Panic Attack...

On Saturday morning I came downstairs, made coffee and settled down at the computer. I typed in my blog address - for some reason I have never added it to favorites OR my desktop. It opened and then I got this box on the screen saying that "Internet Explorer cannot open http//www.eirerules.blogspot.com Action aborted".At this stage I was not too worried, but as I started investigating the cause and I discovered that Kirstin had changed all my information - overriding it with hers when she tried to create her own blog. To say that I came close to heart failure is not an exaggeration, I thought of all those posts, MY DIARY - the people who email me saying that they are enjoying my blog, my family and friends and I was UPSET.
I started changing all the information back, hoping it would fix the problem but still the same ugly message glared at me every time I logged on. I deleted Kirstin's blog from my dashboard (she had only done 1 short post)- still NOTHING. I could only access my dashboard via my other blog (the neglected NY one...) and finally noticed that the warning came up while trying to download the sitemeter...I removed it from my blog and could finally breathe again when it all opened!

Irish Blog Awards

Well it is true, I have visited the site and seen my name there.
BLOG AWARDS Bizarre. There are very many excellent blogs on the list and I am humbled by the fact that someone took the time to actually pick ME. So a very big thank you to whoever you are, it really made my day! I am not that naive as to think that I will go further than this, but it has made my posting that little bit more worthwhile. I have impeccable taste in blogs too, most blogs I visit have been nomintated and often MORE THAN ONCE. Of course there are many more blogs on the list that I don't visit. I am a little nervous to start poking my nose around in some of the other nominees blogs, there really are only so many I can visit in a day.

Shocks and feathers

Today I dedicated the day to cleaning. I spend far too much time visiting my virtual friends and I knew that if I did not get stuck in Malcolm was going to have to put his foot down. This would be more uncomfortable for him and a slight irritation for me. I dusted, I vacuumed, I washed the kitchen floor and then decided to treat myself to a cup of coffee. Now, what goes better with a cup of coffee than homemade baked goods? You guessed it, a visit to my friends. First up was EM, and I laughed at her Lips and Arseholes post, left a comment and then was about to move on when something made me scroll down. Phew, lucky for me, she had done an extra post..she was nominated for the Irish Blog Awards, brilliant news, I love reading her blog and she certainly deserves it. She went on to tell us about a few other nominations, many of whom I enjoy that cup of coffee with, see I drink LOTS of coffee. And somehow in there my name appeared.
EM This is when I got thrown for a loop, knocked down with a feather and found myself in an absolute state of shock. I swear this was not something I even considered, I am pleased as punch to have received a nomination, just in a total state of zombieness at the moment. The list is LONG and my nomination was for the category "Best personal blog". I shall gather my thoughts and attempt another post later...for now congratulations to all nominees, would not even know where to begin to see them, that is why I need to pop back over to EM's place.

More to it than that..

Malcolm actually started the blog. He chose a layout, thought of the name and did the very first post. She lay dormant for a while, we were still in S.A and life was full and busy. The point of the blog was really a way to stay in touch with family and friends and I did a couple of posts about our move.
When we got to Ireland it was summer and we had some time on our hands, especially as we were not used to it being light so late and light so early, ha ha. I started fiddling, changing the layout and posting my news. I was having fun, unfortunately it is also a one way communication and I got a bit despondent after a while.
Next thing to happen was that K’s school principal was nominated for a net visionary award and we were all encouraged to vote. As a good girl who follows the rules and some instructions, if presented in a way I like, I obliged and logged on to the website to have my say. That is when I found Grandad. His blog had been nominated and I decided to have a look, I read a few posts, I encouraged Malcolm to read a few posts. Malcolm and I laughed so hard at one we cried.
I started looking at some other blogs, and now my day is not complete without taking a peak to see what is going on in their worlds. I have found a community, a place to go with a cup of coffee to get inspired to go into my kitchen, laugh, agree, feel young again and learn a few interesting things about shopping, clothes, plumbing, the Irish, free range chickens etc. My blog is still for my family and friends but now it is also so much more too.
Thanks guys and gals, I think by now you all know who you are!