It’s been a while since I last did an awards post. As both Irina , Cactus Matt and Mel recently wrote a post for this new award that’s been going around the block, I was reminded that I too was tagged for this one. But even more shamefully I was nominated three times for this. Yes I know, I am horrible at keeping up with tags and awards post, so first off my apologies for that. But now I am finally going to make it up to everyone that nominated me, by writing a massive post for this one. So yeah this is going to be a long one so sit back, and take a soda (or whatever drink you might prefer). My first nomination came from Chizure who is currently on hiatus. That should not stop you from checking out her blog anyway though, as her posts are awesome, but so is she. I really miss her, and hope she will be making a return to blogging in the future. Ryuji is the one who gave me the second one, and sadly currenlty also on hiatus. Another blog that you should really check out ASAP, as it’s hosted by another amazing person who I also miss a lot. But, the posts in the blog speak for themselves as they are all wonderful.
And they say three times is a charm, as I got nominatied for a third one by Merlin. I really hope that this blogger doesn’t need any introduction anymore (and really if he does, where have you been). Running a blog on a multitude of subjects (including some of my favorite tv series) it’s sooo worth it too follow this blog. So please do so! All three of you: thank you so much for this nomination, and sorry it has taken me so long to finally get around to it. I still hope you will enjoy the read though. But let’s first get the official part of this out of the way as of course there are (*groan*) rules.
The Rules
- Thank the Person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
- Answer the questions sent to you.
- Nominate around 10 bloggers.
- Create your own set of questions for your nominees and display the rules.
- List the rules and display the Brotherhood of the World logo in your post.
So with that part finally out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff!
Chizure’s and Ryuji’s Questions
1. Briefly describe your blogging style (Where is your favorite blogging spot/what is your favorite blogging tool).
Well, right off the bat we start with a tough question. My blogging style huh? Well, one thing I do like to do (at least when I can that is) is try to put something personal in a post. When I write a review I try to come up with something that either happened to myself, or what in some way relates to whatever I am reviewing. In that way I try (and hopefully succeed *gasp*) in making an entertaining post. As for my favorite blogging spot, I always write on my ipad (with keyboard) on my bed. And now it has not yet happened that I have fallen asleep while writing.
2. How do you manage your blogging and blog reading time?
The easiest answer would be I don’t lol. But seriously though it is at times pretty hard to manage. I try to read posts at work during breaks, but on busy days I usually fail at that. When I come home from work, I usually take 3-4 hours to read posts and stalk people place comments. And yes I know that I place a lot of comments, sorry about that! As for writing my own posts, it depends. I usually get most of my writing done in the weekend, but sometimes I already spent some time on preparing drafts on weekdays.
3. Who is your most read author?
It kind of depends what mood I am in. But I do spent a lot of time in the Warhammer 40000 science fiction universe and I would say my favorite author for that is Graham McNeill. His novels are just real pageturners with loads of great action and all kinds of wonderful characters.
4. How did you come up with your blogging name?
Well finally, an easy question! Some of you already know the answer to this one, but of course I will still say it anyway. Raistlin is the most amazing book character I have ever read about. He was a mage in a series of fantasy novels called Dragonlance, written by the remarkable writing duo Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickmann. There was so much in him that I could relate too (not the world domination and becoming a god part though lol) and I just really understood what made him tick. Despite meeting many other wonderful characters in books, there has never been any that ever came close to being as cool as he was. And 0903 is my birthday (as I am Dutch we first write the day, and then the month). Hey, I told you it was easy!
5. What keeps you blogging?
Well, that is another very easy question to answer. The most important thing for me and that makes it so much fun, is the interacting with everyone. There are so many wonderful people in this community, and a lot of them have turned into amazing friends. That to me gives me my drive to keep blogging. I do love writing posts, but I also know that I am nowhere near as good as some of the people who I have great admiration for. But, that’s really okay. I always try to come up with some reviews for things that might not have been seen by everyone (although of course I do write posts about those as well), and that for me keeps it interesting too. But…the community itself, that is what keeps me going!
Merlin’s Questions
1) How did you come up with your blogging name?
Asked and answered 🙂
2) What do you love most about blogging?
Well I kind of answered that one a little bit as well, but just in case I wasn’t clear: the great discussions I have had with everyone on various topics, and the wonderful friendships that have only been growing since I started my blog. I really could not ever think about leaving this fully behind.
