Love From My Peers

In the last week, I was lucky enough to receive not one but two Liebster awards, and while those two aren't my first ones, I still cannot tell you how much appreciate it. It's a great pick-me-up always, being honored by peers, especially ladies I am totally fan-girling on!!  Thank you so much, Lizzi "Miss Considerer" and Sandy from Mother of Imperfection. Thank you SO, SO much, ladies!!

As I was nominated by two ladies, I allowed myself to write one master-Liebster post, I hope you'll forgive me!!

Random things about me?? Great, I'm pretty random!

1.  I have seen more of the world than of my native Germany.
2.  I'm almost scared to like new music and seek approval from the hubby first.
3.  My mom was surprised that I was able to bake and cook.
4.  I pretty nearly failed math in highschool.
5.  I used to work as a security guard at a rock festival.
6.  I hate camping.
7.  One day, I will take the LP-player and a good part of his records off my dad's hands, but he doesn't know yet  :-)
8.  I used to bartend at an Irish pub.
9.  I'm a procratinator extraordinaire.
10. Weddings make my cry. No matter how cheesy, I can't help it..
11. I used to be the only girl at a martial arts dojo, and the guys did not have fun!


Here are Lizzi's questions:

1. What did you want to be when you were grown-up?
Ohh, many things.. Firefighter and vet were among them.. At 18 I realized what I really, really wanted to be is a translator, so I did the school, I passed the finals, and now work a corporate accounting job.. Still dreaming of one day translating a book...

2. If you could take any qualification in the world, what would it be, and why?
That's a really hard one.. I would love to have a certification as a speech therapist. Our older daughter is in speech therapy, and I see how much it changes her life. I am a passionate linguist and would love to give the gift of speech to others as well...

3. What's the most tired you've ever been?
Violet had a phase when she would wake up 5 or 6 times a night and wanted to be nursed. I had to get up at 6 in the morning for work.. I almost fell asleep during a workshop, it was horrible!

4. What was your last 'kairos moment'?
Holding our girls tonight. If I could pause time, it's the moment they throw their arms around me and rest their foreheads against my shoulder...

5. What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
Nutella on whole grain artisan bread. Very adult, isn't it??    ;-)

6. What is the most perfect number?
Seven

7. The last time you got given a present, what was the occasion?
I got a votiv candle holder today from Violet. She had made it in kindergarten, SO pretty!!  No real occasion, just because it was Thursday  ;-)

8. Which book do you keep coming back to?
Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg

9. What advice would you like to give the 'you' of ten years ago?
Don't worry, he's going to come along!

10. What part of 'now' would you like to remind the 'you' in ten years' time about?
The chaos, the fun, the exhaustion...

11. What was the last thing which made you catch your breath in awe?

Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt".. So beautiful, so sad, so strong..


And here's Sandy's turn:

1. Give me one word that describes you from your own point of view.
 Opinionated

2. What is the gutsiest thing you’ve ever done?
 Calling off the job interview for my absolute dream job to go on a first date with a certain dude..

3. Who has impacted you greatly but has no idea?
 So many people.. Many bloggers sure have, my boss has, my daughters probably have impacted me the most..

4. If you could have dinner with any three people, living or dead, who would they be?
 David Tennant, Anne Boleyn, Rosa Luxemburg

5. What do you like on your pizza?
 Cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper

6. Do you have an irrational fear from your childhood?
 Don't think so.. All my irrational fears were acquired later..

7. What is the one thing you use most in your house?
 The toilet???

8. Miley. Smart cookie or doing a Britney/Lilo/Amanda?
 Won't comment on that. Can't stand that person, so I think that time will take its regular course..

9. Have you ever bought something from an infomercial or and As Seen On TV item? If so, what?
 Nope, but I love the question  ;-)

10. What are you most proud of?
 Being where I am today. In June of 2010 we arrived in Germany with 3 suitcases and about 10 boxes at my friend's house. But within 2 months we were completely back on our feet moving into our new apartment, having a great job, basically everything we hoped for.

11. Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Cate Blanchet


Coming to my 11 Questions for you:

1. What is the most memorable holiday gift you've ever received?
2. What is better: giving or receiving?
3. Red wine or white wine?
4. If you could pick one period in world history, when would you love to live?
5. Pants or skirts/dresses?
6. Do you still own your favorite stuffed anima/doll from your childhood?
7. Where is your favorite place to be in your home?
8. What vacation did you enjoy most? Why?
9. You get a voucher for a vacation, where do you go?
10. Have you turned into the person you thought you would 15 years ago?
11. Which song describes you best?


