A Social Life

An early post today 'cause I'm off out tonight - Wohoo

It was Lisa's birthday on Wednesday (cough26cough) so we're off to her house for a girly night in with far too much wine and takeaway, will have to put the diet on hold for the evening . I'm staying over too so I can have a drink without having to worry about driving, and I can have an uninterrupted nights sleep too. I'm leaving Adam at home to look after the boys.
Adam was away last night, he had a reunion drink with people he worked with at Binder Hamlyn. They do it every year and he drives down to stay in a hotel in Croydon for the night. I think they drink in a pub in central London but I wouldn't swear to it. He took Friday off work, we had a lay in then he left here at about 11. Apparently the traffic was bad in places so he didn't get there 'til about 20 past 4. Still plenty of time to relax, have a bath and eat before it's time to go out though.

He's actually just this minute pulled onto the drive after setting off at about 10 this morning. Theo is standing on the sofa watching him through the window saying 'Hi Daddy, Hi Daddy I missed you' aww. It's a pity Adam can't hear him because he is unlikely to say it directly to him for some reason.

Another List day I think

List what you do to be at peace with yourself, despite the news of the day

I don't watch the news
Watch my children sleep

Short and sweet today

List prompts courtesy of 'More List Yourself' by Ilene Segalove and Paul Bob Velick (p20)

Jabs!!

Louis had his first set of immunisations today. Ouch.

I took Adam with me so he could be the one who had to hold him still while the nasty lady stuck a needle in him. As it turned out, it was two nasty ladies poised with needles at the ready then a count of 1, 2, 3 and jab! A needle in each leg. Louis objected loudly and Theo looked very worried until the crying stopped, which was only about 30 seconds later, if that.

List the things you keep in the house in case of an emergency

I said back in October that I'd do this so here goes:-

List the things you keep in the house in case of an emergency

Fire extinguisher in the kitchen (if you'd tasted my cooking you'd understand )
First Aid Kit
Telephone Numbers
Torch
Candles
Mum's door keys
Chocolate
Ice-Cream

List prompts courtesy of 'More List Yourself' by Ilene Segalove and Paul Bob Velick (p10)

Car Jacking

After I picked Theo up from nursery today I took him to Peel Park for a play.
He was very funny 'cause I didn't tell him where we were going so he spent the entire drive (about 20 mins 'cause I drove round and round looking for a car park (there isn't one)) asking where we were going.

When we got there we threw waterbird food to the ducks then went on for a walk to the play area. I have to admit the playthings weren't exactly suited to a 2 year old, there was a baby swing and a few wooden seat things on springs but the slide was very large and involved some complicated climbing to get to the top, no straightforward steps.
Anyway, while we were playing a young boy and his dad came in with Lightening McQueen (above). The boy left the car and went to play and Theo made a beeline for the car. I was in the process of stopping him but the man said he was fine to play so I let him climb in and I took a couple of photos. He figured out how to make it go and drove it into the climbing frame No damage though, phew

Have You Ever...?

Nothing exciting to report today so I thought I'd 'borrow' this from Anthea's blog

I tried to put entries in Green to show which ones I’ve done but everything ended up green with some bold so I’ve split the list instead. The first list is the ones I've done, the second list is the ones I’ve yet to do.

I’ve done…

5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
8. Said “I love you’ and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
49. Midnight walk on the beach
51. Visited Ireland
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
72. Gotten married
77. Made cookies from scratch
80. Gotten a tattoo
84. Performed on stage
87. Eaten shark
90. Bought a house
92. Buried one/both of your parents
96. Raised children (or…raising children)
100. Picked up and moved to another city to start over
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
114. Gone on an African photo safari
118. Ridden a horse
130. Gone back to school
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
146. Dyed your hair

I’ve yet to…

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18. Touched an iceberg
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
29. Asked out a stranger
32. Held a lamb
35. Hit a home run
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
40. Visited all 50 states
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
50. Gone sky diving
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
91. Been in a combat zone
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes ... yum!
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
145. Had a booth at a street fair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Yeadon Tarn

The weather was lovely today so we decided a walk out was in order. As we had half a loaf of stale bread taking up space in the fridge we tought we'd go feed the ducks so of we went toYeadon Tarn with a spare change of clothes and a pair of wellies for Theo.

I'm a bit paranoid about feeding bread to birds, not sure if it's something they're supposed to eat (a bit like feeding bread and milk to hedgehogs, it kills 'em ) so last time I was at the pet shop getting food for Nigel, I bought a bag of waterbird food. So as well as the bread we took proper bird food too.

We started at the kiddies park and let Theo have a play on the swings and slides etc then when he'd finished we went for a walk around the Tarn. I think we must have got there a little bit late in the day for feeding the ducks because they didn't seem overly interested in the bread we gave them. They were happier to eat the feed we brought but not exactly enthusiastic. Normally you've to practically fight 'em off.

I must say, this visit was much more successful than last time. Last time we walked around the Tarn first then we went to play in the park. We had a battle and a half with Theo trying to get him out of the park when it was time to go home. This time, having something fun to do, like feeding the ducks, made leaving the park much less painful

A couple more photos to follow.

Northen Papercrafts Extravaganza

I went into Harrogate with friends today to buy and stroke pretty paper. I spent far too much considering I only wanted a little cardstock (which cost me £8).

I took Adams car and used the sat nav to get me to the Yorkshire Showground. It took me to a cul-de-sac round the back of the showground!!

Had a great time though, sharpened my elbows before we set off so I actually managed to get into some of the 'booths' and buy some patterned papers and fastenator staples. We met up with friends for coffee at 11, a group of us from the Leeds Crop (that's glueing and sticking for those of you who don't know, scrapbooking for those of you who do). We'd been chatting about the event on the UKScrappers forums and agreed to wear a penguin so that we could identify each other at the event. I didn't see any penguins belonging to people I didn't already know though.

Kirsty tried to buy some cutters from one stall but they wouldn't let her Apparently they were on special offer and the price was on a leaflet they had but they couldn't find it so wouldn't sell it to her.

After the show we went to the Kestral for a pub lunch, 9 of us from the Leeds crop, well 8 of us from the crop plus 1 other half . The food was gorgeous and the company very entertaining, could have stayed there all afternoon but I think we were being a tad loud, lots of laughter.

Really looking forward to the next crop

Trollies, Dollies and Buddies

I have found some jewellery that I like / want. I actually asked Adam for some which is very unusual for me, I don't ask for jewellery.

I don't buy jewellery for myself either, I think it should be bought for you for a reason, something that gives the jewellery a sentimental as well as monetary value.

Trollbeads and their friends Buddies and Dollies are beads. The idea behind them is kind of like a charm bracelet but instead of dangly charms, the bracelet has beads (which I prefer 'cause I don't like dangly bracelets). You buy a plain bracelet (or necklace) and add beads individually. I really love this idea 'cause each bead can have a meaning and the whole bracelet kind of tells a story (depending on why you bought your beads of course) so here goes.

- The bracelet was bought with birthday money from my big sis

- The first bead is for Adam - a Trollbead, Green Lilac Armadillo. Green and lilac 'cause that will go with the bead I have planned for Theo and armadillo because Adam has a thing about armadillo's, somthing to do with the book 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' by John Irving

- My second bead is for Louis - a Dolly from A String of Beads called Baby's Blanket.

I've got 2 beads on order from Manda at Mango Beads, 1 each for Theo and my dad. Theo's is going to be Buzz Lightyear inspired (green, grey and purple I think) and Dad's is Glenfiddich inspired (green, gold and black) I'll add pictures when they arrive.

These are the only beads I intend to buy for myself, the rest I'll let others buy for me which will give them the sentimental value I want. (and at between £14 and £20 per bead, very affordable gifts if I do say so myself )

Trollbeads are Danish in origin (I think) and there entire collection of available beads (together with a list of UK suppliers) is on the Fable Trading website. Buddies (Mango Beads) and Dollies (A String of Beads) are one off beads made here in the UK and tend to be sold out within 20 minutes / half an hour of going up for sale so you have to be really quick to get on of those .

Right off to add new links to bead pages now

BSL Exam Day

I had my British Sign Language Level 2 Part 2 exam today. This consisted of telling a story for 4 minutes on one of 3 topics. You get 10 minutes to prepare your story and then the actual exam is signing at a video camera, the tape from which is then sent off for marking.

Well I was so nervous I can't even remeber how far into my story I got (you get stopped after 4 minutes) and whether I managed to get the required bits into the beginning or not. I know I managed the fingerspelling cause I fluffed it and had to do the same word about 3 times before I got it right

Just got to wait 6 - 8 weeks for the results now, in the meantime start working towards the part 3 exam which is June or July some time.