The Be Unapologetically You Tag

Image Description: The words "be unapologetically you" are written in green across a lilac background. The "be" and "you" look like they have been typed whereas "unapologetically" looks as though it has been written with a paintbrush

Another blog tag! I was nominated for this one by Ellie from Ellie’s Little World (her post is here). Since InvincibleWomanOnWheels is based on honesty, reality and “what you see is what you get”, it only felt right to participate in a tag about being unapologetically yourself. Now, onto the rules! 

The Be Unapologetically You Tag rules: 

Use the Be Unapologetically You banner in your post. It can be your featured image or not. It’s totally up to you.  

Include the link to this blogging tag in your post.  

Answer the 7 questions in this tag.  

Nominate between 5-10 bloggers, link their blogs, and tag them on social media to notify them.  

Most of all, have fun! 

And now onto the questions! 

Question 1 – Introduce yourself and your blog while sharing one trivia about you that not that many people know.  

My name is Emma, I’m 25 and a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. I run the InvincibleWomanOnWheels blog you are reading this post on, as well as doing my full-time job. In terms of trivia, I’ll tell you one thing that may not be entirely clear from the blog, I’m actually a West Yorkshire gal. Yep, it may not be clear from my accent (those who follow my Instagram and see my stories will know how I sound) or the areas I blog about (mostly London and Birmingham), but Yorkshire blood runs through these veins. 

Question 2 – What topics do you love geeking out about that you would say are topics that give you bliss?  

The main topic is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). I watch any promotion I can every time it’s on the tv and attended live events around once a month pre pandemic My other major love is music, I’m an avid CD collector (I probably own over 200) and attended live gigs once a month or once every couple of months pre pandemic. 

Question 3 – Do you blog about them? Why or why not? If not, would you like to blog about them one time?  

Yes, I blog about my passions. Venue wheelchair accessibility reviews for live events/gigs form a big part of the blog. I even have an MMA travels section and a Cage Warriors (my favourite MMA promotion) section where I discuss my experiences attending live MMA shows as a wheelchair user. 

Question 4 – Would you say that you are living life by being unapologetically you? Why or why not? If not, what would your life look like if you were unafraid to share more about the things that make you happy?  

Mostly yes, I love what I love, I am who I am and I say what I say and make no apologies for it. If you ask me a question, you need to be sure you want the honest answer because that’s what you’ll get. I sometimes still have a habit of apologising for things that aren’t my fault. Those things are mostly access related issues where I feel like a burden for requesting equal access, but I’m getting better at not apologising for requesting what I am entitled to. 

Question 5 – Permission to geek out & be unapologetically you: share with us one thing you fangirl or fanboy over and how you became a fan of it. It can be anything. Your love for soy candles, your favourite food, a boy band or an underrated film. 

Those who know me personally likely have an idea what I’m going to discuss here *laugh*. It’s time to talk MMA! I cannot fully explain how in love with this sport I am. I’ve backed out of social events just to watch the fights alone, I’ve taken devices to a friend’s birthday party just so I could watch the fights (with her permission), I’ve spent hours on tiny coaches travelling the country to get to shows. I just love the fights, ok? Whenever you want to ask me about the fights, be prepared for a long chat. Because I will tell you 1000 different details about 1000 different fighters, the details of the fight schedule for the next quarter of the year AND like 4 different funny stories from attending live events. As for how I got into the sport, I believe my brother used to watch it a little when I was younger, but I couldn’t watch because time differences meant it was on too late. Then, when I got university I COULD watch because of my flexible student schedule, so I decided to see what it was all about. But the love for the sport really kicked into hyperdrive when I attended my first Cage Warriors event and with what was going on for me personally when Cage Warriors came into my life. 

Question 6 – What do you love the most about being a fan?  

The thing I love most is that I can be a fan without having to think about accessibility first. I mean OBVIOUSLY accessibility comes into it, I wouldn’t be writing my access reviews if it didn’t, but MMA is one of those things where I “buy tickets first, worry about access later” because I genuinely believe there WILL be a solution. MMA is also one of the few topics where I’m genuinely excited to not know or understand everything and am still ok with just shrugging my shoulders and enjoying it for what it is. Any other topic and not understanding something would frustrate me to the ends of the earth. 

Question 7 – Share a fun or unforgettable fan experience. 

I mean basically every time I go to Cage Warriors is an unforgettable experience. However, I think my favourite would be being put in a chokehold by Molly McCann (a UFC fighter) at a Cage Warriors meet and greet (she had my permission, don’t worry, pretty sure there’s video of it somewhere but I can’t add it into this post). It’s at moments like that that I realised Cage Warriors and MMA meant something more to me, it had to, being put into a chokehold is not your standard meet and greet experience) But the reason I love MMA so much is because it gives me stories like that, stories where you need all of the context to be able to explain what happened without someone looking at you like you’ve got 3 heads. To me, those are the best stories. 

Now onto who I tag to complete this post next: 

I tag the following people: 

Alex @ The VI Critic 

Michelle @ Boomer Eco Crusader 

Artie @ Artie Carden 

Helen @ Crispy Confessions 

Cassie @ Cassie The Hag 

I hope you enjoyed a slice of me being unapologetically me and I look forward to everyone else’s answers.

Stay Invincible! 

