Liebster Award!

Wow, I am so honored to have received the Liebster Award! Liebster is a German word in origin which means beloved, sweetheart, lover, darling, and the Liebster award is given to new bloggers among the blogger community to get to know each other and highlight a newbie.

Celia Kennedy from Woman Reinvents Self nominated my blog, Looking on the Sunnyside.

I’ve been asked to answer a series of questions asked by my fellow blogger/nominator Celia:

My Questions:

1  What was your first blog about? Okay – my very first blog post was actually about my new blog and my commitment to begin blogging (http://lookingonthesunnyside.blogspot.com/2011/10/great-start-but-still-so-much-to-learn.html). 

2  How would you say your blog has evolved? It was a slow start; I wrote that first post in 2011, but I didn’t actually get busy regularly writing posts and networking until 2012.  At first it was more of a way for me to deal with some of the crazy health challenges I was facing, but it grew into something wonderful and unexpected. 

3  What do you find most satisfying about writing?  I am a very passionate person and writing for me is very cathartic.  It is a way I get out and process my feelings. 

4  Has your blog lead you in an unexpected direction? Yes and no, I feel like I have stayed true to my personality on this blog, but I have been so surprised at the variety of responses and the following that my blog has developed.

5  How many blogs do you read? I read at least 10-20 blog posts per week about a variety of topics.  Many of them are writing blogs, but also home and parenting blogs as well.  My favorite blogs are the ones that are very eclectic like mine, the ones that really show the individual personality of the blogger. 

6  What grabs you about someone else’s blog and have you incorporated it into yours? I LOVE blogs that are real and authentic, when blogs show the true ups and downs of life.  I have tried to keep that authenticity in my blog. 

7  If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you do? Read, build sand castles, swim and stare at the clouds making up stories in my head.

8  You can travel to anywhere in the word! What location came to mind? Have you been there before or would it be a new experience? In one word – Everywhere!  There are sooooo many places that I want to go – lately I have really been thinking about Australia and New Zealand, and after my amazing wedding in Antigua last year – a return to the Caribbean is also high on my list. 

9  Your blog goes viral and you are asked to vlog – would you want to? I wouldn’t mind doing a vlog, I am comfortable with public speaking, but I do think that something gets lost in a vlog, part of our imagination while reading the words.  I don’t want people focusing on my face, hair, make-up etc and not really hearing the content. 

10           Have you ever revealed something in your blog that a loved one was surprised by? Not really a loved one, but yes I have had close friends who were surprised by some of the posts about my family and my background. 

11           Tell us a great story!  I am happy! I think that is the best story of all – and its still being written. 

Liebster Award Rules:

1. Acknowledge and link back your nominator.

2. Answer 11 questions given by the nominator.

3. Nominate other bloggers (preferably who have less than 200 followers).

4. Here’s the challenging part: Think of 11 new questions to ask your nominees.

5. Let your nominees know that you have nominated them.

Now here’s my nominees’ list:

Donna Step of With Every Step
Angela Glenn of Stepping Into Motherhood

Christy Barongan of Normal in Training 

Deborah McKnight of DSMcKnight
Karen Shatafian of One Salty Kiss

My 11 Questions for them:

1. What inspired you to do a blog?

2. What has surprised you the most about blogging?

3. Where do you get inspiration for your blog posts?

4. What do you think has been the most challenging part of writing a blog?

5. What blog post are you most proud of, and why?

6. Do you think your blog would make a good book someday?

7. Where is your favorite place to write a blog?

8. Do you have a favorite quote?

9. What is one moment that you know you will always remember?

10.               Where do you see yourself, and your blog five years from now?

11.               What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

Thank you again to Celia from Woman Reinvents Self, I really enjoyed answering these questions and coming up with my own as well.   And to my fellow bloggers/nominees, please let me know when you answer your questions, I would love to read what you have shared.

Ugghh Not Again

 I haven't whined about Menopause for a while now; I have quietly and graciously accepted the night sweats, the long weird hairs growing on my chin, the weight gain, the indigestion, all of the various abuse heaped on women during menopause, but I do have to admit I was fervently hoping that along with all those glorious side effects I would also finally be graced with an end to my monthly period.  It seemed like an unfair trade-off, but at least it was a trade-off…but I was wrong.  This week I was reintroduced to my monthly visit from the cranky, irritable, bloated and all around yucky feeling that comes along with a visit from my ‘Aunt Flo’. 

The ONE benefit of menopause is that your period finally stops.  I had such high hopes – I had gone almost seven months without a period!  I thought I had finally made it to the Promised Land, only to have my hopes dashed. I wish I had this Uterus piñata so I could take my frustrations out on it and beat the crap out of it.

My mean spirited uterus just won’t quit.  My hubby says that because I am such a fierce Mom, my estrogen is just tougher and more plentiful than other people.  I wish there was some way to tell my uterus to knock it off already, that it's time for my uterus to retire, but it seems my uterus isn't willing to just ride off peacefully into the sunset.  So now I face all the struggles of getting older along with my stupid old period.  I should have known better, after all drug stores put sanitary napkins right next to depends pads - they must know that aging is a gradual and frustrating process.  Yes, in nature’s cruel irony, I have the pleasure of dealing with gray hair and oily skin on the same day and it’s not fair. I know there are worse problems in the world, but I really, really, really want to be done with this by now.  I doubt I even have any eggs left, and the crazy spring inside my fallopian tubes are blocking those eggs from coming down anyway.  Hopefully one of these day my uterus will get the message.