Posts in category: Quotes

Has anyone else had ‘one of those months’ this January?!

It feels like it’s been a non-stop run of chesty coughs, snotty noses, fevers and aches and pains.

Rhys was off school for a week recently with a virus that just knocked him out, and by the sounds of it, half the children in his class have had the same thing.

All of which means, we’ve had lots of days of cwtching up on the sofa, wrapped up in blankets, watching Peppa pig and Team Umizoomi.  And one of the side effects has been a lot less time for me to keep on top of things with my business and with this blog (it’s hard to get much of anything done with 2 little ones who seem to want to be attached to you at all times!).

But, I’m hoping we’re starting to come out the other side, and I can get back on track with writing more blog posts and getting back into more of  a normal routine.  I have to admit though, at times it’s been really nice to just snuggle with my family, and I really love the fact that, at nearly 2, Nerys has the word ‘cwtch’ in her vocabulary!

Well, despite the odds being totally in my favour, I didn’t win the lottery yesterday.

I know, I’m just as shocked as you are!

I was chatting with a friend last week about what I would do with the money if I did ever win a decent amount on the lottery, and she was laughing at how much I seem to have thought about it.  But I can’t be the only one, surely!

Hasn’t everyone at some point had the discussion and thought about what they would do with a few million?!

Not that my list is very exciting.  I think I really just like the feeling of security that would come with having a stash of money in the bank.  See, I’m pretty sure that going and buying a lot of ‘stuff’ wouldn’t actually make me that happy.

So when I saw this quote over the weekend I felt like it was a great reminder to be really happy with what we’ve already got, rather than always wishing for more, more, more!

I really wouldn’t say no if someone offered me a fortune, but until that happens, I’m choosing to be happy in this glorious life that I’m already living!

What do you think?  Do we need millions in the bank to have a really happy life, or is the simple life the route to happiness?

If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest recently (or the internet in general), you’ll most likely know exactly what I mean by that!  Marie Kondo is the author of a hugely popular book “The life changing magic of tidying up“, and her method for decluttering and tidying has become known as the KonMari method.

I won’t go into too much detail about it, as all my knowledge has been gleaned from various other blog posts written about the book and the method (I’ve pinned a few to my home and organising board if you want to check them out).
But the one key thing that stood out for me, and that really helped me cut a load of items from my wardrobe, was asking the question ‘does this spark joy?” as I picked up each item.

Before I would umm and ahh over items of clothing, convincing myself that I would wear them, or fit back into them, or that I should keep them because I spent a fair bit of money on them.

But this question, does this spark joy?  It sort of frees you from all that.

The dress I wore to a friend’s wedding that won’t do up any more (I swear my ribcage has expanded since having children!).  It has lovely memories attached to it, but it didn’t spark joy.

The zip up top that I loved to wear in uni, seems ‘so 2001’ with it’s adidas-esque stripes down the arms.  It sparked feelings of fondness, and nostalgia, but not joy.

The jeans that won’t.  quite.  do.  up.  Nope, no joy there!

So out they all went.  Some to be recycled, some to be sent to new homes.  And now, I really do feel joy when I look at the clothes that are left.

All of which has got me thinking.  Marie Kondo applies this principle to the physical clutter in our lives.  And I am very inspired to continue working my way through my home, discarding all sorts of things that just don’t spark joy any more.

But I’m also inspired to apply the principle to my life in general.

I’ve seen a few people sharing their ‘word for the year’ recently.  A word that represents what they want to focus on in the next 12 months.  And I’ve been wondering what I want my word to me.  I considered ‘balance’ and ‘focus’ but neither inspired me.

But ‘joy’?

That’s pretty inspiring.   A year built around things that spark joy?  Yes please!

One quote that I’ve read from the book is about how important it is not to hide away and keep depression a secret.  “When we share our struggles we let others know that it’s okay to share theirs.  And suddenly we realise that the things we were ashamed of are the same things everyone deals with at one time of another”.

In my experience though, once we do start sharing our struggles and discussing how exhausting, overwhelming and frustrating parenthood can be at times, we find that other parents share the same feelings.  It’s just that they’re not discussed as openly as all the wonderful things that having children brings.

So next time you’re feeling down about being a parent, or about life in general, try opening up to someone about it.  Chances are you’ll come away feeling much better, and much less alone.

8 years ago today, I put on a pretty cream dress, cream pointy-toed heels and a simple pearl necklace and headed off to get married.  It was a tiny wedding by anyone’s standards, just us and 10 guests.  We were married at county hall in Swansea, sipped champagne on the beach afterwards then wandered to a local Italian restaurant for dinner.

It was perfect.  Just what we wanted.

And so, to celebrate I wanted to share this quote with you.  It’s possibly my all-time favourite quote about love.  I remember coming across it when I was first falling in love with my husband, and it just resonated with me.  I was terrified of falling in love.  Of letting myself be so vulnerable.

But oh, it was so worth the risk!

But, in the aftermath of this particular event, what I’m seeing isn’t hate but, overwhelmingly, love.

Anger and hate are natural emotions to feel, but ultimately will help no one.  So I’m sharing this quote as it says so eloquently what I’m feeling.  I will stick with love.  I will always stick with love.

One of the things we discussed was how motherhood seems to be portrayed in the media in two ways.  You either get the Pinterest-perfect view of it, with the pristine white sofas and beautifully behaved children.  Or you get the ‘hahaha, isn’t being a parent awful?!’ type posts.  Which at least acknowledge that being a parent is hard but don’t really help at all!

So this sort of inspired me to see if I could find a more realistic quote about motherhood.

One that isn’t all sunshine and unicorns, but instead acknowledges that being a mum is a huge, chaotic mix of good, bad and everything in between.

This is the best I found:

This is a topic I’ll be writing about more, once I get my head around all the emotions that I feel every day with my 2 children, and work out how to put that into a coherent post!