Tuesday 26 April 2011

'V' is for ...Versatile Blogger

Wow, it’s busy doing this A-Z challenge! But what a lucky blogger I am.
I've been given some awards.
A new blog pal,the vivacious Siv Maria has handed me the Versatile Blogger Award.


I’ve also been awarded the Stylish Blogger award from the vibrant Katie O'Sullivan



And in between, I picked up a tag from a blogger who's always full of vitality, Anita Grace Howard

Thank you to these super talented bloggers for your awards and cyber friendship. Check them out if you don't know them already for some inspiring posts.

At the end of this post are my choices for who I'd like to pass the awards to. I've also shown the rules, although don't feel obliged, or try to kill yourself doing everything if I've picked you. We're all busy people and you'll see that I had to bend the rules slightly, combining the awards and tag or I'd never finish the A-Z challenge, make any progress on my current WIP, and bore you all silly repeat myself - I'd never be able to come up with twenty one points that are interesting enough about me!

So, here goes…

Seven things about me you may, or may not know.

1. When I was a little girl I played for hours alone in my bedroom with my teddies and dolls. My favourite game was libraries and sometimes I would pretend to be a writer, doing book signings. Maybe...one day...

2. I won a competition for poetry when I was ten but haven't written a single word of poetry since.

3. I had music lessons at the Yorkshire Academy of Music in Leeds and achieved Grade 8 recorder, Grade 7 Violin and Grade 6 Piano by the age of fourteen. Despite having the opportunity to stay there and study music, I stopped playing all instruments when I was fifteen and only re-started the piano ten years ago when my hubby bought me one.

4. I was the youngest member of the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra when I joined, aged eleven.

5. I left school when I was sixteen to work in my uncle’s hairdressing business but quickly went off the idea. Having no idea what I wanted to do, I decided to apply for a job in a travel agent's I heard advertised on our local radio station. Little did I know, but over three hundred others also heard the advert and applied, and when I arrived at the interview I had never seen so many people! But I got the job. It was my first lucky break in life.

6. When I was seventeen, I was approached in a pub by a man and woman who asked if I’d ever done any underwear and jeans modelling as I had a very good bottom! They left me their business card and needless to say, thinking they were a pair of weirdo’s, I never rang. But it transpired months later they were from a top modelling agency.

7. I've always harboured a secret dream to go on 'Stars in Their Eyes' and say, "Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be... Karen Carpenter."



So, has that enlightened you?


It was an interesting exercise. What struck me as I wrote my seven things is how we can waste the gifts and talents we are given, and how different life might have been if I'd taken slightly different paths...

I'm sure none of you have ever wasted any of your talents!

Thank you again to my new blog friends for the awards and your cyber friendship. It’s been a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to a long and happy association through the blogosphere. In the meantime, to find out more about my other bloggers, here are my choices for the awards. I haven't made it particularly easy by combining the awards - some bloggers have one, some have the other. I think I've got them right and cordially invite you to accept the one you don't have yet:

Versatile Blogger Award


Spirit Called, Jenn Johansson, JolenesbeenWriting, Charmaine Clancy, Anne N Kenny, Ali Cross, Luana Krause, Misha, Corner Cupboard, City Views Country Dreams, Josh Hoyt,
Romy Gemmell,

The Stylish Blogger Award

Tara Tyler,
Anita Grace Howard
Carole Anne Carr,
Ally Harris
Helen Leathers


If you wish to accept the awards, it is not compulsory, but there are a few basic guidelines to follow. The rest of the rules, I shall leave with you ;)

- Right click on the award and save picture as.
- Thank and link to the person who gave you the honour in your post. You will see I've also linked the giver on the awards on the right hand side of my blog. If you're on blogger, from your dashboard go into 'design' and 'add a gadget' and add the picture/link.
- Divulge 7 things that your reader may not aready know about you.
- Here's the catch...
For the Versatile Blogger award you should contact 15 bloggers. For the Stylish Blogger award, it's 5 bloggers.
This is the part I shall leave to your discretion ;) because you need to check the recipient doesn't already have it, and contact them to let them know they've received it and explain the rules.

