The Sunshine Blogger Award (Updated)

Huge thanks to both RosemaryMarie and RaymondSanti who nominated me for this! They both have really cool stories on their respective blogs- if you aren’t reading them, check them out!

Also, I was nominated by Dandylion240 at her Bring Me Back To Life legacy and by StormySims at The Life and Times of the Willows. They both have amazing stories going on, which are very captivating.

What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?

Well, it is of course an award for bloggers from other bloggers. It is a beautiful way to share all the amazing things other bloggers do and write about. To recognize their efforts in inspiring others to do what they love.

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 bloggers and add their links.
4. Notify the bloggers you included.
5. Keep the rules in your post.

Questions from RosemaryMarie:

1. What was the last picture you took with your phone?
   It’s actually a picture of the lizard that decided to “visit” my apartment!
2. If you could have personally witnessed anything in history, what would it be?
   Hopefully, something that people still wonder about, like how the pyramids were built, or any of those “alien encounters”. Just to quell my own curiosity.
3. If you could be any age for a month, what age would you choose?
   If I could also live the way I lived at that age, I’d love to go back to being 6. No school, my best friend lived across the street, I had fun with my neighbor’s grandkids who came to visit for the summer…. it was a good time.
4. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
   I’d have to go with this dish called Ghormesabzi from a local Mediterranean restaurant near me. It was pretty good, but a bit too heavy on the spices for me.
5. What is your favorite book?
   Probably Karlsson-on-the-Roof, by Astrid Lindgren. It’s so funny!
6. Do you believe in ghosts?
   Yes, I do. Never saw any, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
7. What is the longest you’ve gone without sleep?
   Probably around 60 hours? Back in high school, I had to go on this overnight trip to the local uni. Due to some nerves, I ended up not sleeping the night before the trip. Once at the uni, I tried to compensate the lack of sleep by consuming way too much coffee, which in turn led to more insomnia… Let’s just say, I was lucky none of the counselors there thought I was under the influence, because I was practically a zombie!
8. Coke, Pepsi or neither?
   Honestly, I usually can’t taste the difference between them. I prefer Cherry Coke or Dr. Pepper, usually.
9. What did you do for your last birthday?
   I went to a live concert with my family. And afterwards, to a restaurant!
10. What is your favorite holiday?
    New Years Eve! Mostly it’s because in Russia, which I’m originally from, it was The Holiday! It still is in my family, we get together, watch holiday concerts, eat, drink. It’s a fun old tradition.
11. What is on your desk?
    My laptop, mouse, jar with pencils and table lamp.

Questions from RaymondSanti:

1. What inspires you to write?
   These characters basically come to live in my head and they want their stories told! The least I can do is write them.
2. One of your bad habits?
   My terrible sleeping schedule. You guys probably noticed how I end up reading and liking your posts at the weirdest time of day or night…
3. What do you want the most right now?
   A job. A real money-earning job. Preferably one that I can do fairly well and where I get along with my coworkers and boss.
4. Something you never leave home without?
   My phone. If I ever leave my phone at home, I feel lost without it.
5. If you could ask any question to anyone and get a truthful answer, what would you ask?
   That’s a tough one. I might ask my former high school crush whether it was ever possible for anything to happen between us relationship-wise. But then again, I was definitely not mature enough for a relationship back then.
6. Baths or showers?
   Showers. They just take less time.
7. What’s your favorite number?
   Either 4 or 7. I can’t really explain why.
8. If you had the chance to torture your worst enemy, would you?
   Nope. Even if I totally hated them, the most I’d do is get into an actual fight with them. But torture is immoral and, as many studies show, it’s pretty useless.
9. What do you admire in your friends?
   They give me a new perspective on life. I mean, the other day, my closest friend drove a really long distance to come see me. And my online friends are always improving my mood when I’m down. You’re all wonderful.
10. If you could invent anything, what would it be?
    Something that makes people less prone to hate one another? If that were possible. Imagine how much humanity could achieve if there was no hatred, racism, bigotry?
11. Given the chance to rule the world… would you?
    No! That is way too much responsibility for one person. And I’m definitely not someone who could do such a difficult job.

