Gradually Going Green.....

...It has taken some time, especially when you consider the uniform I had to wear at school...Green everything, shirt, skirt, cardigan, socks and yep those horrible PE knickers...so approximately sixteen years later I can finally say I like green again...bought some gorgeous lime beads yesterday from here and have spent the afternoon turning them into these little delights...









On to working with turquoise next I think...although I must say the green is so fresh and lush and looks fabulous with the raspberry pink beads I also got.

Also managed to hang my new tea light holder this morning, bloody hell it weighs a ton, so hopefully it wont pull half the ceiling down if by any chance it falls down, isn`t it pretty though, can`t wait until later when I light a vanilla scented candle in there and it casts a candlelit glow over my desk...either that or it will fall down and set fire to my new papers!!!



Dum dum dum dum...school report day today too...for the girls anyway, Harry either genuinely hasn`t received it or he has "mislaid" it!!!

I am a proud Mum tonight, my girls have done really well this year, they have some outstanding comments written by both their class teachers and the headmaster too, one that sticks in my mind is the headteachers comment on Ella`s report:

"She is a reflective and thoughtful young lady with a great sense of humour, High schools gain-our loss!"

What a lovely thing to say, and I must admit I had a little lump in my throat when I read that because she is growing up, she is starting high school and she is not a little girl anymore...she had her first taster day at the High School today and had an absolute ball apparently...I even did the good mum thing and went to collect her at the end of the day, to see her beaming as she walked towards me was just a lovely feeling and she has been excitedly chatting about her day all evening, lovely to see such enthusiasm...just wondering if it will last!!!

Off now to play with my turquoise beads...bored with the green ones now!!!

Bad in Blakemere!!!

Oooh I have been a very bad girl today, had a fabulous day but I was a little bit naughty and spent far more than I should have done in the bead shop in Blakemere...I am blaming Geoff...completely and utterly...yes Riley you!!!

OOOH there were some beautiful beads in there and I bought a lot of them home with me, was like a child in a sweet shop lushing over the pick and mix of beads available singly, in tubes or strung...bead heaven...got some beautiful findings too and some much needed thong ;-)

I have it all laid out on my desk, on my new bead mat, ready to stroke and purr over later....look at my stash of goodies...



We also came across the most fragrant candle shop, which sold candles in every colour, size and shape...I have never seen so many candles altogether...treated myself to a beautiful hanging tea light holder which is still in the box but will be hung over my desk tomorrow if I can find my bloody hammer which has mysteriously disappeared!!!
Look at all those candles...



We met a few "little people" while we were shopping ;-)



And Geoff went completely potty...

Still the sun was shining, although we did encounter a bit of a "Draught"

How cool is that giant draughts board...I am getting one of them!!!

Now funnily enough I can`t just go on a shopping trip, managed to get chatting to quite a few of the shop owners, crafters are so friendly, and a couple of them asked for my details when they found out I teach, so day of shopping and networking too!!!

Off now to play with my new beads and work out how to spool knit!!!

One Day in Two days off...My kind of working week!!!

Today was my only full day in work this week and what a day, busy as hell but a really enjoyable day, as the academic year draws to a close a lot of my courses are either finished or finishing up in the next couple of weeks, although courses will be running throughout the summer starting the first week in August and it seems I have a pretty packed timetable again but I actually have a whole week off work the week after next although I have a feeling I am going to be de-cluttering and decorating, my poor little house needs some serious TLC...watch out charity shops of Warrington I do believe you are going to be inundated with all my crap!!!

So I have two whole days off work...although I have plans both days so can`t really get down to serious housework just yet which is unfortunate as I was so looking forward to dusting and scrubbing!!!

Tomorrow I am being taken here for the day by some of my students...really looking forward to that, apparently there is an amazing bead shop there...can see a small fortune being spent!!!

