Live It Up Tag

I got tagged by Brooke at Dove Tree. It's a short question tag with a lot of "what's your favorite" questions, which I have trouble answering, but I'll give it a shot. :)

Q."What's your favorite book?"

A. Like I said. Hard questions to answer. I think it's easier to say favorite genre than actual book. I like Fantasy the best, but close second is of course horse books. I also like some SciFi books. My favorites change all the time as I read new books and forget old books. Very hard question to answer. :)

Q."What's your favorite song?"

A. Right at this second I would have to answer Hey, Soul Sister by Train. Also a song that I like that was a surprise to me is Billionaire by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars. I normally am not a fan of rap, but I like this one, although not surprisingly the chorus is my favorite (the part Bruno Mars sings). So those are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

Q."Favorite genre of music?"

A. Easy! The 80s. I LOVE 80s music. :) I also like more modern pop/rock, etc. I like some of the older country (not really old, but the stuff from when I was a kid like Garth Brooks, John Michael Montgomery, Shania Twain, etc). I don't care for the really old country or the crappy current country where all they do is whine about how pathetic their lives are. I don't like rap, bluegrass, anything twangy lol. I do like some classical, instrumental, etc. music. My taste in music varies a lot, even within genre, so sort of a hard question to answer. Just to show you how varied, here are some singers/bands I like Aerosmith (favorite band ever), Richard Marx, Chris Daughtry, Evanescence, Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLauchlan, 3 Doors Down, Savage Garden, Boyz II Men, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, etc. You get the idea. :D

Q."Favorite setting."

A. I love days that are between 75 and 80 degrees, beautiful, clear blue sky with no clouds, a gentle breeze, the sounds of birds singing and crickets chirping. Love it. Of course horses grazing on the green grass nearby just makes it perfect. :)

This is the only picture on this post that is mine.

Q."Got a crush?"

A. Totally. My husband. :D

Q."Favorite subject in school?"

A. I don't remember. Wasn't that crazy about school lol.

Q."Hobbies?"

A. Writing, reading, blogging, photography, horseback riding (more like an obsession), almost anything outside (biking, swimming, walking, hiking, etc.), etc. I used to include piano on that list, but I haven't played in so long I'm not sure it counts anymore.

Q."Favorite Holiday?"

A. Thanksgiving!! I love getting together with family, eating tons of food and sharing what we're thankful for. :)

One of my favorites!

Q."Favorite food?"

A. Ugh, this is going to make me sound absolutely horribly unhealthy, but basically anything with simple carbs or sugar (I'm an addict, yep), which is why I always include eating healthier on my goals and resolutions. I like very few vegetables (actually really like salads with lots of raw spinach, shredded carrots, cauliflower, pickles, broccoli, etc., but can't really eat it much because of my easily irritated digestive system - and yep I know if I got rid of the simple carbs, sugars and gluten that my stomach would probably be able to handle vegetables better, but it's hard to break a life-long habit/addiction) and the only meat I really care for is chicken. I'm very particular about red meat. It has to be cooked perfectly or I won't eat it (hence why I never order steak when I got out to eat and that with a lack of veggies is probably why I'm iron deficient lol). So yeah I have very unhealthy eating habits, but I am working on it. I eat cooked stir fry veggies over rice and I'll eat cooked mustard greens and kale from our garden. Oh and I'm a salt addict too ahhh!!!!

Not Amber, but still cute.

Q."Favorite animal?"

A. All of them!! :) Actually aside from dogs and horses, which you all knew about, I like wolves, dolphins, otters and big cats. Big Cat Diaries was my favorite show ever lol. I knew all of them by name and my favorite was Amber. :D

I don't know who of my followers likes tags, but if you do consider yourself tagged. If you don't I hope you enjoyed reading my answers anyway. :D

Thank you for tagging me Brooke! It was a lot of fun!

Blog Award

Thank you Denali's Mom for the award. :) The rules are to post seven things about myself and pass it on to fifteen blogs. I've received this award before, but it was on my first blog so I don't think I've done it on this one. Regardless I tried to think of new things that I haven't really mentioned before (I hope!). Here goes . . .


