Thanks to Geniaus I have received an Illuminating Blogger Award originally started by Foodstories. It was for my blog Diary of an Australian Genealogist and in her nomination Geniaus said – Shauna Hicks lectures, writes, and blogs about genealogy in Australia. In her journal style blog she shares stories of her daily life and genealogy journeys, her friendly style makes one feel that Shauna is writing a chatty letter to the individual reader.

I am really honoured and thrilled to have received this nomination for Diary as I’m fortunate in being able to travel around and attend genealogy events that not everyone can get too. By sharing my experiences and passing on some of my learning on new resources or old tips and tricks I hope to help others with their research.

As a condition of accepting this award, I am able to nominate six blogs that I also find interesting and useful. Like Geniaus I have tried to avoid those who have already received nominations. There are a lot of genealogy blogs out there but here are my six nominations in no particular order.

Family History Across the Seas by Cassmob – I love the way Cassmob contributes to blogging series and currently it is the Blogging From A-Z challenge held in April and her own Beyond the Internet series. It is often hard to think up blogging topics so prompts like these challenges really help and by the end of the series you have written quite a bit on your families or genealogy resources.

Twigs of Yore by Shelley – is another favourite and knowing that Shelley is a busy young mum I often wonder where she finds the time to blog. One of the things I particularly like is her Australia Day blog challenges and its great to see more and more Australian bloggers taking up her challenge each year.

From Helen V Smith’s Keyboard by Helen – having known Helen for ‘decades’ it is really nice to see her now blogging and Helen is a participant in the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge and it is fascinating to read her family stories all nicely illustrated too. Helen demonstrates just how easy it is to tell our family stories through our blogs.

Carole’s Canvas by Carole – is another favourite as Carole is very techno and into social media and quite often blogs about it but in a way us less techno people can understand. Carole actually has quite a few different blogs (where does she find the time) and there are links to them from this primary blog and the NSW Genealogy one is good for all those with NSW roots.

The Boggo Blog by Chris – as so many of my ancestors spent time in Boggo Road gaol I feel like it’s almost a family home and Chris’ blog on the historic gaol and all activities associated with it have a personal interest to me. It would be nice to see the future of the gaol settled and the Boggo Road Gaol Historical Society allowed to get on with their research and promotion of the site.

Sharn’s Genealogy Jottings by Sharn – I really like the way Sharn writes up her family stories and accompanies them with great photographs. It always inspires me to write up my stories but time is always an issue for me (and everyone else) but by doing it one story at a time we can all tell our family stories over time.

I’m also suppose to say one random thing about myself – I think that’s supposed to be an easy task but I’m struggling with it. Perhaps my passion for collecting fridge magnets is worth a mention – now over a fridge, freezer, two filing cabinets and in our new place (where ever that is) the other half is going to build me a huge area, probably in the garage so that I can really indulge my habit!

1. The nominee should visit the award site (http://foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award/) and leave a comment indicating that they have been nominated and by whom. (This step is so important because it’s the only way that we can create a blogroll of award winners).
2. The Nominee should thank the person that nominated them by posting & including a link to their blog.
3. The Nominee should include a courtesy link back to the official award site (http://foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award/) in their blog post.
4. Share one random thing about yourself in your blog post.
5. Select at least five other bloggers that you enjoy reading their illuminating, informative posts and nominate them for the award. Many people indicate that they wish they could nominate more so please feel free to nominate all your favorites.
6. Notify your nominees by leaving a comment on their blog, including a link to the award site (http://foodstoriesblog.com/illuminating-blogger-award/).