My Blog Nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award

This is my week for blog chains. Monday I followed a tag by Juliet Kincaid, and today I am thanking Kate Loveton for nominating my blog for the Versatile Blogger award. Check out her blog, Odyssey of a Novice Writer.

Calling me “versatile” is something of a joke in our household. My family does not see me as being a particularly flexible person. Though “versatility” and “flexibility” are not necessarily the same thing. Maybe I am versatile, but inflexible.

One of the suggestions for nominees is that they tell their readers seven new things about themselves. I’ve done this once before after another nomination, but that was over a year ago, so here are seven more things about me, which all speak in one way or another to versatility.

• I studied four languages in high school: English, French, German, and Russian, and continued to study French and Russian in college. My German and Russian vocabularies are almost all gone now, but I can still read 19^th century French. (Twenty-first century French vocabulary is a challenge. There were no PCs or internet when I was in college.)
• I grew up in Washington State, went to Middlebury College in Vermont, then went back west to Stanford Law School in California (intending to settle on the West Coast somewhere). But I met my husband at Stanford, he grew up in Missouri, and so we settled in Kansas City, where we have lived for almost 35 years.
• I hate exercise, but I have hiked halfway around Mont Blanc.
• I am conservative in most respects, but my son was a paid employee of the Obama campaign in 2008. He and I still talk to each other.
• Although I am an introvert, I can speak reasonably well in front of large audiences. I have even introduced a former President of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (my administrative assistant at the time of her induction) to a crowd of thousands . . . or so it seemed from the stage.
• I have had what I consider to be three careers in my life so far: Attorney for seventeen years, Human Resources executive for ten years, and writer for seven years and counting. Along the way, I have also been a mediator, board member, consultant, and volunteer.
• My goal is to publish novels. However, I have written and published short stories, creative nonfiction, and even poetry. I have also published one novel (under a pseudonym), and I have two novels on the Oregon Trail in draft form, which I am currently editing.

I now nominate fifteen other blogs for the Versatile Blogger Award. In keeping with the theme of this award, the blogs listed below relate to one or more aspects of my versatile life. Please take a look at them.

1. Morning Story and Dilbert—interesting anecdotes, plus Dilbert cartoons
2. Baby Boomers and More—on all aspects of being a baby boomer, from humor to elder care
3. Deborah Shouse Writes—This blog focuses on Deborah’s experiences as a caregiver for her mother who had dementia
4. Beauty Through Imperfection—a 20-something Texan writes about parenting to encourage young mothers
5. Leanne Shirtliffe, Ironic Mom—a humor writer writes about mothering, with frequent quips of “Things I Never Thought I’d Say As a Parent”
6. Jill Weatherholt—a writer discusses writing and blogging
7. Writer Site—a memoirist and poet writes about story, writing, and poetry
8. Austenprose—thorough discussions of Austen’s  novels and today’s Austen-abilia
9. Sarah Emsley—a Nova Scotia writer who blogs and Jane Austen and Edith Wharton
10. The Bookshelf of Emily J.—writer Emily January blogs on books
11. The Misfortune of Knowing—on books, writing, and the law
12. HR Schoolhouse—Robin Schooling’s blog on human resources and workplace topics
13. Sara Rickover, Behind the Corporate Veil—a blog about legal and workplace issues
14. Willamette Valley Heritage Highlights—for lovers of Oregon history
15. Sharon’s Meanderings—sharing everyday rural life in the Idaho backroads; a largely photographic blog

Please check out these bloggers. I’ve deliberately expanded my list beyond the blogs I listed before. But I still follow most of the blogs I listed then, so check those out, too, and also check out my blogroll.

For more about the Versatile Blogger Award, please see that blog’s home page.

How do you show versatility in your life?