Part 1: The girls

I promised you an update on all our comings and goings during 2010, however, it's been harder to put together than I anticipated! Firstly, I'm so out of practise with this whole blogging thing that the words dont seem to flow very well. Secondly, I wanted to include some photo's but then realised that, along with blogging, organising my photo's isn't one of my forté's so I felt the need to sort and organise first! (Procrastination, however, IS one of my strong points!) However, being the numpty that I am I somehow managed to delete almost my whole Picture folder!! So I have spent ages using various free programmes off the web to restore all those memories that I lost... and then because the programme just dumped it all in once place I've had to go through and sort it all out again! Methinks I should just have posted the update and ignored the mess on my hard-drive!

Anyway, now that photo's have been recovered and restored and reorganised and re-sorted I shall finally do this blogging thing again! Thanks for all your patience!!

So in January 2010 - which is about the last time I mentioned either of them in a blog post - Herself was 4½ years old and still at nursery. She was very much looking forward to her birthday in July and starting 'big school' in August although she was still rather enjoying nursery!

The Little One was only 16 months old and had only just gotten the hang of walking!

In May the girls enjoyed having Grandma and Grandad around for a visit from Down South. Especially as Grandad is always up for a bit of this:

In June Herself performed in the nursery 'end of year' play and did really well! Never the shy, retiring type she was very pleased to be given a 'solo' part!

As the weather improved we all spent more time out in the garden, which Himself and my Little Bro had childproofed for the girls.

We also went on holiday where Herself started learning to ride the bicycle ....

..... and so did the Little One!

In July, my pre-schooler turned 5!!

.... and so she officially became old enough for 'big school' which she duly started in August. There was quite a bit of excitement from Herself on the big day (and a fair few tears from myself!)...

Meanwhile the Little One had progressed to running everywhere and talking ten-to-the-dozen. She turned 2 in September!

In October we had a lovely (if somewhat chilly!) day picking apples in the back garden.

With all the snow bringing so much disruption in November, we ended up staying at home a lot! We tried building a snowman but the Little One didn't enjoy the experience!!

Gosh, I can't believe what a fun year we've had with our two growing girls! It has been fun, frantic and very special. I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

Finally, I leave you with this image. The Little One has been brushing up on her computer skills so she can take over the blogging from her mother. Perhaps this way you might get more regular updates!!

Thanks for your patience and thanks for dropping by! Later this week I shall be updating about my weight loss progress. It will be significantly LESS photo-heavy I promise!!

Snowy Birthday to me!

Oh my gosh, I'm 34!! When did that happen?

Almost my whole life I was a summer baby and was used to having my birthday around the pool or on camping holidays with my parents. However, since I moved to the UK I've had to get used to wrapping up warm on my birthday. This year even more so as we are completely snowed in! It's the first time I've ever had snow ON my birthday. It's odd, weird and very very strange. You would think that I would be used to it after living in the UK for the past 14 years, however it still seems slightly wrong.

In some ways its great as my hubby has decided to stay home due to all the trains being cancelled, but in others it's not so good. All my birthday cards and presents that have been sent by family and friends are all stuck at the Post Office because the Postie hasn't been able to deliver in quite a few days now!

Anyway, this is my car today.... despite the fact that it got cleared of snow yesterday!!

Now I'm wondering whether I should try to clear the car again and attempt to go out and do something special for the day or whether I would be best just snuggling down with a duvet and a cup of hot chocolate for the day. Any ideas??

I shall let you know what we decided in my next post! Thanks for dropping by!

Anthea

PS. Can you tell that my writing skills are a little rusty? It's been ages since I last did any sort of post and I'm feeling a little out of practice! 

Another Year Older!

Happy Birthday to me, 

Happy Birthday to meeeeee...

Happy Birthday dear meee-eeee.

Happy Birthdyay to me!

OK, so I have officially lost the plot! Still I'm happy today, because its my birthday. I have had a few presents, my girls are behaving well and in general life is good! I haven't had a particularly eventful day but that is good too. Sometimes eventful days are things nightmares are made of!! 

This morning I was presented with a digital slow cooker. Lovely! I haven't had a slow cooker since the last one packed up. I used to love doing roasts in it. Lamb, in particular, used to be done to perfection in it. But since the last one went phizz I haven't had the money to replace it. Hubby, however, has taken care of that with this new one. It's a biggun' too with a whopping 5ltr capacity! Which means I should be able to get a good sized joint in there! Also, I'm hoping that this one is better for stews and casseroles too. The last one used to leave a really funny taste in the casserole. Not pleasant! I really hope this one doesn't do that. I know that a slow cooker wouldn't be everyone's idea of a good birthday present, but I'm dead chuffed!

Another pressie from hubby was another coat. "But you just got a new one!" I hear you say. Well yes, I did. But when I was in the shop trying on coats I really couldn't choose! In the end I asked hubby to choose for me as they were exactly the same price, both fitted well, both looked good and both would go with my current wardrobe. And then this morning I found the other one nicely wrapped up! Now I can have choice of coats... which is my idea of heaven!

The girl's gave me this book! Perfect! I love Simon's cat... he's hysterically funny and I see so many of my previous cat's character traits and behaviours depicted in cartoon format. Reading it this morning I had to laugh out load as the pictures showed him trying to fool birds into thinking that his mouth was a bird box, attacking his owners bare legs, getting the dog into trouble whilst having a perfectly innocent look on his face and demanding food with menaces... to name but a few! It makes me seriously consider getting a cat again. If you want to have a good laugh then check out  Simon's Cat on the web! Thanks girls for getting me a fabulously funny read. 

And now, I'm going to tootle back to my crafting space to continue making my Christmas cards. Or maybe I'll treat myself and do some scrapbooking instead!!

And so it begins!

The Christmas madness, that is! Its slightly frustrating as I'm trying to keep the focus on the various birthdays happening in our family over the next week or so, but I know that everyone else doesn't give a fig about that and just wants to concentrate on that extremely commercialised, de-Christianised, overindulgent, who-will-be-the-number-1-pop-jingle, waiting-for-that-episode-of-Dr.-Who-and-snoring-through-the-Queen's-speech, festival. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm not all "Bah! Humbug!" or anything. I just like to get the birthday's done with before I go dashing headlong into this period of madness. At least that's what I always resolve to do. The reality is usually far different! I get past my birthday on the 2nd, and my sister's birthday on the 4th, but then by the time I get to my Mom's birthday on the 8th I'm itching to get the Christmas tree up and start being festive. Come the 9th of December I'm usually running around like an overexcited child!! Then by the time the 20th arrives I've found that my whole festive period has turned into an exhausting fiasco which involves me doing my ingredients shopping at 1 in the morning at the local 24hr Tesco, posting my cards two days *after* the Royal Mail posting deadline and hoping that they get there in time, spending Christmas Eve wrapping millions of presents, eating far too much between Christmas and New Years and then collapsing in a tearful, quivering heap on the 2nd of January. At which point I write a long list of New Year's resolutions that I know I will completely fail to do anything about before January is even over! Does this sound familiar to anyone? Please tell me you do the same thing and that it's not just me?!

In an effort to reclaim my Christmas sanity this year I have decided to take part in Shimelle's 'Journal Your Christmas' class. I signed up for it 2 years ago, and then again last year - but ended up not doing anything at all and letting my Christmas simply degenerate into the fiasco as usual. However, this year I am determined to remain calm and serene and to enjoy it to the full with Shimelle's help. Obviously being a crafting sort of person, Shimelle tries to encourage us to produce a wonderful album full of beautifully scrapbooked memories of this season. However, I am going to keep this simple. I intend to blog about it most days, and will occasionally produce a layout when I have the time. I am not going to end up running around like a demented person. I am going to enjoy my Christmas. I hereby give everyone notice that I am reclaiming the festive spirit, and all the serenity that is *supposed* to go with it!

So, here is my declaration of intent:

"Starting today, December first, I will keep a Christmas journal. In it, I will write something every day to reflect on the holidays of my past, enjoy the holidays of the present and dream about the holidays of the future. To some, this would be a stack of papers and trivial scribbles, but not to me. I am taking back my Christmas, I am letting it be something I relish and most importantly I am giving at least fifteen minutes to myself, every day, no matter how crazy this season becomes. This Christmas I will make something with my own hands, my own words and my own memories."

Later, I might add a picture or a finished layout to this post. But right now I'm going to go finish making my Christmas cards so that I can actually post them early this year! Well, earlier than normal anyway. May everyone have a very Merry Christmas, a relaxing festive season and many happy memories. As for me, I'm looking forward to my birthday tomorrow!!

