A crush on the man who does not exist ... - Express Yourself

Hi there folks! How are we all doing on this sunny Monday afternoon? After a rather hectic and tiring weekend away with the kiddiwinks, we're having a few days now just to chill out and relax a little bit.

With that in mind, I'm making the most of this quiet(ish) time to take part in this weeks Express Yourself meme.



Hosted by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books, each week they present us with a question that they would like answered. 

The topics cover anything and everything, and give us the opportunity to learn a little more about our fellow bloggers.

Hop over to see them and check out who else is expressing themselves.

This weeks topic is: Who were your celebrity crushes when you were a teen?

knight-rider.wikia.com

 I remember my very first crush was on Michael Knight. I'm not sure if it was really him that interested me though, or if it was more KITT, his talking black Pontiac Trans Am.






Later on I had a bit of a thing for the Bros boys and Luke Perry may also have adorned my bedroom walls.

My eldest daughter is only 6, but I wonder who she'll have on her bedroom walls and what she'll make of my Luke Perry, Johnny Depp, Will Smith appreciations.


How about you? Who were your teenage crushes on?

Happy Monday all!!!

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Are you a celebrity twin? - Express Yourself

Express Yourself is a weekly meme run by two lovely ladies, designed to help us all get to know each other a little bit better. Not always about reading and writing, the topics vary from one week to the next, and the girls give us a set for each month to keep us going.

To find out more for yourself, head on over to Jackie or Dani's blog and check out what everyone else is up to.

For this weeks topic: Have you ever known someone or dated someone who could be a celebrity twin?

www.telegraph.co.uk

The first one that comes to mind is my husband, who I think looks quite like the England footballer Michael Owen. He always jokes and says he's the plumper version, but he looks just fine to me ;-)

www.purepeople.com

My old boss also looks like Zara Phillips, who's big in the equestrian world and 15th in line to the throne. She's been called Zara a few times over the years.

Do you know any celebrity twins? Maybe you're one yourself ...

Have a good week all!

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Who reflects you the most? - Express Yourself

  
Welcome to another topic from the Express Yourself girls. This weekly meme is hosted by Jacqui at Bouquet of Books and her partner in crime Dani at Entertaining Interests.

Each week there is a new topic to discuss and share, all in the name of getting to know your fellow bloggers a bit more. We don't all have to be strangers do we? 

To find out more, head over to either of their blogs where there is a full list of this months topics.



As for today, we are discussing:

Which fictional character do you think reflects your personality?

Questions like this usually take me a little while to answer. Although I love reading and watch plenty of films and TV, not everything stays in my head for a great length of time. I have to wrack my brain a little to sift through all the possibilities.

For this one though, the character I think is like my own personality is Monica Geller.

www.fanpop.com

Apart from her OCD tendencies, which I've been told I also have, like her I don't always have time for people that faff. Just get on with whatever you're supposed to be doing instead of dancing around it man! 

(I've just realised how ironic this is coming from someone who can take an age to sit down and get to writing something!)

I also like to be in control of things, although perhaps not quite to the same extent as she does. I do have to know what's happening, when and where though, and have plans and itineraries for everything. I can't just wing it through anything, no matter how much I'd like to.

I do have a tiny obsession with food, too, but we won't go into that ...

How about you? Which fictional character do you think reflects your own personality? Answers on a postcard!

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Oh, and just so you know ...

I've been having problems with spammy comments lately so I'm temporarily turning on my comment verification thing to try and deter them.

I know they're annoying but please don't let it put you off commenting. Thanks!!!

Express Yourself is back!

After a month's hiatus in April during the A-Z Blogging Challenge, those lovely ladies at the Express Yourself headquarters are back once again with some new topics for the month.

To be honest I was quite glad they'd taken the break. I've enjoyed posting for their topics but the Challenge alone sent my head into a spin at times, so it was nice to have fewer things to focus on.

For those new to Express Yourself, it's hosted by Jacqui at Bouquet of Books and her partner in crime Dani at Entertaining Interests.

Each month they list topics to get the blogosphere talking so we can learn a little bit more about each other, with a week for posting each one. The topics for May are:

 

So, this weeks topic: Choose one of your favourite books, and turn to page 89. What are the eight and ninth sentences?

Rather than my favourite book I'm going to use the book I'm currently reading. This is mostly because we're getting all packed up for moving and the books were the first things to be put away!

 

I'm reading George R R Martins, A Clash of Kings at the moment and about a third of the way through. 

On page 89, the eight and ninth sentences are:

"They smell of summer," Jon said as Ser Endrew bullrushed his foe and knocked him sprawling. "Where did Conwy find them?" 

Are you up for Expressing Yourselves with the blog hop? What can you quote from your favourite books?

Sayings and catchphrases - Express Yourself

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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This weeks topic: What saying or catchphrase do you say ALL the time?

I found this quite tricky to think of something myself, so I asked some of my friends instead. I thought they'd probably be the ones that would know best.

It turns out, apparently, that something I say quite a lot is 'Good luck with that', but not in a sincere or hopeful way. 

It's usually in response to someone else's suggestion to try or do something which I know is a pointless activity. More often than not I've already tried to explain the difficulties involved and when they don't listen my response is simple:

'Well, good luck with that.'

I'm sure the level of sarcasm injected varies depending on the person and the task, but I've no doubt it's there in some way.

How about you? Do you have a saying you're known for saying a lot?

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Can I have your autograph? - Express Yourself

 

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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This weeks topic: Do you have any autographs? If not, whose would you love to have?

There used to be a cool shop in my local city called Kulture Shock, and they used to organise loads of events with actors from Star Trek, Buffy, Babylon 5 and plenty of others. I collected quite a few autographs from these events, including:

George Takei

Walter Koenig

Robert Beltran

Alexander Siddig

Garrett Wang

and others ...

By far my favourites though were Andy Hallett and Mark Lutz, who were Lorne and the Groosalugg from Angel.

www.fanpop.com

It was frustrating at the time because they were an hour and a half late, but they were totally worth it when they got there. 

I was very sad to hear of Andy Hallett's death in 2009, in fact it will be the fifth anniversary at the end of this month. I will treasure this autograph, he was such a lovely guy and it was such a shock that he died at the age of only 33.

Have you any autographs that you treasure? Who's would you like to have?

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February Goals - Express Yourself!

 
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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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 This weeks topic of conversation: What goals do you have set for yourself this month?

• This month I would like to exceed my total word count that I set in January.
• I want to finish reading The Hunger Games trilogy.
• I want to get caught up on my creative writing studies. This will probably be the hardest one as I'm more than a little bit behind ...

How about you, what goals do you have for the month?

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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! - Express Yourself

   

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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 This weeks topic of conversation: Is there anything you'd like to change, or work on, about yourself this year?

I would really like to work on my confidence this year, particularly when it comes to my writing. I've had a good start this year with my blogging and freewriting each day, and I've been getting some positive support from friends that have now started reading some of my stuff.

I spend too much of my time feeling unhappy and a little depressed, and I'm pretty sure I know the cause; I'm just not doing what I truly want to do with my life. Now I know what I want to be doing I can make more efforts towards it, so by the end of the year I would like to have made some significant progress towards it.

I've just got to maintain my positive thinking!

How about you? Is there anything you want to work on about yourself this year?

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Chores, chores, chores - Express Yourself

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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 This weeks topic of conversation: Name a chore you dislike and one you love to do.

One job I dread having to do each week is the food shopping. The pain of it begins before I've even driven to the supermarket, when I sit down to write the shopping list. I always make a list of meals for the following week and only buy what I need, but trying to plan different and interesting meals that all the family like is quite difficult. My husband and daughter are far too fussy for my liking, and they are very difficult to please. 

Once that's out of the way, there is the drama of the supermarket car park, not to mention the inevitable trolley rage that ensues up and down the aisles, and then the massive chore of unloading the shopping only to load it up again! Trust me, online food shopping is the only way to go!

Give me a pile of ironing though and I'm a happy bunny! It may seem tedious, but not when you can watch your favourite TV or put some music on and have a bit of a boogie too. And it's always satisfying to finish the task with a nice pile of clean and tidy clothes.

Are there any chores that you particularly love or loathe? How are you with controlling trolley rage?

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Looking forward to film in 2014! - Express Yourself

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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This weeks topic of conversation: What movie(s) are you watching in the theaters in 2014?

With the pending arrival of baby number two in the spring, I'm not sure how much I'll get to the cinema this year. However there are a couple that I will definitely be making the effort to see:

X-Men: Days of Future Past

http://www.denofgeek.com

 I was very excited at the end of The Wolverine and can't wait for this new X-Men movie.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

http://www.denofgeek.com

 My daughter is a huge fan of the first one, so will probably be pestering me to see this one when it's out. It's likely to be our first mummy-daughter trip without the new baby.

And of course ...

http://goodfilmbadfilm.wordpress.com

What films are you looking forward to this year?

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Reading Wish List 2013 - Express Yourself

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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This weeks topic of conversation: List the book(s) you wanted to read this year but never got around to...

 

 

There are two sets of books that I really wanted to read this year, but as usual plenty of things conspired against me.

The first is The Hunger Games.

quakeroatslive.blogspot.com

 

I knew the new film would be out this year and wanted to catch up on the reading beforehand. I got as far as downloading the first one to my Kindle but haven't read any of it yet. Loved the film though!

 

 

The second set is A Song of Ice and Fire.

www.ebay.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I only managed to read the first one and have read the first 100 pages of A Clash of Kings. My husband has read them all but has been sworn to silence until I catch up.

 

Next year will be my year for reading these!

