Money, Money, Money

Easy Living, positive thinking, ,

I suppose this naturally follows on from last nights blog, but I have to wonder how, when I am happily de-cluttering and shedding a lot of the “brilliant buys” of my yester-years, I am still able to spend even more money on adjusting to the more minimal, no-fuss, modern look??

Now, for those of you that know me, you probably don’t wonder about that at all. You already know how easily I spend my own money, and have on occasion spent quite a bit of yours as well.(all in a good cause though)

But seriously, it is amazing just how expensive it is to have a house that looks as if it is almost empty! Your old country pine furniture just won’t do apparently ( according to all the best magazines) and you have to change to the super-sleek, high-gloss, no-visible-way-to-open-the-bloody-doors/drawers type of furniture. And the funny thing is, the more plastic-looking, basic, block type it is the higher the price. I think it’s another case of the Emporer’s new clothes and we are all afraid to call it for the racket it is.

Well, I am going to feel that fear!

Forget the “New Look” for my house; the “New Colours”, “New Fabrics”, “New” this, that and loads of the other. It’s my home, not a fashion accessory. Along with all the useless, unloved clutter, I am going to ditch a lot of the hype about how my home should look, and instead enjoy the feeling of warmth, safety and sanctuary.

And now, as more and more clutter disappears I can fall in love again with my country pine and wait for it to be the “New Look” again. I’ll be way ahead of you. Cutting edge; that’s me!

Lighten The Load

Clutter, Life Stressors, positive thinking, , , ,

Friends of mine are getting ready to sell their house and I have watched, week after week, as they get rid of “stuff” in preparation for the move. Mmm, I thought. So, I came home and looked around, looked at what I would have to pack up if I was to move house.

I have only moved once since getting married and having three children, and when I think about the amount of rubbish I carefully wrapped and packed and then paid (dearly) for a removal company to haul for me, well, it takes my breath away. To avoid making a decision about an item I just brought it with me and, only recently, we found three still unopened boxes of goods in our garage that have been there for eleven years. Boy, they were really important weren’t they!

But it’s not all about changing location. There is a beauty and a clarity to ridding your home, your environment, of items that serve no purpose and drain you of energy by clogging up your cupboards, your wardrobes and, most importantly, your mind. So throw it out.

I have bought all the “storage solutions” on the market, from vacuum bags to pretty wicker baskets and I may as well have thrown my money down the drain. As soon as I store the damned things I instantly forget about them, so, if I do need whatever it is again I end up buying another one!  So throw it out.

Another friend, who is a counsellor and a very good one, reckons we spend the first half of our lives accumulating “stuff”, believing this equates to success and happiness. Then, if we are lucky, we gain a certain wisdom/insight, and spend the second half of our lives trying to get rid of that very same “stuff”, having realised that goods, property, possessions, call it what you will, are usually impediments to true happiness and contentment.  So throw it out.

So I have started slowly. It’s a hoot. I have found things I didn’t even know I had, never mind lost. I threw them out.(donated them). I opened bags of clothes and bags given to me “just in case I could use them”, so I threw them out ( donated them).

Forget your Victoran clutter. You can have my share of it. This is so liberating. Clear spaces equal a clear mind. I even have a place for my car keys now!!

Here’s To Fresh Starts

Diets, Life Stressors, positive thinking, , , , , ,

Sunday is the start of a new week. We miss that a bit nowadays with shops open as it seems like just another day. But it’s not; it’s a chance to let go of last weeks frustrations and start a new one with a new and different outlook.

Someone very close to me has just broken up with her boyfriend and he is moving out to-day. It had been bad for a long time but that doesn’t take all the pain out of the finality of this move. But I asked her to think of it as a new and fresh start to not only her week, but her life. All credit to her, she has tried hard and is happy to say she has some hope and a little excitement about the opportunities now open to her.

I have neglected my health and well-being for a long time now and looks like that neglect has lead to an ulcer, causing a lot of pain, nausea and fatigue. I had been feeling really low about it all. But I’m looking out the window now at a crisp and bright Sunday morning and this is a fresh start for me too. It’s time to practice what I preach and value my health and body more than I have to date.

It’s all about perspective, about what you can do, not what you can’t have.

The Absolute Right To Free Speech

Our World, , ,

So a meeting to discuss “Art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression”, is the latest casualty in the terrorist activities of Islamic extremists. One person is dead and three injured, though looking at the photographs it is amazing there were not more people killed or maimed.

All of us need to come out now, and demand the right for all,  to “Free Speech”, without fear of murder and mayhem. We may not always like what we hear, but without it we have dictatorships and lives ruled by those with the biggest sticks.

Women will lose everything our predecessors fought so hard for and whatever version of equality we have to-day, all of us will lose the right to take to the streets in protest; should it be about fracking, a local hospital closure or whatever flag is flying in your town/city.

We all need to look at how we can contribute to the continuation of this most basic right, whilst ensuring others are allowed to do the same.

Reluctantly, 50 Shades..

