A Great Time Had By All!

Well nearly LOL! 

Dinner was lovely last night with our guests (my cousin & her husband), lasagne, salad & garlic ciabatta for those that wanted, followed by a mini pot of chocolate mousse. Five minutes into the meal, my DH accidently knocked over his FULL glass of red wine, you'd be amazed how far liquid can travel!!!!!! The cream wall, the cream suede chairs & the cream carpet!!!!!!!! 

Luckily the tablecloth soaked up a lot and luckily I had put a chair cover on the cream suede chair only 2 days earlier as it had one of the kiddywinks booster chairs on it! The wall I manged to get done before it soaked into the wallpaper but the cream carpet was another matter. We spent most of the first part of dinner with DH spot cleaning the worst off and after dinner he had to get the carpet shampooer out and clean the carpet properly.

The good news is that this morning when we came down for breakfast there was little evidence to show  of  the catastrophe, and as I'd put table cloth & covers in the wash last night, they were dried and back on the table by 10:00am

It wasn't worth getting stressed about it, these things happen, hopefully our guests didn't have a too disrupted dinner, but I'm sure they chatted about it when they retired to sleep last night LOL!

No Rest For The Wicked?

Well it's 11:22am, I've cleaned, hoovered, blogged, changed beds, done the salad, done a 1hour LO challenge for Practical Scrappers and I'm now catching my breath at the same time as doing 2 Blog Hops! So Many Mini Books & Imagine Nation no rest for the wicked!

I'm A Winner Again!

Just seen a post on FB, I was one of the winners on a competion held yesterday over @  Unity Stamp Company, a great end to a great day!

A Very Productive Day!

Loads done today, finished my 5 mini books for my girlies @ group on Monday, finished my own mini book (looks lush!), went to the hairdresser, assembled 2 lasagnes, made individual chocolate mousses, weighed out 8 snicky snack packets for my power nibbles, SKYPED with Maggie, started a beaded needle case for a Christmas present, organised plan for everything for tomorrow.
Tomorrow got to change bed, clean bathrooms & hoover everywhere in preparation for our guests arrival tomorrow, do a 1hour Challenge LO for Practical Scrappers - I'm on a roll here!

My Beading Work!

I really enjoy beading!

A Horrible Day!

Its wild, wet & windy here, blowing a hooley. I set off to look after the kiddywinks at 7:40am and was trapped on the M5 due to an accident which closed ALL 3 lanes. I finally arrived at Zoe's 2hrs late, got her to college finally and then set off back to The Mall @ Cribbs Causeway, after managing to get some diesel (a right palava), we popped to Tesco to get a new kettle, out of stock! Went to Build-A-Bear to get Haydn a Pudsey as Ethan had one 2yrs ago when he was a similar age, got the bear and the T-shirt but no boxers for Ethan's Pudsey! Then battled through to get some lunch for the boys, Ethan decided on McDonalds - so chicken nuggets for the boys and a lovely crisp grilled chicken salad for Nana, it was nice and I enjoyed it. It was just a nightmare to get a table for the 3 of us and the pushchair, then came the dreaded double loo trip, thankfully this passed off without too much trouble. Walk back to the car and drive to get Zoe (we were late) through slow traffic and a whole row of red traffic lights, I think they saw us coming! I think there is a glass of white wine with my name on it tonight, Tim's finishing off tea, sweet & sour turkey and rice - yummy!

Cooking Today

Cooked some healthy options for the next few nights, Sweet & Sour Turkey, Tomato Pasta Bake & French Turkey Casserole, I've learned that being able to plan what I'm eating makes it so much easier than getting things sorted last minute and so much healthier too!

I also managed to make a healthy lasagne meat base for the weekend (we're having visitors), will add the reduced fat sauce & pasta sheets on Saturday before baking it off & serving with mixed salad and garlic bread.

Quick Cooking Tonight!

Funerals always make me sad, I like to cook when I'm sad and on the + side it keeps me busy.  Two things happened yesterday

1. Tim bought home some new Marmite Cereal Bars to try!

2. I went to my food group and discovered Tiger Bread is SO NOT GOOD FOR ME!

I tried the marmite bars, but was really disappointed and so decided to research recipes online to amend to make my own version - Marmite & Cheese Flapjacks, I cooked them when we got back this afternoon and the results were really great, I used low fat cheese and rolled oats, they are quite moreish, so I will freeze some and see how they turn out when defrosted. Tim liked them, but I may try a further tweak and add pumpkin & sunflower seeds, which may mean he likes them less.

