Emotional rollercoaster...

of a day..and I don't really know why! Well, I sort of know...but I don't ! I 've tried to write my blog at various times today during various mood swings....and now I'm feeling much calmer I can't really rememebr any of the other stuff that I was going to write...so maybe it's best that I'm writing/blogging this late in the day!Let's just say that lots of tears have been shed...which I guess was better than keeping them in and spending the rest of the day with that 'just about to break down' feeling!Part of the problem is that I am angry at lots of stuff...but mainly myself for lots of reasons...and like a wuss , when I get angry I cry! maybe I need to learn how to go out and kick something instead?!
Today I ventured into Holly's room to try and tidy up a bit (maybe that's what triggered the tears?!) I have now replaced all the beads and Hama beads to their rightful homes and I may even be able to whizz the hoover over the floor tomorrow.In all honesty, her room is tiny ...but I don't know how she's acquired so many 'bits'...maybe she just takes after her mother?!
I've now made a date to meet Caz to hand over the Cj I have here, which gives me a deadline to work towards and started planning it alst night.This evening I've been eyeing up papers to use for this weeks Pencil Lines sketch..it's another biggie - I'm scared!! Also need to do my card for Emily's challenge but then, I'm always late in the week with that!
Anna, if you read this...get your husband to update your blog! Oh, and I miss you!!
I leave you with pics...oh hang on I've got to do my tag thing!

Hmm...well as has already been said, one person's weird is another persons normal but here goes...

1. Both my elbows are double jointed so when I put my hands down flat my elbows twist outwards.
2. I hate having dirty floors...there can be mess but not actual 'dirt'. And woe betide anyone who wears muddy shoes on the carpet in the living room!
3.I always put music on when I'm hoovering, I don't like it being quiet when I turn the hoover off...
4. I have a can of Diet Coke at about 7.40am every morning...I don't drink tea or coffe but I need caffeine!
5.I always wear nail varnish on my toes
6.Apparently I scrape my toes on the sheets when I'm asleep...but that's just what I've been told!!

I have no idea who to tag though who hasn't already done this....okay... Tracey, Beth,Jakey,Annette,Sue and Caz !! S'pose I'd better go and tell you you've been tagged!
Photos today are of the girls on Sunday before the puddle accident! Offending puddle can be seen in the photo of Em! (A long way off though!)

Elsie in the house!!

Oh wow...yep, this week our guest designer at Pencil Lines is the one and only Elsie Flannigan! Hop on over to Pencil Lines and check out this weeks creations!
Here's mine!
This week I used
black Bazzill cardstock
White Sakura Souffle pen
Lots and lots of KI Memories paper!

There are too many Ki papers to list, but if you want to know any particular ones, I will find out and let you know!
I have had some wonderful comments about this layout already which really means a lot to me, so thank you!

Yesterday the girls went to the Post Office and excitedly bought their stamps amd Air Mail stickers for their letters to Ireland. Yes, the camera came too! Though they posted them at the letter box in my Mum's road as the background is much more picturesque than the phone booth and bicycle racks outside the PO!

This afernoon we went for a very short walk ...a certain little girl fell flat on her bottom in a huge muddy puddle and had to be brought straight back home for a shower and a change of clothes!

Thank you for all the comments on my card for Emily's challenge, I really appreciate them! I spent an absolute age yesterday morning (and afternoon!) following the links on Emilys blog...wow! So many to look but so worth it!If you have a spare few hours take time to check them out, they are all so different and so inspiring!

Oh ,and if you're missing Anna...check her blog as Peter has made his first entry in her absence !

Oh, a couple of answers to questions in my comments...my cards are painted with black acrylic paint!
And the cupcake stamp is made by A Muse stamps, but the site I bought it from is now out of stock and are closing down! Sorry, I tried to answer you personally but I couldn't access your blog profile!

One more thing, I have been tagged by Jo so I promise to try and do that tomorrow (though I'm sure I'm too boring to be weird!!)

And that's it, I'm off for a bath!

Week 3 and a scrappers mess....

Yay, I have finally got my card done for Emily's prompt this week! It's not a fab photo but the best I could do this evening! I'll change it for a decent one in the morning! The prompt this week is 'I am...' and as I am lucky to be loved by my husband and kids I based my card on that.I know mine aren't really 'arty' ...but who knows by the end of the 52 weeks they might be! *New photo now uploaded!*
I also did some serious 'cover the floor with stash' scrapping this morning and had a whale of a time! Every now and again I love to just get my papers out everywhere and have a good old rummage! So see attached photo for the trail of destruction I left behind me! I'd forgotten I had so much Ki Memories paper! There was also a layout on the floor to but I had to move that as it's for Sunday night! Wasn't sure about it while I was in the middle of 'creating' part of it but now I'm starting to like it!
I spent the afternoon snuggled on the sofa with a huge bar of whole nut chocolate (Sainsbury's own...why does no-one in WGC sell the Galaxy one?!) watching 'Walk The Line'...just watch me break out in spots now!
Right , I am off to bed and then in the morning I am going to plough my way through the links to other peoples art journal cards!

Lucky escape...

...at the dentists today! It's actually four and a half years since I last went...whoops! No real problems though, I just need to go and see the hygienist to get them cleaned up.That's the bit I'm dreading....

Not much else done today then, having come home from the dentist with a thumping headache.I'm guessing it was from almost hanging upside down in the chair? I'm not joking, by the time she'd tilted me right back. my boobs were starting to flop back over my shoulders and I thought I was going to slide off the chair completely!

Put out a request on the Pad for a pen pal for Em today and she is really excited now about writing to Becca, Amber- Jane's daughter.Whilst browsing her blog, Holly spotted Caitlin and asked is she could have a pen pal too! We have had two attempts at a letter so far! The second was going well until Holly decided to colour it in thus obliterating most of the writing! I am off to buy Em some writing paper tomorrow (I know I've got loads somewhere...) and then we will hopefully take a trip to the PO on Saturday!

