I've Been Nominated for a Liebster Award! 1

I’ve been nominated for an award!!  And by not just anyone, but by one of my favorite bloggers, Lisa Thomson from Lisa Thomson Live.  She’s literally written the book on leaving your marriage – “A Girls Guide to Leaving a Marriage“!

From what I understand, the Liebster award is for smaller blogs (like mine) and given to bloggers with less than 200 followers. The goal is to help others find these blogs that are very well written and truly worthy of a bigger following. In German “Liebster” means kindest, beloved, valued, and welcome.The current rules for accepting this award are:

  1. List 11 random facts about myself.
  2. Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated me.
  3. Nominate 11 more blogs who have less than 200 followers and let them know they’ve been nominated.
  4. Post 11 new questions for those bloggers to answer (if they wish to accept the award—it’s completely optional).

11 Random Facts About Myself

I have red hair, fair skin and freckles and as a result of my Irish heritage, burn like a lobster pretty much any time it gets sunny and hot—no matter how much sunscreen I use.

As a result of the car accident, one of my legs is slightly shorter than the other. I know this to be true, but it’s never been measured, and truthfully, I’m not sure if it’s the right one. I broke my femur in two—and it’s possible that the repair has either added bone, or I’ve lost some.

Since the accident, I have to sleep on my right side most nights because having my right leg on the bed instead of suspended over my left leg and hanging is more comfortable.  I can’t sleep on my back (I snore), and haven’t been able to sleep on my stomach since before I was pregnant with Puck. Even though I’d like to sleep facing my husband, I have to sleep on the right side of the bed. I tried the other side a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t sleep because it felt weird.

My favorite flower is a calla lily.

I pronounce the word “to-MAY-to”. My husband, as a result of his European upbringing, pronounces it “to-MAH-to”. Depending on who picks the tomato from our vegetable garden, the other person is legally (house rules) required to pronounce it the correct way. Flower and Puck are both team “to-MAY-to”. Bae, not speaking yet, is still undecided (but as he’s a Cancer like me, I suspect he’ll join us, and it may be his first word).

My favorite movie of all time is The Haunting. The original black and white version. I’ve watched it probably 20 times and still have nightmares. I don’t particularly like the remake, but I’ve watched it about six times anyway—and it still causes nightmares too.

My grandmother and I had the same recurring dream about a room in an old house with 12-foot ceilings, ornate carpentry, bookshelves all around except for a big window, oriental carpets, ornate wooden tables and two big arm chairs. At the back of the room there is a big door with a glass doorknob. When we discussed the dream, we were both able to fill in and confirm details that the other had seen. Although both of us had had our hands on the doorknob at the end of every dream, we always woke up before opening it. Gran has passed now, I haven’t had the dream since, but I wonder sometimes if she was able to get the door open…and that’s why I no longer have the dream.

My favorite animal (next to a dog) is a monkey.  No species particular—I like them all.

On days that I’m really frustrated from co-parenting with the Goblin King, I buy lottery tickets and fantasize about beating him to a pulp in court (legally, not literally) and taking the hubby and the kids to live on some tropical island with a house on the beach selling coconuts to passing tourists.

My favorite TV show is Doctor Who.  I am currently partial to the newer series, but Tom Baker (the fourth Doctor) was the Doctor of my childhood and will always be “my” Doctor.  My husband, although he is 12 years older than I am and started with Patrick Troughton, agrees.  He doesn’t know it, but that’s part of the reason I knew he was the one.  I have copies of every episode of the new series, which I have watched and rewatched several times and my children love it almost as much as I do.  Almost.

Although I’m too practical to buy a car solely based on the colors available, I was tempted to get a grape purple bike with a straw basket with a daisy on the front.  My husband talked me out of it.  I ended up with a very light pink one, which is light and speedy, but I still think about the purple one.

Answers to Lisa’s Questions

What was your reason for launching your blog?

  • We don’t have a parenting coordinator anymore.  My choice, but now I don’t have an outlet to bitch about my ex and get sympathy/advice (aside from hubs, who I don’t want to burden). My blog has allowed me not only to unburden myself, but (much to my surprise), meet a number of fascinating and inspirational women (like Lisa) who faced similar challenges with their ex-husbands.

