That's Leibster, Not Lobster

Thank you Casey McKay  for nominating me. For more of the fabulous sassy Casey McKay click here.

You may be wondering what the hell a Liebster is. The Liebster is this great award going around that helps us get to know our common interest community. And it promotes blogger/authors that have fewer than 1000 followers.

Rules of the Liebster are;

-Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.
-Display the award on your blog.
-List the rules.
-Answer 11 questions given by the nominator.
-Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
-Nominate some bloggers you feel deserve the award.
-Create a new list of questions for the nominees to answer.
-Inform those you have nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster.

Casey's Questions;

1.Why did you start blogging and what do you like about it?

In Feb/March of 2012 my immune system crashed. I had Epstein Barr Virus ruling my life. Countless infections. It was painful to eat. My right kidney atrophied. My body just shut down. I went from jogging three to five miles a day, doing yoga, pilates, volunteering for everything, trying to be supermom, to barely being able to make it to the back door to let the dogs out. I've since recovered but it's been a long journey back to wellness.

I've always been a big reader, but it became a huge escape for me. I was talking to a friend and asked her if there were any blogs that didn't just review books but discussed books and promoted the kind of books we loved. The darker, edgier books. She said she didn't know of any, and that I should write one.

That was my lightbulb moment. I started blogging for the same reason authors write books. I wanted to write about the stuff I wanted to be reading. And I wanted to promote the books I enjoyed reading. It's opened me up to a wonderful community and provided me with an outlet that I really needed.

2. What was the best vacation you ever went on?

Honestly? Better than the caribbean, better than Mexico, beaches, relaxation and massages was my last family vacation. My parents, brothers, and their entire families, all seventeen of us got together and went to Callaway Gardens in GA. We rented a huge villa, brought and made food there- family style. We barely slept all weekend. We just hung out, hiked, went zip lining.

It was the first time we were all together like that in over fifteen years. I tear up just thinking about it.

3. What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Dark chocolate and Diet Coke. I have Meniere's Disease, (thanks immune system fail) so I can no longer have caffeine or I get vertigo. Bad. I'm a decaf gal now. So, every once and a while I'll make my husband order a Diet Coke and drink some of his. And sometimes I eat some dark chocolate, knowing at any point in the 24 hours after I may be paying for it, bigtime.

4. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Um, self healing, of course. Although, being able to heal others would be great too.

5. What book have you read that impacted your life the most?

Lion's Lady, by Julie Garwood. Due to an unethical eye doctor, my parents didn't know I was basically legally blind until I was eight years old. Because of this I was slow to learning how to read. It was a struggle. I was behind all the students in my class. I hated reading. It made me feel like...less.

I was about twelve, when my mother told me the author of her book hadn't learned how to read until she was eleven. In my mind my mother was the most intelligent woman ever created. For her to enjoy a book by an author that couldn't even read until she was eleven was amazing to me. I had to read it. I stole it from her shelves and read it. I adored it.

Thus began my love affair with literature. And nauty literature.

6. You have an unexpected 30 minutes of free time- what are you doing?

LOL, reading or napping

7. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Take the epidural, get a fucking breast pump, and hand your husband the baby. Don't try to be hero. He's a parent also. Getting up to feed the baby is good for him.

8. You are stuck on a deserted island, but have unlimited access to one meal. What is that meal?

Beef, rice, salad, rolls, fresh water, and bourbon pecan bars for dessert.

9. If you could time travel to any period in time, when would it be?

Ummm, I'm going to say 2075. Or 2182. Definitely the future.

10. If you had unlimited time and unlimited funds, what would you like to learn to do?

How to play the piano. How to raise cattle, and horses. How to ride horses. Start a ranch.

I would also like to be proficient in business, specifically numbers and investing, so that I could be better equipped to argue with my husband.

I'd also learn carpentry, get my real estate licence and home inspection licence.

11. What is your happiest memory?

Pffft. Shit....Telling my husband I was pregnant.

It was a surprise. I wasn't ready. I was crying hysterically. I showed him all three sticks (I kept thinking they had to be wrong) and wailed, "Our lives are ruined!!!"

It's a happy memory because I now know exactly how much our world changed since that moment. Our time of grand selfish indulgence was in fact ruined. We've learned, we've grown, we've become better versions of us. I'm not sure if we would have gotten here without our kid.

Now 11 Random Me Facts;

1. No matter how much research I do, I still don't know how to properly use affect/effect.

2. I've lived in Wisconsin and the south. I usually don't have an accent, but sometimes I fluctuate between southern and yuper accents.  I often don't notice it until I'm mid speech. By then, it's too late.

3. I have an irrational fear of the number 13. Yet, I secretly wonder if it's actually my lucky number.

4. I was a licenced massage therapist and practiced holistic healing for ten years. I enjoyed it at the time, but I don't miss it.

5. July is my two year marking period for being cigarette free. I still have days I would wrestle a homeless man, covered in his own piss, for a puff of a smoke. I have gallantly refrained.

6. I have serious anxiety making left turns without a light. I will drive out of my way to catch a light, instead of having to make a left turn without one.

7. I have to buy special medicated shampoo because I'm allergic to regular stuff.

8. I was afraid of cats almost my entire life. When I was a teen I overcame my fear and I took in a rescue cat named Tommy. He was with me for fifteen years before going to the big litter box in the sky.

9. I have to wait at least one hour after I eat a meal before I can orgasm.

10. I often listen to hardcore rap by groups like N.W.A. when I workout. And I turn it down when I walk or jog past people, so they don't know that's what I'm listening to on my ipod.

11. I smoked for over fifteen years but my brother that smokes is the only person in my family that knew I smoked. When I visited family I'd go without while I was in town.

Okay, that's me. I nominate Tracy St. John, Craving Erotic Romance, and Katrina Strauss. You can nominate 5-11 bloggers. Make sure to link me, and let me know when you post.

Your questions are;

1.What was the subject of your most popular blog post?
2.What's your favorite thing about yourself?
3. If you could have dinner with anyone past, present, or future, who would it be?
4. What is your biggest flaw?
5. Did you go to the prom, and if so, what did you wear?
6. Wax, shave, or natural?
7. What is the most memorable book you've ever read?
8. What's your favorite thing you've ever written? It can be a character, line,  book, post, etc. What was it?
9. First car?
10. Favorite memory?
11. What is your happy place?

Don't forget to write 11 random facts about yourself.