For my readers who have faithfully kept up with me over the past three years you already know that I am uncomfortable with receiving awards. My very first award, when I wrote The Whippoorwill Chronicles, was presented to me by Amydeanne. Amy has been my creative mentor from the very beginning. Her photography provided the spark I needed to pursue my own personal interest in photography. My second award was presented by my friend and ‘webmistress’ Heather. Heather has ridden the waves of my ‘blogging career’ with such faithfulness and integrity. Her creative spirit continues to inspire me. I have been blessed with awards by many of my other faithful readers and friends. In fact, I used to keep a category on my sidebar titled “My Awards”. Not so much for the recognition that was given me but mainly to recognize the generous individuals that made the award and presented it to either The Whippoorwill Chronicles, The Bipolar Diaries or My Name is Danielle. This is my website. There are days when I regret deleting that list. Then there are some days when I shout ‘I don’t deserve’ anything on that list. Then there are days when I am able to acknowledge that we all deserve encouragement, support, and praise. Even me.Perhaps I suffer from Doxophobia.

• What is Doxophobia?
  • Doxophobia is defined as “a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of expressing opinions or of receiving praise”.
• What causes Doxophobia?
  • Doxophobia is, as are all fears and phobias, a protective mechanism of the unconscious mind. Some event in your past has provided a negative association with the receiving of praise or expressing your opinion.
• Can Doxophobia be cured?
  • Yes. Through therapy you can retrain your unconscious mind to reprocess those negative triggers. Or you can use operant conditioning and just continue to lavish me with awards until the phobia is no longer a negative observable behavior (giggle).

And so without further nonsense, I would like to thank my faithful friends for so lavishly and graciously presenting me with the following awards:

The purpose of this award is to give it to an individual that inspires you and that give honest snapshots of their lives and glimpses into their daily existence.

Thank you Linda from Meahl Memories!!!

The purpose of this award is to give it to someone who is showing gratitude or a good attitude (if life hands you lemons, make lemonade) within their life or blog.

Thank you Ann from I’m annb…and This is My Life!

I always have such fun with you ladies out here in cyberspace. Thank you for your kind words. Thank you for consistently being an encouragement and inspiration to me. Thank you for your efforts in helping me get over my Doxophobia (giggle).Is there anyone on your blogroll or in your Google Reader who needs to be praised and encouraged? Express your opinion openly and recommend them for one or both of the awards mentioned.Thanks for being such a blessing in my day.Today’s Around the Square: is the person to whom I would like to give The Lovely Blog Award to….Miss Kris from A Shelter from The Storm. I love Miss Kris!! Over the years, though we have never met, I feel as though we have bonded in a way as only kindred spirits can. Click on over and tell her hello and you will see what I mean. She is honest, down to earth and truly hug-gable!!The person to whom I would love to give The Lemonade Award to is Doozie from My Dirty Shovel. I have followed Doozie ever since I have been blogging and I am here to tell you, she has definitely learned to make the sweetest lemonade from the most bitter lemons and all with an amazing and downright funny tongue in cheek sense of humor. Go check her out!!!Today I am grateful for: my counseling job. It helps me step outside my comfort zone and I learn something new about myself every day. I used to tell my own therapist ‘I’m tired of growing!!’ but yet as I grow I like myself more and more.Today I am going to simplify my life: by using my crock pot and making spaghetti!!! We have had quite a cold snap and coming home to a wonderful plate of spaghetti and cheddar cheese biscuits without a lot of fuss is a great way to start the weekend!