I remember a dear friend telling me how our children are only on loan to us and to love them whilst we can.

So saddened by yet another mass shooting at a college in Oregon, USA. What a terrible waste of life… young people with their futures snatched away.

Our prayers and thoughts are with the families.

What a world.

Autumn, just as Spring brings such beautiful fresh and positive mornings making us feel anything is possible and of course as we know it is!

Like many of my bloggers sometimes things we plan go pear shape and as a close friend will tell me frequently…something else will replace it all in God’s time!

Things either happen or not for some good reason albeit not always obvious at the time and the best we can do is never give up on our dreams.

I was reminded by a male friend recently ‘we are just small grains of sand in the scheme of things’ as we both watched an amazing sky late last Saturday evening before the moon’s eclipse on Sunday.

I will now revert to marketing my writing projects to a few beautiful publishers in the hope a few dreams of my own are met.

A wise man once quoted this to me about the attitude of teenagers and I guess to a certain extent this is true but as parents aren’t we partly to blame for this?

As our children fly the nest and venture off to university life they have to learn to cope with all that entails…not least of all budgeting and cooking. I believe it was called growing up in my day hey ho. However, they fair much better than we fear over it.

My own daughter is regularly sending me photos of interesting meals she has cooked and they are healthy too. Had a few chuckles along the way, when she thought this month’s budget had to last her until Christmas…not listening!

Last night she revealed the Argos voucher I had left for the extra kitchen bits and bobs had been spent well on an amazing make-up container! That’s my girl..as I say it’s me or the house that has to look good…not both!

I love parenting it brings such amusement and joy..don’t you think? Comments appreciated on that one!

Happy Friday fellow bloggers and followers.  I am working on my NLP Life Coaching course.  My assignment this week is relationships.. the mystery of men and women and what makes them tick! I guess along the way in life I have learned that none of us are perfect and can be both irritating and compassionate in equal measures.

Seriously, my closing comments to my tutors today were:-

‘In life we should all be able to grow as individuals with the ultimate goal to be the best self we can be.   Life as some say is made in the mistakes.

My birth sign being Libran so I try to apply the balance of reasoning ; quote from ‘Love Signs’ book.

‘Libra I balance to teach that love is beauty and learn that love is harmony, Knowledge, I see to teach that love is honesty and learn that love is loyalty.’

Remember: we fall in love ..eyes, mind then the heart!’©

Happy weekend…and for those in a relationship…play nicely!

The past months one cannot seem to turn a page in a magazine or meet up with friends without somebody writing or talking about the wonders of colouring in.

Many of my adult girlfriends are confessing to owning and indeed enjoying colouring in a picture book. Have we really got to the stage where we find relaxing so difficult?

Joking aside, I must admit to loving the sticker books I used to do with my own daughter, who one day bored with the sticker book discipline decided to cover her father’s trainers in dinosaur stickers instead.

Is it we have forgotten how to dream, let go and play as we did as children free from the stresses of life?

Maybe we writers are lucky in that we use our writing to relax and as escapism.

Just off to sharpen my crayons…

Had an amazing dream Friday about a plague of frogs, though my dream book tells me this is in fact a positive dream.

Fate is smiling on me evidently and for sexy singles a good husband could be on the horizon!

My lovely cat brought me in a huge toad this weekend..can we see a theme starting?

And…yes, we have to kiss a few frogs to find that prince in life as I reveal in my book ‘The Little book of Kisses’!

Watch this space.

Happy Monday fellow bloggers.

I continue to fly the flag for never being too old to learn new skills, and read with interest in today’s ‘You’ magazine Linda Kelsey’s article about getting her degree in her 60’s.

I spent a great time with family yesterday and discussing the benefits of self development with my fellow spiritual niece who has recently qualified as a Reiki Master. We both exchanged positive viewpoints on how we both have changed certain outlooks on life since taking holistic courses.

I also see the author  Elizabeth Gilbert of  ‘Eat, love, pray’ has a new book out ‘Big Magic’ unleashing ones creativity…now that’s gone straight on my book order list!

Today found the time to catch up with my beautiful friend and inspirational writing mentor Deborah Durbin, thanks ‘Deb’s’ for the continued support and suggested publishers.

Hello to the angry/inpatient driver, driving too fast in my lovely village high street last night without any consideration for other drivers…especially learners.

Luckily you didn’t do the whole macho thing and get out of the car…my instructor is also a Karate instructor. Not that he would use it or behave badly we don’t need any more morons in Redbourn.

Maybe you should retake your test as well as some anger management.

I managed at last for a re-visit of Hendon Museum recently, great boys day out…

An amazing collection of aircraft and information of the history of air travel, military and commercial including an aircraft salvaged from the sea.

I also visited the Battle of Britain exhibition remembering the 75 year anniversary, which includes some may say a long overdue named tribute to all those RAF pilots who gave their life.   To quote Sir Winston Churchill-

‘Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few...’

To all fellow students, please help your Student Union in their efforts to lobby against the government’s cuts on maintenance grants. Log on and have your say in their petition (link contained in this week’s NUS email alert)

Young people are the country’s future…an obvious statement but the younger generation are so often  missed off the agenda of those who are sadly placed in power and making decisions which will affect your choices and opportunities.

There are other areas of financial wastage that they could turn their attention to rather than hamper opportunities for students with parents on lower incomes. People find themselves in life, at times, on lower income for many reasons and these grants are to ensure that their children do not miss out on opportunities they deserve and for which they have worked and studied hard for to secure places at our UK universities.

The government continue to invest in and support overseas problems and forget that ‘charity begins at home…first’.

Please ensure you make your voice heard by filling in the NUS petition asap before the 18th September.

Annie -Mature Student