Snippet - Pink Moon

Today, while closing down my desktop, at the end of a day that refused to let me draw breath, I glanced across at the horizon. The sun was almost set so the world was cast in an orange blue shimmer... and there sat that old pink moon. Sat on the hillside, looking back at me as if to say "at least you get to go home, I'm on the night shift." :) xx

Musings - Slow down...

Wait, wait, wait!!! I just checked the calendar and noticed that my little tiny baby turns three next week.

It's not like I had forgotten or anything, the date hasn't change I admit... but where has the time gone. Too fast is where it has gone! Behind me in a whirling blur is where it has gone.

My Mother always told me that kids speed up the years, I guess I should have paid more attention. I need to take more stock of the days. Need to slow it all down.

As the immortalised Ferris Buller once said "If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

:) xx

Life - And So It Goes

Today I just felt the need to blog. I have nothing to say other than 2014 is flying by and I am not doing anything other than trying to hold on and make the most of it.

I have my health, my loved ones and my imagination. I am happy but know I could be happier and settling where I know I could force myself to do better.

But I am generally at ease with a smile and that is a lot better than most.

So happy Sunday. I've missed you, I hope you have missed me too. :) xx

Photo - My two girls...

I would like to point out that neither of them belong in this bed and have much comfier ones of their own! Tut.  Very adorable though.

Ps. I should of said the three of them, Cuddles has gone in on the bed stealing action.

:) xx

Musings - The things kids say...

This week Katharine has been all about playing with her peeps. She sets out the village, has a chat with the vicar and manoeuvres the apples in the back of the cart.

I caught her also playing with her hair bobbles and said 'Aw are you doing you peeps hair?'

To which she replied, like I was a complete idiot, 'No Mummy, Scarves!'.


Okay, so I see it now. :) xx


- Posted with the i rather than the net...

Musings - Me 2013...

This is me... 2013 me.


I guess I am more decisive,
I bit more feisty,
Somewhat lacking in control,
Obsessive and compulsive,
I shrug and smile a lot,
Avoid a lot,
I have moments of greatness,
Weakness,
A full heart potentially broken,
I am open to the future,
I want security,
Love,
Adventure,
Appreciation,
I have a new determination,
A new level of procrastination,
I am nothing if not contrary...

I am a woman staring into the abyss of passing 30s and thinking... Oh eff it. Why not. ;) xx



- Posted with the i rather than the net...

Snippet - Remember me?

I would like to be all dramatic and say that I have become a stranger in my own life, my own memoirs have become a forgotten list of whimsy.

But me, be dramatic? Surely not!

What I am saying is I think I'm back... You might be hearing from me once again.

I think. ;) xx


- Posted with the i rather than the net...

Holiday - Day 7: Warkworth Castle and Oreo Ice Cream

As the sun decided to keep shining today we headed off for a little English Heritage. Northumberland is littered with Castles and so we thought for the last day what would be better than to walk the ruins.

We bypassed Alnwick for Warkworth Castle. The original home of the Percy family who debunked to Alnwick in their later generations.


Even though a lot of this castle is made up of crumbled walls and greener than green grassy areas you could still get a feel of what it would have been like to ride up to the gates on your stead and wait to be permitted entrance. The tower and the architecture in general took you back, made you long for the pride and glory of simpler times.

After the castle we moved on Amble for a spot of Harbour lunch and an Oreo Cookie Ice Cream from a specialist Dairy Farm. How can you not love a farm shop that sells only ice cream and has photographs of their cows on the walls... Like I said above, pride and glory ha ha.


It feels sad that this is our final day, there is just no appeal to go home... Maybe if I lived in a Castle... :) xx


- Posted with the i rather than the net...

Musings - Sunday in Stafford...

Sunday we visited the in laws and has a wonderful time in the garden. Katharine wheeled around the doll...


She contemplated the baby wood pigeons...


And shared a private joke with her cousin Ewan...


Good times. :) xx


- Posted with the i rather than the net...

