versatile blogger award

big thanks to ela of everything's herbed for passing on to me my first blogger award!

so here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Share the award to 15 other bloggers who you have recently discovered and think are fantastic. Link to each of the recipients and let them know they've won.

#1 is done! (thanks again, ela!) that was easy! but #2... er, not so much. here goes...

• contrary to the obvious, this isn't meant to be a food blog. but i am most definitely a foodie, so it just comes naturally to me to notice, ponder on, celebrate or lament about food and drink. i imagine i will be posting on more varied themes eventually. i really don't plan to start posting recipes or reviewing restaurants the way serious food blogs do. that would be too much like work. i do this strictly because i enjoy it, and i want to keep it that way!
• though born a foodie, i never really tried my hand at cooking till i was well into my twenties. before that, i lived at home and there was always my mom or the cook to do the cooking. now, aside from my own kitchen experiments (or cooking disasters, which happens more frequently than i care to admit), i'm scrambling to learn from mom and collect her recipes. my grandma (mom's mom) was, from all accounts, a fabulous cook... but none of her 13 children (yes, thirteen!!) really learned and compiled more than a few of her recipes! it would be tragic for that to happen again. also, i like the thought of my kids enjoying some of the same food i so loved when i was little.
• i like to read. (understatement.) i'll even read the back labels of stuff like shampoo or dish soap. i am inclined to read "guy" books and historical/non-fiction novels because i grew up having my dad's bookshelf as my primary source of non-required reading. "the bourne identity" and "the brotherhood of the rose" are a couple of favorites that i read back in elementary school. and yes, i preferred the hardy boys instead of nancy drew. BUT...
• my guilty pleasure when it come to books are romance novels by julia quinn. she's the only romance author i really read. primarily, JQ's books make me laugh. i have to admit, i always end up skipping the kissy-kissy parts because, really, once you've read a "love scene," they are all pretty much the same!
• i am fascinated by music and think all musicians, no matter what genre, are brilliant in their own way. i had dreams of being a music producer during my teenage years. unfortunately, i have no natural talent at it, just very rudimentary skills at playing the piano and guitar, and a love for singing in private (i.e., usually off-key). i actually invested in a new guitar in my mid-twenties (any instruments we had while i was growing up were gone by the time i went to college). wishful thinking that there's still a chance for a future in music? *sigh* still no dice. 
• i have abnormally low blood pressure. i think this is why i can seem unnaturally stoic at times of great stress. (look close enough, though, and you'll see the cracks on the surface!) i'm also prone to heat exhaustion, no matter how much water i drink. which is probably why, try as i might, i never really excelled in sports. (okay, okay... i'll admit i was too lazy to practice consistently!) oh, but i did cheerleading for a couple of years, if that can be considered a sport. i like to dance! i even did ballet till the seventh grade.
• i went through a phase of not wanting to have kids. i was young and self-centered. but now, i can't imagine life without my little guys. then, when i was pregnant with my 2nd son, i became uber sensitive to all things child-related. i'd see something on the news or read something in the paper about a child getting abused, and i would just fall to pieces. it was so bad that i would wake my husband in the wee hours of the morning in tears because i remembered the news story. i've got the crying bit under control now, but that experience changed me and i'm much more cognizant of child abuse than i was before. if you ever look into it, you'll be amazed to learn how frequent, serious and close to home some of these cases are! it's really very tragic, i wish there was an easy way to address the issues.

finally, #3. i'm going to bend the rule and just list an assortment of personal-ish, non-professional blogs that i like to visit, without trying to hit the max count of 15. here they are, in no particular order.

(ps. to all you bloggers that i've put on this list, thanks for sharing your life and loves with me and the general public. we enjoy reading you. really.)

• on my walkabout
• korean american mommy
• confessions of a chocoholic
• foy update
• fantastic fabulous mom
• caffeina
• trip or treats
• la kocinera
• a mom from the burbs
• more than a mount full
• cup of chay... not i 

cheers!