On Wednesday I have a very exciting meeting regarding a new business venture that I am really looking forward too, Thursday and Friday mornings I am off too but can see those being boring paperwork and housework sessions. To make up for having time off though I am working all day Saturday, running a craft demonstration here this will be the second time I have demonstrated here so I am looking forward to meeting up with everyone again, and I get to travel by Virgin train which has free wi fi you know...ipod will be in hand!!!

Off now to read...can`t remember the last time I read properly but started one of my books, I bought yesterday, last night and am already halfway through...yep it`s that good!!!

Shopping...On a Sunday!!!

Have been up since stupid o clock this morning, about 4am, couldn`t sleep because my mouth hurts, am getting slightly sick of it now, thought that once the tooth was out I would be suffering less but still keeping Neurofen in business, needless to say spent most of the afternoon in bed and am probably going to be up half the night now...!!!

So took advantage of the fact it was so quiet this morning...even the kids aren`t up at that time...thank the lord... and lay on the couch with coffee and magazines...pure bliss, then decided to complete the pink layout of Jack I was going to finish last night...



Then managed to make this little card too, water colouring at 6am in the morning is one of the loveliest things to do at that time...so relaxing and when it is a Tilda well that's just the icing on the cake...I love this colour combination, saw it in a magazine this morning and thought I would give it a go, papers are all good old K and Co...



So after all that crafting I took my sorry little self into town ...retail therapy was required...god on a Sunday that is an adventure in itself...okay so the shops are all open for so many hours, Sunday in the town centre seems as busy as a Saturday so why are there only three buses a day...and these buses go around the whole of Warrington before they actually reach town!!!

Had a lovely mooch in Borders, the smell in there is divine, Starbucks upstairs...mmmmmmm, then hit the Town Centre...got these out of The Works...along with 3 books for a fiver...bargain...got myself some summer reading now, not read for ages and really missed it, I love to loose myself in a book, I think its the ultimate form of relaxation, especially in a hot bubble bath accompanied with a nice glass of Pinot...so all these were £1 a pack!!!

My first utter bargain of the day though was this book...Oh My God...reduced from £20 to £1.99...and full of fabulous tips, tricks and tutorials and I spent an hour flicking through it this afternoon.

Then went "proper shopping" to us girls this means clothes shopping and managed to find the most beautiful pink top in Zara reduced from £40 to a tenner...bought a couple of other tops too, one being a little turquoise cardi out of the kids section of H&M...aged 11-12....fits perfect...not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing because Ella (aged 11-12) has already cast her beady eye over it...Kids!!!

Off now to chill with one of my books, and maybe that glass of wine too ;-)

In the Summertime...

...when the weather is nice!!!

Had a lovely day today with just my kids and my Mum and Dad, the sun shone and we went to the little garden party they hold every year at our local church...which is affiliated with the girls school and also has an Alcohol tombola and a homemade cake stall...heaven...didn`t win on the tombola and cant eat anything that requires any sort of chewing so just walked around socialising...catching up with people I have not seen for ages and trying not to swear in the vicars back garden!!!

Took the camera too, its becoming a regular accessory for me lately...Ella won a coconut on the coconut shy, that she very kindly donated to Grandad, saved me a job of cracking it with a hammer!!!



A close up of my Dad`s fuschia`s, that defy all laws of gravity and are the size of apples...and not small ones at that!!!



My Dad finally gets his hands on my camera...and takes a pretty good picture too...



And Harry who really is getting good at this photo taking malarkey captured this great shot of my Dad and I with my girlies!!!

Off now to complete a Pink layout of Jack!!!

And finally....

....Its gone...incinerated probably in some hi tech machine that dentists use...my tooth, the one causing me to have an abscess for over 6 weeks...pulled out today with a pair of pliers that looked remarkably like the ones I use for jewellery making...the loveliest feeling in the world was after I had the injections and my mouth went numb...and pain free!!!

The worst feeling in the world, taking three of my little darlings with me to the dentist and having them question me all the way home whilst I was trying to bite down on the gauze shoved into my mouth and half my face was numb...bless them...upon arriving home I pulled a sheet of paper out of the printer and wrote "shut up" on it!!!

