I have been nominated!!!

The Liebster Awards 2014

Today I found out on one of my blog post comments, that I have been nominated for the Liebster awards. Liebster is German for sweetheart, love and dearest. It is like an online chain award that is given to bloggers by other bloggers. It's great exposure for those who are new to the game and It's a great way to get to know other bloggers.  To be eligible you have to have under 200 followers.

You have to be nominated for this award and I was so lucky to be nominated by Kiarna Lewis at Mama's Journey to Slim 'n' Curvy. This was such a surprise to me! Thank you so much Kiarna!

Once you're nominated, you have to answer the 11 questions and nominate 11 followers. Remember, they have to have under 200 follows to qualify for a nomination.

The Rules: 

1. You have to link back to the person that nominated you.

2. You must answer 11 questions given to you by the person that nominated you.

3. After completing the questions you must nominate 11 bloggers with under 200 followers and give them 11 questions of your choice.

4. You must not nominate the person who nominated you.

5. You must let your nominees know that they have been nominated and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it.

Kiarna's questions...

1. What do you blog about and why? 

I blog about fitness, fashion, lifestyle and travel.
Fitness - Because I enjoy being healthy and exercising, I love motivating others and I am a dance obsessive!
Fashion - Because I like to take an interest in fashion trends, even though the majority of the time I don't actually follow the trends myself! And, a lot of people in the fashion industry inspire me.

Lifestyle - This is a pretty open category, it gives me more choice in what I write about and it provides readers with experiences to read about, which they can directly relate to!
Travel - This is a recent add-on to my blog. I read a lot of travel blogs and after doing a little bit of travelling myself, I thought it was time to get stuck in.

2. What's your favorite blog post you've written?

This is such a tough question! I am passionate about everything I write about, if I wasn't then there would be no point in me blogging - but if I had to choose 1 post that I favour the most, that would be: A Walk in the Field.

3. How often do you blog? 

I blog every day except Saturdays. I have missed a couple of other days as well, but that has been due to having such a hectic lifestyle - bad blogger!

4. Where do you see yourself in a year's time? 

In a year's time I will be preparing myself for my final year at university and hopefully much more comfortable in this huge blogging world!

5. What's your most successful blog post?

My most successful blog post in terms of views has been: Engaged at 19 and my most successful blog post in terms of comments has been a post that went up just the other day!: 7 Long Distance Relationship Worries.

6. What's have you learned so far about blogging?

I have learnt that the blogging world is much bigger than I expected and that connections with other bloggers is very helpful!  

7. Apart from blogging, what else do you do? 

I am going into my 2nd year as an Advertising and Brand Management (BA Hons) student at Staffordshire University and I am the Student Academic Representative (STAR) for the course, I am also the President/Manager of the Dance Club at uni and I teach non-competition Ballroom, Latin and Jazz there. I am also in a long-distance (soon to be military) relationship with my gorgeous fiancee and I look after my lovely chocolate Labrador, Oscar, when I'm back at home! 

8. Do you enjoy blogging?

I love blogging! If any blogger didn't enjoy blogging, I'd be a bit worried!

9. What are your goals for the next 6 months? 

To settle back into uni life for my 2nd year, to increase the number of blog readers and followers and to have fun and get even fitter!

10. What social media site do you like the most?

Instagram, Instagram, Instagram.

11. What's your dream job? 

Not exactly a job, but to have a decent size business that provides stability.

Well that's my questions answered!

Now, It's my turn to nominate.

My nominations are: 

1. A Paige at a Time

2. The Fashion Fictionary
3. Eat, Play, Live
4. Through the Looking Glass
5. Reclusive Fox
6. Loving Life with Little Ones
7. The Recipe Resource
8. Calamity Jen
9. Minneapolis a la Mode
10. STREETSTYLEBOOK
11. Fashion, Well Done


Answer these 11 questions: 

1.  What do you blog about and why? 
2.  How often do you blog? 

3.  When did you start blogging?
4.  What's your most successful blog post?

5.  What have you learned so far about blogging?
6.  What's social media site do you like the most?
7.  Apart from blogging, what else do you do?
8.  What are your goals for the next year?
9.  What do you enjoy reading the most? e.g. magazines, books, blogs etc.
10.  What is your favourite colour?
11. How long do you spend on blogging everyday?


Congratulations on your nomination everyone!

7 Long-Distance Relationship Worries

1. I miss them, do they miss me?
It's a given that in any close relationship where you are apart, you are bound to miss them; but the question is do they miss you just as much? If they say they do, then you should trust that they do. Unless you know something is wrong, you shouldn't think otherwise - stay positive!

2. What if someone better comes along and they prefer them to me?
Again, trust is a key factor here. You should trust that the other person will not stray and after all, they are still with you, aren't they?

3. When will we next see each other?
To solve this issue, you should make plans to meet each other before you have time to worry about it!

4. Is this working?
That is for you both to figure out. If one of you is unhappy about something, you should discuss it and solve the dilemma together. This will in essence bring you closer together once the problem is fixed, as it shows you both want to work together to make the relationship work.

5. Are they coping well with the distance?
Talk to them about the distance in your relationship and how they feel about it. Listen, show you care about them and that this matter is important to you.

6. Am I coping well with the distance?
Take time out to figure out your feelings too. If you are unhappy, it may be helpful to talk to your partner or a close friend or family member about this. Talking about the situation will relieve you and take a weight off your shoulders if you have been mulling it over for a while.

