Where have I been?

If I do actually have regular blog readers, then this might be the question that has been asked over the last few weeks. This could of course just be wishful thinking and could just be talking to myself! 


At the end of March we went on another snowboarding holiday. This time to Les Deux Alpes. If I'm completely honest, I wasn't too fussed about going on this holiday, and went along with the plans for my Husband, who really wanted to go. It actually turned out to be the most successful snowboarding trip for me where I actually conquered my fears, broke through my mental blocks and finally mastered the turns I've battled with for the last 4 years! 


For the rest of April I don't really have any excuse for the lack of blogging, apart from being tired in the evenings and busy at the weekends. I don't even have anything exciting to report from the busy weekends as we've been busy transforming our house into a home. This has involved lots of tidying, lots of sorting, many trips to the tip and charity shop, numerous bin bags, and a car boot sale. The result: we now have a tidy, clutter free loft, a super organised under-stairs cupboard, and a bedroom that looks more like a bedroom and less like the junk room it was beginning to become. The next big job will hopefully be decorating the bedroom, although that's unlikely to be before June. 


For now I'll leave you with some photos from our snowboarding holiday, and I'll try and get back to the regular blogging as soon as I can. 

Favourite Muppet

Last night at the cinema, Husband asked me which Muppet was my favourite. I couldn't give him an answer as there are so many that I like loads. However, I couldn't stop thinking about the question, and all day today I've been trying to decide which one I like the best. I think I have come to a decision, but I thought it would be fun to find out who other people like. So please take a minute to take part in the poll on the right hand side of my blog. At the end of the month I will reveal the reader's favourite and also my favourite. 


Here are some celebrity's favourite Muppets, taken from http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com

Flowers, Cookies, Muppets & a Curry

My husband is such a romantic. Not only did he come home last night with a box of Thornton's chocolates, but this afternoon a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived for me at work. 

I wasn't the only one to get a surprise at work, as Husband received some lovely (well they looked lovely) cookies. 

The day was topped by a visit to the cinema to see The Muppets. Husband is a huge fan of the Muppets so this seemed like the perfect film to take him to on Valentine's Day. I definitely recommend seeing this film, as it was brilliant, so funny. Great for any Muppets fan or Jason Segel fan. 

Finally, we picked up a curry on the way home. A naughty but nice treat to end a lovely day. 

Hope all blog readers had a lovely day too. 

Time to catch up

Last week was so busy I didn't have time to blog, right when I had stuff to blog about. So now I'm attempting to catch up. Last Wednesday was the last day of Movember and Husband went to work, where they had dress down day, and the women had to vote for the best moustache. Unfortunately he didn't win, but he did raise £188 in the end, and as a team they raised over £2000. 

Losing the Beard

Last night, my husband decided it was time to lose the beard, and finish off Movember with the Mo alone. I think he either looks like a character from a cartoon or TV show, but can't think which one! Hopefully it will come to me over the next few days. There is a slight resemblance to Mr Potato Head, but I will post more about that tonight! 

A Yummy Sunday Dinner

I wanted to share with you this simple recipe for the best roast lamb ever. I'm not usually a fan of lamb, but I tried this recipe at Easter and the meat was so good, we decided to have it again. This time, Husband cooked it, and again it was delicious. We had it served with roast potatoes, home grown roast parsnips, home grown purple carrots, and home made gravy. 


This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie at Home' book. 

Photo taken from www.jamieoliver.com

It's Day 24 of Movember!

£157 raised so far, with 6 days to go. 

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/1555938/

When the wheels come down - A Musical Tuesday

A bit late with the musical Tuesday, and almost missed it for a couple of reasons. The second reason was because I have been watching a programme about a teenage boy with Aspergers. It upset me in parts as it made me think lots about what life must be like for my number 3 nephew who also has Aspergers. Saving that for another day (maybe), I'll explain the first reason - I almost had no song to talk about. That's right, a 25 minute journey home plus a trip to Tesco, over 1000 songs on the iPod, yet I must have flicked through at least 100 before I found something I really wanted to listen to tonight. It's funny how I like every single (almost) song on my iPod yet I have to be in the right mood to listen to most of them. 


