Oh, all right, go on then...

So I got a third nomination for the Liebster Award from Chex & The Heavies! Thank you so much :) It honestly means the world to me that you guys are reading and enjoying my blog.

For the rules I'll refer you back to my earlier post.

Right then, let's answer some (more) questions XD

From Chex & The Heavies:

1. Do you have trouble coming up with names for things?

 Sometimes. I love naming models, but it's not always easy. If I've got a name in mind when I buy the model then it's usually pretty simple to name them, although sometimes I find that the name I had in my head just doesn't fit the model when I see it in real life. Examples of this include my Schleich Shire Stallion, who I was going to name 'Coal' but he told me he'd rather be called 'King', and my Breyer Classic 2013 Horse of the Year 'Mariah', who I thought about naming 'Moonstone' but ultimately decided to call 'Promise' instead :)

  I have a process for naming my models. I've written out a long list of names which fills 3 A4 sheets of paper, and I go through the list one name at a time and see if it'll fit my model. If I like the name for the model I write it down on a shortlist. Once I've reached the end of the long list I go through the shortlist with the model in front of me and say each name out loud whilst holding the model. I usually end up with 2 or 3 names I really like for that model, but it normally boils down to which one 'feels' right for that horse. And I've found that if I go against my gut and choose a name that doesn't 'feel' right, I normally come back to it later and rename it anyway.

2. Is there a model which is your total, absolute favourite?

 My Breyer Traditional 'Let's Go Riding' English mare on the Marabella mould. This lovely girl got me into collecting Breyer in the first place; without her I'd probably only have my Schleichs. She's my first and my favourite, and if I absolutely had to get rid of all my Breyers and I could only keep one, she's the one I'd choose.

3. Have you any rules when it comes to buying a new model?

 Yes. I have severely limited space for my models, and I don't want to spend a fortune on them, so my rule is I can only buy models that I genuinely, truly fall in love with and want. I also find that when I break this rule and buy a model impulsively, I normally don't fall in love with it and feel very attached to it. And because I don't want to spend a lot of money on them, I don't even consider buying models that aren't regular runs (usually. I do have one special run model, but he came to me second hand for about the price of a regular run, so I don't feel guilty about getting him XD )

4. Do you have any pets? If so, tell us about them.

I have a 9 year old male cat called Frankie, who is my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without him. He's the friendliest cat I've ever met and my mother calls him my 'little shadow' because he follows me around the house. I also have a 2 year old female lurcher dog called Maisie, who we got from a rescue for greyhound crosses. She was very emotionally closed off and shell shocked when we got her in February of this year, but in the 7-8 months we've had her she's really opened up and is now playful and naughty like a normal dog :)

5. Tea or coffee?

Hmmm...Probably coffee, but I also love peppermint tea. Does that count as tea?

6. What is your favourite horsey film?

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron by Dreamworks. It combines traditionally animated characters with computer generated backgrounds, and the artwork is truly beautiful. Especially considering how difficult it is to animate galloping horses. If you haven't seen it already go check it out: it's an honestly gorgeous film and one most horsey kids will love.

7. Have you every bought a horsey magazine?

When I was a child my mother bought me a subscription to My Beautiful Horses Magazine. Each issue came with a free plastic horse toy, and I built up a modest herd through the magazine. I loved it and eagerly looked forward to each new issue, but towards the end of my yearly subscription My Beautiful Horses was cancelled/stopped, so they ran out the subscription with another horse magazine. Unfortunately the new one was nothing like the one I'd subscribed to: there was no free toy, and it was completely geared towards people with real horses and ponies. As I didn't have a real horse or pony of my own I quickly got bored with it and didn't renew my subscription when it ran out.

8. How open are you to people about your model horse collection?

On the Internet with other model horse collectors, I'm very open. With anyone else, I barely talk about my collection, if at all. My family know about my models because they're on display in my room, but most of my family just think of them as toys and probably think I'm childish to have them. The only one who sort of understands is my father, who is a model railway enthusiast, so he sort of gets the collecting, even if he's not particularly bothered about the plastic ponies :)

9. What song is stuck in your head right now?

I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables.

10. Can you tell us a joke?

Um...my mind's gone blank. Do captioned images count? Please note: I didn't make these.

 And a videogaming joke:

 Right, that's all the questions. I hope I didn't bore you all to tears. Since I've already done this once before, I can't think of anyone to tag who hasn't done it already and I don't want this award to become an annoying perpetual cycle, I'm going to forego asking any questions of my own or tag any other blogs. On the other hand, if you're reading this and you would like to have a go at the Liebster Award, I refer you to the questions I asked last time. Feel free to answer them, even if I didn't tag you :)