mainy - myrealfairy, Author at myrealfairy.com

Is Yoga Right For Me?

I’ve started to think about some light exercise again and have dipped my toe in my local swimming pool which is nice enough but I seem to slink out towards the jacuzzi more often than not. Watching other people complete their lengths, gliding through the water like little otters doesn’t seem to help my ever expanding tummy…. shame!

So, I have now explored Yoga…well its a bodybalance class which appears to be, Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi, rolled into one class….it’s bliss!!

My first class was an eye opener… I walk in, dead on 11 to be greeted by everyone already stood, facing forward in an orderly fashion, mat in front, ready to go! I stood by the door, seemingly now knock-kneed and awkward. Awkward and over 40 is something I didn’t know could still happen, but there we go! I blushed and spluttered out that I was sorry and I was new…yes, I actually said ‘I’m new’. What was ~~mortifying~~ really funny was that I heard and I promise this is true, I heard someone say, ‘aaahhh bless’.

With that little gem of a start out of the way I engrossed myself in the class. The terms, stances and methods were new to me but the class felt safe and secure and actually, amazingly welcoming.

One day I hope to balance long enough for a photo!

I have to be completely honest and say at my stage…and I’ve been to two classes at the time of writing this…that I’m not completely sure where the Tai Chi moves into the Yoga and then onto Pilates. What I am aware of though is how it makes me feel. It’s a strange feeling of stretched and supple, relaxed and energised. Truly the best feeling I’ve ever had after any sort of class I’ve ever been to. I’m not a gym bunny by any means so I haven’t got masses of experience to draw on but I do know myself and this fits with me.

I’d love to keep this up and I will draw on an expression that I love which is….

‘ the hardest thing about a class is turning up’

So I think that ‘Yes’ yoga, in this form is right for me. I was wondering what others have thought about their first experiences of classes similar to this, I’d love to hear…

Tales of a Newbie Blogger #1

It started with an idea, yeah, a lightbulb moment. I thought that was what other people had, but finally I was having mine!

It seemed crazy when I said it out loud but it made perfect sense inside my head. I wanted to have a creative outlet that was something completely different from my full time day job and that wasn’t completely focused on the children. Something I could be in control of and didn’t answer me back!

My idea was to have a blog which incorporated a fairy, folklore, mystical, practical, lifestyle, parenting and reviews theme!

See, it’s that whole saying it out loud thing that I was talking about!

I’ve always lived my life by having the thought that I’ll never know unless I try and this thought has a bare knuckle fight with the more practical, task orientated planner side, who would love to be in control. However, my drive to start the blog was strong and I’ve hit it head on and revel in soaking up all the new information I need to learn and the hurdles I have to leap.

Ok that’s being a little too over enthusiastic, even for me… because my goodness there is so much to learn! It’s also amazingly time consuming, I really had no idea.

Theres….

Deciding on the name, logos, themes…..

Web design, domain name, hosting….

There is social media – Twitter, Pinterest and the rest, all trying to get us to interact, follow each other and play nicely….

Photo design, free photos, editing photos, meta sliders…..

Coding, formatting, plugins, widgets….

That is just the tip of the blogging iceberg. I’ve had to plough my way through all of that before I’ve got to what is the pearl inside the oyster -‘the post’….. it’s almost a da da da moment for me!

I’m going to journal my ups and downs through my start up as a little reminder to me in the months ahead of what’s been achieved. I look forward to taking you with me!

But, the main thing is, whatever the outcome, it’s mine and it’s a creation….blimey, that’s pretty cool!

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Easter ….

Easter Bonnets and Mickey Mouse – Our Sunday…

Actually our Sundays are usually pretty busy but I think that this Sunday has been a more crafty, party, family filled than usual. As the boys have started to get a bit bigger theres been a much appreciated shift to a more leisurely start to the weekends. Previously it was a 5.30am wake up call, consisting of a little boy sat on my chest with his manic grinning face barely an inch from mine.

