This post is just to say thank you. (And show you my new t-shirt, I adore it but am also aware that I am pulling an odd face in this pic, no idea why?)

 Whatmyfridgesays is only 2 months old, similar to a new baby – it craves my attention, requires me to take endless photos, has interfered with my sleep pattern and…I love it.

I can see it blossoming and I think it’s already enriched my life. I’ve  discovered new friends and with little steps (and still a way to go) overcome a mountain of new skills. That’s pretty special. 

I love reading and I adore people collecting (characters, people’s stories, habits and ‘ways’), blogging lets me do both. Blog lovin is my favourite app and my own blog now pops up in my feed. I’m always surprised to see it and I hope that magic stays forever. (I’m also my only follower – awkward) 

Lots of you in the hustle and bustle of life make time to read it, so this post is for you. It humbles me that you would see it as worth while, that you come back and that even if you didn’t – I’d still write, but I’m so very touched that you do pop by.

Thank you.

The legal stuff: I’m not sure it’s legal to take rocks from the beach? In fact I’m pretty sure it’s an etiquette ‘no no’

This week we made our Nannies and loved ones doorstops. I know you’re  jealous and wished you had one too…why don’t you make your own!

All you need are some rocks and some paint and if you are really organised (unlike me) some varnish would be delightful (PVA glue would also do the job).

 J got to grips with popping his hands in the paint and splaying them with toddler zest over the rocks. The sensory ‘bit’ came from getting his hands in the paint.

Simple.

He really enjoyed playing with the paint and I finished them off with personalised comments such as ‘rock on Nanny’ and ‘you’re my kind of pebble’. It would be lovely if he could of written it, but at 2 years old I have to stay realistic.

The rock / pebble that is on the blue napkin was our disaster. It was too smoothe to absorb the paint and ran like a spray tan in the rain – not ideal.

Like I mentioned, a little varnish would finish these off but we were too busy playing with the squidgy  paint.

Give it try and let me know how you got on.

 Quote by Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady, mother to six children, author of six books and in her spare time helped to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…Mrs Roosevelt makes me not getting around to unload the dishwasher look rather pathetic.

What I like best about her is that she  was orphaned at a very young age (oh and that she was in a margarine commercial) and never used this as a disadvantage. Plus she achieved so much in the 1930s when most women were voiceless…

In this context the quote above becomes more potent.

Plus, it’s true. Nobody can make you feel anything – unless you let them. You are in control of your emotions. I watched a lady flip out in Asda’s a few Saturday’s a go. She was disgruntled by the queue, then something the checkout man had mumbled, it was a hot day and as she yelled she repeated that her dog and husband was in the car (I hope she left the window open for her husband) and she didn’t have time ‘for all of this’ – unemotional and distant from the situation I looked on and if I’m honest found it rather humorous, my guess is she was angry / frustrated before she entered the store…

3 rules to entering a supermarket:

1. Don’t bring the kids if you don’t have to
2. Don’t shop when you’re hungry – it will cost you a fortune
3. Supermarkets are designed to increase your emotions – NEVER enter when you’re having a bad day.

And so the ‘all of this’ that SHE had created was causing her far more stress than anybody else. As she made her way to customer services to complain (and my heart went out to the unbeknown customer service team) I prepared myself to cheer up the sad cashier sat in front of me.

He however had obviously seen the quote above, perhaps even read Eleanor’s autobiography because his attitude was generally positive and untouched by ‘crazy hot woman / husband and dog in the car’ episode. Now I realise we all have bad days and I also realise that in a checkout she may not have been the first crazy lady of the day, but he exemplified this quote. He simply chose not to absorb her negatively. I praised him for how he handled the situation and he seemed genuinely grateful, as I made my way out of the store I decided to be a little more like him, I would have made customer services aware but there was a queue and ‘crazy lady’ was at the back of it…plus it was a hot day and my husband was in the car 😉

P.S Happy Birthday Mum x

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 Quote by Andrew Murphy.
Ohhh that’s a good quote, until you think about it and realise any misery that you are feeling is your doing…then it’s a stupid quote.

So you can’t pop the kids on eBay, ask for a refund on the husband or even chose not to pay the mortgage for a while…(bank managers tend to not like it when you do that).

You look around and everyone has ‘nicer stuff’ than you,are going on more exotic holidays, driving faster cars…so you bumble along in your average priced car, hoping to ‘get away’ at some point this year and then, that’s when the final straw hits you – the cat pukes in your shoes just as you are about to slide your tootsies in …

Stop.

This is definetly time for a tea break. I’ll pop the kettle on while you bin thoses shoes (seriously you will never wear them again), while we sip our tea how can we get some perspective. Easy, the kids are at times possessed, grubby and completely irrational – but they’re yours. A fresh mummy look tells you that irrational becomes ‘outspoken and independant’, as for the flashy car – it can wait, you’d rather your muddy monsters wiped their snotty noses on the upholstery of your current vehicle anyway (we all hope that one day they will swap a sleeve of their t-shirt for a tissue). You can swap your negatives for positives, and ultimately live a better life.

I recently (I’m so behind) watched the film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and obviously its a brilliant movie, but what I really liked was that freedom in your mind is untouchable . Whether you are incarcerated by the state like the characters in the film or just overwhelmed by life and a crap car – you always have 2 blessings.

1. You have the power to change it / alter it

2. Freedom of the mind can be untouchable and wall-less

This week maybe it’s time to knock a few walls down? You’d be surprised how well a positive and focused mind can substitute a sledge hammer. Best of luck!

 Quote by Criss Jami

From my experience this quote seems to be hanging out in the body building community, so what’s a four foot blonde with a love for high heels doing with it?

A lot I hope.

For me personally, I am dipping my toes into one of the fastest growing industries – blogging. I have no knowledge of URL’s and I thought a widget was something you found in Tequila (google informs me its the little worm is called a Gusano!)

I am overwhelmed by blogs that tell me ‘how to blog – the right way’ and today I made a huge decision, inspired Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way”…

Not because I think I know best…we all know I don’t, me more than anyone else, but I wouldnt want this little vertial space to represent anything else but me.

My main reason for beginning this process was to make the world a little better – the internet a bit more positive, its the same with my teaching, I wanted to become a teacher who makes a difference. Some days I feel ive won, other days im just counting down until half term.

I think that life can often be a battle (if you let it), from how to control my mane everyday (today the fishtail plait helped me conquer my frizz) to getting my toddler to put his shoes on…and this is all before you step out in the World and face people that aren’t always pleasant.

So what’s a girl to do? My answer is forget the way ‘they’ think you should be and be the best you that you can be. Competing with yourself and coming out on top, gives results that are always going to make you happy and ultimately a better person. I really do believe that you can have all that you want, it’s just about playing the right game, staying focused and aiming for that goal.

Sure, some days you’ll lose, but the best thing about competing with yourself and is that when you get knocked down….you can try again tomorrow.

Spend some time this week looking in the mirror – what can you improve on? How can you be better? How can you surpass your previous self? I did this a few days ago and am trying to squish in a little more exercise where I can. I’m not going to be the best and I don’t need to be, I just need to be better than I am today. I write this with a clean conscience, knowing I’ve done yoga today. My next move is to get my heels flat on the floor in ‘down dog’ and not look like a drunk jelly bean when doing a head stand…

What are you going to do?