Sunday 29 April 2012

It Must Be Love

Photo taken using Fun Fotos
Wedding fever has hit lately, as I've had the privilege to help out a friend (not much, just offering a finger when needed lol) leading up to her special day. The wedding took place on Friday, the only beautiful day in ALL of April! (I've decided they bribed the weather gods somehow). They took nine weeks to plan the whole thing, and it all went off splendidly. Within the last week they also asked a friends sister if she could do a photobooth, which was fantastic and has created some brilliant memories. Now I'm not one for big, lavish expensive weddings (though I've got nothing against them, if you can afford it go for it!). To me it's about having the people you love and who love you involved in a day to cherish and remember. It's those special moments, like my cousin calling me Mrs Jolley for the first time and me going into fits of gigles. Or the groom, not overly loquacious by nature, saying something so desperately loving and romantic it makes tears well in everyone's eyes.

Okay decent grub helps and good quality photos to assist the memory as time wears on, are a must, yet sharing  such an emotionally rewarding day with friends and loved ones is what it's really about to me. So congratulations to my dear friends Melissa & Glenn, for letting us all share what was a wonderful day and joyous celebration of your love and happiness. X M

Saturday 14 April 2012

Titanic

Two blog posts in two days. For a woman who you're lucky to get a post out of once a month this is a great achievement! So what's brought on this rash of posts? Well tonight I'm going to a friends hens night and we will be dining only 1/2 a mile away from the great ships berth.

I happen to live in Southampton, yep, the place where the doomed liner set sail from. Despite this link, Southampton has been relatively quiet when it comes to this association, despite the tragic loss of life felt by it's community. Finally after 100 years there is a museum worthy of the legend that is the Titanic, a multi-million pound interactive endeavour that was opened on the 10th April, the day the Titanic left Southampton. Prior to this the only museum about the Titanic Southampton had was in an ancient woolshed across from the Isle of Wight ferry terminal. Not really up to James Cameron standard, me thinks!

Where is all this Titanic talk leading you ask? Well I read/saw something a few years back that has stuck in my mind, I can't remember the source, but the idea has been growing recently to become a new book. Apparently the wives of the White Star vessel's crew were left with nothing on the deaths of their husbands forcing many into the world's oldest profession. This to me has the making of a story, something outside the myth of the Titanic, but inextricably linked. 100 years ago Southampton lost many souls to the sea, but the legacy lives on stronger than ever as the new Seacity Museum reminds us of chivalry and heroism in the most tragic of circumstances. X M

Friday 13 April 2012

Balance... What's That?!

Bewitched? I wish I could wiggle my nose that well!
If you're after great insight, you've come to completely the wrong place, I was kinda hoping you could tell me. I'm a mother of two, wife of one (this isn't BIG LOVE folks) and though I don't have a paying job to go to, like many of the writers I've met online, I still don't seem to have the time to do everything I want to do. My time management sucks. There are far more people in this world who have a crap load to do and get it done with time to spare, but I'm not one of them. I've really learnt to cut down on my social networking, a necessary evil if you're trying to advertise an upcoming release. If I write at night, I feel like I'm neglecting my husband. I can only write during the day on one of the three afternoons my son is at nursery. I've got a TBR (To Be Read) pile that is constantly increasing, yet is necessary in developing my knowledge of the romance genre and writing in general. So where does that leave, I've got no friggin' idea?! I just keep plodding along, getting new words down when I can, editing old words during the breaks, and praying for those immensely rare moments when I don't feel guilty because I need to do dishes or vacuum. (Thanks to my husband for a few hours of that over Easter). So no plan to improve my sucky time management, just a hope that I'll get that place one day, when the magic fairies leave the house sparkling and I rock out 3000 amazing words in an hour to spend the rest of my evening day being the 50s/60s housewife I was born to be. Martini's anyone?