Anna flies out to LA tomorrow and I will miss her !:( But, she will have a fab time I'm sure! Keep an eye out on her blog as we may be seeing the world through Peter's eyes over the next week !!

I'll leave you with another pic of Holly in the snow yesterday morning.

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So it came...

...and it went!! The snow that is! I meant to update last night but I could hardly keep my eyes open after watching Desperate Housewives so I went straight to bed.I am so glad the girls had time to go out in the snow before school as it had pretty much disappeared by lunchtime and they would never have forgiven me for depriving them!So here are a couple of pics of them playing!

The old settee is finally gone! Who'd have thought it would be so dificult to shift?! The Voluntary people came out. looked at it and decided it was too big (bear in mind, I offered to tell them the measurements etc before they came out...), another place didn't want it as we have no chairs to match it , another place was over-run with sofas! I eventually rang my friend over the road to see if she could store it in her garage until next week.Turns out our other neighbours don't have a sofa at the moment so they came and took it last night and seemed very happy with it!Phew!

Today I am off to the dentist...nice.Just a check up but as I haven't been for ages I dread to think what she'll say..!

Have woken up with 'that time of the month' from hell going on but I have to do stuff today! I need to get Jo's Cj started (I need to plan it, I don't want to mess up my doodling!) as well as my card for Emily's prompt!

Ooops, the council men have just arrived to sort out the damp proofing so I'll be back later!

Little dinky...

...cupcake charms! Yep, these were the other cuties I got in the post the other day!As Anna got hers (via Peter!) yesterday I can now share a pic!
So...the sofa from heaven is here...okay, it came from Southoe in a van really but who cares !It's here and I love it!Holly and I have had lots of snuggles on it already and even Em was impresssed that there is room for all three of us on it together! So huge big thanks to Anna and Peter! The room is still a bit crowded as the other sofa doesn't get picked up til tomorrow.There's not really anything wrong with it so it's being collected by a community voluntary service and redistrubuted to someone who needs it :)
Emily's prompt this week is 'I am...' so hopefully I will get my card done tomorrow.I also need to start my Pencil Lines LO's for the next two weeks...we have two huge scrappers on board for the next two weeks and I am too scared to do my usual 'leave it til the last moment' attempt!
We had the teeniest sprinkling of snow last night...bring on the real thing!We are close to a park with a huge mound, perfect for sledging..though it seems to have shrunk somewhat since my Dad used to take us when we were kids (isn't that the way with most things you remember from being kid?!)Heck, I just want to take some pics of the girls in the snow!!
Don't forget to send your layouts to Pencil Lines to be featured in the readers gallery which goes live tomorrow!

Week 16...go check it out!

Yep, week 16 is up and it's another goodie!
Here's my layout,
I used

Basic Grey Blush papers
American crafts ribbon
Primas
Angel Kisses
Lil Davis glitter chipboard letters
MM foam stamps
Queen & Co brads
Basic Grey brad

The title is Precious because that is exactly what the photo is to me.It was taken not long before we had the car accident last year,and although we came out of it pretty unscathed physically ,personally it changed an awful lot...oops, I getting all deep! The photo I've used is one that was fixed for me by Anam - thanks!

Another sunny day here again- yipee! I got lots of the dreaded 'h' done whilst the girls amused themselves.And I felt like a bad mum.They were quite happy playing together but I felt like I should have been doing something with them.Even though they were happy in each others company .Daft huh? As the sun was shining they also went out for lots of bouncing on the trampoline and were both shattered by bedtime! And this afternoon we made butterfly cakes.Yes, from the packet mix I bought yesterday along with sprinkles and a dash of chocolate sauce!


And finally...here is me.Don't think I've posted a pic of me before so here I am! I have so many photos of the girls so why is it so difficult to get one of me that I like? So this morning I handed the camera over to Em and asked her to take some of me.There was also a very fetching one of me pulling a ridiculous face...but Em laughed so much the pic came out blurred - shame (not!)

Nowt much going on...

...but if I miss a day I lose momentum and can't be bothered posting again!

Today has been one of those days with not much to report! I spent a bit of time in the garden tidying it and planting some bulbs (yes, I know...I should have done it back in about October..!) Em cleared all the leaves and twigs off the trampoline so they could both have a bounce on it later on.I also finally condemned the little tree that was stood by the front door to the recycling bin....it died ages ago but so far I haven't chucked it as it balances out the live one on the other side! I also emptied out all the rain water from the paddling pool (yes, another job that's been put off ) and leant it up over the slide in an attempt to encourage the grass to grow back!

So, the cupcake book arrived...and threw me a little! Lots of gorgeous photos ...but a little bit more adventurous than I anticipated! So I copped out and bought a packet mix for butterfly cakes from the corner shop...:) Okay, I promise I will use the book but I need to stock up on some ingredients first!

This evening I've done my Pencil Lines layout for tomorrow.I've used a photo that I have wanted to scrap for a while,which is good. I also cut up my most favourite sheet of BG Blush...and why do I have this incredible need to rush off and order a replacement sheet?!

Tomorrow I think I need to get up and get going as soon as possible.I got up a bit later this morning, felt really sluggish and didn't really improve after that! Ate rubbish all day which didn't help, so tomorrow I need to get back on track...

I haven't used my camera today so todays pic is an old one of the girls taken last summer.

Catch you romorrow!

How sweet...

