~*~Life as Me~*~

Looking through the past....

Psychology sucks. The day I packed up my craft stuff I started thinking about layouts, handmade books and altered items. The day I took my craft stuff...all 18 large boxes...I had design ideas, layout ideas, technique ideas and a strong desire to sit at my desk and just play, create and express myself.

But I cant.

I am 23 miles from the house and I have chosen to take my car off the road for a while so they aren't accessible to me till I have actually moved.

Which isn't going to be till the 26th October.

Darn.

So I appeased myself by browsing some of my former layouts and projects, that was after I browsed a bazillion blogs and noted ideas down for my 'tip jar' Now I figured i'd stick some on here, to remind me of the old days (just let me wallow here a bit ok?) and to also keep something up on this blog. My ideas and inspiration is in draft form right now and as I dont have the concentration then layouts will do!

Well I think thats enough for now, my desire to push paper around is temporarily appeased :D

~*~Debs~*~

22 Things for the kids to do with/without parents

My latest article posted over on Modern Molly Mormon is below, i'm posting it here because I think its a pretty good list of stuff for all kids of all ages to have fun with as the summer school holiday looms ahead.

Need some ideas for the summer holidays? Well I've been working on a few that my kids can do when they finish school for the summer in June....so I thought I'd share...

1. Scrapbook ~ I don’t think suggesting this would be a surprise to anyone! Back in the day scrapbooking was just a scrap book that we would stick odd cut outs of our favourite shoes or hairstyles etc. I suggest going back to this time with our kids and encourage them to scrapbook various things through their days to show their highlights. By the time school starts, all those words that have been muttered ‘I am bored’ or ‘I do not get to do anything fun’ will be right there in pictures to show them! Kids of any age will enjoy making their own summer journal, even toddlers.

2. Garden pots ~ Even if you have your own garden area and the kids are happy to help, why not get them some small pots {or larger if you have the space} exclusively for them? Giving them some responsibility is a proven method that most kids thrive for and more often than not, live up to above and beyond. Smaller children love to get dirty so why not give them some tiny pots and either sunflower seeds or pretend flowers?

3. Artist folder ~ Similar to the scrapbook, give the kids their very own folder with sheets of plain paper inside and let them create. This is ideal in the car, waiting at the dentist, in a restaurant on just sat on the sofa. When each page is complete, date it and get them to sign it!

4. Disposable camera ~ I know my 4 year old loves it when he gets to randomly take photos of anything and everything. Naturally, I don’t print many of his photos but I do make up a slide show on the computer for him so he can sit and admire his talent! Kids love all that dodging around like a little pro just to get that perfect shot…minus the head! A disposable is cheap; bump proof and stops arguments between siblings.

5. Bird watching ~ We live in an area that isn’t exactly close to a beach yet we get loads of seagulls and other birds associated with the waters. Having multiple trees in our garden means, we usually have birds around here. Having kids with toy binoculars, laying on a blanket spotting birds, comparing them to a book {use the library for some good ones} will keep them quiet for ages, plus it will work their imaginations and most likely get them chatting about clouds and other things they see!

6. Flower spotting ~ If you are in an area where your kids can just wonder through a field or arboretum garden of some sort, pack them up with a book, magnifying glass and a bottle of water and see what they find. Chances are they will find bugs, creepy crawlies, and other things too.

7. Word games ~ There are loads of different kinds of printables online, my kids love making small words out of larger ones. This is another versatile game that can be done almost anywhere at any time and aids their reading and spelling without them quite realising it!

8. Home theatre ~ many children love to act out, dress up, and emulate a favourite singer, actress or other favourite character. All they need are a few old clothes, a few curtains, and a place to perform!

9. Garden disco ~ especially for the girls, fancy skirts/tops, a pretty hairstyle and some music to dance along to! Invite kids over to join in and the rest just unfolds!

10. Garden party ~ this can be as minimal or extravagant as you like, give the kids a few games (ball games, skipping, water slides etc) some food and maybe an adult or two and they will be entertained all day!

11. Hammer n nails ~ One for the boys (or tomboys out there!) My 4 yr old loves nothing more than to sit with a plank of wood, mini sized hammer and some nails. Obviously, this would need parental supervision but it keeps the boys quiet! For older kids maybe they can make a box, bird feeder, or something equally simple.

