Merry Christmas!

Just want to wish you all a very happy Christmas! I need to go to bed soon otherwise Santa won't stop by and my kids will not be happy :)  

Phew!

I just got back from Asda and it was crazy busy!! Obviously everyone else thought that going grocery shopping at 10.30pm would be a good way to avoid the rush. Not so.  Anyway, I didn't need too much to I wasn't so stressed.  I was planning to go to my parents when I'd finished to visit with my new nephew (and his parents!) who were coming up this evening, but my sister rang at 10.00pm to say that they hadn't even set off yet. So I'll just see them tomorrow.

So tomorrow I need to finish cleaning the kitchen. Finish wrapping a few gifts. Make some oreo truffles. Visit my parents, SIL and BIL and new baby! And get excited with the kids for Santa coming :)

Lockerbie 20 year anniversary.

21 December 1988.

Unfortunately I remember it all too well! 

We were living in Scotland at the time (I was 15) and were heading down to visit family in England for Christmas. After a while we were backed up in traffic and then the traffic stopped dead. People were getting out of their cars to find out what had happened. Someone in front of us said they had seen a fireball in the sky. Then a guy in a truck at the side of us said that he had heard on his radio that a plane had crashed on the motorway. We were all confused and anxious. Then all we heard were the sounds of the police and ambulance sirens. We all had to move to the edge of the road to let them through. After a while we were diverted off the motorway and had to go over a bridge that crossed over Lockerbie. The sight we saw will haunt me forever. All we could see was fire. Everywhere. We were just in shock and disbelief. Still not sure what exactly had happened. When we finall found out we were stunned. If we had been a few minutes ahead of schedule...... it doesn't even bear thinking about. On our return home after Christmas we had to drive past that same stretch of motorway. There was a huge crater in the road. So so sad and tragic. I can't believe it has been 20 years. My heart still goes out to the families who lost loved ones.

SURPRISE!

Erm, yeah, I know - it's been a while.  It's just been SO busy  - I'm sure you'll all agree!!

But first - the most EXCITING news!!

I HAVE A NEW NEPHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My sister's baby wasn't due until 3rd January but it looks like he didn't want to miss out on Christmas!  Helen's waters broke on Tuesday so she went to the hospital. They examined her and said that she wasn't in labor yet so to go back home but to come in on Thursday if nothin had happened.  I actually spoke to her yesterday about my experiences of being induced so she knew kind of what to expect.  Anyway, this morning I got a call from my mum before I took the boys to school to say that Helen's hubby had called them at 7am to say that they were at the hospital.  Helen's contractions had started last night so they went to the hospital at 1am.  When Adam rang he said that Helen had just been examined and was only 3cm dilated so we expected it would be quite a while before we heard news.  Well I was in school this morning and work at lunchtime so didn't get back home until 1.30pm. I had also left my phone at home!  I called my mum and she said that Helen had given birth! At 9am!! How quick was that!!!  And it was a boy (they didn't find out the sex before hand).  They haven't chosen a name yet.  He's a tiny little thing - 5lb 15oz.  How cute!!  My parents have headed down to the hospital to see them so I'm hoping for news again this evening!!  I'm so excited and so pleased everything seems to have gone quickly and smoothly.  I know Helen was very anxious about labor and birth. Especially since she's still recovering from ME.  What a relief that it was quick!!  Looking forward to meeting my new nephew in the next few days :)

Knowing I'm on the street where you live......

Today is an exciting day as my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and baby nephew have moved into a house on my street!!  We can both stand on our front steps and wave to each other :)  My boys are so excited that their baby cousin is so close by.  They are looking forward to walking home from school and calling in to visit on their way.  Zach has even said that he's going to take care of baby E while Auntie C gets his milk ready :) How cute is that for a 5 yr old!! :)

Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day :)

Can't wait for my Thanksgiving dinner tonight. Yummo!!

Books

I went to the Charity Shop in our town today to look at the books section, as I do everytime I'm in there.  They are 5 for £1 so well worth a look!

I bought a colouring book for Nathaniel - it's actually called Doodle Patterns so rather than having pictures to colour you have patterns.  I love colouring books and think this is quite age appropriate for a 7 year old. Something he can do in Sacrament meeting at church!  I got Zach a book containing 5 Hairy MacLary stories.  We have one book already called 'Hairy MacLary and Zachary Quack (my mum got it for him since his name is Zachary!).  Zach is our little reader.  He loves books and it makes me so happy to see him pulling books off the shelves to sit and read.

