Sunday

 

Started with a little stitching. I'm taking part in The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery Story Time Sampler & I'm already behind! Ha ha!! Basically for those who don't know, every month the Pumpkins release a pattern over the space of a year, & at the end of the year, you've created a beautiful Kawaii style sampler. The first month was Alice in Wonderland themed, that I really need to finish, so I can start on this months theme of the Secret Garden.

 

As a family, we have decided that Sundays are now technology free days. Too much of our time is spent on iPhones, iPads, DS's, Kindles, etc, we need one day where the urge to do this is taken away. The girls weren't overly thrilled about this decision to begin with but by the end of the day, they actually agreed that this should be something we continue & they had fun without technology!

 

It was a freezing day, so we wrapped up warm & went for a short walk in a nearby woods.

The girls had lots of fun going exploring off whilst myself & Hubby stuck to the paths (I was so cold & my joints were really sore & wobbly, I really wanted to explore with them but I was sensible & took it easy!)

 

We then returned home for lunch & I felt so tired & sore that I went back to bed for a while, whilst Hubby taught Miss K to play Othello. I'm proud to say that after two games, she beat her Dad!!

I spent some time adding two more rows to my Cottage Ripple, I'm so in love with it, I cannot wait to finish it!

We cooked dinner together (which I forgot to take a photo off as I was too hungry!) & we tried The Pioneer Womans Crash Hot Potatoes which got a massive thumbs up from 4 out of 5 of us!! That's a success in my books!

 

We finished off our technology free day by spending some time together drawing. This was my effort, it didn't turn out exactly how I planned it, so I'm going to try it again.

 

So that was my Sunday, the nicest Sunday we've had for a while.

 

How was yours?

 

xxx

Wishing you a Happy New Year

Image found here

 

I hope that you had a very Merry Christmas & that 2013 has got off to an excellent start?

 

I had hoped to blog more in December, but things got in the way & I've come to the realisation that 2012 kicked my backside in many ways last year. I think I spent most if not all of the year trying to keep my head above water, & not become overcomed by all that life threw at us. It was not the hardest year that I've ever encountered, however I dont think I actually dealt with a lot of the emotions from those bad years & those emotions certainly let themselves be known in 2012.

 

I've seen many bloggers post about their word for the year. The idea of a word to live by has always intrigued me but I've yet to feel inspired to choose a word for myself. Until now.

 

I think my word for 2013 is Positivity.

 

I need to remain positive, to stop becoming overwhelmed by all the crap life likes to throw at me. To not become angry at situations which are out of my control. To no longer worry about what others think of me, as the people who truely love me, love me for who I am & dont want me to change. To surround myself with positivity, to not let others negativity drag me down. To let the positivity help build my confidence in myself, as my beautiful daughters need a strong confident Mum.

 

In other words, I need to kick myself up the backside & pull myself out of this rut.

 

I am planning a blog makeover soon, a new year needs a fresh start/look. Im feeling the need to simplify & prettify. I'm also going to break out the big camera (well ok, big to me, not quite an SLR, but maybe I'll save lots of pennies & treat myself this year) & start capturing life properly instead of relying on my Iphone.

 

Wow, this was only going to be a post wishing you a New Year, didnt expect to be pouring my heart out. If you havent fallen asleep by now, then I thank you for reading! LOL!

I would like to take a moment to thank you for reading my blog,& for leaving such lovely comments. They make my day :-)

 

Another of my plans for the New Year was to go to bed earlier & rest so Im going to stop rambling on & get some sleep.

 

I wish you a very Happy & Lucky 2013.

 

xxx

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

 

Christmassy crafting has begun.

 

 

It's officially Xmas when the Coca Cola truck arrives!

 

 

The tree has been put up (this was just with the lights, before we decorated)

 

 

The front door has been Christmassified (I think I made that word up!)

 

 

Chrtistmassy films have been watched by the light of the tree.

 

It does feel like Christmas has just crept up out of no where, & all of a sudden we are less than 2 weeks away! The gift shopping is almost done, the gift making is underway, next week is full of Nativity plays, Christmas discos, carol singing. Wow! Im tired just thinking of it!

