Getting Our NaBloPoMojo Back

 I have been thinking about (maybe not PRECISELY looking forward to, but not dreading) NaBloPoMo for weeks, and this morning I was washing my face thinking again about post ideas, how I'm going to use empty scrolling time to post and comment, and then I realized HOLY SHIT, IT'S NOVEMBER.

*ahem*

Last year was the first time I wasn't alone doing this, and it was much more fun. I am stealing this picture from Engie and trust that she will tell me if that's not okay.

I'm also going to copy Engie's idea of a re-introduction, although I don't really anticipate anyone coming here who hasn't been here before. Maybe I can re-introduce myself to myself, though, sometimes it gets a little unclear.

My name is Allison, no one calls me Bibliomama except a few times at BlogHer the one time I went there, and Nicole's husband once said "oh, Allison the Bibliomama?" which I find hilarious (that's right, I'm friends with Nicole, I've sniffed her hair in real life, I drop her name at every possible opportunity, I have no shame). When I decided to start a blog the name seemed obvious - now it seems a little cringe, but oh well, it's true enough that mothering and reading are the two biggest pieces of my self.

I live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, and grew up in a little town in northern Ontario. I have two kids, one in fourth year university five hours away and one who went to college in New York state and has just started his first job in Charlotte, North Carolina. My husband is an engineer in high tech who travels a lot for work and so now it's often just me and dog, Lucy.

I work part-time as a school librarian in three schools that are all quite close by. I did a Masters in Comparative Literature which was not very forward-thinking because I should have known I was never going to be a professor. When my youngest child started junior kindergarten I started volunteering in the school library and taking courses for my information technology degree, one or two courses at a time. I wasn't sure I would ever finish the diploma or actually get a job in the field, so I remind myself constantly how lucky and happy I am to do this job part-time, which works with a couple of chronic pain conditions.

In my spare time I read, blog, walk, do yoga, cook, watch horror movies, hang with a really great group of friends, and I'm just realizing that I need to add a hobby or two because that doesn't seem like enough stuff. I had a bit of a rough year and was in survival mode for a while. With the kids gone I'm trying to clear out a bunch of clutter from the house (insert cheesy metaphor about excavating layers of my personality as well).

I started blogging in 2009 after a couple of years of snottily thinking that blogging was incredibly silly and self-indulgent. Thank goodness I got my head out of my ass, because it has been one of the greatest gifts of my life - a writing outlet without having to obsess about never being published, an amazing community of people where you can always find someone who is weird the same way you're weird, and someone else who is fine with how weird you are even if they don't quite get it. The one time I've been to New York city was for a blogging conference. I've met multiple blog friends in real life and it's been unbelievably life-enriching. 

Me with Hannah and Nicole - the great carny incident at Blissdom 20-?

Ha ha, look at me not thinking I would have much of a post today and now not being able to shut up. My favourite colours are indigo blue and chartreuse. I love peaches and blueberries, alone or together. I hate being hot and love reading outside when it's so cold I need multiple blankets and my hands can hardly turn the pages. I hate diet culture but still wish I could lose weight. I miss my kids but I'm happy that they're thriving and experiencing exciting things.