Its my burfday!

No, not MINE.... herself! Everywhere we went she kept telling people that it was her burfday. And she was quite right! I cant believe that she is now 3. Where did that time go?

We had a fab time yesterday. She opened a few presents in the morning and then we headed off to play at "Space Planet" which is officially known as Adventure Planet and is the largest play centre in Scotland... and its only 5 minutes from my parents front door by car! Much fun was had there - even when a little boy kept knocking her over. After lunch we went shopping and then for a bit of a drive. At home again we played with the new magic painting set (Crayola) until himself came home... at which point the fun really began! All the presents that had been hiding all day came out to be opened. Much excitement, ripping of paper and  giggling later herself was the happiest 3 year old on the planet! Included in the presents were several sets of Playmobil room settings, an easel and a sandpit. Of course all the presents had to be unpacked and put together right there and then!

Many thanks to everybody for the lovely presents! Especially to Grandma & Grandad, Ouma & Oupa, Aunty Liz et al, Great Granny and various family friends and neighbours! It now falls to myself to send out Thank You cards! It might take a while under current circumstances!

At least I'm going to have plenty of pictures to scrap. Including these ones which were taken by Ouma... and a whole load on my own camera too!

Happy Birthday.... to me!

Yup, another year gone. I can't believe how fast it's come round again! I have been concentrating so much on making Christmas cards and getting presents sorted that it's kind of come as a surprise really. Himself and Herself have given me some lovely presents including a pair of shoes (some closed ones to replace the Birkenstock sandals now that the weather has turned) and some really lovely beads. I knew of two of them as I chose them... they are Amaia and Merrie, but this morning I was suprised with two more. The 'Root Chakra' bead from Herself and 'Lilac Edge' from Himself. They're both stunning! So a big thank you! I also received some money from various members of the family.

So far, my birthday isn't quite panning out the way it was intended, but I'll not depress you too much with that. I'll post later on to tell you that news, when I've figured out how to word it and deal with the emotions it evokes. Thanks to everyone who has wished me a Happy Birthday so far and to all the family for their generous gifts!

Onwards and Upwards

A mere 5 days after the accident himself has gone back to work.  I wasn't entirely sure that it was a good idea, however he doesn't do sitting around at home very well.  So he trundled off to work this morning in the hire car - a Mitsubishi Colt semi-automatic - which he has nicknamed 'the Dolt'.  He doesn't much like semi-automatic driving, but at least its a set of wheels!

So, in the spirit of trying to get back to normal, I can give you a belated update on events prior to the accident on Wednesday...

On Friday (23rd) I finally took the plunge after much umming and ahhing and had my hair cut.  It had been about half-way down my back but was really getting me frustrated and wasn't in such good condition, so decided to go to the hairdresser and do something about it.  Had it cut to an 'inverted bob' style with some lovely streaks of red in it too.  I think it looks great!  Although the picture that the hairdresser took at the salon doesn't really do it any justice. 

Also, the hairdresser bloke was determined to blow dry it straight.  Why can't hairdressers just accept that I have curly hair? Along with the fairly busy life, a toddler who's into everything and pure laziness I really can't be doing with a style that needs hours of straightening and styling.  The result is that my hair on the day it was cut looked like a strange half-arsed attempt at straight and slightly wavy when anyone who knows me will tell you that it's very very curly!  It looks much better now as I just wash it and leave it to curl in its own way.  Still I like the style and how light it feels.  Much easier to look after too!

On Saturday (24th) I went with my friends Sarah and Tammy (who are both cardmakers) to the Great Northern Papercraft Extravenganza at the Yorkshire Events Centre in Harrogate.  Wow.  It wasn't quite as big as I had imagined, but still took me all day to walk around and make my purchases.  There was so much fabby stuff that I was really struggling to decide what to spend my £50 on.  Wisely, I only took cash with me and left my cards very much in the care of himself as I couldn't really afford to spend too much.  I'm still supposed to be paying back about £200's worth of overspend from January!  I did manage to get a punch and pair of scissors (both of which I've been trying to get for months), a lovely selection of papers, a glue nozzle applicator for fine work and the really yummy pack of Basic Grey 'Scarlett's Letter' paper.

Some other random bits and bobs also managed to fall into my shopping bags too and eventually walked out with only a penny change.  Not bad for a day out and I'm definitely going again.  The next one is in September sometime, so I'm going to have to start saving up now I reckon!!

Wednesday (28th) was also my little brother's birthday.  I can't believe he's 22 now. Makes me feel old...although my Mum would probably laugh to hear me say that.  I have to say "Happy Birthday" to little-bro as I didn't get a chance to do so on Wednesday (what with the accident and all).  Sorry that we mucked up your big day mate... it wasn't intentional! LOL.  Have a great year and enjoy being 22!

Long time no see

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted! Much has happened, but on the other hand nothing particularly notable has happened either! Confused? Me too!

It was himself's birthday on the 19th. I keep telling him he's doing ok for a 110 year old! LOL... that doesn't impress him much.  He got loads of money which he put towards buying himself a lovely Canon 300D DSLR camera. He still has enough left over to buy himself a few accessories to go with it too.  I guess it means tho' that I will inherit his little compact that he got as a birthday present a few years back... although I'm looking enviously at the DSLR.  Perhaps I can convince him to let me borrow it?  Maybe if I get myself on a course? Hmmmm... I don't think he's going to let me touch it for a while never mind letting me take it out of his sight to a course where I might try to do wierd stuff to it!  Saying that, the poor man has yet to find the time to properly read the instruction manual. Believe me, it's a bit more complicated than our point-and-shoot compact!  Mind you, there is an upside to it being HIS camera.... it means that now I might be able to get IN the photo rather than being the one taking the photo.  Maybe I can actually start on the scrapping item known as a BOM? (A Book of Me for all you confused non-scrapping people out there)  Up to now my problem has always been that I'm the one behind the camera rather than infront of it.  Finding photo's of me for a BOM has been a problem so far!  Hopefully not anymore!

Must say thanks to all the friends and family who contributed to the camera, I'm sure we'll all enjoy the benefits even if some of us aren't allowed to use it!

On another topic entirely, there is a little discussion going on on the UKS forum at the moment about whether or not people would sell framed Layouts.  It's got me thinking... do you think people would pay to have their treasured photo's nicely scrapped and then framed to hang on the wall? Would they pay for a whole album to be done?  Would you? How much would you pay to have your memories preserved? Let me know your thoughts as this sounds like an ideal way to spend my time and maybe get a bit of pin money in.  Not sure it would be profitable enough to do as a 'career' tho'.

I'm off now methinks. I have to wake herself up or else we'll get no sleep tonight! I promise I won't leave it so long next time between postings.  I have a new LO that I want to show you anyway, but need to get a better photo of it. Perhaps himself will let me use his flashy new camera to take it?? Or perhaps not!

Happy Birthday!... and moving along...

This weekend himself, myself and herself (Erin) went to an 80th Birthday 'do'. The whole extended family was there.  The birthday 'boy' was DH's grandma's hubby. Confused yet?  The whole thing was organised and hosted by his daughter and was really well done.  If I get chance I'll download the photo's off the camera later.

Herself decided not to have a nap in the car on the way and was really tired before we even got there. However, having her two cousins to run around with was so much fun that it kept her going until we went home.  It was rather lovely to watch as she and David (3) ran around like mad things giggling their heads off... Daniel (1) was in a pushchair at first and was desperate to get on the floor and join in the fun too. Once he'd been let out he crawled around at high speed to try keep up with the other two.  I have never seen any baby crawl that fast before!  Much giggling was done and, although there were some tears (mostly due to overtiredness), the kids really enjoyed themselves. I'm looking forward to Easter and Christmas this year as Daniel should be walking by then and then we'll have 3 kids tearing around after each other.... it should be fun, but I might have to invest in a good pair of earplugs!

Other news is that my parents might be moving house. My father has decided to go back into Methodist Ministry (it's a long story) and put an application in for a posting somewhere out of Sheffield. They all feel they need a break from Sheffield and Yorkshire and were mentally preparing for a move somewhere down south.  It came as a shock that when the phonecall came the invitation was to a church in ... Glasgow! Well, just outside of it.  My parents travelled up to have a look see and meet the folk this weekend and have come back with great reports.  I think they are really looking forward to this move (especially as they love Scotland!).  I think they need to get  confirmation of the invitation and then have to officially accept, but I don't think there is any doubt about how pleased they are with this move.  They will be waiting for a phonecall today to make it all official, so hopefully the church in Glasgow won't be changing their mind!