creating memories

I've moved!!!!!

2007-12-01T18:34:00.000Z

Yay!!

So excited that I have a brand new sparkly blog!! Come over and visit me!!

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

That Friday feeling!

2007-11-09T13:24:00.000Z

And it's Friday again!! Where are the weeks going??

This is an old tag from the lovely Sue :)

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)

Tiger land rover

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)

coffee rich tea

3. YOUR "FLY Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)

C McD

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)

blue elephant (PMSL)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)

Jennifer Johannesburg (not bad actually!)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)

McD Ca

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The")

Pink the corona

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)

Robert Costas (or Robert Bobby as my Greek grandfather was known as Bobby rather than Costas, heehee)

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)

youth dew sours

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names)

Margaret um.........oh dear dad had no middle name, lol.

Will tag anyone who's not yet done this tag!

No weekend plans yet, so maybe i'll get some crafting done.

Didn't happen last Sunday as it was such a lovely day I decided to get stuck into the garden and prepare for the winter.

Enjoy whatever you get up to!

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

Hey hey it's Friday!!!

2007-11-02T10:41:00.000Z

And another week is over! And it's November!!

And were the hell has this year gone??

We have the kids down tonight for the weekend, and it's going to be quite busy!

Tomorrow starts with grocery shopping and I am hoping to get everyone up relatively early to make a start so we can miss the crowds!!

I have a hair appointment in the afternoon :)

And then it's our fireworks party.

Now in general I am not a huge fan of fireworks, they are too loud and they scare the animals. But once a year Stuart has the chance to act like a kid and spend far too much money!!

Who am I to stand in his way??

Sunday is Rebeccas horse riding lesson.

And hopefully we will make a start on the new decking!!

IACW update

Well I have to say it's been absolutely amazing to see so many people taking up the

Scrap Your Boobies Challenge.

And seeing all the beautiful LOs has reminded me what the scrapping is all about!!

Thanks to all of you for your donations so far, the Just Giving page is available until the end of December and it would be awesome to double what we hoped to raise!!

A *huge* thanks to all the sponsors for your prizes!!

And of course a *massive* thanks to all the IACW girls for their organisation and hard work! Love you all so much!

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

I've been tagged :)

2007-10-29T15:31:00.000Z

By the lovely Andrea!

1. If you could have £100 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose?
Blossoms, ribbon, ‘anything’ MM metal , scenic route papers :)
2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or rubons, which would you choose?
Definatly stamps!
3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year...which would you do?
Has to be layouts!! I have too many photos that need scrapping to spend a year doing cards only!
4. Would you rather own a scrapbooking store or have your own scrapping room at home...(can't have both he he he)
My own scrapping room. BUT it must be big enough to have 3 walls of IKEA shelving. A big desk so I can leave my sewing machines, cricut and photo printer permanently set up. A space for my laptop and printer (A3!!) And a large raised centre table so I can scrap standing up.
5. And last but not least, what is your CURRENT cardmaking or scrapping style.
I like to think it’s a bit shabby and eclectic. I am learning to mix paper lines, mix brown and black ink on a page :o And I’m brave enough to go to the extremes, either loads of white space, or a very full page :)

I'm tagging in return

Marja

Paula

Kel

Don't forget to visit It's a Creative World to be in line to win a prize!!

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

PS, I think I still have another tag in my drafts, from Sue. Sorry hun, I did have all intentions of posting it ages ago, but forgot about it!!

This is going to be BIG!!

2007-10-25T11:39:00.000Z

It's a Creative World News

The final list of prizes for Breast Cancer Awareness month has been drawn up the lovely Maria and boy do we have some lovely stuff up for grabs!

If you've not done your boobie layout yet, there is still time to get them to us by the 31st October!!

All donations received by the 31st will also be entered into lucky dip prize draws! But don't forget that we will leave our just Giving page up till the end of December, and I think Maria has stashed a prize or two away for people who donate in November and December. BUT don't tell her i've told you cause it's supposed to be a secret!!

Be sure to visit It's a Creative World to see if you're a winner!!

haPpy creATing

Caz

Finding the balance

2007-10-23T09:02:00.000Z

Boy it's been a long time since I blogged!! Yet again I am finding the balance between home life, crafting, work and blogging a bit tough to get right.

But i'm working on it and hopefully things will get into a routine soon enough.

Work is great and I am loving being back in a challenging roll again.

Home life is always good! We have been busy preparing the garden for winter, clearing the beds and planting bulbs. We are also doing some garden renovations which is very hard work, but the improvement will be so worth the effort.

My crafting life is a busy one! IACW has kept me busy this month, with loads of LO classes and of course the Scrap Your Boobies challenge. I am so overwhelmed at the response we have received, and so proud of the scrapping community that have got behind us and taken up the challenge.

As of this morning we have reached our fundraising target and hope to double it by the end of December.

The LOs we have received so far are all so beautiful.

So alas my blogging life has taken a back seat and this is why I have not updated for so long. I will be working on how to get a better balance to my life but if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them!!

So today over at IACW we have a LO class......scrapping from a sketch.

We feature Pencil Lines and the loves Anna, who had the idea for the inspirational sketch blog.

We were even given an exclusive Creative World sketch!!

Here is a LO I created with it, pop over the blog to see the other LOs.

Here's to better blogging days and laods more yummy stuff to come!

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

Bunting for Christmas

2007-10-15T00:00:00.000Z

Yesterdays IACW Christmas inspiration is a themed bunting!!

I had great fun making this and can't wait to have all my decorations for Christmas up!!

haPPy sunDAy and haPPy creATing

Caz

2007-10-09T00:00:00.000Z

Todays post over at IACW is all about 6x12 layouts :) and I am hooked on scrapping this size!

It is so quick and easy and a great way of getting those not so great, in need of major cropping photos scrapped. The LOs below prove that point.

Firstly I have a photo of my sister that was taken years ago, before i scrapped and took a keen interest in photography. She is a tiny little figure in this sea of nothingness. BUT it's a cool photo and I smile every time I look at it. So that tells me it's gotta be scrapped!!

I cropped the top and bottom nothingness off leaving an elongated photo, that was a little too small for 12x12 or 8.5x11 but too big for a 6x6. ROLL ON 6x12, lol, just the right size and shape for this type of photo.

The following two LOs show how this size is good if you have small photos but still want space for full size embellishments.

Go on give 6x12 a try, if you've not done it yet, you'll be surprised by how much fun it is :)

haPPy creATing

Caz

Boobie update!!

Firstly thanks so much for all the support you are giving us over at IACW, for your donations and taking the plunge (ahem) and getting your boobies out for a great cause.

The LOs are all so beautiful!

Every penny we give for research is important, and no matter how small the donation, it all makes a difference.

2007-10-07T11:52:00.000Z

Today over at It's a Creative World, we are still in the Christmas mood, and we're looking at Christmas cards :)

Now I don't really consider myself a card maker, but since the launch of IACW and seeing the beautiful creations from the DT and of course our guest designer Claire, I have become a little braver and a bit more creative with my cards.

Here are two cards I made using freebie magazine papers!! What a great way to use these up ;)

And a little detail, the snowflakes are done using my EK success punch, lightly inked and stuck on with foam pads to give some dimension.

The Christmas trees were stamped with StazOn, jet black and coloured with water colour pencils.

I hope your weekend has been full of
haPPy creATing
Caz
xx

PS. Chris is making some lovely pink digi papers this month in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness so pop on over for some freebies :)

How organised is your Christmas??

2007-10-06T00:00:00.000Z

Christmas has come early to It's a Creative World!!

Okay so talking about Christmas in October is shocking.....BUT if you want to get organised this year you really start with a CHRISTMAS PLANNER :)

I was totally inspired by the links Trish has posted on IACW today, in particular AuntNi's beautiful planner on 2peas. I was tempted to do the same size but chickened out as I wouldn't be able to fit the file into my bag and keep it handy ;)

So onto my planner, the size I went for is 8.5x5.5 for the inside pages, and 6x9 for the cover, which is just mount board covered in YUMMY Chatterbox Gingerbread House papers. I have been saving these for some time so i'm glad they are finally used up.

I painted a BG naked chipboard label holder red, tied some ribbons on the edges and then stuck it to a piece of white cardstock and then onto the front of the book. I hand write 'christmas planner'

I decided to keep each divider page the same to give it a bit of consistancy.

Each section has a handcut label holder with the section title hand written.

'CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN'

I have had drawn all the pages cause of the odd size, but the ones linked in Trish's post are awesome!! And of course so easy to just print off ;)

'GIFTS'

'CARDS'

'FESTIVE FARE'

After finishing all the pages I made 2 holes using my cropodile for bookrings and have hung some christmas charms off the top one. I would like to add pages next year so it's also a book I can use as reference each year, so i'm not sure I want to bind it until it's full (but of course i'm still thinking about that ;) )

Have fun creating your CHRISTMAS PLANNERS and don't forget to leave a link in the comments on IACW with your creations

haPPy creATing

Caz

We are so proud and honoured that so many scrappers are taking up the challenge to

SCRAP YOUR BOOBIES!!

Breast Cancer Awareness should always be a focus in your daily routine, it's quick and easy to check yourself and if caught early, it is treatable.

Even if you hate your BOOBIES you would never like to face the possibility of loosing one.

Go on SCRAP YOUR BOOBIES this month, email us the image and you could be in line to win a fabulous prize!

There are also lucky dipper prizes for people who donate on our JUST GIVING page :)

Awareness is key!!

2007-09-30T10:25:00.000Z

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it's something that we, as woman, need to take very seriously!

The girls from It's a Creative World have decided that we are going to do our bit to raise money for Breakthough Breast Cancer through our JUST GIVING page and we are challenging scrappers to SCRAP YOUR BOOBIES for a good cause!!

We want to make you think about this one... through art. And then we want you to give.... And then think some more.

This is something that touches most of us, if not all of us, at some point in our lives. As woman we are responsible for our families but we also have to look after ourselves. And we need to be aware of the fact that it can happen to us, but it's treatable and it's something we can BEAT!

Please visit It's a Creative World for more details (including details of some great prizes to be won during the month) and to see the fab work created by the team :)haPPy creATing!!
Caz
xx

It's nearly October :O

2007-09-30T09:46:00.000Z

Week 4 UKS team challenge :)

I've had a good scrapping month, finishing off 17 LOs :) I wonder if I will ever manage to scrap all the photos I have??

If you've not been over to visit It's a Creative World today, don't delay and get on over! Leave us a comment this weekend and stand a chance to WIN some lovely Bella stamps!!

The team have some awesome inspiration coming to you in October.

We start the crafty countdown to Christmas with some lovely decorating projects!

It's also Breast Cancer awareness month, and we have some fab give aways and a challenge that is one all woman should be proud to take part in!

Be sure to come visit tomorrow when it all kicks off!! :)

haPPy creATing y'all!!

Caz

so tired!!

2007-09-18T06:53:00.000Z

Hang........to suspend, be suspended or dangle. Show us 'hang' in your space today.

My bunnies, made by the talented Andrea, which hang on my bedroom wall above the unused fire place :) So such a great photo as I had to use the flash and it's made the wall very bright!

But I don't have time to hang about and get it right cause i'm off to work!! :) Yesterday was great but mind boggling, so much to take in all at once and there's a load more coming today! YIKES!! On the plus side, the partners dining room is very very nice!! lol.

Ciao for now

haPPy creATing

Caz

Wouldn't it be nice........

2007-09-17T06:54:00.000Z

if for just one day; all citizens of planet earth lived within the letter of the law; every man, woman and child had plenty to eat and drink; each person was treated with the respect we are all entitled to. There were no wars, famine or poverty. And all the annoying things we see in people didn't matter to us, for just one day!

It has recently been brought to my attention that life is not rosy :( now that makes me awful sad. I tend to believe that we all made the effort to just be nice, we'd live in a happier world.

Just my thought for the day :)

No HS:MS photo yet.

I am off to my new job today, so no more loafing around at home for me, lol.

If you've not yet been over to IACW today you must go see the great project Di has up today. I am hoping to give this a go some time this week, as I would so love to be able to draw, and according to the post, I CAN, how cool is that :)

Right y'all have a great Monday and

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

2007-09-14T12:52:00.000Z

Print.........to produce in large quantities by mechanical process. Find 'print' in your space today.

Some of my favourite books, of which a few have been read more than once :)

Alas no kiss photo but I did have a kiss in my space on Wednesday ;)

Curious...........eager to know or learn. Find 'curious' in your space today.

A few books that have tought me something!

Tweezers...........an instrument for picking up small objects. Find 'tweezers' in your space today.

A few LOs to share, these have all been done this week, which explains the lack of blogging, lol.
UKS week 2 challenge for September.
purple and yellow paper
question....PURRFECT?
doodled stitches around flower
star eyelet and stripes paper

A welcome LO for baby Ethan, except my printer chopped off the top of his head :( but I still love the LO and no doubt I will do loads more of him so it doesn't matter, lol.

LHS of a will be double LO all about Stuart and Michaels 'boys road trip' to the TT on the Isle of Man in May this year. They took loads of great photos which I will print small and do a collage style 2nd page.

And a couple of wedding LOs. Again very simple :)

And it's back to work for me on Monday, really looking forward to it, but also a little nervous! I will miss my days at home, but I won't miss having no money!

Tonight is the England v SA world cup rugby game and I am so looking forward to it, just hope it's an exciting game and the ref lets it move. (some of the refs are really bad at blowing the whistle and not playing advantage!)

We have loads of very exciting things planned over at it's a creative world in October so be sure to visit us. There is a tonne of inspiration and loads of prizes to be snapped up :)

We are also working on some great new projects and regular features starting in December, add us to your favourites so you don't miss out!

Ciao and

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

PS, today is my dads birthday, he would have been 60 today. I miss and love you so much dad!

catching up :)

2007-09-10T06:51:00.000Z

Cake.........a soft, sweet food. Find 'cake' in your space today.

My Emma Bridgewater cake stand with the left overs from yesterdays baking :)

{My imaging software is not working today, hence no titles on my photos}

Talk..........to converse or communicate. Show us 'talk' in your space today.

An oldie for Fridays picture, this was taken in March in year as DH got some rotorvating instructions from our neighbour Ron.

Aaawwwww isn't he a cutie *heart*, baby Ethan.

And I can finally show off my completed crochet blanket :) I am really so pleased with it and feel proud to have completed such a BIG project. For more pictures and an update pop on over to IACW :)

Only 219 squares to go for the second blanket, lol.

Well we certainly had a busy weekend.

Friday, I was very rushed as I finished getting beds ready for all our house guests. I also had an afternoon shopping date with my friend Sue, it was so lovely to see her as it seems like ages since we had a catch up. We bought a few things in HC and it's good to have someone to share a pack of something with ;)

I collected Robyn and Conrad from Stevenage station around 5 and then drove to Hitchin station to get Callum and Rebecca. Then it was home to get everyone settled and finish off preparing for our BBQ and dinner guests.

We had a lovely evening and even managed to get the boys to light us a massive 'gesels vuur' {directly translated means 'talking fire'} to keep warm.

Saturday started very early getting everyone up and ready for our day in London :) The weather could have been better for us and taking photos! But at least it was dry, and we spent most of the day on the top deck of a BIG BUS COMPANY bus taking in the sights of London. We did however get off to go on the LONDON EYE and changed at the TOWER OF LONDON for a river cruise. It was a good day :)

And yesterday was HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCA!! Again it started way to early with a birthday call from SA.

We had crumpets for breakfast {YUMMY} then Rebecca and I went to church and stayed to have tea and biscuits afterwards. I baked brownies and carrot cake when we got home and then we just had a chilled afternoon, with John, Brendalene and the girls, and Ron and Poppy coming around for tea.

Of course there is loads of rugby on at the moment to keep the boys glued to the TV!

Robyn and Conrad came back from London, as they had spent Saturday night in a hotel in Bayswater, and we had pizza for dinner, before falling into bed.

This morning we drove Robyn and Conrad to the airport and, yet again, the day started very early, 4am to be precise!!

Well this is it, the last week of my very long holiday! I have so many projects to get done before I start work that i really must get on :)

have a great day and...

haPPy creATing!!

Caz

Todays shopping trip

2007-09-06T15:11:00.000Z

Feast........a large meal or a plentiful supply, show us 'feast' in your space today.

This morning I went on a little shopping trip down to Welwyn Garden City :) I needed to go to John Lewis for a few things and had a good browse around the shops. I did buy a few things but these are all going to be used for projects coming up on It's a Creative World, so I can't share just yet ;)

Tomorrow I am going to HC and Dunelm with my friend Sue, can't wait as going anywhere with Stuart is a mission as he hates shopping, lol.

We have the kids and house guests this weekend, and friends around tomorrow night so it's going to be a very busy one again.

It's Rebeccas birthday on Sunday and she's asked for a DAY OUT in LONDON as her gift, so we'll be doing the touristy thing with her on Saturday. It's good timing as our house guests also want to go site seeing so we're taking them too :)

I was up early this morning trying to get into a work routine once again, this is really going to be a shock to my system!! So all of next week will be early starts too.

I am enjoying my last few days at home, but also very excited to get back into the work place and earn some stash money!

But right now i need to make a start on dinner.

CIAO :)

Caz

2007-09-05T11:43:00.001Z

Hold.......to grasp, carry or support with your hands. Find 'hold' in your space.

I hold today the first tomato picked that has been grown by my own hand :)

Another LO to share, this I did yesterday, using a photo of Nina taken in March. She looked at me alot like this when she was here, I don't think she appreciated the camera in her face every 5 seconds, lol.

This morning has been very busy, doing loads of household paperwork and letter writing. Nothing crafty i'm afraid :( Maybe later this afternoon ;)

Be sure to check it's a creative world on Monday as it's blanket update day and I have loads to share!!

Caz

2007-09-04T12:19:00.000Z

Thoughtful........absorbed in or involving thought. Show us 'thoughtful' in your space today.

She is not in my space today but this is a photo taken of my sister back in March when she came over for our wedding.

Two LOs to share today, both are UKS weekly challenges, the first is a photo of my niece Jessica, looking like the angel she is most of the time ;)

the second is a photo, taken last Saturday, of my friends new baby, Dillan, with her granny *heart*
I am off having a scrappy afternoon :)
haPPy creATing
Caz
xx

Much excitement :)

2007-09-03T08:39:00.001Z

Fall........to move downwards rapidly. Show us 'fall' in your space today.

This tree fell down in the big winds we had last winter. We have, over the past 6 months, chopped bits off for firewood, but I think the land is going to claim this last piece.

Introducing another new baby in my {extended} family, this is Dillan who we met on Saturday :) She is coming up for 4 weeks, and such a cutie! Here she is with her grandma *heart*

Today we are very proud to welcome a new member of the creative world team........the lovely and super flippin' fantastically tallented Joanne!!!!! I am so excited to get the opportunity to work with Joanne, as I have admired her, not only as a scrapper but also as a innovative creator, for a long time :)

Yesterday we had a real, stay at home and do nothing day, lol, although I did manage a little bit of scrapping and altering. I got finished just in time with the UKS weekly challenge (week 5), and if I finish this weeks challenge today I will scan and upload them both this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

I am making the most of my last two weeks at home, before work starts on the 17th Sept :) so will be scrapping up a storm. And I have some creative world projects on the go too ;)

Have a fab monDAy!!

Caz

Welcome to the world.....

2007-09-02T10:50:00.000Z

........baby Ethan! I am very proud to announce the birth of Ethan, the newest addition to my family :) He was born today (2nd Sept) at 11am (SA time), weighing in at 3.2kgs, and measuring 51cms.

Very big congRATulations to Kez, Byron and Hayden!!!!

2007-08-31T17:37:00.000Z

Chew.......to bite and grind with the teeth. Find 'chew' in your space today.

I have had such a good day today! Stu had the day off, as he needed to go get a blood test this morning, and we have been out and about :)

Straight after the docs, we went for breakfast, I had scrambled egg on toast which is my favourite, then we walked around Hitchin market, which is so fab on a Friday as it has loads of old and antique stuff. We collect old carpentry tools and found a few bits to add to our collection.

I also saw a really cool veg collecting basket, but at £6 I thought it was a bit too much, although once I get my first salary cheque I may just go back and buy it!!

After Hitchin we stopped off at Letchworth to go to the craft store as I am all out of chalk ink, and well it was a waste of time, and the ladies there weren't exactly very helpful when I asked if and when they were getting more in :(

And then we went sofa shopping, this is an absolute nightmare, cause I don't like loads of lounge furniture but we need enough seats for all the bums. Anyway we saw 2 that we like so we're having a little think.

While we were wandering around the Roaring Meg centre in Stevenage we happened across their newest store which just happens to be a HOBBYCRAFT!! Now I know it's not a 'real' scrapping store but I was so excited as I actually did manage to buy my chalk ink after all :D And they have loads of cricut cartridges, and MM stuff, which I LOVE!! and lots of the creative imaginations bare elements which again I really love. So I know where I will be going often, and it's about 5 minutes from my new office :)

Mom you will need to have a little save for stash shopping when you're here in December ;)

Tonight I am finishing off a baby jacket I made (and mom helped finish off!), so I can take it to my friends on Sunday when I get to meet their baby girl, Dillan. I can't wait :)

It's a creative world news....

Yesterday I worked on my Special Project for Saturday the 8th and I had SO much fun, I can't wait to show it ;)

Anyway supper is done so i must run.............mwhahahahahahah

Bye

Caz

2007-08-30T09:36:00.000Z

Dish......a shallow bowl or radio antenna. Find 'dish' in your space.

I love my toast & marmalade dishes so any chance to photograph them is welcomed :)

Last night we had a lovely dinner down at the pub, I do like going out to eat, it's so much tidier, lol. We had a nice relaxed, no TV evening and read our books instead. I do miss my reading on the train, but thankfull now that I don't have to commute to London any more :)

We have a busy weekend lined up as we need to get all the veg out the ground before it starts to rot. Although there are some onions that can stay in a bit longer, and of course my tomatoes which are coming on beautifully! The plants are so full and some have started to turn red, which is very exciting!! :)

Today I plan to do some scrapping and prep for a few projects I have coming up on it's a creative world!

Ciao for now

Caz

the {cloud} is lifting!

2007-08-29T15:05:00.000Z

Cloud....... a mass of water vapour. Show us 'cloud' in your space today.

Thanks to all your good luck messages yesterday I was successfull in getting the job I interviewed for!!! So very happy as it's been a long search. But I now have a start date, so things can only get better from here :)

I think we're off to the pub tonight for a little celebration dinner, woo hoo.

Ciao

Caz

An apple a day.....

2007-08-28T07:33:00.000Z

A red or green fruit from a tree. Show us 'apple' in your space today.

An easy pic for me today, as I just had to walk down the garden to take this photo :)

mmmm somehow I managed to get myself totally confused and in the editing process I resized, added a title and uploaded a photo from days ago! lol, anyway here is the actual photograph I took this morning :)

I have a busy week lined up with agency appointments and job interviews, which may not leave much time for scrapping!

I also have a major house clean to do, there seems to be lots of bits lying around that need to be returned to their proper home :) Including a few knitting and crochet projects!
Oh the joys of being a housewife ;)
Bye y'all and have a good day!
Caz
xx

Sun{shine} and happiness

2007-08-27T14:47:00.000Z

An object that gives light and warmth. Find 'sun' in your space today.

Luckily the sun eventually showed itself today :)

We are having a relaxing day with dvds and popcorn! Yesterday we washed the bike, went to friends for a bbq and last night we went to the movies to see Harry Potter, Saturday we mowed the lawn, caught up with the washing, fixed the land rover and had a bbq just the two of us. It's been a great weekend :)

oh haPPy dAy!!

Caz

SPS and the weather.

2007-08-25T17:08:00.000Z

S.P.S = self portrait saturday.....mmmm i'm not sure about self portraits, maybe i'll have Saturdays off :)

haPPy weeKEnd :)

Caz

Hey, hey it's Friday!!

2007-08-24T16:01:00.000Z

and I have 3 glorious days to spend with my husband!

Stone.....a hard solid mineral. Show us 'stone' in your space today.

And LOs I have done in August, most in the last three days :)

This first one is a photo of my Gram, she was seriously a cute little girl! I did it for the weekly challenge on UKS a few weeks back, but then realised it was the week befores challenge so can't claim the bonus points but I can still claim LO points :)

This LO is for this weeks challenge, connection to Winnie the Pooh (used the quote "If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus one day, so I never have to live without you" stamped around the edge of the page) 10pts, something honey coloured (the paper is kinda honey coloured) 5 pts, Something with a B (buttons) 5 pts and use scraps (the bit's of paper have been left over from another LO) 10pts.

Another LO of my beautiful DH :) I was just messing around with the camera and I took this close up of his eye, I thought it was cool so decided to scrap it :)

My sweet niece practising her spoon bending skills, thankfully not on my cutlery!

And a few wedding LOs :) Very simple, but I need to get the photos printed and in an album.

There is still a bit of journalling to do, but i'm not quite in that zone right now, so this will have to wait.

Tonight we are off to our local pub, which is about 27 seconds from our house, with some friends for dinner and a relaxed night out. I can't wait as I feel very house bound without a car and not going out to work. And of course as much as I love Josh, he just isn't great company when he decides to sleep ALL day, lol.

Right I best be going to start getting ready :)

haPPy friDAy dudes

Caz

PS mom I have been very busy with the blanket!!

Furniture at last

2007-08-23T09:29:00.000Z

White.......the palest colour and sign of purity. Find 'white' in your space today.

