I’m honoured!

I’m not the winner of many awards; just a few golf prizes and one teeny, tiny trophy. Perhaps that’s why I was so thrilled when Geetanjali, who writes The Open Book blog, nominated me for The Versatile Blogger award! Thank you, Geetanjali!  Geetanjali hails from India and writes about one of my favourite things, books. When I read her post about the Sunday Book Bazaar in Delhi, I was completely hooked!

Try as I might, I haven’t been able to find out anything about the origin of The Versatile Blogger award. I do know that it’s a bit like a chain letter, passed from one blogger to another but unlike the chain letters of old, it doesn’t promise fame or fortune to those who pass it on or threaten doom to those who don’t. It is, in fact, a way to share favourite bits of the blogosphere with our readers and to show appreciation to those whose writing we appreciate.

There are four rules for those who choose to accept The Versatile Blogger award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for the award and include a link to their blog.
2. Select and nominate 15 blogs that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
3. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know that you are nominating them for the award.
4. Share 7 things about yourself.

Sounds easy, right? I thought so too until I started thinking about who to nominate. There are a lot of blogs out there! I spent a considerable amount of time over the weekend revisiting blogs I’d stumbled upon in the past and searching out some new ones. I could nominate my daughter’s blog but she’s a very busy mother of preschoolers who simply doesn’t have time to search out 15 blogs to nominate. I doubt she’d appreciate me putting her in that spot. I eventually narrowed it down to the following 15, quite a diverse group. I could simply list the blogs that I’ve chosen but instead, I’d like to tell you a little bit about each of them.

1. Those of you who’ve been following my blog for very long will have heard of Donloree at Bikini or Bust. I’ve been following her journey to health and fitness for over a year and look forward to every update. She is such an inspiration and I absolutely love her zany sense of humour!
2. One blog tends to lead to another. I found Faith at The Serious Road to Fitness through Bikini or Bust and adopted her goals as my own.
3. Nini at A Fine Balance writes about fashion, fitness and food. She calls herself a fashionista on a frugal budget and I like her style!
4. Maggie at Living Life in Glorious Colour and I have been following one another’s blogs for almost a year and have discovered that we have a lot in common. Her photos are stunning.
5. Grams is my high school friend, Janis, the only one of these bloggers that I’ve met in person and one of the most creative people I know. She hasn’t updated her blog in quite some time but I’m hoping that this will inspire her to start posting again. A look back at Janis’ earlier posts is well worth it, especially if you’re interested in crafting or home decor.
6. If you like Grams, you’ll also enjoy Mimi Sue’s Cottage. I love her Sunday Sayings.
7. I left a piece of my heart in Japan when we returned to Canada after teaching there for a year. Tokyoholic is a graphic designer living in Tokyo. I especially love her photos. She does a wonderful job of capturing the many faces of Japan.
8. The Simple Life of a Country Man’s Wife lives in South Dakota “intentionally living life each day as it comes.” She understands life in the country and I notice that we often comment on the same blogs.
9. The Big Sheep Blog “where imagination and business life collide” addresses a wide variety of topics with genuine wit.
10. ihavetriedit offers lots of great money saving and do-it-yourself tips.
11. I’ve recently started following Jen at The Scrumptious Pumpkin. Her Winter Vegetable Pasta with White Wine and Parmesan recipe is to die for and I’m looking forward to trying some of her others.
12. Malou is a Filipina married to a Dutchman and living in the Netherlands. Her blog, Going Dutch, shares many aspects of life in the Netherlands and makes me want to visit.
13. From a Tuscan Villa is another blog that inspires me to visit Europe soon.
14. Elizabeth has been writing I Face the Sun for just over a year and I like her outlook on life.
15. French Twisted Woman is a brand new blogger. She’s off to a great start and I hope this award inspires her to keep it up. Don’t miss her post about her car wash adventure!

And now for the fun part, 7 random things about me. I’ve tried to choose things that I haven’t included on my blog before.

1. I haven’t actually written a bucket list but if I did, it would include riding in a helicopter and a hot air balloon.
2. I don’t fit the normal oldest, middle or youngest child profile. Chronologically, I’m a second child but my older brother suffered a brain injury in infancy, before I was born, so in many ways I’m the oldest. Or am I just the most confused…?
3. I love beachcombing; hauling home seashells, bits of driftwood and sea glass from beaches around the world. Many of them decorate our main bathroom.
4. I love to dance, especially in my husband’s arms.
5. I am an arctophile, a person who collects teddy bears.
6. I am missions president at my church which includes preparing and presenting a five minute Moment for Missions each Sunday morning.
7. I believe: God is who He says He is, God can do what he says He can do, I am who God says I am, I can do all things through Christ, and God’s word is alive and active in me. If you’ve done Beth Moore’s Bible study, Believing God, you’ll know that this didn’t originate with me but it is my “shield of faith”. Ephesians 6:16

 Happy Valentine’s Day!