Never said Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex was 4 last Wednesday while we were on holiday. Didn't post on the day as the connection was down.
So Happy Birthday Alex!
More pics to share...

If no news is good news...

Does that mean all news is bad news?
It would certainly seem that way here just now.
Yesterday I heard that my work colleague Martin passed away on Sunday. He was 53. Then this morning I heard that the mother of one of Alex's nursery friends died last Wednesday, aged 39.
So all in all lots of sadness.
Tonight I am praying for Jamie, Martin's son, and for Alex's friend and her 3 sisters as they face life without their mummy.

Home again

Arrived home last night, exhausted, and my house has been consumed by the laundry monster! Feeling a touch jet lagged, hence my post at this hour!
I will write more later, but I wanted to share some pictures now that I am back in the world of faster internet connections!

Caribbean greetings everyone!

Well hello from the beautiful Turks and Caicos islands! We are having a fabulous time, with plenty of sunshine, lots of relaxation, and an abundance of swimming!
The girls are absolutely adoring being here, and I must admit it is certainly a holiday to remember.

The flight passed by fairly easily. We were delayed by an hour and a half at Heathrow, but that wasn't too bad. During the flight, the girls watched movies a plenty, enjoyed drinking the coke and juice that the cabin crew brought at regular intervals.

We were very glad when finally we arrived after 18 hours of travelling.

So now for some pics.
Well pics to follow as my internet connection is on caribbean time... that means like, whenever, man!

busy busy busy busy busy...

Get the idea? I am running around non stop just now. Being so ill last week really knocked me for six. So today my lovely beautician friend Becky is coming round to do some pampering treatments for Avril and I, and some other friends are popping in at various stages. Then tonight I pack. No doubt it will go on into tomorrow. Argh I hate packing!
So forgive me for my lack of blogging, no time!

Spare a thought please for my online buddy Sally, she is one amazing lady. Life is throwing many hurdles at her, yet still she keeps going. She is someone who I have admired very much in the past, and this admiration is even greater just now. I'm thinking of you Sally, and Dick and the boys too.

So see you when we get back. I will try and upload while we are away, so watch this space!

The joke's on me

I've been on the receiving end of lots of jokes this week because of the Scarlet Fever. Earlier in the week I was contagious, so kept away from everyone. From late Wednesday onwards I was not contagious any more, just very tired.
Having a little joke about my having the lurgy, even as far as calling me a leper in jest, I can take. Repetitive teasing has left me feeling very very upset today. Not just teasing on one occasion, sadly it has been on several occasions.
I wouldn't put others at risk if I were contagious. I spoke to the infectious diseases team about it, and was told when I would be ok to be out and about again. I gave it an extra 24 hours to be sure.
No point getting upset about where it came from. I have shared it with my friend's two year old, who I saw last Saturday. I was actually contagious before I knew I had scarlet fever.
It is easy to hurt someone's feelings by overdoing humour.

Toothy grin

Here's a shot of Sophie minus her bottom tooth!
First one gone, and she has 3 more wobbly now. Methinks the tooth fairy is going to be busy over the next few weeks.
Have been feeling decidedly rough. Unfortunately I have been completely on my own with the girls, so that has been hard. I have slept lots whenever I can, and am still catching up now.
ATCs have been flavour of the moment, getting things sorted for a swap I am hosting over on UKS. Will post pics this weekend for you to see.

fanbloodytastic

I've got scarlet fever.
Just tops the last few weeks off nicely.
Argh.

Busy weekend

Not much to report, other than I finished my ATCs for a swap I am hosting on UKScrappers. I did the Old Testament reading in church this morning, then this afternoon we picked up our tickets for our Caribbean holiday! Two weeks today, we will be on the plane practically ready to land at Provodenciales!
Hooooooooooooray!

He's home!

Dad is home from hospital! They decided his C Difficile was being effectively treated so wanted him out of their way. He is home and on strong antibiotics. So we are staying in Leeds this weekend, give Dad a chance to get settled at home.

A superbug... C.Difficile

Dad seems to have picked up C.Difficile, a superbug. Thoughts and prayers please.

Ready for some stampin??

Just look at all these luscious stamps!
Not all for me, unfortunately, but the lovely ladies who came to my Stampin Up party last week are in for a treat. I got some pretty good hostess benefits too, so if you're thinking about having a stampin up party, then go for it!

News about my dad:
the op went very well. He felt pretty rough afterwards, but is feeling heaps better now. Today he walked using a zimmer frame, and then had a go with crutches. Tomorrow he tries the stairs! He should be home by Monday, not sure when exactly.

Dad's had his op

He was in surgery and then recovery for 4 hours. Don't know if that is the norm.
He's back on the ward now and Mum has gone to see him. Not heard anything as yet but I will post when I do.
Spare him a thought or a prayer tonight please.

My daughter the cardmaker...

Here's my mother's day card which Sophie, my six year old daughter, made for me at Beaver's on Friday. Admittedly I did the session with the kids, but I still love that she put it together for me!

Smile

Smile tho' your heart is aching,
Smile even tho' it's breaking,
When there are clouds in the sky
You'll get by,

If you smile
thro' your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow,
You'll see the sun come shin-ing thro' for you

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide ev-'ry trace of sadness,
Al -'tho a tear may be ever so near,

That's the time,
You must keep on trying,
Smile, what's the use of crying,
You'll find that life is still worth-while,

If you just smile,

Awaiting a very large delivery of stamps...

after my Stampin Up party last night, I am now waiting for a HUGE delivery. Not just for me, of course, but for the ladies who came to play with all of the lovely stamps Monica brought along. We had such a lot of fun, it was great. Plus I got to choose £60 of freebies, 2 hostess sets, and also some stamps I wanted... naughty me lol.
I'll take some pics once they arrive next week for sure.

At last the date for dad's op has come

My dad is having his hip replacement operation on Monday. Thank goodness for that!

A first birthday card

This was a card I made for my lovely niece Olivia, who was one on 24th February. To say she had such a difficult start to life, right from when my SIL was pregnant and nearly had to have Olivia at 24 weeks, she is such a gorgeous little lady!


Here she is with my two girls, so all 3 of my mum and dad's grand daughters in one picture. We don't get to meet up as often any more, as my bro had to move down to Reading as his job changed offices. When they lived in Manchester we saw them more often as their house was only 45 minutes away.

Tonight is my Stampin' Up party which I am really looking forward to. I need to nip out and get some nibbles later, but I am waiting in for the building control inspector to look at my loft conversion.

Better crack on with my cleaning, adios for now!

Did you feel it?

I certainly felt the earthquake in the early hours of this morning!
Really took me by surprise, that's for sure. I was lying in bed, wide awake as per usual, and my bed started shaking violently. The whole house was creaking and groaning. I just lay there, not really sure what to do to be honest!
Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any lasting damage. Scary tho!

Mother's Day is looming

Here's a card made using Blonde Moments papers, American Crafts ribbon, Sarah's cards blooms, a bazzill fabric brad, stickles in cotton candy and lettering cut with my cricut. Made for my friend Avril's mum, now I need to make one for my mum too!



This is a LO I did using a picture I took of myself. The papers are Kelly Panacci I think, they were in a scrapagogo kit last year sometime. The LO is for my Book of Me, which doesn't have much in it as yet!
Am at home with Alex today, we both still have icky tummies, so we'll be staying home tomorrow too. Shucks, no work for me! Although, given the discomfort, I would rather be fit for work than feeling like this!

I won!!!!

I've won £45 of Hobbycraft vouchers after submitting a card I made last month to Quick and Crafty Magazine! It is the 17th birthday card here and I am over the moon! It's the first card I have ever won anything with, so I am counting down to receiving my vouchers.
Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Has made my day, as I am still feeling rather grotty.

Poorly

Alex has a tummy bug, and is feeling yacky.
Well, we tell our children to share, so she has kindly passed it on to me. Great.
So I am not impressed, and feel shocking tonight.

Photos from the shoot

Thank you Anita for letting me post these here.

Photographs...

