Half Term...doncha love em?

These are the reasons I was too exhausted to post more last week. Yes! Half Term!!!
Weekend started slowly. Then as I had signed my son up for 'Wet 'n' Wild' swimming sessions at the local pool for an hour each day we decided that this week would be all about exercise and how we could fit it into our lives. This is how we ended up . . take a breath
Monday - swim for son. chat for me - followed by 8mile cycle ride (trust me those seats are not suitable for 8miles of cycling) swiftly followed by 3 mile dog walk. Urgh!

Tuesday - swim for child, swim for Mum - lost count after 34 lengths but reckon was about 2 miles by the time I'd finished one hour and a half later! Plus dog walk oh and walked to the pool too.

Weds - walked to pool, 3 miles round trip - swim for child, chat for mum - walked home, said we'd taken the dogs out but we tired really really tired, oh walked to shopping centre for school supplies

Thursday - Cycled to pool - - Ooooowwwww still hurting in the seat area - swim for son and Mum, cycled home, dogs out . . .knackered, can hardly talk . . . . let alone try and concentrate on using the pc

Friday - had to use the car unfortunately - first time this week tho - how chuffed were we? Swim for child, I watched cos they were using aqua jets and for some reason I kept hearing snippets of the James Bond theme running through my head - looked so fab fun - I want a go!
After swimming, had to collect nephew, then had some lunch in supermarket cafe! Then had to go and see how the People at the Job Centre were doing, Then we went of to play Bowls at Ashton.
I was happy to see that my OH arrived home later with a bottle of vodka under his arm but think I might have cancelled out all my goodness for the week now. Ho hum! Perhaps not? But that HUGE bar of chocolate that accompanied it surely did?
Had a layzey weekend and got ready for the going back to school thing. Urgh!!
Roll on Easter break

xx

Ta..dah!!!!!

Too exhausted to add much else just now.

I also...

. .started (attempted) another item on my TDL (To Do List) - to sort my Scrapbooking Layouts into 'order'. Hmmm this is turning out to be trickier that I initially thought. Do I sort them into; year, type, category? Do I swap my current scrapbook albums for D-Ring ones in order to be able to separate/sort/reorder when required? Or do I just leave them in a pile and hope a magic helpful fairy will come and land and sort them out for me one day?
This is just a selection of finished LO's that I need to include into my albums


These are 8 single page LO's and 4 Double Page LO's that I need to add to the albums. So, I did something quite extreme . . I removed ALL my filed pages from all my albums. They are now in a neat pile on the floor in my room pending action!!!

lol - What have I done?
Suffice it to say I don't know what phase II will be - think I might have to get 'Mother' round!

Best laid plans . .

I mentioned I was meeting an x work colleague on Thursday for lunch? Well, 'fraid to say it didn't happen (and I got some gifts for her too). And the reason? My drivers side window decided to get stuck - in the open position!!!! Took ALL day to get fixed which included getting the new putter upper mechanism (or something)!!! Then when I finally picked the car up - I couldn't get out of it cos they hadn't reattched the door handle!!!
So, how to manage without a car for 2 days - OMG it was awful and it's made me think that perhaps I rely on my car for far far too much!

I managed to get JD to the 'Doggy Beauty Salon' tho - here are his before and after photos





Doesn't he look lovely? And, thin?

A little cutey . . .

Just thought this piccy might make you chuckle . . .on my 'To Do List I have 'sort out photos' and I came across this, taken when we'd just welcomed Kevin into our lives. Have you ever seen a cat sleep in this position? Ever?

And how's the list going, I hear you ask? Well . .

1) Check bikes are ok and use - all done and used to go to school . . once (At least we used them, plan to get the out proper this half term)
2) Clear Credit Card - FINALLY!!
3) Check photo printer - it works, just squidges the last inch for some reason, but don't think my dismantling will cure the problem
4) Dog gate - replace hinge - bought it, but now it looks as tho we're demolishing/changing the dog run area - more to follow
5) Better lock fastener for Dog Gate - same resaon as above
6) Record what colours used in lounge/kitchen - not sure why but sure it seemed imporant at the time
7) Valet car - and looking lovely
8) Do something with Tim Holtz Book - see previous post re the Valentines Card
9) Need match boxes - empty - yeah - for a Craft Stamper project - piccies to follow (sometime)
10) Sort holidays for next year - going back to Majorce (cos we love it so) 14wks next Monday
11) Karen Rose Series - all read and feeling lost without her
12) James Patterson - Michael Bennett books - just reading the last one 'Tick Tock' as good as the others
13) Sort remaining stuff in garage - all done in preparation for some machinery coming home - yay!! Can't wait

135 items done - 144 to go

Off Craft Shopping tomorrow - I've got an almost full loyalty card so it would be rude not too.
Thursday - meeting a couple of x-colleagues as one of them is being made redundant on Friday and is also finishing to have a Baby - it's been a while since I saw them both so it's going to be lovely
Friday - booked the dog JD into be groomed - before and after photos to follow
Oh and then it's the weekend . . . .and a Craft Day at my local crop group

Lovin it xxx

Craft Time . . . a litte

My 'Tim Holtz' Valentines Day Card for my OH. Taken and ruthlessly copied from him book 'A Compendium of Curiosities'. Had problems with my red embossing glitter on my heart, it kept falling off!! Then when I tried to use red glittery paint, that had turned into some sort of glutenous gloop and I had to wodge it on, suffice it to say it stuck in lumps. Ho hum!!


And a card for my lovely Dad for his Birthday.



This was inspired/copied from an example of a card that was on display at the recent GMEX show in Manchester. I can't remember what the stall was but I actually purchased a 'Peel Off' sheet. Eeeek!

Hope you like

Oh wow . . . a mixed up kind of time

My son and I have decided to try a different activity each month in order to spend some 'constructive/mother/son/bonding' time together. OH's need not apply!
So for the month of January we arranged to go 'Rock Over Climbing'!!! I know, I know, I initially possibly thought the same as you at first, that we would scale a wall attached by ropes and wearing a crash hat . . .errrm Nope. this is what 'Rock over Climbing' is . . .picture if you will . . .Sylvester Stallone in 'Cliff Hanger' or rather . .




We had fun (?) our arms ached and I've realised I actually have a bit of a fear of heights. Going up is fine but coming back down. Not a good feeling.

So, that was Januarys effort, Feb we're planning to go skating and for March, bowling - all of which I'm sure I will be better at. Fingers crossed. All of them.

I'm rubbish . . . .

Yes, I am really. I said to myself that I would blog most days and here we are in the middle of Feb (almost) and I've not!!
If I said it was cos I was busy being busy that would just be a great big fib. I've been busy. But! Not, busy doing stuff - unless you class reading as being busy? My OH wouldn't agree with this not one iota!
So, what have I been reading????
A fabulous collection of books by the same author, Ms Karen Rose. OMG she writes the most amzing books. Now, I'm not really into thriller/police/murder/mystery's at all preferring light hearted/life style rom coms but these books are just fantastic.
Check out her website and see if you come up for air when you start reading them.

http://www.karenrosebooks.com/

I've just downloaded the most recently released 'You Belong to Me' but I'm scared to start reading it as it will mean I've finished the series...until Ms Rose writes another.
I won't be reading it just yet tho as I've slipped back into Mr James Patterson's Series of Michael Bennett - he writes just as well resulting in an almost total exclusion of all things necessary in life needed to exist. ie I just ain't doing anything else.

Ho hum!!
On a crafty/list plus point . . . steps are being made to complete a HUGE chunk of stuff in the next couple of weeks. I'm off on a retreat the first weekend in March so would ideally like to be all clear for all new and inspired crafting things to come into my life.
TTFN & Happy Crafting
Ali xx