An award for my blog

A friend I've made recently in the blogging community, Eli, who blogs at Expatliv awarded me the Liebster award (Liebster is a German term for endearment) a few days ago. This award is presented from one blogger to another as a mark of appreciation. Eli is of Greek-Norwegian descent but now lives with her family in Mumbai. I love getting glimpses of my home country from her perspective and I recommend that you drop by her wonderful blog sometime.

I've never thought much about blog awards really. To be honest, I'm not a very interactive blogger and even taking part in contests is not something I do very often. Personally speaking, my blog readers sending me photos of the dishes they try from my blog or restaurant management dropping kind emails thanking me for reviewing their restaurant or the occasional sponsored/promotion requests are more than enough to fuel my ego 😄 But then again, appreciation coming from another blogger means a great deal to me because only a fellow blogger can appreciate how much time and effort goes into maintaining a blog. I know that I blog only once a week (much less frequently then most active bloggers) but I do put my heart into every post. Structuring good content, writing, photo editing, formatting & proofreading takes time, effort and patience for any blogger for that matter so any kind of recognition helps us stay motivated 😊

So, the terms of this award are that you can accept the award, thank the person who nominated you and then pay it forward to your favorite bloggers. It is a nice way to spread appreciation, encourage new bloggers and to make further connections within the blogosphere.

The rules for receiving the Liebster Blog Award are:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you.

2. Answer the questions given to you by the tagger plus create 10 questions for the people you have tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 more bloggers and pass the award to them.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. No Tag backs.

Here are the 10 questions that I were given by Eli and my answers:

1. What do you want your blog-readers to get from reading your blog?
A: I want readers to find my blog either informative, useful or entertaining

2. Have you learned anything as a blogger that surprised you? If yes, what?
A: I learned that I have much more patience than I give myself credit for.

3. What time of the day and where do you usually write?

A: In the train on the commute to work or at home in the evenings after dinner or free time in between running chores on weekends 

4. What is your favorite food?
A: French fries, Paneer Tikka & Apple Pie

5. What are your top 3 favorite travel destinations?
A: Among the places I've visited so far, I've loved Mauritius, Bali and San Francisco

6. Describe one happy memory from your childhood.

A: This happened in my aunt's house in Wolverhampton, England. I was probably around 6 years old. My younger sister, my parents and I were huddled up in bed reading jokes from a children's joke book and there was this particular joke (that I don't remember clearly....something ridiculous about bending over backwards and picking up something) and the four of us laughed ourselves silly. We laughed and laughed until our stomachs hurt and my Dad had one of his epic coughing fits! It is an unforgettable happy memory. 

7. Describe an achievement you are proud of.

A: I was proud when I received a full scholarship which included a monthly stipend to study for a Master's degree at the National University of Singapore.

8. What is the best thing about you? 

A: I think my best qualities are that I am cheerful, affectionate and loyal. You can pick whichever quality you think is the best 😊

9. What makes you laugh out loud?

A: Typically, I am what can be described as a giggly person. While writing this, I watched a scene from Seinfeld and almost fell on the floor laughing. It doesn't take much really.

10. If you were the main character in a movie, which actor/actress would you like to play your role?

A: That would be an easy role with not much acting chops required. But if I had to choose, it would be Natalie Portman just coz she is awesome. Apart from the obvious Indian makeover and wearing high heels, she would have to put on considerable weight to look convincing 😆

Here are my picks for passing on the Liebster Blog Award (in no particular order). A few of these people are good friends, some acquaintances and the others I don't know personally but hope to stay connected with in the future. Keep blogging and keep up the good work guys.

1. Sumana - Sum's cuisine
2. Shibi - Eleventeen recipes and counting
3. Vaishnavi - MY SPACE
4. Luke - Hungry Ang Mo
5. Farrukh - Cubes and Juliennes
6. Rekha - Foodolicious Pictured
7. Divya - Tease Your Taste Buds
8. Lakshmi - Glazed Thoughts
9. Sreevalli - Ammaji Recipes
10. Riya - Quaint Murmur
11. Deepak - Travel Magic 

Some of you guys may have been blogging for a long time and have received this award before, maybe even multiple times (I was too lazy to check) so accepting it is purely optional. Please don't feel pressured or obliged. I just wanted to let you know that you are doing a good job. If you choose to accept the award, here are my questions to you:

1. What motivated you to start blogging?
2. Who would you like to be stranded with on a deserted island?
3. Who is your role model?
4. What is your favourite cuisine and why?
5. If you were free the whole day without any work or family commitments, what would you do?
6. Which is your favourite television show?
7. If you were given a 100$ spending money, who would you spend it on?
8. If you could go back in time and change one event in history, what would it be?
9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
10. What do you think is the most amazing invention that mankind has come up with?

Thank you Eli for your thoughtful gesture. Also, thank you my followers and readers who have always been so nice to me and given me the kind of positive feedback I need to improve my blog and most importantly, stay in the game.

Cheers,
Megha