December 16, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Christmas Award Bouquet

Last month Otrazhenie has been nominated for the Sister / Brother Hood award for “the artistry in words”. Thanks a lot, Meticulous Mick, for that nomination. Much appreciated. Meticulous Mick has an amazing eye for spotting and capturing beauty in everything. Check out beautiful photos on his blog.

The rules and questions for this award are provided below:

~ ~The Rules ~ ~

Provide a link to and thank the blogger who nominated you for this award.
Answer ten questions.
Nominate 10-12 blogs that you find a joy to read.
Provide links to these nominated blogs and kindly let the recipients know they have been nominated.
Include the award logo within your blog post.

~~Ten questions to be answered~~

Your favourite colour …. Blue
Your favourite animal … Dogs and Cats
Your favourite non-alcoholic drink …. Pure fresh cool water after long tramp on a hot day – nothing can beat that
Facebook or Twitter ….. Hm, wordpress 🙂
Your favourite pattern ….. Leaves in the bush, clouds on the sky and waves/ripples on the water
Do you prefer getting or giving presents? I was never good in getting presents, but love giving them, especially to children.
Your favourite number … 9
Your favourite day of the week … Friday
Your favourite flower …. Love any wild flowers still growing in the wild.
What is your passion? …..Meeting interesting people and talking to them; Having fun with children, learning new things and travelling.

* * *

The second award in this bouquet – The Sunshine Blogger Award – has been given to Otrazhenie by Donna. This award is passed on by bloggers to fellow bloggers who “positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere. Very pleased, Donna, that you found my blog inspiring.

Rules of the award…Each person who gets an award is asked to answer this series of questions. In this way, others may know a little more about the blogger.

Where would you most like to travel to? Anywhere where there are interesting people.
Do you have a sweet tooth? No, not really. Love berries and fruit more than sweets.
What motivates you to keep you blogging? Interesting conversations with other bloggers, my visitors and followers.
Who is your favorite comedian? My children.
What is your favorite outdoor activity? Long walks with interesting people.
Who was your favorite teacher and why? Hm, can’t name one. I had lots of ‘teachers’ in life, including my best friends, favourite writers and poets, some of my followers and visitors – I learn a lot from their comments to my posts.
Do you own any pets? Not any more. 😦 May be, one day will get another one.
Most embarrassing moment in your life? (That you are willing to share.) Way too many to be shared, which is not surprising taking into consideration my usual daydreaming. 🙂
Where are you from? I don’t like associating myself with a particular place. My soul belongs to New Zealand, with regard to my physical body,physical location does not matter much for me.
How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood? Can’t tell anymore, as my tongue got all twisted in knots 🙂

My nominees (for one of these awards – the choice is yours 🙂 ):

Enjoy!!! 🙂

THE END

September 3, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Super Bunch of Awards for my blogo-family

Last August my blog received a Super Bunch of Awards from Ajay, a very kind friend with compassionate heart and beautiful soul. Check out Ajay’s personal opening to the world at http://ajaytao2010.wordpress.com/

I would like to pass this bunch of awards to all members of my blogo-family. Thanks for all your kind words and insightful comments. My blog would not be the same without all of you.

As Richard Bach once said, “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” Thanks for sharing your thoughts, bringing joy into my blogo-journey and treating all my posts with respect.

🙂

THE END

July 14, 2013 by Otrazhenie

My July Bouquet of Super Awards!

My dear friend Ajay brightened the gloomy chilly winter days in my part of the world with a beautiful Bouquet of Super Awards. Thanks a lot, Ajay. I always appreciate your kindness and encouragement. Your blog posts warm my soul even on the coldest and most miserable days.

I would like to share this bouquet with all bloggers, who need a bit of inspiration, light or warmth in their lives. Be kind to yourself and no matter how gloomy your day might be, try to find a ray of sunshine in your life. It is always there for you, even though sometimes it might be obscured by dark stormy clouds. 🙂

THE END

June 22, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Semper Fidelis Award

This is a very special award that I received from my guardian-angel in the blogosphere Ajay. Ajay is a truly amazing blogger, who created a marvellous online palace of treasures with the most beautiful images and throught-provoking quotes. Check out his collection at http://ajaytao2010.wordpress.com/ if you have not done that already.

Ajay, it is a great honor for me to be part of your ‘pack’. May we never howl alone in life.

The Rules:

Add the Semper Fidelis Award logo somewhere on your blog.
Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
Nominate 5 bloggers who’s loyalty and friendship you value and you consider being part of your ‘pack of wolves’ on WordPress.
Post something special for each one of your nominees and dedicate it to them. This can be a quote, saying, poem, picture, anything you think that would fit that person.
Let the nominees know that you’ve nominated them.

