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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

What can go wrong next...

It seems tragedy is the theme for our week here. As I type my Uncle is being buried in Cyprus. I have arranged flowers, but sadly I was unable to get over there. I really wish I had been able to, mainly to support my Auntie who was wonderful after Mum died. So just as the service will be starting in Cyprus I got a phone call from David. His Mum had just rang and sadly his Nan has just passed away. She was due to be moved from Carshalton Hospital into a Nursing Home in Sunbury and sadly didn't make it there. She had been poorly for a few weeks, she was diagnosed with Alzheimers last year, but at 96 she certainly lived a long life. If I was superstitious I would be wondering what was coming next...but I am not even going to go down that route.

On a nicer note, Georgia has been going to gymnastics this week with Milton Keynes Springers. She was so excited on Monday night, she could hardly wait till the Tuesday morning. She is booked in for three days (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday). On her very first day she came away with two certificates and badges. She acheived the British Gymnastics Proficiency Awards for Level 7 and then Level 6. I think the road to Level 5 will take a little longer, but she seems keen and wants to continue to go on a Tuesday evening. So now we just need to sort out some swimming lessons....seems like most places have some kind of waiting list.

Ok, better get back to my work...I really need to finish it this evening.
Caz
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Monday, May 28, 2007

Her Space My Space

Well with all that has been going on here over the weekend, I forgot to load my picture from the Friday prompt. I really want to keep up with the prompts as I love some of the pictures everyone has created. So here is Spoon from Friday...

Caz
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Sunday, May 27, 2007

Just had shocking news from Cyprus...

I have just had one of those calls about family living overseas that you absolutely dread. One of my other Aunts called and hold me that at 3pm Cyprus time (1pm here), while on a short motorbike ride, my Uncle Ian was killed instantly in an accident. A Cypriot driver was doing a U-turn on a road and didn't see my Uncle. My Uncle told my Auntie Sheena that he was just popping out for a quick half hour ride...I doubt my Aunt will ever forget their final conversation. Today was their 40th Wedding Anniversary and they were due to be having a family meal this evening. I am still in total shock. I called my Auntie in Cyprus and gave her all our love and told her that we were thinking of her. She said that she really hoped that Judy (my darling Mum) was looking after him. She is in total shock and her and her youngest daughter Sam keeping wishing/thinking that he was going to hobble back through the door on crutches. I remember so well how, when in shock you are in complete denial and are unable to accept the things you are told. She told me that it is also a Bank Holiday in Cyprus and that the autopsy would be carried out on Tuesday with the funeral taking place as early as Wednesday/Thursday of this week. We all wish it was easy to be there for them all, but flights, accommodation, children...well life in general make it virtually impossible.

The realisation that life isn't fair sometimes, and takes those we love away from us without notice has hit home again tonight, and I sit here typing with a heavy heart and tears filling my eyes. Such a sad end to a lovely day. RIP Ian Andrew Byne for heaven has gained another Angel.
Caz
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ScrapaGoGo Charity Kit...

Lorraine and Janice of ScrapaGoGo have announced details of the Charity Kit in aid if Neurofibromatosis. A little known charity that is very close to the heart of Lorraine, for more info check out their website, http://www.nfauk.org/ Here is a picture of the kit..

Look at those lush Urban Lily Papers, the exclusive stamp, and also all the little bits and pieces that makes the ScrapaGoGo kits so special. At a price of £12 plus £2.50 P&P they are unbelievable value, and ALL the profits go to the Charity, so you get a lush yellow box full of lovlies and you help a worthwhile cause...it really doesn't get any better than that. So keep those eyes peeled on the ScrapaGoGo website, as I think Lorraine & Janice will release the kits early next week....As they say...Miss it or Miss Out.

I have been working hard on designs for the GoGo Create June Kit...so far I have done one DLO and 2 SLO's. I absolutely love this kit, and even went to buy myself some additional sheets of my favourite ones. The stamps is so lovely that I want to keep using it. I love the Heidi Swapp corner stamps, so to have a slightly smaller and GoGo exclusive version is heaven. Anway, enough of the teasing...you will all just have to be patient and wait until 16th June if you are a subscriber, or the 20th if you aren't...If you aren't you would be mad to miss out. As many of the subscribers say....a little piece of heaven in a yellow box delivered monthly to your door...what more could a scrap addict want...

Can't believe the weather, what is it about this country and Bank Holiday weekends....always wet and miserable. We have been to Asda food shopping this morning, and also to B&Q to check out the laminate flooring. We are doing the lounge floor in the next week or so, and I was checking prices and deciding what colour I was after. I like the look of a one that was rustic chestnut which actually looked like real floorboards. While I would prefer carpet, I have an accident prone daughter....known to friends as Georgia tippy uppy....whenever we go over to Lynseys, she always manages to spill/drop something on the floor...thank God Lynsey also has laminate flooring.

