Liebsterville, USA

On Memorial Day, Medeia Sharif tagged me with the Liebster Award. Medeia is a sweetheart. If you don't know her, she reads more books than anyone I know and reviews what she reads. She's also a talented author.

Thanks, Medeia for including me with those you passed it to.

The rules are to post 11 fun facts, answer 11 questions, and nominate 11 bloggers.

So, I'll just get started.

Fun? Facts

I was named after my grandfather and my uncle. Those names had to be rearranged a little when I turned out to be a girl :)

I never liked playing dolls.

I liked too many other things to have a favorite.

My mother taught me to cook starting when I was about 11 or 12.

I've never changed a tire.

But I have changed a diaper.

My handwriting is AWFUL!

I'm picky.

And I'm a little OCD.

I once found myself at a formal event wearing jeans and a parka.

With sodas and chips stuffed inside all the big pockets.


Questions

1. Where were you born?
Houston

2. Where are you living now?
San Antonio

3. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Electric Lime

4. Last movie you watched?
Skyfall

5. What book are you reading now?
I have more than 60 books on my Kindle, and my life has been pretty hectic since last fall. I'm now reading THE COMPASS MASTER by Helena Soister. One of my goals for the year is to make more time for reading. I'm working on it. Can you tell I'm as behind on reading as on watching movies?

6. The power goes out. It will be out for several hours. What do you do with yourself?
Read, go outside, play with dogs, rearrange the furniture and/or accents. If the car is out of the garage, go shopping or to a movie. Especially if it's summer and the air conditioning is out.

7. What are you listening to right now?
The whirr of the air conditioner and tapping of the keys.

8. Greatest struggle as a writer?
Too many to list, and all are great struggles at one time or another. The first is just getting started.

9. What is one book you think everyone should read?
People are all different. What I love could be horrible for someone else.

10. If you could be one of the Greek gods, who would you be and why?
I keep seeing women answering Athena here. I understand why. But I'd rather be all the Muses. Or any one of them. Well, except Melpomene. I'm not much into tragedy. But see...even given a choice, I choose to be different. Character flaw.

11. Weirdest thing you've ever been told by a fortune cookie?
Those that make no sense. Or those that don't apply to your life as you know it and you worry about it for days. Or until you get the next fortune cookie.


Nominate

I'm choosing to break this rule. This award is yours for the taking.

See how easy I am :)


Sidebar News - The RIGHT Sidebar

But first, a message from your local Techie Idiot.

A couple of weeks ago, I transferred my Google Reader blogs to Bloglovin'. I love it! I put the follow button in the right-hand sidebar, directly beneath the Google Friend pictures. It's all good. So today I'm over there and click on the little settings icon and 'My Blog'. It says I have to claim my blog and paste a code here in a new blog post. It also says the code must go at the top of some blogs. If that's the case here, you'll be seeing this again on Friday - LOL. Here goes:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

So if you click on the link above or the button in the sidebar, please let me know if they work. And I'll find out if I did claim my blog :)

Can you tell I have no idea what I'm doing?

:::

At the top of the right sidebar is the entry button for the Goodreads Giveaway for Solomon's Compass. The giveaway ends at midnight Pacific Time this Thursday.

It would be fun to send a book to someone I know. Good luck!


Comments

I don't even remember if i claimed my blog in Bloglovin' or not.
Glad you didn't end up with a boy's name!
Karen Baldwin said…
It's always fun learning more about the people I know in the blogosphere. Loved your answeres
L. Diane Wolfe said…
Congrats! I was never a doll girl either. I preferred to play with cars out in the dirt.
Stina said…
I'm still surprised at how many books Medeia reads in such a short time. And she reads YA books I've never heard of.

I follow blogs with Bloglovin' too, but when I went to add the button to my sidebar, it had the name of my blog and description wrong. It was for the old version. I emailed the support team, but I don't know if they fixed the problem. I haven't tried adding again. I guess I should at some point.
Stina said…
I checked. Yours is working. Mine still has the wrong blog name listed.
Jennifer Shirk said…
I'm a little OCD too. At least that's what people tell me. LOL

I entered your giveaway!

And...I just joined Bloglovin' now. Thx for the info
Anonymous said…
Congrats on the award.

I have never heard of Bloglovin before am I missing out on something,

Yvonne.
Linda Kage said…
I think the more I learn about you, the more I like you!! I'm kind of a mess myself but my hubby is more OCD. Plus I think my kid will be OCD too. So I very much appreciate neat orderliness even though I can't achieve it myself!
Luanne G. Smith said…
I'm on Bloglovin too, but don't know what the whole "claim your blog" thing is about. I'm really lost as well and think I'm going to have a rude awakening when July 1st arrives. :P

Great answers. Glad to learn more about you. :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex - Me, too!

Em-Musing - I love learning more about other bloggers, too.

Diane - My sister did that! I liked my doll house. And riding my trike/bike. And climbing trees. And....

Stina - Thanks! Hope you get your bloglovin' issue resolved soon.

Jennifer - Cool! On both :) LOL about people telling you. Same here, but I seem normal to me. It's everyone else who doesn't want to get it together :)

Yvonne - Thank you :) Re: bloglovin'...Google Reader is going away on July 1. So if you use Google Reader to follow blogs, you will need a replacement. There are several, but I chose bloglovin' because it was easy to transfer the Google Reader blogs there.

Linda - I can't work in clutter. When my desk is clear, my mind is free to run around and mess things up with plot twists and character flaws. But if my desk is piled with stuff, all my mind wants to do is clean it up. I'm a big listmaker, too. Otherwise things on the lists run around in my head and create havoc.

Luanne - I don't know if anything changed by claiming my blog, but I did it. On July 1, we'll all be scrambling for PFDs to stay afloat.
Julie Flanders said…
I never liked playing with dolls either! I was all about stuffed animals. :) And I'm also (more than) a little OCD.

I haven't tried Bloglovin' yet but need to give it a shot.
Robin said…
A formal event in a parka. I would do something like that. hahahaha.
Anonymous said…
Another award...congratulations.
Janie Junebug said…
I can't change my blog in any way. I can't handle the confusion.

Love,
Janie
Ciara said…
I never played with dolls. I preferred action figures. :)
I saw that I'm on Bloglovin too, but I haven't done anything with it yet. Hope it all works out for you, and I'll think of you every time I check my pockets!

Julie
Carol Kilgore said…
Julie - I wasn't much into stuffed animals, but I did have one special Teddy bear.

Robin - I'm not sure who was the most surprised.

Delores - Thanks!

Janie - I don't make too many changes around here :)

Ciara - I didn't care for action figures, either. I preferred to play something that let me get outside and run and play, but I also loved books and comic books. I don't ever remember not being able to read. Except I probably had just memorized the words from having the books read to me so many times.

Julie - LOL! The whole thing is a longish story best told over a beer or glass of wine :)

M Pax said…
I loved dolls. The one time I tried to change a tire, this dude felt sorry for me and ended up doing it for me. Later on we met again and got married. :)
I've changed a tire. You're not missing anything :) And yay for girls without dolls. Like Ms. Wolfe, I played with cars in the dirt. I've been using feedly, but I may try to switch to bloglovin...

This was a fun post!
I have had this award in the past so I will pass on accepting it again, the last movie I watched was Skyfall too not that I watch movies very often but I am trying to get back into watching movies because there are so many I would like to see
Carol Kilgore said…
Mary - Great story!

Words Crafter - Good to know! I was gonna try Feedly, but opted for Bloglovin' instead.

Jo-Anne - Same for me. Skyfall was good!
Rula Sinara said…
Electric lime...love it. That made me grin. Yeah...I'm OCD too...and proud of it ;)
LD Masterson said…
I want to hear more about you showing up at a formal event in jeans and a parka.
Congratulations on the award. Fun tidbits about you. Coolest fortune I ever got in a cookie is still pinned to the bulletin board in my office: "You have a way with words. You should write a book." (I kid you not!)
I understand your techno confusion... it plagues me as well...
Feedly, bloglovin and a host of other thinggies...I'm totally lost!
Just when I get the hang of one thing------- back to square 1!
Writer In Transit
Emily R. King said…
No tire changing (yet) but more than my share in diapers. For sure! Congrats on your award!
Carol Kilgore said…
Rula - Yay! Come stand over here with us ... and keep the line straight :)

LD - That's a story for telling in person. Let me know when you'll be in San Antonio :)

Susan - Awesome fortune cookie!

Michelle - Exactly!

