"And I'd like to thank the Academy..."

Note 5/15: Blogger imploded some time last week and this post disappeared! Sorry to those of you whose comments evaporated. Let's try this again...

What a surprise when my amazing and inspirational blogging friend Katie presented me and other super-cool bloggers with this award:

Thank you Katie! One of these doggone days, we will meet in person. I feel like I've known you for years and it seems so odd that we haven't met.


Now I get to tell you guys seven things you don't know about me, and then call upon some blogging buddies to do the same. Katie's topics inspired me, so you'll see some similarities.

Here goes (photos included when appropriate):

1. I briefly (far too briefly) had purple highlights in my hair a couple of years ago and loved it. Believe it or not, this is the only purple hair pic I have--the company used staff to model the products they sold and this was in their catalog.

2. My parents and BrownThumbPapa's parents are still married. To each other. For more than 40 years. That's more of a cool fact than a revelation, but worth sharing all the same.

3. I've lived in one of two houses my entire life: my parents' and the BrownThumb house. No dorms, no apartments, no crazy roommates. Is that a loss or a blessing? I'll let you decide.

4. The summer after my senior year of high school, I joined a group of friends on an extended backcountry hike. We took 10 days and climbed Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous 48 states. Best. Trip. Ever.

5. I will climb Mt. Whitney again, and will bring something better than my Kodak 110 Instamatic to record the trip with.

6. I didn't like ketchup, spaghetti sauce, or salad dressing until I was well into high school. I blame this on the "Don't Drown Your Food" PSA that was on TV all the time when I was little.

7. I worked for Pep Boys (the auto parts store) during college. Don't try any of that BS about "muffler bearings" or "piston return springs" with me, boys.  [insert The Look here]

The bloggers I'm passing this on to:

Gerb at Life As I Know It

Kelly at K. Hess Travels

Maya at Love, Knowledge, Zeal & Fortitude

Kelly at Not My Job

Emily at NotoriousMLE