Liebster Blog Award - Thanks Carrot Top

Thank you Carrot Top from the wonderful Little Bay horse for nominating me for the Liebster Award! You should definitely check out her blog if you haven't already, always full of wonderful cartoon drawings of her horses and fantastic anecdotes & stories from her adventures with SP (Show Pony), BCM (Big Chestnut Mare) and LBH (Little Bay Horse)!

 
HOW TO ACCEPT THE AWARD: The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs who have less than 200 followers.  Liebster is a German word that means beloved and valued.  Here are the rules for accepting the award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
5. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs.
6. Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them.

Eleven Random Facts About Me

1. I am the oldest of three girls.
2. I suffer a bit of an identity crisis in that I don't know where I am from. I was born in the USA to Irish parents and grew up in Luxembourg. I went back to Ireland for university and although I very much think of myself as Irish - I don't quite fit in there. I am a foreigner wherever I am!
3. I don't drink alcohol or go out for nights out at the weekends - just doesn't really appeal to me anymore.
4. I love my job & the people I work with, I'm lucky to be part of a great team/unit.
5. I wish I had a more conventionally spelt first name - it's going to make competing on the continent difficult if i ever decide to be brave and take out a license.
6. I was born 2 and a half months premature.
7. My eye colour alternates between green & blue depending on what I am wearing - usually flipping to exactly the colour I don't want them to be, ie: I am wearing blue clothes they go green & vice versa, :p
8. I am a massive Rugby fan, I have my team I support (MUNSTER) & watch as many games as I can on TV - have never played myself as (a) I am a wimp & (b) I am a lazy sod who wouldn't run for a bus let alone for "fun".
9. I am only just learning to drive!
10. I semi-fear technology and feel like an old fogey/disconnected as I stay away from facebook/twitter/tumblr etc and have no idea how to use them!
11. I found answering these questions & thinking up random facts about myself ridiculously difficult! It's taken me two days to finalise this post!

Eleven questions for me

1.  What's the last book you read cover-to-cover? Triple Infinity from the Flame Moon series by KJ Jackson. I stumbled across the first book as a free ebook for Kindle on amazon and flew through it, so when the second book was released I snapped it up as I was invested in the characters and wanted to find out what happened next. Second book was a bit smuttier than I'd normally read but still liked the storyline and am looking forward to next installment after epilogue at the end of second book!

2. Have you ever broken a bone, and if so how? Fractured the ring finger on my right hand, summer 2008 - horse riding...lol, how else when I do nothing else remotely sporting.

3.  If you could chose any super-power, what would it be? Teleporting of myself and those around me - would cut out on all the traveling it takes to get to places if i could just blink & will myself there!

4. What would you change about the horse world that doesn't have to do with animal abuse or money? Gosh that's a tough one...I can't think of anything to change that doesn't touch off of abuse or stem from or need money...what a nasty question - showing my ignorance & highlighting my lack of imagination!

5. What are those 'Baby on Board' signs for cars really for? Nobody have ever been able to give me a satisfying answer. Is it not a warning that they can be carrying children in the vehicle in case for whatever reason that might stop someone from crashing into them or robbing the car or something...I don't know have never actually thought about it  again you are showing up my lack of knowledge & open-mindedness/inquisitiveness

6. What are your 3 favourite words? Do people actually have favourite words...I've never thought about it to be honest, gosh I am beginning to feel very naive, sheltered & narow-minded in answering these questions! Judging from the last three answers, I think Gosh, is cropping up pretty frequently in this post! I like the non-word a friend of mine in uni made up, to snot oneself, namely to fall over/flat on your face - love it! And erm...waffle, i guess both the food and the fact it is used to describe 90% of my posts! I'll also add onomatopoeia as I like the intonation and the way it rolls off your tongue, :p, and to snot oneself isn't a real word!

