Celebrating the small things :)

Hi all,

So, I literally just signed up to this new blog hop called celebrating the small things.

It is nearly the end of Friday as I write this, so I am really just snagging this on to the end of the day here.

But it was such a good idea that I just couldn't resist having a go.

So my little things to celebrate this week are as follows.

• Good friends. It can be so hard to find true friends these days and I am so blessed in that I have one friend who is truly the most amazing friend ever. They have supported me through so much, are there everyday listening to my every worry, thought, desire and need. They make me feel like I matter, that I am important and we all need that in our lives sometimes. So yay, to all the awesome friends out there, especially mine :)
• My son. I am so blessed to have such an amazing son. Who surprises me on a daily basis. Having last week watched him struggling just for breath, with never a single complaint, something most adults couldn't do, me included, has just reminded me all over again how amazing he is. He is just so upbeat and positive. Loving and kind. I don't know how I managed to raise such an amazing little boy but I am so proud of him and so grateful to have him in my life. He is and always will be something to celebrate.
• My pets. Who frequently make me smile, sometimes make me frown, but are always there for me. With there unique and wonderful personalities.
• The sneaky chocolate bar, that gave me a brief break from this otherwise tedious and boring diet I am on. Lol
• My big fluffy dressing gown that made me feel all snug and warm today, when nipple freeze threatened. Gotta hate that nipple freeze.
• The blog post I read, that said just what I needed to hear, right when I needed to hear it, and of course also the person that wrote it.
• And last but not least my new faviourt TV show that kept me entertained.

Ok so some of these weren't small things but this is my first time at this so they just had to be said :)

love and hugs all

Joss xx

if you would like to celebrate the small things too. Then you can sign up here http://viklit.blogspot.co.uk/ and also take a look at what others are celebrating this week :) 

Friday catch up

So it's time for my Friday catch up.

See how good I'm getting, because this is the second one in a row. woop woop!! Ok, so it's only the second Friday since I started this, but for me, not missing it even once is amazing.

So what have I been up to. Well I have been working hard studying for my degree in English Language and Literature. It's definitely a challenge and I still haven't quite come to terms with the fact, that I actually past the grammar part of the course, but I am actually enjoying it. I'm also nearly half way through the course woop woop! So, YAY ME!!! ( be sure to note all my bad use of grammar, sorry with grammar it's just in one ear and out the other. Just makes no sense to me, but it's ok cause I am just gonna blame my dyslexia. Bad dyslexia shame on you.

I have as well, been taking the time to blog very regularly. Which I have really impressed myself with. As well as really putting time and effort into coming up with interesting and I hope a little bit thought provoking pieces, for your entertainment.

Be sure to have a look if you have time and I'd really appreciate some comments. Although the emails I've received on my blog posts, have been lovely also. :) I am a little tired of looking like little miss unpopular lol.

My lovely Kye Kye, is better and back at school which is a major yay! It's never fun when your child is really sick after all. Especially to the point that hospitalization is becoming a serious possibility bless him. However, he is now very much his boisterous, mischievous, refusing to stop growing self. Where did my little cute, snuggled in my arms baby go?

What else. Hum, well I have been minecrafting as well. Build a pretty swirly lighthouse, that actually works. Again!! Yay me!!! but it lagged the server somewhat. As well as learned to copy my builds from one area to my current building area. Which means all my fav builds are together now. Grampie, (you know him best as my editor, even though he never edits this blog lol.) is working on an awesome project at the moment, in the form of warehouse 13. I will get some pics up for you of both my builds and his build soon.

I also had a bit of surprise yesterday and a good one but I am keeping that to myself for now. Hehe!!! I know I am an evil temptress.

I also have my hubby's bday coming up this Sunday. Thankfully he doesn't do reading and has certainly never even bothered to visit my blog :( so I can tell you that I got him an awesome stig from top gear cake lol.

I opted for candles that spell out happy birthday through, as the thought of counting out 33 candles was to much for me to bare.

Although given that he stuck 30 on my cake instead of 29 because he knew how unhappy I was that this was the last birthday of my twenties. I should have just gone all out and spelled out you old git on the top of his cake. Hmmm I wonder how many candles that would take.

And of course yes my bday, was last Saturday and I have yet to tell you how it went. Well the aforementioned old git, went all out with champagne and a surprise visitor, and we had a very entertaining night.
The gifts were all lovely, including my new lappy, which I love, love, love. Compliments of the old git. (I know he isn't seeming all that gittish at the moment, but trust me moments like this are rare. Normally he loves being a git lol.