...is this little stamp?! And believe me, it really is little! I was expecting it to be much bigger- serves me right for not even thinking of looking at the measurements! I also got some other gorgeous goodies in the same parcel that the stamp came in but I cannot share a pic as it will spoil the suprise for someone else ;)
Well, what a change in the weather today! Okay, it was still windy but the sky remained blue and clear for best part of the day! And isn't it just typical? After a flooded playground yesterday, the children at the girls school were hard pushed to find a decent puddle to splash in!This morning I met Caz as a last minute arrangement (she was in town and I was 'around'!) so we headed to Costa's for our traditional hot chocolate ! Okay, I admit it, I also had a chocolate muffin...I was hungry! It gave me a chance to admire her Troll beads anyway...! I also got to sit in whilst she made arrangements for her wedding flowers with the florist! Sigh...it's all changed so much since I got married many many moons ago ;)!
Grabbed a quick hour at home before going to meeting at the school about Em's forthcoming trip to York in March.Sounds like they will have a fab time...though not sure getting her to school by 7.10am will be so fab...
I leave you with a pic of Em's funky new boots!
Thank you also for the lovely comments about my card, I really appreciate them!

Second Art Journal Card

I was going call this post 'Number Two' but I realised that it doesn't sound that nice!

Anyway, here is my second card for my journal, following Emily's prompt of 'What is powerful to you'.I still have a feeling that it needs something else...I'm just not sure what!Weight loss for this week has also been journalled on the back :)

Today we have been battered by the weather like most of the country! I had to pop round to my friends this afternoon as a tree in her front garden had fallen onto her house.Luckily, it's just taken down the guttering and bashed the roof slightly but it was very close, the branches are squashed up right against the windows!

The poor kids in Holly's year at school were trapped in their classroom after the playground flooded! Tomorrow they are having a 'Wellies Day' Yep, they get to pay for the privilege of wearing their wellies to school....as a way of raising money to re-do the pond in the school grounds...... I have bought Em a very funky pair of wellies for the occasion (she did need some new ones anyway!) and I will take photos of them tomorrow!

Holly also has her first spelling test tomorrow, and I'm sure she'll be fine! She has been practising hard !

Last night I ordered a cupcake coookery book as recommended by Anna and had an email this morning saying it has been posted! So hopefully it will arrive on Saturday and we can start baking on Sunday...I'll let you know how we get on!

Whoops...

I forgot to blog last night and now it feels like ages since I last did!
Yesterday we went over to see Anna and a beautifully made-up but poorly Lilly (see, you get a mention on my blog missy ;)!!) We re-planned her house (that what happens when you let a kitchen planner into your home!) for her as well as bagging a sofa! And of course I came away with a few scrapping goodies! Didn't realise it was so quick to get there by car!
Came home to a lovely parcel. I had one go missing before Christmas and yesterday the replacement came with lots of extra goodies added - thank you Tracie! Can't wait to play with it all!
Em started her First Aid course at school yesterday and promptly insisted on practising putting us into the recovery position and shouting for help! I think she enjoyed herself anyway !
Today I've been to get weighed (and lost - whoopee!) and just done normal housey stuff.
I've also started on my Art Journal card for this week.Emily's prompt is 'What is powerful to you?' My card is based on love and will probably be a bit similar to others! ;) Will hopefully finish it off tomorrow and post pics then.
I leave you with a pic of...my buckets (well some of them anyway!)

I need...

...to make some of these!I love these flowers (pic is pinched from Anna's blog and was originally pinched from Two Peas!!)I generally kill off all house plants so maybe these are a better option!And I could use up some stash too!Actually my main reason for wanting to make them is that I bought some fab little buckets in Poundland today and I need a way to use them all! Some are going to be used in the girls rooms too to store all their pens & stuff.
I went to a friends house for lunch today - we dined on M&S sandwiches and a pudding called wait for it - Crazy Chocolate Overload!! Which was delish incase you're wondering.
After picking up the girls from school I helped Em with some last minute homework on the delights of the Tudors and Stuarts regarding diet , medicine and lifestyle.So, if you want to know about blood letting, pottage and scurvy - I'm your girl!
Tomorrow we are going for a quick visit to Anna's to vet her sofa's - well one of them anyway!They are so comfy and I have wanted one since I sat on the same stlye at Kirsty's house! It'll take up more room than our present one - but it will be comfy!
Right, back tomorrow maybe with pictures of my (empty) buckets!

Week 15 is live and kicking!

Another Sunday and another fab sketch is up on Pencil Lines!
Here's mine!
I used
Basic Grey Sophie papers (see, I said I was using my older stash!)
Heidi Swapp ghost letters and flower
Doodlebug rub-ons
Bazill polka dot brad
Autumn Leaves journalling stamps
Heidi Swapp raw letters painted with Blonde Moments paint

I'm going to re-do the journalling stamp bit (there's a spelling mistake which you can't see as it got hidden!) and then attach it on top of where it is now so that you can read it.I'm getting better at using my own hand writing on layouts now.
I am sitting here freezing at the moment! It's been lovely and sunny and here most of the day, even had my washing out on the line! This afternoon we took a walk into town to take the girls for a hot chocolate in Costa's.I was very restrained and had just a diet coke :) Apart from munching my way through two bowls of Cheerios at about 1am this morning(I couldn't sleep!), I've managed to stick to the healthy eating quite well this week.Roll on Wednesday (weigh day) ...there's a bag of chocolate peanuts in the cupboard with my name on...!!

Losing my marbles....

I think! Either that or I'm getting old...I spent ages today looking for a photo that I knew was on the PC somewhere. Although I knew it wasn't in the last couple of months, I still thought it was fairly recently.I eventually found it after a second search...and it was taken two years ago!!Err...where did that time go then?!At least I found it though, it would have driven me mad otherwise!

A quiet day here again.The weather is still totally unpredictable at the moment.We got soaked just popping up to the corner shop!

So this evening I have been doing my Pencil Lines sketch for tomorrow.Yep, I know it sounds like I'm very last minute...and I am.But it does mean that I'm using up some of my older stash as I have to use whatever I've got by leaving it til now! I've also received the sketches for a few weeks in advance ...my lips are sealed ...but one of them is biiiiiig!!

