11 random things you didn’t know about me

This weekend TamrahJo nominated me for a Leibster award. You may remember her from my previous Work that feels like play post. She is a consummate player (in the nicest sense of the word) and her words of support and advice have kept me going on more than one occasion when I felt like giving up (i.e. she is one cool lady).

The Leibster award is for blogs with less than 200 followers. I have 95. When I started this I thought I’d struggle to top 20 subscribers. So 95 is a big deal for me. My mission is to hit my 100th follower (I don’t mean literally, though in my leap of joy I may inadvertently knock someone’s glasses off).

Anyway, here are the Rules for Leibster:

• Post 11 random facts about yourself
• Answer your nominator’s 11 questions
• Nominate 11 deserving blogs with less than 200 followers and ask them 11 questions

Without further ado, here are 11 random facts about me:

1. I once woke up in the middle of the night and ate a whole Viennetta Slice.
2. My favourite word is mellifluous (it means smooth and sweet-sounding).
3. I hate wearing shoes. If I could I would walk barefoot everywhere.
4. When I was a kid I had a guinea pig called Podge.
5. I also had a tortoise called Albert.
6. I am a qualified personal trainer and have spent the last 12 years coaching people about health and fitness (top tip: never attempt Fact 1).
7. I am on a mission to walk all 214 Wainwright Peaks in the Lake District, like my dad (65 done so far).
8. Last year I completed my 10-month Cognitive Hypnotherapy Diploma and realised I didn’t actually want to be a hypnotherapist.
9. I once dreamt I kissed Mick Jagger and then woke up in a cold sweat panicking about how to break the news to my boyfriend.
10. I do not fancy Mick Jagger.
11. When I was a university student in Brighton I had a weekend job selling roses in nightclubs. My killer technique was to go up to a group of men and inform them that this was probably THE evening when they would meet the woman of their dreams. This being so, they really ought to be prepared and have a rose ready to give to her. (Simple but effective!)

Here are my answers to TamrahJo’s questions:

What do you like best about the WordPress community?
The camaraderie, support, inspiration and relief of knowing there are other people out there who think the same way as me.

Devil’s or Angel Food Cake?
I’m not sure if this is a UK thing as I have never heard of either of these! So I will have to say Carrot Cake or Mint Choc Cake which we made when we were kids (a layer of mint and a layer of chocolate sponge).

What is your favourite season of the year?
Oooh, tricky. I love crisp Autumn and Winter mornings. Then again, I love the promise of Spring. But overall Summer is probably my favourite as life is always better when you’re wearing flip flops.

Beer, wine or none of the above?
Wine, definitely. I am also partial to a Gin and Tonic or Martini Cocktail.

What helps to keep your creative spark ignited?
Hmm…books, blogs and the memory of how rubbish my life is when I don’t express myself or do anything creative.

Did you set out to blog professionally or just for fun?
Just for fun.

First paying job?
Ugh, I was a Trainee Retail Store Manager, which basically meant I stacked shelves for hours each day. It was horrific.

Favourite teacher from school?
Mrs Wiggins, my English Literature teacher. She was eccentric and marvellous. She once taped orange Perspex to the classroom windows so the room was bathed in an orange light and waited until our eyes had adjusted…then she led us outside to see a world that had turned a brilliant shade of green.

What are your hopes for your blog?
I just want to continue to enjoy writing my blog and hopefully inspire other people to find their spark and follow their dreams (sorry, that sounds really cheesy).

Your three best characteristics
Loyal. Creative. Caring.

Now, this is the bit where I’m supposed to nominate 11 other deserving blogs. I really want to do this as the whole point of the Liebster award is to introduce more readers to great bloggers. The problem is, I am running out of blogs to recommend as I have nominated quite a few previously. So here’s a recent new discovery:

I came across Kat via a Free Range Humans newsletter and was captivated by her story. As a young girl she dreamt of working in marine conservation, specifically with sharks, but a series of traumatic setbacks meant her dreams were put on hold…until recently!

You can read her inspirational story here (scroll down to ‘The story behind the story’).

Then read this post to find out how she made her dreams a reality.