post

The Liebster Award – Questions and Answers

February 10, 2013 By

The two wonderful ladies who nominated me for the Liebster Award each gave me eleven questions to answer. I didn’t want to include my answers in yesterday’s post, because that was already running to over 900 words.

Here are the questions Maya asked me, along with my answers.

1. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My difficulty with food. I have some long-standing body image issues and a very uncomfortable relationship with food. I have tried countless ways to permanently fix my eating habits, and I have finally come to the conclusion that this might be something I have to take up with my therapist.

2. High heels, sneakers or flip flops? Sneakers!

3. The beach, the city or the mountain? The beach. I love the energy of the sea along with the hot sun.

4. Who is your favourite singer/group? I enjoy many artists, but the one I always come back to is Queen. When Freddie Mercury died, the world lost a man with phenomenal talent.

5. If you could vacation anywhere (cost is not a consideration), where would you go and why? South Africa. I’d have a good long vacation there to see my mom and brother, and other family members and friends. And I’d get my fix of hot sunshine and Highveld storms.

6. Do you mind that my blog is sometimes snarky? Nope. I can handle snark as long as it’s honest.

7. What is the one thing we would be surprised to know about you? My job involves a lot of interaction and a certain amount of conflict (all very professional, of course), and I find this incredibly difficult because I have social anxiety issues.

8. Favourite guilty-pleasure TV show? Friends. Last time I had to take sick days from work, I hunkered down in the front of the TV with my Friends DVD set.

9. Favourite book or author? This may sound really lame, but I absolutely love Dr. Seuss – even at my age. I love the rhythm of his books, and his quotes are the absolute best.

10. Do you admit to having a favourite child? No, but when they’re misbehaving, they do conveniently become my husband’s kids.

11. If you could replace your life with one from the Disney Channel, which show would you pick? I don’t know what’s on the Disney Channel, but I wouldn’t mind being the guy in Blues Clues for a day. I’d have a good long conversation with that talking mailbox. But only for a day. I wouldn’t be able to handle the psychedelic world for longer than that.

And here are the questions that Phaedra asked me, along with my answers.

1. Speed work. Love it or loathe it? Love it. It can definitely be painful, but I love having a specific goal for my runs, and the feeling of accomplishment at the end is great.

2. How did you get into running? The first time round, it was part of a quest to quit smoking and get healthy. The second time, I was (and still am) motivated by the opportunity to raise funds for kids with autism.

3. What is your one guilty pleasure? Most evenings, when the kids are in bed, I sip on a glass of wine while winding down from my busy day.

4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I’m pretty happy where I am, to be honest. I love Toronto, and although waiting lists do my head in sometimes, autism services in Ontario are pretty good.

5. Do you have a bucket list? If so, what’s #1 on it? Yes, I do have a bucket list. The #1 item is to run the Cape Town Marathon. I only want to do one full marathon, and that one is it.

6. What piece of gear could you not live without? Hands-down, this has to be my Garmin training watch.

7. Do you have a bad habit you want to break? I’m always too rushed (or too lazy, let’s be honest) to put on Bodyglide before heading out for my long runs. As a result, my oversized boobs get shredded to ribbons from the chafing.

8. What is your go-to pre-race meal? Two slices of whole-grain toast with peanut butter, and a good-sized cup of coffee.

9. Do you prefer to run in cold or the heat? I’ll run in just about anything, but I do love summer running. The only weather condition that I absolutely loathe running in is strong wind.

10. What do you love about running? I have figured out what duration and intensity it takes for me to achieve the Runners High, and it’s always worth it. The big thing for me – and the thing that keeps me motivated during runs that are not going well – is the feeling of accomplishment at the end.

11. Are you a solo runner or do you run with a group? I always run by myself, mostly because my schedule doesn’t really allow me to run with other people. I like running alone, but company would be nice on the occasional run.

Now, I get to make up eleven questions for the people I have nominated. Here’s what I would like to know.

1. How much time do you spend on the Internet each day (no judgment, I promise!)

2. What is the dumbest thing you ever did?

3. What is the smartest thing you ever did?

4. If you had to entrust one person with a winning lottery ticket, who would it be?

5. What is your earliest childhood memory?

6. What one thing (if anything) would you change about your physical appearance?

7. When did you last hand-write a letter to someone?

8. Have you ever had a falling-out with your best friend, and did you make it up?

9. If you could have any job in the world (regardless of qualifications needed), what would it be?

10. BlackBerry, Android or iPhone?

11. If you could have dinner with any famous person, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Filed Under: Liebster Award, Questions Tagged With: , , ,
post

The Liebster Award

February 9, 2013 By

From time to time, I read blog posts in which the authors say that they write for themselves, and that they’re not too concerned with how other people view their writing. I may have even said something along those lines myself at some stage. But who am I kidding? I do write primarily for the psychological benefit it brings to me, but of course I care about what other people think. As a writer, I like to have an audience, and I want that audience to like me. I want them to be able to identify in some way with what I’m saying, and I want them to come back.

