Sunshine Blogger Award

Posted in Awards by Joann

Thank you, Lee-Anne from Just Me Please for nominating for this award. It always makes my day whenever I am recognized by a fellow blogger. Lee-Anne’s blog is especially exciting for me as she is a travel blogger. I love reading about and seeing pictures from far away lands that I could only hope to visit one day. Even more exciting is that Lee-Anne does a lot of her traveling solo. I’ve traveled for work alone, but that’s work. Lee-Anne travels for leisure by herself any always manages to have an adventure.

The Sunshine Blogger Award rules are:

Thank the person who nominated you.

Answer the 11 questions you’ve been asked.

Nominate 11 other bloggers, making sure to let each one know that they are nominated.

Ask the nominees 11 questions.

My Answers to the 11 Questions from Lee-Anne @ Just Me Please

What is your favorite drink? Classic Coca Cola. I know it’s not healthy, but it’s my favorite.
Where is your hometown? San Francisco, California.
Do you prefer sweet, sour, bitter or savory flavors? Savory.
What is your favorite song? Any song from Adele.
Where do you find inspiration for your blog posts? Going to restaurants, browsing old cookbooks or things I see on the internet.
Are you a minimalist or a collector? Collector.
What color is your suitcase? Navy.
Which trees do you like the best? Cherry blossom trees.
Do you have a day job as well as blogging? Yes.
What is your favorite smell or scent? Cookies baking in the oven.
Do you prefer to eat meat or vegetables? I prefer both, but if I have to pick, it would be meat.

My Nominees for the Sunshine Blogger Award are:

Here are the 11 fellow bloggers who have brought sunshine to my world by creating fantastic blogs and/or taking the time to interact with mine are:

Rinaldo at agenda19892010
Lynn at lynz real cooking
Sue T. at Sue’s Fabulous Travels
Carol at Cooking For the Time Challenged
Gail at snapshotincursive
Abbie at Of A Life Less Ordinary
Amir at World of Horror
Joel F. at Joys of Joel
Rossy at AYR Galaxy
Timeka at Sewlovable
Susie at susieshy45

11 Questions for the nominees:

What do you think you cook or bake the best?
If you could change your first name, what would it be?
Can you hula hoop?
If you could ask you future self one question what would it be?
What’s your favorite Disney movie?
What’s the strangest thing you have ever eaten?
What’s the last internet site you were at?
What’s your favorite holiday?
What’s one of your pet-peeves?
What is your dream vacation?
What is your favorite dinner to eat?

27Sep2015

More Awards – Versatile Blogger and Sisterhood of the World Blogger

Posted in Awards by Joann

Once again, the blogging community has shown me how friendly, encouraging and supportive they can be. I have been nominated for not just one, but two blogging awards this week. As always, I am honored and surprised to receive recognition for my little blog. Thanks to Charlotte at Tales of Chinese Cooking for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award. And thanks to Yen at Little Calico’s Journal for giving me my second nomination for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. Be sure to stop by both their lovely blogs.

Rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:

Show the award on your blog
Thank the person that has nominated you
Share 7 different facts about yourself
Nominate 15 blogs of your choice
Link your nominees and let them know of your nomination

Rules for the Sisterhood of World Bloggers Award:

Put the Award logo on your blog
Thank the person who nominate you, linking back to their site
Answer 10 questions the person asked you
Nominate 10 blogs and notify them
Write 10 new questions for them

Since both awards have similar rules, I’m just going to combine them so this post doesn’t go on forever.

Questions and Answers:

Q: What type of weather do you like?

Born and raised in California, so I like sunny weather.

Q: What is your favorite color?

Purple.

Q: What is your favorite drink?

Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha. (Don’t judge me.)

Q: What is your favorite pastime?

Going to see movies.

Q: What do you find inspiring?

People who take the time to help others without regard to themselves.

Q: Do you have pets?

No, but I really want a little dog.

Q: Do you cook?

I try my best. 🙂

Q: Coffee or tea?

Coffee of course!

Q: If you could only live on one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Chicken breasts.

Q: Use three words to describe yourself.

Quiet, loyal and silly.

Nominees for either or both awards, because you all are lovely people with awesome blogs:

Evgenia at Living on Annette

Chelsey at Diaries of a Recovering Diet Addict

Carol at Retired? No one told me!

Ishita at Twisted Top in Flip Flops

Lynz at Lynz Real Cooking

The Mouse at Live2EatEat2Live Blog (And yes, Mouse I know you are a Mickey and not a Minnie. So Versatile Blogger Award for you. But feel free to choose both.)

Bec at What’s Bec Cooking

Koolaidmoms at What’s for Dinner Moms?