I have managed to read 29 other books so it hasn't been all bad. Here's to next year for a bigger read count.

 

 

Have you read any of these? Any reading regrets this year?

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Looking forward to Christmas! - Express Yourself

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.      

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This weeks topic of conversation: List something(s) you always look forward to this time of year.

I love the build up to Christmas, much more than the event itself I think. The children are all so excited and it's infectious, you can't help but join in.

Although trying to think of presents for everyone can be stressful, I do love wandering round all the shops with their decorations and festive music playing. I especially like the Salvation Army band that plays as you walk through the city, it never fails to bring forth a bit of emotion.

And of course the best thing to look forward to at this time of year ... two weeks off work!!! 
Yippee!!!!!

Happy Birthday Express Yourself!!!

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.

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This week the Express Yourself girls are celebrating the first birthday of this fabulous meme. Happy Birthday girls!!!


To celebrate the topic of conversation is - what has been your favourite questions during the first year of EYM?

I've been doing this meme since the end of May, so I don't have as many to choose from, but one of my favourites in this short time has been my favourite author quotes.

And just for fun, I've found some more:

This morning I took out a comma and this afternoon I put it back again.

- Oscar Wilde

Writers aren't exactly people, they're a whole lot of people trying to be one person.

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

The beginning is easy; what happens next is much harder.

- Anonymous

 

I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.

- Washington Irving

I think with my right hand.

- Edmund Wilson

Just get it down on paper, and then we'll see what to do with it.

- Maxwell Perkins

Have you been involved in the Express Yourself meme?

What has been your favourite questions this year?

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Express Yourself - Which character are you?

                     

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.

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This weeks topic of conversation: Name a movie characters personality who is you to a tee.

 

I don't really know about movie characters, but one TV character that I can definitely relate to is Monica Geller/Bing. 

www.businessbee.com -

I have an unnatural obsession with keeping things clean and tidy, which has been very hard to keep control of since having my daughter.

She is now five, and between her and my husband they make sure that there is always something to be tidied.

A lot of the time I can just about deal with it, but it does stress me out sometimes and has been known to make me cry.

My daughter has even said to me that those two are the 'flingers' and I am the 'tidy-uperer'. Charming!

Who are you most like from either TV or the movies?

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Express Yourself - Childhood memories

                     

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.

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This weeks topic of conversation: What's your favourite childhood book or movie?

theolivareader.blogspot.com

 When I was in high school my friends and I all got into a series called Point Horror. They were horror stories for teens, and I remember we'd all get different ones for Christmas and birthdays and then would spend most of the year swapping them all around with each other. 
I'd actually forgotten about these books until this question came up and I've spent the best part of a week trying to remember what they were called! 
When I finally discovered them I found there's some new ones that came out this year.

www.bandittransamclub.com

In our house we didn't watch any of the usual movies that the other kids were watching. Most girls at high school were sneakily watching Top Gun and Dirty Dancing, but these are films that I still haven't seen and I'm now in my early thirties. In our house it was all about James Bond, Smokey and the Bandit, Indiana Jones and Superman. Much better in my opinion!

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Express Yourself - Books and films for comfort

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.
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This weeks topic of conversation: What is your comfort book/movie?

 

 

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I think my comfort books are probably my Harry Potter books. They are the books that I have read the most times, and I love to read them in the build up to Christmas. There's just something about them that adds a little bit extra to the festivities for me. 

 

 

www.dvdactive.com

 

 

 

My comfort movies are definitely the Back to the Future films. I've seen them so many times I've lost count, and I could probably do them line for line as well, but  I still love them and watch them whenever they are on the television. The third one is my overall favourite, you can't beat a good ole Western showdown!

 

 

 

 

 

What do you like to read or watch for comfort?

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Express Yourself - Living as an X-man

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The Express Yourself meme is a weekly jaunt brought to you by Dani at Entertaining Interests and Jackie at Bouquet of Books. At the beginning of the month the girls will post a gadget with a list of topics, something different for each week. Make sure to head on over to either of these blogs to check out the details more fully and see who else is taking part.

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This weeks topic of conversation: Which book/movie do you wish you lived in?

 

 

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I think if I had to live in a book it'd be something like Pride and Prejudice. Spending all my time getting dolled up in fancy dresses and going to balls all the time? Sounds like fun. Plus I could put my efforts into trying to be wooed by an eligible bachelor and if none were forthcoming, then my books and the outdoors would be just fine.

I always love the Red Dwarf episode when they all go to Pride and Prejudice World. Especially when Kryten invades with a tank!

 

 

 

 

 

As far as movies go, I always wanted to be an X-man, so I'd definitely want to live in that universe.  I quite fancy having invisibility as my power, and of course I'd be best friends with Wolverine ;-)

 

Picture from www.fanpop.com

By the way, the hardest part of doing this post was choosing a picture of Hugh Jackman. There are a lot to choose from! 

 

Research is tough ...

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