Us procrastinators will unite--one of these days...

In the meantime, I have some catching up to do: I'm part of a fun tag game, and I've received the Brilliante award from 3 different places and still haven't posted it. Now I'm procrastinating from studying for my big exam, however, so now I'm miraculously finding time for everything but that .

First, the tag game from BeadedTail: I get to name 5 unusual things about me, and tag 5 other people. Rather than pick people to tag, I'll let you choose--if you want to play, leave a comment and I'll add a link to you here.

Oddity #1: My middle name is Ryan, a "boy's" name, but I went by that name until I was 10 and got sick of being teased all the time (I switched to an abbreviated form of my first name instead). Now I kind of miss "Ryan" though, so I use variations of it for internet aliases and pseudonyms all the time--for example, I'm "Rya" or "Ryarianne" most places online.

Oddity #2: I'm unbelievably frightened of spiders but I love snakes. Go figure.

Oddity #3: My fear of spiders actually causes me to catch and release them when I find them inside, rather than kill them, because I've convinced myself that if i don't hurt them they won't hurt me.

Oddity #4: I'm enrolled in a PhD program in (basically) writing, yet I feel far more comfortable talking about intellectual ideas than writing about them.

Oddity #5: I love the smell of coffee but absolutely hate the taste of it. I drink ginger or licorice tea instead (which I guess should count as an additional oddity, since I don't know anyone else who likes licorice tea).

Second, the Brilliante award. BeadedTail, Miz Allie Cat, and TeamSquidEtsy were all kind enough to give me this award. Since I just nominated 7 blogs for my cat award the other day I'm not going to nominate any more at this time (plus it seems everyone I read has already gotten this, and it irks my self-centered creative side to be passe--lol). However, I am very grateful to be the lucky recipient of this award--thank you so much!

Why create a new blog award?

Perhaps I'm ego-centric? overflowing with excessive creativity? desperate for ways to avoid the work I should be doing?

Or maybe it's simply because there are so many cat blogs I've come to love that I had to personalize a way of thanking them for all their kitty cuteness?

(Aww, I'm soooo sweet--I know, I know--go brush your teeth now to prevent cavities, but then come back to find out about some wonderful cat blogs and my pretty new award for them).

Anyway, I figured that since I do draw cats after all, it made sense to turn some of my art into a blog award for my favorite cat blogs. Since I'm sure my faves will have their own faves, it will be a pass-it-along-to-up-to-7-others thing just like the other blog awards I've seen (actually, I could really give this to almost 20 blogs, but I didn't want to take away some of the re-awarding fun--so if you're a cat blogger who isn't here but who I've dropped EC on or left a comment with, trust me, I love you too!).

Alright, enough already. The rules are pretty standard ones: link to the blog who gave you the award, plus the (up to 7) blogs you're awarding it to, and display the award on your blog if you want (though please don't use the image for anything un-award-related, since it is from one of my original drawings. Oh, and you probably don't want to award it to a blog that has nothing to do with cats because, really, you'd just confuse the poor thing).

My picks (in alphabetical order, not order of preference, because you are all freakin' fantabulous):
BeadedTail --Thanks for inspiring me with your wonderful crafting and cute kitties
Chica & Pumuckl -- Thanks for sharing your adorable orange kitties adventures
Daisy the Curly Cat -- Thanks for inevitably making me laugh
Friends FurEver -- Thanks for adorable floofiness
Grr, Midnight & Cocoa -- Thanks (most recently) for the video of your cat chasing the aquarium--I've watched it a few times at this point, and it always makes me giggle.
Luxor -- Thanks for haring pictures and stories of such a beautiful white cat
Of Cats -- Thanks for reminding me about my house cats big cat cousins--and the important things going on in their world.

You all rock--I can't wait to find more wonderful cat blogs by following this award out to new places!