Well it is my birthday LOL!

I have looked after my grandsons today, had a great time, had lunch out with family and had a gorgeous tea cooked by my darling hubby + a bottle of white wine with my name on. All that coupled with bagging myself a Swarovski Crystal Special Edition Breast Cancer Pen with pink ink, a Radley pink heart keyring and a mini pink flash light for my key ring makes it an amazing day! xxxxxxxx

Busy Girl!

Well I've scrapped, cooked and beaded today. Made Granary bread again as one  yesterday was not quite right. Done my Shimelle LO for LSNED 2010 and finished a beaded needle case for my friend Babs, I still have one more to complete in lime greens for her, but here is the turquoise beaded one which I just love. 

  

Hope Babs like it too! 

29th September - PJ thru' the Looking Glass

 Lesson Learnt - I want to change my life - so I am having to look at my existing life with great detail.

Crafty Challenge - Look out the window - what's the first colour you see? Use it on today's entry. It was grey LOL!

28th September - 4 Generations (Memories)

 Lesson learnt - Memories - dear to my heart

Crafty Challenge - Incorporate stars in your design today (the stars are made into flowers)

This picture is of 4 Generations of the female side of my family, sadly my grandma has passed now, but I am lucky to still have my mother and I now have two grandsons, so we are still 4 generations I have journalled on the hidden tag and doodled over the background paper.

27th September - The Boys (the furry kind!)

 Lesson Learnt - The Boys (the furry kind) are a major part of our lives

Crafty Challenge - What can you make by folding double-side patterned papers? (The flowers close like a camera shutter)

Glee Club - Bring On the "Alternative" Assignment - Week 2

Train song title, chosen from a list supplied - For Me, It's You

LO is based on the album cover for the song title which is For Me, It's You, shows my two grandsons in a touching pose. I tried to emulate Train's style for their album cover as much as possible.

 

 Link to Dixie Pieces Gallery

Supplies List: Scrapworks, Florabella - Sampler Patterned Background Paper, hand cut title and angels from Bazzill cardstock, inked flowers & letters, doodling on letters, stamped and inked grungeboard wings, grungeboard flourishes + Delish Designs letters, stamped embellishment with ribbon.

26th September - Autumn

Cold sunny mornings always means Autumn has arrived to me, that along with the colours in the garden changing.

Lesson Learnt - Autumn is a time of change.

Crafty Challenge - Grab an older sheet of stickers and spell something with what's left. (Amazingly I had enough letter to make the title)

Crop Results

Had a great class with Cleo Jarvis @ the Artcards Crop, in the class we distressed the papers to within a inch of their lives to produce a great LO.

  This was my LO, showing pictures of my parents in their youth! I still have to add a title.

I also managed to complete 5 LO's, admittedly some of them only needed titles

I think people appreciated the Lush Lemon Squares & the Caramel Toffee Ring I took, lots of kind people commented how yummy they were! And I didn't bring any home (I can be good sometimes!) 

Great to catch up with some people I haven't seen for ages, almost like old times, will be keenly watching FB for their updates in the near future.

25th September - Time for ?

Lesson learnt - Time is important!

Crafty Challenge - Include something that is not a traditional scrapbooking supply (I used a magazine clipping)

I use time for ?

• Me
• Family
• Home
• Friends
• Crafting
• Work

Not necessarily in that order I might add!

24th September - Talking To Yourself - A Sign of Madness?

NO, it's good for you, according to an article in The Daily Mail (23/09/10), which is good news for my best mate Maggie! She talks to herself all the time, and continually keeps apologising for the fact, it doesn't bother me, whether she's in the same room as me or we're SKYPING for hours & hours, it's quite comforting to listen to. Research now shows it perfectly OK to do that, in fact quite healthy, so she can stop taking the medication now LOL!

Lesson Learnt - Talking to yourself can be good for you!

Crafty Challenge - Include something clipped from a newspaper, magazine or today's mail.

Finally - Up To Date with LSNED!

I'm finally up to date with my Shimelle LO's, having the kiddywinks for 2 days a week, means less scrapping time, but I do catch up and I don't mind as I love having them, I consider myself very lucky.