I bought myself this book as I might get some good tips and advice from it! I'm going to have a peruse of it later while the kids and David watch 'You've Been Framed'.

I also bought 2 novels.  I don't mind buying used books at all.  But I do prefer then not to be too bashed and worn.  I got two that look like they've not been read, but at the same time have got good recommendations on them.  The first is The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields and the second is The Two Pound Tram by William Newton.  I think I will start with The Two Pound Tram.  I'll let you know how I enjoyed them once I've read them.  Then, since I only read books once, will happily send them on to anyone who may like to read them.  So watch out for a RAK in a little while :)  I really should sort out all my other books.  I have so many - ones I've bought but not got around to reading yet. And others, lots of others, that I've started but not finished.  Why do I do that?? 

And it's good to know that while I'm paying only £1 for a selection of 5 books, I'm doing my little bit to help my local Hospice!

Oh, I was actually frivilous today - because I spent 3.99 to buy the Sew Hip magazine at my local newsagent.  Don't want to even think about the fact that this £4 would have bought me 20 books from the Hospice shop!!

Pictures

Lots of eye candy in this post :)

You really need to click on the pics to see the true colours as the background on this template makes them look very subdued and not at all vivid. Just suggesting :)

This first picture shows a selection of ribbons and trimmings I bought today. Some are from Hobbycraft and others are from Fabworks in Dewsbury.

Here is some Cath Kidston fabric that I bought in another fabric store in Dewsbury.  Full price is £18 a meter but I got it (it's seconds quality) for £1.99 a meter.  I bought 5 meters. Just because.  I also got a couple meters of the same but with spots rather than flowers.  I made some tiny tote bags, with red handles, for little girls.  I sold a couple at school on Wed eve.
I bought this Laura Ashley fabric from Fabworks today.  They sell all their fabric as 'seconds' to cover any possible faults found in the fabric.  It's £5 a meter.  There was a stripe in it that had been overdyed so the man gave me extra to make up for it so I probably ended up with about 1.5 meters.
These are the Laura Ashley bags I made for the craft sale we had at my MIL's last weekend. These were taken at her house. These bags sold out that Friday night. I charged 4.50 each.
These are some larger tote bags I made. I still have a couple of these. I used some Ikea fabic that's a good weight for bags.
Another pics of my bags. The one on the right is also Ikea fabric. I sold one of these and am using one of them myself. I still have more of this fabric to make more with.
Some of the coloured pencil and paper cases. I opened one to show the inside. We still have a few of these left.
Some gorgeous Sarah Smith teatowels. I didn't make these ones but found some at a great price so was still able to sell then at half rrp.  They are just too nice to use though!  And lots of the pins and needles cases. I can't decided whether the heart design or birdy design is my favorite! Again we have lots of these left.
We made some keyrings too. We only made 6 and I think we still have 2 or 3 left.  We only charged a pound each for them.
Another pic of same things.
The pencil/paper cases and also the pencil rolls.  In one of my favorite baskets!
We made some baby taggy blankets but withdrew them from sale because we need to make the tags shorter.  I love, love, love them though!!  The bottom 2 designs are my favorite.  I got the strawberry fabric from a swap and it's so delicious. I used some of it for this as I thought it would be gorgeous!

Oh Well!

The shopping event tonight at school was a waste of time!!  Seriously - it started at 7pm and we could have all packed up by 8 and gone home!  Last year's sale was great  - we all made a decent amount of sales and took a decent amount of money. Not so this year!  And it wasn't just us - everyone else had a disappointing amount of sales.  One lady took £400 last year and £40 this!! Crazy.  We probably took in £30. And that was for 3 of us!!  Oh well.  Looks like a few family and friends and swap partners will be in luck this Christmas :)  The only person who did well at tonight was the woman doing Tarot Card readings and clairvoyant reading!! What's all that about??? They'd rather waste £5 on that than spend it on my beautiful sewing, lol!!

Crafty

Well our Shopping Event on Friday evening and Saturday daytime is over and was a success!  We still have the Shopping Night at school on Wednesday evening to go and more goodies to make before then! Especially tote bags.  On Friday night I sold 6 out of the 9 we made (including all of the ones I made with Laura Ashley fabric).  I took picture so will add them later once I've transfered them to the computer.

