Thanks, Adriana!

Gotta love an avid teen reader, especially when she starts a book blog. That would be Adriana of She's Got Books on Her Mind, who stopped by to give me the Versatile Blogger Award.

What's more, Adriana is another fan (pretty much) of the delightfully devious and unique Flavia de Luce. Here's her review of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.

So thank you, Adriana!

Here are the rules:

• Thank and link to the blogger who bestowed the award.
• Share seven random facts about yourself (see below).
• Spread the love by passing the award to five other bloggers--and be sure to let them know.

7 random facts about me:

—When revising my shark poem for Water Sings Blue, I spent hours trying to replace just one word. I believe I tried 40+ words. (The winner? "Rumor.")
—I have a green thumb when it comes to houseplants. I already have 16 plants in my new place, and 4 more at work.
—My grandfather fought in both WWI and WWII.
—Deer frequent my backyard, eating crab apples.
—Having recently moved from CA to UT, I now own 3 winter coats (heavy, medium, and light), 4 scarves, 2 pairs of boots, and 2 pairs of gloves.
—I played the oboe when I was a teenager, even making my own reeds.
—I used to live in Argentina. I'm still pretty fluent in Spanish.

As for cool bloggers, I will pick a few favorites from my lengthy blog roll to receive the Versatile Blogger Award in their turn.

Ms. Yingling Reads (Pragmatic, succinct middle school teacher who really gets kids)
Random Musings of a Bibliophile (Bright, articulate homeschooling mother and book collector)
Jean Little Library (Wisconsin librarian extraordinaire)
My Juicy Little Universe (Poet, educator, philosopher)
The Cath in the Hat (Writer, editor, Cybils judge)