Liebster Award Winner Right Here!

It’s an honor just to be nominated! Well, it’s a bigger honor when there’s no real winner and the prize is the nomination. Does that make sense? Anywho, Vicki at Hot Tea & A Good Book nominated me for the Liebster Award! Can you feel the love tonight (or this afternoon)?

The Liebster Blog Award is typically given to blogs that have fewer than 300 followers and is an opportunity for people to learn a little bit more about these blogs.

Here are the rules:

List 11 facts about yourself.
Answer the 11 questions asked by whoever nominated you.
Ask 11 new questions to 9 bloggers with less than 300 followers. You cannot re-nominate the blog that nominated you.
Go to their blog and tell them that they have been nominated!

Have you got that, people I nominated? Your blogs are listed at the bottom and I beg you, Reader, to check them out! I put a little something about each of them next to their blogs to pique your interest.

11 Facts about Me

1. I just got accepted to graduate school where I’ll work toward my Masters in Business Administration. I know this is probably not what you were expecting from a book blogger and wanna-be-writer, but something has to pay the bills.
2. I speak Spanish. It was one of my degrees in college and the engineers training with me from our Mexico location just found out I speak it. At least they’re nice about it.
3. My brother and I have the same birthday but we’re not twins. We’re two years apart. It’s fun to call someone to say ‘Happy Birthday!’ and have them say, ‘You, too!’
4. I’m training for a triathlon. I run in the mornings and my husband and I go on long bike rides on the weekends, usually 20-30 miles with a group. My first triathlon this season is May 24th so wish me luck!
5. I’ve known my husband for almost ten years and we got married less than a year ago. We were friends in high school and started dating in college and I love that we’ve been in each others lives for so long.
6. I’ve tried learning Italian, German, and Arabic. I love languages and took a semester or year in each, but kept returning to Spanish. It’s just easier for me, I guess.
7. I used to be a big-box retail manager. I won’t say which company, but my job out of college was a logistics manager. It was not for me. I had no time to write and my schedule was too erratic to join writers groups. I’ve been with my new company just over a year and it’s a much better fit.
8. I have a pet turtle. I’m allergic to dogs and cats so reptiles are a safe bet. I’ve loved turtles for as long as I can remember and last year for my birthday, my then-fiance got me Jane. I didn’t think I could love something that looks like a rock so much.
9. I’m only a little obsessed with Harry Potter. Oh, I’m not supposed to lie. I’m VERY obsessed with Harry Potter. Draco is my favorite character. On a related note…
10. I started writing when I was 14 on Fanfiction.net. Am I embarrassed? No. Am I going to give you my pen name? Not a chance. I did rather well, I think, with my story. I just checked and have about 104,000 views on my most popular one. Not mind-blowing, I know, but still respectable.
11. I hate feet. It’s not a real phobia, but it’s a disgust-induced sever dislike. I think they’re the dirtiest things on this planet. My husband has learned to snuggle without our feet touching and I change my socks at least twice a day. Ew. I don’t even like typing about them.

Questions Vicki Asked Me

1. How did you get started blogging?  I decided to start blogging because there were a bunch of people in my writing group that had writing blogs and I thought it sounded like a good idea. I have some novel manuscripts in the works and I want to have a platform for any potential agent or lit mag that might Google my pen name.
2. How did you choose your blog’s name? I think writing and putting your work out to be judged is a very brave thing so I see myself as ‘taking it on’ in a way. I didn’t want to limit this blog to just writing but reading as well, so words in general are my focus here.
3. What do you do when you aren’t blogging? Work? Hobbies? I like to go to Meetup groups. If you haven’t heard of this, it’s really awesome. I’m in a bunch of groups for writers, some for hiking, cycling, speaking Spanish, you name it. I also love watching movies while I knit, riding my bike, and of course reading. I try not to think about work after six in the afternoon, but I’m a business analyst for a major manufacturer. It’s great (and very vague).
4. Where is your favorite vacation spot and why? My favorite vacation has to be Scotland. The people were so nice and friendly. I can’t want to go with my husband some day. It’s so beautiful.
5. How about a fictional place to vacation? Is there any doubt it would be Hogwarts? Most likely in the fall.
6. Who is your favorite fictional character? Just one? Oh gosh. I’m going to say Ron Weasley. He’s funny, brave, loyal, and basically the best friend any one ever had.
7. What’s your favorite food? I mean you could eat it every day, you would be in heaven! Hm, that’s rough. It it’s too sweet, I’d feel sick. If it’s too filling, I’ll get sick of it. I think a happy medium is Triscut crackers with Swiss cheese. I have this most days. The kicker is my lactose intolerance. Ironic, huh?
8. What is your dream job? Writer seems too obvious. My more realistic dream job is an international project manager. I really want to be relocated abroad.
9. What are three things you can’t live without? My laptop, my phone, and my husband. I’d go crazy without any of them.
10. What’s your biggest guilty pleasure? My husband watches a lot of Family Guy and I pretend I don’t like it. I think it’s hilarious.
11. What’s your secret talent? I make good cookies. I love baking and I always try to find an opportunity to do so.

My Questions for the Nominees

1. Are you named after someone?
2. What is your opinion on the word ‘blogosphere?’
3. How many times per week do you go to the library?
4. What’s your most prized possession?
5. What was the first book you read more than once?
6. Milk or dark chocolate? (note: other types of chocolate may be acceptable answers to this question)
7. What was the last gift you got for someone? Why that gift for that person?
8. Where do you go grocery shopping?
9. What’s your favorite color?
10. What, if any, sports did you do growing up?
11. Who do you idolize?

And finally, The Blogs I Nominate

746 Books– A woman with too many books for whom it’s finally a problem.
Bitches with Books– Book blog with a sense of humor I can relate to!
cooking with the bookclub– Food and books, what’s not to love?
dreamzandclouds– A fellow book lover who devours titles.
I’m Lesefieber!-Book blogging in English and German! I wish I could read the German.

(The following are personal friends and I wouldn’t be a friend if I didn’t nominate them)
Deep Thoughts && Rhyming Words– If you’ve read for a while, you’ve read about my bookish friend Nicole. This is her.
Heart of Sultana– A friend from high school that found my blog on Goodreads.
Peeling the Onion– Another of my bookish friends, Sonia! She recently moved far away for her awesome job but I hope she comes back soon.
Wrote Some Things– The final Novel Girl to get a blog, Katherine! She started it on Friday so jump in now before it’s trendy.

And there you have it! A full post of book love and getting to know yours truly. Congratulations to all my nominees. I look forward to reading your posts.

Until next time, write on.