Starlight Lane Farm: Liebster

Liebster Blog!

I'm happy (and at the same time doomed to answer a million questions) thanks to Saiph. She has tagged me as a recipient of the Liebster Blog Award. Thanks, lady!

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

To the disbelief of many, I am a natural redhead.
I'm a bit of a gear slut; I have an insane amount of outdoors gear and can get rather techy when you ask me about specs relating to it.
I hate moving, which is a pity because I'll be moving in about 2 weeks.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone kicks the back of a chair I'm sitting in.
While I've traveled to 38/50 states including Alaska and Hawaii, I have yet to live outside of WV.
Along that line of thought, I managed to get a position working in my home town after college so I've moved back. My job wasn't stable enough to sign a lease until a few months ago, thus I'm finally moving into my own place in a few weeks.
While rarely (if ever mentioned on my blog), I work as a biologist and GIS technician as my 9-5 (okay, 7-5) job.
I have witnessed and handled many endangered and threatened species throughout my career.
I originally thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, but changed my mind in HS when I realized how long I would have to remain in school and be stressed and competitive with my courses to be a vet/make it into a good vet school. Additionally, to be the kind of equine vet I wanted to be, I realized I would have virtually no time for a life outside of work. I live for my weekends and adventures (if that wasn't obvious), and thus I chose a different career path.
I'm a bit of a neat freak and have most of my possessions organized very tidily into boxes/shelves/etc.
While spiders definitely startle me, I'm not nearly as deathly afraid of them as I once was. The majority of spiders I encounter I can now confront calmly. If they have abdomens bigger than a quarter and hairy though? All bets are off. I will scream, run away, talk myself down, then return with something large that has smashing power.

11 Questions from Saiph

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 for Those I tag

Do you remember when your love of horses began?
What horse-related thing do you hope to accomplish before you die?
What is a non-horse thing you hope to accomplish before you die?
Did your parents support your horse-habit growing up, or was it something you pursued on your own?
Unicorns or pegasus?
If you had the opportunity to go to the Olympics in any sport, equine or non, what would it be and why?
Most amazing vacation destination you've ever been to? A place you haven't been to yet but hope to one day visit?
Shoes, boots, or bare? Why?
Best birthday ever: what did you do and why was it so awesome?
Blogosphere friendships, do you know/have you met any of your blog friends IRL?
Seriously, guys, which came first, the chicken or the egg?