Something has got to give...

My life is slowly disintegrating into utter chaos.

I have far too many things to do - there is keeping on top of all the paperwork for the OH's motorcycle retail business; developing a website for the charity my MIL works for (that was founded by her mum, OH's Nan); developing my own website for Forest Flower Designs; keeping up with the orders and commissions for Forest Flower Designs; keeping the house in a half decent state of repair (OH doesn't do DIY) on an extremely limited budget.Then there is general housework, cooking, washing, ironing, cleaning, tidying up the mess everyone else thoughtfully leaves for me to do. And last but by no means least being a mummy to my Little Man and keeping him occupied in a positive way throughout the day whilst trying to do everything else (which means not just allowing him to sit in front of the TV all day...) Is it any wonder why I am permanently on the edge of exhaustion? Sometimes it only takes one tiny little thing to tip me over the edge and the whole day lies in ruins as I huff and puff and maybe slam a door or two. Or dissolve into a useless, tear-streaked mess.

Something has got to give!



Time management is not my forte - at least not at home. And neither is organisation. Or tidiness!
To make matters worse both me and the OH are clutter bunnies with hoards of 'stuff' between us, all of which is important, none of which can be binned/sold/donated. (Although I would suggest that my crap is significantly more important than his... I mean do we really need to keep an old Betamax video player, that may or may not even work now, and stack of videos. Really?) It all makes keeping tidy that much more like hard work...

Then there is the blog.

This blog.

I love it to bits but it's starting to go a bit wayward and developing a persona of it's own and I'm not sure if I like it. The problem is I recently discovered the whole working with 'Brands' thing (and I don't mean Russell and Katy here...) that seems to go hand-in-hand with the 'Mummy Blogging' scene. For a few months I have found myself chasing reviews, replying to emails and campaign shots, entering competitions run by brands to find new reviewers (mainly toy brands). It has got to a point where I am feeling obliged to write something - either a review of an item I have been sent to try out or just a post, something to keep the stats up...
I am finding myself almost resenting it. And I am really finding it hard to fit in along with everything else!

So...

As of today things are changing. I will still join in some of the fab linkys I have discovered - Silent Sunday, The Gallery, Magpie Monday, What are you reading? and Mumentum - although maybe not EVERY time. I will continue to blog about the things I love - my home, my Little Man, my baking and gardening attempts, my photography, my crafts and my design business. I will continue to tell you all about the latest Barefoot Books because it is a company I am proud to be working with/for. I will happily review items that fit into my lifestyle, my ethics, my experiences. I would love to work with ethical companies who care about their customers health and well being and not just their money. I would love to work with small, local, homegrown businesses.I would be happy to work with companies whose products I already use. And I am always happy to promote other designer/makers like myself, just trying to earn a living doing something they are passionate about.

But you won't find any reviews for big name brands that I have no interest in or advertising for products that I would never use. I have so very nearly gone down that road and realised, before it was too late and big brand advertising got a hold on me, that it's not what I want to do.

I apologise to those blog followers/readers/subscribers who are hoping for lots of freebies/giveaways/competitions but that is not what this blog is about. If you wish to go now I won't hold it against you at all and thanks for joining me for time you have.

For those who wish to stay expect more craft orientated posts, I may even join in Folksy Friday's again if I have time! I may do some tutorials too and share more of my Forest Flower Designs journey. Expect lots more photographs of plants, flowers, food, interiors, walks in the woods, sunsets, days out and my Little Man. I may share some of my favourite music with you too - it has played such an important role in my life it deserves to be talked about more!

I will blog when I want to not coz I feel I need to. That might mean two posts in one day or nothing at all for a week.

Blogging makes me happy. I want it to stay that way.