The Versatile Blogger Award

I received my first blogging award one week ago and I want to thank Mel's Books and Info for choosing me. I am really honored.
Please check out her blog, it is awesome! Thanks again Mel.

The Rules for the award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

Seven Things about me.

1. I am a inner city High School social studies teacher. This upcoming school year, I will be teaching World History to 9th graders. Most days I love my job but sometimes the stress and needy kids get to me.

2. I am married with two children. I have a son who is twelve and a daughter who is nine. They both have ADHD and other related issues. Our house is frequently wild and crazy.

3. I read to de-stress. Basically if I don't read before I go to bed I won't sleep well during the night. Reading is how I maintain my sanity. Most of the time the characters in books have a lot more issues and problems than I do and that puts my life in perspective.

4. My husband has read one book in our entire 16 year marriage while I have read too many books to count. He supports my reading habit and I support his TV habit. It all works out.

5. I wish I could quit my job and be home full time. I would love to be more available to my own children when the need arises, which is quite often. I do have mother's guilt. If I wasn't a teacher, I would choose to be a writer or a nutritionist.

6. One of my favorite reading memories is when I borrowed all my LaVyrle Spencer romance novels to my grandpa. My gramps and I would read together on his farm and talk about the books. He in turn would share his stories of growing up. The funny thing is my Grandma refused to read them. I really miss my grandpa, Harvey. My grandma, Marge is living with Alzheimer's.

7. I grew up hating to read but surrounded by readers. I had a hard time focusing on books and sitting still when I was young. I really became a huge reader in high school, thanks to an English teacher named Mrs. Martinson. She had us read Hamlet and The Old Man and the Sea. These are still two of my favorites. I don't think I would have gone to college if it wasn't for her. She showed me that books can be magic.

Choosing people to give an award to is really, really hard.
So without further ado here are the blogs I want to honor.

1. Michele at Voix de Michele
2. Susan at Bloggin' 'bout books
3. Book Snob Wannabe
4. Emily's Reading Room
5. Lyndsey at Heaven, Hell and Purgatory book reviews
6 Helen's Book Blog
7. Rachel at Home Girl's Book Blog
8. Brenna at Literary Musings
9. Becky at Page Turners
10. Sarah at Reading 2.0
11. Vivienne at Serendipity
12. Shelf Life
13. Six Boxes of Books
14. The Genteel Arsenal
15. Mel U at The Reading Life

I hope you can take some time to visit these blogs and support them as they are marvelous!