Also in the gift department, was an awesome massage chair thingy majig, (I dunno what you call it) compliments of Grampie, that is pretty pleasant as long as you don't switch it to auto. Honestly, never ever, switch it to auto. I swear, if you do you'll be black and blue and feel like you did five rounds with Mike Tison. (I think I spelt that wrong but oh well)

It even has heat. OOOOoooooooooo Heat. Gotta love heat.

This was seriously a very thoughtful gift, except for the auto function and I'm hoping as I am sure Grampie was when he purchased it, that the heat function will ease my back ache just as well as the heated seats in our new car hehe.

OMG!!!! I love that car.

Anywho, I won't bore you going through all my gifts, but felt those two deserved a special mention, I even have some more to come still. EXCITED!!!!

So all in all it has been a pretty relaxed but pleasant week.

The weeks fails include:

Turning off my laptop mouse, so I didn't keep hitting it by accident and then forgetting constantly that I did so. I've lost count of how many time's I've tried to use the thing now.

Forgetting to put the furnace out on my ironmongery build on minecraft, before moving it from no fire spread zone, to zone where fire could spread. Ya Huh. Some extensive rebuilding was needed.

Taking out a whole load of blocks because I thought I couldn't lay tracks on them, in minecraft, only to discover that the reason I couldn't place the track, was because I was trying to lay ladder flat, not tracks. (I know, shakes head)

losing track of time and then screaming omg I'm late at a bewildered Grampie while I bolted for the door. Hay, I still beat the bus. JUST!!!

and last but definitely far from least. Spending twenty minutes looking for my lost phone, when my friend finally asked what are you looking for. Only to point out that my current method of contact with her, was via the said lost phone, that was and had been for the whole twenty minutes pressed against my ear. GRRRRRR!!!

just please tell me I am not the only person to do this, because this is far from the first time that I have.

Well love and hugs all and wishing you an awesome weekend.

Joss xx

p.s please note that my Friday catch up post do no justice to my normal blog posting style and are always just a bit random and rambling. hehe. 

The extreme and, at times, somewhat bizarre weddings

So what pops into your mind when you think wedding?

Is it all romance and love? Pretty flowers and stunning locations? Or do you think, "I know! I'll get married while hanging in the air, from hooks that are embedded into my flesh?"

Come on admit it, it's the last one isn't it. No! Really? Well okay then.

Personally the thought of having hooks embedded in my back at any time seems less than appealing, but this is actually what one couple choose for their wedding day.

I'm never keen to share pictures any more for fear of copyright, but here's a link to a page that does have an image of the happy, and I'm sure, somewhat sore couple. Check out the brides hair too.

http://www.oddee.com/contrib_10319.aspx

So what is it with this new craze for the extreme when it comes to weddings.

Because it seems as if there is no limit to what you can do.

For example:

Are you worried you're going to feel all fat and frumpy on your wedding day. Well theirs a wedding for that. Yep a zero gravity one.

For just $18,000. You can go on a spew inducing zero gravity ride and get wed at the same time. What more could you want on your wedding day, than to feel lighter than air while you float around in your guest vomit. Nice!

http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/zero-gravity-wedding

If you prefer a little free falling on your wedding day. You might want to try bungee jumping or skydiving. Just make sure you say your I do's quick, because if you take to long, it might be the best day and the worst day all rolled into one. But no worries, chances are you won't live long enough to regret it all that much.

What do you do however, if you are not a fan of free falling, piecing hooks, or spew inducing zero gravity rides?

Do you just settle for the plain old norm? No! God forbid, why oh why would anyone want normal. When you can say your vowels under water. You might have to wait until you surface, for that first marital kiss though.

Not wild enough, well you could spice it up, by being in a shark infested tank, protected of course by an always romantic metal cage.

Perhaps you're worried about your bridal attire? Why bother? Who needs clothes anyway. Yep, that's right, you can even get married in the nude. Just don't expect everyone to show up for your big day, if your planning on making the whole affair a no clothes zone. I certainly won't be there.

Ok, so I get that people want there wedding days to be different. I get that maybe you want people to remember your day over all the other weddings they might get invited too.

But do we seriously need to go to such extremes for that to be the case.

Am I alone in not understanding the fascination with these rather bizarre wedding day choices?