Dawn and Rachel at Meals Our Kids Love

Linda and Heidi at Fabulous Fare Sisters

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Nominees 10 Questions:

What is your best childhood memory?
What is your favorite music?
If you could only keep 5 possessions, what would they be?
Who do you most admire in life?
If you won the lottery, what would you do?
If you could witness any event in the past, present or future, what would it be?
What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?
What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Who would you most like to be stuck on an elevator with and why?
Aren’t you glad I only asked 9 questions? 🙂

A big heartfelt “Thank You” to Charlotte at Tales of Chinese Cooking and Yen at Little Calico’s Journal for nominating me for these awards. And thanks to all those who follow my blog and/or hit the “like” button on my posts. It really keeps me motivated to continue blogging my recipes.

❤ Joann

12Sep2015

Bloggers Recognition Award

Posted in Awards by Joann

I always get the warm, fuzzy feels whenever I am nominated for a blogging award. It’s that pat on the back that you don’t expect to get, but sure feels nice when you do. So a big thanks to Evgenia from Living on Annette for nominating me for the Bloggers Recognition Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize bloggers, give them encouragement and motivation to continue blogging, and basically just let them know that they are loved and appreciated.

The Rules:

Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
Write a post and give a brief story of how your blog started
Give a piece of advice or two to new bloggers
Select 15 other blogs you want to nominate for the award
Let the nominees know you have nominated them and provide a link to the nomination details

I started this blog as just a place to store my holiday treats recipes to share with my family, because they would always ask for them. I didn’t plan to open my blog up to the entire internet, so you can see my first few entries are just straight recipes. But with a little nudge, and words of encouragement from my sister-in-law, I decided to give blogging my recipes a try.

I still consider myself new to blogging, but if I had to give some advice to others it would be not to be discouraged easily by blogging numbers. For some, it’s the number of followers you have. For others it’s the quantity of posts you put out. I have a little over 100 followers, but to me they are they best community of friends to have. Sure it would be nice to have more followers. But I get enough support and encouragement from my followers that I do not feel a hole in my heart because I don’t have more.

I’m supposed to nominate 15 other bloggers for the award, but I hope you don’t mind if I only nominate three. The first is wildly popular and her blog is what I hope mine can become someday. The second, is relatively new, but has a lovely blog already. And the third is so supportive and her comments are always so nice.

The Award Nominees:

Stephy @ Stephysweetbakes
Lisasasha @ Sweetima
Bec @ What’s Bec Cooking

Once again, thank you Evgenia @ Living on Annette for nominating me for this award. It was a nice surprise. Thanks also to all of you who continue to follow my blog and leave comments and/or likes. It means the world to me.

❤ Joann

30Aug2015

The Creative Blogger Award

Posted in Awards by Joann

Oh my! Another award nomination. I always feel surprised and honored when I get an award nomination. My little blog was created just to share some of my recipes with a few family and friends. I never expected anyone to even follow it. Needless to say, my blog has been received ever so kindly into the blogger community. To receive an award nomination from another blogger gives me affirmation that I must be doing something right. So I would like to thank Gail from snapshotsincursive for nominating me for a Creative Blogger Award.

Gail’s blog, snapshotsincursive caught my eye with her “Eating My Way Through the Alphabet” recipes. But she also features posts on travel, gardening and living. Be sure to stop by her blog and give it a read. You won’t be disappointed.

And now onto the Creative Blogger Award Rules:

Nominate a few bloggers and contact them with the amazing news.
Link back to the person who nominated you.
Post five (5) facts about yourself.

I’ve always considered myself a pretty boring person, so consider yourself warned. But here are five facts about me:

I can speak more Spanish than I can Chinese. (And both my parents speak Chinese.)
When I was a teen, I was a member of a drum and bugle corp.
My favorite vacations are always somewhere there’s sandy beaches and clear blue water.
I will eat shrimp and crab even though they make me break out in itchy hives.
I’m a cheap date. One glass of any alcoholic beverage gives me a buzz.

And here are my nominees:

Chelsey @ Diaries of a Recovering Diet Addict
Lynz @ lynz real cooking
Laura @ a little bit of laura

Once again, I’d like to thank Gail @ snapshotsincursive for nominating me. And thanks to all those who follow my blog and/or take the time to give my blog a “like.”

Joann ❤

15Aug2015

A Special Thank You

Posted in Awards by Joann

Whoa Nelly! I would like to thank those that have recognized me and honored my blog with the various awards from the blogging community. I’ve said it before, And I’ll say it again. I’m just happy to have you follow my blog. Never in a million years would I have thought my little blog would be honored with any type of an award.

Now I know each of these awards have some sort of question and answers and rules to nominate up to 15 others. But if you wouldn’t mind cutting me some slack, I hope you don’t mind me bending the rules. Plus, I’m a pretty boring person. So my fun and interesting list wouldn’t be very long. You would just shake your head and say to yourself, “That’s 30 seconds I’m never going to get back.”

And although I am sure they would graciously accept yet another blogger award, almost all the bloggers I follow and admire pretty much have every blogging award out there.

So instead, I would like to recognize the fabulous bloggers who nominated me for these awards. Please stop by their blogs and tell them how great they are. Each of them have caught my eye enough to follow their blogs and to learn something new.