 

How prepared are you? All done? Or starting to panic!!

 

xxx

Where did October go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, what happened to October? I seem to have blinked & missed it! Doesnt time fly when you are really busy & so much is going on?! LOL!

 

I have to admit Ive lost my blogging mojo (& my creativity mojo seems to be awol too). I kept thinking Ive got nothing interesting to blog about, until I sat down one day & made a list of changes I want to make to the blog. I thought I'd take a look around & see if I have anything lying about that I havent blogged yet. Turns out I have nearly 20 'projects' that I havent blogged! I cannot begin to think why I havent!! So,over the next few weeks I shall be attempting to photograph & blog these projects, so that at some point soon there might be something interesting to read about here, woo hoo!!

 

Well, I'd better get on then. Its cleaning/housework day, in preparation for having a relaxing weekend with the family.

 

What have you got planned for the weekend?

 

xxx

Checking In......

.......to say Hi!! How are you? Everything good?

My older girls have been back at school for 2 weeks now, Miss M had a sad start to term with the news that 2 of her best friends were moving that week. It was heartbreaking to watch her try to deal with the news, I dont think I have ever seen her cry so hard. But every day I think she is finding it easier to deal with. I think as adults we forget how huge things are to kids. As adults, we deal with friends moving by agreeing to stay in contact via phone, email, facebook etc. Also I guess with busy lives, we dont see friends as often as we'd like. But as a kid, your friends are there every day in school, its a constant in your life. Them moving away is a huge upheval in their life.

Miss K has dealt pretty well with the new term. She suffers from some health issues (not majorily serious but enough to impact her day to day life) & she is on the Autistic Spectrum, so change can be a tough thing for her. We've had some tears when trying to deal with homework, remembering teachers & what she needs to do. Plus a nasty bout of hayfever/virus has seen her having to use her inhaler.

Miss L-R starts back to school tommorrow. She'll be going in the mornings rather than the afternoons for this year, which should be easier on our schedule. Its going to be weird not having my little sidekick around, but she loves school so all is good.

That gives me just under 3 hours a day to myself, which is strange. But good. I need to lose some weight & get fitter, so with the time now available I have no excuses!! I also have some other things in the pipeline, but all will be revealed at a later date :-)

Autumn is in the air. I love Autumn, its my favourite season. I'm starting to think about what to plant for spring as some bulbs will need to be planted soon. I cant quite believe I like gardening. For years it was of absolutely no interest to me, & now, I love it!! Im definitely a novice though!! But I guess the best way to learn is to actually do it!!

I havent had much time online to visit blogs etc, but 3 that I have spent some time on lately have been very inspiring so I thought I'd share them with you. (Although they are so good, you probably already know them but I'll share anyway!)

The first is Posie Gets Cozy. Alicia's site is full of beautiful photos, quilts, embroidery, cooking, etc. Its one of those sites that just makes you want to slow down, curl up on the sofa in front of a fire, sew/embroider/crochet something pretty. She also sells some really cute embroidery kits for Christmas.

The second is Heart and Handmade which is full of beautiful photos of beautiful things. I always come away feeling very inspired to make something or somewhere very pretty!!

Finally visit Cherry Menlove. The lovely Cherry has a book coming out soon, which I really want to buy. Her site is full of interior loveliness (she has just moved into her forever home & is in the process of decorating), gardening knowhow, beautiful recipes, lovely crafts & beautiful photos of her lovely twins! Cherrys site was the inspiration for my new kitchen shelves which were made by lovely husband last week, then painted & decorated by moi. I'll use some of my new found time to myself this week to photograph & blog about them.

So thats it really for now. I've got washing & ironing on the schedule for today (Joy!!), plus the usual cooking & cleaning. Miss K has a party this afternoon, so I think some crafting time for me & the other two is in order. I might squeeze in some baking, Im thinking lemon cake maybe?

I hope that wherever you are, all is good with you. Have a Happy Sunday :-)

xxx

The end of summer.

 

My older girls went back to school today :-(

 

I really thought that I'd be looking forward to them going back, but I wasnt. We have had the lovliest summer. Dont get me wrong, there have been lots of whining & arguing. But the bad times were definitely outweighed by the good. We didnt complete all of our list (finances are not good right now), but we achieved quite a bit & spent lots of time doing nothing together. Its been really nice.

