We went off en famille this morning on a Magical Mystery Tour ... we discovered the Grand Union Canal and Brentford Lock (which is where the canal meets the Thames), which is just the other side of the M4 from us and next door to GlaxoSmithKline's global HQ. It was a shame that the weather was on the dull side, especially after the Spring-like weather we had yesterday. We'll just have to revisit it in the sunshine!
If I can't blow my own trumpet on my own blog then where can I?? Cheryl Johnson from Scrapbook Inspirations magazine contacted me today about one of my SLYMI LOs and asked if I will submit it for the magazine's Readers' Gallery!! I am completely speechless!!
Here's a sneak peek at some of today's images. What I thought would be an ordinary day, photography wise, turned out to be fairly interesting because the Council's tree surgeons have begun pollarding the trees on our road and the shopping centre was playing host to a European Market.
A quiet day here, as DH and the dog are off up in Derbyshire for the weekend. In fact, I've just spoken to Sib so that I can say that I did actually speak to someone today who wasn't 2 years old! The weather has been lovely so DS was bundled up and we went off to explore and look for blue plaques ... we discovered that Sid James of Carry On fame lived around the corner.
Yours truly is off to hear the Band of the Royal Marines Beating Retreat in early June at Horseguards Parade in Central London. I've purchased two tickets so all DH and Mum have to do is decide which one of them is coming with me! I've always had a soft spot for the Band of the Royal Marines, ever since they played at my Passing Out Parade in June 1985 at RAF Hereford. As we marched off the parade square, they played Life On The Ocean's Wave!!
The challenge for this week was to cup up a photo! Shimelle said: Welcome to week eight and we have a special guest! Our challenge this week is set by lovely sponsors A Trip Down Memory Lane, and they challenge you to...CUT A PHOTO! Think I'm talking crazy-talk? I promise this is what they challenge you to do, and here's their challenge inspiration to get you started! Use the wording of the challenge however you would like...silhouette the subject like the example or find another way to put your scissors or craft knife to work, but somehow, some way cut that photo this week! And to go with their challenge, they've also offered a PRIZE! All layouts added to the SLYMI gallery before midnight next Wednesday night with 'Week 8:' at the start of their title will be put into a drawing and the randomly chosen winner gets a pizza box of goodies from A Trip Down Memory Lane!
I think I mentioned something last month about starting a photography project: 50 London Landmarks in a Year; I'm sure I read something similar on Shimelle's Blog, which is probably where I got the idea from! Anyway, walking past Oxfam Bookshop yesterday I spotted this beauty in the window. DS and I popped in and I checked it out (and the price!) and asked the lady to put it aside for me until today while I made up my mind. When we got back home I counted up my jar of £2 coins and found I had £34 ... serendipity because the book was priced at £35! DH said to buy it if I wanted it, so this morning buy it I did. I can't find any publishing information but it is definitely pre 1952 because all the Royal references are to the King. I think I got a bargain and it was obviously in the window yesterday to give me a nudge about this photography project. We aren't going to be in London for ever and DS might like to see landmarks of the city he was born in.
I took DS off to the park this afternoon to meet up with Bea & Lulu and their mummy at the swings. It was a complete waste of time as far as DS was concerned because he spent the whole time trying to get out through the gates! And then to round it off, as we were leaving the park he trotted off to do his own thing and promptly fell over into a huge and very muddy puddle! It's been on of those days ...
DS had a playdate this afternoon with a lovely little girl (and her Nanny) from our Friday morning YMCA class. The little one lives just around the corner from us but it takes about 25 minutes to get there on foot because the only safe place to cross the road is in the opposite direction to the house! The children were quite funny really because although they played happily in the same room, they wouldn't play together nor would they pose together for a photo!
I booked two tickets this morning for Sib and me to go and see Bjorn Again in July. They are taking part in Summer Swing at Kew Gardens and, if the weather holds, it'll be a great night. Perhaps we should dig out thoses flares (actually, we were both a tad too young first time around for full blown ABBAesque flares!) and start prancing around like Meryl Streep and Julie Walters!!
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Although it is something of a quagmire at the moment, we managed an impromptu visit to the park this morning. DH and I were each armed with a Starbucks Latte. I didn't have the camera so DH took these images on his hi-tech phone. They're not that great but at least you can see that DS was enjoying himself in the Wendy House.
All 3 of us received a card this morning (perhaps I should have sent one to the pup?!) and DH very kindly gave me a dozen red roses. He's a bit of a romantic on the quiet.
