I'm a Winner!

Last night, I sat down to work on a blog post, since I haven't written anything since I got back from Denver. I got partially through a conceptual post, but my mind was a little bored so I decided to take a look at a few things. I checked the other blogs that I look at regularly to see what had been going on there and I pulled up The Spanking Spot. I didn't know that today was the day that they announced the winner of the Creative Spanking Blog of the Year Award, for which I was nominated. What I saw was this:

I sat there slack-jawed for a while before I realized that it meant this:

I'm really overwhelmed with happiness to have won this award. I'm also feeling extremely grateful at the moment. There are some people I'd like to thank.

To start out with, I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me and encouraged others to do so. Obviously, I would not have won if so many wonderful people had not done this. The fact that you guys all cared enough to do so really makes me extremely happy.

I'd like to thank Brushstrokes at The Spanking Spot for running the contest to begin with, for I'd have no way to win an award if it wasn't being offered. I think that having The Spanking Awards gives us something to be excited about as a community and allows recognition for great work. Thanks for that.

I'd also like to offer my thanks to people who nominated me for this award: my friend Amoni, the wonderful Pandora Blake (whose own blog has been an inspiration to me for a long time) and some people whose names I don't recognize but who I infinitely appreciate: Mr Allen and J.

There are, of course, more people who I feel appreciative towards. I appreciate Malignus' constant love and support in every area of my life. I appreciate YS for, among many other wonderful things he does for me, creating a rules structure which requires me to stick with my blog. Since these rules were implemented, my posting has been very regular and my traffic statistics have been better than ever before. I'm thankful for PTL for her intrest and investment in the blog, as well, and for her never-failing ability to point out my ocassional gramaticle errorrs. :P I appreciate Amoni again, this time for providing me with the wonderful photograph of me which is on my main page. I appreciate my boyfriend Rafa and my recently-ex girlfriend but still very beloved friend, L, for being the most supportive and understanding vanilla partners that a spanko girl could ask for. I appreciate the myriad of people with whom I get to have my adventures for giving me amazing things to write about. I appreciate SF, who, besides giving me my first spanking and introducing me to this whole crazy world, taught me both the value and means of producing proper grammar and good writing. I'm an extremely lucky girl with many wonderful people in my life, and I'm glad for all of them. Thank you.

I appreciate the people who have supported me in my efforts as a blogger. The first name that comes to mind when I think of this will always be Erica Scott, who has always been around to answer my questions and inspire me with her own excellent writing. Erica is very precious to me, and the help that she's given me means an infinite amount. Others who helped me get my start include my friend and now-retired blogger, Sophie Grey and Todd and Suzy over at American Spanking Society.

Finally, I'd like to thank my fellow bloggers whose links and mentions of me have driven me the greatest amount of traffic. At the very top of this list, by leaps and bounds is Chross, whose list I've been lucky enough to be featured on a number of times. Bonnie at My Bottom Smarts has also been a huge contributor of traffic (and support!) since the very start of my blog. All Things Spanking and Spanking Blog have been a huge help, as well.

Finally, thank you. Whoever you are, reading this, since without your readership, my blog is pretty pointless. You make my day. :)

I can't stop stressing how happy this makes me. Back over the summer, Malignus and I were driving somewhere and we our conversation got on the subject of these awards. I kept talking about how much I'd like it if my blog were to win an award. "Of course I'd like to win an award as a model, but that doesn't matter as much to me as winning one for my blog would," I remember saying. "My blog is really my pride and joy, and it represents the parts of me that I care the most about." I ended that conversation with "Of course, that would never happen, but it's nice to think about." HA! Take that, past self! I showed you!

I've been wanting to use this photo for a long time but it never really fits in, so I'm going to use it RIGHT NOW to congratulate myself:

That's me. I'm a happy kitty, tapping away at my keys excessively loudly and making Malignus have to go into the other room to do anything while I'm blogging. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. (Note: I am not actually a kitty, nor am I a "kitty-person" who'll get down on the floor and rub against your leg. You're safe here.)

Hopefully in the next couple of days, some celebration will be in order and I'll be able to share that with you in my next post.

I love you, internet. I really do. ♥