Why do you have children????

Sometimes you read something that you think oh my goodness I could of wrote that, well this is one of those times, as a homeschooler it sickens and angers me when I hear other parents moaning about the school holidays, whinging a few minutes after picking up their children from school, not appreciating they are blessed and luck to have been given the opportunity to become parents. So when I read Julia's blog post I had to share it, I completely agree 100% with everything she says in it.

This is to introduce you to her post:

"I am absolutely sick and oh so very tired of hearing negative remarks about children and young people.

Every school holiday I hear numerous parents openly telling their children that they can't wait until the schools return so they can get some peace and quiet. I switch on the radio to hear the DJ saying that she "hopes the children aren't driving you too mad" and "Don't worry, just a few more days to put up with the children before the schools return - the end of the nightmare is nigh."

Why is this OK?

I have lost count of the number of negative connotations aimed towards my children when I have been in their presence. I've had supermarket cashiers suggesting that I will be "relieved when the children go back to school" - despite those children just standing at my side causing me no stress or worry whatsoever, often these very same 'nuisance children' are even helping me to pack the shopping into bags and I'm thankful for their presence"

To carry on reading the full article go to her blog Classroom free

whats the crafting world coming too?

Lovely Bits and Pieces posed the question on a social networking site about finding it worrying these days to put any photos of your work on the net, she said "all us crafters have load of designs and ideas, and some are very similar to others based on things we have seen when out and about, but sometimes ideas overlap, its a hard situation, here's hoping the crafting community doesn't start falling apart"


This made me think, with all the media coverage of the latest cases of copying, this whole thing about pinterest's T&C's not being moral and being sued for sharing ( has any case happened so far?) has things gone too far?, are we all getting too paranoid?, I love the net and all the diversity it brings but it makes me wonder if we couldn't share our ideas and photos on line how much of this would disappear, I wouldn't know what someone in another town had made unless that person had a shop or I knew them in real life. I think you have to question your beliefs about humans and the way in which everyone is scrutinised and made to feel like they have done wrong when they are genuine.

I think people are overreacting with all this coverage at the moment, agreed copying is awful, the Tatty Devine case is justified, as is some of the other blatant copying going on and this must be tackled and reported and shared. But I often have ideas, I draw them or talk about them and even make them and then lo and behold weeks later I see a similar/same thing in a magazine or on line. I know I have not copied but if the designer in the magazine or on line saw what I had designed or made I could be accused of copying, it's a shame that such a lovely community is becoming paranoid and has this "sue" mindset.

I went to a ladies shop the other day and her workspace was awesome, I asked if I could take a photo to put on my blog and asked if she wanted to be in the picture, she declined, I took all her details to share them on my blog I then was about to take a photo of her makes and she got quite bolshy and told me not to as I might copy her designs, I asked if she has a website (she does) so if anyone wanted to copy they could just go on there, its madness, I didn't blog about her and deleted my photos, I was surprised by her reaction, I thought I was doing her a favour spreading the word and recommending her work to my friends on line, to bring her more custom, how wrong could I be!

I think that in a world where an enormous amount of things have been made it is hard to find new ideas, it is rare nowadays that I am truly in awe of something someone has made because for the most part in one way or another I have seen the same things again and again.

The other more scientific part of this not considered is your long term memory which holds millions of bit of information, ideas and images, maybe you saw something briefly without even realising, it lodged in your memory without you being aware of it and then a time later you start designing, without knowing this memory comes back to you and you believe you have thought of it.

This is not meant to be a get out clause for copying someones work, its just another angle. Unfortunately people are scared and worried about saying and doing the right thing, not actually speaking from the heart in case it causes controversy, I am not one of those people, I say it how I think it is, if you don't agree, that's perfectly OK, share you opinions on my comment box, I would love to hear what you all think about this whether you agree or not, don't be shy and cautious, take the step and be bold!

whats the matter grumpy?

