Live...Laugh...Love

2010-12-01T11:44:00.001Z

SNOW!
Ireland is having some weird weather this week - snow in November! It's practically unheard of at this time of year. We've also had thunder and lightning which makes it all the more freaky! I put this slideshow together of some photo I took this week...

Finally got a chance last weekend to catch up on some scrapbooking and I got some layouts finished. The first is called 'Photoshoot' and describes the good and bad points of being a photographer's daughter ;-)

The next one was a kit I got from Annamarie of The Scrapbookstore.ie and it has been lying around my craftroom for ages. I used a really lovely poem which sits on my fridge door daily about 'If I had my child to raise all over again' by Diane Loomans. I thought it was appropriate for the photos but also for the fact that my baby is now ten years old and I can hardly believe how fast that time has gone.

TFL

2010-09-20T10:32:00.001+01:00

The Great Big Craft Extravaganza

This weekend I'm looking forward to teaching a class at the The Great Big Craft Extravaganza (GBCE) in Athlone. Entry is free to the event and there will be plenty of fabulous workshops and of course there's the shopping ;-) so come along and meet up with other crafty people. Details of workshop times and availability are on the link above.

I will be using a lovely kit from Jennie Bowlin and we will be completing a double layout. You will need 1-3 photos and the theme is fairly open. My photos are 5''x7'' with a white border but 4x6 photos in colour or B&W will also suit the layout. If you cannot attend my workshop I will have a limited number of spare full instruction kits available for sale for this class and other workshops I have run in the past and these will be available after the class. Hope to see you there ;-)

Details of Kit and photos required for my class this weekend

Sneaky peak of my class.

2010-08-31T19:50:00.000+01:00

On a roll...so I am...;-)

After a rather dry spell of scrapbooking over the Summer holidays...I am back on the wagon and enjoying putting my layouts together...here's a few of the newer ones I made in the past week..

I took both of these photos of my girls in a little town called Sirmione in Italy this Summer and in fact the wall they are standing against is the previous home of Maria Callas...it's actually on the market if anyone is interested! ;-)

And this is how they look side by side in my album...

The next layout is entitle 'Ipod Chicks' and it describes how my two magpies hijack my Iphone/Ipod at every opportunity. They can't wait to grow up so they can have their own!

The next one is called 'Thank Heavens for little girls' and it shows my eldest in Glendalough which is a beautiful and well known 12th Century monastic site just a few weeks ago...

Finally the last one is the same photo in the previous posting but just scrapped in a different way...I figure I have two girls who may one day want to have these albums of mine for themselves. This way they have one each!

TFL
xx

2010-08-22T12:03:00.002+01:00

Bubbles...

It never fails to amaze me how a small tub of soapy water can gives hours of entertainment to my girlies....This photo was taken on holidays in Italy this year. They must have spent an hour trying to create the perfect bubble...;-)

2010-08-18T23:10:00.003+01:00

Some new layouts from me...it's been a while ;-)

2010-08-14T19:33:00.002+01:00

Lucy's 7th Birthday

2010-08-05T20:29:00.004+01:00

Norah

A few years ago my mum and dad went on one of those 'See 3 European cities in 7 days on a bus with complete strangers'. They had a ball visiting Prague, Budapest and Vienna. On this trip they met a lovely woman and her daughter. Norah is a woman in her 80's and quite a character. They have formed a close friendship even though she lives in Cork and since that trip my mum speaks to her on the phone most weeks - she's like her second mother. As it was my mum's birthday last week I was making her a birthday card when these photos of Norah fell out into my lap. I considered it a sign so I quickly made up these 2 layouts to add to her album.

The quote is lovely and so true... 'where ever you are, it is your own friends who make your world'...

2010-06-09T17:39:00.008+01:00

'Rules for a Perfect Life'...

Just had a lovely visit from my good pal Niamh Greene who I haven't seen in ages, as she is busy writing her funny books about 30-40 somethings who get themselves into pickles. Niamh was up in Dublin this morning to appear on Ireland AM to discuss her newest book 'Rules for a perfect life' - perfect for the Summer holidays. You can catch the link here;

Niamh's book is out now in all good bookshops and is currently 'Book of the Month' in Easons bookstore. You can also buy it online here. Great read for the Summer hols!

2010-05-29T21:19:00.001+01:00

'Brothers amd Sisters' Scrapbooking Class

Another fun day out at Le Cheile today. I designed this colourful layout using My Mind's Eye 'So Sophie' papers. I used a great quote from Marcelene Cox;
'Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet;
there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires...'

Don't we all have one of those in our family??? Maybe we are the one?? hehe!

If you like the kit which includes a number of double sided sheets, cardstock, journal tag, title tag, blossoms brads and vintage lace, you can order it here ;-)

2010-05-24T13:07:00.002+01:00

Sneaky Peaks..May class 'Brothers and Sisters'

I'm looking forward to our last class in Le Cheile for the Summer months which is happening next Saturday 2-5pm. This weekend we will be using the lovely new papers 'So Sophie' from My Minds Eye. Here's just a couple of sneak peaks of what we will be making....some spaces available if you'd like to join in...

2010-05-05T21:42:00.005+01:00

I Won!!

Just found out tonight that I won a Fiskaratte's sketch competition which ran over the past few weeks. I'm really happy as there were lots of great entries.My prize is a year's subscription to a craft magazine of my choice - brilliant!! Here's my layout of Lucy last year in Venice - love those venetian mask shops as every mask looks so different;

Check out http://www.fiskarettes.co.uk for some generous competitions and some great inspiration!
.

2010-05-04T10:27:00.004+01:00

Belfast Marathon

Just home from Belfast where himself did us proud yesterday when he ran his second marathon in 3 hrs and 25 mins. He took ten minutes off his time last Oct at the Dublin marathon. This is him at 21 miles and he was basically smiling as he ran by us ;-)

After the marathon we went back to the hotel for lunch and met these two fantastic women. Catherine (Kay) O'Regan is the lady to the left - she's 75 years of age and just ran her 97th marathon yesterday. What's amazing about her is that she took up marathon running at 49 and had a personal best time at 3hrs 15mins when she was 58. She has a busy marathon schedule this year and hopes to clock up marathon no 100 by October. I am flabbergasted by this woman's achievements. You can read all about her here. The other lady Mary Chapman is also a fantastic athlete as she ran the marathon yesterday in Belfast but also ran the ULTRA marathon in Connemara 3 weeks ago which is 39 miles!!! I feel like donning my trainers now to get out there and run...What a privilege to meet these ladies ;-)

2010-04-12T20:03:00.008+01:00

Fiskarettes Sketch Challenge

This is the latest Fiskarettes challenge so I used this sketch to create a layout about our trip to Venice last year. I love Venetian masks - especially how you will rarely find two decorataed the same. The shop windows are amazing and I spent ages browsing them...

I loved using these vintage papers and lace to give an 'olde worlde' feel to the layout. I painted some grunge board lettering with gold acrylic paint and decorated them with stickles in a Venetian harlequin pattern...

Here are all the entries and you can vote now ;-)

TFL
xx

2010-04-12T16:46:00.004+01:00

Canvas Class

We had a great day last Saturday in Le Cheile, Donnycarney. Using the lovely new 'paperdolls' papers from Crate, we altered a canvas and created an additional 12x12 LO. Lots of pink girlie girl photos floating about!!

Thanks to everyone who came along last Saturday and we look forward to seeing you again on Sat 29th May 2-5pm in Le Cheile, Donnycarney.

xx

2010-04-05T00:07:00.005+01:00

Altered Canvas Class - Le Cheile Donnycarney Sat 10th April

Really looking forward to getting back to teaching a class next weekend in Le Cheile. We will be altering a canvas of your choice to create a fab gift using these gorgeous Crate papers.

You can find all the details about the class and booking over on www.scrapbooking.ie. Some places still available so drop a line if you would like to join us. Beginners welcome ;-)

2010-03-23T16:59:00.005Z

Bad bad blogger me...

Ok so it's been a while - hands up I'm sorry ;-) Life has been a bit hectic since Christmas. College assignments have taken over my life along with a very unexpected but very disruptive oil leak in the back of our garden where the neighbour's builders (insert expletives here!!) made a complete &%$£ of the connections and over 400 litres of pure kerosene poured into our property. Since then we have had insurance people and oil remediation people and all sorts of other people pulling our garden apart in the fix up.

Eventually 40 tonnes of oil soaked clay (ie 4 industrial sized skips!!) was removed in a wheelbarrow and the patio dug up. We are nearly there in terms of damage limitation and repair but it has been a stressful and consuming time for us. Thanks goodness for insurance as the damage is hitting €35k++. Soon we will have a new patio and hopefully that's an end to it all (until the next time they fill their tank! hehe!)...

Needless to say crafting has been on the backburner since Christmas but I was inspired to play with paper last weekend and turned out a few using some favourite kits, papers and photos..

Anyway it's time to restart the scrapbooking classes so I'm happy to announce our local venue Le Cheile Donnycarney is available on Sat 10th April for a full day's scrapbooking and papercrafts. We will be using the fabulous new Paper Doll papers from Crate. Watch this space for more details and book your place on www.scrapbooking.ie.

Hope to see you then!
Elaine
xx

2010-02-23T19:21:00.005Z

The gift of an ordinary day...

My good friend Niamh sent this to me today and I just loved it...you know those days you get sometimes and you wonder 'will they ever stop messing up the house??' or 'will they ever stop spilling juice??' and then you listen to the words in this video and you realise that these days will be gone eventually and I will probably (scratch that...in fact I know) I will miss them..the moments as well as the messy kids...If you are sentimental like me...Grab a Kleenex and enjoy...