It just seems to me as if there is nothing people won't do on their wedding day any more.

While researching for this blog post. I saw all kind of strange and unusual things. Like a bride who decided she just had to break the world record for the longest dress. A groom who spent a years salary buying 999,999 red roses, which he then decorated a whole fleet of cars with and a woman who married a copse. Yes you heard me a copse. Actually that one was a pretty sweet story, believe it or not.

You see she and her sadly dead lover, were engaged to be married, when he was cruelly beaten to death by a pack of thugs. This man was apparently a great dad and partner and a really nice guy, which I suppose is made clear by the fact that even though he was no longer able to actually say I do, his misses wanted to marry him anyway.

Although I am slightly confused by how this exactly worked, I think her devotion is sweet, none the less.

So weddings have had a tendency to be, for some, a chance to show off and stand out for a long time. But is this taking it all a bit far? Or are these people, in reality just being true to themselves?

I don't know for sure, but I know that personally, I'd choose something a little less dramatic were I to wed again and that's not to say I am not open to some less than traditional ideas. In fact the idea of a Vegas drive through wedding. (yes you heard me) is not without it's appeal. I mean just think about it. It's won't cost you the price of a family home, you don't even have to get our of your car, and you're all set and ready for your reception. Cause you know, you should continue the whole drive through theme and head for the nearest Mc D's.

Check it out here. (the drive through wedding, not Mc D's.

http://www.theweddingtravelcompany.com/invegas/wedding/drive-through-wedding-las-vegas.html

Now come on, you gotta admit that does look like fun.

Whatever you wedding choice, just try to remember the most important thing. Love! Because ultimately isn't that what a wedding is supposed to be about.

I worry that sometimes, people forget that, in the chaos that comes with trying to plan your own, personal idea of a perfect wedding.

So whether you opt for something crazy, some fancy dress, or a specific theme. I hear star wars is quite popular.

Just try to remember that it's love, not one-up-manship on your friends. That's meant to be the focus of the day.

Love and hugs Joss xx

P.s. I'd love to hear your idea's and thoughts for an extreme wedding, or perhaps a not so extreme wedding.

And also, what's the best and worst wedding choices, you've ever seen.

Take care all.  

When little boys, become big boys.

How are we as mothers supposed to cope, when our little boys, turn into big boys?

The answer for me at any rate, is not very well.

I frequently find my mind wandering back to the days when my little boy, was just a tiny baby in my arms. So innocent and sweet and unaffected by the world around him.

Now, that he's six years old, at school and in contact with all kinds of people in his everyday life. He is growing and changing at an alarming rate, which at times can be very hard to watch.

Just the other day he uttered words that made me want to weep and left me feeling pretty angry too.

They were not words we had taught him, not words I even knew were in his vocabulary and yet out they popped. (frigging hell) in it's much less polite form.

My husband and I both froze with shock, not sure if we had even heard right, but Kye's hand flying to his mouth said it all.

I am not stupid enough to think that there aren't kids out there or people out there who swear, I guess I had just hoped that at six, the kids in my sons class, wouldn't have reached that point just yet.

What do you do in this situation?

But it isn't just swearing or bad behaviours that comes with our children growing up. It's simple changes, changes that you know will happen and yet somehow, just can't seem to fully prepare yourself for.

Like the moment you stop being mummy and become mum, or when hugs and kisses become too embarrassing.

My son has reached both of these stages in his development and I'm really not enjoying either.

So I wondered, what stages in your child’s development did you find particularly hard and why.

Was it there first day of school, when you knew that they were starting a new chapter of their life without you?

Perhaps, their first trip outside to play, unsupervised?

Or maybe, for those of you with older children, it was the day they left home?

Either way I would love to hear your thoughts and how you coped with these changes.

Love and hugs

Joss xx  

Is it just a love/hate thing?

I've been thinking lately about some of the books we see, that people either love or hate to extremes.

For example:

The hunger games, Harry potter and Twilight.

Having just finished the Twilight books, I started to wonder about all the hate that this collection of books receives.

Then realized that I have directed the same amount of hate, myself, at the Harry Potter books. Which begs the question why?

Is it primarily a case of numbers? Is it only natural that books that generate a huge following, will also generate a huge collection of haters?

Because lets face it, everyone is different. What one person loves, another will hate. Surely that is the case with any book.