Photo - Caught in the reflection...

So I twirled the mirror around in a wee circle until I found something in our living room to snap a photo of...


I happened upon the husband. :) xx


- Posted on the move...

Musings - Postcard bookmark...

Odeon cinemas always have a stand with random postcards on it. Next time you are there have a look for yourself.

Every time I go to watch a film I make sure I collect any postcards that I don't already have.

You see, I use them as bookmarks. They make the perfect marker for the page I am on and I like to leave the postcard in the book when I have finished. This is my current one...


I might have told you about this before in a previous post but I thought I would share it with you again as it is something that has sentimental relevance for me.

What oddities do you have that are special to you. :) xx


- Posted on the move...

Musings - Target set...

From close of work today I have set myself a writing target of 3000 words. This has to be achieved before I retire to bed on Sunday.


And it has to be freehand. I am going old school, going to see if pen and paper can get me all inspired again.

Fingers crossed... ;) xx

- Posted with a plan...

Photo - Big Blue Frog...

Our Friday outing was to the Big Blue Frog play centre...


Katharine and Daddy (who surprised us by having a day off) lived in the ball pool.

We will definitely be going there again. :) xx


- Posted on the move...

Photo - Our hands...

Poppa, Momma and baby bear...


How fantastic is that photo? And how HUGE are my husbands hands? :) xx


- Posted on the move...

Musings - Is thirty past it?..

Thirty and flirty and thriving?


Right, by thirty I take it they mean after thirty-two because, while I might have the smile of the flirt down, thriving I am not.

What is to thrive? Let’s find some synonyms… flourish, prosper, succeed, boom, bloom and blossom? Increase? I take it I am supposed to be more than I am, or at least want more than I am and have an aim to be it, get it and have it?

So let’s be all Sound of Music about it and start at the beginning… what do I want?

Top 3 that come to mind without any thought, just finger to key:
1. To be able to have a successful career as a writer.
2. To be financially secure and have the benefits of that security.
3. To have someone look me in the eye and know that I have blown their mind.

The first two points are obviously, for the most part, intertwined and relatively within my control. EFFORT EFFORT EFFORT! Make some!
And the third point, well, let’s not dwell on that one two much as this one is customarily reserved for my alter ego leading lady.

Now I need a game plan. A challenge! I do so love a challenge. Maybe I need to push myself more, my alter ego leading lady is not as patient as she once was.

Top 3 challenges that come to mind without any thought, just finger to key:
1. Write 30 poems from July 2012 to June 2012. One year, barely a poem per week, in the same format and all ending with a sonnet … line.
2. Write 30 reviews from July 2012 to June 2012 (are you sensing a theme) on anything that I watch, visit or buy. And put some effort into the review!
3. Read 30 books, okay I am not going to type that again, over the next year and in no less than 500 words talk about it. I know this is like a review but I wanted the additional challenge of actually reading.

So, in theory, I should be able to undertake and achieve my challenges. Right?

It doesn’t look that hard, thirty is a nice even easy number… it’s flirty. :) xx


- Posted on the move...

Musings - One for the Money...

A review...

Usually I like to read a book before I watch the adaptation, though if the page version is a little hard going then admittedly I cheat. Like with The Time Traveller’s Wife; I tried to get past the first couple of chapters but in the end succumbed to the allure of Eric Bana in an effort to read on un-confused. And it worked; I ended up loving both the film and the novel. Same really with Nicholas Sparks, I always love the amount of emotion that goes into his adaptions and I feel watching them first only adds to the reading experience. Would Nick think the same? I don’t know, but if thinking of Zac Efron means I can read The Lucky One in a Sunday afternoon and ended up sobbing at the end that can only be good, right?