2010-01-16T00:01:00.001Z

Make your Twitter look amazing withFree Twitter Backgrounds

2009-12-07T22:29:00.006Z

Hedigan's Craft Market

Over the weekend we popped into a little craft market at Cross Gun's Bridge. We met the first Santa of the season and his goat.

While we were there I sampled the most amazing cupcakes from Daisy Chain Cupcakes- really yummy and lots of exotic flavours. Dan the owner told me he sells down at the IFSC and may be moving into the Dundrum area (Harvey Nicholls)very soon so watch out for it ;-)

2009-12-06T22:45:00.002Z

Christmas at Farmleigh

We took a trip to Farmleigh today for the annual Christmas festivities. It's a fantastic event - Christmas market, kids storytelling, pony and trap rides, santa letterbox and a Christmas choir to entertain the masses. We had a great afternoon and the kids had a ball...

2009-12-01T23:23:00.003Z

Christmas Party Crop Sat 5th Dec

We are getting ready for Saturday's Christmas Party Crop on 5th Dec and here's a sneak peak of my class. With the beautiful Webster's pages 'Home for the Holidays' papers we will be making no less than 3 layouts in my class and a further 2 layouts in Annamarie's class with plenty of leftovers. To book a place (there's just a handful of places left) drop a line to workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie and the cost for the day is €50.

Updating to show the finished layouts from the Christmas class...

Hope to see you then
xox

2009-11-01T18:00:00.003Z

Halloween

2009-10-25T10:20:00.012Z

Halloween Megascrap Sneak Peaks & Class Lists

Well, we're counting down to the Halloween MegaScrap in just under a weeks time at Le Cheile Community Centre, Clancarthy Road, Donnycarney, Dublin 5 on Saturday 31st October 2009. The kits are almost packed and we thought we'd share with you a few sneak peeks from the classes.

Tickets for the full day (10am to 4pm) cost €60.00 and include:

* 2 Scrapbooking Workshops with full kits
* 1 Candle Painting Workshop with Jackie Campbell
* Tea, coffee and goodies
* Entry to the prize draw
* A fun day out!

If you just fancy coming along to enjoy the craic and finish some of your own projects, a crop space for the full day, 1 Candle Painting Workshop with Jackie and entry to the prize draw costs €25.00.

Tickets are now on sale at TheScrapbookStore.ie or you can also email workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie with any questions.

To complete the Scrapbooking classes you'll need to bring along:

* a craft knife and craft mat
* a paper trimmer
* acid free adhesive
* black ink
* a scissors
* black felt tip pen
* black, red or clear Ranger Stickles.

to complete Jackie's Candle Painting Workshop you'll need to bring:

* acrylic paint (you must bring white but all other colours can be your choice)
* a square candle
* a flat paintbrush
* baby wipes

Lainey's Workshop

to complete Lainey's Workshop you'll need to bring:

* A scoring board (there will be one to share on the day)
* Some spare chipboard to mount lettering and tags
* Black pen to journal
* Photos - can be added in later on
1 5x7 portrait style Autumnal themed photo - preferably with a white border
Choice of - 1 large 8x6 landscape style Autumnal themed photo
- 2 4x6 portrait style Autumnal themed photo
- 5 4x6 portrait style Autumnal themed photo which you are prepared
to trim. This is what I used and it can be seen in the sneak
peak above. I used software (Photoshop, Picasa etc) to trim 5 photos into a montage measuring
8x6.

You can also a number of small 2x3 sized Autumnal photos in the interactive hidden area of the layout. Even if you don't have the right photos don't worry - you can complete your layouts and then go home and take Halloween photos at your own halloween parties.

Kit includes:

5 sheets of Basic Grey Indian Summer paper• Cordovan/Milkweed/Squash/Autumn Glaze/Russet

1 sheet of Basic Grey Indian Summer Element Stickers and

1 sheet of white Bazzill

1 pack of Basic Grey Indian Summer Woolies.

It's an interactive double page layout: Here's some sneak peaks...

Annamarie's Workshop

Kit includes:

1 sheet of Pink Paislee Amber Road die cut paper

1 sheet of Pink Paislee Amber Road Postcards

4 sheets of Pink Paislee Amber Road patterned paper

1 pack of Pink Paislee Amber Road punchouts and

1 pack of Pink Paislee Expressions Licorice Glitter Alphabets

It's a double page layout with more than a hint of sparkle! You'll need to bring along a minimum of three portrait format 5" x 7" photos printed with a white border (my photos measure 5" x 7" including the border), but bring along as many as you have. They can be Autumn or Halloween themed as the papers and diecuts would suit either.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Lainey & Annamarie

2009-10-13T21:00:00.002+01:00

Halloween Megascrap 30th Oct 2009

Plans are afoot for our forthcoming Halloween Megascrap on Sat 30th Oct. Myself and Annamarie will be teaching two classes with bumper kits. I will be using the lush and rusty palatte by Basic Grey 'Indian Summer'. The theme of the class is Autumn and we will have lots of opportunity to create some lovely Autumnal scene scrap pages. So get out to the park over the next couple of weeks and start snapping those leaves! More details will be following soon on the classes so watch this space. Cost for the day including two classes, refreshments, crop space and a bonus demo with the very talented Jackie C. Watch this space! Places are available by contacting Annamarie. Places are limited to 24 so booking essential.

2009-09-22T19:01:00.004+01:00

Killiney Beach and memories of the 'DEBS'

Last Sunday we took a trip on the DART out to Killiney Beach. Haven't done that in absolutely years so it was fun to go back. I was sad to see the Killiney Court Hotel is no more - apartments have sprung up in its place. Another victim of that dim and distant memory - the 'Celtic Tiger' which is now more like a beraggled moggy. That was where I had my Deb's dance (debutantes ball/graduation etc etc) many moons ago - as did half of Dublin if I remember well. It was one of the few places which actively encouraged the business of those mad nights!! They had it down to a fine art - naff band, 80's disco (well actually it was the 80's!!) and even the breakfast was served promptly at 6am and then everyone was turfed out on the DART home....ah the memories!

Speaking of Debs, my lovely niece Laura had her own Debs last week. This makes me feel very old as I was her babysitter when she was a mere babe in arms. Debs dances are a much more sophisticated affair these days! Tantastic supermodels in designer frocks and stretch limos are the order of the day. Took a few shots just before she left to party...

2009-09-12T18:30:00.003+01:00

A Day in my life

That was the title of the class I taught today in Le Cheile, Donnycarney. We had fun with this kit from Cosmo Cricut (Earthlove) as we created this fun cartoonish type of layout using some funky stamps I picked up last year in Belfast.

In the journaling tag I wrote about my Thursday routine as this is how it's going to be for a few months as I'm beginning a new college course in Commercial Photography tomorrow. Wish me luck - must be crazy as if I haven't got enough to do! But anyway -sometimes you have to try new things ;-)

2009-09-08T23:39:00.004+01:00

Sneak Peaks 'A Day in My Life'...

This weekend I will be teaching a class in Le Cheile, Donnycarney called 'A day in my life'.. based on the principle of paper piecing. I've always loved the style of Claudine Hellmuth so when I saw these papers they seemed like the perfect accompaniment to a paper piecing project. Hope you can join us. Contact me to book a place or for more information check out Scrapbooking.ie here

2009-09-04T11:06:00.002+01:00

Micheal Jackson's Birthday- 'Beat it' Flash Mob

I love these darn things...would love to witness one in real life! Heck I'd like to dance in one in real life ;-)

2009-09-02T21:43:00.007+01:00

The Script..

I was just over on Kate's blog and she posted up about The Script - one of Ireland's hottest bands who are now supporting U2 and Paul McCartney. I hadn't heard of them until last year when she brought them to my attention on her blog. Now they are one of my favourite bands having seen them live at Take That and U2 this Summer. I couldn't resist posting this...;-) Isn't he a little cutie..

2009-08-25T21:49:00.004+01:00

Dublin can be heaven...

Sometimes it's nice to grab your camera and just be a tourist in your own city. We took a trip into Dublin city centre today and walked over the Halfpenny bridge, then a leisurely walk through Temple Bar and down to Trinity College where I showed my two girls where her mum and dad used to hang out wasting time/gaining an education many moons ago..it was a glorious day so everything looked so nice in the sunshine..

Even managed to grab a few pieces of chocolate biscuit cake from the college cafe. It hasn't changed in near 20 years...yum!

2009-08-20T17:10:00.010+01:00

It's all about Lucy..

Well at least this post is...as she was the birthday girl last week I've compiled some of my recent LO's about her..can't believe how fast those 6 years have gone! Happy Birthday sweetheartXX

2009-08-17T20:56:00.002+01:00

Yearbook Yourself..

Had fun tonight playing with this

It's easy...upload a photo and away you go..give it a try! ;-)

2009-08-08T21:36:00.003+01:00

Castleknock Scrapbooking Class in Castleknock

Thanks to everyone who came along to our favourite venue at Castleknock parish hall today. We created this double layout on a travel theme using some lovely Heidi Swapp papers. This is how my LO turned out like and I have to say I was inspired today by everyone's travel photos - it has made me want to visit some more places! See you all next month ;-)

2009-08-06T10:38:00.006+01:00

Where in the World?

