I am very excited and honored to have received a Liebster Award, which recognizes new bloggers. The award is given to new bloggers from other bloggers with less than 200 followers. It’s a fabulous way to show encouragement and support to the blogging community. I began creating my blog in August, and I'm just starting to promote and talk about its contents because well, I am a busy mom! I was nominated by Eileen who writes an awesome food and family blog called everydayeileen.com! Eileen has great recipes some of which I have pinned myself, and her story is truly inspiring! I highly advise you all to please check out her blog site everydayeileen.com and like her on social media! She is awesome! The rules, or guidelines, if you will, for the nominees of a Liebster Award are:

Post your award to your blog. Answer the questions that were given by the person nominating you. Nominate a small group of other new bloggers you’ve discovered. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer. Thank the blogger who nominated you, and link back to their blog.

1 What three pieces of advice would you offer to other new bloggers?

My 3 pieces of advice would be:

1) Just start! you can worry about making your site pretty and adding cool features little my little. The important thing is to get your content out there.

2) Be consistent. It's hard, but regular posts keep people interested and lets new viewers know that this is something you are actively working on. It makes them more likely to subscribe. Even if your post just says I don't have time for a post, you are showing that you are active and aware that a post was due.

3) Have a good mix of fun and content! People come to the internet for info, so you need to provide useful content. But every post doesn't have to be strictly informative. Share fun stories and show that while you have great info, you are a person too!!

2 How did you come up with the idea or theme of your blog?

As a busy mom, it just made sense to share what I have learned about balancing life, family, work, and everything else. I don't know if I'm an expert, but I have definitely learned a lot of tips and tricks along the way.  I have always been super busy/involved, so some of these tips come from my pre-mom life, but all of it is useful now!!

3 What is something you would like to do with your blog that you have not done yet?

Eventually, I would like to have guest posts to expose my audience to other talented bloggers.  I hope to also have the opportunity to post on other blogs down the line.

4 Where would you like to see your blog in one year?

In a year, I hope to have a healthy following and have shared lots of useful advice with my audience.  I am also working on 2 books that I hope to promote here and elsewhere!!

5 What is the average length of time you spend on preparing a blog post?

Generally, about an hour or two including adding pics, and tags and headlines, etc..

6 How much time during the day do you spend on your blog?

I try to post about 2 times a week.  I also send out a weekly newsletter which can take up to an hour to put together. On the rest of the days, I just come on to check comments and messages.

7 Has has social media helped you with growing your blog, and if so, what is your favorite form of social media?

Somewhat, I am still working on that end.  My favorite form is Facebook. Twitter is too fleeting.  You post something and its pushed down the feed in seconds.  I also really like Pinterest for sharing posts.

8 Describe yourself using three words!

silly, smart, ambitious

9 What has been your biggest blogging challenge?

At this point, I'd say getting exposure.  This early on, finding topics to post about is easy.  The difficulty is getting these posts in front of the targeted audience, busy moms.  Some moms feel they are too busy to sit and read blogs, so I try to keep my posts short but informative with a healthy dose of humor!

10 How do you motivate yourself to keep the blog up and running?

I motivate myself with the knowledge that I have something important and useful to share. Even if each post only helps one person, that one person is better off.  I recently had someone tell me that they loved one of my posts and they would be using the info.  Hearing positive feedback in definitely motivating as well!!

So, drumroll please!!! Here are my nominees for the Liebster Award, I really ask that you all check out these websites! These bloggers are providing some great information and I am really impressed with their content, and when you do check out their sites, share the love by subscribing to their blogs or liking their Facebook page, Twitter, etc…

Tassika, www.tassika.com - a motivating blog by a strong and talented woman and author

Katie, www.katiejoyphotographyny.com - a fantastic blog about family and photography.

Here are my questions for you all!

1 Please tell us about yourself and your blog?

2 What inspired you to create your blog?

3 What three pieces of advice would you offer to other new bloggers? (That was such a great question, I had to pass it on.)

4 What is something you would like to do with your blog that you have not done yet?

5 Where would you like to see your blog in one year?

6 Who are some of your favorite bloggers and why?

7 What are your current top 5 favorite things?

8 Describe yourself using three words!

9 What has been your biggest blogging challenge?

10 How do you motivate yourself to keep the blog up and running?

Congrats to the new nominees! These are some great sites everyone should go check out. And once again, thanks to Eileen www.everydayeileen.com !

I am looking forward to following these bloggers and can’t wait to see what they will be posting about next!!