Seaside Sparkles

Firstly, I have this thing about the word, xmas, I can’t stand the abbreviation so apologies but for my own sanity, I’ll need to write the word out full in this post! I like Christmas and I am in my element now with all the planning and preparation.   In the next few weeks I’ll be buying all the Christmas magazines and browsing the catalogues. I am a list maker and have been writing notes and ideas throughout the year so that I have a good idea of presents to buy, special events are pencilled in on the calendar, I have a few new recipes to try and I’m planning Tommy the elf’s hiding places! All my planning is done in my Christmas book, of which I have a couple of editions and its level of detail is impressive. I have details of every present bought for the children, presents we have given to friends and family, menus for the period, information of Christmas cards sent, to whom and which design, decoration plans, highlights of the season and things to remember for the next Christmas. I know this may make me sound a bit of a control freak but actually it helps the Christmas season run very smoothly and I am pretty relaxed at Christmas. I am very much aware that Christmas is much more than presents and parties, to me it’s not about material things but surrounding yourself with friends and family.

I like that we have been able to create our own family traditions in what will be our 7^th family Christmas in 2017, here are some of the things we do to make it our special time.

1. Tommy the elf (aka The Elf on the Shelf) I love Tommy, he’s been with our family for 5 years now and each day in December he hides in a new place and leaves the children a little letter. On December 1^st he brings the advent calendars and finishes off with a deluxe hot chocolate set on Christmas eve, it’s also his job to bring the Christmas jumpers for the first Christmas celebration. The children adore Tommy and I do too, Mr S is bemused by it all!
2. The summer holiday Christmas decoration, we always try and buy a Christmas decoration on our summer holidays to remind us of our year. This year we purchased a small glass Christmas tree decoration in St Ives.
3. The town Christmas Market. This is such a fun day, the main street in town is closed off and the beach huts are brought in to be disguised as Alpine huts, lots of local crafts people, charities and groups sell their goods in the market and there is live music, a fairground etc.. It’s a day for seeing friends, having a little festive drink and nibble and just enjoying the Christmassy atmosphere.
4. The Christmas tree festival. This again is such a simple concept but one which our town embraces. Local businesses sponsor a tree and then local groups decorate them, it’s a three day festival where there is a dress up Christmas tableau, local choirs perform, craft activities etc.. The decorations are very artistic and creative and it’s wonderful to go and see 60+ trees beautifully presented.
5. Christmas gingerbread decorations. Every year the children and I spend a morning making lots of gingerbread decorations, icing them and singing along to Christmas songs in the kitchen. Some of the decorations are put on our Christmas tree, others go to family and neighbours.
6. Following Santa on Norad. There is a lovely story about how Santa is tracked by Norad, it’s a military unit in America whose telephone number was mistakenly put in a newspaper advert and lots of children’s calls for Santa came through to the base. Nowadays not only can you track Santa through satellite tracking, you can phone or email Santa on Christmas eve. We emailed him one Christmas eve and got the most lovely response from one of the hundreds of volunteers who man the service, I may have cried a happy tear that night because of the children’s awesome reactions.
7. The Christmas light drive. There are some mightily impressive Christmas decoratively lit houses in our town and on one of the evenings before Christmas we will drive around to see them all. Again the children’s reactions are so special and their excitement contagious.

I love a bit of Christmas sparkle and would love to hear your special traditions too.

 

So after a weekend of Storm Brian it seems apt that today’s prompt is weather.  We’ve been in Brighton this weekend where the weather was quite spectacular, the waves were so high and fierce, fantastic to watch from a distance.  Earlier this week when it was Storm Ophelia, it was the sea and sky which were mesmerising, the colour, clouds, waves etc..

Before I lived at the seaside, I didn’t pay much attention to the weather simply to check for the basics, sunshine or rain. However at the seaside the weather has more of an effect, particularly with the tides and we get some spectacular weather, good and bad, at times.  Our town has been flooded in recent years and damage has been done by storms.  Even today, I saw lots of sand bags by the doors of those businesses on the seafront.   I am more aware of my environment too, I am convinced that the sea and sky are a different shade everyday and I would be careful of some activities in extreme weather.

I agree with the adage that there is no such thing as bad weather just wrong clothes.  I am an outdoor person and cannot stay inside all day, unless I’m really poorly.  My preference is the sunshine but I can happily run or walk on a crisp, cold day and enjoy warming up after.

 

Welcome back to #blogtober17 and day 22, villains and superheroes.  Whilst Little Man is educating me on superheroes, it’s not my strength and so this is a challenge to write. I’ve taken a slightly political theme today with my choices and as I’m generally a positive person the focus will be more on the superheroes than villains.

So firstly my villains. The world is in a pretty sorry state at present, it seems so divisive, angry and confrontational .  My first villain is Nigel Farage and UKIP, my skin crawls at the thought of him and his politics.  My second rather predictably is Donald Trump, much as I love Twitter a president should not be governing through the medium.  Both men seem to divide rather than unite, try to make issues black or white with no room for a compromise and both seem to have made the world a darker, nastier place.

