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I have been nominated for the Liebster Award and want to thank Wendy McCance for the nomination. Please check out her site at Searching for the Happiness where she writes about her life’s journeys. I love reading her take on handling the everyday highs and lows with a positive outlook.

(From sketchy information in a Google search on the Liebster Award, I believe it is a type of chain letter. Possibly originating in Germany in 2010 it was created to help showcase sites with a smaller following.)

For the award, Wendy gave me 11 questions and here are my answers. I hope you enjoy this post and have as much fun reading as I’ve had being a part of it. 🙂

1.      What has been the most rewarding part of blogging for you?

I love sharing stories, connecting, listening to and exchanging nuggets of hope, words of wisdom and inspiration. I get so excited when a post materializes (it still amazes me in writing when it takes on a life of its own). I can’t wait to share especially when someone relates to a topic and comments. I enjoy hearing their perspectives – stories.

2.      What have friends and family said about you having a blog?

My family has been surprised and happily nostalgic reading the recounting of my memories about our grandparents, parents and our children. It’s brought us closer together. Friends, co-workers and acquaintances that relate to a topic I think we’re getting to know each other better on a different level.

3.      Has your blog helped you professionally or is your blog just for fun?

Yes, I’ve discovered that writing let alone reading is not so bad. As a kid, reading used to be my pet peeve. My dad was a “bookworm” and I thought life was just passing him by while he was reading what other people were doing instead of going out and doing something himself. Still today, to my regret, I haven’t read most classics. I’m a novice to writing but I love how it makes me feel when a story stirs inside crying to be told. I’m also learning to write e-books, social networking and the complexities of the internet.

4.      How long have you been blogging?

5 years since 2007 but not exclusively (wrote sporadically while working in the corporate world) – just converted my site last summer from Blogger to WordPress.

5.      What state or country do you live in?

Colorado (US) Rocky Mountains

6.      What is your favorite hobby?

Flowers and plants – nature

7.      What is your favorite type of food?

Seafood and Mexican food

8.      Do you have a pet?  If so, what type?

2 dogs (Riley an older guy 12-1/2 years old and Abby a new female puppy 6 months old) – both are mixed breeds. Riley is black lab/border collie and Abby is black lab/pointer.

9.      What is your favorite book?

“Life of a Scotch Naturalist” – 100-year old book I inherited about my great-great grandfather Thomas Edward.

10.   What is your favorite movie?

“It’s a Wonderful Life” – I set up the DVD player every Christmas eve after everyone has gone to bed and sit up and watch – just me and the Christmas tree. The family has gotten tired of seeing the movie every year. This old black-and-white 1947 movie is inspirational and magical to me – it doesn’t seem like much has changed in the struggles people had then and today except how people cared and helped each other. Gives me hope for the new year to come.

11.   What is your favorite thing to do when you have free time?

This is so ironic (if you’ve read my earlier answer to question #3) – I like to read. Over the years, I’ve learned to really get into it – sort of escape. I also like to explore new places taking day trips or travel in general. I haven’t been able to do much of it but what I’ve done has been a ‘kick’.

Now, I’m supposed to choose 11 of my ‘dearest’ (German Google interpretation for Liebster) fellow bloggers I’ve enjoyed and want to showcase:

1. Elle Sommer – “Reflecting A Life” – http://reflectingalife.com
2. Denise Baer – “Skipping Stone Memories” – http://skippingstonememories.blogspot.com
3. Patricia Singleton – “Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker” – http://patriciasingleton.blogspot.com
4. Maureen Sullivan – “Magnificence” – http://magnificence.authorsxpress.com/
5. Patricia – “Patricia’s Wisdom – Helping Individuals Create Positive Life Change” – http://patriciaswisdom.com/
6. Barbara Swafford – “Blogging Without a Blog” – http://bloggingwithoutablog.com/
7. Brian – “Just Me” – http://wordsfrommymouth-personaddiction.blogspot.com/
8. Tom LaRotonda – “My Core Reflections” – http://blog.tomlarotonda.com/
9. Suzie Cheel – “Abundance Highway” – http://www.abundancehighway.com
10. ‘Laura Quinn’ – “Surviving Myself” – http://survivingmyself.authorsxpress.com
11. Melody Fletcher – “Deliberate Blog” – http://deliberateblog.com

Thank you fellow bloggers for the warm, inspirational and informative posts you’ve written. I value your friendship, support and exchange of commentary in the reading of my articles.

And then, there are 11 questions I’m supposed to ask (perhaps a bit more philosophical than my questions – but I’m curious what your answers will be):

1. What part of the world do you live in?
2. What do you want to accomplish with your site?
3. If you could write only one story about your life knowing it would make a difference in the world, what would the title be and why?
4. Where do you hope to be professionally in 5 years and how do you think your site has gotten you there?
5. Is there something you’ve discovered about yourself in writing and creating this site and what is it?
6. If you had a ‘bucket list’, what would be at the top?
7. Name one thing you can talk about that will help me remember you?
8. When are you the happiest?
9. What is one of your most memorable experiences?
10. If I came to your site, what would you want to teach or share with me? And, how do you get me to come back?
11. If you had One wish, what would it be?

My One wish for you in this nomination is that it will open new doors for more people to find you, learn and connect until it circles the globe.

If life is a bit busy these days and time is limited – no worries. This particular award can be a lot of work. I’m happy you’ve stopped by to read and hope you’ve enjoyed it. It’s been an honor to nominate you. 🙂

If you’re able to take part, please link back to those who nominated you; likewise, please link to those you are nominating to let them know. If you have time, it might be fun to check out some of the other nominees’ sites on your list.

Thank you again Wendy for nominating me – I loved doing it. Congratulations to all the nominees! All the best to you. 🙂