Well, Christmas has been and gone, and lovely it was too. Very quiet, lot's of nice food and lazing around on the sofa- perfect. The children have had great fun. Bobs loves his pool table and has been challenging Mr. Stig to many a game. The only drawback is that as the table is in the same (fairly small) room as my scrapping table, I risk a head injury being in there at the same time as them. Fifi has had great fun with her camera and has not only got some hilarious photos, but has worked out the video function too!
My poor oven packed in the day after Boxing Day. Thank goodness it lasted past Christmas itself! It's going to be a pain to replace as I wanted a different size next time round and that involves moving the kitchen round- oh joy, more work. It's just going to have to wait and luckily the small top oven is still working so that will have to do for now. Not wanting to feel left out, the dishwasher broke down a day later!!!! This can't wait, so one has been ordered- good prioritising don't you think ;o)

Journal Catch Up

Well, I've had a major catch up on my Christmas Journal. In fact, I was so involved in getting it done that some of the pages are in the wrong order! Never mind, catches my state of mind at the moment :o)

40!

Well I've got over my 40th birthday! Not so hard. I didn't wake up with any extra grey hairs or wrinkles- just the same amount as before.
I'm now way behind on my journal pages, but hopefully will put that right today. Will post more pages when I have them.

Yey!

Just a quick one to tell everyone that I passed my Degree!!! I am now the exceptionally proud owner of a first class honours degree in Health and Social Care. Yes me. I still can't believe it and Mr. Stig had to check my print out before he would belive it (what faith he has in me- NOT!).
Well, I'm off back to the bubbly :o)

Catching up.

Just thought I'd post pictures of days 4,5,6&7 of my Christmas journal. I'm really enjoying doing it and have only been a day behind for a couple of days, but I've caught up now. I'm enjoying it so much, I've been thinking of other things I can do when it's finished. I may even carry on journalling, but maybe not every day lol.

Day three and still up to date- so far!

Yes, third of December and I'm still up to date with my journalling. I know it's only three days, but normally I would be behind by now. It's great seeing everyone else's work, though quite intimidating as so many of the girls are very talented. Here are my efforts so far.

Having problems with our broadband again as it's just getting slower and slower!!! Really don't know what we're going to do if we lose it altogether :o(

And we're off.

Yes, the journalling has begun. I'm still not down to the promised 'Spend no more than 30 minutes per page', but maybe with a bit of practice I'll get there. As you can see, my scrapping table came. It's very small, but just right. It looks a lot messier already. I'm thinking of decopatching it, as it looks very plain at the moment.

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas...

...and I'm getting excited already! I've done my covers for my Christmas journal and I'll get some pages ready using the maps from Shimelle's prompts and I'll be ready :o) Well, as long as my scrapping table comes as it's supposed to on Saturday. Only a little table, but mine- just for crafting. One which I don't have to tidy away so that we can have tea.

I've got my box of Christmas stash just waiting to be cut up- can you tell I'm raring to go!!!

E.T.A. Forgot to say that the papers are from My Minds Eye Signature Christmas collection. The Santa in sleigh is chipboard from Heidi Hi Crafts which has been dipped into UTEE and embosing powders using a melt pot and the 2007 is from my stash pile that I coated in the same way but didn't like the colour so finished it off with a dusting of Perfect Pearls.

Shopping trip from hell!

Teacher training today for both children, so it was the ideal time to go off and get new Winter coats for them. They have grown so much since the Summer, and it won't be long 'till I'm the shortest member of the family!

Bobs hates shopping and was completely miffed when he realised that we were going to be buying more than PS2 games. He quickly got what he wanted with only half a glance at what he was buying (must be a male thing), Fifi however couldn't find anything. We trolled from one shop to the next, but nothing was quite right (must be a female thing). Anyway, to cut a very long and boring story short, frustration got the better of both of the little darlings and after much sniping at each other an all out fight broke out in Asda. There was shoving and tears and a lot of 'she said, he said'. So, there was only one thing for it- they got the look!!! I'm sure this 'look' is innate in our family, because all female members above a certain age can do it. No words needed, the 'look' says it all lol. We finished our shopping trip in relative peace Fifi even found some clothes, but the nightmare wasn't over- we got stuck in traffic and it took us two hours to get home.

