Flattered.

Did you know you've been reading an award-winning blog?  I didn't know I was writing one until I got a very nice message from Ruth over at Kangath Knits a few days ago.  She told me how much she enjoyed my blog and said that she wanted to include it as one of the blogs she was passing the "Liebster Award" on to later this week.  

Who wouldn't love getting a message like that?!  I was all   

                                                                                                                              

Also, I'm always thrilled to know that there are people who read this blog that aren't related to me by blood! 

Then I got curious and started to wonder what the idea behind this award was.  Was it really a thing?  Was there any sort of criteria for being nominated for it?  Well, the internets are a beautiful thing, and I came across this little snip:

So, as it turns out, the idea behind this award it to recognize "smaller" blogs, so that perhaps more people are exposed to them and the blogging community can grow.  I think that's a great idea, andI look forward to passing the award on to others sometime in the not-so-distant future!

For now, I will answer the questions posed by Ruth, then tell you 11 random things about myself!

1. What kind of music do you like? I listed to pop music most of the time and have a pretty wide range of artists on my iPod - from Tori Amos and Barry Manilow to Ben Folds, Willy Porter, and the cast of Glee.  I also have a slight addiction to certain musicals.  I could probably sing the entire score  of Les Mis or West Side Story right now.

2. Do you prefer the weather to be so cold your nose hairs freeze or so hot you sweat just thinking about moving? I know it's probably knitting blasphemy to admit this, but I hate cold weather.  Give me a 95 degree day, a little shade, a lawn chair and a good book, and I wouldn't even have to worry about moving!

3. If you were forced to choose only one knitting technique to use for the rest of your life, would it be cabling, color work, or lace?  No contest.  Cables.
4. What was the last book you read? I think the last book I finished was "Let's Pretend This Never Happened", which I recommend to anyone with a good sense of humor, but that was a few months ago.  I'm currently reading "Bonk".
5. How do you tie shoelaces? Make a loop with one lace, wrap the other lace around and pull it through the hole to make a bow.  But honestly, the only shoes that I have to tie are the ones I wear to the gym.
6. Name one thing you have done that you will never do again.  This was a tough one, because I don't really live with any memorable regrets.  So I'll say "have another child".  I love the two that we have with all my heart, but I know that, as a family of 4, we are complete!
7. Describe your relationship with your camera.  Getting better & better every time we work together!
8. Apples or bananas? Apples.  Honeycrisp.
9. What scares you? The thought of anything bad happening to one of my kids.
10. Name three knit designers whose work you admire. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, because I really enjoy her writing, Stephanie Dosen from Tiny Owl Knits because I think she found her niche and does a beautiful job with it, and Sarah Wilson over at The Sexy Knitter because she and I seem to share a similar aesthetic.
11. What do you like to do after a hard day? Knit a pattern that is already written!

11 Random Things You Don't Even Know You Want to Know About Me:
1. I've had a pretty random collection of jobs in the last 20 years.  Some of the highlights: candy striper, waitress at ChiChis, telemarketer for an insurance company, wedding/funeral singer, music teacher/choir director, and now knitwear designer!
2. I used to be involved in theater as a teenager / young adult.  I played "Laurie" in "Oklahoma" and "Abby" in "Arsenic & Old Lace" and have been in a hand full of other shows, and even one opera.  It's one of those things that I'd love to get back to "one day".
3. I lived my entire childhood in the same community that my parents and grandparents (and one great-grandparent!) all grew up and lived most of their lives in.
4. I'm one of those people who really believes she can do anything she sets her mind to, but knows that there are seasons in life, and not all goals are compatible with all seasons.  And I know that the reason I believe in myself like that is because I was blessed with outstanding parents and some top-notch teachers.
5. I really enjoy learning new things.  It's the only way to keep life interesting.
6. My favorite thing in the world to eat is chocolate chip cookies.
7. I'm a difficult person to really get to know well, but there is nothing I wouldn't do for my friends.
8. I got the attention of the man I married when we were in college and I called the radio show he helped to dj on our college station to dedicate a song to him.  Embarrassingly enough, the song was "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses". (It was going to be "Desperado", but the person that answered the phone said they didn't have that song, and this was the best I could come up with in a frantic few seconds of having to pick a different song!)
9. I briefly considered being a psychologist when I was in high school.  But then I decided that listening to people talk about negative stuff all day wasn't something I was built to handle well.
10. I love competing.  My favorite is the "Amazing Race" my husband and I compete in on a team with another couple, that is sponsored by the park district in our town every fall.  Those are some of the most fun days we've had.
11. If I fantasize about what I'd love to do if money were no object and I wasn't concerned about having a stable home for my kids, I'd love to live all over the world, changing locations every 6 months or a year.  I think it would be fascinating to meet different people and really get to see the "regular life" part of all the different cultures that exist in this world.