Monday, February 27, 2006

Tats and Dons


For those of you who are missing us, here we are, deliciously chaotic but still here. Read all about it soon :-)

We are just off shopping, without the kids, to Exeter, wahay, we are soooooooo excited!!! Pin It

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Pantry update

Remember this?






Well, thanks to Paul's hard work, it now looks like this






We are so proud of it we have even bought a new sign for the door (in case the mice get lost!)



But we are out of wine (Tatty please note) and many other supplies so I need to go shopping before my guests arrive.

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Tittybangbang



For some reason this comedy sketch show has eluded me until now. Last night, as there was nothing on the box, I watched 4 episodes back-to-back. Some of the characters were grotesque, bizarre and frankly disturbing whilst being very funny but I was mostly disturbed by the naked-from-the-waist-down quilters! I think my quilting days might be over! Pin It

Friday, February 17, 2006

On the one hand I guess I must be grateful for the fact that I have a life and am never bored but on the other I find it so frustrating not to be able to find time to blog. Kids, house, partner and business take up every spare moment and I find it hard to get even half an hour a day to myself to listen to my Paul McKenna cd.

So, what have I been up to? What's new in fabricland? Well............. I was taken out on Valentines Day for lunch to a lovely restaurant in Westward Ho! The view was spectacular and it felt like we were on a cruise ship as the sea was just outside. I found the waves hypnotic to watch, they were endless and we could see all the way across to Saunton Sands.

I have a cleaner. This wonderful woman and saviour is coming to help clean on Tuesday before the arrival of the Joseph Clan. I am very excited about this and know that it will help me free up time to do what I really want to do.


It was cake day at school today. Alfie helped me make cakes yesterday and decorated them himself. I was very impressed by his efforts. A litle Jamie Oliver methinks? As you can see from his face, he mostly enjoyed licking out the bowl which, lets be honest, is the best part of cake making.



I have been reading The Magic Faraway Tree to him every night. It's one of Enid Blyton's that I think is good for both boys and girls and is just right for his age group. We have just finished Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator which followed on from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He adores his stories and I love reading to him. I remember my mum reading to me and I think to impart the love of reading is a special gift to children.

My Paul McKenna experiment is nothing short of a miracle. I do not pick or pig out in the evenings. I eat the meals I want (and I mean really want, no dieting) and then feel satisfied. This is unheard of for me. I am always hungry, always looking for the next little treat, then once I have had it think, 'no, that wasn't it, what can I have now?' Now I feel satisfied, full up and happy. Why? Can't explain it. All I know is that it is working as I wanted it to. I am eating like a 'normal' person. I'll keep you updated.

I went to a charity shop today and bought a book about Nick Cave, one of my favourite men, for £1.00. I also found a huge amount of gorgeous satins, silks, crepe de chines and chiffons, all vintage. I got them home and inspected them and some were rather moth damaged but there are a few gems in the collection. I also took delivery of a beautiful selection of 19th century fabrics along with some 20's and art deco fabrics. They are all completely yummy. I will try and list them before the half term starts in earnest so do keep a look out if they are the sort of fabrics that float your boat! I love handling them and feel honoured to be touching some very rare pieces of fabric. I usually only deal with 20th century pieces so the whole thing is a novelty to me at the moment. My fabric business is taking off and I am taking it up a notch now that Lizzy is a bit older. My older fabrics will attract a new type of customer. People who collect fabrics, historians, museums and artists will be interested. This is great because after 4 years of seling on ebay I was ready for a bit of a change. I may even have to get a website going to run alongside it which is what I was just about to do when I heard of Lizzy's surprise arrival!


Finally I would like to introduce you to two new bloggers on the block. Firstly the lovely grumpy old woman who many of you have shared comments with. She has finally come out of the shadows and started her own blog. Secondly the delectable and talented Devil makes work. Wendy has been a valued customer of mine for years. As well as being talented she is a very lovely lady. Check out her designs. Pin It

Monday, February 13, 2006

My word cloud



I love the way this has come out. All my favourites are in there :-) Pin It

Sexy name decoder



What does Yours mean? Pin It

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

My new relationship


I have started a relationship with this man who promises he can make me thin by allowing me to eat what I want when I want to eat it. I have read the book and downloaded his cd onto my ipod so I can listen to it every day. I believe him. Watch this space!

