live 4 love n love 2 live

The End

2009-02-11T20:35:00.003Z

This is to be my final post on this blog. Somethings in life just have to come to a conclusion and I have long since past the frustrations of my family and my almost ex husband. I wish none of them any wrongs in life, in fact the ONLY think I wish for now is for Simon to be actively involved with Charley. For the purpose of the ending of this blog I also want to state that until recently I made an effort to text him approximately every week with either a pleading or an update regarding Charley. Now I do suspect they will not have been received in the manner which I sent them, but I am not responsible for that. All I care about is that my children are happy and whatever anyones ideas and opinions are of my life then so be it, I make my choices. Period.

Charley is one fantastic, intelligent, funny, loving and fun individual who will be starting full time school in September. He asks or mentions his dad EVERY day and I have ran out of things to say without lying to him or admitting that his father just isnt interested in him anymore. I dont want my son to grow up with any insecurity if I can help it, I have worked hard with him to be the kind of person he is. Wherever we go I OFTEN get compliments about him, his behaviour, his happy-ness (I like that, dont you?) and his eagerness to help. I feel so proud that he is my son. However, he has two parents and he has a right to receive time, effort and love from both. So I just hope and pray that at sometime in the future Simon puts aside HIS feelings, ideas and opinions and puts Charley's FIRST.

I'm past arguing or bitching with him or anyone, it just doesn't happen anymore with anyone. I have and love the quiet calm life. Yes I have my problems but nothing that I am not coping with in a much better way than I would have a year or two ago. Life moves on, and we should too.

So, this is the end of this blog. It is now being wrapped up to be part of the kids journaling that i've been working on. I know the people who were reading this blog that were responsible for me abandoning it have now found me on typepad, well thats ok, I dont mind because in all honesty if thats the only way they know how their son and family members are doing then so be it. Feel free to read all you like.

Just one last thing, I have no concerns what you think of my blog, Simon. Not that i'm being mean there, I just know we have different interests and likes in life, I have never trashed yours so the fact you have trashed mine is your issue not mine.

So goodbye Sunsets and Stars, and shift over typepad, i'm there to stay! ;)

Debs

Amusement

2008-10-09T16:43:00.002+01:00

Every now and again I pop on here to check out the stats, I always smile when I see one come up from AWE....HI SIMON! :) Nice of you to make the effort to stop by, hoping to get something or other but not quite making contact with your son! Hanging up on him like that when all he wanted to do was talk to you was THE LOWEST thing any father could do!
But, you prove my case time and again! Poor Charley though, he actually WANTS to see you.
Anyway, enough for now, back on with real life! ;)

Oh, thanks for the computer generated birthday card for his birthday! Nice to see what little effort goes into being a father!!

Have a great day!! :)

Reopened

2008-06-12T13:09:00.004+01:00

Due to the fact that this blog has now served it's full potential, I have decided to re-open it. Until such a time I have all the info off here it shall be open to anyone to peruse. However, sometime in the next few weeks it will be deleted forever!

My new blog is now up and running, most of the readers here (and I didn't realise just how many ''followers'' I had!) are over to the new one. The new blog is much better and caters for the kind of things I wanted so the stalkers and offenders I had here done me a favour, so a big thank you to them cos I dont think I would have made the move for a while yet.

So, if you dont have my new blog addy and you want it, just email me and we'll work it out! :)

Debsx

Not quite good bye but...

2008-05-30T09:02:00.002+01:00

this blog is coming to the end of its shelf life. I am working on another blog where the hosting company offers more of what i'm looking to do on it, but as its school half term we are spending most of our time out rather than in...and when we are in we are not stuck at the computer...which is a good thing right?! :)
so next week I shall be moving away from blogger for my personal blogging, the scrapbooking one will stay though and I shall lift the password when the other is live.
I see by my sitemeter tracker that I still have 3 particular visitors here...why do you bother? are you looking for some dirt to throw my way again? another punch in the face maybe? well your out of luck now, you wanna know something about me, do what your good at and make it all up...cos after all, you know whats in my head a whole lot better than I do right?
As the saying goes, you cant keep a good dog down...and none of YOU have what it takes to bring me down to YOUR pathetic levels...but nice try, it did work for about...2 days!! Ha!
Ok...away from my rant there...once i've done some stuff here I shall be sticking on the password here...so if you wanna read my waffle and ramble after that please read the post below and email me :)
Have a great day :)

A few changes

2008-05-27T06:45:00.003+01:00

I'm back to the blogging thing again! :D
In light of the last weeks events and the IP tracking undertaken by the police the four people involved in attempting to make my life hard is now confirmed and will be treated appropriately by the police and my solicitor. I dont care that the one person who called me a liar when I tried to explain this doesn't believe it. I think it's come as a big shock that I am actually standing up for myself! The crap thing is the people involved are the ones to be shameful of their actions, not me. My blame lies in allowing myself to be so submissive in recent years that I have become their emotional and mental doormat, so now i'm actually doing something about it they are angered even more...WELL THATS JUST TOUGH LUCK FOR YOU!
I will not be bullied or intimidated any longer. YOU NEED HELP...and that goes for S, H, K, E & L. Now the initials spell out the names of people who are involved, rather pitiful and shameful really especially as one was a member of my family. Some people have no shame, thats all I can say.
So, now I find myself with 2 choices, I can carry on as normal or I can allow them to win again and delete this blog...but I'm no quitter, i'm no loser and i'm no weak link to be walked over so I have decided to keep this blog, however it will be passworded as of Friday, as will any other blogs I own. I am happy to give the password to anyone that has an existing blog for me to verify who you are, a UKS player that I can check back on history of or someone that I have come to know either through this blog or any of the forums I frequent. Of course if I know you personally and I know you are not in anyway connected to the above people then I will give you the password without any blog or forum history. If I cant track you as a genuine person then I will not give out the password so if you are interested in keeping up with my waffle and scrapbooking stuff then after Friday please email me and give me any links you can so I know you are not impersonating the people initialled above.
If at any time that happens then it will be reported and action taken, so if one of the above people are having the idea of scamming me, forget it, you wont like my next legal action!
Its a sad day when so called family and close friends are so wrapped up in their controlling misery that they try to bring down others around them, especially ones that they have happily used in the past to get what they want..but I guess that is life.
I am not going to defend myself on here, I dont feel the need to and I certainly do NOT feel I have anything to apologise for, its just a crying shame that for so long I have defended such behaviour, but never did I believe it would turn on me so easily, nastily or untruthfully. All I can say is I hope you (the people initialled above) find some peace inside, cos knowing what I do of you all, you dont have any, but you are not bringing me down with you. Go get help, it'll do you a world of good, I know because in the past i've got help and it done wonders for me and my self esteem. Now its probably your turn.
So, this is the posting that is about to bring my blog back to life, though I will not be blogging again now till Friday when I put the password on here....after that its business as usual, and I have some fun stuff to share, loads of waffle to add and a lot of giggles to give you from the mad world of my home!!! :) Its all good stuff!!
One thing I have come to learn this last two weeks is this:

There are a variety of people in this world, some will dominate, some will lie, some will love you and some will be imposters, that does not mean we can justify them or follow suit, no matter how much they attempt to control us. We each have a right to be the best we can, no one is perfect or right all of the time, but everyone has the right to their own mistakes, their own opinions and life choices, but when it effects others negatively we have to take responsibility.
The biggest thing we can ever lose in this life is not money, our homes or even our friends and family, its ourselves. Without ourself there is nothing within or around us. So my advice to you is simple, dont give up trying to be fair, patient, loving and righteous, dont give up being the best example you can be, you never know who's watching, but dont be afraid to make mistakes. Just learn to correct them the best you can.
God is watching each and everyone of us, keeping us safe, guiding us and waiting for us to go to Him. Whatever your belief on that, thats fine, we can never truly justify evil actions, thoughts and deeds to Him...only to ourselves. Dont give up....keep going....I believe we can all be much better people if we get the right ingredients...just like cupcakes, get a wrong recipe and its not going to work.
Thats all from me now, I am off out today with Jd, Jay and Charley and its set to be a fantastic day by the mood of everyone right now!!! :)
Have a good one :)

Debsx

Disappeared because...

2008-05-21T16:41:00.002+01:00

No blogging for me this last week for a variety of reasons, the first one being the advice of my solicitor and the police who have advised to me withold my blogging life while they do what they need to do. I cant publically say what is happening for obvious reasons but if you read what I wrote a few posts down then you will have some idea what is going on. This is not a good situation and will not end till I show them I cannot and will not be bullied.

So life without blogging has been so frustrating for me! I couldn't even tell the people who check out the prompts on my other blog why...but lying to them isnt an option so I apologise here and now for the lack of apparent care. That is not the case.

I will be back to blog asap, for those of you have have emailed me thinking the eejits mentioned below have done something off the wall, no, i'm perfectly safe and getting on with my little life in the fast lane!! As soon as I get the go ahead I shall be back here and there'll be no stopping me! Me without a blog is like a car without a steering wheel!! :)

All the emails I have received will be responded to in the next few days, I am coming thro a few days of intense decorating, sorting and body painting....dont ask!! lol When the seas are calm I shall sit and write you a whole load of waffle back! :)

Oh, Lukabella...I have lost your email address, dunno how but its my kinda thang! :) Email me direct would ya hunny? Am really wantin to catch up with ya :)

Hugs to you all
Debsx

The day goes like this....

2008-05-12T14:13:00.004+01:00

The alarm goes off and I bury my head under the duvet, I was so not ready for waking up! Charley was up and down all night, he has a rash that looks like it could be chicken pox, he was hot and thirsty so he got a cool shower and a couple of drinks. I didn't bother looking at the clock when I finally settled down, I think I woulda cried! Lol
So getting up I did, read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and said my prayer which was constantly interupted by the dog wanting to play with my toes! Kirsten went to school on her bike with her friend so I got a few jobs done till Charley woke up. He has a doctors appointment later today to see if he does have chicken pox or if its just the heat so we'll see. He's as happy as tappy now though, playing on the trampoline and in his ball pool, must take some pictures before I forget. I eventually got the prompt up on my craft blog, later than planned due to one of my blonde moments but I got there eventually! Doh Go check it out and have some fun with it...its all just for fun but will get your imagination working wonders :)
Poor Chris (**waves**) text me in a bit of a flutter thinking my blogs have been spammed as i'd totally changed the course of the blog content when I added those good deals I found...bless him I think I totally confused him cos I hadn't previously mentioned I was going to do that and he's used to reading my waffle!! Lol Oh how he giggled!! :)
Its back to the grindstone for me today, I have classes to write up and 3 meetings to prepare for and tomorrow's prompt to fit in...oh I think i'd better feed the kids too!! Lol So this is short and sweet for now.
Hope you're enjoying the lovely sunshine again :)
Debsx

Good Deal #3

2008-05-12T01:22:00.002+01:00

Look out Martin Lewis, Debs is after your job...I have another great deal for ya....

FREE PETROL

And...while you get free petrol you can also be getting money back! Go figure!!! :)

Debsx

Another good deal! :)

2008-05-11T23:16:00.006+01:00

I thought I would share a bit of a good deal....this is getting to be a habit...think I been listening to Martin Lewis too much!! Hehe
This is for all you texters out there...or for the kid texters...O2 have a deal going...this is what its about:

Get up to 4 free O2 Pay and Go SIMs, and get free unlimited O2 to O2

calls and texts when you top up £15 a month. Share them around and

stay connected with your mates.

If you top up £10 a month you receive free unlimited texts O2 to O2!

And if all these free texts weren’t enough to satisfy your appetite then

how about calls for 25p a minute to any network and keep your

existing number!

However, there is more....

• 300 FREE UK texts a month when you top-up £10-£14 a month
• 500 FREE UK texts a month when you top-up £15-£29 a month
• UNLIMITED FREE UK texts a month when you top up £30 or
more a month.

The more you top-up, the bigger the Reward. Every three
months O2 will give you back 10% of the amount you top up with
O2 Rewards - so if it's £50 over three months, we'll give
you £5 free call time at the end. Just text REWARD to 50202 free

So if this is any use or interest to you....just click here and go get

em! :)

Debsx

Happy Sunday :)

2008-05-11T13:36:00.002+01:00

Do you have this gorgeous sun where you are? I tell ya, i'm luvin it so much I feel like I could conquor the world! I know, I know thats very optimistic but my lil world is the only real domain I have and I know i'm making a difference...well, maybe a few decibels louder cos with the music being on I want to sing! For anyone that knows me will be shaking their heads about now cos they know I cannot sing for toffee, jaffa cakes or tea in China! But...I live in hope!! Lol
Church was lovely again today, everyone is so happy and hyped up on the sunshine. I got a lot of inspiration which i'm to ponder and pray about...a great way to find the truth about things...well non-manmade things anyway!
Jay is just putting the pool up for Charley now, the boy is so excited I've had to tell him three times to put his shorts on, he thinks its a bath!! Lol Bless him! His Bob toys are strewn over the front garden, Kirsten is laying on a blanket hoping for a tan and I'm working on getting dinner served sooner rather than later...good ole laptops eh?!! The poor dog is on a very long leash so he can roam the lower level of the manor and the front garden, but as he's still young I dont want him running off again...its far too hot to run the streets! He gives me the saddest eyes ever and I feel awful then for tying him up! Doh
The first blog prompt is up on my scrap blog tomorrow, I have chosen to do mine as a layout. It's all ready and waiting to be uploaded with the theme prompt. It's going to be a fun time for anyone that chooses to take part, cos i've used some of the ideas not only from my classes but from the Emotional Intelligence course I done last year...sound intense? It isn't, I have literally just adapted some of the phrases to suit everyday living. There's also inspiration from the Design Course I done too...the unfinished one cos my tutor suddenly died. I'm still waiting to find out when I can submit the other 7 assignments I've done, I really want this qualification and this course to be over without me having to go to regular college. I dont fancy the idea of childcare unless Charley is in regular nursery so i'm trying to get this course belted and sealed! Waffle? Oh yeah :) I can cos its my blog!! Hehe
Jay and I spent most of the day in the garden yesterday, clearing up all the debris from trees, sorting toys and jet washing down the paved area, he has finally got the lawn mower working so made a start on the neglected top part of the garden. I was stood up there, saw a frog hopping right by my feet and pegged it in the house! It was the shock more than the frog, but Jay stood and p'd himself laughing...I dread to think what the neighbours would have thought if they'd seen me!! Lol So I armoured up in wellies, 3/4 trousers and long, pink marigolds!! I hid the camera though...me's not that stupid!! Lol
Today we are eating dinner outside. I bought a new parasol which is so neat. It tilts and swivels and well just looks good! The sunshine makes living a whole lot happier dontcha think?
We are doing Family Home Evening tonight, cos tomorrow i'm out for a bit. Jay is joining us and has even prepared the lesson on Challenges. Very appropriate given a challenge I have right now!! Lol But it's all good learning stuff and I know it will empower us to make the right choices and understand why bad things happen to good people. There's a book by that title, have you read it? I recommend it, it's a great read for anyone that is interested in understanding life and the world we live in. I read it a while back and found a lot of simple theories that make sense of things that I hadn't given thought to previously.
Ok, time to serve dinner up and enjoy the glorious sunshine :)
Have a great day :)

Debsx

A special dedication

2008-05-11T09:19:00.003+01:00

To the two people who are fixated on my life and think it is normal, acceptible and appropriate to dictate my life, threaten me, harrass me and try to make me feel how they feel. These two people are regular viewers on my blog, my tracker tells me so, no even an IP address blocker works cos I have a tracker that gets past blockers for the very reason I am blogging today.
This is my temporary official notice to the two people concerned to suggest that they remove the unhealthy fixation they have with me, my personal life and my online life, they have no reason to be interested and no reason to think they can threaten me or dictate to me.
So, after taking legal advice last night I have decided on three courses of action. The first one is this blog post. I cannot talk rationally to these people as they make demands and do not listen to someone else, the kind of conversations are intimidating, controling, accusing and most definitely suppressing. I will not tolerate this, I do not have to tolerate this and I am continuing with my promise to take legal action against these two people. It is not a once in a while thing, it is continuous with one person and the 2nd time with the other. All I can think is the first person isn't past the feelings stage yet, because unless he has spent hours on the internet looking for me, he must have me on his Yahoo IM...in fact I know he does because I frequently check out who has me listed as I use my Yahoo not only for chatting to friends and family but I also use it to chat to people in my classes.
Anyway, after the domination attempt yesterday, I sat in the back garden and I had to laugh. Why? because for this person to think they have ANY control over life events and/or me is totally hysterical. I mean, did that person not tear life apart so badly that he has a police record? He has set himself a long history of aggression, threats, domination, violence and other psychotic tendencies. I, however, have the right to feel and be safe. Even being over 100 miles away these people think they can do what they like and maybe they can, in their lives, they can lie as much as they want to, they can fool themselves as much as they need to and can do whatever they choose. I live a good life, settled, calm, happy, busy, imperfect but I am happy, I have gone out of my way to call a truce, he doesn't want to know. Instead its insult, accusation one after another to the point where now that i've just looked up a website I find they BOTH have psychotic tendencies and therefore I will most definitely be following through with my promise of legal action. This is not the first time, nor the 20th time for this situation to arise, but I am working on it being the last time.

So, a few words i've found that will inform the perpetrators of how much they need help, thats assuming they even admit they have a problem....

Harassment:
The Law
Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Main features of the Act

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 introduces four new criminal offences:
harassment (section 2): summary only, six months' imprisonment and/or a level 5 fine;
fear of violence (section 4); either way, five years' imprisonment and/or a fine on indictment; as above summarily;
breach of civil injunction section 3(6); either way, same penalty as S.4 offence;
breach of restraining order section 5(5); either way, same penalty as S.4.
A new civil tort of harassment is created by Section 3.
All of the offences are arrestable; S.2 under S.24(2) of PACE, which is amended by S.2(3) of the Act; the remaining offences by virtue of their five year maximum penalty.
Under section 5, the Crown Court and the magistrates' court can make a restraining order on conviction, prohibiting the defendant from doing anything described in the order, for the purpose of protecting the victim from further harassment or fear of violence. This is one of the major benefits of the Act; .

Elements of Offences
Offence of Harassment - Section 2

The elements of the section 2 offences are:
a course of conduct;
which amounts to harassment of another;
which the defendant knows, or ought to know amounts to harassment of another.
The defendant ought to know if his course of conduct amounts to harassment if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other.
Section 7 defines a course of conduct as involving conduct on at least two occasions. Harassment is not defined, but includes causing alarm or distress, and conduct is defined as including speech.
Section 7(3)A provides that:
Conduct by one person shall also be taken to be conduct by another if that other has aided, abetted, counselled or procured the conduct.
The knowledge and purpose of the person who aids, abets, counsels or procures conduct are what was contemplated or reasonably foreseeable at the time of the aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring and not when the conduct occurs.
The amendment at (a) above makes it clear that a campaign of collective harassment by 2 or more people can amount to a “course of conduct”. It also confirms that one person can pursue a course of conduct by committing one act personally and arranging for another person to commit another act.
The amendment at (b) above ensures that the knowledge and purpose of the person who aids, abets, counsels or procures conduct is judged at the time that the conduct was planned and not when it is carried out. This may assist a defendant to offer a defence of reasonableness if, at the time that he commissioned a subsequent act, he was unaware that the first act had caused distress to the complainant. Such a defence would not succeed if the defendant ought to have known that the act would cause distress at the time that the subsequent act was commissioned.
This section extends the definition of “conduct” and “course of conduct” for the purposes of sections 1 to 5 of the Act. It was inserted by section 44 Criminal Justice Act 2001 and came into force on 1 August 2001.

This is just a small part of this Act, however I feel it is enough to prove to the two people that what they are doing is illegal whether they believe it or not. This information can be found on the CPS website, feel free to go see for yourselves.

Sociopath:
PERSONALITY TRAITS:
1. SUPERFICIAL CHARM -- the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, and slick. Not in the least shy, self-conscious, or afraid to say anything. He never gets tongue-tied and has freed himself from the social conventions about taking turns in talking, for example.
2. GRANDIOSE SELF-WORTH -- a grossly inflated view of one's abilities and self-worth, self-assured, opinionated, cocky, a braggart. An arrogant guy who believes he is a superior human being.
3. NEED FOR STIMULATION (PRONENESS TO BOREDOM) -- an excessive need for novel, thrilling, and exciting stimulation; taking chances and doing things that are risky. Often has low self-discipline in carrying tasks through to completion because he gets bored easily.
4. PATHOLOGICAL LYING -- can be moderate or high; in moderate form, and will be shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever (in extreme form, he will be deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative, and dishonest).
5. CONNING AND MANIPULATIVENESS -- the use of deceit and deception to cheat, con, or defraud others for personal gain; distinguished from Item #4 in the degree to which exploitation and callous ruthlessness is present, as reflected in a lack of concern for the feelings and suffering of one's victims.
6. LACK OF REMORSE OR GUILT -- a lack of feelings or concern for the losses, pain, and suffering of victims; a tendency to be unconcerned, dispassionate, coldhearted, and unempathic. This item is usually demonstrated by a disdain for one's victims.
7. SHALLOW AFFECT -- emotional poverty or a limited range or depth of feelings; interpersonal coldness in spite of signs of open gregariousness.
8. CALLOUSNESS and LACK OF EMPATHY -- a lack of feelings toward people in general; cold, contemptuous, inconsiderate, and tactless.
9. PARASITIC LIFESTYLE -- an intentional, manipulative, selfish, and exploitative financial dependence on others as reflected in a lack of motivation, low self-discipline, and inability to begin or complete responsibilities.
10. POOR BEHAVIORAL CONTROLS -- expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate control of anger and temper; acting hastily.
11. PROMISCUOUS SEXUAL BEHAVIOR -- a variety of brief, superficial relations, numerous affairs, and an indiscriminate selection of sexual partners; the maintenance of several relationships at the same time; a history of attempts to sexually coerce others into sexual activity or taking great pride at discussing sexual exploits or conquests.
12. LACK OF REALISTIC, LONG-TERM GOALS -- an inability or persistent failure to develop and execute long-term plans and goals; a nomadic existence, aimless, lacking direction in life.
13. IMPULSIVITY -- the occurrence of behaviors that are unpremeditated and lack reflection or planning; inability to resist temptation, frustrations, and urges; a lack of deliberation without considering the consequences; foolhardy, rash, unpredictable, erratic, and reckless.
14. IRRESPONSIBILITY -- repeated failure to fulfill or honor obligations and commitments; such as not paying bills, defaulting on loans, performing sloppy work, being absent or late to work, failing to honor contractual agreements.
15. FAILURE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWN ACTIONS -- a failure to accept responsibility for one's actions reflected in low conscientiousness, an absence of dutifulness, antagonistic manipulation, denial of responsibility, and an effort to manipulate others through this denial.
16. MANY SHORT-TERM RELATIONSHIPS -- a lack of commitment to a long-term relationship reflected in inconsistent, undependable, and unreliable commitments in life, including marital.
17. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY -- behavior problems between the ages of 13-18; mostly behaviors that are crimes or clearly involve aspects of antagonism, exploitation, aggression, manipulation, or a callous, ruthless tough-mindedness.
18. CRIMINAL VERSATILITY -- A diversity of types of criminal offenses (regardless if the person has been arrested or convicted for them); taking great pride at getting away with crimes.
I actually feel sorry for these people, to think that one is with another and must be feeling so darned insecure and threatened that she has to take over a situation the way she does. He is obviously feeling what its like to be controlled in some way so I would have thought he would have understood that you cannot dictate how he does to people, life isn't like that! So, in summary we have an insecure person controlling a controller...oh my life how funny is that? Now knowing what I do about this one person I know that never in this lifetime will he admit to his feelings...but also knowing him as I do, he hasn't let go, he still has other feelings and he is not prepared to let them go or admit to them....sorry about that, I do not share those feelings, I haven't for a long time and I have moved on with my life, well moved on. So I suggest you start to do the same and go be happy, thats what life is about afterall right?

Well I think there is more than enough reading material for anyone there, this is not the kind of thing I would normally blog about but with the kind of attitude these people have and knowing how fixated they are on MY life and MY blogs then this is my friendly and informative way of saying this:

I have asked you a thousand times to say out of my life, there is only ONE reason for contact. I have been bullied and threatened by you both and your solicitor, it has to stop. I am and will be as flexible as possible for that reason. You are NOT my priority in my life and therefore I will NOT submit to your demands, threats or other inclinations towards bringing me down. I realise you both have a very low self esteem, I'm sorry about that, but I dont and therefore I will not allow you to bring me down. I suggest you get help, both of you before it gets worse for you both.

On that note, I am going in to my class now, this post was written on the suggestion of an influencial, legal person in my life somewhere and intended as a public warning of my intention to press charges. The result of which could quite likely take away the 'rights' the one person currently has. So please take note.

Goodbye to you both.

Very Quickly

2008-05-10T13:58:00.002+01:00

Kodak have a special offer on till the 22 May where you can order 150 4 x 6 prints for just £10! Go check it out and get ready for some serious scrapping!! :D

Debsx

Over there...

2008-05-09T23:17:00.004+01:00

...on UkS is a post I posted (does that sound naff or is it me being a numpty again?), anyway, I posted in the Community about doing a prompt thing which can be scrapped, photo'd or blogged. Now the theory here is to just have some fun, its light hearted and hopefully inspirational in a few ways that will add to our own thinking thoughts, albums, photo collections or whatever we choose to do with it.

The prompts are what I use in some of the classes I teach in, I have a lil book where I jot down anything that I think of that I can do something with, different ways of looking at things or a broader scope on things around us. I dont claim to own the ideas, but they come to me from my own lil head so if anyone else has thought of them already, (I do not do telepathy, I couldnt afford the bill!!!) then I apologise in advance.

The first one will go up on Monday morning sometime. So come join us for a bit of fun! :) Here is My Scrap Blog

Debsx

Smack Blogs v Get a Flippin Grip on Yourself!

2008-05-09T10:17:00.005+01:00

I have just spent an hour blog hopping through some friends blogs from overseas that I haven't visited for a while...and I have to say I am disturbed by some of the negativeness going on about fellow scrappers...just for pushing themself in the field! I mean, what is wrong with wanting to share your ideas, layouts, projects, talents? I've said this before and I'll say it again, if more people believed in themselves and less people put them down for it then scrapbooking would stay as it is intended to be, a chosen hobby and/or career.
I cant say this whole thing hasn't attributed to my own confidence, it most definitely has, but as I am getting A LOT of scrap attention in the real world that is very positive I am in no hurry to join in the cyber life and risk my growning good reputation. I know many of the people I teach read this blog, as do some of the kids and I do not want the kids to be afraid to build their talents and confidence and be put off by pathetic (seeming) jealousies and shy away from a wonderful, fulfilling hobby that not only gives them self worth but keeps them off the streets, helps them understand who they are, where they are going and all other such wonderful stuff. All this smack blogging is silly, its unneccesary and its a hypocrosy to those same people who claim to teach their children morals and good behaviour, so how can they then go and say what they say, annonymously at that?!! Sheesh I tell ya, it is totally unbelievable.

I am so grateful that my natural inclination is to praise first. If I dont like something I dont go public on it, its just down to my personal likes and dislikes, i'm sure there are people that dont like some of what I do either, and thats ok, the world is big enough to hold a whole range of styles, tastes and talents but its not big enough for yet another method of bitchfesting! Get with it I say!!