Once again, I would like to say thank you to all those who follow and “like” my blog. Words cannot express how happy it makes me when I get a new follower or someone “likes” one of my recipes. An especially big thank you with hugs and kisses to those who take the time to nominate me for awards. I really appreciate it. Being recognized means the world to me.

25Jul2015

Infinity Dreams Award

Posted in Awards by Joann

For the past few weeks, bloggers who I not only admire but inspire me to continue blogging have nominated me for blogging awards. Honestly, I was just happy for them following my blog back. I never thought they really read my little blog since compared to theirs it’s pretty basic. It is such an honor to be recognized by them.

I would like to thank SKD at Aromas and Flavors from My Kitchen for nominating me for this award. SKD’s blog is full of wonderful recipes and great blogging tips. SKD zeroes in on the point that aromas and flavors bring out so many wonderful memories from one’s life. It’s so true how a certain smell or taste can bring you back to your childhood or an important time in your life. So, if you aren’t already subscribed, you should go check out SKD’s blog at Aromas and Flavors from My Kitchen.

According to the rules I am supposed to list a few of my dreams and nominate 7 blogs.

My Dreams (Are really Hopes):

My children will have long and happy lives.
No person, young or old will go without a meal.
There will be a way to treat cancer that does not require chemotherapy or radiation or anything that makes a person sicker just to stop the cancer cells.
My selfish dream is to one day never have to worry about finances.

Spreading the goodwill to inspiring bloggers, here are my nominees:

Thanks to all who follow and/or give my blog “Likes.” It really means a lot to me.

Joann

25Jul2015

Premio Dardos Award

Posted in Awards by Joann

Premio Dardos means “Prize Darts” in Spanish. The Award recognizes those who transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values through writing.

Once again, I have been honored with an award nomination by Stephy at Stephysweetbakes. It means so much to me to be recognized by Stephy. Her blog is full of scrumptious recipes and beautiful pictures of her creations. Her blog is one of the first I subscribed to and I am so glad I found it. If you aren’t following her yet, then subscribe to her now. You’ll learn much from her. I know I have.

THE RULES ARE:

Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.
Pass the award on to other bloggers of your choice and let them know that they have been nominated.

MY NOMINEES ARE:

Nandini at Goan Imports
Serena at Serena Glow
Jess at Cooking Is My Sport

Thanks to all of you for keeping me motivated!

Joann

23Jul2015

Dragon’s Loyalty Award

Posted in Awards by Joann

My little blog was nominated for a Dragon’s Loyalty Award! I am honored and speechless. I never would have thought when I started this blog that anyone other than my friends and relatives would even look at it. (And that’s just as a courtesy.) It’s so nice to be acknowledged by a truly wonderful and creative baker like Hannah at Love the Little Bakery. Her recipes alone will inspire you to get to baking. But it is the pictures of her creations that will tempt your sweet tooth and convince you to try her recipes just so you can get a taste. If you haven’t yet, you must check out her blog!

The rules for this award are as follows:

Display the Award Certificate on your website
Announce your win with a post and a link to the lovely blogger that nominated you
Present 15 Awards to deserving bloggers
Drop them a comment to let them know after you have linked them to your post
Post 7 interesting things about yourself

7 interesting things about myself:

My favorite place to travel is anywhere there is a beautiful beach and sparkling, clear water.
I get car sick easy on long winding roads.
I love to bowl, even though I am not very good.
I have a tattoo on my inner right ankle.
I didn’t grow up liking Hello Kitty, but now I love all things Hello Kitty.
Christmas time is my favorite time to bake.
I can speak more Spanish than I can Chinese, and I grew up with two Chinese speaking parents.

Yeah, I’m not very interesting. What can I say? Thank goodness this award isn’t based on how interesting I am.

In no particular order, here are my 15 nominees:

Thank you, Hannah from Love the Little Bakery for the nomination. You brightened my day.

Best wishes to all of you!

Joann

5Jul2015

Starlight Blogger Award

Posted in Awards by Joann

This Award is created to highlight and promote Inspiring Bloggers.

I started this blog on New Year’s Day this year as a place to keep my recipes. But at the constant (and appreciated) urging of my sister-in-law, I decided to share my recipes with the internet. And although I don’t have a huge following, I have more than I ever thought I would. So what a surprise it was to be nominated by Stephy @ http://stephysweetbakes.com/ for a Starlight Blogger Award. Stephy’s blog is what I hope my blog can become someday. Her recipes are awesome. I honestly didn’t think she even read my blog, so being nominated by someone I admire is such an honor.

THE RULES:

Thank and link back the person who nominated you for the award.
Answer the questions set to you and then you may create your set of questions for your nominees.
Nominate other bloggers. (You may notify them to make them aware.)

MY QUESTIONS:

What would be your PERFECT date night?

This is going to sound corny, but anytime I get to spend with my boyfriend is a perfect date night. Long distance relationships are hard to maintain. So when I do get to spend time with my guy it really doesn’t matter to me where we go or what we do or where we eat.

Would you consider yourself a focuser or procrastinator when given a task?