Proud Treasures: Photo Challenges

This week word press has asked us to show a treasure; something special and dear to our heart. Maybe it is a simple item and others would  think of it as meaningless, but to yourself it is priceless. Bastet has asked us to show photos we like and are especially proud of the way they turned out. To me my photos are treasures that showcase my world travels and bring back memories of places, people and events. Each is special and unique. To have had the opportunity to travel, especially so much in the last 4 years, that has been a wonderful gift. To be able to see places most  people have only heard about, seen in books, or on TV is amazing. I will treasure my photos long after we leave. These below are some I am most proud of and one day they may grace the walls of our home.

I have loved taking photos for a long time and I am trying hard to learn more. Someone once told me look for the shot no one else will have. Although I find a good photo sometimes is a lucky shot, a fleeting moment you happen to capture, a chance encounter that you might be in the right place at the right time, or when all elements just come together. Other times it takes  a careful eye and planning. The following are the shots I am most proud of. Enjoy my treasures….

Intricate carvings – Angkor Wat. The lighting was perfect for this capture of the bas reliefs along the temple walls.

I love this photo. It caught my breath and I almost couldn’t believe it was I who took it. Cambodia was an amazing place and this photo was my favourite from Angkor Wat. Everything came together perfectly.

Speaking of lighting be just right…..

Rome, Italy – Sun or Heavenly Rays in St. Peter’s Basilica?

I saw the sun rays and hoped it turned out. It was much later I realised how this looked and I was really happy with the result.

This next one reminded me of an eerie old B&W film. The sepia tones in the hazy, humid sky after an earlier downpour played with the lights. Everyone takes the horizontal shot of the parliament buildings, so I looked for an alternate angle. I was happy how it was different and the atmosphere and feeling it has.

The Peace Tower at Night

I liked the shadows of the palms to frame the view we had on the beach while we were in the Philippines. More than just another shot of the beautiful blue water.

What a view!

I also took this shot in the Philippines. I kept moving around to get the right angle, light and detail I wanted. I am really happy with the result. I like how the palm is in the background to give it an extra dimension. It is my new favourite. What do you think?

What do you treasure? What photo are you most happy with? Check out the links above to see more posts, or find out how post your own.  No photos? Then tell us about it in the comment section below.

Like this blog? Want to help me move onto round two of the Canadian Blog Awards? Then please click on the Canadian Blog Awards 2013 picture/button on the right sidebar to take you to the webpage if you would like to vote. Round one closes Feb. 21. I am Canadian Travel Bugs in the Travel and Expat category. CAREFUL you only get 1 vote! Not sure what it is all about? Then read my post that explains in more detail here.

Thanks in advance. 🙂

Stay tuned…

Canadian Blog Awards

The Award season is upon us… Academy Awards, Grammys, Golden Globes and the most coveted, in the Blogging World, the CANADIAN BLOG AWARDS.  – Jonathan Kleiman, Business Lawyer & Small Claims Court Lawyer has set up the blog awards for another exciting year. After some technical difficulties last fall it is back. The polls are up and voting has begun for the 2013 Awards. Thanks to Jonathan for hosting this for all us Canadian Bloggers from home to far away.

At this point everyone nominated is in their category from sports to politics to travel/expat blogs. This is only round one. Contest closes Sat. Feb. 22 (Or Feb. 21 for those in Asia). Votes will be tallied and the top 3 will move onto round two. Last year with your help I made it onto round 2 to finish 3rd of 3. Oh well I made it into the finals.

This year will be tough competition from fellow blogging friend at My Sardinian Life. Tougher still since I checked out the other blogs and a few of them look professional. Not sure my 171 followers will be enough to compete with that. Oh well it is an honour to be nominated. If you like my blog I’d appreciate the vote. If you could pass along the link to friends and family too —that would be great. Thanks for your support. 🙂

Please follow the link here to go to the Canadian Blog awards page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page (second last category) and there you will find the Best Travel and Expat Blog. Look for me CANADIAN TRAVEL BUGS and select me by the little circle then click VOTE. That simple. Be careful though you only get 1 vote on each computer.

Stay tuned

The Liebster Award :)

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award twice over the last few weeks. I first was given this award by Patricia over at Pilot Fish back in January. Next by Billie over at Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis and Me who nominated me a few days ago. Please take a minute to check them out. Both have interesting blogs with great photos and interesting content.  Also Billie deals with MS and give tips and information on this crazy illness.