I'm not going to apologise for this rant, I feel very strongly about it, however I do not have any one person in mind when I think about it, its made up from many negative postings by a variety of people who I would not have thought would say such things much less publically! But, freedom of speech and all that, I guess its a growing trend in the scrapbooking world to be so bitchy about other people, and not only their work but them and their families too. This immediately brings to mind about the statement that our former Prophet, President Gordon B Hinckley said about families being under attack in our societies, if only he knew about comparatively small communities in the scrapbooking world, i'm confident he would have done the shock, horror gasp thing at its pettiness! Go figure!

So, I figured, as i'm in the process of working on a Design Team, maybe I should work on it being a Bitch Fest Design Team? Solely because I know it would get immediate and wildfire coverage on all the main forums, in all the popular blogs and therefore I would get FREE advertising and broader scope of publication!!! LMAO Oh boy, how sad is that?

My small but significant self would rather have the small life, low profile style if it means I work and play with decent, fun, imperfect scrappers enjoying their chosen hobby and wanting to make friends and enjoy others individuality in their lives, on and offline. To heck with fame, to heck with popularity and to heck with people who choose not to enjoy what they are doing and bitch about others. Give me the life I have any day, because I sleep at night knowing I have talked, emailed, commented and text with some darned good people doing the best they can and doing their bit to make the (scrapbooking) world a better place, and shame on those that drag it down.

On the off chance I get negative comments here, I shall NOT be deleting them. I am strong enough to have courage for my convictions...so smack away if its what your little heart desires...I know who I am, I like who I am and I am proud to stand up for what I belive is right! :)

Now to check over a project i've made...that i'm PROUD of!!! :D

Debsx

The evening draws near...:)

2008-05-07T21:26:00.002+01:00

I hate days that have surprises that just dont need to happen. First when I got back online after I cleverly dropped the router, I find it has been left with some kind of after effect disabilities, it drops me offline now and again, and strangely enough it seems to happen just as i'm about to hit 'send' 'save' or something equally imperative to what i'm doing!
Then I find that I have got matt paint instead of silk, so off I trot (not literally, I used my car!) to Focus to change it for the correct one, got there and found I had left the receipt at home. So feeling pretty ticked off I went home promising myself that i'm NOT going back and the darned painting can wait!
I failed.
I went back and got the right paint!
The up side is I got to listen to some fantastic and funny talks on my ipod from President Monson and Dallin H Oakes, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those people! Feeling all happy and lively again I cruised home in my lil mini merc (which translates to the economical Peugot 206!) smiling and giggling at their humour, lump in my throat at their spiritual experiences and a skip in my heart as I feel the spirit tell me that what i'm hearing is true. All in all i'm happy. Good right?
Got home to find that the housing association had planned on some workers to do the facia boards and pipes today. I had no idea. Not a problem but they were parked right outside my house and that is a crime! I was good though, I didn't do my usual and give it lip service, I simply asked nicely if they'd let ME park outside MY house, the nice man moved his hefty truck and obliged this wobbling lil chick that probably looked like she was going to explode! :) Two cups of tea later and they stopped giving me the funny looks! :)
The day plodded on from there till I made a call. Then my mouth took off and my heart took a nose dive! One thing I hate is being gobbed off at when that person dont know what I'm talking about cos i'm speaking to someone else! I also dont take kindly to having things taken out of me for what others do, by all means have a rant, scream, shout but taking it out of me is just not on, especially by someone over half my age! Gosh my kids dont talk to me like that!! So I got mad and retaliated, putting the phone down I felt gutted. I feel betrayed and like I am being lied to and that hurts. But such is life, i'm sure it will all sort itself out in time.
If that wasn't enough I picked up the remote control to put the tv on for Charley and the flippin workmen have knocked the dish so Sky has to send someone out to sort it out, apparently I have to pay, so I promtly got on the phone to the housing association, asked what their policy is in such situations and before I had chance to tell them what I was going to do they said 'send me the invoice they send you and we'll take care of it'. Job done. Almost.
I planned on going for a bike ride with Kirsten tonight, after Charley went to bed, but even that was against me when I found my tires were flat cos since I had this new bike last year I haven't used it! And no, I dont have a bike pump! Well I do, just not the right connector end. (its one of those fancy condoodle fidgety faffle things that is only recognisablea s a pump by the fact you push it up and down!!!).
The final part to this whole sorry state of a day is we ran out of paint for the last part of the wall. Now how on earth does that work? I mean, its not like they do tester pots in matt AND silk is it?!! Doh (Only matt for those of you that dont know!! hehe) So I gotta buy 2.5L paint for about a cup full! I am not a happy bunny I can tell ya! In fact I feel like sitting down and crying my lil heart out right now.
But i'll be a big brave girl and go play with the big girls over on uks...lets see if I can't get into bother there too!! :(
At least I know i'm human if I can have a good rant and blog about it! :)
Oh, conversation in the car with Charley:

Charley: moooom?
Me: yes son
Charley: where's your friend?
Me: I don't know
Charley: your friend disappeared (referring to Sonia who came round yesterday)
Me: yeah I seem to do that
Charley: uh oh, we need to go backwards and find her!!
Me: we do huh?
Charley: yeah, cos you gotta keep him mummy! (note the her to him?!!!)

Oh how I giggled at his imagination and his use of a big word 'disappeared'!! Clever boy!

Ok, uks here I come!

Debs

The Domestic Goddess...

2008-05-07T12:42:00.002+01:00

along with Garden Fairy, Decorator Pro and Chez Debbie! Yep, i'm into all sorts at the moment. The living is on the verge of being finished, I just have the cutting in to do then its all ready to go back together again...more boxes have been unpacked, sorted, dumped, given away and for sale. The upper level of the manor is sparkling so much I feel like Cindarella, I just need a ball to go to, the birds to come in and make me a pretty dress and the prince charming...Oh I have the prince charming already!! Hehe

Seriously, I'm knackered! My bones are not as young as they used to be, I ache in places I thought didn't having anything but wobble there, my muscles are tight and i'm desperately hoping I have burnt off a fair few pounds with it all!!

Its all looking good though, tomorrow I shall be attacking the remaining boxes in the shed, before I start more painting. It's seriously mad stuff here, but I like it, I survive on it, its who I am! :)

I dropped my router two days ago, dropped all 3' to the floor, landed smack on the arial. No internet. Shock Horror, Gasp, a few choice words and a deep sigh. Jay spent hours trying to reconfigure it, I spent almost an hour on the phone to Tiscali's support guy (who was really good and patient) then another half hour on the phone to Netgear. No-one could figure out what the problem was so I prepared myself to go buy another one. As I was turning off my laptop it suddenly, magically came on!! Was that another endurance test? I am continuously hearing the word patient in my life, I HATE that word! Some things I want NOW!!! :D But i'm back, and once i've put the router on the wall its not moving again, ever! :)

I have been offered to teach scrapbooking in three more communities, the plans I did have (which I haven't and wont be blogging about for a while yet) will go on hold for now, too much good stuf

Peace

2008-05-05T05:00:00.002+01:00

Browsing some blogs earlier I came across some fantastic needle craft stuff that I am itching to have a go at making, after reading 2/3 posts which was also a family blog too, I found I got lost in time cos when I looked up it was an hour and 10 minutes after I clicked there! Anyway, if you are into making little things with needles n fabrics, you are going to love this place. Anyway, going from link to link to link I came across another blog that started a trend on telling 10 things about how we do certain things in our home, so i'm going to have my say and share essential things that make our homes and us who we are...

1. We talk to each other with respect, even when we are frustrated.
2. We pray together at least twice a day as a family.
3. We dont make house rules, we make personal expectations.
4. We dont do name calling.
5. We make majority of family decisions together.
6. We each work on recognising when someone else needs a hug or a favour and help them out.
7. We talk about almost anything and everything, especially over a meal.
8. We try hard to make all things fun, even the fairy chores.
9. We are not focused on monetary things, but on personal growth and inner self to become better in the world around us.
10. We are always on the look out for new ways to grow spiritually.

I was so tempted to put some silly stuff in there, like 'The kids have learnt to peer over the laptop when they want my attention' or 'they will text me from another room to remind me to feed them'!! I'd like to say its not that bad but i'm afraid some days it is when i'm working flat out! Doh However, none of them are stick people...yet!! :)

Dont forget to check out the DESIGN TEAM CALL post, i've had a few emails so far ready to be checked out....its not going to be a weekly thing, instead a monthy thing that will alternate between designers...its about the fun side of blogging and crafting, not the pressure side!!

It's the good life :)

2008-05-05T04:17:00.005+01:00

What's your perfect Sunday? Mine? Mine is easy, going to church and listening to the wonderful teachers we have, hearing other people share their experiences, passions and understandings and seeing all the babies is just a great start to any week for me. Afterwards, chatting in the hallway, giggling and catching up with who's doing what and how this wedding is going and that job is challenging is all part of our socialising and fellowshipping one another. It connects us to each other knowing that we aren't going to be burned at the brimstone for not being perfect, instead we find warm hearted, imperfect people who will give you a hug, an encouraging smile or show you how to laugh and the unlaughable. From newborn to 90 something, male and female, whoever you talk to they got something to say and are happy to share it. I just love Gloucester Ward! I found it difficult getting settled there for a while after being in a small Branch in Evesham for 4 years, but now, its all come together and I get out of my attendance a whole lot more than I could possibly give!
Oops slightly off the track again there! So, after church, Kirsten tells me what she's been doing in Primary and Sunday School, Charley shares his activities too and then I tell them something cool that I learnt, by the time we done the 2 mile drive home we are all full of the spirit and ready to carry on with our day in a reverant, loving and calm spirited way. On getting indoors, Kirsten will often get changed, Charley will take off his trousers (he much prefers strutting his stuff in just his pants!!) and i'm into my fluffy slippers and turning the oven on for dinner that was prepared the previous afternoon (ok most weeks anyway!!). Jay asks how church was and even though he is inactive (he was baptised the same time as I was 8 years ago) he patiently listens as I feel the spirit and talk for Gloucester! He grunts and nods in all the right places and does that Mr Bean 'huh' through his nose if i've gone right over his head with something, so after a giggle I explain and quietly thank Heavenly Father that he is listening afterall! :)
The kids pretty much do what they want while I finish up dinner, usually Kirsten is on the front garden with Charley and a couple of her friends. I have some talks on and get so pumped up with the spirit I feel like i'm going to just burst so I search through my phone book and see who I can phone and offload all this stuff to! Often though, good ole Jd fits the mark just perfectly, bless him!! :) He's so patient with me!!
After dinner its kind of anything goes that we want to do. Today we just lazed around, we were going to go over to Prinknash park or whatever its called, take the dog and the bikes and just go for a walk, but by the time everyone was ready it started drizzling and noone wanted to go!! Doh So we just talked, giggled, laughed and talked some more, randomly and probably about nothing intelligible either, but we had a good day! This evening when the kids settled, Jay done some chores for me and I sat here on my laptop writing up three lessons for the primary schools next week and planned out a range of things I needed to find time to do, prepare and achieve. I also wrote 5 letters to my pen-friends (the good ole fashioned handwritten-snail-mail style!), wrote a list of things I love about each one of my four kids and done mine and Charleys journal entry. How cool is that?!! Oh and I managed to download another 89 talks onto my ipod...man when I subscribed to the Lds talks I didnt realise just how much us Mormons liked to talk!! :) :) :) Just teasin, naturally its a range of speakers and they are great to listen to.
Jay and I sat and chilled for about 20 mins, just chatting and giggling over anything and everything, that was way cool. Kirsten and Jay had their regular heart to heart so I left them to it for a while. Kirsten and I had a girlie talk and giggle. Charley and Kirsten had a cuddle on the chair and watched Corduroy and then Jay got about 66 kisses off Charley but when I asked for one he said: 'not today mum'!!! Go figure!! :)
These are the gorgeous flowers I had sent to me on Friday...I keep looking at them and smiling, they are such a vivid red in real life, and they smell gorgeous each time I go near them or there's a gush of wind round the room. The photo is naff but thats ok, they are still gorgeous!!

Jaffa cakes: Ok, this is my reminder of how well I am doing by giving them up for a week or 7! I cant just eat one or two, I have to have the whole packet, thats 12 at a time! I even looked up and found a recipe of someone who knows how to make them! Now i'm going to try it out, just as soon as i've got my weight back to where I was 4 months ago! :) Great inspiration right? :)

Ok, all round great day here, feeling the spirit still, loving the unlovable and likin' the unlikable...so its all good stuff in the good life :)

Debsx

Little Chef, Little Books, Big Results

2008-05-04T00:33:00.007+01:00

For the most part, the word of the week in our house is 'little', however even little can be big sometimes...according to what it is! This is how this week started out:
Charley asked Jay to do him some toast, so after a chunt and a chant cos I threw the minging toaster out he got up and done it the old fashioned way, under the grill. But Charley being Charley had a million other things for Jay to do and being the dutiful older brother, Jay wasn't too quick to say no. This is how a little meal happens with big style.....

A round of applause to Jaymie!! He will never live this one down!! :) On seeing the literal burnt offerings Charley and Kirsten decided to do some baking, only they wanted to do cupcakes but I didn't have the right cups. After much debate and my voice still going unheard I decided to let them prove me right instead of me proving them wrong...that the shape will not be like the one in the picture I printed off! But, give em their credit, they had fun, done a good job and even sort of tidied up after themselves! :)

This time it was I that almost done a Jaymie! A bemused Kirsten and a chuckling Charley, this is what the oven done! :) Kirsten made the pitiful joke something to the tune of 'pity you cant edit your cooking mum like you can a picture!' Does she REALLY want that PSP for her birthday?!!! Lol :)

Blow me down, if the dog didn't go get a look in too! The plate of cooling (failed) cupcakes was in his reach thanks to the lil guy...and one disappeared with a flash...so much so by the time I leapt the 10 steps to him this is what was left...

Too much going on, too much sun and too much laughing...my lil dude just couldn't keep up and cuddled up on the sofa...with the dogs smelly blanket!! :)

This evening, after a lovely day at Sonia's (**waves**) crop in Gloucester, I was so inspired by all the lovely projects and stuff the ladies had made that I sat at my desk, ignored the phone, email pings and the calls for mum and came up with this....it is to be a book for my mum to tell her all the things I want her to know that I wouldn't usually say to her. Just because she's the bestestest!! :)

This tiny book actually folds out to a 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock, counting both sides it has 22 folded squares that I am going to use to tell 22 facts of what I love about one of my kids...its for someone in particular and I aint saying who!! Hehe I wanted something that when it was read it was totally, 100% from me to that person, things only a mother would say or know.

It's really easy to make and ideal for something so personal. The ribbon is woven with 'A Mothers Love' repeated throughout in muted colours, so suits the theme perfectly. When i've added the journaling I will show ya and i'll include the instructions too incase you wanna have a go.

I'd like to say that's all the excitement in our house but it isnt! I have the Bosnia theme going on in our house. While Jay has been gutting, cleaning, chopping, strimming, digging and hosing the gardens I have been wading through box after box after box to sort stuff out that needs new homes. I took a lot of stuff to Sonia's crop today, a lot of which went rather speedily which pleased me to bits. Thanks Sonia for allowing me to do that and to have a great day with you all! :) The girls that go there are just the sweetest! :)

For the first time ever I ran out of double sided sticky tape, can you believe it? I mean, how can you run short, much less run out! Doh So off I went shopping, which I wasn't going to do till Monday but needs must! Tesco didn't have any (double sided tape, keep up!!) so Charley and I jetted over to Asda, they too hadn't got any. This was getting serious so on the verge of being prepared to pay in gold for one used roll of double sided sticky tape I text Sonia...I think she's so fed up of me today!! :) The gal saved the day! So I jetted over the other side of Gloucester, again (only the 4th time today!), had a bit of a chat n giggle then came home, oh that was after an insult here n there!! :D Gotta luv her! :) Thanks hun, your so cool :)

What I want to know is why do I have a rather large corner desk, much less stuff on it yet have the tiniest bit of workspace? I admit to being the messiest worker EVER no matter how hard I try, but bit by bit I can feel my space getting less, even to the point of my 12 x 12 sheet getting stuck or overlapping something or other. I admit however that once in a while I will get so frustrated that i'll lean forward and do the breast stroke, pushing everything out the way onto the floor! Kirsten looks at me, rolls her eyes and says 'and you say my room is disgusting?'. Oh the shame! NOT!!

I had 12 gorgeous red roses yesterday! :D How lucky am I? The card was simple, but deep, just my style! :D I want to photo them properly to remember them, I might even share too! :D I love flowers, all flowers are just the surest way to get me smiling and pondering. Ok, I've had too much fresh air, bite me!! :)

Today, I'm glad to say is the Sabbath, and I fully intend to steer clear of boxes and their contents, well apart from those that I trip over, and I intend to steer clear of anything that remotely reminds me of Sizzix, bread trays and wheels!! Ok I have to use the car to go to church but THATS IT!! I have declared to all kids that today is going to be a family day, even if it means we sit around all day (which i'm really, really hoping to do!!) cos this last week quality time went right out the window far, far away! :)

Ok, enough from me. I hope to be joining in HS:MS again next week, cos goodness knows, I dont have a clue what happened to this week!! :)

Have a great Sunday!

Debsx

Stash 4 Sale & Design Team Call

2008-05-02T14:26:00.003+01:00

I'm not even gonna bother to try and catch up, nor am I going to explain where I been...but I will say I have been NON STOP doing some pretty exciting stuff!

One of the things i've been doing is sorting out ALL my craft stash...and I mean ALL of it, which consists of approximately 30+ boxes larger than the Walkers crisps ones! Wowser!! Tomorrow (Saturday 3rd May) I shall be doing a so-called Mini Shop at Sonia's (**waves**) crop in Gloucester (if you are interested in Sonia's crop, email me and i'll give Sonia your email address to contact you). So far I have a ton of stuff that needs new homes, the prices are so low you will most definitely bag a bargain and after tomorow there is going to be yet MORE stuff at following crops! If I get time to do photos and lists on here I will do so, though to me a bargain is not a bargain if the postage kills it...but if thats ok with you, its ok with me! :)

Another thing I have been doing is working alongside a fellow crafter friend, Sharron, to set up a blog/craft Design Team. We are still working on sponsorships right now but we are also taking emails for anyone that is interested in joining us. What we are looking for:

An all rounder blogger - this does not mean you have to blog/comment every day but regularly as possible
A crafter - this includes scrapbooking, altered items, cards, knitting, patchworking...in fact anything that you can display, share and inspire with and for others
An online gallery - this can be on uks, docrafts, trimcraft, two peas, scrapbook.com etc

In your email please tell us:

Your full name
Location
How and when you got into your crafts
Your blog and gallery links
Why you want to join us and why you'd like to join us

ALL emails for the DT is to go to studio@sparkle-the-imagination.co.uk

We have not decided on a deadline date for this yet but we're looking for it to be around 14th May. As I mentioned we are still in talks for sponsorship so when that is completed we will then move on!

So come on and join us!

Debsx

Never look back....

2008-04-26T16:19:00.007+01:00

...but I am going to make the exception to that rule and post my catch up to HS:MS in a while cos I think they are good ones, and besides, I already have some of the four photos required! Cheat? Oh yeah!! :D

In the meantime I am going to chill here for a few minutes and talk about my day...nothing shocking has really happened, nor anything particularly exciting but I can actually say that I can show something for the hours today! Wowser!! :) I went off to Cheltenham this morning to pick up my car (another story for another time!), £117 later I am happily driving my mini merc in the direction of The Range to pick up some cardstock for something thats rattling in my head (especially thanks to Vanessa C!!) so, there I am, jigging and driving away to Leona Lewis, window down, shades on and feeling pretty good about life then it happened...a total mood stopper...I had forgotten that i'd arranged to meet up with my friend Chrissy yesterday and I didn't show up! So saftely parked on The Range carpark i'm anxiously texting away to her begging her forgiveness, hoping she didn't wait in the rain too long when soon after I hit send she called. I wondered if she was going to be mad with me, instead (before I could speak) she was profusely apologising to me for not turning up!! :) I roared with laughter, my stomach was in knots and I felt nauseus. Mid sentence she asked what was up, so I toyed with the idea of not telling her that I forgot too...but it was too funny not to! (She has the same sense of humour as I do so she'd have 'got it' if i'd have played too much on it!) The relief for both of us was phenominal, I can tell ya!! So, friendship intact, my heart slowed to its healthy rate and my stomach returned to normal. Lucky, that's all I can say!

In The Range I was looking for this particular cardstock I knew they had but came across some stuff that I knew Charley would like, so in the basket it goes, as does the carstock then I saw an old work colleague, Jackie. We chatted, giggled about the poor replacements in my former PA job and generally had a good ole catch up. No sooner had we parted company did I see ANOTHER former work colleague from the same company!! Now this is spooky, so I stood chatting to Paul and his daughter for a few minutes before going off on my browse again. Blow me if I didn't see the girl who hired me for the said job!! Conspiracy now, cos this person decided to ask me if I'd be interested in going back! Erm, after the way they treated me? Not on your nelly misses! :)

I picked up a pack of bright coloured fabric felt, a big sheet of mountboard and the cardstock that's all I bought, I was really good (ok so I got a couple of things for Charley, i'm trying to condense it here!!) I was very good and rather pleased with my buys, especially as I resent their prices cos I know what they pay for the craft stuff in there, I have the same darned suppliers and its a rip off! Anyway, on from that, this is what I came up with after some playing around with the good ole fashioned Sizzix machine and dies:

I'm only 3 pages behind with this subject, so I ought to get a move on while I have the opportunity really!

While I was playing, so was Charley....he soon mastered the old machine...but struggled with the Big Shot! Bless! :)

"First" he said " You do this"

"Ooofff" he said

"Aaarrghh!"

"I did it!" he said "look mum!"

Thats my boy! If only Princess Kirsten was into paper crafts like charley is then i'd be soo happy! He later went on to colour them, out came my gel pens, his paints, some glitter and some felt scraps...so now they have a variety of textures, colours and designs along with the pull carts he cut out too! :) I feel a Designer coming on!! :)

It's still nice outside, Kirsten is at her dad's and Jay is doing something to the tree that I dont wanna ask...him and power tools!!! Lol Charley is getting tired so i'm going to put him down for his nap and perhaps take one meself, I think I earned it today!! :D

I'm about to embark on the biggest clear out i've ever had in my life, I am so fed up of boxes and stuff cluttering the house that I have finally decided that enough is enough! So in due course I will be looking to shift a range of stuff, oodles and oodles of craft stuff, kids clothes, books, dvds and a whole lot more...so if you want a good bargain keep an eye out! I will label them though under the...drum roll please....For Sale....tag!! :D Ok so i'm not funny, I never told you I was!! :P :D

Firstly, I am looking to sell my Sizzix machine and over 120 dies, a Sizzix pully tote bag on wheels and some spare cutting pads. In all there is over £1400 of stuff there. many of the dies haven't been used and all are in very good condition. Naturally i'm not going ask for that much for them so if anyone is interested drop me an email. debbie.willson@yahoo.co.uk and we'll discuss it. Ideally this is going to be better off collected because it is so heavy but I am prepared to negotiate some mutual meet up point for anyone that is further afield than Gloucester.

Debsx

Fun!

2008-04-26T01:23:00.001+01:00

YOUR AGE = EATING OUTDon't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but your waiter may know!
YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATH
This is pretty neat DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!
It takes less than a minute. Work this out as you read . Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!
This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat (more than once but less than 10).
2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold).
3. Add 5.
4. Multiply it by 50.
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1758 (if you haven't, add 1757).
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
You should have a three digit number
The first digit of this was your original number (i.e. how many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week).
The next two numbers are YOUR AGE ! ------ (Oh YES, it is!).

Eh?

2008-04-25T22:38:00.005+01:00

What happens to time? I get on to do something, get side tracked with something else, someone talks to me, the phone rings, I get a text message and before you know it i'm trying to remember if I had a shower and looking at the clock and planning my bedtime! All I can say is zooomm!! My personal life is very busy right now, the kids have various things going on and I am left staring at a spinning clock. I even sat down to write one of my famous lists, only this time it wasn't a list of what I had to do it was a list of what I didn't do...(go figure!) and I was slightly stunned as to how I had managed to miss so much stuff.
So, here I am, almost midnight and i'm just reading through some old church history recognising that I am so lucky to have such a strong testimony of God and Jesus Christ that somehow I know I will manage to achieve what I NEED to achieve at the right time. With that relief I am now going to relax, unwind and waffle about some of the side tracks this last couple of days! :)
Charley has found a way to climb the tree that has no limbs (no digs for Jay who cut them off by mistake!!!), I love this picture because he wouldn't let anyone help him up, it was a warm day so out come the shorts...and wellies!! :)

Just before he got where he wanted to go the phone rang...darn it...and I missed the next shot!! :) But I know he achieved what he'd been working on for the previous HALF HOUR!! Thats ma boy! :)

That night we decided we would have a chinese meal, and because I had all my papers, boxes, buttons, photos etc over my desk AND the dining table we had to eat from our laps...which the kids thought was great...Charley, however, decided that to be a dog was a pretty good way to enjoy his dinner! Just for the purpose of the camera I allowed him two shots...then he had to sit back on his tushy to eat it properly! Yep, meanie mummy! :)

Ordinarily I would not post a picture of me that wasn't somewhere near presentable...however as this one was taken whilst Prince Charley was on his own photography adventure I am making an exception...as comfortable as I was I was only sleeping, total of about 4o minutes and Jay was actually on another chair...so there's no need to go reaching for the phone to call child services!! LOL Why does your hair get in such a mess when you stay still, yet it lasts quite well all day when you're moving around? Go figure!! :)

This next shot is my favourite! My daughter is growing up so fast that I admit to forgetting to treat her as the young woman she is becoming. Tonight she attended the Young Women's introduction evening called New Beginnings which was themed on Hollywood glitz and glamour. She is totally against skirts and dresses so I reluctantly ok'd this outfit. After highlighting her hair and straightening it for almost an hour, another hour for make-up and a lot of fussing over shoes or boots, this is what she looked like. Naturally she looked better in person than on the photo! :)

So now I'm sat here, still wondering what I did today, yesterday and the day before because for the life of me I cannot put enough together that covers the whole 72 hours!

One of the things I do remember doing though was going to Gloucester Police Station to produce my documents for my car. It appears that someone has attempted to insure my car that is not me or anyone I know! I spent almost an hour in there with a PC that was very nice, very helpful and very competant at his job. My papers checked out, he believed me as did his Super Intendant so after he spent an enormous amount of time on the phone to my insurance company it was finally revealed that it was actually the insurance company who made a mistake! The apparent new owner of my car is a real live person from Shrewsbury but the policy number is one that was cancelled back in 2004...even though that policy was taken out on 24 March 2008! Confused? Yeah me too! I have been released without charge or caution!! Lmao No I wasn't arrested or even given a producer, lmao, I just was suspect when I tried to call my insurance company about something and they couldn't identify me to the car nor my policy number, which if you remember back a month or two ago, the car was being repaired in the garage and my insurance company enlightened me that my excess was a staggering £200! So I KNEW they had me on their system for this car!!

Bl**dy insurance companies!!

So, that drama over, I am now planning a busy weekend. I'm not totally sure what with specifically but as I have achieved my planned weekend quota by way of fairy chores, it's going to be a time of work, scrapbooking, invoices and then Sunday with my kids! Bring it on!! :)

Oh yeah, thank you for the emails regarding the wedding cake and the cupcakes! Though I haven't come up with a conclusion yet I do appreciate the suggestions and the ideas that I have received...most of which are in my thinking thoughts to try out! :)

I am having a ride to a relatively local craft shop tomorrow, I want to get a specific selection of cardstock and brads for a project that has been requested...now normally I will play around with projects that i've been asked for but I admit to not having much confidence in my own stuff...however, this one project has been in my head for a little while but only when I read the lady's ideas that I made sense of it, and she put it so much better than I could have!! :) Initially the project is for a group I teach who suffer from depression and the professionals are using funding to find a selection of ways to help these ladies (and 2 gentlemen) to start finding a focus and not let the fact that their lifetime need of meds over ride their self worth. So far I hear some fantastic stories, their memories are so warming and funny, sad and tragic but each one that shares something is starting to come alive again, to remember where they come from and realise that they are a part of this plan. It is truly a magic job I have, just one memory shared is such a blessing to me and that person. If you get the opportunity to share your scrapbooking for a deeper meaning than your family, I say go do it, its so important to reach out to other in any way we can, and our photos hold so much more than any newspaper, magazine or night out.

When Jay's around I will have to get him to retell me the conversation between him and Charley the other day while they were washing up...he became Doctor Charley and Captain Charley all in ten minutes! I became Doctor Mummy later on (probably after I told him how wonderful he is!!) and the dog became Doctor Jake! Those are the moments that I wish I could record with more than words...so now my camcorder is on charge and a spare battery pack is sat in the ready waiting for the next time I hear him and his brilliant imagination!!

My HS:MS is two days behind, pretty slack eh? But i'll catch up tomorrow...hopefully! :)

Ok enough waffle...its time for me to go get Jd's headache back!! :D Oh how mean I is!! :D

Debsx

Request

2008-04-23T02:48:00.005+01:00

I am looking for someone who can make a 10" wedding cake and some matching cupcakes...for June....Preferably within a reasonable distance of Gloucester...saying that I have a car, it has diesel in and I aint too bad at getting lost in the UK so as i'm not afraid to try...I'll travel around 100 miles-ish!

If you can do this (obviously not for free!) then please email me: debbie.willson@yahoo.co.uk and I will fill you in! :)

Ask me no questions and I wont have to shoot ya!!:) :) However, I might tell ya soon enough why I want a wedding cake!! :) But what you're thinking now is sooo far off the mark!! :D

**wicked laugh**

Debsx

{HS:MS} Goggle Eyed

2008-04-22T10:04:00.005+01:00

Her Space: My Space prompt is Road.
A way of course on which to travel. have you got a road?

My road isn't so much outside made of tarmac with with lots of skid marks and pot holes, its about where i'm going in life, where i've been and how i'm travelling. I am adapting this prompt to keep in line with my blog theme, my family, beliefs and every day living...so this is what I am offering:

The article I have got this image from had a lovely comment underneath that sums up perfectly why this is my 'road' to take:

"The gospel and my testimony of Jesus Christ have helped me to be a better mother, wife, sister, and friend. Because of my testimony, I try to live as God intends for me to—with integrity, honesty, kindness, love, patience, and compassion, treating others as children of God and extending service when needed. By my trying to live a Christlike life, I hope that others will want to learn about Him". JoAnna M. Allen

I wasn't raised in this church neither was I aware of this doctrine for a very long time in my life but I was raised as a Church of England believer. My Mum, who was a life long Catholic then, would often take me to a range of churches because never felt that she had the right testimony. At the age of 8 I was in the school christmas concert in our local CofE church and after listening to the Vicar talking about the death and resurrection of Christ I remember sitting there with me fellow classmates crying, I didn't want Him to die or be hurt, I didn't want Him to suffer for all the things I got wrong. In my very innocent childlike thinking I was aware of Christ and that He was and still is a very special person, I just didn't know how He would change my heart that day. I was 30 when I met the missionaries and it took them almost a year to get me anywhere near baptism (yeah I really made them sing for their dinner!!) but by the time I heard the Plan of Salvation I just KNEW in my heart of hearts that no matter how much I didn't think I could 'live a religion' I just knew that I had to do all I could to live up to the expectations my Heavenly Father had for me because with the atoning love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ I was never going to be alone. (I must add here that it is not my intention to disrespect any other faiths, I do believe that we each have the free agency to choose. My children are taught about other faiths, in our home as well as in school/nursery, my natural inclination as a person and a mother is the gospel that I have come to know and believe in for myself)

I have proven this over and over in the last 8 years, many things have happened, i'm made some wrong choices, experienced things that were the effects of another person and still I know that no matter how many challenges I have I will alwas rely on the love, support and guidance of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I am not too proud to say that I cannot do my life without them, they are purely the most reliable and correct people and all I have to do is the best I can in as many things as I can. If I fail, thats ok, I just get up and start again!

My testimony is growing each day. I love the scriptures, that includes the King James version of the Bible, the Book of Mormon including Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. All of which I believe has all the answers to all of lifes challenges and questions.

So, back to HS:MS, my road is a road about life, about every day thinking, feeling, doing, speaking and putting them into action the best ways I know how to. A great anchor for me is The Plan of Salvation, it all makes sense when we know that! :)

That said, dont expect me to be perfect or have all the right answers, I dont! Why? Because I'm a work in progress and I reserve the right to be wrong, silly, imperfect and just lil ole me!! :) Lol

Back later to waffle about my boys...they crack me up sometimes!! I am so tired right now and busy with some work stuff that i'm shaking my head to stay awake! So for now I shall go lay on the sofa and leave Jay to entertain Charley though I think its really the other way round!! :)

Debsx

{HS:MS} New Talent?

2008-04-21T14:07:00.005+01:00

Her Space: My Space prompt for today is yellow....I couldn't resist this poorly Pooh Bear in my bed! :)

Jake cracks me up! There was no way he was going to move, each time Kirsten moved him he'd wing his way back up there, all in all he was there for almost an hour, her neck was so stiff she couldnt move it for ages!!

This cracked me up too, Charley was taking some pictures for himself...i'm a lil jealous now cos he's really got it going on here...the oven knobs and the dish cooking in the oven!! :)

Godda luv em eh? :) Right, will update more tomorrow, i'm shattered after a very long and busy day! :)

Debsx

Just a quickie

2008-04-21T01:07:00.003+01:00

Way, way over there on the side and down a bit..yeah there...you will see a bit where i've put up for scrap blogs....if you wanna be listed there..let me know and i'll put your blog addy there...why? Cos if your like me and save em all on your computer, if something goes wrong what happens? You lose em! Or in my case you have to write them down somewhere so I figured a better idea is to list the ones that are scrapbook related, as I have with some others that I like, and I can never again go through this pain and torture of writing out so many blogs!!

Next plan is to actually visit them all AND leave comments! I live in hope! :)

Moving on...as I was browsing some talks on you tube I found an edited version of a talk from the General Conference held two weeks ago in my church. Julie B Beck is the General Relief Society President and a fantastic speaker. Here is the edited version and some highlights from her talk:

The full version is very powerful and intended to encourage Lds (and other) mothers to aim higher, reach further, believe harder, encourage more and remind us who we are and how important we and our works are. Enjoy!

Some things are meant to be shared, and just like my family, I am proud to share the parts of my faith that I feel particularly inspired to. The above talk initially made me feel a shock horror at my lack of 'perfection', I don't tick all the boxes Julie talked about, but knowing I am doing my mothering the best I know how, teaching my children as much as I feel I can and guiding them in a good direction then I know I am on a good track...and who knows one day I might find out i've done a particularly good job! :) Naturally every life is different, every situation and family set up is different but having such inspiration such as this talk makes me feel like anything is possible, if I desire it, work at it and do the best I can...I am on the right track!

I hope you enjoy the talk!

HS:MS SOS

2008-04-20T14:00:00.007+01:00

SOS:

This is going to follow on from my previous post this is a picture my friend Wendell bought me and had sent over from the States last year...it takes pride of place in my living room not only because of his friendship but because it is the Salt Lake Temple, the head quarters for the Lds church and more importantly because its the House of God, the one I want to be going through on my 40th birthday in October...something I have always wanted to do since I learnt about the temples around the time of my baptism in January 2000. To me it is the ultimate place to be, though any temple is, I have a desire to go through this one on this milestone in my life :)

I think of all the pictures of temples this has to be my favourite, such a great shot especially as the squares are the reflection of a pool of some form outside, so it was actually taken looking at the temple through the reflection of the water! Talent or what?!!

Of course then there is the reason for the temple in the first place. When I was baptised 8 years ago I was able to go to London Temple 2 weeks later and I have the most amazing experience ever, the whole feeling is something that I can only compare to the actual baptism itself...keeping that feeling outside the temple is highly hard work, one that i'm not sure a mere mortal like me can do without regular trips back to the temple...for a top up, so to speak...it is truly like no other feeling we can possibly have!

Later i'm going to post some funny pictures of my #1 son...cos I can!! :)

Hope your Sunday is a great one :)

Debsx

Spiritual Sunday

2008-04-20T13:04:00.003+01:00

Is it just me or are Sundays truly reflective days? Each Friday evening I plan out my Saturdays that enable me to live the Sabbath the best way I can with my family, my Saturdays don't always need much work in the fairy chores dept but thats only a part of preparing for a Sabbath, you see, after doing my regular things for 6 days, be it with the kids, work, scrapbooking, writing letters etc by the weekend I need to free my mind of such things for just one day so I can focus on what my life is all about, God. If you are not interesting in religion then now's the time to click off this blog....:)

You see, as a Mormon I marvel at the inspiration, guidance and promptings that we each receive individually and collectively, this is often by personal and family prayer, scripture study and going to church meetings but we also have a vast variety of talks, videos, movies, books, stories and other things to give us a deeper understanding, motivation, inspiration and assurances of our lives and world around us. Our Prophet, President Thomas S Monson is yet another awesome person who has been called by God to lead the church and prophesy to the world...each time I hear him talk i'm either laughing or crying...he's funny, charming, sincere and very, very in tune with Heavenly Father and that just emenates from him.

So, Sundays is my one day where I limit certain things, stop others and do more of another...though I read my scriptures every day I make a point to study, ponder and pray regarding them on the Sabbath, the kids often use their Book of Mormon Stories (the kids version of the Book of Mormon) at the same time and we talk about what we are reading, how we can translate it into our lives and enhance our heartfelt desires, qualities and responsibilities. I also like to browse other blogs of my fellow Lds friends and learn more of them, laugh with them, cry with them and tease them....as you do! My Lds blog is one of total spiritual and uplifting motivation and inspiration, though private only to me as I use it as a study journal, it is great to have something fancy to just drop out those thoughts and feelings and make sense of them as you go along!

Today I have read a blog by a fellow Lds mum and scrapbooker and got so much from her that I have decided that I want to 'pay it forward' and share some luvin from here too...so whatever you believe, whatever your religion, culture, colour or race....I want you to know that just by being in this world, doing what you do, God is always watching, loving, guiding and protecting you...even on bad days and terrible times...they are our growing and strengthening trials which we much try to endure and learn from the best we can...I hope whoever has got to this far now will feel the urge, desire, need....use whatever word that you like...will go forward and tell someone just how much they are loved and respected.
In particular I would like to mention a few people who are a blessing to me in my life:

* Jaymie, Scott, Kirsten & Charley - my kids are my life, even on bad days! :)
* My Mum & Dad - for being the best they can be and never giving up on me
* My brothers & sister - because we come from the same family we still offer so many differences :)
* The Prophet, President Monson, his counsellors and other other leaders of the Lds church - for all their dedication, inspiration and the way they love, live and know the word of God and live to share it with the world
* My friends - Elaine, Sonia L, Sonia P, Kirsty, Sharron, Sara, Kim & Mikey, Bexx, Claire, Chris, Jd, Colin, Lois, Karen, Julie and Tina - a different kind of friendship with each different person that I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world (well maybe if I have another big gas bill!!)
* For my kids and my health - just over a year ago I had a major operation that truly changed my life, now i'm top of the pots and happy as tappy can be :)
* My life challenges - although being homeless almost broke me mentally, emotionally and spiritually I am thankful for the experience I had (as well as the support and friendships) because like any other trial, challenge or whatever terminology you prefer to use, I grow from them, I mature, I learn and I understand, I know the depths of despair on many levels, and BECAUSE of it I also know the highs of laughter, loving, friendship, secrets, feelings, peace and just being.

I have crossed paths with a whole lot of what this world offers, good and bad. Heartbreak, assault, divorce, abuse, childbirth (the ouch side!!), road accidents, operations, breathing machines, psychologists and a whole lot more...I've also crossed paths with holding my newborn for the first time, walking down the isle knowing I was doing it all for the right reasons, seeing my child survive a serious road accident, see another child come back from the brink of death when a Priest blessed him. I have experienced the consuming love for my mum when she is ill, sad or just struggling with life, my dad makes me laugh, reminds me to never give up and kicks my butt if I dare to be beat, my friends let me moan, laugh, cry, scream and just shear break down when my world feels like its falling apart...
...but most of all...each of these people dont only come into my life...they allow me, invite me, keep me in their lives as well.

Today I am renewing my gratitude for what I DO have in my life, however small, however insignificant...the fact of the matter is, they are in MY life and if I wasn't here...where would they be? My life has a purpose, has an importance and has significance...whether I miss that sometimes or not...I am proud to know, feel and be important to a variety of people around me...in real life and in my virtual online life.

So....how speshal are YOU?

Debsxx

Dontcha just know it?!!

2008-04-19T17:41:00.006+01:00

The wind slows down and the rain moves in, I am utterly convinced there is not going to be a summer anytime soon! I am eager to get into the garden and just make it look nice and tidy, but its probably just not meant to be just yet! :(

I have made a really cool blog for Prince Charley, i've added a bazillion photos, listed his favourite stuff and had a good ole play with it...i'm pretty impressed with it. The template is one that I got from a friend of mine who designed it for me, its a Top Secret document folder with target signs for bullet points, wowser!! :) Now I just have to keep TWO blogs up to date! I take that back, the other day I got another blog for my layouts, just cos I wanted somewhere different to put some of the stuff that I have done, not all my stuff is on there but doing only 5 at a time is a bit naff with all the techno thats available nowadays!! But thats the way it is!

Jay has landed at the trainstation, feeling very tired and stiff from being on the train for so long. He's adamant he's having dinner then going to bed, but lets see what Charley boy thinks of that idea!! :) :) It's so good to have him around again, all I need now is for Scott to show up then i'll have all four home! Seems such a long time that they've all been together, but roll on Scott's birthday cos that's one time I know they'll all be here :)

I think Charley's getting fed up of the camera now...for lunch we had a sandwich, a bowl of mixed fruit and some crisps, while he was yapping away I told him to tell me in a minute and eat up, the phone rang, I wasn't on it for long but when I got back this is what I looked at:

the sad thing is while he was parading round with spam on his face he was doing some great sound effects from that Jason movie (cant remember what it's called!). I think i've either been procrastinating for too long today or my child is wired wrong!! :)

While searching the t'internet for some printables for the boy today I came across some good links for kids, so check them out on the side >>> somewhere over that way >>> . I was looking for some Cars the movie colouring pictures, got a few and ended up nicking some of their graphics for when I do Charleys layout i'm working on! Hehehe

I have sore fingers, did I mention my hands? Nope I didn't think so. Well last week I had a day of totally blitzing each room in the house, nothing was left untouched, during the process I was using lots of soapy water (dont do spray cans and all that detergent stuff unless its bleach for the floor!!) anyway, the next day I got up and I could barely open my hands, they were so painful I actually felt I could have cried with them. All my fingers were so dry and cracked that many of them were bleeding. It took about two days and a full bottle of Dove moisturiser to calm them down. They are just a bit sore now but I make a concerted effort to moisturise them at least every hour to keep them safe. Even the heat off the laptop can dry them out and start them off again. I've never had this kinda thing before, maybe its a sign o'the times?!! **sigh** The upside is I have a brilliant excuse for wasting a whole bottle of lotion!! :D Wowser!!! :)

Work is on again on Monday, I opened my email for the website and found some orders in there, three of them are projects i've been asked to design and make for someone else's crops, one was an actual enquiry about doing someone's baby album and the other is an invitation to introduce scrapbooking at a church hall. Not one to say no i've took them all on and shall report back to this desk (the one I dont think I ever really leave!) first thing on Monday morning!! :)

Until then I shall enjoy my kids, do what I do on here and go with the flow, all good stuff :)

I was gonna mention sumat else but its totally escaped me, couldnta been that important eh? Guess i'll be back later if I think of it! :)

Debsx

HS:MS + More on Blogs :)

2008-04-19T15:05:00.010+01:00

Today's prompt is:

Show us a portrait from your space today.

So i'm giving you........

.....the little man himself who has sat at my desk, printed off his colouring pages and written three posts in his blog! Ok so i'm kinda changing the facts a bit there but he was definitely, literally in MY SPACE!! Lol Obviously he's worn himself out enough to go chill on the sofa....but not for long because come see what happened ten minutes later..........

I'm Sportacus he said!

but another ten minutes later, some gentle but firm scrubbing........

......this is where we are at..........

What can any mum do with that kind of sense of humour and washable (or so it says on the box!) pens? I had to laugh, I mean, getting annoyed isn't going to change it, its not going to make him feel any worse than the gasp I gave out when I looked at him...the one that made him ''jamp'' as he says it!! So we laughed and we talked. I then suggested he go get the top for the pen and leave it with me, 'where is it mum' he asks, 'go look in the box' I say, off he runs through to the living room and comes back singing Fireman Sam with an echo sound....his head in the empty Roses tin which homes his various pens and crayons and says 'are you sure its in here?'. I look at him, he laughs, knowing just how funny he is and I proceed to crack up with my own wobbly belly laugh!!!

Be back to blog again later, i'm still fine tuning Charley's blog at the moment for his 'Dadden' who has suddenly decided to do a massive u-turn and get nasty with me...because I asked him to pick the boy up from closer to me rather than the train station in town (which, incidentally means 2 or 4 miles less for him depending what route he comes). Go figure! So I figure i'd record Charleys antics and make a blog...it will serve well as a non-bitch fest for ..... well his biological father!! :) I'm really not feeling bitchy about him, I dont feel anything to tell the truth, just the way he is.

So, laters :)

Debsx

Just because I can....Part 2!

2008-04-19T00:45:00.004+01:00

Ha! This time i've had the brains to upload the pictures first!! Hehehe No flies on me ya know!! :) Ok so on with my waffle....

11. Two of my favourite and most used perfumes that last all of days in my house...mentioning no names Princess Kirsten!! :(

12. Now this makes me smile...its an old flower pot that was covered with shells by Kirsten for Scott to put all his little bits in. Somehow I managed to wangle it into the bathroom a while back and still have custody even now! :D Smart me!! :)

13. This is another silly one, cos you see, with how long Kirsten's and my hair is we get through a fair bit of shampoo and conditioner, add that to Charleys love of showers and washing and body wash barely bites the dust either...when Kirsten took this we had a giggle that HER shampoo and conditioner was intact...but where was mine? only the shampoo was there....K I R S T E N !!!

14. Money pot that I covered to keep the coppers in that I tossed out my purse in the most inconvenient place...at the dining room table...but why then do I insist on the copper jars being kept UPstairs?? Doh

15. Each month when my Visiting Teachers come to visit they bring me a card with a lovely scripture or quote in, sometimes they'll bring me flowers or a plant (which only lives a short life so I think they're faulty!!) This month, my one VT is recovering from an operation and cant get out to see me so she sent her husband round with these flowers for me...wasn't that just the sweetest?

16. The boy loves his books, what can I say! The second we walk into Tesco or Asda or anywhere he heads for the books and magazines...not that I mind, he isn't a big fan of sweets n rubbish like that. Each month I have to rotate the contents of these two shelves though so he gets use out of the other books in his room...either that or I need a bigger house!! :)

17. Hand me downs...The novelty bags here were all Kirstens...which have many times found themselves in the box for the charity shop but Charley always comes along and insists on keeping them...so now I quit trying...this lil fun holder is all it needs...and voila!! :)

18. Hmm my boy is into his dvd's and i'm the sucker that obliges him! His bedtime routine is about reading, praying, chatting and then he'll settle down with something fun...it works for him and it works for me! :)

19. The glasses, oh boy are these the bane of my life! The get lost, they get forgotten, they get kicked, scratched, stretched, broken and still he folds them up at night and lays them neatly on his bedside table! He's so darned cute in them though so i'll forgive him! :)

20. Shoes! One of Charley's favourite pairs, well boots really, he always corrects me when I get lazy and call them shoes! He wears them with shorts, jeans, pj's and even when he's nude...he likes his shoes does me boy...just like his mummy loves her boots! :D

I am bored with this game now. I'm off to bug Jd for a while!! :)

Sweet dreams :)

Debsx

Just because I can...........:)

2008-04-18T19:43:00.003+01:00

I am obsessed with this lil Fuji number so since we've had it both Kirsten and I have been taking some pretty daft pictures that are amusing us no end! So, i'm going to amuse myself on here too and post some of them....happy viewing if you're brave enough!! :)

1. My faithful little radio...never lets me down, always gives me good reception and keeps me company when the kids wont! :) His name is Dock :)

2. Next to my fluffy slippers and Aston Villa Football socks these are the the most comfy things to touch my tootsies! Dont be silly, who names shoes?!! :D

3. A little sliding hook thingymajig I picked up from Ikea with the intention of using it for some odd scraps of ribbon etc, however it obviously didn't make it there but it holds these pretty little bracelets of Princess Kirstens...the colourful one being a Baptism gift of Chris (**waves**) the silver one behind it was her great-nans which her nan gave her a couple of weeks ago to remember Nanny Chips by and the other one is one she bought herself some some shop that you need a 2nd mortgage for just for walking in the door! :)

4. My favouritest clock in the whole wide world! :) Winne the Pooh (come on sing along!!), you boring lot!! :) Hangs proudly in my kitchen it does! :)

5. These lil babies are my lil memory makers, they are a few of the little gifts that have been bought for my by dear friends. I have three bad taste bears, Winnie the Pooh friendship and a pretty swan 'best friends' plaque. aawwww :)

6. Cherished Teddies....now these I could look at and admire all day long! These are just a few of what I have (packed away) but they are speshal to me cos it was one of the first things I started collecting after my 8 year fad of collecting carrier bags wore off! Well! Did I SAY I was normal?! Eh? Eh? Lol

7. Yet more lil treasures given to me by my friends...nothing gets left out with me, if someone takes the time and effort to buy me something I use it, display it and totally keep it, no matter how worn or battered it can become. I like the constant reminders around me that my life isn't just about me, but it is what it is because of the people I have in it. I know I am so very blessed. :)

8. This is just a silly giggle, this is actually my work mobile! Battered for sure, not the hi-tech thats out there now but it does its job brilliantly and the camera on it is pretty handy for quick shots!

9. I love my candles! These are just a few that I have on my living room window. Throughout my house I have a range of colours, shapes and sizes. Having got into candlemaking back in November/December I was pretty proud of the two smaller of these babies! :)

10. Dontcha think that whatever your kids give you is the bestest ever? I LOVE Me2u bears, just totally and utterly love them! I have a range of them, on my bed, on the window and even a couple in my car (somewhere!), Kirsten is the one that will see them and know that mum is going to just love it! Keyrings, pens, notelets, you name it I have it and I just cant get enough of the little cuties!! :)

I have more to show, but I hate the way blogger always sticks the pictures at the top of the post and throws off all the spacings that I done before!! So, i'm going to do another post....just cos I can! :)

HS:MS

2008-04-18T14:30:00.006+01:00

Sad:

Feeling or showing sorrow. Show us sad in your space today.

I couldn't decide what was the saddest today so I decided to get the kids to do some acting!! This is what they come up with....and you can tell who the drama queen is eh? :)

For the life of him, Charley just can't do the sad face, he's so busy in his own little world that he is only sad when I say the word 'nap' but he laughed when I said that...cos he knew he had to eat first!! Doh

Princess Kirsten makes me laugh! This is not a real sad face but by 'eck its a guddun!! :)

This is truly sad... the offending well over grown tree that Jay cut down for me in March...laying lifeless and abused in the back garden! Still gotta find its way to the tip yet...but I guess dead stuff dont move eh? :)

My darlin' #1 son is going to help me (and some guys from church) do the garden next week, and my boy works like a trojan when he gets his hands on a power tool!! We plan to secure all the garden so the dog cant jump into adjoining ones and that rottweiller cant come back into ours! I have loads of plants to do and Charley is eager to do more of his little garden patch but only Jay can do it he said!! :) While Jay is here we are planning on some time out with the kids, he wants to take Charley swimming and to the Dick Whittington Zoo so that'll be a good starting point. Plus he has said he will finish the painting in my living room for me! :) Bless him :)

Kirsten is back at school on Tuesday but she is already stressing out over it. She woke up this morning with a mean attitude that just didnt quite fit, yet I hadn't a clue what could have caused it. Eventually, after many tears and strops she blurted out her fears of going back to Barnwood. She has just 3 months left of Yr 7 so I asked if she could see it through till then, but she was back on her inhaler with sheer stress, I have never seen anyone her age get so worked up to the point of hyperventilating/asthma (which she has been diagnosed as having). So, new school it is, nothing is worth the emotional and mental trauma of my kids (or anyones really) so if moving works for her then who am I to argue too much? She is now on the front with two of her friends and the dog...laughing as though she doen't have a care in the world, just as it should be at 11 years old.

The wind is picking up again here, I wish it would hurry up and pass through, it does nothing for my hair I tell ya! :) I dont think the dog has ever walked so fast as he does when he's outdoors, Charley refuses to go out in it in case he 'turns into a kite' (his words!) yet Kirsten just doesnt care! Is it just me with strange kids?

Back to the fairy chores now...I really have to focus on some offending boxes that are stacked in my hallway...I am convinced they multiply in the twilight hours cos I was sure i'd finished unpacking!! :) Ho hum! The upside though is when i'm caught up with myself I am going to spend some time doing some scrapping! I have finally finished the lo's without pictures too...instead of trekking into town yesterday my lil Selphy friend decided to work and obliged very nicely at printing off many photos for me so now i'm a happy chick and ready to get some crafty time in, thats what I call cool! :) I've added below some of the ones i've finished...just two of them need their titles finishing then i'll share them too :)

Have a good day :)

Debsx

Is it better?

2008-04-17T13:59:00.008+01:00

The font I mean. I personally think using a colour on a black background can be pushing the eye power a bit too much, but i find some fonts blur into the one blob at a certain size too...so i'm trying to find a happy medium for you and me, cos i'm nice like that you see! :D

What a windy day it is here! I opened the back door to let the dog out, he was blown backwards a few inches as was the loaded washing basket! Thats how strong it is...and no, I wasn't talking at the time!! :) We were gonna go into town again and get some photos developed....(oh Sonia...yes please...she knows what i'm on about!) I have decided to work backwards with my kids albums, so from the layouts i've already done I shall now be working back the pages so they are in age order for them. I have been a good girl, I have them all sorted out into the correct piles, who, age, where etc and i've even got some of the cardstock I want to use!! The downside is I just dont know where to start, I need to get my butt to one of Sonia's (**waves**) crops so I can focus...though in reality thats a myth, i've never known anyone focus at a crop!!! :D Maybe I should find a scrap buddy to come join me in my lil dining room and do it that way? There's an idea! All applicants on a postcard please!! :D

The layouts i've done last week I shall put the sketches on my site soon as, so if anyone wants to use them they are most welcome to. They are hand sketched, none of this clean line clever stuff that you get in word or publisher or whatever you use! But thats what I like, things done naturally and freely. I especially like my white pen on coloured cardstock, I will do almost anything with it...:D

The concert that Kirsten went to last night was excellent, according to the rave i've been having about it ever since! Where am I going now? is produced by lds kids and directed by the lovely David Day (who, incidentally answers his emails rather speedily!!!) You don't have to be Lds to enjoy it or get anything out of it and you dont have to be a teenager either, it is a show made up of lots of typical challenges faced in this world and some very good ways to find your way through them. They are playing at Bristol for the next two evenings, info is on their site if you wanna go check it out.

