1. My absolute favourite colour is blue but very specific variations of it that remind me of water 💦 I also love hot pink nail polish and lipstick and my 7 year old son doesn’t understand why I don’t use blue given I love it so much.
2. I’m a double Leo which I’ve been told by my Leo astrologer it means I’m doubly awesome 😂🔥
3. I grew up in public housing with a single mum and 3 older brothers living under the poverty line. I used to go on occasional free camps thinking we’d won the lottery. Knowing what I know now, I think these were for ‘at risk kids’ and they probably gave my mum a much needed break.
4. I don’t know why but I can’t stand Ford Falcons 🤷♀️ I’ve even stopped dating someone in my 20s because of their car choice (and other reasons of course but the car was def a factor) 😂
5. I love all sorts of music and singing loudly in private ..even a bit of Metallica, GnR & Faith No More.. the result of growing up with big brothers.
6. I moved my life to Aotearoa (NZ) for an adventure in 2014 and within 2 years I had the best unexpected gift you could have, my baby boy.
7. I had Guinea pigs when I grew up called Gertie, Grotie & Ruffles. It broke my heart when they died 😢
8. I was super skinny as a kid and broke way too many bones (particularly my arm). Twice I even predicted the break saying to friend ‘I shouldn’t do this as I’ll break something’.. I was right :O (or now knowing the power of the mind, this could actually be the power of my own suggestion hmmm).
9. A teacher once called me a ‘D’ student in front of my English class and I actually did fail year 12 as I spent much of that year sneaking out to nightclubs and thinking about ‘love’. But once I got over that phase I ended up going to uni as a ‘mature age student’ at 21 & now have 2 degrees including an honours and a stack more qualifications proving my teacher was WRONG lol
10. I was so scared I even cried when I learnt to scuba dive & still feel anxiety as an advanced Open Water diver with nearly 100 dives recorded. The benefits always outweigh the fear for me though… 🦈🐬🐠🐡🐙
11. I haven’t drank alcohol for 18months and love it!
12. I was motivated to study criminology after much of my childhood was spent visiting a relative in prison.
13. I only started drinking coffee in my 30s! My favourite order is a Mocha no sugar & full cream milk!
14. I was once told by a physio after an operation that she didn’t know how I could walk again.. I broke down when I left the session, then pulled myself back up and proved her wrong. This strong will has served me well in life. Just because someone tells you you can’t or won’t doesn’t mean they're right.
15. My first trip in a plane was at 20 when I decided to go to Africa, on my own. I also fit in a visit to a friend in the UK and got to see Stonehenge - something I was fascinated with as a kid (and still am).
16. My dad was a champion 8 ball (pool) player and I have fantastic memories of him taking us to his local RSL (Returned Service League) – he was a WWII veteran – and teaching me and my brother to play. He passed away when I was 13 which broke my heart. RIP dad.
17. I studied hospitality when I left school and worked in several establishments in Adelaide - from front bars in oubs to al-la-Carte restaurants to the posh Windy Point Restaurant in the Adelaide Hills. This experience gave me many important skills and some not so important ones including how to pour a great beer from tap! I see so many bad pours now and think my talent was wasted LOL
18. I’ve just broken through my resistance and joined a gym.. my dislike of gyms comes from spending much of my childhood waiting in one for my mum to finish her classes. My recent experience has proven it’s not as bad as my mind was telling me.
19. I used to drive a manual car but had to give it up when I had surgery to in 2001 to remove an aggressive bone tumour in my left hip. It was replaced with a titanium prosthesis and now I said off most metal detectors the airports. I also now drive automatic cars and wonder why I bothered with a manual in the first place (actually I know it was to prove a point at the time.. women can drive a manual car LOL).
20. My first tattoo was of a dog paw 🐾 as I was born a lover of dogs. I’ve raised 3 Staffies (my fav breed) .. Ty, Buddy & Sunny. All had vastly different personalities, all I loved with my whole heart, and unfortunately all have crossed the rainbow bridge 🌈 reminding me how much love can hurt when they pass.
21. I grew up in a community which had a big Italian presence, and I was the only Australian to go into the advanced Italian language class when I was a kid! I think having a best friend who was part Italian motivated me with this.. if she was in the class… so was I!
22. I have spent much of my life as an analyst (in my profession & life generally) …the last few years I’ve given up needing to know everything.
23. I don’t like clothes shopping with people.. In fact I don’t like clothes shopping much tbh 🛍️ 😂 I’m all for wearing the clothes that fit me and still look good, that I wore 7 years ago. Don’t judge me… LOL
24. I loved Judy Bloom, Roald Dahl and Ann Martin books when I was growing up. I think me and my friends thought we were the Australian version of the Baby Sitters Club series (without the baby sitting) and in fact we had out own club called SAWAESC - the Secret Animal Welfare and Environmental Studies Club LOL
25. Despite needing to use a walking stick since I was 23 due to having a saddle prosthesis replace my hip (you can watch my story on Good Medicine https://youtu.be/IdZm4-qgdjc ), I have skydived twice, travelled to parts of the world on my own, and become an advanced certified scuba diver with nearly 100 dives logged. I have also snow boarded (once with tears), rafted twice & sledged once in white water, climbed mountains (also with tears) and had a baby on my own (more tears and so much joy for all these achievements)!