Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 30

Tell everyone what you want to do and someone will want to help you do it. - W. Clement Stone

Well next year is looming on the horizon and I am thinking about what I want to get out of it, after a couple of shitty years with lots lows and a few highs (getting married being one of my favourite!) 2013 is set to be a good one, especially as 13 is our family lucky number!

I am going to make New Years resolutions but I want to make ones that are just bit general like start exercising, lose weight, get organised, I want to be a bit more thoughtful and I want my resolutions to reflect what I want to get out of this year plus inspire me to keep moving forward instead of getting stuck and giving up..

So, here they are

1. Add more fruit to my diet and reduce the sugar intake
2. Visit the park more with LC so we can both run around and get some exercise
3. Improve my blogging skills and learn how to customise my blog
4. Have a family weekend and a "me time" weekend in London
5. Learn more about Aromatherapy
6. Make Wednesday night my reading a real book night
7. Take my husband on a secret weekend away
8. Save 5% of my wages every month
9. Start Reflexology session to help me de-stress
10. Make and sew LC a fairy costume
11. Enjoy making memories with some new friends
12. Submit our visa applications for Canada

It does seem like rather a lot but I figure with twelve resolutions that's one a month I can really focus on and hopefully achieve in one way or another. My hope is that by writing this down and letting other read it that I will get some awesome support to really do my best in sticking to each and everyone and maybe others will want to join in, give help and ideas on how to make a success of them or share some of their own wisdom on achieving something similar.

I am also going to give the new year a big kick start by making January a fun pact and joyful month by getting involved in #January Joy, I discovered this over on one of my new favorite blog discoveries Florence Finds. #January Joy is a list of great activities you can do through out the month to make the month a little less blue and a lot more brighter, go checked it out yourself through the link and join in too, you can follow my #January Joy journey through twitter as I tweet about how carry out each task on the list!

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 29

"We all have our own life to pursue, our own kind of dream to be weaving, and we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing" - Louisa May Alcott

So in a months time I will be having a little blogging anniversary as my blog celebrates in first year! The last twelve months has been a great venture for me, getting to write and express myself, exploring my creative skills, documenting my thoughts and feelings and discovering the ups and downs and ins and outs of twitter!

The blogging community on the most part has been welcoming, friendly and inspiring, but sometimes I find myself falling in to the trap of comparing myself to others, how their blog is more polished than mine, or that they get more interaction on twitter, sometimes I think that my life isn't as exciting, glamorous or desirable as some of the ladies I follow on twitter, I don't have designer shoes or expensive make up, I don't have lots of other mummy friends to meet up with every week and well, quite frankly I live in a very unhip area of Somerset so I have no cool places to visit or hang out. I have all these ideas in my head about what I could do to make an impact in the world, how to inspire, where I could lead my passions and when I should be doing something great but I just don't know how, what, where or when to to get even started and yet everyone else is out there doing their thing and being great at it too...

Sometimes, in fact a lot of the time I feel left behind and I have a huge sense being lost and not feeling good enough to be any of the things that everyone else is doing, but then from nowhere, I get a spark of something as I remember that what I am trying to achieve is my destiny, not anyone else, just mine! My dreams, ambitions, my beliefs and goals are all great because they are mine, they are what makes me, well me! I think I'm OK, I like me quite a lot, I think me is a girl with a lot going for her and if she works hard enough she can achieve, everything! And then I realise, it doesn't matter what others are doing because that's their dream, the only thing I need to be looking at is believing in me, that's what will continue to lead me to the end of my rainbow!

What is the stuff that your dreams are made of?

How to: Calm your Christmas Chaos!

I know a lot of women (and men of course) who start to get stressed at this time of the year and find themselves juggling more balls than normal! This merry season seems to bring as many woes as it does joy and so putting a few fail safe, de-stressing ideas in to place can be helpful to anyone...

