A new year looms......

2008 has been a peculiar year for us as a family.

I'm gladly awaiting the beginning of the New Year and will welcome it with open arms as 2008 has with out doubt been our 'annus horribilis'

We are away and plan to celebrate the New Year in style with a huge family get together - Ive got my posh frock packed and the guys have their attire all in order - much to J's disgust because he only ever wants to wear jeans these days!

We have a pretty packed schedule whilst away which includes another session in the snow and a return trip to Frankie and Bennys to celebrate Bobs birthday.....he has pleaded with us that we dont take a cake and have them turn off the lights etc etc etc - tee hee hee - he has to be joking right????

All that's left for me to do is to wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year - may it be happy and healthy for you and filled with love and plenty of fun.

T.x.x

and they're off.....

Hubs took the guys up to the field to test out their new bikes and despite the freezing weather, I couldn't resist joining them.
Bobs has ridden a geared bike before so he took to his bike like a duck to water....
However for J it was his first time attempting gear changes - but after a little practice and guidance from Hubs, he was soon whizzing around the field in 4th.
The guys were having so much fun that they stayed out in the cold until the sun went down.
Its been a really chilled out Christmas for us - very relaxing and cosy as we have vegged out watching film after film or enjoyed long walks on the beach followed by a quick stop off at the local.

I managed to spend some time in my scrapping space yesterday and played with some new bits and pieces that Santa kindly left for me under the tree.
Its been an age since I played about with charcoal and graphite pencils, but I really enjoyed messing. I'll leave you with a sneak of my Pencil Lines LO which goes live on Sunday 4th Jan -which is also Bobs birthday.....I cant belive my "baby" is going to be 15!!!!

Have fun.

T.x.x

Following on....

As predicted in my previous post, an evening of excessive Wii snowboarding took place on Boxing day night and now the oldies amongst us are suffering with a severe attack of aches and pains!

It was good fun tho and a jolly good time was had by all - even though we woke the next morning with sore heads to match the aching limbs!
A brisk walk on the beach soon helped to clear our fuzzy heads.....

Once we had walked off that sluggish feeling we headed to town to go hit the Sales.
The guys hung around the gaming stores trying to decide what they wanted to buy - but the crowds got the better of us, so we left empty handed and headed to the local cafe for a good ol' fry up instead.

I managed to get some Laura Ashley tie backs for my new room - pre Christmas they were toooooo expensive - they now have 75% off - what a bargain eh? I'm sooo glad I didn't buy them before Christmas!

Ive managed no scrapping at all for over a week - I'm feeling desperate to get back to my stash and have spent the past couple of days sketching up some ideas - for tomorrow I get to play!

A whole day just for me to go scrap my little heart out whilst the guys go play on their new bikes - yipppppeeeee.

Hope you are having fun.

T.x.x.

He's Been!!!

Christmas Day 2008 was possibly our most relaxed ever!
It was laid back and quiet, with just the four of us for dinner....friends came and enjoyed a glass or two of bubbly with us - by 3pm we had unwrapped, eaten, walked the hounds and were snuggled down on the sofa, with the log fire blazing, watching a multitude of films.
Just how I like it.

The guys were over the moon with their gifts - especially the ones Santa had to hide in the garage!

Today we are off to the village to watch the annual Tug O War contest, which is held in memory of my dear friend "Muffin" who sadly passed away 3 years ago - I still miss her, probably more so at this time of the year than ever - she was the organiser and kept the "gang" together with her girlie nights out and weekends away....it'll be nice to catch up with the rest of the gang - I don't think we have all been together since last year!
We plan to head off to the beach for a stroll before coming home to our families traditional Boxing Day lunch of spuds and pickles.....which, personally I much prefer to Christmas dinner.

Our best buds are joining us this evening for a battle or two on the Xbox and Wii......I finally managed to get a Wii Fit board and the guys "snowboarded" their way through Christmas Day....I expect we will be seeing the men "going for gold" tonight - competitive silly old fools that they are - still, its entertaining watching them - particularly when copious amounts of alcohol will be involved!