Been a busy day already, had a swim, cooked two recipes (see post below), done three 8"x8" LO's and blogged and answered my emails and done the FB thing!

23rd September - Ideas

Lesson Learnt - I need to record my ideas when I have them, otherwise I forget them. I've always wanted to do a LO of Burnham on Sea Lighthouse as it's so beautiful, now I have!

Crafty Challenge - Use an ink pad, but not on a stamp. What else can it do? (I edged with black ink) 

Bake It! - I'm up to date

Couldn't wait to try the recipes, so baked both of them this morning after a swim, (well had to burn the calories so I could try some!)

This is the Caramel Toffee Ring I made as a variation to Amy's Toffee Pecan Ring, I used a Mars Bar instead of Rolo's and left out the nuts.

These are the lush Lemon Squares, I didn't have the right size tin so made 4 individual ones and 1x 20cm square one to cut into squares like Amy did.

A Grand Day Out - Almost!

The kiddywinks & I had a great day out at HorseWorld, we were very lucky with the weather, and even managed our picnic outside!

The day was slightly sad when we discovered that Apache (one of GS1's favourite animals) had sadly died on 21st September. There was a lovely note on her stable, but GS1 kept asking where she was, I told him she had gone to live in heaven and was very happy there as she could run around wherever she wanted and be with lots of other animals (including Thomas & Rosie, our much loved & sadly missed cats). He thought about this for a moment and then said "Nana, there will be someone there to look after her won't there?" I only just about kept it together, it was very hard. We bought a fridge magnet and the kind lady at the HorseWorld shop let him choose the photo he wanted to go in it.

Life goes on, sad but true, must dry my tears now.

22nd September - Love

Lesson Learnt -  With time the boys will love each other - really they will!

Crafty Challenge - Create a background with three bold stripes of colour or pattern.

Apple Crumble Cupcakes - heavenly!

I joined the Bake It! Club, well you know me and cooking, it's in my blood! Well the link is on the side, but basically Amy is trying to encourage people to bake.

Each month she adds a recipe to her blog for everyone to bake. All you have to do is get the ingredients, bake the recipe and write a blog post about it. SIMPLES - YES?

Well so far there's been 3 recipes: -

• September recipe – Apple Crumble Cupcakes
• August recipe – Toffee Pecan Ring
• July recipe – Lemon Squares 

I've tried September's Apple Crumble Cupcakes and they were yummy!

 

I'll be trying July's Lemon Squares tomorrow - the only alterations I am making are all recipes I follow will be lactose free so the kiddywinks can have them and of course there will be no nuts used!

Glee Club - Classic Rock Mini Challenge - Week 1

The challenge was to complete a card or tag with a sentiment on it. At least one word from my LO title must be used! 

I used the word NOW and made a tag for hidden journalling from the scraps leftover from my week 1 LO.

I've been a Good Girl LOL!

Some may say that'll be a first then! 

BUT despite looking after the Kiddywinks for part of today (not a usual day but daughter having dental work done!) and having a dickie knee I went swimming! 

There is a 1hr aqua class tonight but there is no way my knee would have stood up to it, so instead of doing what I have done many times before (which is duck out!) I went and did my own version of aqua exercise. Came home to the lovely smell of Lancashire Hotpot simmering away courtesy of my DH, won't be ready until 8.00pm as that's when we were scheduled to eat tonight (after aqua).

I also called into Waitrose at Portishead and picked up some Sushi for my lunch tomorrow as well as a greatly reduced super duper organic ready to cook meal (half price) with all the bits - stuffed chicken breasts, cabbage, leeks, garlic potatoes & gravy all for £5, can't be bad, I'd never have paid full amount for it though! 

I also managed to get a lovely mini chef set for GS1 as he's so into cooking, it's even got a chef's hat, they did it in pink and even though that is his favourite colour I bought the blue. I thought it might be a step too far for his dad if I'd bought the pink, although I was tempted LOL!

Been busy today so no temptation and the prospect of another day with the kiddywinks tomorrow has reined me in, we're off to Horseworld and taking packed lunches (already done & healthy!) to save money.