3) What do you hate most about blogging?
Never having enough time. But I guess that’s a problem that is not only restricted to blogging. I do find it frustrating at times though. I only have about 5-6 hours on weekdays of free time after a workday. Sometimes even less, when I have something else planned for an evening. This is also one of the reasons why I have pretty much reached a limit to the amount of blogs I can follow. As much as I would love to, I just can’t follow everyone. It would also not be fair to someone’s post if I were to read it only partially and leave a like. But sometimes it’s hard, as I really come across some great (old and new) blogs. Occasionally though I do make an exception.
4) Do you have some favorite blogs to recommend?
Well, quite a few actually. On my blog I have a monthly feature called Bloggers in the Spotlight where I try to point out blogs that are really awesome and might not yet have been discovered by everyone. This month will see the release of the 4th volume of this. I already have a few bloggers in mind, but I don’t want to say who these are (yet). Feel free though to look at the bloggers in the previous installments, for some recommendations. All I can say is that there are some amazingly talented people out here in this community. Well duh, of course you are one of them!
5) Do you have one or three personal favorite posts you’ve written?
Well it’s always difficult to choose things from your own posts, but looking back there certainly are some posts that I quite enjoyed putting together. As I like being nostalgic from time to time, hence my love for the 80’s, I really had a lot of fun writing my Childhood Movies post. It’s written almost two years ago, but I still remember it quite well. A post that I am pretty proud of in the way it turned out was my review for Ergo Proxy. I was really fearful to post it, as it was an animeseries that was loved by quite a lot of people, but I did never really get into it. In the end though it became one of my most popular posts. Lastly there is the The Last Jedi rantpost. It’s not a post that I really like (though I still stand by everything I wrote for it, I still hate that movie), but I really learned a lot from it. It’s never good to write a review in total anger. But then again, it really created some very lively and interesting discussions as well, which was something that was a fun experience.
And the nominees are…..
This award has been around for a while now, so I have kind of lost track of everyone that got nominated for this already. Feel free to ignore the nomination if you have already done one, or if you don’t want to do it, that’s of course perfectly fine as well. So here we go. I nominate:
And now for my questions…
1) How did you come up with your blogging name? (Yes, that question is stolen, deal with it :))
2) How did you get interested in blogging?
3) Is there something you desperately want to write about on your blog, but haven’t done yet?
4) What’s the best thing that happened to you in the blogging sphere?
5) Name one movie, book or anime that you have seen this year that really impressed you
Well…that’s it. Thank you for suffering reading this post, and see you at the next one!
Great to see your answers to this one. I’m with you in that the thing I hate most about blogging is not having enough time for everything. On that note, I finally responded to your email (apologises again for being a bit of a slacker on this one).
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Ooh, I just saw it come in! I will respond to it later today ( I will be heading to the cinema to watch Antman and the Wasp in a few minutes) but I can say one thing already: That logo!!! So awesome 😍😍
And really no apologies are necessary at all! I know how busy you are, so it’s totally fine 😊
Lol..yes ont the note of time, I seriously wish I really did have a time machine. Oh well, one day we will retire from work and probably have plenty of time 😂😂 Thanks for the email, and as I said you will see a response from me appearing later today 😀
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Enjoy the movie. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.
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awww, I’m blushing! 😀
Good answers, I enjoyed reading them! 🙂 Heh, don’t we all wish we had more time to do what we love doing. 🙂
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Haha! Glad you liked the answers 😊😊 And really, no need to blush as I only spoke the truth 😊😊
But yes, more time in a day would be so much better ugh. Someone really should invent a time machine! 😊😊Thank you for reading, and tagging me in the first place 😀😀
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I’m glad I did! 🙂
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Ah, I finally learn the origin of your name. I should have known because I have watched a Dragonlance animated movie in the past. It starred Kiefer Sutherland and Lucy Lawless, but wasn’t great.
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I had the misfortune of seeing this movie too and to say it was a massive disappointment would be an understatement. The books are 10000 times better than that atrocious film. Real shame really. Kiefer did do a pretty good job at voicing Raistlin, but that’s about it. Other than that though I highly recommend the books, as they are really amazing 😀
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Oh yes, they absolutely butchered things with that movie. Really, they just had way too much ground to cover to do so properly in that format. One book alone is at least two movies’ worth of material, and, personally, I’d have made it a television show instead.
