Tuesday, August 9, 2011

a walk down memory lane

last week i was tagged by the lovely lynn from the actor's diet with a really fun series: the 7 links project.  if you've never read lynn's blog you should go check it out.  there's all sorts of great stuff about food, LA hot spots, adventures as a working actress, and experiences overcoming an eating disorder.  talk about the benefits of blogging! lynn has definitely used her's as a way to help others, and in real life she's as sweet as can be!

 i'm so excited to play along with the 7 links project.  the idea is to join with other bloggers in sharing some lessons i've learned and highlighting some of my greatest posts from the past.  there are 7 categories, as listed below.

my 7 links:

1. most beautiful post
 i totally think my happiness truck post was the most beautiful.  not only did it include beautiful photos from the most beautiful shop in the world, but it also encaptured my beautiful dream for making life really really ridiculously beautiful for everyone.  that's 4 whole "beautiful's!" {also, dictionary.com informed me that i completely made up the word "encaptured." i hope you don't mind.}

2. most popular post
the most popular one was by far the post on my mental illness.  for those of you who don't know, i have clinical ocd.  it is a daily struggle for me to cope in a world full of germs, which i perceive to be extremely "dangerous."  it was a pretty big leap for me to talk about this part of life in a public forum, but i'm so glad i did - i received so many emails and comments from many of you sharing your own struggles and thanking me for helping them understand loved ones with mental illnesses.

3. most controversial post
i really thought this was going to be the post where i shared my husby's & my decision to do a domestic partnership instead of a legal marriage.  as it turns out though, you all were very supportive of us saying no to marriage, and my most controversial post turned out to be the one where i shared how much i dislike food.  you all thought i was crazy and i loved reading all of your comments {don't worry, everyone was nice even if they did get all riled up}.  the ironic thing is, i now work at a residential home for people with eating disorders, where i have to eat meals with the patients and model a healthy relationship with food.  oh life.

4. most helpful post
i'd say this was also my ocd post.  i'm so glad my honesty was able to help so many others understand mental illnesses better and feel like they aren't alone in this world.  however, since i've already given the link to my ocd post, i'd say one of my other most helpful posts was the busy girl's guide to staying healthy.  in a busy world we could all use a few more ideas on how to stay healthy and sane, am i right?

5. a post with surprising success
my most surprisingly successful posts were often the ones i wrote out when i was feeling a wee bit cheeky, like the post where i wished for ridiculous yet awesome things and made reference to skee-lo.  apparently you guys like it when i write late at night, whilst feeling slightly bitter and especially sarcastic.  good to know.

6. a post that didn't get the attention it deserved
our kazoo sing-a-long!  we worked hard to count out 60 kazoos by hand at the party store, but it was all worth it when we handed them out immediately after tying the knot.  50 people playing kazoos as our first act of celebrating our union? best thing ever! plus, i died laughing while typing the kazoo song books, complete with special kazoo translations which went like this:

7. a post i'm most proud of
ok, i'm going to cheat a little bit, but all of my posts about my wedding were ones i'm most proud of.  dannon and i were only engaged for 4 months, and we only used the one month before our wedding for the actual planning.  i was never one of those girls who planned her wedding growing up {i was never even sure i wanted to get married ever}, so we definitely came up with everything in a very short amount of time.  sure there were things i might have done differently had we more money, but i'm pretty freakin proud of all the creativity, hard work, and meaningful experiences we included in our wedding.  we did a hand-binding, kazoo sing-a-long, picnic basket dinner, lawn games, dancing, and i threw a rubber chicken instead of a bouquet, just to name a few of things i loved about our special day.  it was a ridiculous amount of fun, which was exactly how we wanted to kick off this new phase of our relationship.  i can't believe it was almost a whole year ago! 


so those are my 7 links!
aren't you all proud of me for not mentioning the elephants? :)


and i would love to pass this sweet walk-down-memory-lane project to the following 4 fantastic bloggers, just because i hope to see some of their top links from over the years too:
+ brandi of not your average ordinary
+ tiffany of dancing branflakes
+ erin of pughs' news
+ lillian of unstitched
+ and anyone else who wants to play along!

22 comments:

  1. Gah! As I was reading this I couldn't help but think "I totally want to do this!" And then you tagged me along with my favorite people and now I'm just blushing.

