Liebster Award Nomination

It was a complete surprise to be nominated for the Liebster Award by Emma from Not Just Tired!  Emma is a fantastic blogger that writes about her life with ME/CFS – she is brilliant at thinking positively and making the best out of living with chronic illness.  I feel so honoured to have been considered, especially by someone that I look up to so much – Emma manages her ME/CFS alongside being a parent to a young child.  Her blog helpfully shares tips on self-care, parenting and being grateful for what life gives you, despite chronic illness.

What is the Liebster Award?

“Originating in Germany in 2011, the Liebster Award 2017 is an online award that is given to bloggers by other bloggers. Liebster translates to sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. The Liebster Award recognizes new and upcoming bloggers that have the potential to grow and become successful influencers within the blogosphere.”

My Nominees:

There are so many fabulous blogs out there chronicling what life can be like with a long term illness.  I love all of these, as they focus on living life as best you can, despite illness – they’re not all new blogs, but they’re ones that I love to read and I highly recommend you check them out.

Hannah at An Ordinary Girl with MS

Heather and Dizzy at Dinosaurs, Donkeys and MS

Rhiann at My Brain Lesion and Me

Robert at A 30-Minute Life

Jamie at Multiple Experiences

Toni at My MS Rollercoaster Ride

Nominees – feel free to answer the same questions that I have below.  Absolutely no pressure to take part though! I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy reading your blog 🙂 The instructions are at the end.

Questions:

Does blogging replace or enhance keeping a journal?

At the moment, it replaces keeping a journal; I was a diary/journal keeper from age 14 and loved it as a place to blurt out my thoughts (reading it now is very embarrassing!) but had a few years of not writing at all until my MS became worse.  Now, I might not write about my most private thoughts in my blogs, but it definitely helps me emotionally to share thoughts about my MS.  The ‘friends’ that I have met though blogging is an added bonus!

Do you think education, as it is today, does justice to life and learning?

No, I don’t really.  Don’t get me wrong, The school my children (ages 7 and 10) go to to is fab; they are doing well academically and have lots of friends, but I often read of the benefits of learning predominantly through play and formal education starting at a later age.  Places such as Finland (which has better educational results compared to the UK) seem to have it right – there’s no league tables or national testing.  And I just want my kids to be kids, not have to do homework from year 1 (age 6).  My daughter is very creative and learns very well by doing, whereas my son is academic and likes rules and routine.  Every child is different and I think the routes to learning should reflect that; I’m not sure UK schools are there yet, especially as the ages my kids are.

When do you find time to blog?

The days that I am not at work!  I work three days a week and find it easier to blog when my kids are at school.  I don’t always have the energy, but I try and note down ideas on my phone when I think of them and then usually write an article in bits and pieces.

What is the one post made by you that you like the most and why?

I think that is the post that I wrote entitled A Letter to My Kids.  Although it is sad to read, I feel like it puts into words what I would like my children to know about me; they can’t remember me without my MS symptoms but I wrote it to let them know all about the real me inside.

What is your favourite book or series?

Ooh, favourite TV series is tricky; I have loved loads: Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, The Killing… I sound violent but I am not really, ha ha!  Books-wise, I like anything by Margaret O’Farrell, Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and The Haidmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood; I like books that take me away from everything and that may transport me to another time or world.

Would you rather explore the deep ocean or outer space?

The idea of exploring space sounds amazing but I get a bit freaked out by the idea of how vast it is!  And I love the sea, so I am going to choose that – I would love to see the all the marine life there and any weird and wacky creatures deep down at the sea bed.

How long would you survive a zombie apocalypse?

Ha!  I would be first to go – I would save my friends by sacrificing myself, I think, as I have no hope on my own!

T-Rex or dragon?

Dragon 🙂

If you would be a character in someone’s book, who would you get to write it?

Maybe Maggie O’Farrell as she is very good at building up her characters and bringing out their quirks; I would be interested to know how she sees me!

Have you ever visited a place just because you saw it in a book/series/animation/movie? What was that place?

I always wanted to go to Thailand after seeing ‘The Beach’ and I went with my husband 12 years ago now, before we were married.  It is still my favourite holiday ever, so chilled out.  My best memory is asking for a Pina Colada and seeing a man shimming up a palm tree to collect a coconut for the drink!  Lovely 🙂

How has writing/blogging affected your life?

In so many ways: it has helped me to make online friends with people who understand what I am going through.  It makes me feel proud when I am told that my writing helps others to feel like they’re not alone.  It has helped me emotionally to get my thoughts out.  Finally, it has given me a sense of purpose at a time that I have been struggling with paid work, due to my illness.  Blogging has made me recognise that I can keep going, despite my health challenges, and reading other people’s blogs has helped me to see how important and special the every day mundane is.  I recognise through reading others’ blogs that all of us who have chronic illness are dealing with the same things – we just need to find special, memory making parts to continue to feel fulfilled.  That is what being on the ‘blogging circuit’ has done for me.

Thanks so much Emma for the nomination!

Rules for nominees:

– Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog in your post.
– Upload the award to your blog. It can be done as a blog or on the sidebar.
– Answer the same questions I have above or share 10 facts about yourself.
– Nominate 5 blogs who you believe deserve to receive the award.
– Notify the nominated bloggers so that they can accept the award.