2012 Project

I know... these things have been around for years. Make a list and blog it, crossing off as you go acheive each thing. Bit corny I know, but, heck - I need some motivation to do all of these things! I reckon that if something's written down you have FAR more chance of ensuring you get it done... I suppose you cannot deny that you ever intended to do something if it's written for all to see. This may be a two part list, some tonight and the rest later this week!



1. Give blood

2. Get a passport

3. Go abroad

4. Start jogging again

5. Lose at least 1 stone.... or get back into size 12's comfortably!

6. Bake with the kids more often

7. Go roller skating

8. Have a whole months with no takeout food.

9. Learn Hiragana and Katakana

10. Learn - and remember - some basic Japanese.

11. Make my daughter's birthday dress for her 5th birthday in March.

12. Make Halloween costumes for my children.

13. Spend half an hour every week having a good clearout in a different area of the house.

14. Get a stall at a craft fair for Alexandra B Beeswax Candles

15. Go to the in-law's caravan for weekend breaks at least four times this year.

16. Get dolls clothing pattern finished

17. Set up dolls clothing shop online

18. Re-design blog

19. Blog frequently

20. Use the WiiFit and Wii Zumba at least once a week.

21. Drink more water

22. ....... and less coffee





Right enough for now, battery running low! Not just the laptop but my own personal battery too.







Night



R x

Life goes on..and takes over sometimes.

Where does the time go?

I realised that it is a full year since I last posted... time flies. Things are so busy that I simply don't get chance to remember to blog, let alone actually doing it. Over the weekend I shall be posting a list of things I wish to acheive this year, my 2012 bucket list, and sharing lots of new photos. I'll share one of my bucket list items - blogging, and regularly too!

I have lots planned for this year - I intend for it to be a year of change, a year of challenges and a year full of fun. 2012 should have highlights which outshine previous years' highlights.

...and I have an Amazon order arriving - hopefully - tomorrow which I am very excited about.

New book!

I got hold of an English copy of "A doll maker's treasury" by Kyoko Yoneyama from Amazon. Now, bearing in mind that used copies go for upwards of £20 on ebay, I was amazed - and very happy - to get my amazon copy for £1.87 (!) plus £2.75 postage. Fabulous!!!! It is now my fourth Yoneyama doll book, including a Japanese copy of one (I can't read a work of Japanese!! LOL)..... good job that the pictures are set out so well.
In fact I have doubled up a copy of one: "Storybook dolls", will get it on ebay at some point this week.

Sorry about the poor quality photo - I shall do a shot in the week and update!

Yippee

I'm nearly done, Amanda!!!

Only part of the zip to go and I shall have finished. Sadly my model has now retired to bed so photos will be done tomorrow after he gets back from school!!!

I am testing the pattern and tutorial for the Kitschy Coo hoodie and, as with all of Amanda's patterns, it is fantastic and makes very what-could-be very-complicated things seem very straightforward indeed. Another big thumbs up, with photos to follow tomorrow.

Google Analytics is gonna have fun with this one...........

GIMP.

There, I said it.
Like in sex ed. - it's better to get the embarassing words out of the way at the start.

Have spent an hour or so setting up a new shop on Folksy in preparation for hopefully filling it with lots of new goodies. To cut a long story short I want to make something (no pun intended) of my love for creating and now have two Folksy shops. One which will be Baby Slings, accessories and crafts. The other will be clothing.

Anyway, I digress. I want to get a nice banner and a wander around google lead me to GIMP, a free alternative to Photoshop which can be used to create banners for Etsy and Folksy shops - amongst MANY other uses. It does have a name which you don't want to say out loud (some acronyms just don't work so well) but it looks like it has heaps of potential.

So, armed with my new free-to-download programme and a YouTube tutorial I came up with this...



For a first attempt I am very pleased and will no doubt make many more in the quest for the perfect banner/avatar. The photo is not actually my 'real' design as this computer will not download any recent pics (grrrr) so when I get the real banner done I shall let you all have a peek.

What do you think?

And yes I clearly need to work on the width of the Blog banner as it is just not quite right. Too late for that now though - have you SEEN the time?!?! Goodnight!!

Lady Grey Sew-Along

Just a quick note to point you in the direction of the Lady Grey Sew Along on Gertie's New blog for Better Sewing. We'll be doing the fabulous Lady Grey coat pattern from Colette patterns and there are details on Gertie's blog for getting a brilliant 20% off the price of the pattern.... go, go, quick get ordering!!

Holiday laughs

J: "I spy with my little eye something begining with S"

K: (aged 3) "some toilets"

(We were in the train carriage with the toilet in but still)

*******************************
On the train - see we were on the thing for days.....

Answer to eye spy from B (5yo) was a character in a film he watched on TV at school - like a month ago, when no-one from the family was with him.... and he expected us to know exactly what "M" stood for.

*******************************

Safari park

Me to kids: "What do you like best so far?"

K: "The baflingos"

I spy with my little eye..........

Sat around the train table on a loooong journey last week (well, it was 40 minutes but seemed to last days). I'd just left the Metro paper, sports page up, on the table when youngest son suggested "I spy".

B: "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with D"
"Wait, no..." (he then leans to his brother) "Who's that?"

J: "Steven Gerrard"

B: "Oh!!!! I did it wrong, I thought it was David Beckham...... I spy with my little eye something beginning with St"

:)

SCHOOLS OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!

Yippee!!!!

7 weeks off in which to: tidy this tip of a house; sew and go to Legoland.

I finshed work today and as I move to another job in September I have had a weekend of various parties and do's.

Highlights of the last few days.......

being invited to the retirement of one of the teachers I respect more than any other - a guy who taught me when I was at high school.

being told I look absolutely fabulous by a guy I used to have a major crush on.... then him asking if I was with anyone!!! LOL

.. oh yeah .... how could I forget........ knocking an industrial size toilet roll into an empty swimming pool in front of 20+ children who thought it was hilarious as it rolled across the poolside, splashed into the water - swelled up instantly and then floated away as they were all creased up laughing!!!!!

What can I say? Clumsiness is a gift.

This week in bullet points

• Hubby's birthday last weekend x x x x x Daughter finds his cake as I am unpacking (yes I KNOW I should have made one but we did make cupcakes which were delicious). I tell her not to tell daddy about the cake as it is a secret. ............................ She immediately walks into the living room and tells him, in a whispered voice, exactly what cake we have bought him and that "shhhhhh, it's a secret." Kids!!!!!!!

• Eldest son signed for local under 8's football team!!!! SO proud of my little man. He was measured for his shirt and everything. Saturday mornings will be even busier from September onwards as we get used to the routine of playing league matches each week.

• School disco. In the years BC (before children) friday nights were about finding the shortest outfit possible (*blush*) and heading to clubland. Now that I am grown up and sensible and live in the adult world, friday nights are a wee bit different. This friday saw me serving hot dogs and cup drinks to 120 children aged 3 to 7, for an hour....... in the sweltering heat. Lucky me. I suppose I should count myself even luckier this time round. Next year my eldest will be in juniors, which will entail me doing the double shift of infant AND junior discos. So in october I shall be back again bemoaning the fact that I had to serve hot dogs and cup drinks to 240 kids aged 3 to 11, for 2 and a half hours. When that time comes please remind me of this fact.
  

• Youngest son told me: "I'm a star mummy." I tell him that i know he is, but did someone tell him that at school too? Yes, his teacher. So I probe a bit more to find out what he did for his teacher to call him a star "Everything, she says I'm a always a star." I love that little guy.
  

• Oh... and I have 5 and a half days left in work before the summer holidays!!!!!!!! Yippee