It's the Little Things

It sure is the little things that make life interesting. It's the little things that let you know that you are loved. Its the little things that make all the difference in the world to you, Its the little things that can make you so very happy!
Yup, last night i was thinking about the little things in my life. Those little things cause a very big attitude of gratitude and can lift the lowest of spirits at any given time. Anyway, there is a point to this...lol. Why don't you take some time today and find the little things in your life that make all the difference to you.

I just wanted to show you my two projects that i did for a design team entry. Unfortunately i was not picked but perhaps next time....i live in hope....lol. We had to do one 12 x 12 layout with the theme being "Your scrapping style".
The second could be any project that you like using any supplies. I made this fab clock that sits in our bedroom. I love how it turned out and i love have my art around my house.
Anyhoo, have a great Wednesday.

It's Monday already?

Oh my this weekend has just flown by! You know how you get those weekends where you look back Monday morning and think, No way....did these past two days actually happen??

Yup, this is how my weekend went. Even though it was so busy it was still a great weekend!

Saturday morning i got to go shopping in town. I have not been to town in at least 6 weeks if not a little longer so this was a real treat for me. I decided to get there early, 9:20am on a Saturday morning is early for me. I caught a bus, enjoyed the trip into town and got off the bus ready to do some much deserved shopping.

I only had one errand to do so off i went to the bank first to get that sorted. I had only expected to be in town for about two hours or so but i ended up being there until 2pm! Aha, that's four and a half hours babe. This is some of what i came home with.....
A new necklace and hair band from Claires And i also got these new PJ's from Yours. A girl needs a comfy pair of PJ's! On the sewing front, while doing my shopping in town i decided to stop in at WHSmiths to see what sewing magazines were available. This is what i picked up....
I haven't had time to actually sit down and look through these mags, let alone actually read them but i am hoping to find some time tonight. I am so nervous to actually get started but cant wait for the challenge.

While walking through the market in town i found this stall that was selling fabric. Look, oh look what i walked away with. At first i was planning to use the brown for a pair of trousers and the floral for a skirt but when i looked at the two fabric together, i realised how nicely they go together. So i decided i was going to make a top with the floral instead of a skirt and that way i could have a new outfit. I found a fabric shop in town and bought two patterns. This one below and another one that i had to order as she did not have it in the shop. Here is the pattern that i am using for my top.I plan to make the green one first.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday were spent at my parents new place. They moved in on Friday so Saturday and Sunday we went over to help them sort and clean and put up curtains. Here are some photos... The boys trying to shave the table down enough so that it would fit against the wall.
My mom working on the front window curtains.
And once again a picture of the boys. Halfway through Sunday we went off to Pizza Hut for lunch and then back again to carry on working. I am pleased to say that we left the house on Sunday night with it looking more like a house than a storage place...lol.

On yet another different note, take a look at my flower!! Wow, how cool is this. Its grown from a little thing to this beautiful flower. And finally, a little something to make you smile on this Monday morning. This is Stu sporting his new Big Ears that he got through the mail from Walkers for Comic Relief.Sorry this has been such a long post. Have a good Monday everyone!

Freaking Friday everyone!!

Wohoo, I am so glad that it is Friday! I am so looking forward to this weekend. Not that i have much planned but i am full of anticipation for what this weekend might bring.


Tonight i am off food shopping and then popping in to my parents new house. Yup, they are moving today and i have only been able to see the outside of their new place. Tonight i plan to take some snacks and pop in on my way back from shopping.


Tomorrow i want to go into town. I haven't been into town for ages! I would like to get my hands on a new hair dryer. The one that i have at the moment i have had for about 3 years now but it is starting to give off this smell and i am not so sure just how safe it is. So here are my choices for my new hair dryer....

or how about this one....

and i also love this one. I think i am leaning more towards this one but we will see....

Last night i decided that a challenge was in order. I had these photos printed and really wanted to do something a little different with them. So i went a challenge hunting...lol. Not only did i do this for one challenge, but it turned out to be done for three challenges. The first one was for the Pencillines challenge, second was for Scrapping Tonights challenge and the third was for Journalers Junction challenge.
Talk about multi-tasking....lol.
The quote that i used on this layout says the following:

Your arms were always open when I needed a hug. Your heart understood when I needed a friend. Your gentle eyes were stern when I needed a lesson. Your strength and love has guided me and gave me wings to fly. Sarah Malin

Have a great weekend everyone.