12. Sewing box ~ scraps of fabric, needles and thread and anything can happen. Cut out a simple shapes
such as a teddy bear so it only needs the edge sewing and stuffing with off cuts of fabric, cut lots of squares to stitch into a blanket or even a bag. Old clothes are great for this and very inexpensive. Boys enjoy this almost as much as the girls

13. Cook for a family ~ this can be as basic as burgers and fries or if your kids are older a 3 course meal. Letting them plan, shop and prepare a meal will boost their confidence and keep them focused for hours! Moreover, you don’t get to cook either!

14. Camping in the garden ~ Lets face it, all kids like to camp out even if it is only the garden! If you have toddlers go camp out with them! Grab some flashlights, books and nibbles and the kids will have the best night of their life!

15. Kid’s yard sale ~ Hands up if your kids have a load of unused toys, books, games etc? (My 2 hands are up!) let them get in on the act of taking care of their needs and hold a yard sale, with the proceeds they can perhaps use it to learn the first steps in financing or buy a new toy/book/game or even better, save it and watch it grow in their bank!

16. Write your book ~ Every kid has a story to tell, it's not going to be the one we tell about that exact same experience or trip to the supermarket. Give them a book and pen, shoot ideas to what they can write about, use bullet points so they aren’t overwhelmed if they aren’t fans of writing. Make a front page cover, choose a book title and tell them how much YOU want to know what their life story is from their view.

17. Role play banker/shopper/parents i.e. finances/thrift ~ A small table and chair, a few packets/tins from food storage and a few friends and you have a shop. Add some boxes, envelopes and a satchel style bag for a post office. Make pretend money from strips of paper, make a till from a narrow box and you have a bank. The imagination is endless with just a few items here and all the while kids are learning about some important principles! Especially if their bank is empty and they only have limited funds at the food store!

18. Papier-mache ~ Bowls, mountains, plant pots, jewellery holders, pen cups, action man mounds and more. Just a few ideas to get the kids into creative play, recycling old papers/magazines is an added bonus for our Green issues!

19. Service project for neighbour ~ With the nice weather here (at last) get the kids out doing their own service project for a local neighbour or family member. Anything from reading to someone, going to the store, cutting grass, feeding pets or even making them a snack will give the kids are all sense of accomplishment!

20. Learn an instrument ~ This isn’t as hard as it looks, nor does it have to cost much money. Freecycle can offer some good old instruments to good homes, yard sales (trying really hard to get Americanised here!!) and thrift stores. Libraries offer books for beginners, they don’t have to be perfect or even last longer than the summer, but chances are, once they start and see how easy they can pick something up they will want to carry on!

21. Buddy a younger person ~ Does your child know someone who would benefit from having a buddy? Is your child one who would benefit from a buddy? Maybe assigning a buddy to someone will reach out to someone and give something they need most, from confidence, faith in themselves, a hard time at home or anything at all. Great works are done when we have someone to look out for us and the rewards are outstanding for those giving their time and effort to someone too.

22. Body/hand/foot painting ~ Ok so you guys can join in here, I know my kids just love it when we have messy play. Having washable floors makes it easier if the weather is cold but in all the clean up is simple with a hose when outdoors. Just get some plain rolls of wall paper, loads of washable paints and let the fun begin!

If your children are anything like mine then they are going to wanna work through that list throughout the summer, which isn't necessarily a bad thing considering how long summer is for them! As usual, I would love to hear what anyone does from this list and hope at least one of the ideas gives you a kick start! :)

Blogs ~ Photos ~ Journalling ~ Moments = Scrapbooking!

I fancy having a bit of a moan about time, how quick it goes when you are on a roll to get stuff done and how much hangs around when you're looking for things to do.

But I wont. Instead I'll talk about what I have been doing the last couple of hours, just to prove I can not resist the need to rant when a rant occurs!! ;)

Well, my Moments blog over on blospot has been doofed. Dont ask me how I done it because I simply dont have a clue. What i've managed to do is doof up my Google account yet the google alerts I get are still coming through! Google do not have a contact us page so when I go through the help pages I literally go round in so small circles i'm back where I started after 3 clicks. So Mr Google is not on my Christmas card list for this year I can tell you! Oops so much for not ranting!! Lol

So, I am in the process of moving my Moments blog idea over here to typepad which is a tad annoying because I really like the design I was able to find over on blogspot. Wanna see where Moments is coming from?

