The Gallery: Colour - Sail away

The Gallery theme over at Sticky Fingers today is Colour. Unfortunately, my inspiration seems to be very lacking today, so this is a photo I took 2 or 3 years ago on Brighton beach. It's my OH, TD and OH's son, checking over the sail on our hobie cat. It's not a brilliant photo technically, I cut the top off the sail for one (tut tut) but I do love all the colours. 

Oh, and roll on the summer...

One Passion...The Gallery at Sticky Fingers

 

ONE BOY + ONE GUITAR = ONE PASSION

The prompt for 'The gallery' over at Sticky Fingers today is....A Number.

I've chosen the number ONE...

I took this photo of my Gorgeous 18 year old son playing one of his guitars. Playing music, his guitar is his love, his number one passion. In his own words "If I don't play my guitar everyday, I feel something is missing".

And just because I can, I'm going to add sound here (Apologies to those of you who've heard it before).  My son playing (the guitar in the photo) and TD singing...

So you can hear him with his 'One Passion'...

 

Guest Post Day - Sticky Fingers

Today, thanks to Little Mummy, is the day of many bloggers swapping blogs.

Yes, its 'Guest Post Day'. Drum roll...

So you will find Tara of Sticky Fingers fame here and I'm hanging out at hers for the day.

Tara has, in her words, two 'lovely little munchkins', aged 7 and 4. And although mine have long since passed this stage, I love reading about her 'munchkins' as it reminds me of how my now, hormone overloaded teenagers, once were. And trust me, with rampaging teens in the house I need all the reminders I can get.

And so, gently does it, try not to scare her off with all the possible horrors of teenagedom!

Please be upstanding for Tara...

"I have to chuckle when I read new mums talk about the cheek burning embarrassment of being caught in a trendy clothes store with their nipples leaking or walking into their posh office with baby puke on the shoulder of their work suit.

They are the sort of moments that make you want to turn to drink, or turn to stone or just turn and run away.

But I want to say to these women: nipple leakage? That's just a start. Wait until they grow up!

I have two young children. 7 and 4 (going on 14).

I know that once they hit their teens or tweens I'm going to be pulling my hair out because even now the embarrassment levels are dangerously high.

I remember when I was breastfeeding and a Savoy cabbage leaf popped out of my bra while I was at a posh spa hubby had treated me too. It was all white coats, minimal decor and scented candles. I like to think the tall, willowy, twentynothing assistant could recognise a breastfeeding mum suffering at the hands of a particularly hungry baby, but the look on her horrified face said otherwise.

Then we reached the Terrible Twos and my toddler managed to be violently sick in the children's aisle of a Wilkinsons megastore - all over his pushchair, clothes, floor and, mortifyingly, the display of books nearby.
You can actually feel the red hot burn of disapproval from shoppers boring in to your neck as you're down there on your hands and knees trying to mop it up with the scrap of tissue you managed to find at the bottom of your changing bag.

And don't get me started on when they can talk.
Walking hand in hand with my son around Ikea behind a particularly large gentleman he stage whispers to me: "That man is so fat, mummy". Of course, to a toddler 'stage whisper means say it as loud as your lung capacity will allow and what actually came out as was "THAT MAN IS SO FAT, MUMMY"
Then, while sat round a camp fire with new friends on a camping trip, my angelic little man is clearly bored with the conversation as it doesn't involve Ben 10/chocolate/him so randomly declares to all: "My mummy has two bottoms. A front one and a back one."

Supermarkets? Why do we not avoid them like the plague, because we know, we absolutely know, we're going to have an inquisitive child demand 'what the hell is that?' when someone slightly different talks to them (yes, yes I've been there too).

Ah leaky nipples, those were the days . . .

I know, I know, there are probably a whole host of you rolling your eyes and saying 'she has NO idea of what's to come'.

So tell me - gently - what is to come?"

Sticky Fingers The Gallery....Beauty

BEAUTY...

Tara at Sticky Fingers has a photo gallery link and the theme today is 'Beauty'

So here's mine.

I took this photo last July on the island of Poros, Greece. 

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this is one of my ideas of 'beauty'.

It's the branch of a tree, which reaches out over the sea, in an idealic place called 'Love Bay'.  
A beautiful name for a beautiful place...
I know that for all of us it was one of those holidays you hold close to your heart and carry forever...

"I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly"

What an interesting couple of days we've had with TD this week!

A little background...

It starts with the age old story of a Teenage Girl, who is one of TDs friends, who has had a boyfriend for 6 months (also one of TDs friends), playing away from home, and lots it would seem. Unfortunately, TD had actually been present, evenings at friends houses, parties etc, on a couple of these occasions.

Late last week, the boyfriend had heard whispered rumors from others, and knowing that TD had been present, asked her directly if anything had gone on between his girlfriend and one in particular, apparently notoriously bad boy (also friends with all involved..a bit of a charmer, or smarmy git whichever way you want to read it) during an evening at friends, that he hadn't gone to.
..."Erm..um"...was how her reply started. TD said she then, suddenly, felt fed up with lying & covering up for the girlfriend, also, she felt sympathy for the boyfriend, who she said is a "lovely, sweet person and a really good friend"....so continued with "Yes, something did happen and you need to talk to them about it". Oh s**t s**t s**t was my first thought... this can only end in tears.

I feel, personally, she made a mistake, that she should have denied, said no comment, anything to avoid answering the question. I understand that's my reaction as her mum, because I knew it would've protected her from any of the fallout. But how many adults, let along 16yr olds, have figured that one out yet? As we know, it's the person doing the telling that always ends up in the wrong, with everyone.

