Liebster cont'd

Today is Installment 2 (of 2) of the Liebster posts. :)

11 Questions to Answer:  (as asked by Holly)

Yum.

1. If you could eat any breakfast food right now, what would it be?  Please be very descriptive.  I love breakfast food and want to drool all over your descriptions.
Normally I love breakfast foods of all kinds, but this pregnancy, I have been only wanting to eat cereal and bagels!  So - a big bowl of Honey Graham Oh's (a lesser known but super delish cereal) or a 12 grain NY bagel with veggie cream cheese.  Mmm.  Make that with a side of watermelon and honey dew, a tall glass of pulpy orange juice and a steaming mug of hazelnut (decaf) coffee and I will be a happy girl.

2. What book is closest to where you’re sitting, right this very minute?
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It's one of my favorites, but I haven't read it since my study abroad trip to Spain in early 2002 and figured it was about time for a re-read.  This woman's life amazes me.

3. Think about something you really want to do (you don’t have to share what it is).  What’s holding you back?
Money?  Maybe also the fear of failure and an uncertainty of whether it'll really be worth the time/heart I invest in it.
So to explain, I've been thinking a lot about staying home to raise J and Abby, and it's a big leap.  In the back of my mind, I've been considering different ways to provide extra income (things I've been toying with for the past couple of years, which include opening an Etsy shop, selling my own worksheets on TeachersPayTeachers.com, and getting more into blogging).   Just little ideas right now, but need to wait and see...

4. Which holiday has the traditions that you enjoy the most? 
It's a tie between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  In our church, we try to make lists each Thanksgiving of the specific things we are thankful for.  These are the two holidays that are always spent with family every year, and I love that.
For our youth group, we started a new tradition last year for celebrating Christmas.  We used to do the tradition gift exchange (bring a $10-15 gift and play the gift swap game), but found that it sometimes created hurt feelings and didn't really drive home the point of giving that we were trying to teach.  So instead, we started having the students bring in the cash (instead of a gift) and splitting up the group into teams to play various games.  The winning team got to take the total amount of collected money and decide how to spend it on gifts for people in need via websites like World Vision or Gospel for Asia.I love traditions and can't wait to start making them for our kids :)

5. Fill in the blanks: I would do twice as much (insert household task/chore), in exchange for never having to (insert another household task/chore) EVER AGAIN.
Easy question :)  I would definitely do twice as many dishes (and this is hand-washing!) if I never have to wash floors EVER AGAIN.  Hands down.  (PS - if you come over, don't inspect my floors too carefully).  haha.

6. Do you like how common your name is?  [ie, "Sarah"s, do you like sharing your name with half the world?  "Shelande"s, do you like having such a unique name?]
I 've always liked the name "Sarah," even though it's an especially popular name at my church (so much so that when I hear people say "Sarah!" at church I don't turn around right away because it's often meant for another Sarah.  :)  I guess I'm glad I don't have any problems with other people's pronunciation of my name, though I often have to correct spelling.

7. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you “grew up”?
Oooh, I answered this one already! :)  See #10 on this post.

8.  Do you have as much trouble with the “Insert Numbered List” function as I do?  It always – ALWAYS – screws up my formatting.  I’ve resigned myself to actually typing the numbers.
YES.  It drives me crazy.  So does the strange/inconsistent font/formatting on Blogger.  :(

9. What are you using to replace/instead of Google Reader? 
Blogger.  Even though its formatting is cuckoo, I am glad it's not leaving me.

10. What smell is nostalgic to you?
Mango body butter from The Body Shop.  One whiff and I'm immediately transported to Yanji, China, where I spent two years after graduating from college.  It has very frigid and long winters, so I used the mango body butter to combat dry, winter skin!

11. Self-Serving Question: What would you like to read more of on this blog?
I love reading about everyday life in Singapore at Run With Holly.  I feel like I'm getting a free tour of the country without leaving my bedroom :)

Blogs I nominate:
*This is tough because most of the blogs I read don't have access to my blog, and a lot of other blogs I read are personal blogs and aren't necessarily updated regularly (like mine, haha).  In other words, even if I don't nominate you, please feel free to participate! :)

1.  Crystal at Shine.  I love her sweet honesty and her heart for building community, encouragement (especially for moms), and passion about compassion.  And the cute toddler pix are a great bonus :)

2.  Grace at A Journey Through Life.  I've seen her grow up (literally across the street) but love reading about her spiritual growth from her own eyes.  She is also one of the best photographers I know personally, and has a knack for capturing beauty in unique ways through her photos.


Questions for You:

1.  It's a rainy Saturday and all you want to do is curl up with some hot chocolate and watch a movie.  What is your go-to movie?

2.  What is your earliest childhood memory?

3.  What do you love about your family?

4.  If you could become fluent in one language today, which would you choose and why?

5.  What is your biggest pet peeve?

6.  Cartoon animals are often cuter than the real deal.  What is your favorite cartoon animal?  (Doesn't have to be a cartoon character...could be simply "cartoon hippos")

7.  What is your favorite group game? (I love games and am constantly on the prowl for new ones!)

8.  Outside of your family, who has had the greatest influence on shaping the person you are today?    

9.  What is something you are really, really good at and could teach a class on?  (It could be super random/simple, like making a killer PB&J sandwich) 

10.  How did you learn to tie your shoelaces - making 2 bunny ears, OR a tree that a bunny runs around and jumps into the hole?  (Shoe-tying technique is an area of dispute between Mr. A and me)  :)    

11.  Tell me a memory you have about kindergarten or first grade!  (I'm always curious since I teach this age group and always wonder what people tend to remember about these days)

Whew!  Long post.  I'm not used to this :)