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels) 

The Aesthete Blogger Award

Image Description (Originally by Khushi at Blind Girl Musings): The image has a white background. At the center there is a pink and brown globe with figures of woman dancing, art pallet, ink and feather, music symbols, paper airplane, a statue, and a paper and a feather pen. The pen is shown in such a way that it seems like someone is writing on the paper with it. “The aesthete blogger award,” is written at the top with a butterfly between the words ‘the’ and ‘aesthete.’ On the left and right of this picture are hands with flowers and something written which is too small to read.

ANOTHER blogger award! I was nominated for this award by the lovely Khushi from Blind Girl Musings. The award was originally created by Ashmita over at A Fictional Journal (original post can be found via this link). With that, let’s get onto the post. 

First things first, RULES 

Award Rules 

Use the official logo/graphic of the award and display it on your blog. 

List the rules. 

Show some love to the one who nominated you! 

Mention the creator (Asmita@ the Fictional Journal) and link it back to the original post. 

Tell me a something about this world that you admire. 

What is your favourite form of creativity? 

Nominate 7 lovely people and notify them by commenting on their posts; spread some love! 

Ask your nominees 4 questions. 

Share something you created. (Can be anything!) 

And lastly, just so you know: I LOVE YOUR CREATIONS! 

My Answers to the Ashmita (the creators’) Questions 

Tell me a something about this world that you admire. 

The variety in it. The variety of cultures, experiences, language, everything. I just find the differences between how people see the world and how societies are built fascinating. Probably tells you something about why I have a Sociology and Psychology degree. 

What is your favourite form of creativity? 

Definitely blogging. Putting words to paper (or page) gets a lot of thoughts out of my head and generally helps me generally keep it together. How I write is how I sound. 

My Answers to Khushi’s Questions 

What’s the last song you listen to? 

There’s kind of 2 answers to this. The song I was listening to when I planned this blog post was Resolution by Dermot Kennedy. However, the song I’m listening to as I type this is I’d Do Anything by Simple Plan  

What’s the last book you read, if you’re a reader? Did you like it? Tell me something about it. 

The last book I fully read through was Syncopated Blue by Ryan Hennessey. It’s a poetry book, which isn’t the usual style I read but I really enjoyed it. The only reason I didn’t immediately reread it is because I was on a train and worried I’d miss my stop. 

How would you feel if you were born in an era when people still communicated primarily through exchanging letters? 

I feel like I’d struggle and not enjoy it for 2 reasons. Firstly, my condition makes handwriting difficult and means it takes quite a long time. I also have no patience which means I’d probably find it really annoying waiting for a reply, particularly with the time it takes to receive letters through the post.  

Who’s your favourite author? I know there can be more than 1 so feel free to share as many as you want! 

I’d say Jo Nesbo  because The Snowman is one of few books I could reread 1000 times and still be as shocked and unnerved (in the best way) every time. 

My Questions 

1. Why did you start blogging? 

2. One place you’d like to travel to? 

3. One type of creativity you admire and wish you could do? 

4. One thing you do to relax? 

My Nominations  

Alex at The VI Critic 

Cassie from Cassie the Hag 

Georgia from BritVoyage 

Artie Carden 

Smelly Socks and Garden Peas 

Madison & Rebecca from Foster Family Travels 

Ian from Barefoot Backpacker 

Once again, thank you to Khushi for the nomination, and I hope everyone enjoyed learning a little more about me. I also look forward to reading the answers from my nominees. 

Stay Invincible  

Em  

Enola Holmes Book Tag

Something a little different from me today. I was previously quite an avid reader (cheers academia for ruining that one for me) and still have a bookcase FULL of books I would love to read but lack the motivation to do so. So I am thankful for the opportunity to think about and discuss books in a non-academic way again. Which is why I am extremely thankful to Hannah from Hannah’s Bookshelf for tagging me to participate in the Enola Holmes Book Tag  and to  Bellerose Reads for creating the tag in the first place. Firstly, I’ll outline the rules of the tag, then I’ll answer the prompts, then I’ll nominate 5 other bookish bloggers to join in and answer the prompts themselves.

Oh just a little heads up, that little “previously avid reader” part means I don’t really read that much anymore (although this tag has me picking the habit back up). I’m probably not going to be discussing that many books here so if you’re looking for a wide variety of literature this isn’t the post for you.

Rules

• List the rules and the prompts of the tag in your post.
• Thank the person who tagged you and ping back to their post.
• Give credits to the creator of the tag Bellerose Reads, and ping back to her post.
• Tag at least 5 people.

The Prompts and My Answers

Enola Holmes: name an independent and smart female protagonist.

That would have to be Eve Rosser from the Morganville Vampires Series (which I’ve not finished yet so no spoilers in the comments please!). She’s just so badass and confident and  takes no messing about from anyone. I think that’s particularly key considering she lives with two fairly macho, confident boys in the series. Plus I just want to be that confident.

Sherlock Holmes: name your favourite mystery/thriller book.

This would DEFINITELY be The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. I just randomly picked this up from a market stall on a whim once, and now I could read it 1000 times and not get bored. The twists still get me every time.

Eudoria Holmes: name a character that defies the rules of their society.

Can I pick the same character for two prompts? Ah hell I’m doing it anyway. This would have to be Eve from the Morganville series again. Dressing goth style with skulls and literal wooden stakes must be the ultimate in defying society when you live in vampire land right? Plus I just LOVE Eve’s style. I want her clothes, I want her car, I swear I want to BE her.

Mycroft Holmes: name the most annoying character you know.

Harry Hole from the Harry Hole Series by Jo Nesbo. I think it’s the psychologist in me, but watching him go from clean and sober, back to addiction and then fighting to get clean again (assuming I’m reading the series in the right order? I’m never too sure given that the English versions are translations) has me screaming “ PLEASE GO TO THERAPY AND GET SOME ACTUAL HELP”. But I guess that’s because I’d kinda add him to the next prompt, because I want to protect him too.

Lord Tewkesbury: name a character that you want to protect at all costs.

100% Shane Collins from the Morganville series (can you tell I love this series, is it obvious?!) It’s not often I’ll laugh out loud at a book or find myself grinning as I’m reading but Shane’s characters always has me laughing or smiling at the book. Would it make sense if I said he’s written in a way that makes it feel as if you’re being hugged through a book? Do my fellow bookworms get what I mean? The warmth of his character is just really nice, particularly in these times when I have very limited social interaction with real human beings.

Inspector Lestrade: name a loyal side character.

Rakel from the Harry Hole Series. In the ones from the series that  I have read (yes I’ve not finished this series either, my lack of recent reading is REALLY showing) she’s always there for Harry through everything. When I read a part where Harry’s struggling I’m always thinking “It’s ok because Rakel will re-enter at some point and help him sort everything out”. Whether being loyal to a man with as many issues and faults as Harry Hole is a good or a bad choice is another thing entirely.

Miss Harrison: name a book that aged like milk.

The Twilight Series (which awkwardly enough still sits on my bookshelf). The Edward and Bella dynamic is VERY obviously just weird and creepy now. Sneaking in her bedroom to watch her sleep?! *sounds giant “he’s a creep” warning signal*. Honestly why was #TeamEdward ever a thing? It’s just all very creepy to me now.

Linthorn: name a book or character you hated from the very beginning

Katrine Bratt from the Harry Hole Series. I remember from the moment she was introduced I felt very uneasy. I was constantly thinking “Why are you here? What do you want? Whose life do you want to ruin?” The entire time I knew she was bad news so I was just waiting for my suspicions to be proved correct.

Edith: name your favourite book with Black rep.

Is it bad that I can’t think of any books for this prompt? At least none that I’d want to recommend as actual good Black representation. And I know that’s my fault as much as it might be an issue regarding the kind of literature that’s being published. I definitely need to diversify my reading and would appreciate your recommendations of books with good Black representation, and I’ll keep an eye out for recommendations in other posts on this tag.

My Nominations

Jess at Stuck In The Book

Jackie/Robyn at Never Imitate

Lin at The Reading Den

Linz at Sunsets, Books & Wine

Dani at dmci reads

I hope everyone enjoyed reading about the bookworm side of me! Thankyou again to Hannah for the tag and for helping to remind me how much I love and missed reading!

Christmas Tag of 2020

The lovely Ellie from Ticking the List has tagged me to do the Christmas Tag of 2020 so here we go! (Spoiler: I’m about to reveal myself as a big old Grinch).

Firstly, I’ll outline the rules of the tag. Then I’ll answer the 10 original questions before answering the extra questions has asked me, asking my own extra questions  and nominating some more bloggers.

Rules

1. Put on your favourite Christmas playlist to listen while answering.
2. Have a Christmas drink and/or snack while writing.
3. Thank the blogger who tagged you and leave a link to their site.
4. Answer the 10 original questions.
5. Answer the questions set by whoever tagged you.
6. Ask 2 questions of your own.
7. Tag 6 bloggers to take part.

10 Original Questions

1. When do your decorations go up?

As this is my first year in my own house, this is probably the first year I’ve been able to talk about my own Christmas traditions and decorations. And this is where I’m probably about to make the internet explode… I haven’t put any decorations up and I don’t see that changing in future years. It just seems like a whole lot of effort when there’s only me in this flat and I’m not really that bothered by decorations.

2. Who is the scrooge in your family or friendship group?

If that first answer hasn’t made it obvious, it’s probably me! I generally don’t have any Christmas spirit until about Christmas Eve and any limited Christmas spirit has usually disappeared by about the 27^th.

3. If money was no object, how and where would you spend Christmas?

Most likely travelling, specifically to Prague. My dad went there around Christmas time once and came back talking about how wonderful it was so I’d want to experience that for myself.

4. What Christmas film/movie do you have to watch every festive season?

It’s not a movie, but I have to watch the original Gavin and Stacey Christmas special. I’m known for saying it’s not Christmas until Smithy (one of the main characters) yells “it’s Christmaaaaaasssssssss”.

5. Who do you find the hardest to buy presents for?

Probably my younger brother, just because I never know what he’s into or what’s considered “cool”. The perils of gift buying for a teenage boy!

6. Would you rather buy lots of little presents for a hamper or buy one big/main present?

Lots of little presents I think. I think it’s just better to have more things to open on the day. Plus I think they’re more likely to be smaller more personal things.

7. What did you leave out for Santa as a child?

I’m not entirely sure I remember? I’m assuming if it was anything it would have been a mince pie for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer. That’s kind of the standard offering isn’t it?

8. Where did you spend last Christmas?

Back at my family home with my mum, stepdad and younger brother the way I usually do. Then we travelled up to Yorkshire between Boxing Day and the New Year to visit family.

9. Which Christmas song makes you cringe?

 Is it rude to say all of them? Christmas music really isn’t my thing. Particularly Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You though. I’ve just heard it too many times. All I want for Christmas is to not have to hear that song.

10. If you could be a character in a holiday movie, who would you be and why?

I think I’d pick Buddy from Elf. I’d just want to be as excited about Christmas as he is for once in my life haha!

Ellie’s Extra Questions

What is one of your favourite Christmas memories?