Christmas shopping is all being done online this year :o)

The picture is of Bobs contemplating the TARDIS in the Dr. Who Exhibition in Cardiff. Totally unrelated to my shopping trip, but we're having Dr. Who withdrawel symptoms in our house at the moment.

Oh no!

Well today was another day of waiting in for a delivery. It was OK though, it was our new table and chairs so I was very excited. No more balancing plates on laps and dinner down your front (well maybe). The delivery time came and went, but I used the time wisely and finished off our team challenge LO. Finally, they came- hooray- or not as the case turned out to be. The first thing I noticed was that it was the wrong table!!! Unbelievable, we'd been waiting for 6 weeks. Ordered early to ensure we got it all well in time for Christmas, and then they send the wrong one. After sorting this out, I began to wonder why I had ordered cream covers on the chairs. With two extremely messy children, cream is not a colour we do in this house. So, I checked the order- Bali Straw. Sounds cream. I must have been having a mad moment when we ordered. That or the price had shocked me so much I wasn't thinking straight. But then Fifi came home. "I thought you'd ordered green covers because we're so messy", she said. Another phone call to the shop ascertained that Bali Straw was in fact green and we had the wrong chairs. You would think that maybe someone somewhere had our table and chairs by mistake, but no. Apparently it has been a complete cock up!

So will we get our table and chairs in time for Christmas- who knows :o(

I'm tempted to invite everyone over for a crop- well they did say we could use this table in the meantime ;o)

So I'm wondering.....

.....do I have enough Christmas stash for Shimelle's journal? This is just the papers and odds and ends I've found. I need more ribbon (on it's way) alphas and then I think I'm ready. Really looking forward to journalling our Christmas this year as it's the first one since we've been married (15 years) where it's just been the four of us. Doing Shimelle's class will give me the push I need, and the inspiration- she has such good ideas.

I'm amazed at how many of us there are doing it, and from all over the world, which just makes it extra special. So, not long to wait now. Can you tell I'm excited lol.

Bobs is playing football for his school today, of course we'd forgotten his boots, so I've just had to dash to the school with them, getting soaked in the process. I just hope they win- they've not had much luck recently :o(

Right, off to decide how to cover my journal.

Sparklers

I've started loads of craft projects recently, but none are finished yet so I thought I'd post this photo of Fifi with her sparkler on Bonfire Night. Sparklers, as you can see, make very good wands! I'm hoping to use the photo for a team challenge we've got coming up on UKS, so a layout is soon to follow.

I'm back!- I think.

Well, I know I'm probably jinxing it, but my internet has been on for over a week. It's very slow, so slow I'm imagining some little internet elf or something standing in our exchange and cranking a big handle to wind it up, but it's on and it's wireless!
The house is nearly finished- Hurray! Just a couple more curtains or blinds to make (can't decide which) and a bit more furniture, but that may have to wait a while. Anyway off to the little fabric shop in town for some curtain material and who knows some yarn as well.
Back soon (fingers crossed) and if I've got an hour to spare I'll upload some photos too :o)

Bad Blogger.

Well I've not been very prolific with my blogging have I! Mostly this is due to the fact that our broadband is still playing up and at times we are without it for hours on end. However because the problems are down to the length of line, we've been told that it is this or nothing- back to dial-up and no wireless :( So we're trying to put up with it for now, though it's a massive pain and has only made my desire to move greater than ever. That in turn causes arguements and the stress levels just increase. So, I really don't want to bore you with all of that (although I just have:) )
On a much more postive note, Percy has had her baby and come home- thank goodness for some good news. Fifi got two certificates for Chemistry and Clarinet- what a fabulous daughter I have. She has framed them as she is so proud and she should be, she works so hard. Bobs has had his hair cut!!!!!! Those of you that know him will realise what a big event this is. He wanted to look like Ronaldo, and considering he's an 11 year old Welsh boy and not a 22 year old Portugese footballer, the hairdresser did a good job. I'll post photos soon.

