Last post of 2009

Well peeps, I am back from my Christmas away with my family in Belfast.I do hope your holiday was a peaceful fun filled time. I could not blog as we had not Internet access in our house. (My brother broke it in a fit of rage when I explained to him that Beyonce was not available anymore, she married Jay Z.) So I watched a lot of bad TV (which I secretly loved, Judge Judy double bills? YES!!)

So, it is the last day of 2009! My word, hasn't it flew and quite an eventful one if not in the celebrity world. How many famous people died this year?! It was sad and strange! As for myself, it was a mixed bag of sorts. It was very much work related and a strong learning curve and hard lesson to learn at that. So for 2010, I want to carrying on working, (please God) but take my lessons and put them into practice. Here is a few highlights I would like to achieve in 2010: (isn't this gonna just bite me in the ass!)

* Stop and think before you do or say anything. Period. (That's on my list every year if I think about it.)

* Organize my time that wee bit better.

* Learn to say NO! (in the nicest possible way of course.)

* Learn not to regret saying NO!

* Go to a open mic night and belt out a tune or two. (No alcohol allowed)

* Visit friends that wee bit more often and remember to text them back!! (Terrible for that at the moment!)

* Make big fella feel like a giant at least once a day. (He is really a amazing dude, I am so lucky to have him, he needs to know it more!)

* Don't go too far with big fella, he might realise how amazing he is and trade me for younger model and leave me on my lonesome!

* Concentrate on my drawings and photography and blogging that wee bit more.

* Continued to be inspired by you guys!!

* Do washing twice a week. (Hahahaha!)

* LIVE LIFE!

Before we leave this eventful 2009, I would like to thank every one of you who has took the time to read my silly ramblings and shown support, loveliness and friendship. I loved spending time with you and here's to a fun filled 2010!
So enjoy yourself tonight and if you see the full moon tonight, know that it is a blue moon, so wish super hard on it and make your wishes come true!
I do wonder what the future holds for 2010? I can not wait to find out! See you next year!

For Dear Renee

I was asked by the wondrous Sarah to spread some blog love to a very special lady called Renee,a wonderful lady many of you know. As I said in my email back to Sarah, it would be a honour. Many of my faithful readers (thanks!) will know well, I am not the best at writing, it doesn't not seem to flow. The way I say it in my mind sounds fantastic, but when written down or even when I speak, words are a hard task for me to comply with. Renee does not share the same problem.This is why I love her. Her blog is brilliant, real and her feelings laid out bare, NO BS at that blog.The artwork chosen is beautiful. It is written so eloquently and true, you feel yourself talking out loud to the computer, laughing out loud spitting coffee all over the computer and getting to know this strong woman with every post.. Renee is fiercely battling cancer at the moment and the "bats" are getting getting her really down.

So, how can I show my appreciation for her not using words? Thinking about it, I visualised Renee and myself in a kitchen with a Agar with fire place, drinking tea and having a great laugh! I drew the picture to show her how much I appreciate her and thanks for the loving inspirational comments and for keeping me going, in words I truly can't express. I don't think this lady realises how amazing she is. Won't you please go and tell her? Also go and give a big hug to Sarah too, she rides on the wave of greatness.

So Renee, this is for you. Thank you for being amazing, know that I am thinking of you fondly, and I really hope to share a lovely cup of tea together over a kitchen table and a roaring fire some day.
(You know, for someone who has just written "I cant find words", I seem to type a lot of them! LOL!)

Much love to you my friend,

Claire.

For the honour of Grayskull... I am SHE -RA

These pictures are for you Renee, hoping to find you comfort.














Hi de hi everyone! Well, I have been away a while from my wee blog and boy, I missed you! I will be honest, I would love to say, that I was so busy and I just could not find the time to post, but I would be lying. I have been staring in front of a blank, blinding white post page for weeks now. At some points it had produced drooling. Not good at all.

What happened was this. Some time ago, in blog land time at least, I went on to my writing blog to find a comment left on one of my posts. I opened my comments page to find................ I will not even type the filth, as that all it was. I will spare you that. Basically it was someone typing something horrible and down right nasty. Truth is, they were most probably right, but there are means and ways of saying things aren't there?

So if you think you had lost a follower in me, you certainly did not, I just deleted that blog. I was that mortified. I could not even tell you who sent it, I deleted it that quick. Good thing too, because now I would be hell bent on morphing into Courtney Love and stalking the web trying to find them and being mean spirited and that just ain't me. But trust me, I do try. I am over it now and that person is nothing but a silly git. (Oh see, look how mean spirited they are making me?!)

