Gemma Stothard

New Year, New Things to Report!

2012-01-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Well, its a good job my resolution wasn't to blog more :o

It was however to list an ACEO a day in my etsy shop, and so far so good!

Also having a massive sale 45% off all my items from last year!!! only running until the 28th Jan so if there's something you want at a bargain price,you better get it now!!

I also joined ATC's for All which is a super cool site where you can trade ACEO's/ATC's with other people and join in on their swap games, I have just finished my entries for the
Sacred Heart Swap
Be Still my Beating Anatomical Heart
Small Screen Sci Fi
Just click the links to view my galleries.
And as soon as I can figure out the whole printing deelie, I will be making some prints of everything.
So I've been very busy really.
And yesterday I made my first sale of the new year so WooP!

New stuff!!!

2011-12-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

I've done some new stuff, these will all be available as prints from February in my etsy store!

CraftFest Stallholders

2011-11-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

I know I should have do ne this ages and ages ago, but you still have a couple of days to browse before the weekend! Enjoy the shops!
Click on the pictures to view their stall!!

CraftFEST

2011-11-06T10:35:00.001-08:00

Pirates are cool

2011-09-21T10:28:00.001-07:00

And so is being featured in a treasury all about them....ARRGGHH!

Why not join us!

2011-09-11T12:20:00.001-07:00

COME ON OVER!!!

Works in Progress

2011-09-04T00:58:00.000-07:00

Heres a few of the collages I'm working on at the moment....
And here's some of my new ACEO's to list/have been listed in Etsy!

And if your interested in trading send me a convo on etsy and we'll go from there!

Bank Holiday Fun!

2011-08-30T04:09:00.000-07:00

This bank holiday totally rocked, Two treasuries included me and then I made a new treasury too woohoo!

On a sad note though I went to take photos of my lollipops and realised I'd broken the digital camera by dropping it earlier...Oopsy!
But the bonus was I had put faces on 2 out of 3 of them so I'm already ahead with my 10 things to do woohoo!

2011-08-29T03:32:00.001-07:00

My ten things to do this week!

2011-08-29T02:55:00.000-07:00

Ok so I thought I would start listing the things I need to do in a week on here then maybe I will get at least some of the things done!

1.Finish my mums daffodils for her xmas gift.
2.Finish knitting G's monster slippers.
3.Make Dub some car slippers.
4.Finish bumble bee phone case.
5.Recycle a top and a dress to make 2 skirts.
6.Take donations to the local charity shop.
7.Take the library books back.
8.Write up at least 2 book reviews.
9.Finish amiguru lollipops.
10.List,promote and make new things for my etsy shop.

That should keep me busy, not to mention the housework and making sure the kids have everything they need for school!

2011-08-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

Halloween UK style

2011-08-21T01:35:00.000-07:00

This is a small selection of the great artists/crafters in the CrftBritannia team on etsy!
Enjoy

More new things..

2011-08-21T01:13:00.000-07:00

Now just to get them listed hehe...

New Work in time for Halloween!

2011-08-18T13:07:00.001-07:00

These will be winging their way into my etsy shop over the next few days!

My belated birthday treasury

2011-08-16T01:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so I did make this treasury on my birthday...4th aug, but I couldn't remember how to put it into my blog until right this minute...So here it is

Enjoy!

My first BNS on Etsy

2011-08-15T01:33:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! My First BNS!
For everyone who doesn't know (and I only recently understood the concept), a BNS or buy and stay is a treasury list to promote sellers.
Its held in a number of rounds, and some have different rules with minimum buys etc. But basically you buy something from one of the shops listed and then post a comment listing the transaction id and the shop name. And then your shop gets a turn in the next round. Simple.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTIzNTgzMDJ8NTc4NDkyNjYy/open-bns-oh-so-blueby-comfy-36-sales

So please go and take a look at the wonderful stuff on offer in the shops (mine included) and don't forget to leave a comment saying pixiecorpse sent you offer, I would totally appreciate that one!
Thanks and don't forget to check out my new ACEO's and paintings while your there!

Ted's 1 Already...

2011-08-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe its been a whole year since we had Ted. Well saying that it is 3am and all 3 kids are up and I'm super tired...In fact Ted's only managed 8 full nights sleep in a year so I'm definitely feeling it...
Anyhoo..Here's some pics of Ted for his birthday!

NEW STUFF ON ETSY

2011-08-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

New stuff on etsy click images to go straight to item! woohoo!

I made a treasury!

2011-08-02T02:34:00.001-07:00

Free Gift!!

2011-07-31T05:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so to celebrate my birthday, throughout August I will be giving a blank ACEO card inside one of my envelopes, with every purchase on my etsy store... Gems Menagerie or click the store widget on the right...
A bit of a crap free gift I hear some of you cry...Well fear not theres another part to this. When you get your order with the blank ACEO I will also include my email address so once you've created your fabulous ACEO, just email me a pic with any links to etsy stores, or your own blog and I will be more than happy to post a blog entry here for you! And don't worry it won't take me as long as my last post to write it!
So happy viewing in my etsy store!

Xmas,New Year and various sicknesses

2011-02-26T21:36:00.000-08:00

So its been a while!...I hope everyone had a fantastic Xmas and New Year, we did but ever since hubby came down with tonsillitis in between the two it seems like the sick bugs have been rife in our house, G and I had throat infections then it was back to school and the nit problems that just seem to love our daughter just don't seem to be letting up. Its a definate case of vigilance on that one that's for sure.
The past fortnight its been eye infections with the kids going from G to Ted and now Dub came out with it last night. And if that wasn't the worst hubby has just got over another throat infection and I'm feeling like I could be coming down with it too, which has really knackered my half term week of cleaning.
Oh well, but on a lighter note Ted is now 7 months and has slept through 5 whole nights not together but he's getting there...

Book 20

2010-12-12T06:06:00.001-08:00

Ok so it's confession time... I acted like a spoilt little kid when my sister gave me this book for my birthday, I was ungrateful and acted like a brat. The reason being (although it doesn't excuse my behaviour) I don't like/read King, his books are too long winded and I get fed up with them, I just can't get into his style of writing. Not only that she did give me the gift when I was in the hospital after having Ted, I was tired and grumpy and had been there for three days already. (This also does not excuse my behaviour, merely placement within the narrative as it were).

I did apologise to my sister because I did appreciate the gift, and I liked it even more when I realised it was a compendium of short stories. There would be little time for my aversion to Kings descriptive writing to kick in, I hoped.

