Do you prefer summer or winter?

 Do you prefer summer or winter? I much prefer summer, there doesn't seem to be as much laundry to wash or iron, maybe that's because clothes are smaller, it's also easier to dry the clothing, bedding etc! (I sound like my mother)!

Summer is the best! Listening to the birds singing, watching the wildlife in the garden (now I'm sounding like my Dad), barbecues, sipping wine while socialising in the garden, feeling the warmth from the sun in your face, lazing on the beach, music festivals, long country walks, summer gives us the opportunity to live. We live life to the full when's the suns shining! Warmer weather just makes us feel better, brighter and more motivated. We jump out of bed in the mornings, have a cool shower, throw on little shorts and a strappy top let our hair dry naturally, all tousled and sexy, bronzer, lipgloss, mascara a light summery perfume, it's easy! Isn't it?



Maybe in the movies! My reality is different. I wake up sweating as its far too hot! I drag myself into the shower, moaning that I've got to shave my legs and underarms, then it's time for the daily rummage in my wardrobe hoping I'll find something that (a) matches (b) hides my lumps and bumps (c) isn't a colour that shows wet patches under my arms when I get too hot. I attempt to dry my hair with the hair dryer on the coolest setting as I'm perspiring more now than I was before I showered! I then choke on the copious amounts of anti-persperant deodorant I spray hoping that it'll do the job I want it too, knowing full well that it won't.
Summer is painful, especially when I've fell asleep sunbathing in the garden and I awake to a bright red and sore nose and shoulders.  Well,I couldn't stay awake as I can't sleep at night because it's far too hot and stuffy! Roll on winter!

Oh winter, the nights snuggling up on the sofa with hubs in front of the fire, the flames dancing, hypnotising, bringing us the sense of calm and contentment, knowing all is well in our world. Feeling cosy in our beds with the highest tog duvet that we can find. Drinking hot chocolate, morning, noon and night. Enjoying hearty homemade soups and stews, not minding when we gain the odd pound or six, it just assists in keeping us warm under the cuddly big  wooly jumpers. Winter is very romantic isn't it? No?


Winter is NOT romantic, it's freezing!  I wear thermal everything, yes even long johns!  I climb into bed at night, hubs starts to complain, he doesn't think it's ok for me to put my cold feet on him, I remind him that he vowed when we got married "to have and to hold, keeping your feet warm, for better or worse" etc etc.
It's nearly impossible to get out of bed in the mornings, it's far too cold, "put the heating on" I hear you say, hubs says its not cold it's just my imagination! I wear so many layers of clothes I can hardly get out of a chair, and I'm sick to the back teeth of soup!
Whenever I attempt to leave the house first thing on a frosty morning, when the pathways are pretty, glistening white with frost, I can guarantee I'll slip over, and it always has to be in front of a crowd of people, that's right, I always have to have an audience of schoolchildren, well I suppose it cheers them up, it's obvious when you hear the sniggers!

So readers, have you decided, do you prefer summer or winter?
Give me autumn (fall) or spring anyday!

Jack Marshall-we've been touched by an angel.

Jack Marshall, we've been touched by an angel.
 That's how I feel, when I first started following Jack I couldn't of imagined for one minute how that" lil man" would effect me, as well as thousands of others. Jack filled me with so much emotion I wrote my first poem about him. I took a screenshot of many of his photographs to show my family and friends whilst I raved about what a brave and inspirational young man he was. 
I'm full of  gratitude and admiration for Jacks family for sharing him with the world through Twitter. He had a massive following of over eighty-five thousand. "#Jacksarmy" as we became known are all now aware now that Brain Tumours KILL more children & adults(under 40)than ANY other cancer. I didn't know that before.  
No words can express my deep condolences to his family. As a mum myself I can't begin to imagine what Tracy, his mum,is going through. But I'm sure through her grief she feels immense pride for both her sons.  I also hope she realises how Jacks Army has united together to send her, Jacks dad , brother and family so much love. 
Jack Marshall changed our world, we've been touched my an angel.  

Update 12 December 2011
I've decided to post the poem. It certainly wouldn't win any prizes but I wrote if from the heart. So for the sake of losing my first very amateur attempt here it is-

Soon we'll have to say our goodbyes
For now at least
Tears will flow
When you have to go
You're much to young to live this life
Cruel and painful, hurt and strife
We've gained so much
While you've pained so much

The love from you, to you
All consuming but I crave more 
More smiles, more words
Your hand on mine
Keep it there forever
Until the end of time
I can't say goodbye
Im thinking it 
As I can't speak 
You'd hear my cries.

Why do I mollycoddle my son?

