Check It Out - I Won An Award!!

Wow! I've been bestowed with the Honest Scrap Award for honesty and authenticity in my writing. My friend Colleen Sculleigh Osman, who writes a fabulous blog called Bay State Brumby, is responsible for this coronation. She herself is the essence of everything real and authentic. Yes, you are, Sculldawg! If you haven't read Brumby yet, you ought to: www.baystatebrumby.blogspot.com

Honest Scrap is an honor that comes with a few obligations:

* Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.

* Share "ten honest things" about myself.

* Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.

* Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it.

So, here are my ten honest things:

1) I was born in an elevator. My grandfather nicknamed me "Katherine the Impetuous" as a result of my grand entry into this world.

2) I am competitive to a fault. I find it incredibly, incredibly difficult not to kick my students' asses at word games such as Scrabble. I know that if I let this part of my nature take over, I would be a bad teacher. So I let them win 99.5% of the time. This is hard.

3) When one of my students was about to be discharged recently, I made him promise me that he would walk a straight line when he was out in the real world. Two weeks later he was arrested for holding up a gas station with a bb gun. He's in adult prison now.

4) I believe in sustainability. I believe in art. I believe in being a locavore.

5) I once broke my neck in a diving accident. I was 21. I was drunk. I learned a lot from this mistake and it made me a wiser person. It's embarrassing to talk about it.

6) I knew I wanted to teach reading to kids in lock up when I learned that Anne Lamott and Wally Lamb teach/have taught writing in correctional facilities. It felt like a calling.

7) I live around the corner from a seafood processing plant near Narragansett Bay. When we moved in, the smell of steamed quahogs was absolutely nauseating. Now I love it. I can smell it as I type this. Mmmmmmm.

8) The coolest job I ever had was right after college, working for CBS Sports at the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France. I worked in their videotape archives. Saw tons of events, in person. Did lots of skiing. Had so much fun!

9) The second coolest job I ever had was as a pool caretaker. I drove all over northern New Jersey one summer and cleaned pools for wealthy people who spent their summers down the shore. I'd clean a pool, jump in, take a swim, and then move on to the next one.

10) My husband is the most real, authentic, no-bullshit person I have ever met. He inspires me all the time, and I rarely tell him. If he were a blogger, he'd be my first choice to receive an Honest Scrap. Dave, you're the real thing. It's why I married you.

Now, here are my Seven Honest Scrappers, whose work really lights up my world!

The MashUp: A blog about books for teens. Connected to www.adlit.org. Jamie Watson is Adlit's consulting blogger/book reviewer. www.adlit.org/mashup/

readingrockets.org: Promoting reading and literacy for all kids. Awesome site/blog!

Bitten. Mark Bittman, food writer for the NY Times, writes a blog about the glory of food and simplicity. I love his ideas, his recipes and his angle. bitten.blogs.nytimes.com

Books on the Nightstand. Just a site devoted to blogging (and podcasts) about books. I get great recommendations from this site. www.booksonthenightstand.com

I.N.K. Interesting Nonfiction for Kids. An assortment of contributing writers comprise the work for this wonderful resource. http://inkrethink.blogspot.com

LiteracyLaunchpad. Amy is an early literacy teacher who, like me, is passionate about getting kids interested in reading. Amy's writing is honest, tender and funny. She's so deserving of an Honest Scrap (I bet she's gotten a slew of them by now)! http://literacylaunchpad.blogspot.com

Lastly, Bay State Brumby. I realize that my friend Colleen is the one who gave me my Honest Scrap, which would mean she's already gotten one (yes, quite recently) herself. But listen, folks: no other writer I know puts as much authenticity and transparency out there. She tells it like it is from the saddle of her paint mare. She's that good. http://baystatebrumby.blogspot.com

p.s. thanks, Scull ;)