12 August 2014

Seven Revealing Facts About Myself


My friend Helena at the blog Life Across the River nominated me for a Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Helena is one of my young friends, a former homeschooler, fantastic musician, artist, writer… a very talented young lady. Oh and she and I are both red heads at the moment. Though I fear mine is fading (I guess it has to happen one day. We all get old.)

I feel very honoured to be nominated for this award. And special. It’s always lovely when someone tells you they like your blog, isn’t it?

I have to share 7 facts about myself, so here they are:

  • I used to be young and ‘beautiful’ and rather vain and now I’m not. Except for the vain bit.

  • When I was a school child I used to shake like a leaf in a high wind whenever I was asked to give a public speech. One day I decided I would overcome my nervousness. Now I enjoy speaking which just goes to show we can all conquer our fears if we really want to. And it’s just as well I no longer fear facing an audience because next week I’m speaking about blogging at the Catholic Digital Media Conference in Sydney. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could meet you there?

  • Readers often get discouraged by bloggers who seem to sail through lives full of blessings. And it’s absolutely true: I am very blessed. But that doesn’t mean I never face challenges and make mistakes. I just don’t always write about them. And that’s all I’m going to reveal about that. At least for today.

  • I am famous for saying, “I’ll never become a Catholic.” But of course I did. The moral of this story is never say such things because sometimes life is very surprising and God can lead us in totally unexpected and wonderful directions, despite our short-sightedness, narrow-mindedness and stubbornness. Did I just reveal 3 of my faults?

  • As a child I had dreams of becoming an author. I wanted to write stories about big families or princesses or both. It has taken me a long time but I have just published my first children’s novel. It’s called The Angels of Abbey Creek. And that’s very exciting. At least for me.

  • I have been a homeschooling mother for 22 years which makes me old. And I have been blogging about unschooling for more than 3 years which means I’ve written a lot of posts (326 actually).  Sometimes I wonder if I have anything left to say about this subject.

  • I used to be full of my own opinions. I guess I still am.
  • An additional fact: I hate having my photo taken (because as I mentioned, I’m rather vain). Looking back at our family photos it’s not always obvious I exist. But I am here, a real person. After posting all these photos, I’ve just proven it.
Well that’s all my facts. I’ve just realised I should have posted the ‘official’ rules. Here they are:

  • Thank and link to the amazing person who nominated you.
  • List the rules and display the award.
  • Share seven facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
  • Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.
READ  Cold Piano Fingers


I am not very good with rules. Must have something to do with being an unschooler. This is the best I can do:

Nominations: I enjoy reading many homeschooling blogs. I find the following bloggers extremely supportive, encouraging and friendly. I enjoy sharing ideas and resources with you all!

Lucinda from Navigating by Joy
Hwee from The Tiger Chronicle
Claire from Angelic Scalliwags
Wendy from Zoom Times 
Amy from To Love

If you would like to reveal 7 facts about yourselves, you too can have a Very Inspiring Blogger Award. And if you don’t, that’s no problem at all.

Thank you Helena for the nomination! 

And one very last fact: I have a poor memory so if I have failed to list any of my favourite blogging friends, please forgive me!


Sue Elvis

I'm an Australian blogger, podcaster, and Youtuber. I write and speak about unschooling, parenting and family life. I'm also the author of the unschooling books 'Curious Unschoolers', 'Radical Unschool Love' and ‘The Unschool Challenge’. You'll find them on Amazon!

27 Comments

  1. Thank you so much, Sue! I enjoyed reading about you (congratulations on the book!), and I will post 7 things in a few days – I am heading out this morning for a few days with my folks to round off my summer!

    • Wendy,

      I am so glad you are going to join in the fun and write 7 things about yourself. There's no hurry of course. I hope you have a wonderful few days with your parents. Enjoy the rest of summer! Thank you for sharing the excitement of my book too!

  2. Congratulations on your nomination!

    I think you are very pretty–and I never even saw your "former" beauty. And you aren't a natural red-head? You seem to have red-head coloring. So I guess red hair looks good on you. But mostly you have a great smile! That goes a long way toward beauty.

    Thanks for sharing some bits about yourself!

    • Lynne,

      Thank you so much for your kind words. I am indeed a natural red head. My hair colour is fading because I am getting older! I can't complain though. It has kept its colour a long time. I haven't had to think about dying it but I don't suppose I will ever do that anyway. I'll just let it fade naturally. Experimenting with hair colour can be fun though. That's what Helena's been doing!

      Thank you so much for your beautiful comment which has made my day.

  3. I am so excited for you that your book is finally in print! Congratulations- it is a wonderful accomplishment to be able to say you are a published author!

    BTW- All the pictures of you are beautiful. God Bless, Kari

    • Kari,

      It is so lovely to chat with you! I've missed you. Thank you so much for stopping by today.

      It's good to share the excitement of my book with you. I remember when we were both talking about publishing our books but you actually did it a long time before me. Oh well, I got there in the end. The final (I hope) proof copy is due to arrive today. I am looking forward to that. Once this book is available for sale, I will feel able to move onto the next project. I have a sequel written. It just needs editing. 'Just'? I'm sure it will be harder work than I make it sound!

