Sunshine Blogger Award

I was so thrilled to be nominated by Sirius Sunshine State of Mind for the Sunshine blogger award. This award is awarded by bloggers to fellow bloggers who “are creative, positive and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community”. I must say I am honored! To me it’s a motivator to keep pushing forward with my blogging pursuits. This tells me that someone has been touched by what I have to share and has gained some more “sunshine” because of my writing. This is the goal! It’s been hard work, especially now that a darling baby boy demands most of my time and attention. Still, I have loved figuring out the blogging world these past months. So here’s a little more about the Sunshine Blogger Award…

Rules when Nominated

Thank the blogger who nominated you in your blog post and link back to his/her blog.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 new bloggers to receive the award and write them 11 questions.
List these rules and display the sunshine blogger award logo in your post and on your blog.

Thanks

So of course, I must thank Sirius Sunshine State of Mind for the nomination. Please, go check out this blog! It is all about finding yourself in life and is honest about both the ups and downs. I love that this award is a sort of rally for bloggers to support, encourage, and motivate each other.. so show your support and check out this blog 🙂

So here are the questions Sirius Sunshine asked me…

What was your inspiration for starting your blog? My focus for my blog has changed so much with time that it’s hard to pinpoint one specific inspiration. The title, however, is inspired by the time I spent in France as a teenager at 16 and 21 years old) and then living in French-speaking Canada for 18 months. I developed such a love for the French culture, people, and language. There were some specific things about French lifestyle that I really wanted to emulate, so I initially started this blog as a way to share my experience trying to live a French lifestyle in America. 🙂
What is your favorite hobby and why? I love most things that involve the outdoors and will almost always choose being outside over being inside. It’s hard to choose one, but I think camping has to be my favorite. I think because it can include so many other outdoor activities at the same time. 🙂
Who has had the most influence in your life and why? This is a hard one! It sounds cliche, but I probably have to ssa my mom! My mom is the reason I am here. She sacrificed so much bringing me into the world, teaching and leading me by example as a child, and has been loving, patient, and one of my best friends my entire life. I have learned so much from her faith-filled experiences and her relationship with God. Words can’t begin to describe the influence a mother has on her child.
Why did you choose your niche? I started blogging because I wanted to share my thoughts on things that are important to me. You’ll find that I’m still refining my niche, but I focus mostly on wellness-based topics because I want to help people build more balanced, happy lives with positive mental, physical, and emotionall health.
What have you always wanted to try but never found the courage to do? I have always wanted to go sky diving, but used the high price as an excuse not to. In reality, I’m also pretty terrified of actually doing it!
What is your favorite quote and how do you use it in your life? I’m not sure I have one favorite quote, but one phrase I love (I first saw it on a journal I had as a teenager) is “bloom where you’re planted”. I love this not only because I love plants, but for the perspective it gives me! It is a reminder to do all I can to grow and thrive in whatever situation I find myself in. I am planted where I am for a reason, so I may as well make the most and let myself “bloom”.
If you could choose one place to spend 30 days at where would it be and why? I think that I would choose France. There are many places I haven’t visited yet and would love to see, but my heart honestly longs to return to France! I want to spend my afternoons riding my bike past beautiful fields, endulge in fresh baguette at every meal, ad revel in the endless array of delicious cheeses after dinner. I would also love to immerse myself in the French language again and renew those abilities. There are so many things I love and admire about French lifestyle and I would love to learn more. There is also so much beauty to see, and I would love to spend time in the quant villages and studying art masterpieces. I would love to return to France!
Where do you see your blog being in one year? As a blogger, I see myself having a better routine for scheduling my blog and social media posts. I would like to have a clear niche and followers, a group of people who are striving for the same things and are motivated by my blogging.
Would you rather do laundry or dishes? Why? Laundry any day. Laundry doesn’t really bother me. I don’t mind doing the dishes for someone else, but for some reason doing them for myself is the worst!
If you could spend one day with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? Why? It’s hard to decide on one person, with so many amazing people it would be remarkable to meet, I’m sure. Honestly though, I think I’d choose to spend the day with one of my grandmas. My Grandma Shelley passed away when I was only 11, but I felt very close to her. I admire her so much for her love of life and the beautiful world and would love to talk with her and seek her wisdom now that I’m a bit older and I think I could appreciate it a lot more. My Grandma Burton passed away last year and it was quite unexpected. I would love for her to meet my sweet baby Peter. I know she would love him so much and be the sweetest great Grandma. I would also love to talk to her more about her life. There were so many amazing things that I didn’t learn until her funeral, and I wish I could hear her tell me about these things herself.
What is the best advice you can give to other bloggers? I think I would say to simply keep pushing forward and give it your all. My blog is still in the beginning stages, but it takes lots of devoted effort getting even to this point. Set goals and strive for them 🙂 Set a vision for what you want to accomplish through your blog.