Award

Mystery Blogger Award: Hobbo Edition

October 7, 2020October 7, 2020Chel Owens29 Comments

My newly-discovered friend and excellent poet, Hobbo, nominated me for a Mystery Award awhile back. Here are the questions I am to answer (and my answers):

How did you get into blogging? -Once upon a midnight dreary as I sat with eyes all bleary, trying to make Facebook full of my reposted lore, a friend said, “Try a blog, you fool!” -and so I did, and so I love it evermore. (And, I wanted to write a book.)
What makes you tick? -Chocolate. Definitely chocolate.
Who would you swap places with for a day… -At this point, a coddled sloth in the nicest zoo in existence.
…and why? -Sleep!
What is the silliest thing you’ve ever done? -As a teenage Girl Scout, I sang and danced on top of the tables with my fellow Cadettes at day camp.

Thanks for the fun questions! I encourage anyone interested in great suggestions for sites to follow to read the other awards posts I’ve done.

To fulfill the requirements from Hobbo, I need to write three things about me: I am brunette, brown- eyed, and love socks. A favorite post I thought to share is “Flat-footed.”

Here, also, are questions anyone can answer:

If the sky were purple, would you ask why it’s blue?
What’s the answer to life, the universe, and where I left my car keys?
Why?
What is your favorite breakfast cereal?
If you could meet any author, living or dead, why would you want to practice necromanic reanimation??

—–

In the meantime, here are the ‘rules’ for this award:

Display the award logo on your blog.

Thank the blogger who nominated you, and provide a link to their blog.

Mention Okoto Enigma, the creator of the award.

Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

Answer the 5 questions in my list.

Nominate 10-20 bloggers

Notify your nominees by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice, including one weird or funny question.

Share the link to your best post.

Thanks to Javier Mazzeo for sharing their work on Unsplash.

Vincent Ehindero Award Thing

June 2, 2020June 2, 2020Chel Owens38 Comments

The awesome dude of Rethinking Scripture named me in his Vincent Ehindero Award waaay back on April 23. Yes, that was this year, but I think I’ve been too flaky in not answering it yet. So, here ya go:

If you could be anyone living or dead who would that be?
I asked for specifics on this question, like length and whether I’d have to also be dead if I picked someone dead… So, assuming I could be anyone for a short period of time, I would definitely choose to try out a celebrity’s life. I’ve always been fascinated with how people live; a very rich person would be interesting.
(Further, a very poor person would also be interesting but less comfortable. Further further, I’d enjoy any other life for a bit since I am naturally curious.)

I would not be this person for a day.
Using just one word how would you describe yourself?
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?
Do you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert?
I consider myself an introvert, with a confused expression when others say they assumed otherwise.
Name one thing that if you had the means to do it what would that be?
My son keeps asking me a similar question, to which I keep answering, “A permanent end to Coronavirus.”
Are you a cat or dog person, or maybe both?
I am a dog person, but that is the cats’ fault.

It’s planning to eat me.

Some people you should follow include:

–Carrot Ranch‘s blog for a great community and for writing prompts and tips.
–Carol‘s musings, recipes, and recycling news for musings, recipes, and recycling news.
-Carol’s friend, Sally Cronin, for great information on writing and nutrition (and much, much more!)
–Sue Vincent‘s prompts and sharing of people who responded to her prompts. She is, hands-down, one of the best writers and poets in the blogging world.
–Colleen Chesebro, who does a poem-writing contest every week. She includes a lot of resources and instructions on poetry as well.
Basically, anyone else I’ve nominated in the past. I loves me my friends, and think you all should know you all.

If anyone is looking to answer awesome questions, respond to any or all in the comments:

If you had to choose between a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and a Hershey’s Cookies and Cream candy bar, why is that even a choice?
Seriously, who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?
What’s your favorite color?
If you became the supreme leader of your own country for a day and could put any law in place that you wanted, what would you do?
What’s one of your favorite books?

…..

