Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Shucks, Folks, I'm Speechless


During my recent Holiday Hiatus, I was pleased to be given the honor of the Versatile Blogger Award by Ashlee, of Something to Say. In return for accepting this award, I was asked to reveal seven snippets of information about myself and then to bestow the same honor upon five of my favorite bloggers.

After nearly three years of this blog, most of you know everything you might possibly care to know about me (and some stuff you rather wish I never shared). But I dug deep tonight. And so, here goes:

  1. I've been warned to never admit, if visiting Philadelphia, that my name is "Stanfa." The jury's still out on whether being shirttail relatives with this guy would be a disgrace or possibly an advantage of sorts. Meanwhile, you may want to stay on my good side.
  2. When I was growing up, my family referred to dinner time as Sarcasm Hour (indicating no chance in hell that I'd ever amount to normal).
  3. I always suspected I'd have three sons, and planned to name them John, Paul and George--reserving "Ringo" for a family pet. I did indeed name Son #1 George, but changed my name plans when Son #2 was born. I quit birthing babies altogether after two boys. (Sanity prevailed.) Yet I did name the dog Ringo. And although Demon Cat has shown no inclination whatsoever to give peace a chance, his given name is Lennon.
  4. I go through vacuum sweepers, lawnmowers and telephones like nobody's business. I ruin them all, toss them out and move on to new ones--hoping no one will take notice. Much like politicians go through mistresses and naive interns.
  5. I had a job for two years during high school playing the Easter Bunny at our local mall. Best. Job. Ever.
  6. My pet peeve? Gum-snapping. Hate. Double hate! LOATHE ENTIRELY!
  7. My first job out of college was as a staff reporter for a small newspaper named The Expositor (which I fondly called The Suppository). I immediately proved myself to be the consummate writer and ace photographer, but when researching my first big expose'--a story about the operations of the county dog pound--I blew my blossoming professional persona by breaking down and bawling on the spot.
So, that's the goods on me, in a nutshell.

Although I'm hard-pressed to choose only five fellow bloggers on which to bestow this award, I'm pleased to pass it on to these favorites, for whom I'm hoping this is a first-time honor:

Sarah: Sharpest librarian on the whole World Wide Web. Not a poetry aficionado? She'll convert you.
MSB: Her writing? Swoon. Her photography? Double swoon.
Amanda: Read her blog for a week, and I promise you'll soon be running away. And I mean that in the good and healthy way.
Teri: Read about her life. Read about her take on books. Love it all. Rinse and repeat.
Carrie: She cooks, she writes, and she posts mouth-watering photos of every dish, making you wish she'd invite you to dinner some evening.

Thank you, once again, Ashlee! So you'll blurb my book, right?

Can you suggest a favorite blogger who isn't already on my blogroll? What don't we know about you? Does gum-snapping drive you, too, to the brink of insanity?

25 comments:

  1. Thank you Sherry! What an honor. And even more than this, I'm glad to see your return. I'm guessing you've stored up a few food holiday stories --- all fictional, of course --- so I'm looking forward to what's in store.

    Welcome back. Sarcasm Hour. Ha!

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  2. It's great to see you! Congratulations on your award. You're very deserving for all the laughs you give us.

    I share your ability to kill vacuums, lawnmowers and phone. Maybe it's our electromagnetic fields or something.

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  3. Teri: You're very welcome! And nothing has ever satisfied my appetite as much as Sarcasm Hour.

    Lisa: Back at ya for the laughs--and your fabulous thought-provoking stuff. I am currently in the market for both a new mower and a phone. The vacuum was still working, however, when I last used it. A few weeks ago.

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  4. Haha, hooray! You definitely deserve the award. :D Sarcasm Hour sounds way more fun than anyone else's dinner ever could be. Also, hell yes to being an Easter Bunny. Awesome.

    Blurb? Sure, but only if you'll reciprocate. ;) I'm seeing a whole descriptive paragraph about your pets, with a passing mention of the book itself. Or maybe a good recipe for cake. XD

    ~Ashlee
    http://ashleesch.com
    http://theDragonsHoard.bigcartel.com

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  5. Congratulations, Sherry!

    I hope your hiatus was peaceful and productive---and that it's over now because I missed you.

    And thank you! Sharpest librarian on the Web? More like the butter knife of the Web, but I do like words that rhyme. Thanks for thinking of me!

