Wednesday, June 18, 2014

What Does It Mean To Be Versatile?

It's been an exciting week in my blogland! Loni Townsend nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award, which is, as you may have guessed, what this post is about. Thank you, Loni! Loni is a super talented blogger and writer with a clever, quirky sense of humor. Her epic fantasy novel, Thanmir War, is available on Amazon, and her blog is always available, so if you're not following her, go check her out!

Before I get to that award, though, I also need to thank Kristin Smith, Felicity Burnett, and Ava Quinn, who all nominated me for Liebster Awards in the past few weeks. Thank you all so much, ladies! As I was nominated for one, and accepted it a few months ago, I don't want to be an awards hog and accept again. BUT I am really grateful to all three of these bloggers, and highly recommend that you check them all out!

Now...the Versatile Blogging Award!



The rules of the VBA, should you choose to accept them, are:

  • You do NOT talk about VBA. Oh, wait, sorry, wrong club. Moving on.
  • Thank the person who gave you this award. Thank you, Loni!!
  • Include a link to their blog. Done and done - but in case you missed it, you can find her here.
  • Select 15 blogs/bloggers that you've recently discovered or follow regularly. ( I would add, pick blogs or bloggers that are excellent!), and nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
  • Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.


Because I'm a BIG RULE BREAKER (not at all, but we can pretend, right?), I'm not going to nominate 15 people. Instead, I'm going to nominate a completely arbitrary number of bloggers, because, well, because I can:

  1. Milo James Fowler, who writes a dizzying array of short stories in an equally dizzying array of genres;
  2. Ava Quinn, who never fails to make me laugh out loud, is wildly creative, and comes up with the world's most bizarre and wonderful blogging topics;
  3. And L.G. Smith, who always has a fascinating idea, unique insight, or thought-provoking question to offer.


Finally, seven things about me!

  1. Running is my best stress relief. I'm not very fast or very good, but when I can be running outside (treadmills, aka hamster wheels, do not count), I always feel better.
  2. I'm a serious foodie. I love shopping at farmer's markets, going out to eat at new restaurants in the city, and reading/learning/thinking about food. I would love to cook if I had more time - when I do have time, I really enjoy it, but most of the time it's just another thing I have to fit in, sadly.
  3. I once went paragliding in the Swiss Alps.
  4. I lived in a haunted castle in Holland for a semester when I was in college.
  5. I'm a huge nature nerd. I love to hike and I'll watch animal documentaries any day, anytime; I of course own both the Blue Planet and the Planet Earth series on DVD. I'll let you guess how many times I've watched them!
  6. I think teachers are our modern unsung heroes. Undervalued, underpaid, misunderstood, and under a ton of pressure, they still devote themselves to the future with passion and dedication. Yes, there are bad teachers out there (there are bad everything out there), but for the most part, these people are amazing.
  7. As a massage therapist, I believe deeply in the value of self-care - all kinds of self-care. I believe in non-Western approaches to healing, like acupuncture and massage (of course), and I work hard to take good care of myself, and to encourage other to do the same.
Accepting the nominations is totally optional for my picks, but visiting them is not - honestly, you'll love their blogs!

56 comments:

  1. Ooh! That haunted castle sounds amazing. (Total ghost nerd. :-P)

    Congrats on the award?

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    1. Lol I meant Congrats on the Award!

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    2. Ha! That's great - an unsure congratulations :) Thanks!

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  2. A haunted castle? Who was it haunted by?

    The paragliding sounds like a blast.

    Rule breaker!! :P I love the blogs you nominated. :)

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    1. The ghosts of the family that used to live there. There was a little girl ghost definitely, and a couple of others :)

      Thank you for my nom!!!

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  3. Congratulations! Wow, a haunted castle. Ever see anything?

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    1. I didn't personally, but quite a few of my friends did - and I definitely FELT a few things!

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  4. Paragliding in the Swiss Alps sounds amazing, as does the haunted castle. I'm getting more into running this summer, and I've always loved hiking.

    I also love the blogs you've nominated here. They, and their authors, are fantastic.

    Congrats on the award!

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  5. You lived in a haunted castle? What I wouldn't give to do that. Heck, I'd live in the castle even if it wasn't haunted. Castles are so cool!

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    1. It totally was!! It was an incredible experience.

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  6. I'm not a runner, but I find walking in the hills near our house helps me relieve stress.

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  7. Thanks, girlie! I can't believe you went paragliding in the Alps. I would be white-knuckled terrified.

    And you are a massage therapist? I don't think I knew that before. Wow, do I wish you lived closer. :P

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    1. You're welcome! You'd be surprised - the take-off was terrifying, but being in the air was so exhilarating and so beautiful that I wasn't afraid at all. Much less frightening than skydiving, in my opinion; I am NOT a fan of free-fall!

      As yes, that's my day job! Come visit sometime :)

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  8. Congrats on the award, Liz! And thanks so much for the mention! :)

    Whoa, paragliding in the Alps? How cool is that!

    My husband is a huge nature lover and we too own all the DVD's of Planet Earth and Blue Planet. They are great videos, even my kids love them! :)

    I didn't realize you were a massage therapist! You are just the person I need to see! :)

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    1. Yay, more nature nerds! :) I'm so glad I'm not the only one!!

      Yep, that's my day job! One of the perks is being the person that everyone is happy to see :)

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  9. Congrats!

