The very lovely Mel from Existential Detective has presented to me, a Liebster Award – which I accepted with minimal fanfare – only thanking God and my therapist. I did take a Jennifer Lawrence-style tumble as I approached the stage but laughed it off with equal aplomb.

Anyhoo, I’ve done a couple of these before and always love the randomness of the questions you receive. So… cos I’m sure you’re all keen to know more about me (and it IS all about me!), here we go!

1. What would you spend your last $50 on?
I hate to admit it, but probably wine. Or vanilla diet coke.

2. Favourite fashion accessory?
Rings. Being overweight means I can’t wear the type of clothes I’d like, so I add a bit of funky jewellery to look less like a middle-aged-tragic. And for me – it’s costume jewelry all the way!

3. If you were a character on The Simpsons who would you be?
Carrrie! Oh wait, this isn’t a “Which Sex and the City character would you be?” question?! Damn. I do wanna be Carrie. But… as for The Simpsons, though I’d like to say Lisa, I suspect I’d be more like non-dummy-spitting Maggie – perpetually orally-fixated (causing my love of food in later years!).

4. What’s your go-to comfort food?
Hot chips (fries). No question. No competition.

5. If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Italy. I’ve always wanted to go there, but constantly find excuses. I’d budgeted for it when I was working o/s but decided on a health retreat here in Oz for 3 weeks instead (for the same price!). Having said that, holidays over the past decade have mostly involved just staying at home. Not-working was a holiday enough.

6. Do you prefer to workout in the gym, at home or outdoors, and what do you love about it?
I like the gym and I love classes. I need someone else to tell me what to do so I don’t have to worry if I’m pushing myself hard enough. If I have to think too much about what I’m going to do (in advance) I’ll pull the pin.

7. If you could pick 4 people (living or dead) to have a dinner party with, who would they be and why?
Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Richard Armitage and Sasha Roiz. The first two because they were both amazing women ahead of their time; the latter two cos… well… just look at them! Speaking of which. OMG! Seeing them together makes me realise I have a type. It’s only taken me 45yrs to work that out!!!

8. What’s your signature cooking dish?
Fillet steak with peppercorn sauce with some sort of potato dish and a vege stir fry with lemon juice, bacon and pepper.

9. Favourite TV show?
Jay-sus. This is too hard. I’m in the midst of an entire blog post about stuff I’m loving on TV…. So you’ll have to wait!

10. Where did you go to high-school?
Aldridge State High School in Maryborough Queensland. Waaaay back in the 1980s!

11. What are you currently obsessed with?
Hmm… what day is it? My obsessions vary with my moods. It’s often TV shows or authors as I try to devour every episode made or book written. Sometimes it’s food (the corn chips and caramello koala fetish hung around for a while). Other times it’s a song and I’m like a 2yr old who plays it again and again. And again.

Cos this is MY blog I’ve decided to change the rules and just tag one person with some follow-up questions… and the winner is award goes to…. KangaRue, from Silver Linings. Ruth is my bestie here in my new hometown. We both arrived late last year and (bizarrely) became friends via Twitter. Ruth has an adorable 18mth old son, Pickle – who I already adore – and has moved here all of the way from the UK, where she’d been living for the last 13 years.

She’s faced some difficult times over the past year and I thought her story may be useful to others. My questions for Ruth (only five, cos she’s a busy single mum!):

1. You mentioned that you’d always planned to eventually move back to Australia. What do you think it has to offer that the UK didn’t?
2. What do you miss about your life in the UK?
3. What’s been the most difficult part of moving across the world with an 18mth old?
4. You’ve done a lot of travel with a baby in tow. What advice do you have for others travelling with very young children?
5. What hopes and dreams do you have for Pickle? In the short-term, and the long-term?

So… enough about someone else. Let’s get back to me.

Do you think I really do have a ‘type’? 
Do you completely disagree with any of my responses? (I would be surprised, given my superior taste!) 😉