This is a partial blog about the Liebster Award

RULES –

• Thank the person who nominated you.  Thanks Tilda
• When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
• Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (while making sure you notify the blogger that you nominated them!)
• You write up 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.
• You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated your own blog!
• You paste the award picture into your blog. (You can Google the image, there are plenty of them!)

Thanks to Tilda from Swift Expression for the nomination. It’s good to be acknowledged, even better if it’s positive. These awards are nice because they make you think. Think about yourself, about others. I have to find 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  Some may choose to participate and some may not. It is a lot of work to participate. I have to think of 11 things about myself that I don’t mind sharing with others. And then I have answer 11 questions. These questions are fairly personal and I am not sure I am willing to answer them truthfully or at all. Then I have to come up with 11 questions of my own to ask my fellow bloggers. Also, some complain that it is too chain mail like. But the truth is most people blog because they want others to read it. They want to express themselves and they want some one else to read it. This is a good way to help others be seen. So, let me grab a coffee and get started.

Things you wanted to know about me, but were too afraid to ask (11 Random Facts)

1. I talk to my cats. I even sing to them sometimes. They don’t care much for my singing, but I do it anyway.
2. I love to workout. I like to feel like I’ve done something good for my body.
3. I like to cook, but hate to clean. I am a messy cook, too. This creates a problem sometimes. I usually just leave the mess for my husband.
4. I would like to live on a small farm some day. But only if it has dependable utilities – like plumbing and electricity.
5. I wish I were smarter.
6. I like heavy metal and rock-n-roll, but I LOVE Rod Stewart. I have since I was a young child. Some of my earliest memories are of listening to Rod Stewart records.
7. I’m agnostic. I believe in something bigger, but I think maybe it doesn’t like us or just doesn’t care.
8. I collect boxes. I have boxes from all over the world. Some handmade, delicately crafted like fine works of art, some cheap tourist chotskies from the airport, but I love them all.
9. I have a love/hate relationship with holidays.
10. I like computer puzzle games. The hidden object kinds with goofy stories and sometimes silly puzzles. But sometimes those puzzles can be complicated and difficult to solve.
11. I’m a cheapskate. I only get my haircut once a year, sometimes even less often, because I hate paying for it. I don’t need a fancy cut but women can’t get $10 haircuts. $25 or more, to just cut it. No styling, no drying, no nothing. It’s outrageous. I get all of my books from the library. I need new clothes because I’ve lost some weight, but instead I commandeered my husband’s belt. I can afford these things, but I hate to spend money.

Now, on to the questions Tilda asked.

1. Am I what I want to be? The problem I have with this question is that I don’t know what I want to be. If I use my job to define what I am. Then I would say yes. I love my work and my job. Personally? I think so. I think I am a good wife, a good pet owner, a decent friend (sometimes I’m lazy about this), and a good daughter (This is a whole other discussion).
2. Am I doing what I want to do? Mostly. I am doing what I want to do career wise. Maybe deep down inside, I would really like to be a published, money making author. But  that’s a possibility for the future. There are personal things that I would like to do, but currently cannot. I would love to be able to travel more.
3. If not, why not? In some cases, it’s money. I simply can’t afford to travel the way I’d like to. In other cases, there are other issues that prevent it.
4. Are those reasons valid? Yes. I do not currently have the ability to obtain more money. Those other issues are a part of my life and the choices I have made.
5. How much of the way in which I perceive myself is really me? I do not know how to answer this. I am who/what I am. Whether that be a result of environment or my nature. I cannot change either.
6. How much of it is/was a reaction to some old wound? Probably. But due to the personal nature, I’ll say no more.
7. Do I want to hold onto this part of me that I don’t like? I don’t know. I am not sure I need to change it.
8. Why don’t I like it? Don’t we all wish we were just a little different than we are? We all wish we were taller/shorter, had curlier/straighter hair, were thinner/curvier. I think it’s the same with our personality or nature. As a passive/introvert I do wish I could sometimes be more assertive or outgoing, but I am not. And likely never will be.
9. How can I get rid of it? I could teach myself, but again that would be changing my nature. To me, that’s like cutting down a tree for no reason at all. The tree is in no one’s way. It is not dead or dying. No one plans to use it for building or fire wood. There is no point in cutting down the tree.
10. Do other people like me? Some do, some don’t. Some pretend to like me, but don’t. I am sure there are folks that are neutral on this matter.
11. Does it matter? Not really. I used to want, above all else, to be liked. But the more I know about people, the less I care about their opinion of me.

I will soon post my own questions and the other blogs that I have nominated.