Surprises galore!

Bloggie pals!!

 

My annual "team building" session for work is looming but this year, my employers have surpassed themselves with this invite! It almost makes the event bearable! LOL! Well, no it doesn't but look at the lovely invite!!

 

And the good Cap'n Alex J. Cavanaugh  surprised me with this fabulous accolade!!! Awwwww! I am BLUSHING!!  And that's not only because of his invisible underwear. Ahem.

Thank you Cap'n Ninja! You ROCK the best!!

 

 

Charlie says: I surprise the silly Gumster with my mighty leap!

 

 

Have a lovely week y'all!

I'm a Beautiful Tagged Blogger and Annie Needs a Home

First to all my bloggie friends across the ocean in the land of the
U S of A:
Annie needs a home asap. Yes she does! Please help if you can.

Now the lovely Niki from Wool n Nuts nominated me for this rather lovely swirly award:




To earn this I'm to tell you 7 interesting things about me:

1) I rode a camel across a tiny expanse of the Saharan dessert. Poor camel.

2) I once believed a silly tourist guide who said we were about to visit "Mr and Mrs Troglodyte".

3) I shared a genuine hashish pipe. I think I slept for a week afterwards.

4) I once had a skinhead haircut (now I have lovely flowing locks thank you very much! LOL!)

5) I wasn't meant to be. My parents had 3 girls, wanted a boy, got the boy, they said, nuff already and then I came along.

6) I used to hide under a table - any table, it had to be a table - when scared: a fact my mother never fails to tell everyone. Even at my age.

7) When I was 25, I went to a psychic who predicted I was to have one child - a daughter - when I reach the ripe ol age of 42. EEEEEEEEEK!



I got tagged!!!! The lovely Stephanie Cheryl from Craziness, College and a Little Creativity tagged me!

So to be (cousin) It, I must now complete the sentences below:

I like..... marmite.

I love .... Charlie and all my cats gone over the bridge

Today .... was rainy!

I hate.... ignorance

I (secretly) like... .oh he knows!


I'm cheating a little. I think I'm supposed to have ten things I like, ten things I hate, one I love, one I secretly love, and one today etc etc.

Charlie says:


The light - it burns!!! Please turn it off and go to bed! Purr-meow!

I nominate and tag:

fairyhedgehog - again for the lovely Hamster! , lovely Kim at musings on a small life , Stacy at stacy's cafe , fab Theresa Milstein in substituteteacher's saga , spinster of the parish , welshcake , lexi , cat in the buff , block or not , Mille ,Ann , Kate of a patch of dirt , Jane , Alex of hampshireflyer, Katem , Jenny Woolf , SuzyQ , handsome Noir , KarenG
Amanda , Melinda , Amy and the House of Cats , Amy and the Meow Family , iasa , Susan Fields, Cheri of Wild Cat Woods , Simon , Umi_e, Sharon in Random Thoughts, Jacqueline, Talli Rolland , All at Jan's funny farm, Marge at Marge's Pets, Sweet Abby of ManxMnews, Brian of Brian's Home, Felted House, MeganRebekah, WendyakaQuillfeather, HilaryWagner, TK, Jenny Matlock, Rebecca, Melinda, Creek Cats, Maximus Spittimus.

Everyone, everyone!! If I missed you please help yourself, please, please, please. Happy Friday!

A small yay

I'm wallowing in the fact that I got 81% for my 40 line poetry for my course. Small Yay.

I'm only indulging in a little self-patting of back because I really, really, really struggled with this section of my writing course. I like how my tutor said that I was finally "thinking like a poet".

:-)

Things I am doing to ease my waiting for Charlie.

1) Reading

It's the best way I find that keeps my excited nervousness at bay. So, I'm catching up on my reading backlog! I won a book called The Deer and Other Stories by Susan Tepper a few weeks ago and am now on story no. 4. I'm thoroughly enjoying the stories so far. They are dark and full of edgy personalities but are above all incredibly human.

Patsy Collins had her story "Grandad's Cushion" published in this week's My Weekly (20 March issue). It's a really sweet story with a heart of gold and at only a page long! Amazing.

Also Simon Lewin of Spellmaking self-published an e-story, the Armagedon Machine. If you are really adventurous you can log onto amazon, download a Kindle application, buy an e-story!

I feel so 21st Century saying all that! Which brings me to....

2) Indulging

Here's a fun award from the lovely Sharon K Mayhew from Random Thoughts. It's for er... "venturing into the Twenty First Century". I shall keep schtum about the fact that I had to ask what a "crackberry" was recently...

Please beautiful bloggers and furry friends of blogword - I nominate all of you for this - because just by starting a blog you have embraced the 21st Century with open arms!

Ten maybe eleven hours to go...

I was going to invest in a simple-to-use-for-a-complete-novice-and- beginner digi camera that won't bring my bank manager knocking on my door, but I think I went into info overload so I still don't have one! Not to worry, I will be getting pics of the gorgeous Charlie somehow.

