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Filters

I took a photo recently of my teenage daughter, not shot with an amazing thousand-megapixel camera or even a picture that was completely in focus afterwards I thought wow! It's so nice to see a picture of my daughter in such a simple format, no filters and no side-facing mirror poses or covered in circles and hearts! Our teenagers have such young fresh-faced glowing skin but all of the photographs I see are either surrounded in filters with dog ears, moving bee heads, or drooling in a thousand love hearts cascading around them! In addition to this current craze, almost every picture I see contains a very intense pout directly at the camera, or posed in a very particular style. When i look at this photograph it gives out so much warmth, it displays my daughter laughing and caught off guard. There are no distractions around her lovely face its just her smiling revealing happiness and obvious contentment and joy in the moment she is in. The camera has done what you asked of it and more, its weaved it's clever magic and has frozen a passage in time for us to look at revealing this happy teenager enjoying some family time. Confession time!! Don't think for one moment i have tried the filtered look myself! Quite frankly the results are impressive! The app's been downloaded and together with tipsy pals we have enjoyed plenty of filter fun moments and created cats, dogs, smiling halos you name it! I understand the craze our teenage children are in and I love the fun that they have with their poses and mobile phones 'flashing' at the screens creating that "really sick look" but it was interesting how I felt I hadn't seen such a photograph in a very long time and how much I enjoyed seeing my child again in such a simple form. Take a moment - filter yourself! I guarantee, you will be amazed at how the largest blemishes vanish, any lines on your skin completely disappear and actually you can and do look pretty funny with dogs ears, a tongue or a panda head or a halo with wings! Of course there is no harm and this is whats considered the norm for this age group (and slightly older..) but I am confident you will agree with me, the natural shots are the best creation from a camera #overthefilter

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#Spring

Dark, dreary wintery nights are finally passing us and this week there is a sense that spring is breaking through the skies as quickly as Storm Doris swept through the night! The lighter evenings and the brighter skies in the morning bring such welcome comfort to the working day and spring to our step. Spring is officially my favourite time of the year, there is an excitement in the air, the summer months lie ahead and our windows and doors can suddenly be opened again with light cascading into the house. The children can suddenly play outside again in the evening, this week the cobwebs and dead leaves were cleared from the trampoline and the bouncing began with laughter in the garden and a dog running chaotically at the base trying to join in! Not only does spring make you feel more alive, beautiful new life form is created with the plants rearing their pretty heads through a mound of weeds and soil. Daffodils and snow drops grace our countryside and to me remind of why England is such a lovely place to live. Little lambs start to skip through the fields. The warmer air and positively radiant sunshine greets us all with welcome comfort to our days and reminds us that summer is within welcome reach to our lives. I personally find spring is the perfect time to make fresh starts and plans, not the New Year where i am hanging from a busy challenging and expensive Christmas and still a whole month or two of dark evenings and depressing weather. Spring has most definitely sprung!

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#lovethis

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Christmas Party Season!

Crackers, party hats, chilly turkey, thick liquor drinks, heels, gel nails and fake tan😳, Slade, prawn cocktail starters, drinking games and bosses trying so hard to be "one of the team" - were out in an abundance during my first party of the Christmas season. Admittedly, it felt very early in the year to be dancing along to Mariah Carey and to pull crackers with friends, yet it didn't take long to get fully into the Christmas cheer! I love an organised Christmas Party night and it's been a few years since I had experienced all of the above. One things for sure, a classic party night has changed little! There is the typical boss trying so hard to be everyone's friend, to win affections from their most demanding of "team players". The youngest and newest member of the company who gets absolutely hammered, despite desperate warning texts from mum to behave and sensible. (I know this from experience!) The sexy lady of the team who's revealing dress doesn't disappoint her army of over eager co-workers! The huge "what the hell did I order?" debate which erupts around the table as fast, efficient young waiters and waitresses work through the hardest shift possible! The debate continues until 'work mum', the civilised sensible member of the team reveals a useful spreadsheet! It amazes me how confident people are and this new found confidence is as a result of Christmas! Suddenly it's ok to tackle your line manager over the extra hours worked and no payrise! The dance moves that people didn't even know they could do are unleashed to shocked colleagues (particularly Work Mum!) There is a new found team spirit that's evoked and the promises that we must do this once a month rather than just at Christmas!!!! (!) All of the above are what makes Christmas so special and unique, it can give you a warm glow when you mix with your work friends in a different setting, where you have a one-to-one moment with someone from your group you never normally pass the time of day! Together, you then watch the elder members of the group out dance and out drink their younger team mates! It might all be a bit cheesy, silly, embarrassing, and awkward the next day but that's ok because "ITS CHRIIISTMAAAS!!!!!!!!"

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Girl on the train

Girl on the train Train travel to London for me is as unexpected as Donald Trumps election win. My commuting experiences over the last 24 hours have left me feeling frazzled, rushed, a little dirty but also very proud of my achievements to conquer the Underground system during the peak travel time. I decided to risk using the moving trains toilets. Mistake. I was tempted to wait, but felt paying 50p to pee at Paddington was criminal. Armed with my luggage I squeezed into the tiniest of loos. I was immediately cross with the previous male toilet user who had left the seat up and on top of that hadn't flushed! Disgusted by this I used the loos and of course flushed, only to read the bold writing "Please do not flush whilst on a moving train"!! Panicked I started to think why? Would my move make the train de-rail? Would I be sucked down into the ground? Luckily neither happened and relieved, made a hasty exit from the train . I felt prepared for the underground. With a list of the lines I needed and the stops already In place, I had researched train info online and discovered that contactless could be used rather than a ticket. I marched towards the barriers armed and ready with my cards contactless logo pointing in the right direction, I felt like a seasoned "I know what I'm doing" traveller only to be jolted back by an alarming buzzer as my card did not allow me access. As the line of people gathered impatiently behind me, I was frantically ushered across by an angry looking Paddington worker "Sorry love, no contactless in this section you need a ticket!" It's fair to say I have never experienced the underground at peak time and despite the franticness and general rush it wasn't long until I felt a part of the London travel zone. My experience of the typical London commuter in general was highly positive. Of course I was surrounded by the suited and booted businessmen holding an air of swagger and confidence but I also met the most delightful people willing to help if I wasn't quite sure and one lovely lady who clearly thought I looked confused and pointed me in the right direction. I met a postman who pulled up google maps on his iPhone when mine failed who guided me to the right place and finally a smiley train assistant who declared " I looked way too worried and to relax baby I was on the right route". After a days work and the final trip back to the leafy green shire I really did start to feel like a true city slicker. I walked with a fast pace, with confidence and started successfully flashing my contactless card to get me here there and everywhere. I was starting to look like the typical London business lady, right until my pull-along suitcase handle snapped in front of commuters as I tackled the underground escalators for one last time 😳.

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Bugged Out

First week off from work since the balmy weeks in August and I'm all of a sniffle!! Why do colds or illnesses pounce when you finally chill and life is less pressured and you have a break from the 05:58 alarm clock? I get that it's because you 'relax' and all of those similar comments but it just seems unfair! My big issue when I get a bug is feeling so limited, feeling like you have to change plans you've arranged especially when all of your plans were so lovely! However, this little spell of sickness has got me thinking, life is fast paced and our body reacts to all we punish it with on a daily basis. As the week progressed, I finally accepted I had fallen foul to a cold. I replaced my evening cuppa (or from Thursday-Sunday my glass of Sauvignon Blanc) with the lovely lushious lemsip. I bought a ton of oranges and orange flavoured fizzy bubbly drink things. I had a sit down, a cup of tea and a little read in the afternoon. I ate carrot soup and I had a break from the gym and replaced my trainers with my slippers. I even had a soak in the bath amongst wild thyme salts and essential oils! It's made me think, clearly life's busy and a little bit of the above is needed more? Maybe my plans changed a little, but perhaps thats exactly what I needed and whilst of course I'm pretty 'bugged out' that a weeks hols has been clouded with the lurgy, in hindsight I'm not normally unwell. I've lots of family and friends who are and suffer with minor and major sickness and I'm thankful for the well and normal feeling that's beginning to return. Im also looking forward to a glass of something stronger than effervescent fizziness 😂😋

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Girls Night Out

Eggs? Crumpets? Brioche rolls? Museli? Toast? Coffee or Tea? The choices! The toughest decision to make when you are hungover and your fuzzy head cannot make that all important call. The reason why it's so stressful? The wrong move will ultimately be your undoing for the rest of the day. These days hangovers for me from my "rare" nights out leave me feeling so indecisive and out of sorts for an entire day! But are they worth it? Of course! nights out with friends, the opportunity to chat, listen, cry and laugh all at once will last with u longer than that hangover. The town I live in is without doubt picturesque, quaint, historic and northern Gloucestershire at its best but it lacks a decent bar for its ladies. I'm not asking for Soho nightlife or bar after bar on the main high street but something other than "spoons" would be well received. That said, sometimes with the bestest of friends, who needs those things? Our most recent girly escaped landed us in a a small real ale pub full of locals. A young band, welcoming management, cheap booze and a tiny dance floor for its bravest clients. There was even a moment when one of our troop clambered towards the bands microphone and had a go themselves- thinking they were Ellie Goulding or Taylor Swift just for five minutes! And when that taxi arrived just after closing and we did our goodbye hugs I realised the importance of the evening for us all. We may not have the greatest venue options for a night out and our hangovers the next day are becoming harder to deal with, but the importance of that night, the laughter, the silliness, the chatter and drunken debates leave you feeling bouncy (but two days later), alive, content and happy for weeks.

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Happy place

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My happy place

A typical after work scene unfolds in our family kitchen. The end of the day chaos and race to tell each others daily gripes, good news and stories commence. I manage to smile and nod in the right places, inject energy and advice where needed and at the same time cook the family meal, make packed lunches and contemplate my to do list for the following day! During one of these frantic chats my eldest daughter asks me "mum, where's your happy place?". Whilst secondary school has its down sides and our 'babies' are exposed to a huge scary world actually, this question made me feel thankful for my daughters rather adult pshe lesson and for encouraging such a mature chat. My daughter had really made me think! Where is my "Happy place" and where do I feel at peace? I replied, "Its whenever I exercise". Similarly, my active young daughter had the same type of response. Our answers are connected to fitness- pushing our heart beat out of its comfort zone, feeling beads of sweat form on your back, to stretch yourself physically and to ask your body questions of itself that may take time but improvement will always be achieved. Unwinding and relaxing and sitting is something I struggle with, yet the moment I've completed my favourite forms of exercise, running, walking, swimming, weight lifting, I feel different. I feel pushed, relaxed motivated and every single time better in myself. I struggle with time management but yet I always try to fit exercise into my week. When I had my babies, I walked and walked for miles with the pushchair, when I couldn't afford the gym I used uTube and googled home HITT work outs or ran. I can't lie Keeping fit and juggling an early morning run or swim isn't always easy, but the message I want to convey is that the overriding end result is unbeatable and nothing can be lost by putting yourself out there and getting fit. Even the most fittest of people won't lie, the first twenty minutes of exercise will always be tough, fighting through that, finding a rhythm, beating the breathless feeling isn't always fun but will always leave you feeling better after the event. Pushing myself physically and exercising is the one time in my week when I just clear my head and is a defining moment where I find "me time". Exercising gives me my happy place.