Contented

2 awards

I must blog about this now before I forget - I have been very lax lately regarding awards as I think I got a couple that I neglected to blog about (& I forgot who they were from too, sorry!  I do really appreciate them!), so when Jane at picciolo nominated me for not one but two awards this week I had to make a note in my to-do book so that I wouldn't forget! 

 

The  "Honest scrap" award and the "One lovely blog" award.  Thanks so much Jane!  For the honest scrap award I'm supposed to list 10 honest things about myself, so here goes:

1. At school, I hated needlework!  I remember that we had to make an apron (for cookery lessons) and then I think I made another half apron and a really horrible blouse with a ruffled collar! Yuk! 

2. I am really impatient - not a particularly good trait to have when children are involved!

3. When I was little I wanted to be a teacher - I now don't think that would've been the best move - for reason no 2 above!

4. I left school at 17 - half way through 6th form - as I had chronic glandular fever, which lasted 8 months, so I'm a drop-out! 

5. I had my tonsils out at 18 (as soon as the glandular fever had gone) and 3 wisdom teeth out at 19.

6. I don't really eat much fruit or veg - I don't think I've ever had my 5 a day!

7. I love to sing at the top of my voice - when I'm alone in the house or the car!

8. I have never lived on my own.  I went from living at home with the parents to living with Peter after we were married.

9. I've also never owned my own car - I borrowed my dad's car when I was at home, then drove Peter's once we got married.  Even when we had 2 cars a couple of years ago, they were both in Peter's name! (the insurance for me would have been astronomical!)

10. However, I did pass my driving test first time! (unlike Peter who took 2 goes - sorry honey!)

I'm supposed to pass these awards on, but it's been a trying day (I spoke too soon yesterday - Joe had a bit of a paddy this morning, and has been really trying my patience again at bedtime!)  If you want to do the 10 honest things then consider yourself tagged! Thank goodness it's Friday tomorrow - and William is coming home!! Yay!  We've been getting lots of emails from them and it looks like they've had a fab time, but I can't wait to see him.

R x

50 questions

I've just seen this over at LissyLou's blog, and thought I'd join in the fun.

1. Are you wearing a hat?    No (who wears a hat indoors?  I do wear one when it's cold and in the summer though - different ones obviously!)

2. Bottled water?  We use a filter jug at home but I'm quite happy to drink it straight from the tap too.

3. Do you have a crush on someone right now?  Only my hubs!  (As a teenager it was Michael J Fox)

4. What kind of computer do you have?  A Dell laptop

5. Do you prefer writing in pen or pencil?  Pen (although depending on the pen my writing can look either lovely or abysmal!)

6. Who was the last message in your inbox from? a comment from Picciolo

7. What's your favourite season?  Spring

8. Does your best friend have a girlfriend or boyfriend?  A husband

9. Do you like tea?  Oh yes, a splash of milk (not too much!) and 1 heaped sugar please!

10. Favourite radio station?  KMFM, our local station

11. Type your name into Google - what's the first site that appears? My facebook page (guess my name is pretty uncommon!)

12. What's your favourite song at the moment?  Pass - but I heard a good one on the radio today - Metro Station I think they were called? (I am horribly behind the times music wise - oh dear, must be getting old!)

13. Coke or pepsi?  If it's the original, "full fat" version then Coke, but for diet I would pick Pepsi

14. Favourite subject in school? Hometime

15. Last concert?  Oh god, I think it was Level 42 in Brighton in about 96?

16. Next concert?  Nothing planned!

17. Last magazine you bought?  Country Living May issue

18. Last book you read?  A Place Called Here by Cecilia Ahearn

19. Do you prefer cats or dogs?  Dogs (but I don't mind cats either)

20. Is there someone you want to punch right now?  No-one springs to mind!

21. Favourite sports team/person?  I'm really not a sports person, but out of loyalty to the boys of the family I suppose I would have to say West Ham

22. Country you most want to visit?  New Zealand (wouldn't mind living there either!)

23. Are you a Blogger addict?  Well, I'm not on Blogger (actually, I am, but there's nothing on my page!) but I am most definitely addicted to blogging!

