Liebster Award

And now for some light entertainment. The lovely Annie of Sweetest in the Gale has nommed me for a Liebster Award. Here goes:

 

Eleven Random Facts About Me

1. Eleven. I love prime numbers. I like to listen to music in the car on a prime number. That’s usually either 19 or 23.  I used to consider the number 13 as lucky. Until this year.
2. I seem to collect books. Oops.
3. I’m an ambivert, i.e. an outgoing introvert. That means I hate crowds and loathe networking–but if I’m with a group of people who I know, I can hold court. (This is sometimes annoying for others…)
4. As of last week, I have crossed the Atlantic 79 times. Once by ship!
5. I have excellent aural memory. I can usually start singing a song on the right note before it plays because I remember the specific note; and I recognise people’s voices more than their faces. Londoners might appreciate hearing that my mother’s salad spinner sounded just like the District line. (And although it’s not in the same key, New Yorkers might get a kick knowing that I heard the opening of Leonard Bernstein’s Somewhere in the R160 train long before this article was published.)
6. My party trick is breaking into other accents and voices. I can’t help it. I do a mean Elmo, Janice from Friends, Gonzo. Strangely, I can’t do a Dutch accent.
7. I’m 6’0.5″. I round down for my drivers license and round up for doctors.
8. No, I don’t wear heels. They are uncomfortable and unpractical.
9. Nor do I play basketball. I hate all sport. Don’t play ’em. Don’t watch ’em. Hate the sound of an arena of oofing people. I don’t do Wimbledon. I quite enjoyed the World Cup when Spain won, but that’s as far as my big toe goes.
10. I am seriously allergic to tomatoes and carry an Epi-Pen. I can have a bit of cooked tomato (if it’s the consistency of ketchup) but the smell of a freshly-cut raw tomato makes me gag.
11. Bad habits include forgetting to replace the tops of pens and leaving half-drunk cups of tea around the house.

Eleven Bloggers I Love (apart from Annie)

1. Running Nekkid
2. Two Adults, One Child
3. Project Sweet Pea
4. My Invincible Spring
5. Dellaquella
6. Not When, But IF
7. Baby Hopeful
8. You Are Richer
9. Stupid Stork
10. IVFfervescent
11. Positive Pants

Ten Answers

(because the person who nominated Annie doesn’t like odd numbers)

1. What do you turn to for comfort? Apart from people? My bed. My Jizo pebble. My Jizo necklace I rarely take off. And I try to remember to self-soothe.
2. Do you have any habits/mannerisms other people consider odd but you couldn’t do without? I am, apparently, militarily precise. My best friend smiles when I tell her it was three-fifths of the down my arm, above my left elbow. My brother teases me about using A for Alpha, B for Bravo… &c. on the phone. I also like writing ‘etc.’ as &c.–a trick I picked up from Jane Austen when reading Persuasion in high school.
3. What is your favorite thing to cook? Or, for non-cooks, to order in? I don’t have favourite thing to cook–I have favourite things to eat! Spanish tortilla with a crisp green salad makes a delicious and simple lunch. Fresh pesto with basil from the garden is a quick supper. Stir-fried veggies with a little ras-al-hanout over whole wheat organic couscous is another great, quick supper. And once in a while I’ll make a smorgas[m]bord of Indian food that will feed DH and me for days.
4. It’s your day off. No commitments yet. Shockingly, ALL your laundry is clean. What do you wear? I’d go au naturel. If I had to wear something though, it would probably be my favourite high-waisted skinny jeans with gold flats, a slouchy top, and a pashmina. That seems to be my uniform.
5. You can have one word or phrase stricken from the minds of humanity–they just forget it existed and you NEVER have to hear it again. What is it? Hate.
6. You’re a billionaire, hooray! What charity do you make your pet cause? I’d set up a foundation and help several charities. Causes that are important to me: animal welfare (esp. dogs), LGBTQ rights, child abuse, access to infertility treatment, and now, genetic disorders.
7. Do you wear socks to bed? Sometimes. Now I think about it more. Aren’t cold feet supposed to restrict bloodflow to the ovaries in TCM, or am I making things up?
8. I’ve got a gift card for you! You can’t spend it on bills. Only frivolous things. Where do you go? I’d probably buy a pile of books, and some organic, chemical-free shea butter that has been scented with essential oils.
9. What one thing that you do on a regular basis do you wish you never had to do again? Brushing my teeth. Filling the car up. Paying bills. Doing the dishes. Vacuuming. Shaving my armpits. Waxing my legs. Hauling myself out of bed some mornings. Facebook. Remembering I had a miscarriage / won’t have a bio child. Being patient.  Oh wait, I was supposed to choose only 1 thing? I thought it was 11…
10. If you were an expert in one area, and people came from miles away just to ask your thoughts, what area would that be? God knows. I’d hope graphic or web design, but I know I still have much to learn. Perhaps dogs. Or human nature. These days, I’m getting to be quite knowledgeable about human reproduction.

Eleven Questions for My Nominees

1. What is your super power? Not a fake one, but something you are good at and can consistently rely on?
2. What gift (apart from effortlessly making a human) do you wish you had?
3. Have you read a book more than three times?
4. What is your mantra?
5. What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
6. Do you blog on a PC or a Mac?
7. What made you decide to start blogging?
8. What’s in your handbag (UK) / purse (US) / “bag you carry around all day” (elsewhere)?
9. What’s in your fridge?
10. Who’s the last person you spoke to?
11. What makes you feel fabulous?