Tag: Blessed

Life Sparkles ✨

Birthdays

Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.6 Comments

A beautiful hot, sunny month of July, well mostly hot and sunny, and it was my birthday month and it feels like I celebrated my birthday for most of the month. Perhaps we have all gone a little celebration crazy after all the lockdown birthday’s of the past year or so. I have to say I am so lucky and so blessed that I have such lovely people around me who wanted to meet up, celebrate, talk, laugh, cry and generally re-connect. I have kept my social circle quite small especially as I am supporting himself with his Mom. I don’t want to take any risks with her health. I have my stock of lateral flow tests and anytime I see anyone, I take a test a few days later to protect anyone I may see as well as myself. So far so good, all negative.

Because of my extreme tiredness, all social dates were very well spaced out which is probably why I feel I was celebrating all month long. There was birthday cakes, prosecco, pizza, barbecue’s, prosecco, beautiful cards and gifts, more prosecco…you get the picture. It was just wonderful, all of it, absolutely wonderful and I loved every second and felt very loved by everyone involved in giving me such a fabulous birthday. I am so grateful and blessed, the sparkle was in full sparkle mode.

These are just a few photo’s of my celebrations on various days. The birthday, in the pink manicure, the beautiful blue skies and sunset. Unfortunately I don’t have a photo of my five cousins who spoiled me so much as they aren’t on social media at all so I haven’t posted my snaps with them. I probably do enough social media for all of them!

Needless to say, additional weight was gained during this glorious month of celebration and I enjoyed every single mouthful. My clothes are bursting at the seams post lockdown and birthday so time to get my act together regarding goodies and exercise and let’s get this sparkle show back on the road again.

Here we go again!

With love and sparkles xxx

Life Sparkles ✨

Officially…

Dawn - The Sparkle Diaries.14 Comments

… I’m an unpaid carer. There, I’ve written it down so it must be true.  I’ve been caring for both of my parents one way or another since September 2015. I work part-time, my employers have been incredibly supportive allowing me to work from home and the office. I study, soon to complete (I hope) my BSc (Hons) in Health and Social Care. I love to sing and have been going to see my fabulous vocal coach on as regular a basis as I can. I have a fantastic b/f who is also a carer for his Mother and I have wonderful friends who totally accept that I might make a coffee date with them and either have to break it or rush off home as I’ve received a telephone call.

It hasn’t been an easy transition for me. Although I moved home some years ago to “look after” my parents, I had a good life. Worked full time, out every weekend, had short breaks and holidays alongside the limited caring I actually needed to do back then. Now it is very different.  My only night away from home in two years was when I was recently in hospital having an operation and my b/f stopped with my parents to ensure they were safe. (He has cover, I don’t). I see my b/f perhaps once in three weeks due to both our caring responsibilities and these days I feel blessed if we get an hour together in a coffee shop, it really is the little things that matter.


Life has changed, a lot. I have encountered many emotions on this caring journey. Fear, anger, jealousy, impatience and once or twice out of sheer tiredness and frustration I’ve shouted and then cried bitter tears for doing so. I have also experienced such love for my parents it is untrue. I’ve learnt to look after them but let them have the little bit of independence they still have and to do what they want to do…although I am so like a Mom to tell them off! We laugh, we pray, we sing songs together.  I’ve become more relaxed and less tense, more patient, more tolerant and less stressed out. I feel absolutely blessed to be looking after them as difficult as it can be.

So this week I took the plunge and contacted the relevant department to be registered as the carer of my parents. I’ve put this off for so long and I don’t know why? Wishing it wasn’t true won’t change anything. Now that I’m registered it feels almost liberating that I’ve finally come to terms with life as it is right now. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, this post operative recovery time has really given me time to think. 

There are a lot of things I’ve had to change in my life due to my caring role and yes I do get the odd pang of envy when someone is booking a holiday or a late night out but honestly, I’m so happy to be the one caring for my Mom and Dad, I wouldn’t change that for the world.


Pictures via Pinterest

Life Sparkles ✨

Springtime, Changes and Renewal.

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It was a beautiful Spring day today; bright, sunny, blue skies with a chilly wind. As I have been cooped up all week since returning from hospital, I decided to take a slow stroll around the garden, I needed some fresh air. The trees and plants are coming to life again, after the long, dark Winter months, the lighter days and sunshine has renewed nature and it is beautiful.

As I walked around viewing the buds on the trees and the blooms of the snowdrops,  I found myself thinking of my health and recovery from the gallbladder removal surgery. My body is also now enjoying a renewal of sorts. It is suffering the post operative trauma right now but if I look after it, do the right things, feed it the right foods, my body will heal and be strong again, another beautiful miracle of nature and the amazing body we have been blessed with.

Just as the landscape around us changes with the seasons we too are constantly changing, our minds, our personal style, our life goals, hopes and dreams. Spring brings everything to new life, we change, we grow, we heal, just as the flowers around us reach for the sunshine and brighter days, we too reach for the beauty of life.


I didn’t know I had any of these little beauties in the garden.


There is always something of beauty to see if you look hard enough.


Refreshed and renewed my Shamrock looks great ahead of Patrick’s Day.


My favourite tree in the garden, the Weeping Willow, is starting to bud.

© A Touch of Irish Sparkle 2017

Life Sparkles ✨

New Year’s Eve Thoughts.

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I don’t make resolutions anymore, I never kept to them.  Although we can choose to make fresh starts at anytime of the year, I do enjoy planning to make new starts, turn over a new leaf at the start of a new year. Healthy eating, fitness, dreams, hopes, plots and plans.

As life changes I realise more and more that nothing is guaranteed, tomorrow may never come and therefore we should live our life as happily and fulfilled as we possibly can, whatever our life journey has given us.

So, eat the cake, buy the shoes, wear the dress, find the blessing in life, love the simple things, go after your dreams and sparkle always.

Happy New Year to you all. Wishing you love, peace, health and happiness.


Pictures via Pinterest 

Life Sparkles ✨

Colours of the Mind.

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Sometimes, getting out for a walk in the air is just what you need to clear your head. There are days I am totally bogged down with responsibilities; my parents, my job, running the home, the list goes on and I’m sure you can identify with some if not all of the above.

Time flies and as much as I try to plan ahead to fit things in, I have had to learn to just totally go with the flow and do things as and when I can. This is not easy when you look around and see a million and one things that need to be done…but they have to wait. On the other side of life, the day job can’t just go with the flow, it still remains structured, timetabled, intact and is in total conflict with caring and home. But you just get on with it don’t you, because you have to.

My singing is a pure release, love, love, love it 😍 A real de-stressor. I really must write more about this hobby!

Anyway I digress, I wanted to share some pictures I took on a recent walk. It was a cold, bright, sunny Autumn day and this year the colours have been just so beautiful. When you walk, breathe in the air and see these fabulous creations around you, you cannot help but feel blessed. Blessed for what we have, blessed for our role in life, whatever the joys and challenges.  I hope they give you a sense of their beauty, the freedom from brain noise and the mental clarity that takes over when you take time out.

Such stunning Red.

This is one of my favourite pictures, I love the sunlight on the leaf.

The berries look so vibrant, makes me think of Christmas decor.

I love to look at trees…

I also love to run through the leaves, we all deserve to set our inner child free!

Autumn Sunset.

Thank you for reading my blog. Have a super sparkling day.