Sunshine Blogger award: nominated and nominating :)

Thank you Corrine at Sew and Sew for nominating me for this blog award!

Corrine and I recently got connected here and we have common understanding about certain aspects of life and importance of support and empathy. Plus, have you seen her projects – she sews! I sure am inspired by many of her sewing adventures and by her warm personality. Have a look at her blog if these features of her interest you.

I am usually skeptical about this kind of blog awards, primarily because I do not know who is benefiting by the circulation of these awards. But I am happy with recognizing and saying nice things about other fellow bloggers, and telling a little bit about myself along the process. So I will go for this one, too.

As usual there are some rules, which I directly copy and paste from Corinne’s nomination post:

• Thank the person(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.
• Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award (making sure each one knows they are nominated) and write them 11 new questions to answer.

Here are Corrine’s questions and my answers to them:

1. Did you have any other names in mind for your blog (if so, what were they)? I cannot remember right now; but I remember initially this was a professional blog where I was planning to write about our job/career. That means it was probably a very boring name!  Boy, am I glad that I switched to a personal blog after realizing that a professional blog was not gonna work 🙂 
2. If you could choose a language to be fluent in, which would it be? Italian! i always wanted to learn it, especially after I spent a couple of months in Italy when I was young. What a great, magical language. Allora! 
3. What is the best joke that you know? Hmmm… You have got me there. I am such a serious person that can I say that I cannot come up with a joke right now? How disastrous! Give me a joke book right away!!! 🙂 
4. When it comes to food, do you prefer sweet or savoury? Savoury. I have no sweet tooth and I would love any salty/spicy food over a sweet one, except the peanut butter which I love and can eat anytime 🙂
5. Which blog post are you most excited to upload? I like pretty much all of my posts as they come quite spontaneously and are not planned at all (well, maybe with the exception of weekly budget checks, which are quite structured). if I must choose, though, I would say my “joy journal” posts are the most joyful ones 🙂
6. What is your favourite project that you have completed so far? I believe in the recent years this would be my bread baking adventure 🙂 it has been almost a year and I am progressing quite a bit and it has been literally very electrifying and satisfying experience 🙂 In terms of my sewing projects, I have no excellent product yet but I love the placemats I did for the kitchen 🙂
7. What was your last search on Google? That was probably the weather forecasts! we are still having quite a chilly weather (today was – 10 C ….You are welcome – I hope now you appreciate the Spring and warm weather more  🙂 )
8. What song can you not get out of your head at the moment? “I dreamed a dream” from Les Miserables has been in my mind the entire day. Sad, but beautiful and powerful…..  
9. What is the best gift that you have received? My mom gave me a gold necklace for my 18th birthday with my initial on the pendant. My mom was working very hard to provide for us at that time. It must have been so hard for her to come up with the money but she had…. I value that necklace more than anything else.
10. If you were a superhero, what would be your superpower? Heal. I would heal sickness.
11. What is your favourite day of the week? Friday has always had a special place in my heart! 🙂

And, here are my nominees!

The nominees have a choice of accepting or rejecting the nominations – totally up to them. Of course this list is incomplete as I can only nominate 11 today, but I am hoping there will be other occasions where I will be able to acknowledge and nominate more fellow bloggers 🙂

