Liebster Award

This award comes from Mental Mama, who, in classy fashion, offered it up to anyone. I haven’t done one of these in a while (a Liebster award that was challenging, as opposed to any award post.) and I think she posed some excellent questions, so here I am.

1. What is your favorite breakfast?

Bagels with lox, cream cheese, onion, and cucumber. Do not knock this until you’ve tried it. Always choose Nova Lox if you’re first starting out.

2. When you need to cheer yourself up, what music do you go for?

I always listen to music on shuffle and I have eclectic taste, so I am not genre specific. It’s rarely about cheering myself up, but there are plenty of songs that make me smile or feel good.

3. What is your favorite family tradition?

Friday and Sunday dinners. They’re not set in stone, but when they come together, they make me happy. I am the matriarch of my line, so I take great pride in cooking for friends and family and seeing their faces as they enjoy what I have prepared. I am always open to requests, but each person has a favorite, or five. 🙂

4. What should your headstone read?

It will be in Hebrew, English, Latin, Russian, and entirely personal between myself and my children. That’s how it should be.

5. What is your middle name?

Begins with an M, ends with an E, and means “Star Of The Sea”, in homage to my Grandfather.

6. Where did you go on your favorite vacation?

I don’t think I’ve had the ultimate favorite yet. Thus far, they have all been memorable though.

7. How do you like your eggs prepared?

Scrambled in olive oil with garlic, onion, kosher salt, a good amount of peppercorn medley, dill, cayenne, mozzarella cheese & baby bella mushrooms. Thus far, I am the only person that can nail this particular combination without ruining it and screwing up the taste ratio.

8. What is your personal mission statement?

Question everything, be honest, be fearless, and don’t ever worry about being liked.

9. Do you feel as though you are a grown up yet?

I’m pretty sure I was born one.

10. What is the most unusual thing you’ve ever done to or with your hair?

I’ve done all of the colors that one would consider “natural”. I like being blonde, for some reason it is one of the longest lasting shades for me. I find all shades of red to be the most work at maintaining. I am an espresso brunette (naturally, and at this very moment), which is a step away from black, which would be way too Goth for me because of how fair-skinned I am (I contemplated it, my stylist refused to let me do it.), but is still in the brown family. I am working myself up to dark blue highlights, or even a lighter shade of blue, or maybe even purple. I’ve tried this out with some Manic Panic clip-ins and I think they look pretty fucking cool. I have yet to decide if I am officially “too old” for this, or not. I don’t think anything I’ve done to my hair, outside of playing with the color, would be considered unusual. I’ve experimented. It’s a creative outlet for me.

11. What kind of chocolate do you prefer?

Dark chocolate with orange and cayenne pepper. I also LOVE Grand Marnier dark chocolate truffles. Yes, there is a pattern here. LOL.

Now I have to nominate some people. I am generally in the habit of nominating the same people over and over again, so this time I am going to try to choose 5 people that are new to me, as in, new this year, not necessarily new bloggers. Also, any of my friends (you all know who you are, because I can only think of 5.) are more than willing to accept this and answer the questions, because I feel all of you deserve it.

For the nominees, post the award on your blog and on a post with your answers. Thank you for playing along and for having blogs I now get to enjoy.  

#1- Of Curious Minds

#2- A.D. Martin

#3- Pagan Connection

#4- Things That Go Bump In My Mind

#5- Taking The Mask Off

 

Ah yes, questions for my nominees…

1) What is your favorite fruit?

2) Why have you chosen to blog?

3) What is your favorite genre in which to read?

4) What is your favorite social media platform?

5) Hometown?

6) Are you drinking enough water each day?

7) Your favorite sound is?

8) What are some of your favorite smells?

9) Do you have specific life rules that you follow to the letter?

10) Do you have a green thumb?

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Sunshine Award

Thank you to Shaun @ http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com for this award. I swear, no one else is thinking about me when it comes to awards. (I’m sort of kidding, but I’ve gotta give a man his props.)

The rules of this award are the following:

1) Use the logo above in the post.

2) Link to whoever nominated you.

3) Write ten pieces of information about yourself.