This is the part where I re-post the re-posted parts about ‘rules’ and such:

Rules:

Thank the person that nominated you with a link to their blog.

Make a post of the award (with a photo.)

Post the rules.

Ask 5-10 questions of your choice.

Nominate 10-30 other bloggers.

Follow Vincent Ehindero at vincentehindero.wordpress.com (to qualify for a free blog promotion and shoutout) and more blogging opportunities.

Photo Credits: Brett Sayles and Viktor Mogilat on Pexels.com.

Sunshine Blogger Award, Encore

March 3, 2020March 4, 2020Chel Owens14 Comments

My friend, Matt Snyder, tagged me for a Sunshine Blogger Award way back when I dropped the ball and haven’t landed a successful down since…

sunshine-blogger-award-pic

Anyway, here are his questions and my answers:

1. What is funny enough to make you laugh so hard to tears? I will laugh to tears at unexpected, humorous dialogue in movies, or at a clever joke setup in books. I believe I answered a similar question before; my response, then, was that funny exchanges with friends also crack me up.
2. Where do you find your inspiration? Inspiration trickles in while I’m living life, much like baby spit-up suddenly trickling down my arm…
3. Does money bring happiness? Yes. I even blogged about it. But all the money in the world cannot buy you people who honestly care about you when you’re old and dying.
4. Do you have any regrets in life? I regret my entire life. I also think I’d regret a different life, so we’ll stick with this one.
5. Do you prefer to create in silence or are you listening to music and if you are what would be your top 3 songs? I’m big into music. I use it frequently to tune out kids and housework. If I’m only limited to 3 songs, I’d pick whatever’s stuck in my head at the time. Currently, that’s: “Riptide,” by Vance Joy, “Dance of the Knights” by Prokofiev, and “I’d Rather Burn” by Blackbriar.
6. What is one thing about you that no one knows (of course now they’ll know 😉 )? I do not like green eggs and ham -but I would eat them, Sam I Am.
7. Do you blog for fun, as an outlet or for profit? If none of these than, what? Someday, I will profit from the experience of writing and connections to authors I’ve made from blogging. I will also find inner peace.
8. Is there a particular person in your family you are or were most close to? Hm. I stay in touch with my family, so this isn’t a unique question for me. My closest family relationship is with my husband. 😍
9. What is the most unique place you ever visited? Gilgal Gardens in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some people have too much money and not enough friends to advise against odd interests.
  © Gilgal Sculpture Garden 2020
10. If you were locked in a grocery store overnight, would the temptation to eat something be strong enough that you would break down eat something and pay for it the next day? Eat nothing? Eat something without paying? If I had not eaten, there’s no way I’d fast. Otherwise, honesty would trump hunger. If some emergent situation ended up requiring food eating, I’d pay for it the next day.
11. If there was an opportunity to meet in person would you take it or are you more comfortable expressing the “online” version of you via the internet? I’m totally open to meeting, unless someone seems creepy. I yam what I yam.

Check out my past awards for people to follow; plus Lisa Howeler, and Kat of The Lily Café.

I’m too tired to come up with 11 questions, so anyone who wants to can answer these three:

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?
Baths or showers?
What is your favorite color?

~~~~~

Rule Thingies:

Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and link back to their blog.

• Answer 11 questions the blogger asked you.

• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award in your blog post.

• Nominate 11 new bloggers & their blogs. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they received the award and ask your nominees 11 new questions.

Another Liebster Thingie

August 1, 2019August 1, 2019Chel Owens28 Comments

Mathew of Blog of the Wolf Boy let me know he’d tagged me in a Liebster Award. He mentioned interesting questions, so I had to check it out….

So, here’re eleven facts about myself: female, tall, brunette, literate, sarcastic, alive, tired, hungry, creative, analytical, intelligent.

Mathew’s (interesting) questions with my responses:

What number can you count to without taking a single breath?
Right now, about 12. One of my current pregnancy side effects is shortness of breath. I’m practically asthmatic.
How many push-ups can you do before you can’t do anymore?
(See my answer to #1.)
If you could clone one person in the world who would it be?
I’d clone me, but only if I could include happier hormones and no desire to chase after my husband. Come to think of it, I’d better settle on an android.
Would you clone yourself and would you trust your clone if you did?
I guess I should have read through these questions first.
Would you go into the ocean on a submarine?
Nopity nopity no.
Do you prefer to write on a laptop or with pen and paper?
I prefer pen and paper, though not for composing. This dad-gum technological age has spoilt me and me hand gets tired.
What’s a cherished childhood television show that you used to love but haven’t thought of in a while?
“Today’s Special.”
Whats a smell that you love?
My husband wearing his Old Spice deodorant.
Do you prefer green apples or red and sweet apples?
I am not a sour person at all. I’m not big into too sweet, either, so I’d go halfway.
If you could have the perfect dream and never wake up would you take it?
Nope. Who’d remember to refill the toilet paper, for Pete’s sake??
How many cats does it take before you start to be labeled as a crazy cat person?
My son has a friend who owns 7 cats. The parents made it a point to let me know they were not crazy cat people, so I’d say the number’s somewhere around 3.

I’ve about run the gamut of bugging my followers with these, but maybe some newcomers need recommendations of who to follow. I therefore officially nominate:

-Ruth of Ruth Scribbles, the most awesomest and supportive friend a gal could ask for.

-P’Arc of Peregrine Arc, the most awesomest and supportive friend a gal could ask for.

-J of Thru Violet Lentz, the most awesomest and currently busy friend a gal could ask for.

-Gary of Bereaved and Being a Single Parent, the most awesomest dad and busiest blogger a gal could ask for.

-And all of my other followers, the most awesomest and supportive friends a gal could ask for.

I decided to pull your questions from the other awards I’ve participated in:

*What’s your favorite cheesy joke?
*Who would win in a boxing round; rock, paper, or scissors?
*Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?
*Why is it always the last place you look?
*Which storybook villain would always win a limerick competition?
*Given an infinite number of monkeys and typewriters, how soon before they realize typewriters are outdated and they’ll need to learn sign language?
*What is the best letter of the alphabet?
*Who is the most misunderstood nursery rhyme character?
*How much chocolate is too much?
*Who would win in a duel: chocolate volcano cake or bananas foster?

—–

The Rules To Award:

Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you
Share 11 facts about yourself
Answer the 11 questions the blogger(s) asked you
Nominate 11 bloggers and ask them 11 questions
Notify your 11 nominees

Photo Credit:
Franck V.
Jari Hytönen

Sunshine, Lollipops, and Blogger ‘Awards’

July 21, 2019July 21, 2019Chel Owens13 Comments

Kevin Parish at What Words May Come gifted me The Sunshine Blogger Award. Thanks, Kevin!

Sunshine

Here are Kevin’s questions:

What verbal graffiti do you use too much? (Examples: Like…Well anyway… I know, right… Huh… Umm…)
Ummm… Huh… I don’t really know.
I do know that I have detested “I know; right” since it first cropped up, so you shan’t hear me say that ever.
What is your favorite color?
I’m rather fond of winter shades: dark burgundy, dark blue, dark green, dark black, etc.
Do you love, hate or couldn’t care less about professional sports?
