Hey, fun news!  I’ve been tagged by Debi of Go Explore Nature for the Honest Scrap Award.  Thanks, Debi! It’s going to be tough to come up with 10 interesting and honest things, but I’ll do my best.  I’m kinda new to this whole blogosphere thing, so I’m actually thrilled to have a chance to join the community a little more deeply, so to speak.

So here’s how this game of blogger tag works: I have to share 10 really honest things about myself that you wouldn’t necessarily know from reading my blog, following me on Twitter or Facebook, or interacting with me in any other social media format.

I then tag seven other bloggers to do the same.

So, here goes some honesty, peeps.

1.  Although you might know that I recently received my PhD (if you checked out “About Me”), you might not know that it took me 9 years to do it and that my dissertation was entitled, “Domestic Topographies: Gender and the House in the Nineteenth Century British Novel.”  Does that sound fascinating?  If you are really bored, you can even read it here.  I’m hoping to incorporate some of what I discovered about Victorian domesticity into my blog at some point.

2.  I lived in France for a year when I was an undergrad.  I did a year-long abroad program, and I lived in a town called Poitiers, in the west of France between Paris and Bordeaux.  It was amazing.  There was a little bakery down the street from me where I would buy flan and pain (pronounced PAHN; like a baguette only thicker) almost every day.  I could go through an entire pain with Brie, cucumber and tomato in one sitting.

3.  I’m a huge animal lover.  I grew up with lots of dogs and cats– my dad was forever bringing home some stray– and now we have two cats and a new dog (that’s Remarkably Domesticated Caesar).  We were so immersed in animals when I was a kid that my sister is now a veterinarian.

4.  I have an absurdly powerful sweet tooth that I am constantly trying to master.  Usually failing.  Actually, I think I’m addicted to sugar.  That desire for sweets is probably what has driven me to bake so much.

5.  I love theoretical physics.  Isn’t that random?  I share with my good friend Eva (who will have a blog soon!) a love for the LHC, string theory, M theory, cosmology (NOT cosmotology), black holes, parallel universes, whatever.  My favorite authors on this subject are Michio Kaku and, of course, Stephen Hawking.  Brian Greene does a nice job as well.

6.  I also love horror movies, ghost stories, serial killers, and other various gruesome odds and ends.  It’s kind of a weird aspect of my personality, since I think most people see me as a relatively innocent, sweet person.  Two of the classes I designed and taught to undergrads while I was getting my PhD were “Haunted Houses: Terror and the Home” and “Natural Born Killers?: Stories of the American Serial Murderer.”  I know, now you’re wondering, aren’t you?

7.  A few things I wish I were better at: yoga, meditation, being artistic, swimming, eating healthier, being stylish/fashionable.

8.  I have been/was a vegetarian for over 20 years.  I was a full pesco-vegetarian up until about two or three years ago, when I started eating a turkey sandwich every once in a while (it began while I was PG with the now 3 year old).  Mostly, though, my family eats vegetarian.  I have no idea how to cook chicken, turkey, beef, pork, or any other mammal or fowl, since I’ve eaten this way since my first year of college.  I do eat dairy and fish, though– I could NOT live without cheese.

9.  I have an irrational fear of choking.  Mostly for me and my kids, but don’t you dare choke around me, or I will kill you.

10.  I ran the LA Marathon once.  It was a while ago, but I’d really like to run another one sometime.  I was in a running club at the time– LA Roadrunners– and somehow I got hooked up with some commercial crew and filmed a commercial spot for the Marathon, too.  Kinda funny.  I clocked in at 4 hours and 22 minutes.  Someday, I’d like to break the 4 hour marathon.

So, that’s a little about me.  Now, I’d like to tag some of my favorite bloggers about whom I’d like to learn more.  I hope you will all join me in being Honest Scrappers or whatever.  What on earth is a Honest Scrap, anyway?  Does it mean an honest scrap of info?  Why the Soviet-feeling logo?

• Becky at Suburban Matron, whom I was lucky enough to meet through our mutual involvement in PhDs and Victorian literature, and whom I’ve gotten to know better through her blog.  She is a fantastically witty writer.
• Erica at Foodism for the Busy Mom, a new friend and mom to the 3 year old’s best buddy at preschool.  Her ability to whip up a real meal from whatever’s around constantly impresses me.
• Amy at Matron Down Under, sister to lovely Suburban Matron.  I only know her through Becky and her blog, but I love her pieces and would like to know more about her!  And you go, girl, picking up and moving to Australia.  (P.S., Can we come visit?)
• Nikki at Lifestyle Lemonade, a lovely friend who can only be described as fabulous.  I love her suggestions for making metaphorical lemonade out of metaphorical lemons!
• Lecia at A Day That Is Dessert.  I love reading her blog because it always makes me feel calm.  I absolutely adore her photographs and wish I could take some as beautiful.
• Andrea at Heavy Petal.  A like-minded gardener, I thoroughly enjoy her blog.  West coast?  Urban?  Organic?  I’m in.
• Amanda at South Sound Garden.  Beautiful photos and fab posts.  What more do you want, people?

There you go!  I’m off to see the 6 year old perform in Willy Wonka, his first play ever.  Why am I so nervous?

Thanks again to Debi for keeping me honest!

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