From HERE to HERE which is also linked up the top there on the right under My Personal Sites. Also up there you will see Photo a Day and Write Away Boss. The idea for Moments is to record those little moments that can easily pass us by while we are racing round to actually get to them. Feel free to leave a comment and share your moments with me, I would love to hear them. The Photo a Day is my way of visualising something through my day, everyday that I can count towards my scrapbooking for our family album, family journal or a mini book to summarise the year. Keeping that theory going, the Write Away Boss is, so far going to be used for the journalling side of things I either wouldnt usually think too much of or things that I think are particularly worth recording but not something i'd necessarily blog about. The lead is taken from 52Q so far from Emily Falconbridge who I think is amazingly talented and inspirational. Go check them all out and as I said, feel free to join me along the way and share your moments, memories, idea's, dreams etc, I'd love to hear them.

So is anyone feeling the strong desire to make me some buttons for my blogs??????? :D

~*~Debs~*~

What's in it for you?

Anyone who is anyone needs more hours in their day right? In those hours do you find time for yourself? Do you have a hobby, be it an hour a week or a few hours a day? If you dont then you need to read this, if you do, well ok go ahead, read and be assured that you DESERVE that hobby, that you-time which is most likely what's keeping you semi-sane!
Me, I have a few hobbies but I'm very much into scrapbooking and blogging. Now let me rewind a few years.
As a kid I was taught and encouraged to sew, knit and write a journal. Over the years i've been inconsistent with all three having excelled momentarily in each area periodically then turned to another 'fad' one at a time. I have taught scrapbooking projects, I have designed some lovely projects, I have run workshops and crops, I have worked in schools, community centres, self help groups and more, all in the name of scrapbooking and journalling memories. I have had endless hours of pleasure in all areas, I have listened to memories from grown men who truly believed their lives were worthless, women who felt they couldn't get through one more day and kids who see so much more in one simple photo. The world I am sometimes subject to is phenominal, its humbling and it is priceless. On a  personal level I dont do as much for myself lately, but the albums i've made for my kids are well worth all the time, effort and money spent on them. My younger two kids, will browse their albums and talk about them over and over, each time remembering or asking a little bit more about each photo. Sewing is hit and miss though, my machine, which is as good as brand new only works for other people...but thats an ongoing challenge I have! Knitting, well that is something I do for a couple of days, put it down and forget where I put it! So, moving on...

• What do YOU do for YOU?
• How often do you fit it into your life?
• Do you relax while you're doing it?
• What attracts you to it?
• How confident are you at it?
• Do you share it with anyone else?
• Have you learnt anything new within the hobby lately?
• Is it exclusively your time out?
• Are you competitive at it?
• Are you a perfectionist?
• Or a realist?
• Do you appreciate the imperfections?
• What do you REALLY get out of it?

These are just a few of the questions I think about when I look back on my last 8 years of scrapbooking. Is it a quality hobby or is it a habit hobby? Do I feel guilty when I dont do it or when I do? These questions done come with right or wrong answers BUT to take time out for you is imperative for our mental and emotional well being. Fact.

When I found scrapbooking back in 2001 when I was staying in Arizona for a few weeks I was in total awe at one of the large stationery shops, oh did my eyes pop, jaw drop and mouth drool or what! I had never seen anything like it in all my life, all that paper, ribbon and bazillions of other gorgeous stuff. My version of scrapbooking was so very different and this was a whole new world to me. Since that day I have completed approximately 9 x 50 page albums for my kids, about 20 handmade books and well over 100 other projects that i've either been assigned, commissioned or invited to share in various places. Each time I can say hand on my heart that the time spent doing each one put something in me, a peace, a singular purpose and a sense of myself still being present. I admit though, that feeling is far surpassed when I either teach the project or hand back a commissioned album and see their faces. The excitement, the pleasure and the sheer joy of that person is just phenominal to me, that's most definitely better than atually putting them together.

I haven't done any kind of scrapbooking for a good few weeks months now, I originally had a big comprehensive Christmas Calendar Project in the works but the girls on my DT and I had so many challenges we had to put it on hold. Now though, as i'm whizzing here and there to do this and that I find I am taking more photos, making more notes and stopping for the moment more...because for me, to miss the moment is something no hobby can fix, yet my hobby keeps me being me, gives my batteries a recharge whilst doing all the other things I love doing such as being a mum, taking care of my home and being with family and friends.

Late last year I started a new blog to record a moment through my day, (ok so I failed after a very short while but it didn't help when bloggers auto publish failed too!!) but as i'm working on bringing it up to date I would like to still share it with you, please feel free to add your own moments if you wish. I have also joined forces (probably with myself at the moment!) to take one photo per day of whatever is relevant to me. Throughout the month it is my intention to put them all into either layouts or mini albums, then by the end of the year I can look back at my year in review and yet again count my blessings!!

