Ask & Ye Shall Receive.. Some More

I actually really enjoyed answering the questions I shared on my previous post. It's quite a nice way for me to reflect on myself and to give an honest answer or two.. it's a good feeling, as if reminding me that I've accomplished a lot - particularly in the last few years since being here in London. We've done good.

Thanks to everyone who left me a message or asked me a question; here's the next round of Q&A's for you!

Dayna asked: What are the top 5 things you want to accomplish during your lifetime?

1. I want to get married and start a family.
2. I want to build or buy a house and then make it into a home with the boy.
3. I want to find myself in a career that makes me happy. I want to make a difference.
4. I want to write a children's book, even if it's never published & for my eyes only.
5. I want to be happy and I want to keep my regrets as minimal as possible.

Janet asked: Do you plan on taking J's last name, and how do you feel about that whole decision?

Such a good question - because it's something I thought about for a while. I've already made my decision, and yes, I will be taking Jason's surname. As much as I love my own and that changing to his will be really strange adjustment to make, it's something I'm really looking forward to. It's just another thing that we'll share, which I like. I did consider hyphenating or having a double barrel surname, but the fiancé has a two-part surname as it is, so having all those names together didn't roll off the tongue well. Honestly, if you whacked on a 'the third' at the end of my full name & our surnames combined, it sounds like I'm a member of some crazy royal lineage or something. So no, I won't be doing that - I'll be a Mrs D instead of a Miss S. I'm sure it'll take some getting used to.

& What will your bouquet look like, if you have picked it out?

I haven't picked one out yet, but I have a lot of ideas and images saved up ready to go. I don't have a specific flower I want used - we're getting married in winter, so I will need to just wait and see what's available. I'd prefer the bouquet to be mostly green and white, I don't even mind if they use lots of greenery rather than typical flowers. And if all else fails, a couple of nice calla lilies wrapped with twine might look nice. We'll see what happens.

Erin asked: What is your favourite episode of Buffy?

Hands down, Once More With Feeling. It made me fall in love with Spike just a little bit more. I love that all of them sing.. even the ones that aren't that great at it. But a super close second would be Hush. It's such a clever episode, the premise behind it nifty and the gentlemen scare the pants off me. And I have to say, the scene with Giles & the gang communicating via overhead projector and whiteboards is hi-lar-ious. Buffy & the stake, ha, priceless.

& How do you feel about cheese?

I feel quite good about cheese. Cheese and I get along rather well. It pretty much doesn't get better than Brie or Camembert sliced on fresh buttery bread rolls. With a nice glass of sweet white wine to wash it down - heaven.

& When are you coming to Chicago to visit me?

I really do wish that I could have squeezed in Chicago to our travel itinerary later this year - I was gutted that the big trip in 2008 didn't go there, and I'm gutted now. But that just means I'll have to come back at some point!

Emily asked: What are your favourite things about living in England, and what do you miss about Australia?

I love lots of things about living in London - the history, the scenery, the public transport system. It's a very social city, where it's custom to head out to a meal or a drink at a pub after work or on the weekend. People come together a lot and I love that. It's the complete opposite to what I'm used to back home and it's something I'll miss when I go back - because though I'm from Sydney, I don't live or work in the city itself. As for Australia, I miss my family. I miss my good friends. I miss mild frosty winters and I miss warm summer thunderstorms. I miss cheap department stores and I miss lime coola flavoured cordial. I miss having a big old backyard to call my own. I miss space. 

& Are you all for traditional stag/hen nights before the wedding (including penis paraphernalia and copious amounts of drinking!) or are you planning on doing something different?

I'm not really into the whole 'parade around the city being obnoxiously drunk with a penis on your head' kind of hens-do. If I had it my way, I'd prefer to do something random and awesome like a spa day followed by wine tasting, games, movies and lots of giggles. The way I look at it is that I'm not a big fan of bars or clubbing at the best of times, so why would I want to do that as a celebration before getting married? But, as you noted, it's really not in my control - but hopefully the people in charge of helping me organise the hens will know what I like and work with that! As for Jase, well, that's up to him. Unfortunately his best man and one of his groomsmen both live in the UK and will only be visiting for the wedding - I hope to make sure they book tickets just a little bit in advance if they can get off work, so that Jase can have a shindig of sorts. The fiancé has it in his head that he won't be needing or having a stag do, because of that very reason - and I'd feel sad if he didn't at least have a special celebratory boys night out before the wedding. Lots of time to think about that part though; I hope you can avoid the penises! 

Chantel asked: Where in Sydney did you grow up?

I was born in Auburn in western Sydney but my parents moved out further west when I was a toddler. I grew up there and my parents still live there - I won't name the actual suburb, but it's towards the Blue Mountains and is about 42km from central Sydney. {It takes around an hour to drive in, and another hour on top of that plus your first born child to find a parking space, haha.} I love where I grew up, even if it is considered to be the outskirts of Sydney - it's mainly residential and it's comfortable. I always grew up with a backyard and a frontyard to play in, and on quiet streets that you could roller blade or bike ride on. Our block of land is towards the Hills District.

