The Domestic Goddess...

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

It's the good life :)

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

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

Never look back....

...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

Eh?

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

{HS:MS} Goggle Eyed

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?

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

Spiritual Sunday

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?!!

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 :)

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

Why do I insist on a snappy title?

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! :)

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