Manic manic manic...

Aaaargh! Can't believe it's nearly a week since I last posted. Bad blogger! I'm so sorry. I was supposed to be flying back to the UK for a wedding this weekend and then going up North to spend the Easter holidays with Baby Boo but, as often happens in my job, I now have to fly back to Germany the Monday after the wedding and have spent the last few days running around like a mad'un cancelling flights, booking flights and sorting out a way to get Baby Boo from North to South so she can come back with me and spend Easter here instead. I'm feeling frazzled. Lots of crafty projects to share over the next couple of weeks and I'm still keeping up with my blog reading even if the blog writing kinda went out the window this week. Must. Breath. In. Out. In. Out.

Oh yes please.... via.

Spring Breeze

Is there anything quite as lovely as this? I love seeing my bedding on the line.

I mean, these shoes are quite lovely.

River Island

And this dress. Yeah, it's a bit lovely.

Urban Outfitters

But, by far, the loveliest thing I have seen today is my bedding.... outside, on the line and gently swaying in what, I do believe, was a spring breeze. Hurrah for Spring!

Much Love Monday

I love Much Love Mondays. I love them even more when I find awesome blog posts that I can tie in with the Monday Lovin' theme. Having stumbled across these two fabbity fab posts below I dedicate this Monday to Much Loving..... Yourself.  I know, I know, an alien concept for many of us..... especially those with kids, dogs, husbands, hamsters, cats and laundry to contend with but it only takes five minutes to do something, anything for yourself during the day that makes you feel just that little bit more special.

Healthy Loser Gal

Need some inspiration? Healthy Loser Gal has written a lovely post on the little things she does to take better care of herself. And it is the little things that count. Much as I'd love to pack a bag and hit the backpackers trail, right now this minute it's not exactly practical.....how many hostels will take me, Baby Boo, the dog, cat and hamster? And how am I going to carry the hamster's bag as well as my own?

Danielle over at Sometimes Sweet (probably one of my most favourite blogs) has kicked off Monday with 'One week to a better me' and I love her ideas to improve herself over the coming week using these five categories: nutrition, exercise, relationships, creativity, and me-time so I'm going to have a little go at these myself. Want to join in? Hop over to Sometimes Sweet and read the full post then get listing :)

Nutrition: EAT. I am terrible at remembering to eat. I feed all the animals because they are not all shy about reminding me that I need to top their bowls up but frequently get to bedtime and realise I've eaten nothing bar a packet of crisps and an apple all day. And by EAT I am not allowed to fall back on my fail-safe meal of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes. 

Exercise: I love to exercise. My job kind of demands it of me but I am guilty of sticking to running, sit-ups and push-ups. Time to shake it up a bit. I bought a kettle bell that is currently being employed as a doorstop (ahem) so this week I'm going to let that door swing shut and use the kettle bell in the way nature intended (if I can find the DVD that came with it. I'm probably using it as a coaster or something).

Relationships: I've been crap at keeping in touch this last few months. Need to ring my best mate and see what mischief my gorgeous God-Son has been up to, ring my sister and see how her uni course is going and I need to write to my penpal in California.

Creativity: Did you read my last post? I'm making a headband dammit! Why else do I have a glue-gun? If it goes wrong it goes wrong..... at least I tried. Note to self: Try not to glue fingers together as per the Christmas Decoration Making Incident....

Me time: A Pedicure methinks. It's nearly time to break out the summer sandals and I don't want people pointing and laughing at my gnarled, hairy, yellow-toenailed feet. Bleeurg. This may take some time....

Linking to:

Obsessed with..... Headbands!

I'm a little obsessed with pretty headbands at the moment. If you can't find me anywhere chances are I'm scanning Etsy in search of the perfect headband. I know there's one out there for me. Or maybe two..... It's nice to have a choice..... or ten. Ahem. There are also loads of awesome tutorials that I keep coming across.  So, the question now, is do I buy one? Or make one? Or do both?

Buy it?

Urban Outfitters

Love, Taza

Heart of Light - Etsy

Make it?

Spotted on Smile and Wave

Spotted on Tip Junkie

Disney at Ruffles and Stuff
is my hero. Seriously.

Red Nose Day

All around the world today there are a vast number of bloggers participating in a Day of Silence for Japan. Here in the UK it is Red Nose Day and, in my opinion, not a day to keep quiet. We have all been devastated by the news reaching us from Japan and I know many of us have wept tears of both grief and relief. Grief for those suffering right now and relief that we are not one of them. What Red Nose Day highlights is that, though Japan is being heavily featured on the news at the moment, there are many more people suffering and desperately needing our help.


