Conversations Around the Tree

I would like to thank Taylor Vincent at The Darkroom Nerd for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. It never dawned on me that I might inspire someone. I still feel like I am stumbling my way through and trying to figure it all out. If you all have not visited Taylor’s page, do yourself a favor and skip on over there. Taylor is a very talented photographer that inspires me to be better!

One of the rules is to share 7 facts about myself…you will see what I shared below. Many of my friends say I have no boundaries and that is probably true! Once I started writing the 7 facts…they just rolled off my fingers. Its probably more information than some want to know…but its me….so here you go!

Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you
List the rules and display the award
Share seven facts about yourself
Nominate other amazing blogs and comment on their blog to let them know you nominated them

1) I am a 51 year old woman. I am frequently mistaken for a man. For as long as I can remember I played sports with the boys, preferred pants to dresses and never understood why girls wore make-up! By the time I became a young adult I realized I was a lesbian and most certainly a masculine lesbian. Do I want to be a man? NO! But I am very comfortable being the person I am. The one area my androgyny is an issue is in public restrooms. My closest friends know it is part of their duty to escort me to the restroom in public in an attempt to avoid a confrontation. Because (trust me) people have confronted me and insisted I was not in the right place!

2) I originally went to college (a long time ago!) on a full ride scholarship to play volleyball. Even though my volleyball skills allowed me to letter my Freshman year, I was woefully unprepared for college. I dropped out and stayed out until I realized I would get nowhere without a degree. I spent many years taking classes, as I could afford them, and finally finished my Bachelor’s in Social Work in 2011 at the age of 48. I love to learn and shove information into my brain whenever I get a chance.

3) It also took me until late in this life to finally meet “the” person! My partner and I share a great life together. We share our house with 3 individuals with developmental disabilities. There is a lot of laughter, singing (not necessarily good singing!) and goofiness that bounces regularly off our walls!

4) Any of you that have followed my blog for even a short period of time know we have several dogs that rule our lives. I know the animal lovers out there will understand the joy fur-babies bring into a household…and how much room they can take up whether it be in your heart, on the recliner or in the bed!

5) I have worked with people with developmental disabilities for 29 years. I ended up in the field accidentally but quickly learned this is where my heart and skills belong. I have learned a lot about myself through this job. I have also learned a lot about the importance of respecting all people and their ability to learn and their rights to make decisions for themselves.

6) I love to exercise! I’ve played sports for as long as I can remember! I started running several years ago. I love running. My life-long friend and I celebrated our 50th birthdays by running a half marathon together. Sadly my knees don’t enjoy running as much as I do….they seem to out vote me when I consider a return to running. (I think they text privately with my orthopedic surgeon – who suggested biking as a better sport choice!) I have taken up biking and I enjoy long distance walking. I have several good friends that I walk with….we walk 60 miles in 3 days for Susan G Koman (breast cancer) every November. We walk so much that we refer to anything under 10 miles as “only ____ miles!”

7) And finally….my partner and I are on week 6 of a plant based diet. Our original goal was to eat this way for 6 weeks….now we’ve pushed it out to 12 weeks. We may decide to maintain this way of eating. We both feel so much better and neither of us are craving the things that once talked to us (like ice cream or chocolate!) Sushi is the one thing I miss….so I may need to slip some raw fish back into my diet at some point….but I really don’t miss the other meats…it is a lifestyle change in the making

So there you go…7 facts about me.

Now I must nominate other amazing bloggers. The only hard part about this is that I can’t name all the bloggers I follow. So many bloggers on WordPress have been generous with the knowledge they have gained during their time blogging.

I nominate the following…I know each of the bloggers I have nominated are extremely busy and may not have time to actually act on this award. However, its important to me that I let them know how much they have inspired and encouraged me in this world of blogging!

Joanne at My Life Lived Full

Cee at Cee’s Photography

Rochelle at Addicted to Purple

Sue at Brick House