1. Deb from https://onceuponahotflash.com/. Her daily grateful posts are a must see! She is really nice and I know that she always has some positive and wise things to say – thanks Deb!
2. https://quercuscommunity.com/2017/04/18/random-reflections/ here is a nice gentleman with an interest in photography and community work. He is quite fun and wise too – always a delight to follow such bloggers. No nonsense and all beautiful/meaningful posts.
3. Jessica from https://betweenthreewaters.com/. Jessica always has something funny to say about her motherhood experience and her daughters are two very delightful young kids! I also learn quite a bit about farming and farm life by following her. Take a look at her blog 🙂
4. https://apparentlyimbipolar.wordpress.com/2017/04/17/normal-is-it-scary/ I recently started following this young lady who is writing about her mental health issues and progress. I applaud her for increasing awareness about mental health/bipolar disease – so well done.
5. NinaSusan at https://ninasusan.com/. Ninasusan and I have a common pursuit in life – happiness! One of my best friends here at blogger space – always understanding, wise, and supportive. Thanks Ninasusan – one day, we will shine thru that happiness!!
6. Jennie at https://jenniefitzkee.com/. She is a teacher and always have something wonderful to say about children and teaching/learning. I wish she was my teacher when I was at school. 
7. https://mookielovesbread.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/maple-yogurt-multi-grain-rolls/. One of the blogs that I follow which is dedicated to baking bread! So many yummy recipes – check it out 🙂
8. Cheryl and Becky at https://beckyandchaos.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/spicy-lentil-soup/. These ladies have awesome travel adventures and always great recipes. They  lately started a challenge to try a new recipe every week, which I find very inspiring. Enjoy!
9. Anne from https://snowbirdofparadise.com/. Anne is one of those bloggers whom I respect quite a lot. She has always been wise in her speech and her comments, and is not afraid to write excellent pieces on social issues and events. 
10. https://luxuriouslythrifty.wordpress.com/ One of the recent follows of mine; a great and sincere blogger writing about frugal plans/journey, and other stuff. Quite a warm person with honest posts – hard to not like what she needs to say 🙂
11. Mo from http://devisecreateconcoct.com/. Another great site about frugal life and all bunch of other stuff such as DIY projects. Check it out.

And, here are my questions for my nominees:

1. What do you think is the most beautiful thing about your life?
2. Do you prefer warm or cool climate? 
3. If you were to protest, what would it be about?
4. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
5. What flower do you like most? Please tell us about it.
6. What do you think about cats?
7. We all have dreams – have yours materialize in your life? What was your biggest dream ever?
8. Would you see yourself living in a homestead sometime soon?
9. Tell us about your favorite dish/food.
10. Which one is less intimidating – singing or acting in front of 1,000 people?
11. What would be your advise about being happy?

One Lovely Blog Award

Once again, I am humbled by one of my fellow bloggers, Jennie at A teacher’s reflections, by being nominated for a blogger award. Jennie is a long-term teacher with a sharp focus and compassion for education. I always admired and respected teachers, and I am happy to follow Jennie to learn about an teacher’s wisdom and observations in education. Thank you very much for this nomination Jennie.

I am usually skeptical about who we directly benefit by circulating this blogger awards, yet I also see a value in recognizing other bloggers for their blogs and sharing a little bit more about themselves and myself. So, here we go 🙂

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I have pasted the award photo and the rules directly from Jennie’s post. Here they are:

The Rules:

*Thank the person who nominated you, and give a link to his/her blog.

*List the rules.

*Display  the image of the award on your post.

*List seven facts about yourself.

*Nominate (up to) 15 bloggers for this award, and notify them to let them know you have nominated them.

Seven Facts About Me:

1. I am an introvert and would be comfortable with people after a long time of interaction. It helps me to assess the individuals and develop trust – we do not need unnecessary or hurtful people in our lives – only great ones. That is my motto 🙂

2. I recently became interested in baking breads and I am having a great time reading, writing, and experimenting about baking 🙂

3. I do not know how to ride a bike. I may be able to drive a car in case of an emergency (with a 5 mph/hour speed 🙂 ), but hopefully that will never be required – I do not even have a driving licence 🙂

4. I am on a life-long quest to happiness. I think everybody deserves it and it is a beautiful thing. I salute all out there who are happy and who are like myself are on their way to become happy 🙂

5. I have got a PhD degree. I studied for a very long time with little pay, but also got to live and work in many different countries, obtained many incredible skills and experiences, and constantly try to benefit the humanity as a whole through my work.

