The Eclectic Blogger Award

It is always an honor and literally brings a smile to my face whenever I get nominated for a blogger award or tagged for one of the many fun tags floating around out there. Despite how much I always appreciate being nominated for tags/awards, I must confess that I am a forgetful master of procrastination who is normally horrible about getting around to actually doing them.

Buuuuut, when the lovely Shameful Narcissist created, and was kind enough to nominate me for The Eclectic Blogger Award, well, of course I am going to participate in that! 😀

So, what is The Eclectic Blogger Award you may ask? And what are the rules, you also ask? Allow me to bestow you with the answers to those burning questions:

“The Eclectic Blogger Award is presented to those blogs that are both eclectic and engaging, where conversation flows freely, where new and different ideas are always welcome.  It’s to recognize blogs that always have interesting content to match the amazing, creative, and hard-working creators that make them possible.  These are the blogs that inspire you to read, watch, play, and/or create content to further enhance not only the blogosphere but also the general zeitgeist, because they themselves enrich it with their existence.”

THE RULES

• Nominate whomever and however many bloggers you want for the award.
• Share links from your blog for some of your favorite (or most eclectic!) posts.

So, that said, let the nominations commence!!

Read Rant Rock & Roll: Flower Fridays, Music Mondays, book reviews, Breakfast and a Book posts, adorable pets, this blog has a lot to offer and definitely falls under the category of eclectic. There’s always a fun variety of posts to enjoy and topics to discuss.

The Happiest Pixel: Tasty recipes, creative writing tips, and a variety of other types of posts, there’s a lot of different things going on at this blog. Speaking of their tasty recipes, this blog is a bounty of meatless recipes, so if you just so happen to be vegetarian or vegan you’re bound to find some delicious ideas for things to make at home and promptly stuff in your face! 😛

Imperial Rebel Ork: The passionate hobby of creating and painting miniatures is a big focus at this awesome blog, but IRO also presents a variety of questions and topics meant to get us bloggers talking, like his recent “Real Life Vs. Hobby Life” post. Creativity and hobbies are definitely the fuel that sets the blog ablaze and it’ll no doubt inspire you to make more time to enjoy your own hobbies as well. I’m always blown away at the variety and creativity in his work.

All the Trinkets: This amazing feel-good blog is just filled to the brim with inspiration, motivation, humorous and endearing writing, as well as tips for personal growth. She also shares her own struggles, triumphs, and creative endeavors with us in the process, making it extremely relatable and a great place for discussion among bloggers!

Invisibly Me: This is another inspiring blog that I just can’t help but admire. 🙂 Spanning topics like invisible illnesses and awareness, Frugal Friday posts, and product picks, there’s always something to be discussed. I’m also always impressed by this lovely bloggers openness and fantastic and inspiring outlook on things.

Aaaand even though I always tag these 2 ladies for things when I actually do tag people and even though one of them MADE this award, I gotta mention my BFF and partner in crime and general mayhem Cupcakes and Machetes along with the always-awesome and impressively organized The Shameful Narcissist. If you enjoy honest book reviews, yummy recipes, adorable pet photos, and only the cheesiest of puns, these blogs are for you! 😀

There are so many other blogs I could (and want to) nominate, but I’ll spread that love on another day because after this dreadfully stressful day I am amazed I’ve managed to keep my eyes open long enough to make this post. Sleep calls to meeee . . .

Thanks, as always, for reading. ❤ This is a snazzy new award, so if it looks like something you’d like to participate in just jump on in, and help spread this baby across the blogosphere. 🙂

 

 

 

2 Year Blogiversary AND 301 Followers!

Hey, guys! 😀 Today officially marks 2 years since this Ignited Moth first fluttered onto WordPress, and just like any moth to the flame, I just can’t seem to stay away. There is such a fantastic community of bloggers here. So thank you ALL for making this such a fun place to come to, to post, to read, and to chat with all you awesome people. ❤

In other exciting blog-related news, I just reached 301 Followers here at my humble little nook in the WP blogosphere, and that makes me so happy. 🙂 Thank you all for the support and having taken an interest in my ramblings, doodles, pictures, and the like. It really does mean a lot. ❤ ❤ ❤

I mentioned recently that I’d really be pushing myself and making more time for pursuing my creative endeavors in the second half of the year, and that is still the plan. So from this point forward, expect more art/writing/etc. posts peppered in again with the usual reviews and ramblings. I’m hoping to give the good ol’ blog a nice makeover soon as well. So lots of new stuff to come! 😀

Aaaand to those of you celebrating it, Happy 4th of July! ❤ I’d wanted to make this post much bigger and grander, BUT today I’m going with my boyfriend to his family’s big 4th of July bash and there is an Oreo dessert and S’more dessert to be made, so off I must go. I’ve given myself a nice little vacation from work surrounding the holiday so I’ll be using this time to catch up on some writing, reading, drawing, and blogging (my own and catching up on what all you fine and fancy folk have going on!) 😉

Have a great week, everyone, aaaaaaand thank you for your:

 

June Update Time!

Wow, it’s still hard to believe we’re already SIX MONTHS into the year. Luckily, 2018 has been a great ride so far, so I really can’t complain. (Although, to be fair, there is some occasional whining before/after work.) 😛

My spirit animal

The biggest change for me so far in 2018 has been moving in with my boyfriend to our very first house. It was a big, scary leap, but it’s been great. We make a good team and he always inspires me to push myself toward bigger and better things, so I’ve got some fun projects/ideas I plan to really get going on in the days to come. Next month my little blog will be turning 2 years old, and I’m planning some fun stuff as this Ignited Moth begins her terrible twos. Mwahaha!

I’m having some friends over this upcoming weekend (my first non-family visitors since I moved in) for my book club’s June meeting. I can’t wait for them to come see the new house and hang out. 🙂 Aaaand, speaking of books . . .

Here are the books I’ve bought so far in June:

The City of Lost Fortunes

Currently reading this one for book club. I’m enjoying it so far, I just wish I had more time to really dig into it. I was struggling to stay away the other night while reading this and wound up succumbing to sleep, thus letting my kindle slip from my grasp and bash me in the face. Not the nicest way to wake up. Profanities ensued.

A Plague of Giants

I cannot wait to get to read this one! I’ve been enjoying The Iron Druid Chronicles, so I can’t wait to read Kevin Hearne’s first big epic fantasy. He’s been great in the urban fantasy department, but I am looking forward to seeing how he really turns his brain loose for this one.

Godblind

Like the book above, this was a recent buy due to a fantastic deal pointed out to me by Cupcakes and Machetes. Not only does she make killer book suggestions, but she also points out great deals when she finds them. She’s like a fairy godmother of all things literature, waving her magic wand around and making good books appear on your TBR list. 😛 I’d heard good things about this one, and with such a great deal how could I possibly pass it up?

In other news, I bought some fantastic watercolor markers just recently. I’ve gotten to tinker around with them a little bit, but I’m really looking forward to going wild and getting the hang of them soon. With some encouragement from the always-awesome Imperial Rebel Ork, I’ve decided to post more of my scribbles, doodles, and artsy stuff on the blog. Which, of course, made me want to get some new tools of the trade to make it happen. 🙂

I feel like there are a thousand other things I could babble on about right now, but I’ll keep this brief. Just know: all is well, I’m feeling inspired, and there is plenty of fun new stuff coming to the blog in about a month. In the meantime, it’s business as per usual (AKA: random, unfiltered chaos.) 😀

I hope everyone had a great weekend! ❤ What’s been going on in your little corner of the world lately? Feel free to let me know what recent excitement you’ve had going on or what neat stuff you’ve been working on lately.

 

Let’s Celebrate Women’s History Month!

March is Women’s History Month, so it’s the perfect time to celebrate the awesomeness of women. Cupcakes and Machetes had the wonderful idea to host a blog event to do just that, so of course I had to participate! 🙂

Her mission is pretty straight forward, so I’ll let it speak for itself with a quote from her post: “Let’s celebrate women. Every kind, in every way, in whatever way you see fit. For myself, I’m going to read only female authors for the entire month. My hope is that other blogs sign up to celebrate women in any way they would like to contribute and I’ll post weekly updates to these blogs and what they’ve worked on. Not only will this be great fun, I think it will be a helpful way to highlight your blog and meet other interesting people.”

