Pretty shoes to make a girl better!

I kind of guessed that I was heading for a chronic pain flare up by the way my emotions have been all  over the place and the fact that I have been unable to sleep and think straight.  Today has hit me full force in my legs and although I managed work, I had to visit the doctor this evening and after a warm bath have been in bed since.  This is the third doctor that now agrees that I have fibromyalgia and I am seriously having to accept that I am going to have to make some changes to how I do things around here.

In the scheme of things my choice of footwear really shouldn't be a major issue, but for a girl who loves heels and has such a vast collection, it sometimes is a big thing.  Whereas I used to live in heels, over the last couple of years I noticed more and more pain in a short time of wearing them.  Even before my physiotherapist and doctor suggested I had developed fibro, I was rarely wearing them any more as it was just too painful.  I have worn flats when running around after Megan and at work for a long time now, but wearing them out is still alien to me, especially when out on a date or dinner with friends.

Recently though, I have started to move away from the 'flat is practical' mentality and more towards the 'flat can be cute and fun' train of thought.  As I have been unable to do anything this evening I have wisely spent my time looking for inspiration on Pinterest - as you do!  I am in love with these!

Source: zzkko.com via Ceecee on Pinterest

Source: zzkko.com via ZZKKO on Pinterest

Source: vivi-clothes.com via Evan on Pinterest

Source: chicnova.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: tands.com via Erin on Pinterest

Source:

I've also realised that it's time for Friday's Letters - duh! I've only been waiting for this day all week.  We'll blame the meds for my forgetfulness!  

Dear Dave, seriously, what would I do without you??  You've put up with a crazy lady all week.  A complete emotional, pain ridden mess!  You are completely amazing and I still don't know what I did to deserve you xxx  Dear Mum, thank you for all your help this week.  It was nice to have some time with you on my day off.  I will try not to cry as much next time!  Dear inspiration, thank you for returning!  I'm a bit overwhelmed with what you have come up with this week, but fingers crossed I have the strength to see it through and to share it with everyone soon!  Dear weekend, I am so ready for you and to rest.  Even though I am gutted that Dave won't be here half of it, I need to stop and do nothing for a couple of days.  I had planned some DIY projects and gardening to keep me busy whilst Dave was away but they will have to wait.  Bring on some lay ins and some sun :)

Have a great weekend lovelies 

A xx 

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long distance loving

Weekend shenanigans

It really seemed like spring this weekend!

Friday was cold but I wrapped Megan and my nephew Owen up warm and took the bus down to Whitchurch to visit my friend and her children. Owen and her son played on the xbox and football in the garden, whilst Megan and her daughter took the more girly option of make up, gossiping and trampolining! I miss living in Whitchurch on days like this where Natalie and I open a bottle of white, throw together a Greek salad and catch up on the goings on around us. We used to spend many a summers day this way!

Once we got home, I dropped Owen back to my sisters and Megan's friend came over for a sleepover. Dinner was an easy few pizzas and salad and whilst the girls did what girls do on a sleepover, Dave and I watched A Few Good Men in bed. I forgot how much of a good film it is!



amusing themselves on the bus

Greek salad at the Spiteri's

it all got a bit silly on the way home!

I wanted to make the most of the sun on Saturday so we headed to the shops after breakfast to pick up some, compost, bulbs and pots for the garden. Whilst Dave watched the football, Megan and I potted up some plants for later in the spring and summer. Megan washed the car whilst I enjoyed a cup of tea peacefully in the sun and once the football was over, Dave and I set to work on the front borders. To be fair we got so much more done than I had hoped. A large, mostly dead lavender bush finally got removed, I pruned some plants and bushes and planted some fuschias and Dutch iris'. I was feeling ok so probably did more than my body could really take but it was good to enjoy the sun and see what we had achieved at the end of the day.

apparently only my sunglasses will do when planting hanging baskets!

tea break in the sun

getting grumpy when the sun moved!