And here's the rule breaker:
I won't nominate any bloggers in particular, because there are way too many great ones out there. I'm simply nominate everyone who would like to take part and is not completely put off by my questions. I'm looking forward to many, many responses!

Liebster Love

I've been a bad award winner! It's been about two weeks that the wonderful Kimbra at Mommy's Rambles nominated me; and before I could properly attend to the honor she bestowed on me, another one arrived from the awesome Miss Jessica from The Wonderung Brain.

I would have loved to give both of these ladies the individual attention she deserves, but if I had done so, I probably would have never made it through, so I'm going to double the love (and the Liebster) and put it all in one big Liebster post  :-)

22 Facts About Me:

  1. I'm a natural blonde but prefer being a brunette.
  2. I dream of publishing a book but aren'T nearly creative enough to write one.
  3. I'm a pescetarian.
  4. I'm from Germany, the promised land of beer, but the only beer I like is Corona.
  5. I almost failed high school because of math but work in the financing sector now.
  6. The chance that the hubby and I have blonde, bue-eyed children is 25%; we scored 100%.
  8. Both of our girls are named after flowers.
  9. I love science.
10. I am a gamer girl in training, only like table-top games though.
11. I love "The Song of Ice and Fire" series, but the idea is scary that I'll probably be almost 40 once the
      series is competed.


Kimbra's Questions:

1. What inspired you to blog?
I just love to write but don't see myself capable of writing something big, so I am blogging.
2. What are a few of your favorite things?
Books, weekend morning cappuccino, cuddling on the couch with the girls watching a cartoon.
3. Mattress.. Hard (firm) or soft?
Medium I guess..
4. What is your favorite type of music?
I love classic, alternative, and rock.
5. Are you tattooed/pierced and proud? If so how many of each?
I have a total of 6 earrings and used to have my belly button pierced. I also have 3 tattoos. I'm definitely more into tattoo than piercing.
6. Who is your biggest influence? Why?
My boss. She juggles professional life and her family just perfectly. She's such an able person and I wish to become like her one day (without having to work all that over-time). 7. What is your biggest fear?
Losing my family.
8. What is your wildest dream?
Abducting the hubby to a vacation to Cuba  :-)
9. Who inspires you the most? why?
Our girls. They are still so full of wonder and innocence. They teach me patience and to stop in the tracks to enjoy the moment. I want to become more like them again  :-)
10. What famous person would you love to spend the day with?
David Tennant, aka the last Doctor Who. He's an awesome actor!
11. Do you remember your first love?
Yup; his name was Brian. We were way too young and life just led us apart. But we're still talking occasionally, no hard feelings.

 
Jessica's Questions:

• What does your blog name mean?
• That life is exactly that: unexpected. I started writing a few months before our surprise baby was born. This pregnancy made us contemplate our life and decide to move back to Germany. Who would have known?
• What's your favorite day of the week?
• Saturday.
• Where do you find inspiration for your blog?
• The girls, my family and friends, things I read or see on TV, life in general.
• What's your biggest accomplishment?
• Giving birth to two healthy girls.
• What song represents you?
• Oh dear, that's difficult. Richard and I decided that, should we ever have a renewal of our vows, we would have "No Children" (The Mountain Goats) as our first song, because it's the stellar opposite of us  :-)
• What's your favorite dish?
• Spaghetti and tomatoe sauce.
• What were you in high school - jock, geek, or reject? 
• Total reject!
• Bath or Shower?
• Shower
• How do you relax?
• Watching a movie without doing anything else while doing it.
• Wine or Beer?
• Definitely wine.
• If you had an opportunity to succeed, what would it be? 
• I'd love to be a recognized translator (a girl can dream, right?

