Wow. I haven't been the recipient of an award since college, but this week the lovely SusieQT at Practice in Time gave me the Stylish Blogger Award. Thanks, SusieQT!
While I'm new to the blog award process, I do know that with this particular award I'm to share seven facts about myself with all of you and then pass the award on to seven other bloggers. So, here goes . . .
1. I started this list at number seven and worked my way backwards to number one. Whenever I do anything that involves a list, I number the whole thing first so I'll have spaces to fill in. I love filling in things. Crosswords, sudoku, bubble tests (I loved taking the MEAP, the SAT, and the ACT—actually, I love any kind of test and the longer the better), checklists, order forms. I wonder what that says about me.
2. I'm a pretty strict parent. My parents were strict and I feel like I turned out fine, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And there is little that annoys me more than a poorly behaved child, especially one who obviously has the upper hand and rules over his parents. I was a happy kid and I always knew that my parents loved me. I never doubted it. And when I was punished I knew I deserved punishment. I understood that it was their job to make me into a respectable, respectful person who contributed to society, who didn't expect others to do things for her that she could do herself, who didn't believe the world revolved around her, who behaved in public, who did her best all the time.
I want to raise my son with those values, as well as the wonderful additions that my husband contributes from his upbringing: compassion and charity (my parents are charitable, but as a child I didn't actually witness that as much as Zach did with his parents), devotion to God and the church (we were churchgoing people, but we didn't talk as much about faith when I was a child as we do now), and looking for the good in people even when they behave badly (I'm still working on this myself as I tend to be pretty hard on people most of the time). We both have wonderful, loving parents and are so blessed that our families are intact. Our parents are married, our sisters are married, and their families are full of love for one another. I always remember how blessed we are to experience that when almost everyone I know seems to be dealing with divorce, resentment, anger, and grudges somewhere in their family tree.
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| That's Alison on the left and me on the right. |
3. I have a lovely older sister named Alison. As children we did what most sisters do. We played dress-up and put on plays and played catch. She coerced and bribed me to play Barbies and basketball and I . . . well, I don't remember forcing her to play anything in particular. At Halloween we would set up "stores" and shop one another's candy. She always got the better stuff even though I attempted to be shrewd. When we played Clue or Monopoly, she always won. When we picked up fallen apples for my father before he mowed the lawn, Alison would fill her plastic grocery bag as fast as possible with the newer green apples, leaving the old rotting ones for her poky younger sister to pick up. She was a strategist and I never seemed to catch on. That's what older sisters are for though. They prepare their younger siblings for a world that will try to take advantage of them. Thanks, Alison!
4. I have a fair number of idiosyncrasies regarding food, including texture issues (cauliflower, mushrooms, coconut, blueberries, raisins in bread, etc.) and a low tolerance for ultrasugary things (marshmallows, fudge, cotton candy, cake frosting). I like few sort of strange taste combinations (bologna and peanut butter sandwiches, for instance). I am also frequently a chore to have at a restaurant (I learned from my dear mother that there's nothing wrong with making special requests—if they have it in the kitchen, surely it can be added to your meal for a small charge).
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| I love looking at the details in this photo. The makeup case, the roses, the junk strewn over the counter, the terrible flourescent lights, the plywood cupboards that were filled with costumes and props, the gloves that go past my elbows. Theatre was the best part of high school. |
5. I enjoyed being in several theatre productions in high school, including
You Can't Take It With You,
Arsenic and Old Lace,
1984,
Witness for the Prosecution,
Damn Yankees,
Hello, Dolly!,
The Bald Soprano, and forensics. My parts ranged from bit parts to starring roles and some of my best memories of high school involve play practice, backstage at performances, getting to the state level with forensics, and hanging in Mr. Smith's office with friends. In fact, it was because of Arsenic and Old Lace that my husband and I met and started dating. He tried out because he found out that I was trying out. And the rest is history.
