The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Thursday, January 12, 2012

She Asked for It...You Got It

       One of my writing peeps, Lynn Obermoeller, gave me an award.  Lynn is a gifted writer, a gentle critic, a wonderful friend. I initially started a list of seven of my fashion faux pas, as I am so not a fashionista (example: I am wondering how wise it would be to wear my Crocs today, and there's snow on the ground) but gave up after 5 or so...Then I read Tammy's post, and it got my thoughts meandering in a different direction...


1. When I was a kid, when I went to the circus, people could buy little alligators. Their legs were stapled to a piece of cardboard. Then, I was too young to be aghast; instead, I was fascinated. Now, I would be horrified to even go to the circus (unless they ever come up with one that features only humans).

2. I am adamant about seatbelts. No one rides in my car without buckling their seatbelt. When I still had my driver's permit, a 14-year old driver (driving for his grandmother) veered into my path and hit me head on. Thanks to my seat belt, I only broke my nose. (The ER doctor said it would heal without a splint, but since our family LTD was ruined, I wanted some proof of the accident. I also loved looking like the Lee Marvin character in Cat Ballou...at least for a day or two.)

3.  Sad movies and sad books are my favorite. I just finished Sarah's Key. Definitely sob-worthy. A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of my favorites, as is Too Late the Phalarope.  Both have brought tears to my eyes. Don't get me wrong: I love Augusten Burroughs' hilarious vignettes. The books about the Sweet Potato Qeens (the best is the book on men and love) ---I love. But if given a choice between Sophie's Choice and something gut-busting, I'll choose the former every time.

3. I spent a summer working in a gift shop in Yellowstone Park. I was 18.We were lured there by promises of "resort food" and the chance to enjoy beautiful scenery. If resort guests ate lots of oatmeal and white bread, I guess they were honest. We also worked split shifts, so we had little time to explore the area. However, since the legal age to drink was 18 there, I did a lot of exploration with various flavors of Schnapps...

4.  Over my Christmas break, dealing with a cold that would not leave, I watched 13 episodes of Sons of Anarchy--one right after the other. My husband (who had a motorcycle for a while) finds it quite amusing that although I refuse to ride on one, I'm obsessed with a show about a motorcycle gang. And yet I am...

5.  As a kid, I went through a "saint" phase. I voraciously read about them. I even dreamed I could become one. Not Catholic, so I'm not sure where the interest came from...Perhaps those pixie hair-cuts I sported in those days had something to do with my fascination with Joan of Arc?

6. (Almost there! Whew!) I have long feet. Size 11. You know what they say...Long feet, long boobs.

7.  I believe in many gods. The God of Snow Days. (They didn't come through today.) The God of Snooki. (Someday, that god will exert their power and we'll stop supporting Snooki...no more books, no more television shows, no more photos plastered in magazines.) The God of Fairness. (At some point in time, my final growth spurt will occur, and my 7'8" frame will be able to handle this weight gracefully...)

I am supposed to pass this award on (much like a chain letter) and have decided to highlight some blogs I follow that--in my opinion--lack the followers they deserve. They are:

  •  Shay and her wonderful poems. They bloom in her Word Garden. Sometimes they're roll-on-the-floor funny, and sometimes they're bitingly serious. But what they always are is phenomenal...
  • Ramblings of a Very Pale ManHe writes about his family with humor. And he's working on a novel. (That makes me a bit envious...)
  • Val's antics are spilled out on her blog---Unbagging the Cats. She can take a trip to the gas station and make it a journey of epic proportions--and make it hilarious.
Thanks, Lynn. And check out these blogs, if you aren't a follower already...