What Am I Passionate About?

Kerry at Multiple Mummy is encouraging us all to take some time out from being a Mummy and share things we are passionate about. I have only been a Mummy for 9 months but I have to say that my own passions and interests are already a hazy memory. What did I do before Esther and William were born?

Drama – acting and directing
I love the theatre. I love going to London to watch a show but I also love small theatre, amateur theatre and schol plays. I have always enjoyed acting from a very early age and have been lucky enough to play some fantastic roles in amateur theatre. I have also worked with some exceptional children when directing school plays. Theatre is my main passion. I have been involved in all aspects of theatre at one time or another and know that I will be again when the babies are older. This is a passion that I share with David and I hope that we will both tread the boards again one day.

Writing – blogging and poetry
I have written poetry, stories and plays since I was a young child. I love writing! I find it easy and can write a poem very quickly. My poetry is quite childlike in format and style but it works. My writing has taken a new direction in the last year since starting this blog. When I was a teenager I went mad with my Mother for reading my diary now I am publishing it online for all to see. I find blogging therapeutic, a release, an escape and a way of making friends.

Photography – taking photos and sorting photos
My camera goes with me everywhere. I have always loved taking photos and being in other people’s. I took GCSE Design and specialised in photography but spent more time modelling for other people’s photos than taking and developing my own. Photographs are another form of diary for me, I record very milestone I can, especially since the babies have been born. I am currently taking the 365 photo challenge to try and improve my skills and if I a feel at the end of the year that I have been successful then I am going to treat myself to a proper SLR camera and deveop this passion even more.

Reading – to myself and out loud
Any regular reader of this blog will know that I love reading with Esther and William. I want to encourage them to have the same love affair with literature that their father and I share. Our house is full of books of every genre and we all love to read. I love to read aloud. When David and I first met we used to read plays aloud together. Now I read out loud to Esther and William whenever I can. We generally share at leats three picture books a day and you can read about some of our favourites here.

The West Wing
David introduced me to this series when we first met in 2007. Since then we ave watched all 7 series about 5 times. I am sure we are on our fifth go through. This is an Amrican drama set in The White House with a Democtratic president. It is fantasticaly written, superbly cast and very well acted. It is easy to watch yet challenges your thinking. It makes you laugh and cry. It feels real. It sparked an interest for me in American political systems and I have learned so much through watching it. It is great! David and I can quote many lines from it and often share them as personal jokes. It is a shared passion and a strong bond between us. We have watched it every day for years. I love it.

Planning
I am a planner. I love to make lists and tick things off. At the moment I am busy planning our wedding, before that we have Esther and William’s first birthday party to arrange and after it their christening to plan. I love researching ideas and making plans.

So there we go, seems I can remember after all! But none of these things compare to the passion I have for my children and sharing in their learning and development. None of these things compare with my love for David and my desire to make him happy, to make us happy as a family. There is nothing in the world that beats that!

But it has been nice, really nice, to take a few minutes out to write this post and remember who I am for a while, who I am when I am not being Mummy x

Secret Gardens and Fairy Hobfathers!

Being a Mummy to twins is hard work at the best of times and at the worst of times it can be exhausting. I have found myself close to tears on occasion and in need of a pick me up. This week I have made two wonderful discoveries just when I needed them most. A secret garden and my very own Fairy Hobfather!

Charing’s Secret Garden
I have lived in Charing for over 2 years, I have been roaming it with my double buggy for over 6 months, and yet I have never before visited the secret hidden walkway through the alderbed meadow. I found it completely by accident and it totally made my day. I have found a beautiful, peaceful place where I can walk with Esther and William enjoying the natural sights and smells of bluebells, buttercups, snowdrops and garlic. There are sparkling streams and winding paths over rickety bridges through the towering trees. It was a wonderful way to waste half an hour. I was also able to secretly practise my photography as we had the whole place to ourselves. Such a wonderful surprise and a place we will visit when we are searching for peace or space to think. Our very own secret garden, the Charing Alderbed Meadow.

