My #shelfie

I am a borderline hoarder.  I am very sentimental and keep anything and everything that has a sentimental memory or emotion attached to it.  I have boxes filled with old letters, cards and stubs from days out and have lots of knick-knacks and ornaments that have a personal sentimental attachment.  In our old house I had lots of shelves where I could display my sentimental ornaments along with lots of candles, vases filled with fresh flowers and my art; but alas since moving I now have very limited space to showcase my sentimental wares.

Until we get around to putting up some shelves (which Lee seems to be dragging his feet about as he has a minimalist style which clashes with my eclectic, hoarder style) I am limited to showcasing my favourite ornaments on my beautiful dresser in our bedroom and the one shelf in our house, the mantle-piece.

On my #shelfie I have some my most treasured and sentimental knick-knacks.  The shelf is adorned with a mismatch of ornaments and knick-knacks, all of which mean remind me of a cherished memory and a dear loved one.

Why I want to win a Samsung Galaxy S5 with Virgin Media.

Today when my phone decided to give up the ghost and completely die on me it felt like fate when I just noticed a fab competition to win a Samsung Galaxy S5 with Virgin Media and I just had to quickly take part in the hope of winning a new phone.

I would love to win this competition and win the fantastic prize so that I have a shiny new phone to replace the well-used and abused phone that has decided enough is enough and has gone into retirement. 

I have had my current phone for nearly two years now and it was my first and so far only smartphone.  A little over three months after I had got the new phone Bug accidentally knocked it on the floor and the screen cracked, thankfully as I did not have any insurance on it (alas because I could not afford the extra cost to pay for the insurance when I got the phone) the phone still worked but for nearly two years I have used my phone with a cracked screen, looking at the screen through a myriad of tiny cracks.  Having an ethos of making do, not throwing something that works away to get a replacement and not spending money on myself when it is not necessary I kept the phone and used it regardless of how battered and bruised it was looking.

Week 2 Thinking Slimmer #Slimpod

It has now been two weeks since I first started listening to the Thinking Slimmer #Slimpod and when I shared my weighty thoughts about mybody and eating habits before starting the Thinking Slimmer Helping Hands Slimpod programme.  Now that I have had two weeks of falling asleep to the enchanting voice of Trevor Silvester I wanted to update you all on how I am feeling now, using one word, about the programme, my eating habits and my body.

My Wedding Scrapbook.

Lee and I will have been engaged for 4 years in June this year.  Whilst our wedding may not be planned for the near future it does not stop me dreaming about and planning our big day.

If money was no problem here is what I would love for my wedding day where I would marry my soul mate in front of our loved ones with Bug and maybe if we are lucky other children of ours at our side.

The first thing that I would like to do is get a new engagement ring to replace my beloved yet broken engagement ring.  I would love a vintage inspired ring and if I had the money I would especially love a Vintage engagement ring from Romance Diamond Bridal Collection to sit next to a delicate diamond wedding ring.

Weighty Thoughts - Thinking Slimmer Helping Hands Slimpod programme.

For many years now I have had a love/hate relationship with my body and the weight that has piled on over the years has stubbornly refused to say goodbye.  I have struggled to lose the excess weight that has weighed me down in more ways than just physically and in spite of trying diets, healthy eating and regular exercise plus help from the doctors with some special pills aimed at weight loss, the weight has stuck around.

Whilst I can’t use it as an excuse for my excess weight and the sole reason that I struggle to lose weight the PCOS I suffer from complicates my battle with my weight along with my tendency to comfort eat.  When struggling emotionally and trying to keep the depression that I battled and suffered from a few years ago at bay, even though it remains a dark shadow in my mind ready to pounce on my worries and weak thoughts, in spite of knowing that it does not help and only adds to my weight worries and issues I find that I can’t stop myself from comfort eating with big portions of food.

I find myself going round in circles; the negative thoughts I have about my body and weight make me feel bad and depressed, and when I feel low and depressed I turn to food, trying to find comfort in food which in turns does not help me lose weight, instead it keeps the weight on or at times even making me pile on the pounds till I come full circle and feel bad about my body. 

The majestic Norwegian Fjords.

Lately I have been thinking about my future and things I would love to do and achieve over the years, in essence things I want to do and achieve for a bucket list.  A strong theme in many of the things I would love to do is travel.  Over my lifetime I hope to travel to numerous countries across the globe to experience and witness a variety of places, cultures and sceneries. 

Since I was a child when I saw photographs and heard tales from my Mamgu and Dadcu about their holiday to the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland I have had a strong desire to visit those countries myself and witness their breath-taking natural beauty in person.  As I hope to holiday to the Scandinavian countries as my grandparents did, holidaying in any of the Scandinavian countries is top of my travel bucket list.

As going on a cruise in my lifetime is also on my bucket list, the idea of combining both my desire to see a Scandinavian country and take a cruise by going on a Norwegian fjords cruise holiday really appeals to me.

Online habits.

After recently reading an article regarding a survey charting the nation’s online habits I got thinking about my own online habits.  I must admit I do spend too much time online and often get sucked into the World Wide Web, loosing hours in its realm and dabbling with a variety of social network sites.

My love affair with the wonderful www started a number of years ago and during the dark days of my depression that kept me housebound it was a lifeline that not only allowed me to keep in touch with loved ones but also enabled me meet friendly and supportive people with virtual friendships developing into lifelong friendships.  It was in fact thanks to the internet (and a close friend) that I met the love of my life which led to my little family.

As Lee’s family lives over 200 miles away Facebook has become an essential lifeline to us as a family to allow us to keep in touch with his family and update them on Bug’s adventures and milestones, allowing us to share lots and lots of pictures of Bug with them.

10 Things I'm Glad I Know.

I have been passed the baton so to speak by Alexandra at Alive and Blogging to join in on the blogging fun by writing my own ’10 things’ list. I like her spin on the ’10 things’ list so will follow her lead and write my own ’10 things’ list like her as….

10 Things I’m glad I know.

1. That I speak Welsh. I am a proud Welsh woman and I am pleased that I am fluent in my native tongue of Welsh. I will admit I don’t speak or write Welsh as often as I would like but I love that I know Welsh. I love speaking Welsh to Tristan and want to teach him and enlighten him on his Welsh heritage. Lee has learnt a few words of Welsh and wants to learn more so he will know if mummy and Bug is taking about daddy behind his back.

2. That I know how great it is to use cloth nappies. I’ve always hoped to use cloth nappies if and when I had babies. When I was pregnant with Bug as his due date came closer I was grew apprehensive about the prospect of using them, worrying if it would just be too much work with washing dirty nappies on top of dealing with a newborn baby as a first time mummy. When Bug was born I set aside my worries and delved into the world of cloth nappies….I figured I might as well as I had already bought a set of cloth nappies. 6 months on we use them exclusively and I love them, even Lee loves them and he even insisted we use them when on a few days away instead of resorting to disposables. I love that I know the joy of using cloth, its great seeing lovely looking fluff on my little man’s bot and its fab knowing that using cloth we are being kind to Mother Nature too. I love that I know the World of beautiful fluff.