21st September - Determination

Lesson learnt - Determination is important to get what you want!

Creative Challenge - Choose one punch and use it several times for today's entry.

Light at the end of the tunnel (Or is it a train?)

Today is ending better than it started, I completed my 2 LO's that were missing for Shimelle's LSNED 2010.
I made Fruity Flapjacks again to take with me tomorrow for my daughter & her family. I'm up to Bristol to look after GS2 for a couple of hours while his mum goes to the dentist and then I get to pick up GS1 from his first full session at pre-school, what a big boy he's becoming.

I watched the Great British Bake Off Final, the standard was so high, I loved all 3 finalists and thought they were great. I loved Edd's Chocolate Tarts, Ruth's Choux Buns & Miranda's Lemon Cupcakes. I thought Jonathon would have gone further, but he's doing well selling his puddings now.

I have another busy day tomorrow, and need to get sorted for my special scrapbooking class with Cleo Jarvis on Saturday.

Struggling Today

I'm tired today, going swimming after having the kiddywinks and going to group was maybe a step too far, may need to rethink that one, will do the same next week and if still feels like this on Tuesday morning I will change swimming session to early Tuesday mornings. Being tired has meant I've been hungry or bored or both!

20th September - Creative

My Grandson loves cooking, so I try to bake with him when I can, on this occassion we baked mini marshmallow chocolate cupcakes, made half the quantity and produced 12 mini cakes - perfect. Ethan got chocolate mix everywhere including on his face, but he enjoys the whole experience including the washing up, but Nana has to do the drying up as that's a step too far!!!!

LO shows cupcake top with title & hidden journalling! I made & decorated a little felt cupcake to use as an embellishment.

LO shows decorated cupcake tag for journalling!

Lesson Learnt - Kids can be creative if you let them.

Crafty Challenge - Include buttons on your entry - one or dozens (well I didn't do dozens just 10!)

19th September - Moments

Great Grandma came to visit today, she enjoyed reading with both the boys, Ethan actually allowed Haydn to share in this experience, it was a wonderful moment.

Lesson Learnt - Moments can be shared, we just have to be patient.

Crafty Challenge - Use staples, stitches, brads or other ways to adhere your elements - just not glue! Well everything is held on by brads LOL!

PLEASED WITH MYSELF
I'm really pleased I got a mention by one of the designers over at Glee Club for my LO, I'm really chuffed, it's nice to be appreciated.

Glee Club - Classic Rock Assignment - Week 1

Beatles song title, chosen from a list supplied - "All Together Now"

LO is based on very psychedelic album cover for song which is on the Yellow Submarine album released January 1969, shows my daughter & her family first photo taken of them all thogether!

Link to Dixie Pieces Gallery

Supplies List: Lime Rickey papers, hand made flower embellishments, pp covered letters, 1 green brad in centre, punched shapes, pre cut sticky embellishments and sewn buttons

Simple Pleasures

It was so sunny on Saturday that I took a stroll around the garden and discovered quite by accident that a pot we had placed behind the shed some time ago, and which contained a lace-top hydrangea had amazingly bloomed, I just had to take a picture!

Lesson Learnt - Simple Pleasures from surprises!

Crafty Challenge - Create your entry working in a different spot in your house today.

Cupcake Apron I made

On my to do list to avoid eating unwanted food was - to complete my friend Penny's Cupcake Apron that she's ordered, I'm glad to say that's completed and I'm very pleased with it, what do you think?

 

 I am taking orders LOL!

Hotspot avoided

If I identify when I will have a possible problem with bingeing I can plan to avoid that hotspot SO

Yesterday I identified my hotspot as being: -

"Tim is motor biking tomorrow so I will be alone for a lot of the day, I will need to occupy myself to avoid unnecessary eating"

So I planned to do lots of things, which I'm glad to say I've done, one of them was to complete LSN LO for 17th September. We live in a very sunny area, we get loads of sunshine, so we planted a grapevine, it's doing well and now in it's 3rd year it gave us enough grapes to make Grape Jelly, here's hoping we can get enough to make our own wine one year LOL!

