Living that life

Right now I am...

2012-01-29T20:52:00.001Z

Reading... The Careful Use of Compliments, Alexander McCall Smith

Watching... Criminal Minds season 5 on dvd

Wearing... Boyfriend jeans & black sweater with silver printed birds from Next, yeay for non-maternity clothes!

Thinking... how blessed I've been today

Eating... leftover Spanish chicken, chorizo & potato traybake from Nigella's Kitchen, made into savoury pancakes

Scrapping... Steve & Sophie's wedding photos from July, using a sketch from '4x6 photo love' (free class by Shimelle Laine at twopeasinabucket.com)

Planning... our meals for next week & a shopping list for tomorrow

Loving... seeing my beautiful baby girl smile at my fantastic toddler son

That's all folks!

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We apologise for the interruption to usual programming...

2012-01-19T15:57:00.000Z

And that's the reason I've been absent for a while now. She's now 10 weeks old and completely lovely. Isaac adores her and we're really enjoying being a family of 4!

pretty paper party catch-up

2011-11-06T17:32:00.000Z

I started this post last week but realised it was little pointless given I couldn't post any pictures at the time. So we took a pretty paper party break for a few days and now I have a few prompts to catch up on!

Prompt 4 - Dots and stripes

This photo was taken back in March at my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. It's the first family photo we took after finding out I was pregnant with our second child, so there are 4 of us present, even if the youngest is only 5 weeks gestation!

The background cardstock is dotted swiss by Bazzill Basics Paper and the patterned papers are from Echo Park's Walk in the Park range. I love these papers and the elements stickers included in the collection pack. And how fab are those glittery pink Thickers?!

Prompt 5 - Rough around the edges

Not a great photo, I'm afraid the light here isn't great. I have a bunch of these photos of Isaac exploring the grass in our garden but haven't scrapped them yet. Similarly, I have the collection pack for this paper range (Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety, if you were wondering) and I've only made 1 layout with it. This class is turning out great for using things up! I also used a tag and some felt border that I've had for ages. And that little button embellie was being saved for 'something special'. Like my boy isn't something special! (Besides, I have plans to buy more and I can't do that if I still have the originals, right?!)

The challenge was to do a bit of distressing, not my usual style but not completely out of my comfort zone. I sprayed the cardstock with Studio Calico Mister Huey Dark Calico mist, distressed the edges of the papers and inked the edge of the photo matt, to help it stand out a bit more. I also used a felt border for a different texture. Incidentally, this is a scraplift of a layout by a friend of mine and it's based on prompt 1 - paper strips (I think!)

Prompt 6 - Print it out!

The printable elephants on this card were a friday freebie from Little Musings ages ago and aren't available anymore. I coloured them with Promarkers (grown-up felt-tips!) and used just a scrap of some American Crafts paper to matt it. I'm not a hydrid convert, I'm afraid; I can't be doing with all the colouring-in or cutting-out. I also don't think it looks quite the same as proper printed papers and embellishments - unless the scrapper is really talented, you can tell what was printed out at home. That said, I have the rest of a sheet of elephants and another of birthday dinosaurs that I would use to make cards or on the occasional layout. And it's always good to try new techniques!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about prompt 1 but I haven't given that card yet (and I know the recipient reads my blog) so you'll have to wait a little longer!!

document may 2011

2011-11-04T12:58:00.000Z

I can't believe how quickly these 4 pages came together. I started work on them yesterday while the boy napped, did about 45 minutes yesterday evening while he was in the bath and finished them this morning during naptime. (I love 2 hour morning naps!) So these are my pages for May 2011. That was the month Isaac and all his friends started to turn 1 so that's taken up quite a lot of room. I was back at work and so not taking as many pictures as usual or doing as many interesting things either.

May - Playground, Echo Park and Boy's Toys (embellishment kit), Make and Create Shop. Birthday parties for Isaac's friends, 2 of which were cancelled for illness, Isaac learned to climb, things with no photos, playing in the park, 12 week scan for baby, Isaac's birthday party & Isaac's birthday. Focus: Isaac turns one.

I love this paper range and I only once came across the problem of loving both sides of a piece of paper! I used an embellishment kit I bought a little while ago, that's been sitting waiting for the right 'special project' to use it on. In the spirit of pretty paper party, I just opened it up, tipped it out and used about half of it! I love the little gingham flower and the felt car embellie the most! Planning another order from this shop soon as their Christmas stuff looks like it will be fab!

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my last couple of posts - it's always great to know people are looking and liking!

document 2011

2011-11-01T11:37:00.001Z

I'm taking a small break from pretty paper party to show you a project I've been working on since the beginning of the year. The first thing you'll notice is that I am waaaaay behind!

Last year, Shimelle Laine launched a project called Document 2010 with UKScrappers, an online scrapbooking community. The basic idea was to create an album documenting the big and little things that happen over the course of a year. At the time, I thought I didn't have time to produce a set of layouts every month so I didn't join in. And I spent an entire year becoming more and more jealous of all the beautiful projects I saw appearing, such as this one from Laura and this from Jen.

So when 2011 rolled around, I decided to make the time. The basic set up is to take lots of photos (which I do anyway) and collect little bits and pieces from happenings throughout the month (which I also do anyway, I just didn't have anything to do with them until now!). Then each month in the album follows the same format;

An envelope page for storing all those bits and bobs;
12 mini-pages in divided page protectors, documenting all the things we've been up to;
A focus page, highlighting something important from the month.

I've just finished April so I figure this is a good time to do a summary post. For the most part, I've tried to stay within a paper range to make my life easier, though I do pull embellishments and things from the rest of my stash too. Incidentally, I have the photos, the bits & bobs and the events for the rest of the months to date. All I need to do is find the time to document them!

January - A Walk In The Park, Echo Park. A weekend away in Wales, lots of new things for Isaac (teeth, carseat & shoes), eating out with friends and mummy & baby groups. Focus: new year's resolutions.

February - Joyride, Cosmo Cricket. A lot of lasts (last mummies & babies, eating out with Cathy and Kat, days at work for Andy), revising for exams, starting the Marriage Course at church, visitng my parents, a new niece (Amelie May), more teeth. Focus: my birthday.

March - Girl Friday, Cosmo Cricket. Full-time daddying, back to work, visiting Calke Abbey with my parents, passing MRCPCH 1b, learning new skills (climbing the stairs), my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary, a positive pregnancy test and the loss of my father-in-law. Focus: the highs and lows we've had through the month.

April - Earth Love, Cosmo Cricket. Easter (eating chocolate, messily!), eating outside in the sunshine, learning to stand, my first mother's day, 2 lovely weddings, visiting my parents and the return of morning sickness! Focus: a sunny weekend with friends, including a BBQ.

I've just realised that this is a bit of a Cosmo love-in! These are quite old ranges with lots of scraps that I wanted to use up. I might have to find another manufacturer for May though!

pretty paper party prompts #2 & #3

2011-10-30T14:06:00.000Z

I'm blogging a bit out of order cos I don't have pictures for the first prompt and I sort of combined prompts 2 and 3.

Prompt 3 was a scary one. Take 10-12 sheets of patterned paper, pick a few that you want to use the whole sheet as a background then cut the rest into boxes. No plan, no photos chosen, just cut them into different sized and shaped boxes. Then put them onto background paper or cardstock. Then choose the photos. Ummm.... pretty sure that usually works the other way around! It's a speedy way of scrapping that uses up some of that stash and is particularly handy to scrap photos without much story to tell. So it wins for me on both counts.

So here is my selection of paper. I chose 2 sheets of paper from the same range that I liked but never knew what to do with before and then picked co-ordinating papers to match the colour scheme of blue, purple, green and dark brown. I couldn't find enough whole sheets in my random sheets bags so I used some different-sized scraps as well. I think I ended up with 12-15 different patterns and 3 sheets of co-ordinating cardstock in the end.

Then I picked 3 sheets for background and cut the rest up into shapes. I needed to find a few more sheets of cardstock because I ended up with the start of 10 layouts! And here they are:

And then I picked some photos - I limited myself to December 2010 and January 2011, I really do have an overwhelming number of prints to scrap!

