Liebster Blog Award

A few days ago, I got an email from Rivki of Life in the Married Lane, nominating me for the Liebster Blog Award.  The Liebster Blog Award is given to new bloggers with less than 200 followers.  The rules are:

1. Tell 11 things about yourself.

2. Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.

3. Nominate 11 bloggers, and post 11 questions for them to answer.

4. Contact those bloggers whom you nominated, to inform them of their nomination.

Here goes . . .

A. Answers to Rivki’s Questions:

1) Either poopy diapers (because they stink too much) or dishes /kitchen cleaning (because I used to have eczema, still have sensitive skin, and am a bit lazy about it).

2) Probably the mitzva (commandment) of living in, and protecting, the land of Israel.  Or, the mitzva to handle other peoples’ money the same way you handle your own; not stealing or cheating (including the government and other taxpayers).

3) I would pick my name, because I happen to love it!  As a matter of fact, I would love to give my name to a daughter – except that in Jewish tradition children are not usually named after their parents.

4) I’m not sure I have one.  If I had to choose, it would have to be either finishing my degree, nursing for 14 months (with no formula whatsoever; in Israel, this is extremely rare), or managing to keep my sanity (and a decent salary) while also keeping Shlomo out of daycare.

5) I think my favorite holiday is Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) because you get dressed, go to shul (synagogue), and spend the whole day praying.  No brushing teeth, no showering, no eating, nothing else you need to be doing.  After Yom Kippur, I’d have to say Chanuka, because it’s an 8-day holiday, with vacation, but with hardly any major obligations.  Then Pesach (Passover), because for some reason, I think of it as an absolutely beautiful holiday.

6) I think Israel is beautiful, especially the greener parts, rivers, mountains, and deserts.  (Um, doesn’t that include all of Israel?)  But, honestly, I don’t think that I can rate one area of Israel above any others; each is breathtakingly beautiful in its own way.

7) I don’t usually listen to music, and when someone puts music on to brighten the mood, I get annoyed.  I like quiet the best.

8) Either a specific types of chocolate, cookies, and cake, or almost any type of cheese.

9) Yes, I did have a list before marriage.  It was a five-and-five list: Five things that my future husband must have; five things that I would like, but are not necessary; and five things that I will not live with.  I have the list somewhere in my [and my husband’s] memory, but it is not for this post.  However, I did get pretty much everything on my list, excluding some of the “not-necessary wants”.  I do not think I would have married someone who did not fit my list – nor do I think he would have married me.

10) I think I would play the violin.  I have always had a fascination with it.

11) I would go to New York, visit some friends for a day or so, and visit the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s gravesite.  Then I would go to Toronto for two or three weeks, to visit family and friends that I haven’t seen in too long.  And then I would go to Kentucky, so that I could spend time with my in-laws, indefinitely.  And then back home.

B. 11 things about myself:

1) I moved to Israel when I was 19, without my family.

2) I regularly buy my clothes second-hand.  For a few years, I would buy clothes new, once or twice a year, when absolutely necessary.  Since my marriage, I have completely stopped that.  Why bother spending the time to buy expensive clothes when I’ll either gain or lose weight in the next few months?  Plus, older styles are much more to my taste than newer ones.  Yitzchak feels bad about this (all his clothes he buys new), but I don’t mind it.  I also hate clothes shopping, which is another reason why I prefer to buy second-hand instead of going from store to store trying to find something I will wear and is within my budget.

3) I can count the number of times I wore proper makeup on one hand.  Only one of those times (our wedding) was after I met my husband.  Usually, I just cover my pimples so that they’re not too awful, and forget the rest.  I also ran out of pimple cover-up three and a half weeks ago, and have yet to go out to buy more.

4) Since we got married, we have not had an oven (gasp).  This is because during our first year, we did not have space for an oven/stove unit (we have a three-burner stove on our counter, always have), and now it is because we are lazy and keep pushing it off.  Yes, we cook on the stove.  We have figured out how to cook chicken, pizza, lasagna, and lots of other things using a stove.  Amazing, right?

5) In three years, we have moved twice.  Our first and third (current) apartments had/has two rooms each; the second apartment had five rooms, was temporary, and was way too big.

6) Everything in our house has a place where it belongs.  If I’m not sure that it will have a definite place, then I don’t bring it in the house.  This also helps to cut unnecessary spending, since we have a small house that can only fit so much.  Exceptions are free books, which displace other books. However, the displaced books now have a home: a laundry basket under the table.  One of these days, we will get another bookshelf (or two, replacing one of the ones that we currently have).  It’s on the list, after the toaster oven.  Because, of course, if the bookshelf was before the toaster oven, I have a feeling that we would have the bookshelf next month and the toaster oven (to vary our menus a bit) in at least another year.

7) I don’t mind going against the crowd, even if it means I’m not popular.

8) Before we got married, somebody asked us how many kids we wanted.  We said 20.  (FTR, I don’t think that will happen, considering that nursing works as birth control.)

9) I never, ever, ever thought that I would be happy as a stay-at-home, or work-at-home, mother.  Now, I want Yitzchak to find a job that will allow us to lead simple lives on one salary, so that if I choose to work from home, whatever I earn will be extra.

10) I am the oldest of five children (three girls, two boys), and my husband is the second youngest of five boys.

11) A month before we got married, I cut my own hair during my lunch break (it took ten minutes), to make a beard for my Purim costume.

C. 11 Questions for My Nominees:

1) What do you consider to be the three most important things in your life?

2) What made you decide to start blogging?

3) Books or television?  Why?

4) If someone accused your child of bullying theirs, how would you react?  Why?

5) What subjects do you enjoy reading about?

6) What do you consider to be the most important factor in a marriage?

7) There are many, many older (30+) singles today, as well as a high rate of divorce.  What do you think is the cause?

8) Why did you choose your city of residence?

9) How do you and your spouse handle finances?

10) What is your favorite household chore?  Why?

11) The classic: If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

D. Nominees:

1) BeEnough

2) Balance and Grace

3) Rach

4) Sporadic Intelligence

5) Jessica

6) Sarale

7) Curiodyssey

8) Carrie

9) Memyselfandkids

Hm, I only have nine nominees who fit the bill.  Anyone have suggestions?