This may shoot me in the foot in terms of followers, but I am not a professional sports fan. I love to watch anyone who is a master of his craft, so I do enjoy the occasional match. Frankly, I find rooting for a team pointless since the members are not even native; they might very well be originally from the opponent’s home state or be traded there next season.
What’s the name of your longest-time best friend?
My husband is my longest-time best friend, and his name is Kevin Owens.
What’s the funniest nickname you have ever heard?
Like H.R.R. Gorman, I’ve a better story about a real name. My husband worked with a man who legally changed his name to something like Captain Yam*. The guy was a bit socially awkward as well, as in showing up to work every day in something like a bike helmet awkward**.
Do you have a nickname that you can/will share?
My mother called me Munkey as a child. Word is that I looked like a monkey but she made it sound slightly cuter than that. I also liked monkeys. Darn sticking-out-ears…
Have you ever started laughing really hard just by thinking about something? If so, and you can remember, what was it?
Oh, yes!! Occasionally I will engage in a comments conversation on WordPress and my friend or I will say something downright clever. I’ll think about it and laugh for days.
I think one of the latest ones was betwixt me and masercot (AKA Charles). He mentioned Dr. Suess in response to my blog post on picture books.
Me: “…Fish in a tree is hard to believe.”
Him: “The worst was when they hopped on pop, right after his kidney surgery…”
Me: “You must not hop post-op?”
Still laughing. Though, I laugh whenever I read one of Charles’ blog posts as well. He’s dangerously funny.
What are three of your “bucket-list” to-do’s?
1. Write and traditionally publish a book.
2. Visit Europe.
3. Learn the violin.
Would you rather have a lake house or a mountain chalet or something else?
I’m more of a mountain chalet type. We once stayed in a house in Montana for a family vacation, when I was a child. The whole thing perched right on a lake and gave me anxiety that it would simply tip in at any minute.
What country would you live in if you couldn’t live in the one you live in now?
I like Gorman‘s answer for this, too, but I’d probably choose Canada.
Do you believe that people can change? Why or why not?
I do believe people can change, and see that they do. Honestly, different life stages and circumstances force a lot of change on us whether we like it or not. It’s those who are able to initiate change that I admire, and those able to take surprises in healthy directions.

—–

Mostly I use this next part to introduce any of my readers to any of my other readers whom I find excellent to read. The main snag is that I’ve already ‘nominated’ a fair number here, here, here, here, and here. If you’re looking for some great sites, scroll down to the bottom of those links and also check out these:

Kat of The Lily Cafe. She writes, she mothers, she reads; she’s amazing.
Frank Prem, the poet. I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned him before! Frank has the gift of capturing voices in the poems he pens.
Robert C. Stroud of Mere Inkling. Primarily writing from observations of C.S. Lewis, Stroud expresses and expounds upon various interesting and informative topics.
Almost Iowa. I can’t find his real name right now (if he gave it), but these all seem to be hilarious recounts of experiences in …well, almost Iowa.
My Mindless Drivel. Another excellent writer, mostly sharing life stories and thoughts on how things ought to work.
Charles of Legends of Windemere. He’s an author and all-around good guy. We also seem to share opinions on …Bad Boys?

If any of you whom I’ve named get the notification and wish to respond, here are my questions:

If you could be a type of cheese, which would you be and why?
What is the strangest fact you know?
Who inspires you the most as a writer?
If you were King of the World for one day, what change(s) would you make?
What’s your favorite cheesy joke?
Who would win in a mud wrestling match: broccoli or a potato?
What is the first thing you think of when you see the word collywobbles?
What is the best letter of the alphabet?
When two roads meet in a yellow wood, are they dirt or paved?
Could you live without your left thumb? What if you needed to give something a two thumbs-up rating?
What’s your favorite salad dressing and whoever thought salad was a good idea in the first place?

—–

RULES:

1. Use the sunshine blogger award logo

2. Give thanks to the blogger that nominated you

3. Answer the 11 questions given to you

4. Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 questions

Photo Credit:
Saray Jimenez
Jose Rago

* This is not his name, but is close.
** This is not what he wore, but is again close.

Behind the Blogger Tag Thingamajig