My photographs taken by Anita Mundt are back. Wowser, they are stunning! Once I have sorted out paying for them, I can share a select few, thanks Anita!
I am snowed under with work this week, had to work Monday as it was a training day, useful but very tiring. I have an observation tomorrow morning, a literacy lesson, which is a hassle, again useful but I know tomorrow night I will be asleep by 8!
Dad's op is looking hopeful for next week, so he will soon have his new hip. I have felt so angry at the NHS because of their treatment of my dad. I really could scream! At least it will be sorted very soon.
No crafting this week due to zero time, so I will definitely catch up next week. I'm having a Stampin Up party on Thursday 28th Feb, so if anyone around Leeds is interested, leave your email address in my comments and I'll be in touch!

The rollercoaster ride...

is getting rocky again. Not enough to shake me off, but enough to make me want to hold on tight. Life is very complex just now, so forgive me if I don't blog so often!

Here's a little something I found on Carole's blog.

What Anna Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Forgiveness

Here's my take on forgiveness... two lovely little people who argued and then made up this afternoon! I'm a bit late posting as I have been attacking the mountain of ironing which has consumed my house. Well it has now gone, so tomorrow morning I will be getting the girls to help me put it all away.
Can't believe half term is over already. It seems to have gone in a flash! Oh well, at least it is only 5 weeks til the easter holidays and our trip to Turks and Caicos.

Diligence

This is another photo with a story behind it. This is my heart monitor which I wear for the gym. I've been working out with a personal trainer, and to achieve optimum results I have to push my heart rate into the fat burning zone. So I wear this monitor around my chest to keep a check on it while I am thrashing myself stupid on the machines. I am definitely getting fitter, heck, I even managed to run on the treadmill! So diligence is my committment to getting fit under the guidance of Tim, my personal trainer. Back there tomorrow morning, so I am most definitely being diligent!

Oh, and Happy Valentines Day to you all!

Charity

Naff photo, sorry, I've been away at my mum's so am playing catch up.
This shows the only charity I now support, the British Heart Foundation. Nigel's Gift of Hope Fund, which has a link to the right of this page, currently stands at just over £1000. I am aiming to get it to £1500 by the second anniversary in August. If, perchance, you're feeling the need to donate, please do. No pressure, your donation would be very welcome so if you are thinking about it, go for it!

Temperance

Now you might look at my photograph today and wonder why I am having to resist fruit when it is so healthy. Well, the diet I am following at the moment is very strict, and so I can only eat food packs provided by the diet... I am shedding just a few pounds before my holiday in 5 and a half weeks' time.
So the fruit bowl is out of bounds, which is hard because I adore fresh fruit!
Oh well, it won't be long before I can reintroduce fruit. Counting down...
We're off to Durham today to see my parents. Alex is poorly, but nothing major. Just her usual cough, which kept me awake all night. As a result I am feeling punch drunnk this morning!

Chastity

This is how it feels to be single at times... enforced chastity! But then I am not going to rush into a relationship for the sake of being with someone, it needs to be someone who really can accept me and my girls, accept Nigel as part of that deal, and who is willing to spoil me with their time!!!!!!
Oh, and that person should be a millionaire too. Ha ha, I can always dream!

Pride

Just catching up with my shots for HSMS. I am filled with pride every time I look at my girls. I beat myself up so much that I am not a good mother, that I am not bringing my girls up properly, that I am letting Nigel down.
In reality, my girls are well adjusted, sociable, pleasant little girls. They have had to face so many things in their lives, which some children will (thankfully) never have to face. So I need to stop thinking badly of myself, start complimenting myself and accept that I am right to be filled with pride when I look at these two gorgeous girls.
It is like looking into their daddy's eyes every time though, which just now makes for lots of painful moments.

Good day bad day

Today we drove over to Liverpool to have some photographs taken by the fantastic Anita Mundt. She is over in the UK for a few days and so I jumped at the chance to have some photographs taken by her.
It was a fantastic shoot, the girls really enjoyed leaping about the place at the Albert Dock. Having my photograph taken was good too, not really had so much attention paid to me before.

However, I have come away feeling very very sad that our family unit is not how it was, how I had expected it to be. I am going through a phase of missing Nigel more lately. No idea why.

Today it is 18 months exactly since he died. And today I miss him more than ever.

Catch up... wrath and envy

A shot of my shoe cupboard in the hall. Each of my girls has a drawer in the cupboard for their shoes and boots. Does that mean they can put them away properly? Does it heck! Makes me so cross when they stuff their shoes in, leave them hanging out, and then I almost break my neck falling over the drawers!


