Happy 2012!

As per when I hit my college restart, it's been a while since I've last posted. It's just been so busy for us for the holidays, which turned out to be some of the best that I've had, barring the fact that I'm still trying to dig my house and kitchen out. I'd much rather spend time with my family and friends, as we all would. I have tomorrow to do it before starting the new term at college. I thought today, being a new start, I should use this space to recap the year, and to put down some pseudo-resolutions.

Recap of 2011

This has probably been the year that I have seen the most positivity that I can ever think of having. I've experienced the strengthening of friendships, renewal of old friendships, and the gaining of new friendships. This is the year that I've finally gotten brave enough to truly put myself out there, and starting this blog has made the biggest difference to me. For those that are interested in going back to my start, just follow this link.

After the downer of having to drop my college Access course in March, I restarted it again in September. It was a bit of a struggle to fit in with the new group to start with, but now I can say that I've got friends amongst them that I plan on keeping for a lifetime. I'm extremely pleased and surprised with my progress on the course. They started with a new awarding body, which makes things a little more complicated, but I feel that I'm doing a lot better than I was last year, and it feels more like I'm getting somewhere than I was last year.

I've seen a lot of changes with the Imp. We were struggling with our relationship at the beginning of the year, but she then started at an excellent nursery in May, and us having our separate time has made the hugest difference to the both of us. I have my own identity back, and my life is no longer revolving around her every move, and her personality and skills have taken dramatic leaps and grow with each day. She started there with being six months behind in her speech, and after a fortnight there, the switch finally flicked and she was speaking in complete and clear sentences. She skipped a few steps. She now makes her opinion clear, and, most of the time, when her emotions aren't getting in the way, let's me know what she wants and needs. She's become very independent, and it makes it a lot easier for us to be equals within our little family unit.

Seeing my mom, stepdad, and one of my three brothers back in May was a truly special time. I hadn't seen them since 2003, and being able to spend a fortnight with them and my now-10 year old niece that I met for the first time was amazing.

There has been the sadness, as well, with the loss of a yearmate in the beginning of the year, and the loss of friends' pets that meant a lot to me. I have had my down moments, but they've been a lot quicker to get out of than they have been in the past.

Pseudo Resolutions for 2012

I'm not in to making resolutions, because they're too easy to break. But there are a few goals that I truly want to put in place.  From the way that I'm looking at it, 2012 looks to be truly spectacular for me. It may not seem like much to some people, but that is the word that has been shouting at me, because I am truly looking forward with a lot of positivity.

• Spend more time with my friends, aka My English Family
• I've spent more time than ever with my friends this year, which has made a huge difference to me, but I think we need to do even more. My closest friends I have dubbed as my honorary siblings, so, if you look at it that way, as well as having three blood-related brothers, I also have four sisters, three brothers, the Imp's Grumpy, and the keeper of my heart. Hmm, because I'm likely to be blogging more about them, I should probably come up with alternative names for them all. You've already seen me regularly post about one, Witchy Kitty. She's changing to a new blog, but I think she can keep her same name with me :P I'll come up with names for everybody else as I go along.
• Get out of Lincoln more often. 
• I rarely leave the city. I think I can maybe think of three to five trips out for the day in the last year. I'm already planning a trip to Cardiff to visit Illustratedmum (Welshy sister), which I really should do more often.  More day trips are in the pipelines, as well as some potential weekends away.
• Finish my Access course and start University
• That's all dependent on me getting accepted to uni.  My UCAS will definitely be going out tomorrow, and I need to keep up on my course work. 
• Keep up on my blogging.
• This blog has made a huge difference to me, so I need to focus back down and post more often again. Maybe make a goal for at least once a week or fortnight, minimum, to get me back on track.
• Read more books
• I'm normally an avid reader, but I've just not had the mental focus to concentrate and read, so my stack is building up. I must try harder. 
• Do more crafting.
• I've put my cross stitch aside for the time being, because I really need to find a floor stand for my frame. I've opted for some smaller crochet projects that I can get the sense of accomplishment of actually finishing something. For holiday gifts, I managed to whip through and complete three scarves. That's a huge accomplishment for me, the way that things have been so busy. One of them was even finished in a day...that was only due to me reinjuring myself and having to force myself to actually sit down and stop. The other two took me a fair bit longer, but I still managed to finish one for Yule and one for Christmas, and I was quite pleased with myself.  One of my posts to look back on regarding projects would be this one. Another project that looks easy is from Kirsty Alsopp's program on Channel 4. She did a heart garland for across her mantle for Christmas, but it's inspired me to attempt to do something similar for each Sabbat to go across my shelf in the living room. I just need to find fabric that I fancy, and the time.
• Concentrate more on my rituals and celebrations.
• I don't mean doing anything fancy, but, as seemingly seems to be a repeating theme, I need to take more time to stop and celebrate. It's not that I don't celebrate with a thought or few every day, but I need to stop more. Nothing organised...we all know that I don't play all that well with others that try to be organised, but I feel the need to do some energy and spiritual work with others (just as long as it's not organised. Got to make that clear :P )
• Project 365
• I'm a rather snap-happy person with my mobile, so I've finally brought up the courage to start a Project365. Feel free to follow me, if you're interested, on silverswan365.blogspot.com

