Options

Its that time in Bobs life when he has to start to think very carefully about what he wants to be when he "grows up" and he has to select his GCSE options!

We spent last night going through the selections and both Hubs and I were really proud when we spoke with his teachers about the choices Bobs had made.

Bobs was one of the 40 students who were invited to take GSCE Physical Ed - its a tough exam to take and requires a good understanding of Science as well as being able to cover the social and cultural factors affecting participation, the principles of training and he will be required to perform and evaluate a health-related exercise programme. I was exhausted just reading through the exam schedule!

We were so pleased to hear that his Mentor predicts that Bobs will get an A* in this area :)

Once we knew that the Physical Ed was a goer Bobs then decided to go for Triple Science - now that is a toughie and is only open to those students who will get a 7 in their SATS exams. Bobs Mentor predicted Bobs would achieve this so fingers crossed he will be able to get on to this course too.

Other subjects he opted for were - Statistics, French, Geography, Philosophy and Ethics, Graphics as well as Media Studies - on top of the standard English - that's 11 GCSE's and will hopefully mean that he will be able to gain access to the college of his choice.
I'm finding it hard to believe that my "baby" is at this stage in his education and yet he is so sure of what he wants to do with his life -I wished I had been so sure at his age!
Bobs has always known which career path he wants to take and is so focused - he knows what is needed to get there - my lad is far too sensible at times and certainly puts me to shame!


Bleurgh!
Ive gone and got me a cold:(
I hate the horrid yacky feeling you get when your head feels like its about to explode - my throat feels like Ive swallowed a thousand razor blades and I ache from head to toe :(
Its no fun at all.
With lots of exciting things upon the horizon I've not got time to wallow in self pity and as much as I would have liked to curl up on the sofa and sleep, I just couldn't - I had too much to do.
With my list of "to do's" crossed off I spent the afternoon putting the finishing touches to my Pencil Lines LO for this week and packed the kits for the class I am teaching on Saturday.

I'll leave you with a sneaky whilst I go and dig out a packet of Lemsip!



*cough* *cough*
T.x.x

Bad Girls, Bandages & Braces!

Do you make plans?????

Sunday evening was meant to be a restful evening - I had it all planned - a nice soak in the bath - a little pampering - a little scrapping time in my PJ's whilst curled up in front of the fire watching a DVD with Hubs.....I should know by now that these plans don't always pan out the way we want them to!
Instead my evening was spent doing a mercy dash to the vets at 9pm!
My poor puppy hound got himself into a little pickle and ended up almost lopping of one of his ears :( Thanks to the loving tender care of the vet ( and the £160 fee) Dylan is all fixed and is no longer doing a Van Gogh impersonation!

Monday saw the guys returning to school and thankfully there was no sign of the bully - J came home happy - Phew!

Ive spent the rest of my time nursing the hound and scrapping with March Bad Girls kit.....it really is such a wonderful mix of colour, texture and of course bling!
Here's a few sneaky peeps to wet your appetite before the kit goes live on the 1st :)

Bobs had his braces off today too!
After just 9 months of wearing them he now has a set of perfectly straight pearly whites :)

Have fun.
T.x.x

Peace

This weeks Pencil Lines Sketch is live.
Go check it out here.
I used new papers from 3 Bugs in a Rug - from their Celebrate line to create my page.

Even tho these papers are perfect for scrapping your birthday piccies they are also really versatile for use on other projects to. The chit chat cardstock stickers are adhered to Bazzill chipboard chips and the title formed using alphas from Scenic Route. I hand cut the circles and stars and used 3d foam to add a little dimension to the page.

It has been Bobs wish for such a long time to go and skate at a "proper" skate park in the US....and finally his dream came true :) Within seconds of leaving LA airport he was skating!

Ive had a very peaceful weekend.
Its so good to be home and so much better to be able to scrap with all my bits and pieces at hand. Im not a very good "croppin" scrapper because I always forget something!
Apart from pottling around at home and messing about I havent done very much - after the madness of our holiday, CHA and then Stitches - its been nice just to relax....watch TV - scrap a little and snuggle up reading the Sunday papers.

In need of some fresh air to blow the cobwebs away, Hubs and I took the dogs for a long walk on the beach.


We sat and watched the waves for a while whilst we chatted about things we have to deal with over the coming weeks.

