One Lovely Blog Award
Some days, you just need a pick-me-up. I got a much needed one recently when the lovely Lisa at Real Mom of Long Island nominated me for a One Lovely Blog Award.
Lisa is a mother of four, a wonderful writer with aspirations of becoming a novelist, and has a great sense of humor to boot. Check out her blog! And, thank you so much, Lisa! I am flattered and I appreciate you thinking of me.
(I should also note she nominated me before I posted about dog poo this week, which is not lovely at all.)
Anyway, the award comes with rules, the first of which is to post seven fact about myself. So, here goes:
1. I’m obsessed with true crime books — not the kind that focus on the gore, but the ones that highlight the psychology behind the heinous crimes people commit. Ann Rule is by far my favorite author in this genre. I also love crime shows like Criminal Minds, Law & Order and CSI.
2. Animals are my homies. Many days, I love them more than people. When I see those animal abuse commercials, I shrivel up and cry if I don’t change the channel quickly enough. All my pets in my adult life have been rescues of some sort, and any future pets I get will be, too. Random, but slightly related: All my pets have first, middle and last names.
The late Archie Warren . Miss you, buddy.
Lucy Maureen. My wonderful, 9-year-old beagle mix.
3. The most fun story assignment I ever got as an entertainment reporter was to ride more than 30 roller coasters at three area amusement parks near Louisville, Ky., and then rank them in order of greatness. I spent three days over three weeks getting paid to ride, and write about, everything from kiddie coasters to huge, monstrous roller coasters. It was awesome!
I think of that fondly, because now, ten years later, I have developed pretty severe motion sickness. I don’t know if I will ever be able to ride a roller coaster again without barfing. I’m not sure I want to chance it.
4. I am a shoe-aholic. Before I had kids, I had a room in my house that was dedicated to my shoes. They were on display on shelves and every time I walked in, my heart burst with joy. When Superhero was born, my shoe room became his nursery. My heart continued to burst with joy every time I walked in, but for a different reason.
After having two kids, my feet have grown a full size. I am currently working on replenishing my shoe collection, although I doubt it will be packed with stilettos like it once was.
5. I have lived in six different states. I was born in, and lived in California until I was about three, which I don’t remember. I grew up in Washington state; went to college in Oregon; moved back to Washington; had my first full-time newspaper job in Illinois; moved back to Washington again; lived in Kentucky for seven years; and now I’m in Massachusetts.
I love where I live now, but the chill, easy-going West Coast is where my heart is.
Washington state, I miss you!
6. My aspiration is to write a children’s book, or books, with one of my longtime best friends, who is an amazing artist. It would be so cool, after 30 years of friendship, to do this together. It’s our plan to get this going in the next few years.
7. Some people think I’m outgoing, but I’m actually pretty shy. I do love people, and once I get to know someone, it’s all good. But I am hesitant to approach folks I don’t know when I’m at parties, at the playground, etc. I joke around a lot to detract from being nervous and that gets me through.
Same goes with online activities. I read a lot of blogs, but don’t always comment. I’m trying to get better at that, because I appreciate so much when people offer feedback on mine.
The second rule of the One Lovely Blog award, should you choose to participate, is to nominate other blogs and let them know you’ve done so. Following are some I really enjoy. (I love many more, too, but Lisa nominated several I’d also choose — we have similar taste! — and I also chose blogs that are updated on a fairly regular basis.)
What Mum Should Have Told Me — She was the first blog I followed, and my first follower when I started blogging last fall. She writes about parenting in really fun and creative ways. A pretend sitcom screenplay comes to mind.
xoxolovedee — Dee is a mom and posts all kinds of yummy recipes. She’s also a freelance makeup artist, and I dig reading her beauty posts.
Underdaddy — Dad blogs don’t get enough shout-outs, and this is one I really enjoy. He’s got a great sense of humor.
Carrie On Y’all — I recently started following this blog, and enjoy the humor of this high school teacher turned stay-at-home mom.
Dirty Rotten Parenting — I recently came across this blog and have really enjoyed reading past posts. (Again, I like to laugh.) Looking forward to seeing more!
The Wild Rumpus 