Rocking My World Friday - The FREEEEEEDOM edition

The practise of positive thinking - retraining my brain, one smile at a time

Guess when I started writing this post? Guess. Friday! Not the Friday I'm due to post but Friday just gone. Posted in the morning, started writing again in the evening. Oh yeah. (Can we keep it up through the week? Let us see.)

Musical Meanderings

So it's 11pm Friday night, I'm sat at my desk tippy tapping away. A little voice wafts in the door asking if she can sneak in my bed. Sure, go ahead, but I'm working up here. In she gets, get her tucked in, turn back to my desk...

"Mum can you put that lullaby on that you listen to?"

Eh?

"That soothing lullaby that I hear you listening to. Can you put it on?"

You mean the Pans Labyrinth soundtrack? The one I had on last night?

"Yes - it was really lovely, how long is it?"

Um... it's like a whole CD someone has put on Youtube so... over an hour?

"Whoa - Have you ever listened to the whole hour?"

Er... yeah... last night for one. Most nights I suppose.

"Really? Wow, it must have soothed me to sleep I don't remember it that long. Would I like the film?"

Well - It's in Spanish with subtitles, set during a revolution - which is a type of war and has creatures like that in it? It's a faun. Spelt F.A.U.N (Chavvy accent sounds like forn)

(I point to the picture I've printed out and stuck on my wall of the faun embracing the child. I am saving up for a copy of the real print.)

"Oh. Oh no. I wouldn't like that. But the music is lovely."

I'll put it on then. 

Massive smile. And yes, she is soundo now.

The British Tea Party

My neighbour hosted a tea party in aid of Cancer Research on Saturday. We had been invited along and the kids were really excited.  My neighbour had been telling me, the day before, that she was worried about the heat and people sitting out in the full glare all afternoon.

She needn't have worried.

Cue thunder. Cue lightning. Cue torrential rain. Add a dash of high spirits and laughter and you've got yourself a British tea party. We all felt so bad for her, she'd worked so hard. But the atmosphere was one of fun and "wouldn't you just know it?" We had cakes and scones, sandwiches and tea. Bear was made up to have a cup and saucer. He takes after his Mama Bear - loves his tea.

The next day my neighbour popped round to let me know that they had raised over £300. How brilliant is that? Plus - I won a little basket on the raffle, full of goodies to have a cheese and cracker feast. Perfect. Do love cheese and crackers.

Freedom!

For the first time in 20 years I have the house completely to myself for more than an evening. If you disregard a grumpy dog. Roo has gone to Canterbury to stay with Devvie for a few days, Phe has gone to see her Dad and Bear is unexpectedly in Hastings. His Daddy surprised me by whisking him off on Monday so that I can get some project work done and just basically recharge I think. It's been a bit of a bonkers time here and I was losing the plot just a tiny bit. By the time they are all back I will have had two full days and two part days completely. Utterly. On my own. It's weird. It's quiet. It's bloody lovely.

I have gone to bed when I want, I have got up when I want, I have had the bed to myself - apart from aforementioned grumpy dog - I have had my dinners late and there have been no more than one set of dishes at any time. No mountains spontaneously spawning in the sink. I've been wandering out to the workshop as and when I like without someone trailing after me, touching stuff they shouldn't. I've been playing with my new spray paints - getting a wee bit wheeeeeeee  in the process. I'm sat on my pc now having downloaded a trial of Photoshop Elements and can spend as long as I want up here without having to roar down the stairs that I am going to bang heads together if they don't stop squabbling. 

Bliss. Utter, utter bliss.

* Legal disclaimer. Of course I miss the little darlings madly and cannot wait for them to come home and follow me round trailing their mess and carnage as they go. I also really miss their constant whinging, whining and bickering. Of course I do. (Actually - they do give good cuddles.)

I do love them. But this time has been brilliant. I probably haven't got as much done as I should - I have had catnaps during the day and don't feel so tired and cranky even though I still have broken sleep at night. I do feel recharged. 

