Lizster (now with bonus Divster!)

Haven't seen this one in a couple of years, but it's Liebster going around again :) Liz tagged me in it, but as a senior citizen of the blog world (I started this thing in '08 which makes it seven thousand Internet years old) I don't play by the rules anymore. Here's my rules: if you want to play, repost this with your own answers, and link me to it in my comments. Love to see what yall have to say!

Edit:  now I've had this in draft so long that GunDiva's sent it to me too.  Oh dear...

How to Accept the Award
The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs that have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a word in German that means beloved and valued. Here are the rules for accepting the award:

Thank the person that nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
List 11 random facts about yourself.
Answer the 11 questions given to you.
Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links back to their blogs.
Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them.
11 Random Facts:

1. I am really bad at these.
2. See #1.

11 Questions from Liz:

1. Who is your favorite horse? (Either real or fictional) Why?
The Red Stallion. I dreamed of finding an island, braving the maze of tunnels, and then discovering a secret horse herd just like in the book.
2. What is the most exotic/unusual pet you've ever owned? I have owned Madagascar hissing cockroaches (the huge cockroaches they use in all the movies, think Men In Black) and I have owned an albino hedgehog.
3. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a horse trainer. And then when people told me I'd always be poor and not be able to have a ton of horses I wanted to be a vet. And then I realized what I covered above and decided to do something within natural resources.
4. If you ended up being something else, what made you change your mind? See above.
5. What are your long-term riding career goals? Compete in a 100 mile endurance ride. Maybe compete in some sort of XC event or fox hunt.
6. What is your greatest riding achievement? As far as awards go, I was High Point Champion at a show years and years and years ago. Beyond that, I think starting Griffin and doing all of his training on my own is a pretty big deal.
7. What is your greatest regret? Not being able to buy Stanley and have him as my own. ...there may still be time one day for that though.
8. What is your favorite movie? Why? Ack, I hate this question. I have way too many favorite movies in way too many genres.
9. Have you ever read a book that moved you so much that it changed your life? Which book? I don't know that any one book changed me super radically. Certain books I've read at certain points in my life have definitely had an impact on me (i.e., Eat, Pray, Love when I was going through a really hard break-up).
10. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? What would your house be like? I love WV, but I've been here forever. I really covet the west and hope to live there for a part of my life. West or high elevation WV - Canaan or Spruce area. Either location I'd have a cabin-esque home. Something homely and rustic, yet with a modern twist to some of the interior features.
11. If you could have any saddle, which one would it be? I haven't ridden in one to know for certain if it would work for me, but I'm lusting hard after a Specialized Endurolite. We shall see...


11 Questions from Liz:
1. Do you remember when your love of horses began?
Oh, when I was a kid. I always wanted a fairytale horse, something that would carry me far, far away on epic adventures.
2. What horse-related thing do you hope to accomplish before you die?
Well, I'd love to finish the Tevis ;)
3. What is a non-horse thing you hope to accomplish before you die?
I'd like to write a novel, or series, that's so good that it sticks with readers for years. (When faced with adversity, I often think to myself, "What would Bobby Shaftoe do?" I wonder what happened to Aerin-sol between The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword. And what's going to happen to Harry Dresden?)
4. Did your parents support your horse-habit growing up, or was it something you pursued on your own?
We briefly had a pony, but none of us had a clue how to take care of him, and we gave him to some people a couple miles down the road. (I saw him in their pasture until he died in his 30s, so a good end.) They had no horse knowledge and no desire to learn, and we didn't have the money for lessons. I got my first real horse when I was 28.
5. Unicorns or pegasus?
Unicorns. They can stab your enemies.
6. If you had the opportunity to go to the Olympics in any sport, equine or non, what would it be and why?
Ugh, crowds, no thanks. I'd go to some utterly fringe sport, like curling.
7. Most amazing vacation destination you've ever been to? A place you haven't been to yet but hope to one day visit?
Lake Tahoe area is the prettiest place I've ever been, and I am fortunate beyond words to be able to ride and play there pretty often. I'd really like to ride in Montana or Wyoming.
8. Shoes, boots, or bare? Why?
Bare when I can, cause I'm lazy. Boots when the horse needs the protection - going fast for a long way on gravel, or just going a long way.
9. Best birthday ever: what did you do and why was it so awesome?
They're usually either terrible debacles (New Orleans, I am looking directly at you) or pleasantly low-key events, but two years ago I rode Dixie in a parade the day after my birthday. She had just really turned the corner from "untrustworthy psycho" to "really steady partner" so that was huge and wonderful.
10. Blogosphere friendships, do you know/have you met any of your blog friends IRL?
Tons of them! And hopefully tons more in the future. Yall know who you are, even if you're on hiatus or have quit blogging. Las Vegas, the AERC conventions, and most rides I've been to were blogging-inspired.
11. Seriously, guys, which came first, the chicken or the egg?
The velociraptor!

And here's 11 questions from GunDiva, to make up for my abysmal performance with the rest of the meme:

1.  What is your passion?
Uh.  Endurance?  Controlled adrenaline rush sport with my horse!
2.  If you could do anything you wanted for the rest of your life, without having to think about money, what would it be?
Write urban fantasy and sci-fi novels.
3.  What is your guilty pleasure?
Supernatural! 
4. Favorite book ever?
The Hero and the Crown.  Or Cryptonomicon.  I can't choose between them and they're vastly different.
5.  Favorite movie ever?
Die Hard.  Or Ghostbusters.  (I don't follow directions well at all.)
6.  Have you ever met anyone famous?
Yes.

Oh, you wanted more?  It depends on your definition of famous, I suppose.  I've met internet-famous people, and famous writers, and famous musicians, but maybe you've not heard of them.  I've met famous endurance riders and probably fangirled the hardest over them, but either you already know who I mean or you've definitely never heard of them!
And one time I shared an elevator with Kristi Yamaguchi, but me being me, I didn't realize it til we were all in the lobby and the people I was with were like "omg that was Kristi Yamaguchi!"  I think that anecdote neatly summarizes my life, actually.
7.  Who would you like to meet (living or dead, real or fictional) and why?
Ten.  Duh!  He's seen everything and he'll take me away for a visit to the rest of the universe and get me back home safely when my arc is complete.
8.  Biggest pet peeve?
People who don't zip properly.  Not like that, ewww, I mean people who try to skip in line when two lanes are merging.  You go, then I go, then you go, BUT NOT YOU, ASSHOLE, YOU WAIT YOUR TURN.  Don't you dare play chicken with my truck.
9.  If you won the PowerBall or Lotto and wanted to donate a chunk to a charity, which charity would it be and why?
There's a charity - I don't know if it ever got off the ground - but it was buying up debt from debt collectors and forgiving it.  I'd fucking love to be part of that, buy somebody's insurmountable medical/CC debt and erase it off their credit record.
10.  Favorite place you've visited?
Tahoe :)
11. Where to you want to visit that you haven't been able to?
Antarctica.  Wyoming.  Australia.  Mongolia.  Siberia.  (Perhaps I like empty places.)


OMG, I have to keep writing?  I have to do 11 of my own?  Somebody please answer these and link me back!
1.  Where are you from?
2.  Where have you been?
3.  What scares you the most (and I don't mean "spiders")?
4.  What's your favorite food?
5.  What's your biggest regret, or do you not believe in regrets?
6.  Favorite band (with links!)
7.  What's the first name you ever gave?  (I named my first cat Butterfly.  I was three.  I have no explanation.)
8.  Is there a name you're saving?  For a girl child, or a homebred horse, or a funny cat name?
9.  Biggest personal accomplishment, present or future?
10.  What's your favorite book?  (reusing this, but I always love to hear the answers.)
11.  What do you want for your epitaph?