So far I've finished 8 of these layouts. The 2 that are left are photos I love but need a bit more journalling so I need a bit more time for them.

I love love love these!

pretty paper party

2011-10-30T10:00:00.002Z

So I signed up to a new scrapbooking class. Nothing new there, I have about half a dozen registrations (all with Shimelle as it happens) that I've never completed, but will do one day, honest!! The thing I love about Shimelle's classes is that, while the class prompts are sent out over a specified time, you have everlasting access to the forum and materials even once the class has technically ended. So maybe I actually will end up finishing those classes one day.... Maybe not, but a girl can dream!

This particular class looks at the huge stash of patterned paper that most scrapbookers (and I am no exception) own and says "how are you going to use that investment of time and money to make something beautiful that you love?" Perfect for me, especially since my mother commented about my hoarding tendencies when they last visited. I didn't try to explain that every single little bit of stash was necessary and would get used eventually because.... frankly it isn't true! Like most people I've made distinctly dodgy purchasing decisions in the past and I too am guilty of the number one scrapbooking crime....

Not using a piece of paper or an item in my stash because I love it and it's too pretty and this project isn't special enough and it doesn't exactly fit the colour scheme and I'm not sure how to make it work and.... and.... and....

So I need some help using up all that stuff and documenting the things that I want to remember and reminisce about with my children and grandchildren in years to come. Because the other thing I have bucketloads of is photos. Now I'm a mother, I seem to have an excuse for having a camera permanently attached to my hand and I have piles of beautiful, exciting or cute photos that I want to display for others (or just me) to see.

So that's the manifesto. Thanks for reading.

BTW, I'm slightly behind in blogging - this class started 2 weeks ago - but you can still sign up, just click the picture at the top of this post!!

It's been a busy 6 months....

2011-10-13T15:23:00.000+01:00

...so I've neglected to keep you up-to-date on a lot of things. Month-by-month round-up? Why, what an excellent idea!

March 2011

I passed MRCPCH part 1b, on the 4th attempt, to great sighs of relief.
We found out we were expecting our second child.
My father-in-law, David, died of mesothelioma. Despite a gradual deterioration over the last few months, in the end, it was quick and he died at home with his wife. We celebrated his life 10 days later with a fantastically well-attended memorial - an indication of how loved and valued he was in his community.
We celebrated my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary in Plymouth.
I returned to work full-time and Andy gave up his job to be a full-time Dad.

April 2011

We celebrated the weddings of Helen & Anthony and Nat & Ollie.
Sarah & James came to stay and we had a BBQ with friends. Pretty much the best of the weather for the summer!

May 2011

We got our first glimpse of the new baby - all good so far!
We celebrated first birthdays with our Mummies and Babies.
Isaac turned 1 year and we had his first birthday party. I even baked and iced the cake!
We visited Mum & Dad for Isaac's actual birthday.

June 2011

Isaac learned to walk; as with most things, he took his time about it having been walking with support since March.
We celebrated more first birthdays with more parties!
We had our second, more detailed scan and discovered we're going to have a little girl. Here's hoping she's smaller than her brother!

July 2011

We celebrated Sophie & Steve's wedding at Sandhurst Military Academy; our first day out without Isaac, who we left with my parents.

August 2011

I attended Laura's hen-do in London; a good excuse to stay with Mum & Dad.
More midwife appointments and a diabetes test (just in case that was the reason Isaac was such a big baby).

September 2011

We celebrated Andy's eldest brother and his wife's 25th wedding anniversary - the first big family celebration since we lost David.
I sat the MRPCH part 2 written exam in London (it's never-ending!).
I started my maternity leave.

October 2011

Ben & Laura got married on a beautfiul day and jetted off to Hawaii for their honeymoon!
Andy got a new job working in Coventry; it's a six-month temporary contract initially but may well continue beyond that.
We bought a second car to allow for commuting.
We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary with a family trip to Twycross Zoo & a M&S 'takeaway' for two.

All of which takes us up to date. I've got 4 weeks left til my due-date and I'm already bored of day-time tv so hopefully the next update won't be so long coming!

Post-exam chillout zone

2011-02-09T12:01:00.000Z

I'm cruising at the moment - having been studying every spare minute since Christmas, the exam is over and I have some spare time on my hands. I also have a list a yard long of things to do around the house so I won't be short of things to do.

Isaac's growing and changing so quickly these days. I'm trying to capture everyday and remember the little things that get forgotten so quickly. I was looking back at baby photos yesterday and I can't really remember the time before he could sit up, let alone those first few weeks when he slept most of the time.

Highlights of our life recently (from the top): are

Twinkling Stars - a parent and child group based at Holy Trinity Church, Leicester. We're meeting lots of new friends and having a lovely couple of hours playing and chatting each week. They make good coffee too!
Mummy and Baby Group took a little break over Christmas but we're back meeting up again, despite one of the mummies going back to work. Not sure how we're going to mange as the rest of us go back over the next month. Hopefully we'll still manage to meet up. It's great seeing all the babies growing and being able to chat, drink coffee and eat loads of cake!

Isaac now has 4 teeth. He sprouted his first the day before he turned 7 months and the last 2 came together in the last week of January. That's 4 teeth in 4 weeks! And he's been so good about them - lots of chewing but otherwise you wouldn't know he's teething.

As he learns to crawl more and has discovered doorways, Isaac is gradually exploring the house. And he's found the cat food...
And the best thing yet? For the last week he's slept through most nights! From 8pm til 6.30am, we've slept through or only gotten up once for a quick feed. Bliss!!

This is one of my favourite photos ever! We did an underwater photo shoot through our swimming teacher back in December. The photographer was fantastic - he does out of the water shoots too. Check out his website here. He got 4 shots of Isaac in the end, 2 of which are amazing and we ordered a 7x5 of this one. I love the bubbles coming out of his mouth!

So it turns out...

2011-01-20T15:25:00.002Z

...I'm a minimalist, who knew! The people who's scrapbook layouts I admire most are definitely not. I love the way they cluster embellishments & layer paper. But this week I've managed to scrap 2 layouts and they're both quite simple. Both baby-themed, but you'd guess that!

I took this picture while out to lunch with a couple of friends, one of whom lives many miles away so we don't get to see her often. Isaac was just about stable sitting up and so I plonked him on the table while we decided what to order. Out came the camera to capture the moment and my little magpie of a son decided he'd quite like it, thank you very much Mummy. He loves anything with a screen, cameras, phones, tv, you name it. So I have quite a few out-of-focus shots of him lunging for the camera. I love this one because he's wearing the jumper that I made for him and you can see his expression beautifully, despite the poor focus!

I'm not sure the second one is finished yet but I love it already! I decided a while ago to scrap Isaac's names and why we gave them to him. It seemed to fit well with pictures of his paternal grandfather, David Longden Ingram. My father-in-law is in the late stages of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer, and we're very aware how little time we have left with him. He adores his 7th (!!) grandchild and I want to capture that for Isaac to look back on when he's older. I still have all four of my grandparents living so I can't imagine not knowing them. I really want Isaac to know how much his Grandpa loved him. I have a wonderful photo of David holding Isaac when he was only a couple of days old and gazing on him with love. I'm sure it will end up on a LO soon!!

All this page needs now is a bit more journalling, I think. Some LOs come together so quickly and get popped straight in an album. Others have to sit for a while so I can make sure they're finished or work out what needs adding to make them just right. So this has been sitting on a stand in my craft room waiting. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish it this week!

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On the importance of not feeling guilt

2010-12-13T20:08:00.001Z

JYC has taken a bit of a back seat in recent days. I have a poorly boy & am feeling quite tired and not very Christmas-y. As Shimelle says at the start of every class, there are no deadlines & no detentions with this class. It's just a guide to help you achieve what you want to achieve and take back the magic & wonder of Christmas. So JYC updates will resume when life has calmed down a little. Ta-ta for now!

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JYC 2010

2010-12-09T15:49:00.004Z

As promised, here are the sights of Christmas round here.

JYC 2010

2010-12-09T11:52:00.001Z

Day 8: Do you see what I see?

Usually a photo-heavy entry today - will upload from my laptop when I get a chance.

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JYC 2010

2010-12-07T19:42:00.001Z

Day 7: Still to do...

When I feel like life is getting on top of me, I make lists. To-do lists, to-buy lists, to-make lists, guest lists, idea lists, gift lists, the lists go on and on. Writing things down, making things concrete and visible usually makes me realise it is possible after all. It allows my brain to rest and the fear of forgetting something vital passes. This year's list isn't as long as I'd thought it was but things get added as I remember them. Each task is broken down into steps and the joy of ticking things off is remarkable. And no, you can't see the lists yet. That would spoil the surprise!

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JYC 2010

2010-12-06T21:01:00.001Z

Day 6: A tale of 2 Christmasses

Before you, I woke at 7 to see my presents. This year, I'll wake at 3 then want to sleep in.
Before you, there were two stockings at our fireplace. This year, there are three, with room left for more.
Before you, I wanted our Christmas alone, just us two. This year, I want to share it, and you, with our families.
Before you, I worked over Christmas or New Year, or both. This year, I'll be at home to celebrate, all day & all night.
Before you, Christmas was a holiday, time to relax. This year, it will be all go, all the time.
Before you, I asked for books and pretty paper and luxury goodies. This year, I'm asking for frying pans and graters and practical things (although there's some pretty paper coming too, courtesy of your Dad).
Before you, Christmas was becoming a let-down, stressful & pressured. This year, I'm determined to make it fun and carefree, just for you.

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JYC 2010

2010-12-05T20:27:00.001Z

Day 5: Counting down

As far back as I can remember, the countdown to Christmas started with the first Sunday of advent & the lighting of the first candle in the advent wreath. Different churches, different wreathes but the same ritual. Our present church doesn't have a lot of ritual or an advent wreath but we're reminded that Christmas is coming by the celebrations planned.

Back home we had calendars &, in later years, a candle. We were never able to keep up with the burning and it used to be a race to catch-up & have just a stump left on Christmas eve.

Our countdown? This year it's making arrangements and trying to finish all the presents in time. No calendar or candle for me this year. December seems to have crept up on us all of a sudden & the new year will arrive before we know it!

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JYC 2010

2010-12-04T20:26:00.001Z

Day 4: Perfect Christmas

So I spent the day singing S Club 7 at Isaac! My perfect Christmas revolves around the people in my life. Naturally I'd spend it with Andy & Isaac but there are other people there too.

Since I had Isaac, I appreciate my mum more. It started when she spent 5 days with us right after he was born. No, actually it started before that. The morning after I had him, I wanted my mum. Going home these days is fantastic; I love talking with my parents, seeing them with Isaac & just chilling out. (My Dad's great too, just for the record.)

My sister & her husband live in Texas. They usually visit at Christmas but won't be making it home this year for the first time. I miss them a lot.

And then there's my new family (also known as Andy's family). There's dozens of them, literally they don't all fit in 1 house. Plus
I have cousins and grandparents and plenty of friends, near & far.

It's definitely the people that do it for me.

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JYC 2010

2010-12-03T20:16:00.001Z

Day 3: Christmas cards

I'm not buying any cards this year. I have so many left over from the last couple of years that most people will be getting one of them. Personal cards are a big tradition in my family, though not in Andy's, so hopefully I'll be able to make those special ones. All part of our own austerity measures, though it's also fairly environmentally-friendly too.

When we first moved here, we were touched to receive cards from all our 'circle neighbours' and it's a tradition that's continued. You'd think I'd know who lives in which house by now...

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Journal Your Christmas Day 2

2010-12-02T20:06:00.001Z

Don't go looking for day 1, it didn't quite get written down!

JYC has begun again for another year. Last year's album is finished... apart from all the writing. Oh well, it's a new year, new start. I really want to remember Isaac's first Christmas but I'm conscious of my lack of time. So a photo a day & a blogpost while I feed every evening seems doable. Of course, yesterday didn't get blogged but that's another story!

Day 1: Manifesto

Remember the details.
Be gentle.
Lay a pretty table.
Light a candle or three.
Recapture the magic & excitement.
Be grateful & gracious.
Have confidence.
Remember the reason.

Day 2: Winter weather

We have snow, like much of the country. Took Isaac out to look at some today, he wasn't keen. Brushed it off my hand!

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Isaac's Dedication

2010-11-23T14:24:00.001Z

We spent this weekend with family and friends celebrating Isaac's dedication. It was important to Andy and I to publicly recognise that Isaac is a gift, entrusted to us by God to raise in faith. We had a fantastic service at Living Rock Church and then went back home to have a meal together. I didn't get many photos of the day as I was too busy with other things but the ones I've seen are great. I've set up an online album where people can upload their photos of the day.

Message me for the password.

Decisions, decisions...

2010-10-17T17:28:00.000+01:00

We're trying to make some important decisions at the moment about work and Isaac's care. A few options have presented themselves and we're considering them all carefully. Both our work situations have changed in the last month and the plan we thought we'd sorted has changed accordingly. The money side of things is the big sticking point as well as when we plan to increase our family again. At the moment we're trusting God that He's got a plan for all of us and that He'll provide the means to make it happen. Watch this space!

A couple of photos from our week just for your interest:

Isaac in his new highchair trying out a beaker. Nothing in it yet but at least he's getting the right idea!

We went for a walk with Cathy and Jonathan this week and ended up at a playpark. Isaac loved the swings!

Not much time for scrapping recently. I do have 1 layout in progress and LSNE is still on the go. Hopefully I'll be able to show you something creative next time!

Whistlestop Tour

2010-10-12T17:24:00.002+01:00

So we've been busy since last I wrote - I can't remember what I did with my time before I had a baby to fill it with!!

The best way for me to remember what I've been doing is to browse my photo albums. I take so many pictures these days and I'm getting less embarrassed about doing it too; people seem to expect a new mummy to have a camera glued to her hand at all times so I'm getting fewer strange looks! All my photos get transferred to my laptop then backed up to an external hard drive monthly. I'm also about to start making hard copies of them all on CD, not that I'm paranoid!! Everything is sorted by year, then month and then into a descriptive folder e.g. Isaac, trip to the beach, etc. Some folders have subfolders, mostly baby-related photos, to make finding the one I want easier. If I want prints, for scrapping, gifts or putting in an album, I upload them to photobox and get a lovely parcel every couple of months.

So, since last I posted we've;

been to Mummy & Baby group - I love my mummies!! We met at a New Parents' group organised by our health visiting team and now we get together every Wednesday to chat, drink coffee and eat cakes. There's a lot of cake involved!!

met up with Cathy and Jonathan for swimming and coffee more times than I can count

visited Andy's parents

celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary with the purchase of a tv/dvd player for our bedroom and Sunday lunch at a nearby pub.

and started weaning! Which necessitated the purchase of baby food products and two highchairs! (One is light and foldable for visiting family.) Isaac's loving trying out lots of new foods. Most of it ends up on his clothes, his hands, his face and the floor but every now and again he manages to swallow something! It's making for some fantastic photo opportunities too! Gotta love that boy!

Lazy Sunday Morning

2010-09-26T12:19:00.000+01:00

So I should be at church this morning but baby boy's been all over the place with his sleep so we were up a bit too late to make it. Instead, Isaac's asleep on our bed and Andy & I are chilling out on the sofa watching Heroes season 4, which has been on our Sky+ box for ages! I'm busy knitting and he's got a fat cat on his knee.

I've been a bit of a knitting dervish lately. I have plenty of hoodies for Isaac but unless they're done up to the chin they fall off his shoulders and I think he gets cold. So I went looking for a nice jumper or two but couldn't find any that I liked. About that time, we went exploring in a nearby village and found a lovely knitting shop. I picked up a pattern and some lovely Fair-Isle style wool. It took a few weeks to finish but I'm so pleased with the end result.

