Sunday, December 26, 2010

A Little Giver Away Before The New Year



Hello Everyone, hope your Christmas day was as awesome as mine.

I also hope you are not suffering with that deflated feeling ...
I have to be honest I am ...

I always get it the day after but thats ok I decided to cheer myself up by doing a little giver away over at TatterBeans .... and would love you Ladies and Gentleman to join in with the chance to win one of my 5x7 prints...and its really simple you don't even have to do anything except click a link and leave me a comment.

How simple is that ...and this little giver away is going on till New years Eve.


So just hop on over to Tatter Beans and join in with some after Christmas Fun


*And it doesn't matter where in the world you live .... I want you to come join in the fun.*

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Missing in Action ....

Well that's how it feels really .... I'm beginning to ask myself "who are you"
I'm sure the kids may feel this way to.... so where have I been and what am I up to... well if I said building a business would I be forgiven ....

I hope so cause right now I feel a bit of a let down on the whole blog/post front and I have to make a public apology to Cate at Keep Cate Busy  she awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award and I totally missed her comment ...

Cate really you can come across here and slap me ...

This is my award and Im totally made up about it ...... 
 
So here is what I now have to do...
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award -
2.Share 7 things about yourself
3.Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4.Contact those bloggers and tell them about the award.


So 7 things about me....

1: I have recently opened my own shop on Etsy
2: I'm a Christmas baby ...... and very recently turned 44..... wow am I really that old.
3: I have a pile of ironing sitting in my laundry room that is so big that I would be happy to pay someone else to do it.
4: I love Cheese and Onion sandwiches ..... you have to remember I am British
5: I would stay in my PJ's all day If I allowed myself to.
6: I have never followed a cooking recipe in my life.. I'm a throw in the pan type of girl and hope for the best

7: I love my life and my family with all my heart..even when times get rough I still hold on to what God has given me .

Now the hard easy bit 15 recently discovered blogs.

1: Acute Designs ... A fellow Etsy seller who is following her dreams and makes the most beautiful hair accessorizes
2: My Little Drummer Boys ..... I have a lot of admiration for this lady.... read her story.
3: Crazy Adorable ... another Etsy .... who's blog is just so cute, and product is adorable.
4: hanamik ... I know this gonna get boring but my fellow Etsy sellers have such wonderful blogs that I just cant help promote them... Hana is expecting her first baby soon and she looks so good doing it you really should check her out.
5: Dreamaginarius beautifully laid out blog ... totally styling it up here.
6: Pepper Glen  Love it here.
7: Small Town Woman I know she is my sister but hey she has style... she must have she is my sister
8: The Purple Notepad  I have read Katies blog for a while but this Lady has style and writes so beautifully ..and should be discovered a bit more so here is your chance.
9: Align Boutique ... a really friendly place to visit ....
10: hrushton art A gem I found today .... one follower but really there should be more...

So I'm gonna stop at 10 cause really I have not discovered any others recently that I can really list ...sorry ... but note to all you really should do 15 ..I'm just a bad girl ...don't follow my bad habits ... 

So off to contact them all now.... but before I leave .... let me just say you ladies are all stylish to me in one way or another...and I'm grateful for each and everyone of you ... Have a wonderful Holiday and I look forward to spending the New year with you all as we Blog Along together



Friday, December 17, 2010

This week Im Grateful for : Flowers and ......


 (Imagine by TatterBeans)

Don't flowers make you feel good... they are like a kiss from a lover, a smile of a child and the gift of a friendship all rolled into.

  I'm grateful for flowers cause they make me feel good...and we all need to feel good about something....

I put my flowers in water and then had to steal one to take a photo of it..cause you know I'm also inspired by flower I mean why wouldn't I be right?

So a big thank you to my American Sister Small Town Woman  for brightening up my day ...(they where an early Birthday Treat)

I am also grateful today that my husband doesn't read my blog ... after my PMS Post  he came back from work in an awesome mood.... So very grateful.

What are you Grateful for Today .... 

Come join us all at Maxabella's as we bring the weekend in with some gratefulness





Have a wonderful weekend everyone...

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Angry Man






So its that time of the month again in our house

That time of the month when nobody can do right for doing soooo much wrong....

That time of the month when you don't talk in case you get your head bit of .....

That time of the month when you get used to be ignored, not told anything, kept in the dark, grunted at and pushed a side like you where a bit of something the dog left behind on a walkway.....

Yes its that time of the month ......

That's right my husband has PMS ...

The news is bound to be greeted with snorts of cynicism by most females....

I for one will not blame you if you do snort..all I ask is that you clean up the snorting mess by yourself ..I have enough to deal with right now......

So all that is left to do is for you to watch this short video reverse the roles and you will truly see what I'm going through right now


PMS I know is no laughing matter.... but when we reverse it its a little bit like
Man Flu


Flogging My Blog on a Thursday for FYBF with Random Ramblings of a SAHM

rrsahm

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Personal Message from Santa



This is way to cool....

I was sent this link last year from my brother-in-law he had producted one for his daughter

Sadly in went into my spam box for what reason I do not know and I didnt get to do it for Bip and Bop...

Last night dropping of to sleep I remembered it and so I have done one this morning.....

Your kids will love it ....

Portable North Pole 

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Crazy few Days

I have had the most awesome crazy out of this world few days.....

I was asked to do a custom order ...
Description was awesome lots to play with ........ totally enjoyed working with this client

Then got featured in a Treasury which most of you know about... that was so exciting

Made my first Treasury ...now that was loads of fun 

One awesome blogger showed me some love .... Maxabella has anyone told you lately that you are truly wonderful.

Started working on my Valentines concept .... well you can never be to far ahead right?

Custom order done and dusted.... my first sale. 

Sleepless night with Bop ...she has a cold and a cough ..... better one has a sleepless night with her than the whole house.


Woke up to a blanket of snow.... nothing to write home about but its the first ....

Spent the day with Bop ..she is no good on four hours sleep... me neither .

Spent an hour trying to explain to her today that this


 


 was not the original

That this was


 

Felt pretty old once that lessons was over 

Hop over to TatterBeans 
I pounced on an awesome store today on Etsy.
Would love you to see their work.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Where will 2011 take you...




..... with 2011 just around the corner, what are your hopes and dreams for the coming years?


I can also show you know (cause its working) the treasury I was featured in.... your clicks( you click on the featured item) are still welcomed and needed.

Friday, December 10, 2010

This week Im Grateful for : Stars in my Life



This week I am grateful for so many things in my life.....

but I promise I'll only name a few

1: My best friend who is a star a bright shinny one..... whatever I do she is always there besides ...she encourage me and supports me ... I think she humors me as well ...and I love her for it ....*


2: The wonderful person (she is an awesome star) who featured one of my prints on her Treasury on Etsy ..... I hope she is truly blessed this weekend as she has blessed me. There is nothing better than waking up in a morning and checking your emails to find out that sort of news.


3: To all of you who left me encouraging comments yesterday .... You are all Bright Shining Stars.



Linking up with Maxabella for I'm Grateful For 

Happy weekend everyone...may it be a blessed one for all of you.




(*out of all my friends she was the only one who entered my failed attempted at a giver away .....) 


Featured in a Treasury on Etsy

I had an email today from Etsy.....

I had been featured in a Treasury....
I was totally excited.
Its not front page but if we get lots of clicks veiws and comments it might just make it ... which would be totally awesome .....

My print that got picked is this one 

 Featured on

There is Still Time...All Undiscovered in 10 Categories Whew!



I have all morning been trying to embed a code from Cultcraft that would show you all the treasury but it will not work for me ...totally gutted.. so if anyone knows how to get this silly code to work I would love to hear from you.....

But in the meantime do a girl a favour and go view click and comment if you can ...help me get to the from page

Id be really Grateful

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Creating The Light.

 (Art Work Credited to TatterBeans)


It has been six months.... Since I quit my day job and entered into Therapeutic Parenting.

Ive regreted it all at times, Ive rejocied in it at times.....

Ive seen the light, lost it and found it again.
Ive pulled my hair out and its regrown.
Ive cried myself to sleep at night, and woke up laughing.
Ive been bored out my mind,but to busy to think.

It seems like only yesterday when we made the decisions  that I would come out of the white collar world, and become a SAHM to our two RADdlings.(not sure what RADdlings means check over in the right hand column)

I had great visions of grandeur to begin with, I always see roses before I see weeds. Then for whatever reason I lost my mind vision
A wise woman said to me around this time of losing my mind vision


"You need to be doing something for you, something your passionate about, something that inspires you" 

This did strike a cord with me, I enjoy the creative side of life but had not done anything creative since leaving my job as an Art Director for our local Boys & Girls club.

The only photography I did was quick snap shots of the kids... Id stopped drawing, didn't do any crafts, everything had gone.

I did start to do some creative work again slowly but it was surely.
I then asked a question to two women online who I admire, one for her ability to put into words what we are all thinking  and the other for her artistic talent ....

"What do you think to my work?''
There response was positive, they told me to go for it and not look back.
I am crap at self belief .... Im even worse at self promotion.

I'm scared of failure ...and I always think everyone else is soooo much better than me ... which as I write this I still believe to be true...

But and here is the positive, I have stepped out ...Ive even stepped up .... I took a leap of faith ...... and I did just what everyone had been telling me to do....

It is early days and all business take time to grow and be known ..... maybe I will succeed maybe I wont.
It wont matter either way.......the important thing is Me is back ...the one who is alive and kicking ......



*And if anyone wants to know what it is I'm up to...there are hints of it all on this site 


Flogging my Blog on Thursday for Flog Yo Blog Friday ....... 
Come flog with us .... @  Random Ramblings of a SAHM



rrsahm

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I ♥ Quench Metalworks.

Have you ever been just trolling over web pages, facebook, Etsy and suddenly something hits you smack bang in the face and your in love. Yes/No?

