I Have My First Blog Award!

     

Today, January 9, 2013, I have been honored with the Liebster Award!. My first first blog award. I must thank Garden Chef from  Garden Chef's Needle and Pen Blog for granting me this award. I recently found her blog, and have enjoyed it a great deal. Please take the time to visit when you can. There are lots of great recipes and more to enjoy.
http://gardenchefsneedleandpen.blogspot.com/2013/01/gardenchef-gets-liebster-blog-award.html

Hey! A week later, and I just realized I was given this award on my 4th blogaversary!

Rules For The  Liebster Blog Award: 

1. Answer the 11 questions posed by the person who nominated you
2. Give 11 facts about yourself
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers for the award
4. Post 11 questions for your nominees to answer
5. Tell them you have tagged them and pay it forward

 11 questions I was asked to  answer by Garden Chef:

1. If you were a Miss Universe finalist and one of the judges asks the question, "What is the greatest challenge in your life?" what will be your answer? Raising my children to be happy, healthy, productive adults. The most difficult, is holding my protective instincts in check to allow my adult children to  learn from their on mistakes.
2. What was your favorite subject in grade school? English
3. Favorite quotation? 

   "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away?"

4. If you have a husband or boyfriend, your theme song? Otherwise, your favorite song. Dont know.
5. How did you become a blogger? I had been trying to start a written journal about my plants and garden. In attempt to remember what I plant from year to year, but never seem to keep track of it or to remember to write in it. So I decided to start this blog in attempt to record things going on in the garden, and it kind of grew from there to entail all my interests.
6. Have you ever written a poem or lyrics of a song? Could you write a stanza or two? Don't think I ever have. My interest in school was more to writing stories.
7. Your favorite craft website and why? Ravelry. It is loaded with crochet  and knit patterns from very talented artists.
8. Your fairy godmother gave you a crown that you should pass on to a person you admire most. Who would that person be? This is a tough one. 
9. Given funds for a new wardrobe, what design or style would you collect? (e.g., executive, casual, sporty, formal, etc.) casual
10. Name an award you received in high school . None, I was too quiet and backward
11. If you have enough savings to build a house, where would you prefer to build it --- in the city, along the beach, in the valley, top of the hill, mountain top, lake shore, etc.? I love the beach, but storm season would scare me. I love living in the country, walking in the woods, and room to breath. So my choice would be a lake shore.

Now for my 11 questions to the blogs that are well deserving of this award:

    1. What is your favorite summer time activity?

    2. Why did you start blogging?

    3. What is your favorite movie?

    4. If you grow a vegetable or flower garden, what is your favorite to grow...which vegetable, flower, or both?

    5. If you were suddenly awarded an all expense trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

    6. If you are a crafter, what is your favorite craft?
    7. Do you have plans to learn something new over the next yr?
    8. What are your top three New Year's Resolutions for 2013?
    9. What nationality are your favorite foods, ex. Mexican, Italian, etc?
  10. Do you can foods and why?
  11. If you could live just one day over again, what day would that be and why?

Another part of this award is to list 11 facts about myself. Here ya go:
  1. I am a quiet, introspective type of individual.
  2. I don't anger easily, but I am a very protective mother.
 3. I love living in the country. I love being able to feel safe in my home. Growing my own vegetables, fruits
      and flowers. There is no more satisfying life.
 4. I am a nurse. I graduated from nursing school in 1984. I have been retired from it since 1984 due to
      fibromyalgia. The most satisfying thing about nursing is helping others, by teaching , or hands on care.
 5. I have 5 children. Ages: 32, 30, 26,23,23. The last were twins weighing 8.6, and 8.3
 6. I married my soul-mate. We will be married  35 yrs this summer.
 7. I love learning new things, to try and challenge myself sometimes. Last winter, I learned to knit socks. 
     I recently started on my 3rd pair. 
 8. I absolutely love the beach. Listening to the crash of waves is so relaxing.
 9. My husband and I bought our first camper about 16 years ago after a weekend trip to an amusement
    park.when our kids were little. It costs $700. We figured we could invest in a camper, and take the kids
    camping with friends and family every other weekend for lots of mini vacations and one long one this way
  . The kids loved camping, fishing, and boating over the years. we recently traded up to a toy hauler so we
     can take our motorcycle with us now.  We still frequently go with kids, but now its grandkids,lol.
10. I enjoy a variety of skills. We built and designed our own home (which includes knowing lots of different
    skills), I am a nurse, I knit, crochet, embroidery by machine and hand, I digitize machine embroidery 
      designs, sewing,
    gardening, starting plants from seeds and cuttings, saving seeds, cooking, canning and more.
11. We built our own home in 1979. Neither of us had built anything more than a doghouse before that. He
      was 21 and I was 18. We
    bought property, and used it for collateral for a small home loan of $25,000. Small home town bank, that
    worked with us, allowing us to build it ourselves. Now you cant do that.  There just doesnt seem to be the
  "hometown" feel anymore. You know....Mayberry! We started with a 28x40 ranch, then added on over the
    years to now have about a 4000 sq ft home, with a huge covered porch on the front, and 6 bedrooms in
    the country on 2 acres. We just planted 2 apple trees and a peach tree last year.

Like  the song by Rascal Flats : " I miss Mayberry, sittin on the front porch, drinking ice cold....cherry... coke."
                           "Where people pass by and you call them by their first name"

   Now for the awards! Below are the 11 blogs that I think are deserving of being honored:
1. Lulabelle's View:  I just love laura's blog. She has a wonderfully sweet way in which she views life, and it comes out in her writing. She shares her love of gardening, and quilting , and healthy eating. What first attracted me to her blog a few years ago, was her gorgeous potager, or kitchen garden. You have got to see this.

 2. Heirloom Gardener  , a wonderful blog with lots of gardening info, and beautiful pictures.  I loved her post on starting a garden journal. 
3. Hocking Hill's Garden, Lona's  blog is absolutely stunning. Beautiful, professional looking photo's of plants and places. If you love gardening, dont miss her blog. 
4.Beloved Knits, Katie has a fantastic collection of knit patterns. You have to see the beautiful designs there.
5. BeppyCat & co., A Homemade Life ; Is a sweet blog about raised bed gardening, crafts, canning and more. Right up my alley.

6. Throwback Road, Julia has a wonderful blog about gardening, cooking, and just getting back to the basics. she also has a fantastic writing style that is easily enjoyed.
7. Read Between The Limes, I recently found Carrie's wonderful blog when following a link about  her seed starting rack. What a wonderful idea!
8. Stitchin' The day Away. An adorable blog full of ideas for crafting with fabrics, and quilting. Lots of fabulous fun ideas.
9.Dimples and Delights, April has some fabulous recipes that i can't wait to try. First being her Mock Girl's Scouts Thin mints.
10. Gardening 4 life, This Texas Master Gardener has done a wonderful job on her blog. Lots of ideas, and information, and photo's  put together to form a very interesting read. 
11. The Worm Girl News, I just found this blog when researching irrigating raised beds. She has a wonderful article on this and other things.

Pass it on fellow bloggers.