Again, those are just a few goals, but nothing is set in stone. I really can't call them resolutions for the year, because they're ongoing things in my life that I'm looking forward.

I hope that all of you will be having as spectacular of a 2012 as I anticipate mine to be. Feel free to share yours in the comments, because I love seeing what everybody is looking forward to.

Mel

Epic Posting Fail

I am extremely guilt-ridden at the moment. I've been so busy with college that I've not had the mental capacity to post here on my blog. My goal was to post at least once or twice a week, and I've just looked, and I've not posted in a month. I truly, truly apologise. I've had a bit more work in college this year than the course was last year because I am taking Higher GCSE Maths as an extra class (I currently dream in numbers because I've been doing so much of it. Good thing I like Math) and the curriculum is a touch different. It is definitely time for a catch up, and hopefully things will be settling down into a better routine after this half term break for me to get back to my regular posting schedule.

I am really looking forward to Samhein. We will be celebrating a few days early, with friends coming to eat, drink and be merry here at home. We've not gotten together since the summer, so I'm stupidly excited. On the 31st itself, a couple friends will join me for jack o'lantern carving (I do the stencils on them). I have one or two pumpkins from the back garden that are big enough for me to carve, and I'll buy a bigger one from town tomorrow. Pumpkin carving for me is also harvesting my seeds to plant next year, and collecting the flesh that will be part of our pumpkin pies for the year. I will hold a private ritual before bed, honouring my family, ancestors and friends that have passed on this year.

I've witnessed some spectacular natural events over the past week. The skies over Lincoln have been clear enough at night to spot a few shooting stars from the Orionid Meteor Shower, and it's been a wrench when I've gone to sort the quails out at 11pm to go inside. Today was another spectacular scene as the Imp and I stood in the rain waiting for a bus with The Witchy Kitty and her family. There was a huge double rainbow over the city, with the end of one of the rainbows hitting the cathedral. Absolutely stunning, and I couldn't help but attempt to take some photos (Witchy Kitty and I decided to race to see who would post first, and she will also be cross posting me)

Just down the road, you should be able to spot Lincoln Cathedral

Shooting stars and rainbows actually hold a lot of meaning to me. Memories of high school marching band...serenading the band directors in the early hours of one morning during the week before State Marching Finals and the Leonid Meteor Shower being extremely active at 4am as we shivered and played through the entire program. And, when I was most stressed with the preparations, feeling the presence of my grandmother and spotting a rainbow around the sun, every year of the morning of State. The memories of my grandmother are the strongest, and still there whenever I spot a rainbow, or get the scent of gardenia when there are none around. I see her in the Imp, and have since I fell pregnant with her.

