Saturday's results

On both the lack of sleep Saturday night and the scrapping I managed to get done during the day.

On the sleep front I felt bad enough on Sunday but yesterday was a complete wipe out. I was so tired that I felt physically ill. Why is it that it seems to take a couple of days to catch up with you?

On the scrapbooking front though, Saturday wasn't that great either. I just couldn't get 'in the zone'. I really loved the Wednesday sketch challenge and felt quite inspired by it but once I sat down I spent the next few hours just paper shuffling. I think the problem was that I was trying so hard to do something in the theme for which I signed up for. The Book of Me. But I just couldn't put my hands on the right sort of photos, due mainly to the fact that I haven't sorted any of my pre-children and pre-marriage photos out (which I am now making a mental note to do).

I eventually had one of those light bulb moments


and finally realised that yes, it was a cyber crop and yes, I signed up for a particular theme but no, no-one would know, or even care, if I didn't scrap that theme, no, it wasn't the end of the world if I just scrapped what I like. So this is what I did.

So in total on Saturday I did one LO, it was a double LO, and I also finished another LO that I started weeks ago at a crop. Not much I know and in future I will get my head sorted out quicker. I don't know why it is that I just become so focused on one small thing. It's ridiculous. And I will stop it.

I've uploaded the 2 LOs in to my 'My Layouts' album to the right. The one based on the Wednesday challenge is called Canada Day and the other one that I just finished off is My Little Picasso Harriet. They were both based on Becky Flecks sketches. They aren't that exciting but they are 2 more LOs completed for the albums.

Very tired but with a happy motherly glow

I don't do sleep deprivation and last night certainly falls under that category.

I must have been asleep for around an hour or so (it was very hot and muggy and took me a long time to even fall asleep) when I heard a door creak, the patter of little feet and then another door creak. Mine.

Sure enough, I open my groggy eyes and spy Noah getting in to bed and cuddling up to his daddy. As a general rule we do not agree with children sleeping with us, there are obvious exceptions for example when they were younger and sick, but generally sleeping in our bed, with us. No. So I picked him up to take him back to his own room via a trip to the bathroom, just in case.

He was pleading to be allowed to sleep with us, I almost caved but then I could hear my mothers voice in my head "no, if you start, it could become a habit!" (how come you can always hear your mother's voice doling out 'advice'?)

So, I'm carrying him back to his room and he starts crying. Not the sort of crying you can ignore but these small, silent, heart wrenching sobs. I harden my heart and put him back to bed and then jump back in to bed myself. But, as every mother knows, my mind is now on full alert, listening for any signs of wakefulness to the point that I'm now fully awake myself. And can I get back to sleep? No, I can't.

An hour or so passes by, where I am involuntarily jumping at every tiny sound, which I then discover is generally coming from Richards direction. He doesn't snore but he is a very noisy sleeper! And then, creak, pitter-patter, creak. Yup, Noah is back!

He thinks I'm asleep. I know, because when I lift my head and whisper his name, he immediately turns tail and hies it back to his bedroom. But now I know he is really awake and I'm laying there listening to him crying again. So, up, out of bed I get again and the upshot is he ends up in bed with me. Now, I know this isn't a good idea, namely because I can never sleep when I have a child in bed with me. But hey, I think he needs some comforting so I provide. He then whispers to me that he was in bed and "mummy, I was getting hotter and hotter!" and then proceeds to wrap himself around me and thereby increase his body heat exponentially. Meanwhile I'm laying there with the most amazing headache, probably heat induced, lying very uncomfortably with one arm under Noah and the other armed being held by him and wrapped around him.

And then in the quiet and darkness I hear his little voice. "Mummy, I'm your snuggle-bug..." He sure is.

I lay there for what seems like an age and I can tell that Noah is drifting in and out of sleep. I can 'feel' him rubbing his eyes, falling back in to that lovely state of restfulness just before you fall sleep and decide that this may be a good time to see if I can persuade him back to his own room. This time he goes back really well, you know this as a mum, you can tell the difference. He was happy to be taken back, he just requested his ceiling fan be turned on.

I, however, am even more wide awake than ever. With a pumping, brain blowing headache. I look at the clock. 3:09am. Uggh! I lay there, alert for any further signs of movement. Time passes. Slowly. Then 'bang'! A loud noise and, sure enough, a door creak and the sound of feet. I jump out of bed ready to head off any thoughts of Noah getting out of bed to find... Harriet. I find her with her bedroom light on, shining brighter than the sun and with the explanation that apparently her water bottle fell off her bedside table and woke her. She then decides a trip to the bathroom is needed. I'm more concerned about the noise that this will generate and it's potential for waking her brother. I think my lack of sympathy with her must communicate itself as she asks me what is wrong. To which I think I grumped out a few syllables.

She takes herself back to bed but passes me on the way from the bathroom to the bedroom and stops, puts her arms around me and says that she's sorry I'm having such a bad night but that she loves me very much.

Awwwww! So even though it was a very bad night, it was a good one too. Being a parent is hard but those times where your children's love for you shows through make it all worthwhile.

And I did finally get to sleep, the last time I looked at the clock it said 4:11am but the next thing I knew it was 9:30am and Richard woke me up with a coffee.

A day of scrapping

That is what I'm having today.

I haven't scrapped in ages, apart from the LO I did for the cyber crop class, and I have been feeling itchy all week just sitting on the sidelines and watching all the stuff being created for the UKScrappers cyber crop.

But not today. Today I'm handing over the children to Richard and I am putting up a figurative 'Do Not Disturb' sign (actually perhaps I should actually make one it might have more effect?) and am spending the day catching up on all the other fabulous classes and challenges.

I'm particularly feeling inspired by the challenges which are sketch based ones using Becky Fleck's fantastic sketches. I'm not sure how closely I will keep to my theme (I signed up for the Book of Me bus) but I don't care as long as I get some layouts done. I don't think it matters really what you actually scrap, this is turning out to be a very relaxed and chilled out cyber crop. Nice.

OK, I'm off now to inject myself with caffeine, to take a quick shower (I can't scrap in PJ's, it messes with my mind...) and then just get down to it.

Class update

Well my class seemed to be received well yesterday so I'm relieved and happy. I can't believe how quickly some people got their layouts completed and uploaded onto the UKScrappers gallery. Such speedy scrappers. I'm obviously a very slow scrapper because the number of comments I had along the lines of 'it took me nearly 2 hours to complete' or 'I spent so much longer than I normally do on a layout' lead me to think I obviously spend way too long on my layouts. No wonder I don't get that many done!

It seems most people struggled over using their own handwriting, something I do a lot, but they were pleased that this gave them the push to do so and surprisingly, in some cases, they liked the results. This is good.

It's been so interesting seeing all the various interpretations/differences in the layouts uploaded. That's one of the things I love about scrapbooking. The variety, the fact that there is no 'wrong' way to scrap, how even in a class people can and do put their own stamp on a layout and everyone ends up with a different look or feel to it. If you have time you should pop along to the gallery here and take a look (not sure if the gallery is open to non-members but it's worth a try).

And now I'm exhausted, I've tried to leave a comment on each and every layout and that's tiring business I can tell you. I'm planning on getting down to some of the other classes and challenges over the weekend. It's hard trying to find time to scrap at the moment. Why do children need a summer holiday? LOL. Just kidding. They've been great, choreographing and putting on shows for me and Richard, creating clubs and making up their club rules and today they finally got to play with their new Floam, which was a big hit (more on this tomorrow).

And with that I'm going to go, sit down with a beer and a Lemonade Sparkle (I blame Nat for this one), put my feet up and watch some trashy television.

Oh but finally here is my class layout, as usual click on it for a larger image. It scanned terribly and cut the edges off but I can't be bothered to do it again.

Summer Scrappin' Holiday

So today is the first day of UKScrappers Summer Scrappin' Holiday cyber crop.

And I'm very nervous


!

PaperArts is the first stop on the bus route (you need to know about the crop to understand this reference, lol) which means my class is the first class. I'm so nervous I feel sick.

Will people like it? Will they do it? Is it interesting enough? Is it challenging enough? Is it too challenging? LOL. Me? Insecure? No...

Oh well, it's done now, I can't change it so that's that.

Doesn't stop me worrying though ...

Happy Blog Day to Me

So today is my blogging 1st anniversary. With this post I entered the Kingdom of Blogdom.

I never imagined that I would still be at it a year later. I'm just not that steadfast in my crazes


so I am amazed.

I know there have been lots of people posing questions on forums along the lines of why? Why to people blog? To be honest? I don't know! But I know that I like it. It's a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, saves on sending out mindless emails to various people in which you have to say the same thing but try to make it different for everyone. And on the flip side of the coin I enjoy reading others blogs, must be the voyeur in me!

I also plan on completing a scrapbook album "A Year in the Blog of Jools" or something to that effect. I regularly back up to my hard drive all my posts and I already have done the hard work of writing the journaling to go with the photos

Apologies

For being such a boring blogger lately.

For non-scrapping readers: Life is just pretty much jogging along, the children are off school so I'm busy trying to keep the house tidy, entertaining them and so I don't have much time for blogging, apart from the fact that my life is pretty boring at the moment. No momentous occasions on the horizon, no holidays looming, just plain old, nice, everyday life. So sorry.

For scrapping readers: Due to the above I haven't had much time for scrapping obviously. I intended to get down to some yesterday but we had a baptism to attend in the morning, followed by a BBQ at their house afterwards. The Pimms was flowing and I was just too I've-had-a-drink-or-two-in-the-afternoon-so-I'm-not-much-use-to-anybody-tired to do anything much more than sit and watch Spongebob Squarepants with the children!

So, yes, another boring post from me. The only other two things I have to say is that finally the weather seems to have settled down to a much more pleasant 22/23º (so much more civilised) and that UKScrappers is having a relaxed cyber crop which is running this week from Wednesday to Sunday, with a class and/or project per day. The idea is that you sign up for a particular 'bus' (album theme) and the classes and projects will hopefully get you well on the well to starting and completing an album based around the theme you choose, either a Book of Me, Time, A to Z or Holiday. Fiona, PaperArts, asked if I would put something together for the shop for one of the classes, which I did, and my class is, scarily, the first one and will be posted on the forums this Wednesday, 2nd August.