Liebster Award from Shlomit

Shlomit at Telling a Different Story nominated me for a Liebster award (quite) awhile back... and then Mel nominated me more recently. (Thanks to both of you!)  I figured I should answer Shlomit's questions first (I did have most of them answered already)... Mel's questions & answers to come shortly. : )

Here are the rules from Shlomit:

1) Tell 11 things about yourself.
2) Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
3) Post 11 questions for those who will be nominated by you.
4) Nominate 11 bloggers.
5) Get in contact with those bloggers to inform them that you nominated them

Rules are made to be broken. ;)  I am going to skip #1,3,4 & 5 -- if you read this, consider yourself nominated and feel free to answer the same questions posted here. 

And here are Shlomit's questions to me, with my answers:

1. What did you want to be when you grew (grow?) up?

I went through the usual stuff that a little girl growing up in the 60s & early 70s wanted to be: a nurse (!! -- THAT was pretty short-lived...!), a teacher. But from a fairly early age, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I loved books so much, and I loved to write my own stories. As I got older, I realized that not too many people got rich & famous, let alone made a decent living, from writing books -- so I decided I would become a journalist. I even knew which paper I would write for -- The Winnipeg Tribune. I even wrote a letter to the editor -- who was a woman, a rarity at the time -- when I was about 13, asking for her advice -- and she kindly responded. (I still have the letter -- recently retrieved it from a drawer at my parents' house. It's here in my house now.) 

Sadly, the Trib closed, along with several others owned by the same chain, in August 1980, just as I was going into my second year of university. My parents were moving from the town where I had spent my junior and senior high school years, and my mom, sister & I were packing up the house. I felt like my whole world -- past, present, future -- was crashing down around me.

I did go to journalism school a few years later, and I did work briefly as a reporter on a smalltown weekly newspaper before I got married and moved away. Back then, very few of my J-school classmates went to work in what's now known as corporate communications, but that's where I wound up and where I've been working for the past (gulp) 27 years.

2. What style of underwear are your favourite?

Cotton briefs or bikini undies. 100% cotton, or as close to it as you can get, and no (or minimal) lace trimming. Sounds simple, but I'm finding it harder and harder to find underwear that fits the bill these days. Once in awhile I will find something at La Vie en Rose (Canadian lingerie chain). Victoria's Secret finally arrived in Canada a few years ago and I tried and liked some of theirs, although the fabric seems a bit thin/flimsy. Still, I think I got 7 pairs for something like $27 -- you can't beat the price.

I desperately need to get some new bras. I won't tell you how old mine are... too embarrassing! What I really need is a fitting, because I have no idea what size I really am anymore (and I remember n Oprah show based on the premise that a huge percentage of women aren't wearing the right size bra anyway). I was a 34B forever, until I got pregnant. I went up to a 38C and then after I lost Katie, those were too big. I just started wearing the 36C bras I had bought during my pregnancy and I've worn that size ever since then, but I have no idea if that's really the right size for me or not. I am very picky about my bras as well -- I have never worn underwires, except in strapless & special bras I wear with dresses for special occasions -- and there seems to be a very limited range of styles without them. I used to buy all my bras in a certain style by Wonderbra -- which of course they don't make anymore. :p  Sigh.

3. What's the best thing about being an adult?

Having the (relative?) freedom (and the income) to go what I want & do what I want, when & where I want -- within reason, of course. Sure, I can stay up until 2 a.m. on a work night if I really want to... but I will pay for it later. ;)

4. What's the worst thing about being an adult?

Having to be the grown up... having to hold it together and deal with the hard stuff of life -- to do the adult & responsible thing -- even when you just want to curl up in a corner somewhere and have someone else take care of things and make the tough decisions. (I HATE making decisions.)

5. What does spirituality mean to you?

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with organized religion (although it can). It means paying attention to that small, still voice within you -- and also taking time to appreciate the wonder of the world around you. It's recognizing that you are not at the centre of the universe, that there is something bigger and more important out there than your own life and concerns.

6. What's your favourite food?

If you mean food type (as in Chinese, Thai, etc.), it would have to be Italian. Which is good, since I am married to an Italian. ; ) Unfortunately, I've developed a tomato allergy in recent years (!!), which has interfered with ability to enjoy Italian cuisine somewhat. Thank goodness for pesto sauce, pasta alla olio, and pasta alfredo. ; )

I also love me a good steak now & then. Medium well with a baked potato, butter & sour cream on the side, please & thank you.

And of course, CHOCOLATE. ; )

7. If you had to be another person for a day, who would you be?

This was a tough one. Anne of Green Gables (the musical) springs to mind: "Gee I'm glad I'm no one else but me...." lol. I normally wouldn't want to be a politician or world leader, but since it's just for one day, I'd love to do that and spend the day making decisions that would help others -- instead of screwing things up as so often seems to be the case. :p

8. What do you first notice when you meet somebody new?

 Their smile (if they smile).  9. What's your favourite season and why?

I don't have a clear favourite season. There are things I appreciate about each one -- even winter has its charms, at least to a certain point (which usually comes somewhere shortly after Christmas &/or my birthday, lol). And there are things I dislike about each season as well. Dh clams fall is his favourite season. I do love the beautiful colours, & the weather is often still nice enough to enjoy -- and there's (Canadian) Thanksgiving turkey to enjoy.

But there are several reasons that keep me from saying fall is my favourite. For one thing (and this goes for spring as well), I find that in this period when it's too warm to have the furnace running but too cold to keep the air conditioner running, the bath towels never dry out and get all musty, and I have to change (& wash) them more often. :p  It's year end at work, which I always wind up surviving, but have come to dread more and more each year. :p  And fall is inevitably associated with death and endings and loss in my mind -- not just the reminder that winter is on its way, with the plunging temperatures, falling leaves and increasingly barren trees. In October 1998, I returned to work after several weeks off after the stillbirth of our daughter. A few days later, I had to bow out of work again when my beloved grandfather passed away. My grandmother died almost a year to the day later, and then my uncle (my father's sister's husband) died a few days after her funeral. His funeral was held the day my mother went into the hospital for a planned hysterectomy.

So it's sort of a melancholy time of year for me. I'm hoping that once I retire and work is no longer an issue, I'll have more time to enjoy the beauty of the season and that will help to chase away some of the lingering melancholy.

That didn't really answer the question, did it?? ; )

10. What happens after we die?

I don't know. I LIKE to think there is some kind of an afterlife and that I will see my daughter & my grandparents & other people I love. I hope so, but I really don't know. And I'm sure that if there is something afterward, it's probably very different from what we think it might be.

I've always said that if there is a God & a heaven & I eventually get there, He & I are going to have a VERY long talk...!!

11. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? In a small town near a big city somewhere in Canada, close to family (but not TOO close, lol). And preferably on a waterfront. I love a lakefront view.

Coming soon:  Mel's questions!