Well, Gaynor, I didn't forget. I was just slow to respond!

Gaynor at "Our Day By Design" nominated me for this fund blog award over a month ago!

So in order to accept the award, I have to tell everyone 10 interesting facts about myself and pass the award onto 10 other lovely bloggers. {Um, I can't guarantee these will be interesting facts.}

1. I am passionate about a few causes: anti-animal cruelty, human rights, environmental stewartship, equal access to healthcare and social services. I contribute to these causes in different ways: volunteering my time, financial contributions, verbal support, working on / signing petitions, etc. I also financially support a few different diseases: mainly the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart & Stroke Foundation, and the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and a few others.

2. I was married on D-Day, or rather on the 65th anniversary.

3. My birthday is today. (That's not really interesting, but it's something.) I get unusually excited about my birthday. You know how little kids get really excited about their birthdays? Well, that's me ... and I have mellowed about my birthday substantially in the last five years. In university, I had a month long count down to my birthday. Although, I still refer to the week around my birthday as "birthday week".

4. My husband and I spent most of our honeymoon in France, but we also visisted England, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

5. I am unemployed. Not by choice. That's not a good fact, but it is interesting. When employed, I work in occupational health and safety.

6. I was 24 when I took my first flight. I was flying to England to do a term for 4 months, and was so nervous. When in Europe, I flew around a bit, and a year later had a job that required me to fly many times, so now I couldn't even count how many times I have flown. Maybe almost 40 times? I don't know!

7. I am severely allergic to cats. It will usually exacerbate an asthma attack that can last days, or it can initiate a histamine response so bad my eye has virtually swollen shut. I become very upset, and almost personally hurt, if a friend gets a cat, because it means I have to significantly medicate myself before and after visiting that friend, will probably have asthma for days, and will generally be miserable for anywhere from 3 hours to a few days. It's a shame because I loved cats before I developed my allergy (which started as a minor histamine response when I was about 5 or 6 or 7).

8. That being said, not all cats initiate my asthma as bad as others. My family cat Pepper did not initiate a very strong asthma reaction. She was my third birthday gift and she lived to be 22 (although she stayed with my parents when I moved out).

9. I recently submitted a petition to the Ontario government to include all approved chemotherapies in our provincial healthcare system. (Currently, only intravenous chemo is covered, but oral chemo is not. So in our public healthcare system, you have to pay for your cancer treatment if it's oral.)

10. I like many holidays, but my favourites are Hallowe'en, Christmas, and any reason for a barbecue in the summer!

So now I'm going to pass on the award to 10 other lovely blogs that I have been enjoying lately (in no particular order):
The Introverted Wife
Marie-Eve in Montreal
Jane
The Cheap Wife
Carly (aka the Less Than Domesticated Goddess)
Rachel (aka Girl Learning Along the Way)
Dawn (aka The Alternative Bride)
Marie (The Wife in the City)
The Professional Bridesmaid
Mrs. B.