The Beginning...

I have spent the last hour or so deleting over 4000 emails. Yes you read right 4000 emails and only 6 worth reading the rest were junk mail. After going through about a 1000 not really reading them but scrolling down and seeing who they were from I just started pressing delete. Never again. It's my own fault really I never read them because nobody ever emails me so I end up with junk mail.

I decided to start on my new years resolution.

Watched 7 Pounds starring Will Smith and Rosario Dawson. I think it's one of those movies you will either love or hate but I loved it.

Reading Meet me at cupcake café. The first few pages didn't quite capture me but I decided to keep at it and now I am getting into it.

I have been looking at second hand bikes for some time now so I can start learning to ride but haven't had any luck. I am now thinking of getting myself a new one so went to the bike shop and tried a few and I am not sure if it's the right thing to do. Buy a new bike I mean.

First swimming lesson of the year is tomorrow and I don't think I will be able to make it due to other things happening but will see.

It's only been a few day into the new year and I feel as if I am already putting barriers in front of myself. Have to work on this.

Hope the first few day of the new year haven't been too bad.

Happy New Year...

2015 is upon us. Another 12 months to plan what we want to do. I never used to make new years resolutions until a couple of years ago. Like most people I can't even remember what they are come February but that is not going to stop me. I know some people refer to them as goals or challenges instead of resolutions. Whatever they are called I do enjoy thinking about them and setting them but hate that I never seem to accomplish any of them.

I have had a chance to think of mine and nearly all of them are similar if not exactly the same as last years. I have decided to share some of the fun ones here to track my progress.

Here is my list

Watch at least 52 movies this year

Read at least 12 novels 

Be organised

Look after myself better

Learn to ride a bike

Learn to swim

Take part in the scavenger hunt photo challenge to make me use my camera more.

Do some of the things in the 102 things to do this summer book. 

Cut down on my consumption of everything 

Blog more often and comment on the blogs I read

So this is my list. I do hope I stick to all of them. 

Hope the new year brings great things your way.

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow...

2 weeks ago I took the plunge and cut my hair. I wish I could say it was a spare of the moment thing or it was due to some crisis in my life but it wasn't. I had ummed and ahhed about it for a few years and none of my friends were very encouraging about it (not that I needed their approval). I think it was over the summer that I started thinking about it seriously but never really had the courage but the thought was always in my head.

Around November time one of my work mates was asking about my hair, don't remember how the conversation had started and I mentioned that I wanted to cut it and she said she thought I would suit it. I nearly hugged her because that was the nicest thing she could have said at that time. I suppose my biggest worry was that if I chopped it and it didn't suit me what was I going to do. After the conversation with my workmate I knew I was going to do it, it was only a matter of time.

It wasn't long after this I hit good old google to find ways to disguise a very bad hair cut and to also find ways to style my short hair. I was amazed at the amount of information available on the net. Master T and I spent a whole night learning how to tie head scarfs in different styles from some youtube tutorials.

After all this research I felt I was armed with the info I required and started feeling more confident about my decision. It was probably a couple more weeks before I actually put a pair of scissors through my hair.

2 Fridays ago I went to bed with a head full of shoulder length hair and woke up Saturday morning with nearly all of it gone. Then took a trip to the barbers and not the hairdressers in the morning and came out with a head of not so long hair that I absolutely love.

I went from this.

To this

I know my attempt on a selfie are not great but I am working on it.

The before picture doesn't really show how long my hair really was (shoulder length) because it was always tied into a bun.

I do have a plan on how I want my hair to look. This just happens to be the beginning.

Am I vain or what? To dedicate the longest post I have ever written on my hair.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to whatever the new year brings.

x

A Pause In Advent 4...

Overindulgence...

                              excessive gratification of a person's wishes

I will be the first one to admit of being very guilty of this at this time of the year. All that food, the sales, the parties, the nights out and everything else that happens at this time of the year. It is very easy to overindulge, to forget what this time of year is all about, to be carried away with what is surrounding us. The lights, the glitter the never ending Christmas markets and all those adverts telling us we need this and that in time for Christmas.

It's not too late to take a few moments to reflect and really think about the true meaning of Christmas as we are heading towards the big day.

xx

Pause In Advent # 2

Reconciliation...

                     the restoration of friendly relations.

Every now and again friends and family fall out for many different reason. Some major and some very petty but regardless of how big the fallout some people never get to make amends. We all know someone who has fallen out with a loved one and years have gone by and they still do not talk. It's always heart breaking to hear the story behind these fallouts and sometimes you can feel the regret in their voices or just see it in their eyes that they wish things were different.

