Versatile Blogger Award

Well, it has been far too long. Life has been stupidly busy, and I feel like I haven't had any time to catch up on 'Hannah Time' as a very cool fellow student friend says.  

However I was really honoured earlier this week, when another very cool friend and colleague of mine, namely Rhiannon Stone at Three Tall Poppies, nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award! How cool! So I have chosen to accept the mission. :) Her blog is really cool - and she has been quite pivotal in inspiring me further in developing my blog. I particularly love her blog because it's about lovely things - photography, encouragement, art, food and health. It's a great cross-section and a great read. 

So as the lovely Rhiannon wrote on her blog: when given this award, bloggers are asked to do three things - link back to the blog that gave them the award, list seven things about themselves and finally, give the award to five others.

7 Things About Me

(This is actually a lot harder than I thought it would be)

• I lived in London for a year and a half in 2008-2009 - it was a really rewarding and challenging time over there - but it was such a cool experience that I never thought I would get to have. Loved walking down streets that were hundreds of years old and just feeling the history. Would definitely go back to visit if we had the opportunity! 
• I learnt to play the timpani in high school. It was pretty random. Unfortunately at the time I didn't appreciate how cool it actually was to be able to bash away at the massive drums and I gave up on them soon after. Silly me.
• I am not a big fan of cheese. Never really liked it that much. Don't mind it in cooking, but wouldn't choose to have it on a sandwich if I could possibly help it. I figure that leaves more for all you cheese lovers out there in the world. It's a big sacrifice, but I'm willing to make it for you guys.
• I have quite a big collection of animated movies. I think (off the top of my head) at the moment I have about 40 DVD's of animated movies. And there are still so many that I want to get! 
• When I was growing up I always wanted to be either a cake decorator or a children's book illustrator (or both). It's pretty cool that one of those has come true! (and hopefully will continue to do so)
• I was home-schooled through most of primary and intermediate school. I only went to primary school for 2 years when I was 9 and 10. It was really good fun being home-schooled, and I learnt a lot during that time. And despite what people say about the social concerns of home-schooling, we got to hang out with heaps of other home-schooling kids and had a bunch of friends and got to play sports with them, do art classes and pottery and drama and a pile of other cool stuff.
• I am a Christian, and am so thankful to God that He has saved me, forgiven my sins, and given me a hope and purpose in my life. I am so blessed - with my family, friends, workmates and every little good thing that God has given me. 

So, enough about me! :) I nominate the following bloggers, who I have chosen because they are all different in what they share in their blogs, but each of them inspire and encourage me in different ways that I really appreciate. Here they are:

1. Lesley's Art Blog - This girl is SUPER talented. She is a young Australian girl whose artwork is quirky and unique and endearing and just plain gorgeous. She is also a very clever writer and her blog posts are candid and engaging. I want to be able to illustrate like her. I hope that she goes really far because the world needs to see more artwork like hers. 
2. Jair and Lauretta - Jair and Lauretta are friends of ours who have uprooted their comfortable life in NZ to go and live in the Solomon Islands to serve and support the people over there. I always find it really humbling to read Lauretta's blog posts - we take so much for granted in NZ in how comfortable and easy our lives are. It's also really cool because in their time over there they have also been able to adopt a gorgeous little Solomon Island girl - it's been so awesome to share this journey with them.
3. Story Monster - Heather has a brilliant blog - she is a ridiculously talented lady - she writes, and draws & paints, and is hilariously funny. I always get excited when I see that she has put up a new post on her blog. 
4. MrLeonTaylor - Mr Leon Taylor is a crazy cool dude that I had the privilege of studying with when I was a student. Got to hang out with him in lunch breaks and learn about his goals and share in his growth as an artist. This guy is going places. He writes and plays music, and is a born leader. He has only just recently started his blog but it's going to be one to watch. :)
5. Hat Lieberman - Hat is one clever dude who was very generous to me when I was starting out with my blog. He is a storyboard artist from the US, and he gave me amazingly generous feedback on my work voluntarily. It's people like him who are in the business and yet are sooo willing to share of their time and experience that make the animation industry so great to be a part of. His artwork is hilarious and so dynamic - and if you are story boarding, he has some brilliant tutorials on his blog. :)

So that is the Versatile Blogger tasks done for me! It was really hard choosing only 5 bloggers that inspire me, because there are so many out there who are so cool. It's amazing that 3 out of those 5 up there I have never met, and yet they have kind of let us be a part of their lives because of what they share on their blogs. What a cool time period to be living in.

Well, I haven't got much in the way of artwork to show you since I have been so busy. But I had to attend a meeting this weekend - the Cadet and Calvinette/Gem Executive Meeting (sounds impressive huh!) which is what I am a leader at, and while we were working through the agenda I took some very important 'notes' that I thought I should share with you. 

Don't get me wrong - it was a really great weekend and I learnt a lot - but you just can't stop a doodler from doodling. :)