Present Buying

It seems every year there is more and more people to buy for so while things are still financially tight set yourself some spending rules and don't be afraid to stick to them! For last couple of years I have agreed with both mine and the OH's family to only buy for young and old people, we get presents for nieces, nephews, grandparents and friends children and that is all, the exception is that OH and I get presents for each other but no other adults in our life, this has worked well for everyone and saved both sides of our family a lot of money, especially as incomes don't always match. If you can't agree with your families to do this then set a maximum spend and be very clear with yourself and others that that is your limit, what ever you do try not to use your credit card or borrow money, it's the thought that counts!

One more thing, if you haven't tried it before, buy online even try buying some of your food, alcohol, table wear and present wrapping essential, it will make a difference!

Spending time with others

Wether it's your in-laws on Christmas day, work colleagues at the Christmas party or your annoying neighbour's pre Christmas drinks being prepared for these moments will definitely reduce any anxiety fuelled meltdowns! Firstly de-stress before the event, whether it's going for run, practicing yoga or dancing and singing to your favourite tunes while you get ready, getting any tension or frustration out of your system will help to manage these situations better and with out drama! Next preempt any potential scenario that might cause you any distress and think about how you are going to handle it, preferably with out hard liquor! You can always ask a friend, partner or family member to help you out before hand should things get tricky, have a code word or agreement of what you will do to enable to you avoid any mishaps!

Dinner and all the trimmings

Well I am not going to profess that I know any great life altering plans to make a seamless successful turkey dinner as I have never yet had the task of doing one myself but I have watch many others fuss and fret over theirs and have picked up some tips along the way to use at some point, maybe! Even if you are not a natural born planner, this is one occasion where having even the briefest plan will help! Ask everyone to chip in and help, designate jobs to all the different people who will be eating at the table, even the youngest guest can help lay the cutlery and crackers, my brother always helped my mum with the veg and I have always volunteered with making Christmas cakes and mince pies! Know your limits, make the dishes you do the best and if you do try something new, have a practice run the week before, a good excuse to have two Christmas dinners! My mums top tip is to peel and chop all the veg the day before store in containers and pop them in the fridge, then Christmas morning just put them on the stove!

The most important thing is to actually enjoy yourself, don't let Christmas become about how much money you spend on presents or how perfect everything needs to be, spending time with people you care about, embracing old family traditions or trying out new one and creating some precious memories is what will make it memorable!

This Christmas we will be mostly looking forward to being with family, watching old Christmas movies, enjoying Buck's Fizz while we open presents, eating turkey left overs, and making Christmas cookies!

What are your top tips to calm Christmas Chaos?

Monday's Moment of Wisdom - Pearl Number 28

“True friends are like diamonds – bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.” ― Nicole Richie

Well, when I started this blog and thought about different quotes I might find or use, never did I think I would end up quoting Nicole Richie! The daughter of Lionel Richie and once BFF to Paris Hilton this petite blonde and now fashion designer and mum of two has perfectly described what my true friends are to me and very recently one of them shined especially bright for me.

I was going through a tough time and had to face something particularly difficult and my lovely dear friend was indeed a diamond, beaming her light to brighten my dark day. It's been a long time since we last stayed up late, drinking wine and being a shoulder to lean on for each other. life has moved on and we are no longer caught up in the excitement and drama of our college days, we have both settled in to our lives and forging our way in the adult world but on this occasion when things fell apart for me she was there to help me pick up the pieces and put my broken self back together.

It reminded me that we always need these special people around, who know us well enough to instantly lift our spirits and support our heavy heart. My OH had also been going through this tough time with me and was equally low, but my friend's OH also came to the rescue and through a few beers (well actually rather a lot!), a boxing match and some male bonding eased his sorrows too, some times us girls and guys just need to stick together!

We are so grateful for their kindness and understanding, good solid friendship are priceless and we will treasure theirs for years to come just like precious jewels. We don't all get to see each other so much these days but our friendship has lasted long distances, babies and marriage, different boyfriends and career changes, in fact all my 3 closest friends live hundreds of miles away but they are always there when I need them and have become good friends with my OH too, these ladies and my love for them is worth more than any diamond, ever!

How would you describe your closest friends?