“It’s a major award!”
I’m sure many have said that before me but how can you not drop that reference!?!
Onto The Liebster. Here I am, just another food blogger on the world wide web. Trying to stand out, get noticed or even be known is no easy task – I’m one of a million. I do what I do, though, because I enjoy it. I love food, I love cooking, I love writing and I love sharing these joys.
One of the great perks of blogging is that you make some friends along the way. People who are in it for the same reasons you are. People who encourage you and support you in this crazy, vast world of blogging. One of these awesome friends is Amy from Accidental Happy Baker, the lovely lady who nominated me for this award. I thank her for thinking of me and I thank her for being her awesome sweet self! Check her out!
What is this Liebster business, you ask? The Liebster Award is an award for bloggers from bloggers. The award is for any blogger, of any genre, who has less than 1k followers. It’s a way you can recognize, support and get to know your fellow blogging buddies.
The Official Rules
You’ve been nominated. Now what…
1. Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you with a thank you & a link to their blog.
2. Display The Liebster Award badge on your blog.
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided by the person who nominated you.
4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 5+ bloggers (with fewer than 1,000 followers) who you feel deserve the award.
6. Create a new list of 11 questions for your nominated bloggers to answer.
7. Make sure you notify your nominees!
Questions from Amy
1. Are you a car dancer or do you try and act normal when you’re driving and your fave song comes on?
I’ll most def bust a move in the car. Love it even more when Athena, my 9 year old, is in the car with me. Lol – she doesn’t think it’s so cool.
2. What was the most trouble you ever got into as a kid?
Ohhh….I was a bad, bad kid and I got into lots of trouble. Let’s just say I was well acquainted with the local police department. Thank god I got over all that.
3. If you could pick a new restaurant to be moved to your neighborhood what would it be?
I live in Amish Country. Everything is PA Dutch style food (salt, pepper & butter), bad Chinese or bad Italian. Sushi would be nice – I’d be real happy if a Minado’s moved into the neighborhood.
4. If you became so famous you had to have an alias to check into hotels, what would your alias be?
Why, Psycho Betty of course.
5. What is the worst illness or injury that you personally have ever went through?
Well, appendicitis was pretty rough – but natural childbirth made that feel like a walk in the park.
6. What is the most frustrating thing for you about blogging?
Time and the lack of it. I wish I had an extra hour or two in the day to work on the blog.
7. City or country?
Country girl.
8. What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Hmmm….I’ve eaten a lot of crazy stuff. Mett comes to mind first. It’s a German spread made with raw ground pork. It’s actually delicious – but I’m glad they waited to tell me what it was until after I ate it. Can you imagine eating raw pork in The US…?
9. What is the most embarrassing thing to happen to you this month?
My 17 month old daughter, Genevieve is starting to chat it up quite a bit. She loves her dog and is always talking about him. She says “Clutch” and “doggy sit”. How cute, right? Problem is, it sounds like “doggy sh*it ”. People definitely take a double look at us when we’re out. Lol – I totally am not teaching my babygirl to swear : )
10. Do you have any games on your cell phone? Which ones? Casual player or addicted?
Not really. I spend extra time on my phone on BBC News, Local News, Buzzfeed, Social Apps & All The Cooks.
11. Favorite genre of movies to watch?
I used to love horror – now I just get nightmares from it. These days I appreciate anything that can make my tired self laugh.
11 Random Facts About Meeeee
1. I’m tall. 6’ barefooted tall.
2. Speaking of feet – I have big ones. Size 11. Shoe shopping is a total nightmare.
3. I was a vegetarian for many years. If I didn’t cook for my family I’d still be one. I’d probably really miss pork and seafood though.
4. I have a bunch of tattoos.
5. We’re dog people in my house. We have an American Bulldog named Clutch who looks like Petey from The Little Rascals. We’re getting a puppy, same breed and very similar looking, very soon.
6. We’re chicken people too. We have a small flock of hens and absolutely adore those chickie poos.
7. Ha – can you say hoarder!?! I have hundreds and hundreds of cookbooks and still buy an interesting one when I see it. I have shelves in my kitchen and throughout the house filled with them. I have bins filled with cookbooks. I have cookbooks all over the house for casual reading, like one would have magazines. I’ve been “collecting” them for about 10 years now. These days I rarely have time to page thru one. I’m trying to thin out the collection a bit, getting rid of all the standard kind of stuff. One day I’ll be retired and have lots of reading material : )
8. I’m not a total hippie but I try to keep things as green as possible in our home. Recycling, upcycling, reusing, minimal use of household chemicals, buying secondhand whenever possible and donating all our used stuff is just a small part of what we do. We’ve also completely eliminated all food waste thanks to doggies and chickens. Oh, and bee keeping is in our near future.
9. I am a total European mutt. My father is half Ukrainian and half Polish. His father’s family immigrated here during the 20’s and his mother arrived here as a refugee with the Catholic Church after World War 2. My mom came to The US in the late 70’s – she’s half Italian, half German. That ethnic blend has all the influence on my tastes and cooking!
10. There’s no place I’d rather be than home with my family.
11. God is great! I’m beyond thankful for everything, every moment, everyday : )
11 Questions For My Nominees
1. What are your earliest cooking inspirations?
2. Where do you live? What is wonderful about where you call home?
3. You can buy a second home (money is no object here) anywhere in the world. Where would you be?
4. What has your proudest accomplishment been in life so far?
5. Think back to being a kid….What did you want to be when you grew up? How does that compare to what you are doing now?
6. Open up your fridge. What do you see most of in there?
7. What makes you happy?
8. What is your most treasured possession?
9. You could only eat one type of cuisine for the rest of your life. What would it be?
10. 30 years from now – where do you see yourself in life?
11. What inspired you to start blogging and what inspires you to keep blogging?
Last, but not least, in no particular order – are my nominees…..
These are all great bloggers I’ve had the pleasure to get to know or/and awesome blogs I enjoy reading. Check them out!!!
1. Foodie*ish
Awe! Your toddler sounds like such a cutie! I’m a little jealous actually. My daughter, who is a nearly two and a half, refuses to say sentences. She knows exactly what the words are and what they mean but she’s more physical than verbal right now. I, for one, cannot wait to hear her start talking the day away.
And kudos for eating that raw pork. That had to be quite a tease.
Aren’t children absolutely amazing? And wild, crazy, stubborn…lol – you gotta love them and their own little (or BIG) personalities! You’re daughter’s first sentence will probably be something so unexpected, like “Mommy, I really do prefer strawberry jam”. I hear “daddy, doggy and sissy” a million times a day from my daughter – I hear mommy once in a blue moon. What a little stinker : )
That raw pork was surprisingly delicious. I’d probably eat it again, just not in The United States. I remember as a kid watching my mom eat raw pork. She would squeeze it out from sausage casings and spread it on bread. I’d always tell her that she couldn’t eat that here. She always did anyhow and somehow managed to never get sick.