all together now - we're awesome. i mean i'm awesome. you're awesome, too, though.

the fabulous amy put together a fun blog hop/art giveaway thing called all together now.

because i am really good, like really good, at finding ways to avoid my responsibilities around the house (oh the laundry, who wants to do that?) i decided to join along, all last minute and stuff. i'm really good at the last minute stuff, too.

what's it about?

well, i've got a chance to brag about myself and while i try to maintain some grounded sense of humility, it's not hard to brag. i'm that cool. but you're also that cool and my bragging isn't meant to diminish anyone else's awesomeness.

in fact, you have a chance to win something cool from me BUT you've got to actually share some of your awesomeness first - but we'll get to that later.

first. i'm just going to do a list because it's friday. and i almost forgot about my friday five so i'm combining the two. of course i can count but i'm warning you, the list of awesome things about me may exceed five.

here we go...
you, ready?

1. i was a super smart kid. i'd memorized the cat in the hat before i was three. my mom thought i could read until she started flipping pages to test me and i wasn't cool enough to pass that test as i just kept on repeating the lines, in order, even though she was three pages ahead of me. but then, by kindergarten i was reading "at a third grade level" said people that knew about such things. alls i knew is i was bored to tears in reading circle.

2. i look for the best in people. when i can't seem to find anything good about them whatsoever, i ignore them, because it's not really worth upsetting myself. some might call this a defense mechanism like it's a bad thing, but in turn, i also try to be the best to those around me because i don't want the people i care about most to ignore me someday.

3. can i say that i'm creative? i can. and i think that's pretty awesome. i have had to overcome a lot a lot a lot of self doubt. oh, who am i kidding? i haven't overcome, i still have a lot. i am just faking it 'til i make it but i also appreciate the coolness in that because it's hard. i commend every single person that finds their bliss and follows it despite all internal and external factors that might make it difficult. you deserve a round of applause!

4. i'm pretty stylish. even when i'm sporting my self-proclaimed homeless chic garb, i'm comfortable enough in my own skin that i don't think people look down on me anymore. and if they do, that's their problem.

5. what else? it's a little harder to brag on oneself than i thought - so here, now i brag about my kids because they are some little reflection of my awesomeness, right? 16 year old bean is a funny, bright, multi-talented kid - he sings, plays piano, draws like a skilled architect and has this wonderful gift of being able to turn his grades around and get As and Bs after giving me a heart attack with letters from the school saying your child is failing one or more classes and is at risk for all sorts of bad things. it is true that he doesn't live with us anymore, but he shines where he is and my heart sings for him. six year old pea is reading and writing and doing multiplication IN HIS HEAD and and and. get this? last year when we started our waldorf kindergarten he was so super duper bored with the art lessons that i thought maybe perhaps i'd have a kid that just wasn't into art, afterall, he didn't carry around coloring books and crayons from the age of two like i did and my oldest son did BUT get this? he has suddenly taken an interest in drawing and coloring and painting and makes time everyday to sketch in his new sketch book and very carefully puts things away in art bag afterward. makes a mama proud. and the baby who isn't a baby anymore? three year old sprout is just wonderful. a wonderful handful that makes me laugh more than he makes me cry. he is my most sensitive child, an aries like me, so it's hard not to relate to his every single breakdown but he champions through them and tells me i'm the best. of course, when he's pissed he takes it all back and calls me dumb, but it's okay. he tells me i'm the best more often and what more could i ask for?

okay, so that was all pretty long-winded. five is good. now on to the prizes!
there will be five. all you have to do to be entered is go over there to the right sidebar and either follow my blog through google connect or networked blogs then leave a comment. but not just any ol' comment like "hi" or "thanks" but a comment where toot your own horn a little bit. shine some of that confidence of yours (and if you don't have much, read #3 again. fake it, dude, and it gets easier until one day it feels more like making it!!) share with us your lovely awesomeness. share the giveaway, too - invite others to share and spread their awesome cheer!

i will randomly choose five winners next friday, may 25th and what will the winners receive? a surprise pack of some ATCs i made last summer for an ATC art show i participated in.

i have lots of great ones, mostly with digital art from my original sketches that used to be featured in my poor neglected awesomuffin shop. there may also be some prints of some of my paintings, in a completely different style than the awesomuffins. we'll see - either way, i'm sure they'll make the winners smile. even just a little :)

ready, go!