My 11 Nominees for a Liebster:

Alice at Adventures into Domesticland
Adrienne at Adrienne Rose
Jen at Break The Parenting Mold
Chris at Hye Thyme Cafe
Christine at Musings of a Single Mama
Karen at Tales of a Library Lady
Meredith at The Southern Northener
Erin at The Unexpected Army Life
Chantel at Life Unexpectedly 
Erin at Searching For Sanity
Heather at Beyond the Aisle



My 11 Questions to the Nominees:
  1. What's your favorite fruit?
  2. Do you get your "5 a day" on a regular basis?
  3. Sweet or savory?
  4. Do you have a lucky number?
  5. What do you order at Starbucks?
  6. Share your comfort food?
  7. Have you filed for your taxes already?
  8. What was the last thing you bought (except groceries)?
  9. What is your favorite animal and why?
10. What is a color you would never wear?
11. Are you happy with your name?


Thank yo again for Kimbra and Jessica for nominating me!!

My First LIEBSTER Award

OMG, I am totally so excited (being giddy like the girls watching "The Wiggles")! The awesome Stacey at This Momma's Ramblings nominated me for the Liebster Award; thank you so much, Stacey!!!

Ok, here are the rules of the Liebster Award (Liebster, as Stacey has pointed out, means something along the line of dearest, beloved, or favorite):

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the blogger's you pass the award to
3. Choose 11 new blogger's (with less than 200 followers) and pass the award (and link) to them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them about the award.
5. No tag backs. 

11 Random Facts about me:

  1. I am a translating nerd, who gets upset about bad translations, grammar, and spelling.
  2. I have read my favorite book at least 8 or 9 times.
  3. During Middle School, my best friend and I signed up for library duty to have an excuse to be late for
      class.
  4. Our French teacher brought alcohol to a class cheese tasting in 10th grade. Germany is awesome!
  5. I'm convinced that my mother is disappointed that I am not the disappointment in the family.
  6. I cannot imagine living in a climate that doesn't have four seasons for any extended period of time.
  7. I used to be an Army wife.
  8. I used to model for a nude painting class when I was in college. It paid very well!
  9. I was engaged twice before meeting the Mr.
10. I spent a summer as an exchange student in England and loved it. My liver probably didn't love it that
      mucht!

Stacey's 11 Questions:

1. How long have you been blogging?
I've started Life, Unexpectedly in early 2010. I have shortly written a blog back in 2007/2008 to keep our families updated on the pregnancy and the baby.

2. What are your hobbies?
I'm boring, I don't have any interesting hobbies. I love to read, blog, watch movies with the hubby and play D&D or (more recently) D20 Modern table top role playing games.

3. How many children do you have or would like to have?
We have two girls; I would love to have another one a few years down the road.

4. What is your favorite tv show?
Dr. Who

5. What is your favorite color?
Purple

6. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
In Seattle, with enough money to back me that I never have to worry about anything. We have lived in the greater Seattle area for almost 2 years before deciding to move our family back to Germany for the security provided there, and because Germany is nice, too!

7. Do you have any pets?
No, but once we have the house, we would like to pick up two kitties from the shelter.

8. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
I have 5 earrings and used to have my belly button pierced, but never put it back after my first pregnancy. I also have 3 tattoos.

9. What is your favorite dessert?
The plum crumble Adele, my exchange mom made for me. With a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

10. Are you a night or a day person?
Night person turned day person. Still not quite comfortable with it.

11. What is your favorite Season?
Fall, hands down. But spring is nice too!


I would like to pass the Liebster Award on to these wonderful ladies:

  1. Breanna a Adventures in Mommy Land
  2. Sara at Family Organic
  3. Laney at Owl Always Blog
  4. Julia at A Dose Of Jules
  5. Lisa at Two Martinis
  6. Kimbra at Mommy's Rambles
  7. Sharon at Mom's Madhouse
  8. Bri at No Boys Allowed
  9. Stephanie at Stephanews 
10. Sara at Super Punk Rock Mom Blog 
11. Collette at Zenith Thinking

My 11 Questions to you:

  1. Do you prefer tea or coffee?
  2. What was your favorite class in high school?
  3. What's your favorite breakfast food?
  4. Why is your favorite book your favorite book?
  5. What was your favorite game to play as a child?
  6. What is a treasured holiday (any holiday) tradition?
  7. Do you rather wear skirts or pants?
  8. If there's anything in your past you could change, what would it be?
  9. Do you prefer flats or heels?
10. What is your most-used social media and why?
11. If you could travel anywhere in the world with a no-limit credit card, where would you go?



Enjoy the questions, ladies, and again thank you to Stacey for nominating me!!