The Life of Bon: Hi! It's been a while! Let me reintroduce myself!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Hi! It's been a while! Let me reintroduce myself!

I don't know how to blog about vacations.  I've got no talent for it.  How do people make it interesting? Traveling is a weird paradox- it's the absolute most interesting thing to do and the absolute most boring thing to hear about other people doing.  So I'm open to suggestions for how to make my vacation posts interesting.  Really I am.  I've got 400 pictures and 17 days of vacation to talk about- now someone just tell me how to do it without putting everyone to sleep!

 Because of that, I'm going to hold off on the real vacation posts until next week.  I know that's kind of lame, but seriously, I am struggling to figure out how to blog about it all and keep it interesting and not too cathedral/castle/waterfall heavy.  You know.

I feel like I've been gone from my blog for so long that tonight I want to just write.  I feel like a re-introdcution is in order.  Oh, a reintroduction!  This should be fun!

Let's start with the basics.  My name is Bonnie.  Bonnie is my full name- people often ask if it is short for something like Bonarrhea.  No, my name is not short for Bonarrhea, but thanks for asking!  I'm named after my grandma who was a crazy and wildly fun lady who always told me that if I don't like the boy I'm on a date with that I should still put my hand on his knee just for practice.  I'm very proud to carry her name and do everything I can to emulate her fun and loving personality.  Because I'm named after my grandma, it's a bit of an old fashioned name...not a lot of young folk today sport the name.  But a lot of old folk do!  Anytime I tell someone my name is Bonnie they inevitably reply with, "Oh!  My mom's/aunt's/grandma's name is Bonnie!"  Everybody raise your hand if your mom/aunt/ grandma is named Bonnie.  See.  I told you.  I once dated a guy and BOTH of his grandmas were named Bonnie.  Yes, we knew quickly that that was never going to work out.


Above is a picture of me smiling like a genuine creepo.  In case you didn't catch on, I am currently growing a small human inside of me.  Very small, in fact.  She's nowhere near as big as she should be so I get extra doctor's appointments and extra ultrasounds just to make sure that everything is good in the hood with the baby.  So far it is.  I think she just likes to be a little bit high maintenance and get extra attention.  In other words, she's going to make a very easy baby.

The baby was mostly my husband's idea.  In a moment of pure insanity last summer, he suggested we go off birth control.  It sounded daring and adventurous, two things I love, so I agreed.  We could not be happier (or more scared!) now to be welcoming a baby girl in four weeks.  The fact that we are willingly embarking on this voyage of parenthood tells you that we are either two very giving, loving people or two complete idiots.  I'm not a betting woman, but if I was, I'd put my money on the latter.

My middle name is Louisa.  It's pronounced Lou-wise-uh not Lou-wheeze-uh.  People always mispronounce it... my own sister asked me a year ago how it was pronounced, so that was awesome.

My maiden name is Blackburn.  I married the last name Larsen which is also pretty awesome, but I am already sick on the -on or -en question and I'm only three years into the name.  I would have stuck with Blackburn for life if my husband hadn't been so dang excited for me to take his name and if it wasn't an absolute nightmare to have a different last name as your husband and kids. Blackburn just sounds so tough and legit, don't you think?  My first year of teaching I loved being Ms. Blackburn- it sounded like the type of teacher who would never let students hand in late work or take any of their bullcrap excuses.  Mrs. Larsen sounds soft and loving, which I guess is good too, but sometimes I miss the severity of Blackburn.

I really love writing this blog although I have no right to own a blog, if you want to know the absolute truth.  I don't cook well, my photography sucks, and I'd rather watch reality tv any day than delve into the unknown abyss of a diy project.  But I like to write and I like to connect with people so I guess the internet humors me by letting me keep my blog.  I grew up with seven siblings and had to fight to get a words in edgewise- now I keep fighting to have my voice whether or not others are fighting with me.  Along the blogging way I have made some friends, and I think there's a few people out there who check back on the daily to make sure I haven't killed one of my students or burned down my house with a pot roast yet.  As my best friend says, "I read your blog because sometimes it's kind of interesting."  So here's to reading a blog that is sometimes kind of interesting! 

I'm married to a white skinned, brown eyed ginger boy whom I affectionately call Greg.  I never thought I'd fall hard and fast for a redhead, but did I ever!  Something about his charm.  Either that or his Scottish accent. You can read our weird love story here and here if you are into weird love stories about perfect strangers. 

This is a picture of us in front of a waterfall in Switzerland.  We saw a lot of waterfalls on our trip- Greg got kind of "waterfalled out."  His motto is "You've seen one waterfall, you've seen them all."  Also his motto for castles.  And museums. And cathedrals.

If you want to read more about me and my pretty normal life, then don't you worry, there is more for such a brave soul as yourself.  You can check out my Best of Bon section or any of the posts on my right sidebar are pretty big hits with readers.  I've really loved doing this reintroduction of sorts.  Maybe I'll make it a monthly thing?  Here here!

26 comments:

  1. I took a course in college called "Wanderlust." It was all about travel writing. We learned that the key to interesting travel stories is to tie in emotion. Tell your reader what was learned during your travels. Heart ache stories or juicy romances during travels are the most interesting. If none of those happened on your vacation... maybe you could just make something up?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous9:19 PM

    Oh man, I just got back from a trip to Thailand and wondered the SAME THING! It was such a fun trip, but I don't want to come off as all braggy and hey-look-what-I-did, but it feels weird to just say NOTHING about it on the blog too. *sigh* I still don't have an answer. But hopefully someone in the comments will - I'll be watching for one!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Travel writing is hard to read. It starts well and them becomes same-samey very quick. Just do the start bit. The biggest trap, I think is to get everything in there. Pick a few highlights and just write about them, the quirky, insightful or memorable things. My other philosophy re travel writing is sometimes I want a record of what was important to me so I write it down anyway, and if people skip that part of your blog, at least it's there for you when your memory starts to be not as good as it once was.

