“One Lovely Blog” Award Nomination!

I have been honored to be nominated for the “One Lovely Blog” award by margaretdj —  I thank her so much and sincerely recommend you check out her great blog!

This award recognizes blogs considered to be “lovely” by fellow bloggers and is focused on helping them attract more readers. There are a few simple rules to follow to accept this nomination:

• Thank the person who nominated you for the award.
• Add the One Lovely Blog logo to your post.
• Share 7 facts/or things about yourself.
• Nominate 15 bloggers you admire and inform nominees by commenting on their blog.

Having already done the first two, now I’ll share 7 facts about myself. Coming up with these was a bit tricky — here is what I think might be entertaining to read (I hope!):

1. I love purple. Anything purple calls to me…and I was thrilled to find out in recent years that I’m not alone in my purple obsession. There are even stores and websites devoted to selling purple things exclusively. I found myself in such a store during a trip to San Antonio, Texas a few years back, and couldn’t believe it. I was like a kid set loose in a toy store; let’s just say my luggage was much more full on my return trip home!

2. Having grown up in New York City, I love city life. A noisy city is more calming to me than an eerily quiet suburb. “Where are the car horns?” I’ll think as I try to fall asleep whenever I’m visiting a more rural area.

3. I studied French and Spanish from my junior high years up through college. However, I still get frustrated with my struggles to break past basic-level communication in each language: While I can read both fairly decently, I understand spoken Spanish better than I do spoken French, and I struggle to write or speak either one myself. So I keep working on both…

4. This is somewhat embarrassing for me to share, but I never learned to ride a bike. And since I don’t really need to, I still haven’t — plus I would dread being seen learning now as a fully-grown adult. I know I shouldn’t care about that, but nonetheless I would feel funny if people witnessed me learning like a six-year-old; most areas near me are not isolated enough for me to feel comfortable trying!

5. I also can’t swim — but I love being on boats. I never got around to learning to swim, being a city kid and not having easy access to pools or official lessons during my childhood. It was just one of those things that never happened. Occasionally I think about maybe trying to learn now, but somehow I never get around to it. One day…!

6. I love cats and dogs. I often wonder why so many people still feel inclined to pigeonhole people like me into one or the other?! I’m a cat person and a dog person; I have a cat now and would love to have a dog too, but my building doesn’t allow them. I once took a side job as a dog-walker years ago specifically to have some access to dogs, and even dog-sat for friends recently. If I could have one of each right now, I would!

7. I love flying on airplanes. Minus travel hassles like lost luggage and long lines, of course. But aside from that, being in the air thrills me, and I try to get a window seat whenever possible; as other people sleep, read or watch TV, I tend to stare out the window most of the time. You’d think it was my first flight ever, but no. I’ve flown many times, yet each time I’m just as obsessed with how beautiful everything looks from the sky and have to admire it all for as long as possible. If you check out my Twitter page, you’ll see a photo I took from one of my flights at the top. I’m a shameless sky tourist every time I’m on a plane!

And now, the best for last — here are the 15 bloggers I admire, and why:

1. Get Fuzzy! – This blog is written by Craig Blower, who’s been battling stage IV lung cancer since 2012. His blog is so well done — first of all, it’s informative. For example, he shares lots of details about lung cancer, such as this fact, written on his “Why This Blog” link: “it’s important to get the word out that lots of lung cancer victims are non-smokers.” Plus he skillfully balances sharing the realities and emotions of his experience with lots of humor. I think everyone should read it, whether you have a connection to cancer or not.
2. Touched by the Page – Although this blog is described as “a blog about books,” which is great, it’s also so much more than that. Yes, there are a variety of insightful book reviews like this recent one (written carefully so as to avoid major spoilers, a real plus!) — but Fien, the writer behind the blog, also writes about personal issues such as her mother’s lung cancer battle with such heartfelt honesty and grace. Definitely check it out.
3. What The Eff? – I am lucky enough to know this blogger in “real life” and I find her to be as dynamic as her blog, which features a wide range of topics ranging from shrewd movie reviews and TV show critiques to tasty recipes and much more. Well worth a read!
4. Words I Wheel By – This blog is written by Emily Ladau, who writes that her blog is committed to “exploring disability in society and my experiences living with a disability.” The blog does such a great job at writing on such an important topic in a way that informs and motivates the reader. In addition to Emily’s well-written pieces, her blog also features articles by other writers and links to news sources focusing on disability issues — a wealth of resources can be found here.
5. Chitra’s Healthy Kitchen – I love this blog’s “recipes for healthy living,” since they’re also tasty and aesthetically-pleasing, complete with easy-to-follow instructions and high-quality pictures.
6. Jay Dee in Japan – This is one of many blogs written by Jay Dee Archer, a Canadian man who moved to Japan in 2005 and plans to stay for the foreseeable future. This blog is another favorite of mine since I love reading about life in other parts of the world and am particularly drawn to Japan. You can also find links to his other blogs here.
7. People, Places, and Perspectives – Alexis, the writer behind this blog, publishes a wide range of inspirational, positive posts including lovely haiku poems and stream-of-consciousness pieces. Her writing is very engaging and warm, which likely has to do with her view of blogging as a way to, as she writes on her “About” page, “learn from and be inspired by my fellow dreamers.”
8. Joeyfully Stated –I really enjoy the writing style and humor of this blog, which is described as “narratives of a neurotic and other nonsense.” It features an entertaining approach to a wide range of topics ranging from introversion to true (yogurt) love.
9. My Life at the Big D (Dillard’s) – I get a kick out of this blogger’s true-life accounts from her job at Dillard’s department stores, complete with funny stories not just about the store’s customers but its employees as well. You don’t have to work in retail to relate to the incidents described, like in this post which touches on staff members who are supposed to be on vacation but are constantly in touch and assigning work to employees…
10. Silver Threading – This blogger writes about her “journey into retirement.” I admire how she went back to college a few years ago, and I enjoy her accounts from her personal life, complete with great photos like these of her “neighbors!”
11. Joatmon14 – This blog is written by Mark Eaves; I like his mix of posts ranging from funny family stories to introspective pieces about life. His reason for writing is also something I feel many of us can appreciate and relate to — as he says on his “About” page, “at the age of 49, I am trying to find my voice. Maybe starting a little late, but better late than never.” So true!
12. Good Lifestyler – I appreciate this blog’s diverse range of topics covered: recent posts have dealt with how alcohol affects our emotions as well as the importance of letting go of the past.
13. Top of JC’s Mind – I value this blog a lot. Its writer, Joanne Corey, can address painful/poignant topics, share honest assessments of herself and recount interesting accounts and photos from her daily life — all equally well. I admire her versatility and enjoy seeing what she’ll post next.
14. irenedesign2011 – This blog is devoted to the “creative jewelling” done by its writer, Irene. I am impressed by her dedication to blogging in English even though it isn’t her first language — how I wish I could get to that level with the languages I’ve studied! — as well as her craftsmanship: to get an idea of her work, take a look at this post about a recent piece of jewelry she made. Lovely, isn’t it?
15. Taste of Japan – Again, my interest in Japan led me to this blog, and I enjoyed it the minute I found it. It features a very attractive layout, as well as in-depth cultural information and a wide range of eye-catching photo galleries like this one.

• And an honorary mention goes to LindaGHill’s blog — the only reason she’s not on the official list above is because she was already nominated for this award this year. But I couldn’t leave her off my list in some way; Linda writes such great posts, ranging from poetry to pieces on parenting and so much more. I recently enjoyed this amusing one which was both funny and thought-provoking! She also does so much to connect bloggers with one another. A perfect example of this is her Stream of Consciousness Saturday posts, in which she shares a writing prompt for bloggers to use in a free-flowing post, with minimal editing beyond typos and whatnot. She also does One-Liner Wednesday posts, in which bloggers share funny or inspirational sentences — they can be original creations or quotes from other sources, as long as they’re one line. One of her guidelines for both series is checking out everyone else’s posts for that week, which helps new bloggers gain some exposure and creates a great community among bloggers. For all that, I had to include her even though she was already nominated once this year!

So that’s my list of blogs I find to be lovely and also deserving of the “One Lovely Blog” award! Although at first choosing 15 sounded like a lot, once I got started and listed all the blogs I follow and enjoy, it was actually hard to choose only 15! It helped that some blogs I like have elected to be no-awards blogs — if that hadn’t been the case, I’d have had an even harder time choosing just 15! Anyway, hope you find a few new favorites in this list. 🙂