I thought i'd share some more pictures too :) Here ya go....This is the best shot i've had of Jakeyroo so far....looks a bit mean in his eyes dontcha think?

Talking of dogs...this is a picture Kirsten found when she was browsing the internet looking for Jake (though not him specifically but a dog to have as her own anyway) How cool is that heart marking??

This made me laugh, as Princess Kirsten was getting ready to go to the show last night she was trying on my tops to go with a particular pair of jeans...I caught her just right...she didn't quite see the funny site to the word: improvement! Doh, dunno why!! Hehehe

When we moved into this house the garden was without border, neatly trimmed and just...bland. So when I decided to spruce it up I found that the ground is very hard, there are clumps of grass, its not as level as it looked and it needed a guy! This is my first attempt at the front garden..i'm not even go mention the back one!!!

However, with a team of guys from church the basic needs of the garden will soon be put into place when they get here! All I have to do then is look after it and make it pretty!! :D

Back to scrapbooking, I have just signed up to use the scriptures as a way of scrapbooking my family and me....its also a good way to learn them too so i'm excited to get going on it!! :) When I come up with something i'll post...until then it looks like i'm scrapbooking without photos if I rely on my lil selphy mate here...he's having a right ole strop with my usb port!!! **sigh**

Oh I have to share some of the things that Prince Charley says now, he has us in stitches sometimes:

* Jamp ~ Jump ~ he sounds dead posh when he says that!

* I'm sorry for biting your finger mum ~ the lil **** bit my finger (hard!) as he took a bite off my sandwich!!

* When he says a prayer he always asks first 'is Heavenly Father tired of me yet Mum?'

* When we are going out he will run to the bathroom, stand on his little step and say 'totally gorgus'

* He likes ballerina's (dont say a word!!) so when in town yesterday we saw 2 girls dressed up while giving out leaflets for a nightclub, he promptly stopped, peered over his glasses and stared...put his hand to his mouth and whispered 'real barellinas mum'. The girls giggled and waved at him!

* He tells me not to eat my sandwich till we are in the car!

* He doesn't need juice anymore, he needs milk!

* He's too big to wear a nappy for bed but hates to be woken up to go to the toilet so he chose the nappy...and hates it!!

These are just a few of the things I think are cute with him, he is such a character everyone just falls in love with him!! Ok yes, I admit I am bias too!! Lol

Ok, off to figure out the issues in my life....my naughty usb ports.....with the help of good ole Chris! **waves**

CYAxx

Say cheese! :)

2008-04-17T12:17:00.004+01:00

Now its time for some photos! Just to make the blog look interesting!! :) This is Princess Kirsten having kisses n cuddles off Jakeyroo! Puckeremup! :)

My one painted wall in the living room...though the picture of the temple is in black and grey (naff picture I know but I was as squashed up the side wall as much as I could be!!) I like it enough for it to interupt my colour theme of Seychelle Blue and chocolate! :)

No Princess is truly awake until she's full and final on her make-up! Even if it means doing it in the car when your on the way to a farm in the wind! Oh the memories........!!

My lil dude is so happy sat in his big boy seat for local trips, talking about his friend JD who is going to build him a tree house, paint it blue, put a tv and dvd in there and remember to make the ladders too! Luv his mind and fine tune to details!! :)

Not a sweet tooth child but he insisted on this ice cream when he saw other kids with one...so being a nice mummy I obliged...only by this time it was dripping and he just wasn't sure it was such a good idea after all!! :) The bucket on his head, incidentally is indeed a halloween sweet bucket...that he insists on wearing pretty much all the time as his fireman hat! He has a real toy one of course but 'its not so good' as that one!! Godda luv im!!:)

Farmer boy! Of all the animals, play areas and stuff he coulda done, he insisted on this beat up old tractor. He loved it and spent most of his time on it while I sat texting and Kirsten went to pet the donkeys!

Even Kirsten got bored waiting for the boy to get off the tractor!! The wind was getting strong by this time, and biting cold! A bit of mummy blackmail followed...something to the tune of MacDonalds if I remember correctly!! Hehehe :)

This is what I found last night when I went to wake him up to get Kirsten to the chapel. I walked into his room, saw the empty bed, no body on the floor or under it but I did see all his clothes from the wardrobe on the floor and hanging out the door....slowly opening it this is what I saw...

Charley planting paid off after 3 days, this is the sunflower he called Kirsten...pretty cool eh? :)

And this is the one called Charley...very original eh? :)

For now that is yer lot! I might upload some more later, just cos I can! :) I been taking some real daft shots with this lil nifty camera, though it doesn't replace my other one its a pretty good spare one to have!! :)

Have a great day :)

Debsx

Back from the past :)

2008-04-16T16:36:00.005+01:00

Conspiracy theory:
1. Firefox infects my computer
2. Microsoft Outlook refuses to send emails but will accept them
3. Some eejit hacks into my other yahoo email account and causes havoc
4. The dog runs away (ok nothing to do with this but i'm looking for the violin treatment!!)
5. I've gained 3lbs cos I stopped eating Jaffa Cakes (go figure!!)
6. My internet went down cos the company needed to do work but stuffed it up (went without for about 4 days!)
7. I bought me two pairs of gorgeous suede (or is it suade?) boots, 1 cream and 1 grey and neither of them fit...but they wont exchange cos I lost the receipt!
8. I hurt my back when I moved my dresser from the dining room to the hallway
9. Both of my printers refused to acknowledge my laptop even though i've used them on here before.

I know if I think about it there's more but that little lot is enough for anyone right? So, mix it all up and that's why I haven't been around for a wee while. Pretty frustrating I tell ya. On the up side though, I decided to buy a spare camera, its only a lil Fuji FinePix A510 but till my other one is sorted it'll do fine. I'm having fun again now, to the point where Charley asks me to sit with him 'on my own'!! Hehe

I have managed to do 6.5 layouts too! :) Big whoopee for me! However, cos I prefer to scrap with 6 x 4 I done the layouts without the pictures, which isnt that difficult to do unless ur going to get all fancy with them...which I dont. Now I just have to put the photos on when they are printed courtesy of Boots tomorrow and I shall load them on here! :) Feeling pretty chuffed with meself! I also decided, quite randomly one morning at 6.50 that i'm going to paint my living room...Seychelle Blue. Gorgeous colour. I am one of those suckers that bought the magic roller for the paint to go inside, only it took almost an hour for it to seep through....cos dipstick me didnt soak it in water first!! Doh So by this time I was bored, but I endured to the end of one wall...which I think looks really nice. Just add some chocolate candles, gold coloured, glass trim photo frames and bingo! The only thing is I run out of time, energy and inclination for the other three walls....BUT I have my #1 boy coming on Saturday and guess how he'll be singing for his supper? :) :) Yep, i'm a meanie mummy!! Lol In between the rain its been nice, so we, correction, I have been out the front strimming, digging and well thats it....Charley and I planed some sunflowers in his pots, we done cress that I managed to drown and some pots of other seeds for some pretty multi coloured flowers! Sounds a whole lot better than it is....the grass out front is only 1/4 done and the digging is only 2/16 done!!! :) (not that I know fractions but it sounds better than 4'!!!)

We went off to the Country Cattle Working Farm yesterday, not as good as I thought it would be, especially for what it cost to get in, but with camera in hand I took solace in the fact that I could once again take a few pictures and have something to do while Charley rides the tractor and Kirsten pets the donkeys...WRONG! Cos dipstick me, forgot to pick up the memory card, the camcorder wasn't charged (my ultimate back up!!) and it was 2o miles or so from home. So I got 9 pictures which the camera holds itself and that was it! We missed the chicken that chased charley, the goat that tried to headbutt Kirsten and the cow that run away from me! I tell ya, nothing like being popular is there?!!! :)

Kirsten has started making friends with some of the kids in our street, which isn't a bad thing at all, she comes in with a sparkle in her eyes, laughing and just eager to get up and do stuff. I took her computer apart ready for it to go on the desk which is now in the dining room so I could keep eye on things when she's on MSN, that was a week ago, she's not once asked for it or mentioned it. Instead she's out there, with Jake on his lead, laughing and playing. I haven't heard her laugh like that for a long, long time and I tell you, its worth more than anything else I could have in the world. She's having a sleep over tomorrow night, so i'm preparing for a long, loud and late night....all plans for Friday are cancelled so I can recover!! :D Tonight she's off to Bristol Chapel to a concert for the Young Women, that'll be a really good opportunity for her to meet others in her age group at different wards and branches plus the concert 'Where am I going now?' is reported to be brilliant! Last night she made some chicken nuggets, cut the chicken in nice, even sizes, basted them, covered them in batter....then went out leaving me to finish them off! Charley and I didn't mind though...they were gorgeous with jacket potatoes and prawn mayo!! :D

Lots of things have happened this last week, though they escape me right now...I guess i'm still consumed with self pity of all the little things that have gone wrong!!! I hope that violin is going!!! :) On the upside though, my laptop is my bestest buddy again (so long as I dont open firefox!) and the kids aren't threatening to have me adopted!! :D

I must remember to change the font/colour on here too....cant be sat here moaning when someone cant read it can I? That's the whole purpose of moaning!!! :D

Right.....now off to do dinner....then I have to continue to work through £100+ emails and catch up with my team mates...who will most likely think i've done a runner again!! Doh Oh, i'll be adding some photos later....or tomorrow...whenever I get to raise my head from the keyboard!! :)

Hope you is all ok...and got the sunshine :)
Debsx

Wonderpet, Wonderpets we're on our way...!!

2008-04-05T12:15:00.005+01:00

This is what my 'wonderpets' are singing today...Charley loves this programme on Nick Jr and is forever singing it as he struts around, now I have Princess Kirsten dancing around with new words but same tune...Charley encourages her and every now and again I get a palpitation as the pitch goes up a few bazillion decibels! Oh how I love happy children...and today mine are definitely wonderpets!! :D

Talking of pets, I have a lil black fur ball that answers to the name of Jake who is most definitely on a death wish. Whilst Kirsten and I were taking turns looking after Charley throughout last night while the poor little dude was throwing up and coughing, the mutt decided it was a great time to play! He was dashing round the landing, in and out of each room, skidding on the laminate floors and sounding like he was about to yelp at any minute. I was convinced after half hour he would crash n burn before the neighbours came round and threatened that law thats still in place: Murder! However, the mutt was tireless for almost FOUR hours! During which time Charley had threw up three times, had four sets of pj's on, been sponged down 3/4 times and got through a good litre of warm water. Kirsten and I was hanging out of our eyeballs yet we couldn't leave him. I got the grand total of 3 hours sleep after the mutt eventually calmed down...though I do wonder if my size 5's had anything to do with it on his head?!! JOKE!! Pmsl I wouldn't hurt him for anything! :) Kirsten summed up zero hours sleep, poor doll is shattered but cant quite drop off so i've left her in her room to chill out. That was after we went for a walk over the field! Charley needed some air, the dog needed to release that energy and I just needed to wake up a bit! Now though, we are back huddled on my bed threatening to get in the shower but not quite there yet and totally happy to veg all day long!! Go figure!!

Kirsten has just made our second appointment at the nail technicians salon and we are excited! Last time we went we had a full hand treatment, the massage, polish, trim and french manicure. This time we shall go for the same but i'm having acrylics again, I figured with some of the events I have coming up I will need to get my already well cared for nails looking even nicer and well...I just like acrylics! :) We are also booked in at the hair salon, this is a treat we have every 6 weeks or so, just cos our hair is so long and well, there's only so much I will do on hers and my hair! :) Charley, not wanting to miss out, has already had his hair chopped real short, and looks the right lil man I can tell ya! I like being a girl...it most definitely has advantages!:)

Kirsten is off to her nans later today ro tomorrow for the week (the correct Easter term holiday!!) so its just going to be Charley and me and the mutt! I have a few plans with him but I can only follow those through if he doesnt develop any infection or something. So fingers crossed! :) I shall be spending this weekend finishing off the write up for the Tag Book and then I just have a few finishing touches for the other book then they're both ready to go on my site :)

I bought a Cricut a few weeks back, its turned into a major disaster, the person I purchased it from has mysteriously vanished! I have details and Paypal are investigating it but I feel more frustrated and annoyed at the lack of communication, that really narks me!! So for now I am STILL without Cricut and I am not a happy chick! :( All that time I was saving 1p, 2p,5p, 10p, 20p's all seems to be for nothing!!! Grrrr And on the subject of gadgets, my camera STILL hasn't been collected and i've been waiting for months now! My continuous moans to the insurance company is tedious and I have had to get very mean with them now, paying an extra £200 for extended warranty was not what I expected! So i'm still battling on with pot luck photos but I admit that the heart has gone out of it now. I miss so many photo opportunities that I am convinced i'm going to have a big gap in my family journal and our albums, thats annoying too! Ok I have to stop being annoyed, its does nothing for me wrinkles!! :) :)

Ok the Lady of the Manor has entered the shower which means I have to move my butt and get motivated again. Charley has just nodded off on my bed so now is a perfect time to sort out his toy boxes! Joy! :)
Debsx

Why do I insist on a snappy title?

2008-04-03T22:30:00.005+01:00

I spend longer thinking up some one liner for a title than I do actually blogging...and if I'm really clued in I will blog about the subject in the title because the title sounds better than what I was going to blog about in the first place!!! Lol Makes sense? Absolutely! :)

So do I blog about what the title is here or do I move on? I'm crap at making decisions you know, I can almost break out into a sweat when I am forced into one!! Doh Anyway, rather than make a decision i'm going to just see what flows out my little pink brain cell. Who said they were grey anyway? Its a myth. It is, I tell ya!!! :) I want a pink one and that's what I shall have!! :)

I'm bored of that one now, I have to tell you about my mate Sonia (**waves**), now there a bit you need to know first, she looks like butter woulnt melt in her mouth...but let me tell ya...IT WOULDNT!!! She is so sweet and fun that she almost makes me feel hyper!! Go figure!! Well, earlier, we were on the phone, having a good ole chat, giggle n stuff, as you do and she lightly mentioned that she is going to COUNT all the times i've used 'go figure' in this blog!! :D Now I haven't told her i'm going to blog about that, purely cos its my payback for her telling me i'm mad!!! :P:D So, with her obsession of my Americanism's (of which I think is quite tame considering the American influences I have in my life!) I am aghast that she so easily takes away my britishness!!! :D So, just for Sonia I shall do a new tagline...called...go figure!! At least from this point on she can see when i've used it, which will save her hours an hours of time counting them up!! :D :D Gotta luv yer friends eh? :)

Moving on, Ty and Kian are now safely home with their mum, brother and sister! I sat down at the table after they went and listened to the silence...a massive contrast to 2 hours earlier when they were playing hide and seek upstairs with Charley. All I heard was thuds, slams, bangs, laughter and giggles. I lay on my bed just loving the whole sound, listening to them and giggling, obviously the noise and volume were muffled through my bedroom door so it wasn't quite so ear pearcing!! :) The silence can be a louder sound than volume though, and thats what fell over the house for he next hour or so when Kirsten and Charley were out playing in the front garden. **sigh**

We had a visitor today, an unwanted visitor I might add. Yeah i'm a meanie, you'll get over it!:) It was a very friendly neighbours dog, a Rottweiler called Angel. Now i'm no wuss or anything with dogs and this one didn't look scary but as I didn't know the dog there was no way I was trusting Jake to go out and chase it off and save my honour! At that particular moment though, Kirsten's friend Keevy called for her who just happened to be this dog's owners cousin! So off it trotted with two girls in tow....quite fast at that, with pigtails in a horizonal line following them!! :D Dog disappeared but somehow the girls found their way backs...wanting money to go to the shop!! Doh really must figure that out!! :D

Firefox is a royal pain in the rear end to me right now! I'm still wading through my folders for all the links I want to keep but each time I go from one tab to another it crashes. So now I have to have one link on each page and too may open STILL crashes my laptop!! So after many hours of sorting, searching, scanning and cleaning today I think I am almost ready to finally uninstall and reinstall it...well after a few more folders anyway. Somehow I think it's let something dodgy into my system through the back door and now i'm finding little problems throughout my computer. Luckily I have my rescue man friend, Chris (**waves**) on hand who is forever bailing me out!! :D Where would we be without friends eh? :)

{I have to say, i've very disappointed that for all the emails I had about Ellie Wiseman's box book its not gone as well as it appeared. For goodness sake it is for a child that NEEDS help! Its not for me, or a profit!! Sorry for my rant but i've been simering on this for a few days now!! So, come on, do your bit, its only £6 and if it was someone close to your heart would you not bother? Hmm go figure!!}

Garden Boy Charley has strutted his stuff most the day, in the garden digging his little area with all he has, he's told me all about the butteflies, the seagulls and the spiders. He prayed that the butterflies would not leave his garden and that the birds would not eat his dinner and even that the spiders would not come into his house!!! Dontcha luv the way kids minds work? :) He went to bed tonight with dirt still grimed into his fingernails and spuds in his ears (that was after a shower!!) but very happy and content! Bless!

I'm falling asleep sat here so i'm off to my favourite place in the whole wide world...bed :)
Debsx

The ultimate load of waffle! :)

2008-04-03T00:36:00.005+01:00

Well, I want to waffle....not sure what about yet...all I know is I want to waffle! :)

So here goes:

Err...err......ah I know...blogs. My favourite subject :D (I really, really want to be able to do proper smilies on here!!!) Blogs, yeah, I have just added my team mates blogs way to the right there....because I think they are worth looking at, they are a very talented bunch and i'm grateful they let me into their team (on uk scrappers) cos you see, I am the crappest person in the world for keeping things up to date...and the only reason this blog is up to date (of sorts) is because if I don't keep an account of certain things I forget what i've told my family and what I haven't, plus it stops me having to repeat myself...unless is Elaine (**waves**) of course, who will read this blog then call me to talk about it! Gotta luv her though, she's so cool!! :D I browse so many blogs that I literally have a list of them in a notebook, to date there are over 300 of them so forgive me for being totally scatty and not keeping up with them, I wish I could though, I LOVE BLOGS!!

What else can I waffle about? I love this waffle, just goes to show that since I decided to take some day off from working my brain goes to mush :) No comments please! :P Did you know that people who waffle are considered more intelligent? NO I DID NOT JUST MAKE THAT UP!!! Lmao Apparently waffle (though the article I read referred to it as 'Idle chit chat' but i'm not that well etiquetted {see!!}) is a gateway to a persons inner thoughts and emotional stability. Slam and blast is what I say, listen to the waffle and you get the total IQ rating in 10 seconds flat...THAT's why I am Billy No Mates eh?!! :D :D :D Well it was a good article, but I do think it was written by some guy who was new at reporting and hadn't a clue what women were all about, much less his job in the first place which then poses the question of what is he doing working there in the first place?!! :D Doh

We had a great (but short) Family Home Evening, I found a good talk about the creation of the world from the Primary section of the Lds site, some great ways to explain to kids about how the world started then my two nephews throw me sideways and ask: 'Aunty Deb, why did all the dinosaurs die?' I was kinda just gutted! I do not know the answer!! I have never known the answer, and I probably never will cos I never remember to ask it or research it!! So I thought I was pretty clever when I said: 'well, maybe they just ran out of dinosaurs to fight with and got bored to death?'. Ok it wasn't the smartest thing to say, especially when a 6 year old pipes up 'you can't really die of being bored cos I would already be dead now'. Yep I cracked at that statement, said with such honesty and conviction! Incidentally, I am also hacking my brain to see if he meant he was bored here too!! Go figure!! Charley decided today that he didn't want to have a wash after eating my Cola Cubes which Chris (**waves**) had sent me (or i'm assuming they were for me, they were in the box of goodies he sent for Kirsten and as there was 3 bags of sweets....well go figure!!) his hands were sticky and I wanted to do a run to Tesco, he immediately put on the face tears, scrunched up his face and declare that he doesn't like a wash. I looked at him, and tried ever so gently to explain that he will have everything stick to him if we dont clean him up. At which point the dog came walking into the room, strutting his stuff as he does, and began licking Charley's hand clean. I sat there watching him thinking 'right definitely no compromises here, he really has to get washed up. Before I could lead him to the bathroom he piped up ' Done it mum! Jakes cleaned me!' I chuckled, as you do but still fought on with a face cloth and a bottle of Kandoo face wash.......!!!

The kids done some more baking today whilst I played domestic goddess...they trashed the kitchen while I cleaned beds, floors and windows...such a good balance going on there!! :) The chocolate cake was the deciding factor of the length of their repentance...one bite and they were redeemed of all wrong doing! :) Cheap? Heck yeah! :) When we were out shopping I bought more stuff, cos tomorrow they will do it again, and I will forgive them all for a slice of chocoalte cake!! Luvin kids that cook! :)

Charley had a 'grown up' garden collection today. In Tesco they have a gorgeous range of fun gardening pots, trowels etc so I got a bit of all sorts for the lil dude. Sitting at the table later on I chucked as he wore his gardening hat, apron and gloves to eat his pizza! He said he was ready to 'get going'! I don't think so son, not at 9pm!! :) Yeah we ate late, we had too much going on and the boys (Ty and Kian) wanted to go 'late night shopping' but as I wasn't prepared to go at 2am I convinced them that 8pm (their normal bedtime) is just as good!! :) If it works use it right? :D They go home tomorrow, Mum and Angie are coming up at some point and will swing by and visit me (which i'm wondering if they'd do if I didn't have her kids?! Go figure!!) so i'm looking forward to seeing them both. :)

I am being scripture challenged...have been working through the book of Alma in The Book of Mormon with JD, sharing scriptures is one of the best ways I learn them and find ways to incorporate them in my life, well, so long as one of us dont get off track and end up in fits of giggles! Did I SAY it was me!!!!! :D So tomorrow I am challenged to read the whole of the 5th chapter, which is extremely inspiring and to the point. If anyone wants to read it click here, its a very good read and whether you are a Mormon, Christian, other faith or none at all it will inspire you and definitely give you some good understanding of how to improve things in our daily lives.

I had a lady who recently decide to challenge me, as an athiest she felt she had all the answers for everyone (I feel everyone has the free choice to look for answers if they want to or no look if they dont) anyway, after about 30 minutes of hearing all the scientific reasons why the Mormon church is not true (and many internal feelings I can tell you!) I was suddenly inspired to simply reply back 'I'm sorry you feel that God is punishing you, I hope one day you will look at how he loves you instead'. She went quiet and I stood there, not quite sure what to say next cos I really didn't want to offend her (or get my head swiped off!) after a few seconds she stood up straight and said 'Do you think i'm negative?'. I was very reluctant to answer this because its pretty much a judgement on her personality which I didn't want to do, so I asked 'what do you think?' she looked at me, at Charley then said 'I dont know, maybe I am'. I still didn't know what to say, I was feeling frustrated that I didnt feel the spirit to guide me so I done what I knew best, I hugged her and just said, 'the best person to ask about who and what you are is your Father in Heaven'. I don't know how she felt at that moment, or afterwards even but I know I felt like I could have said more, but somehow I also felt it wasn't the right time. I have since heard that this lady has been investigating all the faiths out there in search of one answer 'Am I negative'. To the most of us that is a pretty straight forward question, but this lady is looking for a deeper meaning, a deeper understanding inside herself. I can relate to that because I am a deep person, I have to analyse my thoughts and feelings, opinions and actions which can all too often leave me feeling like i'm negative because I dont recognise my strengths or talents. When I do though, I then run the risk of it being slammed because the world apparently doesn't like hearing someone talk of their good points. In my humble opinion, if we talked MORE of our own good points and less of someone elses so called bad, each and every one of us could make a difference.

Wow! It's been a long time since I got that deep on a blog!! I felt inspired to write it though, so whoever reads this, I hope you take something from it, cos when all is said and done, we all share the basics...a body, a heart, a mind and a soul...as well as free agency. Put the lot together we are what we want to be...not a template for the next person to follow us from. Go figure.

Right time for my bed, its silly o'clock again and Kirsten has another GP appointment in the morning. Update on the bullying will follow soon as the school have concluded their investigation. I've had a few msn/yahoo IM's regarding that so I know there are some out there who are interested.

Happy Friday :D
Debsx

Ellie Wiseman's Box Book Project Reminder

2008-04-01T09:43:00.002+01:00

ELLIE'S PROJECT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON MY SITE!
If you wanna get it you can go HERE or you can click this

1st April

2008-04-01T09:01:00.004+01:00

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!! I hope your out there to cause a bit of havoc this morning!!! If anyone feels like it i'd love to hear what stunts you pulled {or had pulled on you} cos I luv a good chuckle :}

Which do you think looks good for a smiley face, this one: :) or this one: :} ? I like this one: :} I never thought of using that one till now but I think it looks quite good! Just idle thoughts there :}

Princess Kirsten got so stressed yesterday at the thought of going to school that she literally hyperventilated. This caused me a lot more concern than my error of mixing up the Easter holidays, it eventually came out about the severity of the bullying she is enduring at school so I had to get on that case. Now the school are making it an official investigation, these 3 girls are not giving up and have now taken it onto msn. I have had Kirsten print off all the chats to support her claims but its put a massive divide between the girls in the class {who are said to be the worst Y7 group in years} so what was once a popular and somewhat equally confident Kirsten is now more like a dandelion on its last legs, something I am NOT prepared to tolerate any longer. I have a meeting with the head later today, he knows how angry I am, he knows the next step for me is the police and I believe he is at his limit with 2 of the 3 girls already. So this morning I have to get Kirsten checked out at the doctors, after this hyperventilating she suddenly had her right arm go numb and her lip swollen up. I wouldn't mind but she had sat at the table by me for two hours drawing and writing so it wasn't something she ate or done. I'm wondering if its a stress reaction she has. It was almost 3ish when she calmed down enough in my bed, my heart just aches for her right now.

