The Blogger Behind the Books Tag

On By midwesternbooknerdIn Behind the Blogger

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Welcome to The Blogger Behind the Books tag, put together by the Sky Blue team from Nori’s Book Blogger Creativity Project!

One of the biggest things our team talked about while trying to decide what kind of post we wanted to put together was getting to know each other. Yes, we all gush about books and make our Top Ten Lists on Tuesdays, but that only tells you so much about the unique-ness that makes each and every book blogger. So we used that one HUGE thing we have in common, books, to create a fun way to get to know each other better. We each came up with a book and a prompt that seemed to work along with it. Hope you enjoy and feel free to answer too!

Describe a time you felt like you were on top of the world and could do anything

This is tough for me to answer, because my life has been just completely filled with all kinds of ups and downs and I have yet to feel that feeling of being able to kind of take on the world. I felt on top of the world when I had a job that I absolutely loved. I was so excited to work in a place that I could talk about books and read stories to kids and try to get them to understand just why I think books are so awesome. And that feeling has kind of been lost for awhile, which stinks but it was an important thing to do and even though I miss that job and the feelings it gave me I would not change my decision for anything.

Describe a time you were irrationally in love with someone or something when you know you shouldn’t have been.

Oh gee, my short infatuation with Edward Cullen just fits riiiiiight in with this one. Honestly and truthfully, I don’t think I have ever been irrationally in love with someone that I shouldn’t have been. I have really only been in love with one person, and that happens to be the guy that I am married to. I have had friendships that I look back on and think that I probably shouldn’t have had. These were just friendships that I knew I was being used in but feared losing that person. Or there was a friendship that honestly was going nowhere and was just hurting me throughout its entire existence. I have heartbreak in my past, and I have a list of people that I wonder just why I was friends with them, but no ridiculous and irrational love for someone.

Describe a place or person that you can call home.

My family and friends definitely make me have that sense of home. My husband is the number one person that brings that sense to me. We have kind of felt unsettled for the longest time. We got married our senior year of college, so immediately following graduation we moved back to our hometown (with my mom. Thanks mom!) because he had military training so we weren’t really sure where we would end up. He trained for a month, the worked for awhile (and we found an awesome house to rent) and then he was gone for 6 months. After he came back we were really unsure of what was happening, and then we eventually ended up moving to this area of Wisconsin. The adjustment has been so hard on me and I am finally JUST starting to feel good about it all (a year and a half later and I am still getting used to this). But no matter what, no matter where we were or what I was feeling…he was there and that made it all the better. He always gives me that feeling of home.

Talk about what you love most. Your favorite things, people, books, etc.

Oh gosh…this could go ON AND ON for a long time! I love Harry Potter (movies and books!) and the Hunger Games (movies and books). I am a lover of getting lost in a fantasy world (again…movies and books) because it really helps me take a temporary vacation from what is real and in front of me and will occasionally give me a fresh perspective on things. Recent book series obsessions…Throne of Glass, The Black Mage, Snow like Ashes, Scarlet series…and so many more (all are linked back to their goodreads page so that you can love them too!). Lover of Project Runway, Once Upon a Time, The Walking Dead, New Girl, and Brooklyn 99. I constantly marathon Gilmore Girls, even though I have seen them hundreds of times I swear. We constantly have music playing in this house. I am all over the place as far as that goes, but here is a link of some of the new music I have gotten into this year (LOVING James Bay and Raleigh Ritchie)

I love Minnesota sports even though I am in the middle of Wisconsin where it seems most Minnesota sports teams are not looked on too fondly. HUGE Twins fan and starting to get into hockey (GO WILD!) and I always have a soft spot for the Vikings (ok, I really like them and they are always in my heart no matter what!). Lover of chocolate, ice cream, pizza, and apparently not hitting the gym (I am working on that I swear). Trying to be a lover of life and to rejoice and be glad with all of the things that God has given me!

Talk about who (outside of your family) has been the most influential person in your life. 

Oh man, this one is incredibly difficult because I think that each and every person who has entered my life has had some sort of way, and because my family members have been the most influential to me. I have met so many fantastic people that I have met all while they were going through difficult situations. My dad died after a brief battle with cancer when I was 13 years old, and even with that tragedy my family met some of the greatest people. Our neighbors really came together to make sure that we were taken care of even if it was something so simple as shoveling our driveway. They made sure we were fed and that we were doing ok. Also because of this my family was introduced to Camp Jornada, a week long summer camp for kids who had cancer (in the past or currently) or who have had a family member with cancer. At this week long camp I was introduced to so many incredible people who are all more than familiar with what I briefly went through. We were able to bond over such a terrible sickness but were still able to find some joy in life. These are the people that have influenced my life. The ones who have found joy in even the darkest of times.