The Fairy Hobfather
After a weary week of wisdom tooth woe I was cheered up by an email from the friendly Fairy Hobfather. Otherwise known as Ian Goodall this Master of Appliances makes it his business to keep a careful eye on Mummy Bloggers and reward them for no reason at all. What a lovely man and such a very kind thing to do. My email was waiting in my inbox when I returned from a few days in Cornwall. During our stay away the babies had been swimming for the very first time and they loved it. They particularly enjoyed their turn in their shared swimming float. The Fairy Hobfather is sending me £15 of Amazon vouchers which will be just enough to buy a second swim float so that both twins can enjoy this favoured treat at the same time. Thanks to The Fairy Hobfather!
You too could be visited by the Fairy from Applicances Online and be the receiver of a gift to make you smile. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post to be in with a chance of your very own visit from The Fairy Hobfather.

Here is a very blurry picture of William happy in his float!

Creative Courage

After a rubbish day with my sorry swollen face and infected tooth I was very pleased when Manana Mama read my single post of the day, left a comment and revealed that she had also nominated me for an award. I am so happy to receive recognition from a blogger I so admire that if I could grin inanely I would. Ouch!

Manana Mama has the most wonderful photo heading her blog and every time I see it I think that I would like such a photo of Esther one day.

To the award …

The Kreativ Blogger Award

… an award with rules!

1) Link to 10 blogs
2) Tell these bloggers about the award
3) Share 10 facts about myself (without repeating the 7 facts I revealed here!)

So here goes …

1) I do not drink alcohol. I just do not like the taste of it. I have a Baileys hot chocolate once in a while but that is as far as it goes. I often think “I would like to get a bit tipsy tonight” but I never do, but I sometimes wish I did.

2) I am a terrible worrier. I am always worried about what people think of me. What people think of how I do things. It can be quite debilitating sometimes but I cannot help it. I want people to think that I am good at what I do. I care too much.

3) I find it very hard to make and keep friends. I am not very good at small talk or talking to people that I do not know. I think that often I come across as rude but I am not. I just cannot find anything to say that doesn’t seem awkward or silly.

4) I love swimming. I grew up in Cyprus and so became a good, strong swimmer when I was very young. I cannot wait to teach Esther and William to swim. I am lucky that David loves the water as much as me.

5) My dream job would be to be a part of a Theatre in Education company, though I also dream of owning a children’s bookshop that runs reading, writing and drama workshops.

6) I love breastfeeding! I am so proud that I have fed Esther and William so long. Esther also has some food but at almost 9 months William is still all milk! I love them both so much and will be sad when they don’t want to feed anymore.

7) I love singing hymns. We are having 7 at our wedding, all old favourites from primary school. I can’t wait. We want to give all the children at the ceremony instruments so that they can play along.

8) I never used to eat spicy foods and now David and I have chillies in our dinner everyday.

9) I love The West Wing. David and I watch all 7 series over and over again. It is so well written, well cast and well acted. Nothing else on telly compares. It is simply brilliant.

10) I do not really like flowers.

Okay, so that was me, now over to you and I apologise if you already have this award or wish not to receive it. These are 10 blogs I read and enjoy. 10 blogs I recommend to others. 10 creative bloggers!

“Another word for creativity is courage”

The Boy And Me
Not Even A Bag of Sugar
Maris World
Mummy Beadzoid
Ema Flutterby
A Scandinavian Sojourn
Suburban Mummy
Rambling Thoughts of Moon
Tillie’s World
Alyson’s Blog

When I Grow Up

When I was just a little girl,
I asked my mother,
What will I be?
Will I be pretty?
Will I be rich?
Here’s what she said to me …

From an early age I dreamed of being; never being any one set thing but each thing related to words. And now when I think about those childhood ambitions many of them remain the same to this day. I would still like to be an actress, a journalist, an English and Drama teacher. Added now to my list are the White House Press Secretary and my one childhood pipe dream, a professional ice skater, like my childhood heroine Katarina Witt.

So here in more detail are the things I would most like to be when I grow up.