7. I don't want to lose them.
If you don't want to lose them, then don't let them go. Make sure you keep in touch and that you are both happy. After all, it takes two to Tango.

Engaged at 19

Most people are surprised, or even shocked when they find out that I am engaged. If anything, I find it amusing with some people's reactions and occasionally, upset with others' responses.

I met my partner on my second ever night in town with a group of friends. My friends and I had all agreed that this was a night out as friends and that none of us were planning to meet anyone. That was the aim anyway.

The first place we went to was Yates's, the first place everyone always goes to in my local town. We were all dancing and having a laugh on the little stage next to the dance floor, when a guy comes over and says, "We need to find you ladies someone to dance with", so he matched one of my friends up with one of his, and they started dancing. My friend didn't look awfully comfortable, so I got off the stage to check she was okay and before I knew it, the same guy who matched my friend up decided to match me up too.

Usually I would walk off and reject this kind of response, but for some unknown reason, this time, I thought it would be rude to walk away. So, I started dancing opposite this guy, next to my friend dancing with 'her guy'. As I was dancing, I kept glancing at him - I didn't know his name - we had both been introduced as "you're both 19, now dance" and all I really knew was that he was quite dishy. He invited me for a drink at bar, and another thing I would usually turn down, I agreed to, knowing my friends were close by.

We didn't talk about much really, he asked if I was a student, I said yes. With him assuming I was a student at the university nearby, even though I had recently turned 18 and was actually a Sixth Form student.

Not long after, we were moving onto a proper club over the road and whilst a few of us girlies and a few guys we had met waited outside for the rest of my friends, we all got chatting properly to get to know each other. This is when I found out they were all from the British Army. My first thought was "Oh dear, what am I letting myself in for".

On my way home in a taxi, I received a text from him. This very quick response made me speechless. We ended up texting all night until I fell asleep and we resumed texting from the moment we woke up the next day. After telling my parents about meeting him, they met him not long after and a few dates later, we made our relationship official.

He was actually one of the kindest, most genuine and thoughtful people I had ever met. He made me laugh, smile and feel good about myself. We were both very open with each other from the start and we are thankful for that to this day, as it means that we have built up a good relationship based on trust and happiness. However, our biggest battle from day 1, was his job role. Being a soldier isn't just a job, it's a lifestyle. When we met, he was actually due to go to Afghanistan, something he had dreamt about his whole life. Unfortunately for him, he was injured and a lot of issues got in the way, preventing him from going - but we were lucky in a way, because if he had gone to Afghanistan, we wouldn't be together now.

Leaving the army meant that he had to move back home, to Scotland. Therefore, we decided to see how our relationship went long-distance, when I lived in the south of England, the completely other side of the UK. At the time he moved, we had known each other for about 3 months. He came back to England to see me a bit over summer and so he could have his operation after-care, and I went up to Scotland to see him and meet his family.

Meeting new people has always made me go shy and quiet, ever since I was young. As I have got older and more mature, I have become less shy and in some situations (usually when noone knows each other), I am perfectly fine. But, who doesn't get nervous when you're meeting your partner's parents and family for the first time?

I am very grateful for how welcoming and accepting his family have been with me, to the extent where I class them as my own family now. Coming up to a year of being together, I went to Scotland to see him to celebrate our 'anniversary'. We initially were just going out for a meal at an Indian restaurant, but when we arrived, we were too early for the booking - this is when I starting thinking that being early was planned. We ended up going for a walk round the area, along the beach and down the harbour. This was at a time when the sun would normally be setting, but instead it was raining, heavily.

We stood on the harbour by the beach, looking out across the sea, with me complaining about the cold and rain. After a couple of minutes, I stood there wondering what on earth my boyfriend was doing on the floor so close behind me, so I turned round and said "What are you doing!?", and there he was, down on one knee proposing to me! Of course, I said yes - after all I loved him and he made me the most content I have ever been. Not long after, we went for a cocktail together at a posh cocktail bar, and moved on to the Indian restaurant (which we ended up being a little bit late for in the end) and had a lovely meal together.

After the meal, I called both my parents to tell them the good news - even though I was actually dreading their response! They were elated for me and it turns out my new fiancée had asked both sides of my family if it was okay before he went through with proposing anyway.

The next day, we posted our news on Facebook to let the rest of our families' and friends know. This is when more mixed feelings came through. The majority of people said congratulations to us and even though they were all surprised, everyone was delighted to find out. Others weren't so happy that they found out through social media or that someone else had found out before them because I had posted it on social media. But from my perspective, my fiancée had only met my parents and it meant that everyone else would have found out the same way - but unfortunately it didn't work like that and at the end of the day, you can't make everyone happy when you are unsure of how others will react.

On nights out now with my friends, we often all get talking to groups of guys and they accept straight away that some of us are taken. It makes me happy and relieved that those who we don't even know, accept us for who we are straight away. It amuses me some of the questions they ask like: When are you having a baby? Are you pregnant yet? and, Can we come to your wedding? All questions which I just laugh at, knowing perfectly well, nothing like that will happen for a few more years. And it also goes to show, there are decent people in this world, who aren't out to get one thing from a girl (we all know what that is).

2 months on from our engagement and we are both still a very happy couple. We make each other laugh, tease each other (often about each other's accents) and have banter. We have become best friends as well as a couple and even play-fight like siblings would. He is rejoining the army in a month's time and we plan on getting married and moving in together in 2017 when I have finished university. I am ecstatic that I did get engaged at 19. It was definitely the right choice for me.

Email: emailjasmines@googlemail.com

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