Now I'm knitting a little waistcoat and I've got plans for an hooded cardigan, a hat and gloves set and some wristwarmers (for me obviously). Also thinking this might be the way to go for presents for the littlest nieces and nephew - finding nice knitted things that aren't too expensive is so difficult!

Isaac continues to be delightful! This week he's found his feet and is now making proper baby poses for Mummy to photograph. Yesterday we went swimming as a family for the first time. Andy has a thing about indoor swimming pools (spoilt by a childhood by the sea and a pool in the back garden) but he had a good time with Isaac. And I managed to swim a few laps while they played in the wading pool. It's good to have a quiet family weekend, lovely as it is to have friends and family to stay.

Getting back to me...

2010-09-23T13:56:00.003+01:00

Learn something new continues apace - I'm so pleased I'm keeping up with lessons though I'm not reading the prompts or scrapping everyday. It's also making me quite reflective - September seems to be the month that I'm coming back to being me, not just mummy. I've bought some new clothes & made some new friends. I'm getting out of the house with others or just me & Isaac. I'm trying to build my confidence to teach him to be brave & to stand by his principless and it seems to be spilling over to the rest of me too. I seem to be getting better at the mummy-thing too, of course today is a good day, ask me again tomorrow!

Which sort of sums up the overall lesson. Tomorrow is a new day; Isaac starts each day with a clean slate, delighted to see me when he wakes in the morning. I guess as we get older our memories get better & we can hold grudges for longer, not just against others but against ourselves too. I know that isn't a healthy way to live, it's definitely not what God intends for me. I'm learning a lot about how God is providing for our family both materially & emotionally at the moment and I'm more confident than ever that He has a good plan for our future.

Enough profundity! Here's a baby photo (I know you want one!)

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LSNE Update

2010-09-12T22:25:00.002+01:00

It's been a busy week, highlights include;

getting my wedding ring back on properly for the first time since 36 weeks of pregnancy,
Isaac learning to blow raspberries,
a visit from a lovely old friend,
and yet more swimming (must get pictures soon!)

I've also managed some scrapping! And so far none of it is about the baby! LSNE continues & pages 3, 4 & 5 are above. I've also almost finished a LO on my love of krispy kreme donuts, yummy yummy!

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Learn Something New Day 2

2010-09-10T20:56:00.002+01:00

Day 1 was an important lesson but doesn't lend itself to easy scrapping so I decided to start with 2nd September instead. Turns out 4x6 is really quite small but I like it already. I can see most pages coming together quickly but there's scope to put on more time & effort on special days too. Hope to have more to show you soon.

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Lordy Lordy...

2010-09-09T17:55:00.000+01:00

... it's taken me 3 days to work out how to log-in to Blogger from this computer! New security software is to blame - nice to know that my computer is so secure! I suppose I could have blogged from the Mac but my laptop has all the photos!

Isaac continues to grow nicely - weighed in yesterday at 16lb 10oz. He's busy learning to blow raspberries; Andy's been blowing them at him for weeks so it makes sense that that would be the first thing he decides to learn. He's babbling, smiling and laughing all the time now. He pushes up to stand if you hold his fingers and much prefers to sit up. It's not all sunshine and smiles - for the last week Isaac's refused to fall asleep in his cot or moses basket so I'm cuddling him to sleep 4 or 5 times a day. Hoping it's just a phase and it passes soon.

I don't want this to be another baby-bore posting - I don't have much else going on in my life at the mo. It's true that all new mums want to talk about it their baby! I have been trying to scrap when I find the time. This lovely lady is running her Learn Something New Everyday class again during September.

I first did this class in 2008, which happened to be when we were moving house. I made it to the 14th writing notes everyday but only scrapped the first 8 pages. I also had an entry for the 30th so I spent a couple of days completing the pages for the notes I had. I figured if I could finish a book 2 years after I started it, with sufficient note-taking, then I had no excuse for not doing it again this year. (The great thing about Shimelle's annual classes - LSNE and Journal Your Christmas - is that once you join up once you get the prompts every year unless you opt out). So I've been reflecting on each day just before I go to bed and writing some notes in a little book. I've also been documenting my lessons as status updates on facebook. And now that I have some cream cardstock to make pages, I'm hoping to get scrapping soon. Watch this space for photos!

Oh, and just one more sneaky photo of the baby! I promise Andy put him in there, I had nothing to do with it!!

Two months ago today...

2010-07-31T17:39:00.000+01:00

... I was in hospital in labour. The longest day of my life (literally, it started at 1am and didn't finish until 3am the next day). Although looking back now, it seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye.

So now I have a 2 month old baby boy and I was looking back over the last month, trying desperately to remember as much as possible. Time seems to pass so quickly these days and Isaac changes week to week. It's hard to remember how small and passive he was when he first came home. Now he's wearing clothes for 3-6 month olds, cooing, giggling and flapping his arms and legs like he wants to take off!

He still loves to have a bath. He smiles and shouts and kicks water everywhere. By the time he's ready to get out, his feet are all prune-y!

Getting out is much less of a trauma now we've worked out that he hates to have his feet covered up. Now we only have 5 minutes of screaming blue murder instead of 20!

All of the above was an excuse to show you pictures of my little man, who is the most beautiful baby in the world. So here's another, just because I can!

So what were you doing two months ago today?

Long time, no write!

2010-07-20T13:04:00.000+01:00

Wow! A lot of things have happened since I was last here. Kittens are cats, the kitchen is in and, oh yeah, I got pregnant, delivered and now have a 7 week old baby boy. Funny how these things slip your mind! Lots of changes in our lives over the last year and a bit so it'll take a little while to catch you up. Plus blogger has had some changes since I was here last.

I'm off to grab some food before the little man wakes up again so for now I'll leave you with some piccies of my little man. Isaac David Longden Ingram, born 31st May 201 at 23:02 weighing 9lb 10oz! It was a very very long day but we were both alive and well at the end of it, which is the most important thing.

BTW, he's not that size anymore! At 6 weeks, he was 14lb 2oz and almost out of his 0-3 month clothes. Can't believe how small he was just a few short weeks ago!

Sunny-side up!

2009-04-21T12:35:00.003+01:00

The good thing about starting nights on Friday is that I have half-days all this week. Except Wednesday when I'm going to Stafford for teaching... and Friday when I have the daytime off. So really this week is 3 half-days at work, 1 day of teaching and Friday off. Which is very good.

The kittens continue to be joyous - they've grown again already. I think they get bigger overnight, every night. And cos I know you're interested, here are some more pictures!!

Callie killing the hairdryer label... don't ask me why!

Isn't she cute?

Scraproom complete with new storage and kittens causing havoc!

Cleo and her bubble-wrap fetish.

Otherwise, things continue apace. The kitchen cabinets are being delivered in 2 weeks. My exam is the week after. I've had to book all my annual leave so that I don't lose any of my allowance. Still don't know where I'm starting work in August, but at least I know it's August now! We've had a quote for doing the kitchen so I really better get on and choose some appliances and floor tiles. Spot the new tablelinen in the picture below - an Easter pressie from my wonderful husband!

Kittens at Home

2009-04-05T13:51:00.003+01:00

The kittens came home on Friday evening. I was supposed to be finishing on time so we could go and pick them up straight from work. Except, that never happens when you want it to - didn't finish til just after 6pm so we didn't get to the breeder until nearly 7. Anyhow, we got home safe and sound. I was really worried they'd be nervous and not come out of the carrier for ages. As it was, I didn't even get a chance to pick up a camera before they were out and exploring.

We managed to decide on names for them both at last. Cleo has a purple collar in the pictures - she's slightly lighter in colour, has a pink nose and a broader face. Callie (short for Kalea - joy and happiness in Hawaiian) has a red collar and is darker with more defined markings, a mostly black nose and sharper facial features.

They ate a bit that night and settled really well downstairs together to sleep. When I came down in the morning, I found them curled up together on a chair underneath the dining table - it's one of their favourite places so far. Whenever we sit down to eat, they jump up on the chairs and try to climb on our laps. We're not letting them on the table - it's the only place they can't go really, so obviously they want to get up even more!!

We put collars on them for a few hours on Saturday so they can get used to them. It also helps to tell who's who when they're not together. It's been so funny watching them get used to wearing a collar. Cleo kept trying to back up out of it and couldn't work out why the collar moved with her! Mostly they forget the collar's there but occasionally they catch sight of the end out of the corner of their eye and then they try to catch it. Of course, every time they turn their heads to bite it, the end moves with them. It's so funny!

They ate quite well yesterday - their appetite seemed to get better through the day. They're definitely eating more today that yesterday. Callie gets her head in the bowl first to eat so Cleo has to push her way in and get some food out to eat on the floor next to the bowl. I think we're going to need another food bowl!!

We've had lots of lovely playtime since they came home. They've pulled the feather tail off the fishing rod we've got already! Mostly they like chasing each other around the house. They're quite clumsy sometimes and fall over backwards or off the sofas. They're busy destroying the backs of our sofas climbing up them with their claws out. I've already got scratches on my hands, legs and feet where they've climbed up me or scratched me while playing. They slept well Friday night - didn't hear a peep out of them. Last night, they were a bit less keen on being left outside while we went to bed. Originally we left the bedroom door open but we were rapidly joined by 2 kittens who thought it would be great fun to play on the bed. They pounced on anything that moved under the bedcovers and looked so funny that we were shaking with laughter - which only made things worse. We put them out and shut the door - they cried for a couple of minutes then decided to play on the stairs.

They seem to really like the washing machine - I think because it goes round and round. They also like a dead plant they we have on the windowsill (I should have gotten rid of it) - they've been pulling leaves off and playing with them. This morning, Callie managed to climb all the way up the coatstand in our hall - it's about 5 feet tall! They're very interested in small spaces too - they like squeezing onto the bookshelves or into the kitchen cupboards.

Anyway, that's enough for now - more pictures and stories later, I'm sure. They're so sweet and funny and I keep getting the camera out!

Kitten Pics!

2009-03-24T08:45:00.005Z

And here are the two newest additions to our family! They haven't got names yet and I couldn't tell you which is which unless they're next to each other but they do look different. I think we won't end up naming them until they been at home with us for a little while and we get to know them better.

The breeder has a British Blue Shorthair Tom, 2 Tabby British Shorthair Queens and a Bengal Queen and currently 2 litters of kittens. Darcy, on of the Tabbies, had 1 spotted girl, 1 spotted boy and 2 tabby girls (our girls!) and the Bengal had 2 snow boys and 1 proper Bengal boy. So, what with the 2 children, 1 labrador and a husband, the house is pretty busy.

The kittens have a fantastic time together but they spend a lot of time trying to eat each other.

Whenever we go to visit them, it only takes about 5 minutes before we have kittens climbing all over us. I ended up with a tabby on my shoulders, trying to eat my hair last week!. And they seemed to have a fascination for my shoelaces.

I was really pleased that they hadn't grown very much since we last saw them. I was afraid that since we can't take them home until they are 13 weeks, we'd miss most of their time as little kittens. But they're still very small and sweet and playful.

We left a cat bed with the breeder last time we were there so they could get accustomed to it and so it would smell of 'home' and they'd have something familiar when they came to us. We pick them up on April 3rd - I'm really looking forward to it!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T15:29:00.005Z

We had a lovely evening in last night. Had some yummy food and snuggled on the sofa watching CSI:NY. Not the most exciting Valentine's ever but really good nonetheless. Especially after the week we've had.

I made my first card this week - a Valentine's card for Andy. Really happy with it.

Look what my lovely husband did!

2009-02-05T18:44:00.004Z

Our bathroom and toilet are finally finished! And they look pretty good, if I do say so myself. Lots of little changes - painting the walls, the woodwork, changing the door handles and the towel rails, etc and putting a new floor down has made a huge difference, despite the avocado suite.

Of course, now all we need to do is sort out the kitchen. Hubby's next job? Getting some builders in to quote for all the changes we want to make!

Long time, no blog!

2009-01-26T19:14:00.001Z

And my only excuse is exams, job applications and long, long days at work! It's a hard life. Hopefully things with calm down somewhat now.

Journal Your Christmas

2008-11-26T11:50:00.005Z

So this year I'm joining dozens of other people all over the world and taking Shimelle Laine's Journal Your Christmas class. I'm working nights this year over Christmas and I've been trying to think of ways to keep things special despite this. I'm hoping to keep up with this project - it's an email prompt everyday from Dec 1st until the last of the 12 days of Christmas (January). I've already made my covers and got my stash so hopefully I'll have a lovely journal by the end of the season.

Christmas is on the way...

2008-11-21T20:13:00.002Z

... and I'm nowhere near ready!! Eeeek! So I've been Christmas shopping online. Love Amazon prime - it's my new favourite thing. And a couple of bits for me might have slipped into the basket too. I've been very very naughty lately with my shopping habits. Not spending bucketloads on the house has made a real difference to our bank balance but I'm trying my hardest to make up the difference in scrapping stash!! Off to Ikea next week to buy boxes to store things in!

Look what I found in my travels; www.blurb.com is fab site where you can create a book and get it professionally printed and bound. Surprisingly reasonable prices too! Hmmmm.... time to get creative methinks!

2008-11-18T14:26:00.004Z

After a moderate delay, due to 5 consective night shifts and a day spent asleep on the sofa, the remaining photos of our new home. Not much for the writing today. Gonna try and get my mojo back with a few sketches or challenges. Maybe tomoro I'll be more chatty.

Andy and I share this room, sort of. I have one end and the cupboard for scrapping and he has the other end with his apple mac and desk if he wants to do anywork..... ever!!

Everyone who sees this room asks why we don't have our bedroom up here. It is lovely and big and makes a perfect guestroom.

Upstairs!

2008-11-12T09:34:00.010Z

Thought I'd bring you the befores and afters together for the upstairs. We've done more upstairs than anywhere else at the moment. I think when you see the master bedroom before, you'll understand why that was our first priority! We might have to split this into 2 sections, depending on how many photos I end up using and how long they take to upload.

Here is our lovely bathroom - the tiles aren't too bad but the wallpaper is horrendous and the bathroom fittings are outdated. So we've removed most of them and the clock and the wallpaper is almost all gone.

Toilet before; note the broken toilet seat - you don't want to know what it looked like underneath!!

Work in progress; we had Andy's sister and her family to stay a few weeks ago and Tilly thought it was great to rip the wallpaper off. We were very careful to make sure she understood she couldn't do it anywhere else or in anyone else's house!!

So the decorating is still in progress but look at my brand-new toilet seat! How cool is that?!

The boxroom - bigger than I remembered it being, but it was always full of junk when we viewed the property. The best bit is how the wallpaper doesn't match the carpet, which doesn't match the curtains, which don't match the wallpaper. 3 different patterns none of which are nice. But it's low down on the list.Our boxroom - more of a wardrobe room really. Plus a general junkroom at the moment. Every house has to have a junkroom. We think this will eventually be a nursery, but where we'll put all the clothes is anybody's guess!!

And my favourite room, the master bedroom. The befores are scary. The wallpaper was so dark and oppressive and the window decorations left a lot to be desired. Those pelmets were the first things to go.

And now;

I love this room so much. It's a quiet sanctuary for Andy and me. Nothing but a bed and some chests of drawers. The colours are so peaceful and relaxing. And we can finally put pictures up on the walls where we want them to be. The rhinos in the alcove (spot the old cupboard minus the doors?) are a housewarming gift from Andy's parents. It looks so beautiful and fits perfectly in the room.

Ok, I'm photo'd out now. I'll do the scraproom and the loft a little bit later. Must go and shower and think about going to the supermarket. See you later!

More house-y photos!

2008-11-11T15:01:00.003Z

As promised, here are the after photos. We'll do upstairs tomoro!!

Living room looks better now - there's quite a bit less rubbish hanging around and we've moved the bookcases. But everything looks so right in there, especially with our red curtains.

And now for the evidence of my husband's destructive tendencies. I let him loose with some hand tools and look what happened!!

But look at it now;

We'll do something else with those alcoves when we do the kitchen but for now, the remains for the shelves work well enough.

I'm really pleased with the way the house is coming together. It feels like home and the right place to be for us. Can't quite believe that we might have our children here!!!

I'm Back!!!

2008-11-10T11:35:00.003Z

We are finally online at our new home! It's only taken the better part of a month! So here, as promised are some new home piccies! These are the befores, the afters will come tomoro.

On the day we got the keys - of course, we were supposed to pick them up at about 11am. Actually got them about 2pm and then the previous owner was still there doing some cleaning (we're not sure what they were cleaning, there was a lot still to do once we got in). And still there at 5pm when we went back for the second time. At which point we called the estate agents to get rid of them!!

Open the front door, and here's the stairs. Very useful for getting to the bedrooms.

Living room - looks better with furniture in it.

Kitchen - got to love the orange wallpaper. And the kitchen that hasn't been updated for the last 20 years!

Dining room - more orange wallpaper and those shelves/cabinets eliminate about a foot of floor space. Turn in tomoro to see what Andy did to them!!

Check out this girl!

2008-09-15T15:32:00.003+01:00

Finally off work today after working 7 days straight. Busy busy!! House sale seems to be coming through as well (if the solicitors can stop mucking things up!). This is a flying visit just to check and say...

Have a look at this girl's blog - she's my little sister, starting her married life on the other side of the world. Far too far away for my liking but she seems to be enjoying herself. They've just arrived in San Antonio where they'll be working for the year so there should be more new soon. Keep an eye out, she'll see amazing things this year if past experience is anything to go by!

Time flies!

2008-09-04T17:19:00.003+01:00

Doesn't seem like a week since I was last here. Been busy since then. First a few LOs for your delight and delectation. The next 3 DLOs for My Freedom - I'll have to post a piccie of the album they live in, it's sooooo pretty!

Next a new project; Learn Something New Everyday by Shimelle (noticing a theme yet?) Really really please with how they've turned out (ok, not so much sept 2nd but it'll do for now). Especially pleased with the cover. And that I've managed to keep up for 3 days in a row now!! Of course, I am on clinic week so I've been home all day monday and wednesday and left work before 2pm all the other days. Maybe with a full-time week things will be different, but for now I'm happy!

And lastly, an exciting delivery. Picked up my new crocs from the post office today. Ruby Red Mary Janes. So so pretty and very comfortable. Haven't taken them off since I got home!! And I've just ordered some lovely bits and bobs from etsy. Yummy yummy!

My Freedom LOs

2008-08-28T09:10:00.002+01:00

So I've actually managed to complete 2 DLOs for Shimelle's My Freedom class! Given that this is the third class I've done, and these are the first LOs I've actually complete, that's quite an achievement. They've worked quite well, I think. It's not my usual style; I've based them mostly on the prompts from Shimelle and followed her sketchs quite closely. I've had the Piggy Tales pp (Baa Baa Black Sheep) for ages just waiting for the 'right project'.

The first prompt was 'Time' and what it means to me.

The journalling is based on 2 elements; an hour-by-hour description of my day and some thoughts about how I'd spend a perfect day and what I think about time.

Time to rise
I love the extremes of the day; early mornings when the light is grey, late nights when the air is clear.
Time to prepare
I work best with small routines that slot into my day so I get everything done and don’t feel rushed.
Time to drive
My most recent milestones were getting married and starting work; now I have responsibilities.
Time to work
All the clocks in the hospital tell a (slightly) different time so a watch is essential equipment.
Time to act
Urgent isn’t always important; there’s nothing, except a crash call, that can’t wait 10 minutes for a rest.
Time to eat
I have good intentions about my time but I rarely follow through.
Time to reassure
I can only do my job – not everyone else’s as well.
Time to explain
I have a new watch from Next. It only cost £20 but it makes me feel shiny and smart when I wear it.
Time to handover
We start with a plan and it usually goes out the window within the hour.
Time to check in
If I had one day to do anything, I’d make time to see friends; coffee and a browse at Borders.
Time to talk
I’d be productive.
Time to watch t.v.
I’d watch something I really want to and then turn off the television.
Time to read
And I’d do something just for me; - reading or scrapping.
Time to relax
Most of my time is spent on work, housework and unfulfilling television.
Time to sleep
There’s something eery and lovely about being awake when most people are asleep.

The second prompt was 'Travel'. I focused my photos on how I travel day-to-day and picked the questions I liked most for the journalling.

What modes of transportation do you use?
I drive my car, a lovely little purple Ford KA, and occasionally I take the bus. I still drive Mum & Dad’s Volvo from time to time. I walk a lot around the hospital and I try to walk to places when I have a day off.
For what reasons do you travel?
I drive to work most days and stop at the supermarket or the petrol station on the way home. Otherwise, I travel for errands; I’ve started walking down the road to the local shops instead of driving to the supermarket. I travel to visit my family mostly and occasionally to visit friends. We travel to go on holiday; mostly by car but by plane a couple of times.
Do you travel light or push your luggage allowance to the limit?
I travel with enough luggage to be prepared and usually 3 pairs of shoes. I don’t pack as much as I used to. And now, when I go away overnight only, I take my small green wheelie case. I have a medium purple one too; apparently I look quite amusing with
both, prancing through the airport.
What place in the world has left an impression on your soul?
I loved San Francisco and I would love to go back one day and explore some more. We went to Antigua on our honeymoon and it was amazing. Time moved quite differently there; we got up early and walked on the beach before breakfast. It was calm and peaceful and we had a wonderful time just being together. I really want to go back there one day and spend a few weeks doing nothing together.

That's it for now. Might be back later, you never know!!

2 posts in one day?! Never!!

2008-08-27T21:50:00.006+01:00

Just finished this minibook - a gift for my old housemate who's moved to Liverpool to start her GP training job. It's taken forever!! I started it back in July, I think and I'm going to have to post it to her. I'm not sure when she'll be back in Leicester. I'm really proud of the book (despite the fact that the rings haven't come together quite straight) - it sort of evolved as I went along. The idea was to have lots of photos of house-related things and then I decided I needed some journalling too, to make it more a memory book than a photo album. I used Basic Grey Sultry stash (pp, rub-ons, buttons, glazed brads and stickers), some BG 2 Scoops fibres, Bazzil CS, Stickles and my lovely BIA. So here are the pictures;

So that's that. I hope you like it. Need to work out some way of sending it in perfect condition to Liverpool. It's never going to be toddler-proof so I probably ought to include a warning (she lives with her sister, BIL and nephew). Plus, I need to find out the names of the other people who lived in the house since I moved out. There were a lot of us in the end; 5-bed house and only Sarah was there for the whole time. I lasted the second-longest but defected when I got married! It was a great place to live and I have some really great memories tied up in it. It's a real shame to think I'll probably never go back there again.

New Stash!!

2008-08-27T10:39:00.005+01:00

First things first; my new stash from my epic buying of the last few days! Once again, fantastic service from UKS sponsors - Sarah's Cards and Scraprevolution. Both parcels arrived this morning with my friendly postie. (BTW, the parcelforce driver round here is a lady and she wears shorts. All the time. She's quite smiley!)

Yummy yummy!! Can't wait to make use of all that stash! Particularly love the AC cardstock. 8.5x11 is a size I'm really enjoying at the moment.

On a more irritating note, received a letter this morning from our mortgage brokers regarding our solicitors. I'm so upset by it, I'm just going to quote (verbatim including spelling and grammar mistakes!!) the letter!

...they have advised that the solicitors you have chosen are not on there
panel and have advised they need you chose new ones...

This is from an office manager of a morgage broker. You'd hope she has some English qualifications! Or at least a grammar checker on her pc! And, given that they know we want to move as quickly as possible, why not ring us? They have hubby's mobile number and he's very reachable even at work. Very very irritating!