The tiger bread is another matter, it makes the body's insulin levels spike and then you feel hungry very quickly afterwards which in my case is more likely to lead to a binge, so I decided to make some wholemeal & granary rolls to put in the freezer for when I really fancy bread.

A great night's work and I also managed to work on a project we've been set at Food Group which means I need to collect images, ideas, poems, quotes in fact anything that makes me feel happy. I've decided to put the results in a mini book and I'm working on making the blank ones for all the members of my group for next week. Watch this space for the finished books!

Remember!

 

When we were in Crete many years ago we came across this beautiful scene on the Lasithi Plateau high in the mountains, whenever we return to crete we always visit again and take more photos, the colours are amazing and so reminded me of Poppy Day!

Detailed shot below showing stamping & stickles

LO using Christmas Trees

Made the baubles using punches, edges with punch similar to antlers, my new Christmas colours.

Sorting & Sorting & Selling & Dumping

Well finally got around to sorting my craft room out, sorted and organised every shelf, every drawer, every box,  every bag! Found stuff I'd forgotten I had, don't need to buy glue (of any type) for ages!

Moved 2 units out, one of the 12"x12" Costco Craft Drawer Units with 15 drawers and on castors will be for sale @ £10

Put lots together to take to Penally's for the sale table, got loads to sell (tried stuff didn't like it kind of thing LOL!) e.g.

Melt Pot & Flex Utee, & Utee
Fimo
Tim Holtz stuff
Plastic jars
Glass jars
Stampboard
Lightweight clay & moulds
Mini books (loads)
PP's
Bags of adhesive embellishments
+ loads of extra stuff too mumerous to mention
Room looks so much larger and scrapping stuff all easily accessible, all beading stuff in one place, extra lights installed, laptop in there permenantly

Be Thankful Blog Hop

We have so much to be thankful for, every single day--so, the guys over at Be Thankful Blohg Hop thought it would be nice to share and inspire all of you with the things that make us thankful.

1. I am thankful for my daughter Zoe who battled to get me to do something about my health and coaxed me into having a full health check, turns out I have Severe OSA and need a CPAP machine to help me sleep at night! Life has altered so much for me, I'm a different person I don't waste time sleeping in the day I now help look after my grandsons and in my spare time I craft and LIFE IS GOOD!

2. I'm thankful for my 2 cats, Felix & Oscar, they came to live with us 18months ago after we lost the last of our previous cats Thomas & Rosie. They changed our lives like our 1st cats did & are so much fun, we lasted 48hrs after Thomas died & just had to give a home to these beautiful rescue cats, I'm so thankful we did!

3. I'm loving the "Be Thankful For" Blog Hop and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to do so. Pinky -You ROCK, I am inspired by your energy and drive, your passion and the amazing work you post, keep crafting.

4. I'm thankful for all my Online Friends, they give me so much support, so many laughs, I love reading their blogs, gazing at their amazing creations and posting comments, through various forums I have met some amazing people thank you Sarah, Sandie!

5. I'm thankful for my darling husband Tim, he is my rock, he keeps me grounded, yet allows me to be ME. He puts up with my over zealous quest for tidiness in the house and my sometimes lazy streak, he is so good for me and I love him so!

6. I'm thankful for my best mate Maggie, she is truly a great friend, through thick and thin, though good times & bad. We've lived, laughed, cried and got drunk - my only regret I did not meet her earlier in my life. Here's to you mate!

7. I'm thankful for my grandsons all four of them. I get to see the two youngest twice a week in term time which is great for me. I hope to get to see the two oldest sometime after Christmas. They all give me great opportunities to scrapbook.

8. I'm thankful for the place I live, I'm lucky to live 1 mile from the sea, in the beautiful County of Somerset, UK. We moved 6 years ago to be nearer my parents as my mum had cancer and needed support, the irony is that my mum & dad have just this week moved back the the midlands, mu husband and I will NOT be moving back up there as we love the people, the weather, the scenery just right here!

9. I'm thankful for my Cricut machine, it gives so many opportunties to do amazing things with papers. I share my cricut with my best mate Maggie when she comes to stay and she loves it too. The trick is too leave it out all the time so you you use it more!

10. Love what you did making the napkin rings, makes me want to celebrate Thanksgiving like the USA, guess I'll have to settle for celebrating Christmas in the UK with some handmade ones for our festive table. I'm thankful for my craft room, so lucky to have one room dedicated to my crafts!