J returns to school tomorrow and TBH we are both a little more than hesitant.
Im anxious that all that was agreed before we went away will not happen - Im worried that when he gets there plans wont have been adhered to and the bully will still be around.
J still bares the scars from his last encounter with the thug and I dont want him to add anymore to the collection.

Bobs had some friends for a sleepover on Friday and they assured me that they will take care of J and make sure that he will be OK at school - I am so grateful that Bobs has a great group of friends and even tho I know they will be there "just in case" and be on the look out - its not their job to be "baby sitting" J!! This is something I have always avoided - Bobs is not his brothers keeper and has his own life to lead - we will just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings - fingers crossed its all good.

T.x.

A whole lot of Scrap and Giggle!

I dont think I have ever laughed so much in my entire life!

My sides ache from the constant giggles....infact I was in Stitches most of the time!

The show was so much fun and to spend it with people I like made it even better.

I met Sarah at the train station and headed North for the NEC and the chilly air of Birmingham......brrrr it was sooo cold up there and I forgot that the morning ritual of scrapping ice from the windscreen has to take place before you can venture anywhere.....Im so glad we escaped when we did. I dont think I could do the morning rush hour in a big city anymore.

Arriving at the show and helping to set up the Scrapgenie booth was exciting although a little frustrating at times! What with CHA being just a few days before it was nigh on impossible to get samples of the new releases and catalogues - well they were like rocking horse poo!

But we did it and the booth looked fab decorated in the new realease from Scenic Route, Sassafrass Lass, Rusty Pickle etc etc etc.

It was strange not to see the new releases from BG anywhere - one would have thought that the supposedly number one seller would have been showcased somewhere - especially as its such an important show for the UK Scrapbooking industry?? Ah well - its not that nice in RL anyway!

I much prefer some of their older lines and they will remain my firm fav's for years to come......who's to know in 20 or 30 years time that when I created the pages of my scrapbooks I didnt use the latest and greatest must haves?

The show was a little slower than last year....but then so was CHA apparently....but we were kept busy and taught lots of make and takes and even managed to fit in a little scrapping time whilst demonstrating the delights of KI Memories Lace Cardstock.

It was great to meet up with so many people I know and to meet the faces behind the cyber usernames - finally I got to meet grey parrott, sugar almond & plenty of other lovelies from the UK Scrapping scene :)

At the end of every day we headed off to sample the delights of Brumiejams cuisine - er that would be curry then! With a curry house on every corner the choice was endless.

Where else can you get all you can eat Curry buffet for less than a fiver?????

We scoffed til we couldnt scoff no more!

Well not until the girls spied the choco fountains!

YACK! I dont do chocolate so opted for the creme caramel and very nice it was too!

So my days have been spent in the over air conditioned NEC, my nights filling my tummy and in between I have laughed my socks off in the company of the rest of the Scrap Genie team.

The show came to a close, we packed away and headed across country to spend the night at Anna's. Meeting her adorable little girls was lovely - we chatted - we plotted and planned - we laughed and we giggled some more!

Yesterday was spent at the Scrap Genie headquarters - every scrappers dream eh?

Stacked from floor to ceiling with scrapping goodies we filled our DT boxes and left to fight through the traffic on the M25 and head back to the South West and home.

So far this month has passed me by in such a scrap happy blur and now its time to rest, chill out, play and enjoy the last few days before the guys go back to school.

J chose the winner for my RAK - its you ! You lucky thing!!

Make sure you email me your address and I'll get the goodies into the post for you as soon as.

Have fun.

T.x.

Home!

We are home:)
Its been an amazing 2 weeks and I am grateful that I was been given the oppurtunity to spend time with the amazing Piggy Tales family.....big thanks to you all for making my time with you so memorable x.x.x.x




CHA was so much more than I imagined it would be.
The sight and sounds of Disney amazing.
I love So Cal and plans for our return in October are under way.

The flight home was long...the drive from London to Devon even longer!
The washing machine is contending with the last load and I am busy packing in preperation of heading North tomorrow for Stitches.
With bags full of catalogues and samples I am ready to spend the next few days scrapping my days away on the Scrapgenie stand where I will be in the company of some of my favourite people...Anna, Sarah and Debbie:)
If you are passing by come say hello :)

The cases are unpacked - the stash has been stroked and is now waiting to be played with:)
The guys are all still sleeping - this jetlag is no fun at all, but with lots to catch up on before I head away for the next few days there's no time to sleep for me!

Just before I climbed into bed last night Hubs gave me my Valentines gift....

opppps...I'd forgotten it was Valentines Day!!!!!!
Norty me!!