I decided to keep Kian and Ty here rather than take them back to Angie. At least here they have the garden, Kirsten and Charley to play with here whereas at mum's her garden isn't really equipped for kids, they'd be bored. So after doing what I need to at Kirsten's school we are off to a little farm and play area in Prinknash to lighten up the issues with Kirsten and get the kids out, then tonight we are all going to bake some cakes {an interesting task considering how small my kitchen is!!} then we plan to do our Family Home Evening {something we do in our church to help bring families together and be strengthened as a unit and in the gospel} so the boys have chosen the lesson to be about The World! Now i'm not entirely sure yet how i'm going to do that one...BUT i'm about to embark on my research for it! Wish me luck!! :}

So, until my appointment time at the school and doctors I am going to procrastinate with the kids! Kirsten is still sleeping so the boys and I are going for a walk up to the park with the dog, let them run around for an hour while I sit and ponder {my latest favourite hobby!! :}} Oh I love these sunny days when we can just open the door and let in the air, stretch the old legs and be outside without fear of hypothermia!! :}

I had a good ole chat with my Scott yesterday about pretty much anything and everything under the sun, as you do! We talked about his upcoming 18th birthday in exactly 2 months today {of course i'm not that old to have 18 and 19 yr old kids!!} Because Scott likes family and friends around him we have come up with a good plan, on the Friday before his birthday we are having a pizza-q (the alternative to bbq!!) and having family and friends here...then on the saturday he will go out up to Tewkesbury with his friends and go home on the Sunday and have another night with his college friends down there! I am excited about this in one way...but on the other hand my garden is a total wreck and I have to get some back up in to help me whip it into some kind of shape! I'm also toying with the idea of making a whole load of 6" pizzas myself but that'll probably range around 50 or so {he has a lot of mates and my lot aren't light eaters!!} though i'm not convinced on that yet, I found that manslaughter is still illegal as well!! :} Either way i'm so looking forward to that weekend, as is my boy! Nothing like a good party, lots of good company, music and kids running round to feel the spirit of life again!

Back to the present, my day, simple, full and on the verge of totally lazy, but the way i'm seeing it is easy, i'm making memories! :}

Whatever you're doing, have a good one :}

No words

2008-04-01T04:33:00.002+01:00

What happens when your over worked? Pt 2

2008-03-31T11:40:00.004+01:00

Dipstick Dipstick Dipstick thats all I can say.

When Kirsten was off school resting her knee she had Good Friday and Easter Monday off, what I didn't know was that she should have been back at school last Tuesday! It was only because Jackie, the lady who is helping Kirsten with the bullying situation, knocked the door to see if we are ok! How stupid?!!! So now I have to drive 90 miles in one direction to drop the boys off to Angie at my mums then come back and go 50 in the other direction to pick up Kirsten from her nans!

To add to my ever growing list of numbing brain cells I posted out 4 letters last week, they arrived safely but i'd sent the wrong letters to the wrong people! Thankfully it wasn't anything controversial or personal but its now jolted me to realise that its all well and good being so busy but when mistakes like this happen its time to re-evaluate! So whilst i'm driving today I shall be doing just that.

I set out to only do projects for my website and the occassional workshop but how can someone say no when they are asked to share something with others? I cant keep what i've learnt about scrapbooking to myself! I dont consider myself a professional or particularly talented like some gorgeous stuff i've seen around but I do consider that my angle is worth sharing because I am a total believer in recording our lives, loves, laughs and other memories for future generations to come. Maybe thats just my feeling as Geneology is such an imperative thing in the Lds church and working on my own family history gave me a sense of worth and belonging, so if I can reach out to others to do the same and have some fun with it along the way then why would I not do so?! I very much appreciate the opportunities I have and have had so far, I will continue doing them and enjoying them, but I just have to remember to take time out for more than a few hours sleep, after all, without a life what do we have?!!

On the bright side though, the sun is shining, its relatively warm out and its definitely a sunglasses day!! :)

So why am I sat here? Well, because I am yet to get motivated! The boys (Charley, Kian and Ty) are out in the garden playing on the trampoline and with the balls, the dog is sat right behind me on the chair (and i'm amazed that my butt still fits on it!!) and I have to wait to hear from my mum so I know she is in...rather than go all the way down there and hang around! **sigh**

Last day of March...where has this year gone to? I say that every year but I really have lost the plot this year with how much work that has come my way. I am so grateful for the blessings of it all, and 99% of it is only from word of mouth! My poor website is taking the hit for it but on the up side I am almost ready to load a couple of projects, just have some finishing touches to do, so that will probably be the weekend now before they are uploaded. To date I have the Tag Book and an 8" x 8" flip book ..... the theme of which I will divulge nearer to it being uploaded! :D I think it will be liked a lot :D

Right, lunchtime for the boys. Have a great day :)
Debsx

You Tube....My Fancy! :)

2008-03-30T02:09:00.000+01:00

I have just found these and have almost p'd myself laughing! I just had to share them!!

Now for my REAL waffle! :)

2008-03-29T19:15:00.002Z

Just as you thought i'd shut up!! :D Oh how i'm giggling to myself here! Ok so I need a life...BITE ME!! :D
I've wondered round quite aimlessly today, the kids have had a couple of moments of total hysteria, madness and calm, it's been great having them here and only once have I looked into any new law changes on murder! Not bad eh?!! (Incidentally, no, the law has not changed, you still cannot commit murder in the UK!!). I have chocolate mousse's in the fridge and everytime they want one they do a job for me first...lmao...now this started a few days ago when I asked them to move their plates from the table then they could help themselves, since then its become a habit!! It tickles me but when I have been released from hoovering, polishing, emptying the bin, washing up etc, I am not going to speak up too fast am I? LMAO Gotta luv my nephews!!!
Ty comes downstairs just to ask me if i'm ok! He is my dude. Ever since he was small he and I have had some kind of connection, though I am close with all of them there's something else going on with Ty. He looks at me like i'm the most important person in the world and it makes my heart melt, he lubs his auntie debs!!
I'm feeling guilty now that I dont talk about my family on here!!! I wouldn't mind but they are a really good lot... ok so they're not as smart, funny, intelligent, gorgeous etc as me but hey....:D LMAO Just kidding! I AM!!! :D
So, back to today, I haven't really achieved much other than a sheer blitz of fairy chores, which I actually enjoyed doing. I'm wading through washloads after being a total lazy bugg*r the last few days in the vain hope the radiators will dry it sooner rather than later! Logic? Nope, should there be?!!
I've seen some ATC's on another blog that I really, really like. That is a first for me cos 1. I dont like small and 2. I have never been interested till I saw these. I'll link the blog up.....here ya go! I cant remember the ladies name who it belongs to but I know she is very talented!! Have a browse through her stuff, its just totally gorgeous!!
Its drizzled with rain here all day, even the dog wont go outside! Stupid mutt will soon go rushing in the shower with us though!!! :D Dogs are like men aren't they? A little on the misunderstood side!! :D :D :D Oh I thought that was funny!!! Hehehe
Ok, time to take a break, the cyber waves are getting me!! :D
In fact, i'm off to fiddle with some lettering for this Tag Book, I want to get it finished and written up tonight so I can put it on my site tomorrow and have the book ready to hand over to my lil man when he comes home tomorrow afternoon! Oooh I cant wait to see him!!!! :D
OH I have seen a blog...hosted by blogspot...that has proper smilies on it AND colour in the side panel letters...HOW DO I DO THAT? PLEASE have mercy on me and tell me. TELL ME!! :D
Ok, i'm calm!

Debsx

Families

2008-03-29T18:41:00.004Z

Just hopped on here to email my mum and in my email box was not one but two emails asking me why I dont talk about my family...it never occured to me to be honest, not that I dont care or anything, I just tend to waffle about what is forefront in my mind at the particular time of typing...and a little bit of the fact that I wont talk about other peoples business to others, especially on a blog. So I have decided that the compromise here is to tell you who is who and what is what! Hope you have a comfy chair and a clear mind cos you might need it! :)

I am the oldest of four. My parents divorced when I was 10 but have always remained good friends in their own right, not just for us kids. I have always been grateful to them for that brilliant example in my life. My mum married again a few years later, to Joe, who was a brilliant step-dad and I loved him to bits (even when we argued!!) he, sadly died of lung cancer some 17 years ago. I'm just grateful that he got to see Jaymie and Scott before he went, though I do wish he could have known Kirsten and Charley too. However, I strongly believe that he knows them from where he is so thats ok.

My dad has never remarried but is in a strong, long term relationship with Tina who is so cool! She is so good to my dad and brings the best out in him that she immediately gets my respect, before even getting to the kind of lovely person she is in her own right.

My mum lives in Taunton, which is 90 miles from where I am now, and my dad lives in Wolverhampton (my home town) which is 50 or so miles the other direction of me.

We had my sister when I was a year old, Julie, but she only lived for 5 weeks. I dont really remember anything about her but I feel her inside me after all the things i've been told. I'm looking forward to meeting and getting to know her in the next life though!

Then theres me. Mum to four kids who I am best friends with. Jaymie is 19, Scott is almost 18, Kirsten is 11 and Charley is 3. I always wanted more kids but my body couldnt cope with it so after the traumatic pregnancy with Charley I was told not to have anymore. Then my pre-pregnancy issues returned and I was given the option for a hysterectomy which I accepted. My biological days are over but my mothering days aren't. I do plan to foster when things are a little more financially secure for me. That is a dream i've always had.

My oldest brother is Darren, he is 35, married to Sharon who is (in my opinion) a match made perfect for him. They have Samantha 14, Stacey 12 and Jack 3. Daz and Shaz (note the rhythmic wave going on there eh?!!) live up in Cannock, about 10 miles from my dad and has his own business which keeps him out and about for endless hours a day!

One and only sister, Angie,who is 32. She has 4 kids. Mason 13, Ty 9, Kian 6 and Daisy almost 3. She lives in Walsall, about 50 miles from me. She is fantastic at making cards and does decoupage with such brilliance I swear she could easily make a living out of it if she wanted to. She is paired up with Duane who has a son from his previous marriage, called Jacob who is 10 (I think!!doh).

Then there's the baby of the family, Grant. He is 27, no kids, dating some gurl and extremely intelligent and academic. He has been all through college and university, has letters after his name (and not the swear ones either!!!) and has even lectured at the uni!! He is naturally funny, loving and philosophical in a way that puts Froyd to shame!!! Lol Grant is just so cool but very poor at returning calls, turning on his mobile phone and sending birthday cards!!! :D

So there you have it. Thats my family. I do include Jay's girlfriend, Leanne and her mum Elaine as my family cos they too are just part of my clan for what feels like forever now though in real terms its been for just under 2 years. I have other family members that float around, we turn up now and again and then float off with the tide of life but thats how I am as a person. I dont need to be a touch-base-every-day kinda person, I am secure in the relationships I form but that often makes me appear to be uncommitted when the truth is the total opposite. See, as a person I am a loner, I enjoy my own company, but I still enjoy company of others, sometimes on a one to one and sometimes in groups, its just who I am, and I actually like who I am so therefore see no reason to change it! :)

I think I covered the basics there dontcha think?!! :) Now if I was in a real chatty mood I would have took you back to the mid 1800's cos thats where I am in my family history!!! :D :D :D Oh I hear the sigh of relief there!! Hehehe

Ok, enough of that, I have a Tag book to finish ;)
Debsx

Ellie's Box Book Project Reminder

2008-03-29T16:12:00.000Z

ELLIE'S PROJECT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON MY SITE!
If you wanna get it you can go HERE or you can click this

I found something

2008-03-29T01:38:00.002Z

And I had forgotten all about it! It is a little forum I done last year, just messing around....I haven't (that I remember) shared it with anyone but I figured I would now...and see if anyone is interested! I'm not going to make a big thing of it as yet, I am far too busy to take something else on right now but if anyone does join then I shall definitely keep up with it and make sure I take it on!! :)

So HERE is where you go! Let me know what you think?

So the weekend is here and I am again hoping to get out of these four walls and get some air in my lungs. I am sure that it smells different out there than it does in my back garden!! I love working, I love being busy, I love making stuff and I love the opportunities that are coming my way, the only downside is I dont have the kinda time I used to to actually enjoy the other side of it....photography...which is probably a good thing at the moment with the camera acting up! But I have my beady eye on another that I am still hoping the insurance company will allow me to upgrade to, a Fuji would be soo cool, I've decided on that! :)

Charley is spending his first full weekend with his dad now which saved me a trip cos he decided to collect him. I'm sure Charley will be ok but I know after being away from me for over a week he wanted his mummy...however in my desperate attempt to build bridges with him I figured this might be the magic card that works..and voila...for the first time in 9 months 'he' actually had a civil few words to say to me!! Now I feel like a rock is off my shoulders, if only for a weekend. Now I have arranged to go and spend a couple of days with Jay next week, probably Thursday cos I cant shift all the commitments I have till then. It'll be great to get away and just chill out with him, Leanne and Elaine :) Duane and I called it a day a few weeks ago, one thing and another lead us to believe that we are better as friends. We are ok with that and I feel it was the right decision. Life is sweet, I have no complaints! :)

Thanks to Leanne I am so chuffed to show off my lil man over the side there.....aint he just HOT?!!

Due to the un-magicness of Firefox I have sat here for 4 hours tonight hand writing down all the blogs, sites and links that I use regular because I dont think I trust Firefox anymore. I had to go through what feels like hell to recover them but after that escapade i'm taking nothing to chance! If only there was a way to save the links on here that I could just print or save to a folder...if there is...please tell me!!! :)

I was thinking about my Dad yesterday, (regardless of my blunder post about Mothers Day!!!) and each year my brother, sister and I get even more confuddled on what to do for him or what to buy him. He isn't one for eating out, he has all the music he likes going back eons (sorry dad, didn't mean to imply you're that old!! hehe) and he pretty much has all he needs, so what am I going to do? Well, I remember when my boys were 2/3 and I didn't have much money so I put together one of those multi photo frames for him, he loves photos of his 11 grandkids so after much thought I kinda figure that as long as its not too girly or frilly he would appreciate a few items that he can use, and have the grandkids faces on! Now some of this stuff is still in progress cos getting photos off my brother is as good as impossible! So i'm waiting for my sister to dig some out...but right now she's away at my mums.........did I just drone on there? Dont worry, I bore myself sometimes too :D So, back to the point in hand, as soon as Angie gets her butt in gear I can finish the final part of my Special Collection!! For a man that does not do the softer, (considered) feminine things in life but will travel 13 miles to get his grandkids from school and take them 200 yards home is not an easy man to buy for...not in the craft world anyway!

So thats one of the things i'm working on at the moment. I am also working on (and half completed) a Tag Book that is intended for a small child. Charley loves the tins I make or the boxes I convert and will often have one hiding in his lil Bob the Builder suitcase and believe me, getting it out is almost like fighting with a pitbull!! So as he is currently learning to read and loves animals I have chosen to put the two together in an easy to view tag book. As per, when its on my site i'll post it here...or as per, you can subscribe to my newsletter!! How bout that for a novel idea!! :D Other things i'm working on....let me see...I have an 8 x 8 book coming up....thats something about Love...go figure!! Hehe Last but not least I am also at the planning stage of a recipe box...so it really would be a good idea to sign up to my newsletter!!! :) Get the message? Sign up to my newsletter!! :D

Ok i'm tired!! You can tell huh? Gee thanks!! :P Now i'm off to me bed to relax and maybe watch a movie...rather fancy Princess Diaries meself!

Oooh who likes Patrick Swayze? Ok ok calm down!! I was reading on his site about his treatment...he is way too talented, fit and sxc to submit to cancer, I for one am totally rooting and praying for him. Just thought i'd mention that. Cos I can!!

Byse bye :)
Debsx

Good ole You Tube!!

2008-03-29T00:07:00.000Z

Just have to share this amazing video!!

Ellie's Box Book Project Reminder

2008-03-28T20:59:00.002Z

ELLIE'S PROJECT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON MY SITE!
If you wanna get it you can go HERE or you can click this

What happens when your over worked?

2008-03-28T18:30:00.002Z

You talk about something that is not what you are doing, thinking or even is likely happening. MOTHERS DAY!

The correction is a Father's Day Special....I dont know why or how I come up with Mother's Day and not picked up on it!! It's not like I didnt have a very long Mother's Day here when we went to church and to Taunton!!! Doh

So...thanks for point it out to me....i'm not going to change the actual post cos I think its proof of my insanity here!!:D I blame it on being over worked! LOL

So...same deal...just make it on Father's day!! LOL

**back to the funny farm for me**

Debsx

Lost the moment

2008-03-27T15:10:00.003Z

It's so easy to get out the loop of things when you're busy innit? I woke today to find that yes my world is still spinning round but my to do list is not going down. However, I am taking today off to be totally free of any commitment that does not include Princess Kirsten or free fun on my good old laptop. I think I deserve a day off! I'm even thinking of working some more on Jay's album...now that is a drop down dead thought...its been over a year since I done my last layout for his or Scott's books!! Shame on me I know!
Princess Kirsten has finally found the charger to her video recorder so we are hoping to take off in the car this afternoon for a while...OH the plan to go to Brighton isn't till tomorrow! My ever changing world stops for no man I can assure you!! So, back to it, I have 2 of my nephews here, Ty and Kian who are currently out on the trampoline laughing and generally being boys while Kirsten is mothering them and i'm laying on my bed just....BEING LAZY...oh gosh does I feel good or what?!! Lost the plot again, right, we are probably going to head out in the car, turn left, right at the island and see where we get to...I love trips like that. With any luck Kirstens video recorder will last the duration and provide us (ok me!) with some inspiration for the Flower Book that is to be my next class ;)
Oh before I forget, does anyone know where I can get some COSMIC CRICKET range of cardstock??? PLEASE email me or leave a comment if you do, I LOVE that stuff but only saw it in passing as I was attending a meeting at a local community centre, by the time I was over the stuff had gone and the woman was gone so I didnt get to know more than the name of it...and hopefully i've remembered it correctly!

Ok I have a challenge for ya......and this is open to anyone in the whole wide world......:D I am planning and working on a Mother's Day Special...which is going to be a collection of gifts to make for our precious Mother's on their day, all will include cardstock and all are totally yummylishus! So...the challenge is this:

To get the class totally FREE all you have to do is send me three of your favourite Mother/Grandmother photo's, tell me why its your favourite using all the essentials of scrapbooking jouranlism elements (to know what that is go see my hompage) and show me any related scrapbook page you made with them!

There is no deadline to this challenge, well so long as it's before Mother's Day (2009 obviously!! )Hehe So if you want some ideas, something fun, different and exciting....get sorting or snapping your way to my email box! Send them to:

studio@sparkle-the-imagination.co.uk

I am still battling on with my camera, still unfixed and the good ole untrusted Firefox...both of which give me gall stones I tell ya!! I have totally lost my memory card somehow with over 200 photos on it, i'm only about a 10th of the way through saving stuff in my Firefox folders that I need to keep and it's the pits. I used to so love Firefox! :( My camera is a royal pain in the a*** cos sometimes it will do what I need it to, albeit at a low level of quality but other times it is so bad that I flinch at it!

~*~sigh~*~

I cant think of anything interesting to say, or remember what else i've been up to...but as i'm so out of touch with life on UKS and the groups I am in the please feel free to bring me up to date with wha t YOU are doing!! So dont remain a lurker forever (yeah I know who you are!! :P :D) come say hi and gimme sumat to read!! :D

Have a toptastic day!
Debsx

Errrrr..........errrr.............Ellie's Project is Finally Here!!

2008-03-27T02:01:00.002Z

Well do you want the good news or the bad news?
Good news first, ELLIE'S PROJECT IS NOW AVAILABLE ON MY SITE! If you wanna get it you can go HERE or you can click this

Just in case you dont know, or have forgotten, each download is only £6.00 and EVERY penny goes to Ellie's fund. For every payment that clears I will make a list on Ellie's link page on my site of all the people that have signed up just so you can see what is what and where is where. I must confess that I am very excited about this project, it has most definitely challenged me yet has been a great sauce of oooh's and aaah's by Princess Kirsten and by the end of the project...me too! Wonder what i'm on about? Well buy the class and see for yourself!! Hehe
PLEASE FORWARD THIS POST TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN COS EVEN THOUGH ELLIE HAS REACHED HER TARGET IT ALL HELPS TO ENSURE SHE CAN BE PREPARED FOR ANY FURTHER TRIPS THAT SHE MIGHT NEED. HAVE A HEART, FORWARD THIS ON! :)

Ok, other good news will come shortly, for now I want to moan and rant. My life the last two weeks has been full of ups and downs with major extremes. The downs consist of no internet for almost 24 hours, issues with Mozilla Firefox so now I have got to hope it lasts long enough to allow me to save all the stuff I have on here to uninstall it, it has totally messed up my computer on some of their latest updates. Thankfully IE has the tab system on it so I can work in a similar way but minus the folders which I find so useful on Firefox. I have home challenges to deal with, my nephews are here, Charley is still at Jay's and my ex is causing me grief like you wouldn't believe (because I let Charley go to Jay's!) Anway, one thing or another life has got rather dirty...BUT I have had some fantastic news too...

I am now the official Scrapbook Lady at Princess Kirsten's school!! Ho ho ho How that happened beats me but I am! Thats around 15+ classes per week to age 11 - 16 year olds PLUS a separate class for interested teachers!!! I am still in the process of working out the course process i'm using, and all the fine details but I am SO excited about it. That is 4 schools now that I have under my belt PLUS I have been recommended to FOUR self help communities to aid self help sessions...more on that when it comes.

There has been a lot more ups and downs but right now I want to have a sigh of relief that at last this class of Ellie's is available and I can have a day off any kind of work! Oh before I forget though, if you purchase the class today please be patient with me as I am driving down to Brighton to pick up Charley, so i'll be gone most of the day so when I get back I will definitely send your class to you if your payment is cleared.

Catch up soon, i'm off to sleep!!
Debsxx

APOLOGIES

2008-03-21T14:02:00.003Z

A SINCERE APOLOGY FROM ME, ELLIE WISEMAN'S BOX BOOK IS UP AND READY TO BE LOADED TO MY SITE SO AS SOON AS I AM IN A POSITION TO DO SO I SHALL, WHICH I EXPECT WILL BE LATER TODAY OR TOMORROW.

MY BROWSER , MOZILLA FIREFOX HAS CREATED ALL SORTS OF SYSTEM ISSUES THIS LAST FEW DAYS AND HAVE HAD TO GET IT ALL SORTED OUT. ALOT OF MY STUFF HAS BEEN LOST BUT ELLIE'S PROJECT IS ON THE TOP OF THE LIST RIGHT NOW.

I'LL POST AGAIN WHEN THE PROJECT IS ACTUALLLY LOADED ON MY SITE. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

Debsx

Ellie Wiseman's Box Book

2008-03-15T15:48:00.002Z

I'm sorry guys, I have as much of the box book ready as I possibly can...but I cant upload it till Tuesday due to me losing my memory card! I am sure I know where it is but will not be able to access it till Monday evening! Go on say it, What a Dope!!! :D I know, I know! I am so disappointed that I cant get this project to you today!

Thanks for being patient though :)
Debsx

Kirsten's Baptism 08/03/08

2008-03-15T11:28:00.002Z

Here it comes, the challenges of the day with a beautiful, spiritual ending...a day that neither Kirsten nor I will forget for a very long time!

Going back to the run up before we had a challenge finding the right white dress for Kirsten to get baptised in, not because they are hard to come by but because she does NOT do dresses or skirts! We had my friend from Tewkesbury running round for something even remotely suitable, we had the Missionaries going from one ward to another doing the same in each of the chapels (each chappel has a range of baptism outfits for all ages, male and female) and I even checked out Next, New Look, Tammy Girl, Asda, Sainsburys, Kia, River Island and whole lot more places...but nothing...in the end she decided on the VERY FIRST dress the Missionaries showed her! Yes Murder could have been an option that day!! LOL So Friday evening, the Missionaries come round, reading through a few scriptures, chatting about various things she has to look forward to in the next few months as she turns 12 and trying to work on her nerves.
Kirsten will turn 12 at the end of June and will go from Primary to Young Womens (girls from12-18) and will receive so much support, encouragement and help as she goes through life's teenage challenges, hormonal changes and emotional and mental changes too. YW's will not only be supportive and guiding for her but it will also teach her to remember who she is (a Daughter of God) and why she is her, they will teach her to prepare for the female role in life as well as morals and standards to live by, humitlity, courage, patience etc all done through the scriputres and from teachings throughout the church teachings, from anyone that has given a public talk. She will have so many opportunites to grow and nurture her spiritual side that I can get excited for her just thinking about it! She has friends in YW's in our ward, she goes to school two of them and Lucy has been a fantastic friend, support and guide for Kirsten so far. My printer decided to not print even though I had new cartridges in there so the Missionaries and I were racing round looking for someone that could print off the 25 programmes! Eventually we managed to find a lady in the ward who was happy to do it!! A big thanks to her!!
Anyway, Saturday morning, off we went to Reading train station to pick up Jaymie, Leanne and Elaine, they were coming up for a few days and were going to share in the special time with us. My mum and Scott were coming later and I had a million things to do. Racing around doing all sorts of errands that I couldn't have done before that day I eventually got on the road. Kirsten and Charley stayed here with mum and Scott, I peddled as fast as my lil Peugot 206 would let me! Trust me, its a bit difficult to speed continually when you have Leona Lewis singing in your head, all that beat stopping n starting, speeding and slowing!! Duh Eventually I got to Reading, withuot too much effort, (no thanks to some traffic hold up cos some eejit decided to drive drunk down the motorway...of which i've since learnt was the reason for the hold up). We got back here with 45 minutes to spare so we were all racing round crashing through the shower, grabbing towels, trying not to trip over the dog and cussing that our clothes needed ironing!! In reality I think it was only ME that was stressing!!!
We got to the church with seconds to spare (not that u can be late in these occasions!) There were a fair few members turn up to witness this special occassion with us and two of Kirsten's close friends who gave superb talks! Rebecca bore her testimony, which I knew would be strong and righeous because thats the family she comes from, and I know her my, my best friend Sonia is a wonderful example to everyone around her not to mention her inspiring motherhood determination. Lucy gave the gospel that added boost too, having been born into the church with fantastic parents (her mum is my Relief Society President and a good friend so I know thats the truth!) and a strong testimony of her own. I was so humbled by these young ladies giving talks and demonstrating their faith, gratitude and excitement for the gospel!
Kirsten began her nerves thing, she literally gets wound up to the point of hyperventilating as we got closer to the font. See, Kirsten is extremely nervous when in the lime light, she is so not confident in those situations at all. But all was pretty much ok till we went to get ready. Now the font is situated through another door accessed from the back of the ladies room, in the font was Noel, Kirstens former Primary teacher when we were in Evesham Branch whom she got on with very well. She was breaking her heart on my shoulder (he is that tall..or i'm that short!!), Noel opened the door and reassured her, she went with him (all 12 steps!) and stood with him in the Baptismal position before the doors were opened where the rest of the attendees were waiting to witness. Our Home Teacher, Tony was also in the font area and was reassuring Kirsten, this also helped her have the courage to go with Noel. The water was hot, but she done it, one dunk under and she was Baptised.
In the changing room she collapsed on me. A very different type of tears, she was literally sobbing, one of those sobs after a tramatic deal and you have just been told of a justice. I had to grab hold of her and support her till she was able to gain enough strength to stand alone. I asked if she was ok and she looked at me and said 'I know its true mum, I have the strongest burning in my stomach and its not nerves'. I stood there and cried. I too felt the spirit. My daughter, the strong minded, dead set against anything out of her norm had just been Baptised and confirmed to me that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true, absolutely true. I felt my own confirmation in my stomach, I felt the Spirit tell me I had done the right thing allowing my daughter to be Baptised. I felt something different with Kirsten at that moment, as close as we are we both felt some other kind of connection. After getting dressed (and thanks to Claire, the Relief Society President coming in just at the right moment to run to my car for her towels!!!) we went back to the chapel after finally composing ourselves for the rest of the service to continue. For the rest of the weekend Kirsten was beaming, she had received gifts from some members, cards of congratulations and lots of hugs and encouraging words from everyone. She was totally beaming and radiant, jumping around in excitement and singing 'I am a Child of God', the words will be at the bottom of this post for you to understand what she was singing. She made a poster, which i've also attached below. She looks so peaceful and happy, like something flicked inside her head and her heart. I am so very proud of her it hurts.
On Sunday, Kirsten received The Gift of the Holy Ghost in Sacrament. This is a special blessing given by the priesthood of Kirsten's choice to give her the Holy Ghost as her constant companion in life (as long as she is living worthily of it). She chose Elder Simmons, the Missionary who is responsible for her heartfelt conversion, Bishop Mason and Tony, our Home Teacher and a counsellor on the Bishopric. The blessing was lovely, strong and so heartfelt to Kirsten. Again she said to me, 'I know the church is true mum, I really do'. I sat in Sacrament meeting with tears rolling down my face, through my precious daughter I too was able to witness my own confirmation of the truthfullness of the gospel.
Now I am enjoying the lifted confidence in Princess Kirsten, the lighter hearted attitude and the general feeling of happiness in our home, more than usual. I say that because we have created a happy, God based home that we continually work on, Kirstens Baptism has just added to it. Now to just maintain it and keep the feeling :)
Spirituality is such a wonderful thing, we all have it, even those that claim to be athiests, cos spirituality is covered by the terms 'sixth sense' and 'law of attraction'. Go figure! :)

Thanks for reading this,
Love Debs, Kirsten & Charley

ps. pictures will be added later....I have somehow managed to miss place my memory card from my camera!! doh

A WhOLe WEeK!?!!