24. When do you shower?   Mornings usually

25. What's your dream job?  I've got it

26. What kind of car do you drive?  A Ford Focus C-max (although rarely, we only have the one car and hubs uses it for work so I only get to drive if I go out on my own, or if we're out together for the evening  - I don't drink so I'm always designated driver!)

27. What word in the dictionary best describes you?   ordinary (oh, and contented, of course!)

28. What's your blog address?  Duh?  It's up there in the address bar!

29. Worst TV show at the moment?  I only watch good tv!

30. Are you a better talker or listener?  Hmmm, depends on who I'm with!  Listening probably wins though in general.

31. What's your favourite colour?  pink

32. What is your favourite animal?  tough one, anything cute and fluffy! 

33. Are you afraid of the dark?  Not especially

34. Is there something lacking in your life right now?  A big bar of Galaxy sitting beside me?

35. What do you miss about childhood?  summer hols in Devon

36. How many times did it take you to pass your driving test?  One!

37. How many kids do you want?  Just the two I've got, thank you

38. Are you a good painter?  If we're talking emulsion on walls then yes, but if you mean works of art then no!

39. Can you cook?  Yes, but luckily I have a wonderful hubs who cooks most of our meals!  I just do the kids dinners and bake the cakes!

40. Are you a cheapskate?  No, but I don't like to pay more than I have to for something!

41. What would you do with a million pounds?  Pay off mine and all my families mortgages, then prob buy a bigger house (with my own sewing room!) and have a holiday.

42. Have you been to Disney World?  Yes, pre-kids in '96 - undoubtedly the best holiday we ever had!

43. How many days a month are you online?  Every one

44. Last time you went bowling?  Ooh, can't remember, but I think it was some time last year

45. Hot or cold weather?  About 20 degrees is perfect for me - I hate it when it gets really hot, so I'd prob have to go for cold.

46. How many pairs of shoes do you have?  Actual real, proper "shoe" shoes? None!  I have trainers, a couple of pairs of boots, and then mules or flip flops for the summer (what can I say, I have really awkwardly shaped feet and shoe shopping has never filled me with joy)

47. Are you a shop-a-holic?  Depends how you define it?  I'd say that generally I'm pretty restrained - I can't spend more than about 2 hours shopping at a time and I've never spent a huge amount on clothes (my husband has more than me, shoes too, come to think of it!). 

48. Where were you yesterday at 10.30?  At home with the kids.

49. Are you afraid of the dentist?  Never used to be - I was always a bit smug about my teeth, I got my first filling when I was 21 - but after the trauma I've been through with my teeth over the last few years, I'm now a bit more wary.

50. Were you bored or entertained by this survey?  Entertained, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered doing it!

Let me know if you decide to do this too, so I can come and check out your answers too!

R x

Cartoon capers and an award

On Saturday, William and I attended a cartoon drawing workshop held at one of our local secondary schools.  I had been hoping that Peter would go with him as a) he is much better at drawing than me and b) it would be a nice "father/son" thing for them to do.  Unfortunately, he had some work to catch up on at home so I went instead.  I will admit that I was slightly apprehensive - I have never thought I was any good at drawing - but as this was mainly for Will's benefit I was willing to give it a go.  The chap teaching us was an illustrator - very good at drawing but I didn't think he was particularly good at the "teaching" aspect, but we learnt about the proportions of a face and body, how to draw expressions, how to show movement etc.  And then we all had to think up a story and draw a cartoon.  Here is Will's:-

 

And this is mine:

 

I think I've said before that I'm really not very good at coming up with original ideas (I'm the kind of person who can never think of anything witty to write in a card, for example) so I just went with something really simple and mundane, but somehow managed to turn it into quite a sweet little story.  The tutor was really complimentary and even Peter said that I'm much better at drawing than I think I am!  So I was actually quite proud of myself in the end.  This is probably about the limit of my capabilities though, so don't expect to see any masterpieces anytime soon!  William really enjoyed the session too and gave it 10 out of 10. 