Ive a pile of yummie goodies all set to go - I'll pick a winner for my CHA RAK when I get back from Stitches....that way there may even be more goodies up for grabs.
Just leave me a comment to be entered into the draw and J will pick a winner on Tuesday night.

Happy Days.

T.x.x.x.x.x.x

One day to go!

Its been a bright and sunny day here in Anaheim today :)
The cases are almost packed....including the extra two we had to dash out and buy just so we can take home our stateside purchases!
I cant believe how inexpensive everything is here!
We sure have shopped...tee hee hee.

The show was busy today so I didnt get very long to walk around and snap piccies.
I did however manage to take a peep at Basic Greys booth although I wasnt floored by their releases :(



I really like the new lines from Sassafrass Lass



The lace cardstock from KI Memories is just sooooo yummy as are their new lines of papers.




Whilst I was at the show J took charge of the camera again and snapped a few more piccies of Bobs and the skatepark.




Hubs managed to prise the camera from J just for a few seconds...

but as soon as they arrived back at the hotel and hit the pool J was snapping away again.......

and then when we went for our last evening meal back at Bubba Gumps J was busy snapping again...

with his birthday just a few days away I think we will invest in a camera for him??

So thats it...just one more sleep to go.
Im at the show tomorrow...the guys will go skate and then at 4.30pm we will wave the hotel bysey bye and head for LAX and home.
*sigh*
Back to the rain...the cold and reality!
Im looking forward to seeing home, my friends and my craft room...Im looking forward to a "proper" cuppa and to a day of chilling, taking a walk on the beach and doing nothing before I hit the M5 and head for Stitches on Saturday!

T.x.x.

Wanna See????

Its been a couple of days since I updated because Ive been busy non stop from the second I have opened my eyes until I closed them again at the end of what have been the most fantastic days.
Whilst at CHA Ive bumped into many of my idols and managed to spend some time chatting scrap chat with them all.
In between teaching make and take classes for Piggy Tales I have been able to wander through the halls and take some piccies.

I guess I better share eh???
This is a small part of the Piggy Tales booth....



My first stop when I went for a walkabout was the Love Elsie booth which just happens to be across the way from the Piggy Tales .....I met Elsie and we chatted for a while - I didnt do the cheesy thing and ask to have my piccie taken with her.....maybe tomorrow I will...who knows ;)





I bumped in to Lorraine and the crew from Scrapagogo - twas nice to see a familiar faces in amongst the crowds :)
I wandered over to go say hi to the girls at Scenic Route...yummmmmmmy stash to feast my eyes upon:)




Heidi Swapp - swoooon.

Dream Street have released some great new designs.


These are fun from Rusty pickle - BTW Beckie...if you are reading this Lance says Hi and sends his love.x.x.x.x

Im just loving the Wonder Years by Daisy D's...I received some of these fun papers a few days ago and cant wait to play!

Finally a decent range for teen age boys is available from one of my fav manu's...whoo hoo Prima...thank you.

Over on the Prima stand I caught up with Michelle and managed to get a glimpse of her new baby - Fire & Ice. The clear albums are amazing and tomorrow I get to play with one for real:)
Michelle also introduced me to someone - er "hello" says I as I quake in my boots and Miss Ali Edwards is standing before my very eyes....what a complete sweetie she is too - we got chatting - as you do - and she has agreed to help me out with a lil secret I have in the pipeline and Im totaly freakin out that she said yes!

Whilst I have been playing the guys have been having a blast.
Hubs found a huge indoor skate park sitated just two blocks away from the hotel.
The guys are in heaven! They have been skating all day and are having sooo much fun.
J has developed a liking to using the camera and Im sitting here totally floored by his creativity.
Here are a few shots he has taken today.....the best thing was that whilst we were eating supper this evening he asked me if he could scrap his photos when we get home:):)
Watch out Sir Tim....my boy may be steppin on your toes ;)

So our trip Stateside is drawing quickly to a close....just two more sleeps and we will be heading homeward bound....Im a little sad. I love it here...it kinda feels like a home from home...skatin, surfin and scrappin only all on a much much bigger scale and of course the weather being so hot makes me kinda feel like saying yes to Hubs to extending our stay - if I hadnt got other things planned for the weekend then maybe we would have done!

I need to hit bed...Ive a busy busy day tomorrow......more CHA and more photos to follow.

Take it easy.

T.x.x.x