April 21, 2019April 21, 2019Chel Owens18 Comments

Thank you, P’Arc for the nomination! I know it’s not Thursday, but we’ll just ignore that and move on.

Here are the questions with my answers:

1. Why did you start blogging & why have you kept blogging?
I kind-of, sort-of wrote on Facebook. Like, wrote wrote. My goal was to post quality content with immediate results from my adoring fans in real life.
It turned out to be really hard on my self-esteem, watching ‘friends’ re-post crap and ignore my pearls. A truly wonderful (intelligent, beautiful, amazing, kick-a**) friend of mine suggested I move my act over to blogdom.

2. What is your favorite type of blog post to write?
Hands-down: humor. Even with a serious or non-fiction post, a bit of personality gets me giggling at myself.

3. What are your top 3 favorite blog posts?
From myself: I enjoyed my how-to on writing poetry, “Let’s Stay In Bed Today,” and “The Case of the Kitchen Cacophony.”
From other bloggers; I most enjoy reading short stories, humor, poetry -anything well-written, really.

4. What are some of your favorite things to do to relax?
I love curling up with a good bag of potato chips and French onion dip, with only my current book or video game to judge me.

5. What are 3 of your favorite things?
Running in the rain, cuddling during a movie, and satisfying creation.

6. What are your proudest blogging moments?
Hmmm… that time I broke out to composing every day instead of pasting what I’d already done; and every. single. time someone leaves me a thoughtful comment.

7. What are your hobbies outside of blogging?
Ha ha ha ha ha…. Oh. Maybe you were serious.

8. Describe your personality in 3 words:
Repressed, tired creationist.

9. What are your top 3 pet peeves?
Intentionally unkind people, Intentionally ignorant people, and children singing pop songs.

10. What’s something your followers don’t know about you?
Welllll… if I answered that, it wouldn’t satisfy the question any more.

I’m not sure who I’ve mentioned before and honestly feel too exhausted to double-check. So, here are some blogs you all ought to check out:

Ruth at Ruth Scribbles.

J of Thru Violet’s Lentz.

Stephen, down by the Fractured Faith Blog.

Masercot, who shouldn’t be given a computer at Potatoes and The Promise of More Potatoes.

Geoff LePard, aspiring member of MP’s Flying Circus who writes from TanGental.

Just ’cause I didn’t list you, it doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I’m firing on about half a cylinder and can therefore only recall the last two blog posts I read. Anyone can play; I’m not picky.

——

THE RULES:

• Thank the person who nominated you

• Answer all the questions down below

• Pingback to the creator: Ellyn@Allonsythornraxx

• Nominate 5+ bloggers you’d like to know more about, to do this tag.

THE CREATOR IS:

Ellyn@Allonsythornraxx

Photo Credit:
Geetanjal Khanna

That Liebster Award Thingie

April 1, 2019April 1, 2019Chel Owens19 Comments

Many thanks to Peregrine Arc for this here Liebster Award.

Liebster Flowers

In answer to her questions:

Why is blogging called blogging? Why isn’t it called ejournaling or something similar, you know?
*Ahem* It’s a portmanteau of “web” and “log.” In the old days, before you young’uns even had a microwave death trap for yer food or a cellular cancer ray fer yer textin’, a person who wrote online kept a web log.
I blame the rising generation, George Orwell, and the Germans for the term.
If you ever actually came across a ghost (yours to invent) what would your honest reaction be, as far as you can tell? 👻
That’s easy! I’d scream like a banshee (also a ghostly apparition) and run away.
If an animal talked to you, would you respond back? Or would you run to the nearest neurologist? What’s the animal and what did it say to you?
Assuming an animal spoke English to me, I believe it would be like Gary Larson’s Far Side of the dog translator: a bunch of mutts saying, “Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!” I wouldn’t tell the neurologist anything; they charge way too much. And, dog is the first animal I thought of.
You’re on stage, accepting your dream award. What’s the award and what did you do to deserve it? Who do you remember to thank in your speech? And, here’s the kicker: is there anyone you blow the whistle on? This is your chance now to start some change…
I am so boring. I don’t even know of any awards besides the movie ones and that Nobel thing. I’d really just want to be extremely rich and famous, but for the best reasons. So; no, I wouldn’t be blowing any whistles -except on those idiots who don’t know how to use a roundabout.
What do you think should be done about me-monsters? You know, those people who just rattle on about themselves at dinner parties until you bend your fork into a boomerang so the investigators can’t find the murder weapon?
A boomerang fork is highly inventive! I’d go with that, or a laryngitis-shooting secret ring.
If you could have one book unpublished (as in never published and removed from time) what would it be and why?
I would unpublish every single serial book that is crap (and all the movies, too). Yes, that counts as one.

And again, here are a list of sites you ought to read and follow. I try not to repeat people I’ve suggested from past nominations (here, here, here, and here):

PK Adams. Writes about running, religion, and life.

Bruce. The best at writing bad endings for his characters; recently taken to composing songs and sharing them.

Roberta Writes. She lives in South Africa and writes some creepy (and good) stuff.

John L. Malone. John’s about quick punches, short stories, and the nonsense that makes them.

Michael B. Fishman. Michael is funny, and a fantastic terrible poet.

Nominees, here are your questions if you wish to answer them:

Would you rather sleep in on Sunday, and would a cat sitting on your face change that answer?
Given an infinite number of monkeys and typewriters, how soon before they realize typewriters are outdated and they’ll need to learn sign language?
What is the best paper airplane design?
Who would win in a duel: chocolate volcano cake or bananas foster?
If you could choose one magical power, what powers would everyone else have?

According to P’Arc:
What is the Liebster Prize?

“The Liebster Prize is an award that exists only on the Internet and is awarded to bloggers by other bloggers. The first case of the award goes back to 2011. Liebester in German means sweet, kind, kind, dear, charming, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. It really is an excellent way to meet other bloggers and gain more visibility in the community.”

Use the links below to follow the rules and find the submission page:

https://theglobalaussie.com

Submission Page

Official Rules

Photo Credits:
Image by suju from Pixabay
Image by Виктория Бородинова from Pixabay

Mystery Blogger Awarded

March 30, 2019March 31, 2019Chel Owens25 Comments

Thanks to Beckie of Beckie’s Mental Masterfulness for nominating me last week; and on my birthday, no less!

Here are my answers to Beckie’s awesome queries:

Do you collect something, if so, what?
I just might have a problem collecting books. Yes, I can quit when I -okay; no, no I can’t.

I may have more than this.
Other than writing, do you have any other hobbies or activities that you enjoy?
I am a mother and housewife (and regular wife, and taxi, and….) “other than writing.” *Sigh* As such, my other hobbies need to fit between the cracks. They include reading, running, camping, and artsing.
What is your most embarrassing moment in public?
I puked on several kids at our choir concert in fifth grade.
If you had your choice of sleeping on a bed of nails or eating chocolate covered ants, which would you choose, and why?
I seriously think this question needs more parameters. I mean; if I only had to sleep on the nail bed for ten seconds, that’d be fine. If I only had to try one ant, that would also be fine.
Mostly I don’t think I would be able to sleep on nails or chew insects.

Cute; but, UGH!
What is your worse pet-peeve?
I’ve been thinking about this one. My worst pet-peeve is people being selfish, especially at the expense of others. Seriously, people, have some manners if you can’t have empathy.

Some of my favorite posts I giggled to myself over include “Encounter in the Alley,” “Silent but Tardy,” “Everlore,” “My Muse,” and “A Spoonful of Limericks.”

Any stragglers-on to my blog know I’m not a huge fan of this chain mail thing, so my nominees are more a list of blogs I follow that I highly recommend you all check out. If they want to answer the questions, more power to them.

Len of Len’s Daily Diary. Brilliant mind, touching observations, and excellent story-teller.

Treeshallow Musings. She’s a gifted poet and word-painter.

Geoff. If you haven’t read Mr. LePard yet, that may be better for your health.

H.R.R. Gorman. Also an excellent writer; delving into a little sci-fi, a little horror, a little fun.

Beverly Hughes. One of my favorite people. She writes moving and insightful posts about mental illness and her journeyings.

Official Nominees: you may choose to answer my questions:

Is there anything chocolate cannot solve?
Are fabric softeners really effective?
Who is your favorite Disney princess?
Which storybook villain would always win a limerick competition?
If you could vote for anyone to be leader of your respective country, who would it be and why wouldn’t it be Girl Scout Tagalong cookies?

