Wow!  These are long overdue.  Back in July I was nominated for two awards but, as I was on vacation at the time I put them on ice and kinda forgot about them.  Time to rectify that.

The Parasite Guy nominated me for the Liebster Award – my second one.  I’ve noticed the same awards circulate with different sets of rules.  I wonder why that is.  A game of telephone gone awry?  Nevertheless, this time around the rules are as follow:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you
2. Display the award logo on your post and blog
3. Answer 10 questions about yourself, these can be the same as the person who nominated you or it can be 10 random facts that you feel like sharing
4. Find and nominate 10 new blogs for the award, notify them of their award and see what happens.  (Note: for most versions of this award, “new” corresponds to blogs with 200 followers or less)

I always struggle to think of random facts and there’s a second award to come, so I’m going to answer the questions in Parasite Guy’s post.

1.  Name three authors who you have found inspiring?
CS Lewis, Philip Yancey and John Eldredge.  I should add they’re all three non-fiction authors, specifically religious authors.  I can’t say that I’ve ever been inspired by a work of fiction and those that set out to be inspirational tend to come across as preachy to me.

2. What is your goal in life?
Still trying to figure that one out.

3. What are your 3 favourite foods?
Braaivleis (South African barbeque), avocado, ice cream (wait, is that a food?)

4. Name 5 of your favourite musicians or bands?
Coldplay, Steven Curtis Chapman, Queen, The PianoGuys, Mika

5. If you had a time machine, what era would go back and visit?
As long as the time machine is a TARDIS and I’m travelling as the Doctor’s companion I don’t really mind.  I’ll be running most of the time anyway.

6. Where would you most like to go, on Earth?
Scotland and Scandinavia (which is ironic as I hate the cold)

7. Who would you most like to have a cup of tea with, anyone from history?
Jim Henson or Roald Dahl

8. If you were reincarnated, what animal would you like to be?
A gryphon (Hey, the question did not specify “real animal”.  If it had to be a real animal I’d pick the African Honey Badger – the Chuck Norris of the animal kingdom.)

9. What skill or activity (that you don’t already know) would you most like to learn?
I’d like to learn how to fence (as in sword-fighting).

10. Where is your favorite place to write?
I usually write at my desk.  Can’t say that it’s my favourite spot.  It’s just where I write.

The second award is the Shine On Award.  I got this one from Bumblepuppies.  For this award I once again have to list seven random facts about myself, so here goes:

1.  I am 1.8m tall, or 5’10”

2.  I am currently a bit overweight, but trying very hard to remedy the situation

3.  I suffer from a severe lack of impulse-control

4.  Sometimes I seriously consider going over to the dark side

5.  I love Chopin’s music

6.  I wrote that previous one because Chopin features in the episode of Dexter I’m currently watching

7.  I own a lava lamp, a green one

Now I need to nominate a bunch of people for these awards.  However, many of the people I follow don’t do awards, and those who do seem to already have almost every award there is 😉 so I’m rather going to treat this as a shout-out to some blogs I consider worth checking out with no obligation whatsoever to them.  They are of course welcome to pass on the award if they so choose.

For a mix of beautiful travel photography and scrumptious recipes, go visit Gigi at Anchor It Down.

Rory Young is a Professional Safari Guide and game ranger and writes some brilliant pieces (as answer to questions on Quora.com) about animals and the African bush on Anomie’s Child.

I’ve only started following Hannah very recently, but I very much like the way she writes.  Go visit her at Confessions Of A Hopeless Introvert.

Misha Burnett just published his second novel (I’m still waiting to hear from his distributor what shipping to SA will cost before I forsake my principles and buy it on Kindle), so make sure to read the descriptions of his novels as well when you visit.

For some excellent in-depth discussions on books and literature, go visit Madame Bibi Lophile (confession: all the time I’ve been following her I’ve been reading the name as Madame Bibliophile.  Maybe that was the idea…)

One of the best blogs I’ve come across thus far (with a surprisingly small following) is Loving With The Whole Brain.  It’s all about relationships, and not just romantic ones.

Go give these guys a visit.  You won’t be sorry.

• Awards