Love is....

This is the latest dare at the Speshal dares blog. My mom and dad popped around on sunday morning and as they arrived i was playing with my camera. I managed to get a few great photos of them and decided that i would do this dare dedicated to them.

Love is....

I am learning more and more that love is not easy. It takes hard work, commitment and a lot of time it takes a choice. A choice to hang in there, a choice to forgive and a choice to accept. My mom and dad have been through a lot these past 18 months but here they are still togther, still loving each other and still hanging in there. They are such a great example to me.

In other other news ....... I have some very exciting news myself. Stuarts brother and girlfriend have said that they would like me to take their wedding photos next Septmeber. I am so excited about this i can not wait. I want to take a photo class at Jessops before then and am hoping to have gained some good experience and ideas by then.....Look out borders - here i come!

Happy Halloween everyone, i still need to pop out to pick up some treats at lunch time today but looking forward to having the kids come round. Have a great day today.

I really Shouldn't...

This was last weeks challenge on the Beyond Appearnces blog. The minute i saw it i knew exactly what the title had to be and also who the photo had to be of. So here is my layout for this weeks challenge....
I really shouldnt be this cute


I got a whole load of scrapping done today but i just havent had any time to get them all photographed and posted so i will try to get this done during the week.

wear it pink

As promised here are some photos from out Wear it pink day at work on friday. Have a great day everyone.

The end of a long week

Finally, the end of a VERY long week! So much has happened this week that i think it might take me a few days to process it all before i let you all know whats happening. Among other things this week i managed to finish another christmas layout which i totally love. I have been looking at these photos for a while now but hadnt done anything with them as of yet. I decided to use these photos for the http://www.pencillines.com sketch challenge number 2.

This is a closer view of page one

And this is page two

The journaling reads:
December 2000. While sitting here looking at these photos I realised that this Christmas was one that will always bring a smile to my face and will always remind me of so many happy memories. John, Mary, Jake, Nicholas and Sammy made this Christmas unforgettable for me. My first real Christmas tree, my first ever ginger bread house and believe it or not my first ever white Christmas. The boys and I had so much fun decorating the tree, making the eggnog (but definitely not drinking it) having snow fights and opening up the presents. I loved every single memory that we made that year. Christmas in America is truly like no other. Between the beautiful white snow that fell all across the landscape to all the houses that were decorated with everything from Christmas wreaths and bows to amazing lights and decorations. There were so many new things going on around me, so much that I wish I had remembered to take photos of. This time of year was truly one which was filled with magic and that magic felt like it was especially for me!


I have also been working on a minibook whihc i am almost finished with and i also have another layout that i am in the middle of finishing.

Last night i took some time out to make some weight watchers brownies. They turned out so nice that stuart managed to eat six out of the eight brownies! And that was in one sitting! Now as you can see these babies are not small so they must have been fantastic!


I have some more fantastic photos of ""Wear it Pink" day at work today but i will post those over the weekend.

The Blue's

Well, today is not going too well so far! Nothing bad in particular has happened, its just that im feeling a little blue, a little low. You know when you just have loads of stuff going through your head and you end up thinking about the same things over and over?? Thats me today.

Relaxing

This weekend turned out to be a great weekend. I got to spend loads of time doing what i love to do - scrapping - and i also got to spend loads of time with my parents, visiting and just chillin out. I know i have said this a hundred times already but i love having them in the same country as me, never mind in the same city!

I have spent hours on this layout below. I started this layout for a compeition on www.thescrapbooksite.com about a week and half ago but for some or other reason it just has not been coming together for me. Finally, saturday morning, i managed to get it all finished, photographed and submitted, phew and just in the nik of time.

The competition was to do a layout about friendship. Friendship in any sense of the word, not just the obvious. Anyway, i took the obvious approach and did this layout on my best friend Jen, from south africa. We have been friends for so many years - i cant belive it! I used so many different products that if you would like a list just email me and i will send one your way...lol.

I have also been working on another very exciting project. So far i am about 7 pages into it and am hoping to get it finished, or as finished as it will get for now, by tonight or tomorrow at the latest. So make sure you pop back to take a look!

Stu was supposed to go to a job this morning and so had to wake up at 3:50AM! Yup, that was 3:50AM! Me, being the good fiance, got up to make him a fresh flask of tea and some sandwhiches. Once he left i did manage to get back to bed for a little while although i did not get to do much actual sleeping. So, on second thoughts i might just end up going to bed early tonight.....

As much as i love scrapping, i seem to have restarted my love for cooking and baking. Many moons ago i used to love trying new things and making healthy lovely meals but over time and probably for other reasons that enjoyment dwindled and i found cooking more of a chore than a pleasure. Well, not any more! A few weeks ago i made "Spooky Shephards Pie" which i think started me off again. This weekend i tried a Coffee and vanilla swirl cake using a weight watchers recipe. It turned out way better than what i was expecting it to...even my dad enjoyed 3 slices of it (although he doesnt know that it was low fat and he doesnt know i used cream cheese for the icing...lol)!!

Got that Friday feelin

I am so glad that today is Friday, which makes tomorrow Saturday, which means that tomorrow and can sleep in and do some much needed scrapping.....and house chores.

This week has been such a busy week for me that it's no wonder i dont know where the days are going to! Due to people leaving my office at work i am now the only one working in my department so i am donig all the work and my manager is away today so i am doing her stuff as well.....just to add to that i am only temping here so taking on way more than what i should really be. Apparantly it might be like this for another 2 - 3 weeks!

In my scrapping world things are very busy there too. I have so many projects going on at the moment that i now have a list of what i need to do by when. I am trying to finish a layout for a competition, whose deadline is tomorrow. I am also working on my grans 80th birthday gift, along with another christmas layout for another competition/RAK and i have signed up to do Shimelles latest class, which i am now 5 prompts behind!! Its a good job i love this hobbie otherwise it might turn out to be very stressful.

I received two kits this week, one from scrapagogo and another from thescrapbooksite. I will post pictures tomorrow of these for you....very very nice!

I managed to alter this mini clipboard last weekend but it has taken me all week to photograph it and post it on here......so take a lookie here


While walking round tescos a few weeks ago i found this in one of the isles. I couldnt belive my eyes, and even though it was about £3 i just had to try some. I took it home and have been saving it for a special occassion, as you do, and monday night my parents were coming round for dinner so i thought Aha! Perfect time to get it out the cupboard and use it. Well, i stuck it in my slow cooker with some chicken breasts and by the time i got home from work the house smelt so nice. It reminded me of home so much. So if you fancy a delicious something different then pop into tescos and try one of these.


Well, my weekend is full of scrapping, house cleaning and hopefully some photo taking at the park. Have a good weekend ya'll

Scrapping

Wow, is it really Tuesday already?? What on earth happened to monday...and the weekend for that matter...lol

Well, my weekend was good. Some new stash arrived, i did some scrapping, went shopping in town with my folks, got some house work done and even managed to walk round a new car boot that has just opened up at our local football club. It was a busy weekend but a very enjoyable one.

Now for some photos.... A few days ago i ordered some stash from Scrapadoodledoo, as they had a half price sale on everything!Noramlly it would have cost me about £24 for the lot but i was lucky enough to get it for £12....what a bargain.


I have also finally managed to get my latest entry for the cicle journal completed. I was really not looking forward to doing this entry but i have now done it and i love how it has turned out. The colours are so rich and warm. Im definately planning on doing the same colours and design for a 12 x 12. Oh yeah, all most forgot. The sketch was part of the new challenge blog sketch called pencillines.


And finally, i managed to complete another layout. This one is for the UKS weekly challenge as well as for Ali Edwards - The Patterened Paper challenge #13. To creat a border with patterend pieces of paper.




Well thats it for now folks. See you all here tomorrow.

Change - one of life's little lessons

Change is hard. Even change for the better takes some getting used to, and a change that we feel is not so good . . . well, it can inspire a whole host of negative feelings and attitudes.

The problem is, in order to grow, we have to change. And as much as we might like to stay put, God loves us too much to let us stagnate. So things are going to change whether we like it or not ― we don’t get a choice about that. What we do get to choose is how we respond to change.

We can choose to become angry, bitter, and defeated . . . but why would you want to do that? Disappointment is a part of life, but that’s no reason to wallow in it. Feel it, acknowledge it, pray about it . . . and keep moving. Change happens.

