Liebster Blog Award! Yay!!

As you might recall, I spent this past weekend at a workshop/conference called Inspiration & Perspiration. It was a great weekend - filled with a little of both. There are a lot of amazing women out there, and I was delighted for the opportunity to meet so many at once. I'll do a full recap of the weekend later, but first Heidi from BananaBuzzbomb nominated me to receive the Liebster Blog Award. I am beyond honored to be included. Thank you, Heidi!!

1. What’s your favorite dish? Do I have a favorite dish? For being a super picky eater growing up, there are *surprisingly* so many dishes that I like now. If I had to choose, I guess I'd go with Spaghetti Pie for a few reasons. 1) It's relatively easy to make but also kind of special twist on boring old spaghetti. 2) It's super tasty, of course! How could a favorite dish be anything other than delicious? and 3) It reminds me of my mom. Awww...

2. Why did you start a blog? I started a blog waaaayyyy back in 2006 because I wanted an easy way to connect with my family who lived far away. It's evolved a lot over the years. You can read more about that in this post, "Why blog?"

3. If you changed your name, what would you change it to? I really didn't appreciate my name growing up. Teachers would stumble over pronouncing it. No one else ever had my name. I wanted something a little more common, but not necessarily ubiquitous, y'know? I also wanted to be able to shorten it to something fun. Not Clare. Or Clara. Now that I'm older, I love my name!

4. Why did you choose this name for your blog? I've blogged about this before, too. :) You can read it here, but basically I chose it as a reminder that I should just Enjoy the Course/Life/Etc. Don't worry about being fast (as a runner) or comparing myself to others. Embrace myself and my life.

5. What makes you crazy? Oh, this could take awhile. Seriously, though, not a lot makes me crazy. Probably #1 is drivers. In general, people drive too fast and too carelessly. This has really been driven (haha!) home to me lately as I've embraced bicycle commuting.

6. Which book are you reading atm? (or which magazine?) I wish I could say I was reading something fun and exciting or inspiring or ... anything. Most of my free time is spent blogging or on FB, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. Damn you, social media! J/k. One day I will read again. Need to charge my Kindle. Maybe that will motive me.

7. What inspires you? Honestly, I think I find most of my inspiration from within. Corny? Solipsistic? Maybe. Lately, I'm also inspired by the glorious mountains that surround the Vegas valley. And, of course, all of you!

8. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be a teacher. In fact, my younger brother and sister can attest to playing school with me where I would give them homework and pop quizzes. Yes, I was a strange child. Now that I've received my Masters in Teaching, I'm not sure I'll ever actually become a teacher.

9. What is your favorite part of blogging? Hands-down my favorite part of blogging is interacting with my readers and other bloggers. Comment Love is the best kind of love. Okay. Maybe not, but I do really enjoy getting to know others through my blog and the blogs I read.

10. What is your dream career? I'm not sure I really have a dream career. I would love something that had super flexible hours. Perhaps something with social media. Or maybe something that I could do with my husband. I actually came up with a brilliant idea (ok I stole it from someone else) that I'd really love to pursue. It would likely just be a part-time thing, at least at first. It's really just an inkling of an idea right now, but maybe within the next year or so there could be a launch of some sort. That's all I'm going to say about it right now. Stay tuned...

This literally just popped up on my FB wall, and I thought it was quite fitting.

11. If money was no object, where would you live and why? My husband would answer Gozo in the Mediterranean or an island in the Caribbean or simply on a catamaran. Me? I'd be happy living anywhere as long as we were together. And it was some place warm.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about ME! Now, it's my turn to pass this award onto a few other bloggers.

Ally at Just a Normal Mom
Hiker Mom at Livin the Fit Life
Rachel at How Now Brown Cow?
Suzanne at Cows and Lasers and Everything in Between
a.eye at Shouldn't Life Be More Than This?
Meyser at A cat on the windowsill
Katie at From Icecream to Marathon
Kat at Sneakers and Fingerpaints
Kate at Can I Get Another Bottle of Whine with My Morning Quiet Time?

I'm not sure how many I'm supposed to give this to, but I'm going to stop there. Go check them out! I've linked to their Twitter (if I had it) and their blogs. Please tell them I sent you, if you stop by.

To those I've nominated: I'm going to borrow some questions from Heidi and throw in a few of my own.

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. Why did you choose this name for your blog?
3. If money were no object, where would you live and why?
4. When you meet someone for the first time, what's the first thing you want to know about him/her?
5. What's the most unique thing about you?
6. What inspires you?
7. What's your favorite dish (to eat or prepare)?
8. Describe your ideal weekend.
9. What did you want to be when you grew up and how does it compare to what you do now?
10. What is your dream career?
11. What is your favorite song or who is your favorite artist to dance to?

Don't forget to pass the award along!
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