I'm going to get up super early to get everything ship-shape for my new feline friend.

I just hope he likes me!

Frollicking Friday

The wonderful Susan Fields nominated me for this really pretty award - thank you, Susan!

To earn it I must reveal 7 true things about myself. Yikes!

1. I can't swim. I've got numerous Certificates of Attendances to prove that I have tried to learn and I've even got the swimming cozzie just in case the Thames breaks its barriers. But alas, I wasn't put on this earth to float...

2. I'm a snorer.

3. I used to want to be "an air hostess" until I stopped growing at 5ft 2 inches (without heels) - this was before the days of Equal Opps.

4. I tend to speak to myself alot. Once in a supermarket (not Waitrose!) I caught myself doing it only because a couple of people were staring at me. In my defence, I didn't know which flavour cat food the Cat would like and was trying come to a decision - not my fault the Cat couldn't come shopping with me!

5. I have a real aversion to mobile phones.

6. I think Barry Manilow is the Second Coming.

7. These days, I cry a lot. Especially after watching Beaches..

Now before I nominate everyone, just another quick note to say: Look what you can buy online AND in bookshops!!!!

And nominations go to you gorgeous guys and gals and if you've got it already, have another one!
fairyhedgehog - again for the lovely Hamster! , musings on a small life , stacy's cafe , substituteteacher's saga - hope you're feeling better! , spinster of the parish , welshcake , lexi , cat in the buff , block or not , Mille ,Ann , patch of dirt , Jane , Alex, Kate , Jenny Woolf , SuzyQ , Noir , KarenG
Amanda , Melinda , Amy and the House of Cats , Amy and the Meow Family , iasa , Susan, Wild Cat Woods , Simon , Umi_e, Sharon, VKT

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Translating purrs

I have been given a lovely award by Susan Fields (it's very pretty - it's got flowers! Thank you, Susan!) but as I ponder my 7 true things about myself here's a clip of two cats talking lost in translation:




And the real thing:




:-)

Roll out the Red Carpet and a dog called Skeletor.

I've got an award! Yay!

The fab Nicki of Wool'N'Nuts has nominated me for this award:

Thank you, Niki!
Now for the piece de resistance...

I have to tell six untruths and one not so! Eeek!

1) I am 6 ft 2 with golden flowing locks, legs up to my armpits, cheekbones to rival the best ski slopes and a wiggle that always stops traffic dead.

2) I am descendent from an ancient Martian race who crash landed on earth trillions of years ago but who have now been so assimulated with the human population that no-one knows how the First Ones looked like

3) I worship at the Altar of Chocolate and pray to the Goddess of Muffins. Everyday. Without fail. At least 3 times daily. During the Periods of Brunch, TeaTime and Dessert. It says so in the Book of Cocoa

4) I love Marmite. On Everything. Except on muffins.

5) I can belly dance.

6) I've been handed a court order to stop stalking the original cast of Star Trek.

7) I've always liked P.E lessons. Always.

Phew!! That was HARD! I think now you have to guess which is the truth amidst the cornucopia of lies. I just want to run away and hide somewhere safe... LOL!

And this is the best bit. I get to nominate... EVERYONE!! Well six but Maths has never been my strong point!

fairyhedgehog - again for the lovely Hamster! , musings on a small life , stacy's cafe , substituteteacher's saga , spinster of the parish , welshcake , lexi , cat in the buff , block or not , Mille ,Ann , patch of dirt , Jane , Alex, Kate , Jenny Woolf , SuzyQ , Noir , KarenG
Amanda , Melinda , Amy and the House of Cats , Amy and the Meow Family , iasa - hope you're feeling better! , Susan, Wild Cat Woods , Simon , Umi_e, Sharon

And finally... a little lovely story brought to my attention by the fab Amy and the House of Cats.

A guy is having his breakfast on his porch. A dog wanders up to him. The dog is a great big pit bull. The dog is also starved, neglected, abandoned and very hungry. The guy is now looking after the dog, called Skeletor. Here is their story.

Have a lovely Saturday!

Honest Pancakes and a Meow

The lovely Ann and fellow shoe-fetishist of Inkpots n' Quills nominated me for a really amazing award.

Now all I have to do is list ten honest things about me and nominate everyone else - cos everyone else in my blogworld all deserve chocolate medals and cotton candy juice and whiskey on the side. Oh yes they do.

But first....

Today is PANCAKE DAY!! And I hope you are all making your own - it's so easy to do and here's the wonderful BBC recipe site to help you along...

My favourite filling? Chocolate spread and sliced banana.

Now before I list my 10 honest things.. may I just highlight the lovely Amy who is running a Save Meow Project ? Her aim is to donate "a cent for every comment" left on her blog for animal charities. She has set a target of $2000 by April. I just thought it was such a sweet thing for her to do.