Questions from Dandylion240:

1. What’s your favorite color?
   Anything but orange and pink.
2. Do you like to travel?
   Not too much. It’s pretty exhausting.
3. If you could go anywhere, where would it be?
   Someplace cold, like Sweden, maybe. Or someplace in the UK.
4. How long  have been playing the sims?
   Since the summer of 2013.
5. What motivated you to start writing?
   Seeing other people’s stories and wanting to try a hand at creating a tale myself.
6. If you could meet anyone in from the past, who would it be?
   Perhaps, my great grandmother Sophia. She was a very wise and amazing woman, but she passed away when I was only four.
7. What’s your favorite song?
   I don’t really have a favorite song. I have been pretty obsessed with The Cat Empire lately though.
8. Day or Night?
   Night. I feel much more productive at night.
9. Do you plan out every detail of the stories you write or do you just let the story take you to unexpected places?
   I try to plan, but in the end it still changes. So, most of the time, the end result of the story is way different from what I originally had in mind.
10. Do  you like to write first or third person?
    I generally find 1st person easier, since you get to see things from the character’s perspective. Although, lately I’ve been trying a hand at 3rd person narrative.
11. If  you could do anything right now, what would it be?
    I actually really want to go to the beach right now. Because it’s so hot today and the beach is always windy and cool.

Questions from StormySims:

1. If you could be anywhere in the world (or fictional world) right now, where would you be?
   Just anyplace really calm and cool. Preferably, not in California. Although, the Shire from LOTR would be a pretty neat place to be.
2. What drew you to start playing The Sims, TS2, TS3 or TS4?
   I started playing the mobile Sims Freeplay. And then, for my birthday, I got the actual Starter Pack from the Sims 3.
3. What is your favorite genre to write about?
   I definitely love mysteries and adventures. My least “favorite” is romance, since I find it really difficult to write believable romance scenes.
4. If you could make any one of your characters in any of your stories come to life, who would it be, and why?
   From this story, Celeste, since she is very caring and understanding, no matter what. From my Tumblr story, The Roommies, I’d totally love to make Bernardo Vida real, since he seems to be someone I’d really get along with.
5. When writing your story on a blog, do you prefer to write on a white background, a black background or a colored background? Why?
   I almost never use the WordPress blog for actual writing, I just use Microsoft Word. And lately I’ve been using this pale green background while writing, since it’s supposed to be better for eyes.
6. When you are writing or taking pictures in game for your story, what do you have going on in the background? (TV, music, etc.)
   I prefer silence while writing. I can have a lot of noise going while taking the pictures though.
7. If you were a Sim, would you choose to be a PlantSim, Zombie, Alien, Werewolf or a witch? Why?
   I’d love to be a Witch. So many possibilities there.
8. If you could be any animal, what would it be, and why?
   A cat. They have really cool physical abilities and everyone loves them.
9. What is your favorite season?
   IRL, it’s winter. In game, Summer or Spring.
10. What is your favorite Sims world?
    Appearance-wise, Isla Paradiso is the most beautiful, even though it lags so much. Otherwise, I like Monte Vista quite a bit.
11. What has been your favorite Sims challenge that you either have done before or like to read?
    I like the Bring Me To Life challenges, where you have to resurrect an EA ghost and let them live a full life.

My nominees are:

The Life and Times of the Willows

Forever Darkness

My Darling

The Chrysantemum Tango

Camp Wildberry

The Van Winkle Legacy

Listening to My Heart

The Insane Dubois Legacy

Dustland Fairytale

Torres Legacy

The Mayfields

My questions for my nominees:

1. Do you have any favorite characters in your own stories? Who?
2. What are your favorite genres to read or watch?
3. Which fictional character do you wish you could be real life friends with?
4. Would you rather land the perfect job or find true love?
5. Do you cook or bake? If not, would you want to learn how to?
6. What is your dream career?
7. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without?
8. Which country do you most want to visit?
9. Are you a day or a night person?
10. Would you want to become famous?
11. What do you like the most about gaming?