Q&A a Day: What are three things you have to buy?
1) peanut butter, creamy or crunchy, by Crazy Richard’s, with only one ingredient

2) things to go with peanut butter — apples, bananas, carbs, carrots, and eggs

3) things to add peanut butter to — oatmeal, smoothies, and yogurt

I received three gifts today, one of which I don’t think I was supposed to open yet, but Caleb told me it wasn’t supposed to arrive till he got back (so I got an anniversary gift early, but you’ll have to wait to find out what it is). The second gift was our third shipment from Mighty Nest; a reusable LunchSkins sandwich and snack bag. The third gift was my third paycheck as I work towards making that amount grow.

Then I get on my computer for my nightly post and see the Sunshine Blogger Award given to me by Helen at smart-diet.loveandjoy.net. I will thank her kindly and answer her eleven questions, but I won’t be nominating others and passing the award torch.

1. What are you blogging about? I write about myself mostly.
2. When and why did you start your blog? 2011, I have always loved to write and started getting into photography; this was a great way to share those passions.
3. What are your goals for your blog? To improve my writing and the lives of others as  some of my readers travel vicariously through me.
4. Do you have a special strategy to get more followers for your blog? I’ve heard you can write on a schedule, have a certain amount of tags, and follow tons of other bloggers. I’ve never worried about this or I would invite more friends and family to read it, but I prefer organic interest.
5. If you were invited to a talk show on TV what would you like to talk about? The learning process of writing every day, trying to take a meaningful photo (or not a blurry one) every day, and enjoying the creativity flow that comes with it.
6. If you had the chance to live your dream – where would you be and what would you do? My dream right now is to train at night and scuba dive every day, or to train during the winter and scuba dive in the summer. I would read books on the beach or by a waterfall while my husband rubs my feet and we eat fruits and veggies with plenty of peanut butter. We would sit for hours watching the sunset.
   

   It’s not a Tide Ad, it’s Nike.

7. Do you spend more time per day writing your blog or reading other blogs? I used to spend tons of time reading my favorites (which made it super easy to nominate others in these cases), but a lot of us had huge life changes (or just got lazy or distracted) and took a long break so I stopped having so much to read. How much time I dedicate nightly depends on the question of the day and how different my day was to give me writing material.
8. What are your three favourite blogs? Greg Nuckols @ Stronger by Science, Austin Kleon, Béa Johnson @ Zero Waste Home, and Shing Yoong @ The Culture Map
9. What would your best friend tell me about you? That I’m very understanding, a great listener… actually, they’d probably tell you how happy, crazy, sexy, kind, and fantastic I am; and that I love peanut butter.
10. If you had the power to change any grievance in the world in the blink of an eye, which problem would you address? Suffering children; that should sum up everything but incurable diseases.

    

11. What’s your favourite inspirational/motivational quote? “One step, and one day at a time.” My generation was brought up to believe that everyone earned a star or trophy just for showing up. Ads having us believe that miracles happen over night (learning a language, losing 50 pounds, paying off debt), and kids these days get upset if they can’t learn something proficiently the very first time they try it. I also like, “one minute is better than no minutes.” Better to try your best every day and get a little accomplished than to let the negatives get in the way of your positive.

Thanks again Helen for the inspiration. I always enjoy a challenge and a change of pace.