Meet the Blogger

You may find the odd picture of me on the Soapbox, but even more odd is a picture that would make me recognizable if you saw me on the street.

Me & Alma hiking in Kananaskis

That’s because, like most other pet bloggers, I’m usually behind the camera and focussed on the dogs for the blog. Sure, we write openly about our pets, our opinions, and our experiences, but we remain in the back ground often as secondary characters. We know a lot about each other, but the communication is pretty indirect.

For me, it’s pretty intentional. I don’t write this to be recognized. Unless I already know you, I’m very uninterested in being approached by strangers on the street. This may sound like a delusional worry, but I once wore an Actions Speak Louder t-shirt to a recreational dogdeball game with friends and someone on the opposing team said “Hey! Are you Jen K from Back Alley Soapbox?!” and it totally freaked me out. (I’m a pretty strong introvert, as you may have recently read.)

But, when I heard about the Meet the Bloggers day, I thought it was a great idea and am looking forward to meeting the other bloggers behind their pets that I read about so often. And it seemed unfair to just creep on their posts without participating myself.

The rules of the hop are to post a photo and answer some questions about yourself.

So here we go.

Hey, I’m Jen. With one N because I don’t like superfluous consonants. Nice to meet you!

Who needs a pool when you’ve got a canoe?

Ohhhh… a RECENT picture. Gotcha.

In a pinch, turn to the selfie

Now that the pictures taken care of, here come the questions.

Jen & Moses selfie

Question 1: What’s your favourite (non-animal related) movie?

I don’t have one favourite movie – I have 23. I’m talking about the James Bond franchise. I am a total nerd for Bond films and will defend Roger Moore as the best Bond to all who challenge me. Daniel Craig is earning his spot as a close second place. But c’mon, Moore is in some of the best movies: The Man With the Golden Gun, Live and Let Die. But Skyfall was pretty great, too, and I cannot wait for the next one in October 2015.

Guys! I met Jay Ingram this summer! (I’m just a nerd in general.)

Question 2: What do you like to do in your free time?

Aside from walking the dogs and blogging, scuba diving has also shown up here on the Soapbox a couple of times. We don’t get out as much as we like, and the June floods put a dent in local diving this year, but the Husband and I have been able to get away to places like Hawaii, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Victoria, BC to dive. Our favourite place so far has definitely been Bonaire – of course, there was a hurricane that cut into our diving when we went, so we’d definitely like to go back!

Me, diving on the Hilma Hooker wreck in Bonaire back in 2008

Question 3: What’s your favourite (non-animal related) book?

A favourite book is hard to pin down, but when pressed, I would have to say Persuasion by Jane Austen. I recently got myself an awesome scarf with text from the book from Etsy. But even though I love the classics, I’ll pretty much read anything. Except fantasy. That’s just not my preference. It took me forever to get through the Hobbit.

Check out the awesome Etsy shop storiarts for scarves with all sorts of classics displayed.

Question 4: What’s your favourite meal?

Well, it’s certainly not anything I make myself because I can’t cook. Well, I can, but I don’t particularly enjoy it and it never turns out better than mediocre. Baking, I enjoy and execute successfully, but I have no creativity when it comes to cooking and I have to follow recipes precisely. Good thing the Husband makes up for my deficiencies in that area; he’s got this incredible skill to be able to just look in our fridge and cupboards and come up with something delicious.

The whole family (from last year’s Christmas card)

But, if you’re looking for where to eat out in Calgary, I’m happy to provide great recommendations! Today my Top 5 favourites in the city are (in no particular order, thus alphabetically): Brasserie, Catch, Farm, Fleur de Sel, and Una.

Snow faces on the dogs vs. me. I think they carry it better (and are happier about it, too!)

Question 5: What’s your favourite most recent holiday?

Last month I went to Las Vegas for a few days with a group of awesome girls who I’ve known for 20 years. We’re spread around Alberta now, but we all turned 30 this year and had to celebrate! We had some delicious food and drink and we saw Tim Allen do some stand-up. Does it get much better than that? I don’t think so, Tim!

A bunch of pasty Canadians in Vegas

Well, that’s enough about me. Go meet everyone else!

This Meet the Blogger Blog Hop has 13 – yes, thirteen – co-hosts! To meet the hosts and other bloggers, visit them:

• Amy – Go Pet Friendly 
  
• A.J. – I Still Want More Puppies 
  
• Jodi – Kol’s Notes
  
• Mel – No Dog About It  
  
• Julie – The Daily Dog Blog 
  
• Jennifer – My Brown Newfies
  
• Kim – Cindy Lu’s Muse 
  
• Lauren –Life With Desmond 
  
• Leslie – Bringing Up Bella 
  
• Jodi – Heart Like a Dog 
  
• Kristine – Rescued Insanity 
  
• Peggy – Peggy’s Pet Place 
  
• Dawn – NEPA Pets

We’ve created the ‘delfie’ – a selfie at the Hoover Dam