Lesson Learnt - Sunshine is important in my life, it makes me feel good.

Crafty Challenge - Use leaves or trees as your design motif in today's entry.

Baking Day Today - Great Temptations?

It's really difficult as I love cooking, I'm a Food Technology teacher (when I get chance!), I hate bought baked goods as they're full of additives and cheap ingredients, I like to know what I'm eating even if I do eat too much.

So today in response to the fact that very few places have any sort of choice in dairy free products for my grandson - I've decided to bake some mini size chocolate cakes, bran & raisin muffins & fruity flapjacks. If I freeze them I can pop some in my bag for when I look after him and his brother. I'll have no qualms about letting him eat them in cafes and restaurants if they have no safe product available.

I find it so difficult to buy for him when we're out as he is also unable to have nuts as he may possibly have a severe nut allergy (like his father, he takes after him in every other way eczema, asthma) and the medical profession won't allergy test him (even though he could die if he ate nuts like his dad!)

I was in M&S @ Cribbs Causeway yesterday and we popped into the espresso bar for a break, they did do a Soya babyccino for 50p which was great value but did say they didn't always have the soya milk available????? There was not one product that was nut and dairy free and this is one of our top food retailers.

I was given a list of dairy free products but so many of them were either made in a factory that used nuts or had nuts in them I was quite angry with M&S about this and so I'm doing some research on the internet about what the other supermarkets (Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons & Waitrose) provide.

16th September

 

Lesson Learnt - Family is important, I couldn't be doing what I'm doing without my family, my family couldn't be doing what they do without me LOL!

Crafty Challenge - Write your lesson on a post-it or cute stationery.

15th September

Masks We Wear
We usually have many faces that we can choose to show at specific times: -

• a public face
• a private face
• a family face
• a friend face
• a parent face

 Lesson Learnt - I learnt a long time ago to put a funny face on to cope with my weight problem!

Crafty Challenge - Make a polka dot background with paper, stamps or doodles.

Stress & Boredom = Eating

Not surprisingly, filling in the F&MD (Food & Mood Diary) for just 36hrs has already thrown up a pattern in my eating behaviour. I eat "extra" when I'm stressed or bored, so what next? It's OK and maybe too simple to say de-stress or be active to combat the boredom, because sometimes de-stressing is easier said than done.

Do I have to be on the go all the time? I might not always have the energy or inclination to go to do something else to distract me, this might prove the most difficult one to overcome.

14th September

CURIOUS JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

 Lesson Learnt - I'm on a Curious Journey of Discovery

Crafty Challenge - Find a stamp you haven't used enough and put it to use today!

I was told not to diet whilst on this course. That's scary!!

I needed to think of something to say to people when they ask about how I'm getting on! I need a stock answer that helps me try to explain that I'm not on a "DIET" and I'm NOT trying to lose weight!

I've not kept it secret that I'm attending the counselling group, but I feel that rightly or wrongly people will ask questions like: -

• how much have you lost?
• can you eat that?

or make statements like: -

• I thought you were on a diet!
• That's got a lot of calories you know!

Well after yesterday's session my stock answer with be "I'm on a curious journey of discovery" and that's all I have to say about that!

A little humour never goes amiss

With time, women gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our body. So we aren't heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy....
Beginning today, when I look at my backside in the mirror I will think, good grief, look how smart I am!

13th September

Well I survived the first session of my food addiction group, very scary, lots of negative vibes we carry around with us that affect our relationship with food. It was strangely comforting to be with others who are in the same boat as I am.

The following information is very interesting - basically many people diet, there are many diets, yet they are not very successful. Half of dieters put on even more weight than they lost.
The slimming industry works in mysterious ways, always tantalising with the possibility that "this one really works".

The following DIET MYTHS were all dismissed
1 - Dieting is easy if you have the willpower.
2 - If you go on a diet you will feel better about your body
3 - Dieting helps stop comfort eating
4 - If the diet is successful, you will continue losing weight.
5 - It's better to lose weight fast, than not at all.

