Comments (54)

By kilax, January 11, 2010 5:06 am

I feel like I am having a bit of a blogger identity crisis.

I am passionate about what I am writing, and I really enjoy writing, receiving comments and interacting with all of you. It’s so fun. And I like the style I’ve developed and the blogging schedule I am following.

But… I have this itching feeling that I could be more personal here. I just worry about doing that without comprising my “in real life” relationships.

I suppose most bloggers struggle with this.

Have you ever felt like you were having a blogger identity crisis?

Maybe I will work on a “FAQ” page or update my About page in the meantime. Do you have any questions for me? Is there anything you would like to know about me? Me, me, me, me, me. It felt weird asking you guys that. But I have always wondered!

I have a non-traditional giveaway for you. It is more of a “pay it forward” giveaway, but I didn’t just want to say “whoever comments first gets it!” So I will do a traditional giveaway and draw a name.

Have you heard of the book Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster? The book is about Lancaster’s weight loss journey (warning: if you have/had an eating disorder, this book may be triggering). She tells her story with a sense of humor and does not apologize for who she is. And bonus! The story is set in Chicago. Leah wrote about the book a few weeks ago, saying how much it made her laugh, and I thought, “Jeez, instead of letting this book sit on my shelf never to be read again, I should pass it on!”

So, I decided to. Let me know if you like this idea, because I used to have a book purchasing problem and could probably find a few more to pass on!

If you are interesting in having my meticulously well taken care of copy of Such a Pretty Fat, you’ll be excited to find out there are three entry possibilities! And, I decided to throw in some LastLine bookmarks for fun!

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below recommending a fiction or non-fiction book to me.
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. And for the bonus extra entry, related to the first half of this post, leave me another comment below telling me something you like or dislike about this blog. Example? I dislike how RIDICULOUSLY long my posts have been lately. (And while I do write for me, but would love some feedback.)
4. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Sunday, January 17th. I will probably use the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Sunday evening. I will announce the winner on Monday, January 18th.
5. This contest is open to readers everywhere.

Comments (29)

By kilax, November 30, 2009 5:11 am

When Steven and I attended Jonathan Safran Foer’s reading and discussion of Eating Animals we had him personally sign our copy of the book! How exciting! The only time I have ever had an author sign a book before this was when Frank Warren signed my copy of The Secret Lives of Men and Women (I also had him sign a book for my sister) – I have since lost interest in Post Secret. Ha ha.

Anyway, guess what?! I brought an extra copy of the book and had Foer sign it as well – so I can give it away to one of you lucky readers!

This book has been getting an amazing amount of press. I think part of the reason is because Foer delivers the message – that we need to start discussing whether it’s right or wrong to treat animals (for human consumption) the way they are being treated – in such a gentle, non-judgmental manner. You don’t feel put off reading this book – you feel intrigued to read more. Yes, there are some disturbing statistics, but they are not blared in your face. They’re just discussed as what they are – statistics.

A pescatarian coworker came with me to Foer’s reading. She hadn’t read the book yet, but started to right after the reading ended. When I saw her the next week, she told me she had finished most of the book and there was no way she could eat animals products every again. I was really surprised by the effect the book had on her. I didn’t feel like it pushed a vegan, or even much of a vegetarian agenda. But, Natalie Portman said Eating Animals turned her vegan as well. I’m just so surprised by the profound effect of this book!

Now, I don’t expect you to become vegetarian or vegan if you read it! I just expect you to think about it! I would love to hear what anyone else thinks of the book.

And on to the nitty gritty…

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below telling me why you want to read this book. Again, you can check out my review of it here.
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Sunday, December 6th. I will probably use the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Sunday evening, or the Random Integer Generator. I will announce the winner on Monday, December 7th.
4. This contest is open to readers everywhere.

Comments (18)

By kilax, November 17, 2009 5:03 am

Q: How do you prepare for a visit from Grandma?

A: By cleaning like a mad woman, of course!

Come on, it’s not every day you get to:

• iron your place settings
• discover shiny surfaces right there in your own home!
• feel the tactile pleasure of cleaning each and every window blind
• relive memories as you clean tiny little mementos on your knickknack shelf
• vacuum every side of every cushion and pillow on the couch – I’ve confirmed – we do indeed, have a gray cat
• scrub out Data’s litter box by hand – ha, not! gotcha

Truth be told, Steven and I are very neat and tidy (he is more than me, for all of those women who think men can’t be organized*), and we would be doing this type of deep cleaning for any holiday visitor, not just my grandma. It’s just so time consuming!

Do you do a deep clean before each guest arrives? Or do you leave your place “as is”?

We always clean quite a bit for guests, but extra for the holidays.

At least we got to do some fun things, like put up the holiday decorations and listen to music while we were cleaning.

Data loves the fake tree, but we’ve asked him to admire it from a distance. It has valuable Star Wars ornaments on it after all!

Data! I see you there!

You better be a good boy Data, or Santa won’t come!

Side Note: Don’t forget to enter my Homemade Holiday Sweets Giveaway!

I just found out yesterday that I won my first giveaway, EVER! Marcia, from Running Off at the Mouth is sending me a copy of The Runner’s Cookbook, a book I have had my eye on for a year! Thanks Marcia! Check out her blog if you’re looking for a new runner blogging friend!

*Or cook. He’s a wonderful chef. I’m blessed.

Comments (38)

By kilax, November 16, 2009 5:13 am

What a crazy busy week we have ahead of us:

• On Wednesday, I have to give a very important presentation at work which will determine whether or not I get a raise! Steven and I are also going to the Eating Animals Reading on that day AND my sister and her friend are staying at our house Wednesday night.
• On Thursday, I am driving my sister and her friend to the airport at 5:30 am. Then, Steven and I are attending the Chicago Construction Expo all day. Then (!), my mom, dad and grandma are arriving for the weekend.
• On Friday, my mom, grandma and I are going to Chicago to do some window shopping on State Street and Michigan Avenue.
• On Saturday, we are BAKING all day long.
• On Sunday, I will take my grandma and mom to church, then they will head home… and I will promptly collapse!

And that’s not to mention all of the prep work we’ve done these past few weeks, this weekend and today and tomorrow – painting, cleaning, buying groceries, etc.

BUT, I am excited! We had a lot of fun baking all of our holiday sweets last year, and THIS year, I am doing a Homemade Holiday Sweets Giveaway!

Would you like to win a Holiday Sweets Basket like one of these?

The Holiday Sweets Package will likely contain:

• Frosted Sugar Cookies
• Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
• Snickerdoodles
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Toffee
• Caramels
• Caramel Crispix
• Chex Mix

I say “likely” because who knows what the day will bring. My mother is often springing (good) recipe ideas on us at the last minute.

I will put a note in the package saying which items are vegan and which are gluten-free. They will not all be, but please, still enter the contest! Some will be, and you can share the rest with your friends/family/coworkers/grateful strangers.

Contest Rules:

1. To enter the contest, simply leave a comment below telling me what your favorite holiday treat is. It doesn’t have to be one I listed above. It can even be a favorite dish!
2. To get an extra entry, link to the giveaway in your blog, and leave me another comment linking to your post.
3. This contest is open until 5:00 PM CST on Saturday, November 21st. I will use the Random Integer Generator, or if I am feeling fiesty, the old “name out of a hat” drawing to select a winner on Saturday. I will announce the winner Saturday evening.
4. This contest is open to readers in the contiguous United States only. Sorry! I want to make sure your sweets arrive quickly!