Thank You and Awards

June will mark six months the Chickadee Nest has been in existence as a blog, and I can’t even begin to tell you how great these first six months have been! I just wanted to write a quick note to tell you all how much I appreciate your support, your comments, your shares, links, and pins! It has been wonderful getting to know each of you! Most of all, I’ve been amazed by the support from the online blogging community! You won’t meet a more encouraging group of people hardly anywhere. The Chickadee Nest has been honored to be nominated for a couple of blogging awards, and it’s pretty exciting!

If you have any favorite blogs, please drop a line in the comments below and let me know of any sister sites you may frequent! I love “meeting” new people and finding new blogs, and these awards are a great way to find great new sites to check out!

So without any further wordage from me, here are the Chickadee Nest’s first awards:

The Sunshine Blogger Award is peer recognition for bloggers that inspire positivity and joy. The Chickadee Nest was nominated by Whitney at Aiming to Stress Less. That’s definitely something we can all aim for!!

The questions I was asked:

Why did you start blogging? Is there a story behind the name of your blog? I’ve been journaling or blogging in some form or another for years. When I was a kid, it was my diary. Later on, it was basic HTML web pages on Tripod. (Remember those?) Then there was Xanga. (Didn’t everyone have a Xanga?) It’d been awhile since I had a writing outlet other than Star Trek Fanfic (oh yes!) and had had the name and idea for the Chickadee Nest floating around in my head for awhile, so ComputerGuy encouraged me to make the jump. The name Chickadee Nest is kinda a play off my name, and the type of blog I wanted to have… about home life in general, you know, our “nest”. And, I love chickadees!
Spring, summer, autumn, or winter? Spring!
If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Hmmm… toughy. Probably Pizza.
What is your favorite vacation spot? Anywhere with a beach.
What is your go-to store to shop at for clothing? Wherever is having an awesome sale.
What is one way you relieve stress at the end of the day? I’m an introvert, so getting some alone time is my recharge.
What destination in the U.S. would you like to visit next? I have a thing where I used to say I’d visit all 50 states before I got married. Well, obviously that didn’t happen, so now it’s a bucket list thing. I’ve got 38 down, so anyplace not already on my list would be great. I haven’t been to the NE yet, and I’ve been wanting to see Maine, so maybe there.
What are five beauty products you can’t live without? Ooh, I’m a wash-n-go girl, so I can’t really speak much to beauty products. My curly hair gel, so it doesn’t frizz like crazy, but that’s about it as far as “must haves” for me.
What cities or towns have you lived in? I grew up in Southern California, moved to Kansas City when I was a teenager, and have lived all over Missouri since then with a two-year break for grad school in Texas.
Where do you find inspiration for your blog posts? All over, but mostly from things going on in our day-to-day lives.
Do you own any pets? We have a 6-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix named Eli, and a Beta fish named JetPack.

Here are my Nominees for the Sunshine Award:

Questions for the Nominees:

What is peace to you? How do you find it?
What one country would you love to visit someday?
What inspires you?
How many children do you have, and what is your favorite Mommy moment?
If you could choose any superpower what would it be?
Do you collect anything?
What do you love most about blogging?
What is your favorite holiday, and why?
What is your favorite family tradition?
What is one thing you wish your readers knew about you or your blog?
What was your favorite subject in school when you were a kid?

Rules for the award:

Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate (at least) 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

Yay! Now go check out these awesome blogs, and stay tuned for some educational fun!

I was so excited to be nominated for the Best Educational Blog Award, because although the Chickadee Nest covers homeschooling topics from time to time, (ok, maybe a lot lately!) I didn’t feel like it was the main purpose of the blog. That’s probably since we’re so new and our “niche” is still evolving a bit… but it is awesome to be nominated!

Thank you to The Happy Homeschooling Mum for the nomination!

The questions I was asked:

1. What is your favorite book and favorite children’s book? I couldn’t just pick one favorite book, there are so many, and they tend to evolve from time to time. My favorite children’s book is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.

2. What is your pick-me-up? You mean other than chocolate? LOL, sleep, probably. Sleep and some good introverted alone-time.

3. How many bookshelves do you have? Three in our school room, two in the kids’ rooms, one in the living room, two in the master bedroom, and still not enough!!

4. Where is your favorite place to go? The beach. Any beach. As long as it’s not crowded. 🙂

5. What is your favorite thing to do outside? I love gardening, hiking, soccer, camping, geocaching, taking the dog for a walk at the park, watching the kids play, swimming…

My Nominees: (I follow quite a few “big” homeschool blogs, but wanted to nominate some up and comers who would value the recognition a bit more!)

Guest Hollow: This is a homeschool mom blog turned homeschool curriculum. I’ve followed her for years, and love what she’s done and her dedication to a good literature-based education.
Babies to Bookworms: Encouraging a love of reading to children of all ages!
Footprints in the Butter: Great resources, reviews & encouragement for homeschoolers.
Home to 4 Kiddos: A homeschooling perspective on current events, and great history related reviews.

Questions for the Nominees:

What is the #1 reason you homeschool? (If you do!)
If you could choose any superpower what would it be?
Do you collect anything? Why?
What do you love most about blogging?
What do you love most about home education? (or parental involvement in education!)

Rules: Nominate 1-5 of your favorite Educational blogs. Ask 5 questions. Repost image and rules.

Nominees: Thank those who nominated you. Answer your 5 questions. Nominate up to 5 Educational blogs and write why. Ask your own 5 questions.

Repost image and rules. Have fun and spread the love!!!

Thanks again Chickadee Nest readers! Hope you are having a blessed week!