Awards – Dancing in the rain!

I am in the midst of some trying times and though it would probably be a good idea to turn to writing during the struggle I have not because I am a person that thinks way too much when something is weighing heavily on me so to my faithful readers I apologize and I promise I will give you some good (or at least mediocre) material soon.

To my delight my friend Shaz over at For The Love of Sass nominated me for 2013 Blogger of the Year.

I have been guilty of not accepting a lot of awards, some of them tend to get tedious and because of the work involved I know that others may tend to look at them as a bit of a nuisance. I assure you I madly, truly and deeply appreciate every nod of recognition from the people who support me here.

As they all do this award comes with rules and I am willing to follow them because I really needed a pick me up today and being nominated for Blog of the Year really did that for me. I have a passion for writing and sharing my stories openly and honestly has been a great help to me in accepting the woman I have become, coming to terms with past mistakes and in looking forward to the future. I have discovered a lot of amazing people and stories since I began blogging with WordPress, Shaz being one of them. She writes from her heart and really opens herself up, inviting us into her world, her struggles and her triumphs. I have the utmost admiration for people who can bare their soul and be true about who they are and how they feel at any moment in time knowing that we grow and change by the second. Shaz reminds me of a much younger version of myself and I want to give her all my wisdom in one big swoop and take away any hurt that she may be feeling. I watch her life unfold and watch her grow, endure, hurt, laugh and learn. I quietly encourage her because I think she is an amazing young lady and I know that she will be just fine.

NOW FOR THE RULES:

1. Select another blog(s) who deserve the award;

2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award;

3. Include a link back to this page and provide these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4. Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5. You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2013’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience.

6. As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

My choice for Blog of the Year is HACKER. NINJA. HOOKER. SPY. by Aussa Lorens, she is real and funny, smart, a little bit of crazy, entertaining, shocking, never at a loss for words and I am simply absorbed every time I visit her site. I applaud her, I salute her and I reward her. I urge you all to go and visit her blog. She is someone I can imagine having tequila adventures with that we could never remember but were certain we had a blast! If you follow just one new blog this year you will be doing yourself a favor to choose hers. Grab a coffee and curl up somewhere comfy because once you start reading you may be there awhile. I also have to add that Aussa has a very good layout to her blog, you can tell that she puts her heart into it and that is something I appreciate. It is easy to navigate and pleasing to eye without being too busy so great job!! Three cheers for Aussa.

Thanks again to Shaz and thank you to everyone who has popped by, I love reading about your lives and I love your visits and words of encouragement.

xx
Michelle

Thank You to GoldyGal for this award. Please go visit her here. She is an architecture student. and right away I saw that we have something fun in common, she loves to escape reality in the mountains just as I do . Please head over to her blog and check out some great writing and amazing pictures.

This award comes with rules but hey what doesn’t?

RULES:

1. Thank the Liebster Blog presenter who nominated you, with link back to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions you were asked and create 11 of your own questions to ask your nominees.
3. Nominate 11 blogs of your choice: new, old, just found, following, or you think deserve some notice; and let them know they’ve been nominated!
4. Show off the Award photo on your blog!
5. No tag backs–meaning you can’t just re-nominate the person who nominated you.

This could be fun!!

Below is the quiz that GoldyGal gave to me.

1.Which is the moment in your life that counted the most in making you who you are today?

The moment I was reunited with my son after 19 years is definitely one of my defining moments. It changed me immensely.

2.What would spark a conversation with you? Regarding topics

Pretty much anything will spark a conversation with me, I am very easy to talk to.

3.If you get a personal day,what’s the first thing you want to do?For you.

It doesn’t have to be anything special, a hot coffee and something to read in the great outdoors would be perfect.

4.Which are the words that you said at a certain point in your life that you would go back in time to take back/change?To whom?

When I was a teenager I said to my Mom “You don’t understand anything!” She did understand more then I ever knew and I wished I had followed her advice.

5.If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?

Be yourself always, everyone else is already taken.

6.Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

I would much rather be a joyful simpleton. That is a very good description for me.:)

7.What’s your passion?

I am passionate about my family. I quit my day job a year ago to be more available to them and I initially I had a problem with being defined as a stay at home mom, It is the hardest but yet the most rewarding job in the world.

8.What is the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?

The hardest thing I ever had to do was give my baby boy up for adoption at sixteen. I blog about it in my series Thousand Acre heart because it is an opportunity for me to truly be myself and talk candidly about my decision and how it affected me.

9.If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

I am a little bit obsessed with Slash. I think he would be a fantastic character to meet, we could hang out at an Lion Safari or something. I love how he overcame addiction and reinvented himself, loves his wife, adores his family and is extremely mufti talented.

10.What is it that you absolutely couldn’t live without?

Since this is what and not who I am going to say a toothbrush. I could go without combing my hair and I think I could not shower for a while but I need to brush my teeth.

11.If your life were a motion picture, what would the title be?

Ironic Question because I am writing a fiction piece called Unbreakable which I think we be a great title for a motion picture or Thousand Acre Heart like my non fiction series.

My 11 Questions for you

1. What made you choose blogging as a social platform

2. How has blogging changed or enriched your life

3. Are you satisfied with your position in life

4. What life skill do you think is the most important and why, Staying up or getting up?

5. What person influenced your life the most.

6. Is there an important topic that you were passionate about but changed your mind about as you grew older.

7. What is the most important relationship in your life and why?

8. What is a weakness that you suffer that you wish you could overcome.

9. Which is more powerful to you, need or desire or do you feel they are one and the same.

10. It is Saturday night, would you choose a quiet evening to do anything you wanted for yourself or a loud party with lots of friends and laughter.

11. Is there a celebrity that you admire that you feel has impacted your life somehow?

My Nominees Are.

You’ve Been Hooked http://youvebeenhooked.wordpress.com/

Lindaghill http://lindaghill.wordpress.com/

Njoy Every Moment http://njoyeverymoment.wordpress.com/

My Little Boy Blue http://mylittleboyblue.com/

Embrace The Crazy http://crazyembrace.wordpress.com/

Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss http://angloswiss-chronicles.com/

myplace2spu http://myplace2spu.wordpress.com/

Travelangeling http://travelangeling.com/

The Wandering Angel http://thewanderingangel.wordpress.com/

Stumbling Home http://stumblinghome.wordpress.com/

Girl on The Contrary http://girlonthecontrary.com/

This a fun way to recognize blogs that you follow, read, appreciate and get to know and interact with new people in the WordPress community. Thanks for the recognition GoldyGal, that was fun!

Hugs

Michelle