I do believe in fairies, I do, I do...

Well today we have made some amazing memories, they came at a price of being totally wiped out but they are more than worth the cost. Isn't it amazing how some memories are worth just worth it!!

The hour and half drive, including bickering, just to here the symphony of our family giggles was worth it! Join me in a post of pictures....

We hunted fairies in the rain



















We found them in trees.

    In water too.

Even hanging out by the fence                                        

My favourite has to be Spidy...so cheeky!

 

On the way we even found some fairy houses, but there was no-one home.

There were many other hidden treasures on our forest walk.

One or two dangers

But mostly smiles and giggles

During our hunt we came across a barefoot walk....in the rain....why not?!?

Beware...Bigfoot was here already!!

  Whoa...path blobs, watch your step!

This bit's bouncy Mum.

Any one else thinking of The Golden Child? Nope just me...okies.

 We got mud between our toes :-)

And no that is not me cheating on the gravelly bit!!

Ok so it was....I prefer the the squidgy mud, so sue me.

There was a maze and pretty gardens and playgrounds and flowers and...I felt free, my girls were free and it was amazing!!

Although I was already sold on the fairies and waterlilies.

Oh and a Secret Garden....Such a cool place!

The most intriguing part was the neglected building

It got all sorts of stories rolling around in my head.

In short it was an awesome day full of laughter and being free.

Where did we go you ask? Trentham Gardens....and it was everything I needed it to be.

What did you get up to this weekend?

A bit of 30 Seconds to Mars to play while you comment ;-) ...just because I get to go see them in November thanks to my amazing Other Half :-)

Memory is a fickle....hmm what was I saying??

Over the last couple of days Larissa at Pappa is a Preacher and Katie over at Nested have alerted me to the fact that Google is changing. It is ditching the Google Reader page, basically the bit that keeps me from forgetting what blogs I follow etc...

For me this couldn't come at a worse time, my memory is fickle enough at the best of times, recently it has been a nightmare. I swear I am going to end up poisoning myself with all the pen I plaster on my hands at the moment, and there just isn't room for all the blogs I follow too!

Thank heaven for Larissa and Katie, without them I would never have found Bloglovin. Tanks you guys!! So rest assured that I may not read every word of every post, I may even have skipped a few altogether of late, I will never forget about you completely. And when I am all better and headache free (yes I still have it...3rd month and counting) I will be able to find you all easily.

Hugs till then!

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The Book-hangover and How to Recognise One.

Readers of the world, if you have experienced one of these you will know what I am talking about. Some of you may have gone through this without being able to label the feelings, others may sit there and wonder what I am about to witter on about....to this later group you are heathens!!!

I am happy to report that I am not highly susceptible to book-hangovers. Much like I can drink copious amounts of tequila without suffering the morning after, I can read most books without many problems....or if I do suffer the symptoms are minimal. Every now and then though the hangover lasts a number of days but unlike an alcohol related hangover though the lasting effects of a book hangover may never fully dissipate!!

Original posted here along with A Fantasy Reader's take on the book-hangover

How to Recognise a Book-hangover (my lay-man's assessment)

They are usually experienced following the completion of a particularly good book or series of books. I should note here that the books in question to do not have to be considered literary greats, they don't even have to be anything you would admit to reading, however they do generally speak to you in some way shape or form. They grab your attention, your heart, or just get you thinking long after 'the end' has appeared.

Symptoms include but are not limited to:

• An inability to put the book down that you are reading. This is a warning sign! Take my advice; if you notice this kind of response to a book, make it last as long as possible. Delay the gratification because once it is over there is no going back!
• A desolate or hollow feeling deep in your core may follow completion of the book, like you have said good bye to a great friend and you may never see them again.
• You find yourself thinking of the book, the characters or the issues raised an inordinate amount of you time.
• Music, situations, buildings, cars.....you name it will all remind you of what is over!
• There may be changes to your appetite; comfort eating, loss of appetite...what ever your poison!
• There will most certainly be a constant yearning for more! Much more! Which may also be accompanied by a yearning to find the author, grab them and shake them until they agree to write another instalment! *Beware of Twitter and Facebook stalking the authors this may exacerbate symptoms*

Is there a cure you ask? 

None that I have found as yet! Other than getting hooked on another book and risking an equal or greater emotional response!

On the flip side the book-hangover is one of the greatest compliments that can be paid to an author!! I can only pray that I will elicit this kind of response from readers if I ever get published.

NB the book-hangover can also refer to the zombie feeling felt after having sat up all night reading.

