The Dinner Guest (Me!) Wins Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

I never win anything.

The only thing I remember winning is a singed Eurythmics album, which I lent to someone and never saw it again. So to have been bestowed this great honour by the lovely Allyson Latta means so very much. Thank you for the shoutout, Allyson. You’ve always been one of my biggest supporters and that kind of backing makes such a difference, especially to those of us freelancing, where one day you’re being praised and the next, no one will hire you.

She awarded it to me for my Dinner Guest column over at Poetry of Food, which is one of the most delightful and rewarding places I’ve ever had the opportunity to contribute.

There are rules for this award.

1. Thank the person who awarded me. Check.
2. Tell you 7 things about myself. Oh Lord.
3. Pass this award on to some new bloggers. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.

First, the other bloggers:

Allyson Latta – I’m not naming her because she chose me for this award, but because no one puts more work into her posts than Allyson. Have you seen how in-depth her posts are? Her site is more of a magazine for writers and memoirists than a mere blog. Spend some time looking around. I bet you’ll learn a ton.

Beth Dargis’ My Simpler Life – A personal, yet minimalist blog that helps you focus on what’s important. Beth recently lost her teenage son, yet her posts remain honest and helpful. I admire her and thank her for years of great advice.

And there are so many food and organizational bloggers that I follow. I’m going to have to make a separate entry and list for these. Stay tuned…

And in the meantime, here goes. Seven things:

1. I am a fierce and loyal friend.

I have always treated my friends as extended family. Once I love you, I love you forever. Some people in my past have found this to be a bit much. I can see that. But my intentions are always good.

2. If I didn’t have to worry about money, I’d still work 14 hours a day, but I’d be running a southern restaurant in there too.

I am not happy not working. I’ll be at my desk at 110. You just watch. But I will stop to get up and make you some dinner. And maybe even dessert…

3. None of my ex-boyfriends have any online presence whatsoever and this might be my fault.

Like with friends, I was a fierce and loyal girlfriend (I am now fianceed). But I may have loved some too intensely because none of my former fellas are anywhere online. I may have inadvertently scared them away from many things and now they are worried about being tracked down. I can see that. If you went out with me, know that my intentions were always good.

4. Simple things make me extremely giddy.

Dressing up and going out for dinner, going for a walk, my pile of library books in the living room awaiting me, finding an amazing deal on clothes, housewares or stationery, making dinner for my fella or friends. Seriously. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy – walk me to the library and I’m yours.

5. Restaurants thrill me more than they should.

I ended up in the right business being a food writer and restaurant critic. I love every inch of restaurant life from the china to the pass, the sea bass to the chef coats.

I am very lucky that my fella puts up with my hobby – I have a chef coat that makes me giddy and that combined with my restaurant pots and pans has me working my one-person kitchen like a real restaurant. He even orders and pretends to pay the bill.

I shadowed my favourite chef once in the kitchen and it was the best night of my life.

6. Much of my life revolves around food. I hope it stays that way.

What you see -  food articles and columns, chef interviews, restaurant reviews, food photos

What you don’t see - all the food that I eat but I can’t write about due to a limiting food count, the incredible amount of time I devote to choosing a restaurant,the insane amount of time I spend scrolling through restaurants when a friend or colleague asks for a recommendation, the time I spend prepping for chef interviews, the time I achingly switch between a single word in a review to get it just right, the painstaking process of grocery shopping for two big eaters (the many stops and trips and carrying of heavy, overflowing bags that I have to heft up the stairs and then find room for in our tiny l’il place), the copious food stains on everything I own, from eating and cooking, the early mornings I spend pouring over menus, thinking about what to make for dinner and if I did have my own restaurant, what my menu and specials would be that night.

7. It’s impossible to think of 7 things.

I know that as a writer I should be able to extricate things from my darkest depths, but I am much better talking about other people than myself. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I’ll talk to a room of 1,000 people about a subject as long as it doesn’t have to do with me. As much as the night of my first book launch was incredibly momentous, it was excruciating – the hardest night ever. It’s better to ask my friends what people don’t know me. Anyone out there – a little help?