Well, this is the time for memories and renewal for me, and I feel utterly renewed with finally getting the chance for a clear mind that has allowed me to blog a new post. Here's to fingers crossed that it continues.

Mel

P.S.
Good luck to the Greenwood Marching Woodmen on your trip to Saturday's 2011 ISSMA State Finals.

Joy Pockets (260911)

Yet another busy one for us, but we've had some lovely times in between the exhausting ones.

• Finding out that I will be able to do the higher GCSE in Maths as a blended, independent learning class alongside the foundation class that is part of my Access course. I'm extremely happy with this, as it will give me one of my first English educational certificates.
• The Saturday morning kiddy show at the cinema. According to the Imp, we were watching 'blue quails', and she really liked them (we went to see "Rio", which is about a blue macaw). We followed it with a bit of retail therapy and lunch, and with all the rush around me being in college and her in nursery, it was nice spending time outside of being home.
• I now have all of the bits that I need for our planned homemade Yule and Christmas gifts.
• Being told by the Imp that biscuits make her tummy feel all better. She was a bit poorly yesterday, and didn't eat more than a slice of toast and a couple of prawn crackers. I figured that she actually was feeling better this morning, but she was afraid to eat, so her stomach didn't appreciate it. I phoned a friend to bring her some digestive biscuits, and she's now back to being all smiles and chattering away. We don't have them in the house, because I can't have them, but they seem to be doing a better job than my poor attempt at making her toast yesterday (we don't own a toaster, because we don't need one).

So, what are your Joy Pockets for the week?

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Well, most of the past week was a fair bit of disaster for me, but I can always find stuff that lighten it a little bit.

• The Imp going swimming with Witchy Kitty for the first time today, and the joy and excitement of the both of them when I joined them afterwards on the bus. The Imp had never seen anything bigger than a bathtub or her paddling pool, and I guess she acted like she's been there forever. She even told Mr. Kitty to 'go away, I can do it myself' more than once. I'm so proud of her.
• Seeing my kitties and Witchy Kitty's kitties a lot happier and better on a new food. And having one of her kitties that I've never seen more than a tail in the almost two years that they've had her decide that she wanted fuss off of me, she wanted it there and then, and she was going to be nose-to-nose standing on my chest to get it.
• Having a fantastic GP that understands that he won't see me unless I have a serious issue, so actually listens to me. He gets a bit miffed with me because I'm quite prone to letting things build up and walking in with a list of problems (bad habits from living in the States, and trying to get my head around that I can just go in on the NHS and it won't cost me a couple of legs and an arm), but I did only go in with one this time.
• Listening to the quails 'chat' in their excitement of getting bits of sunflower heads. The four girls have lovely little chirps that sound like an evening chorus of crickets.

Fingers crossed for a much improved week this week. I hope you're all doing well.

Joy Pockets 120911

I apologise that it's been a fortnight since I've done my Joy Pockets, but it has been so super busy with getting back to college, and last Monday was a particularly rough day for us. But, here we go. I hope to be back to my normal posting self within the next week or two, once I'm into a better routine.

• The hints of autumn arriving. The leaves just starting to change, the arrival of blustery winds, and the chance that the weather isn't likely to go over-warm again for a while.
• Tied in to the weather, the excuse to make beef stew today...nom. I'll post the recipe later this week.
• The Imp being so excited to be able to return to nursery. It's three, super-long days for her, but she adapted straight away.
• Succeeding in sorting out my budget spreadsheets up to June. Ok, this probably sounds really sad, but I actually enjoy doing it because I'm really proud of my spreadsheets.
• Starting back at college, and the excitement of getting into a routine, and having work that makes me think. Oh, you will probably see me posting about my frustration on papers and assignments, but I honestly do enjoy it.