As it's the Summer I thought we would have a look back at past holidays for this month's scrapbooking class in Castleknock next Saturday 8th August..This month we are using some lovely Heidi Swapp travel themed papers which really sits well with B&W photos of your travels. Here's a sneak peak - still a couple of places available...Contact me for more information ;-)

If you would like to learn how to create a film strip of photos for this weekend's class check out my online tutorial here

2009-08-04T17:39:00.008+01:00

Something crafty...

It's been a while since I showed anything crafty on the blog...what with holidays and keeping the kids occupied since school closed, there's not a lot of time to spare. I've been pottering about in my craftroom especially since my trip to Dublin's new IKEA store for yet another craft storage unit. Everything is nicely organised at last and I can find my stuff where it should be..

So this one was of our first trip to Eurodisney where we met Goofy. He visited the restaurant we were at on our first evening there and the girls were mesmerised by this giant goofball.

This one 'Perfect Pout' was inspired by a LO I saw in a magazine - the photo was perfect for the title. Thankfully she's not always like this!

The next one..I've called 'Home' and I made everyone in the family write out a little card for me to include what they like most about our home...

Finally a home isn't a home without the people you love in it...these are mine..

TFL

2009-07-26T23:29:00.000+01:00

2009-07-26T00:00:00.002+01:00

More wedding videos...

God I just love wedding videos and this one in particular made me smile today...

2009-07-07T23:57:00.003+01:00

Home from Italy...

Just home from a lovely holiday to Italy...we went back to our favourite campsite Union Lido Vacanze in Cavallino near Venice and then we took a short trip up to Lake Garda for a few days where we met up with some friends who drove down to meet us from Switzerland. We had a really great holiday apart from the usual mozzie bites..we both got savaged as always and ended up on antibiotics, Ed had to visit the hospital. However, it didn't stop us enjoying ourselves and really enjoyed the magnificant scenery of Peschiera on Lake Garda and a fun day out at Gardaland...Here's a few memories from the hols...enjoy!

Italy '09

2009-06-21T08:25:00.010+01:00

Misdummer Megascrap with Celine Navarro

Yesterday we had such a fantastic creative day with our guest tutor Celine Navarro from France. Celine taught two really great classes in mixed media showing how to get creative effects with acrylics, paper and canvas.

The first class was '3 layouts in 3 hours' and that's exactly what she delivered. Each layout had a unique mixed media technique and the result was fabulous. After an amazing lunch spread (thanks girls!) in the afternoon we created a canvas wall hanging again using some amazing mixed media techniques. Everyone created their own set of layouts and canvas using all of the ideas which we had learned throughout the day and judging from the creative work which was produced by everyone, I think the event was a great success...

Thanks to The Scrapbookstore, Linda Kelly, and Inspiring Ideas for the lovely raffle prizes and thanks to everyone for supporting the event and making it such a great day out. We finished up the day by taking Celine for her first pint of Guinness in an Irish pub!
XX

2009-06-18T15:42:00.004+01:00

Midsummer Megascrap Countdown

With less than 2 days to go we are all getting excited about Celine Navarro's visit to Dublin to teach this weekend in Le Cheile, Donnycarney. We have only a handful of places left so if you are thinking about it contact myself or Annamarie asap.

Celine is a well travelled tutor and has trotted the globe bringing her unique teaching style to scrapbookers all over the world. She is so excited about visiting Dublin and has been trying to get over for a long time so she will be happy to land in Dublin tomorrow and hopefully see some of the countryside next week.

Here's a little sneak peak of the first class - 3 Layouts in 3 hours. I've seen the finished projects and I can assure you that people will be going home delighted with their finished projects and their heads full of ideas on Saturday evening...

If you would like to know more about the classes, kit contents, transport to the event or lunch arrangements, please check out www.scrapbooking.ie for more details..

2009-06-08T19:56:00.000+01:00

45 Life Lessons

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written."

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

2009-06-06T17:47:00.008+01:00

Birthday Photoshoot with Cheryl Johnson...

When I was in London recently for Cheryl Johnson's Bootcamp photography course, we had the opportunity to have a little mini photo shoot. I decided to have a go as it was my special birthday recently and I thought it would be a good way to celebrate.. I love how they turned out and I'm delighted to have some new photos to scrap. CJ is a fantastic photographer and tutor - I learn't so much over the weekend. Thankfully she is also pretty ace on Photoshop HAHA!

I did wonder if there was a bull running up behind me here as I was in the field side of the gate - and we really had a giggle about that. I don't think CJ would have let me move if there was one running towards me as the lighting conditions were pretty good and it would be a shame to miss them over the trivial matter of a bull! (snigger!) ;-)

For this one a jogger was running by and I got the giggles as his face was priceless with me draping myself along the wall. If only he had come back the 2nd night when the boudouir shoots were in full swing!!

Cheryl is really looking forward to making it over to Dublin in the near future so if you are interested in booking some personal or family shoots let me know and we can see what can be arranged ;-)

2009-06-02T23:47:00.005+01:00

Sports Day

It never fails that the sun shines for the kiddies school sports day and today was no exception. It was glorious and we had to slap on the sunscreen as it was hitting 20 degrees by 10am. The kids took part in 3 races each and we had first and second places to celebrate.

Every year I love to flick back to previous year's sports days to see how much they've grown. Can't believe this is our 6th year of sports days already since montessori school!

And of course it wouldn't be sports day without the mum's race! I was delighted with my 2nd place. 2 hours in yesterday's mini marathon in scorching heat didn't take it out of me as much as 30 seconds in this competitive race today!

2009-06-01T21:17:00.008+01:00

Mini Marathon

What a cracking day for the Dublin ladies Mini Marathon -one of the hottest days of the year so far. We had a great afternoon in glorious sunshine - so many women out running, walking, strolling at their own pace for their various charities. Millions of euro raised for charity on one sunny afternoon.

We turned up at St Stephens Green to meet the girls running or walking for Arc Cancer Services...

...then it was a long wait to get started- we didn't pass the start line until 3.20pm when all of the serious contenders (the runners) had passed by..spirits were kept high with entertainment and music...

..of course it was very thoughtful of the Dublin Fire Brigade service to hose us down as we passed by at Donnybrook... ;-)

...the race was full of people like this - guys in dresses with a great sense of humour...

Niamh and Sheila stop for a quick photo at the 9km mark...

And finally we pass the finish line. What a great event!! Hope to do it all again next year..

2009-05-24T17:52:00.002+01:00

Sunny days are here again...

At last the sun is shining again so we hot footed it down to Farmleigh to catch a few rays and enjoy the sunshine before the Sunday crowds arrived!

2009-05-23T17:56:00.003+01:00

May Scrapbooking Class 'Top 10'...

We had a lovely and relaxing day today in Le Cheile, Donnycarney where I taught this double LO class entitled 'Top 10'. I chose to scrap my top 10 holiday destinations to date. Thanks to everyone who came along and we look forward to seeing you at the big event - The Midsummer Megascrap on Sat 20th June when we have celebrity tutor Celine Navarro over to Dublin for a fun scrapbooking event. Lots of techniques,gorgeous bumper kits, raffle prizes and of course auntie Ann's home baking ;-). Tickets start at €25 and you can book your space here...

2009-05-20T19:24:00.001+01:00

Sneak Peaks May 23rd Scrapbooking Class...

I've just put the finishing touches on this month's scrapbooking class using a lovely monochrome set of Jenni Bowlin papers. There's still places available if you would like to join us to create this double layout on the theme of 'Top 10'. For my layout I've listed my top 10 favourite holiday destinations to date... Hope you can join us..

2009-05-16T17:59:00.014+01:00

Letters to a Love Rat...

Well what do you know, my lovely friend Niamh Greene has done it again. This is the girl who sat in my kitchen week after week having a cuppa and telling me that she was doing 'this and that' with her free mornings since the kids went back to school.

A few months later I was totally shocked and flabbergasted when she tells me that actually the 'this and that' she was doing was tapping away at her laptop, writing funny stories to record the antics of her kiddies. The 'tapping' was a way of preserving her memories and also her sanity. Thankfully her husband read them and encouraged her to send them off to a few publishers. Lo and Behold Penguin Publishing House (which incidentally is no shabby unknown publisher!) phoned her back the next day... and the rest as they say is HISTORY!

Her first book 'Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife' came out 2 years ago and was an Irish and UK bestseller. Last year she followed it up with 'Confessions of a Demented Housewife - the Celebrity Years' and now she has just launched her third novel 'Letters to a Love Rat'. Isn't this the stuff of fairytales??? - stay at home mum always wanted to be a writer ...becomes Irish and dare I say it 'International' success in two years!So proud of the gal! I'm absolutely loving the latest edition to her repetoire. And 300,000 copies sold in 2 years is no shabby pipedream neither! It's in all good bookshops now...now tell all your friends :-)

2009-05-10T23:13:00.024+01:00

Cheryl's Bootcamp

WOW WOW WOW just home from the most fantastic photography workshop weekend in Great Chesterford, London- Cheryl Johnson's Bootcamp. From beginning to end it was just an amazing weekend of learning and fun in the best company of lovely photographers and scrappers from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The weekend was a great mix of tech talk and practical experience and the theme of Army Bootcamp was prominent as you will see from these photos. Lesley made this fun and clever animation of our graduation/fall out - have a look here

On Saturday we had a morning session in studio with a great little model Abbie aged 6 who was such a little pro....

After that session we went outside to the beautiful hotel grounds and photographed Abbie doing her thing in the garden. She was quite the little star and loved the attention from the papparazzi following her every move..

Afterwards we spent some time doing a baby photo shoot - little baby David aged 4 months who was half compliant and half annoyed at us poking lenses in his face which was good experience on adaptability as a photographer as that's what babies do at that age.

After a fantastic BBQ on Saturday night we had a chance to have a little play in the studio again and that's when the fun really started...

First I took some 'serious' head shots of Audrey - quite happy with the mood of these photos. Of course it helps when your model is photogenic!

...Then we discovered Cheryl's prop bag so we had lots of giggles with the fairy wings!

The next day we spent a sunny Sunday morning walking around the lovely village of great Chesterford with our model family of four which were duly stalked by the papps. At one stage we were photographing our roleplay 'moody teenager' subject on a doorstep when suddenly the owner opened his door to 30 or so cameras pointing his direction. He took it in good spirits and invited us in for tea!

It was an unmissable weekened - I learn't so much and had the best time...Thank you Cheryl!

2009-05-03T21:25:00.014+01:00

Dec's 40th Birthday Party

Last night we went to a dear pal's (the bould Declan's) 40th birthday party. A great chance to catch up with the old college crew- what a night! Finished up at 6am! I can't remember the last time I left a party in broad daylight!Birds were singing - too weird! Thank God for overnight babysitters! I made this little album for him of the good 'ole college days- so many great memories!

Another pal Elaine was also celebrating her 40th so I made this album about our travels to Greece in the 90's. I love making these albums - so much fun!

One of the funny events of the night was the conclusion of a 20 year bet which we all made on the last night of college exams- to see who would lose the least amount of hair...

And here we are 20+ years on and the time to announce the winner was last night. Guess who won!!

Disclaimer: no scalps were harmed in the taking of this photograph!

2009-04-27T23:08:00.010+01:00

Mid Summer Megascrap Event 2009

Midsummer MegaScrap Event 2009
with TheScrapbookStore.ie
DATE: Saturday 20th June 2009
LOCATION: Main Hall, Le Cheile Community Centre, Donnycarney, Dublin 5
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Celine Navarro PhotoGuest Tutor - Celine Navarro
We're thrilled this year to be able to bring you the creative talents of the unique Celine Navarro in a full day of Scrapbooking Classes.

As a mixed media and scrapbook artist, Celine travels the world teaching her fun and funky classes (she's just back from a teaching trip to Singapore!) and she is really excited about her trip to Ireland.

Celine is the Founding Editor of the French {entreARTiste} Magazine and she's also a Designer for American Crafts, Hambly Studios and Pink Paislee. She's also been Guest Designer for Jenni Bowlin, Studio Calico and Prima to name but a few.

To check out more of Celine's Work take a look at her Green Frog Studio Blog!

If you'd like to join us for a full day of Scrapbooking Classes with Celine Navarro packed with inspiration and techniques, ticket prices are as follows:

Full Day Package (9am - 5pm) - €87.50 includes two 3-hour Scrapbooking Classes with Celine including kits, prize draw & refreshments.

Half Day Package (10am - 1pm or 2pm - 5pm) - €50.00 includes one 3-hour Scrapbooking Class with Celine including kit & refreshments.

Full details of the classes will be available online in the coming days.

To reserve your space simply book online and pay your deposit by Friday May 8th or for further details of the event please email workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie
Where's the venue? - To see a map of the area click here
What's the closest DART/Train Station? - Killester
Which Dublin Bus Routes can I use? -20B, 27, 27B, 42, 42B,43 from opposite Connolly Stn.
I'd like to make a weekend of it! Closest Hotels - Bewleys Dublin Airport or Crowne Plaza Santry

2009-04-19T22:01:00.003+01:00

Sunny days are here again..

Our neighbours have a skip outside of their house and it was half filled. They kindly allowed us to add whatever we wanted into it so this morning when I woke up and saw blue skies and sunshine I took that as a major sign to empty the contents of the shed out onto the lawn and purge purge purge. 8 hours later and we now have a cleaner garden and a shed where everything has a special place. Oh happy days!

Lucy couldn't wait to get the 'relaxing chairs' (as she calls them) from out of the depths of the shed and this is how she spent her morning - doing Jackie O impersonations! I love days like these...

2009-04-18T21:51:00.013+01:00

Easter Party Crop - Le Cheile Donnycarney

Today we had the Easter Party Crop in Le Cheile Donnycarney and there was a great turn out of crafters. I started the day off with my double layout class using Jennie Bowlin's 'Trendy' papers. I will be repeating this class in Churchtown next month (details to follow).

I liked how this LO turned out so I decided to repeat it again with these beautiful 7 Gypsies papers which Annamarie from The Scrapbook Store has just taken delivery off - they are going fast so don't delay!

My favourite part of the day was actually sitting down and taking part in our Guest teacher Carrie's class where we made a stunning little notebook from scratch - covers, inserts the lot! It was a hands on paint project but we all got stuck into distress painting and dyeing our papers with coffee and the end result was this lovely little book which I am very happy with...Thanks Carrie-can't wait for your next class!

Tonight I chilled out with a glass of wine watching my favourite reality TV programme 'Britain's Got Talent' and I was absolutely bowled over by this little 12 year old guy from Wales. What a fantastic little star! He will be giving Susan Boyle a run for her money!

Shaheen Jafargholi

Hope you're having a good weekend
XX

2009-04-12T19:40:00.007+01:00

Happy Easter

Hope you're enjoying the Easter celebrations today. We took a picnic basket to Farmleigh and had our lunch outdoors in front of a sea of daffodils. The girls played for hours, running up and down through the daffs.

2009-04-11T21:39:00.018+01:00

Summer came early for Easter...

Wow what a fabulous day today- the sun was out early so we decided to make a day of it in the garden. First we had some fun on the trampoline and after last weekend's escapades it was just one at a time and well supervised!

Then Annamarie arrived with her family and we had an early Easter Egg hunt using a €5 kit from Tesco which gave hours of fun for the little ones. They insisted on us hiding the same chocolate stash a few times in a row as the chase was more fun than the reward.

While all this was going on Annamarie and I got a chance to scrap a little. I finished preparing my class for next weekend's Easter Party Crop in Le Cheile centre, Donnycarney. I will be teaching a scrapbook layout using Jenni Bowlin's 'Trendy' range of papers. The event will be run all day from 10am -5pm and it'll be a fun packed day with classes, prizes and craic!

Jennie Bowlin 'Trendy' Collection - the kit includes all of the above ;-)

And here's a little sneak peak of what we will be making. It's a double LO with an open theme. You will need to bring just one large photo (5x7 or a little larger in landscape format) to suit the papers. B&W will sit well with this range.

Annamarie from The Scrapbook Store has created a fabulous LO using Pink Paislee Winsome Fascinating papers and they are just gorgeous!

And Caroline Moore will be teaching you how to make a handmade journal. These photos show you a finished journal but the class will involve the making of the journal which you can decorate yourself afterwards. More details of Caroline's class are available on the forum:

And here is a sneak preview of her kit for the class...

If you've any questions about the classes just check out my class thread on the forum or email workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie If you haven't booked your place you still have time to grab one of the last remaining places by emailing workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie or texting 086-2065346.

There are a few ticket options available:

● Shop & Crop Only Ticket - €15.00
● Crop Day plus 2 Scrapbooking Classes (with Annamarie & Lainey), crop space & entry to prize draw - €50.00
● Crop Day plus 2 Scrapbooking Classes (with Annamarie & Lainey), 1 Handmade Journal Class (with Caroline Moore), crop space & entry to prize draw - €75.00
● Shop & Crop plus Handmade Journal Class (with Caroline Moore) - €35.00

For further details or to book a place at any of the classes just email workshops@thescrapbookstore.ie

Happy Easter to everyone!
XX

2009-04-10T08:42:00.001+01:00

The Secrets of Success...

I love motivational speakers and I came across this clever 3 minute motivational talk and had to share...

2009-04-07T12:18:00.014+01:00

Turning 40...

[Photo courtesy of Anita Mundt Photography and Design]

It's a milestone and I think it should be embraced and not run away from...well that's what I'm doing anyway..LOL!! Today I turned 40 in Temple St Hospital with Lucy Lou and the one conclusion I made of the day is how lucky I am. I have the love of a good man and two beautiful and healthy kids who I can celebrate my birthday today...

So thought's on turning 40 -
1. It's only a number
2. Age is a state of mind
3. Despite what I think sometimes...I have lived, I have traveled, I have done something with my 40 years.
4. You're never too old to achieve your goals
5. I'm so lucky with what I have...so very lucky...
6. I can't wait for the next 40 - bring it on I say!

..And this is how I spent the day - after we left the hospital, I had a lovely lunch in my mums with a large bag of cards and pressies to open. Then a bus ride into town to meet himself and we took the girls to see 'High School Musical'. We had box tickets which was a lot of fun for the girls and for me! Then when we got home the neighbours called in with more presents and a surprise delivery of flowers (thanks Marlen!) and they stayed for a little glass of champers to finish it all..Happy day!

2009-04-06T19:44:00.005+01:00

Lucy's Big Break!

It was the end of the perfect weekend - we had a fantastic party on Friday night, my pal Ruthie came up with her kiddies from Cork and we had a lovely relaxing girls night in. Then on Sunday afternoon we went to my sister's house for my niece Ellen's 3rd birthday. The party was just about over and the kids were finishing up the last bounce on the trampoline when disaster struck!

(see the little monkey in the background giving it socks!)