Yesterday, we were 'open' for business for 2 hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon.  Between sessions, my friend Ann, who was selling her handcrafted jewellery, took me into Dewsbury to show me where the fabric shop was.  I had planned on buying some more fabric to replenish our stock for making more bags.  The shop was fabulous!!  It was a maze of rooms, where all same priced fabric is in its own room. For example, in one room all fabric is £1 a metre, another room £2.99 etc.  I found some simply gorgeous fabric but the highlight of the trip was finding Cath Kidston fabric.  They had two design. One with daisy type flowers and the other spotted.  It's now discontinued on her website.  But did I pay the £18 meter that she charges for her fabric??  No, no. You know me better than that.  I paid an astonishing £1.99 a meter!! Yes, you heard right!  I got 7 meters in total.  Plus lots of other fabric.  I spent a total of £40, but when you consider the CK fabric would normally have cost £126 on its own, I was mighty pleased!  Pictures to follow :)  I'll definitely be back there again.  Plus they have some lovely fabric for curtains so I'll be looking out to get some to make my living room curtains.

A Job!

I got myself a little ol' job!

I'm now a lunchtime supervisor at my kids' school.  It's only 1 hr 15 mins a day, five days a week.  I'll be working with a 5 yr old boy (he's actually in Zac's class) who has autism - supporting him in the lunchroom and in the playground.  It's something to get me back into the classroom at some point!!  And the little bit of extra money will be very welcome.

Oh, and the best bit - I get to wear a tabard, how hilarious is that? lol!!!  

I get to be one of those dinner ladies that Peter Kay makes fun of in his standup comedy - "Get inside, it's spitting!".  If you've never seen Peter Kay, you just don't know what you're missing. Check out youtube or something. I'm sure he's on there!!

Remember.

Remember.

Only one word. But so powerful!

Oh So Busy!

I've been so busy creating 'masterpieces' for the shopping party on Friday and Saturday!  So far we have made 20 pins and needle holders, 6 pencil rolls, 15 pencil and pad holders, 3 baby tag blankets, 3 tote bags.  And there's still more to be done! {sigh}.  And we don't even know if anyone will turn up to buy!  We are also selling Oriflame skincare and cosmetics.  Then next week we have a table at my boys' school shopping evening.  So what we don't sell will be taken there.  And if we manage to sell most of it this weekend, we'll be busy again crafting for the school event!  I hope we actually make some money out of this, lol!  I'll add pictures of more item later!

More crafty bits

We've had a busy couple of weeks, what with Halloween (we had a trunk or treat night at church for the kids which was a huge success!) and also Bonfire Night (held at a church friend's home).

I've also been busy again crafting. We made some Pencil Rolls and holders for pencils and notepads.  I'm going to my MIL's again tomorrow to make more of them!  Our craft event is next week so we are busy getting as much created as possible!  Here's a few pictures of our latest creations.

Pictures

Here is a picture of the bargains I got at Asda. You can't tell from the picture that the boxes of laundry detergent are the large size because they are partially covered and the boxes of cereal are massive too!  I paid £5.90 and full price should have been £37.64.  It actually doesn't look a lot. But most of them are normally pricey (who would paid £2.93 for 4 bottles of lucozade?? 40p is what I paid!). The tins of tuna were 20p each. When you are a SAHM, getting bargains like this can be the highlight of your day :)

These are some of the items I've been making with MIL and SIL.  The top picture shows what they look like inside. The others show the two varieties we made.  We LOVE the chick, but the heart took less time to make.  We made 20 in total but I'm thinking maybe we should make more.  Me and Cait just love them and got giddy when we were taking pics :)  We are going to price them at £2.50 unless anyone else thinks otherwise - let me know :)

Catching Up

Wow, it's been a while :)

Firstly - this morning I was reflecting on how grateful I am for my own health and for the health of my children and hubby.  I have a few friends and family members who are currently struggling with physical and emotional health and it made me realise how blessed I am.  I need to recognise this and not take it for granted.  Yes, I can be deep and meaningful sometimes!! lol.

Secondly - is half-term break over yet?? The kids have been either getting on wonderfully or totally at each others throats! No half measures, lol.  Actually I can't really complain.

Thirdly - yesterday I went to my MIL's and had a day of crafting with my MIL and my SIL. We got lots accomplished and must say that the things we made are so darn cute :)  I took pictures so will upload them on here soon.  We are making things for our Christmas Shopping Party we are having in November.  I'd buy the items we made, so I hope others will too :)

Fourthly - I went to Asda today for a few bits and bobs and got some amazing bargains (yes, I can hear you groaning!). I got a ton of stuff of the shelves that house the items that have bashed boxes or dented tins.  The food is still good inside, just the box doesn't look too pretty.  So I got massive boxes of laundry detergent for £1.00 each, huge tins of tuna for 20p, etc, etc.  All in all I got £37.64 worth of items for £5.90 (yes, I'm a nerd and work these things out!! lol) just because of bashed boxes!  I took a picture (because once again I'm a nerd!) and will upload it soon.

Fifthly - we are having a 'trunk or treat' night halloween activity for the kids at church tomorrow.  We are so excited!!  I think the leaders are more excited than the kids!!  I'm just thinking that we need to spend most of the time inside rather than out since it's turned so freaking cold, bbrrrrrrr..................

That's all folks :)

Jumble Sale

When I was young, I remember going to jumble sales and remember them as common occurances.  Now it seems they are very few and far between. It seems that car boot sales and ebay have taken their place.  There is an old people's sheltered housing complex in our town that still holds jumble sales.  My friend Lisa has been to a few and we both share a love of the thrill of the thrift, lol.  So last time this housing complex had a sale, Lisa met me there.  We scored big time with clothes for the kids. I got loads of jeans, tshirts, sweatshirts for both boys. Mostly really good brand names.  All the clothes were 20p an item except jeans which were 30p!  Can you believe how cheap they were!! 

So today there was another sale.  I met Lisa there again.  I was disappointed in the selection of kids clothes this time.  Hardly any boys clothes so I came away with nothing for Nat and Zac.  I got a hooded sweatshirt for David that zips up the front 20p. And a nice dark purple casual top for myself 20p.  There was a gorgeous pair of brown boots (hardly worn) which were only a size 5 (I'm a 6) but for 20p I couldn't let them go! So I bought them and gave them to my sister, Claire, who was thrilled with them! And I got a top for my mum (it was still new!) for 20p. It was just too 'old womany' for me, lol!

This time I looked at the stall selling bedding/curtains etc.  I got a few bits and pieces.  I'd been looking for some fabric to put on the back of the quilt I'm making for my younger sister if her baby is a girl (she's not finding out until the birth!).  At the sale I found 2 single bed sheets and 2 pillowcases.  They don't even look used at all.  They are lovely white cotton with a pink flower pattern.  I took a picture of them with the quilt pieces that I've prepared so far.  Do you think that they go nicely? Would you put this fabric on the back?

I also bought some table runners and cushion covers etc. Most of them have been hand embroidered.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them.  Maybe use some of them in swaps I take part in!  They were all 20p each and again too pretty to leave there!!  Am I turning into an old woman before my time???

table runner - the picture cuts off the top of it which has the same flower as the bottom but in slightly different colours:

There are 2 of these cushion covers. One has a small black mark on. Will have to see if it comes out in the wash.
2 single sheets and 2 pillow cases.
closeup of pattern.
sheet beside my quilt top.
cushion cover

a small cover/cloth

Baking

What's that you say?

Am I baking?

Why yes, I am!

Oh thankyou {blushes}, it does smell divine doesn't it!

Oh course you can try it once it's cooked!

Oh, you are too kind - is it really the best Pumpkin Pie you've ever tasted?! You do flatter me {blushes again}



(wouldn't it be nice if I really DID have this type of conversation and compliment when baking, lol)

Meme

I've been tagged by my friend Susan for this popular meme (I think her blog may be private). 

Here are the rules:

1.Link to the person who tagged you
2.Mention the rules on your blog
3.Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
4.Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
5.Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

So here are my unspectacular quirks:

1. I can't stand people putting their bare feet on my bed (DH is allowed, lol). When I was at BYU it would drive me crazy when my roommates would go sit on my bed, on my covers, with bare feet, eugh.  They loved my toasty warm down comforter and I'd find them snuggled up on it!

2.  When I'm sleeping I used one pillow if I'm laying on my back or two pillows when I'm on my side, so I'm forever faffing around with my pillows in the night!

3. I can't talk and do something else at the same time! I was at my MIL's and we were setting up for a shopping night we were hosting. Everytime I started talking I stopped whatever I was doing as I had to use my hands for talking! My MIL kept telling me to keep working :)

4. I'm not a pushy parent but I get frustrated when my kids don't do their best in their school work and secretly love it when they are the top of the class.

