Day 99: Interesting Times

Well, today didn’t quite go as planned.  And that’s ok.  Hang in there folks, this is a long one.

I planned on popping into to town for a little crafting and company and then straight home to Hubby and Girly for some Family Time.  Yeah.  The Universe thought my plan needed a slight adjustment.

Firstly, Fibro Flare was still hanging around like the last pickled onion in the jar (nobody wants to take it cos you aren’t sure how it will turn out to taste).  I felt shaky but able to get and go relax in the company of fellow crafty types while sipping Chai Lattes and eating flapjack.  So, despite the fact that getting dressed made me feel tired enough to go to bed, I headed out.

The crafting went well.  I sat with M and we chatted about the fun lifestyle of the chronically ill.  She has a lot of hassles with her meds giving her dodgy side effects while mine is just a dodgy bugger that I throw painkillers at to shut up for a bit.  We were just packing up when M noticed that the Bus Station was being cordoned off by the police.  Seeing as both M and I were planning on using the Bus Station to go home, this was a slight problem.  M investigated and found out there had been an accident involving a gas main pipe and everybody in the vicinity was being evacuated.

Seeing as I had planned for a short trip out with little walking involved, this was a slightly bigger problem.  I immediately figured out the best places to go and wait out the fun.  Friday afternoon just before rush hour is not the best of times to have to shut down the centre of the city.  I let Hubby know that I would be some time and M and I made our way up to another favoured cafe of ours – Madame Waffle.  Gluten free belgian waffles, what more need I say?

By the time, everything was reopened.  We had eaten and browsed the local art shop (I picked up the pen I really wanted to try!) and were more than ready for home.  I was feeling a little off and very tired.  To be honest, Fibro Fog kicked in and I don’t really remember getting to the bus and coming back to the Neighbourhood.  All I know is half way between the bus stop I got off at and home (about 100yards) I had a nasty dizzy spell and decided that sitting down was more preferable to falling down.

Basically put, I ran out of energy.  It was all done.  I was nauseous, dizzy and drained and couldn’t think how to move forward any further.  Luckily, Hubby happened to look out the window as I sat down and came for me.  He was my Knight in Shining Denim.  He pretty much picked me and my craft bag up and helped me indoors.  Needless to say, he has been a gem this evening looking after me.

I told him all about the day and after sitting down for an hour or two felt much better.  I even managed to do some drawing.  The thing is… I’m pretty sure if I were to do it again, I would do the same thing.  I really enjoyed my afternoon even with the fun and games of getting home.  Hubby isn’t happy but he understands why.

Happiness is… An understanding Hubby and gluten free waffles.

Day 98:Productively Resting

Fibromyalgia is kicking my butt.  Yesterday’s flare has sat on me all today.  I’ve had very little energy and spent a lot of time lying down.  However, Hubby has been a gem and helped me by being my mover.  If you saw my house at the moment, you might not realise that I like neat surroundings.  My flat is, frankly, cluttered beyond belief and I hate it.

We moved in as happy newlyweds with no kids, no pets and only ourselves to please.  We live in a quiet 2 bedroom flat and the 2nd bedroom started life as an office space that rapidly degenerated into Junk Room.  You know how it goes, you have guests coming short notice so you throw everything in the spare room to sort out later.  Then stuff piles up on the dining table so you pop in the office out the way to sort out later.  Then you get a delivery of furniture which needs putting together but you don’t have time right now so you stick it in the office to do later.  Then later becomes never.

And then the newlyweds get used to having a Junk Room and it’s ok because we don’t need that bedroom anyway.  Until we do.  Out of the blue (we had given up on having kids), I found out I was pregnant.  Action stations demanded clearing out the Junk Room and making it into a Nursery.  Except at the same time, the flat owners decided to put in a new kitchen and bathroom.  So suddenly there’s boxes everywhere and my fridge is living in the small gap left behind the sofa from all the stuff that was in the Junk Room.

Then the whole babydom thing happened.  Suddenly, the newlyweds are parents and are distracted from all the stuff hiding behind the sofa.  We kinda get used to stuff being there.  We don’t really notice it much.  Except I do.  And I hate it.  And just as I was starting to get it sorted, I was pregnant again.  And, oh my, did I feel rough.

Fast forward a year (let’s skip the nausea and bloating, shall we?) and we have a beautiful baby girl and even less room to swing our poor put upon feline.  We have Girly in a travel cot in our room as Boyo can’t cope with her crying at night.  So things are cramped and cluttered.  And guess what?  I hate it!

Despite feeling like a mouldy damp dishrag, I decided enough was enough.  All my creative project were ending up in a heap beside my bed which meant I couldn’t get to it easily and my bedside cabinet was marooned in a sea of stuff.  With Hubby moving while I directed, we cleared it out and turned round my bedside cabinet so I can access it easily!  My craft supplies now have a proper home and I LOVE IT!!!

