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

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

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?

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

Back from the past :)

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...!!

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

Is that a ray of life?

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!

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?

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's all about Ellie :)

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