It’s not one specific memory, but something that always sticks in my mind from around this time is watching the Darts World Championships with my dad between Christmas and New Year. That was always the way I knew it was definitely Christmas and the start of a new year (almost). That is something I particularly treasure now he’s no longer with us.

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? You must back up your answer with reasoning!

I’ll have to say yes. I’m not sure I’ve seen it in its entirety, but it’s set around the festive season and features a Christmas tree and that kind of thing right? If it’s vaguely festive or set around then then I’m pretty sure we can call it a Christmas film.

My Extra Questions

1. What is your favourite Christmas song?

2. When do you consider it Christmas time? Is there something specific that has to happen or you have to do first?

Nominations

Jo Jo from JoJo’s Cup of Mocha

Alex from The VI Critic

Jess from Stuck In The Book

Claire from Our Favourite Jar

Helen from Dotted Pages

Ashley from Blabbing Ash

Once again, thanks to Ellie for nominating me and I love forward to seeing everyone’s Christmassy answers

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Blogger Recognition Award

I’ve been nominated for another blogger award! This time, Sara from Vivid n Stylish has nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award. Thankyou Sara for this nomination. And an additional thanks to Eve Estelle from the Edge of the Night blog for creating the award initially.

For those who don’t know, the Blogger Recognition Award is a way of recognising all the hard work and effort that goes into blogging and celebrating those who put in the hard work. It isn’t as easy as everyone thinks!

Firstly, I’ll outline the rules of the tag. Then I’ll explain two reasons why I start blogging and two pieces of advice I have for other bloggers. Then I’ll answer the questions Sara has asked me, before asking my own questions and nominating some more bloggers to answer them.

Rules

• Display the logo of the blogger recognition award.
• Thank the blogger nominator.
• Write something about bloggers’ recognition award.
• Write two reasons why you started blogging.
• Give two pieces of advice to your fellow bloggers.
• Nominate 15 more bloggers for the blogger recognition award.
• Notify each of your nominees that you have chosen them.

Two reasons why I started blogging

Well the first reason was because it was recommended to me. I wrote about the start of the blog in my first ever blog post . Long story short, the girls I was travelling with said they’d learned a lot about the issues I face as a disabled person over the course of the trip and encouraged me to start sharing my experiences in a blog. So I came home and that’s exactly what I did, sharing my first post in the October after the trip that summer. Secondly, it seemed like a good way to vent my frustrations with the ableist way society is set up and the barriers that are in my way as a disabled person.

Two pieces of advice for other bloggers

I actually previously discussed my advice for other bloggers. However, if I was to pick two key pieces of advice, the first would be to find your “cornerstone”. By this I mean the one value or thing about your writing that you would never give up. The thing that makes it recognisable as your writing. For me that’s my honesty, if a post doesn’t brutally honest and raw and as those my friends can hear me saying it in their head, then I shouldn’t be putting my name to it. My second piece of advice would be don’t force content. You’ve probably read somewhere that you need to release x blog posts a week that are x number of words long for good SEO and “the algorithm” or something. But if you’re forcing out content you’re not interested in purely to meet these arbitrary numbers, your audience will be able to tell and they’ll likely stop reading. Focus on building a supportive readership that waits on every word you write, no matter when you release.

Questions I have to answer

• How are you feeling about the achievements made by your blog?

It’s honestly mind-blowing, I really never expected it to reach the readership that it has or to give me the opportunities it has. However, the success it HAS achieved has shown me I still have so much I want to achieve when it comes to blogging and disability activism.

• How much quantitative time do you put into the blog daily, writing, site maintaining, and social media visiting?

I honestly have no idea and I have no intention to start counting. I’ve never set specific time periods that I need to spend each week on creating content, and I think that’s to do with not forcing content, as I said in my advice. I only write or create content when I feel there is content I want to create.

• What do you miss and/or cherish after the Pandemic?

I miss travelling and being busy. Whether that was visiting family or friends or heading to events and meetings. An “on the go” lifestyle was my standard and probably best for me. I can start to overthink if I have too much time to think.

• What do you do to keep yourself calm, while things are not going your way?

I usually play very loud music and sing along. That or watching Mixed Martial Arts videos, those are usually videos which bring up good memories of going to events with friends and remind me there are better days ahead

Nominations

Jo Jo from JoJo’s Cup of Mocha

Alex from The VI Critic

Jess from Stuck In The Book

Claire from Our Favourite Jar

Helen from Dotted Pages

Ashley from Blabbing Ash

Thomas from TheDoubtingThomas

Artie Carden

Hope from The Hope Chronicles

Keith from On My Mind Today

Weird & Liberated

Shona from ShonaLouise.com

Carrie Ann Lightley

Emmagayle from Emmagayle Blogs

Ellie M from Ticking The List

Questions

1. Who is one blogger that you think deserves more recognition? Shout them out here!
2. What is one way I could easily recognise you? Maybe a piece of clothing or something you are known for saying?
3. What is one underrated creative thing you think I should check out? whether that’s a Youtuber, a musician/band or a particular tv show, or maybe you have suggestions for all of them!

Once again, thanks to Sara for nominating me and I love forward to seeing how everyone answers my questions!

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Sunshine Bloggers Award

I’ve been nominated for another blogger award! This time, Ellie – M from Ticking The List has nominated me for the Sunshine Bloggers Award. Thankyou Ellie for this nomination.

For those who don’t know, the Sunshine Bloggers Award is a way of bringing together the diverse and varied blogging community to support each other and get to know each other.