4) Nominate ten fellow bloggers “who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.”

5) Leave a comment on the nominees’ blogs to tell them of the award.

Ten pieces of information about myself:

1. I know more about forensics than I will ever let on.

2. It drives me utterly insane when a person can’t spell or makes basic errors when writing, myself included. We all possess the Spell Check option, do we not? Some people really need to use it. I’m a total word Nazi.

3. It makes me ill when a book is far more phenomenal than its movie counterpart. This is generally the case due to time restrictions, but I’d much rather watch a well made movie in 4+ hours (or broken into two parts, like Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows) than a bad one in an hour and twenty minutes.

4. I’m an October Scorpio. Most people assume we’re all evil, manipulative, and jealous. I am none of the above, which is a benefit of severe self-awareness.

5. One of the most difficult things for me to do is ask for help.

6. I’m really proud of the person I’ve become. I’ve worked hard to be someone I can look in the mirror and respect. I think it’s an incredibly important thing in life to achieve.

7. If I lose respect for you, that’s a big problem. Once you break it, you’re forever on thin ice.

8. I wouldn’t wish Fibromyalgia on my worst enemy, whomever he or she may be.

9. After swearing up and down that I’d never touch or try sushi, I finally did in the last week or so. I have a new favorite type of food! I even went back for seconds.

10. Setting aside the fact that I’m a writer at heart, at the core of who I am, I’m also a frustrated jewelry designer and make-up artist. Those are my secondary creative outlets.

I now nominate 10 people:

1. Knocked Over By A Feather

2. Not Taken, Not Available

3. Welcome To The Fish Bowl

4. My Spoken Heart

5. Finding My Inner Courage

6. High, High, Higher…

7. Pocket Money Polishes

8. I Didn’t Have My Glasses On

9. Fairytale Epidemic

10. Bipolar BarbieQ

I hope you can all accept. I chose each person for their unique approach at blogging, which I respect. There’s room here for all of us. Be kind, be safe.

You don’t have to do the whole list to accept the award, as I know many of you are exhausted from them.

Shine On Award

First and foremost, my thanks to Shaun for the honorable mention. Most of the awards I’ve received have been because of this kind man, and that means a lot to me. http://prayingforoneday.wordpress.com. Shaun’s got an interesting blog, unique and honest, and he & I are always able to debate things like reasonable human beings, which is a nice thing indeed.

The Rules:

1)  Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.

2)  Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back.

3)  Share 7 random interesting things about yourself.

4)  Nominate up to 15 bloggers for Shine On Award, provide a link to their blogs in your post, and notify them on their blogs.

5)  Copy and paste the award somewhere on your blog.

7 Things about Lisa

1. I’m a jewelry whore of epic proportions, but I’m also extremely selective in terms of taste.

2. My middle name means “Star Of The Sea” in Latin.

3. I recently tried vegetarianism for about two months. I came out of it with the firm knowledge that I will never be a vegetarian or a vegan. Not unless my life depends on it, and even that is seriously up for debate. You do not want to be around me when you cut out most lean proteins and damn near all external sources of sugar. I was so unpleasant, it was scary. I’m pretty sure I was growling 100% of the time. I know people claim that making the change helps them shed enormous amounts of weight, but I’m not buying that as a long-term benefit. I prefer to remain balanced. Not only will it keep me sane, it will help reduce the homicide rate in my state, and every single place I visit. You’ve all been warned. LOL.

4. I am not a people person.

5. I hate tomatoes (I pick them off of everything and out of salads), but “gravy”, as it is known in my house (that’s 100% homemade sauce for all heathens buying it out of a jar. Worry not, in a pinch I do it too.), is one of the most awesome things in the world, and gets better every single time I have it or make it. It started with my Italian relatives and passed on to my Mom, who was not Italian, but made the most awesome Italian food in the world. Now it’s something my brother & I compete over to perfect. We plan on keeping the recipe in the family.

6.  Wearing perfume is like applying moisturizer to me. I always do it.

7. I never forget where I came from, or how far I’ve come in my life.

I now Nominate 15 bloggers:

1. Finding My Inner Courage

2. Fish of Gold

3. Fairytale Epidemic

4. The War In My Brain

5. Jodi Ambrose

6. JamesClaims

7. Not Taken, Not Available

8. Fibro Feist

9. Fibromyalgia This

10. BipolarMomLife

11. Making Lemonade Out of This Shit

12. The Wonder Twins

13. Headache Diaries

14. Black Box Warnings

15. Knocked Over By A Feather

The Versatile Blogger Award

I got hit with three of these, so I am going to squeeze them all into one to avoid annoying people with multiple nominations.

Thank you to Fish of Gold, Shaun, and Kalabalu for bestowing these upon me. It’s extremely kind of all of you. I genuinely appreciate it.

In keeping with the rules:

1-Thank and link back to the person who awarded you.

2- Nominate 15 bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award and include a link to their site (and tell them that you have nominated them.). You can find the graphics for each award on my About page.

3-State 7 things about yourself.

7 things:

1. I watch far more TV than I will ever openly admit to. My newest obsession: Da Vinci’s Demons. It is one of the most brilliantly portrayed shows I have ever had the privilege of watching. I’m totally addicted. If you missed out on season one, I highly recommend it. I’m definitely pre-ordering this one on Blu-Ray.

2. I’m extremely maternal.

3. I love soft, buttery spa socks. They moisturize, keep your feet warm when needed, and are nice and cozy. Especially when your body doesn’t always respond well to cold.

4. Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop on-line. I’ve gotten some of the most awesome custom-made items there.

5. I collect gemstones and crystals.

6. I am currently obsessed with lemon candles and constantly searching for the perfect one. My favorite candle company in the world is Twistavants. If you buy from them, order Cakebake, Cinnamon, Blueberry, and/or Christmas Memories. You won’t be sorry.

7.  I hate the Spring and Summer months.

I now nominate 15 blogs.

1. mentalinthemidwest.wordpress.com

2. findingmyinnercourage.wordpress.com

3. fairytaleepidemic.wordpress.com

4. fibromyalgiathis.wordpress.com

5. bipolar2ne.wordpress.com

6. http://knockedoverbyafeather.wordpress.com/

7. polishalcoholic.com

8. producthoochie.wordpress.com

9. Must Have Boxes

10. High, High Higher

11. Caffeinated Brunette

12. mymiasart.com

13. sethsnap.com

14. koshersamurai.wordpress.com

15. meganhasocd.com

Thank you again for the award(s). I hope everyone can accept graciously.

I did these in an extremely random order because it was very hard to come up with 15 AND my new laptop is driving me up the wall. Mind you it’s new in the sense that up until recently, it was sitting in my dresser drawer, still fresh out of the box for the last few years. My post-grad laptop is so badly damaged that I got every last penny’s worth out of it, but I am still slowly transferring my files over to this one because part of me can’t bear to part with the poor bastard. Between actual work and my music, it’s proving stressful, so I am going to get my brother to fix this and get it to work correctly ASAP, unless I somehow manage to figure it out myself, which is entirely possible.  Though asking him to do it MIGHT make up for the fact that he keeps saying “You’re STILL in pain!”, like it will magically go away if he keeps asking me about it! Siblings. Can’t live with them and apparently it’s frowned upon if you stab them with a fork. Who knew?!

If for some reason a link does not work, I promise I will fix it as quickly as possible

I’ve Been Tagged!

Thanks to Fish Of Gold for tagging me. She hit me with about six or seven awards, so I will slowly be making my way through each of them. Tricksy woman!! LOL.

The rules.

1. Post a picture of the award on your blog (You can find said picture in my Contact section, along with all my others awards.)
2. Tag back the person who tagged you to let them know you’ve accepted the award.
3. 11 facts about you.
4. Answer the 11 questions I’ve asked you.
5. Tag the same amount of people as there are letters in your name.
6. Ask your OWN 11 questions to the people you’ve tagged.
7. Contact the people you’ve tagged to let them know they’ve been tagged.