As human beings we find it difficult to make the first move, to ask for forgiveness or to just be the bigger person and say we are sorry. I think this time of Advent is a great time to possibly take that step. Cards are being posted left, right and centre and an extra card to that person will not do any harm. With most people filled with the Christmas spirit maybe that's all that it will take to reconcile with your loved one.

Send that text, card or email. The worst thing that could happen is not getting a reply but the best thing that will happen is having that loved one back in your life.

xx

Pause In Advent

Advent noun: the arrival of a notable person or thing.

At this time of the year most people are putting up Christmas trees and decoration, buying presents for their loved ones, stocking up on all the best food items and sending out Christmas cards. As we go about preparing for Christmas this advent let us think of those less fortunate than us and maybe put an extra present or food item in our baskets and drop it of at the many drop off points set up at this time of the year.

Nobody is so poor that they can not give and nobody is so rich that they can not receive.

There are many people around us who find this time of year difficult for many reasons. It's all too easy to accuse them of being a scrooge without really knowing the reason. That neighbour who has no family or even that colleague who seems to be going through a hard time. Maybe a conversation  is all they want or just a smile from you will ease those worries a little bit.

Giving and kindness takes many different forms. Give the best way you can.

Let us take a few moments to be kind to others as we prepare for Christmas.

I'm Back...

I haven't been blogging for a while as you can tell. Things got quite hectic so had to disappear for a while.

These are some of the things we've been up to since I last blogged

Work

Thinking

Moved house

Trip to Blackpool

Summer holidays

Made new friends 

First ever camping trip

Visit to Madam Tussauds

Creating a home that I love

Changed my working hours

Visit to Dubai to visit family

Master T started senior school

Visit to Edinburgh. Beautiful city

Attempting to use a sewing machine

Decluttered loads of items and still at it

Trip to Liverpool to watch the Lion King

Birthdays which meant presents and cake

Loads of Car boot sales both as a buyer and a seller

Advent is upon us. As of tomorrow I will be taking part in A Pause In Advent hosted this year by Angela at Tracing Rainbows.

Stay warm.

Growing Pains...

I hope my children look back on today

and see a mother who had time to play.

There will be years for cleaning  and cooking

for children grow up while we're not looking..

Today is the 2nd day of the summer holiday and as it was a gorgeous day and my day off we decided to venture outside. I am often found doing housework or just sat in front of a screen of some sort on my days off but not today.

Today I decided to abandon all thoughts of housework and forced Master T to come out with me. He is difficult strong minded of late. He doesn't seem to be interested in venturing outside. On some occasions I've had to tell him it wasn't negotiable. I can definitely see that he is going through some changes but today I wasn't having it.

The funny thing though is even though it's a struggle to get him out of the house he absolutely loves it once we are out. We did a bit of window shopping in the 1st town we went to. I didn't buy anything but Master T bought some loom bands. After about a hour we decided to move to the next town where we walked along the beach then went for fish and chips once we had had enough. We managed to find a very good spot by a stream in a park to sit and munch. My picnic blanket also had it's first outing as we used it to sit on. I bought it last year and it has been in my car ever since so it was a nice surprise to find and use it.  

As it was so warm it was easy to just snooze in my little spot. After my snooze we decided it was time for an ice cream to cool us down and before long it was home time and we have been chilling ever since. Master T  working on his loom bands and I have been catching up on some blog reading.

Last week was his last week at primary school and emotions were very, very high. There were loads of tears, anger, silence of the moody kind and everything in between. To be honest I was out of my depth and if this is the sign of things to come, I best brace myself.  

Hope you have all had a good day.

xx

Changes...

I don't think I have mentioned this but Master T starts secondary school this September. We managed to get a place at our first school choice which was obviously great as I really didn't want him to go to any other school and he felt the same way.

Today was induction day at his soon to be new school. He seems to have loved it and is looking forward to tomorrow as he is there again.

So many changes are going to happen in both our lives as we try to make a smooth transition between primary and secondary. I am trying as best as I can to prepare him for what's to come. All the incidents that have recently happened at school and he has told me about I have tried yo relate them as much as I can to life in secondary school so he knows how best to deal with them. I know it will take time and things won't always go to plan but I do hope that in the 11 years he has been on this earth I have somehow taught him some of the skills that he requires to navigate this big wide world we live in. 

I know it's only secondary school not the end of the world so I do hope I keep that in mind.

What advice would you give to a parent and child who are starting on this journey.

xo

At It Again ...

These past few weeks I've had to admit that I am more of a hoarder than a collector. I have been getting rid of most of my unwanted stuff. Every now and again I do get rid of stuff but this time round it's different. I've been at it for weeks now and my house is looking less and less cluttered.

I have always admired those people who live minimalist lives. There is just something so appealing about that lifestyle. I don't kid myself to think I would ever live that way but I would love to. I suppose it takes one step a time to get there.

