A while back, I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award. More recently, Melissa, from Castles and Hurricanes, nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. These types of nominations are done by bloggers for bloggers and I really enjoy when other bloggers are recognizing the work I put into my blog. So thank you, Melissa, because I have about 7 drafts that still just don’t feel right and I was struggling to decide which to publish this week. Now I can avoid that decision for another week. 😉
In this one, the rules are a little different than the Sunshine Blogger Award.
— Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog. See above.
— Share seven facts about yourself.
— Nominate 15 other bloggers. I’m going to bend the rules a bit and nominate five. Because, hey, I wouldn’t be me if I followed all the rules.
SEVEN FACTS ABOUT ME
- I wasn’t born with my grown-up incisor teeth. For a few months in middle school, I had gaps on either side of my two-front teeth. My orthodontist built me a retainer that had two fake teeth built in because I was so self-conscious about it. Later, the braces pulled my canine teeth down into the gaps. I then looked like a vampire for a short time until they grinded (ground? I know I’m the writer, but ground sounds wrong, lol) them down. Now, my teeth still have a slight gap on either side, but I think they make my smile unique.
- I tore my ACL in high-school playing field hockey. When I met with my surgeon he told me they would try to take tissue from my patella or my hamstring to repair the tendon. A third option was a cadaver. At that age (16) I was like, “Uh, what’s that?” He told me it would be an ACL from a corpse (AKA, a dead person). I had been watching too much Grey’s Anatomy, so naturally, I asked, “Will I have to go on a list? Like for a heart transplant?” LOLOL — I crack myself up. Doc told me ACLs were in high supply and just had to be matched based on height. And I thought… what about age and athletic ability? I didn’t want some five-foot-five, 65 year old man’s ACL who had never played a sport in his life. Well, turned out that my mine was shattered beyond repair. So I have some dead person’s ACL in my knee and I know nothing about my donor, but I am happy to report that it has performed like a champ over the last 10+ years!
- I drive a stick-shift and I always have. That’s all Dad ever owned, so it was either learn to drive on a manual transmission or don’t learn to drive at all. To date, I have never had a guy get in my car and not comment on how they think it’s bad-ass that I can drive a stick. Thanks, Dad! Instant “cool” points.
- I used to intern at a special needs center for a public school system. I was responsible for assisting with activities that promoted the independent learning, creativity, social, and motor skills of children with special needs including autism, down-syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, obsessive compulsive disorder, oppositional defiance disorder, vision impairment, hearing impairment, wheel-chair bound, etc. I experienced the purest form of love from those kids and it remains the most rewarding experience of my life.
- I play NFL Fantasy Football in a majority male league and have won the past three seasons (about $1200 every season). This year, the message I received from my final opponent, who I also beat last year in the championship game was: “I hate you, but I respect you! You’re the Tom Brady of our league.” #GOAT <<That means Greatest Of All Time, Mom!>>
- I bought my first pair of designer sunglasses this past weekend in Miami. It was an intoxicated decision, but one that I do not regret. They are polarized Michael Kors with rose gold lenses and frames. I have always bought cheap sunglasses because I have a tendency to lose or break them. So… prayers up, y’all!
- I took a leap of faith in October/November 2018. I moved from Washington, D.C. to Destin, FL to pursue my dream of becoming a full-time blogger. It has been the most liberating decision I have ever made!
MY NOMINATIONS
Simply Liz Lemonade by Liz
Anishinaababe by Grace
Nic’s Healthy Life by Nicola
Carly Bloggs by Carly
Chelsea’s Day by Chelsea
That’s all folks… I hope you enjoyed these incredibly random facts about me! Hopefully this time next week, I will have decided which draft to post, but no promises or anything.
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I love these posts! Thank you so much for the nomination ❤️ I love that you drive a manual! It’s funny because it’s all we really drive in the UK! Only old people drive automatics.
Yes, they are fun blogs to throw in for a quick way to “get to know me” better! Funny about driving a manual… when I went to purchase my car back in 2014, I knew I was buying a Toyota Corolla. I did a search for three specs: 1) white exterior 2) black interior and 3) manual transmission. I was only able to find ONE vehicle in THREE states that matched my requirements. The dealership told me that they expected automatic transmissions to be all that will be made in the next decade or so. Makes me so sad! Guess I’m driving my current car forever! HAHA! XX, Melanie
Thanks so much for the nomination! <3 I had no idea that they could do ACL transplants – SO cool! I also have a severe sunglass-losing problem. But I finally got a nice pair too and I feel like I keep better track of them because I am just always using that one pair! Good luck and godspeed to your pair 🙂
Hey Liz! Of course! 🙂 I can’t wait to learn more about you! But yes, ACL transplants are a thing! Sometimes it is weird to think that I have another person’s body part in my knee. And yes, we’ll see how I do! My goal is to just always travel and carry the nice case it came with. We will see! Godspeed, indeed! LOL! XX, Melanie
I was forever buying (and subsequently losing) sunglasses until I turned 30 and rich bought me my first pair of $100 ray bans. Truth me told I picked out the sale ones because I thought “well, this can’t go well”… to this day I still have them and because I was so excited he bought be a $300 pair a few years ago! I WILL NEVER GO BACK! Prayers up you don’t lose them girl, but YOU GOT THIS!
Maybe I’ll just “own” them for a little while first and not actually wear them. After some time, I’ll graduate to being allowed to wear them to certain outings (AKA when no adult beverages are involved). 😅 XO, Melanie
These are some great facts! Tearing an ACL must’ve been painful! I think someone on my quidditch team in college tore theirs, and it took them a while to recover. I didn’t realize that you had to replace it with someone else’s bone! I’m glad to hear that it’s been working great for you though. That’s really funny that you continuously win the NFL Fantasy Leagues that you’re apart of. I think it’s always fun beating guys at something that they’re more known for lol. Also the last fact is inspiring! That’s so cool that you took the risk and that you’re in a happier place now!
Hey Melissa! Yes, tearing it was incredibly painful. I was originally told it was probably only a partial tear since my knee was not swollen, but it turns out, that’s because it was was fully torn. So it was basically just a dead ligament. After surgery, I had about 6 months of physical therapy to gain strength and mobility back, though I still don’t have full range of motion. Otherwise, A-OKAY. 🙂 And yes, the boys hate getting beat by a girl for sure. I’ve always loved football and playing fantasy makes me hate it during the season (it’s stressful) but love it once that $$$ comes in. And yes, I’ve learned you can’t put a price tag on happiness. Thanks again for nominating me! 💛 Melanie