Thanks to you both. I am honoured to be given this award and before more time slips away I better get to it.

This award has 10 questions to answer. It looks like you pose the 10 questions then answer them. Since I was nominated twice I took a few questions from each nominator and answered those and then added 5 of my own instead of 10 new ones.

I decided to see what the award was for or about. Many bloggers before me tried the same thing only to come up with Liebster means dearest (or sweetest, nicest, favourite and welcome) in German. I have noticed the logo has also changed. Funny how things change and morph over time. See the old version below. I guess I have done the same on occasion to fit 😉 If you look at the badge it says “discover new blogs”. Does that mean NEW to word press or does that mean NEW to you? One thing that remains consistent is passing it along although that has varied from 3-11 blogs! The other thing is the questions. On other blogs I saw the nominated blog answer the posed 10 questions and then come up with 10 new ones for their nominees. From both of my nominations and other blogs from 2013 I see that has changed too despite rule #4. Now it looks like you answer the 10 and forward those along. Since I was nominated by 2 blogs I decided to do a little of each. I took about 5 from each of my nominators then I added 5 new ones to pass along. My nominators can then pick and choose and pass along some and make a few new questions of their own.

Here are my questions and answers:

1.  What was your first job?  

Other than babysitting I started to work at a video shop as a store clerk/cashier.

2.  Why did you start blogging? 

When we moved to China friends encouraged me to write about our adventures because they love my quirky way to tell stories. It was a way to keep everyone informed. I got hooked and nearly 4 years later I am still at it!

3.  What is your favorite place that you’ve ever visited?  

Each place we have gone to I have loved something about it. I am always drawn to Europe for the history and architecture. Cuba and the Philippines the beach. Vietnam was interesting. More recently I fell in love with Angkor Wat area in Cambodia and hope to return there one day.

 4.  What is your favorite movie? 

I love a lot of movies and lately we haven’t seen a lot. Recent ones that stand out are Bridesmaids –so funny! I also love Melissa McCarthy in Identity Thief and The Heat. They all had me laughing out loud. I really enjoy comedies. We recently watched the Book Thief only after reading the sleeve. This was a drama set during World War 2 following a young girl. It was really well done. It was sad, but so amazing.

5.  If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? 

When I was in high school I wrote a list of places I hoped to go one day. Well I think I went to almost all those places and more. I caught the travel bug and the list is forever growing. I guess a better question is where I DON’T want to go. 😉

6.  Are you a cat or dog person?  

Cats… ever since I was little. I am sure you could guess that one 😀

7. Your favorite book? 

I love the Harry Potter series. Agatha Christie are my go to books. I love the Dan Brown adventures like the Davinci Code too. Adventures and mysteries that are well done always get me.

8. If you could only eat one ice cream flavor, what would you choose? Chocolate or Strawberry?

Chocolate

 9. What is your favorite go-to outfit or piece of clothing that can make your day better, despite a bad hair-day?

Anything summery especially my brown linen capris or my blue silk dress I got here from a tailor.

 10. Who is your favorite literary character?

Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie.

My Questions:

1.What is the worst movie you ever saw?

Wanderlust with Jennifer Anniston. I love Jennifer’s movies usually, but this was just bad. I can’t believe we watched the entire thing. This is 40 was also SO bad and I didn’t finish watching it. Who wants to see 2 hours of a couple arguing?

2. What is your favourite band or song from the 80’s or 90’s?

Anything by Duran Duran… I Melt With You by Modern English …. Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order… Love Cats by the Cure… New Orleans is Sinking by Tragically Hip….

3. e-readers (iPad/Kindle) or paperback?

I prefer the texture and the senses used while reading a paper book. I never thought I would like an e-reader. Living overseas and all the space and weight books took up in my suitcase kind of won me over to e-readers for convience. If I could I would prefer a paper copy any day though.

4. What book are you reading right now?

The 6 Sacred Stones –Matthew Reilly. I picked it up in Cambodia and it sounded interesting. It is really adventurous and action packed. I am currently half way through and not disappointed.

5. Coffee or tea?

Coffee with REAL cream… the little instant packets are just not the same, but the easiest and most available choice here in Shanghai.

The Rules if you decide to accept:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.

