That’s the way I feel about it anyway!

I signed on to my computer Sunday morning and the first message I opened was from a lovely young woman with a spirit that exceeds her physical being. I met her in cyber-space only a short time ago. She is on a journey toward positivity and she is well on her way achieving her goal.

We have exchanged comments, exchanged ‘likes’ and she has graced me with the honour of following my blog. As a new blogger, this is something very special. I don’t know how she found me but I am glad we have met.

I eagerly opened her message to see which of my posts she liked and what her comment would be. I value her feedback – always positive and encouraging.

To my surprise, shock and sheer delight, the message read: “Just nominated you for an award peach!”.  Really? Me? Wow! How nice! …what’s an award peach??

I followed her instructions to check out her post for more details. It turned out that she had been nominated for a Liebster Award and part of her requirements were that she nominate eleven other bloggers whose followings are under 200 and to whom she is to then pose eleven questions.

I was thrilled to be one her chosen group. I have only been blogging for six weeks so for her to think that I am worthy of such a nomination is humbling. And upon further investigation, I realized that she wasn’t nominating me for a peach award but instead for a Liebster Award too!

A Liebster (German for ‘dearest’ or ‘favourite’) Award is a blogger-to-blogger award. A chain letter of sorts. One blogger receives the award and then nominates their favourite bloggers. There is no actual winner among the nominees, which was what I had first assumed but rather the ‘being nominated’ was equivalent to receiving the award.  She had chosen my blog as one of her favourites!

A search for the rules that accompany the award have turned up various findings. It seems the blogs must have less than 200 followers (although some posts say 3,000). Some rules say you should nominate eleven other blogs and some claim only five.  Some say that you need to provide eleven details previously unknown about yourself then answer eleven questions posed by the nominator, while others say five details and five questions and some say no such thing.  Since there seem to be no hard-and-fast rules, I will do a combination.

I will answer the eleven thought-provoking questions posed to me.

I choose not to give out random facts about myself. Instead I choose to retain some privacy since the answers to these questions and my postings will likely reveal more about me that I realize anyway.

I will nominate four of the blogs that I am currently following. I would nominate all seven but three already exceed the ‘number of followers’ stipulations. (Some of these four may too but I couldn’t see their numbers so I’m nominating them anyway). Again, as a newcomer to this venue, I have not explored its depths. I follow and select those whose messages I feel support my philosophy and I am sure with time, my list will grow.  To my four nominees, I will pose seven questions – because that’s all I can think of.

So, to my new friend, a special and heart-felt thank you for your nomination and thoughtfulness.  Here are the answers to your questions:

If you could go one place right now, where would you go?

That’s easy and hard at the same time. The easy answer is Europe – anywhere in Europe. The hard part is, where specifically in Europe? Sometimes I imagine going to the airport with my passport, a small suitcase packed with clothes that I can layer depending on the weather and a credit card (with money in the bank to cover the charges). I would then walk up to the international departures board and buy a ticket for next European destination – my starting point from where I will branch out and explore. 

What is your favourite thing to do to relax?

Watch romantic comedies with a bowl of popcorn or potato chips.

What is your favourite flower?

Hmmm…tricky. There are so many to choose from. I love purple flowers. In the spring, it’s lilacs but then again seeing the tulips pop up seems rejuvenating.  In summer, phlox is lovely. In the autumn, I’m drawn to airy asters and deep dark purple mums.  To purchase a bouquet, I tend toward alstroemeria but gerbera daisy are quite attractive too. 

What do you most like to do whilst with friends?

That’s easy; meet for tea and a bite to eat so we can catch-up and chat about the events in our lives. I treasure those times.

When listening to music, which track do you have on repeat right now?

I don’t often sit and listen to music and having music on while I’m working can be a distraction for me especially if it is music with lyrics. Having said that though, if I choose to listen to music while I’m working, I sign on to www.sky.fm and listen to the Smooth Jazz feed. I find it uplifting; it has a beat that keeps me motivated and it is instrumental. On the occasion that I put on a CD while I’m doing something, I often reach for Jamie Cullum, Michael Bublé, John Mayer or Diana Krall.   

What does writing do for you?

Writing is a creative outlet for me. I am finding that writing this blog has helped me develop my voice. I am taking the time to explore ideas that I have been noodling with for quite a while. It is giving me confidence in my abilities as a writer. 

How does blogging help you?

I have partially answered this with the previous question so I’ll expand here. My hope when starting my blog was that I could provide a place where people could go and be assured of reading something positive – a contrast to much of the media that swarms around us on a daily basis. A place that would encourage self-reflection and perhaps spark changes for the betterment of our world. Grand goals, especially not knowing how this blogging stuff all worked. 

I am fairly new to blogging and I have been surprised at how excited I am about the process. Getting responses and follows from people who I have never met is uplifting. I am encouraged when I look at my stats page and see from where in the world people are linking in with me. I find that fascinating. It is giving me hope that there are others out there who, like me, believe that we need to be projecting positivity.  

Writing about positivity and having people like what I write is actually making me even more positive so you can imagine how I felt to be added to this list of nominees!

If you could be an animal, what would you be?

Very interesting question.  The first thing that came to mind was a monkey, then a dog but I think (and I’ve never really thought about this question before and may come up with a better answer later) I would like to be a dolphin. They are intelligent creatures, fun, playful, and seemingly free and I could spend my days swimming and traveling long distances. One of my bucket list items is to swim with dolphins.  

What was the first thing you did when you got up this morning?

After the routine hygiene stuff, I went downstairs, popped in a dvd and followed Rodney Yee as he guided me through a yoga routine. I’m half-way through my 30-day challenge, and loving it!

George Clooney, Gerard Butler or Johnny Depp?

Haha! Wow, you really ask some tough questions… Hmmm, George Clooney, Gerard Butler, George Clooney, Gerard Butler…I would have to say Gerard Butler solely based on his character in P.S. I Love You. I don’t know if he is anything like that in real life but I’ll take the movie character version. 

 Thank you again for nominating me. This has been a lot of fun. Love and Happiness to you!

And now for my four nominees:

For the Liebster Award, I nominate the following inspiring bloggers:

http://iheartchange.wordpress.com/
http://noveldestinations.wordpress.com/
http://everywhereonce.com/
http://itsbeautifulhere.com/

To my nominees, here are the seven questions that I would like you to answer:

1. To where have you traveled that you would like to return?
2. Where or when are you the most happy?
3. What is your favourite quote?
4. What advice would you give yourself if you could go back ten years?
5. Who inspires you?
6. What is your favourite indulgence?
7. Name one thing that you learned last week.

Please take the time to visit the other bloggers and websites that I am following. I think you will agree, they are all Positively inspiring!

 Photo credits: http://photopin.com
leg lamp: flickr.com/photos/brianjmatis/6586603047/
Liebster logo: flickr.com/photos/backdoorsurvival/6843770565/