Thursday Love

So this is my latest bit of photography learning. I had fun with different angles on this.

I found this today on Vee's site and loved it so thought i would have a go. If you want to have a go then make sure you link here so we can all have a read and learn something new about each other!
My name is Lynne Shelagh Nelson-Berg.
Childhood ambition to be a marine biologist.
Fondest memory is the holidays that we spent with Granny and Grandpa where we would look for fairies in her garden, feed the birds and help Grandpa make sinks for when we would go fishing.
Retreat = bubble bath, candles and a good book.
Wildest dream to be a beautiful princess falling in love with my handsome prince who sweeps me off my feet in front of everyone.....you did say wildest dream right!!
Biggest challenge is losing all this weight at the moment, learning to love myself more and to learn not to worry about things that i can not control.
Alarm clock is always set 10 minutes early so that i can hit the snooze button and still get up on time....wacky i know!
Perfect day involves blue skies, a happy heart and an ocean near by.
First job working in a music store in town when i was thirteen - Hated every minute of it.
Indulgence scrapbooking and Ben and Jerry's Pish Food Ice-cream.
Last purchase was our four day holiday at the end of March in Wales - Heeyaaa, here i come!. Favorite movie A Walk to Remember and Dirty Dancing.
Inspiration is something that i am constantly on the lookout for.
My life is filled with many blessings both big and small.
My card is a Capital One MasterCard with a picture of two kittens on it....awwww

I managed to finish this weeks card challenge done by Emily but didn't get to load it till today. What do you think?

and the back

Ok, so i had a little trouble with the sewing machine with this one but hey, still had fun.

Wohoo for Friday's, have a good one and come back tomorrow.

Expanding Horizons

I cant believe that it is twenty to four on Monday and i am only now finding some time to sit down to do this. I had hoped to get it done first thing this morning but when i woke up late it just wasn't possible. Arghhh, Mondays! lol

I have decided that i want to expand on my photography skills so for the next 30 days i am going to take at least one arty photo a day. In doing so i am hoping to learn some new skills in both photography as well as with Paint Shop Pro. Here are my first photos from yesterday.

I have fallen in love with the photo above. Now let me just tell you that this photo has had nothing altered to it in PSP. It is exactly how the photo was taken. I love the colours and the crispness of this photo. *And on a different note - look at my flower Its starting to open!! *
This is another photo that i took that originally turned out a little dark. I had the light showing behind the flowerpot and my cat and had also forgotten to put the night mode on. However, when i was opening them all up in PSP i came across a lighting effect so i had a go and this is what happened. Again - I love it!

So, something new has been learnt again. This is the point. I'm looking forward to tonight's photo. I'm hoping to be able to take a walk with my camera and see what photos i come home with.

See ya tomorrow!

Life

Life is always filled with unexpected surprises - don't you just love that! Now its true, that these surprises are not always what we see as good things but i am growing to embrace the unexpected and do the best that i can with it.

This past week i have been working on Ali's Creative Manifesto. It has been very interesting to sit and think about this. I plan to put together a mini tag book but as i am a little short on time at the moment i think i will post my manifesto on here and then i can come back to it later.

*Do it for yourself - This is a very important one for me at the moment. Anyone who has tried to lose any weight will know just how tough it is and if you do this for anyone other than for yourself, it will not work! So I am losing weight for me and me alone!
* Keep it real! - Another important one for me at the moment. I am very much a people pleaser and although i am trying hard to be less of this, i still find it creeps into a lot of parts of my life. I don't tell people how i really feel in case of hurting their feelings or upsetting them, i don't tell people that they have hurt or upset me in case of starting an argument. I don't stick up for myself as much as i should. I don't feel that i am in anyway fake - but i do feel that i could be a little more upfront with my emotions.
* Jump - Don't be afraid to try something new. If you have a dream - take the steps to make it happen, don't just sit around waiting for something or waiting to see if anything comes of it.
* Love what you do - If you are not loving what you are doing, then you need to find something else to do!
* God always has a plan - That is what i believe and that is what i cling to when things just don't make sense to me.
* Never give up! - No matter how many times you try, no matter how many times you fall down. Always, always get back up and try again. Its never too late to try again.
* Spring always comes - When things are difficult and you are battling and it seems like things will never get better i always try to remember that no matter how long winter may be, spring always follows.
* Love is a choice - what more do i need to say on that one??
*Am i satisfied? - If you find that you are not satisfied with things in your life then you need to look at those areas and do something about them. You have to take the steps to change those areas.
*Attitude is everything - Another self explanatory one i think.

