As yet unnamed!

Maybe in 2016...

Happy New Year! Seems like last year was a total bust in terms of keeping up with the blog and who knows how much better this year will be. Noemie has begged me to start blogging again as she has really enjoyed going back through the first few years of her life which was documented on the blog. Charlie couldn't care less. If it's not Minecraft related he doesn't want to know. 

No one in our family made any resolutions this year. They are kind of pointless to be honest. Making all these rules you expect to follow for the next year, starting on a specific date... too much pressure and totally setting yourself up for failure. Inevitably you "mess up" whatever you planned to do, early in January, and then you feel like you may as well give up as you've messed up already. So really, what's the point right? So this time around, rather than set myself some ridiculous fitness goals like "start running every day until I pass out, starting on January 1", I decided to just pick a random day to start: Dec 20th, 2015. I decided it was time. I had to do something about the scale constantly telling me a higher weight each time I stepped on it (clearly it's faulty). The lack of energy despite the numerous cups of coffee I drank each morning.  Clothes shrinking ridiculously in the tumble dryer with each wash. The list of things failing me all around made me realise I had to take charge and do something different. I started running with a friend and it was just the jump start I needed. Less than 2 weeks later, I actually enjoy exercise. I look forward to going out for a run/walk and have to force myself to take rest days so I don't injure myself. I lost 2lbs over Christmas and that's despite the 6 jumbo size yorkshire puddings consumed on Christmas day along with inhaling the entire apple pie Nana always bakes for me in less than 36 hours a few days after Christmas. I won't even detail the other goodies consumed by yours truly. I'm glad I started when I did or else I'd now be feeling sorry for my fat lard butt.

I've taken part in two 5k Park Runs at Fulham Palace with the encouragement of my running guru Annabel. The first was on Boxing day, 6 days after I started running. Let me tell you, it was hard. The first 2 miles I was sure I was going to die. I was ready to drop out before I finished. I wanted a spare set of lungs and wished I was an octopus so my legs could've taken turns carrying me around the park. The last mile I was certain I'd never join in again due to me being sure I'd be dead and all. But I did it. In under 40 minutes (39.34). Lots of walking mixed with running too fast so I couldn't keep up with myself. I know, it'll take time to find my pace and all that blah blah blah. My second park run was yesterday, January 1st, with a unicorn. I ran a lot more of it but my time was slower at 40.01. Clearly need to work on my stride as well as my pace.

Today I went as a volunteer marshall which meant I stood in one area where the runners go past cheering them on and making sure they don't cut the corner. It was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G- windy and damp. I must've looked like Tigger with my fluorescent hi vis jacket on, jumping up and down like a lunatic to try and keep warm while shouting "good job! looking good! you're awesome! keep going! nearly done! "woo hoo!" and for Annabel "looking thin!". I love the atmosphere though, everyone is lovely and so encouraging and welcoming.Planning ahead to when I volunteer next,  I might invest in a Tigger onesie for whenever I marshall in that corner.  Looking forward to my next park run on January 9th. Hopefully I run more and a bit faster and do better than my first time. Last but not least, another good thing to come out of this new fitness routine is I've so far lost 6.5". It's always a good thing to take your measurements as I've found that while the pounds don't melt off as fast as I'd like, the inches often do so that's definitely a motivating thing for me. 

In other news, K and I are on a mission to Marie Kondo our house. Yes, I'm using her name as a verb. We know we're not moving house anytime soon but the house we're in is bursting at the seams. N is proving to be quite the hoarder so we've had to set some rules for her about tidying up and getting rid of stuff if she ever hopes to see any new purchases in her life. C isn't so bad but that's because he's totally taken over the tv with his Minecrafting. K is on a total roll and we all have to be careful he doesn't MK us out of the house. 

 

Kensington Dollhouse Fair 2015

 

It's been a few years since I last went to a dollhouse show so this one in Kensington was a great way to get back into it all. Last time I was at the show I bought 5 felt mice and ever since, I've been looking out for a house for them all. I was beginning to think I'd have to actually MAKE :::gasp::: something myself from scratch, but on Friday I found the perfect house from a seller called Shoebutton Bears. The moment I saw it, I knew it had to come home with me. I need to find the other 5 mice to join 2 new ones who also followed me home. 

The mice are made by a lovely lady called Elles of Elles Miniaturen. I couldn't help but also bring home a little lamb and a bunny. They can go in the little girl's room in my big Victorian house. Clearly it was a toy buying kind of show for me as I also picked up a bunch of these cute Beatrix Potter characters, along with the elephant in a tutu from Sally Reader's table. 

