Happiness is a State of Mind

It's true! Unfortunately, some minds are in too much of a state!!

As far as I am aware Happiness does not come with a convenient on/off switch that we can use at will. Please correct me if I am wrong.

So thanks, A, but I do already know how to count my blessings, one by one, each and every one, including,

* My DH is alive and is sometimes the only one who can raise a smile.
* Beautiful Son, Number 1
* Gorgeous Son, Number 2
* A roof over my head, food to eat and clothes to wear
* Living in a free and relatively safe country, in a beautiful county.
* Having a lovely car, a bed, an oven, a computer, a kettle, a pair of scissors, and a needle.
* I might not have many friends, I can count them on one hand, but the ones I have are the best, KT, FM, NB, SO.
* 2 wonderful nieces and assorted other acquired family cast members.
* plus 100,000 other blessings (I didn't want to put a million in case that was an over-estimate)

But just because I can count them, doesn't always make it better and M if I could find a Happiness Coat that I could just choose to put on today, I'd buy it immediately. If you could point me in the direction of the shop, I'd be very grateful. However, until it's in my wardrobe, I certainly can't "turn my frown, upside down", no matter how much I'd like to.

Actually I'm quite liking the idea of Mood Coats, do you think they would come in appropriate colours? Today I'd like to put on my assertiveness Coat, but it's buried at the back of the cupboard, behind my PMT coat and I'm wearing my Lethargic coat so I can't quite reach it!!

Lots of Love Arwedd xx

Oh Happy Day!

I'm a Winner!

Having spent the most delightful day with the marvellous, amazing, gorgeous, Fostermummy and her Man Wonderful, I feel like I have won first prize!

Crochet lessons first started with an 8.00mm hook and a very frugal way to crochet, using cut up old T-shirts. Trust Fostermummy to combine frugality and craft to achieve the best of both worlds!

Within minutes I was having my second lesson, how to change colour and hey presto:-

It may not look like much yet, but this is going to make a great potholder, or table mat, or possibly a few other, equally useful, ideas.

We stopped for lunch and I got a much needed lesson in how to make Chapattis, aswell. This is definitely one I am going to try at home. 

These were a great accompaniment to the delicious Veggie curry, Fostermummy had cooked up. If you want the recipe I'm afraid you'll have to ask her, as I wasn't watching for this one and my cooking skills are lagging even further behind my crochet skills. All I know is it was yummy!!

After lunch, we started in on the crocheting in earnest, and these are my hands actually crocheting a Granny Square, under Fostermummy's watchful eye.

Several cups of Man Wonderful's lovely coffee later and I left with a load of lovely goodies to start, what will no doubt, become a large wool and hook collection.

I also left with plans for another day, when I can reciprocate with a lesson for Fostermummy on making Iris Fold Cards or any of the other things I do know how to make (sadly, there aren't many). I simply can't wait.

My day was only slightly marred by arriving home to find a poorly son and DH not knowing quite what to do, but after some dosing up with good ol' Calpol, I was able to put him to lie down and spend another couple of hours to turn the start of my square above into my first ever Granny Square. Hooray!

This was followed only slightly more quickly by Granny Square Number 2:-

I'm not sure entirely why, as the yarn appeared to be the same, but the second one only took 5 rounds to get a 12cm x 12cm square, rather than six rounds? Either way, I'm on a roll and now starting Square 3. These I am hoping to send back to Fostermummy to add to the Bloggy Blanket. If you want to know more about this go to http://mumssimplylivingblogat.blogspot.co.uk/p/bloggy-friends-bloggy-blankets.html and check it out. 

The person who receives it won't appreciate it is my first ever Granny Square, I'm sure, but I know I will feel a warm glow inside, knowing it is adorning someone's lap somewhere, and hopefully Fostermummy and Mum will be proud of me!!

 All I can say is a huge Thank You to Fostermummy and Man Wonderful. Can't wait until the next time.

You could be a Winner Too!

 If you'd like to Win a Day with Fostermummy and have a wonderful, happy day like mine, pop along and follow her Blog at http://fostermummy.blogspot.co.uk/ and sign up to be one of her Followers. You will be inspired and entertained, I know.

Now back to the crochet ......................

Lots of Love Arwedd xx

He is Risen

Why is it with children that on days when they are likely to receive presents, i.e. Christmas Day and Birthdays, they are able to spring fully awake at the crack of dawn, and yet when you try to get them up on a normal school morning or even weekend, it's impossible? First to Arise today was the Birthday Boy!!

No.2 Son, after going to sleep incredibly late for a 7 year due to over-excitement, still managed to wake at some unearthly hour, expecting everyone else to spring into action and start the present opening session with joy and enthusiasm.

 All cards and presents duly opened and Ooo'ed and Aaa'ed over, we went to Church to celebrate the more important rising, from the dead no less, of the "man" who truly loves us. 

I can't imagine going through life without the love of my Savior.  Reading through Matthew this week has reminded me of the incredible sacrifice he made for me, and every other person ever created.  He died so that we could have eternal life.  He was rejected by those he came to save, and he chose to love each of us anyway.  What an incredible day to celebrate that our God is not dead, he's ALIVE!

So, in linking to http://ajourneytoadream.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/vive-le-revolution.html  today and writing 10 things which make me happy, number 1 "Reasons to be Cheerful" has to be:-
(in no particular order)

1. Jesus Loves Me - no matter how 'rubbish' I am!!

2. My Sister- in Law makes great chocolate cake and after having some for pudding at the family birthday party today, I got what was left to bring home, yippee!!

3. Friends - I don't have many of them, very few in fact, but what I lack in quantity, I make up for in quality. Indeed, one of my bestest friends is an Angel here on earth. She inspires me to be a better me and she lights up my world, especially at its darkest, and (if it's not too creepy?) in the words of One Direction, "You don't know you're beautiful", but we all see it.

4. I live in a lovely part of the world, just five minutes from this. The view from the top of this Tor looking down is even more spectacular than looking up at this Tor. God's creation is Amazing!

  5. Today was a Good Day for me and I didn't have that feeling of walking through treacle and moving forwards in slow motion today.

6. I wasn't given loads of Easter Eggs/Chocolate/Sweets today. I have 8 stone to lose and I really don't need the temptation. Instead I received a £5 Amazon voucher, which I can use to buy a book for my lovely Kindle, which was much nicer.

7. The weather has been lovely today so the boys could play out with the big present of the day, a radio controlled truck. This not only gave them pleasure, but kept them out of everyone else's way, a bonus. (I do love them really!).

8. I got lots of hugs today!! Hugs keep me Alive.

9. The CDs my Dad sent me in the post to play while driving around in my new car.

10. Seeing my lovely niece on Skype and realising its not that hard to do, so maybe my Sons could Skype with their Grandparents, which would spread the happiness a lot further.

Happy Easter!

Lots of Love, Arwedd x