      How's your writing going? I enjoyed your short story. Are you working on another novel? Will you be doing NaNoWriMo again this year? That's not far away. I know I will not want to do it but will probably do it anyway!

      I am feeling beautiful today because of everyone's words. Thank you!

  4. Dear Sue, that was a smart post. I do like the way english speaking bloggers have things going on like this! The German speaking blogging home- and unschool community is still soooo small …
    I would also give you a reward for being a inspiring person here in the blogosphere!

    • Bernice,

      We are so fortunate to have a large English speaking unschooling online community, I agree! I am sure you are doing an important job spreading the word about home/unschooling in your smaller community. Your book will be invaluable. You are the inspiring blogger. I reckon you should accept a Very Inspiring Blogger award and then pass it through your own German speaking community to encourage other homeschooling bloggers. If you do this, I'd be interested in reading your own facts about yourself!

    • Bernice,

      Oh yes! Please accept a blog award. You are not silly at all. Sometimes I don't make myself clear enough. I really do believe you are an inspiring blogger. Actually, you helped get me and my book over the finish line. When I saw all you were achieving with your own book, I decided I'd better get a move on and get mine published. So go ahead and write an acceptance post… I can't wait to read your facts. And then pass the award on!

  5. Fun post! Good luck with your public speaking in Sydney, I will be thinking of you most especially next week.

    Xx

    • San,

      It was a fun post to write! Thank you so much for saying you'll remember me next week when I'll be speaking. I hope I go okay. It should be a great experience. I'm really looking forward to getting together face-to-face with other people who usually communicate online. Thanks for stopping by!

  6. I missed this somehow! My little blog thingy wasn't updating your blog for some reason… but I fixed it now 🙂 Love learning more about you! And thanks so much for the nomination.

    • Amy,

      I often miss posts so you're not alone. I should have stopped by and told you about the nomination. I suppose I thought you'd see it some time, and you did! I love reading your posts. Keep writing!

  7. I love reading this, Sue. Your writing always makes me smile in the nicest ways. And when I got to the end and saw my name I was delighted – thank you! I've not been blogging over the summer holidays but you've inspired me to share my own list of revealing facts. (I must admit it was rather fun writing about myself for a change!)

    • Lucinda,

      Yes, I'd noticed you've been taking time off over summer. I hope that means you're having a restful time. Of course we expect you to return to your blog with lots more interesting posts very soon! Nothing like being pressured! Thank you so much for writing a post about yourself. I can't wait to find out more about you. I shall be over very soon!

  8. Congratulations on the well-deserved award, Sue! Thanks for sharing these very interesting information about yourself. I don't know whether I can come up with anything interesting about myself but I'll try. 🙂 Thanks for the nomination, and have fun at the conference in Sydney!

    • Hwee,

      I'm sure you'll find lots of interesting things to tell about yourself. I love finding out more about my friends. Not everyone likes joining in with these kind of posts, so I do appreciate you joining in with the fun.

      Talking of fun, I'm sure I'll have a wonderful time at the conference. Imogen and I went shopping this morning and I now have a new outfit to wear. I will look very respectable when I am speaking! I'll report back with all the news next week.

  9. What a fun post to read! I always love your blog because of your honesty and I laughed out loud about you being vain! You don't come across that way AT ALL!!
    Do you know how many people dream of being authors but how few have the courage to follow those dreams? Well done you for being one of the few who do!
    Thank you for the nomination, I feel very honoured.

    • Claire,

      I'm so glad I don't come over as vain though I still fear I am! I guess I don't worry about appearances as much as I used to. If I did, I might miss out on so much fun.

      Oh I do like your words about following my dream. It's a wonderful feeling to have done that. I really appreciate all the help and encouragement I was given which made writing and publishing my book a reality.

      It was delight to nominate you for the award. I don't know if you are an award kind of person, but there's nothing wrong in passing along our appreciation to our favourite bloggers, is there?. I hope you'll write some facts about yourself!

  10. You are such a cutie…your face and your words :). I always love learning about you and your super cute family. I have been missing a bunch lately because life has just been so busy that I have not been able to get here as much. Just one thing after another. We are okay, but definitely being tried! ;p

    I have missed your site and plan to catch up when I get all in order. Ha!? Or maybe just pick up? It seems like "catching up" usually doesn't happen. Anyway, you are lovely..and not sure if I said it, but I have definitely thought it: CONGRATULATIONS on your second book!! Exciting times! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo <3

    • Virginia,

      So pleased to see you. I missed you too! Oh yes, just pick up and carry on. Going back never works!

      Life does get busy at times. Sorry to hear you're having a difficult time though good to hear you're okay.

      I am excited about my book. As far as I know, I have sold THREE whole copies!!! Oh I know that isn't many but you never know where this beginning will lead. And if no one reads it that's okay too because my Goddaughter will be happy whether the book is successful or not. I originally wrote the stories for her.

      I'm so glad you stopped by! I hope things get better for you soon. xxx

  11. Hi Sue,

    I apologize for the late reply! But I wanted to say that I loved reading this post, and thank you for accepting the award!

    Helena

    • Helena,

      No problem! I saw you 'liked' the link on FB so I knew you were aware I'd written the post. I felt honoured being nominated by you for the award. Thank you so much. And thank you for reading my post!

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