(insert balloons, streamers and confetti here) Time to Par-tay!
Canarygirl.com is one year old! It seems like just the other day when I started off on my own in the blogosphere…I had been blogging at Vox for quite a while, and before that had just shared recipes and photos on various sites across the web. So now, a few hundred recipes later, and almost as many posts, I’m proud to celebrate my anniversary with you! Thank you all so much, dear readers…your comments and encouragement have meant (and mean!) the world to me, and I am always inspired by your wonderfulness. (yes, I invent words when I feel it’s necessary. lol) There are so many of you I look to for my morning food blog fix! I am so thrilled to be celebrating this anniversary with you that I’ve decided to Have a contest on the site! I’m going to give away one of my hardcover cookbooks to one of you awesome readers.
All you need to do to enter the contest, is leave me a comment, letting me know you’d like to be entered, along with your email address (this will remain private–just fill it out before commenting) so I’ll be able to contact the winner. :D This will need to be done before Monday, May 19th (that gives you 2 weeks, kids). On Tuesday, May 20th, I’ll randomly select a name from the bunch and that person will receive a copy of Cooking With Canarygirl. Good luck! :)
Recently, I have had the enormous pleasure of being nominated for not one, but TWO awards! I cannot even tell you how happy I am, how absolutely humbled and honored I feel that there are folks out there who think my little old blog is award worthy. It just seriously blows my mind. THANK YOU! :D From the bottom of my heart and soul I thank you so much for thinking of me when nominating. You are the absolute best! 
First off, both Amy at Dinners for a Year and Beyond and Gaga at Gaga in the Kitchen have nominated me for a Blogging with Purpose Award! Both of these girls have fabulous blogs…Amy is personal chef that shares recipe ideas to last the whole year through! Gaga is another fab blogger that shares delicious recipes from around the world! Check out their blogs, you will be happy you did! 
Basically, this award is designed to commend blog writers that are thoughtfully sharing their insights with the rest of the world.
I’d like to nominate 5 more bloggers for this award:
Shaye, over at Smarter than Pancakes just began her own blog, though has also been blogging at Vox for quite some time. Shaye’s blog is all about living a healthy lifestyle, eating delicious foods that are not processed, or loaded with chemicals or high fructose corn syrup. She has a lot of vegetarian selections, so be sure to check her site out!
Elle, at Elle’s New England Kitchen is one of my favorite blogs on the web. Elle and I have practically the same tastes when it comes to food, and I can honestly say that every single recipe I have tried of Elle’s has been absolutely fantastic. She’s an adventurous eater, so go and check out her latest delights!
Mark, over at Manggy is one of my favorite food writers. He’s always got a great story to tell, and you should just see his desserts. I don’t know how many times I have simply fainted into my keyboard looking at his ice-creams and cakes! People often wonder about those square bruises on my forehead, btw. 
Bellini Valli, over at More than Burnt Toast is such a joy to read as well. She has such a big heart, and amazing recipes. If you haven’t tried her English Muffin Bread yet? I recommend that you check it out! That recipe is a keeper, folks.
And, Noble Pig, over at Noble Pig is my latest food blog find! She is super funny (read the “Get your fat pants out” post! LOL), and Oh my GAWD the recipes! I think I might even have a crush on her or something.
Congratulations Winners! You truly deserve this award, my friends.
These are the rules:
1. Awarded parties must nominate five people who have not received the award.
2. The blogs that receive the award must serve some purpose.
3. In their post about the award they need to link back to this entry.
4. Awarded parties must post the award banner on their site. The banner must remain linked to this site.
Next up, the lovely Bellini Valli at More than Burnt Toast (see her name above in the nominees for Blogging with Purpose!) and Diva, at the Sugar Bar Diva’s blog not only has delicious food, she also writes about delicious Art, and other interesting things. I’m so happy to have found her site! These lovely ladies have both nominated me for an Arte y Pico award! Thank you, Val and Diva!
This blogging award is meant to showcase those blogs that really touch us in some way with their creativity, design and interesting material. I’m taking the liberty of nominating some non-food blogs for this one, because there are a few blogs that I simply must read every day…they have captivated me with their wit, their heartfelt stories, and their genuinely fantastic personalities. So here they are, folks:
Flutter, at Flutter.com is an amazingly talented writer. She tells such heartwrenching stories with an eloquence that is so rarely seen. She will have your eyes brimming with tears, only to throw you a curveball and say something so incredibly funny, that the tears of sadness turn into tears of laughter–belly busting laughter even. She is awesome, and I recommend you read her beautiful words.
Crystal, over at Boobs, Injuries and Dr.Pepper is another incredible writer. I have been reading her site for the last few months, as she tells the story of her past. With each installment, Crystal fully captivates you with not only the story she tells, but the amazing talent with which she writes it. She can also make you laugh so hard your sides hurt.
Van over at Furiousball is a great writer as well…he tells his story, day by day, of his life as he lives it. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the hilarious. He’s a musician, web designer/fixer guy (you’ll have to tell them your real title, Van lol) and dad. His kids are so darned cute, too.
Anne, at Anne Nahm, is a wonderfully talented and funny blogger who writes about the joys (and suckitudes) of being a mom and wife. I love the way she writes, always insightful and funny!
Lotta, at Mom-o-Matic is a super funny and talented mom who writes about her experiences as a wife and mom, as well as her journey with weight loss and sanity checks with her “Gin in your apron pocket” segments. She also makes beautiful handcrafted jewelry that she sells at the online store Etsy.
Here are the rules:
1)You pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award with their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogger community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the ward itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) To show these rules.