Megan asked: What has been the hardest part about living with your fiance? What do you love most about living with him?

Finally (!) moving in together was brilliant, I was so looking forward to playing house and feeling like a grown up. Even though we'd been together for over five years at that point, living together is a whole new ball game - and we settled into it quite well. The hardest part was getting used to sharing my space. I was used to things being 'mine', to knowing where things were and knowing that they were mine, whenever I wanted them.  Luckily, we co-habit well together, in my humble opinion anyway. We are good companions - we can easily sit next to each other and geek out on our own independent laptops, but then five minutes later be sharing stories and laughing out loud at random things. We're both pretty clean, so that's never a real issue. He thinks I'm a hoarder {it's true, I am} but he also doesn't like to throw things away. I cook, he cleans. I vaccuum, he grocery shops. And we take turns making the coffee/tea. We're a good little partnership and I love that.

Paula asked: If a movie of your life was made, who would you want to play you?

I think I would have to start by figuring out someone who vaguely resembles me. Since I don't know of anyone who automatically springs to mind, I decided to do that celebrity recognition thing that was popular oh, around five years ago? The names I got as potential face matches are: Katherine Heigl. {Ooh, that's flattering - she is beautiful!} Jojo. {Wait, isn't she like 12?} Amanda Seyfried. Out of those choices, I'd choose Katherine, yay for Izzy!

Nathan asked: Best pickup line ever?

The cheese factor is killing me here: Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk past you again?

& In what sort of situation do you feel the most exposed?

I'd have to say anywhere where I wasn't surrounded by my own language. That lack of basic understanding makes me feel really small and uncomfortable sometimes, depending on where I am. At the same time though, I love that reminder that everything and everywhere is different, and sometimes out of your comfort zone is a good place to be.

Jess asked: Have you guys discussed a timeline for having kids? Ideally, how many would you want and when would you like to have them?

We'd like two. And depending on finances and fertility, maybe even three! Because of this, we'd like to start actively trying towards the end of next year - possibly falling pregnant by 2012? That would make me 28 and the boy 30. It might be a struggle conceiving with my PCOS diagnosis, but ideally I'd love to have at least one by the time I'm 30 myself - but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Terra asked: If money were no object, what would your dream vacation be like?

Oh, I could think of a million different options. The first would be to do an epic round-the-world journey, but to be in top quality hotels the whole way. Oh, and business class too - I've never flown business and I likely never will, unless the plane gods take pity on me and deem me worthy of an upgrade one day. I'd love to go to destinations like the Galapagos Islands or Antarctica, places that regular old me would never be able to afford to visit on a traveller's budget! But I'd also just like to have all the time in the world to see things, so I'd leave each place thinking that I'd seen everything I could have. Wishful thinking, oh yes! {I was itching to stay at the Grand Floridian Disney resort.. but nearly fell over at the prices, so we've gone for the budget Pop Century instead. Ah well!}

& Do you think you'll ever get another pet to keep OscarCat company or is he more of an only child sort of cat?

He definitely thinks he's an only child, and is spoiled enough to prove it. But, unfortunately for him, we have big plans in the pet department when we get home and have a backyard for them! We really want to get two bigger dogs - Jase wants a lab and I'm leaning towards a husky or retriever - and we want to get them fairly close together so that we can do all the training at the same time, and also make sure the pups know that Oscar Cat is in charge! I always wanted a second cat {as well!} but the more I think about it, the more I think we'll probably just leave him as an only cat-child. As much as I love kittens, having four pets seems a trifle crazy - especially if we end up with kidlets of our own as well.

& What's your guilty pleasure?

I like to read books in the bathtub. I like to eat nutella out of the jar with a spoon. I can happily waste hours of my life playing the Sims on my laptop. I make huge online shopping orders, get excited about them, but then close the pages down and walk away. I take pictures of my cat, so many that I fear one day he'll snap and punch me in the face. I nag Jason for back scratches and hair brushes. I wait until my icecream has melted before I mash it up with Milo.

Kirby asked: May I please pop streamers at your face when you land in Sydney in December?

Absolutely! Though if you could try to avoid my eyes, that'd be good. And you have to forgive me if I cry. Because it will have been a lot of very long plane flights and the shock of the streamers might just push me over the edge.

{Photo from here}

& What are your thoughts on the name 'Ian'?

It's a very handsome name, I quite like it. And you can't make any tacky nicknames out of it, so that's positive?

& Just HOW upset will you be if Wally barks at you when you first see him again?

I'm expecting him to bark at me - it will have been three years since he's seen me. But I hope he comes around and learns to love me. That would be lovely, especially until we get our own pups.

& What are your thoughts on the fact that my niece has been turned into a tramp and now does a 'booty dance'?

Well, I need more substantial evidence of her booty shaking before I decide. And as long as she's not being dressed up like one of those toddlers in tiaras while she shakes her stuff, I think it could potentially be quite cute?

Phew! That was epic - I loved all of these questions, especially the random ones. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I definitely want to do something similar in the future, so if you think of any other questions.. send them my way!

What's the biggest question on YOUR mind today?