Liebster Blog Award

All I can say at this point is, “Wow!”

Receiving the nomination for this award from Ginger Ray at dailylifewithfibromyalgia on July 13th and in the same week that I got my first award for blogging reminds me of Sally Field and her often misquoted words when receiving her Oscar in 1985.  I almost went with that, but I think I prefer her actual words, which I found thanks to Wikiquotes:

I haven’t had an orthodox career, and I’ve wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn’t feel it, but this time I feel it, and I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!

The first award, made me think about what it means to get an award from a fellow blogger.  So, I wrote about my thought processes and conclusions.  Intellectualizing, it’s what I do, and have done, most of my life.  However, at the time I received this award, I was in an extremely emotional place, and this second time receiving a blogging award, I felt it a bit more and confirmed the suspicions I’ve been having that you, my fellow bloggers, “like me, right now, you like me!”

It feels like a soothing balm on sunburnt skin.

It feels like stepping out from under the blazing sun, away from the waves of heat radiating from beneath my feet and into a cool, dim place where I can breathe again.

It feels like the happiness of a child whose parents are clapping and cheering because she took three steps without falling on her bum.

Ahem, enough emoting . . .

I REALLY  like knowing the origins of things, so I tried to do a little internet research about this award.  I’m also a bit lazy, so after finding pages and pages of links to other blogs that had received the award, I found one whose author had already done the research, at least some of it, and she had some interesting information.  Sopphey Says found out that Liebster is German for “dearest” and that no one knew the origins of this particular award.  She also discovered that at some point it was awarded to blogs with less than 3,000 followers, although all the rules of today say it must be awarded to blogs with less than 200 followers. One other thing I found during my research is that there is another image of this award:

Here are the rules of the award:

• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog (check).

• Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you (check, check).

• Copy and paste the blog award on your blog (check, check, check).

• Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed.

My nominations are:

1. Mental Mama from Mental in the Midwest ~ She knits, or is that crochet? She creates things like socks with yarn and needles. She shares recipes. She faces daily challenges with determination and fortitude. She’s real, raw, and honest. Swing by and visit her.  The woman is crazy about knitting socks, did I mention that?
2. Pam, aka Pamasaurus from Pa-BLAM! Just Pam; Just Life. ~ I just started reading and following her blog.  She has a breezy, simple and conversational approach to sharing the day to day adventures in her life.  She also shares her weekly menu plans with links to her food and recipe blog. Be warned though, she’s kind of a faddict of running. She makes up for it with great photos of her experiences though, so I guess it’s all good.
3. Athena Brady ~ is one of my newest friends, encouragers and supporters.  We met through WANATribe and she’s my right hand woman in managing the Bloggers Unite! tribe I founded there a couple of weeks ago.  She’s working on publishing a book and her blog covers a variety of subjects, including tips for aspiring writers.
4. Keith Addison from Sleepless in Newcastle ~ Keith is kind of an inspiring guy, although he might not believe it to be so.  He’s relatively new to the blogosphere and is finding his way, discovering a love for writing, and exploring what he might have to offer the world at large. He openly shares about how he copes with very challenging health issues of his own and in the lives of his loved ones and what it means, for him and his feelings as the husband and father in these scenarios.  It’s occasionally good to have a male pov to expand my thinking.
5. Dan at dan4kent ~ I. Love. This. Man. There, I said it and now everyone knows it.  Every time I read one of his posts I’m struck by a few things: they ALWAYS have a significant tie in message to something I’m dealing with in my own life, even if the overt subject has nothing to do with me; he is able to take simple, everyday happenings and everyman experiences and use them in a quietly profound way to illustrate and illuminate significant thoughts. He is a true critical thinker and a great example of how to get a point across without beating you over the head with it or (as I do) drowning you in words.