The Liebster Award ... second edition

I was nominated for the Liebster Award by Jess from Black and White with a Little Bit of Pink!

This is how the award works. Each person awarded must:

+ post 11 things about themselves {whoops. Didn't know about that one last time}

+ Answer the 11 questions provided for them

+ Create 11 more questions for their nominees

+ Spread the bloggy love! Nominate up to 11 more 

bloggers with under 200 followers

First things first - 11 things about me. I'll try to make them interesting...

#1) The number of exclamation points matters. One is good. If it's super exciting and more are necessary, then three or more are fabulous - but never only two. It seriously drives me crazy when there are only two exclamation points. That's probably one of the most arbitrary pet peeves ever.

#2) Everything in my room has a specific order. Clothes, nail polish, sharpies, highlighters - rainbow color order. Books, CDs - alphabetically. School assignments, letters, memory box - chronologically. Sheet music, stationary - by occasion. And so on...

#3) I can't actually pop my fingers...but I go through the motions anyway, when I'm nervous. Or bored.

via

#4) Some of my fingers are double-jointed. See that finger up there? Back in ... seventh grade, I think,  all of my friend were double jointed and they could do that with all of their fingers, but I couldn't. I was insanely jealous...and then one day I was just sitting on my bed reading (I even remember what I was reading -Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. That's how momentous this was for me!) and moving my fingers without really thinking about it, and all of a sudden I looked at my hand and lo and behold, my finger was doing that! I seriously got up and danced around my room to celebrate. Now I can do that with both of my middle fingers and my left ring finger. 

#5) When I'm concentrating really hard, I stick out my tongue. It doesn't matter what I'm doing - if I'm not also concentrating on keeping my tongue in my mouth, out it goes.

#6) Speaking of tongues...I can touch my nose with my tongue. Sometimes I just can't believe how amazing I am.

#7) I've kept a journal consistently since I was in 3rd grade. I have a drawer full of them now, and I'm still going. So if someone doesn't know what to get me as a gift...a journal is always a safe bet. That, or socks. I love socks.

#8) I cry, like, all the time. When I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm proud, when they recognize veterans, when I hear a really beautiful piece of music or see a gorgeous painting...I can usually stop myself from full-on crying, but I get teary-eyed. It's kind of ridiculous.

#9) I'm kind of vain about my handwriting. I think it's really pretty.

#10) I say "like" way too much. I don't even think about it...then this guy from Germany mentioned it and for the rest of that conversation it bugged me whenever I said it, but I couldn't stop! No worries, though, I've gone back to blissfully not noticing when I say it.

#11) Once upon a time, I had a poem I wrote published in a magazine. It was a super-ghetto magazine, but still. I had sent the poem to four or five literary magazines that published works from teenagers, and I was pretty excited when I actually heard back from one. 

And now for the questions - and Jess came up with some rather interesting ones....

#1) WHY the heck do you blog?? I mean seriously, what's the point? When I've gotten out of the blogging mood, I ask myself the same thing. And I think when I'm out of the mood, there really is no point. As much as I love my readers, I blog for me. I blog to be inspired, and hopefully to inspire. I want to be inspired to be grateful, to be happy, to forgive, to have fun, to be better.

#2) What is your current favorite song and why? Why does it move you? Or is it the kind of song that just makes you dance in the middle of the grocery store? I have one reigning favorite song that I would choose if every song but one had to be destroyed - Come Thou Font. You can read more about that in this post. But I'd say my current favorite song is Would You Go With Me by Josh Turner. Mainly because it's a cute song, and I love his deep voice. I've got a slight obsession with Julie Fowlis's Biodh An Deoch Seo 'n Laimh Mo Ruin, too. I love Gaelic... 

