The Liebster Award.

I was chosen for an award! I have curiously see other people get blog awards, but I never thought I could get one! Thankfully, Sami’s Colourfulworld discovered me and has been commenting once in a while.

She has awarded me the

LIEBSTER AWARD.

The Liebster award (“Liebster” is the German word for dear, sweet, darling, beloved) originated in Germany.

The aim of the award is to bring more attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers, that people think deserve some additional attention.

These are the rules in accepting this award.
1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the Internet – other writers.
5. And best of all – have fun and spread the karma!
6. Right click on the award image and save it to your hard-drive and then upload it to your blog.
Don’t forget to add it to your sidebar….
The hardest step is finding 5 bloggers to recognize with less than 200 followers. To narrow the field, I decided to honor other expats or “foreign”/non-American bloggers.

So here they are!

1. Vibrant Serenity: Denmark

2. Vanisha’s Life in Fiji: Fiji

3.

3. Mads and Kelli: Denmark

4. Living Life on the Road Less Traveled: Brazil

5. Misadventures in Craft: United Kingdom

Give them and Sami some “blog love”!

P.S.- Blogger is acting weird, so my apologies for the strange things in the post.

Song of the Post: Ace in the Hole by George Strait in Tucson! Long intro, song starts at the 1:45 minute mark.

Are you a Wisher and a Hoper?

Many people are wishers and hopers. That is what keeps them going. They have something to strive for, to look forward to. Dreams can be motivating and are healthy to have. Developing ideas and having hope for its outcome keeps you going, even when things looks bleak. It keeps you creative and positive. 

Me? I try not to be a very big dreamer. Is that weird? 

My "Godfather," Lorraine Schilling.

Little dreamer.

I knew how to "work it" even then.

I purposefully choose not to get too excited about things before they come to fruition. 

I dreamed of this day for a long time.

Student of the Year in 5th Grade!

I have been this way since I was a child. My mother LOVES to tell the story of when she excitedly told me she had a gift for me and I, in a monotone voice, said “Get it.” 

I had learned that some of her presents could be math workbooks or used socks (not really!) and had chosen to not get excited. 

For me, the proof has always been in the pudding.

Climbing my first "Fourteener" with my dad and cousin.

Undergraduate graduation.

 

I have seen this same dynamic in myself many times as an adult- I learn about an opportunity and work for it, but I don’t let my thoughts run away into dreamland. I always find that I get disappointed and if not, I’m happily surprised. 

I think that I have developed this mechanism as a way to protect myself against my propensity towards depression and anxiety. Sometimes I can feel my disappointment very acutely.

And, it’s worked for me, for the most part. 

The hubby: Probably trying to dig to China!

But sometimes people think I’m a “wet blanket.” I am constantly warning my husband against getting too excited about something, and he is constantly encouraging me to think “BIG.” I think that is one way that we balance each other out. 

Who thought of moving to Africa? He did. Am I glad he did? Of course!

I think many of my bigger steps in life have been prompted by others to dream to hope, to wish for better. Their support has been invaluable.

Me in South Africa. Spot the doggie behind me?

I hope that dreaming can come more easily to me one day. I want to teach our (future) children to “reach for the stars” and to work hard to achieve their dreams. 

So, are you a wisher and a hoper?

Song of the Post: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. 

This brings me back to a certain bachelorette party in NYC!

Monthaversary Six: Starting to feel more settled.

Spring is coming soon… maybe the rainy days will go away. 

Just yesterday with the wind blowing through my hair, I smiled to myself, enjoying my life here in Cape Town. If only we had more money to really enjoy it! 

This month has seen us really settle into our new, tiny place, and figure out our new schedule/pattern. Living father away from the hubby’s job means that he cannot walk to and from it anymore. So we do a mixture of things: Sometimes I drop him off and pick him up on rainy/foggy days; sometimes he rides his bicycle back and forth. The final option is that I drop him off and he runs home!

Found this little guy outside our bedroom window.

School holidays are over, so the neighbor kid is at his boarding school Monday through Friday. We feel so much more relaxed without him popping out of nowhere to talk to us. I really don’t want to sound like a mean old ogre…!

We visited West Coast National Park a few weekends ago- it was flower season and so beautiful. I’ll post about it soon.

Furry little guy!

Now that we have opened up all of our boxes, I have baking pans! I’ve tried to make a few things, with varying degrees of success due to the oven here.  The potato and butternut squash casserole I made was still pretty runny, even after extending the baking time 30 minutes! The brownies I baked were too soft and I had to scoop them out of the pan. The oven is mostly fixed, so the lemon poppy seed muffins I made came out better with only 5 minutes overage. I really want to get into baking more. I’m a little wary of crusts and doughs with yeast. My other problemmo is that I don’t have a mixer, so that has limited some of my choices as well.

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I’m participating in a beading workshop with Beloved Beadwork and am quite liking it. I have dabbled in the past with bead weaving, but I’m really into it now. I’ve made a few cabochons using some tiger eye faceted beads that I had. I’ll post pictures of my work soon, but here are some inspiration pieces for you to look at.

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I’ve been thinking that I might stop the “monthaverary” posts. I’m ambivalent about it. I guess I like it but I don’t t know if I have enough things to talk about. Will “Highs and Lows” satisfy? 

What do you think?

Song of the Day: Catalyst by Anna Nalick.