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Monday, August 11, 2014

Leibster Award

I've seen this circulating the interwebs for a while and imagine my surprise when I was nominated not once but twice for a Liebster Award. Shucks folks, I'm super flattered! A huge thanks to Sneakers and Sequins and That's for me to Know for nominating me! Head over and give those ladies some love, they're pretty awesome.

The idea is for smaller bloggers to get some exposure and for people to learn a little more about us. Yes, I am a smaller blogger right now. But you know, I'm pretty happy with the progress of only 2 short months. Next up, world domination. insert evil laugh.

Mkay, first of all, I need to give  random facts about myself, then answer the  questions I was given, then nominate some other people and give them 11 questions to answer.

Here's my 11 random facts:

 - I hate mushy food. That includes pudding, yogurt, mashed potatoes
 - I didn't eat mashed potatoes for the first time until I was a junior in college. Note the previous fact.
 - This isn't a surprise to the people who know me in real life but I'm a proud member of Kappa Delta sorority.
 - I also currently chair the Chapter Advisory board for the KDs at NC State.
 - I have a fish tank and I hate it. I wish the fish would die but they won't. It's going on 6 years now and they just won't die.
 - I love Skittles, they're hands down my favorite candy.
 - After I lost weight, my cravings changed. I don't usually want sweets, instead I want salty, like chips and fries. Especially fries..
 - I have a sensitivity to soy, which is in literally everything. Vegetable oil is made of nothing but soybeans. Hence, fries give me a raging stomach ache. Sometimes it's worth it though.
 - A Grey Goose Cosmo is my absolute favorite beverage of choice. They have to be made with Cointreau
 instead of Triple Sec. Triple Sec is gross.
 - I hate it when they put a fruit garnish in my Cosmo. I don't need your fruit getting in the way of my booze.
 - Several years ago I had a craft blog where I showcased handmade cards. Then I stopped. After I lost weight I couldn't get back into the card making. For some reason I associate with an activity that fat, unhealthy Lara did. When I sit down, that's all I can think of. So I have craft room full of supplies that's currently sitting unused. (Anyone wanna buy some craft supplies?)

A hybrid of the 2 sets of questions I was given:

1 - Why did you start blogging?
Like I mentioned before, this isn't my first blog, or my second. It's the 3rd. My first one I had for a while and it was all craft based. I was in a few challenge groups and after a while it stopped being fun and I stopped blogging. I think 3 years ago I started up again but didn't really have a clear focus and it was really difficult to find my mojo. Ever since then I've been reading running and healthy living blogs and I felt like documenting my progress and life again. The good news is this time I'm not at a loss for words and topics. It's also MUCH easier to link pictures and posts than it was 5 years ago. No more plugging the camera into the PC and adjusting everything. Of course my iphone pictures are awful but you know what? I love my awful pictures (and I know you do too)

2 - Am I the only person who actually likes Nickeback or do you too?
Ahhhhhhhh.... sorry, it's just you. Then again I still like Creed, which is just as bad, if not worse than Nickelback. I even listened "Higher" on my run today. (hangs head in shame)

3 - What's your favorite movie and why? 
ROCKY 4. Why? BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME! A classic 80s cold war tale. Two worlds collide, rival nations... It's a primitive clash, venting years of frustration. There are 4 music videos, like 3 montages, a fight and Stallone. I love it all, so much.

4 - Comfort or style?
I might be in the minority here but I'll always choose style. I'd rather take the extra 5 minutes, do my hair and put on something that matches. It's odd here in Raleigh but people never leave the house looking like a hot mess. Everyone is either dressed nicely or in work out clothes, all the time. You'll never see someone in a ratty t-shirt and pajama pants out in public.

5 - If you could time travel to any time period, what would it be?
That's a tough one. There are so many times I'd love to see, but just for a little bit. I'm not a fan of all the disease and dirt of the past. So I think I agree with Kev, I'd like to go to the future. I want to see how everything turns out and hope we haven't messed things up irrevocably.

