I got a bonus today!  I opened my WordPress Reader to find that anotheronewiththecancer had nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award:

When I first decided to write this blog, it was of me, about me and for me (See “Who, What, Why“) and inspiring someone else seemed to me to be just a possible bonus.  Since then, becoming more involved in both my local and the online breast cancer (and other cancers) communities, and seeing how I’ve benefitted from knowing others and their journeys, the possibility that what I’m going through could possibly make someone else’s journey through similar territory just a little bit easier, point them toward something that helps them get through a day (See “Resources“), or just gives them an unexpected but I’m sure much-needed laugh, has become more important to me.

That’s why I’m truly honored to be nominated for this award – thank you!

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award Rules

1.  Display the award logo on your blog – check.
2.  Link back to the person who nominated you – check (see above).
3.  State 7 things about yourself – check (directly below this list).
4.  Nominate 15 bloggers for this blog and link to their pages – check (next list after the stuff about me – below).
5.  Notify these bloggers of the nomination and the awards’ requirements – right, will be doing that over the weekend!

7 Things You Might Not Know About Me:

1.  I ride motorcycles, and I didn’t grow up doing it.  I didn’t learn to ride motorcycles until after I turned 30 – I blame, I mean thank, Hubby for that.  Even better, Dad can’t be mad at Hubby for it.  You see, when Hubby ‘got me’ I already had speed and racing in my blood, thanks to Dad: when I was 14, Dad raced Porsche 914-4’s as a hobby and for the first 3 years of Dad’s racing, I was his only pit crew.  It was just me and him, showing up at the gates of the racetrack at 7:30 in the morning waiting for them to open the gates, claiming a garage and pit spot, unloading the car (our first trailer did not have a winch, so Dad would unhook 3 of the tie-downs and I’d brace the car while he unhooked the 4th and we’d back it off the trailer together – then at the end of the day we’d push the car up and I’d brace it while he hooked the first tie-down, then we’d do the rest together), then while he was unloading all the tools & stuff, I’d untape the carburetors and go arrange for race gas delivery.  So Hubby is actually very smug about my Dad’s discomfort about me riding motorcycles (since, when I started, I knew I’d eventually go fast enough to scare Dad) ‘cuz Dad is a cage-guy (and a closed-wheel cage-guy at that), and I’m much less protected on a motorcycle than Dad was in his race car.  But I also ride according to the four things Dad taught me about inherently-dangerous sports: a) wear all the most current safety equipment possible, b) get the best possible training in your chosen sport, c) keep your equipment in impeccable working order, then d) forget about the risks and go have fun!

2.  I’m Jewish.  I consider myself culturally Jewish, but not religiously Jewish.  In terms of religion, I consider myself rather more spiritual and happen to believe that all the major religions have the same tenets of love, tolerance, and charity at their roots.  That isn’t to say I necessarily have anything against Judaism as a religion.  I’ve been to ceremonies and services in Temple from time to time and found some comfort in the sense of submission to God I felt during some of those times.  There is a relaxation in giving over to an other, being of service, and relying on their protection and caretaking, if only for temporary periods of time.

3.  Next Monday, December 10, 2012 is my 21st anniversary with Hubby.  We both originally went into this relationship with the perspective that we’d hang out with each other until someone better came along.  When I mentioned the other day that Monday was approaching, he asked me if I thought we’d ever find someone better.  I told him I was losing hope about that after all this time and he might just be stuck with me.  He said he could live with that, so we’ll go on counting December 10ths for a while yet.

4.  I am interested in and have explored the idea of dominance and submission in other parts of life than just the religious.  If this comment is a bit obscure for you, feel free to ask privately.  I’ll certainly answer you, but whether the answer is the whole truth or not depends on who asks.  🙂

5.  I’m a knitter; hence some of the blogs I’m nominating below are knitting blogs.  Knitting comes and goes in my life.  I get really into it for a while, then some other part of life will take precedence and I’ll let it go.  And then some time down the road things start to feel a little crazy and my mind turns back to knitting for a bit of private, quiet-time zen.  And round and round we go.

6.  I was born under the sign of Gemini, which may not surprise anyone who has noticed the back-and-forth, not-all-one-thing-or-another, one-answer-in-one-mood-another-answer-in-another-mood nature of my blog.  BTW, this was true before cancer and should not be confused with the Roller Coaster Of Cancer, which is its own separate phenomenon to which I am Also currently subject.  It’s not that I can’t find the middle ground, it’s just usually that I’m waving to it on my swing from one end of the pendulum to the other, promising it I’ll see it again on my next time by.

7.  Hm, last one, what shall it be?  I’m also sort of a foodie, maybe more of a theoretical foodie than an actual concrete foodie.  I wish I had more time to cook from scratch and that I chose to spend more of the time I do have in cooking from scratch, but (Especially Now) there’s only so much time, and more importantly, energy to go around.  And though I may never actually find it and stay there for very long (See No. 6 above), I Am always looking for balance.

Okay, just because I got to my 7 things and thought of one I really wanted to include, but didn’t want to wipe any of the above out, I’m including a bonus 8th thing:

8.  I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and soon after starting this blog a friend of mine brought it to my attention that because of this blog, I am!  I grew up in an extremely verbal and articulate family (See “I Missed You Last Night, Grandma – Single Malt Scotch and Election Returns“) and was always praised for my writing ability throughout my school years, and then again when I lost my Grandmother last New Year’s Eve (yeah, this whole year has kinda sucked in some ways, from beginning to end), my published-writer cousin complimented me on the quality of my writing when he heard my remarks at my grandmother’s memorial service.  I never really thought of it in these terms until recently but I like telling stories, painting word pictures, sharing information and teaching something to someone so that they understand it.  I mean, I wrote over 1000 words in no time at all about getting blood drawn for lab tests (See “Seriously, this Woman Knows Her Way Around a Vein – I’m Naming Names Again“) just to praise people who were kind to me and walked the talk!  Even I recognize some might say that’s kinda crazy.  So, starting this blog merely as an outlet has become something I’ve looked for my whole life and my job/career never dovetailed with.  It has since become something I feel I don’t have enough time to do, which must mean it’s important to me.  I’m a writer.

Blogs I Read and Am Inspired By:

Swift Expression
Trifecta
The Sarcastic Boob
Amateur Gourmet
Stupid Dumb Breast Cancer
elynjacobs
Twist Collective
Natty Knitter
Margaret and Helen
hkt4life
A Faded Romantic’s Notebook
The Judeo/Christian Tradition
Blogging for a Good Book
Knitting to Stay Sane
Pickles