I am not afraid to stand up and say I need a little bit of me. Are you? Not a bit of me but you know what I mean!! ;) I plan for 2009 to spend at least 3 hours a week on my crafts, whether its for myself, a gift, a class or something else. The act of sitting and crafting totally chills me out and prepares me for whatever I need to move on with whatever the challenge or chore might be.

What is your 'me' time going to be?

~*~Debs~*~

November already!

This year I feel like I have been counting down the months, for one thing or another there's been something to look forward to. I browsed through my calendar the other day, which has almost every appointment, deadline, birthday, event etc listed on it, and found that I had only missed 4 dentists appointments, 2 opticians appointments and about 4 other appointments...not bad going over a 10 month, 3 day period is it? Lol

10 months ago I was at a totally different place in my life, much more fragile emotionally, mentally and spiritually. My family were much more insecure about the future and what it held and I have to say there were more thorns in my side than there are lately, but as the year has waded by I can look back now and see how things have unfolded, worked out and just plain fizzled out, almost like watching my life in a film!

Just a bit of quick, mental assessment going on there trying to sum up my year over all, and I have to say it's been a pretty good one, not perfect and not always how I expected but a pretty good one all the same, we can't ask for more can we?

This weekend has been fun. Friday night we went to the Midlands, for my cousins surprise 40th birthday party (think I mentioned that previously?), it was a lovely night but poor Charley was so ill he lay on my lap all night, some how napping through the loud music. Saturday was a day in, there was no way I was taking Charley out for longer than absolutely necessary so R, the kids and I sat and made this:

A tropical fish tank! Now how cool is that? Lol The kids loved it, Lucas loved making the crabs, Kirsten loved all of it and Charley loved the talking all the way through it and kinda loved the glueing...till it got all over his fingers!! I think the end result is pretty great eh? Going to be a shame when I have to take them all out later to put my papers back in!!

No more photos for this post, one of the kids has been playing with the delete button so the ones I wanted to share....are gone forever now.

The Christmas Calendar Project is in full swing, it will be previewed here ASAP, there is still a lot to be done with it before its ready to be freed into the big, big world. It's been a very big project to take on, it's caused many tears along the way, much frustration and HUNDREDS of hours of sheer researching to get all the extra's that it has with it. The project will not be one that should be missed, it will TOTALLY guide you throughout December, not just this year but any year so it can be either re-used or remade! I'm not sure if I will release it as a kit yet though, even though there has been some interest in the full kit form, I dont want to be hitting the postal hiccups that tend to happen this late in the day. Though it's release is a lot later than I planned, it is still possible for the busy mum to put it together in a very realistic amount of time ready for the beginning of the festive season! If you want to get in on this project, sign up for my newsletter, which is at the bottom of the homepage on my site....HERE or you can get email alerts from this blog somewhere on the left side panel over there. This blog will be the first place I announce its release and put previews of the finished project.

In my photo gallery up there, I have a few photos of some tins that I made a while back, they were just the sample stock I had when I used to make them to order in a variety of themes. The Christmas one will now be used to make a similar project to the Calendar above, only this will be made in tabbed sections. The project above is made with Basic Grey's Wassail Collection, where this one will be made using Dovecraft's Victorian Christmas range which I think is rather cute!

Both of the above projects will be full to over flowing of information all geared to preparing all we can for Christmas Day, the first however will hold so much more but the tin version will be more versatile and enable anyone to add to it as much as they need to suit their own needs. Both will include some inspiring ideas, gifts, homemade decorations, recipes, gift ideas, kids activity ideas and trust me, LOADS more!! ;)

Moving on, I was working out what I have left to get on my Christmas list, though it has grown considerably this year I am still pretty much on target with it all. In doing the above projects I have been experimenting with some of the recipes I would like to include so now I think I have mastered some interesting bakes it's time to make more and wrap them before freezing them. I'm not adding photos of them cos as I said, they are towards the project itself! :) However, there is going to be some large batches coming up that Kirsten and I have decided will be made up into gift baskets for some relevant people she would like to give them to. Is it just me or does this cold weather bring the baker out in us? Kirsten cant bake enough of anything right now, she's off on shortbread lately, next she wants to try cinnemon buns...wish us luck, she's expecting the untrained, burnt boiled egg pro to be the one to guide her!! Lol I have my limits in the culinary area but hey, if I can try it I know anyone can!! :)

Ok, enough from me now, I have a car to load, and two kids to organise ready for lunch...I believe Kirsten is making it today, probably something like cheese on toast which just happens to be her favourite right now!! Lol

Kit or Project?

I've been trying to figure out whether to put my Christmas Calendar Project on my website as a kit or a project only. Feedback would be really good!

After speaking to four of the schools I get called into to do projects with, they have asked me to put together a smaller project for the kids to make for their mum's (we're talking 8-11 yr olds) but want it in kit form. The secondary schools I get called into want the project only so the girls can do it as an after school club (lead by me) and use their own styles, tastes etc which is fine with me.

The problem i'm having is after the Ellie Wiseman's Box Book Project had so much interest, very little came of it and I dont want to be left with a few hundred pounds worth of stock that will just sit and sit. So after leaving this question on a few forums and groups i'm in, the general consensus is kits....now i'm adding the question here to see what other opinions are.

I know its always a gamble to produce a kit, and with all the kits and clubs out there why should mine be any different, well let me tell you:

* This is NOT a kit club
* It's not going to be packed with rubbish or mismatched items
* It is truly cost effective as I do not have to pay overheads such as rent on a shop etc
* The whole project can be done with all that is in the box
* There is no commitment to buy anything else from me
* Its a seasonal special that I have NOT seen anything even remotely close to
* Will have layouts and other stuff made exclusively from other well known names (sorry, cant reveal who just yet)
* If you do not like the kit and it is returned within 4 days I will give a full refund and ask no questions
* A gallery just for the Calendars will be made over on my website for all those wishing to share what they have made
* I am prepared to post worldwide at the lowest rates
* You will receive your kit within 48 hours of cleared payments, by recorded delivery (uk & excluding Sundays)

So there you have it, now what do I do? Go the whole hog and do the kit online, just the project version or even both? I think i've just confused myself!! :(

I may be back later to blog again, I have a range of stuff I want to put on here but time, energy and thinking power still remain in control! :)

~*~Debs~*~

I miss my blog! :)

Once upon a time there was a girl called Debs, she used to be able to blog almost every day and have something relatively amusing to report. Then all of a sudden things changed, she got busy, got lots of things to do, people to see and places to go. The blog was one of the first things that started to suffer, with rare appearances she would often forget what she wanted to write about and ended up wondering why she even bothered keeping it going.
But she wasn't giving it up....
So she just hoped that she would get more time to enjoy the blogging she once used to....
So long as she never gave up...
There was always going to be hope!

So here I am, sat comfortably, ready to fill in the gaps since the last post and fully aware that I have stuff from previous posts to upload or update here....so this is my attempt though i'm aware that failure is a painful process of progression! (thats a good saying eh? I just made that up!!)

Ok, sat here I thought I would do my nightly blog-browse and leave some comments on the ones I feel inspired/touched by...but do you know what bugs the crap out of me? When Blogger blogs are set to have either blogger or open id as the only confirmation of who you are! What the heck is MY open id for typepad? I've tried ALL WAYS to do it, but it chews it up and spits it out, i've put in my email address and the same happens there. So if you are a blogger blogger reading this, check your settings cos not all of us use blogger and not all of us can leave a comment and I for one do not have the patience to sit here all night to figure the stupid thing out!!!

Rant over! :)

I got onto Twitter the other day, i've had SO much fun on there, browsing and leaveing silly comments!! I also have Sarah Palin following ME! Not literally, cos she's in the states and i'm not, but SHE follwed my twitter and I didn't even follow her first!! Wonder if i'll get a mention in the White House? You think not? Huh, thanks!! :) I put a search word in, just randomly to see what would come up (ok yes, i need to do MORE in my days!! Lol) I used 'stupid' and oh my waffle so much came up!! I had a right ole giggle I can tell ya, go try it out and see what you come up with!!

I have an interesting life huh?

Oh, i've also become a cyber stalker, but I blame Stephanie Barnard for it! See, AGES go I saw some on her designs on one of my American friends blogs, liking Stephanie's style I went on a search though some UK retailers and distributors to get my mitts on some, but couldn't find it anywhere, only in the States. Instead of asking my friend to send some over to me (and me pay her back) I didn't, independance and stubborness got the better of me, so how chuffed was I when I found Stephanie on Twitter, quite by accident (must be destiny!) and as I did so she had JUST commented that her new website was up! Destiny? Fate? Heavenly Father telling me to stop cyber stalking this poor woman? Whatever the power was, I finally had a way to contact Stephanie and get it from the horses mouth as to where I can get her stuff from! Bad news is its not in the UK, but she's good at replying to emails ;) and she has some more lush stuff coming out soon! Wanna see who and what i'm talking about? Well here is her lush stuff and here is Stephanie's blog...well worth a read, I feel she is a real live person with a real live down to earth attitude, unlike many designers out there.