I love knowing where my yarn bag is.  I love knowing where my bag of yarn for projects is.  And I have all my new supplies for drawing and journalling to hand too.  Whether I’m trapped in bed (as I have been all afternoon) or able to get up, I know my craft supplies are nearby.  This will hopefully make my crafting less stressful.

Happiness is… a well organised crafting area.

Day 97: Moving On

Yesterday, my brother moved into a new flat.  He has special needs and has moved into sheltered housing on his own.  I’m hopeful that he will find the right support there to be independent.  We headed over there with the kids at the behest of my parents.  The idea being that we meet up with them there and they take Boyo home with them.

This sort of worked out but was a bit stressful at times.  A 7 month old baby in a room that is having curtains installed and is filled with packing boxes can be a bit of a challenge but she was happy to sit in Mummy’s recliner camping chair and direct proceedings.  She did start out in the standard camping chair but soon decided Mummy’s recliner was better.  She told grandad what to do in her happy shouty way while Boyo played with his cars in the bedroom.  Boyo would occasionally demand Granny’s attention and check to see what Girly was shouting about this time.  All in all, it went surprisingly smoothly.  I can only assume that our habit of thinking ahead of potential meltdown triggers is helping all of us.

It was strange coming home to a quiet evening.  Girly was asleep fairly quickly once we got home and Hubby and I got couple time!  We felt a bit spoilt really.  We were able to relax and unwind together watching TV and chatting.  My Fibro started flaring up big time but Hubby was able to give me his full attention for once which really helped.  I’m just hoping that I get off lightly with this flare.

Happiness is… Knowing my Boyo is safely at Granny’s while I relax with Hubby.

Day 96: Buzzing about

Last week we had Boyo’s friend over for the afternoon and they had a great time.  This week, Boyo went out with his friend to the local Country Park.  Hubby and I decided to go into town together to just relax and have a little fun.  We looked in the shops we don’t normally go in with a cantankerous 4 year old and spent time in a coffee shop relaxing.  Girly fell asleep on the way into town and pretty much stayed that way the whole time we were out.  I bought a couple of new pens (I feel a new addiction coming on) and we looked at all the variety of pens available in our stationery shops.

Time ran very quickly and Hubby headed to home to Boyo while I was again set free to do my own thing.  This evening was a Make and Meet at Bestie K’s cafe.  I met up with another friend and we braved taking a bus to a new destination.  Both of us had only been to the cafe by car so going on the bus was a bit of an adventure.  It turned out to be really easy and I think it’s a nice ride too.  I can see me doing it again.

I sat in the cafe and instead of crocheting, I actually did some drawing.  The look on my friends’ faces was a picture.  I am known for my crocheting morning, noon and night so the sight of me with a pen in hand startled them a bit.  I was practicing with my new brush pens to see what effects I could get with them.  I also had the lovely #DNDChallenge prompt of Flowering Vines to play with.  I had a pleasant evening even with some uncomfortable moments due to an ex-friend.  I am really pleased with my work on the #DNDChallenge so far.  It is pushing me to try new things and I love doing that!  Here’s what I came up with today.

Happiness is… Spending time with Hubby with crafting for afters.

Day 95: A Family Day

Boyo is off to his Grandparents on Wednesday so we thought we would have a Family Day Out first.  We are lucky to have a Garden Centre nearby with a fabulous little outdoor area for the kids.  There is a little petting zoo and aviary with a massive sandpit and climbing frames of different sizes as well.  Boyo loves the sandpit and climbing frames so even though the weather was a bit dodgy we went for a visit.

Boyo had a great time on the slides and only complained a little bit about his damp bum from the rain showers earlier in the day.  He climbed up on the tallest frame and waved like a loon at me. Then the rain showers decided to show up again and we headed inside to the small soft play area for lunch.

Girly snacked happily and watched the other children while Boyo ran around with them.  Hubby was lovely and let me escape off to the bookshop on site while he watched the kids.  I have to say, I do rather love strolling through the arts and crafts section without the kids.  I could relax and find the things I was looking for without being pestered to leave by Boyo or Hubby.

I got myself some artist brush pens and a few other supplies including a rather gorgeous red notebook with embossed lovehearts on.  I’m thinking of using it for my next Bullet Journal when I finish the notebook I’m on.  I’m thinking I may need it before the end of the month at the rate I’m going.  I was only gone for about 45 minutes but by the time I got back to the play area, the kids were looking a bit tired.  I did treat Boyo to his own brush pens and Hubby to some funky magnets.  So they were happy to go home to play.

Happiness is…  Spending time with my family but shopping on my own!

