Image Credit: The Green Onion Blog

Many thanks to the incredibly nerdy The Green Onion Blog for nominating me for another award!

Here’s the link to the post where I was nominated:

• Sunshine Blogger Award #2

The Rules:

1. Thank the person(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post and/or on your blog.

The Questions:

1. Can you describe your ideal man-cave/woman-cave/library, and what kind of things we would find in there?

My ideal woman-cave / library would be a replica of the Beast’s library in Beauty and the Beast. However, I’m excited to be building a smaller version in my own house – The Lady Lounge! Eventually, it will contain my desk, my laptop, my humongous bookcase, my American Girl dolls, and a reading nook!

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2. What was one of your most prized toys/possessions when you were a child?

My first 18-inch American Girl doll, Stephanie. I still have her, nearly 20 years later. It’s funny – She’s one of the look-alike dolls (Originally called “American Girl of Today,” now called “Truly Me.”). However, when my parents bought her for me for Christmas in 1997, the company didn’t make a doll with brown hair and green/hazel eyes, so the next best thing was blonde hair with bangs, and bright green eyes. To me, however, as a 9-year-old, she was perfect. I took her everywhere!

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3. What book/comic book movie adaptation do you wish they would make that has not been done yet?

Oh, goodness. This was the hardest question for me! I’d love to see Stargirl’s story to be continued. She’s had a few live-action and animation roles, but nothing in a movie, yet!

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4. You won a $500 gift card to the bookstore, what do you buy first?

Score! I’d immediately buy all of Jane Austen’s works.

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5. If you had to cosplay any character, and had access to whatever you needed, who are you going as?

Wonder Woman!

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6. You can have any robot-pet, what kind of robo-pet do you get?

A hedgehog!

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7. What was the worst mark you ever got in school?

High school Spanish was the worst! I flat out failed a couple tests, and got a zero on one assignment because my teacher could tell that I had rushed and used Google Translate.

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8. What would be the absolute worst villain/monster after you?

One that takes books away!

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9. If you were going colour blind, and get to choose which colour you lose, what colour will you never see again?

Orange.

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10. If you could own any fictional vehicle, what are you driving?

The Invisible Jet.

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11. You get one protein, one fruit/vegetable, and one dairy product, for the rest of your life, what are your choices?

Seafood, mushrooms, and cheese.

Nominations:

1. Aliexpress Fashion Review
2. The Watts
3. TrevnJess
4. Not-so-modern girl
5. MovieBabble
6. Reads & Reels
7. Flexi Reads
8. Elazar Abrahams – TV and City
9. midnightmusings
10. goldenquotesrb
11. Julius – Logical Quotes

Questions for the Bloggers:

1. If you could have one dessert for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
2. What was your favorite subject in school?
3. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
4. What’s your favorite superhero movie / TV show?
5. Name three books that you read as a child that left a lasting impression on you.
6. What’s one of your favorite childhood memories?
7. When did you get your first cell phone?
8. Which TV cast would you love to meet?
9. If you had the opportunity to buy a one-way plane ticket tomorrow, what destination would you pick?
10. Do you have a favorite game show?
11. If you could have any pet (real or fictional), what would you get, and why?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Image Credit: Found on The Green Onion Blog.

Many thanks to The Green Onion Blog for nominating me for The Blogger Recognition Award!

Here’s the link to his post, where I was nominated:

• Blogger Recognition Award

The Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
2. Write a post to show your award.
3. Give a brief story of how your blog started.
4. Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
5. Select other bloggers you want to give this award to.
6. Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

How Hot Shot Headlines Started:

Thanks to Dr. Bill Stuart (Dr. B.) at Longwood University, I created my first blog through his Computer-Mediated Communication class. After a few years, different blogs that didn’t go very far, and a couple of platforms (Blogspot, WordPress, etc.), I landed here. I celebrate my blogaversary next month – It’s been three years since Hot Shot Headlines officially kicked off.

As for the name: “Hot Shot” is the nickname that my dad gave me years ago. We have no idea how it started, or exactly when it started, but it’s stuck. Since I was a Communication Studies, Mass Media major in college, I wanted to have a news-like angle to whatever blog I created. Thus, I found “Headlines” to be appropriate.

I ended up not going into the journalism field for my career, so I like to think that my blog is an extension, of sorts, of my university newspaper participation that I absolutely loved for eight semesters.

I’ve really enjoyed the last year or so in particular, where my horizons really started to expand. I’ve loved participating in different challenges and tags, writing about real issues, and exploring other items of interest (Books, different types of media, etc.). Plus, I’ve gained so many amazing followers, and friends!

My Advice to New Bloggers:

1. Don’t put pressure on yourself to have a set schedule.
2. Always respond to comments!
3. Don’t be afraid to take “blogging breaks.”

For me, I agonized for a really long time about setting a schedule for my blog. I wanted to post regularly, but I didn’t know how to do so. I felt awkward with a ton of unfinished drafts.

When WordPress came out with the “Schedule” feature, that was a game-changer for me! Now, I can look at the calendar and figure out any day and time that I want to publish posts. It’s fantastic! If a certain post isn’t ready, I can easily change the date and time for publication.

I’m definitely a routine person. Example – I wanted to publish my “52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge” posts on the same day every single week. I picked Wednesdays, and it’s worked beautifully. Now, I’m finding that I’m posting more frequently, and enjoying it!

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I try to respond to every single comment that’s made on my posts (unless it’s spam, of course). It’s a great way to connect with other bloggers and readers alike! I’ve made several blogging friends this way.

In addition, I try to comment on posts that really speak to me. It doesn’t have to be a long comment, but I enjoy reaching out to other bloggers in that way. Plus, if it’s a WordPress blog, the poster can find my blog that way! It’s a great networking tool/resource.

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Finally, don’t be afraid to take a “blogging break.” Everyone I know who writes, whether it’s a blogger, journalist, novelist, or poet, gets writer’s block. It sucks!

But, if you’ve found that you’ve hit a wall with your blog or your writing, it’s actually a good thing to take a break. Here’s a personal example – I found that I was absolutely burnt out in early 2015 for about a month or so. Outside of the blog, I was planning my wedding, work was crazy, and I was trying to keep up with my paralegal classes. I couldn’t juggle the blog with everything else. I went on complete hiatus for about two weeks. I felt bad, but those two weeks helped my brain catch up with everything else in my life. Plus, I had fresh material and new ideas for the blog. I came back to the blog recharged, and ready to write again!

Now, I find myself taking shorter breaks every so often – Sometimes a few weekdays, sometimes a whole weekend. It depends. When we travel to Al’s parents’ farm, I really try to hard to “unplug” completely when we’re there. It’s a nice break from technology, social media, etc.

Nominations:

1. R.H. (Rusty) Foerger – Curriculum of the Spiritual Life
2. jennanicolee – Bookmark Your Life
3. Animal Planet Lover
4. Its Naly
5. martin houghton – DukkeHus
6. vinnieh
7. Panic At The Bookstore
8. Marie’s library
9. Cheila – Pink For Days
10. Suyog Chhatre – Positivity Unlimited
11. The Sporadic Scribbler
12. Alex Raphael

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a terrific Thursday!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