I am excited about winning my very first Sunshine Blogger Award for this blog! Dorothyadele from The Places She Goes nominated me for this prestigious and positive energy award. She really liked my post about The Surprising #1 Predator of Crocodiles.

The Sunshine Blogger Award

Thank you, Dorothyadele! Dorothyadele has helped me a lot growing my twitter followers and by being a supportive part of the bloggers tribe. She loves to travel and her blog is full of well written and interesting travel stories, I think the first one I read was Booked in a Paris Brothel about a high school trip to Paris getting a bit more adventurous than planned… And her Boca Raton Resort and Club Reviews got me all excited to stay there some day!

Go check out Dorotheyadele at The Places She Goes!
Or connect on her twitter account, @dorothyadele

Rules for Accepting the Sunshine Blogger Award

1. Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you and link back to their blog
2. Answer the 11 questions that the blogger asked you
3. Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions
4. List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog

I accepted the award three weeks ago, but I did not have time to properly write about it till today, because we were on vacation in Maine, with children, grandchildren and other family. Now that we are back home I do have time to write and nominate other bloggers.

Questions that Dorothyadele asked me

1. Why did you start a blog?

   Well, many moons ago I moved from the Netherlands to the United States. The easiest way to stay in contact with my family and friends back home was writing letters. When the internet became more popular, I upgraded to a family blog, Our Deer Baby, which still gets good traffic, so I do write a bit for that.

   A few years ago I got more active on Facebook and I stopped updating my blog for a while, and we had fewer kids at home, but I missed writing longer articles. Enter Our Carpe Diem ! I love writing about our travels and connecting with other travel bloggers!

2. What draws most readers to your blog?

   I think the travel stories. Although my article on how to become an airbnb superhost is surprisingly popular also!

3. What keeps your readers coming back?

   We have such a range of interests and travel destinations, and we never know what will happen on any given day, but will seize it anyway. So our life is never boring and my posts aren’t either!

4. Which social media works best for you and why?

   Twitter is best at the moment, but I am still learning Pinterest. OK, I am learning both. I like Instagram as a great way of sharing pictures but not particularly good at attracting readers. Facebook is great for staying in contact with family and friends, my current favorite is twitter. So many interesting bloggers there!

5. What is your favorite country that you have visited and why?

   That is a hard one! I can give you a few favorites, but frankly, I have enjoyed every country I have been to.

   • Italy, because my husband Tom’s family is from there and it is so filled with history.
   • The Netherlands, because my friends and family are there and there are so many cool places I want to show Tom!
   • USA, because when I moved here it was a dream come true and there is so much of the USA I haven’t seen yet. Trying to rectify that a bit with out Statehouse Selfies Quest.
   • Singapore, because that was the first Asian country I traveled to, to attend a friend’s wedding and I really loved the city, the people and the nature.

6. Do you prefer to have an itinerary or explore at your own pace?

   We usually have somewhat of an itinerary, but tend to explore at our own pace inside that. Like we know we will be in Rome for x days, and will figure out what to do when we are there instead of pre-planning it.

7. Where do you think is the safest place to travel?

   I don’t know. I think every country has safe and unsafe locations, so do your homework before you go.

8. What is your must-have item?

   My camera!

9. How do you plan your packing list?

   What packing list? The night before a trip I tend to throw things in a suitcase, vowing I will bring less this time. Inevitably, I end up up bringing way too much anyway. So yeah, maybe I should start making a packing list :).

10. What is your best money-saving tip?

    Use credit cards which give you rewards. We have flown for almost free, and stayed at Hiltons free, all thanks to credit cards. (like a free weekend night in Paris!)

11. What is your best tip for flying?

    Move around a lot if you can, do stretches and simple yoga poses while waiting for the bath room. I always accept it will be miserable for a while, but I love being on my way to an exciting destination!

My 11 Sunshine Blogger Award Nominations

• Cathy Ulrickson, @Polley93 at Life In A Suitcase.

  Cathy decided to give up h home and travel to unknown destinations providing healthcare to the underserved. She has long and well written posts about many travel destinations. Her post about Budapest made me feel like I was there right with her, looking over her shoulder while she explored.

• Shannon, @Candied_Chaos at Candy-Coated Chaos.

  Shannon is a single, working, homeschooling mom of four. Her life is never boring and she shares the craziness and happiness of a large family with us. I used to homeschool our children, so I can totally empathize with her world. One of my favourite posts is How to Make Exploding Rainbows. What a fun activity!

• Sahara, @SaharasDreams at Sahara’s Dreams.

  Sahara is a wonderful blogger who is currently writing a sprinkle of crash courses, fitness and lifestyle tips with a pinch of politics. She writes about her fitness journey and insightful posts about not sacrificing her growth, but also surprises with fun posts like Crash Course about Sidewalks.

• Arshi, @earthtoarshi from Earth to Arshi.

  Arshi is a university student by day and a blogger by night. I loved her post Better Books: Every Bibliophile’s Dream. She described the interior and atmosphere so well, I now want to visit it! Go give some love to this new and promising blogger!
  




• Kat Kair, @KatKhair at Katimalist.

  Kat writes a lifestyle blog for the everyday girl who loves learning about natural beauty, skincare, self-care habits, minimalist living, and wellness.
  Her motto: Empower self-confidence and promote self-love to young women to live their best life. I have really enjoyed her posts about minimalism and wellness. She explains why she threw out all her make-up and writes about how to feel better when stressed out. She is another new and promising blogger to check out!
  

• Janet, @journeyofjanet at The Journey of Janet.

  Janet is passionate about living her best life, and has set out to enjoy and embrace the single parent journey with as many thrills and adventures as possible! She talks about the challenges of being a single parent but also talks a lot about the fun things she does together with her daughter. I enjoyed her mother-daughter trip to Kansas City.

• Aja, @doinglifeafraid at Doing Life Afraid

  Aja worldschools/ unschools/ homeschools her son and they are traveling the world one day at a time. I found her by her post about Isla Mujeres: Like a Boss, part 1 and part 2. I have since then followed her blog and always enjoy her perspective on life.

• Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall, @sunasak at The Hermits’ Rest.

  Sue Ann writes about Peace, quiet, and beauty in the middle of Texas and her posts always make me smile. She shares her notes about their little part of the world. What plants do they see? What animals pass through? How’s the weather (always changing!)? Visit her to find out why Dogs and Toads Don’t Mix and enjoy her sightings at I Saw What?

• Becca K, @Bexs66 at The Bold Quest.

  HERE’S TO STRONG WOMEN. MAY WE KNOW THEM. MAY WE BE THEM. MAY WE RAISE THEM.
  Becca K. has found freedom in writing what she wants to write about. She hopes her posts will teach you something new or influence you to try something new! I really enjoyed her post on Keeping Confidence.

• Stephen Garone, @StephenGarone at Stephen Travels

  A blog full of well written and informative posts about his destinations. I especially like his Top 5 Series, such as his top 5 things to do in Reykjavik, Iceland.

• Cathy and Frank, @RoarLoudTravel at RoarLoud.Net

  Cathy and Frank from RoarLoud have a curiosity to explore the world for new adventures. Follow them on all their journeys near and far.
  They are dreamers and I love their Top 25 Dream Destinations around the World.

My Questions for You

1. What is your favorite time of day?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What surprised you most when you started blogging?
4. If money were no objection, where would you live?
5. What are the top two things on your bucket list?
6. Who has inspired you and why?
7. What is your favorite travel destination?
8. Do you have a favorite book?
9. Which book are you reading right now?
10. What do you like to cook?
11. Which foreign language would you like to learn?