I'd like to thank the Academy...

I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Jennifer K at Red Hair and Running Shoes. 

So what is the Liebster Award?

The Liebster Award nomination goes to those bloggers who have a following of less than 200 to promote other bloggers to comment and share - even get to know each other! I think this is great, because it gives you the potential to gather a larger following! If you get nominated, you cannot nominate the person who nominated you (No tagbacks!).

For the award, you answer eleven questions, reveal eleven things about yourself, and then nominate eleven qualifying bloggers to answer your own eleven questions. 

Here are the questions Jennifer K posed, and my answers...

1. Who is your celebrity or fictional character crush?

Top ones are probably Clive Owen, Daniel Craig, and I recently revived my crush on Tom Cruise.  I just pretend he may not be secretly nuts and/or gay.  But I loved him in Knight and Day. 

2. What are your top five favorite books?

Wow, top five?  Not sure if I technically have five individual favorite books, plus I read a lot.... Hmm.  I think my favorite book of all time is Stephen King's The Stand.  One of my favorite mystery series is the Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews; I'll add her Murder With Peacocks as another favorite.  I often read it when life is stressful.  Hmm.  Maybe I should try it this way and list my five favorite authors/series:  Donna Andrews/Meg Langslow, Jim Butcher/Harry Dresden, Kim Harrison/The Hollows, Charlaine Harris/Sookie Stackhouse, and J.A. Jance/J.P. Beaumont.  Oh, and Elizabeth Peters/Vicky Bliss and Amelia Peabody which is technically eight.  There are more, but those ones I'll still buy in hardback, and/or the second they come out. 

3. What is your most vivid memory from your childhood?

I tend to block out most childhood memories because they're mostly not pleasant or all covered in the dark haze of depression.  One I do remember is when I was about seven and right after I wiped out on my brand-new bike on black ice/asphalt, two days after Christmas.  I smashed two front teeth and cut my chin to the bone.  I was at my babysitter's house in the bathroom, covered in blood and bawling my head off, waiting for my mom to come home from work to take me to the doctor.  I suddenly caught a glimpse of myself -- and the bone in my chin -- in the mirror and abruptly stopped crying because it was so fascinating.  I started crying again later, with not only my chin but I had basically shoved my front teeth up into my jaw and had asphalt crammed in behind them, almost like I took a bite of it.  I also remember the feel of the stitches at the doctor's.  I think that also stopped my crying, it was just fascinating to me.  This was all about two months after my dad had walked out on my mom and me, my mom was only 25 or so and had to suddenly get a job, etc. 

4. What decision in your life would you tweak if you could go back knowing what you know now?

I wouldn't have gone to law school.  Although it's more accurate to say, I wouldn't have gone to law school by taking out loans to pay for it.

5. What kind of music do you sing when nobody is listening?

Whatever I'm listening to at the time.  I sing when they are listening too.

6. Why do you blog?

I originally started blogging because I work in an office of six people in the middle of a residential area and the only full-time employee I could really talk to had zero sense of humor and a giant sequoia-sized stick shoved up her ass.  So it was part venting, part writing down stuff that I thought of or, most often, thought was funny so that I felt like I was telling somebody about it. 

7. What do you love?

A dog's smile.

8. What do you hate?

The boss I had in my first job as an attorney.  I would still gleefully hack him into bits.

9. What do you want most?

To be out of debt.  See my answer to question 4 and think, law school loans.

10.  You have a time machine! Where do you go?

I would first go back to myself in high school -- maybe around ninth or tenth grade, I think it was -- and point out that I don't actually want the job to make all the money to buy the huge house; that that is what somebody else told me I wanted, and consequently ended up with huge law school loans and no house whatsoever.  I'd tell myself to go into criminology like I really wanted to do.  Second, I'd go to myself in high school again, in my junior year, and tell myself to take a risk and move away for college, to not make my decisions based on where my friends or a boy were going.  Third, I'd go to myself at age 17 and tell myself not to sign up for any credit cards.  Fourth, I'd go to myself after college graduation and tell myself not to go to law school, or at least not to go if I had to take out loans to pay for it.  And remind myself that it is obvious who my true friends are, and to cut the false ones loose.  I'd also tell myself to again take a risk and move away for law school. 