And Finally...

I've finished my mini book, which you can see below. Four days is quite fast for me! I used Daisy D's Autumn Collection papers, felt, embroidery thread, Hambly rub-ons and bazzill all from Scrap Studio September kit and added some extra Bazzill and Seven Gypsies typewriter words. I bound it all with my Bind-it-All which I've had for a while but only been able to use since I've finished my exams.
This is so much easier for me than 12x12 pages at the moment, and I can use up all those little photos I've taken over the years.
Hope you like it.

My First Bind-it-All Album

Mega Offline!

Yes, we have been offline for this long. Our Broadband was cancelled and we are now trying out a service for extra long lines. Keep your fingers crossed that it works.

Well, alot has happened. Well, no it hasn't, but I have taken my Exam. Three essays in three hours! At least it left me no time to faff, which I have a habit of doing. The journey to the exam was a bit fraught as the council decided to dig up a major roundabout. Luckily, I'd left plenty of time but I did feel myself go numb with panic as the traffic came to a standstill and we were stationary for what felt like an age (10 minutes). Anyway, the exam room looked out onto the prom and it was quite nice to calm myself by looking at the waves every now and again. I felt quite sorry for one man who kept going out to the toilet- nerves I thought at first, but then I started to wonder. He was doing a maths paper- did he have equations written where no-one would dare look!? I wonder. No results for a while so there's no point worrying if I've passed or not.

No exciting photos today, but a very moody sky that I got up to this morning.

Craft wise, my Witch is coming on, my sewing machine's been fixed and I've nearly finished an 8x6 album using my Bind-It-All. Photos to follow when they're finished.

Internet Problems!!!

Well, our flippin' internet's been playing up again. It's no surprise seeing as we're miles from the exchange, but still annoying as there is a closer exchange but BT in their wisdom decided to put us on the furthest one!!!!!

However, I'm beginning to think that it's devine intervention, because it does mean that I have to revise. Coincidence that my internet is going off during the day a week before my exams? I think not lol.

I found this picture today, whilst I was doing a Circle Journal. It's of me as a Student Nurse, sitting in my room in the Nurses Home, Christmas 1989. This building has now been knocked down, as most Nurses Homes have been, but it was a fabulous place to live. Right by the hospital, and only a minute from the social club :) There used to be a tunnel from the home to the hospital and most days in winter we would use this to get to and from work, never having to face the cold and snowy weather. Ahhhh, lovely memories.

(Well, except for the hair- what was I thinking!)

Back to School

Finally Bobs was able to go back to school today. Despite his worries that he was too weak, he managed the whole day and played football at break!

I did my little stint at the charity shop today, which gets more bizarre as the weeks go by! Luckily, the ladies I work with are lovely, but some of the other shifts seem to be manned by evil versions of the Sheriff of Nottingham!!! Apparently they have taken a dislike to another one of the volunteers and are making it their personal mission to get rid of them. For goodness sake, we work in a charity shop not Amstrad.

I've had 3 kits through today, but I have forced myself to have a quick look and then put them away. I really have to revise and having all that lovely stuff to play with is too much of a temptation!

OK, so I've not blogged for a couple of days, so I thought I'd give you a laugh (God, I'm going to regret this!!!). This is a photo of me dressed as a viking for a town carnival. I was only supposed to be dropping the children off at their Youth Club, but got roped in- literally. (yes, the dress was miles too small)

Stig Logic

Firstly, I'm happy to report that Bobs is on the mend. No sickness or anything else (if you know what I mean) since yesterday. He's started to eat small bits of food and drinking, though he is insisting that water tastes 'sour' unless it's refridgerated. He's lost a lot of weight, and he didn't have much to spare, but hopefully he'll start putting it back on soon.

Now on to the strange workings of my brain (yes, it works, but in mysterious ways!). I used to subscribe to a monthly scrapbooking kit. It was always lovely and very exciting to receive it every month from the postie. After a while though I started to feel a bit guilty about the amount of money going on stash, so I stopped the kit and persuaded myself that I could get my own stuff and be a bit more prudent (oh who was I kidding). Of course I kept looking at the kit, just to see what it was like and this months, after days of trying to tell myself it wasn't, was lush. Never mind, I thought I'll just get some of the papers, which I did and here they are in the picture. Just my sort of thing, and I threw in a few Halloween extras for good measure. Job done- I was sorted- wasn't I? No, no, no. The papers were so much nicer in real life that I just had to have the kit! Now, when the shopping bug takes hold of me, it takes hold in a very bad way. I typed in the web address of the site and......NO..... the site was down. Panic took hold, exhaserbated by my worry for Bobs and the up coming exams, I was nearly beside myself. Why had I thought it would be so easy to quit my kit habit? Hours went by (OK half an hour) until finally the site was up again. Yes there were some kits left- I was happy again!

But what about the guilt about all the money spent on kits? Well as my lovely friend Percy says, we don't drink (well I do) or smoke, so it's OK. Anyway, as I keep telling Mr. Stig, if we hadn't moved to this house, of his choosing, I would still be working. It's the price you pay for being married to me Mr. Stig :-) and I know you just love it!

(The papers, stickers and chipboard letters are from Daisy D's Autumn range.)

Still Poorly

My poor little man is still ill. He was doing well yesterday until we had to go and collect Fifi from school and he was sick again. That at least was the only time and he's been drinking water to keep him hydrated. I relented yesterday and bought him his favourite luminouse blue sports drink. He needs some kind of carbs and electrolytes and he absolutely refuses to drink the usual electrolyte replacements. Anyway, it's staying down, so for now I'm happy. (OK, spoke too soon again!!!)

My revision has been non-existant because of Bobs being ill, but I am really going to have to work out a way of filtering out the sound of Cartoon Network and get on with it. It's just over two weeks to the exam so time is running out! If only the exam was on children's TV, then I'd be fine.

This picture was taken this morning. I have loads like this as I often get up to the site of plane exhausts streaking across the sky and they fascinate me. I wonder where everyone is going or coming back from, and what they will or have been doing whilst they're there.

Spoke Too Soon

Poor Bobs is still not well. He's been sick twice today so we have just been to the doctors. There's no stomach tenderness, headaches, disturbed vision or neck stiffness so some of my meningitis/appendicitis fears are allayed somewhat. I know I shouldn't be so paranoid, but after working on a children's ward, it's hard not to. Meningitis was rife in my first year as a trained nurse and some of the cases were heartbreaking. I suppose it's only natural for those cases to come back to me in their full horror in circumstances like this, but it makes for very sleepness nights.

Luckily, my wool came today so I can do some knitting to take my mind off worrying for a bit. Here is Wilhelmina in her unmade state. I will have to revise sometime, so she may take a while in the making. As long as she's ready for her Debut at Halloween.

Normal Service (Almost) Resumed

So much for daily blogging. Well, I've had a good excuse, my sister has been down with her Husband and baby. I don't think I've ever met such a gorgeous, placid baby. Now, my babies were of course gorgeous but I could never have described them as being placid! My nephew is only 13 weeks old and sleeping for 12 hours through the night. My sister and I think it may be due to the osteopathy he had just after he was born. He was quite collicky then and he had the treatment for that. It treated that and more! Going to suggest it to Percy for her new babe.

Poor Bobs has been sick too. I hate it when the children are ill, it brings out the paranoid, uptight parent in me. He seems to be on the mend, but not 100% yet.

The wool for my Witch hasn't come yet either and with my sewing machine breaking (again) any craft plans I had have been put on hold.

The picture is of Bobs checking out a Dalek at the Dr. Who exhibition in Cardiff

My Other Obsession

I've been making cards for a few years, have been scrapbooking for nearly one, but my long term obsession is knitting. My Mam and Nana used to be mad knitters and I suppose it just rubbed off. Ever since I knitted my first dishcloth at school, I've been hooked.

