Winner of the Versatile Blogger Award

Hey Everyone,

I won something for chatting with you guys! I Found Lydia has been chosen by not one but two other bloggers out there who value what I put out into the world. As much as I love when my friends back me up and show me their support, there really is something different when a stranger does it.

If you are like me and have completely no idea what I'm talking about, I have done the research for you. It is a peer nominated award designed to recognise up-and-comming bloggers. To be nominated you must fit the following criteria:

Quality of writing;
The uniqueness of the subjects covered;
The ‘level of love’ displayed in the words on the virtual page;
The quality of the photographs and the level of love displayed in the taking of them

Now I still get caught up on that first one. English has never been my strong point, as you can probably tell by my lack of grammatical correctness. I am definitely a numbers girl. Yet, my writing is the top feedback I get given, even above my photos (you know, the whole point of my blog in the first place). I am very flattered that people not only like what I have to share but are actually interested in what I have to say. To me it's like the pressure of plugging your phone in to play music and hoping the crowd like the vibes!

And you guys seem to be liking the vibes so thank you!

As part of the award we are required to share seven facts about ourselves. Before that though, I would like to thank the two bloggers that awarded me this prize.

First was Liz from LizandLemons and if she hadn't already nominated me I would have been nominating her! Her blog is geared towards inspiring millennial and graduates to travel, not limiting themselves to their budget. As a postgrad student I feel this in more ways then one and love that she provides tips on how to keep things cheap and not kill your partner in the process. She also has a really cool way of rating the places she goes by making "lemonade out of lemons".

Second was Sav and Teej from MuchAdventure. ManyTravel. These ladies are travel agents taking the world by storm! They have actually just jumped on a plane moving from Australia to Scotland and seeing everything in between. I have found them to both be very supportive and educational. If there is one thing I've learned when paying thousands of dollars in flights, you definitely want a travel agent as a friend!

MY SEVEN FUN FACTS

Number One

I am pretty scared of heights. Not in a way that it debilitates me though. More in the way where Im brave and I make it all the way to the edge but as soon as I get there I'm stuck. I am more then happy to be pushed off of something but ask me to jump and I'm standing there for 10mins trying to psych myself up. Sky diving and bungee jumping are on my list of things to do though!

Heres a picture of me zip-lining in British Columbia's beautiful Okanogan with the Oyama Zipline team.

Number Two

I'm lactose intolerant but love ice cream and cheese. So basically I ignore my body when my cravings kick in. I am also that person who dips their chips into ice cream and milkshakes. I actually would make my friends laugh during our lunch breaks when we would drink to A&W and I'd order chips and a strawberry shake. A&W chicken strip also taste pretty good dipped in a strawberry milkshake too I hear ;P

Number Three

I don't like nature touching me. Now hear me out. I love camping. I love going on hikes for those views. I do love, though am terrified, of standing out on a cliff. What I don't love are bugs. The feeling of tall grass against my legs just gives me the creeps! This may be due to the Canadian in me freaking out about ticks, even in countries that don't have them. But its mostly because of it feeling like I'm walking into cobwebs. Now nature is the bugs domain so I can't be too picky but you will often see me freak out both externally and internally because of it.

Number Four

I have always wanted to be a beach bum. I grew up wanting to spend my life on the beach surfing. Funnily enough I have only been surfing once and it was this year. I absolutely loved it! I will be out there again this year. Most likely when summer is back but I've caught the bug.

Number Five

I do not have a preference on which "home country" I like best. I get asked often if I like Canada or NZ better, and I really don't have an answer. They are so very different. You can tell me over and over and over again how alike they are but my Canada and my NZ are very different places and mean different things to me. While I am in one I crave the other, thats what happens when two things are so far apart that you know its going to take more then a couple days to get there. Canada may be NZ on steroids, but they offer two very different experiences.

Number Six

My proudest accomplishment is teaching English in Thailand. Prior to going, I had never ever wanted to travel Asia. Man did that change my perspective. It wasn't that I thought it was unsafe or 'dirty', I just genuinely had zero desire to experience that part of the world. That all changed after being there. The people I meet and kids I taught in Takua Pa are warm, generous and strong. I taught English where the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami hit the hardest, whipping out alot of this cities life. Yet they persevered. I never got to experience the Thailand that most of my friends to, in fact I was there on a missions trip. That trip was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I will be forever changed and grateful to the people of Takua Pa for opening my eyes to a truly beautiful culture.

Number Seven

Starting this journey was probably one of the scariest most awkward times of my life. "This" would probably still be something I share with my sisters if it wasn't for accidentally pressing invite to all my Facebook friends at once. I am very thankful of that mistake and those who like to keep up with me because of it. I really do hope that I am encouraging you to get out there and go and explore. You don't need money to do it, cause we sure know my student budget aint forking out for it! Get up and go!

MY NOMINATIONS

It is tradition to pass this award on to those that are also starting out in the blogging community. You are meant to pick 15 but with my assignments coming in I really don't have to time to search for 15 so instead I give people that I have been following for a little bit now.

In no particular order, here are my nominations!