A Ménage à Trois of Awards

A “household of three” is really the only accurate description I could give to what I have before me today.

Last week I was nominated for three awards by Mental Health @ Home, whose purpose and mantra is building mental wellness by finding a foundation of strength. For me, being recognized at all as someone whose writing fits into that idea of wellness as the result of a foundation of strength is an honor, especially as this is coming from a blogger who is both a nurse who works in a psychiatric setting, a (former) pharmacist, and a woman who also struggles with depression. I love the honest two pronged approach to all topics mental health because as a patient she speaks her truth and as a health care professional she hits topics about medication, the way society presents mental health issues that can negatively impact those who are potentially suffering as well as overall understanding of issues, and a clear and logic based approach to research and wellness. (All y’all know I love the logic, right? I’ve mentioned it at some point?! Maybe?!?) She has been published professionally in her field because of her wisdom and sense, so you know she’s not some internet google doctor but she is recognized in her field.

Whether you or someone you know has a need for some good, solid, mental health wisdom or not, you should check this blog out. Ashley (that’s the guru’s name) has great sense and information for everyone on her blog.

Now, the ménage à trois:

The Awesome Blogger Award~

“This is an award for the absolutely wonderful writers all across the blogging world. They have beautiful blogs, are kind and lovely, and always find a way to add happiness and laughter to the lives of their readers. That is what truly defines an awesome blogger.”  Created by Miss Maggie @ Dreaming of Guatemala

The rules are simple:

• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
• Tag it under #awesomebloggeraward in the Reader
• Answer the questions your nominator gave you
• Nominate at least 5 awesome bloggers
• Give your nominees 10 new questions to answer
• Let your nominees know that they’ve been nominated

The Mystery Blogger Award~

“This is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion. It appears to have been started by Okoto Enigma.“

• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
• Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
• Answer the questions you were asked
• Nominate 10 people & notify
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
• Share a link to your best post(s)

The Liebster Award~

“The word liebster means beloved in German, which makes a nice name for an award.” Every time I receive this award the rules are a tad bit different, so I’m just going to go with the rules attached to this particular nomination:

• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Answer the questions provided.
• Nominate 10 recently followed bloggers and share your post with them, so they can see it.
• Make a new set of 10 questions for your nominees to answer.

Ten Questions (All Three Awards):

1. What changes would you like to see in the world within the next ten years? I’d like all those who are oppressed to no longer be.
2. Do you own any pets? If so, what kind? I have two dogs, a Staffordshire Terrier named Chase and a wirehair terrier named Dobby, as well as three cats: a tortoiseshell named Duckie, a tabby named Ginger Rogers, and a Russian Blue Savannah cat mix named Pete.
3. What is your least liked thing about blogging? I hate feeling like I have to check myself in what I write because people I know are reading the blog. There is a lot I don’t say because I know who is reading.
4. How in touch are you with your surroundings? I can be positively eerie with how in tune I am with EVERYTHING happening in my surroundings. It’s a strange gift that gets me in trouble when I reveal all I know and see.
5. What is your favorite social media site? I assume favorite is synonymous with most used (least loathed?!) and that WordPress doesn’t count?! Yeah?! LinkedIn. (Surprised myself with that one too.) Don’t get me wrong, there’s still the social media darling drama, but at least there are decent articles and quality people purposefully putting their best face forward instead of complaining about their spouse or the food they got in the drive through or the teacher or their car or some other issue in their life or Or OR…
6. Do you wake up early or like to sleep late? Both. I wake in the middle of the night frequently and enjoy the quiet oneness of being alone, occasionally chatting with friends or acquaintances who are also awake and online, pray, meditate, read, or contemplate, but happily cuddled in a blanket cocoon. Then in a perfect day I fall asleep with the dawn and get up a bit before mid morning for tea and an English muffin. It’s my recovery routine, it would seem.
7. Where would you most like to visit and why? Somewhere in France near some significant battleground or another. I love the stories of humanity in the midst of chaos you get with military history, I need a new *traditional* French beret, and real butter on a fresh baguette with wine and charcuterie in some cafe with some chanson playing quietly in the background (something with subtle American jazz and Romani musical influences, I should think) sounds delightful right now. There’s a long list though.
8. If you could have a drink (can be water) with anyone alive or dead, who would you choose? It would be tea and it would be with Betty Lynn (the one grandparent I never knew) because I think I would have liked her and she me.
9. What is your favourite book? How do I choose just one?! That’s insanity. I can’t answer this question and even trying is making my eye twitch.
10. If you could be any animal what would you be? A cat… sleep whenever, eat whenever, demand attention whenever, deny anyone attention whenever, be fat, be thin, be lazy, be playful, be troublesome, be chill… no one would bother judging or pestering me because cats are what they are and we all accept it.