As soon as the F1 Monaco Grand Prix is over we are off to the local carvery for lunch...hopefully they will be quieter by then.
Caz
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Saturday, May 26, 2007

And theres more...

Well I spent most of the day cleaning and tidying the house. There is still more to do, so will probably carry on tomorrow. My Dad arrived at about 1.30 this afternoon, and came bearing a gift for me... This beautiful plant is called an Arum Lily. This plant is a cutting from a plant that grew in my Nannys garden when I was a little girl. My Mum took a cutting of the plant before my Nan moved house, and when Mum & Dad moved they took it with them and replanted it at the new house. Mum always promised to take me a cutting for my garden once we had a house with our own garden (we previously lived in a masionette), sadly Mum died before she got the chance, and it has been one of those things that we never got around to doing. Now I could have gone and brought a plant myself, but it would not have the same meaning for me. Well today my Dad gave me this huge plant that he has grown from one of the cuttings he took a couple of years ago. It may seem silly to some, but this is so important to me, it made me shed a few tears. These flowers were lain in the grounds of the crematorium when my Grandad dies, again when my Nan died, and more recently when my Mum died. Now that doesn't mean I think they represent death, they are just a beautiful flower that has grown in my families gardens for three generation now, and should we ever move house, will be the one plant I will absolutely have to take with me.

Ok, so now onto more from my day. While sitting in the lounge today a noticed a Damsel Fly had taken rest on my lounge wall. I took a couple of pictures indoors, but I was worried that it would get trapped, so I placed a cup over it on the wall, and slid a sheet of paper between the cup and the wall and took it outside. It kindly waited and posed for this picture for me, which I thought was very accomodating of it.

Enough for now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring...apart from rain that is.

Caz x

Come on everybody let's clean up the house...

Ok, so I am singing a "Bear in the Big Blue House" song....it seems to be stuck and keeps going around and around....LOL

David got back from Wales last night at 8.30pm, Georgia had managed to stay us so that she could see him...she really missed him...well that's what she told him, even thought she told me earlier in the day that she never missed him...She is learning young!

Today I am on a massive tidy up, as my Dad is coming to stay for the Bank Holiday Weekend, now my Dad is not that tidy, although he is not that messy either. But he spends most of his time at my Sisters house, and she almost always has a spotlessly clean house. So this morning I m calling it "Operation Clean Up". Now you would think that after leaving me alone to cope all week, that David would be here to lend a hand...well you would most certainly be wrong. He was out of the house by 7am this morning. I had just long enough to sit down and drink a cup of coffee with him. Hopefully he won't be gone too long, although I suspect just long enough to avoid having to help with Operation Clean Up...surprise surprise.

Today is also the day of the Wyverstone National Scrapbooking Day Crop with Shimelle. Now I had every intention of going until David announced he was working. Imagine my disappointment when I know there will be lush cupcakes there!!! Lorraine and Janice have said they will allocate one to me, and then take a picture before they eat it...lol. At least it won't end up on my hips....

Anyway, better stop with the distractions as I really do need to get on.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Men!!!!

Well David came home late from work last night and announced that he has to go away for a few days to Wales on an urgent job. So now not only is he working all the bank holiday weekend, plus half term, and the weekend after....he is also away until Friday night. With trying to deal with Georgia and work...this makes life hard. I know there are a great number of single parents, and I totally admire that they manage to do it all on their own. All I know is that with no family locally, I really struggle when David has to go away.

Anyway, moving on....I have left my diary nice and empty for the half term week, as I am only working on the Tuesday. I have just booked Georgia into a Gymnastics class....she is going from 10-12 on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. She really wants to do gymnastics, and I think this will be a great way for her to try it before committing to do it every week.

Today I am organising the final part of a surprise for a wonderful lady who has a birthday tomorrow and likes all things yellow and green!!!! I hope everything arrives on time, and would truly love to see the look on her face, and cannot wait for the email/call I will get. It really is better to give than to receive.

Anyway, I am supposed to be working....so better get back to it. I will post more pictures tonight...as soon as I finish processing them. I just signed up to Kirsty Wiseman's PopaDoodleDoo....her quick buttons to make your photos really pop in Photoshop and Elements....hopefully not much longer to wait.

Ok, I have decided to have a little giveaway....please leave me a comment telling me what your husband/partner has done to irritate you recently.....I will sort out a little bag of stash...when I get home I will collect it together and take a little picture. This giveaway will run all week, and I will choose my favourite and post over the weekend.

