Real Neat Blog Award

Hey there, everybody! So, I was nominated for the Neat Blog Award by the lovely Julie. Which I would like to thank her for – that’s so sweet!

Julie runs the Dark Blue Journal which I absolutely love – she writes about minimalism (which isn’t for me, I like my stuff too much), but also about how to live a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle, which is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. You should check her out!

So, the rules of this Real Neat Blog Award go like this:

• Display the award logo.
• Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to their blog.
• Answer the questions from the blog who nominated you.
• Nominate seven to ten bloggers.
• Ask them seven questions.

Here’s my answers to Julie’s questions:

1. What does freedom mean to you?
   
   Freedom to me is kind of synonymous with peace. I can already sense that some FREEDOMISN’TFREEEE-type heads exploding like eagles in a microwave (I don’t know if that would really happen, but you can’t prove it wouldn’t without murdering a ‘merica bird, so either work with me here, or know that the ball is in your court now), but slow your roll, friend – this question was directed at me, not you.
   
   I think it means peace, because if you’re not allowed to live peacefully, are you really free? Can you really live your life any way you want? And I don’t mean that fake kind of peace where you just don’t have to actively fight anyone – I mean you are left to live life on your own terms. Like, if you want help, you can still have it, but if you just want to be left the hell alone, you can have that too.
   
   I hope it doesn’t sound like I think freedom (or peace) is impossible, because I don’t. I think it’s totally possible, so long as your leaders aren’t power-mad.
   
2. How do you handle mistakes?
   
   I like to own up to them quickly. Look, everybody messes stuff up sometimes, but doubling down in order to try to trick people into thinking you didn’t really mess up (because you couldn’t possibly) is not a good look. So I just try to avoid all that.
   
3. What’s your favorite food or drink to make/bake/cook?
   
   This is a tough one!
   
   I really enjoy cooking and baking. But I guess my favorite thing to make is gingerbread. Cookies or bread, I don’t care. It just smells SO GOOD.
   
4. What is your typical attire?
   
   I wear a lot of black. I guess typical attire is jeans, t-shirt, hoodie or sweater, and boots or my red-checked Vans classic slip-ons. I’ve become boring in my advanced age.
   
5. How do you behave in a situation in which being real and being kind are on different sides? Looking for some tips!
   
   Well, 20’s Angie would have said “Fuck being nice, be real!” But 30’s Angie is a lot shorter on friends, so… I would say to ask the person straight out what they’re looking for. Like, “Are you looking for validation, or do you legitimately want to know how I feel? Because they’re not necessarily going to be the same thing.”
   
   And important life lesson I’ll pass on for free, because the consequences SUUUCK:
   
   If it has anything to do with how you would handle an unplanned pregnancy – DO. NOT. ENGAGE. I lost one of my oldest friends stepping into that particular minefield. Turns out nobody actually wants to know what you’d do, they just want you to tell them to do what they already want to do. Which seems easy, except that THEY DON’T TELL YOU BEFOREHAND WHAT THEY WANT TO DO! Also, it turns out that other peoples’ medical needs are none of your business. Like, at all. Stay out of it. Just say NO.
   
   and, scene.
   
   Sorry, that turned into a thing.
   
6. What bothers you most about the world?
   
   See above. I’ve been part of the problem. Everybody wants to be all up in everybody else’s business all the time. And they want everybody else all up in theirs so that they can be mad about it when their viewpoints diverge. It’s maddening.
   
   I mean, can’t we just let each other have our own thoughts and opinions? I mean, unless you’re trying to incite violence or hatred, in which case gtfo of here – you’re not welcome.
   
7. What do you love most about the world?
   
   It’s changing. A really minuscule amount at a time, but it is. Some people are becoming more open minded. And some people are becoming less hair-triggered – sometimes people are getting the chance to apologize for fucking up, and to begin (or continue) to make amends for it. And that’s amazing.
   
   Oh, and at least in America (I won’t pretend to be able to speak for anyone else), some people are less interested in power-mad, war-mongering leaders than they once were.

My Questions:

1. What’s your favorite scary movie? (did I just Scream you? Yes, I did. I’m sorry) Why do you love it?
2. What was the best book you read this year?
3. What are you most looking forward to in 2020?
4. Do you have any tips for making fresh pirogi? Seriously, I can never get the dough right. They’re always terribly doughy.
5. Who is your favorite actor over 70?
6. Who’s your favorite actress over 70?
7. Did you have to google that last one because while the movie industry prizes older men, it ambivalent at best toward older women?

My Nominees:

And please ignore if you’ve already done this, yeah?

A Thousand Bits of Paper: Kathryn writes some really lovely poetry. Her writing feels very emotionally-driven, and quite enjoyable to read. Sometimes the topics are heavy, and other times they’re inspiring. You should definitely check out her work!

John Rieber: John’s blog is a lot of fun. I feel like he writes about a little bit of everything. There’s a lot about pop culture, travel, weird foods (clam candy canes, for real? ugh), and sometimes even recipes. There’s something there for everyone – guaranteed.

Twirling Book Princess: I just love reading Mehsi’s book reviews. She reviews a lot of graphic novels and manga, but also a wide variety of books/chapter books as well. And her site is so cute! She also does some book tours and cover reveals which I find really cool.

Sambel: Jessica is an author and blogger. Her blog has both excerpts of her writing and lifestyle-type posts. I find the mixture is a lot of fun. I never know what to expect when I check her site. Check her out!

Books, Bones & Buffy: Tammy’s blog speaks my language. Her tagline, “Adventures in Speculative Fiction” told me right off the bat that I was going to enjoy my time there. Like the name implies, Tammy reviews speculative fiction – so, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. You know, the good stuff.

The Tattooed Book Geek: Drew’s blog also appeals to me for reasons that are going to very quickly become apparent. He reviews fantasy, thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy and horror as well. I like that stuff! If you do too, go check out his site!

And last but not least,

Tea Spangsberg: Tea’s site is part lifestyle blog, part writing blog, and part cooking blog. I love it. She has all sorts of gift giving ideas, which I really, really appreciate at this time of year. Check her out!

Well, that was a lot of fun!