And because it was a gift from my sister and she didn't have to, I thought the least I can do is read it. My mind wanders absently to the two mammoth King tomes sitting in the kitchen gathering dust, which will not be read by me but will be when I've donated them to the library.

I do feel bad for this almost phobia to King novels if you will because I even read the introduction and I thought he seems like a likeable person. So I feel a little bad for not liking his novels.

But all that aside, I really did enjoy it. My favourite stories were:

Willa, Stationary Bike, The Gingerbread Girl, The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates and A Very Tight Place.

One thing that did irritate me though was the fact that some of them stop without explanation or a conclusion. ( I don't like having to make assumptions to how their lives go on after the events).

If you've read it let me know which stories you enjoyed and why.

Book 17: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

2010-09-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

I was saving this for whilst I was in hospital, (note: I'm a little behind in posting my book reviews and am copying them straight from a notebook), to have our third baby Ted but instead it was due to a mouth infection from a chipped tooth and no sleep to give me the decision to read it early. I really enjoyed it and if you've read the Twilight saga you will know why I was dragging my feet to finish the book because obviously Bree ultimately dies. It made a nice change to see the writing from a different angle and I really liked Bree's character which was new because I just couldn't warm to Bella in the other 4 books. And even though I knew the ending I kept my fingers crossed that she might survive...Oh Well!...Here's the backpage:
"I watched his body change. He crouched on the roof, one hand gripping the edge. All that strange friendliness disappeared, and he was a hunter. That was something I recognised, something I was comfortable with because I understood it.
I turned off my brain. It was time to hunt. I took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of the blood inside the human below. They weren't the only humans around, but they were the closest who you were going to hunt was the kind of decision you had to make before you scented your prey.
It was too late now to choose anything."

Meet Little Ted

2010-08-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ok so I finally remembered to plug in my phone so now you can see little Ted too...

Book 15 and 16 The Vampire Diaries: The Fury/ The Reunion by L.J.Smith

2010-08-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

These were a little difficult for me to get into as they are the third and fourth in the series and I have been living under a rock and haven't as yet seen the TV show to get a feel for the story. There were a lot of characters already established within the plot, but saying that L.J.Smith did give a little background but I think I would need to read the first 2 volumes to get to know them a lot better. Once I got past that though I did get swept away with the plot and thoroughly enjoyed both books immensely. And this now has added another DVD to my wishlist...Oh Christmas is all taken care of for the next few years... Here's the backpage:
The Fury:
"Elena struggles to control her desire for blood. Damon hungers for the golden girl and revenge against Stefan. Stefan is tormented after losing Elena, he will do anything to get her back. Even if it means becoming what he once despised..."
The Reunion:
"Elena is threatened by a terrifying evil. Damon, summoned by Elena to face a common enemy, puts his trust in the brother he loathes. Stefan attempts to keep his promise to Elena and protect the town from its most powerful villain yet..."

Book 14- The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

2010-08-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Phew! This was a mammoth tome of a read and considering a lot of it feels like the cataloguing of the Mayfair family tree my concentration never seemed to waver. I enjoyed it immensely. Here's the backpage:
"On the veranda of a great New Orleans house, now faded, a mute and fragile woman sits rocking. And the witching hour begins...
Demonstrating once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of legend, Anne Rice makes real for us a great dynasty of witches in this engrossing and hypnotic tale of the occult spanning four centuries- a family given to poetry and incest, to murder and philosophy, a family that over the ages is itself haunted by a powerful, dangerous, and seductive being"

Book 13-Stray by Rachel Vincent

2010-08-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

Although this is a book about werecats it made a refreshing deviation from the almost exclusive vampire related reads of late. I really enjoyed it and was happy to learn that it was the first in a series so I could add even more books to my ever growing amazon wishlist.
Here's the backpage:
"There are only eight breeding female werecats left... And I'm on of them.
I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds. Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.
I'd been warned about Strays- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.
This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back... for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty, I'll take on whatever- and whoever- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out Strays 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them..."

Book 12 - Never Bite a Boy on a First Date by Tamara Summers

2010-08-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I really liked this, it was quirky and funny and as it was for 11+ (says a lot about my mental age, hehe) would appeal to most vampire fans.
Here's the backpage:
"When we found the guy and saw the holes in his neck, the cause of death was obvious.
"It wasn't me" I said,
"I make one mistake and suddenly every little vampire attack is my fault? That's so unfair!"
But it doesn't matter how much I protest, unless I can prove my innocence I'll be spending the next decade in a padded coffin. So now I'm on a mission to track down the real murderer. I've narrowed it down to three suspects.
All acting suspiciously.
All boys.
And all very cute..."

Little Ted

2010-08-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well as of tomorrow little Ted will be 2 weeks old, we had him on the 11th Aug at 00.38, weighing in at 8lbs 1 he's a little cutie and G loves him to bits although I did catch her trying to pick him up..But Dubs not that fussed it might be because he's and G's 4 going on 40...
I got a rest in the hospital from having a C-section so its all good!
Now its just adjusting to the sleep deprivation and catching up on all the mundane housework etc...

Encyclopedia Bloggetry Microblogs

2010-08-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is so good I never even thought of microblogging before but its nice that its 2000 characters so I can ramble a little bit more that with a tweet and also because I signed up with my twitter account it automatically posts my microblogs to me twitter account too which is really good...
I think everybody should have one. so just go HERE and sign up!
Its so good!!

Red Dead Redemption Giveaway

2010-08-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hey have you seen this! You could win a copy of Red Dead Redemption for the Xbox 360! Just go to Econolover and check it out its open until the 31st August so get your skates on!!

A Crazy Few Weeks

2010-08-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well as you already know the arrival of Little Ted draws ever closer and its been a manic few weeks since my last post on the subject. I thought I was going into Labor for a start with 4 weeks left to go which was pretty scary and got to spend the entire weekend in the hospital turned out it was just an infection that can set off early labour and really bad back ache from trapped wind due to Ted lying funny which was super nice of the little monkey. You can Click Here to read hubbys take on it, well the subsequent week anyway. It was nice having to take it easy though and hubby cut off all my hair so now its a super short bob cut and totally less hot and sweaty which is really good when your as big as a house and the weathers been super warm.
Then we had Dub's birthday which comprised of three days of family visits starting with the mother in law which got me a little angry to say the least after she made me feel completely stupid and I even felt so bad I apologised to her even though I shouldn't have.
The reason being that Richard, my hubby had gone out early morning to get some last minute bits and bobs for Dubs birthday and came home feeling sick so I tried and tried to call M.I.L. on her mobile to ask her to make her own way to our house on the bus.
( She's the only family member that needs picking up from anywhere and I don't know why because I know for a fact she can get here by herself because she managed it a bit ago leaving Hubby waiting for her at the train station not knowing where she was until she turned up at the house.)
Anyway I kept trying to call her and it kept going to voicemail. The train arrival time came and went and it wasnt until FORTY FIVE minutes later that she calls us to ask where Richard is and complains that she doesn't know which bus to get on and that shes just missed one and that she's had to walk to the other end of the station, which I thought she meant to use a payphone I felt so bad I apologised and then Hubby checked the number and she had only rang from her mobile after all. And then later once she had been in the house a while she said that her phone didn't show any missed calls trying to make me out to be a big fat liar when all the while Richard was sat there, and he did see me try to call her a lot so she looked a little silly for that.
After that my sister came to visit on the tuesday and then Grandad and his wife came on the Wednesday, my mum didn't come because she had given Dub his gifts the weekend I was in hospital. Here's hubbys take on it Click Here
And that almost brings us up to date.
Well I had my birthday yesterday and for the second year in a row I had a tooth issue, Yep I got an infection and been in pain since the weekend but at least got some antibiotics from the dentist on Monday and now I can almost eat properly again and the swellings almost gone down on the side of my face, still hurts like hell though but at least I can leave the house without being chased with flaming torches and pitchforks.

Book 11- Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite

2010-08-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Phew this book was quite heavy going and was a lot darker than some stories I've read recently. It still had the Vampire theme but I liked the way Brite decided to make them into another race from humans and take away the preconceptions of vampires biting and blood rituals to turn others into their kind. It made a refreshing change to have their angst focused elsewhere instead of the searching for the perfect human to transform them into their eternal companion. But by taking that notion away Brite gave them the ability to procreate so also giving them the posibility for a choice in whether to procreate or not but maybe its just me being overly observant but the idea of contraception was never discussed within. I don't think it would have helped the plot any and since most vampires wouldn't care less about it I guess it probably would have been silly to include it.
It was a very refreshing read nevertheless. Here's the back page:
"In the French Quarter of New Orleans the Mardi Gras revellers concealed a group of pleasure-seekers who preferred to wear black. For Zillah, Molochai and Twig the party had been going on for centuries, fuelled by sexual frenzy, green Chartreuse and a cocktail of vodka and innocent blood.
Nothing was born in horror and brought up in suburban Maryland. Even before he ran away to find his true hone, he suspected he was different from other teenagers. And when he had his first taste of human blood, he knew he was right.
Ghost was a visionary singer of the band Lost Souls? When Nothing was drawn into Zillah's fatal circle, Ghost had to decide whether he should try to save the boy from himself- or abandon him to his bloody birthright"

Less Than 5 Weeks To Go...

2010-07-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

Oh and the last three days have been fab its been cold and rainy and windy and I've not spent the entire day and night sweating my bum off which has been nice.
I am getting a little fed up with people asking how I'm doing all the time especially the ones that only ask so they can feel better about themselves... Although I do have the urge to start skipping along and tell them I feel fantastic just to get on their nerves.
But truth is I feel crap and tired and angry that nothing is getting done because I feel crap and tired. And the odd time when I think I might get chance to do something Ted lies funny to trap a nerve so standing and sitting is not a pleasant experience or G decides to escape her bedroom and tips talc all over our bedroom or paints a lovely mural in lipstick on our wall or if shes feeling really frisky she might decide to wipe poop wherever she sees fit... Which is always fun...
Or like tonight its Dub think its his teeth and he's being super grumpy...
Oh its all good fun....

Book 10 NightLight a parody by the Harvard Lampoon

2010-07-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

I was a little disappointed by this because they made the Bella character even more irritating than in the Twilight saga. It was well written but I didn't find it as funny as some spoof things I have read or seen. I'm just glad it wasn't very long and that it didn't cost very much...
Here's the back page so you can judge for yourself:
"When you like, live forever, what's there to live for?
About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him... that wanted me dead. And, third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically and disreputably wished he had kissed me.
And thus, in this hilarious send-up of Twilight, Belle Goose falls for the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen.
Pale and klutzy Belle's new to Switchblade, Oregon; looking for adventure or, at least, an undead classmate. She finds Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After some stranger-than-strange events- Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!- Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she get him to bite her and so become his eternal bride?
Romance, danger, flaky parenting, creepy stalking and a vampire prom- all this and the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places."

Book 9 Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

2010-06-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

I write a list of books for hubby so if my birthday/mothers day etc comes up he can pick something from the list. Well this Valentines day he got me four books, two were from the list and two weren't.
This one was one of the two I hadn't even heard of but ooh I was so impressed with hubby asking the staff for assistance and to the staff of waterstones for picking something that I would like.
It was great from start to finish but it did make me cry so you might want a hankie (but I am pregnant so my hormones are through the roof!!).
One thing I did keep thinking while I was reading it was that this is how I wished Twilight saga was like. The main girl Grace was so much more likeable for me than Bella from Twilight and if you've read them and were more team jacob than edward then this is the Werewolf story for you.
Here's the back page:
"The pack circled around me, tongues and teeth and growls.
When a local boy is killed by wolves, Grace's small town becomes a place of fear and suspicion. But Grace can't help being fascinated by the pack, and by one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. There's something about him - something almost human.
Then she meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away..."

Book 8: Frankenstein Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz and Ed Gorman

2010-05-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'd meant to buy this 3rd installment to this saga ages ago and just never got round to it until now. Its strange when so many books entice you all at once. Oh but I did really enjoy it, well I enjoyed the whole roller coaster from the beginning of book one so I knew I was going to love it and I was not disappointed (and the Odd Thomas reference at the end made me smile). Although now I wonder if a fourth installment is on the cards or if that is it. I really must go and check...
Yippee book four is out June 15th...check it out here
And I am quite excited by the graphic novel too...Anyway heres the backpage for you:
"A devestating hurricane approaches New Orleans and Victor Helios, once known as Frankenstein, has unleashed his benighted creatures onto the streets. As New Orleans descends into chaos, his engineered killers spin out of control, and the only hope rests with Victor's first and failed attempt to build the perfet human, whose damned path has led him to the ultimate confrontation with his pitiless creator. But first Deaucalion must destroy a monstrosity not even Victor's malignant mind could have imagined - an indestructible entity that steps out if humankind's collective nightmare with one purpose: to replace us."