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Yeah, I had heard at one point there were some talks about that, (a television show) but sadly that never quite took off. I wish they had not made this film though as it really was very bad, and a poor representation of these high quality books 😢😢
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I agree with the not having enough time to write posts. That’s why I only post weekly and I still feel like I don’t have enough time to put out the quality of posts that I want to put out.
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Finding time is really a struggle every week. The upcoming week I have some late night dinners, which means that I will fall behind on those days. But yes it’s one of the main reasons I don’t have a posting schedule. I would never able to stick with it.
But really don’t despair: your posts are always of high quality! 😀
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A well deserved nomination. Time is always the kicker, isn’t it? Just trying to find enough to keep up with your own and everyone else’s posts while still enjoying other things too. It’s difficult.
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Aww, thank you so much that is very nice of you to say 😊
Yeah, time is just something that I always have way too less of. That’s why I can’t wait to finally have it be September where I have a 3 week vacation. Finally some time to catch up to stuff 😊😊
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Thanks a lot. Got a couple of days off work soon so will have a go of this.
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You are very welcome. Your blog and you deserve because it’s awesome! 😊
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I so relate with never having enough time!
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Haha, yeah, it’s I think the biggest problem that we all have lol 😂😂
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Thanks for the nomination!!
I really need to read this Dragonlance series where you got your name!! I’ve heard you mention it many times before and keep meaning to add it to my list. I’m going to do that now!
You should DEFINITELY apologize for all of the commenting… I’ve been trying to block you for AGES… to no avail. 😘🤣 (by the way, no Gandalf AND an invitation to your blog in the way of a ping back?? Now you’re just ASKING for trouble!!)
As for never having time, and your constant stalking, I’m going to put forth an apology of my own!! I was supposed to be around again and I’ve been even more AWOL than the prior weeks that I apologized for! … I MAY have quit my job… So, I’m SORT OF losing my mind right now! Ha ha! It’s definitely been a crazy week!! 😅😱
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You are very welcome, and you totally deserve it! 😊
The Dragonlance saga is really amazing, and totally worth it to read: especially because you will totally fall in love with the characters, which is pretty much the best part of all these novels.
Yeah I figured it was about time an apology was in order. All this stalking of mine is getting totally out of hand…so yeah…🙈🙈
Well….funny thing, Gandalf said he had to go somewhere, something about a Terry Pratchett read a long or something. Had no idea what he was talking about, but that’s why he wasn’t here. Pingback??? What…no way…I did that? I must have seriously lost my mind 😂😂😂
No apologies are ever necessary: the real world always comes before blogging, and it’s always worth it when you return again. But erm…quit your job? Wow…okay…erm are you alright?? (yes..this question is serious for a change).
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It was super awkward. I cried in front of my district manager… Lol! I’ve been at this job for 14 years, so it’s very emotional… It’s been coming on for a while, they just moved me to a different store in the hopes of having me quit because it’s really out of my way and I’m a pedestrian… Well, they won. I’m going back to school. But, I’m absolutely freaking out!! I am still at my job for now, but have put in my notice for the end of the summer, so I have about a month to find something else, at least part time!! WISH ME LUCK!! 🍀😕😱😵😨
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Aww man, I like jokes as much as the next guy, but that totally sucks. I’m really so sorry to hear that 😢
There is nothing awkward about it in any way: it’s a totally human reaction. So nothing to be ashamed of in any way in my book.
It still totally sucks though. I don’t know who they are, but they are stupid people in my book to let a good employee go in this way. I really hope you will find something new soon: but hey, have faith in your self though. I know one thing for sure: you really are a very extraordinary person, and anyone should be happy to have you. I’m pretty sure and convinced that you will find something new before the end of this summer. You will be alright, but of course I totally understand the freaking out part. It would be enough to freak anyone out. I will keep my fingers crossed for you: I promise 😊🍀 If you want to talk about it some more: you may always contact me at mvanderweide28@gmail.com Take care 😊❤️
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Thanks, darlin!! 💖💖 YOU are the one who’s the best. But, I won’t start an argument here!! And, they are stupid. I’m just very bad at being a “yes man” when they don’t know how to run a company, and they want someone who will prostrate themselves and pucker up. 💋
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Haha…no best not to start that argument lol 😂😊
Seriously though…that’s the problem at a lot of companies, when you don’t immediately fall in line the most common thing that you hear is ” You are being very negative!” Why? Because you don’t immediately say yes to something that might become a problem for yourself later on? Or maybe because it’s not well thought out? It really is stupid. All I can say is it’s their loss if they lose you in that way: You are far better than them: by miles! 😊❤️ Hopefully a new employer will see that quality in you very soon 😊
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Oh, and I’m ALREADY in love with one of the characters from Dragonlance! 😘😘💖🤣
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Lol, I don’t think I am going to be asking which one 😂😂
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Thank you so much for the nomination Michel and I will be updating this very soon on my blog!
