Long time... No blog.

It was officially 2 years, last month, since I last posted ANYTHING at all here. Can you believe that?! Well, I'm sure that you can if you happened to pop into the tent at all in the last 24 months only to find that the circus was dark. So, "Why?" you ask. I wish I knew an easy answer to that. But I guess the simplest answer would have to be that I pretty much just burned-out on the whole blogging thing. And if I don't feel a passion for something, I really DON'T want to do it. You know? Plus, I'm sure that my clinical depression hasn't helped either. However, now I am happy to report that the passion I once had HAS returned! And I'm ready to SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! (Cher?)

So know that if you're reading this here lil' post, and you haven't completely given up on me, there'll be MANY, MANY more to follow. See you soon...


Sincerely,
Ringmaster Anthony


P.S. - Like the NEW light-up sign? I had it made custom for me, and I must say it really is helping with motivation! It just makes me HAPPY whenever I see it. Thanks again, Anjanette at American Vintage Designs!

How lovely!

I woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning... My good pal Maria over at Wub2Write left me a nice message informing me that she had an award waiting for me and to go check it out. So I did, and this 'One Lovely Blog Award' was what I found! How nice is THAT?! Of course, I do share the honor with 14 other fine bloggers, but that doesn't cheapen the prestige of it one little bit.

Now, this is the part where I'm supposed to announce my 15 successors, but I don't get out much (in the blogosphere) so my 15 is actually only 9. But, hey, it's a real sincere 9! Will the following people, listed in no particular order, please stand up:

• Dumbwit Tellher
• A Townhouselady's Life
• Storybook Ranch
• Atomic Tea Party
• MoonDoggie
• Gold Country Girls
• Lisa Golightly
• Lenorenevermore
• Sixpence and a Blue Moon

You are all hereby granted with your very own 'One Lovely Blog Award'! Congratulations! Now, sit down and shut up! Ha, ha! Just kidding! Come on everyone, let's give them a nice, big round of applause. They deserve it! And as for those of you who aren't familiar with some of these excellent blogs, please, go check 'em out. You'll be glad you did!

Spreading the love...

Both a big (((HUG))) and a "Thank you!" go out to my wonderful pal MoonDoggie for passing along this Liebster Blog Award to me. Evidently, it is intended for exceptional blogs with less than 300 followers and, boy, do I qualify. I mean that I qualify for the less than 300 followers part, not necessarily the exceptional part. I'm not THAT conceited!

As most of you other bloggers out there know, these little perks (awards) come at a small price. That price being the task of selecting a handful of successors to whom you'll pass along the award. Not that it's like a major chore, or anything. In fact, it's actually pretty fun! So without any further ado, here are my picks for the next Liebster Blog Award recipients:

• Smells Like Library - Funny, interesting, entertaining, and informative blog written by a library technician who works full-time in the trenches of a Jr. high/high school library. Oh, and he happens to be my husband!

• Gold Country Girls - Such a sweet, cozy place to visit. They're waiting for you, just up that hill...

• Wub2Write - The lady who writes this blog is a real kick! She's young at heart, and she can really tell a story. Check it out!

• Lisa Golightly - Fashion, art, beauty, vintage style... She's got it in spades!

So congratulations, everyone! Have fun bragging to all your friends! But don't expect to get a good table at Spago, or anything...

My 100th Post Give-Away Celebration! (CLOSED)

Wow! 100 posts, already? Doesn't seem possible on one hand, but on the other it's like, "What the hell took ya so long?!" I started up this li'l circus back in 2009 just as a sort of experiment, so I really am kind of amazed that I've kept it running this long. Don't get me wrong, I love doing it. I always have. It's just that it isn't always as easy for me to whip out a post as it is for the next guy (or gal), mainly due to my ADD, but also because I lack confidence in my writing ability. That's why my posts tend to be short and sweet. But I will say that since I started blogging 100 posts ago, it HAS helped to boost my self-confidence and feeling of self-worth like nothing else. Blogging gives us a "voice" in this crazy world we live in, and in a way, even a sense of place. You know? Like, I always enjoy spending time at my circus; I feel that I belong here. And when people who visit happen to enjoy something enough to leave a comment, it's like icing on the cake. In other words, I plan to keep on bloggin'... at least for another 100 posts!