Ok, rant over. Now a philosophical question; why is it when I sit down to scrap, I spend hours being very busy but don't produce a single LO?!

Wow! Time flies!

2008-08-26T21:42:00.002+01:00

I've just realised it's been a month since I last posted! I'm a very naughty blogger! I haven't even got a good excuse.

Been on nights since Wednesday last week. Had a couple of good nights and got about 2 hours sleep each. The other 3 weren't so good though - one of our babies decided to go off at about 2am... all three nights! Managed to catch up on my sleep on Monday though. Spent most of the afternoon asleep on the sofa. All tucked up in a blanket provided by my lovely husband!

In a post-nights frenzy, and in anticipation of my first ST1 paycheck, I went a little bit mad online. All I wanted was some little chipboard birdies. A Maya Road tin with birds and branches to be precise. Which got me thinking about chipboard in general and minibook covers in particular. So I ordered some A4 chipboard sheets from Sarah's Cards and some new AC 8.5x11 cardstock fell into my cart along with some new Thickers. I got puffy, glitter and foil! Very exciting. But they didn't stock the birdies. Scraprevolution do stock the birdie tin... and to justify the postage cost, a few more packs of Thickers and some acetate sheets got chucked in.

Then this morning, I was thinking about lace cardstock - I love that stuff and I don't have enough of it. So I've got a few sheets of that for good measure.

We drove to Nottingham to look at carpets, wallpaper and kitchens (more on that later) today. And what's in Nottingham? Hobbycraft and The Range! Couldn't believe the range at The Range! I needed some acrylic paint and found a tote to go with it too. Plus a circle cutter and some lovely lovely Sharpies!!

So all in all it's been an expensive week! And now I have no money to spend until at least the end of September!

BTW, just so you don't feel sorry for him, Hubby got a toolbox and some speakers for the car to play with. He's not as hard doneby as he'd like you to think!

Take photos tomorrow!

2008-07-25T07:28:00.001+01:00

Well, today actually but i didn't find the piccie til this morning!

Weekend at Work

2008-07-20T20:30:00.003+01:00

Last day of 7 today before a whole day and a half to myself! Feel like I've been working forever! Especially with the wedding last weekend - no time to relax for about a month now!

So tomorrow is my day off before I start nights on tuesday evening. I have plans already:

gym
supermarket
clean out fridge
cook something yummy
sort out and edit photos from the wedding
order from photobox
scrap, scrap, scrap!

I have lots of yummy new stash to play with. GoGo arrived on Thursday (but the in-laws were visiting so no time to play - they were a bit confused about what I actually did with all the paper and bits). As did Claire's CJ - it's beautiful. And I even have a plan for my LO! Plus I was very naughty and bought 2 kits from CarolinezCraftz cos they were 30% off. (It was a bargin - the robots are fab and the Love, Elsie Claire stuff I really wanted anyway!)

I've just seen how many exclamation marks are in this post already so I'm going to stop there. Tee hee, maybe more tomorrow! Bye!!!

Wedding Day!!

2008-07-14T19:54:00.004+01:00

My little sister got married on Saturday! Can't believe how quickly it came round in the end, feels like we've been preparing for ages! She looked fab and we all had a wonderful day. The only downside is that she and hubby are going to the Dominican Republic for their honeymoon (stay with me, the bad bit is coming) so they flew out to America on Sunday and aren't coming back til Christmas. Otherwise, it was a generally fab weekend!

Here are some piccies:

The wedding party during the signing of the register. The dads have their backs to you but the rest of us look quite good! BTW, I have Em's flowers too - I didn't get a huge bouquet for being maid of honour!The beautiful bride and her handsome groom - I only realised this weekend how sweet and romantic my new BIL is. Remind me to tell you about it sometime soon!

Giggling girlies! What this picture doesn't show is that 2 seconds ago, we almost all fell over to the right (and almost landed on the bride). The bridge was designed for golfers walking to the bar and isn't set up for women in heels!

My Mummy and Me!! Hubby is really quite good with a camera - don't often get a photo where both of us look presentable!

I love this piccie of hubby and me, which is unusual cos I hate piccies of me!! I think the make-up helped!!

There will be more photos in the future - but these are a good start! We had lovely weather for the photos. And how cute are these cake-toppers? There's a wonderful lady in Scotland who makes them to individual specifications. (Ours is the second one down in the middle column!)

That's it for now. Back, prob tomoro for an update. But then I'm working a late shift, so maybe not!!

My Freedom

2008-07-09T14:57:00.003+01:00

I, like so many others, am taking part in Shimelle's new class, My Freedom. Details were released last Saturday and the first prompts arrived in my email this week. This week's themes are time and travel. I like it already and I've promised myself to make time to do the prompts as they arrive, or at least keep up on a weekly basis. Speaking of which, I'm off to do the journalling prompts for today and yesterday shortly.

No scrapping recently, so no new piccies to show you. I'm planning on getting my LO for our Fruitloops CJ done today (probably while Andy's at the footie). I finished my covers weekend before last - I'm very proud of them and looking forward to seeing what everyone else manages to produce.

I had an interview this morning for a run-through post in East Midlands. They invited 10 candidates to interview (out of about 150) and they have 2 posts available. Fingers crossed!! It was quite an odd interview really - much shorter than West Midlands and I have no idea how I've done. All I can do is hope for the best now I guess! Should hear tomorrow afternoon. So I'm waiting again.....

My name is Louise and I am a procrastinator!

2008-07-01T17:13:00.005+01:00

Ok, so I've updated a little bit. But there's a hidden reason behind this - I have h****work and studying to do. And suddenly I remember all those little things I've been meaning to do for ages that must be done right now!

I've had quite a productive day so far though. My little sister (not that she's that little anymore!) is coming to stay tonight and I realised how disgusting my house actually is! I've managed to get most of the mould of the ceiling of the bathroom (weak solution of water and bleach). I hate cleaning the bathroom! It is my least favourite bit of cleaning; I'd even empty the bins rather than clean the bathroom. But it is now clean - must keep that mildew at bay! And I've vacuumed the upstairs, made the bed, put away all the washing and generally made the place look presentable. I also wandered down the road to the excellent local shops to buy some flowers for the spare room (don't they look pretty?) and the living room. Flowers make the whole place look a bit more together, I think. And they also detract from the massive pile of boxes on the floor! The downside of Emma coming to stay? I have to tidy the dining room so we can eat off the table - and this means losing my scrap-room! But that can wait til tomorrow!

I got a lovely parcel today. Night before last, I was working on a little book I'm making for a Fruitloops CJ. I bought a lovely clasp to hold it together and went to set it only to discover it needed a hole punching in the back and front covers of the book. No problem, except I usually make holes with my silent setter (using all my own strength - no noisy hammers) or my home office holepunch. The covers of my little book? Made of clipboard - my BIA even struggled with them! And they're too thick to fit in the hole punch anyway. So hubby's answer - "Why not buy yourself a crop-a-dile? How much do they cost?" I have the best husband in the whole world! I think he was half-asleep at the time and didn't know what he was saying but I wasn't going to look a gift-horse in the mouth. I've been umming and aahhing about a crop-a-dile for ages but didn't really see the point (not much into altering things and a hole punch works just fine for most things). For punching chipboard and clipboard, etc, it's essential. So I had a quick look at UKS - sure enough, someone's asked about crop-a-diles recently. A quick tour showed me that Silly Monkey Crafts had the best deal for me, especially given the free P&P! Was hoping it would be delivered today so was very disappointed when the postie came without it. But I was just sitting down to lunch when the DHL lady rang the doorbell! So now I am the proud owner of a brand-new lime green crop-a-dile and it's very exciting!

