So I have a folder in my Feedly that titled "Possibly Dead". It's where I put all the blogs that I love reading and don't want to unsubscribe from, but which haven't been updated in over six months. And it's not that I assume the blogger may have died, because that would be creepy and wrong. No, I just assume their blog is dead.
I never used to understand how people could just stop blogging, particularly when they were bloggers who posted really regularly. Because blogging was such a huge part of my life and their lives and it seemed weird that they'd suddenly just...give it up.
And then I basically became one of those people.
I currently have 314 unread posts in my Feedly. And I haven't blogged in months (except on Snark Squad...). The main reason I stopped blogging is that I didn't have anything to say. Which is weird, because I've changed jobs and gone to VidCon and spent three weeks in the US hanging out with a lot of wonderful internet friends and become completely obsessed with Seattle and also Little Miss A is reading Harry Potter(!!!!!!!) and my YouTube channel has like 1,650 subscribers, which is at least 1,400 more subscribers than I ever had here.
I have half a dozen Classics Club books that need to be reviewed, and any number of other things that I could talk about.
And yet.
Admittedly, the main reason why I've been putting off reviewing the Classics Club books is that this is my 1,000th post. And I felt like it needed some kind of recognition. But it felt kind of weird to be celebrating 1,000 posts when my blog is basically on life support.
But finally, I'm doing the thing. Celebrating - albeit in a small way - the achievement. Flexing my typing muscles again.
I aten't dead, friends (yes, that's a Terry Pratchett reference). Blogging may not be a regular thing for me any more, but I *will* do my best to avoid ending up in your Possibly Dead folder.
K xx
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
The end of an era
When I first started blogging back in 2009, I did so with the intention that only my family and real life friends would be reading it. I figured blogging was an easy way to avoid having the exact same "So, how's Canberra?" conversation five times a week.
As is usually the way, writing a blog leads to reading dozens and dozens of other blogs. Somewhere along the way, I stumbled across Rachael King's blog. And that led to a whole group of other blogs. And they all had one thing on common: they were all members of a website called 20Something Bloggers.
So, after some further investigation and a small case of "oh God, what am I doing??", I signed up. And it changed my life forever. The forums were equal parts hilarious, feelsy and ridiculous. The chat was...usually pretty dead at times I was able to hang out in there, but it was still hilarious and over the top and brilliant.
When 20SB announced that they were holding a summit in Chicago about two weeks before I was planning on going to the US in 2011, I made the rather rash and spontaneous decision to change my plans and go. To a city where I knew no one. To attend a summit with a bunch of people I'd never met before. I didn't even know if anyone I knew was actually going to go, but I took the chance anyway.
And sure, it was nerve wracking. And sure, I basically spent half of the cocktail party sitting in a corner in terror. But it was so, so worth it.
So many of my best friends came out of the 20SB community. People that I talk to every day. People that I collaborate with every day. People whose faces I get to see on a daily basis every August. People who understand. People who are there when I need someone to talk to. People who send me ridiculous emails and text messages and tweets. People in countries all over the world who I can't live without.
Tomorrow, the 20SB community is closing down. And though I haven't been active there since I turned 30, I'll miss it enormously. So here's to us, 20SBers. Life may not have always been easy, but we've had each other's backs the whole way. And I'm grateful for each and every one of you.
Except that girl who cheated me out of a chicken trophy. I hope she stands on a Lego*.
K xx
*What? No, I'm not even remotely bitter about something that happened three years ago........
As is usually the way, writing a blog leads to reading dozens and dozens of other blogs. Somewhere along the way, I stumbled across Rachael King's blog. And that led to a whole group of other blogs. And they all had one thing on common: they were all members of a website called 20Something Bloggers.
So, after some further investigation and a small case of "oh God, what am I doing??", I signed up. And it changed my life forever. The forums were equal parts hilarious, feelsy and ridiculous. The chat was...usually pretty dead at times I was able to hang out in there, but it was still hilarious and over the top and brilliant.
When 20SB announced that they were holding a summit in Chicago about two weeks before I was planning on going to the US in 2011, I made the rather rash and spontaneous decision to change my plans and go. To a city where I knew no one. To attend a summit with a bunch of people I'd never met before. I didn't even know if anyone I knew was actually going to go, but I took the chance anyway.
And sure, it was nerve wracking. And sure, I basically spent half of the cocktail party sitting in a corner in terror. But it was so, so worth it.
So many of my best friends came out of the 20SB community. People that I talk to every day. People that I collaborate with every day. People whose faces I get to see on a daily basis every August. People who understand. People who are there when I need someone to talk to. People who send me ridiculous emails and text messages and tweets. People in countries all over the world who I can't live without.
Tomorrow, the 20SB community is closing down. And though I haven't been active there since I turned 30, I'll miss it enormously. So here's to us, 20SBers. Life may not have always been easy, but we've had each other's backs the whole way. And I'm grateful for each and every one of you.
Except that girl who cheated me out of a chicken trophy. I hope she stands on a Lego*.
K xx
*What? No, I'm not even remotely bitter about something that happened three years ago........
Monday, January 5, 2015
2014 end of year book survey
Like many other book bloggers, I'm jumping on the bandwagon and completing the end of year survey put out by the lovely Jamie over at The Perpetual Page Turner! (And I've pinched those category headers from her because they're just so preeeeeeeeetty)
I'm not really going to say a whole lot on this subject, because I'm going to be doing an entire post on this very subject in a couple of days. Because I tracked a bunch of different things over 2014, and I found it pretty interesting. So...yeah. Entire post. For now, I'll give you the absolute basics, as per Jamie's survey.
Number Of Books You Read: 275
Number of Re-Reads: 104
Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary (69 books)
1. Best Book You Read In 2014?
Easily Heir of Fire. Easily.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn't?
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding. WHY WAS THIS NECESSARY??? Literally nothing about this book was necessary... Also Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn. So many people raved about this, and I was just...on the struggle bus. Sigh.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. Holy wow.
4. Book You "Pushed" The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?
It's a tie between the Wilfair series by Alysia Gray Painter, and the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Surprisingly, several people read both based on my recommendations. #librarianFTW
5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?
THRONE OF GLASS. HEIR OF FIRE. FAIRWIL. Too easy.
6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2014?
Sarah J. Maas. Seriously, this entirely survey is turning into a Sarah J. Maas worshipping session, but I just adored every single one of her books.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
The Enemy by Charlie Higson. I can't deal with zombie books as a general rule - and this one was no exception as evidenced by the fact that I woke up at 3am on my birthday from zombie-themed nightmares - but this one was INCREDIBLE. You know, provided I read it during daylight hours...
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Heir of Fire was the most action-packed. Fairwil was the one that I couldn't put down and kept having to email Alysia asking her to send me more of it #betareaderproblems
9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Fairwil. Like I said, I beta read it, so I still haven't seen the finished version. But I'm waiting until the Kindle version comes out so that I can highlight my little heart out. If we're talking about books I haven't already mentioned, then it's probably Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Fabulousness.
10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2014?
It's just so preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty, you guys...
11. Most memorable character of 2014?
Celaena Sardothian. James Mycroft from Ellie Marney's Every Word. And Clariel from Garth Nix's Clariel.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?
It's a tie between Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and Brown Girl Dreaming, both of which were stunning.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?
This may sound a little trite, but it's Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment. I'd read it before and had a very "yeah, yeah. Typical Pratchett" reaction to it. But upon reread, it's pretty much non-stop female empowerment. And once I'd started seeing it in that way, I couldn't stop.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?
Morris Gleitzman's Once series. Absolutely amazing.
15. Favourite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?
"She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one." - Heir of Fire, Sarah J. Maas
"If someone had taken
that book out of my hand
said, You're too old for this
maybe
I'd never have believed
that someone who looked like me
could be in the pages of the book
that someone who looked like me
had a story." - Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
"We all fight our own private wars" - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz
"I was suddenly awash with the magical feeling adjacent to love. It’s the emotion you experience when two people you care about connect in their own way, outside of your sphere, and you no longer have to coax them because they've found the particular friendship road they’re going to walk together." - Fairwil, Alysia Gray Painter (the beta'ed version, anyway)
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2014?
Just One Night (novella) - Gail Forman, 40 pages.
Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens, 900 pages.
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
Definitely Dangerous Girls. That was one hell of a twist, and I definitely didn't see it coming.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Fair Finley and Gomery Overbove, forever and always. Honourable mention to Rachel Watts and James Mycroft, holy hell.
19. Favourite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Fair Finley and Monty Overbove. BrOTP, yo. And the friendship between Beth and Jennifer in Rainbow Rowell's Attachments.
20. Favourite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You've Read Previously
Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger. I've loved all her books, but this one made me squee with excitement because my ship is finally sailing.
21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Morris Gleitzman's Once series. My boss recommended them to me for months, and then basically snatched them out of the hands of a small child and thrust them at me with orders to read them immediately.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?
James Mycroft from Ellie Marney's Every Breath. Totally and utterly messed up, but I just want to squish him. Also Henry Crosby from Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer, because he's ridiculously sweet and also smells like cupcakes.