5. I have to have the TV on during the day when I'm at home, even if I'm not watching it, as I like to have background noise.

6. I can't go into any town without checking out all the thrift stores (and get giddy about going!)

That was quite hard!  I think I'm quite normal/average !?!?! 

I am going to tag Jen, Lea, Christine, Claire, Renee' and Debbie

Sisters.....

Been having fun with my sisters this week.  My twin sister, Claire, has been down since last weekend and goes back on Sunday.  And my sister, Helen, was here from Tuesday til Wednesday.  She is 27 weeks pregnant and looks so cute :)  My dad has also had the week off work.  On Wednesday I met my mum, dad, Claire and Helen in town.  We had lunch together and had a walk around the shops.  It's certainly been a long time since all 5 of us did that!! Must be oh, about nearly 20 years :)  Been working on a few creative projects and hope to have them done by the end of next week so I can then show you all :)

Pictures of Ikea Bargains

Here are pictures of my ikea bargains from yesterday. They were all 50p each.

First we have 2 cushion covers for large floor type cushions. The left one is a lovely chennile style while the right one has a nice jaquard effect pattern.

Another two large cushion covers. I'm plannning on using these on the bed. The left one has pretty embroidery on it and has nice ruffles round the edge. The right one is difficult to see on here but is also a large square white cotton one with two rows of grey ribbon down the front.
These are two pillowcases with black patterns. The left one is a lot larger than the right one.
On the left we have a single curtain panel. Not sure how I'm going to use it yet. On the right we have 2 cotton chair slip covers. Again, not sure how I'm going to use them yet. Possibly make them into cushion covers. Any other ideas??
And here we have 2 large pieces of fabric with red/orange design print and a piece of fabric with a black design finish. These are nice cotton fabrics and will go into my fabric stash until I come up with a project that requires such fabrics!!
These are heavy cotton fabrics that are currently loose covers for sofas that are being cut into pieces for other projects I have in mind. One in particular I'm going to work on later in the week. I'll fill you in on the details when I've done it - if it works :)
Again, the left piece of dark denim style fabric is a loose chair cover that I'm going to use with the above fabrics. The right piece is a single duvet cover. It's a lovely light silky feel fabric. Very cooling.
I have 3 of these curtains panels (so 1.5 pairs!) One pair will probably go into our bedroom for the winter as the curtains we have there now (also white) are a light floaty fabric and I wanted something warmer for winter (these are thicker and heavier so hopefully warmer!).  They are really, really, long so will probably be cut to half the length which will give me more fabric for other projects!
A really nice table cloth.  I may use this as a throw to drape over the toy box in the living room. What do you think?
Another curtain panel.  I love the ruffled look of it.  I was thinking of maybe hanging it behind the front door to stop drafts, but I'm not sure whether it is practical to have such a light coloured fabric there. Any thoughts? The worst that can happen though is that is gets dirty and I have to wash it. For 50p it might be worth trying?
I hope you enjoyed this little tours around my ikea bargains :) My DH thinks I'm nuts photographing them to put on here!! LOL!

Ikea Bargains

Yesterday I went to Ikea with my mum.  She needed a picture frame and I needed some light bulbs. So how come we came out with a trolley full of goodies, lol!!  We went into the bargain corner and they had a sign over about 4 crates full of textiles announcing that all loose fabric and textiles were 50p each, so we got stuck in digging through them (or rather I did while mum watch the trolley!).  We got some great bits and pieces - some of which will be used for what they were originally intended and some will be repurposed. Mum got some great black and white chair slipcovers.  I got some cushion covers, pieces of fabric, and a few pieces that are covers for sofas which i will use for something else.  The original price of one of the pieces was £80.00!!

When I got home I wished I'd looked for some fabric that I could have used as a curtain behind the front door (to keep drafts out!).  So while we were out and about today, David and I called back into Ikea.  I went back into the bargain corner and the 50p signs were still up and I found more items that weren't there yesterday. Including some curtains!!  I spent £8.50 on 50p items so that just shows how many items i got!!  I also spent £2 total on 6 little ceramic pots that are white on the outside and bright colour inside. They will be so fun for when we are entertaining.

I'll have to take pics and post them later. I was very pleased with my haul of textiles. Now I have to find a place to store them :)

Where's September disappearing to?

How can it be September 13th already?? I last posted on the 1st and was going to post everyday. I had a couple of days where I didn't go on the internet at all (I know?? totally unheard of!). And before I knew it we were nearly half way through the month!!

The boys are now back at school and are enjoying themselves. Well as much as you can enjoy school :) Nathaniel is in a mixed year 3/4 class and is one of the youngest year 3's. So some of the kids are nearly 2 years older than him, but he's doing fine there. He's only just brought some homework and reading books home this week. His teacher is a new teacher, both to the school and to teaching. He's on a year's contract filling in while another teacher is on a secondment someplace else.

Zach is in year 1 and settled in well. The first week back at school they were only there Wed to Fri and I went in all 3 mornings to help his teacher. This is the third year I've been helping her. She's a good friend as well as teacher now. I first went into her class to help when Nat as in her class. Zach seems really young - younger than I remember Nat being when he was in year 1. But I guess that's because he's my baby!! I was concerned whether Zach was behind the other kids as he struggles with his handwriting and with writing his name. But I'm not concerned now I've been in and helped out with the class. His strengths seem to be in number work (just like Nat) but I'm also impressed with his reading. His last teacher gave me the impression that he was rubbish at it, but in fact he seems to be one of the best in his class. This past week I went in 3 mornings too. I just love being in there and miss the class when I stay home. It has really confirmed to me that I want to get back into teaching at some point.

I've had a really good weekend so far. The boys went out with my parents for most of today and David was at home for once on a Saturday. We went into our small town at lunchtime, enjoying the dry warm weather. I got a few bargains (surprise, surprise!) including some books for the boys at the charity shop (I also got myself a skirt that was brand new with its £25 price tag for the princely sum of £4.00 - love it!). Then this afternoon I watched some track and field on TV and just generally had a relaxing afternoon. When the kids came home I read some of the books with Zach.

I'm really trying hard to make the most of my time with the boys. I'm trying so hard not to say 'no' to their requests because that's the easiest option. I want to be less selfish and do the things they want, even if it's not convenient etc for me. I'm trying harder to put them first. To live in the moment with them. I want them to know that they (along with David) are the most important things in my life and the best way is by showing them. I've been thinking a lot of Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie Dialogues blog) and her sister (cjanerun blog) and how Stephanie was such a good example of being a great mother, prior to her accident. Reading her blog and her sister's blog has helped me to re-evaluate my efforts as a mother. In years to come I want my memories to be full of times spent with my boys, rather than putting them off to do housework or things I want to do. I'm reminded of a quote that our Stake President gave a few years ago - he said that to be in your children's memories tomorrow you need to be in their lives today. So when my kids want to play with their playdoh or moonsand, instead of sighing and saying 'no' because I don't want to deal with the mess I'm going to get right in there with them and make my own mess :) I've made a concerted effort this week and hope to continue and improve and get even better!! Because they deserve it!!

End of Auction!

Well done Ninny :)

You are the winner of the auction in aid of Stephanie and Christian Nielsen. If you email me your address and paypal receipt to their recovery fund, I will get the sweets and chocolate packaged up and sent to you. My email address is joannebrown@mindless.com. Thank you to everyone else who participated in this auction. I can't wait to see the totals that have been raised through these auctions. It's amazing what us 'sistas' can achieve :)

Nie Nie's Day - Silent Auction

As mentioned on my previous post, here is the auction lot I have to raise funds for Stephanie and Christian Nielson's Recovery Fun.

The auction includes 3 big bags of Haribo jelly sweets (Tangfastics, Starmix and Kiddie's Supermix) tube of Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles, tube of Maynards Fruit Gums, and one bar each of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Crunchie, Cadbury Twirl, Cadbury Flake and Galaxy.

So start bidding away. Please bid in whole $ amounts. Let's raise as much as we can. I will pay for shipping of these items so your whole amount will go to the fund. I will close the auction on Sunday evening.

Nie Nie Day and silent auction

Designmom.com has declared this Thursday as Nie Nie Day. Many bloggers are holding silent auctions on their blogs to raise money for the Stephanie and Christian Nielson Rehab Fund. As you can imagine, the financial implication of months of hospital care in the US is immense. So I'm also going to take part in the silent auction. Tomorrow I will put items on my blog and then you can bid. How it works is this: if you want to bid you put it in the comments. So if you are the first and want to bid $1 put it in the comments. The next person who wants to bid puts in a higher bid amount. So check the comments to see what the current bid is before you bid. Only put bids of whole $ amounts. I'll leave it open until the weekend. Then I'll ship the items to you (at my expense). The winner will then send their money, by paypal, direct to the fund.

