A Distinguished Award and Excuse to Talk About Myself

I am humbled and thrilled to have been chosen for a Leibster Award by Tori over at One Thousand Miles. She must have known that back in the day, filling out surveys and posting them in my LiveJournal (remember LiveJournal???) was my #1 favorite way to avoid doing course work. 

So, what is a Leibster Award? 

This award is given to new or up and coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. The award is then passed along to other bloggers in the same category to help spread the word.  Basically it's a nice way to say, "Hey I like your blog! Let me help you promote it!" (Awww shucks, thanks so much Tori!)

If you receive the award, there are a few rules to follow… 

• Each blogger nominated must post 11 random things about themselves. 
• Then answer the 11 questions the tagger has asked. 
• The blogger must then create 11 questions of their own to ask the bloggers they decide to nominate.
• Bloggers must be notified of their award. No tag backs. 

So first, 11 random things about me:

1. I am obsessed with royalty. I love love love reading biographies of monarchs. It all started with Alison Weir's Six Wives of Henry VIII. Since then I have read about everyone from Henry and his wives to Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great, Charles II, Mary Queen of Scots, and of course Queen Elizabeth II, who hangs out on my desk.

2. I missed my last 2 weeks of high school because I had a terrible terrible case of mono. At graduation, I was Valedictorian and had to give a speech. I was so sick and weak that I could barely stand up for the duration of my 3-5 minute speech. I also happened to have tickets for my first ever Dave Matthews Band show during this period and I went anyway, with full blown mono. 

3. My best friend has been my best friend since the 7th grade. Kind of like Meredith and Christina on Grey's Anatomy, she is "my person" and I don't know what I'd do without her.

4. Husband and I were set up by a mutual friend who paired us up as groomsman/bridesmaid at her wedding with the plan that we would end up together. And like every cheestastic rom-com you've ever seen, it worked.

The day it happened.

With Sheila, the responsible party, at our wedding 2 years later

5. I am likely the biggest band geek that you know. 

6. I am terrified of swinging doors. Every time I go through one, I'm convinced someone will be pushing through the other side and slam the door into my fingers, breaking them.

7. One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on my grandfather's knee, eating ice cream and watching my cousins play their Little League games. 

  

8. I love snow. In 2010, I drove into Snowpocalypse in Washington, DC because I wanted to experience it. 

 

9. For two summers during college, I worked hospitality at Wolftrap. Basically, this means that I have gone grocery shopping for some pretty famous people. My favorite highlights are that the first hard liquor that I ever purchased was a bottle of rum for Bonnie Raitt and that I packed a peanut butter sandwich and apple in a brown bag for Bill Cosby's "getaway car" for right after his show.

10. Jeopardy was my favorite show for years. I auditioned in person when I was 21, but didn't make it on. Number 9 above was going to by my story when Alex Trebek interviewed me. 

11. I can lick my elbow.    

I chalk this ability up to short arms + long tongue.
That's BFF making the "WTF" face in the background.

 

Now for the questions that Tori came up with:

1. What is your favorite type of exercise and why? I guess this one is kind of obvious - I love running! I love it for so many reasons but mainly because I have met so many awesome people through the sport and because I can eat more cupcakes and drink more wine without feeling guilty.

2. How many places have you traveled? I consider myself very lucky to have been able to travel what I think is a pretty decent amount for a middle-class girl from little old Hagerstown, MD. Traveling is one of my great loves and I am always plotting my next trip. I won't list them all, but some destinations have included:

• Key West, Florida
• Orlando, Florida (multiple times)
• Sanibel, Florida (multiple times)
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Knoxville, Tennessee 
• Chicago, Illinois
• New York, NY (multiple times)
• Outer Banks of North Carolina (multiple times)
• Boston, Massachusetts (multiple)
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (multiple)
• Hershey, Pennsylvania
• St. Louis, MO (multiple)
• Charleston, South Carolina 
• Asheville (Biltmore), North Carolina
• Bermuda
• Niagara Falls/Buffalo, New York
• Paris, France
• London, England (multiple times)
• Oxford, England
• All over Ireland (Dublin, Cobh, Kilkenny, Adare, Galway, etc.)

This May, Husband and I are finally (I say "finally" because we've been talking about it for 5 years!) going to Italy for 2 weeks. I can't wait to lace up my running shoes and run in Rome, Florence, and Venice!

3. How many jobs have you had since you started working? Wow. This one is going to make me think. I am on my 11th job since I started working at age 15 (at least I think I was 15... if not, then I was 16).

4. How many pets have you had? Oh lordy. This is another one that is going to make me think. I'm not going to count fish, because that would just be ridiculous. I've had 6 cats (Emma, Sam, Binky, Garfield, Ribbon, and Patches), 2 dogs including my current buddy Mason, and 3 rabbits (Snowstorm, Smoky, and Glamour). 

5. Where is your hometown? Do you think you will ever live there again? My hometown is Hagerstown, Maryland and no, I doubt that I will ever live there again. I cherish my childhood there and like to go back to visit (mainly because I miss Hagerstown food staples like Freddie's Subs, Krumpe's Donuts, and Superior Dairy ice cream... oh yeah and because a lot of my family is still there), but I am more of a "medium" to "big city" girl now.

6. If you could have any job, what would it be and why? I would play flute in the Boston Symphony. Because that is what my true love really is.

7. What is your favorite holiday? The 4th of July for a one simple reason: The 1812 Overture, performed by the Maryland Symphony at Antietam Battlefield during the annual Salute to Independence. 

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, no matter what the cost, where would you live? Paris 

9. What items can you NOT leave the house without? ... ya know, I don't think there is an item I can't leave without except for my wallet and car keys.

10. What is your favorite thing about Richmond? I love that Richmond has big-city amenities without all the big-city problems. I lived in the DC metro area for 6 years and hated it because of the high prices, traffic, parking, crowds, etc. Everything is an ordeal there. In Richmond, I have easy access to awesome food, awesome arts and cultural groups, awesome shopping, and awesome museums without any of the traffic and for a fraction of the price.

11. What is at the top of your bucket list? Going back to Paris. 

Now it's my turn to choose the next lucky Leibster award winners. Tag, you're it: 

Greg, of That Guy With the Beard

and 

Sarah, of A T-Shirt and Pearls

Here is what I want to know: 

1. Admit it: What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

2. Tell me all about the best meal that you ever had.

3. If you won a $100 million jackpot, what would you do with it?

4. What is your favorite childhood memory?

5. What is your every day super power? (mine, for instance, is being a super planny plannerston.)

6. What is the most rebellious/crazy/reckless thing you have ever done?

7. If you had it to do over, what is one thing that you would have done differently?

8. Your favorite adult beverage:

9. A movie that you can watch over and over again and never get sick of:

10. What is your favorite thing about yourself?

11. Your house is on fire and you have time to rescue one thing. Assuming your family members and pets are already safe, what do you save?