The Sunshine Blogger Award – Nominated by Author Mark Bierman – A chance to recognise blogging talent.

My thanks to author Mark Bierman for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award which is always a lovely boost and motivator to keep turning up each day here in blogland.

The award is given out by members of the blogging community in recognition of their inspiring, creative, and motivational blogs.

I know that many of you are Award Free.. and I do understand why.  Even after seven years I am always delighted to be nominated and sometimes I cannot respond because of time limitations. However, I wanted to take the opportunity to nominate a number of bloggers who I want to recognise for the great posts and generosity of spirit. There is no need to respond with a post, but I hope you will take the nomination as a mark of my respect.

If you choose to accept the Sunshine Blogger Award nomination, there are a few rules:

• Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and link back to their blog.

• Answer 11 questions the blogger asked you.

• List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award in your blog post.

• Nominate 11 new bloggers & their blogs. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they received the award and ask your nominees 11 new questions.

Here are the 11 questions set by Mark for his nominees.

1. What is the most extreme “sport” you’ve done (if any)? 

I have never done one of the really extreme, can kill you sports, but I have preferred to enjoy some of the scenery such as mountains, to hike up and down rather than throw myself off under a canopy, or on two short planks. I have never been tempted to throw myself out of a perfectly serviceable plane, but do enjoy flying in all sizes from mono to jumbo. My one vice is fast cars and whilst I have never been caught speeding, I have taken advantage of the odd abandoned aerodrome, and put my cars through their paces. I owned a Toyota Supra turbo at one point that I loved to take up to the max.

2. Do you have a favorite travel destination? If so, where?

We have been lucky to live in some great places and to travel a lot, and if there was a place that I would happily revisit time and time again it would be Hawaii or Lake Tahoe on the border of California and Nevada.

3. What is your favorite blog topic? 

Tough to nail down as I have wide ranging interests but I would probably say health as that is my first love closely followed by humour.

4. Do you have a prefered time of day to blog? When?

I am on the blog most of the day, and all my posts are scheduled a week in advance except for challenges. I consider it my job and I could be in and out from 8.00 a.m. to midnight.. I love what I do so other stuff can wait.

5. Do you drink coffee while you blog?

Occasionally, but usually it is green tea during the day and a lemon and ginger tea in the afternoons.

6. Do you have pets?

Not at the moment unfortunately, but a dog is on the wish list for when we move from this house at some point in the year. Does my husband count?

7. If you were trying to fix a broken shovel handle and a 500 pound gorilla came up to you with a roll of tape, what would you do? 

Take the tape, fix the shovel and offer him a banana or other refreshment.

8. Do you prefer to swim in a pool or a natural body of water? 

I have some encounters in natural bodies of water including being stung by several jellyfish all at the same time when I was a child. I now like the clear water of a swimming pool so I can see who is sharing the water with me.

9. It’s Thanksgiving- turkey, some other type of meat, or no meat?

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Ireland (except on the odd day the sun comes out) instead of turkey at Christmas we tend to have steak fajitas with margaritas.. and ice-cream.

10. Given the choice, would you prefer a spider or a snake in your home? 

I lived in Sri Lanka as a small child and was dragged kicking and screaming away from snakes such as cobras that looked interesting and I now have a healthy respect for them and their ability to do me harm. So I would choose a spider as they are easier to entice outside with a piece of paper and a glass.

11. What type of music do you listen to? 

The 1960s and 1970s were my decades and I love rock, country, contemporary and some classical..it depends on my mood and how fast I need to walk on my treadmill.

Here are my 11 questions for my nominees.

1. What is the most daring thing you have done?
2. Name one item still on your bucket list.
3. If you had a time machine, would you choose to live in the past or the future?
4. What is your favorite movie of all time?
5. What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
6. What is one of your guilty pleasures?
7. Do you have any pets?
8. Tell us about one thing that really gets your goat.
9. Who would you invite to a celebrity dinner. List 5, dead or alive?
10. What is your most annoying bad habit?
11. Name your current favorite song playing on your playlist right now.

And here are my 11 nominees

Jan Sikes

Liz Gauffreau

Kevin Cooper

Jane Risdon

Annika Perry

Pete Springer

Becky Ross Michael

Jim Borden

Patricia Furstenberg

Barbara Ann Mojica

James J. Cudney

If you are reading this and would like to participate then please do and if you link back to me I will make sure to share your post. Thanks Sally.

About Mark Bierman

Born and raised on a farm near Brockville, Ontario, Mark Bierman’s childhood consisted of chores, riding horses, snowmobile races across open fields, fishing trips to a local lake, and many other outdoor adventures. He was also an avid reader of both fiction and non.

Transitioning towards adulthood also meant moving from the farm and into large urban areas that introduced this “country boy” to life in the big cities.

After a short stint as a private investigator, he moved into the role of Correctional Officer, working at both Millhaven Institution and Kingston Penitentiary, until it closed.

Find out more about Mark’s novel Vanished and read the reviews: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy the week ahead.  thanks Sally.