Tonight's song that made me smile & made me sing along all the way home from Tesco was Foo Fighters - Wheels. Apart from this being a great song with lovely lyrics, this song reminds me of a lovely moment when we went to see them at Milton Keynes earlier this year. 


About half way through the evening, Dave Grohl ran up the walkway, past where we were standing and round to face those not lucky enough to be able to see the main stage. Here he sat with his guitar and sang a couple of songs. One of them was Wheels, and as a lot of the inner circle ran to the back to get a better view, we stayed put. With our arms around each other we swayed and sang to the whole song. Sounds cheesy, but at one moment it felt like it was just me, my husband and Dave Grohl there. 

Foo Fighters-Wheels

I know what you're thinkin'We were goin' downI can feel the sinkin'But then I came around

And everyone I've loved beforeFlashed before my eyesAnd nothin' mattered anymoreI looked into the sky

Well I wanted something better manI wished for something newAnd I wanted something beautifulAnd wish for something trueBeen lookin' for a reason manSomething to lose

When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)When the wheels touch ground (When the wheels touch ground)And you feel like it's all overThere's another round for youWhen the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)

Know your head is spinnin'Broken hearts will mendThis is our beginningComin to an end

Well, you wanted something better manYou wished for something newWell, you wanted something beautifulWished for something trueBeen lookin for a reason manSomething to lose

When the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)When the wheels touch ground (When the wheels touch ground)And you feel like it's all overThere's another round for youWhen the wheels come down (When the wheels come down)

Update on Husband - Movember Week 3

We are now on day 21 of Movember and I've realised it's been over a week since I posted photos of my husband's Movember facial hair. Last time I posted he was about to shape his beard. He did this and instantly disliked it. I think this may be why I've not been sent any photos until now.  I have since been trying to convince him to get rid of the beard and just keep the tash for the rest of the month. 


So far he's raised £150, and hoping to get to at least £200 by the end of the month. So if you would like to make a donation to Men's Health Charities, please check out his Movember page. 

Beardy Man on the 2nd week of Movember

I have now given my husband the nickname beardy man due to the increased hair on his chin! Soon he will be shaping it to give himself a Dave Grohl style beard & moustache. I'm looking forward to seeing what he will look like then. 

8th Movember 

10th Movember 

If you would like to support my husband's Movember effort, and raise money for men's health charities, please click here.

Sunday 6th Movember

Today has been a lazy Sunday. We were supposed to be hitting the slopes of the Snow Centre with some friends. However, we both woke up this morning feeling rough with all the signs of a cold approaching, so decided to have a day at home instead. As we were saving money by not going, we decided to treat ourselves to Sunday dinner out. 3 lovely courses later & we returned to home, so stuffed that the rest of the day was spent lounging on the sofa. So not an exciting weekend to be writing about, but here is a photo of Stuart on Day 6 of Movember. 

Remember Remember the 5th of Movember!

Here's my hairy husband on Day 5 of Movember. £80 raised so far.

Day 3 of Movember

A quick update to share yesterday's Movember photo

1st day of Movember

On Sunday night, my husband had his usual 'ready to return to work' shave, the last one he will have for a few weeks. As written in last Tuesday's blog, he will be taking part in Movember. The month where men across the world will grow moustaches to raise money and awareness for Men's Health Charities. I've never seen my husband with more than 2 days worth of stubble, so this could be interesting. I'll either love it or hate it, and I fear it may be the latter! However, it's all for a good cause, and so I will be supporting him all the way. 

If you would like to show your support too by donating to Movember, 

please click here

Husband Changes The Subject

Today I have been feeling quite low, a feeling I've been experiencing quite a bit lately. I was going to blog about this, and how I am worried my problems with anxiety & mild depression are returning. By writing it all down, I was hoping it would help. However, I'm now feeling a bit brighter, so going to save it for another day when I need the blog therapy more. 