6 - What decade do you really think you should have been raised in? Explanations are necessary. 
I think I'm actually pretty close, I think I would have been a kid in the 70s and in my early 20s in the 80s. I love all of the big hair, music and excess. Love it. Even though I was just a kid, I thought all was awesome.

7 - Of all the places you've traveled, what's your favorite?
NYC. I love NYC. There's so much to see and do and eat and the personalities. There are parts of the North I definitely miss and the big personalities are one of them.

8 - What's your favorite accessory?
How can it not be my engagement ring and wedding band? It's blingy and fantastic. I gotta tell you though, neither Kevin or I are people who wear their rings 24/7. Why? Because too many years working in the jewelry industry. Most rings aren't meant to be worn all the time and never cleaned or serviced. I wear them when I leave the house and only rarely while excising. The rest of the time they're off. I've seen too many people lose stones and ruin their jewelry from wearing it every day.

9 - What season do you enjoy most?
I'm with the 95% of people who love fall. There's always something exciting about the start of football, the new school season, cooler weather, jackets, boots and scarves. I just want it to be 80 degrees so I can run outside again.

10 - What's one of your favorite quotes?
"I will no longer toil in obscurity" - Kevin Badanes. Kev pulled that one out the other day and I nearly lost it. It's fantastic. I'm going to make it into some sort of wall hanging.

11 - Do you have any blogging advice?
Find your niche. If you don't have a focus it will be really difficult to find a community. And keep it up. Even if you think no one reads your blog, someone does. Just keep going because you never know who you might be impacting!

My questions:
1. If you were 18 and in college again, and know what you know now, what would you major in?
2. Which football team are you cheering on this fall?
3. What's you favorite beverage?
4. Dogs or cats? Why?
5. What's your guilty pleasure? Don't sugar coat it, do you love your Real Housewives?
6. What's your favorite music era?
7. If you had 0 obstacles, would you ever run a full marathon? If everything about your body was capable of running 26.2 miles, would you do it? Why or why not?
8. Favorite childhood cartoon?
9. Perms, did you ever have one?
10. Coffee or tea? What do you put in it?
11. What makes you laugh? Are you more mainstream or do naughty things make you want to pee your pants?

Alright, I reached out to the nominees and I'll update as they accept.

Happy Monday everyone!

Linking up with

Mingle 240

14 comments:

  1. Congrats on the Liebster award!! I love learning more about bloggers through these questions! Stopping by from the Weekending linkup!

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  2. I was a teen in the 80's & loved it :) It was a great decade :)

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  3. Aww, thanks Sweetie, you're pretty awesome yourself! Wow. I must be really bad, because I still love Nickelback...and Creed. So if anybody should be ashamed, it's this girl right here ;)

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    1. Lol! I know, right! My husband just shakes his head when he looks at my playlist.

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  4. Congratulations!!! Also, I can help you kill your fish. A day or 2 with me and you won't have to worry about a thing.

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  5. Oh my your poor fish. Wonder if they know you are secretly plotting their death. Haha! I agree Raleigh was very well dressed. ;)

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    1. I know! When we moved here 9 years ago I had no idea the south was so well dressed. It's really either full make-up or work out gear.

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  6. Love the fact about the fish! Also love how involved you still are with your sorority! I am the same way with mine. & fall is seriously the best season ever!! Is it Pumpkin Spice Latte time yet??

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    1. Thanks! I have to tell you, I loved my college years but I really love working with the college women. It's been a wild ride with them and I wouldn't change it for anything!

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  7. I feel you about the card making I am the same way with scrap booking. Also I just about choked when you said running out side at 80 degrees, I will only run outside if it's below 75 lol that's why I need up with a gym membership to run in the summer :)

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    1. Ha ha ha. 75 used to be my limit but this year I've inched up to 80 and 83. I really think that's as high as I'll go. After all these 90 degree days, 80 feels positively chilly. (OK, not really)

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  8. I really do hate them. I've been wanting to get rid of the tank for going on 5 years now. The last time I cleaned it completely was when we moved into our house 4 years ago.

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