23. Best 2014 debut you read?
Solitaire by Alice Oseman. Pretty damned fabulous, especially if you spend too much of your life on the internet. Although also likely to cause feelings of inadequacy because the author is twenty and wrote the book when she was seventeen hahahahahaha ohgodkillmenow.
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Probably Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass books. Although Robin LaFever's His Fair Assassin trilogy is pretty close behind.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Fairwil by Alysia Gray Painter. Said smiles were shipping-induced. Other than that, anything by Terry Pratchett is always an absolute blast to read.
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?
What, just one?? I think the one that caused the ugliest cry session was Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer. I did NOT read the blurb before I started it, and that was a big mistake (although the book was excellent). Morris Gleitzman's After. And Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits. They're probably the big three. Fairwil caused happy crying because I was thrilled about what happened but didn't want it to be over.
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Brandy Colbert's Pointe. I don't think I know anyone who's read it, and it was absolutely phenomenal, in a "I might have to go and throw up now because this is so nerve-wracking" kind of a way.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
I'm not sure that any books really crushed my soul in 2014. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick was pretty close though (WHY ARE THEY MAKING A MOVIE OF THIS HORRIBLY DEPRESSING BOOK??????????).
Unless we're talking soul crushing as in "WHY DOES THIS BOOK NEVER END OH MY GOD MAKE IT END", in which case it's a tie between Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn, and Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, both of which nearly killed me (sorry, Ashlea and Angie...)
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?
Fairwil. Always and forever.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it)?
Any of the books in the True Believers series by Erin McCarthy. Those books were just...the worst. Also The Selection by Kiera Cass, which made me rage so hard that I created a hashtag on Twitter (#stupidbookisstupid)
1. New favourite book blog you discovered in 2014?
Paper Fury, formerly Notebook Sisters. I'm FAIRLY sure that I discovered Cait in 2014, but if not, I'm counting the fact that she changed her blog name and address and stuff as it being a new blog. Therefore, it totally counts.
2. Favourite review that you wrote in 2014?
Totally not one that I published on the blog, but I think my favourite review of 2014 was the (fairly scathing) review I wrote about The Selection on Goodreads.
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
Oh God, that's a really hard question. I don't know that it was the BEST, but this one about female characters that I think are better off not in relationships was one of my favourites.
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I've loved doing Top Ten Tuesday, and I really enjoyed Bout of Books, although it did leave me feeling a little burnt out!
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?
When Alysia asked me if I wanted to read Fairwil. Because obviously.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
The post that got the most views is apparently my post about The Book Thief movie, which somehow has like 3000 views more than anything else.
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Any of the posts I've written so far about my trip to Europe.
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Probably the Australian YA Bloggers and Readers group on Goodreads. I've met some fabulous people through that group.
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I set myself a Goodreads goal of 175 books this year. I had to up that to 200 in the middle of the year. Then to 250. Then to 275. And I scraped in by the skin of my teeth with about an hour left of New Year's Eve. Phew!
1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?
I've already crossed it off my list, and it was Claudia Gray's A Thousand Pieces of You. And it was as fabulous as I thought it would be.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?
Probably Libba Bray's Lair of Dreams. Because that freaking book has been tormenting me with its constantly moving release date ever since I finished The Diviners. IN TWO THOUSAND AND TWELVE.
3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I.W. Gregorio's None of the Above sounds really interesting, and I can't wait to see how it compares to Alyssa Brugman's Alex As Well, which I just finished. (IDK, you guys. I never seem to know if things are a debut or not...)
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?
THE NEW THRONE OF GLASS BOOK. WHICH STILL DOESN'T HAVE A TITLE. Also Marissa Meyer's Winter. And Gail Carriger's Manners & Mutiny. And Ellie Marney's Every Move.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?
Okay, this is one that I'm actually going to go ahead and answer tomorrow, because I have an entire project that I want to complete this year, and I think it's pretty damned cool. So you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for details!
6. A 2015 Release You've Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
FAIRWIL. Have I mentioned Fairwil enough times yet? Because seriously. Fairwil.
Just go read Fairwil, okay?
K xx
Number Of Books You Read: 275
Number of Re-Reads: 104
Genre You Read The Most From: Contemporary (69 books)
1. Best Book You Read In 2014?
Easily Heir of Fire. Easily.
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn't?
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding. WHY WAS THIS NECESSARY??? Literally nothing about this book was necessary... Also Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn. So many people raved about this, and I was just...on the struggle bus. Sigh.
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014?
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. Holy wow.
4. Book You "Pushed" The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?
It's a tie between the Wilfair series by Alysia Gray Painter, and the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. Surprisingly, several people read both based on my recommendations. #librarianFTW
5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?
THRONE OF GLASS. HEIR OF FIRE. FAIRWIL. Too easy.
6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2014?
Sarah J. Maas. Seriously, this entirely survey is turning into a Sarah J. Maas worshipping session, but I just adored every single one of her books.
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
The Enemy by Charlie Higson. I can't deal with zombie books as a general rule - and this one was no exception as evidenced by the fact that I woke up at 3am on my birthday from zombie-themed nightmares - but this one was INCREDIBLE. You know, provided I read it during daylight hours...
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Heir of Fire was the most action-packed. Fairwil was the one that I couldn't put down and kept having to email Alysia asking her to send me more of it #betareaderproblems
9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Fairwil. Like I said, I beta read it, so I still haven't seen the finished version. But I'm waiting until the Kindle version comes out so that I can highlight my little heart out. If we're talking about books I haven't already mentioned, then it's probably Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Fabulousness.
10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2014?
11. Most memorable character of 2014?
Celaena Sardothian. James Mycroft from Ellie Marney's Every Word. And Clariel from Garth Nix's Clariel.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?
It's a tie between Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and Brown Girl Dreaming, both of which were stunning.
13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?
This may sound a little trite, but it's Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment. I'd read it before and had a very "yeah, yeah. Typical Pratchett" reaction to it. But upon reread, it's pretty much non-stop female empowerment. And once I'd started seeing it in that way, I couldn't stop.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read?
Morris Gleitzman's Once series. Absolutely amazing.
15. Favourite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?
"She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one." - Heir of Fire, Sarah J. Maas
"If someone had taken
that book out of my hand
said, You're too old for this
maybe
I'd never have believed
that someone who looked like me
could be in the pages of the book
that someone who looked like me
had a story." - Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson
"We all fight our own private wars" - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Saenz
"I was suddenly awash with the magical feeling adjacent to love. It’s the emotion you experience when two people you care about connect in their own way, outside of your sphere, and you no longer have to coax them because they've found the particular friendship road they’re going to walk together." - Fairwil, Alysia Gray Painter (the beta'ed version, anyway)
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2014?
Just One Night (novella) - Gail Forman, 40 pages.
Our Mutual Friend - Charles Dickens, 900 pages.
17. Book That Shocked You The Most
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)
Definitely Dangerous Girls. That was one hell of a twist, and I definitely didn't see it coming.
18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Fair Finley and Gomery Overbove, forever and always. Honourable mention to Rachel Watts and James Mycroft, holy hell.
19. Favourite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Fair Finley and Monty Overbove. BrOTP, yo. And the friendship between Beth and Jennifer in Rainbow Rowell's Attachments.
20. Favourite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You've Read Previously
Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger. I've loved all her books, but this one made me squee with excitement because my ship is finally sailing.
21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
Morris Gleitzman's Once series. My boss recommended them to me for months, and then basically snatched them out of the hands of a small child and thrust them at me with orders to read them immediately.
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?
James Mycroft from Ellie Marney's Every Breath. Totally and utterly messed up, but I just want to squish him. Also Henry Crosby from Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer, because he's ridiculously sweet and also smells like cupcakes.
23. Best 2014 debut you read?
Solitaire by Alice Oseman. Pretty damned fabulous, especially if you spend too much of your life on the internet. Although also likely to cause feelings of inadequacy because the author is twenty and wrote the book when she was seventeen hahahahahaha ohgodkillmenow.
24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Probably Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass books. Although Robin LaFever's His Fair Assassin trilogy is pretty close behind.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Fairwil by Alysia Gray Painter. Said smiles were shipping-induced. Other than that, anything by Terry Pratchett is always an absolute blast to read.
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?
What, just one?? I think the one that caused the ugliest cry session was Morgan Matson's Second Chance Summer. I did NOT read the blurb before I started it, and that was a big mistake (although the book was excellent). Morris Gleitzman's After. And Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits. They're probably the big three. Fairwil caused happy crying because I was thrilled about what happened but didn't want it to be over.
27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Brandy Colbert's Pointe. I don't think I know anyone who's read it, and it was absolutely phenomenal, in a "I might have to go and throw up now because this is so nerve-wracking" kind of a way.
28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
I'm not sure that any books really crushed my soul in 2014. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick was pretty close though (WHY ARE THEY MAKING A MOVIE OF THIS HORRIBLY DEPRESSING BOOK??????????).
Unless we're talking soul crushing as in "WHY DOES THIS BOOK NEVER END OH MY GOD MAKE IT END", in which case it's a tie between Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn, and Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora, both of which nearly killed me (sorry, Ashlea and Angie...)
29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?
Fairwil. Always and forever.
30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn't necessarily mean you didn't like it)?
