Liebster Award

I was so excited to see that Michelle from Miss King's Enchanted Kingdom nominated me for the Liebster Award!  The Liebster Award is awarded by bloggers to new bloggers with less than 200 followers.  This is such a fun way to see what new blogs are out there, and I am so grateful to be a part of this wonderful world of blogging!

The rules are:
1.  You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2.  Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.
3.  Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4.  Choose 11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers to nominate and link them in your post.
5.  You cannot "tag back" the other blog, but leave a comment on this post with the URL of your Liebster post so I can learn more about you & see who you nominate.

11 random facts about me:
1.  I can't remember a time that I didn't want to be a teacher.  I honestly have no idea what I would do if I didn't teach.
2.  I taught pre-school all through college.  It was the perfect job for me!  I couldn't see myself working retail or in a restaurant.
3.  I spent this past summer working at a foreign exchange summer camp.  It was a wonderful and crazy experience.  There were 120 students, ages 14-18, from France, Italy, Spain and Norway!
4.  My first year teaching was in a Catholic School and I miss teaching religion.
5.  I love country music.  I rarely listen to anything else.  If I could I would spend my entire paycheck going to see my favorite country singers in concert!
6.  I have three best friends.  One is in the Navy, stationed in Chicago.  One is in the Peace Corps and living in Guatemala.  One is teaching English in Beijing.  Needless to say, I don't see any of them as often as I would like, but when I do it's like no time has passed at all!
7.  I think the most important quality a person can have is respect.  I work very hard to ensure that my students are respectful, both in and out of my classroom.  It drives me crazy when I see other students or children in public who are disrespectful.
8.  Gone with the Wind is my all-time favorite book and movie.
9.  I went on a student ambassador trip to France, Italy and Greece the summer before my senior year in high school.  I meet one of my best friends on that trip.
10.  I love Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place.  You are pretty much guaranteed to find one of them in my DVD player at any given time.
11.  I have always wanted to visit Wyoming and South Dakota.  One day...

Here are the 11 questions Miss King asked:
1. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?  Nashville.  I love that it is a city with so much to do, but it still has a small town feel!
2.  What is the one thing in your classroom you can't live without?  My Scotch laminator.  I love it so much that I cart it to and from school - not every day but definitely a few times a week!  I even brought it to New Jersey for Thanksgiving!
3.  What is your favorite food?  I love anything raspberry - and if there is chocolate involved too I am in heaven!
4.  What is your favorite holiday and why?  It's hard to pick a favorite - I love all celebrations! But my favorite is probably Christmas.  I especially love Christmas Eve.  We get dressed up and go to Christmas Eve Mass.  Afterwards, we go over to my aunt and uncle's for a big Christmas party.  They live in a small town where Santa comes around on a fire engine to give presents to the kids.  There's always amazing food and lots of fun memories!
5.  What was your first car?   My first car was a black Chevy Cavalier that I bought a few days before I took my driver's test.
6.  What do you like to do in your free time?  I love reading - especially at the beach or pool!  I also love listening to live music, trying new recipes and visiting new places!
7.  When did you start blogging?  I have spent much of the past year looking at all the amazing ideas other teachers have posted, but I just started my own blog about three weeks ago!
8.  Have you always taught the grade you teach now?  I taught first grade my first year teaching, but I desperately wanted to be back in Kindergarten (the grade I interned in).  I spent a year as an associate teacher in a Kindergarten class before moving back to first grade in a new school this year.  At first I was a little disappointed to be leave Kindergarten, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I actually LOVE first grade.  I don't know if it's my students, my school or my amazing first grade team, but I am so happy with where I ended up!
9.  Do you prefer books on electronics (ipads/nooks/kindles) or reading a real book?  I love my Kindle, but there is nothing like holding a real book in your hands!  I also love being about ot add new books to my bookshelves (yes-bookshelves, as in more than one, and all three of them are overflowing)!
10.  Have you ever taught in another state or country than where you teach now?  No, I've been teaching in Florida all three years.  But I would like to teach somewhere else eventually - Nashville maybe!
11.  Who do you most admire?  Rose Kennedy.  I was always intrigued by the Kennedy family, but after reading a biography about Rose in middle school, I was so impressed by the woman who held that family together.  I admire her faith and the grace she had, despite all the tragedy she endured.

The questions for my nominees:
1.  What made you decide to start blogging?
2.  What was your first job?
3.  How did you meet your oldest friend?
4.  Was there a defining moment in your life when you knew you were meant to teach?
5.  What is your favorite dish to cook?
6.  Do you live near your hometown?
7.  What is your favorite book to read to your students?
8.  Where would your dream vacation be?
9.  What is your favorite Christmas song?
10.  Are you a cat or dog person?
11.  What is at the top of your bucket list?

And my nominees are:
1.  Coloring Outside the Lines
2.  The Teacher Garden
3.  Oceans of Fun in Grade 1!
4.  The REAL Teachers of Orange County
5.  First Grade and Fearless
6.  For the love of teaching...
7.  Grade One Fun
8.  Kick Starting Kindergarten
9.  Leading and Reading
10.  Sliding into First
11.  WILD About First Grade

Be sure to leave a link in my comments after you have posted your answer!