This I have to say doesnt happen that ofton with me but it did today.
I was just checking emails and facebook while Bop was eating her lunch (remember Im homeschooling this week) and on the front page of my facebook this little gem shows up.

I have for sometime admired Quench Metalwork's work, they are unique in every sense of the word.

They are on my after Christmas list which I informed my husband a few nights ago (we also buy each other something after the Christmas session as affording something before is nearly always imposable)

The piece that made me fall in love today is in fact a custom piece of jewelry, which might not be offered to the public but even still it caught my eye and made me whoosh.

The embroidery is by Cindy Steiler of Mary's Granddaughter....her work can also be found on Etsy 

The rest  is Quench Metalworks

A totally wonderful collaboration!


 
Quench Metalworks Facebook page

Quench Metalworks Etsy Store

Quench Metalworks Blog

Go have a look round and then come back and tell me how much you love their work.

Signing off and going back to homeschooling .........

Monday, December 6, 2010

Grounded with Mom


My daughter ...bless her ....

Will be spending the week at home with her mother being home schooled ...

Oh joy for me

I had threaten that if the refusing to do work, hiding under tables cause she is mad ( normally for no real reason it would seem) didn't stop then she would be pulled out of school and homes school ..... this was after she dumped her homework Friday night on the school bus and proclaimed to me she had none...

What she didn't know was that her teacher had called me just as she left school to tell me what was going on... this homework was extra work that she had refused to do in school that day.

So as I am not one to making empty threates I know have to see this one though....

So over the next few days my post may be of a ranting nature or they may looked slurred ..depending on weather I can find the bottle vodka I hid from the dog.

Oh and she hates me right now... she told me so.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Sharing Sunday: Crayons, Soaps, and Bags

Its that day again Sunday where the old week is over and the new one is about to begin.

I love the feeling that the old is gone and the new is coming, its like the unexpected and whats round the corner all rolled into one big pile called life.

So what did I find this week.... well let me say its been fun finding this weeks shares... really fun and there was so much I could of shared but as most of you are mommies I picked out things that I know you will all love ..... so without further a do let me introduced you to

Kitty Baby Love.

Now I wish I had known about this company when Bop was small .... cause I would have spent a small fortune on their crayons instead I spent a small fortune on crayola crayons that got snapped in half, and the amounts of paper I use to pick up was a joke.... these would of been perfect for her cause I'm not seeing how she could of broke these  ....

This is what Kitty Baby Love has to say about themselves

Kitty Baby Love is a collaboration between my partner, Ben, and I. In 2008 we found ourselves expecting our first child & unemployed though desperately seeking (Hello, recession!). Tired of waiting for callbacks, we decided to do something ourselves and started Kitty Baby Love- which is named after our expected son (Mikah, born May 2009) + kitties (our 'other' children).

With Kitty Baby Love, we strive to create items that support creative growth, family bonds, local economy, and most of all, something that will bring a smile to your face. Thank you for your support and making it possible for us to be a working family.



Along with their crayons they sell candles and a really neat coloring book.... 

You can find there store here Kitty Baby Love
They also have a blog which is worth a visit there are cute tutorials and some wonderful posts which I know you will enjoy. Kitty Baby Love 

My next find isn't really a find its a store I have admired for sometime and I know some of you know here but for those of you that don't and have not yet found her store here we go

Let me introduce Kellie and a Bag Full of Posies

Why I have never ordered one of her bags I'm not sure but its on my to do list after Christmas.... but honestly they would make wonderful prezzies...and even better the ideal bag to take with you while Christmas shopping or any shopping come to think of it.


Here is a bit about Kellie

I'm your typical s@hm. that loves a little whimsy in the everyday. whether it's in design, clothing or my bags. my day job is my kids & home. my night job is either blogging or creating.




You can find Kellie's store here Bag Full of Posies
And her blog which is a must must must is here This Blessed Nest.
you can also find her on face book and twitter.

Last but not lest is Been Around the Block ..... this store has some gorgeous soaps for sale at awesome prices..but what caught my eye was this

 yes its a lump of coal soap.... I should get these for my kids I keep telling them all they are getting for Christmas is coal


Go look around Been Around the Block it is a pretty awesome store, and she is doing a giver away if you LIKE her on Face Book.

And don't forget the give away on Tatter Beans.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Saturday : Including a 911 Call and a Giveaway


To say its been an interesting day would be a total understatement.

take a look at these photo's and see if you can guess what happened to us this morning



This is my backyard.

Oh look their on my roof

I wonder what their doing up there.... 
well this is what they where doing

Putting out the chimney fire.

What a morning and all this before 10am .....

I wont go into details about how or why let me just tell you it was a tad bit scary, and very cold outside ... 

we removed the children the dog and the rabbit and placed them all in the car with it running to keep them all warm.

Bop was still in her Pj's as was myself.

So that was my morning, along with the cleaning up from it all and tiring to remove the smell from the house without opening doors or windows... Impossible job let me tell you.

So I think I said something about a giver away...oh yes I did, didn't I .....

Well there is something many of you don't know about me.... I am a photo/digital processing freak.
 So I had to do something with it all..... 

