Trick or Treat......treat please....

Treat please, a nice Mulberry handbag will do!

I have got some sweets ready for trick or treaters tonight, part of me wants to hide at the back of the house.  You hear some horrible stories about trick or treating.  My Husband told me on the radio there was a lady who bought sweets, but towards the end of the evening last year had run out.  A group of youngsters came around who were too old to be trick or treating, she apologised and told them she had ran out of sweets.  They returned later on that night and threw eggs at her house.  That is taking it too far. 

That is the reason I want to hide in the loft with my ipad in case there is a group of youngsters who are out to cause trouble and not for fun.  I can understand why the elderly are fretful today.  It does feel intrusive and intimidating when a gang of teenagers knocks on your door with masks on.  I find it intimidating at my age.

I will try to get into the spirit of it with my sweets......pun pun.!

Confusinginly enough the clocks changed last night, it takes me at least a week to adjust.

Wear it Pink day today! Get your pink on!

It is National Wear it pink day to day for Breast Cancer Awareness.  I have arranged a collection at work and will be going in to shake my bucket. 

My next challenge for myself is to run the mad March Hare next year, for Break Through.  It is a 10k run and I have already roped a few freinds in to do it with me. 

I love running and have raised money for Charity in the past.  I have ran the London Marathon, which was an amazing experience, and done a couple of half marathons, never done a 10k.  There is something really humbling about raising money for charity.  Love it.

My Pearly whites

I went to the Dentist this week, I thought I needed a filling. I have not been for years, I was fearing the worst. I have used a lot of teeth whitening kits and was scared the Dentist might tell me my teeth were ruined due to my endeavour to have a smile like Cheryl Cole or any one of The Saturdays (I want to be in The Saturdays!)on a budget. I get my teeth whitening kits from a friend who is a stunning Slovakian lady, she always looks immaculate, a definite inspiration on the looking glam front. She knows how to take care of herself. I can not even read the packaging as it is in Slovakian!  Good stuff though, does the job nicely.

Luckily, all of my fears were unfounded and the Dentist said I have great teeth and I did not need a filling, it was a small gum infection, however, my Daughter had to have a filling on a baby tooth. Ouch, that hurt, felt like a bad Mum!

I have just seen The Saturdays on GMTV, love'em!  They make me smile, sprinkle the joy!

Katie Pratt - Rest in Peace

I have just read some really sad news.  A Mother of Two, Katie Pratt lost her battle with skin Cancer.  From her photographs from her blog she was a beautiful lady.  Having gone through Cancer myself I know part of her journey.  It is really difficult to go through any sort of illness with small Children.

Cancer can be a devastating illness, and anyone who has had it, will understand you have to find your own way through it and formulate your own answers.  That is the difficult part about Cancer, the fact that no-one can tell you why it happens.  It is a journey and you drag all of your loved ones and friends with you whether they like it or not. 

I have now discovered my love of writing that I never had before.  I am loving writing my blog and my novel.  I live in the now and rejoice every single day, as none of us really know what will happen tomorrow or next week.  That does not mean that I fear it, I take every opportunity to enjoy my life and do as I please.

shop-a-holic who moi?

I love to shop, I am terrible for buying new clothes and yes you guessed it, I still don’t have anything to wear and much to the dismay of my Husband my wardrobe is bulging at the seams. He has a couple of suits in the double wardrobe an the rest is all mine, he has to keep his clothes in tubs under the bed. I alternate my Summer and Winter wardrobe in the loft. I buy lots in the Summer, I love shorts, and playsuits even in the Winter I am thinking thick tights with shorts. I am not sure if a Woman my age can get away with it, but I am past caring. I have put myself on a self-imposed credit crunch shopping ban. The only way I can stop myself spending money is by not going anywhere near any shops.

I buy the magazines and every week I look at up and coming trends and in my head I am choosing my next purchases. I am definitely feeling the pinch at the moment, petrol and food has gone up and lets face it none of our salaries over the past 3 years are matching it. I have developed a habit of vicariously shopping through other people, with a limited time for shopping with Children, I have to target my efforts. Young Children and shopping is not a good match. Anyone wearing anything I like, I ask them how much and where they got it. I even ask random strangers in the Street. You just can’t keep a good Woman shopper down!

I am now thinking out each purchase carefully, do I already have a black pair of jeans, if the answer is yes, why do I need another pair? I think all of us intelligent ladies have realised that Primark is the new Prada. I view myself as Mrs Average on the clothes front, I wear something to death for a few months and then I am bored and want something new. I do have classic items in my wardrobe, such as Ralph Lauren and Ted Baker shirts and tops that are great for work. I always buy my labels from outlet stores and bide my time, if I want something, I am like a vulture waiting to pounce, I check how many sizes are there and monitor their sales, if they are not selling well I wait until sale time. I always ask the shop assistants when the next sales start. I love a bargain. If something is not a timeless classic then it has to be cheap.

With my credit crunch head on I am going to use my current jumpers in my wardrobe and accessorize with woolly tights and junk jewellery. I must say thank you to Gok Wan for helping me transform outfits with accessorizes. I always wear a scarf, it totally jazzes up a plain black or grey jumper. I am now trying to grips with belts, not quite there yet, but I keep trying.

Tracey - confessions of a Mother of Two: Anyone for a Jamie Oliver party?

Tracey - confessions of a Mother of Two: Anyone for a Jamie Oliver party?: "Am I the only one who groans when they receive an invitation to a Jamie Oliver party? You have got some great friends, who you socialise wit..."

House work, someone could have told me!

I never realised until I had two Children how much house work you have to do.  I work part-time and do 21 hours per week.  I have to pick up after four people, every day, myself, my Husband, and then my Children.  It is most certainly a one woman show.  If I try to get the Children to pick up after themselves they complain and whinge incessantly, not that it stops me. I have to emotionally blackmail them into doing it and shout a lot.  Then there is a lack lustre attempt at doing the task they are duly charged with.  If I ask my Husband to do something I get a bemused look and, I have to ask at least ten times and then I am a nag!

I have trained myself to be more tidy, every time I change my clothes, I either put them away or in the wash bin.  I have realised you have to complete an entire action, i.e., clean washing upstairs, put it away, do not leave on the bed, as I will only keep passing it and think I must put that away.  It makes two tasks out of one.  Now, I am trying to train my Children to do the same, not an easy task.  It takes hours to tidy up my Daughter’s bedroom, putting all those annoying small pieces of games away and clothes.  It makes using the vacuum cleaner a mammoth task. 

I go around to other people’s houses who have children and their homes look like Museums, not a thing out of place, neat and tidy.  I have absolutely no idea how they achieve such high standards.  When I am at home I am constantly doing something, the washing pile is a constant daily battle.  I love being a Mum, but no one told me how much cleaning up was involved and I find it monotonous, boring and no-one says thank you!