Thanks to Birdie Bookworm for nominating me for the Mystery Blogger Award.  I was pretty surprised to be nominated and of course honored. Who knew I was so mysterious? I don’t do a lot of these award thingies but this one looked fun so I’m going to attempt to play along.  

The Rules:

• Put the award logo/image on your blog
• List the rules
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well (Okoto Enigma @ Okoto Enigma’s Blog)
• Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
• You nominate 10 – 20 people
• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
• Share a link to your best post(s)
  

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Three Things About ME:

1. I’m trying to talk myself into giving up sugar and so far my progress has been… slow. I mean I think my overall eating habits are pretty good but then I get to moments like “so I can’t have like, any soda?” and things go kind of sideways.
2. I can’t eat clam chowder without judging it like a food critic after years of attending on old hometown’s annual Chowder Fest where we voted for our favorite clam chowder in town.
3. I hate wearing socks. So winter is pretty lame because they are kind of mandatory and I get cold easily. When spring comes, the sandals come out and stay out until snow falls again.

Some of My favorite Blog Posts:

• One of my old favorites is this post I wrote in 2008 about John Mayer’s love life (which still keeps me up at night sometimes).
• More recently worth mentioning is a roundup of book recommendations for your tweens (see also 10 year old boys and picture books for kids).
• You might also enjoy my post about cutting the cord with my cable company.
  

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Questions from Birdie:

1. If you had to read only one author for the rest of your life, who would it be and why? I don’t think you have any idea how impossible this question is. Seriously? L.M. Montgomery ranks high because her books are rereadable and she’s written a lot, thank god. But I’m going to fret over this answer for the rest of the day because argh.
2. Name one book that imprinted on your soul, and tell us why. The first that comes to mind is Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I read it in college when I was feeling like kind of the worst person. You know when your life choices are questionable at best and you are thinking “Why would anyone even root for me?” Well when I read GWTW and found myself rooting for Scarlet no matter how unlikeable she often was, I realized that we all do stupid, selfish stuff and tomorrow is always another a day.
3. Where’s the most exciting place you’ve ever been? Huh. Well going to Wurzburg, Germany was pretty exciting – it was my first time out of the country and so obviously pretty world changing for me. I also really loved going to Las Vegas with my husband – it was our first vacation just the two of us and it was in one of the most exciting places in the US.
4. What is the best recommendation you’ve ever received? The school my kids are going to? It was recommended by a good friend and neighbor whose kids were getting a lot out of the place. We’ve been tremendously happy there and I’m so glad we made the switch.
5. Name your favorite fictional character, what Hogwarts House would they be in and why? This is about as hard as choosing one author to read forever. The first few that come to mind are Elizabeth Bennet (Ravenclaw), Anne Shirley (Gryffindor or Hufflepuff) and Belle from Beauty and the Beast (Ravenclaw / Gryffindor)
   

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Nominations & New Questions:

Questions:

1. What is your current favorite show to binge watch?
2. What was your first favorite book?
3. If you could give yourself a superlative (like from high school yearbooks) what would you award yourself?
4. Describe your ideal breakfast.
5. What app on your phone could you not live without?

Nominations:

You might be asking yourself, “Self, what is a Mystery Blogger Award anyway?” Well, here’s how the award’s creator describes it:

“Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging; and they do it with so much love and passion.
– Okoto Enigma

With that in mind, I nominate the following people:

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious?

Alison @ Hardcovers & Heroines

Kate @ Opinionated Book Lover

Jenny @ The Bloggess

Jenn @ Simply Moms Blog

Kendra @ The Lazy Genius Collective

Joanna @ Cup of Jo

Kate @ Ex-Libris Kate

Ok – I’m feeling rebellious so I’m going to stop here. And I want to reiterate what Birdie said on her post. Please feel no pressure to follow along if you don’t do the blogging award thing. I totally get it – it’s a lot of work. I nominated you because I think your blogging is excellent and that everyone should read your work. So only play along if you want to / have an hour to kill before you need to pick up your kids. Deal? ::hugs::