Let's Play Catch Up - Awards Theme

Eons ago, June 4 to be exact, M.J. over at M.J. Joachim's Writing Tips passed on a beautiful award to me, Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! Lovely, right?! M.J. runs all kinds of cool blog challenges and then showcases the winners on her Blog Hopper Marathon Wall of Fame. You should really check her out. I've won two "events" and they've been super fun! M.J. is one of five sisters - wow - and so she passed this award on to five blogging sisters. I only have one sister, a younger sister, but since I've always been the older sister, I am going to take this opportunity to pass this award along to my older sister in the blogging world, Zoe from rewritten. She's brilliant. She's zany. She's everything I could want in a real flesh and blood older sister. Lucky for me, I at least get to have an e-relationship with her!

Speaking of Zoe, she nominated me for a different award on June 12 (yes, eons ago as well), Best Moment Award. All you have to do for this award is write or record and post an acceptance speech and then pass it along to someone(s) that you feel worthy of the award. I was going to make my first attempt at a vlog for this one, but I just have to admit that I can't bring myself to make the time. So without further ado, here is my very short acceptance "speech" - Zoe, you are a beautiful soul and I love you. I hope some day we will grace each others presences in person. Thank you for this award! Some of my best blog moments come when I read your comments. Now, I am passing this along to Me from Scribblings, another beautiful soul that brightens my blog world.

Finally, there is Deanie from Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne who recently (yes, July 25 is recently) awarded me with a Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. Recipients are supposed to name 14 nominees over 7 days or all at once. I really haven't been blogging much of late so I think for this one, I will just go through and list the last 14 bloggers who commented on (a.k.a read and acknowledged) my blog.
T. Drecker from Kidbits
Zoe Byrd from rewritten
Viklit from Scribblings of an Aspiring Author
Rebeccah Giltrow from Rebeccah Writes
Lara Lacombe
Kate Larkindale from Fiction and Film
Me from Scribblings
Suzanne Lucas from Times Squared
Nancy LaRonda Johnson from Writer's Mark
Mei from Diary of a Fair Weather Diver
A month of....Blog
Diana Wilder from ...about myself, by myself
Sandy from Traveling Suitcase
Vidya Sury from Coffee With Mi
Thank you all for reading my blog!

Liebster #3

Because I have yet to acquire 200 followers, people are still finding me and bestowing these Liebsters on me and who am I to refuse an award (a.k.a. blog love) from a fellow blogger? So, thank you to the lovely Sunni from Surviving Life for this award. Sunni actually told me that I could choose either the Liebster or the Very Inspiring Blogger, but I'm going with the Liebster because I think the reason she picked me is for my lack of followers. I also enjoy answering the questions that people pose as part of the Liebster so that's another reason for my choice. I am, however, going to display this award logo as a way to kind of, sort of accept both awards. I'm a free spirit who lives by her own rules, so it's all ok!

So these are the typical Liebster rules:

1. List 11 facts about yourself. 2. Answer the 11 questions given to you. (Sunni said that I could do one or the other so I am ignoring Rule #1 and just moving on to #2) 3. Ask 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer. 4. Choose up to 11 up-and-coming blogs (with less than 200 followers) to nominate. 5 Go to each blogger's page and let them know about the award. 6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.

So these are the questions that Kristen from Random Musings from the Kristenhead provided to Sunni. Sunni, in turn, has passed them on to me. 

1. What is your favorite video game (if any)? This can include mobile games and Facebook games. Well, I am currently fighting an addiction to Candy Crush. I have been stuck on level 347 for eons now to the point that I am quite annoyed at the game in general.

2. Do you like to sleep on a very soft surface, or a harder surface? I am definitely a feathery down-filled bed sleeper-on-er. 

3. What is the most unusual food you have tried? I'm going with cow intestine on this one. It's a delicacy in Botswana.

4. What is your favorite odd food or meal? Perogies with mayonnaise.

5. What is the first sense you turn to when describing something in your writing (taste, smell, touch, sight, sound)? I typically discuss how things make me feel which isn't technically one of the 5 senses. If I am going with one of the 5, it would be sight, I think.

6. What is one of the cutest things you have ever seen in your life? Hands down, baby elephants playing in the muddy banks of the Chobe River. Here's a video I took of it!

7. What is the ugliest thing you have ever seen or experienced (this can have to do with feelings, or inner ugliness, etc)? I honestly think that the ugliest thing I have seen in this world is the treatment of homeless people. I will openly admit that I am as guilty as the next person for simply walking by them and pretending they don't even exist.  

8. Do you prefer typing or writing with a pen or pencil and paper? The short answer is typing, BUT when I journal I use pen (what ever colour feels right) and paper.