And finally our dining room furniture! It's made from yellowwood and emboya (hope that's spelt correctly!) 6 chairs fit around the table but as we usually only have the two of us and every second weekend the kids we put the other two chairs on the other end of the room by the wooden kist. Which incidently belonged to a carpenter and was found in very bad condition and restored to it's former glory by Stus dad many many years ago :) I am still placing the ornaments so this is not how the room looks today, lol, as last night i moved them all around again! My zebras on the very bottom of the dresser are totally hidden so they need a new home too, i'm just not sure where yet. The extension cable for the fridge is also too short to also plug the microwave in which is why in the bottom photo the wire is hanging over the tea trolley. Stuart and I sat at the table last night for dinner and didn't get up till bed time. That room is just amazing and I totally love that space! We are planning a dinner party to show it off :)

Today I have an appointment at a job agency in Hitchin so hold thumbs they have something for me, I also may have an interview next Tuesday for a job in Stevenage, which is just a hop over the A1 from us so very quick and easy to get to work :) I also may have a nero coffee while i'm there and a browse in my new favourite shop, which is just so pretty!!

Woo Hoo it's nearly the weekend!

Bye y'all

Caz

Friend{S}

2007-08-22T08:36:00.000Z

A person you know particularly well. Show us 'friend' in your space today.

Some oldies today :) my mum, and a photo taken with the camera timer of Stu and I with our very good friends Mark and Cath, who left to return to NZ in July this year :(

So today I am home alone :( Mum is on msn though so at least I still have her as company. I'm also trying to get my webcam installed so we can see each other, lol.

I WILL get some scrapping done today too, i'm determined! Also have some paperwork to do and filing and shredding. Oh the joys of being a housewife :D Speaking of which I need to get on with some job searching too!

I best get on. Have a great day y'all.

Caz

2007-08-21T10:21:00.000Z

Wet......covered or saturated with water. Find 'wet' in your space today.

Today I could have taken a thousand wet photos but here are just two wet 'things'

Thanks so much for your lovely comments on my sunflower photo yesterday. I think it grew that big, which btw is more like 13 foot as apposed to 7 as I thought!, by pure luck. It's the only one to have grown that tall, the others are really tiny but they all have those beautiful big flowers. Next year we are having a share of another allotment so I plan to grow a line of them, in hope they will all be giants :)

It's a sad day today as mum flies home tonight and as my landie is broken I have to take her on the train, what a shlep for us both, but at least it gives us a few more hours :) It's been one of our best holidays together, so relaxed and we've had a good laugh over this blooming blanket :D No grumps, except from Stu (mom doesn't think he likes sharing me much!), so all in all a great 2 and a bit week!

Thanks mum!

I took loads of dining room furniture pics but still need to resize them so will probably upload tomorrow. Oh and Debs another thing our DHs have in common is their heritage, both have Scots and South African roots. WIERD!

Have a great Tuesday!

Caz

PS if you have artistic kids please be sure to get them to enter the kids art competition on It's a Creative World! Lets get our kids creating!!

Plant..

2007-08-20T11:24:00.000Z

....a green living organism. Show us a 'plant' in your space today.

This morning we got the bus into hitchin to go buy some ribbon, a bit more blanket wool, and some calico to make place mats and napkins. So this afternoon I will be sewing :)

And i've still not done any scrapping.

BUT we did a major move in the house yesterday. We swapped the lounge and the dining room around!

Stuarts mom had some furniture made many many years ago, very big yellow wood furniture designed to go in South African houses which are all pretty big, well we have LOADS of room in Africa for big houses!

Stus brother, John, was given the furniture when he got married and slowly but surely over the last 8 years the furniture has all landed up in our house. Now don't get me wrong I have never minded, in fact quite the opposite, I have longed to have it all as I really love it! But it's big, have I mentioned that?? lol.

So on Saturday we got a call from John to ask us if we wanted the dining room table (I think it's the last piece!) and of course I said yes! He dropped it off on Sunday morning. BUT it's very big, haha, and there was no way it was fitting into our dining room, along with the tea trolley, dresser, wooden carpenters chest, and our big fridge (which doesn't fit in the kitchen!)

So we swapped rooms and I tell you we should have done it like this the day we moved in! What a difference it makes to the house. The lounge is now cosy and the dining room is a proper place to sit and have family meals!

Thank goodness we had Stu and Callum for the heavy lifting and it gave me a chance to hoover in all the corners, YIKES!

Right I am off to take pics of my new dining room, and get my sewing head on.

Have a great day!

Caz

can, can't and don't know if I want to.

2007-08-19T10:24:00.000Z

Can.....a container for food or liquid. Show us 'can' in your space today.

A LO I did a few weeks back, using the love elsie papers I got in the scraproom kit. Totally loving this kit!

Well yesterday I didn't manage any scrapping cause I was too busy crocheting my blanket together, I can't seriously believe what a mamoth job this is, and in truth if I had known, I don't think I would have started the project! Mom has jumped in and done loads of the work, but the next one will be mine and mine alone to complete, and it's scaring me. One is almost done and I can't make for one niece and not the other so I have to keep going. I mentioned buying wool for a blanket for me, well after getting through two blankets I have no idea if I will want to make it.

Oh and my landrover is broken :( I am gutted. I love that car and now it needs major work at a major cost. Oh poop :(

No idea what I am going to do today yet, but my tummy is full from a huge breakfast so maybe a little sleep is in order ;)

Have a great day y'all

Caz

P.S. I will do a major catch up with all the blogs later today :)

It's the weekend!!

2007-08-18T08:38:00.000Z

Fly.......to move through the air. Find 'fly' in your space.

Well yesterday I managed to clear loads and start my big declutter, it felt so good to finally get some order back into the house. I still have some way to go but at least I have made a start :)

Today is going to be a busy one, we are putting the first Christmas blanket together by pinning all the squares onto a sheet of calico, I may even crochet them together if I have the energy, lol. I then need to make a start on the next blanket, and because I have rocks in my head rather than brains I bought more wool yesterday to make myself another blanket, haha. But i'm not thinking about that one till I have the Christmas ones done :)

I would like to get a few LOs done today too, I feel like i've not scrapped for weeks, which is probably because I haven't lol. ooh and it's 10 o'clock already so I best get too it.

Ciao and have a fab Saturday y'all

Caz

Lock and bounty

2007-08-17T12:20:00.000Z

A mechanism for keeping something closed that is operated by a key. Show us a lock in your space today.

Lunch is sometimes eaten outside, picked straight off the tree and rinced under the tap.

Today I have been clearing out. I have too much clutter in my house and I feel like I am drowning in it. I started with my books. Next stop is the coat cupboard! Isn't it amazing how much we collect over the years, little things that we can't possibly throw out :) Well my challenge is to find the strength to get rid of things that just take up space and serve no purpose!

Right i'm off to do more!

haPPy frIDay!

Caz

Chop

2007-08-16T13:04:00.000Z

To cut into small pieces. Find chop in your space.

lol, another animal 'bum' LO for the ladies who loved the giraffe layout :) Please excuse the horrid photo, it's from at least 2 years ago, when I didn't know how to photograph 12x12 LOs.

find it in your space......

2007-08-15T10:47:00.000Z

Window: An opening in the wall, filled with glass.

My first her space:my space photo challenge, slightly different angle to moms photo today :) View from our lounge window looking out the front of our house.

The mother ship has landed.....

2007-08-04T09:42:00.000Z

My mom arrived in the UK this morning to spend 2 weeks with us :) So excited and very impatient for her to get to our house! Danni picked her up from the airport and is driving her up. I really thought I had loads to post about but now that i'm here, i'm afriad it seems to have all dried up, lol.

So I leave you with a LO of my gorgeous husband!

have a great weekend y'all!!

Caz

taGGed

2007-08-01T09:03:00.000Z

I have been taGGed twice by the lovely Kel, sorry it has taken so long to get around to this! Okay we'll start with the latest one which is I'm Not Fussy But

It's Just The Way I Like It!!

The order in which my coffee is made! Yes I can tell if it's not been made like this and although I will drink it, I won't like it very much :D So a teaspoon of coffee, a teaspoon of sugar, two splashes of milk, then the boiling water, stir and enjoy!

Um and i'm going to tag Sue, Lyzzy and Shirl!

And here is a LO that makes me smile. Photo taken at Woburn animal safari park on fathers day. I just loved the shape of the giraffe from the back!

haPPy thuRSday!!

Caz

Open gardens 08 07 07

2007-08-01T08:54:00.001Z

A few of my favourites!

2007-06-23T09:34:00.000Z

haPPy satURday!! Today is raining and miserable but it's still going to be a good day, as we have friends coming to visit and we have a party to go to this afternoon. I had planned to wear a skirt (even 'tanned' my legs last night!) and flip flops, well it IS June!! But I think jeans and my croc wellies are a better choice! lol

Still have loads of work to do in the garden for open gardens on the 8th July, but I hate gardening in the rain so hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow....oh actually it had better cause we have our village fete in the afternoon!!

funny story......I popped some busy lizzie seeds into a big pot and was so happy when they came up and seemed to be growing SO well. Got Rebecca to plant them in the garden a few weeks back, and she says 'these look like weeds!'. 'Well they're not' says I! And um yes actually they are, lol, they are growing wonderfully but alas they are weeds, so they gotta come out!

I have two LOs to share today. This photo was taken on my 19th birthday and is one of the few I have with the three of us. Nina was 4 years and 1 month and Chloe was 1 year and 15 days. Our birthdays are within 1 month with Christmas and new year thrown in for good measure! Papers are Crate 'Crush' from my first 'The Scraproom' kit, the tag is off a M&S shirt (blue harbour-love the tags!) and a Fancy Pants 'swirl'

I have loads of photos of Flo posing in a box, but on some there is alot of background and as they are not digital I just cropped it with scissors. It was then a good size for this LO format so I took the plunge and tried something different. My first 12x6 LO and I loved it! By the way the green background does go around 3 edges but the scanner chopped of the bottom! Oh and I LURVE this scalloped bazzill! Will be placing an order on Monday for lots more.

As it's the weekend, we are running another fabulous giveaway on it's a creative world! Leave us a comment on today or tomorrows post (or both for double the chance!) to win a £25 gift voucher to spend at Papermaze!!

2007-06-19T09:50:00.001Z

Hello blog readers!! It's a glorious sunny day here is Hertfordshire!

I am still trying to catch up with the washing but hopefully it will all get done today and at have a chance to dry ;)

I'm meeting Sue and Lyzzy (links on the right) for coffee later and no doubt we will spend a few hours putting the world to rights and having a damn good giggle, which is what you usually do :D

Here are some LOs that I have done in the last month, I wanted to share. The colours of the scan are a bit poop and the buttons are lumpy hence the shadows, but in real life they are vibrant and joyfull and some of my favourites to date :)

later dudes, i've gotta do some dreaded housework!! lol

2007-06-18T10:51:00.000Z

haPPy moNDay!! I am happy cause i'm home today, but it's not all play as i'm still job hunting and have a mountain of washing to get through!!

The topic today on it's a creative world is buttons, beads, brads, bows and blooms and Di (dear mum) has uploaded a great project that can be adapted to suit any occasion! I have an idea to make a wall hanging for babys room! Once I get my behind into gear i'll make a start and share! Here are a few more photos of the mini book I made 'the a to z of us', it was also a good way of using up some of those metal letters that I have, I mean how else are you going to get through all those 'Q's :D

This is my UKS team challenge LO for June week 2! My gallery over at UKS is too full to add my LOs there so they will need to go here. I think I have full points, photo of a hug/smile, flowers, 5 different things (ribbon, rub ons, chipboard, alpha stickers, beads), something blue and something else that I can't remember, lol, but I know it's all there :)

later dudes!!

Last day

2007-06-15T06:54:00.000Z

to get a fantastic discount over at Scrapbook Central! See this post on it's a creative world for the discount code!

And of course there is more coming up this weekend, so make sure to check back ;) There is loads of inspiration for fathers day, so if you've not got around to making a card yet check out Andrea post from yesterday.

I saved these two glass bottles from our recycling bin yesterday, washed them out and scrubbed the lables off. Tied pretty yellow ribbons around the neck and VOILA (oops, thanks mum!)I now have jars for my pens, so they are visable and the chances of me using them now has drastically increased! Go on try it! Thanks for the idea Maria!

Later dudes!!

2007-06-11T14:54:00.000Z

Oops, another week of not posting!

So today I had a job interview. Not sure it is my ideal job, but the practice is good.

I have also spent some time today moving my links around and adding a few in. Lyzzy there is now a link to your blog ;) There are a few more I need to add in but it takes so blooming long that I get tired.......

I worked in the garden yesterday, and boy do I feel it in my legs today! They are aching. But it is really starting to take shape now and the beds are filling up, all we need now is for everything to flower. I have had to sprinkle slug bait all over though cause those pesky slimey critters have eaten all my dahlias bar two :( so fed up.

There have been some awesome specials over on it's a creative world this weekend, one of which is still going on, so be sure to check, you don't want to miss out!!