My motivation at the moment is my impending house move. I do not want to take anything with me that I don't need as it will be a waste of my time packing and then unpacking it again. I'm also fed up of spending my days off finding space to put stuff, moving things around or just cleaning and spending those days on my feet doing something that I don't particularly like. My time should be best spent doing what I want and love and enhancing the skills that I want.

Simple life, Simple art

I choose to not do this anymore.

Are you a hoarder or collector?

How do you keep on top it.

xo

A Good Weekend...

On Saturday we went to Liverpool to watch the Lion King and we absolutely loved it. It is the only show I have ever considered watching live and I can tell you it was brilliant and I am telling everyone who will listen. After the show we went to Blackpool, stayed the night and on Sunday we went to Madame Tussauds and onto the Blackpool Tower. I was so disappointed with the tower for some reason plus it was very foggy so we couldn't enjoy the view so that didn't help. Before going to the top of the tower we watched a 5min long 4D movie which I thought was amazing so it made up for the non existent views.

We also loved Madame Tussauds but it wasn't as big as I had imagined it to be and there wasn't as many wax works as I thought there would be either. I still loved it for what it was Now I want to go to the one in London. I posed for a lot of pictures with my favourite wax works only to be disappointed by the end product. All the photos  were blurry you can barely make out my face or anything else in the photo. Let's just say Master T did not do a very good job as a photographer. I do have very good memories of our weekend away. The weather didn't disappoint so it was weekend to remember.

The only thing that kind of ruined the weekend (but not too much) was the hotel. I can safely say it's the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. It wasn't the cleanest or the most presentable, everything was so dated. If I had to stay in that hotel for more than one night I would have moved along to another hotel. Lets just say it needs a lot of work, the food wasn't bad as it was a dinner bed and breakfast deal and as it was only for one night I thought I would survive. I booked my weekend with National Holidays. I have been on a few trips with them and always find them to be good value for money.

Master T hasn't come down to earth as yet. I suppose the whole weekend was made all the better because it was all a surprise for him.

Hope you all have a good week.

xx

Be Still...

Been absent for a long time as you can tell. Winter is not my favourite season I find it a struggle to get through. Now the sun is showing it's face I think it's time I showed mine.

I have been up to a lot of things during hibernation most of them good with the odd problem here and there but such is life. Yesterday I sat in my car for a good 30min on my own when I was waiting for the gates to be opened at the carboot sale where I was selling all my unwanted treasures. The sun was shining and there were plenty of people in their cars who had come to do the same thing. I opened my car door to let the sun in and was so surprised by the quietness of my surroundings. As usual I switched on the radio. At that moment I thought to myself, what am I doing. It was then I realised how much I am used to noise. I am surrounded by it all the time be it at work, in my car I usually have the radio on, when I am home we have the telly on or my ipod stuck in my ears looking at a screen of some sort.

                                                    

It really saddened me how I never seem to have any quietness around me or us. Something is always going on. I can't even remember the last time I sat with just a cup of tea or a book and relaxed. Apart from always being surrounded by noise I always seem to be doing something. It doesn't matter what I am doing I have to be busy and mostly it's doing exactly the same thing.

    I don't mean to mourn in my first post back but how do you all find quietness in your lives.

                                                      How do you create a balance.

xxx

What A Difference...

It's only been a week but I have to agree with all the experts when it comes to exercising. It is definitely good for your health. I am fully of energy and I can't get enough of it. It is also addictive. I hope I keep at it. Master T is joining me so it's a family affair which makes it worthwhile. I love my food so I am making sensible choices rather than dieting. I don't necessarily want to lose weight that is not my aim but if it happens I'm not going to complain. My aim is to be fit and healthy. My blood pressure has been slowly creeping up in the past few months and there is a history of diabetes in my family. If I can help it I want to avoid any ill health that I may contribute to if I that makes sense. After all I am in control of what goes in and out of my mouth and I am able to exercise.

Like I said earlier its only been a week but I can tell you I am going to try my damn hardest to keep up with these changes.

What changes have you been making in your life this week. Hope everything is going to plan.

Have a wonderful week.

xx

Happy New Year...

I do hope all of you see the new year safe and sound.

 

2013 was a good year for me...

 

I completed and passed my course, got myself a job that I am loving and graduated as well.

 

Master T turned 11 and he is growing into a lovely young man

 

We went to Disney Paris and love it

 

My sister came to visit for 4 whole weeks and it was wonderful having her round

 

My brother and his girlfriend came to visit

 

2013 is also the year I became an aunt. I haven't had a chance to go visit my little nephew but will be going down in February when I have some time off.

 

It might not seem like much but the above has made me so happy. If 2014 is half as good as 2013 I will be a happy bunny.

