Friday, September 10, 2010

Friends of Coal Bowl, My Best Guest Post Yet and an Award!

My nails are kelly green, I'm decked out in Marshall Gear, and after I leave work at noon today, I'm heading down the Ohio River to Huntington, to cheer on the HERD!  Tonight is Marshall vs. West Virginia University in the "Friends of Coal Bowl".  Typically, I would be hostile and ready to *fight-fight-fight* for my Herd b/c I'm usually a total WVU hater, but for undisclosed reasons, I'm going to be at peace while watching this in-state rivalry for the first time in my life. Yesterday's post is a hint as to why. 

This week, I wrote what I am sure will be one of my favorite posts of all time, and shipped it off to Cate for a guest post at her blog, Real Life With Kids!  You have GOT to check out "My Dad is a Used Car Salesman" - 5 Things My Father Taught me about Maximizing the Value of Life - I don't get sentimental too often, so this one is SPECIAL and I promise you'll love it!

I find it so much easier to write for someone else's blog than for my own, and I'm not sure why that is.  When I'm creating a guest post, I really "take the gloves off" and go for it, so to speak.  Guest posting is difficult at times, because you want to introduce yourselves to new bloggers, make sure the person you're guest posting for doesn't look like a complete moron for inviting you to guest post based on the content you submitted, and hopefully draw in and discover some new readers.



I know blogging isn't a beauty pageant, but I sometimes feel it is difficult to really let loose on my own blog - let loose in terms of writing about personal topics, potentially controversial issues, and other "sensitive" matters.  For some odd reason, I tend to save the real thought-provoking material for guest posting.  
So, with that rambling jumble of thoughts about guest posting aside, you need to head over to Cate's blog - like, now!  I think you'll enjoy what i've written, and I hope it inspires and/or touches you in some way.

Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank Amber @ Life on a Stick for presenting me with the lovely "Cherry On Top" Award!


I've enjoyed Amber's blog for a while now, as she's a wife, a mom to a total cutie girly girl, a nurse pursuing a graduate degree - all ingredients for an always interesting blog!
And now, to accept, I must answer the following question and of course, pass the award on.

The question:
"If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?"

My Answer is that yes, I would like to go back and change one thing, which I'm thinking wouldn't have a huge effect on the way things currently are, except for my job.  I would scrap the whole pre-law idea I had at the age of 18, ditch my criminal justice major/degree, and study art or journalism.  Those are my true interests, but at the time, I thought they were only "hobbies" or "fun things", that I could never turn either interest into an actual career, even if i obtained a college degree.  Not chasing my career dreams at the beginning of my college career is my only serious regret in life - so i'm picking up now, mid-twenties, and working a little bit each and every day toward pursuing a creative career where I can utilize my energy, creativity, and personality to benefit other folks!

And now, the lovlies that I am passing this award to:
Emily @ City Girl Can Survive
http://georgiassimplyprettythings.blogspot.com/
Faith @ Life, Love, & Marriage
Candy@ The Adventures of Candy Graham

Thanks again for the award, Amber!  And make sure to check out my guest post today!

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12 comments:

Emily said...

Thank you for the award; you are so very sweet! Also, I have to say...I just love the guest post you did on your father. It made me cry and I think you're so lucky to have had such a wonderful man in your life. Thank you for sharing your story. You know, I sometimes wonder the same thing about my blog and "sharing" everything with people.

My goal with my blog has always been to be funny and snarky but I have come to realize that life isn't always funny. Sometimes, it hurts and sometimes it's sad. Sharing our personal struggles is difficult and scary, but in the end it's so much more rewarding that you can imagine. Your readers will always support you and in the end, truly appreciate your honesty. Being open about my struggles with IF has made it easier to handle.

Sorry, I've written a book but I just thought I'd give you a pep talk. Good luck with the game today! :)

Kerri said...

What a great guest post Stephanie! What great life lessons your dad taught you...I think we can ALL learn from them. LOVED the post!

Brittany said...

CONGRATS on the award!

I'll have to check out the guest post!

and Have fun at hte game :)))

Miss. C said...

Thank you!!! It is never to late to change directions and chase after your dreams! It is what makes life fun!

Anonymous said...

Your dad was a kind man and I'm sure he's proud of your memorializing him like this in your blog (I get these guest post twisted and thought Cate had written that and left a comment on her blog letting her know you referred me there..) In any event,great writing Stephanie. I'm hesitant about letting go on my blog too for some reason.

Am I what I blog - I say false. I'm much, much more....but aren't we all?

Micha said...

Your answer to the question is pretty much the same as I would answer (funny, too, how my work colleagues and I were discussing this very thing just the other day). At school I was keen to pursue a career either with horses or in photography. This was 'dismissed' by my parents who drove me in the direction of 'getting a degree' to have something to 'fall back on'. After many years (couple of decades even) of 'drifting aimlessly' and not knowing really what I want to do I am finally progressing towards photography dreams, so GOOD LUCK WITH YOURS. Sorry, maybe I should just blog about this myself :-)

Faith said...

i finally got on to blogger tonight and i see that you gave me an award! i am sooo happy! thank you so much. **doing a happy dance right now**

i'm serious that i am doing a happy dance right now! :)

Faith said...

i just read your guest post on your dad and i loved it so much. he was such a great dad and you can tell just by reading how much he loved you and how much you loved him.

i think it is very difficult to share personal things about your life on your blog for the world to see, but sometimes it has a calming effect on your thoughts. i sometimes struggle with what i want to share but then i think, it's MY blog and it should reflect ME to the fullest. :)

enough of that, i really loved your guest post.

Heather said...

Stephanie, I just read your guest post and it was such an inspiring story! I think it's a post we all should read because it has such good life lessons in it! I loved it!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

We won't even mention last nights game.... major sad face!

I think it's kinda true...you are what you blog! I tend to blog about things that go on in my life.

Diana said...

Loved the guest post you did! Great writing... it's never too late to follow your passion! =)

Amber said...

Steph,

I just read your guest post finally NOW--WOW! That was great!! Thanks for sharing :)

PS the award looks great on your blog! :)