So, today was glorious, not too early, an 8.00am natural wake up which is a full blown spa day as far as I’m concerned. My other half made me a cup of tea, which I drank, hot!

One of our jobs was to decorate two easter bonnets for my mums coffee morning where she lives. One for her and one for her friend who was in need of a little assistance. We had a blast with the decorating….
Bunnies, chicks, tissue paper, pva glue, shredded paper and an enthusiastic helper – perfect! The tidying up part needed to be done before running out of the house to our next stop…. note the absence of the enthusiastic helper here!

When that was sorted we sped off to our lovely friends party for her 2 year old. It was a Mickey and Minnie party and very special. The food was amazing and there was a candy floss maker and fresh popcorn trying to jump its way out of the glass cabinet, the smell alone of sweet, warm popcorn was enough to transport me back to my childhood days. There was also a bouncy castle so that my son could try and jump out of his system some of the rocket fuel infused energy he had consumed.

A full sized Mickey and Minnie walked onto the scene and had a little dance with us all which was a sweet touch and appreciated by all the little ones. We tried to walk away with the ballon sculpture but didn’t quite get away with it as a little girl had her eye on it and a vice like grip. My son knows that girls will outwit them every day of the week and he backed down without a peep. I think Mickey looks relieved enough that he wont be drawn on, used as a football and then twisted into the shape of a rabbit by son number 2! What do you think?

Ear Cuff Jewellery

I’m a lover of all things sparkly and love browsing either on the internet or around the shops on the high street. However, with the blog now taking up alot of any spare time I have after working full time, tending to the little ones and finding time for my partner. I seem to shop or browse on-line far more when everyones tucked up in bed. I doubt if I’m totally alone in this and when I talk to my blogger buddies and parents alot of them seem to be in agreement.

So, on one of those evenings I found these beautiful ear cuffs when I was actually on a search for whimsical inspired pictures for my blog….we’ve all done it:) Always a bit of a magpie when it comes to pretty jewellery, I was drawn to the site to have a bit more of a look.

I really loved these ear cuffs and found out that the owner of the company ‘ValkenWolf’ is Amber Frettingham who is based in Lincoln. I contacted her to let her know that I would love to write a piece about her products because I loved them so much and I wanted to find out a bit more about her inspiration when designing such unusual jewellery.

Amber came across so lovely and explained that she has always loved nature, forests, mythical beings, magic & mystery. She said that ValkenWolf is her way of expressing this and sharing her passion with others.

When you see these delicately made wings and the other bespoke items she has created you can see the attention to detail. She lives and helps on a farm near the woods and make all manner of unique items in her spare time.

These fairy wing sparkly ear cuff are all made to order. They can be made for the left or right ear and be used if you have pierced ears or not.

All of these ear pieces are made by hand with Glitter, Acetate, Glue, Magic and Fairy dust!! They look stunning and fun to me.

Fairy wing sparkly ear cuffs are available in a rainbow of different colours- you can even ask ValkenWolf for a custom made one!

If you like the look of them then you can get yours here- www.etsy.com/uk/listing/256930884/fairy-wing-sparkly-ear-cuff?ref=pr_shop

I think that it is becoming harder to find those special pieces and these are something a bit different and reminded me of when I was travelling in South America. Thats for a different piece but it has started to bring back that feeling of natural expression that those years gave me.

My aim is to help bring a bit of magic and beauty into your everyday.

I was inspired by faery folklore to make an accessory that will turn heads and sparkle magically wherever the faeries lead you!

Amber Frettingham.

I think that this says it all, welcome to spring folks and I hope today is a magical day for you!

Mainy @myrealfairy

Disclaimer: I have not received goods for this review….I loved them and wanted to share:)

Unconditional Love

Unconditional Mom

Mom, you’re everything a mom should be;

Your love shines bright in everything I see.

You’re parent, friend, supporter, all for me.

