I love making lists! If I were to ever get a tattoo, it'd be like this one.

I’ve been making a lot of lists lately — to-do lists for NEOFoodTours’ upcoming Kamm’s Corners/AMP150 and Shaker Square Restaurant Tours, lists for Jump Back Ball, and lists to help get me ready for vacation.  I feel a bit like Santa with everything I’ve been checking off.

So, I’m taking a momentary break from them to do a list that’s a little less stressful.  There’s a meme making the rounds called “My 7 Links” where the blogger gets tagged by someone else, shares links from their blogging past that fit in the below 7 categories, and then continues the meme by tagging 5 other bloggers.

If you’re new to Clue Into Cleveland, read on for some posts I haven’t shared in a while as well as a behind-the-music into what I think about them.  This was just the kind of list I needed to take my mind off everything else — thanks to WhyCLE for tagging me!

1. Most Popular

Courtesy of WordPress’ handy stats page:

• The Burning River Roller Girls – True Cleveland Sports Heroes
• C-Town Chow Down: A Cleveland Food Truck Convoy
• Chef Jam 2011: Cleveland Music Meets Food at the Rock Hall

2. Most Beautiful

Cleveland’s lucky to have a theatre community that produces fantastic shows. My favorite from the last year  was Cleveland Play House’s Legacy of Light. It was beautifully written, acted and staged (loved the set design!). And while I don’t think I fully captured how beautiful the show was, I really enjoyed writing my blog post Embracing Change with Cleveland Play House’s Legacy of Light because it allowed me to look not just at the beautiful changes going on in our city but also in my own life and family.

Cleveland Play House's Legacy of Light. Photo credit: Roger Mastroianni.

3. Most Controversial

Although this is a repeat of one of the most popular posts, I’m going to have to go with my review of the first C-Town Chow Down. This was the first time I got a negative comment on my blog and it helped me learn how to respond to them. I always welcome constructive feedback here and appreciate your comments. Sometimes I’m not the best at replying to them, but please feel free to share what you’re thinking (even if it’s how I can do a better job with my blog).

4. Most Helpful

Every once and in a while I am completely surprised when someone tells me they learned about something through my blog. I don’t know if Clue Into Cleveland is really helpful for others – I mostly do it as a way to document my journey in this incredible city.  So, for #4 I’m going to have to go with the post that was most helpful to me as a blogger – Clue Into Cleveland: One Year Later.  It helped me get some much needed perspective on my first year of blogging – what I learned about the city, my favorite memories and how I couldn’t believe I made it through one year!

5. Surprise Success

Earlier this year, I decided to document the months leading up to PlayhouseSquare’s Jump Back Ball – mostly because, as a first-time attendee, I was really excited for the event and wanted to learn everything I could about it.  I didn’t realize how much fun I would have writing this series of blog posts and that other people would actually read it.  I was even more surprised when the blog series was mentioned as a reason I was awarded New PlayhouseSquare Partner of the Year and would help me out as I start co-chairing Jump Back Ball 2012 (more on that later this week!).

When it comes to blogging experiences, my Jump Back Ball series was one of my most fulfilling and surprising. What began as a fun little project to get myself blogging more helped me become more involved with an organization I love – PlayhouseSquare Partners.

Jump Back Ball 2011

6. Not Enough Attention

I went all the way back to my 2nd month of blogging for this post. For Free Comic Book Day, I combined two loves of mine — Cleveland and comic books.  In Comics in CLE: Drawing Them Together, I looked at a couple ways Cleveland is connected to the characters and creators from the books on my shelf.  With the Avengers movie shooting here this month, I thought this old post would be very fitting.

7. Most Proud

Although my selection for the last category was an oldie-but-a-goodie, the post I’m most proud of is a recent one. Hands down, it’s my recap of my first 5k – last month’s Run for the Pierogies. I can’t believe how much fun I had getting ready for the run and the event itself.  And I’m happy to say I finally registered for this Saturday’s Independence 5K Run/Walk to A Healthier You which I’ll be running with PoiseinParma. Despite the heat and feeling a little under the weather, I can’t wait to get back out there!

Run for the Pierogies

Now that this flashback through my blog is complete, it’s time to pass on the #My7Links love and tag 5 other bloggers. I picked bloggers that I’ve either just started reading or write about a variety of topics.  Go check them out!

• Eat*Drink*Cleveland (the latest Cleveland blog I’ve been enjoying)
• The Last Muggle to Read Harry Potter (one of my bridesmaid’s awesome HP blog)
• iNeedaPlayDate (one of the funniest moms I know)
• DiningAndDishing (a blogger I used to work with who now writes about her food adventures in D.C.)
• Starting Now it All Changes (who needs ‘Get Well’ wishes as she’s currently recovering from surgery) 

(Tattoo Photo attribution: RobStephAustralia)