There is also a wonderful woman named Beth. She was a friend of the family when I was a kid. Her daughter and I were inseparable, which is awesome because for many years we somehow were always neighbors, even though those years had involved at least a move for each family. Beth was someone that I looked up to. She was always so full of joy and love. She was radiant and I considered their family to be a 2nd family of mine. Distance eventually separated us over the years and we were brought back together over some difficult situations (my dad’s death being one of them) but they were always in my heart. A few years ago Beth was diagnosed with non-smoking lung cancer. Throughout her entire battle (well, from what I saw on facebook) she stayed true to what she believed and firm in her faith. I honestly have never met such a spiritual woman, and a few years back when my mom and I went to visit I could feel it. She tried to make it so that this awful sickness didn’t keep her down. I looked on and admired her. She looked small and sick, but at the same time she just had this presence and this knowledge that everything was going to be ok. She passed away in August, which has definitely left a void in this world. But I know where she is. I know she is with my dad. And I know they are watching over their families and that we will see them soon.

Oh gosh, was that even answering the question? Oh well. I have a feeling that my answers won’t ALWAYS be this long.


Do you feel like our society now are headed in the direction (or are already in a state) of a Dystopia?

Oh geez, now we get serious. Honestly, I am not sure. Maybe? Though I don’t really think I have a set reason for that particular maybe. There are always certain things that happen that make me think of some book that I read set in a Dystopian sort of state, but I don’t necessarily think we are there yet. Are we heading there? No idea. I am ready for whatever though. I’ve read the books. I know what to do.

Describe a moment where you felt like you where exactly where you were supposed to be, a moment where you felt on the right path. 

To be honest, these moments are pretty rare for me lately. Professionally, I felt in that perfect spot when I was back in Minnesota working at a library. I just felt like I was doing everything I had wanted to do and that there were ways I would have been able to take it further while working there. Do I regret leaving? Kind of, but more in the professional aspect. I know my move was for the right reason…

Personally, I feel that I am on the right path right now. I hate being away from my friends and family back home, but I cant even begin to describe just how good the move to Wisconsin has been for my husband and I. I feel like he and I were definitely a bit lost and were so dependent on our families and those we knew back home. When we moved here we had to fend for ourselves and had no fall backs. The road has been rough, but right now I can see it is all worth it. I feel that for myself personally I need to be here. I can also say that I feel on the right path with blogging. I know that I don’t do all the fancy things that other people do. I don’t read as fast as some people and my reviews are sometimes more me sqealing about my love for a book more than anything but oh well, I love it. I have become more and more confident in this (though it has been a slow build of confidence) from people online and people that I know personally right in my own area. I love talking books. I love writing even if my writing isn’t super technical and whatnot. This is the perfect hobby for me, and I hope that I can always keep it as a hobby. It gives me some sense of sanity and gives me the chance to feel like me.

One day I hope that my personal sense of belonging and my professional sense of belonging will be the same thing.

Tell us about a person/experience that taught you to LIM (live in the moment).

One particular experience that stands out to me is when I was working retail at a shoe store. I was having a pretty awful day. Customers were upset with basically anything I did and I was getting so fed up with not being able to find anything else. I went over to help this woman who was a bit older but looking at this boots that you typically see women in their 20’s wearing. So I went over there to see if she needed anything and we talked for a little bit while I was helping her pick different types of shoes to try on. Eventually she spilled her life story which ended with her telling me that she had cancer, that the treatments stopped working so she stopped doing them, and that the doctors were saying that she would probably no longer be here within a years time. How in the world do you respond to that? I think she sensed me trying to find the right words to say (because I do know the wrong things to say, but the right things are always hard) because she told me that it was all ok. She said “I know where I’m going, so while I wait to go home to my Savior I might as well enjoy the rest of the life that He’s given me.” That struck me so much. This woman was basically told that her life would be ending. I know she said she stopped treatment, but she probably still had medical bills. She was so at peace and so ready to take on the world while she could and I was so inspired by that. She told me of her plans to winter in Florida like she had always wanted to with her friends and family. She told me that she decided to stop buying old lady shoes and to start buying fun ones because in the end none of it is going with her, not even the money. She was so amazing to talk to and she really lifted my spirits on that day. I still think of her and wonder what became of her. I hope she enjoyed her winter in Florida and I hope she brought joy to anyone else that she met.

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Phew. That became pretty wordy, but I think it definitely gave you a nice idea of me and who I am. Now, make sure you look for postings from the rest of Sky Blue Team. We started posting on Thursday of this week and plan to have them kind of trickle out until the beginning of next week.

And now…I have to tag a few people…

2 thoughts on “The Blogger Behind the Books Tag”

  1. Pingback: The Blogger Behind the Books! | thenightgirl ☾

  2. Pingback: Book Blogger Creativity Project Wrap-up~ A Lesson I Learned From Failing | Readwritelove28

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