A year since I last blogged! and I think this is the first time I've had a chance or should I say the inclination to sit down and write again.
The problem being I have my best ideas for blogging when I'm hoovering or changing the beds or stood in that 'catatonic washing the dishes staring out the window' kinda state, so when I do actually get time to myself I have a complete mental block!
So since my last blog I :-
Lost my job (how careless?)
Lost 18lbs (WOO HOOO)
Visited Portugal (Highly recommended, but beware of the alcohol (it made me crazy))
Decorated my living room and kitchen (So proud of myself on that one)
Started my own small business (It took off then went stale - I need to work on this)
Got diagnosed with depression (It's all cool now, they have drugs for that shit! :)
Watched my lil girl grow a year older (Still can't believe 'I did that?')
Aaaaand that's about it.
How've you been?
Saturday 7 September 2013
Sunday 19 August 2012
Being creative
So been noticing a lot of T-shirts for the little ones with lots of bead detailing on them and a nice price tag to match, so I bought the mini blot a few pretty T-shirts and I've been blinging them up today.
The mini one loves them so I'm happy, please let me know what you think too :-)
The mini one loves them so I'm happy, please let me know what you think too :-)
Friday 20 July 2012
Why I'm always on the fence.............
Recent twitter discussion in the wake of a terrible shooting incident made my mind do this: (I'm not in control of where my mind takes me sometimes and it often takes me on these little journeys)
She's 29, she has a happy life, loves her husband Frank and her little boy Jeremy. Last week Frank gave her one of those tiny handguns for her purse for safety, she doesn't like it but he begs her to carry it for his peace of mind. She's hurrying home today, she just made promotion at work and she can't wait to get home and share her joyous news with Frank, before they collect their son and go out to dinner. She's called the restaurant in advance, they have champagne on ice.......................
So eager to get home she decides not to wait for the bus but take a route through the park, it'll probably take the same amount of time but it's a beautiful park. Breathing in lung fulls of fresh air and looking in awe at the flowers and trees wondering why she'd never really appreciated their stunning perfection before, when suddenly she feels herself being dragged backwards, something bigger & stronger than her has her in the undergrowth and, before it even occurs to her to usher a scream his hand is on her mouth she feels a searing pain as he punches her in the stomach. Winded and terrified she kicks frantically as he tears at her clothes, he's stopped beating on her now and she realises he is fiddling with his trousers in this moment of weird calm she notices her handbag is within reaching distance of her hand and somehow manages to slide her fingers into it and hook them around the gun, just as he is about to reach his goal of penetration she reaches up and shoots him in the head..........................her ordeal is over. She's a little late home that evening and Frank seemed worried before he even clapped eyes on her when she walked through the door. He is there for her and she doesn't know how she would get through if she didn't have him.
MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE
She is so eager to get home and notices that she can see the bus in the distance and decides to wait for it to come instead of walking through the park. The journey only takes a few minutes and she is excitedly planning on how she is going to tell Frank her good news, after a short deliberation she decides she's just gonna blurt it out and jump in his arms and can already feel the overwhelming love she is going to share with him. She's rushing down the path with only the front door in her sights, quickly using her keys to open the door and running straight into the living room she finds Frank, who is being straddled by a woman. So enthralled are they in their activities that neither of them see her stood there. With her hand in her purse slowly releasing her keys from her grip, her finger brushes on something cold and hard and as a red mist descends and a rush of pure anger takes a momentary grip on her, she grasps the gun and shoots them both. Her ordeal has just begun........................
She's 29, she has a happy life, loves her husband Frank and her little boy Jeremy. Last week Frank gave her one of those tiny handguns for her purse for safety, she doesn't like it but he begs her to carry it for his peace of mind. She's hurrying home today, she just made promotion at work and she can't wait to get home and share her joyous news with Frank, before they collect their son and go out to dinner. She's called the restaurant in advance, they have champagne on ice.......................
So eager to get home she decides not to wait for the bus but take a route through the park, it'll probably take the same amount of time but it's a beautiful park. Breathing in lung fulls of fresh air and looking in awe at the flowers and trees wondering why she'd never really appreciated their stunning perfection before, when suddenly she feels herself being dragged backwards, something bigger & stronger than her has her in the undergrowth and, before it even occurs to her to usher a scream his hand is on her mouth she feels a searing pain as he punches her in the stomach. Winded and terrified she kicks frantically as he tears at her clothes, he's stopped beating on her now and she realises he is fiddling with his trousers in this moment of weird calm she notices her handbag is within reaching distance of her hand and somehow manages to slide her fingers into it and hook them around the gun, just as he is about to reach his goal of penetration she reaches up and shoots him in the head..........................her ordeal is over. She's a little late home that evening and Frank seemed worried before he even clapped eyes on her when she walked through the door. He is there for her and she doesn't know how she would get through if she didn't have him.
MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE
She is so eager to get home and notices that she can see the bus in the distance and decides to wait for it to come instead of walking through the park. The journey only takes a few minutes and she is excitedly planning on how she is going to tell Frank her good news, after a short deliberation she decides she's just gonna blurt it out and jump in his arms and can already feel the overwhelming love she is going to share with him. She's rushing down the path with only the front door in her sights, quickly using her keys to open the door and running straight into the living room she finds Frank, who is being straddled by a woman. So enthralled are they in their activities that neither of them see her stood there. With her hand in her purse slowly releasing her keys from her grip, her finger brushes on something cold and hard and as a red mist descends and a rush of pure anger takes a momentary grip on her, she grasps the gun and shoots them both. Her ordeal has just begun........................
Thursday 5 July 2012
It's hard to say goodbye.........
Recently a dear friend of mine suffered a terrible loss and discussing a vision of his late mother it brought to mind a memory of something unexplainable that helped me through a difficult time.
During my mothers illness my grandparents took charge of me and I continued to live with them until the last of their days. My beloved grandad (who was an avid pigeon racer in his healthier retirement days) died after a brief battle with cancer. The day after he passed, a pigeon appeared sitting on the awning looking into our front door, we joked that it was grandad come to see if we were all okay (as we had joked during his lifetime that had he the choice, he would be a pigeon) and although it wasn't there everyday it was there more often than not. Less than a year later my grandmother passed peacefully in her sleep (her closest friend believed she had died from a broken heart, so hard had she found it to live without him) and we noticed that the pigeon had disappeared. To sooth our pain we made up stories (but not really believing) that the pigeon was indeed grandad and he was looking for his beloved wife.
The day after my grandmothers funeral, 2 pigeons appeared huddled together on the very spot our visitor had occupied for the last 10 months, they stayed with us for 2 weeks before they finally left us for good and we no longer were disbelieving of their origins and intentions.
During my mothers illness my grandparents took charge of me and I continued to live with them until the last of their days. My beloved grandad (who was an avid pigeon racer in his healthier retirement days) died after a brief battle with cancer. The day after he passed, a pigeon appeared sitting on the awning looking into our front door, we joked that it was grandad come to see if we were all okay (as we had joked during his lifetime that had he the choice, he would be a pigeon) and although it wasn't there everyday it was there more often than not. Less than a year later my grandmother passed peacefully in her sleep (her closest friend believed she had died from a broken heart, so hard had she found it to live without him) and we noticed that the pigeon had disappeared. To sooth our pain we made up stories (but not really believing) that the pigeon was indeed grandad and he was looking for his beloved wife.
The day after my grandmothers funeral, 2 pigeons appeared huddled together on the very spot our visitor had occupied for the last 10 months, they stayed with us for 2 weeks before they finally left us for good and we no longer were disbelieving of their origins and intentions.
Friday 8 June 2012
The environment and my rebellious streak
Over the last few years it is well documented (in my blog and twitterings) that my little family suffered some financial hardships. During this time I became extremely aware of the price of everything and not only how precious my money is but also my family's well being.
Instead of taking the easy unhealthy cheap frozen chicken nugget & chips route (bleugh disgusting) I decided to try to think like a post war housewife (my grandmother) and use ingredients which may be cheap but tastier and, it goes without saying, healthier.
Prior to this our monthly habits were shameful as well as wasteful, at this time we would do a large monthly shop from Asda. The first stage of this insane monthly ritual was to 'empty' the fridge. On average 2 carrier bags of wasted food would be thrown away amidst mumblings of 'I forgot that was in there' and 'why the hell did we buy this'.
Over the past few years (more so recently) I have learnt to shop 'properly' at first as a necessity but now it feels more like a matter of pride. My fridge often looks empty these days, because now I only buy what we need and not what looks good on the shelf. We changed to shopping at our more local smaller Morrisons and shop as and when we need it. I still have a good stock of tins/spices/herbs etc and there are always plenty biscuits for the sweet tooth monsters but nothing goes out of date in my house and nothing gets wasted.
A typical example of waste was Sunday lunch, preparing most of the veg and cooking it, far too much for what was needed which would be thrown away the next day and if we remembered a quick curry made out of the left over chicken. I always make too much batter mix so this would be cooked and inevitably thrown away. Any extra veg (an odd carrot or parsnip) would be left in the fridge until 'big shop' day when it would be thrown away. Since I've changed my habits this is now what happens:
I still buy the same amount of Veg but these days I use it wisely, I prepare just enough for us to have for lunch, but the next day I make either a soup, stew or just roasting it as an accompaniment getting inventive with flavourings and writing down any particularly tasty ones for future reference. I stopped being afraid of using the right vegetable for the right thing, if you like Cauliflower then stick it in your stew or even roast it you never know what might happen, it's an adventure. I still make too much batter, because I have a set recipe I follow which makes HUGE puddings, now though I make enough for our meal plus a few extra, if there are any left over i wrap loosely in cling film and freeze. The left over batter goes in the fridge and the next day I give it a quick whisk up and we have pancakes (much to the delight of my little girl).