If interested, here are the rules and such:

Rules:

Put the award logo/image on your blog.
List the rules.
Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link back to their blog.
Answer the 5 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.
Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).
Share a link to your best post(s).

Photo Credits:
Susan Yin
mi_shots

Sunshine Blogger Award Thingie, Again

January 21, 2019Chel Owens14 Comments

I’m not a fan of the award thingies, mostly due to the whole chain-mail idea of them; however, I am a fan of sharing people’s sites and connecting and learning more about everyone.

So when Len over at Len’s Daily Diary mentioned my site, of course I answered …~~a few days~~ ~~a week~~ later. He is just the sort of upright, intelligent, honest, kind, humble, and great writer you’ll want to follow, anyway. So check out his stuff.

Here are the questions he posed to me, with my answers:

1.What is your fondest memory of childhood?

As an adult, I feel my childhood images have blended into a kaleidoscope soup of random feelings and sunshine moments. Trying to pull one, fondest shard is a daunting task. I do know that I’d pick from amongst my family vacation moments.

My parents took me and my brother and sister on a vacation every year. The funny thing is that I know we were ~~absolute jerks~~ pretty typical children, yet I only retain the happiness I felt in new adventures and experiences shared with the people I love.

https://www.pexels.com/photo/view-of-empty-road-1537979/ — If you think this looks idyllic, add at least three underage voices SCREAMING death cries to a background of loose objects being smashed against car and human body parts.

2. If you could write your obituary, what would it say?

How morbid am I that I’ve thought about this more than once and am under the age of 50? (In my defense, I seriously considered it after helping my aunt edit the one for my grandmother.)

I’m not going to write it out here, but let’s just say that it will contain a hidden message or two and at least a passing reference to HG2G -all written in verse.

sandy-millar-758468-unsplash

3. Do you prefer turbulent waters or the stillness of the desert?

I definitely prefer the desert over deep water. -Don’t get me wrong; I love turbulent things. I just have a sort of terrible thalassaphobia.

greg-rakozy-79998-unsplash

4. What is your favorite flavor of ice-cream?

I have more of a favorite brand or type than flavor, because I’ve gotten to the point where I’m picky about the depth of creamy taste and luscious thickness of quality ingredients.

So, a darned good chocolate variety works for me.

birthday-break-breakfast-461430

5. Who do you most admire from history?

Distant history? Pretty much anyone who survived all the diseases and tooth decays and no hygiene; and still lived, reproduced (gah! tooth decay!), and made himself better in the world.

I admire those who had great difficulty; they are real people to me.

Thanks, Len! If the rest of you are still with me, here’s my nominees/people you should go check out:

Bladud Fleas: An extremely excellent writer, superbly talented artist, and …well, I don’t really know much else about him. Go visit, though.

Wilton Sugiyama of Wiltoons: He’s a dude I met through my motherhood site who draws cartoons about life.

Thru Violet’s Lentz: An excellent writer of many genres.

Ruth Scribbles: Another excellent writer who mostly dabbles in poetry.

Bereaved: My short name for A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. Long name; hilarious and touching posts.

All y’all can answer these questions if you feel like it:

How much chocolate is too much?
Who would really win: Batman or Superman?
Why is it always the last place you look?
What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen European swallow?
Where would you go to find The Meaning of Life?

Photo Credits
Pexels.com
Sandy Millar
Greg Rakozy
Pexels.com

The Sunshine Blogger Award Thingie

September 15, 2018September 16, 2018Chel Owens17 Comments

The Sunshine Blogger Award

Anisha over at Charlie and the Cerebration Factory nominated me (with 10 others) for The Sunshine Blogger Award. If I understand correctly, this makes me unique just like everybody else.

The rules* are stuck down at the end of this post. If you make it there, you can read them all. First, though, I need to answer eleven questions.

Name one thing unique to your country that you’re proud of and why.
So… I’m American. There are a heck of a lot of people here, and a wide variety of them at that. I am proud of how clean and functional most things are here. Most things.
Would you rather read a Sci-fi or a medieval fantasy?
