Sunday Social 14/01/13

1. What is the name of your blog? How long have you been blogging? Qaroline's Qonundrums. The name refers to the fact that I regard being a fat woman in a society that constantly tells me that I have to change as the biggest of my daily conundrums. I have been blogging since August 2012.

2. Why do you blog? Because I want to show that it IS possible to be fat and love yourself.

3. What is the first blog you ever followed? Kirsty Lou's fabulous blog "Fatty Unbound". I saw a television programme about body acceptance that featured her and her blog - I have been hooked ever since.

4. What is your favorite post you wrote in 2012? The one I wrote about writing as my method of choice for escaping from self hate, here is the link if you would like to read it: The Body Politic No. 3 - Escape

5. What are your blogging goals for 2013? Continuing to write the Body Politic-post series.

6. Top 3 favorite blogs to follow? At the moment my three favourite blogs are:

Rachele @ The Nearsighted Owl
Jess @ The Militant Baker
Charlotte Cooper @ Obesity Timebomb

Thank you very much for stopping by, I hope you have a fabulous Sunday!

Love, Qaroline

Sunday Social 30/12/12

1. Favorite New Years eve you’ve had before

My dad's birthday is on December 31st, so I had a lot of rather special New Years eves - I remember being really excited by the fireworks when I was small. Although my favourite New Years eve is probably the one I had all my best friends over, it was foggy and snowy and we couldn't really see a thing. Somehow we started singing and dancing to keep us warm and all around us were dim reflections of colourful sparks in the mist ...

2. Are you doing anything for NYE this year and if so what?

I will be working, but that's okay.

3. Name a book we should all read come January?

I would like to suggest that we all read our all time favourite book once again and remember why we love it. But if I have to name a book, I would highly recommend "How to be a woman" by Caitlin Moran. Although I don't agree with all of her views I find her writing hilariously funny and true. And it's going to be made into a film!

4. What are your new years resolutions?

Hmhmhm ... I usually don't make any specific resolutions but it would be nice to achieve or at least try to achieve some things in 2013. Getting my act together and starting to approach literary agencies. Cooking in my own kitchen again. Getting Hamish's (my cat's) teeth done as soon as possible. Little things, you know ... :)

Thank you very much for visiting my blog - I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and a glorious New Years Eve!

Love, Qaroline

Sunday Social 23/12/2012

This week's questions:

1. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? 

Uh, that's a REALLY hard one. I'd have to say 'mango' -  although 'nougat' and 'pistachio' certainly are candidates for the title.

2. What is your favorite smell?

I simply love the smell of grain fields baking in the sun, especially during harvest season -  reminds me of hot biscuits. 

3. What is your favorite TV commercial?

I don't watch that much TV, but I really laughed when I first saw Hugh Laurie's commercial for Loreal.

4. What is your favorite day of the week?

At the moment I really enjoy Sunday - this is the day I usually go swimming and to the sauna afterwards.

5. What is your favorite way to waste time?

Watching Doctor Who whilst knitting, crocheting or spinning.

6. What is your favorite article of clothing? 

This seafoam-coloured cardigan. It features in embarrassingly many of my outfit posts:

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!


Love, Qaroline

Sunday Social 16/12/2012

I love the idea of this "Sunday Social" and really wanted to participate this time!

This weeks questions:

1. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone? 

As I am very low-tech at the moment [partly due to my financial situation, partly due to my only ever buying new stuff when the old stuff stops working] - I have a very bad picture of the Leibniz temple in the Royal Gardens of Hanover on my cell phone. I lived in Hanover for almost three years and this place was my favourite [a temple of the same design features in one of my stories]. This is a much better picture of the same temple:

source: Wikimedia Commons - photographed by Breogan67

2. What do you keep beside your bed? 

Well, chaos basically. All the books I want to read as soon as possible, the pink docking-station for my iPod, pencils [for writing in the margin of books], a list of all the books I have read this year [I am currently on number 108], a lot of hairpins, nasal spray [I had quite a bad cold and still keep this by my bed for emergencies], my keys ... a retro design liquorice tin [now empty].

3. What is your least favourite chore?

Hoovering. Everything else pales in comparison.

4. If you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine, what would it be? 

Cleaning my cat's litter box. But I love him - so this has to stay on the list.

5. What do you do to vent anger? 

Baking bread [kneading dough is perfect for this]. Eat. Silently fume. Not very healthy, but well ... this is how I deal with it.

6. What is your favorite Holiday of the year and why? 

Christmas. Because my family has made up all this quirky traditions which nobody else has. For example when we get together to pick out our Christmas tree [for this we drive to a fir plantation and carry an assortment of various saws] we have oysters afterwards. The Christmas tree will be decorated differently each year - we had an "Ocean Tree" with lots of shells and nautical thingies, we had a tree covered in real flowers [my brother worked in a lab and brought home lots of test tubes which we made into tiny vases], we had a tree covered in butterflies ... this year is going to be flowers and birds.