2008-03-14T23:11:00.003Z

What a week!! I cannot believe that so many things have happened since the last time I have blogged!! I will talk about Kirsten's Baptism in a separate post, it deserves its own mention! Nothing got better than that experience in my books :)
Well, until Wednesday I have my Jaymie and his girlfriend Leanne (**waves**) and her mum Elaine (**waves**) here staying with us!! Jay decided to cut down most part of that tree that was blocking the gate, cut the grass and trim back the other trees in the garden, he worked like a slave out there bless his heart! Elaine moved some rubbish for me and done all my ironing...now this was not the condition of stay or payment method...I Promise!! Lol Charley thought it was great having Jay around, he barely had a minutes peace, then he had Elaine who he soon found he could wrap round his little finger!! Poor Elaine!! :) Lol She and Leanne wanted to take Charley back for a few days so thats what they done, Charley was so excited to 'go to Jays house' that he almost p'd himself more than once!! Hehe
I am still working like a slave on Ellie's box book, I doubt it is going to be uploaded tomorrow (saturday) but i'm still hoping I can make the timeline i've set...just watch this space or better still sign up to a newsletter ready to hear when its available!
I have a lot of fingers in pies right now for the places I am likely to be teaching in, I am determined this year to get the scrapbooking word out there for everyone, whatever their background and income capacity, and hopefully without all this named stash thing, to just get people scrapbooking their memories will be a great start to begin preserving their memories, etc. My newsletter will cover a lot of what scrapbooking does to us that take time to do it. It will also include the angle I believe in, and that telling the story side to it, in any way that works for the creator. I'm not into all this fancy pages that doesnt tell a story, thats not scrapbooking in my book, its attaining an image on a pretty page, it doesnt SAY anything. My take is purely from the original, true intention of scrapbooking, tied in with my spiritual beliefs also to preserve our place in history, tell our kids, grandkids, leave something behind of our world, life, community, family as it is today. Ten years from now who will be able to tell the story of that gorgeous layout that has only a title and cute accessories on? I rest my case!
There are MANY irons in the fire this end, I am emailing, phoning and writing lots of people to receive opportunities to get scrapbooking out there...and believe me you are not going to believe me when I tell you the kind of things that are coming up!! All in good time though, a hint though...a woman's institute...teenagers...alternative healing groups...:) More WILL come on all of that when I have secured the contracts and the security clearance required. I think you guys are just so darned lucky to have gotten the scrapbooking bug, whatever your style or ability, the fact you are doing it is just fantastic, but just dont cut yourself short and forget to tell the story though, dont fall into the trap of just having gorgeous pages alone...thats just being commercial then and living to fit in with everyone else's expectations. Be yourself, write YOUR story!!
Ok...motivational talk over! I have two books to write this weekend after Ellie's book and two mini books to make that are requested from my website visitors...if you want to know more you are gonna have to sign up to my newsletter....the box is down on the right there.....just scroll down :)
I will update more on this blog as soon as I get a few minutes, my next posting though will be about Kirsten's baptism...would you believe i've had over 12 replies to blog about it? I am so touched that 1. so many actually READ this blog and 2. that you are interested in my daughters special time!! Thank you!! :)
Back soon
Debsxx

Ellie Wiseman

2008-03-07T15:18:00.002Z

Ok update on the Ellie Wiseman Box Book: After talking with Kirsty we have decided on a theme that is still being researched, so far its coming together and I hope to have it uploaded on my website by NEXT weekend...15 March 08. The class will be £6 and every penny will be directed to Ellie's fund. Not one penny will be coming to me.
You can pay by Paypal, Personal Cheque, Postal Order or Cash at your own discretion (but send it by Recorded if you do that). You do not have to have a Paypal account to use it, you will not be charged for using it and you can use all credit and debit cards.
Each person that signs up will be listed on my website. Just so everyone knows what's what and that their money is going where I say it is.
Please, Please, Please buy this class, get your friends, family, co-workers, anyone to buy it....or if they dont do crafts, get them to donate!!

I just want to say a quick thank you to those of you that know me from UK Scrappers, the emails you have sent to my site address have been lovely. I so appreciate your support and yes, I do like a challenge!! :)

For those of you have have emailed me that found my site from Kirsty's, thank you for your kind words, it does mean a lot even though i'm not looking for personal recognition in this project, its nice to be appreciated.

So, are you wondering what the theme is for Ellie's box? Are you wondering what kind of box it is? What ideas do you have? What do you think Ellie is likin? Wantin? Come on, tell me...........:)

No, clues before anyone asks!! Only Kirsty and I know and I can pretty much bet that Kirsty wont say a word!! Hehehe

Oh, sign up to my newsletter, there isnt going to be one till I have actually loaded Ellie's class, so sign up and hear about it there, pass it round to everyone and blackmail them to buy!!!! :D Bully? Moi? Nooooo!! :D

So............cya at the sign up!!!

Debsxx

TrraaaLaaaLaaaa..........!!

2008-03-07T13:19:00.003Z

Hands up who makes lists? Now tell me if you make lists of lists? I do! I have three lil books that I separate and list in the things I need to do, I have a personal list book, a business list book and a family/kids list book and trust me I NEED them all!
This week i've been running here there and everywhere, from schools to shops, from nurseries to dr's, from my room down to the dining room and I figured that I need to even list what I have to go upstairs for cos by the time I get there...I've forgot!
Today started off really peaceful and relaxed, so much so that at 7.30 Kirsten and I were sat on the rug in the living room playing cards...all showered and ready to start the day! Charley was snuggled on the chair watching Diego and fussing the dog and the atmosphere was total harmony. Getting Kirsten to school was uneventful too, even coming home. By this time (8.40) I was liking this way of things happening very much! I had slow thoughts running through my head of the discussion I've had with two potentials for my DT, they've offered some very good ideas and I was just mulling over how to incorporate them. All in all I was relaxed, content and ready to plod through the list of the day...then I pulled up outside my house to find that the guy who came to fix my drain was threatening to dig up all the one side of my front garden, the pathway along the side of the house and part of the back garden. No way!! So I insisted he get it inspected before he just start lumping that hammer about!! Eventually it was agreed that the inspector would come out first!! Phew.
My friend Tim called me this morning, he was off to a meeting in Stroud (he lives in Stafford) and wanted to see if he could shout me breakfast on his way through, now i'm not one to say no to an offer like that so off I went! :) Its amazing how you can not hear from someone for such a long time that when you remember them they turn up in some way. I talked about Tim just a few days ago to another friend of mine (oohh dont I sound popular!!!) with his big flash sports car that 'looks better topless'!!! Hehehe His words not mine!
My list for today included things like 2/3 runs to the local charity shop to get rid of a lot of stuff that I'm just not going to use or ebay, hop over to Tewkesbury to get our bikes and pop to the bank cos its easier to get to it there than it is in Gloucester! Then the house needs cleaning, Charley wants me to climb in the garden so I managed to do that already! We had a bounce on the trampoline, played ball and climbed the tree! We chased the dog, Charley chased me and I 'got' him! I love hearing him laugh like that!
Now i'm working on paperwork, phone calls, letters, emails blah blah blah and its boring!! I wonder if i'll ever be famous for something, that way I can get a secretary to do all this for me!! Doesn't that sound grand?! :)
I was chatting to someone the other day, not mentioning any names, Kirsty(!!) but we were on about stash snobs...are YOU a stash snob? I'm not, I go with what I like cos when all is said and done the pages will go in MY album and even the fashion of today will be gone in a month or two so why sweat the small stuff and get caught up in scrapbook politics? Personally I think its laughable when I hear comments that are along the line of something being 'out of date', it makes me want to ask what they are going to do with earlier layouts they've done then, dump em? Redo them? Everyone's on a stash diet yet they are very picky on what the will use, and I dont mean about their personal taste or style, I mean on if it dont come with a name then it wont get used or owned up to! I mean, PULESE!! Get a grip!! Now tell me this, if your child came home saying he was teased or 'judged' for wearing the wrong trainers or jacket (yeah you know where i'm going here uh?!!) what would you say? Automatically the defenses come in...BUT...and there's always a but...its 'different' when its us!! HA! Life is full of it innit?!!! LOL
Ok, you dont have to have a go at me if you are a defensive scrap snob, I wont hold it against you!! :D We are all different and have our own lil ways in life, who cares that you only use Basic Grey, the latest collection? ONLY YOU and your pages are to make YOU happy! So thats me told!! :D :D
Ok, now i'm off here...handing the orange box to someone else..........:D
Debsxx

The Creation...Explained

2008-03-06T18:16:00.000Z

I just found this off a fellow Lds guy on the Lds forum I frequent, its funny....

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in
or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'

The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten
years and I'll give you back the other ten?'

So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give
you a twenty-year life span.'

The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long
time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'

And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer
under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family.
For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'

The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for
sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you
twenty years.'

But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty,
the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten

the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy
ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our
family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and
bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing
it as a public service

Whistle while you work?

2008-03-04T00:53:00.005Z

Hands up, who thinks its all daytime tv and donuts for stay at home mums? You do eh? Well I got news for you, and today my achy joints would be screaming out to bop you one! :) Ok so thats a little extreme but trust me, being a full time mum is NOT a sit down and relax job...at least not mine or anyone I know. This last week i've balanced proper quality time with Charley, not just 10 minutes here n there or answering his questions, I mean time to do things he enjoys doing, on his level. That was probably thebest time i've spent for ages if the truths known. We done a range of stuff from painting and potato stencilling to swimming and going to a local farm for eggs and milk...where he got to see the chickens, goats, cows, pigs and horses! Not sure the pigs liked us much though, we got the snorts which i'm convinced when translated were words that I should have covered Charley's ears up for!! :) Note to self: next time dont go at their feeding time!! :)

Changing rooms has nothing on my house I can tell ya! As well as the work I've had on and the regular home life routines and chores I had the totally mad idea of moving my desk from my room down to the dining room. Now for anyone reading this that knows me will know that this simple task will come with a story of its own...cos its just how my life goes! So, imagine the scene....corner desk...three sections, middle one being the leg area...laptop sat on top (talking to Duane...as you do!) me bobbing around like Deb the Builder (sing to the tune of Bob the Builder for truer effect!!) with the desk being solid wood I do not for a second imagine that I cannot do this...ever the optimist (ok almost always!) but then it happened...ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping. That was the sound of 6 screws popping out of the holes...with the middle part leaning on my head, which it was NOT made for and my laptop at serious risk I didn't know what I was gonna do first...free myself of pain or die for Duane!! Well, I guess we're both lucky cos I moved just in time to do both as the middle shelf crashed to the floor. It was almost like slow motion! Thankfully, the rest of the task was event free, so I now have my desk set up in my dining room with stash around about, my dining room is looking pretty cool and still comfortably usable :) I think I actually perfer this room now!! :) It didn't take long to whip my room into shape, its looking so big, fresh, airy and spacious now, I love it. The next part of my mission was moving the ebay/stock stuff that was breeding in the dining room out into the hall way, somewhere that I can sit and sort through it for what needs to go to the charity shop and what can go to the local playgroups. This meant that Charleys designated toy area had to be dismantled and put in his room, hmm a good idea in theory but he has the smallest room in the house! But when the Boys sort their stuff out of his cupboard I can redo the room to be functional again :) Sorted! Anyway, on with the story....(if your not asleep well done!!) The hall now has my bread trays, boxes and more boxes to sort through, the tip of the house and today its getting me down cos I keep knocking my hip on the one box and it hurts now!!! I have loaded some pictures...so you can see how BAD it was on Monday and what I achieved by the end of the day...ok so the hall is still untouched but that is todays mission! :) So enjoy the pictures....excuse the lack of quality my camera is STILL waiting to go back to be fixed!!

Monday evening, I was sat at the dining room table with Charley doing some play doh stuff, having a bit of rubbish he walks into the kitchen then promptly sums it all up when he says 'wheres the bin mum?' I had to look at him to see if he was serious...it wasn't THAT bad but even he realised mum had exceeded her usual limit and figured it was a good line to throw at her...he chuckled knowing exactly that he was teasing me!! :)

This one is so funny, I couldn't resist this one of Charley yesterday...this is actually how he uses the loo....just take no notice of the fact that Ihaven't put the flooring down in the toilet room yet!! :)

Does Neo counter work? I am having reservations cos my tracker says different to the boxes on here! Ho hum, that'll show me for wanting pretty things on my blog!! :) That reminds me, I was inspired by my fellow blogger and team mate, SuzyB...she's a 'girl that does' and she's made a really cute blog award for girls that do and I want it...so I subconciously decided to do my changing rooms AND I have to re do Kirsten's curtain pole after she hung her teddy basket from it...with over 100 teddies in it!! Doh So I am working on getting that award off Suzy!! :D Hehehe Blogs n small minds and all that!! Lol

I have music in my head and its not funny. I cant get Leona Lewis's new track, 'Better in time' out my mind, it pops up like a bad penny (a bit like me on uks really!!) when i'm thinking of something or concentrating on doing something up it comes, blaring away then blow me if it dont come on the radio! Now I dont mind cos I love her voice and her music but sometimes I want MY own thoughts in my head!! :) What music is stuck in YOUR head? Kirsten has 'Now your gone' by Basshunter in hers. Charley keeps singing 'I am a child of God' and i'm convinced even the pooch is humming something vaguely familiar! :) I blame my local radio station though, they play all my favourite songs...:)

My tv died a couple of weeks ago so we now use a spare portable tv which isnt so bad. It's only really Charley that watches tv at the moment, I dont have time and Kirsten has too much to do!! :) But the insurance is a bloody nightmare to go through, you'd think I was asking them to refurnish my house, not get this tv inspected!! Apparently its cos of the HD change over, but to be totally honest I dont give a stuff, a tv is literally a tv for us, its not the priority in our house. Now if it was mine or Kirsten's computer or the radio then yeah, i'd have BIG issues!! :)

Mothers day was busy...Kirsten decided to wake me up with breakfast, oj and two cards, one with a lil present in. The three of us cuddled up on the sofa and just chatted and chilled out together for a bit before going into church. Kirsten frowned for England when her baptism was announced to the ward! Hehe Her face was a picture, she hates being centre of attention! Lol Afterwards we went home to get changed and get a bit to eat, Charley fell asleep on his bed so Kirsten thought it a great idea to blitz the kitchen! Eventually I think it was the constant sound of the hoover on outside his door that finally woke charley up!! :) So we went off to my mum's down in Taunton so we spent a few hours there. When I got there though she was ill in bed so Kirsten and I set about doing some fairy chores for her, getting food and drinks and just chilling out with her and spending time with Scott too. It was a nice change to do that. Thankfully my mum is feeling better now. :)

Kirsten's back is getting better so long as she does her excercises from the physio. She sleeps in my bed at the moment cos her mattress is far too soft and the new tempa mattress wont be here till the latter part of next week. So yours truly gets the sofa! Hear that Duane? I sleep on the sofa and I aint moaning about it...you're just getting old babe!!! :P :) Moving back to Kirsten's back, she occasionally flinches then looks shocked so I think she might have a trapped nerve somewhere which could be causing some swelling...I dont know though its just an idea the physio came up with that she's put in the notes for the hospital on Monday. Its difficult understanding what kind of pain she has when we cant look at it or feel it ourselves. Thankfully though she is much more mobile, back at school and has less time in pain than she did last week.

For the first time ever this Saturday will have all my kids in church for a family celebration since my wedding. I am very excited for Kirsten, she's looking forward to being baptised and has it all planned out who's doing what. I am now to print up the invitations for her :) I will be posting photos cos I have family and friends here in the uk and over in the states who want to keep up to speed with us. It's also a good chance for me to talk more...hehe, yeah I can do that you know!! :) Lol Also for the first time in years this Sunday will see me take Sacrament. I realise that religion is nothing or very little to some people, and taking Sacrament is often seen as a personal choice, well in my church its about remaking your Baptism Covenants and I couldn't do that while I was smoking so now it has been 3 weeks, 1 day and 20 hours (not that i'm counting!) and I still dont feel challenged to light up again, I have been given the go ahead by my Bishop to take Sacrament. This is something very special and important to me. So Sunday, Kirsten and I will take Sacrament in the fullest meaning of it, after she's been Baptised and had the Gift of the Holy Ghost given to her.

Almost a week now since my mini merc came home and its darn good to drive around again! I will go anywhere, anytime :) Just call me Martini!! :) Lol I dont think I could cope long term without a car, its amazing how much we take it for granted when its freely available to us. Never again though, I love my car, the freedom and the choice and the funny thing is just before we had it back we decided that each saturday Kirsten and Charley were home with me we was going to get in the car and go in any direction and just drive, see where we end up. There's a lot to do and see around here when you have a car but now we have the car the next four weekends are full...and thats not doing the drive outs!!! :) Typical eh? LOL But its nice, it means our life is coming together again and the miserable winter is phasing out (I hope so anyway!) cos I hibernate in the winter. Oh, did you see tulips yet? Oh I was all happy when i saw a long row of them along the dual carriage way the other day...it always makes me feel happy when I see flower blooming!! :)

I have now done three classes to 26+ kids in 3 local primary schools as part of their History lesson, I get 50 minutes with them to begin their personal history and life account. The kids thought it was a great idea and loved telling me all about them...which is great...cos I love kids! :) Looking forward to next week now! :)
Sat here at my desk (dont I sound posh?!!!) I am squinting from the glaring sun, I still have my fleece jacket on cos i'm cold and Charley is munching on strawberries and apples behind me...singing...yeah you got it...I am a child of God!!! Nothing like a bit of self recognition to know our place in this world eh?!! Right, procrastinating is not going to put my hall back to its former glory...so i'm going! :)

Toodlepip
xx

What day is it?

2008-03-02T09:53:00.005Z

This week has sped by so quickly I'm spinning. Late nights, early mornings and none stop in between has been the typical shape of things. I am so busy with work, putting projects together for my site and on personal project for myself and with my kids that I've had to make a list of what we are doing so when I go somewhere I can keep my eyes open for inspiration and ideas!! Its not funny, I answered the phone the other day and forgot what to say!! :)

Well, I have finally got the theme for Ellie Wiseman!!! Woohoo!! Sorry Kirsty...I know you are busy but...but...but...:P!!! Luv ya really :) So that is also in the making and will be loaded to my website as soon as I can offer it! :)

Yesterday Kirsten, Lucy, Charley and I went to the chapel so we could go through the Baptism procedure with Kirsten. We chose a pretty white dress (and anyone that knows Kirsten will know she is NOT a dress or skirt girl by any stretch of the imagination!!) that she is happy to wear! We have all the provisional plans in place so we just need to invite the relevant people to do the talks, offer prayers etc. I'm looking forward to it so much...and thankfully so is she!! :)

I took the kids into Gloucester, I ran out of black card that I was in desperate need for cos I have been assigned to make 70 oscar night invitations. Thanks to Sonia (**waves**) I have a super template and it even works when I fold it up!! :) She's a clever gal ;) I should have handed them in this morning but my printer ran out of ink after about 12 of them...which I am really annoyed about because the info box shows a full cartridge and as its only a few days old and i've only printed 4 things I know it has plenty!! So I have to work that out later. We had dinner in Macky D's, ooh'd over a set of triplets laying so peacefully in their pram ( I know the mummy) and devoured donuts! Charley was very forward in choosing a Diego helicopter but as Kirsten had her monthly allowance it was ok, so he was a happy boy!! :) For the rest of the day it was run, run, run none stop, come 9pm all I wanted to do was get into bed, but I still had these invitations to go...there had been so many changes and challenges about them that it really was the last minute before I could do anything with them, hense the rush. In the end, come 2am I just had to sack it, nothing is worth being that tired for and I couldnt chance making a mistake on them so I left them, I shall have them out tomorrow afternoon instead.

Today we are off to church (in a few mins) so i'm procrastinating for a few minutes cos we are all ready and waiting for the clock to tick :) Love being organised! I feel totally shattered, but happy. We are taking a drive down to my mums later in Taunton, she doesn't know yet and i've threatened Scott not to tell her! :) He is looking forward to seeing Kirsten be baptised, though it will be his first time in church for a few years! Now I just have to get my other boy here and i'll have all my kids together again!! Now that would be awesome!!

Ok, i'm not making much sense of anything on here right now cos I know i'm so tired and so much is trying to make sense in my head. I refuse to work on a Sunday though, so I am hoping to clear my head soon. Sundays are my days with the kids...ONLY the kids and if they are napping I dont mind coming on here and browsing but definitely NOT working!! :) Such a life eh?!! I did skive last night though (ok I had a couple of hours through the week too!!) where I had a play on Facebook, its a real whizz for some light hearted fun but it can (and did) get out of hand if someone takes it too serious. I did have one person bombard me then mail me to see why I hadn't sent him the kissy kissy things!! My profile states that I am in a relationship...maybe its not the place to go when a relationship is in your real life? What do you think? I've never agreed to this sorta thing before, I believe that if we put ourselves in a particular situation we are subjecting ourselves to a potential issue that we do not need...so I guess i've answered my own question there! For now it's harmless, but if I have to cancel my account I will...so till then i'll just play careful :) I do like passing the Winnie the Pooh or flowers or something I think is funny to share, most people send it back or something similar, the odd one or two dont but thats ok, everyone see's facebook differently :)

I thought i'd stick a couple of widgets on here just for the fun of it. I am amazed at how far this blog goes when I check in with my stats! Even though I see the counter go up I still find it hard to believe that anyone actually sits there long enough to read my drivel!! :) But thank you for doing it anyway, it is nice that someone does actually though I wish you would comment so I can come read your blog!! :)
EDITED: Do the widgets work? I just had an email alert that someone from the States has visited my blog...but it isn't showing...bet I have a faulty one!!! :)

Ok i've had enough, i'm bored here now!! :) :P I'm going to get the kids bundled into the car...not like that...i'll do it gently!!! :)

Have a fabtasticolishous Sunday :)

Debsxx

Yet another tag!

2008-02-29T15:07:00.003Z

Another tag....list at least 40 things that make you feel happy inside...

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard my face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No queues at the supermarket.
5. A special glance or touch.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive.
8. Hearing my favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Vanilla milkshake.
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15 The beach
16. Finding a £20 note in my coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you
19 Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're worthwhile.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with FRIENDS.
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realising you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss with a new partner.
28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
29. Playing with the puppy.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Jaffa cakes.
33. Bbq's with friends.
34. Swinging on swing beds trying to read a book.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38 Holding hands with someone you care about.
39 Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise and sunset.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think and how it hurts.

Your it!! Remember to comment if you do this on your blog!
Debsxx

Smoooze Me, Mum!

2008-02-29T13:35:00.003Z

Don't kids say the sweetest things? Last night Kirsten and I were sat at the dining table talking about her baptism next week when Charley came in and wanted to get past me...'smoooze me, mum' he said. Oh how we giggled at his cuteness! Kirsten loves to help him say the words he cant properly pronounce yet, which gives him so much more confidence. He is pretty hot on his words though, including his vocabulary. Each night we do a family prayer in his room, he hands Kirsten and I one of his cushions gets one for himself and we kneel down by his bed...size order!! Charley will then say the prayer....and look so pleased with himself when he's said the emphatic Amen at the end!! Last night, as normal I said to him, 'goodnight sweetheart, sweet dreams', he looks at me, winks and says 'goodnight sweetheart'!! Oh how I just giggled! Just the other day we went for a walk to the shop and he heard some sounds in the distance, looking up to me he said 'whats that sound mum?', I say 'its the workmen somewhere using tools', he says 'oh. its not a volcano is it?' I look down at him and hold a smile, 'no son, its not a volcano, we're safe'. I am constantly amazed, amused and touched by how intelligent he is. He's like a sponge for learning and knowledge and goes to show just how much they pick up from their enviroment. He wears a nappy to bed still, but clean through the day but while i've had no car I do put a nappy on him if we have to go out. Today he's decided that he cant be bothered with the toilet upstairs and its cool to wear a nappy but 'go' on the potty...Diego interuption at a minimum!!

I finally have my car sitting back outside my house!!! It's all shiny and pretty!!! We are about to go out in a min, have lots to do now including some food shopping! The kids are looking a bit thin!! :) JOKE!! So shortly we are off to Asda...cos thats where they have Sporticus (Lazy Town) duvet cover that i've promised the lil guy. Kirsten is walking normal again now, she still gets some pain in her back if theres too long a gap between her meds but she's feeling much better. At the moment its honking it down with rain and she's chasing the dog round the back garden trying to get the little rat in!! :D Never a working camera when I need one!!

Talking of cameras, Kirsty gave me a fab tip for another one yesterday so i'm looking into Fuji's right now. I originally wanted a Canon but after researching and listening to what Kirsty was saying they are ideal for professional photography, scrapbookers dont really need that spec. As she's the expert i've taken her advice and done my research on the two that she suggested, and one of them is almost on order...i'm so very tempted!! Before I do though I shall wait and see what my insurance company say about the one I have cos this is about the 4th time its gone for repairs since i've had it and i have 4 years left on the warranty yet which wont get carried over to a new one unless I purchase it from Curry's (where I took out the insurance policy). Definitely a scam doing on there!! :)

I have lots to say on here but I cant remember it all...so i'm going to go do something else and i'll probably come back on later...:)

Ooohh...did you feel that earthquake the other night? I was lay on my sofa, the house was nice n quiet and I was convinced someone was hacking through my dining room wall right next to me....then I realised the whole house was shaking....I ran to the other side of the room, leaving the dog on the sofa....with my laptop in hand...what I thought that was going to do I dont know but Jake looks at me a bit wearily now!! :D

Ok....SMOOOZE ME while I go do other stuff! Have a great Friday night :)
Toodlepipxx

I've been tagged!!

2008-02-25T23:04:00.002Z

5 things about me tag..

5 things you were doing 10 years ago:
1. left my home town to go to manchester
2. sold my employment agency
3. driving a cool escort cabrolet...soft top!
4. moved on from manchester to gt yarmouth
5. became a beach bum...in the winter!