Caz
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Sunday, May 20, 2007

Time to Share...

Well it's now the 20th and I can share my ScrapaGoGo May layouts. The kit was so fresh and zingy, but I shuffled those papers around for a day or so. So here they both are...



David is calling, so I will be back later with more.

Caz




Saturday, May 19, 2007

Super Quickie Update...

We had a fab time at Georgia's party, and came home completely knackered...I was in bed by 10pm. Georgia received 18 wonderful presents, which should keep her entertained for weeks...all kinds of things from creative painting, badge & magnet making, hama beads, pens and pencils, bags, purses and my little pony.

We are off today to spend the day with our families down in Surrey, first a visit to David's Mum & Dad for a couple of hours, and then off to see mine as we have a Birthday pressie for Hannah who was 6 yesterday.

Here is a picture of Georgia with some of her friends. The lighting in Gambado's is always challenging as so much of it is painted, orange, red & yellow....these are fairly accurate...the kids all had pink faces from running around like mini hooligans.

Well that's it for now...time permitting I will be back later with more.
Caz

Friday, May 18, 2007

Birthday Cake & Presents...

There has been a Birthday in the Sears household this week. Georgia was 5 on Wednesday. She woke us up at 5.30am...she didn't even get up that early for Santa...lol
She was really pleased with the PS2 Dance Mat, Leapster game, Hama Beads and Pop Princess CD's we bought her. She also got another Leapster Game, Hama Beads, CD and a DVD from other family members. We had a tea of her choice that evening...Chicken Nuggets, Smiley Potato Faces and Mozarella Sticks, followed by Flake birthday cake.

Today we are preparing for her Birthday Party at Gambado's. This afternoon between the hours of 4.30 and 6.30.m, I will have 21 kids to look out for....thank goodness they give me a helper. David is also finishing at 2pm, so that he can also come to the party. Everything is prepared, we also collected a HUGE birthday cake from Costco, so we are all set.

I will be back tonight with pics of the party and also of the Canvases done at the class I did last Sunday.

Caz
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Sunday, May 13, 2007

FiFi ForgetMeNot Forgot.....

OK, so I promised some pictures last week from the Zoo, and I totally failed to deliver. Things have been busy here following the Bank Holiday Weekend. I feel like I have been playing catch up all week. I have now finalised Georgia's birthday party details, so we have that to look forward to on Friday. Georgia will be 5 on Wednesday, I still can't believe how quickly the time has flown, it only seems like yesterday when she was a baby in my arms.

Tonight we have been to a Dinner/Dance to celebrate the Accountant I work with's 60th Birthday. The food was pretty good, and I even tried Smoked Salmon again...and I still don't like it. I also had Venison again, which was actually better than I remembered, and an unusual Danish dessert, and for the life of me I cannot remember it's name. Then followed some Highland Dancing (his wife is Scottish). This was good fun.

Later today I am teaching a canvas class at the local crop here in Milton Keynes. I am a last minute substitute as Rachael is ill and cannot do it. So after being out all evening, I still need to pack, but think I will leave it to the morning....and I WILL pack light....I promise.

Anyway off to bed, need to get up early in the morning. I will leave you will a picture that was from last weekend...well Blogger is too slow...and I am too tired, so it will have to wait until after the crop .
Caz
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Friday, May 04, 2007

Slowly but surely...

Boy has this week rushed past in a blur. After the rigours of a weekend of Cyber Cropping it took me a few days to recover. I sadly had to work on the Monday, so no time to rest and recover.

This week I have been arranging Georgia's Birthday Party. We sent out approx 20 invites and I think we have only heard back from half of them. I am putting a note in all the childrens Book Bags at School, asking parents to let me know via text what their little angels would like to eat. Maybe this will remind some of them to actually let me know. I decided today that anyone who then doesn't let me know will be removed from the list, and I will not pay for their place. If they then turn up on the day I will pay for them then....I just don't want to pay for unused places.

Tomorrow we are off to Whipsnade Wild Animal Park with the family. It is to celebrate the birthday of David's nephew Sean who will be 3. There will be David's brother Graham and his wife Michelle plus Sean, also Pam & Tony (David's Mum & Dad) plus a couple of Michelle's friends children...and the three of us of course. Georgia is really looking forward to it. She has asked to borrow our old camera, so that she can take some pictures of us and the animals. Daddy told her that if she misbehaves she will be fed to the Lions...LOL, she told him that he would also be fed to the Lions if he was naughty too.

Think that is all for tonight, I will be back tomorrow with animal pictures...blogger permitting.
Nite
Caz
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