About
This is one of those way-more-info-than-you-wanted-to-know kind of pages, hahaha! But I’ve had this up on my blog for well over a decade (maybe TWO decades by now??), so it’s cemented into the internets now, ha.
And if you’re a kindred spirit in some way, hi!! *waves at you*
BUT FIRST…I must mention…
My blog turns 28 years old in 2025!
TWENTY. EIGHT!!
I first put up a page on Geocities in 1997. It was horrific, of course, by today’s standards…I remember the blinking .gif’s (including one that flashed, “Up All Night” as a neon-like sign, lol). I moved the site to a couple of other different free servers over the years before buying avidity.net in 2000. I let the site go & brought it back a few times over the years, eventually moved to this domain, avidlydreaming.com (because that was the name of the blog when at avidity.net). I always thought eh, done with blogging, let it go. Then nope, I miss it, bring it back! And then let it go. And brought it back. Round & round.
And in 2025, brought it back yet again.
How long will it last this time? We shall see… ;)
It is a fact universally acknowledged that viewers of “About me” pages are in search of Interesting Details of the webpage creator.
(You win points for catching the above literary reference.*)
It is time to bow to audience expectations and provide said facts. In an Interesting Manner.
The NOT-short story:
I’m a freelance graphic & web designer who designs various things that I sell online and also creates blogs & websites for clients & offers WordPress training. I work at home & love it; I’m a total nester who loves everything home & hearth. Being lady of the house is my favorite thing to do…but I’m also a serious technophile who’s had a crush on computers since the 8th grade, when we did BASIC programming on Radio Shack computers. My current “stable” of computers includes a gaming PC, a (now “old”) 27″ iMac, and a 12.9″ iPad Pro. I have at least four other computers in the apartment in various states of not-working (my oldest is a Mac Performa that I keep because that’s what you do with antiques, right?).
If you ever saw the movie THE NET with Sandra Bullock, that’s me.
The working at home & living online bit. Not the being-chased-by-bad-guys bit.
Just to be clear. ;)
I always say I’m “over-educated” because I have three degrees: a Master’s degree in English Literature, a Bachelor’s degree in English, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, as well as a summer cert from the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, England). I taught at universities & colleges for years, but I then realized academia wasn’t for me. I love teaching, but not in the formal system (which is broken in so many ways). I now indulge this love by teaching clients how to use WordPress & how to use their sites for their various needs, and it’s incredibly fulfilling.
Despite the topics of my degrees, all of my work experience before teaching involved some form of computers & layout & design—wait, who am I kidding? Teaching involved that, too, since I made websites for my classes, loved laying out class handouts, and ran the computer classroom while in grad school (and forced my students to watch & write about THE MATRIX). I’ve always been a designer & computer geek at heart, so to now be able to make a living doing computer work full-time, and at home, is a dream come true.
While I love to spend my days designing & coding, on my off time & downtime I’m still online either devouring pretty pics on Instagram, reading favorite blogs (the few that still exist), or rewatching fav tv & movies with reactors on Youtube. I have always loved what I loved regarding tv shows & movies, and I have always like to rewatch old favs. I don’t like much new stuff, usually. So when I discovered reaction channels, it was awesome! I love watching others experience great stuff for the first time & fall in love with it as I did. It’s almost as good as if I could go back and experience shows/movies for the first time again.
I’m also a reader…but very, very picky about what I like. If I start a book & think it’s crap, I toss it (which is why I only read digital books these days…and if I end up loving it, THEN I buy a physical copy to keep). These days I tend to gravitate to cozy ghost stories, cozy witchy stories, some romantasy (but often the “spice” is just ridiculous and annoying, although the stories otherwise can be good), paranormal women’s fiction, some sci-fi, some fantasy. Oh and sometimes re-reading my old historical romances that I’ve had since high school (yes, Fabio is on a few covers…what of it??).
As for TV & movies…well, a sample of favs includes:
Movies: Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Hackers, Top Gun, the Bourne films, Harry Potter, The Adjustment Bureau, Practical Magic, A Room with a View, the 1995 Pride & Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson one), Howard’s End (Emma Thompson one), Under The Tuscan Sun, Sabrina, Somethings Gotta Give, The Blind Side, It’s Complicated.
TV: Severance, Ted Lasso, Stranger Things, Downton Abbey, Elementary, Sherlock, Major Crimes, Chuck, Alias, Suits, Covert Affairs, Fringe, Bones, Roswell (original), Cougar Town, Doc Martin, As Time Goes By, Absolutely Fabulous, Keeping Up Appearances, Lewis,The Neighbors (so ridiculously silly and I *loved* it!)
And lots more I’m forgetting at the moment…
More Random bits about me…
I’ve been making websites since 1997. That makes me a cavewoman in internet years.
I am a Florida native; I was born & raised here.
I taught university courses, writing & lit & pop culture, for 7 years.
I am happy not to be in academics any more. Literary theory, while interesting at first, eventually sucks the life out of books like a starving vampire set loose in a city. Not that I’m bitter.
I worked in publishing (design & writing) for years before and after my time teaching.
I used to love meshing computers & techy stuff with literary theory. As proof, I give you one of my academic book reviews that’s still online.
I ran the computer classroom while in grad school. We used MUDs back then (text-based virtual realities).
I got to spend New Years Eve 2000 in London & saw the new milenium rung in by Big Ben.
When in London I stayed in a great hostel that’s near the King’s Cross tube station & used that station often; back then I did not know the Harry Potter significance of this location.
When I was in Cambridge was when I first heard of Harry Potter; it was in all the bookshops. I was always thinking, “What’s the big deal? Just some kid’s book.” HA!
I loved my time in Cambridge so much, but thanks to watching the series Inspector Lewis and reading A Discovery of Witches, I am now jonesing to spend time in Oxford.
Also on my life bucket list: Have tea a Highclere Castle.
I am a cat lady & am not ashamed. Kitties rule.
I love birds; I worked for a seabird sanctuary in my early 20s.
I love coffee. I don’t like iced tea, but hot tea is ok at times.
I love to decorate & rearrange things—this goes for my home as well as my blog.
My mom was a voracious reader, and I grew up surrounded by books; she read lots of pulp horrors, and I read a lot of them too, but now I really dislike the genre. But she instilled in me a love of books, and I will forever be grateful to her for that.
I read Twilight, and here’s what I think: book 1—ok. Book 2: Loved it. Book 3: Ok. Book 4: HATED IT (my review is on Goodreads).
I’m so totally Team Jacob. Love that steadfast wolf.
I love the first Twilight movie, though. The music was great, and despite some overall cheesiness, it was still a fun movie. But hey, Hackers is one of my forever-favorites…it’s about the vibe, the fun of the entire experience. Cult classics FTW. ;)
I used to ride & show horses, and some days I really miss it.
I adore jets & love seeing jets & love going to air shows. This is all thanks to TOP GUN, naturally. When it came out, it had me wanting to go off & join the military so I could fly jets. My dad, ex-military, quickly talked me out of that. These days I just enjoy the eye candy when I can.
I love seeing jets in movies; I love good jet scenes in action/scifi movies as much as I love beautiful set design & styling.
When I love a movie, I’ll watch it a hundred times & usually learn it by heart. And will always enjoy quoting it.
“This is not at all what we were led to expect.”
“I thought we were going to see the Arno.”
“The signora distinctly wrote: ‘South rooms, with a view, and close together.’ Instead of which she has given us north rooms without a view and a long way apart! [sighs] We must hurry and get dressed, dear, or we’ll miss our dinner on top of everything else. She had no business to do it. No business at all!”
From A Room With A View, Helena & Maggie exchange at the beginning.
“This…this isn’t real?”
“What is ‘real’? How do you define ‘real’? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.”
From The Matrix, Neo & Morpheus exchange.
…
*From up top: The reference is from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: “It is a fact universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”