You Brighten My Day!

In this, my season of sporadic posting, a couple of you lovelies are good sports. Colleen at "Waking Up Vegan" (http://www.wakingupvegan.com) and "Vegantummy" (http://thevegantummy.blogspot.com/) each graced A Midlife Vegan+ with the Liebster Award. "Liebster" in German means "beloved" and that's just what I needed! Right back at both of you. I encourage everyone to check out these two blogs if you haven't already. I get so much out of both of them.


The reason for this award is to draw attention to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. After the award is bestowed, the honoree should:

1. Show thanks to the blogger who bestowed the award by linking back to her.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks for the next award and alert them by leaving a comment on their blogs.
3. Post the award on your blog.

When thinking about who my top five picks would be, my mind went back to the "Stylish Blogger Award" which I was honored to receive and pay forward several months back. The rules and qualifications for that one were different, but the process was similar. I'm inspired by and enjoy reading so many blogs, and a couple of these I've mentioned before, but I'll feature them again mostly because it is what I am currently reading and they are, indeed, "beloved". My picks:

1. God's Dreams For Me In My Vegan Playground http://godsdreamsforme.blogspot.com/  -- Jeri positively inspires! Her love for her family and honest assessment of challenges and blessings are like tonic to my spirit. She is beautiful and an awesome photographer to boot!
2. Of the Kitten Kind http://www.ofthekittenkind.com/ -- Sally Kitten is such a joy! Besides being a wealth of practical information, her blog affords me the opportunity to live vicariously through her artist/deejay/nurse/vegan/single-girl-group-house-living life. Sally's joie de vivre is infectious and inspiring. Reading a post of hers is as good as one of my bi-weekly B12 injections Whew! I want to be you when I grow up, girl!
3. Busy Vegan Mama http://busyveganmama.blogspot.com/ -- Reading Sara's blog blasts me right back to one of the most fulfilling and trying times of my life -- when I was a young mom of gorgeous, precious little ones. Reading her words, I remember exactly how it felt to live in that magical, exhausting moment that is over all too quickly. Sara is a great mom and an adventurous and talented cook, not a lazy vegan like me! When all is said and done, a trip to her blog is worth it just to see those amazing babies' cheeks!
4. Sneaky Vegan http://sneakyvegan.blogspot.com/ -- I really enjoy a secret. Sneaky Vegan's secret reminds me of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious. What they don't know won't hurt 'em! I also appreciate how candid the Sneaky Vegan is about her vegan (or not) status.I believe her honesty will take the edge off the decision to give it a go for those potential vegans "on the fence" You may recall my own admission of shellfish-eating during my B12 deficiency which has stabilized with the injections, by the way, so the cravings have gone. I've been there, and I'll say that mostly vegan is soooo much better than not vegan. Check out the Sneaky Vegan -- her recipes and photos are amazing.
5. The Vegan Stoner http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com/ -- Simple, adorable, different. LOVE the art! Stay tuned for a cookbook. This last blog is so very simple I don't actually know how many followers it has, but I've no proof that it is over the limit, so I want you to check it out. You won't be sorry.

Thanks again Colleen and Vegantummy! I am grateful to both of you and to all my other blogging inspirations, too many to list, who add brightness to my life daily.


P.S. -- Right after I posted this, I found that another lovely blogger had also bestowed the Liebster upon me! Please check out Carrot Top Vegan http://carrottopvegan.blogspot.com. I'd not seen Farrah's blog before, and am so happy to have found it. Keep up the good work Farrah, and thanks for the award!