Brr its cold out there.

Just back from football and my it was chilly out there but back home now and sitting here with a warming cuppa. It was a nice day though and although the girls did their best, they are still to win a game. However, we the supporters sit there and cheer them on, week after week after week. They don't give up and they keep trying so it will be good to see them do well some time in the future. We can live in hope.

I have been following the Snap 2012 challenge and the above photos fit in with the challenge for this week as it was RED so there are the first images for the challenge. I think it fits in well. I was thinking I could have taken either of the children in their football kits as both play in red. Sarah plays for Crawley Town U 18s and Daniel plays for Lingfield U16. Daniel's team are doing a lot better at the moment than Sarah's but there is no nastiness in their rivalry. They both talk sensibly about how they feel things are going.

The top photo is the second one I used this week for my red challenge was taken early one morning standing on the door step looking out at a beautiful sky. I just loved the beauty of the sky and the calmness before the day started. All you could hear were the birds singing, no voices, no cars just bird song and a beautiful sky. I am so enjoying the challenge each Friday, wondering what the next will be.

A day out in London.... it was work.

Had a lovely day out in London today and I was working as well. Didn't have any children with me but I went with two colleagues to the National Gallery. We were on a course for this year's "Take One Picture". Its a national programme where the Gallery chooses a painting from its collection and schools across the country take the picture and complete work around that picture. We took part last year for the first time and I think that picture was easier than this years. This one is by Willem Kalf and it is called "Still Life with a Drinking Horn". However we were given some good ideas to bring back to school and will try and work something into the curriculum and enthuse the children. We had time to wander around the Gallery as well and look at some of the other pictures as well. Will certainly have to get my thinking cap on this one!

Interviews done and dusted.

Okay would someone like to tell me where the years have gone? My children set off this evening for their interview for Reigate college. They are both applying to do their A levels there and had to go this evening for the interview. Everyone was so nice to them, making us all feel really welcome. I think it may well be the best move for them but it is quite frightening to think that they are at this stage of their lives. I think back to those days when they were so small,totally dependent on us for making their decisions. It is good to see such confident and independent individuals but also sad in a way as well. It was lovely to see some of the mums back from their primary school days and have a chat this evening. Both children have been recommended for unconditional offers so lets hope that they do well in their GCSEs now later in the year and are ready to start a new stage in their educational lives.

I suppose there were some other good points this evening as managed to get out a little earlier from a staff meeting (always good) and fish and chips on the way home.....yum.

Better late than never I suppose.

This could be a bit of a learning curve for me as I posted here and then lost it all and don't know what I did but hey ho lets try again.


I decided that I would resurrect my blog as I wanted to do the 2012 Photo challenge on UK Scrappers.  I spend a lot of time there, wasting my time but meeting new friends and I wanted to get back out there with my camera.  So I decided I can manage to take at least one photo on a theme each week but somehow last week didn't manage to get one posted.  Life takes over sometimes even if it is a good week.

Cold Morning

So Week 1  Cold and would you believe it the days weren't that cold, in fact I had to wait until Friday morning, technically the beginning of Week 2 but never mind there are no hard and fast rules.  So out I went and sat in my car and here we go this is my offering for Week 1 Cold.

Temptation

Then Week 2 the theme was Temptation.  Now hidden under the desk in the study is a lovely box of Thorntons mint chocolates.  No one knows that they are there apart from me but I have been so good and I haven't broken into them yet. In fact there is also a tin of Quality Street.  I usually buy an extra tin and then take them away with us when we go away at Easter as a bit of a surprise.  As I am locked in there today, hopefully to have a quiet day, then I hope I will not give way to temptation.  


Now before I totally lose everything I will close this post and maybe come back later with some of my other bits and pieces.  I am just hoping I am left in peace for the day, so far everyone has disturbed me.  "Where's my homework sheet?"  "What are you doing?" "Do we need anything?"  I just would like a little "me" time please.

Oh can I do better or will Michelle do better than me?

I keep trying to get in here to add something, but then I forget my password and I can't get back.  So lets see how I do this time.  Michelle I will see if I can do better than you.  I should get out and about more with my camera but did catch a cheeky chappie in the garden the other day. The bird table had fallen over in the wind and there was just too much temptation for him to leave the food so there he sat enjoying his breakfast.

Another year nearly over

Another year nearly over and how much blogging did I actually do? Well one post in August and that was it. I wonder if I will ever get the hang of this blogging lark.  I suppose if I make a concerted effort I just might do that.

