My little beauties

Just a quick post really with the latest pic I have of my beautiful girls. We went to Nostell Priory last week, and had a fantastic afternoon walking through the grounds. There is an amazing adventure playground which the girls always make a beeline for, so if you are ever in the area, do check it out.

My mojo has returned!

My desire to craft had left the building, so it has been great over the last few days to actually want to craft. I've had all sorts of things out to play with them, and the end results have fuelled my desire to craft even more. I won't be doing any crafting while we are in Bermuda so I hope my mojo doesn't go walkabout again!

I've mostly been making cards, but I have made a very special mini book which is top secret until I have given it to the recipient, my ever lovely M. Just hope he will like it!

The first card is a Hanglar & Stanglar stamp, coloured using my promarkers, and then complimented with Stampin Up patterned papers. Grosgrain ribbon in yellow and a Craftwork Cards sentiment finish it off.

This is another Hanglar & Stanglar stamp, this time coloured in a monotone colourway of luscious browns. First time I've done one like this and I enjoyed it so I will try it again. The patterned papers are SU designer papers in chocolate chip, I love those, but the SU copyright print in one corner of the paper drives me nuts! I always end up leaving it where it shows, so have to redo it! Ribbon is from an old kit I had from Little Silver Hat before they closed. I miss those kits. No sentiment yet, as I haven't decided what occasion this card is for.

The final card is for my baby's 5th birthday, which is on Thursday. Not quite sure how she can be 5 already, seems like yesterday when I was in hospital having her. Time passes by so quickly when children are little. Alex seems so grown up now, not the toddler she was when Nigel died. She likes to think she is so sophisticated, which always makes me laugh! She is very, very determined, and does like to get her own way (don't we all?). Her behaviour is heaps better than it used to be, and she is a joy to spend time with (most of the time). She looks more like Sophie now, they are like two peas in a pod. Right down to the matching glasses they both wear now!

Her card is made using all Stampin Up supplies. The name of the paper is summer picnic, which I got it in a paper share from Jules. Brads are from the hodge podge hardware set. Letters and number I cut on my cricut using the Learning Curve cart. I used real red cardstock to mat the paper, and to cut out the number 5. The letters are cut from the summer picnic paper. All edged with Stardust stickles as Alex does love a bit of bling when she does any crafting!

So there you go, some photographs of my crafting at last! Here's hoping I don't leave my mojo behind in Bermuda. Can't believe we fly on Thursday, it has come round so fast! We are very excited, suitcases are being packed this weekend, and then we fly from Newcastle to Gatwick and then Gatwick to Hamilton. Almost 9 hours in the sky, but it will be worth it. Can't wait to see Jan and her family, she has bought special ice cream which is hidden in the freezer for when we arrive lol. I will try and update while I am there, so watch this space for pictures of sunshine and sand!

Beautiful flowers

Look at these beautiful flowers which arrived today! They were sent to me by my lovely M, he sent them from the girls, seeing as they are not quite old enough to arrange things themselves yet! They are such beautiful flowers, I had gone right off flowers after receiving a florist shop full when Nigel died, but now I am ready to be spoiled on appropriate days again. I am so touched that M felt he wanted to do this for me and for the girls, so thank you so much, I love them!

I also received a beautiful new top, and some smellies to pamper myself with. All in all a good day.

Backache city

Been AWOL as I have been suffering big time with my back. I have had two episodes of muscle spasm across the top of my back, to the extent that I have had to resort to diazepam to be able to sleep, so great is the pain. I actually cried when I rang to say I wouldn't be at work on Wednesday, as I had coped on my own all night whilst in agony. Not good. Normal service will be resumed very soon as I can't even contemplate sitting at a craft desk right now.

So the surgery did it's job

Alex's surgery back in January has been completely effective! We went back to see her consultant, Mr Knight, today, and she had a hearing test too. Last time she had her hearing tested, it was way down, but today it was back up to within normal levels. I was so relieved, after the last test I nearly cried, her hearing was so bad. Removing her adenoids has helped too, and she is no longer snoring and waking as often at night. Now it is just a waiting game to see how long this set of grommets lasts, and once they have fallen out, will the glue ear return? No-one can predict whether it will or not, I had hoped it wouldn't after the first set, but obviously it did. It isn't worth worrying about this now, I am just hoping and praying that the glue ear doesn't return.

This is a picture I took once Alex was back on the ward after her op. The blood on her pyjama top shows she did have a bit of a heavy bleed whilst in theatre. By this stage, Alex had eaten loads, and was happily playing with the Littlest Pet Shop set which was on the ward. Amazing how quickly children bounce back, Alex was fully recovered from the surgery within a week.

