It's Christmas Journal Time Again

So if you aren't signed up for this class yet then get yourself over to Shimelle's and do it - pronto!

This is an absolutely fab-u-lous class and great value for money. Not only do you get a daily prompt, every day from 1st December to 6th January (Shim takes you right up to include the 12 days of Christmas!), in the form of a superbly put together, fully illustrated pdf file, access to an online forum to post questions/chat with others, but you get to participate in the class every year afterwards AT NO EXTRA COST!!!

This year there will also be some extra little things thrown in, like some fabulous photographers who are going to share their secrets for taking our holiday photos to the next level...

Can't wait...

Layout Share

I've actually managed to find some time to do some digital scrapbooking so thought I would share them with you here:

 

Full credits can be found here

 

Full credits can be found here

Hello and Welcome

If you are reading this you've made it over from my old Typepad blog, so hello and welcome!

I don't have time to write much today as I must, must, must get on with some work. I'm suffering from P&P: prevarication and procrastination! And if I don't put a stop to  it right now past history has taught me it could go on for days, perhaps weeks!

It's not completely ready yet, I definitely need to sort out links and the sidebars but I was, once again, suffering from P&P in trying to get it started so yesterday just decided to go for an off the peg theme, not mess around with it and just get it out there! Hopefully in the next few days I'll tidy it up a little and then make a start on making it my own.

Pain, Pain, Go Away

I am in agony! I've torn a muscle in my left thigh...

To cut a long story short I had a bit of a back injury last Monday night so I took one of the muscle relaxants my mother-in-law gave me (don't worry she is a doctor and knows what she's doing!!!) before I went to bed. I woke up, to the sound of the front door ringing, got out of bed and took one step at which point I promptly fell to the ground... weird, thinks I, pull myself up to standing (I can stand) and thought no more of it until I took my next step and whooommmmp! Straight down to the ground. By this time the doorbell is ringing persistently, the children, Hettie in particular as she knows it's her birthday present, are shouting to tell me "it's the POSTMAN!!!" and I end up having to crawl to the top of the stairs on my hands and knees, pull myself up using the bannisters and manage, somehow, to reach the front door. At this point I am managing to walk, if a little hesistantly.

That was on the Tuesday. Wednesday meant back to work for me and a round trip drive of an hour and a half which played havoc with my left thigh and that evening I found it painful to get up and sit down so I cancelled work for the rest of the week as the thought of driving again (all that clutch changing) filled me with dread.

So today rolls around and guess what? I feel good and healthy for the first time in what seems like weeks (probably about 3 weeks at the least), no cough, no cold, no viral anything and so go back to work. Got home around 2:30pm with a long list of phone calls to make and knelt down to pick up my phone from the charger and rrriiiiiiiippppppp, pain so bad went searing up my thigh - it was so bad I almost passed out and felt physically sick...

Turns out I have badly torn one of my thigh muscles. I suspect I did at least some damage when I collapsed last week (due to an adverse reaction to the muscle relaxant I feel) and it was starting to get better when I did something it didn't like...

So no work for about 7 to 10 days... don't know whether to feel pleased or not about that...

A Missed Marketing Opportunity?

So I wonder if there is/has been a missed marketing opportunity in the world of digital scrapbooking?

This gap in the market has come to my attention because I have been looking for one: a square digital photo frame. Not a portrait or a landscape digital frame but a square one, perfect for displaying all my digital photo layouts.

Why can't I find one? Does one exist? And if it doesn't, should it? I'm sure there must be lots of other digi-scrappers out there who would like one too... 

And if there is one, where can I buy one?

Christmas Has Come Early

In the form of the arrival of my new MacBook! How beautiful is she? And something so beautiful needs something equally beautiful to be carried around in so look what arrived with it! I can't wait to unpack it and start to play. Yes, I know it's a christmas present but I'm not a patient sort of person and Richard knows this so I was allowed to get it early :D Oh, he so spoils me...

And if that wasn't enough to spoil a girl then today also saw the arrival of the shoes I decided to treat myself too with all the hard work I've been doing. Aren't they lush?

Today...

would have been my brother's 36th birthday. It's hard not to think about you most days but today more so. I'm trying not to think about all the negatives but concentrate on the positives and with that in mind I'm going to post a photo of your beautiful baby girl. I was blessed with being able to spend a whole day with her a few weeks ago when we were in Plymouth for the weekend.

Isn't she beautiful?

It's Been A Long Time

Probably too long and no-one reads my blog at all anymore... I imagine I can hear an echo... echo... echo...

However this is not a problem as I blog for myself anyway so even if I'm the only person reading it that's OK. Life has been busy. Too busy to blog. So for a brief catch up on life todate:

• My brothers funeral: so hard and I'm still going through the grieving process (do we ever stop?) but my faith has been a huge help


• School holidays: 5 weeks which seemed to go by in a blur


• Have seen my eldest child choose to be baptised: amazing! 


• 2 additional new clients (I am now at full capacity and actually work more than I initially planned on working)


• Work, work, work: too much, 12 days straight (including Saturdays and Sundays) at one point about which I have decided enough is enough and I will set working hours/days and that will be that! No more, no less, if it can't get done in that time it will either have to wait or they will have to go elsewhere!


• Richard's 40th birthday: he is aging very, very well :-) 


• A trip to Germany: great (apart from the next bullet point), we got to meet Richard's sisters or the first time and they are absolutely so cute and lovely - although at one point Richard and I realised that we are old enough to be their parents


• Sick: I'm sick of being sick. It seems as soon as I stopped to go on holiday my body just gave up and has decided to give my immune system a break and go on holiday itself.


• My baby girl turned 10 yesterday: Harriet is a whole decade old!  

  I have some photos to post once I've uploaded them, hopefully in the next couple of days, until then :D