Blogging, awards and playing catch up...

I have to apologise but I way behind with blogging this week and that's because I'm back to work fulltime and barely have time to dress myself!

I am very late in acknowledging two lovely bloggers, but better late than never

and I will try and play catch-up (once again) over the next week or so.

I have been given awards from two very special people.

Evi at Sexta-Feira awarded me the lovely blog award

and Demi at Aussi Dimi decoupage has awarded me the Kreativ blog award

Both Evi and Demi have wonderful blogs and both are well worth a visit. 
I love visiting them, having a read, looking at their lovely photos and exchanging comments with them.

Evi and Demi have become special blogging friends to me over the last few months and I would like to thank them both for the awards and for their friendship. 

7 things about myself -

* I'm a worrier

 I worry about things before they even happen

and usually they never do...

luckily I am married to a very relaxed man

who takes things as they come!

*   I have green eyes

* I like the colour lemon

it always reminds me of

when I was pregnant

 with my first child

and because I didn't know if

it was a boy or a girl

everything I bought was lemon

she wore lemon clothes for  years!

* I love to sit and relax with

a glass of red wine 

I love the colour of it,

the taste of it

and even the smell of it

makes me happy!

*   I find candlelight so relaxing

and so most evenings 

I have a candle lighting. 

*  I sometimes have a chew

on my nails-

not a nice habit...

but if I start nibbling

it's hard to stop!

* I never go out the door

without my lipstick on

never, ever ever ever

 my natural look would scare

small children away!

*  I don't want to win the lottery

my life as it is makes me happy
and if I could live the rest of my days
as they are now
I would be a very happy woman.

I am going to award the lovely blog award to all of the blogs

that participate in Green Day,

you have all been a wonderful support to me and I love looking at your beautiful photos. You all deserve the "Lovely Blog award"

It is difficult to give awards to some blogs as they are award free

but

I'm going to be really bold and ignore this!

The Kreativ blog award goes to...

Karen at  My Little Home and Garden 

Mildred at Maple Lane
Barb at Grandma Barb's This an That
Renae at Simple Sequins
Lynne at Irish Garden House

Mary at Merrydotandy
Ellie at Ellie's Place
Barbara at Two Birdies blog

Please visit them along with Evi and Demi

and I bet you will agree they are all great.

I'm off now to pour a glass of vino and  read the posts that I have missed

Have a lovely weekend my friends

My, oh my, oh my......

 it's Thursday again,

where has the week gone,

blink and you'd miss it!


Busy busy days here in Raindrops land!


My hydrangea is doing nicely
I drag it into the porch everytime it rains
so the flowers still look fresh
maybe that's the secret of 
a good garden in Ireland....
cover all your plants with a giant umbrella??

I had a lovely surprise yesterday 

I found some sweetpeas 

hidden behind a hedge

I didn't  plant them so they must have drifted in from somewhere else 

and so I put them on the kitchen table

in my favourite jug!

and while the sun shone(for an hour or so)

I took a photo of poppies in the garden

 unfortunately they don't look quite so healthy today after another downpour....

but these cute little guys seem very happy with the weather that we are having....

Sometimes I wonder why my flowers are flattened down and  bashed
I always blame the dreaded rain
but
 today in the flowerbed I discovered
 Mister Charlie in a bid to find a ball!

 

Mum has been here for a  few days so I'm on the go as she likes to be on the move  

(all of the time, every minute of everyday)

we did a lot of looking around the shops, 

yummy coffees,  lunches out
and just enjoying our time together
but

where she gets her energy from I don't know.

She has just gone home and I'm exhausted

she is like a 5 year old skipping and jumping around the place and she is 75!

She must be doing something right as she looks fantastic
- I better start skipping and jumping
watch this space.....

 The lovely creative Emma at http://thebloomingtimes.blogspot.ie/

has awarded me the Liebster award. 

I am so delighted to receive it

and have a big smile on my face 

I have to pass it onto 3 blogs

this is proving to be a very difficult job

so I have decided to award the Liebster

to blogs that have under 30 followers

they defintely should have more

 as they  make lovely reading.
Please check them out!

So in no particular order -

*Babs at Babs just a babblin

*Inge at Chicncheerful
and

* Sizzle & Zoom at Cruisin over Sixty

 finally 

(flippity flippity flippity flip) ....

 we have been invited to a very special party next Sunday

 and so I wanted to get a bag and shoes to go with the dress I intended to wear.

When out  shopping with "on the go" Mum

and "still sad" daughter 

I got the perfect bag and these lovely shoes

they were the only pair in the shop 

and were my size

so obviously I had to have them!

(How I'll walk in them is anyone's guess)

anyway....

I put the bag and shoes with the dress 

 all looked absolutely wonderful and perfect

 happy happy me

I was so delighted with my choice (and taste) yippee 

until....

I tried to get into the dress

and to tell you  it was snug is an understatement

even if I let nothing but water pass my lips

 for the next few days (months)

It won't fit

so

 I have to go shopping again tomorrow

 and am going to buy a pair of those

huge ginormous monstrous pull me in knickers

 suck my breath 

in and in....

 and in and in....

