In the Beginning...

I've never had an easy time deciding on one thing for my life. It's taken a while for me to figure it out, but I'm learning to try my best to use what I have. Otherwise I'll end up in the detrimental state of paralysis by analysis or in another cliche that translates to a standstill. So I do a little this, I do a little that. I sprinkle some of this and scrape off some of that. (you probably should read those last to sentences with a little bounce) And as time progresses, I see and experience the good that comes from moving forward. If things don't work out, at least I am using what I have.

In the latter part of elementary school, I was a part of a cute team that traveled around the state and competed against other teams in tournaments. What kind of tournaments? Bible quiz tournaments. And it was a big deal. We had team shirts, a study manual, and buzzers! That's right! When you knew the right answer, you buzzed in! It was legit. As a team, we'd hop into the travel vans and drive for hours to our destinations on any given Saturday. It was during this time that my introvertedness was shelved and I began to share myself in the best manner I knew possible. Stories!

At the end of the season we had a team party where we were given awards by our adult leaders. People got super fun awards, I'm sure. But the only one I remember (other than mine) was the ring a girl got, signifying the boyfriends she accumulated over the season. I wanted to be that girl. Instead, I was given a Winnie the Pooh book. But this memento went beyond providing entertainment to a girl who had "clearly" outgrown Tigger & Piglet (for the record, I still love me some Pooh). Instead this book came with a clear explanation of my award. Though I no longer have the book, the title of the award has stuck with me, haunted me, and become the very thing I have learned to embrace. The storyteller award.

Yes. I was, and always will be, a storyteller.

So as a preventative measure to talking a person's face off, I've started this bloggeroo. I learn through stories. All stories... my stories... your stories... food stories... song stories... I love stories! (I also love ellipses and I'm trying to cut back. Consider this fair warning) I sing, I cook, I communitize... which will make itself quite clear in the postings & stories to come. If I write a recipe, chances are you'll see a story behind it. If I sing a song, therein lies a story. How many times can I say "story" in this paragraph?  Whether it's a story of how a bowl of soup can make day or how the ugly can turn us into lovely... you'll find this place littered with stories. Sweet stories that I learn from daily.

So I will not hide it under a bushel. I will run with this story telling and translate it into a blog.

The end.

...or no, it's just the beginning!