Hiatus

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I got a phone call this morning to say that a close family member passed away. I'm going to take a few days to myself but I should be back in the blog world sometime next week.

Announcement - Please Help

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Friends of Mr T and I got engaged over the weekend. It really was about time! They are so much in love it is almost sickening! But we are so delighted for them and can't wait for the wedding. I can't put up their names just yet because they haven't told their parents and just want to bask in the joy of their engagement without anyone asking if they have set a date.

They are throwing an engagement party in a few weeks time and I am a little stumped as to what we can get them as an engagement present.

I'll fill you in a little;

• Mr T, has, and still is sharing a house with both members of the couple.
• Mr T went to college with the new Mr.
• We have holiday-ed with the couple.
• The new Mr and Mr T wrote a book together.
• The couple have recently returned from a 9 month round the world trip.
• The couple are very into outdoor sports and activities.
• The couple are the most non-traditional couple I know - she wanted an engagement surfboard!
• The couple are Gaelgoirs - fluent Irish speakers.

We know them pretty well and would like to get them something really special... but I'm still a student and really broke most of the time.

I was wondering if it would be nice to get them an engagement photo shoot on the beach. It's not really a big thing to do here in Ireland, definitely not as much as in the States, but I think the idea is really cute.

Have you any thoughts, ideas, hints or tips???

Help?

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Do I Dare To Learn?

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I have to run off to a training seminar on 'How to Design Questionnaires'.

I really do not understand how this will take from 9.30 until 4.30 - 7 hours! - but I will learn whatever they want to teach me. Talk to you all soon.

I send you lots and lots of Monday hugs and kisses. I missed you all over the weekend.

Birthday Barbie

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Today is Fredrick's birthday barbeque.

It has become a tradition in Limerick to have some sort of a barbeque on this day, but Fredrick is moving away to Dublin for his postgrad soon and we will have no more. But we wish him well and will have a mighty knees up to celebrate this evening. We only wish that his girlie, Sarah, was down here and not stuck in Dublin studying for her exams.

Best of luck Fredrick!

and Happy Birthday!

One of Those Days

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D.I.Y. Speakers - Urban Outfitters

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I am loving these eco-speakers from Urban Outfitters. They are made from recycled materials, come flat packed and include 6 colouring pencils for you to customise them any way you want!

And only £16.

I sense a possible credit card borrowing here.
(I don't trust myself with a credit card, so I use Sonya's and she is my conscience)

Things I Love Thursday

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Let me see... what do I love today?

Toes -I really want the weather to perk up here so I can get my toes out. I love brightly coloured toenails and peep toe shoes or sandals. So so summery.

Lemon & Lime Lip Balm - I was in Dunnes Stores at the weekend and spotted a bright green tub of L&L balm from the 'I Love...' range. It is gorgeous, sherbet-y and lush.

Halternecks - You might remember this post, and I am pleased to say that I have gotten plenty of wear out of my Debenhams Multiway.

Online Stationary Shopping - Not for anything really new or fancy, just some archive boxes, new folders and a few miscellaneous pens and stuff. But I love getting stuff in the post and I am still so excited about opening a box. I'm sad! I know!

Are you happy over something today?

All A.O.K.

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Geoffery has a clean bill of health. All certified and good again.
YEA!

Test Time

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I probably won't get a chance to post tomorrow as I have to drive all the way to Nenagh to get my car a new NCT cert. I can't believe that the waiting lists in Limerick are so long that you can't even be put on the waiting lists. It's such a ridiculous problem.

So tomorrow, me, my little red car, a good book and some takeaway coffee are going to the bright lights of Nenagh (chuckle) to sit and wait for a, hopefully, nice man to tell me that there is nothing wrong with my car. Keep your fingers crossed for me - I can't afford to fix Geoffery if there is something serious wrong with him.

(Geoffery is my red Honda Civic, if you haven't already guessed. He would have looked like the pic below when he was all shiny and new. Isn't he pretty?)

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On Top of the World

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Today I give you this pretty picture courtesy of the PSN.

How Do You Wear Yours?

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I was reading through this post over at Kimberly's blog 'Fab Finds Under $50' and I have fallen love with the Victoria's Secret convertible dress.

The dress can be worn in so many different ways; halter neck, strapless, one shoulder, as a skirt... the list goes on as far as your imagination can stretch. I especially love the burgundy and indigo version

Wouldn't this be a great summer dress for everyone's holiday wardrobe!

I've been...

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I've just been tagged by Ruth over at Nice Day Designs. Yea, my first tag!

Seven things I like:

New runners,
Warm blankets,
Haribo,
A good mug of tea,
Curling up with a good book,
Little presents,
Spending time with good friends.

Seven things I did yesterday:

Watched the end of Gladiator in bed,
Read the end of Murder on the Orient Express,
Made some raspberry trifle,
Played with a dog that we have called Benji, we don't know if we can keep him yet,
Called Mr T to see how he was getting on in Galway,
Drove back to Limerick,
Bought Glamour to curl up in bed with .

Seven things I wish I could do:

Teleport,
Add and multiply big numbers in my head,
Tie a scarf stylishly, oh Parisian women how you irk me,
Drink more water,
Stop procrastinating,
Go to the cinema every week,
Flip pancakes.

Seven things I don’t like:

The lack of an Irish summer,
People who jump queues,
Rude bar staff,
Raw tomatoes,
Pens that have lots of ink in them but still won't work,
Bad coffee,
Not having lip balm with you when you really need it.

I'm tagging:

A cat of impossible colour
Samantha Le
Bonzie
Trust Tommy
Vulgar Moon
Cathy Horner
Marlene

Things I Love Thursday

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Dinner - We're taking Mr T out tonight to celebrate the end of his Masters. His presentation is this afternoon and I know that he is going to do amazing. I'm so proud of him.

