Liebster Award

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!  I didn't go shopping, but enjoyed a relaxing long relaxing weekend, enjoying lunch with friends, movies, a few good runs and yoga, in addition to running errands.  So nice!  

I just recently started blogging in October, after reading all the other wonderful blogs out there.  I am learning so much from reading everyone's blogs.  So it was a nice surprise came when I found out that my blog was nominated three times for The Liebster Award!  That's so cool!  The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. It is to show new bloggers that they are appreciated and to help spread the word about new blogs.

The rules:

- You most post 11 random things about yourself.

- Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

- Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.

- Choose 11 blogs you love (with less than 200 followers) and link them in your post.

- No tag back (but please leave a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you)!

So thank you

?The Lower Elementary Cottage, ?Diary of a First Grade Teacher and ?Mindful Rambles for nominating me.

11 Random Things about Me:
1) I lived in Mexico for 5 years when I was 6 years old.
2) I lived in London, England for 2 years and graduated from the American School in London.
3) I lived and worked on a kibbutz in Israel for 10 weeks (basically a cooperative-everyone works for their common good)
4) I'm writing a fictional story based on my experiences there.
5) I followed my dream and moved from New York to California without a job.  Luckily I had relatives to stay with and teach special education so I was hired fairly quickly.
6) I moved again 9 years later to Arizona so I could be closer to my family.
7) We have a family cottage in MN that has been in our family for 102 years and built by my great-great grandfather.
8) I love swing dancing, belly dancing and just about any kind of dancing-especially ballroom.
9) I love yoga and just started running again
10) I love going to the ocean, and try and make it to the ocean a few times a year.  Luckily, we live 6 years hours away from California and the ocean.
11) I love to travel and learn new languages.  I already know a lot of Spanish and some Norwegian.

Questions from the people that nominated me:

The Lower Elementary Cottage: 

1. How long have you been blogging?
I started in October, so two months.
2. Favorite food?
It's a toss up between pizza and spaghetti
3. Best thing you've learned since becoming a blogger?
I've picked so many wonderful ideas and suggestions.  I've been reading a lot about whole brain teaching and I'm looking forward to implementing a lot of the strategies into my lessons and classes.
4. How many siblings do you have?
I have one brother who lives in Ohio with his family.
5. Who was your favorite teacher?
I can't remember their names, but my 7th grade social studies teacher-he made social studies fun.  Also, my junior year biology teacher.  He laid out everything so nicely, and made science so interesting.
6. Do you play any sports?
Does swing dancing count? ; )  I love yoga, running and hiking-although I guess they really wouldn't be considered sports.

7. What music do you play to put you in a good mood?
ELO, or Earth Wind and Fire anything from the 70's
8. Who was your first roomate?
I roomed with a girl named Becky from college
9. Did you leave your home state to go to college?  How far did you go?
After returning from England, my parents returned to New York, and I went to school in Minnesota.
10. Favorite thing about being a teacher?
Seeing the students get it, which sometimes takes a lot longer as a special ed. teacher.
11. Favorite form of take out food after a busy day?
I love Subway sandwiches.  Yummy!

From Mindful Rambles:
1. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? 
I'd love to fly, so I can move quickly from place to place without worrying about being in people's way. 
2. If you weren't a teacher or educator, what would you be?
I think being an event planner would be fun, or being a writer.
3. If you had to choose: sense of smell or sense of taste?
I think sense of taste since it would help me enjoy some amazing food even more.
4. What is your favorite genre of book?
It's a toss up between historical fiction or chick lit.
5. What is your favorite genre of music?
Probably either 70's music or old style jazz and big band
6. If you could visit any place in the world and money was no object, where would it be?    
Anywhere along the French or Italian Riviera or the Amalfi Coast.  Love the lifestyle there. 
7. What was your favorite subject in school?  What was your least favorite? 
I loved Language Arts, Social Studies or History.  Math was my least favorite. 
8. What is one way you incorporate a healthy lifestyle?
I try and get enough sleep, eat healthy, and I'm working on incorporating a regular exercise routine.  I love practicing yoga and have started running again.
9. How many hours of sleep do you get each night?
Anywhere between 6-7 hours a night.
10. What is your favorite drink alcholic or not?
I love iced tea and wine.  

From Diary of a First Grade Teacher:
1. What did you want to grow up to be when you were a kid?
Something in the helping professions-a teacher, police officer or a social worker
2. Last good movie you saw?
I just saw Lincoln on Thanksgiving.  It was good.
3. Have you always been a teacher or was this a career change?
I've always been a teacher and always in special ed. in some form or another.
4.  What's your best piece of advice for a new teacher?
Read Harry Wong's First Days of School.  Teach routines and expectations.  Also, spend time building a rapport with your students-even the toughest ones.  It pays off in the end.
5. What else do you do during your spare time?
I love going swing dancing, practice yoga, go running, hiking, hanging out in coffee shops and writing or hanging out with family and friends. 
6. What is your favorite school break?
I love Christmas because it's such a festive time of year and the weather is cooler so there are more things to do outdoors.
7. Are there other grades you would like to teach?
Not really.  I teach a variety now K-5. 
8. What's your favorite gift from a student?
A spoon that he bought in Disneyland for me.
9. What's your favorite snack?
I love chips and dip. 
10. Black and white or color?
Definitely color
11. If you had an unlimited supply of money what would you do with it?
Pay my bills, give to charity, fund the college tuition for my nieces and nephew, travel everywhere I want to travel, buy a house, and teach and be able to buy anything I want for my classroom.

Here are my questions:
1) How long have you been blogging?
2) Why did you start your blog?
3) Where and what do you teach?
4) What is your favorite food?
5) What is your favorite television show?
6) What do you do when your not teaching or blogging?
7) Last good book you read?
8) Last good movie you saw?
9) Last memorable vacation?
10) Where have traveled?
11) Favorite time of year?      

Here are my nominations: 
1) ?The Lightbulb Lab 
2) ?The Teachers Work Room 
3) ?The Cornerstone Classroom 
4) ?Autism Tank 
5) ?Toad-ally Exceptional Learners 
6) ?Special Teacher for Special Kids 
7) ?Special Smarts Special Hearts
 8) ?Breezy Special Ed 
9) ?Awesomeness and Autism 
10)?If you give a teacher a treat 
11)?Literacy Sundae with Common Core on Top! 

This is so fun!  I can't wait to learn more about everyone else!

PS  When I try and put the link names up, it comes up with a name and a question mark in front of it.  Am I doing something wrong?  I know the links work, but not sure why the ? mark in front of the name.