weekend vibes

I decide my vibe

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Quote Anon

Today I am sat on the sofa and I’m doing less than nothing. The dog is snuggled up on me and it would be disrespectful to move and disrupt her. I’m not watching TV, I’m not reading and I’m sitting in silence. Today ‘not a lot’ is my vibe.

It would be natural of me to compensate now by telling you about my hectic morning or my plans for tomorrow or even how exhausting yesterday was… but that would defeat today’s post.

Everyday we get to decide our vibe and to a large extent who we surround ourselves by. We get to be choose what we wear (give or take a work uniform) and how much energy we put into things.

Last week my son came off the Rugby pitch frustrated by how he had played, when he went on today I reminded him that the past version of him was disappointed and that the present him would decide how future him would feel. He came off at the end of the game (the team won) and said past him would be pleased. He couldn’t control the other players, the weather (it rained), but he could set the vibe for himself.

I treat my wardrobe as a costume box and dopamine dress for how I need or want to feel. Sometimes that includes bright prints and textured fabrics and sometimes it’s a black one piece that allows me to disappear. I set the vibe and use clothes to help me, currently opting for comfy clothes to do very little in.

We don’t realise it but we set the vibe, not just by clothes or attitudes but also with the foods we digest and the people we allow ourselves to be close to, in fact I believe that every choice we make takes or gives to the person we are, thus our worlds could ever be changing, or we continue to pick the same things to wear, eat and do and life is stagnant. The great thing is none of us are one dimensional beings, we can change and our vibes can alter. Later today I may be productive, later I may move from the sofa and create a list to help me start the week focused and tuned in to achieving my best…for now, I’m staying here. The vibe is quiet, still and needed. Without reflection life can run away with us and somehow in a busy world there is something seriously luxurious about doing nothing.

You are accountable for your decisions, choices and actions…or in my case, lack of action…set the vibe and enjoy what it has to offer, if it doesn’t please you then change the vibe.

Keep some room in your head for the unimaginable

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Quote from Mary Oliver

It’s Sunday evening and my brain is full…make the packed lunches for tomorrow, pay the council tax, feed the dog, text that friend about that meal, try to relax…oh no, wait…put the washing away so tomorrow everyone can find the items they need to leave the house clothed, pop the dishwasher on. The more I collate a list in my head, the more I could add, that seems to be home family life goes? I’m not sure I would alter it, although I would add a few more pauses, deep breaths and if someone would like to volunteer to make the packed lunches I wouldn’t fight them.

In the mundane cycle of life, the daily chores need keeping in check, the to do list can at times be overwhelming and every now and then I try and make room for some magic.

This weekend after the routine sports activities, my son and I jumped in the car and headed to a local independent book store, as an author was appearing to read a couple of chapters of her latest book. I’d seen the event of Facebook earlier in the week and hadn’t really planned to attend. After perusing the shelves and adding to the Christmas list, my son found a cushion and for half an hour was entertained by (in his words) ‘a real life author’ in this case, someone who writes about monsters for a living…pretty cool. After the book event we wandered down the high street, browsed some stores, grabbed a snack and headed home. As I drove home, I realised thanks to the autumn breeze and the sun shining, it had been the kind of Saturday I thought Motherhood would be…except mostly it’s not.

Sometimes the best moments in life are the unexpected and the spontaneous . Every Saturday morning watching my son in his martial arts class is predictable, live Author readings are not. Perhaps we need to plan for a little of the unimaginable? Now, whilst the word ‘unimaginable’ might have you thinking about flying to space or deep sea diving…on Friday evening I hadn’t imagined the day ahead would go the way it had, so perhaps leaving a little space for potential joy is a positive step forward.

Being open to saying ‘yes’ helps the unimaginable to happen. You also need to step out of your routine and do something different, this I have to be honest isn’t my strong point. Years of teaching and working in a time tabled environment have meant I like a certain level of control and predictability…but the unimaginable can’t happen if you do what you always do, by definition of always doing it makes it imaginable.

