In ways five years is not a long time.

Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago.

While searching online for something totally different this morning, I somehow came across this:

The people behind the blogs say hello, please.

That one little sentence brought bloggers out of the woods… like a colony of ants on a sunny day. Well over forty of them stood as if at an AA meeting to recite their names and share their blogs.

Looking down that list, they were all familiar names to me, most I had met in real life. A fun bunch of people, quite a few were younger than my daughter. Only one that I know of, has been taken from us and the woes of this world. RIP Debbie. Many have moved on to other more instant distractions like Facebook and twitter, but quite a few continue to blog.

I had met the questioner across a crowded room a few months earlier. Bloggers, meetings, social events, they all went hand in hand. I was often heard to say back then: The wonderful thing about blogging, is that you get to know the person from the inside, without the distraction of the outer wrapping!

Our friendship grew and we have remained friends. I think!!!!!

Why am I mentioning this today, you may well ask. As Ramana would say: Serendipity!

It has come to my notice that Blog Awards Ireland 2013 announced the date for the awards event on 12th October 2013 in the Osprey Hotel in Naas.  Nominations are now open.

Anyone from around the globe, can nominate their favourite Irish blog for one of the thirty one categories.

In previous years all nominated bloggers needed to be resident on the island of Ireland to be eligible. This year there is a new category:

Best Blog From The Irish Diaspora

This category is open to any blogger who has Irish roots and lives overseas. It can be about any topic and must be a good quality blog. Open to those blogging in all countries.

I do notice an extra question for this category: From which county in Ireland does the blogger hail from? An answer is required in order for the Nomination to be accepted. So sorry, being third generation Irish will not help. 🙁

You can add a ‘Nominate Me’ Button to your blog sidebar.

Full instructions of how to do so can be found on the link above.

Now before you go rushing off to nominate all your sisters, cousins and aunts, I would advise you read the list of criteria.  Three of the twelve are below:

• Are blog posts written consistently/updated regularly?
• Interaction on the blog in the form of responding to comments and engaging in conversations.
• Attractive design and ease of navigating.

The Blog Awards are a wonderful platform to discover new friends and sure you never know whose bed you might end up in… even if like me, you get to sleep in it alone!

As we say in Ireland: Have a think, then go nominate and don’t forget to book your bed while you are at it!