Aww you guys

I’m feeling a nice warm glow today because two of my readers have nominated my blog for a reader appreciation award. I’m really chuffed about this because a) who wouldn’t be chuffed to get an award and b) when I first started my blog I didn’t think anyone would be remotely interested in reading it let alone find something in it to appreciate. Being appreciated is nice.

Anyway. Apparently I have to jump through some hoops to pick up this award, so without further ado: let the hoop jumping commence….

Include the logo somewhere in your blog

Here is the logo somewhere in my blog:

Answer ten questions about yourself for fun

1. What’s your favourite colour? Instinctively I’d say I don’t have a favourite colour, but I guess you just have to look around my flat to see that I’m obviously rather partial to purple albeit on a subconscious level.
2. What’s your favourite animal? Generally speaking my favourite animals are cats. Specifically my favourite animal is my lovely little cat Gryff.
3. What’s your favourite non-alcoholic drink? I drink a lot of white tea, so I suppose it must be that.
4. What’s your favourite pattern? A nice, neat symmetrical one.
5. Facebook or Twitter? Twitter. Facebook makes me despair of the human race.
6. Do you prefer getting or giving presents? In truth I find both eventualities a bit awkward, but on balance I probably find giving gifts the least toe curling of the two.
7. Favourite number? I do rather like it when things come in groups of three (I don’t know why) so three.
8. Favourite day of the week? Monday – it’s a fresh start that comes around again and again.
9. Favourite flower? I’ll say roses because I have a little daydream about a cottage in Oxfordshire where I grow roses and because they remind me of ‘roses in the hospital’ by the Manic Street Preachers.
10. What’s your passion? Possibly music, possibly fiction, possibly justice. Is that cheating?

Nominate 10-12 blogs you enjoy. Or pick a number.

I’m going to ignore the first part of that instruction and pick three because I like things to come in groups of three. So, in no particular order here are the blogs I’d like to nominate.

1. Hello Sailor: I’ll eat my hat if Hello Sailor hasn’t received this award, like, a zillion times over, but I really do enjoy reading it so I’m going to include it anyway. Put simply, there is nothing not to love about this blog.
2. Trying to break free: The writer started this blog at around about the same time that I started writing mine and I’ve really enjoyed following her progress. Aside from that the writer is a total sweetheart – full of kindness, good advice and timely *hugs*.
3. I only started following AdverseUniverse a few days ago but it really struck a chord with me so I’d like to nominate it. I love how articulate, brave and honest it is and I think it’s really important that blogs like this, which counter the whole ‘pro-ana’ thing, exist. The art work is awesome too.

Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.

Links above. I’ll swing past their sites any minute now….

Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the blogger(s) who nominated you.

The first thing to say is that the two bloggers who nominated me are two of my favourites and by rights I would have nominated them. But if I nominate them back, they might feel obliged to re-nominate me back, and then I them. And so on and so forth ad infinitum until everyone gets very bored!

Sparrow in the snow is one of the first blogs I came across when I joined WordPress. It’s a sweet and enchanting blog – sometimes funny, sometimes vulnerable but always worth a read.

Another battle is also one of my earliest discoveries. It’s a personal blog which captures the ups and downs that come with the illness perfectly; it’s honest and courageous, but most of all it’s determined.

So that’s it. All done.