Joy - The Gallery - Week 7

This was taken at our last BBQ in October last year, we had lots of people over and there was a feeling of relaxed friendship and happiness. Some one made my daughter laugh, I think there may have been some bad dancing. The picture isn't the best quality but it makes me smile every time I see it, I have it on my desk at work to cheer me up, she is just so full of Joy (for Tara's Gallery).

Best Excuse for Today (A very short post)

My three year old, Lola, is sitting next to me, she is tired and a bit grumpy. I am messing with my photo's on the laptop.

Lola suddenly announces that a little bit of wee has come out and she needs to go to the toilet.

So, I shout to my husband who is in the kitchen, 'Paul can you take Lola to the loo, I am in the middle of lassoing gnomes.'

Below is the end result.

What a Week - In Photos - Phew...!

It has been a strange and unusual Easter break for me this year.

Good Friday was a write off, I had had a cold all week and had gone into work regardless (even though I work in a Contact Centre and completely lost my voice - Hey ho!)

Saturday, still recovering, but had to buy the kids Easters things - Had a bit of a moment, after foraging with the masses at John Lewis, so had to have a quiet sit down outside whilst the kids played. As you can see, they were deeply concerned about my health!

Sunday I started to improve - so off to my Mum's for Easter Sunday dinner. Had lots of good food and company, all the family were on good form, which was nice after various family ailments had made everyone a bit glum for the last few visits.

On Monday, we had a spring clear out and 'recycled' all the Macdonalds rubbish and bits and pieces that was underfoot in the house. Very cathartic.

Tuesday was a beautiful fresh windy day. So we went to the park and did this.

It made my daughters extremely happy.

Then came Wednesday. Not wordless, quite the opposite in fact. Wednesday was the day I met lots of beautiful independent women who blog. I never imagined I would be meeting people off the internet, or their lovely well behaved children, but that Tara from Stickyfingers is a mover and a shaker and you just can't say no to her.  So I had the privilege of meeting Rosie Scribble, Bumbling Along, Cosmic Girlie, PorridgeBrain, Jo Beaufoix, And they were all lovely. I am not going to harp on about this much as they all got in before me and have done some glorious blogs about our day together. All I will say, if you ever get invited to something like this, just do it. It was a fab day.

There were muddy puddles, good company,

Gorgeous scenery - although, am I the only on that thinks this looks like Gruffallo country?

And really well behaved children. (There was also a climbing tree, an angel and cake!)

Thursday I went to beautiful Shropshire to see one of my oldest friend and her children - she lives in the back end of beyond but it is peaceful and lovely and my city kids got to see lambs.

And then today, after all that rushing about - a day at home face painting and planting empty eggs with seeds. And the weather was tip top too!

                       

 I am now knackered, time for some wine. 

I hope my girls had as good a week as me. 

Hairy Blogging

Not my leg - and not even close to what it really looks like when doing this!

I was reading Deer Baby's blog about no hot water and swimming, and it got me thinking.

Well pondering really.

Why am I so hairy and why do I seem to be the only person I know that has to prepare a couple of days ahead just to go swimming?

If I don't wax my legs for 4 weeks I seriously have (from the knee down) the legs of a footballer. I could have taken a photo of my legs because they are like this now, but I really would like you all to return and not be scared by the unpleasantly hirsute sights you may see.

I recently had an argument with a friend about my hairiness, they did not believe me. Suffice to say, clothes were removed to make a point. (There may have been some wine drinking going on at the time)

My best friend is a beauty therapist. When she was training we lived together. On the whole this was fabulous, I got free massages and facials, had my toenails painted and generally got pampered whilst 'helping' my friend.

There was a downside, however, I was  her first bikini wax. 

This was my first bikini wax. 

This was when I discovered waxing can give you blood blisters, bruises and make you bleed. 

As this was done as part of my friends training, photos were taken of this pubic bloodbath (just of the offending area, my friend assured me that there were no photo's of my pained and tearful face). Mortified.

Fortunately, both of us got over this experience and she is now a very successful beauty therapist.

What does happen, if your friend is a beauty therapist, is that they drum into you an internal mantra. 'It is bad to shave. You have much dark hair, with strong roots, you must, MUST wax.'

Which is why, I can't go swimming on a whim. I need to know at least a couple of days in advance, so I can wax myself  (I have toughened up since those early days), and then allow a couple of days for the redness on my legs and the blood blisters elsewhere to fade. 

The one place that I can't wax is my armpits, painful tickling is just wrong and we must all have a limit. 

So am I the only hairy blogger with issues?

Ugly - The Gallery

I thought I would struggle more with this theme, but I took this the day Tara at Stickyfingers announced this weeks Gallery theme

This is what my Irish mother-in-law calls a 'disheen' (I am not sure of the spelling)

It is ugly and can be found under foot, on shelves and in any available space left where no other toys reside. It comes from places like party bags and MacDonalds.

 The item above is actually a pencil sharpener so more useful than most of these objects but this one illustrates the general ugliness of these things.

I seem to have millions of these little things clogging up my house and they are ugly, annoying and my children won't let me throw them away.

Don't tell them but I am secretly planning a midnight cull...Sshhhhh 

Bikey or Pikey?

OK, firstly I would like to apologise for the non-PC-ness of the title of this blog, you can blame the husbands friends for this and for the texts relating to the picture below (not of Stewart Granger).

My husband has always had a goatee of some description in the 17 years I have known him.

Lately his goatee has taken on a badgerish quality having two white sides where his beard hair has gone grey. I quite like that it gives him a Stewart Granger  type feel - ...""£$%^& Sorry just taking a moment to focus.(ahem!)

He is now growing the goatee and has decided to put little ponytails in it. Sorry not ponytails, little girls have ponytails, men have manly beard tails(?). Tied up with bands made from camo-galvinised rubber - please see previous post re: Manly beauty products! 

And I absolutely did not buy the bands from Claire's Accessories (I did), as that is where the little girls with pony tails go to shop.

Anyway what do you think..Bikey or Pikey?

This picture can also be found on my daily photo blog 

The Gallery - Suburbia Heaven

Ok, I know, I know I am really late with this and already trying to think about next weeks theme of Ugly...Gah!!!

Look I have had a really tough week at work I have a grotty cold and I have lost my voice. 

But I took the picture for this last Monday and WILL bloomin' post it. (Otherwise Tara will be having words!)

OK mini, semi-delirious ill rant over. Hear is my little patch of heaven, it's not my front door. But I love my tiny little garden, with all my little flowers and the new veg patch and the kids toys. It is a great sun trap and I love sitting out on cold sunny mornings with the heat of the spring sun on my face.

Our's is the one with the blue shed.