Appreciation is a wonderful thing; it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well – Voltaire

Sometimes, blogging can be tough – especially when you first start out.   But, as with so many things, you largely get back what you put in.  We are all trying to make our own way in this life, but it´s all the sweeter to pause along that journey, from time to time, not only to appreciate the efforts of other people, but also to accept and be gracious in receiving recognition from others.

It´s their encouragement that keeps each one of us giving our best and striving to do even more.

Please scroll down for random facts, fabulous moments and mantras!

In December 2012, this blog was voted third most popular Expat Blog in Spain via ExpatsBlog.com

I have been featured as BLOGGER OF THE MONTH by EasyJet Holidays

Shortlisted for the BiB Awards 2014 (PHOTO Category) by Britmums

Silver Award in the FB Exposed Photographic Challenges B&W Curves Category MAY 2014

Gold Award in the FB Exposed Photographic Challenges At Work Category JUNE 2014

Nominated by Notes on a Spanish Valley

Nominated by Sonel´s Corner, Cee’s Photography and SC Surf Butler

Awarding the people who live in the moment,
The noble who write and capture the best in life,
The bold who reminded us what really mattered –
Savoring the experience of quality time.

Nominated by restlessjo

Nominated by The Sophomore Slump and A Novel Spain 

Nominated by Algarve Blog , Loethen Art Designs,

Crazy Train To Tinky Town , 

Chronicles of Illusions, Inside the mind of Isadora,

The Palladian Traveler,  and The Sophomore Slump

 Nominated by For Your Good Health and The World is a Book

Nominated by Loethen Art Designs

 Nominated by Travels with Toby and A Foot in Two Campos

Nominated by Eat, Travel, Photograph and Cee’s Photography

  Nominated by  Crazy Train to Tinky Town and Good Talks with Yen-Yen

Nominated by My Sardinian Life

Nominated by Canadian Travelbugs

Nominated by  PraguebyKaty

Nominated by Deliberately Delicious  and  Barsetshire Diaries

Nominated by Picture Perfect Memories for Life and Expat Eye on Latvia

Wonderful Team Member Readership Award – nominated by  Dream Big, Live Large!

Nominated by  Chasing Butterflies: Sunshine and Freedom

Nominated by Lantern Post and  The Travelbunny

Nominated by How the Cookie Crumbles , The World is a Book

and The Retiring Sort

I can´t always find the time to comply with the rules that accompany each of the nominations for Awards, but I hope that in the spirit of encouraging my fellow bloggers,  you will accept this as my thanks for the many generous awards and comments you have shared with me.

I am truly grateful.

So, in the time-honoured tradition, here are some random facts about me:

Some things I love: roller-coasters (the faster the better), pub quizzes, cars, floating in a swimming pool after dark watching the stars, cooking with fresh ingredients, fountain pens, motorbikes, cilantro, walking barefoot on the beach, fairy lights, classic rock music, fresh flowers, Random Acts of Kindness, handwritten letters, driving fast, baby animals, Greek yoghurt and freshly-laundered sheets on my bed.

And other things I dislike: arrogance, tomatoes, bad weather, spiders, cheap shoes, racism, gin, having cold hands, climbing ladders, bullies, clowns and blue cheese.

Some FABULOUS moments in my life:

I´ve done many amazing things but a few that stand out are:

Swimming with dolphins on the island of  Curacao in the Caribbean

Sailing along the length of Doubtful Sound in New Zealand

Cuddling a tiger in Thailand

Teaching English as a volunteer in Cambodia

Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia

Riding on the  Star ferry across Hong Kong harbour

Watching a geyser erupt in Iceland.  

Marvelling at the sheer grandeur of the Grand Canyon

Riding elephants in Thailand

Drinking a Singapore Sling in the Raffles Hotel, Singapore

Gazing at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel inside the Vatican in Rome.

My mantras:

BLONDE – It´s a hair colour NOT a personality trait!

Every woman dies, but not every woman truly lives.

As far as nominating other bloggers for Awards, I am more than happy to provide links to other blogs not only on this page, but also on an on-going basis, through the CBBH PHOTO CHALLENGE each month.

I introduced the CBBH Challenge as a good way of introducing new blogs to each other, (a kind of “Blog Cocktail Party”, if you like), with the chance to comment and follow, but without the necessity of having to rack your brains each week to think of “25 things to do with a Custard Creme”; “what piece of advice I would retrospectively give to my teenage self”; “which celebrity I have a crush on” or “why I think I´m on this Earth”.  (No disrespect intended to any awards/tags that demand answers to such questions)!

Thank You Image from Flickr CC: woodleywonderworks