Busy doing....

nothing!! Well, except the usual Christmas stuff anyway :) It's been ages since I blogged ,I purposely stayed well away from the PC for a few days over Christmas and haven't really got back into being on it much!

So, our Christmas consisted of lots of this,

and lots of this!!

The girls were very happy with all their presents ,though as they get older the presents seem to get smaller (size wise anyway!) and the piles look much smaller!Holly finally went back to sleep sometime after 2am on Christmas Eve so we were in no hurry to get up on Christmas Day!

I was very lucky and got a gorgeous cake stand from Anna as well as lots more Momiji's.My fave present though is a tiny Guardian Angel that Geoff got for me, will take a photo and share soon!

Since Christmas we have been chilling out,done a little bit of shopping and generally been lazy! I've become a Mario Cart addict,but let's face it,once we are back in our normal routine I probably won't go on it for ages!

Geoff was back in work today so this afternoon I took the girls for a walk at the lakes to get some fresh air.We took with us a lump of bread which should have been a loaf but I forgot to add the yeast -doh!!It was absolutely freezing but the girls loved feeding the swans (not so much the seagulls though!) A lot of the lake was still frozen over and when we walked further round,there was a swan actually trapped with one of its legs frozen in the ice :( I rang the RSPCA as soon as we got home so hopefully they will have been down there to rescue it.The girls want to go back there tomorrow to make sure it's been rescued so that's our afternoon sorted !

Tomorrow night we are off to Anna & Peter's New Years Eve party...the first time we've been out at New Year since having the kids! It's fancy dress and Geoff is still trying to choose between his three ideas,whilst me...well that would be telling wouldn't it?!

I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

All Is Calm...

..well,apart from a certain 8yr old who's just woken up, as Santa was about to arrive! Looks like he may be delayed a while longer....
I know my photo from last year is almost the same ,but this is what it looks like here! Letters have been written and snacks left out :)
Everything is done now except for a couple of presents to be wrapped,which can wait til tomorow .Today has been spent cleaning, tidying and present making.All had to be done by 3pm before we headed off to the Christingle service :) It was so lovely again, with a real pony (I'm guessing there are no donkeys local,or maybe the pony is tamer?!) Mary,Joseph and an incredibly cute baby Jesus!The service would give any health & safety inspector nightmares...loads of small children holding naked flames...shocking! And every year you can smell the faint aroma of burning hair!!but we came home full of Christmas cheer :)
This evening we have enjoyed a very civilised candle lit meal,just the two of us,once the kids were in bed.We decided to start doing this a few years back after a couple of years of still wrapping presents up at way past midnight!
Right,I am off to enjoy a glass of Baileys :0
Oh, and I have another classic to share from Holly...I have a new Christmas dec which spells out the word Noel.Holly asked me what it said,'noel' was my reply,to which she said 'but it has got an L...' Bless!!
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Still here...

Yikes, seems like ages since I was here last! I'm still feeling slightly bah humbug,but then again everyone else seems to be feeling that way too this year :( I have vowed to change the way I do things for next Christmas (erm, didn't I say that last year too?!)as I don't enjoy feeling this 'headless chicken-like' all December.In a week or so I am going to write down everything that the girls have done this year ie school plays, parties etc so that I have some idea what they'll be up to next year too!
So...a weeks re-cap.....On Wednesday Anna and I had a belated birthday get together.We went into town and mooched around John Lewis for a good couple of hours (something I very rarely do ,I generally whizz in and out as quick as possible!)and picked up a few bargains and goodies.having spent our pennies (and a couple of pounds) we went to Frankie & Benny's for our now traditional Christmas/birthday pig out! It was so busy in there that the food took a while longer to arrive than usual and we ended up literally shoving the food down to make sure I was in time for my train home! It was delicious as usual though,you can't beat their caramel waffle crunch! Anna went home armed with her pressies (which I was very tempted to keep for myself!) and birthday cake,which I have on good authority went down a treat (Yes,I had a phone call from Izzy telling me how delicious it was!) Which is good as I now have something to trade in for brownies ;)!
On Friday morning I went to the Christmas Carol assembly at Holly's school which was lovely,before both girls finished school early for Christmas:)
Yesterday morning we went for a leisurely stroll round Asda (Yes, it was eerily quiet in there!) and got the last bits of food shopping.In the afternoon Holly had a party and I went to the town for a last minute present...what a waste of nearly two hours!!Today Geoff has been working and Em has been out shopping with a friend whilst I've finally hung the outside lights and Holly has been painting and glittering.I finally got my cards in the post yesterday,cutting it fine I know!I haven't made any at all this year, just haven't felt inclined to at all!
I still have some presents to finish off and haven't even started the wrapping yet :( Still, come Christmas Eve it will all be done ,I know I will get there eventually!

Change of plans...

So after getting all excited about today,all plans had to be changed as poor Izzy wasn't well :( I managed to change all my Wednesday stuff back to Monday stuff and so fingers croossed....I can hand over the birthday presents on Wednesday!

And is this what happens when the kids see too many adverts?! Holly loves the Boots christmas adverts and came into the kitchen this evening waving this bowl shouting 'secret santa' ! Bless, she has put all our names in it,along with her favourite toys. Check out her cute way of spelling 'Secret'!! We have to pick two names each,not surprisingly I got Mickey and Minnie mouse!

I have just finished sewing up Em's costume and am off to bed to try and catch up on my sleep...two nights of falling asleep at approx 3.00am is not good news!

Still non-stop!

Why is it that we really don't seem to do much the rest of the year but come November & December there doesn't seem to be a spare minute?!
Yesterday I finally got round to taking the girls to see High Musical 3...yes, i know,it came out ages ago! The cinema was practically empty which would have been good had it not been for a group of annoying teenage girls who kept getting up walking around,being loud and chucking popcorn everywhere.Despite that the girls enjoyed themselves (ok, so did I too!),but it doesn't seem quite right not being able to watch it again non-stop like the first two!
Later in the afternoon Em went off to a friends house for a birthday sleepover whilst we spent the evening watching the X Factor.I'm so pleased Alexandra won, I had goosebumps during her songs!I wasn't that keen on Eoghan or JLS anyway, but singing with Boyzone and Westlife ...hmm,think that totally killed it for me!
This afternoon I started to make Em's costume for the House Drama play she is taking part in at school.I paid a quick trip to town to buy some fabric (and eyed up lots of 'purchases' for Anna tomorrow!)before spending the rest of the day glittering,ripping and sewing!Guess what - calenders are going to a last minute job again!

