What a great day! Today we saw the rare, elusive Seattle sunshine. We decided to make a break for it and head up to the tulip festival. Every year northwest Washington explodes with color as the tulips bloom. We had a great family day, and had fun seeing the beautiful stripes of color as David splashed in the mud—he was in Heaven!
When I got home I found out that I had made the honorable mention list on The Vegan Woman’s top vegan blogs. What an honor to be part of such a great list!
As I scanned further down my facebook feed I saw that Steffi DeRobertis, a fellow Seattle vegan blogger (Don’t Fear the Vegan) had passed the Liebster award to me. Thank you Steffi! The Liebster Award is kind of like a chain letter, a blogger to blogger award where you nominate other bloggers. It’s a blogger’s way of saying “You’re one of my favorites! Good job!” (Liebster is German for “favorite”) There are no judges and no rules. There is no website with an official team to congratulate you. It’s mostly what you want it to be. If you receive the award, you can 1) accept it and 2) pass it along. It’s that easy.
What to do for the Liebster Award:
• Post 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions made by the person who nominated you
• Create 11 questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.
• Choose 11 bloggers to pass the award to and mention them in your post.
• Go to their blogs and let them know that they have been nominated
• No tag backs.
Random Facts About Me
1. I sang in a barbershop quartet in high school. I was the “bass” in our group (all women)
2. Along those same lines, I was also choir president my senior year.
3. I was a fine arts major in college, and was a graphic designer for 3 years
4. After my short career in GD I got my masters degree in Education and was a high school art teacher for 6 years
5. I was born in Boston, and grew up in Philadelphia. Even though I live in Washington now, I am an east coaster at heart.
6. I am the oldest of 5 kids. We are girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, all 3 years apart.
7. When I was 5 I flipped over my handle bars and knocked out part of my two front teeth. They are bonded to this day!
8. I studied German for 4 years in high school because it was what all of the “smart kids” did. If only this smart kid would have known she would marry a Dominican whose parents only spoke Spanish. Argh!!!
9. In case you don’t read the “About Me” page often, my son’s name is pronounce “Da-veed”—David in Spanish after his Dominican heritage (my idea, not Irving’s).
10. I have been vegetarian for 3 years, vegan for 1. I became vegetarian to lose weight—it worked and the lifestyle stuck.
11. My first job (aside from babysitting) was as an intern in my church’s children’s ministry. I planned the curriculums for the church summer camps—my first taste of life as a teacher.
Questions from Steffi, and my answers:
1. What are the three ingredients you always have on hand? Nutritional Yeast, cocoa powder, and chia seeds.
2. What is the best vegan meal you have had at a restaurant? My favorite dinner always comes from Golden Beetle in Ballard, WA. They have the most amazing hummus, pita, and muhamara (walnut/red pepper dip). Mmmm…I’m getting hungry!
3. What are 3 pointers you would give to new vegans? 1. Do the best you can. You’ll “mess” up often, but every kind choice makes a difference. 2. Reinvent your favorite non-vegan meal. 3. Most ethnic foods are easy to veganize—tofu pork chops would be kind of weird, but bean burritos are awesome!
4. What was the first meal from your pre vegan days that you recreated vegan? Mac and Cheese!
5. Where would you like to go for your dream vacation? Anywhere in Latin America. My husband is from the Dominican Republic and I love the Latin culture. Getting to travel with your own bilingual tour guide isn’t so bad either!
6. What has been your biggest challenge as a blogger? Balance. It’s so easy to get sucked in to posting and forgetting about my “real life.” And when I’m sucked in to my real life, I keep thinking of things I need to post! Balance is important!
7. What has been the most helpful thing you have learned about blogging on a technical level? I don’t know if it was very important, but I learned how to write the code to make my own buttons (on the sidebar). It was so satisfying to figure it out!
8. If you had the means to organize a fund-raising event, what would it be and who would the proceeds go to? A passion of mine is helping those less fortunate in 3rd world countries. I’ve traveled to many different countries with my Dad’s charity, World Vision, and have seen first hand what a huge difference even a few dollars can make. Providing a child with an education, or a community with running water, is life changing, and it can quite often by financed by money we might take for granted.
9. What has been the highlight of your blogging experience so far? Meeting so many new “friends” in the vegan community. Being a vegan is pretty different from the mainstream culture, and can be very isolating at times. It’s nice to have people who you can reach out to when you have questions.
10. What is your favorite magazine or E-zine? I love VegNews. I tried it a few years ago before I was vegan and thought it was a little over the top, but now that I am vegan I really appreciate it as a resource.
11. Are you going to sign up for the Virtual Vegan Potluck? Yes, already did! I’m “bringing” an appetizer!
Blogs I am nominating: There are so many incredible blogs, but here are some of my favorite!
Vegan Fling
One Happy Table
Cadry’s Kitchen
Keepin It Kind
Vegan Richa
Veggietorials
The Sweet Life
Choosing Raw
Edible Perspective
The Lunchbox Bunch
86 Lemons
Questions for these lovely bloggers:
1. What is your favorite vegan dessert and why (include a link if you have one!)
2. Pick 2 foods/ingredients that you just couldn’t live without!
3. What is the most important thing you’ve learned along the way about blogging?
4. How long have you been a vegan (or vegetarian)?
5. What is your most trusted cookbook?
6. What is your #1 tip for bloggers?
7. What tips do you have for new vegans?
8. What is your favorite vegan comfort dish?
9. What do you have pinned on your pinterest board that you are dying to make?
10. What made you want to start blogging?
11. What is your favorite dish to bring to a dinner party?
I’m looking forward to the responses from these great bloggers. Check them out—they are some of my favorites!
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