Of Awardedness.

Hello! I may be sounding rather chipper this evening. Despite the fact that I am laid up with horrible back pain, (I have no idea how that happened. It's a little like labour pain, but without the rather delicious 8 pound gift at the end of it...if it ends).

Anyway, I'm a lot more cheerful because I think the Mean Reds I've had lately are beginning to ebb - like an insidious mood-infecting tide. Phew. I think I have alienated a phew people 'round here of late. Erm. Sorry. I can be...intense sometimes. This blog has always been a brain dump for me, and sometimes the crapola that ends up on the page is not always very readable, let alone appealing. And although I ain't going to spend time justifying too much, I will say this: please whatever you do, never take me too literally, or too seriously. I play with ideas, and theories, and I try them on for size, see how they feel, what fits, what doesn't but I don't live and die by any of it. I did make (a very small and insignificant sneeze) academic career out of doing this. And old habits die hard, and I can come across as very...didactic (and just a bit of a wanker). I never go out of my way to offend, I just suffer from foot-in-mouth disease : ) And I'm a messy creature.

So I have been feeling a bit chuffed to have received some awards lately, despite the above, (and which I have been very slack about acknowledging). But here goes...

Quite a while ago now, Mon of Holistic Mama awarded me the Kreativ Blogger award, and then Greekwitch at Dreaming of Rosemary did the same, and now Blackened Phoenix over at The Domestic Witch. Thankyou lovelies! I really appreciate this one, and it's lovely to be considered creative, (or, erm...Kreativ?) by some pretty awesome creatrices.

The roolz:

1. Thank the person(s) who gave this to you, (check)

2. Copy the logo and place it in your blog.

3. Link the person who nommed you, (and I mean that in a nominating way, not in a nibbling way).

4. Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.

5. Nom 7 "Kreativ Bloggers"

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nom.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs and let them know you nominated them.

'ere we go then. 7 things about myself that no one would really know.

1. I have a phobic terror of maggots. In that, shake-uncontrollably-and-turn-pale kind of phobia. Go figure. Earthworms however, I am on very friendly terms with. Different psychological representations of decay I suspect. You know, one is a representation of death and decay, the other is a representation of...compost and decay. And I adore compost. In fact, if I was a single woman of marriageable age, I would be inviting eligible young men back to my abode to view my compost. Seduction technique. I has it.

2. When I was four I was sent to live with my grandparents, whilst my mother was sent to bed for the best part of 9 months as she was at risk of losing my unborn baby brother. All I packed in my suitcase were knickers. Loads and loads of knickers. With days of the week written on them, as well as some Noddy ones. This meant that my grandmother had to sew me an entire wardrobe of very pretty dresses. Oops. Never mind. I highly recommend the ol' packing-only-one's-knickers-in-order-to-acquire-new-clobber trick.

3. Oddly perhaps, I look better as a blonde, (oddly because I am a redhead, but I was strawberry blonde for a goodly part of my childhood). But I can't be bothered going the blonde because it would be too high maintenance. And I've always wanted to have dark, flowing locks. Sigh. But I look totally shite with dark hair. A lot like Alan Rickman looks with dark hair as Professor Snape. Well, a bit anyway. Um...

If there was anyone in the world I could just suddenly look like, (and even though I don't go in for the whole celebrity BS thing), it would be Rachel Weisz, who has the dark hair that I have always coveted. But I'll just have to do with myself. Obviously.

4. I think I may be the only person born before 2004 who doesn't like Labyrinth. Even though I always dug David Bowie (Hunky Dory is, perhaps predictably, my fave album of his), I just never have got into that film. And yet I totally dig the Muppets and consider Miss Piggy an early influence. But I remember when I was nearly 16 and watching Labyrinth for the first time in a room full of squealing 15 year old girls in their pyjamas with their teddy bears, and just looking from one friend to another, and wondering how I had got there, and could someone please beam me up and allow me to change into something more comfortable and preferably with a little something to smoke (cynical child me). And now I shall prepare myself for a horde of righteously angry villagers who will arrive at my door in the night with pikes and sticks, a ducking stool, and a large piece of charcoal that shall be used to write "sad freak" across my forehead. Wouldn't be the first time either.

5. I was due to be born 100 years to the day of my maternal great grandmother's birthday, (but I came along 8 days later). And although I never knew her, I'm told we had a number of very spooky similarities, (like birthmarks), and share some very specific likes and dislikes. And like her my favourite flower is the Lilac, which before climate change (grrr) used to flower for my birthday, (very closely followed by roses which I am quite besotted by). But no, I don't think I am her reincarnated or any such thing.

6. I hear dead people. On a fairly infrequent basis I'm happy to report. Um. Let's leave it at that, shall we?

7. I am absolutely no good with eggs. Cooking them I mean. I can cook all sorts of things fairly well I'm told, but I can't do eggs very well at all. My eggs are a bit of a joke. Um...any tips dear ones? On a positive note, this is my favourite chocolate, and if you can possibly procure yourself some, you really, really must try it. Although I would caution that you may become enslaved and it will spoil all other (processed) chocolate for you. Possibly...

Now, as I hath detained you for long enough, I shall compile a list of awardees for this one another time. And now I would like to acknowledge this one...

The gorrrrgeous Mel at From Clutter to Shine, and the super-dooper Mountain Mama of Writing for Real Life hath given me this one...(thankee dear ones).

Shift does happen doesn't it? It's sure happening here at the moment. And it's also one letter away from being a spookily accurate description of my blog.

Whilst there are listed below many of the qualities/values to which I aspire rather than embody, I am just a bit thrilled actually.

* Speak our truth from the heart and tell it like it is.

* Share openly and honestly our true feelings without fear of judgement, Blame or shame.

* We write to share our achievements so others can also share our joy.

* We write about our bad times too, knowing that the love and support of others is around us and perhaps heal another’s pain in the process..

*We are human beings will real feelings and emotions and REFUSE to hide behind a mask.

* We dare to be different

* We are Free Spirits

* We realize that by spilling out, we lighten our load.

* We acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses and don't see them in terms of success or failure.

* We laugh together and cry together

* We are all following our own journey in our own unique way

* Above all else, we may lie on the floor, screaming and kicking, or feel like life is collapsing around us once in a while….but at the end of the day, we drag ourselves up, dust ourselves off and rise to fight another day.

And in order to fight another day (or at least get up for my 6am walk), I am going to head to bed at this juncture. I shall make up a list of bloggers to share the love with...but for now, thankyou sweet ladies...

And in the words of Ophelia, another sheila who was also as mad as a cut snake "Goodnight ladies; goodnight sweet ladies; good night, good night".