I Got Picked!!

Korinthia over at one of my favorite blogs, picked me for her Liebster Award list.  According to my esteemed blogging colleague, "It seems to work kind of like a chain letter that connects bloggers and brings awareness to smaller blogs. To qualify your blog must have fewer than 200 followers, and if nominated by someone (tag! I'm it!) you are supposed to reveal 11 things about yourself, answer 11 questions, and nominate 11 more bloggers (not including the one who nominated you) and pose 11 new questions to them."

I had a serious post mulling around in my head for today.  I think this sounds like much (much, much) more fun.  So here goes...

11 things about me you may not know:

1.  I was actually number 11 on my college soccer team and have always liked that number.  Ironically, D and M are also number 11 on their respective teams.
2.  I don't like cheese.  I'll eat it on  pizza, tacos, etc...but prefer most things without it.  My best friend Kathy Carter told me it was mold when I was 8 and it turned me off it.  Sometimes I think I'm missing out on something wonderful, but the smell and texture get to me and I can't take it.
3.  I sleep with a warm comforter no matter what time of year, but like to have my feet sticking out of the covers.  I don't really like my feet covered at all and walk around the house on most days in my bare feet.
4.  I don't like it when people who don't know me well call me Peg and it bothers me when K calls me Peggy.  Only my parents, K and my college soccer coach call me Margaret Anne.  I've never really liked my name, but of all of them, I like Peg the best.
5. One of my best friends in the world is a Rwandan named Serge who lives in Paris.  We met when I was working for the UN in Rwanda and have remained friends through writing and the occasional phone call.  We have only seen each other once in the last 15 years when he came to visit.  He loved my boys and my boys loved him.  Thinking about that makes me smile.
6. I love music and listen to it constantly throughout the day. Songs by Johnny Clegg, the Saw Doctors, and Mumford and Sons can easily make me both smile and cry.
7.  I played the piano when I was little, but wouldn't consider myself musical.  I love to sing in my car, the shower and around the house.  I would never do karaoke.
8.  My grandfather (my dad's dad) was a big band leader in New York.  He even had a few albums and had a dixie land band at Shea Stadium for the Mets.  He loves to be the center of any event.  I don't visit him enough.
9. I would love to write a novel.  It would be a mystery.
10. I love naps.  Enough said.
11. I love kids books and toys. I think I like legos as much as the kids and like to help them put them together.  L is getting big enough to follow the directions himself and gets mad when I take over.

Here are Korinthia's questions for me:
1. If you had to leave your house in a hurry and could never go back what items would you grab?

My ipod and our photo albums (including our portable hard drive with all our digital pictures).  If we include pets, I would certainly grab all of the geckos, frogs and the cat...M's weird fish who's eaten all the other fish may be left behind.

2. Is there anyone from your past you hope never to run into?

Nope.  There are definitely people I don't like very much from my past, but I think I could handle running into anyone and faking civility.

3. If millions of dollars fell into your lap lottery-style, what would you do with it?

I would invest it wisely after fixing up/upgrading things in the house.  I might consider going on a sabbatical from work too.

4. If there was one thing about yourself you could magically fix what would it be?

Physically, my nose.  Personality, my temper.

5. What book do you think I probably haven't read but should?

Any of the novels by Elizabeth George, Anne Perry, Elizabeth Peters and Alan Bradley.

6. Do you think it's true that no two snowflakes look alike?

Yes, life is random.

7. Who is the person you can most rely on to make you laugh?

My husband.  He's hilarious.

8. If you had to live in a different country, which one would it be?

England.  Easy access to the rest of Europe and close to K's relatives.

9. If I told you tomorrow you could hang out for the whole day with anybody, who would you pick?

My sister Jeanne.

10. What is your favorite building?

The Wren Building at the College of William and Mary.

11. Sisko or Janeway?

Sorry, Jean Luc Picard all the way.


So I don't think I have any sense about how big other people's blogs are, but here are some people I like to read:

http://aninchofgray.blogspot.com/

http://thriftstoremama.blogspot.com/

http://tidbitsqueenchaos.com/

http://hannahandlily.blogspot.com/

http://www.northernmum.com/

http://www.kateleong.com/

http://masalachica.com/

http://irretrievablybroken.wordpress.com/

http://lessonsfromaninfertilesocialworker.blogspot.com/

http://salsainchina.blogspot.com/

http://pithydithy.blogspot.com/

Here are my 11 questions:
1. What was the first book you remember reading by yourself?
2. What is your favorite children's book to read to your kids?
3. What is your favorite time of day?
4. What is your favorite vacation spot?
5. What is your guilty (or not so guilty) pleasure reality TV show?
6. Did you like doing homework as a kid or were you a major procrastinator?
7. Do you still live in your hometown or the town you lived in the longest growing up (for those of us who moved around)?
8. Did you enjoy your high school years?
9. If you had a life "do-over," what would it be?
10.  Pepsi or Coke?
11.  Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little?

If you don't have a blog and have fascinating answers to any of the above questions, please share.  For instance, growing up, I had an imaginary friend named Jimmy.  He was a sailor (my dad was in the navy) and one day he bumped his head and moved to Mexico.  I sometimes think of him fondly.

Enjoy!  And thanks to Korinthia for including me...that was really fun!