Mel

Cross Stitch: Wheel of the Year - Restart

I'm not going to bother posting a photo today, but I've actually managed to get a couple of hours of stitching this week! It's been a busy week, still, with getting ready to start college (Induction was today), and the Imp...well, the Threenager has seriously struck over the past week and a half (part of the reason that there was no Joy Pockets post this week...on top of me being absolutely wiped out lately).

Tomorrow, my classes aren't going ahead, but the Imp still has a place at nursery. So, after dropping her off at 8am, I will be returning home, doing a quick tidy, putting on my multiple episodes of "Torchwood", and sitting and stitching all day. :)

As for the Imp and nursery, today was the longest that we've been apart since she was born. I was busy today, but tomorrow, I think will be a complete culture shock for me. She's 3 2/3ish, and more than ready to be independent. She loved being there all day, and is looking forward to tomorrow...so much so that she's just brought me her night time nappy without being asked, at 7:15pm. Her hair is in her 'night night braids' (so we don't have to fight with it to brush it in the morning), and she's gone and put her own pyjamas on. I guess that's a hint for me to tuck her in.

Mel

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OK, I am a day late, but I was sidetracked last night with snuggling with Witchy Kitty's Cub. For being a stay at home mum, I feel like I've been super busy lately, but I struggle to figure out why. But, here are my Joy Pockets for the past week (don't forget to check them out at Bohemian Twilight).

• Still having Yule and Christmas on the brain, I was rather pleased with myself for coming up with the perfect gift ideas for the Imp's grandparents...all handmade and within my pathetic budget. I've felt bad for the past several years that I haven't been able to send anything at all to my family, and to find something perfect is exceptional.
• Having fantastic neighbours. I have one neighbour that takes my bins out every week because I'm dreadful at waking up on Monday morning. Yesterday, the neighbour behind me made an exuberant search and managed to capture one of my delinquent quails that boldly jumped out of the hutch while I was sorting them out and made a mad dash for it. She was found, safe and sound, next to his bins after a half hour/45 minutes.
• A girly night that didn't wind down until 2am. It was a fantastic Friday night.
• Sharing a meal with friends, and my attempts at gluten free chicken gravy turning out amazing on top of cheesy mashed potatoes and stir fried chicken and red onion.
• Waking up for one of my normal stirrings to find both cats in bed with me. Loki has always slept with me, and was by my hand. I moved my foot to find that I kicked Florence and she didn't shift. Florence joined us in December of last year, and she's never slept with me before...she normally sleeps on the Welsh dresser downstairs. She's been extremely cuddly since the rearrangement of my bedroom.
• My family in Maryland and North Carolina being safe and sound after the hurricane. My cousin and his wife lost a few roof tiles, and my brother lost a couple of trees...one that missed the house and landed in the woods instead.

So, what has brought joy and a smile to your face this week?

Mel

Joy Pockets (220811)

It's actually been a busy one for us this week, so not a lot of cross stitching done, but a lot of giggling and laughing.

• The arrival of our fluff babies! Five gorgeous quails, four girls and a boy (in two separate hutches...poor George has to wait until the next batch to get some company). I've posted a couple of photos at the bottom.
• The Imps ecstatic giggling when bouncing on the harnessed trampolines in town. One of the best £3 I've spent, just to hear her giggling like that.
• Finally winning the battle of my downstairs, and getting it to a point that it now fairly easy to keep up the tidy. 
• Being able to appease my need to rearrange furniture (there will be a post around this tomorrow or Wednesday!)
• Barbecuing on Saturday with friends. Being able to introduce people and everybody getting along together like a house on fire. We're already planning Yule, and at least one other meal before then. There was a lot of laughing going on, and I think we finally finished at around 1am.

Harriet

Gertie and Gertrude

Bounce!

Mel

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• We're now in the home stretch for the arrival of our quails, and I'm stupidly excited. We're just waiting for the arrival of the food and feeders, which I expect either tomorrow or Wednesday, and the birds will be arriving on Saturday.
• The hilarity of wet cats. I needed to bath my cats to give me a fresh start to sort their skin out. My boy, Loki, is absolutely loopy and loves water, so he didn't mind being dumped into the bathroom sink full of warm water and baby shampoo (and after a generous dollup of body butter for extra dry skin rubbed into his fur, his neck is almost healed). Florence didn't enjoy it at all, but she was funny because her fur soaks up water like a sponge...on top of leaving a huge puddle in the bathroom carpet, she looked so pathetic it was difficult not to laugh (her neck is improved, but was a lot worse than Loki's in the first place).
• The first Christmas gifts are now hiding in the cupboard under the stairs. It's a joint gift for the Imp and I from her Grumpy, and we managed to get a really good deal, so shopped early. I already have Yule and Christmas on the brain, and have for the past month or two. I've already forewarned Angela at The Pagan Mom Blog that my excitement for this year is likely to start creeping into my posts pretty soon. I think the reason that I've got it into my head to start preplanning is because since I started this college course before, I know what's coming, and I want to have everything superbly organised so it's very little effort when the time comes.
• The Imp's current fascination with chickens. When we visited a friend who has some recently, we hardly saw her in the house because she was out chattering to her rapt audience and feeding them the grass that had been growing between the flagstones in the path.

The Imp and her audience

The Imp and her audience

Mel

Joy Pockets (080811)

It's been another quiet one for us this week, though with the Imp it feels like something is always going on.  Here are my Joy Pockets for the week. Don't forget to visit Monica at Bohemian Twilight if you're interested in joining in with this fantastic meme.

• Having the opportunity to spend lots of time in the woods, and making me brave enough to explore our little woods near us. Our day at Lincolnshire Forest School on Saturday really made me see that the Imp is ready for that extended exploration, and she's fantastic at it. On Sunday, we wandered to Boultham Woods, and I let her take the lead. 
• The Imp telling me, spontaneously during our walk yesterday, "I'm really having fun, mummy!", as she searched for 'sweeties' (blackberries...which aren't quite ready except the occasional bitter one).
• Being caught up with my paperwork. Ok, this one might seem strange, but I hate paperwork. But I managed to get all of my financial forms into college as soon as I received them, because I had all of my evidence in order before they arrived. 
• Being able to find a reasonably priced replacement for the power switch that I broke on my netbook (when replacing the wireless card). Now to figure out how to get it installed tomorrow, with the assistance of a friend.
• The arrival of our new hutch for the soon-to-be arriving quail, and the reality that hit when I got it put together on Saturday evening.
• A fantastic friend that I met in college last year moving just a bit down the road from me.
• Continuing to watch things grow in our garden. Our pumpkin is starting to go orange, some of the sunflowers are bigger than my head, and the smaller ones have loads of gorgeous flowers on one plant, and it's so heavy I'm going to have to stake it tomorrow.

Family Chores

Like everybody else, I dread housework. I even admit to procrastination. I have been doing a lot better about it, but I still have my off days. While we had a few hot days, my kitchen built up a bit because it was too hot and humid for me to stand there. Ok, I know it wasn't as hot here in England as it has been in the States lately, or for as long, but I detest the heat. A beach holiday is my idea of a nightmare.

Since it's been a rainy day today, with a cooler temperature, I couldn't procrastinate on the dishes any more. I didn't realise that I would have assistance, though. The Imp, at 3 1/2, decided that she wanted to help, so grabbed her own tea towel and started drying cutlery and putting it away in the drawer. She didn't ask if I wanted help, she just cracked on with it, happily singing her little head off.  One thing that it made it me realise is that I need to start cleaning the floor first instead of last, because I caught her spreading the tea towel on the floor, stacking in a pile of utensils, rolling them up, and then carrying it all over to the drawer in a bundle.