If you’re interested, head on over to C&M’s awesome blog and leave her a comment on her event post. I’m going to be joining in on the fun by illustrating different women who have left their marks on history in one way or another. I’ll try to squeeze as many as I can in throughout the month, along with short little bios explaining the things these bad ass ladies have accomplished and how they’ve helped to change the world and inspire others. I’ll also be posting reviews of comics that feature ladies as the protagonists. (My plans are to read and review Paper Girls, Lumberjanes, some more Giant Days, Bitch Planet and some more Rat Queens!) It’s gonna be a busy, lady-filled month of posts, and I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully some of you will decide to join in on the fun, too! 😀

Susan from Giant Days, a comic filled with delightful female characters.

 

One Year’s Worth of Ignited Moths

Wow, hard to believe it, but it’s officially been a year since I made my first blog post!! Massive thanks to all you awesome folks for making it as much fun as it possibly could be. ❤ I’m so excited to be celebrating my blog’s one year anniversary. Blogiversary? Blogging Birthday? Call it what ye will, either way, today we PARTY!

I started this little blog to talk about my love for creativity (be it the marvelous creative works of others, or even the stuff I was personally working on myself). Since then, this blog has covered reviews of comics/books/movies/TV shows, featured updates about my own writing and drawing, shared recipes, and just babbled about all the things in life I have to babble about. It’s been a lot of fun, and a great outlet for someone like me who finds a lot of joy in several things but is often to shy to pipe up about them in real life, person-to-person.

Pretty much the story of my life.

A major perk of having my blog has been getting to know you guys and your blogs as well. 😀 I wish I could do a shout out for each and every one of you. ❤ I’ve loved reading your posts and interacting with you guys. Thanks for making it such an awesome year. I can’t wait to see what future posts everyone comes up with, and to share many more of my own as well. 😀

 

 

A Series of Blah Blah Blah’s . . .

I’ve got a teeny bit of free time right now so I’m gonna just share some quick updates! Here they are, in a quick succession of brief blah blah blah’s:

Blah #1: The new job is going great. 😀 I love being a program instructor and my class and team make me enjoy going to work every day. ❤ Plus the schedule is fantastic and I’ll never have to worry about working holidays or weekends.

Blah #2: Had a great weekend with my boyfriend. 🙂 We went and did a lot of things this Friday and Saturday (like see the new shark movie 47 Meters Down at my insistence). lol Sharks are my jam, what can I say? We also played a bunch of Shovel Knight which was a lot of fun.

Blah #3: I failed at doing a Father’s Day blog post in honor of my dad like I did for my mom. I got to spend time with him though and we watched Star Wars movies and I gave him prezzies for being such an awesome dad. We had a nice dinner, too, so it was all good. 🙂

Blah #4: The new job (combined with the one I had) leaves me without as much free time so I’m doing me best to keep up here. If it takes me longer to post or comment and stuff that is why. I still love blogging and chatting with you guys! ❤

Blah #5: I haven’t done a writing update in forever here mostly do to lack of time, but I haven’t given up! I just need to find a happy balance and figure out ways to squeeze more writing time in. Hopefully I can do a proper writing update again soon.

That’s it for my quick little updates. I hope you’re all having a great week. Feel free to share any recent blah’s of your own! 😀

201 Massive Thank You’s

Wow! I was NOT expecting to sign into WP today and see a notification that I’d hit over 200 followers! Omg, thank you guys so much!! ❤ ❤ ❤ I’m sick with a real bastard of a cold right now so this really put a smile on my stuffy-nosed face. 🙂

It has been so awesome getting to know you guys through our interactions here and by reading your blogs. I’ve gotten to chat with so many different kinds of people from all over the world since I’ve started this blog and it never ceases to amaze me how great of a blogging community we have here. 🙂

