Liebster Award Nominee

Liebster Award, new blogger recognition

I was recently nominated for a Liebster Award, an award to recognize a new blogger.

It seems a device for new bloggers to help spread the word about other interesting new bloggers, like the other chain / tagging question sets you see.  Ordinarily I wouldn't put the time in to write all that out--answers, more questions, links--but why not.

Some background:

Vee Carthens Honey Lemon Tea (the nomination link) is a lifestyle blog where we share our journey towards achieving a comfortable and rewarding lifestyle. Books. Recipes. Green Beauty. Healthy Decisions. Inspiration. Cups of Tea.

My own blog is just a tea blog, and only a beginner's tea blog at that.

The Rules:

1. Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you and display the award.
2. Answer eleven questions the blogger gives you.
3. Give eleven random facts about yourself.
4. Nominate eleven blogs you think are worthy of the award (but they must have less than 200 followers.) **This rule is a little misleading since twitter followers may be included as well. So, you might not be able to tell the true number of “blog followers”. Make a guess and choose who you love.
5. Let the bloggers know you nominated them.
6. Give them eleven questions to answer.

(plus display this logo):

Answers to questions from Honey Lemon Tea:

1. Why did you start blogging?    to talk about tea more, or at least bother people other places less

2. What was your favorite television show as a child?    old Godzilla shows (I'd still watch that actually)

3. Are you allergic to any foods?    no

4. What is one of your guilty pleasures?  I live a pretty spartan life these days; I wish I had just one

5. What is your favorite sport?    to do, snowboarding, to watch, MMA

6. What is your favorite season of the year?    summer (but getting a little old here in Thailand)

7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?    home to see my family 

8. Tea or coffee?    TEA!  If tea or food still tea.

9. What is the last book you read?    Damien by Herman Hesse

10. What is your favorite comfort food?    nachos

11. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?   TEA!  except probably toys for my son instead, and then whatever madness my wife had in mind

Questions for nominated bloggers:

1.  What is it about your blog subject that is so compelling?
2.  Favorite tea?
3.  What's the furthest from "home" you've ever traveled?
4.  What is one thing Thailand is famous for, other than food?
5.  Guess your bench press (or skip that if that doesn't make sense to you)
6.  Do you believe in ghosts?
7.  Are people still evolving now?
8.  Why can't astrologers detect dark matter?
9.  What historical person would you visit if you could (language issues aside, come on)?
10.  What is one thing you can do that almost no one else can do?
11.  What did the Buddha teach?  (short version)

Nominated bloggers:

These are supposed to have less than 200 followers, but some seem a bit more developed than that.  It's hard to check follower count and I wanted to include favorites.


the tea sisters  the opposite of stuffy review-only blogs

complexitea by patty  she's been doing some other things lately, but a nice basic tea blog with a background information theme

toad's tea blog  one person's take on teas, some blogs with research references

guerillaction  edgy Asian travel blog

temple mountain tea  substantial resource in the making

daramuscat   (a blog for inspiration), note the translation function button since it's in Russian

listening to leaves  pu'er inclined well-developed tea blog, not really a newbie blogger

tea-stains  also a bit too developed, but it's done from Bangkok

renegade travels  surely way too established, but a cool travel blog, not overly developed or commercial

tea de zhang  a tea blog in Thai, associated with a can't miss Bangkok shop (again too developed, but come on, a real Thai tea-expert blog)

foongpc  an actual new-to-blogging Asian travel theme blog, with lots of pictures


bonus mentions:

tale of genji  technically not a blog, a Japanese historical fiction site, but pretty cool, but like a theme photo blog

herbal teas  herbs as supplements and such, developed as a reference site (not really a conventional blog format--off topic--but somehow it seemed worth mentioning)


Congratulations!  And if any of you decide to run through this, it takes a bit longer than it would seem.