Out of my passion and my need to be creative I opened an Etsy Store, and to run along slide it I have a brand now spanking blog..... so I am inviting you all to come visit and read about my new project and join in the giveaway.....

So ladies and gentlemen I introduce to you Tatter Bean Photography




Friday, December 3, 2010

This week Im Grateful for : Survival

 Image by Me


Its been one hell of a week let me tell you this much... so I'm grateful I survived it so to speak.
It started of with my dog you know the one that loved Vodka and Coke ... ye him.. he became well lets say he became not is his self....

Tuesday morning we were woken up at 5am by him hacking ..... honestly I thought he was going to die, and there felt like nothing I could do to help him, I hate feeling that helpless.
So by 7.30 am I was ringing the vets but before I could ring the vets Bop decided to play me up cause the dog being ill wasn't about her....this continued all through the day with phone calls from school, peep talks from me over the phone and her just being a dammm right nuisance in every department going.

So we get to the vets long story short he has an abscess in his jaw line throat area from probably eating grass which he does fairly often... he secretly wishes he was a cow.... he did this last year and it cost us over $600 for a operation to remove the abscess ... fingers crossed we have caught it in time this year.

While on the way back from the vets which let me point out is not even five minutes up the road he throws up in my car.... and it looked like egg yoke ... maybe the abscess busting ...I wonder... but it wasn't pleasant to clean up.
Bop has continued to play me up cause the dog being sick isn't about her.... bless her RADdy ways ...
So being a thoughtful mom I decided to defuse the situation and got the Christmas tree out yesterday for them to help decorate that night once daddy got home.... more to come on that in a minuter

But first the visitor ... I'm so grateful that my husband dealt with the visitor in a timely fashion and in a humane way... we caught the mouse and he was set free in the woods behind us ... read more about this here if you don't know the story

Back to the tree.... ye not such a good idea... cause the dog is still sick and its not about her.... no need to say any more the tree is up but I have a few bold patches where hair once grew.

Oh and to top it all she dumped her homework on the school bus today...saying she didn't have any.
Well mom knows she did cause the teacher had rang mom tell her that more than normal was coming home, as she had refused to work most of the day and spent it under the table....

Well I'm off to find my table and I may just stay there most of the weekend.



So this week I'm grateful for Survival Technique.

This is a Grateful post linked up with Maxabella Loves... pop over and link up with what your grateful for this week...

Thursday, December 2, 2010

There's a Rat in my Kitchen

Well not really a rat more like a field mouse...and its in my kitchen...for weeks Ive been saying to my husband there is a mouse in this house... he normally replies naw there isn't ....

Well there is I have the evidence I need today to prove it ..... and the flipping thing isn't scared of me nor the kids...who by the way as I'm writing this are on mouse duty .... until the man gets home and can catch it...


I had been painting to day and had thrown my tea bags on to the plate that had the paint on it plus a can lid from the gravy I had just used while cooking dinner...

I turn and there the thing is .... just licking the gravy of the lid.... I clap my hands and it shoots behind the counter.... and then low and behold its back ... this went on five times.... until I said to the kids stand guard..while I ring you dad.....

I'm not scared of mice neither are the kids...... we live in the middle of nowhere why would we be scared...but I really do object to it being in my kitchen....


Can you see it ... just munching away ....


and here are the kids on Mouse Duty .....

excuse the state of my kitchen ..... 

we had to move everything around to try to catch the thing... so far no such luck... ill let you know when we do

So this is me Flogging my blog...... but really wanting to flog a mouse if I could catch it 


rrsahm

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Sharing Sunday : A Faviortie and a Wonderful find.

Happy Sunday to you all.

I cant believe its Sunday already where did our long weekend go? but let me say I'm grateful we didn't get snow, unlike my homeland that did. It makes a change its normally me screaming about snow instead this weekend its my UK friends post all over Face Book that they have snow.

Sharing Sunday, I love doing this post cause it means I have the perfect excuse for finding Stores and Artists to share instead of feeling guilty cause I'm spending to much time scrolling through stuff.

So My first fine ..... (yes that's right I have two for you today, I just couldn't pick between them both)

A Life Through The Lens, my dear friend Kristi, a true inspiration to me in more ways than one.
Her work draws me in and I hope it will you to as she has a fabulous sale on for the next two weeks buy one get one free.

This is what Kristi says about herself and her work

I capture life's little moments through photography. Photography helps me slow down and look for details that I otherwise might miss. I feel most alive when I am creating & sharing things of beauty. I believe Aaron Siskind best describes how I feel about photography perfectly, “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”

I'm a self-taught photographer; constantly growing and learning. I find inspiration from my children, nature, the simple things, soft colors, natural light, quotes and life.
 

I want to share with you the print that sits above our bookcase, it use to sit in Bops room but it looks better above our bookcase so I stole it from her.