It also made me realise how fantastic it is that the Imp and I work so well together as a team. It's just us, and I'm so used to watching parents struggle with their toddlers, especially in the 'terrible twos' and, a term that some of my friends have used, 'Threenager'. Don't get me wrong, we both have our off days, and we're both argumentative, stubborn mules. But we can, and do, work together to keep the house up now. She's fairly reasonable about tidying her toys up (at least downstairs...her bedroom is a bombsite, but I don't care as long as I have a path to her bed).

Sometimes I'll get frustrated at her, but I do get down and help her if she's struggling to get started. That's the whole point...I help her, but I don't do it all. It wouldn't be fair for me to expect her to be able to cope with all of it, and it wouldn't be fair for her to expect me to be her maid. It's all about letting her join in and think it's all her idea. There are certain chores that I ask her specifically to do, like keep her downstairs toys in a reasonable array, and to put them away before bedtime (though I forgot to remind her this evening, so they're all still sitting in the living room). She's responsible for putting her overnight nappy in the bucket in the morning...I don't have to ask on this one. She puts all her dirty clothes in the basket in the bathroom, helps me load the washing machine, and she pegs all our underpants on the lowest part of the outside washing line. But all of it she started on her own. I just have to ask her if she wants to help...sometimes I don't even have to ask, she pushes her way in.

Our team work has panicked people in the past. The Imp has joined me in the kitchen from the start. She spent a lot of her infancy in a sling, watching me cook. Now, the moment that I step into the kitchen, she's up on her step right next to me. A year ago I didn't get the big knife far enough back on the counter, and I walked in to find her with a potato on the chopping board, cutting it into slivers that she said were chips, and putting them in the roasting tin. She hasn't touched the knife since, but she watches me like a hawk with my every movement, and comments (nags at me) on making sure to keep my fingers back because the knife is sharp. When I have the oven door swung open, she stops where she is, or backs away, until I have it shut. All I have to do is tell her I'm opening the 'hot hot'. She's in charge of the vegetable cupboard and refrigerator, including when putting shopping away. I'm not even allowed to touch the fridge. I'd hate to think what it looks like, but she knows where everything is. Her first real words were all regarding cooking and veg.

I see a lot of parents, even of teenagers, that wait on their kids hand and foot. Ok, whatever floats your boat. But I feel that with the Imp learning things young, and learning how to work as a team within a functioning family unit, she'll have a stronger upbringing. I can hope that as an adult, she won't dread the necessary evils of having to do housework. I'm trying to improve my procrastination, so she sees me getting what I don't like to do done before what I enjoy doing. It's a struggle at the moment, but I do promise that I'm improving. Since ditching the dining room table, we're finding the living room and dining room easier to keep up, so it doesn't take us as long to tidy up. It's even quicker with both of us doing it, and more enjoyable. She actually lifts my mood up, because her random singing under her breath is almost constant, really cute, and makes me laugh.

Mel

Joy Pockets (010811)

It's been a quiet one for us this week, but there's always positive things for us.

• Spending loads of time with the Imp, even if it's just watching her play with her cars while I work on my cross stitch (though she is absolutely fascinated with it, so I really must find a kiddie-friendly alternative...maybe for her 4th birthday in January).
• Our sunflowers starting to open this week, and how much they brighten up our drab back garden.
• Weeding in the garden taking less time as the proper plants take over.
• Having a new 'project' to do research to start up, and the reality hitting that it's going to happen really soon, with the Imp's grandfather buying us a double hutch off eBay, that will be housing our soon to arrive quails
• Getting to meet a friend's menagerie, and having a first look at what will be the new additions to our family (start of our menagerie :P )
• The letters arriving from the college with my September schedule, and the excitement that it's all going to start properly this time. Last year, I had been called up off the waiting list and started a fortnight late and couldn't get childcare funding. This year, my funding paperwork is all sorted, I'll be starting on time, and I have a clue as to what to expect.

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I have a few Joy Pockets from this last week.

