Thursday, January 15, 2015

Liebster Award!


I am so excited to be nominated for the Liebster Award!  Still pinching myself that anyone (besides my mom and my husband) actually knows my blog exists, and I am humbled that the blogger who nominated me is one of those larger-than-life stars, in my eyes.  Thanks,  Suzanne Wilhelmi from Teaching from the Tackle Box!


So first I answer Suzanne's questions....

1. What's your blogging story? When and why did you start blogging?
I love photography and really missed it since my days as a journalist and my college days in photography classes.  I also missed writing, adult conversations, being able to finish a thought, etc.  That, combined with the coming-of-age of my toddler to the Montessori primary years, was the perfect storm:  I was driven to take lots of photos and go on and on about one of my favorite topics:  Montessori.  I started in April 2012, just to keep myself sane and to help other moms and grandmas home with their toddlers.

2. What's the favorite/greatest gift you have been given by someone else?
When he was alive, my father used to give me three things:  great food (he was very good cook), wonderful books (remember those?) and the occasional compliment.  I hadn't realized how much I missed the compliments until, recently, a family friend praised the job my husband and I are doing raising our children.  It suddenly hit me that I missed getting that yearly pat-on-the-back for the thankless work we do!


3. What is your favorite board game?
Sorry, I hate board games.  My husband and our 6 children LOVE them, though.  I don't even think they could pick a favorite.  We literally have hundreds.  (My husband has interrupted to tell me that the exact count is 207).


4. What would you do without electricity for 48 hours? and what would you miss the most?
I love it when the power goes out!  The only thing I start to get anxious about is whether I can still get a cup of coffee (the elixir of life, or of my life anyway).


5. Do you name your vehicles and if yes share why you named your car(s) as you did?
Yes!  I am hyper weird about this and always insist that other people in my life name their cars, too.  My first car was Francis, because he was teal blue like the water and the sky and reminded me of St. Francis, one of my all-time favs.


6. How do you network/promote your blog?
Um, I don't.  I'm very lazy.


7. What is your favorite /and your least favorite social media site and why?
I am a big doofus when it comes to social media.  I keep forgetting my passwords and have to ask my kids what they are.  I get information overload when I try to learn new things online.  I want to go suck my thumb and curl up in the fetal position until my teenagers get home and help me navigate the big, scary web.


8. What was your favorite craft or DIY project from 2014?
I am trying to make all of the materials for Level 1, 2 and 3 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atria.  This year, with help from a nice retired engineer from church, I made a 3-D model of the old city of Jerusalem.  So.  Much.  Fun!


9. What's your blogging niche? What do you like most to write about?
I'm struggling with that one.  I began writing about affordable, simple Montessori activities for moms, grandmas and teachers, but more and more my Catholic faith is a central part of what I want to write.  There are several blog posts in my head that I've never written because they are so specific to my faith.  So I'm sort of stuck not knowing what to do--start a second blog?


10. What is your favorite blog post from 2014 - yours or someone else's?
Well I'm not sure it's from 2014, but I loved this one on a cheap version of the Montessori bells.  I've been stalking the Montessori bells for years, but they are so expensive and take up so much space that I just kept hemming and hawing UNTIL I read this post and created her version myself!

11. What are your plans for blogging in 2015?
I hope to finally use dozens and dozens of photos I've taken for short, informative posts on Montessori at home.

Next I List 11 Random Facts About Me...

1.  Before marriage I spent two months in the Nashville Dominicans as a postulant.  I loved it, but not once did any of the sisters break out into song with, "Climb Every Mountain!"

2.  I am a twin (older by two minutes.  I love to rub that in.).

3.  I am addicted to coffee.  There.  I said it.

4.  I start books and then never finish them.  I don't see a problem with this, but my husband is constantly teasing me about all of the books in our library with bookmarks still in them.

5.  I am a militant napper.  Every day after lunch.

6.  I briefly worked in a morgue.

7.  In college I played a little bit of underwater hockey.

8.  I'm shy, but I have found that interviewing people is a great excuse for talking to someone!

9.  I love Downton Abbey.

10.  I love thrift shops and garage sales.

11.  I got to meet Mother Teresa and attend an audience with John Paul II.

And then I nominate some other awesome blogs:

HE>ME
Why Do You Ask
Second Hand, Second Thoughts
What Did We Do All Day
The Beautiful Music Challenge

Here are the 11 Questions for THEM to answer:

1.  What's your favorite word or sound?
2.  What's your most pressing new year's resolution?
3.  What's your favorite blog post (written by you or someone else)?
4.  What is the last movie you watched in an actual cinema?
5.  What book are you currently reading?
6.  Who was your favorite teacher and why?
7.  From whom or from what have you learned the most?
8.  What random thing makes you happy?
9.  If I had the courage I would __________ (fill in the blank).
10.  What is your favorite way to spend a Friday night?
11.  On a vacation, would you rather relax and read a book or get up early and try something new?




Thanks again to Suzanne from Teaching from a Tackle Box!  







2 comments:

  1. I'm so happy you accepted the award. It is great getting to know more about you. Your acceptance post made me cry and it made me laugh. I love that you name your cars too. My first car was named Blue Flame - kind of a romantic thing from sitting in front of the fireplace when I was dating my husband. Now we are on a Flintstones kick. We have cars named Fred, Wilma, Bam-Bam, Mr Slate, Diego (not sure how that one slipped in) and one yet to be named. I admire you and envy you a bit too that your kids are still young enough to enjoy the best of Montessori.

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  2. Thanks for including me! It was fun :)

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