Knitting isn't just about the end product, as with so much else it's the whole process that makes it so satisfying. It starts with the shopping- of course. Going to a yarn shop is the best. Being able to squish all the different yarns and seeing the colours in real life, but with not so many yarn shops round here, I have to make do with online shopping. But, it's not just yarn. There's needles made from plastic, metal, birch, bamboo, ebony, glass and numerous others. there's stitch markers, stitch counters, row counters, yarn cutters... the list is endless. Obviously, you need a bag to put all this stash in, so there's a variety of those too. In fact just the shopping for knitting stash could be a full time job!

So that is what I've been doing today, shopping for new knitting stash. Not so easy online, especially if you need a selection of colours, like I did. Eventually though, I found all the neccessary stash for my next project.

So, what am I making? A nice warm jumper for the winter months? A few cushion covers to go in my new living room? Hat and gloves, again, to keep me warm? No, of course not. That would be far too sensible! I'm knitting a witch for Halloween. Well, it keeps me out of mischeif ;-)

Been Offline

For goodness sake, do BT know what they're doing when they mess up my phone lines! I've been offline for a day and it scares me to think how much I use the internet. Well, not just me. Fifi couldn't search for homework help or go on MSN, Bobs couldn't watch Ronaldo goals over and over again on youtube, Mr. Stig had to stay late at work whereas he normally comes home and accesses work stuff from here and I couldn't talk to any of my pals, (or shop- but that's a good thing)!!!
The house is close to being finished. I'm in the process of washing all the chair covers so that I can move them into the new living room soon, but that also means hoovering down the sides of the chairs so goodness knows what I'll find. I don't mind finding money but I'm worried that knowing my children I'm likely to find bits of food and other stuff I'd rather not mention!

Weird Weather

OK, so today we've had wind, rain, sun and then after the children got home we had hail and thunder (both of which H didn't have half a mile away!). I suppose it keeps things interesting. Nothing exciting happened today, apart from the weather. We had some carpets laid, I did some revising- all very boring. So a boring picture to go with it- well I don't want to be the only one bored do I? Here's my revising- enjoy

Bowling

Bobs' party today, so we took him and four friends bowling. We had to take two cars, so Mr. Stig came too, and Fifi of course. The car journey was noisy and I did get a bit worried when the boys in my car decided they wanted to play a game to pass the time. Nothing wrong with that- no, not until they said they wanted to play hide and seek!

Most of us had never been bowling before, but we all had a great time and the game flew by. There was only one falling out and that was between Bobs and Fi, so nothing new there. Fifi had apparently put Bobs off his game by being in his eyeline! In reality, as I've said before, he hates to lose.

Then, off for some food at a Brewer's Fayre. I felt so sorry for the diners that were already there when we walked in- two adults and six rowdy children! Luckily there was a play area so the only time the children spent at the table was when they were eating- at which time they were very quiet :-)

Here's a picture of Bobs bowling- notice no sign of Fifi, who was keeping well out of the way- poor thing.

The Revision Begins

Yep, it's time to start revising. I've got 4 weeks to revise 9 months work. Oh well, I managed to revise for my O'Levels in a couple of weeks! The trouble is that it's so boring- so boring in fact that I did the ironing as an excuse not to revise!!!

Another birthday- they're coming thick and fast at the moment. Good job I've got the stash to make all these cards :-) Can you see a theme with the recent cards? Yes, they're all from the Scrapagogo kit.

My Bella stamps came today- less than 24hrs after ordering them- fabulous service from Funky Kits.

Tired.

Gosh I'm tired today. I always come down with a bump after an essay. Sometimes I wish I'd done my degree when I was 18, but I don't think I'd have taken it quite so seriously as I do now, so maybe it's best I waited. Anyway, if I'd have gone to university then I'd never have gone to nursing college- and that was an experience and a half!

Did a bit of crafting this morning, then broke my 18 hour old stash diet by buying some Bella stamps. I'm too weak for any type of diet.

Today's picture is from Bobs' birthday yesterday. They're laughing because the candle played 'Happy Birthday'

P.S. Please ignore messy kitchen, I've been busy ;-)

My Baby's 11 Today!

