Back again!

After reading about blogging on Creative Living I thought I had better restart mine. Life has moved on so quickly from this time last year. I am at GB's most of the time now and H lives with us here. The Goblin spends his time between us, his dad and his grandad and P lives with her mum now.

So here I am, warts and all. A single mum, home educator of 2 hormonal young men, a student aromatherapist desperately trying to find time to study while beginning a new phase of my life with a wonderful man.

I will try to keep my blog honest. Things get tough and life isn't always rose tinted. I have 'met' some wonderful people through the internet and they have inspired me on so many levels.

You all know who you are.

Sandybeth xx

Charity shop haul

I found this lovely dress in my favourite charity shop yesterday. We have a family wedding to attend later in the year and as I have set myself a clothing budget of £100 for the year i was pleased to get this for £2.50. I also found a long sleeved t-shirt for £1, a Laura Ashley blouse for £4.04 and a Zara skirt for £4.04. The last two were amazing quality items so I didn't mind spending a bit more.

December 1st. Wow! Where has the year gone. I can't believe we are coming to the end of 2008. It has been a difficult one, with many challenges. I felt lost in the muddle of it all at one point but my son, my dad and my beloved helped me through and I feel stronger for it.
Tonight my woodburner is lit and I am catching up with friends . The washing machine is humming and all feels calm and tranquil. I am blessed with a roof over my head and love in my heart. The fire of life is burning well.

I am in the mad throws of decluttering. It's easy to pretend I don't have much stuff. I am moving house next year and setting up home with my beloved so it important to me to chuck out the old and invite in the new. Yesterday was a box of papers from 6 years ago, some of it quite painful to deal with as it evoked a lot of memories. I see this time as positive before my move and sometimes these thing need time to digest, so I grateful I am not having to rush. The local hospice shop is doing well from me too.

It's been a busy week. We have had our first Home Education inspection and it went really well. The Inspector was very impressed with The Goblin and so was I. I am so glad I made the move to teach him at home. I have valued the time we have had together and to learn together. We have both come so far on this journey.

I am a bit behind with the blogging. We had a wonderful few days last week at a family wedding in Devon. The drive down was beautiful and it seemed a million miles away from south east London/Kent. It always shocks me how many people live in such a small space, we seem so hemmed in here. Traffic, noise, pollution, it's constant. The pace of life in the South West really did seem slower. Sadly we are not in a position to move too far at the moment, but hopefully by this time next year we will be in a slightly more rural location with a bigger garden. It's easy to be drawn in to the pace of life in the south east. When I go to London at the weekends for my aromatherapy course I am part of that hustle and bustle myself, I am no better than anyone else. I run for the tube and train with all the pushing and shoving to get a seat or just a spot to stand and I hate it. It's a million miles from home and a billion miles from Devon. I can only live my more authentic life here and learn to be content with my lot at the moment.

A birthday apron

I am very pleased with this apron. It is a birthday present for my partners' daughter. It took a couple of days. The embroidery was the easiest part, although I didn't have the calico straight so it didn't fray evenly. It's reversable with calico too. I plan to do the whole family aprons now!