Stylish Blogger Award

I was absolutely thrilled yesterday to receive the Stylish Blogger Award from Tabbyroo.  How wonderful!  I had seen people getting this award for their blog in the past and thought how delightful it would be to get it myself, but never thought it would happen, so I really am very happy to have been give it.

As a receiver of this prestigious award I have several responsibilities:

1. Thank and link back to the person to gave me this award,
2. Share 7 things about yourself,
3. Award 15 Bloggers,
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

So, 7 things about me!  Here goes:

1. I met my husband on the internet in 2000 when I was 17!  I was planning on going to the Reading Music Festival with my friends and visited the chat room on the Reading Music Festival website with my friend at school.  She started chatting to someone in the chat room and added him to her MSN.  One day when I was at my friend's house I chatted with the boy she had met on the Reading Music Festival website on her MSN, and later on added him to mine.  We chatted loads over the internet, and exchanged phone numbers.  One crazy day when my friend was over braiding my hair we decided to give him a ring.  I chatted to him a few times on the phone after that and we decide to meet up at the Festival.  I wasn't looking for a relationship, I mean I was only 17 and still at school.  But my friend and I thought it would be fun! (We planned on meeting a few other boys we had met on the internet at the Festival...the world was a different place then, I certainly wouldn't do it now and I must point out that we went as a group to visit these people and were not on our own!)
So we met at the festival, we hit it off instantly, I knew there was something special about him because we hugged and I let go first.  That had almost never happened before. Nearly 11 years later we are married and I am more in love with him than ever.

2. After finishing University I worked as a photographer for 6 months for a portrait photography chain called Olan Mills.  It was incredibly stressful, the hours were bad and the pay was appalling so I decided to leave and do a normal job. I worked for the accounts department of a catering company for about a year and a half as an accounts assistant.  I really enjoyed the job, the office banter, and pay and the normal hours but I really wanted to use my fine art degree and do something creative.  That is when I decided to be a teacher.

3. Actually I have almost had too many jobs to count, here is a list:
             Worked in an old peoples home, doing tea and washing dishes,
             Worked in a green grocers,
             Coached gymnastics,
             Cleaned canal boats,
             Worked at a primary school running a breakfast club,
             Worked in a chemist as a counter assistant, (two different chemists)
             Worked in a bakery,
             Worked in TKMAXX
             Waitressing,
             Worked behind a bar,
             Photographer,
             Accounts assistant,
             Art teacher.

You better believe it!

4. I love doilies, I mean I really really love doilies.  Especially vintage ones, or lace ones, or crotched ones, or paper ones or coloured ones or, or or......

5. I am a Christian and have been a Christian for my whole life.  I am afraid I didn't have a "born again" moment or a day when I could say I "became" a Christian.  It has been a very gradual thing where over time I have become closer to God and developed a thirst for knowledge and truth about Him.  I have finally come to a point in my life where I feel it is time to confirm my faith and am going to be taking confirmation classes at my church, I will be confirmed in March which I am excited and nervous about but looking forward to.  I feel it is something I need to do, not because it makes me an official Christian, the change has already occoured in my heart, but because I was to stand up and say to people "yes, I want God to be in charge of my life" and that is not always something that I could have said.

6. I play the Clarinet, the Piano and the Drums and when I was in high school, the orchestra I was in toured Prague in the Czech republic and Florence in Italy, it was brilliant and such a fun time, I was officially a band geek and hung out in the music room at break and lunch times.  My best school friends were all in the Orchestra or Choir, so we had a great time together.  At university I played the drums in the Christian Union Band but I no longer play my instruments any more.  That probably sounds really sad but I don't mind, I have got plenty of other creative things to keep me busy.

7. On Saturday I have my very first back, neck and shoulder massage.  Hubby gave me a massage voucher for valentines day last year and I finally decided to cash it it.  The massage was wonderful and I am now with lovely oils, candles relaxed music and a very lovely massage lady.  Slightly worried that I will want more, which I clearly can't afford!



So now I am passing this award on to:

Sweet Bee Buzzing

Blighty Boutique

Scraps the City and Me

Ruby's Mamma Made it

Erin Kenepp

Amanda Makes

Lotties Artful Journey

Little Owl Arts

Concrete and Honey

Istar Olivera

Emma Lamb

Bella Bag's Blog

Gemmipop Designs

Tales of  junkaholic

Belle and Burger

Hope you can check them all out they are all fab and stylish blogs.

Hope you are all having a good week, I have done another page in my wedding scrapbook so will share that with you in the next couple of days.

TTFN
xx