Hello, lovely denizens of the Quirkyverse. My friend, Megan, has nominated me for an award. I told her, I’ve never been nominated for anything, but just realized that’s not true. I won an award in high school. But I’ve never been nominated for writing. I’m pretty sure that’s true.

Megan nominated me for the Liebster Award. Queue Logo:

Here are the rules I must follow to accept the award:

1. You must tell 11 things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions your nominator gives you.
3. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
4. Choose new blogs with fewer than 200 followers and link them to your post.
5. If you’re nominated, please leave a comment on this post with the URL of your Liebster Award post.

I already messed up #5 because I misread it and left a comment with my general blog url, but I’ll rectify that as soon as I get this posted by leaving a shorlink in her comments section.

The first two requirements are generally lumped together, meaning that the nominee tells 11 things about her(or him)self by answering the questions given by the nominator. I really liked the questions Megan was given, though, so I’ve decided to separate the requirements by answering those as well as Megan’s fabulous questions.

Questions given to Megan:
1. What is your preferred beverage? Sweet tea, especially if it includes either fresh pineapple or mint.
2. Are you afraid of any animals? Cats. And snakes, but mostly cats.
3. Would you ever go hang-gliding? Absolutely. I’ve been bungee jumping and that was fun. Parasailing was kind of boring, but I think hang-gliding would be kind of in-between. And fun.
4. Country, city, or suburbs? I’m a suburbs girl. The city is too crowded for an introverted girl who likes grass and trees as much as I do. I like the idea of the country, but it’s too far from a movie theater for my taste, so I’ll just dream of a big back yard.
5. What is the easiest way to make you laugh? Hmmm, that’s a toughie. Probably by using a line from a movie out of the blue in a normal conversation. Or, as Megan said, tell me a funny story. I’m relatively new to Modern Family and haven’t seen “The Old Wagon” episode yet, so I’ll have to check that out.
6. Do you enjoy a good cry? Yes. Whatever the reason for the cry, I find the physical release of the emotion really cathartic. Not a big fan of the puffy, red eyes, though. They run in my family, so thanks a lot, Mom.
7. Are you multi-lingual? No, but I know enough Spanish to tell you to shut up if I think you’re talking about me.
8. How often do you read for pleasure? I try to take a little time to read for pleasure every day. It’s my one sure-fire escape from my everyday life and it helps keep me sane. You know, relatively speaking.
9. Can you do anything crafty (sewing, knitting, woodwork, etc.)? I’m a sampler. I can cross stitch, make potholders, hook rugs, sew, knit, stamp metal, emboss paper, and probably some other things I’m forgetting. I generally pick something up long enough to complete a project, then move on to the next thing.
10. What was the worst thing you’ve ever tried? Snowboarding. I fell almost instantly and I don’t think I was ever able to make it back to a standing position on a snowboard. On the bright side, it was then I had a revelation that I need independent movement of my legs to move. ‘Swhy I can roller-skate pretty well, but I can’t skateboard to save my life. Now that I think about it, that high kick while roller-skating to a Barry Manilow song in the garage circa 1978 was not such a hot idea either.
11. Johnny Depp or Sam Elliot? Johnny Depp.

And here are Megan’s questions:

1. What is your favorite sport? Is reading a sport? No? Okay, well, then I guess it would have to be volleyball. It’s the only one I’ve ever really been able to play. Or totally follow.
2. What did you want to be when you grew up? I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything but a doctor or an actress/singer. I did musicals in high school and realized my singing abilities might be sufficient for the chorus, but my acting abilities would probably not even gain me amateur status. College physics beat the doctor dream out of me.
3. Modern or antique? Depends on the period, but I lean toward antique.
4. Do you have a favorite band or music genre? In high school, I would have answered Billy Joel or Manhattan Transfer. Later it might have been Bare Naked Ladies, They Might Be Giants, Dave Matthews Band, or Linda Eder. Aretha. Ella. With a very few exceptions, I’ve never been a fan of Country Music. Never Death Metal, but anything else is pretty much fair game.
5. What do you want to be doing ten years from now? Writing books and remaining calm while teaching a certain 16-year-old wanna-be zoo-keeper to drive.
6. If you could choose, during what era would you live? I think early 20th century. Sometime where I could be involved in fighting for suffrage and civil rights.
7. D.I.Y or contractor? D.I.Y. baby! Unless it’s hard or will take more than a few hours, then totally contractor.
8. What is your favorite vacation spot? Hapuna Beach, Hawaii. Of course, I’ve only really been on two vacations in my life. There are lots of places I’d like to try.
9. Can you roll your tongue? Yep. That’s a dominant inherited trait, did you know?
10. Have you ever dyed your hair, and if so what was your favorite color? My hair color is something I’ve always liked about myself, so I’ve never done anything long-term more than subtle highlights. I did a hairspray one Halloween that was an orangey-red that looked awful on me. I think I would probably go with a deep purple or blue.
11. Do you believe in fate? I’m not sure. I believe that, while random things sometimes happen, the universe mainly unfolds in predictable patterns. Some would call that fate, so…maybe?

Now that I’m positive you know more about me than you ever wanted to, I give you the questions to my nominees:

1. If you could spend an afternoon with anybody, living; deceased (though not deceased on your imaginary afternoon); or fictional, who would it be and why?
2. You get to have your mother make your favorite meal for dinner tonight. What do you want to see on that table?
3. If someone walked in your house right now, what’s the most embarrassing thing they would learn about you?
4. What is the one thing about yourself you like the best?
5. If you had to leave your house right now and never return, what one material possession would you take with you?
6. What task do you totally hate doing?
7. What are you afraid of?
8. Which are your favorite smells?
9. If you could start your own restaurant, what would it be?
10. If you could get back any article of clothing you once wore, what would it be and why?
11. Tell me about someone you envy.

And now for my nominees (don’t click here for a drumroll because I couldn’t make it work):

Kimberly, Mimi, and Sarah