2. You must answer the 10 questions given to you by the nominee before you.

3. You must nominate 10 of your favorite blogs with fewer than 200 followers and notify them of their nomination.

4. You must come up with 10 questions for your nominees to answer or you can answer the questions above.

5. Post the badge on your website for all others to see.

Rule #3 is to pick someone with less than 200 followers, but not every website has that listed, so it was hard. I decided to go ahead with my choices and pick some I haven’t nominated before.  I tried to find 10, but I have been a bad blogger lately and not exploring the blogosphere as I should. I have picked only 6 that maybe you haven’t seen before. Each one is unique and different and worth a gander.

Ninna at Words’nPics- http://ordibild.com/

Debbie: a new blog that found me http://travelwithintent.com/

Amy at World is a Book – http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/

Patchwork Ponderings for a little of this and that http://patchworkponderings.wordpress.com/

Vastly Curious http://vastlycurious.com/

StillBrewin a new blog that showed brewing in Cambodia. http://stillbrewin1.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/my-home-brewing-and-stilling-adventures/

Stay tuned… We just came back from a short trip to the Philippines that I will post about later. I also have more pics for the Tourist in Your Town theme RED.

Awards: New & Old

It has been some time since I have been nominated for an award and as I thought about it not soon after I was nominated by TVOR for the Versatile Blogger Award. I got it an early Monday morning as I was running off to work and meant to post and pay it forward that weekend. That was October! Oops. Well it was somewhat forgotten until today when Free But Fun nominated me for an ABC Award. Then the gasp of air came as I went oh no I STILL haven’t posted on the one from a few weeks back. After searching my comments sections I luckily found it with ease. With 185 pages or more of comments it could have turned into a needle in haystack moment.

I love getting awards and I am always honoured that someone has picked lil’ ole me for such things. The hard part comes next when you have to nominate others. Who should I pick? I hate to offend and miss someone or leave someone out.  I haven’t been a good blogger of late and reading and visiting as much as I would like. It seems work keeps getting busier and I barely have time to post let alone visit. My posts have also been bland and only photo challenges of late. With little time to explore the city and less time to post I have lost some of my creative flair and juices. Please forgive.  *Sigh* so here it goes… my nominations.

1. Patchwork Ponderings – a little of this and that. A true patchwork of wonderful photos, musings and inspiration

2. Free But Fun – a new blog that found me and nominated me for the ABC Award. She posts on things that are free but fun to do 🙂

3. Ninna – another blog that found me… I have seen some wonderful pictures on her blog.

4. Jennifer – Another expat Canadian living in Italy. She has a variety of things to show us in Sardinia including some awesome photos and travel information.

5. First and Fabulous – I always enjoy stopping by and checking out her cool photos for the photo challenges.

6. Practicing Simplicity – recently she has moved to Nepal and has shown us some great views and examples of life there.

7. Lucid Gypsy – great photos and some poetry too.

The rules ask for 8 and 15 nominations, but I feel putting a number on how many only adds to the pressure, so nominate as many as you wish. More or less -you decide.

For the Versatile Blogger Awards

• Display the Award on your Blog.
• Announce your win with a post and thank the Blogger who nominated you.
• Present 15 deserving Bloggers with the Award. (as above nominate as many as you wish)
• Link your nominees in the post and let them know of their nomination with a comment.
• Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

Canadian Travel Bugs

1. I love photography and will spend most of my holiday taking hundreds of photos.

2. I wish I could come up with a grand idea and write children’s books for a living.

3. I have travelled more than anyone in my family combined!

4. I got 100% on a university exam!

5. We are going to Cambodia to see the temples of Angkor Watt this Christmas.

6. I have over 5000 emails in my work email (mainly because you never know when you may need to go back and use it for something… which I have many times).

7. I have been in China nearly 4 years and know little of the language, although I can read pinyin (English form of the language using the western alphabet). However, I don’t know what I am reading!

For the ABC Award

• Add the ABC logo to your new blog post. 

• ABC about yourself using one word or phrase.
  

• Nominate however many blogs you wish.

• Let the recipient know via a link in their comments. 
• Thank the person who nominated you and link to this blog post.

