Day 156 - Wednesday 4th June

Dizzy - Counting the stars brings dizzy and laughing. I like: knitting and techno.


Our hotel had entertainment every evening. First there was a quiz, then a mini kids disco, bingo (which I won on the final night) and then music from various look/sound alike artists. Unfortunately I only took my camera on the worst night. This was Elvis and The Teddy Bears and he was pretty rubbish really. He obviously thought he was a lot better than he really was and he got quite narky when he didn’t get lots of claps and cheers. His band were good though. We didn’t stay for the whole show as he got on my nerves too much. The other night’s entertainment were fantastic. The best being a Take That show. I don’t like Take That but this tribute band were really entertaining and had so much energy. Zoë would always nod off half through each show – god only knows how she slept through so much noise.

Day 155 - Tuesday 3rd June

Chatting - Your chatting with me under the sky makes me always smiling. I like: disco and thunderstorms.

This week I have taken inspiration from the cute Momiji Dolls I collect. Each Momiji doll has a name, a quote and a "I like". Take inspiration from any of these 3 things!

We have been away on our holidays to Majorca but now we are back and I have 8 days to catch up on. For these Momiji Doll quotes I have decided to put up a picture of each doll so in years to come when I look back my 365 journal for the year, I will be able to see what I am looking at. I am also using pictures from the holiday where possible. I did get the prompts whilst we were away and although I didn't do any journalling, I tried to get photos to suit the prompt.

I love to talk and can talk for England when I get going. I think Zoë must have inherited this from me too as she chatters away to herself all day long. The hotel we stayed at had kid’s discos every night playing all the cheesy songs. The reps would get on the stage and dance doing all the routines. Zoë was captivated by this but she wouldn’t go and dance. Even if I went up with her – but she wouldn’t even be put on the floor. I had to stand with her in my arms and dance with her. Probably one of the reasons why my back is so painful now.

Day 154 - Monday 2nd June

"They thing that makes me different, are the things that make me me" - Winnie the Pooh
What makes you YOU?

My answer to this question is very different now to how I would have answered it a couple of years ago. I think what makes me me now is my daughter. I know I have totally changed since she was born. I no longer think of me but now I think of her and then me as an us. Everything I want to do or get down I have to think how it affects Zoë and that will affect whether I do it or get it.
When I am feeling a bit sorry for myself, I find this hard but the majority of the time, I think of it as an honour to be a mum to such a beautiful and amazing little girl. She has truly made my life complete.

Day 153 - Sunday 1st June

"Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely" - The Land Before Time

I try to not let my heart rule my head and so any decisions that need to be made I try to make an informed choice about them. It would be so easy to let your heart tell you what to do but it is not always the best way. Sometimes you need to be sensible about things no matter how hard it may be and go against what you really want to do or have.
Certainly with decisions regarding Zoë, it would be very easy to give into her all the time because she wants something or to do something and she is crying or having a tantrum. She has mastered the art of looking really sad which really tugs at the heart strings. However I think at her age it is imperative that I make a stand and make her do as I ask and not let her do anything she wants just because she is creating merryhell. So I tend not to listen to my heart but let the sensible voice in my head override the whispering voice from my heart.

Day 152 - Saturday 31st May

"Remember: Always let your conscience be your guide” – Pinocchio

I thought these Disney quotes would be light hearted but actually they are quite hard.

“Conscience is a hypothesised ability or faculty that distinguishes whether our actions are right or wrong. It leads to feelings of remorse when we do things that go against our moral values, and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when our actions conform to our moral values. It is also the attitude which informs our moral judgment before performing any action.”

I think my conscience plays a big part in my life. I always think about how other people would feel about my actions before I do them. If I think it will upset or hurt someone, then I wouldn’t do it, unless I had absolutely no choice. I find it hard to be nasty or mean or hard to anyone as I hate to upset people. I tend to treat people how I would like to be treated.

I didn't know how to photograph this prompt, but I found this photo of Zoe and it just tugged at my heart strings so I thought I would use. It is from last November.

Scrap Your Day - May layout

I managed to finish this last night. Quite pleased with it turned out. Now not very happy with April's layout. Having taken over 200 photos on Sunday, I have had to be quite selective.

Day 151 - Friday 30th May

"The past can hurt. You can either run from it or learn from it” – The Lion King

I am in such a different place to where I was just over 10 years ago and am a very different person. From leaving school I hung round with people whose main aim in life was to sign on the dole or to get pregnant so they could get a council house. I messed up my A levels as my first love (who was a good lad) went back to Scotland but I went onto Uni and got a degree in business and IT. I know I could have worked harder but I still succeeded.
Since the age of about 18 I went out with a string of unsuitable men. I had very low self esteem and thought it was better to be with anyone rather than no-one. I spent 18 months with a man older than me but he had no prospects and spent all his money in the pub. Then I moved on from there to spend 5 years with a man who was 13 years older than me with 2 broken marriages and 4 kids from the 2 marriages. I knew him before I got together with him and thought he was a real pillock – so god only knows why I spent such a long time of my life with him. My family must have despaired with me.
Luckily my James came along and rescued me from this and I have had the happiest 10 years of my life. I am much more belief in myself and have a good job and a lovely home and family. I consider myself blessed to be in such a happy place.
What I have learned is that I think you need to go through some hard or bad times to appreciate the good things in life and that youngsters make mistakes but it doesn’t mean that it is the end, with love and support they will see sense and come out the other end much richer for the experience. I hope I can put this into practice when Zoë is growing up.