So hopefully I will no longer suffer from toothache, the girls have both inspected the hole in my mouth, both of them utterly disgusted...muwahahaha...I spent 20 minutes eating a bowl of soup earlier and for some reason am craving toast....mmm crunchy burnt toast!!!

Something has happened to me too...something magical, I am not sure quite what is going on but I have all my lessons prepared and planned for next week and all my paperwork completed...shock...which means I have the whole weekend to chill out and enjoy!!!

Managed to complete this layout tonight, this is the one that has been "in progress" for a week on my desk...which shockingly is tidy!!!



Off now to celebrate being pain free...oh yes baby!!!

I got my new shoes on....

The pink ones...I wore them all day with the shocking pink cardigan I heard screaming my name when I walked past it in Primark yesterday....now although I like girly pink I never wear it but got so many comments today about how lovely it looked teamed with my bargain £3 shoes I will be hunting down more pink clothes I think!!!

Had a very busy day today, taught three classes, two jewellery and one scrapbooking, my students all finished their mini albums this morning with the help of the fabulous bind it all...although if it hadn`t been for Carole running me home to collect it they would have gone home unbound...god I can be crap sometimes and openly admit this, to make fun at yourself and accept your faults makes it easier for others to too...I have had to fill in yet more evaluation forms with my students today, paperwork is the downside of teaching but I am so amazed at some of the lovely comments my students continue to write about me, makes me think if they are really writing about me to be honest, I thought that I had been crap lately down to the toothache but obviously not affected my teaching too much...so for my lovely students a great big thank you and sending you a big Est Love Hug xxxx

I did an impromptu photo shoot a couple of weeks ago in one of my classes and got everyones permission today to publish these, so here are some of my very lovely ladies looking very lovely....

Just look how beautiful that baby is, now although I have four kids I am not the most maternal person in the world...I love my kids to bits but babies usually make me cringe...they get dirty, they smell, they don`t hush when you tell them to...I have been there and done all that and they seriously interfere with your sleeping pattern...but...and its a bloody big but for me...this is the most gorgeous baby in the whole world....so pleasant and placid...and so lovely in front of the camera too....

Off now to decide whether to finish the layout that has been "in progress" on my desk for almost a week or jump in the bath and relax with a glass of wine...hmmm decisions decisions!!!

Shopping for Shoes!!!

I have had the best day today, a day of work and a whole day in Manchester: shopping, chilling out and enjoying the sights and culture of my favourite city. Got the train first thing and didn`t get home until late this afternoon and I am really chilled and happy but bloody shattered...cooked tea then fell asleep on the couch!!! God I am turning into such a lightweight having to have "nanna naps" all the time!!!

Took the camera with me today but although it was warm...shock it wasn`t raining...it was very cloudy, got this great pic of the wheel though...was tempted to go up in it and take pictures from a great height but I get nauseous on escalators so I think I would have probably passed out at the top of that!!!



I love this building so much; Manchester Town Hall, I think it is one of my favourite, apart from Chester Cathedral...the architecture it boasts is incredible, and when you really take it all in it is so intricate and breathtaking, the building was completed in 1877 and it was designed by architect Alfred Waterhouse...it is often used as a "double" for the Palace of Westminster in television as filming is prohibited there...how cool is that!!!




So on a visit to Manchester it would be rude not to hit Primark...only spent £35 in there...which got me two new pairs of shoes and three tops, loads of jewellery, some fab sunglasses and a new handbag...and new socks for the girls as theirs look like they have been polishing the pavements with theirs!!! Then had a little mooch in H & M...god I love that shop and found another pair of shoes to give a loving and happy new home...look how pretty my new babies are...



Unfortunately all these fit Ella...she has been "wearing them in" for me this evening I thought it would be a little longer until I had to put my clothes and shoes under lock and key!!! Even she commented on the amount of shoes I now own...which is probably around the 2oo mark now...But a girl can never have too many pairs...Right!!!