You give your sweet love unconditionally.

You always do what’s best for me, I know;

You mentored me to help me learn and grow.

Your kindness, caring, nurturing always show;

That’s why I love, respect and admire you so.

There aren’t enough words to say what I should say,

So now I’ll wish you Happy Mother’s Day!

By Joanna Fuchs.

Mother….

“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.”

Maya Angelou

The Cottingley Fairies – An amazing tale!

For me, when losing a milk or ‘baby’ tooth when I was little was a celebration in our house. Not only did I think that it was showing the world that I was growing up but also that I was going to be gifted with a visit from the tooth fairy. As a little girl with a vivid imagination I had my very own unique picture of how my tooth fairy looked and somehow it had become influenced by the famous pictures of the fairies at the bottom of the garden, otherwise known as the Cottingley Fairies. I digress in my recollections of my youth…. but if you haven’t heard of the Cottingley Fairies, then you may remember the old black and white photos of two young cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, who, back in 1917 had the country in awe with 5 photos of the dancing fairies.

Frances and the Fairies 1917 — Frances and the Fairies. The first photograph 1917

The photos caused a storm of debate everywhere they were seen and prominent figures and associations of the time were drawn into the discussions surrounding the validity of the prints.

Elsie’s mother took the picture to a meeting of The Theosophical Society in Harrogate, who are united in a belief that mankind is a spiritual family. It was thought by some members that the picture could see what the naked eye could not and enhanced the thought that the prints were evidence of spirits. In fact the double exposure element of the prints created the glow that attributed to this view.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle leant his support to the idea that the photos were genuine in an article he wrote for The Strand’s Christmas edition in 1920. This would seem to me as a step outside his normal comfort zone of writing his detective novels which involved precise deliberations and fact based conclusions. However, on looking closer into Doyle’s pursuits you can see that he had harboured an interest in Spiritualism for many years and had given his first public lecture on the subject in 1917. Continue reading “The Cottingley Fairies – An amazing tale!”

The Breath….

To make yourself truly heard

To transfer the passion into words…..

Think….

Take a breath….

Then speak.

Now you try.

www.myrealfairy.com

App Review – WordPack

I love to blog and talk about products or ideas that really work for me and my family, this little gem fits into that niche a treat.

Its a word compilation app which forms your special phrases or words together in different shapes. This app is so easy to use that you can craft smart looking pictures in a few minutes. At Christmas I made a heart shaped design with all the family names within, popped it in a frame and within 10 minutes had a wonderful Christmas present made for my partner, perfect!

The app was really easy to work through which was a bonus for me as my attention span is pretty short. I like quick easy apps that almost shout out the steps you need to take and then just about read your mind to complete it for you.

Children from 5 or 6 onwards would have no problem with it. You can easily have an afternoon with younger ones whipping up and making gifts for very little expense.

So, getting on to how this app works….It has just 3 steps…

Step One – Input your text.

Pretty easy, here I’ve added the word Fairy in lots of different languages using google translate.

Step Two – Pick the shape, text style and colour palette you’d like to go with.

There’s loads of different shapes, I used a mushroom one here and a fair amount of colour themes which actually work really well together. In addition to the family Christmas design, I also sent a cute get well soon heart filled one to my partner which he loved.

Step Three – It’s created! You can then quickly and easily send using the share icon…or just print.

You can share using Camera, Email, Facebook or Twitter. I use it on my iPad mini and it works well.

I contacted the developer, Alex Tataurov and said that I would like to review the app for my blog. He asked if I would put a link to where it can be purchased on the App Store. I had a check today and it’s currently £0.79 ($0.99)and it looks like this Screen Shot 2016-02-28 at 08.25.10

The link is: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wordpack/id730394011?mt=8

There are quite a few apps professing to do a similar job. If you like pretty instant gratification then, in my opinion, this is one of the better ones to consider. See what you think, I’d love to hear.

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