LO 13

Well I'm definately one of the rebels this week, my picture for the job I do was not one I especially wanted to scrap, whereas this one of me spreading a little love was. So here is the result, lots of journalling around the edges but too small for the camera to pick up. Ok for DH to read though, and that's who this one is for, so all ok there then.

day 91

"The greatest gift that you give yourself is a little bit of your own attention."
Anthony J. D'Angelo
Do something for you today

Right ho done! Tee Hee A bit of retail therapy today to make sure I keep our end up in the Castle this weekend at my friends wedding! I am so pleased that I have now lost enough weight to have gone down TWO sizes Mum and I thought I deserved the new outfit as a treat.

day 90

Spread your love everywhere you go."
Mother Teresa
How did you spread your love today?

I often pull myself up and think, am I telling DH how much I love him? I do every single day with DD but life gets so busy I can often forget to tell DH. He knows I do but this prompt certainly made me remind him and give him a hug! He is my rock and my best friend as much as my right arm. I will ensure I don't leave it so long to tell him again.

day 89

Right now is a good time."
Tote Yamada
Right now is a good time, to start something new, to hug someone in need, to take time to relax. What will you do right now!

Well this was a perfect prompt for yesterday, a group of friends had a party yesterday, that was to mark the closing of one chapter in our lives and welcome the new one that is just around the corner. I caught this shot of a very special lady preparing to party, and know she won't mind my sharing it with you. I certainly want her in my memory of the year which is after all the reason I'm creating this blog.

day 88

“Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.”
Earl Nightingale entrepreneur, motivational author
Show creativity in your space today

Oh this is a goodie, we spent the Easter weekend redecorating our hall stairs and landing. Previously the stairs have had car pictures up them, well I decided it was time for a change. Luckily DH agreed, and now I can show my creativity off, I have two canvases and two LO's on the wall. The LO's are in slip in perpsex holders so I can swap them at a whim. It's lovely to be able to see my work (the ones I'm thrilled with ) as I move around the house. Dh is loving it too and has already asked for another large canvas for the other wall. My mind's started on that one.

day 87

"A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.”
Mark Twain - humorist, lecturer, author
Lets look at our habits, the good and the bad!

Oh this was an instant decision I didn't need to think too hard about. I love that I've made myself organised enough to page mark the scrapping magazines as they come in for projects that inspire me. I loathe that I have a junk drawer and whenever I can't be bothered to put something in the right place in it goes! One day I'm going to clear it and fill it with something useful instead.

day 86

“Any necessary work that pays an honest wage carries its own honor and dignity.”
W. Kelly Griffith
What is your job, your day to day job, your working life?

I work as a higher level teaching assistant and assistant SENCo at a local primary school. I get to teach classes without having to do the planning (for peanuts) or so they tell me, that'll be why I frequently have to spend hours prepping a lesson that no one else can be bothered to do. It also means I never have enough hours in the day and due to the unbearable pressure of the work I am now down to a 19 hour week actually at work from 30 hours to try to maintain some kind of work life balance. Sorry that was a bit of a moan and unintended. I love the children and doing my very best for them, just have some issues with the unreasonable pressure put on all staff in schools, not just the teachers.

day 85

“Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.”
Anne Sexton - poet, writer
Take time out today to listen to your heart, listen to your family and loved ones.

I thought about this today, but then DD made it so easy, I walked in the door and she just started to talk and talk and talk. She carried on while I found the camera and didn't even draw breath when I started taking her picture! I love it! She is so fab and alive, she loves to share her day and catch me up on all her friends and their doings. What a superb child, oops young lady I should say.

LO 12

Get inspired by our week of prompts and song lyrics using colour.

I loved this picture of DD this week on the pink day so, I thought I'd use it for LO 12. I added the rainbow colours to include the theme of the week but felt this one really was a case of less is more.

day 84

"Red and yellow and pink and green,

Purple and orange and blue,

I can sing a rainbow,

Sing a rainbow,

Sing a rainbow too!"
Artist Delta Goodrum

I had a quick set up for this one! It was not so easy to find a space to be able to take the pic with no intrusive background so please forgive the radiator. Needed to blog early as I'm off to play with Shirley and Sal.

day 83

"Pink- its my new obsession

Pink its not even a question,

Pink, on the lips of your lover, cause

Pink is the love you discover"
Aerosmith

Well not being in a particularly pink place today, I turned to DD while we were out in Oxford having a walk around and getting decidedly cold! She naver fails to assist and can be seen sporting her fav Disney Pink hoodie. Thanks for the help Dee.

day 82

"Gold Always believe in your soul

You've got the power to know

You're indestructable

Always believe in, because you are Gold"
Spandau Ballet

I've been mulling this one over but there was no competition really. I have not been able to wear my wedding ring for a few years as it is a smaller size than my eternity and engagement rings, and has therefore not fitted my fat fingers for quite a while. I got it out especially today to check how the weight loss is going. It's getting close, it goes on but is still a little snug so another few weeks and it can be back where it belongs.

day 81

The Emerald City
(Located in the center of the Land of Oz, the Emerald City is the end of the famous yellow brick road, which starts in Munchkin Land.)

I had a look at emerald and saw a beautiful green, so motivated I tried to capture that beauty in the sunshine we are enjoying this morning. I hope I've caught the sunlight on these orchids that are just budding in my rock garden. They were already in the garden when we moved in and we are still trying to find a name for them, they are so pretty.

day 80

"She wore blue velvet

Bluer than velvet was the night

Softer than satin was the light

From the stars

She wore blue velvet

Bluer than velvet were her eyes

Warmer than May her tender sighs"
Bernie Wayne/Lee Morris

Well blue was quiet easy too, DH has had the day off to do some preparation jobs on the boat to get it ready for the season. One part of this is swapping over the old white scruffy fenders, for our nice blue set. He's still hard at it, so these were still lurking in the garden luckily enough for me to snap them quickly.

day 79

"Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony

Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh lord, why dont we?

We all know that people are the same where ever we go

There is good and bad in everyone,

We learn to live, we learn to give

Each other what we need to survive together alive."
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

Well I'm looking for light this week so I'm opting for the easy black and white most harmonious being I know - Ollie.

day 78

This week I am going to give you colour prompts! Have fun
Prompt 78

"Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And everything you do, Yeah they were all yellow"
ColdPlay

I have taken this quite literally and as we're preparing for Easter I am getting ready for the chick hunt that leads to finding your Egg! So here's the first one hiding in the garden, he's just practicing for sunday, but I couldn't resist.

LO 11

Here's this weeks LO using one of the pictures taken, I decided on the responsibility one as I couldn't wait to scrap it basically! Tee Hee. I love this shot of my special responsibilities, and wanted to get them into the album where they belong.

day 77

"When you try your best, but you don't succeedWhen you get what you want but not what you needWhen you feel so tired but you can't sleepStuck in reverse?When the tears come streaming down your faceWhen you lose something you can't replaceWhen you love someone but it goes to wasteCould it be worse?Lights will guide you home,And ignite your bones,And I will try to fix you,"Fix You - Cold Play

This made me think of DD straight away. Her best friend of 10 years the week before last decided she didn't want to be friends anymore! DD is to say the least gutted. It's quite complicated but the hardest part is knowing how to help her. I don't want to interfer because I believe she needs to deal with this herself, but at the same time I want to wade in to protect my baby. At 12 and 1/2 it seems especially difficult to lose your life long best friend. I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix this one for her.

day 76

"I like what I see when I'm looking at me, when I'm walking pass the mirror"
Mary J Blige
You are that person in the mirror, start loving that person!

Struggled with this at first as it's fairly similar to some we've had before. But here goes I took this to try to represent the wieght I've lost so far 15 and a 1/2 lbs since 23rd Jan, not too shabby. I am beginning to see a difference and therefore the real me appearing. The me that I love.

day 75

“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), pastor, theologian, German Resistance fighter in World War II
Responsibilitiy in all our lives is important. Our scrapbooking is a responsibility to preserve our memories for future generations. What responsibility in your life is most important?