Book 6 and Book 7: Vampire Wars Trilogy & Vampire Destiny Trilogy by Darren Shan

2010-05-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Technically this is 6 books worth but I thought seeing as I was reading them in two big books I'd only include it as two books.
I'd waited a while to get these having read the first two trilogies a few times and although they are aimed at children they are fantastic.
I couldn't put them down until the saga was finally over and I wasn't even disappointed by the ending. Shan ties it all up neatly so there was no need for me to wonder about what the characters may be getting up to.
Heres the back page for the Vampire Wars Trilogy:
"Darren Shan, the Vampire Prince, embarks on a life or death mission. In "Hunters of the Dusk" Darren scours the world in search of the Vampaneze Lord on a road that leads to death. In "Allies of the Night" Darren faces his worst nightmare yet - school! But bodies are piling up and the past is catching up with the huners fast! And in "Killers of the Dawn" the vampires prepare for deadly confrontation - is this the end for Darren and his allies?"

And heres the back page for the Vampire Destiny Trilogy:
" In "Lake of Souls", Darren and Harkat go on a quest to the lake of the dead, through a world of mystery and terror. In "Lord of the Shadows", Darren returns home and confronts the demons of his human past. In "Sons of Destiny", Darren faces archenemy Steve Leopard for a fight to the death. With time running out, can Des Tiny be foiled, or is the world doomed?"

Little Ted

2010-05-15T13:53:00.001-07:00

Here's the pictures of our new baby its a boy yippee!

New Baby and Other Things

2010-04-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

So its been a while...

Well most of my time is spent thinking about everything that needs doing and failing miserably in actually getting anything done...

But at least I can blame it on being pregnant...Yep no 3 will be on its way in August and considering I'm now 24/25 weeks gone there's still no letter for a potential scan. I'm dragging my heels in regards to phoning them to book an appointment myself because I really want to know what it will be this time around, then I can get rid of a LOT of baby clothes. (Although my sisters friend thought she was having a girl and now she's had it and named it Albert I think someone got it wrong somewhere there)

Oh it will be fun what with G turning 4 in June and Dub is 2 in July and then the new one in August... My sister joked that only 9 more (one for each month) and we'd have a full set...

We've also been waiting to get an appeal date for G to go to the school we want but not heard anything yet.

I am also trying to get my head round some knitting ideas I've had but not being very good at math its a bit of a nightmare.

I really want to find a flat cap knitting pattern but have no idea where to look.

And I really want to make a hat like this but I really don't want to have to felt it afterwards (because I am so very lazy)

I've been thinking about trying to figure out how to make a sweater I saw in a magazine too. Think I might do it on my huge needles then it won't take too long. Still haven't finished hubby's sweater vest or my jacket but it feels wrong to not have about 100 things on the go at once...

One thing I do wish is that I could find nice patterns that are in double knit wool which I have a giant box full in all shades and sizes instead of fancy types ...Oh well...

Book 4: Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat A Graphic Novel

2010-03-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

I didn't even know about this until I happened upon it on ebay. Oh its good! Its adapted by Faye Perozich and painted by Daerick Gross. It took me a little while to read because I kept having to stop and admire the beautiful artwork. Although Lestat looks more like Rutger Hauer here than the youthful Stuart Townsend but it kept to the original piece very well in my opinion. And it did make me want to adapt everything I've ever read into comic book format for a while... Which I may do one of these days if I was a way better artist anyhoo hehe.

"The story begins in our time with Lestat, tall, blond, and handsome, a world-renowned rock star. His gifts are timeless, his youth never withers. But he was not always the powerful and famous child of darkness. Before his long earth-encrusted sleep, he as an aristocrat in the heady days of pre-Revolutionary France. It was then that he came face to face with the incarnation of evil and the temptations of love that he has ravenously pursued through time. Where it has led him and what he has become is the heart of the tale that has captivated millions of readers".

Book 5: Finding Lost (Season 1 & 2)- Nikki Stafford

2010-03-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

The first thing I have to say is Wow! I mean I like to think that I look beyond the obvious within the show but compared to Nikki Stafford I may as well be watching with my eyes shut.

Some of the things that she does bring to my attention make me wonder if the producers/ writers on the show are going to all this trouble to find out about all the biblical references and the I Ching just to mess with the viewer with the potential links that connect them or are they just super lucky and we the viewer are trying too hard to find hidden meanings ( a bit like how Nostradamus is vague but we can link it to stuff that's already taken place) and to make it more complex than we should. My bets on the first choice. Plus with the 6th and final season under way its nice to know there's a collection of unofficial guides out there to walk me through it all.

Especially when the two questions that niggle at me is

1. Why was Libbly in the mental asylum when Hurley was?

and

2. When Locke is on the phone to the dial a date Helen in season 1, is it the same Helen that he was engaged to and then lost? Is it the only way he can contact her now?

I know they are super profound and as I've been watching the 6th season I have a feeling that these deep questions are too menial to be answered...oh well.

Plus I don't need to ask the profound questions when I can go here and Jen is wonderful enough to write a very thorough review of each episode and because I'm in the UK I can read it before watching it so I know what I'm looking for even before I get there...Thanks Jen!!

Book 3. Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

2010-02-20T12:08:00.000-08:00

I know its the 17th book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series and its my first taste of them and I was very glad that I picked it up when I saw it and didn't wait until I'd read the other previous. Although now I definitely will go back and read her previous books and then I can read this one all over again. Although for someone like me who has just dived straight into these books its a little like drowning with so many characters and so much going on that will have already been explained in more detail in previous novels but Hamilton does acknowledge this and tells you enough to find the surface of the water once more but only reading the others will give you the deep meaningful answer to the questions...So there's plenty more for me to read...

Here's the back page:

"I'd worked my share of serial killer cases, but none of the killers had ever mailed me a human head. That was new.

My name is Anita Blake and my reputation has taken some hits. Not on the work front, where I have the highest kill count of all legal vampire executioners in the country, but on the personal front. No one seems to trust a woman who sleeps with the monsters. Still when a vampire serial killer sends me a head from Las Vegas, I know I have to warn Sin City's local authorities what they're dealing with.

