The Dazzling Blogger Award 2021

Right before my first year at Growing Up Garlicky came to a close, I was nominated for the Dazzling Blogger Award of 2021. This was so neat to have someone recognize my hard work in this way. It’s been tough getting going, but to know that people are seeing how hard I’m working means so much to me. So, before I get started, I want to thank Smelly Socks and Garden Peas for nominating me. I really appreciate her posts and her taking the time to get to know me through Growing Up Garlicky. Secondly, I want to thank Helen at Crispy Confessions for starting these awards. It’s so cool to have an outlet to let my followers know more about who I am!

Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty about what this award means!

The Dazzling Blogger Award Official Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for The Dazzling Blogger Award.
2. Link back to the original blog post. (Here’s the post from Smelly Socks and Garden Peas too!)
3. Answer the seven questions that they asked on their blog post.
4. Make up seven new questions.
5. Nominate seven more people for The Dazzling Blogger Award, who you think exemplify excellent blogging skills.

The Seven Questions For Me To Answer:

1. When you get up in the morning, are you alert and ready to go or sluggish and befuddled?

When I get up in the morning, I don’t want to, haha! Lately, I’ve been not getting nearly enough sleep, so I find that I’m extremely groggy for the first hour or so. After that though, I’m usually more “with it.”

2. What’s your preferred way of getting news and why?

I personally don’t like the news anymore. Yes, it’s important to stay abreast to what’s going on, but at the same time, the news lately has become so negative and my mental health just can’t handle so much all of the time. Having said that, I get a lot of my info from social media. I find out from my friends what things are going on in the world and from there, I’m able to decide whether or not to research them or spend my energy on it. I feel like getting my news this way is less “in your face” and less intentional which helps keep me from getting as overwhelmed.

3. What subject do you wish you worked harder on at school?

I always worked fairly hard in school. I graduated from Western Washington University with a 3.94 gpa with magna cum laude distinctions. With that in mind, the one subject I wish I would have put more effort into in high school is science. I haaaaaaated science in high school. Part of the issue was the teachers not making it engaging enough or not being willing to help, and I think that really kept me from wanting to work harder at the time, vs. in college having professors who actually cared to help me succeed.

4. Coffee or tea?

If I have to choose between these two, coffee. But, I actually prefer lotus or redbull drinks! My absolute favorite lotus drink is the Pink Dream from one of the local espresso stands. If I remember right, it’s pink lotus, cantaloupe syrup, and coconut milk. So good. My other favorite is a strawberry lemon redbull Italian soda. It’s strawberry syrup, lemon syrup, redbull, cream, and whipped cream on top. So. Freaking. Good. It tastes like a strawberry lemonade if it’s right!

5. What’s the bravest thing you’ve done?

Oh god. This is a tough one for me. The only thing honestly coming to my mind is my emergency c-section. That’s a post I’m going to have to make when I’m ready as there is still quite a bit of trauma for me that I need to work through, but that was one of the scariest moments of my life never having had any surgery prior.

6. Out of the books you’ve read this year, which was your favourite and why?

My absolute favorite book that I’ve read has been The Shining by Stephen King. I had picked this book up and put it back down at least like 5 times. I FINALLY got through it all the way earlier this year. So, I’m proud that I actually read it all the way through. But, it’s my favorite book so far this year because I LOOOOOVE the horror genre. Those who know me well, know that I have an entire tattoo sleeve of horror characters on my leg.

Side note: I remember watching the Stanley Kubrick movie when I was younger and it’s one of those movies that still gives me the creeps, especially the lady in the bathtub. Turns out, the book and movie are VASTLY different. I was so mad that so many important scenes were left out of the movie! The TV movie adaptation includes more of the important details, but it’s incredibly corny. So, take your pick: incredibly corny but accurate, or incredibly wrong but *decent* acting… aside from Wendy. 😂 After reading The Shining, I also read Doctor Sleep which is the sequel. Highly recommend if you liked the first book.

7. Which post have you written that we should all read?

This is a really hard question because I feel like different posts apply to different needs. Obviously, if you’re hungry, head over to my recipes page, haha! But, I could answer this a couple different ways. If you want to know more about me as a person and our family’s beliefs, then I think a good read is my post, “Atheists Celebrating Easter? What the Hell!” But I think a good one that all mamas need to read is my post, “Spa Essentials: How I Pamper Myself At Home.” Self care is HUGELY important for everyone, but especially for tired, worn out mamas who never seem to get a break. Taking that time for yourself is incredibly important. On that post I go into detail about how I treat myself to relaxation and which products I really enjoy.

The Seven Questions for My Nominees:

1. What motivates you to continue as a blogger?
2. What three sights or experiences do you think everyone should see or do before they die?
3. How do you feel that your blog represents you as a person, as a parent, etc.?
4. What movie could you quote line for line?
5. What is your biggest accomplishment?
6. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
7. What is the biggest piece of advice you have for new parents?

My Seven Blogger Nominees:

1. Megan at Megan Voegele Blog
2. Tara at Tarably Inspired
3. Lisa at Mom Balanced
4. Patrice at Mom Life With P
5. Rachael at Mama of Minis
6. Kate at Kateable
7. Amanda at Livin My Best Mom Life

I picked these ladies because we all share something in common; we are all mom bloggers! A couple of these ladies are actually my close friends and were the inspiration for me starting my own blog. And some of them are new bloggers that I’ve recently started following. I simply enjoy what they have to say and think you all will too!

Again, thank you to Smelly Socks and Garden Peas for the nomination and to Crispy Confessions for getting this going! I’ve really enjoyed writing this post and hope the ladies I nominated will too!

Thanks so much for reading. If you enjoy this post and want to see more, please hop on over to my Fun and More page or subscribe below. If you want to answer these questions yourself or reflect on what I’ve written in my responses, feel free to do so in the comments below! Thanks again, have a happy Monday 🙂