That's it for now lol, i didn't realise my list was so long until now. I have even left some of them off!

With the weekend fast approaching I'm off to finish work, clean the house and get some scrapping done! Wohoo! Happy weekend everyone.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day everyone in blog land! This is what i made last night for Stu. I got the envelope idea from the KI Memories blog. Love how it turned out! I snuck it into his lunch bag last night so he should open his lunch today to find a nice little surprise.

I also tried to bake some cookies last night. I made one heart which went in with the card but when it was cooked the heart did not keep its shape so its a little funny looking....lol. I am sure it still tastes good though.

Have a great hump day everyone.

My Man

Take a look at this handsome man. Yup, this is my man and boy do i like looking at him in his new uniform.....lol. He came home from his first day at work looking like this - he sure didn't leave looking like this.

Well, as promised, here are some sneak peaks of layouts that i have been working on for Design Teams and magazines. I love how both have turned out and will definitely show you the entire layout when i get the OKs.

and how about this one...

I am hoping to get some time tonight to work on Ali's newsletter from last week. If you're not signed up to it then make sure you take a look at her blog and get yourself signed it. Her stuff is great!

Flowers everywhere

Now i know that this is a little weird and when i sat down last night looking at all these flowers in my house i had to smile to myself. Here we are in the UK, after just have three days of snow blizzards and i am sitting with a house full of blossoming, beautiful flowers. How bizarre is that!

Stu had his interview on Friday morning and before he left the interview they offered him the job! Yup, my man starts work tomorrow morning bright and early at five am. He was so pleased with himself and so was i. Just as i go on lunch on Friday i get a phone call to say that he is on his way up to me at work. I thought cool, that will be nice. As he pulls up, he gets out and goes round to the back of the car. He pulls out this..

They took my breath away. They were so unexpected and so beautiful. Thank you honey. These are now gracing our lounge.

While putting these beauties in the lounge i noticed the other two flowers that i have in their. Do you remember these two pictures that i posted a little while ago?

Well these two little gems have now grown into these.....

Wow! What a transformation. And here i thought i had no green thumbs....lol.

On the scraping front, i spent a lovely weekend putting together some lovely layouts. I managed to do two paper layouts and also my Emily Falconbridge week 5 card. My layouts are both for design team competitions so tomorrow i will try to show you some sneak peaks. But, on the cards front i did manage to get those completed as well. This weeks prompt was to use something from your week on your cards. Up until Friday, i was really battling to find something interesting and different to do for this prompt and then low and behold i get those gorgeous flowers and it hits me. This is my card for this week....

The pink paper with the flower on it is some of the paper that my flowers were wrapped in. How cool is that!

Tune in tomorrow and i will try to get some sneak peaks set up for you all. Have a great Monday everyone.

Favourites

I thought i would share with you all a few of my favourite layouts at the moment.

Cool Slideshows

Hope you like.

Holidays

Well they do say that a change is as good as a holiday and since i don't seem to be going on holiday any time soon lets see what i hope to be changing in the next six months or so.

Work Wise: I am hoping that there wont be too many changes here. I hope to get the accounts all sorted out by the end of the six months but that is about it.

Body Wise: As most woman are i am hoping to lose some weight within the next six months. Actually, my aim is to lose 40 pounds by my birthday which is September 11th. This means i have to lose just over 5.5 pounds a month. This is doable. To help with the process of losing weight i am hoping to be more active and to do at least 2 hours a week exercise - to start off with and then as i lose more weight i aim to increase that.

Relationship wise: I am just hoping that my relationship gets stronger and stronger, day by day. The thing with relationships is that is a two person thing, which i know is obvious but you wouldn't believe how easy it is to forget that. Like all relationships we have some things to keep working on but all in all i think we will go from better to better.

Sewing wise: Wow, six months is a long time for this one. I hope that in six months i will be more comfortable around my machine. That i would have created at least on pair of trousers, one shirt and two skirts by then. This is also my motivation to stick to my diet and keep losing the weight as i want to make thinner and thinner clothes.