#3) Dream BIG: What is your dream(s)/aspiration(s)? Spill it! I've got a billion of them...I'd love to own a used book store someday. Once I've got some more experience under my belt, I want to start a little graphic design business {with prints and blog designs and such} connected with the blog. I want to be a mother more than anything, once I've married my prince charming. Seven or eight kids sounds nice {don't bother telling me I won't really want that many once I've had the first two. I hear that often enough}. I'm going to run a marathon. I want to jump off a waterfall. Someday I'll go to a Taylor Swift or Keith Urban concert. I'm going to serve a mission. I want to have an adventure. Oh, and I want to be perfect eventually...

#4) Share one of your top embarrassing moments please! I think I tend to repress my embarrassing moments. Or I start thinking they're so hilarious that I can't even remember being embarrassed about them. Let's see...once I was dancing with a guy and he was, like, refusing to help the conversation along...It went something like this:
me: My name's Niamh!
him: I'm [insert name here]
me: So where are you from?
him: [one word answer]
pause
me: What do you do there?
him: [short answer]
pause
me: Cool! I'm Niamh!
pause
me: Oh...wait...um...haha...

#5) How often do you shower during the week? I shower daily - and even though I know you're not supposed to, I wash my hair daily, too. I'm not willing to invest in dry shampoo at this point, and I think feeling clean wins over having uber-healthy hair. I haven't noticed any bad side-effects, anyway. Maybe I'll regret it one day, but for now I'll be enjoying my clean, grease-free hair!

#6) Favorite blog you're currently reading? First of all - I LOVE all the blogs I follow, and they all inspire me, or I wouldn't be following them. I have a strict "will-not-follow-unless-I-love-it" policy in regards to that...which is why I don't win many giveaways, I suppose. But if I had to choose just one favorite, I'd say Elise's Pieces. This was one of the first blogs I started following, and ever since then every post I've read has been kind of perfect for me at the moment I read it...it's kind of strange, actually. But mostly awesome!

#7) What is your favorite thing about yourself? Physically, I love my eyes. Non-physically, I like how if I decide I really want to change something, I will get it done.

#8) Do you fart in public or private? In the blankets or in the bathroom? Embarrassing or hilarious? Oookay, Jess...what kind of question is this? If I get this award again, I'm nominating you and making this one of the questions! Um, private, bathroom, embarrassing. Done.

#9) What wonderful piece of advice/information would you share with yourself 10 years ago? 

It wasn't your fault.

#10) Vodka or tequila? Mixed or in a shot? Or do you prefer club soda? Well, I don't drink, and I don't ever plan on doing so, so I'll take the club soda, thank you! I'd love to have a mock-tail party sometime, though...

#11) What is the greatest encouragement you have received from your journey through the bloggy world? What encouragement would you offer a fellow blogger who is struggling?

Getting comments is the hugest encouragement ever. They really make my day. If a fellow blogger was struggling...I guess I would tell them to think about why they were blogging. I really think blogging should be for your own benefit, first and foremost. If you keep writing about stuff you care about, recognition will come-people will be drawn to your sincerity.

My questions are...
#1) What is your favorite piece of artwork/decoration in your room/house?
#2) Item of clothing you couldn't live without?
#3) Fashion trend you fell in love with in 2012?
#4) What's your favorite kind of exercise?
#5) When you're feeling a bit blue, what do you do to get your spirits up?
#6) What are you wearing right now?
#7) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
#8) If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three people would you want there with you?
#9) When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
#10) What's a song that brings back special memories?
#11) Think fast - two truths and a lie! {I'll guess in the comments}

My wonderful nominees are
Brittany at The Sapphire Bee {check out her shop!}
Ann at Hi, From Ann
Haunani at Stuff I Love
Starr at The Kiefer Cottage
aaaand last but not least,
Cassidy at Things Like Skeleton Keys and Me

Go give them some love - and by all means, if you're not already following them, do that! They're definitely worth it. And ladies, answer those questions and pass on the love {let your nominees know in a comment on their blog}! I can't wait to see your posts - comment or shoot me an email when they're up.

P.S. To see my post from the first time I got the  Liebster Award, go here.
P.P.S. You could win an iPad mini at The Freckled Fox right now! Check it out!