If you look closely you can read the names of all the books and I just love that

 
This print is in the shop at the moment and I'm ordering one. I love the texture of it and the color theme will look wonderful in my kitchen

Along with 


So pop on over to A Life Through The Lens

and then go show her some love at her blog she does some wonderful tutorials



The next Artist is
Teconlene - Le Petit Monde-
An Illustrate with so much talent I was pulled in and didn't come out I scrolled through her entire shop with lots of ohhhhh and arrrrrrs going on ....

The name of the Artist is Sara and she lives in Madrid ... a wonderful part of the world, many a drink drank in Madrid in my miss spend youth, but that's another story.

Here is what Sara has to say about herself and her work.

This is the corner where the Little World take its place.

Hello! My name is Sara Olmos, I work doing what I love: playing with images and ideas in order to gear them and transform them in small visual puzzles. I am a graphic designer and that is the way I face my work: searching for each project the solution that fits the best. A few years ago I started to look through a camera lens and I discovered that it allowed me, in an immediately way, to communicate my particular vision of the world, where the objects and the small things are filled with live and look at me in such way that it is impossible to deny them a photo.
Recently I have also begun exploring my illustrative side, where I let the fantasy govern and search new forms of expression.
Nowadays I am developing a series of illustrations called "le petit monde" (little world) inhabited by characters who interact with objects with a different scale finding in its relation new meanings.

So now let me blow you away

I'm leaving hints around the house as to what I would like for Christmas, not sure its going to work but if I was to post my husbands email address do you think you could all lead him this way please ..... 

and this way .....

This draws me in to a place that I know I could get lost in 


Sara also makes brooches which are totally adorable and she also has some Christmas cards

here are a few of them that are in her shop at the moment

How wonderful would these be to wish a friend a happy Holiday totally adorable.

Her shop address is Teconlene

and her blog address is Caleidoscopio 

Her blog maybe all in Spanish but trust me the photo's she posts are to die for and it will give you an insight into her wonderful colorful world.....

I hope you have enjoyed this Sunday Sharing and if you have something that has inspired you this week please leave me a comment and a link I love to see what inspires others.

Have a wonderful week people.

Friday, November 26, 2010

This week Im Grateful for : A Roof over my head.




So The day after Thanks Giving, the day after we proclaim what we are Thankful for.
We had a pretty awesome day I have to say, I was dreading it, we all went to my brother in laws house 22 of us.
Yes I did type 22 .... 22 people for dinner, 22 people to cook for, 22 people to talk to.

My problem with 22 people was, I wasn't sure how the children would cope, its been known in the past that in a situation of a large crowd they sabotage .... even if its family and friends. but you will be pleased to know they behaved, they did awesome ....

So there is number one I'm grateful.... Grateful my children behaved like fairly normal children, and there manners were whoa blow mommy away and give her a drink ........

Number two comes in the form of my brother in law and sister in law...... there is no way I would have cooked for that amount of people...but they did it and it was yummy ..... perfect hosts .....

And number three, you hear stories when your all together, and as much as you many not know the whole story or why something has happened, it makes you think about your own like, we found out yesterday someone had lost their house and had to move from a 3 bedroom house to a two bed apartment, why?
I don't have full details, but I am grateful today for what we do have, it might not be much but we keep her heads above the water line and live a comfortable life.... I am truly grateful for that.

So today I am Grateful for my children... they did awesome .... good food and the people who are prepared to cook it and the roof over my head.... on and my wood stove... we work up this morning to freezing rain.... and its very cold.

What are you grateful for this weekend ... Come join in the fun and hop over to Maxabella Loves and link up with her weekly.






Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thankful ......


Happy Thanks Giving to all my friends in blog land ......  you are all a blessing and are truely appricated.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Mystery behind each of us!



What draws you to a blog?

Is it the name that pulls you in?

The subjects that a person write about?

Is it that they have something in common with you and you feel a connection ?

Or is it that plain old mystery of who is this person what are they about and where are they coming from?

Each of us has a story to tell, we all come from a place of mystery when we start to write.

In this day and age I think people are draw to a good story, there is so much sadness in the world, that each and everyone of us wants something that feels good and brings a smile.

I am all for a good story, I believe that each and anyone of us is capable of writing one and delivering it to the public, big, small, wrote here, wrote there.

The thing I look at is the mystery, lets us all consider the power of our own mystery for one second or long if you wish.

Lets throw some garlic around our necks and go digging in our own back yards for that suspense that surrounds us all.

Did you know that your everyday words and rantings are gripping to someone out there in this place we call the world wide web, its something that has them coming back day after day for something more then they received the day before.

So where does it all begin .... I believe right here....

Because believe it or not ....

Your words are heavy shrouded in suggestions, they conjure up a chapter  from a romantic novel, and ideal world, a place where people want to belong.

But do we use it?

Where do you sit when you write or do you stand?, at what time of the day do you decide what you will write about on that giving day?, what happened to make you chose that subject?

What do you hear as your write, is there a window, what surrounds you see? what interrupts you?.

These are all questions a reader will think when reading something you wrote I believe, its human nature to think outside the blog so to speak. To look beyond the written word, and to create a story to match the smiling faces.

