Liebster Awards!!

It was the dreariest of Monday mornings.  A forecast of dank and drizzle loomed gloomily on the horizon heralding the start to another gruelling workweek ahead.  It didn’t help matters much that I was severely under the weather, hesitant to place a pink sneaker tootsie out from under my warm and snuggly covers, my schnozzle an unsightly faucet of waterworks of the oh so blotched and Rudolf inspired kind. 

Bleary-eyed, sneezing and coughing, in the foulest of moods, I reluctantly dragged myself to work, ruminating on how I would ever make it through the day.

And then…. the unthinkable…

My Inbox pinged with a notification from EatSleepLoveTravel  eatsleeplovetravel that I’ve been nominated for a Liebster Award!  ME?  Pink Sneakers on the Go?  Like, seriously?


It goes without saying that sunshine, rainbows and smiles followed me for the remainder of the day.

And so this week’s blog post is devoted to the Liebster Awards.  Pay it forward.

First and foremost, I owe a huge heart-felt thanks to Vicky at EatSleepLoveTravel for nominating me for a Liebster Award.  You have no idea how much I appreciate this nomination. 

Liebster is a German word and translates into dearest, cherished, sweetest, kindest and beloved, just to name a few of the smattering of adjectives that fit the bill.
The Liebster Award is a recognition from fellow bloggers to up and coming bloggers, encouraging and supporting them for a job well done - to keep on writing and contributing and that their efforts are not futile.  Keep on scribbling!!

The rules for the awards are as follows:
THANK the person who nominated you and link back to their blog website.
Answer their 10 questions and link your answers back to their blog website.  My answers to Vicky's questions are posted below and I will be linking them back to her blog website later today. 
The 10 questions that I've asked my nominees to answer should be linked back to my blog website by posting the link to the comments section of my blog so that everyone can see your answers to my questions.  
Make up 10 of your own questions to ask your 10 nominees and have them link back their answers to your blog website. 
List 10 random things about yourself.
Nominate 10 blogs with 0 to 1000 followers.
Tweet the nominees informing them about their award.

I posted this extremely late last night so I will be tweeting the nominees sometime later today.  I will also link my answers back to Vicky's website at EatSleepLoveTravel sometime later today. (Just need to catch up on a few zzzzzz's first!)
I hope I haven’t forgotten anything!!

May the Liebster awards carry on! 


My nominees for the Liebster Award are the following exceptional bloggers extraordinaire:

Becs at Explorily Live a little broader - Explorily
John and Heather at Roaming Around the World
Becca and Jeff at aredletterlife.com
Claire and Scott at postcardtohome.com
Todd at Visit50.com
Jess at icecreamandpermafrost.com
Angele at TheRedSpoonDiaries.wordpress.com
Miguel and Yvonne at tripbitten.com
Patricia at curvysexyconfident.wordpress.com
Georgina at georginahoneycutts.blogspot.ca
Nancy at Love, Loki

With so many exceptional blogs to choose from, it was difficult to narrow down my choices to just 11 fantastic bloggers.  Had I been able to, I would have added at least 10 more to my list.

I look forward to getting to know all of you better and reading your answers to my questions.

10 questions from Vicky at EatSleepLoveTravel:

What is the country you most want to visit and why?
So many countries, so little vacation time.  There are only so many countries that one is able to to set a pink sneaker footprint upon within an allotted five week time frame, so it will take that extra long to traipse around the world.  Next on my list is Portugal, Croatia or the Czech Republic.  Or then again I just might end up back in Paris.  Most of my choices are based upon which airline is offering the best deal to any destination across the pond, so once I secure my flight to wherever is cheapest then the planning begins.

City, mountains or beach and why?
As much as I love the countryside and getting out of the big city for a long weekend, I’m more of a city gal, as I love to wander and traipse along the rues and avenues of foreign locales, off the beaten track, discovering hidden gems and one of a kind shops, along the way.

What made you start blogging?
I’ve been gallivanting around the globe for the past 30 or so odd years and have always had entertaining travel stories to share with my work colleagues and friends, so when a co-worker casually suggested that I start a travel blog, my first question to her was “What’s a blog?”  (Yikes!!  I’m THAT old!!)
I’ve dabbled in creative writing, have written poetry and am currently working on a book, and so the logical next step was to create a blog and mesh my love of scribbling with travelling and the rest, as we shall say, is history.  Pink Sneakers on the Go was launched in September 2012 and I’ve never looked back.