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You are very welcome, and really no rush at all. Take all the time you need 😊😊
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I really want to do it all asap but then work is getting hectic and I have currently given my anniversary posts slightly more importance now. But again, thank you for the nomination. It means a lot.
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As I said, really no worries at all😊 This nomination is purely because you really deserve it😊 So please take all the time you need 😀
(And as mentioned I am really behind on awards posts myself 🙈🙈).
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Good choice with graham as your 40,000 author. Been so long since I dipped my toes in the mirky depths of the grim far future.
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The grim far future is always a nice place to visit (hmm…never thought I would say a sentence like that lol), but yes Graham is awesome. My second choice would probably be Aaron Dembski-Bowden, who has also written some truly amazing novels 😊
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I liked Dan Abnett. Ben Counter could tell a good story but his work was often full of typos 😦 annoyed me.
I preferred their fantasy range before they changed the setting.
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Dan Abnett has certainly written some very cool books as well. I have never read the fantasy range of novels, but only the 40000 books (mostly the Horus Heresy novels at that)
James Swallow is pretty good as wel. Really enjoyed his Sisters of Battle novel 😊
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Dan ABnetts Gaunts Ghosts series is wonderful. As is Sandy Mitchell’s Ciaphas Cain series. Ciaphas Cain is hilarious. If you want the Grim Dark Far Future full of blood, guts, violence and … comedy. He’s your hero.
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I have never heard of that series yet since reading this comment. That sounds really awesome. Thanks for the recommendation, will definitely check that out 😊😊
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Congratulations Michel! I’ve wondered where your blogging name came from.😁
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Thank you so much Kim. It was really fun to write this post, and yeah my blogging name has been a part of me even before I had my blog (I even used it as a gamer lol 😂😂)
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This is so lovely Raistlin!!! Now that I understand your blogger name, the pieces fit together in this post! Of course you have to be in the brotherhood! ^^
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I now know your birthday… Prepare yourself in time to come! (muhahaha) 🙂
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Thanks so much. I really had fun putting this post together! The blogger name is such a cool character. It’s a terrific range of books too, and ones that I highly recommend 😀
As for my birthday…did I say it was my birthday? Erm…no it was erm…erm..the day I saw my first anime? Erm..no wait, my father’s birthday. Erm..not convincing anymore am I? That laugh though…..😱😱😱😱
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I’ll kiv the authors whom you’ve mentioned here 😉
Hahaha, I think that’s Okabe from your post laughing ;)) No worries, Holo won’t bite XD
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Lol…okay ….I guess I will be looking over my shoulder when my birthday comes around (*shivers* 😱😱) 😂😂
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These were some fun questions with some equally fun answers 🙂 Love the insights into your blog. I love your writing style and how personable your posts come off. They are always an enjoyable read 🙂
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Thanks so much, you are way too kind here 😊 I’m really glad that you enjoy the reviews! I love writing them too (although in all likelyhood this month will see a little bit less posts from me, because of the showcase that I am hosting 😊). But I absolutely love your blog too….and…(*spoiler alert*) tomorrow there is a small suprise for you. Shhhh…don’t tell anyone 🤫🤫🤫😊😊
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You should never be sorry for leaving too many comments! (No, not you, all you scammers and spammers. I mean Raistlin shouldn’t feel sorry since he leaves awesome comments. Y’all should feel bad with your bleeping fake knock-offs and websites.) We all love how you take the time to read posts.
