Thanks Giant Fossilized Armadillo for these questions

Giant Fossilized Armadillo often comments on my blog and is herself in remission from anorexia. Here are some fun questions she asked some of her contacts today with my answers. Just for fun, kind of...

1. What made you start blogging?

All through my teens when I was going through a pretty hair-raising and lonely time (including a bit of self-harming as well), I wrote a diary - a pretty extensive diary into which I poured my innermost thoughts. I found it cathartic. It helped to get things off my chest. Blogs are like diaries. And once Ben was through the worst of his anorexia, I decided that blogging would be a great way to get stuff off my chest again - in a way that might also prove helpful to other parents of boys (and girls) with eating disorders.

2. What’s the craziest (fun crazy, not crazy crazy!) thing you’ve ever done?

Difficult one, that. I'm known for my "What if?" approach. I'm hesitant and all too often say no. I get sick on fairground rides so I won't go on them. Ice skating makes me worry I'll break my wrist again. To be honest I don't feel as if I've done anything 'fun crazy' for a long time, although I've done plenty of 'crazy crazy' stuff in my time... Mind you, I always love charging into the ocean childishly - the quickest way to get used to the cold water.  Apart from the time I was chasing Ben, of course (see last post).

3. When was the last time you laughed until it hurt, and why?

When my elderly mother said "I'm not too old to get my leg over, you know" the other week (referring to climbing into the bath, I hasten to add!)

4. Are you a morning or evening person?

Definitely morning. I get my best inspiration in the early hours and am raring to get up and start writing or html coding by 7am. Unless I've had a few glasses of wine the night before...

5. This has been asked before, but I don’t care, it’s interesting – who would you invite to your ideal dinner party and why?

Queen Elizabeth I. Because she had guts. And, like me, she retreated to her bed when things got too much.

6. What did you want to be when you grow up?

Not a mother, definitely. Nor a wife. Actually I had no goals, really. Maybe an artist?? At one point I decided I would like to be a Bi-Lingual Hotel Receptionist. Curiously I used to do a load of day-dreaming to get myself to sleep at night and I'd imagine myself in my future, always starting the day-dream with the words: "Once upon a time when I was older and slimmer..."

7. What do you want to be now? Are you already there or working towards it?

I want to write my book and I want to create awesome websites. I am procrastinating on the book front, but I am self-training Big Style on the html front. I am a true geek and could code away all day long. I love finding solutions to html problems and seeing the result. One day I will earn a living from it, hopefully before I'm too ancient. At 53 years old I am aware that the clock has started ticking...

8. Order or chaos?

Oh total chaos. Especially my desk and my home. Yet I am incredibly punctual.

9. Science or art? (BOTH says the nerd over here, hehe)
Only science if it's web design which is really art, so there. Otherwise art all the way.

10. What’s your favourite thing to eat for breakfast?
Date, apple and mincemeat wholemeal slice with vanilla Alpro yoghurt. During the worst of the ED, I had to eat breakfast with Ben, quietly ensuring he ate everything he needed to eat - and also because he found it difficult to eat without me there. We still eat breakfast together sometimes, if I'm up early, because he never gets up after 7.30am. He's never been one of those 'lie in till midday' teenagers.

11. Do you find asking questions or answering them easier?
Er, answering them. What a selfish person I must be...