So here are my 10 honest things about me:

1) I have never finished reading James Joyce's Ulysess - stopped at page 3.
2) I watch Frasier - all 11 seasons back to back - infinitum.
3) I enjoy going to Star Trek conventions
4) I have a Lt Uhura outfit.
5) I passed out in one of the toilet cubicles in the Royal Albert Hall.
6) I read the daily horoscopes (I'm Cancer!)
7) I've fallen in love, madly, deeply, wholeheartedly.
8) I have a butterfly tattoo on my left shoulder
9) I passed out while it was being done.
10) I've never finished a Guardian quick crossword by myself.

And I nominate...

fairyhedgehog - for the Hamster!
musings on a small life
stacy's cafe
substitute teacher's saga - Yes, I know you have it already, but I like nominating you!
spinster of the parish - So happy that you're still around!!!
welshcake
lexi
cat in the buff
block or not
Mille
a patch of dirt
Jane
Alex
Kate
Jenny Woolf
SuzyQ
Noir
KarenG - Oh I know you have this already but you're so fab I want to double nominate you!
Amanda
Melinda
House of cats

Happy Pancake Day!

:-)

There just wasn't enough days in January, Mr Linky!

Prolific Blogger Award



Thank you so much Simon Kewin of Spellmaking for the nomination. I am well and truly chuffed.

I've clicked on anything that said "Link" or as Simon calls him "Mr Linky" and hoped for the best! I hope Mr Linky linked but good.

Anyway!! I celebrated my One Month Blog Birthday on 1 Feb and the lovely Theresa Milstein pointed out how I managed over 40 posts for the month of January.

Now if that ain't prolific, I don't know what is!

So here are my nominations. I still don't fully understand what the rules are but I think it boils down to linking to Mr.Linky.

fairyhedgehog - Oh I know award-free blog, and Simon's already included you but this is for the gerbil. LOL!
musings on a small life
stacy's cafe
substitute teacher's saga
spinster of the parish - I hope you're still around!!!
welshcake
lexi
cat in the buff
block or not
Mille
Anne
a patch of dirt
Jane
Alex
Kate
Jenny Woolf
SuzyQ
Noir
KarenG
Amanda
Melinda

Yeah, yeah I know, seven blogs only. But hey, life's too short and the above are GORGEOUS bloggers and deserve awards.

Oh yes they do!

What a rebel.

:-)

Awards, rewards, forwards

I've finally come round to reciprocating these lovely awards from the equally lovely Ann and lovely KarenG. A big THANK YOU to you both for nominating this silly little blog.

I'm tempted to ask the Cat for her list and answers.. hm...*ponders*

High Fives from Ann

List 5 highlights of 2009:
1) Joined an online writing course at the Uni of Exeter in Feb-March: extremely casual, helped me gain my confidence, helped me start writing again and led me to my Open Uni course that I am thoroughly enjoying.
2) Lost weight successfully. I didn't go on a diet but I increased my exercise regime - lots of jumping around to Rosemary Conley DVDs - gawd bless her!
3) Won a tiny flash competition, first prize £50. The site (brevitything.com)that hosted it is now defunct - but not after I cashed the cheque! LOL!
4) Survived my one year anniversary as an independent woman after 10 years in coupledom
5) Turned 40.





Over the top blogs from KarenG

Answer these questions with one word:

Your Cell Phone? None
Your Hair? Black
Your Mother? Amazonian
Your Father? Deceased
Your Favorite Food? Marmite
Your Dream Last Night? Insane
Your Favorite Drink? Cappuccino
Your Dream/Goal? Romantic
What Room Are You In? Office
Your Hobby? Scribbling
Your Fear? Cat-less
Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? Paradise
Where Were You Last Night? Dreamland
Something That You Aren't? Sane
Muffins? Home-made
Wish List Item? Cat
Where Did You Grow Up? Tottenham
Last Thing You Did? Sneeze
What Are You Wearing? Layers
Your TV? Off
Your Pets? Cat
Friends? Close
Your Life? Love
Your Mood? Emotional
Missing Someone? Yes
Vehicle? None
Something You Aren't Wearing? Discretion
Your Favorite Store? Waitrose
Your Favorite Color? Pink
When Was The Last Time You Laughed? Morning
Last Time You Cried? Monday
Your Best Friend? One
One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? Dreams
Facebook? Yes
Favorite Place To Eat? Pub

My nominations for these awards are:


fairyhedgehog
musings on a small life
stacy's cafe
substitute teacher's saga
spinster of the parish
welshcake
lexi
cat in the buff
block or not
Mille
Anne
a patch of dirt
Jane
Spellmaking
Alex

For High Fives: list 5 highlights of 2009 and nominate others' blogs
For OTT blog award: copy and paste the nice image, answer the questions, nominate.
:-)