Sarah Warsi

I can’t thank my blogger family enough for the ongoing love and support over the last two years. It’s been quite the humbling journey.

I’d like to extend a special shout out to Anthony from Today’s Perfect Moment  for nominating my blog for the Liebster Award. Thank you so much for the continued recognition. I am most grateful. I should note that Anthony was one of the first people to start following my blog back in the fall of 2015 and I am happy to say that we’ve become great blogger buddies since! 🙂

The Liebster Award is an internet-only award that dates back as early as 2011 and is given to bloggers by bloggers, whose work they find interesting, to motivate them, and to promote them. Liebster is a word with German origins and has several meanings: dearest, sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

I should note that I misread the instructions earlier and started answering Anthony’s questions instead of the ones he created, (sorry Anthony!), so I decided to keep those answers as part of the 10 questions. Happens to the best of us. 🙂

My Answers

1) Why did you start blogging?

I’ve always had a passion for writing which is demonstrative in my journalism background. While I eventually ventured away from journalism as a career path, I knew I always wanted to incorporate writing into my life in some form. That’s why I knew that I would eventually want to start a blog as a way for me to channel my passion for writing, and have it be a vehicle to convey my thoughts and feelings to the world.

Another reason I started blogging was to hopefully be a positive and inspirational influence on those that came across my writing. I’ve always taken pride in helping others or at least doing my best to try and help others in the best way that I can, so if my words of motivation, wisdom, or just plain good vibes can help brighten anyone’s day, it’s all worth it. I am pleasantly surprised by how my blog has evolved and continues to evolve since its launch two years ago. The engagement and the connections I’ve made have become my driving force to continue to spread the love and positivity.

2) How do you get inspiration to create your blog posts?

I get inspired in a number of different ways. Often times it’s through my own life experience that triggers a blog post idea. Other times, it’s an experience over an extended period of time (good or bad) that culminates into a good idea for a post. The experience usually has to have taught me a lesson of some sort, something I could and would want to relay to my readers. Or sometimes, it’s just a feel-good post reinforcing our endless need and want for happiness and motivation. Anytime I’m thinking of writing something, my first thought is usually a series of rhetorical questions: How will this content help my readers? What will they gain from it? What will they learn from it? What is the underlying message? These questions usually help the direction of my post, because that is ultimately what it’s all about.

Of course, I write first and foremost to satisfy my passion, but it’s a two-pronged approach: my content is only as valuable as the notice it gets – we all write for our own reasons, but the engagement, the conversations, and the general notice your writing gets make it that much more special.

3) What is your favourite dessert that everyone should try?

So this might sound surprising but I’m really not much of a dessert person. I’m the one that normally skips it at dinner, however, if I had choose something, regular birthday cake (without the stuffed fruit and added stuff). Just plain old chocolate or vanilla cake will do.

4) What is your favourite memory?

This is a difficult one to answer as I have many fond memories.

5) What is your favourite book or series and why?

Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High is my favourite book series from my childhood.The series followed the lives of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, two twin sisters living in Southern California. I’m not sure what exactly it was about the series that resonated with me, but I just recall loving it and really enjoying the books. I probably just related to the characters and really connected with their fictional lives. All I remember is that at the time, I would take out at least five or six SVH novels at a time and whipping through them in days. In fact, I actually still have a decent stash of the Sweet Valley High series (seen below), thanks to a dear friend who was aware of my love for the series.

I’m pretty sure I’ve read them all but am now only really hanging onto them for nostalgia. The series went from Sweet Valley Twins, all the way to Sweet Valley University with additional spin-off releases coming out in the last five to seven years. A TV series was even created in the early 90’s which lasted four seasons.

Now onto the actual questions I was meant to reply to. Anthony, if you don’t mind, I’ll only respond to the first 5 to keep the length of this post in mind (and to also consider the first 5 I already answered).

6) If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be? You don’t have to cook it, but you do have to supply some of the conversation.

