Versatile Blogger Award

Blog reading has all but replaced my love of magazines and other incidental reading (and also threatens my actual reading of books, but that is another story!) Through the wonders of technology, Google Reader keeps me up to date with the blogs I subscribe to and a handy little "next" button on my tool bar means I am only ever a click away from something new to read!


So getting a Versatile Blogger Award from one of my bloggers was pretty special, to know that someone considers I give as a good as I get! 

Sazz wrote: Ramblings, one of my favourite Breastfeeding Counsellors and Queen of the Breastfeeding Education Class. She blogs about so much more than boobies, also her family, and her scrapbooking etc.

Which pretty well sums up the point of my own blog: It is a place I dump my brain on whatever I feel like, so is a wild ride through every aspect of my life. I purposefully do not blog to a schedule, to a topic or even to an audience - I blog to get stuff out of my head and into a space where I can easily refer back to it - that others come along for the ride is a bonus!


So, apparently I need to share 7 truths about myself and pass the award onto 12 other fantastic bloggers.

• I currently have a bad cold and cough. This is my Kryptonite, my Achilles heel: throughout my life, the common cold has been guaranteed to turn me into a quivering heap of self-pity. It pushes my patience beyond my limits - I would rather face a flare up of MS, have surgery, have teeth pulled out or any number of other horrors. And I share my misery to maintain my sanity.
• I absolutely LOVE being middle-aged! Who would have thought? Is it because I had my children so young, that I now reap the rewards of independence and companionship? Is it, once again, the fact I ride the coat-tails of the Baby Boomers and they make everything fun by the time I catch up? Who knows, but I am loving my 40s and looking forward to my 50s and 60s and even anticipate a fabulous old age!!!
• I still have utterly no idea what I am doing! Honest - I expect someone to tap me on the shoulder at any minute and announce they know I am making it up as I go along. Nothing in my life was planned or expected and I have no idea what the future will bring either - AND THAT'S OKAY!
• I am an eternal optimist (unless I have a cold) and truly expect that others mean well. I believe the world is full of nice people, but the bad ones get all the press. Even in the midst of depression, I still see the silver lining. I loved Pollyanna as a child! My cup is always half full and rising.
• I really do colour my world at every opportunity. I always loved purple and orange, they were my room colours as a teen. During the 80s, I mainly dressed in pink, until I "had my colours done" and discovered that orange is a really great colour for me. When I turned 40, I gave myself permission to wear purple, even though it isn't on my colour wheel. Nowadays, I dress in what I like, when I like and care not if anyone else does or does not like it. I fully intend to become an eccentric old lady known for her bizzare wardrobe and want to be the Aunty and Grandmother who wears interesting clothes and jewelery.
• In a recent online course, I was asked "who would you like to trade lives with and why?" and I could not think of anyone. Even when I tried really, really hard. I am taking this to be a good thing.
• I see the next half of my life filled with opportunities to do  new things - and those things will include art and travel and learning and friendship and fun.

Now, selecting 12 bloggers who I love and adore is probably not as easy as I think it could be, so I am going to go with the first 12 who come to mind and leave it at that!

1. Going Slowly Tara and Tyler became part of my life when I stumbled across them at the beginning of their world journey by bicycle about two years ago. Through their eyes, I have seen the world and hang out for every post, fretting if there is any delay. I hope they make it to Australia eventually and I can meet them in person!
2. Emily Falconbridge is an Aussie mum/scrapbooking legend/artist/world traveller who fills my day with warm, fuzzy feelings and delights.
3. Goddess Leonie - she who inspires me and brings light and colour to  my every day. If you are not part of her Goddess Circle, you must do so, with haste.
4. Ilsa Evans is a wonderful author and a fabulous inspiration.I am so proud to call her a friend and love how her experience of mid-life seems to mirror my own.
5. Amanda Cox makes me laugh and cry. And thank the goddess my children have grown and the angst of getting through the every day with small people is behind me :)
6. Morgan Gallagher keeps in the loop with the world of breastfeeding in the UK. She inspires me. She motivates me. And she amuses me.
7. Anaylytical Armadillo is one of the newer latavism bloggers and always puts the cat amongst the pigeons. I love sharing her posts of Facebook and watching the reaction!
8. Laine Ehman is my scrapbooking goto for laughs, inspiration and her LOAD challenges. In Five Things, she shares snippets of her life, always entertaining.
9. Peaceful Parenting is another blog that has me hitting the "share on Facebook button" on a daily basis.
10. Ruby Claire one day I will say "I knew her when she was young" because this scrapper/artist/blogger, still at school, is going places!
11. Tangerine Meg when I grow up, I want to be able to create like she does!
12. Tara Whitney just because I love her photography style and wish I could put my family in front of her lens one day!

I am always looking for new bloggers to follow, so give me shout if I am not following one you know I will love!