The Brilliant Tom Burton Has Nominated Me For The Sunshine Blogger Award

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Tom Burton the creator of Slumdog Soldier has very kindly nominated me for The Sunshine Blogger Award as you can see in his post below:

https://slumdogsoldier.wordpress.com/2018/10/16/sunshine-blogger-award/

As you can see from Tom’s post, The Sunshine Blogger Award has some rules:

  • Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them. -THANK YOU TOM!
  • Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
  • Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions.
  • Notify the nominees about it by commenting on one of their blog posts.
  • List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post and/or your blog site.
1. Where are you from?

I am originally from the North of England.  I grew up on the outskirts of Liverpool.

Currently I live in London.

2. What animal would you best describe as your spirit animal?

I am not sure what a spirit animal is. But I like animals.

I admire ants…because of their incredible co-ordination as a work force. I find horses and giraffes inspiring. I like anything cute…you know fluffy bunnies and the like. I am jealous of birds, flying through the skies. Or butterflies with such beautiful wings. I would love to be allowed to hibernate all winter like a bear. There is something about elephants that makes me happy. I have always loved frogs, I have always loved whales, I am absolutely fascinated by them.  I would love to be able to study them and understand all of their ways.

 

3. What’s your favourite season of the year and why?

Summer…

 

…because I live!

4. What’s your favourite book (or book series)?

I am going to have to give you three of my favourite fictional books.

persuasion     Les Mis     the count of monte cristo

5. What’s your favourite film, TV show, and song?

la vita e bellaI have a few favourite movies, but there is one which lingers with me as absolutely brilliant. The film is “La Vita E Bella” (“Life Is Beautiful”).

I don’t watch much TV, but I have been trying to keep up with the current series of “The Great British Bake Off”.

Favourite song….ooooooh that is incredibly difficult. If you have read other posts of mine, you probably have an idea how diverse my music tastes are. But there is a song, which I loved back in the days I worked for the record company and still love because I think the lyrics are clever. It is an iconic Britpop song and whenever I saw the band play live, the crowd went crazy when this song was played.

“….tore up all you photos

didn’t feel too clever

spent the whole of Sunday

sticking you together…”

6. How do you like to wind down after a busy day?

ironing

As soon as I arrive back at the little nest, I start to unwind.  I like to potter round, making myself a little something to munch. I like to catch up with my ironing (there is also something that needs ironing).

Once my tasks are completed, I like to ring a family member or friend, reply to e-mails from family and friends.  And of course, I like catching up with posts from bloggers on WordPress.

7. If you could tell your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be and why?

Listen to your Mumma and Dadda! And stop worrying so much Kiddo! You are alright!

8. Why did you start writing a blog?

love letterWell it all started with this:

He told me he was captivated by by letters!

He suggested I start a blog.  “What’s a blog?” said I.

And here we are…a long time has passed since then, but I am following his suggestion and I am enjoying it more than I ever imagined.

I wrote a bit more detail about what led to the start of this blog in these posts:

9. What do you hope to achieve for 2019?

Every day of life is special. I hope to remain alive throughout the year! My head injuries being such a concern to everyone…I don’t take it for granted that I am alive.

My goal is not just stayin’ alive…but also walking through life with a skip and a bounce in my step!

10. What have you enjoyed most about blogging so far?

Two things…coming into contact with some wonderful bloggers who produce remarkable stories, poems and some very inspirational personal accounts.

The other thing I have enjoyed is finding a way to express things that were locked up away within my heart.

11. What would your best blogging tip be?

Hey…enjoy it! It is supposed to be fun, don’t become stressed or discouraged by statistics.

Enjoy writing or producing your style of posts…don’t compare yourself to others, but do connect with them. The success of blogging is mostly down to mutual support and encouragement.

____________________

Well that was fun Tom – great questions!

Here are my eleven questions for my eleven nominees:
  1. DO YOU EVER FEEL DISCOURAGED ABOUT BLOGGING?  WHAT DO YOU DO TO KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED?
  2. WHAT IS YOUR OWN FAVOURITE POST FROM YOUR SITE OR THE ONE YOU WOULD RECOMMEND READERS CHECK OUT FIRST?
  3. DO YOU ENJOY CAMPING OUT IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS?
  4. DO YOU ENJOY PLAYING OR WATCHING SPORT?  IF SO, WHICH SPORTS?
  5.  DO YOUR FRIENDS KNOW ABOUT YOUR BLOG SITE?
  6.  WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MEMORY OR EXPERIENCE?
  7. WHICH SONGS WOULD YOU SING IN THE SHOWER WHEN YOU THINK NOBODY CAN HEAR?
  8. IS ANYONE ELSE IN YOUR FAMILY A BLOGGER OR VLOGGER?
  9. IF YOU WERE BEING A TOURIST FOR A DAY IN LONDON – WHERE WOULD YOU VISIT?
  10. COULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM CAKE?
  11. DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE TV DETECTIVE?
Here are my eleven nominees:

This is a little way of saying thank you for your wonderful support and encouragement!

Schedules and Scheduling Are Superb!

At the start of last week I mentioned, I felt needed to establish a more balanced schedule, so that I was able to…well I had several goals, the size of my behind being one issue…but I also felt I needed more time outside on the fresh air to inspire me and refresh me mentally and emotionally.  I am loving my new schedule.

To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

prompt

I am very blessed to have woods and parks less than five minutes from the little nest where I could easily lose myself. It is such a wonderful start to the day. I can already tell how much it is raising my spirits to have that time at the start of the day to soak up the beauty and wonder that is on my doorstep. I am scheduling a little bit of wonderful into each morning and it is well worth it.

I do have to fight the temptation on the way back to the little nest to resist the artisan bakeries and coffee shops I pass (I did buy a pumpkin spice soya latte one day, because I was so chilly and damp, I thought I could do with a sugar boost).

I have been trying to stick to my schedule, and I think it is working fairly well so far. I prepared a post for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in advance and scheduled them to be published in the morning.  When I had a few minutes later on those days to check into WordPress, it was so lovely to be greeted by messages from other bloggers. I am going to try to do the same each week, schedule a little post in advance for my work days and accept that I have to prioritise on my work on those days. I love the scheduling feature of WordPress.  It is so helpful.

I have already been busy today and now have a couple of hours spare before I head out this evening for a fun night out with friends. I mentioned the other night I had checked the directions to the venue I am going to on Google Maps and an image of Jack had appeared. I told a friend and she said she was looking for information about places to visit in Bucharest and one of the websites she clicked had a photo of Jack. Jack is still making his mark on the world! That’s celebrity life for you.

I have a few tasks waiting for me:

  • Sweep up the leaves outside so I don’t have to wade through a great leaf pile every time I come in and out of the little nest.
  • A little ironing.
  • Bake a honey cake for the friends I am seeing tomorrow.

Then I shall be reading posts from other bloggers…and deciding which of the posts in my drafts folder I shall work on this weekend.

I wanted to use the picture and word prompts in one of the daily writing challenges provided by The Haunted Wordsmith but I have no idea about how to use candy apple….I wondered if an candy apple is the same as what we call a toffee-apple?

My first and last toffee-apple was at the age of around seven or eight.  I cracked a tooth on it….and it hurt.  I have avoided them ever since.

On that note, I will crack on with my tasks before I get ready to go out and meet my friends.

https://thehauntedwordsmith.wordpress.com/2018/10/20/daily-writing-challenge-20/