Versatile Blogger Award

A great big THANKS to Mary at MaryMaking for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award!  It feels good to know that other bloggers you admire also admire what you're doing!  I love Mary's creative approach to art projects and her enthusiasm for what she does.  One of my favorite posts of hers is from February, "Indian Elephants".  They are so beautiful, and I can't wait to do this project with my own students.  What a blessing it is to have this community of art teachers to inspire and encourage one another in the best job on earth...making art with children!

Here are 7 interesting facts about me: 

1) I was in the Army for 1 month when I was 18.  I contracted Hepatitis and came home.  I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, 3 months on bed rest and when I got better, traveled to Louisiana to visit a friend.  That is where I met my future husband.  I was not meant to be in the Army.  :)

2) I graduated from college at the age of 42.

3) When I was a senior in high school, my Scholastic Portfolio placed in the top 10% in the nation.

4) I have worked in a grocery store bakery, a hardware store (one of my most favorite jobs), as a room service operator at a major hotel in our area, in clothing and accessories retail stores for many years, and as a faux finisher and freelance artist for 16 years.

5) My favorite movies are Sense and Sensibility, anything English or Jane Austen, and on the lighter side...Elf.  I LOVE Will Ferrel!  My favorite documentary is "Between the Folds", about the art of origami, it is a MUST see!

6) God and family are of utmost importance to me.  

7) I love to cook (when I can) and watch the Food Network...especially the show "Chopped".  What a brilliant show, I can't get enough of it!  My family and I like to do our own Chopped competitions.  We pull crazy ingredients out of the pantry and fridge for one another, or buy them at the store, and we have to make something out of what we're given.  Then  we score each other on taste, plating and creativity.  It is so much fun!!!  And my kids (12 year old daughter, 18 year old son) totally blow my mind with how creative they are!

Pass the award on to 10 recently discovered bloggers:

1) Texas Art Teacher

2) Blue Moon Palette
3) Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists

4) Art with Mr. E
5) My Adventures in Positive Space
6) This Little Class of Mine
7) The Art of Education
8) Art Teacher Blog
9) Use Your Coloured Pencils
10) Studio 220

Congratulations!!!  (Now; tell 7 interesting facts about yourself, pass this award on to 7 newly discovered or favorite bloggers, and lastly, thank and link back to the blogger who gave you the award).