by Tish MacWebber | May 20, 2017 | Blogging Awards
This is my first Blogger Award. I am very grateful to The Ink Owl for the nomination. It really means a lot to me. I would also like to thank Okoto Enigma for creating this Award. It was designed for Bloggers to acknowledge their peers in the blogging world, and to be passed on from one to another to help grow the Blogging Community, and for people to discover new blogs to help them to grow and flourish. What a remarkable idea to spread encouragement, positivity, and to help Bloggers to earn some recognition. It is also a wonderful way for people to find new blogs to love, read, and follow.
If you would like to read the nomination post from The Ink Owl, it is in the comments on my About page. If you would like to read more about the Award and its creator, please check out the following link: Mystery Blogger Award Background and Story.
When you are nominated for an award like this, it is meant to make you share some information about yourself, and to encourage you to acknowledge some of your own favourite Bloggers with some new nominations from you. It is a pay it forward kind of idea, and I think it is wonderful. That being said, there are some rules that go with being nominated.
Mystery Blogger Award Rules:
- Put the award logo/image on your blog
- List the rules
- Thank whoever nominated you and post a link to their blog
- Mention the creator of the blog and provide a link to their blog also
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
- You have to nominate 10-20 people
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
- Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice; with one strange or funny question
- Share a link to your best post(s)
I have to write this note here to tell you all that it was difficult for me to create that list. At last, I have outwitted the bullet list formatting and can continue working on the rules and acceptance.
Three things about me to tell you.
1. I try really hard to be funny. Sometimes it backfires and I have to quickly change the topic of conversation. Other times it is taken totally wrong and I have an angry person instead of a laughing person to deal with. Once in a blue moon, I get it right. I do seem to be getting better at this talent with age. Possibly because I am a huge fan of both Betty White and Weird Al Yankovich.
2. I wish I could afford a maid. I know how to clean, I just really don’t like doing it. I would rather be working on my creativity than creating a clean organized space to live in. I am working on that.
3. Blogging is my mid-life crisis self-help therapy. It is cheaper than a motorcycle, and I can take more than one person with me for the ride! Helmets are optional. There are no judgements here.
The Ink Owl Listed five questions for me to answer, as a part of the nomination and acceptance.
- Where (physical locations) do you write?
- Why did you start writing?
- What is your favourite part about your life?
- What has been the most challenging part with writing?
- What gives you the inspiration to write?
Here are my answers:
1. I used to write in journals when I went to school and university. I have written on my laptop when I was in a local creative writing group. That group, which I have the honour of saying I named, Freddy Words, is currently dormant and awaiting a revival. These days, I am writing on my desktop computer. PC not MAC. I will be working towards purchasing other electronic devices to write in different locations in the future so that I am always ready to write when inspiration strikes. My desk is in my living room in the center of my mini home. I can watch TV, listen to music, and write all from my desk. It would be nice to write outside sometime.
2. I have been writing my whole life. Nothing spectacular in my school days, but I have always enjoyed writing, both creatively and emotionally. Why I started writing my blog is a more interesting answer. I watched an inspirational video one day, and it got me thinking. It made me think about how to get my lyrics for songs out of my head and to a place where other people can read them. Before I knew it, I had to research how to set up a blog, and I never expected it to just take off like it did. I write and I have a lot of fun with it. I hope it never stops being fun. I used to write as a form of not keeping things bottled up. Now I am practising to write a fantasy trilogy by writing on my blog, building the habit. Always thinking…
3. The favourite parts of my life are finding my passions. I love the beach and the ocean, especially in Cape Breton. I love my husband, and the life we have together is not always perfect, but that keeps things interesting. I love creating things, from thought to completed projects. This blog has been a wonderful rediscovery of my own passion for writing. I truly believe that writing is what I am meant to do, that it is my purpose in life. I also love it when I line up all my ducks in a row to land the unexpected joke once in a blue moon. That is something that gives me a lot of joy. This year I have grown personally. I am proud of the person I am turning out to be, flaws, bad jokes, and all!
4. The most challenging part with writing is actually three things. The first one is that I need to know when to take breaks. I do not have any problems writing, I need to remember to stop and eat, and walk around for a bit; to step away from my desk. When I decide to write I need to make sure I don’t ignore the rest of my life. The second thing is grammar and punctuation. Grammarly is helping with that. I have trouble with commas, and use a lot of exclamation points! The third thing is that you should always write down your ideas as soon as they hatch…or you will forget them like I just did for my number three.
5. Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. I get a title in my head, I start writing, and there is my story. I hear people talking and I run with an idea the conversation sparked. I am an emotional woman, and my feelings sometimes dictate the direction a story goes in. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have to get a pen and paper right away so I don’t forget what I dream up. Other times I use my highly developed pantser skills and sit down with nothing in my head for an idea or plan, and I just start typing. A short time later I have a blog post or a new song. I am certain that writing is what I am supposed to do, and with that being said, inspiration can strike at any given moment in any place I am present in. I have faith and religion in my belief system, therefore all of the inspiration I have comes from God. He made me this way. Always thinking…
As I need to post this blog to grab the link to put into my announcements for the bloggers I have chosen to nominate, please allow me a few minutes to type up my nomination memo for the nominees. I have not mastered the internet well enough to be able to do both things simultaneously. (This note is for nominees-your memo is coming if you didn’t get it yet).
I would like to nominate (in a randomly organized list) the following Bloggers for The Mystery Blogger Award:
Rebecca Craig of Spiritelle Blog
Gordon Dougherty of Unlikely Mystics Blog
Denise Marcello of Denise Marcello Fitness Step out in Faith Blog
Mohamad Al Karbi of Mohamad Al Karbi Blog
Irene of They Once Called Her Pumpkin…
Colline of Colline’s Blog
Kirsty Allen of The Ramblings of a Madwoman who hosted My first Guest Blog, and a little more of the back story.
Payal Tyagi of Writings by Payal Tyagi
Apple Alvarez of Apple Bits Blog
Bonnie McConaughy of Inspire The Best You
Dionne Abouelela of Girl VS City
The Olive Brunette of The Olive Brunette
Sam of the Caffeine Gal
Jessie Wing of Wingswordsblog
As if it wasn’t hard enough to select a few of my favourite Bloggers to nominate for The Mystery Blogger Award, now I have to think of five clever questions to ask them all. The rebel in me has disguised a few extra sub-questions sneakily with the five I am required to ask.
- How long have you been Blogging?
- If you could put a face and a name to your Muse, who would it be? (My silly question)
- What is your why, as in why do you write?
- Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what artists and or types of music do you enjoy listening to while writing? Does it change as your story develops?
- Who is your favourite published Author? Do you read their books only once, or do you read them frequently? If you can’t narrow it down to just one, two or three are also acceptable as an answer, as I have three at the moment, and that is in the top three of a long list of many.
If you check the links above, you will see there is already one link to my first ever guest post. As per the rules, I can also link to some of my favourite blog stories.
The Little Blog That Could! , I Had Sass in Zumba Class! and When the African Violet Blooms are three that stand out to me and others, based on the number of likes and comments. I am really proud of all of them. I have created two regular series within the blog as well, Trust Your Gut and Weekend Warrior. They are stories that aim to help keep me on track and inspire the readers to keep working on the things that challenge them in their lives. I have had other people submit stories for Trust Your Gut, and if you have issues with weight, and would like to submit your story, please contact me. I would love to help you tell your story by sharing it in the series.
I follow more blogs than the ones listed here as my nominees. Shout out to Fears of Little Fears, Blair of The Shameful Sheep and Brian of Bonnywood Manor Blog to name a few more blogs that I enjoy visiting frequently. If I missed you, feel free to answer my questions below in the comments! The more the merrier!
Thanks for the nod, Ink Owl, and I look forward to reading the answers to my questions.
by Tish MacWebber | May 15, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
*Please Note: This is being published before I have all the photos in. It will be edited again after I have all the pics and the group photo to add, and this note will be removed*
This weekend was busy already. It is Sunday afternoon. I am getting ready to head into my kitchen and do some prep cooking. Before I do that I have to find the kitchen again. I have been sick with a sinus infection, and things are really falling behind. So today I plan to do the dishes, clear off the kitchen table, island, and countertops. I have 1 cupboard that I have decided will be a goal to spring clean inside of it today. I want to reorganize it and find homes for a couple of pantry items underneath the island. That is what I am up to today in my kitchen. If I don’t get it all done, I am going to work on this before next weekend, so I can move on with the Kitchen Spring Cleaning project and get into the rest of my home.