I was able to spend a whole morning on my business plan and it's now finished! Hurrah! My mentor says she thinks it and my proposal is really good and I should have no problems getting it passed ready for the next stage. Hurrah, hurrah!

So yes, a little bit of solitary confinement has been good for the soul I think. I can remember when I was at school - the first time round - as a class we had to write an essay on what we wanted to be. I wrote two things. Hermit living in a book lined cave with loads of rescued cats or long distance lorry driver but it had to be a sixteen wheeler. (I believe I was obsessed with the films Convoy and Over The Top at the time) Both pretty solitary past times though eh? I also remember my teacher saying "I can always rely on you!" I wasn't sure what she meant at the time but I take it as a compliment when I look back now.

Here Come The Bullet Point Smiles

• I ate a whole pizza to myself while the kids were away! (I haven't lost weight this week and baby I don't care)
• I bought a new man jumper and it wasn't even in the sales or from a charity shop. Oh, what a rebel! It's huge, ginormously baggy and comfy and is crochet (I have a thing for black crochet effect jumpers) and I love it. Want to see a picture of it on a man?

  

  Mens crochet jumper - ASOS - Source

  I wear a vest underneath - let me just put that out there. The sleeves come right down past my hands. Snuggly buggly in this Autumnal Summer weather.
• A surprise present from a very, very naughty friend to keep me organised while at uni. Isn't it beautiful? The black book is a bullet journal, Jack Skellington is actually a beautiful watch and I just love the crow art work too - I'm taking it as a dare to do well! I am. Challenge accepted. She knows me so well.
  
• My new spray paints. I'm going to have a go at grafitti style as one of the pieces for my Summer project. I LOVE THEM! But don't have a flaming clue what I'm doing. No change there then. Going to have a go at stencil cutting when PS Elements and I become friends.
  I have been sourcing some of the books on my uni Summer reading list. Found a couple in the library, owned one already and good old Amazon used & new has come up trumps. So postie has been bringing me lots of happy mail this week. Well, I say happy, I did feel sorry for him in the torrential rain but he always has a smile on his face so... And OK, yes, the list did say you don't actually have to read them all just those you can get your hands on... they jest of course. You need to buy all the books. Especially if you find them for 1p plus postage... Crikey - no wonder I'm skint this week! When they all show up I'll post my haul. 

That'll do me this week. A little of what I've been watching then - I shall leave you with a bit of Jim Carrey. But not as we know him. I'm not a massive fan of his films, there are a couple I like and I must admit that at first I thought this would be a mickey take. But it's not - it's quite lovely.

Jim Carrey: I Needed Color from JC on Vimeo.

My second share is Glen Campbell. So sad to hear the news this week of his passing. He was part of the soundtrack to my childhood. I went onto Youtube to hear a few favourites and came upon this one that I didn't know. It's beautiful and affected me the same way Hurt by Johnny Cash does. So I apologise if it affects you the same way but thought it was to beautiful not to share.


Thank you for stopping by today - how has your week been?

Rocking My World Friday - The Oops I Did It Again Edition

The practise of positive thinking - retraining my brain, one smile at a time.

(TL;DR: Food, food, trains, books, a new camera and oil pastels and the uni Summer Project)

Guess what day it is? Thursday. How much of this post have I written up to now? That's right - none. I've decided it's the kids fault - they need to go back to school already. Blame them. Lets see if I actually can get this written and posted by Friday shall we? Game face ON!

Lady What Lunched... Again!

Crikey this is becoming a bit of a habit! I only went and socialised again. Alright it was with the eldest but I don't see her that often so I reckon it counts. We decided to meet each other roughly half way between the two of us which was Faversham. We both haven't been for years and we decided to have a day hitting the boutiques. (Charity shops.) It was lovely, we walked, we talked, we shopped, we found some bargains. I was particularly chuffed to pick up this ceramic pen pot, originally from Tiger but found at the back of a shelf in the Shelter shop. £2.00! I love the squished up jar shape of it.

