Versatile Blogger Award

Yay!  Apparently I have people reading my rather random, very rambling blog because Nathalie has tagged me in her "The Versatile Blogger" post!  (This is the first time I have ever written a blog, so although I was able to save the image, I am not sure I have created the correct link to her post - let me know if there are problems/if anyone has questions for me please??)  Continuing with ramblings now...

Here are the rules for the award:

Tell your readers ten things about yourself that you might not have divulged before, and pass the award on to seven new people at blogs that are fairly new to you.

So 10 things about myself that I haven't divulged before:

1) I decided to title my blog "Rose Rambling" because (obviously!) I ramble; including "Rose" as part of the title was also an obvious choice for me though.  I spent several summers as a camp counselor/junior camp counselor and we were able to pick our own "Nature Names" instead of using our "regular" first names.  I rarely react to someone calling out the name Rose now, but every now and then I still turn my head, especially if it is a child calling.

2) My profile photo for this blog was taken mid-summer 2010, the day that I donated my hair for the second time to Locks For Love (a great program that takes donated hair and creates wigs for those who have had cancer).  My first time I donated almost exactly 12" of hair; however, this past summer I was able to donate just over 15" of hair!  Not only did it feel great to donate to a great cause, but I also got a fun summer haircut and my shower time was drastically shortened!

3) When I was younger (roughly ages 0-8 years) my family and I would visit friends in Mexico, or they would come to visit us, every single summer.  So thanks to my family [and family friends] I am able to speak Spanish - although I have not been practicing anywhere near as often as I should!  I think my communication ability has unfortunately dropped to simple conversational skills, but I do still understand much more Spanish than I am able to speak.

4) I have taken several semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) for fun, and although my lack of practice (again!) has caused me to lose my fluidity, I can still manage reasonably well when communicating with hard-of-hearing or Deaf individuals.  I should start getting back into Deaf Culture, it was fun learning a new way to communicate.

5)  I do not drink coffee (even though I do tend to enjoy the smell of it).  I tend to drink tea (sometimes with sugar, never with milk) or hot chocolate when I am cold or feeling under the weather.  As for "regular" drinks I usually stick to flat water or juice; occasionally soda or chocolate milkshakes find their way into the mix.

6) I really dislike scary/horror anything - books, movies, music, you name it.  I turn into a huge scaredy-cat and I want to take this opportunity to blame part of my family (even though I love them all!) - especially my two older cousins and my mom - for this dislike.  My cousins would hide then jump out at me/grab at me and my mom never liked anything scary/horror so growing up it was natural to follow her lead.  This past Halloween was the first time I willingly attempted to watch a scary movie and to continue my honest streak, I had nightmares off and on for a couple of weeks.

7) I don't want to "waste" a number here by mentioning things that have come up in my previous blogs, so I am going to try and cram in the most important points into one number (hopefully I am not cheating too much)!  I really love to read, spend time with family and friends, be in nature, and volunteer/work with kids.

8)  One summer when I was in elementary school I won an award for bowling - but I think it was part of the six-week-long bowling camp my parents had put me in, it likely had nothing to do with my bowling abilities : )  I do enjoy going bowling when the opportunity presents itself though!

9)  I decided to start a blog partially because I had never blogged before.  I had bookmarked an old roommates blog a few years back and followed it that way; after I joined facebook I noticed more friends who had blogs.  I have started to followed their blogs, their friends blogs, or other blogs that I find interesting for one reason or another.  (For example, one blog I am following is an anonymous teacher who spent every single day of last school year eating, taking photos of, and commenting on the food in her cafeteria.  The exact same food most of her students were forced to eat she secretly voluntarily ate and commented on - I found it quite interesting for various reasons).  I hope that no one has found me to be unwelcome or bothersome by me choosing to follow them - I do hope that in return everyone feels more than welcome to read/follow my blog!

10) Save the best for last, right?  Okay so my favorite thing that I have not shared yet? This past summer I became a godmother for the very first time!  My best friend had twins in the spring (a girl and a boy) and I became the godmother to an adorable little boy!  I miss the family so much right now because they do not live in the USA, but I am looking forward to them visiting California next summer!  (So that might just be the best for me, but still.  My blog, my ramblings, right? *grins*)

Okay, so Nathalie said I am to pass this award onto seven other people, but I don't have anyone following my blog officially so I am not quite sure how to pass it on.  I am going to steal her words in lieu of knowing how to tag people, so... "If you're reading this though and would like to join in, please do! Leave a comment to let me know so that I can read it too."

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful week!