    Charlie
    Fur Earwig
    LeJog: Bifurcating Britain Land's End to John O'Groats on foot with a beaver

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the re-introduction! It's good to see you back in this space again. Can't wait for the castle and museum and waterfall pictures to make an appearance!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yup, I have an aunt named Bonnie. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, I understand that you may be hesitant to blog about your travels, but it would stand to reason that if you love to travel, wouldn't you enjoy reading about others' travels? I enjoy it because I can glean ideas on where I'd like to go next… I've gotten a lot of travel ideas from other people's blogs. I guess I took your "absolute most boring" comment personally because I blog a lot about traveling. And I know what you mean about not wanting to show off or make it too braggy, but if you keep it real and not too over the top I think it's fine. Plus the pictures are to die for! I suggest a list maybe… your favorite five things or something like that. Bring it on!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Or writing about the culture is always fun too… there's a lot of ideas there from the speed limitless autobahn to the hyper strict speed laws (hidden cameras) to the naked guy in Prague (come on, that story is gold!) to the kebabs and soccer game and family nude billboards, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A lady I work with just named her little girl Bonnie so at least you know there are at least 1 other person younger than you with the name Bonnie. She had twins-Bonnie and Kate. I love simplicity, which is probably why my son is named Jack. I'm really excited to hear what Ginger's (I think it fits for now) name is really gonna be. Your take on parenthood is going to be funny.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Seriously, my Mom's name was Bonnie. She was named after the airplane my grandpa was a mechanic for during WWII. I think it's a lovely name. I'm also married to a red-head. So excited to read about your journey into motherhood.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love reading blog accounts of travel if they are done right. Things I like to hear about are cultural differences (some examples from my trip to Ireland: their potato chips are insanely more delicious than our's, their roads are ridiculous, they have extremely lax safety standards compared to the US, they have different concepts about personal space, and their toilets suck); interesting things that happened on your trip (getting stuck in an airport, crazy/funny experiences, highlights of the trip such as a particularly interesting place you visited), and any food/restaurant recaps because I love food. I hate reading recaps of museums, churches, etc. and usually skip these blog posts (although a few pictures are ok). One way to do it is to write a blog post about each place you visited with the highlights (each day also works but might get a little long for a 17 day trip).

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are the cutest pregnant woman EVER!

    ReplyDelete
  12. "-En or -on" IT DRIVES ME NUTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Normally when I'm telling someone my name, I say "Jennie Larson" and then I say "LAR. S. O. N." They can spell Jennie whichever dang way they want to, but I'm really particular about the -en vs. -on debacle, mostly because I'm of the opinion that -on is the best way to spell it.

    That is so interesting about wanting to keep your last name! When I get married, I think I'll move Larson to my middle name. I actually really don't like my last name, but it's part of who I am. My current middle name is Ann, which is the dumbest middle name ever, as far as I'm concerned.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Welcome back to the blogging! I can't wait to read all about your trip - I live vicariously through those who travel near and far. Happy Thursday!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I went backpacking for three months in Central America earlier this year and I'm still writing travel stories from the trip! It's worked best for me to space them out so it's like like a 3 part photo dump or anything. Also I try to write about individual experiences and the emotions attached to them, even if the story doesn't necessarily revolve around the country/site I'm visiting. Lists are also fun and easy to read.

    ReplyDelete
  15. My 4th grade teacher's name was Mrs. Blackburn. She was crazy and mean, and always wore black pants. We nicknamed her Mrs. Blackbutt - for good reason, of course. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Welcome back! I never know how to write travel posts to make them interesting to anyone but myself. If you figure it out, maybe you can do a tutorial on it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Welcome back!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I know you and love you (in a creepy blog fan way) already, but this was a fun read - welcome home! Also? I am with Greg on the "seen one waterfall/cathedral/museum" thing. I am not, however, similarly minded about things like gelato/cake/cookie dough. I could try variations on those things for the rest of my life and still need more.

    ReplyDelete
  19. " if I don't like the boy I'm on a date with that I should still put my hand on his knee just for practice"

    Possibly the best line I've ever read in a blog.

    I would love to read about castles, cathedrals, and waterfalls!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Perfect post to read after a break, are you sure Bonnie isn't short for bonarreah? ;)

    guesswhathollie.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  21. Darling Bonnie! Was I thAt sister?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Bonnie!!! You're back!

    I missed your blog oh-so-much.

    Also, my mom's best friend is named Bonnie ;)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I just did a blog post on my vacation to hawaii and I put off writing it for the same reasons you are struggling with it! But I completed it and if you want to read it and see how I did it (mostly I captioned photos of the moments I liked most with some initial backstory) you all can if you want! http://ashleeandkerry.blogspot.ca/

    ReplyDelete
  24. It's not an absolute nightmare to have a different last name than your husband and kids. Change your name or keep your name when you get married, but don't keep perpetuating myths that are told to pressure women into doing something they don't want to do.

    I have friends from blended families who didn't have any problems. A friend whose mother kept her name told me the only annoyance she had growing up was some kids asked if her parents were divorced. Family members who weren't my parents and didn't share our last name could easily pick us up from school because they were on the approved list.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I can't wait to see all of the pictures! Also, I hate to say it, but I think agree with Greg...all waterfalls, castles, museums, cathedrals blur together for me.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Glad you're back! Interesting fact about your middle name, cool. And good point about your last names, I agree.

    ReplyDelete