You may find this a bit ironic, but I swear it’s true.  I stayed up all night working on two different short stories, really in the zone, and then my eyes started to water as the sun came up.  This is usually the first indication that I’ve spent too much time in front of the computer.  So, I crawled into bed and took a nap.  Four hours later I awoke to find that The Rush Room blog received another award; The Napping Blogger.  Sheesh, if I had known it were that easy then I would have started taking naps months ago.

This award was designed by one of the most prolific bloggers that I know, Donna B. McNicol.  Her weekly output is astonishing, and few bloggers could match her stamina, let alone entertain and inform to the same degree.  Her bar is set high, and it makes me dizzy just thinking about what it would take to keep up with her.  The Napping Blogger award is to remind us to take a break, slow down and smell the roses along the way.  This, coming from the lady who makes Nora Roberts and Stephen King look like slackers, is praise indeed.  I’m honored to be in the first group to ever receive this award.  Thank you Donna!

The rules for the Napping Blogger Award are easy:

1. Link back to the one who gave you the award.
2. Tell us what you do to take time for YOU! That might be a hobby, a musical break, a favorite movie or show, sitting outside enjoying nature, or even taking a nap!
3. Nominate five other bloggers – especially folks you think deserve a break from their routine.

Things I do to relax:

Anyone that knows me well can imagine what the typical answer would be –  Read; Write; Ride.  So instead of just giving my standard response, I’ll list a few others things that you might not have guessed.

Unlike Donna I have a hard time taking a nap.  If I do manage to sleep then it’s rarely over four hours at a time, and I’m up for the rest of the day.  However, there are times during the day when I will close my eyes and think about not thinking.  I wouldn’t exactly call it meditating, but it does help to focus my day.

I also like to play games to relax.  Poker and chess are my two favorites, though chess is not quite as relaxing as it used to be.  I’m not sure why that is.  Probably because I’ve taken to playing the computer over human opponents.  It’s a little harder to read what the computer is thinking.

And finally, playing with my dog Bandit is the greatest stress reliever of them all.  My little buddy can put me in a good mood and make all the problems go away with a wag of his tail.

Five Nominations for the Napping Blog Award:

These are some of the hardest working bloggers on the net, other than Donna of course.

1. @JD_Mader (Unemployed Imagination, Blergpop, Indies Unlimited)

2. @ScottTheWriter (Written Words, Scott’s Travel Blog)

3. @RSGuthrie (Rob on Writing, R.S. Guthrie, Read A Book, Make A Difference)

4. @StephenHise (Indies Unlimited, Stephen Hise)

5. @AuthorKSBrooks (Indies Unlimited, K.S. Brooks)