This is a new experience for me.

Well well well. It turns out I’ve been nominated for this by a lovely fellow blogger who I love talking to and sharing ideas with. Laura’s blog ‘Black Moon Lilith’ can be found here. Her art, poetry and views on life are always inspirational so I’d like to say a very big ‘THANK YOU LAURA’ for the nomination.

The rules for this whole thing are as follows (which I have taken straight from Laura’s post!):

• Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog. 
• Thank the person who nominated you. 
• Provide a link to your nominator’s blog. 
• Answer your nominators’ questions. 
• Nominate up to 11 bloggers. 
• Ask your nominees 11 questions.
• Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts.

So, here goes with my answers to Laura’s questions:

What’s your favorite brand of coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, what do you like to drink? (Tea, etc)

• Ok, this will be disappointing to many of you but currently, I’m more or less addicted to a very cheap version of coffee! I won’t name the brand but it comes in a sachet with all sorts of unhealthy additions but they come in all sorts of different flavours and I can’t get through the day without their nut roast! That sounds so wrong but it tastes so right!

What’s the most creative lie you’ve ever told?

• When it comes to being creative, the best one which took a lot of effort was probably that damn Elf on the shelf! One year, I had to sneak in every.single.night and move him to some new place! Dearest Son had a whole Lego scenario set up and would have a new toy or ‘game’ set for the Elf, so I would have to creep in and move things to make it look like the Elf had not only played the game but also set something else up for our son to play the next day. Couldn’t wait for Christmas so I could get a rest!

What’s the last dream you had (that you feel comfortable sharing)? If you’re in the “don’t dream” camp, what would you like to dream about?

• Not sure what I was actually dreaming about but apparently the other night, Hubby heard me very calmly warning someone ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you’. I have no idea who I was talking to but it went on for a little while. I’ve had a lot of very vivid dreams, from flying to being attacked by demons – I’ve had the lot!

What was the most favorite job you’ve held in your lifetime?

• This one is pretty easy for me. I’ve had a lot of jobs in my nearly 51 years, including: newsagents, clothes shop, supermarket, Occupational Therapist, community support worker and a couple of others. Never had a boss I liked. Now, as a carer and mother – never been happier. It’s hard work, financially we aren’t in a good situation but I love it.

What motivated you to start blogging?

• This one is harder to answer. I’m coming up for my 2 year anniversary (July I think), but I can’t remember why I started! I think I just wanted to share ideas, recipes, poetry etc. Later on it dawned on me that I spend a lot of time gardening so of course, it made sense to share that too.

What are you grateful for?

• Lots of things and I make a point of looking for things to be grateful for every day. Having a home, family, a funny dog, a car, reasonably good health, food every day, the ability to cook decent meals, a bed to sleep in every night, a garden/allotment, my online ventures and all the lovely people I meet through them – the list goes on and on. I make an effort to focus on the positive – there is far too much negativity and too many negative people, it’s easy to let them drag you down!

What’s something nice you did for yourself recently?

• Em…..well I watched a movie, put on a face mask and chilled on Saturday night! That’s about as good as it gets for me.

If you could partake in any new endeavor, experience, or hobby, regardless of time constraints or money, what would it be?

• Sometimes I wish I had a large area of land of my own, grew loads and loads of lovely veg, fruit etc and sold it – enough to make a living and then some!

What do you like to do to keep your brain active?

• I love puzzles! When I was a kid, I would buy a huge puzzle book for the holidays and always do some every day. Nowadays, I like the online puzzles, just the daily ones though as I don’t have time to do much more than that!

What do you like to do to keep your body active?

• I’d love to have a great answer for this. I used to be able to say going to the gym but I don’t do that at the moment. Some days I find just being able to move freely is a blessing so if I get a good long walk in, I’m happy. You don’t realise how much you take movement for granted until it is either taken away from you or limited in some way. Ageing doesn’t help either!

What is your favorite thing about spending time out in nature?

• It’s where I feel I’m meant to be. At the risk of sounding like a complete hippy, I feel at peace when I’m surrounded by natural energy. I think if more people did it, the world would be a more pleasant and much safer place.

OK, so now it’s my turn! Here are my 11 questions for my nominees:

1. If you could only have one meal for the next month, what would it be and why?

2. Sticking with food, who would you most like to have round to yours for dinner? This can be anyone alive or dead, real or fictional!

3. You’re in charge of the world for one day – what do you do?

4. What’s the most important lesson you learned as a child?

5. What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself as you’ve grown older?

6. What animal do you feel you would be and why?

7. Lots of company of being alone – which do you prefer and why?

8. Do you consider yourself domesticated when it comes to the home, or are you a creature of mess and chaos?!

9. Favourite movie of all time and why?

10. What superhero trait do you wish you had and why?

11. Who are you most inspired by?

And to answer these questions (if they are willing!) I nominate the following people:

Katherine from Eden Unlocked

Sharon from Life on a London plot

Michael from Life experiences and adventures

Audrey from Audrey Driscoll’s blog

Ann from Muddling through my middle age

Pauline from Back porch studio

Mary from Awakening Wonders

Niki from Under 1000 Skies

I think that will do! If those nominated do take part, then I’ll say a very big thank you now. Another thank you to Laura for including me and of course, thank you for reading!