My laptop has returned home today!

At long last my laptop was returned by courier today - So hopefully I can blogg a bit more frequently now. 
It had been gone for over4 weeks now and I was quite lost without it.

I had another parcel in the post from Papermaze with some scrapping goodies inside. Vanessa answered my plea on UKS for MM spider web papers so I duely placed an order on Sunday. The papers are flocked and are lovely and I can't wait till friday when I can make a start on Jess halloween layout.

Having a red day today - find my weight loss is much better on reds and after the titchy half pound loss this week - need to kick start it off again so had 2 - yes 2 gammon steaks with pineapple slice, carrots, mushrooms and peas - the same as everyone else except I just did not have the chips like them. Had tinned prunes and natural yougurt for pudding. For my evening treat had a lovely drink of pommegrannet juice, which I count  as 4 syns.

guess who is Miss Slinky?

Yes its me - crikey. I don't really feel slinky yet - but as I have lost the most at slimming club I was voted Miss Slinky last night!

The prize was a sash (wearing!), certificate and a bottle of Champagne - but as Mandy knows that I do not drink - she got me a bunch of flowers instead - which was very kind of her. Shirley & Sue were the other nominee's but Sue was poorly and could not come so Shirley was runner up. This was lovely because we both started off on the same night so have become good friend sitting by each other each week and giving each other encouragement. She bought her camera - me being the scrapbooker did not!!! and they took a photo of us both so she said she will bring me a copy next week.

I did loose tonight - but only half a pound. I knew it was not going to be much this week - in fact I was worried that I would have put on. I have not cheated but only managed to get to the gym twice last week and had changed my breakfast. I read a lovely book - the diet doctors - along the lines of you are what you eat and it was all about healthy eating. It said processed breakfast cereals are no good for you - much better to eat healthy muesli - sugar free. Well Jordan's healthy muesli was half price in Salisbury's this week so I have been eating it - but even though it is healthier than my all bran - I think it must be much more calorie laden. - So back to my All bran and linseed's again and see if we see a better result on the scales next week. The muesli was actually very nice so I wonder if i can keep it for a Sunday breakfast treat!

Mandy wanted some old fat photos of us and I found this one which I have not put on here before - gross - but even I can see a difference now.

I've been scrapping again!

I have just managed to do 2 layouts - so feeling a bit happier now. This one I reallylove - but is a bit of a cheat becasue I just laid 3 photos onto this lovely paper from DCWV (which came in this months Scrapagogo kit - wow actually used some of the kit in the month it arrived - a first I think!!) and that was it. I gutted some paper from behind the photos for the journalling and voila! It shows Jessica and her friends at the inter-university gala at Sheffield last year and the spooky thing was that I rang her mobile to ask the names of the girls in the photos and she answered and said 'can't talk as I am up in sheffield and the boys are just about to race'. - well I had no idea she was going to Sheffield so how spooky that I did a layout about last years event as this years was going on! She promised to take lots of photos so I can do another layout of this year's events.

This second one I am not so sure about. I have wanted to use these photos for a while - even though the quality of them is very poor, but is shows Jess and Dad having a lovely playtime together even though she was 18 - but it was a moment I wanted to record. It did not take me long and in this case I think that shows. The title is not very clear and all in all it does not shout at me - but at least it is done.

I spent the other aternoon printing out photos I want to use, so I have 3 more in the pipeline. One was Jesicas last year's halloween at Uni and I can't find the spiders web papers I want to use for it- I have put a request on the sponsers section of UKS so keeping my fingers crossed.

still no laptop!

My laptop is still away a the menders - they tell me that they are waiting for a part - but they have had it for 4 weeks now so I am going to take them to task today as I am so frustrated without it - hence not many blogg entries.

Managed to loose 3.5lbthis week - which I was extremely pleased about- better than the 1lbs of recently. However I am not sure how next week will go as I have only been to the gym once this week and have eaten out twice because it was my birthday - so perhaps my joy might be short lived.

