Clarifying the Pam thing, and passing out some awards

Some of you were frightened and confused by this image in my last post:



And I can't say I blame you. But before you go setting up internet controls to block my blog so that your children don't accidentally stumble upon it, let me assure you that I don't actually have a Pam fetish. Here is the deal. Back when there was only one kind of Pam, I never had this problem. My current Pam issues stem from (1) too many varieties of Pam on the market, all of which seem indispensable to a sucker like me; (2) scatterbrained shopping habits; and (3) scatterbrained home organization habits. I've got three places in my house where Pam might live -- the pantry, the cabinet next to my oven, and in a storage room off the garage. I am just not together enough to check all of these places to evaluate my Pam situation before I head to the grocery store. So when I get to the store, I know that I probably have Pam, but which Pam? I might know that we're out of "Grilling Pam," but I won't be sure what our inventory of "Baking Pam" is, so I'll go ahead and get two Grilling and two Baking, just to be safe (Pam is like Noah's Ark to me -- they come in twos). Then I'll get home and realize that I had a Grilling Pam in the basement after all, and I even had a Baking Pam in the cabinet, but the nozzle on the Baking Pam was blocked up by the flour. But I'll probably get distracted by something or someone before I get a chance to throw out the clogged Baking Pam, and voila! -- now I have three Baking Pams in my cabinet. And with all of these specialty Pams on the market, I fell into a bad spot for a while there of having every kind of Pam but Original Pam, which annoyed the hell out of me. One night after needing Original Pam but only having five Butter Pams, four Grilling Pams and six Baking Pams, I vowed never to be without the classic Original Pam again, and stocked up big time next time I was at the store. And that, my friends, is how you grow your Pam collection. In all seriousness, now that I've actually taken the time to round up all of my Pam from all corners of my house to photograph them, I know that I have PLENTY OF ALL KINDS OF PAM, and will be on a Pam-buying hiatus until at least 2009.

Now that we have that cleared up, I was so tickled to learn that the uber-talented Blonde Duck passed this cool award on to my blog:



If you haven't been over to Duckie's blog yet, you really need to check it out pronto! Duckie writes fun, whimsical, downright magical fiction. Her characters are quirky and full of personality. And she even throws out some great recipes every now and then, even though she doesn't have to -- I'd visit just for the stories! You will, too. Thanks, Duckie!

The rules of this award are:
1. Pick ten people to pass this onto if you choose (please note the emphasis here on the "if you choose" part. I am trying to honor your blog, not give you more work! If you don't want to pass it on, great! If you just want to pass it on to one or two other blogs, terrific! I won't tell the Butterfly Award police, I promise.)
2. Contact them and let them know you have chosen them for this award.
3. Also, link back to the person who gave you the award.

And the Butterfly Award Goes To (in no particular order):

In the "I Love Your Blog So Much, I Had To Award You Twice" category,

Marie of Proud Italian Cook: If Marie posted 10 times a day, I'd wish that she posted 11. I eat up her posts like candy -- I just can't get enough of them.
Laura of she's cooking now: John Taylor was both of our favorite Duran Duran guy, and we both feed our kids frozen dinosaur nuggets every now and then. I feel a serious kinship. Oh, and her blog is really fun, too!
Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs: I can't even begin to list all that I've learned about cooking from reading Nancy's blog. Thanks to Nancy, I knew what Benton's bacon was and didn't embarrass myself when it was all over the menu at Blackberry Farm. Plus, we share an alma mater!
Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod: This is how my morning goes on the days I work. I get to the office. Log onto the computer. Go to the breakroom, get hot water for my oatmeal, and read Dear Abby. Go back to my office, toss the papers that are on my chair onto my desk, stir my oatmeal, and read Two Peas and Their Pod. Then, and only then, can I get to work.
Mary Ann of Meet Me In The Kitchen: Mary Ann is a prolific blogger, turning out mouthwatering menus and professional-caliber photographs day in and day out. I don't know how she does it, because I have kids about the same ages as Mare's, and I can barely manage to get some plain chicken and Steamfresh broccoli on the table without injuring myself. So Mary Ann's blog inspires me to do better!

In the "I've Awarded You In My Head Numerous Times, So I Am Thrilled That I Finally Have Some Hardware To Pass On To You" category:

Matt of Matt's Kitchen: Great writing, great ideas, thoughtful posts. A "don't miss" blog.
Lisa of Magic Sprinkles: I knew that I was going to like Lisa when she called me on the fact that I use a carpenter's level when I cook.
Audrey of Food From Books: Entertains me several times a week with her New England wit and her great recipes. I'm going to suffer serious withdrawal when your posts slow down over the next few months, Audrey!
Shari of Whisk: A Food Blog: Shari's blog chronicles her culinary adventures as she works through the Le Cordon Bleu At Home curriculum. Shari is plainly a phenomenal and accomplished cook, and yet her kids complain about her food sometimes, too! It gives mere mortals like me a tiny bit of hope!
Clara of I Heart Food For Thought: So many great recipes, and Clara is just so clearly a fun person. I get a lift whenever I read her blog.
Di of Di's Kitchen Notebook: I love reading Di's blog because I know that I'll always be getting real, honest, down to earth posts. And great food, too!

Thanks for reading!