Nominated for a Liebster Award

Aimee at One Happy Art Teacher stumbled upon my blog and thought it was worthy of a sweet award! So excited that someone is reading my little slice of the blogworld!

To accept this award, I have to do the following: 

1. Link back to the blog that nominated me. (yep)

2. Answer the questions posted for me by my nominator. (yep)

3. Share 11 random facts about myself. (ok)

4. Create 11 questions for my nominees. (that one is harder...)

5. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers. 

6. Contact my nominees and let them know that I have nominated them

So, here we go!

11 Questions from Aimee to me:

1. Who do you most admire and why?
   My gramma is a feisty 89 year old who can rock any piece of woodworking equipment, sit down and sew a beautiful quilt, throw in a delicious homemade rhubarb pie and then go cut her own grass! There's just no stopping her! Even when she slows down a little bit, she's still going faster than most people half her age! 
2. If you could visit outer space, what would you wear?
   A blindfold! I would not want to venture that high off of stable ground!
3. If someone wrote a country song about you, what would be the title or a line from it?
   I'm not so good with country lyrics, but it would probably be about meeting the man of my dreams at 17.
4. What's your favorite car that you've owned?
   I had a little Honda Civic that I bought after I signed my first teacher contract. It was certainly not the fanciest car, but its the most sentimental. 
5. What was your first paying job?
   Babysitting was a constant source of income from elementary school through college, but I worked at a golf course for years...and years...and years....  I worked everywhere from the driving range, to the kitchen, to the bar cart (my favorite) and I made some good tip money doing it all!
6. Who's your favorite cartoon character?
   I'm a total Disney Fanatic so that is an impossible question! The newest character that I love is from Monster's University - he's purple, looks like an upside-down U, and his name is ART! I think he should be my Art Room mascot!
7. What's your best childhood memory?
   We had a park across the street from my house. Monkey bars, merry-go-round, swings, sandbox, seesaws, even a "tornado slide"!! We started at that park when we woke up and only went home when "the street lights went on."
8. Are you a gum-chewer, a mint-sucker or something/nothing else?
   Gum chewer and a bit of a nail bitter (yuck, I know, but usually just in the car. Weird!)
9. Letterman or Leno?
   Neither - too late for me!
10. Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
    I always said I'd just start my career at this small town school and then I'd move somewhere else. Well, I start year number #16 at that same small town school next week and I can't imagine being anywhere else. I have a huge Art Room, a developed budget, a large supply closet, and a supportive community. But mostly, the reason I can't leave, are the people. I have this group of wacky, sometimes vulgar, always amazing women that make every day a little brighter (and usually a little louder too!) So, 15 years from now, I'll be hanging out with these ladies in the same spot!
11.  What's the best thing about your job?
    Kids. Totally the kids! Adults can be so demanding and can make some dumb decisions in the educational setting. But the kids - they smile, they laugh, they try really hard and they hug! Too bad more administrators can't be more like the kids! HA!
    
    

11 random facts 

• I am obsessed with things being in "rainbow order." Not in my everyday life, but in my teaching life, everything must be ROY G BIV'd or it stresses me out a little bit. Papers, folders, magnets, even book spines are sorted first by color, and then by anything else.
• I love coffee. It doesn't have to be a certain kind or a specific brand or decaf/mocha/latte/light/no whip/light foam kind of cup - it just has to be a cup. And it has to be a BIG cup!
• I'm allergic to raw fruits and veggies. The veggies? Not missing so much! The fruit though is a bit of a bummer! Mmmmmm - watermelon!
• I only ran in the Color Run to look like a rainbow exploded on me! Totally worth it!
• I don't really like clay. I know the kids do, but its so stinkin' messy!
• I have no sense of direction. I get lost in the mall.
• I don't cook. My amazing hubby is so creative in the kitchen and what he comes up with is always delicious, why would I take that away from my kiddos?!
• I can totally rock the sidewalk chalk! Our driveway is one of my favorite canvases and my daughter and I have spent hours out there. 
• I love fonts! I collect them, I categorize them and I use specialty fonts every chance I get. Most of my favorites come from dafont.com.
• Wiggly teeth make me nauseous. 
• And this could be the summer talking, but I feel so blessed to have these weeks to spend with my kiddos. They argue and bicker like crazy, but there are days we don't even bother getting dressed! We just chill...all day! Going back to school is going to be a shock to ALL of us!

Questions for my nominees:

1. Where would you like to spend a Sunday afternoon?
2. Do you play any sports?
3. What is your favorite quote?
4. Favorite era for music?
5. What did you want to be when you grew up?
6. Why did you start blogging?
7. If you were handed $500 dollars, what would you do with it?
8. What book have you read lately?
9. What's your best recipe that's always a hit with a crowd?
10. Hardest part of your job?
11. What are you looking forward to?

I feel bad for nominating these amazing bloggers/teachers because when you look at their roster of followers, I'm not there. See...I don't actually follow blogs in the traditional sense. I have an app called "Pulse" on my iPhone and I just link all their blogs to that app. Each morning, over my bowl of Honeycombs, I open up Pulse, and all the blogs I follow are right there at my finger tips. It seems a little shady now that I've explained it, but its really not!! 

So here are some great blogs to check out and my nominees:

Ms. Kristen-Crayon from http://mskristencrayoncan.blogspot.com/

Jody from http://artfor1170.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Brouwer and Mrs. Persch from http://josettebrouwer.edublogs.org/

Heather from http://www.thebeeskneescousin.com/index.html

Snippety Gibbet from http://www.bulletinboardstoremember.blogspot.com/

Now, to complete my checklist, I am off to tell my nominees.  Happy August!

~Amy