I missed a few days of work at the day job this week, because of being sick. I am starting to feel a little better, and I had made plans a few weeks ago for a couple of things I did yesterday. I started the day off at a craft supplies sale. The idea behind it was to have a “yard sale” for excess craft supplies from the vendor’s stash. I went shopping, and I picked up some beads.
I also decided to take a leap of faith and submit a written piece for a paid publication. It is a story, and I have sent it in. The deadline is tomorrow. I asked a writer friend to do a basic edit for me, and she did. Now I wait.
I had also planned to attend my first Paint & Sip event. It was last night, and it was a lot of fun! I have been wanting to attend one of these for a while, and I am so glad I went!
It was organized by a friend, and six people attended, including me. It was hosted by Buddy Art Paint & Sip. The group had looked at some other painting ideas, and took one they liked and changed it from a night sky background to a sunset sky background. When they settled on a picture to paint, it was planned for last night.
Paint & Sip events are becoming very popular. People are going to them for fun, and to do something different. Other people are also using them as a way to raise funds for their favourite charity. Whether it is a night out with friends or a fundraiser, it is a fun way to spend a few hours. Have a glass of wine, or two, share some snacks, and create your own work of art, that you can take home and hang on your wall.
The host painted a demo piece, and he also painted along with us at the event. This is what we were painting. The one on the wall was his demo, and the one in the easel was the one he painted along with us.
The Demo piece is on the left, and the painting on the right was the one done during class by the Artist.
We arrived at about the same time. We found our canvases, and they were all blank. We each started with yellow and a circle for the sun. We listened to Bruno Mars, Sia, and Rod Stewart while we painted the sky.
-
-
Two mountains, another pretty sky and birds
-
-
Another version
Next is a progress picture of some of our group.
Paint & Sip Smiles and Sunset Skies
Shortly after this, we had a snack break. There was a nice spread of finger foods. The wine glasses magically refilled. It was also time for new paint colours.
Paint and Sip Snack time!
I made a musical request for the next part. We were going to be painting the bottom part and the trees in black. On came The Rolling Stones with Paint it Black by special request! I was a little startled when I realized there were two paint colours on the next palette. The white was hard to see. The host then surprised us with some ’90’s tunes, and some of us were singing along while we painted.
-
-
Paint & Sip Smiles and Sunset Skies
-
-
Still painting and smiling!
-
-
Still painting and smiling!
In the end, we had a lot of fun. There are 6 finished pieces of individual art, and we all look forward to planning another event. I am going to share them without revealing the artist at this time. When the group photo is available, I will add it in and edit this sentence out. Until then, you can try to guess which one is mine! I can’t wait to share the horizon of the 6 setting suns!
-
-
Vibrant Sky and one squirrelly tree
-
-
Pretty Sky and evenly placed trees
-
-
Still painting and smiling!
-
-
Our cheat for the sun
-
-
Well blended sky, beautiful lighting around the trees, and birds
-
-
A Family of Trees
When I polish this story off after the first published “draft”, when the rest of the pics are added, I will also share the comment from the host that really surprised me! Keep an eye out for an update to this story, it will have more pictures and be more complete.
If you live in Fredericton and want to plan your own event with Buddy Art Paint & Sip, here is a link to their facebook page:
Buddy Art Paint & Sip
Shared with permission from Buddy Art Paint & Sip. This is their logo.
by Tish MacWebber | May 9, 2017 | Road Trips
At the end of April, we went on a road trip. We crossed the border from New Brunswick into Nova Scotia. The plan was to visit with family. When we finally had the car packed, and hit the road, I decided to take some pics along the way, and write a story about our trip. We hadn’t gone on a road trip in a little more than 2 years, and I had gone long past the get out of the city stage. I managed very well in those 2 years, but I enjoy travelling to see friends and family, whenever I can.
We stopped for gas just outside of Fredericton, where we live. Snacks are necessary for road trips, as well as beverages. A pit stop is also necessary before any road trip. While there, I took a pic of the giant sized road sign of a familiar sight in the area.
Moose Warning Sign. A full grown moose can total a car. It is best to avoid them if seen on the road. The trick is to see them before they cause an accident. Hence the signs.
This gave me an idea. I would take pictures in the car as we travelled. It is a harder thing to do than you think it is. I was a passenger, but our trip was filled with highway driving, and a lot of missed opportunities were not able to be captured by my camera as we drove along.
