part 2: Liebster award

Now that my necessarily cryptic weekly post (see part 1) is up, I can share my exciting news--my blogging friend Elizabeth at My Road to Motherhood has nominated me for a Liebster award!  Thank you Elizabeth, I'm thrilled and honoured, and I feel the same way about your blog.  You write so openly and honestly about a journey that has thus far been very difficult, and I really appreciate knowing that I'm not alone in some of the things I have experienced. You are actually one of the people who inspire me to keep writing!

I had never heard of this award until I won it, but I think it's a wonderful way to connect more people expressing important things in the blogsphere. Liebster recipients are asked to do the following:

• post 11 things about yourself
• answer the 11 questions posted by the person who nominated you
• nominate 11 new blogs (or less if 11 is not possible)
• post 11 questions for those winners to answer

A more thorough explanation is posted at My Road to Motherhood.

11 things about me

1)  I have lived in all these places: Barrie, Ontario; Greenwood, Nova Scotia; Ottawa, Ontario; Lennoxville, Quebec; Villefranche-sur-mer, France; Jasper, Alberta; North Bay, Ontario; Hickory, North Carolina; and Brampton, Ontario.

2)  I love to travel and have been to many places across Canada and the U.S., as well as France, Spain, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland, England, Mexico, Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Barbados, St. Martin, Domincan Republic, Puerto Rico, U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, and Costa Rica.

3)  I have had a tattoo of mother earth on my ankle since I was 19 year old.

4)  I have degrees in French Studies, Teaching English as a Second Language, Education, and a college diploma in Media Communications.

5)  My car's name is Amalita Amalfi, after a character who appeared in one Sex and the City episode.

6)  I honestly love my job.

7)  My new favourite tv show is HBO's Girls, and I think Lena Dunham is my long lost sister!

8)  I love playing acoustic guitar (although I think I am a horrible singer!)

9)  My favourite singer/songwriters right now are Michael Franti, Colbie Caillat and Taylor Swift.

10)  My favourite movies of all time are Love Actually and Slumdog Millionaire.

11)  I believe that I was not put on this planet to lead a conventional life, but I was put here to adopt fur and human children.

Elizabeth's questions for me

1)   What is your favourite book/author?

The Curse of the Singles Table by Suzanne Schlosberg.

2)   Do you have any pets?  If yes, info (type and name) and pictures if you are willing.  If no, would you like one and what kind.

I have a cat named Bebe Gatita (gatita = kitten in Spanish), a 6-yr-old domestic shorthair dilute tortie. She is my third cat, after Fellinita Principessa Muccia Prada and Minou (Mimi), all adopted one way or another. Adopt a homeless pet, you'll both be glad you did!!  I love dogs too, and someday I may add more fur orphans to my family.

3)   Name one place you would like to visit. 

Vietnam! In the meantime, I'm going to Belize in February. My dream is to see Hawaii.

4)   Do you have a favouite app (phone, ipad, or if you don't have anything "i", an edible appitizer)?

I am years behind in the technology department! I recently got an android tablet and I only have a few apps, but I'm looking forward to putting kids' books and games on it so that I don't have to lug to Vietnam a suitcase full of that stuff.

5)  Tell about a surprise in your life.

Winning a Liebster!  This is my first award as an aspiring writer (I'm already a writer/editor by profession, but my dream is to write a book about adopting my daughter, so an award-winning adoption blog is a good start!)

6)  What was your favourite childhood activity?

Figure skating.

7)  Tell about something you have learned, anything from anytime.

Deep inside us, we have reserves of emotional strength that we could never have imagined.  I'll put that and everything else I've learned over the past six years in my book!

8)  What stresses you out?

Anything and everything related to child adoption.

9)   What are three words would your family and friend use to describe you?

Introverted, smart, funny.

10)  White wine or red wine?

Red, because something in white keeps me up all night.

11) A wish you have

To meet my daughter.

my Liebster nominees and their questions

Here's where things get a bit complicated! Nearly all of the blogs I follow are in French, and I don't know how comfortable the bloggers are with English. So I'll post below my questions in English, then I'll send them in French to the winners, along with the info about the Liebster. If they respond, I'll post their names and links!

1) Name one thing you are passionate about.
2) When are you happiest?
3) Who inspires you?
4) If you could be anything, what would you be?
5) What do you know for sure?
6) If you won the lottery, who or which cause would you help and why?
7) Tell me one interesting thing about you.
8) Where is your favourite place in the world?
9) Tell me one of the reasons you were put on the planet.
10) Who would play you in a movie?
11) What would the movie be called?