Well, obviously I had to break them down into two posts, but I am proud to have been able to accept four awards in one day (well, two if you count my homework…writing questions, picking new nominees). I just wish I had gotten to get all dressed up or something 😉 …I am having a good day today. I guess that’s what counts. Besides, when I feel great and decide to get all dressed up for one reason or another, these posts can always be updated with pictures. 🙂
Speaking of pictures, I was terrified to put a photo to my blog at the beginning because it was supposed to be an anonymous blog. Of course we have been through that subject and I am slowly starting to share my illness with the world. I had a couple of friends on Facebook that just said ‘oh, so that’s why you’ve been hiding away from us’…and it was. Who wants to ‘shop talk’ bodily functions? I mean really? But, that is exactly what I have found here on WordPress. I have found people who COMPLETELY understand what I’m going through when NO ONE in my real life understands (except maybe doctors, but they don’t count). I have met a new group of people who are not only willing to listen to me but who understand what I am going through and don’t judge me. That is why this first award means so much to me. I was nominated for this award by Tammy @ Walk with me on my journey of illness to the road of happiness and a life of fulfillment. She has truly become one of my family. We talk every day by email (health permitting) and usually during the weekend or if something really important has happened during the week, we speak by phone. She has become my best friend. And as much of a wildcat as she is, surprisingly I am not too far behind. She is my “adhesion sister”, and I love her. We can somehow gently glide from “shop talk” to family issues to what we had for dinner…she is so easy to talk to and, like I said, my best friend.
She is not the only one that I have found myself talking “touchy subjects” with. These illnesses have brought us all together on this site and made us a family. A family of “misunderstood” and often (emotionally) hurting people who benefit from having others who truly “get” what they’re saying.
More information about this award can be found on this page here. The rules are simple:
1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 10 others you see as having an impact on your wordpress experience and family
4. Let your 10 Family members know you have awarded them
5. That is it. Just please pick 10 people that have taken you as a friend, and spread the love.
In honor of receiving the ‘I Am Part of the WordPress Family Award’, I am finally going to link my Facebook page to my blog. You will all be able to know more about who I am (although I’m warning you I’m not on Facebook that much) but since you have become my family, I will share those things with you same as I do my own family.
(Update: Facebook won’t let me share my ‘regular’ page..it has to be a fan page or something. So, you should be able to find me at http://facebook.com/joy.streetman. please mention your WordPress “name” so that I will know who you are. If you find that this link doesn’t work, please let me know so that I can figure out why!)
So, without further ado, ten other people who have made me feel completely at home here from day one would be the following people:
1. I Am Awake Now Thank You VERY MUCH
3. MySexyEndo
4. Ememelle
5. Living Bendy
10. PEACE. PURPOSE. PONDERING.
Next…
I hate to put this in the same post, but guys, it has been a VERY long day. The last award that I have been nominated for is The Versatile Blogger Award. This was also given to me by Ms. Tammy @Walk with me on my journey of illness to the road of happiness and a life of fulfillment.
The rules for this one are as follows:
1. Display the Award on your Blog.
2. Announce your win with a post and thank the Blogger who nominated you.
3. Present 15 deserving Bloggers with the Award.
4. Link your nominees in the post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.
5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself
So, I suppose I will start with the 7 interesting things about myself.
1) I love the color pink. October is one of my favorite months because the weather is just starting to cool down in Alabama and I have the best excuse EVER (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) to wear as much pink as I want to and not look childish. Oh, and they light up the courthouse with pink lightbulbs also. Pretty cool.
2) I love the Rocky (Smoky) Mountains. As a child, we used to take all of our vacations there with the end point being Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We always drove through the mountains just to look at their beauty.
3) I love Dolly Parton. Ok, I know that sounded a little strange, but she has a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee called Dollywood. Besides learning about “the good old days”, listening to some of the best gospel music you’ll ever hear, and riding the rides, I met Dolly Parton on a couple of occasions. She was always quick to give a hug and get her picture made with you. I also love the sound of her voice. A lot of people aren’t as fond of her voice as I am, but I love it. I remember having a friend in school, and one of the first things we found we had in common was being Dolly Parton fans (which was just not ‘cool’ at the time. Oh yeah, instant friends.
4) I am a total foodie. I love to cook and if I had unlimited means, would probably have a professional kitchen put in my house. Cooking relaxes me and the food at the end isn’t too bad either 🙂 It’s one of the things that I miss the most right now and one that is high on my list of priorities as far as getting better goes. I want to be able to cook a full meal again. I am hoping that by Thanksgiving or Christmas I will be able to cook the meal without having to lie down to rest afterwards or being in so much pain that I’m nauseated and can’t enjoy the food with everyone else.
5) My mother was my best friend growing up (yes, I had other best friends too, geez). What I mean is that we were very close. This December 27 will be the 10th anniversary of her death. I expect it will be pretty hard on me. I would like to be able to do something special to celebrate. I just haven’t decided what. (Any suggestions? Remember I’m on a limited budget.)
6) I was always an overweight child. Obesity runs in my family, so at 18 1/2 years old I had gastric bypass surgery. I did really, really well with it (maybe because I was so young). I weighed 299 the day of surgery and my normal weight now is 150. At the moment I am a little over at 160, but I am still happy. The reason it worked for me was because I was mentally prepared for it. I knew it wasn’t an easy fix and that it would change my life forever. I think that is why so many GB surgeries fail. The patient isn’t prepared for the physical or emotional changes that come with gastric bypass surgery. They think it is a quick fix and then they will be thin and life will be perfect…it’s nothing like that.
7) Last but not least…I know this sort of hits on number 3, but I am a diehard country music fan. I grew up listening to the greats like Tammy Wynette, Patsy Cline, and the Oak Ridge Boys. I still love country music. Boy has it changed, but no other music can tell a story, or touch your soul, the way country music can. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like other music. My other favorite is Latino Pop. i bet you weren’t expecting that one, huh?
Ok, my 15 deserving bloggers are as follows:
1. I Am Awake Now Thank You VERY MUCH
3. MySexyEndo
4. Ememelle
5. Living Bendy
10. PEACE. PURPOSE. PONDERING.
11. StoryShucker
12. BoredSick
14. EDS Info (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome)
15. RachelMankowitz