The Lovely Blog Award

I was given the Lovely Blog Award by the lovely River Hayden and thank you for that River.

The instructions are simple:

1. Thank your nominator, if you’d like 🙂
2. List 7 facts about you
3. Nominate 15 blogs for the award

So here goes:

Seven facts about me:

1. I was born on St. Patrick’s Day – and total strangers celebrate my birthday every year. But I do not drink green beer.
2. I write poetry under the pen name, Sarah Flanagan
3. I have a decent singing voice but rarely sing in front of others
4. I grow great tomatoes. Delicious. Favorites are an heirloom tomato called Brandywines
5. My mother and I are the only two people in our family who have green eyes. My father and siblings all have (had) blue eyes.
6. I was once held at knife point by a drunken Canadian.
7. I just finished writing a mystery series which I plan to release later this month.

By the power vested in me by the Internet I hereby nominate (in no particular order) the following bloggers for the Lovely Blog Award:

Purely simple Words
Pin in the Tush
Sending Joy
Big Time Thanks
My Bookish Life
All the Elbows
EJ Shoko
Offense Intended
Pied Type
Building a Poem
D.L. Perching
Jean Lee’s World
Ana Spoke
Wayne Bowerman
Mother’s change of heart

And the Winner Is…Thoughts about 2015 Oscars

Full disclosure, I haven’t seen any of the films that were nominated, except for one, which I couldn’t finish watching because I thought it was pretty bad.

Last night I decided to watch the Oscars last night because it was raining, there was nothing else on and heck I hadn’t watched them for a long time. It could be fun, at least mildly entertaining – I thought.

The emcee for the evening was Neil Patrick Harris (of Doogie Howser and How I Met Your Mother). Opening number was typical Oscar, borderline cheesy but cute. Who knew Neil could sing?

Thoughts:

Why wasn’t he funny? His jokes didn’t land but I couldn’t figure out why.

Did anybody get the whole coming out in his underwear thing?

The predictions gag didn’t deliver

Highlights:

Lady GaGa (looking quite beautiful I might add) did an amazing tribute to Julie Andrews. Who knew she had that kind of range?

Eddie Redmayne’s acceptance speech, adorably boyish, humble and sweet. He could be a character in my stories any day.

John Travolta got his co-presenter’s name correct. And good for him for being able to laugh at himself.

Great performance of Glory the song that won the award. Not a dry eye in the house.

Ben Affleck looked pissed all night. Anybody know why? Maybe his underwear was too tight?

Ironic that the movie that took the ‘big’ awards was about a washed up actor trying to make a comeback. Isn’t that ironic? Actors and show people giving an award to a film about actors and show people? How diverse.

Political statements instead of acceptance speeches:

Some people like this sort of thing. I don’t. I’m not watching to hear about this actor or that actor’s views on politics. I love you Patricia but really? And John are we really still in the same mindset as 50 years ago? And, and, and…

For me, this sort of thing ruins awards shows which are supposed to be fun, glitzy and glamorous. And really, it’s not like celebrities don’t have a million opportunities to spout their personal views. Just saying.

Disappointments:

Nothing for Clint? Shocking. I mean cripes. Nothing for the biggest box office movie of the year? Maybe he needed a struggling actor character in the script?

Best part of the show:

Lady GaGa in a beautiful white gown singing her ever living heart out.

Worst part of the show:

Neil in his underwear.

Your turn. What are your thoughts? Happy about the winners? Wanted somebody else to win? Who had the best dress?

Writer Chick
Copyright 2015

Sunday – This and That

Ah, the weekend, where we catch up with things, eh?
First of all I want to thank Tony North at Beyond the Blog for this lovely little award. Me, Brainy? Hmmm, okay, I can roll with that. Thanks Tony! I’m honored.

Some Random Thoughts:

1. Why does coffee taste better in certain mugs? No really, I swear if I don’t have my coffee in the right mug it just doesn’t taste right.

2. Do men really like fat asses? Seriously, do they?

3. Why are we stuck with the Stepford Candidates for this election?

4. If time is not linear, can I just back up a few years but retain my knowledge and experience?

5. If the government wants to give me ‘free stuff’ then why don’t they give me a yearly gift certificate to Nordstrom’s?

Pretty Pics:

A friend of mine sent me these, aren’t they incredible? Yes, those really are ice bergs.

