It was a bit windy!

So, the other day we went for a walk and as you can

tell from my wonderful hairdo...it was VERY windy.

Might have had to do with the fact we were on a hill, but hey, the views

were spectacular.

I have to thank my husband for NOT pointing out to me

that the wind was not only making my hair fly up, but also my shirt.

Strange that I never noticed this right?!

There are in fact too many photo's where my shirt is doing it's own

little wind dance and revealing my not so toned stomach area.

So yeah, thanks Simon!

Anyway, here are a few photo's.

No, not of my stomach....of the walk!

trying hard not to get blown away

All that wind made Emily a little chilly

Running to get through the "hole" first

 

The photo above reminds me that last summer we went geocaching a lot.

Have you ever done that?

If not you should so look into that.

It's fun for the whole family, outdoors and free.

My kiddies LOVE it.

Think I've just come up with what we are doing next weekend, yay.

Go and have yourself a fantastic Wednesday.

Happy 4th of July to all my friends and readers across the pond!

I'm linking up

My day so far

I don't know about you but I've been finding it very hard to get motivated today.

You can hardly blame me though, I mean it's July

and this is what greeted me when I opened the curtains this morning.

A drab grey rainy horrible cold morning.

Dylan is going on a school trip to an orchard farm today.

I just hope it will stay dry when they are touring the grounds and

picking the fruits.

I think they might spend some time inside the farm house, Dylan

told me they are going to bake apple pies with the apples they pick.

He'd better save a piece for me.

Hmmm, apple pie.

Anyway, I packed his wellies and his raincoat, stuffed it all in a

backpack and sent him off to school wishing him a super fun day.

Can't wait to hear all about it when he gets back.

Emily couldn't quite find her motivation either this morning

For the first half hour of the day she wasn't "feeling very well".

I think she was hoping to pull of a sicky.

When I told her no going to school meant no Rainbows tonight she quickly

perked up and ten minutes later she came running up the stairs telling

me she was ready to get dressed.

After I dropped off the kiddies and got back home I quickly tidied

the house. You know the drill, putting away dishes, hoovering floors,

wiping counter tops and the table, picking up stuff that doesn't belong where it was

left, emptying the washing machine and folding the laundry and so on.

I find it so much easier to relax when everything is clean and in its place.

Only downside? As soon as the kids and husband walk through the door

items start reappearing EVERYWHERE!

At least for now the living room looks tidy.

So this is where I am sitting right now, laptop on the table and enjoying a cup

of hot chocolate and some freshly baked croissants.

It looks something like that

I must remember thank my kids later for leaving fingerprints all over the laptop!

So that's it, that's all I've been doing so far today.

Later on I will brave the weather, go to the shop and get something for

tonight's dinner. I'm thinking chicken casserole.

I will also get a BIG bar of chocolate and my afternoon will be

spend watching a good movie until the kids are back.

Yep

sounds good to me!

Linking up with these ladies

Have a great Tuesday lovelies!

Miscellany Monday

image

Hello hello, so glad you could make it to my blog on this

day we call Monday.

You know who didn't know it was Monday today?

My TV.

Yes you read that right, my TV.

The kiddies asked if they could watch a cartoon this morning so being

the nice mommy I am I obliged, turned it on and was greeted by five

presenters shouting out "It'ssssss Friday!!!!"

Erm....not it's NOT!

Ofcourse the kids got all confused and you can imagine their disappointment

when I pointed out they had indeed five schooldays ahead of them and not just one.

Anyways....

Today I'm linking up and doing the miscellany Monday thing,

join me why don't you.

1. My kids are the best, they do such amazing things, One of those amazing things

is emptying out my favorite bubble bath,

 the fuller the bottle the better!

Walking up the stairs I was pleasantly surprised by the soapy scent thinking

they must have washed their little bodies squeeky clean.

Nope, they actually cleaned the bath (squeeky clean) with

MY FAVORITE BUBBLE BATH!!

Argh, not a drop was left....and the "I didn't do it" sentence

was very popular.

2. I just found out that my spell check isn't working.

This will result in loads of spelling mistakes for which I apologise.

You can point them out to me if you feel the need.

3. The kids had sportsday last week, a day filled with fun activities.

Emily did not like the fact she came 3rd in the running race, so she decided to

cover up the badge that said 3rd (last photo). She refused to move her hands so

eventually the teacher swapped it for a badge that

said "well done".

I can see a competitive streak developping there.

Dylan did fantastic and he enjoyed every minute, which was a lot of minutes

as his sportsday started at ten and didn't end until three!

I had a tired boy at the end of the day.

4. I am eating a chocolate chip biscuit right now,

just thought I'd throw that in.

5. My niece turned TWO last Thursday so we all went out for a meal

Wondering why there are SIX candles on her cake?

Yep, so were we when the waiter brought the cake.

6. I created a Twitter account a few weeks back but I just keep forgetting to

 update the thing! Am I the only one who seems to be

utterly confused about it all??

Maybe I need Twitter lessons.

7. Remember when I did this post about my amazing

posing talents?

Turns out I've always been super at this.

Star quality right there I tell you!

