I'd like to thank the academy...

Well, what an honor and a surprise! Kelsea at Overwhelmed by Grace recently nominated me for the Liebster Award! Kelsea is a stay at home mom from Tennessee and I think you'll love her lifestyle blog, so definitely stop by and say hi!

This award is for blogs who are under 200 followers and fairly new to the blogging community (so technically I don't qualify, since I started blogging in 2006, but whatev). I'll take it!

The ground rules

• Acknowledge the blog that nominated you in a post.
• Share 11 facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger created.
• Nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers that you believe deserve some recognition.
• Post 11 questions for them to answer.
• Notify all the bloggers selected that they have been nominated.
• And finally, you can't nominate the blog who nominated you.

11 Facts About Me

• I love infomercials and I've ordered many, many things from TV. It's sort of a problem. 
• I have an unexplainable phobia of the telephone. This can also be a problem.
• Even though I know I shouldn't, I sleep in my makeup every single night.
• I am obsessed with disaster preparedness / the end of the world / Armageddon / the Zombie Apocalypse. Seriously, ask me how many emergency kits I have... they're everywhere.
• I love cilantro, I think it is cat nip for humans. But I hate bananas.
• I have heterochromia, which means my eyes are different colors. I was born with it.
• Try not to judge, but I am not an organ donor. I have weird human body issues, and the concept of my parts being inside someone else just really, really freaks me out.
• I did not meet my older sister until I was 22 years old, because my parents gave her up for adoption when they were in high school. Now she is one of my very best friends.
• I am completely tone deaf, like I don't even sing happy birthday out loud. Seriously, it's bad.
• My two food weaknesses are macaroni and cheese and McDonald's. My mouth just filled with saliva thinking about them.
• I dropped out of college spring quarter junior year and moved to Waikiki with a girlfriend. Eventually I came back and finished school. Yeah.

That's me! I'm kind of a nerd sometimes...

11 Questions For Me

• In which state were you born? The great state of Washington.
• What is your favorite book and why? There are so many, but one of my favorites is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Amazing themes, incredible depth of plot and characters... you'll have to check it out for yourself.
• If you could trade lives with one celebrity for a day who would you choose? Kate Middleton, in a heartbeat. Oh how I love the British Monarchy...
• One future goal. To have a family of our own that includes more than just the two of us and our ridiculous cat.
• What is your favorite restaurant? McDonald's Wasabi.
• Favorite vacation spot so far and why? I would have to say Italy, although it's really more of a travel place than a vacation destination. But I loved it there so, so much and I've been dying to go back ever since our trip there in 2010 when we got engaged. I absolutely loved the history, the food, the people, the shopping... there was nothing I didn't like.
• What is your most favorite hobby? Reading. I'm such a book nerd.
• What is the best thing you've cooked so far? Eyeyeye... I'm such a terrible cook. But my Cowboy Caviar is pretty good, although it doesn't technically require cooking.
• City or Country? A few years ago I wrote a sternly worded letter to the city of Seattle. And I stuck around for a while, but eventually we said goodbye and moved to the 'burbs. That being said, I still have equal appreciation for both.
• If you were given $1000 and had to spend it in the next thirty minutes, how would you spend it? I would buy this desk from Pottery Barn that I am dying to have for our den.
• What is one thing that you can't live without on a daily basis? My hubby is pretty great, and I definitely don't like to go more than a day without at least talking to him once, even when he's on shift.

Here I am again (sometimes I have a bit of an attitude)... But let's talk about you!

And the nominees are...
(I know some of y'all have actually been around for quite a while, but maybe you don't have that many followers, so I thought this might help give you a boost!)

Alabama to Oregon
Daily James

Diet Drama

JellyBones
Lovely Little Things
Olson's Travels

The Average Jess

The Bluest Skies are in Seattle

The Odell Yodel

Puddle of Grace

Where My Soul Belongs

11 Questions For YOU

• If you were a super hero what powers would you have?
• If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature what new animal would you create?
• What historical figure would you love to see in 21st century life?
• What phrase do you say the most?
• If you could steal one thing without consequence what would it be?
• What is your favorite thing about yourself (physical or otherwise?)
• If you could live anywhere, where would that be?
• If you were crowned ruler of the world, what's the first law you would make?
• What's the most unusual conversation you've ever had?
• What is the best present you've ever received?
• Would you rather go back in time and meet your ancestors, or travel into the future and meet your great grandchildren? 

Congratulations to all the nominees! I really enjoy each of your blogs and hope you play along. And if you haven't checked out these fabulous bloggers yet, I encourage you to take the time to read their posts, get to know them, and show some blogger love!