Pencil Lines is live with our last sketch for 2008 :)This sketch is perfect for lots of small not-so-perfect photos! And whilst I'll admit to having absolutely no desire to scrap at the moment I'm so glad I got my butt into gear and did this layout :)
I used
Scenic Route Roxbury papers & stickers
Doodlebug letter stickers
Pink Paislee numbers
The photos are much better IRL,the light was awful for taking a photo of the LO though!I had to go outside as my normal photo-taking place is occupied by the Christmas tree...
Tomorrow I have a welcome day off and Anna is coming over to celebrate her birthday and finish off her shopping! Presents are almost all wrapped and I just have a couple of little jobs to do before she arrives :)

I'm sitting down

..and taking a break for a couple of hours! It feels like I have hardly been home all week,I still have loads to do but right now...I don't feel like doing any of it!
Holly has had her school show the last two nights and is shattered, poor thing! She was such a little star the first night when we went to see the show,but was definately past her best last night.The late nights are a bit too much for her and she was in tears during the finale last night,I'm so glad I didn't see that :( They were allowed to go in late this morning so I took full advantage and left her in bed until she woke up herself (I had to shake her awake yesterday morning!)Tomorrow the whole school are off to see a pantomime and then she has a party at Brownies in the evening.Oh to have the social life of an 8 year old!
The last few days and evenings seem to have been spent running to and fro between work, home, school and the shops! And I am really missing not having a Post office rond the corner from me this Christmas :(
Tomorrow afternoon I am off to meet a friend before the onslaught of another busy weekend! Em is off for a sleepover on Saturday night so no doubt Holly will be sad and lonely without her here! I also need to wrap up presents for a certain birthday girl I'm seeing on Monday :)
Right, I am off to write some more lists before I forget anything else I need to do!

How long...

...have I got left to finish all my to do lists?! I'm thinking not long enough? How daft is it that I have all year to get prepared and yet every year I seem to get less organised?!

This week has Holly's school Christmas play (which is not Christmassy in the slightest!) Despite lots of nerves and a few tears the last few days,todays performance went well and and she came out of school declaring that she hadn't been nervous at all -phew! We are all going to see her tomorrow night,which will be strange for Em as she is so used to being in the show too!
Yesterday I hopped on the train and went to Anna's crop:) Despite being a little chilly, I had a lovely day out (helped by the huge spread of food!) Feels like ages since I've seen everyone so it was good to catch up :)
This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week :) I used Basic Grey Urban Prairie,Urban couture & Mellow papers
Sassafrass paper
Prima swirls
Scenic Route sticker
AC puffy thickers
Doodlebug alphas
I pondered over this LO for ages and I'm still not really happy with it...but then a lot of my layouts seem to be like that at the moment :( Must be that time of year!
Today I've caught up on one the dreaded housework,including a huge heap of ironing...zzzzzzz.Tomorrow I am off to try and finish off my Christmas shopping,what joy!

Free to a good home...

..germs that is ! Please feel free to take to take them in as I will be glad to see the back of them!Geoff has been home all week with flu and a chest infection and I've had another cold too.Did not have a good morning yesterday having tripped whilst carrying a very heavy hoover,pulled a lamp off a shelf and trodden on a cats paw (sorry Jessie!).Maybe I should have just stayed in bed?!

Today seems to have been non-stop.Holly had a cinema /Frankie & Benny's party for four hours (!!) then we went to the annual Christmas tree festival to see her Brownie pack's tree,whilst inbetween that doing a food shop and putting up the christmas decs.That job maybe should have been left till next week as I really was not in the mood and got tangled up in the lights several times.Still,it's nearly all done except for the outdoor lights and it does look nice and cosy in here now.Even if I'm feeling slightly Bah Humbug!

Tomorrow I am heading off to Southoe to Anna's crop -woohoo! I am so in need of a day out ! I haven't packed anything except sweets and pink lights for Anna ,so no change there then really! I am off to sort some stuff out after the X Factor results.I need to get going on the calendars as I feel like I've lost a week somewhere and am all behind with everything.

And breathe..!!

Still here,still totally unorganised!
What with one thing and another (mainly Holly's birthday!) I didn't get time to do my Pencil Lines layout this week :( Am hoping to use the sketch at some point though as it's such a good one :)
Sunday's trip to Milton Keynes went well though it was absolutely heaving there by the time we left ,with huge queues for the car parks.This year there is a helter skelter as well as the carousel which Holly loved! We also went on the train ride after seeing Santa :) Most of my photos are pants,not helped by Holly also doing her looking sideways just as I press the shutter trick!She has pressies after lunch and then more presents from her Nan & Grandad a bit later.
I think I will be giving hand made cards a miss this year ,other than just a couple.I have ended up buying cards from both schools designed by the girls ,so I think I have enough to keep me going!

Geoff has been sent home from work sick,fingers crossed I don't come down with it...I've got no time to be ill!
I managed to get the girls advent trees finished in time for yesterday,after re-discovering my old MM Heidi rub-ons which included loads of 1's!
Before Geoff came home,I was busy sorting out the bags of old/too small kids clothes that seem to be multiplying at the end of the bed. I now have several smaller bags to be given away to various people..and a bit more space!

Whizzing through...

This is one of those manic weekends (aren't they all in the run up to Christmas?!) when I seem to be doing a great impression of a headless chicken!
This morning we had Holly's birthday party here for five of her friends.She opted for a craft party and they all went away with decorated, bags, photo frames,christmas baubles,notebooks and foam hristmas trees :) And although the house has a sprinkling of glitter throughout, I can honestly say it was the easiest party we've ever done! No snatching of the pass the parcel, no sulking because they didn't win musucal statues and no getting bored!
After lunch we went and did the dreaded Tesco/Asda food shop and once home I whizzed off to the town to get the last few bits for tomorrow and pop a little something in the post to Anna .Whilst it was freezing cold, it felt so Christmassy!
This evening has been spent watching the X Factor (sorry, but Ruth was robbed :( ),making a birthday cake and wrapping presents :)
Tomorrow we are off bright and early to Milton keynes to see the Christmas displays, visit Father Christmas and go on the train ride :) Might even have time to squeeze in a little shopping too ;)!And then it's back home for birthday and cake and presents for Holly :)

Brrrr....

