Featured Blogger - Kristy from Pampers and Pinot

Random.org picked lucky #4 from the Red Writing Hood linkup last Friday. And it's Kristy from Pampers and Pinot. We asked her five questions:


1.  Tell us about yourself. 

Following the birth of my son, I desperately needed a creative outlet that was my own.  I have always had dreams of being a writer, but would lament about never having any time for it being a full-time working mother.  I was up-and-down with my feelings about pretty much everything in my life – including my job, my role as a mother and wife, and even my leisure time.  I was a bit lost.  I began to blog.  I now call myself a writer and have concrete goals for my future as a writer.  Not to sound dramatic or wax poetic – I do not intend to say – “I was saved by blog” – but once the writing muscles were exercised and the creative juices began to flow, I started to enjoy everything in my life a little more.  I was following my passion and that made everything sweeter.

I love to laugh, write, and drink wine (not necessarily always in that order).  I love my hub and my bub (also known as the little maniac, among other names).  Sometimes, I mask my fears and anxieties with humor.  And then I hope others have enjoyed my sense of humor.  I walk a thin line of self-deprecation and self-preservation.  Don’t we all?  Or is that just me??  There, now you have a glimpse into my neuroticism as well.

I suppose a typical “About Me” would include some of the other following facts: I am a 34 year-old married mother to one (yes, only one).  I am a school psychologist in Colorado Springs and love my job more and more every year.  I’ve been married for 11 years and love to torment my husband on a daily basis.  I dearly love my small family and extended family.  I have enjoyed living in Arizona, Iowa, and Colorado.  If I could do anything right now, I would be on a beach in Mexico with my family.  So far, I have loved getting older.  If I could eat cheese in great quantities with no consequences, I would.  I am fiercely loyal.  I have an insatiable need for relaxation.  I have a hard time turning my mind off.  Can you tell?

2.  Elevator pitch – describe your blog in 30 seconds.

My blog is a testament to the idea that Supermom is a myth.  None of us is perfect.  The more we embrace that idea, the more comfortable we’ll be mothering from our own hearts.  I want to connect with others, have a good hearty laugh, and RELAX about this thing we call motherhood.

Above is what you could call an “elevator pitch” for my blog.  I would just like to explain that I have described my main purpose for my blog and the reason why I started it.  It has now evolved to include pieces of writing that expand beyond the above “pitch.”  When writing, I aim to be a STORYTELLER.  My hope is that my writing reminds people that we are all awkward in our silly, amazing HUMAN-NESS.  Life happens all around us and is never short of surprising us with SOMETHING, anything…unexpected.  Life is right around the corner just waiting to be seen.

3. If you could be a literary character, who would you be and why?

I would be PRINCESS LEIGH-CHERI from Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins.  I love Tom Robbins because he PLAYS with words.  (Tom Robbins is the author of other great works like Jitterbug Perfume and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.)  Because Princess Leigh-Cheri may not be a popular choice, here is an excerpt of her stream of consciousness in the beginning of the book:

“I’m a princess,” she reminded herself, with a minimum of conviction, “a princess who grew up in a blackberry patch near Seattle, who’s never so much as set a tennis shoe in the nation where her royal blood was formed, a princess who doesn’t know diddly squat about princessing, a princess who’s behaved like a twit and a twat; who’s been well, disappointed in men and romance, who’s a bit confused, who’s got a lot to learn, but a princess, after all; just as fucking much as Caroline or Anne, and although in the last quarter of the twentieth century the very idea of royalty may seem artificial, archaic, and somewhat decadent, I insist on my princess-hood because without it I’m just another physically attractive woman with that I-went-to-college-but-it-didn’t-do-me-any-good look and nothing much to offer anyone.  If I’m lost as a lover, I’m still right here as a human.  I feel the pain of humanity inside me, in my tummy, about eight inches above the peachfish.  Whether I’m unduly sensitive to this pain because I’m a princess-could the whole world be the pea under my mattress?-I don’t know, but because I’m a princess, I might be able to do something to help lessen humanity’s pain…”

This girl ends up having ADVENTURES, and I love it.

A close second and third would have to be the Star from Stardust by Neil Gaiman (because, well, she is a STAR that has fallen from the sky, and she is witty and wildly independent) or Ada from Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (because she likes to play with words as well).

4.  If you could crave your name into a tree, what tree would it be and why?

If I carved my name in a tree, it would be to tell it that it’s mine.  It would know that I would return.  It would know that I would come again and so would my son.  We plan on moving into a home surrounded by forest soon.  I will choose a tree and circle our initials with a heart.  Pine or aspen will do.  It will know that it is part of our home and part of our family.

5.  If your husband was an animal, what would he be and why?

When I was first thinking of the answer to this question, I thought of things like gazelles and horses – things with strong legs that run and keep running amidst obstacle.  You are amazed by their strength and grace.  And you also know that a gentle heart likely resides within.

I asked my husband, “If you were an animal, what would you be?”

He quickly replied, “A mountain goat.”

So, there you go.  But I would have chosen something with a little more…strength, and beauty, and grace.