6. English is my second language.

7. I love blogging and reading others’ posts. It is a great way to learn and pass time. Plus, I (virtually) met with tons of great people here. Thanks for this joy everyone 🙂

Here are my nominees at no particular order (There are many more bloggers to list here; I sure will acknowledge them at another time):

1. Deb at https://onceuponahotflash.com/ Her daily gratitude posts and her wisdom about life are one of my most interesting experience here in the blogger sphere 🙂

2. Melanie at https://1000needles.com/. She makes amazing quilts and I like her kindness very much.

3. Hidden hoarder at http://hiddenhoarder.com/. She is another kind blogger who is always positive and supportive. She has been on an amazing “decluttering” adventure, which is very inspirational 🙂

4. You and me at https://savingwithoutscrimping.wordpress.com/. She is like myself on a frugal life journey and often has very useful tips to share 🙂

5. Pamela at https://mymoneycounts.org/. Great tips and experiences for saving money and living a frugal life 🙂

6. Cheryl and Becky at Life With Becky. lovely people with great and practical recipes 🙂

7. Red at https://iamredphoenix.com/. A very strong and lovely young woman, who chronicles her life and cancer journey. Very inspirational blog 🙂

8. John and Barb at https://declutteringthestuff.wordpress.com/. A great blog about decluttering and saving/financial freedom 🙂

9. Cori at https://thelookingglasslife.wordpress.com/. One of the blogs that always delights me with their recipe 🙂

10. Saadia at https://saadiapeerzada.wordpress.com/. Amazing poetry 🙂  I have been following this blog from the beginning on 🙂

11. averagegirlsavingmoney at https://averagegirlsavingmoney.com/. Another great and genuine blog about saving money and frugal life style 🙂

12. Anne Price at https://snowbirdofparadise.com/. She is one wise and lovely lady, who also touches social issues – love her posts 🙂

13. Grace at https://thecfomom.wordpress.com/. Another lovely blogger determined to save and have financial freedom 🙂

14. BetweenThreeWaters at https://betweenthreewaters.com/. She is a mom with two lovely kids – there is always love and somethings to cheer you up in her posts 🙂

15. https://quercuscommunity.com/. These bloggers have amazing post on children, farming, and our interactions with animals and nature 🙂

 

Thanks everyone 🙂

The Siblinghood of The World award :)

Time for another award and another opportunity to introduce bloggers with each other 🙂

Thanks a lot Joss for nominating me to the Siblinghood of The World Award. I too enjoy reading your blogs, especially those about the money management and life-work balance that you wrote recently; I am looking forward to witnessing you reaching your goals and objectives soon! Keep going 🙂

Ok; as usual, first the rules of the award (pasted directly from Joss’ blog):
Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog in your post.
Display the award on your blog.
Answer the questions that the blogger who nominated you has provided.
Nominate ten other bloggers.
Create ten questions for your nominees, and notify them of their nominations.

Joss’ questions and my answers are:

1. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? South America! There is something calling me in there – I must go, explore, learn, interact, and enjoy something in there. One day.. 🙂
2. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be? Bagel/bread 🙂 Yep, I can eat them any day, anytime. I am a carb person (though I have done well limiting them since September) 🙂
3. What’s your favourite book and why? There are a number of books that left a huge impression on myself. If I must select one, today I am selecting “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky. This great Russian writer not only understood the pain and darkness in human psyche, but also brilliantly penned it down. Great novel. Great writer. 
4. If you were a superhero what would your power be? Healing sick people, including mental ones.
5. You’re in a room that’s completely dark, do you open the curtains or the door? Surely the curtains 🙂
6. What is your favourite way to relax? Reading books and lately, blogging
7. Do you have a lucky charm? Not really, but I do keep items and photos that remind me wonderful people in my life. Feeling their love and support is healing and nourishing :)
8. What is your favourite colour? Orange 🙂 just check my home page background 🙂
9. Do you have a favourite song? What is it? Changes time to time; nowadays “Show Must Go On” by Queen 
10. What’s the cheesiest thing that you like to watch/read? Self-help books! Many people are ashamed to admit that they are reading these books. I am not one of them; sometimes they can be good friends by reminding me that I am not the only one feeling or thinking the way these books are all about 🙂

Here are my nominees: as usual, there are many people to nominate, many to recognize. I can select only 10 bloggers for this award. So here is my list:

