Award Season...Sunny and Awesome

Good day, Sunshine! The Beatles tune by that name came to mind when I received a message that my blog had been nominated for a Sunshine Award. I was honored to receive this sunny surprise from my blog friend, Ian Cochrane. Thank you, Ian! An Australian writer, photographer and traveler, Ian blogs about the people he's met and the places he's seen in Australia and around the world. He is a talented storyteller with a keen eye for architecture and a style reminiscent of the writer, Ernest Hemingway. Ian Cochrane: Writer

This was followed shortly by three more award nominations. Two from my blog friend, Donna, the Epically Awesome Award and Liebster Award, and an Epically Awesome Award from my blog friend, Jon. Thank you, Donna and Jon, I am truly honored!

Jon's blog is called Speaking My Mind and he does so unabashedly with frankness and humor. He encourages people to speak their minds as well, even if you don't agree. A lively exchange of ideas. Jon roots for the underdog and that is a plus in my book! He's an avid fisherman, outdoor enthusiast, excellent photographer, writer, and family man.

Donna (aka CrazyMama and MisAnthropy) of Can't Keep It In No More is funny, irreverent and uncompromising. A single mom raising 7 children, she blogs about teens, sex, celebrity rehab, whatever is on her mind, and she twitters with God. No sugar-coating here, she keeps it real. Donna has been one of my biggest supporters since I began blogging and had just a handful of followers, and I appreciate that so much. 

Then More Awards: As I was wrapping up this post, I received a Liebster Award from Patricia at Patinspire. Patricia is a full-time cardiac nurse, mother, and an inspirational and motivational writer. Thank you, Patricia!

And a Wonderful Team Member Readership Award from Melanie of Mother of Nine. Melanie raised nine children on a hobby farm in Canada. A humorous and joyful writer. Thank you, Melanie! 

The Sunshine and Epically Awesome Awards have similar rules and I will post about those first, followed by the other awards. Yes, I am doing all this in one blog post. And yes, this will be a long post! So grab a cup of coffee or tea, or a glass of wine (red is my choice!), or whatever is your pleasure, sit back and enjoy the read. Hopefully, your eyes won't glaze over before you are done. :) Thank you in advance for reading,

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Part 1: Sunshine Award and Epically Awesome Award

The Sunshine and Epically Awesome Awards are given as recognition to inspiring bloggers by other bloggers. The Sunshine Award asks for seven facts about yourself, and the Epically Awesome Award asks for 10 facts. Don't worry, I am not posting 17 facts here lol! I will post 10 random facts, followed by the rules and awards.

On the movie set in Jamul, California, years ago.
(I made this outfit myself and I rarely sew!
Still have it.)  

1. Years ago, while living in the San Diego area, I had a bit part in a low-budget movie directed by a novice filmmaker. I moved away before finding out if the movie was ever produced. The script was about an aboriginal tribe having an unexpected encounter with space travelers from another planet. Had lots of fun doing it, whether or not it ever went anywhere.

2. Born and raised in New Jersey, I moved across country by myself to California when I was 27. I've lived in Southern California (San Diego area), Northern California (San Francisco), Washington, D.C., and Maryland.

3. I was named after both of my grandmothers: Madilyn (spelled Madeline), and Rose (Rosa). I never knew my grandma Madeline, my father's mother, because she died before I was born, and I hardly knew my grandma, Rosa, my mother's mother, due to family circumstances.  Growing up, I appreciated having a first name that no one else had in my class.

4. I attended the first co-ed residential state college in New Jersey, Livingston College, part of Rutgers University. (Prior to establishing Livingston as a co-ed campus, the State University of New Jersey was Rutgers, all male, and Douglass College, all female.)

5. Just the way I thought of the Beatles tune as soon as I read the message about the Sunshine Award, reading certain words will often prompt a tune in my head. I love all kinds of music: rock, jazz, blues, folk, classical, zydeco, country crossover, world music, alternative music, on and on. Don’t play an instrument, and whether I can actually carry a tune is debatable, but I love to sing anyway!

