Since Kris Asselin passed on the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award to me last week, I’m following the rules by:

• Thanking Kris for passing it on! Check out her likewise sweet blog here: http://krisasselin.blogspot.com/
• Sharing seven things about me. Here we go:

1. I love languages. I’m a native speaker of English, pretty fluent in German and Spanish, and I can get by in French and Dutch. I would really love to learn Japanese someday.
2. I got engaged to my cute Spanish husband in Valencia, Spain, and we got married in a castle!
3. States and countries where I have lived: Massachusetts, Idaho, Connecticut, Kansas, New York, Germany, Pennsylvania, Austria, and Virginia. Boston is one of my favorite cities in the world, but I’d love to live in Spain someday. The next countries on my list to visit are India, Indonesia, and Japan.
4. When I was little, I was a Very Picky Eater. My favorite food was spaghetti with butter, and I refused to eat such things as onions, strawberries and tomatoes. Now I love everything from artichokes to octopus. Yum!
5. I have always loved reading. The first book I read on my own was HOP ON POP, and my favorite books growing up were the LITTLE HOUSE, DANCING SHOES, and ANNE OF GREEN GABLES series, and then anything by Madeline L’Engle and Judy Blume. In grad school, I fell in love with the dead poet Rainer Maria Rilke, then wrote my dissertation about his work. My favorite more recent books include THE BOOK THIEF, SECRET KEEPER, MATCHED, LOVE, AUBREY, and HOW I LIVE NOW.
6. Alternate careers I have considered: ballerina, fighter pilot, professor, and rock guitarist.
7. I drink a bowl (BOWL!) of espresso with milk every morning.

• Passing on the award to 15 awesome writing blogs. Here they are–enjoy!
  • Mitali Perkins: http://www.mitaliblog.com/
  • Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo: http://www.diversityinya.com/category/blog/
  • Kristen Lippert-Martin: http://arockinmypocket.blogspot.com/
  • Erin Bow: http://erinbow.livejournal.com/
  • Mary Witzl: http://witzl.blogspot.com/
  • Tabitha Olson: http://tabwriter.blogspot.com/
  • Miriam Foster: http://msforster.blogspot.com/
  • Marissa Doyle and Regina Scott: http://www.nineteenteen.blogspot.com/
  • Alisa Libby: http://www.alisalibby.com/blog/
  • Anne Leone: http://critically-yours.blogspot.com/
  • Mindy Alyse: http://mindyalyse.livejournal.com/64931.html
  • Jo Knowles: http://jbknowles.livejournal.com/
  • C. Lee McKenzie: http://writegame.blogspot.com/
  • Lena Coakley: http://lenacoakley.com/
  • Ghost Girl Mary Ann: http://thebrokentree.blogspot.com/