Liebster Award Post

This week I got nominated for my first ever blog award :)  My friend Ashley has been nominated for the Liebster Award twice, and part of getting nominated is nominating others, so this time she included me. Fun Times.  Essentially the rules are that I'm supposed to write 11 random facts about me, answer the 11 questions asked by Ashley, and then nominate 11 other bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. Well, since I don't know that many bloggers right now, that part might be difficult because I'm going to have to find some folks to follow - so I'll get back to you later on that one.  But I can most definitely comply with the first part for now. So here goes.








Eleven Random Facts about Me:

1. I am interning in a school as a social worker in training, but it's not a normal school, it's a school housed within a juvenile detention facility where kids are held while they are court-involved for criminal charges. I asked for field placement with youth who have prior disciplinary issues - and I got it - and I love it... as much as I thought I would.

2. I have seen every episode of Friends more times than you, I can pretty much guarantee that.

3. I used to teach U.S. History and my absolute favorite time period is Cold War America. I'm convinced I was supposed to be born somewhere around 1948 and God somehow left me off the assembly line for another 38 years.

4. I've loved Tom Hanks since I was three and had an imaginary friend named Josh who looked like him (thanks to Big). I often attribute my love of Cold War America with his roles in so many movies set during that time period. Last night I finally got to see him up close and personal, as my best friend and I went to see Lucky Guy, a play written by the tragically late great Nora Ephron - and also his Broadway debut. 

Tom Hanks outside of Lucky Guy

5. As an undergrad I double majored in History and Political Science with a concentration in Secondary Ed, so I basically had three majors. I am in grad school for Social Work and am already looking into my next degree (either an MPA, an MPH, or an MA in Christian counseling). I really like school... 

6. I've never had a boyfriend, and that's probably because I'm totally creeped out by the idea of going out with someone I'm not already friends with, so then I end up stuck in the "friend zone" 100% of the time - but I think God can work through that somehow (PRAY FOR ME!)

7. My favorite NYC museums are the NYC Transit Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. 

8. Despite living in NY, I have been to more Red Sox games than Yankee or Mets games - I really love the culture at Fenway. 

Road trip fun times!

9. I attended all fourteen home and road games in the 2007 National Championship LSU football season, including the BCS game. It was the best time and money I've ever spent. Travelling the region with your closest friends for five months creates a lifetime of great memories and inside jokes. I went to many more away games over the years, but that's the only year I didn't miss a single game all season. 

10. If you are ever unsure of a gift to get me, go for either a blanket or a bag of some sort - I'm convinced you can never have enough of either of those.

11. I love cities. Everything about cities. I cannot imagine living anywhere that isn't a city for a significant period of time, and I want to raise my kids in a city not a suburb or rural area. I never want to have grass to cut - but I'd be fine with a little flower bed to tend to :) 

My college football travel buddies - eternal friends :) 

The Answer to Ashley's Questions:


1. My favorite Bible verse is hard to choose, but I'd have to say it's a close tie between the one in my header, and Proverb 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."  I've thought of getting the words "lean not" tattooed on my inner wrist - I can never be reminded enough of that. 

2. I've had a celebrity crush on Tom Hanks since I was three (see above) and even as he gets older I dream of having someone as cool as him in my life. I had a crush on both Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon (an obsession, to be honest) when I was twelve and it resurfaced when The Departed came out. For the above reasons, both The Departed and Catch Me if You Can are among my top five favorite movies. Crime drama + Boston accents + these men = swoon. Also: Joseph Gordon Levitt


3. So many dream vacations! Cross country road trip with my (hopefully) someday husband. I think thats pretty far up there. I want to travel the world, but I really just want to get in a car with someone I love and visit all the quirky places in America. 


4. I want to be EVERYTHING which is why at almost 27 I'm still figuring it all out. My dream job would be part time mommy, part time adolescent social worker and/or youth minister. I'd also love to be a singer. 


5. I started blogging when I was  summer missionary here in NY in college as a way for my family and supporters to keep up with what I was doing all summer. I'm now trying to use my blog as a way to encourage folks in any way I can by sharing things God is doing in my life and teaching me at any moment. 

6. Best gifts: 

Birthday 22

• A teddy bear I still sleep with that a friend from church gave me when I had shingles in 3rd grade. 
• A friend bought me a children's book by one of my favorite authors for my birthday last year, and it was super special because it was the kind of thing I always want to buy for myself but never have a reason to, and it was something that only a good friend would know to buy for me
• For my 22nd birthday I planned dinner at my favorite restaurant but my friends went all out and made it an event including an ice cream cake, a special table with a river view, and they paid for everything. It was the best birthday ever. 
• Another friend bought me an expensive purse made by women who are in a job skills and women's empowerment program in Uganda - it included a video about the life of the woman who hand-crafted my bag. I had wanted to buy one to support the program but didn't have enough money to buy it - she had the money to buy it but knew I had wanted one - so she donated the money and gave me the goods.

My college BFF and the amazing cake

 7. Favorite TV Shows: Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Duck Dynasty
     Favorite Movies: Big, When Harry Met Sally, The Departed, Catch me if You Can, and       Sleepless in Seattle.

8. I read Ashley's blog every time she posts, I'm still acquiring others and am coming across some good ones. 

9. My Paw Paw always called me "Scooter" so my Maw Maw does too. He had a nickname for each of us, and when my mom complained that she didn't have a nickname, he started calling her "Grumpy." 

10. My favorite food is king cake, followed shortly by my grandma's jambalaya.  My least favorite food is eggs, and avocados (which actually make me incredibly crampy and nauseous)

11.According to iTunes it's "Hope for me Yet" by Marc Broussard. Not surprising. THAT. MAN'S. VOICE. AHHH....swoon. - and the lyrics, though they are about a woman loving him, remind me of how we should feel about the kind of love we are shown by Christ, so I like to remind myself every now and then of that "I could write a million verses of words you've heard before, steal some of Dylan's best but it'd leave me wanting to say more, cuz there's so much more.  If you could love someone like me, there's no end to the possibilities, hopes and dreams push away the pain and regret, and loving you just lets me know - there might be hope for me yet"