Hope your Crimble day was fun - thanks for dropping by.

T.x.

Merry Christmas

We are ready!
The guys are excited....and so am I.
Pressies are all wrapped - those too big to wrap are hidden well until tomorrow morning - tee hee hee - the guys are gonna love their main pressies from Hubs and I soooo much.....I cant wait to see their faces when we do the big reveal.

Im looking forward to a few days chilling out and enjoying time with family and friends.
We have opted for an easy go Christmas this year and have no plans - we are just going with the flow and enjoying the freedom to come and go as we please.

So all thats left for me to do is to wish you a peaceful Christmas - may it be merry and bright.

T.x.x.x

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

We have been MIA for a few days as we went in search of snow.....our trip away was the perfect start to our Christmas celebrations......time spent with family - having fun - together.

Bobs and J took to the ice like mini pros - its the first time they have been ice skating and both really enjoyed it - until J got a little too confident trying to do 180 turns, he slipped and kissed the ice - OUCH!!!!!

Its been over 20 years since Hubs and I both skated and it showed! Luckily I didn't hit the deck at all, however Hubs was doing a fab Bambi impersonation which with him being built like a brick sh*t house was rather funny to watch!

My little nephew loved the sledges and laughed so much all day long as us adults took it in turns to take him up and down the toboggan run.

It looked so much fun - that I just had to have a go too!

J's lip was pretty sore so he was content to just hang around throwing snowballs and watch everyone else having fun whilst he sipped hot chocolate through a straw!

Bobs had so much fun in the snow, but maybe threw one too many snowballs at his Auntie and Dad.....

which resulted in him getting a "real seeing to" in the snow by both my lil sis and his Dad......

and he ended up looking like the "Abominable Snowman"!!!!!

Its been a magical few days and definitely something we will do again next year - everyone had so much fun and finally my guys got to play in the snow - at almost 15 and 13 its hard to believe they haven't really seen much of the white stuff - unlike my childhood days when the snow would be inches thick for weeks on end.

So, we are home again - the house is decorated - trees are up - the food cupboards are bursting at the seams......

we just have a gazillion pressies to wrap before the big day....that's if I can remember where I hid them all!!

Have fun and thanks for passing by.
T.x.x.x.x

Whoooooosh!

Just like every other Mom out there preparing for the festivities, I am whooooshing around like a blue ar5ed fly!
I was prepared - I was ready - I was organised - right up until the minute the horrid winter sickness virus decided to come pay us a visit!!
Bugs have been busted and we are all feeling better and getting back on track :D

Last weekend Graphic 45 featured the Bad Girls DT projects - you can see them all here.

Pencil Lines sketch 115 went live on Sunday -

I used the sketch to create the cover for my Christmas Journal using Making Memories papers and lots of Basic Grey buttons!

With me playing nurse maid, and trying to beat the nasties down, Ive not managed to scrap this week at all!
Ive been adding the finishing touches to my scrapping space - Hubs built a corner cupboard for my new TV to sit on and the curtains have been hung.

He found this shelf in a little store in St Agnes and the clock came from the local flea market.

Another day or two and my room should be finished -

I found the perfect ceiling light yesterday - it just needs hanging now - which Hubs will do tonight whilst I'm out with the girlie's for our Christmas get together.

Thanks for popping by - have a good day.
T.x.x

Time Out

Ive taken some time out - looking after J as he was whisked away to hospital late on Saturday night - all is well now - apart from a heavy feeling in all of our hearts.

RIP Damian Davies - son, husband, father, friend, soldier......gone but never, ever forgotten.

Hug your loved ones tonight - hold them tight.

T.x.x

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Thank goodness the "Yacky Bleurgh" feeling is passing.....J is feeling better too and has gone to school - which means I am home alone today and scrapping!
Ive been working on a few projects - none that can be shared just yet apart from a sneak of a class I am teaching tomorrow at my LSS.

