Categories
Top 5

Top 5: 22 – Singers

sample This is a list of my top five something. Most of the time my lists are pretty static, but sometimes I do change my mind. While I do try to apply some logic to my choices, sometimes I pick things that make no sense and for no good reason other than “I like it.”

“Otis Redding Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”, statue in Gateway Park by Bradley Cooley and Bradley Cooley, Jr
of Bronze By Cooley, 2003 – Wikipedia

Singers

1. Otis Redding

2. Stevie Wonder

3. Adele

4. Pink

5. Jennifer Hudson

This is a tough list. As much as I adore music, I’m not exactly any one singer’s #1 fan. I like the way a lot of singers sing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I like what they sing and vice versus. This can and will change, but this is what I came up with for today.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
About Toi Question of the Month

#Question of the Month: a bloghop to think about. No. 1- If your house caught fire…?

A little while ago, Michael D’Agostino, of A Life Examined, brought up the idea of a new blog hop called Question of the Month. He thinks blog readers would like to know a little more about us, the bloggers. So we’re all gathering to show you guys who we are by taking part in the Question of the Month blog hop. On the first Monday of each month, we answer the question that gets posted here.

This month’s question is: If your house caught on fire, what’s the one thing you’d grab before running out?

There are so many possibilities to this scenario. This is not an easy question to answer even if, maybe, it should be. My first thought was to save my husband, but I don’t really see him needing to be saved. If the house caught fire, I’m sure he’d run out just like me. My next thought was to get my turtle out. I’m pretty sure I’d be permanently damaged emotionally if I escaped a fire and forgot about her. At this point, I should stop, but I know I’m stubborn. If I honestly felt I had any chance of grabbing one more item before heading out the door, I know I’d grab my laptop.

I’d like to think that my cell phone would be on me anyway. I figured my husband probably has something special on this list he’d want to grab, but then we might bump heads, both try to save Betty (the turtle). I guess I should have discussed this with him.

In any case, I know should want my photo albums, my books, my collectables, and the very few genuinely valuable items I own, but I’d know I couldn’t take them all. I’d love to grab my Nikon; it really is my favorite toy followed by my Kindle, but decisions have to be made and lives have to be saved.

Please check out the other participants in this hop and even join in if you’d like.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

Categories
Awards

The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Sorry I’m a little late to the party, but hopefully I’m making a good entrance. I am so thrilled and honored to be nominated for The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award by Tricia Drammeh, a blogger and genuine person I admire. Thank you Tricia so much for this nomination. Please take some time to visit Tricia and see all the wonderful things she does to help promote and support others, while also being a blogger and author of high standards…Now it’s time to commence with the ceremony.

So here’s how it all works:
Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.
Answer the 10 questions given to you.
Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers of your choice and let them know that they have been nominated.
Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog.

When did you begin writing?

I begin writing when I was very young, but I never realized it was part of who I am until I stopped writing in college. After almost ten years of neglecting a part of me, words started flowing from me. In 2009 I completed the first draft of my first novel, Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel.

What writing project are you most proud of?

If feel like I should say my first novel, but the truth is something else entirely. I self-published a collection of short stories, some ideas I played around with to which some are more developed than others. That collection, In the Window, was my first real understanding of the desire I had to write stories in many genres and a realization of just how much I need to continue honing my skills.

What are you working on right now?

I’m trying to drive myself crazy writing the third installment in my Eternal Curse Series, rewrite a standalone contemporary (my first attempt at romance), and complete outlines for two other stories I’ve been nibbling at for the past two years.

What is your ideal writing retreat?

A quiet ranch out in the Midwest during spring. You get up each morning and do yoga or go jogging before gathering in a grand hall for breakfast with other writers. Then we all break out into classes and or critique sessions before gathering again for lunch. After lunch, everyone goes back to their small yet comfortable rooms to writer or not write (doodle, brainstorm, sleep, etc…). Everyone gathers for a big meal and then either plays trivia games, charades, or watches movies based on books.

What is your favorite dessert?

It used to be any kind of ice cream, which that’s still high up there, but lately I’ve been drawn to very rich tiramisu.

What is your favorite animal?

I adore animals, but admit that unwanted rodents in my home my not feel that love. If I had to pick one animal to keep as a pet for all time, I’d say a dog…I hope my pet turtle isn’t reading this.

Favorite song?

These arms of mine by Otis Redding…Next.

Favorite color?

Most hues of blue will do.

Favorite beverage?

This is tough for me; I get really attached to beverages at different periods in my life. For now I’d have to say organic apple juice.

If you could make any law you wanted, what would it be?

I’d make rape a capital offense. Sorry if that’s too dark and uncomfortable to some.

So I was late to the party and now I’m dropping the ball on my nominees. I should have spent more time considering them, but I didn’t want to put this off any longer. As for the bloggers I am nominating, I understand that not everyone participates in these kinds of awards (so no pressure there), but for me, this is a way to show that I appreciate what these people are doing and want to encourage others to see that they are putting out there. Here is my list of nominees (only 5, sorry):

M.C.V. Egan

Puney Bones

Sally Cronin

Tori J. Jones

Krystol Diggs

Please check out these bloggers and leave them a comment if you see something you like.

And, finally, here are ten questions for my nominees to answer on their own blogs:

  1. If resources were unlimited, would you rather have every book ever written, or every movie, or every song?
  2. What’s something fictional that you wish was real or could be real someday?
  3. If you had to change identities and start over: would you be someone completely different or about the same. (I’d love to see some examples.)
  4. When watching a good movie at home, what do you eat and or drink?
  5. When reading a good book, what do you eat or drink?
  6. What’s your favorite slang term (explain it please)?
  7. What’s currently your favorite hashtag?
  8. If your life story was going to be told would you want to: publish a diary or journal, write your autobiography, or hand-pick someone to write your biography for you?
  9. What do you seek long-term: fame and or influence, wealth, or happiness?
  10. What’s one topic you don’t like to discuss with the public (you’d rather just keep it private or intimate)?

Thanks bunches, Tricia, again for nominating me.

Thank you to all my nominees for being wonderful bloggers who inspire and motivate me!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords