The Natty Brat Has Been Awarded the Liebster Blog Award!

Ok, so maybe it is not an award that I can sit on a shelf on my wall and stare at all day, and maybe it’s not a “real” award, but to know that someone enjoyed my blog enough to pass on this award to me makes me feel good about what I am doing with this blog and the direction I am heading with it. I was awarded by Dolly of Substance AND Style, and have been informed that this “award” is more like a game in which helps to connect blogs and allow bloggers to get to know each other better while promoting each other’s blogs. A huge THANK YOU to Dolly for feeling that The Natty Brat Blog was worth this award and worth promoting!

As part of this award, I must give ten (10) facts about myself, answer the ten (10) questions that Dolly has posted to her award winners, and then post ten (10) questions of my own to the ten (10) blogs that I nominate (I was able to nominate nine [9] so I came close!). So, let me begin!

Ten Random Facts About The Natty Brat!

I have a Bachelors of Fine Arts – Fashion Design even though I’m not huge on designers or clothing in general. I just love to design and create clothing, especially costume design and production.
I am a costumer! You can check out my costuming page over on Facebook: Xandria Morgan . I am on sort of a hiatus with costuming at this time because of our new baby but hope to be back in action by next year!
My husband and I just bought our first home together back in December after waiting almost a year and a half on a contract!
Natural living has not always been part of my life. In fact, I used to laugh at those who lived naturally and called them hippies. Now I realize how wrong I was and wish I had started living naturally a long time ago.
I grew up in a very rural area of Maryland, but when to college for almost four (4) years in Chicago, Illinois.
I have four (4) cats. No I am not a crazy cat lady. And my husband says no more.
I also have two (2) turtles. Again, my husband says no more.
I am addicted to chocolate, but what woman isn’t??!!
While my degree is in Fashion Design, I have been working as a paralegal since graduating college in 2009.
I moved back home to Maryland after graduating college in order to help take care of my grandparents. Family is very important to me.

Ten Questions from Dolly!

If you could write a book about your life what would you call it?
I think I would call it Mish-Mash: The Crazy Unorganized Life because that’s literally what my life has been like for the past twenty-seven (27) years!

What is the most interesting beauty treatment you’ve heard of and want to try or have tried?
Probably a chocolate bath! They give them at a spa in Hershey, Pennsylvania and I have always wanted to try it. My love for chocolate combined with pampering: yes please!

Do you think standard working hours are too much or too little for the average person and is 10-25 days annual holiday entitlement enough?
I work a standard forty (40) hour work week and I believe it is too much now that I have a family. I resent that my daughter spends more of her waking time with a stranger than she does her own parents. Not a huge fan of that. As for the annual holidays, I get seven (7) holidays while other people working other jobs (mainly government jobs) get much more than me. I think there should be a standard set of holidays that EVERYONE gets off for and no more. It is only fair in my eyes.

Is there a craft or skill you’ve always wanted to learn but never had the opportunity? E.g. glass blowing or abseiling?
Hand embroidery! I would love to know how to do that so I can incorporate it into my costuming and clothing construction.

Do you believe in aliens?
I believe there could be life on other planets. Whether they actually do exist or not, I’m not sure.

If you were a fictional character (from any media e.g. books, comics, cartoons) who would you be?
Maurynna from The Last Dragonlord. She is a strong woman who is still very feminine in her ways and does not allow one side to overshadow the other.

Are caravans/mobile homes a practical solution to the lack of affordable housing?
Around here, I think not. While my husband and I were searching for a house, some mobile homes came up in our price range. When I checked their listings, they all included a hefty fee that had to be paid to the park on a monthly basis. When you added that to the monthly mortgage payment, it came up to more than what we are currently paying per month for our single-family stick-built home. That’s the only knowledge I have on them however, and maybe not all parks have that monthly fee, I do not know.

Would you prefer a coastal, countryside, suburban or urban residence? Or something totally customized (e.g. tree house, mud hut, cave, inside a piece of modern art)?
I would prefer a countryside home. Coastal brings with it the possibility of storm damage. Suburban is too compact. And I have lived in urban and would not want to raise a family there. In the countryside, you truly feel like you own a piece of land and it is YOURS. Plus you have more privacy and peace-and-quiet. And if you do not want neighbors, you can buy enough land so you never have to see them!

Pick a movie you think is closer to reality than we acknowledge e.g. a film labelled as fantasy but features the cold hard truth.
Atlas Shrugged. Yeah I’m probably crazy but I’m ok with that 🙂

What would be your ideal theme park (different to the ones you’ve heard of or been to)?
I’m a big gamer so a gaming-themed theme park would be awesome. I’m sure the Japanese probably have one or at least have one in concept but that’s what I would love to see.

Ten (10) Questions for my Winners:

If you had a son and a daughter, what would their names be and why? If you already have a son and a daughter, what are their names and why?
If you could pick any country to live in, what would it be and why?
Name one law that you feel should be changed in this country and why.
Out of all the award shows, which one would you like to attend and why?
Which food item would you like to see grow in popularity in restaurants and why?
If you could do one thing to help better the world, what would it be and why?
If you were given a million dollars and told you had to spend it all in one year, what would you do?
If you took in five strangers to live in your home, what would your house rules be and why?
If you could create one item to sell to the world, what would it be and why?
If you had to choose between a significant other who was beautiful but did not have much of a personality, or one that was a little hard on the eyes but had a huge personality, which would you go with and why?

And there we go! Here are the blogs that I have awarded the Liebster Blog Award!

GeekilyGF