Lazy Sunday

Having a relaxed Sunday. The ironing is done, the Body 'Pumped', the house is clean (ish). We are as ready for the coming week as we will ever be.

I found out on Friday that our hospital Trust will no longer be running the Holiday Club on which so many of us working parents rely. It's in an old building due for demolition, and there is no provision whatsoever in our shiny new Hospital for a new location.Bummer.

I have e:mailed the Deputy Director of HR, and my Boss has suggested a few names to follow on with if we get no response. I am not expecting much, but do not intend to go without a fight! The children, were naturally very disappointed at the news, as they love going to Holiday Club. For her part, Molly did suggest that they could come to work, and sit under my desk and 'do colouring' every day.

Good idea.

Except that that's where I hide when things get tense!!!!

I'll leave you (because after nine attempts, Blogger has let me upload the thing) with a piccy of a page that I made at our Crop yesterday.

Later, peeps!!

Sooo cute

Remember 'Love Hearts' sweets? If you go to

http://www.acme.com/heartmaker/

you can make your own 'virtual Love Hearts'. Great fun!

Edited to say: only a week later, and Blogger has let me add the picture!

Life imitating...

art, maybe?

Phil certainly understands and appreciates my need to scrap. I'm not sure if he sees it as my creative release, a way of unlocking all the ideas that float around my head (sometimes I even manage to catch one of them), or just a means to capture moments of our life, and preserve them for when the girls get older. Or, of course (and frankly this is a far more plausible theory), it could just be that it keeps me out of his kitchen, and stops me from getting under his feet when he is trying out his latest culinary masterpiece.

Anyway, my latest kit from The Scrap-Room arrived this week, amid much excitement as usual. These kits really are fantastic value, and have completely transformed the way I shop for things. We were admiring the papers and cardstock and embellishments. I was sniffing the coffee (glazed chocolate doughnut, yummylicious), and discussing the rather lovely colour combinations.

'That's it!!', he cried. 'The answer'.

'erm, to what?', ventured Yours Truly, worried that he might have decided that I have spent too much on stash (as if?!).

'The colour combination we've been looking for!'.

He then pointed out that the lime green and muted orange combination of a certain set of papers, was indeed that answer to the question that has been completely flummoxing the pair of us for nearly two years. Oh, we have talked it over, even tried a few ideas out: but never actually decided. We have ummed and aahed. We have experimented. We have despaired. But now, my friends, we have the answer. Resolution, at long last.

It does, however, present us with one more question. Do you think Kelly Pannacci from K&Co would be:
a/ flattered
b/ insulted, or
c/ just think we're completely and utterly bonkers

to hear that the inspiration for the planned new decor in our downstairs loo was directly taken from a set of her 12x12 scrapbook papers?

Answers on a postcard to the usual address....

Isn't it funny...

...how the simplest thing can totally transform your day?

As part of my training, I did a Fizzpotzz party yesterday for the daughter of a neighbour, and her friends. It went quite well, and they were all absolutely thrilled to bits with the lovely goodies that they made. Mum is so keen to tell everyone that she has taken a stack of leaflets to hand out at both the school that her girls attend, and the school she works in.

Granted, they had a free party, but from my point of view, they were doing ME a favour by allowing me to practise on them: so you can imagine my face when the daughter turned up on the doorstep this afternoon with these roses. They are absolutely beautiful!!

Now, I'm very much a glass-half-full sort of girl: you know, 'look on the bright side' and all that: but even I have days that are less than sunny! Today was definitely one of those days. A mundane Monday, cold, windy, kids fighting like two cats: you get the picture?

But there, in an instant, my day was transformed.

Happy Monday everyone!!!

Who are you?

I am stuck at home with a poorly child today, as I was yesterday. (Don't feel too sorry for her: she's eating me out of house and home!). Not being at work gives me more time to think (v. dangerous), and I was wondering...

Who reads my Blog?

When I started, I never expected anyone to actually want to read it: I certainly don't have any particularly outstanding skills, or an overly adventurous life, and there are only so many times I can recount hilarious stories about chocolate doughnuts or embarassing encounters with the new Headteacher at school.

I know of course about my crafty friends, who leave lovely comments to reassure me that I am not waffling to myself all of the time: if you get the chance, click on their names to go to their Blogs: there is some amazing stuff to see.

But who else comes to my little corner of cyberspace? I am curious. The stats say that people regularly come and see what I have been up to, and I do sometimes wonder who they are and why, and where they live, and what they do.

If you are one of those people (and thank you!), please consider leaving me a comment: that way I can return the favour, and visit your little corner of the www too!

Right, enough serious thinky-type-stuff: off to do some sticking!!!!

..and now for something completely different

...had a bit of fun scrapping these pics last night. The T-Shirt was given to us by a friend, and couldn't be more apt!

The journalling is on a tag concealed behind the main picture, and should be perfect to embarrass her hugely when she is 18: it tells her how hard we are finding parenting her at the moment, as she learns to assert herself (!): but that we love her anyway (mostly, LOL).

Just had to get this idea onto paper: it's been floating around in my brain (all own it's ownsome, ha ha!) for weeks. Definitely one of those 'I don't care if the page works or not I just have to get the darn thing made' ideas!

I had taken loads of 'test shots' when my new camera arrived, and just wanted to record them somehow. The 'CD's are actually those plastic spacers you get in a pack on blank DVDs, roughed up a little with some acrylic paint. The pic on the left is yours truly, on the television, so to speak: actually this is probably the closest I am likely to get to being on the telly, so make the most of it!!

Rain stops play!

Yeuch! Horrible rain. As predicted, the helicopter trip has been cancelled due to this revolting rain. Phil is going to call them again later to try and set another date. I am pleased: there are, I'm sure, companies who would just take passengers up regardless, in order to get the vouchers cashed in. Their philosophy was very much: 'you've paid so much for this, we'd prefer if it you really had a trip to remember'. I like that! Helicopter Services at Booker Airfield, give yourselves a Gold Star for customer service!

So, trapped in the (tidy) house, Christmas decorations safely stashed away in the loft: what's a girl to do? Why scrap, of course! Here's one I completed last night. When I say 'completed', I reserve the right to change it: have come down this morning, and not completely convinced that it is finished: may have to leave it a couple of days and come back to it.

Have a good day all!

Looking forward.......

As usual, I am filled with optimism at this time of year: we have so much to look forward to: already we have a holiday booked, Phil's imminent helicopter trip, and of course my long-awaited scrapping Retreat in April.

Now that I am a scrapper of course, I hope to record these events on paper: and am hoping that I can be a little more current, as well as trying to catch up with the previous 35 years worth of photos!

Looking back at 2006, there are many events recorded in my scrapbook, days of laughter, fun, sunshine and family moments. What I almost completely failed to do was to record the less than happy times: the death of my beloved Nana in the spring, and losing a baby in early pregnancy in the autumn. Whilst I would still find it difficult to complete pages about these events, and certainly would not be publishing them for all to see, I definitely feel that there should be a lot more balance in my scrapbooking.

I have never kept a diary as such: this Blog is probably the closest I shall ever get to that: but what I have promised myself is to try and make a 2-page 'month-in-review', every month. The idea was in 'Creating Keepsakes' magazine, and it struck me as a cracking way of scrapping all those 'odd' photos that don't necessarily deserve a page all to themselves. My total progress so far has been to download the calendar templates from the internet: but then I did only make the decision to undertake this project at coffee time this morning!

All I need to do now is make some decisions on papers etc. but I think I will take each month as it comes, and see what takes my fancy at the time. Off now for a bit of paper-shuffling.