• Yet more leaps in the Imp's speech. She's gone from being a very quiet child to chattering almost non-stop. And the more that comes out, the funnier and cheekier she is. I had to walk away from her and her Grumpy in a shop on Saturday, because she essentially 'zinged' him. She shouldn't be so much of a smart aleck to her grandfather, but unfortunately I couldn't help but split a side laughing, so had to walk away so she couldn't see me laughing so hard about it.
• Day out to Rand Farm Park. Nevermind the hayfever after-affect, watching the Imp glued to a woman milking a cow, getting over her nerves of feeding the goats and donkeys, and being so enthralled and gentle with the rabbits was lovely. It was also a shock when we went so she could pet the bunnies that she immediately spotted the girl guide troop there that had been told to sit in a row on a bench to take their turn, and she squidged her bum right in the middle of them, and sat as good as gold (they were older, and I think she sat even better than they did).

The Imp with the Bunny

• The summer flowers. I think I actually enjoy them more than spring flowers.

Purple wildflowers on our way to the park

Japanese-breed sunflower in our back garden

• The Imp starting to appreciate then environment around her, and actually enjoying a short trip through the nearby woods.

Walking on a path through the woods

• Friends that checked on me after injuring myself on Wednesday.
• Friday Night Girly Night! We had such a fantastic giggle that I've not had for a while. 
• Being gifted veg, eggs, and quail's eggs fresh from a friend's allotment. We go through loads of veg and eggs, so it's highly appreciated. And we had never tried quails' eggs before, and I think the Imp is now hooked. It was the first time that I've let her peel her own boiled eggs, and she was amazingly quick (and doing a better job than I was).

Our rather pretty quails' eggs

Mel

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This week has had it's moments, and it's quite nice to be able to stop and contemplate on some positives after hearing of some appalling news from a few friends. It truly makes me count my blessings.

• Mummy Fail turning into a positive. The imp loved dressing up as a pirate and saying 'Yo Ho Ho', and even asked to have her 'pirate put back on her head' on Saturday and Sunday.
• Role Playing with friends. We had a fab game of D&D Eberron yesterday, and I'm starting to pick up on things more and more.
• A carpet washer on sale being bought for us. The house now smells rather fluffy and floral, and there's a drastic improvement in how the floor looks
• Freecycle, and my dining table getting removed out of my way in under two hours of being posted. For those of you that have never done Freecycle, go to www.freecycle.org . There you can find the site for your local area.
• The gorgeousness of this week's full moon, and the weather in Lincoln clearing in the evenings so it was visible.

A bit of a slow one the last week on my posting, but I do plan on doing more this week. I have a couple of posts in mind, as well as I'll post at least a couple of recipes :)
Mel

Are You Sure?

Most people that know the Imp and I know that at one point she was 6 months behind with her speech. A year ago, we were seeing speech therapists that ended up being a pointless waste of everybody's time because the Imp wasn't interested in them. If they tried to get her to play with what they wanted, she ignored them. If they tried to involve themselves in what she was already playing with, she'd walk off and do something else. She didn't have the vocabulary that was expected for a 2 1/2 year old. But we did realise that her vocabulary did consist of a lot of cooking terms that wouldn't normally be known by a little...we could go shopping and she could point out and say 'garlic' and she also knew that it went into our bolognaisse (she didn't have a word for that, but if I said what we were having she would start getting the ingredients out of the cupboard).

I finally decided to not bother with the speech therapists any more, knowing that she would eventually suss it out. What has actually happened is that she skipped the babbling stage and went straight into clear words, then immediately into sentences when she was ready. In March, it was like a switch had been flicked. She wasn't going to talk until she could say it properly, it seemed. Our relationship has actually improved since she's no longer getting frustrated at me not being able to understand her.

But I think she's skipped another stage...the 'Why' stage. In chatting with her today about dinner, I said 'I think we're going to have eggs for dinner'. The response that I get from her is a phrase that I've heard her say for a couple of days...'Are you sure?'. Well, yes, I am sure that we are going to have eggs for dinner. I forgot to pull meat out of the freezer, and the eggs are sitting on the counter, readily available. Not what you expect your 3 1/2 year old to ask, but I'll go with it. It's a lot easier to answer than 'why?', at least so far.