5 things on my to do list today:
1. take kirsten to hospital
2. get charley's glasses fixed
3. call about getting my camera fixed
4. search for scenic route, loveland papers
5. finish kirstens tag book

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. jaffa cakes
2. jaffa cakes
3. jaffa cakes
4.grapes/lemons/fruit
5. jaffa cakes

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire:
1. set up lots of charities to help all who needed it
2. set up family n close friends financially
3. build new but modest home with land for horses
4. pay tithing
5. set up fund to help low income families to have essentials and luxuries

5 bad habits:
1. speaking before i've thought something out properly
2. being too house proud
3. letting people walk over me
4. being sensitive then laughing it off
5. blogging

5 favorite toys:
1. camera
2. laptop
3. mobile phone
4. ipod
5. cd player

Now.....YOU ARE TAGGED! Remember to comment to let me know you have kept the tag going.....that includes YOU Ems.....(**kiss kiss**) LOL

Is that a ray of life?

2008-02-25T21:22:00.002Z

The sun got me up early today, blazing into my bedroom just smiling down on me like I had got something right and was about to be rewarded! I lay there for a few minutes watching the birds on the phone line outside, I wondered if they actually have conversations, I didnt wanna know what they were saying about 'her at no 1 with those pink and purple check pjs'!!
So, I rolled out of bed, stripped it off, remade it with crisp blue n beige check bedding and re set my teddies in their homely place at the foot. I looked at the clock, it was 7am. What the heck was I doing? I knew I was tired, it was gone 2.30 when i'd last looked at the clock. I was lay in bed working on the newsletter that needs to go out soon, the class requests i've had and the projects i've got on the go...for the first time I was feeling rather overwhelmed with the whole list of stuff that needs to be done. Without notice, I dozed off to sleep.
Charley Boy woke up and gave me the biggest hug! He said his prayer which consisted of waffle waffle waffle waffle, Father waffle waffle waffle mummy waffle waffle waffle waffle Jesus waffle waffle waffle waffle AMEN said with such conviction that I had a lump in my throat! My boy is so easy and comfortable offering a prayer, even though I dont understand all his words I know Heavenly Father does, and that's good enough for me.
He went off to watch Diego while I coaxed Kirsten to wake up. She came home from her dads yesterday with a back so sore that she could barely get up the stairs, sit or move. I was mad as heck that they didn't think to take her to the call in medical centre which is less than 1/2 a mile from them, much less tell me she was in pain. She doesn't know what she's done but I know she is in pain. This morning she struggled to walk across her bedroom so I decided to get her to the hospital. Past experience tells me that a GP will only refer her for an x ray anyway so off we trotted. Thankfully they didn't make us wait for very long, and the results showed that her spine has some inflamation. They want her to go back in two weeks time for another x ray and have put her on medication. I'm unsure on what they want her to do in the meantime though, one doctor said to just take it easy and another said total rest. When I questioned the nurse in charge she said 'just do what the doctor said'. I asked 'which doctor though' and she said 'both'!! I wonder what the average grade is to pass the nursing exam! Lol I take that back, maybe she's just having a bad day. I decided to call my own GP surgery, the nurse there went through it all with me. Thankfully.
I'm probably going to kick myself for saying this but I think I may just have had a glimpse of a life today! Ok so its thanks to Sonia (**waves**) for looking me up and for being such a sweetheart when she took me to Hobbycraft today...for what should have been a simple purchase and ended up costing me almost 3 figures!! There goes this months and next months stash allowance!! Hehehe But I did manage to get some goodies for the kids to make some Easter stuff and a couple of lil Easter gifts to put in their basket. I don't do Easter eggs or chocolate, instead I prefer something that will last, and be more memorable so I like to put together a basket or box, decorated in bunnies n flowers and filled with lil novelty stuff that they will enjoy playing with. Then we have the true meaning of Easter, that is usually a story board where we renew the story of Jesus' death and resurrection and make comparisons to our own lives and make little plans for personal and family improvement. It's great watching the kids learn and teach with so much enthusiasm, they are exceptionally keen for knowledge of almost all kinds.
Hmm, I have gone off the track there about three times eh? :) No matter, not the worst thing I coulda done is it?!! So, I went to Hobbycraft...I was on the phone with Sonia (**waves**) and i'd said that I need to get some mountboard, double sided tape and I wanted some Scenic Route, Loveland cardstock. Bless her, she's so sweet, she was going to go for me and then bring it over...but I was suddenly wanting to go with her...so she picked me up and off we went!! I'm sure I made her late home for a caller she was expecting! Not like that, take yer mind out the gutter!! Tut Tut!! :D
I was almost in heaven, as you are in any place that sells stash, but in the back of my mind it was killing me cos they are so very over priced, but Gloucester isn't that up on craft shops so they kinda got you by the curlies. They didn't have the papers I wanted, nor the Scenic Route, Lynden I like so I'm hoping Fiona at Paperarts or Linz and Crafty Pasttimes will have some! I got to have them...I have projects waiting to be done! :)
Talking of projects, i've now been commissioned to do a baby tin, a boy and a girl along with a book to go with it with lots of places for journalling and photos so i'm thinking paper bag books, they are ideal for packing in lots of extras. I have about 5 projects on the go at the moment and I dont know if i'm coming or going. I am seriously thinking of looking to put together a design team a whole lot sooner than I planned to keep the inspiration going on my site...that will leave me able to continue to research, plan and work on the projects. If you are interested, drop me a line. It wont be anything big or grand like some craft stores, for the next few months it is only a means of keeping scrapbooking going and sharing ideas and inspiration.
I bought Jaymie and Scott a new 12x12 album today as well, the album they have isnt really suitable for 19 and 17 yr old young men! I chose a nice soft black and neutral fabric album with a frontal insert...so I dont get confused what my boys look like!! :D Yeah, sons....come see mummy more...I miss yas!!! :D Mwah!!
I looked into kickboxing today, there are four groups here in Gloucester, two are for advanced, one is full and the other falls on a wednesday night...the only night I cant do cos Kirsten has Faith in God night each month and its also the night the Missionaries come over which i'm not looking to change. So i've put my name down for the class thats full, in case someone drops out. I also got Charley on the list for swimming lessons, I wanted him to do them when he was a few months old but a certain person in my past didnt want to spend the £100 with Aquatots! Charley loves the water, he doesn't have much of a confidence problem in there and thinks its great when he is splashing us or us splashing him! So nothing lost really.
I have located a brand new cricut expressions with TWO extra cartridges for less than £200 including postage! The baby is on its way to its new home as I type! I am sooo excited!! Just thinking of all the new, fun and exciting things I will be able to do is enough for me to run up stairs to my room and do the happy dance!!
Well i'm talked out for now. I think i'm gonna try for an early night!!
Toodlepipxx

Oooooohhh!! I almost forgot!

2008-02-24T10:43:00.002Z

Cricut..........Bind it All.......who has them? Come on, brag about them to me.....I need to know!! :D

I knew I needed both a while ago but kept putting it off, as you do, then I came across a blog the other day from a girl in the states call Tera, after she shared what she done with her Bind it All I knew I had to get one! You know when you see something that is just your thing? Well thats what happened, I just KNEW that this is what I needed, which is pretty neat considering my website is all about various books!! So i've now got to the Paypal part of ordering one...I only stopped because I had to move to answer the phone..and I didn't get back to it! Must do that in a second tho :)

Then there's the Cricut....oh how i've drooled, dreamed and danced over this lil baby! Now I can finally get one, and what do I find? A UKS sponsor has offered me a fantastic deal! Now thats what I call, having it all! :) I am so excited I keep going to my room to do the happy dance!! :)

So...if you have either of these beauties PLEASE come tell me about it, what you think, good or bad, what you like to use it for, even share some stuff with me :) anything at all you can tell me would be knowledge gratefully received!! No doubt i'll be asking loads of naff questions soon enough!! Hehehe

Oh, just for good measure, I've just bought Kirsten a Big Shot and some dies...cos I know she's gonna want to try and hide my new toys in her desk space...so the theory is...if I buy her sumat she likes then she'll leave mine alone!! Fingers crossed...or fingers slapped!! :D

Right, i'm off to rescue my 3 year old Sporticus from the trampoline! Dont ask!! :D
Debsxx

Utterly Shameful ~ but am I bovvered?

2008-02-24T09:53:00.004Z

I dont give a stuff :) I been in this house now since end of September, I've decorated all but three rooms, got all but 1 room how I want it and only have about 24 more boxes to unpack (which are tucked away nicely in the shed) so to my way of thinking, who cares that my dining room is like Bosnia? I don't!! :)
My bedroom is a very big double, I have a large corner desk in there, a triple wardrobe, a chest of drawers, shelf unit plus my double bed and bedside units (ok and a couple of boxes! tut) and I still have plenty of room to do the happy dance (which is a daily ritual...to count my blessings!) but for all good intentions I cannot settle in there to do the scrapping I planned to do. So bit by bit my dining room, which doubles as a storage area for my ebay stuff, has become a combination of 3....dining room, craft area and storage area....last night though I decided it was just not going to work and something had to move out...so the ebay stuff is going to charity tomorrow!! :D Priorities n all that!!
I did, however, manage to sort out two boxes of ribbons last night whilst talking to me mate Sonia (**waves**) who happens to live just a couple of miles away so to me I was rather tickled that we'd sit for hours on msn yapping!! Got to be chick thing eh?!! Lol So, in the end, by about 1am I ended up with 8 draws (the rest are still being emptied!) of ribbons sorted into colours...here's my PINK drawer.....

I figured i'd share what the dining room looks like right now...after i've spent an hour and half tidying it, de-rubbishing it and well, making piles of the piles!! :)

Of course there has to be somewhere close to hand for those essentials! All I have to do is twist my neck and look what I have looking at me? Hmm competition there Duane!! :D Not really babe...I know which side my breads buttered!! ;)

Does stuff multiply when you add space? Hmm would really like to know how this lot got on this chair...cos I really dont remember putting it there!! :(

The reason for the big tidy up? Cos I trashed the room after working on this lil baby. It's a paper bag book (good ole tesco mushrooms!!) covered with Fancy Pants cardstock...dont ask which one cos I forgot! I covered one side with the dots or the stripe, and the reverse with a plane but matching plain cardstock. The Winnie the Pooh card hanging inside there is from a notebook I have, over 500 different designs and styles in one book, so I thought i'd trim them down to fit as inserts to the book. I've cut little shapes to make a tag on each insert and covered the back with a matching plain cardstock. The inserts are intended to be for journalling, or if used in a cj can be used as the sign in tags! For me this is going to be my planner, I missed three appointments this week and cannot afford to do that, so I need to get organised with a book that is appropriate to what i'm doing (official appointments have an official grown up black book or file!!) . The inside of the bags is an ideal place to store extra info, business cards etc and its all in one place. Perfect!!
This is not going to be a class on my site but if anyone wants instructions for the book i'm happy to share, just email me or leave a comment n i'll get back to ya :)

So, here we are, Sunday morning, its freezing cold, I'm missing not being in church and i'm sitting here when I should be getting in the shower n getting dressed. I have family visiting today so had to stay home, which is a mix of pleasure and not so pleasure but hey ho, cant have it all can we?! I have prepared dinner, which today is going to be beef casserole. I have decided that regular sized dishes are just too much for the three of us so each week I cook a couple of meals, put them in foil containers and freeze them. That way we each have what we fancy, especially when I do lasagne, cottage pie, sheppards pie, fish pie, spagetti bolognaise etc. I dont use processed foods so this is a good way to ensure the kids get all the goodness they need and i'm even able to hide the peas!! Now that is what I call MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!! Hehehe
Now I need to thaw out, after chasing the dog round the garden in the hope of dislodging his constipation I think i'm more unfit than I care to admit to! You know its bad when your running round and your still cold!! Doh!!
Who likes One Republic? Oh sheesh....he's HOT!! Not a patch on my Duane though..but still HOT!! Just thought i'd share!! :)
Debsxx

It can only happen to me! :)

2008-02-22T16:55:00.006Z

I swear i've been put on this earth to be tested for the most menial things ever! I've had one of those funny and strange kinda days where the simplest thing has had a rippling effect...and looking around me I dont see it happening to anyone else!! Lol
Started off I woke up about 6.30 to the smell of dog s***, cursing the dog I hunted around to see where it was...but it was nowhere to be seen. It was strongest in my room (Kirsten is away at her dad's and Jake stays with me then) so I hefted all the draws out from under my bed, (swearing its all going to be binned cos there's far too much junk under there) to find Jakey boy laying on top o f the tray with my fresh bedding in...with sh** stuck to his bottom and smeared over three bed sets, that's what I could smell. By this time it was after 7 so on went the kettle (I never drink hot drinks but I was having one this time!!), if I still smoked i'd have had 10, then on went the washing machine. I burned oils in all the rooms, I just couldnt get rid of the smell, even after showering the dog. He was not amused with the shower constantly shooting his bottom!!
So, I think i've finally got rid of it now...!!
I took Charley swimming this morning at the sports centre round the corner, we saw one of the lil guys that he used to go to nursery with so I let him play in the kiddy pool while I sat on the side, chatting with his mummy and watching him have fun. He loved the freedom of the water and not having to watch the floor when he splashed! He's so cool!
While he napped when we got home, I decided to do the fairy blitz...setting the laptop up on the landing I tuned in to a few talks on the Lds site and worked along to the inspiration, giggles and thought provoking speakers. Then the phone rang, which was downstairs. I dont know what came over me but I decided to take the laptop with me, getting on the last stair i caught the cable for the webcam on the bannister and it flung round me like it was going to lasoo (sp) me, I ducked, banged my lip on the corner of the laptop lid, jolted back and the cam hit me sqare on the nose before falling to the floor and snapping off its cradle! I dont know what upset me more, my nose, lip or the broken cam!!! Well it still works, just has no 'head' support!

So, eventually I answer the phone, to find that its a hoax call of which I get frequently lately.
3 minutes of total chaos cos some bloody idiot cant be bothered to speak or thinks s/he's funny!
Now, my good friend Tim suggested I super glue it, which will work, i'm sure...BUT the nearest shop to get super glue is about 3 miles away, not on the bus route and err...I have no car till next wednesday! So...I am err...challenged i'll say!!
How many 'challenges' is that so far? I'm not counting either! :D
Last night I was chatting away to my teamie, Lu (**waves**) on msn, she come up with some great sayings for a layout I want to do of my older two boys...she also decided that Duane is 'hot' and that he should pose with the Bazzill Nuts Team and it be scrapbooked with the title 'Duane and his Nuts'!! Oh how I laughed!! I can just imagine Duane's face when I tell him that!!! LOL Good job he's not big headed cos I think all this attention could definitely effect his ego!! Lol Of course, I KNOW he is hot...in many ways...that why I lub him!! :)
Nuff of that! I am sitting here looking at my sorry state of a garden, it has been so neglected in the last few years its a shame. Its nothing totally major really but it definitely needs some tlc...

This is the 'lower' part of the garden, the previous tennant had sectioned off the garden because she had a lil puppy apparently and didnt want it to have all the garden to run around just for her to chase it..if she weren't an old dear i'd have suggested training it! Maybe thats just me being awkward tho!! :D This part I plan to dig up and lay some patio slabs so I can put my table n chairs up and the swing chair. I love laying on the swing chair at night when its dark, wrapped up in my duvet reading a good book by torch light! Am I sad? I think so too!! :D

This poor bugg*r is the well over grown tree, the actual stump is to the left of the shed you see there, about 3' in, its bent over so much its almost half way across the garden. My Home Teacher from church is going to cut it right back to its stump for me when he gets chance, so 1. we can get to the top of the garden and 2. so I can make a seat out of it!
This is the top of the garden, somewhere up there is three trees that are just desperate to be climbed on by kids! Kirsten and her friends love it, Charley loves it and even Jay loved it when he come home a few months back!! I'm itching to get up there myself in the summer...and if I play it right i'm hoping I can get Duane to make some kind of swing in one of them too! Now that would be sooo cool! :D The dirt patch on the lower left is where there used to be a boat shaped pond...when I moved in here it was filled with surrounding dirt because I have Charley. During December when we had a lot of rain there was a really heavy, strong stench from out the back so I got Severn Vale out, after investigation it was discovered that the dirt had covered lots of live fish, heaps of excretion and all manner of sewer stuff and the rain was disturbing it all, hense the smell. So, being an excellent housing associate they are, they got it filled in for me pronto! Definitely have no problem being in rented accommodation right now!! :D This part of the garden is the kids area, though more Charley's really but I have figured out a little area for Princess Kirsten to have some private space with her friends...with the mentioned stump seat and a larger tree trunk for a table...which i've yet to find! I cant wait to get Charley's garden stuff out and just see him play, after so long without one I think its time he got back into being a little boy again! :D
Last night I decided to sort out my boxes and boxes of ribbons, I have been preparing each of the class projects together into different boxes and I just couldnt find a suitable ribbon for this one tin i'm doing so I set myself on a mission to get them sorted once and for all....Jakey couldnt settle without Kirsten being around so this is where he went:

He's the big black blob that somewhere is looking up at the camera!! Which reminds me, i'm still waiting for this camera to be collected, I must chase them up!! :(
I couldn't resist this one of Charley, wearing his Sunday best only in this shot he was determined to wear his Lazy Town jacket!! When I went to get Kirsten's uniform for her new school I decided to grab Charley a couple of the local primary school elastic ties, just so he had his own, the thinks he's the man of the boys now!! How fast do they grow up?? Must

Meet Sporticus! Live in the flesh and just eager to have his photo taken before strutting his stuff to dance his way to save Lazy Town... or in Charley's world...kidnap the dog in a strangle-hold and convince him that he DOES want to sit on his lap!! Poor Jake! :)
Again, naff pictures cos the camera isn't working properly.
Now this one, this is a happy ending...my neighbour bought me a pretty notepad and a pack of my fave sweeties today...cola cubes...not sure why but I am grateful! :D

Anyone for a cola cube??? :)
I think i've waffled enough for now :) So i'm off to take Charley for a walk before we settle in his lil junior bed to watch Ratatouille for the bazillionth time!! :)
Debsxx

It's all about Ellie :)

2008-02-21T11:39:00.002Z

Is there a word that sums up an evening of creativity? Lucky, fun, relaxed, rare...??? Nope, that dont quite do it for me...however, last night I had the great pleasure of a whole evening of working on the box part of Ellie's book whilst chatting to a couple of cool peeps on msn...I was almost wishing I had a cigarette to hand but glad I didnt because last night I would definitely have smoked it. Instead I searched, tried out, played and teased a variety of items to add to the pretty box that I found with Ellie in mind! After Kirsty saying that she likes the touchy feely approach I felt rather challenged, i've never had this take on a book so far, but not being one to give up I enlisted Princess Kirsten, we adjusted our magpie eyes and set about searching for a variety of interesting things that we could potentially use in this box book somehow. Looking at the box of stuff we've come up with its more like a junk treasure trove than anything else! Lol But we've had fun doing it, we've chatted a lot about the little I know of Ellie, we've covered a range of spiritual things as to 'why does Ellie have to go through this' kind of question and I think my daughter is a better person for having this little experience in her life. Ellie is touching people's lives in ways she doesn't even know about...bless her!! Kirsten looks out every day on Kirsty's blog to see if there's anymore about Ellie and the impending trip to Nevada, I think she's been moved by it in her heart so I say a big thank you to Ellie for being such a brave, inspirational young lady...though she probably doesn't even realise she's so exceptional!!
Right, I cant share the picture of the box book yet because The Lil Lady had first rights on it! If she likes it so far then I will do a sly shot of it...but it really is a box book to raise some money to cover any and all Ellie's costs to get to and whilst in Nevada, so please dig deep and get anyone you know signing up for the box book class...is only £6 and EVERY penny will go direct to Ellie's fund. I cant give an exact date when the class will be available as Ellie is the one that is guiding what the project is all about...:) But I will have it up as soon as I get enough info from her.
Please sign up to my newsletter to keep updated on Ellie's fundraising and how she's getting on, though I'm sure Kirsty will have all that's to know over on her blog HERE.
I'll probably be back later to blog some good ole waffle...right now i'm still cleaning up after a baking session and some sly cardmaking (which i'm rubbish at but it was essential!!)
So....S.M.I.L.E!!

Debsxx

Blah

2008-02-20T15:20:00.004Z

Is it still procrastinating when you sit and stroke your new craft stuff? I have been sent a gorgeous gift parcel by my friend Sharron for doing her album of her pregnancy and the first year of Callum's life. For me it was a paid commission that was such a lovely project, that evoked so many of my own maternal feelings, reminiscences and funny stories with each of my own four children. Having total free reign and no time limit I was able to totally test things out, try new things and basically do what I like with it..so after four months I finally had the great pleasure to hand the completed book back this morning. She cried, she laughed, she ooh'd, she aarr'd, she giggled, she gasped...and thats just at the memories that were threw out to her as she browsed the pages. I wanted her to say she loved the book but more than that I wanted her to say that each page told the story...and I think I achieved that. To me thats what scrapbooking is all about, the essence is the story, not the embellishment or the layout...they come later. So, as I was saying I have a gorgeous gift box of stuff that is sitting on my desk in my room looking so darned gorgeous I'm not sure i'll ever be able to use them!! I'm gonna babble about them now so if you dont like boasting, then tough, sign off now!!

I got:
6 sheets of bazzill scallopped cardstock
6 sheets of matching cardstock
6 sheets of matching patterned cardstock
4 packs of ribbons (5m in each pack)
BG mono letters
MM metal letters
2 sheets of K & Co quotes
4 ink pads
4 stamps
4 assorted adhesives
1 grungeboard (whatever that is!!!)
plus there is a selection of various shaped and sized boxes
6 sheets A4 mountboard

So, looks like I have some new decorations for my bedroom!! :D So, THANKS Sharron, i'm luvvin ya more today!!! :P

Just had a call from the garage, there is three complete days worth of work on my car! I really didn't hit that car THAT hard! So its going to be Tues/Wed next week before I get my mini merc back...I'm so lost without it, I'm beholden to the bus service where it is common to have drugged up piss heads on it at any given time of the day. Not something I appreciate I tell ya. But thats this part of Gloucester for ya! Roll on when I get out of here.

On that note, i'm looking at somewhere about 12 miles from here, just a little village but a straight run to Kirsten's school, plenty of fields, a large secured park area, 1 primary school, 6 shops and only 1 through road...just my kinda place! So i'm researching into that at the moment, though nothing is guaranteed though.

If anyone knows of a blog attachment that reminds you to follow up on things please let me know, not a calendar, they aren't useful to my kind of mental disability! If there's no such thing then can someone please make one?!!! I am forever remembering something I said I was gonna do, show, tell or something when its something like 6am 6 weeks later! I dont want to be awake at that unnatural time of the morning much less be think! So if there is any genius out there, who just happened to stumble on this waffle blog then please feel free to write me up a memory attachment that will do my thinking for me and if possible...keep me in mint aeros!!! :D

So...who wants to share my BIG bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk Turkish Delight chocolate??? Or there is a massive bar of mint aero (my total fave right now) or there's caramel....Line up nicely...and no pushing, shuving, hitting, pinching, kicking, shouting or swearing!!! :D
Debsxx

A Blog to visit

2008-02-19T00:40:00.002Z

I have to share this blog, not only cos its my daughter in laws but cos I truly believe she has a natural talent. Go check out Leanne's Talent. Leave her a comment, it makes her day when someone stops by to say a little something about her work!

