This Year I Will.....2011 Round Up

This is my 2011 end of year update:

• Kiss and cuddle my little babies at least once every day.  A big Yes.
• Find something to smile about each day.  Most of the time.
• Have a minimum of 30 minutes every day of ME time, no children, no TV, no computer, no telephone, just ME.  As selfish as this may sound, it needs to be done for my own health, both physically & mentally.  Really think this can be nothing but a big huge whopping fail.  Sadly health issues have totally taken over and this goal went out of the window quite a few months ago.
• Make Fridays (my day off) part housework/errand - frees the weekend to spend time with Liam & Freya - and part 'me' time.  Too much of the housework/errand stuff last year!  Health issues meant that Monday to Thursday consisted of getting up, going to work, eating evening meal and going to bed.  Everything else was squeezed in to Friday in order to try to keep the weekends free for family fun.  Sadly some weekends were spent catching up on sleep and chores.  Not much fun at all.
• Go for a walk every day, even if it is only for 5 minutes, I will go outside and walk to clear my head and think about life.  Been on crutches the majority of this year with planter fasciitis, broken leg/knee and then DVT.
• Eat 5 portions of fruit & veg a day. Most days I managed 4/5 but other sometimes only 1/2.
• Have a wonderful Summer holiday; a 3 1/2 week tour of Europe to include my Brother's Wedding in Lithuania.  Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.  So much fun we have drawn up next years itinerary.
• Get organised; 2010 was really not a good year and this year I will get back to the place where I am in control of what is happening and not depending upon others, who quite frankly let me & my children down.  Do you really want me to answer this one?
• Choose carefully those people I let into our lives.  On the whole I think this is a yes!
• Start organising presents for Christmas - Its going to be a stress free one this year unlike the mayhem of 2010!  Everything purchased by the end of the first week in December.
• Have a professional family photo shoot.  One shoot paid for and then I won another.  Love the photos from both shoots.
• Do something new every month. I managed a fish ped in January and a scrapping retreat.  Fail I think!
• Finish decorating my scrap space & bedroom. Moved the desk and storage unit in plus all my stash sorted and stored but no decorating.  Purchased new bedding and curtains in the pre Christmas sales.
• Decorate Liam's room.  Nothing done apart from Liam make a huge mess but I suppose that is 9 year old boys for you.
• Decorate the lounge.  Chimney breast stripped, paper and paint chosen and brought 2 new canvas' of the kids photos for the chimney.
• Decorate the hall stairs & landing.  Striped some more paper off but nothing else and still more needs to be stripped on the stairs, you know the bit that needs a ladder.
• Finish the roof on my garage, laundrette and downstairs toilet.  New roof on outside of toilet and launderette.  Garage still completely roofless and need to do the ceiling inside.  However where it joined the kitchen has got damaged and now the kitchen roof needs replacing plus a new ceiling inside!
• New laundrette cupboards.  Ceiling needs to be done first, then walls re-plastered.  Have started to strip the old wallpaper and sort the contents of the cupboards.  Decided what doors I want.
• Decorate down stairs toilet.  Nothing done.
• Sort out the plumbing.  Nothing done.
• New window in bathroom and landing.  No new windows.
• Find a baby sitter so I can go to Bromsgrove Crop on a Saturday.  Achieved, thank you Daddy!!!
• Attend a retreat.  Went to Sarah's Cards Retreat in November and booked to go next March as well!
• Complete 12 LO's a month.  I'd say on average I have got pretty close to 12  a month.
• Complete 12 Granny Squares or stripes a month.  Probably averaged about 6 a month in the early part of the year but since joining Gingerbread girl have completed one a day for the past few weeks so certainly caught up.
• Catch up on unfinished scrapping projects from 2010; JYC 2010, Document 2010, LSNED 2010 & Liam & Freyas Year In The Life Of albums. Zilch, nil, nothing, nowt, probably best not to ask if you get my drift.
• Complete a family scrapbook for 2011; something on the lines of Document 2010.  On track for Document 2011 & completed the first 6 months of the year.
• Complete Liam's and Freya's '2011 Year In The Life Of' mini albums. Nothing started but I have scrapped 12 x 12 pages to go in their life albums but no specific mini album for 2011.
• Use more scrap stash than I buy.  Was this ever going to happen????  But have stopped Scrapagogo monthly kit and not brought as many extras but still the stash mountain has increased.
• Finish all the crochet projects I have started before I begin anything new.  More yarn than at the beginning of the year and more WIP's.
• Knit myself a pom pom scarf.  Eyed the wool in my LYS.  Does that count?
• Take time to rediscover cross stitch.  Probably spent less than 10 hours during the whole of the year.  But not brought any new kits. 
• Bake lots and lots of yummy things.  Baked more than I did last year but not as much as I would have liked to have done. Having said that having chickens and lots of fresh free range eggs has been a huge boast to my motivation. 
• Win the lottery (got to have one thing that won't happen on the list).  Spent £2 per week, won nothing.  Not one single £10 win.

