Liebster List Thing

I recently received the greatest (and also only) honor for my blog that I have ever received, which is a nomination for a Liebster award, from my very favorite upbeat vegetable, The Happy Radish.

Once I finished swooning from the general, heady excitement of the whole thing, I set about trying to figure out what the heck that actually means for me and the rest of the blogiverse. Unfortunately, there seem to be mixed ideas and instructions around this award...so I am going to cobble all that I have read into the version that works best for me...

A Liebster Award is an award given from one small (under 200 followers) blog, to another. It is meant to cause a much needed ego boost to the little blogger who could, even though nobody else may notice. You are supposed to accept your award by stating 11 facts about yourself, answering the 11 questions presented to you by your nominator and coming up with your own 11 questions to pass on to 11 other small bloggers that you would like to nominate.

OK...not that I believe for even a second that anyone wants to know any of this...but because I am a sucker for creating a list...and if I can bullet it out? All the better...

All About Me

• I am an only child. And I am apparently the poster child for only children. As such, sibling dynamics, specifically those of my children, completely confound and mystify me.
• I was a Boy Scout in college. This made me gleefully happy.
• I was a Girl Scout in middle school. This made me woefully sad.
• I am the world's most graceful person when I am standing still. The moment I begin to move, shit just falls apart.
• I have never once felt a connection to or an ability to "relate" to a female character on a television show, in a book or in a movie. I do however identify strongly with a number of male characters...Sheldon from Big Bang Theory...Kramer from Seinfeld.
• My favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride. I can recite almost all of the lines in this movie by heart.
• My guilty pleasure movie is Clueless. Which is really a clever adaptation of the novel Emma, by Jane Austen. It doesn't matter what day, time or place it is...if I am flipping through channels, and Clueless is on? I am watching it.
• I can't stand to be bored. If left to my own devices, I will find something to occupy my time. This is not always a good thing.
• I feel most myself when I am running.
• I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. I fear my children will be grown and have figured this out, before I do.
• I suffer from relatively severe body dysmorphia and am extremely intimidated by people that are overweight.

and, simply because Cait asked me to... Here is my list of answer to her Liebster questions:

1. What is the correct way to pronounce Nutella? (NEW-tella, or NUH-tella??)
 It's NUH-tella. Anything else is unacceptable, and will make my ears jump off of my head and run around the room naked.

2. How do you sign off on emails?
Depends...if it is a "business" email, my tagline is "Attitudes are contagious...is YOURS worth catching?" If it is a personal email, then typically, it is something like "Cancel my subscription, I'm done with your issues."

3. When is the last time you were proud of yourself?
 October 7, 2012, as I crossed the finish line of the Twin Cities Marathon. Well, technically, I have been proud since that moment in time...but that event is the catalyst of those prideful feelings.

4. Do you ever talk to yourself?
I'm the only one that tends to listen, so yes.

5. What do you eat for breakfast most days?
I eat the same thing for breakfast every day, M-F...and that would be a Greek Yogurt. Specifically a Dannon Oikios in either Strawberry or Raspberry flavor. There can be no deviations to this, otherwise the eating thing? Simply won't happen. Which is all part of a conversation for another day.

If it is a weekend, and I manage to remember to eat, it is most likely a piece of toast with Nutella (see NUH-tella, lol) or Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter from Peanut Butter and Company.

6. How does it make you feel when someone tells you that you're beautiful?
Mostly uncomfortable and like cracking a joke.

7. You don't need to elaborate on who you would say this to, but what's one thing you need to say, and haven't yet (or never will)?
No. I am terrible at No. It is how I typically find myself buried under piles of other people's problems.

8. Tell me a memory that involves crazy weather.
So. Late summer 2004...I am on the cusp of turning 29, and am planning to celebrate my birthday for the very last time, as I have no intention of turning 30, ever. I've booked a room on the concierge floor of the Beach Club resort at Disney. Family and friends have been advised that they are more than welcome to join me, but they are on their own as far as making reservations and whatnot.

Two days before, Hurricane Frances decides to show up and help me celebrate. Disney calls, cancels my room, refunds my money and tells me they are closing the park for the first time in history.

I spend my birthday and the days immediately following it, hunkered down with my husband and children, in the dark, listening to the wind howl and the rain beat against the house.

Every ten minutes or so, I ask my husband "What was that?"

His answer "The wind."

It was like an episode of the Three Stooges that never quite made it to the punchline.

9. Which is better, mechanical pencils or good old-fashioned No. 2's?
Mechanical. If I have to sharpen it by hand, it will wind up the size of my pinky, because I can't stand to have a dull point.

10. Should clean underwear be folded?
Yes, it should. And organized by style and color. (Feel bad for my husband...he does the laundry.)

11. What do you do when you can't fall asleep?
I play Words With Friends, in the dark, in the hopes that I will actually fall asleep while doing it.  

Now, as I understand it, I am to nominate 11 others...so...let's see...how about 5? I can give you 5. Because the other people I know are waaaay too cool for school and have more than 200 followers, which is apparently against the rules here. 

 Nominations:
 Cultivating The Dragonfly
Have Mat Will Travel
Confessions of a Not-So-Super Mom
 Desperately Seeking Me
A Day In The Life of a Crazy Mom

Should they take the time out of their day to answer...here are my burning questions:

(Look, another list!!!)

1. Do you believe in astrology?
2. Tylenol, Advil or Aleve...what do you turn to to cure a headache?
3. How old would you be if you could be any age?
4. What is the most exotic food that you have ever eaten?
5. What is the most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever done for you?
6. If you had to choose one day to live, again and again, a la Groundhog Day, what day would it be?
7. Have you ever gone Black Friday shopping?
8. What do you keep in the trunk of your car?
9. What was your nickname as a child?
10. What is your homepage for your Internet browser?
11. If you were a spy, what would your alias be?