Any of the books in the True Believers series by Erin McCarthy. Those books were just...the worst. Also The Selection by Kiera Cass, which made me rage so hard that I created a hashtag on Twitter (#stupidbookisstupid)
1. New favourite book blog you discovered in 2014?
Paper Fury, formerly Notebook Sisters. I'm FAIRLY sure that I discovered Cait in 2014, but if not, I'm counting the fact that she changed her blog name and address and stuff as it being a new blog. Therefore, it totally counts.
2. Favourite review that you wrote in 2014?
Totally not one that I published on the blog, but I think my favourite review of 2014 was the (fairly scathing) review I wrote about The Selection on Goodreads.
3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
Oh God, that's a really hard question. I don't know that it was the BEST, but this one about female characters that I think are better off not in relationships was one of my favourites.
4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I've loved doing Top Ten Tuesday, and I really enjoyed Bout of Books, although it did leave me feeling a little burnt out!
5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?
When Alysia asked me if I wanted to read Fairwil. Because obviously.
7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
The post that got the most views is apparently my post about The Book Thief movie, which somehow has like 3000 views more than anything else.
8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
Any of the posts I've written so far about my trip to Europe.
9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Probably the Australian YA Bloggers and Readers group on Goodreads. I've met some fabulous people through that group.
10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I set myself a Goodreads goal of 175 books this year. I had to up that to 200 in the middle of the year. Then to 250. Then to 275. And I scraped in by the skin of my teeth with about an hour left of New Year's Eve. Phew!
1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?
I've already crossed it off my list, and it was Claudia Gray's A Thousand Pieces of You. And it was as fabulous as I thought it would be.
2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?
Probably Libba Bray's Lair of Dreams. Because that freaking book has been tormenting me with its constantly moving release date ever since I finished The Diviners. IN TWO THOUSAND AND TWELVE.
3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I.W. Gregorio's None of the Above sounds really interesting, and I can't wait to see how it compares to Alyssa Brugman's Alex As Well, which I just finished. (IDK, you guys. I never seem to know if things are a debut or not...)
4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?
THE NEW THRONE OF GLASS BOOK. WHICH STILL DOESN'T HAVE A TITLE. Also Marissa Meyer's Winter. And Gail Carriger's Manners & Mutiny. And Ellie Marney's Every Move.
5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?
Okay, this is one that I'm actually going to go ahead and answer tomorrow, because I have an entire project that I want to complete this year, and I think it's pretty damned cool. So you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for details!
6. A 2015 Release You've Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
FAIRWIL. Have I mentioned Fairwil enough times yet? Because seriously. Fairwil.
Just go read Fairwil, okay?
K xx
Thursday, December 11, 2014
'Bout This Blogger tag
You've probably noticed that I've not been around much in the past two months. Between NaNoWriMo last month and Vlogmas this month, my desire to write blog posts has pretty much disappeared recently. Which is unfortunate. I promise, someday soon I'll sort my shit out and start blogging regularly again!!
In the meantime, the lovely Cait recently switched her blog name from Notebook Sisters to Paper Fury, and she's throwing a little party to celebrate. Said party included this tag, which seemed like a pretty damned good idea to me. So. Yeah. Words and stuff.
‘BOUT THIS BLOGGER
1. Why did you start blogging?
This one I've actually answered at various times in the past, but whatever. I started blogging because I was living in Canberra and spent large chunks of my time telling the same stories to half a dozen people by phone and email. And it just seemed easier to put everything in one place and direct people to that rather than telling the same stories over and over! In short: I am lazy and hate the phone.
2. What’s the story behind your blog's name?
I was living in Canberra, and Melbourne was on my mind a lot. Hence the Melbourne on my mind part. I thought about changing it when I moved back to Melbourne in 2011, but I couldn't think of anything better, and it seemed weird to change my user name. A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings? That's courtesy of Jane Austen in Mansfield Park. It seemed appropriate, and I love Jane Austen, so...yeah.
3. How many designs have you been through since you started blogging? (Pictures! We demand pictures!)
Oh God, I have no idea. Three, I think? Four, maybe?? I used generic Blogger templates for a long time. I think one of them involved lemons?!?! And then I switched to a free template that I found online, which was blue and sort of paisley patterned, I think?! I swear, I have the worst memory about this stuff, and I totally should have taken screencaps before I changed anything. My current design is courtesy of Kim, and I still love it.
4. Have you ever switched blog platforms? What made you move? If you haven’t ever changed…why?
Nope. I've used Wordpress and Blogger, and as far as I can see it, unless you want to do a ton of customisation (which I don't), there aren't really any huge differences between the two. Plus, switching means importing nearly a thousand posts and over six thousand comments. And yeah, see also that whole me being lazy thing. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future, but at this point in time, I'm comfortable with Blogger.
5. How long does it take you to write a post? What’s your postly process like?
It depends on the post. Top Ten Tuesday posts usually take about 15 minutes, but I make the lists ahead of time by hand, and then just need to type them up and explain my choices. Travel posts usually take more like an hour, because half the time I've forgotten what happened and have to dig into the depths of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram to refresh my memory! Reviews take anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour, depending on the book. And recipe posts take foreeeeeeever because they require uploading a crapton of photos.
My post writing process? That basically goes like this:
1. Pick topic.
2. Vomit words onto screen.
3. Get distracted by Tumblr/Goodreads.
4. Forget about post.
5. Remember three hours later, and finish writing.
6. Skim read for typos.
7. Hit publish.
Yeah. It's not exactly ideal, and I should probably edit more than I do, but pffff. Effort.
6. Have you ever been super nervous about a post? Why?! What was it?
I've been nervous about a few posts over the past five years. This post featuring a ton of rebuttal about an anti-YA article was one. This one about my hate for between-the-numbers novellas was another. I was pretty nervous about this post following the great J.K. Rowling said she regretting Romione debacle. I was terrified of posting this vlog about how fandom can impact on your love of a book/TV show/movie, mostly because it may have been the result of some stuff that went down on Snark Squad. Oh, this one about why I prefer Elementary to Sherlock. But the one that I was most nervous about was this post about feminism.
7. Do you have a blogging schedule?
Hahahahaha, nope. I've tried a couple of times and failed dismally.
8. Do you tell people In-Real-Life about your blog? Their reactions?
Yep. I mean, I started my blog for people in real life, so it only makes sense than I tell them about it! I'm not convinced any of them but my mum read it though...
9. Top ten blogs you read/comment on the most! Go! Go!
I'm totally terrible at commenting. I used to be great at it, and then I started reading posts on my phone and saving the ones I wanted to comment on, and then TOTALLY FORGETTING ABOUT THEM FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.
That said, here are ten of my favourites reads that I try to be better than usual at commenting on (not including Snark Squad because it feels like cheating, even though it's the blog I comment on most):
1. Paper Fury || 2. The Democracy Diva || 3. Sweeney Says || 4. My Name Is Marines || 5. Love Woke Me Up This Morning || 6. Lazy Happy Bored Happy Sad || 7. This Is Not Your Blog || 8. The Engineer's Other Life || 9. Disquietus Reads || 10. Wilfair
10. If you could change/improve things about your blog, what would they be?
I'd blog in a more balanced way - more recipes and ridiculous life stories and TV stuff, rather than the book blog I've increasingly ended up writing this year. And I'd be better at replying to comments. I'm terrible at replying to comments...
So there you have it! If you want to join in the fun, Cait's got a linky up on her blog. And a giveaway that's open for another couple of weeks!
K xx
In the meantime, the lovely Cait recently switched her blog name from Notebook Sisters to Paper Fury, and she's throwing a little party to celebrate. Said party included this tag, which seemed like a pretty damned good idea to me. So. Yeah. Words and stuff.
‘BOUT THIS BLOGGER
1. Why did you start blogging?
This one I've actually answered at various times in the past, but whatever. I started blogging because I was living in Canberra and spent large chunks of my time telling the same stories to half a dozen people by phone and email. And it just seemed easier to put everything in one place and direct people to that rather than telling the same stories over and over! In short: I am lazy and hate the phone.
2. What’s the story behind your blog's name?
I was living in Canberra, and Melbourne was on my mind a lot. Hence the Melbourne on my mind part. I thought about changing it when I moved back to Melbourne in 2011, but I couldn't think of anything better, and it seemed weird to change my user name. A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings? That's courtesy of Jane Austen in Mansfield Park. It seemed appropriate, and I love Jane Austen, so...yeah.
3. How many designs have you been through since you started blogging? (Pictures! We demand pictures!)
Oh God, I have no idea. Three, I think? Four, maybe?? I used generic Blogger templates for a long time. I think one of them involved lemons?!?! And then I switched to a free template that I found online, which was blue and sort of paisley patterned, I think?! I swear, I have the worst memory about this stuff, and I totally should have taken screencaps before I changed anything. My current design is courtesy of Kim, and I still love it.
4. Have you ever switched blog platforms? What made you move? If you haven’t ever changed…why?
Nope. I've used Wordpress and Blogger, and as far as I can see it, unless you want to do a ton of customisation (which I don't), there aren't really any huge differences between the two. Plus, switching means importing nearly a thousand posts and over six thousand comments. And yeah, see also that whole me being lazy thing. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future, but at this point in time, I'm comfortable with Blogger.