And so when I get evidence that people like my blog, that makes me happy. Like when not one, but two fellow bloggers bestow a Liebster Award upon me (I’ll explain in a bit). Or when a popular Canadian website aimed at women features me in a write-up about inspiring mom bloggers.

It is so cool – and such an honour – that in these busy times, there are people who not only read what I have to say, but take the time to tell others about my blog. I am immensely grateful to Sheelagh from SheKnows Canada for featuring me in her article, and I am grateful to Maya (Musings of a Marfan Mom) and Phaedra (Blisters and Black Toenails) for the Liebster Award.

The Liebster Award is a very neat thing that bloggers do for each other. When you receive the award, you acknowledge the person who gave it to you, and then pass it on to seven other bloggers that you love. It’s a way for bloggers to give each other a shout-out.

My nominees – in no particular order – are as follows:

1. Sweet B’s Blog: This blog is written by my friend Margie who is awesome. There’s no other way of putting it. She did not post very often last year, but that’s only because she was working towards a Bachelors degree while working full-time and raising two busy boys.

2. Blog By The Phoenix: Authored by another friend of mine who will remain unidentified to protect her privacy, there is a lot of bravery here. It’s a fairly new blog, and health concerns have limited my friend’s ability to post as often as she’d like, but it’s well worth a read.

3. Kloppenmum: Karyn lives in New Zealand, enjoys coffee by day and wine by night, and is an awesome mom. She offers some keen insights into the minds of children, and what we as parents can do to bring out the best in our kids.

4. Beautiful Side of Hectic: I met Cheryl at Blissdom Canada last year, and we spent a bit of time swapping special needs parenting war stories. Cheryl is the mom of two girls, one of whom has Cerebral Palsy. Her blog offers us glimpses into her life and also includes some giveaways.

5. Nolie’s Place: Nolie is a military wife (and I am SO grateful to her and her husband for what they do) and mom to two boys. She writes about whatever happens to be on her mind, and she ALSO hosts some awesome giveaways. I roomed with her at Blissdom Canada and had an absolutely delightful time.

6. Behindhersmile’s Blog: Michelle is a former co-worker, former carpool partner and definitely-not-former friend. She proactively tries to educate people about healthy eating, to encourage us to set a good example for our kids.

7. Olordyimforty!! SarahJeanne has three things in common with me. She is an autism mom, she runs to raise funds for autism, AND one of her kids was born on Christmas Day. Besides, how can you not love a blog that has exclamation points in its name?

The next thing I’m supposed to do as part of receiving the Liebster Award is tell you eleven random things about myself.

1. I have a Bachelors degree in psychology, and I’ve just started post-graduate studies in writing.

2. One day when I was about four, I pulled out all my hair and ate it. No-one knows why.

3. I’m afraid of spiders, ladders and the Bloor Viaduct (when the subway goes over it you look down and see very little between you and the river below).

4. I cannot use a can opener (unless it’s electric). My excuse is that I’m a left-handed person in a right-handed can-opener world.

5. Someday I want to take a trip up to the northernmost part of Canada to see the Northern Lights.

6. When I was working on a farm in Israel, I discovered that I am severely allergic to mangoes.

7. I started blogging because of my friend Tim, who recognized that I needed a place of my own to talk about the challenges of autism parenting. Tim, sadly, is no longer with us, but a piece of him will always be in this blog.

8. I was born in South Africa and have lived in several countries. I have been in Canada since August, 2000.

9. I was proposed to about five minutes after I became a Canadian citizen.

10. My first car was an ancient Renault that I named Clare De Lune. That car took me through my student days and well into my 20’s. I eventually sold it, and as far as I know it’s still on the road.

11. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I’ll always cave at the sight of cheesecake. Every. Single. Time.

There’s one more thing I have to do for the Liebster Award. Check back tomorrow for a question-and-answer session!

Filed Under: blogging, Liebster Award, Random Facts, She Knows Canada Tagged With: , , , , , ,