What to get?

Hello everyone I hope that you are all well and although its rainy and dull outside that life is treating you well.

Right now I have been scrapping but I am not showing you today as I have a bit of a problem and I need some help.
Wednesday is my birthday and I don't know what to ask for. I have thought about a bind it all machine but worry that maybe its just another thing that will gather dust. I have thought of asking for more glue and we all know how much of that we use but its not very exciting. Maybe more paper but I already have 5 really useful boxes full of paper. I know that I want to add to my craft stash but what to get.
So here is my question to you if you were given £60 what would you buy for your craft?
I don't want clothes and I think birthdays should be about you and not what household item you need. I don't want chocolates and I don't need wine or flowers so I am kind of stuck.
What have you got in your stash that you can't live without? What have you brought on a whim and hardly ever use? Any ideas welcome I will come back tomorrow and show you what I made over the weekend and tell you what I am going to ask my family to get for me.
That's all for now
Love Jo xx

I've been crafty

Last Saturday I went to my local crop at my children's school and had a very productive day. I printed off my photo's and took some sketches that I got from inspiredblueprints and managed to do 2 whole layouts and another one that just needs the title and some writing. I also managed to do my Cj which was Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover which was fab. Here are my layouts. What do you think? I think my mojo has returned.



I also have an apology to make last week I blogged about the challenge that I had done which I found on Ukscrappers thanks to Dawn but forgot to give you the link so here it is go check it out its a great site and a great weekly challenge which if I get time I will do again this week.
Also this week I have made my hubby by me a pressie. Yes I did make him I did lots of whinging and whining and saying how much I need this and how in the long run it will save him money and make scrapping easier for me.

Isn't it lovely. I haven't got round to using it yet but I intend to do so really really soon and I hope hubby knows it will save him money. Has anyone else got one of these? What do you think about them? Does it make scrapping easier.
Well that's it for know
Love to you all
Love Jo

Snow snow and more snow

Well since I last posted it has snowed. Did you all notice that? I can't say we have been snowed in or anything as bad as some people but we had ooh at least 2 inches of snow and the amount of people out panic buying because more snow was expected was laughable. In fact I did have to stand and laugh as people struggled up the road loaded down with enough food to feed the army and all the homeless people together. Obviously with the two children we were outside alot playing but it was so cold we had to keep coming in for hot buttered toast and mugs of hot chocolate. We built snowmen snow cats and snow dogs and even got photographed by the local paper playing snowballs.
Today we had more snow only a couple of centimeters and thankfully that is now thawing. Also thankfully the school remained open today after having to shut last week for 3 days.

Last week I said I had lost my mojo and was trying to scrap but not being able to so I put out a shout for inspiration on UKScrappers and luckily my call for help was answered with this blog from a lady called Dawn. Big thank you Dawn as this helped me to do something about my twiddling thumbs. Here is what I got up too.
This one is challenge number 2

This is Challenge number 1

10 things about you I am not completely happy with but that is just because of my handwriting and I might redo it and print off what I want to say I will let you know.
Please tell me what you think?
That's it for now
Love Jo xx

New Year

Well here it is 2010 and I have made no New Year Resolutions have any of you?
One thing doing this blog (yes I know its sporadic) but I am just not the kind of gal to stick to anything. Last year I started with such grand ideas and slowly each one fell by the wayside so this year I promise not to make promises oops there I go again.
OK so Christmas is done and dusted and most of the toys the children got have lasted into the New Year, I guess I just chose well this Christmas. We have had lots going on and a house full of people but it has been fun and a good excuse for the Baileys to come out. The Christmas cake is still going and the chocolate are running over and my waist has expanded but I am not going to commit to a diet as I know what I am like instead I intend to eat better and less rubbish. Although with this cold spell that we are having don't you find that you want to just sit under your duvet and eat stodge. A nice stew and dumplings or even bacon pudding with mash or the best yet a good old fashioned steak and kidney pudding that has been steamed for ages with the softest mash potatoes and cabbage ohhh my mouth is watering. Instead I am thinking of making homemade soup and homemade bread.

I have been doing quite abit of reading lately and have to say Peter James is my favourite at the moment


They are all set around Brighton and are about a Policemen called Roy Grace who has the nasty task of minding the murderer. Fab books and a definite must read.
I have also just finished reading Last Christmas which was a good book about a place called Hope Christmas it was a feel good book but was lovely written.

I am now reading Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella who also wrote the Shopaholic Series.

This is a bit from the back of the book.
Lara has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Normal twenty-something girls just don't get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara's great aunt Sadie - in the form of a bold, demanding Charleston-dancing girl - has appeared to make one last request: Lara must track down a missing necklace Sadie simply can't rest without. Lara's got enough problems of her own. Her start-up company is floundering, her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, and she's just been dumped by the love of her life. But as Lara spends time with Sadie, life becomes more glamorous and their treasure hunt turns into something intriguing and romantic. Could Sadie's ghost be the answer to Lara's problems and can two girls from different times end up learning something special from each other? So far the book has been hilarious and one that I don't want to put down.

