Getting to Know You…and Me (Penny Rader)

This month we’re discussing our writing inspiration.  People inspire me.  I’m curious about what makes them tick, who they are inside, why they do what they do.

We’ve been moving from a house we lived in for over 20 years.  I’ve spent a lot of time going through all the cr--, uh, stuff we’ve accumulated because I don’t want to drag anything to the new place that I don’t think I’ll need in the future.  The other day I came across some newsletter pages I’d saved during my stint as WARA’s newsletter editor.  The RWA chapter Couer de Louisinae’s Tete-a-Tete newsletter had member profiles they called Quickies. (The pages I kept were from 1993 & 1994.)   I thought it’d be great fun…as well as writing fodder…to use them in a blog post.

My hope is that if I share a bit of myself with you, then you’ll do the same in Comments section.  Feel free to pick and choose what you want to share...but please do share.

I AM a wife, mom, grandma, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, office worker bee, romance writer. Not necessarily in that order.
I LOVE reading, movies, Pinterest, laughing, crocheting, long baths, chocolate, holding babies.
I HATE bullies and mean people.
I FAIL miserably at housekeeping, drinking enough water, not procrastinating, dancing.
I RESIST writing, washing dishes, having my picture taken.
I DREAM OF unlimited time to read and nap, a home lined with bookshelves & window seats.
I BUY books, movies, pretties.
I COLLECT books, snow globes, Santas, yarn.
I DRINK Dr. Pepper, tea, coffee (as long as it’s doctored with lots of chocolate, cream & sweetener).
I CRAVE acceptance, peace, chocolate.
I HAVE many blessings: family, roof over my head, car to drive, air conditioning, a job.
I NEVER learned how to stand up for myself.
I’VE LEARNED time passes too quickly.
I TRY to be a positive example.
I MISS my Grandpa Simon, my granddaughter, Lexi.
I LIKE time to myself, watching the bunnies, birds, squirrels in my backyard.
I FEAR not being good enough.
I CANNOT RESIST smiling at babies.
I EAT cheeseburgers, ice cream, fruit, chocolate.
I REGRET I never had a picture taken of me holding Lexi.
I CHERISH my family.
I DEPLORE injustice, the heat.

Your turn. :D

13 comments:

Maddy said...

That is so interesting to me - especially the 'haven't learned to stand up for myself' comment. I always thought that essential - but I'm a miserable failure on that front too.

Hales said...

I AM a Mom, fiancé, sister, aunt, daughter, cook, laundress, book keeper, disciplinarian, educated, a sweetheart, a respiratory therapist and writer.
I LOVE canoeing, reading, writing, Army Wives, Lifetime, swimming, and chocolate.
I HATE liars, bullies and assholes.
I FAIL miserably at rules, babysitting and being on time.
I RESIST authority and eating healthy.
I DREAM OF sexy characters, trips around the world and really weird shit.
I BUY books, sex toys, funnel cakes, more books, chocolate, lotions and perfumes and sexy undergarments.
I COLLECT books, shot glasses and postcards
I DRINK Caffeine free coke, decaf coffee and yummy decaf lattes, some water and lots of decaf green tea.
I CRAVE Sex, cuddling and chocolate.
I HAVE many blessings: Family, friends, a home, a man, air conditioning a job and the ability to write.
I NEVER knew that just because someone said they were your friend…they really weren’t.
I’VE LEARNED not to give a crap what others think. And only to give a crap what the people you love most think.
I TRY to be a great friend.
I MISS my best friends mom who passed but not my own.
I LIKE time to myself, to spend time with just the DH and quality time with each of my teens on their own.
I FEAR death.
I CANNOT RESIST smiling all the time (almost all the time)
I EAT ice cream, chinese food and Jimmy Johns.
I REGRET Not taking my DH to be out of the friend zone 15 years ago. Wasted a lot of time when he was right there all along.
I CHERISH my family and friends.
I DEPLORE injustice, heat, abusers seeing males sag their pants as they waddle across an intersection.

Hales said...

I love this!!!! Nice to Meet you Penny!

Melissa Robbins said...

Hi Penny. Here is my list.