I haven't used my camera today so I'll leave you with another pic of Holly is dressing up mode taken in warmer weather!!

Looking forward to tomorrow's prompt by Emily too!

Vet in the house...!

Yep, Holly is having a dressing up phase again at the moment! Current fave is the vet's outfit.This morning she popped it on over her pyjama's and carried out several important examinations and injections ,after which she got dressed for school and put it back on again over the top!

Today Holly has come home with her first set of spellings from school...feels very strange! I've got used to Em having homework, but in my head it still feels like Holly's not old enough.Ah well, tomorrow we wil have our first practice of fat, cat , mat etc. I think she'll be fine, we've done lots of spelling in the bath with foamy letters!

No scrapping done today though I have been looking over at my Pencil Lines sketch for this week quite a lot, and I think I have a layout forming in my head! I spent this morning sorting out a cupboard that hoards a lot of my stash, including all my card making stuff.I cannot believe how many card blanks I have :0. As I hardly make cards now, I really need to get rid of them.....just not sure how yet! There is a serious amount of money tied up out there at the moment ! Any offers?! Eventually once everything is sorted and got rid of, I can move my pile of scrapping stuff that's in the living room out to the kitchen too...in about six months maybe...!!

Don't forget to check out Pencil Lines, the readers gallery is now live and the December winning layout has been announced!

So here's my first one....

...yep, I made myself start my 'Deck of Me' journal today or I knew I'd just put it off.Loved decorating it...but I didn't find the journalling bit easy! Yes, I know, there's not exactly a lot of writing on there, I just don't find it easy to do 'me'! Anyway I chose 'I am proud ...that I am changing' to reflect the changes I am trying to make, in the way that I live (ie getting organised and 'doing' more) and the obvious one...my weight !!
I'm also going to use the back of the cards to record my weight loss/gain (!!) through out the year.I'm hoping that writing it down each week will give me something to be proud of in the future...or motivate me if it all goes horribly wrong! I used MM flourishes stamp, Prima flower and a Stamps Away journalling stamp. Actually, looking at it now...I have to do something with those edges..I'm off to get my ink pad out again!

Not done much else today except stay indoors in the warm! It's blowing a gale and raining intermittently so I'm not leaving the house unless I have to!

Nothing from the postie today but hopefully my parcel from Papermaze will arrive tomorrow :) Yep, I am on a stash budget but I have only been spending my Christmas money! Honest...!

We have cards...

....and we have a tin! Yep, for now I am sticking with a tin to keep my cards in, though once they're all lumpy and bumpy and I don't know if they'll all fit !So I started to paint a few today for my bases...and I need better paint! I put that many layers on and you can still see the patterns through it!No funky ones to be had here either...I'm sure I saw some tacky pink Playboy ones somewhere in the run up to Christmas but I have ended up with boring normal ones from WH Smiths! I will post a pic (maybe) once I have decorated my first one.
Hallelujah, we have had sunshine today - woohoo! I walked over to my Slimming World classs this morning so stretch my legs a bit.Whilst there, it threw it down but by the time I came out again the skies were blue so I decided to take a walk into town too.So I have defiinitely done my exercise today! Which reminds me, I have several of those home fitness contraptions stashed away under my bed, I really must dig them out! Yep, I have one of those things you roll across the floor and also one of those things for toning your thighs...I think they still have the tags on.....
Nowt much else to report other than I am looking forward to the postie coming tomorrow.....
Don't forget to keep an eye on Pencil Lines as the reader gallery should be up & running soon and we're announcing the December layout winner!
Oh and please excuse the coffee ring stain on the table in the pic...you just can't get the staff these days....;)!!

Inspired...

I went over to Emily's blog this morning (see link in the blogs column!) and I think I've found something I can 'join in' with! There are times when I my scrapping gets me down, I don't seem to have enough 'deep thoughts' to do the journalling some people manage to do.Reading what people were putting in their Christmas Journals made me think hard about how we spend Christmas and I was a bit shocked to realise we don't really have any 'traditions' (other than me not cooking the dinner!) So this year I will make an effort to start 'doing' more! Anyway, back on to the subject of Emily! She has done a class using a pack of cards, you decorate and journal on one card a week throughout the year.So I'm thinking this could be just what I need! I can't promise it'll be arty...or deep...but it will be 'mine' Now to find a complete pack of cards.....

Finally took pics of Holly's scrapping from the weekend , today so I'm uploading the pages she has done so far.It's a sweet little book , about 6x6.She's going to do four pages each year (we have to go back and do the last five years still!)the remaining two for this year will be a list of her pressies and another photo.

Today was also farewell Bob day...yep, I took the Bob the Builder toys out of Holly's room, dusted them and packed them away to go in the loft.But not before I'd taken a photo of them all first!! I do intend to use it at some point when I do a LO on Holly's favourite toys, past and present!

The weather is still rotten here - I neeeed some sunshine!!Even just cold would do, but wind and rain are just miserable!

Em got the results of her dance exam today - so proud of her as she got 'honours '!! Mind you, she practised non stop in preperation for it!

Yikes, I seem to have rambled on a bit tonight so I'm off for now!

Reliving my (mispent) youth!

Have been having a real blast from the past today! Geoff bought me a little treat today, one of those Pac Man /Space Invader games that you plug straight into the tv! Now I have to admit, we don't really have any gaming stuff here.Before we had the kids we had the Sega but that's been it! So I've had an afternoon spent chasing ghosties and munching strawberries - fab! Guesss what I'll be doing tomorow....:) !!

Today has been one of those days spent running around getting nothing done! The morning was spent at the Dr's with Em and shopping for food.Wow, so much excitement.

I have my sketches for the next two weeks at Pencil Lines so I hope to start them soon rather than the last minute like I ususally do! Had some fab news from Anna earlier about a future sponsor for the blog, all I can say is WOW!! But my lips are sealed....

I leave you with a picture of the Hama bead session in progress yesterday!

Sketch 14 is live!

Go check out Pencil Lines for this weeks sketch by the very talented Jakey!

Here's mine.I used Basic Grey Urban Couture papers, Heidi Swapp tape, Lil' Davis chipboard letters and shapes, Stamps Away alphabet stamps and a KI Memories Ice Candy dot.

Another quiet day here, more miserable weather so Geoff spent the morning making Hama bead creations with the girls while I sat, chilled, surfed and read the paper!

This week will be the first full week back in the routine with the girls being in school all week.I'm hoping to start sorting,chucking and streamlining...hmmm, we'll see!

Hope you've had a good weekend!

Creatively messy...

....or just messy?! As I mentioned yesterday, the kitchen table was clear today so I thought it would a good time to scrap and maybe get the girls to do some too. Hmmm...may have made a mistake there! They took over the whole table and I was relegated to the kitchen work top! Ah well I got finished this evening when they were in bed! They had a whale of a time though, getting inky and tipping jars of flowers and gems everywhere! I will take pics of what they did tomorrow.Holly started on a little christams scrapbook that santa bought her and Em worked on a layout of herself dressed up ready for a friends party.I am pleased that she can scrap herself with far more ease than I scrap myself!
The weather was rotten here today, heavy rain all day so our activities were restricted pretty much to the scrapping.We ventured out of the house to get the girls hair cut and drenched in doing so!
Don't forget , Pencil Lines goes live again tomorow night at 9pm! Really excited about our guest this week as I have admired her scrapping for a long time!!
Catch you soon!

Yummy food and tempting shopping

Had a great day today!

After the kids had gone to school(Em very reluctantly I might add, I think she was hoping for a day off to match Holly's yesterday!) I popped in to the corner shop to pick up pain au chocolat and my staple requirement for the day, Diet Coke.Anna arrived about 10.30 and we devoured said pastries whilst gossiping and putting the world to rights! Er, yeah sure.....So, that done we ventured off into town as Anna needed some passport photos doing.Pah, you can no longer get a strip of four different silly photos done, you can only choose one photo and have four pics all the same! We spent far too much money on the pics, Anna smiled in the first set - we didn't realise that 'open mouthed smiles' were not allowed for passport pics so instead she had to pose with a face like a convict!!.And then we went into the most fab shop...where we sighed, dreamt of being rich and bought a few treats! See my pic for my goodies.Anna bought me the rather delish looking chocolate scented candle whilst I splashed out on two rather gorgeous tree baubles (not in pic) and some Charlie & Lola wrapping paper.I'm planning to do a layout using some of it to reflect Holly's current obsession with them!Shopping done , we headed off to the Crooked Chimney pub for lunch.It is such a cosy place with open fires and really low ceilings.Our meal was finished off with the scrumptious desert of chocolate brownie and ice cream - heaven!

We then came back home and fiddled with my blog a little so now I have my Pencil Lines logo up and my list of blogs I read has increased somewhat! Thanks Anna! Oh, and I've switched to Beta Blogger...and to be honest....I can't tell the difference!

Right, I am off to bed.Hopefully, I may scrap tomorrow - the kitchen table is completely clear (very rare occurence) and I'm so tempted to cover it in stash and get creative!

Poorly little 'un

I've had Holly at home with me today, instead of starting back at school.She's had a bit of a sore throat the last couple of days , didn't sleep well last night and the bags under her eyes this morning were big enough to carry my stash in...!! So she's spent the day in her pyjamas, we've totally overdosed on Kipper the Dog and Charlie and Lola and hopefully she'll be fine tomorrow!We also spent out day playing snakes & ladders, doing puzzles and making stuff from Hama beads.I am now the proud owner of an orange heart made for me by Holly because I am 'her best friend' - bless!
Tomorrow Anna is coming over for a bit of girlie time out and possibly a pub lunch - yum!
Plans for the great sort-out were kind of on hold today as Holly was home but I have managed to sort out my flowers and brads and re-arrange one shelf so that things no longer fall out on me....oh, for a scrap room and decent storage space!!
I leave you with a pic of Holly taken this morning..

Happy New Year!

Okay, so I'm a bit late, but better late than never!
I can honestly say that I am glad to see the back of 2006.Although it was not a good year I can count myself as truly fortunate not to have had been through the heartache and loss of many others I know. If anything, I am lucky that out of the bad stuff that happened, good things were eventually the end result.Hmm, does that sound really vague?!I don't really share too much personal stuff on here cos lets face it, you never really know who might read it!
Enough of that anyway...I actually scrapped at the weekend! I have been really lazy recently and have literally just been doing my Pencil Lines layouts.But I decided to scrap some of my Christmas pics and yes, I scrapped without a sketch! Oh, I have done other stuff recently, I also made four exploding boxes for Christmas presents!
I got some new Basic Grey Blush papers this morning and wow...they are gorgeous, can't wait to play with them!
Today I took the tree and all the decs down.The kids weren't too impressed but all that clutter was starting to drive me mad! Hmm...am I becoming a tad 'bah humbug'?!
Tomorrow is the last day before the girls are back in school.I think the early mornings are going to be a bit of shock for all of us! I really don't miss the school morning routine one bit...

And so it begins!!