Now, I'm a mum of 4. TD is my youngest, so I'm not some rose-coloured spectacle wearing novice when it comes to believing absolutely everything that comes from my teenagers mouths. Teens DO lie, for many different reasons, and I'm the first to hold my hands up and admit I have made mistakes before..
So I did question TD as to whether she was sure about it. She told me "Yes and why would I lie? what do I get from that?" (Mmm? let me just ponder that one for a second..umm.. attention? the bad sort yes, but attention all the same) She then told me the name of the girl...and I looked at her with raised eyebrows... "Yes ::sigh:: mum, the same one"...
And that was the clincher for me, because you see, one of the occasions I mentioned earlier happened in my own home. Said teenage girl, TD and a different teen boy were spending time in her room (PC stuff, loud music so on). About an hour later TD came down, with her hand over her mouth, OMG! style, and hissed at me "You won't believe what's going on up there!!??!".. "What??" I asked... "Teen Girl is getting off with Teen Boy!!" "I couldn't stay in there any longer...Ewww! It's gross, and in front of me!". I said she needed to go back upstairs so nothing too serious went on, but they were together, weren't they? so surely a little smooching comes with the territory??
"NO, he's not her boyfriend!! Muuumm, don't you listen to anything I tell you?" (Okay, I'm old, you can't expect me to know all their names...purlease!)..
"Ah, I see"...
TD did go back upstairs, almost immediately, still fairly grossed out and indignant.

End of background...

Ending in tears is exactly what did happen. All involved denied anything had happened, ooh what a surprise! Of course they did! They then turned it round and accused TD of lying...which, thanks to modern technology, flew round all the social networks, with the result that TD ended up receiving nearly 2 days worth of the most obnoxious, vile, name calling insults I have ever seen, over most of them..

So TD, at the moment, apart from half a dozen very close and loyal friends, who at various times had seen first hand evidence of the same behaviour from the Teen Girl, and defended TD to the hilt, is Persona non Grata amongst the many others.

What I've learned from this experience is how much I admire my Daughter. Through all the insults, she never once replied in an antagonistic way. I know this, because I read every single one of them, and then went away and cried a little.

At first, when reading them, what I found most odd, were that all the insults hurled at her were to do with the way she dressed (comfortable, and a tad grungy) the way she looks (she's 5' 10" and a little overweight) her piercings, her little tattoo, her two-tone hair, it was all mentioned, yet only a couple mentioned anything to do with lying.
It was like reading something from a bunch of 6 yr olds in the playground...extremely cruel and verbally foul vicious 6 yr olds.

TD is a 'good' person. I explained to her that all the things they said are within her power to change, almost overnight, if she chooses to, they are only superficial, outward changes. Unfortunately for the ones insulting her, they have much more work to do...

Then for some strange reason, I woke the following morning with Winston Churchills famous quote "I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly" in my head?!?! WTF!
I later realised it's because it's quite apt. When I told TD this quote, in relation to the ongoing situation, she understood instantly, her mouth wide open in shock at my perception, obviously!

Needless to say, TD now believes she is Winston Churchill...

BAD BAD Blogger! And thanks for the distraction!

So sorry! My lovely bloggy friends. I have been very, very distracted and absent, both with posting and with leaving comments recently. I have been reading your blogs, I promise, and I always intend to comment, but then my brain thoughts seem to lose their way, I then get distracted even more and start thinking of other things, and then forget where I was re commenting....:::sigh:::.
But the reading I can do. I find it distracts my mind for a while. So, thanks to you all for that.

There is so, so much information swirling around my head at the moment, I don't always seem to have the ability to compose much that makes any sense. Hey?!... I just wrote the previous sentences, so there must be something still working in there, right??

I wanted to write something to re-connect with everyone, so you all know I am still here, bobbing along in the Blogosphere, just not participating very much.

It's all been and is still being, very scary and unknown here concerning my OH, and I really don't want this space, my space, my sharing place, to only be about sad and scary things. So I've purposely not been posting much. Combine that with my inability to keep any thoughts in my head for any length of time, other than things to do with my OH, and you lot are not going to get anything worth reading, just a big pile of shite, probably! Which would be okay if it were creative and funny shite, but of course it wouldn't be....

Unfortunately (I'm sure I should mean fortunately, shouldn't I?!...Bad Mummy...*slap myself*) the Teens have all been behaving, well, erm...normally? So no gripping, funny or unfunny material to share with you from them.
Unless of course you count TD storming out of the house this afternoon.... "to get out of your hair"...... over macaroni cheese!

So, Many thanks for the distractions all you lovely bloggers... xxx

Hot and Cold Teens and a Nod to the Dog!

Why oh why are Teenagers so bloody dramatic?!.....Sheesh!!

TD hates college, this evening she's loving it....huh? what did I miss?
Her Art tutor is "actually, sort of okay", last week she was "the bitch from hell who hates me and a devil woman" (TD's words)...
She hates her hair, last week after bleaching her fringe, it was "awesome!!"...
A month ago she had it cut shorter, now she wants extensions!
She loves her BFF, tonight she vented for an hour about what a pain in the arse one of them is "OMG!"
No worries, they'll be BFF again by Monday...

Of course, me, being the perfect Mum to Teens, that you know and love...*cough..splutter*
....did a truly impressive nodding dog impersonation, you'd have all been so proud of me.

"Uh huh....Oh....that's too bad....yes I know....really?...Oh no...Oh dear...Mmmm?...." and nodded my little head off, till it was in danger of dropping off & rolling out the back door...

If you value your relationship with your teen daughter, or even just life as you know it, a word of caution. DO NOT OFFER ADVICE....under ANY circumstances....I promise you, from experience, it will come back and bite you in a painful place....

Take the drama on the chin....and just NOD!