Proof that time flies

Somehow, I seem to have lost some time somewhere. An awful lot of it as it happens as I seem to have completed another decade. How???!!! Still, you know what this means?

It's my Birthday!

Well, it is on Sunday. I like birthdays. I like the fact that one day a year I get cards and presents just for being here. After all I am getting older every minute of every hour of every day so why not celebrate rather than pretending it's not happening? When I think of my teens (quelle horreur!) I wouldn't go back for anything. The fact is that now I know who I am, I know what I want (mostly), and I feel more happy because of it.

I also feel like celebrating as getting to 40 has not been plain sailing. Anyone who visits here regularly knows that the past 2-3 years have not been the easiest. At times I wondered if I could make it to the next day but by heck I did and by heck I am still here! And you know, now I am getting help from the doctors to manage my thyroid condition, for the first time in ages I feel like myself and I feel like I can take on the world! (Well, at least I can stay awake mostly now which is a great improvement from catatonic zombie).

So, I'm off to have a weekend celebration. I'm going to Chester for the weekend. A lovely old Roman town with black and white timbered buildings where I intend to exercise my photographic muse. I intend to enjoy myself because when it comes down to it, life is too short to be miserable. I'm 40 and I'm fabulous!

Another milestone...

... To Me!

Today is my birthday! I have had some nice presents including a great tripod for my camera, tickets to see Jools Holland and some money which I put towards a small aquarium. I used to keep tropical fish when I was younger and thought it was about time I got some more. I expect you'll see pictures of the tank and the fish before too long!

I got back from Edinburgh yesterday after a really long drive back made worse by two long delays due to accidents on the road and long tail backs. I had a great time though and will write about it soon. I won't be around much for another week or so as I am going away for the week on a course with work so I still won't get round to visiting as often as I would like too. I will pop by as soon as I can though as I miss visiting my favourite blogs (that's yours by the way!).

Meanwhile I am extending the deadline on the caption competition (post below) as there haven't been many entries. I bought back some lovely postcards from Edinburgh in anticipation of sending the winner(s) one; so if you fancy a handwritten postcard of Edinburgh from me then get captioning!

I'm off to celebrate my birthday now :)

Birthday pressies cont.

It's been a very very soggy weekend here in the UK and also one where we have seen terrorism make the headlines again. This isn't a political blog so I'm not going to air my opinion on this or sully my blog with the ills of the world. Rather I am going to take the British attitude that became famous in the World Wars and saw us through the subsequent attacks during the 70's and 80's. I am going to demonstrate the stiff upper lip and not ignore what is happening, but rather to get on with my life. Kudos to all those who have been much more affected by the goings on and have adopted this stoic attitude!

On a cheerier note I wanted to share some more of the fab gifts my blog friends left for me. As ever follow the links in bold italics to view the gifts. R. Sherman of 'Musings from the Hinterland' bought me a couple of great 'gifts' in the shape of links to interesting sites. The first was to the National Park Service website showing the parks for Wyoming, which from his holiday photo's looks absolutely incredible. Visit his blog to see the pics of the natural stone arches for yourself. They're amazing. Not done with the partying this intrepid blogger returned later with another gift which was quite dramatic and instantly appealed to my quirky sense of humour. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for some real drama!



Next Utenzi dropped by with birthday wishes and left me a picture of a wonderful peaceful forest pathway - just looking at it evokes feelings of relaxation. I just love how dappled sunlight looks through trees. He also popped by again and this time left a picture of a gorgeous waterfall that he had seen one day while out walking. There is something fascinating about running water and especially waterfalls so I loved this photo too.

Last but not least for this post, Mar came by with two gifts also! Firstly she left me a link to her favourite chocolate place in Barcelona, The Chocolat Factory, and also one to Custo designs which look fun, and colourful. After all, what girl can't resist good chocolate (mmmmm!) and shopping! I was particularly taken with the Chocolat Factory's claim of 'Chocolate is healthy'! Hey, I'm not gonna argue if it means I can eat it and forget the guilt trip! :) Check out 'The Pot' under 'Products'!

As ever, thank you to you all. I will be showcasing more of my blog friends gifts in my next post too!