Feeling better - I was sent home from college on Tuesday with a fever but I feel much better today. Yea.

Facebook - Changing my language to Pirate English was very entertaining. Try it!

Strawberries - I bought my first punnet of the season and had them for breakfast with some vanilla yogurt. Yum.

List It

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There is something wonderfully comforting about creating lists.

Shopping lists - To do lists - Wish lists

Today I hope to put together a major, and minor, to do list, and then I hope to knock off some of the things on the list too.

Plantable Tags

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I spotted these hang tags over at Ciara Elends site.

Aren't they great idea!

Basically to go more green, her couture hang tags are made from recycled paper that contains seeds. You can plant the paper in soil, water, and wildflowers begin to grow.

Here's to Happiness - Rockstar Diaries

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This post created by Naomi over at Rockstar Diaries has been lauded all over the blog sphere, and I thought it was time to share it you.

Here were my 10 things that make me happy

1. the smell of the sea
2. jasmine
3. french frys and ketchup
4. Mr T's blue jumper
5. fresh coffee
6. sand between my toes
7. playing with a puppy
8. getting completely lost in a great book
9. apple crumble
10. bedtime kisses from Mr T

And today I sat down and created a new 10

1. cuddling a dog
2. wrapping myself up in a very soft blanket
3. when Mr T snuggles up to me in bed
4. a really good chocolate cookie
5. fig scented candles
6. watching leaves and blossoms falling from trees
7. finding affordable bras that fit really well
8. dinner with friends
9. ketchup
10. squishing sand with my toes

Isn't it amazing which things change and which stay the same? Seemingly all I need in life is a dog, some sand and a bottle of ketchup.

What are the 10 things that make you happy?

Image Day

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I'm a little delicate today so I present you with some lovely images to mull over. I can't remember where most of them are linked from, just the cardboardlove one and maybe the first one, so if you send me on the links... yea!

House of Vision

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I want to live in a Japanese house with an indoor swing.

Limited Edition Coca Cola

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I spotted the new Coca Cola limited edition summer range over at the dieline.

What do you think?

Show and Tell

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I got this story in an email from a friend of mine. I don't know how
much of it is true but I don't really care. It's a sweet story.


I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids
myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own
second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few
sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and
usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles,
model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And
I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them.
If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very
outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the
class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother,
and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and
then Dad put a seed in my  Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there.
He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying
not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are
watching her in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and
going, 'Oh Oh,Oh,Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans.
'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'
(Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she
doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my
Mom to lie down in bed like this.'
(Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

'And then, pop!  My  Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in
case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed,
like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little
hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe,
breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten.. Then,
all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff
that they all said it was from  Mom's play-center, (placenta)
so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the
middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to
her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when
it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another
'Middle Wife' comes along.

Blog of the Week

I haven't put up one of these in ages but...
I stopped by Terry's blog Bent Objects and I thought it was amazing.

So creative... and it is now in book form.

You can purchase Bent Objects: The Secret Life of Everyday Things from HERE soon.

Things I Love Thursday

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Sweeties - I know that sugary things are not really good for me but I love, love, love Haribo. Tangfastic is a particular favourite... along with jelly babies... cola bottles... strawbs...

House - And the fact that we have found one to live in come the end of the month. I slept soundly last night for the first time since we were told that we had to give back the one that we're in at the moment.

Vanilla Yoghurt - two words... nom nom! It's good with everything; Strawberries, cereal, fruit salad, on it's own.

My Brother - I have one, older, brother. I only get to see him every couple of weekends and he is so entertaining. I have to go home this weekend so that I can help him to crash a wedding reception that he wants to go to. I think he's on the lookout for a lady!

Homeless

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Please please keep your fingers and toes crossed for me that we get a house today.

Our current landlords have decided that they want their house back even though we have a lease until next January. We have spent the last week looking at everything we can view and afford, and we might have found a really nice house in our price range. Maybe...

*Update - We are not homeless anymore... we gave a deposit today and we get the house at the end of the month. Yea!

Things I Love Tuesday

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I never got around to putting up a TiLT for last week. My little world has gone a little crazy at the moment but to compensate for my inattention to you I offer you this TiLT of apology today.

Colouring Books - Nothing makes you feel like a child the way a colouring book and some markers do. The intense concentration to stay inside the lines, brow furrowed, tongue out... fantastic.

Biscuit Cake - My mother makes the worlds greatest chocolate biscuit cake. I brought some to Mr T's housewarming weekend and it disappeared before my eyes along with pots and pots of steaming tea.

Twitter - I am slowly getting into this whole twitter thing and it is very entertaining indeed.

Charles & Marie

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I am loving these felt placemats from Charles & Marie.

Check out their shop for more great things for the home.

IS.LY win

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Oh my gosh!

I won something nice... I never win stuff.

I checked my mail before heading home from college yesterday, I was having a really horrible day and I just wanted to go home and mope, and I found an email in my inbox from Melissa Esplin of IS.LY saying that I had won one of her Earth Day Giveaway prizes. Yea, I can't wait to see what arrives in the mail and I promise to put up a photo!

Congratulations! You are one of the lucky winners of IS•LY's Earth Day giveaway! This isn't just any giveaway. No, No. I'm going to make something just for you using earth-friendly, repurposed or recycled items. But first I need some information about you! Here we go:

What's your mailing address?

Do you have a favorite color?

What are your interests?

Tell me something about you that makes you, you.

Your prize will be mailed to you in the next 3-5 weeks. Congratulations!!!