Just to add to the previous post and to correct those who think that I am thin! I have a huge muffin top which spreads over my waistband and I recently read an article that talked of carrot tops!! This is when you wear your skinny jeans. I looked in the mirror, instead of seeing two slim thighs I was confronted with 2 carrot tops eeeeeek!

I am trying this method of weight loss because since the birth of Alfie nearly 6 years ago I am either being very good (ie dieting) or being very bad (Scoffing) with nothing in between. I am so fed up of not eating like a normal person. Weight Watchers was great for getting me to target weight after having Lizzy but I need to maintain my weight which is what I find hard. I need to learn new habits which are more about eating positively rather than denying myself foods that I love. So.............to Mr McKenna, who teaches us to observe 4 golden rules:

1 Eat only when you are hungry.
2 Eat what you want to eat NOT what you think you should have.
3 Eat consciously, taste every mouthful.
4 Stop when you are full.

This is combined with a cd which you listen to every day to reinforce what you have read. I am a great believer in the power of the mind and that my bad eating habits can be 'unlearned'.

I am on day 3 and so far so good. Usually I spend most evenings picking, constantly in and out of the fridge and eating at least 2 chocolate bars a day. For the past 3 days there has been no desire to do this. I have eaten exactly what everyone else has, not diet food, and have left food on my plate. I want to get rid of the muffin top and definitely want to say adios to the carrot tops. Wish me luck :-)
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Car trouble

Well it's been over a week since I last blogged and what a week it has been.

I was feeling very fed up and down all last week for no particular reason that I could put my finger on. I was finding it hard to drag my bones out of bed each morning and had that 'what's the point' feeling. I used some of that negative energy to reorganise my life. I figured that if I felt like shit I might as well do the shitty jobs I never feel like doing when I am positive. I now have a fabulous fabric room and pristine pantry. I spent most of the week at home clearing out my junk (treasures actually but just too much of it) just leaving the house to buy groceries and to do the school run. On Friday I went to the Post Office to post my ebay parcels and then picked up my daughter from her school bus. Alfie was at a friends house for tea. On my way home I remarked to Jasmine that our lane was overly muddy and that they had been muckspreading all day. 'Looks like they have been muckspreading the lane' were my exact words. Seconds later as I turned a corner I saw a ford lorry coming towards me so I braked as there is not room for two vehicles and got ready to reverse. He was coming at some speed and I shouted 'Slow down you twat'. Jazz and I sat there dumbfounded as we realised that he was not going to stop. He ploughed straight into the front of my car with a terrific BANG. The baby screamed and screamed so I got her out of her car seat, shaking, to comfort her and check her over. The driver came to the door and said that he couldn't stop because of the mud on the road. The whole situation was unreal. I gave the baby to Jazz and looked at the damage to my Land Rover. It was quite considerable but remarkably there wasn't a scratch on his vehicle.

Jazz and I were so shaken by the whole experience. I went to bed that night, very early, with a huge headache. The next day I met up with mum and my friend Lisa in town and could barely string a sentence together. I felt like a zombie and close to tears. Mum loaned me her car for the weekend and as I drove home I cried huge silent tears as Alfie sat oblivious in the back thinking what a jolly jape this was to be in his granny's car.

So that's that. My car has been taken away to be assessed. I could bore you with tales of having to try and communicate with a remote Indian in India as I explain my situation to my insurance company whilst still being shaken up, of having no car for the weekend because the garage have already done too many hours this week so will come and get mine until Monday. It's no fun being stuck in the middle of nowhere with 3 kids and no transport. Luckily for me my mum loaned me her car for the duration. I now have a 'courtesy car', a 3 door Polo that only has one seat that comes forward and has such a small boot that the pram doesn't fit in. Grrrrrr all this makes me very fed up and I shall be changing my insurance company to an English call centre based company that will provide a decent courtesy car. Anyone know of one? Do they exist? Pin It