Complete honesty????

In the writing world, we want complete honesty. We know, as writers, that we cannot learn and grow without our readers; beta readers, critique partners, writers group members, giving us complete and utter honesty. A smile and "It's so awesome!" does not help. We know what to do when we're feeling down and need a pick me up: Mom. But to help ourselves grow as writers, we need to know what our writing is missing...even if the truth hurts. And sometimes it does sting. Sometimes at first we look at the critique and say "What???" But usually we come to accept the critique and take what we need from it and fix what needs to be fixed.

But what about our personal lives? What about our friends and family? Is complete honesty the absolute best policy, especially when you know your comments will make someone angry.

I've been in the position many times. For most of my life, accept with my writing partners, I stick with the mantra: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. But what should you do when you see someone, a friend, and they are obviously blind to something going on in their life. Something that could result in someone being hurt. And they just don't see it. But you know, without a doubt, that your saying something will cause them to be angry with you...possibly ending their friendship with you. Do you take the chance and say something anyway...or just let them go on in their bubble?

It's easy to say that if the person is really a friend, they will listen and take your concerns seriously...but we all know that's not how real life always is. People get defensive and feel like they're being judged.

An Award!!!! I'm so excited!!!!

Beth at Aspirations honored me with this awesome award!!!!! THANK YOU so much!!!!!!!

I am really honored to receive this award...I strive to write a blog that is honest, down to earth...real. This is just proof that I actually am achieving what I'm setting out to do!! Thanks!!!

So....here are 10 honest things that I don't think I've mentioned before....hard to come up with more...I'm such an open book!! LOL!!

1: With Christmas fast approaching, some of my treasured Christmas presents ever: the game Mall Madness, a Roller Racer and an electric juicer. These are items my parents seriously searched forever for (well not so much the juicer...but the others!)

2: My favorite book as a pre-teen was Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret and when I read it for the first time...I couldn't take the suspense...barely halfway in I had to read the last page to find out if she got her period or not.

3: Once in 7th grade our nun principal came in and made a handful of us girls wet down our poufy teased bangs.

4: My first year of college, I probably only slept in my own bed about a dozen times. (My hubby attended the same school...we started dating before school started.)

5: I was 2 days from my 19th birthday when we got engaged...and here we are more than 14 years later!

6: All my serious boyfriends (all 3 of them) had last names that started with H.

7: The idea for the first novel I attempted came to me while playing a party game at a friend's house. (It is still not finished...I found it extremely hard to write from a man's perspective at that time...I will go back to it eventually! Maybe I'll make a POV change???? Hmmmmm??????)

8: At one time, I wanted to be a Wedding Coordinator/Planner...I wanted to be Jennifer Lopez in The Wedding Planner...headset and all. I even completed a correspondence course for it and became certified. I loved the planning parts but there is just no money in that profession in my area. And then I discovered my love for writing fiction and the rest is history!

9: My parents are great...they let me live my life and don't judge. They never tell me what to do or overstep their boundaries. (Though my dad will sometimes add in his comments from time to time..."Why aren't you going back to work in a flower shop?"- his question when I told him I was giving up my home-based floral business and pursuing a writing career.)

10: I love my husband and my kids more than words could ever say!! (which I am sure I've said this before, but it's worth repeating! :) LOL!) I want them to be proud of me and hopefully writing will take me there!

Thanks so much Beth!!!!! I so appreciate this award!!

Edited to add: OOops...my bad...TOTALLY forgot to add my nominees!!

Lynnette at Chatterbox Chit Chat
Kristi at Random Acts of Writing
Jessica at Bookends
Jordana at Jordana's Musings

I think that's about it...there were more (Roni at Fiction Groupie, Natalie at Between Fact and Fiction, and Megan Rebekah at Megan Rebekah Blogs and Writes, but the honor has already been bestowed on them by someone else!)