Mandy - my SW consultant phoned me last night to say that I have been nominated for miss slinky at SW and would I dress up next week for it - well I had to say that I don't actually possess any smart clothes - but will put a bit of make up on instead! I am not slinky at all yet and think I was nominated as we have lots of new people and they have only lost a few pounds etc. Michelle who recently left was our real miss Slinky as she had lost 4stone 9lb and looked fab and the other girl to loose lots of weight is away on holiday at the moment. Anyway I have only been nominated and some other girls may win - hopefully as I really do not like the limelight.


When I get back from the gym really want to have a go at 2 layouts - one with my new scrapagogo kit which came this week.

I am getting quite good at the gym now

Think I am getting the hang of the gym now. I am trying to go 3-4 times a week (has to be midweek as I could not afford the weekend membership! I have found 2 classes that I like - water areobics - nice & gentle and I can keep up with all the grannies but feel as if I have worked some muscles. Pilates class on a wednesday is also good - not too energetic again and at a pace I can keep up with. I thought some of the exercises were easy until the instructor came and moved my leg into the correct position - wow then I could feel it.

Having enjoyed the pilates calss has inspired me to use the pilates machine at home. It is still outside so I can only use it if it is daytime and not raining. I am still working my way through the warm up exercises. It did come with a video of somew workouts but we don't have a video player now so will just have to keep having a go and watching it when it comes on QVC.

I have ordered a pilates DVD from Amazon - Darcy Bussell - this is one for the floor not the machine but at least I can have a go at in in the warm & dry!

4 stones lost now!

Yes I did it - but only just. I lost 1 1/2 lb last night which was enough to take me to my 4 stone award. I am very pleased with myself.

It is 7 weeks till Christmas and I would really like to loose another stone by then but as I am only loosing 1 a week now I don't really think it is likely - more like 14 weeks at this rate!!

so perhaps change it it to the new year and that gives me another week.

Mandy thought I might be getting near my target now as she says I look very slim and was surprised when I said that I was only just over half way there - another 3 stone to go!!

Just catching up

Inspired by Ali Edwards book again - I have made my first non scrapbook piece of creativity. I have made this mini book which arrived in a monthly kit ages ago and I did not know what to do with it. But one of Ali's challenges was to make one, so here it is. It may only be small but it has taken me ages and I am not particularly happy with the outcome!

I painted the chipboard pages pink but they all stuck together and then stuck to the newspaper and generally made a real mess everywhere, so had to cover them in paper. Thankfully I remembered my DCWV self adhesive papers and they were fab and easy to stick down, but got carried away with my crop-a-dile and punched all the holes in the same place - but half needed to be on the opposite side - so a bit of repair work was needed. I decorated the box with paper - not using paints again!!,which I think looks really nice, but unfortunately because of the paint swelling the chipboard, then layers of papers and photos - the mini book will not now fit back in the box!!
I am sure Jess will like it anyhow. I have been put off doing another mini book now - but am a little curious about acrylic books which seem to be featuring in a lot of the scrapping mags at the moment so may try one of those.

I went a bit mad with the crop-a-dile and made this ribbon tin ( from an idea on UKS) and think it will be really useful - as long as the ribbons don't get too tangled up inside!. I got 2 tins from Tesco this week for £4.00 and think I will use the other tins for Christmas ribbon. I have run out of eyelets now - wish I had got my crop-a-dile from QVC as it came with 400 of them!

The 2 items I have bought from the recent QVC craft day have arrived. The delivery times were dreadful - over 2 weeks each so I am not impressed and neither are lots of other girls on the UKS forum - think I will QVC a miss now for a while in protest until they can get their delivery act together. What makes it worse is that they have put their P& P prices up astronomically which is insult to injury!!

Both items from We R memory keepers and both fab. This tin of metal embellishments and alphas and these double sided adhesive tabs. I really like the adhesive tabs - they did come with refills so must see where I can get more from.


I also bought a carbon monoxide detector from Tesco -it cost £29.99 but the gas boiler is in Liam's bedroom which I was not really concerned about until those 2 little children died last year on holiday from Co2 leaking from a faulty boiler. I have been trying to find one for gases and like this one because it has a read out of the levels - thankfully Liam's room reading was zero - so a little peace of mind and safety. I have told him all about it and if the alarm goes off - it cannot be stopped so he is not to throw it out of the window but to get out of the house himself quickly.