Hip Hip Hooray for the Liebster Award...my first ever!

Hey all you bloggy people out there!  I'm so excited to share that I was nominated for my first ever blogging award.  Okay, so I know this may not be a huge deal to all you fancy bloggers out there who have won countless awards of all types but I'm super pumped for my first one!  Thanks so much to Bria over at Teaching in Organized Chaos for the nomination! :)

So, in order to accept this award there are allegedly some requirements.  Lucky for me, I love answering questions and, well, talking in general so this shouldn't be too difficult!

The requirements are:

1.  Link back to the blog that nominated me.

2. Answer the questions created by the nominator.

3.  Share 11 random facts about myself.

4. Nominate 5-11 other blogs with fewer than 200 followers.

5.  Create 11 questions for my nominees.

6.  Contact my nominees to let them know I nominated them!

For starters, I need to answer the 11 questions provided for me by the fabulous Bria.  Here goes!

1. Why did you become a teacher? Though this is most likely a super simple question for most people to answer, there really isn't any one reason I became a teacher.  I don't remember any moment where I stopped and thought, "And this is why I want to be a teacher."  The best answer I can give for this question is that for (literally) as long as I can remember, there was no other job even on the radar for me.  As far back as kindergarten when we did our first "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up" project and I most likely wrote something along the lines of "a tejr", this has pretty much been it for me!  There are certainly lots of reasons now, however, why I love this job! :)

2. What is your favorite picture book?  Growing up and until I started teaching, my favorite picture book was Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse.  Clearly, I still LOVE that book but ever since I discovered the Knuffle Bunny series, Kevin Henkes has been given a run for his money!  LOVE those books!

3.  Who inspires you the most?  Fine.  Go ahead.  Call me a cliche.  Every person I surround myself with truly inspires me and has in some way shaped who I am.  I have been extremely lucky to have an amazing family and outstanding friends who have contributed to who I am and have inspired me to be the best possible version of myself.

4.  If you could meet a person who has already died, who would it be and why?
Is Whitney Houstin a really crazy answer?  I just want her to serenade me and maybe make an appearance at my future wedding to sing "I Wanna Dance With Sombody"....is that too much to ask?

5.  What is your favorite candy?  I've never been much of a candy person (gasp!).  However, I do enjoy the occasional Laffy Taffy and Starbursts.  Definitely not much of a chocolate person though...so if you ever want to buy me chocolates just go ahead and redirect yourself to the "chip" section of the store.  Sour cream and onion chips will do just fine, thanks!

6. What is your favorite holiday to celebrate in your classroom?  I love winter holiday time!  My school does "Polar Express Day" on the last day before winter break and it is SO much fun.  We have train whistles over the speakers, watch the movie in our pajamas, and go to hot chocolate stations around the school.  I think I love it more than the 6 year olds!

7.  Why did you start your blog?  I talked about this a lot in my first post but I pretty much stalked followed blogs for a couple years and got so inspired and looked up to so many of these people that I decided to just create my own!  Hopefully people will one day be inspired by my blog as well!

8.  What is one thing in your closet you could never give away?  I admit, I am a sucker for shopping and probably have more clothes than the average girl.  There's really not many things I wouldn't get rid of except old t-shirts from college.  I literally never wear any of them but they are too sentimental to get rid of!

9.  What is your favorite beverage?  Is this a "I really like a good bloody mary" kind of question?  Hmm...in all seriousness, I don't drink pop and really only drink water.  I DO love a good cup of coffee, though.  Or a bad cup of coffee.  So there's that.

10.  What are three things you love about the state you live in?  Umm, HI, my name's Elyse and I LOVE Chicago.  How can I even limit it to just three things?  Here's my best shot.  I grew up in the suburbs so I love that almost my entire immediate and extended family is near by.  I just love the hustle and bustle of Chicago without feeling too overcrowded and crazy.  It feels like it can never be lonely because there are always people around.   Also, I love that Chicago has it all; beaches, buildings, museums, major sports teams...there is ALWAYS something to do!

11. What is your favorite thing in your classroom?   I bought the huge paper lanterns from IKEA a couple years back and they are, without a doubt, my favorite thing!  I almost never have the flourescent lights on in my classroom because the paper lantern lights are so calming.  When I do turn the lights on, all my kids freak!  Here's pictures of my classroom before school started a couple years ago to get an idea of why I love their light so much.  I will post updated pics when I get in to set up for the year because things have changed!

Now onto my 11 random facts about myself...here goes!

1.  I have a (severe) phobia of ladybugs and a mild phobia of lightening bugs that originally stemmed from my older sister putting them in my hair so my head would light up as a small child....because what are sisters for, am I right?!

2. I broke my toe in my bed sheets.  So...yep, that happened.

3.  I went to Purdue and am obsessed with everything Boilermaker.

4.  If you asked me never to eat french fries again I would ask you to kindly remove yourself from my life.  (Okay, that was rude....but seriously.)

5.  I consider myself an expert closet organizer and wouldn't mind making it my second job.

6.  I watch any television show that anyone has ever claimed is "the stupidest show on the planet."

7.  I was a Chi Omega in college.

8.  If I start reading a good book I will not put it down until it's finished.

9.  I fall asleep as soon as a car starts moving.

10.  I'm not, in any definition of the word, an "animal person".

11. I think stopping to get gas is the biggest chore in the world and I put it off until my car is about to run out...everytime!

And now I want to nominate the following rockin' bloggers! (I know a few of them have just under 200 followers but a rule's a rule!)

Diary of a First Year Teacher

Ship Shape First Grade

Smart Kids

Enchanting Elementary

Kindergarten: Holding Hands and Sticking Together

Here, my newly nominated bloggers, are my questions for YOU!

1.  What is your favorite thing to use in your classroom?

2.  If you had one extra hour in every day, what would you do?

3.  If you could pick one song to describe you, which would it be?

4.  If you had to pick another career, what would you pick?

5.  Where did you go to college?

6.  What food could you never live without?

7.  What is your guilty pleasure TV show?

8.  Who is your celebrity crush?

9.  What is your most memorable birthday?

10.  If you had to switch grades, what grade would you teach?

11. What was the last song you listened to?

THANK YOU again to Bria over at Teaching in Organized Chaos and to all my followers so far!  You guys are the best!