It's been so cold here today! Shouldn't complain though as at least it's been dry and bright :)

Not much done today as I had to hang around for the bloke to come out and service the boiler this afternoon.I asked for him to visit between 12 and 3...yep, he got here at 10 to 3 ! But at least it's done and everything is working fine :) Whilst waiting around i sorted out the photos for the calendars as my photos arrived from photobox this morning....or some of them did,25 of them have been sent seperately...what was the point of that?! I am planning to start them next week once we have holly's birhday at the weekend out of the way.

Here's my tree that I finally got finished,inspired by Jen Hall's gorgeous one.(Scroll to the bottom of the post)It still needs some ribbon sticking back on (as it's fallen off since I shoved it in my wardrobe in January!) This one has been covered with love Elsie Noel papers,whilst the other two will be a mix of love Elsie and the new KI memories papers.This evening I have cut and arranged all the squares for the other two,just need to stick them down and number them :) If anyone has one of these left from last year that they don't want,I would love to do another one !

Tomorrow I need to rummage through my stash to find supplies for Holly's party on Saturday.She is having 5 friends round for a crafting party,I've ordered a few bits from Baker Ross for them as well as having a few other ideas using stuff I already have here.

Right,off to glue squares!!

Why...

aren't weekends longer?! I am sleeping really badly at the moment and it shows,I look as rough as anything today! I am off to bed once I'm done on here!

Today has been a weird day weather wise,woke to a sprinkling of snow and rain....and by the afternoon the sun was out and then back to heavy rain this evening -yuck!Yesterday afternoon I went out for a walk with the girls to get some fresh air (while Geoff stayed home and did the ironing!) We went down to the lakes which were practically deserted.I don't think the swans were impressed with us though as we forgot to take bread :( Rare photo alert -me in a photo,taken by Em :)

I have finally finished one thing on my to do list,my Tesco advent tree from last year! I still have two more to do ..maybe they'll be done in time for next year?!I have now finished ordering photos for the calendars so guess what I'll be doing from next weekend,I am stocked up on DST!

This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week, though I'm now looking at it and thinking it's rather plain...I may go and chuck some more stuff on it this week!

I used

bazzill kraft

Scenic Route papers

Sassafrass letter stickers

Prima bling

Angel Kiss flowers

The photos are of Holly dressed up for a Minibeast day at school two years ago.I've been meaning to scrap them for ages!

This week sees me carrying with the cleaning/sorting blitz I started last week ...what joy!

And now she's back again!!

Whoops, I really did mean to blog at sometime whilst she was away, but hey, that's life!
Anyway,needless to say I have a pile of washing to do (though I have decided against trying to save the socks,they've gone straight in the bin!!).It seems like she's had a good time even if she is completely shattered and went of like a light when she went to bed!
Today Anna came over and we have been doing what we do best - shopping!!I managed to get the odds and ends that needed to be got for Holly's birthday as well as a snuggly deep pink fleece/throw for the kids to argue over in the living room! Holly always wraps herself up in the Ikea one we have so now they'll have on each..if I don't get to it first! We hit Asda where we found some fab bargains and gorgeous clothes (for the girls, not us!) before rounding the day off with a trip to Hobbycraft :) We had to wait for our hot chocolate though as the machine in Costa's was broken when we first went there,it was worth the wait though :) Plans have already been made for our next trip out in December !
This weekend we will be taking it easy as Em catches up on her sleep :) Although we were forcast heavy now for Sunday it's now saying just rain - shame :(
No photos to share as I haven't taken any!

Away she goes...

So this week it's Em's turn to be away.And to say Holly is missing her would be putting it mildly!They said a very teary farewell to each other before I took Holly to school this morning as I decided it was better to do it here than have them in floods of tears in the school playground.And this evening Holly cried herself to sleep ,bless her :( She is now fast asleep cuddling Em's favourite Big Monkey toy as he was a bit too big to go in her suitcase with her!I so hope they remain as fond of each other as they are now,when they grow older.
Looks like plans to see Anna tomorrow may be cancelled as Lilly is still off school but hopefully we'll be re-arranging it for later this week :)

Catch up

I didn't realise til after I'd posted last night how long I hadn't posted for - whoops!
Holly stayed off school till on Wednesday too in the end so the Christmas shopping trip got moved to Friday instead.Whilst in Watford I bumped into the oh so lovely Lyzzydee who seems to think that qualifies as stalking..strange woman...;)Anyway, we got quite a few bits & pieces plus I found a gorgeous shop full of lovely Momiji stuff :)
Yesterday morning Holly had a party to go to,after which we quickly popped into the school Christmas craft fair.We then went to my mum & dad's for a late birthday tea for my mum.Amongst the other treaures I found last night in'the bag', Mum also gave me my Brownie certifcate and I found a couple of photos of me going on Pack Holiday many many years ago!And amazingly eanough I can still name all the girls in the photo with me! Shame I can't normally even remember what I did last week!

This Is my Pencil Lines LO for this week :).I admit to having really struggled this week :( No idea why as I loved the sketch and our GDT's work but I still sat pushing paper and photos around for ages before getting it done.
I used
KI Memories Lace cardstock
Prima swirl (what a surprise!)
Angel Kiss flowers
Basic Grey buttons
Papermania letter stickers
Sassafrass journalling label
The flower centres and dots by the swirls are cute little puffy stickers I got from Paperchase.
And yes, I have missed a word out of the journalling...doh!!It should say 'a bargain bought last year'
Tomorrow Em sets off for the Isle of Wight until Friday.Her case is all packed and ready.I've checked the weather and it looks like it should be good for them after Tuesday.That said, the BBC weather site very rarely seems to be right these days!
The bathroom is almost all done now,just some new lino to go down and the walls that aren't tiled to be painted.It looks so much better already though.
This weeks plans include seeing Anna on Tuesday so that she can start her Christmas shopping,trying to distract Holly from missing Em too much (!!) and trying to catch up on general house 'stuff'

Bag of mixed emotions...