Only its worse than I thought: several police officers and an executioner have been slain paranormal style. When I get to Las Vegas, I'm joined by three other federal marshals. Which is a good thing because I need all the back-up I can get when hunting a killer this powerful and dangerous."

Been Kinda Lazy!

2010-01-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

Well I have there's no two ways about it I have hardly done anything, apart from getting slowly addicted to G's DS...

And we did have some eventful days last week G fell over right outside school and is now sporting a lovely round graze, with a nice yellow tinge to it, she did do it on Thursday.

And then both the kids had their swine flu injections on the Friday, I got to sit in the waiting room while hubby took each of them in G was super brave and hardly cried but Dub cried a fair bit but then we had lost his dummy so he had new ones (and he doesn't like new ones).

We found the dummy on the Saturday he has a new hiding place on the top of the sofa behind the cushions...

I really need to do more of everything... Well maybe not eat so much but everything else I really need a jump start...

Update on Sisters Painting...

2010-01-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

Well I knew I was terrible at taking photos so here's my sisters fantastic photographic skills (oh and a better camera than my lame camera phone) at work.

Well everyone else is doing it…

2010-01-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

What's that you ask...Its the bloody snow , everywhere I turn someones talking/blogging about it so I thought I'd add my thoughts.

Firstly I'm sick of it, especially with G back to school and having to cart dub in his quinny pushchair, its like a rollercoaster for him.

(Even without the snow I hate that pushchair, the brakes don't work properly and the raincover doesn't fit right.)

Anyway even with my pushchair driving skills being poor at the best of times its been like having a forty five minute walk over a beach its been a nightmare, although the first day was the worst because the snow kept sticking to the wheels and then they would jam up and it would be sliding with a mound of snow in front of each wheel.

And then with G wanting to hold hands too so I'm pushing the 3 wheel death trap one handed, well I think even Jesus would curse like a sailor all the way there and back.

But I can feel the burn in my arm muscles and legs so it can't be all bad...

Well G starts the journey a little over excited making snowballs and running around and then burns herself out before we get halfway... Then she walks all duck footed because she thinks her feet are wet when they're just cold... Oh its a fun packed trip to school.

I did wish it would stop snowing today so I could go out and make a snowman but the kids just won't hang out outside if its blowing in their little faces. G has been wearing my sunglasses to stop the snowflakes getting in her eyes. She does look funny.

I haven't fallen over yet so thats definitely in the pro section, G has a few times but nothing too major so wahay!

Hope its a little warmer tomorrow so we can go out in it and play without having to go to school or to the shops, although knowing my luck we will need milk again...

Happy New Year

2010-01-08T12:32:00.001-08:00

Ok so I've been super slack on here but I have a couple of images for you in celebration of Lost airing in USA on 2nd Feb....
You can get these fab cards from my etsy store!

Book 2...Death's Mistress by Karen Chance

2010-01-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

Oh I'm whizzing through these books hehe, only 98 to go, (well its 97 really I've read another one I'm just a little slow at posting).

Anyway this is the sequel to Midnights Daughter which follows the exploits of Dhampir Dorina Basarab. I wasn't sure if I had read the first one but after a couple of pages I realised I had and it all came flooding back.

Also that I got Midnight's Daughter for Xmas last year from my mum as well as the first Keri Arthur. Well I thought it was a bit strange.

It's a very easy read, even with a lot of characters and following the twisty story but it keeps flowing and it is easy to follow. But you might want to read the other one first.

Here's the back page for a taste:

"Dorina Basarab is a dhampir - half-human, half-vampire - and the only way she can stay sane is by unleashing her sometimes uncontrollable rage on demons and vampires that deserve killing.

After the fortunate demise of her insane uncle Dracula, Dory is back home in Brooklyn, hopinh that life will calm down for a while. But then two visitors arrive, her friend Claire, asking for Dory's help in finding a magical Fey relic, and the gorgeous master-vampire Louis-Cesare, desperate to find his former mistree, a vampire named Christine.

Dory and Louis-Cesare soon discover their problems may be connected: the same master-vampire Christine is bound to is also rumoured to be in possession of the relic. But they soon realize there's more at stake when Christine's master turns up dead. Someone is killing vampire Senate members, and if Dory and Louis-Cesare can't stop the murder, they may be next...

First Day Back...

2010-01-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

Well G had her first day back to school yesterday.

Which would have been lovely apart from carting dub in the pushchair through the snow...

Oh and the fact that he was poopin and puking all day....

Oh well at least he's better today.

But its still snowing grrrr.

Book 1 of 100...Deadly Desire - Keri Arthur

2010-01-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is the 7th in the Riley Jenson series and I would usually re-read the previous books in order before starting the new one but I just couldn't resist it, (plus all the rest are in boxes under the stairs). But when I buy book 8 I will definitely re- read the rest beforehand.

That said, blimey Arthur's novels and having 2 small children do not mix well at all, I just couldn't put it down and seeing as I picked it up last night as soon as the new year had barely begun, I didn't want to waste a second of potential reading time, I was amazed at how quickly I finished it though.

If your not familiar with the series here's what the back page says

"A rare hybrid of werewolf and vampire, Guardian Riley Jenson, always seems to be facing danger. She's trying to catch a fiend who's left a trail of female corpses behind in a bizarre ritual of evil, just as a series of brutal slayings also shocks the vampire world of her lover, Quinn. So the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil - or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, Kye Murphy.

Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and Kye's lupine charm, Riley knows she's courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. And when her hunt through the supernatural underworld brings her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness where even monsters fear to tread, things begin to get really deadly."

I'm totally useless at writing reviews because I'm too worried about not giving away the ending and end up hardly describing it at all. And if it wasn't for my mum buying me full moon rising last xmas I may never have know the literary delights of Keri Arthur.

Thinking about the New Year…

2009-12-29T12:16:00.000-08:00

I know there's resolutions to be had, which I will decide upon later..

But the main decision has to be which way my art work is going to go, and I had a brainwave of doing nude ACEO's, I've always liked painting nudes and seem to do it best so I think that is how its going to be this year....

Nudes, nudes and more nudes...

A Belated Merry Christmas

2009-12-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well here it is better late than never, hehe.

So I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Santa brought you everything you asked for!

Ours was good, a little stressful with all the toys that needed an engineers degree to asemble, and the fact that I went out to buy batteries on Christmas Eve and came back with AA's and all the toys needed AAA or C batteries. Oh well...

