The Liebster Award was designed as a way to recognize and increase the readership of smaller blogs (when it was created, this was under 3,000 followers, but now this has been lowered to no more than 200 followers). It also gives old readers a chance to learn something new about the blogger who receives it.
I am very flattered that Rosalie, a young mom of one adorable little man (my godson!), who is probably Supermom, nominated me. It has been more than a year than I have written... maybe this is her secret plan to get me going again. Thank you for your kind words (and the kick in my writer's pants ;-)!
__________________________________________________________
The Official Rules as of 2013
The requirements for accepting this award are:
- Post the Liebster award graphic on your site.
- Thank the blogger who nominated the blog for a Liebster Award and link back to their blog.
- Write 11 facts about yourself so people who discover your blog through the Liebster post will learn more about you.
- Answer the 11 questions from the post of the person who nominated you.
- Nominate 9 other blogs with 200 or fewer followers for a Liebster award by posting a comment on their blog and linking back to the Liebster post.
- Create 11 questions for your nominees to answer in their Liebster post.
Here goes...
11 Facts about Me
1. I have worked as a lifeguard, summer camp coordinator, swim lesson instructor, researcher/writer/copyeditrix of an automobile safety book, executive assistant, library assistant (cutting up books and gluing them back together), au pair, manager of a pool, and nanny, and I have not yet reached the quarter-century mark as far as age. I kind of feel like a jack-of-all-trades. Currently I am nannying for my aunt and uncle, helping out with their 8-year-old who is my BCF (best cousin forever), and constantly-happy 2-year-old. It is a very good adventure.
2. I love languages, but I don't consider myself fluent in anything other than English, although I have studied Latin, Spanish, German, Old and Middle English, as well as a teensy tiny bit of Tolkien's Elvish (yes, I am a nerd). This is mostly because I reach a point where I develop a fear that further study would ruin the instinctive grasp of the basics that I already enjoy. Shame on me... someday I will push through that and master another language. I intend to raise my future children as close to bilingually as possible for a household of native English speakers.
3. Growing up, when I found myself alone at home, I would often don an old long skirt from my mom's college days, an old shrunken t-shirt, and a pink kerchief on my head, blast some music in the living room, and dance around the house, cleaning and tidying up. I liked to pretend I was Cinderella. (I still do, but I haven't found a good outfit yet, since I got rid of the old costume)
4. I love drawing, although I don't do nearly enough of it. Landscapes are my favorite, because they usually turn out closer to the picture in my head than people do.
5. I have a few habits that I stick to as closely as possible, although it doesn't bother me if other people don't. One of them is how I eat McDonald's chicken nuggets: I eat them in order from most circular to most boot-shaped. No exceptions, except one horrible time one was hiding... *glare* messed up my perfect record. The other, that has some practical thought behind it, is how I load the dishwasher. There's a method to each section, but the one that most people notice is the silverware: I load them with sharp knives furthest back (so little kids can't grab them in passing) and pointed down (SERIOUSLY, why do people load the knives blade-up? I would stab myself every time!), then forks, then spoons, then baby silverware if applicable, then odds and ends like measuring spoons and whisks.
6. I never thought I was a city girl until I went to a small Catholic college in the Midwest, where I was informed that I most certainly was. However, my living location of preference is somewhere between the suburbs and the country, with big yards and neighbors for the kids to play with, and a grocery store within a 10-minute drive or so.
7. Dorothy Sayers' translation of Dante is the only one I like. Others have tried to convert me, but no one can move me from her beautiful poetry and well-researched footnotes.
8. I am chronically bad with directions. I cannot even count the number of times I've gotten lost or taken a wrong turn since moving out here 3 months ago, and that is even with GPS. Please do not ask me to navigate if you don't want to take the scenic route.
9. One of my favorite gifts I have ever received (besides poetry from my wonderful boyfriend) is sealing wax and a really neat seal with Y-shaped vines. I write letters just so I can close the envelopes with it. :-)
10. I love to cook and rarely use recipes, although I have very bad luck with garlic bread. I think I made it successfully for the first time in my life just two weeks ago... I avoided burning it by literally standing in front of the oven and staring at it the entire time.
11. I love shopping. If you ever need your wardrobe to be refreshed but don't want to go out and brave the stores, send me! Seriously.
Okay, clearly I was getting tired there... gotta work my writing muscles back into shape gradually. And now I will answer Rosalie's questions:
1. What one experience has done the most to shape the way you view the world?
Gosh, only one? How can I even choose? Life is such a continuous thing, always shaping, molding, and prodding you, picking out one experience is kind of like picking a favorite book (impossible for a bookworm like me). I guess I would say that homeschooling has shaped me most. It enabled me to have more conversations with my mom than I might have otherwise, brought good books (both classics and really good children's lit) into my path, and gave me the time to direct my own learning. All those Sunday afternoons spent reading book after book after our almost-weekly post-church library excursions certainly formed my worldview and heavily influenced the way I directed my character development.