The Nielson Family

Like most bloggers, I also like to read other people's blogs. I have loads of them on my bloglines list that I follow. One blog I read belongs to a cute girl who is married and has 4 cute babies. She's LDS too and lives in Arizona but is a Provo, Utah girl (where I went to uni). Tragically a couple of weeks ago this girl and her husband were in a terrible plane accident and are on a very long road to recovery. Their family are taking care of their children. Stephanie Nielson's blog is called nienie dialogues. Have a look at their cute family. Stephanie's sister is putting updates on her blog cjanerun. Please remember Stephanie, Christian and their family in your prayers.

Bad Hair Tag

I've been tagged by Jen at A Thousand Words to show 5 bad hair pics. Well I don't have access to teenage pictures (didn't like having my pic taken anyway), so here are the best ones I have:

First let me explain that when I was a little girl my mum insisted that me and my twin sister, Claire, had our hair short. Of course we hated it. We thought we looked like boys rather than the little girls we were!! We wanted long hair like most of our friends. But oh no. We had to have it short! Once we had just had it cut and we were very upset. We were adamant that we looked like boys. My mum insisted that we didn't and almost had us convinced. My mum took us to a cafe straight from the hairdressers as a treat. We were ready to order our food when the waitress asked 'and what would you boys like'!!!!! We almost burst into tears on the spot! It didn't help that we were wearing jeans and sweaters at the time. And yes, I'm still emotionally scarred by the experience :)

In this picture I am on the left and Claire on the right with my Grandma Phyllis. I actually think the ugly brown 70's clothing detracts from the nasty hair :)


Again, I think the clothing far outshines the hair on the ugly stakes! I'm on the right, Claire on the left.



Again, Claire (left) and me (right). Yes, I'm dragging Claire into this embarrassment fest :) In fact, I think Claire's probably looked worse than mine because her hair was much thicker. She had a block fringe whereas mine was wispy and flyaway.


Here we are Christmas 1974. Although my dad wins the award for the ugly hair in this pic (and the moustache!)


This is me a couple of years ago. I was trying to grow my fringe out. Bad idea I guess :)



So now that I've totally embarrassed myself, consider yourself tagged if you haven't already had the pleasure of doing this one :)

Zach says the funniest things..........

I just have to write this before I forget it...........

Yesterday Zachary was talking about a local playground. They used to have a big basket-like swing there but it has now gone. We don't know what happened to it but we miss it because the kids loved it! Anyway he started to tell me that his friend's mum told him that the swing had gone because the 'ninjas' had taken it. I tried not to laugh, with images of 'ninjas' (brandishing swords etc) stealing a swing from a kid's playground. He was so serious and when I questioned him about the ninjas he just repeated the story to me. He was totally serious! It took me a while to figure out what had actually happened to the swing. It was in fact 'teenagers' that had taken it. Ninjas!! Just cute :)

Happy Postbox!

This past few days I've had 3 lots of 'happy post' coming through the mail box.

One and Two were swap packages from the shabby chic cafe forum that I belong to (doesn't it feel good to 'belong'!).

The first one was based on the theme 'Strawberries and Cream'. Pictures to follow as words won't do it justice. It was from Rosie B and was so fab! Well worth the wait - I hope Rosie feels well as she has some health issues, which makes the package even more special - that she still took the time to think of me and send her lovely items.

The second package was based on the theme 'Green' which is fab as I LOVE the colour green. Again I'll take pics later and put them on here. I'll just say it included a tea towel in the most magnificant shade of green - I love it so much I could marry it :)

The third item came through the post yesterday evening - which I found a little strange! What mail arrives on an evening?? Well I went and there it lay on the mat - in all its glory - the new IKEA catalog, lol!! I obvi
ously had to take it and immediately browse through it. Lots of delicious room settings and a few items that are on my wish list.

I'm loving this green rug:I'm definitely going to get this throw:
And look at these wall decoration stickers - I'm not sure what size they and whether they are all on one sheet, etc but I definitely need to go look at these!
and more:And what about this gorgeous red clock:

And this funky mirror:
And what about these sets of tins?
And what about these from the children's dept:



I think I'll leave it there for now - there's so many good stuff in there. I need to take a trip to the store soon too as they always have more in there. Once the kids go back to school...........