This is so unexpected...I didn't even prepare a speech!

Tee hee hee!  

Hello, friends!  

Well, Miss Rachel nominated me for a Liebster award!  Now, let me start off my saying that at first I thought it was spam.  And I was scared to click the link.  Sure, she's a fellow design team member at The Memory Nest…but what if a bot took over her computer and was hacking into mine as I read???  (I love a good conspiracy theory.  LOL)

Anywhooo no.  Rachel has not gone bot.  I did some googling to find out a bit about this award and low and behold, it's a real thing.  (See how un-blog-savvy I am?)  I love the idea of paying this forward and helping my friends gain exposure for their blogs.  There are some incredibly talented and overlooked papercrafters out there and I hope that you will check out the blogs I am nominating!

**SIDENOTE:  After I drafted this blog post, I got another nomination from Sharon Fritchman.  Thanks, Sharon!  I appreciate the support! xoxo**

So, a bit about the Liebster Award.  This award is given to bloggers who are up and coming and who have less than 200 followers. It is a way to bring attention to these blogs and build the blogging community. The meaning of Liebster in German means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Awww. J

As a recipient of this award I need to do the following:

1.            List 11 random facts about myself.

2.            Answer the 11 questions the awarding blogger has asked me.

3.            Nominate 11 bloggers (with less than 200 followers) for the award and link to them in my post.

4.            Create 11 questions the nominated bloggers have to answer.

5.            Let the nominated bloggers know they have been nominated.

(These are the requirements for the people whom I nominate as well)

Sounds like fun, so let’s get started.

Random Facts About Me (Shawna):

   1.    I wasn't born creative and never made more than a poster board until I was in my mid-20s.

   2.    I live a town over from the town where I grew up.  Old habits die hard.

   3.    I am a tree hugging, free spirited hippie at heart.

   4.    I'm a slob.  I go on spurts of "neat freakiness" but I'm incapable of sustaining all that order.  Overall, I'm a slob. 

   5.    My husband is a US Marine…and the antithesis of a slob.  He folds better than I do and is in charge of the laundry pretty much always.  Actually, he's pretty much in charge of anything having to do with cleaning.

   6.    I grew my first organic garden last summer and am super psyched to get planting again this year.  I'm going to make a bean teepee for my daughter. J

   7.    I do not understand spending a ton of money on purses and shoes...Target is just as stylish thank you very much. hehe

   8.    I used to snowboard until I broke my wrist.  Would love to get back into and teach the kiddo.

   9.    I love the northeast US!  Yes, we have hellacious winters…but we don't have hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes or anything scary like that.  Oh, and our bugs are all reasonably sized. ;-)

  10. I love to read and once I start a book, I cannot put it down until I've finished it.  And if it happens to be a trilogy or something, you may not see me for days.

1 11. I have a serious, serious Starbucks addiction.  I'm talking serious.

Here are my answers to the questions that Rachel asked me:

1.            What was the las book you read?  I'm going to lump 3 into one here (see Random Fact #10, above).  The Divergent series.  And now I am currently reading Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford.  Awesome read for anyone with kids. Highly recommend.

2.            Describe your perfect day?  I couldn't possibly.  There are so many different types of "perfect" days for me.    

3.            If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?  I have always wanted to visit Africa.  The hubs tells me I need to see Hawaii and Australia.

4.            What is on your nightstand?  Nothing because I don't have one on my side of the bed.

5.            Early riser or night owl?  Early riser.  5am. Usually in bed by 10pm.

6.            Coffee or tea?  Coffee all day every day.  See Random Fact #11, above.

7.            You wake up to a rainy day, what do you do?  Scrapbook!

8.            You wake up to a sunny day, what do you do?  Get outside into nature with the kiddo.

9.            What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  It's a 2-way tie here.  Peppermint Patty and Black Raspberry.  But not together. lol

10.         What was the biggest surprise of your life?  Finding out I was pregnant after years of trying without success.

11.         Favorite animal?  All of them.  Every animal on the planet.  They are all beautiful and amazing and awe inspiring.

So here are the crafty bloggers I am nominating for the Liebster:

Lisa-Marie:  http://bluebirdscrapper.blogspot.com/

Lizzy Hill (she's at 197...it's close! Haha)  http://lizzyhill12.blogspot.com/

Annie Claxton http://www.artyfartyannie.com/

Val Thorpe  http://valbellesramblings.blogspot.com/

Leanne Kroschel  http://leanne555.blogspot.com/

Stephanie  http://skylinepaperie.blogspot.com/

Kerry http://scrapbooking-fortheloveofpaper.blogspot.com/

Vicky Nardone http://veryvic.blogspot.com/2014/05/photo-shapes-memory-mondays-2.html

Patty http://asassyscrapper.blogspot.com/

Katie Lamb  http://whatkatiedid2.blogspot.com/

 And here are my questions for my Nominees (they're pretty random haha):

1.     What's your favorite song?

2.     Books:  Kindle or tried and true paper copies?

3.     What's your guilty pleasure?

4.     What would you do with $1million buckaroonies?

5.     What is the last movie you saw?

6.     Are you a cold or a hot weather girl?

7.     Are you where you always thought you would be?

8.     What's your biggest pet peeve?

9.     Cats, dogs, or neither?

10.   If you could interview one famous person (past or present), who would it be?

11.  Finish this sentence:  "My friends always tell me that I _______________."

Well, I guess that's it!  I did complete this in ½ an hour, so I hope you all won't find it too daunting to participate!  Thanks again to Rachel for the nomination!  Fun stuff!