You never know who might be reading your blog....

I never told any of my family about my Blog. I never thought anyone would be interested, and to save them taking the P*** I kept quiet. So can you imagine my surprise when I get a text from Cyprus and my Auntie knows I have a website, because my cousin Louisa told her...and so did my Sister. It seems it was found on a Google search.....or so I am told. So to all my family now reading...hello, and yes I know I am up late, and I promise to go to bed shortly.

So here is a family picture to share with my family in Cyprus. On Saturday afternoon Georgia decided that after we had washed our hair, she wanted to put it up in a towel like Mummy.

The next couple were taken on Wednesday last week, when Georgia was spending the day with her Grandad while David & I went to Nan's funeral. Dad took Georgia to the school with him to collect Hannah and James and then the three of them played...just look at those cheeky faces, and have you seen the state of Georgia's hair...don't think she let Grandad brush it...do you?

Love to all the family near and far that are reading....feel free to come back and get an update whenever you like.

My Week in Summary...

So it is almost a week since my last update, so here is the short version of events...

Tuesday - No Clients, spent the day scrapping and getting ready to travel to Surrey in the evening. Took Georgia to Gymnastics, had dinner and then drove down to Surrey.

Wednesday - Davids Nan's funeral in the morning, followed by lunch with the family in Runnymede. Spent Pam's (MIL) money on a Quickutz Revolution and some dies. Went to Dinner with my family in Weybridge, then travelled home in the evening.

Thursday - Had to squeeze in visits to two clients, but not much else.

Friday - One client visit, followed by picnic lunch @ Georgia's school. We were taking part in "Read for 15 minutes on the 15th", then back to clients only go back to school for 2.40pm to listen to story time...in a darkened school hall by candlelight, I could easily have fallen asleep.

Saturday - David has to go to work at 12, leaving Georgia and I watching Craft Day on QVC. Without supervision I ordered too much, including the TSV HOTP Card Kit with the Auto Delivery in 90 days, DCWV Mini Self Adhesive Stacks, DCWV Far East Kit, DCWV 110 Cards Kit, and the final item was the K&Co Maison 2 Mini Books Kit. While watching I made up the cards, gift cards and tags from the Lisa Bearnson Kit that was on QVC back in May. So David was supposed to be home at 6.45pm, and we were going to a party at one of my Clients, who are moving to Ireland as soon as the school holidays start. Well David had to stay longer than anticipated and finally rocked home at 11.30pm....just a little late.

Sunday - Woken up this morning at 5.40am by Georgia...and David was missing from the bed. So called downstairs and no answer, checked out of the window and his car was gone. So a quick call to his mobile found him back at work, where he stayed until 11am this morning. Once home we spent the day doing odd jobs around the house and garden.

So as you can see much of the weekend has been just Georgia and I trying to entertain ourselves, with me trying to keep Georgia's grubby little mitts off my lovely stash. Lets hope next week is a little calmer.
Caz
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New Fancy Pants...

No I am not talking about underwear (although I did get some in Asda this week). I am talking ScrapaGoGo July GoGo Create Kit....which contains the lush Fancy Pants Designs Floral Chic Papers. Now I have to admit to being a Fancy Pants Virgin having never used any of their papers before. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I am was always afraid to cut them up....Well all I can say is I lost my Fancy Pants Cherry... Last night I completed a small project using them from the kit, and tonight I have done my first LO using them...sadly I cannot share it with you until 20th July...gosh that seems such a long time, but I am sure like the rest of the year so far...it will rush by. I mean we are edging closer to the middle of June already and the School Summer Holidays are looming...but don't get me started on that.

Anyway tomorrow I am home. I didn't book a client as we are going down to Surrey tomorrow evening for the funeral, so I wanted to get all our stuff ready. Hopefully I will be able to have a
little time for some scrapping....you never know!

We had confirmation back from the school today, they have confirmed that Georgia has authorised absence for school on Wednesday. While reading the note, I noticed that Georgia has a 99.4% attendance. If only all the children in the school had such a good record.

Anyway, better get off to bed, or I will end up oversleeping and making Georgia late for school.

It's Here, It's Here...

Finally my parcel from www.amillionlittlethings.com has arrived containing all my "Love Elsie" stash. The lovely Parcelforce man delivered it at approx 8am. Georgia and I had great fun looking through the items and taking a picture of all my lovely goodies...so much so that we were almost late for school...oopps...naughty Mummy.

So after waiting 16 days2 days....here is a picture.

The chipboard album are sooo much bigger than I though. Everything looks so cute, although the products are slightly more muted in colour than the pictures shown on all the websites. That being said they are still lovely. I know many people are disappointed with the thickness of the paper, as it is not as thick as other KI Memories Products, but I always use cardstock as a base so doesn't bother me. In fact the lighter weight makes pages and mini books less bulky. The packets of chipboard buttons are small, but the buttons are a lovely size...not too big. I now cannot wait to get home and have a play...

Caz

I HATE waiting...