Honey bee pollinating sweet basil in my garden.

6. When I was a child, I was fascinated with insects and nature. I'd capture various bugs in jars and look them up in the encyclopedia before releasing them. I saved unusual rocks. I followed bees and butterflies around the yard watching them and drawing pictures. Now I just follow them around with my camera.

7. My favorite pastimes are writing, reading, blogging, photography, walking my dogs, gardening, hiking, listening to music, traveling, going to art, history, and science museums. 

8. I like dark chocolate and red wine. Dislike peanut butter (especially with chocolate).  

9. Although I love the mountains and deserts (especially when cactus and wildflowers are in bloom), my ideal place to live would be near an ocean, where I could smell the salt water and feel the ocean breeze. 

Plaque at Iron Works site in Massachusetts

10. My roots (on my father's side) trace back to 1652 in America. I am a direct descendant of James Leonard, who came to the Plymouth Colony from England near Wales to begin the first successful Iron Works Foundry. Descendants of James Leonard settled in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. (Discovered this cool info a few years ago when, through genealogy research, I connected with a previously unknown cousin who published a Leonard family history.)

Awards and Rules:
I am awarding both the Sunshine Award and Epically Awesome Award together as a combined “two-awards-in-one award.” To my Nominees: I put both awards together in a new Awards Collage I made, so you can just copy/paste this one double award image, if you choose to post it. By combining both awards, I am perhaps messing with the awards fabric of the blogosphere. That I have done this will come as no surprise to Sr. Mary Margaret from parochial school who’d often tell me, “Young lady, if you do not follow the rules, you will create chaos.” Well, rules messed with, chaos created, and may I toast a glass of wine to you, Sr. Mary Margaret!  

Honorable Mention to five outstanding blogs previously nominated. All Awesome and Inspiring!

Annie Off Leash: Annie is an exceptional writer with a humorous, heartfelt and delightfully irreverent perspective on life.

Aphorism of the Day: Reflections on all aspects of life written in a delightfully poetic and whimsical style.

Channeling Hippocrates: Musings on life, love, womanhood, and medicine from a very creative artist, doctor, wife, and mother. Kris is a fabulous writer with an engaging style.

Diary of an Internet Nobody: A self-described aging hippy from Devon, England, Dale's blog is a wonderfully eclectic mix of humor, general musings, and photography.

My Life in Sweden: Alexandra blogs about her life in Sweden, the food, the traditions, and her beautiful dog named Lisen.

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My 10 Award Nominees for the Sunshine and Epically Awesome Awards...in alphabetical order. An eclectic and inspiring mix of blogs: (I hope you'll stop by and visit these excellent blogs. More nominees in the Liebster Award.)

Can’t Keep It In No More: Donna (aka CrazyMama and MisAnthropy) is funny, irreverent, uncompromising, and real. A single mom raising 7 children, she writes about teens, sex, celebrity rehab, whatever is on her mind, and she twitters with God. Thank you for the award, Donna!

Fear No More...A Day in the Life: A journalist and freelance writer, Michelle blogs with openness and honesty about the personal challenges she has faced in life, and her experiences as a woman, mother and triathlete.

Human Without God: A true individualist and free thinker, Yun Yi writes about life with thoughtfulness and refreshing candor. There are also short aphorisms and book reviews.

Inspired by Gabriel: Gabriel’s blog of his life journey is thoughtful and reflective with discussions on seeking out the positive when faced with hard times in life. There’s also an interesting music section I like.

Life Cycles: The Truth and The Evidence: Neil, an Australian writer, former management consultant and psychologist, has written a fascinating, well-researched book (winner of 2 Finalist USA Book News Awards) on how everyone’s life is influenced by rhythmic 12-year cycles. His blog examines the lives of well-known individuals, past and present, showing how Life Cycles applies. Anyone can apply this theory to their lives. 

