What a shock!  I was nominated for a Sunshine Blogger Award.  This came as a complete surprise. I was nominated by the wildly entertaining Karlie from Wandering Nobody.  I’m reviewing and writing this from the dismal Air France lounge at O’Hare as I wait to board my EVA flight to Singapore (via TPE, of course).  A little prosscco should get the creative juices flowing.

Head on over to Wandering Nobody and see what Karlie is up to!  Send her my love once you are there too!

The Sunshine Blogger Award is about recognizing bloggers for being positive, inspiring, and creative. I feel quite fortunate to be a part of this community!!

What are the rules of the Sunshine Blogger Award?

Thank the blogger who nominated you and link their blog so others can find them.
Answer the 11 questions which the blogger who nominated you asked.
Nominate 11 bloggers and ask them 11 different questions
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog site.

The Questions:

Let’s take a look at the questions that were posed to me, shall we?

What is the weirdest food you have tried? I love food and I love trying new things, but I struggled with coming up with the weirdest food, then it hit me: CUY!  Guinea Pig is quite the delicacy in Peru, so we had to try it.  No, it didn’t taste like chicken. The cuy tasted just like the herbs it was cooked in.  It did remind me of chicken wings though — a lot of work for not much meat.  Seems like I’m a lazy eater.

What is one thing you have been surprised with (good or bad) since getting into blogging?  Great question!  I think I’m most surprised when I get an comment or an email about a blog post.  I know that’s the whole point of this gig, right? Being creative and engaging with the audience.  It still boggles my mind that people actually read my ramblings and offer comments, jokes and support.  I don’t really get many (any?) trolls or jerks.

What is the worst experience traveling you have had?  Back to the trip to Peru and Bolivia for this one again.  After a bout of food poisoning near Machu Picchu, I was stricken with crippling altitude sickness in La Paz.  I was never so happy to be back at Sea Level in my life.  I lost 12 pounds in two weeks on that trip.  Sometimes I think about going back, just for the weight loss option!

What is the best experience traveling you have had? I think my favorite experiences are when I’m traveling in a land and I can (attempt) to speak the local language – AND most importantly have a proper conversation.  I’ve studied Spanish, German and French and am not fluent in any of those, but I’ve got enough skills (skillz?) to conduct a bit of business in each of them (food, directions, hotels, booze).  It is so rewarding to see your hard work pay off.  You also get so much more from a trip if you can understand the local language, history and culture.

If you could be any bird, which bird would you be and why?  Well, I wasn’t expecting this question.  I’d say, I’d like to be an ostrich.  While I do love to fly, I don’t think I’d like to do it under my own power.  They are fast runners, strong and seem to have a unique personality.  Plus, I’d like to be a tasty bird, and ostrich wellington is fabulous.

What is your favorite topic to write about and why?  Above all my favorite topics are the ones that encourage people to step outside of their comfort zones, try something new and learn from their mistakes.  If we don’t push ourselves, we won’t ever improve.

If you could quit whatever is bringing in money right now and do anything and be compensated enough to live quite well, what would you do?  Above all, I would love to run a small inn in wine country.  Just a few rooms, we’d serve breakfast daily and have a very limited lunch menu and some great cocktails and snacks.  We’d host local chefs every few weeks to really showcase the place we live.

What is your favorite mantra to live by?  I wouldn’t necessarily call it a mantra, but the thing I try to remember in everything I do is “The days are long but the years are short.” This helps me keep the finiteness of life in perspective and helps me not get caught up in the minutiae of the day.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? What is your favorite and least favorite trait of whichever you are? First of all, am an introvert, which surprises many people. I put on an extrovert mask frequently so people think that just who I am. It does drain me though, so I need quiet, alone time to recharge my batteries. Writing helps me recharge. My least favorite part is that I find it quite easy to just not do anything – I need to really push myself to get out of my head and a rut. My favorite part is that I’ve found a way to push me into being an extrovert, but it sure it taxing.

When you were a kid, what did you want to do when you “grew up?” I wanted to be a pilot! Wearing a cool uniform and traveling the world was my dram.  I travel the world, but am not a pilot nor do I have a cool uniform.

You can only choose one food and one drink for the next year – what would it be?
If it was just one piece of food, I’d say a garden fresh tomato. If it was one type of food, it would be sushi. As for a drink, that’s a tough one. The thing I drink most is water (I’m not a soda guy – I’m caffeine free), but I have to have a big glass of orange juice every day, but the one drink would have to be a proper Pinot Noir, either from France or Oregon.

My Nominations

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it (and stepping back to think about it!).  Thank you Karlie for nominating me for this fun exercise.  Here are my 11 nominations:

1. The Wandering Broski
2. Travelux
3. The Wardrobe
4. Dining with Frankie
5. QUIRROW
6. Welcome to our Campfire
7. Mainly Miles
8. Carol Jean’s Capers
9. Here Comes the Planet
10. Ryan Travels and Eats
11. The Voyageer

And now, the exciting part – the 11 questions for you all.  Remember, this is supposed to be fun, so have fun with it!

1. What is your favorite type of post to write?
2. How do you deal with trolls or other toxic visitors to your blog?
3. If you could take four weeks away from your real life, where would you go and why?
4. What is your favorite meal to cook?
5. What goals do you set for your blog (number of posts, readers, hits)?
6. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten (in life, in blogging, anywhere)?
7. What is your favorite book?
8. If you had just two weeks of vacation, would you take one long trip or spread it out over the year?
9. You can have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you eat?
10. What’s the most rewarding part for you about blogging?
11. What is your biggest regret when it comes to your blog?

I’m looking forward to hearing from you all!  Go take a look at the sites I’ve nominated – I’m only nominating bloggers who are actively in my feed.  Enjoy!