I'm back home from the Midlands now, came back on Monday evening, unloaded the car, got Charley in his bed and crashed on the sofa while Jay told me all about the 3 weeks we've been away even though we have spoken on the phone almost every day! Bless him! Tuesday I dropped him off at the train station, he has gone to Hull for a couple of weeks with his friend so its very quiet her, especially with Kirsten at her dads. On the other hand it's nice to get some down time so I can do the boring stuff the kids dont like to share...sort clothes, washing, ironing, clean floors etc...wonder why kids dont like doing that kinda thing?!! On that note, i've blitzed each room, if I was pregnant I was call it the nesting instinct but i'm not pregnant so its just a gush of air up my...never mind! Charley is back in nursery, showing off his new Usborne Fire Engine interactive book....wanna lookey?

Click on the picture and go check it out, they are one of three to this collection and they are going like HOT CAKES! Charley has taken his to MacDonalds, Asda, Focus, Toys R Us, Hobbycraft and Bensons Beds....from there I have had 3 orders for this particular book alone and contact details for people who want to have an Usborne Books party! Not bad eh? :)

I joined a new lds social networking site a week or so ago, not only have I got to chat with some pretty cool fellow Mormons but I have been able to track down people from the ward where I was baptised almost 9 years ago! It was a real blast from the past and thrill to see these people sitting there (photos of course!) on my screen when i'd done all but stalked them in real life! ( I wonder if I have a stalking disorder?!! ) Wanna go see the site? It's nice n friendly, there are even some who are not in the UK but everyone is welcomed there. My page is here but the home page is here. One of the things I like about this site, from the technical side is that you can use your own banner, personalise your page etc. I've added a sudoku thing at the bottom of my page, i'm yet to fill a line much less a box or the whole thing!! But i'm optimistic!! Lol The guy who designed the site is actually good friends with Becks Fagg...how cool is that? I asked if she had him converted to scrapping and stuff yet, he pretty much laughed at me (politely of course!!!). Come on Becks, its all about conversion ya know!! Lol

What else have I been doing online? Not gonna go into my real life stuff yet, i'll be here all night if I start on that one, so for now i'll waffle about online stuff first!

I see Tim Holtz is still flaunting out some pretty spectacular work! Is there no limit to that man?!! What I like about this blog is that he allows comments, a lot of well known designers dont and it makes {me} feel like i'm below the food chain and they are untouchable. I personally like to think that all the people who I follow, admire and take time out to read about are real people with a reality on their readers, customers etc. I'm not into this elite, famous crap, we are all and one in this world and if we aren't then my vote is elsewhere. Ok so most of the designers that do allow you to comment need that for promotional reasons but heck, thats what its there for, designer, seller or otherwise! Just had to put the other side in there too cos it seemed like I was leaning towards a rant there and I wasn't!! LOL

Moving on!

Some other blogs i've come across that I think are worth sharing are:

12 of 12

Scrapbooks by Sue

Scrapbooking Storage

Retro Photoshop Tutorials

Altered Ambitions

One Little Word

Brenda Pinnick

Ok thats all I been browsing lately, apart from the odd one or two friends blogs that is. IF I get to update again tomorrow (please dont hold your breathe, that really is a health hazard!) then I shall talk about some of the funny stuff that Charley boy has spurned out at me, the ups and downs of home education and the high life of my family in the Midlands and the low life of living so far away from them here in Gloucester! (pronounced Gloster to you yank friends of mine! ;))

Leaving it there I shall sign off with a few pictures of my Princess and Prince....enjoy!

I dont know what I love most about this photo, the big over the top grin, wonkey Garfield glasses thats more like Jo 90 or the dirty face!! Gotta luv him anyways!

R and I took the kids to the Walsall Arboretum lights a couple of weeks ago, after seeing Peppa Pig (who is MASSIVE in real life!! Lol) we got some shots of the kids.....Lucas really isn't in a bad mood, sulking or sad!! Lol Kirsten just cant help her L sign with that hand, i'm sure its her trademark actually!!

Last but not least, this one is just so sweet, Princess Kirsten with Jakeyroo....

Now its way past my bedtime, have a long day tomorrow so need to try and be up early to get on track, wish me luck!!

