And Another One!

This blog has been receiving some love in the past couple of days. First is the Blog with Substance Award. Then I got a heart-warming comment from Jaq and a moral boost from high-profile blogger Orman of Ganda Ever So Much. And then recently, Mei of Cravings of the Newlyweds and A Match Made in Heaven gave me this:

I can't thank you guys enough. Because of you I am totally geared up to write more entries. I'm actually considering quitting my day job to be a full-time blogger! Hahaha. Nah, kidding aside, I am enjoying writing now more than ever. And this new award is just awesome because it gave me a chance to share random things about myself - something that I haven't done here yet. Read on...

1. I comb only once - after taking a bath, that is - and survive the rest of the day just by running my fingers through my hair.

2. Ask me to combat cockroaches and I will do it in a heartbeat but please don't make me get near dogs and cats. Yeah, I'm weird like that.

3. I have tried to shed some pounds but fail miserably when faced with a sizzling bowl of Pork Sinigang.

4. I love the number 4! 'Nuff said :P

5. People think that I can do a lot of things but I actually don't have a talent. I suck at singing and have two left feet. I cannot act nor draw. I can't even play a single musical instrument. I always get compliments for my penmanship but that doesn't count, right?

6. I dream of becoming a wedding planner. In fact I have been planning my wedding for the longest time - a wedding that's still set to happen on 2016 (because I want it on a Saturday and don't want a different anniversary date). Jhay, however, doesn't like the idea because he's 31 by then. I always tell him that I'll marry him anytime, provided that he has a million to make my dream wedding come true. Bad ba ko? Hahaha.

7. Apart from having a wall that boasts of diplomas and graduation pictures of 6 beautiful young ladies, my ultimate dream is to travel the world. I keep believing that one day I'll get the chance (and more importantly, the resources) to shop till I drop in NYC, sunbathe in Santorini, boat in Venice, pray inside Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona, walk the Great Wall, and capture in photograph my life's sweetest kiss with the magnificent Eiffel Tower in the background :-)

****

Now I am tagging Jaq and Sinthea because of 2 things:

1. I soooo wanted to include them in my previous list but it's against the rule (by the way, please check out the rules for this award too, it's here :))
2. They are versatility personified.

Go girls! :D

Back to Blogging (With an Award to Boot!)

Two weeks had gone by since I last posted a sensible blog entry. Everyday I try to push myself to write but I guess it's true that when you don't have the heart for it, you just won't be able to come up with something. So everyday for two weeks I go online only to check Facebook notifications and then open Blogger to watch my stats hit rock bottom. I tried so hard to pretend that it doesn't matter to me but deep down it sucks. Really. I mean, I go green with envy when I bloghop and see others having enough discipline to regularly  post, and post something great. Thus I promised myself that this weekend I'm gonna make it up. This blog deserves nothing less. Its readers, no matter few, deserve nothing less.

So now that I'm back, let me make it official by accepting an award that Jaq of My Way or the Highway had given me. I used to say she's biased because we're friends online and offline but I also wanna think that somehow I have written here a post or two that made me deserving of...

*drum roll please*
 

And with this award comes the challenge of describing one's blogging motivation, experience and philosophy in five words. It's not very easy but I'm giving it a try:

1. Passion. A Glee character once said, "The only life worth living is the one that you truly are passionate about." And because I do not write professionally, I feel that I am still living out my love for writing through this blog. Each published post gives me a sense of pride. I may not have the best design or the most readership but this little craft gives me happiness and personal fulfillment enough to keep me going.

2. Self-expression. Noticed the blog title? I call this "my avenue" for a reason. This is where I can just rave and rant and let it all out. This is where I let my thoughts flow, where I pour in my emotions.  This is where I share reflections and life's little lessons hoping that somehow I can be another's inspiration.

3. Chronicle. Alright, this doesn't end in "-ion" but I believe it deserves to be here. I have always wanted a personal blog because I want to tell a story -- my story. I want to document my adventures and experiences so that years from now, I can just go online and get an instant trip down memory lane.

4. Information. Whenever I go somewhere, whether on a getaway, a simple night-out, or just trying out a new restaurant or dish, I throw in details of it when I blog. Informative articles in the blogosphere has helped me in the past (it still does, actually) thus I wanted to return the favor.

5. Appreciation. Whoever doesn't want the A word should have himself checked. I mean, really, we all want positive reception in terms of followers, daily visits, links in the blog roll and my favorite of them all: COMMENTS :-) These things boost my desire to put ideas into words. They make me want to blog more and more because I feel that somewhere someone finds my posts worth their time and effort.

There you go. Now it's my turn to confer the award to 10  bloggers who are doing a great job :-)

Mae of A Lifetime of Togetherness
Mei of Cravings of the Newlyweds
Fleur of Mommy Fleur
Chevy Mae of Peace, Love and Candy
Cricket of The Drama Queen Can Tell Stories

-- and people I look up to, people who may not have the time to do something like this but I'm including anyway because they deserve the honor:

 
Celine of The 30 before 30 Project
Ms. Frances of Topaz Horizon
Ms. Cecile of Chuvaness
Ms. Clarice of I am Clarice, and
Ms. Aileen of An Apple a Day

P.S. Thank you Jaq. You and Sinthea should be on the list too but you guys are over and done with this :D