An award? For me? Aw, shucks.

Let's veer from the usual posts for a minute, because...I have recently been awarded The Liebster Blog Award!

The award is given to bloggers by bloggers, set up similarly to those chain emails you sometimes see that asks a bunch of questions and tells you to "pass it on." It's a way for those of us in the blogging community to get to know each other and gain some exposure through "six degrees of separation." In addition, it allows readers to get to know a bit about the writer and hooks them up with a few other great blogs to peruse.

The blogger who nominated me is a very talented writer and is incredible savvy in the world of social networking (I thought I had a good handle, but I feel like such a newbie next to her!). She has two great blogs, at opposite ends of the spectrum. Check them out when you have time. They are Life After (my) Kids and Mom's Toy Boxxx (yes, it's what it looks like).

Now, on to the challenge:

When you receive the award you: 

1. Post 11 random facts about yourself (harder then it sounds)
2. Answer 11 questions from the person(s) who nominated you
3. Pick 11 bloggers to pass the Award onto; make sure you tell them you nominated them and you’re not allowed to nominate the blog(s) who nominated you!
4. Ask them 11 questions 

(FYI: to get the Liebster "heart" picture, right click the picture on my page and save the picture to your computer. You can then upload to your blog.)

STEP 1: 11 Random Facts About Me 

1. I am a chronic over-planner. Sometimes this is a great attribute and sometimes I think details will be the death of me.
2. I have written 4 novels (working on a 5th), none of which I've attempted to published because I'm my own worst critic.
3. I'm a sucker for vampires (no pun intended), yet have never written about vampirism, lycanthropy, sorcery or the like. ***Note to self: this is your next goal.
4. I have a secret passion for financial planning, which could be considered surprising since I suck at math. Then again, it was Trigonometry that really killed me and this is more about buying a house than building one.
5. I dreamed about tornadoes nearly every night through my teen years.
6. I was once in a bank when it was robbed.
7. I like doing laundry. I find it relaxing.
8. I hate avocados. Even the word turns my stomach.
9. I grew up on a farm, so my husband finds my irrational fear of insects hilarious.
10. We always put up two Christmas trees in our house: one "family tree" full of homemade decorations from when my husband and I were kids, as well as ones our daughter has made; and another, which my husband refers to as the "Department Store Tree," full of matching decorations.
11. I drive stick.

STEP 2: Answer some Questions

1. Favorite way to relax?  On a beach with a good book.

2. Where do you get ideas for your posts? I love to travel and love to plan the trips as well (I do it all from scratch with my good friend Google, not with agents). So far all are first-hand travel experiences. I also love to cook, so I'm also starting to share some of my favorite recipes.

 
3. Favorite song/artist?  This is difficult, because I love so many and it really depends on my mood. I'd say top five are American Pie, Piano Man, The Rose, Just the Way you Are and Manic Monday. Eclectic much?

4. What was your favorite book as a child? Any of the Serendipity books.

5. What would you do with a million dollars? I'd pay off my mortgage, go on a nice trip, help out a few friends and invest the rest. Pretty boring answer, I know.

 
6. Movies, books or TV?  Again, it depends on my mood. I don't watch a lot of TV, movies only on weekends. A good book, however, will keep me up all night regardless of my obligations the next day.

7. What is your favorite movie, book or TV show? Oh, so many choices. I love lots of movies, though I will never turn down the opportunity to watch The Goonies. I don't know if I can pin down a favorite book, either, but I LOVED Water for Elephants. The only TV show I watch religiously is The Vampire Diaries. The Big Bang Theory is up there, too.

8. What would your super power be? OMG! This one stumped me longer than any other question. I guess it wouldn't be my choice, would it? I mean, Superman was an alien. Peter Parker was bitten by a spider. Who knows where mine would come from or what it would be? Yes, I know, I'm cheating out of that answer.

9. What are you reading right now?  City of Lost Souls (#5 in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare)

 
10. What song were you listening to last?  Can't Buy Me Love ~ The Beatles

11. Where is your computer right now?  On my lap as I sit in the recliner.

STEP 3:  Award 11 Bloggers the Liebster

And the Liebster goes to (in no particular order):

1. Kevin at Author/Writer
2. Darlene at Leader of the 6 Pack
3. Sarah at Journeys of the Zoo
4. Chris at The Art of Non-Conformity
5. Cheryl at Kids on a Plane
6. Steven at Blood Skies
7. Liberty at Liberty's Yarn
8. Alex at Writing and Stuff
9. Andrew at Night Sights
10. MJ at Erotica by MJ Shaw
11. Jenna at Living High on the Hog, Without Paying Through the Nose

STEP 4: Ask those 11 people 11 questions

1. What time do you get up in the morning?
2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
3. What was the best birthday gift you ever received?
4. What was your last dream about?
5. What was on your wall when you were a teenager?
6. If you could live anywhere (and job and family/friends weren't considerations), where would you live?
7. Where is the most interesting place you've ever been? Why was it interesting?
8. What is a useless piece of information that you know?
9. If you could spend the day with any public figure (celebrity, author, politician, historical figure), living or dead, who would it be and why?
10. What is your biggest pet peeve?
11. Chips or chocolate?

I will not lie - accepting this award was a bigger process than anticipated. But with hard work comes great rewards (I hope!).

I now invite the 11 people I awarded to post a link to their Liebster Award post in my comments section. I look forward to reading it!