Other than the hospital visit this morning, today has been mostly mundane. Housework, nothing exciting really. Getting back into my usual routine has been good, working a full week last night knocked me for six! Work tomorrow and Wednesday, then I suppose I had better start on preparations for our big trip to Bermuda in 3 and a half weeks from now (hooray!). Need to dig out various bits and pieces to take with us. Plus summer clothes, it will be pleasantly warm when we get there. Got to be better than the arctic temperatures which seem to have reinstated themselves here today. Trogging up the hill to school this morning was no fun when met with icy blasts. So much for spring weather!

Enough for now, time to sleep.

New Look!

I put my name on a list to have my blog redesigned by VKDesignCo a while agao, finally I got to the top as Veronica is one popular lady, and I must say I am over the moon with the end result! Now I need to rediscover my crafting mojo, it has gone missing of late what with working full time this week. I honestly don't know how mothers of children the same age as my girls manage to work full time, keep their homes under control and also not be as grumpy as hell. Lone parents especially, how do you do it? I have been so tired this week, I was very glad to get to Friday evening. I did enjoy this week at school, the Joseph Project was great fun, and enabled me to teach in a way which suited me down to the ground. Still, I was in bed early every night just about, but my head was so full of information from the day that sleep did not arrive. Argh!

Tonight I am going to the new Nando's restaurant near here, it has only recently opened, and I really enjoy their food. The ordering system is somewhat bizarre, but if you ignore that bit, Nando's is great!

Enough waffle for now. I will craft this week, got a load of cards to make for my lovely friend Jill, so watch this space. I have failed miserably to get my hands on any Gorjuss stamps, but I will keep trying. It's not as if I don't have enough stamps already...

Waterfall walking

Yesterday I headed up into the Yorkshire Dales with the year 6 children I teach. They are spending this week at Ingleborough Hall, doing all sorts of great activities like caving, tree climbing and treasure hunts. Obviously I couldn't stay with them, but I had a really good time walking 4.5 miles alng the Ingleton Waterfall Walk. It was quite strenuous in places, so I was very impressed by the lack of moaning from the kids! My legs did ache a little when I got home, nothing that a long soak in the bath didn't sort out. My new walking boots are nicely muddy, and fortunately I didn't get any blisters!
The rest of the week, I am working with the year fives on a special project, all about Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat! It has been a lot of fun so far, and the other activities planned promise to be just as enjoyable. By Friday I will be pretty tired, but the project makes it all worthwhile.
So work dominates for now, no time for crafting. Not got the energy anyway!!

A special card

for a special friend who is 40 today!



Made using the toadstools from the Unfrogettable Stampin Up set, it is a bit of a joke between my friend and I, coloured using my promarkers and then highlighted with stickles. The 40 is AC Thickers. The card blank was a big one I got from Craftwork Cards, really great size for a special card!

Happy Valentine's Day

It would seem I have been MIA lately, apologies for that. I just seem to have been so busy! Walking to and from school each day in the snow took up massive amounts of time, as the paths quickly turned into ice lined death traps! On Wednesday I was on my way to collect Sophie from Brownies when I came across my neighbour, CLaire, who had slipped on the ice on the next road from ours, and landed squarely on her bum. I'm not sure which was bruised more, that or her pride!

I have a card to share, sorry about the picture quality, note to self, recharge EOS batteries so that I can take decent pics. So I took a pic with my iphone, but it just isn't the same. The card I have to share today is a Valentine's card, I made it last night and left it to dry overnight. The image is a rather lovely hanglar, and the sentiment is a rub on from a Scrapagogo kit a few months ago. Not sure of the make, as I only had a bit of the sheet left. I made the card to send to someone special... without giving too much away my life is certainly picking up nicely, I am very happy with how things are progressing, and he is very sympathetic when it comes to my widowed status. I am liking it all very much, strange after being alone. Not alone for the entire time since Nigel died, but nothing worth really remembering until now.



So there you go, like after widowhood can be happy, it has it's good days and bad days, and I am enjoying life being full of happiness just now.

Happy Valentine's Day!


oo ETA: candy over on Belinda's blog, it is very lovely, go and have a looksie!

Snowed in

I know not everywhere in the country has been blessed with the snow like we have, but it has been very deep here. My back garden is still under a foot of snow, and it is snowing again today!

This is how my drive is looking after I cleared it on Tuesday night after work, aided by my very lovely neighbour Mary. The snow here is still falling, and is not looking like it will clear in the next couple of days at least, a proper winter at last.
The girls have loved the snow, getting to and from school has been a military operation so I have had plenty of exercise this week. My childminder lives down a very steep hill, so I have had to park at the top and walk down to drop the girls off on the days I am at work.