Now scrapping well to be honest I haven't done a lot as I did decide to do Journal Your Christmas but I got to day 9 and life, children and Christmas got in the way but on a positive note I am now 9 days ahead for this year LOL.
I have managed to sort out my desk and to do a bit of scrap shopping as British Bookshop were having a sale on there craft stuff and I managed to get a few bits but I have not had the time to use any of them yet. On Saturday its our local crop so I will do some on Saturday although so much to scrap I am starting to feel a bit daunted by the amount of catch up I really need to do. Never mind I will try my best and see what happens.
Well that's enough of me droning on
Love to you all
Love Jo. xx

Hello everyone and yet again I have to begin by saying sorry that I was missing but things have been hectic.

Ellie went to Sardinia last month and I missed her terribly her first day there she phoned me up in tears asking me to go get her it was heart breaking. She phoned me everyday and now we have offered to pay my sisters phone bill as Ellie had doubled it. She had such a good time and made three new friends and by the end of her 8 days I don't think she wanted to come home.

Lewis has been given more drugs to help his night time incidents but we have been told that they can cause Hyperactivity which is something they think he might have anyway. So far the incidents are getting further apart so that is good and no behaviour changes.

Darren's business is a bit slow but we are still getting jobs and the money from the jobs is slowly dripping through but with me out most days helping him I have had very little time to scrap.

I got my Cj back the other day and want to thank everyone for doing their layouts for me its fab now just need to get baking and try the recipes.
Here is just a couple and I will try and put the rest up this week.




This is my front cover and my entry into the Circle journal.



This is Julies pages for her Flapjack recipe.



This is Louise's Lemon Cake



This is Leanie's Toad in the Hole



and this is Khiaramai's recipe for fudge which I plan to make for friends and family for Christmas.
Ok well thats all for today and I hope you like what you see and pop back in the next week and see the rest of the Circle Journal.

That's it for now
Love to you all
Love Jo xx

The Last Day

So today is the last day of the school holidays and my two are ready after a fashion I have packed the P.E kit and made sure that we know where the clean socks are and where the school uniform is. OK I know where this stuff is but come Monday morning they will have no idea at all.
I have also packed Ellie's bag for here holiday to Sardinia on Tuesday with my sister and her husband. To say I was getting a little worried would be an understatement but I know she will love it and I don't tell her I am scared as that would make her worry but I think any mum would be the same.
I was meant to go to scrap club yesterday and even had some pictures printed out then our local pub asked if I would help in the kitchen for a couple of hours so off I went at 12pm and finished at five I was only doing simple things like chopping potatoes and grating carrots but I enjoyed it and it is the kind of thing I love as I love cooking and helping out in kitchens. The cook has asked me to come in and help her some more times over the next couple of months which is really good and she has asked if I would make her a Lemon Meringue pie for a function she is doing I can't wait.

This week the plans are not to miss Ellie too much (impossible) give Lewis loads and loads of cuddles and kisses and actually get some scrapping done as the photo's are starting to mount up and that means trouble as we all know.
That's all for now
Love to you all
Love Jo xx

Hello!

Hello and sorry that I have been a bad blogger but with the children home from school and Darren's business just starting up things around here have been a tab hectic to say the least.
I must just say thank you to everyone for their kind words early last month and I have seen the Little Penis since but he hasn't made any comments since so maybe he knows what a jerk he was (I doubt it but one can hope.)

Summer holidays have flown past and alot of my friends think the weather has been bad but I think its been alright really considering last year and the year before when we had lots of flooding and generally nasty weather.

The children and I have been out lots just having picnics or playing in the park or even going to the pier. We even went to a hotel for afternoon tea. OK so it was The Royal Norfolk in Bognor Regis and OK my brother is the head Chef there but it was still lovely. Sandwiches and scones with strawberry jam and cream. David (Big Brother) also made for us cheese scones with marmite (yumyumyum) and chocolate scones with white chocolate chips (yum) it was lovely although Lewis wanted to put cream on the cheese scone.

We also went to Bournemouth for the day and Ellie and Lewis went on the bungee trampolines and love it although a bit pricey but still they had a great time and I have taken loads and loads of pictures which all need scrapping. We also spent some time in the gardens at Bournemouth listening to the band playing and taking silly pictures of each other which was great fun too. On the way home our poor bus broke down (that's the name of our Renault Espace) well over heated really so we had to stop and have a picnic in the car park of Salisbury's. We had a lovely time though.

Next week we start back to school and Ellie goes to Sardinia with my sister and her husband she is very excited and her suitcase is packed but ask her where her school clothes are and she has no idea.

I have managed to send off my next Cj which is all about Tattoo's and Body art which is the 1st sending of my second Cj and I also did this for my other Cj that I am in about your space that you scrap in.



I have also done a page I know please don't faint but it is true its part of my year of you on Twopeasinabucket

That's all for now sorry its so long
Love to you all
Love Jo xx