YAY for the weekend!!

Is anyone else as excited as i am that the weekend is finally here? I don't have anything particularly exciting planned but i am looking forward to having a lay in and to finally have some time where i can do some scrapping.

These past few weeks have been so hectic and stressful for me that i just haven't found the time or energy to sit down and do what i love to do! To be honest, i have really missed it and i find myself really longing to get back into it....does that sound really sad or what?.......lol. But really, i love what i do and i find it has become such a big part of who i am.

I sat down this afternoon for 5 minutes to have a quick read through Ali Edwards newsletter that i get every Tuesday....Yup, that's right , got it on Tuesday and only reading it today! Well, her newsletter this week is on our style. Not just in the sense of scrapbooking but also in the sense of ever day life and even down to things like how we decorate our houses. This got me thinking to some thing that has really been buggin me lately. While i have said above that i have not done much scrapping, i did make a start on one layout which was for the Pencillines challenge. I saw the layout that Annie did and i love it. I thought i would scraplift her layout and do my layout for my dad's birthday using her layout but you know what....It just wasn't working for me. It lay on my desk for about 4 days and when ever i walked into the room to pick something up i looked at it and it just didn't feel right. I couldn't put my finger on it but something just didn't gel well. So last night i decided i was going to just start again....and you know what....i love what i have done so far! No, its still not finished but i feel so much happier with how it is looking. I just have to put the final touches on it now and it will be done. Thanks Ali for reminding me that even though my style may be different from everyone Else's, that it is still MY style and that i should embrace it and love it!

So, I'm leaving you this Friday afternoon with a very festive picture to look at and enjoy..


Have a happy weekend everyone!

Would you believe

Well, I have now been in the UK for just over 5 years. Thankfully my grandparents are British which has allowed me to come over, live and work on an ancestral visa. BUT......yup, the dreaded but.......last year the government went and changed its laws regarding the ancestral visa and i now to to apply for an extension on my visa for 12 months before i can apply for my passport. Now, I'm not one to speak about politics and even though this has caused me to have to wait another 12 months before i can go abroad to Europe and also cost me 350 quid i normally wouldn't moan.

However, last night i arrive home to see my envelope back from the Immigration people. I tear it open, excited and nervous all at one time and pull out the letter attached. In big bold letters
"Your application has been denied" WHAT???? I went into over time panic at this point and dear Stu pulled the letter away and began to read it. It turns out that the reason for the denial is because the application has been made on the incorrect application form.....the form that THEY sent out to me to apply on!! Arrrgggghhhh! Talk about frustrating! So, while i was out with work for a special due Stu sat at home and filled in the new form for me (which between you and me) has exactly the same questions on it - the only difference being the number on the form! It has now been popped back in the post and fingers crossed it has a better time this time! Oh yeah, i was so stressed out about it that after Stu filled out the entire form for me i went and posted it at my local post office without signing the forms!!! DOH! Luckily, i know the lady behind the counter and she searched for me envelope, carefully opened it and then let me sign it. She even resealed it for me and off it went! This is turning into a bit of a nightmare you might say.

On other news front, the new lady at work has turned out to be a right royal pain in the ass! She doesn't get on with anyone in the office and has caused 3 loud arguments in the two and a half weeks she has been with us. Today we are supposed to be sitting down to have a departmental meeting about our differences to see if we can resolve this now! I HATE confrontation and this has had me in butterflies all evening! I will let you know how it goes.

Did you know...

I went blog surfing again this morning...as i do every morning and i happened to read Karla's blog in which she tagged herself.....lol, you have to go take a look if you want the full story (link is to the right) So here are my answers to her tag...

My Loves:
** I Love circles at the moment!
** Rub-ons - I just love, love, love.
** Bright, colourful, beautiful papers.
** Jounraling - telling the story is so important to me.
** Blossoms - i sometimes forget that i have other embelishments...lol.
** Acrylic paint. It can be used for so many things in so many ways. Love it!
** Word stickers.
** All of 7 Gypsies products at the moment.
** The feeling of a completed project.

