H is for...

I've been waiting, in nervous anticipation, for my very own letter to be assigned to me by Melisa from Suburban Scrawl so I could do my very own Letter Meme, just like Melisa's.


I got my darn letter in an email this morning.

H.

H?!? Melisa, c'mon! I can think of PLENTY of things I love starting with T (like TGI's...bet y'all didn't know that!) M (Mmmm, McDonalds French Fries and a hilarious story that goes with it) or even C (cooking shows that feature ruggedly handsome men like Jamie or Gordon).

But H? How am I going to find 10 things I love starting with H? Well...here goes.

1. Horses. My first great love, and my biggest passion. For as long as I can remember, all I've ever wanted to do was have a horse of my very own to love and care for and ride to Olympic victory in the 3 Day Event. My entire bedroom is adorned with books, toys, posters and models and horses and ponies - which, at my age, you must admit means I'm fairly dedicated to the cause.

2. Hockey, of the Ice persuasion. Follows on directly from my great passion at #1. My second greatest ambition was to grow up, move to Canada and play hockey - and naturally beat the crap out of and body slam all the grown men like the tomboy I am. Ooh, yeah.

3. Honey Mustard. It's practically the sole reason I go to TGI's (and why I've frequented Subway 4 days in the past 5...). I'm absolutely hooked on it, and it actually got me started eating salad, which is more than my mother could do for 19 years.

4. Hotels. I love going away, and there's nothing quite as exciting as knowing you're going to a hotel and having someone else clean up after you, make the bed and give you soft, fluffy towels. I also enjoy stealing anything that isn't actually bolted down, particularly those novelty miniature body lotions and the like. I realize this makes me sound like I don't get out much.

5. Happy Endings. I am addicted to chick flicks for this very reason. I love sitting down of an evening or lazy Sunday afternoon and chucking Love Actually/The Notebook/Where The Heart Is or similar on, and ensconcing myself warm fuzzy feelings for 2 whole hours before having to return to reality, and the banality of my own life.

6. Hats. My life is one big bad hair day. My mother and Sarah are constantly and infuriatingly telling me how 'cute' I am in them. Winter days aren't complete without a furry beret, and Summer means cowboy hats and trucker caps for days on the beach. I almost have more hats than belts and...

7. Heels. My life would be incomplete without asserting my 6ft2 authority in heels over small, inconsequential men people on a night out. I love being tall (it's only taken 21 years of stooping to realize this) and I love wearing heels. Ironically, being as tall as a guy is one of the few times I feel like a girl. I don't, however, like the sound of my ankles snapping or the severe knee bruising I seem to gain from wearing them. One day I shall be elegant. One day.

8. Horoscopes. I read mine every day. I am the quintessential firey Aries, born in the Tiger sign - let me give you a little taste of Katie (idea stolen from Melisa...thanks for that!)
Because I am an Aries, this means I am:
Headstrong, passionate, opinionated, courageous, selfish, assertive, restless and impulsive, competitive, open minded and a natural leader.
I have a great need for freedom, a quick tongue, find it hard to show feelings of weakness, love adventures and making friends, have a short attention span and don't like losing.

Yep. Think that's me in a nutshell, really. If you believe in star signs as I do, then as an Aries, my best friend should be a Sagittarius (Sarah) and my future husband lover a Leo (Cam). My mother is also an Aries; we butt heads quite a lot, and my poor Virgo brother didn't cope so well with the high energy all the time in our household.

9. High Rise Buildings. Because I'm a country girl through and through, I still get a jolt of excitement when I visit big cities - there's this sort of electrifying feeling of anonymity and excitement; no one knows your name, and there's so many hidden places to explore and adventures to be had. I love sitting at Starbucks with my big sunnies on, people watching and wondering about the tiny fragments of life I'm seeing as someone walks by; where they're going and who they really are, all the while with the beautiful backdrop of huge architectural monstrosities. I love that feeling of being so small next to such amazingly big buildings.

10. Happiness. I know it's pretty close to my Happy Ending section, but I mean in a whole other way. Those random moments every day that make you pause for a second and smile. I've no idea what 'real' happiness is; I'd like to think I've got a few years to figure that all out. But in the meantime, I love those tiny flashes of 'this is what it's all about'. Simple, everyday things like a text message from my mum about one of our longstanding jokes that no one would understand, a paw in the face from Sahara when she's in a silly mood or a handmade card arriving in the mail. Then there's those somethings that I'll never, ever forget, like seeing everything I felt reflected in Cams eyes as we swam in the pool in a tropical downpour in the dark on one of the most amazing days I can remember. There's always a glimmer of hope when you have those happy flashes, and I hope that I'm a little bit a part of other peoples happiness each day.


...*breathes a sigh of relief*
It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Whatcha think - are they all valid "H's"?