Liebster Award

Hallo! Before I went on hiatus, I was nominated for the Liebster Award by deborahocarroll. Thank you, deborahocarroll! I really like doing these (well, I like answering the questions), so I very much enjoyed getting nominated again. I'm pretty sure that everyone here is familiar with the Liebster award, but I'll review the rules anyway:

1. Thank the person who tagged you and link back to them 
2. List eleven facts about yourself 
3. Answer the questions posted by your tagger
4. Post the same number of questions for the next set of people
5. Tag as many people as you have questions. Or as many as you can come up with. 

The Answers:
1. Do you name your electronics?
Not generally, but our family's GPSes do have names. One is Glenda and the other is Penelope.
2. What color is your hair?
Brown.
3. Do you prefer libraries or bookstores?
Libraries, definitely!
4. At this moment, if you could magically have any kind of food (or drink) what would you wish for?
A big slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream.
5. If you had to pick between never drinking tea or coffee again, which would you choose?
I don't drink coffee, so, yeah. But I need my tea!
6. Who is your latest favorite character that you’ve “met” and why?
Eugenides from the Queen's Thief series! He's so devious and yet so innocent about it. 
7. Do you own multiple unused journals/notebooks and if so how many?
Yes, though I'm not sure how many. Probably around a half-dozen.
8. In your writing, are you a plotter or a pantser?
I'm a plantser. I plan some, particularly when I'm working on a long project. However, it's never a very detailed plan. 
9. What’s your favorite genre?
Fantasy all the way!
10. Favorite theme song from TV or movie?
Probably Sam's theme from LOTR.
11. Happy endings? Tragic? Bittersweet?
Happy endings, please.


The Facts:
1. I like Tangled better than Frozen.
2. I prefer the German version of "Let It Go" to the English version.
3. I occasionally get the two versions mixed up and end up switching back and forth throughout the song.
4. I love cheese and will eat it with a great many things.
5. I also love hummus and would happily eat it every day.
6. Despite the above two facts, I do not combine cheese and hummus. It just doesn't work.
7. I enjoy writing poetry about my inability to get stuff done.
8. Said poetry annoys one of my characters (Ariana, who I had an argument with a few months ago) to no end because it inevitably ends up mixed in with her research materials.
9. I'm rather bad at responding to sarcasm.
10. My favorite writing snacks are M'n'Ms, jelly beans, and Lifesavers.
11. I have no idea what to put for this last fact.

The Questions:
1. Do you prefer the mountains or the beach?
2. Would you rather have the ability to fly or the ability to breathe underwater? Why?
3. You discover one day that you have whichever ability you picked in #2. What's the first thing you do?
4. Who's your favorite superhero?
5. You're inviting three of your favorite fictional characters over for lunch. Who's coming?
6. Also, what are you serving for lunch?
7. While you and the characters are eating lunch, the antagonist from one of their stories shows up. What happens next?
8. Do you like dark characters?
9. Do you have a favorite number? If so, what is it?
10. What's your favorite kind of shoe?
11. Owls or hawks?

And now for the People I Tag. This is always the hardest part of these awards. But I shall do my best.
I tag:
Hannah
Emmarayn Redding
Ryebrynn
Sarah Faulkner
And I shall stop there because everyone else I can think of, I have tagged many times already. Sorry.

Hope you enjoyed reading my answers and facts and such!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Well, I'm Back

Hullo, all! I apologize for my sudden hiatus. I thought I'd scheduled a post announcing it, but apparently it didn't go up. Anyway, I'm back!

Part of the reason for my hiatus was that my family went on a trip up to the mountains for a week, and that meant no internet access. We did have a lot of fun, though, especially since we haven't been able to make it up there for a few years.

As usual, we went hiking every morning while we were there. When I was younger, I hated hiking. Now I actually enjoy it, mostly. Walking through forests, over dirt and leaves, rather than on concrete sidewalks and paths along streets or behind houses, makes me feel a bit like I'm off on an adventure, or like I've left behind normal life and found my way into another world. There are certain paths, however, that I don't like. Namely, the long ones that make you feel a bit like you've stumbled into Goldstone Wood without a Path, and every step- even in the direction you know should take you back to the end of the trail- seems to just take you further into the Wood.

Afternoon activities varied more, but half the days we were there, we went to the old gravel pit that serves as a shooting range. Everyone in my family shoots, and because there's nowhere to hang a traditional bull's-eye, we generally use more interesting targets. Ice bottles and cans are popular, but my favorites are balloons and golf balls hung on a string. The only problem with balloons is that they disappear very quickly, so if you want to be sure you'll get to shoot one, you have to claim it before people start shooting. One new kind of target that we tried this year was pressurized plastic bottles. Basically, Daddy pumped air into the bottles, like you would if you were filling up a bike tire, and then set them out to be shot at. He got the idea from an archery video, so he had me shoot a few of the bottles with my bow back at the cabin. It made a surprisingly loud noise, and very much shocked me the first time. (Things I shoot with my bow, after all, are generally not supposed to sound like an explosion.)

Mornings, however, were probably the best part of the day. Outside is one of my favorite places to write, and the cabin happened to have a very comfortable porch swing. So, every morning, I went out and wrote for a while. I'm pretty sure that I wrote more there per day than I usually do at home! After I'd written, I'd read, knit, or, if other people were awake, go back inside. All in all, it was very relaxing.

I did take some photos while I was on the trip, and I'll try to get them posted sometime soon. It may take a while, though.

Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)