Emily - Diapers may not be as heavy as tires, but they're certainly smellier!
Morgan said…
You're so entertaining, Carol! I love reading more about you!
Anonymous said…
I love lime. It's so bright.

I've been meaning to see Skyfall. I love me some Daniel Craig.

It was great learning more about you.
Carol Kilgore said…
Morgan - Like a monkey on a leash :)

Medeia - Daniel Craig was awesome :)
Melissa said…
I enjoyed reading about you. :)
~Sia McKye~ said…
I haven't had time to explore Bloglovin. All I know is I'm not impressed with HUGE google's quitting or being able to compete with other media. sigh...

I have some favorites but it really has to wow me to get on that list. A formal do in jeans and a parka. Now that's a story I'd love to hear more about. :-)

Sia McKye OVER COFFEE

Nas said…
Congrats! Loved reading all your answers! I wonder if you played with spy cameras/binoculars and walkie talkies?

Love Medeia's reviews.

Nas
VR Barkowski said…
Congrats on the Liebster! And of course you're picky and a little OCD. You're a writer. We're all discriminating, didn't you know? ;)

VR Barkowski
cleemckenzie said…
The Liebster hath landed yet again! Congrats on that and congrats on making the new rule. Much more sensible than the old one.
Ha, I'd love to know the story behind that formal event.

congrats on your award!
Michael Di Gesu said…
Congrats on the award Carol!

Fun facts.... Electric lime green... Now that's a color!

And how cool would it be to be a MUSE>....
David Oliver said…
I really liked your answer to question 9 - what book do you think everyone should read?

To me that says you are absolutely fine with people being who they want to be and it is not necessary to fit a mold.
Carol Kilgore said…
Melissa - Cool :)

Sia - Both the teller and the listener have to be in the right frame of mind to truly appreciate The Parka Affair.

Nas - Yes! To walkie-talkies and binoculars. I never had a spy camera, or I would have played with it, too. I loved binoculars!

VR - LOL! Discriminating sounds so much more genteel :)

Lee - I thought so :)

Lynda - Must be told in person. Come visit!

Michael - That's the color of my laundry room. It makes me smile. And I need that matching up socks :)

David - Absolutely! Each of us has a path to follow. Life would be pretty darn boring if all of us were alike.
Helena said…
First off, THANK YOU so much, Carol darling, for reading my book! And isn't it kinda funny I'm reading and loving Solomon's Compass at the same time? (Two compass books, so cool!)

Dolls always bored me, especially because I wanted things like a horse and a treehouse instead. As for colors, I'd be crimson. I've never changed a tire, which kinda scares me because what if one day I absolutely have to in an emergency? Which tells you that I'm a worrier by nature, not very OCD, but definitely and secretly crazy.
Congratulations on your well-deserved award!!! You learned to cook at 11? I still haven't learned LOL.
Carol Kilgore said…
Helena - I'm loving your book, too! Family Life has descended big-time here, and my reading time has been cut to basically nothing. But I grab a few minutes here and there. I'm hoping for better reading opportunities soon.

I always wanted a treehouse, but never had one. Live-In Handyman is the worrier in our family. He does enough for two :)

I think we could figure out how to change a tire if it was absolutely necessary. I hope!
Carol Kilgore said…
OE - Our posts crossed. I did, but Mom started me out doing very basic stuff. The first time I made mashed potatoes, I didn't put water in the pan. Talk about a stinky mess! Then she made me scrub the pot so I would remember to put water in next time.
Tara Tyler said…
i love your fun facts! jeans are great at any occasion!
and answers were fun too, skyfall was excellent!

i am scared & sad to lose google friends. i joined feedly, but as soon as i have to pay, i may make some changes...
I'm running out of time to make a switch, but more bloggers are recommending feedly than bloglovin' so I may try that.
Carol Kilgore said…
Tara - I think there's a good chance July 1 could be marked by mass confusion. I hope not.

Patricia - I decided on bloglovin' on a whim. If it doesn't work out well, I'll switch again.
Tina said…
I love reading people's lists and answers to those questions. Greek God, huh? I think I'd better pick Poseidon, I know he's male...but I have an irrational fear of drowning so maybe that would cure me...
Tina @ Life is Good
Carol Kilgore said…
Tina - Poseidon sounds like a winner!

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