Well Diane awarded me the CIrcle of Friends award, I can't seem to get the image to upload just now tho!

I am veyr lucky to have a very strong circle of friends. Some local to me here in Leeds, and some further afield. Since Nigel died, they have been there for me through thick and thin. I'm not going to wax lyrical and get all mushy over it, but I will say thank you to those people who have done so much for me.

Spare a thought today please for my lovely neighbour Mary. She is currently in St James's Hospital with a possible perforated appendix. Ouch. Get well soon!

Still not feeling great myself. We're off for a nice tasty lunch down at the Mill Village in Batley.

So Lottie tagged me...

Not had one of those for a while, so here goes!

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. Ten years ago
May 1998 I was in the middle of my finals at the University of Leeds. Hoping to get the 2:i I needed to to a primary PGCE at the University of Durham (which I did!). Nigel and I were together, our relationship was just starting out.

2. Five things on today's "to do" list (in no particular order).
1 empty dishwasher
2 sweep living room floor
3 put basket of laundry away
4 do bit of ironing
5 continue tidying my craft room

3. Snacks I enjoy.
crisps, fruit

4. Things I would do if I was a millionaire
Buy a holiday home on the Algarve, and one next door to rent out. If I had a holiday home I would want to decamp there for the whole school holiday, so the other one could be rented out to earn me some income.
I would buy a new car. Nothing wrong with my golf, I don't need a new car but I would like one! I have my eye on a VW Tiguan, a compact 4x4. Droooooooool...


5. Places I have lived,
Durham, Leeds, Enschede (The Netherlands), Pudsey and Gildersome, where I live now.
Nigel and I had planned to retire to the Algarve, so maybe I will do that one day.

That do you Lottie?
Ok so I tag:

Heather (password protected)
Julie
Diane
Monica
Tracy

Am suffering with laryngitis atm so forgive the short post. The girls are poorly too, so feel free to send us delicious home cooked meals for me to reheat, along with lots of chocolate. And Calpol. Thanks.

Relaxation at it's best

We've just spent the weekend at Scargill House up in the Yorkshire Dales in a place called Kettlewell. Have you seen the film Calendar Girls? If you have, then you will be familiar with the village of Kettlewell.
Scargill House is a mile and a quarter out of Kettlewell, and is a Christian retreat. We went as a group of friends, 6 adults and associated childre from 2 to 7 years old. No Christian affiliation but most of us are church goers in some shape or form. Scargill is in the middle of nowhere really, no mobile phones can get a signal, and all you can hear outside is sounds of nature. Perfect for a nice quiet weekend.
As soon as we arrived, I could feel the stress draining away. I have been feeling very stressed out again lately, so it was exactly what we needed. The girls had plenty of playmates, and as we were the only residents over the weekend, we had free run of the place. The food is out of this world, really delicious, and all included in the price too, so no worrying about cooking for a whole weekend!
I read a whole book while we were there, Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz. Shows how relaxed I was really. No crafting done, but there's time for that this week. I'm on a mission to get my craft room tidy again, it has got very out of control. Time to purge some stuff I think, so wish me luck!
Some pictures of the weekend to share, lots of smiling faces which is great.

Reliving my life with Nigel...

I spoke to a journalist today, with a view to her writing a piece about my life since being widowed at 30.
We talked about how we'd met, when we got married, how long after that the girls were born... lots of memories which were good to go over, if a little emotional now, later in the day.
We talked about what happened the night that Nigel died, and I can still remember it so clearly. Every time I talk about what happened that night, I am so very grateful that the girls slept through it all. To have seen their daddy how he was that night is something I am so very glad they did not see. The paramedics who came did everything they could to help, but it was not a sight I ever want to see again. It is all very well to learn first aid skills, but to actually use them like I had to that night is frightening. I didn't think twice about it at the time, and I would do the same again for anyone who needed help. Still makes it a scary thought.

Life is ticking by nicely here. This weekend we are off to Scargill House with some friends, including one 4 year old who wants to know if we eat each other when we die... am I sure I want to go???

New goodies

A day of new goodies today. Alex has been wanting a cabin bed, but unfortunately her bedroom just isn't the right size for one. So I have been on the lookout for something exciting for her to have instead. As she is a HUGE Dora the Explorer fan, I was delighted when I found a Dora bed tent on Amazon. It arrived yesterday, and I put it together this afternoon. As you can see, she is delighted with it!




I finally got my order from Crafts U Love today. I needed some new cutting mats for the cricut, and a new Whipper Snapper stamp just fell into my shopping cart... I must say I was not overly impressed with the delivery time, having ordered on Monday 28th April, and the goods arriving today, May 10th! In the past when I have ordered from them, delivery has been much speedier. Oh well. Once won't put me off ordering from them again.



For the card, I used my lovely new Whipper Snapper stamp, Craftwork Cards cupcake paper and sentiment, grosgrain ribbon in hot pink. I coloured it with my Derwent water colours.

A Good Day

It started well, Alex slept until 7.45, and on waking wanted to watch the end of ET. We started watching it last night, as Sophie was at her best friend's for a sleepover. Once ET was finished we had a quick breakfast and tidy round, before meeting Sophie at Starbuck's with Jennifer, Sarah and Oliver.

After coffee, and a quick mooch round Next to get the girls a summer weight body warmer each, we headed to Showcase Cinema to see Nim's Island.



We loved this film! We met some friends there, and Katie came in to watch the film while Debbie and Patrick headed to Ikea (Patrick is only 10 months so not yet old enough to appreciate the cinema!).

The story is all about an 11 year old girl called Nim. Her father Jack is an oceanographer, and together they live on a remote South Pacific island. Nim's mother had died some years before, having been swallowed by a whale. Jack was researching plankton, and this research took him away from the island for a couple of days, leaving Nim to wait for some turtle eggs to hatch.

The inevitable happens, and a storm means Jack can not get back to Nim in the intended time scale. So Nim ends up emailing her favourite author, Alex Rover, for help after Alex Rover write asking for advice about volcanoes.

To cut a long story short, there is a most happy ending! Definitely worth seeing, a little predictable for sure, but still enjoyable. The scenery is amazing, makes me wish I was on that island right now!

Once the film was finished, we came back here and the kids had a play. Patrick loved exploring our house, bless him! Debbie watched the girls for me while I nipped to the tip with the rubbish that wasn't collected last week because of the strike, plus a mattress we didn't need and was past it's best.

Nothing exciting about today but we enjoyed it. Relaxed fun all round! Here's to more days like that. Shame there was no crafting to be had, will save that for another day!

Sharing time

This is my most recent layout of Alex on her birthday whilst on holiday. She loved meeting all the Sesame Street characters, even tho she had no idea who they all were! I used my April Scrapagogo kit for this, with various bits and pieces added like some Heidi Swapp chipboard letters, American crafts letter stickers, and stickles round the chipboard letters.



This shows my photographs which I took for Craftwork Cards' latest newsletter. It's the first time I have taken any photographs for them, so I hope it will result in more! I was so excited to get the newsletter on yesterday, made me feel very pleased with myself indeed!

Other news, well there isn't any really! Got the girls at home with me tomorrow as it is May Day, so we are planning a trip to the cinema to see Horton Hears A Who. Dr Seuss so will be very overdone, but I think the girls will like it.

Adios for now!!

That day arrived

My online buddy Sally posted with the news I knew would come soon. Sadly her husband Dick lost his fight against cancer at 1.10am this morning.

Sally, Ben and Tom, I am thinking of you. Losing a loved one is never easy. Sending you strength over the coming days of making arrangements and dealing with so many emotions.

Oops forgot to blog

Sorry!

Several reasons...

I actually managed to do some crafting for once! I have been busy with some cards and a LO this week, must remember to photograph them asap.

I have been getting various bits around the house fixed. Curry's messed me around with delivering my new dishwasher, so I lost most of Thursday trying to sort it out. Never have I met such bone idle delivery men!

I bought Alex a new midsleeper bed, which was a disaster. Ended up taking it back to Ikea as it was faulty. So back to the drawing board for her bedroom. Suggestions welcome...

On a more positive note, I did some photography for a card company today. Can't wait to see it in print! This was my first attempt, so I hope they like it!

I also received my Hobbycraft vouchers, so I will be going there this week to get me some nice treats. I think to spend the full £45 will be tricky, as Hobbycraft is not a great place for me to buy stash I really want. I'm thinking I will stock up on mountboard and the suchlike.

I am in the market for some new stamps... so off I go to browse!

I'm back

Have had one of those weeks where I've felt swamped. No idea where it came from, and it seems to be passing thankfully. All of a sudden I felt horribly lonely. We had lots of people here on and off last weekend for Alex's party, but still I felt out on a limb. I suppose that is something I will just have to cope with for now. Not a lot I can do to change it, is there!

I got the girls a trampoline this week. Got it for the fantastic price of £79.99, from Netto believe it or not! A ten foot trampoline complete with cover and enclosure for that price is amazing! Now to get the decking pulled out as it is rotten in places, so the trampoline can go there. I also need to get the lawn sorted, but fortunately I have my buddy Julie's dad Derek sorting things out for me. Gardening really doesn't do anything for me lol!

Apologies for the lack of blogging

Not feeling so good. Sorry.

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!