5. How long does it take you to write a post? What’s your postly process like?
It depends on the post. Top Ten Tuesday posts usually take about 15 minutes, but I make the lists ahead of time by hand, and then just need to type them up and explain my choices. Travel posts usually take more like an hour, because half the time I've forgotten what happened and have to dig into the depths of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram to refresh my memory! Reviews take anywhere between 15 minutes and an hour, depending on the book. And recipe posts take foreeeeeeever because they require uploading a crapton of photos.
My post writing process? That basically goes like this:
1. Pick topic.
2. Vomit words onto screen.
3. Get distracted by Tumblr/Goodreads.
4. Forget about post.
5. Remember three hours later, and finish writing.
6. Skim read for typos.
7. Hit publish.
Yeah. It's not exactly ideal, and I should probably edit more than I do, but pffff. Effort.
6. Have you ever been super nervous about a post? Why?! What was it?
I've been nervous about a few posts over the past five years. This post featuring a ton of rebuttal about an anti-YA article was one. This one about my hate for between-the-numbers novellas was another. I was pretty nervous about this post following the great J.K. Rowling said she regretting Romione debacle. I was terrified of posting this vlog about how fandom can impact on your love of a book/TV show/movie, mostly because it may have been the result of some stuff that went down on Snark Squad. Oh, this one about why I prefer Elementary to Sherlock. But the one that I was most nervous about was this post about feminism.
7. Do you have a blogging schedule?
Hahahahaha, nope. I've tried a couple of times and failed dismally.
8. Do you tell people In-Real-Life about your blog? Their reactions?
Yep. I mean, I started my blog for people in real life, so it only makes sense than I tell them about it! I'm not convinced any of them but my mum read it though...
9. Top ten blogs you read/comment on the most! Go! Go!
I'm totally terrible at commenting. I used to be great at it, and then I started reading posts on my phone and saving the ones I wanted to comment on, and then TOTALLY FORGETTING ABOUT THEM FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS.
That said, here are ten of my favourites reads that I try to be better than usual at commenting on (not including Snark Squad because it feels like cheating, even though it's the blog I comment on most):
1. Paper Fury || 2. The Democracy Diva || 3. Sweeney Says || 4. My Name Is Marines || 5. Love Woke Me Up This Morning || 6. Lazy Happy Bored Happy Sad || 7. This Is Not Your Blog || 8. The Engineer's Other Life || 9. Disquietus Reads || 10. Wilfair
10. If you could change/improve things about your blog, what would they be?
I'd blog in a more balanced way - more recipes and ridiculous life stories and TV stuff, rather than the book blog I've increasingly ended up writing this year. And I'd be better at replying to comments. I'm terrible at replying to comments...
So there you have it! If you want to join in the fun, Cait's got a linky up on her blog. And a giveaway that's open for another couple of weeks!
K xx
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Update all the updates
Sooooo. It's been a while since I've talked about anything besides books and movies, huh? I guess that means it's time to give you guys a few updates on some stuff that's happening...
1. WE FINISHED ANGEL OMG
Yes, a couple of weeks ago, we officially posted our very last Angel recap over on Snark Squad. Since then, we've wrapped things up and, while I still have one more video to make on my own channel because Lor and Sweeney were dirty cheaters and changed the rules after I'd made my wrap-up videos, we are FINISHED with the Buffyverse. Which is crazy exciting.
But don't fret - you'll still see plenty of me over on Snark Squad. We're nearing the end of season 1 of Supernatural, and I'm working on TWO super secret projects over there as well. One will launch next week, while the other won't go live until October. But we've already started writing because we're weirdos like that.
2. I'M GOING TO ENGLAND OMG
That's right, I've booked a plane ticket and I'm heading to Old Blighty for three weeks in September! Well. More like two and a bit weeks in England and five or six days in Portugal, but whatever. It's pretty damned exciting either way. There will be all kinds of family shenanigans, and I plan on catching up with/meeting some of my favourite people. It's going to be pretty interesting, I suspect. Especially as I haven't been to the UK in 12 years, and on that particular occasion I spent all of about six hours in London!
3. I JOINED MEDIAVENGERS OMG
So after an increasing amount of weirdness and insanity on Tumblr, my BFF Kim decided that she was going to move MediAvengers to Blogger and reinvent it. And she asked me to join her, which UM DUH. So you can now find me over there on the regular, being all meta about the media pieces that Kim creates around Marvel Cinematic Universe events and characters wheeeeeee. No, but seriously. Check it out. It's pretty cool.
4. I'M GOING TO CANBERRA OMG
Not QUITE as exciting as some of the other news in this post, but Mum and I are heading up to Canberra next weekend for a few days to catch up with people and meet new babies and probably freeze to death. And to go to the bakery in Holbrook, because that's pretty much the only reason to spend seven hours on the Hume Highway...
5. I HAVE A JOB UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR OMG
Admittedly, it's only one day a week, but that's better than zero days a week! And a year working in the one place definitely looks better on my CV than two months or four months, so YAY.
6. I FINALLY FINISHED WATCHING CHARMED OMG
It only took me the better part of seven months to get through eight seasons!! And one of these days, I'll actually get around to blogging about seasons 4-8 to fit in with the ones I've already done... But for now? I've very happily moved onto Friday Night Lights. Although I don't think I'll be sharing All The Thoughts about that one. Mostly because it seems far too much like hard work!
So. What's new with you guys?
K xx
1. WE FINISHED ANGEL OMG
Yes, a couple of weeks ago, we officially posted our very last Angel recap over on Snark Squad. Since then, we've wrapped things up and, while I still have one more video to make on my own channel because Lor and Sweeney were dirty cheaters and changed the rules after I'd made my wrap-up videos, we are FINISHED with the Buffyverse. Which is crazy exciting.
But don't fret - you'll still see plenty of me over on Snark Squad. We're nearing the end of season 1 of Supernatural, and I'm working on TWO super secret projects over there as well. One will launch next week, while the other won't go live until October. But we've already started writing because we're weirdos like that.
2. I'M GOING TO ENGLAND OMG
That's right, I've booked a plane ticket and I'm heading to Old Blighty for three weeks in September! Well. More like two and a bit weeks in England and five or six days in Portugal, but whatever. It's pretty damned exciting either way. There will be all kinds of family shenanigans, and I plan on catching up with/meeting some of my favourite people. It's going to be pretty interesting, I suspect. Especially as I haven't been to the UK in 12 years, and on that particular occasion I spent all of about six hours in London!
3. I JOINED MEDIAVENGERS OMG
So after an increasing amount of weirdness and insanity on Tumblr, my BFF Kim decided that she was going to move MediAvengers to Blogger and reinvent it. And she asked me to join her, which UM DUH. So you can now find me over there on the regular, being all meta about the media pieces that Kim creates around Marvel Cinematic Universe events and characters wheeeeeee. No, but seriously. Check it out. It's pretty cool.
4. I'M GOING TO CANBERRA OMG
Not QUITE as exciting as some of the other news in this post, but Mum and I are heading up to Canberra next weekend for a few days to catch up with people and meet new babies and probably freeze to death. And to go to the bakery in Holbrook, because that's pretty much the only reason to spend seven hours on the Hume Highway...
5. I HAVE A JOB UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR OMG
Admittedly, it's only one day a week, but that's better than zero days a week! And a year working in the one place definitely looks better on my CV than two months or four months, so YAY.
6. I FINALLY FINISHED WATCHING CHARMED OMG
It only took me the better part of seven months to get through eight seasons!! And one of these days, I'll actually get around to blogging about seasons 4-8 to fit in with the ones I've already done... But for now? I've very happily moved onto Friday Night Lights. Although I don't think I'll be sharing All The Thoughts about that one. Mostly because it seems far too much like hard work!
So. What's new with you guys?
K xx
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
TTT - Top Ten Reasons I Love Being a Blogger/Reader
Today's topic has to do with being a blogger (more specifically, a book blogger) and a reader.
1. ARCs.
Free books? YES PLEASE.
2. Interacting with authors.
This is more a Twitter or Tumblr thing that anything else, but there are so many authors now who are more than happy to talk to their fans, and who actually take the time to read the reviews you write, and who clearly actually read the tweets and messages that people send (see: Stephanie Perkins, John Green, Rainbow Rowell, Patrick Ness, Alysia Gray Painter and Joanne Harris).
3. Millions of new worlds to discover.
Need an escape from reality? What better place to find it than a book!
4. The friends.
I've made the most amazing friends all over the world through blogging, and I am so indescribably grateful for each and every one of them.
5. Branching out and reading new stuff.
Sometimes you'll come across a book that's not in your usual sphere of interest, but a fellow book nerd has written a rave review, or a friend emails you and is all "READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY". So you take a chance, and it's amazing.
6. Recommending books to friends.
See above, but in reverse. Sometimes you find a book that no one else knows about and it's so fabulous that you want to sing its praises from the rooftops.