WARNING- If you're squeemish then look away now!!!
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I mean it...it's not pretty...
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We took a quick spin down to the VHI Clinic but they took one look at her and sent us to A&E in Temple St. Fifteen minutes later we were in triage and on a bed down to X-Ray. I just happened to have my camera in my bag as it was a birthday party (well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!!). So here's the damage - pretty impressive and what's more impressive is that apart from a mild bit of whimpering when it first happened my brave little soldier didn't even cry in the hospital. The nursing staff couldn't believe why she wasn't screaming! Neither could I!

We finally got a bed at 1am on Monday morning and it was a long wait til Monday afternoon and she was taken down to theatre for bone manipulation. I have to say I found it hard to hand her over to the orderly to take her down to theatre. However, she came back eventually and the first thing she complained about was that her cast wasn't blue as requested!!! Kids eh! I've promised to alter it for her with sparkly diamonds LOL! So after a 2nd night in the hospital we were free to go. There were so many sick and poorly kiddies in the ward that a broken arm didn't feel that serious afterall. The staff were just fantastic - always a cheeful smile for every child.

2009-04-04T13:14:00.018+01:00

Our 80th birthday Bash

It's been a mad week getting ready for the big night last night - our joint 80th Birthday party. We were born 8 days apart in the same hospital so it made sense to do a joint celebration. Friday was a great day -lots of pampering in terms of hair, make up etc (well a girl's gotta make sure she doesn't look her age on her 40th birthday LOL!). We booked a lovely function room in The Twelfth Lock Hotel and Restaurant and it was a great venue. We had over 70 people there and it was so much fun to catch up with everyone who means a lot to you all in one room. We party'd the night away until 5am finishing up with a catwalk fashion show of all the lovely bags I received as presents. What a night - had an absolute ball! The best bit is I'm still technically 39 for a few more days!!

My crafty friend Liz (Littlebit) made this fabulous birthday cake for us showing our favourite passions in life - Liverpool FC and Scrapbooking!

2009-03-29T19:38:00.004+01:00

First of the Birthday celebrations...

We spent last night up in Drogheda (Drawhada as we call it!) with our old college crew to celebrate the upcoming birthdays and what a giggle it was...These are the people we meet once in a while and the minute we get together the banter is going back and forth, then along comes the slagging then the reminiscing -it's always a great night out. You appear to forget about your current age and pretend you're 19 again - and there's usually a few photos to prove it! Last night was one of those nights and if you are reading this...and you were there..you know what I'm talking about! Thanks guys - you really are the bestest pals in the world. I think I'm beginning to like this 40 lark! XX

2009-03-28T14:49:00.005Z

Some crafty presents...

Here's a few I made earlier ;-)

The first is a Bo Bunny 'BABY' album for little baby Zac who is now doing great. I saw him on Thursday when his mum called in for coffee and he was in great form...

A few weeks ago I was at Sibeal's 18th Birthday party so I made this 16x16 canvas for her using a pink paislee kit...

2009-03-23T16:56:00.019Z

A weekend of Castles...

One of the benefits of this over talked about 'Recession' is that the hotel industry has climbed down from its lofty tower and started to charge accessible rates in a bid to win customers and stay afloat. I spotted one such deal at Christmas (The Castles of Ireland promotion!). Now not one to hang around... and using the excuse that himself and myself have our significant birthday at this time, I booked it for a fraction and prayed for a babysitter.

Thankfully, my mum as always obliged and plans for operation escape were hatched. Just before we left last Friday, Lucy looked a little peaky (now why doesn't that surprise me!!!! She has previous!). I gave her a spoon of calpol, then sent her to school and crossed my fingers. An hour later mammy guilt was setting in, so in order to reassure myself I popped into the school yard and was so happy to see that she was well and smiling. So we hit the M50 and headed on our merry way.

Two and half hours later we stopped in our first castle - Bunratty, Co Limerick. We made a pit stop at Durty Nellies pub there for a toasted sarnie.

Then we arrived at our first destination - Dromoland Castle. Wow what a place to visit. Absolutely beautiful grounds and a magnificent setting. We were bowled over by how posh it was - valet parking, concierge welcoming you personally at the door etc etc. God I could get used to this LOL!

Anyway, we checked in and then shortly afterwards asked to change room as we got a connecting family room which was paper thin and you could hear the couple next door whispering and then sneezing! Not good enough for 5 star I'm afraid!

Eventually we got another room and went for a walk around the whole estate. This was the view from the otherside of the lake

I have to say the staff in the hotel were lovely - really attentive and nothing was too much trouble. Even Lily the resident pony was obliging for a photo!

Then I rang home and sure enough Lucy had a temperature (aaarrrghhh!) and if that wasn't bad enough himself came down with the same thing during our 5 course dinner in the ever so lovely dining room. My poor guy did his very best not to make a fuss but by 10pm he was green in the face, so we called it a day and skipped the residents bar.

The next morning thankfully, himself was in better form, bug had passed quickly and we had a lovely breakfast overlooking the lake. I rang home and Lucy was back to normal so happy days! I had been given a lovely surprise of a voucher for the spa from my brother and sisters as a birthday present so off I trotted to get myself buffed within an inch of my life at 10am. Two hours later I floated out of the spa a new woman and looking 10 years younger LOL!

Next stop was a trip to Lehinch for lunch and then onwards to the Cliffs of Moher. It was a beautiful day - the sun was shining so a perfect day for the cliffs...

I can never get enough of this place - they always mesmerize me everytime I see them.

As we had no kids with us we went a little further up the cliffs. My hands were breaking out in sweats when we got this close to the edge and at times I couldn't look at some of the tourists who were perched over the edge waving their cameras into the abyss.

'Eh hello...guys can you not read English???'

So after the cliffs we went back to Ennis. I dropped himself off to see the Rugby match (Up IRELAND!)while I went in search of craft shops heehee! Later I caught the end of the match which was a fantastic buzz (Grand Slam Rugby!) and we stayed in town for a great night of celebration. Unfortunately, a few hours later it was my turn to talk to the big white telephone and I was really unwell all through the night with the same bug.

Next morning (mothers day) I could hardly muster the energy to get out of bed to check out and we went on our way (clutching a plastic bag over the bumpy roads!) to our next destination -Ashford castle. All I can say is OMG! This place is in a different class altogether. The scale of the grounds, the setting -it was just stunning. Once again we were overwhelmed by the service of the staff-personally greeting us at the door etc. The best bit is that they had actually read the email I sent them telling them we were celebrating our 80th (40th x 2)birthday and gave us a complimentary upgrade followed by champagne - whoohoo! We were given this beautiful room which was taken by Maureen O'Hara when she was filming 'THE QUIET MAN' in the 1950's and it was just beautiful..You can see it here if you look closely on the RHS marked in red..

Anyway as I was still feeling icky, unfortunately the whole Ashford experience was a bit wasted on me as I crawled into bed at 4pm and ordered tea and toast and slept until the next day. If anything this has given me an excuse to go back someday!

Even so it was such a great weekend - funny when you look back now! A bonus is that I lost 2 lbs at weigh in! 'Every cloud' ...and all that!

2009-03-17T20:43:00.004Z

Happy St Patrick's Day...

We decided to give the parade a miss this year - unless you are 6ft 6 or conveniently live in one of those 3rd storey apartments en route -your vantage point can be a bit hit or miss. Instead, we had a cousin sleepover last night so the kids had fun turning themselves into Irish flags ;-)

2009-03-14T18:02:00.009Z

Natural Beauty Class - Le Cheile

Today was our March class and crop at Le Cheile, Donnycarney and we made this double layout showing some architectural photos from a holiday in Greece many moons ago. Thanks to everyone who came along today and we are already looking forward to April's Mega class on Sat 18th April in Le Cheile for an all day event with myself, Annamarie and our guest tutor Carrie. Watch this space for details...

{Updated to add this canvas of a cat called CASPURR which I created as a present for the kind lady who donated her Il Divo tickets to me last week and I used the leftovers in the March kit. This was my very first animal commission!}

2009-03-12T11:40:00.004Z

Il Divo

What an amazing concert last Sunday at the O2. The venue is fantastic - a huge improvement on the old Point Depot as the stage is almost part of the audience allowing everyone to see no matter what seats you have. Acoustics were top class as well and I wasn't prepared for the wall of sound that eminated from these handsome men (swoon!). As you can see we had pretty good seats (and a long lens!). At times it was difficult to concentrate on what they were singing ;-)

2009-03-05T23:26:00.003Z

'Natural Beauty' Class in Donnycarney - Sat 14th March 10am-3pm

This Saturday at the Donnycarney scrapbooking class and crop we will be using a lovely Basic Grey 'Granola' kit with gorgeous element stickers. The title of the LO is 'Natural Beauty'. For anyone thinking about what photos to bring along, I suggest you bring at least 3 photos (5x7 in landscape format). A selection of great landscapes/scenery/travel photos from a favourite trip or 3 portraits of a child/woman etc will work perfectly. Colour or black and white will suit the papers which are naturals/beige and blues. I used some photos of a trip to Greece showing scenery and architecture. As always photos can be added in later. There are still a few places left so if you would like to join in the class just drop me a line. Beginners are always welcome ;-)

2009-03-03T21:14:00.006Z

Please say a little prayer...

This beautiful little boy Zac, is in Temple St Hospital fighting meningitis. He's only 4 or so weeks old and he had only the mildest of symptoms on Sunday so his parents are totally shocked. He has had a brain scan today so they will know what type of meningitis it is tomorrow. If you can spare a moment to think of him and send him your prayers...