The clearing and the sorting, that is!
Yesterday me and the girls started to go through their rooms in an attempt to wittle down the piles of 'stuff' around everywhere! We did well, Em condensed four boxes down to one and Holly managed to part with a few things too! She has also finally decided to put her Bob The Builder toys away too :(. She has loved those toys since she was tiny!( I know she is growing up...but I'm not finding it easy! )They will be lovingly packed up and put in the loft! But hopefully it will give us a bit more space to rearrange her shelves etc.
Seems like ages since I've scrapped.....! I've ordered some yummy new paper today though and am hoping that will inspire me! I also need to make a start on sorting through my stash and down-sizing somewhat!
The weather here is pretty dire today - wet and windy ! So we are staying in and watching tv - Muppet Treasure Island at present !
So , are you making any resolutions for the New Year? I always end up breaking them but there are a few things I HAVE to do this year! Yep, the weight thing is the main one but also to get myself more organised, do things when I say I will and generally be more efficient! There are other things but I can't quite find the right way of putting them into writing but they are there in my head!
And on that note I am off to sort out my Robox!!
I'll leave you a pic taken during the pressie opening on Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas!!

Just a quick Merry Christmas post!!
Hope you all have a wonderful time and enjoy yourselves!
I can almost rest easy, Geoff is busy preparing all the veg for tomorrow - I count myself as very lucky, I don't have to lift a finger food wise on Christmas Day! Girls are in bed excitedly waiting for the arrival of Santa !
This evening we went to a beautiful Christingle service. The church was big but packed out! And it was fab -a real pony (they couldn't get a donkey!) and real baby too!It was just lovely when all the lights were dimmed and the place was just lit by all the children's candles. I am now really in the mood for tomorrow!
Okay, I'm off! I leave you with a photo taken about an hour ago of my little santa's!Have a good one!

Ouch!

Just a quickie update for now! Just been decorating bags for teacher presents for tomorrow and manged to slash the top of my thumb with a craft knife!! Yikes!! And typical, all we have left are Bob The Builder plasters!!
Here's my Pencil Lines layout for this week!
Kelly,the squares on last weeks are KI Memories Clearly Cool Ice Cubes stuck over normal buttons.The squares are from a couple of seasons ago though, I'm trying to use up some older stash! I went a bit KI mad when I started scrapping and have a backlog to work through!
Gotta dash, bleeding thumbs and all that!!

Week 10!

Week 10 Pencil Lines sketch is now up so I can share mine with you! It amazes me how we all manage to do the same sketch so differently!It has felt good to scrap again and this evening I have been working on a Cj to be handed over (hopefully!)tomorrow.My lack of organisation is seriously starting to annoy me though, I can nevr find what I want to use!I think the New Year will call for a huge clearout and tidy up.....
Just a quickie tonight as I don't have much else to share after yesterday's mega post!
We currently have a bare Christmas tree here as the lights that I normally wrap around the middle of the tree are kaput! And at 5.30pm on a Sunday afternoon there was not a lot I could do about it! Doesn't seem worth replacing the 25 blown bulbs so I think I'll be investing in some new ones! Until then , our tree will remain nude!
Both girls enjoyed their parties today and Em survived the party she went to at Roller City without any broken bones!
Okay, I'm signing off to head for my bed!

It's a miracle....

..(well two if you count the fact that I'm bloggng !!)I actually scrapped yesterday! Can't share it as it's my Pencil Lines sketch for this week! I went over to visit Anna yesterday to deliver birthday and Christmas pressies and rifle through her stash! It was so nice just to sit at a table (I generally scrap on my lap!),chat and scrap!I was even very cheeky and sneaked a peek inside her birthday bag (that is one cool 'A'!!) from Ann(i)e! I am very jealous of the tiny bit I could see! So, my layout is mainly made up of stash nicked from Anna! The one thing of mine that I wanted to use has completely vanished off the face of this earth! I guess it doesn't help that I have stash in three diferent cupboards, all crammed in precariously and likely to fall out at the slightest touch! See, now if I had Anna's lovely room,I'd be soooo organised and tidy......mwahahahaha!

So, why haven't I been here for so long?! Well, nothing earth shattering really, just life getting in the way! Last week saw Holly's birthday (can't believe my 'baby' is 6 :( ), working etc etc.This week I've had a day off work as Holly was sick and it was lovely just to catch up on stuff around the house. We escaped to the park for a litle while in the afternoon,just to get some fresh air and let Holly wear her new hat!
This afternoon Holly had a party (one of the many !!) so Em and I stopped off by the corner shop to buy marshmallows and squirty cream.Once home I dug out my huge Friends mugs and we treated ourselves to hot chocolate with all the trimmings!Tomorrow there are two parties to attend (one each) and Em has a dance exam in the afternoon - phew!
This week also sees the school Christmas play performances so I'm expecting two tired children come Thursday! I sat up til gone midnight on Thursday making Em's costume. I had tried to get one on ebay but with no joy.So I sat and made a white apron , complete with broderie anglaise trim, , bib and straps plus a mop hat trimmed with broderie anglaise.Amazing what you can with an old sheet, your mum's pinking shears and some elastic (also nicked from my mum!) Couple this with a black frilly blouse from a charity shop and a full length black skirt, two Ikea buckets and you have one milk maid from 'Oliver'!!(From the 'Who will Buy' song scene!)
Right , well I seem to have from one extreme to the other and rambled on for ages so I will leave you with a picture from this afternoon (I'm sure I never took photos of stuff like this till I scrapped!)

Bleurgh...

...woke up this morning feeling the roughest I have felt in a long time! Started to get the beginnings of a cold last night and hardly slept (or that's how it felt anyway!)When I woke up my face just hurt, which I have never had with a cold before ! It's got better as the day's gone on though and now I'm just snotty!
Holly is going back to school tomorrow .She is now looking forward to it after declaring last week that she wasn't going to go back again!Both girls have been allocated parts in the school show.Em is a milk maid in a scene from Oliver and Holly is the 'lady with the alligator purse' from said nursery rhyme - which I confess to never having heard of!I cannot believe it is nearly time for Christmas shows already.
Tomorrow Geoff and are I going to make more progress with the Christmas and Holly's birthday shopping.It's not even December yet but I'm feeling totally disorganised already!
I'll leave you with my Pencil Lines Lo this week.I was lucky to get this done, I managed to mislay the sketch and then had to use whatever 7 x5 photo I already printed due to an almost inkless printer!

