It’s a Summer Blog Hop Challenge!

Last week, I told you about the new twist to my summer blogging challenge, and the twist is that it’s a blog hop! If you’re a blogger or blog reader, you’re invited to participate!

Read the details in last week’s post.

Hosting a blog hop is not something I’ve done before, so bear with me. Hopefully things will go as they’re supposed to.

In this week’s post, I am sharing my responses to the 14 (very) random questions I posed last week. Bloggers, after you read my responses (thank you), scroll on down to the end of this post for directions on how to link in YOUR blog post (in which you answered those same questions) to this one.

So, here we go…

My Blog Hop Challenge Questions

1.  Who are you? If applicable, share anything you want about your cancer (type, stage, when diagnosed, whatever.) Share something about yourself such as where you live, the name of your blog and it’s “mission”, a challenge you have faced or are facing now, or whatever you want.

I was diagnosed spring of 2010. Stage 2B. Had the slash and the poison. Skipped the burn. BRCA2+. Bilateral mastectomy. Other lady parts removed as well, for good measure. Opted for reconstruction. Started blogging that fall ‘cuz I needed to do something with this blankety-blank diagnosis. From the beginning, I knew there’d be no sugarcoating. #KeepingItReal is what I try to do. Oh, and I write about grief, too, because grief and cancer go hand in hand. They just do.

 2.  Have you ever participated in a blog hop before?

No. And I certainly have never hosted one.

 3.  What’s your favorite sort of blog post to write and/or read – personal story, informational, how to, controversial, political, opinion, rant or other?

I love a good rant. Hands down, it’s my favorite sort of post to write and read. Lord knows, cancer people have plenty to rant about, but everyone likely does. I say, it’s good for you to rant now and then. I try to limit how many I allow myself to publish here on the blog. ‘Cuz too much ranting isn’t good either. Especially since the Positivity Police are always lurking.

4.  Describe yourself in three words. Yes, just three!

Gosh, this one’s harder than I thought. I’ll go with loyal, reserved, kind (at least I try to be the latter and the first, too, of course.)

 5.  Name three of your favorite books from your youth (whatever age that means to you.) that had an impact on you.

It’s really hard to choose, but today (might change my mind tomorrow) I pick: Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

 6.  What are you reading right now, or what’s on your to-read list for when you have time?

I tend to stick to memoirs and non-fiction, but I recently told myself I needed to read some fiction. I just finished Unwinding the Miracle by Julie Yip Williams. (A powerful memoir about the author’s devastating metastatic colon cancer diagnosis), and I’m about to start And Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell. (giving fiction a go)

 7.  What’s your favorite dessert of all time?

My family calls it, “that ice-cream dessert”. It’s the one with crushed Oreos on the bottom, then ice cream, then hot fudge, then nuts, then Cool Whip. I only make it once a year or so, though I could eat it every night. In my attempt to lighten it up, I leave out the nuts. (Haha. Who am I kidding? This dessert cannot be lightened up, nor should it be.)

 8.  Tell us about a special pet you have, had, or would like to have. (Never wanted a pet, that’s okay too.)

The family pets are my eyewitnesses and secret keepers (they have seen a lot), and they are dearly loved. Presently, we have one dog and one cat (and two fish, I might add). We said goodbye to Elsie, our golden, four years ago. She is still very much missed. My entire family is a bit pet obsessed, and that’s the way we like it.

 9.  What’s something people don’t know about you and might be surprised to learn?

I tried out for choir in high school, and was told I wasn’t good enough. To this day, I never sing in front of anyone. Exception: Substituting K-5 music was my favorite subbing gig. I sang in front of kids all the time. Go figure. Kids didn’t seem to care that I wasn’t good enough.

10.  Do you believe healthcare is a privilege or a right?

I believe every human being deserves access to and should receive quality healthcare.

11.  What’s your favorite thing about blogging and/or reading blogs?

Well, one favorite thing is the 24/7 access. As I’ve said before (as have others), some of my best friends live in my computer.

12.  What’s something you really suck at?

Swimming.

13.  What’s something you’re pretty good at?

I make decent chocolate chip cookies.

14.  How do you escape from cancer (or life in general) worries?

Reading, movies (actually going to the theater), Netflix/Prime, walking Sophie, sitting on my deck, writing. Yeah, writing has definitely been a primary escape plan since cancer came along.

As I mentioned last week, there are no requirements you must do to take part in this blog hop.

Of course, be sure to hop around to as many other blogs as you have time for and leave comments too. That’s sorta the whole point – supporting other bloggers. Following each other on social media is also suggested, if you so choose.

If you’re not a blogger but love reading blogs, you’re invited to hop around too. Perhaps choose one question to answer on each blog you visit. Or else just say hi.

I am looking forward to reading everyone’s responses and seeing how this blog hop thing goes!

Happy blog hopping!

Thank you for participating and supporting other bloggers too!

Bloggers, to link up your post to this one, “click here to enter” down below (in blue) and fill out the form. Be sure to click enter your link after filling out the form.

Next, click on “Get the code here” (the red link below on the left) to get the code to paste into YOUR post on YOUR blog.

Choose one of the two codes (if one doesn’t work, try the other). Copy and paste it into YOUR blog post wherever you want the list to appear in your post. (I suggest at the bottom).

Important: You need to be in HTML mode when you paste the code into your post as you edit your post, or it won’t work.

If you have trouble, email or message me, and I will add your link to my list manually. However, you’ll still need to add the code to your post on your blog if you want all the other bloggers’ links to appear on your post.