And Will the REAL Anellen Please Stand Up

When I was a young teen, my mom and dad bought me a small black and white TV to keep in my room.  What a luxury!  I vaguely remember watching reruns of old shows.  On one of them, a pannel of guest stars would quiz three people to try and guess which of them was the actual person in question.  I believe the name was "To Tell the Truth." 

Well, this isn't a game show, and I realize that it won't make any headline news, but after mulling it over and after polling a few respected individuals,  I decided that I no longer wanted to keep up a facade.  So I have a little confession to make.  At the time I began this blog, I did so with a good friend's advice.  She is an encouragement to me, so thank you, friend!  You know who you are!  I am not sure who brought up the idea of using a pen name, but with the events of life in which I currently find myself, she commented that I could use either my true name or a pen name and that I might be more comfortable using a pen name.  So I thought, "What a good way to begin writing and not have to worry about anyone realizing it was me on the other end of the keyboard."  Mind you, I have nothing to hide.

That being said, and realizing that, to be even more honest, I am going through a separation at this time and it hasn't exactly been fun, I decided that it was probably an even better idea to use a pen name.  I had been told by my whatever-you-call-a-mate-you're-seperated-from husband, upon asking permission to take a writing course, that it was just a waste of my time and our money.  I was also chided, in not so many words, because I had some stupid dream about trying to write, and I would just end up being disappointed or wasting time and money with taking any courses.  Now, I didn't have any dreams, necessarily, just wanted to improve my education.  Keep in mind this is the same man that spent $200 on a deer camp he never went to but once or twice the year he paid the dues.  (Sorry if I sound a little upset.)

So, in this blog, I, the real ANDREA, will stand up.  I made up the name Anellen because it was different and seemed to hide my "super-secret" identity well enough.  Wow, what a secret, right?  Ok, let's face it - not really big news here , but I had just about had enough of leaving comments and Anellen taking all the credit!  Plus, I just felt so "dadgum" (Southernism) deceitful. 

I'm actually a 36 year old mother of two awesome kiddos right here in the USA.  You will notice that I sometimes reference the South; so, I will tell you I am from Mississippi.  (And yes, we actually do come in pretty low on any and all polls taken in regards to many things.  Not a bad place to live, however.  And if we were polled on junk left in yards and Skoal dippers, we'd come in pretty darn close to the top, maybe behind Alabama and Tennessee - if not beating them out!  OK, so not much to brag about, but we've got to toot our horn about something!  And the birth place of Elvis Presley's been tooted out!  By the way, a Mississippian can go anywhere in the world and try to explain what town they're from and no one will know where we are talking about.  However, we can say we live .5 miles or 150 miles from Tupelo, MS, the birthplace of Elvis Presley - and most people mystically know exactly where we live!)

Whew....now that's done!  I might be able to sleep tonight!  Don't judge - you have to understand, I can take 30 minutes of a lunch hour driving around town trying to decide the perfect place to eat lunch!  Yes, I will drive myself crazy one day...get ready.