'Are you sure?' is a question that's commonly asked by a lot of people. 'Are you sure you really want to be doing that?', 'Are you sure that is what you really want?', 'Are you sure that is your final answer?', 'Are you sure that's what you believe?'. Such a broad but simple question, and it can really set you thinking. It reminds you to think things through, to make sure that you're not leaping lightly to a decision.  It's ok to have the occasional snap decision, but most things need to have a bit of contemplation. There are steps that need to be taken in your thought process for bigger decisions. I've had a few of those big decisions in my life, and I thoroughly thought my actions through, and followed through with my processes, only to have outsiders ask me 'Are you sure?'.

One of the things that I was ultimately sure about was my decision about religious beliefs. I was raised Christian, and all of my family still are, which is perfect for them. But I found that I was unhappy and questioning a lot of what was being taught. The more I thought about it, the more of a burden of unhappiness it became. When the opportunity arrived to study and research other paths of faith and enlightenment, it was like a a light at the end of a tunnel. I knew in my heart that faith should not be a burden, it should bring you joy, comfort, and support. Sometimes it is a solitary path, but in all actuality you aren't ever actually alone. For me, I always feel the presences of my goddesses and gods, as well as those of my grandmothers, spirit guides, and spirit friends.

So, when the question is raised 'Are you sure?', well, my answer is yes. By the time that I've been asked that question, I'll have already thought through my options, done any research required, and come to my final conclusion. But it's good to double check, whether it's somebody asking, or you asking yourself. Sometimes, you need to reassure yourself. Regarding my faith, yes, I am absolutely positive, and there will be no changing my mind. A long path opened up when I made that decision, and it is the biggest sureties of my life.

As for dinner, I'm liking the Imp asking me 'are you sure?'. It gives me the chance to ask what her opinion is on it, to give her a say in what we're doing or having. Yes, she may only be 3 1/2, but her opinion is just as valid as mine is, and gives her the confidence that she can help.

Mel

P.S. Don't forget to check out my guest post today over at The Pagan Mom Blog!

Joy Pockets (110711)

I've been contemplating a proper post all day, but nothing has been springing up. I'm getting frustrated, because I feel the need to write. Hmm...I never thought I'd say that. I've regularly discussed with The Witchy Kitty that I'm an editor (or, in her words, Wicked Widdy Witch) not a writer. But I'm finding that the more that I blog, the more of a desire that I have to write.

Witchy Kitty regularly posts her Joy Pockets, that are inspired by Monica at Holistic Mama and Bohemian Twilight, and I think that I'll start posting them myself. It's suggested that it's done on Friday or Saturday, but Monday feels just right for me. It gives me the weekend to mull over my previous week and get it into some words.

So, here are my Joy Pockets for the Week :)

Florence 'helping' me tweet

• My gorgeous little Imp, and being amazed at how she's gone from behind with her speech to being a proper conversationalist, and how much easier it is on our relationship now that she can communicate with me.
• My lovely two brats...oops, I mean Cats. Loki, who is regularly meowing at me, and Florence, who graces me with a little squeak about once every two months. Last week I was lucky enough to get two of those squeaks.
• Gluten Free Cupcakes. I will be making 30 for the Imp's end of term Pirate Party at nursery, and there will be six leftover. Did I ever mention that I enjoy my own cooking?
• Lughnassadh. My favourite Sabbat is coming up soon, and I'm starting to get ideas to actually write a ritual out for it, to share.
• The calm and relaxation inspired by my crafting, which is currently my Wheel of the Year cross stitch project.
• Hearing that my mom has managed to talk to my boys, and she forwarded a new pic of them.

Don't forget to have a look at The Pagan Mom Blog tomorrow for my guest blog post in her "31 Days of Deities" series :D
Mel