1. https://adventuresofmrbudget.wordpress.com/ great posts on money management/saving
2. https://unleashyourhappinessblog.wordpress.com/ loving her daily affirmations; so positive
3. http://howtostuffyourpig.com/ a great blog for those who would like to save money and become more knowledgeable about financial topics
4. http://movinitwithmichelle.com/  genuine posts on life, recipes (who would not like them?), and running
5. https://thecoffeemomblog.wordpress.com/ another great blog about saving money and being kind to ourselves
6. https://prosperityandcalamities.wordpress.com/ photos to recipes to  book reviews.. this blog has diversity 🙂
7. https://moneylifehappiness.wordpress.com/ money, life, and happiness; important topics here 🙂
8. http://unchained55.com/ money management; my favorite topics nowadays 🙂
9. http://directorb.net/ wise words about life; cool
10. http://guelphfoodwaste.com/ wondering about the food waste and how to reduce it? check it out

Now my questions for the nominees:

1. When was your last decluttering activity?

2. Are you a minimalist? Why? Why not?

3. What types of exercise are your favorites?

4. If you were to cook now, what would it be?

5. Having dreams are wonderful – care to share one of yours?

6. What color is your hair?

7. Do you think that after a while (above 30), it becomes harder to make friends?

8. What is your favorite movie? Why do you think you like it that much?

9. Do you get stressed easily (like myself) or are you usually a calm person?

10. What have you done (or not done) today that you would like to thank yourself for?

Thank you everyone and big cheers! 🙂

The Sisterhood of the World Blogging Award :)

🙂 Bonnie has nominated me for the “Sisterhood of the World Blogging Award”, which I gladly accept :).

Bonnie, thank you very much; I cherish this recognition:)

Bonnie has a lovely blog that focuses on healthy life.

According to her nomination post, *the rules of this award are the followings (directly pasted from the post):

1. Thank the nominator and link their blog to your post.
2. Answer the 10 questions given to you.
3. Pass the award on to as many bloggers as you went and let them know.
4. Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog.

*It does not particularly say “prepare 10 questions for the nominees; but I guess that is what it is and I will integrate this into my post here.

Her questions to the nominees were the followings:

1. What was your favorite childhood book? Andersen’s fairy tales!
2. Are you a night owl or a morning person? Absolutely night owl; there is such a unique serenity and peace at nights that I love it!
3. Which do you prefer, coffee or tea? Certainly coffee 🙂 – I drink it everyday with joy. I love tea, too, especially when it is cold and snowing/raining outside. I like black tea over green tea (green tea upsets my stomach) and many herbal teas that have a sour taste and wonderful aroma 🙂
4. Where in the world do you want to visit the most? South America! I must visit and spent time there with the beautiful people, unique cultures, and wonderful nature including forests and beaches 🙂
5. Which do you prefer, cats or dogs? I love both, but if I must I would choose dogs over cats as they are very royal to their human caregivers. cats on the other hand are great hunters and quite independent. Lots of character too! 🙂
6. If you were to dress up for Halloween this year, what would you be? An astronaut 🙂
7. Which would you rather do: skydive, bungee jump, or hang glide? Ah! Do I have the choice of not choosing any of these? 🙂 If I must, I would do the hang glide. Only once though, never again 🙂
8. What is your favorite holiday? New year! It is fresh, signals closure of the past, and opens up for the new year. I know it is just symbolic but I often spend the days prior to the new year with such contemplation (not necessarily the new year resolutions). It is a great time for me.
9. What is the last book you read? Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. I grabbed it at an airport out of boredom. It focuses on writing-life challenges of writers. Certain parts I do not agree with (seems too unrealistic or unlogical), but it certainly was an easy read and even though I am not a writer, some stories and opinions can be related to other aspects of life.
10. How many children do (or did) you want? Two or three 🙂

My nominees for this award are the followings:

https://lumosandlemons.wordpress.com/

https://smilingdad.wordpress.com/

https://onceuponahotflash.wordpress.com/

https://anunscheduledjourney.wordpress.com/

https://art2peace.wordpress.com/

http://dailyinspiration.me/confucius-quotes/

https://saadiapeerzada.wordpress.com/

My questions for the nominees are the followings:

1. Which one of these you would like to imagine yourself in right now; beach or forest?

2. What are the 5 values you would like to see in the next generations?

3. How would you like to be on a TV show?

4. What is your favorite food?

5. Is there any time that you have been kind to a stranger?

6. What is the most important financial issue you are tackling right now (if you are tackling)?

7. If you must, which one of the followings would be your favorite exercise – walking, jogging, or team games such as basketball?

