So I was just minding my own business the other night when I got an email alerting me to a new comment on my blog. My blog friend, Antonia at Tidy Away Today, posted to let me know she just nominated me for a “Liebster Award.” How fun!
Wait a sec…what IS a Liebster Award?
Basically, it’s an award that fellow bloggers give to one another to help share the love and make some new blog connections. The nominated blog must have less than 200 followers. What a fun idea!
Being a former reporter, I couldn’t help but wonder where this Liebster Award began. So, I went to Google. Someone else was curious like me and did a post on her search. You can read her post for the full story, but in short, it seems the award may have German origins. The other blogger never got to the direct source. But, she did find out that the word, “liebster” means “dearest” in German. I’m going to take her at her word, since I only know a few helpful words in German like “bathroom” and “please” and “thank you!”
So, “danke schoen,” Antonia! I’m so happy you sent me this nomination!
In addition, to getting to post this cool award button on your blog, you get to answer a few questions about yourself. The questions are created by the blogger who nominated you. So, here goes!
1. Can you ride a bike?
Yes, but if I talk about it too much my husband will want to go for a serious bike ride with hills and lots of huffing and puffing. It’s not my favorite form of exercise!
2. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Well, this probably shows my age! It was REO Speedwagon and I went with a friend who LOVED them — they’re not my favorite band. I think I only knew one song during the entire concert — “Keep on Loving You!”
3. What is your favourite fruit?
It’s a toss-up between strawberries and rasberries. And, nothing beats a fresh peach when it’s in-season! I love fruit.
4. Favourite rainy day activity?
I love to snuggle up and read a good book or rent a DVD.
5. Person you would most like to be for one day?
I truly don’t wish to be anyone else but myself, but if you twisted my arm I’d say, Oprah Winfrey. She has an awesome life and I’d love to see her home in California.
6. If you ever had the chance to travel to the moon, would you?
Before I had kids I would have probably said yes. I was almost always up for an adventure in my 20s. But as a mother I find myself not wanting to leave my kids for long periods of time or great distances for fear of something happening to me or to them. Maybe when they’re grown and out of the house I’ll be up for adventures again. Or, maybe I’ll just be too old, since I had my kids in my 30s.
7. Have you ever broken a bone?
Yes, I’ve broken my toe twice. Same toe both times.
8. Can you sing?
Not well!!
9. Nicest beach you have ever been to?
The beach at the Atlantis Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas. It was beautiful! White sand, aqua clear water like a swimming pool. I’d like to go back someday!
10. Tea or coffee?
Definitely tea. I am not a coffee drinker. I know. People think I’m weird.
11. Have you ever been on TV?
Yes. I used to be a t.v. news anchor and reporter. When I started I did the weather on the weekends. I don’t tell people this fact about me very often. Oddly enough, I’m kind of an introvert, so I don’t like all the hulabaloo telling people creates.
Finally, 11 Random Things About Me:
- I grew up in Minnesota and moved to Texas 18 years ago.
- I got married when I was 32 to my husband. We met and secretly dated at the office. We had to “come out” to our co-workers when we got engaged!
- I grew up with a very Scandinavian heritage. All of my grandparents were either from Norway or Sweden. My paternal grandpa spoke Norwegian to me so I could learn the language, but I never got very far. I was able to answer his questions in English but never could speak it back to him. I still know a Norwegian table prayer, though!
- I have an older brother who lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
- I was a double major in college — Broadcast Journalism and Poltical Science.
- I was a cocktail waitress and bartender for two summers during college. The other two summers I was a lifeguard at a beach.
- I have an old 1977 Chevrolet El Camino in my garage that hasn’t been driven in years. It belongs to my husband and was his very first car. He bought it from his Granddad who was a mechanic.
- I once worked for a Public Relations and Marketing agency that had Oprah Winfrey as a client. It was when she was being sued by the beef industry and was in Amarillo, Texas during her trial. My boss handled the local PR during the trial here. I never got to meet her because I worked on the marketing side of the business and didn’t get to travel to Amarillo. Darn!
- When my daughter was a newborn I was asked to get up and talk about some topic (I don’t even remember what) in front of the entire women’s group I was in at a church. There were about 50 women at this weekly meeting. I was wearing a black shirt. When I came back to my seat my friend told me that I had baby spit-up on my shoulder. Nice.
