So cool!

Darlene, at Meatballs in the Middle - what a great name for a blog - nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award. Which is super cool, not just because "she likes me, she really, really likes me" (do you have to be old to get that paraphrase or has it been around for so long that everyone knows it?) It means a lot because there's something about someone else affirming you for writing about what you love. I don't always do it well, but people out there in blogland are reading what I write. What we ALL write. How cool is that?

   And the rules are:
1. Post 11 random things about yourself
2. Answer the questions the nominator set for you
3. Create 11 questions for your nominees.
4. Choose 11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers to nominate and link them to your post.
5. No tag backs, but please leave a comment on this post if you were nominated so I can learn more about you and see who you nominate.

 So, first eleven random things about myself....
1. I was born in a town outside Paris, France.
2. When I registered to vote, the woman who wrote down my birthplace wrote it down as Paris, Frantz. 
3. I haven't thought about that in years!
4. I once thought about becoming a Broadway star. I love to sing, would never pass a dance audition, and can only act really well in front of my class. But that didn't stop my dream. And notice that I didn't say I wanted to act. No, I was going right to Broadway.
5. I didn't become a teacher until 12 years ago.
6. I am a "divebomb into the pool" kind of person when it comes to teaching. I'm not afraid to try, I learn and refine as I go. I'm not that way at all when I swim.
7. There's something about running in the early morning that puts my head in the right place. A treadmill makes me crazy. It's something about being out in the fresh air. Forget that it's dark or cold, or dark and cold.
8. I run more in my head than I do in real life. Although I've been running 3-4 times a week since the beginning of last summer.
9. I have the best spaghetti sauce recipe.
10. I always start the year wondering how I'll feel about my new class, and end up the year falling in love with them. Why do I always wonder if I will?
11. If you had told me when I was in high school or college that I would become a teacher, I would have vehemently denied it. And probably argued with you for days about how I wasn't going to go into such a female-dominated field. The world was my oyster and I was going to conquer it. I love teaching. Really, really am intrigued by it.

Now for the questions Meatballs in the Middle gave me!

Which color reflects your personality? Oh my.  Depends on the day.  I like turquoise, periwinkle, fuscia, and sometimes, just a nice brown.  Go figure.  Guess I have multiple personalities?

What is your favorite movie about education? That oldie but goodie, Stand and Deliver, and Akeelah and the Bee.

What book are you currently reading? Pirates by Celia Rees to stay ahead of my kiddos, and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.  Which is good, but hard because I have to really concentrate.

Which song reflects your classroom? Have to think about that one....too many come to mind

Do you have a favorite picture book? Which one? If You Give a Mouse a Cookie reflects the way I get myself into projects!

If your students could only remember one thing about your class, what would you want them to remember? That I pushed them hard, and that they fell in love with reading on the way.  That they learned that you can be cool AND smart.

Which people would you bring with you if you had to be stranded on a deserted island? Well, I'd love to have my husband and kids with me.

You're on the deserted island with all of your favorite people, but you can only have 3 nonessential objects.

What are they? Nutella, fruit, and some cheeseandcrackers.  That's one item.

If you could, which moment of your life would you wear on a locket around your neck?
Which famous person would you bring back from the dead to have a chat with?
Are these questions too hard, and do you want to stab me with a dull knife right about now ? :-)

.....many days later.  At that point, I stopped, saved this post, and went to bed.  And woke up the next day with a family emergency, lots to do at school, and all of a sudden, blogging moved to the back burner.  So I'm going to post this now, and I promise I will take some time in the next few days to finish it.
 
    Taking my son (my baby!) back to college tomorrow, but hopefully things will calm down as the week goes on.  Or not.  You know how that is!  :)

Have a good rest of the weekend~
Marion