    My favorite Kim post? (You didn't ask but I'm giving it anyway) was your elephant post. That's when I fell in love with The Kimbirdy and thought "coolest girl ever!"

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  2. What a beautiful, fun wedding!!! And Happy almost anniversary!!

    Belly B :)

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  3. everybody ♥ kim !!!

    and my fave post of all is of course your wedding.. planning a wedding is not an easy task, but in just a few months? you guys pulled it off kim. :D

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  4. This makes me wish I had known about your blogging when you were getting married and planning and sharing! Now I must go back and look through all of the posts you mentioned that I never got to read. I like this 7 links project!

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  5. I love your wedding pics. . Can't wait to go back and read the posts.

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  6. 7 responses to your 7 links: Link 1, well, you know the more "beautifuls" you throw into your posts we're going to love it. Link 2, I think your honesty and beautiful ability to write about yourself inspires others. Link 3, this post made me think and I liked that! Link 4, "ideas for staying healthy & sane"...brilliant. Link 5, keep writing late a night. Link 6, kazoos celebrate love. What's better? I'll never look at a kazoo the same again. Link 7, congratulations to your wedding and to inspiring others on a regular basis.

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  7. I'm pretty sure I remember ALL these posts which makes me pretty happy!

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  8. I've loved all the posts you picked! I think that the spirit with which you wrote each of those posts--honesty, interest, and a heartfelt nature--managed to show through and engage your reader. I know it gets said a lot, but when you really write from the heart (provided you write well in the first place), it catches people's attention and keeps their interest.

    I hope the people you tagged will post, too--I'd love to read their answers!

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  9. you had the most beautiful wedding!

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  10. I'm fairly new to your blog so I love this post! It was fun to read through some of your older posts and get to know you a little better. Your posts are always so upbeat and happy, even when dealing with serious subjects. Thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

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  11. I can't believe you didn't mention the elephants!

    Love this post, Kim, AND all the ones you linked to. And can I just say how honoured I am that you picked me to play along? I'm not sure my little blog is up to something like this but I'm so happy you think so! I'm looking forward to going through my archives and choosing some of my favourites...

    Happy Tuesday to you!

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  12. loved these links - there are a few i haven't read before. thanks for the shoutout too!!!

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  13. HOW FUN! Kim, I have to tell you, you totally listed some of my all-time favorite posts on your blog! You've had so many beautiful/helpful/surprising/wonderful posts! What a fun project - I'll try to tackle this when I get back from Europe - so, so fun! :) Thanks for passing it along, sweet friend! ;)

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  14. I LOVED your kazoo post. This was such a good walk down memory lane. I remember a long time ago when I first read your blog and I was like, this girl is seriously cool. Then I got to meet you in person and I was right, but I didn't know how right I was, because the truth is, you're really awesome cubed. And you know I'll play, though I have no idea how I'm going to sort through all of my posts...

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  15. Yay! it also means it's been nearly a year since I've "known" you as i started reading shortly after you got married :)

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  16. I loved reading about all of your memory lane posts! A kazoo sing along after tying the knot?! This is so unique! All the pictures from your wedding are so beautiful!

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  17. Wow- I didn't know some very important things about you and older posts. I'm going to have to catch up!

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  18. I remember a lot of these posts and your ability is to make people remember what you say - I love the wedding post and the happiness truck - but also reading about you and what you are all about. Wish I could write like you :O)
    Axx

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  19. I love everything about your wedding.... and sure there are always things that could be done differently, but the most important is that you were able to celebrate it with someone you love in the setting that you see fit :) I remember I first started following you last year around this time and I still remember the rubber chicken! You guys are just the cutest. XOXO

    I remember all of these posts with fond memories--you have so much to be proud of.

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  20. So fun to read back through your posts, especially those from when I didn't yet follow you! I always find it fascinating to read back through a blogger's earliest posts to see changes and progression in voice, content and style. It's such a journey, isn't it?

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  21. Oh, that was a fun trip. I think I started reading you around the time just before your wedding. That's so cool to see you bloom over this last year. Thank you for all the inspiration and cheer.

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  22. Awww. I think for a blogger, every post is special!

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