8. I would absolutely love it if you would hit the Follow Me button, it would

make my day! I'm sort of getting excited as this blog has grown fast all of a sudden.

Nearly 100 followers...might have a party when that happens, yay!

So

Time for me to wrap this up and make myself some lunch.

Thanks for reading

Have a fantabulous week!

ninety nine part two

Hello hello...

Remember last week when I did this post?

Well, it's finally time to continue with it.

So I did question 1 up to 47

so on to

...

48. Gone deep sea fishing

Nope, not really very interested in fishing to be honest

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

I would love to go and visit this, hopefully sometime soon.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

Yep yepidi yep. A long time ago though and I was more interested

in the holograms at the top than the view.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

I LOOOOOOOVE snorkeling. We did this quite often while living in Gibraltar.

I find it really relaxing looking at all the fish and the underwater world.

 It's like a little escape from reality.

52. Kissed in the rain

At some point we might have done that

53. Played in the mud

My favorite activity when I was a toddler! I used to find a big muddy puddle,

take my welly boots off and just splash around in it.

54. Gone to a drive in theater

No, we don't really have a lot of them here in the UK

55. Been in a movie

Only home movies! :)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

On my list of things to see!

57. Started a business

A couple of years ago I had a little business selling polymer clay sculptures on a

UK craft site. I sold quite a few, especially christmas angels.

58. Taken a martial arts class

karate, I only went for about five lessons

59. Visited Russia

I've been to Latvia, Estonia and the Ukraine.

60. Served at a soup kitchen

No, I haven't done this

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies

Oh how I wish we had girl scout cookies here! They look scrummy.

62. Gone whale watching

While I was in the navy we saw a whale in the distance.

I was really spectacular to watch.

63. Got flowers for no reason

Ahhh, yes....it's been a while though.

Simon, if you read this... you know I love flowers.

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

No, it scares me.

65. Gone sky diving

Never will, fear of heights so jumping out of a plane doesn't appeal to me,

AT ALL.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

Another school trip. We visisted Dachau.

I found it very depressing.

67. Bounced a check

Whoops, sorry!

68. Flown in a helicopter

I won a helicopter ride in the school raffle. The flight only

lasted about 15 minutes but I loved it! We even flew over our house.

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

Barbie, she now belongs to emily.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

No I haven't

71. Eaten caviar

As I child I loved how it popped in my mouth, then I grew older and

realised what it was, blah!

72. Pieced a quilt

I'm not very handy with a needle.

73. Stood in Times Square

Oh how I wish! Soon soon soon I hope!!

74. Toured the Everglades

Another soon soon soon I hope!

75. Been fired from a job

Glad to say I haven't!

76. Seen the changing of the guards in London

Yep, a few times now.

77. Broken a bone

No....I hear it's painful!

78. Been a passenger on a motor cycle

yes

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

I'll say it again

soon soon soon I hope!

80. Published a book

I would love to do this, have to come up with a good idea first.

81. Visited the Vatican

No and I don't really have the desire to.

82. Bought a brand new car

Last september.

83. Walked in Jerusalem

No.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

Had to think a while about this...if I ever have I can't remember.

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year's Eve

Oh yes, one new years eve I was at a club and at midnight

everybody kissed eachother happy new year.

86. Visited the white house

Nope

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

Happy to say no, don't like killing animals.

88. Had chickenpox

As a young child, I remember all I did was play with my barbie's

and enjoy the time off school.

89. Saved someone's live

Not by myself, it was a team effort. We were in london with the ship
 (I was in the navy at the time)

and a lady had jumped of the London bridge, Somehow she'd ended up

between our ship and another one, so the alarm was sounded and we managed to get

her out of the water and on board the ship. She was not happy

90. Sat on a jury

No

91. Met someone famous

 I once had a chat with George Clooney

at Madamme Tussauds ;)

92. Joined a book club

At school

93. Got a tattoo

Haven't...and won't.

94. Had a baby

Two of them

Dylan

Dylan with emily

95. Seen the Alamo in person

No

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

No

97. Been involved in a law suit

Again, no.

98. Owned a cell phone

hmmm, yessssss.

99. Been stung by a bee

Yes and I remember it well. I was about six and my neighbour asked

if I could catch one for him. I did and for some reason the bee didn't agree.

Ouch!


Well there you go lovely peeps!
99 facts all done.
Would love to see yours, let me know if you do.

Cheerio

 

Coffee morning at my house, you are invited!!

Let's pretend we are all sitting in my living room,

having some coffee (or whatever else you'd like).

What would we say to each other?

Here's what I would say

I am so proud of my kiddies.I felt really guilty when we moved and took them out of

school and away from their friends. They have settled so well into their new

school, have started making new friends and the teachers are very pleased with

them. Their school work is just brilliant and they couldn't make me any

prouder even if they tried.

I would let you know about my husband. How strong he is and how

proud I am, even if he is getting on my nerves (a bit) at the moment! Haha.

I would show you a photo of the wendy house he build for the kids, all by himself!