{UPDATE ON BABY ZAC- WEDNESDAY}

Zac is doing reasonably well today - at least he is responding. They have isolated the strain - pneumo coccal which is bacterial and therefore serious. From what I can gather the hospital staff are pleased with his progress. The next stage is to scan and identify how he has been affected if any. There's a high recovery rate with this particular strain but he still needs your prayers...

{Update on Baby Zac - a week later}
Thankfully Zac is doing really well this week. He is still in hospital but doing well on his antibiotics and his mum and dad hope to have him home next week. The great news is that his brain scan came back clear. Thanks for all the prayers...

Update 17th March'09
Yay for Zac - he got home last night and according to his mum you would never think he had been so sick this past few weeks. So happy for them! Miracles happen sometimes...

2009-02-23T23:06:00.006Z

Mischief Monkey...

Lucy is the one that I have to watch in my house - her mischief bemuses me as often as it tests my patience. She made me laugh this week for 2 reasons;

I noticed on Sunday while I was away that she had painted her nails herself;

Me 'Lucy what's that on your nails?'
Her 'I wanted to paint my nails all sparkly'
Me 'That's lovely Lucy'....then I noticed it!
Me 'Lucy what's that on your eyelids?'
Her 'I wanted my eyes to be sparkly too'
Me 'Shriek - close your eyes and don't move' AAArggghh! Thankfully it was the kiddies water soluble variety. Try explaining that to A&E! {edited to add - ...and no before you ask... I resisted the urge to grab the camera first before the clean up operation!!!}

An hour later I was in my bedroom and noticed in the place where I keep my hairdryer and brushes that there was a 4 inch clump of beautiful blonde hair stuffed in the corner. And then I noticed my craft scissors!
Me 'Lucy is this your hair?'
Her 'Yes Mammy - my fringe was a little bit long so I made it nice and tidy'

Definitely one to watch! I need eyes in the back of my head!

2009-02-22T21:29:00.010Z

Crafteire'09

Just home from a great weekend away at Crafteire. We had such a laugh - all the girls were in sparkling form and the craic was mighty. I guess you had to be there but there were so many giggles this weekend it was a total tonic! I really enjoyed the luxury of the Tullamore Court hotel - lovely room and great food. As for the creative part of the weekend, I just chilled out at my own pace, chatted loads and finally managed to erect my Karen Burniston house, whose class instructions I purchased over a year ago. As the same class was being taught by Jane Dean this weekend I figured it would be a good time to have a go. I started this on Thursday night before I left and around 7 hours later working on it solidly on Saturday....voila! I'm very pleased with it as it was quite a feat of engineering really! At one point it was totally breaking my heart!!! I used the gorgeous October Afternoon kit I purchased at Kit 'n Kaboodle which worked a treat for this project...The second page (my own design)then came together quickly to match the 'house'.

Today I really enjoyed working on this DLO using my 'Spring Fling' kit and these two favourite photos of Lucy Lou in Disney last year.

I found this fabulous merry-go-round quote on www.quotegarden.com which works perfectly for the photo - love when that happens!

2009-02-18T14:46:00.007Z

The Evolution of Dance...

Found this on utube today - I just love videos of wedding first dances (the alternative variety). This wasn't a popular thing to do in 1997 when I got married.... (days before utube and the interweb!). If I was doing it again I would definitely have an alternative first wedding dance ;-)

Mid term break is rolling along at a nice pace - getting lots of playdates in so the kids are having fun. I'm looking forward to escaping to Tullamore for the weekend for Crafteire as I really need to get back to scrapping just for fun. I made this last weekend for the Creative Scrappers guest DT submission called 'first playdate' and it shows Eva aged around 3 months old having her first play date here - it just doesn't seem like 8 years ago!

2009-02-14T22:51:00.010Z

Valentines Day...

I don't really go in for all this contrived romance on 'Hallmark Day' - having said that we did have a nice day today. I got my traditional Valentine's day card with hand penned verses which year on year reflects whatever happens to be going on in our lives eg weddings, babies, extensions etc. This year we are both a bit obsessed with WII fit and weight watchers so here are some of the best which made me giggle today...

Roses are red
I like my meat joints
..pity we wont have one
'Cos we don't have the points!'...

and..

Roses are red
chocolates, a must
Or we'll go to 'fat fighters'
and eat only dust!

It just wouldn't be the same without these little verses!! Instead of red roses and chocolates himself got me WII fitness coach (on my instruction ;-)) and I LOVE it. She's a tough task master but hell she's going to get me fit! Happy to report 11 lbs down since Christmas day and counting!

This morning I went to see my friend Helen's new baby Zac and gave him his first little photo shoot. He's a cutie and was wide awake for a 2 week old...

After we dropped the kids off to girls brigade we did a 7km trek around Malahide coastline which was fun as it was a great day for a walk. Then we had a lovely lunch in Gibneys without any little people spilling anything or needing the toilet just as the food was served - bliss!

Tonight I cooked a delicious Steak Diane meal (from scratch - no MSG! haha!)and for dessert we made a family attempt at demolishing this Thornton chocolates valentine's day present. Well I figured it was a perfect gift for himself...combining his two main passions in life - chocolate and football! I gasped when I counted the points up!!!

My two fairies were complaining that they didn't receive a valentine's day card so the postman made a late delivery of presents and cards for them. It was so funny to hear them discuss the possibilities of who their secret admirers could be...kids eh!

Happy Hallmark Day where ever you are especially my folks who met this night 44 years ago...

2009-02-11T21:25:00.003Z

Feel the fear and do it anyway...

It was a good read a few years ago by Susan Jeffers and I've always tried to follow her thinking on the subject. Today was one of those days. I've always had a fear of water especially the deep end. My aunt taught me to swim (I use that term loosely btw) when I was 13. Despite years of going to group lessons I just couldn't let go the bar. I can pinpoint where my fear started - maybe I was 2 years old or thereabouts and I can clearly remember my mum and dad passing me back and forward in a crowded pool and I knew right then that I had to get out. I just didn't feel safe in the water. At 13 my aunt Marie showed me that I could actually float but it never really got past that stage. I think it's 99% confidence and 1% ability.

So today I drove to the NAC and started my first lesson 'for Nervous Adults'. Doesn't that conjour up the funniest images of grown ups with chattering knees having their hands peeled off the bench and forced into water??? Tee Hee!

Thankfully, it wasn't half as bad as I'd imagined thanks to my wonderful instructor Lynn who let me go at my own pace and didn't let go when I asked her not to. By the end of the 45 minute session I had managed to swim with my face in water maybe 12-15 feet and float a full length on my back unaided. I walked out of the pool 10 feet high. This year for the first time, there is a very high chance of me actually enjoying the swimming pool on my holidays!

Wonder what fear I'll tackle next? Spiders, Snakes, my visa card!???

2009-02-07T17:11:00.006Z

February's Scrapbooking Class and Crop in Le Cheile, Donnycarney

Just home from a very relaxing day scrapbooking at Le Cheile. This month I taught a transparency class with a pop up mini booklet using somne lovely Prima Marketing papers called 'Morning Song'. I have a few kits left over so if anyone would like to order one just drop me a line...

Thanks to everyone who came along and braved the elements. Big congrats to Carrie who has just been published in 'Stamper Sampler' which is a big honour! (we're not worthy!! ;-)) Thanks to Carrie also for all the amazing freebies she brought along today! Great to see so many new faces and hope to see you all for the next class on Sat 14th March. We have something extra lined up for everyone on Sat 18th April so save the date!

2009-02-02T15:23:00.003Z

Snow!

We woke up to a blanket of snow this morning - the first major snowfall since my kids were born 8 and 5 years ago. They were fascinated to see it and it was great to see them amazed by it all. You sometimes forget that the things you take for granted are totally new experiences when you are under 3 foot tall;-)

I had to take Eva back to the doctor today as she's been running a fever on and off since Wednesday. She seems a little better today so will keep and eye on her for another day or two before starting her on antib's. On the way home from the doc's I drove around the Phoenix Park to see the snow (it's a novelty afterall!). It was beautiful and I caught some of it on camera. I've been waiting a long time to get some snow photos - I have plenty of papers crying out for some snow photos LOL! As expected it was all melted away by the time I picked Lucy up from school. Maybe we'll get more tomorrow and keep the little one's happy...

So to crafty things, I've finished preparing my class for next weekend and it's called 'One Day...' The theme is apt for valentines day/wedding or a love themed photograph and we will be using a fab new transparency from Prima Marketing. We will also be incorporating a little pop up heart journaling booklet into the layout. There's plenty of space available if you would like to join us and all beginners are welcome...Here's some sneaky peaks of the project ;-)

2009-01-31T23:57:00.008Z

Temps and viruses...

Another week of hot foreheads and calpol dosing for my two. I think the worst is nearly over thankfully as it's been a long few days running between them and keeping them cool. I wonder will they thank me for this in years to come?

Anyway had a good week all things considered. Another 2.5lbs down on WW so that's over half a stone since New Years. I'm still loving my WII fit and have started walking between school runs so feeling the benefit of that too. I gave up the vino for January (as did DH) and we managed to stay off so had our first glass tonight - well it is Saturday and tomorrow is February (haha!). Hope I can keep up my good habits and keep my focus to reach my goal...for the first time in a long time I'm really committed to getting healthy not just for me but for my kids sake too..