As for the following FOOD MYTHS - well they were discussed and debunked!
1 - You shouldn't mix proteins with carbohydrates
2 - Dairy products are fattening
3 - Carbohydrates are fattening
4 - You shouldn't eat after 7pm
5 - Chocolates, chips, biscuits, sweets & crisps are all "bad foods"

We were given details of a book that may prove helpful - Overcoming Binge Eating by Christopher Fairburn (Needless to say I ordered it from Amazon the moment I got home LOL!)

Lesson Learnt - There are many Food & Diet Myths & Legends

 

Crafty Challenge - Go with lots of labels today.

12th September

 Lesson Learnt - I have a food addiction and need help!

Crafty Challenge - Close your eyes and pick a piece of paper from your scraps as your starting point.

Today's lesson is really hard - " Learning the hard way" Shimelle wrote in todays prompt "Something that makes you look in the mirror and ask, what was I thinking?" Well tomorrow is a big step for me on the long journey of fighting food addiction. I am attending my first counselling session for binge eating. I hope I have the strength to publish this post as so often people look at fat people and think "why don't they have more self control?" We don't talk about being fat and the physical and mental problems that can be associated. I have tried many things in my life to lose weight from diets (cabbage soup, Atkins, Weight Watchers, SlimFast, GI) to a variety of diet pills (some now banned). Some have worked for a short time, some are just not sustainable (that's why I haven't done Lighter Life), some are unhealthy (pills) but the sad fact is that I continue to eat too much!

Do I have self control? I think I do, I gave up smoking 30 cigarettes a day on 1st December 1986, (cold turkey) I've never looked back, never once strayed so why is food an issue? I'm hoping that the group will help me to understand this. My picture shows me at a variety of ages & weights in my life from 1972 where I weighed 154lbs to 2006 where I weighed 322lbs, that's more than double!!!! I have yoyo'd in between those dates never weighing less than 150lbs and going up to350lbs. This is going to be so difficult, scary & frightening as I'm sure I will have to confront issues I have long since buried in my past.

11th september

Lesson Learnt - Crops are a great source for providing fuel for the MOJO

Crafty Challenge - Use at least 6 scraps reclaimed from your leftovers from a project. Not difficult as I keep most reasonable size pieces to make embellishments. I made the paper flower using a new technique I learnt.

A great day spent a Penally's Crop in Wales, thanks to all the girls who made me most welcome after my 18 month absence.  Shimelle's LSN 2010 post today was about learning from different sources and I certainly did that, surrounded by the talented ladies who were at Penally's. Thanks to Penny for the 2 classes and to Nadia for the lovely cake. The photo is a collage of the ladies who were there (I think 3 had gone home already!) + the 2 LO's from the classes Penny did & 3 cards I made with scraps  from the class kits, although there is still enough to do another LOL with the papers left over as the class kits are very, very generous. Thanks ladies!

10th September

Lesson learnt - Kids can get so messy!

Crafty Challenge - Cut a variety of circles by tracing around items in your kitchen. I altered this to trace around things I use for crafting LOL!

The centre altered & embellished circle opens to reveal a photo of Ethan - I used my new script stamp from Prima and loads of varying sized circles cut from paterned paper & cardstock

My Grandson Ethan loves babyccino's from Costa Coffee made with Soya Milk (he's lactose intolerant!), he used to love the froth of Nana's hot chocolate when he was a baby (before we knew he was lactose intolerant), and as he's got older he's wanted his own drink! This picture (taken yesterday) is a classic of him eating the froth off the top of his babyccino with his chocolate moustache LOL! Needless to say copious amounts of baby wipes were needed to clean him up after the event.

9th September

 Lesson Learnt - Kids love gadgets just as much adults

Crafty Challenge - Incorporate ribbon in your design today.

 Ribbon is used as tab pull for hidden journalling under top of photo, very simple LO today as I spent the day with my 2 grandsons @ Horseworld while their mummy was at college for her first day. (I am shattered but happy!)

For Haydn's 1st Birthday which is early next month I bought him a Smart Trike with a cow design, he loves it! It has space for a drink and a play mobile phone which is just in front of where he sits. He just loves to play with the phone, he keeps pressing the buttons and listening to the music. I love the trike as it will grow with him, starts out like a pushchair, ends up like a trike with all the inbetweeny stages LOL! I love pushing him around in it as it gets so many comments.

