Awarded again: The Sunshine Award

In my previous post, I thanked Asha for giving me The Booker Award. Now, I would like to send my gratitude to Lottie Eve for thinking that I deserve the Sunshine Blogger Award. I don’t know how I got this though I hope that optimism isn’t one of the criteria for nominating. Sometimes I am too negative that my friends tease me of being a giant, vertical minus sign.

Lottie, thank you very much for continuously following my blog and reading my posts, especially the reviews. For the benefit of others, Lottie is a fellow bookworm and novice book reviewer. I find her blog too cute, pretty, and feminine. If you want to check out her opinions regarding a particular book, head to her site at Book Adoration.

Now to accept the award, of course there are the rules to follow.

 

Sunshine Blogger Award Rules

1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 5 things about yourself.
4. Pass the award to 6 other bloggers and link to one of their specific posts so that they get notified by ping back.

I love receiving awards and nominations, but I sometimes dread answering facts about myself. I know my life is an open book, but sometimes I find questions like those hard to answer. Perhaps I don’t know myself well? Moving on, let’s hear (read?) five things about me.

1. I admire women (and especially men!) who can raise their eyebrows. I don’t mean the duo eyebrow raising. I am referring to the one-sided, slanting of an eyebrow. It looks intimidating in a way and how I wish I could do that. But no, I cannot do it. So instead of raising mine, I pull them towards each other and try to frighten others with my frown.

2. Another thing I cannot do is whistling. Yes, I cannot do that. Whenever I tried, it sounds like a whistling kettle overused for more than a century.

3. I once tried driving a motorcycle with my uncle present to guide me since I did not know how to operate it. We were in our village and I was balancing while moving slowly. Suddenly, I was approaching a dead end! I panicked and tightly gripped the accelerator. I thought it was my end. I hit the wall, but my uncle caught the end of the motorcycle in time to lessen the impact. Thankfully, I was wearing safety gears.

4. If I see a typographical error, I always check the places of the letters in the keyboard. If they are near, I can accept it as an error. Otherwise, I will force myself not to advise the person concern to watch his/her spelling.

5. I cannot write in cursive. Actually, I can. But not legibly. I am sensitive to others and would not like to hurt their eyes whenever they read my writing. It is too ugly and incomprehensible at times that even I cannot understand what I have written.

The Nominees

LA

Nicole

Jennie

Emma Snow

Alesia

Sakthi

Congratulations! I hope you guys continue to shine in the blogosphere Thanks Lottie for this opportunity to share this award with deserving people. Let me show my appreciation to you by my current Etsy giveaway as well as other giveaways found in my Giveaways tab. Enjoy participating!

The Booker Award

As promised, I will have my blog award appreciation posts up this month. For this day, I would like to highlight one major award given to me last December 22 by Asha Seth.

Thank you Asha for such a wonderful blog award. I have received many, but this is the first time I got a book related award. I hope that I will be able to continue blogging about books and my experience in reading them.

Now, for the award. The {Booker}Award is a prize for literary and book-centered blogs. And I take this opportunity to nominate all those adorable book blogs that like mine are about nothing but books!

The {Booker}Award is for book blogs only! The deserving blogs must be at least 50% about books, reading, book-reviewing etc.

Rules:

On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share with readers your top five favorite books you have read in your life so far.

On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share with readers your most favorite author/writer. Possibly, also the reason why you like their literary work.

I love how these authors made me love reading. With their writings, they were able to make me experience life in magical, godly, historical, and mortal worlds.

On being awarded with The {Booker}Award, you must share with readers your favorite genres.

(This is self-invented) Why are books SPECIAL in your life? This is optional and you don’t really have to answer it. But would love to know your reasons nonetheless.

You must give this award to five or ten or any number of other lucky book blogs that you adore.

And least importantly, show-off the award on your site and link it back to me.

My answers:

Five favorite books

Harry Potter series

The Great Gatsby

The Alchemist

The Five People You Met in Heaven

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Favorite authors

Mitch Albom

JK Rowling

Julia Quinn

Rick Riordan

Favorite genres

Historical fiction

Young Adult

Historical Romance

Mystery

Why are books special in your life?

Books are special to my life because like air and water, they are essential for my existence.

My nominees

Rebecca

Ste J

Lottie Eve

Picture Me Reading

Sheri de Grom

Zen

Sarah

Letizia

Sam

Congratulations fellow bookworms!

