Car trouble

As the title suggests Ive had car trouble today. All I can say is it was lucky it was on my day off, lucky I was near the garage and lucky it was still in warranty by 7 days.
Alot of cars now have computers in them and mine malfunctioned today leaving K and I sat in the garage for 2 hrs where we got it fixed. Still I was very lucky that they could fit me in and they could fix it today. I thanked them very much for this and whats 2 hrs in the general scheme of things anyway.

I had been looking for wallpaper for my conservatory. We have one wall and then there are windows on the other 3 sides so its only going to take 2 rolls. the trouble is I can't decide on a wallpaper as there is just so much choice.. I got a few samples a month ago and blu tacked them to the wall and every week since I come back with more I like. Today was no different. I found 4 more and I had to put these up too so its currently like a patchwork quilt in there. Im going to just have to make a decision and be done with it.

S x

Last minute as per usual...

I don't like being a last minute kind of girl but it always works out that way. Up until today I had bought nothing for Christmas, no presents, cards, anything. My Mum has finished hers a few weeks ago. Why can't I be like that.... I always seem to have 100 jobs on the go at any one time. See at the moment Im in the middle of decorating my conservatory, waiting for new blinds,wanting to decorate numerous other rooms before the big day. Ive been finishing a few bear orders, sorting out a party for Kaitlins birthday next month and working full time too. So as you can see Xmas has been far from my thoughts so today I went to town and bought my Dads presents. (yipee)

I found some really cool photo frames in Marks and Spencers a while ago. They are black and the appature is 8 x 10 and they have a mount, all for £9.50. My intention was to put 3 on the stairs with pics of the kids. I have a lovely one of J except his hair is a bit long but as he has his brace now he won't let me take another. W informs me none of the pics I have of him are any good because they were taken pre hi-lights and pre straightening and K is growing so quickly I need another one of her. So thats my plan for tomorrow, taking pics of W and K to go on my wall.

Heres the pic I have of J.

Susan x

Im in the mood for dancing.......

Im back after my little jaunt to Manchester on Tuesday, where I went to see the Nolans in concert. Wow what a great show is all I can say. It was brilliant and id highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good night. What I love about them is they are real women with real figures who can really sing and they are down to earth.

I went with my friend and we had a lovely time in Manchester, shopping and eating... We stayed in a great hotel where they helped us no end, explaining how to get to all the shops we needed to find ( as a girl has to ). I even drove there which is a feat for me as I don't like going out of my comfort zone when Im driving. I only feel confident in areas I know but Im determined to beat this and get out and about.

Ive also had a really busy week with family. K has been invited to 3 parties in one week, W had a school trip tonight and I have to go and pick him up at 11.30pm.... Its all go. I can't wait for the weekend to just be able to chill out.

S x

On a mission

The kids enjoying time at the beach in Torquay

Im currently on a mission to find things to do for free or at least not much money. We have cut our outgoings by more than half over the past 12 months to give us more available money at the end of the month. Whilst this is a great feeling I now look at the value of everything from days out to meals to the weekly food shopping.
Now every week I meet up with a few friends and we hang out with the kidlets. We tend to go to the local playcentre and have coffee or lunch while the kids play. last week we decided to do things a little cheaper so after picking up our little ones from school we walked up to our park. Its a fair walk from my house so it took a while as a 3 year old only has little legs so you tend to go quite slowly. We spent a good hour at the park and the kids had a ball on the swings etc. Next we set off to collect conkers. I used to love collecting conkers when I was little. K thought she had to collect every single conker she saw and had filled our bag before we knew it. So another hour went by with this endeavour. Then off we went to our local library. Its years since I went and I couldn't find my card so I needed to rejoin, so K and I joined together. Wow it was kidlet heaven in there. K loves books so she was in her element. They have dvds you can rent for the children too so we spent another great hour in there.
So a totally free 3 hours of enjoyment which I enjoyed more then the playcentre as I usually come out of there with a headache from the noise of 30 little children screaming at full volume for 2 hours.

S x

All quiet on the home front

Its nice to have a quiet week sometimes. As Im self employed each week varies depending on what appointments I have. Im very lucky that Im very busy most of the time but I do get the odd quiet week. Where I might work 20 hours instead of 28 to 30. i had such a week this week. As my baby had gone to school every day I made the most of it, my ironing was up to date and food filled the cupboards and all meals were planned in advance ( never heard of here).
I have been planning a couple of trips though. In 2 weeks a friend and I travel to Manchester to see the Nolans in concert. We are staying the night and having a girly shopping day the next day. I was a little bit young for the Nolans but I remember all their songs. I get up on the dance floor whenever they come on ( LOL ). My friend is a couple of years older so they were full strength when she was a teenager going clubbing. I can't wait.....
Next Phil talked me into going to London with him to watch a football match. I won't go to the football but I will go and have a 3 hr wander around Harrods. I love this shop. It is the biggest shop you can imagine, over 5 floors and you can buy anything you want. If they don't stock it they know where to get it from. This time of year they have a Christmas department selling all things Christmasy. Very expensive but I will buy a decoration to add to my collection. The tiolets are unbelieveable too. They are very ornate and they have a lady to help you ( with what I don't know). They also have a table with all the best perfumes to sample.
Then they have a whole floor or nearly a whole floor dedicated to toys and children. When K was born I bought a cd from there that was filled with songs with her name in. Then the bears, they have loads of steiff and other makes. Im sure I can while a day away, never mind a few hours.
Up the road from there is a charity shop which has wonderful items in it. It might be because the whole area is posh that they have so many designer clothes and household items but I always go in for a gander.

S x

Starting School

This week has seen my baby girl starting nursery school. I can't believe it. Shes only 3 and a half and she has to have a uniform and book bag. As shes my third I really don't want her to grow up as fast as she is. Am I an old fuddy duddy or what.
More on the fuddy duddy, did you watch Strictly Come Dancing on saturday? I love that programme and Im glad its back on to brighten up my Saturdays with the X factor. Anyway I don't know if Im getting old or what but there was a dress that one of the proffessionals wore that I really didn't like this week. Well I don't know how they could call it a dress, more 2 squares and a few pieces of lace. I think its spoiling the whole programme to have costumes like this. I love the dresses most of them wear but I feel this year they are getting a bit risque, if thats the right word. Phil thinks Im a prude.....

Susan

Fabulous Weekend

What a weekend. I had a great show at Hugglets. My best ever in fact. I met some lovely people too, some for the first time and others I have known for a long time. The time flew by and before I knew it we had to pack up.

As part of the weekend we got a great deal in a Crowne Plaza hotel where we had 2 nights for the price of one. It was by heathrow airport. As we had gone down on the friday we had the whole Saturday to fill and we wanted to go into London. Anyone who know central London knowns not to take your car in ( unless you know which car park to use). We got travel advice from reception and we set off to catch the bus and the tube. We got off in Leciester Square and sat outside a bar for a few drinks in the sunshine. We then saw a ticket office and wondered if we could be lucky enough to get tickets for a matinee show. We were lucky and got to see Sister Act at the London Paladium. It was fabulous and highly recommended to anyone who gets the chance to see it. We then went off to China Town and had a buffet. We headed back to the hotel and had a nice evening in the bar.

I must have been so relaxed the next morning that I overslept.... I like to get up an hour before I need to go anywhere as I always shower /wash my hair and do my makeup without rushing. Well I must have pressed snooze on my alarm and I ended up getting up 15 mins before I wanted to be having breakfast. I hate it when I have to rush and I panic. Anyway we got to the show in plenty of time and I managed to get everything set up with minutes to spare.

Roll on February for the next show.

Susan