New Blog

OK.. There have been some changes..
My old blog name of "wyldwych" has been replaced by "msmcdonagh".. I changed it to reflect how I feel about my name being out there, also because I wanted to move away from being anonymous on the internet.
I used my nom de plume to hide behind, to be someone other than the real me. So I changed it.

I also started a new blog, this one is called : Forty Plus Fat and Fabulous
http://www.fortyplusfatandfabulous.blogspot.com

I wanted to explore what it was like being over 40, and being creative, alternative, and funky, with a fashion bent, only not high fashion, rather individual fashion.. To prove that its not just young people who have the monopoly on looking good, whatever shape or size they are. I may do hair and make-up bits (no I'm not a trained make-up artist.. just have 30 years of practice!), creative makes, shopping hauls, etc.. I suppose my post yesterday was the start of that, so I'll post that one there too.. so that I can share with everyone..

While I'm not trained in anything in particular that I could consider bloggin about, I thought I'd start with my creative side. I feel the need to share what I do have, what interests me, is bound to interest others too.
I'm kind of using it as a way of stepping into a more confident me too..

After all it took me till I was 37 to step behind a microphone to start singing, its about time I started putting the rest of my life in some sort of order.. of returning to my creative roots, instead of hiding it away, sharing it with the world.. I've always enjoyed my hauls of charity shop finds, but was embarrassed at times.. Some of my friends have wondered down the years how I manage to find things that I like, the key is looking and not always looking in the same place..

Well, its going to be my world and I might as well enjoy it, instead if hiding my light under a bushel, its time to step out into the world and show it what I'm made from! I don't intend to slip slowly into my middle years a wall flower, instead I expect to go kicking and screaming!!

Shopping Haul and being in a bad mood.

Today was going to be "one of those days".. I woke in the foulest of moods, really downbeat, and had to force myself to get out of bed and engage in the day. I packed the kids off to school and set about trying to make the day work for me.

Wednesday is usally my "trip to town" day.. I say town, Stoke town centre doesn't boast much beyond Sainsbury's, a couple of cheap shops and a plethora of charity shops.. Anyway, when I'm feeling blue, a good charity shop mooch is usually one way of elevating my mood, and so, there we have it, its what I did..

First up was the little charity stall in Stoke Market, where I picked up some cream Mary Jane heeled shoes (Heaven help my poor feet!) for the princely sum of £1.. the're from New Look and are made from leather and despite one scuff to the front of one of them, they're perfect. Next was The Donna Louise Trust shop, which is a fantastic one, full of furniture, clothing and all manner of "stuff".. purchased: 2 polka dot silk scarves, for the sum total of 50p!!! BARGAIN!

I scoured Scope and came up with nothing and so to the Red Cross shop, however the Dougie Mac shop yielded more bargains.. 2 black cotton summer skirts for £2 each.. the one on the left of the pic is a Rocha John Rocha, the other a Wallis, so both good quality skirts, for very cheap!! Can't wait to try them on and see what I have that I can team them up with.

The cream shoes.. well, I was going to cover them with fabric, beads and the like, but I really like them as they are, so I may just leave them for now.. as they are pretty cute as they are.

While my mood isn't all that great, I'm chuffed to bits with my bargains.. all for the princely sum of £5.50!!!!

Ooops, I almost forgot.. I also bought a lovely book called "50 Years of Everyday Fashion", which was published by Yours magazine, not everyone's cup of tea, but I couldn't resist it because of all the fantastic vintage photos from the Second World War right through to well, more modern times. I'm sorely tempted to do a photo montage, or somesuch, on a canvas to put around the flat.. But it would be a shame to cut up the book.. Oh decisions decisions... Oh yeah, and I got it for £1.. so either way its a bargain!

I've recently been getting back into "fashion", well, over the past few years I have, and looking back to the past for inspiration. Once upon a time I studied A level Fashion and loved it and have been seriously thinking of making clothes again as I have the skills, but rarely use them. Its motivation I lack in all honesty, distracted by other things, such as life, job-hunting, kids, etc.. However, I'm happiest when I'm doing something creative, which is why I knit and crochet so much! I have patterns and I have some material.. So I think I may set myself the challenge of making something, I'll say, at some point.. rather than commit to anything just yet, but I should get out the fabric and shears, the pattern and the pins and start making.
The thing is, I go to so many handmade fairs and the like and I keep thinking to myself "I could make that", or "I'm sure that would be easy to make".. yet I never seem to get around to it!! Procrastination is a killer, as is low self-esteem (which is something else I carry like a sack of spuds!), and its important to feel positive about projects before starting them, which I initially do, then get distracted, or just get up in a foul mood, like today.. hey ho.. at least its only one day!

So, I shall set myself a new challenge, to try and beat the "blues"...

1) Do something creative each day, whether it be writing a blog, sewing something, spinning some yarn, drawing, making, or whatever.
2) Not be disappointed with myself if I don't finish a project that day
3) Stick with it, instead of throwing in the towel
4) Don't give up on a project, unless its not working, then try to do something else with it

Well, its a good place to start. I have loads of ideas, some of them not entirely practical, however, some of them might just be "the thing" to get my creative juices flowing and to see where it leads me. So I plan to resurrect my "Spinyche" blog, where I show all my handspun yarn and knitting and crochet projects. Start another blog on sewing, or just general creativity and see what happens.

Hurrah for inspiration! About time you reared your head and allowed me to find some way through this quagmire of mud that is my bad mood...

Onwards and upwards!

The craziness continues

Looking back over my past blog entries and I've realised that I still am a very lazy blogger.. I really keep forgetting about it.. also part of me wonders, do people actually read my blog, or even care about what I'm writing..

I sit here now and its Graeme's birthday, I've just had the badness cut out of my hair.. leaving me with a short layered bob.. and it could go shorter! But its not going to.. I've just put up a blog page for Rain.. I had my gallbladder out last November, prior to which I lost over 2 stone in weight... It just made me realise that nothing ever stays the same.. change is an inevitable part of life.. and it doesn't matter whether I blog it or not.. the world still turns...

I looked back on what I've achieved and what I haven't and I just think.. I'm still here... which is a bonus..

Everything changes

Oh, not only do I have to put up with Facebook doing its major Timeline overhaul and forcing its insidious tripe on everyone.. Blogger is going the same way!!! WHY???

Why can't they just leave well alone??

Oh I'm not a happy bunny about this... I mean people of a certain age struggle with change... so we should be allowed to keep our old "look", or device management systems so that we can make sense of this stupid world.. without having to waste time learning new systems...

GAH!!!

PAH!!

MEH!!

OH NO! Not another New Years promise to myself!

Well well well...

Here we are again, Its January 2012 and I'm in a post Christmas/start of a new year mood that befits many in these times of gluttony.

I decided, after much thought and deliberation, to start getting fit and healthy (again!!)...

I have run the gauntlet of one "healthy eating plan" after another, and one exercise plan or another, and have found that for me, I become complacent. I really need a kick up the bum to get me going... I need help!

Lucky for me, that help came in the form of a lovely lady, who is an exercise instructor... she's fitness crazy and is someone who said, "Ditch the scales, look at the inches"... How could I resist.

So, I now have my own personal trainer!! She asked me a series of questions on the phone and I said, shall we meet for coffee to discuss the training plan...

The next day, she texted me back, "I have a better idea... Lets go to the Lyme Valley Parkway, there's a nice walk and the outdoor exercise equipment.. your treat at the end of the walk is a coffee in Morrisons!"...

Well, have to admit, she sold it to me! I just thought, what a great idea, seeing as I'd usually just veg out in front of the PC, while my freshly brewed coffee percolated away to itself in the kitchen. What a difference to be able to get off my bum, go for a walk and have a coffee too!!

So, D-Day came.

We met up, walked, exercised and drank coffee, and walked back at a nice brisk pace... I felt chilled, yet energised at the same time! I'd forgotten how good exercise felt!

So, she's planning a fitness test, and then will come up with a plan and timetable for me. Which I have to say I'm really looking forward to! I'd like to be able to go for a bike ride in the warmer months... maybe tackle a mountain!

I went to work today energised and focussed, came home and dismantled an old knackered wardrobe with a hammer, loaded the car with the bits and drove to the tip and managed to recycle the bits (It was an old chipboard kind that had seen much better days)! I literally didn't stop then.. Shredded a load of documents, washed up.. and all without batting an eyelid... All this from someone who barely leaves the sofa unless forced!!

I really really feel great!!

Whatever have I gone and done?? !!! I may have unleashed a monster!!

Creativity multiplies creativity.

Having spent time with the lovely Corrinne from the Guild I found out about something really rather interesting. Apparently the food we eat is incredibly acidic on the whole, which means our bodies are in turn acidic and what we need to do is try and switch to a more alkaline diet to bring balance back.
Corrinne suggested something called "Alkaline water" to start with... which is basically 1 litre of water with 1tsp of bicarbinate of soda (which is extremely alkaline) and a few drops of a "sole" solution (which is a solution made up from Himilayan Rock salt and water). Corrinne herself introduced me to something called "green water".. which includes the above, but with the inclusion of chlorophyll. Anyway, she suggested I try the alkaline water and see how I go, so armed with a "sole" (pronounced solay) solution and dragging the bicarb out of the cupboard I made my first litre.
I cannot describe the difference already. I have been drinking the solution in the morning, some before breakfast, some after. I have noticed some strange side effects... My desire to drink coffee has been reduced! (I'm down to one small mug, instead of my usual bucketful), my appetite is changing. I'm no longer craving sweet things and feel drawn more to fresh foods. I am otherwise a self confessed junkfoodaholic! I ate some chocolate for the first time last night and have to say, wasn't that bothered. I drank a bottle of cider and it was too much for me. Normally I'm someone who at the weekend would eat junk and drink... Instead I'm finding myself craving the alkaline water!! Weird!. So I urge anyone to try it and see if it works for you! I'm so impressed I've ordered the book from Amazon!
The book is called "The Miracle Diet".... can't wait to try it!

A Blast from the Past

A good friend, on FB, Jane just happened to post up a TV appearence that I made around 2 years ago today on Facebook! Wow.... what a blast from the proverbial past!!!
A lot has happened since this song was written, performed, recorded, videoed and a lot has happened since.. so I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the official video for this song.

I still love this song, as it stands, it is a beautiful homage to all kinds of marriages... Personal marriages, unions of opposites.. that kind of thing.
I had no idea when Roam wrote the song that it would be asked to be included in a Robin Hood documentary that would receive worldwide release through Warner Brothers!! I had no idea that I would appear on a TV show!!
Roam became a victim of its own success. One part of the band deciding to take up other things, I continued, helped and abetted by some incredibly talented people for as long as I could keep it going. Sadly, it became a thing of the past... I would consider leaving the song in the past as it has facilitated pain, sadness and loss for all involved. However, I feel the need to revisit it.
To my mind it still stands as a great song and deserves to be played and loved back to life.

Song recorded and video made by Olive Studios
Song performed by Roam
Song written by Roam

Here's the official video for it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVJM3uQ-vZc&feature=related