Why Events like #bloggersteaspoon Matter

Something I didn't really touch on in my last post was the reason behind it. I mean, teaspoon for a tea party kinda makes sense doesn't it. It doesn't make you question why it's called that. Heh, a little clever play on words there. 

Unless you're a #spoonie, or know someone who is, then the idea of there being a Spoon event makes even  more sense. (More information on Spoon theory can be found here)

Spoons: I don't have enough spoons for this. 

Spoons: I ran out of spoons an hour ago. 

Spoons = a unit of energy, if you like. And being a spoonie, you have much less than other people around you seem to have. 

You can't tell if someone is a fellow spoonie. Although over time it may become clear, but hey, that's the joy of the invisible disabilities. 

I have one. If you've followed me for a while you might remember this. Fact is, I've been flare up free for about a year and half now, but I feel like I'm slipping down that slow incline where my pain condition is getting worse by the day, just not by enough to warrant a trip to the doctors. Not yet anyway. 

So, #bloggersteaspoon was an event to raise money for LupusUK, and I for one knew a little about the condition from fellow spoonies, but it was refreshing to see a room full of people intrigued by this charity, and wanting to know more. And to me, that was more valuable than the £193 we raised. You can't put a value on that knowledge, that realisation that although you may seem like an able person, underneath is a different story. 

Much love my lovelies,

K x 

This Christmas

Before all the 'Christmas Haul' posts appear, as they are bound to in the coming days, I wanted to share something with you. 

Something that I've been slowly developing over the past year. 

My home.

I have been very lucky to be in a position to buy my own home, and with the help of the Bank of Mam and Dad (and again, I know just how lucky I am to have been able to rely on their support), transform my house from this, to what I have the pleasure of sitting in right now.

I moved out back in August, and only just moved in last week. Pieces of furniture I have owned for over a year were finally put to full use:

And in fact, those Ikea bookshevles had been in the loft since I moved back from Leeds in 2006!!

This chair settee was spotted at my local Briish Heart Foundation furniture store and fits right in:

And the leather suite was kindly donated by Kaye, again over a year ago now, but finally has a home!

Now that my back sitting room is sorted, I'm thinking of calling it my den! My telly is in my sitting room, but the den, well, the place of music, books and my computer. 

What does this have to do with Christmas?

I don't deserve anything else. Or rather, I feel I don't need / deserve anything else. I had my friends round for afternoon tea on Sunday, and it was such a pleasure sharing my home with them. 

So this Christmas, anything else is just amazing and above what I expect. 

I am sharing this with you, as an invite into my home for those who can't visit, and because I want to show just how much hard work and perseverance pays off. 

Merry Christmas you lovelies, 

K xx

National Christmas Jumper Day!

Most days, you'll find have been attributed to some object or other. Be it National Sandwich Day, or Ice Cream Week (every week is Ice cream week in my opinion!!) you just can't get away from it. 

And today is no different. 

Today is National Christmas Jumper Day. And the social media teams for companies vaguely related to jumpers or clothes will be spouting out about their's being the perfect jumper for National Christmas Jumper Day.

Except this is slightly different. This is a day with a heart. 

Wear a Christmas Jumper today to work, and you'll probably be asked for £1. Huh? Eat a sandwich on National Sandwich Day and you're not pestered for money! How does this work??

It works because this 'day' is an initiative of Save The Children, and that £1, or whatever you can afford, will go towards making a difference. A quick search on their website tells me:

Reach £95 and you could pay for a midwife’s training to help ensure babies are delivered safely in the poorest parts of the world.

So 95 Christmas Jumpers can make a massive difference. 

At this point in the office, I'd be slumped down in my chair hiding, hoping I don't get asked to join in. But not this year!

The fabulous team at Simply Be have a wide range of jumpers to choose from:

£40 Fairisle Jumper

£35 Kiss Me Jumper

£40 Mitten Jumper

I was smitten with with mitten jumper!

