Beautiful Blogger Award!

I am lucky enough to a have received the beautiful blogger award from the beautiful Ari from Happy Cactus. Thank you so much Ari! This is just what I needed. I woke up this morning with a bit of a fever and a stomach ache from who knows what, and it wasn't exactly a beautiful day.

I'm hoping to feel better. Maybe this award will help.

The award rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award. (Thanks again, Ari!)
2. Copy the award and place it on your blog (see above).
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award (here it is again)
4. Tell us 7 interesting things bout yourself.
5. Nominate 7 bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs that are nominated.

Seven Interesting Things about Me:

1. Lately I've been sleeping with my head at the foot of my bed and my feet at the top (is that interesting, or just weird?)

2. I recently had a dream that my boyfriend and I did the entire final dance from Dirty Dancing, including the lift. I was proud.

3. I also had a dream that I was dating Tom Hanks, at his current age, and going to a movie premiere with him (I just realized that these dreams may have to do with my new sleeping position. You think?)

4. I recently decided I want to adopt a pet pig when I have the time to take care of one. Did you know they are smarter than dogs? They are just too cute! The guy to the left is Mr. Pigglesworth. I found him on a website. I want him. I was about to say, "He's so cute, I could eat him," but that's a bit awkward. (I do miss bacon... but apparently there is a Canadian veggie bacon out there somewhere that tastes like the real thing. Me want!)

5. As much as I try to be a good listener, if something isn't captivating enough I tend to start "active listening" even though my mind is anything but active in the conversation. I'm probably staring at your nose hairs.

6. After having such a blast at my 1920's New Year's Party, I think I might try to make it a tradition to throw a big bash every year with a different theme. What do you think? I'll take theme suggestions.

7. I think I'm becoming an insomniac again, like I was for awhile in college. I need sleep, but I toss an turn and toss and turn.


And now... drumroll please... the 7 blogs I nominate:

1. Seshat (a.k.a. my mommy)
2. HCubed (a super teacher friend)
3. NicoleIsBetter (a new discovery... she cracks me up)
4. MissMoose (totally sweet and artsy)
5. Walking Faux Pas (beautiful in how much it makes me laugh)
6. NavyOCallaghans (close friends from H.S.)
7. MeltedReel (beautifully witty movie reviews by an old friend)

Maybe I'll sleep now.

Peace,

Kelly

Dooce.

Blog Find of the Year: That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.

Well, I have to admit that I really didn't get into reading blogs continuously until early this year. I'd always heard my older sister mention some blog she liked about a witty, ex-Mormon mother and wife, so I finally decided to check it out.

Yes, folks, my Blog Find of the Year goes to: Dooce.com.

I know it isn't a true "find" considering it is well known at this point, but it was a find for me because I didn't get into reading it until this year.

It really is a dream job. She's been able to chronicle her life in a way that is interesting to a mass audience, probably because she is so true and raw about everything: the highs, the lows, the ups, the downs, love, sorrow, humor, randomness... it's all there. It entertains people enough that she now can support her whole family with it, and how is that not fantastic?

You can go as far back into her blog as when she was a single gal working in a cubicle and for a horrid boss (who she talked about on the blog by the way, resulting in her termination), all the way up to her life now with her geeky adorable husband and her two equally adorable daughters. Her battles with depression, religion, family, and failure are experiences to which we can all relate.

And she takes good pictures. And I love that.

Check her out.

NaBloPoMo.

Ready to hear a lot more from me? I've decided to commit myself to NaBloPoMo, otherwise known as National Blog Posting Month. The goal is to post something to my blog every day in November. This will either bring more readers to my wee little space in world wide web land, or scare them away because of the forced random content that may sometimes appear here as a result of writer's block. I'll do my best to keep it somewhat relevant and entertaining!

I originally had only heard of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Last school year, my creative writing students participated. Every day, for a month, I hovered over them in a computer lab, trying to get them to squeeze out every little bit they could in order to reach their word count goals. It was rough, but I knew it was a success when some of them told me it was the longest thing they'd ever written in their lives.

So here I am, trying to do something similar myself. It's not a novel, but it's a start. I always wanted to find the time last year to do the creative writing projects with my students, but considering so much of time was spent on lesson planning, calling parents, and trying not to go crazy, I never found an opportunity to fulfill that desire.

Be ready! On November 1st, the adventure begins!

Picture this.

So, amongst all the other things I've been putting on my plate, I'm also trying to start a side career in photography. I'm very excited, though! My first gig is tomorrow. I'm taking engagement photos for a friend of a friend, and actually getting PAID to take pictures. Who ever thought that making money could be so much fun?!

I've always loved taking pictures, and just this past year I invested in getting myself a new fancy-shmancy camera: the Canon Rebel XSi. I am so happy I made the purchase. It was between a camera and a bike, and since at the time I was living in an apartment without even a sidewalk or trail to venture out on, the camera won.

Now, because the camera takes high quality photos, anyone can take nice pictures on it. I still believe, however, that good photographers are successful because they have the eye. Good photographers shouldn't have to go back and crop their photos...the framing should be set in the moment, catching the patterns, light, and action as-is. I'm so picky about this, and so it is always hard for me to hand my camera over to someone else to take a picture. Whenever I get the camera back, I look through what they've taken and I want to say "NO! You cut off their feet! They look stumpy!" or "NO! You left way too much negative space over their heads!" or "NO! You didn't press the shutter halfway down to focus the subject!" or "NO! The lighting is all wrong!"

Okay, so I'm a little neurotic. If you've been reading this blog, that's probably old news. But my point is that I've noticed I do have some sort of eye for this, simply because I can tell when others don't. Does that make me snooty? No. I am not good at math. Others are. THERE. If you don't want to listen to me, listen to Annie Leibovitz. She's my hero.

So wish me luck. I'm going to ask them to sign a document that will allow me to use their pictures for professional reasons. I'll try to get some of them up on this site when I can. My goal is to soon have a photography section on this site so I can reveal my favorites. I'm also in the process of getting a blog makeover. Whoopee! Everything's coming up Milhouse.

While I await the blog makeover transition, I'll post a few of my past photographs below. Enjoy.

Something about something.

I've titled this blog "Morgendorf" in honor of my favorite adolescent cartoon, Daria. The main character, Daria Morgendorffer, was the epitome of teen-angsty sarcasm in the 90's. I idolized her because she was my complete opposite: she said what she thought without any hesitation over the repercussions. As an insecure, people-pleasing thirteen-year-old, I found Daria to be someone through whom I could live vicariously.

She's helped me a bit. I'm less of a pushover these days, but I'm still not where I want to be when it comes to speaking my mind, standing up for myself, and realizing that it is impossible to make everyone happy at the same time. This blog will cover the process of developing my inner-Daria, as well as humorous musings I observe about the world around me (as she is known for doing, as well).

I happened to stumble across an episode of Daria titled "Write Where it Hurts," and I found it very fitting with the birth of this blog. In it, Daria is given a writing assignment that she struggles to complete. There is a bit of dialogue she has with her friend, Jane, that sums up what I want to achieve with this little space on the internet:

Jane: Well, what's your definition of true?

Daria: Something that says something.

Jane: What, anything?

Daria: No, something, about something.

Jane: Let me get this straight, you're telling me that you want to write something, not just anything, that says something about something.

Daria: Right.

Jane: Gee, who'd ever believe you having trouble communicating.

- Episode: "Write Where it Hurts" (1998)

I want to write something about something that means something. Make sense?

If you have never watched Daria, or if you are interested in seeing an episode, "Write Where it Hurts" is available online in three different clips. I think it'd be a great episode to show a class of struggling writers, as well, so check it out if you're a teacher.

I'll leave you, and this first entry, with the gift of YouTube (Why isn't this show out on DVD?!).

"Write Where it Hurts" Part 1:

"Write Where it Hurts" Part 2:

"Write Where it Hurts" Part 3: