When things go wrong in the house

It was one of those days that you just seem to crawl through. I kept my calm and managed okay, considering my little boy has a cold and my baby girl is at that "I want to see everything and do everything" stage (a bit dangerous and you need eyes on the back of your head!) but in hindsight, it was actually a pretty daunting day. The toilet packed up, the oven was broken and I had no energy, well, just barely enough to do the basics - which is still allot on an average day. There was allot of hair pulling (my own). But we got through it, Im relieved and both babies are sound asleep in their beds. My little boy is on the mend and I managed to still write this. Thanks to my darling husband who seems to be a true jack of all trades. He fixed the oven and unblocked the toilet. I dont think there is anything he can't do, besides dancing. But that is all for now, till next time.

The value of a stay-at-home mum & uni-tasking

There are many instances when I feel like I a hamster running on a wheel non-stop, I suppose most stay-at-home mums feel like that. Dont get me wrong, Im very grateful and appreciative of the role I have - there are plenty of mother's who dont have this luxury and are forced back into the work place, missing out on the first precious years of the baby's development.  Did you know, on average, stay-at-home mums spend 71 hours a week doing housework - the many thankless jobs such as cooking, cleaning, washing, tidying up, baby/child care (feeding, clothes changing, nappy changing, teaching, playing, protecting, entertaining etc.) - all this is valued at £577 per week or a total of £ 30,032 a year.  Which brings me to my next interesting fact, discovered on a life insurance advert - 30% of parents would have  to work part time or stop work totally in order to look after their children, if their partner (ie. stay-at-home mum) was no longer around. Is it me or are we generally just very under-valued, under-appreciated and sometimes just plain down-trodden upon ? Our job is one of the hardest in the world, the most rewarding and forfilling, but it is really, really HARD WORK ! I have worked in an office, had a few career changes, many different bosses - over the past 12 years. I've worked in border-line hard labour jobs and also very dull, monotonous desk jobs. All of those jobs and careers pale into insignificance in terms of reward and tiredness, when compared to what I do now. I've always prided myself and the rest of female kind in our ability to multi-task. But I've come to the realisation that multi-tasking is really not that fruitful or productive most of the time. It's a panicked attempt at doing many things quickly and ultimately quite badly. That is because we are not super-human and are not really wired to complete complex and also simple tasks simultaneously, without causing an accident or just doing those many different tasks, badly. There is a new term, it's called "UNI-TASKING". Basically it means, doing one thing very well or completely instead of doing ten things badly or incompletely. Food for thought I say. To conclude, the only way to get by these days, whether you are a housewife, a corporate high-flyer, a teacher or a rocket scientist, is to focus on the task at hand, keep your cool and live in the countryside. Yes, you heard me, live in the sticks. Latest research proves that the mind is at its healthiest and most content when the body is living in the countryside away from urban hussle and bussle. Balmy, country breezes flood the human brain with mood elevating serotonin. I believe this firmly, I lived in an urban environment and found it extremely stressful and agitating. Now I live in the countryside and it's the best thing we ever did. We have been living here in the countryside for over seven years now. It took me over seven years to write my recently published novel, "Scorpio Moon", now I have to try and get it sold. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005L3RPE0
Okay, that's all from me for now, I am pretty knackered and still need to do some shopping (online). Till next time !

My book

Hi there again
For those of you who have the luxury of reading in your busy lives - I have just had my fictional book e-published online through Amazon Kindle and it can be bought in hard copy through Createspace e-store.My book has been a work-in-progress (in between emigrating countries, moving house, career changes and having/raising x2 babies, since 2002) and now Im finally unleashing it to the world and to you all, if you are interested ! You can pay to have it downloaded to your PC or any Kindle device (iPad/iPhone/Android). If you like what you read, let me know and spread the word - I have to do my own marketing and enlist the help of friends too. Cheerio 
 
Here is the Synopsis for my book:-

Scorpio Moon revolves around love, magic and time travel. The story is set on the east coast of South Africa in the subtropical city of Durban, during a time of great change. The story is woven around the metaphysical journeys that the main male character, Luke Ross, experiences as a result of dark magic. Luke has an overwhelming desire for adventure and danger. His innate power is fearlessness. The woman in his life, Maxine, goes to dangerous lengths in order to resolve her feelings of isolation and obsession. Her power is to evoke change through magic. Maxine does not realize the full magnitude of a spell she performs. It corrupts their lives and twists their emotions to the brink of madness and Maxine is propelled into deeper isolation. The spell is the complication that initiates the dark journeys which Luke experiences. His journey's span the countries of Germany during WWII, future Langley in the USA as well as present day Durban, South Africa. Luke's experiences in these countries are all interconnected by historical events. Max and Luke are separated by time and space but united by their shared, desperate love, even when it is on the brink of collapse. Their story is one of real love overcoming seemingly insurmountable difficulties and gaining strength because of it.

 It's available to order at:-

https://www.createspace.com/3628454

and also on Amazon Kindle e-books:-

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005L3RPE0