The Obligatory Introductory Post

Honestly I think the reason I've held off on starting this blog, even though I created it a month ago, is that I never know where to begin.

This isn't my first foray into the Blogosphere, but it's definitely the first I've ever brought to the attention of my Facebook gaggle. In the past, I've started at least, oh...probably ten, just because I like playing around with themes and the like. I've only had one, however, that I updated regularly.

Anyway, I'm beginning this one now, for several reasons.

Number one: I've got a lot going on in my life right now, and journaling is a good way to process.

Number two: Like all ladies with a penchant for performing, I love feedback. Plus, I have a good number of friends and relatives scattered around that I can't exactly share a private diary with.

And, number three: The handful of truly good friends and confidants I have in the general area are getting tired of my ramblings, which are often a lot like clicking from page to page on Wikipedia. This is both an outlet for my thoughts and an exercise in self-mastery, and I hope it will help me become better able to formulate my thoughts.

At this point, I'm keeping personal identification to a minimum. I've never been afraid of the Big Scary Internet, and the people who may lurk on it. But I do believe in being prudent, and as such, until I get comfortable in these waters, I will be going by L and Miss L, and I'm likely to refer to people by their initials. That being said, if you have a pseudonym you'd like to go by, feel free to let me know. :) I'll probably eventually create a "Directory" post of sorts, denoting where everyone fits in the widespread web that is my  extended family.

Hmm, introduction, introduction...ah, yes. A brief autobiography, slightly more detailed than my "About Me"

Mom spent her childhood travelling around, and Dad was always a country boy, even though they met in the city. Eventually they moved out to where he had been raised, where the extended family ventures ran the gamut from beef cattle and hogs to angora goats to alfalfa hay. By the time I was four years old a combination of things led to the end of the marriage and the beginning of a number years where it was just Mom and myself in the house. During this time I remained very close to my Dad and his mom, my Nanny, and we saw each other more than once a week. I also made some long journeys to visit Mimi and Pops, Mom's parents, and my pretty substantial number of aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, great aunts and uncles, and people several times removed. We've all had crazy adventures of our own and I love them all.

Mom remarried when I was seven, and after a few rocky years, Mom, J and I managed to form a cohesive and loving family unit. I feel so, so blessed that instead of just two amazing, loving, supportive and quirky parents, I've got three! Not to paint an illusion of perfection; there are always rapids in the river. But life's not about everything being easy...

We moved to Oklahoma City in the middle of my fourth grade year, and frankly I'm only just now getting a handle on how much that shook me up. But so much good has come out of it, and I've met so many amazing people. I feel I've got the best of both worlds, growing up in the country and the city, and coming from long lines of fascinating, loving, tough-as-nails ancestors.

Right now I'm going to college, and my day to day world is filled with recopying notes, studying for tests, trying to fit in everyone I care about, and riding the waves of my thrice-a-week Unofficial Lunch Club (consisting of my best friend, alias Bourbon Bordeaux, and a mysterious individual known only as Hat Guy), which needs a snazzier name and sometimes has trouble reaching a smooth consensus, or even agreeing to disagree.

As for the Marie Antoinette references? I've always really identified her. On the surface, who wouldn't want to be Queen? Beautiful gowns, fabulous food, and everything done for you before you even anticipate it. Several years ago when the Sofia Coppola movie came out, I made a point to pick up Antonia Fraser's biography of the queen before every single one in town was emblazoned with Kirsten Dunst's face. I found a truly easy to relate to person, essentially just a girl trapped by her high birth in a situation she had to make the best of, and with duties she was bound to. As time went on, she longed for simplicity, and so had her village, "Le Hameau de la Reine," built for her and her closest friends.

And while they would dress up as shepherdesses and feed lambs, milking cows with porcelain "buckets" and staying in rich mansions designed to look like cottages, it wasn't all about excess and escapism. Those who worked at and kept Le Hameau were poor and destitute families given another shot at life. Neither Louis nor Marie wanted their children to grow up with no idea what the real world outside Versailles was like; they would, so they thought, rule all of France someday, after all. Research in agriculture was conducted, and French craftsmen were supported. If I were a Queen, I would definitely want a similar project.

And with my plans to revamp our garden, keep bees, and purchase a couple of Heritage/endangered geese in the suburbs of a big city, I kind of like to think I'm building my own little Hameau.

Now, on to the mechanics. I'm going to try to update it twice a week, once with something serious on the weekend, and once with something fun during the week. This may or may not pan out. But, I spend too much time online as it is, and if I'm going to be online, I might as well do something that at least seems productive, right? So this is this week's Serious Post. Hehe.

Oh, I almost forgot. Three members of my family that I haven't introduced yet...Teddy Bear the Havanese, Baron the German Shepherd, and Tigger the enormous tabby cat. They find their way into most of the pictures I take around here, so I'll point them out as they make appearances.

~L