For only the 3rd time in his short life, DS had his cut by the lovely Payam on Thursday afternoon. DH was on hand to help with a wriggly 2 year old and had his hair cut into the bargain!
The challenge for this week was to: Scrap an Old Photo!! It can be 'reallllly' old or just 'kinda' old...it just can't be recent! And for those of you who are catching on to what has become my Thursday morning routine, I'm posting this here for the early birds and in just a bit I'll have last week's round-up posted and my layout for this week online...but now you can get thinking for this week's challenge!
I've done two LOs to add to DS's album. One is about his current favourite toys (I did one this time last year as well) and one is about how quickly the time has gone (I just wanted to scrap the beautiful photo I took of him on Monday when he'd just woken up from his nap). I've used the gorgeous October Afternoon Night Theme papers on both LOs.
I had a lovely "Mummy Moment" this morning when I picked DS up from nursery. He'd made us a Valentine's card!! I could feel my heart squeeze and I thought I might cry there and then, which would have been a tad embarrassing!
This month we're tackling A Spot Of Bother by Mark Haddon. I've not read any of his stuff before but as I'm on page 236 already, you can tell that it's a fairly easy read. It's basically about a early-retired man whose life is falling down around his ears. It's supposed to be funny but I've not laughed yet ...
The lovely Shimelle is running a new online class through http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/ entitled Here, There & Everywhere. As soon as I saw it I knew that I'd have to do it, given how many places I've been and how many I still want to go to! It's $25 so that's my scrapping money this month taken care of!
My wee man is definately showing all the characteristics associated with a 2-year-old of late. He is developing a "determined-to-do" streak and I can't think where on earth he gets that from!! I'd still assess my mothering skills as fair-to-middling but DS seems to be doing okay on it! We're probably going to the clinic nect week for his height and weight check and a tick in his red book.
This week's challenge is: scrapping with ribbon! I've started the gallery off with this page and can't wait to see what else you upload! This week's prize**Not a layout prize this week but something a little different! One lucky person will win a shimelle.com prize pack just for mentioning SLYMI in their signature, then chatting on UKS. To be considered in the drawing, add the Scrap Like You Mean It logo image (as seen in my sig below) and/or the text line 'In 2009, I'm Scrapping Like I Mean It: [insert number here] layouts and counting! Throughout the next week, we'll be looking for these on the boards and someone will be randomly chosen to win. Good luck!!
That's me, just about all scrapped out. Here's a looksee at what I've been up to. Some of the images aren't that clear, I'm afraid. I've since discovered a large thumb print on the camera lens!
All in all, I've managed to have a productive day, scrapping wise, and still spend time with DS and also walk the dog ... no wonder I feel tired! (Off to watch CSI:New York in a minute with DH.)
... is homemade Raspberry Blondies - white chocolate, raspberries and not much else! Why my consolation prize? Because DS has been a complete horror so far today and I don't know why. He has done the total opposite of what I have wanted him to do, he bashed one little girl around the head with a tambourine during our YMCA class and he pulled a display off its hooks in Tesco. He is currently asleep and no doubt dreaming up more mischief making episodes!
While DS was at nursery this morning, yours truly enjoyed some quality time by attending our local library's book group. This month's book was The Color Purple, if you remember. There were about 6 other people, all very nice and friendly and probably around the late 50s, early 60s age group. I was definately the youngest. It was not a pompous discussion group in any way at all and we were all encouraged to make contributions, no matter how small. An added bonus was an excellent large cuppa for a mere 80p and the opportunity to see Angela Rippon, who was apparently in for some filming.
Please take the time to sign this petition, which asks HMG to rename the stretch of road from RAF Lyneham to Wootton Bassett, currently the B3102 to Highway Of Heroes. In case you are unaware, this is the road that our dead serviceman returning from the Middle East are driven along en route to the Oxfordshire Coroner's Office before returning to their loved ones for burial.
DS went to nursery this morning after missing last Thursday's session because he was a poorly pup. Because of the weather conditions, numbers were down but somehow that made it seem all the more cosy. DS still cried whenm I left but nowhere on the same scale as previously. He was happily sitting with one of the girls and looking at a book when I picked him up. He got to bring home his artwork from last Tuesday today and, undoubtedly, my boy is talented ...!!
DS was funny about the snow today. This morning he spent a good 10 minutes staring out of the window at it but only had 5 minutes to play it because he would not, for love nor money, wear his wellies. This afternoon, after his nap, he decided that yes, he would wear his wellies and off we went to explore the back garden. He was back inside within 10 minutes, as he didn't like it at all! He walked like John Wayne and kept falling over. The snow was quite deep, almost to the top of his wellies.
