Inspiration in the Deep Freeze

I'm going to take a short break from griping about the snow, because the lovely, kind, warm, and talented Gina Stoneheart has nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Which is ironic, really, since all I've done in recent weeks is complain about the Everest-sized piles of snow in the city, while Gina has celebrated other writers and shared her personal journey and posted her thoughts on love. Wait a minute, Gina, why are you nominating me???

Well, too late - it's MINE! I won it, fair and square! Or something.

And now I get that cool retro typewriter, as part of my award!!

What's that? Oh, the typewriter is just a two-dimensional promo image?

Oh.

Well, never mind.

Anyway, the rules for award are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, and link to their blog.

Easy-peasy. Thank you, Gina, for this sweet and lovely, if momentarily misplaced due to weather events beyond my control, award. If you don't follow Gina, you should. She's wonderful :)

2. Display the award logo.

Check!

3. Nominate at least 15 other blogs (more or less) and provide a link where they may be found.

Ummm.... I just have to be honest, here, and admit that I'm not gonna make it even close to 15. Let's try Ava Quinn, because I've never read anyone who makes me laugh like she does; Quanie Miller, because her blog is always thought-provoking and smart and a great place to have interesting discussions; and Anna Soliveres, because she combines smart, practical tips on self-publishing with a true sweetness and a genuine enthusiasm. Ladies, if you don't have time to accept the award and post about it, do not worry!!! To nominate is enough, I say.

4. Then, go to their blog, leave a comment to let them know they have been nominated, and where to find the information they need to accept (rules).

Yes, I will do that... soon.

5. Mention three things that inspired you the most during the past few weeks.

Three things that inspired me?? But...but...it's so utterly miserable here!

Ok, ok, ok. I do like to say that positive thinking is important, so I will attempt to be positive.

First, my neighbors. We've all spent so much time outside, shoveling, that we've bonded. Hours of back-breaking labor will do that; it's the theory of shared misery bringing people together. Seriously, though, my neighbors have so impressed me with their laughter and humor, their tenacity in the face of all of this snow, and their generosity. We've all helped each other clear out cars and shift snow piles and park in ever-shrinking spaces, and I am truly grateful.

Second, Ursula Le Guin. When things in my life get really stressful, I tend to retreat to some beloved, favorite books. These past few weeks, I've been rereading her Earthsea series, and remembering why I love it so much. Beyond the wonderful, difficult stories and characters, in the world of Earthsea, magic is performed by knowing and speaking the true name of a thing - and what could be more beautiful, or more perfect, than magic as a metaphor for the piercing accuracy of language?

Third, skiing. Yes, really. When I was in Vermont, I went cross-country skiing, and I loved it. It was such a welcome change to be doing something with the snow other than moving it from one place to another. Plus, I'm a runner, and I start to feel so frustrated and cooped up when I can't run outside (and no, I will not use a treadmill, because I am not a hamster.) It was a huge relief to be able to get outside and exercise in the open air. When I got home, my mother-in-law surprised me by generously and thoughtfully giving me her skis, boots, and poles, because she unfortunately can't use them anymore. I've been out skiing twice in the past four days, and I feel much more human.

What's been inspiring you? What are you reading?

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!

Extra Special Bonus Post: AWARDS!

I know, I know; it's a Tuesday. What on earth am I doing posting???? 

Well, I've been lucky enough to be nominated for a couple of awards recently, so I decided to create a super-special extra bonus fun-time post. (Read: I'm way overdue on responding to these nominations and so I'm trying to make up for it with an extra post. I know, I'm a procrastinator. I'm sorry.) I'll be back with my normal writing-related post tomorrow. 

First up: the Sunshine Award!

I should preface this by saying that I'm going to follow my nominator, the lovely Ashley Nixon's, lead here, and copy what she did...because I don't actually know what the rules are. Ahem.

Fave color: Purple

Fave animal: Just one??? I love animals. Seriously. I'm a nature TV show nerd. I can't think of a better night than curling up to watch the Blue Planet for the 37th time. As I said, I'm a nerd.

