An Award (or Three)

   First of all, a huge THANK YOU to Christina over at fairy skeletons for nominating me for these awards! Before we go any further, hop on over and visit her blog--it’s always funny, fantastic, and interesting. (Besides, if the name 'fairy skeletons' doesn't make you want to check it out, I don’t know what will.) 

The Rules:

•  Thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
•   List the rules and display the award.
•   Add 7 facts about yourself.
•   Nominate 15 other bloggers.
•   Follow on blogger the person who nominated you.

My Facts: 
1. Occasionally, I drink my coffee black. I always regret it.
2. I love spiral bound notebooks.
3. Or any kind of notebook. I have a major stationary addiction. 
4. As you've probably deduced from this blog’s title, Peter Pan is one of my favorite books. If I could live anywhere in Neverland, I’d pick the Mermaids’ Lagoon.
5. I’ve eaten more than my fair share of Turkish Delight. 
6. I love a movie with a good soundtrack. Some of my favorites are Gladiator (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard), Peter Pan (James Newton Howard), Braveheart (James Horner), Labyrinth (Trevor Jones and David Bowie), Treasure Planet (again, James Newton Howard) and The Secret of Roan Inish (Mason Daring). 
7. My favorite mythical creature is the selkie. 

Best Blogging Buddies Award

The Rules:

• You must make a post to show your award on your main blog.
• You must tag the person who nominated you in your post.
• You must nominate all of your best buddies, and those whom you want to become best buddies with, who, to your knowledge, have not been nominated for this award.
• You must ask your buddies at least 15 questions in your post.
• You must answer all of the questions your buddies ask you on your post.

1. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do that you managed to finally get done this year? 
   Last month The Teacup Trail accepted two of my flash fiction stories, “Fox Sister” and “The Girl Who Swallowed the Sea” for publication. I’ve wanted to publish a story for years, and finally reaching that goal felt almost unreal--I still can’t quite believe it.   

2. Name five things you genuinely and wholeheartedly like about yourself.
   I have very thick, extremely curly hair which I love when I’m not trying to style it. My teeth are straight, thanks to braces and retainers. I have a pretty good sense of humor. My taste in books, movies, and music is obviously impeccable. And I happen to own two sets of gorgeous toes. 

3. What’s your favorite part of blogging?
  I love coming up with ideas for new posts. I love playing with the formatting to make sure everything looks just right. I love clicking ‘Publish’! The actual writing is usually the hardest part, but it’s what makes everything else worth it. Seriously.  

4. Describe your writing style (in blog posts or creative writing, your choice!) in three sentences. 
   My writing is (I hope) very character-centered. My ideas begin as concepts with characters attached. I love a sense of strangeness or otherworldliness, and hope that comes across in my own stories. 

5. Is there a song that’s currently stuck in your head? If so, what is it?
    "Aisling" by Shane McGowan & the Popes. I replay my favorite songs until I’m absolutely sick of them, and I’m not done with this one yet. Give it a listen; the tune is addictive. 

6. If you could only eat one kind of fruit for the rest of your life, what would it be?
  Raspberries. Or strawberries. Or pomegranates…

7. What language(s)--real or fictional--would you love to learn?
  I took Russian lessons for three years (my Mom’s family is from Russia) but never applied myself enough to actually learn more than a couple of words and phrases. I still love the sound of the language, though, and if I could do it over again I’d try harder.

8. What is your opinion of silence--that all encompassing, thick-as-a-blanket kind?
  It depends. If I’m on my own, I love it. If it falls in the middle of a conversation, I’ll do anything I can to start the conversation back up again--or escape. 
   
9. Without using the Internet or the news, predict the weather for tomorrow (be as far-fetched or practical as you want). 
   Snow. Ten feet of snow. 

10. In the movie Rise of the Guardians (which I personally love), each guardian has his or her own “center”, or a single value that makes them who they are. For example, Santa Claus’s center is “wonder”.  What do you think your center would be?
   Honestly? My center would probably be stubbornness--and not always in a good way. I tend to get stuck in one way of doing things and resist any kind of change. 

11. If a movie was made about your life, which actors/actresses would you put in the cast?
   A fabulously talented and as yet unknown actress to play me, and Benedict Cumberbatch to play…somebody. Anybody. 

12. How do you like your eggs cooked (or do you not like eggs at all)?
  Fried, with plenty of salt and pepper.

13. How would you describe your fashion sense?
   Casual. I love jeans, sweaters, and T-shirts. I like jewelry but usually wear only earrings. And I love painting my nails, even though I have never owned more than one bottle of nail polish at a time. 

14. Do you have an “aesthetic”? If so, describe it for us!
   Since a picture’s worth a thousand words…

  15. Absolute favorite poem?
   The Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats

The Lake Isle of Innisfree 

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made: 

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee;

And live alone in the bee-loud glade. 

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet’s wings. 

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.  

    




•  Thank the person who nominated you.
•  Leave a link to their page.
•  Give a brief story about how you started blogging, and share some tips.
•  Nominate 15 other bloggers
•  Notify your nominees by email or comment

How I Started: 
   'Third Star to the Right' is actually my fourth attempt at blogging. Since I’d never met with much success before, I dragged my feet for months before starting it. I’m glad I did, though; I had plenty of time to figure out what I wanted my blog to be about. 

Tips: 

 1. Have fun! 
 2. Before starting, read as many other blogs as you can. Get a feel for what you like and what you don’t. 
 3. Tinker with your template to get a nice design, but don’t stress over it too much. 
 4. Don’t worry if your first posts sound uncertain or awkward--that’s part of finding your voice. And don’t wait to compose ‘the perfect post’. Write your best post, publish it, and start another one. 
 5. Don’t edit your post after you’ve published it. Move on. Write a new one. Just don’t spend the rest of your day fiddling with commas and quotation marks. 

  This is the part where I should list my own nominations. Unfortunately, I don’t know many other bloggers yet (and most of the bloggers I do know have already been nominated). Lame excuse, I know. So, if anyone would like to participate in this tag, let me know in the comments and I’ll come up with 15 questions for you! In the meantime, you can check out Christina’s answers here.  

Photos via The Forest Marketplace, Pinterest, and We Heart It