9. What is your favourite thing to drink? Definitely soda, usually Diet Coke.

10. Do you prefer road trips, airline travel, train travel, or other (when going long distances)? It's air travel for me. I adore reaching my destination, but absolutely despise the time it takes to get there. With that said, I'm planning a 14-day road trip beginning mid-July...go figure!

11. What is your favourite way to watch TV, movies, and videos? For example, do you watch everything on your computer or sling it to a big TV? Do you use a Tivo, a DVR, or Netflix? What is your set-up? To be totally honest, I download everything off of the net, plug my laptop into my tv and watch it like that. I haven't used my dvd player in ages, in fact, I don't even know where it is and I have never, in my life, paid for cable or satellite tv.

Now, here are the 11 questions that my nominees can answer (or not). I tried to make them simple, but interesting and I like to theme my question sets so I'm going with "Summer" for this one since the first official day of summer was June 21 and summer is my favourite season.
1. What is your favourite outdoor summer activity?
2. What is your favourite thing to BBQ?
3. Do you enjoy camping? If yes, do you tent or do you have a camper?
4. Do you use a push lawn mower or a ride-on tractor?
5. What is your favourite fresh summer vegetable?
6. What is your favourite cold drink?
7. What level spf sunscreen do you use most often?
8. What water sports (if any) do you enjoy?
9. What is your favourite ice cream treat?
10. Finish this line: Sunshine, happiness, and _____.
11. What is your favourite thing about summer?

Finally, it's time to share the blog love so my nominees are:
Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne
Writer's Mark
Diana Wilder ...about myself, by myself...
Life, yoga and other adventures
The Literary Pig
Rossandra White
Life Cherries
The Speculative Salon
What I Learned Today
Deb's Writing Room
Cross Planes
I hope you'll pay them a visit and take a minute to comment and tell them I sent you!

Celebrate The Small Things - June 14 & Photo-a-Day - 14: texture

It's Friday, the end of the work week and the start of the weekend, those things alone are cause to celebrate! I do have a few more things to add to VikLit's Celebrate The Small Things blog hop. It's really quite lovely to make a point, every week, of reflecting on the reasons, no matter how small, that give me cause to celebrate.

This week I'm celebrating the receipt of two more donations to the WUSC Student Refugee Program after re-launching my fundraising website. In connection to my fundraising efforts, I ran/walked 5km 4 times this week. I'm up to solidly jogging 2.5km which is somewhat disheartening considering I used to be able to run 17km with little issue, BUT, we're celebrating, right?! so I'll focus on the fact that I am slowly rebuilding my endurance.

I'm celebrating my contest win and associated feature blog post over on M.J. Joachim's Writing Tips.

I'm celebrating the honour of representing WUSC at the Manitoba Council of International Cooperation Annual General Meeting. In direct connection with that, I am celebrating that I am part of a generation of youth that is dedicated to making this world a better place. The youth panel included young men and women who have done volunteer work and/or research in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Nicaragua (to name a few). Perhaps the most empowering statement that I took with me is the following: "The youth in developing nations know what they need; they just need to be asked." Brilliant!

Finally, I am celebrating the fact that I am sitting and writing this blog in the comfort of my Mom's living room. I got to eat her scrumptious chilli for dinner tonight and tomorrow I'll be spending time with some of my family at a cousin's wedding. I really needed this "break from reality" so I intend to cherish it!

Now for today's June: Photo-A-Day prompt:

The stitching on a dress that I purchased in Botswana - so delicate, so soft, so comfortable. 

Photo-a-Day - 11: something funny

I carried my camera around with me today in the hopes that something funny would happen and I'd be lucky enough to capture for today's June: Photo-A-Day prompt. Today was just a regular run of the mill day, though, and I got nothin'.

Then I remembered this photo that I took to incorporate into work-in-progress calendar for my family.

It was self-defence!

In other news, I've been featured over at M.J. Joachim's Writing Tips because I was the winner of one (well, two actually - the other post is coming soon) of her totally awesome Blog Hopper Marathons. Check me out!

Blog Hopper Marathon Scavenger Hunt

I'm participating in another one of M.J. Joachim's Blog Hopper Marathon events. This one is a scavenger hunt that involves finding at least 5 bloggers who maintain 3 or more blogs, commenting on each of their blogs, and then highlighting one special blogger.