8. Imagine you have a lovely cat; it is a hunter (naturally) and brings in and leaves a dead mouse in front of your front door. Would you freak out like me at the sight of the mouse or would you pet your cat, making sure it feels great because it brought its gift to you?

9. How do you think we can set our minds to become more grateful, kind, and cheerful?

10. What makes you happy? 🙂

thank you every one 🙂

One Lovely Blog Award :)

One again, I am humbled to be nominated for a blogger award, this time to “One Lovely Blog Award” :).

Thank you Jo for nominating me to this award and enabling me to recognize and connect other bloggers through my nominations. Jo and I are just recently connected here and I like the open and honest discussions she has about life, her life, health, and progress as she goes thru healing, self-reflection, and self-development; you may want to check her blog yourself.

According to Jo, here are the rules for this award (pasted directly from Jo’s post):
Thank the blogger who nominated you for the award.

Display the banner/sticker/logo on your blog.

Share 7 facts or things about yourself.

Nominate 5 bloggers that you admire and inform nominees by commenting on their blog.

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7 Facts About Me:

1. I would like to be an advocate for cancer patients, caregivers, and long-term survivors.
2. My preferences for color changed over time; 10-20 years ago, all I wanted to wear was black; 6-7 years ago it changed to blue and white. At home and at office, I love orange colour as paint or on decorative items- it gives me energy. Like sun 🙂
3. I am going through a “middle age awakening”; I will dump the things and people that do not serve me well and replace them with things and people that make me happier, calmer, more content, and more alive. I want more meaning in my life and no regrets. I have one life and more than half of it already passed..
4. I do not like house chores at all but every week do them anyhow 🙂
5. I just prepared a video clip to thank a previous mentor of mine to be screened during her retirement party! I loved the idea and I hope I could make it clear how appreciative I have been and how deeply my mentor has influenced my life journey and made things possible for me. I hope she will like it.
6. I have an habit of buying multiple copies of the things I like; like the same clothes, shoes, or stationary items; If I love, I would like to have them for a long time. I never got bored of them, even though it may take years to wear them down.
7. I can make difficult decisions using my logic; but the emotions of course may remain unsatisfied and demand attention, even after a long time.

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My nominees: It is always hard to choose among all the wonderful people I get to meet here – apologies !! 🙂

Here is my list for this award (I chose 7 bloggers before I realize). Congratulations each one of you; keep up the good work 🙂

1. https://hiddenhoarder.wordpress.com/
2. https://notesfromanarcissist.wordpress.com/
3. http://www.beyou-bethebestyou.com/
4. https://prosperityandcalamities.wordpress.com/
5. http://1000needles.com/
6. https://savingwithoutscrimping.wordpress.com/
7. http://cookiesnchem.com/

Liebster award :)

I am once again humbled by being nominated to a blogger award – this time by Saadia Peerzada 🙂 for the Liebster award.

I am okay to respond to blogger awards as they are a nice way of help connecting fellow bloggers.

Many thanks Saadia. I sure am enjoying reading your post and poems. As a matter of fact you are one of the blogs that I have been following from the beginning on. Keep up the good work! 🙂

THE RULES:  (directly copied from Saadia’s post; nominated bloggers, you can copy and paste these)               

– Insert the Liebster award logo in your post
– Thank and link those who nominated you
– (After reading the official rules) You also have to reveal 11 interesting facts about yourself!
– Answer the questions designated by the blogger who nominated you
– Nominate up to 11 other new bloggers with less than 100 followers
– Ask 11 questions of your own to your nominees that they have to answer
– Notify your nominees about The Liebster Award
– Include instructions of the process in your post

Okay,  11 facts about me 🙂 I wrote a post about it before – it can be found here. 