Happy high...

is what I am on at the moment!
Went away on our own this weekend and had a fab time! The hotel was gorgeous with an excellent restaurant - posh but not intimidatingly so.The room was really spacious and comfy too, I would love to go back! Pic is of the canal , about 100ft from our room.We woke up on Sunday morning to a view of frosty fields and mist drifting along the Thames.Imagine how gutted I was 15 mins later when I went to take pics , only for the sun have risen higher and all the mist had disappeared!We had beautiful weather both days and it brought home to me just how much I love this time of year.
On Saturday we went into Oxford, kind of forgetting the fact that it's four weeks til Xmas and the shops would be heaving!It was manic and my feet were killing me by the time we got on the bus back to the Park & Ride!We had a lovely meal in the hotels restaurant that evening and I felt thoroughly spoilt!
The icing on the cake was coming home to find a message on the answerphone asking if I'd like to do some hours at a certain former work place , in the run up to Christmas!Okay, so it's just temporary but it will feel good to be earning money again!
Holly is a bit poorly at the moment, she's managed to pick up hand, foot & mouth from someone somewhere (NOT to be confused with foot & mouth that cows get!).She has has a mouthful of ulcers which have been making her miserable the last couple of nights. And I am so unused to broken nights that after just two I am shattered!
And as they went live on Sunday I can now share the full version of my Pencil Lines sketch this week!

Rain, rain ...and a bit more rain...

...is what we've had today!It has just thrown it down and been grey and miserable all day!
Here's a sneaky peek of my LO for Pencil Lines this week.Yep, I am all organised this week and am actually finished already!
Tomorrow Geoff and I are off to Abingdon and coming back Sunday. The kids are staying with my mum & dad, and are off to the zoo tomorrow.Lucky things!
Today the girls had non-uniform day in aid of Childern In Need.Holly took in a teddy bear , whilst Em took part in after school aerobics with Pudsey Bear!
Check out Anna's blog as she is doing some fab fundraising at the moment in aid of MS.
Lots of love goes to Annie too after her horrible accident yesterday xx
Right, I am off to finish packing and I will be back in a couple of days!

Week 6 is live!

Go check out www.pencillines.com for this weeks new sketch!
I have been pretty rubbish at posting my PL lo's so I'm uploading two this week!This weeks and the one from last week! Isn't it funny how a layout starts out as one thing...and ends up as something totally different? Take my layout of Holly for last weeks sketch, this was the third photo I tried to work with and about the fourth lot of paper! But I love the end result so I'm guessing the other attempts were seriously 'wrong' somewhere along the line. I kind of a get a 'feeling' when I'm done with a layout, does that sound daft?! It used to take me about three weeks to do a LO,I'd put them away and keep going back to them until it they complete.Now I'm working a bit quicker, but I still have to have that feeling before I feel done!
Y'know I have still haven't started any Christmas shopping, and it's starting to slightly freak me out at how busy the shops are already! I know, I could do it all on-line ..but it's just not as much fun as the 'real' thing is it? Trouble is, even the real shopping isn't as much as fun as it used to be! Gosh, I'm beginning to sound a right old Scrooge! No doubt Santa will be delivering an library's worth of books for Em and as yet Holly is undecided.Still we've got her birthday to get through first! Just a small do for her this year, she is happy just to have her two best friends round for tea .

See, now you know....

...why it took me so long to get a blog...because I knew I would be rubbish at updating it!!
Yes, I do sit there during quiet moments of the day composing thoughtful and witty (??!!) blog entries...but I never get round to actually typing them in a a key board!!
Okay...so my excuse for lack of blogging this time round? Decorating...and life in general! We've spent the last week re-decorating and rearranging the living room and I have to say...it's looking good! I dread this kind of thing cos having such totally different views on most things, it takes an absolute age for Geoff and I to agree on paint colours , new furniture etc.But it's all done and the room is now a lovely shade of Antique White instead of the grubby, greying white it was previously!
I attempted to make some cards this week to use up some of my humungous pile of card making stuff..and you know what, I hated it !! Probably because all my stuff is all over the place, I can never find what I'm looking for ...and I just prefer scrapping now! So, anyone want to buy some card blanks??!
Tomorrow we're off to a little party for my mum's birthday and straight after Holly is off to another party (oh to have the social life of a 5 yr old...!!) at the local sports park. Sunday she is off to my niece's party with Em and my mum & dad...any bets on how grumpy and tired she 'll be come bedtime tomorrow night?!
Hmm...well I guess you won't be happy if I finish without a picture so let me just go find something ....here you go, yummy leaf photo taken last week!
Oh, and PS..if no-one leaves me any comments...I assume nobody reads this and I'm not missed when I don't update!!

The witching hour....

So did you all have a good Halloween?! It was so quiet round here (thankfully!!) Just three lots of visitors and I think we knew all of them! Holly was so hyped up all day, though I'm not sure why! Em was at a dance class so didn't come out with us, just wore some flashing horns!!
I had a last minute attempt at a fancy pumpkin using a template from the internet! It should also have some bats but they were a little fiddly for my kitchen knife and got the chop (literally!!)Next year I will be more prepared and start earlier than 5pm!
Today (well tomorrow bearing in mind what I've munched my way through today!) I am back on the weight loss campaign.Managed a decent loss this week which I'm hoping will kick start my motivation again! That or the fact that I have one solitary pair of trousers that fit properly!!
Check out the Pencil Lines blog for fab sketches by Queen Geek this week! I am scrapping way out of my comfort zone with these sketches but that has to be a good thing right?!

