VERY Inspiring Blogger Award #2

So, Starr Bryson from The Insomniac's Dream nominated me for another (this is my second; I guess I'm kind of a big deal) Very Inspiring Blogger Award. (What a bitch! Before you think I'm an awful person for calling her that, let me assure you that she will appreciate it. After all, The ABC's of Swearing was her idea after all.)

You can read about my first nomination here. Now for my second one.

Rules: 1. Display the award logo. 2. Link it back to the person that gave it to you. 3. State seven things about yourself. 4. Nominate 15 bloggers and include their links in your blog.

I've decided to use a different logo than the typical one that is used, because, well, I like this one better.

7 Me-Things (I wonder if I can think of 7 inspiring things...)
1. I decided to register to do my Creative Writing Thesis at university (post-graduation) so that I would be forced to write about my life-changing trip to Botswana, Africa.
2. I talk to my Mom almost every day because she is the most important person in my life.
3. I take Venlafaxine (and have since 2006) for my anxiety and depression and I think mental health is a serious issue that should be talked about way more than it is.
4. The "Volunteer Experience" portion of my grad school CV was the longest section.
5. I am leaving my job of nine years to pursue my Master's of Arts in English Literature for no other reason than because I want to.
6. I am a very sex-positive person and do what I can to reclaim the word 'slut'.
7. This: 29 RAKs for my 29th on January 29th.

And the nominees are:
1. Lisa from Diary of a Square Toothed Girl because she writes posts like "I've Had Enough of Not Being Enough" that cause tears to well up in my eyes in one instant and a smile to grace my face in the next. Her A to Z posts were equally inspiring.

2. DL from Cruising Altitude 2.0 because he has incredible contests and challenges and ideas in general. Someday I hope to have as many followers as he does so I can do some of the stellar stuff he does with his blog, with mine!

3. Suburbia Interrupted because she is a woman who blogs about sex (and raising a family). Hu-rah!

4. Allie from Hyperbole and a Half because of this: Depression Part Two. I have no words to describe how absolutely perfectly bang on this post is. Mental health is not an easy thing to discuss and it is even less easy to understand if you are not dealing with it personally. Allie is my hero. Her words sting my heart and her cartoons perk up my smile. I only hope she publishes a graphic novel someday; imagine a graphic novel all about depression?! Brilliant!

5. Barbara from all my lives now...ChChChChanges simply because her blog head says: "How many lives have you lived? I feel like I have lived many. Different branches reach out to touch each other, yet never meet. I am still me always evolving and growing. This is all my life now." I mean, wow and I completely agree! (She also may have said that I was amazing this one time that she commented on my blog. Aw, shucks).

6. Julie from Julie you Jest because she blogs about the good, the bad, and the ugly with an open heart and an open mind. O, and she is also absolutely hilarious and has frogs on her blogs (that rhymes and she's awesome).

7. Ellen from Bad Word Mama! because her posts are so fucking hilarious and full of swear bad words! The fact that she blogs about her boyfriend too gives me justification for blogging about Farmer Joe.

8. Gaijin Cracker because her blog button is epic and she is no-holds-bar when it comes to what she says in her blog!

9. Suzanne from Times Squared because the name of her blog reminds me of my incredible visit to NYC a few years ago, but really it's because she is absolutely hilarious most of the time and then she goes and writes posts like: Cystic Fibrosis: What Would You Do?

10. Suzy Turner because she has written and published five novel/novellas and she is giving away her most recent one for FREE! Inspired to be just like her? I think, yes!

11. Laeli from Words To Live By because she is "a bit of a nut and has a wicked bright soul," that and this post: Celebration! O, and her other blog: The Super Shiny Amazing Real Life Adventures Of A Fat Runner speaks to my very core, for you see, I am a fat runner too. One more thing, she blogs about travelling too; I think we're soul mates!

Ok, I am cheating now...I just mentioned three of Laeli's blogs (because they all deserve mentioning NOT because I wanted to skimp out on nominations) so I am making up my own rule for this Very Inspiring Blogger Award business and counting #11 as three nominations. Of course, Laeli is not required to nominate forty-five bloggers to accept this award because that would just be cruel and unusual punishment. Moving on...

14. M.J. Joachim from Effectively Human because it was her blog that turned me on to the Celebrate the Small Things Blog Hop.

15. Scribblings of an Aspiring Author because Celebrate the Small Things is her brain child. When my world is going crazy insane and insane crazy, I take a moment and jot down the things I am most thankful for. Now I am going to make a point of doing it weekly!

I hope you'll check all of them out, but if you don't check them all out, at least check out a few!

ANOTHER AWARD: Very Inspiring Blogger

So, Susan from Scribblings because she is the lovely person that she is, has nominated me for another blog award! Isn't see just the sweetest?! The first award she nominated me for about a week ago was the Liebster Blog Award and now she has nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award, aw shucks!

The rules of the award are as follows:
1. Display award logo on blog.
2. Link back to the person who gave you the award.
3.State 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers.

The first three rules were easy, but it's the fourth that I struggled with, well, because I just don't frequent enough blogs. I'm really just a newbie at all of this and I don't have a lot of followers myself (one of the reasons I was given the Liebster, actually). It's taken me a while to come up with 15 blogs to nominate and some of them are for reasons way above and beyond the simple fact that they blog. I chose to go forth with the "inspire" part of the award as opposed to the "blogger" part of the award, so here goes:

1. Ramblings of a Daydreamer because she's Canadian (like me), takes part in so many fun blog link ups, reviews what seems like a new book every week, oh, and did I mention she's published three novels?! Marie's daydreams and dedication to all things literary not only inspire, but astound me.

2. March House Books because she showcases vintage children's books and I find that simply divine. I am especially inspired by her Things Found in Books posts which have actually made me have a much greater appreciation for well read (a.k.a. used) books. I used to be that person who always wanted a crisp new copy, but now give me a book that's been loved and passed on any day. I recently helped my Mom move to a new house and in that process took all of my old childhood books with me. I think I may just take Barbara's lead and blog about them :)

3. The Drafty Garret because she crawled into my heart and expressed what I feel without even knowing me on my very first visit. I've bookmarked her blog so that I can spend more time on it, but for now, Mel has inspired me.

4. 365 Random Acts of Kindness because, well, he's doing 365 random acts of kindness, one for every day of the year. How is that not inspiring?! I actually don't expect Kevin to participate in the Very Inspiring Blogger award by paying it forward because he's really only blogging (I'm pretty sure) as a means to broadcast his mission and raise funds for charity (for every follower he's donating $0.10). Regardless of whether or not he participates, I want to help him reach as many people as possible with his kindness so please visit his blog.

5. Don't Call Me Marge because she's one of the first bloggers I started to follow and she always speaks her mind in a no-holds-bar kind of way. She's also hilarious and has, in fact, inspired a few of my blog posts. This is Marjorie's post: 5 Reasons I'm Smoking Hot and Why You Can't Have Any and this is mine: 5 Reasons I'm Damn Fine and Why You Can't Have Any, Unless.... These posts were written in January 2012, but the point is she inspired me and that's what this award is for - blogs that inspire!

6. Musings of a Book Lover because she is hosting one of the reading challenges I am participating in and, in turn, has inspired to me to do some Reading Outside The Box. Thanks, Kate!

7. The Adventures of Nagzilla because she is doing A-Z of her favorite things and she has a The Sound of Music graphic to mark the occasion. Every time I visit her blog I sing "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" in my head and it puts me in a better mood.

8. Austenprose because, well, they are ALL Jane Austen ALL of the time. They have over 7,000 followers and about as many blog hops, read-a-longs, contests, going on at the same time, so I doubt they will acknowledge this award, but they inspire me daily to follow my dreams of being an Austen scholar so I had to include them here in the hopes that you will check them out!

9. Write W.A.V.E. Media, but really, I just want to mention this website/blog's founder, Lyn Lomasi because her dedication and multi-tasking-blogging abilities inspire and astound me every single day. I have no idea how many freelance sites she writes for in addition to running her own company and raising her children as a single mother. Lyn is literally, Wonder Woman. Her website (which includes a vibrant blog) "offers guidance to writers for success in existing opportunities" and has a blogger application if you are looking for actual paid work as a blogger (who'da thought we could make money doing this?!).

10. Bridge and Beyond because it's a blog dedicated to "warm[ing] those in need through knitting, crocheting, and quilting." Scarves, hats, mittens, afghans, you name it, they provide it to men, women, and children in the Central Ohio area. I live in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, quite a way from Ohio, but Sandy's and her "crew's" efforts inspire me with their endless outreach.

11. Sun Scholars because she has one of the most vibrant blogs I have seen and never fails to post at least once and most time numerous times a day with a fantastic activity for children. Now, I don't have children, but I still follow her blog because Rachel and her posts kind of make me want to start a family so that I can do all of her fun ideas with them!

12. My Overstuffed Bookshelf because 1. she reads at least 100 books a year, 2. the graphic on her blog page is divine and reminds me of my bookshelves, and 3. she is hosting a 150+ Book Challenge. I didn't sign up for her book challenge because I just can't see myself reading that many books, next year, while I am doing my Master's, yes, but this year it's doubtful, not to mention reviewing them all. Heck, everyone who has signed up to take part in her challenge is an inspiration in my book (pun intended!). Sometimes she posts more than one book review each day! I aspire someday to host my own reading challenge, but until then, I'll just follow along with Amy's book adventures.

13. rewritten because the first post of hers I stumbled upon was a bouquet of words dedicated to a health care professional in the treatment room she frequents as a patient. The post was not a pity party for herself or the other patients hooked up to IVs for hours on end, it was the exact opposite, a celebration of the people family that she has made spending her time in that room. Inspiring? I think yes! Zoe also does some really cool posts with word lists that inspire me to explore my own vocabulary a bit more.

14. Short Story Ideas because she has a fantastic creative writing exercise for fiction that she has posted every day during this challenge. I was turned on to her blog because another wonderful blogger (Ida Chiavaro from Reflex Reactions) nominated her for a Leibster. Like I told Kristen in my first comment on her blog, I write poetry and I write non-fiction, but fiction frightens me. She has inspired me to tackle some fiction!

15. My Dear Trash because their passion for turning other people's trash into treasure in addition to their relentless love and pride for their families is unparalleled in most circles I frequent. Whether it's a roll-top turned candy desk or a collection of vintage ties, Kelly and Laura inspire me with their ability to repurpose objects that most people wouldn't give a second glance.

Phew! That took me a few days of visiting and compiling, but I finally came up with 15 blogs that inspire me and thus are worthy of the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Please pay them a visit sooner rather than later!

I almost forgot about Rule 3 and the required list of 7 things about myself.
1. I have a younger sister and her name is Denina (bet you've never heard that name before!).
2. I have two dogs and their names are Winston and Chewie (as in Chewbacca from Star Wars).
3. My nickname is B.
4. My boyfriend and I have countless pet names for each other including Pookie.
5. Every one of my Dad's siblings has a middle name that starts with L.
6. I prefer Ms if I require a title in front of my name.
7. I was named Brandy because my Mom liked this song.