Dear Blog…

….it has been such a long time since I’ve bothered about you, but the time has come to swing back in to action!  So watch out world!

Just spotted on FB…

..do you find this easy to read?

TH15 M3554G3 53RV35 T0 PR0V3 H0W OUR M1ND5 C4N D0 4M4Z1NG TH1NG5! 1MPR3SS1V3 TH1NG5! 1N TH3 B3G1NN1NG 1T W4S H4RD BUT N0W, 0N TH15 L1N3 Y0UR M1ND 1S R34D1NG 1T 4UT0M4T1C4 LLY W1TH PR4T1C4LLY N0 TH1NK1NG 1NV0LV3D R1GHT? B3 V3RY PR0UD ! Y0U D35ERVE 4 P4T 0N TH3 B4CK!

How clever are our minds!

 

I found this…

….heart shaped stone on my local beach a few weeks ago & brought it home with me.   I was debating about bringing it back but had decided to keep it as a paperweight after much deliberation with friends on Blipfoto & Facebook.

Since it has served rather nicely keeping some of my ever growing piles of paperwork in order.    I’d not been in to Blipfoto for a few days & was pleasantly surprised to see this lovely ditty from Rainbow Hawkgiver as a comment and thought it was so very lovely & just had to share it

It came to you ~
into your awareness ~
let it travel with you for awhile ~
maybe it will even help you to smile ~
and in the end ~
when you are gone ~
the heart rock will ~
begin again ~
with another someone ~

heart stones are terrible magic!

What a lovely gift to be able to come up with such beautiful words, they certainly made me smile!

INSTALLING SUMMER…

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Install delayed….please wait.
Installation failed. Please try again. 404 error: Season not found. Season “Summer” cannot be located. The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.

As seen on FB couldn’t resist sharing! For goodness sake could the weather please make up it’s mind before I seriously consider packing my bags!

All that glitters….

….& all that, I’m working on an exciting & under the wraps work project which at the onset was very exciting, it’s alway amazing to be involved in something you feel passionate about, I’m not about to run out of ideas or concepts anytime soon.  It’s certainly taking me out of my comfort zone but then I’ve never been a girl that’s balked at a challenge so why start now?!  There is no doubt some elements of this project are pushing my buttons as research & interviews have me picking up on the same mixed up messages about a topic that is close to every woman’s heart and sadly their purse too – Beauty!

It’s frightening to speak with pre-teens and teenage girls and get to grips where their mindset is with the concept of beauty, and the some of the boys are not far behind either! Keeping a straight face & asking balanced questions when you have these kids opening up is taking some amount of work.  Speaking with those in their twenties and beyond is just as interesting & challenging!  I really don’t have to go far on any one day to witness the immense pressure people are feeling to ‘have it all‘, how many people define beauty as only about how they look rather than how they feel.

Today in the Daily Mail I was reading about Penny Johnson  described as a high-flying businesswoman, I thought Penny looked stunning in a photo in 2008, however after cosmetic surgery for dark circles under her eyes Sally life has fallen down around her, for me personally £6 million compensation would seem like cold comfort for such a loss & for what?! for the attainment of beauty when it already exists!

I enjoyed seeing this in Psychologies magazine this month and while I believe everything written here, what I really want to see is the plan behind the words! What actions are the magazine & all those that have signed up to this ‘actually’ going to do to make these concepts a reality.

There is no doubt words are very powerful but without strategic plans and dedicated actions it’s hardly worth the paper it is written on & while for some it might start the spark of change those that most need to hear these messages probably don’t even pick up this magazine each month!

After a conference call (ohhhhhh that sounded good & high-powered exec’y didn’t it! Don’t tell them, I was in my PJs scoffing a fry up now will you) this plonked in my inbox from one of my partners in crime on this project and I thought it was lovely & funny…….and really couldn’t resist sharing it with you!

Phenomenal Woman ~ Maya Angelou 

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Beauty is not spending lots of money on designer clothes, expensive hair dos, new ‘you must have or you’ll die’ shoes!  It’s about something inside you that says ‘I’m happy just the way I am’ that inner confidence and ‘intangible’ thing that just works & shows beauty at it’s best

The most beautiful thing about that ‘something’ that ‘intangible’ thing is inside you, it can’t be bought or sold and can only be found by taking the time to find out what’s important to YOU! Yes you & you alone and the most wonderful thing about finding it is, when you do the world will notice, the world will sit up and go WOW what’s going on here!  Define you for who you are & what you are about not what others think or what the media pushes on you!  Be committed to finding that ‘something’ because W N Murray in The Scottish Himalayan Expedition is rather spot on with his observations

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy the chance to draw back.  Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans – that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.

So get committed to defining YOU get off the Castles in the Air treadmill plonk those feet firmly on the ground & start to enjoy all that is good about you & that life has to offer!

Just came across….

….this in a book as I research for a work project & thought it was a rather interesting way to look at the tough times in life!

‘An oyster creates a pearl out of a grain of sand. The grain of sand is an irritant to the oyster. In response to the discomfort, the oyster creates a smooth, protective coating that encases the sand and provides relief. The result is a beautiful pearl’

~ Mind over Mood ~ Dennis Greenberger & Christine A Padesky

Sometimes resisting the pain life throws at us is the worst thing we can do, sometimes we just have to go through, embrace it a bit like the oyster, face it in the eye and do our best to deal with it in the best way we can at the time.   But sometimes hindsight gives us an understanding that moments of storms & stampedes can’t.

I’m with this one

If you’re going through hell, keep going. 

~Winston Churchill

and would just like to add to that….. ‘& as fast as your two legs can carry you!’ if keep hanging round & resisting, wasting time battling life’s lesson what fantastic things are you missing out on!

I’m looking at this photo of my son, and thinking how many times he’s stuck his tongue out when he not happy with how life was going for him & it didn’t take him long to be giggling at the silliness of it all! Do you know what I think I’m going to follow suit!

& right now I’m sticking my tongue out at……(well that would be telling!)

Today I am cooing over…..

…a bag of school work Aidan brought home yesterday, apparently his drawer was overflowing and needed clearing out.  Normally this treat is reserved for the end of school year so it’s rather delightful to be ohhhhhh’ing and awwwwwww’ing so early on!

My major bear bug with his homework, it comes home on single sheets of paper each week and apart from vague comments in his planner I don’t really get a sense of where he’s at and how he is progressing.

When I was at school in Ireland copy books went over and back from school to home most days and parents could take a nosey if they liked.   We do get to have a quick look through copy books at Parent Teacher meetings but I find myself distracted with the whole process so there’s nothing better than sitting down with a cuppa and having a real good look through!

This morning I feel like a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat as I am constantly amazed at what my son has written, how he views the world and what his teachers think of his work.

I loved reading ‘The things that are important to me’

I was expecting a rather different list, the simplicity of what is important to him has really hit home.  It’s made me realise we need to get our skates on with our puppy hunt, his pet rabbit died last summer and it looks like it has left a gap in his life that needs to be filled!

A few weeks ago on Twitter I saw a lovely card a teacher in the USA did for each student in his class, it was highly personalised and positive and was overwhelmed and impressed that he took time to write to each student!

I’ve only got to see this card that Aidan’s teacher did and how touching is that! For my ten year old it was not significant enough to take home.  But fingers crossed sometime in the future when he looks at it again it’ll  bring a smile to his face.   I’ve a big smile on my face reading it and looking through his work!