This item was bought simply because I thought it was adorable. I have no clue where it will go but it had to be mine. It was my first purchase of the show within about 5 minutes of entering the hall. It's from someone new to me, Le Coffre d'Emilie. Perhaps it'll go in the nursery or something as decoration. Who knows. 

I have a soft spot for all things Beatrix Potter as it's the books I had read to me as a child. I used to read it to Noemie when she was younger as well though she hasn't taken to it like I did. These books have actual print in them of the entire story for each character, totally readable. I bought the entire set that the seller, Dateman Books, carried. I think I have a theme for the little girl's bedroom in the Victorian house as I have previously bought BP furniture as well which is in that room. 

A few more random bits to go in my Victorian house. A barometer from Sussex Crafts. Fruit display from Mouse House Miniatures. Bird cage with bird from le mini di Pierluigi. The last seller again is new to me. 

 

 

I made my usual stop with Veronique Cornish from who I have bought loads of stuff over the years. We had a lovely chat and she said she had one teapot but that it had sold moments before. I bought 3 items from her, the pelican jardiniere isn't quite suited to any project I have but it reminded me of the night I met K and how there were flamingoes at the roof top bar we went to and how he didn't believe me until I showed him proof. The little mouse with the kids also reminded me how amazing he is with N and C so that had to come home too. The bird jardiniere again was just something pretty that needed to reside at my house. The teapots are from Sally Meekins and though she had several others that I don't yet own, I figured I needed to leave myself something else to buy at the next show I go to! She's done a whole theme of them from various kids stories and then some cute London ones as well so I've got a few more to buy yet!

 

Kensington is mainly an artisan show so they don't sell too many kit type items but I did manage to get a few bits from those who did sell them. I stopped by Nicola Mascall's table despite the fact I found at least 25 unopened kits from her that I have safely stashed away at home. I still opted to bring home 2 new ones though as one can never have too much stash right? It was great catching up with her as well. I also purchased some flower making kits as I wanted to have a little flower scene around the mouse house. I have a lot of the tools to make my own flowers but sometimes it's just easier when it's all packaged for you and you just need to make rather than make the supplies first. Totally lazy but so much easier!

 

Next up is my halloween stuff I found in plentiful supply at this show. The nice thing about taking a few years off has been that people have made things I hadn't seen before. It made a nice change from seeing the same old stuff in the past. I bought the furry black kitty from Fine Design along with the fake puke. The fake puke may well end up outside my pub scene but for now, we'll say the cat had major hairball issues. The furniture is from Thimblemins who are new to me. Really inexpensive stuff that'll work well in whatever future scene I create for my gorgeous witch doll I bought several years ago. Then some more halloween house stuff rom KastleKelm Miniatures. I love the pictures with the 3d effect (reminds me of the haunted house at Disneyland). The raven has real feathers and will go on top of whatever scene I create. I might have to try to get this done for this halloween as Noemie has been asking about it each year ever since she saw the witch doll I bought. 

Last but not least, a butterfly collectors stuff from Country Treasures. I think this will most likely have to in the Mouse House... I'm not entirely sure yet but I think that's where it will look the best. It was yet again a really successful outing. I never lack things to buy at this particular show though it was weird not seeing a lot of the other vendors who used to be at the show every year. I guess people retire, pass away and move on to other stuff. Now I'm looking forward to the next show in Birmingham in October. Better start saving up my pennies.

Totally Chillaxed Dude

Kirk came down to the kitchen on Saturday morning to find Charlie sitting like this while doing his reading homework. He'd already done most of this other homework on this own the day before right when he got back from school. So funny how one kid is so on top of his homework and just gets it done without us bugging him to do it. The other kid spends hours whining and complaining about homework so something that should take 30 minutes ends up taking 2-3 hours.

 

 

 

Busy Week

Somehow time seems to be moving faster than I remember it moving when I was younger. I swear it hasn't been 4 days since I last blogged yet somehow it is. The kids did some of those stuff your own bear kits after we got home from school on Tuesday (I can't even remember what I did on Monday - sieve brain alert!). I probably did more of the stuffing than either of the kids but they were happy with the end result. Not that either one needed any more stuffed toys, but at this point we've already gone overboard in that area so I'm giving up. At least they reside in the kids' rooms so they don't clutter the rest of the house. Gotta take every little win you can get.

 

Yesterday I went to brunch with some friends at Wolseley for some delicious food, good coffee, gossip and some knitting. I had some pretty awesome french toast with REAL bacon. The crispy American stuff. Not the thick chewy stuff that pretends to be bacon in the UK. I was so excited about my food that had it not been for photos that everyone took of their food, I'd have no clue what anyone else was eating. After brunch a few of us went on to some shopping at Harrods. I may have bought a new handbag from Valentino. I rarely spend money on clothes and stuff but handbags are my weakness. I'm trying to limit myself to one designer handbag a year. Like a new season purchase each January might work. We'll see though as the temptation might be too great before next January.

Today I had a parent teacher conference with Charlie's teacher. Totally proud Mom moment as he's doing so incredibly well in just about all areas. His handwriting needs a bit of work (funnily enough Noemie has the same problem). I'm not too concerned about his handwriting as it's not like it's THAT important in the big picture. Kids will be using laptops and iPads to do all their work in the next year or two anyway. Noemie already does her own research for school topics on my computer and is anxious for when she can have her own laptop. 

To round off a busy week, tomorrow I have yoga in the morning and then a Pilates assessment session in the afternoon. I've been going to physio for a lower back ache and today I had my first rehab session so want to do pilates at the physio place as that would be a good next step for me. Hopefully I'll soon be able to start running and doing body pump classes too.

 

 

 

 

The Weekend

Noemie has been asking to go to Grandpa and Grandma's for a sleep over since sometime late last year so we finally went Saturday. K and C stayed home for a "boys night" which consisted of C staying in his pyjamas all day and then all day today and then a dinner of 5 pancakes, 1 pot of custard, 2 pots of jello, 2 pots of yogurt and a glass of milk. K is thinking C may have kept eating if it wasn't for the fact it was bedtime. Sometimes I wonder where C puts all that he eats. It's like he's growing vertically but not gaining much weight.

 

N and I went out to dinner with my folks and had some great food. Massive steak for N of course. Then this morning she had a breakfast that was in 3 courses... biscuits and juice, some fruit a bit later and then some toast even later on. She also helped Grandpa feed what seemed to be all the local birds some bread in their garden. It was actually pretty cute as they were all hanging out in the garden waiting for their breakfast as they get fed daily. There were 2 sets of Mr and Mrs Pigeons, some birds that looked like crows (but not as menacing), loads of robins and other creatures like squirrels. All literally loitering in their garden.

In other news I managed to throw my back out right after Christmas and as it was still hurting quite a lot I finally went to see a physio. I used to laugh at people who had back aches if they were under the age of 60 but now I've turned into one of them. Have no clue what I did but I had a needle stuck into one of my back muscles to make it relax and then I need to do a few exercises to strengthen the other muscles. I go back again on Tuesday for a follow up and hopefully I'll soon be back to normal.

Better get to bed now as it's back to the school routine again tomorrow. Perhaps some time to do week 1 of this years Project Life album. Going to try to stay on top of it this year as I'm about 48 weeks behind on last year. Oops.

[No Title]

Sent from my iPhone

Back to School Again

Noemie and Charlie went back to school again today after a month off! It was as usual a happy moment and a sad one... I actually don't mind having them home with me as they are pretty easy going and entertain themselves/each other for the most part. The other part I just ignore. I also hate school runs and getting up to do them.

I had the awful realisation last night that I forgot to buy hockey gear for Noemie for this term and a reminder email came in last night telling us we needed it for... 2 days from now. So mail order was out of the question. Luckily Ling came to the rescue as she knew of a hockey dedicated store near her house so we had a little shopping trip today. Noemie was thrilled with what I got for her. Finally she can have something at school that isn't yellow or blue. Sadly the bag I got was blue as I knew they would complain if I sent her in with a pink bag. I won't whine more about this now as I could do an entire novel about what I think of school uniforms (HATE them) and what I think of everyone wearing the same stupid outfit to school. Grrr. 

Anyway, Noemie has her first hockey session tomorrow and they will play twice a week this term. What you can't exactly see in this photo is that she has a mouth guard that is purple one side and gold on the other. Frankly I'm shocked the school didn't insist on yellow and blue ones considering these were all fitted at school (though we paid for them of course). 