No! How did that happen? It was only yesterday that I bought a little bundle of baby and copious amounts of black hair home with me. I've watched him grow from a placid little baby, who had to put up with his big sister shoving crisps into his mouth, through being a cheeky little monster who loved dirt and football, to a non-stop football gabbing, gorgeous boy. He thinks it's most unfair that he has school today, believing that birthdays should be days off, and this is compounded by the fact that he has football try outs at school and football practice for the town juniors tonight.

He measured himself against me this morning and he is now up to my nose, which he thinks is very funny! It won't be long 'till I'm the shortest person in the house.

My last (hopefully) essay has finally been shot through cyber space and now I only have the exam to go (only!!!). As this is the last year of my degree, I'm hoping for good results, so lots of revising to be done between now and then.

The picture is Bobs' card, made with Junkitz 'Extreme Boy' papers and a little bit of Doodlebug Sugarcoated Cardstock.

Fifi's First LO and Fish

This picture is a LO that Fifi did of her and Bobs when they were little. It reminded me of today because of the Eiffel Tower stamp she used. It's there for no good reason apart from the fact that she is fascinated with Paris. Anyway on to today, well yesterday to begin with.

Yesterday Fifi and Bobs' Nain (grandmother) gave Bobs a goldfish, which he's named Oscar. Well of course this didn't go down too well with Fifi who wanted a goldfish of her own.

To show what a good goldfish owner she would be, she went and got her garden fairy statue and put it in the tank for decoration. After this went in a few stones and some rose petals! I was unaware of all this as Mr. Stig had 'forgotten' to tell me we had said fish. Anyway, Mr. Stig luckily managed to remove the rose petals before the fish ate any and it survived Fifi's attempts to 'make it more comfy'.

Today then, found us at the pet shop buying another goldfish, filter, water treatment tablets and food. Then followed a tense journey home with Fifi, sat in the back of the car with the fish in a bag daring not to move. The children were so excited to introduce Celine (said in a French accent- remember, she loves Paris) to Oscar. Thankfully, they have made friends, though I worry about their future as I heard Bobs tell Fifi that he was going to practice fishing with them! When I told him that I didn't think this was a good idea, he told me he'd put them straight back after catching them. After graphic details of fish hooks through the side of mouths, I think I've deterred him- lets hope so!

Another Card

Another party for Bobs and so another card to make. This party was a daytime Disco- very brave parents!

We're spending the day watching Dr. Who re-runs. The children and I love to pick up on all the 'Bad Wolf' references we missed out on the first time lol.

It's Bobs' birthday next week and I still haven't bought him anything. He keeps changing his mind about what he wants. I think he's settled on a 'Pirates of the Carribean' boat with figures. Fifi has done him some great invitations for his party which is going to be a trip to the Bowling Alley with 5 friends. Oh well, I have a week to prepare.

We Have Lights- That Work!

Yes, Mr. Electrician has finally sorted our lights out. The problem was due to the extremely bizarre wiring that was done when the house was built. Anyway, one more thing out of the way. Of course there had to be a problem and that came in the form of a cracked glass shade!!! Oh, and a bit more damage to the wallpaper which I've decided to leave and maybe stamp and emboss over lol. Altered wallpaper sounds good to me.

So with an impending essay due, what did I do today? Made a card of course. Well it's my little cousins birthday soon so it had to be done. These papers are Doodlebug and came with the stamp in a Scrapagogo card kit. The letters and little bit of ribbon are from Little Silver Hat, (yes another kit). I'm a bit addicted to kits at the moment and must get some therapy for it soon :-)

Electrical and Decorating Disaster!

Well, finally Mr. Electrician came and sorted out our lights- well sort of, because now the wall lights won't turn off!!! Mr. Electrician had to go and tend his pigs so couldn't fix the problem today and so is coming back tomorrow. When Mr. Stig got home he decided to have a look- very bad idea. Not only has he not managed to fix the problem but now there are patches where the new wallpaper has been damaged! I don't think we were meant to have this wallpaper.

