It’s that time of year, cold, grey and the sparkle of the holidays has faded. We feel jaded and want to hibernate. Usually I’d let myself give in to that feeling but not this year. This year I have dreams, plans and goals. Lots of them! My first one is to complete a month of FatMumSlim photos on Instagram, so far so good. My snaps aren’t great but I’m having fun. You can find me under the moniker shake_your_tush. My next goal is an ongoing one. I want to make at least 2 original items of clothing every month. This is an easy target but should spur me on to creating some fun pieces. Hopefully!! I also want a new tattoo and have asked a good friend to design something for me – watch this space! My other plans for this year revolve around family, friends and music so lots of fun to be had. Now, on to my big dream for the year… Travel. I’ve always loved our world, there is so much to see and learn about. Different cultures, art, people and architecture to learn about. It’s so easy to let where you live become the centre of your universe, to become comfortable where you are and to forget about everything else that is out there. It’s been 9.5 years since I left the familiarity of the UK and quite frankly, I’m bored. I need adventure, culture, art, new friends and experiences. And I need all this now! So, I’m going to take myself off on some adventures. I have a list of places to...
…or something like that. How was your Christmas and New Year? I hope it was happy, fun and relaxed. We all had a wonderful time with lots of love, cuddles and happy moments. I’m still working my way through the mountain of chocolate I was given – and that’s why I started running again today! Most of you know I’m a single mum with four amazing children. We’re a crazy bunch, I’m not your perfect mum. Who is? I shout, get frustrated, cry and want to run away at times. But then I get hugs, smiles, a funny story is told and I pour myself a gin! It’s great and I love it. Doing it on my own? It’s incredibly hard and scary at times but it’s the best job in the world and I’m proud to be called mum. Today my eldest three went to their dad’s for the night as they always do midweek. My youngest is 4, she doesn’t like it when they go and she stays at home. I must admit I find the silence deafening sometimes. This evening though, she was my company. Whilst I was washing up she pottered through as 4 year olds do and said; “I can’t wait to be your age mummy.” Yes, I have a 4 year old who wants to be 41 and do all the things I do. Maybe I make it look exciting…?!? She then looked me up and down with deep concentration, her little face turned to mine and she said; “Mummy, you are really a lot little aren’t you? I...
Yesterday, when we got home from school, my 4 year old daughter said “oh it’s good to be home”. She then sighed as she shrugged off her coat (dumping it on the floor as is the habit of ALL children) and told me that “home feels nice Mummy, it’s our place”. What’s that saying? Oh yes – from the mouths of babes… I have never been in love with our home, to me it was always a place that I had no choice but to move to when my life took an unexpected twist. Hearing her say that she looked forward to coming home, that she felt like we belong here gave me a new perspective. It may not be the nicest looking house on the street, it may not be stunningly decorated, it may not belong to me and it’s definitely always messy BUT, it is our home and we make it ours. Take time to listen to the small ones around you, they can teach us so much. As I feeling all kinds of cosy after her sweet words, some might say I was feeling very hyggeligt, I decided it was time to have my hot spiced apple juice again. I shared the photo on Twitter (I’m @faerynuff and @ShakeYourTush) and the lovely ladies at Living Hygge who run the #hyggehour on Twitter – Monday evenings 8-9pm! – seemed so interested that I thought I’d blog the recipe here. Hot Spiced Apple Juice You need; 1 litre apple juice (any, it doesnt have to be super expensive as we’re adding lots of flavours here) 500ml water 1 orange...
Today started like this. Cold, richly coloured and full of happy promise. Then my ex husband happened and I had a full on Facebook style rant on Twitter. Not the best way to start a Thursday! It only takes one person to upset your day but…it only takes you to make it better again. One of the best bits of advice I was ever given was that you can’t control how other people behave but you can control how you react to their behaviour. So, with a deep and cleansing breath I kicked some autumn leaves and headed off to Costa because it’s CHRISTMAS DRINKS LAUNCH DAY!! Ahh, that’s better. Two hours later and I’m still here, oops! My lovely brother and sister in law joined me for a salted caramel cappuccino (make sure you have the crumb on top, it makes it extra special) and a toasted marshmallow hot chocolate (too sweet for me amazingly but my brother loved it!). I’m avoiding going home so am indulging in an Amaretto latte and people watching whilst I write this. On Tuesday I was challenged to blogging more this month, with the loose theme of Hygge, happiness and contentment. Apparently I’m meant to be posting every day …! Can I manage that? Can you cope with so much of me? How much hygge can one woman share? Stay tuned to find out! Whilst you’re waiting go and visit my challenger at www.1001albums.co.uk and enjoy what he has to say. Happy November everyone, stay hygge. Ali x...
This is my family, they are 15, 12, 8 and 4. Three girls, 1 boy. All totally amazing and incredibly different in character. They are my happiness, craziness, sanity, frustration and fun all wrapped up in a bundle of kind, caring, happy, lively loveliness. Being a single parent is hard. Rewarding yes, but hard. I didn’t choose to do this on my own. Circumstances changed, I changed, life happened. I think I do a pretty good job though (they do see their dad’s, a lot, and have a great relationship with them). Most of the time being on my own doesn’t bother me – we’ve lived as a single parent family for over 3 years now. It’s different now that I’m properly on my own though. There’s no one to ring and moan, no one to give me hug on those rough days when I’m having to be the mean mum, no one to text and share those seemingly insignificant tiny triumphs with. And that’s lonely. I’m slowly filling those gaps though – with work, crafts, home making, friends, and I plan to do more. It’s not all doom and gloom, with these bundles of craziness around me – how could it be? So – this afternoon we took a trip to Beaulieu village. We had a short walk along the river and popped into the new Mettricks for a drink. I’d heard that Mettricks serve the best coffee in Southampton so it was time to try them out. I knew we were on to something good when my youngest asked for a babycino and was told that...
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