Random Dozen

1. Have you ever fired a gun or shot a bow and arrow?  Bow and arrow yes.  real gun - no!  Paintball gun - yes!  I would like to make it to the gun range this year at some point though!!!

2. Do you know where your childhood best friends are?  Yes - almost all of them.  I married one of them :)  I'm in touch with many of them still.

3. Do you usually arrive early, late, or on time?  I'm almost ALWAYS on time....except for Val.....and for some reason with Val I'm always just a few minutes late (sorry Val).

4. Are you more of a New York or California type?   I LOVE New York, but these days I crave hot weather and sunshine year round and so I would probably head to California...but more to the wine growing areas than anywhere else.

5. Do you have a special ring tone?  Nope.  

6. What is your favorite type of chip?   I'm not keen on chips.  I like Frazzles from back home but get those about once every five years so I guess I'm not a big chip eater ;)  

7. Best comedy you've ever seen is .... Graham Norton always makes me laugh - and The Vicar of Dibley is FAB!!!  

8. Have you ever cut your own hair? To quote Dr. Phil, "How'd that work for ya?"   Yep - plenty of times.  And it worked for me fine :)

9. If you were going to have an extreme makeover, would you rather it be about your house or your personal self?  Neither really - I would HATE for anyone to touch my home or to come in and remodel my home without my input.  I think the idea of someone decorating for me is just awful and impersonal.  I can't stand the idea of getting an interior designer in or a decorator to come in and decorate the place and buying everything for me.  To me thats not a real home - it's a showhome.  To me what makes my home special are the items that WE choose over the years...that eclectic feel from trips, from holidays, from crafts, from years together.....putting it all together.....going round thrift stores and other stores...buying a few things here and there - the odd thing when we see it and love it.  Objects that have been in our families for generations.  HISTORY....whether a really OLD history or just the history we make together.  That show is great for those families involved but please don't touch MY home.  As for myself - I wouldn't want anything too radical done - I'd like my boobs lifted but   apart from that I'm really not bothered about anything else.  I think the people who want extreme things done need to work on themselves from the inside out.

10. Are you allergic to anything?  Morphine.  I had a bad reaction to this when I was in hospital with pre-eclampsia before I had Sam.  Hallucinating, vomiting, I even smacked a nurse during the hallucination as she tried to take my blood pressure.  It was bizarre!!  I also had a reaction to something the day after Sam was born - and my whole face and inside my mouth swelled up - but they don't know what it was - I went for allergy testing but nothing showed up.  They said that sometimes stress and shocks to the system  can cause allergic reactions so maybe it was that....although I didn't feel stressed after the birth - just annoyed about them constantly asking how long Sam had fed for and what time and I annoyed them by telling them I wasn't timing him or clock watching ;)  

11. Why is it so hard to change?  I think you really need to be ready and you have to WANT the change - and you MUST have the support around you -  and then it's easy.

12. One last question dedicated to February love: CS Lewis said, "To love is to be vulnerable." Please share one example of that assertion or share any thought you'd like to about this topic.   I think this is very true.  I don't think you can truly be open in a relationship - and truly love without becoming vulnerable to another.....I don't think it's possible.  And why would you want to?  When you are loved and in a secure and loving relationship you feel safe opening up about your thoughts and feelings - making yourself vulnerable is utterly worth it.  I think that is the same with your children and friends too.  When you are at a point where you can be open with a friend about the bad and the good, then you know it's a GREAT friendship :)


You can get your Random Dozen HERE

The lengths we go to......

In my craft room I have a little display of all things 'Hawaiian' that Val brought back for me from her trip there last year (well the sarong doesn't fit but...) and it includes the rather 'interesting' key ring that she gave my FIVE YEAR OLD!!  Yes, it reads 'I got leid in Hawaii'  hahahahaha  poor Val - she didn't notice what it said - just saw the turtle shape and as they ahd seen plenty of turtles on holiday they grabbed several key rings as gifts!!

Anyway, I also have a glas filled with really pretty pineapple candies from a plantation they visited.  I was find it hard to eat gifts like this - and these were soooo pretty - I put them in the glass on display and they literally SPARKLE!!!

(omg I can hear people muttering 'hoarder' under their breath hahahahaha)

Anyway, the glass WAS full...but people have been taking my pretty candies and they are disappearing. I seriously don't think they are evaporating - do YOU?????

I may be old, children but I'm not as stupid as I look!!!

Sigh....

I mentioned this to Val and she surprised me on Monday with this weird air proof bag of candies to refill my pot!!  And she mentioned that this foodsaver bag stff is not only good for keeping food fresh - but for keeping kids OUT!!!!  See - the lengths us parents have to go to, to stop our kids eating our food!!!

Art in progress...

Abigail is busy painting with acrylics this afternoon...Sam took the opportunity to draw with the whiteboard markers.  He drew me a heart :)  

Sometimes when he isn't looking for things to attack with guns and swords, he's incredibly cute :)

Fireplace..

I haven't charged my camera since Lloyd took it to Vancouver, so these were taken with my iphone.  No flash so it's difficult to see.  The fire isn't on either.  This is the new fire that we had put in on Monday.  The little cobweb shaped bits at the side are mitten warmers - they have stick things that stick out the back so you can pop mittens on them.  You can also place things on the shelves.  The doors close too.

We plan to get a round coffee table and two Starbucks style armchairs to go by the fire so we can sit and read or play chess/ scrabble etc by the fire.

I'll take better piccies later and put them on the home reno blog.

Meet Atticus!!

Lloyd brought me home this cute little guy on Monday....he's a charity bear sold in aid of our local children's hospital.  Isn't he cute?  I DID buy myself a white miniature rocking chair and the point of it was to keep my teddy bears in it - the ones Lloyd had bought me - but Sam took possession of the rocking chair and so my bears have homes here and there instead.....this little guy is small enough to stay in my craft room.

Other finds....

I picked up these two wall plaques above - not sure where they will go or what I will do with them - we think we are going to paint them.  Maybe do something to the raised edges....I'll check out that thrifting blog in my blog roll for ideas.....but they were too good to pass up.

I loved the quilted look of this little pot.  I just thought it was really pretty.  

The birdhouse...

As requested, here is the little birdhouse I picked up at the thrift store yesterday!

I was planning to repaint it, but for now I'm actually liking how it looks sat on the window sill.  

Shimelle's new class!!!! Yay!!!

Shimelle has a FAB new class beginning in March!!  Her classes are always WONDERFUL!!  

Come and join me as I take this online class :)  

Learn to use up your stash in creative ways - no need to buy any new supplies for this class because it is all about using up the supplies you already have!!  You can also work in any size you prefer, so I think I will probably go small again :)