End of the month today.

Which means tomorrow is the beginning of Shimelle's Learn Something New Every Day course :):):)

how excited am I?! I've never done a course like this before and am really looking forward to it. I've ordered all my supplies, but none have arrived yet. Hopefully they'll be here tomorrow though.

Camping.....

was excellent :) there were 9 of us plus the dog, so that's Grandma, Grandad, Uncle Paul, Aunty Clare, Jim (DH), me, Lucy, Izzy, Zoe and Treacle!



We went to Top End Farm (just north of Bedford) for the Bank Holiday weekend. We'd not been to that site before, but as it's near us (45mins away) and cheap, we thought we'd give it a go! Apart from the rather basic toilets, it was superb - great playground for the girls and plenty of space. The weather could have been a bit better - it was showery all weekend, but that did give us the chance to thoroughly test our new tent - the huge summer house day room (in pic above) which we used as mess tent. It was great to have a waterproof space big enough for all of us to sit and eat.

Jim finally got to play with his kite (it's been sitting in the boot for the car for months!)



and he also had a very silly half hour cycling on Lucy's bike with Zoe on the handlebars!



I'm giving up on the daily blog prompts for now - too much other stuff to write and not enough time.

Catch up time!

well it started so well, but then I lost the plot - oops. I last blogged on Tuesday, since then things got a bit hectic and I didn't find the time.

Wednesday last week I spent the day shopping in Milton Keynes with the girls, getting amongst other things..... slippers for I, wellies for Z, trainers for L & I, school uniform for L & I (trousers x3, skirt, pe kit, polo shirts x loads!), Operation (the game!) for I, new top, bra, necklace and bracelet for me (wedding coming up), some folders to make scrapbooks for L & I, a new hair band for L and a copy of The Beano. Phew!

Wednesday blog prompt was.....

When you were a child, what did you want to be/do when you 'grew up'? Why? Did it happen? If not, why not? Is it too late? Were there other unfulfilled goals?

I can't honestly remember what I wanted to be when I grew up. I don't think there was one dream job or goal that I had for my future. I don't really feel grown up now though, so it's not too late should I remember what it was I always wanted to be!

On Thursday I spent most of the day cleaning and tidying then packing as we went camping this weekend :) Thursday was a very dull but productive day then!

Thursday's blog prompt was...

What were some traditions from your childhood? What traditions do you hold fast to now (new or old)? Are there any traditions would you like to maintain but don’t? If you have children or plan to have children, are there traditions you would like to pass on to them?

Well that's a hard one. When I think about my childhood and traditions (ignoring Christmas ones as it's August and I'm ignoring Christmas right now!) I just go blank. I can't think of any real traditions :( I do wish I had closer links with my family though - I wish I'd maintained contact with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins on both my Mum and Dad's side of the family.

Jim's family are much closer than mine and we see them much more often. I hope my children stay close to their cousins as they get older.

On Friday we packed and went off camping - more on our trip tomorrow :)

Busy day today :)

Grandma and Grandad took the girls and me to Mead Open Farm for the day. We've all had an excellent time and I'm now exhausted! have some really good photos, my faves below ....

Zoe feeding the goats....



Lucy bottle feeding a lamb....


and just so she's not completely left out - Izzy running away from the camera in the maize maze (she's in a real anti-camera phase at the moment - I only get silly faces or the back of her head!)



Just quickly before I finish, Tuesday's blog prompt.....

Which scrapbooking technique(s) have you seen and liked, but not tried yet? Why did you like it?
I've never seen an alcohol ink, let alone tried one, but some of the work I've seen using them has been fantastic.

What scrapbooking technique(s) have you recently tried for the first time? Did you like it and did it work for you?
It's not really a technique, but I've been trying to complete more challenges posted on UKS. I've started the Ali Edwards ones and have been looking at the Speshal challenges too. I'm starting to vary what I'm scrapping a bit more which is fun :)



that's it for now :)

It's Monday morning and I'm feeling the lurve coming from downstairs!

translation : big girls are trying to kill each other and I'm hiding till they stop!

what better time to think about today's blog prompt?!

Look up the meaning of your name: Does it fit? Did you want to change it when you were growing up? Do you like it now? If not, what name would you like to have? What is your nickname? How do you feel about it?

Rebecca - apparently means captivating, to bind or tie, or knotted cord

not sure if that means I should be heavily into bondage or whether I should go out and practice my knots!

I don't really use my full name. Whenever I hear it said it sounds like the person speaking is referring to someone else, someone grown up. That can't be me?! When I was growing up I liked my name, but wanted a 'better' middle name! Jane seemed very dull - so many other girls in my class were also something Jane. I wanted to be Rebecca Louise. Funny really as I've now got a niece who was given that name before I was really part of her family.

As for nicknames, mostly I'm called 'Becky' or 'Mummy'. 'Becky' I think suits me , I like it and feel comfortable with it. I'm still working on 'Mummy' - some days it feels good, other times I'd rather be called 'Fred'.

The screams have stopped now - I think it's safe to go downstairs ;)

wooo hooo! found the camera lead so will attempt to upload some LOs....




This was my attempt at the August week 1 challenge at UKS, it had to be Beatles themed (they appeared on Ready Steady Go several times), use black, white and yellow and have 5 or more embellishments (ribbon, ric rac, prima flowers, brads, bottle top). I missed out on 5pts as I had no doodling, but I'm happy with how it ended up :)



Second, this is my LO for the August week 2 challenge. It's a scraplift (that mean copy!) of a LO done by K3 (see Sweet Summer Treat ). The picture shows Zoe in the sea on holiday last month :) The challenge was to use a beach theme, have a number plate title and to have a minibook with hidden journalling (that's the pink thing on the bottom right!). I didn't use any gold, so didn't get full points, but just love how it turned out :)



Finally this is my attempt at the first of the Annie Hafermann / Ali Edwards challenges. I had to use squares of patterned paper scraps and three pictures. The pictures are of Lucy, Izzy and Zoe taken on holiday last month. I really love this one too! :)

Today I have been scrapping :) I've finished one layout and nearly done another. The camera lead is still AWOL though, so can't show you yet.

In between scrapping I've been humming a lot - I blame Sting....

I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle.......

off to hunt for the lead again!

night xx

Friday's blog prompt....

If you could go back to about the age of 14, when you're just entering your teenage years, what 3-5 pieces of advice would you give yourself?

I guess my only real advice to myself would be to relax a bit more and have more confidence in myself.

I was very shy at 14, not very happy at school and low self-confidence. It was a horrible age to be, in an all girls school that was very bitchy at times. Life got a lot better when I moved schools to do my A levels, but at 14 I didn't yet know that would happen.

As a third piece of advice - blue and green eyeliner is *not* a good look ;)

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Woo hoo!

thanks to the excellent help and instructions from Natalie and Clare at UKScrappers I've not got my own slide show over there ------> and graphic bannery thing up at the top! how happy am I? :D

now all I need to do is add my reply to today's blog prompt (from JaneH's thread on UKS) and I can go to bed! the prompt is...

Who are the people you've met that you gained the most from?

having deleted the frsit two attempts to answer this question (editted due to far too much gushyness!) I'll say briefly....

1. Jim - my hero husband

2. My three beautiful girls - who've make me laugh
every day

3. The friends I've made online, one various sites, but especially UKS - I'm constantly amazed at the amount of support and inspiration that is
given by people who haven't met in real life!

that's all for now :)

blog blog blog blog

I just deleted all my previous posts. Well the most 'recent' one was from last December! if I tried to update you all on what we've done since then I'd probably bore you all to death!

I will try harder at this blogging thing :)