The Liebster Blog Award!

The awesome G.A. Albrethsen, author of the Age of Restoration series, has nominated me for the prestigious Liebster Blog Award! I have to say, the Liebster award is one of the first blog awards I ever saw floating around when I started blogging, so this means a great deal to me that I’ve been nominated for the award.

Be sure to check out his blog!

 

In accepting this award I must share 11 random facts about myself, answer 11 questions from my nominator and then nominate others.

 

Here we go!

1) I skip breakfast most of the time. But when I do eat breakfast, it’s a breakfast of kings. Okay, usually it’s just toast with jam. Maybe cold cereal.

 

2) I love the Veggie Tale theme song.

 

3) I am the oldest of five kids. I have two younger sisters and then two younger brothers. People seem to think my next younger sister and I are twins. We’re not. We’re 16 months apart. I used to get upset when people would guess that she was older than me too. Now I think it’s funny.

 

4) I have exactly 50 followers on my Facebook author page right now. (You could help bump that number up if you feel like it!)

 

5) I’m trying not to focus so much on the numbers any more. I got caught in that trap of promoting myself so much that now I’ve lost sight of my art for a little bit. I’m trying to bring myself back to the process of creating just for the joy of creating.

 

6) My family teases me that I have OCD – Obsessive Controlling Disorder… and I think they may be right.

 

7) I have this thing about lines. They need to be straight.

 

8) I’m a terrible cook.

 

9) My hair used to be so long that I could sit on it. I chopped it off almost two years ago and vowed not to cut it again until at least two years had passed. I only have a few more months to go and I’m thinking of cutting it shorter this time.

 

10) I was a major tom-boy when I was growing up and have always been so proud of the fact that when I was 13, I beat a boy who was a year older than me in arm wrestling. He went on to be a body builder and I wouldn’t dream of challenging him today.

 

11) I have one niece whom I am super proud of. She is the equivalent to a baby genus, according to her doctors. She’ll be two years old soon and can already say her alphabet, count her fingers and toes, and sings You Are My Sunshine and Veggie Tale songs.

 

Okay, now if you’re not totally bored, you can read on to find my answers to G.A. Alberthsen’s questions for me…

1. What’s your favorite food and why?

Basically, anything my mom cooks. The older I get, the more I appreciate her cooking – lol. But really, my absolute favorite food is this dish called Cheese Burger Casserole. It has rice in it, so I have no idea why it’s called “cheese burger” casserole, but it does have cheese and it does have burger so maybe that’s it. I’ve tried making it myself but can never make it come out as good as Mom does.

2. If you watch television, what do you watch? (Can be either kinds of shows, like sports, reality, comedies, etc., or specific shows themselves).

I don’t watch television. In fact, I don’t even own a TV. I love movies and have a huge collection of DVDs, but in my apartment there is no television. However, my family watches a lot of television and when I go home to visit (quite often), I tend to get sucked into something. My favorite show by far is Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel. I’ve been a huge fan of that show since it first came out and if you follow me on social media, you can tell when I’m watching it because I’m always tweeting with other viewers about it with the hashtag, #GoldRush.

3. What time of day or night do you find the best to write in. Why?

I tend to write more at night, although I know I’m more productive and creative in the mornings. That being said, the reason I write more in the evenings and at night than in the morning is because I love to sleep in. It’s easier for me to keep going on the day than to get up first thing and start a new day. I love being a night owl, but do attempt to be a morning bird every now and then.

4. If you had to participate in something outside of your comfort zone, what would it be?

I think it would have to be something with community involvement, or leading people to do something bigger than themselves. I have this thing about leaving a mark on the world. Maybe even going to another country as a missionary – now that would be awesome.

5. What skill or trade would you like to learn?

I have always loved music. I’ve played piano since I was eight or nine years old, but before that I wanted to learn to play the guitar. Before that, I wanted to play violin. And recently, I’ve decided that I’d also like to learn to play cello. My sister recently gave me my dad’s old guitar so I’ve been trying to teach myself how to play a little ditty, and my grandmother just found out about my lifelong dream of playing violin and informed me that she had an old violin (that I never knew about) that she’s going to give me. I’ve been checking out YouTube videos on how to play in the meantime. As for the cello – anyone out there want to give theirs away? I’m in the market!

6. Pick a person, living or dead, you feel your ideals most closely align with.

I always thought Henry David Thoreau was looked at as out of his mind because he challenged the way everything was. He didn’t just take something at face value just because. As a kid, I read a play that highlighted how extreme of a man he could be at times and it challenged me then, and even now, not to take so much at face value, to question things more often and not to be afraid of controversy.

7. Pick a genre you would write that you don’t currently write now, and tell why you would.

A recent life event has caused me to look at the possibility of writing a nonfiction Christian book based on those recent events. As a journalist, I’ve learned that everyone has a story to tell and I love getting to tell those stories of individuals. But also as a journalist, I am forced to stay within certain boundaries while telling the story in order to conform to the newspaper style and I only have so much space to tell that story. The idea I am contemplating and praying about writing is a story that has gripped my heart and won’t let go.  

8. What motivates you? What is your passion? What gets you out of bed in the morning?

“...What makes me get out of bed in the morning...?” Well, I’ve already talked about how much I hate that task – haha! But in all seriousness, as much as I love writing, and I love reading, and I love music, and all things art – I love living. I just love living life to its fullest. I wake up in the morning thanking God for another day I’ve been given and ask His blessings on all I will do throughout that day. My constant prayer is that God guide me and lead me in His will.

9. Aside from writing/blogging/social media/promoting, what else do you do with your time?

I play piano, read, draw, pick up my apartment and make it look magazine photographer ready because I don’t like clutter, although I’m one of the messiest persons I know! I love hanging out with my family and going horseback riding, although I don’t get so much of an opportunity to do that anymore. I also enjoy hanging out with friends, but I don’t really have many friends that live nearby...

10. If you could be anything, what would it be? (Let’s see how creative you REALLY are!)

I would be one of two things; a concert musician (we’re talking piano/violin/cello, etc. See the movie August Rush) or a Australian horse trainer. There’s just something about the land Down Under and I love horses. I have trained several.

11. What human characteristic or trait do you admire most?

Honesty. I really admire people who are totally honest about themselves. Not being fake is something that can be really hard for me. I have to be careful that I don’t get an idea in my head of what people expect of me and I must vigilantly watch that I don’t conform to that ideal.

Now, to pass on the award to some fabulous bloggers whom I think totally deserve this!

Sydney Aliyah is one of my go-to bloggers!

Fel Wetzig runs a peasant revolt over at her blog!

FeliciaTatum because this girl is awesome – enough said!

Joy Lenton is a poet who’s inspiring words always come at just the right time for me.

In accepting the award, please answer the same 11 questions and link back to this post when you’re done so I can be sure to see the answers!

Thanks once again to G.A. Albrethsen for nominating me and thank you to everyone else for participating!

 

If you've ever been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award, please share a link below so we can all check it out and learn more about you!