I am an East Tennessee born Southern gal who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. You will never be able to take the South out of this girl and I'm not ashamed of it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being Southern!

Southerners are good strong people and contrary to what others think, just because our accent is slow and soft, it doesn't mean we are dimwitted or stupid. Many great writers hailed from the South and we are a people who love our words. We have a lot to draw upon for our writing.

I first fell in love with writing thanks to a teacher in high school English and it's been a love affair ever since then. I also learned that writing is hard work.

I went to high school in Alabama and went to college there, too where I attended a local community college and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It was during these years I had my first piece published...a poem in the national publication for the youth of my religious denomination.

I married in Alabama and discovered after 27 years that it was a marriage that went no where when he walked out for a co-worker. Boy, is that fodder for a writer and believe me, it has been. I have one son from the marriage who I love dearly.

Over the years I honed my interest in writing, quilting, genealogy, horticulture, interior design, history and other subjects. I guess I'm just a naturally curious gal.

Add my computer, laptop, gaming and blogging and a desire to learn some web design and you know the tip of the iceberg of what makes Bev's head tick. This is great for a gal that has considered herself a "wordsmith" and loved to write about what she knows.

I also home schooled my son for several years. I tried to pass on my love for words and writing to him and I must say he showed great potential and creativity. He served his country in the Armed Forces after 9/11, but in recent years has shown a renewed interest in writing. Mom has one word for that...Huzzah!

For several years I was very active in the quilting community in Alabama where I was an award winning quilter and active in helping found The Heart of Dixie Quilt Guild.

I served as guild president for several consecutive terms. It was during those years I established the guild newsletter, The Heartbeat. I served as contributing publisher and editor. In addition, I sat on the board of Quilt Alabama, the state at large guild, as board secretary an office that most definitely required writing skills .

In recent years I have pursued classes at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies in Toronto, Canada.

Through these classes I hope to continue to advance my abilities in genealogical research, eventually completed my certificate in American records and combine that research ability with my writing. I would love to be able to write down the stories and memories my dad has of growing up in the mountains of East Tennessee in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's.

I've traveled all over the USA and parts of Canada and I love, love, love to travel. I occasionally reminisce about my travels in my writing.

I had the joy of meeting my "Tall and Handsome" a few years ago. He is a native New Mexican with Southern roots. He actually grew up in the South because his dad was an engineer at Mission Control during the early years of the Space Program. He went to Florida State University and then went back to New Mexico for a few years.

We recently celebrated out fourth wedding anniversary. He is, sometimes to his chagrin, one of my favorite blogging subjects along with our two pets.

I've never been a robustly healthy person and at a young age my health started going south fast. I have over time developed several autoimmune disorders and I am a two time NON-smoking lung cancer survivor. Go figure... As a result, I am very interested in health related issues and issues related to the disabled. I write often about these topics.

My passion is ...

being Southern, family, writing, quilting, genealogy, reading, music, travel, history and too much to even tell

I know too much about ...

about being sick at a young age, lung cancer I'm sorry to say; autoimmune disorders

My parents always told me ...

I could be anything I wanted to be

My childhood ambition ...

to be an archeologist, teacher. librarian, journalist, lawyer and mom

My favorite memory ...

the birth of my son and watching my current husband walk out of the Birminghan Airport for the first time in a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and tight jeans

Why I write ...

because I have to, it's part of who I am and what I do...I love words

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Bon Appetit/Fox News/Josh Groban

My first job ...

baby sitting - then retail sales

My best moment ...

surviving lung cancer the second time/marrying my Tall & Handsome

My inspiration ...

My Aunt LaRue, my husband and the people in our Armed Forces

Hobbies & Games > Video Game Culture & Community World of Warcraft: Is it a waste of time?

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Is World of Warcraft a waste of time? I'm sure there are many arguments on both sides...the yeas and the nays. I would suggest it is what you make out of it.

Some would say people who play WoW sit in closed up dark rooms for hours upon hours doing nothing else but playing WoW. They have no other social interaction or other life. The fact WoW is a MMORPG is overlooked. In other words, at any given time, you will or can interact with any number of people.

For a simple quest you can group with up to five (5) people and they can be from any place in the world. If you raid one of the large...

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