For those of you unfamiliar with Red Nose Day:

Red Nose Day is a day like no other when the whole country gets together to do something funny for money and change countless lives in the process.

It all culminates in a night of cracking TV on the BBC with some of the biggest names in comedy and entertainment.

And the best bit? All the fun and mayhem helps to raise cash and transform lives across the UK and Africa.

All the money raised and donated by the public goes directly towards projects that transform people's lives across Africa and at home in the UK.

In Africa, your money helps to restore people's sight, to protect families from deadly malaria, to give an education to children whose lives have been torn apart by war, and so much more.

Across the UK your cash can help to provide comfort for isolated older people and help to give young carers their childhoods back. In fact, wherever you are in the UK, it's likely you're never more than 30 miles from a Comic Relief supported project.

If you can spare just a little bit of money tonight...... whatever you can afford...... you could be helping:

Will from Stoke on Trent

Rukia from Tanzania

Sunday from Uganda

Ian and Selina from Gloucestershire

and many more just like them.

Do what you can. Be funny for money!!!!

Words and Images from the OFFICIAL www.rednoseday.com

Confession Time.

Ok, so I have a couple of confessions to make.

The first: I fell off the wagon. The '30 Days of Lists' wagon and I'm a little pissed at myself right now. One teeny little challenge and I fell at the first hurdle. Has work been crazy? Yes. Is my little one currently entering the first stages of puberty and bouncing between tears and anger? Yes. Am I sick of putting things in cardboard boxes? Yes. Could I still have made the time to write one list each day? Erm..... yes. I've just the spent the last hour or so catching up and taking photos of my lists for Flickr and will upload them tonight. To see Day 17 - Words I find hard to spell - go here. There are some awesome lists going up from around the blogosphere so, if you haven't already, go take a sneaky peak.

The Second: I just cried my way through the most recent episode of Glee. Glee FFS! I'm going to put it down to being tired but, sleepiness aside, there were some touching bits in there, I swear! In fact, I'll even go so far as to throw a Pinky Promise out there. When Pavarotti the Canary died...... I sniffed a bit. When Kurt and Blaine got together.... I blinked and gulped hard. When Rachel sang to Finn at Regionals.... the lump in my throat got a bit harder to ignore. When Kurt tells Blaine he's upset The Warblers didn't win (during Pavarotti's buriel, I might add) and Blaine says 'We did win. We got each other out of this and that's better than any trophy'....well, I was a gonner. Just as I was starting to calm down Rachel goes and gives a lovely little speech about the faith the Glee Club had in her and I fell apart all over again. I mean, really? Glee? GLEE?! I'm going to bed.

Not for those who are tired, weepy, hungry, crabby,
hormonal, moving house soon,
dealing with 'soon to be' teenagers, thirsty, sniffly,
or those with no tissues to hand
(I used my sleeve).

So difficult...

In light of recent events in Japan I'm finding it really hard to type up a normal blog post. I just started writing about how stressed I was packing up the house ready for our move back to the UK and was suddenly overcome with guilt at daring to feel this way. I have a roof over my head, I know where my family are and that they are safe and well and all I've lost this week is a two euro coin that fell out of my purse when I was buying milk and cat food. I know many bloggers feel the same way but there is also a part of me that feels I should just 'soldier on' and write about the things that are bothering me, the duvet cover that's currently on my wishlist and the conversation I recently had with my daughter about hormones but, for today at least, this doesn't seem right.

I'll save the duvet cover for tomorrow.

Hugs, hope and prayers for those in Japan.

Jacob Cass

Looking through old photos...

I've just been flicking through some of my old photos and came across an album that had me laughing so hard tea came out of my nose. About two years ago we travelled down South in my Mum's camper van to go to my cousin's wedding. There were five of us in total zooming down the motorway in my parent's pride and joy. On the way back up North the van started making funny noises. Or so I'm told.... I was snuggled up under a quilt snoozing in the back. The van then started to swerve a bit and Mum felt like she was losing control of the steering so pulled in to the next lay-by and phoned the AA to come out and check it over. Whilst sitting on the side of the M1 we got bored and so out came the camera......

Baby Boo attempted to to flag down some help with the use of her 'pathetic face'.

