Spreading the love

I'm really chuffed that Joy thought of me for the Beautiful Blogger Award, so thank you Joy for sharing that warm fuzzy feeling with me and I'll gladly pass it along to a few other amazing women whose blogs I've been following.

First for the 7 things you don't know about me...

1. When I was 6 years old, I flew over from Shetland to visit my grandparents in Belgium all on my own. On the way back, the last plane did a stopover in Orkney and I got off, thinking I was home already. When the airport personnel realised the mistake, they had to stop the plane at the end of the runway and get me back on board.

2. As if that wasn't bad enough, they'd overbooked the plane, so when I got back on it, the only seat left was in the cockpit, between the pilot and the copilot. I was so impressed I didn't dare ask if I could get up and go to the loo and I ended up peeing myself. When my dad asked me what had happened, I told him it was raining in London (!).

3. I could probably fill these 7 points with embarrassing stories of things I did whilst drunk. In my uni years and for a few years after, I collected quite a few memorable drunken moments. Throwing up on a guy I'd just met and whose birthday it was was one of them, throwing up in the bathroom sink at my boyfriend (now husband)'s place then having to unblock the sink at 6 am in the nude was another. And I think I'll stop at that.

4. I haven't touched an iron in about 15 years. When my parents separated (I was 10), I had to iron my dad's shirts and I think it put me off ironing forever. When he got a girlfriend and she started doing his washing, I vowed never to touch an iron again. For about 10 years I just wore my clothes as they came out of the dryer and now I have a cleaning lady who does the ironing.

5. I can't let a shopkeeper or a waiter undercharge me. If they make a mistake and I notice, I'll point it out to them, even if it means paying a lot more than they were asking. If I don't I feel guilt-ridden and am absolutely convinced that something terrible will happen to me. You know, karma and all that.

6. As a teenager I was obsessed with blood and other morbid stuff. Once at the doctor's office, I needed to give a blood sample and asked him if I could get an extra tube of blood to take home with me. For some bizarre reason, the doctor agreed, and I kept the tube of blood in my pencil case for several years after, occasionally taking it out to impress my classmates.

7. According to my mother, when I was little I ate a bit of sheep's poo, thinking it was a raisin. The neighbour's kid used to sit in the garden and eat worms though, so I don't feel too bad about it.

Okay, after that fun trip down memory lane, time for my own nominations. I tried to only nominate people who as far as I can tell from their blogs haven't been nominated already, and they're all blogs of amazing women I have encountered during my WW journey, who have inspired me, made me laugh (often), cry (sometimes) and who I admire very much.

Tina is a big inspiration and has lost an amazing amount of weight. I love how bubbly and cheery her blog is, it always brings a smile to my face.

Starfish's is another blog with a high feel-good factor. I'm always amazed (and a little jealous) at how active and determined she is...

Mel can really get me in stitches of laughter with tales of her work, family (especially the sabotaging brother) and ups and downs with food.

Shaz is another amazing woman. She looks absolutely gorgeous after losing over 5 stone and seems to always be busy raising money for charity.

Lana's blog rings very true to me - I can often relate to things she says and she paints a very realistic picture of the ups and downs of weight loss. Nevertheless, she's managed to lose a whopping 6.5 stone, very inspiring!

Emma is another inspiring "loser", looking gorgeous and keeping it real. I like that her blog is about so much more than just the weight loss too.

Mandy's finally is another blog I've been following from day go, another lovely lady on the bumpy road to shedding the extra pounds. I especially like her blog title, so true!!