So have you ever experienced a book-hangover? Would you admit which books keep you up at night?

Just a bit of what I have been listening to whilst suffering with the worst book-hangover I have ever experienced!!

A Touch of Randomness....just in case you were missing me ;-)

I've been thinking about fruit today. A gorgeous bowl of exotic fruits, cut up and glistening on a platter. That fresh smell, healthy...everything that is good for you. But I bet given a choice there is something naughty lingering in the back of your mind. Something tempting you; you know the fruit will never fully satisfy but this something would. Lets use Ben and Jerry's Phish Food (my temptation of choice) as an example, it's no good for you but when faced with fruit you lust after it with amazing passion. You know every silky mouthful will be satisfying right until the last mouthful, ensuring you would crave all the more next time. Why is it we are never satisfied with the things that are good for us? Why do we always crave what we shouldn't want?

And why does this random analogy work for many other parts of our lives??

Just a bit of what I am listening to at the moment!

My solution? Add my ice cream to my fruit ;-) How do you balance what is good for you with your naughty side?

Happy Blogger :-)

I nipped onto blogger just for a quick look and I noticed I had topped 10,000 view's. I know that I haven't been around much of late; posting or reading. But you guys have stuck with me and for that I love you all.

Hence a very quick post to say thanks and maybe a quick Tuesday Tune, here's what I have been listening to...what have you been listening to recently?

Good Morning Campers

If you told me a year ago the I would be sleeping on an air bed, a sheet of plastic between me and the outdoor world and a hike to the loos, I would have laughed hysterically!! If you told me I would really enjoy it, I would have had you committed!

During the course of the last year I have surrendered the tight hold I have on 5 star hotels and en-suit bathrooms, as a direct result of pester power! Come on parents, you know what I am talking about!! They wore me down.

In the UK we have two bank holiday's in May; one at the beginning and one at the end, giving us two nice long weekends. The first bank holiday saw us borrow a tent, pack off to a site all of 20 minutes away (just in case it was horrific) all to see if I could hack it!! Guess what, I loved it...we all did, the only thing we wanted to change....a bigger tent. That weekend, the rule was NOBODY ROLL OVER!!!!

This weekend we set off for the second time, our own bigger tent packed up, on our way to the seaside! We pitched in the wind, it was actually quite fun and set up our camp....or maybe we landed. Our tent is huge, although saying that there were others of similar girth by the end of the day, which at least limited the embarrassment I first felt when we put it up!

There is one thing I don't think I will get used to....tent envy! The amount of people that stopped by the tent over the three days we were there, just to ask about the tent and admire it....here's a thought, I wonder if I could charge for tours?!?!

Marcus Humongo Maximums (as named by the Happy Campers)

My favourite part of both trips and a must for every camping trip....toasted marshmallows and warm milky coffees. All we need to do is find a site where we can build a proper campfire!!

One thing checked off the bucket list, some wonderful memories made and looking forward to the next trip.


I'll leave you with this, from the new 30 Seconds to Mars album.....because my other half still knows that music makes me smile!!

What have you guys been up to while I have been AWOL? Any ambitions ticked off your bucket lists??

Before I Kick the Bucket

Sometime ago Larissa at Papa is a Preacher discussed the concept of Buckets lists, or at least my mush of a brain seems to recall commenting on something vaguely along those lines before and of course can I find the post....nope!!

Any way, fragments of this along with the last few weeks have had me re-evaluating the concept of a bucket list. I have always had ambitions, a wish list of things I wanted to do....at some point. The concept of a bucket list, however, always seemed a bit morbid to me. But as I eluded to in my last post I have been converted to the advantages of bucket list.

So last week I began by choosing the perfect notebook from my considerable stash (come on admit it we all have a stack of notebooks waiting for that perfect project....don't we?) And I started to note down the memories I want to make; mostly with my girls, some are just for me and others to make with other half or friends. I have to admit the list has started to get a little long, already!

So far I have 20 items on the list, ranging from 'visit a pick your own fruit farm with the girls' to 'attend a masquerade ball' via 'keep a daily journal'. I have been adding items almost daily and have even managed to tick a few off. So in one of my brain waves I have decided to add another page to my blog to keep a track of how my bucket list is shaping up. Click here to see what is on there, you can even help me fulfil one or two if you like, I have a feeling I am going to be a very busy bunny, I may need the help!!

Don't run out of time, make every second count! A philosophy to live life by. Have you ticked anything off your list lately?