Three Interesting Things About Me (Mystery Blogger):

It is harder than it seems, I assure you, to think of three interesting things that haven’t been shared yet in any awards.

1. I love tartan and argyle, listening to bagpipes and the uilleann pipes, singing Irish drinking songs, whiskey, Scotch, men in kilts, and Turlough O’Carolan.
2. I would have been considered a woman of accomplishment had I lived when Jane Austen was writing. (Yes, Bojana. Please forgive me.) Even Elizabeth Bennett would have been impressed with the depth and breadth of my education, knowledge, and talents. Somehow I managed to obtain what truly could be considered a Classical Education. However, as they’re mostly not really marketable skills and one doesn’t use them to attract rich and eligible prospective husbands anymore, I mostly entertain (maybe annoy?) people with random brilliance.
3. My birthday is on a deeply patriotic American holiday that has been relegated to being observed on other dates *grumble* while the true meaning has been largely forgotten: Memorial Day. I feel like an abnormal love of John Philips Sousa marches, warm and tingly feelings when seeing flags blowing in the breeze, and an enjoyment of military history are par for the course when one has a birthday like mine.

Links to My Favorite Posts (Mystery Blogger):

• Words Upon Waking
• Braving Rejection
• Braving Rejection… Again
• Golden Threads
• Horcruxes
• Loving Life
• To Leap, Or Not To Leap
• Goin’ Through Hell

Liebster Award Nominations (because they are new or new to me):

1. Haiku Out of Africa -Lovely poetry
2. Obviously All The Things – Okay, so I’m cheating just a titch because I know this blogger personally and know that even though this is brand new it will be amazing because she is.
3. Insomniac Writer – Some beautiful poetry on a New to me blog.

Mystery Blogger and Awesome Blogger Nominations (because I know and love these blogs and their writers enrich my life so very much even when I disappear inside myself for a while):

1. I Tripped Over A Stone – Kim is brilliant and passionate and fierce and in love. I feel like I am having a long conversation over coffee with her, oh, all the time. You’ll love her if you don’t already.
2. Bojana’s Coffee & Confessions – Bojana is brilliant and funny and insightful as a writer and as a woman and friend. We frequently have similar thoughts we are writing about and while I am a spit it out writer she is a thoughtful process writer. We may disagree on Jane, but as far as I can tell it is her only flaw (says the witch).
3. Utahan – A poet who puts it all out there, writes more than I can, and always seems to have an authentic connection to what he reads (you can tell in how he comments). He can see what others do not!
4. The Bryntin Project – I nominate this friend not because I expect him to accept and to force him to be serious (please don’t!) but because I think if you’re not already a reader of his rubbish you should be. You can also see his fantastic photography near the little hamlet he lives in somewhere in Cornwall at Bear’s Photos.
5. Reclaiming My Sanity – I have said it before but Jenn is incredibly honest as a writer it telling her story by without overdoing the details to see her message in each piece get muddled. I love and envy her ability to be so honest and vulnerable. When she comments on my work I feel a sincerity that I appreciate.
6. Hands in the Garden – Gorman is another poet I love but sometimes can’t keep up with the number of works he publishes. (Poetry comes from the heart, great joy or great pain, so poets who can pour out a lot are amazing to me.) He haikus with 17 syllables that leave me in awe so when he likes something I’ve written I feel accomplished.
7. Brandewijn – Wulf might or might not be surprised to be on this list. Poet, empath, prose, avid reader, music lover. This isn’t a one kind of writing writer and everything comes from within. If you aren’t a reader you should be.

All nominees, please use questions above or if you hate them create your own… whatever tickles your fancy. Follow directions. Yada yada.