 

I still have my youngest at home as her school doesnt start for 2 weeks.

 

I am looking forward to getting back into a routine, actually starting a brand new routine which works better for us than last year! & getting the house under control (Im waging war on clutter!) Ive been busy reading organising blogs & pinning ideas. But then I find I have too many ideas & dont know which ones to use!!

 

Do you have any good tips? Or blogs that you read that you can suggest?

 

I am also looking forward to having some specific crafting time for myself. Im toying with the idea of making some bits to sell. Plus before we know it, it will be Christmas!!! I really dont want to be finishing making stuff on Christmas Eve, that was not fun last year lol!!

 

xxx

APAD-day 30

Yesterday (day 30) was pretty miserable. Ive come to the conclusion that I do not handle the high heat very well. Yesterday hit 29c, & I hated it. There was no air, no breeze, just sweltering heat. I know some people love that & that I should appreciate it as we rarely get temps that high in the UK. But I was miserable & so were the kids. Its was too hot to do anything. I really wanted to bake, but icing cupcakes in that heat was definitely out of the question.

Instead I made choc chip cookies.

& I finally got around to finishing my heart cushion (above photo) & whilst the sewing machine was all set up, I made another cushion using some lovely stripey fabric I bought last year from Ikea.

After making the cushions, I was gutted to realise that I didnt like them :-( They just didnt match the picture I had in my head (does anything ever match up to whats in your head?)

However Im not sure if my hating them was more down to the grump I was in? I think as the temps are considerably lower today (19c) Im going to spend some time prettifying my living room (I may even paint some walls if I can find the paint!!) & see if I can fall in love with them.

So, how was your weekend?

xxx

Stuck in a blogging rut

Im in a real rut at the mo where blogging is concerned. I want to blog, but I just cant come up with anything to blog about.

Im blaming the weather, its July, yet the weather here is absolutely miserable, grey & seemingly constantly raining. Its so depressing. I have so many WIP's that I am just not motivated to finish, Im not even motivated to start something new. I dont even want to bake :-(

I do have 1 or 2 finished projects to show, but its impossible to get a decent photo of them with no light. Fingers crossed we may have 5 minutes of sunshine soon, & then I'll be snapping away!!

I think that once I have dropped little Miss L-R at school this afternoon, I'll come home & do some painting. I havent painted for ages. I'd really like to have a go at some Cath K style roses. Maybe painting something pretty might scare the funk away?

The next post will be more upbeat I promise!! ;-)

Oh & the photo? That'll be the lovely little Miss L-R with her Olympic torch that she made yesterday. At least my girls bring some sunshine into my life.

Take care.

xxx

The past month in photos

Phew, the past month has been a crazy one! So much happening, school holidays, the Jubilee, a heat wave, followed by torrential downpours. Craziness. So here's the month in photos, enjoy (Please note, blogger has uploaded these in the completely wrong order, but I dont have the energy to rearrange it all!):

Our Jubilee trifle & the girls dressed up for their Jubilee party at school.

A treat for myself :-)

Some painting time.

Some stitching time.

Some Wii time, boogeying away ;-)

The birthday girl, this was in the middle of her party.

Sewing a little something

Making pretties for my home <3

More sewing :-)

An empty ironing basket, this is momentus!!!

A little bit of crochet

Enjoying the sunshine & some baking

Finding a new place to explore :-)

More crochet, these are all WIP's, that I'll do a better post on soon.

My little 'garden' got flooded :-( 

I know nothing about gardening but was proud of how well everything was coming along, until the rains came & the snails & slugs had a feast on everything.

This isnt my garden, this was at the garden centre. I can only wish to one day have flowers like this!!

I attempted polka dotted nails, as polka dots make everything better :-)

A treat in the sunshine

Some painting

Setting up for the Jubilee (pre rain & slugs)

K's Jubilee Crown

Finishing WIP's. This one was started over a year ago, & its finally finished. Very fitting for the current weather.

& thats it!!