1. I would love to own/foster/work with one of every breed of dog (okay maybe not every breed) just to learn to train different breeds and learn about all their differences to see what I click with best, but my dream dog since I was a little kid has always been a male solid black German Shepherd dog that I could train in Schutzhund, Disc, Flyball, Freestyle, Agility and just about any other sport I can think of (except maybe herding, that never interested me). He would also have to be great with horses so he could go on trail rides with me.


I had a black German Shepherd named Wolfgang (I know how original, I was a little kid) that I had for around five years before we had to put him to sleep because we couldn't afford extensive surgery to get rid of bladder stones ($1000+ and vet said they would most likely come back - he also had an old injury from being hit by a car so he wasn't a great candidate for surgery). He went with me everywhere and went on all of my trail rides. He would go hiking with me and I'd have to help him over the fences because of his rear leg, but he never left me. I loved that dog.


There are a ton of other breeds I would love to have someday. I especially would like to have a small breed someday (since I've mostly had big dogs) and my heart is set on a Papillon because I've read that they're like having a Border Collie in a tiny package. Pembroke Corgi is my second choice (second only because they're a little bigger and shed a lot which I need a break from after living with a Siberian Husky for ten years)! :D


2. I actually have very poor balance. I can't roller blade (which I would love to learn to do), ice skate, skate board, ski, etc. but I love riding horses and usually have a good seat. Weird huh? Probably muscle memory since I've been riding since I was five. :) I also have no problem with bikes. Maybe it's not a balance issue, but more a lack of coordination since I do have a tendency to trip over my own feet hehe.


3. A lot of people consider me a snob, because I don't smoke, drink, do drugs, gamble, steal, party, etc. I think my worst bad habits are cussing (only around people I know), being addicted to sugar, talking on my cell phone while driving and I occasionally drive too fast (but not dangerously). I think those are fairly benign bad habits, but I definitely do not look down on others for their bad habits. I know that no one is perfect, myself included and that we all indulge in unhealthy habits. The only ones that really bother me are the unethical ones or habits that are dangerous to others.



4. I get bored very easily. I have trouble turning my brain off, so I like to stay busy to keep myself from worrying about something I have no control over (mild control freak and worry wart). When I was a kid I used to follow my mom around the house while she cooked or cleaned, talking the whole time. :) I can be bored within thirty seconds of completing a task. I think that's one reason I love to read. It's a great way to escape from my own overactive brain. :)


5. I have a LOT of hobbies. Things like horses (which I really consider more of a necessary part of my life because without them I'm miserable), writing, reading, drawing, scrapbooking, piano, blogging, dog training, fishing, photography, etc. I could go on I'm sure. I never really knew why I had/have so many hobbies (although I always thought it was because I wasn't particularly good at any one thing), but after reading Annette's post about her learner signature theme it makes a little more sense. Check it out here http://aspenmeadows.blogspot.com/2011/09/signature-themes-learner.html

6. I think my biggest pet peeve is cigarettes. I'm very allergic to cigarette smoke. It gives me an instant headache (which with prolonged exposure can be pretty severe), makes me cough and hack and clogs up my nose so I can't breathe. I wish I could give those symptoms to every smoker for just one day so they can feel how bad it is. Then maybe they wouldn't smoke in drive through windows, ticket lines or close to doors. The door to the store where I work doesn't seal and actually blows open in the wind so when someone stands right outside the door the smoke it blows inside. Very rude! And it takes forever for me to be able to breathe easily again. I just wish people would be more considerate of their bad habits that affect others.

7. When I was a kid my dream jobs were horse breeder/boarding stable owner, dog trainer (specifically police dogs), zoo keeper, vet, wildlife photographer, the person who takes the video for shows like Wild Cat Diaries, etc. Now that I'm in my mid twenties I have no idea what I want to do. I still think some of those sounds great, but I now understand my limitations. :) If I could find someone I could apprentice with I would become a police dog trainer in a heartbeat!! I don't think I'm cut out for running a dog obedience school though because I'm not a great people trainer lol. I guess one day I'll figure out what it is I'm meant to be doing. :)

It's late (I'm setting this to post first thing in the morning since I've posted today already) and a lot of people have already received this award so I tag the first fifteen people to leave a comment who have not already received the award. I look forward to learning more about you. :)

Note: None of the images in this post belong to me. Images are linked to original site.