Midlife Rebel

It was such a joy to build this Lego Vespa! Last month I celebrated my 40th birthday in Sorrento with my husband so an Italian themed Lego set was the perfect antidote to ease those post holiday blues. The Lego set was a birthday present from my mum and stepdad. It's a lovely gift which will continue to make me smile and is a great addition to my collection. I have now completed four Lego sets so technically I could claim my Builder badge from the Rebel Badge Book (Volume Two) but I will hold off for now as I also got another Lego set for my birthday from my husband's mum and stepdad. Before my holiday in Sorrento, I made a start on the Linguist badge by learning some Italian. I have been using the Duolingo app and have also listened to a few episodes of the Coffee Break Italian podcast. I didn't make as much progress with my Italian speaking skills before I went to Italy as I was hoping. Work and health issues have interfered with my badge progress the past couple of month...

This week I have completed my Writer badge! I have kept this blog for six months and have enjoyed it so much that I will be continuing on with it. This blog has been a great way to record and share my Rebel Badge Book activities. This month I have also started the Linguist badge and the Craft badge. I am going to Sorrento next month for my 40th birthday so I thought it would be a good time to learn some Italian. Last week I attended a modern calligraphy workshop therefore I have made a start on the Craft badge. My calligraphy skills need a lot more work though. I have worksheets and a workbook to practice with so once I have something worth showing I will share it on here. I hope you have all had a lovely weekend. 

I am Groot! Here is Marvel character Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy 2 made from of 476 pieces of Lego. This was another enjoyable set to complete and put towards the Rebel Badge Club's Builder badge. Earlier this year I completed the Hedwig Lego set and now I have Groot to add to the collectio n.  Also earlier this year I made this orchid from Lego which looks rather realistic. I've kept real orchids for years but this one won't require any watering or repotting. It makes a lovely display piece in my home. It's my birthday next month so I am hoping for one or two more Lego sets as gifts so then I can complete my Builder badge.

I bought my first two Momiji dolls in 2007 from a gift shop in York whilst on a short holiday. I did not start collecting Momiji though until 2017. To put it simply, Momiji dolls make me smile. That's why my collection has grown over the years. They bring me joy and I believe they also keep me young. I love colour and anything kawaii. They are fun to display around my home even though my husband refers to them as dust collectors!  I often rearrange the way I display my Momiji dolls. Sometimes they are all together like a little army and at other times they pop up in random places. At the moment I have just got my favourite Momiji dolls on display as I have a lot of stuff (even though I did a lot of decluttering last year!) and sometimes things start to look too cluttered. My Momiji collection has begun to slow down a bit now as I don't have room for more. I'm not saying I won't buy any more Momiji dolls but I do need to be mindful of how many things I own. I think I may...

Last Sunday, I completed the Good Habits merit badge from the Rebel Badge Book. Here are my thoughts on each of the habits I practiced. Life Admin - Keep a diary to track how much money I am spending This was an eye opening task. The spending diary really highlighted how much money I spend on non-essential items. I treat myself a lot! I don't have children or pets, my car doesn't cost me much and my husband and I have a small mortgage. I spend a bit willy-nilly at times. Now that I am more aware of my spending habits I plan to be more mindful of how I am using my money. I do believe that there needs to be a good balance between saving for the future and living in the now. Setting myself budgets and sticking to them is something I need to look at. I feel I need to get my finances more organised. I have a small amount of savings which I would like to grow.  Setting up a monthly direct debit into a savings account would be a good plan of action. Health and Fitness - Regularly w...

Happy New Year! How is your year going so far? I hope it has got off to a good start. I have had a great first week to the year. I'm feeling energised and inspired.  For me, a new year means a new diary so it's the perfect opportunity to begin the Diarist merit badge for Rebel Badge Club. I regularly keep a diary already but I don't always write in it on a daily basis and sometimes I give up completely part way through the year. So for at least six months I will write in my diary every day. It appears I have now started the Builder badge too. For Christmas, my husband bought me a Hedwig Lego set. I had my eye on the large collector's edition of Hedwig but at £259.99 it was a bit on the expensive side so the smaller version was a more sensible choice. I started building small Hedwig on New Year's Day and completed it a few days ago. I loved doing the Lego set. I found it a very enjoyable and satisfying task. If it wasn't for the Rebel Badge Club, I would never ha...

The end of the year is approaching and it's the ideal time to reflect on my Rebel journey so far. I joined the Rebels in September and have learnt a few new things along the way. The Rebel Badge Book is a source of inspiration for how to spend your free time. I began with the Artist badge as I have done art all my life so this seemed like a good place to start. I made a mosaic for the first time and also a wire sculpture. My drawing skills are a little rusty these days but I sharpened my pencils and put them to work. I feel drawing is a skill which I possess but I don't have the same passion for this as I did in younger years. It's nice to do now and then though when the urge strikes. Due to finances, I decided that certain badges I would like to do will have to wait for now.  So I began the November 'Write Every Day Challenge', the Good Habits badge and the Reader badge. I wrote thirty haiku for the November challenge. This was fun to do for a short time but I'...