What Makes You Happy?

What makes you happy?  It's a question I've mused on for, well about 45 years if I'm honest and I always come back to one thing.  Photographs, well maybe not even photographs just having memories of happy things around me as much as possible, my-picture.co.uk asked me if I wanted to choose some products from their range and it didn't take long to accept.  After all, all of my walls are full from top to bottom with memories.

I remembered that for all I had been on adventures far and wide I hadn't printed a lot recently other than small photographs, I investigated my folders on my iMac (of which there are many, my first 2tb time-capsule was full last year) and remembered the joy of the trips I took to Barcelona, Nice, Lincoln and the Lake District over the last couple of years, it's been a blast, I've made some memories I'll never forget and I've given my children memories that they'll never forget, including the day that Abigail and I had the biggest argument ever in Villefranche-Sur-Mer, I can laugh about it now but blimey, the most beautiful place in the whole world, somewhere I'd wanted to visit since seeing Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in "An Affair to Remember" and we had a 3 hour spell of angriness, strops and no one speaking to each other!!  Funnily enough I don't have many photos of that day, not because of the argument but because there are no photos of Villefranche-sur-mer which reflect just how beautiful it is to the naked eye.

I think photographs are a reminder of memories for me, it's not about the best photographs or some great piece of art, it's simply a reminder of a moment in your life when things were good, or fun, or beautiful, the times when your heart felt full and your soul felt happy.  I've been lucky to record moments of my children's life since Looby was a few months old and I fell in love with photography, I always loved photographs but it brings a new meaning when you have the ability to capture life yourself, it's like having the power to hold this immense piece of history or future history and that's one of the reasons I started blogging 13 years ago.

Life isn't always a happy, joyful thing, there are daily stresses, my health can be a dodgy old thing and so for those days, having a catalogue of amazing memories I can look at just by walking around my house is an incredible gift.

I had a lot of fun choosing Canvases, acrylic prints and even a blanket with the ever adorable Holly Bobbins on and the amount you can get for not very much is incredible, whats more if you enter MANDYCHARLTONPHOTO at the checkout you'll get 15% off the already discountedprices

I think I started a trend off as I've now introduced Harriet, Rachel and Steph to the company and they've all been buying their canvases from photos they've taken of their own personal memories so don't just take my word for it.

I have to also say that I wasn't quite sure how a blanket of an Instagram photo would come out in real life but it's amazing and to have a blanket with Holly on that I can always have near me forever, well that's something really special.

Disclaimer - I received some free products from My-Picture.co.uk in exchange for talking about them, my friends bought their own upon my recommendation and seeing the products and I'm continuing to use the company because the colours match, the products are lovely and they're also really good value for money!

When your teen tells you they're gay

Last week was a week I'll never forget, it was the week that Looby chose to tell me in her own special way that she is gay!

The event went like this...

A text message which said "Come to the shoe cupboard"

I went down to the shoe cupboard and there she was sitting in the cupboard holding out a cake which she'd just baked and decorated, on the top of the cake it said (in rainbow coloured icing of course) "I'm Gay".   Now for anyone who knows Looby, she's my quirky comedy child so when she followed that by asking "Can I come out of the cupboard now?"  I burst out laughing and replied "I think you mean the closet?"

After that I asked her if she was sure, if she might be bi-sexual or pan sexual but she said no, she's definitely gay and she's known for a year.  I cried, she cried and I told her "Looby, you can be anything you want to be, just don't be a moron" and gave her the biggest hug.

Abigail had known since just after Christmas and Iain simply said "oh, okay" followed by his two best friends asking if they could be Looby's gay Godparents.  We ate cake and inside me, I was just so full of pride (no pun intended) because it must be something quite difficult to come to terms with when you're a teenager, societal norms still mostly evolve around hormones meaning you'll be attracted to the opposite sex, in fact, thank goodness she's no longer at a Catholic school where gay relationships aren't talked about at all and in fact, they're still seen as wrong.

The thing is, I've brought my children up around the best of all people, I've never worried about anything other than not bringing them up around morons and they've seen straight people who are terrible at relationships and LGBTQi+ people who've had long lasting, beautiful relationships.  