Firstly, I’ll outline the rules of the tag. Then I’ll answer the questions I’ve been asked, before nominating more bloggers and asking them some questions myself.

Rules

• Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award image in your post.
• Answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 people and ask them 11 questions.
• Notify the nominees by commenting on one of their posts.

Questions I have to answer

1. What inspired you to start blogging?

That would be my girls’ holiday to Sicily. I actually wrote about it in my first ever blog post, but that’s basically where the girls I was travelling with said they’d learned a lot about the issues I face as a disabled person over the course of the trip and encouraged me to start sharing my experiences in a blog. So I came home and that’s exactly what I did, sharing my first post in the October after the trip that summer.

2. What kind of traveller are you?Adventure/relaxation/budget/luxury/don’t like to travel?

I prefer travelling to explore new places, like I did in that Sicily trip. I’d prefer to do more spontaneous trips where I just turn up and go wherever I fancy at the trop of a hat, but that’s more difficult to do when you have a disability.

3. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Milan for sure. I’m a sucker for Italian food and a glass of wine. And I really liked what I got to see of the culture and the city on the one-day layover I had there en route to Sicily.

4. If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?

Firstly, I would wish to have my dad back with us on Earth for just one day so I could say all the things I regret not saying. Secondly, I would wish for full accessibility for all disabled people (even if it may make my blog a bit redundant). I would also wish for security for those I love, financial security or whatever they need. The situation we’re currently in has made me realise how important those we love are.

5. What’s the most beautiful place you’ve been to?

Definitely Piazza Del Duomo in Milan. I’m not ashamed to say I almost cried when we stepped out of the metro station and I saw it for the first time.

6. If you could uninvent one thing, what would it be?

Steps/stairs! and I would put ramps everywhere, it would certainly make my life easier as a wheelchair user.

7. What is the most useful app you have on your phone?

Probably Google Maps as my sense of direction sucks. Failing that it’s the Trainline app. In the times when we can freely travel on trains it makes the process of train travel so much easier for me.

8. Who is your hero?

definitely my Mum. She’s the original invincible woman and the person I get all of my best traits from as far as I’m concerned.

9. What’s your favourite holiday?

By holiday here I’m assuming you mean like celebration? I’m going to answer it that way anyway. I would say Halloween because it’s close to my birthday so there are multiple reasons to celebrate.

10. What’s your karaoke song?

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen because it reminds me of a specific hilarious memory I have with my university friends.

11. If you were stranded on a desert island and could have 3 things with you, what would you choose?

One, my electric wheelchair so I could freely move around. 2. My Dermot Kennedy cd so I could keep calm during the isolation (the entire album is just chilled vibes) and of course my CD player so I could actually play the CD.

Nominations

Jo Jo from JoJo’s Cup of Mocha

Alex from The VI Critic

Jess from Stuck In The Book

Claire from Our Favourite Jar

Helen from Dotted Pages

Ashley from Blabbing Ash

Thomas from TheDoubtingThomas

Artie Carden

Hope from The Hope Chronicles

Keith from On My Mind Today

Weird & Liberated

Questions

1. What do you consider your biggest blogging achievement?
2. Who is one music artist you recommend I listen to?
3. Who’s another blogger you think I should check out?
4. Where’s one place you want to visit?
5. Where’s one place in your country that you recommend I visit?
6. What’s the one thing that’s top of your bucket list?
7. What was your first blog post? (on your first blog if you’ve had multiple)
8. Who would be your top dinner party guest?
9. What is your biggest fear?
10. What’s the best piece of advice you could give someone?
11. What is your favourite quote?

*UPDATE

Sooooooooo this post needs an update because I’ve just received ANOTHER nomination for this award from the lovely Jessica Lasa

My Answers to Jessica’s Questions

What is your favourite book?

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. I’m not usually one for rereading books too much  but I’d reread this a thousand times. The twists and turns get me every time!

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

At the moment, to the caravan site where my Grandma lives. I could do with a trip to the seaside, and the COVID restrictions mean I’ve not seen her in a VERY long time.

Favourite place you have visited and why.

Cardiff. I’ve visited it several times to attend a number of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) events and just always loved the vibe. At one point I was even looking into the idea of moving there.

What is your favourite animal and why?

Ring Tailed Lemurs. I can’t fully explain why, I just think they’re really cute and cool.

What is something you are proud of yourself for?

Getting my undergraduate degree. There was lots going on in terms of  personal circumstances both leading into and throughout my final year of that degree. It could have led to me not finishing my degree, but I managed to work through it and still get it done.

Tell me one of your favourite scents (i.e. apple pie, Eternity cologne, fresh cut grass).

Chlorine. It just gives me good memories of holidays, and my hydrotherapy sessions that I always enjoyed.

What was your first job ever?

Research Assistant at a recruitment consultant company. It was only a university placement, but it was paid so I’d consider that my first job

Favourite holiday and why

Sicily and Milan. It was my first holiday without my parents which was really exciting. It was also a road trip which meant we got to explore a fair bit of Sicily, It was also the reason behind me starting this blog, as I discussed in my first blog post.

What is the first song that pops up on your usual playlist?

I’m not that much of a playlist kind of gal. But I do have a playlist of songs recommended to me by my friend Aoife. When I put that on shuffle the first song to come up was All The Others by a band called The Coronas (I still think that’s got to be quite an awkward band name to have in the current times).

Do you have any pets?

No, but I do often refer to my parents dog as my dog.

Do you know how to drive a manual transmission?