I'll push off from the starting blocks with M.J. herself, well, because she's the genius leading this hunt!
Here are M.J.'s 3 blogs:
M.J. Joachim's Writing Tips
Being Catholic by M.J. Joachim
Effectively Human

Rounding out the second lap is Kirsten Hart who manages to update 3 blogs regularly:
Just Ermie
Black Coffee and Cigarettes
Short Story Ideas

A third time around the track brings me to Sandy who maintains a whopping 5 blogs (I think she may have super powers):
Sandy's Space --Stories, Stitches, and sometimes Silliness
Flat Stanley and Friends
Oozing out my Ears
Bridge and Beyond
Traveling Suitcase

Coming up on the last lap is Bill Nicholls who I discovered because he promoted his multi-blogging skills on M.J.'s post:
Spud's Daily Photo
Spud's Rural Explorations
A Grave Place
Cholsey New Pavilion
Forgotten Fairmile

I'm crossing the finishing line and giving big ups to Laeli:
Travel with her: Into The Great Wide Open
Live life with her: Words To Live By
Run with her: The Super Shiny Amazing Real Life Adventures Of A Fat Runner
From the first time I stumbled on to her three blogs, I felt that we were cyber-soul mates. She loves travel. I love travel. She loves life. I love life. She's a fat runner. I am a fat runner. We belong together! Laeli's birthday is in June and she has renamed it Lune (because she's a bit of a loon - her words, not mine). The celebrations she has in store for her birthday month are outdone by no one. Take a peek at her blogs and you're sure to love her as much as I do!

Laeli's "Lune" Cake

Blog Hopper Marathon Weekend Triathlon

M.J. over at M.J. Joachim's Writing Tips holds these super swell blog love challenges themed mostly around track and field events (marathons, triathlons, long jumps, sprints, to name a few). I'm participating in her latest endurance event: Blog Hopper Marathon Weekend Triathlon.
Here's what I had to do:

Part 1: Visit and Comment on 25 blogs...DONE! (I didn't actually have to list and link to all 25 blogs, but I needed to keep track anyway so I figured, why not?!)

Laeli from The Super Shiny Amazing Real Life Adventures of a Fat Runner
Me from Scribblings
The Ramblings of a Multi-Tasking Mama
Mel from The Drafty Garret
Julie from Julie You Jest
Suzanne Lucas from Times Squared
Debra Giuffrida from The Reluctant Author
Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne
Rhonda from Laugh Quotes
Fe at Felicity Writing Away
Ellen from Bad Word Mama!
VikLit from Scribblings of an Aspirting Author
Sherry Ellis from Mama Diaries
M.J. Joachim from Effectively Human
Rebeccah Giltrow from Rebecca Writes
Melanie Schulz
Marjorie McAtee from Don't Call Me Marge
Kirsten from Black Coffee and Cigarettes
Tonya Kuper's post from YA Stands
A month of....Blog
Starr Bryson from The Insomniac's Dream
Laeli at Words to Live By
Barbara Mizzoni-Young from all my lives now...ChChChChanges
Mark Craddock from Cross Planes
Barbara from March House Books Blog

Part 2: Promote 15 blogs via social media (cannot be the same blogs as Part 1)...DONE! (Again, the listing and the linking was not required, but again I figured why not?!)

Pinned Fat Mum Slim's June Photo-a-Day Challenge.
Shared Bridge and Beyond's facebook group on my profile.
Shared Kevin's Day 152 post from 365 Random Acts of Kindness on facebook.
Posted Kate's Reading Outside The Box challenge from ..... Musings of a Book Lover to facebook.
Tweeting Ida Chiavaro's blog link: Reflex Reactions.
Posted Kirsten's Short Story Ideas blog to facebook.
Tweeted Alana's writercize blog.
Pinned vvb32 reads' review of Bright Young Things.
Tweeted Rebecca's How to Put Links in Blogger Comments post from The Bexter Review.
Pinned the Dream Office photo and post from Shayla's TeaGarden.
Tweeted Jenn's Some Friendly Advice for Amanda Bynes.
Pinned Letters to my Someone.
Pinned King James Moneego.
Posted Maria Garcia's My Jane Austen Book Club to facebook.
Tweeted Suzy Turner's free offer of her novel Raven.

Part 3: Write a brief paragraph about any 1 blog and link to it in your post...DONE! (This is the required part!)

I stole this photo of Skip from Zoe's blog.

For the home stretch of M.J. Joachim's Blog Hopper Marathon Weekend Triathlon I am showcasing the lovely and talented Zoe from rewritten. I met Zoe through the A-Z Challenge in April and we've been frequent visitors to each others blogs since then. I actually think, Zoe may very well have commented on every one of my posts since she found my blog. Those comments wouldn't be a huge deal if I hadn't blogged almost every day in May. As I move on to a new challenge for June, I am sure I'll be able to count on Zoe's wise and witty words in the comments of most, if not all, of my posts. She blogs about her abundance of animals, namely her adorable poodle, Skip. She's working on a miraculous book that I cannot wait to read in its entirety. Did I mention she's sending me (or so she says) a copy of her brother's graphic novel, King James Moneego?!

...and FINALLY, that's it that's all folks! Triathlon complete!