The choice of what to read depends on the day, but I enjoy both science fiction and medieval fantasy. I do not enjoy purely romance stories.
What’s the best quote you’ve come up with so far?
For today: “(O)ur friends and family don’t have to be idiots.” From Depression for Dummies.
Do you have any life mottos that you abide by? If yes, what are they?
I do not really have a life motto. I do enjoy a good, inspirational quote occasionally and like to post the ones I’m fond of.
If you could bring back one dead person to life, who would it be?
If I could animate a dead person without negative repercussions, I’d pick Jesus. No, seriously. We need healing.
Name a famous person you’d like to go on a date with.
IF a famous person would agree to go on a date with me and be cordial about the whole thing, I’d pick Emma Thompson. I’m married so I can’t pick a dude, after all.
If you could be omnipotent for a day, what would you do? (And no, you can’t wish to be omnipotent forever, all you Chandlers)
With all power, I would first play with the dynamics of time so that I might accomplish much more than everyone else in the cosmos. I’d create some light and dark, separate waters, create animals, build people that look like me, then take a long sleep.
List some things you want to do before you die.
Before I leave this world, I’d like to publish a book and get rich and famous. Really, though, my goal of never having to do housework again might be more attainable.
Would you rather be able to read minds or to control time? Why?
Given the choice between mind-reading and time-control I’d pick playing with time ANY DAY. Do you know the sick things people are thinking about? Just talk to my boys and they’ll tell you.
Does blogging ever feel like a burden to you?
When it’s about time for a serial story to be due and I haven’t read my reader’s feed for three days and the dishes and laundry still need to be done EVERYTHING feels like a burden.
What’s your favourite kind of weather?
I love LOVE LOVE the ominous, wild, windy period just before a storm. It’s almost as fantastic as standing in the storm as it rages around me.

I hope you had fun reading my responses, or at least exercised your skimming muscles. In terms of who to ~~torture~~ nominate next, I’ll give you my list of cool blogs to follow:

Cricketmuse: a highly intelligent writer who will get published before I do and will then send me a signed copy out of pity. (Please?)
Sunshine and Robins: a sweet, talented writer who tells about daily struggles and then shares tasty recipes I can’t eat because she lives on the other side of the world.
Fractured Faith Blog: Stephen (and his family, occasionally) share thoughts on writing, life-ing, running, and faithing in a personal and relatable way.
Beauty Beyond Bones: Caralyn hardly needs the attention, but I like to read her posts because she is also an excellent writer who has spot-on opinions about life and recovery.
Little Fears: The Pun King. He’d argue he was working on his punmanship. He also draws little pictures, narrates them, and is extremely good at the whole networking/blogging thing.
Heylookawriterfellow: Mike doesn’t need the attention either, but he’s a funny guy and you’ll like his posts. Just try him.
Myths of the Mirror: Diana is a (darn good!) published author whom I don’t know very well but whom I respect. She always responds to comments and is always the nicest person for it.
Lunch Break Fiction: It is what it is, and they are interesting stories.
Trefology: Short, odd, and possibly to a point.
Read After Burnout: Yet another great writer. You watch: he’ll be published before me, too. Yes you will, Mike.
You may want to fix your header, though. I can’t read a thing.
Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50: LA has astute and engaging observations of her daily life in New York City. I enjoy reading her perspective.

If you felt left out not being named, don’t. I already named a few last award thingie, plus I need to save some in case it happens again.

If those who were named feel like it, here are my questions:

Why did the chicken cross the road?
What’s black and white and red all over?
Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
What would you say is your greatest weakness, and how have you learned to overcome it?
Why is 6 afraid of 7?
Why am I here?
Why is the sky blue?
Why do bad things happen to good people?
What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back?
What is the meaning of life?

I may have plagiarized a bit, but you get the idea.

*The rules

Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you in the blog post and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger(s) asked you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award Logo in your post and/or on your blog.