To end with, here's a special canvas I finished last week,. It was for Kate to give her friend Josie, who has moved from Leeds back to Scotland. Kate was at preschool with Sophie, and they enjoy playing together when they meet up, in fact I must arrange to meet up with Kate, her mum Deb and big sis Ellie sometime soon.



oh, and watch out for the March edition of Essentials Magazine. It is out now in the shops... have a look on p.32!

At last the car is sorted

Phew
it has worn me out!
I am now the proud owner of a brand new Touran 2.0 TDi SE after standing up for myself and my rights. Hoorah!

Dreaming...

It's good to have dreams, well I think so anyway! Some of mine are of the ilk that probably won't ever be fulfilled, but are still nice to have ticking away in the back of my mind... you know the ones I mean, 'When I win the lottery, first I will buy' etc etc. Fingers crossed my numbers come in at some point, but hey, I am quite happy with how things are for now!
I fulfilled one dream when I was 21. When I was younger I spent a great deal of time playing my violin and viola in various orchestras, touring the world and seeing the sights along the way. One thing I wanted to do was fit in a stint of playing professionally. I didn't think it was something I wanted to do long term, but I wanted to have a go! While I was living in Enschede in the Netherlands, I did a spot of freelance playing with Orkest van het Oosten, a professional orchestra which was based in the town. I loved every minute, improved my Dutch whilst there, and got to expand my repertoire too. I toyed briefly with staying on in Enschede, instead of returning to Leeds to complete my BMus degree, but eventually decided to go back to Leeds.
I don't get the time to play as often as I would like, it is something I know will get easier once the girls are older. Getting out in the evenings has to be planned with military precision, and sometimes unforseen obstacles get in the way so trips out have to be shelved.
Another dream I have had since childhood is also performance related, this time involving my voice rather than my violin or viola. When I was a child, my parents had the LP of the Joseph soundtrack. I have listened and listened to it, buying it on CD as times progressed. Obviously the role of Joseph isn't quite right for me, but I have always harboured secret desires to take the role of the narrator. My girls are big fans too, we watched Any Dream Will Do on TV, and last February we went to see the touring production of Joseph when it came to Leeds. I do rather like Lee Meade, always good to have someone who is kind on the eye as well as a good singer lol. We listen to the most recent recording of Joseph (featuring Jason Donovan so not actually that recent) on my iphone, connecting it up when we're in the car. It has to be one of our favourites, and we must look like complete nutters when we are all singing along. But do we care? Not a chance!
SO one day... will I fulfill my dream and sing the role of the Narrator in Joseph on stage?
Maybe one day... until then I can dream, but my dream doesn't feature the waistcoat Keith wears for performances because I don't like it! Haha, small things to make me smile, eh!

A day at the hospital

Alex's ENT surgery was today. She had a new set of grommets fitted, and also had her adenoids removed. She had a heavy nosebleed in theatre, so was in there for a little longer than usual. On coming round, she was very upset, but calmed down eventually once we were back on the ward. She is now fast asleep in my bed, and has to have ten days off school, so I hope her recovery is smooth.
I am exhausted, it was upsetting to see her in discomfort but I am very glad it is all done.

Final chapter?

It would seem that the saga of the car is almost complete.... I spoke to my contact at VW head office today, and VW have agreed to replace my heap of junk/tiguan with a touran, brand new and hopefully far more reliable!
Fingers crossed it all gets sorted very quickly....

Do you 'get' your child's maths homework?

There are so many different ways of teaching calculations in maths lately that I know many parents get confused! Hey, I'm a primary school teacher and I get a bit confuzzled from time to time. Here's an interesting take on current trends in teaching maths. Watch and enjoy!

Scrapagogo Colour me Happy!

Hooray I bagged me a spot on Scrapagogo' Colour Me Happy day retreat in July! It is in Warrington, so doable from where I live. Most retreats seem to be too far from here, or cost so much that they are out of my league. That and they are weekend long affairs, which realistically I can't manage. My parents help me out so much, but I just don't feel comfortable asking them to take the girls for extended periods. The full length Getaway was just too long for me, much as I would have loved to have gone. Plus it booked up too quickly for me to get organised. So Colour me Happy is booked, and I am so excited about it all, I think I might burst!

News from the sickbay: Sophie is a bit better today, still very ropey, but chirpier which is a good sign. Mum and dad are on their way down as I type so that I can go back to work tomorrow.

Flu has arrived

My poor Sophie has got flu. Having been off colour for a few days, she succumbed to it overnight and is really quite ill. I can't remember her being ill like this since she last had flu, which was when she was almost two. I was pregnant with Alex at the time, and we both had flu. We spent two weeks in bed, Sophie was a very active toddler so it showed how poorly she was.
This time it seems to have hit her just as badly, she has laid on the sofa all day and not moved, bless her. It is so hard to watch your child feel so horrid and be unable to do anything other than give calpol and nurofen :(

My craft room

I have spent my weekend having a HUGE sort out in my craft room as it had turned into the world's biggest dumping ground. It is not quite finished, but a million times better than it was, so I am ready to share it with you!


Here's my desk. It goes along under the window which is at the front of my house. It's made to measure from MDF, and as you can see I have the stuff I use the most right at hand. Most of the Scrapagogo boxes on top of the shelves are empty, just need to get them down now and throw them out.


Here's a close up of where I keep my Stampin Up markers and my promarkers. On the top shelf is white card ready to stamp onto. Next to the little shelf is my tote, which has all sorts of tools in it that I use regularly. You can see my ATG gun behind it, what a gadget, I love that yellow gun! I have my rolls of adhesive tape on a chrome mug stand, an idea given to me by Julie which is very handy. In the boxes next to the tote I have inks, various adhesives, and then pots of pencils, and other pens.


This pic shows the storage I had built to measure for my really useful 12x12 boxes. I have all sorts of patterned paper in those, and one ox houses all my letter stickers. I am currently loving AC Thickers as my friend Jan kindly gave me 3 more packs for Christmas!. On the worktop is my printer. I have room to craft with a friend (Julie!!!) or otherwise to do my paperwork for school at that end of the workspace.


I have plans to have a go at quilting this year, and my sewing machine is at the ready! Underneath I have my albums, and two more RUBs with flowers and chipboard in.


Here's my ribbon racks, and above them the bar I store my SU punches on. The ribbon racks are tie racks from Ikea and were not expensive at all. I even put them up myself, which involved wielding my DeWalt drill at a brick wall!!


Next we have my acrylic paper stacker, which I bought when an online shop shut down. Then there is my kitchen trolley on which my cricut expression lives. Underneath are some canvasses I picked up cheaply when the Works shut down. Plus the cards I have made but not sent yet. Next to that,my SU ink caddy. Not full yet!




Here's my SU stash. I lve SU stamps, I have really got into stamping since Monica came to do a workshop early last year. I make as many cards as I do scrapbook layouts now. Above is my Christmas stash, I am part way through Shimelle's JYC so hopefully I will finish that soon. Underneath is my beloved sizzix.

The last two pics are of general storage, which houses cardstock, embellishments, my BIA and Dreamkutz, and all sorts of other crafting delights.





So there you go, that's my craft room. Now it is finally organised more effectively, I am planning on doing an awful lot more crafting in 2009. I have got off to a good start, so here's to a great crafting year. Thanks for looking, and please do leave me a comment!

Saga continues...

not sure what the outcome will be but today has not been good.
In a word, if you are thinking of buying a Volkswagen and you live in or around Leeds, do NOT buy it from Leeds Volkswagen, Richard Alexander Volkswagen as was. Crap service does not even come close, unfortunately for me.

The saga of the car

So in October last year I bought myself my dream car. Sounds ridiculous, but the Tiguan I bought really was my dream car.
When I was a teenager, my parents and I would often go for a walk around where we lived. At the top of the road I lived on was a garage selling second hand cars. For several months, on the forecourt stood a blue 4x4, a small one, and I would admire it every time we went past. I remember being gutted to find it had been sold! Since then, my dream car has always been a small, blue, 4x4, and the tiguan ticked every box for what I was looking for.
My heart led the way when it came to buying the tiguan, so now I am having to be sensible and follow my head. The tiguan has broken down twice in the two months since I bought it, including last week when I was down in Reading. Having spent time looking into the fault which has occurred, it seems to be one which happens rather too frequently for my liking in certain Volkswagens.
Realistically, VW have sold me a car which is not fit for purpose. No fault of the guy who sold me the car, a rather lovely man called Russ, or even the guy in the service department, called Lee, who has bent over backwards to help me since the car started playing up. I can not fault them, it is just so very unfortunate that the car is a complete dodo! Now comes the tricky part, getting VW to acknowledge that I am within my rights to return the car. I can reject it within 6 months of purchase, and I fully intend on doing so. I would gladly accept another VW in return, but under no circumstances can I have another Tiguan. Having looked at the options available, I would rather have a Touran, and there is a model which has the same list price as the Tiguan I bought.
Wish me luck, VW are not going to give me what I want without a fight, hopefully it will be a very ladylike one! I just hope they realise that I will not give up easily!

Craft wise, I seem to have rediscovered the desire to craft! I am aiming to craft every day in 2009, some days I will complete more than one item so that gives me a headstart if I miss a day. My running total can be seen over to the right. Once I find the disc to put the software for my camera on my new laptop, I will upload some pics. So far I have made 5 cards, 2 ATCs and done 3 scrapbook layouts. I have many lovely craft stash items to use up, and I am enjoying it very much!
Enough for now, work tomorrow, time to sleep!