Sunshine Sunday

What happens when I get behind on blog reading? I miss out on this: My Sunshine Award nomination from Katie at Blonde Ambition.

Even though I’m chiming in a little late — like, um, a month too late — I’m here to play along. Thanks, Katie, for nominating me. Sorry I dropped the ball. In my defense, I’m now halfway through drafting a new 50,000-word novel. 😀

 Here goes …

The Rules:

1. Include award logo in a post or on your blog.
2. Link to the person who nominated you.
3. Answer 10 questions about yourself.
4. Nominate 10 bloggers to receive the award.

Katie’s 10 questions:

What 3 items are must-haves in your grocery cart every week?

Depends on the diet du jour. Currently:

1. Unsweetened almond, coconut or almond-coconut milk.
2. A variety of veggies
3. Something chocolate

If you could live in any city, no questions asked, which one would you choose?

That’s a tough question. When I was in middle school, in the throes of “Gone with the Wind” mania (the book, not the movie), I wanted to live in a renovated Georgia plantation house with my three cats, Rhett, Scarlett and Ashley.

In high school, any big city would have done. I was so OVER living in a one-stoplight town where cow-tipping counted as major excitement. I wanted big-city entertainment — and cable TV. We lived in the sticks, and couldn’t get cable. After I went off to college, my mom got a satellite (the precursor to Dish and DirecTV, probably), but even then, we only got a few channels … and NO MTV. Oh, the horror.

Nowadays, I’m pretty pleased with Flagstaff.

Great scenery, beautiful spring and fall temperatures, summers that don’t get hot as hell, like the rest of Arizona. Winter leaves something to be desired, though. So ideally, I’d live in Flagstaff from April through November, then high-tail it to the Valley for the winter.

Do you spend more money on food or clothes?

Food. Definitely. I’m not a fashionable person. Most days, you can find me in sweats (or wearing the Boyfriend’s clothes). This outfit from Kohl’s is one of my dressier ones.

Have you ever broken any bones?

Not yet. (Knock on wood.) But as klutzy as I am, it’s only a matter of time.

Fad diets: yay or nay?

Depends on what you call a fad. I still firmly believe Atkins is a great option for many people, myself included. Yet others scorn it as a fad.

Knowing what you know now, what is one piece of advice you’d give to 18-year old you?

Exercise can be fun. Start now.

What is your dream career? (Props if you currently have it  )

Ideally, I’d quit the day job to become a full-time author. I’m working on it. Maybe once I have three or four books out there, I’ll be making enough to pay the bills.

If you could choose one type of cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Only one? Yikes. I’ve been craving pasta lately — perhaps because I’ve been reading about Carly’s adventures in Italy — so I have to go with Italian. Ask me next week and the answer might be Mexican.

What is your favorite part of your body?

Does my brain count? 😉 Probably not. My feet. I have gigantic size 9 or 10 feet (depending on the shoes). I used to wish for smaller ones, but at 5-foot-10, I’d look pretty ridiculous trying to get around on tiny size 6 feet.

What is the “signature dish” that you cook best?

Last-Minute Lasagna

I make a mean lasagna (and associated pasta-less versions of said dish). It was one of the first dinners I learned to make, in eighth-grade home ec.

The lasagna in this photo is Last-Minute Lasagna, a recipe I read about over at Carrots N Cake. It layers frozen ravioli with meat, sauce and cheese.

My nominees: Thanks, but I’m going to pass on nominating folks, since the moment is long gone.