This however, makes the prospect of making it big, a very scary thought for us writers.

Having read all of these series of books, I have to say that they were nowhere near as bad. as the haters might lead us to believe. I disliked Harry Potter not for its content or anything that really had to do with the book at all.

But because my first attempted read, was when I was forced to highlight every animal mentioned; due to working for a film farm.

I did later go back and read the first book again, as well as all the others. I found them slightly weak for my taste and at the time had some aversion to the style of writing, which, I felt, was dumbed down way to much. Something that I find is common for the young adult market; if Harry Potter can really be classed as that. I still think of it as primarily kiddy fodder.

At any rate, I could see that the writer had a good imagination and some great ideas, but they were never going to make it onto my shelf of awesomeness.

However, hunger games and twilight have proved a different matter. I have both sets and have really enjoyed reading them. Twilight's, Bella is a little annoying, but there are other areas of the book and characters that make up for that.

Yet, I'll admit. I did put off reading Twilight because of all the bad press it received. I didn't want to be one of the pathetic people that read it, or worse one of the ones who enjoyed it. Now, I am pleased to say I am both.

The reality is, I think that I would have been more pathetic, if I hadn't read it, based on other peoples opinions. Because ultimately I would have lived my life, forever judging the books unfairly, as well as missing out on books that I really enjoyed.

It's not just young adult books that gain this kind of love/hate attention though. Recently fifty shades of grey had the same effect on readers the world over.

I dived straight into the fifty shades books, curious about all the fully grown women who were swooning over them and was seriously disappointed in the female population afterwards.

The writer had skills, I am not going to deny that. I am sure she could be a great writer, but at that point I wasn't feeling it. I just found the books repetitive and was left with the horrifying notion that way to many women had a cruddy sex life, if they felt they needed a Mr Grey to improve things.

Personally, I find plenty of enjoyment in the sexual-antics department, without the need for whips, chains or any other painful intrusions. Each to their own I guess.

Another part of me wondered if it was truly the content of the books that was driving this fanatic behaviour from women, or more the fact that they felt they should love it, because they might seem boring if they didn't.

I also often found that on expressing my own dislike for the book and my reasons why, that others would also admit that they had found them repetitive and a bit boring. People who only moments before had been singing there praises.

So are we like sheep now? Just blindly following others, still even as adults trying to fit in and appear cool and if so why?

Shouldn't we have left that behind when we grew up?

Isn't it a little scary that so many of us, still hide our true feelings or avoid things for fear of what others will think, just because we are afraid of being judged?

So tell me, what are your thoughts on these kinds of books?

Do you still read them?

Do you do so with an open mind or do you go in already determined to hate them?

And why do you think these books produce such a strong love/hate reaction?

I'd really be interested to hear your thoughts.

Love and hugs
Joss xx

Friday catch up.

I've noticed that a lot of blogger take the time to talk about there week on a Friday and so I have decided to start doing the same, in order to help get me blogging a bit more.
So this is my official first Friday Catch up.

So we started the week with a beautiful bank holiday Monday. We didn't do much, besides relaxing at home, but it was still a really pleasant day. Sadly our Tuesday was to see that change. We'd noticed Monday night that Kye had started coughing quite a bit and so we got out the Vix vapor rub. That stuff has proved a life saver for us time and time again when it comes to our son, as it helps keep his airways open and stops him getting so bunged up that his asthma just goes mental.
When Tuesday morning came however, Kye was in a terrible state. He was sick all over his bed and his wheezing was so bad we were about ready to pack our bags and head to the hospital.
More Vix was applied, his pumps were taken and we waited with baited breath to see if they would have any effect. Thankfully they did but only brought it down enough that we felt for the time being hospital could be avoided.
Now, normally when Kye is sick like this my husband will stay home with us just encase, but having been off a whole week himself very recently for norovirus, this was just not an option, as we needed his wages in full this week.
So, for the first time ever, I found myself at home alone with my son when he was very very ill. First thing i did was call my mum, as she would be my back up if Kye needed to get to the hospital fast. Calling Dan or his works office if he had no signal, so that they could go and find him and inform him that me and Kye were on our way to the hospital. Not driving myself, I would need to call an ambulance, so Dan would have to follow after us in the car.
I got Kye's things packed ready to go just encase and then spent the day closely monitoring him  and trying to keep him quiet, calm and occupied.
To my relief, by lunchtime he was improving to more comfortable levels and looking a lot better if still not anywhere near close to a hundred percent.
He has now been home all week, this horrible cold that I now also have, is only just relinquishing it's hold on him, and allowing him to breath at a pace that means he can move around a little more.
So my week has been mostly about caring for him and administering vix and his pumps.
I did have a visit from my mum yesterday. It was her birthday on Wednesday and mine is tomorrow. So we just had a catch up and she help me get somethings done around the house that I was struggling with due to my disability and it was just a really nice day.
I've also been reading a lot and playing minecraft.
But my latest addiction is a program called switched at birth. It's fictional drama, about two girls who are switched at birth. One of them is deaf and so it throws up all kinds of interesting story lines and plot twists. As the families try to get to know each other, and there biological daughters/parents/siblings in the case of the brother. As well as the girls trying to figure out who they might have been and dealing with the jealousy that arises between them all.
I haven't gotten into a program this much in ages.
So as I mentioned earlier it is my birthday tomorrow. The last birthday of my 20's, as I will be 29. I'm not liking that much and keep focusing on the fact, unwillingly that I will be 30 next year. Yikes!
So would very much like everyone's assurance or at the very least little white lies, about 30 being fabulous lol. To help me get through this lol.
Last of all we had a letter this week informing us that our 21 thousand will soon be in the bank. This is great as it means we will finally be able to finish, renovating our home. Happy days.
I Hope you've all had a lovely week.
Love and hugs
Joss xxx