7. Getting to talk about books all the time without people thinking you're crazy.
This was one of the best parts of doing a Masters in librarianship - hanging out all day with people who are as passionate about books as I am, and think nothing of hour-long conversations about nothing but books. The book blogger community is pretty much the same thing.
8. It's a cheaper addiction than most.
Sure, books aren't exactly cheap (especially in Australia...). But you can get them from secondhand shops or in ARC form or from friends or on sale or from the library for free. Try doing that with other addictions.
9. Learning new things.
There's a book out there on pretty much any subject you can think of - I mean, there's one on the history of swearing! All you have to do is open a book and you're automatically learning new things.
10. Books make me happy.
I've reached the point now where I can't sleep unless I read for at least 20 minutes first. There is no crappy day that can't be made at least a little bit better with the addition of a book.
What's on your top ten list?
K xx
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Grovelling for affection
Yes, my darlings, it's that time of year again. The time when I ask you all to please go and vote for me for the People's Choice award in the Best Australian Blogs Competition 2013!
There are over 1000 entries and I know I don't stand a chance against some of the big name blogs out there in the Australian blogosphere. But it would be nice to have at least a few votes........
If not for me, at least do it for Pathetic Looking Hiddles:
Voting is open until 5pm on the 30th of April. You don't have to be Australian to vote, and it literally only takes about 30 seconds - I'm on the first page and everything (I must confess, this is part of the reason why my blog title and my URL will never match. A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings will always be near the top of any list!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA)
There are over 1000 entries and I know I don't stand a chance against some of the big name blogs out there in the Australian blogosphere. But it would be nice to have at least a few votes........
If not for me, at least do it for Pathetic Looking Hiddles:
 |
| You give good puppy dog face, Future Husband. Also, source. |
There's a ton of great blogs in the running, and you should definitely check out as many as you get time to!
K xx
Thursday, March 14, 2013
An ode to Google Reader
So today Google announced that as of July 1st, they're killing off Google Reader. I find this both incredibly perplexing and more than a little bit irritating, and I pretty much have my GReader open 24/7.
At least half of my Twitter feed is "...But WHY???" and "Does anyone have any alternatives?!". (The other half, obviously, is "OMG VERONICA MARS MOVIE KICKSTARTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!")
Based on the alternatives that were offered, I've signed up for Bloglovin', even though I strongly object to a letter being replaced by an apostrophe. We'll see how it goes. If nothing else, I should probably take it as a sign to remove the feeds to all the blogs that haven't been updated in two and a half years...
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Are you guys freaking out about this whole no more GReader thing? Or is it just me and Twitter??
K xx
At least half of my Twitter feed is "...But WHY???" and "Does anyone have any alternatives?!". (The other half, obviously, is "OMG VERONICA MARS MOVIE KICKSTARTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!")
Based on the alternatives that were offered, I've signed up for Bloglovin', even though I strongly object to a letter being replaced by an apostrophe. We'll see how it goes. If nothing else, I should probably take it as a sign to remove the feeds to all the blogs that haven't been updated in two and a half years...
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Are you guys freaking out about this whole no more GReader thing? Or is it just me and Twitter??
K xx
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Awards season
That's right, kids. It's blog awards time again. The lovely Wilhelmina Upton of Lazy Happy Bored Happy Sad has very sweetly declared me to be one of her blogs of the year!! I'm insanely excited (even if I did miss this for about a week and a half, on account of being vague and braindead. YAY) about it - thank you SO much for enjoying my little corner of the interwebs! :)
And now, to pass it on to some of my favourites!
And now, to pass it on to some of my favourites!
Kat from The Engineer's Other Life
Deidre from Decoybetty
Pretzel Thief from Pretzel Thief
Lor from Late to the Party
Emily from Love Woke Me Up This Morning
Leah from Adventures in Adulthood
I love you guys like whoa, and all your blogs are tagged as must reads in my GReader, for obvious reasons! <3
The obligatory rules:
1. Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award
2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.
3. Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
4. Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
5. You can now also join our Facebook page – click the link here ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Award and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
6. As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…
1. Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award
2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.
3. Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
4. Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
5. You can now also join our Facebook page – click the link here ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Award and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
6. As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…
K xx
Sunday, July 29, 2012
101 in 1001 update
With the exception of my (somewhat) recent post on teaching Little Miss A to bake, it's been a while since I updated you guys on how my 101 in 1001 challenge is going. None of them have really warranted a full post unto themselves, so I figured I'd jam a bunch of stuff into one post. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
#10 - Read 100 new books
DONE!! I finished this the other day. There's a full list over on my 101 in 1001 page, and there are reviews of each book over on my Goodreads page. Some of them were amazing, some of them were epic pieces of shit. And I discovered a whole bunch of awesome authors to look out for, which is always good.
#19 - Reach 500 blog posts
In progress. This post makes 453, so I'm pretty sure I'll have this crossed off before the end of the year!
#30 - Take a cooking class
DONE! I didn't realise it until I looked at the list again to write this post, but the macaron class that Deidre and I took for Super Sized Dessert Day has taken care of this one nicely.
#31 - Host a guest blogger
DONE! Another one I'd forgotten that I put on the list. Thanks to Teacher Girl and the 20SB blog swap, I crossed this off last week!
#54 - Print out my photos
I guess this one is almost always going to be a work in progress. But I HAVE printed out a ton of photos from 2008 through to the end of my trip to America last year, along with labelling them and putting them into albums. For the moment, I'm not crossing this off, because I'm not COMPLETELY up to date with printing my photos. But maybe when I get back from America NEXT year, I'll cross this one off.
#56 - Buy a new laptop
DONE! Okay, so technically I didn't buy it. My dad bought it for me, because a) my old laptop completely shat itself over the semester break ('multiple blue screens of death' kind of shat itself. I think the hard drive died...), b) I needed a new one for uni, because we're in a shiny new "no computers provided" building, and my old one weighs about 4 kilos, and c) I have no money. But I have a new laptop, so it totally counts, right???
#59 - Follow a new blog every month
I've probably exceeded this one in almost every month. The only problem is that I reached a point where I forgot to write them down, so I'm not ENTIRELY sure of the order I followed various blogs in. Whoops? Anyway, it's still plodding along merrily.
#60 - Take a self portrait every month
Dudes. This one is an EPIC failure. I took one the first month, and THAT WAS IT. I'm definitely going to be donating $10 to charity for this one...
#65 - Keep a plant alive for a year
Nearly two months in, the plant is still alive. EXCELLENT PROGRESS, ME!
#96 - Save all coins smaller than 50c and go shopping at the end
Yeah, I've been saving all 5c, 10c and 20c pieces religiously. But I'm not sure how well that shopping spree is going to go. I currently have $14.................
#100 - Seriously consider doing my PhD
DONE. I can honestly say that I've seriously considered this, and now that I'm arse deep in a Masters degree and racking up another $30,000 in debt to the government (thankfully, it's interest free and I pay it back through my tax!), I definitely won't be doing my PhD any time soon. I'd still like to do it one day. But maybe when I've retired. Then I can do it on something I find interesting, rather than something I think will stand a chance of getting me a job!
So there you have it. There's a lot of stuff that still needs to be started, and a stack of stuff that needs to be finished. But I think it's going pretty well so far!
K xx
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Does this mean I'm cool now?
So I realised that I never told you guys about my trip to Canberra. But it can basically be summed up as follows:
Here are the (slightly boring) rules:
1. Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to them.
2. Nominate up to five others for the award.
3. Let them know via comment on their blog.
4. Post the award on your blog.
And here are my five other awesome bloggers. Go and give them some love:
Kat from The Engineer's Other Life. Kat's one of my IRL BFFs. She's an amazing photographer, and has just opened an online store for her photos, which you should definitely go and check out! We've had some amazing times together in Thailand, Melbourne AND the US. I have no doubt that there will be numerous adventures together in the future! Her blog is filled with photos I'm crazy jealous of, and sewing projects I have no chance in Hell of recreating, and you should definitely check it out.
Gina from This Is Not Your Blog. There are no words for how much I love Gina. I have no idea how she crams as much into her life as she does - three kids, three blogs, reading, a Masters degree, AND she and her husband and kids are about to move half way across the country. I'd pretty much be comatose by lunchtime dealing with all of that. I'm kind of pining for her batshit crazy painkiller induced dreams (the good ones, not the nightmares!!) from when she had her gall bladder out, but I still do a happy dance every time there's a new post from her.
Alice from The Rabbit Hole of Alice. I adore this girl. Sometimes I'm convinced that we're the same person, only on other sides of the world and born five years apart... (One day, the TARDIS will come along and we'll finally be able to hang out for real!!) Her writing is honest and vulnerable, and she's always there when I need to rant. <3
Pretzel Thief from Pretzel Thief. Holy crap, this girl cracks me up. Her posts are brilliant, and she leaves the most amazing comments. AND she's a fellow member of Team Pacey. One of these days, we'll have to arrange a Melbourne blogger meet up so that we can meet for real. IT WILL BE AMAZING. (There may have to be some gratuitous Joshua Jackson included somewhere. Obviously.)
Katie from Katiefoolery. I love Katie's blog. Her posts are always filled with incredible photos and fun stories, not to mention knitted Daleks!! You really can't go wrong with knitted Daleks. She's constantly going on fun adventures all over Victoria, and seems to find a never ending stream of unusual places to visit.