And my mom has a blog! Yes Di (link on the left) has entered the world of blogging. I must tell you, she has been such a laugh setting it up. This woman is a flippin' whizz on the old pc, she has been a programmer all her life but the simplest things get her in a twist, heehee. Happy blogging mum, have fun!!

later dudes!

2007-06-04T14:02:00.000Z

Ooh have you been over to visit It's a Creative World today?? (link on the right!) Cath has some awesome craft storage ideas and I've put one into practice already!! These jars were salvaged from work and make a lovely feature of some of my ribbons and prima flowers! Thanks Cath!

Overwhelmed

2007-06-02T18:32:00.000Z

I am so overwhelmed by the awesome response we have had over at It's a creative world! I never imagined it would be quite so popular and I truely hope you will all be inspired by the fabdabbydo projects that we have lined up!

Right as my week of 'home alone' finishes tomorrow I am off to scrap some more (like i've not done enough already haw haw). And I leave you with this photo I took way back in mid March of a tiny ladybird sitting on a daisy. I used the macro setting on my lens while lying on the grass to get the best angle :) Oh I do love ladybirds!!

Later dudes!!

And we're live!!!!!

2007-06-01T08:17:00.000Z

It's a Creative World has gone live today! I am so excited about this project and can't tell you how cool it is to work with such an awesome bunch of ladies!

Each day there will be something new from USE YOUR STASH ideas with Di and me :) to CARD MAKING classes with Andrea. Cath will get you on the right track GROWING YOUR OWN VEG and sharing RECIPES with names to make your mouth water. Maria has some NIFTY BUT THRIFTY ideas to get you looking at 'stuff' in a whole new light and Joy will delight you with her ALTERED and INKY ways, that will have you thinking out the box. There will also be lots of great GIFT IDEAS and of course some SCRAPPING classes that will send you into a spin!

Woo Hoo join the ride y'all!!

IT'S......

2007-05-31T19:58:00.000Z

tomorrow!! Oh goodness me I am so nervous but full of excitement and inspiration to get this little show on the road!

Later dudes!!

Oh my goodness....

2007-05-30T11:37:00.000Z

not long now :) Be sure to put the weekend aside for some awesome projects, inspiration for living the good life, and some shopping specials!

later dudes!

3 sleeps!!

2007-05-29T13:05:00.000Z

the excitement in our camp is growing as we are all getting ready for the launch this Friday, WOO HOO :) We have some special things lined up, so if you need a dose of good living watch this space!! Such fab ladies involved that I feel truely honoured to be part of this.

The weather over the weekend was pretty awful and I got very little done in the garden which is not good considering I have less than 6 weeks till open gardens and so much work to do. The only good thing about the crappy weather is the plants get a jolly good watering (although so do the weeds!) I also have a major slug/snail problem, they have got into my greenhouse and are devouring my seedings and all my sunflowers! Blooming pesky things :(

Stu left yesterday for the Isle of Man and the 100th TT....it's his first and has been so excited, I do hope they have good weather. He's biked over with his friend Michael, and been given strict instructions to TAKE PHOTOS!! :D I'll train him one day ;)

I have been trying very hard to stick to my weekly blog reading and I think i'm getting there. If I post on my blog then I can have a little 'treat blog reading time' during the week but I have to be quite strict and only read after i've posted and not say 'oh i'll read a bit then post' cause then I just get carried away, lol, and run out of time. Lets see how long I can keep it up!

Right y'all I need a cup of tea so have a great day dudes, till later!

7 Sleeps!!

2007-05-25T14:37:00.001Z

hee hee!!

Have you been over to the pencil lines blog lately?? They are on the hunt for a new DT member, so cool and i'm terribly temped to audition, but not sure I want to fill my days with crafting right at the start of summer when I have so much work out in the garden to do! Oh well I have a few days to decide.

haPPy frIDay y'all!! Woo hoo 3 days off.......and so much planned!!

8 SLEEPS!!

2007-05-24T11:47:00.000Z

well I have just heard that there is something very cool planned for launch day of our fab new project on the 1st June!! So blooming excited I may not be able to keep it a secret till then!!

I have been going through my work pc clearing out the hard drive and I came across this LO that I did for the Speshal Dares way back. It's an oldie and it has been posted on my blog before but it makes me happy, because I just adore these Scenic route papers, in fact they may even be my favourite favourite paper line (cause of course I have a few favourites!! :) ). Sometimes I miss SA desperatly, the open spaces, the beautiful outdoors, the powerful sea, and most of all my family. But I have decided to settle in the UK and make this my home, but I will be sure, to never forget where I come from!

Something.......

2007-05-23T13:44:00.000Z

very exciting is headed this way!! I have joined up with some fabulously talented ladies to bring this exciting new project to the world wide web....the only place you will need to look for inspiration that will colour your life in magical ways. Only 9 more sleeps till all is revealed, watch this space!!

Today is a sad day.....

2007-05-21T11:20:00.001Z

Todays post is dedicated to a very brave young lady who lost her long battle with lukemia on Sunday morning. I have been keeping track of Chelseas illness through daily emails passed onto me from her big sister who has been my very best friend since we were 10.

Chelsea had many ups and downs during this time, but when her lungs were effected she really had a hard time fighting off infection, to the point that all her medication was conflicting and there was just no way of knowing what to treat first :(

She fought long and hard and at 14 showed a huge amount of courage. RIP baby girl

My love to all the family as you now face the long hard journey of coming to terms with the loss of your beautiful Chelsea bun

Oh dear

2007-05-18T08:51:00.000Z

I opened my blog at 8 this morning this morning with the intension of updating, and 2 hours later, after reading about 30 blogs, I came across this post on Jools' blog, lol. I did have such a giggle cause I have all good intensions of being a good blogger and updating regularly and, well, it never happens!

So I started to wonder why I have these long breaks between posts and the only conclusion I have come to is that I spend too much time reading other peoples blogs. Now while that is not a bad thing, the whole reason for having a blog is to keep it up to date and really if you're not going to bother then why the hell keep one in the first place??
That said I am imposing a blog reading ban on myself for days Saturday through Thursday and will save Fridays for my dose of blog surfing!
Now I wonder if it will make me update more often......heehee.

I'm sure loads has happened since my last post but i'll be damned if i can remember what, this is another problem when you don't blog often ;)

I am still on a mission to get my life in some sort of order, and as part of a very exciting project that I am working on with some super talented ladies I am going to challenge everyone that lives in a state of chaos to join me in getting organised!! Interested?? Then watch this space!!

I certainly hope the weather improves soon as I have loads of work to do in the garden getting it ready for our villages open garden day in July...yikes I still can't belive I have signed up for this! I have hundreds of photos of my garden to share but they are on my laptop at home :( loads of pretty flowers and tons of seedings in the greenhouse ready to plant.

Our potatoes, onions and beans on the allotment are growing well, but the blooming rabbits made light work chomping all the new baby lettuce to nothing (I thought lettuce was poisonous to rabbits??). Luckily they haven't found the lettuce in the garden yet, although maybe Josh is doing a good job keeping them out of there!

Some sad news now :( My little Flo flo is missing.....I am totally gutted as she is my little angel and I have searched the village for her but she is gone :( I can only think she has landed up in the neighbouring village and can't find her way back through the fields or someone has snatched her. She's a moggy so has no monetary value, but she is so damn important to me that I cry every night I miss her so much! She is tagged but i've heard nothing so I can only assume she's not been knocked over and taken to a vet. Anyway I live in hope she will return soon :(

Right dudes....happy Friday to you all! later :)

2007-04-27T14:24:00.000Z

Woo Hoo it's the weekend!! I am so looking forward to spending time in the garden planting out my seedings and clearing weeds. Okay so i'm not looking forward to dealing with the weeds, but I have so many seedings in the greenhouse and I need to get them in the soil so they can start to really grow!

I also have some scrapping that needs to be done and I may even stop off on my way home for a shredder to gett my life in order! So much to do........

I have to share this photo of my boy, he is just the cutest little thing with such a personality. He loves to sleep under the hedge and I often find remains of his kills under there too! Right later dudes and have an awesome weekend!

Aarrgghh!!

2007-04-26T08:17:00.000Z

I have got to be the most disorganised person I know! I seem to loose things 5 minutes after putting it down and can't seem to get my life in any sort of order. I have bills and statements on every available surface in my home, my scrap area is a tip (AGAIN) hence no inspiration and I really need to get some projects done! Last night I wasted so much time looking for my South African passport that I knew couldn't be far.....and I desperatly need as I am getting my paperwork together to apply for British citizenship.....only to find it in my radly bag that I was using when we went to the registry office in mid March. Now why the hell didn't I put it back in the passport folder where these things should be kept, ALWAYS!!!!

Anyway.........last week I managed to clear a garbage bag of clutter from my bedroom cupboard so I will continue with that and hopefully make some headway and I need to buy a shredder to get rid of all the old bills and statements and continue to shred them monthly, keeping just a few months worth.

I want to plan my time better so I can fit all the things I want and need to do into an evening, sometimes all I get done is washing, shower and dinner, when I really wanted to also spend time in the garden, do a little bit of crafting and maybe watch some TV....the time just seems to fly.

So rant and moan over, here are a few pics I took when I had all the family over for the wedding........Chloe, Nina, mom, Danni and aunty Lin....some of the beautiful woman in my life! (don't forget to click on the pics for a bigger view!)

And now for something

2007-04-23T09:34:00.000Z

completely different!

Thanks to the great instructions posted on Cathy Zs blog I made these cute little Easter bags for all the girls this year. They were well received and apparently Jessica has a problem putting hers down, lol, which is just too cute! If you haven't tried felting yet, you must! So much fun! For these bags I used Rowan little big wool and Cathys pattern, then popped them in a hot wash for 2 hours, shaped them and either put them on top of the radiator or on the line to dry. And VIOLA! :D

Not done much scrapping lately :( just can't get my space organised so have no mojo and in the warm weather I would rather be in the garden tending my flowers than in doors. mmmm although I do have a project deadline so I best get to it!

And other news.......our redundancy now looks to be happening at long last, we are so relieved that we've got an answer and can now start planning for the future. The take over will happen mid to late May so we should get our notice soon after that and hopefully be out of here mid to late June, after working our notice, which is a bit poop but hey. I have been looking at jobs closer to home and there seems to be loads so that's good news. Now I just need to adjust my cv acording to what type of work I want to do, and I think I need to do something a little different for a change, maybe even some study and really branch out!

Our veggie patch is taking shape and we have loads growing and this coming weekend I will sew some more seeds so we have a rotation of produce with things like radish, carrots and lettuce. Last year Stu did really well with potatoes and onions, so we had all season. I have also volunteered to open my garden for Open Gardens in July so I am furiously growing and planting flowers and trying to tidy up the flower beds and work out what are weeds and what aren't! lol, not an easy task I tell you. It's a challenge and will make a good LO so i'm looking forward to it!

Right well, later dudes hope you all have a good day!

and life, at last, returns

2007-04-11T13:18:00.000Z

to some sort of normality........ I have felt like I have been on a rollercoaster for the past two weeks, what with all the visitors and the wedding, life has been hectic.

So I finished work on Friday the 23rd and had a last minute rush around before the visitors started to arrive. Danni came up on the Saturday and we went to Hitchin to buy fabric for the table overlays. I new what I wanted but couldn't find it in the shop I knew had it, which was so frustrating! So we settled for something else and as we went to the counter to ask for it to be cut, I spotted the right fabric in a corner of the shop that we somehow managed to walk right past without seeing anything! Ho hum.....

Armed with the fabric we headed for home and spent the afternoon mooching about and doing nothing much, which was really not good as I had Stus dad and his wife arriving early Sunday morning. Danni and I had planned a little girls night of drinking but that didn't really pan out either so it was not a very productive day. Sunday started bright and early with a trip to Heathrow and then John, Brendalene and the girls came around for tea and cake and we had a day of catching up with the gossip from Cape Town and some hair raising stories about how badly the country is slipping into a very big hole. It is such a shame as it truely is a beautiful place :(

Monday I took Mary shopping for her wedding outfit, we checked Monsoon, Per Una and then John Lewis where she found a lovely skirt, top and jacket and then we went back into clarks for shoes. All in all it was a quick shop and I was thankful as I still had to take the girls shopping for their dresses!

Which is exactly what we did Tuesday after I collected them from Heathrow at sparrowsfart (very early!). We left Callum in the hairdressers to get his hair re-bleached and went to Monsoon, where they both found the most beautiful dresses. And then it was a mad hunt for shoes, which was actually the tough bit as Chloe had a broken big toe and could barely walk so was never going to get into high shoes although she still wanted some!

I was so shocked that we managed to get the girls sorted in one day, they really where easy to shop for, and as I wanted us all in different colours and styles, there was no arguing between them about what they prefered. We found some beautiful hair pieces in JL too. At this point in the preparations, I got so excited cause I could see my ideas start to come to life.