That didn't work. So I tried.....

No luck for me either.... so Baby Sister was up next.....

Still no luck! Mummy and Daddy were not impressed with our efforts....

So I did what every girl in a crisis should do.

And cracked open Cosmo. Thank goodness our Knight in Shining Armour arrived soon after.

Having pronounced Mrs Camper Van fooked...... he then proceeded to whisk us away in his posh Knight's carriage with a promise that a hire car would be waiting for us just a wee way up the motorway.

He was true to his promise. There WAS a hire car. But we weren't expecting it to look like this....

We wanted something big and flash! The only thing big about this car was the boot. As tested by Baby Boo. It was all just too much for me. .

The End.

Age is just a number, Baby!

Remember my dream to hit the backpacking trail? Well, it's still niggling away at me. Probably because it's Sunday again. Darn Sundays! I just can't get rid of the thought that if I don't go backpacking one day then I will always feel like I missed out. Having Baby Boo at 19 has meant that are a fair few things I didn't get to do. I've never been on a girly holiday, I've never been on all day drinking sesh, I've never worn a bikini without feeling extremely self-conscious about my Mummy Tummy, I stopped going clubbing at 18 when I got pregnant and never really started up again. And though I don't regret having Boo for a SINGLE SECOND I do sometimes feel like I'm playing catch up. I don't know why I'm so fixed on the whole age thing either. Why can't I go travelling for the first time when I'm in my 30s? Or maybe even my 40s? I've thought about this a lot over the last week and I figure, as long as I keep up my cleanse, tone, moisturise with wrinkle cream every night, then maybe, when I'm strolling through the Aussie Outback with nothing but two t-shirts and 3 pairs of knickers to my name, those nubile 18 year olds with their perfect skin and flat tummies won't point and laugh too much. I indulged my little fantasy by treating myself to these two books from Amazon. Just to get my started y'know? (and I might have started a wee little savings account....)

I bought High Heels and a Head Torch and Wanderlust and Lipstick. Honestly, with titles like that, how could I not? Space ducky loves them and is helping me read them on an evening. He is soooo coming with me when I go.

Then, whilst fiddling around on eBay last night I came across these. Fate. There's no other word for it.

For any of you seasoned travellers out there, I know these are more fashion than practical walking boot (I'm a soldier, I know ALL about wearing the right footwear) but, honestly, I would be prepared to endure a blister or two just to skip merrily along in these pretty babies. If I can still skip at 40.....

End of the Week.

Where in God's name has this week gone? And how the hell have I managed to achieve the square root of nothing in 5 days?! I had so much planned this week and I've somehow managed to not do any of it. I blame Google Reader. Oh, and all you people who keep writing thought-provoking or funny or inspirational blog posts? I blame you too. If you weren't all so damned talented, if you didn't all have such a good eye for fashion, vintage finds or photos then maybe, just maybe, I might actually get some work done! (not that I want you all to stop. My life would be pants without all the lovely blogs I follow......). That is all.

PS. Just remembered... Still going strong with 30 days of lists so all is not lost. This was yesterday's. Not taken photos of today's yet..... too busy reading blog posts. Ahem.

30 Days of Lists....

If you're addicted to reading blogs and regularly have over a zillion items to look at in Google Reader then you'll have already seen 30 Days of Lists and you may even be signed up! I was just going to be a spectator in this challenge because, honestly, I'm not so good at seeing things through (ask any of my ex-boyfriends or ex-teachers). I get very restless very easily, I get bored quickly and I have what my Mum calls a Butterfly Brain because it constantly flitters here, there and everywhere. A polite way of saying I'm scatty, I know. My Mum's good like that :)

Anyway, today marked the official start of this challenge and I suddenly thought that the reason I SHOULD take part is exactly because I don't think I CAN. That's something else about me. I avoid anything that may result in disappointment or failure. And I'm fed up of sitting on the sidelines and feeling too scared to really go for it. So I'm going for it. And I'm telling you all about it so you can make help me. A shout of encouragement, a bit of clapping.... you know the score. And if anyone else is taking part, let me know so I can help you. Unless you're a list-maker/challenge completer extroardinaire, in which case, I'm too jealous to even speak to you right now :P

Grab the button from my side-bar and lets do this thang!

Here's my first list with the first prompt 'A few things about yourself''. Check out more on Flickr.

One of thirty completed.

Thankyouverymuch.