Mystery Blogger Award

I was tagged for the Mystery Blogger Award by Deanna @The Comfy Reader AND Flora @Flora’s Musings! Thank you so much! It is such an honor to be thought of by these wonderful book bloggers. Everyone should be following them, if you aren’t already.

This award was created by Okoto Enigma and is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.

Rules

• Put the award logo/image on your blog.
• List the rules.
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
• 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 any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).
• Share a link to your best post(s).

3 Things About Myself x2

I’ll do 6 since I was nominated twice.

1. My great-grandmother gave me the nickname Tessa. I was named after her mother – Theresa- and I guess her mom’s nickname was Tessa, though I never asked.
2. I’m 95% Irish, English, and Scottish – so says Ancestry.com and that wasn’t a surprise to me.
3. The two colleges I attended for undergrad both had chicken mascots. Really, what are the odds of that! Bonus points if you can figure out which colleges 😉
4. I live in North Carolina in the United States but I grew up in Delaware.
5. I married my college sweetheart right after college and we are still married. (with 2 daughters and 3 cats)
6. I have spent most of my adult life working with kids in one capacity or another. (English Teacher, Volunteer, Newspaper Advisor, and School Counselor)

Questions from Deanna

What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve has to be when people pronounce Salisbury with an “A” sound like you say in the word “pal” rather than an A sound like in “saw.” It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me.

What is some advice you would give to someone starting a blog?

Stay somewhat organized and post regularly. Utilize fun posts like memes and tags/awards (they are great for conversations). And, don’t stress over numbers. Just write in a way you would want to read and try to inject your “voice” into your posts. Also, Grammarly is your friend 😊.

If you could time travel, when/where would you go?

I think I would go to the future – 100 years into the future.

What is your all-time favorite book?

My all-time favorite classic is The Awakening by Kate Chopin and more current is To Dance with Kings by Rosalind Laker (which admittedly is an odd choice for me since I mostly read mystery and fantasy)

WOULD YOU RATHER – Be covered in fur or covered in scales? (my weird/silly question)

Fur – I would rather be soft and fluffy

Questions from Flora

Who is your bookish 🦄 unicorn? 🦄

I really wasn’t sure how to answer this… I’m admitting it…so I will go with my favorite bookish unicorn – The Last Unicorn, Lady Amalthea. (I really wanted to email you, Flora, and ask what you meant by this question.)

Which 5 books gave you your BIGGEST book hangover?

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
2. To Dance with Kings by Rosalind Laker
3. Dune by Frank Herbert
4. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you first started blogging?

GRAMMARLY (and this is from someone with a BA in English)

If you won an all-expenses-paid holiday, where would you choose to go and what would you do there?

Any beautiful beach in a warm climate and I would relax – just relax.

(Leaving the best to last – my funny/weird question.) What is are your top 5 favorite smells? 🤪 Yup, you read it right, I wanna know what aromas you love sniffin’ 😜😂😜

1. Amber (used in bath products and lotions)
2. Strawberries
3. Brackish water smells that mean you are getting close to the beach
4. Old Bay when put on steameing blue crabs
5. Ocean City, MD Boardwalk (which smells like a weird mix of sugar, grease, the ocean, and suntan lotion)

Nominations

If you are reading this post and I have commented on your blog this week, consider yourself nominated. And you can pick any 5 questions from the 10 above.

Ok, ok…I know I’m kind of cheating but really those people who are actually reading this and have enjoyed a random comment from me this week truly should be about 10 to 20, so I feel okay doing this 🙂

Best Post

I have no idea. How about the one WordPress stats list as my best post – I don’t think it was my best written but it got the most views, likes, and comments: Impact of Star Ratings