Everyone has a story

Jules has given me this special blogger award.  THANK YOU, Julie.  I feel very honored to receive this award from you. Check out Julie's blogs on cross-stitching, poetry and photography.

The Beautiful Blogger award does not come without guidelines to follow, though.  Here are the things I must do and those listed below will have to do:

1.  Accept the award- check
2.  Thank the person who gave you the award- check
3.  Add a link to the person who gave you the award- check
4.  Put the award on your blog- check
5.  Write 10 things about yourself others may not know about you-
6.  Pass the award on to 10 others-

Okay- the first four were easy...now let's work on the last two.

Ten things about me you may not know:

1. I don't like writing ten things about myself.
2. I had a stalker when I was in my 20s, teaching in The Woodlands and living alone in Houston apartments.  He climbed onto my balcony one morning while I was getting something from the storage closet.  I had to lock myself in the closet (he had his hand on the doorknob and tried to resist my pull) and I was scared to death.  I finally got the nerve to open the door, hammer in hand.  There was no sign of him anywhere except leaves from the bush and two holes where his legs were.  I got out of my lease and ran as fast as I could.
3. After that, I put all my stuff in storage and headed for a fun summer in New Orleans.
4. I have had many interesting jobs- summer day camp counselor, nanny, salesclerk for Dillard's, hostess in a restaurant (sometimes I had to wait tables if someone didn't show up), teacher, dyslexia specialist, tutor, substitute teacher and preschool art teacher.  My #1 favorite job of all...drum roll, please- being a mom and wife, which allows me the time to pursue my life-long dream of writing.
5. I have volunteered at a blood center, with GSA (girl scouts) and at the Salvation Army.
6. I had to kiss a lot of rotten frogs before I found my Charming Prince Pete.
7. God has pulled me through some very difficult times and given me the strength to let go of some deadly dependencies in my life.
8. I had to have three c-sections because my oldest was breech and it was highly recommended that the subsequent deliveries be c-sections, too.  During one of my deliveries, the anesthesia did NOT work and I suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.  All of it was worth it though, and I would go through it all again for my sweet child.
9. Hmmm...this is hard...when I was hired to teach 2nd grade in The Woodlands, it was on Halloween.  I was in the middle of my student teaching, interviewed in a clown costume and started teaching before I graduated from Texas A&M.
10. I gave up a nursing scholarship to Lamar University- Beaumont to go to A&M.  This was probably a good thing because I have a queasy stomach- something I found out later.

The ten blogs I have selected for this award all come with a story- how the special writer and I crossed paths at certain times in my life is very significant and meaningful to me.  As someone once said, "Everyone has a story."  Maybe someday I will share with you how I met these great people.  I have alphabetized by the blogger's by first name.

1.  Carol: Grandma's-On-The-Go
2.  Holli: The Aftermath of Happily Ever After
3.  Jake: It Is What It Is
4.  Jeni: Memories to Cherish (extra-special to me)
5.  Jessica: Praise, Prayers and Observations
6.  Judy: I'd Like to Say
7.  Lisa: Blessings Poured Out
8.  Nancy P: Discriminating Reader
9.  Nancy W: VoiceOver
10. Peggy: The Work of His Hands

I guess I can finally check off the last two rules.  By the way, this has taken me forever.  I'm quite tired now.  I have had to pause and save to go pick up a bridesmaid dress for Katie, rearrange some furniture, do laundry, go to the grocery store and eat dinner.  Not to mention the zipper-getting-caught-in-dress-we-had-home-for-five-minutes-and-almost-ruined ordeal, or talking and interacting with the family.  Sigh...until we meet again.