Tuesday 22 May 2012

5 Sentence Fiction Foggy


Well, this is short! When I saw the prompt, all I could think about was my Highway Man which fits perfectly. But been there, done that so had to rethink and took a different angle of ‘foggy’ altogether . . . Must be the time of year! xxxx  


What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week I will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.
 
So here is my attempt at Foggy.



Everyone said it was going to be fine.
 Everyone said just relax and don’t worry about it.
Easy for them to say.  
It wasn’t their mind that was now thick with a dense fog that hung heavily; every gap where a spark of thought started to form was soon swamped that I could no longer see any way forward, as beads of sweat appeared on my brow.  
And I had just sat down at the all too familiar table for my life changing exam . . .  

Tuesday 15 May 2012

5 Sentence Fiction Sombrero


After missing a few 5 sentence fictions and blogs, it's good to be back writing again. I enjoyed writing this and it is a short one; which is a first! xxx



What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week I will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This week: SOMBRERO




It had been going so well; with determination and ease, the task was getting smaller and the future brighter. Until that darn sombrero! She never wanted to buy it knowing it would be ridiculously awkward to carry, unless of course she wore it.
Like that was going to happen!
But now her fingers lingered on the frayed straw brim as she remembered that night; the proposal, the ring and the promise of a beautiful future even if she had ended up wearing the sombrero but then when you’re in love, you do the most silly things.  
But he had made his choice; that was clear and the sombrero was thrust into the bin liner without another thought.


Monday 14 May 2012

How Do You Find The Time To . . . .

A Meme about time and not having enough of it!



   
Have you ever wondered how other people organise their day? How they manage to get it all done? Well The Fabulous Moms Guide  tagged me in this meme that asked the question ‘How and when do you find the time to…’ It was originally started by Ms Dolly Daydream of Sex, drugs, rocker and stroller, baby fame and is a sneak peek into the lives of other people and how they manage their days. Thank you for tagging me. I enjoyed reading yours and hope you like mine.
As with all memes (subjects that a group of bloggers write about) there are a few rules:

Rules:


- Please post the rules.
- When answering the questions, please give as much detail as possible!
Leave a comment on Sex, drugs, rocker and stroller, baby so we can keep track of the meme and I can totally steal your routine tips to make my world a happier place.
- Tag 3 or more people and link to them on your blog.
Here goes. . . .
How and when do you find the time to…
….do your laundry?
Doing the washing is a pain with this wet weather as I do not own a tumble dryer nor want to own one. Generally I do the washing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as by Friday the laundry basket is over flowing and bursting at the seams especially as the teenage son wears something once. I try to do a load Thurs night so I have time to hang it out before trundling off to work Friday morning. If the weather is rubbish and I can’t hang my washing out then I try to wash it on days that look like the sun is going to shine. So it’s a bit of a gamble and when it does rain, there are a few tantrums thrown in. On top of that, I have to find time to wash the cooking club aprons and wash all the Teen’s Hollister gear separately as it needs a cold wash! The ironing is piling up as I hate doing it and if I can hang it straight in the wardrobe, then I do. The pile of ironing is mainly Hubby’s white work shirts which are a pain and the sooner he leaves that place the better. However, I have to get up earlier than needed to make sure son is up for paper round so I choose to iron one or 2 shirts. This keeps Hubby happy, the pile not so frightening and a difficult task fairly bearable. 
 . . . . .write a blog post      
There is always time for a blog post! Or so I thought. I only started blogging in Feb and was whizzing them out weekly as well as writing flash fiction pieces. I thought as long as I have something to say which has never been a problem, I will always have something to blog about. And then one day, I lost the motivation, the creativity, the knowhow, the confidence and I guess my mojo. I tweeted I’d lost my mojo and received some lovely responses which did the trick . . . . for about a day. I then had some cakes to make which were very time consuming and a teen’s birthday to celebrate and then I came down with a cold. I had no get up and go . . . it had long gone. But then something wonderful happened. . . .the sun came out this weekend and I was smiling! I was energised and wanted to write. So here we are. I’ve never let the weather bother me as it seems futile to let it drag you down when you can’t control it but obviously it was making me rather blah. Anyway, back to the point. I generally blog/write when Hubby and son are watching American Sci Fi rubbish or when I have an idea and just need to get it down. I’m always with laptop in evening once everything is done so there is no excuse to blog/write away to my hearts content :-))..
 ….look after yourself…i.e. wash your hair, paint your nails, take a bubble bath etc.?
I don’t. This will be the shortest entry of this blog! I am not a girly girl so I am pretty minimalist in this department.  I don’t own a hair dryer. I don’t wear makeup unless going out for the evening. I wash my hair either in the morning when I shower or evening after a sweaty Zumba class. I let it dry naturally. I do my own waxing so to save money but it also saves time now I’ve got the knack. I am now in the habit of one swim a week, one Zumba a week and a visit to the gym 2 to 3 times a week. That is my down time, my me time. I get so many things sorted in my head whilst running nowhere on the treadmill. I haven't had a bath for a gazillion years as much prefer the shower which is used daily. In fact when we renovate our bathroom , we're getting rid of the bath completely. I do enjoy my Heat magazine and Esssentials magazine but they are bought occassionally now. I love to read books and need to do this at night before sleep so to switch off and relax.  
….spend time with your other half?
This one is tricky too and at times I need reminding that Hubby is there as I can get carried away with everything else. But Hubby does work very long hours and spends 4 hours a day commuting as well as shifts so sometimes we are ships that do pass in the night.  Sometimes we don’t see each other for a week as he leaves for work before I get home and vise versa. It’s not ideal and it’s not good. So when he is off, we tend to go for walks over Ashdown forest, the beach or mooch, around Lewes. We always talk to each other on the phone (very rarely text) as talking is so important. I hate being a rat bag because I am too tired but work does get in the way.
….do fun stuff with your LO?
I assume LO is loved ones? Well I have one child who is now 14 so he is pretty much always out with friends or on his Xbox in his room. Occasionally we’ll go out as a family but they are getting rarer as son likes his time doing what he wants and we like adult time; going to the pub for lunch etc. However we always sit to eat dinner together when hubby is off.  Hubby and son have a cinema night which is cute and that leaves me at home with the cat and the laptop and the TV remote. Woo hoo! Occassionally son and I will catch up with a DVD which is cute but don't tell him I said that.
  ….socialise with friends?
‘Words with friends’ on Facebook is a tad addictive and I seem to be on there with my friends quite a bit. During half term we meet round each other houses for lunch, each bringing something for the lunch. Once a month we all attend the pub quiz for a humorous evening. I am lucky that I do work with my friends so see them on  a daily basis. Those I don’t work with are more tricky! I recently met up with a friend a few weeks ago and we both realised we hadn’t seen each other for about 6 years! Shocking! But it seemed only like yesterday which is the mark of true friendship. And we won't leave it that long next time!
 ….prepare an evening meal juggling a baby/toddler bedtime routine?
N/A (no toddler anymore) and I am the Undomesticated Devil so evening meal is not set in stone unless Hubby cooking. If I do cook, it’s pasta which is 20 minutes or a one pot casserole all in the oven and it’s done. I am not a bad cook, I just don’t like doing it most of the time. I am lucky I have a Hubby who enjoys cooking and can cook!
….deep clean your house? ….do the food shopping?
I’ve put these 2 together otherwise it would be embarrassingly short! I’m rubbish at cleaning. I hate it. However, I am a bit evil in that my Hubby is a bit OCD when it comes to cleanliness and I do take advantage of that. I’ll do the hoovering and blitz the kitchen and that’s as deep as it goes  . . . . for me anyway. Hubby does it most of the time.  Anyway, when I’ve hovered and then he comes along and does it like an hour later, then what’s the point? As for the shopping. Hubby does it when he’s off in the week as there are less people around, he has the car and I take too long. Apparently my brain implodes in the cereal aisle let alone trying to manage all the other aisles. Hubby gets it done in half the time if I don’t go and spends a lot less!!
 ….bulk ironing
Oops, have answered that earlier.
Well that’s it. A little peek into my world . . . some of you may want to hire my Hubby; rates negotiable. I am not too bad but there is room for improvement but I do work in a very demanding job and my Hubby does the cleaning so much better than I ever could ;-). It's funny, but my hubby has been requesting I salute him, award him with all that he does so I guess this blog goes someway to doing that so I dedicate this blog to him. xxxx
Now I tag 3 others in this rather tricky but fun meme . . . .