And finally a funny tidbit from Mom of all people:

Powerful Women’s Motto:

Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says…
‘Oh shit….she’s awake!!’

BTW – sorry I’ve been scarce this weekend, I’m helping a friend put something together and we’re almost done. Thank Gawd!!! I’ll see y’all soon.  😉 Annie

Beauty for Beauty

Not long ago, Michael of Smoke & Mirrors bestowed a very prestigious award upon me/my blog. It is called the Arte y Pico Award. My bad, I’d never heard of it and so I went searching the Internet to discover what it meant.

What I learned was that the originator of the Arte y Pico Award is a fabulous woman named Ana, from Uraguay, who creates hand made cloth dolls that are exquisette and beautiful. Wanting to pass on this beauty into the beast that the blogosphere can be, she created this award to acknowledge the beauty that does exist here.

Ana said this about it:
What is the meaning of the expression: Arte y Pico
What is the meaning of the expression: And basically, ironically, it translates into a wonderful phrase in Mexico, “lo maximo.” LOL! It will never find its counterpart in English, but if it HAD to, it would be something like, Wow. The Best Art. Over the top.

Ana’s wish was to have it paid forward and to propogate a chain of beauty and art throughout cyberspace. And isn’t that the dream of any artist? To see beauty and creativity blossom and grow in all directions? I am honored and humbled to have been given this award, more than I can say.

And now as a recipient, my job is to pay it forward to the other beauties out there. Choosing recipients was a daunting task because I am allowed only five when I can think of many more than that off the top of my head. The people I chose were all women, intentionally so – maybe I am feeling my ‘I am woman, hear me roar,’ mojo but I think that women contribute so much to the blogosphere and are so natural at spreading the love and beauty that it seemed fitting to me.

So…with great respect and admiration, I have chosen:

Christine of All the Elbows. A wonderfully, original writer, whose talent awes me every time I visit her blog. A kind, funny and caring person, a stay at home mom who nurtures her two beautiful daughters and wonderful husband. Whose imagination will captivate anyone who reads her. She is definitely spreading the beauty out there.

J of Not Just a Housekeeper. Funny, quick, razor-tongued and oh so real. A working mom who not only has the most beautiful adventures with her kids and husband, but helps troubled youths get back on track. She has a heart as big as Montanna and a wit that won’t quit. This lady can make you feel like a trip to Walmart is a grand adventure. Creative? Hell, yeah.

Daisies of Moments. What this woman can do with a camera will melt your heart and give your eyes treats they have not yet seen. Also an accomplished poet and writer, who will touch you with her words and make you feel always welcome and safe. Timeless beauty there, folks.

Jade of Pieces of Jade. This is someone very new to me and I’m so excited to have experienced her work and her exquisitte lines. She is suprising, funny, profound and oh so unique. I can’t believe my luck in having found her. She writes hay[na]ku (A poem of six words. The first line = 1 word, the second line= 2 words and the third line= 3 words) a form of poetry I’d never heard of before and am still trying to get my wits around. I may try my hand at it, but I doubt I’d ever rise to her level of execution. Like her name indicates, she is a jewel.

Simonne of Into the Quiet. This plucky Aussie writer is a beauty inside and out. Sweet as honey and her writing, so spot on. It’s honest, brutal sometimes, but clean and cleansing and never ceases to surprise the reader on the journey. Like the name of her blog indicates, she’s a quiet voice but with deep and lasting impact.

I could honestly go on for pages about these wonderful beauties, but I invite you to go experience them for yourself. I am so happy to be able to give them such an award and I know they will pass it on to others who are just as wonderful, beautiful and creative as they are.

So there you have it ladies, go seek your five recipients and pay forward the beauty and creativity.

The rules are as follows:

1) Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award; creativity, design, interesting material, and also a contributer to the blogger community, no matter the language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given them the award itself.

4) Each award winner shows the link to “Arte y pico” blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) The above rules must be posted within the awarding post.