Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

The Instructions:
1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 deserving blog buddies.
4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them

Kathy from Read This Instead has very kindly passed on the 'Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award' to me. Thank you, Kathy!

7 Random Facts About Me
1. I'm an only child, but I always wished I had an older brother. Yahhh, it took me a while when I was little to realize that was impossible.

2. I have a hard time picking a favourite of anything, whether it be a book, musical artist, movie, etc.

3. When I was little I ran into my Dad on top of playground equipment and fell off and broke my arm. I kept saying "Daddy pushed me!" I wonder why my Mom didn't want me to say that at the hospital? ;) Oops...

4. When I was in high school for a while there I wanted to be a lawyer. I'm not sure why, since I don't exactly enjoy confrontation.

5. I hate making important decisions. An example: it took me months to actually start my blog because I couldn't decide on a name.

6. I have two favourite accessories. One is a bracelet that closes with a star charm, and I wear it every day -- my best friend has the same one. The other is a key necklace that my Mom bought me, and I got it because of 'Lock and Key' by Sarah Dessen.

7. I really, really hate winter in Ontario (bone-chilling cold), but I hate the summers too (INSANE humidity). So that kind of sucks, because our spring and fall seasons are insanely short.

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So, there are my random facts. I always have the worst time coming up with stuff, but hopefully those are somewhat interesting?

As for passing on the awards, you guys know how it goes... I don't actually pass them on because I know a lot of people don't like to accept them, but I do like to give props to awesome bloggers. So, I'd like to mention some of the newer blogs that I've found over the past month or two:

- Cindy's Love of Books
- eclectic / eccentric
- One Librarian's Book Reviews
- The Reading Fever
- The Story Queen
- The Zealous Reader
- We Heart YA

Stylish Blogger Award

Today I want to take the time to thank not just one person, but the two amazing people who thought of me last week and awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award. Many thanks go out to Aimee from A Book Dork & Sarah from Mistress of the Library. I still find it so cool that people check out my blog, let alone that they would recognize my blog as great.

The rules of this award are to share 7 things about yourself, and then pass the award on to bloggers you think are great, letting them know you've passed the award on to them. I know a lot of people get uptight about awards and the restraints of accepting them, so what I'm going to do is share the 7 things, and then just make a short list of some awesome blogs I think you should definitely check out.



7 Things About Me:

1. I'm left handed, even though neither of my parents are. I love being left handed, and for some reason I take great pride in it, even though it means that nearly everything in the world inconveniences me.

2. My grandparents on my Mom's side were born in Holland, and I LOVE Dutch candy and pastries. I desperately want to visit Holland and meet all my relatives there.

3. Before going into library school I can honestly say I didn't really know everything that a librarian does. I just knew I loved books/reading, and that I also enjoyed organization and research. Turns out the program was a perfect fit for me -- thank goodness.

4. I'm a huge history geek, but I prefer watching documentaries or listening to lectures about it. I've only picked up 1 or 2 non-fiction historical books since finishing my undergrad (specialization in history).

5. I discover more and more every time I meet a dog how much of a cat person I am. I like dogs, but I LOVE cats. They're so hilarious and snarky and condescending, and they just know how awesome they are. My Mom & I have two cats, Cinder & Tatum:





6. I think I read more YA now than I did when I was an actual teenager, possibly because I think the best YA has been coming out over the past 5 years. Sarah Dessen and Meg Cabot are two exceptions to this, as I've been reading them since high school.

7. Besides reading/blogging I don't really have many hobbies. I can cross stitch, and that's about it. I'm a total homebody, and I would rather just sit at home and watch way too much TV (Vampire Diaries tonight, anyone? I'm so there).

And now for the awesome bloggers. Here are just a few examples of the great blogs that I really enjoy reading:

• i swim for oceans
• Supernatural Snark
• Midnight Bloom Reads
• The Book Swarm
• The Reading Date

Life is Good Award

I'd like to say a big thank you to Meghan from Midnight Fume who has awarded me the 'Life is Good' Award.

Here are the "rules" for this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person that gave this award.
2. Answer the following survey questions mentioned below.
3. Pass it on to another 15 Blogs that are fairly new and interesting to you.
4. Contact the bloggers so they know they've been chosen.

This award is given to blogs that you find fun and/or interesting, and the questions allow your blog followers to get to know you better. And now, onto the questions...

If you blog anonymously are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?
I would say I definitely don't blog anonymously... as in, everyone knows my name and I put my picture up, and people in my "real life" know I'm a book blogger. Besides the general purpose of writing reviews because I like to do it, I see my blog as a networking opportunity for my future profession (public librarian), so I definitely wouldn't change the fact that I don't blog anonymously.

Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side:
Hmmm, I'm not sure I can think of one specific incident! That's kind of a difficult one... I am VERY stubborn, though, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I don't like giving up on things, and I tend to be very stubborn with trying things myself and wanting to do things right. Maybe it comes with being an only child?

What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?
I think when I truly take a good look, I see someone who has matured a lot in the past few years... I see the person I was, who I am, who I want to become. And then, of course, on the surface non-metaphorical level I see a really pale 20-something girl with glasses who could pass for a teenager, and with hair that isn't really blonde, brown, or red, but it somewhere inbetween.

What is your favorite summer cold drink?
It's a toss up between iced tea and lemonade.

When you take time for yourself, what do you do?
Most of my time is spent doing assignments for library school (which I'm almost done, I can't believe it!), so when I have "me" time I pretty much just read, watch TV, and update the blog.

Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it?
I'd really like to get a librarian job within 6 months of graduating... it would be so amazing. Outside of career goals, I'd love to visit Holland see where my grandparents grew up.

When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever , the shy person, or always ditching?
In elementary school I was painfully shy. I'm still quiet and introverted to an extent, but I'm not really shy. I was never a teacher's pet, but I've always been the "smart" one. Now in my master's program we're all just geeky librarians. ;)

If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment of your life what would you see?
I guess I have two answers. One, would be when I found out my parents were splitting up. It just totally changed my whole reality and future, so in that way it had a huge impact on me. Another is when I found out I was accepted to my master's program. I had a year off between undergrad and grad school, and I hadn't been able to find a job... I felt like I was completely stuck, I didn't know where I was going. I applied really late to the program, and there were only 2 spots left, and a lot of applicants... and then I found out I was accepted, and it (once again) changed my whole future and reality. Both those moments meant a lot, in 2 very different ways.

Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?
Well, I guess these answers show that I definitely don't mind sharing about myself and my feelings. This is a very public forum, so I would never share intimate details about my life, but for more general thoughts and feelings, I feel good about being open. I suppose it's much easier to write about other people because it's not going to personally change you or effect you at all.

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I am actually going to break the rules of this award, and not pass this on to anyone in particular. Hopefully that's okay with everyone. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to answer the questions, however...

1. I'd like to draw everyone's attention to my left sidebar and point out the "Great YA Book Blogs" I have linked there, & ...
2. I'd be glad to present this award to anyone reading this who feels like answering these questions and passing it on to other bloggers.

Thanks again for presenting me with my very first award, Meghan! It means a lot!! =)