Liebster Award Nomination

I was recently nominated for the Liebster Award by my blogging friend, Genetic Learning. Check out their blog to read the latest news about GMOs (genetically modified organisms). I am honored to be nominated and am excited to participate!

Rules

1. Acknowledge the blog who nominated you.
2. Answer the 11 questions your nominator asked.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers.
4. Ask them 11 questions.
5. Tell 10 random facts or things about yourself.
6. Let them know you have nominated them.

 Genetic Learning’s 11 Questions

1. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS, AND IF SO, WHAT ANIMAL ARE THEY?

I don’t currently have any pets, but I love animals and regularly visit friends and family members with pets. I’m hoping to get a Bernese Mountain Dog or Leonberger once I have a home with a backyard.

2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SNACK?

I’m a huge fan of dark chocolate, but when I’d prefer something salty I eat salt and vinegar chips. Cucumbers and hummus would be a close third.

3. ABOUT HOW MANY POSTS HAVE YOU MADE?

To date, I have 72 posts.

4. ABOUT HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD YOUR BLOG?

I began this blog on April 1st, 2018. So, I’ve been blogging for about 10 weeks.

5. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A STRAY CAT OR DOG JUST WALK UP TO YOUR HOUSE AND BEG FOR FOOD?

My family always had a soft spot for animals and they seemed to sense that we were suckers. The stray animals didn’t necessarily beg for food, but we had many stop by to say hello.

6. HAVE YOU EVER KEPT A STRAY ANIMAL?

Over the course of my childhood we had three dogs and five cats, all of which were adopted strays. I don’t know the story of the dog and two cats my parents already had when I was born, but I’ll share a bit about the others.

A big orange dog showed up at our door when I was 10. My parents were leaving the country the next day, so they boarded him until they returned and could search for his owner. After a month of calling him “dog,” we accepted that he didn’t have a home and named our fluffy new friend Beau. Shortly thereafter, my parents heard that someone was searching for a new home for a little stray cat. We took him in and named him Angel.

In 2011, a family friend found a litter of newborn kittens in an abandoned home. We picked out two and took Owen and Sebastian home.

In 2014, my brother’s friend had an unexpected litter of puppies and suddenly we had a tiny Golden Retriever mix in the house. Misha quickly became a beloved member of the family.

7. ON A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW MUCH DID YOU KNOW ABOUT GENETICS BEFORE READING MY BLOG?

I would say around a five. Genetics is a topic I’ve always been interested in, but I’ve heavily researched some niche areas while knowing hardly anything about others.

8. HOW MANY BLOGS OR WEBSITES DO YOU HAVE?

This is currently my only blog. I had a separate blog for several years, which I shut down in 2013 due to harassment by a troll. I love the sense of community, but wanted to start over with some anonymity.

9. WHICH IS BETTER, SPICY FOOD OR SOUR FOOD?

I absolutely adore spicy food! Whether the intense burst of Thai chili, the slow burn of Indian curry, or the numbing sensation of the Chinese Szechuan pepper, I deeply appreciate well-spiced dishes.

10. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?

My all-time favorite show is Battlestar Galactica. I’m not typically a fan of science fiction shows, but the story line and the character development are incredible. The plot unfolds with each episode, the relationships are believable, and the show ties up everything nicely at the end.

11. WHEN WILL YOUR NEXT ANNIVERSARY FOR YOUR WEBSITE BE?

The one-year anniversary of this site will be April 1st, 2019. Hooray!

10 Random Facts About Me

1. My Myers-Briggs personality is INFJ, the rarest personality type of them all.
2. I am highly ticklish, but it mores along a sliding scale and is inversely related to how tired I am.
3. I don’t like how the American education is set up and could spend days detailing the ways it’s failing citizens, as well as possible solutions to those shortcomings.
4. I adore animals and get overly excited every time I see a dog, cat, squirrel, bird, or an any other little creature.
5. I’ve been following research surrounding the use psilocybin to treat existential fear in cancer patients since 2011, and am happy to see it gaining traction as an natural alternative to pharmaceuticals.
6. I’m hoping to move to the Pacific Northwest within the next several years because I want to be among the mountains and forests.
7. I recently learned that I have “low volume” feet, which is why my foot had always slid around in my shoes.
8. One of my favorite hobbies is jigsaw puzzles and I wish I could carve out more uninterrupted time to work on them.
9. As a child, I was obsessed with America’s Most Wanted and a gruesome book on forensic anthropology, hoping to one day help analyze crime scenes to make sense of the crime and the criminal’s intent.
10. I believe that everyone has unique strengths and far too many people sell themselves short. I would love to see a world where everyone take the time to inventory their values and passions, and then figure out the unique offering that only they can bring to the world.

My 11 Liebster Award Nominees

1. McMegsyy @ Auden’s Adventures
2. Tim @ That Tiny Website
3. Laina Eartharcher @ The Silent Wave
4. Denny @ The Ceaseless Reader Writes
5. Sha’Tara @ ~Burning Woman~
6. The Used Life
7. Andrew @ Authentic
8. Thought for Change @ The Rendezvous Club
9. Zeno the Stoic @ Welltanschauung
10. Lana Cole @ Welcome to Our Campfire
11. Stand On Your Head

11 Questions for My Nominees

1. What is you philosophy on life? Do you adhere to religious texts, philosophical teachings or a personal code of ethics?
2. What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
3. If you were to combine two of your top interests to create a brand new career, what would that job be?
4. If you were one of the planets in our solar system, which one would you be and why?
5. What is the most bizarre or unusual food you’ve ever tried? What did you think of it?
6. In the last five years, what new belief, behavior, or habit has most improved your life?
7. What is your favorite blog post that you’ve written?
8. When you think of the word successful, who is the first person that comes to mind and why?
9. If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say and why?
10. What is your all-time favorite book?
11. What is something everyone else seems to love, but you can’t stand?

Well, that’s it for this post. Thank you for the nomination, Genetic Learning! Thanks in advance to anyone who chooses to participate. I’m looking forward to seeing what you guys have to share!