Mod Mom Beyond IndieDom: A mom and former Indie musician, Linda writes with a wonderfully dry wit reminiscent of comedian Larry David.  Every Monday she hosts “I Don’t Like Mondays Blog Hop,” a great way to link up your blog, meet new bloggers and gain new followers. (Linda gets extra points for being a Jersey girl!)

My Writing Life: Julia is an avid reader, passionate writer, a mom, and a creative spirit with an inquisitive mind (I like that!). She’s also the poetry editor of the Southern Pacific Review. I’ve recently discovered Julia’s blog and very glad I did.

My Wyoming Adventure: Kristina blogs about her life as a wife and mother in the beautiful, scenic state of Wyoming. Her blog has stunning photos, fascinating bits of local history, and entertaining stories about her family and pets.

One Grain Amongst The Storm: An inspiring writer from India, U.S. Pandey’s blog has heartwarming stories and monologues on life, as well as photography, poems, and book reviews. 

Rum-Punch Drunk: Thought-provoking blog from a British writer with a knack for presenting topics that can really stimulate conversation and the free flow of ideas. Plus, he has a wonderful sense of humor.

"Two-awards-in-one award." Sunny and Awesome!

Nominees, please pick up your double award! Even if you don't do an award post (and believe me, I understand the time involved), you may take your award; you deserve it! For those doing the award post, here are the rules:

1. Display the Award image in your post.

2. Link back to the person/blog nominating you.

3. List random acts about yourself. Since I am passing out a combined "two-awards-in-one award," via my awards collage, you may list anywhere from 7 to 10 random facts about yourself.

4. Nominate 10 bloggers and link those blogs in your post. Notify the nominees.

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Part 2: The Liebster Award...and more

Thank you, Donna! Thank you, Patricia! I am truly honored. The Liebster Award is given as recognition to up-and-coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (and to drive ‘em crazy answering questions made up by the awarder lol!). Rules (yep, there are always rules):

1. Display the Award image in your blog post.
2. Link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Post 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Answer 11 questions from the person giving you the award.
5. Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer
6. Pass the award to 11 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers and link them in your post. Notify the nominees.

Since I already posted 10 random facts above, I am adding one more fact to make it 11 for the Liebster Award...Fact: Before I ever had dogs, I had cats. First cat was Roger, a beautiful all-white stray tom who found the food I put out for him very inviting and kept coming back.

I am nominating the following outstanding blogs for the Liebster Award, followed by my 11 questions for the nominees, and that's followed by my answers to Donna's questions and Patricia's questions for me...whew! 

OK, if you're still with me at this point, it's probably time for a second cup of coffee or glass of wine. :) 

Award Nominees for the Liebster Award...in alphabetical order: 

Angelika’s PhotographicSketchbook: A talented and creative photographer based in London, Angelika's blog has a stunning array of photographs from aerial views of clouds to urban street scenes and parks, using various effects in color and black and white.

Can’t Keep It In No More: Awarding again to Donna. Well deserved! Plus, now she gets to answer my questions, too lol! :)

Evidence of Bev: An empty-nest mom, grandmother, and nurse, Bev blogs about life topics, food, and photography. She often cooks up delicious and healthy recipes from whatever she has on hand and posts about it with pictures.

Heartbeat of a Simple Common Man: Thoughtful blogger from India with an interesting perspective, Dhaston writes about everyday issues we can all relate to. I enjoyed (and agree with) his latest post on politeness.

Jon Waters: An aspiring author and blogger, Jon is a health-nut in a good way! He writes knowledgeable on nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Inspiring quotes too.

Larks Notes This: A mom with a young daughter, Larks blogs about parenting, civil discourse, politics, and food. Her writing is smart, straight forward, and fun.

Lucy Chen’s Art Blog: Lucy is a talented artist and her blog features her art as well as work from other artists. Vincent Van Gogh is her favorite artist. Need I say more?!

Magical Mystical Mimi: Mimi is an excellent writer, a thoughtful and very creative lady, and her blog is fun to read! She will follow you back and leave great comments. 

Meg on the Go: Meg really is on the go, a married mom with two active teenagers! Meg is an excellent writer, and she blogs with wit and knowledge about her passions: baseball, history, theatre, sports, and more.

