Recently I was nominated for the Liebester Award by one of my blog friends, Teri, from Just Teri blog, “living life authentic”.  What a happy surprise! On Teri’s “about” page her final comments are “We choose to create a happy and abundant life. We choose to live a peaceful life. We choose to live an authentic life”.  And to that I could relate, when I first discovered her blog.

I have not heard of this award, and wanted to find out more.  I discovered several similar descriptions of this award such as this:

“Liebster” is a German word meaning beloved or dearest. In the blogging world, the Liebster Award is online recognition given by bloggers to other new bloggers for enjoying or valuing their work. It is meant to highlight and credit favorite new up and coming blogs within our writing community.

I feel honored to be one of her nominations!  I am truly fascinated by the world outside my own, that I continue to discover through blogging. Hopefully those of you who read this will discover a few new things about me 😊

RULES

• Thank the blogger who nominated you, and provide a link to their blog
• Answer the 11 questions given to you
• Share 11 facts about yourself
• Nominate 5-11 other bloggers
• Ask your nominees 11 questions
• Notify your nominees once you have uploaded your post

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Questions I was asked by Teri:

1. What is your favorite book to give as a gift and why? Dave Ramsey’s book “The Total Money Makeover”. Part of what I do is budget coaching, I’ve been through Dave Ramsey’s coach training and I believe his principles work.
2.  What music lifts your mood or inspires creativity and why? I love upbeat and energizing positive music.  When I’m power walking I want the beat to keep me moving.
3.  What do you do when you feel overwhelmed and need to reset? I love to read.  Christian mystery novels are my favorite.  I like to listen to the birds outside my door and read. I also love to walk, it also resets my mind and focus.
4.  What’s a helpful routine or life-hack that has made a big difference in your life? Prayer.  A few years ago I started talking out loud to God every morning on the way to work.  I believe it helps me to stay positive and less stressed at work.
5.  Who influences your life the most (past or present) and why?  I’m not quite sure on this one.  I had a life coach for a couple of years that did influence me greatly.  I learned to do what I believed was the right thing, and then let go and trust God.  That has allowed me to worry a little less about life, and trust a little more.
6.   What was your biggest mistake that taught you the most?  This would probably be my first marriage.  However, it also brought me to a great location, and taught me that wonderful things can still happen to you, even when you make a bad choice.
7.   What advice would you give to your younger self and why? Discover my passions, then follow them.  However, in hindsight, I still did that, just at a later age.
8.   Do you go with the flow or usually swim against the norm and how has this   shaped your life? I’ve gone in an expected direction with regards to career. I didn’t give up during the hard times, and that landed me in a position I really love.  But I’ve also gone against the norm with regards to finances, and that has given us freedom to have some great adventures. Hopefully a few more in our future.
9.   What is your best self-care tip? I am a lotion addict. High quality natural lotions.  I have them everywhere and use them more times a day than I can count!
10.   Do you have a habit people would consider unusual? I like to try odd foods, especially healthy food.  One of my favorite things to eat is chilled fruit with coconut oil drizzled on top.  I eat this almost every single night.  Two of my favorite fruits are grapefruit and peaches.
11.   What has been one of the hardest habits to start or stop?  Regular high energy exercise when my routine is disrupted.  I use circumstances as an excuse to slack.  When I turned 50 I turned it around and I try to remain consistent.  But it’s hard.

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11 Facts About Me:

1. I am extremely impatient.  This can get me into trouble sometimes.
2. I love the beach! Yes, and currently I am extremely impatient about getting to one soon!
3. I love the colors pink, purple and ocean teal.
4. I love to plan vacations, and then I love discovering interesting locations or activities I find on-line or see on TV.
5. I recently kicked up my passion for photography.  My blog was originally going to be about nutrition and money, but has taken a turn towards photography, and I love it!
6. I will be celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary next month.  Somehow, we will celebrate!
7. I love animals and currently have one cat.  Her buddy died a couple of years ago 😢 We miss him.
8. I had two sister cats before them that lived with me for 19 1/2 years until they died.  I got them as kittens.
9. I do not like to cook.
10. I do not like to clean.  I do like to organize.
11. I love nature, which has become even more important over the past weeks.

I follow quite a few bloggers and have learned a lot, not only about blogging, but also travels and photography from these folks.  I would love to meet some of my blogging friends someday!

My nominees are:

• …i choose this…
  • Fun travel stories and great photos!
• Tea With Jennifer…a cup of inspiration
  • Inspiration and thoughtful posts with accompanying photos
• My Camera & I
  • Fantastic photos and fun travel posts
• Graham’s Island Life on the Big Island of Hawaii
  • Need I say more? 🌴
• Heaven’s Sunshine Capturing God’s beauty through the lens of a camera
  • Simply beautiful nature photos
• ellacbee
  • I recently discovered her lovely travel posts and stories
• Holly’s World
  • Photos, stories and inspiration.  Like a conversation with your neighbor

These are only a few bloggers I follow and enjoy.  There are so many amazing and talented folks out in blog world!

11 Questions for my nominees:

1. What are you passionate about?
2. What drives you nuts?
3. What is your favorite location and why?
4. What would you like to learn, if you could?
5. Where would you like to go if there was nothing restricting you?
6. What would you change about yourself if you could?
7. What do you love about yourself?
8. What makes you happy?
9. What is your favorite thing about blogging?
10. What is a happy memory for you?
11. What do you do that brings you calm?

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Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and thank you for the encouraging comments from all of you who have chosen to follow me.  This journey has been a learning experience and an accomplishment I would not have thought I could do.  I look forward to continued interaction, and learning more from other bloggers all around the world.

God Bless you all!  … and thank you to Teri for the nomination and the challenge to participate!

PS: My favorite thing ever: