an award

I have been awarded the Sunshine Award by Jameson over at Lovely Whatsoevers. Thank you, Jameson (and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get around to it!) 

Rules:
- Thank the person who nominated you.
- Answer the questions from the person who nominated you.
- Nominate a few other bloggers.
- Write the same amount of questions for the bloggers you nominated.
- Notify the bloggers on their blog. - Put the award button on your blog.

Jameson's questions:
 
1. Who is your favorite superhero? Why are they your favorite? I don't have a favorite super hero actually. I've never liked superheros; I always thought they were kind of silly, to be honest.
2. What is your favorite TV show? I don't really watch that much TV, and not enough to have a favorite show.
3. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would you want to meet? I thought about this for a while and I really don't know! Maybe someone who loves cats and journaling as much as I do. :)
4. Do you prefer baking or cooking? What is your favorite thing to cook/bake? I enjoy both, but I like baking a little bit more (you get to the lick the bowl and spoon). I like to bake cookies the best.
5. How would you rather spend the day: picnic at the park or movie marathon? I really can't decide very easily between these two...so I won't!
6. What are the five songs you have listened to most lately? Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie, Do Life Big by Jamie Grace, Thrive by Switchfoot, We Are Brave by Shawn McDonald, and some random smooth jazz and classical.
7. You’re going on an adventure! Who are you with and where are you going? I am backpacking across Russia with my cat!
8. Do you have a favorite book series? If so, which one? I really enjoy the Ivan series by Myrna Grant. It's about a boy and his family in Moscow in the 1970s. They are believers, so they face many struggles and trials because of their faith. The books are easy, short reads and very interesting.
9. What are three must-haves when you take a road trip? MP3 player, journal, and a pillow.
10. Do you have a favorite Biblical hero/heroine? Who? I like the apostle John best. His Gospel and 1 John are in my top favorite books of Scripture. 

My questions:
1. Have you ever built a sand castle?
2. Do you enjoy classical music?
3. What color is your comforter?
4. Have you ever written a poem?
5. Do you enjoy looking at the stars at night?
6. Have you ever seen a comet?
7. If you had to relocate to a foreign country, which one would you choose?
8. Chocolate or vanilla? 
9. Favorite breed of cat?
10. Do you enjoy snow?

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular; if you are a reader, feel free to snag these questions and the award and post about them. Let me know if you did!

the liebsster award

My bosom friend Bekah has nominated me for the Liebster award. Thank you, Bekah! :) Perhaps this will let my readers get to know me a little more; I just realized that many of you might not "know" me very well!

Rules:

1. Link the blog that nominated you for the award.

2. Choose 11 bloggers to nominate that have less than 200 followers.

3. Answer the questions given to you.

4. Let the people who you have nominated know when you have done so.

5. You can’t nominate the person who has nominated you.

6. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you’ve nominated to answer.

7. You must follow the blog that nominated you.

 The questions

1. What is your favorite pastime? Writing, whether it is journaling (of course), working on my novel, or poetry I very much love to write. I also enjoy cooking.

2. What is one of your favorite books? Ester Reid by Isabella Alden is one of my (many) favorites. Also The Land by Mildred D. Taylor. And Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes. And A Little Princess is another favorite.

3. What is one of your favorite quotes? I have so many quotes that I love; I keep a Word document full of them to reference. Here is one that caught my eye as I looked over it:

“If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”—Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 
4. For a vacation, would you prefer the beach or mountains? Definitely the beach. There is nothing on this earth like the ocean.

5. What is your favorite meal? This is a very hard question to answer because I greatly enjoy food! I would have to say honey-baked lentils and rice with roasted mushrooms, onions, and garlic on the side.

6. What is your hobby/s? Writing. Mainly poetry, but I also have written several novels (I'd consider myself more a poet than a novelist, though.)

7. If you could visit a foreign country, where would you go? I love geography and learning about different cultures, so it is very hard to pick just one country. But one of my very favorite countries in the world is Russia, so I'd have to pick that.

8. Do you play an instrument? Not really. Just a few chords on my brother's guitar.

9. What is one of your favorite characters from a book you've read? Hmm...that's really hard to choose. I actually would have to say the characters Murray, Caroline, and Zac from books my brother wrote. 

 
10. What is your favorite season? Summer!!

11. Who is your favorite author? That's a real tough one. I like a lot of books by Isabella Alden, so I'd have to go with her.

My questions:

1. Do you keep a journal

2. Do you like Mexican food?

3. Do you love the sound of the ocean?

4. Cats or dogs?

5. Evening or morning?

6. Do you like the smell of the earth after it rains?

7. Have you ever wanted to write a book?

8. When were you the most frightened?

9. Does seeing springtime flowers make you happy?

10. Have you ever flown in an airplane?

11.  Have you ever eaten at Chipotle?

My nominees:

I nominate all of my readers!

 Please feel free to take this award, pass it along, and answer my questions! 

Let me know if you do so I can read your answers. :)

p.s. don't forge tto enter the giveaway! 
maybe you can win a potluck of journaling supplies! :)