My Morning Cup: A mother of grown sons and now stay-at-home mom to one dog and one cat, Coffee Lady blogs about whatever is on her mind in a low-key style fueled by glorious caffeine.

The Monkey Bellhop: Very funny and entertaining, John’s blog will make you laugh! Definitely worth a look-see, and he’s just written a collection of humorous stories. (Plus, he was born in New Jersey, extra points for that!)

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Honorable Mention...More excellent blogs worth checking out: 

Assorted Thoughts From An Unsorted Mind:  Big D blogs about music, movies, books and comics. Very entertaining!

Eva Tornado: Beauty and fashion from a very creative Russian lady living in Portugal.

Introverted Art: Ana is a very talented and expressive artist. Her watercolors are especially lovely.

Meanwhile, Melody Muses: Melody’s blog of beautiful poetry, art and photography.

Robert’s Blog of Hilarious Funnies: Very funny jokes and pictures!

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My 11 Questions for the Nominees. As in the other awards above, I completely understand if you don't do award posts. Just know that your blog is appreciated! 

1. Why did you decide to start blogging?

2. What is your favorite quote or saying?

3. Given a choice of various restaurants, what type of food would you choose?

4. Do you have a favorite movie from the past year?

5. If you had the chance to meet one person for a day, who would it be?

6. Do you prefer the beach or the mountains?

7. If space travel was as common and safe as traveling on an airplane, would you go?

8. If you had a time machine, would you go to the past or the future? Why?

9. Do you have a bucket list? If so, what three things are at the top? ?

10. If your life became a movie, what actress or actor would you cast in the starring role as you?

11. Do clowns scare you? Would that prevent you from going to McDonald’s? (OK, just having fun here…lol!)

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Answering Donna’s 11 questions for me (cleverly hosted by Mother Goose):
1. Why did Humpty Dumpty sit on a wall? Because falling would be a crack-up!
2.  Do you know the muffin man? He’s that Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman who came to my door.
3. Was the mother who tied the cradle to the bough ever arrested for child abuse? No, because the cradle was on the bough but the baby was in the sling.
4.Was the crooked man straight? It took a lot to straighten him out.
5. Why did the old lady swallow a fly? Protein!
6.If she cut their tails with a carving knife, why didn’t the three blind mice run away from the farmer’s wife? Because they couldn’t see what they were doing.
7. If Jack Horner was a good boy, why did he sit in the corner? He liked to draw on corner walls.
8. Why was Mary quite contrary? She lost an argument with Bo Peep’s sheep.
9.Did the black sheep ever suffer from self-esteem issues? Nope, they were confident they had lots of wool, three bags full.
10. Did Little Bo Peep ever do a show? Oh yeah, lots of Peep and Sheep shows!
11. Aren’t you glad the questions are over? You have no idea! lol!

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Answering Patricia’s 11 questions for me:
1. What is your favorite movie? “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

2. Who was your 1st love? The boy I met at a carnival when I was a young teen.
3. If you could go back to when you were 10 years old, would you change anything? I’d convince my parents that I should have a puppy.
4. What part in what film would you love to play or be? The part of Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa,” in her love scenes with Robert Redford.
5. If you could be any one person for a day, who would it be? J.K Rowling
6. What food do you like best? Italian!
7. What is your favorite number? 3
8. Your favorite music CD? The Traveling Wilburys Collection
9. What car do you have? Ford Escape
10. Do you have a PC/Laptop or Phone for your internet use? Most definitely.
11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Not as many as I’d like.

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Last Award: Wonderful Team Member Readership Award, received from Melanie, a humorous and joyful writer who has raised nine children on a hobby farm in Canada. Thank you, Melanie!
Anyone reading my blog may take the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. You deserve it (especially if you read through to the end of this long post!). Feel free to post it on your blog…and there are No rules, No questions, No random facts. Tossing out the rule book here! Enjoy your blogger award.

Awarding this to Everyone reading my blog!

©JerseyLil’s2Cents