The Versatile Blogger Award

I was lucky enough recently be tapped for a "Versatile Blogger Award" by a blogging friend over at Nostalgia in the Making. Thank you, thank you! The very title of the award did make me stop and realize: y'know, my blog is nothing if not versatile. From childhood phobias to adventures in a bridesmaid dress, and from reflections on heartbreaking hatred to ruminations on poop and pee... apparently, I'll write about pretty much anything.

So I'll proudly take this award as a badge of honor, and follow the rules for accepting it, which include: 

1. Thank the award-givers and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass this award along to 15 other bloggers.
4. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Without further ado, here we go:

1. The Thank You. Thanks for the nod, Nostalgia in the Making! Cheers to your own VBA, and thanks for your posts - particularly the recipes and the very honest "this is real life and I'm gonna enjoy it" moments you share (the recent pool post was awesome). 

2. The Seven. I'm not sure if these seven tidbits about myself are supposed to be seven surprising facts, or well-known attributes, or embarrassing confessions... so in the spirit of versatility, I'll populate my list with a little bit of each.

• I'm a serious athazagoraphobic. Look it up if you don't know the word: athazagoraphobia. Once you know this word, you will instantly have deep, clear, someone-should-be-paying-a-therapy-bill-for-this-level information into my psyche.
• I'm not sure that I'll ever own a home. A confession deeper than it sounds. It speaks to my nomadic tendencies. A lack of roots. Having moved too often already and knowing I have more moves ahead. The feeling that homeowning is a destination, and I'm not sure my journey has that long waystation in its path. But nevertheless, I do house-stalk - and there are some things about the idea of home ownership, metaphorically and literally, that really appeal to me. I'm just not sure when, or if, the shift from rent to own will happen in my life.
• I'm a total softie. This might be one of the "duh" ones for folks who know me best, but it's true. Perhaps truer than I can express. From crying at commercials, to feeling guilty that I can't foster more dogs, to melting when I catch someone sneaking in a kind act they don't even know anyone else will see... the list goes on and on. My heart soars, breaks, mends, and swells a hundred times a week. It's a blessing and a curse. Mostly a blessing. (But 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' is definitely true of hearts - or rather, in the case of hearts, it's not the fall we should fear, but the breaking.)
• Something I dislike more than I should: talking on the phone. I hate the phone. Like, hate hate hate, to the point that it's a problem, particularly because so many people I adore live so far away. Yet I remain awful about making and taking calls (okay, honestly, at work, I'm fine - it's not an actual condition, like my athazagoraphobia). And my phone hates me right back, constantly dropping calls, freezing up, and delaying texts. Oh - for the record, I'm totally cool with texts now that I have an unlimited plan. So now you know. I love talking. Just not on the phone. 
• Something I like more than I care to admit: television. I wish I were one of those people who genuinely, but without being all self-righteous about it, didn't care for television. I'm not. When the opportunity presents itself - which is pretty rare - I am capable of sitting on the couch and watching the boob tube for hours on end. Not just high-end Aaron Sorkin dialog-filled stuff - What Not To Wear is a real guilty pleasure. It's a little embarrassing.
• Something I really, really want to like (but don't): running. Sometimes, I ike the idea of running... I'll think about traversing the neighborhood, on a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze, fit and happy, and the image is so great that I'll trick myself into thinking that I like running. But when I'm actually out there running... I don't like it. In the almost three years (a time period which includes a one-year-post-wreck hiatus) that I've been attempting to become a runner, I've never really loved it. I love the feeling after I run, I love the benefits of regular exercise, but I still don't enjoy the actual run. Maybe I will someday, but for now, I'll settle for keeping it up, enjoyment or no.
• I think about writing pretty much all the time. When I wake up, throughout the day, as I fall asleep at night. I think about existing writing projects, new ideas, ways to revise older works. Writing helps me think and process. I even write out my prayers sometimes. But too often, I think about writing buy then decide the laundry, or the dishes, or What Not To Wear is of more immediate importance. If I spent as much time actually writing as I do thinking about writing, I'd be as prolific as Stephen King. I'd also have to quit my job, never be in another show, stop volunteering, quit with the running, etc... but I do want to get closer to the balance of more time writing, less time aspiring to write.

