10 things.

The lovely Jana and equally lovely (but snarkalicious) Beangirl nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award.


I swear I haven't forgotten either of you, I was just waiting for a long enough stint at the computer to come up with 10 interesting things! Here we go!

1. When I was in kindergarten we painted giant pumpkins, probably with fingerpaints. I slaved over mine. I love love love art in all forms (this, you probably already know). My painting was chosen to hang in an art showcase at a St. Louis mall with other art pieces from every school in the area. Not bad for a 5 year old. I still remember walking through the mall with my mom and dad until we found my painting hanging high above the crowd.

2. I wanted to be an actress when I was young. Not just any actress; I wanted to be on Broadway. Sort of odd since my favorite actresses were Judy Garland and Shirley Temple (not known for their stage work). Still, I love show tunes and can belt one out with the best of them. (This probably explains my intense love of Glee.) Of course I also wanted passionately to be on Circus of the Stars (trapeze). I don't remember which desire came first, but one hinged on the other. Obviously.

3. Speaking of the trapeze, my parents were the cool and interested sort who knew my hidden secret desires but never poked fun at them. Instead, my dad made me a trapeze and a rope swing for the back yard. Both of which I used to practice my circus act for hours. Just in case.

4. Speaking of my dad, the year I wanted the Barbie Dream House for Christmas (horribly plastic and overpriced, and WAY out of our budget), he made me a 4-tier wooden house for my Barbie family. Complete with a (scandalous) double bed for Barbie and Ken. My dad rocks.

5. Speaking of Barbie & Ken's marriage bed...well, Barbie eventually got knocked up. I knew where babies came from, and my Barbie sprouted a pregnancy belly...usually a washcloth balled up and stuffed into her skirt. Presto! Preggo Barbie! I thought this was normal Barbie play. (I also totally corrupted Tina, so then we both had preggo Barbies parading about.)

6. I wrote my first short story in 4th grade, and really, I've never stopped writing. I concentrated on short stories until I was in my twenties, when I decided to try my hand at a full-length novel. Before YA was the popular genre it is today, I wrote a YA book. It was sort of a controversial topic, so I never attempted to publish it. The whole thing began as a bargaining chip with myself. I gave myself until August of that year to finish that book or go back to college and finish my teaching degree. Well, I finished the book, but I decided the degree was equally important to me and my kids. I had been a single mom for almost 3 years at that time. I didn't write much while in college (the 2nd time) but in the past 3 or 4 years, I've been cooking along and learning a lot about my own writing style and ambitions. (BTW... If you're interested in that side of me, you can follow along with me & Shannon on our shared writing blog. )

7. Speaking of Shannon...we've been friends for nearly a decade. She's the one of my two original online friendships that actually went the distance. I can honestly say, I've never had a better friend. She's the smartest, funniest, sweetest, most honest, gentle soul I've ever encountered. I'd be lost without her. This is saying alot since I'm fairly self-absorbed (I've lived single too long) and Shannon is clearly better at everything I think I can do well. I love her anyway.

8. I'm a freak of nature. No, really! Both my mother and father are rH positive blood types, but I am rH negative (O neg, the universal donor, to be specific). The rarity is something like less than a 15% chance. Oddly, of my 2 natural siblings, my brother was also O negative. So my parents had 2 rH negative babies out of 3. Weird.

9. My original college major was Chemistry. I thought I was going to be a doctor (a field I still wonder if I should have pursued...)

10. I can't sew without a movie playing. I don't know why this is, but its true. My brain needs the background interest. I prefer to sew to disaster movies, but chick flicks work too. Speaking of which...I'm off to peruse the dvd collection!

That's 10 things, although I don't know if they count as interesting. I tried to pick different things than I've done before for this meme. As for those I'd nominate as a Beautiful Blogger, I'm incredibly late to the party! I apologize if I pick someone who is a duplicate!

1. Shannon of Frogs in a Bucket See #7.
2. Nikki of Subversive Sewer She cracks me up. No holds bar sewing and blogging.
3. Melinda of Country Girl Couture LOVE Melinda's style.
4. Gelbean of Gelbean Sews I was so glad to see Gelbean blogging! I've been a fan of her PR reviews for years.
5. Peacock Chic! Love her. She's fabulous. Enough said.