Scrapping wise: I hope to have completed one cj by then and if possible would like to be in a design team or had my work published in a magazine. How cool would that be! More importantly though than all of that is that six months from now i want to be having fun and still trying new things.

Photography wise: I hope to have taken a photography class by then and also be taking some bookings for photo shoots.

Relaxation wise: I hope to have taken a holiday by then. Not sure where or for how long but a holiday none the less.

ha ha ha

OK, so this is how my day was yesterday. Actually, it was a lot worse but I'm trying to find the brighter side of things. I got this email last night from one of my friends with loads of little things like this on it.....look out for future posts featuring this little granny!

Wednesday was a bad day. Tuesday, however, was a good day. You know how you sort of have those days where you feel on top of the world? Tuesday was my day to feel like that.I felt special, excited about life, happy. I know, i know - its all a little dramatical and emotional but there you go.

I have been visiting Toya's blog for some time now, and over the past few months she has started sewing her own clothes. Now, for those of you who know me, you will know that i am no girly girl. I don't do the knitting thing, i don't do the sewing thing and i don't do the makeup thing and the jewelery thing. Not that i think there is anything bad or wrong with this, its just that its not me - at least not right now. So anyways, i was getting that the point that after seeing all of Toya's sewing i decided that maybe, just maybe i should try my hand at it. It would save a fortune on clothes plus , more importantly for me at the moment, it would be something new to learn. Something to help me expand and grow on myself. Something to help me improve my self confidence.

So off we went to Tescos and picked up this lovely sewing machine. It cost a grand total of £49.95 and seems to work so very well. Now its not a fancy embroidery one, its just a plane Jane like me. It does all the basic stuff needed a long with a few extras for in case and i think it is great. I have only played around with it a little as i have no fabric and no patters as of yet but i did cut up and old T-shirt of OH and used it to make a button hole. Yup - I made a button hole. Wooohooo!

Since I started this scrapping thing, i have only used the VERY basics of Paint Shop pro. But, after reading Karen's blog entry i decided i would have to try my hand at digitally altering a photo. This is the outcome! It did take several attempts but i love the end result, so again a pat on the back for me. Learning something new again!



The weather outside is snowing. The weatherman has forecast snow blizzards today, tomorrow and Saturdays and yet here i sit at work! Lets hope that i make it home tonight and don't have to spend the night in this office!! Have a great Thursday everyone and speak to you soon.

Cup Cakes and symbols

Sunday night Stuart got a hankering for some baking. It started out first that he was just going to make some small fairy cakes. This soon progressed to a vanilla cake which then moved on to a chocolate and vanilla swirl cake. By the end of the night we had one lovely looking and tasting cake. Hmmmm....
Among many other things this weekend i also managed to find some time to finish week 4 of Emily Falconbridge's

altered playing card. My symbol that means a lot to me is the American flag. Let me just start by saying "No, i am not American" but America has always been my dream. I spent just under 2 years out there and i loved every minute of it. I know this sounds a little weird but America really got into my blood. So anyway, after all this waffling, here are my cards.

I have something so cool to show you guys tomorrow so make sure you come back.

The One With The Prom

Sunday night I'm sitting in front of the television Chanel hopping. I'm in the mood for something really good, maybe a chick flick.....maybe a comedy. Then my eyes fall on the channel listing guide. Greys Anatomy.......And its only just started! One point to me, Yohoo. If you have not yet seen this episode then

** WARNING - LOOK AWAY NOW** (Dont say i didn't warn you!)

There i spent the next 50 minutes glued to both the screen as well as my chair. I have seen the trailers. I have seen the "Next week on Greys Anatomy", and i have seen the music video by Snow Patrol but nothing, NOTHING had prepared me for this Episode! From the moment that Meredith and Doctor McDreamy had to put their dog down, I had a lump in my throat. Through the rest of the show that lump turned into tears rolling down my cheeks into full out uncontrollable sobs!! Sitting there on the couch I was crying for Meredith and Derek, for what they had had, what they had let go of and what they could have. I was crying for the lose of their dog and what it all meant in the scheme of things. I was crying for Izzie and the heartbreak that she was feeling, and somewhere, in all of that i was crying for me too. For the girl who has been messing things up, for the dreams that have been lost, and for the girl. The girl who never thought that being an adult would be this hard.

God's Timing

Wait!

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried,
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait! " my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait.
"So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting ... for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want - But, you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and I save... (for a start),
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.