What’s the one thing you never go travelling without, and why?
My laptop and a truckload of paper.  Seriously.  I’ll never forget one not so memorable trip when I over-packed my carry-on bag, filled to the brim with pens, paper, blank journals and picturesque travel books, which I carted with me on my overseas journey from Canada to Spain, miserably schlepping fifty pounds of paper all over Europe.
Note to self:  They sell paper and travel guides over there also, so no need to over-pack and break your back.

What’s the most satisfying thing about blogging?
Sharing my entertaining travel tales with fellow would-be adventurists, inspiring both young and old to see the world. 

What camera do you use and why would / why wouldn’t you recommend it?
My camera is an old Sony snap and shoot digital that has seen better days but it still works fine so no need for a new one.  I did purchase a brand spanking new Nikon fancy smancy camera to take with me on my trip to the Netherlands this past October but never used it because I was too lazy to read the super complicated and incomprehensible instructions.  Yet another bulky item to have to lug around in my carry-on.  That, and paper.  Seems to be somewhat of a pattern here, don’t you think? 

What’s the most relaxing place you’ve visited?
Ahhhh…anytime I’m parked in a café or bistro indulging in a vino or two, scribbling in my journal and watching the world go by pretty much sums it up. 

What’s the most dangerous situation you’ve been in whilst travelling?
Several years ago, a friend and I were staying in Sorrento in Italy and we thought that it would be a great idea to incorporate exercise with sightseeing (as well as work off those extra pizza laden calories) by walking to our destination.  Map in hand, comfy sneakers on foot we set out to Positano, laughing at all of the couch potatoes who opted to instead laze it out on the bus – well, the last laugh was on us, as the road morphed into a twisting, curving superhighway from hell, with cars and tourist buses whizzing on by at breakneck speed, mere inches from sideswiping us over the edge of the cliff, road prey targets of the utterly clue-less kind. 
Lesson learned  - next time relax, put your feet up and enjoy the scenery whilst languishing on the tourist bus!

Tell me about one of the best meals you’ve ever had and where you ate it?
Moule et frites in Paris at one of the quaintest of bistros nestled somewhere along the winding rues to Montmartre.  Of course I neglected to write down the address and I’ve since spent the past couple of years traipsing around the arrondissements in search of said eatery. 

What’s your biggest travelling regret?
Not having enough vacation time or money to quit my job and devote the remainder of my life to gallivanting around the globe.


My 10 questions to my 11 nominees are as follows:


  1. What motivated you to start blogging?
  2. Who inspires you and why?
  3. How do you occupy your time when not blogging?
  4. Which country is next on your vacation travel list?
  5. What is the one thing that you never leave home without?
  6. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
  7. City, mountains or beach?
  8. Describe your most delectable meal and why you’re still salivating?
  9. List the one quality you most admire in a person and why?
  10. Favourite book and author?

10 Random thing you might not know about Nora Miss Pink Sneakers


  •  I fear absolutely everything but forge on ahead nevertheless.
  • I’m a middle-aged shopaholic older “bag” whose secret addiction is acquiring designer satchels at preferably discounted prices.  Yikes!
  • Whatever leisure time I have is spent working on my novel and sleeping.
  •  My favourite food group is pizza washed down with some vino tinto.  Yum!  Hic!
  • When not scribbling in my journal, I am either walking outdoors or languishing in front of the television indulging in endless episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or New York.  Or, just catching up on my zzzzz’s.
  • I still can’t quite figure out how to properly use Twitter or Blogger or anything else social media related.  It took me several hours just to figure out on how to attach these blog links.  Sad, but true!  Next challenge is attaching the blog links to Twitter which is at least  another two day project.  Yikes!!
  • Am quite technologically challenged.  No need to further elaborate.
  • I’m always planning or at least dreaming of my next vacation.  Even whilst on vacation!
  •  I actually own 2 pairs of pink sneakers and 1 pair of blue floral ones.
  • Hoping to retire soon so that I can devote more of my leisure time to traipsing around the globe.


NEXT BLOG POST  - WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2ND!!!!  STAY TUNED!!!!!!!

Addendum:  Tried so hard to get my blog up and running again and really wanted to post something in either July or August but my work obligations squandered what little free time I had.  

Pink Sneakers on the Go will be taking a bit of a time out to concentrate on long over-due projects and deadlines.  Next post will be on a random Wednesday sometime in July.   My work obligations have temporarily overstayed their welcome,  allowing me nary a spare second in which to scribble and create.  Looking forward to once again sharing my entertaining travel tales with you very soon...

Stay tuned for more of my crazy ol' adventures in Belgium!!  Like, boarding the wrong train, getting lost in Ghent and just trying to figure out how to phone home.  Stay tuned!!