So, has a sparrow ever tried to get into your car at McDonald's?? Seriously. This is an important question and I need answers!!
K xx
- A shit ton of time in the car.
- A slightly troublesome dinner with Em and Matt (pregnant ladies should not eat salmon which turns out to still be raw and frozen in the centre...).
- Breakfast with my delightful friend and former coworker, L.
- The baby shower. Apparently baby showers include trivia games, which our team managed to win, and cake, and lots of tiny pink clothes.
- Discovering quite possibly the trendiest bar in the ACT. Obviously, this would happen nine months AFTER I moved back to Melbourne...
- A delightful Mother's Day lunch of McDonald's fries and an apple purchased at a truck stop and washed in a truck stop bathroom.
- Did I mention a shit ton of time in the car??? Yeah...
Oh, and while we were EATING our delightful lunch (in the car park at McDonald's, for some reason that I now can't remember) with the windows open, a sparrow hopped up on a the side mirror and tried to FLY INTO THE CAR. About five times. Because what you want when you're eating your super classy McDonald's lunch in the car is the addition of an angry disease-ridden bird...
ANYWAY.
While I was in Canberra, the lovely Ti from A Cup of Ti presented me with this:
The Liebster Blog Award. Thank you so much, Ti - I'm so thrilled! <3
Liebster means dearest or beloved or favourite (I think. Nikki - feel free to correct me!!), and the award is specifically for blogs with less than 200 followers who deserve a little more attention.
Here are the (slightly boring) rules:
1. Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to them.
2. Nominate up to five others for the award.
3. Let them know via comment on their blog.
4. Post the award on your blog.
And here are my five other awesome bloggers. Go and give them some love:
Kat from The Engineer's Other Life. Kat's one of my IRL BFFs. She's an amazing photographer, and has just opened an online store for her photos, which you should definitely go and check out! We've had some amazing times together in Thailand, Melbourne AND the US. I have no doubt that there will be numerous adventures together in the future! Her blog is filled with photos I'm crazy jealous of, and sewing projects I have no chance in Hell of recreating, and you should definitely check it out.
Gina from This Is Not Your Blog. There are no words for how much I love Gina. I have no idea how she crams as much into her life as she does - three kids, three blogs, reading, a Masters degree, AND she and her husband and kids are about to move half way across the country. I'd pretty much be comatose by lunchtime dealing with all of that. I'm kind of pining for her batshit crazy painkiller induced dreams (the good ones, not the nightmares!!) from when she had her gall bladder out, but I still do a happy dance every time there's a new post from her.
Alice from The Rabbit Hole of Alice. I adore this girl. Sometimes I'm convinced that we're the same person, only on other sides of the world and born five years apart... (One day, the TARDIS will come along and we'll finally be able to hang out for real!!) Her writing is honest and vulnerable, and she's always there when I need to rant. <3
Pretzel Thief from Pretzel Thief. Holy crap, this girl cracks me up. Her posts are brilliant, and she leaves the most amazing comments. AND she's a fellow member of Team Pacey. One of these days, we'll have to arrange a Melbourne blogger meet up so that we can meet for real. IT WILL BE AMAZING. (There may have to be some gratuitous Joshua Jackson included somewhere. Obviously.)
Katie from Katiefoolery. I love Katie's blog. Her posts are always filled with incredible photos and fun stories, not to mention knitted Daleks!! You really can't go wrong with knitted Daleks. She's constantly going on fun adventures all over Victoria, and seems to find a never ending stream of unusual places to visit.
So, has a sparrow ever tried to get into your car at McDonald's?? Seriously. This is an important question and I need answers!!
K xx
Saturday, April 28, 2012
101 in 1001 #18
It's been a while, but I've finally crossed something else off the list! Except that this time, it was completely and utterly outside of my control - this one was all you guys.
Yes, I've officially reached 100 followers, and I couldn't be more thrilled. So thank you, to each and every one of you for reading and commenting and generally being awesome. A special thank you to Pretzel Thief, for making my 29th birthday complete by getting my follower number off 98, where it had been stuck tormenting me for months!!. And another special thank you to Fire Fairy for getting me over the line! :)
I love you all muchly! <3
K xx
Yes, I've officially reached 100 followers, and I couldn't be more thrilled. So thank you, to each and every one of you for reading and commenting and generally being awesome. A special thank you to Pretzel Thief, for making my 29th birthday complete by getting my follower number off 98, where it had been stuck tormenting me for months!!. And another special thank you to Fire Fairy for getting me over the line! :)
I love you all muchly! <3
K xx
Sunday, April 15, 2012
On internet friendships
(I was originally planning on writing this for my 400th post, which is coming up very soon. But I'm feeling extra schmaltzy this evening, so you get it now instead!)
When you're a blogger, there are certain things that you get used to. It becomes perfectly normal to share stories of public humiliation or total heartbreak on the internet. You become adept at becoming insta-friends with a person you've known for months/years online but never met before RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND. Mentioning blogs and Twitter in everyday conversation becomes second nature. And you sigh when people tell you that you can't possibly form real friendships with people on the internet. Because those people aren't real, and they could be ANYBODY, and how could you possibly know them?
I call bullshit. Yes, it's true that online friendships aren't the same. You can't turn up at the house of an internet friend with booze and chocolate when they're having a crappy day or going through a break up. You can't attend birthdays, weddings, or baby showers. You can't go to the movies with them, because (at least in my experience) they live on the other side of the world.
But this doesn't mean that you can't have real friendships with them. I've had people say to me that my internet friends can't possibly know me as well as my "real" friends. To them I say this: You're exactly right. In some cases, they know me better. And so I want to say thank you to them.
To Kat, who was willing to sign up to spend a week in Thailand with me and meet me for the first time at the airport. And who was willing to visit a millionty museums with me in the US. Where's our next trip going to be to??
To Lor and Sweeney. An hour hanging out at the 20SB cocktail party in Chicago, and we were being force fed chunks of ice cream sandwich by a bouncer, and being asked "What time do the panties come off?" by a crazy man on the street. You can't get much more real than that. We'll always have mac and bonfire!
To Deidre, who knew me well enough after an hour-long lunch to suggest ongoing Dessert Days, and who agrees with me that Bill Pullman's hair deserves equal credit in his movies.
To Gina, who shares my love of books and movies, and always has the time to have a conversation on Twitter or Facebook or via email, even though she's raising three kids and doing a Masters.
To Alice, who just plain *gets it*. All of it.
To Kim, who turned my "something fun and kind of bluey-greeny. Hey, that reminds me of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and now my brain's in a David Tennant place, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, DOCTOR WHO IS AWESOME!!!!!" instructions into the amazingly perfect design you see on my little corner of the interwebs. And who knows me well enough to know when I'll get on with her friends like a house on fire, as happened when I met up with Caro this afternoon.
To Pink Gingham Girl, who shares my love ofPacey Witter Dawson's Creek.
To Lauren, who was willing to take me on my word that I wasn't an axe murderer, and drive from New York to Boston with me.
To Emmy, with whom I can squee about Broadway musicals, and who was willing to jump on the Doctor Who train so that she'd know what the Hell the rest of us were talking about.
To Tim, for having the world's most amazing stories and for being America's Greatest Ambassador.
And to my BFF, Nikki, without whom I would have no one to rant to about the dramas of grad school, public transport, and Spooks.
I'm enormously grateful to have each and every one of you in my life. I love you guys like whoa. <3
</schmaltz>
K xx
When you're a blogger, there are certain things that you get used to. It becomes perfectly normal to share stories of public humiliation or total heartbreak on the internet. You become adept at becoming insta-friends with a person you've known for months/years online but never met before RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND. Mentioning blogs and Twitter in everyday conversation becomes second nature. And you sigh when people tell you that you can't possibly form real friendships with people on the internet. Because those people aren't real, and they could be ANYBODY, and how could you possibly know them?
I call bullshit. Yes, it's true that online friendships aren't the same. You can't turn up at the house of an internet friend with booze and chocolate when they're having a crappy day or going through a break up. You can't attend birthdays, weddings, or baby showers. You can't go to the movies with them, because (at least in my experience) they live on the other side of the world.
But this doesn't mean that you can't have real friendships with them. I've had people say to me that my internet friends can't possibly know me as well as my "real" friends. To them I say this: You're exactly right. In some cases, they know me better. And so I want to say thank you to them.
To Kat, who was willing to sign up to spend a week in Thailand with me and meet me for the first time at the airport. And who was willing to visit a millionty museums with me in the US. Where's our next trip going to be to??
To Lor and Sweeney. An hour hanging out at the 20SB cocktail party in Chicago, and we were being force fed chunks of ice cream sandwich by a bouncer, and being asked "What time do the panties come off?" by a crazy man on the street. You can't get much more real than that. We'll always have mac and bonfire!
To Deidre, who knew me well enough after an hour-long lunch to suggest ongoing Dessert Days, and who agrees with me that Bill Pullman's hair deserves equal credit in his movies.
To Gina, who shares my love of books and movies, and always has the time to have a conversation on Twitter or Facebook or via email, even though she's raising three kids and doing a Masters.