This is easy my main responsibility is to these three! I am responsible for their food and shelter, their warth and security. Heavy I know, but I am for two out of three anyhow. And the other one is just another big kid half the tme so him too! It's a responsibility I treasure though, and would hate to be without.

LO 10

Here's my LO 10 from earlier in the week only just got it done. It's using Patience from this weeks prompts. I enjoyed puting this one together, hope everyone likes it.

day 74

"The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out his nose."
Garrison Keillor
What makes you laugh so hard? What are some of your fondest childhood memories? Journal these memories.

A good one for me after thinking about hobbies yesterday, I have a picture of my feet because my best friend and I from the age of 11 to about 25 were absolutely horse mad. She was lucky enough to have a Gran that kept a pony for her and I used to walk miles every week behind that pony waiting for a go! I always got one and normally quite an even share too, but the effort never seemed like any kind of big deal. I would frequently walk 7-10 miles a day and spend virtually all of it in giggling and hilarity. It's such a shame when these friendships part for many varied reasons, as that kind of closeness is rarely achieved in later life. It's a fantastic memory to have though and that cannot be lessened by time or change.

day 73

"Beauty, truth, friendship, love, creation---these are the great values of life. We can't prove them, or explain them, yet they are the most stable things in our lives."
Jesse Herman Holmes
What are your great values in life?

This one made me think so hard it's a day late, I just couldn't get it together yesterday to photograph or journal. However after much thought I took this self portrait fresh from the shower ( hence still wet hair) and decided just to go for it.

So my great values are centered around my family and my moral stance in life. Some of which are just too heavy to be fun so on the lighter side - DH and I are both firm believers in doing it now in case you can't later, being honest with everyone, living life to the full and not putting off till tomorrow what can be done today, unless of course its jobs!!! We strongly value family time together for the three of us and keeping up our hobbies that keep us sane on a personal level.

day 72

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Howard Thurman
What makes you come alive? Is it your work, your family, your hobby or just being here?

The sunshine is what has made me come alive today. I came out of a trying day at work and decided to walk Ollie to the bus stop to meet Dee instead of driving as I normally would. The sunshine made me feel lighter and brighter straight away. Then when I was thinking the prompt through I asked DD to take this picture to add to today, as it was still so lovely. (OK I'm ignoring the wind that is raging and our broken down fencing and the cold and the threat of more heavy rain.) But hey ho sieze the day and all that!

day 71

“First thing every morning before you arise say out loud, 'I believe,' three times. ”
Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), author, preacher

What is your "mantra"? Start today, believing in you. Take time to write down your thoughts, and your beliefs. What is important to you? What do you "believe" in?
Today use this quote to concentrate on your journalling and take a self portrait.

I don't have a mantra, but I do believe in me! I am just rediscovering the me that has been hiding inside the extra large body I've been dragging around for such a long time. When I've dieted in the past I've always kept it to myself and kept all my clothes. This has led to 4 different sizes being in my wardrobe, and my excluding others from the information that means they could recriminate with me when I slip backwards. Well no more this time is very different. I'm dieting in a group and celebrating my achievements with them. Also the most major step is yesterday I got up and emptied my wardrobe and drawers of all the largest size, plus quite a few of the next size down too! I fully intend to dispose of the rest of this size group completely as I go further down too. This is because I finally believe this is a new start and a new recognition of myself. I am not going to be fat anymore and nor am I going to return to it. (I have quite deliberately used a picture from a few weeks ago so I can take a similar shot soon and try to see the difference for myself that my friends say they can see already.)

day 70

"Balance"

This is the meaning of balance to me this year! I have to remember to use these or I fall off line under and overestimating is so easy. I think I know how much 28g of cheese is but oh how wrong I can be. I can't see the end to my having to use them but hey ho I suppose I'm getting to an age where it's just going to have to be a way of life.

