The Liebester Award

I really appreciate Meraki Geek and Princess of Dragons for nominating me for this award. It was a really nice surprise and it made my day to know that you read my blog 🙂 Thank you!

What is the Liebester Award?

Liebester is a German word meaning lovely or valued. I’ve seen a couple different descriptions of the award, so I’ll just give you the basics. It’s an award for new bloggers with a small-ish following. The idea is to recognize the work of new bloggers in the community and create more interaction. It’s a bit like a chain letter, but it’s about spreading the love and saying I like your work, nothing bad happens if you don’t want to accept it or pass it on.

Liebester Rules

1. Thank the person who nominated you. (Shout out to the wonderful Meraki Geek and Princess of Dragons again :))
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you. (I have double the questions to answer, sorry for the long post!)
3. Nominate at least 5 blogs with less than 200 followers (approximately).
4. Post 11 questions for your nominees to answer
5. Post a comment on the your nominees’ blogs to let them know they’ve been nominated.

Questions from Meraki Geek

1. What is your favorite smell?
   This is going to be a weird one. If you’ve ever smelled it, you’ll understand. Laura Secord ice cream cones. I don’t know if they make them fresh in the store or not, but walking by, yum! It smells soooo good. It makes me happy.
2. If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Why?
   I’d want someone inspiring and clever, some0ne who is good with people and who demonstrates strength against the hard times and embraces learning. My Gran represents all these things, so I would like her as a mentor. She has been gone for a decade now, but continues to inspire me every day.
   
3. Name one word to describe you.
   I asked my hubby this question and he said “Cupcake”, his pet name for me. Not really what I had in mind, but I’ll go with “sweet”.
4. What song is stuck in your head right now (or what was the last song that was stuck in your head)?
   The last song that was stuck in my head was Iko Iko by Zap Mama
   
5. When was the last time you were nervous? Why?
   The last time I was nervous was last week when I was going to have a lunch meeting with my boss. I planned to bring up a few touchy subjects related to how things were going, so I was freaking out a bit. Unfotunately, she invityed someone else to lunch, so the conversation never happened. Something I have to look forward to this week I suppose.
   
6. What top 3 characteristics would your ideal boss have?
   Good communication is definitely number one! Then honesty and determination
   
7. What’s something you hate doing? Why?
   I hate wasting time!! Unfortunately it’s hard to anticipate and not always avoidable. I always feel like I don’t have enough time, so having to re-do something or spend 2 hours commuting to do something that takes 10 minutes, drives me bonkers.
   
8. Name a movie or book whose main character and/or storyline represents you or a time in your life.
   This one is hard! The first one that comes to mind is “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath just because I identify with the feelings the main character experiences.
   
9. Which store would you choose for a shopping spree?
   Lululemon!!
   
10. If you had to change your username/url to something completely not yourself, what would it be?
    Spotlight on the Extrovert
    
11. How do you know when something/someone is totally right for you?
    You just know! There are no doubts, no need for a pros and cons list or anything of the sort. I also believe there are external cues subtly telling you, you’re on the right track.

Questions from Princess of Dragons

1. What is your preferred cheese?
   I’m not a huge fan of cheese on its own, so my favourite has got to be the kind that comes in cake! That could be cream cheese or ricotta I guess.
2. If you could own any animal, what animal would it be (include fantasy animals)?
   A unicorn. Horses are loyal friends and unicorns are magic. It would be fun to have some magic in life.
3. Mention one thing that’s on your bucket list. (Bucket list: a list of things you want to do before you die).
   I want to go to South Africa to see where my husband worked with white lions for a year. This has big significance for me. I will explain one day.
   
4. What colour do you think your soul is?
   I think it would be a shade of blue. Something mid tone since I’m not light and airy, but I’m not a dark person either. Periwinkle perhaps? It makes me think of peace, sadness and
5. If you could try any job for a day, what job would you try and why?
   I would be a model. I’d want to see if I could handle it for even a day without falling apart, plus it would be fun to dress up, have makeup done and take photos.
6. Name one good thing that’s happen to you today.
   I’ve had a nice relaxing morning with my coffee. 🙂
7. What’s your Myer’s Briggs profile?
   My what? I had to look this up. It’s a personality test. I took one of the free ones and I am INTJ. Apparently that is a really rare one. Most of it fits (curious, intelligent, perfectionist, avoids attention) except for the high self-confidence, lol.
8. Quick! Pick your weapon of choice!
   A katana! It’s a traditional Japanese sword. Not only are they beautiful, but they are well balanced and razor sharp!
9. When was the last time you cried?
   I can’t remember specifically. It was probably because I was forcing myself to do a workout and I started to panic. Silly, I know.
10. What would you call the novel about your life?
    The idea of doing this properly stresses me out (Perfectionist in me). So I’m going to go with the first thing that pooped into my head….”Depression, Doodles and Discovery”.

Before I list the blogs I’ve nominated, I just want you to read what Meraki Geek called the fine print. I apologize in advance if you already have lots of followers (yay you!), were already nominated (yay again!), don’t like these kind of things (I understand), don’t have time to participate (believe me, I understand), or just plain ol’ don’t wanna participate (no worries). Sorry if I didn’t nominate you and you wanted a nomination. Sorry if I did nominate you and you didn’t want a nomination. Participation is totally optional and no offense taken or meant.

The Nominees (alphabetically)

1. Calm Kitchen – Calm Kitchen is about coping with anxiety by maintaining a healthy diet. I think it’s a great concept as I know my diet greatly effects my mood. There are plenty of good recipes too!
2. Don’t Forget to Blog – I originally followed her on the Anxiety United site, but she has recently decided to branch out on her own. She writes about her experiences with anxiety and depression. I admire the brutal honesty.
3. Gretchenjoy – Gretchen is fun and has a great attitude. She blogs about several issues including body image, self-worth and love.
4. My Own Challenge – Another brutally honest blogger coping with anxiety. She recently interviewed people suffering from anxiety around the world. Her questions were intelligent and eye-opening. I was impressed.
5. Natalie Bowers – A creative and curious soul, Natalie blogs about her life and recovery from depression. She is real, I can often relate to the things she says.
6. Normal in Training – A more experience blogger, she’s a psychologist and blogs about self-acceptance. She is a kindred spirit, our blogs often cover similar topics!

And the questions….

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. If you could describe yourself with one word, what would it be?
3. If you could be famous for one thing, what would it be?
4. What advice would you give to fellow mental health sufferers?
5. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be? Why?
6. Which fictional character do you relate to most? Why?
7. What did you want to be when you grew up?
8. What is your greatest strength and your biggest weakness?
9. What is your dream vacation?
10. Which of the many quotes about mental health speaks to you most?
11. What’s the most positive thing about today?

 

That’s all folks!