Hello!

Disclaimer: This is not a formatted post. I’m in a write and run mood. Some images will be centered. Some won’t. It’s ok to do that on a personal blog, isn’t it? 

Hi. I’m Liz Weston. Remember me? The Cambridge Mummy. Married to Lovely Bloke. Mother of Two Boys. Food Provider to Scout, the untrained Cockerpoo. Yes. The walking cliche. So. Where are we up to?

Well, I’m starting with an apology. I have been woefully absent from The Blog haven’t I? I’m sorry about that. Life and adventures have been keeping me away from here. But I’m here now, which is progress… Well. Until I go out for fresh air with Lovely Bloke in a moment. 

It’s January 2020. I didn’t write a round up of 2019. I was busy having adventures with my family. So I’m quite pleased with that. I’m online now as part of a promise I’ve made to myself – that I will write about something on my blog every week of 2020. I’ve been so busy working that I’ve not spent enough time looking after myself. And part of me is tied up in the blogging community which I love.

So it is fitting that my first blog for the new decade is therefore not about me. But about people in that community. Who I think are rather fabulous.

First up, are Becky Goddard-Smith and Penny Alexander. After the success of their first book, they’ve just released “Be happy, be you“. It’s a book for teenagers – here’s the amazon blurb….

“This positive and insightful guide gives you the tools to build your confidence, eliminate negative feelings and boost happiness in all areas of your life. Being a teenager has its own unique challenges, but it’s also the perfect time to shape your own mental wellbeing and happiness. Scientists reckon 40% of your happiness is within your control, that’s A LOT of happiness and this book will help you to harness it…

There are tons of ideas to try from creating an anxiety toolkit, to planning a digital detox and meditating, plus you’ll learn the science behind why they work. Carry out the activities by yourself or with family and friends and take your happiness into your own hands!”

It’s on sale everywhere – Jenny Soppet Smith Smith found it in Sainsbury’s for £4.99 which makes it barginous enough for you to buy as a ‘saw this and thought of you’ book.

Next, I’d like to remind you of the fabulousness that is Mummy Barrow. Opinionated, making the most of life and supportive of others. I love her. She’s en route to becoming the Next Granny Barrow and I can’t wait to see how life expands for her and her family as they grow together.

 

 

 

 

 

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“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,’ said Piglet at last, ‘what’s the first thing you say to yourself?’⠀ ⠀ ‘What’s for breakfast?’ said Pooh. ‘What do you say, Piglet?’⠀ ⠀ ‘I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?’ said Piglet.⠀ ⠀ Pooh nodded thoughtfully. ‘It’s the same thing,’ he said.”⠀ ⠀ AA Milne’s writing is basically a window into Barrow Towers on a Saturday morning isnt it? ⠀Pooh would totally approve of chocolate cake for breakfast. ⠀ Today is #WinnieThePooh Day so here’s a final piece of wisdom for you, because January can be brutal. The weather has been rubbish, credit card bills are landing, pay day feels like It was 75 days ago and is still 75 days away:⠀ ⠀ “……When you are a Bear of Very Little brain, and you Think Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it”⠀ ⠀ #10AmWithTea #PoohBearQuotes #NationalWinnieThePoohDay⠀ ⠀ ? @terryjoshi

A post shared by Mummy Barrow (@mummy_barrow) on Jan 17, 2020 at 11:52pm PST

She started the weekend off with an impromptu night away and the breakfast of Kings. Life goals, in Instagram Stories. Winning.

And finally, we have the beauty that is Lady Kelly Innes. She used to write on a traditional blog but these days she’s evolved to documenting her life on Instagram with beautiful, witty, insightful takes on life. I particularly love it when she and her family travel. They do house swaps and go to incredible places. Over Christmas they went further afield and did hotel life – the write ups were brilliant.

 

 

 

 

 

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Day one began somewhere over a part of the world that regularly makes the news for all the wrong reasons, but it wasn’t until we were eating odd food combos (chickee chicken nuggets and a red velvet mocha, since you asked) at Manama airport that our bodies started catching up with our brains. We waited for our flights, surrounded by scores of men, and women, garbed in white, travelling presumably to Haj at Mecca. Oddity of the day, for us at least, was being split up as we entered the country: men went through one security line, women through another. The ladies were lovely but determined to keep up the pace, ordering “Mummy, hurry with your babies! Just put it on, don’t worry about a box” as women threw hand luggage and coats on to the screening conveyor belt. A short nap later, we were in Abu Dhabi, ferried in air-conditioned bliss to the hotel. Alas our room was not ready, but our familiarity meant we knew that we knew where to go to grab some lunch and, on our return we were able to check in and demolish the calm perfection of our spotless room in record time. The afternoon, naturally, was spent by the pool, resisting the powerful urge to fall asleep by building sand men on the beach, and generally poking each other when we nodded off. Once the sun disappeared, we joined the pool exodus, heading upstairs for showers and charged phones before grabbing a cab to nearby Yas Marina- a hit last year- where we scouted supercars for Minor who has developed a fascination for high-end vehicle design, even watching from the street as a Maclaren or two raced the Yas Marina circuit (presumably for fun) with our ears covered against the noise. There was supper and a beer before we returned to the white-cotton, air-conditioned bliss of sleep and were all out cold before 9pm.

A post shared by Lady Kelly Innes (@cottageinawood) on Dec 24, 2019 at 9:46pm PST

I have so many posts half written, in draft, that I’m going to have a real go at getting them over the line this today. They might not be chronological but they’ll be me. Getting back to where I want part of me to be. Online here with you lot. x