Now, to the FUN part... the GIVE-AWAY! Of course, if it were not for the wonderful, kind, and totally awesome people who I lovingly refer to as my Captivated Spectators, I'm sure that I would've given up on all of this, completely discouraged. But most of you, at some point or another, have left me such great comments and positive feedback. And many even continue to do so on a regular basis! So I'd like to thank you by giving a little something back. Unfortunately, I really do mean "a little something" because, let's face it, times are TOUGH! However, I did pick something whimsical and fun... Take a look, below.

  

The official WINNER of the drawing will get both plates, (1) Mr. Food Face and (1) Ms. Food Face, as well as total permission to PLAY WITH THEIR FOOD! Hee!

GIVE-AWAY DRAWING OFFICIAL RULES:

• Only one entry per person.
• Entry must be submitted as your name and email address sent to onefunant@yahoo.com with the Subject line titled, 'Pop Circus Give-Away'. If selected, you will be contacted via email and a shipping address can then be given.
• All entrants must also be official followers (or Captivated Spectators) of Pop Circus. So if you're not already, make sure to become one, or your entry will be invalid.
• All entries must be received by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, February 27th. 

Thanks, again! And good luck, everyone! Remember, there'll only be ONE winner, so make sure to get your entries in! I'll divulge who the winner is on Monday, February 28th, unless of course it turns out to be YOU in which case you'll be notified sooner via email from li'l ole me. Bye, bye!

Who, me? I got an award?

I'm sending a great big (((HUG))) and a "Thank you!" out to Lisa, aka Tikimama, over at Atomic Tea Party for this very flattering award. It's so nice to get awards like this periodically because aside from reader comments, you really don't know how you and your blog are being received. And it just feels really good knowing that someone thinks I'm "a great read!"

And the award goes to... ME!

Yesterday was a "beautiful day in the neighborhood", everyone! The uber-stylish Townhouselady, over at A Townhouselady's Life, was kind enough to bestow upon me my very first blog award! It's none other than the illustrious Honest Scrap Award! From what I've seen around the 'sphere, it's a pretty highly regarded one, too. My understanding is that the award is supposed to be given to a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver's opinion, brilliant and/or inspiring. In other words, it's a HUGE compliment! I always enjoy getting feedback via reader's comments, but it really means a lot when someone like Townhouselady goes out of her way like this to both support and help promote my dumb li'l dog 'n' pony show that I like to call, Pop Circus!

So I'm sending out a super-duper-deluxe "Thank you!" to Townhouselady, who happens to be preggers, and already knows she's having a little girl. Congrats, you haute momma-to-be!

Of course, as with most great things, there is a bit of a catch to this. I must adhere to a few simple rules if I am to graciously accept this award.


So here are the rules:

• Say "Thank you!", and provide a link to the presenter of the award.
  


• Share 10 Honest Things about yourself.
  


• Present this award to 7 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged/inspired you.
  


• Inform those 7 people of these guidelines when presenting them with the Honest Scrap Award.

Now, on with the sharing...



10 Honest Things
(about Anthony)

1. For the most part, I do not have any obsessive-compulsive disorders. At least, none that have been diagnosed. But when taking my clothes out of the washer or dryer, I can't help double-checking, even triple-checking for something I might've missed. You'll lose a sock or your Fruit o' the Looms, if you're not careful...
   
   
2. My brain just doesn't register sports, or religion.
   
   
3. I have a very inquisitive mind, so I tend to ask a lot of questions. I'm fairly sure that this is one personality trait that my friends, family and husband all endure only out of love.
   