Birthday presents

I had a fantastic birthday in just about every sense. I had many cards and some great gifts, including a digital radio, a rose quartz necklace, vouchers, a picture frame, wine (a nice Chianti) and The Universe. No really! It is the title of a book and it is full of the most fantastic images from the Hubble telescope. I just know it is a book I will keep looking at, especially as I have always been fascinated with space. I was also taken out for a truly fantastic meal in a great restaurant called Bordeaux Quay. The food used there is all organic and sourced locally (very green) and was truly delicious. I had a selection of meat terrines as a starter, duck with nectarines for my main course and chocolate nemesis for dessert all washed down with English sparkling wine. Sumptuous!

I was also thrilled every time I visited my blog to find that more of my blog friends had visited and left birthday wishes and little virtual gifts. I was truly touched that many of you went and found things that you obviously chose because you thought I would like them, and I did! :) Lots of beautiful, fun, exciting, thoughtful, informative and entertaining things. Thank you everyone! I loved every single one of them and I will be showcasing all of them here on my blog in the order they given (make sure you check out the links to the gifts which will be in 'bold' text). Also thanks for being such great party guests. Nearly everyone kept the Q&A chat going and I know many of you went and 'mingled' and visited someone else. You are all extremely fantabulosus people and I send hugs to you all!

Diyadear was my first party guest and she bought me a really cool clip from one of my favourite TV shows, Scrubs. It is a fantastic clip where some of the hospital staff form a band and mime to 'More than a Feeling' by Boston (a classic rock track). Here it is so enjoy! I love Ted the lawyer on air guitar!



CrazieQueen was the next to arrive and she had a delicious present for me on her blog in the form of Chocolate and strawberry cake! You can check it out here. It's not a birthday party without cake after all and I had a Pavlovian moment just looking at it so it was a good job I was going out for a meal.

Next to arrive was Beckie over at Give it a Try. She left me a fantastic link to Catstuff - Cat facts and Trivia and I learned things about my feline companion Bob that I never knew including something that involves a black light that I'm not sure I needed to know, not sure I exactly wanted to know and definitely am not going to try. What I want to know is who was looking in the first place to find this out and why did they use a black light. Hee hee :)

I will be writing about the other wonderful things that were left for me by my other blog friends very soon...

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday on Thursday! Do you know that no matter how old I get I still love birthdays? My philosophy is that I am growing older all the time, so the fact that I get presents and cards one day each year that celebrate ME is great! I am being taken out to dinner in the evening to a posh restaurant (best behaviour required) and I am as excited as a kid at Christmas! Daft huh?

To celebrate I have a couple of fun things for you (Well, I hope they are fun!).

A quiz - what's a birthday without dessert? What type are you?

You Are a Banana Split

Fruity, flavorful, and diverse. Who can beat a true superstar?

What Kind of Sundae Are You?

And a game. Firstly, I feel like spreading the birthday joy a bit so when you comment please leave a question for the next person after you and answer the one the last visitor left for you. It's party chat time and some of you might have played this at Michele's.

Secondly, I like to be a good hostess so I like my guests to mingle. To achieve this I will introduce you to my blog roll. Please choose someone from the blogroll and go and visit them and tell them that 'Bob-kat sent me to spread the birthday joy'. I hope you do visit someone as everyone I have linked to is there for a reason, namely because I enjoy what they have to say, they are witty, funny, touching and thought provoking.


Thirdly, It's not a party without gifts so I'm sending you off on a treasure hunt (optional of course). Leave a link in the comments to something nice and/or funny that you think I would like. I like: cats, sunsets, penguins, comedy, films, flowers, chocolate and champagne. Happy hunting! I will be showcasing the best gifts on my blog soon!



Lastly, Happy birthday to me and a belated Happy Birthday to Naomi for yesterday and to anyone else who is celebrating a birthday about now! :) This next clip is for us!

Update: Thanks to all who have dropped by and been great birthday party guests and have bought wonderful gifts. I have loved looking at them all so big hugs to you all and thank you :) I feel all warm and fuzzy! I have had a wonderful birthday and will tell you all about it soon.