Well I have been blogging here for almost a year; mid December will be my one year anniversary.  I started Blogging to help our children once they moved out. I wanted them to have a place to go to create the meals they have had at home, and have an easy way to re create them. What started out as helping them has grown into a love for me, I have always adored cooking, but now I get to share my experiences with one and all!

One of the people I have recently started following is Cooking up a Storm, Dish by Dish :: Felicia Lim.  Her website is wonderful, with a ton of recipes and little antidotes thrown in.  She is, in her own words “Made in Singapore. Based in beautiful Buenos Aires. Cooking adventures from far-flung South America!”

Wasn’t I surprised when she nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. I was at work when I saw the nomination, and it made my day. I was giddy with excitement!

How in the world did I get noticed! My meager rookie blog, my attempts at cooking and picture taking has caught someone’s attention and she liked it so much she decided to do this kind gesture, showing me that I am doing well and that people actually like my blog! 

Thank you Felicia for your time and attention, I genuinely appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to read my blog and nominate me!!

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Copy the Beautiful Blogger Award logo and place it in your post
2. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog
3. Tell 7 things about yourself
4. Nominate 7 other bloggers for their own Beautiful Blogger Award and comment on their blogs to let them know

7 Things you may not know about me:

1) I am married to my soul-mate! What you may not know is that this is the second time we have married. Yes you got it right. We divorced in 2004 and 1 year later he was asking me to come back.  I know it is unconventional, but sometimes you have to leave and let people grow to really appreciate what you have even more.  Since we have been back together life has been heaven!  We understand each other and continue to grow with a true appreciation of unconditional love!

2) I am an identical twin, but we don’t always get along, and we never had any of those weird experiences that twins claim to have.  The closest we have ever come to a true twin experience, was going to a breakfast, we went on two different days with different groups, when we got our pictures back from the breakfast; we had both worn the same dress (purchased the day before and we were not together for it) and we were both sitting in the same spot. Whoopie DOO..

3) I grew up in New England, I love the fall! In Massachusetts the fall is the prettiest time of year and it is such a miraculous moment in time, the Mohawk trail is where I have some of the fondest memories! The colors there are so incredibly vivid!  Although I love living in Virginia, I do miss this time of year in New England!

4) I went to the Milton Hershey School, and I am blessed beyond belief to call the people I met there not only friends but family! I am still very active with the school, and appreciate all the life lessons I was taught while at this particular boarding school.  If you have never heard of MHS please look it up, the Milton Hershey legacy is an impressive one!

5) In boarding school I lived on a farm, and milked cows, bailed hay and painted fences. In a house with 16 other girls we also, cooked, cleaned and learned to work in a group. My first job after school was to work on a farm milking cows!

6) I love to travel and experience new places, but, I hate to fly. I am terribly afraid of heights. I have read every book in the world on flying and still count the seats to the exit, look for the fire extinguishers and count the amount of people I may have to crawl over to get out if need be. Ok maybe not that bad, but I really hate flying or heights in general. With that being said I will continue to fly, because of my love of travel.

7) I have a huge heart; I will help anyone in need. I have sponsored a child in the Dominican for 6 years now.  Her name is Maria and she is almost 8 years old.  My dream is to visit her and her family one day.  I like to do random acts of kindness, helping others without asking for anything in return and doing it anonymously most time.

7 blogs I nominate for the Beautiful Blogger Award:

1)     Happiness Stan Lives Here

This is a blog about everyday life in the suburbs of South London, or North Surrey, depending on your preference. It mixes the mundane with the extraordinary, and, when there is absolutely nothing interesting going on, highlights weird and wonderful things that are happening somewhere else.

2)BreakRoomStories
Break Room Stories (BRS) bringing you waiter stories and more since 2012. More specifically their site is a waiter blog intended to give anyone in the food service industry the opportunity to share the most ridiculous story they have. Funny, gross, horrible, embarrassing it’s all fair game. I love reading their blogs and it makes you realize, people who are not nice to the wait staff are NOT nice people!

3) Down Home South Jersey
Jennifer Malme was one of the first blogs I started following, she started Down Home South Jersey as a place to share the tips and tricks she has learned for living well in South Jersey. She has a wonderful wit about her, and shares her life with her family through the blog. Her recipes and reviews are great!

4) Frugal Feeding
This is a blog intended for those of you who want to eat good food on a relatively small budget. If I’m being honest this should appeal to most people, except those of you who have a penchant for caviar, because good food shouldn’t cost the earth and I can’t imagine most people like over spending.

5) Rantings of an amateur chef
Like to cook? Check. Like to eat? Double check. Can’t shut him up? You betcha…The Rantings of an Amateur Chef is the bloggings of Pat Geyer, an amateur chef living in the Cleveland, Ohio area. While not making his living in the kitchen, he spends as much time as he can there. He explores recipes, restaurants, gadgets and anything else related to cooking and eating.

6) Sad Man’s Tongue Rockabilly Bar & Bistro – Prague
The amazing pictures and pin ups this site put out are quite remarkable! They have some amazing posts and can be anywhere from cooking with a pin up to a Vintage wedding party!  I love the free style way this blog takes you all over and with the most intense photography!

7) Red Beans and Eric…. Err rice!
A spontaneous trip to New Orleans has created a food lover that has enchanted us with his blog!  The pictures and the recipes bring us back to a Cajun lifestyle!  Eric’s passion for the food and the place he longs for are relevant in everything he does.  If you crave a bit of the spicy, go to Eric’s Blog and dive right into the Cajun influence he creates in his dishes.