A pat on my back!

I'm a bit chuffed as I've just realised that this is my 200th post since little old me started blogging back in October 2006. Prior to this I had only read Sam and Dillon's blogs then Mum started blogging last September. When Mollie jumped on the blogging bandwagon I decided to follow suit as I didn't want to miss out. So here I am 200 posts and four and a half months later, Joules thinks I'm addicted and Mollie had been known to accuse me of liking the computer more than my daughter (attention seeking), in my defence I try to do most of my blogging over breakfast with short visits to my blogging friends in the afternoon and evenings if the computer and myself are free at the same time. I have lately concluded that I read enough blogs and that it is ok to read blogs and not comment on every single post I read. I have met (virtually) some really nice people and made friends even though I have never met any of you and probably never will. I also really appreciate all the comments and emails I have received.

This leads me on to revealing the pleasure I got when I read the following on Frannie's blog:

beccy of peppermint tea- Beccy is usually my first read of the day. She is an English lass living in Ireland and I imagine it is heavenly to listen to her accent. (not the pretend one in my head when I read her blog, though) Beccy has me think about food a lot, which happens to be one of my favorite subjects. I always want to be Suzy Homemaker, and Beccy seems really good at that type of stuff. Definitely one of my favorite bloggers. She also has me thinking about how much things cost in Dublin. oh, and cool trivia that she doesn't talk about much--- Bono is her neighbour. oooh- like how I did that with the accent??? did I even spell it the right way? (why do you people put up with me)

The beautiful Frannie (really, check out her photos, her son is the cutest baby) has awarded me with a

In accepting this award I have to follow these rules:

1. If you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award with a link to the post that you wrote.

This meme has been making the rounds for a while and I know a lot of people who have been tagged so I am going to choose blogs that I don't think have been tagged.

1) Barbara of Winos and Foodies is one of my favourite food bloggers and has tempted me to make many of her recipes, my favourite being the blueberry breakfast bars. I met Barbara through Mum who Barbara found through Sam so she has been witness to our family way of expressing love through snide comments. It was this post of Barbara's that stopped me in my tracks, I knew Barbara had been ill before but wasn't expecting to read this and it was the first time I really worried about a person I had never met before.

2) Sabrina is an American currently living in Cork writing about her Adventures in pregnancy, home abroad, dogs and knitting; two Texans tackle life in Cork, Ireland. I stumbled upon Sabrina during a Fun Monday and have avidly reading her posts as she settles into Irish life. One post about the death of a former student of Sabrina's touched a nerve for me, as my children are fast growing up I have to give them freedom yet I know I will worry about them.

3) Over at Dreaming What Ifs... you'll find Karmyn. I never know what to expect with Karmyn, one day it could be a picture of her aged by about 1,000 years (sorry Karmyn but it was rather gross), the next she'll be tackling a serious issue such as child abduction and in between she'll hunt out golden syrup to make flapjacks.

4) Little Miss Moi is an Australian living in foreign climes and writes about life with her Mr Moi at Nezalehnosti. Kyiv. Ukraine. Miss Moi's posts are both amusing and informative and she has introduced me to the trials and tribulations of living in the Ukraine.

5) For my last nomination I am going to choose Emma who writes about A day in the life of a mum to 4, sometimes I hold it together, sometimes...not so much. What Emma writes is raw, straight from the heart stuff. She'll tell you how she is feeling, how her children are, what is annoying or upsetting her or her opinions on other blogs. Emma is refreshing to read and one blogging friend (of many) I would love to meet.

If I've nominated you for this award consider yourself tagged only if you want to accept the challenge.