Thoughts and Tales Archives - Page 5 of 8

A One Off Summer Linky #mainylovessummer

Here we are again with one of my special blog post linky parties! #mainylovessummer Thank you so much for joining me. How is your summer going so far? Hectic with plenty going on I suspect.

I loved holding the previous one off specials for Christmas and Easter so much that I couldn’t let summer go by without having a blog get together.

As usual there is no badge that you have to paste anywhere. What I do ask though is that where you have saved time (and space:) by not having that little task, is that you definitely do follow the guidance below.

The linky is open from 7am on Friday 11th August and closes at 7am Wednesday 16th. You then have until the Friday to complete your comments.

It’s all about sharing, reading and enjoying each others writing. Feel free to add up to 3 of any type of blogging post old or new.

Reviews, giveaways, recipes, parenting, lifestyle, poetry all manner of posts are welcome here.

Just let common sense prevail and refrain from anything outrageously offensive:)

My favourite forum is twitter so please also tweet as many posts as possible using the hash tag #mainylovessummer @myrealfairy and I will tweet away for days and days both your posts and all those you tweet from the link up.

Let’s make this a real summer sizzler and get everyone reading and talking about your posts.

Suggested guidance for participating:

I’d love it if you commented on the host post and at least one more for every post you link up.
Tweet using the hashtag #mainylovessummer @myrealfairy when you link up and you’re away!
Tweet, pin, stumble and share using all the wonderful ways you wish and let the blogger know when you comment how you have shared their post.
Use the hashtag #mainylovessummer when you comment please.
Enjoy and read something you wouldn’t normally click on.
Have fun!

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The Best Beginners Guide to Making Mum Friends

We’ve all felt like the odd one out when starting a new school right? Well starting school or nursery when you are the parent can be just as daunting, if not worse! Fears and self-doubt can creep in and old leftover experiences of when we were younger can all surface again.

As a parent, waving the little ones off …well peeling them off you as was sometimes the case when mine were little is one milestone to get over. The next is standing there having waved them off and then walking home or back to the car-park alone.That feeling is the pits and I think, totally unnecessary! Now is the time to get in with or make your own Mum Tribe, it will make the next few years so much easier!

Here is the best beginners guide to making mum friends:

• Smile Smile Smile, it can take the place of a thousand words and can be a huge pick me up for whoever is on the receiving end.

• Make something happen! Arrange a coffee morning as a way to get to know people. Odds on you aren’t the only one feeling the same way. Arranging a time and place to meet takes the headache out of it for other people. We are all so busy that having to hang around and umm and ahhh over where to go often leads to absolutely nothing, nada. If you take the initiative and arrange something, even if only one person can make it then that’s fine, it’s one person you will always have to laugh with about that first get together.

• As with the point above, you have to make things happen. So, if someone asks you to go along to an event that they have planned then try your hardest to go. You might feel tired, not of washed your hair or don’t fancy meeting over the other side of town. The thing is making the effort and then feeling the benefit afterwards. You can even have a look at my post 5 tips to help the school run go smoother which should help in getting there on time and without being too stressed!

• If you have to go past other mums who are all gaggled together like they’ve known each other for years, take a deep breath, walk over and say hi. You’ll get a feel for them pretty quickly and you have the most legit get out of jail card by saying that you can’t stop as you have to dash off to work – doctors-friends etc. But what you would have done is broken the ice, said your name and made the first move.

I mean, what’s the worst that can happen!!

• Volunteer to help out at the school or nursery and before you go all shivery and think ‘No Friggin Way’… do it, even if it’s just the once. Think about it, you probably always have to talk to the teacher right? – So that’s one person who you know and can chat to. It’s your way in. If you volunteer for just one cake, book, uniform or whatever the heck sale it is then you will have people coming to you to talk and it’s ready-made intros.

Let's share so that everyone can feel the love to find their mum friendsClick To Tweet

It might seem a little daunting or hard work at first. Over time, just like when we were at school or starting out at work or uni, it falls into place and we settle with friends that we click with. Being in your new mum tribe is just one more path of being a fully fledged grown up. Enjoy the riches that these women can bring to your life.