We ended up in Wetherspoons, just in time for breakfast. Devvie convinced me to try the Eggs Benedict and we added a bowl of fruit to share between us. It was one of their "under 500cals" meals. We accompanied it with some refillable coffees and ate and chatted and ate and chatted some more. We polished our healthy halo's and then ordered  a squidgy cookie dough cake and ice-cream each! 

... I tell you what. I lost 2lbs this week! Judge me not! It obviously works ;)

So we ate and chatted and ate and chatted some more! The food was absolutely lush, that Eggs Benedict, so good... never tried it before. Would definitely have it again.  And I don't need to tell you how good the cake was. We were stuffed and groaned our way around the rest of the walking we did.

To top it off. As well as babysitting the kiddo's, when I got home Phe presented me with a cuppa and one of the rice crispy cakes they'd made while I was out.

Did I mention I lost 2lbs this week? I did!

Public Transport

I've been using the train a lot more over the past few weeks. I've decided that when it's just me travelling it's probably cheaper in the long run when you factor in parking costs... and stress levels. I used to adore driving, it used to be one of my favourite things in the world. Not any more. Drivers round here seem to have got really aggressive and angry lately, they take unnecessary risks, jump lights, cut you off on roundabouts... is it really worth that extra few seconds? I can remember doing Rocking Friday posts where I was champing at the bit to do the drive up to Scotland. Not just the getting to Scotland but I loved the pure act of driving up there, seeing the scenery change, hearing the accents change at the rest stops. The thought fills me with apprehension now. It makes me sad and a bit angry that other people have taken that away.

However, the positive in this is that I have rediscovered train journeys. OK - there is the waiting around and the delays occasionally - particularly on some lines there has been terrible disruption . It probably does take longer in some cases to get where I want. But on the two journeys this week I think there wouldn't have been much difference. Other than I got to sit there and read my books instead of having my eyes everywhere. In fact I nearly missed my stop on the way to see Devvie, I was so into my book. It was a particularly good bit!

Also, where I'm not sleeping well still, it feels a bit safer to take public transport where I can. I am honestly thinking that when the kids are older I will probably be happy to do away with the car - better for the environment too. I'm going to be driving all the time during the week in a month or so - it's nice to have that break. And no - it's not feasible to train to uni. Not if I have to be leaving at lunch time to be sure of getting back for the kids.  It wouldn't be worth my going. I wish I could.

The books? Of course. I'm glad you asked. I finished the Dreams & Shadows one and now am about half way through Heart Shaped Box. Both so good. Thoroughly recommend. Heart Shaped Box nearly made me miss my stop. If anyone wants to read Dreams & Shadows give me a shout, I'll send it on.

Naughty Purchases

I finally saved enough for my camera this week! So that was my second train journey and my second socialisation. A friend has been kind enough to do me a good deal. It takes lovely photos, he demonstrated it all and ran through all the functions of the many, many buttons... and I promptly forgot it all the minute I walked away. It no longer takes lovely photos. It mocks me even as I talk to it nicely. However, once again Youtube is coming to my rescue. Amazing what you find when you type in your subject and "for dummies" into Google. There is a whole world out there, uploaded just for me. I do like the chchchchch sound it makes. I might have sung Lady Gaga; Paparazzi while trying to make it work... could be why it mocks me. The machines - they know.

Ain't she purty though?

I have been looking back over old work this week - getting ideas. I found an old index card face I did when I was dabbling in oil pastels. And it made my fingers itchy to try them again. My old original pack is nearly dead so I bought some more. These are my very favourite oil pastels. To be fair I've only tried two brands. These and the uber expensive Sennelier. I do like the Sennelier but, dare I say, I prefer these? These were just under £6.00 for 50 pastels on Amazon. No brainer really. Once you warm them up and work with them a bit they are lovely and smooth and creamy - they blend so well. I still felt naughty buying them after the camera but - in a good way.

This was the old image that made me want to have another go - remember her? 