But at least we have a giant stash of AA bateries now should we need them...

And I'm super happy that my mum and sister both loved their knitted hats and neckwarmers (my sister also got wristwarmers too).

And the text I got from my sister telling me she had already hung the painting I did for her, was a little worried because I didn't think it looked like Tim Minchin, but she loves it so wahay!

Now I'm just getting itchy fingers to start the 100 books in 2010, I have just got 3 new books that are just screaming "read me" but I must be patient, it's only a week...

No More School

2009-12-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

Well thats it now no more trips to school every day and now I get sick, runny nose, rubbish cough, oh well at least I've got a couple of days to take it easy and recouperate before the big day.

Just wish the kids would sleep a little better....Far too exciting for them!

Christmas Cards

2009-12-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

My sister made us all some Christmas cards and they have cute pictures on the front and such good limericks inside so I wanted to share them with you. The pictures didn't photograph well but I will keep trying, but for now enjoy the limericks.

There once was a reindeer named Fredrick
Who was unable to fly as it made him sick
The first time he flew
It seems that he threw
His guts up all over Reykjavik

Frosty's a man made of snow
With coal for eyes and carrot for nose
He'll become our friend
But then in the end
He wont say bye when he goes

When we see a cracker in a box
We get so excited we nearly pop
Then it goes snap
And we get a bit of crap
That's only slightly better than socks

There's a Christmas tree that used to be grand
Pride and place ever year it would stand
It was forgotten
And now it's gone rotten
And belongs once again to the land

Santa's a vampire you know
Who lives in a kingdom of snow
He'll feast on your blood
Doesn't care if you're good
Then he'll leave you a gift with a bow

You can follow her on twitter too @emmitunknowing

100 Books in 2010

2009-12-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

So as I was having a little look through entrecard I stumbled on this blog with a challenge for 100 books in 2010.

You can Click Here if you want to sign up. Its one of those Mr Linky thingys and I am far too dumb to get that so instead I will be doing the challenge and I will just keep a log of how I'm doing here. Most of it will be re-reads unless I get lucky from family members for books or book tokens but I do love to re-read anyway so that won't be such a problem for me. Or it may just be the incentive I need to join that library down the street...yes its only down the street and I've only lived here 3 ish years hehe and since September I've practically passed it every day taking G to school but I digress.

I am very excited about this challenge and if nothing else it will be the most fun resolution I could have...

Georg Baselitz

2009-06-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

Click here for Wiki.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

2009-06-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

They made a film about Basquiat, I saw it, I quite liked it, i can't remember who played Basquiat but I think they got David Bowie in to play Warhol. Definitely worth a watch if you find it

click here for Wiki.

Francis Bacon

2009-05-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

click here for wiki.

Frank Auerbach

2009-05-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

As you've realised I've been a little lazy over here but I'm slowly getting back into a routine.
But I've decided not to write too much about the artists, and use it mainly like a gallery as all the reviews are getting to be a little too similar..So without further ado Frank Auerbach! click here for Wiki
.

One of Those Days

2009-05-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well the kids are asleep pretty early tonight, well I'm not surprised they've been little terrors for a few days now.
But then we have had an abundance of snot, and coughs oh and dub's 4th tooth is about ready to make an appearance...
So after a morning of chasing G away from climbing onto her table and onto the window ledge/fireguard.
"I just tidying the mantle piece"...
Then getting the play doh out for her so she can play with that and I can get some washing/ironing done its dub's turn to get nutty. He really doesn't like the steam coming out of the iron. And think the noises scare him, but he didn't last too long and was napping in a blink.
Oh and then I had to get some washing in because of rain then it cleared up and I had 2 loads to put on the line......
With about 5 items to put on the line it snaps!
All the clothes on WET MUD!
A few swears later and everything's in bags in the kitchen. I'm still too shocked to deal with it hope I won't have to wash it all AGAIN!
I might take a look before bed but might leave it until tomorrow. Lord knows where I'm going to put it all there's only so many radiators...

I know I'm Behind Again

2009-05-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Quick update:
I'm trying to sort out all my crap in my documents to change over my operating system, thinking Linux Mint but that might change by the time I'm ready to go ahead. And with 13gbs to sort through and compress its been taking ages. Then hubby came up with an idea to upload it all to media fire instead of discs but don't think that's going to work...Would take so long.
Finally sorted out the main bills to direct debit woohoo so don't have to worry about that anymore.
G had a week of peeing on the floor, think she had a potty phobia but she's over that now and she's doing really well again.
And we're getting ready for birthday's left right and centre, one in May,one in June 2 in July and mine in August (but that one can get swept under the carpet).
The gardens almost done now too OH YEAH!!!
(Just realised that my images are all in zip files.So will post pic later)

Not as Savvy as I Thought

2009-04-24T12:21:00.000-07:00

Oh I tried to add my qoop widget to the shop page and pooped it up good and proper...now i have to figure out how i managed it and how to set it right

Oh Dear!

2009-04-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well it seems I've been neglecting my posts here, I have a recent addiction and it is Lego Batman on ps2. Everything's been going downhill for the past week, it's been all I've thought about, dreamed about.
And I'm quite good at it too.
So my humlest apologies for being super lazy.
For my excuses I do have the kids having super colds blasting snot in every direction they can.
Finally managed to do enough of the loft so I can actually sleep in our bed again.
Got a fair bit done on the garden too now there's only one sleeper left to take out then dig it over and plant the lawn seeds. Woohoo!
Oh and Dub got his first tooth.
And the overdose on chocolate and the subsequent comedown needs a mention too.

Family Update

2009-04-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well that's the last playgroup for a fortnight, daughter did really well today and was quite chatty with some of the other mums which isn't like her at all so was very proud, maybe it was the potential Easter egg.
Was a bit strange hubby not being around for most of the day as he had to go to his mums, first it was to sort out her cats injections (why she would book the cat in for injections when shes just had a foot operation is anyone's guess). Then it was to move her TV and laptop, and then it was to be a witness for the council because she was allegedly being a bad neighbour to the lady who lives upstairs (whilst she was in hospital?).
I still haven't finished sorting out all the stuff from the loft! And its getting me more and more angry as I am sleeping on the floor in the kids room.
Today I wanted to give the bathroom a little clean, do the pots and some ironing and maybe get through some of the loft stuff but there's little use in trying to do anything with the kids around because one of them always wants something! And trying to get anything done in the kitchen with daughter in the garden is nigh on impossible.
although the previous two days we've been trying to sort out the garden and daughter has been a bit helpful with that. We were going to get a skip for all the rubbish but my life its expensive so the pile of stones I made by the shed on the first day had to be moved back to the bottom of the garden because then at least we can have a lawn by the summer for the kids to play on.