The best feeling about all of this is I am in control, as well as a sense of pride I also have a feeling of rebelling against fast food producers who are, frankly, slowly poisoning our nation for profit.
I have so much to share on this subject (not only for food) but I also have so many questions and I'm learning everyday.
Reading back this blog I realise that I sound like some preachy little old lady, I'm just a little bit passionate this subject.
Instead of taking the easy unhealthy cheap frozen chicken nugget & chips route (bleugh disgusting) I decided to try to think like a post war housewife (my grandmother) and use ingredients which may be cheap but tastier and, it goes without saying, healthier.
Prior to this our monthly habits were shameful as well as wasteful, at this time we would do a large monthly shop from Asda. The first stage of this insane monthly ritual was to 'empty' the fridge. On average 2 carrier bags of wasted food would be thrown away amidst mumblings of 'I forgot that was in there' and 'why the hell did we buy this'.
Over the past few years (more so recently) I have learnt to shop 'properly' at first as a necessity but now it feels more like a matter of pride. My fridge often looks empty these days, because now I only buy what we need and not what looks good on the shelf. We changed to shopping at our more local smaller Morrisons and shop as and when we need it. I still have a good stock of tins/spices/herbs etc and there are always plenty biscuits for the sweet tooth monsters but nothing goes out of date in my house and nothing gets wasted.
A typical example of waste was Sunday lunch, preparing most of the veg and cooking it, far too much for what was needed which would be thrown away the next day and if we remembered a quick curry made out of the left over chicken. I always make too much batter mix so this would be cooked and inevitably thrown away. Any extra veg (an odd carrot or parsnip) would be left in the fridge until 'big shop' day when it would be thrown away. Since I've changed my habits this is now what happens:
I still buy the same amount of Veg but these days I use it wisely, I prepare just enough for us to have for lunch, but the next day I make either a soup, stew or just roasting it as an accompaniment getting inventive with flavourings and writing down any particularly tasty ones for future reference. I stopped being afraid of using the right vegetable for the right thing, if you like Cauliflower then stick it in your stew or even roast it you never know what might happen, it's an adventure. I still make too much batter, because I have a set recipe I follow which makes HUGE puddings, now though I make enough for our meal plus a few extra, if there are any left over i wrap loosely in cling film and freeze. The left over batter goes in the fridge and the next day I give it a quick whisk up and we have pancakes (much to the delight of my little girl).
The best feeling about all of this is I am in control, as well as a sense of pride I also have a feeling of rebelling against fast food producers who are, frankly, slowly poisoning our nation for profit.
I have so much to share on this subject (not only for food) but I also have so many questions and I'm learning everyday.
Reading back this blog I realise that I sound like some preachy little old lady, I'm just a little bit passionate this subject.
aaaaand reeeellax.........
I have a new job, my house is in order and I feel like a new woman!!!
I was full of blog ideas and 7am but now sat at my desk on my lunch break they all seem to have alluded me
:-)
I was full of blog ideas and 7am but now sat at my desk on my lunch break they all seem to have alluded me
:-)
Thursday 22 March 2012
Oh No you didn't
So my next door neighbour decides to knock on my door this afternoon and start yelling and ranting at me about how much room he has to park, join the club mate. I was all ready to compromise to his suggestions when he literally said to me "I've told you once, now I've told you twice if I have to.......SLAM no one talks to me like that. He was literally foaming at the mouth, a trait I recognise from my ex-husband, a bully and I am just not dealing with it, got enough on my plate. So gonna park at the other side of the street because I really don't bloody care if I have to walk an extra few feet to my door. May have a few late night raves this weekend though :-)
In other news, my mam kindly looked after my poorly girl this afternoon for me as she is still getting over being ill and I had to work. After a few hours they took a little walk out but had to get the bus back as they were both too tired to walk home. The bus driver drove so badly that he knocked my mam on to her knees and then onto her back at the same time Kayla was flung from her seat and onto the floor. Then he did it again when they came to get off the bus, so after giving the driver a piece of her mind (worst part is he didn't even realise what he'd done) she called the bus company who were very nice and are promising to deal with it..................watch this space for more news on that!
All in all a very eventful day :-O
In other news, my mam kindly looked after my poorly girl this afternoon for me as she is still getting over being ill and I had to work. After a few hours they took a little walk out but had to get the bus back as they were both too tired to walk home. The bus driver drove so badly that he knocked my mam on to her knees and then onto her back at the same time Kayla was flung from her seat and onto the floor. Then he did it again when they came to get off the bus, so after giving the driver a piece of her mind (worst part is he didn't even realise what he'd done) she called the bus company who were very nice and are promising to deal with it..................watch this space for more news on that!
All in all a very eventful day :-O
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