~*~Debs~*~

Air head or Hair head - Which one is it? :)

I was browsing through my blog a few nights ago wondering how many times i've promised to add something and then forgotten about it....for those of you that know me will be nodding your heads in confirmation when I say that I forget almost everything without a nagging reminder! I even left my son in the car once....seriously, there he was playing nicely, gurgling to himself, pulled up on the drive, got out and went to unlock the front door...it wasn't till I stepped inside that I felt like something was missing...no Charley wasn't new born, he was 3 yrs old!!

Moving on....!!!! Oh the shame of it, I know, I know, you can stop shaking your head now, YOU look sillier than me!! :P :D (must write to mr typepad to get smilies put on this darn blog thing)

So, all the things i've forgotten to put on will be updated next week...honest! Truly! It will!! :D

Sitting here i look at the piles of stuff around me, which isn't anything new but i'm not actually at my house, I am with this cutie who has been so nice to me that he's decided to up the anti and kidnap me...ok so thats a little bit exagerated but he does have a hold over me! Get your minds out the gutter children!! :P I have had a pretty awesome week or so with R who gave my 40th birthday a meaning beyond anything monetary, he's unknowingly built up my self worth and makes me feel like I am the only person in the room. Of course I often am and this is the honeymoon period but i'm still enjoying it and have no shame in say that R is just one awesome person...oh and get this....he comes with references too...bit like a pedigree!!! Ok thats all i'm going to say about him directly, for now I want to keep him to myself and just see how things go, relationships aren't my strong thing lately.

I'm not moving in BUT I do have to keep busy whilst R is at work and I am here...already I have my own lil corner look....

In the next few weeks I am about to embark on a life changing move which will overhaul all aspects of my daily life. A while back I had agreed to a house swap with a lady a few miles up the road, she pulled out and I just plodded on. I've never wanted to live in Gloucester, none of us have really settled there and after being targeted for being outsiders (it really is a clicky place on our estate) enough is enough. Without going into the specifics there, Jay, Kirsten and I have decided to move back to the Midlands where we can not only chose the area we go to but be closer to my dad and our extended family. So far I have Kirsten lined up with a very good school, Charley is lined up with a fun and exciting nursery school and I have already planned on meeting up with some fellow scrapbookers and craft store owners. I'm still networking schools so I can continue the scrapbooking in schools and have received a lot of interest so far. I've seen a house, looks top of the dogs nuts to me but thats just photos so far, gotta arrange to go see it then move on to the next step! It's all good stuff, if not daunting with so much happening and changing, again. Watch this space for the next installment.....being good or bad!! Lol

I was reading through Heidi Swapp's blog the other day, had to have a darn good catch up cos either i'm slower than I thought or that girl is just far too busy for reality!! Anyway, after reading there I jumped over to another of my fave designers, Stacy Julian,  did you see the challenge she set everyone? Just in case, this is what she said:

Challenge: Give Yourself a Present!

So, it's October 1st. I think if I had to pin myself down, October is my favorite. Summer, with all of its fun is behind us and the craziness of the holidays is still just out of reach. The weather is generally good and the leaves are turning brilliant colors. What's not to love? In honor of October and the inevitable flow and change that is life, I'm issuing a challenge today (with the help of LOTS of blogging friends) to as many people as possible, and here it is:

I want you to give yourself a PRESENT.

You have everything you need right now to be vibrant, happy and fully engaged in the creative process of life. Sometimes you just have to slow down, look around and realize it!

Here’s what I want you to do …

• Snap ten or twelve photos of your life right now. Or find recent photos that you've already taken.
• Compile these photos in one of these super-cute Bazzill Mono-Mini albums (keep reading)
• Keep or carry this album with you, tucked in your purse or desk drawer for one full year.
• Promise to glance through the album every time you stumble upon it or pull it out.
• On October 1st, 2009, create a scrapbook page about your experience.

Don’t worry – I’ll remind you. Just keep reading my blog!

I think you'll find that regardless of what you choose to photograph, be it nature, your children, your pets, your home, your current projects --- anything and everything, that life is in flux. We and our surroundings are constantly changing (even when you don't see it or believe it) and this little challenge/project is designed to STOP you, in the throws of your busyness and show you in an instant ALL that have and can choose to be grateful for -- ALL that is here NOW and very likely fleetin.

Stacy's blog is HERE

Well what part time scrapper/amateur photographer/journaller can resist that? As per Stacy come up with an every day memory catcher that just boasts opportunities to capture the moments. Do YOU capture the moments or are you like me where your so busy on a mission to get to the moment that you actually miss most of them getting there?

Sux eh?