50 Shades, Christmas Gifts, Porn, , ,

I say reluctant because I am sick to death of all the nonesense around the books and the bloody film, but I have just read something that made me actually cry laughing. Wait for it…
Madonna, no less, has no intention of watching the movie as she thought the book,
“so unrealistic” and “not very sexy”. Pllllleeaaassssse..

You have got to know why she thinks its unrealistic too!

It’s not the fact that this guy is a billionaire and gorgeous and hurts the heroine just enough to turn her on( and not enough to injure her) and that really, he is in love with her and it all ends happily ever after. Not at all…. excuse me but I’m laughing again.. ahem, gather yourself girl.

No, it’s because she reckons, “This is so unrealistic because no guy goes down on a girl that much.”

Yeah Madonna, THAT’S the unrealsitic bit!

Dear God, who is this bloody woman.

Way To Go Cindy..

Diets, women, , , ,

So, first of all let me congratulate Cindy on having the nerve to let this image go to press. That has taken a lot of courage.
But I am going to be really awful here; why, when we now see she actually IS a beautiful, but normal, woman do we need to see her in this kind of pose?
It’s odd but I am at once grateful to her and yet still irritated by it.
Jamie Leigh Curtis did a similar, but I feel more honest, version of this some years ago, posing in very ordinary underwear and without the rest of the pizzazz of Cindy’s picture. She also did the shoot without make-up. Her beauty was not compromised in any way.
This image has done a lot to dispel the myth that some “special” people do not suffer the same issues as the rest of us mere mortals; but this is a highly intelligent and successful businesswoman, so why is there is still so much emphasis being placed on her sexuality?

We Say No To Revenge Porn…….,

harrassment, Life Stressors, Porn, women, , , , , , ,

though I just wish a lot more people would say “No” when  this idea is put to them or they come up with it all of their own accord!

I fully understand that some people feel they have no choice for whatever reason and were forced into it, but that still leaves an awful lot of people who seem to think getting naked, taking photographs and then giving access to these pics to their latest nearest and dearest is a good idea. Eh, get the hell over that one please!!

Even if you could trust this person with your life, just how many “celebrities” do you have to witness having their bits and bobs flashed all over the various media platforms to get the message that this is NEVER a safe thing to do. EVER!

It reminds me of the stories of some of the tribes in far-flung continents who were afraid of having their pictures taken, fearing the camera would take their soul and with that their power. Guess what, they were right.

Let anyone have pictures like this of you and they have taken your soul and with it your power. It’s not just a digital image anymore; that’s your future you are giving them.

Think about it.

The Little Darlings……….

Children, Life Stressors, Our World, women, work-life balance, , ,

Go forth and multiply folks. Well, that’s what Pope Francis is saying.

He says that children are a blessing and, having been fortunate enough to have three of them, at times ( most times) they are. I love them dearly ( very dearly, they cost a bloody fortune), but, even though it no longer applies to me directly, I take issue with anyone telling others not only to have children, but that NOT having them is selfish! And all this from a man who doesn’t have any!

I wonder where the Pope will be when the rearing of these little “blessings” is going on.

Apparently the Italian birth rate is falling so perhaps he feels this speech will move couples all over the country to spend the weekend in bed. Responsible contraception should be applauded and the rights of those to not have/want any children is exactly that, their right!

I have known women that have had children, only to admit later they never actually wanted any, but felt they had no choice in the matter. It didn’t always end well.

Now I could never imagine my life without them, and mine have enriched the lives of not only my husband and me, but also those of their grandparents whom they adored. However that was me and that was very much our choice.

But, even though they were all very much wanted and loved to the nth degree, bringing up children is the most difficult thing I am ever likely to do.

I urge people to consider carefully before leaving that pill in its packet or that condom on the bedside locker.

Love Letters Straight From The..?

Kind Thoughts, positive thinking, Special People,

I was listening to the radio and, just in case some of you have been on the moon for the last week or so, guess what; they were talking about love letters, Valentine’s Day etc blah, blah.

The guy then started discussing how Johnny Cash’s love letter to his wife has just been voted the most romantic love letter of all time. Now I dislike these kind of “Top 10” things a lot. It is all so subjective and with this topic, even more so. Having read the letter I think it certainly is beautiful, but also very easy for a lot of people to relate to. However I would question it coming out above Keats for example; but that’s just my opinion.

What DID make me laugh and stare at the radio however was the DJ’s next line. Here goes, almost verbatim,

“Well his( Johnny Cash) letter obviously came from the heart, but if we are sending a person a love letter should we write what is in our hearts?”

I stared for a moment, then thought “Que?”

Was he trying to provoke? Was this more profound than my poor brain cells could cope with?

I listened on. No. He was actually just blowing it out his ass!

Most of us can barely manage a text nowadays. We send e-cards rather than write and post the old card varieties. So, if you sit down with pen and paper to commit your feelings for someone you love to “hard copy”, are you going to expend that energy on some half-hearted, meaningless and trite collection of words? I doubt it.

The words should be a personal reflection of what that someone special means to you and there is only one place that stuff comes from, the heart.