This evening when we went to my mum's for tea, I came home with a bag of 'stuff'.I say stuff because it has so many different things in it ,ranging from old b&w photos, baby congratulation cards,scary 70's photos of me & my sister in huge flares,postcards and newspaper clippings.I sat and went through this bag,giggling, wondering,and then I came across a newspaper cutting.Which was the my Grandpa's death announcement in the local paper...and I started to cry,even though it 23 years ago.I also found photos of my Nan & Grandpa's house and started to remember things about it ,it made me realise I need to start scrapping the old things like this too,or at least write about them somewhere before I forget about them.I have no idea where to start or how to use a lot of the photos as they are so small,but hopefully I can do something with them.I'll have to add it on to my list of to do's :)

Cupcake Cuteness :)

Yesterday my 'mystery package' from Anna finally arrived after sitting at the post depot for the weekend (it would have gone through the letter box, but the daft postie took it back with the larger parcel which wouldn't fit ) How cute is my cupcake ?! Okay ,so Anna is the first to admit that her stitching isn't straight,but I love it, because she sat and made it just for me :)Thank you so much hun :)

The bathroom is coming along really well ,just the grouting to be done and then a lick of paint.It will also need new bath mat,shower curtain etc.Geoff has worked his butt off in there! Not sure that the kitchen will get done too as that will take some major 'moving around' of stuff on my part! The living room needs a coat of paint too, but I can do that and we already have some paint 'left over from when we last decorated it.

Holly has been home the last two days but she seems well enough to go back tomorrow :) I think she was going a bit stir crazy this afternoon so we went out in the garden for some fresh air (as it actually stopped raining for today!) and did a lot of tidying up,leaf sweeping up etc.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Milton Keynes to do some Christmas shopping :) Whilst part of me dreams of getting carried away with all the present buying hype, in reality we don't have loads of people to buy for , nor to we have a huge budget! Tomorrow is more for Holly's birthday bits as her main pressie is sorted ;) The Christmas displays are already up which are usually fab.I've just looked online...and Santas Grotto is fully booked for Christmas Eve already! Not that we were planning on going that day anyway! I think we'll go on Holly's birthday as the following week I'm going cropping :)

House of chaos...

<

Yep, that's our house at the moment ! Well it's not so bad I guess....just the bathroom is in chaos.Geoff is re-tiling it so the bath and shower are out of bounds until tomorrow.And I was so looking forward to a soak in the bath tonight!

Yesterday we went and got the bits that Em needs for her trip :) I do love Primark ! Just need to borrow a case from my mum & dad and make sure we can cram everything into it!

I have just realised that there is a load of stuff I should be making/getting on with at the moment ,as December is approaching....I need to decorate the cardboard advent trees I bought last year,start on the four calendars (two of which need to be posted) and I'm also tempted to do the Ali Edwards christmas journal.I have lots of Christmas bits & bobs that never seem to get used and part of me wants to prove to myself that I can start something like this and actually finish it!

This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week :) Yes, I used the same paper as Tracie:) I did cut out one of those flowers from the other paper and then decided against using them! It is much more 'brown' in real life!

Anyway,I used Crate Paper

Kraft Bazill

AC Puffy thickers (my fave!)

Doodlebug Loopy Love alpha stickers

Prima crystal swirls

Angel Kiss flowers

Love Elsie epoxy sticker

Heidi Swapp felt butterfly

I did have a few more journalling strips to go on it,but they covered Holly's curls in the photo so I just used the date the photo was taken.

Geoff is off this week to work on the bathroom and kitchen (time allowing).It looks as though he will have a little companion tomorrow though as Holly has just been really ill and is now snuggled on the settee next to me :(

Thank you

for the lovely comments on the post below :) I'm now on the third day of the yucky cold which means I can now taste again.As for feeling 'blue',blame it on hormones!!I still feel a bit 'off'..lots of stuff going round in my head that's making me feel like the most horrible person in the world,but I'm not sharing that on here! I did have a thought today though...I think I might start writing a 'normal diary' again sometime soon...I often 'write' my blog posts in my head several times a day ,but none of it ever makes it on to here! The only thing that bothers me is what if someone else were to read it all...I used to keep diaries when I was younger and reading some of them back is a scary experience! So anyway, I think I might start one ,if I can find one that spontaneously combusts when anyone other than me touches it!
I haven't done much the last couple of days other than feel sorry for myself (!!) so this afternoon I made the most of the light and sunshine and did my Pencil Lines layout.It was one of those 'spread your stash all over the living room floor' scrap sessions :)
This evening we went to a fab little firework display at a local school.I love fireworks (though not when they're let off in people's back gardens!) and they had a huge bonfire too .It always takes me back to being at junior school and having tomato soup in a cup and hot dogs at the fireworks display.So now Halloween and Guy Fawkes are out of the way I guess we're on a countdown to Christmas...groan!!
I can't believe it's a week already since Holly went away!It's Em's turn the week after next when she goes off to the Isle of Wight for five days-yikes.We are off to buy her some stuff for the trip tomorrow.I know they say not to take new stuff but as she only has jeans and they recommend tracksuit bottoms we are off to Primark !

What do you do...

...when you are feeling blue? I don't know what is wrong with me at the moment but I just feel yugh.I kind of feel like I'm getting a cold but then I suddenly feel ok again.It could just be this miserable damp weather...I don't know :( This afternoon I put on girly feel good film whilst I did some tidying and ironing in the kitchen and felt a bit better after that.I also dusted my Momiji's as their hair was starting to turn slightly grey!
I don't have much planned for this week,we may go to a fireworks display on Friday depending on the weather(Which doesn't look good at the moment)Which reminds me, we have sparklers for tomorrow night :)
Just remembered this layout that I did a few weeks back and don't think I've put on here yet.I used a KI Memories crop kit from Anna :)There's journalling on the pink MM paper under the photo :)
I am off to bed as my eyes are almost closing ...and it's only 10.30,what's happening to me?!

She's home

...and I think she's glad to be back :) When we went to collect her she burst and tears and said 'I'm so happy to see you'!She has been fine during the day time but got a bit weepy again yesterday evening.They were all worn out last night though and asleep much earlier than the first night!She came home with a decorated shoe box full of halloween inspired goodies she has made ,including a felt ghost,a wand and a bottle of glittery 'potion':)I will take a photo of all her treasures tomorrow.

