It's a Major (Liebster Blog) Award!

I've been awarded the Liebster Blog Award! (Liebster means "favorite" or "dearest" in German, apparently) The premise behind this award is that when you are nominated, you are supposed to answer 11 questions about yourself (chosen by the person who nominated you), and then nominate 5 bloggers with less than 200 readers and provide 11 questions for them to answer.

Normally, I would ignore this request because (1) it's kind of like spam, and (2) I'm limited to 5 blogs and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by leaving them out (because I have WAY more than 5 favorite blogs)!

But since my dear friend Laura is the one who nominated me, I'll play along. Here are the answers to her questions:

1.) What is your favorite saying and where did you first hear it?
I don't really have a favorite one. I guess if I had to pick, it would be "Sometimes you just gotta say ... what the f***" - Joel Goodsen, Risky Business.

2.) Do you remember your first dress-up occasion? What did you wear and why?
The first time that I can remember getting all dressed up was for the Little Miss Valentine pageant at my elementary school. I was in first grade and all the other little girls were wearing cute poofy dresses with little hearts all over them. My dress? Navy blue with big white polka dots. I got first runner up - Little Miss LaBelle. (That was my elementary school). I got a trophy, a sash, and a tiara (see? I really do deserve to wear one!). I cried because I didn't get a goodie bag with candy in it. That was really all I wanted.

3.) Have you been affected by a natural disaster? What was your experience?
When I was in high school in Atlanta, we had a tornado warning and the school sent everyone home early. My sister didn't make it to the bus before it left and had to stay at the school. I was home alone. I prepared pillows, blankets, a radio, and a flashlight down in the room under the basement stairs where we kept all the home-canned food. I was waiting it out when I looked out the window and the sky was a greenish black color and it sounded like a jet was landing on the house. I ran downstairs and locked myself in that little room and didn't come out until I heard my parents come home.

4.) What do you see when you look out your kitchen window?
A giant oak tree and the back of my neighbor's house. Yep, they STILL have their porch light on (it has been glaring into my yard non-stop for the past year).

5.) Are you more comfortable speaking or writing and why?
Definitely writing. I tend to think better with my fingers for some reason.

6.) What did your childhood home look like?
It depends on which one we're talking about. There was an apartment and a house in Portland, Oregon. Then there was a 2-bedroom apartment in Marietta, Georgia. Then a 4-bedroom house in Atlanta. 

7.) Were you ever fired or laid-off? How did you deal with that situation?
Yes. I was laid off from two subsequent jobs when both companies were purchased by other companies. It actually turned out to be a positive thing for me because I got good severance packages with both, and I got a new job right away both times, which provided double paychecks for several weeks.

8.) Do you enjoy your birthdays or do you lament the passing of time?
My birthday is so close to Christmas that I really don't even pay attention to it anymore, mainly because no one else does.

9.) Which is your favorite holiday and why?
I don't really have one, but I have the most fun at Halloween.

10.) Growing up, what your favorite television or radio show?
I think my family can vouch for this ... Charlie's Angels. Who didn't want to be a Charlie's Angel?

11.) Different times of life are satisfying for different reasons; which has been the most satisfying for you and why?
I would have to say that the time since my daughter graduated from high school has been the most rewarding and satisfying for me. I've been able to focus on the things that I want to do with my life, and have succeeded in finishing my degree and am well on my way toward achieving my genealogy certification.

Now ... here are the 5 blogs I'm nominating:

Sweet Tea, Tart Lemons & Memories
A Southern Sleuth
Climbing My Family Tree
Documenting the Details
Nuts From the Family Tree

And the moment of truth ... the questions! (P.S. I totally stole these from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Man blog)

1. What is your favorite time of day and why?

2. How and when did you first discover your passion, whatever that passion is?

3. Hopefully, you’re familiar with The Breakfast Club for this question. When you were in high school, in which social group did you best fit?

4. Where do you write your posts and why did you choose that place?

5. What always makes you laugh and why?

6. If you could appear on a televised talent show, what would your talent be?

7. Which flower reminds you of happiness?

8. What is your favorite book and why?

9. It’s important to eat your vegetables, but which vegetable do you always resist/avoid eating?

10. What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

11. Who is the one celebrity, past or present, you would like to meet — and what would you ask that person?

Now I'm off to notify my nominees!

Do we share any ancestors? 

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com