To Alice, who just plain *gets it*. All of it.
To Kim, who turned my "something fun and kind of bluey-greeny. Hey, that reminds me of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and now my brain's in a David Tennant place, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, DOCTOR WHO IS AWESOME!!!!!" instructions into the amazingly perfect design you see on my little corner of the interwebs. And who knows me well enough to know when I'll get on with her friends like a house on fire, as happened when I met up with Caro this afternoon.
To Pink Gingham Girl, who shares my love of
To Lauren, who was willing to take me on my word that I wasn't an axe murderer, and drive from New York to Boston with me.
To Emmy, with whom I can squee about Broadway musicals, and who was willing to jump on the Doctor Who train so that she'd know what the Hell the rest of us were talking about.
To Tim, for having the world's most amazing stories and for being America's Greatest Ambassador.
And to my BFF, Nikki, without whom I would have no one to rant to about the dramas of grad school, public transport, and Spooks.
I'm enormously grateful to have each and every one of you in my life. I love you guys like whoa. <3
</schmaltz>
K xx
Friday, April 13, 2012
If you vote for me, I'll love you forever
Happy Friday, my lovelies!
I've just hit "Submit" on a 3,000 word catalogue evaluation and am now looking forward to a weekend spent NOT thinking about libraries. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Ahem. In other news, voting is now open on the People's Choice award for the Best Australian Blogs competition for 2012. There are over 940 blogs in the running, including my little corner of the intertubes. If you've got a spare five minutes, would you mind popping over here and voting for A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings?
There are a TON of great blogs in the running, so ifyou're stuck at work and have nothing to do you have a spare half hour, there's plenty in the list to keep you entertained!
Voting is open until 5pm AEST on 9th May, and you don't have to be in Australia to vote!! Oh, and if you want to follow the action on Twitter, you can check out the official hashtag: #bestblogs2012
Thank you muchly - it's a huge thrill just to be involved! :)
Hope you've all got lovely things planned for the weekend!
K xx
I've just hit "Submit" on a 3,000 word catalogue evaluation and am now looking forward to a weekend spent NOT thinking about libraries. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Ahem. In other news, voting is now open on the People's Choice award for the Best Australian Blogs competition for 2012. There are over 940 blogs in the running, including my little corner of the intertubes. If you've got a spare five minutes, would you mind popping over here and voting for A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings?
There are a TON of great blogs in the running, so if
Voting is open until 5pm AEST on 9th May, and you don't have to be in Australia to vote!! Oh, and if you want to follow the action on Twitter, you can check out the official hashtag: #bestblogs2012
Thank you muchly - it's a huge thrill just to be involved! :)
Hope you've all got lovely things planned for the weekend!
K xx
Friday, February 10, 2012
Fill in the Blank Friday
It's 9.30pm and I haven't had dinner yet, so I apologise in advance if any of the following responses make absolutely no sense. You can link up at Lauren's blog and play along too!
1. I started my blog because I was living in Canberra and feeling like I was having the same conversation over and over again with everyone in Melbourne. So the logical thing to do in terms of keeping people up to date was to start a blog!
2. One thing I love seeing on other blogs is amazing photos of far away places.
3. Something I love about blogging the incredible friendships that you can have with people on the other side of the world who you've often not even met before. And then when you DO meet them, everything just clicks. It's like you've been friends for years and just fall into the middle of a friendship rather than having to start from scratch!
4. A favorite blog post of mine is the entire series I wrote about travelling in the US last year. I had such an amazing time with so many fantastic people. Plus, I crack myself up. Check out Colorado: the "she wants to go right!" edition, which has links at the bottom to all the others!.
5. Something my friends in real life know about me that I’ve never before mentioned on my blog is my surname. And my full first name for that matter. That's right - Kirsti is an abbreviation. And no, I'm not going to tell you what it's short for.
6. My new favorite blogs to read are Between Pink Gingham and Fine China, A Cup of Ti, and raspberri cupcakes. And suggestions are always welcome!
7. Some things I tend to avoid doing on my blog are anything specific about work. Sure, I might say "Work kind of sucked today" or "Holy crap, the gallery is FINALLY open!!", but nothing more specific than that. Unsurprisingly, this has been a lot easier to do since I've been unemployed ;)
Have a good weekend, guys! <3
K xx
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Blog comment carnival
Jessica over at Faith Permeating Life has come up with a genius idea, highlighting a blogger's favourite comments over the past month. Because blogs are nothing without readers and comments. So here's me, jumping on the band wagon and celebrating all of you and the hilarious/awesome things you said during January!
On my post about New Year's Eve:
Kim
Kiwi boys are gross. I grew up with them almost exclusively and can therefore give you a truly valid and accurate opinion. Although if you hadn't seen the gross Kiwi boy's junk then you wouldn't have had this AWESOME NEW YEARS STORY
<3
Kim
WOW!
I spent new years on the plane with a woman who kept shouting down "10 minutes to new years" while I tried to sleep. And also a 3 year old boy needed to get up to pee during taxi-ing for take off and the flight attendent wouldn't let him and so his mom had him pee in a doritos bag.
On my post about a 12 year old boy thinking I was Kim Kardashian:
Well next Halloween gets some spray tanner with a nice orange hue, flat iron the crap out of your hair, find very short dress and BAM Halloween costume!
Once I was told I looked like Lindsay Lohen, and I was like thank you, I'm so glad to know when people see me they say now where have I seen that skanky coke head before..? Lol
On my Movie Monday post about That Thing You Do:
This movie made me want to be a drummer. I have done nothing to accomplish said goal. Parents wouldn't buy me a drum set.
On my post about going to the cricket:
Anonymous [aka my brother, C]
Dear sister,Deidre
You forgot the fielding position "silly point".
Also, I can take you to a one dayer next month if you're free so that shomozzle doesn't have to count. Also we can sit in the members n I can drink full strength beer like a big boy.
C
Ahhh, cricket. I actually kind of get into it now but much like Aussie Rules I sometimes need some help with the more obscure rules or just scream randomly "WHY IS THAT LIKE THAT!"
And then IC says something that he thinks is English but is clearly not and we all go about our business again.
On my post about the first cake I ever made:
A cake mix box that becomes the cake tin? That's...BRILLIANT!!!
My daughter got an Easy Bake Oven for her 7th birthday. For a product called an Easy Bake Oven, designed to be used by young children, it was surprisingly difficult to work out how to use it without reading the Instructions. (Come on! I'm a guy! :P)
We finally got everything set up and used two of the packets to bake two cookies, which took about 30 minutes. 30 minutes!!! To bake TWO cookies!!!
So I taught her how to use the microwave to cook/bake the cookies ;)
On my Movie Monday post about The Mummy:
Oh thank goodness I'm not the only person who thought that The Mummy was awkwardly considerate for an evil man. "I'm leaving now, but I will close your shutter/door/window/whatever!" WHAT?
PS: Rachel Weisz is 90% of why I still haven't watched The Mummy 3. I cannot believe they replaced her; I would've just not made the movie.
On my post about making a filled lemon poppyseed cake:
Clearly the major success of this baking adventure was a BEAUTIFULLY EVEN FILLING LAYER, unlike your previous attempts (or so your doodle leads me to believe.)
HIGH FIVE.
On my post about Dessert Day #2:
Hold the phone, there's a World Nutella Day?!?!
(It's this Sunday, if anyone's curious!)
On my Movie Monday post about Priscilla, Queen of the Desert:
Okay, I had no idea that Guy Pearce was in that movie!!! I havent' seen it in like decades (like, literally a decade, seeing as I'm OLD AS SHIT now!!), but I DO know that soundtrack by heart... It birthed my incredible hatred for the song "Take a Letter, Maria", which is the only song I disliked. Yay for us!
On my post about the insane people at my gym:
The Competitor: He gets on the cardio machine next to you, checks to see what setting you're on then sets his machine one higher. His goal is to still be going when you're done although he inevitably stops a minute or so later.
The Machine Hog: Even though the gym is packed and people are lined up waiting to use equipment, even though signs are posted in numerous places throughout the gym, the Machine Hogs ignore the "30-minutes per machine" rule and hog "their" cardio machine for an hour or more. Some will reset the timer at 30-minute intervals, while others take a 5-minute break after half an hour, leaving their towel, water bottle, book, etc. on "their" machine.
The non-Exerciser (a sub-class of the Machine Hog): They're the ones who "work out" for 5-minutes on a machine, then (leaving their gear behind, water bottle, towel, etc.) will go use the bathroom, get a drink from the water fountain, walk around the gym, etc., before returning to their machine for another 5-minute workout, followed by another 5-minute break.
You'll also sometimes see the body builder/weight-lifters doing this, leaving their sweaty towel on a bench or weight machine while they go for a walk. Sometimes they'll even just sit on a machine, staring off into space or talking to a friend. They're usually big, buff guys so they do workout, they're just not doing so right now. To be honest, I've never actually asked if I could use their machine (they're big, and scary) so maybe I'm just stereotyping them. Maybe they'd actually be very courteous, and not only would they let me use the machine but they'd give me pointers and make sure I'm doing the exercises the right way.
