I was nominated by Helen Jameson for the Liebster Award during the Blogging A to Z challenge this past April.  Now that the dust has settled and Purely Relative is out in the big bad world, I’ve time to catch up on a few blogging memes.

First things first:  Thank you, Helen! Check out her website at Helen Jameson–The Word Scribbler

The Liebster Award has been around since 2010, and over the years the requirements have changed. I’ve slightly altered the “rules” Helen had to follow for accepting the award because hers depended on the Blogging A to Z Challenge which is now over. I say “rules” because no one is required nor obligated to do any or all of the following to accept the award.

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1. Post the award on her/his blog.
2. Thank the nominator and link back to his or her blog.
3. Write 11 random facts about yourself.
4. Answer 11 questions about yourself that the nominator has asked.
5. Nominate 11 fellow bloggers.
6. Make up 11 original questions for your nominees to answer.

HERE ARE 11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

1. I provide the voice of and for my dog, much to my family’s amusement and eye-rolling (which also means they love it).
2. I’ve never broken a bone.
3. I’m not a good housekeeper, at all, but cannot stand a dirty toilet or a dirty oven.
4. I lived in Hawaii for three years and for most of those years was the only or in a tiny minority of haole’s in my class.
5. I have sickle feet, which means if seated on the ground, I can lay the soles of both feet flat by turning them inward. I had to sleep with my feet in shoes nailed to a board when I was a small child.
6. I cannot tolerate anyone’s feet on me. I think this goes back to when my sister and I had to share a bed as kids.
7. I make to-die-for chocolate chip cookies and homemade yeast rolls.
8. I am or was a pretty good seamstress. Sadly, I don’t sew anymore (*/BEGIN SHAMELESS PLUG: but you are more than welcome to read my book about a seamstress called Prometheus Unstitched by my other me, Lila Shaw END SHAMELESS PLUG/*).
9. I used to work for Arthur Andersen & Co back when it was THE premier CPA firm…sigh…so sad what happened to it because of a few bad eggs (not me!).
10. I am a Christian but I don’t think God minds my writing or reading salacious stories so long as I stay on the correct side of the line between fiction and reality.
11. My husband is funnier than I am, but one of the best sounds in the world is when I make him laugh.

THE 11 QUESTIONS HELEN ASKED ME:

1. What was your first car? A Ford Escort station wagon, 4 speed manual transmission.
2. If you were an animal, what would you be? Someone’s spoiled rotten kitty cat.
3. Have you had a bad dental experience? Yes–the Novocaine hit a vein and made my heart race.
4. Name five of your favorite foods. Cheez-its, chocolate, bread, strawberries and bananas.
5. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? The Flintstones
6. Name your least favorite literary character. Magister Ludi from The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse (bleh!)
7. What is the most exotic place that you have ever visited? Russia.
8. What board games do you play? Sorry, Monopoly, Clue
9. Who do you resemble in your family tree? My father now, my mother when I was younger.
10. If you won a million dollars, what would be the first thing that you would do with the dough? Pay off my debt and fully fund my sons’ college funds. I think that would use it all up and then some, alas.
11. Are you an owl or a lark? A lark, big time.

MY NOMINEES:

Just naming names here. They may or may not wish to participate either because they’ve already rec’d the Liebster award or they are too busy or they don’t care for blog memes. I won’t pressure or put them on the spot by linking to them:

1. Sheryl Winters
2. Anna Simpson
3. Julie Reece
4. Sandra Bunino
5. Ryan Derham
6. Diane Dooley
7. S.J. Maylee
8. Siobhan Muir
9. Kastil Eavenshade
10. Terri Rochenski
11. Stella Berkeley

MY QUESTIONS FOR THE NOMINEES:

1. Which family member influenced you the most?
2. If you could read only one genre for the rest of your life, which would it be?
3. Name your favorite alcoholic drink.
4. Would rather see America (or any country of your choice) by auto / RV or by biking / hiking / walking or by mass transit (airplane, train, bus)?
5. Name your favorite television show.
6. If you could change one aspect of yourself, what would it be?
7. What’s your zodiac sign?
8. What’s your shoe size?
9. What’s your “day” job?
10. What kind of car do you drive?
11. What, if any, sports did you play when in school?

That’s all, folks! 🙂