A-Z Challenge U is for....

Unanimous

Being of one mind; agreeing in opinion, design, or determination; consentient; not discordant or dissentient; harmonious; as, the assembly was unanimous; the members of the council were unanimous.

I have to be honest finding something to blog about beginning with U initially seemed a real challenge but then.....

I saw a post on Twitter from Kate on Thin Ice advertising her latest linky to How to be a Groovy Mum and it dawned on me, Groovy mums are a group of mums who are all of one mind, agreeing on changing their lives, with determination, we are harmonious and unanimous in supporting each other and being part of a network, and there it was, the word unanimous.

So for those who don't know anything about Groovy mums it is simple. It is a linky for anyone out there who is looking for their mojo, who feels they have lost some of themselves since becoming a mum, who would like to find themselves again, time for themselves, rebuild confidence, form new friendships and remembering to put themselves first once in a while. For some it is a journey to share weight loss success (and of course the not so good weeks), or the courage they have had to do something. In Kate's words 'If you are a blogger, you write a blog post about how you are making tiny or huge changes towards a new you. This might be as simple as going for a walk or as radical as setting up a new business. It might mean talking to someone new or buying a treat just for you. It can be anything that makes sense to you as you try to get your va-va voom back or perhaps to discover it for the first time'.

It is never too late to join in, each week new people are joining and there is now a network as well The Groovy Mum's Ning network.

Each week Kate sets some challenges and it is up to you if you do them , some of us just add a blog post to celebrate something we may have done which has made us feel good (I promise not to harp on about running my first half marathon here - again, oops sorry I seem to have inadvertently mentioned it - again :))

Below are my response to this weeks challenges

1. Body – What new ways can you find to take exercise? 
Sorry I may just have to mention running again. I have also got my Davina DVD out again which I was very excited about when I first got it, I did it twice and then it fell by the way side but I was a little upset with a few of the photos from the half marathon so have more of an incentive now.

2. Mind – It is Depression Awareness Week. Have you experienced depression? Do you know how to spot the signs of depression in your loved ones and others? Check out http://blackdogtribe.com for information and support with mental health issues. They are also asking for your stories.
I blogged about this only last week. I suffered depression following the birth of my 2nd son who was very sick as a baby, 2 prem babies and the feeling of being cheated out of a full pregnancy and labour (yes I wish I could of experienced labour pains), not being able to hold my new born baby and then being in intensive care myself after my 2nd son left me in a pretty bad way. I have recently been suffering again and have just made the trip to the doctors. Not enough is done for depression awareness.

3. Blogging – Did you know http://britmums.com publish round-ups of good posts on certain issues such a food, politics, special needs, green issues, health and more? Why not promote your posts to the editors of these round-ups and raise your profile?
Now that would take confidence and when you don;t have a huge following or a huge amount of comments, some days it doesn't seem worth it.

4. Special Days – This week saw us marking St George’s Day. Is there a dragon that you need to tackle in your life?
I think work is my dragon, oh and maybe the dragon that seems to have taken over my ironing pile

5. Charity Connections- Get shopping online and hundreds of retailers will give a percentage of what you spend to a charity of your choice. Click here http://www.give.as/kateonthinice and register for free for Give As You Live with your name and email address. Do it today! You don’t have to spend any money now but it means when you do shop online you can ensure some of the money goes to a good cause. Why wouldn’t you? When you click, you will see poppies because I am personally raising money for the Royal British Legion but you can register here and then when you shop, you can select a charity of your choice.
I will look into this

6, The Big Question – What has the last year brought you? Are you happy with it?
14 months ago I started to freelance and although I often feel overwhelmed with the work, I really shouldn't complain. I am earning a nice amount and I have very regular work, it sometimes feels too much. I have learnt a great deal from being home based and my own boss, the pros and cons of having no colleagues or office to go to. Overall I am very content with it but just wish I could handle it better and juggle work and the boys and home more efficiently. We also relocated 18 months ago and to see the boys so happy makes it all worthwhile. It has turned Little Man around so for what it has done for him alone has made this last year worth every second.

Now why not write a post about how you are changing things for you and link it up.