Rockin’ Thursday LVI and the Sunshine Blogger Award

Today, I’m doing something different. Along with today’s Rockin’ Thursday music video, I’m also responding to Kimberly Vargas Agnese, who nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Thank you so much, Kimberly! She is a great blogger and you can visit her blog at Buckets on a Barefoot Beach.

For today’s Rockin’ Thursday, I’m featuring “Every Breath You Take” by the English rock band the Police. The song was released in 1983 and it reached the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard charts that same year.

I hope you enjoy the video, my answers to the Sunshine Blogger Award questions, and have a wonderful Rockin’ Thursday!

Every Breath You Take – The Police

You can access the lyrics here.

Sunshine Blogger Award portion:

 The rules as forwarded from Kimberly’s blog:

  • Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog. 
  • Thank the person who nominated you. 
  • Provide a link to your nominator’s blog. 
  • Answer your nominators’ questions. 
  • Nominate up to 11 bloggers. 
  • Ask your nominees 11 questions.
  • Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts.

The answers to Kimberly’s questions:

What is your favorite season? Why?
My favorite season is autumn because it has the perfect weather, and the leaves turning orange complement the atmosphere of the season beautifully.

What is your favorite childhood memory?
Going to the movie theater and eating a personal pizza afterward on my birthday. We didn’t have a lot of money, so this was the highlight of the year.

What is something that surprises people about you?
My quiet energy. My soldiers and bosses were always intrigued by my calm demeanor and ability to get things done in the most chaotic moments.

How much time do you spend blogging?
I have a very structured schedule, spending about 4–5 hours a day, Monday through Friday, researching, reading, writing, and engaging with other bloggers. I try not to blog on weekends or holidays, except for occasionally responding to comments.

What is your go-to snack? Why?
I’m going to call coffee my go-to snack, even if it technically isn’t, because I can easily go all day without eating as long as I have a cup of coffee handy. I started drinking coffee when I was around 14 years old, and I know I’ve had enough when one of my eyes starts twitching—usually my left eye.

What is the best thing that has happened to you since waking up this morning?
Like every morning, realizing that I’m alive and seeing the faces of my wife and son.

What is your favorite mode of transportation? Why?
My car, because there usually aren’t other means of transportation as versatile as a car.

Who or what has been your most unlikely teacher?
Not having a father was an unlikely teacher because I had to learn a lot of things on my own, most of the time through trial and error. I guess I’m doing okay because I’m still alive and well.

Who or what are you most proud of?
My son. He amazes me every single day and is on a path to becoming a better man than I am.

What do you use to write with most often? Pencils? Pens? Crayons? Paper? Laptop? Phone? Etc.?
I use pencils and pens equally. I use a pencil to write notes in books I’m reading and in my daily planner/organizer. I use a pen for brainstorming blog posts, journaling, and tracking our monthly budget. Yes, I have been doing the budget in a notebook since 2005, and I love it.

What is one thing you’re thankful for about being alive in 2025?
That I’m retired and able to spend time freely with my family.

These are my questions for my nominees:

What is your morning routine?

What is your favorite season? Why?

What is your favorite childhood memory?

Who or what has been your most unlikely teacher?

Who or what are you most proud of?

What is something that surprises people about you?

What motivated you to start blogging?

What forms of entertainment do you enjoy the most?

If you are a book reader, do you prefer a paper copy or a digital copy?

What’s your favorite music genre, and who is your favorite singer?

What societal causes do you care about the most?

