Liebster Award

The lovely Louisa from My Family and Abruzzo has kindly nominated my little ol’ blog for a Liebster Award after being nominated herself for her beautiful blog with the gorgeous photos (thank you, hun).

These are Louisa’s questions for me and my answers:

What would your last supper be? Definitely a roast; preferably beef, Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings.  Followed by sticky toffee pudding and cream.  I’m figuring that if it’s my last supper I won’t have to worry about the heartburn that it would undoubtedly give me.

Who is your favourite fashion designer?  I’d have to say Karen Millen because she’s the only designer I’ve ever been able to afford so she wins by default.  I bought a gorgeous purple dress from there for middle son’s Christening and it gives me a little rush of pleasure every time I see it hanging up in my wardrobe.  I think Stella McCartney’s stuff is very stylish but wearable, too.

What is your favourite book and why? The Great Gatsby, without a doubt.  Each time I’ve read it (a lot) I’ve got something different from it and the imagery is amazing.  It must be good because I’ve read it both for pleasure and for teaching at A Level; that can sometimes be the end of a love affair with a book for me because it’s been analysed to death, but that’s never happened with The Great Gatsby.

Where was the best sunset you have ever seen? I’ve seen some lovely sunsets but there isn’t one that particularly sticks in my mind.  However, the sunrise the morning after our middle son was born was phenomenal; my husband took a picture of it as I held Max in my arms and the calm and utter contentment I felt looking at that sunrise was overwhelming.

One gift that would make you successful:  Writing, Painting or Singing, which one? It would have to be writing, for sure.  Partly because my singing sounds like I’m strangling a cat and no amount of imagination can conjure an image of me being a singer and my mum’s very good at painting (even though she won’t admit it) but that gene seems to have bypassed me.  So whilst I’ve never really thought of myself as a creative person, writing feels ‘right’ and gives me a massive buzz, so it has to be that.

Who is your favourite actor and why? Matt Damon has been a firm favourite since I saw him in Good Will Hunting.  His raw emotion dragged me right into his character and I’ve liked him in every film I’ve seen since then.

Most beautiful place you have ever been to? I’ve been to some really pretty places on holiday but I think those that strike you as most beautiful are those with the best memories attached so for me that would be our honeymoon in Singapore.  The atmosphere and contrasts, the food, the friends we stayed with who made it so special for us, the fact that we were so in love…all of it combined to make it the perfect holiday.

Which prime minister/president would you invite for supper? (dead or alive) Barack Obama.  I find him really quite captivating (whether or not I agree with his political viewpoints and decisions).  I would love to sit down with him and see if he is as down to earth and charming as he seems.

One wish, what would it be?  Short and not very sweet: To die before my children.  That is all.  Anything else is unspeakable.

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be? I’d write a Distressed Housewife column.  I want to do what I’m doing now…but get paid lots of money for it.  Too much to ask?  Probably.  But we are talking about ideal jobs here.

Big house or a big garden, which would you prefer? A big house. Not because I’m materialistic but because our house is a squash at the moment and we really want to move but can’t afford to.  Currently our two younger boys share a room and we want them to have a room of their own.  I also want my own bathroom…with a lock.

11 random facts about me:

I did two bungee jumps at the age of seventeen over the sea in Cyprus in tandem with my best friend (as though by doing it together we would somehow be able to save each other should the rope snap.  Bless.)

I had post-natal depression for over a year after the birth of my eldest child and it was the darkest time of my life.  I have a recurring fear of going back to that scary, black place and I come closest to it when I’m not getting enough sleep.

I have five tattoos; a small Scorpion on my stomach for my birth sign; Chinese symbols across my lower back to represent hubby, J and M’s Chinese animal and element; a small Sagittarius sign on the other side of my stomach to represent Z; the Celtic sign for motherhood on my back with a black dot to represent each of my children and a heart intertwined with a Celtic knot to represent ‘eternal love’ for my husband on the inside of my left wrist.

We stopped off in Dubai for three days on the way to Singapore for our honeymoon and were treated like royalty in a three star hotel that would have been five stars in England.

I used to be a holiday rep. in Cyprus and planned weddings for couples getting married over there.

I just knew I would marry my husband from pretty much the first moment we got together.

I don’t have a lot of luck with cars: I left off the hand brake of one so it rolled down the street and an old lady accused me of knocking her down with another when she had, in fact, fallen off the pavement.  That car was also keyed down the side (not by the old lady…I don’t think) and I trashed a roof box on a multi-storey car-park with our current one.

I was overweight as a child and as a result had body issues throughout my teens and twenties even after losing the weight.  I’m happier now in my saggier, older, droopy-boobed self than I ever was then.

I seem confident but I’m painfully shy with people I don’t know very well; I’m awful at making small talk and as I’m naturally sarcastic I’m always terrified of offending people before I know them properly.  I also panic about forgetting names.  I’d rather do a presentation to a hundred people than stand at a party and talk to people I don’t know.

I’ve been told a few times that I’m a bit psychic (no, not psycho, before those that know me make that very joke) and have had some very strange ‘experiences’ that I’ll save for another post.

Finally, the most random of all: I don’t fart (except on the toilet).  I don’t hold them in, I just don’t need to.  Ask my husband.  He thinks it’s weird. 

These are my 11 questions:

1.  What’s your favourite childhood memory?
2. What are the best and worst parts of your body?
3. If your could be an animal, what would you be and why?
4.  What is your favourite song of all time and why?
5. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done?
6. Describe yourself in three words.
7. What is your most treasured possession (not including family/friends)?
8. What is/was your favourite item of clothing and why?
9. What would you like to be doing in ten years’ time?
10. Who inspires you?
11. What super power would you have and why?

I now nominate some other blogs I love for Liebster awards: Laughter, Mud and Mayhem  Wicked World of Lucas The Brick Castle Little Rascal Reviews Mum Turned Mom and Northumberland Mam.