11 facts:

1. I own more lip gloss than anyone I know, including professional make-up artists.
2. I buy books like they’re candy.
3. I ALWAYS listen to music on random shuffle.
4. I collect Jessica Galbreth Dark Faerie art prints. Mask of Autumn is currently hanging over my bed.
5. My Mom was a civilian employee for the NYPD who arrived home early the first time the WTC was bombed. I wear her precinct pin on one of my jackets.
6. I never leave the house without sunscreen on, no matter where I am in the world, whether it’s sunny, cloudy, or snowing  Never means NEVER. The last time I forgot, I ended up beyond extra crispy. It hurt like hell for weeks.
7. Lavender and sage are two scents that make me feel better spiritually.
8. The amount of hockey memorablia I own would scare most people.

9. It’s predominantly linked to one player. If you can accurately tell me who it is, you’re probably one of the few people in this world who knows my middle name.

10. I hate math. As long as you can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and know how to do fractions and percentages, you’re good to go. I don’t know anyone that uses advanced math in their every day life, and I know some seriously smart people.

11. There are probably 40 books I re-read each year. It’s never out of boredom.

And 11 questions:

Have you ever smoked marijuana? No.

If you could fix one thing about yourself, what would it be? I have a list, but it’s mostly superficial and probably only bothers me.

What is one food you just can’t eat, and why? Gefilte fish. I will not touch it with a 20 foot pole. Just hearing about it makes me want to gag.

Can you openly cry in front of others? I’m very emotionally driven, but I’m also very in control, so it depends on what I am crying about, who I am around, and why.

If your dog took a poo in the park, and no one was looking, would you leave it there? (Even if you don’t own a dog. Just play along.) I’d clean it up. That’s what you’re supposed to do. Thankfully, I do not own a dog.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Sadly, I still check for my deceased cat.

What did the hand say to the face? Who do you belong to?!

Do you ever curse under your breath? It depends on the situation.

Do you like waffles or pancakes? Both.

What is your favorite pie? Blueberry crumble.

What is your favorite band of all time? (Bonus points if its the Beatles.) Probably Bon Jovi.

Now for people to tag…..

Bored Nicole (NSFW or the faint of heart)

Tuppershare

Shaun

Mental Mama

I have no questions to ask, so there goes that little bit of the rules. Honestly, I think there’s enough here without me having to add to it.

The ABC Award

Thank you to Fish of Gold for kindly bestowing this award upon me.

The rules of this award are:

1. Add the ABC logo to your blog. (You can find the logo in my About section, ’cause I’m lazy.)
2. ABC about yourself using one word or phrase.
3. Nominate however many blogs you wish.
4. Let the recipient know via a link in their comments.

Armed

Brunette

Classy

Dangerous

Engaging

Friend

Gem

Humorous

Intuitive

Just

Knives

Loyal

Motivated

Notorious

Opals

Persistant

Quiet

Real

Sleep deprived

Tenacious

Unyielding

Vivid

Weird enough to always be interesting

Xanax (Which I do not use, but it was the only thing that came to mind for some reason.)

You Only Live Nine Lives (I was going to say twice, but I like nine better. =P)

Zen

Nominating: 8 bloggers because it’s a good, even number.

1) prayingforoneday.wordpress.com

Shaun is always kind enough to chat with me and nominate me for awards, this is my chance to do the same.

2) fairytaleepidemic.wordpress.com

Britt is one of my cheerleaders who always makes me smile. I’m seriously going to have to get her cute pom poms. LOL.

3) findingmyinnercourage.wordpress.com

Dawn is a kind, generous inspiration and we are becoming true friends. That’s important to me.

4) High, High, Higher

I adore Lillian. She is the first person to ask me to Guest Blog and I have accepted. I’m working on something pretty fantastic.

5) knockedoverbyafeather.wordpress.com

Mer is SO funny, but underneath the sass and snark is a good person and that shines through. *Hugs*

6) mentalinthemidwest.wordpress.com

Smart, hilarious, and SO brilliant. This is a chick I really like.

7) Cupcake Crusaders

What is more cheerful than awesome cupcakes? Seriously, reward yourself right now!!

8) Seth Snap

Photography at its finest.