34 Goals; 10 Green, 7 Amber, 17 Red

Not too great eh?

One A Day Tuesday Tallies (27 December 2011)

Despite all the madness of the past week I have managed to complete 12 rows this week on my Rico Cot blanket.  I have completed the 6 stripes from the denim blue. I have now done 17 stripes and  I think I need to do another 20 stripes (40 rows) to complete the blanket.

Really should start sewing those ends in soon!

Merry Christmas.....

.....and may all your dreams come true x

One Not So Happy Little Girl

On Wednesday we went to Birmingham Children's Hospital for Freya to have 5 steroid injections in her knee and ankles.  She was not really impressed with the procedure:

With the help of her new teddy, Lou Lou she is now a little less in pain and hopefully come Sunday should be fighting fit and well.

One A Day Tuesday Tallies (20 December 2011)

Carole is not doing a Mr Linky on her blog now until the New Year but in order to try to keep on track I am going to post my crochet progress over the next few weeks.  

The big day is now only 4 sleeps away!!!!  I think I'm ready, everything has been brought for a couple of weeks now but the one thing I do need to do is play elf and wrap everything.  I HATE wrapping gifts.  I am also totally useless at doing it. 

Over the past week I have eaten 4 Christmas meals.  Luckily only 1 of them was a turkey roast but I can honestly say I ate way too much this week, to the extent that I feel I could go without food for a few days.  Why does the festive season bring so many social gatherings?  I seem to go weeks without a get together then wham, December hits and its manic.

With all this eating out, partying, finishing up things at work, shuttling children here there and everywhere for Christmas activities on top of all the usual running around, it has left very little time for crocheting.  What I been working on is my light grey ripple scarf.  I'm unsure if this will be a scarf or whether I will sew it together as a cowl.  Either way there is some work still to be done on it.  I am now up to 23 rows, 9 of which have been completed this week and looks like this:  

Just love this colour.  This was originally going to be a Christmas present but when it became apparent I was never going to complete it in time I decided it would be a Birthday present for the same person whose birthday it is next month.  But to be honest, it is growing on me.  It very well may not make it to its original recipient!

One A Day Tuesday Tallies (13 December 2011)

This week I have been working on Christmas presents.  Some I can show and some I can't.  My main priority has been this scarf which needs to be finished for Thursday night.  I have used Stylecraft Special Aran in charcoal.

I was a little annoyed with myself as I used too many stitches and after 20 rows it was clear the scarf was too wide and I had to frog it all back to the start.  I re started it on Saturday afternoon and by Monday night it was completely finished,  all 90 rows crocheted:

It's been a long time since I completed a crochet project and this is actually my first ta da on my blog.  I really need to concentrate on completing a few things over the next few months.

I have not really followed the one a day rules this week but with the run up to Christmas coming at me like a run away train every little bit of normality has gone right out of the window, not that there was much to start with but I'm sure you all know what I mean.

Pop on over to Gingerbread Girl and have a look at all the other one a day projects.

10 Things (December 2011)

This month it can only be Christmas related and as Christmas is fast approaching I am listing my top 10 Christmas makes that still need to be done:

1. Bake 2 Christmas cakes.
2. Ice 4 Christmas cakes.
3. Make 2 Gingerbread houses.
4. Finish 1 crocheted blanket
5. Finish 2 crocheted scarf's
6. Make lots of mince pies
7. Bake Christmas tree cookies
8. Bake ginger biscuits
9. Bake cookie gifts
10. Make gift tags

Any chance of an extra week between now and Christmas?

Pop on over to Shimelle to see lots of other 10 things on the 10th.  Wonder how many others will be Christmas themed?  If you have visited from Shimelle may I wish you a Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

Santa Safari

Last week we went on a Santa Safari at the West Midlands Safari Park.  Considering it is less than 10 miles from where we live this is only the second time Liam and Freya have been and neither can remember going before.  Kids under 4 are free and the last time we went was the weekend before Liam's 4th Birthday which meant Freya was 2 1/2.  They were both really excited and loved our Santa Safari family day out.  Here are a few photos of our day:

We travelled on Santa's sleigh to get to his grotto:

New this winter are the penguins:

Then we got back in the car and went 'on safari':

Obviously there are some animals that you can't hand feed, such as this gorgeous white tiger:

Some animals just popped their heads in the car much to Liam and Freya's delight:

It was too wet under foot for the giraffes to come out but you could see them outside their huts:

Even though they were not in the park I did managed to smuggle one of them home:

Then we saw the sealion show:

Off home we went via a lovely pub for our evening meal as I didn't want to spoil the fun and cook.