And maybe somewhere in there I'd tell myself to buy lots of stock in Microsoft. 

11. And...the standard question - What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

I would move to Britain. 


Now for eleven random facts about myself...

1.  I rarely read fiction of any substance.  It's not totally trashy novel kind of stuff, but I'd be surprised if any of it showed up on Oprah's book list.  I read a lot of great stuff in school, but I do enough heavy mental lifting at work.  I prefer my fiction to be light and airy. 

2.  I've noticed over the years that I am developing a touch of claustrophobia.  The idea of being in a tight space -- say like if you were exploring a cave, or even in the top bunk close to the ceiling -- makes me really anxious.

3.  Speaking of anxious, I now get anxiety attacks when I am at the eye doctor.  No idea why, but I've almost passed out and/or almost thrown up every single time over the past twelve years or so.  It started out of the blue; before that, didn't faze me.

4.  I know I won't be very ready for the Shamrock 15K or the Hop Hop Half Marathon in March, but I just can't pass up that bling.

5.  Back in my political science years, a fellow student and I talked about running for President.  2012 or 2016 were the years we discussed.  During the insanity of Bush and Bush 2.0, I ran as far away from politics as I could because I instinctively knew that something like the massive economic crash would result.  These past few months I've gotten back into studying politics.  I never thought I would've missed it, but I really did.  Getting back into it made me feel more complete.  I guess I'm just not cut out to be an ostrich. 

6.  In that same vein, my new idol these days is Rachel Maddow.  Absolutely love her.  Obviously I can't stand the whack-job right-wing pundits (and by the way, I don't think everyone on the right is a whack-job; I'm talking about the FAR right that gerrymandered themselves into power here, maybe 10% of the right), but even liberal pundits get on my nerves.  But Rachel's stuff is calm and logical.  Such a balm to my soul!

7.  I love Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series.  Steamy supernaturals; what's not to love?

8.  I plan to get a mid-life crisis car when I turn 45.  Something sleek and sporty and fun.

9.  I love having a fireplace.  I wish it were gas though, so that I could have a fire whenever I wanted, without having to do any work. 

10.  All breakfast cereals could suddenly cease to exist and I wouldn't care.  Maybe wouldn't even notice. 

11.  I watch the Super Bowl primarily for the commercials, but really love it when the game is good to boot.  It's no fun when one team is winning 52 to 0. 

And now for my questions to my Liebsters-to-be-named....

1.  Have you ever lived completely on your own and if so for how long?

2.  Reality TV:  Harmless entertainment or the death knell of intelligence?

3.  What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?

4.  What color best describes you and why?  (note, not necessarily your favorite color)

5.  Do you live where you grew up, and why or why not?

6.  Do you have gaydar?  (I myself have zero.  I thought Elton John was straight for the longest time.)

7.  Do you like your name/feel like your name is you?

8.  If you had to change your name, to what would you change it?

9.  When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

10.  What is your funniest childhood memory?

11.  Who was your favorite teacher, and why?
Now for the nominees...

1.  My brand new follower:  Victoria at You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.  I love that title!
2.  Jeanette at For Life.
3.  Taryn at Taryn in Crazyland. 
4.  Carolyn at Carolyn Runs 'n Stuff. 
5.  Erika at This Spartan Will!
6.  My buddy Jules at Running on Purpose -- this better make you write something!

... and guess what?  I've run out of bloggers who are both still currently blogging and have less than 200 followers or who haven't already been nominated.  LOTS of those in the first category -- get back to it, peeps!

In other news, Sunday is the end of the Whole30 Challenge.  Monday I start adding things back in.  I can't wait to have sushi!!

I ran twice in the past week.  Slowly, but I'm running.

I've decided to root for the '49ers on Sunday.  Unless somebody can convince me I should be rooting for the Ravens. 

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl