The Semper Fidelis Award: My Blogging Wolf Pack

Sharing is caring!

One of my favorite blogger friends, Dana from Kiss My List has nominated me for the Semper Fidelis Award. Semper Fidelis means “always faithful” or “always loyal” in Latin, and as you can see, the original person that created this award used wolves in their design. Wolves live and travel together in packs of six to ten; there is a great deal of loyalty and social cooperation in their packs. And so, this award is meant to be used as a thank you to our supportive fellow blog friends.

Dana was really creative in her awards and wrote us all limericks in her post! Talk about setting the bar high!! One of the reasons I love Dana’s blog is because she writes about a variety of topics. It’s always interesting, and I always leave her blog with a smile on my face. I love her sense of humor! Dana and I also have kids about the same age…it has been nice to find other bloggers with teenagers! I hope you’ll stop by and check out Kiss My List…you’ll be glad you did!

I started officially blogging in September of last year (I say officially because I tried it once before), and while I was slowly building a readership through Facebook, I had no idea how to build my own community in the blog world. And then I learned of the SITS Girls, and that was my first entrance into meeting other bloggers. Now I do feel like I have a comfortable community of blog friends. Some I simply know through their blogs and Facebook; others I actually converse with on a regular basis. Still others I have met in real life as well! I treasure each of  these connections!

While I would love to feature all of my blog friends, there are always rules that come with these types of awards, and I am going to follow them (or this post will be really long and none of you will read it)!

1. Add the award logo to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who nominated/gifted you and link back to their blog. 
3.  Nominate five bloggers whose loyalty and friendship you value and who you consider being part of your ‘wolf pack’.
4.  Post something special for each one of your nominees and dedicate it to them such as a quote, picture, poem, saying etc….something you think pertains to that person.
5.  Let your nominees know that they are nominated!

There are a lot of people I could nominate, but I am going to nominate the 4 women that I work with on our Ladies Only Blog Share.

Crystal Ponti, from Mommifried

Crystal is probably one of the first bloggers I met after joining the SITS Girls. She is an amazing wealth of information when it comes to all things blogging, and is generous with her advice. The Ladies Only Blog Share is her brainchild, and I was honored when she asked me to be a part of it. You can find it on each of our blogs every other Friday, the next one being the Friday coming up! She’s become one of those blog friends I “talk” to (good old Facebook messaging) on a regular basis. She truly is a SUPERMOM! I am in awe of the fact that she has adult children as well as one on the way, and how she manages to juggle her family and work at home schedule, keeping up with her blog and working a social media consulting business as well! If you’re not familiar with her blog, you’ll find great posts there, from recipes (she IS the crock pot queen), to social media advice to information on OCD, which is something I have dealt with since I was a child.

Kristen Daukas from 4 Hens and a Rooster

I think I originally met Kristen on Twitter. Then we met in person at Bloggy Boot Camp in Charlotte, tweeted at each other during the day, had assigned seating together at lunch, and the rest is history. We became fast friends. Kristen’s an old timer in the blog world compared to me…she’s been blogging since 2004!  We have kids roughly the same age, and whenever I have an idea, I tend to call or message her. She’s a great person to bounce things off of and brainstorm with! This quote from Oprah Winfrey reminds me of Kristen: “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” She’s someone I feel like I can count on, and like me, I think she thrives on a crazy schedule. I think we were meant to be friends.

Tamara Bowman from Tamara Camera Blog

I also met Tamara through the SITS Girls. Tamara is an amazing photographer and storyteller, two things that are dear to my heart. Her blog is full of gorgeous photos and rich storytelling…when you visit, you won’t want to leave!  Her family is very lucky to have all of their wonderful stories documented! Tamara has been a regular visitor and commenter on my blog since I met her, and we have guest posted for each other as well. If you want to check out the post she wrote for my blog on Ten Ways to Take Better Portraits with your DSLR, you will learn more than you ever imagined!

Angela from A Writer Mom’s Blog

Angela is another SITS Girls friend.  We have kids who are similar in age, and like me, she is also a work at home mom, trying to juggle it all. Her blog is a great read…she covers a nice mix of family oriented topics, from things to do with your family to book reviews to helpful information for both your blog and your family. There truly is something for everyone! I also have the greatest respect for the grace in which she has handled some difficult times in her life. She is a gem, and I am very glad to have met her!

I know that is not 5, but I would have such a difficult time picking a 5th. There are so many others in my “wolf pack” — I am very blessed! I hope you enjoy their blogs as much as I do!