i suck as a parent navigating motherhood one day at a time

I never win anything and I rarely get nominated for anything either, which is why I was so excited to hear that my friend, Joy Sussman, at Joyfullygreen.com nominated my blog for a Liebster Award.

I know! It’s like the Emmys only better!

Unfortunately, I don’t think I can make a valid argument for a gown and jewelry but…it may warrant new shoes.

A Liebster award, for those of you outside of the blogging world, is a way for your readers to get to know some other newish bloggers. It’s a nice way to show your appreciation for bloggers who you follow and give them some exposure. All nominees answer 10 questions that are posed by the nominating blogger and then nominate other bloggers and pose questions for them.

Here are my answers to the questions from Joyfully Green:

1. Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your 13-year-old self?

I have a 13-year-old so this is an interesting question. When I was 13 I, like most 13-year-olds, was self-conscious and insecure so I held back when I should have been going for it. I would tell myself to lighten up because no one was paying attention to me anyway; they were all worried about themselves.

2. What is your idea of perfect bliss?

Perfect bliss would be sitting on my porch, early in the morning (when everyone around me is sleeping) with a big mug of great coffee and a good book. Those moments don’t happen nearly enough.

3. What books have been most influential or inspiring to you?

I would like to say that I was most influenced by great works of literature by Homer, Plato and Dickens but I wasn’t (although The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and everything I read by Shakespeare in high school made me realize that teachers didn’t always assign horrible books). My influences are far more mundane: the Nancy Drew book series (and my brother’s Hardy Boys books) drove me to try my hand at writing for the first time which also made me realize that I shouldn’t write fiction; Arlene Eisenberg’s What To Expect the First Year, with all of its dog-eared pages, still holds a special place on my bookshelf (how else would we have known how to give our first kid a bath if we didn’t have step-by-step instructions??!); I also have 100-plus cookbooks that inspire me to eat better and live better everyday—which eventually I will do—but the one that made me really love to cook is The Silver Palate Cookbook; and finally, although there are dozens of parenting books that I refer to, Get Out Of My Life, but first could you drive me and Cheryl to the mall? by Anthony Wolf, was the first parenting book I turned to when my oldest became a teen. I go back to it again and again when I need to figure out what I’m doing wrong.

4. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about life? About blogging?

It’s the same lesson I learn over and over again: you can’t really control anything, no matter how hard you try. Although I know this is true, I still find it hard to believe.  It’s the same with blogging; I try to put my best ideas out into the blogosphere but sometimes the pieces that I didn’t consider that to be that great turn out to be the biggest crowd pleasers. You have to cede a little control to the unknown influences in your life and your writing…I think?

5. What single quality do you appreciate in people?

Humor. Without question

6. What or who is under-rated? What or who is over-rated?

I think that bi-partisan politics are truly under-rated.

Most over-rated? Reality television celebrities. I don’t get it; I never will.

7. What do you avoid at all costs?

Reality television (see above).

8. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

Buying shoes. I have a great collection of “going out shoes” (as my friends call them). The only problem is, I don’t go out enough to wear them!

9. What do you want people to say about you when you leave the room?

Great shoes! No, just kidding. I would like people to say that I seem very genuine and that what they saw was what they got. That, and that I seem way taller than 5 foot 2.

10. What’s your favorite post that you’ve written?

Does Not Play Well With Others is still my favorite post, probably because I miss the person I was when the event I wrote about happened. It was early in my parenting years, when I wasn’t so worried about being diplomatic or worried about how my choices might affect my kids. It serves as a good reminder to me and, apparently, could serve as a good reminder to my 13-year-old self. I guess I’ve come full circle.

https://isuckasaparent.com/2011/11/04/does-not-share-well-with-others/

Thanks again, Joy, for the shout out. I had fun with the questions.

And now, as the rules of the Liebster Award dictates, here are my nominees for blogs. I don’t actually know how many are “new” as dictated by Liebster rules (and I can’t really tell how many followers they have) all I know is that they are newish to me:

My 10 Things Blog

LitzyDitz

She Can’t Be Serious

Red Shutters

A My Name is Amy

Shop Chicago Chic

And here are my questions to these bloggers:

1. Why did you start your blog?

2. What is your favorite movie?

3. Where was your last, best vacation?

4. Who is your favorite author and why?

5. What is your most prized possession?

6. Cat or Dog?

7. What is the most delicious food you have ever eaten?

8. What is your favorite quote and by whom?

9. If you could meet anyone dead or alive, who would it be?

10. What is your favorite post that you’ve written? (Please provide link!)