Stuff about me...

1. My biggest fear is failure – I cannot fathom how it would feel to disappoint all of those people around you who mean so much – even though I know their expectations of me are not nearly as high as those I place on myself.
2. I am the eldest of 6 – having 3 brothers and 2 sisters. I grew up with 2 brothers and 1 sister and met the other brother and sister when I was about 15 – not an easy age for anyone – let alone meeting a whole new family – but I now feel very blessed to have such great siblings.
3. I used to hate it when people said my name incorrectly, now I just go with the flow. It’s not that uncommon anymore but people still find it hard to grasp. My mum suggested changing the spelling when I was about 12 to make it easier for people but it wasn’t even a consideration for me.
4. I don’t warm to people immediately. As a matter of a fact most of my very dearest friends started out as people I was wary of – for reasons I am unable to pin point. If I don’t talk to you or warm to you immediately, it is only my way of working out whether I can trust you.
5. My mum gave me a very common and easy middle name (Jayne – but even then she couldn’t spell it normally!) so if I didn’t like my name when I got older I could change it BUT I wouldn’t change it for the world.
6. My mum has suffered from Parkinson’s disease for going on 20 years and if someone told me all I had to do was cut off both my legs or poke my eyes out for her to be cured, I would in a heart beat. PD is a truly fucking horrible disease that destroys your body but not your mind and I can’t imagine what my mum lives through every single day.
7. I adopted my cat Lily five years ago – she was a stray and is gorgeous. She will never replace my first cat Monte, who I had for 13 years and who died in August 2004 but she is just the smoochiest pet ever! My husband's only initial stipulation was it couldn’t be a kitten, couldn’t be white and couldn’t’ be long haired. Yep, you guessed it – she was all of the above when we rescued her and malts 365 days a year 24x7. My house looks like an igloo most days.
8. I grew up in Launceston, Tasmania but moved to Sydney on the 29th of April 1990.  I have officially lived in Sydney longer than I lived in Tassie. Well, I did a year each in Qld and Vic but Sydney has always been my primary residence. But Tassie will ALWAYS be home to me.
9. If I could leave Sydney to move back to Melbourne I would – tomorrow.
10. My husband is the funniest man I know with the blackest sense of humour I have ever encountered.
11. My friends mean the world to me – they would want to after the amount of time it takes me warm to them (see # 3)!
12. I cannot walk up or down stairs without counting them – every time, regardless of whether I walk up and down them them every day.. It makes me dizzy but I still insist on doing it...
13. I love to cook – anything and everything – from simple meals for two to complex feasts for 20.
14. My mother in law is the most fabulous mother in law you could ever wish for
15. I cannot suffer fools at all – they drive me mad and I have absolutely zero tolerance for idiots/fools/cretins
16. Sometimes I can be too honest, which gets me into trouble on a regular basis
17. Ever since moving to Sydney, when a train stops in the tunnels under the city I fear the worst and start to have a panic attack – ever since September 11 I have had to learn to control that fear and tell myself it is not a reasonable train of thought.
18. I was brought up to be very independent by parents who encouraged individuality and I still value my independence to this day
19. I have started a book and would dearly love to finish it one day
20. I would absolutely consider botox or plastic surgery if I thought I needed it when I get older
21. I got married in black – for no symbolic reason other than I loved the dress, it fitted like a dream and it was practical. I did phone my parents before purchasing it to make sure they were okay with it, and surprise, surprise, they just laughed and said of course it wasn’t a problem!
22. I love my freckles!!!