I had visioned wearing it tucked into one of my circle skirts (most likely the red) but when it arrived, I happened to try it with my Peaches Jeans:

And can you tell I'm happy with it? Haha, I love it with the jeans for a more relaxed look, but I'm looking forward to trying it with my red skirt!

Not only a great jumper, but being worn for a great cause!

Much love my lovelies,

K x

This item was gifted to me to review but my views are my own

Soldiers & Their Boxes...

Working with the Brownies, we do spend a lot of time trying to raise money to keep our unit going. But as a charity ourselves, we don't focus on us - we are well aware of other charities out there. And we like to support them where we can.

When my Dad started working as a representative for SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors & Air Force Association) Forces Help, we became involved with another charity called Support Our Soldiers. They specialise in sending shoe boxes out to Afghanistan throughout the year, providing a few home comforts and treats.

As we knew that schools tended to work on 'Project Christmas Child' - sending packages out to children in the 3rd World - we thought it would make a nice change to send it to serving Soldiers on the front line. 

The Brownies really enjoy doing it, packing their gifts of mini chocolate bars, books, note pads, pens, snacks, toiletries and their letter, into a shoe box, knowing that they will be kept under lock and key in Afghan until Christmas Day. Because of weight restrictions, we send out travel size where we can - so have a look on your weekly shop - see if the supermarket have any offers on travel size shampoos etc!

We leave a note inside, explaining who we are, and sometimes, we get letters back from the Front:

"...I am writing to thank you for the welfare package you kindly donated. 

...

It is really nice to receive boxes and even letters from people such as yourself  who take the time and effort to put together a box or write a letter.  When we do receive parcels from people we don’t know, it makes us realise that people back home are thinking of us out here.

I would like to thank you again for the parcel and encourage you to keep up the good work in supporting the troops.

We are 8 weeks from completing our 6 month tour of duty when we will return to our base at RAF Horrington in Suffolk /CITY />.  Then we have 5 weeks leave and after that start our training for our next deployment some time in the next 2 years.

Thank you all for your support and keep up the good work.

Mark..."

And there is nothing better than that. Taking the time to respond to our girls, and explain a little about what they're doing over there. 

So this year I was wondering if any of you lovely lot would fancy helping us out - last year we put together 20 boxes - how about seeing if we can beat that? If you want to send some items to be included in a box, or even send a completed shoe box to me, lovely, email me at: sweetsoulmusic (at) gmail.com and I'll send you my address to post it to.

Any donations, no matter the size, are gratefully appreciated. 

We're not a political organisation, but we do like to support the troops out there that maybe don't have any family to send them gifts at Christmas - and imagine getting a box packed by a Brownie. A bit of magic at Christmas. 

We send boxes to both male and female troops, and because the Brownies are packing them, please keep your items age appropriate (if you want to put together a different type of box, I can send you the details of SOS HQ to send it to for them to process directly).

Thank you so much for reading this pleading post,

Merry Christmas!

Much love my lovelies, 

K x

A Error of Judgement!

Yesterday I was really happy with the outfit of choice - it pecked up my spirits, and made me finally get over my cold / self pity kick.

My outfit on 'Woeful Wednesday' - the day the cold hit - in my 'Corporate' work tee shirt, Domino Dollhouse Retro Dame skirt, and a pink cardi to brighten it all up a little bit!

When you then compare it with my 'The Day I Got My Mojo Back' outfit, which got a lot of positive reactions on twitter! However, I had forgotten my Thursday rule - it has to be church appropriate as well. And er, well...

The first thing said to me as I was taking off my coat at choir was: No wonder you get so many colds <my face said it all - ???> Your exposed chest.

Oops! So without a scarf, I was stuck with my exposed chest singing Psalms, Ave Maria, Ave Verum etc. Just don't ask me what the Latin actually means!

I think I'll have learnt my lesson now!

At least my clothes mojo seems to have returned as well, although as I'm doing a Sponsored Silence for Macmillan Nurses today, I thought I'd opt for a plain green top (with stickers on to alert the uninformed of my plight!).

Part of my silence is a twitter silence: 9:00 - 17:15 as well as a physical silence!

Much love my lovelies,

K x