Last week (or it could have been the week before) Jackie at Buttontreecrafts tagged me with this award:

Thank you Jackie!  Now I'm supposed to list 5 addictions so here goes:

1. Chocolate (duh!)

2. Blogging (I don't want to admit to how many times a day I check my inbox and blog feeds!)

3. Interiors magazines (I don't buy that many but I hoard them and then go through and cut out all the pictures that I like and store them in a folder - every now and then I go through it and dream about what my house would be like if we won the lottery!)

4. My kids and hubby (natch!)

5. Umm, can I say chocolate again?

If you want to play along, consider yourself tagged!

R x

The countdown has begun!

Yesterday I got out our advent calendars, in preparation for this morning.  We have two - one is a fabric/felt Christmas tree with little numbered pockets, from which each day a decoration is taken to hang upon said fabric/felt tree, and the other is a cardboard, fold out stable design, with slots for all the different Nativity characters to be slotted into one day at a time.  Last year the kids would take turns, alternating between the two designs, but yesterday Joe decided that all the characters for the card calendar had to be put in straight away, and it didn't seem worth arguing over, so we now have a completed Nativity scene. 

 

Last week, school called me to let me know that Joe's case has been looked at and a behaviour specialist will be coming to do some proper observations of him.  I feel relieved that things are moving along, but it's still frustrating waiting, and also not knowing what the outcome might be.  We had a particularly fraught bedtime last night so I dug out my old copy of Beyond Toddlerdom and as I was flicking through it, actually started to wonder if he might be just a little bit ADD - some of the characteristics listed did sound remarkably like him.  Oh dear, this post has gone off on a tangent, this wasn't at all what I was going to write about! 

What I was going to write was that I've been tagged for a meme by emzeegee and the hungry three, who makes the most amazing cakes and also writes a superbly witty blog.  Apparently, these questions appear in The Age (which I'm assuming must be an Aussie newspaper), but there are almost 30 questions and I don't think my brain can work that hard, so I'm going to cheat and just pick out a few!

My first relationship was... with my husband!  I did go out with one other boy when I was 15 but it only lasted 4 weeks so it doesn't count!  I met Peter when we were both 17 through some mutual school friends and we got together a couple of weeks later at a school disco.  I think I knew straight away that he was the one - too slushy for words, I know, but true.

The last big belly laugh I had was... at the girly get together the other weekend.  We were at a friends house and, after we had eaten, the girl hosting the party demonstrated a game where you put an after eight mint on your forehead and then try to get it into your mouth without using your hands.  She then proceeded to raise her eyebrows up and down, wrinkle her nose and generally pull the most ridiculous faces while the after eight gradually slid down her face, leaving an attractive trail of chocolate behind.   I haven't laughed so much in years although actually, it was not so much a belly laugh, more hysterical giggles, laughing so hard that I could barely breath, let alone speak. 

At the moment I'm reading..The Wizard of Oz, believe it or not!  I read my mums childhood copy when I was a child, but the other day when I was in WH Smiths buying some books, they had an offer of various childrens classics for just £1 so I picked it up.  I've only just started reading it again, so can't really say yet if it is as I remember it, but I'm hoping that Joe might want to listen to it as well.

At home I cook... as little as possible!  I do the kids' dinners and the occasional roast or bolognese but, generally, Peter is the cook of the household.  Except for cakes of course - I am the dessert chef!

Ok, that's it for now.  It's really cold again today and my fingers are beginning to sieze up.  I think I need to go and make some cakes to help me warm up! 

R x

Busy week - and more Q&A

This week has been unusually busy for me.  Normally I just kind of potter along, maybe see a couple of friends, pop into town for a few bits and bobs - but this week has been a bit of a social whirl!  In addition to the usual Tuesday coffee morning and inevitable trips into town there has also been quite a lot of crafting for our school's Christmas fair - painting signs for stalls one day and the next day painting and decorating little bits of mdf to make plaques/signs to sell - a lovely day out yesterday with my friend Hazel, supposedly Christmas shopping but in reality it was just lots of chatting! Another friend this morning and tomorrow there is a girls evening in - a group of school mums having an early Christmas get together.  The week has just whizzed by and the house is looking a bit of a tip - nothing new there, then!!  But I really do want to try and make the house nice and tidy for Christmas - it's creeping up on me very quickly so I think next week will be spent trying to catch up.  For now though, while I have some time before the school run, I wanted to finish answering my giveaway questions in the peace and quiet.

