Do You Want to Know a Secret ?

So Anne at Gaal Creative kindly nominated me for the MeMe Award, where you reveal 7 Secrets about yourself and then nominate 7 other bloggers to do the same.

The MeMe Award

I haven't passed on awards very much lately - I really do appreciate receiving them and the recognition from my fellow bloggers but I don't always want to use my posting time to fulfill some of the requirements and I also have a hard time nominating one blog over another as I have so many favorites that mean so much too me for different reasons.

The fact that this award asks you to share 7 Secrets about yourself worked for me today. It gave me an opportunity to share some more little details about myself, little things that make me Me !

Here are my 7 Secrets :

1. I only got my driver's license at 31, the same time I bought my first car (A green Saturn SL - it is still on the road after 13 years - my Mom has it now). Before that, I lived in a big city, took the bus a lot and relied on friends to drive me where the buses couldn't take me.

(Kim in the Banana Boat Yellow Mustang - FLA in 2003)

2. I met David when I was 34 and he was 39. He asked me to marry him after we had long distance dated for only 3 months. After knowing him for 10 years now, I have come to realize how brave and unlike him it was to ask me to get married after such a short time. He tends to be much more cautious and a planner than that. I guess it just shows that it was completely meant to be !

(David and I in St. Pete's Beach, FLA in 2001, our first trip after we got married )

3. If I could play any instrument, it would be the piano. I would love the play the piano the way Chris Martin of Coldplay plays the piano...magic !

Art Journal Page - 2007

4. My two younger sisters, Natalie (4 years younger) and Kristina (5 years younger) used to drive me nuts when we were kids by chanting "Kimberly Diana, Kimberly Diana..!" over and over again at me. I don't know why I hated it so much (My real middle names are Kimberly-Anne Pauline) but it still kind of makes me cringe even now !

(Art Journal Page 2006 - photo of me at 6 years old)

5. I am horribly afraid of sharp objects like saws (especially electric ones) and blades. It is so intense that I sometimes wonder if I was amputated in some way in a past life or something ! David is slowly helping me deal with this fear, but I still refuse to let him use a chainsaw !

(Art journal page - 2008)

6. I believe that my houseplants and my animals communicate with me, kind of telepathically. I feel like I just "get" their language. I have to ask a plant before I cut a branch or dying leaf off. I just know when they need some extra TLC or if they should be put into the ICU window to get some extra boosts of light. I know when Chica is feeling depressed about a lack of walks or when Azzy admits to me that he really loves me in spite of the fact he is still not sure if he can trust me (he was a street cat and it has taken him over 2 years to come and lie beside me). David thinks I am nuts about this but I just know I hear them talking !

(Chica and I on the top of the world - Mt Washington, 2009)

7. If I knew for sure that I had just 37 Days left to live, I would spend that time at the ocean somehow. I would probably take up smoking again (damn things, I still miss them after a year !) and eat yummy fruits and veggies and cheeses and bread and drink some fine wines. I would paint and write and watch the waves and smell that smell of the salt water. I would invite my family and loved ones to come and surround me, and I would spend as much time as possible listening to the kids laughing and chattering as they played by the sea. And I would then run up and join them and play the day away in the sand. I would breathe it all in and make it a part of my Soul and Spirit so that I could take it with me when it was time to go...

Me at Hampton Beach, Summer 2009

As I was writing this post, I came to realize that I have little or no fear about sharing parts of myself this way. I think it comes from being an extrovert in many ways. I feel like by sharing myself openly, I can help others feel safe and trusting to share themselves with me. That is a good thing in my world as it helps me make connections on a heart level, which I so appreciate.

So rather than choose only 7 people to take up this MeMe Award, I challenge any and all of the bloggers on my blog roll to take some time to share some secrets about themselves and then let me know they have done so. (Well, I will be reading the posts anyway !) Let's do it in celebration of the fact that we are all in this together, and for the fact that this Blogland community is so supportive and kind.

Happy Labor Day, all you Blogland Beauties !