Getting to know me..

I've been tagged... no, I've not been up to mischief and now sporting the new Hollywood trend of a monitoring bracelet... It appears that some folk actually find me interesting and want to delve a little deeper... I received the *getting to know you* tag from both  Lou and Melissa, and I have to say that I am flattered... I hold these ladies in very high esteem and the fact that they even read my blog makes my chest puff out... so here goes... get comfy...

1} what is your favourite time of day?
This is an easy one for me... morning every time. When I was little, I used to go on holiday *vacation* with my grandad... I would sleep in a dormitory... before the sun had even risen, the warden would come and find me with her flashlight to tell me that my grandad was waiting for me... we would walk along the seafront as the sun rose... get the morning papers (a comic for me... usually the Beano), and stop by a cafe for a cup of tea (I would get a milkshake, which my grandad would always roll his eyes at)... I now wake up at the crack of dawn... enjoying the stillness that can only come with early mornings... I listen to the gentle song of the birds... and feel the morning chill while drinking my hot cup of tea... I often think of my grandad and our mutual appreciation of dawn...

2} where & when did you meet the love of your life?
Ahhh... the love of my life... that would be the hubby then... we met in Australia... Sydney to be exact. We shared our first kiss by Harrys Cafe de Wheels, over a hotdog topped with mushy peas... I'm a class act you know... I was a year shy of 30 and the hubby was a fresh-faced very early 20 something... Within a month, I had persuaded him to fly to New Zealand with me, so that he could renew his visa... I first told him I loved him at The Big Day Out *music festival*... there was a crazy thunderstorm and The Stokes were playing "Last Night"... I figured that if he didn't reciprocate, I would tell him it was just the Jack Daniels talking... luckily, he did... We were crazy in love and I had no idea how it would translate to real life... we're  still crazy in love, just with a couple of kids, a dog, a cat and a mortgage!


3} What 3 words would your friends outside the blogging world use to describe you?
Honest
Fun-loving
Focused

4} What country would you like to visit & why?
Once upon a time, I had so many places I wanted to visit, but emigrating grounded me... I stopped longing for exciting and new, and yearned for familiarity instead... I don't have the bug anymore... which is a good job, really, as all my traveling now consists of shuttling back and forth between the UK and USA... When the hubby finishes up his PhD, we're planning a trip back to Australia... we want to show the kiddies where we fell in love... Oh, and we'll probably wrap New Zealand up in that trip too... the last time we were there, the hubby told me, "I think, one day, I'll bring my wife and kids to this place"... I'm holding him to it!

5} what is your favourite dish to cook?
Without a doubt... a Sunday Roast... It makes me think of my mum... I remember her teaching me to cross the bottom of brussel sprouts and me helping her make the stuffing... I love the way that it slowly cooks... filling the house with lovely smells from mid-morning... (we always eat early on a Sunday)... I love that I get my "daily five" in one meal, but, most of all, I love that this is the ultimate family meal!

6} salt or sugar?
Hmmm... I love sugar, but I crave salt... I can never get enough salt, and anyone who truly knows me knows that my standard go-to food is Marmite... I dabbled with Vegemite in Australia, but it just didn't cut it... I guess it's what you're brought up on... While over there, though, I did learn that by eating this yeasty yumminess (I bet a lot of you are retching now) you can keep the mozzies at bay... delicious food and mosquito repellent all-in-one... what more could a gal ask for?

7} what are your must-have make-up or beauty items?
Okay... once, this would have been a tough question for me, but when I gave up work, it meant that the purse strings were tightened and I could no longer justify spending a small fortune on beauty products... so, I learned to live without and pray that all the hard work Lancome put in during my 20's would balance out the generic Olay products I use now... If I had to have just one item, though, it would be Vaseline... tames the brows... helps the lips... highlights the cheek bones... and I've also been known to smear it on the bark of my apple trees to stop the cat scratching them! I stock up on the rose-tinted one when in the UK... but that's purely for the lips!

8} what are your favourite flowers?
Tulips and roses... so many colours... effortlessly beautiful... especially the frilly parrot tulips and tea roses... but, really, all flowers can cheer up my day!


9} what are your worst vices...honestly?
Red wine... make that wine, but mostly red...  I've spent a huge chunk of my 30's pregnant and nursing, and so, I've not been able to indulge. I figured that this time off the vino, would also give the old liver a chance to regenerate... apparently the liver can do this within 6 months, so mine must be like that of  'a mere slip of a girl' again ;-)

10} at what time of your life were you happiest & why?
This is a hard one... I view my life in phases and all have had amazing highs... Right here and now I am happy... I have my girls and my hubby and they complete me... but, with parenthood comes challenges that sometimes I wonder if I can meet... So, please, don't judge me... I'm going to be selfish and say the happiest time of my life was when I fell in love with the hubby in Australia... nothing else in the world mattered... I had no responsibilities... we just wrapped ourselves in a bubble and enjoyed everything that life had to offer... the first flourishes of love... heady, all-consuming... and we experienced all this in paradise... What's crazy is that it's a high I don't ever want to experience again... I'm happy knowing that it's a one-off... Oohhh, except the Australia part...

Ok... we were drunk & being goofy...

If you made it to the end... thank you for sticking with me...my hand is hurting from typing, so your head must be throbbing!
And now comes the part where I tag someone else... and I'd like to tag... *drum roll*... Laura - Happy Homemaker UK ... I love reading about her American take on UK life... and I'm also tagging A House and Home... crazy that I read this blog religiously... we exchange comments and I consider her a blog friend, but I don't know her name... so, I'm digging a little deeper!
Take care and I'll catch you on Friday for a Friday Flower.
Lx