A month of mayhem

Well maybe not quite but that's my excuse for not blogging for a while!!!

Eventually finished the essay, sent it by recorded delivery and Royal Mail lost it - helpfully!!! much trauma but have been allowed to hand another copy in and as I had proof of posting in time won't loose any marks. Phew.

Went to Bangor, Northern Ireland with MAD PC which my other half is the conductor of to a choral festival. It was their first competition in a long time and I think i was more nervous than them sitting in the audience, they did well and got two merits and everyone had a good time and loved Bangor!

Spent the next two weeks in trauma as Stephen decided he wanted to move home after such a successful visit, then he got knocked back from his police application so was all a bit hairy. But at the moment we are staying, possibly getting the kitchen in our house extended and Stephen is staying in his school and I'm not sure!!!

Spent large amounts of time in the garden which is looking lovely now. Please note before and after pictures.

And now SAT's are fast approaching as are several commitments at Church leading services and parts of so will be kept all round busy busy!

Having my jabs ready to go to Botswana on Monday although we're still not definitely going but fingers crossed in two months will have already been - scary stuff!!

If I do go will miss the wedding of my long time friend Hannah B. Spent last weekend in Edinburgh for her hen weekend, just posting a couple of my favourite photos because I like them!!!

My little sister and me looking more alike than ever!! I love this photo and will make a great Christmas pressie for my mum done in a nice frame.

The bride to be waiting for her dinner!!!

And no, a whole two week holiday and not a single bit of scrap booking done - very disappointed with myself but the desk was covered with all the stuff for my essay and I just never got around to clearing it - oh well half term in 2 and a half weeks, maybe then!!

Cotton Wool Kids

I am watching this documentary on channel 4 at the moment and find my blood is boiling!!
The general brief is to showcase some very neurotic parents who won't let their children go outside by themselves, walk to school alone at the age of 13 or generally develop independence and life skills.

One parent offered to buy his son a Nintendo wii or an i-phone rather than let him go to a sleepover!! The parents are all happy to encourage their children to spend all day every day playing on computer games, chatting on the Internet etc rather than get fresh air - why can't they take their children out to the park to play with them?? I am very annoyed, I agree that yes the world may not be a totally safe place but keeping children inside locked away is not going to help them to grow into well rounded individuals. Can the parents not see a time when their children will turn against them massively for the way they have been cossetted?

Does also interestingly raise the question about the role of the media in high profiling child abduction cases all the children aged from 3 years up can talk about the Madeline McCann case and how she is missing and the fact that her parents left her alone while they ate dinner. The children also know all about all the stabbings, murders, gang violence etc that happens around them.

Worse still one parent is looking into having her children micro chipped in case they get abducted and she can locate them wherever and whenever they are, just in case they shoudl dare to leave her eyesight or go into a shop without express permission.

Am concerned that if I ever become a parent I will either be the exact opposite of these parents or the exact same as them.

On the edge of a cliff

it's been a while since I graduated from uni so I haven't written an essay since then. Before Christmas I did a subject leaders course at school funded and accredited by Liverpool John Moores Uni. I decided (foolishly) to sign up to write the 4000 word essay and receive 20 credits.

The essay is due in, in three weeks so far no words have been written due to lack of time and motivation but a big part of me wants to do this for me. So now having spent a morning finishing some reading and trying to be analytical and reflective, traits which don't come easily to me I am about to put fingers to keys (pen to paper sounds better somehow). I literally feel like I am on the edge of a cliff and if I jump and actually write the essay i will have achieved something for me...it remains to be seen, will keep you posted.

Blondeness!!

Tesco Online Shopping

Felt I had to blog to share my stupidity with you all! People are always raving about how wonderful online food shopping is, how it saves time, effort blah, blah, blah. So I decided to try it...bad mistake.

First it took me over an hour to place the order (less time than actually going to the shop). Secondly I wasn't home from work when they tried to deliver it so had to ring and rearrange delivery and thirdly (and Stephen will be cross) I seem somehow to have ordered absurd quantities of things like 5 jars of jam, 3 lots of face wash, 7 packets of biscuits and things we don't even eat!!!!!

Is it just me or does this happen to other people too???

Also am very annoyed with my eco head on at how many carrier bags they used to pack everything - why can the packers only fit one thing per carrier bag? Not impressed at the environemntal situation there.

oh well back to walkign round the aisles with my dodgy trolley.

Random blog no 3

Ok so the service hasn't been started yet!!!

Scrapbooking:
Is one of my new favourite things to do as some of you may know. I love capturing the memories and playing about with photos and nice crafty things. I also like to spend a ridiculous amount of money on buying supplies which I should be saving for my new garage but hey ho!!

I have made several scrapbooks now and have decided that I am going to set up a new blog to show case my work to decide if I'm really serious about sharing it with people and I am also going to practice being a better photographer. Stephen's cousins wife Janine inspires me so much she is such an amazing photographer and scrap booker and I have decided to practice taking photos, I may even take a course on it but I'm not totally decided about it yet. I started practicing at my Dad's birthday and I was quite pleased with a couple of my photos. My dad is an excellent photographer so I'm hoping I may have some hidden talent somewhere!

randmo blog no 2

On Saturday my dad was 60. Stephen and I have had a couple of years now of parents having milestone birthdays, buying special presents and attending nice birthday parties!! This one I was worrried about though, I have never been close to my dad and things have been tricky, so when my step mum invited us to a surprise party for him I knew we had to go but I didn't really want to.

However I am pleased to say we had a fantastic time, the party was excellent, food delicious, wine very good according to Stephen and my dad was really pleased we were there. Everyone made us feel so welcome.

One of my step brothers gave a really moving speech about my dad which made me realise a) he is a very special man, b) I don't know him very well and c) I want to change that. Now I just need to find the grace and the courage to act on that decision.

Random Blog no 1

I seem in the past few weeks to have had lots of things I would like to blog about but no time to do so in. Nothing new then!! So I am going to start now!! Yes indeedy even though I should be planning the service for Sunday evening at Church (I may get a few more done over the next few hours!!)

A few weeks ago now I went to the funeral of a wife of a friend of Stephen's because he couldn't get the time off work and I could. It was the most moving thanksgiving service I have ever been to. St Thomas' in Lancaster was packed out with family, friends, congregation of two Churches and loads of other people. The address was moving and the worship unbelieveably heartfelt, it felt like a glimpse of heaven.

I came away emotionally drained not because I knew the person very well but because of all the emotions that were happening. It was also difficult to see so many dear friends from our time at Lancaster Baptist Church who were all so pleased to see me except for the circumstances. I came away moved but knowing I had seen God at work.