And here are the questions Saadia asked me to answer:

1. What is your ambition in life? Making a positive change in human life through my work and social interactions. I believe in this. We all can make a positive difference in somebody’s life in addition to our own 🙂
2. Who’s your favourite author and poet? Just one!!! Argh… I have so many. okay. Nobody can write the human psychology and pain better than Dostoevsky. Shakespeare’s poems (sonnets) are awesome 🙂
3. How will you classify your eating habits: unhealthy, moderate or healthy? Somewhere in between unhealthy and moderate. I do not eat sweets, fatty food, or chocolate etc. BUT I have a problem with eating too much bread and other refined carbs.. My struggle with healthy eating can be found in my daily posts under the “healthy life – style journal” page.
4. What is/ was your favourite subject? Literature! (it is sad that I did not study it..)
5. Would your 8 year old self be proud of who you are today? Yep 🙂
6. What is your ultimate fear? having a chronic and debilitating disease
7. Are you a technology obsessed? Why or why not? Nope. Not at all. I have no explanation for that.
8. Are you a morning person? Absolutely not!! I only become myself around 8-9 pm at night. Nights are beautiful 🙂
9. Favourite quote? None. I have no particular one that I keep remember.
10. Are you a pessimist or an optimist? A little bit of both. Okay… maybe more of a pessimist than an optimist 🙂
11. What are your thoughts on discrimination? I have a strong stand on this. I have experienced myself discrimination and I am still very sour about these experiences. When will we start seeing people for who they are rather than what they are? This “us versus them” mentality should disappear. We have more things in common than different. Peace.

Enough about me 🙂

Now, let me nominate the bloggers for this award. These are the bloggers I started to follow or interact recently. Have a look and see whether their posts are something you may enjoy, too 🙂

1. https://collegeonbudget.wordpress.com/
2. http://unchained55.com/
3. http://iamredphoenix.com/
4. https://tenways10.wordpress.com/
5. https://lifeandtimesofthemoneypennys.wordpress.com/
6. https://declutteringthestuff.wordpress.com/
7. https://smilingdad.wordpress.com/
8. https://retiredrevolution.wordpress.com/
9. http://1000needles.com/
10. https://lumosandlemons.wordpress.com/
11. https://janicegstevens.wordpress.com/

here are my questions for you nominated bloggers! 🙂

1. What have you done today that has made you happy, joyful, or excited?
2. Is Friday your favorite day, too?
3. It took me years (literally) to find the right floss for me; do you have such an experience you would like to share?
4. How many shoes do you currently have? How many did you not use in the last 1 year?
5. What are your opinions on minimalism?
6. if there was one advice you could share with us about living a simple life, what would that be?
7. Which one do you like most and why? Novels, poetry, movies.
8. List one meal you are very fond of.
9. House chores – on a scale from 1 (least) to 10 (most), how much do you like them?
10. Who is the most influential person in your academic life (e.g. school or profession)?
11. What are you grateful for today?

Sunshine Blogger Award :)

I thank howtostuffyourpig.com for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award 🙂 howtosttuffyourpig is one of my all-time favorite bloggers who writes about a variety of interesting topics – from personal finance/savings to managing debt to cooking and all (very practical tips as well). Perhaps you would like to check her website! Please do – you likely will not be sorry for your time.

The rules for this award are below (copied and pasted from the nominator’s site):

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Answer the questions from the person who has nominated you.
• Nominate some other bloggers for this award.
• Write the same amount of questions for the bloggers you have nominated.
• Notify the bloggers you have nominated

The questions I was assigned to  and my answers to them are:

1. Who is your favorite author? Recently Tess Gerritsen. She is a physician by training and writes excellent crime novels. I am sincerely in awe with her writing as well as the plots that always surprise and delight me as a reader.
2. What is your favorite food/recipe? My favorite food is bread 🙂 Although I gotta cut it out from my diet to lose some unhealthy level of fat. 
3. What is your favorite hobby? Blogging since I started it. very interesting experience that helped me not only to express my experiences, opinions, or feelings but also to learn from fellow bloggers. So far it has been an amazing experience – thanking all who share their posts and interact so nicely with me 🙂
4. What is the one thing people would be surprised to know about you? That despite my tough look, I am only highly sensitive and when I get hurt I will get pissed off rather than crying 🙂
5. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Other than home? I always wanted to visit and live in Caribbean or South American countries.
6. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Diminishing violence.