Wednesday night we had a pamper session at the lovely new spa in Hitchin and all had pedicures, which were an absolute treat! Then we went out for a girly dinner to Zizzi, which as usual was excellent. Oh and Wednesday afternoon, I snuck out to have my nails done as I thought Friday, which was when I was originally going to have them done, was going to be too busy.

On Thursday we hit the shops once more, now there is a good reason for this but I will tell that story in another post cause it's an epic tale on it's own ;)

And then the eve of the wedding......we waited for Danni, aunty Lin and uncle George to arrive and then headed down to the hall armed with a bucket of cleaning stuff and ready to tidy, sweep and transform the hall.

Leaving everyone there, heehee, Danni and I escaped to the hairdresser and to fetch Jeanie and Laurie from Luton. It was a bit of a rush as we hit traffic on the M1 but still managed to get there just as the baggage hit the hall, so had 5 minutes to catch our breath. We then dropped them at the hotel and went for the rehersal at the hall.

Danni then spent the next hour carting people to the hotel, organising rooms and basically getting everyone settled. I in the meantime had to finish off the order of service sheets, which was actually easy as I had it all typed up so just had to print them off (and the reason I hadn't done it earlier was because I as waiting to hear if John could play the hymn), and I printed off little thank you tags to attach to the heart favours we had on the tables. And once that was done we loaded the car and went to the hotel to relax!

And relax is exactly what we did! With a few bottles of champange and hen night goodie bags Danni had made up for us, lol. We had an awesome night, laughing, joking and running about the hotel like kids. At one point I thought we were going to get into trouble for leaving bits of purple 'hair' all over the place but luckily the hotel staff had loads of other people to look after so they left us to it.

We eventually went to bed very late, and as there was a wedding going on in the hotel the music went on much longer so I had a real problem falling asleep. And of course I was awake at 6 with a stinking headache....not sure if it had anything to do with all the alcohol I consumed! So as both mom and I were awake we decided to get up and start getting cleared up and everything that was going to aunty Lins room packed away and ready. And then it was time to wake the girls and go down to breakfast although none of us could eat much, maybe nerves had something to do with it!

Mom and aunty Lin got dressed and down to the hall early so they could do last minute stuff and make sure everything was happening as it should..........and that left the hotel room free for Nina, Chloe and I to shower, make up and dress which was such fun as we are all such divas and drama queens, haha. But poor Chloe, try as she might, she just couldn't get the heels on so and had to settle for wearing pink flip flops :(

Brendalene arrived at about 10.30 to take photos then we went downstairs to take photos and wait for the car and the big drive down the road to one of the most amazing days a girl can have in her life.............her wedding!

I cannot tell a lie and say I wasn't nervous because I was, I had butterflies about seeing Stuart in his kilt waiting for me to become his wife, and I was so sure that I wanted nothing more than to become his wife and live with him forever in a marriage that was conducted before God. For us to be joined and one for the rest of our lives.

When I entered the hall, I was taken aback, my mom and aunt worked so hard making it look so beautiful and everything I had bought and planned just seemed to work together to create the perfect atmosphere and exactly what i wanted! They also ensured that the whole day ran so smoothly, I had absolutely nothing at all to worry about and all I had to do was enjoy the day. It truely was a magical day, and I loved every minute of it!

Here are two pics in the mean time and when I get around to sorting through the other thousand I have I will upload more! My dress was from Monsoon as I had no intension of paying a fortune for a dress I was only going to wear for a few hours.

Late afternoon most people started to head off except those staying at the the hotel up the road so we made our way to the house for a drink before walking down to the pub for more drinks and supper and more drinks....although Stu and I had a cunning plan and make a sneaky escape to the Redcoats hotel to have a quiet dinner for two! It was so nice to be alone at last as having a housefull was starting to take it's toll and I was so tired and my head was buzzing.

And of course it was buzzing with excitement of the day and how well it went and at being a Mrs and embarking on this new adventure.

After a good nights sleep and a lovely breakfast on Sunday morning, we made our way back to the house as we thought it would be in chaos, but it wasn't - the kids were all still asleep and mom and Andrew were clearing the last of the stuff out the hall. So we could have stayed out a bit longer!! lol.

The week and a bit after the wedding till they all went home was a bit of a blur, trying to entertain everyone and spend quality time with the girls and get them down to London to see some of the sites. And then all too soon it was time for them to go and it left a huge void and a hole in my heart, as we had such a good time and I really felt a connection to my sisters who I have not lived with for over ten years.

Right and now I am exhausted from typing, so I will leave anything else to the next post :)

Later dudes!

2007-03-26T15:01:00.000Z

goodness me life is a little hectic right now so apologies for my lack of updates!!

So 5 more sleeps!! I can't believe it is here at last..........the big day is almost upon us, and I am so excited. I have however had a rollercoaster of emotions as I miss my dad desperatly and feel so sad that he won't be with me on Saturday. Any of course my Gram who didn't even know we where going to get married when she died, she would have been so proud and I of course would have loved her to be here too!

The girls and mom arrive tomorrow so we will have a manic shopping session getting their outfits finalised, buying shoes and accessories and of course non stop chat!! I haven't seen them in 2 years, so I am super excited!! Although I have a very early start tomorrow driving down to Heathrow to get them. Callum is also having his hair done tomorrow, he is desperately in need of his roots bleached, it's grown so much and he has black roots! lol, he's such a surfer boy!

It is the most glorious day today, so sunny and warm and it is expected to be like this tomorrow too. I can't believe it was snowing this time last week! Loads of washing has been done and it's all on the line drying, woo hoo for the sunshine, lol :D

So a photo I took two weekends ago, when it was all lovely and sunny! Love the macro setting on my camera!!

Right I hear loads of voices down stairs so I best go supervise and make sure everyone has all they need!

Later dudes!

2007-03-08T15:19:00.000Z

I absolutely love this photo of my aunt! She looks so elegant and stylish, something that she has not lost all these years. The piece of lace, papers and die cut embellishments, which are Fancy Pants - Mulberry road, I bought from Joanne at Box Room Booty. Title is cut on my cricut.

Wedding plans are on the move again, thank goodness, we had some complications which thankfully we have either sorted out or are ignoring completely, lol! I droped everything off at the florist last night and confirmed sizes etc of the bridesmaids/flower girl bouquets.

I need to go look for material at the weekend to sew up overlays for the tables, that I will probably donate to the hall afterwards. I've also ordered one or two extra bits for decoration from Forever French Interiors, which is my new favourite shop!

And now it's time to pack up and go home, it may even still be light when I get there, woo hoo, bring on the SUMMER!!

Later dudes!

Boo Hoo and more LOs

2007-03-07T14:05:00.000Z

boo hoo, cause i didn't make it to the next round of MM Idol! But in a popularity contest this is unfortunalty what happens :( We, as the top 50, have discussed this at length and I don't think it has put any of us off submitting for these types of competitions in the future. It is not a reflection of our scrapping, after all we where chosen by the MM design team in the first place. BUT I must send my congratulations to the wonderful Suzanne who is through and I do hope that all the UK Scrappers will support her from here as we need to see the British talent on top!

The LO on the right is a bit tongue in cheek but one that I have been longing to create, using photos that were taken back in 1992 at the end of my final year at school. Myself and two friends went to Cape Town to stay with my mom, all we wanted to do was tan and chill after a pretty stressful year. We had such a good time, and one day we decided to get dressed up and take photos! What a laugh it was but I do wish we had thought more about the composition of the photos and of course had a digital camera!

The LO on the left is also one I have been longing to do! It's a photo of my dad, the very first one I have scrapped and it is my absolute favourite photograph of him! Last Sunday (the 4th) it was 12 years since he passed away so I thought it about time that I celebrate him rather than mourn him. And of course as a scrapper, the best way to do that was by doing a LO and having him in my album. It's a plain LO, I didn't want to take too much away from the photo which is quite busy.

Happy hump day everyone! later dudes!

2007-03-06T09:49:00.000Z

I am finally getting around to scanning and uploading the LOs I have done in the last few weeks......these photos were taken last month when we had snow. The best snow I have seen since arriving in the UK so I was pretty excited! I used Chatterbox Igloo papers which are so YUMMY! The SNOW on the house LO has scanned very bright (yikes), but it does match IRL! haha.

It's also the first time I have 'clustered' my embellishments, which was so alien, but I do like the effect. Obviously I need to practice that a bit more though.

It's 25 days to the wedding and there is just so much going wrong at the moment that it's making me mad (thankfully not with the decor, flowers, catering or outfits!), although I am super excited for the actual day. Hey so long as we have food and lots of drink who cares about the rest! I can't wait for my sister to get here, I will be shoving my camera in their faces to get lots of scrapping pics, so no doubt they'll be sick of me within a few days, lol.

Rebecca should be here the weekend before the wedding so we'll have to get her dress at the same time as Nina and Chloe which is not ideal as I had hoped she would be sorted already. But at least the two littlest are done and moms outfit arrived yesterday....it is GORGEOUS! Mom you are going to love it! Stus kilt arrived last week too, did I post about it??, and it is lovely. The tartan is fab and it is so well made! I just have to unpick the tacking that is holding the pleats together and order him all the bits that go with it.

I hve an appointment with the florist tomorrow to drop of the jugs and let her see pics of the outfits I like for the girls, although they aren't confirmed, I do have ideas ;)

Ooh and I also need to take my engagement ring in to be polished next week....I will miss not having it on but I want it to be nice and shiny for the day!

Right y'all I hope you have a fabtabulous day! Keep smiling and sending me all those positive vibes, I think they are starting to work!

later dudes!

Positive vibes

2007-03-05T14:34:00.000Z

I wonder if everyone can spare some positive vibes for me this week please. I am going from one nightmare to the other with this wedding and it seems everything I try to do goes wrong, leaving me in a right pickle! I won't elaborate cause this post will turn into a saga, but I know when it finally rights itself I will laugh :D

From 4pm today (UK time) the voting for MM idol will start up again finishing at 1am Wednesday morning. Thanks to all who voted first time round! But if I could ask you to go and cast your votes again please :) You shold be able to use the original log in details you created over at the MM Idol blog. For anyone who didn't vote or know about the competition you can catch up on all the goss in the last few posts!

My delivery of the new scenic route papers arrived on Saturday and of course I had to use it straight away! Really fab papers to work with so if you've been tempted but not sure, don't delay, pop over to papermaze and get ordering! So back to the LO, this is me in, I think, 1977 (mom can you confirm??) in my very fetching bikini! And don't you just love that bowl hair cut!! lol.

Yesterday we watched 'walk the line' which was fantastic, I really like the actor Joaquin Phoenix is turning into, and 'Nanny McFee' which is just such fun, I adore Emma Thomson and well Colin Firth is a dream boat of a man! Other than that it was a very quiet weekend.

Right i'm getting myself ready to go home, have a good evening y'all and don't forget to vote!

Yikes, poorly kitty, birthday kitty and mm idol

2007-03-01T08:52:00.000Z

Oh my goodness, today is the 1st of march which means I am getting married THIS month, woo hoo!!!! Starting to get a little nervous that it will all not work out on the day, but also very excited! I have a few appointments lined up for the next 4 weeks and have a few things to pay off too ;)

My little Flo-Flo had a visit to the vet last night as she had an oozing sore on her front left paw, it turns out she's been bitten by something and it has got infected. We are unsure of what it is as the puncture wounds are very close together but my suspicion is a spider :o Poor thing had to have an injection and has anti biotics to take twice a day :( The LO on the left is an oldie but one of my best photos of her!

And my baby kitty Josh is two today....haPPy birTHday Joshie boy, lol. He has been showered with squishy hugs and kisses this morning and had a little bowl of tuna as a treat :D

Thanks to everyone who has voted for me in the MM Idol comp...........but MM have had countless issues with their voting system and it seems one of the girls LO went under another girls name so she has no votes and the other girl has two lots :D So it has been decided that all the votes will be deleted and we'll start round 1 again on Monday the 5th. If you didn't get around to voting this week, please pop over to the MM Idol Blog to register and be ready at 4pm GMT on the 5th to cast your vote!

2007-02-27T12:43:00.000Z

voting was slightly delayed due to technical problems but it's open now! I know a few people have had issues registering as the site is a bit complicating, lol.

So click on the link in the previous post to the mm idol blog. Then on the left you will see VOTE NOW! click on it. You will be taken to a screen that shows the entries on the left and sign in boxes on the right. Click submit leaving the boxes blank. On the left should now be a registration form where you can set a username and password, once complete you will be able to vote.

I feel like i am harping on about this mm thing, but it's just so exciting and I doubt i'll get any further so i'm getting it all in while I can :D

Right I must go make some wedding phone calls..........have a good day y'all!

2007-02-26T12:19:00.000Z

well today is the day that voting goes live for mm idol. I am terribly excited to be in this stage of the competition and can't wait to see the work and interpretation of the theme that everyone has come up with. If you want to register and be part of the voting pop onto the site for details.