You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee.
"Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My Child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

Author unknown

Happiness

Today i thought i would share with you what things, at the moment , are making my life happy.
Things that i couldn't and wouldn't want to live without.

1.Friends, both near and far. Over the past few months i seem to have gotten back in touch with some of my dearest friends. Even though we all seem to be scattered across the globe and all at different stages of our lives, we still keep in touch, we still know what is going on with each other and we still feel as if it was only yesterday that we were together. There is no awkwardness, no uneasiness - we are just good solid friends. I can not be more grateful for the impact that these girls have on my life.
2. Scarves. Yes we are in the middle of winter out here, all be it a very mild winter this year, but one of the things i love best about this season is being able to get all my scarfs out. I have red, green, black, multicoloured, knitted, fabric, plain, designed! The list goes on and on and i am sure that if i were to talk a good look i would see that i have indeed got more scarf's than handbags!

3. My slippers. I have always loved my slippers and now in the middle of winter I love them even more. The fist thing i do when i get in from work at night is off with the shoes on with the slippers!
4. My little sewing machine. This got given to me about a month ago by a very kind lady i met on UKS. This little machine is fantastic and after a few practice attempts i really seem to have the hang of it.....so much so that i have been thinking about buying a big sewing machine and trying my hand at making some clothes! I guess its one step at a time so for now this little cutie has its very own place on my desk.

5.Ok, so maybe this photos is not the best one i could have taken for how i feel about her but time was a little short this morning so it simply had to do. This is Skoene. She is three years old and a real little madame. Up until a few months ago, when we got her spayed, she was a very independent, very isolated cat. She made no friends with our other cats and did not like to be touched let alone picked up. But things seem to have changed! She is now little miss fuss pot. She jumps up on our bed, she has her own spot on the chair that she likes to lay on, she even doesn't mind us picking her as long as we do it slowly and carefully.

6. I am loving my car. My mom and dad bought me a car off of ebay for Christmas. It was totally unexpected and totally appreciated. The car that i currently had was OK, very old and although she didn't break down, she was driving on her last legs.
7. Books. Ever since i was a little girl i have loved to read. Books of all sorts, of far off places, of different people and different adventures. Being a true girly teenager, there was nothing better than a teen romance. Now a days i have started reading a new series that my mom bought. I seemed to have gotten my love for books from her and she managed to eat her way through all five books within a matter of a few weeks. I am currently on the second book in the series and loving every page of it. If you are ever stuck for something to read I would totally recommend these books.

8. Fridays! Who does not like Fridays! This special day of the week always makes me feel happy.
9. Butternut Squash. Now this little baby comes all the way from back home. Winter would just not be the same without this Delicious pumpkin family addition to my dinner plate. Roasted, boiled, mashed - i never tire of the taste!

10. OK, so you get home from work and it has been one of those days. After seeing to everyone else in the family, you finally get a few minutes to yourself. Where do you go? What do you do? If its me and i only have a few minutes. I find myself heading here....
11. These delicious things are something that i only recently found. Before my choice of hot drink was one of two things....tea or hot chocolate. But, now that i am a more sophisticated woman, NOT!!! i find that i have started to enjoy Cappuccino. Decaff Cappuccino but Cappuccino none the less.

12. This is the first year that i bought the Design with Calender. I LOVE it. Yes, it is true that i have not yet done one layout or project with any of the days inspirations BUT and i mean a big BUT this is something that i can see myself using year, after year, after year.

13. OK, so i am sure by now you just cant wait to have my list finish. Don't worry, this is my last thing for this list! What do i love at the moment? What makes me happy? This post would not be complete if i did not in some way or another include Greys Anatomy. I started in late on this show and from the first episode that i saw, i was hooked. Now out here in the UK we are only just finishing season 2 but all my friends out there in America, your in season 3. Let me just say something........I CANT WAIT ANOTHER SIX MONTHS TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!!! I need to know and i need to know now!*OK rant over - phew* But seriously you guys - i love this show.


Now, if you have a few minutes spare, why don't you take a look at Toya's blog. Her inspirational Wednesday post inspired me to use the flowers the way i did on the layout below. I hadn't intended to include them in this layout but while sitting here in front of my PC, trying to put my layout together, her post and my thoughts just combined and WAM BAM her inspiration met mine!


Thanks for sticking around and hope you all have a great weekend!