Photo - Cheeky monster...

I asked for a smile and she hid!!! Kids, ha ha. Xx

Photo - My two girls...

I would like to point out that neither of them belong in this bed and have much comfier ones of their own! Tut.  Very adorable though.

Ps. I should of said the three of them, Cuddles has gone in on the bed stealing action.

:) xx

Snippet - Andrew James, so pretty...

I don't usually buy myself things, well other than books, but this week I purchased a new mixer.

Not just any mixer but an amazing Andrew James shiny red cake mixer, you see at £120 off I couldn't resist!  It is fantastic. Pretty, efficient, stirs with wonder and comes apart for an easy clean.

Since it arrived on Saturday I have been a little addicted to using it and have baked:
- 72 chocolate cupcakes
- 12 lemon tea cupcakes
- 12 ice cream cone cupcakes (visit www.bakingmad.com for an amazing recipe)
- 1 vanilla sponge loaf
- 2 lemon tea loaves
- 3 chocolate sponge loaves
- 6 batches of buttercream

I wouldn't say that baking is my new calling but I am thoroughly enjoying myself. :) xx

Photo - 2 year review. ..

Katharine had her 2 year review yesterday, the one where kids have to know colours, the basics of completing a jigsaw and other general tasks that mirror development milestones.

And she did great!!! Did everything that was asked of her with a side of Little Miss Bossy to go with it.

So I thought I would blog a little photo to congratulate my special Kaylai for being amazing. We love you to bits short stuff. :) xx

Musings - Eye candy...

It’s that time of year again when my favourite TV shows start to have their current season endings. You know the shows, the ones that have got you through the winter months and entertained you over Easter indulgences. And ALL mine are due to or have just finished which means I am all out of eye candy.

So I have decided to list my working week and let you know what / who I am going to be missing… it’s going to be hard.

(In order by photo and day of the week…)

MONDAY:
Arrow – Stephen Amell
TUESDAY:
The Vampire Diaries – Joseph Morgan
WEDNESDAY:
Beauty and the Beast – Jay Ryan
THURSDAY:
Nashville – Charles Esten
FRIDAY:
Suits – Gabriel Macht

So looking at them all… who would you miss the most? xx

Musings - Reasons to be cheerful #R2BC

Reasons to be cheerful. #R2BC

Like the founder of Reasons to be Cheerful I have found this week a bit trying, all trivial things but still enough to keep that frown upside down.

But I did make a pact with myself to be more optimistic, to see the bright side of the dull (even if I have to turn the dull over and over in my hands until I find that glimmer).

So today I have decided to list three things (I am going to stick to the three things again in order not to bore you all to tears) that have vexed me this week but also tell you how I am dealing with it… Little Miss Sunshine style… with a smile and as much cheer I can muster.

Anyway…

1. Everyone I have come into contact with this week has made me feel surplus to requirements, insignificant, the person that can be forgotten and messed about – But from the gloom of being the great overlooked I have written some poetry for the first time since September. I have hardened my heart and taken myself to task about relying on myself to make me happy. I feel bizarrely positive about it.

2. The Kid gave me a cold; snot, cough, aches, foggy head; the lot! – And though I feel wretched, by passing it on to me she is feeling a whole lot better. I figure that makes me a really good mother ha ha. 

3. I weighed myself. I have put on 9 lbs. this month which is both shameful and disgusting but really puzzling – Yet, like being overlooked it has given me the kick start I needed to get back on the healthy eating band wagon. I have set myself a weight loss target for the summer! There is nothing more cheerful than a target to aim for… or rather the reward I have planned for myself if I reach it. I can’t tell you, it’s slightly wicked.

In summary… I guess my main reason to be cheerful this week is that I am not going to let myself be beaten. And as everyone out there knows, sometimes that’s hard.

:) xx

Observation - Stadium suave...

Something amused me today,  probably more than it should...

I had the opportunity to be at The Shay Stadium, the home of the Shaymen. Now it's no Old Trafford, the stands are aged and half built and the new conference centre is a bit on the dull side.

But then I got in the tiny lift (I had a trolley! I promise I usually walk up a single flight of stairs) to find it completely clad in a golden shiny antique pine. It tickled me that I had swerved around the many pot holes in the car park and eyed scaffolding that was rusted it had been there so many years...

Yet the lift, that would hold 8 people max, has been kitted out for decadence and a dated 1980s style.

Bizarre right?  Or bizarre that I noticed?
Either way it amused me enough to take a photo to share... :) xx

(Location photos from www.calderdale.gov.uk, pine lift my own)