Pencil Lines is live with a new sketch ,here's my layout :) I decided to merge the four small photos into two larger ones.And yes, I know the date is on the star and also on the stamped journalling! I did the star first as it covers a very prominent stranger in the background of the photo.Have to admit that I wasn't pleased with this layout at first,but by the time I'd added lots of bits to it,I was happier!
I used
Sassafrass paper
AC Puffy thickers
Prima crysatls
Heidi Swap ghost stars
MM letter stickers
Basic Grey buttons
Today has been spent catching up on the badly neglected housework so lots of hoovering and floor mopping!We left the halloween decs up for Holly but tomorrow I will pack them up and give the place a good dust over.
Em is back in school tomorrow ,whilst Holly has an Inset day (just as well!)

Something's missing round here...

and it's strange without her :( As expected,there tears when we left Holly at the place where they are staying for Pack Holiday :( Her brownie leader was amazing though and rang us within 5 minutes of us leaving to let us know she had perked up and was fine.She then rang me twice during the evening with two updates as to how she was.She got very panicky at bedtime but they calmed her down and she was fine.I cannot thank her leader enough for being so amazingly patient with her.By this morning I just wanted her back home! But we have had no phone calls today so I'm guessing she has been having a whale of a time!I know she would have been more upset to have come home and miss out on the party tonight!We are expecting to collect one very tired Brownie tomorrow afternoon!

Last night we had a massive two Trrick or Treaters which suited us just fine!Em wasn't bothered about going out but we did pop round to see a friends new black labrador puppy...who was fast asleep and absolutely gorgeous :)I managed to do my pumpkin quickly ,in between baking biscuits and packing Holly's bag!
Today we took Em to Milton Keynes as she had some birthday money burning a hole in her pocket and as Holly doesn't particularly enjoy shopping,it was a good day to go!The shops were full of tempting Christmas stuff!I managed to get myself and Anna a mega bargain (sorry hun, you'll have to wait for your birthday!)and got a few bits & pieces for Holly's birthday.
Tonight we are ordering a pizza and watching X Factor and a girly film (Sorry Geoff!)
And tomorrow...we are counting down the minutes till pick up time!

Brrrr....

Well the snow stayed and there's still some out there now as it's been freezing cold all day!We were out in the garden bright and early, before Holly decided she was cold and wanted her breakfast!
It's been very strange seeing lots of Autumn leaves surrounded by snow !
After lunch we went back out and finished the snow person.I dressed it as a witch and then Em changed it to wearing Hollys cowboy hat.We then went for a walk to the lakes to see if there was any snow left and see if the ducks wanted to be fed.For once they did! There were loads of ducks on the river and then we went to the lakes to find the swans.We came home very muddy !

What's going on?!

It's 12.30am and I have had 31 hits already?! Where are you all coming from, have I missed something?!
Let me know because I'm curious!

Pumpkins...and snow!!(Yes, really)

Bit of a barmy title I know,but that is what today has consisted of!This morning we headed off to Willows to meet up with Anna,Izzy and Lilly.I have never seen it so busy and we had to queue for ages to get in! Admittedly the pumpkin field wasn't as good as last year but that maybe because this year we have gone earlier in the week before everyone else had trampled the greenery down a bit! The girls insisted on choosing pumpkins that were green,so I popped into Tesco's to get a nice orange one on the way home! We did manage to get a few photos of them with various pumpkins though (not that that was the reason we went!) They also had fun feeding the baby goats (Anna's latest thing to put on her 'I want' list ;) ) and Holly was most put out when a cow slobbered over her mitten whilst eating grass off of it! We had a nice picnic out in the cold,Anna brought the practical stuff like lollipops for the kids whilst I brought WW yoghurts (plus spoons!) and Alpen Light bars ;) The girls also went gold panning and had a go on the water cannons

As we arrived home,it was raining and really cold.By 7 o'clock however it was snowing...heavily and has settled!Absolutely mad weather for October,and it's still snowing now!

You can tell

it's half term...the weather has turned rotten again ! That said,there is sunshine forcast for Tuesday,which is when we are off to Willows for Pumpkin week :) The girls have been warned that there will be cameras present as we are meeting Anna,Izzy and Lilly there :)
Today as it's been raining nearly all day we've pretty much stayed indoors apart from a quick walk round the block to grab a bit of fresh air.I've done lots of housework and made a cottage pie whilst the girls have been quite happy either drawing or just playing together.

This week on Pencil Lines we were sponsored by one of my favourite manufacturers,Scenic Route.Sadly,my layout looks pants as I just couldn't get the photo to show the true colours:(
All the papers and stickers used are from the Sonoma range.
It doesn't show up in the photo,but there is journalling about her likes & dislikes around the edge of the red circle.
Geoff is home this week for half term,hence the trip out to get pumpkins!We also need to go swimming as Holly wants to show us what she's learnt in her lessons :)On Friday Holly goes away on her Brownie pack holiday for two nights -yikes!I think I'm more nervous than she is!!I need to remember to get a sleeping bag from Anna on Tuesday or I will be in trouble!On Saturday night we have a pizza and X Factor evening planned with Em and on Sunday I will counting down the hours until we go and pick Holly up!

I am useless...

..at blogging at the moment :( And I can't even pretend that it's because I lead such an action packed life either!
So a catch up on the week just gone...
On Tuesday I went over to see Anna for the day as Karen was down visiting :) Anna's suggestion of a girly trip to Ikea was not well received by Karen (can't imagine why not!!) so we opted for a stay at home girly day instead.We got all Anna's kits packed for her next couple of teaching weekends.Believe me, the kits are fab and jam packed :) We sang our way through a very good film which is now definately one of my faves,before heading out for a lovely lunch.A very nice man in the car park noticed us trying to do the arm outstretched photo thing and offered to take one for us,just a shame he stood so far away!

On the way home I popped into the shops to finally replace my hairdryer which went bang about two months ago,it's so nice to be using a decent one again after so long!(See,I told you my life was exciting!)
Yesterday afternoon I fancied a trip to Stevenage but there werre no trains running so I ended up mooching around the town instead.I ended up treating myself to a cute Cath Kidston button tin to keep my needles and sewing kit in,a Hello Kitty keyring and some christmas tree baubles.Yes, yes I know it's only October and believe me ,I am the first to shout at the Christmas ads on the TV,but I know that by the time our tree is up, the baubles won't be there!
And I also got my glasses -woohoo! Must admit that I love them and have been very good wearing them when I've been reading and scrapping.
Right,I am off to bed as I'll be losing an hours sleep ! Or am I gaining one? I'm confused!

Strange but beautiful

No, not me ;)..but the sky this morning when we got up (which was far too early...the weekends should be made three days long...)

I know the photo with the telegraph pole in is a bit out of focus,but it shows the colour of the sky really well.Holly was most put out when the sun rose fully and the sky went back to normal!

This afternoon we went in to see Holly's teacher to see how she's settling into year 3.It makes us so proud when the first thing the teacher says is that she's a joy to teach :) She has a couple of confidence issues caused by something that is being monitored ,but other than that no real problems :)

Tomorrow I have the interesting stuff to do...like a pile of ironing and a whole load of house work -great...!! Though it's supposed to be sunny so I might go out with my camera and take some nice Autumny photos :)

And before anyone asks,I'm still waiting for my glasses ,but I promise to show you them when I get them...maybe ;)

Party weekend

On Friday Em had five of her friends round for a late birthday 'do'.Luckily at this age they seem to amuse themselves and were happy enough dancing ,eating and singing High School Musical karaoke on the Wii :) All the girls got on really well (they go to several different schools now) and there were a few tears when everyone had gone as she misses one of them in particular so much.She was also missing Holly a bit as she stayed over at my Mum & Dad's for the night.I love how even though they wind each other at times they miss each other when they're apart,even now they're older.Long may it last!
Last night both girls had a sleepover at my mum & dad's as Geoff and I had a very rare night out and went to a neighbours birthday party.Poor Geoff had to stay sober as he was driving whilst I was a bit the worse for wear by the time we came home -oops! The weird thing was though was that by 2am I felt perfectly sober again...so no hangover for me this morning! We even got a lie in as the girls didn't come home til lunch time.
Yesterday afternoon Holly and I went for a walk to the lakes.I think I have put her off throwing leaves in the air for life! I really need to learn how to use my camera properly by next Autumn so that I don't keep missing shots!


My Pencil Lines layout for this week is another Autumn themed one, I'm making the most of the gorgeous weather we've had the last few weekends with the camera!
I used Basic Grey Ambrosia & Mellow papers
Hambly overlay
Basic Grey Mellow letter stickers
Bella Boulevard paper (the cut out trees)
And did lots of distressing & inking!
The smaller picture which isn't very clear is of some tiny toadstools we found in the woods :)
This week we have Holly's teacher consultation,I have a trip over to Anna's on Wednesday and maybe I'll get my new glasses too:) I chose some funky ones in the end,a different pair to those I first tried on.If they make me look intelligent,I may share a photo...don't hold your breath!

It's official....

...I have too much stuff...or maybe the house is just too small?!
Yesterday I decide to try and tackle my full to the brim wardrobe.And no, it's not just full of clothes...it's also stuffed with photo albums ,my record collection from my distant youth,books that have I no bookshelf for,a bag of baby clothes that I just can't part with ...the list goes on.Ten minutes into attempting to sort it out I was at the end of my tether.So I chucked out a few bits of clothing that I've never worn and rummaged around to see if I could find any storage room under the bed.From there I retrieved a winter coat and cardigan that were Em's which now fit Holly perfectly,giving me a valuable space to stuff the bag of stocking filler bits & pieces I have already bought for Christmas.I also found a box with some OPI nail polishes I had forgotten about...yum! So I'm now debating what gorgeous colour to go for when I paint my nails this weekend and for a lunch date next week :)I managed to squeeze all the junk back into the wardrobe anyway,though how long before it all jumps back out at me I'm not sure!
This afternoon I went and had my eyes tested and spent ages trying on frames.I have to admit that I think I look daft in any glasses, but I have to have some so I persevered.Sadly I think the ones I really like ,the expensive Guess designer ones are going to be cast aside in favour of the plainer ,cheaper ones .Well lets face it I don't own designer anything so it seems a bit daft to start with glasses that I'll only be wearing for reading and scrapping!

12 and 2

Today this gorgeous girl is 12 years old...where did those twelve years go?!Funny how I can remember the day/night I had her so clearly,yet there are so many days in between that I have probably totally forgotten... Anyway, she seems to have a good day with lots of nice pressies :) The one drawing a very loud 'Woohoo!' from her was the Miley Cyrus album from Anna! We had a little tea party and birthday cake this afternoon and then she has some friends coming round next Friday evening.Not sure what they'll be doing yet,but the doughnuts on a string game has been requested!
Anyway, it seems like ages since I blogged so I'm just trying to remember what we've been up to! On Tuesday I had a day off and hopped on a train to visit Anna.After a little bit of kit packing we settled down to watch 'How To Lose a guy in 10 Days' as Anna hadn't seen it before.It was such a nice way to spend an afternoon when the weather was pants!I seemed to spend the rest of the week running around from one place to another..
On Friday Em had an Inset day off school so we took her to Thurrock to choose some of her birthday presents, the boring bits like clothes!
Yesterday morning we took the girls to the family cinema showing in town to see Space Chimps...let's just say I'm glad we didn't take them somewhere full price to see it... Holly was mesmerised by the trailer for The Girl and the Fox so that's next on her 'to see' list! In the afternoon Holly and I went for another walk through the woods before going shopping for wrapping paper and birthday cards.The woods were absolutely beautiful,the light was just gorgeous.
It has been so warm again today so this afternoon we all went down to the lakes to feed the ducks,before coming home to decorate Em's cake and get tea ready.
And so on to the 2.....yes, Pencil Lines is 2 years old! This week we have teamed up with the amazing girls from One Little Word,make sure you go and see what they've done!This is my layout,about Geoff and I being married for 15 years this year.
I used MM Animal Crackers paper
BG Mellow paper
Prima swirls
Maya Road flowers
Doodlebug alpha stickers
Prima Journalling page
K&Co ticket
AC Puffy thickers
We also have a new design team member joining us this week, Michelle Filo :)
This week we have Harvest Festival at Hollys school and on Wednesday I am finally getting my eyes tested which I know will result in me buying glassses...

