myself (I'm such a rebel!) 

Thank you to my nephew Mike and his wife Heather (from Oh! The Horror!) for thee best Father's Day card ever:

And yes, the inside plays the Married...With Children theme song. I have no idea where they found this, since MWC hasn't aired in 15 years (though I  have been enjoying the reruns on VH1 Classic lately). 

And a big 'thank you' to the New Jersey Devils for an exciting and unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Finals. After last year's MacLean debacle, Parise's injury, and Kovalchuk's struggles I honestly thought the Devils' best days were behind them. Boy was I wrong. They survived a hell of a scare from the Florida Panthers, destroyed their arch-rival Flyers and chased away the ghosts of "Matteau! Matteau!" by defeating the hated Rangers:

Amazingly this sixth-seeded team that wasn't expected to get past the second round ended up with home ice in the championship series. Unfortunately the Kings were unstoppable this spring (especially on the road) and won the Stanley Cup in six games. Jonathan Quick was a brick wall, but Marty Brodeur more than held his own against the younger, deeper L.A. attack. It's too bad Kovy was playing with a severe back injury for most of the playoffs; he wanted this sooo bad but you could tell he was hurting. Unless you're a Canadian 'expert', in which case he's just another lazy Russian who only cares about money. 

So yeah, we lost. And our 40 year-old goalie doesn't have much left and we have no one to replace him. And yeah, Zach Parise might sign with another team, which would set the franchise back for a long time. And yeah, the team may or may not be bankrupt, the attendance still sucks, and Steve Bernier might be the NHL's answer to Steve Bartman. But you know what? We played in our fifth Cup final in 17 years, the long playoff run may have saved the franchise, and even though the Cup won't be coming back to Jersey, the Devils did something that no NHL team has done since 1945. 

Plus, Zach made it abundantly clear that he won't be signing with the Rangers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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I owe Kazehana and Jeanne a reply, which I will do today. And this weekend I will do my best to stop by all of your blogs and comment as much as I can. You've all taken the time to read my posts and leave thoughtful comments, and I want to do the same without feeling rushed or distracted. It might take me a little longer than normal, but I will get back to you ASAP.

Thanks again everyone, and have a great weekend!