Shoot, who needs a photo if you are in my living room, we'd go out into the garden and I'd show you,

I'd probably even make you go in it :)

I would tell you that I might have a new job soon! I went

and registered with and agency and they were very interested in my language

skills. Even though I feel excited about possibly going back to work soon, I feel scared.

I would probably swoon about foreign countries and holidays.

Everyone seems to be going somewhere exciting and warm and I'm just

stuck here. I want to go on a beach holiday and soak up the sun, drink cocktails at night

and just relax for a bit.

By now we'd probably be eating some cake as well

Looks good no?!

But on to the conversation...

I would tell you I am getting a bit fed up with my hair. I'm thinking

of having a restyle....maybe a fringe cut? Seems to be the rage these days.

Maybe I should just get some new curling thongs, but then I am so not handy

using them, at all!

We'd probably chat about stuff on the TV. One of the shows I love

at the moment is called "Revenge". Anyone else watching it?

Oh, and while we are on the subject books would come up as well.

I'm reading the second 50 shades at the moment, I would then show you a

previous post I did on Mr Grey

I would talk to you about my crazy friends and how I miss them.

Can't wait to meet up with them again soon. I feel I am

really missing out on all the juicy gossip.

I would tell you I need to get back onto that treadmill.

I'd possibly show you around my house (future post idea!)

When you have finished all the coffee and cake I would thank you for coming

and ask when we can do this again.

Linking up with these lovely ladies who are welcome for coffee any time

Why am I blowing kisses?

Yep, that's me blowing kisses.

Why you might ask.

Well...

Last week the lovely Dana from Simply You and Me nominated

my blog TheVersatile Blogger award.

Isn't she the best!

I feel so honoured to have received this and she deserves a huge thank you!

You should definitely stop by and check out her blog, it's full of delicious looking

recipes like york peppermint patty brownies, they look divine!

Today I am passing on this award.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the Blogger who nominated you
2. Include a link to their site
3. Include the award image in your post
4. Give 7 random facts about yourself
5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award
6. When nominating, include a link to their site
7. Let the other bloggers know they've been nominated.

1. I met my husband in France. I was in a cafe with some friends and all of a sudden some

random guy took my jacket and ran out with it. Needless to say I ran after him giving him

an earful....and the rest is history, I married the jacket stealer, hahaha!

2. When I was 17 did a summer job in a nappy/sanitary towels factory. This was in the days before sanitary towels came individually wrapped and my task was to put the disposal bags in each pack. VERY interesting and important job! Hmmmm.

3. I have a BIG and irrational fear of spiders, especially those big black ones.

Tears, screams and pee pee pants come as a result of seeing them.

4. I love baking and decorating the kids birthday cakes. My most favourite cake was the one

I did for my daughters 5th birthday, it was rainbow coloured inside. 

5. I can spend ALL day in home and decoration shops. In my mind I am

constantly redecorating my house. Wish my wallet would be as excited as

my mind about decorating!

6. I wear lenses, without them I wouldn't see a single thing.

7.  When I was 18 I drove into a house...during driving lessons!! 

OK, over to the interesting part of this post, the part where I get to nominate

15 other fabulous blogs, and I mean FABULOUS, you should check each one of these out!

        1.Amy- Sweet Home Santa Barbara

2. Brittney- The Luycx's

3.Lauren- A joyful journal

4.Ashley- The Vanilla Tulip

5.Tiffany- The Coffeehouse

6.Katie- Girl on a mission...To lose the cushion

7.Brooke- Covered in grace

8.Shawn- Seriously Shawn

9. Impulsive Addict- Confessions from an Impulsive Addict

10. Jordann- Makin Memories Of Us
11.Rachel- Ma famille de trois
12.Savannah- Rolled Up Pretty
13.Cassie- Two in Diapers
14.Witha- Up Close and Personal
15.Rachel- Lists from the Heart

Wow, there we go.
Fifteen wonderful ladies and their wonderful blogs.
They truly deserve this award.
Have a great week my friends

Summer is here!

My little Emily on holiday in Spain 2007

Yesterday was the first day of summer.

Hooray.

I LOVE summer.

Beautiful sunny days, green leafy trees, berries growing on bushes,

grassy meadows, happy kids playing outside, vacations.

You can imagine my disappointment when I opened the curtains and

was greeted by a grey, rainy, thundery morning.

Hmmm, not my idea of summer at all.

What to do on a day like that?

Why bake cookies of course.

These were so easy to make as they dough came ready made. All I had to do was roll balls, stick some chocolate on top and bake.

Delicious!

Dylan the cookie monster

I smeared some peanut butter on top my cookie...

Oh yes and it was heavenly!

While I am on the subject of cookies I have to show you these

We made these a few years back. Dylan was in his Ben 10 phase judging by the t-shirt

we made him. No idea why I was wearing see through pants and Simon was naked. Hahaha.

I just love making gingerbread people.

 Definitely something I'll be doing again soon.

Oh, and before I finish this post I want to say a huge thank you to

Dana from Simply you and me

who awarded me the Versatile blogger award

Isn't she the sweetest.

I'll have fun passing this on next week.

Until then, have a fantastic weekend.

Send some sunshine my way OK.

Linking up here