No because I’m not medically allowed to drive due to an eyesight issue. But even  if I could drive, I’d have hand controls anyway due to my cerebral palsy, and it would probably be easier to have an automatic car.

My Nominations II

Sara at Vivid n Stylish

Hannah at Hannah’s Bookshelf

Mind Beauty Simplicity

Lin at Beware The Bookwyrm

Smelly Socks & Garden Peas

Brendan at Blind Injustice

Aleks at AJ’s Notes

Georgia at Brit Voyage

Jessie at Wanderer + Traveler

Rebekah Charles

Molly at Transatlantic Notes

My Questions II

I’m sneaking my way out of thinking up new questions again buuuuuuuuuttttttt just like I did with my Awesome Blogger Award update, since I’ve gained a lot of new #BloggingCommunity friends since first time I was nominated for this award, my new nominees can just answer the questions I asked when I was originally nominated (see the “My Questions” section above  for those questions).

Once again, thanks to Ellie and Jessica for nominating me and I look forward to seeing how everyone answers my questions!

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Hallotober Blog Tag

Image Credit: Jordanne @ Life of a Glasgow Girl

ANOTHER blog tag, time to tell you more about me then I guess ! This time I was tagged to do the Hallotober tag  by Claire from Our Favourite Jar. This tag was originally created by Jordanne from The Life of a Glasgow Girl , so of course credit must go to the original creator for creating this tag in the first place. Now, onto my post ! Firstly I’ll outline the rules of the award, then I’ll answer the 13 questions Claire asked me, nominate 13 more bloggers to continue the tag and ask them the same questions I was asked (with one question being different).

Rules  

• Thank the person who tagged you and link to their post 
• Put the rules at the beginning or after introduction
• Answer the 13 questions 
• Tag 13 people to do the tag 
• Delete Question 13, add a new number one question of your own
• You are free to use the tag image somewhere in the post 

My Answers 

1. What’s your favourite thing about October? 

Definitely my birthday! Everyone loves their birthday right? Mine’s actually only a couple of days before Halloween (the 29^th).

2. Are you a big celebrator of Halloween?

I don’t specifically make a big deal of celebrating Halloween, but all Halloween parties basically become my birthday party. So I end up celebrating Halloween as a default.

3. What’s your favourite horror movie?

I don’t really have one. Horror movies tend to involve jump scares (from the ones I’ve seen) and Cerebral Palsy startle reflex (which I’ve talked more about here) & jump scares don’t really mix, so I tend to avoid horrors as a genre.

4. Would you rather a cosy night in watching horrors or a big night out in a costume?

A big night out, but not in costume. You’re more likely to nice “gothy/rock n roll” dresses (like the one in the outfit below)  heading out for my birthday celebrations

5. Which has been your most favourite costume to date?

I don’t think I’ve ever actually worn a costume for Halloween. As I’ve said in the question above, my “Halloween” outfit is much more likely to look like the picture below.

Image Credit: Lizzie Iles

6. Bobbing for apples or pin the hat on the witch? 

Bobbing for apples I think, mostly because that’s the game I’d be more successful at! My hand eye coordination issues mean that trying to pin anything on anything is guaranteed to be an absolute flop.

7. How do you celebrate Halloween? 

With a birthday night out at a Halloween rock night hosted at one of the rock bars near wherever I’m living that particular year (university means I move pretty regularly). I’m not sure what I’ll be doing this year as the bars will be heavily restricted.

8. What’s your least favourite horror? 

I vaguely remember watching bits of The Hills Have Eyes remake (I think it was that? I’ve watched so few horror films that I don’t even remember what they’re called) and it gave me nightmares for days. So I’d have to say that purely because I remember finding it REALLY creepy.

 
9. Do you have a favourite trick or treating memory? 

I don’t think so? This is that awkward moment where I admit I don’t actually ever remember going  trick or treating. The area I mostly grew up in was not really the sort of area that I remember as being good to go trick or treating in, and then by the time we’d moved out of there I kind of felt too old for trick or treating.

10. What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?

The fact that my birthday is so close to Halloween. It means that all the Halloween parties are basically readymade birthday parties for me without me having to organise anything.

11. Scary costume or Silly costume?

Silly costume definitely,  I’m that jumpy I’d probably scare MYSELF in a scary costume.

12. What’s your favourite Halloween candy?

Jellies, specifically Haribo’s, can I specifically say Haribo’s? the variety of all the different kinds of sweets just makes me feel like I’ve had more sweets than I actually have ha-ha!

13. Would you visit a haunted house at night?

No, definitely not. The jump scares involved in haunted houses means my startle reflex would have an absolute field day.

Since I was also tagged for this by Smelly Socks & Garden Peas, I’ll just add a quick extra point here answering the new question that they added to the tag.

 14. Do you believe in ghosts?

I guess? I have a really specific thing about what I do and don’t believe in when it comes to the paranormal. I do believe that the spirits of those we’ve loved and lost can come back to visit us, moving things around rooms or leaving signs and stuff like that, but I’m really quite sceptical these days about “ghost hunting shows” like Most Haunted that try to prove the existence of ghosts.

My Questions 

1. What’s your favourite thing about October?
2.  Are you a big celebrator of Halloween?
3. What’s your favourite horror movie?
4. Would you rather a cosy night in watching horrors or a big night out in a costume?
5. Which has been your most favourite costume to date? 
6. Bobbing for apples or pin the hat on the witch? 
7. How do you celebrate Halloween? 
8. What’s your least favourite horror? 
9. Do you have a favourite trick or treating memory? 
10. What’s your favourite thing about Halloween?
11. Scary costume or Silly costume? 
12. What’s your favourite Halloween candy?
13. Horror movie recommendation those who want to avoid jump scares (I.e. me)?

