Liebster Award | Michigan Left

I received a lovely surprise earlier this week: Farrah from The Three Under presented me with my first ever Liebster Award. And what, you may ask, is a Liebster? I didn’t know either, so I Googled it. I found various translations for the German word “liebster,” but these were the most prevalent: sweetheart, dearest, darling. Apparently, the award originated in Germany, and the idea is to recognize your favorite bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. To receive this award from Farrah, a super-talented blogging pro who helped me get the Michigan Left ball rolling (disclaimer: she also happens to be my younger cousin), is quite an honor. Thank you, Farrah, for making my week. I haven’t received an award since I won the fifth grade spelling bee, so this is a big deal to me.

On to the rules for the Liebster Award:

Each blogger should post 11 random facts about herself or himself.
Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, and then create 11 (Farrah changed it to 10; I’m cool with that) new questions for the bloggers to whom you pass the award.
Choose 11 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers who you think deserve more attention and link them in your post.
Go back to their pages and tell them about their awards.
No tag backs.

My 11 random facts:

I like to be on the water, but not in it and I don’t really know how to swim — unless doing a flailing doggy paddle counts.
I hate spiders and am regularly tortured by my children, who enjoy hiding rubber arachnids in random spots around the house to scare the bejesus out of me.
I am obsessed with capers and force try to encourage my husband to incorporate them whenever possible when he cooks.
I’m a morning person (I know, I know; don’t hate).
I love to crochet, although I haven’t done it for years. I think this means I’ll make a good old lady.
I once attended a monster truck show…and liked it.
I wanted to be a lawyer for about five minutes during my first year of college.
In seventh grade, I got into an argument with a boy; he punched me in the mouth and knocked out my front tooth.
I couldn’t run around the block until age 40. Five years later, I have a marathon, three half marathons and various other races under my belt.
I flunked calculus twice, once in high school and again in college.
My karaoke songs of choice are “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “Jessie’s Girl.”

My 11 blogger picks (in alphabetical order because I’m a copy editor):

None of these bloggers is new, and I’m sure many, if not all, of them have more than 200 followers. But these are some of the folks whose blogs inspire me, make me laugh and/or cry, and keep me coming back for more. I tried to pick people who haven’t received a Liebster before — or at least didn’t have a badge for it on their blog. These are all bloggers I discovered through Yeah Write, a fabulously supportive community of writers who blog and bloggers who write that you should really check out if you haven’t already.

My answers to Farrah’s questions:

Sweet or savory? Savory
Summer or winter? Winter
Most irrational fear? The bogeyman under my bed
A flaw you have accepted in yourself: I speak before I think.
The last book you read: “Little Bee”
How many hours of sleep you got last night: 7.5
The drink you order in a restaurant: Sauvignon Blanc
Cat, dog or fish? dog
What would be the opening line of your eulogy? “This is a party, not a funeral; stop your crying and make a toast already.”
What actor/actress would play your life story in a Lifetime mini series? Dana Delany

And, finally, my questions for my Liebster Award bloggers: