Roisin clare wood

Hey guys,

Happy New Year!

Sorry I have been missing in action over the last few days, I needed a little bit of time to think about some things and prepare myself for posting this..

If you’re reading this then you’ll know that I’ve made a pretty big change to my page… the name!

I just wanted to explain to you all my reasons for doing this and also to reassure you that nothing (other than my name) will actually change….although I do have some exciting things in the pipeline.

So, here goes…

I ended 2019 feeling pretty low if I’m being honest with you all. I can’t put my finger on one reason in particular but I think it’s a mixture of lots of different things. I am normally such an upbeat, happy, glass half full kind of person but for the last few months I’ve just had this little cloud of doom hanging over me.

I was mad with myself for feeling like that because in many ways, I am so fortunate and we had such an amazing year, but there are some things that I don’t share online. There have been times when I’ve found it difficult to put on a big smile and act like everything is perfect. No one has the perfect life so don’t ever think that they do!

What does make me truly happy is when you guys enjoy something that I post or if I find something and think to myself that you will all love it. Or when one of you stop me in a shop or on the street and tell me how much you love my Instagram. When that happens, it fills me with such joy and I always think “wow – people do like my page”

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on my life, what is making me sad, what makes me happy and planning how I wanted to move forward in 2020. I am so excited about the plans I’ve made. I’m going to do more Disneybounds, more creative videos like the tsum tsum wreath, share more information on ALL of the adventures we have as a family. We also have a little trip to California coming up in a few weeks…. eek! I just want to have fun with my page and Create content that I think you will enjoy.

I have worried about how people would feel about me changing my name on Instagram but I really feel that it is something I need to try.

I have had many names throughout my life… Roisin as a little girl, sometimes Roisin the washing machine, Mammy has been a favourite of mine for the past twenty years, I have been Miss Mclaren and Mrs Wood to my students and always Rosh to my colleagues, then Disneyfind.

I have loved being Disneyfind, it has been like another chapter in my life and through Disneyfind, I have had so many experiences and opportunities. All of which, I will forever be grateful for. But, things change. Just as my name has changed in real life, I feel that now is the right time to change my name once again. The reason for this is that I really feel like I have found Roisin ( myself) over the past few months.

My page has changed over the past year or so and I focus more on us as a family than just solely on products. That doesn’t mean that I have stopped loving Disney products. I can hand on heart say that I still get that little bubble of excitement inside when I find new products online and in town and I will continue posting all of my finds on Facebook and Instagram as I have always done. I just feel that although Disney is a HUGE part of my life ( I mean have you seen my house? – Disney in every room) I have other passions that I often want to share with you but because I’ve always been specifically Disney, it didn’t make sense?

I decided that my main goal for 2020 is to be BRAVER. I want to be brave for myself but also because I want to set a good example to my children. I want them to follow their dreams and I would hope that they could turn to me for help if they ever felt down or low in their life.

Life is so short… too short to waste time and energy on issues outside of your control but it’s also so short that you need to be brave enough to take risks.

Finally, I just want to thank you all for always being so lovely to me over the past five years. I don’t think I could put into words how much it has meant to me and I hope that can continue this journey with me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Love Lots

Roisin x

So before I begin this, I just want to say that this post is not political or for a pat on the back. It is to raise awareness of volunteering and to encourage people to support their local charities.

If anything, I started volunteering for selfish reasons. I was feeling incredibly lost in my life as I had gone from working in a school for twelve years to working at home on my own. It was a shock to the system and I found myself feeling very lonely. I had gone from sharing an office with six funny, interesting people to spending all day at home on my own. I’m not going to lie… I have really struggled.

I love running my social media, finding and sharing Disney products and having incredible opportunities. However, the main reason I gave up my job was to be there for my family. Take the boys to nursery and school, pick them up, just be more present. My job never allowed me to do that. I never took Aoife to school, never picked her up and could only attend one school event a year. This continued throughout her whole childhood and I just didn’t want to do that again.

So I started to apply for jobs, I had interviews and was offered a job. At the same time, Gareth was offered his job and I just couldn’t commit so I decided to look into volunteering. I have always been keen to work with the elderly or refugees but when I have applied for jobs in these areas I have been rejected as I didn’t have enough experience in these areas.

So I applied to volunteer at a Refugee Project in Newcastle and work there one day a week. The process was very easy. I had to complete an enhanced disclosure form, which was accepted about three weeks later. An Enhanced Disclosure is needed by anyone who works with vulnerable members of society.

Once the form arrived in the post then I could get started. I felt so nervous on my first day. It was very strange to changing from a postition of authority that I had in school to being a volunteer. Also I didn’t know a soul and was worried that they might not like me… But do you know what?

I have loved it from my very first day. I just kept my head down really, it takes a few weeks for people to get to know you. The project itself is amazing and the support ( both practical and emotional) is invaluable to the people who attend. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the people who visit the project but I will say that there are many times that I have cried hearing their stories and also don’t believe everything you see on social media or read in the news. Some of these people have been through some terrifying experiences and they are so grateful for the help that they receive – I am in awe of some of them. And for those people who make sweeping statements about “immigrants” taking all of our jobs or that they are just here for the money. I would love for you to spend ten minutes with the beautiful lady that cried with me today. She is from a war torn country, living here on her own with two children and she would give anything to go back to her old life but she can’t! Sorry just some things I see online make me so angry!

Anyway, Wednesday is my new favourite day. Wednesday is the day I volunteer and feel like I am doing something to make a difference but also give me some balance in my life. I have actually worked twice a week on some occasions as I genuinely love being there.

So the real reason for writing this post is to encourage you to volunteer. I know that it might seem daunting or scary but I have developed new skills and understand processes that I knew nothing about three months ago. I have colleagues that I now look forward to chatting with each week and we have a good laugh. I also look forward to the clients arriving, especially the children! Almost all of the volunteers are retired and the service simply would not run without them. I am lucky that I am able to make a living from social media, otherwise I would have no choice but to try to get a paid job, but for the time being, I am grateful to have this experience.

Many projects including the one that I work at would also not be available without they donations from people. So, if you have the chance then donate to the homeless, less privileged or vulnerable in your community.

Volunteering is perfect for people who want experience in a particular career, feel a little lonely or lost or are struggling to get a job. You can volunteer in many different services and if it is some particular service that you are interested in then just give them a call or send an e-mail to get more information. I leave the project each week feeling happy that I have contributed in some way to helping people. It has brought some much needed balance to my life. I would love to help anyone who was looking for advice on how to get started in volunteering, just let me know.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Roisin

AD (Meal was gifted in return for honest review)

I was invited to try out the new bar restaurant that has just opened at Newcastle Central Station. Destination 1850 is located at the entrance to the station and OMG what a fantastic place. I visited with my mam on a lunchtime, not really sure what to expect.

We were seated behind the bar area and my mam was worried about being cold, but they have heated seats. The have a full menu on offer serving a variety of different meals, from Pizza’s, Loaded Fries to salads.  They also serve hot drinks and alcoholic drinks alongside pastries, cakes and cocktails. They pretty much serve everything.

we decided on bread and olives to start, then I opted for the Katsu Chicken Loaded Fries and my mam chose the Prawn Thai style salad. Honestly, the food is unbelievably tasty and the presentation was beautiful. The Loaded Fries cost £6.95 and they were HUGE. I would probably recommend sharing them with someone. The salad cost £8.50 and again the flavours were superb, my mam loved the crispy onions best and she finished the whole bowl.

They also serve all of their food as take away in case you wanted to grab something to take on the train with you and they have a breakfast menu too.

I can hand on heart say that this meal was one of the best I have tastes in a long time, the quality, flavour and presentation were perfect and I will 100% be visiting again.

 

Hey Everyone,

I thought I would share a long overdue life update. I really wish that I could get into writing my blog on a more regular basis as I always find it so theraputic. I think that the last time I spoke to you in this way was back in March of this year and I was in a really strange place at the time.  I was going through a whole range of emotions back then, both personally and with my social media. I experienced some negativity online and I felt a little lost in life generally.

I spoke to you all about deciding to go back to work, I think. I applied for lots of different jobs, back in schools, working with vulnerable members of society. I just hoped to do something where I wold feel that I was helping people again. I had a few rejections, some interviews and I was actually offered one job. Then, I really started to think about what I want in life and what is most important to me and that is my FAMILY.

I missed out on so much when Aoife was growing up because I worked full time as a Head of Year in a High School in Newcastle. I never ever took her to school or picked her up. I was only allowed to attend one school event a year and that was usually sports day, because I needed to be at the school I worked in. I recently spoke to Aoife about all of this because I felt so guilty and I was worried that she felt she had missed out in any way. I am well aware that Aoife had a very different upbringing to the boys, but the same amount of love from me and her dad. Aoife said that she has never felt that she missed out because we had lots of adventures at the weekends or on school holidays.My mam and dad worked full time back then so I was also very lucky that I had a good support system with her dads family who looked after her every day after school.

The difference is that I didn’t have a choice back then. I had to work full time because no one else was going to pay the rent or make sure that we had food every night. I had to work full time like many parents because I had to pay for everything on my own. I am in a different situation now, we are lucky that Gareth has a good job and don’t get me wrong there are times when we have to be careful with money like all families but life is a lot more organised than it was when Aoife was little.

So, I spoke with Gareth and decided that now I have a chance to take the boys to and from school and also run my social media, I should take the opportunity. I would probably have to use my whole part time pay for Joseph’s nursery costs and I had no idea who would look after then during the school holidays whilst I was at work. If I could make a success of my social media then that would be a bonus but we would have to be a bit more careful with our finances. I also decided to start making a few changes in my life whereby I felt like I was helping people. I feel so much betters for this. Then the strangest thing happened…..

You now that old saying “you can wait ages for a bus and then they all come along at once?” That is probably the best way to explain what has happened recently. I struggled for a long time on social media, wondering if I was doing something wrong. Then suddenly, I started to gets e-mails from brands offering me opportunities that I would have never believed would be open to me. I know how lucky we have been to experience these opportunities over the past few months. I can promise you that my boys will never take any of them for granted.  I know that it could all stop tomorrow so I just decided to embrace it.

We have had a wonderfully, crazy few weeks and I think I have just been a little shocked. I don’t think we could maintain going away so much as I wouldn’t want the boys missing their parties or clubs at the weekend.

So I wanted to write this post for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to say a big, huge, ginormous THANK YOU for supporting me and my family over the past five years. It still amazes me how kind, friendly and encouraging you have all been. Secondly, I just wanted to remind you all not to give up! If you have dreams, goals or aspirations then keep striving to achieve them. I think we all go through times where we feel disheartened o disattified but I honestly believe in Walts quote ” If you can dream it, you can do it!”

You never know what is around the corner.

Thank you for everything.

Roisin x