So I have had a few days of wedding drama, but thankfully now things are sorted and we are back on track *phew* lol. This has also resulted in a few changes to the actual day but nothing major and actually they will make the day better so that is good news. This week I have some loose ends to tie up with regards the flowers, must go in and take the jugs and also show them the direction I am going in with the bridesmaids dresses. Although having chatted to the girls, I think I know which ones we're getting.

I have chatted to the caterer re:changes that have had to be made and she is fine with it all and will use the Friday to drop off equipment and also bring the banquetting roll that i am using for the tables, must try find overlays or fabric to make some, maybe a trip to John Lewis is in order.

And on the scrapping front not much going on at the moment although I have plugged my scanner back in so must do a catch up scanning DT stuff and LOs in general that I have done.

And now I think I must get a little work done ;) later dudes!

Toot toot......

2007-02-20T20:40:00.000Z

Oh my goodness! I have made it through to the first round of MM idol along with the Fantabulous Suzanne!! Yes hun I am still shaking and so shocked but super excited even if I get no further, the actual idea of being selected from all the audition entries is just awesome!

Thanks Anam mwah!

6 weeks today...........

2007-02-17T16:26:00.001Z

I will be wed!

forum etiquette

2007-02-16T09:11:00.000Z

so do you think about what you have written before hitting the submit button??? Some people I fear do not and think it's okay to ridicule a TYPE, as some people put it, or style of LO! How rude to think that your work or how you choose to do a LO is better than others. Sometimes you need to take a look in your own gallery before dissing others! Oh and when a mod says drop it.....um maybe that's what she means ;) Thankfully I'm not the sensitive type and am walking away!

Anyway that's all I have to say on that.....as it's Friday and weekend time Woo Hoo. I have been home ill since Wednesday and I was off Tuesday too with Callum who had a viral infection....yes he shared...bless him! So did I spend my home time having a sneaky scrap....na uh, I was too ill to scrap :o can you believe that!! mmmm you probably don't but tis true, promise!

So what does the weekend hold for me, well I need to post a cj to Angela and parcel off to my mum tomorrow. Wedding stuff.........I need to look at fabric in JL to make overlays for the tables and make an appointment with the florist to confirm the bridesmaids/flowergirls bouquets which will be hard considering they don't have their outfits yet! Not sure what to do about that really, maybe I need to make a decision and just buy them, although I really wanted them to choose as they are all different....mmmmm maybe I must call them and have a chat.

Oh and last weekend I paid the deposit on both the flowers and the car!! Which is so much cuter in real life that the pic on the web!!

And I leave you with an oldie LO using nothing but BG tags (what on earth else are you supposed to do with these suckers!), and one of my fav pics of Stu working on his heli!

TTFN dudes, have a great Friday!

Yikes!!!!

2007-02-09T14:10:00.000Z

50 sleep till the big day, and I feel like I am forgetting something really important, lol! But i'm not, IYKWIM :D

So we went to meet the organist at church last Sunday and also heard the first calling of the Banns, I had the most awful feeling someone was going to jump up at the back of the church and object, I guess these are all nervous symptoms.......We're off this weekend to look at a car to take us girls to the church and Stu and I to the reception, it's a 1938 Austin Windsor and very cute!

I had a delivery of confetti last week. Have ordered 50 cones and enough petals for them and 2 baskets for them to stand in. We're going to ask Rebecca and Sarah to hand them out at the end, but I have to find a job for Jessica so she doesn't feel left out! It's very difficult, lol.

My caterer also called to confirm she had received my letter with the final menu confirmation and all was going to plan! Which is FAB!!

The quote for the flowers has arrived and it is better than I originally thought so that is also a bonus. I now just need to pop in to pay the deposit to confirm the booking.

I was hoping for a call from the jeweller today to say the rings where ready but nothing yet :( , but I guess it's only 2 weeks on Monday so i'm being a bit eagar!

I now just need to find some ushers...........

Oh it's all fun!

Right me lovelies I have got to go do a little bit of work today before I slope off home for the weekend, I have loads of yummy photos from the snow yesterday to upload but as they are on my laptop I can't do it now, lol.

Later dudes!

sneaky peak....

2007-01-26T21:57:00.000Z

Tonight I have been working on my Kraft Stop design team layouts.....and here's a little sneaky peak!

Have you seen the new Dolly Beads??? Jaq of
a string of beads fame, is making the most awesome glass beads that fit the troll bead bracelets! I was so fortunate to receive this beauty bead before they went live in exchange for the pretty elf I had on my bracelet as she was just too big and stabbed me in the wrist, and Jaq loved her!

My Just Like Snowflakes kit arived today and it is so FAB! I am dying to get it out and play but I must finish my deadline work first, so maybe Sunday, lol. Keep an eye out for kit 2, these babies sell out quick!

Right off to do a bit more before bed! Ooh and don't forget tonight is Speshal Dare night and there's lots of new faces on the team!

Oops

2007-01-25T10:26:00.000Z

Just realised it's been a while since my last post! I have every good intension of writing every day but it doesn't ever seem to work out ;)

Wedding plans have all of a sudden moved forward in leaps and bounds again.....my dress has arrived (but perhaps I posted that already), I ordered kilts and shirts yesterday for Stu and Callum, and I have finalised my menu and other catering requirements with the caterer. Just need a few answers from her before deciding if I need to hire table clothes etc.

I have seen a lovely dress for Nina in Monsoon, but not too much for Chloe, the problem is the kids dresses are too 'young' and the adult dresses are too 'old' for her. So I may have to go for a proper look in John Lewis as I think I saw some lovely things in there on my way up to the coffee shop the other day.

Mom and I where looking at M&S Per Una range yesterday while chatting on msn and she has seen an outfit she likes, so I popped in there on my way home to get it, but they only had the top :( Will check in the store down the road from work today or else i'll just order it on the internet. The advantage with Marks is you have 90 days to return unwanted goods, so if she decides, when she gets here, that it's not right, we can just take it back!

My Crocs Georgie boots came in the post yesterday and oh my goodness they are so flippin cute! I got to wear them to the bin last night, lol, but I can't wait to get them out in the mud to see what they can do! :D

LO I did ages back and uploaded but took it down to be published. It was in the readers gallery of the latest addition of SI. My gorgeous Stu!

Ooh and I got myself a new phone! Pretty little thing by the name of Nokia 6111 This site doesn't show the blue version I got, but let me tell you she is so FUNKY!

Right y'all I gotta go get some tea! Later dudes!!

2007-01-21T16:06:00.000Z

Okay so here we go! A slightly cleaner and much more workable scrap area, lol. The desk is clearer so I can at least lay out what i'm working on. My tote sits in front of me with my most used small tools, herma, and refills, scissors, pens, craft knife, rub on sticks....... to my left on the bottom shelf is patterned paper, and on the top shelf is an empty basket, my cricut cartridges and my camera. On top of the desk unit are two baskets, one with primas, the other with chipboard alphas.
The unit next to the desk is new, and it's fab! The top drawer has all my bit tools in it, dymo machine, provocraft roller stamps, 7 gypsies stamps, punches, cropodile etc etc. The middle drawer has ribbons, and lace and the bottom one holds the beginnings of my wedding stash.
One the big shelves I moved the printer and cricut up a shelf and have three baskets next to me now, one has all the alterable stuff, like coin holders, mini books etc etc all the stuff I bought ages ago to make and not done yet! The middle basket has embellishments and the one on the right is full of flowers. The bottom shelf is full of paper and cardstock.

My old plastic drawer nits are in the cupboard to my left and still need to be sorted through, no doubt there is lots to be thrown out and i'm sure I will find stash I HAD to have that i've never used **rolleyes**

And now I have a cj to finish off for posting tomorrow, so have a great Sunday evening everyone!

2007-01-20T22:06:00.000Z

lol, i really should have taken photos straight away as um, well, now i've been working on something and it's a mess again **blushes** :D Okay i'll have a mini tidy tomorrow and take photos! Sorry Debbie! lol

2007-01-18T16:22:00.000Z

This was the state of my scrap room this morning! A total mess, with nothing in it's place!!

So today i'm having a tidy, and clear out....check back for the after photos later you'll be shocked, lol!

So till later dudes!

CRE*ATE

2007-01-16T18:36:00.000Z

On Saturday I received my copy of Somerset Studio Gallery Winter 2007 magazine (see them at Box Room Booty, link on the right) and I was inspired by an altered tin made by Kim Thuleweit called 'Paris tin', page 109. Well I remembered I had a similar tin lying in my bed side table drawer and wondered if I could do something similar. And this is what I came up with.......

It's a little Christmas themed hanging ornament that I am going to give my mum so she can have me, butterfly wings and all, with her ever Christmas that we are apart! Crown is hand drawn and the wings are a stamp, but I just can't remember which one *rolleyes*
Papers are Basic Grey Fruit Cake, beads, and other embellishments i've used I have had lying around for ages, as you do! Dymo, lil Davis chipboard letter, prima flowers.....

The little frame came from a class I did about 3 years ago and it went so well with this that i'm glad I didn't use it for anything else, lol.

A little detail on the crown....I used ordinary beads glued onto the crown points with glossy accents to give it a bit of glitz!

For the bead charm I used craft wire threaded with a largish bead and which is inside the tin (to hold it on, lol), making the hole in the tin was a bit of a challenge ;) Then there are more beads and a little frame (could be making memories), and the wire is wound around itself to keep it tied and tidy. The snowflake charm is actually stuck on top of the plastic bit of the frame as it is quite thick.
It's also the first time I have used my crackle accents and it is FABBO!!
I love using playing cards on altered items so the J from Jack tied in nicely with JOY!

Thanks for looking :)

Later dudes!

2007-01-15T18:13:00.000Z

Just a quicky post to show off my gorgeous birthday gifts from Jill (at a trip down memory lane). I have truely been so spoilt!

2007-01-15T11:48:00.000Z

haPPy birTHday to me! haPPy birTHday to me! haPPy birTHday meeeee! haPPy birTHday to me!! lol!

My birthday really started on Saturday night with dinner at the Jade Palace in Stevenage old town. It's an eat as much as you like and the food is so YUMMY! It was just Stu, Callum and I, we had a good laugh and it was very chilled! Yesterday we went to the Hermit for a pub lunch with Steve and Kirsty, they gave me a gorgeous turquoise scraf from marks - delicious!

I have had been a great day so far (even though I am stuck at work!), having received a new troll bead bracelet, with a silver heart charm from Stu, well actually there is a little more to the story.......On Saturday Stu was still dithering about what to get me for my birthday and I knew he hadn't the foggiest idea where to shop for troll beads even though I have been hinting for ages, sometimes men are so slow on the uptake, lol. So I asked him how much he wanted to spend and said I would go out and get my gift and he could wrap it for me to unwrap this morning. Well he thought i was very funny! But i did go out and buy a bracelet, lock and a charm and left the bag on the lounge unit for him to wrap. He had a look at it yesterday morning and said it was very plain, so I had to explain, again, how it works with adding charms. Bless him, he rode all the way down to the jeweler in WGC to go buy me a few more beads/charms but they are closed on a Sunday, lol. So this morning in my card was the money I had spent plus an extra £40 to go buy a few more **heart** he is a sweetie!

So I called up loot this morning, and ordered the
turquoise and brown set of beads

Here is a photo of my full (well there is a bit of room for a few more beads) bracelet and I will take one of the new bracelet when the beads arrive!

Last week I ordered the launch kit from Just Like Snowflakes can't wait for it to arrive and I wish the girls every success with their new venture! It's all sold out now so you best be quick to catch next months!

Shimelle is offering a free class this Saturday to kick off 2007, so pop over to her blog to check it out! I am going to get my supplies ready tonight, just not sure where I am going to find the photos!

Later dudes!

2007-01-14T18:56:00.000Z

My photography session didn't quite happen this afternoon, mainly because it was freezing outside and I had a sudden burst of inspiration and had to create! But i'll show that tomorrow once the glue is dry ;) In the mean time though I leave you with a photo of me! Just to show off my nose stud!!

1 sleep

2007-01-14T11:03:00.000Z

till my birthday!! Feeling very good about it cause this year is going to be a big one in my life, and I hope to make lots of good changes that have been a long time in coming.

The first is to spend less time online, lol, BUT more time blogging. I sit on forums all day when I could have my note book out sketching LOs or writing ideas or even just doodling. I have loads of ideas, but just not enough time to create them or the happy space to creat them in! My scrap area is a huge mess, with piles of magazines, paper and journals half done littering the place..........I have also had enough of my storage cause at the moment everthing seems jammed in and nothing has a real place. I have seen some new storage but I just need to get to the store to buy it! My old drawers will go into the cupboard in my scrap room and be packed up with my stamping stuff and photographs.

I also need to get in alot more time with my camera.........I need to practice, practice, practice! And actually while i'm thinking about it, i'm off outside to take photos, lol.