Summer Project

Today the uni emailed me it's welcome pack, first week timetable and... Summer Project.  We have to complete the Summer Project ready to hand in on induction week. Eight pieces - that's EIGHT pieces of artwork ready to be shown in a pop-up gallery. I may have had a mini meltdown. Alright it was a full blown freak out. A real "what the actual Hell do I think I'm doing?" moment.

But I've calmed down now. I've re-read the brief about 20 times. I think I can do this. I think I can. When it's done I'll upload it all on the arty page. So that'll be about September 11th. I've been advised by a couple of uni friends not to upload before because apparently, sadly, some people do just steal other peoples ideas off the internet. Don't really see the point of that but apparently it's rife. I might do snippets of works in progress on instagram though - that can't hurt.

The screen - the reaction

Oh yeah - and as you can see, it has been so windy I have been cool enough to be back in my paint stained man jumpers. Yeah. Classy. Trend setter. Comfy - that's what I am ;)

App-iness

I've been recommended a couple of apps this week. Well, one indirectly - I just ran with it. That one was the Peak brain training app (Android, Apple) which Virginia recommended on her Rocking Friday post last week. I am a big fan of brain training games as I think -  I hope -  it helps with my bad memory. Surely anything that keeps your mind active has got to be good right? I also already use another called Lumosity which I really recommend. (Android, Apple) Anyway - I have been enjoying Peak equally as much as Lumosity, so thanks Virginia.

The second is called Twilight (Android,  Don't think it's on Apple, unusually.) and this is one that Devvie recommended to me when we were chatting over lunch and I mentioned my not sleeping. It's an app that filters the blue light emitted on your phone. Description borrowed from the app store:  

Recent research suggests that exposure to blue light before sleep may distort your natural (circadian) rhythm and cause inability to fall asleep.

The cause is the photoreceptor in your eyes, called Melanopsin. This receptor is sensitive to a narrow band of blue light in the 460-480nm range which may suppress Melatonin production - a hormone responsible for your healthy sleep-wake cycles.

In experimental scientific studies it has been shown an average person reading on a tablet or smart phone for a couple of hours before bed time may find their sleep delayed by about an hour.

The Twilight app makes your device screen adapt to the time of the day. It filters the flux of blue light emitted by your phone or tablet after sunset and protects your eyes with a soft and pleasant red filter. The filter intensity is smoothly adjusted to the sun cycle based on your local sunset and sunrise times.

I only remembered to download it last night and it has been interesting to watch the screen start to change from about 8.30pm. It's not a BAM in your face change, it's gradual over the evening. It is more easy on my eyes tonight for sure. However, I did try and edit some photos to add to this post and it kind of makes judging colours when doing that a bit harder. So if my photos look weird - you know why. But so far - I'm hoping it will help. Something has to!

Here's a screenshot of what a Youtube page looks like on my phone with what I am guessing is the full filter on. (It's now 10.30pm) 

Quickie But Still Appreciated Smiles:

• Friends that seem to genuinely like me for being me. I sometimes can't fathom why - I don't think I bring much to the table. I feel like such a boring person - I'm not fishing I swear I'm not. It's honest truth. But somehow, somewhere along the way - I seem to have gathered the most amazing little group of friends and I'm not quite sure how it happened. True what they say it's definitely quality over quantity. 
• Art therapy. I was not in a very good place during the week. So I pulled this canvas down, squirted some paint on and just moved it around with my hands. Added some texture eh? Lost myself for a bit there too.

• Conversations with far away friends that make you laugh out loud. Properly, belly laugh out loud.
• The internet for enabling such conversations to happen.
• Talking to the train guard on the station about her unintentional new pet. A butterfly that had moved in two days before and it kept flitting playfully in front of her as she tried to print my tickets.
• My quilt and my comfy bed. I am so tired, it looks so inviting - I'm hoping that means some shut-eye tonight!

Well, it's pretty much 1am Friday morning now - we did it! I am going to leave you with Savage Garden and also the Song of the Sea soundtrack this week. Thanks for the comments about these videos - am glad you like them. It's just literally what's on the tabs in front of me so I share what I've been listening to or watching :)

Thank you as always, for stopping by :) How has your week been?