My not so Loves:
** When i have stuck something down and no matter how much i measured it still looks skew on the paper.
** When i go into my scrapping room and see that the cats have not only been on my table, but have manage to get a little muddy cat paw print somewhere on my layout....i want to cry!
** Tags - Im just never sure what to do with them.
** When my eyelet setter doesnt want to work properly, i have to take it apart and then put it back together again before i can use it...SO FRUSTRATING!!!
**Fibers - I have a load sitting in my room and i can never get inspired enough to use them.
** Spelling mistakes. I am famous for my spelling mistakes. This has always been a tough one for me - especially in school. My mom always thought i would grow out of it...lol. I guess im still growing cos im definately not out of it yet!!
** Only having one sheet of bazzil and needing two.

Things I Tend to Repeat:
** I have blossoms on EVERY page. Big or smal you can always count on them being on there.
** Using my own handwritting. I am not a big fan of my own writing - especially when i am trying to write and i end up going skew- but i feel it is important for my layouts to have that touch of personalization from me. My mom always says that i have a great way with words, and although my spelling is really bad, i do enjoy writing. I have always kept a diary and when things get tough i find it helps me to write it down.
** Acrylic paint always makes it way onto a layout.
** Single page LO's. I love them!
** The color pink. I never used to be a pink girl but at the moment that is my fav scrapbooking colour....that and brown!

What I Want to Try:
** Embossing - I have heard loads about it but never actually tried it.
** Using a piece of fabric somewhere on my page.
** Doing a layout story over two or three canvas's.
** Bleaching
**I would love to try a layout in which i am a little freeer in my style. I tend to be very neat and structured. One day i just want to slap some paint on a page stick a rub-on in the middle of it and ta-da. Its a wonderful, artistic page! lol
** More projects. I have a list a mile long of things i want to try and make, its just finding the time at the moment.
** Doing a weekend Crop or Retreat. I think that would be so much fun!

Products I Would be Mighty Cranky Without:
** My Paper trimmer.
** My computer.
** My double sided tape.
** My scrap paper and pencil.
** My blossoms.
** My black journaling pens.
** My patterned paper.
** Alphabet rub-ons.

Wierd Things I Do When I Scrapbook:
** I stand.
** I dance along to whatever music is playing.
** I first have to play with about 100 different sheets of patterned paper before i finally make a decision.
** I clean up only when my table is sooo messy i cant fit my 12 x 12 on it anymore....and i have a huge, long table that goes across one wall!
** I talk to myself constantly, or atleast inbetween singing to myself.
** I get distracted by other projects VERY easily!

There it is. This is my list for now, at this moment in time. If i were to do this again in a months time i bet you that so much of it would change, but hey thats for another day i guess.

Christmas is in the air

Well, its official. The Christmas season has begun for me. I spent Saturday night with my other halfs aunty, making Christmas cards. I had such a good time making them and she even gave me some of her stuff to take home to make some more with. How kind was that!

So here are my christmas cards so far for this year....



I am so chuffed with how they have turned out!

Friday afternoon i came across this quote on Rhonda's blog archives and it really spoke to me.

There is a sense of exhilaration that comes from facing head-on the hard truths and saying, "We will never give up. We will never capitulate. It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail.

-- Jim Collins, from his book, Good to Great

I havent read his book but this quote really did make me stop and think. My weight is a big issue for me and along with that is my self image. Neither of them is what they should be at the moment but reading this quote made me realise that this is something that i can never give up on. I can never just sit here and hope that it will simply go away on its own. I need to face the truth - the truth that the only person who can change this is me and that it will be something that will take a lot of effort on my part, a lot of patience and a lot of falling down and getting back up. I have never been very good with waiting for things that i want....if i want something badly, i tend to want it now! lol. This is not going to be one of those things. So tonight, while i sit here infront of my pc i have made a promise to myself that i wont give up on me! I wont let this battle beat me and in future i wont be so hard on myself. I am going to put all my energy into this! One meal at a time, one day at a time.