What tips have you got? What were your first experiences of making your new mum friends.

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5 Hot Summer Accessories

Here we are again, Summertime is once again shining down on us. So what else could I do but share my 5 Hot Summer Accessories with you.

Summer Music

1. Now my first gem on the list is a song and oh boy what a summer song this is. Can it be an accessory I hear you cry, oh yes! This will be with you throughout the summer and beyond. Before you do anything else, put this on full volume and enjoy, this is a treat for you.

Sunglasses

2. Second up is sunglasses, for me they are like handbags and shoes, you can never have too many.

So far I have bought 2 pairs to kick me off into the dazzling sunshine. I will now live in them. My top tip is to get ones with moulded nose rests instead of the ones with the little bit of plastic. I’ve got long hair and I find that they can catch in my hair if I’ve had them sitting on top of my head acting as a hair band. When I try to put them back on it can produce a couple of seconds of tugging at my caught hair, not a super classy summer look!

I’m loving mirror glasses this year, here are mine, not with moulded nose rests but beauties and I just have to be careful and suffer for fashion:)

Wedge Sandals

3. Wedge Shoes are something I must have in summer. Each year I start looking around to see which stores are going to get them in the shelves first. A maxi dress and wedges are a summer evenings perfect outfit. I have also seen over on the lifestyle blogger uk about skin care ideas for the summer so that we don’t miss out on pampering our skin too.

Oversized Beach Bags

4. As a mum I cannot applaud the oversized beach bags enough. I love to have a bag that holds the lot. A beach bag was on my birthday list this year and the boys along with my OH presented me with an amazing bag that I’m thrilled with. I don’t want to still have phone, keys and purse in one hand a towel over my shoulder with the kids holding a carrier bag between them! Oh I’ve done it in the past but now the beach bag can take over and take control! I took the bag on holiday to Alcudia this year which you can see in Fun and Fabulous Food in Alcudia.

Maxi Dress

5. I couldn’t have a summer post without the maxi dress and it’s still a must have summer item. I find it the most forgiving of dresses around. Lumps and bumps disappear – fact! If you’re brave you go for the no straps elastic version around the bust. I say brave because with two young boys, trying to get everything sorted and responding to all sorts of mummy jobs I’m not prepared to take the risk! So, for me it’s thin straps for maximum tan factor. For the days it’s cool and practical and jazzed up for the evening with wedges, bangles and a floaty scarf, you will look a dream.

Hope you enjoyed my pics and you are feeling the summer vibe with the song. Here’s to a great and peaceful summer.

How do you prepare for Summer? Have you been up into the loft to get down all your summer gear or do you splash out and go wild? I’d love to hear.

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You never guess what… It’s Holiday Time!

Yippie, it’s now just around the corner, in just a jiffy we’ll be jetting off for a week in the sun! Fingers crossed on the sun bit but I’m hopeful, optimistic and downright determined that it will be sunny so that these legs can turn from flour white to bronzed ~~turkey~~ goddess!

via GIPHY

It can’t come too soon, it’s been a busy year so far and I know when work and the whole juggling aspect of my chosen lifestyle gets a bit much. The kids, my mum and I will be going for the sun and my OH will be heading to the mountains for his visit home. We always have a break this time of year then we do the family holiday around the end of the summer holidays.

I’ve enjoyed having some more guest posts on the blog recently there’s a wonderful banana pancake recipe that has a twist. I have also been experimenting and have developed a vegan chocolate cake that has gone down a treat at home. I am so pleased that I found this outlet of blogging and I thank you for reading what I come up with to share. Every visit is appreciated so much.

I will also be sharing my gardening adventures shortly. The patio vegetable garden is coming on a treat and we recently had our first lettuce on our dinner table, it was a big whoop whoop moment for me! Watch out snails, these are not for sharing!

it's holiday time — A small lettuce but with a big heart:)

I am hoping to write some poetry while I am away. I have had ideas swirling around about some topics that are dear to me. To be honest I just haven’t had the head space to be able to concentrate on them. Too much going on and no quiet time. Another reason why the break is going to be so good.

All of these will be available on the blog in the next week. I look forward to seeing what you think to the latest adventures in the myrealfairy household.

I’ve also seen this great blog takelessons.com which provides classes and you can search thousands of teachers for local and online lessons.

If you have enjoyed this post and my blog, I would love it if you would nominate me in the BiBs 2017 Bloggers Awards in the categories:

Fresh Voice

Family & Lifestyle

Click here to vote http://www.britmums.com/nominate-for-the-bibs2017/

Details you will need are…….

Blog Name: myrealfairy.com

Blog URL: http://www.myrealfairy.com

Email: fairyqueen@myrealfairy.com

Twitter: @myrealfairy

via GIPHY

Blogger Recognition Award …Let’s Party!

Wow, there are whoops of joy coming from the myrealfairy household this week. I am chuffed to bits to be nominated for the blogger recognition award by the lovely Jaki over at jakijellz.com The wonderful thing about this award is that it’s by a fellow blogger. To be rewarded by people who know what it’s like to be hunkered over a laptop trying to make sense out of the words we want to write is a real honour.

This award is also going to let you know a little more about me if you haven’t come across my blog before. Or, if you have then lovely to see you again and enjoy the post:)

So… here are the rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Write a post to show your award.
Give a brief story of how your blog started.
Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to. (if 15 is pushing it a bit for you then do 10;)
Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

HOW MY BLOG STARTED……

It stated at the beginning of 2016. I wanted to have a creative outlet that was something completely different from my full-time day job and that wasn’t totally 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! Seems a bit much and really because I had never done anything like this before it was all far too jumbled at the start. I was trying too hard. Nevertheless it was an idea and little by little I made it happen and started creating my blog.

I even did two posts during those first few months called Tales of a newbie blogger 1 and Tales of a newbie blogger 2 – the logo trials to chart my progress a little. I love looking back at those posts now and seeing what I was facing at that time and relate it to how far I have moved forward. The blog is very different now and I have found my feet and the areas that I enjoy writing about. It’s far more in the lifestyle/parenting bracket.

ADVICE TO NEW BLOGGERS……

Buy the biggest notebook you can and keep it safe! I have never taken so many notes in my life. Especially when you are first starting your blog and thinking about hosting, web domains, themes and all the bloggy techi stuff that you suddenly have in front of you. It can all become a bit overwhelming and I found it easiest to make brief little notes on different subject headings so that I didn’t forget. Then, when I had a moment I would flick through them and it helps all of this new information to settle in.
Don’t break the bank starting your blog. There are a few expenses that you have to pay out for like your hosting package and buying your domain name. However, there are loads and loads of freebies going forward. Lots of free plug-ins and themes, scheduling apps and all sorts. It can be done very cheaply and for me that is important because I then don’t have to worry about money, I can enjoy it for the really exciting and creative outlet that it is for me.

My overall comment to make would be to have fun with it and enjoy how it makes you feel.

I’ve looked at the idea of adding nominations a bit differently and included blogs and twitter folks who are a mixture of people who are new to me, people who I have seen – loved their work but not made contact with and those that I regularly visit online. Please pop over to their twitter site and onto their blogs too to say hi.

MY BLOGGER NOMINATIONS ARE:

@cupoftoastblog ‏

@barbsbooks ‏

@musingstiredmum ‏

@JaclynBree_ ‏

@four_acorns ‏

@bringinguptheb ‏

I have put twitter handles here and will tweet you all in as it may take me into the early hours commenting on each blog. Hope you enjoy it:)

Share the list with the twitter world:)Click To Tweet

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If you have enjoyed this post and my blog, please vote for me in the BiBs 2017 Bloggers Awards in the categories:

Fresh Voice

Family & Lifestyle

Click here to vote

Details you will need are…….

Blog Name: myrealfairy.com

Blog URL: http://www.myrealfairy.com

Email: fairyqueen@myrealfairy.com

Twitter: @myrealfairy

#mainyloveseaster Blog Linky Special

Hi and thanks for popping over to my one off Easter linky! As I enjoy a celebration and I love link ups too I thought that I would carry on the fun that I had holding the christmas linky and have a blogging good get together for Easter.