This was funny, have had some fellow members of WAY staying this weekend, and their kids were so envious of my Wii and games. It is not Matthew's birthday til September, but already he says he definitely wants a Wii!

Today we went to see Joseph at the Grand Theatre in Leeds. It was absolutely fantastic! Chris Barton played Joseph, and he was excellent. Keith, runner up in Any Dream Will Do was the narrator, and he was good, just overdid the diction! Then it was off to Wagamama's for tea, the girls wolfed down their mini chicken katsu, rice and cucmber. Tomorrow is photograph day... we're meeting Anita Mundt in Liverpool to have some new family shots done. Time for some pics of our new unit of three. Strange to be a family of three, but we can't change that, can we.

Housework is evil postcard...

is from Paperchase. If you don't have a Paperchase near you and would like me to send you one, drop me an email to annajahead at yahoo dot co dot uk
:D

Sloth

This is a postcard I have on my wall, and explains my feelings about housework... displaying it shows how much of a sloth I am...

Although I am working on improving my laziness... I have been to the gym three times, yes THREE times this week. Twice to have a session with my personal trainer. Ouch. Hard work.

Back to Isa for the post tonight. Will be good to catch up with everyone.

Adios for now, amigos!

Greed

Two aspects of greed in one today. Chocolate and money, what more could a girl want?

Have been feeling gruesome all day, stonking headache, so forgive me if I do not post more.

Gluttony

Not much of that going on for me... working on shedding a few excess pounds before our holiday!
This photograph shows my girls' current favourite type of crisps, Pom Bears. Alex adores the pink, prawn cocktail ones, and Sophie loves the green cheese and onion ones. I have to keep the basket with them in up high, as Alex is a bit of a crisp monster. Given half a chance she will consume packet after packet when she's in the mood!




Great day at work today, really had fun. With reception this morning, we were planning for our teddy bear's picnic. We wrote menus and shopping lists, and the finished pieces of work were fantastic! Then this afternoon I had year 3/4, we started with handwriting which was fine, then after battling with PE kits a plenty, we went into the hall for PE. We had such a ball! Every single child was enjoying working on forward rolls, and I was careful to make sure that everyone managed to do one by the end of the lesson, even if it involved a little help from me. Many house points awarded, and the children left the hall with big grins on their faces!

After school I nipped to the gym, my personal trainer saw me while I was there so at least he knows I have been! Felt good to fit that in, I have been terrible at making excuses about going to the gym, so no more! In fact, I am guilty of making excuses about a lot of things in my life, so I have decided that it is time for that to stop. Time to get on with things instead of letting the past hold me back!

A little something I made this evening

An ATC for someone who has become a very dear friend recently, someone I knew vaguely, but who has given me the chance to get to know them much better. Without naming names, thank you so very much... I was struggling and you helped me so much. This will be popping through your letterbox very soon, so if your initial is R watch out!

This also fulfills the requirement to use something which is blooming gorgeous for the Papertake challenge. This ATC features prima flowers so fits in nicely!

Lust

So HS:MS has been hijacked this week, and there are suggestions of naughtiness to come... on the blog today are two pictures of bottoms no less! The word prompt for today is LUST. Hmm... interesting prompt as I am not currently lusting after a person, unless you can count Patrick Dempsey, star of Enchanted and Grey's Anatomy!

Can you guess what I am lusting after? Two days after Nigel's funeral, I traded both cars in to buy a VW Golf SDi 2.0 litre diesel car. I love this car. I had to get rid of Nigel's car, as I had seen it from a distance that day and my first thought was, "Hooray, Nigel's home early from work."
So my lovely diesel golf came into my life. It is just the best car ever.

However... I am currently lusting after a Golf TDi 1.9 litre. This is a souped up, turbo injected all singing all dancing version of my current car. Just can't quite justify trading mine in when it is so great... a girl can dream, can't she?

So there you go, my current object of lust is a car. If anyone would like to buy me that new Golf, let me know (yeah right).

SOS

Show off Sunday I believe is what the full name is...