Ermm...

I can't think of a title for this blog post!So it'll have to be 'ermmm'!!
Yesterday Holly and I went out to Ayot and for a walk through the woods back to the town centre.There were lots more conkers on the ground this week,probably due to the fact that it's been so windy the last few days! Walking through the woods was lovely,though very quiet!I really thought we would see more people then we did.I must admit I wasn't quite sure where we going a lot of time,but we made it back to the town after about half an hour so we didn't do too badly.After a quick whizz round the shops,we came home for the first hot chocolate of the season.Well,the kids did, I was very good and didn't have one.
Today the weather has been miserable, rain ,wind and yet more rain :( I'm hoping to pop over and see Anna sometime this week and well as getting stuff ready for Em's birthday next weeekend :)
This is my Pencil Lines LO this week,I used Prima Dude,Basic Grey Mellow & Ambrosia papers
AC Puffy Thickers
and not a lot else!

I wanted to chuck a load more stuff on it,but nothing looked right so I settled for the simpler look!The title was going to be 'raving conkers' but I couldn't do the 'raving' the way I wanted so I left it .And then realised that my PL layout this time two years ago was also called Conkers-oh well,it's seasonal!
Next week is our second birthday at Pencil Lines and we have something fab lined up so don't forget to pop on over and join in the party!

Someone tell me

where this year is going...we're just about in October already! I seem to be really bad at keeping track of stuff going on this week too! I'm blaming it on the fact that the end of this week is over the page on the calender so it's been out of sight out of mind!
Both girls are busy on Friday,Holly has a school trip and Em has a charity fun run/walk.I'd made plans to take trip to The Waffle House for lunch with a friend...but had forgotten it was the same day Geoff is off work and have made (boring) plans with him too! So lunch has been canclled and I get to do exciting stuff like going to Costco to do a bulk shop instead...I also need to pop into The Paper Mill to buy calendars so I can start on Christmas presents....Seems far too early,but if I start now,I may be able to hand some over rather than spending a bomb posting them.

Still haven't sorted out my eye test so I need to do that this week so that I can stop holding things at a distance to get them in focus!I'm hoping it stays dry on Saturday as Holly wants to go for walk in the woods and it's much nicer when it's dry!
And this is the layout I got done on Sunday.I used Basic Grey Eva papers.I am really bad at buying BG papers and then leaving them untouched as I have no idea how to use them so I'm glad I used these within a month of buying them!I think Em is in shock that I've done three LO's of her in two weeks,but she has been happy to have her photo taken recently so I actually have photos of her to use. Which helps!

Blah blah blah...

...yep,sorry but you're going to have to listen to me going on about how much I love Autumn again!It's been gorgeous here again and the leaves are definitely turning crunchy :) This evening when I went to meet Holly there was definitely the smell of bonfires in the air too!Roll on Guy Fawkes and Halloween!
Today has been a day for two tired girls.First was Em who arrived home just before midday,absolutely shattered after getting about an hour and a half's sleep last night!She did go back to bed but couldn't go back to sleep.She's gone out like a light tonight though!Holly's coach arrived back just before 6pm and she was a little the worse for wear too :( She'd got a bit teary about going this morning just before the coach arrived (not like her at all!)and I spent the day hoping she was okay.On the way back she started to feel sick about half an hour away from home and had got upset.Luckily,her Brownie leaders are fab and they took great care of her and she arrived home just a bit shaky.Other than that little hiccup, it sounds like she had a great day and like Em,went off straight away at bedtime.

While I had the house to myself this morning I got my scrapping stash out ,spread it over the floor...and scrapped!I only got one layout done mind you,but I'm really slow when I'm not using a sketch!Actually,I'm not that fast when I do use a sketch either.And it sort of made up for not cropping!
This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week.
I used Doodlebug Flocked cardstock
butterflies from KI lace cardstock
MM alpha stickers
Scenic route letter stickers
KI Lace cardstock
MM glitter corners and label holder
The flocked cardstock is gorgeous in real life,really touchy feely (thanks Anna :) )
I've stuck a circle of bling on it,though it doesn't show up very well in the photo.There's journalling on the paper under the photo about how this time last year Em hated having her photo taken and how that's now changed :)

It's tradition...

Today has been one of those perfect Autumn days :) There was fog everywhere this morning and there was dew hanging on all the cobwebs in the hedges.I love it when that happens ,it reminds me of misty and cold mornings when I was little.Once the fog cleared it was a beautiful sunny day and we made our annual conker hunting trip to Ayot.It is so beautiful there but sadly the conker supplies seem to be getting fewer and fewer each year,and the trees are not looking healthy :( We managed to find quite a few,but there were practically none left on the trees still to come down so it's just as well as we went today.I think we have been there every year now since Em was about three...one day I will have to dig out a photo from each year and compare them!

It seems very strange without Em here this evening.I'm hoping she's okay,we've just realised that is the first sleepover she's been to other than staying with family!Can't see her getting much sleep and she took enough DVD's to last three weeks ,let alone one night!
Tomorrow morning I think I might do some scrapping...then again maybe I'll just get on with the ironing pile that is the result of the last couple of days of gorgeous weather!

Plodding on...

This week I have been doing little bits & pieces around the house,moving my Momiji's,changing photo frames...that sort of thing!I think I am trying to pysch myself up for the huge job that sorting my wardrobe will be! It's not just used for clothes...it's also stuffed full with photo albums, bags ,records...the list is endless! At the moment I can't get any more clothes into it which is not good news!
The whole house looks like it needs a paint job too at the moment so I'm going to start on that soon too.I can probably get the living room done bit by bit myself,the kitchen is the one I'm dreading as I'll need to empty out the free standing cupboards first and they are full too...

This evening Em went back into school to help out with open evening.I can't believe it's a year since we went round there with her.She gets to go in late tomorrow morning so at least she gets a bit of a lie in!
This weekend Em is off to a sleepover..with five other girls..I think she'll be ready to go back to bed again when she comes home!Holly is off to Legoland with Brownies,Geoff is on work so I'll have the place to myself for a few hours on Sunday:) Why does that always feel like such a 'treat' when it's on a day when they should all be here?!
I've done no scrapping this week and the camera's hardly been used either ,other than some photos I took of Holly earlier in the week, just because she looked cute!