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  6. If you haven't listened to David Sedaris's Santaland Diaries, you must pull up the podcast the moment you get home and listen to it. It's about his season as Santa's Elf and more our Christmas staple than The Grinch. You as the Easter Bunny? Oh yes.

    Welcome back! So...did you finish??

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  7. Welcome back, Sherry!

    I loved your snippets--especially the one about boys names--and the Easter Bunny!? Now THAT'S a short story waiting to happen, lady (or have you already written one?)

    I can't wait to visit the sites you chose--those I already adore and those I know I will adore as soon as I click.

    Happy New Year to you and your family (and of course, to your wonderful mum!)

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  8. The Sarcasm Hour... have you ever considered tv? Your #6. Me too! And I especially HATE when people slop their food! I want to lean over and pop them aside the head and tell them to knock it off. But considering your #1, I might keep my mouth shut around your relatives.

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  9. Note to self: throw the gum away before meeting Sherry.

    Congratulations on the award. It is so deserved.
    xo

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  10. Sherry's back! Yay!!!

    I'm doing the bus driver dance. Put your hip out mama, lemme bump it.

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  11. Ashlee: My only regret is I never thought to wear the Bunny costume home for dinner... Thanks again for the award!

    Sarah: The break wasn't nearly as peaceful or productive as I hoped. (No surprise there.) But it's good to be back in the kitchen with the rest of the cutlery.

    Lyra: Here's my dilemma: Option A) I can go home and write for several hours because no, I didn't finish the f***er, B) I can procrastinate for a while by listening to a David Sedaris podcast, or C) I can spend the entire week watching Dr. Who--The Complete David Tennant Years, a 26-disc set I just received in the mail. Pondering, pondering...

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  12. Erika: Actually I haven't written a story about the Easter Bunny gig since the one I did for my high school paper. I should dig that up and see if my writing skills were up to snuff at 16.

    Deb: I'm sitting here just waiting for Comedy Central's call. Surely there's a spot for me right after Colbert or Jon Stewart.

    MSB: I have no idea why I have such an aversion to gum-snapping. Perhaps it's due to some horrible incident with a gum-cracking monster from my childhood? And I promise you I have habits that surely are FAR more displeasing to others.

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  13. Averil: You should broadcast a web-cam of that bus driver dance. Bet it would go viral on YouTube. Thanks for the warm welcome back.

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  14. Thank you, Sherry!!! You are welcome to dinner any day if you want to make the trek up to Ann Arbor :)

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  15. Carrie: Ahh, careful what you promise...

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  16. You had sarcasm hour? Like I care...

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  17. I have to echo my love of your sarcasm hour. I was the Talking Tree at Lazarus. So fun when classmates, neighbors and teachers would walk by.

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  18. Brilliant all around. I hate to say it but I am a champion gum snapper. My own father banned me from ever chewing it in his presence.

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  19. I honestly don't have a fun comment for you Sherry. I think my brain is still shut off from my long weekend...4 days ago.

    No one deserves this more than you. Except for me.
    Thanks for the award!

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  20. Bluz: Pass the Parmesan, will ya?

    LM: A talking tree? I can't decide if that's cute in a Dr. Seuss way or creepy in a Stephen King way. Guess it depends how you played it?

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  21. Bobbi: We have that family discord in the reverse. My mother gets the evil eye whenever she chews the stuff.

    Amanda: "Except for me." Well, DUH.

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  22. Congratulations and please do at least share some of your Easter Bunny experiences with us. :) I am happily surprised to hear this was a good experience for you -- I always imagined that these character costume jobs are often hellish. Of course, I might be traumatized by my trip to Disney World when I was 6 and saw Pluto limping away, covering an injured eye. His handler had to help him along. Yikes.

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  23. Laura: Sadly, this was the seventies. Much of it was spent giggling around a table in someone's basement, in a fog of smoke. Consequently, it's the era of my vaguest memories. But I do recall that I made $5 an hour, which was double the minimum wage at the time!

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  24. My first job out of college was at a small newspaper, too! But sadly, it did not have an awesome name like The Suppository.

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  25. Alone: Sorry, but The Suppository only hired the VERY best--writers whom they could guarantee would wax eloquent of county commissioner meetings and handle weighty social and humanitarian issues like a four-year-old.

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