So the thing is this.... if you where to have to much detail about that person would it still bring you back each day?

Do you leave room for that mystery to develop, the things that have us running towards the mystery are not the same as the things that send us screaming the other way.

That song that played over and over again to the point where you knew the words by heart did not draw you back the next day ...No you avoid it, but the song that plays once and lifts your spirits is the song you desperately tried to find the next day.

Its the song that may repeat in our heads but we don't remember all the words, we need the words, we want them and we will find them.

I often think about the "Who Done" it novel of life... who started you on this crazy trip, and why did you follow through with it, was it something you did openly to begin with or where you a top secret agent working in the dead of night to achieve that something that would draw people towards you.

Its also that sense of belonging, that keeps us here. Or brings us back.

That part of something bigger and better, that is nurtured and nourished.
The whisper on the winds.
The silent voice.
The fostering of an idea.
The place of belonging.
And the friends that we make along the way.

Its the mystery of the creative face behind the words
The closed door we all want to open.

rrsahm

Monday, November 22, 2010

Has Anyone Seen My Son?




So there is a boy who lives in the same house as me, he's helpful and kind, just like any other kids I know.

He looks after his sister and helps me with the animals we have. He will wash up with his dad at night, and his bed is always made.

He picks up his toys when asked and does his homework with out any fuss.

He is full of cuddles, and has a joy about him that is pleasant to be around.

So has anyone lost a child lately cause this isn't the same boy who used to live here a month ago.

I'm not complaining .... I'm rejoicing ...
We seemed to have turned a corner with Bip and I'm just praying it lasts.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sharing Sunday : this is my hopeful world.

As some of you know I stopped blogging for a while, lets just say my brain went on vacation.

The one thing I didnt stop doing was searching out Artists that inspire me. I have this creative bone and it bugs me daily, to the point where if I allowed this bone to take control of me nothing else would get done so a lot of the time I try to ignored, which I know isnt always a good thing but the ironing needs to be done cause I cant have kids walking around in creased up clothes.

So to help compensate for this bone I have decided that Sundays is my day for sharing the one thing that has inspired me this week.

If any of you would like to join me in this then by all means feel free .... just leave a comment saying what inspired you this week with a link if there is one, if enough people joined in we could set this up with a complete linky .....who knows

So sharing Sunday this week  .... just the name of this Shop on Etsy had my attention not sure how I ened up here but Im glad I found it. I have a habit of reading profiles call me a stalker I don't care.

So here are some detail about this Artist: and the store on Etsy:

The Store:
my name is jen lemen. this is my experiment in sharing profits from my art with my friends here and around the world. i'm operating this shop as a cooperative with a small circle of friends. what we learn here will help create hopeful world, a digital publishing platform designed to fuel and fund global leaders with brilliant ideas, new economic models and wisdom for the world at large.
(just that on its own would be enough for me to wnat to spread the word about this person and her friends)

This is what Jen has to say about herself 
I'm messy, hopeful, enthusiastic and helplessly in love with the idea that stories can change you and me forever.
(I have to say this I totally agree with, some of your stories change me daily)

Wow she had me hooked ... words can speak volumes to ones soul ecsspecially when one is trying to change a story ... which most of you know I am.

I emailed Jen and asked if I could share her work and she said  "of course! i would be honored."

So her art work ... it blows me away and inspires me all at the same time.....
Come see for yourself.



This one totally inspired my kindness post


This one helped me look at Bip and Bop and believe they can move on from where they are with RAD


Words speak volumes to me here.... I can do this and I will



The light at the end of the tunnel for me


So a big thank you to Jen for letting me share what has inspired me this week.

If Jen's work inspires you then please go show her some love.
Her store on etsy can be found here  thisismyhopefulworld

and her blog address is  jenlemen.com


Now your turn whats inspired you this week?

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Fancy Pants: Not So Fancy

So I said I would join Kymmie over at A day in the Life of Us in her linky Fancy Pants

( I think the title speaks for its self no explanation needed)  .... ye I really should think before I type.... its Saturday here and not a day to get fancy that's for sure ..... its a work day and today we are moving core wood .... which my wonderful husband borough home from work last night .... I'm so in love with our wood stove right now cause its so cold and windy oh did I mention snow flurries yesterday .... that we need all the wood we can get....

The wood stove makes me feel cozy and totally uncivilized cause its so not the norm to me.... open fire yes I grow up with them but wood stove  no...but I do love it, it also comes in hand when you have a power loss and you cant cook ... ye that's right you can cook on them...awesome ...


So back to Fancy Pants ..... or in my case not so Fancy Pants ... so here is Bip and Bop all dressed up in their not so finest .....



I think If I'm going to do Fancy Pants we need to organizes ourselves and take a photo on a Sunday and upload the following Saturday to be honest that's the only day we get dressed up around here.

Friday, November 19, 2010

This week Im Grateful for : 13 Reasons for the Things Im Thankful For

(Art work credited to myself)

So its just under a week until thanks giving.

