Father Christmas has been very busy lately in the Blogging World. Lots of gifts delivered. As I am going to have very limited time in the next week or so, I thought I would thank for my other nomination as well and send a few more gifts before Xmas to new recipients.

My blog got another early Xmas gift: a Reality and Shine on Award. This combined award was granted by my dear friend at http://exceedingspeed.wordpress.com/.  Her blog’s title is very telling. She is constantly exceeding the speed limit. If the reader’s expectation is going at 60, and that’s speedy already, her posts always speed at 75! I’m sure many of you are already following her sharp, colorful and timely observations of current events and her loving, humorous narrations of life at home, but if not, you can catch her now! Thank you so much the award, I really appreciate it. Brightens my day in these times of sadness.

The rules for this award seem to be fairly simple so I will try to follow them…
1. Show appreciation of the blogger who nominated you and link back to them in your post
2. Add the award logo to your blog
3. Share 7 things about yourself (hmm, again? Are you going to read further…?)
4. Nominate 5 – 10 or so bloggers you admire
5. Contact your chosen bloggers to let them know

So after doing number 1 and number 2, I will need to share 7 more things about myself. This is a bit hard as I have shared so much earlier, but here we go with a few confessions that all have some inner meaning to me:

I. I love story telling, whether in writing or just talking to an audience. I don’t make up the stories, they always have some grounding in my own experiences.

II. Poetry is probably the easiest for me to write. It just “comes to me”. I often write it to encourage myself, to stay positive, hoping that the words will have the same effect on others.

III. I love music. I listen a lot, but haven’t been playing much (guitar) lately. A new favorite is the Playing for Change movement (http://playingforchange.com/). Check it out.

IV. I’m a bit lazy. Really. Just love to sit and think, observe the world. But paradoxically I feel I thrive more when I’m busy. Maybe that’s the underlying reason for continuing to work although I (so-called) retired early from my overly stressful full-time job and relocated to the beach. Not very good at saying no when the phone rings and something interesting and maybe a bit adventurous awaits. Keeping it manageable though…

V. I feel like a global citizen. What does that mean? To me it means that I have at least a very basic understanding of the world around me. I am curious about different cultures and people and I’d like to experience even more of this beautiful world than what I’ve had the opportunity to do up to now. Maybe I had a slightly nomadic streak when I was younger, but nowadays I truly appreciate my home as the solid base where my life in anchored.

VI. I am fascinated by history. Love to feel its “wings” when I visit old or ancient places. It helps me understand how we got here, to this particular time.

VII. I am quite sensitive, easily feel people’s sentiments, feel the essence in nature and like to be in touch with my God, “friends and family plan” for frequent calling.

I hope I didn’t bore you too much? Now, I have the privilege to nominate a few more blogs that I admire, for this award. Here we go:

http://mselenalevontraveling.com/ – her recent adventures in Uganda with the gorilla family and her ongoing travel experiences are original and fascinating!

http://healthyazblog.wordpress.com/ – her blog inspires us all to live well!

http://lauralamere.com/ – she blogs about parenting creative kids, good advice and interesting stories!

http://livingtheseasons.com/ – her blog explores the beauty around us through photos, quotes and stories!

http://ollikekalainen.wordpress.com/ – his photos are exciting, guaranteed, every day!

Congratulations to all of you! And thank you for a wonderful year.

In the meantime, I have received more stars for my Blog of the Year 2012 Award so now I have the “full set”! Thank you to Ivon, Jackie, Tazein (all blogs included in my previous post) and Laura.

Happy Holiday Season to all readers, whether you celebrate in snowy, rainy or sunny environments – it’s what’s in the heart that counts.