First of all, I must say that I am lazy when it comes to award posts. I like to do them in bulk, combine several awards at a time and I think this is bulk enough for me. This last week, I’ve been nominated for the same award by not one but three bloggers, Little Calico’s Journal, Jordan from Call Me Incorrigible, and Norma from Emovere.

Here are the rules:

1. Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to
2. You cannot nominate yourself or the person who has nominated you
3. Write a post to show your award
4. Give a brief story of how your blog started
5. Give a piece of advice or two to new bloggers
6. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
7. Attach the award to the post (right click and save, then upload)
8. Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them
9. Provide a link to the award post you created

How my life went from simple to complicated…

…in about 2 seconds, just kidding, it’s more like ten years.

This blog began with an idea about food (doesn’t it always?)…

…and you can read about it here in my post My Journey to Blogging.

After reading the above post, I bet you’re be asking how I found my way back to the blogosphere all those months later. To keep this post nice and short, I must redirect you to my post Why A Simple Life.

Oh and if you’re interested about my first post, you can click here to view the post: The Influence of Culture on Food.

My advice to new bloggers:

• Every blog is different. Not all blogs grow at the same speed. It’s like a person. Every one grows at a different rate. It will depend on you and your contents to survive and thrive.
• At the beginning, you maybe disappointed with your stats. Don’t pay attention to those. Okay, that’s not what I mean. Look at them but not at an obsessive level. Even if it’s disappointing, don’t quit, don’t give up, just keep posting and interacting with people.
• Write what you know. I know many others have emphasized and dwell on this advice and they are right. Write the words that flow from your head or heart. Don’t write on a complex topic that require a lot of research.
• READ READ READ!!! The survival of your blog also depends on you reading and following other people. There are lots of interesting blogs out there. Hit that follow button whenever you nod your head going, “Hmm, this is an interesting blog.”
• COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT!!! It’s rude when people take the time out to read your article and write thoughtful comments, they wait and wait and never get a reply from you. Always return a comment either with a thoughtful reply or a smiley face, proving you’re there.

This time, for my nominees, it’s a difficult pick. I think all bloggers out there deserve to be recognized and I don’t want to single anyone out. Therefore, if you want it, it’s yours.