And finally, a stacked comment from my post about my awesome new design:
Kim
Wibbly wobbly timey wimey bluey greeny mappy dappy. Thanks for the shout out lovely <3 It was so much fun designing for you!
Also, I think I heard the TARDIS last night in the alley by our building. I may have been dreaming.
Melbourne on my mind
I really hope you weren't dreaming. Because that would be awesome. Although I think I hear the TARDIS every time our fridge's motor kicks in. Stupid fridge, crushing my dreams on a daily basis...
Kim
I heard it again. Turned out it was a road sweeper having bristle rotation issues. Sadface.
So thanks for making me laugh and feel relieved that I'm not the only weird one, and for reassuring me that I don't bear any resemblance to Kim Kardashian. Here's to another month of awesomeness from you guys!
Also, if you want to join in, you can link up here!
K xx
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Amazingness
A week or so ago, my wonderful bloggy BFF Kim asked on Twitter if anyone wanted a free blog redesign. I did a Kermit flail in my chair, and immediately stuck my hand up. By which I mean "sent her a reply that basically said "MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" and hoped like hell", because I'm pretty sure she couldn't see me sticking my hand up from all the way across the Tasman.
With the directions "something fun and kind of bluey-greeny. Hey, that reminds me of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and now my brain's in a David Tennant place, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, DOCTOR WHO IS AWESOME!!!!!", she came up with a spectacular design that I adore. Which is to say that she's amazing, and didn't get exasperated when I sent her emails that said "HAHAHAHA, I totally didn't realise that greeny bit at the top was a map of Australia! Now can you make the bluey bit lighter?"
So if you're using a reader/subscribed by email, stop by and check it out!
A huge, enormous thank you to Kim for all her hard work, and for also being fluent in Whovian. I think it made things a lot easier for both of us!! ;) <3 <3 <3 Also, if you're not reading her blog about life in New Zealand, you should. Homegirl is hilarious.
Anyone else want Kim to redesign their blog? Go here. Like, right now.
What do you think?
K xx
With the directions "something fun and kind of bluey-greeny. Hey, that reminds me of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and now my brain's in a David Tennant place, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, DOCTOR WHO IS AWESOME!!!!!", she came up with a spectacular design that I adore. Which is to say that she's amazing, and didn't get exasperated when I sent her emails that said "HAHAHAHA, I totally didn't realise that greeny bit at the top was a map of Australia! Now can you make the bluey bit lighter?"
So if you're using a reader/subscribed by email, stop by and check it out!
A huge, enormous thank you to Kim for all her hard work, and for also being fluent in Whovian. I think it made things a lot easier for both of us!! ;) <3 <3 <3 Also, if you're not reading her blog about life in New Zealand, you should. Homegirl is hilarious.
Anyone else want Kim to redesign their blog? Go here. Like, right now.
What do you think?
K xx
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wow!!
Well. Today has been kind of an interesting day filled with unexpected stuff. I got up this morning to find out that the 20SB Bootleg award finalists have been released. This is always a fun time of year, because I love giving some recognition to my favourite fellow 20SBers! But this time? I want to say an ENORMOUS thank you, because I'm nominated for "Blogger I'd most like to get a drink with"!! It's such a huge honour to be nominated, especially when I'm up against such amazing people as Sweeney and Miss Sassy Pants. So thank you to anyone who nominated me. And eternal love and never ending hugs to anyone who votes for me!! (If you're a member of 20SB and you want to vote for me (<3), you can do so here)
Then this afternoon, Ness and I went to the movies. We had lunch beforehand, and while walking through the food court, a 12 year old boy watched me walk past, then turned to his friend and said "Oh my God, I think that was Kim Kardashian!"
WHAT. THE. FUCK?
In what universe do I look like Kim Kardashian?!
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Yeah... I got nothing. Well, besides the fact that we both have spectacular racks... (Also? I actually Google Image'd Kim Kardashian for these purposes. THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU GUYS.)
Has anyone else been compared to someone they don't bear even the slightest resemblance to?!
K xx
Then this afternoon, Ness and I went to the movies. We had lunch beforehand, and while walking through the food court, a 12 year old boy watched me walk past, then turned to his friend and said "Oh my God, I think that was Kim Kardashian!"
WHAT. THE. FUCK?
In what universe do I look like Kim Kardashian?!
Exhibit A:
 |
| Me |
Exhibit B:
 |
| Kim Kardashian. Also, source |
Yeah... I got nothing. Well, besides the fact that we both have spectacular racks... (Also? I actually Google Image'd Kim Kardashian for these purposes. THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU GUYS.)
Has anyone else been compared to someone they don't bear even the slightest resemblance to?!
K xx
Sunday, November 6, 2011
101 in 1001 #77
I have a confession to make: I actually crossed this off the list a few days before I went to the US in August. I just completely forgot to write about it!
Anyway, task 77 was to get business cards for my blog. And I did:
What do you think? Not too shabby, for five minutes worth of design, huh? Aaaaaaaand of course now that I've had 500 business cards made (although I distributed a small chunk of them at the 20SB Summit in Chicago!), I've gone and bought my own URL.
OF COURSE. Awesome planning, past me! *sigh*
Oh well. They weren't very expensive, so if I feel the need to replace them in the future, it won't be the end of the world!
What do you guys think?
K xx
Anyway, task 77 was to get business cards for my blog. And I did:
What do you think? Not too shabby, for five minutes worth of design, huh? Aaaaaaaand of course now that I've had 500 business cards made (although I distributed a small chunk of them at the 20SB Summit in Chicago!), I've gone and bought my own URL.
OF COURSE. Awesome planning, past me! *sigh*
Oh well. They weren't very expensive, so if I feel the need to replace them in the future, it won't be the end of the world!
What do you guys think?
K xx
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Two years on...
Today, my lovelies, we're taking a little sojourn away from my trip to the US. Because two years ago today, I came home from the movies, sat down, and created my little corner of the interweb.
And I'm eternally grateful that I made that decision, because I've had the chance to become friends with so many truly awesome people. The blogosphere really is like a family if you want it to be! </schmaltz>
Anyway, to celebrate my second blogiversary, I'm having a giveaway!! And unlike last time, it's not chocolate related (sorry guys...).
So what am I giving away?
1. This gorgeous necklace made by the lovely Leah of Dressed for Sunday, which I bought MONTHS ago with a giveaway in mind. (And y'all should check out her stuff. It's awesome.)
2. Bee shaped cupcake/muffin pans. They're silicon, so you can reuse them again and again. Plus, they're really cute!
3. A cookie cutter shaped like a kangaroo. Because why the hell not! Oh, and this one comes with a story:
Store employee: Oh, cute. I'm going to hazard a guess and say you're making cookies!
Me: Actually, no. I'm having a giveaway on my blog.
Store employee: Oh, you have a blog on Youtube? Cool!
Me: Um, no. Not Youtube. One with words and stuff........
God, I'm eloquent. AnyI'maburblingidiot, here are the rules:
1. Leave me a comment and let me know which of the three you'd like to win! (Saying you want to win all three is fine too)
2. You don't have to be a follower (because I love my Wordpress friends too!), but if you like what you see, that'd be nice... ;)
3. No anonymous entries
4. Tweet about my giveaway for an extra entry. Leave a separate comment to let me know you've done so.
5. You have to be willing to give me your address. Half a dozen bloggers can vouch for the fact that I won't use it for nefarious purposes! ;)
The giveaway will close at 9pm AEDT on Saturday 15th October (that's 11am in the UK and 6am on the US east coast. Unless y'all go off daylight savings between now and then. In which case, I have NO clue!), and I'll draw the winners next Sunday.
Thanks for reading for the past two years. Here's to God only knows how many more!
Good luck,
K xx
And I'm eternally grateful that I made that decision, because I've had the chance to become friends with so many truly awesome people. The blogosphere really is like a family if you want it to be! </schmaltz>
Anyway, to celebrate my second blogiversary, I'm having a giveaway!! And unlike last time, it's not chocolate related (sorry guys...).
So what am I giving away?
Store employee: Oh, cute. I'm going to hazard a guess and say you're making cookies!
Me: Actually, no. I'm having a giveaway on my blog.
Store employee: Oh, you have a blog on Youtube? Cool!
Me: Um, no. Not Youtube. One with words and stuff........
God, I'm eloquent. AnyI'maburblingidiot, here are the rules:
1. Leave me a comment and let me know which of the three you'd like to win! (Saying you want to win all three is fine too)
2. You don't have to be a follower (because I love my Wordpress friends too!), but if you like what you see, that'd be nice... ;)
3. No anonymous entries
4. Tweet about my giveaway for an extra entry. Leave a separate comment to let me know you've done so.
5. You have to be willing to give me your address. Half a dozen bloggers can vouch for the fact that I won't use it for nefarious purposes! ;)
The giveaway will close at 9pm AEDT on Saturday 15th October (that's 11am in the UK and 6am on the US east coast. Unless y'all go off daylight savings between now and then. In which case, I have NO clue!), and I'll draw the winners next Sunday.
Thanks for reading for the past two years. Here's to God only knows how many more!
Good luck,
K xx
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