8th September

Lesson Learnt - Colour is important in my life!

Crafty Challenge - Use pop dots or foam tape to give elements dimension

The journalling is hidden under the photo as the foam pads gave depth so I could slide a tag under.

I love colour, especially the deep dark shades like turquoise, teal, cerise, purple, poppy red and emerald. I don't do pastels very often as they can very wishy washy. I went to Longleat Safari Park yesterday and in the Animal Adventure section there was a Butterfly House, this was one of many beautiful butterflies  that landed to feed on the special table. The colours just sang to me and here's the resulting photo.

I'm finding it very difficult to do my LSN 2010 in black & white, but I will persevere and continue until the last day, when on the 30th September there will be a riot of colour (especially as it's my birthday LOL!)

7th September

Lesson Learnt - NEVER Dare someone if you're not prepared for the consequences!

Crafty Challenge - Go with stripes: stripy patterned paper, stripes to create lines for writing or stripes in a photo.

 I went to Longleat Safari Park today, with my husband, our daughter and two grandsons. There is an animal Adventure area to visit and inside were animals you could touch & hold.  Having wandered around we spied a snake in one area being handled by visitors. Zoe said "I've never held a snake Mum", I said "Nor have I, but if you do I will!!!!" Once the words left my mouth I would have willingly put them back in one by one , however bad they tasted LOL! Of course she did it and so I had to, so be warned be prepared to eat your words! 

It's the same snake, I just flipped one image and collaged them in Picasa

A photo I never thought I'd see, let alone be in!

6th September

Thanks to Georgia (Searching for Coffee Blog)

Lesson Learnt - Wherever we are in the world, women have the same issues problems & concerns, we are so similar.

Crafty Challenge - Take inspiration from an entry posted on the forum by a classmate.

Well the inspiration wasn't on the forum but from a blog "Searching for Coffee" Georgia posted this photo on 3rd September and wrote "Today was the live chat for this class. A lot of women from the UK and US both. But we were all talking about the same things in our lives. It's comforting to know that I'm not that much different from every other woman and yet unique." 

Such a true statement when I read it I realised that women are so different but so alike in many ways.  I'd really like to set up another chat, maybe I can suss it out from Shimelle and get another one going before the final scheduled one at the close of the month.

5th September

Lesson Learnt - Determination, if you don't do, you won't succeed. Better to have tried & failed than never to have tried at all.

Crafty Challenge - Make your page with the same colour clothes you are wearing today.

I used building blocks of B&W patterned paper & plain black card to build a tower and the tumbling blocks. I used the black blocks to do my journalling, simple but quite effective I hope.

If you are determined to do something then you can succeed, if you don't even try to do that something then you can never ever succeed - hope that makes sense? My daughter Zoe & my grandson Ethan were determined to use every block in the box to build a tower and they did succeed, it was tall but not stable, so they tried again with a wider base and it was better.

The tower gets taller then after the collapse gets wider!

Been busy today, made two flavours of soup, Chicken & Leek and Cream of  Mushroom, sorted photos out for Penally's Crop Classes with Penny next Saturday and also for the Cleo Class @ ArtCards at the end of the month. Happy days!

4th September

Lesson Learnt - I Neglected My MOJO!

Crafty Challenge - Give your entry wings: include a bird, a butterfly, an angel or something else in flight.

I used an ATC I'd made with a beautiful stamped Blackbird on it, as a pocket for my journalling envelope.

Today I discovered that I didn't lose my MOJO, I neglected it - pure and simple! For reasons I'm not able to divulge, I simply stopped scrapbooking! I'm going to write a bit about why (all the background) but keep it private in an envelope as hidden journalling.

I had a great day @ PaperArts, scrapping with Penny from Penally's, we put the world to rights  for sure.  I managed 9 LO's today, so I think the lesson I learnt is - that it's who I scrap with and where I scrap that affects my MOJO. My MOJO needs to be nurtured NOT neglected LOL!

Ooh and I did get some Black & White stash !!!!