Took this on Christmas eve when the girls and I put together this Gingerbread house. We had a ball doing it, shame it tasted revolting! Next Christmas I will make my own gingerbread rather than using shop bought stuff. Yacky and not worth eating at all. In fact. most of it got thrown away I seem to remember!
Off bowling now so have a good day, wherever you are.

Proof that I do actually scrapbook sometimes...

The desire to scrapbook has really been strong lately, so here are three of my latest creations. The cheesy grins one is done from a scrap map, which was good to do for a change, and meant it was a speedy LO!

SPS: Not a self portrait though!

So Anita decided to catch me out and the prompt was to take a portrait today of someone else! Here's Sophie, big cheesy grin, aged 6 years and 2 months as of today.

Blog candy winners!

Thank you everyone for entering, I had a lovely time looking at your cards!
I have chosen two cards to receive prizs as I just couldn't get it down to one!

The one I loved most was a card by cakvd

Just gorgeous, thanks for sharing!

Then the other I loved too was by Jackie

Great 60th card, plus the knickers card made me chuckle!

Can both you ladies email me your addresses and I'll get some lovely candy in the post to you! annajahead at yahoo dot co dot uk (obviously without spaces and inserting @ and . where necessary!)

String

This is a Dora the Explorer necklace that Alex and I made last year. She still loves it, and it is always out in her bedroom when she's not wearing it.

Organise

Here's my take on today's prompt

Perfect prompt for me, as I spent a few hours in my scrap room last night, sorting out the junk which I have been lazily allow to breed!
Good day today, spent two hours at the gym with Tim, worked up a right sweat. Feel very pleased with myself to have managed that. On the down side, I lost 3 ridge tiles off my roof overnight, so I have arranged for a roofer to come and sort that tomorrow. Oh well!

Blimey three posts in one day...

Thinking about how I have been feeling about negative things in my life, I decided to have a good ole think about positive influences in my life. Things I have planned, people I value, so many things to feel good about.
This song means a great deal to me. Today has been difficult, but still I have managed to fit in some good stuff too. One child said to me, in the middle of a numeracy lesson this morning, "I like you, your lessons are always really good fun but we learn lots too."
I'd forgotten what that child had said, choosing instead to focus on the negative things. So here I am, thinking over the day and remembering how one comment can bring a smile to my face so easily.

For Ellie

Can you help?
Ellie is one awesome little girl, I wish her, Kirsty and Mark all the luck in the world in getting this sorted.

Currency

Here's my take on today's prompt of currency. My beloved Radley purse, full of various bits of plastic, loyalty cards and, for once, some cash!
Lighting not great as once again I have been out all day.

Bit of a downer today, some very unkind things have been said to me, when realistically I have been in a fantastic frame of mind lately. Always take an opportunity to kick me in the teeth, why don't you... ah well... knackers to it!

Think

Here's today's shot, lighting not great but I've been at work all day so not much choice really. Sophie loves her Mrs Pepperpot book, and it is something she is starting to be able to read herself, which is fantastic. School reading books can be a bit dull at times, necessary I know, but I am glad Sophie is enjoying reading a wider range of texts already.



I know some of my blog readers have been wondering what on earth the isa experience is all about. If you stick that into google, after the official site comes links to forums slating it as a cult. I can reassure you that it is NOT a cult. Isa participants are not sleep deprived, food and water deprived or drugged. You are not brainwashed either. In a nutshell, the Isa experience is about working on yourself, aiming to improve things in your life which you are not happy with. Isa does not tell you to do anything, it helps you assess what you want to do in life and how to go about this. It helps you to see how you can learn from past mistakes, and not make them again.

For me, Isa has helped me take control of my feelings about Nigel, about his premature death, and about the life I want to lead with our beautiful girls. I know I have been guilty of spoiling them as I feel so sad that their daddy can't be there to see them grow up. I hope my approach to caring for them has become less about giving them everything they want, and ensuring they have what they need. I also need to ensure that I am happy, and that any future relationships I have are with someone who cares for me, will listen to what I have to say, and will love me for who I am and what I believe in.

Explanation over.
Blog candy winner coming up later!

Camera at the ready...

