Inspirational Women!

Today while I was sitting in the rare sunshine I had a bit of a think about all the awesome women I know. It may be the sunshine, it may be hormones or I may have just gone a bit soft and sentimental since returning from Paris but I want to tell you all about some of the Awesome Women in my existence.

My friend Melisa runs Stitchie Wonder, a fabulous home run business. Melissa is passionate about returning to the old school way of 'making your own stuff'. Stitchie Wonder a relatively new business but with every project comes a new idea. Stitchie wonder specialises in custom, handmade soft furnishings and is so considerate of your likes and requirements when making your product. You can tell from the finished product that it has all been made with great love, care and attention to detail. As well as soft furnishings Melissa is a dab hand at making custom collar bandannas for your furry companion. Lilly our mental Lab has two!. Even if you are not sure of what idea or designs you would like she is full of wonderful suggestions and surprises. All her creations are ideal gifts for partners, loved ones and little ones- two and four legged. To accompany her creations Stitchie/ Melissa has a dedicated Facebook page and Blog on which she shares some of her projects and stories along with the new discoveries. She even shares the rare mishaps she encounters. Not to mention all her of amazing giveaways and competitions All this and she also loves people to comment on her pages and Blog with input, idea's and feedback. She is so incredible she even taught me how to knit! That's no mean feat! Don't tell anyone but today I gave serious consideration to purchasing a set of sewing books because I have been inspired to become more crafty - shhhhh.
Her contact details are as follows:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StitchieWonderBlog: http://www.stitchiewonder1.blogspot.ie/Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/stitchiewonder

When I knew Aisling or Ais/ Ginge she was a kick ass youth worker in the Northside Youth Cafe in Moyross. She has worked extensively there as a youth arts facilitator and advocate, within her role as the founder of the Northside Youth Cafe Arts Initiative. Since then Ais has upped sticks and moved on to the big schmoke, err that's Dublin to everyone else. This year alone Aisling produced not one but Three, yes that is Three!! plays for the Dublin Fringe Festival. You'd think all the press appearances and standing ovations would change Ais, but not on your life. She can always be relied on for an aul natter, a laugh and most importantly a glass of  vino. Even a random message out of the blue asking if you can feature her in your new blog post doesn't phase her. I am ever admiring of Aisling's bravery, the ability to pick up and move your entire existence in the pursuit of your bliss is one that I am in complete awe of. 
To Keep Up to Date With the work of the uber talented Aisling and her colaberative company Underscore Productions (who had a sell out show @ the dublin fringe fest with LAMBO) check out:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Underscore_Productions/550871388288095

Doodle Kennelly is Incredible!! She has published a number of autobiographical essays on the subjects of love, mental illness, anorexia, self-harming, female identity and body image. It was one of these articles which led me to search out the work of Doodle. She is an incredibly frank and honest author who writes in a remarkably real and relate-able way. Doodle is currently writing her memoir and I can honestly say I don't think I have ever been so excited for the release of a book. Doodle is is the very reason why this blog is in existence. She is my inspirational warrior writer woman, personal cheerleader and bearer of unconditional love and support for everything that I do. I am eternally grateful for the love and support she has offered in inspiring me to pursue my goals.
To learn more about this wonderful woman and to see her brilliance for yourself please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/doodlebugkennelly
or
http://www.doodlekennelly.com/




Last but very not least is the loverly Niamh Keogh. I met Niamh one upon a time when she was a student on work placement from college. Since then Niamh has volunteered her evenings and weekends supporting the youth clubs and cafes that are run from the Factory Southside Youth Space. Niamh has been put forward as the Limerick Youth Service Nomination for a "Stepping up award" at the Youth Work Ireland Volunteer Achievement Awards. This is a national award to recognize those who have stepped up to the plate and committed their invaluable time and expertise to a project or group. It goes without saying that were it not for Niamh the mainstream side of Youth Work in the factory would not run the way that it does. Fingers crossed for Niamh. :) 

Until next time xoxo 

(All images creatively relocated from Facebook) 

A few of my favourite things Part 1

On the eve before I depart for France I decided to keep the tone light.
Today I want to share with you one my favourite places to get glamorously geeky accessories.
Guys and Dolls I present to you the exceptionally talented Ms. Janine Basil.

Janine is a one woman enterprise who creates the most incredible pop art accessories a girl could ask for.

My favourite by far have to be the comic print inspired headbands. I have at least 6 of these headbands and they never fail to attract attention. The headbands come on a strong elastic that can easily be hidden under your hair and behind your ears, giving the impression that the design is floating on your hair. Don't fret if you're a beautiful baldy these will look even more impressive on your bare bonce. The beauty of these is that you can wear them any way you like so if you like to change your parting or switch between up and down do's these babies are for you!