It’s a good thing, really. Think what it would be like if the kids never outgrew diapers, the news wasn’t, and we had to eat the exact same thing three times a day. (The Israelites tried that last one when they were in the wilderness and the results weren’t pretty. See Numbers 11 for the story.)

So, difficult though it may be, let’s determine to face change with a positive attitude, a flexible spirit, and confidence in the One who never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

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This is what arrived in my inbox last night when i got home from work. It is part of a monthly newsletter from womanoffaith.com. I love getting their newsletters as they alwasy have such fantastic articles. This article really caught my attention or should i rather say...I really heard the Lord speaking to me.

God has been speaking to me for a few months now about some particular thing in my life that i need to change. But me being me and being human i have been putting it off, finding any excuse as to why i dont really need to do it. Today it felt like God was sitting me down over a cup of tea and having a real good heart to heart. Sorry Lord for not paying attention and thank you for not giving up on me!

Lots and lots of different things

I think i am in love!! I came across these little treats yesterday while doing some quick shopping in Tesco's and as they were on sale i decided to treat myself. Boy was that a bad idea! lol. They are so devine. I finished the entire bag yesterday and have now taken the other one to work...so that i can share them of course and not be soo much of a piggy wiggy. If you are feeling strong and want to try these then they are well worth it - but be warned....they are very addictive!

For the past four days i have been stalking our poor postie. I have been waiting for my monthly kit from the Scrapbookstand and yesterday it finally arrived. The minute i opened it i knew i loved it! These are not my type of paper but boy oh boy did i have ideas swimming round my head while looking at all my stuff. The ribbon is not too clear on this pic but it is stunning and i also got flowers, big brads and 3D paint! What oh what do i do with 3D paint?

Last night i was feeling very creative. Not in the tradition paper, ribbon stamps sort of way but in the kitchen. I found this recipe on the Pilsbury website called "Spooky Shepherds Pie" and decided last night was the night to try it. It turned out fab - Stu even went back for seconds!

Over the past few weeks i have also been hosting a button swap on UKS. What a fantastic lot of ladies who have taken part. The buttons that everyone sent in were great. Below is a picture of the buttons for group 1....(minus the pink flower one - that jumped on in there for some reason)

Group 2's buttons are below. I am still waiting for buttons from one lady so there will be more to add to this lot soon hopefully.



Tonight i am off to a crop - at least i am hoping to be but it depends how i feel when i finish work as i havent sorted anything out for it yet. Have a great day everyone

The joys of our Modern Day life

We have now been without hot water for 2 days and by what the landlord said we are still going to be without water for another 4 days at least!! I so miss hot water and central heating!Im having to boil the kettle to wash my face. Having to cuddle up with my OH during the night to keep warm and worst of all i am having to have a sink bath! Yuk!! If you havent guessed yet - our boiler is leaking and broken. *sniff* *sniff* I will never take for granted being able to turn on a hot water tap and have hot water coming out of it again!



Last night i managed to complete on my Effer Dares that i have been working on - I am so Lucky. I really love how this turned out, the colours are so vibrant!


The journaling reads: "This is my mom. The woman who helped me read my first grade book - Mo the Monkey. The woman who showed me how to bake her famous chocolate cake. The woman who taught me how to care for those around me. The woman who showed me that you dont always have to be right.This is my mom. For the life that you gave me, for the lessons you have taught me, for the love that you have shown me, for the support you have given me - I thank you. The relationship we now share - I am so Lucky!"

Im off to get ready for yet another day at the office. Im hoping that my monthly kit arrives today. It should have been here on saturday or yesterday but nothing yet. Please all cross your fingers that it arrives today.

Quick update

Morning everyone, hope you all had a great weekend. My weekend was good. Didnt get much scrapping done but did manage to get the house sorted and catch up on some much needed reading.

My week ahead is going to be a busy one so not sure how often i will be on here to update.

Just wanted to leave you with this photo that i took on friday evening when i got home from work. God created such beautiful things for us!

Friday Lurve

I am so looking forward to this weekend. I dont have anything special planned but even though, i can not wait! We are off out for dinner tonight with some friends from work. We havent done anything like this for so long now. Its going to be a great time!

