About

Hey there. I’m Chilihead. Or Melanie, if you prefer. There are so many Melanies out there blogging, though, that I find it’s just easier to call myself Chilihead. You can e-mail me at melanie.nelson At donttryit Dot com.

Why Chilihead?
Many years ago, my husband and I were driving to New Mexico and stopped for lunch at a chain restaurant. On the table was a spice called Chilihead. It was the exact color of my hair and my husband started calling me that. When I was in high school I was occasionally called Chili because of my red hair. When I started blogging and was oh-so-concerned about anonymity, I chose Chilihead as my alias.

Interests

I love, love, love to read. I’m a bit of a book snob and I’ve been known to completely skip a book solely on the grounds that it was part of Oprah’s Book Club. I also love watching old movies, going to new movies, shopping, eating out, and spending time with my family and friends. And I like to knit and sew; I find a real sense of accomplishment when I see something I’ve made with my own hands.

Most of all, though, I love to laugh and make people laugh.

What else?

I have a husband I adore and two beautiful, hilarious children. We’ve worked hard for what we have and we don’t find it necessary to sacrifice family for more stuff. My husband is home every night in time for dinner and has always been the one to put the kids to bed so he can squeeze out as much time with them as possible.

I have both a BA and MA in Technical Writing. At the time I was studying, my major seemed perfect for me. I was extremely detail oriented and I had a knack for explaining things step-by-step. Now, having lived a little and tried more creative avenues, technical writing seems a bit boring. However, it still stimulates my mind because of the research involved. It has come in pretty handy while writing Blogging Basics 101 too.

I also own Bloggy Giveaways.com. I host giveaways Monday-Friday on that blog. The reason is two-fold: 1) Winning free stuff is awesome and I like to know that I’ve helped make someone’s day, 2) I can showcase businesses that may not have the opportunity to reach as many people as Bloggy Giveaways can. It’s a great way for businesses to advertise and my readers get to win something. Pretty good all around, I’d say.

My dream is to make a million dollars blogging, have minions, and rule the world with a velvet fist. I think it’s doable, don’t you? I’d settle for the minions.