On a much brighter note, there are so many superheroes among us, all our staff in the NHS, our emergency services, teachers, careers, social workers, volunteers and charity workers, scientists, innovators, public servants and I know there are so many more I’ve missed.  We should always remember that no matter how dark the world is, there are always many to stand up and be the light.

I am the parent of a tween and she is currently practicing hard for becoming a teenager.  This has led to lots of conversations recently about attitude, I’ve been trying to explain the difference between true emotions and acting out, how to be assertive but polite, strong and calm.  I know some fear the teenage years but I’m looking forward to them, I’ve always worked with teenagers and I think they’re great! Yes, I know they’ll be tears, arguments and utter frustration but that’s family life!

As part of today’s blog I thought I would write some advice to my children about their teenage years,.

1. Be true to yourself, don’t follow others if you don’t want to do what they are doing.  That sick feeling in your tummy or nagging worry in your head needs to be listened to.

2. This is the time of your life to experiment.  Wear the latest fashions, colour and style your hair as you want (in school holidays), go crazy with make up, it’s part of finding your style, your tribe. Enjoy it!

3. Look after your body. Nourish it with good foods, don’t starve it or abuse it.  You’re going to need your body for a long time and it needs to be strong and healthy.

4. Look after your emotional health too, talk to friends, family, teachers, helplines, don’t be afraid to ask for help, people are always here to support you. You are not alone.

5. Use social media wisely.  We know you’re going to be curious about your birth family but the rules for finding them are there for your safety.  Also be careful what you share on social media, your digital life will stay with you forever and cannot be erased, just ask yourself would I be happy if mum saw this?

6. Live life out of the screen! Be social in real life with real people not via an app.  Not everything in life needs to be photographed, filtered and shared.

7. Be passionate.   You will start to find new interests and discover your values in your teenage years, don’t let others dampen your enthusiasm.  These may be the ideas which shape your life.

8. Work hard at school but have a balanced life. Academic success is not what makes you, its relationships, hobbies, your community. Study but then have time for other activities too.

9. No means no, don’t let others persuade you to do things you don’t want to and respect the right to say no.

10. Embrace life, make the most of opportunities and live life fully.  Live fully and joyfully.

I can keep a secret and because of this I have had many secrets and confidences shared with me, some are exciting and happy news, some worrying, others challenge my values, some are trivial, others life changing but for all, I do respect the secret, even if I’m bursting to share!  If I’m quiet on a night out with friends it’s probably beacause I know something I’m not supposed to and have to think before speaking (always tricky!)

Personally, I try not to have secrets, although I have one which I will share later.  We are very open with the children about their adoption, we’ve never kept it a secret and will answer any questions honestly but age appropriately.

However I do have one secret from my friends and family and it is my online identity.  Mr S knows I write online and that I use Twitter, he knows it’s my little project and makes me happy.  If he asked for the address or twitter handle I would share it as there is nothing written here that I wouldn’t want him to see, I just prefer it to be private. I feel I can write more openly without those closest to me reading my posts and tweets, I’m a very private person and feel more comfortable writing this way.  So that’s my little secret, I’m looking forward to the #blogtober17 posts for today as I’m intrigued  by the little secrets we keep.

To relax : make or become less tense or anxious; rest from work or engage in a recreational activity ( Oxford English Dictionary) 

I have tried lots of relaxing activities, pilates, yoga, mindfulness colouring, meditation etc.. and I am truly rubbish at them, I fidget, let my mind wander, fall asleep, feel uncomfortable and awkward etc..  I have come to the conclusion that I am unable to relax by doing nothing.  

My prescription for relaxation is to get lost in an activity, something that is creative and fun, this could be a run, a sewing project, writing, music etc.. It needs to be something that takes my full attention and interest and leaves me no opportunity to think of other things.  Relaxation can also be as simple as a bath with bubbles, burning some aromatherapy oils or a good book.  

#blogtober17, day 17 is themed on quotes today and I like to collect inspiring quotes, on cards, posters and signs to keep on display or share with friends and family. Some of my favourites are saved on my Pinterest board here

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/SeasideSparkles/quotes/

I find some of the most inspiring quotes are from children’s books and this is a lovely poster from quotery.com

www.quotery.com/lists/20-inspiring-childrens-book-quotes

I also have a quote as my screen saver on my work laptop to remind me of why I do my job, it sums up my professional motivation and helps me focus when I’m drowning in admin. 

 

 

It’s a simple and quick post today for #Blogtober17 on phobias. I’m pretty brave on most things, spiders, creepy crawlies, heights, small places I’m able to deal with them all. However I do have one phobia, I am scared sh**less of rats and mice. To be honest I’m not that keen on guinea pigs and hamsters either but rats and mice completely freak me out. In a very psycho analysis way I think this all stems back to me and my friend sneaking a look at an 18 horror film when we were 11 and the rats eating the characters, so yes its totally self-inflicted but we were curious! I’ve seen the occasional rat and just go cold, sick and have to run away. Of all the phobias I could have, I think I got away quite lightly and will just continue to live with my fear, however there will never be any rodent pets in the Sparkles home.