Last night, after spending hours rearranging the lounge due to us having to have the arial wire moved from the front of the house to the back of the house, we sat down to watch the latest X Men movie which we rented from Blockbusters. It was fab! lol...this seems to be my most used word at the moment. I really enjoyed watching it. The story line was good and at the same time it really kept you guessing! I wont ruin it for anyone who still wants to watch it but get yourself prepared for a real twist. Fab! Absolutely fab!

Is anyone else a fan of Nicholas Sparks? All my life i have been an avid reader. Books have alwasy been a huge part of my life but lately i just havent been able to sit down and read one. Maybe its got something to do with this addictive, time consuming hobby called scrapbooking but who knows! lol Stuart bought this book for me for my birthday from Borders and it took me a week or two to start to read it but now i just cant put it down. It has got be hooked like only a good book can! It's 400 and odd pages and i am almost halfway through it. Im reading in the bath, infront of the tele, before we go bed....i just cant put it down. If your ever stuck for anything wholesome to read, take a look at this book.

I received this from one of my friends via email and i loved it! Everything I have done is in orange and i have decided i will definately have to do a layout of this at some point.

Bought everyone in the bar a drink
Swam with wild dolphins
Climbed a mountain
Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
Been inside the Great Pyramid
Held a tarantula
Taken a candlelit bath with someone
Said “I love you’ and meant it

Hugged a tree
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
Seen the Northern Lights
Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)

Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
Grown and eaten your own vegetables
Touched an iceberg
Slept under the stars
Changed a baby’s diaper
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Watched a meteor shower
Gotten drunk on champagne
Given more than you can afford to charity

Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
Had a food fight
Bet on a winning horse
Asked out a stranger
Had a snowball fight
Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
Held a lamb
Seen a total eclipse
Ridden a roller coaster

Hit a home run
Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
Adopted an accent for an entire day
Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
Had two hard drives for your computer
Visited all 50 states
Taken care of someone who was drunk
Had amazing friends
Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
Watched wild whales

Stolen a sign
Backpacked in Europe
Taken a roadtrip
Gone rock climbing
Midnight walk on the beach
Gone sky diving
Visited Ireland
Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
Visited Japan
Milked a cow

Alphabetized your CDs
Pretended to be a superhero
Sung karaoke
Lounged around in bed all day
Posed nude in front of strangers
Gone scuba diving
Kissed in the rain

Played in the mud
Played in the rain
Gone to a drive-in theater
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

Toured ancient sites
Taken a martial arts class
Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
Gotten married
Been in a movie

Crashed a party
Gotten divorced
Gone without food for 5 days
Made cookies from scratch
Won first prize in a costume contest
Ridden a gondola in Venice
Gotten a tattoo- all be it a stick on one
Rafted the Snake River
Been on television news programs as an “expert”

Got flowers for no reason
Performed on stage- while in school
Been to Las Vegas
Recorded music
Eaten shark
Had a one-night stand
Gone to Thailand

Bought a house
Been in a combat zone
Buried one/both of your parents
Been on a cruise ship
Spoken more than one language fluently
Performed in Rocky Horror
Raised children (I've helped raise children if that counts)
Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
Had plastic surgery
Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
Wrote articles for a large publication
Lost over 100 pounds
Held someone while they were having a flashback
Piloted an airplane

Petted a stingray
Broken someone’s heart
Helped an animal give birth
Won money on a T.V. game show
Broken a bone
Gone on an African photo safari
Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced

Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
Ridden a horse
Had major surgery
Had a snake as a pet
Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states

Visited all 7 continents
Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
Eaten kangaroo meat
Eaten sushi
Had your picture in the newspaper
Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
Gone back to school

Parasailed
Petted a cockroach
Eaten fried green tomatoes
Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey. S
elected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
Killed and prepared an animal for eating

Skipped all your school reunions
Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
Been elected to public office
Written your own computer language
Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
Had to put someone you love into hospice care
Built your own PC from parts
Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you

Had a booth at a street fair
Dyed your hair
Been a DJ
Shaved your head
Caused a car accident
Saved someone’s life

Till later, have a fab (theres that word AGAIN...lol) weekend everyone

See ya Monday.

The value of hard work

You know that feeling you get when you climb into bed at night and you know that you know that the day that now lies behind you has been a productive one. Today was one of those days for me. I had a such a productive day at work - i got everything done that needed doing and still managed to do some more. I love that feeling. Its so good to know that i have really worked hard. Ok, maybe it's just me but i sure did love that feeling.

I managed to get a layout done last night for our UKS weekly challenge. It's a long story but halfway through i was ready to throw in the towel with this layout but after a deep breath and some cooling down time i came back to it and finished it. Im so glad that i did - I love how it turned out.

The bar at the bottom looks a little wonky because it feel down a little. Only when i picked up to put it away i noticed the bar had fallen down so now i have restuck it.

There is so much more that i wanna say at the moment but i just dont have the time so for now this will have to be it. Have a great day everyone!

Tissues, sneezes and pillows

Poor me! I got home yesterday after work with a massive cold on its way. I got changed into my trusty old pj's, made myself a nice cup of tea and climbed into my make shift bed on the couch. That is where i spent the rest of the night until Stuart dragged me to bed.

Im happy to report that this moring i am doing much better. I have a horrible yuk nose still and a little cough but my raging temperature and achy body seem to have subsided.

So last night i did no scrapping, no housework, no reading, no dinner making. Lets hope i get more done tonight.

Monday mornings

Morning everyone, what a fantastic weekend! Filled with rest, scrapping and most importantly Me Time. Saturday morning the postman arrived with some books that i bought off of Joyce Meyers website as well as a circle journal for me. Let me just tell you about this circle journal. It is soooo lush. It is just so fab and the entries are so fantastic that i am a little worried about doing my page in it. I just hope that my page will turn out ok.

I am so proud of myself and i am taking this opportunity to give myself a real pat on the back. I have now been doing weightwatchers to the T for the last five days. Now i know that this may seem really small for some people but i have felt out of control for so long that this victory, no matter how small really makes a difference to me!Watch out world, here i come! On the topic of weight lose, could anyone suggest a good scale. The one i have gives a different reading every time i get on it. So much so that i got on it three times in a row this morning and their was difference of 3 lbs between the highest and lowest reading! That cant be right!

I just want to give a shout out to my friend Ray. Ray, i just want you to know that i love you, miss you and am thinking about you. I’m here for you any time you need me, day or night.

Every Sunday SJ does a blog prompt on UKS and this weeks really grabbed my attention. It is on your top five Pet Hates so i thought i would have a go. When i started to think about this one i couldn’t put them in a one to five list so here they are in no particular order.

1. I HATE it when people try to talk to you when you are sitting watching a movie. Especially when you have just spent the entire day together and for some reason they could not have brought up the conversation earlier?
2. When someone feels it is necessary to slurp while they are eating. For some reason it just drives me crazy.....That and sniffing!
3. When people purposefully sing the wrong words to the song on the radio - this i have learnt to not let get to me too much as Stuart always does it but still....i hate it.
4. I hate when people shout at me. I don’t mind confrontation or an argument but when you feel it is ok to actually shout at me then things have gone too far. Talk to me, debate with me, disagree with me but DONT shout at me.
5. I hate it when it snows and i have to go out. I love watching it snow and i love going out and taking photos in it and playing in but driving in it - HATE.

Well, i managed to get quite a bit of scrapping done this weekend. The first layout i worked on was for the everyone is Speshel Dares. Dare number 21. The minute i read it i loved it. I knew this was going to be a brilliant layout and i am so pleased with how it turned out. If the basic idea of the layout and the tag and title look familiar to you, you are right. This page is about a 95% scraplift of Caroline's layout. I have been thinking about doing a page about back home for so long now but i just wasn’t sure where to start and now i have found the perfect page. Thank you girls for the challenge!

This layout is a very simple layout for me and this too was so much fun to work on. I love how the colours came together and i love the overall look. This page is about my little worries. The things in my life both big and small that i worry about eg. Driving on the motorway in the rain or my cats eating our next door neighbour’s prize pigeons (which i might add are worth about a £1000.00 for one bird). This is going to be going in my BOM.


GRATITUDE

This weekend has reminded me how quickly we forget how important those around us are. No one likes to see their daddy sick but my dad was very sick this weekend. It was that bad that he ended up with sever chest pain and it got to a point where we thought he was having a stroke! I am so grateful for my dad and my mom and at the same time for my health.