Thankful for the Liebtser Award - and Friday Favorites

I was so excited to find out this week that my blog has been nominated for the Liebster Award by two fantastic bloggers!  This award is given to up and coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers in recognition of their efforts and to provide support to keep on blogging.  To me, the best part is that it's given by other bloggers, and once you receive it, you are asked to pay it forward by finding other deserving blogs and sharing the award with them.  A big "Thank you!" goes out to both Michalene Mills of The Teacher in Me and Mrs. Adler of  Teaching Junkie for noticing my blog and giving me the chance to connect with so many great teacher-bloggers.  I really appreciate it.

Here are the rules for the Liebster Award…

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 other 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 whom you nominate.

So...here we go:

11 Random Things About Me

1. I am left handed, and meeting other left handed people makes me smile.

2. I have a 5 year old son who is the light of my life.

3. I love sushi.

4. I thought for the longest time that my son loved it when I sang to him.  That is, until he was old enough to ask me to stop because I was hurting his ears.

5. I'm a Leo.

6. Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the entire year.

7. My husband and I went to Disney World for our honeymoon...15 years ago. :)

8. I adore Food TV and The Cooking Channel.

9. I have been teaching ELA in middle school for 14 years.  I took a leave of absence for this school year to be home for my son as he started Kindergarten...and although I miss my kids and my classroom, I just love being present for my Lil' Man and watching him grow every day!  I'm very lucky.

10. The best trip that I have ever taken was the Alaskan Cruise we went on for my 30th birthday.

11. I am a little nervous around terrified of clowns...kind of a bummer because my kid loves them.

Questions from The Teacher in Me:

1.  How long have you been teaching?  14 years
2.  Do you have a TpT or Teacher's Notebook Store? Link?  Yes, I do.  My links are:

TpT: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Stephanie-Hulbert-From-Middle-School-Matters-Blog

and

Teachers Notebook: http://www.teachersnotebook.com/shop/MiddleSchoolMattersBlog

3.  What is your hobby if you have one? I love cooking, reading and hiking.
4.  What grade level do you teach or have taught? I have taught 6th, 7th and 8th grades.
5.  Favorite Season? I love everything about Fall!
6.  Favorite Food? Cheesecake
7.  Favorite Christmas song? "The Best Gift" sung by Barbra Streisand - It makes me think of my son, who was born the week before Christmas.
8.  Favorite subject to teach? ELA
9.  Do you have a Smartboard? Yes
10.  Favorite blog? One of my new favorite finds is a blog called An Educator's Life - created by Mr. Hughes.
11.  Favorite place to go on vacation? Hands down...Ogunquit, Maine.

Questions from Teaching Junkie:

1.  How long have you been teaching? 14 years

2.  What is your most disgusting habit? This made me laugh out loud!  Between teaching in middle school for 14 years and having a 5 year old son...I've seen disgusting habits!  To be honest, mine seem to pale in comparison. Lol I guess one of the worst things I do, at least in my husbands opinion, is wait until we're in the car to go somewhere to paint my nails while he drives.  It's not the nails that's a problem, but the smell of the polish in the car that he can't stand.  I've tried to be better, especially with our little guy in the car, but every once in a while...a girl just runs out of time! :)

3.  How much time do you spend in one week blogging or looking at other people's blogs?  Having taken this year off, I try to do my blogging while my son is at school.  It's been taking a lot of time lately, as I've been learning so many things about blogging and social media.  I hope that I can get things down so that I can still write quality posts and create quality materials for my stores once I return to my classroom next fall.  I'm going to need to be a little quicker!

4.  What is your proudest accomplishment?  Hands down...becoming a mom.  For my husband and I, it was not an easy road, but every challenge we faced brought us closer together, and now that we have our son...we know for certain we are truly blessed.

5.  Favorite beverage?  Pumpkin White Chocolate coffee from Dunkin' - I love me some DD!

6.  Teaching tool you couldn't live without? SMARTBoard

7.  What is your favorite snack? Right now, it's pistachios. 

8.  If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?  Not just in my school, but in education in general, it's the intense focus on numbers and test scores.  Let's not forget that we are working with children...not widgets in a factory.

9.  What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?  Play with my son AND plan "Friday Family Fun Night" for us each week.  All three of us really look forward to crazy things to do to start our weekend.  The favorite of the house right now is Backwards Night.  I mean, who doesn't like dessert before dinner?

 

10.  Why do you blog?  I have always dreamed of being a writer, and blogging allows me to share my writing with such a large audience.  The bonus was when I figured out I could combine my teaching experience with writing - two of my biggest loves - and it's been a win-win from there!

11.  Do your students or friends have a nickname for you?  Yes...and I'm sure some that I don't even know about.  What is it? Giggles is one I've had for a long time.  I laugh.  Loudly.  A lot.  People tend to know I'm near, even if they can't see me...because the giggle is pretty recognizable (or so I've been told.) :)

That was fun!!  Now, it's my turn to share the Liebster love!  I'm considering this my Friday favorites for the week, as I am so happy to share with you just some of the blogs that inspire me.  I hope that you take the time to check them out, too.

And...the nominees are:
 An Educator's Life
 Bayside Teacher
 Being Inspired
 Effective Teaching Articles
 Mr. Giso's Room to Read
 Right Down the Middle
 Shutters & Scribbles
 Teacher's Take-Out
 Wild About Fifth Grade

Questions for My Nominated Blogs:
1. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
2. If you happened to find a $100 bill laying on the ground, with no way of finding who lost it, what would you do with it?
3. What is your favorite comfort food?
4. What inspired you to become a teacher?
5. What is your favorite part of the school day?
6. On the weekends, when do you most generally do your school work?
7. Coffee OR tea?
8. Tropical sandy beach vacation OR snowy mountain skiing get away?
9. What extracurricular activities have you advised for your school?
10. What kind of car do you drive?
11.  What advice would you give to new teachers just entering the field?

Thank you once again for nominating my blog.  I look forward to meeting many more wonderful people - from whom I will surely learn and with whom I will gladly share!