Liebster Award Honors!

I have been given the most delightful honor of being nominated for the Liebster Award! My thanks to a dear childhood friend, Becca. She herself has also been nominated, and you can find her blog Ledoux Sands here. She blogs simply about her life, which is good for all of us, as she has some wonderful insight, and humor to impart.

Let me just briefly explain how the Liebster Award works:

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So, what is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Isn't that sweet? Blogging is about building a community and it's a great way to connect with other bloggers and help spread the word about newer bloggers/blogs.
Here are the rules for receiving this award:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.  (Either 11 questions from the person who nominated you, or 6 facts about yourself, and 5 questions from your tagger)
2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you; then create questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post. (I could not find that many blogs I knew about with so few followers so....)
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!


Ok, so...facts about myself:
1. Hi, my name is Andi, and I am a Foodaholic. I can't even claim to be in recovery or anything, haha. But really...I love food. All kinds of food. Usually in large quantities. Hence the reason for writing this blog; to be held accountable for what I am eating. Its working!! I've lost 30 pounds so far, and I don't feel that I am "dieting" I am simply changing things up, in a healthier way. I still love all the food: pizza, Taco Bell, cheeseburgers. But I am reining it in a little bit, and finding ways to make those desired foods healthier.

2. I sniff babies. Ok...really just my baby...usually. There's just something about the way babies smell! My sister-in-law claims its the smell of "innocence" and it fades. But my Pixie is almost 2, and she still has that delicious baby smell in full force. Its not-quite-baby-powder, not-quite-baby-shampoo, not-quite-clean-laundry smell. It is more prevalent in girls, honestly, but baby boys still have it for a little bit. I love the (rarer now that she's mobile) chances to just cuddle my baby and smell her head/hair. Makes my heart just well up and over with love.

3. I am a book nerd. Always have been, always will be. I firmly believe it is a trait I inherited from my father; and I think Pixie might end up the same way. I read every day. I'm happiest if I can read for hours and hours every day. I read on the couch, I read at work on lunch, I read in bed, I read at the park. I need something built into my shower that will allow me to read in there...the heck with shaving! I can tear through a good 1000 page book in 4-5 days if allowed to do so. I don't hear outside noise (particularly when it sounds like someone trying to have a conversation with me); and when I "resurface" I sometimes have a hard time adjusting back to my reality. And I often find myself wishing that many things in my books were actually possible.

4. I cannot style hair. Particularly my own hair. I have had to resort to watching some YouTube tutorials on hairstyles. And I still fail at those. My poor baby girl, is going to be the one with "boring" hair all the time. Traditional braids, ponytails, and "Bobbles" (the little buns of hair you can make out of pigtails) are the extent of my repertoire. Plus, I have really uncooperative straight hair, so it wont even curl if I try to make it. It's pathetic really.

5. I believe in all sorts of supernatural things. Ghosts: check. Aliens: check. Magic: check. Karma: check. Past lives: oh yeah. Magic: double check. Do I have issues with others who believe differently than I do? Heck no! As long as you don't try to force me into your beliefs, we've got no problems. But seriously....I have Deja Vu all the time, sometimes more than once. I very firmly believe I have had at least 3-4 past lives, and fully intend to find someone who can help me look into that. Ghosts are just there. Same with aliens. We've all experienced Karma. And magic...magic is my very most favoritest thing to believe in. I have experienced a couple of things in my life that I believe are magic, or are the result of magic. I have been to some places that I think are made up of almost entirely magic. There are things in this world that just could not be, without magic of some sort.

6. I was a stalker. Not the creepy picture taking, always outside your house stalker. But a very meek, shy, quiet, fade into the wallpaper stalker. Of my now-husband. HAHAHAHA! Yeah...you read that right. He knows it too. We were both in orchestra my Freshman year of high school. I played violin, he played cello, so we sat across from one another. And he was soooo hot!! Still is...but that's beside the point. So I decided I was absolutely in love with him, and followed him (quietly and meekly) through the halls all day long. Then he graduated...and I was heart broken, because I am pretty sure he didn't know I existed. Then...in my Junior year (when I finally had boobs and some confidence) he returned to coach one of my sports teams. It didn't work out then either, hahahaha. But, a few years later, his cousin (a good friend of mine) passed along my phone number, and it was all history from there! Fate exists....

Sadly, I was unable to get questions from miz Becca, so I kinda made up my own! ;-)

If you could play any musical instrument, which would you choose?
I have played the violin, but would love to pick that back up and get better at it.
As far as learning a new instrument....the harp. It may seem weird, but I have always thought they are one of the most beautiful sounding, and looking, instruments. Plus...they're very Irish ;-) We all know how much I love Irish.

Your house is burning down and you have to evacuate immediately. Which three items do you take with you?

Well...my family and pets don't count. They are living souls, not objects so...
My cell phone and charger (gotta be able to contact 911, parents, etc.)
My baby's favorite stuffed bear and blanket. She needs to be warm and comforted.
My little jar of my father's ashes with his picture.

If you could invite anybody in the world to lunch, who would you take and why?

The whole world, across all times....Jane Austen. The language in her writings may be hard for some people to get through; but her stories are amazing, and really quite witty. I would love to just dress the period, have a lovely lunch, and chat about how she saw the world.
The modern world...Robert Downey Jr. I know what you're thinking...it is not just for his looks (although those are not at all bad, lets be honest). He is extremely funny, and very intelligent. I honestly think it would be one of the most amusing, interesting lunches of ones whole life.

What is your favourite smell?

I can still remember how my father smelled. For a little while, after he passed, I would still smell his clothes. That smell, and Pixie's baby smell (see above) are tied at the top for me.

If you had an extra room in your house, what would you use it for?

Library.
No ifs, ands, or buts. Built in shelves lining the walls, a couple super comfy chairs, fireplace, a great old desk....
I have it all built in my head. Some day....

My Nominees are:
(One of these may have more than 200 followers....oopsie! Oh well.)
Pasta Princess and More (not just pasta, but oh boy does she have some good stuff!)
Yeah...I'mma Eat That (The author is very witty, and makes some very healthy, very amazing food)
Baby Sideburns (This woman is one of the most hilarious people on the planet, no joke)

Yeah...that's all I've got really :-/

A couple other food blogs that I love, and recommend (even though they do not meet the Liebster qualifications) are: Closet Cooking and PaleOMG. Both chock full of good food, and good humor! Also: One Good Thing by Jillee...she is SO creative!