Journal Your Christmas 2011 Days 1 to 8

I don't really know how but I appear to be up to date on a project!!!  Not quite sure how long this will last but I have pages 1 to 8 completed, apart from the photo page which will be done in the New Year when I have printed all the photo's off.

I'll be back tomorrow with our trip to see Santa.

A Visit From St Nick

Santa landed in the UK yesterday after he had visited lots of good children in Germany.  For some very strange reason  that I just can't understand he left Liam and Freya Chocolate.

What he should have left was coal as they really don't deserve to be on Santa's good list!

Think I am being a little harsh?  Well take a look at this:

8 years old and off to a Christmas party with my eye shadow and lipstick on.  She helped herself and applied it on her own, even said she had nothing on her face when I asked her.

You don't have to tell me I know it's all down hill from here!

One A Day Tuesday Tallies (6 December 2011)

I was really busy last week that I did not have time to post my Tuesday Tally.  It seemed a little late to post Friday night so sadly I did not join in last week.  I did go and have a quick look at some blogs and only managed to comment on a handful but I promise I will squeeze a good look at all your progress some time before next Tuesday.  I probably not alone but Christmas is fast fast approaching and suddenly I need 30 hour days and 8 day weeks.  Well, sleep is overrated, why on earth would I want any?

This is my progress over the past week.  I managed to complete another 4 rows on Freya's Rowan Ripple the week before last  and this week I have been working on a last minute Christmas present which I can't show as the recipient reads my blog and a scarf for each of the kids teachers.  Plus I some how started a new project.  I honestly don't know how that happened but the wool feel in my bag, well some of it did, there is still a large number of balls sat at my LYS & it just jumped on the crochet hook!  I am making a tiny granny blanket.  

I have only purchased the red and dark grey so far.  But there are also 2 purples, a light grey and 2 turquoise/green waiting in a bag at the LYS.  This week I managed to make 14 little squares.  I am counting 3 as my one a day as they are only 2 rounds.  The end's need crocheting in and they need blocking which I hope to do this week as I am in hospital tomorrow for tests and will be at home Thursday.  I won't be up to much on Thursday but a little sewing should be ok.

Pop on over to Gingerbread Girl to have a look at lots of other Tuesday Tallies and if you fancy joining in please do, just fill in Mr Linky.  Its that simple.

Journal Your Christmas 2011

Busy, busy, busy I have been and there seems to be little respite in the next few weeks.  I seem to be so busy on the run up to Christmas I feel I am having to schedule in sleep!  Why does this happen every year?  I seem so on top of everything then something just happens to throw the plans all up in the air.  This year it is me going in to hospital for tests this Wednesday under a general anaesthetic and then Freya has to go in, hopefully for just the day, on the 21st for some treatment again under a general anaesthetic.

For only the second time in my life I will not be spending Christmas at my Parents or my house.  Two years ago I went to my Brother's and his then fiancées.  This year we are spending Christmas with my Sister in Law's Mother and Sister at their house in Wales.  Last year they all came to us and Lidija has returned the offer this year.  It's going to feel strange not cooking Christmas lunch which is what I have done every year since I was 14.  Yes, I even ended up cooking 2 years ago at my Brothers.  The break will be nice but it still feels strange!

I have been working on my JYC album.  I intend to finish this years before July which is what happened with last years album.  This year I am more organised and as I have previously done this class I know what to expect with the prompts.  To be honest I am not really following the prompts to the letter this year.  If we have done something 'Christmassy' that day I am including that if not I am fitting the prompts in to fill the gaps.  


I am going to get my photo's all printed at the end which will be mounted on inked kraft and stuck on the kraft base plus a little embellishment.  I am doing a double 6 x 6 for each day except Christmas which will be more.  I am using kraft and this year's Jellibean's Christmas range.


I made up the majority of my album plus all of the numbers at Bromsgrove crop yesterday and it certainly helps the pages pull together quickly.  I did have a little scrap time last night just to finish off the few remaining pages with patterned paper.  This leaves just some kraft tags and the photo pages to make when I get the photos back.  I have completed the pages when I know we will be doing something specific on that day but I need to wait for a new journalling pen as all mine have disappeared to add the journalling to the completed pages.  Freya?????!!


Here are my first few journal pages:

Feels good to be showing you some scrapping as I seem to have just blogged about crochet lately.