(and very very very deeply)

and hope for the best!

Fingers crossed!!!

Wishing you all a healthy, happy week
full of
 sunshine, smiles and lovely things ♥

{ Awards }

 ♥

A big thank you to two special people -

I would like to thank Jill

from Chillin with Jill for awarding me the Liebster Award,

I really appreciate you thinking of me Jill

and also thanks to Izdiher from Izdiher for awarding me the Enchanted Blog award

Pop over and visit Jill and Idziher and have a read of their lovely blogs for yourself ♥

I am going to break the rules by passing the awards on to all of my fellow bloggers.

You have the most wonderful blogs and I am so glad to have found you.

Thank you for your friendship ♥

May God grant you always...
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.

{old Irish blessing}

A huge thank you.......

for two awards that I received recently.

I received the Tell me about yourself award from Claudia.  

Claudia has a lovely blog called The Story and I am so glad that I got to know her through blogging.  She is a lovely person and I always enjoy reading about her life.  Pop over and visit Claudia and you will be glad that you did.

I also received the

from the lovely Izdiher

Izdiher lives in Pakistan and has a wonderful blog full of interesting details about life in her country.  Visit her and I know you will enjoy her writing.

The terms of these awards are such that I must tell you 7 things about myself and then pass the award onto 15 other bloggers.

Well here goes for the 7 things about me.....

I work with children with special needs.

I drive a silver car 
which never seems to have any petrol!

I am not afraid of spiders, or snakes 

but rats or mice make me feel faint with fear.

I wear make up everyday and wouldn't go outside withut lipstick

Even though I give out about the rain, I find the sound of it very soothing.

My favourite scents are citrus, lemons, oranges, and lime, Y-U-M

I would love to live near the sea and wake up every morning to a view of the ocean.

~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much Izdiher and Claudia for the awards and although I would dearly love to pass them on, it is impossible to pick winners from the blogs that I follow because all of your blogs are truely special to me and I love reading each and every one of them and I couldn't pick just 15!

It has been lovely to be a recipient of these special tokens and I am so grateful to you both.

F I O N A

XXX

Sweet Blog Award

I have just been awarded the Irrestibly Sweet Blog Award by Ellie at Ellie's Place

Ellie is a keen photographer and has some lovely photographs on her blog.

Pop over and have a look.  Ellie thank you for this award.

There are rules that go with this award. 

They are:  tell 7 things about myself and pass award on to 7 other bloggers. 

So here goes -

1    My favourite day of the week is Friday

2   I would have love to have another daughter so that my one and only would have had a sister.  I have no sisters, my Mum had no sisters and either had my Dad so girls are in short supply here!

3   I love red wine.

4   I love the colours pink and turquoise but have to admit that my winter wardrobe consists mostly of black!

5   My favourite season is Spring.  I love to see all the new flowers appearing and the baby lambs arriving .

6   I love wearing lipstick.

7   I don't relish the thought of reaching 50!

Now on to part two - pass this award on to 7 other bloggers.  Not easy and I'm afraid that I am only going to be able to pass it on to 5 others as I'm still new to this!  I hope that is ok?

If any of my 5 don't want to take part that is perfectly ok.

My 5 other bloggers are -

Anne at Frayed at the Edge

Sush at First do no Harm

Thisisme at Southhamsdarling 

Bethe at Daily Journey
Sherry at Indigo Girl

~ Fiona ~

Lovely People

Sush from First Do No Harm  did me a great honour recently when she bestowed an award on my blog called the Liebster Blog.

This meant a lot to me as I have only been blogging for a few weeks and really never expected like this.  Thank you Sush.

Sush has a lovely blog that I read every day.  She gives us an insight into her family life and her love for them all.  If you haven't visited Sush at First Do No Harm please do as I know that you won't be disappointed.  She is a lovely lady and has become a good friend.

The Liebster Award is meant to connect us even more and spotlight new bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
Every blogging award usually is accompanied by a set of rules. 

This award is no different...it has five rules.

1.  Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2.  Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3.  Post the award on your blog.
4.  Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the Internet - other writers. 
5.  And best of all - have fun and spread the karma!

So in alphabethical  order:

Barb and Dell Designs 

This is a lovely blog and I really enjoy it and I know that you will too.

Ellie's Place in the World 

Ellie writes about her life in Scotland and accompanies her posts by lovely photographs of the place she lives.  Always a good read.

In My Playroom 

Eileen like myself is not blogging that long.  In her blog she tells of her goals in life and I have to say gives the most wonderful welcome to new followers.

Pat's Ramblings

Love reading about Pat's life and what is going on in her corner of the world.

Shells and Bell Flowers and Showers  

Yiota has such a beautiful blog and her photographs are wonderful, I honestly think they are some of the most lovely pictures that I have seen on blogland.  She lives in Greece and her blog is fab!

Well that's it.  I hope that you will visit these wonderful blogs and show them support.

Thanks for all the entertainment.

~ Fiona ~