I have always found this time of year hard for many reasons, one being I'm not an American and as its an American Holiday not something we practice in the UK I use to find it very overwhelming here I am giving thanks and what am I thankful for...leaving my family behind, my job, my life etc etc ..... whoa sounds pretty sad huh... well to be honest that's a bit how I use to feel at times.


My life here was no better, in fact at times worse and without going into detail, I use to think I would be better of going back from where I came from.

I would then look at my husband , him being the main reason I was here and think no I would miss him far to much to make any of it worth while.

I'm very good at just going along with things, if you looked at me you would never know I was totally out of sorts and was not enjoying myself ... I paint a good face.

But this year I have decided Thanks Giving is something I am going to enjoy, if it kills me.
The week leading up to it the kids are always excited its a bit like Christmas but without the presents, I thinks its because they know Christmas is a month away and so they begin to get excited.
So we talk about what we are thankful for and in the past years its been stuff like My Toys, My Doll, My Lego.

Nothing to write home about, and I understand why they have always thought like this, and I don't blame them.... its down to us the adults to teach thankfulness ..... so I have begun doing just that and this years when they are asked I just know they will blow everyone way.

Tonight I will share my list with them and give them reasons why I'm thankful for these things.

So here is my list and the reasons behind them

1: Family:  Without family who are we, we don't belong if we don't have family. and belonging is important because it teaches us who we are, not only as individuals but as part of a unit.

2: Relationships: They connect us to people. . People in a relationship tend to influence each other, share their thoughts and feelings, and engage in activities together. Relationships are important to our growth as human begins.

3: Children:  A prayer answered, a dream come true, lesson taught a lesson learned, they hold the future mine and yours.

4: Home: There are many people that don't have what I have, and as much as I don't have a lot I have more than others, and I'm grateful for that. Its the roof over my head that keeps me dry its the foundations under my feet that keep me grounded, its the place where we join together and call Home.

5: Friends: I miss some of them but I know they are still there and if I need them they are only a phone call an email a text message away. The ones I can see I give thanks for cause they are all new relationships that are growing and blossoming in so many different ways, and then there is the friendships that have developed just from doing what I'm doing now blogging, they are precious friendships in more ways than one cause they are build purely on communication and trust.

6: My Son: I see this child in such a positive light these days, he has grown into such a caring child over the last 3 years.... He isn't without his ups and downs he still does the RADdy stuff he use to do but its now not as often ..... he is a delight to be around with such a gentle caring spirit and he loves his mommy that's for sure.

7: My Daughter: What a character, she has the ability to make you smile even when your angry at her, its the cuteness that enables her to get away with it all ...... she is loving and kind and always wants to take care of younger children, but not in a dominate way ..... she has grown so much over the summer and I now see that she has come along way. 

8: Smiles: They can brighten a day, make a sad moment happy and bring joy .... I once meet a child from Romania who didn't smile, she didn't know how to she had not seen anyone smile at her so she didn't know how or what a smile was, so when I see people smile I often thing about this little girl and wonder did she ever learn. How lucky we are that we can smile and know the importance of a smile.

9: My Health : We take it for granted and its not until something goes wrong do  we realize that we should have looked after ourselves more, and that's when we change it ...and pray its not to late to do so.I have made many changes in how I look after myself...and there is a few more to come.

10: Food : I'm thankful for the food we have on our table..... I spend sometime in Uganda and I have seen hunger ...... Ive seen the pain it brings and the sadness it leaves behind. It can break even the strongest of men and kill the weakest of children. Its something as a nation we need to wipe out every human has the right to a basic meal at lest twice a day. I try to teach my children how lucky and fortunate they are that they get three good meals a day and snacks in between.

11: Freedom : I have freedom to write this, I have freedom to go to church without having to do it in secret, I have freedom of speech and I have freedom because someone out there tonight is fighting for MY freedom.

12: Strength : The strength to over come all that I find hard.

13: Love : The one thing we all crave is love, in comes in many forms but by basic human instinct that's what we were made for to give and receive love. They say it makes the world go round.
I'm thankful that I found love in the form of my husband who works hard so we can have the things we have, and so we can do the things we do.....His love for us as a family shines through everyday and for that I am so very thankful.

And I'm stopping on 13 cause I'm not superstitious.

This post is being linked up to This Week I'm Grateful for at Maxabella Loves 





Thursday, November 18, 2010

Kindness



Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Mark Twain

I have been thinking a lot lately about kindness and why it matters.... why its important to us as human beings, and how good we feel after receiving or producing an act of kindness.

I know as a mother how important it is to teach kindness especially to two children who maybe have never really understood kindness before and the true meaning behind the act of it, because to them just getting what they want and how they want it is whats important.

Different acts of Kindness matter in different communities, but really at the end of a hard long drawn out day each and every act of kindness is the same and it produces the same.

Someone somewhere benefits from that act and you (if your the one doing the producing) feel good about what you did for someone else.

Today we live in a world that is all to ready to grab what it can, to benefit its self, to profit from self righteous attitudes and to grab what it can when it can and not look back to see what a trail of disruption its left in its path.