And don't worry about having to complete now; it is a time management meme after all and it's taken me 4 weeks ;-) xxxx,








Sunday 13 May 2012

A swot? A rebel? Or somewhere In-between?


It’s always the same. Sunday is the battle of the homework and the early night in readiness for school on the dreaded Monday morning. And then there’s the ‘I don’t want to go to school’ and ‘school’s boring’. Well thankfully there’s no ‘school is a waste of time’ as that would be extremely sad and we all know it isn’t a waste. But it got me thinking; my schools days were not boring. And I’m sure in time; number 1 son will see that it is not boring too. I’m not going to say it’s easy as we all know that the lives of teenagers are not easy. The whole world knows when they have a spot and when they have no money. And the hardest thing for any teen is getting out of bed and tidying up all their clothes from the floor and placing them in the washing basket. And then they want to know why you haven’t washed that pair of jeans when there are others hanging up in the wardrobe waiting patiently to be worn. Especially when they were bought as a ‘must have now, nothing else will do’ only to be a crumpled mass on the floor.  
And despite my school days being like a million years ago, according to no 1 son, I remember them well and thanks to social networking sites, I have been able to reconnect with some school mates after I lost touch, what with a gazillion moves and lost bits of papers with addresses on.
I wasn’t a swot but neither was I to be found in the head’s office. I wasn’t in the popular set but neither was I a nerd. I was just mediocre, in the middle. If I was a Little Miss, I would be Little Miss Average. I had good friends and a sometimes good attitude towards my work but always paying more attention to gossip and giggling with friends (no change there then). And as my school reports always said ‘could try harder, is easily influenced by friends’ and is a ‘chatterbox’, I feel my school days were actually not that bad. . . .
Here are a few school day memories as to why it was fun . . . .

ü  We never had a uniform as such. As long as we wore, white, blue, brown, grey or black and not jeans, we could wear anything. Woo hoo! And we did! I always had my Chelsea footie scarf on (it was blue) with matching boots.

ü  Our classroom was allowed to have posters of Duran Duran and other 80s pop stars who shall remain nameless because Duran Duran were the best!


ü  I was allowed to do Cross Country with a friend instead of the team sports and we did Cross Country without bunking off. Yes, instead of sneaking off for a fag or taking short cuts, we did it properly because we always wanted to beat each other and neither would let the other win. (For people who know me well, yes, it started young, my competitiveness to win).  As for the team sports; I was rubbish. If I had to join in with rounders then I would choose deep field as I could sit and chat with my friends as the ball hardly came out that far.  And when it did, there was always the sporty one who would save the day.

ü  A boy in the year above was the dead spit of John Taylor from Duran Duran and I loved him! I loved him sooooo much that I took a camera into school to get pics of him. This may well be called stalking or papping and I may have missed my vocation in becoming a paparazzi. The photos are still in my possession, in the loft somewhere amongst the football programmes. He was my first crush and I wish I could be in touch with him now to apologise for making his school life a misery with some mad, obsessed girl running around the school after him, followed by a group of giggling friends, encouraging me on.  Poor sod. 
    