11. I'm thankful for my computer, without which I would not be able to live in the world I do, surrounded by all these amazing blogs and being able to enjoy all the new experiences. No shopping, banking, meeting people, reading, learning, I can't imagine life without it!

Hungry Heffy Crafts Giveaway

Hi crafty/scrapbooking friends - hop over to Hungry Heffy Crafts as they're doing a giveaway if you sign up to receive their newsletter. Please put my name in the referrer box when you do, thanks.

Scrapbooking, card making, tips, scrap, tutorials, videos, & inspiration

I'm a Winner

I took part in the Pencil Lines 4th Birthday celebrations and one of my LO's won (Sketch 43 - Hambly Screen Prints) looking forward to getting my goody bag from them!

Be Happy

Posted on a mates blog (thanks Sarah!), this struck a chord! This could be used for daily affirmations
Be happy
Show up
Follow your heart
Find a new perspective
Have a sense of wonder
Find people you love
Set goals
Help others
Dance
Pamper yourself
Face your fears
Go to a museum
Exercise
Limit television
Get in touch with nature
Lighten up
Get a good night’s sleep
Read books
Buy yourself flowers
Don’t compare yourself with others
Don’t beat yourself up
Be open to new ideas
Don’t focus on negative thoughts
Focus on creating what you desire
Make time just to have fun
Keep the romance in your life
Make a gratitude list
  (my family, my friends, a roof over my head, my craft, the sea, chocolate, …)
Love your Mother Earth
Want what you have
Be true to yourself

http://www.imaginisceblog.com/
the place to visit for a great Scrapbooking opportunity!

True Stories, Prompt 4 - Writing Letters

My letters like Relly's were rather tongue in cheek but highlighted a few issues in our house -

Dear remote control/s - why are you so difficult to use and why do you keep multiplying when I'm not looking? Regards Your owner/user

Dear Owner/User (am I talking to the right person?) I would suggest having a word with your husband regarding the birth of new remote controls, it is getting rather crowded in here. As far as use, have you considered reading the instructions or indeed reliquishing control of said units to the head of the house? Yours ever exasperated head remote control.

Dear hooligan (AKA Oscar) can you please stop bullying your brother Felix, it really is naughty of you and there is no need to be jealous as we treat you both the same. I'd rather you ignored each other than fight, your loving member of staff.

Dear member of staff, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that I am your boss and consider this a written warning regarding rude mention of my behaviour and the inappropriate name calling. I suggest you make amends by serving a rather large portion of fresh salmon & prawns for my tea tonight. Yours faithfully Oscar (Head of Household)

Dear Felix, I'm sorry your big brother Oscar (big in the literal sense!!!) keeps having a go at you, but is there any chance you can stop taking out your frustrations on the stair carpet?

The stair carpet is an innocent victim in this and has never done you any harm and if any more harm is done it may need to vacate our home which would be sad.

I have tried to mention this matter to Oscar but I have recently received a written warning and don't feel I can do any more in this matter. Love your Senior Member of Staff

Dear Senior Member of Staff - NO CHANCE! It's fun and I like doing it, it doesn't fight back like Oscar and if the carpet leaves home I will find another playmate. Love your Boss (if that's OK with Oscar)

Trie Stories, Prompt 6 - The Big If

If Tim hadn't booked a motorbiking holiday which I didn't want to go on, I wouldn't have made the decision to go on holiday somewhere on my own as a consolation!

If we hadn't decided to go away different weeks (so the Thomas would not have to go into a cattery) then I would have had my holiday in June not May when I did!

If I hadn't decided I needed a complete pamper on a spa holiday in a new country then I wouldn't have gone to Italy!

If I hadn't gone to Italy in May 2007 then I wouldn't have stayed at a hotel in Forio on the isle of Ischia!

If I hadn't stayed at Hotel Lord Byron, that week I would never have met Maggie!

If I'd never met Maggie I would have lost out on the opportunity of meeting a friend for life!

Thank goodness Tim decided on a motorbiking holiday that year!

IF is a BIG word and fate plays a fickle part in our lives, I am thankful for meeting Maggie she is my best mate!

JYC 2010 Front Cover

Front cover of an 8"x8" American Crafts Album (Bo Bunny papers)

Scrap Stash Getting Smaller!

LO done using scraps from stash.