What’s your all time favorite ice cream?

  • Chocolate mint.  Hands down.  And I hate pistachio.

What keeps you writing, coming back to the keyboard?

  • I’ve really enjoyed meeting and sharing with my Tweeps, Facebonkers, Bloglovers, Pinners, G-plusers and all my other fans.  I’ve gotten an overwhelmingly positive response to my writing and have been told that I have inspired, uplifted or otherwise helped my fans in some way through my writing.  If I can do that for even just one person, I feel like I’ve accomplished something.

What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self?

  • That’s a very hard one.  I lived my life the way I did and became the person I am today because I didn’t have any special insight.  If I had, I probably would have run the other way and ended up a completely different person with a completely different life. If I had the opportunity to meet my twenty-year-old self, I’d probably just smile and tell her how fantastic my life has turned out, and if she stays the course, she’ll be just as happy.

What has been the hardest lesson you’ve learned so far?

  • Patience.  And I don’t know that I’ve completely learned the lesson yet.  I get impatient with the Goblin King quite regularly.  I try to temper it, and I’m getting a lot better at it than I used to be.

If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?

  • If it were possible, I’d change food so that the good stuff doesn’t make you fat.  There’s probably some crushing timey-wimey consequence of this, but it would still be cool.  (You thought I was going to say world peace didn’t you?)

Where is your dream destination?

  • I don’t have one in particular – but I’m not one for winter.  If I could live someplace where I never had to see snow except on TV, that would be OK.

One book you read over and over and still love!

  • Unlike TV and movies, I don’t tend to read books more than once.  I have re-read several of my favorites with my children – but I suppose if I had to choose one of those, it would be Alice in Wonderland.

What was the title of your first piece?

Finish the sentence “I wish I hadn’t   _________”

  • I wish I hadn’t…well, actually…I don’t.  I try to never look back on my life and wish for it to turn out differently.  If it did, I wouldn’t have learned as much as I have, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today.  I don’t make mistakes. I learn by living by surprise.

You’ve just been arrested for protesting, who do you call?

  • My husband.  He’d be there for me even if it was for something he didn’t believe in or support.

My Nominees

I’ve chosen a wide range of women bloggers – not married, married, divorced, no kids or several, a beauty blogger, the mother of a special needs child, stay at home and working moms – some sharing their struggles, and some thriving.  I think they all have way fewer followers than they should.  And even if they aren’t inclined to accept the challenge – their blogs are definitely worth checking out!  See the links I’ve provided in the list below:

  1. Lottie Lomas – The Secret Divorcee (update…Lottie is no longer blogging)
  2. Jessica Terry at 4 the Love of Mommy (update…still one of my favorites)
  3. R.F. Deitz – Diz Mommy (update…still love her…but she’s not blogging as much…)
  4. MaryBeth Crissman from A Yankee in Rebel Clothes (also still blogging, but not as much)
  5. Eva Oliver’s Bipolar You and Me (no longer active)
  6. Genna Millar from Blethering Boys (still blogging, but not as much)
  7. Karen from Baking in a Tornado (still love her)
  8. Stephanie Schaffer’s The Oily Mom Blog (no longer active)
  9. Rachelle Wade – the Sassy Aspie Mom (still blogging, but not as much)
  10. Erica Loop from Please Shut Up, I’m Thinking (no longer active)

11 Questions for the Nominated Bloggers

  1. You have the opportunity to meet anyone living person in the world for tea.  Who do you choose and why?
  2. What is the best feedback you’ve ever gotten on your writing?
  3. You are stranded, alone, on a desert island.  What is the first thing that you do?
  4. What actor or actress set your heart aflutter when you were thirteen?
  5. What is your favorite flower?
  6. Have you chosen the topic for your next blog post?  What was your inspiration?
  7. What is the last vivid dream that you remember having?
  8. If you were told that you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, barring any dietary consequences like weight gain or vitamin deficiency, what food would you choose?
  9. What blogger has inspired you the most and why?
  10. Describe the most annoying person you’ve ever seen in a checkout line.
  11. What blogging platform are you using and why did you choose it?

Have a question you’d like me to answer?  Put it in the comments below!

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