Healthy distractions

I don’t think I’ve done anything particularly noteworthy to deserve this, but Sarah over at Fallopian Groove, has been so kind as to provide me with a solid distraction for this second (read worst) half of my two week wait. I really like her, by the way. I love the way she writes, and I’m so glad to have stumbled upon it. If you have not read her blog, you should definitely give it a peek.

I’ve been blogging for less than a month still, so I’ve only heard rumblings of this Liebster Award business. From what I can tell, it’s this little gem of forward payment – an attempt to increase the readership and community for new bloggers or those who have fewer than 30 followers. It’s a bit of a pyramid scheme in the very best sense of the phrase in that once you are nominated, you are asked to nominate six other novice bloggers. It also provides an opportunity for a bit of a question-and-answer setup, which I think is very cool. I do not often just talk about my SELF. I mostly talk about my VAGINA. So. Look up here at my eyes for this particular post, folks. I’m going to try to keep my ramblings out of my pants.

I guess you are supposed to do the following: (1) include 11 previously unshared things about yourself, (2) answer 11 questions posed by your nominator, and (3) nominate 11 other bloggers. That’s a lot of stuff! I’ll try to do some of it, but I may need to break it down into a couple of posts.

I’ll start with #2, Sarah’s questions for me:

1. What’s one thing you wish you had known before starting this, ahem, adventure?

Oh, my. Well. I wish I had known that I could talk about it with people. I have a tendency to be a little tight-lipped about “personal” stuff with most people, including my parents and my sister, and all but a couple of very close friends. Despite being at a pretty normative age for childbearing, because I’m in graduate school and most of the people we hang out with on a regular basis are also in graduate school, no one is really focused on making babies. It was not until after we had the miscarriage that I told anyone that we were even really trying, and I only did it then because we were at our wit’s end and desperate for support. Once I opened the gate, though, it became much easier to do.

2. What’s your vice/guilty pleasure?

Terrible reality television and salty foods. I do not indulge in the former all that often, but I have a hard time staying away from the latter. I am not really a sweets kind of person. I would rather eat a second helping on pasta (or two) any day. I would also call blogging a guilty pleasure, because every time I’m doing anything related to the blogosphere, I ought to be working. Like now.

3. What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?

Here’s the thing. I really struggle with favorites questions. I can definitely give you a few of the past year’s very best.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes

4. Chocolate or peanut butter?

If I had to choose, I would choose chocolate, I guess. But only in small quantities. Too much screws with my stomach. I also have been known to eat peanut butter straight out of the jar, though, so maybe I am not answering this completely honestly.

5. Complete this sentence: When I grow up I want to be _______.

less focused on work.

6. What non fertility-trying-to-conceive website should the rest of us be wasting time on right now?

Ohh, man. Well, 101 Cookbooks  satisfies my need to look at pretty pictures of food. The Artsy Engineer and I both cook A LOT of recipes from that one. Bookshelf Porn brings me quite a bit of visual pleasure. As a lover of travel, I’ve had a crush on been living vicariously through the chronicled adventures of this nomadic guy from Wandering Earl for a couple of years now. And Suri’s Burn Book satisfies my desire to make fun of browse through the children and child-rearing techniques of the beautiful, rich, and famous. It’s so stupid. Don’t judge.

7. What was your favorite childhood television show?

Oddly, I don’t remember much television from my childhood. I don’t think we were allowed to watch it very often. I do remember that when I used to watch sports with my parents, my dad would turn down the volume during the commercials and we would make up new dialogue for them. I also remember that my first love interests were the Tramp from Lady and the Tramp and Robin Hood from the cartoon version. I still think it seems kind of normal for kids to have crushes on cartoon character animals, but I have tested this out on a lot of people, and I am the only one I have found so far. Really? Look how dreamy they are! I guess I have always had a thing for the bad boy.

8. You are down to your last $20 – what do you buy?

A bottle of wine and a used book? Shoot, and maybe some cheap dog food.

9. And finally, because I have a tendency to succumb to peer pressure, please share a recipe?

We have been making this shakshuka recipe from smitten kitchen every couple of weeks for a few months now. It is delicious, you guys. And easy and cheap.

And now my nominees*:

1) busted oven

2) jAllen at Mine to Command

3) Amanda at beloved burnt toast

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*I will be adding a couple more these throughout the next day or so. I’m having a hard time finding appropriate nominees that fit the criteria, and I need to get to back to work!