Off now to stoke the lush new card I picked up in Fred Aldous...rearrange all my shoes in colour order...and soothe my poor little debit card!!!

Bead-draggled!!!

Have had the best day at work today, just spent most of it laughing...yep I get paid for that, a lot of my courses are finishing this week so I am filling out course evaluations with my students and I have been described as an eclectic and innovative tutor...how nice is that.

My toothache is easing a little today too, either the antibiotics are finally working...this will be the third dose, or I have pumped my body so full of Neurofen over the last week that I am becoming immune to pain, although saying that I was very hurt this afternoon when my darling little Harry told me I was middle aged!!!

This all came about from a conversation on the way home from school, the kids were arguing over who was going on the PC when they got home...Ella and Harry both declared they had homework and stupidly I responded by telling them that I went through X amount of years at school without ever using a computer to complete my homework...to which Harry piped up yeah mum but there were only three computers invented then and you are middle aged...Bloody Kids!!!

I have just spent the last two hours preparing for a class tomorrow...not sure how long it is going to take my students to complete this if it took me two hours but I will just ban the break...muwahahaha...although I did almost complete the first necklace and it snapped....bit like my language which was incredibly x-rated...luckily the kids were all outside!!! Anyway necklace number two turned out exactly as I had envisioned it and it looks a little something like this...was a nightmare to photograph though even with my brand new baby!!!




Off now to prepare class number two for tomorrow...god I am so disorganised...but at least have the day off on Wednesday to look forward to and I am off out to Manchester tomorrow night to watch the Selfish Lovers...oooh out on a school night whatever next!!!

Been one of those days....

...Oh Yes....I have had one of those days today where I managed to get everything done that I wanted to and more...doesn`t happen very often so I embrace it when it does!!!

Housework...done, Washing...done, Ironing all done...and all the beds changed which is a major job in my house...nearly put my back out twice doing the top bunks...Jesus they are really designed for tall people to change the sheets...not sure how much longer I am going to be able to scoot up a ladder to do this!!!

Shopping done...dear god how dull is it to do the weekly shop...walking round Asda with three kids following me saying Mum can we get this Mum can we get that, one of them needing "L" plates to push the trolley and a raging bloody toothache that no amount of Neurofen Express is gonna shift is not my ideal way to spend a Saturday afternoon but I did it...slowly and very painfully!!!

Before we hit Asda though I did treat myself to these little beauties, I could not resist...



Look at my little oriental doll, isn`t she pretty...



Came home and after putting all the shopping away thought to hell with it put on my brand new shorts and a little strappy top and sat in the garden to soak some rays...ten minutes later the bloody heavens opened...so obviously I don't need to find the after sun tonight!!!

So instead I decided to tidy up my studio...seeing as the craft fairies obviously are not going to make an appearance any time soon...

This is what my shelves looked like before I waved my magic wand....



and abracadabra....



How tidy does that look...even I am impressed!!!



This is the layout that was in progress last night...completed



I am off to bed now...can hear that line dried fresh quilt calling my name!!!

Sweet as a Nut!!!

Yep I am...finally...after yet another visit to the dentist, you know you have been there too often when you don`t even have to give your name to the receptionist, they just tell you to take a seat...take a seat I wanted to whack my bloody tooth with it but had to keep a brave face on because the kids were with me...and Mum is "Well Hard"

So had to endure another teeth prodding session...ouch and the dentist has finally...I am talking four bloody visits later...decided to "whip it out" So next Friday I shall be one tooth less and the bloody tooth fairy better be on her way!!! I have magic pills too...feeling rather floaty tonight, painkillers were upped and have another dose of antibiotics but for the first time in about four days the pain is bearable, it was so unbearable this afternoon I had to cancel a class and come home to curl up into a little ball!!!

