Two years ago, I was interviewed by Erika Liodice about how I chased my dream of quitting my job and starting my own business. We haven’t really stayed in touch since then, so I was surprised to receive an email from her recently, letting me know that she had nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award.

Of course, I know it’s not a real award, not like the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award I was nominated for in 2009. It’s really just a meme, but memes can be fun, so I’m happy to have an excuse to use one in my blog, and thank Erika for thinking of me.

There are four simple rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Post a link to the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell your readers seven random things about yourself.
3. Award 15 newly discovered blogs.
4. Send them a note letting them know you nominated them.

So, here are seven random facts about me:

1. I won second prize in the Discover Mississauga Photo Contest several years ago for this interior shot of Mississauga City Hall.
   
   (This is a photo of the photo, through the glass of the frame, so doesn’t really do it justice.)
2. I usually carry the same purse for months, and sometimes don’t even switch with the change in seasons, but I love shopping for purses. Shoes, not so much.
3. I love to play trivia games and am pretty good at them too.
4. I was a matched Big Sister for many years, and am still friends with my Little Sister, who is now all grown up and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
5. I have signed up for Google+, but haven’t yet figured out what, if anything, I will do there.
6. I was into Reduce-Reuse-Recycle before it was even a trend.
7. I make my own granola.

And here are the 15 blogs I’m nominating for the Versatile Blogger Award, in alphabetical order:

1. LinkedLearning by Margarita Ibbott: Help with using LinkedIn and other social media.
2. Daily Blogging Ideas by Michelle Shaeffer: Wonderful inspiration for both personal and business blogs.
3. Fabulous After 40 by Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler: Fashion advice for those of us who aren’t as young as we used to be.
4. Garious Blog – Up to date information about social media.
5. Grow with Stacy: Tips for personal development, as well as blogging and social media.
6. The Lady Bloggers Society headed by Stepfanie Cuevas: Once a week they hold a Lady Blogger Social Tea Party to give readers a chance to share their blog posts – a great way to connect with other bloggers!
7. Marian Schembari: More goodies on social media and blogging.
8. MS Outlook for Business: Valuable tips for using email and discovering features of Outlook you never knew existed.
9. The Other Side of Organized by Linda Samuels: Explores the emotions connected with making changes in your life.
10. Site Sketch 101 by Nicholas Cardot: A wealth of information about blogging.
11. Solo-E.com by Terri Zwierzynski: Articles on all aspects of running a small business, including marketing, productivity and more.
12. Sunday Stealing hosted by Judd Corizan: A great place to find out about different blog memes of all types.
13. Teatime with Tina by Tina Chase: All about food and cooking.
14. Virtually Yours by Joanne Burgess: Fabulous tips about social media and small business topics.
15. WordPress Jedi: Information about WordPress themes, plugins, and security issues, as well as SEO and social media tips.

If you enjoyed this post, why not nominate yourself for a Versatile Blogger Award? If you do, please leave a link to your post in the Comments, so we can learn more about you and the blogs you read.