 

 

After dinner Noemie asked me to play jacks with her. So I did. And beat the crap out of her each and every time. No letting the kids win in this household. Reminds me of when I was little and I'd play Monopoly with my Dad and he'd delight in beating me each time as I'd sit there and cry as I lost everything to him. In hindsight it was good as I now hate to lose and will do whatever I can to win as often as possible. And I know I most likely won't win, I don't play. Or I play against a 6 or 7 year old as that increases the chances that I'll win. See, whatever it takes. I'll have to remember to blog about a project of sorts that I signed up to for this year. Maybe tomorrow. If I remember to come back on here again. It's taking time to get back into the habit and all.

Norman

On Christmas Eve day, we woke up to find our little Roborovski hamster had passed away. Great sadness all around but she had don well with being with us for nearly 2 years. These little guys don't live long. 

So a few days after Christmas Noemie insisted we get a new hamster but this time she wanted a Syrian one so she could handle it more easily and she wanted it to be all hers. So off we went and came back with the fella in this photo. She named him Norman. I have to admit he is more rat like in appearance than I would like and that I think dwarf hamsters are FAR cuter, but it's not my pet so I have to get over it. 

Last night I was looking at him before I went to bed and he was suprisingly running around in his cage. He's a pretty lazy little man and is often found up for an hour and then asleep for a while even at night when he's supposed to be running his hamster marathon. Then I noticed his rear end was a tad damp and he smelled (worse than he usually should). He appeared to have Wet Tail which is really not something you want as it is often fatal. There was nothing we could do about it at midnight last night but we agreed to call the vet in the morning and hopefully have stinky butt looked at. 

Had to tell Noemie this morning that Norman was poorly. She was upset of course but I reminded her that as a pet owner she had to take the good with the bad and that we would get him to the vet asap. Kirk and I put him in the bath (no, not to bathe him or treat him to a bubble bath) so we could wipe it's butt to make sure he hadn't just peed all over himself. Lots of hissing ensued from Norman... can't say I blame him really. A thing the size of a T-Rex is trying to wipe his butt with toilet paper. And they hadn't even met before this morning. 

We took him to the vet, he has wet tail but as he is drinking, eating and not showing the later stages of the disease we are hoping he recovers. I had to give him 0.04ml of antibiotic through a syringe which he was suprisingly okay with from how he grabbed the end of the syringe and sucked the medicine down (the entire drop of medicine). And he's drinking his probiotic infused water as well and eating. The first 24-48 hours are crucial so fingers crossed he pulls through. 

Not sure if now is the time to admit this but the kids have already agreed that they will get 2 dwarf hamsters if Norman dies this week. One child is hoping her hamster still lives though while the other might slightly be wishing for another hamster burial later this week. 

Happy New Year 2015 - Year of the Sheep!

Happy New Year to everyone! Thought I'd start the New Year with an actual blog post. Hopefully it's not my first and last post of the year but based on my effort last year, don't get your hopes up. We went to see my folks today for New Years Day though we didn't have the real Japanese food for the first time in a long time. We took the easy way and had cold meats and cheeses. We all had a great time and somehow Noemie managed to rope me into agreeing to go back on Saturday night for a sleepover there. She's been very anxious to go and stay over at their house lately. Let's hope it goes well. Going to end this here so I don't over do it on day one.

Scrapbooking up a Storm

It's only March 7th today but I've already completed 29 layouts this month. I find Project Life/Pocket Scrapbooking type layouts easier as you don't spend ages faffing around with paper/photo/embellishment positioning as you have a finite number of pocket scrapbooking page protector designs you can choose from. Still takes a bit of time to get photos to fit right and select embellishments that work.

I can't say I really miss traditional scrapbooking as I think a lot of us scrappers (from back when I was really into it the last time around)  lost the point of it all... more focus on what paper you used and what embellishments you threw on the page. Many single photo layouts, minimal journaling (though to be fair I have always done a load of journaling on my pages regardless of how I scrap)... now I use multiple photos from one event on the same page. It's nice not to feel pressured to take one perfect photo for your layout. I can use 5 so-so photos and feel the story is being told better with the multiple photos.

Sure there are times when one photo is all you need. And over on UK Scrappers, if you want to do the weekly layout challenges, you have to do traditional scrapbooking. So this week I gave it a shot and had the kids' school photo from last year which actually works better as a single photo layout (though I'll probably still do a PL style page as the other 6 shots I have are of course too adorable not to have in their album!). It's just exciting that after a several year break froms scrapbooking, I've already done 79 pages this year!!! Still a long way to go before I'm caught up but it's a definitely step in the right direction!

I've uploaded all my layouts from this year in the album titled Layouts 2014.