Instead, I'm going to write a positive post about my wonderful husband. Not only has he returned from work with chocolate tonight to help cheer me up, but he is taking part in a charity event to raise money & awareness for some great causes. Stuart will be taking part in Movember, where men all around the UK stop shaving and grow moustaches to raise awareness and money for men's health charities, including The Prostate Cancer Charity. Beginning on the 1st November, I will start taking daily photos of the hair growth, and update you blog readers on his progress. If you would be interested in supporting my husband by donating, please check out his Movember page here. 

Thankful Thursday

Inspired by a fellow blogger, I thought I'd share the things I have to be thankful for this week. 

1) My husband - For being there for me, for listening to me getting upset over silly things, and making me see sense. For cooking my tea 2 nights running, and doing the shopping this week so I can get on with making some Sock Creatures. 


2) My friends - I'm talking about my online friends who have also been supportive this week, and also have been helping me find new fans for my Sock Creations facebook page. 


3) My bosses - For seeing the potential I have to do bigger and better things, and for putting measures in place to allow me the opportunity to move into a more involved job role. This makes me feel very appreciated and valued. No boss has ever made me feel like this before, and this has given me a much needed confidence boost. 

What do you have to be thankful for this Thursday? 

Helping my eye sight or updating my image?

For as long as I remember, I have had to wear glasses. I believe I was about 3 years old when I got my  first pair. Some of my earliest memories are of trips to the hospital to see the eye specialist. I will need to clarify this with my mother, but in those early days I think I used to make that trip every 6 months. I have many memories of coming home wearing rather unattractive patches over my left eyes in an attempt to make my lazy right eye work harder. I also remember times where I had to have drops in my eyes. I remember having to follow the woodpecker on the stick and look at the pictures on the flip chart on the wall. Many times I wanted to have a change and read the letters instead, after all I could read at an early age and was more than capable of doing this. Now at 31, it would make a nice change to have pictures again! 

After the hospital visit came the dreaded visit to the opticians to pick out new glasses. Children who need glasses today don't realise how lucky they are to have the wonderful choice of NHS frames. Unfortunately, my parents couldn't afford to pay for my glasses and the NHS choice consisted of thick plastic frames in beige, blue & pink. These were the frames that caused some very miserable days at school. I know other kids with glasses got teased too, but it still didn't make it easier. Deep down I know that nicer frames, probably wouldn't have stopped being called speccy 4 eyes, although it might have stopped me from spending years taking my glasses off on the way to school so that I'd get a break. Maybe if I'd just worn them I'd have better eye sight now.

These days I only have to go to the options every two years as my eyes haven't improved since I was about 10. Regrettably I haven't been for 4 years, due to lack of funds for glasses. It may be vanity, but I can't bring myself to get cheap frames as it's a painful reminder of my childhood, and unfortunately I worry about what other people think too much. For the last couple of years I've been desperate to change my glasses as I feel they are out of date and other people will see that too. So tomorrow, I'm really excited about visiting the opticians, getting my eyes tested, and then picking out some new fancy glasses, that will probably cost an arm and a leg, but will improve my image, in the same way a new hairstyle does. 

Now I'm older and wiser, I'm no longer ashamed of how I looked as a child, even if my glasses do make my husband giggle. So here it is, the first time I've shared it so publicly.........

Another week has passed.....

...and again I haven't blogged. I seem to be spending more and more days struggling to come up with something interesting to write about. Maybe it's because I have an uninteresting life, maybe it's because my brain is now being kept a bit busier at work and it's too tired to think when I get home at night. Either way, it's getting annoying, as I really wanted to keep it regular this time. 

Since last week, my life hasn't been completely uneventful. I have been on a mini camping trip with my lovely husband, step-daughter, and her friend. We spent two soggy nights in the Norfolk Broads. It was the second time we have taken my step-daughter camping, and although the weather wasn't quite as bad as last time, she's not getting a very good impression of camping holidays. Luckily it stayed dry enough on the Friday afternoon to take two bored 14 yr olds to the Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth, where they made us adults feel ill watching them go on some scary looking rides. Unfortunately due to the amount of rain, we didn't get to take many photos of the weekend. I made the decision to hide from the camera for most of the time it was out. This was due to me doing my 'mummy' thing whilst packing, and spending so much time making sure everyone else had everything they needed, that I forgot to pack my make up & hairbrush!