I was nominated for the ABC award March 2012 and I like my Abc’s so I will post them again. I have changed and updated a few though…

My ABC’s:

A. Ancient Architecture & Australia
B. Brilliant Barcelona & Beijing
C. Crazy Canadians – Canadian Travel Bugs
D. Delicious Dumplings
E. Excited & Honoured to be Selected for ABC
F. Frequent Fireworks
G. Great Wall & Gelato
H. Hustle and Bustle of Hong Kong
I. Interesting Italy & I with iPad will travel
J. John, my husband
K. Kindle or not to Kindle?
L. Loves to Travel
M. Mayan Ruins in Mexico
N. Natural Niagara Falls
O. Outside Ontario
P. Phabulous Philippines – Coco Beach
Q. Quick & Quirky Wit
R. Ruins in Rome
S. Sassy & Sensational Shanghai – my new home
T. Teaching & Trailing Spouse
U. Unique travel experiences
V. Vivid & Vivacious Varadero, Cuba; Vibrant Vietnam
W. Wish to Travel More
X. Xi’an & (e)Xpat abroad
Y. YYZ
Z. Zany Zebras to see one day

Thanks again ladies for the nominations. Be sure to check out some of these blogs. I am sure you won’t be disappointed.

Stay Tuned…

I have been nominated & so have YOU!

Thanks so much for fellow Canadian Tvor Travels for the blogging award. This award is a combination of 3 awards :

I wanted to find out more about the meaning of these awards and this is what I found out…

The Best Moment Award… This award is given to a blog that has a literary piece defining a specific moment that is thought-provoking, creative, honest, and or inspiring.

Reader Appreciation was created by my blogging friend Jennifer at My Sardinian Life for people who read and commented on her blog and gave a worthwhile contribution by doing so.

The last one Semper Fidelis shows appreciation for fellow on line friends who you consider part of your ‘wolf pack’ (that is there words not mine ;))

SO now for the rules… Thank the person who nominated you and nominate 10 others. Then link back to your fellow nominator (me) to share new on-line blogging friends.

Thanks again to TVOR for the nomination. It has been a long while since I had a blogging award, so I am thankful 🙂 Check her out for great photos and stories about travel.

I am not sure if I can nominate 10, but I will try. I wish to share some new on line friends….

1. Lavendar Ladi – you can always finding her commenting on my blog and finally she has started to post her own ‘Patchwork of Ponderings’.

2. Liina Travels – she just moved to China and has been sharing her amazing adventures.

3. Gemma at Dear Bliary – great photos and she often comments on my blog with a kind word.

4. Bastet – for poetry and a weekly photo challenge she sets. She also posts some great photos.  You may also recognise her from putting me on her Saturday Close Up 🙂

5. Gilly – at Lucid Gypsy for amazing photos and poetry too. Another fellow blogger who stops by and comments often 🙂

Be sure to check out these great blogs and discover some great people 🙂

Stay tuned….

 

 

 

2012 Blog of the Year Award

Well this is long over due…I was awarded this a few weeks ago and I finally had the time to do it properly, so here we go…

Thanks to Immie over at My Bye World for nominating me for blog of the year. Immie has just changed her format and has ben posting short stories on her “Diary of a Sensitive Soul”. Check it out ! Thanks so much Immie… it means a lot to have such recognition, especially since I haven’t been blogging much lately or visiting other blogs and commenting as much as I used to.

Here are the rules to accept this award:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award
2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.
3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award – and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
5 You can now also join our Facebook page – click the link here ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

And what is so lovely about this award is that we start with 1 star and there are 6 stars to collect in total, so each time you get nominated for *this* award – you get another star and see if you can get all 6!

As always it is hard to pick who I should nominate… I am always afraid I will forget someone who is most deserving. So fingers crossed I haven’t left anyone out here is my list:

Meg Travels       http://megtraveling.com/2012/12/14/travel-theme-transportation/

3^rd Eye Mom      http://thirdeyemom.com/2012/12/14/why/

Where’s My Backpack   http://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/12/14/travel-theme-transportation/

This Man’s journey    http://thismansjourney.net/2012/12/11/with-each-changing-seasons/

My Sardinian Life      http://laavventura.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/when-is-the-best-time-to-visit-sardinia/

Lucid Gypsy        http://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/ailsas-travel-theme/

Practicing Simplicity        http://rfljenksy.wordpress.com/

Amy       http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/

Jeni       http://joyandwoe.wordpress.com/

Cobbie  http://cobbies69.wordpress.com/

Congrats to all of you for great posts, comments, photos, ideas and joy you bring to the blogging world 🙂

No go forth and spread more blogging joy…

Stay tuned…

And the Winner Is…

Well the results are in for the Top Canadian Blogs…. and the winner is… Jennifer over at My Sardinia Life. I have come third. Congrats to my fellow competitors.

