Saturday, November 20, 2010

relay of friendship


relay races always scared me during field day. i felt as if all the pressure were on me-if my leg slid out during the sack race, the pair behind me would be delayed, thus making our whole team lose. if i suddenly got a bad case of butter fingers and dropped the baton during a race, what would happen then? the pressure was insurmountable.

but this is a different kind of relay-the kind of relay i love:) the beautiful and fabulous a whole lotta love has tagged me in the Friendship Relay. it means so much that she would choose me, giving my little blog a chance to shine! now, like a true relay, it is my turn to pass the baton to my fellow blogging friends. i was chosen because my blog is new, and new blogs need love too! thus, i choose to share this honor with three lovely up-and-coming bloggers who i just know are going to explode the blogosphere with their awesomeness. some are brand-spanking new, and some have graced us for a few months. i'm privileged to be your followers, ladies:

1. Peaches from Living Peachy Keen
2. Ana from The World Through My Eyes
3. Emily from Little Things in Life
4. Amy from A Daring Little Life

if you've been tagged, simply answer the following questions in your own post and pass the baton to a few more friends. looking so forward to your responses! just watch those butter fingers.

1.   What did you first want to be when you grew up?
A writer. When I was 10, I made and bound a blue book of short stories. They were all created on Microsoft Notepad and were very simple, but full of imagination. On the last page, I glued a picture of myself and wrote a little “author’s biography.” The last line was “Courtney loves to get fan mail.”

2.   Favorite childhood game?
MASH. Not the television show, of course. Does anyone remember MASH? It is a little game you play on paper, where you predict the names of your future children, what kind of car you’re going to drive, what your husband’s name will be, how many kid’s you’ll have, how much money you’ll make, etc. and of course, if you’ll live in a Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House. Even as a young girl, I was obsessed with my future life—the life I’m living now.

3.   Most favorite birthday?
My best birthday was probably when I turned 16 and got my license. Such a cliché answer, but that day wasn’t important for the obvious reasons. I remember it instead because my grandma was still around, and we celebrated it around her kitchen table. I remember riding to the DMV with my mama. I remember just feeling so special, and the world felt so right. My grandma passed away that same year, so that birthday is especially special.

4.   Something you've always wanted to do and haven't done yet?
Have babies. I want them someday. Just not today. Sometimes I get emotional thinking about how my entire life will one day revolve around these little beings I haven't even met yet. I'll just be driving down the road and think about my future son's first love, or my daughter's wedding and it makes me so happy and sad at the same time. I can't wait, but I can. Does that make sense?

5.   What was your first love?
Cheerleading. I originally wanted to try out for basketball, but my dad forgot the tryout date. I cheered for eight straight years. It was part of my identity, but I tried to never let it consume me. I eventually grew a bit tired of it, but stuck with it through high school. Through cheering, I met one of the angels of my life-Suzanne. She was my stunting partner all through school. She passed away in a car wreck in 2007. There’s a huge, blown up picture of our squad hanging in the halls of my high school. Suzanne’s arm is around me. My mom works at the school and every time she passes that picture, she thanks Suz for watching over me. This isn't that picture, but here is beautiful Suz:

i'm the one in the back with the disgusted look on her face. we just won, so i'm not sure what caused that expresion.

7.    First musical idol?
Don't judge, but Billy Ray Cyrus. All growing up, I had a poster
of him the back of my bedroom door. The poster was created at the
height of his mullet glory. It was awesome. Once, a boy at my
church liked me, and to express his deep(unrequited) love, he
mailed me a shirt screen printed with the lyrics to Achy Breaky
Heart.


8.   Favorite gift?
I grew up with a gap between my two front teeth. Not crazy
wide, but enough so that I could spit water through it. When I
was 17 years old, my parents gave me the best Christmas gift
ever. In my stocking was a little gift certificate for a
dentist visit--I got the gap filled in! I am all for embracing 
what makes you unique and would never recommend this procedure
for everyone, but my self esteem increased tenfold. Robert, who
knew me even way back then, will every now and then tell me he
misses the gap.

9.    If a theme song played for you everywhere you went, what would it be?
Martina McBride-Blessed. Because I am. So much.

10.    Favorite city to visit?
Chicago! My awesome uncles live there, the air and streets are
clean, and the people are friendly. There’s just a special
feeling about walking those city streets. If you are ever there,
please visit Portillo's/Barnelli's and get the chopped salad.
Just warning you-your life will be changed.


thank you, a whole lotta love, for this fun award. the questions were thoughtful and unique, which made this fun.

robert and i are taking my brother clint this weekend to see the lovely joanna newsom play her little harp out in the north carolina mountains. enjoy your saturday, sweet friends!


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

i am so glad you got this award. i loved loved loved reading thist post so much! i learned so many things about you.

i think you would be an amazing writer (hello, you already are!). your posts always have a calming effect and you have such a unique voice through your words.

i don't think you dropped the baton on this one at all :)

hope your weekend is wonderful!

MADMommy said...

I have "known" you for a long time but never really knew you and I'm enjoying learning about you through your blog!

Dee Paulino said...

Thank you for giving me the honor, you're a strawberry! I love your blog and writing style. I must say reading your answers was fun. Have a nice rest of the weekend.

Congratulations on your award!!

Xoxo

Kaity Teer said...

Oh my word!! Portillo's is UNREAL. I grew up in the Chicagoland area and I love their italian beefs and chopped salad. It's a must-have every time we visit my parents.

Have you had their chocolate cake shake?

a whole lotta love said...

So much fun reading these things about you! I was just trying to remember the name of MASH the other day and couldn't think of it. We used to play it all the time. I was thinking how funny it is that a number of my MASH things came true. I used to have crushes on two boys: Matt and Chris and they always used to be on my list. Now I'm married to 'Matthew Christopher'. Vermont was always on my places list and now I live here and there are some other funny things too. Anyway, life is funny :)

Jeska said...

I cheered as well! Only for 4 years, 8th-11th. I don't know why I quit in 11th grade. I loved cheering and we were good! Sorry about your friend who passed. Thanks for stopping by my blog, I'm following you back!
Jeska
livinglovesong.blogspot.com

jillian m. {coffee, light and sweet} said...

i've always wanted to see chicago! and by the way, billy ray cyrus looks so 90's! i forgot he had the wicked mullet, haha!

love your blog as well! i can definitely relate to a lot of your posts. thanks for stopping by mine. i'm also an excited follower!

vintch said...

@kaity: oh my goodness. your comment sounds like a dream! I've had the chocolate cake at Portillo's, but not the SHAKE. That is worth a trip back to Chicago right there!

@awholelottalove: thank YOU for the awesome award:) wasn't MASH the greatest? I wish they had a version to see what middle age would be like:)

@Jillian: That Billy Ray CD probably WAS from the 90s. Pretty sure he hasn't had a hit since then. Still can't figure out why in the world Tish would want to leave that stud.:)

Amy said...

You're too sweet! Thank you so much! I loved reading your answers to the questions! It's such a good way to know the blogger a little bit better!


Thanks again love!

Emily said...

of course i remember MASH! thank you so so much for the tag!

Cassie said...

Congrats on winning the award! It was very fun to read your responses to the questions. The song choice was perfect, and I can't wait for you to have babies either. They truly do change your life, and it is so wonderful to know that you've experienced such a blessing in a whole other sort of love.

In case you don't check back to my blog to read my responses to comments, thanks for coming by! It is fun getting to know you and I love reading comments. Thanks. :)

vintch said...

Hi:) Thanks so much for your sweet comment-your blog is so peaceful and I love the way you write. Looking forward to more posts:)

Mademoiselle Deva said...

Chicago you say... I would love to see NYC! Thank you girl for your sweet comment!

Eva said...

I actually liked relay races the best because I only had to run for 1/4 of the time...yea I was/am lazy like that.

http://bottleblack.blogspot.com

Peaches said...

I agree w/ E.Day, you are a wonderful writer and whenever I'm feeling down or stressed, I read one of your posts and I feel more peaceful and calm afterward. And I loved reading your answers to these questions and getting to know you better. You have such a sweet heart and a great outlook on life. You are very quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs.

And thank you for tagging me!! This is my first blog tag and I'm so glad it's from you!

Love & hugs! Peaches

Rachel Keller said...

I love this about Suzanne. She loved you so much, and she always said so to me when we passed you at school. I've been reading the heck out of your blog, and it's wonderful!

vintch said...

I just saw this rachel- thank you so much for your sweet words-you have always been such a beautiful, sweet friend:)

Post a Comment

thank you for stopping by! have a blessed day:)