7. What's the most 'out there' thing you believe in? I believe in fate & everything happening for a reason, not necessarily out there - but there ya go. I think things happen to us for whatever reason, be they good or bad and whether or not we appreciate them at them time. Everything has a way of working itself out eventually and lessons are learned. I also believe in karma & treating others as one wishes to be treated - I try to live by those principles...although perhaps I am not always successful - I am only human after all!

8. Describe the last time you laughed out loud. Re-reading Kitty Catastrophe's take on EL James Fifty Shades book - Makes me cry with laughter every time! In fact many of her posts have me sniggering when reading them at my desk in work trying not to laugh out loud! LINK

9. Mares, geldings or stallions? I've only really owned mares, and have to say I am partial to them - but so long as the animal is healthy, happy and rideable ... I'll love it!

10. Who would you most like to go on a trail ride with? Anyone who is a friend and we can have enjoyable chats & laugh as we discover new sights.

11. What's the most ridiculous thing you've bought for riding or horses? I try to only buy things I need and/or will use. Owning two on livery keeps my frivolous spending curbed so I actually can't think of anything in particular that I have bought that could be classed as ridiculous - although I guess ridiculousness depends on the eye of the beholder. I reckon if you asked my mother she would say buying a second horse was ridiculous (although I think she's changed her tune seeing how well Nancy has fit in and how happy she makes everyone - herself included), The Mammy also takes offense to the amount of rugs I own, so I guess some might call that ridiculous. But at the same time I don't not use any of them - so to me they are necessities and not ridiculous at all! ;-)


Eleven questions from me

1. What's your earliest horse-related memory and have you photographs from the early days to share? (Please say yes & post them!)
2. What did you have for lunch today?
3. Have you any pets? If yes names & info please ;-)
4. Who is your sporting hero/idol?
5. Have you ever ridden a horse on a beach/in the sea?
6. Do you live to work or work to live?
7. Have you traveled to other countries? If yes, which ones?
8. Do you listen to music while you ride? Mp3 with personal music or radio?
9. Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey? If not I suggest you check the link above for a good laugh.
10. What was your first horse called? Tell us a bit about them, age/breed7disciplines worked on together...
11. What's your favourite song on the radio at the moment?

Eleven Nominations for the Liebster Award
In no particular order:
Equestrian Reality - Hilarious blog about the things they don't tell you in stable management books & by the same ingeniusly funny author The Random Adventures of Little L
From yard brush to paintbrush to creatures great and small & Equine art and more, look over my shoulder and join me in my studio - two great blogs by a lovely local artist I met when I used to live in Ireland.
Life of Riley - Another very talented lady who creates beautiful unique paper cut portraits, who is re-embarking on horse ownership with a lovely young TB named Riley.
Tails From Provençe - A lovely blog about life in the South of France after moving lock stock & barrel from Ireland with two horses & two dogs in tow. Always beautiful envy inducing snapshots of scenery and food accompanying restaurant & lately picnic reviews! *drool*
The First Day of the Rest of my Life is a blog that has truly inspired me, Jen also blogs @ Tails of the Off Track Thoroughbred
Guinness on Tap  - An OTTB & his owner's forray into the Dressage world.
lorlee1 - The ramblings and happenings of an irish woman living in Africa (I am beginning to notice a trend to my reading preferences having a patriotic feel to them!)
A Blonde, Brunette, and a Redhead - follows the life of a lovely Hafflinger & his owner.
Photos & Sketches - another art blog, I wish I was artistic - but I'm not I love nothing more than admiring everyone else's amazing work! This artist kindly drew my portraits of Kika last summer.
'Capture The Light' Photo - a cool Equine photography blog from professionals who share their knowledge - a must for me as i try to figure out how to get the best out of my DSLR camera.
lucysax - unfortunately she doesn't update as often as I'd like as her posts are hilarious...they have to be read to be appreciated!

Hopefully there are blogs mentioned that my own readers may not have come across before, i read so many more, but a lot of them have already been nominated by other bloggers! That doesn3t mean I don't love your blogs guys - I just want to spread the Liebster Love if I can!