It’s all about sharing, reading and enjoying each others writing. Feel free to add up to 3 of any type of blogging post old or new.

Reviews, giveaways, recipes, parenting, lifestyle, poetry all manner of posts are welcome here.

Just let common sense prevail and refrain from anything outrageously offensive:)

I will tweet, pin and stumble your posts and it would be great if you did the same too:)

The linky will run from 8.00am 7th April until 8.00am 17th April so there is plenty of time to link and comment on lots of posts.

Suggested guidance for participating:

I’d love it if you commented on the host post and at least one more for every post you link up.
Tweet using the hashtag #mainyloveseaster @myrealfairy when you link up and you’re away!
Tweet, pin, stumble and share using all the wonderful ways you wish and let the blogger know when you comment how you have shared their post.
Use the hashtag #mainyloveseaster when you comment please.
Enjoy and read something you wouldn’t normally click on.
Have fun!

Tweet here to tell others about this link up, the more the merrier! Happy Easter! #mainyloveseasterClick To Tweet

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Lets kick ‘passive aggressive’ into touch….

The Passive Aggressive story ….. There’s someone I vaguely know who has been getting me really frustrated recently with, well just the way she is! She comes across as ok, a bit wet if I’m honest but ok. The thing is she just doesn’t perform very well. . She will arrive late, not really pull her weight and giggles alot. It drives me mad! I get so frustrated with her and I spend ages trying to figure out just what it is that makes her tick. When I try and get something a bit more firm out of her she gives airy fairy answers just floats away and continues to under-perform. I’m often left fuming and feeling deflated.

I’ve been searching for an explanation and looking at the different management techniques I should employ with her when I started reading more on human behaviours. There are some great studies out there and I’ve realised that she is demonstrating some classic ‘passive aggressive’ behaviour traits.

Passive aggressive behaviour is a deliberate but covert way of expressing anger. It is designed to exert some form of revenge or point scoring on someone for perceived wrongdoing. In some cases people can get pleasure from this aswell as getting the initial anger out of them.

Passive aggressiveness can display itself in various ways, some of these are;

Being consistently late for appointments or meet ups.

Not doing well at something in order for their failures to reflect negatively not on them but on their ‘friends’ or supervisors.

Appearing to be accommodating to your requests but not actually doing anything that you ask of them. Nodding in all the right places but not making any push to do a thing.

The thing is about these types of behaviours is that the person will generally deny any knowledge of wrongdoing and be mock offended by any kind of finger pointing in their direction. If you’re not careful you can come off looking pretty bad in any direct confrontation so be careful!

I’ve often wondered what this really means and I was having a discussion recently where I realised that this form of bullying or control mechanism over others is more widely used than you might think.

It could be that we feel a negative thought and instead of coming right out and saying it in a constructive or direct way, we instead say something which will subtly get our point across without leading to conflict…or at least we hope. The thing is, this type of behaviour can leave the person we are directing it to hurt and without a course of action. It can be useful to the giver but to the person receiving it it can bring them down which it is designed to do, usually with more questions in their mind than a direct comment.

Whether in the workplace, social situations or in the home, I think there are many instances that go by that we pass off as ‘normal’ when we are subjected to comments or actions designed to belittle us. We must try to be aware of our own actions and stay true to our values. Being frustrated at another persons personality will not be sufficient to change it.

Have you come across any of these traits or instances? How did it make you feel and did you manage to sort anything out?

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Audiobooks from BookBeat

I can now get to hear my favourite audiobooks wherever I am and whatever I am doing! This is going to be a big change for me. As you probably know, it’s a busy life in the myrealfairy household as it is for most of us. I do try and keep it all together, you will see by my attempts at making the school run go smoother that I give it a good go but as you know, there is always more to be done! So, the fab new site that will make me feel more connected with all the bestsellers that I have missed out on is called BookBeat and it’s full of literary gems.

audiobooks-BookBeat www.myrealfairy.com — It’s so cool it knows me!

BookBeat was founded and launched in Sweden in 2015 and has come to the UK in March of this year. It’s a digital streaming service that allows you to listen to a huge range of Audiobooks on your mobile device wherever you are. This is the key point for me as I have lost out on catching up with reading as I just don’t get the time between work and the kids.

You can stream the stories through your wi-fi and you can also download to your library and listen when you don’t have access to a connection. This is so handy for those waiting around times for the little ones. You can now sit back, relax and listen….bliss!

Now if you are like me then it’s good to try before you buy. I don’t sign up for much without really knowing what I am going to get for my money. So I am pleased to say that the BookBeat guys and gals also feel the same way and have given me a whole month for free to share with each and every one of you, whoop whoop!

Here is the link where you can get a whole month free of charge! Click: Free Month

There are lots of genres and titles to choose from, I took a screenshot from my phone for you to see how it looks on my hand-held device and I also love the look of the site so I wanted to show it off to you! There are 12 sections in all and then you can see the best sellers and editors picks too.

I will be reviewing the children’s and classic Audiobooks over the coming months but I wanted to start with an overview of the site and so far so good. It’s easy to use, has lots of content and good customer service, what’s not to love!

Pop over and check out the social media sites and you can get a feel for BookBeat. I’d love to hear what you think and what stories you might like.

Instagram – @bookbeatuk

Facebook – @bookbeatuk

Twitter – @BookBeatUK

Let people know how they can listen too and have a free month!Click To Tweet

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How we got involved with the Great British Spring Clean #GBSpringclean

We love walking down to our local river and are lucky enough to live very close to it. We heard about the Great British Spring Clean launched by Keep Britain Tidy on social media and we decided that we wanted to be part of it.

This is the path leading down to the river and it actually looks really clean and tidy. I thought that we wouldn’t really have that much to clear up as I know that there are groups that volunteer along the river and keep it as nice as possible.

The event was held over the weekend of 3rd – 5th March 2017. You could register on the website and make use of all sorts of printable resources to promote what you were going to do.

I printed off some posters there and they also had some printable certificates too which is a nice little boost for kids and adults alike.

To be fair it was all a little last-minute and I only got the poster on the path gate the day before the events were taking place. I thought it would be nice if there was anyone who wanted to join in with us. There would already be the 4 of us with me, my OH and the two boys. On the day it turned out that it was just us and another lady who had seen me putting the poster on the day before. She was a teacher and walked down the river most days so liked the ideas of doing her bit.

We all got really stuck into our challenge and the boys and the OH went right into the trees and bank alongside the path. To my surprise the bags were starting to fill up!

By the time we had finished we had four black bin liners full of rubbish. We even had a competition for who had the most unusual piece that was found. We decided that it had to be the motorcycle helmet as surely you would notice if you had left that behind!

In good recycling fashion my OH then sorted the rubbish into what could go in which of our bins – normal or recycling – and we got ourselves cleaned up in time to watch our beloved Bournemouth football team play in the afternoon on the TV as they were away that week.

It was a great way to spend the day and an eye opener to the amount of unnecessary rubbish left around by people, it’s hard to understand how people can just drop things and not seem to care.

Let other people see how they can get involved with this and other events. Click to tweet...Click To Tweet

You can see in the short video below Steve Backshall talking about the event and the effects of rubbish on the environment.

I’d love to hear if you have been involved in any environmental projects or if you do anything locally within your own community.

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Happy 1st Birthday to me!

Oh my goodness, how time flies. I have just looked and myrealfairy.com is one years old!! I’m pretty blown away because I knew it was coming up but I didn’t realise I had hit it yet, let alone gone past it by a week.

I am so pleased with my little blog and so pleased for you being here reading with me today. Thank you!

Thank you for reading, commenting, entering competitions, cooking from my recipes and seeing what me and my brood are getting up to each week. It means the world to me and I love what you have helped me to create.

Once again…Thank you!

Mainy x

Tweet to wish us a Happy Birthday! xxClick To Tweet