Awesome Life Friday #132

Welcome to Awesome Life Friday!

We're so looking forward to seeing what you've been cooking, creating, growing, decorating, reviewing, giving away, and thinking about this week!

While you're here, leave your posts at the other link up we co-host here - Party in Your PJs!  It starts on Tuesday evenings, and runs through Sunday.  I hope you'll join us there as well!

You know - sometimes, finding the 'awesome' in life is harder than at other times.  Between so many natural disasters coming one after another (and one of our writers, Jennifer, is currently watching her beautiful home town go up in flames in Santa Rosa, along with seeing most of her family at risk of losing everything) and personal challenges, I have to be honest - right now I am not feeling it.

Last week, as I was starting to pull together that week's Awesome Life Friday, our 16 year old dog passed away.  I skipped the link up and my husband I worked to come to terms with that loss.  Sadie was a sweet old beagle that occasionally found her way into this blog, and we will miss her forever.

Then, this week - he was laid off in a 'limited restructuring' at the corporation he worked for.  I have no doubt at all that we will pull through this and eventually it will be fine but right now, this week? That sucked a lot more air out of motivation.

It also cost me the ability to have a pretty intense and scary surgery reconstructing my left hand to correct some of the damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis - a surgery scheduled for early December and have been preparing for for the last couple of months. The scary part of it had to do with a very lengthy recovery process that would leave me one-handed for months so we've had to do a lot of mental and physical prep to make it work.  Now.... the insurance will end before the process is over and it's the sort of thing where I can't see myself risking a potential need to move or change occupational therapists in the middle of it.  The stakes are too high.

So I am trying to come to emotional grips with that, too.

All of which is to say - I'm sorry for the relative quiet here.  We've got lots of posts coming up that my fellow writers have put together - and they are, truly, awesome!  But I'm a bit rocked and I know you all will understand if we all take it a little slow for awhile.

I need a little room to breathe, get my feet underneath me and get ready to notice the awesome again.

So, now our favorite part - the FEATURES !  If you're one of our featured posts, we'd love it if you'd grab a button, and thanks to all of you who shared with us last week!

Salsa Verde Chicken Soup // Simply Stacie
"Salsa Verde Chicken Soup is yummy comfort food that is packed full of spicy flavour. And it’s only a few ingredients to make!"

Make Your Own Painted Pumpkins // Gluesticks
"Make your own set of ceramic pumpkins to match your fall decor this year! A quick and easy afternoon project."

Crispy Oven-Baked Coconut Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries // Simple * Pure * Whole Wellness

"These Coconut Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries are the perfect substitute for regular fries when you want to pack in a little extra nutrition and flavor! They are quick and easy to make and make the perfect snack or side dish."

The Raven - Halloween Art // Of Faeries & Fauna
"The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe is such a gorgeous, brilliantly written poem.  Poe put the raven in the spotlight with his poem. I think everyone has heard of “The Raven”, especially around Halloween."

Hearty Crockpot Bacon Cheeseburger Soup // Housewife How-Tos
"Start it in the morning, watch your team win, then come home to a creamy, cheesy, rich soup studded with crunchy kernels of sweet corn, tender bits of onion and celery, and juicy bites of tomato. Oh, and did I mention there is beef and smoky bacon in every spoonful, too?"

Easter Eggs as Fall Decor? // Eclectic Red Barn
"These plastic eggs made a very inexpensive fall arrangement. I love when I can reuse items."

If you are one of our FEATURED bloggers, this button is for you!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://rchreviews.blogspot.com" title="Reviews, Chews & How-Tos" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSP_Xr01J7RkMPxJFnZ4diNUtZ9Y-g3WJodttvzK2XbjVwChaAi5zziWWIdkHQ0hEOBm9F8LzVGir8IYxQAqnTotKujF4lGlwehrgEJWBUAE8ct5VWyoyzSxlNj2EajF4JnRM4AiU1CBY/s1600/alffeaturedsm.jpg" alt="Awesome Life Friday - I Was Featured!" style="border:none;" height="200" width="200" /></a></div> <br

Thank you all so much for sharing your awesomeness!

Are you all ready to party?  If you like, we'd love it you'd help spread the word by grabbing our button:

<div align="center"> <a href="http://rchreviews.blogspot.com" title="Reviews, Chews & How-Tos" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTH2mtuhiCImI1w9H8anj1_nI0kBQULEYQz9i3IVTTVkzF-e0qToFCoEDPyLoDBvS_uUIEiW0Av67QV8fYnX84cEwX1DZtpLsWBrDF94Z_aNHVrPGLC2ilAznsmz3RXmfB5qV76QgWKvc/s1600/alfsm.jpg" alt="Awesome Life Friday" style="border:none;" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>

Here we go!

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