Author: Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.

Singer, Songwriter, Blogger and Chatterbox. Part Diva, Part Hippie, All Sparkle.
Life Sparkles

Hello January

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Welcome January.

And all at once here we are again in January. A new year and a new month. I can’t comprehend at times how fast time is actually going. Last year passed by in a flash. Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older, or because I was very busy or because I was actually starting to feel like I was building a life again, that I was coming out of the other side of grief. Whatever the reason, the year passed very quickly and I’m very pleased that I achieved what I achieved. I pushed myself, I pushed my comfort zone, I pushed my limits and I achieved a goal. I had many moments of deliberation, lack of confidence, lack of self belief yet there was something inside me, driving me on. A passion to follow this path.

I don’t find January a depressing month, neither do I find it a flat month after all the excitement and build up to the festive season. I find January to be a clear and bright month. The evenings start to gain a little light, the new year sweeps into our lives like a new broom, prompting us to declutter, to clean up our act and our homes, to make way for new beginnings, new days and weeks ahead of us, goals to achieve, dreams to follow, places to visit and time to reflect on our lives and decide if we wish to change anything or not. It’s not all about resolutions at this time of year, I rarely kept to mine so I don’t make them anymore. January, especially the first week of January before we get back into routine, is a time of reflection, cleansing and thoughts. What are we bringing with us to 2023 and what have we decided to leave in 2022 because it doesn’t serve us anymore?

January is a beautiful month for appreciation of what we have. Long time readers and visitors to my blog know that I love my notes books and lists. I have a Go Girl journal for this year https://gogirlplanner.com/ (I bought mine from Amazon) and I love it. So much room to write things down and plan. I do a lot of work online and on my laptop and I still love to write things down. I suppose I’m a bit high tech/old school.

Be sure to sparkle.

I hope you have a wonderful January and that this beautiful start to 2023 brings you hope for better days, pushes you to follow a dream or set a goal, invigorates you to make changes, or not, whatever you want your year to be like, it’s up to you. Whatever you do or don’t decide to do, remember, this is your year to sparkle.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Happy New Year

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It’s that time of year again. To look back and reflect on the year that has passed, the events that have taken place, the happy times, the sad times, the journeys made, the lessons taught and learned. It’s a lot to take in at times. Sometimes I don’t want to let go of the old year. You know what’s happened to you and you know you’ve made it through it all. The new year is unknown, we don’t know what lies ahead of us.

New Year Goals

As you know, I love Monday, the fresh start to the week and how positive it feels. So imagine the sparkle of a brand new year and making plans, setting goals, working towards your dreams and making things happen. I’m proud of myself because of what I achieved in 2022 and for 2023 I’m going to push myself more, to move out of the comfort zone once again and follow those dreams of mine. Is there anything you would like to do, to achieve in 2023? Let me know in the comments.

Happy New Year 2023

Thank you so much for all your support in 2022, you have been amazing. By reading my blog, commenting, having a conversation with me, following me on my socials and by streaming and downloading my debut single has meant so much to me. Your support has helped me to continue on my journey, to not give up, to keep on following these new paths of mine.

I hope you have the most happy and sparkling 2023, full of love, happiness, good health and peace.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Merry Monday

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Isn’t this just the most fabulously positive Monday? St Stephen’s Day, Boxing Day, the day after the wonderful festivities of Christmas Day. The hustle and bustle is over, the gifts are unwrapped, the Christmas dinner eaten and no doubt lots of goodies too. Today is the day to relax, maybe go for a long walk to revive ourselves from the excitement and hard work of yesterday plus burn a few calories. To meet with friends for a festive drink, to sit and watch Christmas movies with family and friends or even to just be and have some alone time.

I do love Monday. I also love Boxing Day and wearing my Christmas PJ’s, snuggled up on the sofa, watching whatever I like on TV, having a mince pie, perhaps a mulled wine and just relaxing. Monday nerd will be in full swing when Monday and Boxing Day coincide. Christmas, whether you celebrate the religious side of it or not, is a truly wonderful time. For me, Christmas Eve, Christmas Carols and Midnight Mass are the most magical things of Christmas and my favourite day of the year.

Wishing you a very happy and merry Monday and a wonderful week ahead.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Merry Christmas

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Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas. I hope it truly sparkles with love and happiness for you and your families. I know that Christmas can be a very sad time for us, remembering those we have lost and thinking of our memories of Christmas past. I hope the joy of this season touches your heart and that you can feel the love of those who have gone before us, around your tree at this beautiful time of year.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Busy Monday

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The final Monday before Christmas and it’s all systems go. The hustle and bustle of the holiday period is in full swing now and although the shops may be packed out, there are long queues everywhere and you may be frantically writing cards and wrapping gifts, isn’t it just lovely? We are doing all these things to send happiness and Christmas sparkle to those we love and care about.

It really is a wonderful time of year, the love, caring and sharing amongst us all is just fabulous. Remember it’s the little things that mean the most and a smile can make a difference to someone having a stressed out day.

I’ll definitely be having my two cups of coffee to get me moving today…and breathe…and eat mince pies!

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Welcome December

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A most magical month full of happiness, joy, friendship and what can I say about the amount of sparkle that will be around – I’m in heaven.