I decided that I would focus on the different signs along the road, to document where we were going, and provide pics for the story. We didn’t slow down for this. Except for the last pic, which was a near miss itself.
We stopped in Moncton. I wanted a coffee. We got one here.
We then drove until we crossed the border. The first part of our trip was to make it to Nova Scotia.
Welcome to Nova Scotia, photobombed by me!
Before the NS border, there is an unusual warning sign.
Honeybee Warning Sign. I wonder if they can check all the flybys?
Can you imagine bees flying to an office to check and see if they have the proper documentation to enter Nova Scotia? They would need Bee-cases!
We were going to Truro, first. It is between 3 and 4 hours to drive from Fredericton to Truro. We had dinner with family and friends, and we all went back to swim in the hotel pool. The pool was COLD. The Hot Tub was WARM. It tired us all out.
We spent the next morning with our friends. We then saw our family again and spent the afternoon playing Munchkin the Board Game. We played twice, and I had so much fun, I forgot to take any pictures of the game. We had a potluck supper, I had made a Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken before we left Friday, and had it on ice or in fridges the whole time. Everybody liked it, and we had some before on the road trip…with my cup of coffee in Moncton, actually, and had some left over that we took with us. We hit the road again after supper.
Then we were off to Dartmouth Crossing, an hour past Truro. We checked into our second hotel room that weekend. I was too tired to go swimming again, so we watched TV and went to sleep. The next morning we had to get ready for a busy day. We were going to see my husband’s Grandmother who is 108 years old! She will be 109 in July. She still lives in her own apartment, in the same building as Roy’s father. We were all going to get together for lunch.
There are 2 signs here. The restaurant where we ate lunch at is to the far left of that building in the background, so the sign for it is here, and also a road sign near the place where Nanny Webber and her son, Roy’s father, Roland live. His friend Gloria lives there too, and she also joined us for lunch.
We met at Nanny Webber’s apartment, had a chat, and picked a place for lunch. We moved the party. We had lunch. Two comical things I noticed. Roy and Nanny Webber both ordered cheeseburger platters. She didn’t eat all of her fries, as she told me sometimes she fills up too much on potatoes. But she saw the lemon meringue pie, and wanted a piece, but not a full slice. I told her Roy could eat the other half. So they shared a slice of lemon meringue pie. Another funny observation I made, neither one of them ate the meringue!
We then went back to the apartment, where I took this pic of the 3 Webbers together.
Roland, Florence, and Roy Webber, l-r
We then said our goodbyes, after promising to try to get back for her birthday in July. We will try.
One last stop before we headed home was at a fish store. Roy is setting up a new fish tank, a 75 gallon. He has been working on making decorations, and there is a theme. There will be a blog about that when he is finished. He wanted to get some live plants. It is a freshwater aquarium. We got a few fish too. All the plants and fish survived the five-hour drive to get home. They are all thriving in their new home with us.
Neat little aquarium themed fish store
We drove home after we finished up our purchases at this store. It was a straightforward drive, with a few snack stops. One last sign I want to share with you if you are ever travelling in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. There are lots of signs like the moose sign I posted above. The other kind warns of places where deer like to cross the road.
Deer Crossing Sign
Before I finish, I talked about the giggles we had on this trip. I missed so many good pics because the camera was off or it was too slow to focus. We had a wonderful trip and looking back, I wouldn’t change much about the visits we had. I also snapped this last photo out of the back window of the moving car. It is of an Inukshuk, an Inuit symbol for others to know that they had been at that place. So someone had been there before, and now you know that we were there too.
The Inukshuk pic, taken through the back window of our moving car.
I said it before in another post, but it is relevant to this post also. Hindsight is 20/20, eh?
by Tish MacWebber | May 7, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Yesterday was busier than I had planned it to be. Also, I was still fighting an almost week long migraine and was still not feeling so good yesterday. So I took a nap in the middle of that busy day, and it ran longer than I had planned. When you fall back to sleep on a Saturday after you woke up and turned off the alarm, obviously the nap was a necessary thing.
In the morning, I attended the #BUTTBLITZ2017. You can read all about it here: Butt Picking in the Rain It was my third year volunteering at this event, and I stayed dry by working at the event table and running the numbers.
Insert lunch and a nap here.
Then I woke up to the phone ringing. I had an invitation to join some friends to play Cards Against Humanity. They have mixed in 4 booster decks and a Kinderperfect deck. Hilarity, Margarita Moments, and the consumption of adult beverages were just what I needed to kick the migraine out of my head. I am glad I decided to join in for a night of fun!
Today, I must scramble to resume the kitchen to its shape of last weekend. When the dishwasher is running, I will also be prep cooking. That is probably going to fill up my Sunday. I need to be ready for the upcoming week, and today is when I have the time, and more importantly, I feel like doing it. Soon after I publish this story, I will be making something to eat and heading into my kitchen. Coffee will be consumed with the meal.
I think it stopped raining! That sentence has an exclamation point because there is a flood watch here this weekend. It happens every year, and they were not expecting it to be too bad this year. It is bad for some areas, there have been evacuations and roads are blocked also. I am staying home today, and my house and street are still OK. If I get a chance, I may go take some pictures of the flooded areas, but that will be another day and another story.
What are you up to this weekend?
by Tish MacWebber | Apr 11, 2017 | Coffee and Stories
This past weekend, I wrote about facing my inner demons. I fight with myself sometimes. Nobody throws punches, and nobody gets hurt. Except maybe my own ego.
I can get stuck in a pattern of doing nothing while having the best intentions of getting through a whole list of things that need to be done. There are days when I literally talk myself out of getting anything done. It is a nasty little place to be in, and it happens when things are bothering me, or in the winter. I am less likely to have the energy to do more than the basics in the winter time, and that is sometimes left too long. In this endless loop of getting nothing done, I can become overwhelmed by how much there IS to do, and that doesn’t help me at all.
Spring is here. I feel the change in the weather, and in my spirit. The blog has started me off in the right direction. I am wanting to get things done, and I FEEL DIFFERENT about life right now. I am trying new things, making small changes, and thinking about what I need to do to make the leap from blogging to writing a book.
A year ago I was recovering from an infection in my knee. It was not a pleasant experience, I would never recommend a knee infection as something for anyone to do. I was away from work for 3 months, and sat around that whole time, as I was told to not be moving around very much. I had nurses visiting me in my home for IV antibiotics once a day for two or three weeks. I was taught how to bandage the wound when the IV was over, and they stopped the home checks. I longed for the day that I could have a shower without medical tape and shopping bags protecting the bandages from getting wet. I was on some strong painkillers, for the first time ever, and I was scared that I might become addicted. I did not.
Spring cleaning didn’t really happen last year. So I am on a mission to get it done properly this year. I am writing about it, and puttering at it, and making a little more progress in that kitchen every time I get in there. I have made a few inexpensive purchases to help me to get this project accomplished. I see the progress, but I am not ready to share it yet.
I needed to stop and just take a breath last weekend. That’s what the title means. When you worry about everyone or everything else and don’t take time for yourself, you can empty your coffee pot before you get yourself a refill. That is a mistake that can build into a disaster if it is not made a priority.
It’s not Ok to neglect your own needs in order to make sure that everyone else’s needs are taken care of first. Sometimes, it is necessary to take care of others first. However, if you don’t stop and take time for you, the coffee at the bottom of the pot is going to have a burnt taste, and it will not be a pleasant thing to drink.
Whatever it is in your life that allows you to feel refreshed and recharged is something that you need to always make time for. If it is the 5 am cup of coffee before anyone else in your home is awake, get up and pour yourself a hot cup of coffee. If it is taking a bath at the end of a long and tiring day, make time to fill the bathtub. Read a book for a chapter a day, at the time you can schedule it in. If you have dogs, they can help you take the time to yourself to think when you have to walk them anyway.
Or, at other times you need to be around other people. Friends and family are important too. Find people that are fun to be around, and bring you up, not down. I am not saying that you should ignore all of your other friends, but when you need to feel good, surround yourself with people, things and activities that help you do just that.
When I think about where I was a year ago, I had no idea I was going to make a leap into becoming a blogger. I was waiting to be told that I could start going back to Zumba classes. I was learning about the Trim Healthy Mama Plan, and trying new recipes. I was already going through the motions of being back to work at my day job. And I was miserable.
Now I have a blossoming new outlook for spring this year. I will be working on my New Year’s Resolutions and branching out with what I am doing with my life. I am chasing my dreams and making them into my reality. One at a time.
Thank you for reading my 60th Blog Post. Still having fun, and Always Thinking…