Nominations 

Glen Parmenter

Jess from Stuck in the Book

Madison & Rebecca from Foster Fam Travels

Weird n Liberated

Ellie – Mae from Ticking the List

Joey from Concealed Voices

Shona Louise Cobb

Keith from On My Mind Today

Brendan from Blind Injustice

Alex from The VI Critic

Jo Jo from Jo Jo’s Cup of Mocha

Hope Chilinda

Ash from Blabbing Ash

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me and my thoughts around all things Halloween and October.

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Golden Bloggerz Award

I’ve been nominated for ANOTHER award! This time I was nominated for the Golden Bloggerz Award by Keith from On My Mind Today and I am very grateful for the nomination. This award was originally created by Chris Kosto from Golden Bloggerz, so of course credit must go to the original creator for creating this award in the first place. Now, onto my nomination! Firstly I’ll outline the rules of the award, then I’ll tell you 3 things about myself, answer the 5 questions Keith asked me and then ask 5 questions of my own and nominate 10 more bloggers who I believe deserve this award. 

Rules  

1. Place the award logo on your blog.
2. Mention the rules.
3. Thank whoever nominated you and place a link to their website.
4. Mention the award’s creator & provide a link too.
5. Tell your audience 3 things about you.
6. Nominate 10 – 20 people who deserve this award.
7. Let your nominees know by messaging/commenting on their Social Media or their blog.
8. Ask your nominees any 5 questions you want.
9. Share 2-3 links to your best posts

3 Things About Me

1. I was originally born and (partly) raised in West Yorkshire

You wouldn’t know it from the sound of my accent anymore, or the fact that even those who’ve been with me this entire time only know me writing blogs from London or Birmingham. But I’m a Yorkshire gal and proud and will not hear ANY slander against Yorkshire.

2. Manchester United FC fan

I’m also a fan of Manchester United Football Club since childhood. Admittedly I’m not as much of a fan anymore because I just don’t watch football that much now. However, if you were to ask me who my team was, I’d probably say them.

3. It’s my dream to live abroad 

If I could have a job which allowed me to live anywhere but the UK I’d jump at the chance. I’d particularly love to live in Italy, but anywhere not in the UK is fine

My Answers 

1. How would you describe yourself?

I’m a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy. I’m also an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and rock music fan. I’m honest, to the point where it’s probably gotten me in trouble a bit, and I would do anything from my friends.

2. What is the most important life lesson you ever learned?

I think it’s a lesson about myself, the fact that I’m stronger than I believe, I’m invincible & I’ve been through enough now that I can get through anything .

3. How do you handle stressful situations?

I watch MMA, it connects me to the friends I’ve made through travelling to MMA shows and watching the sport so often. it’s also quite cathartic to watch other people punch each other in the face when you’re stressed!

4. Are you motivated by the same things now that you were ten years ago?

I don’t really know, 10 years ago I was only 14 so I don’t know if I was  thinking about specific motivations too much back then. But I do know I still want a PhD like I did back then.

5. What is your greatest unrealized goal?

Linked to my answer to the previous question, one goal I haven’t yet achieved is to get a PhD, I want to be Dr Dobson! (and I will be using my full title ALLLLLLLLLLL the time). 

My Questions 

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. What would you consider your ‘golden’ best moment in blogging?

3. What do you consider your ‘gold medal’ top goal with blogging?

4. What’s 1 tv series you would recommend?

5. What’s 1 band/artist you would recommend?

Nominations 

Glen Parmenter

Eleanor from Not So Modern Girl

Jess from Stuck in the Book

Madison & Rebecca from Foster Fam Travels

Weird n Liberated

Ellie – M from Ticking the List

Smelly Socks & Garden Peas

Joey from Concealed Voices

Shona Louise Cobb

Claire from Our Favourite Jar

My 3 Best Posts

1. Disability & Language
2. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
3. Why I am Proud to be Disabled

Once again, I am very grateful for this nomination and hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me.

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Original Outstanding Blogger Award

Another blogger award! This time I’m nominated for the Original Outstanding Blogger Award by Laura from Voyage of the Mind. The award was originally created by Colton Beckwith. First I’ll set out the rules, then I’ll answer the questions I’ve been asked, nominate 10 more bloggers for this award and give them 7 questions of my own to answer.

Rules

Provide the link to the creator’s original award post.

Answer the questions provided.

Create 7 unique questions.

Nominate 10 bloggers. Ensure that they are aware of their nomination. Neither the award’s creator, nor the blogger that nominated you, can be nominated.

At the end of 2020, every blog that ping-backs the creator’s original post will be entered to win the 2020 Outstanding Blogger Award!

 My Answers to the Questions

If you could have a conversation with any historical figure, who would you choose and why? 

I’m assuming this means any person from history? As a psychology nerd and psychology graduate, I’d have to say Sigmund Freud. I’d just want to understand more about his theories and where they came from, because does Freudian psychology really make sense to anyone?

What’s your favourite book of all time and why is it your favourite?  

The third Harry Potter book,  Prisoner Of Azkaban. I just love the Marauders and this is the book where they’re properly discussed. I really love that group dynamic of “friends through thick and thin” and hope I can develop a  friendship group like that.

What’s the next perfect number after 6? 