Thanks for the nomination! 🙂
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Haha…you certainly scared off all those scammers and spammers (Immediately checking the spamfilter to see that it is suspicously empty 😂😂)
You are very welcome, and you totally deserve it. I have always very much enjoyed reading your posts! 😊
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Congrats on the award, @Raistlin. This is the 1st time I hear about Dragonlance.
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Thank you so much: I appreciate it 😊😊 Dragonlance is an awesome series of novels which I highly recommend checking out 😀😀
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How do you manage your blogging and blog reading time?
The easiest answer would be I don’t lol.
hahahaha… So me… Congrats on the award Raist.. and thank a bunch for nominating me.. 🙂 I love your questions and excited to answer them.
And seriously..this is the first I heard where you get your blog name.I’m not even familiar with dragonlance.. I’ll look it up.. I’m still watching your lie in April. It’s one of the animes you recommended to me, five decades ago. hehe.
Thank you again.
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haha, well this month I am struggling with time even more than usual, as I am this months host for the Creator Showcase. There are already over 40 submissions sent in now lol. But it’s also a lot of fun, and there are already some truly amazing posts in there (which only means it will be harder to decide who will be featured …no pressure lol 😂😂)
You are very welcome: You deserve the nomination: it’s as simple as that 😊😊
Dragonlance is an amazing book series especially if you love fantasty. It truly contains a couple of the most amazing characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading about in a book 😊
Haha..no worries…I have a backlog that is so huge that I wonder if I will ever complete it lol 😂😂
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Oh wow.. 40 entries already? That’s amazing. 🙂 I’m looking forward to your round up post by the end of the month, 🙂 i’m gonna submit two of my July posts… 🙂
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Haha, yeah and it’s been only six days so far 😊 But it’s cool. I try to read at least 6-7 posts a day, so I am already more than two thirds through. Cool! Looking forward to those posts 😊
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Is DragonLance written by Margaret Weis? If it is, I just downloaded the series in my kindle. 🙂
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Yes it is, and it’s cowritten with Tracy Hickmann. Awesome! Hope you will enjoy reading them 😀
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Hopefully,,, But I don’t think I’ll be reading it soon.. I have plenty of ARCs waiting to be read. hehe.
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Hahaha…. 😀
“There was so much in him that I could relate too (not the world domination and becoming a god part though lol)”.
That part made me laugh really hard XD. I sure hope you aren’t planning on taking over the world. Then again you might be a nice ruler, so it might not be a bad thing if you ever went on a crazy power lust and took over the world lol 🙂
I can so relate to being bad at keeping up with tags and Awards 🙂 . I tried doing a series where I answered them all and let’s just say I got lost, muddled and deeply confused half way through the series and had to stop 🙂
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Haha, well I don’t have any plans to do so right now (then again, I guess that is exactly what someone who would want to take over the world would say 😂😂) I’m glad it made you laugh though! 😊😊
Yeah looking back in my comments section I think I have about 60-70 tags/awards I haven’t yet responded to. Then again it is very hard to keep up with them and you just can’t respond to them all (else you’d better change your blog name to the tags/award blog😂😂). Thanks as always for your great comment 😀
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A lot of useful information. 😎🧐 Hehe, congratulations on the award. And thank you for the nomination. I’ll get to it…eventually. Soonish I’d say. Your questions were interesting. Not sure I can answer them though. Maybe.
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Haha…oh boy…Maybe I should edit my post and delete all the answers I gave…somehow this “ useful information “ makes me a bit scared 😂😂
Lol…no problem, no answer is an answer as well right? 😂😂 (well sort of anyway) And again, no rush at all! Take all the time you need 😊😊
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Great answers, Michel! Love your posts.😉
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Thank you again. I’m always happy when I see a comment from you 😘😘❤️❤️
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Awww…. ditto😁❤
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A time machine would soooo fix a lot of issues (and probably create 10x more problems too). 😀 The discussions or, simply, the interactions are definitely the best part of blogging. So many fascinating point of views and so much support throughout the blogosphere. It just makes it all so much easier to enjoy! Great post, sir! 😀
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A time machine would make things so much better…I could just write ten posts…save them as drafts…travel back in time…and do it again…but at the same time it would probably create a lot of trouble too…lol 😂😂
Totally agree…I could not even imagine not being able to comment and interact with others anymore…it’s just way too much fun…and I have met so many awesome people because of it: Like yourself! 😊 Thank you again 😊😊
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