You might be surprised to see such a wolfish award. In traditional stories passed from generation to generation wolves were always depicted as stupid and evil. Is there anything good about them? The most remarkable about wolves is their social cooperation. Wolves live and hunt in packs of around six to ten animals. All of a pack’s adults help to care for young pups by bringing them food and watching them while others hunt. This social cooperation and very strong ties within the pack makes them so special and so human-like in a sense.

From Pack of Wolves

This award has been created by Patty. Below are a few words from Patty about this award:

“Semper Fidelis is Latin and means Always Loyal. Loyalty means the world to me. I am very loyal myself, but I’ve got major trust issues as well. And I think trust is very important if you are sharing so much of yourself with people you meet through the internet. So I am working on that!

Why the wolves? Because wolves have very strong ties with their pack. Like a family or a great group of friends. And I just love them!

This award stands for the loyalty and love between friends.”

My ‘Pack’:

Ajay is my guardian-angel in the blogosphere, who watches my blog closely, provides very insightful comments and encouragement. His kind words and thoughts inspire my posts and warm up my soul.

* * *

Advocatemmmohan does not accept awards. However I still would like to include him in my pack as he was one of the first bloggers who followed my blog and provided lots of encouragement with his ‘Likes’. When I think about Advocatemmmohan, the following words come to my mind: Justice, Wisdom, Love and Peace.

From Justice of the Peace

* * *

Cristi is one of my loyal followers who has been following my blog almost from the start. You can find the most beautful pictures from all corners of the world on his blog Simple & Interesting. When I think about Cristi, the wanderer comes to my mind – the person who is always looking beyond. I wish you lots of happy wanderings in your life, Cristi.

From Wikimedia

* * *

Ivonprefontaine – one of the most amazing teachers I’ve met in my life. A real transformer of human souls. Check out his inspirational and empowering posts at http://ivonprefontaine.com/ .

From 50 Teacher Appreciation Quotes

* * *

Eddie Two Hawks completes my pack with his blog about all life and Mother Earth that contains pictures, philosophies and perceptions born in the minds and hearts of many through the ages. Visit his blog for inspiration and self-discovery.

From A Better Tomorrow Starts Today – Save Mother Earth!

June 13, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Inner Peace Award

A few days ago I received the most peaceful award in the blogosphere: the Inner Peace award from beautiful Tatiana. Check out Tatiana’s blog PoeticPradoxOfLife for a healthy dose of inspiration and motivation.

This award is very special to me as it reflects the essence of blogging: supporting each other in finding inner peace. I find writing and reading blogs very soothing and relaxing, as it helps my soul to have a break from the every day routine of life. I was lucky to come across a lot of amazing blogs in my relatively short blogging journey. It is impossible to name them all, so I’ll just list a few of my favourite blogs that keep my little candle burning:

I would like to share this beautiful award with these bloggers as well as bring a little bit of inner peace to all my followers, visitors and friends.

From Breathing Peace

THE END

May 30, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Gratitude awards

A few days ago I have been nominated by Theresa for the Gratitude Awards. As Theresa says in her award post, one of the great benefits of exchanging awards is that it helps meeting new interesting bloggers in the blogosphere. Theresa’s Soul Gatherings was one of such new blogs that I came across last week and enjoyed a lot. Visit Soul Gatherings and enjoy the stories, quotes, images and other Theresa’s ‘soul gatherings’.

And now -THE RULES:

1-Display the award logo on your blog.

2-Link back to the person who nominated you.

3-Answer 7 questions.

4-Nominate (no limit of nominations) other bloggers for this award and link back to them.

5-Notify those bloggers of the award requirements.

In keeping with nomination guidelines, here are my answers to the 7 questions:

1) If you could create your own planet, what would it look like?

It would be a very colourful one with lots of laughter, happiness and songs and no misery at all. Only smiles.

2) If you could visit one nation you have never visited before, what nation would that be?

I can’t choose one as there are so many cultures I would be interested in visiting. However ‘Global Citizens’ are the ‘nation’ that appeals to me the most: people, who feel the ‘oneness’ of all human beings on this planet; people, who freed themselves from the ‘us vs. others’ stereotype.

3) Have you ever taken a long-distance train trip?

I’ve done a few long-distance train trips when I was a child. I lived in Russia at that time and travelled by train to Ukraine to spend summer holidays with my grandparents, uncles, aunties and numerous cousins. The whole trip took between 36 to 48 hours and required changing the train a few times.

4) What is something you would collectively change about humanity?

Theresa answered that question so well, that I simply quote her: “More tolerance, compassion and understanding of others, recognizing that we all have far more in common than differences. Hopefully, that would bring more cooperation and working together for the needs of the many, rather than the needs of the few. Peace.” That reflects my thoughts 100% – I would not be able to put it better into words.

5) What is your favorite song?

Lots and lots and lots. Like different styles and genres from opera to folk and pop music. Among my favourites is a beautiful song called ‘Smile’ by Nat King Cole. I got it embedded at the end of this post. Hope it will make you smile 🙂 .

6) If you could meet one person who is still alive, who would you choose to meet?

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama – again, totally agree with Theresa on that. I would also love to meet Osho. Unfortunately, he died a few decades ago, but his thoughts are still alive. I have a few of his sayings on my blog, e.g. :

7) If you could choose one symbol to represent you, what would that symbol be and why?

A smile – big, happy, infectious and real, with joy sparkling in the eyes (not one of those Hollywood/Bollywood mock ups).

Hm, it looks like now we got to the nominations bit. I always find it very hard to select bloggers for award nominations, as there are so many wonderful bloggers to choose from. Therefore I decided to nominate any of my followers or visitors, who made someone smile today. However there is a catch – if you want to accept this nomination, you need to add a comment to this post with a story of that smile: either a story of how you made someone smile today or any other ‘smiling’ story. 🙂

THE END

May 26, 2013 by Otrazhenie

My First Award Bouquet with 4 awards!!!

From Flower Power

In May a received two Award Bouquets from Ajay for choosing three awards from. There were 7 awards in the first bouquet with a few awards that I’ve never seen before. The second bouquet had 6 awards.

I also received another Liebster Blog Award from Codedjeannie. Thanks a lot Ajay and Codedjeannie for nominations. Much appreciated. To spread your love and kind thoughts further in the blogosphere, I decided to make my first award bouquet and pass it to all my visitors and followers.

My dear visitors and followers, feel free to choose one award from the list and pass it on. Enjoy 🙂

May 26, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Wonderful Team Membership Award

Last month I was swamped with awards. I believe that passing on awards is an important part of ‘blogosphere membership’, as it allows bloggers to get to know each other better and develop closer relationship in a virtual world. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day and I could not free any of them for writing award posts. Will try to make up for that now. Thanks to all the wonderful bloggers who nominated Otrazhenie. Your patience is appreciated. 🙂

Here is the first award from my May list:

Ajay kindly nominated my blog for the Wonderful Team Membership Award. Ajay is a wonderful team member himself, very supportive of other bloggers. I have been following Ajay’s blog for a few months and enjoy his posts a lot. Check it out – I’m sure you’ll love it.

The rules are as follows;

1.The Nominee of the Wonderful Team member Readership Award shall display the logo on his/her blog.
2.The Nominee shall nominate 14 readers they appreciate over a period of 7 days, all at once or little by little.
3.The Nominee shall name his/her Wonderful Team Member Readership Award nominees on a post or on posts during 7 days.

Below are my 14 nominees in no particular order.

These people have been following my blog for quite a while, commenting on my posts and sharing their thoughts. I feel so lucky to have met them in the blogosphere and enjoy a lot our long blogo-conversations.

April 21, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Best Moment Award

Last but not least for this month – Otrazhenie has also been nominated for the Best Moment Award. Thanks a lot, Cristi, for this nomination. Much appreciated. Your blog is full of such ‘moments’ – your inspirational quotes and beautiful images often brighten my days. I have been following Cristi’s blog for quite a few months and enjoy Cristi’s posts a lot.

Rules:

Winners re-post this completely with their acceptance speech. This could be written or video recorded. Winners have the privilege of awarding the next awardees! The re-post should include a NEW set of people/blogs worthy of the award; and winners notify them the great news.

Resources:

What makes a good acceptance speech?

-Gratitude. Thank the people who helped you along the way

-Humor. Keep us entertained and smiling

-Inspiration. Make your story touch our lives

Get an idea from the great acceptance speeches, compiled in MomentMatters.com/Speech

Display the award’s badge on your blog/website, downloadable in MomentMatters.com/Award

Acceptance speech :

Hello my dear blogo-friends and followers. Thanks for visiting my blog, providing your comments and encouraging me by ‘Liking’ my posts. I have enjoyed my 8-month-long blogo-journey full of reflective moments. Hope my posts bring some sunshine and warmth into your life.

I would like to nominate the following bloggers:

April 21, 2013 by Otrazhenie

Most Influential Blogger Award

A few weeks ago Otrazhenie has been nominated for the Most Influential Blogger Award. Thanks a lot, Ajay, for that award, and sorry that it took me so long to write this award post. Ajay is an amazing member of the blogging community, who is very encouraging and supportive of other bloggers. Check out Ajay’s inspirational blog – his thoughts and images are sure to touch your heart and brighten your day.

This award has no rules. You just choose any amount of blogs to nominate as you wish. Therefore I would like to nominate all bloggers who posted comments to my posts. For me blogging is a conversation and your comments are very important for it – they influence my thoughts and they influence my blog. Thanks a lot for joining into my blogging conversation. Much appreciated. 🙂

I would also like to nominate Ronnie who is running “R” Hub – a recovery support resource centre offering support, information, and involvement for anyone in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. Ronnie is doing an amazing job, pulling people away from drugs and alcohol by involving them into an online conversation and giving them some hope, sense of unity and belonging.