In my mind I’m certainly making space for unimaginable events to happen, in the privacy of my brain I’m constantly twirling and travelling to new places, thinking what the foods would smell like and recognising the glitter behind the unknown…stretching my thoughts to the unimaginable is the only way I can get through the mundane moments in life. So this week make sometime to think big, to dare to dream and to wonder how…who knows where it might take you by next weekend?

I’m too magical for your bullshit

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Quote Anon

Where ever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope you are wearing a smile.

Smiles go with all outfits, occasions and climates…they improve your wellbeing and overall health, it’s true! Smiling boosts your immune system, are contagious to those around you and according to studies women smile more than men, babies are born with the ability to smile and there are 19 different ‘types’ of smile. Who knew?

Today I’m encouraging you to dust off your ‘seeing the silver lining smile’, why? Today I’m looking at a rainy Saturday ahead, the grey clouds can make us feel low and bring productivity to a huge low. I know I have some ‘messy jobs’ ahead of me…bathrooms and 2 toilet cleans, fridge needs a wipe over, my sons homework needs ‘managing’ and we’ve run out of food, so a supermarket trip is required.

However, today I’m magical.

I’ve stayed in bed (where I’m currently writing this post) for two cups of tea and a long scroll through Pinterest *mainly looking at pretty things I don’t need nor will ever purchase. Next, I plan to tackle the bathrooms and toilets, I will then reward myself by painting my nails and pulling on an outfit that makes me feel beautiful (I rarely dress practically, comfy or appropriate to the weather) feeling good and accomplished I’m going to seize the day and get my sons homework done and dusted, this will need heavy bribery of cake and treats later as he is currently absorbed in Saturday morning cartoons.

I’ll come back and wipe the fridge shelves down (whilst listening to some vinyl for upbeat vibes), this task is never as horrendous as I think it will be and I’m already picturing in my head how pretty it looks when it’s clean…then to the supermarket, where I can’t tell you I won’t put items in my trolley that I don’t need, today I will embrace the middle isle and may come away with a hot tub, a frying pan and a face mask…the middle isle is a magical place of endless possibilities.

Today, I will seek out the magic in every task, I’ll look for the joy, I’ll reframe moments of bull shit with sequins, polish and glitter. Perhaps you’re thinking she’s fooling herself, the plan will unravel and the rain clouds will become thunder, alas this is how I live most days…of course I see and feel the shit moments, I can’t avoid the storms…but I get to choose how I feel in every moment and today is a magical, blessed Saturday of house chores, cake and smiles. Sign me up.

The Saturday session #59

~ Fridgesays ~ 6 Comments

Welcome to our very last #thesatsesh of 2018. Myself and my cohost Hayley have decided to take our own mindful, present and positive advice and step away for the Christmas period. I will still blog weekly (my brain needs the therapy) so feel free to drop in but many of our linky regulars are hobby bloggers and we didn’t feel there would be a demand worthy of taking our eyes off our ever growing little people. They really do grow fast and the magic of such a time of year is something I want to soak up while I can (the children not the bloggers).

This leads me on effortlessly to my featured blogger this week; Mummy here and there. Sam is an honest and loyal mummy who puts pen to paper ( brain to keyboard) to give us little insights in to her world as a Mum and much more. This week Sam wrote about self care activities for December, here’s a link to all of her wonderful ideas. I can say enough how much I personally love this time of year but am also hugely aware that many families find this period of time hard financially, emotionally and well…just hard. I’m always astonished at how a small amount of ‘me time’ can have such a huge effect on my mental wellbeing and in turn the people around me. Therefore picking this post was a no brainer.

Hayley as always has also selected her featured blogger and you can click here to see who she has selected (it’s a good one).

So, before you link up I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has joined us over the year. I’ve learnt so much from the linky, read so many talented pieces and truly wish you all a wonderful new year.

