A Dedication To My Closest Friends

I don't know if it's the time of the month, or what, but I have been feeling a little low these past couple of days. We are into week 7 of lockdown...

I don't think it helps that I work in retail, albeit the Post Office (which actually has been worse in some ways) and therefore a keyworker. I am very grateful that I have a job but I'm now so fed up with seeing people really not taking the lockdown rules seriously, and putting my health at risk, or they are following them very loosely... I mean, it IS essential for them to shop everyday in our shop! And equally essential to send the dress sold for a £1 on ebay...  *insert rolls eyes emoji* If I'm stressed, just imagine the NHS staff!

Lockdown for me hasn't been hard. I am quite happy to sit at home and write, and don't know what the whole big deal is about staying home, because I love it. I even have a lovely garden to lose myself in. Also, I might not be finding it as hard as most because I am leaving the house to go to work (to serve some not-so-bright humans - that bit I do find hard!) and I also get to meet my colleague-friends.  But this writery-introvert is also very sociable, and I do feel I have to connect with my friends regularly.

(In no particular order) I am missing my friends!

I am missing my cocktails at Bistrot Pierre with Sarah. My Friday night catch up with Becky, putting the world to rights. I miss Gwen, who I have so much fun with! We have the same sense of humour and she has the biggest heart of gold. And Fi... OMG, Fi, we cinema together, drink together - there's a reason I call her my wife! She is my oldest friend in Weston (when I say oldest... I've known her the longest! I am actually older than her). We know stuff about each other, before kids! We were once young together! We were each other's bridesmaids. 

And then there is Fay who always encourages me and is a huge inspiration behind my writing now. We met over Twitter... and I am so lucky to have a wonderful writing buddy who lives so close. We brainstorm so much together! 

There are so many more I could mention... Jane, Lisa, Ali, Kerry, Andrea... all my RNA and writing buddies...  all my empowering and lovely Weston Business Women buddies... I miss you all!

But I understand the need to social distance, and because I care about you all so much, I will stay away. 

Stay strong, stay safe and stay home. We will be drinking/partying together soon! Teresa x 

p.s. I may hug you a lot when we are allowed to meet. Just warning you.

p.p.s. I also miss my mum. Not that I see her regularly anyway, as she's in London and I'm in Weston, but I don't like that I'm so far away and can't really help her. 

Looking For Book-Bubers

(From Bristol that would be Book-babbers ha ha!)

There is always something that needs doing as mum, house owner, writer... 

Now I'm in need of BookBub followers. This is the new thing and publishers are looking for their authors to gather followers. BookBub is another platform to buy books through. You can find the book and then decide where you wish to buy it, whether it be Amazon, iTunes, Google, Kobo etc.

At some point, I will sit down and work out how to get a button on my website and blog, to lead my readers to BookBub. But the problem is, this will probably take up valuable writing time. And as I feel as if I've sat at my desk long enough today, it will have to land on the ever growing To-Do list.

So, anyway, for now, if you would all kindly follow me on BookBub I would be eternally grateful.

Clear HERE to follow me on BookBub.

With Enough Coffee....

I am determined to get my boys to drink tea and/or coffee. I've just never been sure when to do this, considering both drinks do contain caffeine, which is a stimulant, and I don't wish to have them up all night, unable to sleep. They are children after all!

Then I came up with a cunning plan... I'd buy decaffeinated. (Yeah, I know, not all that cunning... why I hadn't thought of this earlier!) This means they can have a warm drink before bed (or after school) and it doesn't always have to be hot chocolate.

And I'm determined to introduce it to them without adding sugar!

Now, the reason I want my kids to like drinking tea and coffee is because I've observed, over the years, those who don't drink hot drinks like tea or coffee tend to drink a lot more fizzy drinks during the day... and in so doing so, either have shocking teeth or are overweight. (Sorry but that is the truth of it).

As I don't really wish to name and same all the fizzy drinks and be sued. And energy drinks, which in my opinion are EVIL, for this article I will refer to them all as pop.

Pop are high in calories and don't even hydrate you. It makes me so mad when I see young children choosing these drinks as an option! Even if you drink the diet pop variety, you will not lose weight. (Ever noticed the amount of people drinking these drinks and are not losing weight?) The reason being is these drinks are sending the wrong messages to the brain that a sweet thing is about to enter the stomach... but that sweet thing isn't really sugar... and so then the brain craves the sugar it didn't get... and so the person tends to eat more because of it. Defeating the whole objective of the diet 'pop'.

Hot drinks are more sociable too. Nowadays the in thing to do is to meet for coffee. (We have Costas in abundance in Weston-super-Mare and they are all busy!)

I know my love for coffee began once I started working full time in my first proper job, but my dad had from an early age given me milky coffee. I remember having it in a glass cup and saucer.

Probably like most coffee drinkers, I need a cup of coffee every morning to give me that kick start. I drink more when I'm writing or at work too. But I do usually stop drinking coffee in the afternoon and switch to green tea (with lemon or mint - but has to be Clipper), unless meeting someone for coffee. I don't drink black tea. Never have. Can not, for the life of me, get round the taste of it to enjoy it.

In my opinion if you're going to drink pop - do the full fat variety and keep it to special occasions. I very occasionally have a Coke - it is my guilty pleasure. But it's probably once in about six months that I dirnk it. Usually with vodka, or when nursing a hangover. Or I really need that sugar fix, but I never drink diet. I can taste the artificial sweeteners and I don't like them.

I know my kids will drink pop eventually, but I want to encourage that they only do it on special occasions, and choose a healthier option if they need a drink. So the boys and I are getting into a cosy routine at reading time before bed, to have a cup of tea or milky coffee, or a hot chocolate, and hopefully their passion for tea and coffee will begin.

Are you a tea or coffee drinker? Or both?

Terrible Picture But Reminded Why I Should Socialise More

The other week, I went out with some friends.  We have all known each other roughly six years now, as we all met through a postnatal group with our first baby's, and they grew up together when we'd meet for play dates.

Now that our children are at school, we don't meet during the week like we used to - occasionally after school at Puxton, but we can't all make it usually.  We do try to go out of an evening once in a while, and our last social gathering got snowed off before Christmas, so we met up the other Friday.  We were already giggling and laughing with each other before the wine had been poured.  And it's nice to talk without having the kids interrupting, coming up to us asking for this, that and the other, or fighting over a toy (as they did as toddlers!). We never used to get a conversation finished.

Once we'd drunk a few, and were giggling away, I commented how our friend Jo is a character, and that (one day) she's going to appear in one of my 'books'.

Jane came up with Bo Joswell - because obviously the character wouldn't be called Jo. 

We joked that I really should have taken out my pad and pen, and made notes, because socialising gains stories and experience for a writer.  Jane, who was taking the photos - it was her camera! - put this together.  Not a great photo of me, however I do like what she's done with it!