I Got A Liebster Award!

A big thank you to Kate from www.runwithkate.com who tagged me for the Liebester award.  Kate is from Australia and part of my Twitter #plankaday group.  This is what the award is about (copied from her blog):The Liebster Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Rules for receiving this award:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Then answer the questions the tagger sent for them, plus create 11 questions for the people they’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Notify the people you have tagged.
5. No tag backs.
So, you will now find out way more than you wanted to about me!  Here we go: 

Part I: 11 Things About Myself 
1. I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. 
2. But one of my favorite quotes is “don’t envy my progress without recognizing my sacrifice.” 
3. For a very long time, I did not know where I was from. Now I say I am Cuban – though I have never physically been there.  My parents (both Cuban) have been dreaming about this moment – when I actually call myself Cuban- for years!
4. I speak four languages (Portuguese, Spanish, English and French) and I butcher one more (Italian).
5. My four high school years were spent in three different schools, in three different countries, in three different continents (Brazil, Morocco, US).
6.   I was carjacked at gunpoint once … at 11:00am in the morning. It was scary.
7.  I used to be an investment banker and am now a preschool teacher.  I was other things in-between.
8.  When I applied to college, I wasn’t paying too much attention and so when I got into Wellesley where I eventually went, I had no idea it was an all women’s college.  I wasn’t thrilled, but I ended up going there and loving it. “It’s not a girls school without men, it’s a women’s college without boys”
9.  Two of my favorite trips EVER have been: hiking the Inca Trail in Peru and traveling to Patagonia.  I did them both in the same year!
10. I suck at formatting and cannot get this line to align! Things look very different on my “editor” page.
11. I nibble on 60% Cocoa chocolate chips ALL day long.

Part II: Kate’s Questions
1. Is this your first blog? If not, where did you start?No.  I had one www.hereiaminablog.blogspot.com.  I wrote for about two months but realized I needed more focus and so Triathlon Mami was born.
2. Where were you born?I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
3. What’s something that you’ve done that you’re incredibly proud of?As cliché as it might seem, I am most proud of the family I am creating.  When I am with my husband and our two boys I am truly home and home is a wonderful place.
4. What’s something you got into trouble for at school?Hmmm …. Its weird because I always thought I was a nerd, but then looking back, I wasn’t always one.  One thing I got in trouble for was when I was in boarding school in the US and got caught at a bar at 18 (drinking age here is 21) by a teacher.  Oops.
5.  What do you like most about yourself right now?That it’s easier for me to accept my mistakes and move on.
6. Who is your biggest fan?Hands down my husband: he will encourage me in whatever I aim to do.  He is followed closely by my kids who tell me to never give up.
7.  What sport do you follow? I don’t really follow any.  But every four years I become a huge Brazil soccer fan for the world cup.
8.  Do you have a hidden talent? (Or not so hidden!)I can say “Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.A pack of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers, where’s the pack of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked” really really fast.
9.  When do you blog?I like writing essays, so I think about what to write while I train in the early dawn, and write whenever I can throughout the day or night.
10. Is there anyone who doesn’t know about your blog who you’ve avoided telling?I was forewarned by a friend that I am a preschool teacher who represents my school in all that I do.  I censor myself so that on my blog, there is nothing I would be uncomfortable with anyone reading.
11. Name a song you can’t get enough of at the moment.It was my birthday a couple of days ago, and we have a little tradition that when someone in my family has a birthday we wake them up to the Beatles “Birthday Song”.  That has been in my head since, we even did a #plankaday with it!

Part III: 11 Questions for the next group

  1. Why did you start blogging?
  2. Has blogging changed you in any way?
  3. What is your favorite place on Earth?
  4. If you were stuck on a desert island with only one book, what would it be?
  5. What living person inspires you most? Why?
  6. What historical person inspires you most? Why?
  7. If you were able to have a superpower what would it be?
  8. What do you wish you could master?
  9. What do you do to relax?
  10. What is your favorite part of the day?
  11.  Think fast! What is the first thing you can think of to bring a smile to your face?

Part IV: Congrats! You have received a Liebester Award
Live Travel and Run
Mom Running On Empty
Becoming a Healthier Mama
Strength Odyssey
A Healthier Fitter Me
Life After Swimming
The Paper Jellyfish
Because Amy Says So
Found Myself Running
A Girl Runner