I’d like to thank Melissa from Mommyee for the nice opportunity to share a little about me and to share some blogs that I think are well worth tuning into! Mel and I have been best friends for over 13 years now, throughout which she’s always been nothing but supportive of me. The older I get, and the further away that I move from my childhood home, the more appreciative and sentimental I become about my childhood friends. Seeing Mel and her budding family is always a staple of my visits back “home.”

The rules for the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:

 
1.  Thank the award giver and link back in a post.
2.  Share 7 things about yourself.
3.  Pass this award along to as many as 15 blogs you enjoy reading and let them know about the award!

 Here are 7 things about me:
 
1. I moved to Canada from Poland when I was five years old. I spent the next year or two being the “weird kid” that no one really talked to… which, coupled with the fact that I am an Aquarian, set me up nicely for marching to the beat of my own drum.

2. I told you that I’m an Aquarian – that counts as number two.

3. As you may have noticed from my expert counting skills above, I am good with numbers. True story. I have a MSc. in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. I am now in the second year of my doctoral studies and am investigating the association between urban design and older adults’ mobility. I know… kind of like Clark Kent… only my alter ego’s super hero skill is faith in a re-love-ution coupled with an optimistic, can-do attitude… his is the ability to jump over tall buildings.  

4. Yes, I do wear glasses. No, I don’t know how to use an abacus, but I’m sure I could figure it out if I tried.

5. I played very competitive soccer up until the first year of university when I tore the ligaments in my ankle. Because I was always so engrossed in “being athletic” I never really took the time to embrace my creative side. That’s changed over the last year. I find art to be meditative. Right now, my favorite creative outlets are writing, photography, and creating (something very satisfying about taking abstract concepts and thoughts and manifesting them on the physical plane).

6. Since moving to BC, I’ve become obsessed with riding my bike. It’s my favorite way to get around. I have a 7-speed Masi that I have spruced up and love. It has a bee bell, but the bee doesn’t have wings anymore… it lost them at a party… no, the bee didn’t drink and fly… my bike got knocked over and the bee’s wings were the casualty.

7. I like to smile. Meditation puts me in a space where I can’t help but smile and smile and smile. It’s magic. When I have bad days, I like to go for a walking meditation where I walk around and just take in the nature around me and re-ground and slow my mind down… few problems seem very important at all after being reminded of and connecting to the beauty and refreshing simplicity of your surroundings. Mind shuts off. Smile shuts on. Taking up walking meditation has changed my life.

 
Alright, now it’s time to share the wealth regarding other awesome blogs that I know of. And they are *drum roll*

Norman James Sports :
Melissa’s husband’s sports blog. Norman is the sports anchor for CTV London so his blog offers in depth coverage of various sports at the national and international level.

Kitty Blog
Refreshingly hilarious blog featuring clips and pictures of cats. The face behind this blog is also a genuinely nice person – taught me how to set up the pages tabs on my blog after I sent her an email about it (I noticed we were using the same blog template and she had her blog set up in a way that I wanted to emulate). She didn’t know me, but took the time to send me screen shots on how she did it. Namaste.

Rambling Jader
The blog of my 20-something year old friend and her flow down the river that is life. Refreshingly honest – may be especially relevant to those who have gone through a recent break up.

Wandering Prakruti
A highly reflective blog written by a yogi friend of mine. I really like it for its ability to bring Buddhist concepts onto an accessible plane. Makes me think – and the photos are great!

So there ya go! A little bit about me and some cool links for you to check out… promise they’re more interesting than hitting “refresh” on your internet browser for the 20^th time today. Thanks again to Mommyee for the award!!!!