tag/award catch up

since the beginning of november, i have received quite a few tags and awards from different bloggers but, due to being so busy in november, i held off doing them until now.....so.....

serena pia tagged me to list 6 secrets/things about myself.....

sabrina (i think i have the name right) tagged me to list 7 things about myself.....

carin tagged me to list 8 random facts about myself.....

genie tagged me with the kreative blogger award where i need to list 6 things about myself.....

tammy also tagged me with the kreative blogger award where i need to list 6 things about myself.....

i figure if i list 8 things (the highest amount requested by an individual blogger) about myself that it will have me covered on all counts so, here goes -

1/ i've always been a very giving person even as far back as grade one. i took quite a few toys to school one day and gave them away to my friends. my parents didn't know about it until another parent came around (we didn't have home phones back then) to tell them. the parent wondered if it was okay because the toy i'd given her daughter was fairly expensive. my dad then drove me around to all my friends' houses to collect the toys. i had just wanted to be nice but i do remember being embarrassed at having to ask for the toys back. i don't think my friends liked me too much for a while either.

2/ my love for animals was apparent back in grade one too because i still vividly remember one day where i was mortified and crying because one of the boys in the playground had found a grasshopper that he was threatening to kill. i managed to tell the playground teacher between my fits of uncontrollable sobs and she told the boy to release it.....much to my relief. i still can picture the incident clearly in my mind.

3/ one of my favourite sandwiches is peanut butter and sliced fresh tomatoes with lots of salt and pepper. i even have this on toast for breakfast some mornings. don't knock it til you try it.

4/ through the course of my life, i have been engaged to four different men and married two of them...separate times, of course......and i still haven't found mr right! i've given up ~

5/ i love spicy hot food with extra chillies in it. i put heaps of cayenne pepper on my spaghetti bolognaise, fried rice, vegetable soup etc. LOVE the stuff!

6/ i started a pescetarian diet in 2003. in case you're wondering, a pescetarian is someone who does not eat red/white meat or poultry, but will eat seafood with a regular vegetarian diet. i continued with this diet until....

7/ i changed to a full vegan diet on january 14th, 2008. the thought of eating any form of animal product now makes me feel physically ill. that said, to each, their own...i do not condemn people who eat meat or animal products. in fact, i still cook meat meals for my kids as i don't believe in forcing my dietary beliefs on others. my kids do eat vegan meals also so i feel that's a fair compromise.

8/ i've always felt like i was a hippie at heart. i love nature, peace, kombi vans, long-flowy skirts, wrap-around skirts and head bands (see pic) etc. the headband was made for me by one of my brother's friends who had a huge crush on me.

this goes back nearly 30 years

and just because i'm on roll -

9/ in the eighties, for a very brief period of time....my sister and i had what we now refer to as a 'helmet' perm. all i can say is.....WHAT were we thinking???!!! it was all the trend though and we thought we were pretty darned cool....LOL don't ya love my little german shepherd puppy? his name was 'kai' and so cute! notice how i'm trying to change the subject...hehehe

(added dec. 15th) - my friend, maria, has posted a pic of her helmet perm on her blog. we could be sisters! are there any more of you willing to come forward???

and lastly,

10/ i do have a mean streak in me....when my kids were young, we were looking through old family pics and they came across this one -

.....and they were kinda freaked out by it, immediately wanting to know who the ugly people were. i couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a 'play/tease' with the kids so i said they were friends of mine who i hadn't seen in ages and, on seeing the photo, thought it might be nice to invite them over for dinner one night. they all resounded a unanimous NO!!!...then started begging me NOT to invite those ugly people over. in fact, the people in the pic were my brother and his then-girlfriend (later became his wife) dressed up for a new year's eve party. i remember those masks freaked out quite a lot of young kids that particular night so they couldn't keep the masks on for too long at all. thankfully, my own kids were just babies at the time.

i'm supposed to tag the same amount of people as random facts so, if you are reading this and would like to participate, consider yourself 'tagged'. there is absolutely no expectations for anyone to participate but, if you do, all you need to do is link back to this post and also post links to the bloggers you are passing the tag/award onto.

thanks to everyone who nominated me!

i'll continue the other tag/awards over to tomorrow.....see ya then ~