instead of what I should be doing. . .

Which is getting my act together to start another college semester tomorrow, what I’m doing is thanking Quieter Elephant for, and humbling accepting, his* nomination for The Versatile Blogger award.

I suppose I “qualify” because I write about just about everything. Here I always feared that this just revealed me to be a jack-of-all-trades-master-at-none, at best, or, at worst, a scatter-brain. Who knew that this meant I was  “versatile”? Versatile’s good, right?

So now I get to face the challenge of figuring out how to display this lovely badge on my site (little help from any of you techies out there?), and to follow the “rules”  — although I am reassured that there are no “blogging police” out there, I am, if nothing else, a rule-follower, so here goes.

The Rules: 

1. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass this award along to 15 or 20. (This is going to be difficult for me, despite my claim to be a rule-follower. I barely have time to keep up with writing on my own, and don’t think I even read 15 or 20 blogs. I’m going to count on the reassurances of not being policed, and recommend only those I know well enough to do so with integrity.)

4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Seven Things About Me

1. I tried, one year at Thanksgiving, when one of my sisters was asking what we were thankful for, to be thankful for cheese. She thought I was kidding. I wasn’t. I love food — good food, healthful food, interesting food, strongly-flavored food, and even better if this delicious food is being served with interesting wines. You will often find on this blog recipes or reports of our latest delicious creations. I also think that the four food groups (I know, it’s a pyramid now, but work with me) should be cheese, chocolate, wine, and coffee. Somehow I can’t see that going over, although, if you have those four, I’m pretty sure the rest of the good stuff works its way in somehow.

2. I want to be loved, admired, respected. I often joke that, as the 6th of 8 children, I have a tremendous need for external validation, and nothing pleases me more than any form of being patted on the head (“Me! Me! Pay attention to me!). This award definitely qualifies, so, again, thank you! Unfortunately, sometimes this means I talk too loud, say too much, and cry too often (when I feel I’m being overlooked or undervalued).

3. I’m three years into my second marriage, to the man of my dreams. I was married before for nearly 20 years, to a very kind, good man with whom I had very little in common and therefore virtually nothing to talk about. The wresting away, with the fear of hurt to my children, was the most difficult thing I have ever done. My husband, (known to you as Husband,) is everything I ever wanted in a husband — besides the fact that he cooks, does laundry, shops, insists on making my coffee every morning — he’s my best friend, lover and favorite companion (I hope this doesn’t embarrass him).

4. I wish I could live at least ten different lives. I want to write, paint, make sculptures in my garage and collages out of photos and stones and scraps of paper, take pictures, travel, be a surgeon, fly a plane. I want to be a tall black woman with fabulous hair, a nerdy scientist who finds the cure for cancer. I want to read every great book ever written, watch every great movie ever made. There just can’t be enough time in one life to do all that I want to do.

5. I’m perpetually conflicted. While I feel all of the things above, I feel the need to work countless hours at work I’m not always sure is what I want to do anymore, and I don’t always take as good of care of myself as someone who wants to live 300 years should.

6. Wow. I’m at 6 already. I didn’t think I’d get this far.

7. I love writing on this blog. I find myself thinking about this more than I think about anything else I “do.” I wish I could make a living at it.

Blogs I recommend

Misfits Miscellany: this and that for all things literary

Blog con Queso: many ways of looking at the world and being a woman

Running in Circles: don’t we all?

This is not that Blog: So funny! Makes me want to go out and get a digital drawing pad, even though I can’t draw

Mocha Momma: Love her!

Treacle Talks:  Her banner reads “planning to get sauced on life’s juice: stumbling her way to getting there.” Exactly!

Mannered Gold: Her banner reads “Mumbling with enthusiasm; typing with inflection.” Exactly! (Again; is it okay if I say that twice?)

Roger Ebert’s Blog: You might think it’s just going to be about movies, but it’s about so much more.

The Bloggess: She’s probably already nominated, and won, but she’s funny, irreverent, generous, and real. My favorite combination. I wish she lived next door so she could be my neighbor/best friend that my husband worried about when we went out together at night.

On to my next task.

Thanks for reading!

*I assume it’s a “he” because what woman would name her blog after an elephant?