This is what I've felt like the past few days ^

I just wanted to be warm and cosy in my burrow, its been so cold and rainy lately it has made my procratination levels soar and I have been feeling rather down about life, I think a lot of people dont admit when things get on top of them, I know I don't, I just smile and say "yeah I'm fine" when asked, but instead I would like to be honest and say "you know what, NO I'm not ok, I feel crappy, I feel like screaming rather loudly and stamping my feet like a two year old, I want to forget work, forget making dinner, forget homeschooling and hide under the duvet until the sun comes out and this dark feeling passes".

Periods, they are blamed for a lot of this hormonal disruption and yes I do know when I'm being a bitch and have a weepy day and that is def down to periods but other times, times when all around you seems happy and nice do you get this despair and nothings good feeling?

I have suffered from postnatal depression in the past and got so low at one point in my life a long time ago that I tried (and failed obviously) to kill myself, I think it was a cry for help rather than me not wanting to live, I was in a very bad relationship at the time and had no support from family. This was one of my lowest points, so I know what it is like to be depressed.

I'm not depressed now, I'm not talking about depression with the feelings I described, more of an nagging feeling of despair that passes as quickly as it comes.

I am, I think a positive person, one who tries to see the good in all we do, one who has a happy life with an adorable partner and 3 lovely (if not rather trying ) teens, I craft , I bake, I have good friends, I enjoy my life, I am thankful but still I feel like crap some days.

We are going to a discover your true potential seminar tonight so I'm hoping my black cloud will pass and tomorrow I will wake with new vigour and a real smile.

Thanks for reading my rant, its nice to have a blog to say how I really fell sometimes x

Flickr and finances :(

A lot of you are probably already on Flickr, but I have only just joined up, Im behind everyone in these things so forgive me, Im hoping to get more exposure ( not in that way cheeky!), for my crafted items, at the moment my partner and I are really finding things difficult and as we both are at home, doing homeschool, he is self employed and Im trying to get some extra money from my sewn/painted items, it is financially hard. We have been in talks about whether it would be a good idea to both get full time jobs working for the man and seeing if we are any better off. I don't want the boys to go back to school so we would have to work around that too and that is going to be tricky, I love our lives at home but now the eldest has left college and is trying (not very hard) to find himself a job, things are difficult. So I really want to be able to sell my things and make a living that way. I need to sort out my website, its ok but I do have a super one ready with music, moving things etc, trouble is I have to buy a domain name and hosting for it (money again you see), Im always posting on FB and attending craft fairs when I can, the last one I did on sunday was naff for me, my friend bought some things off me, so I was only a £1 down after paying for the table, it's so disheartening when you have put in a lot of effort and been up at 6am not to make any sales. Have you any ideas on how to improve my chances of becoming more successful?, I don't mind harsh words and suggestions, so feel free x

stuck in sunday

Do you ever feel stuck in a rut, like you need to spread your wings and start off on a new journey even a metaphorical one?, I do, lots of times, don't get me wrong I'm happy, I have lovely children, I have a great partner and all the pretties a girl could ask for, I have a pretty good, simple life but lots of day's I wonder... is there more than this?, more than washing up and hoovering, more than this house and watching TV, more than our neighbours and street, more than our stinky town full of hideous smack rats and women with 9 kids who don't love any of them.

Of course there is and most days I know I should go and explore, venture out and DO something, most day's I want to, the trouble is, most day's if it's not raining or a meteor hasn't crashed in our street (this hasn't happened yet, but I wish it would sometimes and land on the bin troll from next door) the boys don't really want to go out or one of us is ill, or there is work to be done or some other rubbishy excuse. Then by night time I realise that another day has passed me by and I have achieved not much except eat cake and maybe a bit of knitting.

Today is one of those days, its glorious outside, I got all ready to go to a concert in the park but my partner is ill, the boys don't want to go out and here I am back on the computer gazing at other people life's, who at this moment seem much better than mine...

I know I am moaning and yes I know there are millions worse off than me but I needed to moan somewhere and here is the only place I can right now.

What do you do when you feel stuck?