Completed this layout tonight of Mia and I, picture was taken a couple of weeks ago and I have another page in progress on my desk...which yes looks like a bad jumble sale on a Saturday afternoon!!! I wonder if the tooth fairy will bring the clean up fairy with her next week!!!



Off now to finish my layout and celebrate the fact that Sir Alexander Fleming liked to play around with mould and ibuprofen can be taken with co-codamol...god I am going to rattle at this rate!!!

Scouseland and Sports Day Sunshine!!!

I am really starting to appreciate my midweek days off, especially when the sun shines as beautifully as it did today, and when the girls had their Sports Day and I didn`t have to feel guilty about not going because I was working.

Jack and I dropped the girls off at school bright and early and headed into Liverpool on the train...Oh my God the thought had not even crossed my mind that I would have to pay adult fare for Jack...boo hooo...he even got asked his age by the ticket man...(Est sobs)...does he really look 16...yes Est stop kidding yourself he really does!!!



So after a breakfast McMuffin...not had one of those for years...and McDonalds never looked this cool when I was a kid...



...we hit Primark...think this may now be Jacks favourite shop...well definitely when Mum is buying anyway!!! Got him well and truly kitted out for his summer hols all for under £40...oh and of course I had to get a few new things too...obviously!!!

Took the camera with us but didn't really have the opportunity to take many pictures because we only had a couple of hours as we had to be back for the Girls Sports day.





Oh but I did treat us to a Milkshake from the MooShack...Jesus they have about 15 billion flavours of Milkshake, Jack opted for a Jelly Tots flavour...hmmm I know...and yes the pink glasses are his!!!



Mine was strawberry and considering the size of the strawberries that went in it I consumed at least 3 portions of my five a day...we will ignore the 6 scoops of ice-cream that accompanied them though!!!



We ended up having to run for the train because I spotted the Chilli Pepper shop and "Had" to have a dress I saw but obviously had to try it on first...luckily it fit!!!

Sports day then was not rained off as it has been in previous years...in fact we sat in blistering heat for two hours cheering the teams on, I think sometimes the parents can be more competitive than the kids, I certainly am anyway, and on the way in we had to sign to say if we were taking photos and other children appeared on them then we wouldn`t post them on the Internet...understandable in this day and age but of the 140 photos that I took I don`t have one single picture of Ella winning her races where there isn`t another child in the shot...can see some serious photo editing taking place...

Did get these rather cool shots of Mia though...





...and Jack managed to take this picture of me in my new dress...after me telling him that the lens cover needed removing from the camera!!!



So a great day off...and sunshine too...and yep I am burnt but look what was waiting for me when I got home...lots of lovely stash...



Off now to stroke my gorgeous new papers, take yet more neurofen for my toothache and hunt for the after sun...again!!!

Feeling Fortuitous...

I am in a crazy "sort out and tidy everything up" mood this week...did the front garden and the shed yesterday evening and moved onto my jewellery and my kitchen drawer today...I have one of those kitchen drawers that I shove everything into and when the front fell off it this morning I knew it was time to empty it and sort through all the crap in there...and I am glad I did!!!

Nestling at the bottom was my beloved Samsung Tocca...which I ruined last year by drowning it in Malibu and coke...sent it away to be repaired and came back in a little jiffy envelope with the cause of death...alcoholic poisoning!!! So was going to finally throw it away but thought I would check it one last time and plugged in the charger...to my amazement the little battery charging symbol appeared...managed to turn it on, inserted the sim and my little baby works again...it still has all my photos, music and videos and texts on it and everything works...I am still in shock but a happy shock!!!

So back to the jewellery...which this morning looked like this...



and now looks like this...



I have five of these boxes, courtesy of the pound shop, full with my arm candy and bling, I can see everything, nothing is tangled and I just know that my Mum is going to be so proud of me ;-)...if only the rest of my house was this organised...no more untangling bracelets in the morning and hunting for the perfect ring to match my outfit...god I am a geek, but it probably means I can have an extra ten minutes in bed every day!!!