**I've become slightly addicted to Instagram, my username is lisapinke, feel free to follow me & let me know your username so I can follow you back!!**

Ok, its now absolutely hammering it down with rain, & I have to go out soon, so Im off to do my little dance to the Sun Gods to make it stop please!!!!

Happy Friday.

xxx

Feeling the January Blues

So far this year, I have tried so hard not to get down & depressed. I spent far too much time last year feeling this way, wasted too much time. January so far has been quite upbeat, I've been busy creating & organising the house. I have learnt from last year to not set my goals too high, for instance, giving myself 1 day to organise (clean, sort, purge) the whole house (why did I do this to myself??) & then feeling like a letdown when I didnt achieve anything. I would start 1 job, then get sidetracked by another, & so forth, until the house seemed to be even messier due to all of the unfinished jobs. Then on Monday, the lightbulb went on, so to speak! Whilst waiting for an electrician to finish a job, I emptied out the baking cupboard. It was a mess, & overfull, it had got to the stage where you took your own life in your hands by opening the doors, ha ha! It was emptied, cleaned, purged & reorganised. It felt so good to start & complete something. As I still had some time on my hands, I tackled the next cupboard. A short while later, this cupboard too was finished. By then the electrician was finished & I had other stuff to do, but it felt so good for these little jobs to be done. Then it twigged: if I just set myself 1 cupboard/area to do per day, it would probably get done. Rather than aiming too high. So far this week, I have sorted the kitchen cupboards, half of the shoe/coat/bag cupboard (its a big cupboard, hence why only half has been done, the other half needs serious planning in order for the space to work better) & the dreaded cupboard of Doom, where all the crap gets dumped

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself *insert happy but slightly smug smile*

Until yesterday. Heres where the title of this post comes in. Yesterday, it all came crashing down. To start with, I woke up with the start of a stinking cold. I knew I felt ill when I turned down the opportunity of a shopping trip with my friend, to instead come home & lie on the sofa under a blanket, with a hot cuppa. Then Miss L-R threw an almighty temper tantrum, which eventually disolved into tears, a request for some medicine, & a sleep on the sofa. The Postman then decided to ruin my day even more by bringing lots of bills. The afternoon saw me flittering around the house trying to do anything, to feel productive. The washing up got done, & that was pretty much it. 3pm saw me & Miss L-R wrap up warm to venture out to pick the older girls up from school. Both of the girls teachers called me in to discuss pretty innocent events which had resulted in both girls being worried about my reaction. Which in turn resulted in me walking home from school feeling like a pretty crappy Mum.

It seems like the January blues have caught me.

On arriving back home, I decided to make a major effort to cheer myself up, in order to not bring any one else down. I spent time with Miss M, finding a new set of earrings to replace the one she had lost in school (this being what she was worried about) We enjoyed going through my jewellery box & trying on earrings that she will not be wearing outside of the house for quite a few years. I then helped Miss K with her homework, making an extra effort to not get stressed with her. Not surprisingly, she sailed through her homework with no problems. The crappy Mum feeling soon went away when I had all 3 of my girls in hysterics by just acting silly with them :-)

After dinner, all 3 girls went to bed happily, with a story.

Unfortunately, all 4 of us have woken up feeling yucky today, we all have this nasty cold. However, I think a pj & sofa day is in order, to just chill, get better & beat both this cold & the January blues.

The organising will resume tommorrow, as long as we are all better.

I have finally got around to updating my blog header. There really wasnt an excuse for waiting till January 19th to get rid of the xmassy look, ha ha!! What do you think?

I kept meaning to do a 2011 round up post, but it just wasnt happening. There is a fair bit that I didnt post about last year, so instead of stressing about wrapping up 2011, I am just going to let it go, & all the unposted bits will have a brand new Ta Dah (a la Lucy) over the next few weeks. I also have a January crochet project on the go, I just need some decent daylight to photograph it all.

Phew, thats turned into a bit of a ramble!! Congratulations & thank you if you have managed to stay awake till the end. I'm going to sign off now, need to dispense medicines to my poorly girls & make a fresh cuppa. I hope that you are well, wherever you are & that the January blues have left you alone.

Until next time, take care of yourself.

xxx