Dinner was delicious bbq'd pork steak, garlic roast potatoes and salad. On the whole we has a really enjoyable day, although Megan was struggling with her ASD so it was quite hard work with a couple of meltdowns and her inability to get to sleep until around 12.30am.

After a lie in and breakfast of cinnamon toast, honey and fruit on Sunday morning (see recipes here) I had to go to work for a few hours. Dave and Megan went shopping in town though and met me from work. We went home to cook a lovely sausage casserole and an evening preparing for school and work the next day before watching the first MotoGP of 2013 and an episode of the wire in bed.

I can't believe another school holiday is over and that the weekend yet again has passed. If I'm honest I'm not looking forward to this week or so, Dave is away a lot and Megan will struggle with the start back at school. I am looking forward to more sunny weekends though and seeing the results of our gardening efforts soon!!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

A xx

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Polka dot fancies, letters & exciting times!

I love this selection of polka dot fancies and what about the cute cat tee which is a steal at £7 - there may well be one of those winging its way to my front door very shortly!  All of these would be versatile entries into my wardrobe whether adding a subtle touch of polka to an outfit or an in your face statement such as the dress!!

My favourite for spring / summer however, would have to be the dress below - so cute and girly from New Look, you can buy it here for £40.

Moving on, it is Friday again and coming to the end of the Easter holidays.  It must be time for some letters!

Dear Easter, you were the best in a long time.  Not only did I have the bank holiday off work, but the weather was kind (ish) and we got to relax and enjoy some quality time together with Dave's family. Towards the end of the drive to his parents house, we turned a bend in the road and were greeted by this unexpected sight at the top of Brent Knoll hill.  It was a moving and humble reminder, on Easter Saturday evening, of what Easter is really about.  That Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected to give us hope amongst darkness.  After doing a bit of research this week, I have found that for the last fifteen years, local people representing all the churches in the area, have carried these crosses to the top of the hill and held a blessing ceremony.  This image will stay with me forever.

Dear friends and family, I have enjoyed catching up this holiday.  It has been fun to make up on lost time and to see the children having fun.  They are growing up so quickly, they must stop that!  Let's not leave it so long between catch ups from now on!

Dear motivation, I feel that you may be returning!  I am eager to return to writing and researching and I hope there are exciting times to come both personally and professionally :)

Dear Paris, I may be visiting soon!! Je suis très excité!!  I have spent too long between visits and am missing you and my wonderful French friends dearly. 

I hope your Easter was as much fun and that you have an exciting weekend ahead!

A xx

World Autism Awareness Day

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day and as some of you will know this is something very close to my heart as my daughter is on the Autistic Spectrum. I have written a post on the battles that we have face as we make our way along the life that has been put in front of us and intended on posting it today to mark awareness day, but somehow today doesn't feel like the right day for me.

April is Autism Awareness Month however, so maybe I will post it further on into the month.

It is important to spread the word and raise awareness and understanding to help make society more inclusive. Autism affects around 1 in 100 people in the United Kingdom alone and around one third of these people and their families are left without adequate support.

I posted this poem last April, but have decided to post it again today as it seemed fitting. It is difficult to explain to people who have little or no experience of Autism, but I was given this to read by a close friend and it explains the emotions and difficulties perfectly.

Welcome to Holland - Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this....

When you are going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum, the Michaelangelo David, the gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland".

"Holland?!" you say, "What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy".

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to some horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy a new guidebook. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around, and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills, Holland has tulips, Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned".

The pain of that will never, ever go away, because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

~~~~~~~~~~

I guess I worry that if I post my experiences of bringing up a child with Autism, people will think that I am complaining or am after sympathy.  I am not.  Everyone has their own cross to bear.  Yes life is challenging, unpredictable and brings a lot of worry, stress and upset, but there is a lot to be said for living 'outside the box' and seeing life through a different lens.

On a completely different topic, I would love it if you could all vote for the lovely Shanna to become the first US ambassador for Wallis - you can vote for her here.  You can vote everyday up until April 9th and I would absolutely love for her to be able to visit us here in the UK! Thank you! 

A xx