Friday, January 7, 2011

A Shady Award!

My new friend, Shady Del Knight at Shady Dell Music and Memories just bestowed me with this lovely award!  Isn't it cool?

I'm a huge fan of Shady's.  He's an exceptional, thoughtful, entertaining blogger, and he's made me feel like a queen with his kind comments and tremendous support of my own writing attempts. This award is just another example of his generosity.  His blog is terrific!  If you get a chance, be sure to stop by and visit, he'll make you feel right at home.  I PROMISE, you won't be disappointed!

Anyhoo, Shady has instructed me that the rules of accepting this award are to list five things about myself, then pass the award along to five other bloggers.

Some may say I've been RIDICULOUSLY open in this blog, and there's very little LEFT that one wouldn't already know about me, but let's see what I can do...

1.  I was terribly afraid of the dark as a kid, WAY after most children typically get over the fear.  My younger sister and I shared bunk beds in our room, and I always made an excuse as to why SHE should be the one to get out of bed and go across the room to hit the light switch each night instead of me.  I blame my overactive imagination.  Yeah, that's what it was...my imagination! (Pathetic!!)


2.  I am a doll collector, but not in the weird, creepy, always-tuned-to-QVC kind of way.  My grandma Simmons (aka: the most awesome person in the UNIVERSE) saved all of her dolls, my mom's dolls, and my dolls in her spacious walk-up attic.  When she died, I received this precious stash, and they all reside in my guest rooms to this day.  None of them are worth anything, monetary-wise, because they've all been played with a "loved" a great deal.  No original boxes here.  But they are so precious to me.  Especially my sweet Tubsy doll, to whom I actually devoted this entire blog entry.

3.  I have follicular lymphoma.  It's lazy and low grade, and I only have to think about it twice a year now, when I undergo a neck, chest, and pelvic CT scan to make sure it's not becoming active.  It was terrifying when I got the diagnosis, but for almost four years now, each scan has provided a "no new growth" result, and no treatment has been necessary. It's still a little daunting to know that I have cancer, that it will be with me for the rest of my life, and that I will never be able to call myself a "survivor," but I remind myself daily that it could be much, much worse.  (To the left is a picture of me with my second opinion doctor who was convinced I needed to start chemotherapy immediately.  She was WRONG!!)

4.  For thirteen years, I performed at Universal Studios, in the Terminator 2/3D attraction, as Kimberley Duncan (the annoying host in the ugly red suit!).  I got "choked" by a cyborg and thrown back onto a hidden mat nine times a day (stunt pay!!), and it was the best job I've EVER had!  I loved every day of my thirteen years there, and I only left when my sweet husband was promoted and we were required to move (Alan's the ONLY man for whom I would have left that awesome job!).

5.  I run every day, usually around 3.5 miles or so.  I don't run because I like it, I run to keep my dress size in the single digits.  I wrote this blog entry about my relationship with running.  People thought I was a little "touched" when they read it,  but I swear it's the truth.  That being said, my husband talked me into entering the 5K Sunset Run in Key West last July when we were there for our yearly trip.  I told him I was on vacation and didn't want to run, I wanted to drink margaritas on the pool deck.  He persisted, promising me drinks AFTER the run, and I caved.  It was 9000 degrees, and the sun was blistering.  It was, by far, the worst 24 minutes of my life.  Then, I learned that I placed first for my age group!   NEXT year, we're skipping the run and going STRAIGHT to the frozen drinks!!

Well, there you have it, Shady!  Five (somewhat?) interesting things about me that you may not have known before.  Hope you found it riveting!!  Thanks again for your kind words, and for this sweet award, I really do appreciate it!

Now, to bestow the award to five other blogs I admire:

1. Red Shoe Chronicles
2. Reforming Geek
3. Mumsy's Place
4. The Blog O' Cheese
5. Along Life's Highway The Yard Art Game

Not only are these blogs terrific, the authors are dear, thoughtful commenters as well, and I greatly appreciate them!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!  Thanks to Shady, mine's already been made!!

Thanks for Reading!

17 comments:

Shady Del Knight said...

Bravo, Joan! Those five revelations are not "somewhat" interesting. They are VERY interesting and I applaud you for putting together such a wonderful post in so short a time. I wish that I could have witnessed your acting performances at Universal and it's quite possible that you and I rubbed elbows down in Key West. You are a delight, Joan. You are smart, witty and courageous and I'm happy to have somebody like you in my world!

Katy said...

Congratulations - an award well deserved. Great post too xx

TILTE said...

omg- i LOVE the kimberly duncan thing! that's so cool... was that at universal studios LA or Florida?

Red Shoes said...

I am so honored! I write my nonsense and stuff... and wish I had the ability to write the neat things like you and others who just leave me feeling greatly inadequate...

Thank you so VERY much!!!

~Jim~

lifeshighway said...

I am so honored by the tribute especially coming from someone I have admired both as a writer and a person. I like these award shoes because they give me an opportunity to check out new blogs and get outside my reading rut.

Thanks you, and now for some good morning reading!

Lisalulu said...

I always enjoy reading your blog... and now getting to know more about you!! You are certainly an interesting person... and that just makes us want to read your blog more.

Unknown said...

Sounds like that was an awesome job! Congrats on the award.

Jessica said...

Congrats on the well-deserved award! Fabulous entry.

Joanie said...

Congrats on your well-deserved award!!

OK, let's see.... "I was terribly afraid of the dark as a kid, WAY after most children typically get over the fear.... I blame my overactive imagination. Yeah, that's what it was...my imagination!" and you grew up to be an actor! Whoduh thunk? LOL

You are, indeed, a cancer survivor! You were diagnosed with cancer (low-grade or not, it's cancer!) and you are still living. Honey, you ARE a survivor!! Just because you didn't need to go through chemo or radiation, in my book, you're a survivor!

Hearts Turned said...

Wonderful, Joan! Loved reading more about you! I think we're all a bit afraid of the dark, really...and I LOVE dolls, too...the older and more loved, the better! No collectors' boxes for me, thank-you very much!

Hope you're enjoying a fabulous weekend!

Julie

Cheeseboy said...

WE have so much in common. I run 3.5 miles every day and for 9 years I was choked by a robot! (Non stunt related.)

Thank you, thank you for the awesome award. Very cool.

I kinda knew about the cancer thing, but didn't know the full extent. Yes. I could see how that could be very frustrating. But YOU ARE A SURVIVOR IN MY BOOK!

ISRAEL CARRASCO said...

Congrats! I like Shady's site as well.

Kathy B said...

Great great writing Joan, as always!

Looking for Blue Sky said...

congratulations on the award! Good to learn more about you and I loved the bit about your favourite job :)

ReformingGeek said...

Congrats, Joan, and thank you for dumping....er....passing it on to me. ;-)

Gee, I got to sweep trash at Six Flags. Maybe that beats getting thrown around by a Cyborg.

alex said...

congrats!

and you were KIMBERLY DUNCAN?! An award should also be given to every woman who performs her.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for performing as Kimberley. I remember your performance as I was lucky enough to get some "behind the scenes"-time with you guys, as I came especially form the Netherlands for this attraction. Thanks for making that day memorable and unforgettable (http://www.hopeofthefuture.net/info/t23dusf_castmeeting.html -- or view the fanmade documentary at www.terminatorattractions.com). You guys are the best. Thanks for a great performance as Kimberley. Good luck!!

Maurice Huijs
www.hopeofthefuture.net

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