"It's a Major Award!" (Not a Leg Lamp)

I've been seeing posts about the Liebster Award making the rounds in the blogosphere. Some of my friends were nominated for it, and it was cool to see what questions they had to answer. I noticed that my friend Bethany, who I've known for as long as I can remember, got nominated for her blog, Hanging with the Huttons. Bethany has really been kicking butt and taking names with her blog lately... and by that, I mean she's been posting regularly and really promoting her blog--both of which are things I rarely do.

The award is designed to spread awareness about smaller blogs (200 followers or less). With my 18 subscribers, I'd say I definitely fit the bill for that. It's also intended for new bloggers, which I don't really consider myself to be. This blog has been alive and kicking since January of 2011... but I guess in the grand scheme of things, it's still relatively new.

The criteria, should you accept this award, is as follows:

• Thank your nominator by linking back to their post. (Done.)
• Answer 11 questions posed by your nominator. (See below.)
• Make a list of 11 facts about yourself. (Oh, boy...)
• Nominate 3-5 up and coming bloggers with 200 followers or less. (OK.)
• Provide a list of 11 questions for your nominees to answer. (Insert evil laugh here. Muahahaha!)
• Publish your post and contact your nominees with the awesome news! (They will be SO thrilled!) 
  
  
  Questions From Bethany:
  1. What is your favorite recipe? 
  Hands down, my mom's homemade mac and cheese. The. BEST. EVER!!!
  2. What is your favorite restaurant?
  I'd have to say Joe's Italian. It's where Jackie and I went on our first date, the day we got engaged, and who catered our wedding. 
  3. What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?
  Well, it's not my favorite, but I've been writing a lot on my dissertation in my free time. Other than that, I like to read and watch TV. I need to workout in my free time, too!
  4. Where is your favorite place to go on a date?
  Jackie has been good about getting us to do different stuff. She took me to the drive-in in Harpersville a few weeks ago. We've gone bowling. Anywhere with her is my favorite place to go because she's my favorite person! (Brownie points: nailed it!)
  5. What would be your dream job?
  The job I have right now. I'm an instructor at the University of Montevallo in the Mass Communication Program, and as soon as I successfully defend my dissertation, I'll be promoted to Assistant Professor! Click here to read about when I started this job.
  6. What is your favorite high school memory?
  Oh, gosh! There are SO many, but if I had to pick one, I guess it would be the day we graduated. It was such a rush knowing that I had finally finished school and was about to start college!
  7. What has been the best day of your life?
  Easy one: our wedding day.
  8. What is your favorite tv show?
  Oh, boy. It's SO hard to choose. My go-to shows are anything from the Star Trek franchise. I'm also hooked on Doctor Who right now. And Jackie and I have been known to watch Law & Order: SVU for 12 hours straight.
  9. Where do you want to live when you retire?
  Well, it looks like we'll be staying in Shelby County. But I'd love to have a beach house, too.
  10. What is your favorite vacation spot?
  Seagrove/Seaside/Destin. I've been going there for years with friends. It's where we went on our honeymoon. It's where we go with my parents each year. And it's a tradition that I hope to continue some day when Jackie and I have kids. 
  11. What's the best vacation you've ever been on?
  With Jackie: Definitely our honeymoon. It was the first time we went away together, and we had so much fun. It was a perfect week! Our NYC trip was another good one!
  Random: My Mom and I made an overnight trip to Louisville, Kentucky, the other year so I could visit the Star Trek Exhibition at the science center. You can read all about the nerd-cation here.
  
  
  11 Random Facts About Myself
  1. I'm a procrastinator. I'll tell you more about it later.
  2. I'm terrible with names, which is a problem when I teach large classes at UM.
  3. I have a fear of automatic sliding doors. I'm afraid that the sensor will miss me and that the doors will close, cutting me in half. I've had nightmares about this.  I know the doors won't do that, but I've had this irrational fear for years!
  4. My love language is gifts. This makes Christmas and birthdays exciting and stressful. While I love receiving gifts, I truly love picking out gifts for others. But sometimes putting that much thought and time into gift selections is exhausting and wears me out! But when I see them open it and love it, that's a fantastic feeling!
  5. I have two toes that are webbed together (not completely, but like a third of the way). 
  6. I've written a text book!
  7. I tried Zumba once. Won't do that again!
  8. When I get my PhD, I'm going to get a replica of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, since I will also be a Doctor.
  9. I'm terrified of heights and get vertigo really bad. 
  10. I'm a HUGE sci-fi nerd!
  11. My research area (and dissertation topic) is children's media and gender, specifically masculinity in Pixar films.
  
  
  My nominees are:
   Ok, this is hard because so many of my blogging buddies have already been picked, but I do have two people that I'd like to nominate. Neither of them are "new" bloggers, but they do have less than 200 followers.
  
  1. Shannon at we be studly.
  2. Kim at Crazy Mosaic.
  
  
  Gosh, now I've got to come up with some questions for them....
  
  
  Questions for My Nominees:
  1. What is your favorite memory of me?
  2. What is your favorite book?
  3. If you could take a road trip anywhere, where would you go?
  4. If you could pick up and move anywhere in the world (other than your hometown), where would you move to?
  5. If your life was made into a movie, which celebrity would play you and your husband?
  6. What is the hardest thing you've ever had to do?
  7. What is your favorite TV show?
  8. What was the last thing that made you laugh?
  9. What has been the best day of your life?
  10. If you could swap lives with any celebrity or other famous person for 24 hours, who would you pick?
  11. What is the weirdest thing that has happened to you in the last month?