THE LIEBSTER AWARD

I’d like to thank Isabella Anderson at Chick Lit Goddess for nominating me for The Liebster Award! I had fun answering all of your questions!

Here are the rules:

- When one receives the award, one posts 11 random facts about oneself and answers the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.

- Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (while making sure one notifies the blogger that one nominated them!)

- One writes up 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.

- One is not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated one’s own blog!

- One pastes the award picture into one’s blog. (You can Google the image, there are plenty of them!)

11 Random Facts About Tracie Banister:

1) My favorite meal as a child was fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and buttermilk biscuits (Yes, I’m a Southerner!)

2) I have a fuzzy slippers addiction. I own five pairs in different colors and wear them whenever I’m in the house because being barefooted gives me the creeps!

3) My mother's first pet was a Cocker Spaniel named Dilly. My first pet was a Cocker Spaniel named Brandy. Decades later, I have 3 dogs who are guess what? Cocker Spaniels! My family is stuck on that breed!

4) I have a thing for left-handed men. Maybe because they tend to be creative types?

5) If I had been born a boy, my name would have been Todd Owen Banister. 

6) My office always smells like eucalyptus oil.

7) I worked as a caterer's assistant, a waitress in a seafood restaurant, and a salesperson in an outlet store by the beach when I was a teenager.

8) The first concert I went to was Hall & Oates.

9) My father was adopted, so 50% of my DNA is a complete mystery!

10) My favorite color is red; I love anything and everything in that color.

11) I have never sent a text in my life (and I'm proud of it!) 

Questions From Isabella Anderson:

1) If you could stay at the same age for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oh, gosh, I'd say 30 as you still have your looks and energy then, but you've had enough life experience to know how to make smart decisions.

2) Did you have a high school sweetheart?

A few, actually, but I refuse to name any names! ;)

3) What’s your favorite smell?

Cinnamon. Makes me think of my childhood as my mother used to make my brother and I cinnamon toast as a special treat. 

4) What is your favorite drink?

I really look forward to those two Diet Caffeine-Free Cokes I allow myself to drink every day. I drink so much water the rest of the time that I feel like I earn those sodas! 

5) Which would you rather be, the First Lady or the Queen of England?

Definitely Queen of England as I've had a lifelong fascination with the Brits and the royal family in particular (I have a huge collection of Princess Di memorabilia that I amassed as a young girl.) The best thing about being queen would be getting to wear designer hats all the time. I look great in hats!

6) What are your favorite pizza toppings?

I like to kick it old-school with my pizza - extra pepperoni is the only topping I need.

7) How old were you when you you knew what you wanted to be?

I've wanted to be a writer since I was really young, like 8 or 9. I was writing plays in the 4th grade.

8) Coffee or tea?

Tea - it's the English thing again (my maternal grandmother was born in the UK.) I love a cup of Earl Grey with a dollop of skim milk.

9) Date night in, or date night out?

In, because my idea of the perfect date is being cuddled up on the couch with my honey, eating popcorn and watching a good movie.

10) If you could be any actress, who would it be?

Amy Adams. She's so talented! She can sing, as well as act, and is equally good in dramas and comedies. Plus, she's so sweet and pretty! I have a total girl crush on her.

11) What movie can you watch over and over?

Pride and Prejudice, the Keira Knightley/Matthew Macfadyen version. If I see that movie while channel-surfing, I have to stop and watch it. That film never gets old, and I always cry at the same parts!

My nominees for The Liebster Award are:

Michelle Bell

Jackie Bouchard

Rachel Kall

Francine LaSala

Libby Mercer

Sharon Moore

Savannah Page

Cindy Roesel

Meredith Schorr

Lucie Simone

Nicky Wells

Questions for my nominees (I look forward to reading your answers!):

What's a talent you don't have, but wish you possessed?

Name one item on your bucket list?

Willy Wonka - Delightfully quirky or paranoid, Oompa Loompa-loving freak?

What's a girl's best friend besides diamonds?

Musician you'd like to be back-up singer for?

How many of the seven continents have you set foot on?

Who's your favorite Bond?

What's the most disgusting food you ever ate?

Reality show you can't live without?

How many times have you been a bridesmaid?

Pick your poison - If forced to spend a day with one of the following celebrities, which would be the most painful for you: Taylor Swift, Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, or Kristen Stewart?