So onto crafts - I haven't had a chance to show this yet. My lovely talented pal Caroline made this Noriko Bag for me for Christmas and get this..she ran it up out of leftover curtain material!!! This girl's talent is so wasted - I frequently tell her she should have her work on etsy as it is amazing. I feel so lucky to own this and can't wait to get the dress and shoes to match LOL! If you would like to have a go at making this bag yourself check out her blog here as she has uploaded full instructions. Thank you Carrie XX

2009-01-23T19:42:00.004Z

I'm a Loser!

...A WW loser that it...It's official -I'm back on the Weight Watchers wagon since last week and I've just kick started by losing 3 lbs. I have to say I'm feeling so much better for all the fruit and veg and leaving out the junk. It's quiet shocking when you stop and count up the points of stuff that gets put away without even thinking about it. Naughty habits that have to go so my new friend is sugar free jelly and pineapple rings.

Since Christmas I've been having so much fun with WII fit - I LOVE how it nags you..'I noticed you didn't check in yesterday (ahem!)'. My BMI is coming down along with my weight so all's good. Well every marathon starts with a step then a mile - so in my case I've just done 3 miles! We had such a lot of fun over Christmas with people in for a few drinks and we had them skiing and hula hooping into the wee hours...very entertaining altogether!

So anyone joining me on WW or WII? Maybe if I'm feeling brave later I'll post up before and after photos - nothing like a birthday deadline to get you motivated!

2009-01-20T21:30:00.007Z

An historic day...
Today was an historic day for the world - the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama was sworn in. I was compelled to watch the inauguration ceremony - I have never seen such a body of people mass in one place. His speech was powerful, empowering, hopeful, real and from the heart. I don't envy this man's enormous job but I admire his commitment and total belief that he can make it happen...I wish him well - we are all watching from the sidelines!

Check this out - a fantastic 1,474 megapixal photo by David Bergman aka a Gigapan of the inaugural ceremony. Just click and zoom in to see the full details of the crowd...

2009-01-17T19:20:00.011Z

January Class 'Reflections 2008' Le Cheile, Donnycarney

We were back to cropping for 2009 today and it was a full house. Obviously Christmas has been dampening the creativity so they came back armed with papers to cut (and chocolate to munch)to kick start another year of papercutting... ;-)

Today we made this double interactive layout called 'Reflections on 2008' and I used some delish Basic Grey papers in duck egg blue and chocolate brown (my fav combination!).

It was a good opportunity to use my photos taken recently by Anita Mundt Photography and Design. Thanks to everyone who came along today and look forward to seeing you again on the 7th Feb for a Valentine's Day transparency project...

2009-01-15T23:23:00.004Z

Concert at the National Concert Hall...

Last night was my 'Gilbert and Sullivan' concert with the Glasnevin Musical Society at the NCH and all the hard work paid off as it was a great success. I've been hoarse all week from rehearsing around the clock - not just officially but in the car and on my ipod at every opportunity (yes I was that crazy woman you might have passed in traffic last week singing along at the top of my voice! ;-)). Even my 2 little group solos went well so phew to that! It was recorded for RTE Radio last night and will be broadcasted at some stage this year. What a great start to the New Year!

2009-01-13T22:38:00.005Z

Busy Week..

It's all go this week..I'm singing in the NCH tomorrow night and have been rehearsing every weekend and some evenings since Christmas. We're out in studio one RTE tonight with the orchestra which is always exciting as the sound is just beautiful.

This morning I went to Liz's crafty morning in Castleknock and managed to complete 2 LO's and chatted away for a couple of hours...This is one of them - and I used a sketch from my lovely September'08 Kit 'n Kaboodle kit and a photo taken by Anita Mundt Photography and Design. Love the textured velvet of the blue cardstock -almost too good to cut but I managed to somehow. I just love these kits and can't wait to order some more...

2009-01-10T20:51:00.008Z

Catching up on Christmas Crafts...

I've got my craft mojo back at last and have been busy crafting this week including some sketches over on Creative Scrappers. So I thought it was about time I uploaded all the bits and pieces I've been working on over the Christmas break...

First up is the album I made for my parents for Christmas - we're a big family...so I have dedicated a 2 page LO for every member of the family including her 11 grandchildren. Basically my mum can now carry her whole family around in her handbag LOL!!

I made this 16''x16'' altered canvas in December for my lovely niece Laura who just turned 18. I can't believe where the years have gone as I remember holding her the night she was born. Yikes that makes me feel old!

I enjoyed doing this sketch #33 over on Creative Scrappers, using the photos we had taken recently at Capture Portraits. I absolutely love these photos and I will be scrapping them for years to come.

The next one is for a competition by Sheree, a designer on Creative Scrappers. I designed this using a similar template to the above so they will sit together nicely as a DLO in my album.

I've had this photo for over 8 years now and I was holding off scrapping it until I found the right idea and paper. It finally came together for me this week and I'm happy with it as it's one of my favourite photos of me and Eva. Don't we look alike???

And just before Christmas a friend asked me to design a card for a wedding in Dromoland castle. I made this pull out tag card showing images of the hotel facilities...

TFL
XX

2009-01-05T16:35:00.003Z

Leurgy fest...

Yuk!!!....it's been a Leurgy fest at our house this weekend. I counted a record of 15 vomiting epidodes in 6 hours for Eva last night - real nice! I have the laundry mountain to prove it! Roll on Spring and the departure of the Winter Vomiting Bug!

2008-12-31T11:28:00.005Z

Countdown to new year

We have had such a relaxing week between Christmas and New Year...as usual too much eating and drinking but nothing to do but taking it easy. I've managed to scrap a little as I've been neglecting my craftroom in the run up to Christmas so I made these layouts based on the December sketches for the Creative Scrappers gallery...

2008-12-26T18:59:00.005Z

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas...

It was a great Christmas day for us - a reasonably late start (ie 7.30am! thank you kids!) and the excited checking to see if Santa had filled their stockings. Squeels of delight as they spilled everything out onto the floor. Then we took them downstairs to see what the big man left under the tree for them. This photo says it all - total amazement when they ran through the door...They didn't even see the bikes that santa had left as they were so mesmerized by everything in front of them...

After a big breakfast we went to Church where Lucy played the part of Mary in their second nativity play. She was so sweet! Afterwards we came home and got the dinner underway. This year my parents decided for the first time in 40 years marriage to have their Christmas away from home and so I was honoured to have their company! No pressure LOL! Anyway despite the turkey being a litte overdone..some would say cremated!... we had a lovely afternoon and as tradition holds...we all fell asleep on the sofa while the kids played with their toys...

So Happy Christmas to everyone in bloggerland...hope all your dreams come true in 2009 and thanks for stopping by my blog during the year.

XX

2008-12-24T08:56:00.006Z

T'was the night before Christmas...

Christmas Eve was as traditional for us as always in terms of a little trip into 'Saussie town' (Stephen's green for a big breakfast)and then a wander around Grafton St to take in the atmosphere of the carol singers and finally a trip to Stephen's green to feed the ducks... I love our little routine and it feels like Christmas when we do this...

I felt sorry for these poor ladies standing in next to nothing in the cold promoting 3G - they got a lot of attention!!!!

2008-12-20T21:40:00.005Z

Farmleigh at Christmas...
We spent a fabulous few hours at Farmleigh today where they had some seasonal celebrations on offer to the public... There was a great storyteller called Niall De Burca who was fantastic at relating his stories and he enthralled a room full of children for 45 minutes....

Then there was a puppet show with the Lambert puppet theatre which was nosiy to say the least! Lots of 'he's behind you!!!!'...

The kids enjoyed sending their letters to Santa and meeting the big man in red himself!

2008-12-18T16:44:00.001Z

Hallelujah

Alexandra Burke - Hallelujah (Video Premiere)
by wonderful-life1989

2008-12-17T11:50:00.005Z

Baby Mia Holly
I finally met the little munchkin yesterday and she is just so exquisitely beautiful. There's plenty of photos over here on my photography blog..

Got some good news yesterday in the post. Fiskars sent me a fab new pair of craft scissors to celebrate the fact that I am now a FISKARETTE! Whoo hoo! If you would like to know more about being a Fiskarette check out their blog...

2008-12-14T19:28:00.013Z

What a day!
Yesterday we had the annual Christmas scrapbooking party at Le Cheile. It was a busy and fun day with over 45 people there to get into the festive cheer. This was my double layout entitled 'Deck the Halls' and we used the latest Basic Grey 'Wassail' papers...

Isobel offered her elf services for Kris Kindle amd it was fun to get a secret santa pressie...

I was delighted to be involved in Audrey's tiled art piece which we presented for her wedding day which is happening on Mon 22nd Dec. Some of her forum friends contributed a few tiles each which was beautifully compliled by Carrie. Audrey was thrilled with her presentation!

Check out Annamarie's blog here for some more photos of the day....

Then today we had the annual nativity Christmas service where Lucy had a starring role as an angel...

...then in the afternoon Eva had her first recital with her school of music and she played a little violin solo 'Ode to Joy' ...proud mammy moments!

2008-12-11T10:19:00.006Z

Welcome Baby Mia Holly!
Christmas came early for my sister yesterday as she gave birth by elective section to her third daughter Mia Holly, 8lbs 12oz. Isn't she beautiful...

2008-12-07T15:39:00.006Z

Oh it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Letters have been written to Santa and the plans are in place...the tree has been chosen and the decorations have been picked out...you can just feel it in the air....

2008-12-05T19:29:00.003Z

Christmas Class in Le Cheile Sat 13th Dec 10am - 4pm

Hope you can join myself and Annamarie for some festive fun. We are holding a double class event with two bumper kits, Kris Kindle, lots of mince pies to help you get into the Christmas spirit.

Here's some sneaky peaks at my DLO and we will be using Basic Grey's festive Wassail papers...

2008-12-01T19:11:00.004Z

Kit 'n Kaboodle

For the past three months the postie has been bringing me the most delicious kits in the post from Kit'n Kaboodle. There's something a little different about these kits - great embellies to tie it all together and the best thing is you get nearly 2 of everything to stop you hoarding them for special occassions! I have to say hats off to Geri Anne the owner who provides second to none customer service -which I discovered recently when I had a problem with one of my orders. Don't ya just love good customer service :-)...

Sep'08 Kit

Oct'08 Kit

Nov '08 kit

2008-11-28T20:50:00.030Z

It's official...Christmas has begun!

We are all set to snuggle up on the couch together to watch The LATE LATE TOY SHOW. The kids have been excited - more like wired really since this morning. Lucy got into her PJ's at 5pm and keeps asking me 'how many more minutes mum'.

So to get the festive mood started I'm going to post up a class for the Craft Supplies Christmas party which is being organised by Tigger. I taught this interactive DLO class at Craftzone last September and it can be adapted to any theme particularly Christmas...so get those precious uncut papers out and start snipping ladies! Post a comment with a link to your take on my class and I will pick a winner next Friday 5th Dec. The prize is one of my handmade necklaces ;-)

Free Online Scrapbooking Class

Class: ‘Holiday Memories/Magical’

Designed by Elaine Watters

Description: Holiday Memories (Magical)
This is a fun and interactive double layout using colourful papers (Chatterbox range) to showcase your holiday photos. In this layout I will show you how to display lots of photos in hidden places so all of your holiday memories are kept together. You will need 1 large photo 5x7 (portrait format) and a 5x7 (landscape format)-which you are prepared to trim!). Other photos can be added in later.

Kit:
-2 sheets black cardstock /bazzil
-1 sheet of pink cardstock/bazzil
-1 sheet of double sided orange dotty paper (Scrapbook Walls Tangerine Dots)
-1 sheet of double sided pink dotty paper (Chatterbox-Rosey Villa Dots)
-1 sheet of pink/orange striped paper (Chatterbox big Villa stripe)
-1 sheet of orange swirls/orange dotty of reverse (Chatterbox -Villa Swirls)
-1 packet of Basic Grey alphabets ( Wilma)
-1 packet of orange swirly rub-ons ( Hambly )

Tools Required:
You will also need;
- 12 ''trimmer
- 9 inch plate to draw the template
- 1'' circular punch and a 2'' and 3’’ circular punch (or a glass will do!)
- Sharp fine scissors , double sided tape or tacky tape
- White acrylic paint to distress the photo on the lift up piece (optional)
- Pink acrylic paint to colour chipboard alphabets– I used Anita’s metallic pink
- Inks to distress edges of patterned paper
- Black Dymo tape for journaling (optional)

Layout A (Left Hand Side LHS)

Layout B (Right Hand Side RHS)

Instructions: Layout A (LHS)

Step 1- Lets start by cutting the papers up - these will be for both Layouts so create a pile (A and B)
• Using the black cardstock as a base sheet, trim the following sheets of patterned paper;
o Pink dots 2’’x10’’ (A)
o Orange dots 12’’x10’’(A)
o Orange swirls 12’’x6’’ (B)
o Pink and orange candy stripes 9’’x10’’ (A)
o Adhere the paper as shown in Diag A1

Diag A1

Step 2-
o Add a photo (5x7) as in Diag A2 – ONLY use double sided tape on 3 sides (top, left and bottom). Journal tag will slide in under right side of photo.

Diag A2

o Trim a piece of pink bazzill (4’’x6’’) and punch out a 2’’ circle of orange swirls with leftover swirl piece and adhere behind the pink bazzil. This is ready to decorate with rub-ons and journaling as a pull out tag behind the photo (diag 3).

Diag A3

Instructions: Layout B (RHS)
Step 1 –
• Using the orange swirly paper ( Villa swirls) take the half sheet you have cut for the above layout and using a 9’’plate, trace a little over a half circle on the LHS of the sheet. (diagram B1). My widest part of the semi circle was 5.5’’.

Diag B1

• Add a 5x7 landscape photo and adhere to paper exactly in the centre of the semi circle and then trim to follow the lines (tip: turn over and trim for neater edge).

• Optional distressing –if you have white acrylic paint and a sponge drag an edge of white paint around the photo border (diag B4)

Step 2 –
• Using the pink bazzil sheet, trim it 12’’x5’’ and adhere down on the black cardstock exactly in the centre of the sheet.

• Using a 2’’ circle punch (or a small glass/cup) create 3 circles using your patterned paper scraps. These small circles will be the hinges for your lift up semi circle so you are not using double sided paper, you may need to add these to chipboard or bazzill circles for strength.

• Bend them in half and adhere both sides underneath with tape and use as hinges to stick the semi circle to the black cardstock. Line up the lift up panel so the photo and the pink cardstock are layered exactly on top of each other.

How to make the hidden swirl

Punch out 2 circles of patterned paper and (all approx 3’’ circles – tip use a cup or glass if punch not available;-) ). Stick both circles back to back with DS tape- with design showing on the outside. With a fine scissors start by cutting into the circle and continuing round until you create a spiral – leave enough at the end (approx 1cm) to put double sided /tacky tape behind it. To stick down the spiral put tacky tape on only the centre piece (underneath) and the start point (on top side). Tip is to stick down to the base first and then close the flap to find the right placement. Then apply photos and embellish.

That's it - hope you had fun! Leave a link to your gallery or blog so we can see what you came up with. Thanks for taking part.

Lainey
XX

2008-11-27T21:15:00.008Z

Capture Portraits

I recently 'won' a competition for a 'free' sitting at Capture Portraits studio. I was pleasantly surprised and I have to say we had the best fun there - our photographer Ania was so much fun. She really let the girls 'play' while she followed them around with the camera. They performed cartwheels and splits for her and laughed their way through the session. When we went to view the photos I couldn't resist so these are the best of them...I'm thrilled with my little collection - afterall kids don't stay small forever ;-)

TFL
XX

2008-11-24T23:19:00.000Z

The Mom Song

This made me smile today. Have been singing the tune since!

2008-11-22T22:27:00.003Z

Crazy day...

My poor mum has had a rotten flu on her for 2 weeks which developed into bronchitis. Then she pulled a muscle coughing and had to go on steroids. She was still showing no improvement this last week and then on Wed/Thurs she started to get a bad pain in her leg. Long story short she ended up in hospital with a suspected DVT. Last night was awful as we had to just wait and see. Her scan came back clear but her bloods were up and the pain was still persisting. She was given a shot of heparin as a precaution and spent the night in a chair with all the others in A&E.

I went in this morning to see her and the nurse told us it was likely that she had a DVT and would need warfarin for 6 months. Then an hour later she got discharged and they said it was muscular. We're still none the wiser so she has to go back on Tuesday for a follow up. Hopefully there will be some answers soon. She gave us all such a fright as she's superwoman - always running and never sick. Anyway thanks for all the good wishes today at the crop in Le Cheile. Hopefully she'll be on the mend soon.

XX

2008-11-15T17:41:00.005Z

Unfinished Symphonies...

I've spent a few days this week finishing off projects that were started a month, maybe even a year ago and it was great to clear the decks! So Warning - Craft OVERLOAD coming up... If you feel like doing the same - come and join us at Le Cheile next Sat 22nd Nov 10am-3pm for a crop - finish your own projects or make your Christmas cards. Plenty of chat and tea promised!!!

2008-11-11T12:45:00.008Z

Remembrance Day

Today is Armistice day and the 90th Anniversary of the end of the First World War. Normally remembrance day, Nov 11th is special for me as it is the birthday of my first born and it is obviously a day I never forget. This year it means more to me then before as just around 6 weeks ago while watching the RTE programme 'Who do you think you are?' Joe Duffy was investigating his past and discovered he had lost an relative in WW1. He googled a British army site (CGWC)to find out more details and while watching the programme, I googled the same site as my DH had always talked about his grandfather's brother, John Herbert Watters who had the same fate.

The wonders of technology, a tap of a button and there he was in the CWGC records...our family relative listed name, age, family address, parents name. He was 24 when he died in the fields of France. He left a young widow behind - who knows maybe a family...We found out he is buried in Belgium. Maybe we will one day make a trip to pay respects to his grave...May he rest in peace....

So onto lighter things...today my baby turned eight - I can hardly believe it. Where are the years going? She was so excited to be a big 8 year old. We made rice krispie buns for school last night and after school we made the most delicious chocolate cake covered in hot melted chocolate and malteasers. Yum! Happy Birthday Eva
XX

2008-11-05T22:30:00.002Z

Baracka Obama bin Laden!

Wow what an historic day today- I was delighted to wake up to the news that Barack Obama has swept the board. In these days of recession we could all use some new young fresh thinking and he certainly seems to be the man with the plan. His speech was really inspiring and you can understand the emotion it generated...

Today I overheard a funny conversation between a Moore St fruit trader and an Eastern European road sweeper. It went like this...

Street Trader lady 'hey - did you hear that Barackaaaaa O'Bama won the American election??? (insert authentic Dublin accent here!)
Road sweeper guy 'Who?'
Street Trader lady 'You know yer man - Barackaaaaa O'Bama?
Road Sweeper guy (jokingly) ' Do you mean Osama Bin Laden?'
Street trader lady 'Yeh sumptin like dah'

ROTFL!