I really am not patient when it comes to waiting for stash to arrive. I ordered loads, and I really do mean loads, of the new Love Elsie range from the US on 25th May, and it was posted on the 26th via Global Priority....and I am still waiting. It is almost two weeks...how much longer will it be I wonder...I am not sure how long I can hold out...LOL

This week so far is continuing in what is becoming the norm.....chaotic. I am hopeful that the chaos will end soon. Georgia started Gymnastics with MKSpringers on Tuesday and is continuing to enjoy it. She can now do a forward roll, and pull herself up afterwards. She was even doing hand stands wth help from one of the Coaches. She is working on the vault, but needs to remember not so stop when she gets to the springboard. She is trying so hard, that I am sure that it will click very soon...and then there will be no stopping her.

With the flooring almost done in the lounge (just the trim and door strips to be done), I am looking around trying to decide on the next project...which will be the Bathroom. Our bathroom is incredibly small. It is only the length of the bath and the width is the bath, toilet and basin with small gaps between. With this in mind we have decided to ditch the bath and have a shower enclosure instead. Thankfully one of my Clients is a Bathroom Showroom, so I get extra special rates....and they can get one of their best plumbers to do the work. So now I just have to decide and price up what I want/what can fit....ohhhh decisions, decisions.

Well, I am knackered and have already dozed off on the sofa this evening..so bed for me I think.
Caz
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Phew...What a Day!

Well I know Sunday is traditionally a day of rest....but not in this house on this Sunday. All week I have been talking about getting a wooden floor laid in the lounge, and yesterday David, Georgia and I went shopping. We had intended to buy laminate flooring, but found some real wood flooring on a final clearance in Homebase...so we just had to snap it up. It cost more than we had originally budgeted, but then that was laminate and this is real wood. The room is almost finished, I would say approx 3/4 done, and David is working for a few hours tonight so will be off tomorrow and able to finish it. While laying the new floor we decided to have a move around of furniture... so we will stick with the new layout for a few days and see if we like it.

So while David was busy Georgia and I dropped into the MK Sunday Crop and spent a few pennies in the shop as did Georgia. Then off the Homebase to pick up a tool David needed, and then onto Subway to get some rolls for lunch....mine ended up being my dinner too. Finally arrived home at 1.30, and by 3.30 I was back in the car and off to do some food shopping at Asda....so what with tidying up after David and rushing around all day...I am cream crackered...

Ok, so a couple more piccies. I have to share these couple of Harry & Georgia from Friday...how cute do they look together.

That's all for tonight folks....more work to do before tomorrow morning.
Caz
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What a Wonderful Day!

We had such a lovely day yesterday. Lorraine and Harry arrived at 11.30am to find me still in my PJ's...I was just getting dressed upstairs I swear. We sat and chatted and Ann, Eloise, Robert and Jamie arrived at 12.15pm. After a quick chat Ann & I set the GoGo June Grab-Its live.....we had the power to make many a GoGo Subscriber happy...and poorer...lol. Then we went off to Pizza Hut for lunch. We had a lovely time eating and chatting. While Lorraine & I were chatting the emergency exit alarm went off....Ann and Robert came back from the toilets and Ann said "Who set off the alam?" to Robert...and he pointed at Ann...lol Obviously we knew that it was Robert, but he blaimed his Mum without hesitation. Once lunch was over we came back here and after a cup of tea/coffee we went for a walk in the park...armed with our cameras... Eloise was busing making daisy chains with the large daisies growing wild in the long grass. She was not keen to pose, but I got this sneaky shot almost as soon as she started.

Harry also had a go at daisy chains...I could see the intense look of concentration on his face. What you cannot see is that he has the most amazing blue eyes and beautiful lashes.

Then there is Robert...the cheeky chappy. Boy was he hard to get a picture of....he was never still long enough...lol

An then there was the super cute Jamie....such a cutie. Ann cannot believe that I got pictures of Jamie looking directly into the lense. I think he could hear the autofocus and see the little light on the front...and so he looked in the direction of the noise.

I have some more cute pictures of Georgia and Harry...he really took a shine to Georgia and told her that he loved her....so cute.

Well today is another lovely day, so as soon as David is home we are off to Asda and also to B&Q where we will get new flooring for the lounge. Tomorrow is the Milton Keynes Crop, and I wasn't able to go as David thought he would have to work....so yesterday he announced that he is not working during the day, but will be working on Sunday night....so I could have gone after all....Arrrrgggg...Men!

Caz

Funday Friday...

After all the sad news this week, I am looking forward to a fun day. Not only do the June Grab-Its go live on the ScrapaGoGo website BUT........Lorraine and Ann are coming for the day with the kids....so I will have a house full of fun. After the week we have had, it is a nice end. The sun is shining outside, and the sky is nice and clear blue so looks like we are in for a lovely day...outside. It feels like we have not been able to go outside and play for ages....since it has rained on and off for a week. I will have my camera at the ready.

More on the sad news...there is going to be an autopsy for David's Nan, as she had been released from hospital into the care of a nursing home, and died within a couple of hours of getting there...in my mind it means she was not fit enough to travel...although at 96 she would be anyway. So the funeral has been booked for Wednesday 13th, she told us that she wanted to have her funeral on a Wednesday as all her friends would be meeting in the Church Hall for the weekly club, and that way they would all have transport to get them there....as they are there already. So she actually got one of her final wishes, that and she is finally back with her husband who died over 50 years ago.

I will be back tonight with news and pictures.
Caz
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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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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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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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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.

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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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

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

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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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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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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