2. How did you learn to cook? Do you have a favorite dish to make?
Mostly by observing my mom and experimenting on my own. She has always been very good about allowing us kids the occasional day of free rein in the kitchen, making whatever we want with whatever we have on hand. That is still my favorite way to cook: looking around and using what we have, rather than planning things out days in advance. I don't know that I have a favorite dish, but I do make a mean pork tenderloin.
3. What is one thing you are glad that you knew when you were 20?
How to travel. I spent the Fall of my 20th year studying abroad in Austria, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I was thankful time and time again that I knew how to pack and how to plan a trip.
4. Name the most important piece of furniture in your home. Why?
I'm not really sure which home to answer this for, since there is my family's home back in CA and then my current home out here with my relatives... but I think probably in general I would say the dining room/kitchen table, where family meals are shared. Mealtime is one of the best times to sit down together and be a family-- share the events of the day, thoughts on whatever is happening or being planned, and engage in wild storytelling romps with the crazy siblings. :-)
5. If you have kids, what part of being a parent do you most enjoy? If not, what do you think would be the best part?
I don't have a husband or kids of my own yet, but I joke that I am getting plenty of mommy training with this nanny job. My favorite part so far is rocking with a happy baby, reading books or singing songs together.
6. What song or piece of music did you listen to most recently? What do you think of it?
A variety of country music on the radio. I love blasting the upbeat ones with the windows rolled down and the sun shining up above. Makes me happy :-)
7. Do you believe it is possible that there are life forms on other planets?
Yes, I believe it's possible. I'm not really convinced either way, but I'm open to the possibility. Kind of arrogant to think otherwise.
8. Of the places you've never been, where would you most like to travel?
Switzerland. There are many places I want to revisit, but Switzerland is the one on my bucket list I have yet to encounter. However, I have no desire to ski, so a visit should probably be in the summer.
9. You're holding a sleeping baby, dinner needs to go in the oven, and you don't have time-manipulative superpowers. What do you do?
Do as much as I can with only one hand, then carefully put the baby down and resign myself to a symphony of screams if necessary while the finishing touches are done. With great haste.
10. When was the last time you danced?
Sometime in February, I went to a salsa dance with some friends at their Mormon young adult group. It was great! I miss dancing with Joey though... it has been waaaaaay too long...
11. Do you have, or would you want, any pets?
I do not have any pets, and I am fine with that. I would be okay with a friendly old hypoallergenic outdoor dog or a smallish tank of attractive fish. Or possibly something else smallish to medium-size, that doesn't make me sneeze, is not stinky, is friendly but not overly demonstrative (i.e., no jumping on people and licking excessively), and preferably cleans up its own excrement. But never, ever, under any circumstances, do I want a cat.
And here is my blogroll of Liebster nominees, people I hope are not too startled to know that I haunt their webpages:
Laura, of Laura's Drop in the Ocean, my sister and an enthusiastic mover and shaker in the pro-life cause.
Marie, of A Scribbler's Reverie, who writes about being Catholic, American, and a young mom. I love her informative, inspirational, and conversational tone, and respect her opinion quite a bit.
Hannah, of Still Round the Corner, a delightful and history-filled take on ye olde Austria travel blog. I wish she had time to narrate her everyday life like this.
Jamie, of Regarding Beauty, just starting a new blog, which I know will be full of the sweet things in life.
And here I fail, because all the other blogs I would have nominated seem to have been removed by their authors. Sad day. In any case, here are the 11 questions for those mentioned here:
1. What is your fondest memory of something that happened when you were away from home?
2. A tall man in a blue police box lands in your vicinity and asks if you want to join him for an adventure. What do you do?
3. What is the best thing you have ever tasted?
4. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop?
5. What was the most inspiring view you ever saw, and where did you see it?
6. Do you have a favorite poem, and if so, what is it? If you're not a poetry sort of person, what is your favorite short story?
7. Name one book from your childhood that stuck with you, that you plan on (or already do) reading over and over with your children.
8. Musical guilty pleasure. Please share.
9. Describe an outfit you currently own in which you feel most confident and fabulous. I encourage you to wear it at the nearest applicable opportunity.
10. What is your favorite rainy-day activity?
11. Name one person you admire and respect, who has influenced who you are today.
I'm not really sure why the colors kept switching, but this post is too long to go back and fix it. Time to enjoy the weekend!
ReplyDelete