Liebster Award: Times Three

As I was pouring through the thousands of emails I’ve recieved in the last month that were redirected to the social tab of my inbox that I hadn’t yet had a chance to read and respond to ~ which I’m sure you will agree is a remarkable number of emails especially for an unemployed, disabled woman who isn’t allowed to leave the house ~ I was delighted to find I was nominated for the Liebster Award by three separate bloggers. Liebster is about recognizing writers that are new to you so I’m honored to have been thought of by all three of these bloggers as someone whose work they appreciate!

I was first nominated by Raven at Written in the Ink. I think of this as a blog for bloggers and Raven as a writer who writes for and to writers. Her questions:

1. What do you write the most about?

I write stories about my life. Nothing I write is lacking a gem that came from an authentic experience or something someone I care about said or did that struck me. Creative writing has never been my forte; I need facts, stats, data, and truth for my prose.

2. What’s your favorite thing to drink to start your day

Water first and then followed by tea… followed by something coffee related.

3. What genre is your favorite to read, and why?

Poetry. (Yep. I’m that nerdy.) Poetry comes from the soul, from the heart. Good poetry says what prose can’t and paints a picture more brightly than any clear description. It speaks to the depths of the human being.

4. Is there a certain book series that you return to and reread every year?

Jane Austen. Every fall I fall back into love with love thanks to her.

5. What encourages you on a day-to-day business to strive toward your goals?

The love of family and friends. Being believed in.

6. What do you think are key characteristics of writing?

Humor and sass, insightful connections, an ability to let people see me in my world while making them more aware of theirs, honesty, vulnerability.

7. How do you promote your own work?

My work is shared on multiple platforms. Then it’s up to readers to share. I hope readers share a lot!

8. What advice would you give to a new blogger?

Write what you know. Whatever it is, be your authentic self and write what you know.

9. What is your favorite dessert?

Crème brûlée

10. Where do you see your career in five years?

Writing career? Published author, sustainably writing, seeing people changed by what I say.

Teaching? I don’t know.

Other things? It’s a mystery!

. . .

The next two nominations came the same day. Jenn is the writer extraordinaire at Reclaiming My Sanity and she is amazing in how she writes pretty much everyday without fail and in the ability she has to show a little of her proverbial ankle by being a tiny bit vulnerable while never giving away the whole thing. She is charming that way and the consequence is you feel like you’re having a long conversation over coffee with a friend. The questions she left to answer are as follows:

1. Why did you start blogging and where were you when you started your blog?

I was laying in a hospital bed having just had my left foot amputated and I felt like telling my story.

2. Do you ever fall out of love with blogging?

I don’t fall out of love with writing, but I do get writers block from time to time.

3. What’s your favorite movie?

White Christmas

4. Favorite make up (or hair/body care) product?

Aveda hair care.

5. What app do you use the most to promote your blog?

Um… I don’t know. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Medium, Flipboard, WordPress… Its a lot!

6. What’s your favorite memory that you have while you have been blogging?

Reconnecting to old friends and having my words make a difference in their world.

7. Are you glad you started blogging?

Yes!

8. What advice would you give to newbie bloggers?

Write what you know. Whatever it is, be your authentic self and write what you know.

9. How often do you post?

I try to post once a day but sometimes it’s more or I miss a few days when the words won’t come.

10. What would you want to happen in a year time for you and your blog?

I want to have reached more people and have seen the blog blossom into doing other legitimate writing gigs so I’m not starving anymore.

. . .

My last nomination comes from a poet whose style is simultaneously modern with faint hints of the Romantic poets: Uncertainty. There is always something to speak to you because this isn’t the poet who is pigeonholed into only writing about a single topic; the span of life experiences are the colors used in this painters palette.

Q1 On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you today?

Life is kind of kicking the shit out of me right now so… 2.

Q2 What did you want to become when you were young?

A teacher and a writer.

Q3 What message do you want to give to your readers?

There is always hope.

Q4 What are you proud of?

Surviving as much as I have in my life.

Q5 What are you afraid of?

Not being relevant anymore because people see the physical disability not me. The confidence and love I get from family and friends don’t pay bills.

Q6 What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

There was this one phone call I could have chosen not to make but I did and my whole world view was challenged to the degree that I found myself on a different path than I would have stayed on otherwise…

Q7 What makes you calm?

Music, prayer, good words from the right people at the right time right when I need them, timely messages letting me know I’m thought of and prayed for…

Q8 Have you found a purpose of your existence?

I’ve felt I have multiple times but right now I’m not sure if I have or haven’t.

Q9 Do you have regrets?

I regret words I never said but left unspoken. I regret relationships I shouldn’t have let go and those I held onto too long. I regret forgetting who I was for a while and I regret buying into a pedestal position that was impossible. I regret letting someone else drive.

Q10 What is your best trait?

My best trait is my personality.

. . . . .

30 Random Facts, 10 per Award

1. I love big hats whether they are floppy ones for the beach or deliciously classy asymmetrical ones you’d wear to the Kentucky Derby or Royal Ascot. My all time favorite style is the provincial French beret, though.
2. I prefer tea to coffee most days but I have been known to enjoy lattes and Puerto Rican style coffee. As far as teas go, I’m the one who brews them at the correct temperature and prefers loose leaf.
3. I’m a cat person who also likes dogs, but like children I prefer the ones I prefer and would like to avoid the poorly behaved ones so I don’t become incredibly offensive and begin to make corrections.
4. I have a lead foot. Cruise control is my friend and without it I would be in trouble.
5. I have a collection of teapots but I’m unsure how it started.
6. I also have some lovely teacups with saucers because I’m that kind of woman: tea goes in cups, coffee goes in mugs.
7. I kill cacti but can grow orchids… go figure!
8. I’d rather watch Iron Eagle than Top Gun. Don’t judge me.
9. I love my Volkswagen.
10. I have a service dog named Dobby. She looks like a house elf.
11. I’ve dyed my hair black, fire engine red, cobalt blue, and bright purple at different points.
12. The only color nail polish I like is gold. I hope that doesn’t make me tacky.
13. I have more books than I know what to do with.
14. I hate folding laundry more than any other chore.
15. I once went 137 days without wearing the same outfit twice because I wanted to see how far my wardrobe would stretch. I stopped at 137 not because I ran out of options but because I ran out of patience waiting for that one outfit.
16. I used to have an insatiable sweet tooth but now I don’t.
17. I don’t know Spanish even though I took it for 6 years from middle school to college. Attrition and strokes did it in.
18. I can translate Latin and used to be able to sing a handful of Latin drinking songs. Super dorky, maybe, but who else do you know that can do that?! No one. That’s right.
19. I played the classical viola professionally for several years.
20. I decided at 28 I would learn ballet and was in pointe shoes within a year.
21. I once was in a classical recorder ensemble. We played courtly dances.
22. I am pretty nerdy at times with lots of literary references and the ability to intellectualize even comic books. Useless, unmarketable skills.
23. My eyes change color based on mood, weather, health, and what I’m wearing.
24. I once gave up sarcasm for Lent. It was almost a year before I was able to sound marginally witty and humorous again.
25. I love watching football. I don’t have a team I’m in love with, I just like football.
26. I love snow… outside the window. I no longer like being in it.
27. I can crochet but my knitting game is lousy.
28. I think first grade is the best grade.
29. I either love you, hate you, or tolerate you. There is no middle ground of kind of liking someone. If I care for you I care a lot. If I don’t care for you, meh, I either tolerate your presence in my world or I don’t like you at all.
30. I like silver jewelry, not gold.

. . . . .

Nominees! Choose your 10 favorite questions from above and list your 10 random facts. The rules are below!

• Beans, Pen, & Nirja
• Emotries
• Fierce Fabulous Funny
• Not Enough Middle Fingers
• And last but not least Kellie at Roads Maps Signs because I know she has written far more than she has published here.

. . . . .

Here are the rules for The Liebster Award once nominated and accepted:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.

2. Display the award on your blog.

3. Provide 10 random facts about yourself or answer 10 questions provided by the blogger who nominated you.

4. Nominate 5 – 12 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 200 followers. Make sure you let them know they’re nominated!

5. List these rules in your post.

6. For added fun, link back to Jack Henry, The Global Aussie, who reads every Liebster Award linked back to him and who has an award for one of the winners at the end of the year. Post a comment in the comments below The Global Aussie ~ Liebster 2017 and he will view your post and check out your blog. He personally visits each and every one.