Later dudes!!

2007-01-11T10:16:00.000Z

haPPy nEw yEAr!!!!!

Okay so i'm a bit late, sorry Marja, lol! I have been meaning to update for days but then the day passes without me getting to it.

So much going on right now in our lives right now......work is still all up in the air with the proposed take over due in April, but goodness knows what the new company are going to do with us or when they are going to get around to doing anything with us.
Callum has come over to live with us while his mom and sister sell the house in SA and move back to the UK. Life with a 13 year old is quite cool, and we're lucky that he is helpful, he's been helping me make sure all the washing gets dry this week while waiting to start school. He's also very funny and has a quick wit so it's all laughs and smiles, not sure if it'll last once we get into a school routine :O

Wedding plans are all go, and here is the step by step for Debbie ;)
I have an appointment with the florist next Wednesday (seems my lady has left and I'm not sure if she has left all my paperwork) so I need to make sure they know what I want!
Mom and I have chosen the menu, just need to run it past Stu to make sure he is happy.
I plan to measure Stu and Callum this weekend for their kilts so I can order them next week. Stu is getting the real family tartan, but because it is rare and expensive, we'll just get Callum a ready made up one till he stops growing. I am so excited that the boys will all be in kilts, it is going to look so cool.
I am still outfitless, but going to try on dresses either on Saturday or next week. I had set my mind on an outfit from Monsoon but I want to try on tradional wedding dresses just to see ;)
The two littlest girlies have their dresses and they look positively gorgeous!
There is the tiniest possiblitiy that our village church will be open again in time for the wedding, which is so FAB, as it means I will be able to walk to the church in my wellies, and it is a one minute walk from the village hall!
Our parish has also found a permanent vicar starting in March so we have someone to officiate the ceremony that Stus dad is doing for us.
Um, that's it for now, will update when I have more!

Ooh it's home time! Later dudes!

2006-12-24T18:27:00.000Z

Wishing all my friends and family all over the world a very Merry Christmas!! I hope you have a wonderful day and what ever you do, stay safe. Love you all!!

Countdowns!

2006-12-21T09:06:00.000Z

4 sleeps till Christmas and this year it is going to be a very quiet one at our house, just Stu and I, for the first time in our relationship we will be spending the day alone! We are still going to cook a proper Christmas dinner, but doing a chicken and perhaps a ham too, with parsnips, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, yorkshire puds and gravy! Yum Yum!! We'll be stocking up on coal and mulled wine and enjoying a day spent watching TV and relaxing. I can't wait!!

And another countdown......100 sleeps till the wedding! Yikes, where has the time gone?? lol! We have some decisions to make about the order of service and the final menu in January and I am hoping to get to the florist tomorrow to confirm exactly what flowers we want at the reception. I need to speak to the ladies in the church about flowers too....oh golly so much to do.

Work finishes at 4 today and i am away till next Wednesday. Looking forward to the break as this month has been pretty hectic. Both at work and getting all the wedding invites done and sent! I have a hair cut booked tomorrow and afterwards I am meeting Sue and Lyzzy for hot chocolate and cake!! Can't wait to have a good gossip and chat!

Right now I have to get back to my knitting or else i'll never finish in time for Christmas! have a good day y'all!

2006-12-19T09:15:00.000Z

Oh boy, where has the week gone??

Thank goodness the madness of the last two weeks is over and life can get back to normal. I felt physically and emotion beat this last weekend, and am only now feeling like i'm getting the feeling back in my legs.

We have a company holiday on Friday so i'll enjoy a lovely long weekend! So I will use the day to do last minute things for me, like getting my hair cut and buying a winter coat. Thankfully my Christmas shopping is already done and wrapped sitting under the tree!!

We woke up this morning to temperatures of -3 degrees and lots of thick frost, we had a nightmare getting the ice of the windscreen of Stus car and as we were driving down the A1 it cracked from a tiny chip!! I was very worried it was going to explode in my face and I hope he manages to get it fixed sometime today.

Tonight is works Christmas party and we are going for a meal and drinks, well the drinking will continue late into the night without me, lol. Stu is collecting me from the station so I can at least have a few glasses of wine ;)

Right, and now I think I need a cup of tea!! Have a good day y'all

Nearly there.....

2006-12-13T18:55:00.000Z

today thankfully was not as hectic as it has been so i actually managed to have some down time and get around to a little web surfing, not that I found anything exciting, lol!!

My whinge for today is why the heck can't people say a simple thank you?? it beggars belief really.

Which reminds me....Anam I STILL have two rolls of DST sitting on my desk for you! Please email me and let me know what addy to send them to and I promise to get it done asap, oh and i'll pop a few bars of galaxy in there for you too!

How passionate are you about blossoms?? Well if you are anything like me you love them! so get yourself over to Scrapfairies and feast your eyes on the gorgeous fairy flowers! They are selling like hot cakes so be quick!

Did I mention I am doing Shimelles Christmas journal?? Well I am but I am also terribly behind :( although not with the journaling thankfully (I am doing that every day in my moleskine journal) but with the actual pages. I hope to have a chance to do a blitz this weekend and get myself up to date! We'll see ;)

Right now I need to go decide if I am going for a cycle (a static one in the garage) or sit and knit, mmmmmmm......and I leave you with an old image but one that reminds me of a glorious summer on this cold windy winters evening.

Later dudes!

aarrgghh!!

2006-12-12T08:50:00.000Z

Why are people so blooming rude?? This morning a guy walks into our office (he actully works for us in head office but is on a course this week), walks right past me at reception, so I turn and say 'hi you need to sign in please'.

Now just before I go on the reason they need to sign in each morning is......if there is a fire in the building we grab the sign in sheets and evacuate, and when we all meet up outside I can make sure that everyone signed in is outside, and if someone is missing I can alert the fire brigade.

So anyway this idiot has his earphones in so can't hear me and just keeps going. I have no issues with people listening to personal stereos while on the train (at a reasonable volume), while walking (although i think it is dangerous not to be able to hear cars etc) but when you walk into an office just out of courtesy and manners you take them out and say good morning! So now just to be a cow I am tempted to mark him as not hear so head office think he didn't attend every day of his course Mwhahahahahahah.

blimmin' hectic

2006-12-11T14:25:00.000Z

Last week was a nightmare at work, too busy to touch down!! And my laptop has been playing silly buggers with the internet for ages so not much access in the evenings. Thought I had sorted it on Saturday when I did the hundred and one updates that have been popping up all over the place, but by Sunday is was slow again.......

Anyway this week is just as bad so not sure when i'll be able to update.....in the mean time I leave you with the knowledge that my wedding invites are finally done and ready to go in the post this afternoon, all cacooned in the envie with our Christmas cards. Woo Hoo!! No backing out now ;) My Christmas journal is lagging behind :( and I have a cj to do and get out by today :O sorry guys it will go tomorrow now! Oh and i'm picking up another cj from Sue tonight!

Laters dudes, and have a great week!!!!

Spoilt!!

2006-12-01T09:10:00.000Z

It's the 1st of December and the day we start opening our advent presents! I received my box on Wednesday and last night I opened it up to make sure I knew where parcel number 1 was to make it easy to find and open at 6.15 this morning, lol. There was no way I was waiting till we got home tonight! I got a pack of twist ties, something I have been dying to try for so long but never bought, so hugest thanks secret santa!!

I have also received a few parcels from mom this week, an AMM scrappers hand bag, :) and this lush kit from Wild Limes Studio a SA based scrappbook kit company. Of course mom ordered us both the delux kit which is R450 and of course postage to send it to me was very expensive but it is truely well worth it as I have enough to complete a whole album!

Isn't the box it comes in divine!!

I have tried to lay everything out so you can see what's in there! There is a better picture on the web site though. The journal on the left hand side of the box is from
Go West Studios IT IS AMAZING!! The front cover is acrylic which is etched with a paisley pattern, so unusual, but i'm scared to do anything with it in case I do and get a better use idea the next day, lol!

I can't wait for tomorrow what I can take everything out and have a proper look at all the wonderful goodies!

And now I must go do some work! It is super busy at work next week so we have lots to do in preparation today! Have a good day y'all!!

got a few minutes

2006-11-29T16:10:00.000Z

before I head for home so thought i would use the time to blog!

My weekend was good, spent most of it indoors cause it was quite chilly and miserable! Thunder, lightning and hail for some of it :o

I am taking part in the advent swap on the pad and really not had a good time doing it :( not that I don't love buying for people and of course having a little something to open everyday but as it's my first ever advent swap I really didn't know what to buy and if the person would like it. Anyway, my parcels (had to make up two boxes cause of sizes etc) have gone, one yesterday and one today both special delivery. I do hope my swapee likes it! And my parcel arrived today which is very exciting.

I've had some catching up to do on CJs and have more to do this weekend to send off on Monday and then i'm up to date till the next wave comes in, i'm only in two but tend to have too many at once to complete, and then I panic, lol.

And I have wedding invites to make this weekend. Stu is at bike training both Saturday and Sunday so i'll be scrapping up a storm :D

Right I must go or i'll miss my train. I have some photos to post but my laptop is playing the fool with the internet so I have to see how to get them onto my work pc to post from here......

ciao!

A week to recover

2006-11-24T21:47:00.000Z

from a totally awesome weekend at Barnett Hill! I had the best time, although a fellow gutter girl wasn't there which was sad :( but I know she was there in spirit. We missed you Marja!! So here are a couple of pics of the beautiful building, we went out a little late on Sunday so by the time we had walked around the garden the light was fading fast but I still mananged to get some cool photos to scrap.
My room was next to the shop, and I had some thoughts of burrowing my way through the wall to have a midnight rummage through the ribbons, but by the time I stumbled up to my room it was far too late for anything but sleep!!
Zenia needed a now photo of herself so I got to play photographer! She is so photogenic and I think she was happy with the results :)
I also took some of Debbie who is also a great model and very photogenic, makes it easy to take good photos!

A huge thanks must go out to Debbie and Tim of ScrapMagic for yet another successful ScrapManic and to Al and Justine for their patience and kindness opening up the shop at midnight for those essential scrapping needs! My classes were fab, thanks to Debbie J, Jools and Al (links on RHS - Daisy and Jools!)

As always it was so lovely to see old friends and make new ones. Janice was my hero of the weekend, helping me design and plan my wedding invites and organising the ribbon which arrived today - you are a special lady, thanks hun :wub:

And finally tonight I am speshal! I have had the honour, again, of being a Speshal girl. I am using the speshal dares as prompts for BOM pages, my thoughts and feelings as I am now at this moment in time. I really am loving the journey! This weeks theme is 'things for which we are thankful', and I am thankful for two very special people in my life, my gram and grumps. Through it all, they were the one thing that was always constant in my life, always there for me and always the same. I love and miss them so much.

IT'S TODAY

2006-11-17T11:15:00.000Z

Woo hoo, it's the start of ScrapManic 6 and I am all packed and ready to go!! Only problem is if I leave now i'll be way to early so I am pacing like a caged tiger till 12, lol. Okay I can't sit still to type so i'm going back to my pacing.

Have a good weekend y'all!!

2006-11-13T10:38:00.000Z

I fear I have been slacking again!!! My work pcs have gremlins so my internet time is severly limited if I even manage to get logged onto a machine. Today I am logged into a colleagues desktop with another colleagues log in details :O Not great security, but needs must!

I have the most awesome weekend coming up, yes it is almost here...............SCRAPMANIC 6!!!!!!!!!!!!! On Friday I will be heading off around lunch time to arrive early afternoon for a weekend of hugs, shopping, great company and fab food, oh yes and loads of scrapping!! The classes all look amazing this year, just a pity I can't do them all.

Stu bought himself a motor bike last Thursday, poor thing can't ride it yet cause he's not done the licence but the bike is bought and we are now collecting the biking gear. We have helmets (very nice- matt black space age jobs!), and he has boots and a jacket. But still needs gloves and water proof trousers to go over his jeans. I am a bit nervous about him being out on a bike, nothing to do with his ability, more to do with the idiots on the road who have no regard at all for bikers. I can't stop him doing it so I will just pray for his safety.

Yesterday we had the best visitors - Stus aunt and uncle Koekie and Roland, well they aren't really his aunt and uncle, Koekie and his mom were cousins but I guess it's close enough, lol. Koekie is the most wonderful person you can ever meet, she is just kindness and love rolled into one beautiful lady. I am so lucky to have her in my life and wish she was closer to me so I could see her every day. They are on their way to live in Canada, with their daughter Debbie (who is nuts!) her husband Stuart and their children. So I guess they are a little closer which is a bonus. Their son Adrian lives here with his wife Vanessa so it made sense for them to stop over and have a little visit before continuing their trip. I am hoping that between us all we can arrange their flights for them to come over for the wedding, it will be all the more special if they're here. (reading back there are far too may theirs, thems and theys in that paragraph but I just can't re-type it all to get rid of them, lol, and another one)

I still have a few bits to finish off for the advent market on Saturday, I also need to find a cloth to go on the table and plan how it is going to be set out. Everything needs to be priced so I guess I need to think about what to charge!!