I must do some work! Exams loom in early September and at £300 a pop (with 2 parts to pass) I really need to pass first time! With all the bills that have arrived, we're going to have to spend nearly £1000 this month! Just to keep me registered to practice! If you're a consultant earning £70K, a grand isn't that bad but for a baby SHO on £33K it's a bit more of a blow. £390 to the GMC (up £100 from last year), £190 to the BMA, £60 to a defence organisation, £360 for exam fees and an undisclosed sum to register with the Royal College! Yikes! So must do some work so I'll pass the exams, get a run-through training job next year and progress in my career so I can afford to have babies! So bye!!

Save the Day!

2008-06-26T13:37:00.002+01:00

Took loads of piccies yesterday - completely forgot (again) about meal piccies until after I'd eaten both lunch and dinner so took some photos of the mess I made cooking instead!

Back at work today for a long day; completely disorientated as to day! Plus, my latest order was dispatched yesterday so they'll try and deliver it today or tomoro when no one's home! So I won't be able to pick up until Sat at the earliest. Sigh! At least I have next week off to do some playing.

Back to the grindstone now - got 2 patients waiting and goodness only know how many we've accepted since I went to lunch!

Tomorrow is the 25th!

2008-06-24T13:51:00.003+01:00

A Pottering Sort of Day

2008-05-30T13:34:00.002+01:00

Last official day of my annual leave today so I'm meandering around the house doing lots of little bits and pieces.

Need to finish the project I'm working on for my Dad as he's coming to stay Saturday night! Eeek - my first crafting project for my family! Not that I'm nervous about whether he'll like it..... much!

Thought you might like a piccie of us in Edinburgh!

Things I am loving at the moment:

Oats-so-simple instant porridge - perfect night shift food!

my lovely new bind-it-all!

glue dots in all shapes and size

Things I am not loving quite so much:

British rail (it's gonna cost me £40 to get the train from London to Kettering! I can drive door to door and back twice on that much petrol! And I want to save the planet!!)

Cliff-hanger endings and summer breaks - E.R. finished on C4 on saturday with an ambulance blowing up and 2 major characters possibly inside (you just know the one who's finally worked his life out is the one who died!) and Desperate Housewives is taking a summer break for.... Big Brother! Yuck!! Let's hope the sun comes out a bit more cos there's going to be nothing on the television this summer!

Welcome to Edinburgh

2008-05-27T09:47:00.007+01:00

Beautiful scenery, beautiful weather, beautiful city. We arrived in Edinburgh on Sunday evening and checked into our Aparthotel - a fantastic idea. We have a great little 4 room apartment - bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living/dining room. Very modern and well-decorated. Took a wander to see what's around. Dinner from a local Indian take-out. Really good food too!

Monday dawned bright and sunny so we walked into town to get some food - M&S (we're on holiday after all, we deserve a treat!!) before heading out for a picnic beside Loch Ore. Really windy by the Loch but we had a lovely walk around the edge (4 miles hubby reckons - almost makes up for the glass of wine with the take-out last night!) Went to the Sizzling Scot for dinner - lovely food and the service was fantastic. We shared a vension burger and a blue cheese Scottish Aberdeen Angus burger - mmmmm! Diet be damned!!

So today? Well the weather's not as good - bit overcast. We planning to visit Holyrood House and do a bit of shopping. Catch you later!!

Naughty blogger!

2008-05-26T11:18:00.001+01:00

I'm a bad bad girl!! Been very neglectful of my blog. My only excuse is the mad hours I've been working and even that doesn't hold up cos I've been all over UKS so it's not like I didn't have internet access!
And now I've been tagged again - so I have 2 tags to get going with. For now though, I'm just going to post a piccie (to see if I can) and I'll be back later when hubby stops bothering me to get up and do something!

Save the Day

2008-05-26T10:09:00.001+01:00

who remembered?
Originally uploaded by shimelle

Ooops!

2008-04-28T13:39:00.002+01:00

Since leaving GPland, I'm out of contact with a computer most of the day and back working shifts again. So that's my excuse for being such a neglectful blogger!

Was planning to take part in the UKScrappers CC this weekend but unfortunately I was working so couldn't do any of the challenges or classes. I've just printed a bunch of class files to work on this afternoon on my day off. Looking forward to having some scrapping time!

I've been tagged! By my lovely loop-mate Laura. So I'll be thinking about 7 things about me. And trying to find 5 bloggers to tag back. Watch this space....

I'm a very neglectful blogger

2008-04-12T18:04:00.002+01:00

Long time, no write. Oops!

My lovely new BG sultry papers and bits came the week before last - just before my first 2 long days at my new job. I'm back in the hospital doing my dream job. Paediatrics is fabulous! The only downside being that I'm now back doing shifts and don't have access to a computer during the day.

My budget is going well - I went to Borders today (usually a very expensive trip!) but managed to get in and out without spending any money!! How good am I?! The weightwatchers thing isn't going so well - I joined up to the online plan last weekend cos I can't make meetings during the week. I'm doing the Core Plan so there's no counting which is good for me. Mealtimes are going well - packed lunches are always a challenge but there are plenty of ideas online. It's the between mealtimes that's getting me. And I don't drink skimmed milk! Yuck - white water!! I guess it's just a case of easing in and getting used to the plan. So we'll see how things go this week... watch this space!

I'm very very excited!

2008-03-31T10:28:00.003+01:00

Got home on Wednesday last week to a little red card from my lovely postie. As all scrappers know, little red cards herald the arrival of stash which has been secreted away by the little postie fairies at your local collecting office. My little red card indicated that I should come on Saturday morning to receive my goodies - which I dutifully did and lo and behold, Bazzil to match the BG sultry papers that I have on preorder at the lovely Charmed Cards and Crafts. And today, I have the news that they are dispatching said lovelies on Monday and Tuesday this week! Hence the level of excitement is building!

Before I go completely mad with anticipation, I'm going to change the subject. Went a-cropping on Saturday and managed to produce 3 LOs mostly using up my March gogo kit. Will be posting piccies as soon as I get home and have access to the files!

2008-03-26T11:38:00.002Z

Ok, today is my last half-day as I'm finishing this job next tuesday and will be back in the land of hospital shift-work! Don't be too sad for me, it has it's perks. There's a week of shifts when I'll be working 5pm-9pm only; sounds like fun to me. But this afternoon is just for me.

I finished tidying the junk piles in the living room yesterday (ok, so now they're all in the study, but they're sorted at least!) so I'm planning a gym trip, a supermarket shop and some dedicated me-time. Probably on the sofa with New Adventures of Superman playing in the background (you know the one - Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain - I spent most of my teenage years pining after him and the guy that played the mountie in Due South. I had a sad life. I still do really.) - I'm addicted! Maybe I'll go upmarket with a bit of West Wing, maybe not!

Anyhow, trashy tv and my lovely new scrapbooking journal. It's a lovely paperchase A5 softback with a purple paisley fabric cover. I've been looking for a reason to use it for ages but nothing's seemed quite right - especially cos the pages are plain. I usually write stuff on loose sheets but then I lose them so it would probably be better to collect everything together. What to write? Well that's easy - I have too much to choose from:

overlooked blog challenges
Shimelle journalling challenges
Shimelle's home prompt 3 - producing a minibook about homes of friends and family - since I'm on a stash budget I can't afford to buy book rings and chipboard this month so I'm going to plan ahead and get the photos and everything else sorted so I can get going when I do have the money, probably next month! (which is another reason not to feel sorry for me - my pay goes back up when I start back at the hospital!)

That's enough to be getting on with, isn't it?

There's no place like home....

2008-03-25T16:28:00.002Z

Ok, so I'm a bit late, but I signed up to Shimelle's latest class today. She does a fabulous Christmas Journal class each year and I only found out about it in the middle of December. This new class is a set of 25 projects centred around the theme 'There's No Place Like Home'. I've got the first 2 prompts and I'm planning on settling down to work on them tonight. I have loads of random photos of our first home (taken to show elderly relatives who don't travel well!) and I hope I'll be able to use some of them.

In the meantime, I've been perusing my favourites gallery on UKS to get some inspiration for some scrapping. Seriously lacking in the inspiration department recently and looking at other people's work usually gives me one or two ideas. I might post my efforts, if I can work out how!