6. I have begun but not finished at least four novels in the past five years. I have plans to finish three of them. I work on them from time to time. I have had better success at finishing children's stories (because they're ever so much shorter) and currently have six manuscripts that I'd someday like to get illustrated and published as picture books.
7. I actually write and/or contribute to a few blogs. The earlier incarnation of this blog is
Stuff No One Would Publish, and some of my favorite posts can be found archived there. I also write occasionally (as often as I finish a piece of classic literature) on
The Books I Should Have Read. I'm a contributing author to a serial end-times satire called
Beauty and the Mark of the Beast. And from time to time I post on
Potter Park Zoo's blog. These cover a lot of ground as far as interests and the circles in which I run—literature in English, publishing, the church, the zoo, education, and a love of animals—and are a great way to get to know more about me.
And now to pass on the Stylish Blogger Award to seven bloggers I enjoy reading. I'm sure that some of these may have gotten the award before, but if you can win multiple Oscars, why not multiple blog awards?
Liz at
The Quilted Turtle shares her unique life as a yearround resident of and math teacher on Mackinac Island, one of my favorite places in the world. She gives you interesting information that you don't get as a mere tourist and she shares some great tutorials. She shares beautiful photos of this small island where the automobile has been outlawed since 1898. I got the opportunity to meet Liz on the island last October. If you're interested in reading about that trip,
click here and start at the bottom.
Valerie at
The Victorians Didn't Even Like Pink! is a personal friend and has appeared a few times in photos and posts on this blog. But don't think I'm showing her favoritism. She really is one of the most stylish bloggers out there and shares her vintage sewing, hats, and hobbies (like crocheting amazing doilies—really!) along with her knowledge and opinions about historic architecture in the United States. She's a hoot. I'm pretty sure she's gotten this award before. If that's the case, Valerie, don't feel obligated to pass it on again unless you really want to!
Jody at
Couture Allure Vintage Fashion is not only a wellspring of fascinating information about vintage fashion designers, she also sells eye-popping vintage dresses through her
shop. They just got in some
gorgeous dresses I wish I could squeeze into. My word. Her blog and shop really make me bemoan how casual and frumpy women's dress has gotten. Sigh.
Anna at
The Sweet Nest never fails to make me smile. She takes beautiful photographs of her gorgeous children and the lovely details of her home. She has a great sense of style and seems to thoroughly enjoy life. Reading her blog never fails to perk me up and she's one of the bloggers I read that I would dearly like to meet someday. I think we'd have a great time together.
Liz at
Mabel's House gives me great inspiration for projects around the house and is currently pregnant with her first child, a little girl named Jane. Liz's blog is one of the first I started following. She loves anything mid-century modern and is helping me develop my own appreciation for that style. She's super funny and takes photos that make me want to redecorate. I remember feeling a little thrill when she first commented on one of my posts, like how you felt when the more-popular-than-you kid smiled at you in the hallway in junior high.
Jacquie at
Tallgrass Prairie Studio is the most amazing modern art quilter. If you think quilts are sort of stodgy and too flowery and smack of old-ladydom you must visit her blog. Her quilts are a smorgasbord of color, simplicity, style, geometry, and plain old pizazz. I pretty much want everything she's ever made. She challenges me to think out-of-the-box and never fails to inspire. She also has scads of tutorials on her sidebar to help you recreate her style in your own quilting.
Mena at
The Sew Weekly. I challenge you to look through Mena's homemade wardrobe and come away not itching to get sewing. What started as a personal challenge to herself to sew one new outfit every week of 2010 has ballooned into a cooperative website and sewing circle that gives out weekly sewing themes and challenges, giveaways, and more inspiration than you'll know what to do with. You could spend hours tooling around her site and never get tired of it. Makes me wish I had more time to sew!
So there you have it. I hope you'll visit each of these blogs and wile away many hours looking at old posts because they are treasure troves of amazing photography, inspiring projects, and good humor.
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