Okay I think that's me up to date with what's going on in my life, no picture today cause as I said I am on anothers pc!

Have a good day and week y'all. Thanks for looking

It's been a

2006-11-07T14:45:00.000Z

shocking day! Very horrible and I even had tears, luckily to myself far away from the crowds :(

But i'm better now and counting the minutes till I can go home and give my Stu a great big hug and kiss cause I love him so much and he always makes me feel like a princess!!

I had the most amazing day on Friday, it was just FAB and I loved having the time with Jo and Danni. Brought back some lovely childhood memories of us shopping together at Sandton City in Joburg! I met them at Harrods and we spent time looking in the Christmas shop, where I bought some bright funky baubles! and the bag section where we spied some lovely Kipling bags! Before spending too much money we decided that maybe some early lunch was in order, not a bad idea considering none of us had had breakfast yet! Settling on pizza we went down to the pizzeria on the ground floor. They do make YUMMY pizzas down there! We resisted the ice cream and Krispy Kremes for dessert!

After our lunch we went back up to the Christmas shop to look at the price of a fairy that I lurve but she was just too expensive and I couldn't justify the money, although if I had been on my own I probably would have bought it anyway!

So instead of a fairy I decided I had to have a new Kipling bag :D It's deliciously bright pink and very similar to one of my others but a bit bigger. And um actually I had two! the other is a tottie little cutie bag in the same bright pink with spotty buttons. I did forget to photograph my purchases but I will try remember to take a pic of the bags tonight!

After Harrods we jumped on a bus to High Street Kensington were we did an underwear shop in M&S. Man I just couldn't leave England and M&S, lol!! And had a browse around Boots were I bought some perfume and a mascara, it's the only make up I wear, when I remember, and mine was all dry and causing lumps!

After a coffee break we stopped into Argos for some towels for Danni and then got the bus to Hammersmith, which took an age and was so frustrating we eventually jumped off and walked the rest of the way. We met up with Tania, haven't seen her for yonks so it was good to have a quick catch up and of course she's not seen Jo for about 6 or 7 years.

I bought some plain black shoes in Evans for work, all my work shoes are falling apart so they've all gone to shoe heaven!

And at this point we were quite shopped out! Ready to drop! It took forever to get a cab back to the Ship in Mortlake where we met up with Stu, had a bite to eat and said bye to Jo. It truely was great to see her, she is like a new person and I love that she has taken control of her life and her weight, (she's lost 30 kgs in 3 months and looks terrific)!! She's got a bit to go but I think the battle is won as her head is right and that is the hardest bit.

Our weekend was good, we shopped (more!) on Saturday, I needed a coat and some work trousers, came away with work trousers and two new tops, but no coat! Stu needed more fireworks and I needed more wool to knit some scarves for Christmas. I got a pattern book online last week so I also tried to get wool to knit a jumper but my shop didn't have what I wanted so I had to order yesterday online.

Saturday night we went to Steve and Kirsty for jacket potatoes with sausages and beans and fireworks. They had a few and Stu added to the pile with his 54 sky rockets :O I know, it's obscene!! We had a great night and only got to bed at 2am, which is the latest we have been out in years!

Sunday we had to go to ASDA for a few bits, and landed up buying loads of DVDs so on Sunday afternoon I knitted and we watched madagascar and Home On The Range, neither of which we had seen before.

And all too soon it was time for bed and the end of another weekend!

One of my fav LOs done last year for the block competition on UKS. The photo is also one of my favourites and I felt quite intrusive taking it of a special moment between Stu and his niece.

Right and after that epic tale the minutes have certainly marched on and it's nearly time to go home. So I wish you all a pleasant evening and a good week!!

Shop till you drop!!

2006-11-03T08:28:00.000Z

I am off to Harrods and High Street Kensington with my cousins today! I can't wait as it is almost a year since i have done the London shopping thing, and I do love it!! Got my shopping list which is growing by the second and a definate stop is the Christmas Shop in Harrods, gotta get a little something for the tree. If I get myself organised I will take a piccy of my bags before I unpack and an after shot with all my goodies!!

I finished this LO last night. It's a photo of my gram and me on the beach in Cape Town, drinking orange juice with maybe a drop of champagne! I haven't dated the LO cause I can't quite work out how old I was, hopefully mom will be able to help with that one.

Papers are crate carnival (YUMMY), scenic route chipboard alphas both from Box room booty, flowers are primas, aunty sarahs bloomers(sarah cards) and angel kisses from bumblebee crafts, and the large white flower is from Jillybeans. And of course lots of ink!

I am so tempted to buy another pack of this carnival paper cause it is just so joyfull but i've done 3 LOs with it already and I still have a couple of sheets of paper left so don't want to go all overkill, mmmmmmm will keep thinking about that one.

So ends another week, and what a boring week it has been! I have been walking about the office trying to find things to do that will take more than 5 minutes and actually stimulate the brain cells a bit. I must get my CV updated next week!!

Right i'm off in a bit so i'll sign off now, have a great day and thanks for looking y'all!!

2006-11-01T08:52:00.000Z

Crikey Wednesday already, how time flies!! 16 sleeps till ScrapManic, I cannot wait any longer, lol. Stu has very kindly offered to do an advent market for me the same weekend as SM, cause I managed to double book myself, and I have been frantically making him stuff to sell. Using up all the tins, clipboards and blank cards I had stored up in my scrap cupboard. He has 15 packs of cards, 2 large and about 9 small clipboards, a picture frame (altered/painted and decorated), and a seletion of decorated tins. And there are a few other bits half made that will be ready by then too!

Two LOs of holidays I had with my grandparents at a seaside hotel north of Durban.

They lived in Joburg and used to drive down to Durban, pick me up and drive up the coast to the hotel, even though it was a short trip (for me!) I felt like I was a million miles away from home. Gram would lay on a sun lounger tanning and drinking tea, I would join her in the afternoons for a milkshake, lol. And Grumps and I would walk along the beach picking up shells and looking for treasure in the rock pools, we did find an old rusty watch once! We would also occasionally use Grams silk scarves to fish for tiny fish in the rock pools :D

The weather has suddenly turned very cold! It was 4 degrees last night and this morning I had ice on the windscreen of the car. The temp during the day is predicted at between 10 and 12 for the rest of the week going into the weekend. I may even get to wear my new furry boots that I have had for two months and not had the cold weather to wear yet!

Right well I guess I had better find some work to do today considering I have done very little so far this week, lol.

Oh and I also got a yummy parcel from Jo at Box Room Booty (link on the right!) yesterday. Lots of Scenic Route chipboard alphas, crate paper and a wee charm. If you've not yet shopped with Jo, GO NOW!!

2006-10-30T12:29:00.000Z

We got Danni all moved into her new house on Saturday. It looks lovely with all her new things but I fear she may need a proper removals van when she moves again. She has gone from a tiny box room into a one bed flat. So now owns loads of stuff, including a vacuum cleaner and iron!

This LO was done as part of 'The Block' comp on UKS last year. My challenge was to use my partners fav technique and I was partnered up with Kirsty (KEW) who's fav technique is hand cutting. I hand cut the title and the dingbat in the corner. The photo was taken last April at Clan William which is in Orange country, north of Cape Town.

And it's another week in the quietest office in London. I have lots of work news but as it has taken me all day to write this much (in between playing HEXIC!) that it may take weeks to catch you all up, lol.

Under 3 weeks till ScrapManic, I am sooooooo excited!!

2006-10-27T12:06:00.000Z

Another week has gone by since I last updated my blog....bad bad blogger. I really am trying but the days seem to just fly by!

UKS are having a gallery and old thread clear out so I have copied my old LOs onto my work pc so I can upload them here, will pop one on every day next week which will make me log on and blog!!

So here is the first, this is a photo of mum on her honeymoon, many many moons ago. I love this photo cause she looks so happy and care free, and so full of life. Papers are wild asparagus which were my favourites for a while, actually i still love them, just not used them in ages.

3 weeks today I will be on my way down to ScrapManic VI!! Actually I will almost be there, ready to check into my room at 2. Unpack the car and wait for all my wonderful friends to arrive so we can start the best weekend ever! I can't wait to see old friends, and by old, I mean - known for years, lol, and to meet and make new ones.

Danni is moving into her new flat tomorrow, and we're going down to help her with the van and of course to take her tv, dvd player, and micro that she bought while visiting last weekend. I can't belive she is leaving flat sharing to live on her own!! Such a grown up thing to do, way to go chicken, you'll love it!

And now I gotta go to some work :(

haPPy frIDay y'all and have a fab weekend!!

2006-10-20T08:50:00.000Z

Scrapfairies DT is live!! I'm not posting sneaky peaks cause you can see the real thing no, lol. My first submissions so go easy on me. Sam sent us the most delicious kit, Chatterbox papers (my fav), a blank tag book, yummy ribbons, slide mounts and gorgeous fairy flowers, these babies rock! I made up the tag book with photos of summer 2006, a card and a LO using my banner photo. I don't like photos of myself cause of the double chins and bulges but I seem to have been able to look past all that with this photo, maybe cause Anam made it look so lovely in my banner.

I totally forgot to tag people when I did my tag, but I know this has done it's rounds SO if you read this blog and haven't yet been tagged - consider yourself tagged now, lol. And send me a link so I can read up about your wierdness. Oh and Sam tagged me again so I will have a think and try come up with another 5 wierd things about myself.

I am going to get a little contravercial here, but I just can't keep my feelings to myself on this topic! Madonna and child........I have always defended Madonna although I know she stood on alot of toes and heads, on her climb up the ladder of success, she used people to get to the top, and hey it's okay cause in the pop world it really is the only way to get there. But this adoption thing is just way out of line! She bought a baby, a baby that has a parent, okay granted he can't afford to look after him, but there are hundreds of real orphans out there, babies who have no one, that will never one day go back to the parent/s. And now she wants another one, a girl, from the same village. Get a grip Madge. You don't buy babies! The adoption process takes years and there are hundreds of people on the register who don't have a spare mil to pay for the pleasure of having their own child. It's now a fashion statement that Britney has apparently stated she also wants an African baby. I have lost all respect for Madonna and will not support her music. (Although I hardly think it will make a difference in her life or to her bank balance.

I wish all those people who genuinely want to adopt all the luck and success in the world.

Lots of 'famous' bloggers leaving the blogging world, Rhonna Farrer and Cathy Z, and a few leaving the public world of scrapping, which is very sad but they must have their reasons and no doubt the change will be good for them.

This is a round about way has me thinking about why I blog, what to put on my blog and how often I update it. I love blogging and getting my thoughts out, but I just wish I could get to it everyday and at home on my laptop so I can add photos and LOs, but more often than not I blog at work, like now, where I don't have access to that sort of thing. The main reason for the blog is so my family and friends overseas can keep up with my life, scrapping and otherwise, but I do love that other scrappy people read it too so I do try keep up. I guess for the 'famous' scrap bloggers it's much more pressure to keep up and give something back to your fans. Oh well I wish them all well and hope they find what they are looking for away from the lime light.

And hey hey it's Friday!! I think there is a promise of rain the whole weekend, which will be good for the garden and my remaining summer flowers. Not so good for my huge washing pile *insert rolleye blinkie here*. Stu is out for bit of it so it will have to be a scrappy weekend for me!

Have a good weekend y'll!

creating memories

I've moved!!!!!

That Friday feeling!

Hey hey it's Friday!!!

I've been tagged :)

This is going to be BIG!!

Finding the balance

Bunting for Christmas

How organised is your Christmas??

Awareness is key!!

It's nearly October :O

so tired!!

Wouldn't it be nice........

catching up :)

Todays shopping trip

Much excitement :)

Welcome to the world.....

the {cloud} is lifting!

An apple a day.....

Sun{shine} and happiness

SPS and the weather.

Hey, hey it's Friday!!

Furniture at last

Friend{S}

Plant..

can, can't and don't know if I want to.

It's the weekend!!

Lock and bounty

Chop

find it in your space......

The mother ship has landed.....

taGGed

Open gardens 08 07 07

Last day

Overwhelmed

And we're live!!!!!

IT'S......

Oh my goodness....

3 sleeps!!

7 Sleeps!!

8 SLEEPS!!

Something.......

Today is a sad day.....

Oh dear

Aarrgghh!!

And now for something

and life, at last, returns

Boo Hoo and more LOs

Positive vibes

Yikes, poorly kitty, birthday kitty and mm idol

Toot toot......

6 weeks today...........

forum etiquette

Yikes!!!!

sneaky peak....

Oops

C*R*E*A*T*E

1 sleep

Countdowns!

Nearly there.....

aarrgghh!!

blimmin' hectic

Spoilt!!

got a few minutes

A week to recover

IT'S TODAY

It's been a

Shop till you drop!!

CRE*ATE