I’m a painfully shy person in the “real world”. An introvert through and through. Anxiety often keeps me from piping up in conversations at social events. I’m polite and friendly of course, but literally terrified to speak up most of the time. Blogging has been a great release, allowing me to express myself and my passions in life in a way I can be much more comfortable with. I had no idea when I started this blog that so many people would have any sort of interest in the things I have to babble on about, but it really does mean a lot to me. So, thanks, guys. You’re the best! ❤

 

Spring Blog Party @ Scale it Simple

With all the holiday festivities I’m a little late on this one, but we’ll just go ahead and call it “fashionably late”. 😉

There’s a lovely Spring Blog Party going on all day (April 16) over at Scale it Simple. Head on over and join in on the fun in the comments section with your fellow bloggers. It’s a nice way to connect with others in the wordpress community and introduce yourself and your blog to others. I got to know several great people from the last blog party I took part in there and would highly recommend it.

Here are the party rules, as posted by Scale it Simple:

1. Choose one of your favorite blog posts from your own blog. Any and all kinds of posts are welcome.(Untasteful or inappropriate posts will be removed.) You can share up to three links. Wait some time in between your posts for best results.

2. Paste the link in the comment section of this post and write a little bit about yourself and/or your blog.

3. Share this party on at least one social media platform in order to invite your blogging pals. The more the merrier!

4. Now grab some chocolate, a glass of your favorite beverage and get ready to meet some new people and discover some new blogs! Read, comment, follow and share other bloggers links on your social media platforms or on your own blog.

So, that said, head on over and PARTYYYY!

Bring On the Writing Memes!

Today is another busy day, but I’m doing my best to squeeze in some writing where I can! As well as doing some shopping for a certain BFF of mine’s upcoming birthday. (Cupcakes and Machetes, you spoiled bitch, you!) 😛 ❤

I also wanted to squeeze in a quick blog post, so prepare yourselves, Memes Are Coming! Writing memes to be exact! 😉

This is probably true.

FACT: I am beyond guilty of this. My main character is still known as MC in my first draft at this point. But I can tell ya all about how she looks, her back story and family history, etc. lol  /FAIL.

Also, if I were ever to be put on trial for murder, my google search history would probably condemn me to life in prison. Hey, man, writers gotta do their homework on grim topics sometimes. 😛

Hmm . . . some of you may have not been alive long enough yet to get this meme.

Truth! I’m a total plot hopper. I write around.

This is so true. I have to prepare like I’m about to present a business project any time I am asked to explain what the hell I’m currently writing about.

lol And this is why I’m so horrible at explaining what I’m writing about to people. It’s almost like it’s easier to write the whole damn book than to briefly explain it. 😛

So, yeah, those are the writing memes I decided to share! 🙂 Do any of these memes strike true to you when you’re writing, too?

Maybe tomorrow I’ll post some writing inspirational quotes I like if I can squeeze it in. Happy writing/blogging, everyone!! ❤

100 Follows and a Healthy Necro Rhino

Hey, guys!:D

Just popping in for a couple weekend updates.

Update #1: Big thanks to all of you awesome people who have made this blogging experience such a joy. I’ve just reached 100+ followers and I’m really thankful for it and for all of the wonderful folks I’ve met here and had such great chats with. ❤ I think we have such a great community of bloggers here, and it’s been so much fun sharing thoughts and ideas with you guys. ❤ ❤ ❤

Update #2: The Necro Rhino Writing Challenge is getting pretty close to completion. By the end of March 30th I’m really hoping to have at least 50,000 words written for the rough draft of the story I’m working on. That was the goal I set, to complete 50,000 words in 30 days, and so far so good. 🙂 I just passed the 40,000 word mark this morning, so I’ve got 5 days to write the remaining 10,000. That means I need to write 2,000 words per day and I think that’s totally doable. 🙂 Keep it up, Necro Rhino! So many words to be written and brains to be eaten. It’s gonna be a busy 5 days.

Thank goodness for caffeinated beverages!

Hope you guys are all having a great weekend. I’m off to work on what remains of my writing challenge. Anyone else got any exciting updates you’d like to share of your own? I’d love to read about them!