Thanks to Gurgles and Woofs for bestowing this honour to my humble blog and for introducing me into your world. I love how your mind works. I love how even though I don’t know you I can relate to so much of what you write about.

Goodness knows I rarely have anything wise or philosophical or useful to say, but I’m glad that a handful of people think my blog is worth reading. I do try to write interesting posts that don’t centre around my knitting or our pet cat. It’s not easy, for me at least, to focus on just one thing and make that the centre of my blog. I thought about starting another blog just for photographs and another one for general ramblings. But then I realized that I do that now anyway.

But I digress.

So what is the Liebster Award? It’s bloggers selecting fellow bloggers and bestowing the award to them. Kinda like an electronic chain mail, except it gives you recommendations on cool blogs to read/follow. The real gist of the Liebster Award is that there is no real award. There are no judges, no song and dance talent portion. No website with an official team to congratulate you and hold your hand. It’s mostly what you want it to be. If you receive the award, you can accept it and pass it along. It’s that easy.

The fun doesn’t end here though. I have to answer eleven questions from Nona. Here goes. I hope I’ve done your questions justice.

1) Why do you blog?
I started blogging on LiveJournal because I had nothing better to do at the time. It also kept me in touch with some of my online friends. Remember this was before Facebook or Twitter were born. I blog because I love writing. I love reading. I have things I want to say and photographs to show the world. Maybe one day my blog will also serve as a repository for my memoirs.

2) How long does it take you to write each entry?
It depends. Simple, straightforward highlight of photos take about an hour tops from start to finish. If I have a message I want to get across, I take longer, usually keep the post in drafts for days, editing whenever I have time until I am happy with it. I also schedule posts to publish (almost) everyday) so it might seem that I am on WP everyday. I’m not. I have a 9-5 day job and I’d like to keep it.

3) What are your three most treasured items?
One: my family, and that includes my husband, four children, one son-in-law and two grandchildren. Two: a file of drawings made by my children when they were really young. Three:

4) Guilty pleasure on the telly?
Survivor. It’s the only reality TV show that I watch. I love living vicariously off those castaways!

5) What’s your favourite place in the World?
My spot on our couch where I knit, watch TV and connect to the world on my iPad. It’s even got a me-sized dent and all my yarns and knitting notions are always within an arm’s reach.

6) What is your favourite biscuit?
I assume you meant cookies. I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie. Something soft and chewy. I haven’t tried making them from scratch, but I would love to know how to do it.

7) What is your most distinct memory from childhood?
I’m not sure if it’s my earliest memory but most of them happened in m y grandmother’s old home in old Manila. I remember she had so many cats in the house. They don’t come inside the house, but I remember they were all over the wooden staircase. I have this clear memory of climbing up the stairs and the cats would meow at me. I also remember with such clarity how I sliced my middle finger with an old kitchen knife. I mean, seriously? Who lets a 4-year old child play with a knife?! I remember being on a gurney as they wheeled it into the emergency room. The last thing I remember before I passed out or was sedated was this big jar of cotton balls soaked in merthiolate.

8) If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?
This is tough one and I left this one to answer last. I would like to be Superman. Okay so I’m a she and Superman’s a he. Didn’t say my choice had to be gender-compatible. I’d like to fly. And not as a paying passenger on an aircraft either. If wearing a red cape and tights and saving people from danger comes along with it, then I’ll take it.

9) What’s on your music player?
Full discographies of Matchbox Twenty, Lady Antebellum, Josh Groban and Westlife, some Rascal Flatts, Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, Savage Garden, Boyzone, Daughtry, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Pink!, 30 Seconds to Mars, Natalie Merchant, Christina Perri.

10) What is the most difficult thing you have ever done?
Leave a job that I love. It was difficult in more ways than one. It paid good money. I felt that myself and my value to the company was respected. But there was always an undercurrent of discontent on my part as I have always felt that I could do more, be more but was never given that opportunity. I will forever be grateful for the firendships I made there and the lessons I learned.

11) If you could stay at a certain age forever, what age would it be and why?
Thirty six years and four months to be exact. That was the last time that my family was together here in Dubai, just when my eldest daughter celebrated her 16th birthday before she went to Manila to start college. That was the start of some very big changes for us and I can’t help but think that if things had gone another way, we would all be in a different, maybe even better, place today. Would things turn out the same way? I don’t know. Would I change anything? Probably. But I want to feel the same way I felt then: happy.

Okay, I’m going to have to hit the pause button right here and finish off my part of the award in another post. I first have to find eleven bloggers to recommend and give the award to.