I AM a wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, writer, and artist.
I LOVE my husband and kids, writing, drawing, trivia games, dancing (not in public) and reading in my library.
I HATE mean or fake people.
I FAIL at most things, but that just makes me stronger.
I RESIST vacuuming and dusting.
I DREAM OF having my own books published.
I BUY books, movies, and art supplies (WAY too much art supplies).
I COLLECT decks of playing cards.
I DRINK Coke and sweet tea.
I CRAVE chocolate.
I HAVE many blessings.
I NEVER will jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
I'VE LEARNED to Irish dance.
I TRY to see the good in everyone and smile at everyone. You can make someone's day just by smiling at them.
I MISS playing sports like I did in high school and college.
I LIKE to write, draw, and smile.
I FEAR losing my kids or not being the best mom.
I CANNOT RESIST to write, draw, dance (when I'm not in public), or chocolate.
I EAT just about anything and everything, except shellfish (allergic) and sushi (yuck!).
I REGRET not talking to my grandparents enough and being so shy in school.
I CHERISH my family and life.
I'm with Penny. I DEPLORE the heat.

Penny Rader said...

Thanks for visiting, Maddy. It's something I'm working on. No idea why it's so hard.

Penny Rader said...

Thanks for sharing and for letting us get to know you, Hales.

I totally get I NEVER knew that just because someone said they were your friend…they really weren’t. That's one of the suckiest life lessons ever.

Penny Rader said...

Hi Melissa!

You can make someone's day just by smiling at them is so true.

And I NEVER will jump out of a perfectly good airplane. made me laugh out loud. :D

Penny Rader said...

Cougar asked if he could play. Hope you don't mind. I hope I interpreted his answers correctly.

I AM a mostly black border collie with a couple splashes of white.
I LOVE Her and Him and the Young Him.
I HATE when Her and Him and Young Him leave.
I FAIL at not shedding all over the carpet.
I RESIST going outside when it’s storming or fireworks explode in the sky.
I DREAM OF being able to go outside anytime I want, for as long as I want.
I DRINK out of my bowl and puddles and sometimes the toilet.
I CRAVE time with Her and Him and the Young Him.
I HAVE lots of fun running around my backyard and rolling and wriggling around on my back.
I’VE LEARNED when Her's small black device beeps in the morning it means I get to go outside.
I TRY to climb in Her’s lap when it thunder kabooms outside
I MISS having cats around especially when they have baby kitties I can carry around.
I LIKE chasing bunnies that come into my backyard.
I NEVER catch any of the bunnies.
I FEAR sports games on the big box in the big room because Him gets all excited and yells at the box which then makes me nervous and makes me have to get onto Her’s lap.
I CANNOT RESIST jumping the fence.
I EAT anything that’s not nailed down. The sandwich I snagged from Young Him’s room was mighty tasty.
I REGRET scratching Her with my sharp toenails when I try to climb on her lap.
I CHERISH lying on floor at Him’s feet or Her’s feet when they watch the big black box and sleeping on the carpet on Her’s side of the soft place she goes at night.
I DEPLORE people being mean to Her ‘cause I loooooove her. ;D

Hales said...

I'm loving reading these and yep it was a sucky lesson to learn!

Alana Lorens said...

I, too AM a wife, mom, grandma, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, and romance writer--also urban fantasy, science fiction, YA post apocalyptic AND vampire stories.
I LOVE happy days with family, travel and getting the words just right. And good coffee.
I HATE days when the fibro gets to be too much.
I FAIL at mothering my special needs kids some days, and somehow it makes all my successes fade to gray.
I RESIST exercise and the day job.
I DREAM OF days without pain.
I BUY pretty earrings and travel books.
I COLLECT carved wooden animals.
I DRINK tea and coffee.
I CRAVE support and reciprocal expressions from my family
I HAVE many blessings: family, all the usual First World problems.
I NEVER feel good enough.
I’VE LEARNED that sometimes you just close your eyes and jump.
I TRY to make my deadlines, but I don't always make it.
I MISS carefree days.
I LIKE watching others' creative process.
I FEAR not being here any more.
I CANNOT RESIST an opportunity to teach.
I EAT as healthy as I can.
I REGRET I didn't say goodbye to my mother.
I CHERISH my independence.
I DEPLORE people who don't leave their minds open.

Penny Rader said...

Thanks for visiting, Liz!

Penny Rader said...

Thanks for sharing, Alana. I hope you have many pain-free days ahead. {{hugs}}

Penny Rader said...

Alana, I forgot to mention I really liked this: I’VE LEARNED that sometimes you just close your eyes and jump