If you’re asking for the actual mathematical answer (since a perfect number is one of those “maths things”) a quick search tells me the answer is 28. If we’re talking about perfect numbers in terms of my favourite, that would be 7. It was the number worn by most of my favourite football players growing up so I always associate it with happy times watching the football.

What’s your Myers-Briggs personality type? 

As a psychology student who’s actually studied the Myers Briggs test, I should probably know my type off by heart, but I don’t. A quick go on one of the many online versions of the test tells me I am an INTJ-T, which makes sense to me based on how I think I am as a person.

What’s your all-time favourite blog post of your own? Link it

That would have to be my How To Lose Friends and Alienate People post! It’s my top 5 things people do, and 5 things they say, that annoy me as a disabled person. I feel like it’s written in a way that’s both informative and engaging and I’d class it as my most “teachable” or reusable post, the kind of post I could throw into a Twitter debate in a “read this if you want to educate yourself” sort of way.

What’s the strangest dream you’ve ever had? (And if you don’t dream, make up a dream you could have had or relate a strange one someone else told you about!)

I once dreamed that I was in a game of Tetris. As in I was literally one of the Tetris pieces, and my family members were the other pieces, all in one giant ongoing game of Tetris. Yeaaaaaaaahhhhh, I don’t understand it either.

Do you have any pets?

I don’t have any pets of my own, no but I do refer to my parents’ dog as my dog most of the time. I should probably stop doing that now I don’t live with them anymore!

Nominations

Madison & Rebecca from Foster Family Travels

Joey from Concealed Voices

Artie from Artie Carden

Hope from The Hope Chronicles

Emma from Little Harto

Claire from Short Girl Walking

Emily from Love, Em

Eleanor from Not So Modern Girl

Ciara from Learning to Love What’s On The Inside

Alyvia from Life With Lyv

My 7 Questions

Since this is the Original Outstanding Blogger Award, what’s the original reason you started your blog?

What’s your favourite song?

What is one music artist that you’d recommend for me to listen to?

What was your favourite subject in school?

What is one piece of advice you would give to new bloggers?

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever gotten?

What’s your next big goal with your blog and how can we as the blogging community help you achieve it?

I hope everyone enjoys learning a little more about me and my nominees enjoy answering the questions

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)

Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award

Another blogger award! This time I’m nominated for the Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award by Smelly Socks and Garden Peas. First I’ll set out the rules, then I’ll answer the questions I’ve been asked, nominate some more bloggers for this award and give them 5 questions of my own to answer.

Rules

Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.

Answer your nominator’s questions.

Nominate up to 9 other bloggers.

Notify your nominees.

Ask 5 questions.

List the rules and display the “Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award ” logo.

My Answers to the Questions

What one thing would you stop your significant other from doing if you could just switch it off with no argument or consequences?

I’m afraid I can’t really properly answer this as I don’t currently have a significant other and it’s probably unfair to discuss my ex and would probably take me a while.

What’s your favourite sport to watch or participate in?

I only watch sport and haven’t really participated in any for a while. My favourite sport to watch, both live and on the tv, would definitely be Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). I even have a full section on my MMA Travels on my blog, alongside a section for my favourite MMA promotion, Cage Warriors.

What’s your favourite movie of the 1990s?

As I was born in 1996 (yeah I realise I’ve probably made some people feel quite old there) I didn’t really have many films to choose from that I already knew were DEFINITELY 90’s films. But after a bit of research, I’ll have to go with the original Lion King. Probably quite a standard answer I know, but It’s just great. If you don’t dramatically sing along to “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” every single time, I’m going to need to understand why not (did I play that song whilst writing this? Yup).

Whose blog would you love to do a guest post for?

I would have to say Shona from Shona Louise, she’s one of my inspirations and I always find her posts eye-opening, even to me as a fellow wheelchair user who also experiences some of the issues she discusses sometime. I’ve already contributed to her post on being an ambulatory wheelchair user, and I would consider doing a full guest post on Shona’s blog an honour if the opportunity ever arose.

If you could be any Pokémon, which would it be?

I would have to say Pikachu, he’s my favourite (I’m not ashamed to admit I bought a mini Pikachu teddy at a convention literally a couple of years ago). I also feel like being an electric type Pokémon would be quite apt, what with me being an electric wheelchair user.

Nominations

Carrie Ann from CarrieAnnLightley.com – This post references inspirations in blogging and Carrie Ann is one of mine, particularly with her accessible travel content giving me lots of ideas for where and how I can travel as a wheelchair user.

Shona from Shona Louise– Again, this post references inspirations and I’ve already told you, in the guest post question, how Shona is one of mine. So of course, she’s in the nominations here.

Madison & Rebecca from Foster Family Travels – These two are quite likely my best friends and some of my biggest supporters from the blogging community

Brendan from Blind Injustice – one of my earliest supporters with my blog, but someone I feel I’ve not had a lot of contact with recently, maybe this tag will get us back in touch

Keith from On My Mind Today – another, albeit more recent, supporter of my blog and someone with whom I feel like I have, and could have,  a lot of interesting conversations

 

My 5 Questions

1. Where would you be right now if you could be anywhere?
2. What is the best concert you’ve ever been to, or if you’ve not been to a concert, which is the concert you’d most like to go to?
3. What would your perfect day consist of if you could do anything?
4. What would be your dream 3 course meal?
5. Let’s spread a little more blog love, who are 5 bloggers you would recommend for me to check out?

I hope everyone enjoys learning a little more about me and my nominees enjoy answering the questions

Stay Invincible!

Em (Invincible Woman On Wheels)