I am probably one of the few in England who really like the snow. I am a secret New Englander, Bing Crosby, fur hat and snow tires kind of chick. I wallowed in it as did the dogs. This one , I think, actually got several brain freezes from eating so much of it! But, now it's gone. For now.

So my littlest chick and I had a good cry the other night. We were sitting in her closet where it was cozy and warm, hiding from the world and having a mother-daughter chat. Teenagers are under such pressure these days and I can't help but want to protect them both. Easier said then done though as I know deep down that spreading their wings and falling on their faces is the only way up. So the poor thing has the weight of all her girl friends on her shoulders.

First I told her that she is too kind and she should just get over that-toughen up and say "no" once in a while to them. Or at least put her fingers in her ears.

Secondly, I told her that if she didn't look after herself first, nobody else wood (except for me that is). She needed to stop swimming around the pond in circles and hit the river where the water is flowing. Stretch herself, make some decisions about her own life, not others. Down size, so there is time for everything you want to do.

My chick has zillions of friends and wants to be best friends, everyday, 24/7 with all of them and life is too short. Plus she will have arthritis in her thumbs when she is older from all the texting on her blackberry that she does all day/night long.

We all need personally time that gives us a good feeling when we are done. The dogs and I are both happy after a good walk. Everyone in the family are happy after I've had a session with the magimixer and I always feel better after typing away for awhile. I like doing for others but I really like doing for me too. I like to walk, cook and blog amongst other things. Personal time, me space or selfish cow?

Back on Track?

It's a woman right to change her mind. It's a mother's right to stick to her guns and do what's best for the nest.

Sometimes taking a break to focus on other things is what's needed. Some people might call it procrastination. I call it having all my eggs in one basket. A few get broken now and then but juggling is what it's all about.

All is happy in the nest right now. The chicks are settled as is the rooster. The Canadian geese are flying over head for the winter and thankfully the heat works in this old monstrous hen house. I've had many projects on the go over the last year and a bit, too many boring things really, and I am trying to focus on making the day longer. This is a hard task as the day already starts at 6:20am and ends about 11pm. A short day for some but I look awful with too little sleep and as it is, I am a light sleeper and wake several times in the night. Boring. During the day though, like many women and moms, I don't know where the hours go in the day. The Cooking, cleaning, writing, painting (another project), animals, proper work, and the chicks, all of a sudden it's the next blooming day.

I do find it hard to do even one of these things during the day to my full capacity without interuption on my own part. If I could just cook without having to get on the internet and google a different recipe for the same dish to compare, then I wouldn't end up an hour later ordering the new book I need for my book club, then I wouldn't have burned the barley that was simmering in the first place for soup for the freezer!

Another good one was cleaning out the hen house, the real one with my four girls in it, thinking it would be nice if they had a dutch door with a screen on it, rumaging through the garage to make the project, then being late to collect my chick from the bus stop, covered in saw dust and smelling like the hens. Nobody was happy with that one except me because the door on the hen house is fab.

I heard from family that it snowed in New England over the weekend. I can't seem to get that out of my mind, especially as the writing I am doing is all summer based. I find it hard to focus on warm sunny thoughts for the book. Maybe I should have two on the go at the same time, to go with the seasons.

It's having a good proper rain here at the moment, what season would that fall into? I could do some research or go to the gym or sort the laundry. A mother's day is never done.