Rendered Speechless

 

“The receivers of the Sunshine Award are bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogsphere.”

Somehow I’ve been nominated for the coveted Sunshine Award, and thus must reciprocate. I’ve been thinking long and hard about how best to graciously accept this nod as the blogging newbie that I am. I’m finding it difficult. There’s pressure now! Before I could just write whatever I wanted and if you liked it, great! If you didn’t, well, tomorrow is another day, right? But now… now there’s an award. 

*deep breath*

I am very grateful to Kristi Hanson, blogger at The Winged Pen (thewingedpen.blogspot.com) for extending this invitation to me. It was her post on Facebook not so long ago that prompted me to get my rear in gear and join the ever growing blogsphere. So here I am, scrunching up my face as I try to come up with something interesting to say about myself. You see, as part of the award, you must reveal 7 interesting facts about yourself and extend the Sunshine Award to 7 fellow bloggers whom you deem deserving. So, dear friends, I will accept the challenge and jump in feet first.

Seven Interesting Facts You May or May Not Know About Me:

1. I was adopted. My birth mother was a young, 16 in fact, when I was born. She made the decision to place me for adoption when I was just about ten months old. If it weren’t for her selfless decision, I most certainly would not be the person I am today. I will be forever grateful to her and will always regret not going out of my way to meet her when I had the chance. She found me in 2002 and we exchanged letters and cards until her untimely death. I allowed that opportunity to pass me by but by doing so I gained a knew perspective on life’s priorities. 

2. I loathe roller coasters. Yes, it’s true. I have a vivid memory of an old high school boyfriend who surprised me by taking me to Cedar Point. It was a surprise all right. Ugh. Worst. Date. Ever. To this day I can’t stand them. The motion headache starts coming on if they are even within sight.

3. I have a thing for cars. I grew up around old cars. My grandfather had a 1929 Ford Model A Pickup that graced the cover of Car and Driver many years ago. I remember riding in it with him for parades when I was about four or five years old. He had other old cars as well, and I began frequenting car shows with my grandfather and my dad as I got older. My dad now has the Ford pickup in addition to a 1957 Chevy. My dream show car would definitely be a 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang. Just this year I decided to splurge and buy my first Mustang. It’s my everyday car, so I went with a 2010 model, but I wouldn’t trade it.

 

3. I was in a movie. I was just an extra, but it’s my one and only claim to fame, so I’ll use it. I lived in Los Angeles the summer before I finally decided to bite the bullet and give up on acting (pursuing a degree from Ohio State in Communications instead). While I was there I signed up with a few casting agencies and got a call to work on a movie they were shooting tentatively titled “East Great Falls”. While I was working on the set, I never dreamed it would end up being a cult favorite of my generation, “American Pie”! 

4. I love animals. Okay, who doesn’t, right? I had animals in 4H as a kid, but I would never take one that had to be slaughtered or sold at the end of fair week. Instead, I ended up showing a rabbit, a horse, and a couple Shetland Sheepdogs during my career as a 4Her. Now, my family and I have 3 horses (an Arab-Quarter Cross named Molly and 2 Miniature Horses named Voodoo, and Magic), 4 barn cats (Tippy, Cookie, Fluffy, and Night Sky), 1 house cat (Keelin), 2 dogs (Miniature Australian Shepherds named Colby and Brandy), 1 rabbit (a Lionhead named HipHop), and 13 chickens (various breeds, I won’t torture you by naming them all).

5. My literary guilty pleasure is fan fiction. My Spalding friends can skip this one if you like. I see myself writing romantic suspense and crime fiction for the rest of my days. I love reading it and I adore writing it. I even like to throw a Fifty Shades of Grey in my kindle every now and again (although I don’t see myself writing that, just so we’re clear). Sorry, my literary fiction friends, but you have to agree, they make for fun reads.

6. Odd things choke me up. There are several events or spectacles that create a knot in my throat and force tears to my eyes. They include DisneyWorld Vacation Commercials, Folgers Commercials at Christmastime, the first hymn sung at a traditional Lutheran church service, Amazing Grace (whenever it’s sung), the last page of The Polar Express, the last several pages of Patricia Polacco’s The Butterfly, and our service men and women returning home from overseas (this is a new one I didn’t realize I had until recently at at the airport in Savannah). I’m sure there are more, but those are the only ones that are coming to mind right now. I’m a bit of a blithering idiot at times.

7. I have the best, most supportive family in the world. My husband, Doug, puts up with all my dreams and aspirations and never makes me feel guilty for pursuing them. I can’t thank him enough for that. My daughter, Jillian, is unendingly patient with me when I’m writing and is truly one of the best kids I know (and as a teacher, I know a lot of kids). My mother and dad have supported me since my aspirations dawned and continue to do so to this day. I am forever grateful for their encouragement and support.

Wow! That wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it might be. Of course, this next part may be a bit more challenging since I’ve not been doing this long and don’t really know too many fellow bloggers other than ones I know have already been nominated for the award. Hmmm… I guess I could still choose them, eh? Two nods are better than one, right? Although I will exempt them in advance from the required work involved.

Sunshine Award Nominees (The fact that I can’t figure out how to create links for these speaks volumes on my inexperience as a blogger… ack!)

1. Kristi Hanson at The Winged Pen (thewingedpen.blogspot.com)

2. Liza Mattison at Green Light (lizamattison.blogspot.com)

3. Anna Urquhart at A Road Taken and The Silent Isle (aroadtaken.wordpress.com and annaurquhart.blogspot.com)

4. Ellie Bryant at Ellie’s House (louellabryant.blogspot.com)

5. Karen Chronister at The Wordshop Blog (thewordshopblog.com)

6. Corrine Jackson at CorrineJackson.com

7. Rick Mallery at Power Shorts Daily (rickmallery.wordpress.com)

 

Thanks to all of the above for inspiring me, encouraging me, and making me laugh. You are all tops in my book!