If you're more of retro chick at heart but tire of getting your locks caught in the knots of your headscarf then these wired headbands are for you. They are super simple to wear and come in tonnes of gorgeous colours and prints. There is a print for everyone. For the zombie queen you have the a brains print. For your sweetie a liquorice all sort print and cherries for the rockabilly goddess. The best bit of all is that they are all reversible!! Meaning you get two headbands for the price of one!


   




The most lustworthy items in Janine's shop have to be her gorgeous, gorgeous hats. From burlesque inspired crowns, pretty pill boxes and even a top hat fit for afternoon tea. If you want to stand out at a wedding, make an impression at ladies day or just because you want a drop dead gorgeous hat there's always going to be an occasion for these wearable masterpieces.


       

If you prefer the little pops of colour and touches of glitter rather than big n bold then Janine has you covered. From shoe clips and Hair Grips to beautiful little mirrors for touching up your lipstick there are a whole host of smaller hand crafted  goodies for you to possess.



Fancy picking up a pressie for the comic lover,  boy/ boi or butch in your life? Janine also stitches her designs onto knitted hats too. Don't worry if you want to keep that for yourself too, I won't tell if you don't!

I almost forgot to mention if you see something you love but the colour isn't quite what you're looking for or maybe you're looking for a custom piece? Janine does that too, there is nothing this woman cannot do- well she can't fly but c'mon nobody's perfect!

Janine Basil can be found on:
Her  shop  is here http://www.etsy.com/shop/janinebasil 

Her Facebook here 
http://www.facebook.com/JanineBasilHats

And  Instagram here 
@janinebasil

(All photographs in this  blog have been taken from Janine's Etsy Shop Site) 

This post is not about Miley Cyrus...ok maybe it is.

Before you start, yes I'm fully aware the Miley thing has been done to death.
Don't worry I'm not going to give yet another opinion or slant on "That" performance. There are people out there with far greater intelligence than I who will outline all the intellectual interpretations of "That" performance.

For those of you who were living under a stone/ trekking around India finding yourself or maybe you were taking a break from the internet. Welcome back, here is what you missed. Miley Cyrus, daughter of Achey, Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus - remember him- performed with Robin Thicke at the V.M.A's. Quite a lot of people had opinions about it. There were lot's of questions asked: Was it racist? Was it sexist? Are we racist, slut shamers for even discussing it? What's the story with the tongue?.

Personally I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the whole thing and I have taken a near vow of silence on the matter until all the compartments of my brain declare a ceasefire and come to a rational conclusion.
I do have one observation to make however and that is that there appear to be a significant number of Irish parents giving Hannah Montanna a pretty important role in the lives of their daughters.
The cry of the Irish mammy lately has been a Helen Lovejoy inspired "Won't somebody think of the children!!!" "Hannah Montanna is hooring and touring in very skimpy clothing and shaking her arse all over the place." "It's practically feckin porn" and so on...

Can I point out one teeny tiny bit of information which may be relevant to this little story?
Brace yourselves people now because this is breaking news!

Hannah Montanna is not now or has she ever been a real person!
I know it is quite the shock!
This little fact means that you cannot get pissed off at the things the person who once played her is now doing. This is because ...once more with feeling ... she is not real.
Well you can get as narky as you like, it's a free country and if it makes you feel better then why not.
However consider this: Why not channel this wasted anger into something more productive. Like showing your daughter some real female icons to idolize. While your're at it show your sons too! Teach all children that there is so much more to the world than the sputum they are force fed by corporations that is passed off under the guise of entertainment.

Lets take a little personal responsibility for what is happening here. Last time I checked Hannah Montanna or Miley Cyrus doesn't have a vested interest in any child's personal and social development. That there would be the vested interest of their doting parents!

While we are at it lets have an actual conversation with young people about what is going on. It goes without saying that you should keep it appropriate for you and the child. I'm not suggesting that after little Jimmy or Gemma's 5th birthday party you bust out the karma sutra and suggest they take notes.  It's a very Irish thing to tut expressions of sexuality or pass it off as filth. This can lead to homes where sex and sexual health education is not discussed and children are left to find out the facts for themselves. Generally this information comes from some other misinformed class mate or infinitely more damaging, from porn.

Why wouldn't children want to emulate the celebrities they've seen near naked and behaving like strippers? They are adored, they are what's cool and nobody is contradicting them or showing them anything different!

The bottom line is you can be pissed with Miley, but let's be honest behind Miley there is a corporation making lots o money on the back of her nudity and Twerking.

Alternatively you could show children and teenagers all the other wonderful creative people that exist on this planet. Broaden their horizons! Show them that there is so much more out there for them to experience than Disney strippers and limited views on what it means to be female in this world. Cause what we need now more than ever is a new generation of kick ass women who won't tolerate nonsense such as this!

A lil bit of Online Dating.

I  have been participating in the weird and wonderful world of  online dating sites on and off for about two years now. If you don't use online dating then I hope this post will give you an insight into this unique world . For those that do date online you get internet points if you recognise any of the following and double points if you recognise yourself.

Toy Boys: Blokes aged 22 and under. Profile picture is generally a picture of them and all their mates on the lash, making it near impossible to figure out which baby faced drunkard you're "talking" to. I use the term talking to very very loosely. Obviously first because its typed communication you really can't consider it talking and secondly because the language used is generally impossible to decipher. If it was text speak I would find it a minor irritation but ultimately I would get over it, writing it off as a time efficient method of communicating. However this language is totally foreign to me using words like yhuu to mean you or mii to mean my- what is the point!! It looks like nonsense and it takes longer to type than the actual words! Usually the toy boy is looking for no commitment or relationship of any kind. I have no issue with hook ups power to you if you enjoy them and get something from them but I'm afraid its not for me.

The first time girl experience: I'm happy for you that you have discovered your sexuality and are comfortable enough to explore it. I'm really sorry though I'm not the girl to explore it with. I don't do well as a babysitter and the first time out girl requires a great deal of minding and teaching. Fabulous if you're looking for someone to mold into the perfect lover. It just seems like a lot of hard work and drama to me. I'm looking for an equal partner not someone to "fix". Not to mention the significant possibility that she may not be out of the closet yet. Which leads me nicely to ....

Closet Cases: I totally get it being out isn't easy. There is a whole psychological process involved in coming to terms with who you are and then informing your loved ones. It can be a painful process full of rejection and pain. So I totally get why you wouldn't want to do it and I don't want you to do it for me (mostly because I don't wanna get the blame for "making you" do it) I also don't want to be introduced to people as your friend (I don't kiss my friends like that). I want to be able to hold your hand in public, kiss you when the mood strikes or just pinch your ass because I can and not have to check if there's anybody we know about first. I also want to be able to go out and not have to avoid people with cameras like a celebutante avoiding the paparazzi.

Naughty bits profile pictures: I'm not gonna lie I'm totally gonna check you out. Kudos to you for your bravery/ foolishness too depending on how you wanna view it and fair play for showing the goods to any potential hook ups. But let's get real here, if your bits are your profile picture you really don't need to waste your time (or mine) with filler in your profile that tells me what a wonderful person you are and that you like long walks on the beach or better again that you are looking for a relationship. Detailing your kinks is acceptable but your dreams wishes and ambitions are kinda unnecessary. Don't get me wrong you might have a lovely cock- but call me old fashioned I'd like to see who it belongs to.

People that send messages just saying Hey, Hi or  my personal favourite Hru? how utterly profound! What a fascinating creature, such linguistic and conversational skills I must know more. Come on now if you can't be arsed writing more than one word then why send anything? If you cant think of anything to say to me when you have time to prepare and you can hide behind your keyboard, the first date conversation isn't looking too promising.

The my friends say people: my friends say I'm really good looking, my friends say I'm really funny, my friends say I'm a really great person.We are all grown ups here you are allowed have opinions on yourself and be able to discuss those opinions without the need for a reference. I promise if you tell me that you're sporty/nerdy/ clever or whatever I will believe you honest, I don't need to ask your mates. Plus they're your friends they're hardly the most objective bunch of people. Your friends are hardly gonna call you an unfriendly, gimpy, unfunny dickhead now are they- at least not to your face anyway. Unless they are particularly cruel in which case get off Plenty of Fish and get some new friends!

Sugar daddies/ mommies: Older ladies/ gents who wanna take you out buy you shiny things and treat you in exchange for spending time with them etc. If that's what you're into awesome the internet is full of them, no recession in sugar land.  Not for me I'm afraid the whole thing makes me a little uneasy, besides if I wanted to receive remittance for spending time with an older person I'd apply for a carers allowance.

Finally:
Guys pretending to be girls: Come on now, you are fooling nobody! Besides isn't this an awful lot of work just to get off? The making of the profile, seeking out women, the developing of a rapport etc etc. Surely a smutty video or story would be much easier. There are plenty of online resources, Google is your friend , now leave the nice ladies alone and go about your day.

*Disclaimer*I would like to acknowledge that there are tonnes of wonderful  men and women looking for love on the internet.  I've been privileged enough to meet some of them and can now call them friends. I am not the perfect date or online dater, I have been called picky. I remain hopeful though that I will find someone awesome of my very own, they may not be online but its worth a shot.