The key to success on steemit is to engage with the community, or so I've heard. One way to truly engage people is to let them in on your real life, the person behind the blogger. I tend to be pretty terrible at that sort of thing, both in blog posts and in real life, so when @delishtreats nominated me to write a #tenrandomthings about me post, I initially dismissed the possibility. The thought stuck around in my mind however, so I've decided to give it a go. With no further ado, here are 10 (or maybe only 5) random things about me.

#1

I love to play dress up. It's easily one of my favorite things to do. All I need is an excuse to wear a costume and I'm all in. Here I am dressed up to go see Postmodern Jukebox. I'm fortunate that Matt humors me and plays dress up as well. We had a blast at the show, and I plan to write a blog post about it, but haven't made it that far just yet. I typically don't have to go far to put a costume together either. My closet typically contains plenty of pieces to base a costume around - then all that's left are the accessories.

#2

Book making is a hobby of mine. Here I am working on creating a wedding guest book for a friend's upcoming marriage. My cat thought he'd help out too. He really likes paper. I was introduced to book making in college when I stumbled into a letterpress class. I immediately fell in love with metal type, handmade paper, and learning to tell the difference between a right-side up 's' and an upside down 's.' Since I don't have my own letterpress at the moment, I content myself with creating handmade books.

#3

I take photographing dead things. Yes, I know that's strange, but I find that there is beauty in all aspects of life, and death is one of those aspects. This bird was found on the shore of the Great Salt Lake. It was rather eerie actually. While the entire approach leading up to the lake itself was sandy and littered with dead, skeletonized birds, there was not a single bird flying in the sky or waddling along the shore. Where did they all go? Did they see the bodies and know they should stay away?

#4

As you likely noticed from the earlier photo, I have a cat. His name is Annunaki because he is our Kitty Overlord. He was named after the ancient Sumerian Gods. I travel so much that we have appointed kitty godparents for him who watch him while we are away. It's basically a shared custody arrangement, and we pay all the kitty support. Annunaki loves having his belly rubbed and will often flop down in front of us on his back and wait for pettings.

#5

I like big machinery. Matthew is a freight broker, so we travel to several auctions around the country where big machinery is sold. I love to climb up into the machines. They are so big up close that it's kind of awe-inspiring. I've recently begun learning to operate some of the machines, including a front-wheel loader, an excavator, and a crane. I helped replace the bed on a pickup truck with the crane, and almost took out the barn in the process! I'd never operated one before, so after receiving instruction from Matt's dad Mike on how the controls worked, I was told to move the boom to the left.

Well..... I cranked the lever all the way over to the left and that truck bed went racing toward the barn wall. All three guys on the ground grabbed onto it to stop it from crashing. Mike motioned with his hands, just a little! Oh.... it clicked in my brain: I could move the lever a little bit to make the boom move slowly. Whooops! I sure am glad those guys were there so I didn't take out the whole barn.

Bonus Random Thing

I love to travel. If you've even glanced at my blog, you probably already know that. I've been to all the states in the US except for North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Alaska. I recently decided to visit all of the National Parks in the US too. I spent close to a decade living on the road, house-less, and selling jewelry to make a living. Now that I'm no longer living that lifestyle, I still travel as frequently as possible. On my way into Canada one time I was stopped by customs and questioned as to why I went to the Dominican Republic so often. I guess they thought I was dealing drugs or something. This last year, I traveled somewhere almost every single month. Next year is shaping up to be the same way.

Well.... I can't quite make it to 10, but I did get a bonus fact in there for you. To continue the challenge I nominate @wales, @fionasfavourites, and @quillfire, three very talented writers who I'd love to learn more about.

Thanks for dropping by!

Join us @steemitbloggers
_{Animation By @zord189}