I have made an agreement after isa this weekend to take one photo in response to her space: my space every day. This is my take on Snooze. Lame, I know, but not much snoozing goes on in our house these days!
So one day of my agreement is done... got another 9 to do!

Blog candy results...

... will be posted tomorrow. I've been at isa all day and am feeling exhausted, so I will have a good look tomorrow. Thanks everyone for entering!

Feeling good

Been to the gym this morning, spent an hour with the personal trainer, and I am aiming to get much fitter than I am now! The beach is calling, two months til we go to the Caribbean.
I've been busy stamping, making a CJ and various cards. Will take some pics soon for sure.
This weekend is the isa experience and I am reviewing, and also helping with registration! A busy weekend ahead, but it will be good to review.

Some pictures at last!

Finally I have taken some photos of some cards I have made. The light is lousy, so forgive the quality of the images please!

First up, a card for my friend's daughter's 21st birthday, which is next week. I cut the numbers and letters using my Cricut, and all other supplies are from Craftwork Cards. The paper is their Enchanted range, and the ribbon is to match. Bling fixed using my new Kandi hot fix thingy.



Next up is a 17th birthday card along the same lines, I love those Enchanted papers!



Finally, one of the cards I have made for a swap on the Cricut message boards. On a love theme, I used Bazzil bling cardstock, embossed using a cuttlebug embossing folder, then I cut the word using my Cricut. A red heart button also ties this in with the Papertake weekly challenge, which was to use red on the card. American Crafts ribbon finishes it off. The picture is terrible as bling cardstock does not take kindly to being photographed!



Anyone done a card for the blog candy yet? I know Kazz has and has posted it to her blog, thanks Kazz!

Tired

For many reasons I am feeling very tired just now. Finally I have got Alex sleeping in her own bed, so I can sleep better on my own. And so, bingo! Wide awake as soon as my head hits the pillow. ARGH!
Tired too of making the effort with certain friends (none of which ever read this blog btw) and getting absolutely zero back. I wonder sometimes if they truly are friends, or people who will tolerate me if I'm around.
Tired too because we have been very busy lately. Never ending rollercoaster again.
Oh well, never mind. Tonight I am taking the girls to Little Legz, a brand new soft play gym not far from here. The girls can have a decent cooked tea and a good play, while I sit back and chat with some friends. Perfect.

Blog candy time!

So do you want to win yourself some lovely bits and pieces? Chipboard shapes, gorgeous papers, all sorts really...
All you have to do is make a card to celebrate a special birthday. I'm about to make one for a friend's daughter's 21st, so I'll share mine as soon as it's done.
Leave me a comment by Friday 25th January and I'll choose a winner then. Actually, Alex and Sophie can choose a winner... here's hoping more than one person decides to have a go!

Still here

And actually doing some crafting for once! I have been busy blitzing the bomb site which is my house, and I seem to be winning at the moment.
So proof that I have been crafting... two cards I have made. Apologies for the poor quality scans, but I never seem to be home when the light is even vaguely good enough to take photos!

This is for, well tbh I'm not sure! A little girl's birthday of course!
Whippersnapper stamp, DCWV Nana's kids pp, primas, stickled in the centre, Craftwork Cards sentiment and card blank from PDA.


This one has a purpose, it is the first for the birthday club at the Scrapagogo Clubhouse, made using a gogo greetings kit. Was it the October kit? Or November? Not sure lol! Penny black stamp, plus the cupcake greeting from a previous Gogo greetings kit.

Other than attacking the house, not much has been happening here. Oh, we went to see High School Musical on ice, which was amazing! The girls loved it, and I must admit that I quite enjoyed it too. Very well carried out by the skaters, I have a feeling there will be lots of little girls who want to learn to ice skate this year.

My dad is due to have a hip replacement sometime soon, which will mean we will be going up to see him every other weekend. At the moment, mum and dad come down most weekends, so that will be a change. I can't go up there every weekend, not with working and getting the girls to school too, so every other weekend will have to do. Still no date for the op which is a pain.

Enough for now. I'm planning a little giving away of blog candy... watch this space. All you have to do is check back tomorrow and I'll tell you what to do to have the chance to win some gorgeous bits and pieces from my stash! See you then...

In the post today...

...was a very big surprise. A Cricut Expression no less! I have wanted one of these for absolutely ages, but had managed not to buy one... So someone bought one for me as a very lovely surprise. Wowee, what a surprise that was to open the door to the postman this morning!
I love it, thank you soooooooooooo much Brian!

Scrapping resolutions.... made any?

I don't know about you, but I don't scrap anywhere near enough. More often than not I end up sat on my backside in front of the telly or the laptop. So I am going to resolve to do at least one layout per week. Hopefully more, but want to be realistic.

I am going to tag my UKScrappers team mates to respond to this... what resolutions have you made?

Another one to ponder over... best and worst buys for scrapping/craft items.
For me, the best buy has to be my bind it all. I have used it loads already, and have lots of plans to use it more in 2008.
Worst buy? Got to be a woodware trimmer. Rubbish. Never use it.
So what were your best and worst buys in 2007?

So what does 2008 hold for you?

Last year I wrote about how horrific 2006 had been for me. This time around I don't want to dwell on the last year.
There are lots of things to look forward to for me this coming year. Our holiday to the Caribbean with Avril in March will be fantastic.
In August we will return to Portugal for the first time since Nigel died. We need to go back; our happy times there far outweigh sad times. Yes, our lives changed completely that time, but we enjoyed many holidays in Portugal as a family. I need to arrange a car so any recommendations would be great.
Before all that, we're off to see High School Musical: The Ice Tour on 13th January!

Happy New Year!

Bit of a party last night... many drinks consumed... many games played on the wii... many songs sung on the karaoke...
Sore head lol.

Happy New Year everyone. Here's to a happy and healthy 2008!

So Christmas is done and dusted

Here's the proof that we made it through in one piece! Sophie said she missed Daddy on Christmas day :(
Father Christmas was very generous all round. I got a set of Stickles glitter glue, Jo Soja's acrylic paints, a tote and tool kit for my bind it all and other bits and pieces. The girls both got Mummy make me better dolls and a new buggy each. Now where to put it all?
Saturday will be spent getting the house in order. Wish me luck...

Angels from the Realms of Glory...

...otherwise known as Anna's Girls!








Sophie and Alex were angels in the nativity at church today. They were both brilliant, Alex was a little reluctant initially, but soon got the hang of being on stage!
Tomorrow we are going up to Durham for Christmas, staying until Friday. It will be nice to spend a few days in Durham with mum and dad. We're back at the end of the week, and the girls don't go back to school until January 7th, so plenty of time to chill out at home too. Best of both worlds!

I have sent next to no cards this year, partially through being unable to write, partially through laziness!

So I will be making a donation to Nigel's Gift of Hope fund over at the British Heart Foundation, please follow my lead if you are feeling at all charitable this Christmas. I'd also like to dedicate the donation to the memory of Eric Dews, husband of my dear friend Avril. Eric died in May this year, as unexpectedly as Nigel. This will be Avril's first Christmas without Eric, which will be very hard. I wish you strength, Avril, and I'm here for you whenever you need me.

MRI scan next...

Got to have an MRI scan as there may be smaller bones in my hand fractured. Ah marvellous!

Back for more xrays...

Final check up at the hospital today. No idea if the fracture will show up. My wrist clicks now when I can bear to move it. So time to sit in casualty for several hours again this morning...

All calm

Hopefully all has calmed down over on my team thread at UKS. A tricky situation which should never have arisen. Lots of over the top reactions. All sorted now I hope.
So we are some team members short, but we like it that way. We do have one new addition, my friend Julie, but she is known to me so will fit in perfectly. Welcome on board Jules!

Heating and hot water at last!

My heating and hot water have been intermittent for the last couple of months, due to a badly installed unvented water tank. Thankfully, today everything was put right. Shame the only way to get that done was to send a solicitor's letter to the company which installed it... threatening to sue for breach of contract. The windows in the gable ends up in the loft still need to be sealed, so for now the legal action continues...

Agreements with myself

Part of isa was encouraging me to make agreements with myself. My first one was to make my bed every day. Sounds simple, but I had got very lazy, and often ended up just throwing the duvet at the bed haphazardly. So my bed has been made every day since isa, which is great.
I agreed a new one last weekend, which was to walk to school on the days when I am not at work. We managed it without any groaning, enforced really seeing as I couldn't drive! It is a habit I want to keep up as we as a family don't get enough exercise together. We'll be walking to school tomorrow, and again on Thursday and Friday. Fancy joining us?

