Nomination for the Liebster Award

A couple weeks ago, my good friend Kim, had her blog, Racing Bananas, nominated for a “Liebster Award.” I have to admit I was envious! She has found awesome success so far with her blogging and I’m excited that she has gotten some pretty decent exposure. Way to go, Kim!

The Liebster Award provides recognition and support to new bloggers. Liebster is German for “beloved” and a blog nominated for this award is “worth watching.” Sounds pretty legit to me! The “rules” are:

1. List 11 Random Facts about myself
2. Answer 11 questions that Kimmie wrote for me
3. Pass the torch by nominating 11 bloggers
4. Create 11 questions for my nominees
5. Display the Liebster Award logo

As you can see, part of receiving the award is, in turn, nominating 11 blogs. ELEVEN. I was fortunate enough to be one of the 11 that Kim nominated (thanks, girl!). I have to admit that 80% of the blogs I follow don’t have less than 200 followers. There are definitely a couple starting up that I thoroughly enjoy and fully support, but I don’t have 11. Bummer. So, I didn’t think that I could officially “accept” the Liebster Award since I couldn’t abide by all of the rules, but thought it would be fun to share some random facts about me anyway.

Random Facts

1. I danced from the age of 4 to the age of 23. …and have since given it another go at 26. I’ve done everything from ballet to tap, jazz, hip hop, poms, and contemporary. I was studio trained until 15 and then just participated on high school and college dance teams.

2. My hair is naturally curly. Four months before the wedding I learned that I should never ever everrrrrr get a Brazilian Blow Out. One year later, it finally grew out enough that I could chop it off. “It goes away in 3 months,” my butt.

3. I have visited every continent but Australia and Antarctica.  I have little desire to ever see either of them. (Did you gasp?  People are usually appalled that I would say that about the land down unda)

Pyramids of Giza, Cairo, Egypt

4. My 2 biggest pet peeves are people who don’t use turn signals and the hiccups. Yes, I know people can’t help the hiccups, but they were seriously put me through the roof. Control that shiz!

5. Unlike most people I know, I spent a good amount of time with just 2 cousins. When I was 9 years old, another joined the fam. And more recently, I’ve worked my way up to having 6 cousins, total. Tiny family, eh?

6. Moving to Colorado helped alleviate my Wiscansin accent. Moving to Tennessee made me pick up a psuedo-southern accent (UM-brella and IN-surance. I can’t say them “normally” anymore unless I concentrate on it. It sounds funny coming out, but I can’t stop it!!!) and within months of being back in WisCANsin, I’m told it’s already back. Such a beautiful accent, eh? Nooo I doughn’t think sooo. 🙂

7. I ran my first three half marathons in the same year. …they’re also the only three I’ve ever run. And despite my good intentions, I’m not sure that I’ll cover that distance at once again. 10ks for this girl, unless, of course, you catch me on a night full of Wiscansin libations (we are known for that, hey, dontcha knough) and you might get to commit.

*I also ran the Rock ‘n Roll Half in Denver. But, I was solo, so no pic. Sad day.

8. I prefer being cold over hot. Which is why Tennessee was so flipping miserable for me. 113 degree summer days? Ooofda. I’ll take sub-zero any day. You can pile it on, but you can only take so much off before it is no longer socially acceptable!

9. When I got married, my husband I were a little unconventional and took his middle name as our last name.

10. We named our puppy, Rudy, after a place in Tennessee. We got him in TN, so it was only fitting, right? There is a beautiful place called Ruby Falls that I NEVER got to see, dang it, but since Rudy was a boy, we obviously couldn’t name him Ruby. So Rudy was what it became. Rudy is also my father’s middle name.

Baby Rudy

11. I met my husband because he was dating a close friend of mine. So close of a friend that I stood in her wedding (to someone else obv!).

Answers for Kimmie

1. What meal or food do you have to make every week?
There isn’t anything I make consistently on a regular basis. Our new kitchen is awesome, so I’ve been trying lots of new recipes! Living in TN in our ghetto-A apartment, we had tilapia weekly because it was easy and made a minimal mess in the tiny, ghetto-A apartment kitchen. I loved living there. (sarcasm – someone needs to invent sarcasm font. STAT)

2.If you had a whole day to yourself to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?
Craft, bake, nap, bake some more, play with my doggies, nap, walk dogs, read, nap. I love napping. Eat chocolate, snuggle with doggies, go to bed.

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3. Are you a dog or a cat person (or other)?
DOG! Though after volunteering at the animal shelter, cats have grown on me a wee bit. But, given the choice, doggies are my fur-baby of choice.

4. What is your favorite movie?
I don’t know that I have a real favorite. Comedies are always my favorite, but few have made me laugh out loud. I’ve seen some real bad comedies. A couple of my recent favorites have been 21 Jump Street and This is 40. Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. If you had asked what my favorite TV show was, that would be easy. Modern Family. BOOM.

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5. If you had one wish, what would it be?
That I had all the money and help in the world to adopt lots of doggies that need love. My love for dogs has grown immensely since living on my own and adopting Myles. My dogs bring so much joy and unconditional love to my life. My hubbie is great too, but there is just something to be said for a fur-baby that loves you unconditionally and loves to be snuggled. It’d be kind of weird if my relaxation technique was rubbing my husband’s belly.

6. Who inspires and/or motivates you in your daily life?
My grandpa was a very successful, self-made man. He gave so much back to our community in a variety of ways. He has certainly left a legacy. My hope is to have an impact like that on a group of individuals, big or small. I want to be remembered when I’m gone for being great, loving, caring, and selfless. His example is what inspires and motivates me to be the best I can.

7. What is your biggest accomplishment?
Successfully finding a job within a month of every move that I have made. I am quite proud of that, especially with the job market the way it has been. Since graduating with my Master’s I successfully found jobs in Colorado, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, all within a month of relocating. Landing a hottie to marry isn’t too bad either.

8. In ten years, what do you think your biggest accomplishment will be?
(Hopefully) Acquiring my J.D. (I have to be accepted first!) and living a fulfilled life – happy with my job and maintaining a loving marriage.

9. What is your favorite quote?
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
My husband’s previous job left me in a situation where I was starting new jobs every year (see question 7!)! My confidence always took a hit with new positions and I spent a lot of time feeling unsure of myself. My arrival in TN brought an incredibly important mentor into my life, who reminded me of this regularly.

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10. Do you have a guilty pleasure? What is it?
Starbucks. It’s absolutely ridiculous what I will pay for a Triple Grande White Mocha (or Peppermint White Mocha around the holidays!). Even with our Keurig, I can’t bring myself to totally kick Starbucks.

11. What three items would bring if you were on a deserted island?
That’s tough. (1) My dogs. They could be useful, right? Companionship and I could teach them to hunt. Eh, I probably couldn’t teach them to hunt, but I’d still want them around. (2) Water filter. I won’t even drink water out of my own tap without it going through a water filter of some sort. I even have a filter on my desk at work. I have purchased more water filters than I care to think of. (3) a laptop with a battery that lasts forever and magical wireless connection. That exists, right?