So I am going to play along with this, a bit late maybe but late is my middle name so its ok! And besides, this is something we can do anytime, so maybe for once i'm not late? Ok move on Debs....your boring again!! :) Lol I think i'm on day 3 of photos now, they are all in organised folders ready to be printed off...and put into the book I have created in my mind...not yet made but it will be soon enough! :) Are you going to have a go? Stacy's challenge I mean, keep up would ya! :)

Did I mention I was doing a bit of reading up on my birth name? Not Deborah but Meeley...started out R was looking for all the Meeley's on Facebook and got ME to contact them...which some of them I did, then googled the name and came up with a load more. So when I got the book I bought years ago (16 years ago in fact) from my dad I compared some of them and came up with some interesting leads....just got to make contact now with them to see if we are related in some way.

Some interesting facts come out when you look into the history of a name, i'm still discovering all kinds of stuff but at this point its extremely unlikey that I am related to any royalty though there is one famous actor from the states with the name Meeley, I just never heard of him though! Check out Darrah Meeley. A bit close to home that as my brother is called Darren! :)

Five intesting facts about the Meeley name:

1. In 1840 there were only 3 known Meeley families, all living in Ohio, United States.

2. In 1881 the majority of Meeley's lived in the Uk, Kent and Lincolnshire counties.

3. The Meeley families were not known as poor or uneducated.

4. The first known Meeley to come to the UK was a Mary Meeley in 1854...also the name of my Nan (but she's not that old!!!)

5. The most common day for a Meeley to be born during the 1960's was a Tuesday...get this...I was born 1968 and on a Wednesday, so does that make me speshal?? :D Lol

Other stuff that is regular in my day is my lil man, so here's a few updated pics of him doing his thang!

Some fandangle noisy toy he found that belongs to Lucas (see him below) that took Charley's attention for a few days....till R took the batteries out!!

Boring? No, it really was one of those very annoying sounds!!

So off he goes in exploration of other toys in The Lucas's bedroom....(The Lucas will be explained later!)

Watching tv, eating a Penguin chocolate bar and just oblivious to the world around him or the fact that I was clicking away again and he was my subject!!

Camera has shown signs of illness here, I just thought it was my bad photography, but today I can confirm it needs to go to the camera hospital. I feel jinxed!

Still, I did get more pictures though, just not sure of their quality.

My cousin came over last Friday and I managed to get a couple of pictures in, this is Adam, he is the same age as Kirsten and so sweet. He is looking forward to showing Kirsten round the school when she starts there.

Being a typical 12 year old he just couldn't let me photo him with a straight face!! Lol

Kirsten and The Lucas....Lucas is R's lil man, he is 7 going on 27! He is like a very bright torch, always happy, full of life and just fun to be with. He has an imagination of all imaginations and isn't afraid to use it, therefore I have renamed him THE Lucas!

He loves to be with Kirsten although they occasionally wind each other up, she tends to win though cos she's older but in a way I think he likes that. In just a couple of weeks I am seeing how they are good for each other yet they can be dangerous when they join forces agains R and me!! But in all, I wouldn't change a thing about them. Last Sunday they spent most the morning on the two laptops, playing games and just laughing between themselves. It was great to just hear them laughing and getting on with each other. Charley doesn't get pushed out though, as much as Lucas connects with Kirsten he can turn his head and immediately go to Charley's level and play the role of a kind big brother...which I find amazing for someone that is so full of energy. I think he likes the family unit though, when I said I might not be here this weekend when he came back to his dads he pretty much insisted that we be here...though i'm not fooled, its not ME he wants, its Kirsten!! LOL Gotta luv him anyway! :)

Last weekend we went bowling, before playing though the kids had £1 each to play on any machine or game they wanted, Charley lost his money, so I gave him another 80p to get some of those junk things in egg shaped balls from the machine then he sat happy pretending to play on a shooting game machine.....

He's just a tad small for it though! Lol

Look at the concentration there! I have never seen him so focused on anything!! I think he could have happily stayed on this all day if he'd had the money to feed it!! Lol

Last but not least is my lil man again, in his new glasses. You cant see from there but they are Garfield, really cute and in two shades of blue. However these ones attract the dirt a whole lot more than the other ones ever did...but he's not too quick to clean them so R often just takes them and cleans them himself!! Lol

You'd think that he'd get fed up not seeing after a few bumps into the door frame wouldnt ya? :)

Dirty face comes after toast and chocolate, as for the cheeky face...well thats just a daily thing I look and smile at!! :)

Forgot what else I was going to waffle about now so I'll come back and waffle again some other time. Right now I'm still working on the Christmas Calendar Project ;)

~*~Debs~*~