Had my gorgeous Tilda and Edwin stamps out last night and all those paper scraps again...I am trying to make up for the fact that I spent over £30 on new papers last week...which haven`t arrived yet luckily...and I created these two cards...





And I have just completed this layout using yet more scraps...this is not going to last you know, using all my offcuts, as soon as I get that parcel from craft obsessions I am going to be drooling over my new papers and cutting into them like a crazy masochist!!!



These arrived today...well my neighbour very kindly looked after them for me until I got home from work...My two new 12x12 albums in Hot Pink and Espresso...they were only £6.75 each and you can buy similar here



Also had a play with the camera in the garden tonight and love this shot of my fuschia`s from one of my hanging baskets.

So I have had a terrific Tuesday, very eventful, great lessons but suffered with my toothache today...have been having crazy Tom Hanks style Castaway thoughts of knocking it out with an Ice skate but am just going to take another Neurofen and hope the pain eventually goes away...off now to play with my Touchscreen Tocca...yep I know I am sad!!!

Hot hot hot!!!

The weather that is, oh my god how lovely would it be to sit in the sunshine all day doing nothing instead of working...its very hard to teach embroidery and jewellery making when you are all hot and sweaty and the rooms you are in have no air conditioning...oooh now that would be lovely.

This morning wasn`t too bad, nice relaxing embroidery class and we were sat in a rather cool room with a lovely breeze flowing through, we made these cards, I had forgotten how much I enjoy prick and stitch cards, and none of my students had done them before so its always lovely to teach a new technique...



However my poor students this afternoon were melting in the heat and Est had designed a rather intricate bracelet with seed beads and beading nylon...muwahahaha.

Taught Mia last night how to make Eton Mess and a fine job she did too, must say I was a bit dubious about her using the kitchen knives but with close supervision she excelled...think I have a little Delia there...

Off now to wash my hands in cold water...yet again...its the best way to cool your body temperature down quickly...well it beats sitting in a bath of ice anyway!!!

Wonderful Walking Day Weekend!!!

Not quite 13 miles but yesterday was Padgate Walking day...a traditional parade that takes place every year, and a bloody good excuse to have a really good play with my new camera too, the girls were walking with their school and as Ella is in her final year this was her last walking day...and she did it in style looking so grown up next to Mia.





The streets of Padgate were alive with music and the atmosphere was electric;





After the walk we all went to the fair...luckily no goldfish were won this year but yes I was completely ripped on all the rides but had an absolute scream...literally, on the twister I really thought me and the kids were going to die...its been a while since I have been on a scary fairground ride...last time I think was when I was about 18 and I remember being on a ride with Jacks Dad and my Brother and they were both screaming for their Mummy's!!!



I have injuries too...the kids were leaning that hard against me in the ride that I have horrendous purple bruising on my shoulder...oh the pain!!!

Being in the dodgems reminds me why I don`t drive...laughing too hard to actually steer them and I think Harry crashed into Ella and I far more than we crashed into him!!!



Now that's my kind of car...does all the steering and gear changing for you and not a bloody clutch in sight...and it comes in pink!!!



I love this shot of Mia mid air, I tried so hard to capture shots like this on my compact but when my new baby SLR takes three photos a second I was bound to get one like this...only had to take twenty to achieve it ;-)



I can`t believe she is screaming on an inflatable slide!!!



Close up of me in the sunshine...outside the pub, taken by Phil...My best friends fella and also my favourite of the "Selfish Lovers"



And here I am with my favourite selfish lover...outside the pub!!!



So we ended up in a local pub when we left the fair, the kids were in their element...bouncy castle, swings and pool...mum was in her element too...my friends were there and they did not run out off wine!!! Got home really late as it was such a lovely evening, apart from a flash downpour which left the bouncy castle a little slippery and everyone running inside with their hands over their drinks!!!

Off now to trawl through the 290 photographs I took yesterday and try to decide which ones I want to scrapbook!!!