Fave number: 6

Fave non-alcoholic drink: apple cider

Fave alcoholic drink: Good Irish whiskey or red wine

Facebook or Twitter: Is it a bad idea to admit via my blog that I think they're necessary evils? 

Passions: Writing! Also various politically dangerous topics like guns, the environment, feminism, gay marriage, and so on. (See how I mentioned those without saying what I think about them? Nice and avoidant.)

Prefer giving or getting presents? Giving. Would anyone admit to liking to get them better? That's like saying. "Hi, I'm kind of selfish!"

Fave city? Oh this is too hard to answer. I love my home - Boston - but I also have a love/hate relationship with NYC, and I fell in love a little bit with London, Sienna, and various tiny cities in Vermont, too. 

Fave TV Shows: Sherlock (BBC), Elementary (more Sherlock on CBS), Six Feet Under, NATURE SHOWS!

As for nominations, well I'm going to break some rules and combine my noms below. Sorry, artistic privilege.

On to the Liebster Award! Thank you, Adrienne Reiter, for nominating me!

So I'm going to obey Adrienne, here, and follow her rules. 

First, 11 random facts about ME:

1. I sleep with my feet sticking out of the covers because they get really hot at night. 
2. Conversely (perversely?), my hands and feet are freezing at all other times.
3. I am a huge baseball and football fan, in direct contrast to the fact that I'm also a tree-hugging yogi. 
4. I was once pick-pocketed while in Rome, but I chased the perps down and got my wallet back. True story.
5. I'll try almost any food once, but bugs, amphibians, and invertebrates gross me out. As food items, anyway.
6. I was a musical theatre major in college for about a month, until I woke out of my daze and switched to acting. I still secretly love musicals, though.
7. I'm afraid of ice. Not the substance itself, but of slipping and falling on it. 
8. I play guitar.
9. I have three tattoos. No, they're not naughty, nor are they Chinese or Japanese characters. 
10. I have terrible, awful, no-good very bad vision.
11. I love all things chocolate and peanut butter.

Ok, now the questions for my nominees:

1. What’s the meaning of life? What’s the point?
2. What are you best at?
3. If you were captured by aliens and put into an arena and they used their power of divination to determine your greatest fear or the one creature/animal/monster fake or real—what would appear out of the shadows to face you?
4. Favorite gig of all time?
5. How do you boil an egg?
6. If you could magic your mind into the body of any living human being on planet Earth, who would it be? (Keep in mind there’s no going back.)
7. If a clown jumped out of a van in the street while you were minding your own business and handed you a big pot of pink paint and a big crush, and said, “You mush paint that house over there pink, if you do then you’ll get this,” he shows you the biggest diamond you’ve ever seen in your life, what would you do?
8. Favorite food?
9. If you were suddenly transformed or transmogrified into a great bowl along with your equivalent selves from every country in the world, and you were asked by God to compete against each other in a variety of sports and test, what self from what country would win and why?
10. The best thing you’ve done for another human being?
11. What are your long term life goals?

And my answers:

1. 42. Obviously. You can also consult this post.
2. Effort. I dive into everything I do with everything I have. I can't stand doing things halfway.
3. That monster from Pan's Labyrinth. Honestly, when it appeared onscreen I thought someone had ripped it from my subconscious mind. Terrifying. 
4. Writing full-time. That would be amazing.
5. With the power of my mind. Duh.
6. Erm, I think I'd rather stay where I am. 
7. Give me a break. This is SO fake. Since when do clowns have access to gigantic diamonds?
8. Bacon, chocolate, peanut butter, sweet potatoes, roasted butternut squash, garlic, olives - oh, was I supposed to choose just one?
9. Again, I'll go with 42.
10. I can't reveal it, or I'll ruin it.
11. Writing. Full-time. Successfully.

And finally, my nominees!!

Sunshine Award:

- Adrienne Reiter

- M.L. Swift

Liebster Award:

- Samantha May

- Quanie Miller

- Jodi Beznoska

- Tonja Drecker

- Charlie Holmberg

- Melanie Schulz

- Mason Matchak

Check out their blogs!!