Not quite 11, because I saw that some of the bloggers were already nominated, but here are my nominees for the Sunshine Blogger Award: (There is no obligation to participate.)

https://fakeflamenco.com

https://victoriaponders.com/

https://wynneleon.com/

https://lizgauffreau.com

https://robbyrobinsjourney.wordpress.com/

http://blackmoonlilith.art.blog/

https://thebeginningatlast9.com/

https://dawgydaddyresponds.org/

https://zerospace05.wordpress.com

67 thoughts on “Rockin’ Thursday LVI and the Sunshine Blogger Award”

  1. Edward, I’m sorry to be so late in responding to this post; somehow it got lost in the shuffle. I loved your responses (and your musical selection); they speak to your admirable character. Retirement is definitely time to cherish and continue to grow (not just physically!). Neither of my parents lived long enough to retire, and I occasionally think of what they missed. Thank you for including me in your roll call. I’ve had that award and done answers, etc., so I’ll skip it, but I am honoured that you included me. Thank you. 🙏

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    1. Hey, Jane. No worries, my friend. I found myself in a position to retire at a young age, probably because of my frugal lifestyle. I really don’t need much to live a good, simple life. I think society is setting some unrealistic expectations, making people feel like they need to keep working just to maintain a certain lifestyle. And when they finally do retire, they often can’t enjoy it because of age, health issues, and so on. I know there are circumstances where people need to continue working, but I don’t think that’s the case for every man and woman in this world. You earned the Sunshine Blogger Award, and I’m glad to be following your blog.

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  5. Congratulations on the award, Edward! I loved your answers, but admittedly, I wish I was retired too. 🙂 I have much less time for blogging, which is why it’s hard to keep up. We’re planning on next year if all goes smoothly. Anyway, I enjoyed learning more about you. I love how spending time with your family is important.

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    1. Thank you, Lauren! Yes 🙌🏼 to retirement next year. Hopefully, everything goes well and you can retire. I know planning for it is really hard and kind of frightening. I think I ran my numbers for about two years before deciding on the actual date.

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  7. Great song, listening to your answers. Love the simple gratitude of being alive with your wife and son. I might have to get you on a program here 🤣.. “. I started drinking coffee when I was around 14 years old, and I know I’ve had enough when one of my eyes starts twitching—usually my left eye.

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    1. Yes, it is. We were joking the other day with a friend of ours because she remembers me talking about retirement when we were in college. And I was like, “Yep, we have to focus so we can enjoy the rewards early.” Thank you so much for reading, Natalie.

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  19. Excellent song choice and lovely to learn more about you through your sunshine recognition responses. 🌞🙌🏻 All wonderful. The personal pizza birthday memory is a sweet one that made me smile. I earned personal pizza (coupons) through the local library for reading books. 😄

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    1. Wow, that’s awesome. I wish I had a library offering those back then. I would have started my reading journey much sooner with that incentive. Thank you for reading and for your kind words, Michele.

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  20. Congratulations, Edward! Truly deserved! And thank you for the nomination! I will try to complete the questions as soon as I can!
    Fantastic song choice as well! Synchronicity is a classic album! Some fantastic songs on that release, and this is surely one of them!
    Rock on! 🤘😎🤘

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  22. I enjoyed listening to this Police classic again. Congratulations on your well-deserved Sunshine Blogger Award! Thank you for tagging me, but I’m afraid I have too many irons in the fire to respond.

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  24. Thanks for tagging me in, Edward! This will be fun! I loved your answers…especially what you shared about your quiet energy and calm demeanor. It comes through in your thoughtful writing…and what a great song as accompaniment…love “Every Breath You Take”.
    1983 — really?!? Big smiles to you! 🥰😉🥰

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  25. Edward! Thank you for the nomination! 😀 and I loved your answers, especially the one about the coffee and the eye twitching 🤣 because you know it’s the same for me! ☕️ ☕️
    Also, amazing Rockin Thursday song, as usual! 🎶 one of my favs! 🤘 can’t wait to work on the response to this. Also, on a serious note, I feel you on the not having a father being such an important yet unlikely teacher – it does make us stronger and shows us what a decent person should be 🙏 ☕️ ☕️
    Appreciate you, my friend! ✨🫶

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    1. You’re so welcome, Laura. You know it’s all good with the coffee until the eye starts twitching. We need to take a little break before drinking again. 😂 I appreciate your comments—rock on, my friend! 🎶🤘🏼

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