Using my BIA and Cricut, I have put together an interactive Christmas Album which is filled with secret flaps and folds.....I hope the ladies in the class like it!

Thanks for dropping by.
T.x.x

Bleurgh!!!!!!

Snot and sniffles reign supreme in this house at the moment.
Yack!
Ive not acheived very much over the weekend - apart from sleeping LOTS, with my little guy snuggled up with me because he is feeling bleurgh too :(

I'll leave you with my Pencil Lines LO from last nights reveal - using papers from Daisy Bucket and Crate, with Thickers and Making Memories Tiny Alphas - and a photograph of my friends little daughter - Poppy.

She arrived at the party looking so cute in her pretty pink party frock - within minutes of her arrival she had spotted the water table and spent the rest of the day soaking wet - she looks so angelic but is such a Tomboy!!

Have a good day.

T.x.x.x

Sunday Splutter!

Cough Cough *splutter*
Yack! Ive got a cold and am feeling proper bleurgh!
The guys have had it and I thought I would escape the dreaded lurgy - no such luck!
Ive had a lazy lazy day - sleeping in and sipping Lemsip to fight the nasties.
Whilst Ive been trying to recoup Hubs has been busy adding the final touches to my scrapping space - I'm really happy with how its all coming together - at last I have a scrapping space that is not invasive of family life.....we can now eat at the table again :D

I'll leave you will a sneak of this weeks Pencil Lines Sketch which will go live at 8pm tonight.

Have a happy Sunday.....whats left of it
T.x.x.x

Soooo Bad

Decembers Bad Girls DT gallery is open - which means I can now share my projects using the kit.:D


The photograph is of Hubs - taken when he was 5 years old whilst at the local RAF base air day.



When my sisters and I were small we would hold tea parties with our toys - as most little girlie's do - out came the tea set and we would sit for hours playing pretend tea parties. The Graphic 45 papers were a dream to cut - I love the little paper doll dresses - perfect for poppet dolls.




The DT challenge this month was to create a page documenting what brings you peace - for me its the knowledge that I am responsible for making my own happiness - happiness doesn't just happen - you have to decide if you want to be happy - you can live your life being negative and nit picky - always complaining and criticising - that's your choice to be like that - or you can be positive and upbeat - I know which I would rather be and thank the book "The Secret" for helping me on my way to a much more positive and happier way of life.
My life is far from perfect - having a son with such complex needs certainly is testing at times, but instead of wallowing in a bed of self pity and wishing our life was different - I just roll my sleeves up and crack on with my lot....I make the choice to be happy and with this choice comes an inner peace.....it kinda makes me feel bad in a "bad girl" way that I know that I am in control of my life and that I am free to make choices - its fun!




I found this clock whilst I was sorting through some boxes in our attic - the Graphic 45 papers have given it a new lease of life and its now making its way to hang on my nephews nursery wall.



The DT have blown me away with how every ones work is soo different this month - go take a look here and see for yourself.

Have a good weekend.

T.x.x.x

Tom

I love how scrapping can bring back so many memories - as I was putting this page together, my thoughts wandered back to the day I bumped in to his Momma as she was coming out of the Midwifes room at our local GP's surgery - the look on her face said it all and 7 months later I couldn't sleep as I was waiting for the call from his proud Dad to say Tom had made it safely in to the world.
We have shared so many happy times together - Weddings, Christenings, Birthdays and our Christmas morning "get together's" now form part of our Christmas tradition.

I simply adore Tom - he is and will always be the apple of my eye.

Yesterday saw me adding the final touches to my classes for Saturday, whilst also wrapping up an assignment I have been working on for the past 6 weeks....I'm pleased with it and I have my fingers crossed it makes the grade!

I also made a Christmas wreath for my craft room.

Today is "tidy up time" as we are expecting a delivery for my newly painted crafting room, which is also now doubling up as a Guest/Kids TV room too!
Ive culled a load of stash and decided that 2009 I am going to be a streamline scrapper - only buying stash if I know I am going to use it!

So what are you up to today??

T.x.x