Spotlight on Blair

For my fifth spotlight piece, trying to highlight others that inspire, I would like to share a fellow blogger, Blair.

I don’t know Blair personally, but I found her blog The Shameful Sheep: Shitstorms, Shame, and Stories that Make You Cringe while starting my own months ago, and I haven’t stopped reading it since.  Blair hails from a small town and has lived in seven states to date.  She has two rescued cats, a husband, and sounds like some interesting neighbors.  While I’ve never met Blair, I feel really connected to her blog because it reads like a friend telling you a story from the day.  I personally believe in using humor to cope with life’s big, small, daily, and odd challenges, and I really appreciate Blair speaking freely and frankly. It’s a good reminder to us all that sometimes things just need to be said – and some truths are too bizarre to keep to ourselves.

May she inspire you to find humor in all of life’s hard moments, too.

L: When and how did you start writing a blog?

B: I started my blog about a year and a half ago. I’ve always wanted to write. I can’t tell you how many novels I’ve started only to hate every single word that I’ve come up with. Then I get stuck in a cycle of editing the same chapter over and over because it is NEVER as good as I want it to be. So I gave up and started blogging. When I’m stuck on the same topic I get bored and writing becomes laborious and zero fun. Blogging just fits me better. Eventually I’ll try writing a book again, but it will probably be awhile.

L: How did you come up with your blog’s name?

B: My sister was obsessed with sheep when we were younger. She doodled them all over my notebooks and binders. A classmate of mine once called me ‘Sheep Girl’ because of it, which led me to my first gamer tag at the age of 11. I went by the name of ‘Sheep’ online for over a decade. (Yes, I’m a gaming nerd. Surprise!) The ‘Shameful’ is just because a lot of my posts are inappropriate, and, well… shameful. Thus ‘The Shameful Sheep’ was born! Woo.

L: What should we know about finding humor in life’s horrible or just trying times?

B: There’s so much crap that’s going on in the world right now. I mean, really… all you have to do is glance at the news for 30 seconds and let the depression wash over you. Humor has always been the best way for me to deal with things. It makes things lighthearted, and gives you the opportunity to step back and reevaluate things you might be taking too seriously. I love being the comedic relief. Nothing makes me happier than when people comment on my blog and tell me my posts made them smile or laugh. It means a lot to me. I love being able to make people’s days a bit lighter.

L: What are you working on right now?

B: Right now I’m thinking of ways to ‘take my blog to the next level.’ I’m going to start doing regular giveaways soon. I’ve thought about incorporating a humorous cooking/baking section as well, but I haven’t decided if that’s going to go well or not. There’s a lot I want to do, I’m just not entirely sure how to implement them yet. We shall see!

L: What’s something most people don’t know about you?

B: Oh man, I don’t know if I have an answer for this one. I’m pretty honest on my blog – I’ve talked about everything from farting, to social phobias and funny encounters, to being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and anxiety – I’m an open book. I’d probably any question anybody has for me, unless they are asking for my home address and planning to show up at my house with a meat pie made up of the roadkill they scraped off their driveway.

L: What inspires you?

B: My husband. I am what I am and where I am because of him.

L: What has been your most recent act of kindness that either you gave or received?

B: I haven’t done anything crazy lately, except pay for someone’s drink at Starbucks. It wasn’t even a great deed because I was just using up the end of a giftcard. It counts though, right? I hope.

L: February is National Heart Month.  How are you engaging with your heart (organ or emotional side) this month?

B: Well, even though I hate it, I force myself to work out 5 days a week so I’m hoping that’s helping my heart. I’ve also recently lost 40 lbs. Woo! Emotionally, my heart is solid. I’m still crazy in love with my husband, so all’s good in that department. I also watch plenty of Disney movies.

Want to continue to see what Blair is up to?  You can follow her blog The Shameful Sheep: Shit Storms Shame, and Stories that Make You Cringe and check her out on social media:

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/shamefulsheep