The Liebster Blog Award

I've been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by my friend Marci. And, to be honest (and nerdy) I actually like these kinds of blog posts because it's a chance for me to document some random facts about myself that might not ever come up otherwise.

Rules.

1. Each person awarded must post 11 facts about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions the nominator has set for them.
3. Choose five bloggers to nominate.
4. Create 11 more questions for those five bloggers.
5. Let the lucky bloggers know!

11 Facts About Me, Myself, and I

1. I'm a sucker for gift-giving. (And since I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping this fact is becoming readily apparent.) I care more about getting someone the "perfect" gift, than I do about staying within my budget. Don't get me wrong, the budget is important, and I try to stick to it, but if my budget is say, $30, and the perfect thing happens to be oh, $40...I'm likely to spend the $40. My husband doesn't love this personality feature so much. 

2. I will never give up sugar. I'll die a slow and chocolatey death first.

3. I'm pretty opinionated about most things, but I also hate confrontation. So I'm more likely to either, agree with you to your face and disagree with you in my journal later, or sit quietly in the background and say nothing. And usually, before I start spouting off my deepest feelings about subjects I feel strongly about, I make sure that I know that whomever I'm talking to feels similarly, so that they won't take offense. It's not that I'm bothered that other people have differing opinions, because I'm not at all; I'm glad of it actually. But what I don't want is for people to think I dislike or think less of them because I have a strong opinion on the other end of the spectrum.

4. I would rather give a talk in church than stand up and make an announcement. Weird, I know. Talking in church doesn't bother me; I even kind of enjoy it (depending on the topic). When you give a talk, you can prepare, you can practice, their is a certain flow, you have an opening, the middle meaty part, and a conclusion at the end. With announcements, I'm all over the place, and I feel like I always say too many words that are jumbled and confusing. I always feel like an idiot afterwards.

5.  I am not a morning person. Never have been, never will be. Those moms that get up and get showered and dressed and scriptures read and a hundred other things before their kids get up in the morning...ya, that's not happening around here anytime in this lifetime. You want a morning person? Go talk to Aaron. I don't believe that time exists before, oh, 7:30am. And that's only when it has to. :) I am a creature of the night. My creative juices flow better after everyone else is in bed. I have my deepest, most profound thoughts when it's late, and quiet, and I can run the day's events through my head and work them out slowly. 

6. If I had to give myself a label, I'd probably say I was a foody. I like to go out to nice restaurants and have nice food. I'm pretty certain I get this trait from my Dad, and I'm also pretty certain that he spoiled me rotten as a child by taking me nice places and letting me try all kinds of nice (read expensive) food. Since I've been married, it's been a little bit of an eye-opener/let-down not to go out to eat very often; also when we do we don't order cool drinks, and appetizers, and whatever else. And when I found out that Aaron didn't like calamari, I almost cried.

7. I'm realizing that according to #1 and #6 I kind of sound like I just spend money like I have it to burn. I don't. (Spend money like that, or have enough to burn.) So I'll tell you some things I'm stingy about. Clothes. I'd rather be comfortable than cute, and it's a lot cheaper to be comfortable. Wrapping paper. I've been known to wrap gifts in newspaper from the recycling bin, and plastic Walmart sacks tied with a knot. :) Haircuts. I refuse to pay more than about $15 for a haircut. Probably because growing up my mom did hair, so I never paid a dime for it. I still have her cut my hair on occasion, but it's hard when she lives 2 hours away. It blows my mind that people will spend $40-who knows what on just a hair cut alone, and then another $100 or so on color. No hairstyle is worth $150, I'm sorry, or even $75. There are SO many other things in this world I would rather spend that money on...like food and Christmas presents. :)

8. I like cinnamon-fire jolly ranchers, and I really wish I had some right now.

9. I try my best to eat healthy, but I still really like sugar cereals, and sneak a box of Captain Crunch whenever I can get away with it.

10. Fact. It is taking me a long time to come up with 11 semi-interesting facts about myself. :)

11. I miss myself sometimes. Does that even make any sense? Ha! I feel like as a mom, I'm a little bit up-tight, or on edge, or something. I don't think I'm as much fun as I used to be. I think twice about saying or doing things, and sometimes I miss just being able to let go.

My Answers to 11 Questions from Marci
1. What character from a movie or book do you feel is most like you? Ha! I actually think about this a lot, nerdy hu? And I can think of lots of examples of who I think other people are. My brother Kyle, for example, is Flynn Ryder. But I have a harder time with myself, probably because they don't make movies or books with characters like me, because I don't stand out in any way. I'm kind of a background character. But I can tell you who I'd like to be...I want to be bold and honest like Sarah from These Is My Words, and steady like Abilene from The Help, and positive and forgiving like Corrie from The Hiding Place, and funny like Juliet in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and confident like Amy Chua in Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and on and on and on.

2. What is your least favorite food of all time? mashed potatoes, hands down.

3. What is one of your biggest goals/dreams in life?

4. Most incredible experience of your life summed into one paragraph. Go! Child birth. Nothing else I've ever done has been as hard, or rewarding, or made me feel closer to the Savior (in the sense that I would suffer it all over again to bring my children into the world because of the deep and instant love I felt for them as soon as they came out). It really is an incredible, indescribable experience.

5. Favorite cookie recipe?

Ginger Bread Boys
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2/3 cup coconut milk
6 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs

Combine spices with flour and add sugar to shortening. Add molasses, eggs, milk. Mix all together and knead until thick and all flour is absorbed. Roll dough 1/2 inch thick cut out with cookie cutter. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let cool, store covered to keep soft.

6. What is your dream career? (besides being a momma of course) I would love to be a writer and write some deeply thought provoking, inspiring, life changing, instant classic.

7. Top five books? Only 5...hmmm...this might be tough. Here are some favorites, but not in any certain order. I keep a running list of books I love under my Recommended Reads tab.
           1. These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
           2. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
           3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
           4. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
           5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

8. Who is your greatest role model or someone who has greatly influenced your life? I think I'm turning out to be most like my mom, so that's pretty good evidence that she is having a pretty strong influence. :) But that's ok, I like my mom. But I also feel like there are so many other wonderful women...relatives, friends, teachers, employers, book characters...that have had an impact at different places along the way.

9. If you could only eat one vegetable for the rest of your life which one would it be? Asparagus

10. Dream vacation? I've got my sights set on ten beautiful, blissful day in Hawaii, just Aaron and I and the beach. If I ever accomplish that, I'll dream up something else.

11. Do you hate me now?  :) No, I should thank you actually, for giving me something to do tonight while Aaron was at Elder's Quorum meeting.

The lucky nominees are...

All three of you (minus Marci, so I guess that makes two of you) who read this blog. :) 




Your questions are:


1. What was the best Christmas present  you ever received?
2. What is your philosophy on naming children?
3. Pets or no pets?
4. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
5. Favorite form of chocolate?
6. What makes you different from most people you know?
7. What books have you read over and over and over again?
8. What is something that you find challenging?
9. If you could go back and live in any time period, which one would you chose?
10. What is your comfort food?
11. Favorite iphone app?