3. The 15. I do love the precious few blogs I read, though I am a sporadic reader of blogs at best... especially since I'm now back to being such a committed reader of books. However, the list of those I'm selecting for this acknowledgment all deserve it. Every time I visit their blogs, it's time well-spent.

• A Director's Notebook. Though it has one main topic - THEATER - this blog still manages to be versatile. It tackles teaching, directing, team-building, philosophy, arts advocacy, and more. It's a young and burgeoning blog, written by an inspiring and witty theatrical "dramamama." Go follow it.
• Eat Jackson. Okay, so technically this is another blog with one primary topic - FOOD - but the versatility in which EJ covers food is amazing. All types of food, food events, foodies, food-loving-guest-bloggers, restaurant giveaways, and so much more. I <3 Eat Jackson.
• The Bloggess. This irreverent woman makes my sides split. I feel like I know her, without ever having met her. I'm not alone: her most recent post already has 4,300 comments. Did I mention she recently followed me on Twitter?
• Dear Photograph. Every time I visit this one I'm blown away. I want to participate some day. Having moved around so much, it would be such a thought-provoking challenge to find a photograph and return to the place it was taken... correction: will be.
• Adventures of Megan. From Flint to Chicago, the adventures of Meg continue on - ranging from loss to joy, theater to veganism, and occasionally featuring indignant outbursts that make ya wanna give her a high-five.
• Tell It Away. My only complaint about this blog is that it's not updated nearly enough. Lovely introspection, musical connections, honesty in the struggles of an over-thought life (I. Can. Relate.)
• Smart Girls Out Loud. A new friend and new blog discovery. Lily interviews women she admires, shares her own experiences, celebrates girls making a difference and finds lots of creative ways to encourage smart girls to be loud and out there. Kudos.
• Neil Gaiman's Journal. Witty. Magical. Loving homages to his wife. Musings on writing and creation and politics and art. A suggestion that on Leap Year Day, you should've taken a writer in your life out to eat. (Ahem. Why didn't you?) What else would you expect? It's Neil Freakin' Gaiman, y'all. 
• Noleo Fantastico. An artist in the blogging world. He's visual, engaging, just plain fantastico - as is his blog!
• Best In Class. A teacher's cheeky take on her classroom, education, and more. I was honored to post a guest blog once. I love the honesty and insights in this blog. Best In Class is an apropos name.
• PostSecret. I used to visit this blog every single Sunday to see the new confessions mailed in on post cards, some of which break your heart, some of which crack you up, some of which gross you out. Always riveting.
• Freckles in the Fog. Written by someone I knew well, once upon a time, I enjoy this blog  because the author writes engagingly about things I know quite well (writing, cooking, existential crises) and things I don't know at all (mommyhood, design, knowing what's fashionable *before* it's so-three-seasons ago).
• Tom Head. Looks like his blog is currently down - the link I had for it now lands on his Facebook page - but bookmark it just in case! What Tom writes is always worth reading. Political posts, in particular, are poignant and progressive. (All that alliteration is just for you, Tom!)
• FailBlog. If you have never visited this blog, that in itself is officially an internet-reading-FAIL. 
• This Is Not That Blog. A recent discovery. I love the cartoons and the snark. I wish I could make cartoons. New goal: make cartoons. (I probably won't. I'll probably just keep visiting this blog and having envy. Ah, well.)

4. Now to contact the 15 folks mentioned above... I gotta say, what with all the tagging/linking/contacting, this is one of the most time-consuming lighthearted blogs I've constructed in quite some time. Happy blogging, fellow award winners ;-)