Day 94:Creating Centenials

According to Mr WordPress, this is my 100th Post!!  I’m also aware that I’m rapidly approaching the 100th day of the year.  I’m kinda overwhelmed and excited.  I have found a routine developing all by itself.  During the day, I plan my Instagram challenges and this blog and then I make a note of what I want to blog about in my beloved Bullet Journal.  I can honestly say that my Bullet Journal has been a total and utter sanity saver!  I love it!  I keep it with me all the time and any extra information I get just goes straight into my notebook.  I love it!!!

I’m able to keep track of all the things a Mama needs to do and all my creative pursuits as well!  I’ve got my ideas tracked and my thoughts in one place.  And I am finding myself with more creative energy.  For example, I know just by glancing at the page that I have done my Instagram challenges and crocheted today.  I also know that I need to do my Sainsburys online shop and sort out a Phoenix order.

I also know that I need to meet my Mum on Wednesday and what time we are meeting.  Normally, that information would be stuck in my head but now it’s in my notebook.  I can get my fortnightly planning done quickly because I can glance over my to-do list and my diary quickly and easily.  I feel so much more productive and creative and I feel great (even though I’m having a pretty sucky time of it with my Fibromyalgia).  For once, I even feel like I might have it all together.

Happiness is… Being productive and creating joy in my notebooks.

Day 93: Showing a Little Love

I’m completely entranced by the #DNDChallenge on Instagram.  I’m loving it!  The pure amount of inspiration and the variety that a single prompt can produce is amazing.  I love the fact that this challenge (and boy, it’s a challenge for my meagre talents) encorporates both drawing and hand lettering.  I’ve admired hand lettering for a long time and I can now say that I’ve attempted it!

I had bimbled around Instagram and looked at various different people who do hand lettering and feeling very inadequate, I decided to go with simple.  All the fancy decorations could come later.  For now, the main aim was to get it down on paper and have fun.  And I loved it.  I loved playing with the design and the colours.

I love that I was able to play around and chat with Boyo while I did the design.  I waited til later to ink it but we talked about things and had a very heartfelt chat about love.  Then I was able to get on with putting cards into plastic wrap for my new Phoenix Trading business.  Boyo was content to sit next to me as I worked and play his new favourite game on my phone.  This had the bonus of stopping me from distracting myself with new and exciting things on Facebook and Instagram.

Later on, I was able to ink in the design and then photograph it with my newly recharged phone.  Despite it being dark outside, I managed to get a good pic thanks to tips from Zuer Designs.  I heartily recommend the post about Instagram photos.  She also has lots of great brush lettering tutorials that I am planning on working through in my mythical spare time.

Happiness is… Quiet time with Boyo for designing.

Day 92: Dirty minds think alike

I’m off to a great start with my Instagram challenge.  First off, I had no idea how to draw a snapdragon.  I had a vague memory of playing with them as a kid but I really couldn’t tell you what they look like.  So, being of the Tech generation, I turned to Google.

This is the image that I found that I figured I could at least attempt a copy of.

And so, with pencil in hand and tongue caught in my teeth (that’s apparently my concentration face) I set to work.  This is what I created.

Naturally, I was full of excitement!  In my eyes, it looked very similar to the original drawing.  I had even added colour (purple naturally!).  I then took a step back and looked again.  Then I sent it to Bestie K.

And then, the sniggering started.  Yes.  I know.  It’s a little bit, well, phallic.  Heck, it’s a lot phallic.  Bestie K tried to rise above it but in the end agreed that, yeah, it’s totally phallic.  And then, as these things often do, the conversation degenerated.  The description she gave of the phallic-ness of my hard work, in truth, cracked me up completely.  Let’s just say, we agreed it was a very happy phallic snapdragon.

Happiness is…  A best friend whose mind will happily join you in the gutter.

Day 91: Getting ready for a challenge or two

My new found love of Instagram, hand lettering and drawing have dovetailed nicely together into me committing to a couple of Challenges in April.  On my list of 100 things, I wrote that I wanted to do more handwritten letters and that I want to work on my handwriting some more.  Then I stumbled across the hand lettering how to guides and suddenly a whole new avenue of creativity exploded into existence.  So, I’ve dug into my stash of notebooks (I love notebooks) and found my pretty pens and I’m ready to rock!

 

I’m feeling fairly confident that I can do this one.  I’m looking forward to writing some lists and sharing my ideas.  I also think this will be great for some self-discovery too.

 

This one is a bit scary.  I’m jumping right out of my comfort zone with drawing and lettering but I’m hopeful I can manage it.  I’m also not gonna be too hard on myself if it doesn’t go to plan.  Firstly, I have no idea how to even start drawing snap dragons and secondly, this is supposed to be fun!

 

Happiness is… Challenging myself to improve.