ü  Our history teacher had very bad BO. It was ironic that he was also named after a deodorant, well a similar name, like that of the beach. And said deodorant was placed on his desk before he walked into class. . . He didn’t get the message but we all had a giggle anyway after holding our breath for a reaction, which sadly never came. I don’t think he used it either.


ü  I dressed as a hippy for a fancy dress day of which I can’t remember the reason but everyone made a very good effort, from a pregnant lady to Boy George. Some funny looks came our way as we walked to town for lunch in our get up.
A chimney sweep, Boy george, pregnant lady and Hippy!
Peace, dude. x
    















      Ã¼    My form tutor suggested I work with animals due to my campaigning against   vivisection, hunting and cruelty etc and said becoming a police officer wouldn’t suit me. Thankfully I followed my dream and ignored my teacher and went for the police. After all, it would have upset me seeing an animal in need.

ü  I never once had a detention . . . woo hoo! Girly swot I hear you cry. . . No, I just did my homework at lunchtime with a friend’s help as they had already done there’s.  And I was always too nice to be bad or unkind to anyone. Not that the odd name calling went amiss when friends fall out, only to be back with her the next day.  I was involved in whole class detentions and watching a class caning. That’s as close as I got to being a rebel in school . . . out of school though . . .

ü  On a school trip to London, I protested far too loudly at the selling of fur in the corner shop in SW1 and was asked to leave where I promptly sat down in protest with my fellow animal rights campaigner. Little did I know at that time, I would end up working there years later.  But then fur wasn’t fashionable and they didn’t sell it . . . well not on the shop floor anyway. I soon found out there was fur selling going on behind closed doors. . .    

ü  I had train tracks fitted on both rows of teeth in my last year at school (before 6th form anyway). Not a good look! I looked like Jaws from the James Bond movie Moonraker. But my friends and classmates were awesome!  I had to decline toffees and sweets offered to me by friends. And the train tracks weren’t as dainty as they are now or a fashion item which they appear to be now. They were clunky, chunky, uncomfortable and always caught the inside of my mouth. But I have super straight teeth so it was worth it.

And there you have it; nothing shocking, naughty or outrageous. No awards (my friend had recently told me she won an award for class flirt and dizziest female in her high school years). No prizes for guessing who but go on, have a go. No proms; just a last exam where we all drifted off afterwards to the big wide world of work and responsibility. But good times none the less, despite the braces. 

Love me.  

Saturday 12 May 2012

Hope #Blogging4Madeleine


A short but meaningful word; hope. I have hopes for myself, my family and the planet. I hope my son can be everything he wants to be. I hope he has a bright future and prospects. I hope my Hubby finds the job he wants when he leaves his present one after 20years. I hope my degree isn’t wasted and that one day I can use it for what it’s meant. I hope that by the summer, I’ve lost 2 dress sizes and can pick up that size 12 with ease and confidence. I hope that one day soon, the hunting and poaching of ivory will cease, the hunting of sharks and tigers will stop in the name of medicine. I hope my friend has a fabulous 50th birthday celebration in a few weeks.  Some hopes are self controlled of which only you can achieve because it is down to you but then there are hopes reliant on others of which this campaign is about; generating hope and awareness globally for a little girl’s safe return. It is her birthday today which is why the campaign launched today.     

The above photograph is a new age-progression image of what Madeleine may look like now.

If you see or have seen a young girl that resembles this or know of anyone who was involved in her abduction please contact

§  Your local police station immediately

§  Operation Grange on 0207 321 9251 (UK) +44 207 321 9251 (non-uk)


§  Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111 www.crimestoppers-org.uk

§  Official Madeleine Website www.findmadeleine.com

The lead organisers of this blogging campaign are amummysview and teaandbiscotti, both of these lovely caring ladies are hoping to get this campaign global so please share this post however you can via facebook, twitter, google+, email etc.

There is a link available on www.britmums.com where you would be able to read all of the posts involved in this #Bloggingformadeleine campaign