I actually thought we were moving into a world where there is no prejudice but two of my children's friends lately have told me that their parents didn't support them coming out or that they can't tell their parents because they'll be angry or worse and to me, that's such a sad statement, in fact I've told them they can live in my cupboards if necessary.

I don't know why we live in a world that still judges people on their sexuality, surely the only thing that should define you are your actions and ergo, just don't be a dick!

I know now, as I've always known and told my kids, that I don't care what they do, who they are, as long as they're happy.

I did have a more serious chat with Looby just to make sure she's okay, she doesn't need, help or advice from friends or organisations but she's so zen with her own self that I can't fail to be proud of her.

I do have to admit something though and it's just between us, when she told me, somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear myself thinking "gay, but, but, you're little Looby, aren't you still 3 years old and only thinking about horses" . The realisation that even my baby is now a grown up makes me feel, very, very old!

7 Gifts for Mother's Day your mum really wants

It's Mother's Day on the 31st of March and I for one shall be taking the day off.  I'm not sure what ideas my girls have in mind but you can bet, their list is different to my list of things I'd really like if money were no object.  I've compiled a list of just a few things which might not be exactly what you would expect for Mother's Day gifts but they're definitely things for mums like me!

1. Personalised Pillows from Nanu - Now I'm not talking about monogrammed pillows I'm talking about a website that you go to, Nanu, you then put in details about how hard or soft you want your pillows to be, which position you sleep in and your height and weight and you get your own customised pillows sent.  I can honestly say since mine arrived I've not woken up with neck ache once!  They even have a buy one get one free offer at the moment.  Go on, treat mum to a great nights sleep!

2. A smart home security camera system from Blink.  Okay, so this isn't the most romantic gift ever but you know what, I've been trying to catch photos of a cheeky squirrel who comes into my garden and pinches the birds nuts and this is the answer, it's motion activate and either sends you video clips or high res photos and it's brilliant for watching the birds.  Still haven't seen that pesky squirrel though!!  On a serious note, we live in a 3 storey house and we've had a couple of incidents we needed to get the police for, if we'd just had this security footage it would be have totally changed what happened afterwards, you owe it to yourself to keep you and your family safe.

3.  This collagen duo pack from Higher Nature is a welcome addition to my beauty routine, containing not only a serum but also a collagen filled drink I'm hoping that by the end of the month I'll be looking more like 25 than 45.  Okay, so I know, miracles don't come in bottles but at my age, I'd like to at least give my skin every chance to age more slowly and gracefully.

4.  This Mandala Travel mug from Spark your Bloom is perfect for those early morning double Nespresso Lattes I like to make but that's not the best part, this one also comes with paints so you can design your own colourful mandala or maybe get the small ones in your life to come up with something extra special just for you.

5.  Okay so no mum, and definitely not me, is ever going to refuse chocolates and these vegan chocolates from Yumbles also happen to be vegan and gluten free as well as a totally tasty treat to say thank you to a mum who's suitably amazing.  (Abigail, Looby, your mama is looking at you )

6.  Now you know, all mums love photos, well, not all mums but I love them, I'm going to be posting about my love for them in my next blogpost so this is really just a taster but if your mum loves photos I can't recommend my-picture.co.uk highly enough for canvases, photos and all manner of gifts, I've even got a blanket with Holly Bobbins on, I'll leave that to show you in my next blog post though!  You can also get 15% off your next order with the code MANDYCHARLTONPHOTO and it's so worth having because this discount is valid on the already discounted prices.

7. Critically endangered socks actively save animals and the landscapes which they live in to protect them from things like palm oil plantations and loggers, it's such important work they're doing and you get soft beautiful socks made from sustainable bamboo, they're also just about to launch a kickstarter where buying socks will help save baby animals, it's probably my favourite gift and they've found a new customer in me because as i'm sure you all know, my family and I, we all adore animals and often adopt them through various schemes so this means we can buy socks and we know, we've saved animals in the process, it's a gift mum will adore.


I want to thank all of the companies who've helped with this gift guide, who've taken the time to get in touch and then send through the carefully selected products which I've received in exchange for writing the guide.