An Honest Scrap Nomination for Moi?! (And My Ten Nominees)

I have only been nominated for something one other time in my life. It was in high school. For homecoming queen or some such dance. My one nomination came from a Glee/Drama Club co-member (a male, who made me laugh all the time, though we weren't best buds or anything, we just ran in a lot of the same circles--he was sassy like me, too, that played in my favor). We'll call him Melvin (not his real name). But Melvin came up to me during class break--the halls were decorated with all the frilly crepe paper crud typical of an upcoming "center-of-the-universe" high school moment: homecoming dance (or prom--it's been so long). Melvin said, "I nominated you for queen." I just busted a gut laughing. I said, "Sweetie, that is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me, but honestly, moi?" I may have had tears in my eyes, too.
He said, "Yes--it's your style and you are so funny and blah, blah, blah." Okay, he may not have said those exact words, but I do remember remarks about my "stand out" personality and taste. (Hey, like everyone else--I had the folks in the crowd not so keen on me, but why re-live that?) We had no money, so I had to find other creative ways to "fit in"--some of my god-given talent landed me director of our senior class play. I had fun with that (especially casting roles--talk about getting revenge! Not that I'd condone that today). Plus, I have mentioned before my having a seamstress work with me in making my own custom dress designs for dances--using money I made with a part time job scooping ice cream (then moving on to a taco joint). Another attempt at saving money: I was the first girl in the South to cut her hair short--I mean short, before hairdressers even knew how to take scissors to a short hair request from a woman--some still don't know how. Pat Benatar was my idol--grant it I was blonde, I still loved that cut! Back to Melvin, he made my whole year. I don't think he knows how much this meant to me. Of course, I never made it to the line-up, but I did attend the dance all smiles inside, in a custom-made dress, with my short hair and some guy escorting me.

So, fast forward to a few days ago when Cajun Chef Ryan dropped me a line, commenting, then leaving with this: I nominated you for the Honest Scrap Award. You what?! The what?! Being quite curious and wanting to make sure this wasn't a joke, I hi-tailed it to his site. According to CCR (I know, I think of Credence Clearwater Revival, too)--this little award began in our cyber world about two years ago. The logo used is from an old chewing tobacco which serves as the icon. (Ick. I have awful high school chewing tobacco memories--AWFUL!) Anyhow, I giggled and laughed and thought, is that man nuts--he nominated me--little old vegan moi--thank you sooo much! I emailed him, then began thinking about this and how to best serve its honor? I see these awards all the time on other blogs and think, Hmmm, how'd they get that? (We all do, I'm sure.) I met CCR through Food Buzz. I began to notice his food stuffs right off the bat (well after he "friended me"--I am horrible at that and having never had a blog/Facebook/Twitter account previously, did not know how "friending" really worked. I still don't know how to use Facebook or Twitter very well, and am still very shy about "friending" myself). Anyway, I was digging the recipes he served up--not vegan, but darn fine cooking, plus the fact he's the real deal: a chef--brushing shoulders with the likes of Julia and Emeril during his cooking career for gosh sakes! I've only known one other chef in my life, and he married my best friend.

The Honest Scrap Award works like this:
1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to that blog post. (Check.Thank you Cajun Chef Ryan! Double Check.)
2. Tell ten honest things about yourself and make them interesting, even if you have to dig deep! (Check. See below.)
3. Pass the award on to ten bloggers you feel embody the spirit of Honest Scrap (I'm still not sure I know myself), and whose blog you find brilliant in design and/or concept. (Check. See below.)

My "Honest Scrap":
1. I hate brussel sprouts.
2. I love chocolate and peanut butter.
3. My house was struck my lightening twice when I was a little girl.
3. I am terrified of thunderstorms. Sometimes, I need "medication" to get through them.
4. I hate black outs. I was trapped on the 26th floor of a New York City hotel during the big black out that hit the East coast during the thick of summer in August--was it 2003? I thought this was the end of the world--I helped a flight attendant carry her luggage all the way down the back stairwell. We both wished each other luck. I had my wallet with me and cell phone. I went to a fruit stand. I bought a bag of bing cherries and some oranges and apples. I waited in line for an hour to call my husband on a pay phone telling him I didn't know when I'd see him again. I told him I loved him. I headed for Central Park. I was still in my business suit. I thought I'd like to "go" in this fashion: eating fruit while taking in the sites at Central Park. Then it started to get dark and I ran back to my hotel. Lucky for me I had my wallet--they let me back in. I walked up 26 flights of stairs and went to sleep. I caught a flight home the next day.
5. I once picked up a hitchhiker on my way home to visit my mom. He seemed harmless, plus he was short (I am tall). He looked like a gnome. I showed up at the door with him. My mom screamed. We took him to the bus station. I will never pick up a hitchhiker again. Talk about a doctor visit ensued.
6. I love dogs. At one time, we had thirteen rescues/fosters. Our pack has dwindled. We have almost half that many rescued dogs right now. I love dogs--more than people sometimes.
7. One time, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers were playing a concert at Six Flags. I knew like one of their songs, but it sounded like fun--I was in college. I got a front row seat--I had never had a front row seat at a concert before. One of Larry's "crew" came up to me during the break and asked if I'd please follow him, Larry wanted to meet me. I went. My date waited for me in the front row seat. I met Larry. I met the brothers. It took me years to figure this all out. I have a picture of me with Larry somewhere, his arm around me, grinning in the hall of his trailer. I excused myself and went back to my seat with my date.
8. I collect cookbooks.
9. I once went hunting for crawdads. I had never heard of a crawdad until I moved to Missouri. Shrimp, yes. I was 15 years old. I was both thrilled by this and disgusted. I still have vivid memories of this excursion. I blacked out the rest of the trip.
10. I love my husband and my dogs more than anything else in this world. My husband is a trained biochemist and an uber-smart man. Mensa-like. He is "older" than me, so I want him to stick around a long time. Becoming vegan has made a huge difference in our lives.

My "Honest Scrap" Nominations:
 It was hard to winnow down ten nominations. I lurk a lot. I love all food blogs in general. I love great photography and interesting writing. I love food, and I love sweets. I think my list could have been fifty long--especially if you include some of the gardening and knitting sites I visit. I may not be bold enough to go in and leave a comment on all of these alerting them of either my stopping by in the past, or of their nomination today (I will make every attempt to do so--another shy thingy I have)--but at least you, too, can enjoy these folks and stop by and find something to adore as I have so many times. At least one is a fairly new blogger who I think has done a fine job--so I listed her, too. I thank all of these bloggers for being so blog-brave and give them my nomination for the "Honest Scrap" Award. These are in no particular order. Nor do I admit to visiting these sites regularly, some may have been really charming and have stuck in my mind as interesting, and some may be on my Faves tab. Some are vegan. I just wander and wander through blogs (lurk) and sites and can kill a whole morning doing so--but these stand out. Enjoy!

1. Show Me Vegan
2. Tasty Trix
3. Bankrupt Vegan
4. An Opera Singer in the Kitchen
5. Vegan Fox in The Snow
6. Vegetable Matter
7. Innocent Primate
8. The Baker's Daughter
9. Kirsten's Kitchen
10. Lone Star State :: the blog of vegan Texas