- I was engaged to someone other than my husband in my 20s. Thank goodness we never made it to the altar!
- I still remember the very first music album I bought myself with my own money. Most of you will get a good laugh…it was Barry Manilow “This One’s For You.” I think I still have it around here somewhere, too! Ha!
Now, I get to nominate some blogs myself for the Liebster Award. Again, I’m only supposed to choose blogs with 200 followers or less. This is the hard part because I can’t tell on some blogs how many followers they have so some of these may already have more than 200 followers. So, here’s my short list of worthy blogs that appear to fit the criteria and are in no particular order:
- Restoring the Roost - Megan’s blog is a recent find. She lives in the cutest little bungalow and she is an architectural historian – seriously! Her blog is a fun and interesting read.
- Rain on a Tin Roof - Another recent blog find, you can see Jenna doing all sorts of DIY on her home and making over furniture. She has some really cute projects and she does it all one a tight budget!
- Steward of Design - Stacey is a mom of three girls and is going back to school to become an interior designer. She’s currently hosting a series where she interviews designers she admires and shares their knowledge of interior design.
- Hugs and Kisses and Snot – Stephanie is a “mom blogger” and talks about the every day real world of mom life. I actually met Stephanie at a SITS Girls blog conference and started reading her blog as a result! Her take on life can make me laugh out loud!
- Pancakes and Beet Juice - As with Stephanie’s blog, I suspect Lilly has more than 200 followers, but she doesn’t post it on her site, so I don’t know for sure. Lilly’s blog is hip and fun and she makes me feel younger than I am – ha! Her house is fun and funky and she posts about every day life and cool things to do in the Dallas area. Lilly and I were also at the same blog conference but we didn’t meet face-to-face. We met via the web through Stephanie and I started following her blog.
- Beneath the Magnolias – I found Angie’s site around the time I started blogging. I love her style and she is a very talented DIYer! She is currently busy creating beautiful stuff for her antique booth and she shares it on her site and on her Facebook page.
- Speed Chic – I found Irene’s blog through my blog friend, Stephanie (she’s good at introducing people, isn’t she?!). I am typically not a fashion-forward girl and don’t always put on lipstick every day (don’t tell anyone!) so her blog is not my usual genre. But, I’ve got to hand it to her…she knows how to pull a good look together in a hurry and has the pulse on all the latest essentials — she even blogged about it while fighting power outages during Hurricane Sandy! She rocks!
- Poofing the Pillows – Stacey’s blog is another recent find. She visited my site and I visited her back! We have the same love for gingham and we both live in DFW. I’m looking forward to seeing her posts about gardening this spring. It appears she had a green thumb at her old house and I’m anxious to see what she does in her new garden.
Okay girls…post your award buttons on your blogs and if you’re up for it, answer a few questions of mine…
- Why did you start blogging?
- What is your dream job?
- How did you meet your husband?
- When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up?
- What’s your favorite TV show?
- Who is your celebrity crush?
- If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
- If you could live in a mansion, would you?
- What is your pet peeve?
- What is your favorite food?
Thanks again, Antonia! This was a lot of fun!
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Thank you, Julie for the award! You are so sweet. it was fun reading through your answers and learned we have some things in common. Have a great weekend!
How fun! Congrats!
Oh fun! Thanks for thinking of me.
Your answers were fun to read through.
Hi Julie! That was so nice–I put it up on Speed Chic with a link to “Lilacs and Longhorns”. You made my day!
How sweet! What a nice surprise, thank you! I’m not sure if I have more than 200 followers but for the sake of this award let’s say I’m at 199. Loved reading your Q&A.
That’s fantastic, Julie! Thanks so much for accepting your well deserved award and taking part in the fun. I loved reading your answers to my questions and you shared some really interesting random facts about yourself. I really do feel like I know you a lot better now.
Some great questions for your nominees to answer next – I hope they join in, it has been great so far!
I finally got my Liebster Award post up! Thanks so much for the nomination! If you want, you can read it here: http://www.rainonatinroof.com/2013/03/liebster-blog-award-again.html
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof