And the Liebster goes to…

Miss Literal over at literallyreading.wordpress.com nominated me for a Liebster Award!  Thanks, Miss Literal, for your thoughtfulness!  I enjoy your reviews, complete with cell phone images and related craft projects!  I hope people will check out Miss Literal’s fabulous blog!

 

So since the rules for this award are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for the award.

2. Display the logo on your blog.

3. Answer the questions the award giver asked.

4. List 11 facts about yourself.

5. List your 11 nominees with 200 followers or less, no tagbacks.  (Sorry, I didn’t do 11!)

 

The questions I was asked:

1. Favorite comfort food?

My mother’s Swedish meatballs and rice.  No question.  She usually makes garlic bread with it, too.  Damn.  Now I’m hungry.

2. Favorite childhood movie?

Hmmm.  There were a few–a big one was The Last Unicorn.  As an adult, I have read the book, too, after a reminder I read from Patrick Rothfuss–great book, great movie–I still love it.  I also love Patrick Rothfuss’s KingKiller Chronicles and I’m eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the trilogy.  Eagerly.

3. Favorite current movie?

Oh no, I don’t know!  Hmm.  I love re-watching good period films–some good Austen will always get me!  Then there are others, too, like The Waitress, Ever After, and others that I love.  I’m a sucker for beautiful, colorful images on the screen, good lines, good soundtrack–beautiful food movies…

4. Favorite book?

Now I really can’t answer.  There are far too many.  I love Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Cunningham, Toni Morrison, Jodi Picoult, Stephen King, and so many more.  I also have some fantasy loves: Juliet Marillier and Tamora Pierce, in particular.

5. Favorite YouTuber?  I don’t have one!  I enjoy YouTube, though.  New question: What’s a location that means a lot to you?  (A coffee shop?  A favorite room?  A place in nature?  A place a world away?)

There are many, but one important one is my granndparents’ house.  The house is no longer there, but sometimes we go to that area and remember it.  It’s also by the ocean, so I like to go there and walk barefoot in the sand and look out at the familiar skyline.  Sometimes, I just go there in my mind.

6. Favorite actor/actress?

Hmm…right now I’m leaning toward Johnny Depp and Claire Danes.  My answer to this question will probably depend on what I’ve been watching.  I’m not good at favorites–just at loving things, liking them, feeling ambivalent, or really disliking them.

7. Favorite song?

Right now I’m listening to Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and Sheryl Crow…different songs by each.  It depends on my mood!

8. Website you cannot go one day without?

Email, Twitter, WordPress : )   …though I certainly hope I could go a day (or more…) without them…?

9. Clothing article or accessory you feel naked without?

A sweater.  I hate being cold.  I don’t like to allow for the possibility.  If I’m not wearing the sweater, it’s in my purse.

10. Pet peeve?

Hmmm…well, not too long ago I saw someone blow through an empty four-way stop honking his horn and giving the world the finger through the sunroof.  I was annoyed by that.  I was also disturbed.  Is he angry at the world?  Why?  Why express it this way?  I have some questions.

11. Number one reason you keep blogging?

I used to blog and then took a hiatus and now I’m back.  I like the community and reading people’s thoughts, and I think blogging is part of that; the reading and the writing pair nicely together.  I’m also focusing seriously on my other types of writing (short stories and upcoming novels), and I want to share my other writing work here.

 

My 11 Facts:

1. I like gardening.

2. Miss Literal – I get carpal tunnel too.  Knock on wood–haven’t had it in a bit!

3. I like cooking when I have time and energy.  I like trying new things.

4. I am terrified of the idea of scuba diving and will never do it.

5. I just started watching Tiny House Nation on the FYI channel with my husband.

6. My dog basically talks to me using sign language and noises.  I talk back.

7. I love elephants, and I have seen some in person, in their natural habitat.

8. I am wishing I had socks on right now because my feet are cold.

9. I love the early King’s Quest games (1-7, couldn’t get into 8).

10. Packing causes me a lot of anxiety.  What if I forget something??  What if it’s a sweater, and I’m cold???

11. I love listening to NPR, and yes, NPR, I did make a donation.  I love it all–Ted Talk Radio, Moth Radio Hour, All Things Considered, Science Fridays…

 

I now nominate the following diverse and excellent blogs (sorry if you already have 200 followers):

1. http://fieldnotesfromfatherhood.com/ – I enjoy the anecdotes about life and parenthood with humor, pictures, and video!

2. http://www.lisapais.com/blog-the-enchanted-notebookcom – Just started, but I know it’s going to be a good one!

3.  http://hauntedpen.blogspot.com – Great blog – very knowledgeable author and blogger.  Check her out on mostlymystery.com, too!

4. http://shortstoriesoftheordinary.wordpress.com/ – I enjoy the sudden turns in some of these stories, which could be humorous or sobering.

5. http://dreamingintoknowing.com/– Interesting thoughts on dreams, their uses, and meanings!

6. http://proudlybipolar.wordpress.com/ – I’m very drawn into these reflections on life, society, mental illness, and more.

The Itch

It’s been an interesting week.  My husband and I were just talking about our lives over lunch, and how busy we’ve been, and how we keep saying “We’ll feel less busy when…” but then we never seem to feel less busy.  I’m going to attend the Writer’s Digest Conference next weekend in NYC, and I’ve been writing, editing, and prepping.  My husband is studying to take the bar in two different states.  I also have professional development for my teaching job next week and will be spending the week sleeping in a college dorm room and I will leave directly from there to go to NYC.  These are all good things, but they do add up to busy.

Another challenge of the past few days has been an allergic reaction I’ve had to something (I really don’t know what!), causing me to break out in an itchy rash.  As I’ve been avoiding scratching with cold compresses, cold showers and Benadryl,  I’ve also been trying to get some stuff done.  I think the Benadryl, in addition to making me feel drowsy and spacey, also had a hand in a VERY odd dream I had last night.  This was the weirdest dream I’ve had in some time…I may have to think further on that–is an empty bedroom full of cockroaches symbolic of something?  and a stained coffee table?  and a navy soldier who turns into a gray cat after showing up uninvited to a holiday party?

Despite the odd dream and the odd reaction (please don’t let me unknowingly expose myself to whatever it was again next week!), I have been getting some writing and reading done.  My allergic reaction is abating now, and with that I feel the renewed itch to keep writing.

I’m ready switch gears now, moving from blog to other writing.  I’m Benadryl-free and not too itchy and listening to Jewel and Sheryl Crow.  (I love So You Think You Can Dance!  Did anyone see last night’s?  It reminded me how much I love Jewel.  Every week I watch and want to become a dancer.  It would be SO cool to dance like they do!)

As I try to stay in my place of calm focus, my writing companion has no trouble feeling relaxed: he is an inspiration, isn’t he?