Why do I mollycoddle my son? Oh I don't know? I just love looking after him, it's been my "job" for so long maybe I just don't know how NOT to mother him!  Never mind pre natal classes, there should be post teen classes!
My son isn't hard work tho, he asks nothing of me, but I'm afraid I've made my bed (and his) and I assume he expects certain things from me now. He doesn't though, he told me to leave jobs and he'd do them, and he probably would but after two days of waiting I can't stand it any longer so I end up doing it! I try not too I really do, I pace around the house, do a crossword, have a tot of brandy (medicinal purposes only of course!) or weed the garden!  

I wasn't meant to be like this! Grr, I don't really know how it happened, it just did so I want to apologise to his future wife. I am so very sorry for spoiling him, I truly am, please don't hate me for it, it's just that one minute he was seven years old and the next minute he's twenty!
The only thing in my favour is hubs! Hubs does a lot around the house and son sees this, so he's very aware that housework and cooking etc isn't just the woman's job, it's teamwork. 

When son was younger he loved to help. Either dusting or attempting to push the vacuum cleaner around, he did it with such gusto now he does it with no gusto whatsoever! I also think the word "procrastination" was thought up in his honour!
I used to make it into a game with Son, I'd time him to see how fast he could put his toys away, he always managed it in ten seconds! Yeah right! One weekend when he was seventeen hubs and I were away for a weekend and I made a game up where he received points for doing household tasks and bonus points for doing any tasks above and beyond the call of duty!(eg ironing, cleaning windows) Good idea? Yes? Erm no actually, tho the home was unnaturally clean, not a coaster or cushion out of place, it was what he did for his bonus points that had me gobsmacked beyond belief,  he decided it would be a great idea to paint his feature wall in his bedroom, "what's wrong with that" you think? Well, I tell you what was wrong with that, he'd painted it in "cedar" fence paint! Fence paint! For goodness sake, it was everywhere! On the carpet, coving and somehow it was even on his window frame!  He was so proud of that wall (it took 5 coats of paint to cover it when we redecorated)!
So regarding my funny, caring and  totally  adorable only child now he's all grown up (with facial hair and everything), tell me-
Why do I mollycoddle my son?

What do you think it'd be like to be a man?

What do you think it'd be like to be a man?  Once again, a tricky one as I don't want to come across as anti-feminist. I suppose I'm just an old fashioned girly girl, and am definitely pro-women. I fly the flag for sisterhood!
  I've often thought about what it'd be like to be male (I know, I think weird things sometimes).  The positive things about being a man is ... ermm, let me think, oh yes, I wouldn't struggle to open a bottle of ketchup! Also, ermmmmm, I can't think of anymore of the top of my head at the moment, I'll come back to the positives, but now for the negatives-
•The man has to remove the spiders, without killing them if course. 
•The man fetches the ice-creams whilst the ladies laze in the sun. 
•The man is the one that collects the take-aways. 
•Men as a rule can't multi-task
•I'd hate having all that body hair (especially the mass of underarm hair & furry legs)
•Having to understand us women (I don't know about you but I can, on occasion, be high maintenance)
•I expect hubs to know how to tackle any DIY task. 
•I expect men to like blokey drinks like ale, beer and lager, pints of course. (When I prefer sipping at fancy cocktails, the night I met hubs I had a Screaming Orgasm, the cocktail, naughty)
•I'm not embarrassed to cry at a movie. 
•I'd hate to have "mens parts" dangling between my legs whereas the female form is much more attractive (normally)
I think the negative list to go on forever, though it I had been born a man I'd no doubt have a long list of womanly negatives. I was also supposed to be going back to manly positives but I'm afraid after an overnight thinking session I couldn't come up with any. I look forward to any suggestions dear reader!
So, what do you think it'd be like to be a man?

How do we deal with bullies?

How would you deal with bullies? Harshly no doubt. Ive never been bullied, should I count myself lucky? Are those that get bullied, unlucky?
Surely it shouldn't be down to lady luck, it's not like winning the lottery is it! So, what is it down too, its certainly not the fault of the person being bullied. So it's  the bullies fault , right?
I think there's more to it than that, I mean, what turns an innocent child into a bully who terrorises those who aren't as strong, emotionally and physically.  Could it be the parents "bullying" their children? Teaching them negative behaviour? If not the mimicking of the parents, then what?  Maybe some of the bullies were once the victims themselves and was"picked on" by their peers?
We have to understand it to try put a stop to it, though sadly, I don't think it'll ever be totally wiped out. Though, there are schools that have zero tolerance, and rightly so.  
Should we be teaching pupils in the first two years of schooling about the effects it causes to their school friends?  How those guilty of bullying will find themselves excluded from school and possibly ruining their chances of their chosen career.
Something has to be done to protect those that suffer dreadfully at the hands of a bully, whether at school or in the workplace.  It's a difficult one!
So, how would you deal with bullies?