In the last couple of weeks, just before and during my recent trip, I have received the honor of four award nominations – from four truly wonderful bloggers. Thank you so much! I am very happy and encouraged!

I received One Lovely Blog Award from Ivon at  http://ivonprefontaine.wordpress.com/. His blog Teacher as Transformer always offers words of wisdom with beautiful nature photos, and invites us to follow our personal path. His thoughts and poems make me quiet down and reflect on what is important. I read his blog regularly and invite you to discover it too!

I also received One Lovely Blog Award from http://exceedingspeed.wordpress.com/. I visit her blog every day for sharp and humorous observations and discussions about practically anything in life.  Always right on the money! She makes me laugh, smile and nod or shake my head. Her blog was recently Freshly Pressed – you have to check it out!

I was nominated for an award of my choice (see below!) by http://fortyteencandles.com/. Her blog is super interesting. She is a writer and I hope she’ll do the “Na.No.Wri.Slo” if not the “Na.No.Wri.Mo” to be on the N.Y. Times best seller list! I have followed her blog for quite a while, and you should pay a visit today too!

This week I was also nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award by http://healthyazblog.wordpress.com/. Her blog inspires us to live well, not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually! I have found her blog both interesting and inspiring. Lots of good stuff there! Please go visit her blog today!

Thank you all four great bloggers for these nominations!

Now, trying to follow the rules, I will need to tell something about me. Here we go with seven things that I don’t remember sharing previously:

1. I have a granddaughter who is 2.5 years old. She is a bundle of joy – and energy! She loves music and recently entertained me with her own song and dance performance. I laughed so hard I got tears in my eyes.  XOXO to our little goof ball!
2. I love nature (obvious from my blog, huh?), particularly wild animals of any kind, all kinds of waterways whether oceans, lakes, rivers, marshes, streams or just puddles, and beautiful trees and flowers. I also love mountains, and….yeah, basically all of it.
3. I try to keep fit by walking a lot. My little dog loves it too so I have an eager walking buddy. And occasionally I force myself to go to the gym, but I am a lousy “enforcer” on that one…
4. I have held driver’s permits from numerous countries/states. I wish I could have kept them as memorabilia…The one from Zambia was a “book” –  bigger than my passport, and when our son was about 3 years old, he used it to demonstrate he could write a huge capital A. On the second page – with a black permanent marker!  That’s the initial of my first name. A like in Tiny. I think he wanted to make sure everyone would know it was mine.
5. I wish my first name was Ann, but it’s not. My name is so rare that when googled, all of me pops up. That’s a bit of a nuisance in this age of www-dot, so Tiny is better. And it’s polite too, Tiny like in small. I wish I was!
6.  In second grade, I was hit by a baseball bat right on my nose during a practice session in the PE class. When I woke up I saw the classic view of my teachers and fellow pupils bending over me. Heads and blue sky. My nose was the size of a mountain for a long time, my eyes peering out just a little – outward in different directions on both sides. I got some free time in the middle of the term, great!
7. I am continuously involved in one conversation or another, with family and friends (including blogging friends), but particularly with my inner self and with God.

Now, bending the rules a little bit again, I will nominate 15-20 very different blogs that I like to read for an award. There are many more wonderful blogs I enjoy and follow, but I have left out those blogs that have huge followings and some that I nominated/showcased just a little while ago.

Learning from my friend FortyteenCandles, the nominees can choose their award from those above!  Just display the award, tell something about yourself and share the encouragement further at your convenience! I’ve been following some of the nominated blogs for quite a while, but there are also some that I have discovered fairly recently. They are all very different, but inspiring in their own way, and definitely worth your visit!

http://retireediary.wordpress.com/ – beautiful photos and narratives from all over the world!

http://hikingphoto.com – stunning, gorgeous photography – and advice for “the advanced”!

http://christiansperka.wordpress.com/ – wonderful wildlife photography with narratives from Thanda Game Reserve in South Africa!

http://ivonprefontaine.wordpress.com/ – wisdom, poetry with photos, thoughtful reflections!

http://exceedingspeed.wordpress.com/ – humor, topical issues, sharp & quick – always!

http://jlroeder.wordpress.com/ – wonderful, imaginative short stories! Is there a book in the making soon?

http://mixolydianblog.wordpress.com/ – music and music stories!

http://everywhereonce.com/ – travel, beautiful photos, advice and observations!

http://lizziejoysphotosuite.com/ – recent discovery, divine photography!

http://livingtheseasons.com/ – new discovery, wonderful photography with narratives, lots of nature and flowers!

http://garyschollmeier.com/– beautiful observations in the form of photos on daily basis!

http://1001scribbles.wordpress.com/ – recent discovery, wonderful photos, videos from all over the place!

http://globalunison.wordpress.com/ – recent discovery, beautiful poetry, photos and stories!

http://hugmamma.com/ – always good stuff for soul and mind!

http://thispoet.wordpress.com/ – beautiful and thoughtful poetry!

http://fortyteencandles.com – take 20 minutes of your life back! And other good stuff!

http://healthyazblog.wordpress.com/– be encouraged and inspired to live well!

http://aleafinspringtime.wordpress.com/ – new discovery, wonderful stories, poems and photos for enjoyment!

Thank you to all nominees for sharing inspiring stories, photos and/or poetry! I greet you all with a “thank you flower” that gently bends over the path we travel. And wish you a beautiful day.