It's Saturday....

..and I'm making the effort to blog!
Not much happening here though! Today I went for a walk down to the town with the girls and my mum & dad.Took my camera to get some more 'leafy' pics but I pretty much missed most of the leaf throwing! Bought Holly some rather cool new boots today, which she has proudly been wearing ever since , complete with black ballet leotard & skirt, velevt cloak and witches hat!! She has spent the afternoon at a table, writing out alphabets at 'Witch's School' - bless! No matter what else she has, she is always happiest with a pad of paper and a pot of pens!
I spent the afternoon trying to find photos for my Pencil Lines LO this week ! They are making me work hard when I have to use more than one photo! Anyway, LO is now complete - woohoo!
Tomorrow I will take photos of Holly's boots before they get totally wrecked and probably one of her complete with witch's hat as she has already laid it out at the end of her bed for the morning!
I leave you with a photo of Holly listening to'A Squash and a Squeeze' in Mahers bookshop this morning!

I'm back.....

...not that I've been away!! Just been blogging lazy and ill!Also had visitors last weekend but I guess I can't really use that excuse for all the other days I haven't posted!
It's half term here and I'm always amazed at just how rubbish the weather turns as soon as school breaks up for a bit ! We've had one dry day so far , when we grabbed the chance to go off in search of fresh air and conkers!
So I attempted to get some Autumny photos whilst there, as you can see from todays picture. Kirsty, did you Anaita chuck leaves in your face?! Cos Holly managed to whack me in the cheek with a stick!! I have fiddled a bit with it in Picture It (no fancy editing programmes here I'm afraid!) as it was a bit dark under the trees.So now we have another two bags of conkers sitting here ready to go mouldy!
Anna has decided to close the Bumblebeecrafts shop, but she will be continuing with her kits and Angel Kisses under the name of Scrapping Angels. This will be such a good move for her and free up some essential chillin' time! Crops will continue though - hallelujah (I do so value my one day 'escape' each month!)
Well, I promise to try and be back soon! Though I'm guessing no-one checks back here now I've not posted in so long!!

Beautiful Birthday Girl

Yep, today was my baby's birthday...well, I say my baby, she was 10!!
And here's a pic of her gorgeousness, taken this afternoon when she got in from school. For a girl who used to make out she had no friends, it was a joy to see all her friends (including the boys)wishing her happy birthday in the playground this morning.On Saturday we have four of her friends here for pizza.I'm tempted to arrange something crafty for them to do, but I have a feeling they'll be more interested in watching the X Factor! As for presents, Em was chuffed to bits with the few bits we gave her this morning (books that she was 'desperate' for,DVD, bracelet) and declared it the best birthday ever *gulp*.But she was overjoyed when we gave her a little extra something this afternoon.This being a little digital camera that she can also record on with sound.Holly was placated with a Charlie & Lola book about wobbly teeth!
Tomorrow morning we have the Harvest Festival assembly at school.Em actually has a speaking part (no mean feat in a full school assembly!) and Holly's class will be singing Conkers and a fab song about the giant Turnip! I will be there armed with the video camera as Geoff will be working.
I think the rest of the day will be spent tidying before Saturdays visitors and doing my Pencil Lines Lo for this week.I have a serious urge to stash shop...but I must resist! Instead I will start writing myself a little list of what I 'need' when I have the funds!

We're live!!

I am very proud and excited to be part of a new challenge blog set up by Anna!Pic is of my Lo for the sketch this week. I always said I didn't really 'do' sketches...and then I tried one!! The other designers (gosh, is that what I am?!) are all fab too and we're all very different which should make it more intersting!
I'm trying to add a link to the site , but bear with me, I'm too scared to fiddle with my blog for fear of losing it completely!!
Today we all went for a walk down to the local lakes /park. Everything was fine until the girls got panicky over all the dogs being walked there :( All were on leads , perfectly behaved but they just don't like them...one bit.
Tomorrow we have to be up early (well normal time for Holly!) as we are off for medicals relating to the car accident back in August.
Then it's off to Ikea! I can hear the Danish pastries calling me for breakfast!!
Eek, the LO looks really wishy washy in the pic, it's much brighter in real life!

I made something!

Well, two things but I forgot to take a pic of the other! I made this card for my friends birthday along with a little 'envelope' album as taught by Ann(i)e at the Scrapping Angels retreat.
Quiet weekend here, though after the last few days the weather has been lovely.Sunshine and blue skies with enough breeze to dry the washing out!
I even got an hour to myself this afternoon to actually scrap in daylight! I find it much harder to scrap once the dark evenings draw in so I grabbed the chance to enjoy the sunlight! Can't share my creation yet...but yikes, I'm nervous!!
On Monday we are going to Ikea , to measure up and see what sheving etc will eventually (not planning on doing it just yet!)fit in our living room! Hmm, wonder if a couple of storage jars will fall into my basket too while I'm there?!

Where did that week go?!

And almost a whole week passes and no updating - sorry!
Today we went for our annual family conker collecting outing (also known as 'conking'!!).We should have gone yesterday but the rain fell down all afternoon so off we went today instead. We seem to go a week earlier each year and each year the conker harvest seems smaller and smaller :(.There were quite a few on the ground , nowhere near as many as when I used to take Em before I had Holly but there were practically none left on the trees.Still the girls had a good time even if most of my photos were pretty rubbish!
I haven't scrapped since the SA retreat...I think I need a kick up the bum....
Tomorrow I have the joyous task of putting ringlets in Em's hair before school as she is dressing up for a Victorian day in school! She assures me she doesn't need any 'head wear' so I'll take her word for it!
I haven't been near the PC much the last few days and hopefully this is the future for me! I spend too much time on here so don't worry , I'm around but trying to be more 'productive'!