Yesterday, I had the great honor to be nominated for The Liebster Award by the amazing Kristian Weigman, the author of Life Lessons Around The Dinner Table!

Thank you so much for the nomination, Kristian – I was so shocked when you commented on my most recent post! I’m honored!

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The Liebster Award is unique – It’s given by bloggers to bloggers. It’s a great way to get to know the blogging community!

Here are the rules:

• Recognize 5 other new bloggers.
• Give the answers to 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
• Tell readers 11 random facts about you.
• Ask 11 more questions to the new bloggers.
• Link this post back to the blogger who nominated you.

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My questions from Kristian were:

Question #1: What was one of your most defining moments in life?

A: One of the most defining moments in my life was when I went on my first date with my now-husband, Al. It was my first true “first date” – All the other boys I dated, I’d met through my church, and all those relationships started something like, “Hey, we’ve known each other for a while, let’s give this dating thing a try?”

Al was the first guy who was someone I didn’t know very well. His brother had set us up, and after two weeks of texting and phone calls as I started my senior year of college, we decided to go to Virginia Beach for dinner and see Chicago perform on the boardwalk. I remember every single detail of that September Saturday. I remember thinking, “Wow – This is what dating is supposed to be.”

We’ve been together ever since. We wrote love letters to each other as part of our wedding vows, and without knowing it, we both wrote about that first date. Funny how that works. We will celebrate six years together on September 4th!

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Question #2: How do you spend your free time?

A: I spend my free time with Al, my family, and my friends, as much as possible. When I don’t feel like being social, you’ll find me curled up on the couch with a book, or busy writing the next blog post or a new story. If I’m not reading or writing, I love to play softball, travel, take photos, cook, and enjoy my American Girl dolls.

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Question #3: What are your top 3 favorite books, and why?

A: My favorite book is The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although I had to read it in high school, I fell in love with the story and I got caught up in the characters and their world. It’s one book that I re-read multiple times every year.

My second favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. This was another assigned book in high school, but it’s one that I’ve re-read almost every single year. It’s taught me several life lessons over the years, and Lee’s talent as a writer is paramount.

My third favorite book  is The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. It’s a delightful memoir that chronicles a year of her life, with the single goal of becoming happier and finding more joy. It gave me a lot of perspective about my own life, such as really not taking anything for granted, and enjoying the little moments in life.

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Question #4: What is your idea of a perfect day?

A: My idea of a perfect day is coffee in the morning, snuggling / cuddling with Al, reading at least part of a good book, taking a walk or a bike ride, listening to amazing music, taking a nap in a hammock, watching either the sunrise or the sunset, and just enjoying every minute of the day.

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Question #5: What is the best compliment you have ever received?

A: This one was tough!

” … Also, thank you for using your voice, it has been my experience that being brave with ones voice, more times than not, inspires others to be brave with their own. Our collective voices create countless ripple effects and that, in my humble opinion, is where the magic is …”

This is an excerpt of a comment from Elin Stebbins Waldal, an author of a powerful memoir called Tornado Warning. I read her book twice, and then wrote a review on it.

She was so gracious – She not only read my review, but took the time to comment on it. Her words have stuck with me ever since.

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Question #6: What do you enjoy most about blogging?

A: I love that I can write about anything that I want, and there are people in this world who actually read my writing! I’m so happy that people want to read what I write. I’ve always wanted to write, and to see that people appreciate my writing through my blog, it gives me incredible joy and satisfaction. So, thank you for reading!

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Question #7: If you could have personally witnessed anything, what would you want to have seen?

A: Ohhhhh, wow. What a question!

I would love to have witnessed Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. I can only imagine what it was like on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. He was such a powerful speaker and advocate for peace. That would have been so special.

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Question #8: What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?

A: I tried pickled pig’s feet once, as part of a contest at church camp. It was super salty! I think I downed a massive glass of ice water immediately afterward.

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Question #9: What instantly cheers you up?

A: Kermit The Frog! He’s my favorite Muppet. If I’m down, I’m known to find my stuffed Kermit and hold him for a while, or watch a few minutes of him on YouTube. Muppet Treasure Island is one of my favorite movies!

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Question #10: If you could ask any person in the world, alive or dead for advice, who would it be, and what would you ask?

A: I would ask Princess Diana for advice. May God rest her soul, she was taken too soon.

I would ask her how she would deal with our world today, in the face of so much grief, terrorism, despair, war, and racism. Would she face our circumstances with as much compassion and care as she did the lepers, and AIDS patients, and the homeless?

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Question #11: What is your favorite word or phrase?

A: “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”

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11 Random Facts About Me

1. I have hazel eyes.
2. I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket.
3. I’m exclusively left-handed.
4. I hate the feeling of my head hair when it falls on my skin. It drives me nuts – I zero in on it and I have to find it and remove it immediately.
5. I’m a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan.
6. I’ve never traveled on an Amtrak train, not yet!
7. I was kissed on the cheek by a sea lion at the San Diego Zoo.
8. I’ve worn glasses since sixth grade.
9. In college, I wrote my senior thesis on the Nicholas Sparks romance novels.
10. I do not like being called just “Laura.” I appreciate “Laura Beth” or “LB” much more.
11. I had braces twice!

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Here are my 5 nominations:

• Ana Spoke
• scarletpen28
• everythingkeywest
• youngofw
• ajoobacats

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And, my 11 questions for the new bloggers:

1. Who is your favorite hero or heroine?
2. What is your favorite drink?
3. What was your favorite subject in school?
4. If you could travel to any one place, where would you go, and why?
5. Do you have a favorite color?
6. What time period would you like to live in, and why?
7. What is your favorite or most cherished memory from your childhood?
8. Aside from blogging, how else do you express yourself?
9. If you could pick three people, alive or dead, to share a meal with, who would you pick, and why?
10. What is your favorite movie, and why?
11. What inspires you?

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Thanks again, Kristian! I really enjoyed this!

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Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