Like Siv, I've spent a few hours doing this, so I share her philosophy. I don't know who made up the awards and their silly rules but I like the idea, even though it is rather time consuming when I have a million other things I should be writing! We're all in the same position so do with the rules as you see fit. I'm sure no-one will mind. As Siv say's, The best kind of award you can receive is one that is sincere and has no strings attached. I love all the blogs I've awarded, and to me, you're all versatile, stylish and simply super bloggers! If you do decide to go ahead, I look forward to catching up with your posts very soon!

Until another day
Bye for now
xx

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for the award, and loved your list of 'about you' especially about the attractive bottom. :0)

Katie O'Sullivan said...

wonderful post! Congrats on both well-deserved awards!

Huntress said...

One miracle of this writing community is the 'pay it forward' attitude.

Thank you, thank you. Receiving the Versatile Blogger Award is truly humbling.

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Congratulations on your awards and thanks for telling us all these interesting facts about you.

I love that you used to play librarys and book signings as a little girl, maybe soon you can do it for real - the book signings I mean, not working in the library.

J.R. Johansson said...

Aww! You're so sweet! What a great post, and thank you for the award! I aim to be versatile. Hehe. ;-)

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your lovely awards. Thoroughly deserved.

Fancy playing libraries and doing book signings. Love it. :)

Arlee Bird said...

Sounds like you were born to be a writer. Hope you fulfill your dreams.


Hope you join us in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Reflections Mega Post on Monday May 2nd.
Lee

Jolene Perry said...

THAAAAAAANNNNKK YOUUUUUUUU!

CONGRATS :D

You have let one interesting life...

Melissa Amateis said...

I used to draw all the time - elementary and high school age, mostly. I have only picked up a pencil to draw when my daughter wants to give me drawing lessons. She is now the artist in the family (and a very gifted one!). I sometimes regret not having stuck with the art more, but I think my talent lies in me making art with words.

I'm so glad you've decided to play piano again! :-)

Flowerpot said...

Well done on the awards and for doing the A-Z of blogging - that's some achievement!

Anita Grace Howard said...

Oh, you lovely lady! Thanks so much for the award. :) It's BEAUTIFUL. And thanks for playing tag, too. I should give you a savvy blogger award for being so wise and combining all of this together. ;)

Your seven things were so fascinating! And OMG, you really do look like Karen Carpenter, in her healthy and vibrant days. As for wasting talents, I took two years of piano as a teenager and could've become quite good, but I quit so I could chase boys. LOL.

Ah well. I snagged a REALLY fantastic one and we're living happily ever after. And now he's bought me a piano so I can start lessons again should the mood hit. So it all worked out in the end.

As for your luck helping you get that job over those 300 other applicants, they say getting published in writing is luck and timing, so it sounds like the odds are with you.

Thanks again, and congratulations yourself for getting these awards. You are certainly worthy of them, and more. :)

Langley Cornwell said...

Congrats on the awards! I bet that was an interesting exercise. It's telling that there was a theme, huh?

I’m A-Z Blogging on Langley Writes about Writing and Langley’s Rich and Random Life

lesleylsmith said...

Very Versatile, Blue! :)
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers!

Brianna said...

Congratulations on your awards!
I really enjoyed learning more about you.

Caroline said...

Love your list, and congrats on your award! I did think (tongue firmly in cheek here BSM) that an award especially for *you* would be the "Sheer Number of Blogs on a Sidebar" Award! Never seen so many on one blog site. But I like dipping into them on occasion! ;o) Caroline x

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Thank you so much, Debbie - I'm honoured to accept the versatile blogger award. Loved your seven things. Will give thought to mine tomorrow!

Tara Tyler said...

I thought I was already following you! Duh! I have corrected that =)
Thanks so much for the award!
And I've always loved your blue stockings.
happy v day!

Bish Denham said...

Congratulations on the awards. You had some interesting opportunities, obvious talent. But as kids, what do we know? Of course, I never wasted any of my talents either. :)

Lydia Kang said...

Congrats on your award! And to all the new winners.
:)

Author Joshua Hoyt said...

Thank you so much for the award I am honored to receive it from you. I have such a huge respect for your blog and enjoy it so much. You are an amazingly talented person. I think to waste them would be to never discover them. Thanks again.

Precy Larkins said...

Congrats on your awards! You so deserved them. And wow--you are multitalented. I'm in awe, especially with the modeling agents liking your um, rear qualities ;) Lol! That's so cool!