 

2014 is nearly upon us and I have a list of resolutions/goals that I would love to complete. Most of them are the usual lose weight, b good with my finances blah, blah. blah. You know the rest. If I could summaries what my resolutions/goals for 2014 are I would say to take back my life. If I manage to do this I am sure everything else that is not covered under that will just fall into place.

 

Over the last few years I have stopped doing the things that I love. The things that make me me were overtaken by studying, placements and work and just trying to juggle all the other general life stuff. At the moment I have no other commitments apart from work and daily living so I am very hopeful that I can somehow start doing the things I love.

Making Plans...

I am sure at this time of the year everyone has the same thing on their mind, that thing being new year resolutions. I am naturally an unorganised person but I am trying. Because I am so unorganised I never seem to have any resolutions and when I do I never see them through. At the moment I am taking time to think about what I would like to achieve in 2014. When I make up my mind about it I am going to try my damn hardest to achieve them. I am sure I will come up with some unrealistic goals but I am sure their is no harm in dreaming.

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to 2014.

xx

Merry Christmas...

...to you all. Hope you all have a wonderful. The Christmas tree and decs are up and I am getting into the Christmas spirit. Master T is watching Rise of the Guardians while I sip on some red waiting for Harrison Ford ;)

 

Stay safe and enjoy the holiday.

xxx

An Update...

Thank you Kezzie and Scarlet for your best wishes for my graduation. I had an absolutely fabulous time and loved it but by Wednesday all the excitement had worn off and had to come down to earth. Unfortunately none of my family could make it due to other commitments but they shared in all my excitement and they all made sure to tell me that I had made them proud. It's times like these I am glad of modern technology because we were constantly whatsapping and skyping all day.

 

Now that the excitement of graduation is over I might as well start looking forward to Christmas. I have bought everything for Master T including the DVD we will be watching on Christmas eve. I just need to buy a present for my secret santa at work and complete 2 hampers for my friends and that will be it apart from some food.

 

Have you completed all your Christmas shopping.

 

Hope you have all had a good day.

 

xx

Goodbye November...

...hello December.

 

November was a good months (not that all the other months aren't), but for some reason I just feel as if I was paying more attention this month. I have written lists for all the things that I needed to do. Unfortunately I haven't been blessed with the gift of organisation or memory for that matter. I am not am not a natural list maker even though I have wished so much that I was. It has taken a lot of will to write things down. Having a pretty notebook and colourful pens has definitely helped.

 

My list making wasn't just for the things I need to do but it extended to my shopping list. I have tried many times before and failed to stick to a shopping list. I either leave it at home or I just abandon it completely and shove things in the basket. In November if it wasn't on the list it never made it in the basket. I used the mantra do I need it, will I use it and is it worth it. I can tell you it helped. I hope this is a sign of things to come.

 

Anyway enough about that. I am graduating tomorrow. Yay!!! I never thought it would happen to me of all people. I have worked my socks off for the past 3 years and it has paid. I have a job that I trained for and I love it (it's only been 2 months) and I think I made the right decision going on this career path.

 

On to more good news, I opened my sealed pot today thanks SFT and had £156.70 which I will use very wisely.

 

I hope you have all had a relaxing weekend like I did.

 

xx

Looking Forward...

I know from reading different blogs that most people have Christmas on their mind.  Christmas lists of all sorts. Planning meals, Christmas shopping, decorating the tree, making presents or wrapping them. I managed to wrap 3 presents over the weekend so that is 3 people sorted.

 

I also had a little discussion with Master T about when we should put up the Christmas tree and we have agreed to put it up on Christmas eve. In past years we've put up the tree 2nd week of December but only put the star up on the 24th. From this year on it is going to be different, we are going to make the most of advent and look forward to Christmas.

 

When will you be putting up your tree.

xoxo

The World of Finances...

I am still up at this hour trying to sort out my finances and it's a nightmare but has to be done. Since I now have a job I have decided to see what's what instead of playing the guessing game. I have moved all my direct debits to the beginning of the month so everyone gets paid when I get paid. I have looked at ISA's, savings accounts, saving versus paying off debt, the whole lot. I even checked my credit report and it's not pretty. It has however improved since the last time I checked so I must be doing something right.

 

When I checked my credit report I have noticed that there are a few things wrong on it. At some point I have apparently borrowed  or owed £999 998. If my maths is right that is £2 short of  a £1 000 000. What I would have done with that money. This same account says I owe something like £53 which I know I don't, I don't know whether it was before or after I had paid off the £999 998. It's just ridiculous. There is also an account on there that I don't even recognise so both items are on tomorrows to do list.

 

My head is full of information and I need rest before I can make any big decisions so I best take myself to bed.

 

Hope you've all enjoyed whatever you have been doing.