Awards on Awards {what what}

Kate at Another Clean Slate nominated all the blogs on her Let's Be Friends page to have a Sunshine Award, and since I'm one of those ladies, yeahh it's Q&A time!  ALSO to double your fun, Amy at The Crazy Wise Woman nominated me for my fourth ever Liebster!  So I'm also going to answer those questions.  Enjoy learning more weird facts about me everyone!  

The rules are pretty simple....answer the questions and pass the love on for others to answer.  I'm answering the same ones Kate answered since that keeps it easy and I will also just pass the same ones along to anyone who is reading this and thinks it would be fun to do! 

Where were you born? 

I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  
Do you prefer romantic comedies or suspense thrillers? 

I think I like both, but it depends on my mood.  I probably like dramas more than either of the above categories.
What is your favorite sport (to watch or to participate 

Football to watch, always.  I don't know there is another sport I will watch as intently as football.
What is your favorite sound? 

I love the sound of a wine cork coming out of the bottle, or when I hear Barley's tags jingling towards me when I come in the door after a long day of work.

Coke or Pepsi? 

HA.  Up until September 26th, 2013, I had never had a real Coca-Cola.  At least that I can remember.  So maybe when I was a kid I probably did, but Coke and/or Pepsi are not something that have been a part of my "adult" life.  In fact, Bryan gives me crap a lot for not being able to finish those 8 oz. cans of Diet Coke.  So yeah..um Diet Coke is my answer.

Do you have a special talent? 

I don't know...I think I am good at being a puppy mom and wife.  And I'm also very detail-oriented, so that makes me good at reviewing documents and finding small details others might overlook, which also makes me well-suited for my job, weird.

PC or Mac?  

PC now, but I don't totally detest Mac like I used to.  I still have a rough time using them though.  Wow, just aged myself about 20 years.  Cool.

What is your favorite vacation spot?  

We don't really go anywhere regularly, but I always loved going to northern Wisconsin and spending a week at a cabin, just relaxing in the summer by the lake.  So probably at a lake.  OR let's go big and go to Italy.

Do you collect anything? 

I collect Christmas ornaments!  Well, I buy one every time I go somewhere new or we go somewhere new together.  My goal is to have a tree dedicated to our travels and memories one day.  

If you could instantly be an expert in any field, what would it be? I would LOVE to be an epidemiologist.  I think studying how a disease spreads, originates, etc.  would be amazing and fascinating and wonderful.  I love reading books that trace the history of diseases (And the Band Played On..., The Great Influenza, seriously I've read a bunch.

And here are Amy's questions, I removed some duplicates that were repeats or similar to the ones that Kate had, etc.  No one cares enough to read twice where I grew up/am from, haha.

What do you do for a living and is it what you thought you would be doing?  

I work in an industry I didn't picture for myself, but I really love it.

Who inspires you the most?  

Gosh, cliche maybe, but my mom.  She is gracious and kind and tough and thoughtful and remarkable.

Describe your perfect Friday night?  

It's two scenarios:  Dinner and drinks after work with friends OR at home, in pj's ordering Chinese and watching Netflix by 7 PM.  We do both regularly and I truly love them both equally.

What is your favorite holiday and why?  

Christmas because it's so many of my favorite things:  food, family, Christmas music, a real reason for celebration (yes, we're talking about the birth of Jesus here), and just relaxing and enjoying the company of those your with.  So in that vein, Thanksgiving is a close second for me.   

What is your favorite family recipe? And please share it with us!  

Ohh wow.  My mom has passed so many along.  Her recipe for Slow Cooker Swiss Steak is the best though. I don't know that it's a "family" recipe, but it's become a favorite in recent years.

Ingredients:  

1 1/2 lbs. of round steak or whatever beef cut into 1'' chunks/pieces/slices (you could get stir fry beef, etc.)

8 oz. of sliced mushrooms

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

1 Tablespoon of minced garlic

1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes

1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

1/2 c. of water

1 package of brown gravy mix.  

1/2 tsp. each of salt and pepper.

Directions: 

1.  Combine steak, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and pepper into slow cooker.

2.  Combine tomatoes, tomato sauce, gravy packet, water and salt and pepper, then pour over steak and veggies.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

3.  Serve over mashed potatoes.

Your tummy will thank you! I plan on sharing our recipe for Caramel Pecan Rolls this holiday season so stay tuned for that because it's ridiculous.

Give me one guilty pleasure...

Anything that includes both peanut butter and chocolate.  My husband does not buy me valentine's boxes of heart chocolates, he just gets a bag of reese's hearts and puts them in the freezer.  The man knows me, what can I say?

Describe yourself in 5 words.

hard-working, spirited, tough, sarcastic, and loving

Post me a great selfie or one that you think just sums you up!

If you could sit down with anyone for an hour and talk... living or dead... who would it be?

Former First Ladies, especially Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.

How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled or in an omelette. 

Ok so now it's your turn, if you are one of my readers then I already adore you so I pass any and all of these questions along to you! Find my other Libester answers here!