Bloggy love

The other day, Larissa from Papa is a preacher bestowed upon my humble little blog the award. I wasn't familiar with Larissa's blog before this, but I've had the chance to check it out this evening and wow, am I impressed!

I'm impressed by so many things- Larissa's commitment to her faith, for one. This is one area of my life that always needs working on. I find Larissa's honest and sincere way of blogging about this to be inspiring, and I know I will become a regular reader! Her story is very heartwarming and colourful. I didn't see anywhere on the blog how old she is, but she writes with the maturity of someone far older than she could possibly be. I particularly enjoyed her recent post on complainers as I often feel the same way (though I am sometimes guilty of negative rants as well, I must confess).I'm flattered that my blog drew her attention and thank her for thinking to include me in her list of honorees! If you are not yet familiar with her writing, please check her out- I promise you, you'll be glad you did!

The premise behind the award is that the blogger who receives this award is invited to share seven things about themselves with their readers, and then pass on the award to 15 other bloggers. I managed to think of seven more things to share about myself that other people might find interesting, but it was HARD. I didn't even realize that there were awards like this out there when I started this blog, and now I've received three different awards within a few short weeks. While I am flattered and humbled that such excellent writers and fascinating people as Larissa Tenorio, Masked Mom, and S. Stauss find something to enjoy in my ramblings, I assure you that I am not all that interesting and have officially run out of things to say about myself after tonight! But again, thank you for the encouragement in the form of accolades- who doesn't enjoy a pat on the back now and then?

Without further ado-seven things about me:

1. I am a bit of a grammar freak. I am
obsessed with fascinated by the rules of the English language (and French as well, though my writing here is in English exclusively). I know it's not obvious from the colloquial, relaxed style I adopt here, but remember I said I understand it- that doesn't mean I always follow it! Have you seen the website "The Oatmeal"? If you're at all a grammar enthusiast, you need to check out his stuff. I asked for this for Christmas, for my office.

2. I'm not a stellar athlete, but I'm decent at every sport I've tried. The sport I was most passionate about, that I played for 5 years and at the most competitive level, is Water Polo. I was once named an all-Star at Nationals, and that was one of the proudest moments of my life because I was the goalie. A goalie is not often the team member who is in the spotlight (which suits me just fine), besides which there were some truly amazing athletes on my team, which made this one honour that much more special for me.

3. One of my biggest pet peeves is being told "I don't know how you do it!". I look at people like Michelle Duggar, who has 19 children, or my own Mother, who had 9, and also a brilliant career as a teacher, and who, at 65, is also working to finish up her bachelor degree that she started when she only had a couple of children-and I think that's perseverance, that's dedication, and that is stamina. And to be honest? I don't know how I do it either. I'm just a woman doing the best she can with the four blessings that have come my way, trying to balance motherhood and home life with my 'extracurricular' pursuits. I live day to day, just like everyone else does, trying to find that elusive, mythical ideal known as 'balance' and just do the best I can, hoping I don't burn out or let people down along the way.

4. I am fiercely loyal to my family, no matter what. Some of the members of my large, eclectic family are not very likeable as people. Some are even more difficult to love because they treat people, even members of their own families, as expendable commodities. To the point where severing ties with them is a guilty fantasy of mine. And yet? There is this tie that binds us, that can't be severed. I can't explain what it is any better than that, because it doesn't even make sense to me. If friends ever did half of the things that these family members do, I would close that door (almost) without looking back. But when it comes right down to it, I will always be there for a family member in need. No matter what.

5. I have seriously considered offering to be a surrogate mother for two different women in my life, very special people whom I hold close to my heart.

6. Several of my siblings, myself included, have what my family dubs a "saviour complex", where we hear of/witness people in need and instinctively needto reach out to help them, sometimes to save them, even when they can't, or don't want to, be saved. But we feel this pull, this compulsion to act. While this is a mostly admirable trait, it can have its downside as well, specifically causing one to overextend oneself and to occasionally neglect other important things and people.

7. In an alternate world where money was no object and I had all the free time I wanted to pursue purely selfish dreams and desires, I would study to be a chef. I fancy myself a decent cook (most of the time). I love to experiment in the kitchen, coming up with exciting and interesting concoctions that I then test on my family members and friends, sometimes to their abject disappointment, and occasionally to their delighted surprise. It's something I'd love to learn more about.

I'm going to nominate a few bloggers I like for this award, but I'm discovering that my blogging circle has a limited diameter. I follow a few blogs I like, and barely have time to keep up with those. However it would seem that the bloggers I like all follow each other as well, so...this may be a tad redundant, but if nothing else it will give you some neat blogs to check out:

Masked Mom
The infinitely wise Jane
Grace

Thank you again to Larissa Tenorio, for reading, and for the bloggy love.