Thursday, May 31, 2007

The Face Behind The Blog--More Stuff About Me


I've been given a gentle nudge by Phil Gerbyshak to share the "other side of me."

The Face Behind The Blog meme was started by David Airey, who urged bloggers to show a personal side with photographs. Photographs allow the reader to get to know the blog author in a new light.

So the other day, while browsing through several photographs on the computer, my son stopped me at the photo below:


"Oh neat, Mom!" my son exclaimed. "Is that one of those photos where your head is on someone else's body?"

After the stabbing pain in my heart subsided, I informed my firstborn that yes, indeed, that was his mom's body twenty years ago. His eyes grew wide.

So while we're examining the past, the photo below shows me on top of my first pyramid, rounding a bend in the lake and hanging on for dear life:


That's me on the upper left and my friend Jenny Oehl on the right. Bobby Kruso and Brent Greenwood are on the bottom left-- but I can't remember who the guy on the right is. I'm sure his aching back has recovered.

Fast forward many years and many pounds later:


I'm with my brother Dennis and my father. They just finished chopping down three pine trees and I'm hauling them off to a field on the four-wheeler.

Now that I'm older, I'm usually found behind the wheel of the boat, dragging my kids around the lake. Here's my youngest son on the tube, the other two have been flung off after hitting a wave.


When I'm not blogging here, I'm usually meeting families at my early intervention job or at my staff writing job for an internet company. Every once in a while, I go out and do presentations for Hands & Voices (seen here with Jane Holtz, another mom and IL Hands & Voices board member):


I'm married to a great guy (most of the time!) and I have three kids who occasionally pick up after themselves. I dream of having a chef, a maid and a personal shopper to take over the stuff I hate to do.

Heck, what I need is a wife of my own!

16 comments:

Phil Gerbyshak said...

Beautiful pictures Karen! Thanks for sharing an inside look at your life. VERY cool shots.

I've been water skiing a few times. GREAT fun!

One Wacky Mom said...

Beautiful pictures and I'm with you...I want my own personal maid too...how about a cook as well? Gorgeous pictures...my kids said the same things....is that you?

kkurt said...

Sigh, I think I still have one pair of my size 4 mini skirts that i comfortably wore in college. Ahh fun days! You know,I often look at rich/famous peoples lives that DO have maids/cooks, etc. UGH!! Poor poor Paris Hilton never had to lift a finger in her life, and now she's in shock of going to jail for DUI - suprise suprise. I think a maid/cook would be a nice "treat" once a while, but not for everyday life, i think.... hmm.

Celeste said...

Thanks for sharing. I love how you always have a smile.

Jana B said...

Ohhhhh I love four-wheelers! I haven't ridden on one in ages... *sad sigh* I want a house in the country, eventually, where I can have one.

It was really fun to read your "Face Behind the Blog"! I may have to do this one too.

Oh, and if you DO get the maid and chef, feel free to loan them to me if you get bored with them.

Also, you can also pay me to be your personal shopper... large credit limit, right? hahaha

Sue said...

Hey Karen, nice pictures! As for my own personal maid, I have been putting my kids to work. I figure I have three extra pairs of hands, so I might as well take advantage of it. One nice plus is we have more time to talk while I'm showing them how to do different chores. More one on one time with my kids. Plus I get to watch them work!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic contribution, Karen!

Thanks very much for joining in and showing some great shots!

I've never waterskied, let alone as part of a pyramid, so kudos to you. :)

Adding you to the original list now.

All the best.

Dawn Wilson said...

You have an amazing smile. Thank you for sharing the pictures. They are GREAT! If only we could ALL go back to the small figures we had once upon a time.

Marti said...

Great pictures - thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Karen,

You are so funny!

Don't be so hard on yourself with the "changes" in your pictures.

You can't make yourself better if you don't love your self first!

Your pictures were fun, too! Wow, a pyramid!

Thanks for sharing!

truly,

Sylvia C.

groovyoldlady said...

AAAaaaaaaah. It's so nice to know that I am not the only writer/blogger with a wild purple dress in her past...

Karen Putz said...

Oh, but Groovy, doesn't it look so purty? :)

David Wilkinson said...

Incredible... You're such an inspiration to us all, Karen! :)

Anonymous said...

Karen - it is great to see the face behind the blog! The waterskiing pictures are great.

Anonymous said...

Karen, I found your blog via the comment you left on mine...the place you live seems pretty darn beautiful too! I was delighted to find your site and look forward to future reading!

Anonymous said...

Oooh, I´d like a maid, too. I like to cook though, if I weren´t so busy running around picking things up and trying to earn money . . . I wouldn´t need a chef!