Liebster Award Nomination





PENDING AWARD...I'm not claiming it yet.

Hi everyone - Natalie at Over The Top Coat nominated me for the Liebster Award.  What is that, you say?  Well, that's what I said, anyway.  Turns out it is an award, passed around the net from another fellow blogger, to someone who is relatively new to blogging and has less than 200 followers.  Check, and check - that's me.  It is a great way to get to know a little bit of the person behind the text on the screen.  FYI - This has turned into a long post...sorry about that.


My circle of blogs and following is relatively small right now - I don't have a lot of free time at the moment to surf and get to know a lot of people in the community.  Up until recently, I was working full time, commuting anywhere from 15-20 hours a week, and spending the rest of my time as a full time college student.  How I fit time in for this whole blogging thing is unknown to me. 

In order to claim a Liebster Award, there are a few rules:
1) You must nominate 11 other bloggers, and all must have fewer than 200 followers.  You also have to notify them of your nomination.
2) You must answer 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you.
3) You must give your nominees 11 questions to answer.
4) You must link back to the blogger who nominated you.

So....yea, me and rules...  I LOVE the fact that Natalie nominated me, but I don't think I know 11 bloggers that are in the same situation as me, who have not been nominated by someone else.  I'm going to buck the system a little, and although I don't think I can claim the award right now, I want to keep this nomination in reserve until I get some time to take a stroll on the web and seek out others that fill the requirements.  I WILL however, still answer Natalie's 11 questions.  Here we go.

Natalie's questions for her nominees are:

1.  What kind of superpower would you most like to have?
Ha!  I want to be able to shape-shift.  Mystique in X-Men, anyone? 

2.  Where is your favorite place in the whole world? (It does not have to be somewhere you've actually been)
As much as I am a fan of Chicago, my favorite place that I have visited is Seattle, Washington.  You have got beach, mountains, city, and country all within a pretty short driving distance.  It is on my list to go back again (and again).  The only drawback?  The rain.
The "favorite" place that I want to visit - that is, the one on the top of my bucket list - is Italy.  Rome, Venice, Milan, Verona, Turin, Parma...the list goes on.  I would have to take at least a month - maybe two - to see all I want to see in that country.

3.  Do you have pets?  (Please include type of pet and name(s))
I do have pets - three actually.  I have blogged about one a few times because of a health issue that came out of nowhere and almost killed her.  They are all cats, and they are all shelter babies.  I had originally planned on only adopting two little tortie girls, but the shelter owner had a little trick up her sleeve, and I walked away with three that day.  How, you ask?  The litter one of my girls was in had almost all of the kitties adopted out, except for one.  A little runt of a boy - all black - who had bonded with my girl.  No one wanted him, and she asked me if I would just take him - no fees, medical checks already done, blah blah.  She brought him out in the palm of her hand, and yea...I am a sucker.  Their names are:  Maize (who is on my blog), Snickers(my other tortie girl), and Peanut, my lovable, can't get enough attention boy.

4.  Why did you decide to start blogging?
This answer may be a weird one for people - I started blogging because I was searching for something about nail polish on the internet, and stumbled on a blog - Kimber's Lacquer Korner.   It was January this year, and she posted information regarding an ABC Challenge she was hosting.  Me, not knowing WTF was going on in this community, did a little looking around and found out about challenges, blogging, FB pages, etc.  In a moment of total insanity, I signed up for the challenge, and created a blog and FB page over 2 days' time so I could participate in the challenge.  

5. If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?
I would do a few things - 1)Put some in the bank.  2)Pay off my mortgage.  3)Pay off my student loans.  4)Travel to Italy.  5)Pay a contractor to repair and do a few things in my house that I just don't have the time or funds to do.  6)Sponsor a few scholarships for girls entering technical fields.  7)Buy about 100 Visa or MC gift cards at $100 each, and pass them out to people.  The people that have trouble making ends meet because of their economic situation.  I was working in a job that was willing to be flexible with my hours for school, but the trade-off was a lower than needed hourly wage.  The money didn't stretch as much as I needed it to - it was not fun.

6. What's your favorite day of the week?
Well, when I was working, it was obviously Friday.  But now?  I don't really have one.

7.  Do you "geek out" over anything?  (i.e. TV show, favorite band, comic books, etc.)
OH MY GOD!  Yes!!!  TV shows - Big Bang Theory, Dr. Who(the David Tennant years...I would DIE to meet him)  Movies - The Matrix, Batman movies(Christian Bale please), Inception, Harry Potter movies.   Actors - TOM HARDY!!  Books - Kim Harrison's "The Hollows" series - if anyone reads them, do you still cry about Kisten??  Jim Butcher's "The Dresden" series - set in Chicago, about a tall, dark wizard.  He was supposed to be in Chicago (Jim Butcher, not the wizard) for a book signing, and got sick with food poisoning and cancelled - I was SO bummed!  Sports - Chicago Blackhawks hockey!  I have had the luck to meet a couple of players, and I was just tongue-tied.

8.  Do you like to cook/bake?
I love to bake, but since I have begun a life altering fitness regime, baking and baked goods are off the radar.  I am a pretty good cook, but I don't have A/C in my house right now so I try not to do a whole lot of it this time of year.

9.  Do you think there is life on other planets?
Absolutely - I think the law of averages would be enough to predict that.  Not to get all science-y, but "life" is a broad term.  It doesn't have to be carbon-based like here on Earth.   Yes, I am an Evolutionist.

10. Are you a fan of practical jokes or pranks?
As long as no one gets physically hurt and it isn't specifically designed to be malicious,  it's fair game.  Don't get involved in jokes or pranks if you don't have a thick skin...I'm just saying.

 11. What's something that few people might know about you?
Hmm...this one is hard.  I think most of the people I know, and especially my friends, don't know how absolutely terrified I was - and still am - about going back to school to get my Bachelor's degree in Computers.  I had a career in the auto industry that I never intended on having, and for the 5-6 years prior to going back to school, I was absolutely miserable. M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E.!  When the economy tanked, I lost my job and took it as my escape hatch to go back to what I like, and what I am good at.  It's a different perspective at my age.  With minimal support - no family anymore to speak of, and most friends who are so embroiled in their own struggles - it leaves me with no real crutches to fall back on...scary. 

So, there you go.  Maybe too much information sharing??  Yea, maybe.

Till next time.
Liz