Well, I got nominated for a blog award in which I am supposed to share some details about myself. I am also supposed to pass it on to someone else. I checked back to a post I wrote about the blogs I follow, and I think about 90% of them are now defunct, though there are still a few of you hanging in there!
Anyway, I do want to give a shout out to a new blog, authored by my sister, where she writes about “balancing family life and art.” Lots of ideas for parenting toddlers. Check it out: Seeking to Create.
So, here are the questions from the blog award, with my answers.
- I’m an introvert! Let this serve as a warning that I’m horrible at introducing myself.
- In third grade, I was nominated “future novelist.” I lied and said I knew what the word meant, and then finally I had to ask the teacher. I haven’t written any novels, but in those days I suppose they couldn’t have predicted that I’d become a blogger!
- I’m third oldest of seven children.
- 2 of my sisters were adopted from Russia
- One brother lives in Africa (currently Lesotho) and I traveled to Kinshasa, DRC for his wedding. So you can imagine that family reunions are difficult to pull off!
- I had a crush on my husband for 6 years before he asked me out.
- I’ve played the flute since I was 10.
- I started visiting Russia when I was 14, that’s over half my life!
- I grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts
- I’ve never had a driver’s license
- I have a BA in Russian Studies and a minor in Studio Art.
And here are the new questions that Stephanie chose for me:
1. When did you start blogging, and why? I started in 2007. I wanted to record some snippets of daily life to keep family/friends informed. It’s hard to continually explain to different people what life is like in another country. A lot of details of life are the same, and then there are differences. Regularly posting some observations on daily life feels more natural and is accompanied by less pressure than composing a fancy newsletter.
2. Describe yourself in one sentence. Can I use semi-colons? 😉 If people could know one thing about me, I would want them to know that I’m a follower of Jesus.
3. If money was no concern, what would your dream vacation be? I don’t have specific dreams, but lately I have been thinking about London.
4. What’s your ideal way of spending a Saturday? Mostly nesting, but maybe taking a short walk to get some fresh air if the weather is nice.
5. What’s your go-to lunch? Homemade soup and an open-faced sandwich, then tea.
6. Fiction or non-fiction? What do I actually read or what do I think I should read? In general I like biographical/historical topics. I look for interesting biographies, especially if tied to a specific historical period, but sometimes I end up reading fluffy historical fiction.
7. You have a pet lizard. What’s his name? Bo-bo. First thing that came to my mind. But in truth, Lizard is what people call ME.
8. When did you become a Christian? I was a conscious believer by age 5 or so and experienced genuine repentance.
9. What are you afraid of? I thought it would be silly to write that I’m afraid of the dark, but then I noticed that the person that nominated me admitted to it, so I will join her. 🙂 Abandonment, being trapped, etc. Oh, and spiders.
10. Funny memory. Broad topic! Well, I probably have many from when I first moved to Russia and was making faux pas (what’s the plural?) all the time. For example, I got on a bus and bumped into Andrei, whom I had met twice before, and it turned out we were getting off at the same stop (and our buildings were even next to each other). The bus stopped and Andrei got off and I thought it was rude that he didn’t wait for me. Come to find out he had gone ahead to help me off! Oh, those Russian men! I didn’t even know what to do with his proffered hand.
11. What’s your favorite season, and why? Spring! New life, expectation of changes, long-awaited rewards, daylight, fresh air, picnics, and my birthday, at the tail-end.
