It's Raining Resources!: Liebster Award!!

I have been nominated by Marine from Tales From a Very Busy Teacher for a Liebster Award! I am very flattered, and equally pleased to know that there are actually people out there reading this. A Liebster Award is for blogger newbies that have 200 followers or less. That definitely describes me! Once you receive a nomination, here are the rules:

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.

11 weird and wonderful random things about me:

I don't wear hats because I have a very big head and can never find any that fit!
When I go to the movies, I have to have Red Vines - can't watch a movie (in the theater) without them.
I'm afraid of rabbits.
My first job was waiting tables at Bob's Big Boy (and it's where I met my husband!).
I live in a 100 year-old house.
In my spare time, I research my family (my 10th great-grandfather was George Washington's great-grandfather!).
I enjoy listening to music, but I couldn't carry a tune if my life depended on it. My students even laugh when I sing! But I still do it!!
I don't watch much TV, but when I do, it's mostly TCM.
I love wrapping presents, and I'm very good at it. I believe that the outside of a present should be just as wonderful as the inside.
Two years ago, I went to Japan, and now I can't wait to go back.
I started out in college as an architecture major. I kind of stumbled into teaching, and have never regretted it.

Tales From a Very Busy Teacher's questions for me:

1. What is your favorite thing to teach? Reading!! I love to read, and I can't imagine what life would be like if I couldn't. I love to open up that world to my students.
2. Do you have any pets? Oh my gosh, do I have pets! I have three dogs, three cats, a guinea pig, and a turtle. Dogs - Sam is a big, goofy yellow lab who will lick you to death if you're not careful; Lucy is a black and tan hound who snores when she sleeps; and Chibi is a black and white Chihuahua that I felt sorry for at the animal shelter, but she has turned out to be the sweetest dog. Cats - Fred is an aloof Siamese; Fighter is my son's black short-hair; and Sadie is tiger-striped and loves to fight with fingers and toes. The guinea pig, Cleveland, and the turtle, Yertle, are classroom pets.
3. How long have you been teaching? I have been teaching for 16 years.
4. Coke or Pepsi? Coke, without a doubt.
5. What was the last vacation you were able to enjoy? I went to Japan two years ago and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
6. What changes would you like to see in education? I wish that all teachers would begin to appreciate the diversity and experiences that our second language learners bring to school, and learn how to teach to their needs.
7. If you had an endless amount of time and money, what would you do in your classroom? Hmmm, good question. I would make the room bigger, and take the carpet off the walls. Each student would have one of those fancy desks that has a computer built into it.
8. What other grades/subjects would you like to teach in your career? I am perfectly happy right where I am.
9. What is your favorite genre of reading? I don't have a favorite. I read anything and everything.
10. What kind of music do you like to listen to? I listen mostly to big band and swing music.
11. Biggest pet peeve: Drivers that don't pull over to the side of the road for ambulances.