Oh WOW! I'm the BON!

Cead Mile Fa Failte!  100,000 Welcomes.  If I could just catch your attention for a second here, this picture ought to do it.  Is this not one of the most beautiful full moons you've ever seen?  I took this picture from the beach here by my cottage during our last full moon and I wanted to share it with you, just so you know that's one of the things I do over here at "Cottage By The Sea".  I post lots and lots of my own photography, and I especially try to throw in a beautiful sunset over the Pacific now and again.  My name is Tia and I live with my family in a little cottage, in a small beach town within the sprawling and varied metropolis which is San Diego, California.
Today my family, my friends, both real life and bloggy, is my special day.  On my sidebar (I know, I know.  I'm very computer savvy and technologically mature) NOT.  You will see the cute little icon of a typewriter.  That's a spiffy little button you can grab (by clicking on it) to direct you to a site where there are lots of blogs featured that are a little different from the rest.  The blogs featured here are blogs minus a lot of the promotions and advertisements and blinky lights and sound.  It's more about the down home, straight out content of the blog instead of all the advertising.  If you click on the typewriter icon (button)  or even easier, right HERE you can find WORDS OF WISDOM = WOW, and what they're all about.

Today, the WOW ladies, Pam and Sandy, have honored me by choosing me to be their Blogger of Note = BON !  When they emailed me about this and gave me an actual date they were going to feature my blog I went completely brain dead.  My body went into overdrive, meaning I got a migraine and couldn't eat for 2 days.  I was a nervous wreck thinking that this could mean somebody besides my mom or my sister might be reading my blog.  I could be JUDGED, tried and hung by a jury of my peers for boring them to death with this little blog of mine.  I'm insecure.  I've only been blogging for a few months.  I'm inexperienced. I'm just a babyblogger.  I can't even figure out how to make my own BUTTON for y'all to grab for gosh sakes!  I also could or couldn't be considered a bit dramatic, depending on who you ask.   All I know is Sandy and Pam reassured me I would live through this be fine.  They told me not to be nervous.  They said, just introduce yourself, link to a few of your favorite posts, link back to us and then sit back and enjoy the comment love when WOW members visit you!  So that's just what I'm gonna do.  If you likey I hope you'll follow along on this journey of mine and if you don't you probably won't have read this far anyway.  So, besides reading about how we started out this journey building  Castles In The Sand, you can read about all our other SHENANIGANS around the cottage as well.  I'm so happy to have you here.  My only request is that you take your shoes off because, I want you nice and comfy when you spend your time here at my "Cottage By The Sea".
The best way I can think of to introduce myself is to let you read the letter my son gave me on my birthday in February. He makes me sound way better than I am in real life, but that's why I loved this gift more than any I've ever received.  Can you believe a busy college kid took the time to think of and write down 55 reasons why he loves me so much!  The best part of me is my kids.

This is a photo of our cottage before we began the remodel

The best way I can think of to introduce myself is to let you read the letter my son gave me on my birthday in February. He makes me sound way better than I am in real life, but that's why I loved this gift more than any I've ever received.  Can you believe a busy college kid took the time to think of and write down 55 reasons why he loves me so much!  The best part of me is my kids.

The main thing I do with this here blog is, I write.  I love to write.  I have written in diary's and journals and letters and well, anything that would hold still long enough for me to write on it, for as long as I've known how to write.  I have written my thoughts and the history of my day to day life and family and their lives for over 35 years now.  When my husband gave me this crunchy little Apple of a  computer for my birthday a couple years ago, I was awed and astonished and terrified by it.  I had absolutely no idea how to work it.  I couldn't even figure out how to turn it on.  Really, you have to hold the key down for longer than it took for my insecurities to check in and overtake my ability to move forward.  Pa the tic.  I hear ya.

Being the optimistic guy he is, my hubs said, "Darling, they told me this computer is a great one for people just like you who love to write and do art.  They say it makes it so easy any dummy can do it." Mmmm K.

Okay, so I obviously write about the things I'm passionate about, like remodeling our cottage.  For instance on my post Serendipitous I wrote about my amazing and delightful discovery that this old beach cottage had hidden underneath newer vinyl flooring,  Real, red oak wood flooring, original to the house 56 years ago when it was first built!  If remodeling an old beach cottage interests you, we are still on that journey and you can go read about that adventure and all it has entailed so far by looking in my archives. Plus, from the looks of it we have a ways to go, including decorating, so if you put your shoes back on and leave, be ready to take 'em off again because, you may need to come back later.  Remodel posts  are scattered about, in, and amongst another of my passions which is first and foremost in my heart and that is my children.  My husband, my kids, my furry kids, my family.  I'm a SAHM (bloggy talk for, Stay At Home Mom), and I've never been prouder of that.  We always wanted a big family and we have a huge heart for kids.  We have been parents and advocates of some sort, (foster, bio, adoptive, grand, god, parents that is, for 34 years).  Yes, people, that means I am very o l d.  Older than dirt but, still kickin' and taking care of kids.

 Our youngest daughter Maggie is 15 and she's a sweet, quirky, kinda shy, teenager.  She is always up to something interesting down here at the beach such as wearing shiny black heels while she skateboards!

 Our oldest daughter Tara is now a mommy herself making me a Granny.  I'll be letting you in on a little secret about her in a future post.  Tara and her husband Jason have given us 5 grandchildren.  Did you know that they have a day just for grandparents?  Well, I'm here to tell you they do,  and you can see it  right here on my post about Why I Had Kids In The First Place.  And now, although I've obviously been more prolific than I thought I was in the writing department, (Shut up. No, No, you shut up.  Noooo, you shut up.) Before I shut up and leave you sweet people in peace,  I'm going to stick in two more posts for you to read if you are so inclined, you want to or you are a really irresponsible reader like I am.  I just, since I'm having my first and probably last moment here in the spotlight, wanted to point out that Some People Think That Families Happen By Chance.

Now my new friends, I want to thank you for visiting my blog today, by sharing with you a photo I took over at the cove.  God gives us one of these every single day at sunset.  They're all a bit different but nonetheless, SPECTACULAR.  I promise I'll post lots of these so do pop into my blog any time for a cuppa.  I love company!

Sunset at Fletcher's Cove
Peace in your heart dears.

You can put your shoes on and leave now if you want to.  Or you could stay and check out more stuff I blab about over on my side bar there to the right.  I'd love you forever if you would follow or subscribe in a reader.  Either way, I sure hope you'll come back because I loved having you.  When the cottage is all done getting remodeled we are going to have a big Ceili (that's an Irish party) to bless our new home and rock it for the first time!  You're all invited!


 Sandy and Pam, thanks so much for hosting me, it has truly been a privilege.  And if nobody scorns me or leaves derogatory comments, and if I don't look back at this and end up in a fetal position, eyes swollen shut from crying, I will love you forever.  I'm just kiddin'.  I love you more than all the sand at the beach.  Your site is awesome and I hope Bloggers of Blogs and Reader of Blogs come visit often and find there happily ever afters.

Blessings,

Tia