My name is Lizzie Meates and I’m the owner/author/proud mama of this website.

I grew up in Aoteaora (New Zealand) in and around the cities of Porirua and Wellington but like many Kiwis I ventured beyond the nest and now reside in the UK (Kiwis are known for travelling far and wide). I like to walk around bare foot and I enjoy my food (Kiwis can be very Hobbitish). I also love a good game of rugger (I don’t disappoint that particular Kiwi stereotype). I am a long suffering, but still loyal, supporter of the Wellington Lions and ‘Canes. I like music and play am learning the guitar. I like to read and to write. I like to cook and make things. I grew up fascinated by aircraft and still like to attend airshows. I don’t watch a lot of TV but I do like Sci-Fi. My first crush was MacGyver. I approach life via the Golden Rule. I like nerdy things, I like naff things and the peculiar fascinates me. I am an eclectic Kiwi Scori-orpi-orpio Girl, lover the naff, nerdy and peculiar. Below are the answers to some questions that you may have, but feel free to ask if you have another questions that isn’t there.

Why lizziemeates.com – what happened to shininglikeadiamond?

Sadly, shininglikeadiamond was taken as a dot com site so I had to come up with a new site name. I tried on some new cyber personae but none felt right, until I tried my name and that felt good and so lizziemeates.com was born. Never fear though, the spirit of shininglikeadiamond lives on here, just in a different home.

What was shininglikeadiamond? What did it stand for?

Bascially for me, it summed up an ethos and approach to life. Check out shininglikeadiamond for the explanation.

For extra points of awesomeness – how do you pronouce your surname?

Basically you ignore the first e – so its pronounced like mates – and yes there are extra points of awesomeness to those who pronounce it correctly.

MacGyver? Really?!

Yep. Angus MacG is the epitome of cool.