Thank you everyone for supporting me to continue this blog. As gifts to you, kindly join my ongoing Etsy giveaway as well as other promos found in my Giveaways page.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

I am two months away from my first blog anniversary and I am very happy to see a lot of improvement since I started. I have gained almost 2000 followers, almost 3000 comments, and more than 1000 likes. I have written more than a hundred posts, too. But most importantly, I have met and talked with different people with varied interests and hobbies. They are from anywhere in the world where communication satellites exist. They inspire me with their words of encouragement and I will be always grateful to them.

But how can I express my gratitude to these wonderful people? Some of them have given me blog awards, but due to my hectic schedule and laziness, they are sitting in my backlogs for ages. I am sorry. I know it is impolite not to answer these recognitions, and I hope you guys can forgive me.

On a lighter note, someone nominated me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. To let you know how lazy I was, this award was given to me even before the Yuletide Season. She was very nice to me and even sent me a private email. Sheri De Grom, you are so sweet and kind! Just to give you a brief background, Sheri is a writer. She writes women’s fiction as well as book reviews.  You may check out her beautiful and well-written site here.

 

Now for the acceptance of the award, I have to answer her questions.

My favorite color – Powder Blue. But others think it is pink or purple.

My favorite animal – Dogs.

My favorite non-alcoholic drink – Hot green tea.

Facebook or Twitter – Twitter @enchantressnica

Do you prefer getting or giving presents? Both.

Favorite Day of the week – Friday.

My favorite flower – Red tulips.

My passion –  reading, writing, doing volunteer work, advocating youth development, and discussing political and social issues.

Now for my nominees. Since this is a sisterhood award, I’m sorry guys but I have to choose only gals this time. J These people are those who I have communicated a lot. I have enjoyed their sites and writings, too.

Naznin. I am very grateful to meet a blessed soul. Naz is an uber-sweet, thoughtful, and caring person. I can’t imagine blogging without her. She is a very supportive friend, too!

The Meeping Koala. She is a Potterhead like me. When she graduated from HP, she read books I also loved and appreciated.

Steph. She is one lovely soul who writes book reviews, too. She has a lot of energy and I am honored to be her surrogate sister.

Jade Herrera. A fellow Filipina, I see in her someone who has a spirit for a person her age. I love her fashion posts and passion for anything Korean

Oegukeen. She is the other-half of their site, Loving Korean. I am happy to meet someone who was destined to be with a very nice Korean man. I learned a lot about understanding Korean men and their culture from their site.

Wordsurfer. She is a very sweet person who has varied interests in life like me. She likes traveling, reading, writing, learning, talking, sitting in the sun, and watching the clouds.

Jae. She’s also known as that “pestering” colleague who persuaded me to create this blog. She’s like my older sister in the company and this award is very appropriate to her.

Micah. She is another colleague and friend in my company. I love sharing book and reading ideas with her. Like Jae, she’s like my sister. If you are wondering about the ordinal number, she’s the second and well, I’m the youngest. J

Kitt Crescendo. I love chatting with her and talking about her time here in my country. Even if she is in a foreign land now, she doesn’t forget the Philippines.

Shruti. She writes about varied topics and I love reading her refreshing posts. I am honored to be assigned as a godmother of her baby – the blog.

Zunaira. My friends know I am a simple girl. Others were even worried thinking that I am a tomboy. When I saw her blog, I was impressed. She likes giving tips and reviews of different cosmetic products and I am glad to follow her and try.

Grandma Chris. She is a very wonderful person to be in the blogging world. She gives me golden nuggets of wisdom and I cannot forget her opinion in having a boyfriend.

Nanna Prawn. She is one of those people who have supported me since the beginning. She never gets tired of chatting with me about tea. Yes, she is a tea addict, too! How I wish I could taste some from T2…

Luchessa. I love reading her product reviews. She’s another beauty blogger who have inspired me to be confident to try beauty enhancements – make up.

Mari Anjeli. Another fellow Filipino who is now based in Malaysia. I am glad to meet her in WordPress.

This seems to be a lengthy list, but they are all wonderful sisters to me. I am happy to have found them here and I hope that we will continue to have our beautiful relationship with each other. Anyway, enough sentimentality. Beauties, here are my ten questions for you.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

 If you could meet one person who has died who would you choose?

Nightly owl or early bird?

Bare or with make up?

Coffee or tea?

Forest or beach?

Shoes or sandals?

Favorite place to travel.

One food you could never eat.

Favorite smell.

Rules to Follow:

• Acknowledge the person who passed the award to you and provide their link.
• Include the award logo on your blog.
• Answer the ten questions I posted above.
• Nominate blogs and link those you have especially enjoyed reading. The number you can select is up to you.
• Notify each individual that you have nominated them.

There you go. Thanks again to Sheri for being such a nice sister. I am happy to receive this award and have this as my first blog award post for 2013. I think I have 5 or 6 more awards to receive so please bear with me. I really appreciate your recognition and glad to accept them.

Thank you everyone for continuously reading my posts. I have something special for all of you and it will be out next week so please stay tuned. For the mean time, please try your luck by joining my giveaways listed in the Giveaways tab of my site. You may win 2 Kindle Fires, Amazon GC, Paypal cash, and some books.

Blog of the Year 2012 – 2 stars!

Merry Christmas, everyone! To celebrate the spirit of this Yuletide season, I think it is the perfect time to have this acceptance post for a blog award I received almost a month ago from Rahul. Then a few days ago, I received another nomination with the same title from Kit.

There are rules for receiving this award, and they are:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/   and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

Yes – that’s right – there are stars to collect!

Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different!

When you begin you will receive the ‘1 star’ award – and every time you are given the award by another blog – you can add another star!

There are total of 6 stars to collect.

Which means that you can check out your favorite blogs – and even if they have already been given the award by someone else – you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!

For more information, check out the FAQ on The Thought Palette.

I believe that Christmas is the season of loving and giving, and so I am very happy to share this award to a few people who I believe are very deserving. The rules do not require an explanation for the award, but I would like to say something for those people I have chosen. Without further ado, here they are:

Heather. She’s someone who has accomplished not one, but three Nano novels. Isn’t that exceptional? Sure, someone can easily write a story, but doing that under time pressure makes it more difficult and challenging. I admire her for having the courage to continue joining such contest while maintaining her reading pace.

Steve. I think I first met him when he commented on my post “Are you blind, too?”. I don’t wan to highlight this, but his eye condition did not hinder him from exploring the world though books, and I was deeply inspired by his passion for reading.

Marc. I was surprised by this person who took his time in contacting me personally to read his book. I was overwhelmed, too! It is not everyday that a published author sends me an email, you know. I haven’t read his book, but the blurb is very promising. I very much want to read the novel written by someone so humble. He is someone I want to be when I grow up, even though I won’t gain a few more inches, I’m afraid. Writing isn’t about earning money, though it seems a great benefit from it. Instead, it’s about the passion and expression of thoughts and ideas.

Juanita. People have used many adjectives to describe me, but creative was rarely used. My brain is very active and healthy when it comes to creating fiction and poems, but my creative juices are always absent when it comes to handmade things. But Juanita isn’t like that. She’s someone who can create some thing as small as earrings and as huge as sweaters and dresses! It may not sound surprising for others, but I never relished the idea of me doing womanly tasks, so seeing someone so accomplished always leave me awed.

Rebecca. She’s a book lover like me. I am inspired by her book reviews that I started creating my own. She is so friendly and a frequent visitor in my site. I am very happy to meet a fellow bookworm through this platform.

Jae. She is the person to be blamed for this monstrosity called my blog. Seven months ago, she “pestered” me and insisted on creating a blog for myself. She persuaded me that I need an outlet to express my irrational thoughts and realist point of views. I agreed and this site was created. Wait, so why does she deserve this award? Aside from our hectic work schedule, she fits her physical training, reading, writing, and wedding planning in her spare time. I know we women are all multi-tasker, but really, can we juggle all those mentioned everyday?

Micah. If Jae cannot understand some character’s quotes sprouting from my mouth, then I cannot follow Micah’s list of authors. I know I am a wide reader, but I am nothing compared to her. How I wish I have read more classics during my school years! She inspires me to go back to the classics at the same time revisiting my old taste for mysteries and murder novels.

Wontaek. He is a Korean, but his English is passable. Even with the language barrier, he created a WordPress account to catch up with me. He may not be that eloquent in his posts, but I admire his courage in plunging in the world of writing and expressing one’s thoughts.

These people are deserving in their own right to receive The 2012 Blog Award. I am very happy to give them one bright star for their achievement in the blogging world. May the continue to inspire others and keep on shining for the next coming years.

I would like to take this opportunity to continuously thank everyone who has been nice to me since I started this site. Until now, I am surprised to see people welcoming me with arms wide open. To  my followers who are forever receiving such nonsense posts from me, to my visitors who reblog my posts, to commenters who spark conversations from something I said, I sincerely thank each and everyone of you for supporting me until now. The year is about to close and I can see myself looking back to this year with a smile and contentment in my face. Thank you!

And oh, stay tuned! I think I have more backlogs than ever. I have two more awards to receive, and I hope I can post them before the year ends!

 Ciao for now, folks. Let’s enjoy the remaining days of the holidays

A Very Inspiring Blog Award

Daryl of Here I Sit is kind enough as to nominate me in another award. Whoa! This is getting overwhelming; just last week I wrote about an acceptance post for Gargie and Liebster Awards. Now, another fellow blogger noticed me and my writing and I am so pleased to share this with you guys! Thank you very much Chaplain Densford for this recognition!

Now, for the rules in accepting this award:

1. Display the award logo on your blog

2. Link back to the person who nominated you.

3. State seven things about yourself.

4. Nominate fifteen other bloggers for this award and link to them.

5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.

Seven more facts about myself.

1. I love music. Even if music doesn’t love me back. I like listening to music a lot. I am not picky about the genre, but I cannot tolerate much rap. I am forever in love with classical music even though my friends tease me of being like an old person who lived way back before. I also enjoy some ballad, though currently I am for KPOP.

2. You cannot find pillows under my head when I sleep. I don’t like the feeling of my head inclined slightly from the bed. I have tried different kinds of pillows, and no matter how soft they are I still feel comfortable sleeping only on the mattress. However, I still use pillows. I like being surrounded with them – two on my sides, one for foot rest and another to hug. Huge pillows are like my teddy bears at night!

3. I read e-books, too. My love for books continues to grow. Before, I only read hard copies, but recently I became acquainted with digital versions and they seem fine. However, I do not have a trusty e-reader yet so I read using my netbook and 4-inch smartphone.

4. As an Asian, my staple food isn’t rice. I prefer bread, and sometimes pasta. I remember when I was younger that I always vomit after eating rice, especially early in the morning. My family isn’t like other Filipinos; we do not serve rice meals for breakfast. Instead, we have the usual continental breakfast – pastries, some meat, cereals, cheese, tea, milk, and orange juice. My favorite breakfasts are bacon with egg and cheese sandwich and French toast.

5. I recently had a horrendous experience in a hair salon. I wanted to change my hairstyle, but didn’t bargain for a drastic transformation. My salon-straight, hip-level hair became shoulder-length, straightly chopped, curly locks.

6. Medicine tablets and capsules are my frenemies. When I was a child, I always cried when I needed to drink medicine. Syrups are tolerable, but I felt like an impending doom was coming whenever Mom or our Pedia approached me with this serious, don’t-mess-with-me face. I couldn’t drink tablets and they always ended up being melted in my tongue. The taste was so dreadful that I always spit it out. Of course, the adults wouldn’t like it so my mom devised a way – burying the tablet in a banana. When I swallow a slice of the fruit, the tablet would be included there and I won’t be able to experience its bitter taste.

7. Dogs are my favorite animals. I grew up with those pretty creatures and got attached with their kind. I love being with our dogs, but you won’t see me playing brave and petting others’. I even cried when they died. Currently, we only have one dog and I am patiently waiting for my colleague to offer a puppy for adoption.

Of course, selecting fifteen wonderful people is never easy. I have a lot of blogger friends who are very good in their own craft. This time, I will select those fifteen who are the epitome of this award. These inspiring people are:

http://lalovelystories.wordpress.com/

http://bookmust.wordpress.com/

http://ahechoes.wordpress.com/

http://thebookshelfgargoyle.wordpress.com/

http://www.juanitatortilla.com/

http://ronawrites.wordpress.com/

http://loveatfirstbook.com/

http://edgeofjade.wordpress.com/

http://polishalcoholic.wordpress.com/

http://emzsnow.wordpress.com/

http://savorthefood.wordpress.com/

http://myhappydance.wordpress.com/

http://themeepingkoala.wordpress.com/

http://crestingthewords.wordpress.com/

http://zenscribbles.wordpress.com/

Yes, two more! The Gargie and Liebster Awards

It’s been a month I guess, and it is past due for me to acknowledge those people who had been so nice as to stay with me in this path I chose called blogging. Allow me to thank each and every one of you who keep on coming here and reading my random and crazy thoughts about almost anything. Others are even sweet to be my friends in this virtual world, and even some manage to contact me personally and have a chat! Just this morning, I received an email inquiring about my welfare because my country was featured in the news to be badly hit by a typhoon. I was very touched when I read that!

Steve from StetotheJ was so nice as to give me not only one, but two awards! Steve, thank you for noticing my blog and continuing to support me all the way. You weren’t even discouraged to share your thoughts when I ranted about how a hairstylist murdered my hair two weeks ago. Thank you and I hope we can stay as blogger friends here in WordPress.

Now, for the good thing. I am sharing this award to some fellow bloggers who I believe have shown exemplary way of writing and getting readers’ attention. There are a ton of great writers out there and it is difficult to choose nominees for these awards, but I must still try to give you those who are worthy.

The Gargie Award is the most prestigious award in gargoyledom, according to thebookshelfgargoyle. Should you wish to know more about the history of this award, you may go to the link above.

The rules in receiving this award are:

1. Display the award badge prominently  on your site….if you want.

2. Publish a post to inform the world of your great achievement…..unless you can’t be bothered.

3. Nominate some fellow bloggers (who have been outstanding in their field…figuratively or literally)….if you feel inclined.

4. Indicate to your nominees that they have received the award….provided you have completed step three.

 

As for the Liebster award, I have received this before as my first ever blogging award, and the rules are:

1. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer. The questions I set can be found in my original Liebster award post.

2. Choose 11 bloggers and link them in your post.

3. Go to their page and tell them.

Without further ado, here are the bloggers who I feel worthy for the Gargie and Liebster Awards:

http://passionwriting.wordpress.com/

http://theinnerwildkat.wordpress.com/

http://nazninazeez.wordpress.com/

http://nmnphx.wordpress.com/

http://suilanleefiction.wordpress.com/

http://myindividualinsights.wordpress.com/

http://theeclecticeccentricshopaholic.wordpress.com/

http://grndmachris.wordpress.com/

http://twentysomethinggirls.wordpress.com/

http://dyslexicwhisperer.wordpress.com/

http://endlessmusingsbykb.wordpress.com/

http://rsativus.wordpress.com/

http://crestingthewords.wordpress.com/

http://bookofstupidity.wordpress.com/

http://christiestratos.com/

http://boudicabooks.org/

Congratulations! I think I still have two or three awards received in the previous month and those who were not selected here might see their names and sites in the posts to come. Thank you, my lovely readers, and let’s continue to write and rock the blogging world!

P. S. As for celebration, I would like that The Drought by Steven Scaffardi is FREE in Smashwords until December 13. Just head over this link to read my reviews and be directed to Smashwords and get the promo code.

Related posts:

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/my-first-award-liebster-blog-award/

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/my-second-super-sweet-blogging-award/

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/thanks-for-the-recognition-beautiful-blogger-award/

Thanks for the recognition! Beautiful Blogger Award

Last weekend, I was surprised to see a blog award nomination from a fellow blogger Literature and Culture. I am not sure if I am really worthy for this award, but I would gladly accept it nonetheless. Along with my Liebster and Super Sweet Blogging Awards, this Beautiful Blogger Award will surely inspire me to write more. Thank you very much!

Now, in accepting the award there are rules which I must follow. They are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you.

Thanks a ton to Maarit-Johanna of Literature and Culture for choosing me as one of the nominees! I don’t know that my blog is that noticeable, but I appreciate your time to stop in my site once in a while. I have received your notification of the award in my “art piece” post, and I hope you have loved to see that I have chosen The School of Athens by Raphael. Again, thank you!

2. Post the award image to your page.

Done!

3. Tell 7 facts about yourself.

• I am myopic and wear eyeglasses since I was second year in high school. I don’t like others calling me a geek with those huge spectacles so I don’t wear it always. As a result, one can always find me squinting just to read something from afar. Or worse, others think I am a snob because I don’t smile or wave back when they do. I’m not. I just didn’t see them.
• I have a natural wavy hair, but think that I look like Medusa with it. So since I was 16, I always wear my salon-straight hair.
• I love eating. A lot. It’s like my pastime. I have this “jaw exercise” where I want to munch something most of the time. However, I am not heavy. Since I was born, I was always in the underweight category. I am a bit grateful now that I gained weight and is nearing “normal”.
• A cup of tea really makes me happy. I am a tea person who always goes to coffee shop to order tea. Seriously. In my country, there are only few tea shops which offer “real” tea. Iced milk tea is okay, but I daresay that it is not my cup of tea. Haha. My favorite is pure green tea, hot.
• International Relations is my major. I graduated with that degree, though I am currently not practicing it. I think just like in any other country, one must take a very competitive exam in order to join Foreign Service. I believe I am not yet ready and will definitely fail the test, so I am still gathering up my courage. I plan to study again for a year or two, then take the test.
• My favorite color is blue. Light blue and powder blue. Yes, blue. Not pink or purple, though others think that I like the former the best.
• This is my first blog and sometimes I wonder where I get all these random ideas which get published in this site.

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers, and let them know about the nomination.

This is a bit tough. There are a lot of bloggers worthy of this award, so I’m sure listing 15 here won’t be enough. However, I must follow the rules. I’ll select fifteen beautiful bloggers, but please note that for me, everyone is a winner.

http://creativeflutters.wordpress.com/

http://crestingthewords.wordpress.com/

http://homeschoolhijinks.com/

http://lovingkorean.wordpress.com/

http://globalinfo4all.wordpress.com/

http://fashionablysaving.wordpress.com/

http://myindividualinsights.wordpress.com/

http://subhanzein.wordpress.com/

http://boobieslifeandluster.com/

http://readinginterrupted.com/

http://mirrorbeautysmua.wordpress.com/

http://karawillow.wordpress.com/

http://theinnerwildkat.wordpress.com/

http://curlupandread.wordpress.com/

http://readstuffwithme.wordpress.com/

Congratulations everyone!

My second: Super Sweet Blogging Award

Lately, I’ve been dormant in writing and posting entries in my blog as my social life is getting interesting. However, I am glad to know that even I was not so active these days, someone noticed my page and gave me my second award – The Super Sweet Blogging Award!

Many thanks to Scribbleofahappygoluckygal for giving me such a delectable honor of receiving this another blog award. I’m not sure how my posts can be sweet, but thanks anyway. I’d like to apologize though for responding to this award a week late.

Anyway, here are my answers to those tasty and mouth-watering cake-themed questions:

Cookies or Cakes?

Definitely cakes! I like Red Ribbon’s Chocolate Heaven and Choco Fudge Cake. Anything with lots of chocolate with them will really make my day.

Chocolate or Vanilla?

            Chocolate! Though sometimes I like to eat vanilla for a change.

 What is your fave sweet treat?

                My favorite sweets would be ice cream. Flavors would be: cookies and cream, chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio.

oh so yummy cookies and cream

rich and creamy pistachio

timeless choco ice cream

sweet strawberry!

When do you crave sweet things the most?

            I crave sweet things…any time! But I guess I like to indulge my sweet tooth whenever I feel sad or lonely, and if I want to study or focus on something. Well, studies show that these treats stimulate the brain’s pleasure pathway so we feel good whenever we eat them.

If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be?

                Hmm, this is a tough one. How about cookie?

yum-yum-yum

Now, I am going to nominate my baker’s dozen for this award:

http://backtothegroove.wordpress.com/

http://gorjaeous.wordpress.com/

http://acflory.wordpress.com/

http://faraazandaneesa.wordpress.com/

http://biochick.wordpress.com/

http://ellisnelson.com/

http://hikint.wordpress.com/

http://songofthewanderer.wordpress.com/

http://thesecretsofabookworm.wordpress.com/

http://kandrew2012.wordpress.com/

http://hangukyeongeuk.wordpress.com/

http://joey2jri.wordpress.com/

http://forevertwenty1.wordpress.com/

Stay sweet, folks! I am looking forward to read your answers

My First Award – Liebster Blog Award

I received an award!

After blogging about my useless and random thoughts, someone noticed my writing and nominated me for an award. Aneesa and Faraaz both nominated me for Liebster Blog Award. This award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

my very first award!

What is a Liebster?  It is a German word which means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

So what do we have to do to show our appreciation?

1. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
2. Choose 11 bloggers and link them in your post.
3. Go to their page and tell them.

Live. Explore. Learn. Remember. by Aneesa and Faraaz gave me these questions.

1. Favourite book to film adaptation?

My favorite book of all time is the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.

The magical world enticed me to read and finish the seven novels. When the stories were shown on the big screen with the characters that I had only imagined at first, came to life, I was really awed.

Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter and whose real age is only a year older than mine, was such an endearing little boy at that time. I felt like I grew up with the series and the film adaptations helped me visualize the scenes better.

2. What was your first job?

My first job was a part-timer in my university.

In my country, students are discouraged to have part-time jobs, especially during school days. So one summer after my freshman year, I tried to apply as a student marketing assistant in the Public Relations, Marketing, and Advertising Office of our school. Luckily, I was chosen. It was fun! I met a lot of people and learned early about work etiquette.

3. Who is your favourite author?

This is a tough question. I am a confessed bookaholic, and I have a couple of favorites. However, if I have to choose only one, I guess it would be Mitch Albom.

I was second year in high school when I first read his book, Tuesdays with Morrie. I was really moved with the story; I cried almost in every chapter. His writing is excellent that I feel like he was just talking and relaying the story personally to me instead of putting some ink in a paper. The story was full of lessons about life and how one can live it more in purpose. Unlike other authors, he was the one who directly touched my heart and made me feel bare and exposed with all his writings.

4. If you could travel anywhere in the world and money was no object, where would you go? Why?

Another difficult question. I love to travel and if I pass the Foreign Service Officer Examination in my country, I will be a diplomat and will be assigned to different countries. For this question, though, I think my answer will be Vienna, Austria.

After exploring all the 7, 107 islands (except for low tides) of the Philippines, I want to fly to Europe and travel around its countries. I will pick Austria first. Why? I am interested in knowing more about the historical country who played a part in the start of World War I. With its German name literally meaning Eastern Empire, I am charmed by the rich history the place holds and would like to visit it.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?

Eyes.

I like looking at someone else’s eyes. I guess the old adage of “The eyes are the windows to one’s soul” is true.

Here are some shots of a man with those charming, tantalizing eyes.

serious

closed eyes

sleepy

surprised

funny

irresistable

6. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I am still young and I think I don’t have much accomplishments to choose from, but I guess it would be finishing school with flying colors.

Since I started pre-school, I was always number one in class and the entire batch. It continued until I finished elementary school as valedictorian. Then I went to a special high school where my classmates were also valedictorians, salutatorians, and honorable mentions of other schools, and I had to compete more. I didn’t get it to top 10.

However, in university I started the first semester of my freshman year in the pilot class, and was in the dean’s list ever since. I maintained a scholarship and was the top in my major. I received various awards and graduated with latin honor, a cum laude.

7. If you had to live in a decade other than the current one, which would you choose?

I love historical romances and I think the reason is deep within me, I want to live in the eighteenth century.

I imagine myself wearing those layered court dresses (like of Marie Antoinette’s) while enjoying an afternoon tea party with my beau. Oh, how lovely!

8. Eating in a theater- nefarious behaviour or perfectly acceptable?

Acceptable.

Who wouldn’t want to eat popcorn while enjoying a good film?

9. Sailboat or cruise ship?

Sailboat.

It seems relaxing yet adventurous sport to sail on your own.

10. If you could go back, what advice would you give yourself in high school?

I would advise myself to read and pay more attention to history and current events as I will need it in the future. Especially if I am to become a diplomat.

11. What movie do you flat-out refuse to watch, no matter how good people say it is?

I am not sure for this one, but I guess there’s none. I am willing to try any movie, and if it turns out to be bad, I might stop watching in the middle.

There, I have answered the eleven questions. Now, it is my turn to nominate 11 bloggers and give them my questions. I don’t follow many blogs, and those that I follow mostly have more than 200 followers. However, I will still post seven of them here.

The nominees are:

http://backtothegroove.wordpress.com/

http://hangukyeongeuk.wordpress.com/

http://possibilitiesandperspectives.wordpress.com/

http://songofthewanderer.wordpress.com/

http://thegr8wall.wordpress.com/

http://ellisnelson.com/

http://politicsofthefuture.wordpress.com/

Here are my questions:

1. What is your favorite book series?
2. If you could star in any movie, what would the film and your character be?
3. If you are given one week to live, how will you spend it?
4. Blue or Purple?
5. What’s the most embarrassing thing you have done in school?
6. If you could write and publish a book, what will it be about?
7. Iphone or Android?
8. What is your favorite coffee shop and usual order there?
9. If you will be given one chance to change a historical event, what would it be?
10. Real books or eBooks?
11. What inspires you to write?

Thank you once again to Aneesa and Faraaz for giving me this lovely award!