Blog Round 1

I was happy to be nominated and my goal was to move onto round 2. I was able to, but to be realistic I knew I wouldn’t win. I am just happy to see my stats rise and I moved up from 12.58% to 21.6%, almost doubling my results.

Final Vote Results

I would like to thank everyone for helping me out by voting and most of all your support and reading every week. I truly appreciate all the comments, likes and feedback. I am sorry I have not been as good at reading and commenting on your blogs with work taking up all my waking hours. It means even more that you have stood by and still read and comment even though I don’t visit you all as much as I would like.  Thanks again 🙂

Until next time…

 

 

Vote for Me Part 2

Hi All and to my American friends and followers Happy Thanksgiving.

Just a quick note to remind you about voting for my blog one last time… as I mentioned I have made it to round 2, the FINALS, and it closes Dec. 1, only a week away. I have been nominated in the Travel/Expat category.

You can click on the picture of the beaver on the right side bar… it is linked to the page where voting takes place, or you can click this link here. Once on the voting page scroll down and on the bottom right is the travel/expat category. Click on that bar and a drop down menu opens up where you will see me CanadianTravelBugs. Click on my name/circle beside and then the vote button… done. Yes it is that easy. Thanks in advance 🙂 I appreciate your reading and support.

Another thanks goes to the team at Jonathan Kleiman Toronto Business Law Firm for hosting this vote and making it all possible.

If I have time this weekend I hope to post for a photo challenge or 2. My blogging has been slipping with a busier work schedule.  Fingers crossed I have time to get to it.
As always stay tuned…

 

Moving On!

Yes I made it into round two! Thanks so much to all of you who voted for me. Those votes helped me capture 3rd place with about 12.5% of the votes and move on. It was a far cry from Jennifer, fellow Canadian Expat Blogger at My Sardinian Life, who captured 39+% of the votes and the top blog with 41 or 42%. I am very happy to have reached the goal of making it to round 2. I can now proudly display my nomination badge on my sidebar.

The next round of voting has opened November 1st and will close December 1st. So again I ask, beg, plead, and say pretty please with a cherry on top will you vote again 🙂 Tell your friends, neighbours, co-workers and boss…. Again I am in the travel/expat blog which is the same location on the bottom lower right corner. You only get 1 vote. You can vote by clicking here.

Thanks again for voting, reading and your support of my weekly musings. Stay tuned…

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette, Couples & Smiles

This week the three photo challenges can fit together with the right photos, so lets give it a go.

WordPress has set the theme “silhouette”, Ailsa at Where’s My Backpack “couples” and Island Traveller “smiles”. Click the links to join the challenges, or to see more for each theme.

Taking pictures of shadows is always fun and they can look like the silly mirrors from the fun house where you are tall and unnaturally thin, as your limbs are stretched out long and spindly. My husband and I pose together for a silhouetted kiss. Each day he brings a smile to my face and having a wonderful vacation brings smiles to us both as we recall the good times.

This pair of tall silhouetted wooden posts in Seoul had funny faces and goofy smiles. They made me laugh as I wondered what they were all about.

I have been saving this picture up for a while knowing at some point a photo challenge would come along it would be perfect for. This summer in Cuba I spotted this lizard inside a plastic light cover and its silhouette against the yellowish light turned out just right. It isn’t a couple, but if you read my post titled Cuban Critters you know the lizard stories that made us laugh and smile.

For those of you who don’t know I have been nominated for a Canadian Top Blog through the  Jonathan Kleiman – Toronto Law  web site. I am up for round 1 and voting ends Nov. 1. I’d appreciate your time to check it out and vote for me to move on to the next phase. I am in the  Best Travel and Expat Blog category which is on the right bottom corner (last one). Click that box/bar to open the list of nominees. You get one vote, so be careful as I am listed twice, but one of them is ME and the other has my name and someone else’s link. I am Canadian Travel Bugs’s Blog with the http: Canadian Travel Bugs…. (the other one is CTB http first and a different website). You can do that here. Thanks so much to my readers,  followers and your support. Thanks for voting 🙂

As always stay tuned… there is always more.