I GOT A LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD!

Is this like the Oscars? Should I give a speech? I'm kidding, but I am thankful to Susan from Scribblings for taking an interest in my blog and nominating me for this fun award.

I did a bit of digging into the history of the award and there are so many different theories on the origin and details that it's really quite silly. Basically, it's awarded to people who have very few blog followers. I did what Susan did and nominated 11 (well 12, actually) other bloggers with less than 200 followers. I'm supposed to ask them 11 random questions (I guess so they can generate a blog post), list 11 random facts about myself, and then answer the 11 questions that Susan asked me.

So, here are the 11 (12 actually) bloggers that I am awarding the Liebster too:

1. A month of...Blog because it shows so much dedication and motivation. The photos are pretty great too! I also love travelling and sharing my journeys with others so it is no wonder I took a liking to this one. The blogger also committed to reading Northanger Abbey (my favorite Austen novel) - enough said!

2. The Ramblings of a Multi-tasking Mama because she commented on my E, F, and G posts before I even visited her blog! She also refers to her children as The Fashionista and Agent Smelly which can only mean she is one cool ma'ama jamma.

3. Maggie Winter from Expat Guide to rural Brazil because she had the cojones to comment on my blog that she is not a Jane Austen fan! O, the horror! She has some awesome tips for travelling Brazil too.

4. Alana Mander from Dream Believe Write because the title of her blog caught my eye in the A-Z Challenge link up. She has also been away on a holiday during some of A-Z but has managed to post anyway! What a planner!

5. Ida Chiavaro from Reflex Reactions - now I know she was nominated by the same person who nominated me, but I feel the need to shout out to her again because she took the time to visit my other blog 21K for Change and comment on my final post there. She's also doing this really cool thing with healing words on her blog!

6. Rebeccah Giltrow from Rebeccah Writes because her blog was one of the first ones I bookmarked when I started visiting A-Zers. Every day she is introducing a new writing constraint/exercise that is quite intriguing!

7. Ginger and her blog Just Add Ginger because everybody loves a red-head! Seriously though, her blog caught my eye because one of my best friends is a ginger as well. It doesn't hurt that she loves all things beauteous and writes with passion!

8. Chuck Allen because I think EVERYONE should visit his website, especially his A-Z blog because it is, by far, the coolest set up of any A-Z blog I have seen yet. His theme is pretty darn cool too! He also added Austen's collection to his reading list after reading my K is for Kindle post and might take up RAKing after reading about my 29 RAKS for my 29th Birthday on January 29th. I actually have no idea if he fits into the "under 200 followers category" because I couldn't seem to figure that out from his websites, but none-the-less, he deserves some kind of recognition! A lot, in fact.

9. Melanie Schulz because she is doing what she loves and loves what she is doing - writing! Her blog is full of short (as in quick reads), witty anecdotes and you should check them out!

10. Naomi from Naimeless because she is a dear friend of mine, a spectacular writer, and the name of her blog has always captivated me. (Again, no idea how many followers she actually has - darn you wordpress).

11/12. Starr Bryson from The Insomniac's Dream basically because she is doing this: The ABC's of Swearing and I think all of you should sign up! She's taking a stance against blog censorship and hell, let's just toss freedom of speech in there too. You know what, Don't Call Me Marge (the whole reason behind the creation of this new blog challenge) doesn't have enough followers either so I think she deserves a Liebster too!

Alright so that was Step 1.

Step 2 is to ask them each 11 random questions...
1. Coffee or Tea?
2. Cake or Pie?
3. Chocolate or Vanilla?
4. Rom Com or Horror?
5. Pepsi or Coke?
6. Blackberry or iPhone?
7. Salty or Sweet?
8. Star Trek or Star Wars?
9. Classical or Heavy Metal?
10. Poetry or Prose?
11. This one is a two-parter because I kind of nominated 12 people instead of 11. If you could spend the day with any writer, dead or alive, who would it be? What is your favorite work of theirs?

Step 3: list 11 random facts about myself...
1. I've made a hobby out of doing RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness).
2. My mom is my best friend.
3. I am addicted to playing Candy Crush Saga on facebook.
4. I have an anxiety disorder.
5. I absolutely love learning, likely more than pretty much (but not quite) everything.
6. Poor grammar makes my eyes and ears bleed (ok, that one is a lie, but I do hate it).
7. I grew up in a small town of less than 1000 people.
8. I try really hard to, but I really don't like wine.
9. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.
10. My heart is in Africa.
11. I want to travel to Italy someday.
12. I have slept with...(kidding, I'm not really going to tell you that)!

Step 4: answer my nominator's questions...
1. What was your childhood ambition? Well, I don't really remember all that well, but I found a drawing I did once that was supposed to be of a teacher apparently. I guess that's what I aspired to be.
2. Did you ever wish to have a different name? If, then what's that? Yes, I used to refer to myself as Sheena after watching a film of the same name. (I should watch that film again now that I mention it!) Perhaps I also aspired to be Queen of the Jungle.
3. If you were the most powerful person in the world, what would you do? Two words - world peace.
4. Who's your favorite author? Alice Sebold (bet you thought I was going to say Jane Austen).
5. Sea or mountains? Day or Night? (hey, now, that's two questions) Sea and Day
6. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be? Wow, I really have no idea. Maybe Stephen Harper so I could have a better understanding of his politics and therefore despise him a little less.
7. What's your most precious childhood memory? For this I'd have to say the fact that my mom never ever said that she was happy when it was back to school time. She always loved having us at home and made sure everyone knew it. I'll cherish that forever!
8. Tell me something you would like to share with me: I am passionate about the plight of refugees and their right to an education. World University Service of Canada and its Student Refugee Program are my life's passion.
9. What three words best describe you? Altruistic, Intelligent, Creative
10. What made you start blogging? Basically, I started because I love writing and I wanted people to read that writing. It also turned into a public place to share my adventures.
11. If you could have three wishes what would they be? Yikes, um...that no one in the world would go hungry, that everyone was able to exercise their human right to an education, that every child in the world was loved unconditionally.

Phew, that was a long one, but so much fun! I hope you'll take the time to visit each of the bloggers I've nominated here as well as Scribblings. Pop on back for a visit with me sometime too!