Liebster Award

The very lovely Kari from Bite Sized Thoughts has nominated me for a Liebster Award!  The name supposedly stems from the German word for Liebster, which is dearest but I like it because it is a great way to discover some wonderful new blogs. It has 5 parts:

1. Write 11 random facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 interview questions you’ve been given by the person who nominated you.
3. Create 11 new questions.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers and mention them in your post.
5. Go and tell the person who nominated you, along with the people you’ve nominated about your post.

So lets start with random facts about me:

1. Gin and Tonic is my favourite cocktail.  Some may consider it unfashionable, but I love it.
2. I have very brittle nails.  I think this means I am not meant to do manual labour. I ripped one yesterday putting petrol in my car.  Clearly I'm meant to have minions to do these things for me.
3. I painted all but two rooms in my house with 4 coats of paint in less than a week once.  True the only thing I did all week was paint but I did get it done.
4. I feel an irrational sense of pride when things I plant grow.  If I serve you something I've grown - herbs or tomatoes usually - look out because I have become the gardening goddess and will tell you all about my gardening prowess. 
5. I have an office with a window that opens which I consider to be the greatest luxury known to office workers.
6. I was 9 (I think) before I learned to ride a bike and I'm still not very good at it.
7. I look much more like my Dad but I apparently sound just like my Mum, particularly on the phone.
8. I can be quite irrationally shy about things - see below where I'm too shy to pass this award on to anyone.
9. I regularly forget how tall I am and am surprised when I see photographs.
10. I listen to ABC talkback radio in the mornings.  In my defence they have really interesting guests and are nothing like normal talkback shock jocks.
11. This year I've started wearing lipstick.  I've been doing it for months now and it is more and more becoming me, but I still occasionally get it on my teeth.

Kari asked a fantastic set of questions, she really got me thinking.  They are:

1. If you had to limit yourself to 10 foods for one week, what would they be?
   I'm assuming you mean ingredients, not a whole meal?  In that case: zucchini, capsicum, chicken, pasta, pesto, tomato, cheese, museli, yogurt, pita bread.
   
2. If you came into a large amount of money, would you keep working? If not, what would you do?
   Yes definitely, I'm an extrovert so I need to be around people and I find work an important thing to keep me motivated in life.  However if it was large enough that I didn't need to earn any more I would be extremely happy to volunteer my time to charity.
3. What is one experience or event (big or small) that you would like to do in your lifetime?
   I've ticked off quite a few things on my list of life experiences, but I would still love to attend every day of the Melbourne spring racing carnival wearing a different outfit and matching hat.  Does someone want to invite me to some luxurious marque next year?  Being completely honest the experience is about the hats not the horses.
4. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
   I wanted to be a forensic scientist for quite awhile.  Not sure where this came from as it was prior to all the CSI type shows.  Eventually I worked out that I totally suck at science and the rigid nature of it would bore me.  I need to exercise my creativity on a daily basis!
5. If you had to move from your current town / city, where would be your first choice to move to?
   This one is really tricky because I love Canberra!  If I had to move in Australia I would love to move somewhere small, maybe Bateman's Bay on the coast.  If I had to move overseas then despite my terrible French I would probably choose a medium sized town in France.  That said, I know I would be back home in no time at all.
6. What was your favourite year at school, and why?
   I think it would have been Grade 3.  I had my favourite teacher ever, Mrs Wright.  I started being a part of the Elizabethan dance group.  Rolf Harris visited my class after we won the scarecrow competition.  I turned 10 - double figures!  I had a best friend Linda and I think pretty much life was good.
7. If you could meet anyone alive today, who would you meet?
   Another tricky question, there are so many great options.  I think after considering all the options I would meet Billy Connolly.  He is just so hilarious but also seems like a genuinely lovely person.
8. If you were given a full day to yourself, no work and no commitments, how would you spend it?
   I can think of loads of boring things like the fact that I really need to paint the trim on the house, but if I had a whole day and plenty of spare cash a day at a day spa appeals greatly.  It has been a long year, a day of pampering would be fabulous.
   
9. What is the best book you've read this year?
   I haven't done much reading this year, but I did read "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay.  It is fantastic but gut wrenching.  I also read "The Hunger Game" trilogy and haven't read something so compulsively for years.  It might not be great literature but it is a fantastic story.
   
10. If you were given a plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would it be to?
    Too many options!  But given that I didn't have to pay for it, I would pick an expensive destination - maybe Morocco.
    
11. (Given my running shoe focus) - What was the last pair of shoes you bought?
    A pair of black patent heels.  Plain but practical.  I wore my last pair till the patent actually cracked and split.

Now comes the point where I am meant to nominate 11 blogs I love and ask them 11 questions.  The problem is that I love so many blogs and I feel a bit too shy to ask in case they don't want to write a blog post answering my crazy questions, so I am going to nominate all my readers as truly fabulous and ask you 11 questions.  Answer as many as you like in the comments below, or take the award with my blessing and answer all the questions on your own blog if you would like!

1. If you are Australian have you ever told a foreigner a lie about Australia and what was it?  Or if you are not Australian have you ever been told a lie (or something you think may be a lie) and what was it?
2. Where in the world is Carmen Sandiago?
3. Show me the cutest baby animal picture to make me go squee.
4. What is the daggiest song that you should not like but you really do?
5. Do you have any pierced body parts and what are they?
6. Do you have a special birthday meal and if so what is it?
7. What were your favourite cartoons as a kid?
8. Do you have a nickname and if so what is the story behind it?
9. What was the first thing you learned to cook?
10. Star Wars or Star Trek? (or both or neither) 
11. Who on twitter or pinterest should I be following? (follow me at @LisaRobey or http://pinterest.com/blithemoments/) 

So go forth and entertain me with your answers!