I’m honored to have been nominated last week for the Sunshine Blogger Award by talented fellow blogger Shelly Ray. The award is given by bloggers to bloggers who are positive and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere. Thank you so much, Shelly! I accept your nomination.
Here are the nomination rules; nominees that accept must:
- Thank the person who nominated them in a blog post and link back to her/his blog.
- Answer the eleven questions posed by the nominator.
- Nominate eleven blogs to receive the award and write them eleven new questions.
- List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog.
Here are the eleven questions Shelly came up with and my answers:
1. What is your main goal for your blog?
I have multiple goals for my blog, but if I have to pick one I’d say it’s simply to express myself creatively, with the hope that by doing so, I inspire others to express themselves, as well.
2. What are you most proud of?
I’m proud of the fact that despite having been a teenage mother, I have gone on to earn multiple college degrees and create a good life for my children and myself. Only about 4% of teenage mothers earn a bachelor’s degree, and I have a master’s! When I got pregnant at age 16, the message I received from so many people was that my life was ruined. I never believed this. I’ve learned that it’s vital to listen to your own truth and create your own reality.
3. Who is your current favorite singer, and/or what is your current favorite song?
I thought and thought and I can’t pin down just one. I mainly listen to the radio and don’t know half of the names of the artists they’re playing. Sorry, don’t mean to cop out!
4. What do you do when you need to de-stress/relax?
I sit in my favorite cushy chair with a good book and a glass of wine. Other times I have dinner with a good friend or my mom, usually at one of our houses, or go out to dinner with my husband.
5. If you won the lottery, what would you buy?
This is an easy one! I’d buy a condo in Florida and a beach house in New England. I’d buy plane tickets to Europe for my entire family. I’d buy a new kitchen!
6. Where do you feel most at home/what is your “happy place”?
My happy place is Newport, RI. I’m blessed that my mother has a cottage there and that she generously shares it with her family. I have many wonderful memories of spending weeks there in the summer with my (now 17 year old) son when he was little, before I started working full-time.
7. What is one skill you wish you were better at?
I wish I knew how to do web design from scratch. I do a lot of content writing for our website at work and I can design websites through WordPress, but I wish I knew HTML and the inner workings. I’d love to be able to do freelance web design and content writing from home. I suppose I could learn!
8. What are three words you’d use to describe yourself?
Creative, hard-worker, learner.
9. Which city/country do you most want to visit some day?
Germany. I was born there, on a U.S. naval base, and lived there the first two years of my life. My dream is to go back one day, hopefully with my mother.
10. What do you do to overcome writer’s block?
I read, go do something else, and don’t stress about it.
11. What is your greatest strength?
I’m always learning. I love to learn. I feel absolutely stagnate if I’m not. Two years ago I took a StrengthsQuest inventory, and Learner was my top strength, which didn’t surprise me.
Now, for my nominees (drum roll please):
Muddling Through My Middle Age
I love reading Ann’s often humorous and always insightful essays on aging and life.
The Off Key of Life
George’s blog is always a great place to find inspiration and have a good laugh.
Donkey Bytes
Tales from the farm with adorable photos of farm animals to go with them.
Fonz and Cancer
Absolutely inspirational. Fonz’s journey battling and winning over cancer will move and inspire you.
Book Club Mom
I appreciate the time and care this blogger puts into each of the book reviews and author interviews.
Aging Abundantly
This blog reminds us that growing older is a journey and one we shouldn’t dread, but embrace.
A Day in the Life
A daily dose of inspiring photographs.
A Hundred Years Ago
Probably one of the coolest ideas for a blog; 100 year old recipes, advertisements for food products, etc.
Posiworld’s Blog
A great place to stop for inspirational quotes.
Miss Maps
The photographs from all over the world, featured travelers, and details about various countries will inspire anyone to travel.
Monochrome Nightmares
Dark poetry might seem like it doesn’t jive with a sunshine blog award, but A.J. O’Brien’s poems inspire so many people and bring darkness to light that I had to include his blog.
My 11 questions for the nominees:
1. What inspired you to start your blog?
2. What do you find most challenging about having a blog? Most rewarding?
3. What advice do you have for anyone thinking of starting a blog?
4. What is one fun fact about you?
5. What is your favorite book and why?
6. What movie could you watch over and over?
7. What is your favorite quote?
8. List three items on your bucket list that you have yet to do.
9. Who inspired you the most when you were growing up?
10. What do you hope to be remembered for?
11. What is your proudest accomplishment thus far?
Note to nominees: Accepting this nomination is admittedly time consuming. I hope you’re able to find the time, but if not, I completely understand. Either way, please know that I think your blog is awesome!