A number of bloggers are doing an excellent job keeping me engaged with their useful and genuine posts and comments; I will not be able to nominate all of them here (that is unfortunate….). I also know from my previous experiences that some bloggers do not appreciate or will not prefer to follow up on the award nominations. Even so I will nominate some of them here, not because I expect them to accept and go on with the award posts but because they deserve such awards very much (in my opinion). So here are my nominees:

1. https://tannachtonfarm.wordpress.com/ please please have a look at this blog; If I am not wrong there are multiple writers/family members posting in this blog and all are nice and genuine people. I have learnt so much by reading their posts on farming to animal care, from frugality to family, from meals to life as a general. It is unreal.. I highly recommend you to check their posts 🙂
2. Ninasusan is one of my favorites – she is fun, wise, and writes about all bunch of different things. I love reading her blogs and interacting with her through comments 🙂
3. http://healthfulsaver.com/  is one the blogs I started to follow recently. I like the the informative posts on recipes, budgeting and frugality that are written in such a simple, elegant, and effective way – well done 🙂
4. https://frombusttoboom.wordpress.com/ is another blog that I love reading and following. S/he writes on a variety of topics that I can relate to, including but not limited to budgeting, finances, and life – those about being grateful and those that reminds us about the wisdom and beauty in life are a must read. Give it a try 🙂
5. thesmallc I know she will not follow this with an award post (previous experience 🙂 ) but she truly deserves many awards by her writing. I am sincerely impressed by the depth of her writing, and how genuinely she can express herself and write about sensitive subjects in such a mature, neutral, and human way while also make you think and realize things you have forgotten or not experienced. Absolutely worth your time to check her blog 🙂  
6. http://ordinaryadventures.co/  here is a fresh blog by a young lady whose writings I find very positive and lovely. Take a look and decide yourself 🙂
7. http://alienblob.com/  I know she will not respond to this nomination (previous experience 🙂 ) yet MeRaw is one of those bloggers who has always been genuine and lovely in her posts and interactions. I have great admiration for her strength and insight.

My questions to the nominees are as follows:

1. What is the most interesting blogging experience you have had?
2. Which one is more annoying? Rain or snow? 🙂
3. If you were to be given an extraordinary amount of cash, what would be the first thing that appear in your mind?
4. What do you think about frugality and what are your best advice to achieve it?
5. Have you ever had a pet? What is your most cherished memory about it?
6. What else do you think can be done to reduce the burden of cancer in our communities/countries/world?

cheers everyone 🙂

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

I am humbled once again.

Thank you Deb for nominating me for the “Very Inspiring Blogger” Award.

Deb has a candid and humorous blog, which also includes “our daily gratefulness post” section; those who follow me know how much I love this kind of posts 🙂

You may as well check Deb’s blog and see what she has to offer for you. Deb, thanks again for this opportunity to recognize the bloggers that I find inspiring and valuable (though the list is incomplete..).

According to Deb, the rules for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award are:

•  Thank the person who nominated you for the award.
•  Add the logo to your post.
•  Nominate ten (10) bloggers you admire and inform them of the nomination

I have had a tough time selecting 10 inspiring bloggers; as far as I am concerned, I would like to nominate all of you, whom I often interact with or learn something from. Those who I miss I hope will do the favor to forgive me.

here are my nominees:

1. http://thesmallc.com/ (I love her posts and opinions on her cancer journey and life; admiring most her candid, genuine, positive, and powerful writing and interactions with others, including me)

2. http://howtostuffyourpig.com/ (watch this lady for excellent and very practical budgeting and saving strategies 🙂 she made a difference in me)

3. https://frombusttoboom.wordpress.com/ (similarly, an excellent blog for budgeting and saving strategies 🙂 )

4. http://ninasusan.com/ (very tough lady 🙂 but also very funny and wise; wishing her a fast recovery from a recent surgery)

5. https://theonlysup.wordpress.com/ (inspiring posts on anything from financial planning to soft-skills to poems..)