Anyway, to the point of this post… a couple of weeks ago me and the husband, the husband and I, watched ‘One For The Money’ starring Katherine Heigl and Jason O’Mara. I really enjoyed it but felt something was lacking. The characters were fun, likeable and the actors worked well together. But something was missing. It was only after watching it that I found out that the film was actually based on a novel of the same name by Janet Evanovich. Being a book lover and a bit shame faced that I didn’t know it was a book, I bought it. And when it arrived I read it in a ridiculously short amount of time, even for me.



You see I LOVED the book. Where I had appreciated the film, reading the book made it clear what was missing. Sure the characters were still the same, portrayed very well by Katherine and Jason, and the plot on the most part was true… the thing missing was Janet’s wit. Very rare do I read a book where I feel that I am listening to a story told like a tale by the author. One for the money was one of them. Janet reeled me in and left me wanting more when I had finished. Lucky for me there are currently eighteen books in the Stephanie Plum series. I have already bought the next two and am eagerly awaiting their arrival.

So after nearly 400 words, what I am trying to say is… I recommend One For The Money, in both formats. Both are entertaining, witty, easy to read and watch with a plot and characters what really make you want more more more. :) xx

- Posted on the move...

Photo - Playing out...

I love that Katharine has reached that age were she can play out in her Grandparent's garden on a sunny Sunday afternoon.


Doesn't she look adorable...


Grass stains from rolling down the lawn too. :) xx


- Posted on the move...

Musings - Moi, moi, moi...

Have you ever taken the time to write a paragraph about yourself? An about me?

It is actually a lot harder than you think! I tried it… an hour later I had deleted several inane lines of shallow description and developed a frown line.

I found myself with a number of questions:
What do people want to know?
What do I want them to know?
What am I willing to disclose?
Am I brave enough?
Am I interesting enough?

I decided to let my fingers type to a natural pause and simply read ‘me’ back. This is my about me…



Hi… I’m Stacy.

I have blonde hair, blue eyes and petit facial features which I hide behind a pair of terracotta spectacles. I am of average build, average height and average pretty much everything else. I excel at little and coast at a lot. I like to read, watch and listen, making me an observer rather than a doer. I am left handed, live by an inner imaginary soundtrack made up of soft rock songs and my iPhone is usually glued to my hand. I am a Nicholas Sparks quote ‘I am a common (wo)man with common thoughts and I have led a common life…’ but I have had neither the joy nor the tragedy to warrant a full page.

I like eyes and I like the intimacy of their contact. My heart races on a daily basis and my heart aches just as much. I play at being happy in those moments when I am not, often a fraud in my own skin. But I fake a sparkle well, I can always have an interest in your interests, you can count on that. I am dependable, understandable, a nifty phone a friend. Daughter, woman, wife, mother, me occurring in that order with the exception of the ‘me’. Have I found me yet? I had plans for my life, now I have new plans. I want to make my daughter proud; I figure I have a few years yet to get my act together or rather my write together. I openly blog each day about that day but I am shy by nature. I am not the life of the party but I am the smile of laughter when the music dies.

I am hopeful that there is some exceptionality in my veins; I am optimistic at least, a realist with an optimistic outlook… I know the glass is half empty but I am willing to top that metaphorical liquid to the top. Someday, somehow, somewhere you will know me and think ‘I remember her, she used to be ordinary.’ And you will be wrong. I will still be ordinary… I will just have found a way to make you believe that to live life like you are dreaming out loud is to be remarkable.

Now it’s your turn… :) xx


- Posted wryly...

Musings - Barriers...

I feel oddly closed off today. I have a wall around me, so to speak.


I don't know if it is because I feel tired or that I feel down but I have this urge to hide away somewhere quiet and ask that people just leave me be.

I feel very selfish today, how odd. :( xx


- Posted on the move...

Photo - Literary relief...

Finally!!!

Finally I finished Fifty Shades (of drivel) and I am able to move on to something more entertaining.


'A Load of Old Bones' by Suzette A. Hill is an entertaining murder mystery from the point of view of not only the local Vicar but the cat and dog as well.

I think I am just looking forward to reading without a constant frown on my face. :) xx


- Posted with book in hand...