Seven things you could all do without knowing about me….

A week or so ago, Sue from Stories of an Unschooling Family nominated me for an award.  I am someone who is unsure what to do when given an award.  Of course it is lovely to know someone enjoys reading your blog and I really am trying to embrace that rather than the awkwardness I feel when writing about myself and nominating others.  Sue, thank you for the nomination.  It is an honour and I will try to do it justice!  Sue writes about her unschooling journey and is very honest about the highs and lows of choosing this way to home school.  That said she is resolute and confident in her choice because she has already very successfully graduated four children (now adults) and her gentle confidence has given me courage when I venture occasionally down that route.

So here you are.  Seven revealing facts about me:

1. I hate crowds.  With a passion.  Always have, always will.  I hate small talk and am absolutely naff at it.  Which make crowds a bit of a hurdle for me.
2. I love my life.  There is absolutely nothing I would change, except maybe to be able to have more children.  I love my children and love being a mummy.  There is only one thing I love more than being a mummy and that is being a wife to my gorgeous husband, who I am just ever so slightly besotted with!
3. I am a home body and very happy with my own company.  I really enjoy me!  Whilst I do tend to get cabin fever around February each year, most of the time I happy pottering through life in our 200-year-old cottage, making lots of mess which I then procrastinate about tidying up.
4. I tend to have a handful of friends who I have been close to for decades, who would do anything for me and visa versa.  I am also very close to my mum, who lives next door, to my husband and to my children.  I work hard at nurturing relationships which matter to me.
5. I think I’m one of the funniest people I know.  I crack me up.  Gary says ‘somebody has to find you funny, I suppose!’  My nickname in primary school was Giggles.  I went to entirely different secondary school where I knew nobody and within days I had accrued the nickname of Giggles once more.  I love to laugh and giggle.  A lot of things make me laugh, and Gary and I spend most of our time laughing and teasing each other relentlessly.  And when Gary isn’t around T12, L11 and C11 step up to the challenge, joshing with me far more than is strictly necessary!
6. I thank God every day for the wonderful life I have.  However, I thank Him more for the hard times for it is during these times He was chiselling away at me, forming my character and growing me in ways I could never have dreamed of.  Postnatal depression for three years after the twins were born; crippling insomnia for most of my life; growing up with an alcoholic father and being diagnosed with invasive malignant melanoma have strengthened me and kept me humble.  Humble is a good place to be, for it is here I realise just how much I rely on God, Gary and my family and friends.  It reminds me how good life is, how precious it is, and just how blessed I am.
7. I don’t love often but when I do it is deeply and completely.  I find meaningful relationships the most satisfying thing life has to offer.  I could be content with a whole lot less material stuff and poverty doesn’t scare me nearly as much as being without those who I love.

The rules are as follows:

• Thank and link to the amazing person who nominated you.
• List the rules and display the award.
• Share seven facts about yourself.
• Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
• Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.

Many of the blogs I read have already been nominated but here are a few more excellent blogs written by some really lovely bloggers:

I nominate:

• Donna from Another Bend in the Road.  I know I’ve said it before but everyone should have a Donna.  She is naturally gifted in the art of encouragement and always has helpful and loving things to say.
• Ticia from Adventures of Mommydom.  Ticia was one of my first regular readers and is a pinner extraordinaire.  She also hosts a great science link up which is a huge encouragement to me to actually do science just to be able to link up!
• Leah from Almost Unschoolers.  I am a fairly recent reader of Leah’s blog and am astounded by her imagination and the way she engages her children in educational pursuits.  Her blog is a treasure trove of simple activities for all ages, using things you have around the house, proving that simple is often best.
• Audria from At the Well is another natural encourager with whom I am weight-loss pals with.  We pray for each other and will each other on our not always successful but always fun journey of getting rid of the pounds
• And finally Dawn from My 4 Sweetums.  Dawn writes very thoughtfully about her homeschool journey.  I always enjoy each post which she writes with eloquence and honesty.

Please do feel free to break as many of the above rules as you like!