Is this the way we want our children to grow ..... to live their future out ..... I'm guessing no, cause really on a personal note none of you come across as being like that.

But there are people out there who wouldn't even know what a kind act was if it came and hit them smack down square in the face. Why well maybe because they have never produced and act of kindness in their life's because no one every showed them kindness. 


So how do we change that ?

I don't have all the answers all I know is when I receive or give kindness it makes me feel good not in a self righteous "Look at me" type way but in a way that I know I have either put a smile on someones face or that someone was thinking about me.

Think about this for one moment ...... and think about how kindness makes you feel.

It doesn't matter if you receive it or give it, how does it make you feel.
Now here is the hard part, now think how you are going to spread the kindness.
I'm going to point out some acts of kindness Ive received lately and this may help you a little

I stopped blogging for two months someone was very concerned here in blog land and let it be known once I found out about their concern oh boy how touched did her concern make me feel .... that's kindness right there smacked down pulled together kindness ....
So is there a blogger that you haven't seen a post  form for sometime?.... go see if you can find an email address for them or just leave them a message asking if their alright.

Ask a neighbor if they need a ride somewhere..... maybe they cant get out because they don't have a car ... but you do, and it may not even be out of your way to take them to the post office or the grocery store ...and if it is just know that your doing an act of kindness and that person will be truly grateful.... (by the way Maria I know you will read this so thanks for the lift ride today)


There are many ways and I'm pretty sure you can thing of some yourself to show kindness to someone today

One of my favorite sits here in blog land is Kind over matter.

They focus on the handmade community which I know many of you are involved in or just plain old love,
well they are worth a visit and worth a vote..... yes that's right vote ... they have entered the Pepsi refresh project their aim is to help independent artists while promoting kindness and positivity

There is one act of kindness that wont take you long to do .....





You can find the vote button on the right hand side of their blog.


I would love to hear about your act of kindness, doesn't matter if you gave or received .... its a way to encourage others ...and lets be honest we all need that from time to time .



Flogging my Blog on a Thursday for the first time in months for Flog Yo Blog Friday over at

Come join the fun 
rrsahm


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

And So She's Back..... but its not from outerspace.


Ye that's right I'm back, where have I been.... Well Ive been here but in someways Ive not ....

I wouldn't for one moment say Ive been depressed but then again I wouldn't say Ive been myself....

Lack of motivation might be a good excuses but then again an even better excuses would be the inability to cope.
Cope with anything to be honest ....... Since my parent went back to England I have found life strangely difficult .....

I have been thinking about my past and all my hopes and dreams ... the things I wanted in my life the things I didn't want.....

Ive then looked at my future and where before I was scared and let me tell it has looked very scary at times, I'm not any more.

The whole reason it all looked so scary was mainly because the things I wanted I now have but not in a way I wanted them...does that make sense.

No?

Well let me explain.

At 24 years of age I was diagnosed as pre menopausal ..... and that's when my life took on some strange twists and turns ......

I had always wanted children, I think most people do its human nature to want what society says we as women should have .......

Well some 20 years go that's how it felt, and to a degree it does still feel like that most women are proud of being pregnant and birthing children its an ability that men don't have its something that you women can now a days do by yourself .....

Well not totally by yourself but you know what I mean ....

What I mean is all you really need now a days is a sperm bank and a turkey baster and your all set ... well most of you are ...

Me I'm not all set and never will be and that's fine well now a days it is cause my life took on a different turn I prayed for what I have today.

I prayed for two children and boy and a girl and yes I got just that...what I forgot to add to it all was that I would like a fairly normal parenting experience..... ye I left out some of the finer details and I truly believe because I left them out I didn't get them ...

So what did I get.

Well I got a pretty awesome husband, whom I am totally grateful for and love to bits.
The man is selfless in so many ways and for that I know I am truly bless.

I also go two beautiful children whom again I am most of the time grateful for. I am thankful that their birth mom had the ability to give birth to them.

I'm thankful that they love me in their own way.

The one thing I'm not sure I'm thankful for is RAD, I mean who in their right mind would be ......
I'm not thankful for wet beds smelly diapers rages for pointless reasons ...having to explain to people why they act like they do....... or what they have done, and so on and so on, just to name a few reasons why I'm so not thankful for it all

But I have come to the point where I know I have to move on from the gossip and this need to explain them and myself..... and be grateful that its just RAD and not a life threatening illness like cancer ....... To move on from the feeling overwhelmed with it al and see it all for what it is ...... and to belive that at some point that light at the end of the tuneel with shine.

Im also thankful for people like Maxabella who has been on my case so I see now to where I am.... I am sorry and please forgive me it was not my intention to worry anyone..... one email coming your way ..... precious lady that you are.

So the future what does it hold.... well it holds me puling my stuff back together and moving on .... It holds a furture project that I will be shareing very soon.

It holds me not going off again without warning and making people worry .

It also holds me looking toward the end of that tunnel ...and seeing a brighter light.

So the lesson Ive learnt here is...... never take life for granted, it could be ten times worse than what it seems right now.