But to say it put me off blogging was a understatement. I could not think of what to write without thinking this poo poo head (Claire!) would slap a nasty comment on there and more so, if they were right. I started going through my old posts to see if they had stung me somewhere else. But all I saw was loving, uplifting, funny, encouraging and supportive comments from you guys, and it all fell into place. One bad comment and I run way? Not me, I loved She Ra- Princess of power on telly when I was a wee girl, and I could invoke her yet!

I have been reading your posts as usual, leaving a peppering of comments here and there, just to show I was here. But hark! Inspiration and courage is coming back to me. Besides, Big fella and I recently had a winter adventure with wee doggie and he demanded his story be told complaining how he doesn't take us on these adventures for nothing! I can't let him down now can I?
So you shall all read it on this blog by demand of wee doggie very soon.

So in your world, if everything is turned upside down, cling on to that ceiling for as long as you can. I know I am holding on tight.
Good to be back.
((HUGS))

Family time at Christmas.

Hello everyone, hope your Thanksgiving holiday or simply your week for filled with peaceful joy and laughter. Or as close to it. I did some more drawings which you can have a peek at here if you like.

Once I shared a flat with a wonderful friend who after a year could not take living with me no more and moved to the other side of the world to Australia. Na, we had such a laugh and good time, I miss her so, but yet I am very proud to say we do keep in good contact. Not on face book, not by email, just good old fashioned letter writing. I genuinely love the feeling of receiving a letter or parcel with that familiar handwriting and you can't wait to open it to find out what is inside! So much warmer than email to me, considering I can't work the bloody things half the time!

Do not get me wrong. I do love what technology has done over the years, (Look at me blogging?!?) but let me give you a taster of what I mean. Recently I was sitting at my desk in work, when I received a email saying asking how many children are registered with the nursery. Gobsmackingly to me, the person who sent me the email was sitting less than 10 feet away from me! I couldn't help but say, "Oh, I can answer that now for you" and told her.

Without moving an inch way from the computer screen, she said "You could have just emailed me that" Yeah, I thought, and you could have got up of your arse and simply asked me! Where has communication and manners gone?

I like it old skool. (Look at me and my cool K) when it comes to manners, it would seem, and this is because of my dad. My dad felt very strongly about manners with everyone. Everyone.Let me explain by giving you a child hood memory of mine.

I remember walking into a shop with my dad to find the shop keeper chatting away on the telephone (No cell phones in the olden days)
not even acknowledging us as he took my dads purchase, handed back the change with not even a thank you or goodbye.

Even though I was young I remember thinking, "it all gonna kick off in here."

Here's what happened next.

Man hands change to my dad, turns AWAY from him (lethal move in my dad's eyes)and continues laughing down the phone.
My dad, livid, puffs out his chest, strides around to the other side of the counter and booms to the shop keeper:

" Excuse son, I am sorry, was I taking up your time doing your job there? I tell you what, you can take this Barbie magazine I paid far too much for and shove it where the sun don't shine, and I will have my money back as well. You will never have my custom here again sir, you can be sure of that!!"

Receiving his money from the man's now trembling and shaking hand, my dad stormed out of the shop huffing and puffing, leaving myself and the shop keeper staring at each other. He was sucking his thumb and whimpering in a corner, and I stared back thinking " But what about my barbie magazine?"

Yep, my father takes no nonsense and over the years nothing has changed. Nor would I want it to really. I am going home over Christmas to see the family before coming back to big fella and the water for the new year. Trust me, my posts around Christmas will be filled with these episodes no doubt.

But I have to say,every time something like this happens (a lot),he has been right and the now sorry people included should have known better and should have taken time out to pass a hello or a smile to him.If they had of done, my dad would be as charming as can be and make you feel like a million dollars. And you know what they say, a smile cost nothing and is a universal language.

But of course, my dad is only one segment in this jolly family tree.

I am the oldest child and down the line is my brother, who I have a blast with every time I come home. He is convinced that Destiny's child single, "I 'm a Survivor" is actually sung "I'm a bus driver." Really.

Then there is my other brother who walks around the house in a leather jacket, dog tags, and a sullen stare. Occasionally he will mumble in a American accent "Hey man, hows it hangin?"

Why? You're from BELFAST!! SWEET JC!

And of course the youngest of the clan, my sister, who at nineteen thinks she knows everything. You can not tell her different because "The National Enquirer says so! Alright?" Subsequently taking out the signal, talk to the hand, cause the face ain't listening pose for the rest of the day. Very draining.

Anyway this is all to come in the next up and coming weeks. Don't get me wrong, I am just as bad. I will probably lose the turkey, somehow set the Christmas tree on fire and have the local police department around at least once before the festive season is through. I better stop now, I do not want anybody nominating us for Jerry Springer. Hope all is well in your world!!