more interesting questions as promised.

So for those of you who don't know, my last blog post was used to answer some interesting questions from the course I am doing in English language and literature. I got a bit in depth with the questions and so decided that I would come back and answer the other questions at a later date. Well! that date is here. 

So lets get started. 

Who are my heroes. Why?

This is a tough one, but there are a few people I really admire. Firstly the female writers who paved the way for other women with the work. Such as Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen. I cannot imagine how horrible it must have been to be around in a time when the only way for you to get your work taken seriously, was to write under a name that seemed more manly and am so grateful for the work they did that means today, female  authors get the same recognition as men for their work. 

Another of my hero's is my husband and men like him. The real men, the guys who go out everyday and work hard to support their family. The men who stick around to raise and support their kids, whether still with their mother or not. The real men. 

Last but far from least. The single mothers and fathers out their who are doing it alone. I cannot imagine how tough that must be. I frequently need my husband to help not only support me when it comes to our son, but also to discuss the right cause of action with. To be alone, doing these things by yourself I think is amazing. My mother raised my sisters and I, by herself and struggled everyday. Not only to raise us right but to earn enough to support us all and ensure we had everything we needed, as well as quite a few things we didn't need, but wanted. 

She made mistakes yes, some pretty big ones too, but we all make mistakes, we are human after all, however, she always tried her hardest and that's what counts. 

Having a son with asthma, who gets sick a lot. I don't feel that I could cope without my husbands support and having someone by my side who is just as afraid as I am, just as protective, and just as determined to ensure that our son gets better and that we do everything we can to protect him. I applaud those who manage to stay strong when coping with a sick child alone, when working hard  to protect, care and raise, their children right. 

I know not all single parents do this, but those who do I think are hero's. 

Who would I least like to be? Why?

I would least like to be my sister. Because she goes out of her way to hurt others, has emotional damage that means she has three different children with three different fathers, and choose to have them, in part, so that she would not have to work; but could instead claim benefits.
I know that parts of our childhood were rough and we all have damage, but a bitter heart  and lazy attitude doesn't help that any. 

My sister is so smart, if she wasn't she wouldn't be so great at manipulation. If she set her mind to it she could achieve so much and I just wish she could see that and the value of working hard for what you really want in life. 

Just because we were broken doesn't mean we have a right to break others, just means that we have to work a little harder to achieve our dreams. I've done it, as has my other sister and I know she could too if she set her mind to it. 

If I could create an ideal world what would it be like?

I think just one with out without war. Where people understand that you can not possibly fully understand what someone else has been through or is going through, unless you had walked in there shoes. 

A world were people don't idolize famous people or footballs star, but instead those who risk there lives to save others. Who work hard to support a family, whilst earning a low wage and so on and so forth. 

A fairer world all round I guess. Where people aren't always striving to be the richest, the most powerful or the prettiest. 

Well, that's all the questions answered now. I hope you enjoyed my answers and I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings. 

love and hugs 

Joss xxx