Reasons to be Cheerful XIV (#R2BC)

First week of the school holidays has been a roller coaster as those of you that know me on Facebook and Twitter are well aware! However I can still find reasons to smile:
1) Me time

I ran off down south for 36 hours without my kids to celebrate the last of my school chum's 40th birthdays. It was great to be able to relax (and have someone on Megabus mistake me for a 20 something!). Seeing good friends - some of whom I hadn't seen for over 8 years - in an adult only environment was a great way to unwind and recharge my batteries. 

2) The weather


Its been amazingly good since the kids broke up from school. This has meant that we've been able to enjoy lots of outside time. Living up here there are so many things to do outdoors and its so much better than being cooped up inside for days on end. So far we've been to Brockhole and Abbott Hall Park and we are hoping to do lots more if the weather holds.

3) Money


After nearly a month of stress over my benefits my persistent phone calls have finally resulted in them being restored with back-payments. Turns out my "rapid reclaim" a) been sent to wrong section b) been sat on by the Decisions Manager for over 2 weeks. Just need my Housing Benefit to be restored next week and then I can balance the books again. Nice to be able to spend time over the summer with kids and not have to worry about money for a while.


4) My garden


My mum came round yesterday and helped me make a big difference to my garden. We pulled out lots of weeds and she put in some spare bedding plants from her garden. Even the kids helped us. With my neighbour's father-in-law having mowed my front lawn on Tuesday (can you tell they are trying to sell their house!) the whole outside of my house is looking better to go with our stunning views: