It's been a few days

I keep thinking I should be blogging but something always seems to get in the way. So, a quick post before Emily and I leave for Cambridge in the morning. We've never been to Cambridge before (and it's not far from here - a couple of hours I'm told) but our neighbours moved there a month ago and invited us to come visit and we're taking them up on it. I've borrowed a SatNav from Kay (thanks Kay!!) and I've also printed out directions so, hopefully, we won't get lost along the way. It's been really chilly here so leaving around 9am sounds good to me. Give any frost/ice on the roads a chance to disappear and there's no big rush. I've no doubt I will take some photos ;o) and that they may even appear on this blog within a few days. We're only away for one night - back in time for halloween - so I'm sure I'll blog again over the weekend. Until then xx Update: Another pound lost this week brings the total to 18.5 pounds released (with pleasure!)

Jon's birthday

Today was Jon's birthday. It was also the day the clocks went back so he got to have a bit of a lie in. When he came downstairs we did the usual present opening. Nothing too exciting this year - more things that he needed rather than wanted. Some new clothes and new shoes

Emily got him The Incredible Hulk DVD - can that be called light relief??

We arranged to go to Wetherspoons for lunch and invited family members to come and join us. I think we had a table of about 21 in the end. The food was good and it was nice to get a chance to see some of the family we don't see as often. (Sorry the photos are so grainy, I bumped the ISO up to 1600 because of the light but unfortunately you can see it. Anyone with tips for shooting dark indoor shots, please let me know!)

Will, Theresa and Tyler were there but Tyler wasn't so keen on having his photo taken today. We think he may be teething!

Looking down the table

The birthday boy! Happy Birthday Jon xxx

Kyle and Emma recently moved into a house together so we'll be going for afternoon tea next week ;o) Also thought you would like to see your eldest son, Norma!

Jon's sister Debbie and her husband, Dave

A rare photo of myself. Anyone who knows me knows I hate having my photo taken but on rare occasions I do give the camera to someone else.

I did get to do some scrapbooking before we went out for lunch but I haven't put the photos on the pages yet or got everyone to write their little bit on their pages. This is also from the DYL class and we're making a mini album to go in the main album. I've done the basic layouts but just need to finish them off. Hoping I might get that done tomorrow.

Hope you've all had a good weekend and are ready to face the new week. Emily's on half term now so I'm looking forward to not having to get up at 6am.

xx

25th October

It's that time of month again - the 25th - scrap your day! So, lots of random photos about what we've done today. Nothing terribly exciting, just everyday stuff. Not wonderful professional photos - some are a bit blurred (because I wasn't wearing my glasses to focus!!) but they're today!

First up, my morning routine. I always get up and have a shower, do my make up and then come downstairs and dry my hair before I do anything else. Excuse the scarey expression!! Emily is usually up around the same time as me - or even earlier! Here she had just come downstairs after getting dressed and was looking for a programme on TV.

Next up I tend to check my emails and see if anyone's actually looked at my blog ;o) In this photo Claire was actually showing me how to do a print screen and get the sample colours on Cathy's class notes to use on layouts. Thank goodness I have people who know more about computers than I do and who can teach me what I need to know!

Emails and web pages checked and it's time for breakfast. Still trying to stick to weight watchers (though not very successfully today - the start was good and then it went downhill!). Special K with some tinned fruit cocktail and soya milk.

A little bit later; time for a cup of Rooibos (redbush) tea. Love it! Because it was colder today I've probably had about 5 cups through the day. Love pretty mugs too!

The view from our back doorstep. The acer at the bottom of the garden is turning a beautiful red at the top. I love acers and enjoy seeing the different seasons from the doorstep. Love our little garden, it's south facing, quite private and there's just something about it that makes me happy! It was one of the selling points when buying this house as far as I was concerned, I could picture myself sitting on the top step with a cup of tea and I was right - it's something I've done numerous times since we moved in here 10 months ago.

Tom eating - again! I'm sure anytime anyone walks into the kitchen, Tom comes running for food. He doesn't always get it but we have to give him 10/10 for trying (and being annoying!)

Another shot of my computer - this time Jon was working out how I download fonts on to it. I haven't got the hang of Vista yet and things that I used to be able to do without a problem aren't always that easy any more. I think I can do this one now! Thank you darling!!

Claire decided today was washing day. It's not really the weather for hanging out clothes at the moment, and I'm trying not to use the tumble drier all the time, so she's hanging some shirts up to dry. I love the fact that she now does her own laundry - thank you Claire!! xxx

Lunch time and I'd promised Emily I'd take her to Starburger. This is no fancy restaurant but the food is good and the chips are some of the best in town. My favourite lunch there, at the moment, is the spicy chicken wrap. Very Yummy!! Emily tends to have chicken nuggets and chips.

After lunch we had a little bit of birthday shopping to do before making our way back up to Wickendens Sweet Shop (above). All those jars in the window on the left are full of sweets. We love this shop, it's a real sweet shop with shelves full of jars of sweets. Anyone coming to East Grinstead seems to go in to buy sweets of some sort. We go every Saturday to get sweets to have while watching tv. The guy that owns the shop always asks Emily how much they're going to cost and she now works it out before going up to the counter - great for her mental maths! If she's got it right, he'll often throw in an extra rainbow strip for her.

I had to add this photo of Cafe Nero's - we didn't actually go in today but because I seem to be forever saying I've been there for coffee, I thought I would add a photo regardless.

Later this afternoon, this is what my scrapbooking table looked like. I was working on the Real Life Colour layout for class this week and, as normal, my desk ended up a total tip! I haven't got round to clearing it yet but will have to tomorrow morning before I start doing anything else.

A shot of the tv in the kitchen which had Strictly Come Dancing on in the background while I finished off some work on the computer.

Last, but not least, the layout I did today. The colours aren't necessarily ones I would normally put together but that's part of the challenge. This week it was a mustard colour, darker and lighter greens, brown and red. I managed to use them all but I'm not sure if I'm happy with the finished result yet. Still feel it may need another something under the circle with the heart but don't know what yet. Any suggestions or shall I leave it as is?

Thanks for stopping by to have a look. Enjoy the rest of the weekend

xx

Where does the time to?

It's Friday night and the week just seems to have flown by. Emily broke up for half term this afternoon, so we're looking forward to not having to get up early next week. Towards the end of the week, the girls and I are going up to Cambridge for a night. Our next door neighbours moved there at the end of September and invited us to go and visit them. As we've never been to Cambridge before, we're taking them up on the invite and are hoping to do some sightseeing as well as visiting Alan, Zaira and William. I'm looking forward to seeing somewhere new and hope to get some photos - also really hoping the weather holds out for us! Before that, however, I know Emily has some homework that needs to be handed in after half term, so she'll need to make a start on that. We may get to fit in a movie or some bowling as well. This morning I met up with my friend Helena for a coffee at Nero's. The time always seems to whizz past when you're having a good chat. We both agreed that we need to do more exercise so, after half term, watch this space! I need it to help with Weight Watchers and to generally become a bit fitter. As I said, watch this space!! This afternoon I did the first sketch for Week 4 - DYL. I couldn't decide what photos to used and finally settled for some of Leah, my friend's daughter, from a few years ago. You can let me know what you think!

It's Jon's birthday on Sunday so a few bits to do tomorrow! Hope you all have a good weekend

xx