Sunshine Blogger Award

Hamlette and Eva have both tagged me for the Sunshine Blogger Award again!  And look, I'm actually completing the tag in a timely manner this go-'round.  

Rules

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you in the blog post and link back to their blog.  (Thank you so much, ladies! 💕)
2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

Hamlette's Questions

1. What's something good that's happened to you this year?

It struck me recently that I'll be able to look back on 2020 as the year that I wrote a novel.  Like, an actual novel.

For some people, that's pretty piecemeal.  For me, it's a pretty big deal.  I proved to myself that despite all my preconceptions, I am actually capable of developing a story into legitimate novel length.  I am capable of writing x-thousand words for one specific story.  (I completed the second draft last night!)

So that, I expect, will be one of my highlights for the year.

2. What was your favorite movie when you were ten years old?

Probably Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.  That one was (and is) Much Loved.

3. Have you ever discovered you now like a movie or book that you used to dislike?

Quite often, actually!  It doesn't usually happen with books, but I find that there are many films and/or TV shows that I am just not ready for when I am first introduced to them.  For instance, there are plenty of romantic comedies that my older sisters tried to show me when I was younger, which I didn't like at the time because they made me uncomfortable.  But now I enjoy them.  

I'm learning that that's just how it is, and that I don't have to apologize either for being unready for them then or for liking them now. 

4. How long have you been blogging?

It'll be seven years next month!  My first post was published on October 13, 2013.

5. What's your favorite joke?

We had this book of corny jokes that included a section of "Questions Asked in a Actual Courtroom".  I don't know if they were legit or not, but some of them cracked me up.

"These stairs that led down to the basement, did they lead up, as well?"

6. What's a movie or book that people are surprised to learn you enjoy?

The Shallows, for one?  People be like, "but BLOOD and SHARKS!"  And I can say, "those two things actually don't usually bother me very much lol." 😄

7. Do you play croquet?

I mean, I don't not play croquet.  It just doesn't come up that often. 

8. How many blog posts have you published?

This will be my 470th on this blog.

9. What's the next book you plan to read?

That is the question.  Mirror Mirror (by Gregory Maguire), To Best the Boys (by Mary Weber), I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (by Maya Angelou), and Breadcrumbs (by Anne Ursu) are all high on my list at the moment.  We shall see which one snares me. 

10. What's the next movie you plan to watch?

Probably The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.  We'll see what I've actually gotten around to watching from my little library stack by the time this post is finished.

11. Do you want to build a snowman?

Come on, let's go and play!

Eva's Questions

1.  What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up?

I'm guessing 4 a.m.  (Not that that's a regular occurrence.) 

2.  Are you right- or left-handed?

Left-handed for writing, right-handed for most other things. 

3.  What’s the best movie you’ve watched this year?

Where'd You Go, Bernadette.  Its aesthetic and thematic purpose remind me of the 2013 remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and it's a perfectly balanced exploration of everyday Human Struggles coupled with everyday practical humor.  It's a great movie.

4.  What’s the best book you’ve read this year?

Nonfiction:

• Be the Bridge:  Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation (by LaTasha Morrison)

• Letters to America:  Contemporary American Poetry on Race (edited by Jim Daniels

Fiction:

• The Tower at Stony Wood (by Patricia A. McKillip)

• also My Plain Jane (by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton) because it was so darn fun

5.  Do you prefer Christmas or your birthday?

Christmas!  It's a whole season; there's music; it's a good time.  I also don't usually need to work on Christmas.  And it happens in the winter instead of the summer, so that's a win in my book. 

6.  Do you keep a journal or a diary?

Intermittently.  They're catch-alls for a little bit of everything:  lyrics or scriptures, spiritual reflections, life crises, etc. 

7.  Neutrals or pastels?

Pastels, mainly.

8.  What’s your favorite letter of the alphabet?

'B' is a nice letter.  It looks cool and it makes a fun sound.  Also 'F'.  I like lowercase 'f'. 

9.  What’s your favorite life hack?

I LITERALLY CANNOT REMEMBER MY LIFE HACKS.  Ugh.  

I guess, if you're like me and have a large CD selection that you want to keep in your car, but have trouble fitting all of them into the glove compartment, you could try this that worked for me.  Keep an eye out at thrift stores for a pack of those super slim, clear plastic CD cases.  I found, like, 30 or so of them in a bundle at a Goodwill.  It fixed the problem, since each slim case is about a third of the size of a regular case.  And now I can fit nearly all of my CDs pretty comfortably.

So . . . yeah.  *lame bow*  Be blessed.

(And yes, you could also invest in one of those visor CD organizer thingies.  These are alternative strategies, here.)

10.  What was the last thing you bought?

Some greeting cards. 

11.  What’s your middle name?

Ann.  (Yes, without an 'e'.  Get wrecked, Shirley.)

My Questions

1.  Is there a particular song that you would show to people if you were trying to explain yourself -- your personality, your heart, your aesthetic, your inner landscape -- in musical form?

2.  Do you like tattoos or no?

3.  What is your favorite thing about your favorite holiday?

4.  What non-story-related hobbies do you enjoy?

5.  Top three favorite TV shows?

6.  What is one thing that the world need more of, in your eyes?  (Serious or trivial.)

7.  What is one thing that the world need less of, in your eyes?  (Serious or trivial.)

8.  Do you need more cool air or more heat when you sleep?

9.  What scents do you tend to love in candles, perfumes, etc.?

10.  Top three favorite animals?

11.  Socks or no socks?

My Nominees

• Finding Freedom, Living Loved
• Light Unto My Path
• Revealed in Time
• Stories in My Soul
  
• Notes from a Hartfield Girl
• Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors
• Movies Meet Their Match
  

And whoever else wants to do it!