This, that and whatever

2008-02-18T23:31:00.002Z

Why do I log in to blogger and experience a few minutes of stomach wrenching butterflies, knots and churns? I mean, what is going to happen? This has happened ever since i've been blogging and even now i'm still unsure what my gut is trying to tell me!!
Anyway, its been a funny ole week here, nothing totally off the wall happened but something is achanging, I think much of it is indirectly related to the not smoking and how settled I am with Duane, not sure how to word it more than that right now so i'll leave it there!
My mum and Scott came today for a few hours, it was so good to see them, for the second time in a month!!! Charley was a complete show off to his big brother, holding the most riveting and grown up conversation about the dinosaur on the rooftop of the house opposite! He 'humoured' my mum and decided he wanted to go see 'Scott's house and sleep in his bed'! He was so funny and obviously loving having Scott around! I love seeing how each of my boys just fall under Charley's spell each time they see him or when we put the webcam on, Charley is so lucky to have brothers that love and enjoy him so much. Scott was also mesmerized by Kirsten's fast changing attitude and appearance. I think he was stunned when Kirsten went out the door and shouted 'see you later, i'll text you', not that she'd gone out but the fact that she was allowed to meet 4 of her friends in Gloucester town centre! She knows the strict rules though, and she believes I have people on the lookout who will report back to me...especially when I say something randomly and give her 'the look', if i'm near the truth her facial expression gives it away!! Oh how I laugh, but thankfully it's only silly things that are irrelavent, if it was more I dont know how i'd react!!! Lol
I treated myself to a new pair of trousers today and three tops, nothing spectacular but a change from what I'm wearing at the moment, and believe me I could do with a change, in fact I could do with a make over to just boost myself up a bit. I saw some boots that I was very tempted to get, but Scott gave me away to my mum and revealed that I have a similar pair in brown already. Busted! I might be 39 but my mum is still the boss!! :) However, busted or not I decided to book Kirsten and I into a hairdressers for later this week, our mobile hairdresser is sick at the moment but we are impatient! Then after we've had our hair done we're off to the nail salon, Kirsten will have hers polished and filed into shape while I will have acrylics again. Total girlie splurge but I think we are worth it. Hair dressers £xx, Nail Salon £xx, Happiness £priceless!!
I decided to pick up a new router while I was out today, the wireless has broken on the one I have so I was stuck to using the cable, which is now driving me nuts. So, bright spark here figured I knew what I was doing, I'm not some thick chick...err..WRONG! I only went and picked up a gaming hub thing!! Doh So good ole mum took me back into Gloucester, rip roaring where she could thinking PC World closes at 6 only to find that it was all for nothing, its open till 8! I then proceeded to spend 35 minutes waiting for someone to serve me...I coughed, I whistled, I stamped my foot and I approached THREE people who 'were busy' whilst to me they looked busy...talking about the upcoming roadshow somewhere!! If I didn't want this router so badly i'd have got mean and nasty, but I figured if I done that they might not change the gaming hub...so I was on my bestest behaviour. Thankfully someone took pity on me and came to my aid...at last I was set free from PC World!! Be warned, once you're in they dont like to let you out...even if you buy!! :( Now, 5 hours later I find that I cant install it cos the settings isn't accepting my internet providers login details and i'm way too tired to be put on hold for their 24/7 technical support! Doh, I think there's a conspiracy somewhere!! :)
On the work front, I have finally received the security clearance to teach four local schools scrapbooking! I had almost forgotten all about it, its been that long. So now I have to chase up the schools concerned and get arranging for the sessions. I do have ideas on how to plan out the 10 week courses, enabling the kids to start and finish a project and learn at least 8 techniques and all the standard principles...plus some other stuff. This is going to be fun! I'm hoping I can get permission from parents and the school to take photos of the kids in action...it would be great to have my own photos to journal the memory!
I had an idea for a book last night so I anchored on to the kitchen door handle and dived into my dining room...which believe me is in no way looking like a dining room...or any room for that matter that hasnt had a run in with a bomb...I might brave it and post a photo tomorrow! Lol
Scott decided to have a look for my hair cutters while I was back at PC World, I asked him to leave the boxes in my already small kitchen so I could work through them...and yeehaaa I found the 5 lids to my cast iron saucepans....but haven't a clue where the pans are to them!! Lmao Cos I steam our foods, I find I have only needed the one small saucepan (which I found back in October when my stuff came from storage!!) so now i'm on an exciting crusade to find the missing 4 pans!!! LOL Oh the excitement!! As if that's not enough, I found that Scott had bought out 3 boxes of stash...now I dont mean small boxes, I mean 3 times the size of walkers crisp boxes! You'd think i'd be jumping for joy eh? Nope, I actually feel quite sick in my stomach...my bedroom is swallowed up with my desk and stash, my dining room has been invaded by paper products and such and now my kitchen has been invaded...and I know there are more boxes of the stuff in the remaining shed!!! Oh the sheer hell of it...and I mean that truly! I just dont have the space that I once had. So looks like my mum, sister and daughter in law is going to get a whole lot more stash to their collection! (Sorry Elaine....if I have to have a stash crash area you have too!!! Hehehe)
I wonder how long i've waffled for...its taken me about three hours to do this post...I cant remember what I started out blogging! Still, dont matter...its MY waffle anyways! :)
Time to go now, have another busy day tomorrow!!
Toodlepipxx

6 days and now its getting hard

2008-02-18T11:47:00.002Z

Last Tuesday at 1pm I had my last cigarette. I started smoking when I was 13/14 under the usual peer pressure (though not as bad in the 80's as it is now!) and I just never stopped. I've given up for short periods but not really long enough to become a non-smoker.
I'm not sure what clicked in my head last week, probably sheer laziness to actually go into the shop and buy some but whatever it was i'm very thankful for. The first day I was tearful, angry, frustrated etc (mixed with emotions from other stuff) but each day gets better. I cant say i'm missing smoking, but I do miss the habit of sitting there with one which so far I replace with something else, such as reading my scriptures. I have been in plenty of situations where i've been right by a cigarette shop, got money (or card rather!) in my hand as i'm purchasing something else and I havent been tempted to buy any much less won over!
Today, Day 6 I'm finding it hard, but I think its around this time frame that it happens anyway but I know i'm not going to give in. I am enjoying tasting my food properly, breathing without inhalers and just feeling like i'm a regular person...cos I dont know anyone (ok except my daughter in law and her mum....**hi leanne...hi elaine :D**) that smokes and I always feel odd! Yesterday it was great to be in church and not wonder if anyone can smell smoke on me...I knew they couldn't and I felt clean again.
I am also finding that things are going right for me now, things that I worry about and/or pray about are coming out much better than previously when i've tried dealing with them. The inner peace to me is steadily progressing which i'm grateful for, we all need some inner peace eh?
I know this time I can and will quit smoking for good, this time i've took it to God, and I know He is getting me through so much of it, He has spared me the withdrawal symptoms and has given me the strength to not give in to the temptations as well as have the strength to get through moments of frustration that I wouldnt normally get frustrated over. I know I am not in this alone.
I have chosen not to go the reward route that many people go through when quitting, I dont want a reward to give up something that is bad for me and those around me, I've chosen the hard mind, cold heart way...you dont get rewards for not doing the bad stuff. So I will not be treating myself tomorrow, or next month. I will not buy myself something in the name of being strong or something like that. No, the £135 a month i'll be saving will be transferred to my savings account with my regular monthly saving amount to go towards the plans and commitments we have this year! So life will go on as normal but without celebration for the bad stuff.
So, although I shall blog about this from time to time, or mention it here and there, its just my way of keeping checked in with where i'm at with it all so my family know how i'm doing.
The real stuff (that thing called life) will be the leading factor in this blog...:) Lol
I should be getting my car back this week....and the first thing i'm going to do is fill it up with diesel, load up some clothes, oh and the kids...and go to Brighton!! Yesterday was my Jaymie's birthday, my baby turned 19 and I didn't get to see him! This is the ONLY birthday in his entire life that I haven't been there and believe me its not a nice thing for a mother. He spent most of it in the hospital though as Leanne had a problem with her leg, I cant talk about it cos I dont have her permission to but thankfully she's home and still quite cheerful even though she's in pain, on crutches and cant move far! Hope you get better soon hunny...but just think...you can make all those cards now without feeling guilty!!! Hehehe Dont tell Jay I said that though...I'll deny all knowledge!!! Hehehe
I need to run, I have a load to do but i'll be back sometime later to blog some more...try to catch up...and leave comments to the ones I enjoy reading!! :)

Debsxx

Help Yourself

2008-02-14T15:12:00.004Z

I got these really cool things off my facebook....and thought i'd share them being as its the day of lurve!! :) So help yourself if you want to copy n paste any, go on, pass at least one round to yer mates! :)

This is soo funny!!

This is for my sweetheart...D...Luv ya babe xx

This is Facebook's 'sketch me' toy, I think it's pretty cool myself!! :)

Ellie's Appeal

2008-02-13T10:05:00.000Z

To keep Ellie's appeal fresh, here are all the links and the link to my original post I left. Please take a few minutes to read about Ellie and please, please, please either make a donation or sign up for the project class that Ellie and I are working on!

Read about Ellie's challenges

Ellie's You Tube Appeal

Make a donation

Sign up for Ellie's class project

I am MAADD!!

2008-02-13T09:08:00.003Z

Why do people want to slap a smile off someones face? The very same people that complain that the world is full of hate and evil? These are the beginnings of a lot of what we face in the world today, nurturing mean, selfish and nasty thoughts then allowing them to pour out of us, then respond with more when someone so much as responds and on it goes till eventually they have forgotten what the heck they thought in the first place. I tell you I think these people are the worst sort than those who are openly antagonistic or arrogant, at least with the latter you get a balance of sorts but the others, no all you get is the clearest confirmation that no matter how much we try we cannot trust people, in fear of them coming out l ike spiteful, jealous and evil vultures.
So why am I saying this? Well I got an email yesterday which cut me to the bone so much I was in tears. It's all to do with the project I am doing for Ellie and the fact that i've redone and changed how i'm doing my website. Now as far as i'm aware i'm not harping on about my website when I harp on about Ellie...and yeah, I've put an appeal out for Ellie on my Facebook, Wayn, My Space, My Yahoo Groups and other popular sites I go on and you know what? I AM NOT BLOODY ASHAMED OF IT. I would do it again for someone else if I had the feeling in my gut that I had when I read about Ellie. That feeling was confirmed when I spent AGES talking to her mum on the phone, I KNOW in my heart that I WANT to feel like a good guy in life, I NEED to feel like i'm doing good works and not idle or bad ones. THATS MY CHOICE so back off. If someone doesnt like me, FINE I wont lose any sleep over it, but if someone just wants to bitch about me then GO AHEAD because YOU will be the one that looks the idiot way before your words show me to be one!! DOH
So, that off my chest now!! I am on Day 2 of not smoking! About a millionth time i've tried this and this time its a lot easier than I thought, I guess i'm more ready for it now. I hate smoking, I dont know anyone that smokes and for what I spend on cigarettes I could be going to DisneyLand Paris a lot sooner!! :) And yeah, the lack of nicotine is probably something to do with my rant above....so shoot me!!!
Yesterday was an emotional day all round, not only was it Day 1 without nicotine but it was also the anniversay of an old friends death, Kirsten was sent home ill from school so she was throwing up everywhere, our mobile hairdresser cancelled at the last minute, that email came in and I locked myself out of my bank account! Doh
On the flip side though, I did get an invitation to a photography beginners class by my friends brother who is a professional photographer! He invited me along because my friend had asked him to, but hey, its all networking right??!! Lol The commissioned wedding album i'm doing is almost done, I dont have permission to share the photos so I cant show them anywhere but I can keep the pictures in my portfolio! Go figure!! I have three more albums that i've been commissioned for then i'm not taking any more orders for them! At least not for a long while!!
Right, this is short and sweet, I have so much on today I dont even know why i'm here. I'm so busy I actually have someone here to sit with the kids! How posh is that??!! LOL
Ok, have a great day whatever your doing...and you two faced, gossiping, back biting cretins!!! :) :)
Toodlepipxx

All that sunshines

2008-02-11T14:40:00.001Z

I love it when the sun is shining, its like a massive smile all around me! I do all sorts of stuff in record time when its sunny, i change all my bedding and put white sets on each bed, change all my curtains and just clean clean clean...before I start on the garden!
Today i've got white beds in the three rooms, crisp curtains up in all the rooms I have curtains in, i've gutted one of my two 'pantries' out and refilled the bin that the bin men emptied this morning!! Charley and Jake have been up the top of the garden climbing up the tree, both are all muddied up and desperately need a shower. Charley was so worn out he took himself off to his bed, put his Bob the Builder blanket on top of it and lay down...he's now a fast asleep muddy boy!! Lol
So i'm procrastinating on here...me and a glass of ice cold lemon and lime water! Browsing through my emails, sifting through the junk folder but nothing but rude stuff that promises to enlarge my ''tool''! Sometimes i'm tempted to reply back with something quirky but that would just confirm my email is in use!! Bloody spammers!!
My Sunday was another happy day, we went to church and had some excellent lessons, had good, funny and silly chats afterwards then had a gorgeous Sunday dinner. Kirsten and Charley played in the garden, the dog chased his imaginary friend again and I took loads of pictures that were naff cos the colour has gone on the camera and i'm waiting for the manufactureres to send me the appropriate envelope to send it back! Hopefully they'll let me upgrade again this time, its not been the best camera that i've had.
Life here in Gloucester is very different to anything i'm used to, I get stared at when I walk down the road, and thats by adults! Before I leave the house I always check that I have only got one head on, no big warts on my nose and am not walking like a duck...ok so I dont always manage not waddling but a big coat and its hardly noticable...honest!! :) Seriously though, I find it very intimidating at times. I dont think i'll stay here longer than I have to, though where I will go i'm not sure, I haven't found that place yet where I belong anywhere. That's not intended as a sad thought, it's just my idle thoughts spilling out my full head!
A friend of ours from church has horses, they invited us along to spend the day riding and just having fun with them. I think i'm more excited than Kirsten, even though she loves them! We used to have 13 horses, one a show horse, one a shire horse and 11 abused ones from various ages. By the time we rehomed them the abused ones were happy, confident and very loving. Gone were their fears and sad looking faces, it was a fantastic but difficult two years with them. One of them, Sofie, decided that she was going to adopt me and each time I went to move from her she'd gently put her foot on mine to stop me!! Lol Our show horse, George was a natural poser, each time anyone looked at him he'd stand out in the perfect pose! He won first place in every show I went to, if I had to miss any then he'd come 2nd...every time! Sam, the shire horse would refuse to move anywhere till he'd had two sugar lumps (and he could count!!) and a cup of tea..then he'd do anything we asked of him!! Lmao Oooh I loved those horses! If we were in a different part of town I'd get one for Kirsten, horses are just so cool! *~*~sigh~*~*
Ok I think my procrastinating is over for now...I have an album to finish for Friday and I need to stay on target with it....else I dont get paid!! :)
Toodlepip
xx

Sky's the limit!

2008-02-09T22:44:00.000Z

For those of you that haven't caught up with Kirsty's blog yet, the funds are sitting at around £6000!!!! How bloody cool is that?!!

I am still going to continue with this project with Ellie....to my knowledge the extra money will still benefit Ellie in lots of ways to make her life comfortable as possible...so I for one am still BEGGING you to continue to sign up for the project class...which will be available soon as Ellie and I have agreed on a few things!!

I am glad that so many luverly people have gone out of their way to support Ellie, as a mum of an 11 year old girl I look at her and imagine how I might feel, or how she might feel, if we had to deal with any medical issue, much less one that isnt diagnosed. Its a shuddering thought for any parent, but me, I am not so sure i'd be as brave as Ellie or Kirsty! Hat off to yer girls!
Debsxx

Obsessions ~ Ready to be tagged??

2008-02-09T22:18:00.000Z

Ok guyses...I am about to tag anyone I detect visiting this blog (and I have a tracer...hehehahahoho) cos I have been mulling over some thoughts tonight and now i'm interested in what YOU think!

When I switch Eric (my laptop's name) on each morning I have Firefox automatically open up the saved tabs of my latest pages...blogs! Now usually I read through one after another admiring, giggling and/or thinking...but I should really be using that time to brush my tootypegs or take a shower...instead i'm sat here browsing...promising myself a shower after i've taken Princess Kirsten to school...the more tabs I have open the riskier my mornings are...cos on bad mornings I dont even get out my pj's to drive Kirsten to school! Oh I can hear the disapproving grunts, thank goodness I cant see the disgusted looks on your faces!! :D :D (we really need proper faces on these blogs!!!) So, here I am, browsing, doing my thang (the american drawl popping in there) and before I know it I have about 50 tabs open and I promise myself that I WILL leave comments on all the posts that I read...but the adversary has got hold of me...and drags me away...usually by a phone call, an email or my sweeetheart and poofff....the moment has passed!

So, here is a few things I was thinking of while watching Genie in the House with my darling daughter...

what makes you blog?
do you search other friends blogs or those of the same interest?
what draws you to someone elses blog a 2/3/4th time?
if you could waste 8 hours in a day doing anything on the computer, what would you do?
do you have more than 5 blogs bookmarked?
is your blog a diary, a hobby or just a place to babble?
do you find yourself thinking of things to blog about when you're nowhere near the computer?
what online addiction do you have, or would like to have?
do you tell your real life friends about yours or other blogs you've read?
if blogs became extinct, what would you replace it with?
how many blogs do you have?

So there you have it, my evening thoughts that was powerful enough for me to turn on my laptop whilst in the middle of a mother/daughter chill out evening!! :)

Now to tag............YOU ARE IT!! :D
Debsxx

Vote to ban early morning Saturdays!

2008-02-09T12:57:00.000Z

I vote to ban Saturday mornings before 10am! Even though I had a lovely wake up call I was not ready or willing to get up at 6.50am! No amount of coaxing could convince me otherwise, but come 8am I gave up my fight to stay in bed. Charley Boy woke up, correction, Sparticus woke up and decided that today mummy is Ziggy and I am to 'watch' him as he jumps over my bed practicing his special dance moves! I tried suggesting he take up Maggie Simpson and just sit there...with the occassional crawl round the room but he was having none of it! With all the activity going on Jake woofed his way out of Kirsten's room, dived onto my bed and bit my nose. I toyed with the idea of throwing him out the darn window...but the appearance of Kirsten at the door stopped me!! :) Don't roll your eyes it was just metaphoric!! ;) Reluctantly I got out my pit, after reading some scriptures to Charley Boy, and found my darlin' daughter cooking pancakes! Now I dont mind her cooking (bring it on I say!!), and I dont mind pancakes once in a while but she's had pancakes every night since Tuesday...and now she's doing them for breakfast...HELP!!

I wasn't going to burst her bubble so I headed for the shower, to find Charley already there...nekked and trying to reach the on button...with dog under his arm! Yeah I got pictures super fast but I cant post them after poor Suzy got slagged off for a very innocent pic of her Ben being posted on her blog (and I will state that I am in total support of Suzy on this one, all the way!). So the funny image will have to be your own i'm afraid! :)

Life is quiet here today, I have a commission album that is due to be out on Friday, and three more that are due soon after as well as Ellie's book and some other projects i'm working on. The kids have been swimming (apart from the shower!) with some friends from church, then they were treated to a MacDonalds for lunch and due home anytime soon. I went on a search in my room for a particular ribbon that I KNEW I had, an hour later I found Charley's hospital tags from when I had him, along with the paper towel that the midwife left on the bed for me when I was in Bristol baby unit at 32 weeks, scan pictures, drawings off Kirsten and other notes that had been sent through my four hospital stays before I was induced. It was a real blast from the past, then I found his special care baby unit notes and that made me blubber...it was a sad time in our lives but as you can tell there's no stopping him now, he's a whirlwind of fun, laughter and total joy! Oh I love those happy endings, dont you?!

I'm all recovered from the emotions now...back to hopping around listeing to my ipod...with the dog looking at me like i'm more stupid than usual!

Wonder what to cook for Sunday dinner.....Jake!! :)

Debsxx

Ellie

2008-02-08T11:30:00.001Z

Couldn't resist the temptation

2008-02-08T10:54:00.000Z

After reading some blogs from HS:MS I just HAD to show my darlin' daughters room even though SLOTH is yesterdays prompt...this is AFTER she tidied up!! Ok so at 11 her idea of tidy and mine are very different but how can she compare this ..........

to this.....

My mind baffles!!! :)
Debsxx

Vinegar, Lavendar & Ribbons

2008-02-08T08:24:00.000Z

A crazy couple of days in the land of us Willsons...I have a yukky smell of vinegar in my kitchen and it will not go...no matter how much lavendar oils I burn, spray or douse the floor with! No vinegar is not my latest craze...dear lil Charley Boy dropped the vinegar bottle yesterday and now its haunting me. I swear I woke up this morning smelling distilled vinegar in my room! I've bleached the floor, that made it worse for the odour so I decided to try and replace the horrible smell with something nice and fresh...but nothing yet...so i'm probably gonna have this stench round for a few days yet! Doh
I was out with some friends a couple of nights ago, just chilling in my local Beefeater as you do, one of the lads was getting ribbed about buying his wife a load of ribbons cos that's her latest craze. I thought it was mega sweet, I mean if D gave me a heap of ribbons i'd kiss him none stop!! Lol Of course I can supply Hobbycraft with ribbons cos any scrapbooker seems to have a thing for them right?!! So, then this guy went on to say that he'd even made a layout for his wife's birthday to surprise her and show her that he appreciated her and enjoyed seeing her doing her crafts. Nick is your typical man's man so we were all surprised at this, but I tell ya, not one guy made a sound after that, I think the look us gals give him was enough to warn them that they'd be dicing with death if they did!! LOL I just thought the whole thing was sweet and funny! Do any of your guys buy you stash when your not with them or show interest in your crafts? Or do they roll their eyes, mutter something incomprehensible and threaten divorce??? Just curious.
So, what's happening? My life has been filled with a lot of good stuff right now, I'm not even sure I made it happen! I think the best thing is the response to my post about Ellie Wiseman. While I've been putting stuff together for this book, i've been inspired by the emails i've been getting, there really are some fantastic people out there who are just so keen to do a little something (or a lot depending on their circumstances) when someone is in need. It all makes me wanna go mushy and gooey and say 'ooh shucks!!' Lol So thank you to the guys n gals that have promised to donate some cash or buy the class project, I'm sure Ellie and Kirsty will be so grateful!
To keep Ellie's appeal fresh, here are all the links and the link to my original post I left. Please take a few minutes to read about Ellie and please, please, please either make a donation or sign up for the project class that Ellie and I are working on!

Read about Ellie's challenges

Ellie's You Tube Appeal

Make a donation

Sign up for Ellie's class project

My original post for Ellie

Last but not least....HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRSTY!!! Hope you have a great one!!

Thats enough from me, I have more work to do, I cant sit here procrastinating again!! :)
Debsxx

Ellie Wiseman

2008-02-06T08:24:00.001Z

Every now and again someone crosses your path and tugs at you for one reason or another. A few days ago I read about Ellie Wiseman's appeal to help her raise £5000 to go to Nevada to see some specialist doctors to help figure out her medical conditions...I've read her mum's blog, i've seen Ellie's you tube appeal and i've spent ages talking to her mum, Kirsty about it too and there's only two things that I can say: They are both amazing people and are so inspiring its unbelievable! Not only is Kirsty a fantastic photographer and scrapbooker but her humility hit me like a rock...I don't know what I truly expected because I sensed she was a decent person anyway! So I am making a pledge to the fund....and this post will be kept at the top of this blog until its completed!

Ok, I am designing and putting together a book for Ellie, now she and I are yet to begin talks on what she would like but when I have her ideas and instructions I shall be using the book as a class...and EVERY class that is sold will 100% go direct to Ellies fund. So more than making my website work, more than getting excited over a project I need and BEG (!!) you to buy the class, tell your friends, neighbours, family, work colleagues, ANYONE about it. To keep up with what is being raised I propose to list on my website all the people who have purchased the class, that way everyone can see how we are contributing to Ellie's fund!

Children are our greatest assets in this life......our own especially but others are a contributing factor to our future too! LETS GET ELLIE TO NEVADA!!!

Below is a few links for you to find out more about Ellie's plight....PLEASE go check them out, lets support this little girl who deserves all she can to find out about her condition and hopefully get the treatment, advice and understanding of what, why, how and all the other questions I imagine that she and her parents are asking!

Meet Ellie

Make a Donation

Ellie's personal appeal

Read Kirsty's Blog

So, I hope we can spend a few minutes forwarding this page link to all the people you can think of. However busy we are lets not look back and regret not helping a cute, adorable and intelligent child who only wants to understand her own health situation!! All kids deserve that much!

If anyone has any questions about Ellie's Project then please email me: debbie.willson@yahoo.co.uk I will get back to you as soon as I possibly can!

Good luck and Thank you in advance!!!
Debsxx

The day I became Benny

2008-02-05T13:56:00.000Z

I've spent a lifetime pretty much knowing who I am, warts n all, then my cool dude 3 yr old discovers his wonderful imagination. One day he's Fireman Sam doing all the sounds, dressed in his FS pj's and wellies and one of my thick belts...refusing to answer to anything but Fireman Sam. Another day he can be Diego, dressed in shorts, boots and his talking backpack everywhere he goes. Talking into his Diego phone, yapping more into his Bob the Builder watch (Diego kids will know what that is!) and again refuses to answer to anything but Diego. Yesterday it became my turn to switch identities, I became Benny! Now I dont know if there's a Benny in Fireman Sam or if its Benny from Bob the Builder...if its the latter then i'm no where near that constructive....more like destructive really!! So now he calls me Benny...not Mummy! The sad thing is Kirsten slips it out too! To add to this potential psychological damage, my 2 yo neice calls me Zebedee....apparently its easier than Debs!! Bless em!!!
Identity crisis? Not me but she might have one!! :D
So as Benny, who i'm assuming is contructive in a good way, I am getting on with some fun scrapping, procrastinating is not as fun as it sounds....after what seems like weeks of it!! :) So Benny to the rescue, lets just hope the new me is nice, fun and exciting...cos I think the old me is a bit worn out!! :)
Toodlepipx

Monday = Rest? Dont talk stupid!

2008-02-04T22:15:00.000Z

Kirsten tapping away on the computer, dancing on the webcam with her friends, Charley and I doing puzzles on the floor and Jake chasing an imaginary something in the hall...Shania Twain singing in the background, it was all the nice regular Sunday afternoon family thing...just like in the old commercials...then there was a tap at the door. Expecting the missionaries I was overwhelmed with surprise to find my 17 year old son standing there...followed by my 18 yo son, his girlfriend and my mum!! I was gobsmacked! Yesterday was my mum's birthday but as my car is in the garage I couldn't get down to see her, so she decided that as Jay and Leanne are staying with her a few days she'd come up to me...how cool is that? It's not like she lives 5 minutes away, she has to travel 90 miles each way! That's my mum!!
It was just great sitting and seeing their faces as we chatted, laughed and just enjoyed being together. I cant remember the last time I had all four of my kids in the same building let alone the same room! Charley was all over his brothers, he is so blessed to have them idolise him so much. Kirsten was loving having everyone there and me, I was just in my element. I'm all about families myself, in any way they come!
Scott bought himself a new ipod, he gave me his old one which isn't very old and in mint condition, Kirsten had a new one a few weeks ago and she wanted the one I had, so we swapped...are you up on that? Do you get what happened there? I ended up with a brand new ipod within a 3 minute period! Now thats mavouvering for ya!!! So now i'm walking round the house with earplugs in, nodding, jigging and humming along to Enrique, Shania, Darren, Robbie, The Killers, The Stylistics and a whole load of other stuff...its way cool...especially when the kids are whinging!! LOL
Mum and the kids didn't stay very long, so after they went, Kirsten and I had a quick tidy round and settled on the sofa in our pj's to watch back to back episodes of Dog the Bounty Hunter. I have gotten so addicted to that show lately! Of course they play up to the cameras but thats what makes it a show, i think their family unit is fantastic, especially as they are two families joined as one. I joined their official website...I know, I know thats desperate!! Yeah I have it bad!! Lol
I had to go to Tewkesbury this morning for an appointment, so off I went with my friend Emma, done what I had to do, had a drink with my friend Becks and done a little shopping, as cold and bitter as it was I quite enjoyed being back up there. I wouldn't live there again now, I realised just how much i'm getting attached to this house, the street and the area, I like where I am now. It took me over 3 hours to get home which in the car is a simple 20 minute drive...but the stupid buses had changed routes, the frequency of them were twice less than I was aware of and so rather than wait in the bitter winds I decided to walk, wasn't too bad till I found that I was not on the new route for the bus I needed!! So what should have been a 1 hour bus journey home, turned out to be 3 buses and 3 hours...just as I got off the bus this end the heavens opened and I was saturated, never again will I put fashion before common sense, my lil denim jacket didn't stand a chance!!
I did see a brilliant heart shape on the tarmac in the next road up from mine, I had to stop for a few seconds to focus on it properly, if only I had my camera!!! Maybe i'll walk up there tomorrow and get that picture!!! :)
As if the days events wasn't enough Kirsten, Charley and I decided to dress up like michellin men, grab some pennies and go for a long walk, pick up a Chinese on the way back and just enjoy being outside. Jake thought it was great, sniffing out previous dogs, Charley waffled all the way up the road, Kirsten sang and practised her walking pose while I danced and jumped around trying to get Charley to do more walking and less talking!! I think i've lost a couple of pounds at least till I ate the Chinese afterwards!! :) Well worth the hour and a half we were out!
The pictures I took have come out crap, I think my camera needs to go back to the fixers again, for some reason the pictures are coming out pink, regardless of how I adjust the settings. It's very frustrating. I dont know if or how I can edit them so if anyone knows please, please, please let me know!! I'd hate to lose these pictures now! This is what one of them looks like....

Right, now its time to go to bed, I have a fair bit of work on at the moment and time is not on my side. I've been commissioned to do my friends wedding album for her, so i'm having fun working on that and enjoying her photos. I have three more album commissions, two are weddings and one is a family holiday...a 3 month holiday, now thats a real holiday eh?!! So, I'm working my butt off trying to keep up with it all...roll on when my friend can join me as a fellow team member for the website....she has so much talent and so many ideas I can do the happy dance just looking at her work! Time will reveal all though...but I guarantee anyone who see's her stuff will not doubt her class projects!!
Ok my bed is calling...loudly!

Debsxx

The boy and The dog!

2008-02-03T14:02:00.000Z

This is for Elaine....I thought you would love this of Charley! He went upstairs to get his shoes, came down with shorts on (changed from jeans) boots, and the winter stuff....when I asked where he was going he said...
"on a bus to get some sweets"
at least my car being in the garage isn't slowing him down!!!

This close up of him is just so sweet, cos even though he's 'going on the bus' he is glued to Go Diego Go!! Lol

Without realising what he's doing, he sat down...now if you look carefully on the pic above you will see he's tied the lead to the string on his hat...he's not going anywhere without Jake! I think at this point Jake was started to get fed up of being on the lead, stuck at Charley's side all day but how sweet is he for just doing as he's 'told'!!!

Now they are still hooked up...from his lace this time....but I cant keep them still enough to get a picture!!!
Dontcha just love kids??!!! Lol
Debsxx