    Agree about Ava's blog. The boxing squirrels took the cake... no, make that the Hellow Kitty Doms. hahahaha

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    1. Right?? Or the sea monkeys, or the polka addiction? She cracks me up.

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    2. Aww, thanks, Melissa! I'm blushing!!

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    3. Stop, Liz! I'm blushing again! lol!

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  10. Congrats! The haunted castle sounds so awesome! Great list!

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  11. Sheesh, fifteen bloggers. That seems a bit much.

    Going paragliding in the Swiss Alps is so awesome. Congrats on your award :)

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    1. I know, right? Three seemed much more reasonable to me :)

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    2. I know, right? Three seemed much more reasonable to me :)

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  12. OMG-you went paragliding in the Swiss Alps?! How brave and how was it? I am terrified of heights but it looks so neat. When you lived in the haunted castle, anything weird happen? You have lived an interesting life so far and more to come I am sure. Congrats on the award

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    1. Yes, and I did, and it was absolutely amazing! I loved it. It was the closest thing to flying that I've ever experienced :) There WERE some weird happenings in the castle, yes, but most of the ghosts were pretty friendly (or at least indifferent) thank goodness!

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  13. Congratulations. Yeah, 15 people does sound like a LOT of people!

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  14. Congrats! Also, kind of jealous that you got to live in any castle, even a haunted one. I can only imagine what that must have been like. O_o

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    1. Well, it was a pretty small castle, but it was still awesome :) It's funny how quickly you get used to crazy things, though!

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  15. Congratulations on the award!
    Being a foodie is great, isn't it? Some people forget to appreciate that flavor matters as much as nutrition numbers.
    I love nature, too! People think I'm weird because I prefer to be in a tree. LOL. I was doing it before Katniss made it cool. ;)
    It would be interesting if there were a law that the lowest paid teacher in a state could not make less than the highest paid athlete earns IN TOTAL. Thus, sponsors would have to give not only to current sport heroes, but to the teachers and coaches that give us tomorrow's. Might need to change a few other laws that do not allow corporations to advertise in public schools. Maybe. (Are children really so susceptible that they won't drink a coke product, like Dasani water, if Pepsi gave them some crayons?)

    Are you on Pinterest? I imagine we'd have a great time exchanging pins.
    @JLenniDorner

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    1. Thanks! I agree - I don't get the people who eat just to stop feeling hungry. It can be so much more fun than that!

      LOL, me too. I'm a closeted tree hugger :)

      That WOULD be interesting...and would be such a wholesale change in society's priorities that I'd be overjoyed for what it meant. Sigh. We can dream.

      I am on Pinterest, but I barely use it! I have enough trouble managing blogging and Twitter, LOL

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  16. Paragliding in the Swiss Alps?? My oh my! :) And I too can appreciate running. I enjoyed it better when I was doing it more frequently. Now, I sorta cringe…

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    1. Yeah, it's definitely one of those things you have to do on a regular basis - otherwise it becomes too close to torture! ;)

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  17. Well, I'm impressed with the paragliding too. So agree about teachers and it's nice to meet a fellow foodie!
    Congrats on the award, Liz!

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  18. Why am I not surprised that you lived in a haunted castle? Congrats on the award. You know, I'd love to hear more about your adventures (I remember you once wrote about chasing down a mugger???). They sound like a hoot!

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    1. LOL, do I seem like the haunted castle type? ;) And you have a great memory - I did chase down that mugger!

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  19. You went paragliding in the Swiss Alps and lived in a haunted castle in Holland?? You need to write a memoir :)

    I can't wait to read all your future posts :)

    Have a great weekend!

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    1. That's actually very funny, because I have a terrible long-term memory.My memoir would be a work of fiction, LOL! But thanks, and thank you for coming by!

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  20. Congrats on the award! I love running too, and would love to go paragliding.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  21. Ooh I'd love to hear more about that haunted castle! I agree with Optimistic, you should to write a memoir. In your spare time, of course. ;)

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  22. Holy cow, all manner of cool stuff -- and you've got to take care of yourself. Thanks for tagging me, Liz; I'll carry the torch on my next post.

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    1. Great - I'm looking forward to reading your answers!

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  24. Liz! You're too good to me! Here I wanted to award you and you wiggle out and award me! What's up with that? lol! I've said it before and I'll say it again. You rock!

    And haunted castle living? Paragliding? Damn girl, that's like la vida loca! lol! And I didn't know you were a massage therapist. Very cool. Loved the peek inside!!

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    1. I know, I'm sneaky like that! ;) Eh, you deserve it!

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  25. I just learned a whole tone about you, Liz. I had no idea you were a massage therapist. I could use you right about now ;)

    Congrats on the award, it's very well deserved!

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    1. LOL, I get that a lot :) I hope you can get a massage soon!

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  26. Must hear more about haunted castle living.......

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  27. Wow, paragliding amongst the Swiss Alps and living in a haunted house... two words; I'm jealous! Although I've lived in three haunted houses previously, I would have loved to have stayed in a haunted castle at some point.
    Like yourself, I truly believe in self-care. Running is a must for me because it allows my mind to scatter carelessly and free. It also provides great exercise! It's cliché, but our bodies are out temples and we must learn to take care of it, naturally.
    Ahh, a fellow foodie! It's a wonder why I have to run so much=)

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