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays@mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.

The Saturday session #58

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Thank you for joining us for week #58 of #thesatsesh its been a hell of a week, I’ve had some blog revelations, huge demands at work, the Christmas soul has been sucked out of me and then it rebirth today as we took the opportunity to get the decorations up ; seriously, what can’t be fixed with several packets of fairy lights, they are literally my happy place. The UK can be dull and this week dreary (call that torrential rain), add millions of little lights and the world seems to shimmer once more.

My featured blogger this week is the lovely Sophie from Old House in the Shires. She is a favourite blogger of mine, mainly because she has found her dream home, something we hope to do over the coming months. She also loves gardening and we are both teachers – win. This week Sophie hooked up a post all about transitions, I’ve picked it because whether our children have complex needs, specialist requirements or frankly they are just an average crazy five year old – the transitions that they need support through are crucial building blocks for the next learning stages. I deal with so many teenagers who lack resilience or the tools needed to be independent because they lacked positive transitions in early childhood. If you’re lying child free and this post doesn’t seem your thing, click the link anyway – Sophie’s blog is gloriously cliche and modern.

You can always pop over to Hayley’s blog and see who she has selected as her #thesatsesh featured blogger, or you can take a peek at the rules and join in this weeks linky.

Enjoy.

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays@mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.

The Saturday session #50

~ Fridgesays ~ 2 Comments

Nifty fifty…i’m so excited, we need to celebrate. fifty weeks (give or take a cheeky holiday) of me being consistent in my blogging approach. My Mr describes our relationship as a balloon, in essence I’m the balloon – a spontaneous, hot air, rising high without little thought to consequences, whilst he is my string. Solid; holds me still and stops be floating away. So for me to be consistent for fifty weeks is a huge deal. I’m in total gratitude to my cohost – my string on #thesatsesh the mindful hands full Hayley (you can check out her featured blogger here too) I’d also like to thank all of our regular bloggers who join us week after week, our newbie #thesatsesh peeps and of course you for reading.

For week fifty I felt like not only did I need a ‘fridgesays’ vibe post as my featured blogger, I also needed a blogger I admire. Mrs rose tinted life is so my kind of lady, I know one day we will sit down and have a glass (or several together), her post on cough cures made me chuckle and also resonated with me. As a family we try to reduce chemicals where we can, reuse, recycle and make a little less global destruction on this planet, we also don’t really take medication. I say ‘really’ as I have delivered my children via C-section, but we avoid prescription medication where we can. We use most of the cough cures that her elderly neighbour mentioned and I strongly believe that most cures are found in nature. Well done to the lovely Berni, she is a wonderful human and joyful artist, blogger, BnB host…and so much more.

Jump in to week fifty and read the rules below if you can’t remember the small details. Once again, thank you for joining us and happy week 50!

RULES

  • Link up You can link up to 2 posts, old or new
  • Grab a badge Please do add #thesatsesh badge. You can do this by copying and pasting the badge code into the text/HTML area of your post within your publishing platform and its located in my side bar for your ease.
  • Tweet Share your posts on Twitter using the linky hashtag #thesatsesh and tag us in for retweets @fridgesays@mummy_mindful. Follow us if you don’t already please.
  • Comment sit back, relax (its the weekend after all). Please use #thesatsesh and in usual linky etiquette comment on one of each of the hosts posts, mine and Hayleys, the post before and after yours. If you comment on more, that would be wonderful but FOUR is more than enough
  • Following the rules means you may qualify for our featured blogger announced weekly, plus this linky is run by school teachers so detention for anyone that doesn’t. 

OPTIONAL EXTRA: Come and play in our IG community by using #thesatsesh for photos of your weekend or perhaps connected to a post you’ve linked. Follow us on Instagram @fridgesays and @mission_mindfulness_blog and we will keep up to date and follow you back.