My picture is of an Hedwig cake I made for Fifi's birthday one year. Jemm and I were talking about Harry Potter cakes the other night and it reminded me of this one.

First Day Back

First day back at school for Fifi and Bobs. Bobs was uncharacteristically up at 6.30am, as bright and breezy as anything. He was really excited about going back to school. Fifi got up a little later and a little less enthusiastically. Everyone was ready early and no-one really wanted to wait around so off we went. Fifi gets dropped off first and luckily found some of her friends straight away, so she was happy. The car park at bobs' school however was empty, so we waited until his friends came before he bolted off with a quick goodbye blowing in the wind as he went!

The house is remarkably quiet without them, so I was glad to go off to the Charity Shop in town for a morning's work.

Here they are this morning raring to go lol.

(Yes, Bobs has toothpaste on his jumper. I have not yet succeeded in getting this boy to school 100% clean!)

Electrical Nightmare

It had to happen. Mr. Stig was confident that replacing the lights would be an easy job- I wasn't so confident. The wall lights went well and look lovely but then we came to the main light. On taking the cover off from the ceiling we were faced with a strange plate with wires connected into all sorts of places. "Oh just take that off", I said. "Can't be that important". Can't it? when released we counted 12 wires!!! Another job for the electrician then- never mind we thought. we taped the ends of the wires with insulating tape and went to turn the electrics back on- but nothing happened. No lights in the annexe. Then, the dawning realisation that all those wires actually did have a purpose lol. Luckily our Electrician is a patient man who lives just down the road and has promised to come tomorrow.

Decorating Nightmare

Yes, I've been decorating again! Just one wall, but what a nightmare. The wallpaper is really dark, as you can see, so if it rips slightly the whole length is ruined. Well after much faffing as usual I finished and very nice it looked too. Like the good girl that I am I started to pack everything away. Then a disaster occured! A very long ruler thingy (technical term) ripped a small part of one of the middle sections!!! Argh, I couldn't fix it and it looked awful. I had to rip that piece off. Of course it had started to dry and as it came off so did most of the underlying paint! By now it's dark and because Mr. Stig had turned the electricity to the lights off so that I could replace the wall lights, I couldn't see a thing. Anyway, I've replaced the piece and there is just a small bit that doesn't quite match, but I think it's just me that can notice it. If you can see the mismatch on this photo- keep quiet, if you value your life anyway!

Great Time at Greenwood

We went to the Greenwood Centre today with some friends from our UKS team. It's such a shame that the others are so far away, it would have been great to see them too. Anyway, we had a great time.
Greenwood is an evironmentally friendly Theme Park. The rollercoaster is carbon neutral and they have a rain water collection tank for flushing the loos etc. So a fantastic day without so much of the guilt :-) Most of the rides are suitable for little ones and H's little 3 year old had a great time on the rollercoaster- it was pretty fast too, but she's a budding thrill seeker I think! Sadly I took my old camera and the photos aren't great- must get over my fear of taking my Canon out with me.

The Mop Is Tamed

Yes, finally Bob's mop has been tamed. Mr stig says he can't see a difference but there was an awful lot of hair on the Barber's floor.

I've finally done part of Jemm's challenge to our UKS team. Just paper, alphas and ink! Very difficult. No embellies, no stickers, no nothing lol. I broke into my Rusty Pickle Pirate Princess papers for this one as they are so decorative they could cope with the lack of pretties. Very frustrating though as I have pirate stamps, stickers and heart charms that would have looked lovely :-)

Close Shave- Or Not

Well Bobs managed to escape having his hair cut - again. He hates having it done even though I am regularly finding bits of hair around the house that he has chopped off himself! The first time he went to the barber's, they were too busy. The second time I drove past and completely forgot (I wondered why he was sitting in the back of the car with a big grin on his face). This time the shop was shut. Well he's not getting away with it tomorrow. He's certain that fate will intervene again and now feels that it's his destiny not to have a hair cut. We shall see :-) I was going to show a picture of the offending hair- but I'm not that cruel. Instead, here's a picture of the sun desperately trying to shine through the clouds this morning.