   
4. I am a good, loyal friend.
   
   
5. I have quite a high tolerance for pain. A lifetime of chronic headaches/migraines has conditioned me to this degree of resilience, but a real "good one" can still derail me!
   
   
6. I've literally stared down the barrels of 3 separate, drawn police guns which were all aimed directly at me in unison, and ready to shoot. They thought that they had caught some murder suspect because my appearance somehow matched the description of a person seen fleeing a nearby crime scene. But fortunately, I didn't make any sudden moves, and they didn't pull their triggers. What they did do, though, was pull me off of a city bus (which I was riding to work that day), hand-cuffed me, and stood me on the busy street corner so that a witness could "identify" me from across an entire intersection, diagonally! The whole thing was a joke, but I wasn't laughing. Obviously, they let me go because I wasn't the murderer! The real kicker, however, was that all of it made me really late for work, but they refused to give me a ride. Instead, I had to wait another half-hour for the next city bus to come along again! I lost a lot of respect for law enforcement that day.
   
   
7. Peanut butter used to be my favorite Food Group. Then my doctor said I really had to start watching my weight. Sooo not one jar of it has entered our home since December, 2008. :(
   
   
8. I secretly (not now), selfishly hope that both Tommy and I will die together. After growing super old, of course! I hate the thought of either one of us being left behind to live without the other.
   
   
9. I personally feel that if you are a gay, mature adult, you have NO acceptable excuse in today's society for not coming out and being true to yourself. Choosing to live a lie in order to appease family expectations and/or to avoid conflict is just the chicken shit way out! If you're not honest about who you really are, how can you demand the trust and respect of others? Live a lie, die a lie.
   
   
10. Tommy told me that sometimes I giggle in my sleep.

Now, my selections for the next worthy magnificent 7 are:

• Lisa (aka Tikimama), over at Atomic Tea Party - She brews up some great Mid-Century flavor, and she's also the one who turned me on to this whole blogging game! Oh, I should probably disclose that we've been good friends for almost 20 years. That wouldn't disqualify her, would it? ;)
  
  
  
• Six, over at Sixpence and a Blue Moon - She's really neat! A true original. There was just something about her, and her blog, that I instantly liked.
  
  
  
• Lenore, over at LENORENEVERMORE - Talk about original, unique, one-of-a-kind, etc. I don't even know if Webster has the right word to correctly define this sassy, fashionable lady!
  
  
  
• Drollgirl, over at DROLLGIRL - Now, this girl can "rock out with her c*ck out" because she loves heavy metal. But she can also talk about art, or her love for animals. She actually features a fairly wide variety of things, such as different new artists/photographers, celebrities, cute animals, etc. And if you've got a dirty sense of humor, her blog is right up your alley! (Ahem.)
  
  
  
• Heidi Ann, Tina Dawn, & Lorlore, over at Gold Country Girls - This charming blog is collectively hosted by three lovely sisters who grew up together in the foothills of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, an area also known as Gold Country. If you like nostalgia, gardening, vintage fashion, recipes, thrifting, antiques, etc. you will certainly find some gold in them thar hills!
  
  
  
• Kirk Demarais, over at Secret Fun Blog - He's one cool cat, and pretty much into everything that I dig, too! That's mainly because this blog is an extension of his colorful, eye-popping "Retro Culture" website, Secret Fun Spot. His blog posts are usually about toys he collects, classic pranks & gags, magic and just about anything to do with vintage ephemera. Groovy!
  
  
  
• Life With Dogs, over at Life With Dogs - It ain't hard to figure this one out! The writing is smart and funny, sometimes even quite informative. Plus, they do this hilarious running series of cartoon-like gags where they paste in real photos of their dogs in all manner of situations, with conversation balloons overhead. Very witty! So if you're a dog lover, do yourself a favor and pounce on over for a visit.

Well, I hope that my meager little shout-outs will help to bring these excellent bloggers some of the extra attention they deserve... And bloggers, consider yourselves awarded!