I would love to have dinner with Jennifer Aniston. I’ve always been a fan since the days of Friends and love how she carries herself with grace and confidence. Funnily enough, she is also one of the few celebrities who is not on social media at all, so I’m sure we would have plenty to chat about over a gourmet, five-course meal (NOT cooked by me!) 😉

7) What book can you read more than one time?

Ironically, I have just started re-reading Deception Point by Dan Brown. It is an incredible novel about a conspiracy with the US government and NASA resulting in the discovery of a massive cover up with incredible implications. The book is fast-paced, a non-stop page turner and generally an awesome read.

8) How and where do you drink your coffee or tea?

I tend to drink coffee in the morning and tea at night. Double-double (double cream, double sugar) is how I like my morning Tim’s (for my Non-Canadian friends, Tim Horton’s is our Starbucks equivalent). For tea, I prefer Orange Pekoe.

9) What language would you like to speak that you don’t already?

I would love to get more well-versed in Spanish. It’s a beautiful language that has that sexy, sultry undertone to it. I know very basic words to get myself from point A to B at a Spanish resort, but that’s about it. Also, seeing as that I often get mistaken for local in Spanish-speaking countries, being able to speak the language would help my cause that much more. 🙂

10) If you could have a double cone right now, what two flavours would you like?

So again, this might sound odd but I am really not an ice cream fan – like at all. BUT, if I had to choose, mint chocolate would be my choice (not sure what that would mix well with).

I don’t know what it is, but it could be sweltering hot, and I will not crave or want ice cream, or anything cold for that matter, aside from a cold beverage perhaps. But popsicles, freezies, and ice cream – not my thing at all.

So that sums up my 10 questions. I hope my answers gave you a bit more insight into my interests.

My Nominees

There are so many incredible bloggers out there and they each deserve an award and hopefully this one will make its way to them. Below are the five that immediately stood out for me:

My Instruction Manual – Keith McArthur

Keith is writer, journalist and PR professional who launched this great site to help spread words of happiness, encouragement and positivity by sharing his own personal struggles. Keith also hosts a weekly podcast by the same name which can be found on iTunes. I highly recommend subscribing to it for a regular dose of wisdom that is sure to uplift you in some form. Every episode has its regular contributors as well as guest appearances (I was fortunate to be featured on one of the earlier episodes which can be found here).

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Pocketful of Smiles – Candace N. Bisram

Candace is a beautiful, kind soul who has a blossoming blog on happiness. A certified life and happiness coach from Trinidad, Candace’s blog and the degree of positivity it resonates is infectious.

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Ordinarily Extraordinary Mom – Brittany Bonnaffons

Brittany is a beautiful, upbeat mother, wife and teacher who shares the trials and tribulations of balancing it all without completely losing it. She shares her personal accounts in the most real, authentic way and reinforces all that we should be grateful for on this planet.

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Rest in Piece – B.W. Ginsburg

B.G. has a beautiful blog that oozes with words of motivation and inspiration. She is also an active contributor to TheSeeds4life and is the author of several books that can be found on Amazon for purchase.

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The Captain’s Speech – Paul

A vibrant blog about virtually anything! From life, to music, to fiction and food, Paul has it covered. I am happy to mention that one my posts directly helped Paul overcome a challenge when it came to driving, (you can check out the post here) and that type of positive influence is what makes this all so worthwhile.

My questions for the nominees:

I decided to keep it short as I understand time is of the essence.

What is your favourite blog post that you’ve written and why?

What is one thing that people may not know about you that might surprise them?

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting their own blog?

Instructions for accepting the award and passing it on:

• Answer the questions that were provided, and then share some facts about yourself.
• Create a new set of your own questions for others to answer.
• Nominate at least 5 other bloggers and share your blog post with them so they can accept their awards

Congratulations to all the nominees and let’s continue spreading the love and making the world a better place!

Love,

Sarah