Still splinted...

Still in a splint. Scaphoid in my wrist still giving me problems. Oh well.

Had the WAY party today and it went well. The cake I got from Costco was divine, still got half of it left it was so blinkin huge!

I have started a LO about me, based on what I thought about whilst at isa. It will take me a while as I am not dextrous atm. Using one of my luscious scrapagogo kits which is great as at last I am using up stash lol.
No more boring news now so night night.

Back to the hospital

Tomorrow morning. I am in agony. I can't go on with this much pain in my wrist.

Hassles of online swaps...

Nightmare... swaps not being sent over on UKScrappers. Unfortunately it hasn't been sorted off board, but instead has been made very public. I am not defending the person who didn't send, just wishing that it could have been sorted a bit less pulicly. It has turned into a lynching, with a new smack blog being set up directly aimed at the non-sender.
There will always be people in life who are not kind, or the sort of person you want to be friends with. I have experienced this myself, with one of them even emailing me on the day Nigel died to say how sorry she was. Yeah right, the day before you hated my guts, and took great delight in spreading nasty rumours about me, but then just because Nigel died you want to be friends again. Hmm, I think not.
There are plenty of very kind people I have met online, including people who have sent me boxfuls of craft stuff for the WAY party on Saturday. Thank you so much if that is you!

OK, rant over. Will chill out now. Tonight I am off out with fellow year one mums from Sophie's school for a meal. Should be fun. My wrist is still extremely painful... ah well!

The phone rang tonight...

Me: Hello
Woman: Can I speak to Mr Head please?
Me: who's calling?

Believe it or not, it was a rep from a wine sales company who rang about a month ago asking for Nigel. I told them he had passed away, and to take his name off their database. That caller was not apologetic.

So the same company rang back tonight and again asked for NIgel. Today it is 16 months exactly since Nigel died. I felt so angry with them for calling when I had asked them not to. The rep was not even vaguely apologetic. Grrr. Left me with a sour taste in my mouth that's for sure.

My hand is hurting rather a lot in the cold. Nothing else to report.

So I am trapped...

Can't drive. Can't do any scrapping. Can't iron (shucks). Can just about dress myself, although brushing my hair is a challenge!
We're walking to school for now, until I find out when I can drive. Getting to work will be a challenge.
Had a quiet weekend. Slept a lot Saturday as I was in a great deal of pain. Missed my Christmas Crop with the Leeds Paper Dolls.
Did have tea today at my friend Sue's. Mmm it was lovely, thanks Sue!

The good luck continues...

I have possibly broken one of the small bones in my hand. They don't show up on xrays so can't be certain. Ouch.

Oh well. Such is life!

Money money money

It seems that everyone wants money from me just now. I got a letter this morning from the council to say that I owed them £935 as they had over paid me. The letter also said I have to pay it back within 3 months. Er, like £300 a month, from where?
I am annoyed that their error is going to leave me short of cash, so I have spoken to my union about it. I can agree to pay back a lesser amount each month which will not leave me in financial difficulties.
My dishwasher packed in last week too, so it is at the repair man's waiting to see if it can be repaired. Knowing my luck it will be worthy of being skipped. So there's another expense, money for a new dishwasher. Yes it is a luxury so I will have to manage without one for now.
And then one other demand for money which I won't go into. Very unfair of the person involved given our past dealings. I can't face an arguement so will end up going along with it.

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
To say I am upset and annoyed is

AN UNDERSTATEMENT!

Can you help?

On Saturday 15th December my local branch of WAY is having a Christmas party for the children of it's members.

What I need is bits and pieces of crafting stuff to make Christmas cards. There will be a crafting table for the kids to make them, so needs to be suitable for all ages of children.

Can you spare anything? If you can help, please email me yorkshireway@yahoo.co.uk

Remember, to be a member of WAY you have to have lost your husband/wife when you were under 50. So there will be lots of children at the party who are sadly growing up without one of their parents.

If you can help, it would be massively appreciated.
Thanks