Liebster Award

I was nominated for a Liebster Award by a fellow infertility blogger at The Quest for a Tiny Human. The nomination comes with rules. As a result, this post is going to be different than my others.

The Rules

1. Post 11 random facts about myself.
2. Answer 11 questions the awarding blogger has asked.
3. Nominate 11 blogs with less than 200 followers, add their links to this post and let them know they have been nominated.
4. Create 11 questions the nominated bloggers have to answer.
5. Post The Rules!

11 Random Facts About Myself

1. I am an editing nerd. My dream job would be finding typos and comma errors in text. That does not mean my writing is perfect.
2. My love of editing led me to major in English, but I only lasted one semester. I did not enjoy writing a paper for every class session. The final straw came in Intro to Poetry. We were told to write a free verse poem. Free verse apparently had no rules, and yet I somehow did it wrong. The professor could not tell me exactly how my poem was wrong, but the grade said it was. In the end, I graduated with a Communication - Public Relations degree and an English minor.
3. I am horrible at making decisions.
4. I have a hate/hate relationship with mice. They seem to be everywhere I want to be. I blame my irrational paralyzing fear on overexposure as a child. We lived in an old farm house on a farm. Mice just came with the territory. They taunt me. When normal mice would run away, a mouse in my apartment ran straight toward me, a screaming human. Four mice tried to join us on our honeymoon, so we left. Thankfully, we have been mouse-free for several years. I am REALLY hoping they stay away from our new house.
5. I am the middle of three sisters.
6. Don't tell anyone, but I was homeschooled through tenth grade. Homeschooling is not for everyone, but I think it's a great option.
7. I am a serious people-person, an extrovert. I would love to be with people at all times, but am perfectly happy to just hang out at home with my husband. If he's not there, I would rather be out and about.
8. I am 15/16ths German and 1/16th Swedish (I think). Some of my ancestors were Mennonite, and at least one was Hutterite.
9. Growing up, I was the odd one in family pictures. My parents and sisters have dark hair and dark eyes. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. I was also the only one with glasses. My family is great.
10. I am a big fan of my husband (see this post).
11. Last but most importantly, I would not have made it through this infertility journey without the Lord. I believe that suffering such as infertility is not an accident. God is not frantically scrambling around trying to make good out of bad. Instead, He carefully ordains suffering for our good and His glory. Without suffering, we would not learn to rely on Him. If things were hunky-dory all the time, I think we would be totally selfish, totally independent people. Suffering stinks, but it serves a purpose.

Questions and Answers

1. What is your favorite movie?
• I can't pick just one. Pride and Prejudice, You've Got Mail, and The Blindside are three that come to mind.
2. What is your best memory?
• My husband's law school graduation. Our first three years of marriage were his law school years. Graduation marked the end of an intense era. Surrounded by family and friends, I got quite emotional as he marched into the room in that funny legal graduation garb. It was a good day.
3. What is your greatest accomplishment?
• I am not sure. Maybe moving seven times in six years of marriage and not losing my sanity?
4. Who do you admire?
• My parents and my husband's parents. They set great examples for their kids.
5. What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
• Wow. That's a tough question. I think of a pattern of events more than one particular incident. Sometimes, I get overwhelmed and frantically think myself in circles. In infertility, that happened several times as a result of too much online "research." My husband kindly gets my attention, calms me down, and points me in the right direction. 
• When we were dating, we floated the Yellowstone River in Montana with family and friends. None of us had checked the weather, and we ended up in a lightning storm. The temperature dropped dramatically, and hypothermia was becoming a concern. After waiting the storm out on the river bank, we jumped back in (the only way to get to our cars). Unfortunately, the river was low, so the remaining trip was miserable. I could either stay on top of the tube and freeze or hold on and be dragged on the rocky river bottom. In desperation and in tears, I chose option three and took off walking on sharp, slippery rocks in a strong current up to my knees. I may have been losing my mind a little. As I slipped, my then-boyfriend/now-husband told me to get on the tube. So I did. And I survived. His direction was a kindness.
6. What is the first thing you notice about someone when you first meet them?
• Their genuineness or lack thereof, at least my take on it.
7. Would you rather watch sports or play sports?
• My husband will probably laugh when he reads this, but I would rather play sports. I have a VERY short attention span when it comes to watching sports (except during the Olympics). I'm not actually good at any sports, so I don't really play.
8. If money was no object, what would you do all day?
• Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, spend time with people, and give a lot of gifts.
9. What is your greatest strength?
• My husband says loyalty and organization.
10. Do you prefer summer or winter?
• Summer. A thousand times over. I love my family in the North, but hope to stay down here where it's warm. Winter is not my thing.
11. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be?
• This answer is totally cliche, but true. I would want to meet Jesus. I think he was dramatically different than portrayed today. The Jesus I see in the New Testament wasn't gentle, timid, or tolerant. He called people on their sins and demanded righteousness. He challenged the status quo. If I could meet him on Earth today, I would probably cringe at his lack of political correctness. But I would love to meet him.

My Nominees

I am breaking the rules here and only nominating a few. If you want to be added to the list, please comment below. I have no idea how to tell how many followers you have total, so please don't be offended if you have more than 200. :) 

1. Glory in the Valley
2. Notes from Heidi
3. Nicole Joelle: Learning to Dwell
4. Blessed to Be
5. Genuine Greavu

Questions for the Nominees

1. Why do you blog?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. If you could live in any other country, which one would you choose?
4. Do you know any foreign languages? If so, which one(s)?
5. How many states have you visited?
6. What was the best class you ever took?
7. What is your favorite gadget and why?
8. Who is your biggest hero?
9. What was your favorite vacation?
10. Do you prefer shopping in person or online? Why?
11. What is your favorite family tradition?

If you are still reading, I am very impressed. This post might be my longest ever. Did I miss anything? If have any questions or post ideas, please comment below. Thanks for reading!