Ice Skater
When I was younger I lived in Germany and I used to love watching ice skating on television. My favourite skater was Katarina Witt. She was a hugely successful skater and was jut gorgeous to watch. I loved her grace, her elegance, her costumes!! I loved watching her colour and creativity and sparkle on the screen. I used to dream of being just like her. In reality when I went ice skating as a child I had to hang on to the sides of the rink so as not to fall over. An ice dancer I was never going to be!

Actress
I tried so hard to make this dream come true. I was in every possible school production, I studied GCSE Drama and A Level Theatre Studies, I joined local drama groups and when we moved to areas that did not have a drama group then from as young as 9 I woud start one. Drama was and is my thing! I would have given anything to be a professional actress. When I was a child I was desperate to join Anna Scher Theatre School. I worshipped her and wrote her letters. I am fairly sure that she replied too. I also went through a phase of wanting to go to The Italia Conti Academy, none of this was possible as by this time we were living in Germany. I wrote to the BBC too and asked if I could be an extra. I also told the BBC about a book I liked that should be made into a TV series and I even offered to play the leading role myself. I was desperate! As I got older I realised that I needed to make the best of my amateur experiences as a professional role was probably not ever going to be mine.

Writer / Journalist
I tried hard to achieve this goal too. I was editor of our class magazine at school as a pupil and also ran the school newspaper as a teacher. At university I wrote short pieces for the TES and had an interview for ATL. In my late teens I had an interview for a job as a local news reader on BFBS Radio in Germany. They were very impressed with me at the interview but I was too young for the role. I loved the interview though, choosing what news needed to be given the highest priority and makng headlones and reading them out over the air. Such a great experience, I would have loved that job! Now as a blogger I am developing my writing skills and I also write articles about Zu3D for my fiance. I would like to write a book one day. I have been writing stories and poems for as long as I can remember. It is something that I find very easy, something that I love to do. Perhaps an educational children’s book will be in the offing one day.

English and Drama Teacher
I am half way to this one already as a primary teacher and literacy subject leader but when my own children go to school I would like to work as a secondary school English teacher. I want to be like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. That is my dream job. That is the dream I am going to strive to achieve next and I cannot wait!!

White House Press Secretary
This is my fantasy dream job after becoming a little obsessed with The West Wing. I think I could be a good Press Secretary, I would love to give it a try!! I love the patriotism and passion in The West Wing. I am not American but The West Wing makes me want to serve at the pleasure of the President. Of President Bartlett anyway!

So there you have it, what I would be, if I could be, should I ever ever grow up.

Please hop on over to Manana Mama who is hosting this week’s listography to explore other people’s hopes, dreams and fantasies.

Things to be Happy About

H.A.P.P.Y

A clear and bright blue sky
The sun casting diamonds on the ocean
Warm sand between my toes
Crisp morning air
Reaching a summit
Running or rolling down a grassy hill
Cocktails
Friendship
Loud music
Great lyrics
Making lists
Crossing things off lists
Hot chocolate with cream
Christmas
Advent
What ifs
Just imagines
Happy ever afters
Baby smiles
Little giggles
Belly laughs
Playtime
Bedtime
Cold sheets
Cuddles
Fresh linen
Blossom
Wordplay
David
Family
New inspirations
Ideas that work
Teaching
Learning
Exploring
Remembering
Esther
William
Beginning
Ending
Dancing under the stars
Sleeping beneath the moon
Toasted marshmallows
Buttered crumpets
Campfires and songs
Fine food
Chocolate wine
Trust
Loyalty
Spontaneity
Peace
Flowery dresses
Floaty skirts
Plaits and ringlets
Tumbling tresses
A good book
A funny film
Great company
Solitude
Understanding
Respect
Curiosity
Belief
Celebration
Giving gifts
Making cards
Writing poetry
Creation
Imagination
Hardwork
Fun
Dream making
Goal getting
Faith
Destiny
Love

I could go on and on!

This is in response to Lauren @ RealhousewifeofSuffolk who has started a Things to be Happy About MeMe. How could I resist joining in, it is always so nice to think happy thoughts. You have just read some of mine, why not hop on over to Lauren and share some of yours?