day 69

"Comfort"

Well I'm sorry to say after a fairly trying afternoon with my family I'm resorting to my weekly syns that comfort me no end!!! I only have two once or twice a week but oh do I look forward to them if things are not quite as I'd love them to be. They also stop me reaching for the chocolate.

day 68

"Patience"

Well I've had a long wait for this picture, which had to be grabbed quickly as I was "fussing". This is the result of yesterday's patience waiting for DD to try on the entire shop to select this outfit.

day 67

"Sweet"

Well as I am strictly sticking to my diet, sweet doesn't come into my life in quite the way I would normally think of it. So after a draining afternoon of my DD determined to try every item of clothing in the local New Look, for an outfit ok to be seen in for her first secondary school party tomorrow. I found myself at 9.30 adding a shaders and toners in plum to her hair as my only ground I was willing to concede in her target to dye her hair black!!!! It's almost the opposite of sweet, but when I went into my craft room to find a note from her thanking me for all my help and patience, I melted. I know she knows exactly how to get me where she wants but hey the simple things are the best aren't they. (She wasn't impressed at my getting the camera out whilst we were in mid shading though).

day 66

"Soft"

DD and I both immeadiately thought of our best pal Ollie, when we saw the word soft. He really is the softest pooch in the world. He has been dressed up for competitions and plays with babies through to OAP's alike sensing exactly what they need. He is devoted to anyone ill at home staying by their side night and day. Plus he doesn't answer back or sulk. How brilliant can you get? A real utter softee.

day 65

"Explore"

Oh just up my street, here's the tools of my other big hobby! Geocaching is a treasure hunt for small containers that you can sign a log in to say you've found them. Then you collate the data on a web site and see how many you can gather. My friend and I had a target of 150 last year which we managed and this year we're aiming for 200!

day 64

"Shine"

A single word prompt, well I bet this gets everyone thinking. I walked around awaiting inspiration for this and suddenly it hit me. I have crystals hanging in some of our windows as I adore the prismatic effects of the light dancing around the room. DD used to believe these were our guardian angels. She thought hers was our old dog Skip, DH's was claimed to be his Dad, and mine was my best friend I lost to breast cancer 8 1/2 years ago. It was a lovely idea and we fostered it happily. Shame they grow up isn't it.

day 63 + 1

Layout 9
Take your day 57 photo, scrap, journal and lets add some dimension to your layout!

Here we go then, it wasn't a fab photo but DD took it for me and it's nice to have a record of how she's improving. Certainly added some dimension.

day 63

"One day at a time, this is enough. Live in the present and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering" Ida Scott Taylor
Record with a photo the memory of one thing that bought Joy to your day. Journal why this memory was so precious.

I was just about to photograph these stunning lillies today, as the scent from them is so amazing, when I checked the prompt for today. I couldn't believe my luck. These were part of my mother's day present from DD yesterday and after I'd seen to my parents today and returned home the smell that greeted me was divine. I'm such a lucky girl.

day 62

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." Sophia Loren
Happy Mothers Day!

What a lovely surprise! This is the first thing I saw as I arrived home from the Hen weekend. I love my DD all the time but this just made my day! I just wish I had taken DD with me she would have made the weekend and would have loved it.

day 61

"March is the month of expectation" Emily Dickinson
Lets start a new month full of good expectations, full of joy to continue with our 365 journey

As the Matron of Honour is 6 months pregnant and the wedding is in 5 weeks and my DD is another Bridesmaid March is certainly a month full of expectation!

day 60

"Yesterday is HISTORY Tomorrow is a MYSTERY Today is a GIFT That's why it's called the 'PRESENT' " Unknown
Today is a gift, an extra day to be loved, to give love, how did you spend your GIFT?

Today was spent helping my boss out doing some overtime, then collecting the girls to drive them to Center Parks Longleat for my friend Nicola's hen weekend. As she's Welsh it was a given we had to dress up for the weekend as it fell on St David's day weekend too!