So, Lucette asked "what kinds of photos would you like to take?" (with my new camera).  Very easy answer to that - good ones!!  I have to come clean and confess that I barely glanced at the instruction manual for my new camera - I think that perhaps I ought to take the time to read it through properly!  It's great for snapshots, and I have managed to take one or two really good close up shots, but I would really like to be able to take the kinds of photos that have real "atmosphere" to them.  Before we got a digital camera, I went through a phase of buying black and white film as I think black & white photos have such a lovely quality to them, quite different from the same shot in colour, and I got some gorgeous pics of the kids.  I don't even know if I can create black & white pics with this camera - or does that just depend on the computer software you use?  See, completely clueless!  I'd quite fancy doing a course in amateur photography and learn about lighting, how to stage a shot etc - I could certainly use some help regarding taking photos of the things I've made. 

The final question was from Katy, who asked "if you could master one thing you can't do, what would it be?"  Gosh, can I really only pick one thing?  No, that's too tough, sorry Katy, I'm going to have to pick a few!  Ok, I would really love to be able to ice skate - proper figure skating with turns and jumps and stuff.  I can skate a bit, forwards no problem and backwards just a little bit, but it was always something done very rarely - there was never a rink near where we lived - and I haven't been for years, in fact I think the last time I went may have been when I first met my husband!  But skating is one of the few sports I actually like watching on tv and I always wish that I could do it too.   I saw Torvill & Dean once at Wembley and was just mesmerised by it.  I would also love to be able to play an instrument, either piano or guitar.  We have Guitar Hero on the Wii which I LOVE - a bit sad as it is my sons game, but that really made me want to be able to play for real.   And we always had a piano at home growing up - my mum plays but I don't recall ever wanting to learn as a child - I actually did violin for maybe a year but couldn't wait to quit!  Anyway, piano playing just looks so amazing I always think (and sounds lovely too, of course).  And finally, I think that I too would also like to learn to crochet - if only because I want one of those gorgeous ripple blankets!!!

I'll leave you with a photo taken last night - as I was typing yesterday's post I glanced up out of the window to see the most amazing coloured sky, and dashed outside to try and capture it.  I did even use the "sunset" setting on the camera, although even then I'm not sure that the pic really does it justice!

 

Have a great weekend!

R x

Q & A Part two

Hello again!  Ready for question no 2?  

Both Jane and Chloe asked what my dream job/occupation would be.  Well, actually, I am really happy just  being at home and have absolutely no desire to go back into the workplace at all!  (Chloe, I think you hit the nail on the head!).  Before I stopped work prior to having Joe I did have a really good job, in a fantastic company with lovely people, but I wasn't sad to leave and didn't miss it at all.  I have never been remotely ambitious or career minded at all - my jobs were only ever "just a job" - a way to pay the bills.  Even now both the kids are at school, I am perfectly happy just pottering around - I am actually a very lazy person and am completely comfortable in my own company, not one of those people who have to be doing something all the time.  If I could make some money selling the things I enjoy making then that would be wonderful, but I don't think I would say that was my dream job either.  If I had to go back out to work, I'd rather like to work somewhere like Monsoon, and get a big staff discount!  However, I must admit that I did always rather fancy doing something in interior design.  I LOVE home interiors magazines and buy several every month, tearing out pictures of things or room sets that appeal to me.  (They're all just stuffed in a folder as potential inspiration should I ever be able to afford to decorate my home with anything other than Ikea stuff!)  When my brother bought a new house a few years back, he let me "design" his bedroom - just helping him pick out paint colours and new furniture - but I really love all that stuff, the planning and dreaming up of room layouts.  I'm working on him to get cracking on his lounge so I can help him with that too! 

I hope that answers your questions, ladies!  See you tomorrow for question no 3!

R x