6. http://alienblob.com/ (grieving due to a significant loss; dealing with not only this loss but also cancer and life; I admire her strength and wishes her the best)

7. https://anunscheduledjourney.wordpress.com/ (breast cancer veteran – I hope she does not mind the term veteran – has a deep insight about life and healing – I’ve learnt a lot)

8. http://mychordomajourney.com/ (thanks to him I learnt about chordoma, a rare type of bone cancer. He is doing an excellent job about raising awareness on this disease)

9. https://tamtam01blog.wordpress.com/ (from budgeting to photography to genuine posts about anything in life; this blog has a lot to offer)

10. https://potterwillam3.wordpress.com/ (if you are looking for a blog that posts on a variety of topics, including lymphoma, by a kind and wise person, you gotta check his blog)

Cheers everyone – keep up the wonderful work of informing, teaching, and supporting us through your posts!

Liebster award – answers and nominations

I have got an invitation by purpldragon a while ago to participate in the Liebster award- purpldragon; thank you for this 🙂

I have considered it a bit, while I am not sure why it is called an award, I decided it would be a great opportunity to link some of the bloggers here; I have chosen those who are affected by cancer (please see below).

First; an introduction to the Liebster awards:

According to purpldragon (and I quote) the “Liebster Award is a chain award created by bloggers and passed on from one blogger to another to encourage connections. It is a wonderful, fun way to interact and make friends in the blogging community.”

And again, according to purpldragon (and I quote) ; these are the rules:

1. Thank and link the person who nominated you.
2. Answer the questions given by the nominator.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers, who have less than 200 followers and link them.
4. Create 11 new questions for the nominees to answer.
5. Notify all nominees via social media/blogs.

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For this award, I have chosen the following bloggers, who post about their experiences about cancer.

Cancer has an important part in my life personally and professionally. Learning from cancer patients, caregivers, and advocates through social media has been an incredible experience for me. I have great respect and admiration for those affected by cancer and I believe their “voice” in social media is highly important.

I nominate the following bloggers – I hope they will be okay with the nomination:

1. Celeta’s journey

2.  A Melanoma journey

3.  Going to beat this cancer

4. The cancer chronicles of Julie McG

5. Daddy’s Warrior Princess

6. I am not sick, I just had cancer

7. Steve Dang

8. mylifewithasideofcancer

9. On a Butterfly’s Wings

10.  The Sansone Files

11. Jamie Gilmore

My questions to the nominated bloggers are:

1. How do you feel about connecting to others going through cancer in the social media?

2. Do you think connecting to other cancer patients would be useful in supporting you and them while going through the disease?

3. What are the words, sentences, or questions you think are appropriate to hear from others when they first learn one has cancer?

4. Do you have care-givers?  or Are you a care-giver?

5. What kind of support would you like from cancer-related organizations and the government?

6. Do you think you sharing your experiences in the social media help others going through similar experiences?

7. What is your favourite book? TV show?

8. What is your favourite season?

9. What is your favourite breakfast?

10. Do you have artistic creations, such as poems, stories, drawings, paintings, and hand-crafting?

11. Is there  something you would like to share about your experience with cancer?

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My answers to purpldragon’s questions can be found below:

purpldragon’s questions:

1. What inspired you to start blogging? I had things to say.

2. What is something you dream of achieving? Happiness

3. Do you have any phobia’s if so what are they? Darkness

4. Do you prefer reading or watching TV? Reading; but TV is awesome, too

5. Which super power would you rather have, flight or invisibility? invisibility

6. What is something people don’t understand about you? My thoughts (unless they can read minds, they cannot know them anyhow 🙂 )

7. Do you keep a diary or journal, if so what would you do/ how would you feel if someone read it? I do have a joy journal that I post here. I am happy to share it with the world and I hope it will inspire others to write their own joy journals.

8. Is your bedroom usually neat or messy? Neat

9. How many countries have you visited (no matter how briefly) other than the one you live in? Four

10. What small things make you really excited, name at least three? Stationary items, coffee, writing letters, books, and a great breakfast

11. Do you have a favourite saying, if so what is it? “Live life, love life” (of “young adult cancer Canada“)