Winter is here, Christmas is almost upon us as is the New Year. 2022 seems to me to have gone by in a flash. I think that’s what happens as you get old, the years speed up so fast it’s untrue.

Wishing you a truly magical, heart warming, love filled month.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

Monday, here we go…

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And it’s Monday again, how fast do the weeks roll by? I cannot believe we are saying hello to December later this week and it seems unbelievable that Christmas songs are on the radio and the Christmas films are on TV already. Time goes by so fast. When we are younger it seems to take an age to grow up, to be an adult, to do things we see our elders doing. Yet when we get to adulthood we start to understand that as nice as it is to do what we want to, being an adult isn’t that easy and along with the happy times we also encounter some very hard and sad times.

It’s a wake up call when someone we love passes away and it brings home to us our own precious life and how fragile it actually it. It really is a case of being grateful for each day we are given, living life to the best of our ability, being positive, sharing our sparkle with others and absolutely loving Monday.

Good Intentions.

Monday’s are like mini New Year’s, it’s a fresh start to the week, it’s best foot forward time to work on our dreams, hopes, goals and passions. Monday truly sparkles, without having Monday we can’t work our way around to that feel good Friday. Have the most amazing day and a wonderful week.

With love and sparkles xxx

The Music Sparkle.

Pairc Festival

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Way back in August, the late bank holiday weekend, I attended the very first Pairc Festival in Birmingham. Our Birmingham Irish Centre moved from the city centre to South Birmingham just before the pandemic started. The Digbeth area of Birmingham, historically the Irish area of the city, is being hugely redeveloped. It’s like a maze trying to get around that area at the moment with all the building and road works, you really feel like you are going around the block numerous times to reach your destination.

People were not happy at the move. The city centre is easily accessible for people who live around the city and the suburbs and for people coming from other parts of the country to events. However, the new club has a huge open sports ground and park area and this is where this first ever Birmingham Pairc Festival was held over the August bank holiday weekend. I bought tickets for Sunday, the closing day, because one of my favourite Irish music stars was performing, Nathan Carter. Thankfully the weather held and even in the evening it was a warm, late Summer evening. The atmosphere was incredible all around the festival area. There were families, couples, singletons and groups of friends rambling around visiting the various stalls and attractions. There were picnic’s taking place, dancing, singing, music, food and of course drink but not all alcoholic. It looked like every county in Ireland was represented with the people attending the festival. I could see T-shirts and flags from all over Ireland and it was just such a wonderful atmosphere. Inclusive, happy, positive and friendly vibes were the order of the day.

Prosecco and Chips, we are such classy girls! The ice cream was eaten at 11.30 pm after a night of singing and dancing because we just wanted to and isn’t that what life is all about?

One of the main acts was Finbar Furey, an absolute legend in Irish folk music. He gave a beautiful rendition of ‘Sweet Sixteen’ which was a favourite song of my parents and the tears fell, silently, but they fell. I wasn’t alone and found myself holding hands with strangers who were also moved to tears by the music and song.

As you can see from the photo above, there was a fantastic crowd in place for Nathan Carter’s show stopping closure to the festival. The whole area was alive with happiness, music and song. It was truly a special event and I am so glad that I attended. My friend and I had the most wonderful day catching up with each other, listening to and dancing to local bands and big name bands, talking to strangers, dancing like no-one was watching (because they weren’t) and we are already looking forward to the acts being released for next year and planning another day of Irishness.

I didn’t take many photo’s or any video footage. I decided to leave my phone in my pocket and just be in the moment, all day and all evening long. It was freedom!

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

It’s Monday!!

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Oh how I love Monday’s. I’m such a nerd but you know what, I really do love Monday. It’s like a mini new year in a way. When we want to start a new plan, have a new idea, start a fitness journey or a health goal we often say ‘I’ll start on Monday’.

I’m just getting over a particularly nasty virus which laid me low for two weeks. Over the last few days I can feel my energy returning, my mojo getting back into place and my passion for my music, my song writing and my inspirational vibe getting back into sync so here I am, it’s Monday and I’m wishing you the most wonderful and positive Monday. Here’s to a truly amazing week.

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles

November, the quiet magic.

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I’ve always loved November. There’s something about that watery sunshine mid afternoon before it becomes dark. Setting behind tree branches which are now almost bare, the grey misty sky and the smell of the cold air. It’s a peaceful kind of month. We haven’t quite said goodbye to Autumn and we know that Winter is just a breath away. The nights draw in ever earlier, the evening chill arrives much quicker and that morning frost beckons us to drag out the hat, gloves and scarves before we open that front door and step out into the world.

November is also the calmness before the hustle, bustle and magic of December arrives in all it’s sparkling glory. November is the month to reflect upon the year that has passed. We also remember and pray for those who have gone before us, we remember and pay tribute to our service men and veterans who fought for our freedom. November is such a beautiful, quiet and reflective month, we take it at a slower pace as we prepare for the month ahead.

Enjoy this beautiful Red and golden Brown month, the wonderful silence, the patter of the rain and the rush of the wind, the pre Winter sunshine and the early morning frost. It’s such a gorgeous time of year.

With love and sparkles xxx