The versatile blogger award: Whatcha?!

I’m totes versatile!

Well the lovely My Perfect Breakdown nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award, so I thought I’d make an effort to do this and to nominate some other fabulous bloggers out there.

I’m very new to the world of blogging so forgive me if I get it a bit wrong! I’m a bit stupid like that.

The rules of the award are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award
2. Include a link to their blog
3. Nominate 15 blogs that you’ve recently discovered, or follow regularly
4. Share 7 facts about yourself

My nominator is the awesome MPB. She’s one of the blogs I really love to read, because she always has interesting topics to talk about and I find her posts really thoughtful and insightful. If you didn’t click on the link above, then click on this one: My Perfect Breakdown and hunker down for the read!

15 blogs that I’ve recently discovered

Well, pretty much all of them are recent discoveries because I haven’t been blogging for very long. I don’t want to miss anyone out so have a look at the section where it says which blogs I follow, because they’re all interesting, entertaining and moving in their own way. So I’m super sorry if I’ve missed anyone who really wanted to be nominated… There are so many of you and you’re all awesome, so if you’d like to do it then consider this your nomination! (Most of you have probably already been nominated before anyway so just consider this a love in with all the blogettes I follow!)

Here are 15 that sprang to mind:

1. The recurrently hopeful – One of the first people to interact with me on here and always super encouraging… I’m very excited for her right now!
2. Meet the hopefuls – Heather Hopeful – I always like to see Heather’s smiling face which cheers me up.
3. Baby brain… sans baby – Beanie – I love the way she uses pictures, memes and humour to make her point. I usually find myself agreeing!
4. Terrakna – I find her blog really amusing, especially the occasional outbursts – it feels like talking with a friend.
5. In pursuit of a family – Ashley – This was one of the first blogs I read through when it came to understanding the whole infertility experience, which is really brought to life on her blog.
6. She patiently waits – We are IVF sisters! I’m just a day ahead so it’s great to have someone going through the same process at a similar time.
7. Tales of a 30 year old nothing – Aside from the awesome blog name, I like the way there’s a whole section on How I Met Your Father… I might have to copy that!
8. Working Womens IVF – I feel the pain as I work. A lot!
9. Me and my crazy womb – The adventures of a single girl trying to conceive.
10. A feast is made for laughter – What I like about this one is that it’s not just about infertility, but lots of other interesting thoughts too.
11. Screw you, stork – Aside from the excellent name, I really like the thoughtful posts.
12. Not a broody chick – Another IVF sister with a similar experience, and a shared love of cinnamon!
13. Infertile before 30 – A great reflective blog around the infertility experience and including a very cute cat!
14. Babyyesno – A blog about the questions in life, particularly around babies.
15. Sweeping up the broken pieces – Someone who understands the important things in life, ie dogs!

7 facts about myself

1. I was adopted as a baby and I’m okay with it. I’ve posted elsewhere on this topic so check out my very long post for more details! I have a great family – to avoid identifying them too much I am not putting too much about them, but suffice to say we’re like United Colors of Benetton and I consider myself very lucky to have been adopted into such a great family! In summary: I don’t feel a great need to find my birth parents. If I did, I’d say thank you for giving me a chance. (It would be difficult anyway as they’re overseas – transracial / different culture.) I think adoption is a great thing and there are many people close to me who were adopted and who have adopted. As an adult who was adopted, though, I think this maybe gives me a greater yearning to have a biological child – to meet someone to whom I’m biologically related.
2. My friends would probably define me as a career woman or a workaholic, but I’d really love to give it all up one day. I work in a high pressure environment which is pretty male dominated. Whilst I like men (just as much as I like women!) and I am quite competitive and can thrive on the pressure at times, I do wish sometimes that I could give it up and just relax and enjoy life. I think I don’t stop often enough to enjoy the great things in life – I don’t have enough time outside of work for all the people I want to spend time with. I don’t have enough time to participate in the hobbies I like doing. I’m looking forward to retiring and living a life of leisure!
3. My dog is more important to me than most humans and I can’t imagine that ever changing. I know some people have a baby and neglect their pets. I can’t see that happening. I used to have this rule that I bought a new designer handbag for every new job I got, but for the last one I thought “I really, really would like a dog”. So I spent the equivalent on the dog – and I’m pretty sure it was the best money I ever spent. The dog is just… a bundle of love. And he will make a great older fur-brother if we ever manage to have a baby!
4. I am addicted to chocolate. I really like cheese, but I think I love chocolate more. I am a super fussy eater. Not in a good way, like I don’t like healthy things or unhealthy things in a nice category. I just like certain things, and chocolate is one of the food groups I can’t do without. I think I’d probably even give up alcohol before chocolate. I like alcohol in a kind of British way, but not more than chocolate. I am also a big fan of hot chocolate. And chocolate milk. But weirdly, not chocolate ice cream. I’m not sure why!
5. I wear a lot of black. This is not because I’m a goth but because I’m very unimaginative. I tend just to wear a bunch of black, although when I’m outside of a formal environment I get a bit more colourful. I once wore black to work every day for 3 years. I’m terrible at matching – I don’t actually like matching stuff – so it’s a lot easier to stick to one standard colour.
6. I’m the US version of an anglophile. I’ve even looked it up to find out if there is a proper name for it but there isn’t a generally acknowledged one. I just love America and Americans. Sure, I know there are a few problems but I think there are problems everywhere. I like the optimism (in comparison to British sarcasm and moodiness). I like the largeness and the straightforwardness. I’ve spent time there working and holidaying and that hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm at all. I love the concept that there’s an American dream. One day I’ll live there!
7. I’m an all or nothing sort of person. I have been accused in the past of being a bit black and white or extreme and I’ve tried to be a bit more measured as I’ve gotten older. But I do tend to go full throttle into things. I have had various hobbies in the past and I’ve been really obsessed with them… and then I end up not doing them any more. I think it’s because I have a short attention span. (Not something I’m proud of!)

Well, that’s your lot for now. I hope you enjoyed finding out a bit more about me… Please even if you weren’t listed above, answer the questions and link back so I can find out more about you!

N