I was looking through our photos the other day and came across our photos from our October holidays in Shropshire, very nice too.  Some lovely days out, some great meals and visited lots of new places.  Where has the time gone though.  We all enjoyed the break and did some things we enjoy doing... mine has to be taking photos and Martin and the children went fishing many an hour.  Martin managed to catch quite a few large ones and no its not a long story I do have the evidence.  We went off on a few trips out and about around the countryside crossing the Welsh border and back again.  Petrol was cheaper in Wales I noticed.   Lots of photos taken as well.  Spent a day in Ludlow as well looking around the castle, having tea and cakes etc.  Another day visited Clun stopping off once again for tea and cakes and bacon sarnie in Sarah's case.

Florida Holidays

Wow didn't realise that it had been so long, perhaps I got lost in the snow and have only just escaped from the depths of winter. Sadly life got in the way and I didn't keep this up but I wonder if I can try again.

Well after getting through the year we arrived in Florida on our trip to see Mickey Mouse and all his friends. We are having a fantastic time doing lots of the theme parks, a little shopping and some chillaxing. Maybe I should go back to the beginning of the holiday and hopefully I will be able to remember what we did each day.

Day One- Travel Day

Well here we are, travel day for our long awaited and long planned holiday to Orlando, to the land of Mickey Mouse. I awoke early, well I do every day but today was a special day. We were off on holiday and all those plans will hopefully fall into place. I had booked the taxi to collect us at 7am as Martin wanted to make full use of the BA lounge. We had taken our luggage down to Gatwick last night so this morning all we had to do was just walk through security and fast track security at that! No movement in the rest of the house. Weren’t they excited? Oh well time for a cuppa before the mayhem followed. So peaceful at this time of the morning, 5am. Time to have a last look at the Dibb, see if I can fine anything else useful to add to my collection of facts. Sarah and I have been on there virtually every day since January or even before. We had to laugh at the airport last night when the check in man asked us if we had completed our ESTAs and Martin was totally mystified! Nothing changes. He has left everything to us and Daniel told us he is just going to go where we go, do what we do.

Finally at 6am there is movement and Martin is up and moving. Better wake the kids so they can get themselves sorted. Well to cut a long story short, the taxi was early, Martin wasn’t ready, well not even fully dressed and the rest of us were sat waiting............. and they say women are always last to be ready.....not when we are off on holiday.

At last we arrive at Gatwick just carrying our hand luggage and fly through security. Now normally every year Sarah sets off the beeper and needs to be frisked..... not this time even though she was wearing her beepy jeans as she calls them. Straight through to BA lounge and very pleased. Find a nice table with a view over the hardstandings and in sight of the runway. I love looking at planes and imagining where they are off to.

Boarding relatively quick and find our seats and prepare for the 9 hour journey ahead of us. Nice glass of champers to settle in with. Cannot believe the amount of leg room, in fact have to get out of my seat to even read the brochure on safety. The children are thrilled and enjoying the experience. Daniel is virtually cocooned in his seat and when he puts his divider up, we can’t even see him. Sarah happily chats to me across the aisle. Soon we taxi around the airfield and we are off, up, up and away to Mickey Mouse land. Shame we are on the other side of the plane to where we live as I could have done a last check on the house.

After a nice cooling drink, lunch is served. Starter of crab salad and a warm bread roll, followed by fillet of beef with various vegetables and then washed down with chocolate cheesecake on a flapjack base and vanilla ice cream. Very tasty for airline food. Children happy now they have been fed and watered. Daniel said his salmon and haddock fishcakes were “very fishy”, wonder what he expected.

Bit of a problem with the entertainment system but at least we have had some films to watch although Sarah and I swapped seats half way through as hers was stuck on the same film. I was fine as I had my kindle to hand and a favourite book to read. Soon we were approaching Floridian airspace and on our descent to a wet, wet airport. Now I had read the horror stories of Orlando immigration, the long queues etc. Well we landed at 3.15 and we were through security and ready to get picked up by Peter, from Car on the Drive at 3.50pm. Amazing or what? Peter had not even arrived but we followed instructions to the letter, for once they all did what they were told, well Martin still didn’t have a clue what we were doing but he just followed on. Peter arrived about 4pm and we were soon through the underground car parking area and off to Sunset View. He was so helpful on our way to the villa, giving lots of advice about short cuts to Disney etc. Soon we pulled up outside this lovely looking villa, got through the door, with the alarms beeping etc....... they always make me nervous but we survived. Hopefully by the end of the holiday they will be second nature to me.

Beginning to feel a bit jaded now though but determined to keep going long enough to do some shopping and settle in. Too tired though to eat very much, after our visit to Wallmart, Daniel and I hopped into the pool and relaxed for a while. Well we did once we worked out the alarm for the pool doors etc. Very safety conscious over here. Soon enough it was 9.30 and definitely time to try out that bed upstairs. Night night.