Party party party..

..at least it seems like that is all Holly has done this weekend!Yesterday she had Brownie Sports Day for a couple of hours before whizzing off to a friends party and then this afternoon we have been over to Anna's for Izzy's Hannah Montana party :)Holly went wearing her wig,whilst Em went as herself!Geoff and I left the girls at the party and actually went to the nearest pub for a drink,something that doesn't happen very often! Once everyone else had gone home,Peter put Rock Band on for the girls as they were itching to have a go!At that point I went off for a nose in Anna's scrap room for a bit of peace & quiet!And can you believe it...I forgot to bring home my batch of birthday brownies ...sob!!Ah well, more for Peter!
On Friday Anna came over and we we went shopping for Izzy's birthday :)We also found time for lunch at Frankie & Benny's - yum!
This is my Pencil Lines layout for this week.I used a photo of Em on her first day at her new school.
I used
KI Memories La Di Da papers
Bazill brad
Prima Journalling page
Doodlebug alpha stickers
K&Co ticket

Maya Road sheer & rub on

I have decided to make more an effort to do journalling on my layouts,so the kids will know the reasons behind some of the pages I do.Most of the time I do just scrap a photo because I like it but there are others that just feel like they need more details on them.On this weeks I wanted to remember how I felt on Em's first day so I wrote some journalling on the Prima page which is hidden.Em asked if she could read it this morning and at first I said No,as I thought it might make her a bit weepy.Eventually I gave in ...and yes,she ended up having a little sob into a cushion, bless her!
Tomorrow I will be making a start on some tidying and cleaning around the place, I feel seriously behind on everything at the moment! Due the gorgeous weather of the last few days though,I have managed to get all the sofa covers washed (yes, I know they're dry clean only!)and dried,so now it's a bit cleaner and smells lovely too :)Not much else planned for this week other trying to book a haircut and making an appointment for an eye test...

Settling in

So a couple of weeks into term and both the girls seem to be settling in at school okay.I am so pleased that Em seems so happy and is joining in with lots of new stuff.She is taking part in the house drama competition and has aslo started playing hockey too.She came home in her games kit this afternoon (we are just round the corner from the school) and she looked so different and grown up!It's amazing how someone can grow up so much in the space of a couple of weeks :)Holly had her second swimming lesson at school today and was a lot happier than she was after last weeks,which is a good thing!

Geoff came home with one of these for me this evening :)It's so dinky and matches my lovely green jumper (which complete strangers keep commenting on!)It wasn't ,but I'm going to count it as an anniversary pressie as today is our 15th weddding anniversary :)
Just checked my blog from this time last year,and I'm doing exactly the same thing as then...seeing Anna tomorrow to go for lunch and shopping for bits for Izzy's birthday pressies & party!
We have had gorgeous weather here today ,it feels like Autumn is on its way! I'm so tempted to buy loads of the gorgeous Halloween stash that is around this year...but I don't think we'll be going trick or treating this year as Holly will be away on her first Brownie Pack holiday and I'm not sure if Em's that bothered!

Shopping,pressies and cake :)

Happy Birthday to me !
I have had a lovely day (off work-woohoo!)I had momiji's from the girls this morning,shortly folllowed by a phone call from Anna :).Then after taking the girls to school my lovely husband took me to Thurrock for a little retail therapy.It was really supposed to be window shopping,but it's not really that often we go there so we made the most of it! I managed to leave a few bits on the shelves in Primark as well as getting some bargain mary jane style Crocs,DVDs and a cupcake recipe book from the Works :)So apart from nearly bursting into tears in the Dorothy Perkins changing rooms (and no,it wasn't to do with my weight!)it was a good trip.I dined on a Mcdonalds for breakfast (it is too long since I last had a sausage and egg McMuffin!)and a Pizza Hut lunch...I am going to diet hell this week!
Once back home having picked up the girls, my Mum & Dad came round for birthday cake and I had more pressies,including a threading water punch and a new Mackinac Moon tote :)
I'm now looking forward to Friday when I see Anna so I can help her spend some money! As well as going for lunch....!Will pop later with photos (depending on what they are like!)

Secret Superstar...

I was going to blog last night as I usually do on a Sunday evening..but then I knew by doing that it would kind of signal the end of the weekend.And it was one of those weekends that I wanted to last a lot longer.We didn't do anything special,but it was just ...nice! I think the fact that the sun shone had a lot to do with it...life seems so much better with a bit of sunshine! Saturday evening we had a pre-birthday/anniversary meal ,finished off with drinks in the garden by tealight :)

Yesterday afternoon Em was ploughing on with homework so Holly and I went for a walk down to the lakes as she fancied feeding the ducks.We found a couple of fairly friendly swans and Holly fed them... as well as herself !Don't worry, it was decent bread, not mouldy stuff! We sat and watched the local model club racing their boats across the lake,and found out exactly what they were up to from a very friendly man that Holly went over to and quizzed :)

In preparation for Izzy's birthday party next week,Holly bought herself some Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus wigs from Tesco's yesterday morning.Oh...my...word..we had a right giggle trying them on,yes,even Geoff and I had a try! But does anyone have any idea how to stop these things from being so static?!I have to say that the Miley wig makes Holly look like an eccentric old lady who's trying to deny the fact that she 's grey with thinning hair,and Em just looks so different with blonde hair! Roll on next Sunday...maybe Geoff and I should go as Billy Ray Cyrus and Dolly Parton?!(Don't worry...I am joking!) I have kept a load of Hannah Montana packaging from stuff that Holly has ,so look out for some HM layouts soon!

Pencil Lines went live last night with Christine Middlecamp as our guest DT.

I used Basic Grey Euphoria papers & buttons

K&Co ticket

Jenny Bowlin butterfly

Creative cafe trim

Imaginesce flower

Maya Road sheer

MM journalling page

Last night I actually did a 'just for the hell of it' layout,which,too be honest doesn't happen very much these days! I like it though and may pop it up on here later in the week.