Gillian Ayres

2009-03-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

Click Here for the Wikipedia. I know I should say more, but they all start sounding the same. (I am really poor/lazy at reviews). *delete as appropriate.

Joseph Beuys

2009-03-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

I don't really know a lot about Joseph Beuys, I found his name on a scrap of paper with a list of artists I should have a look at from when I was at University (10 years ago). SssHHH! I've only just looked up most of them. Beuys being one of them. And now I wish I had looked him up a long time ago, I used to believe that being a naive artist was a good thing, but thats more of an excuse as to how lazy I was.
Any way enjoy the Beuys. Click Here for Wikipedia.

Ed Paschke

2009-03-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well...I tried my hardest to only pick four images for Ed Paschke, but I couldn't do it. I wanted to use all of them! They are all amazing! Love his use of colour and imagery, well everything. I recommend going and having a look at his official website or check his wikipedia. Paul Baines was quite hard to just choose 4 images for too so don't forget to check out his stuff here.

Gerhard Richter

2009-03-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Gerhard Richter...Hmmm what to say, his work is ecclectic to say the least and he has had a lot of praise for it, I can see why from both the abstract to the lifelike realism of the photographic paintings, (yep I know they're so well done) his use of colour is paramount thoughout.
Click Here for the Wikipedia. And enjoy...

Paul Baines

2009-03-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

This is an upcoming and VERY good U.K. Artist. He's based in London and you really should try and grab a piece of his work while you still can!
Don't take my word for it though go read his blog, click here, take your time read all he has to say, not only is his work fantastic, his words are deep and meaningful too.
And don't forget to read the post Close Ups that won't Flatter, and you will see all the fine detail that goes into his work. And for just a little loose change over $10 its well worth the investment! And they're all Limited Edition!
So all that needs to be said is what are you still doing here?? Get over there, imerse yourself in the world of Paul Baines and raid that piggy bank and get something wonderful to grace your walls with!!

Henri Matisse

2009-03-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Oh I have loved Matisse's work for such a long time, the colours, the simplicity, the placement of the subjects. Well everything really. What more can I say, the images speak for themselves.
If you want to find out more about him click here for the wikipedia.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-03-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today's been interesting, exhausting, fantastic.
It started early 6am (usual time for the kids though, so no worries when they reach school age), hubby gave our daughter the cards and book to give to me, she wanted to keep the cards. Bless her. We made a deal and she got the envelopes to draw on.
I got Keri Arthurs " Dangerous Games" which is the only one of the Riley Jenson series I am missing until the new one gets released, so once I've read this one, I have to go through boxes of books to find the Dean Koontz - Odd Thomas series as I have the 4th one to read and then I will read the Keri Arthur ones in order, and then the third Dean Koontz Frankenstein will arrive in April so I will re read the first 2 of those and then the third then I will be about ready for some new books for my birthday in August.
Anyway to go back to what I was saying, I made pancakes for breakfast for us all and they were fantastic, they were flat and cooked right and everything, not the usual mush I end up with!
Kids were getting a bit crazy and whiny on and off all day so we went in the garden for a bit, then had a walk to the shops ( I desperately needed some sugar so I could get my coffee fix).
Then I thought I'd make some bread, well we had ran out and I forgot to buy some at the shops and we had the ingredients.
Hubby enjoyed it so much he thinks I should make it everyday. So that was really nice.
And then I got an email from the lady at the local brownies/guides branch as I'd requested some info on helping out. Looks really fun so I'm definitely going to go for it.
Son's had some rosy cheeks all day and was really grumpy at bedtime so he might be finally getting a tooth soon, boy at playgroups 2 months younger with 2 teeth already, but when they come they come, I'm not that eager to rush the long tearfilled nights and drool that come with teething.

Nurofen is Great

2009-03-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

Headache is almost gone now!
THANK YOU NUROFEN!!
It was almost an early night for me, but then if I had gone to lie down you know the kids would have decided to throw a very noisy party!
Daughter went out with Granddad and his wife today and had a great time, and they even brought me a Mother's Day card from her that she made at the park. Which was really nice because as always when they come to visit I always seem left out of the gifts, not that I mind although a 15p fudge bar would be fine by me...Hehe
Son got another jacket/jumper, daughter got a cute little lilac dress with a little purse on it, and 2 pairs of tights, and hubby got a jacket.
Although the jacket had been worn by Granddad a couple of times so I guess his gift doesn't count so much on the scale.
I'm waiting for the big Easter Egg score to come my way in a couple of weeks, (but they were a bit vague as to whether we are getting eggs or something more useful).
Don't get me wrong I'm all for useful gifts (I've sent my mum a list of stuff, space saving vacuum bags, a jigroll- so I can do those jigsaws and put them somewhere while we eat, clothing vouchers- I did make a new request that my clothing vouchers are for Asda instead of Evans in future though, love the clothes just don't like the price.)And I can get 10 pairs of sweats instead of a pair of trousers and a top with the same amount of money.
But where was I...
Oh yeah, so hubby took son out to buy mother's day cards and I got back into the loft thinking theres only a few things left to take out before starting to put all the sorted suff back in....WRONG!!
But to be fair a couple of the big bags of soft toys are to be washed and donated so needed them out.
Did find a Star Wars monopoly game and a Spiderman modelling kit which are very exciting.
And also found a few gluebooks I had started, mainly to just store potential images that I may or may not be interested in painting in the future so finishing them will be fun, and saves me a lot of paper falling out all over the place.
But still not any closer to actually sleeping in the bed as yet.
Wondering how tomorrow will unfold...

Potty Training

2009-03-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's been going well daughter went 7 times yesterday on her potty and she's loving her Upsy Daisy doll.
Now we've upped the stakes a little and she's working towards some garden toys, so that gives hubby and me an incentive to get that garden finished too!
It's either going to be a sand pit, a water table or a wendy house for the next milestone, (probably all three eventually), so with the 7 yesterday and another 3 today she's well on the way to her next treat.
Although she still won't poop on the potty and I don't know if that's why we had a constipation issue today but ooh it was awful because she wanted to go but kept crying because it hurt her, I don't like to see her cry.
But she gets tomorrow off for her day out with granddad and the wife and then we'll be back on it on Sunday.

Piet Mondrian

2009-03-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is a sneaky post really to plug my etsy shop because I have just made an ACEO (2.5" x 3.5") in the style of Mondrian. And even the simplicity of his images is very hard to do, getting straight edges for starters, drives me crazy. But the effects are amazing. When I saw the image of the Mondrian Building above I thought it was a museum of Mondrian's work but I'm not sure I think it may just be someone's house. I wonder if hubby would let us do it to ours? I doubt it.
And considering Mondrian died it 1944 its great how his paintings are fresh and exciting even today.
If you want to know more about Mondrian click here for the Wikipedia.
If you haven't guessed already the bottom image is the one available in my etsy shop. Just click the image to view the listing.

Hello and Welcome

2009-03-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

O.k so I've set up this account so I thought I better start making good use out of it!
I thought it was about time that I improved my Art knowledge, I know Yawn-o-rama, but don't worry it will be worded like my other blog My Art, My Way, so have a mosey on over and take a peek.
Here I will be reviewing artists old and new, so keep popping by...
And if you want to make any suggestions send me a comment and I'll take a look
Or if you can't wait that long for an update you can always follow me on twitter

ACEO's in Etsy

2009-03-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

So if you haven't already had a look in the etsy store lately then this is a heads up!!
ACEO's are now available and I'm loving them all, its so much fun to do! So enjoy the ACEO goodness!

The Health Visitor Comes

2009-03-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

Its been an interesting day.
We ran out of kitchen roll, toilet paper and baby wipes this morning so me and the kids made a mad dash to the shops. Didn't want to tempt fate with the two little poop machines in tow.
Daughter was a bit of a terror again to and from the shops, think it was excitement over the health visitor coming to do sons 6month + review.
And daughter likes her coming, but then she thinks any guests mean she's going to get presents...
Well a few hours later and a time out or daughter and health visitor came, weighed son, a whopping 9kg (19.15lbs) at just 34 weeks.
Well he's only just above the average line so its not that big. Tested his grip on some bricks and a rattle. He's progressing nicely.
She was also impressed with our daughters speech and said she was very advanced for her age which was great.
Now just to get the potty training sorted and then we can focus on her reading and writing skills. Not that we're trying to push her or anything.
Back to the potty training, we finally made it to 19 today so daddy will be buying the toy tomorrow whilst me and the kids are at playgroup, so it'll be at home for when we get back.
I've also noticed she seems to follow a pattern, manages to make the first 2 attempts on the potty and then forgets what she was doing and everything else goes all over the floor.
So from now on she gets the magic star for completing a day without accidents on the floor (obviously days wearing nappies don't count). Think she wants the Little Einstein toys or Fifi and the Flowertots Doll.
Either way its a more complex task for her and we're not buying toys every five minutes. hehe.

Almost...

2009-03-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

Oh what I found today was great, an old sketchbook from college with my final brief all mapped out which I will upload later, not tonight though so you can all enjoy.
An old uni sketchbook with some interesting stuff in it too, which is also on the scanner backlog.
But the best bit was some sculpture I made from mainly wire, photographed them with the digital camera, and I can't seem to get it to upload the images to my pc. poop.
I also found a little notebook I was drawing, writing and sticking things in for my sisters birthday a few years ago.
And never finished. Oh dear.
I think the word unfinished is going to be written on my tombstone...

Crazy Day...

2009-03-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

Phew what a day, I am TIRED !! And I have more to do tomorrow.
The plan was if the weather's nice we will go do some gardening (it will be nice for this summer, we've only been here almost 3 years).
But it was awful and cold and windy, not rainy though, so I opened my big mouth and said
"Hey, why don't we sort out the loft",
So up the ladders I went, thought I was going to get stuck with my big booty but should have been more worried about my head getting wedged trying to get boxes down.
The plan was to get everything down, organise and throw stuff away, and then put the rest back up tidily so we can get to the water tank if the need arises. You know for stashing the millions etc. I wish.
Hubby was helping retrieve the boxes then had to feed our son for his nap and entertain our daughter so her constant questions didn't put me off and I fall off those ladders. (Yep she's at the stage when she has to question everything).
You'd think I'd be used to it by now as my sister would constantly ask questions while watching tv, especially films, so if there was anything on you wanted to watch don't do it with her in the room. (She did it until she was about 15 too which was a nightmare).
Anyway back to our eventful day, now where was I... Oh yes, well we didn't get everything down because there wasn't enough room in our bedroom and even as I type this there's stuff all over the bathroom floor. But I'm having a rest.
So started going through the boxes, found some really amazing things like a few sketchbooks I'd mislaid and a lot of tat.
And a lot of stuff that I really don't have the space for but can't quite bring myself to throw out or donate them just yet, like my micro machines death star, and my WWE bash at the beach wrestling ring.
But I am donating all the old kids clothes to charity and I've wrapped up my pottery pig collection too, so that will be gracing a charity shop window in the near future.
I know I could use an auction site, I could use a swap shop, but those take time and they're still in the house, and then there's the taking them to the post office with the 2 teeny weenies in tow. I know I can't be bothered either, so to a worthier cause they go.
We braked for lunch and no sooner were we downstairs daughter whipped her togs off and used the potty, she almost got a standing ovation for that one. her second attempt also hit the mark, so she was on a roll and only needed 4 more attempts until the cuddly toy was in her little mitts but to no avail.
If she had managed to get on the potty and not pee all over the floor this afternoon she would have only needed one until she achieved her goal. Never mind.
Didn't get much done this afternoon because daughter was following in my wake just in case I found something toy related that she could snatch from my grasp, so I gave up in the end.
I did find some temporary tattoo paints (oil based not henna) and we had fun with those once son was in his cot, daughter now has a pig and a dragon on each arm, a flower, a chair?, a bat, spider, person and a yellow blob on her legs.
Why a yellow blob, she wanted a "poorly" on her knee to go with the one she has on her other leg hehe.
I might give up now and just relax for the rest of the evening because even if I get it all done I'll still have to change the bedding and have a bath.
So a camp out on the sofa/kids floor is how I'm ending this evening.

Communications Breakdown

2009-03-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

So Nanna's been wondering if our daughter likes her because she says
"What's That!" at everyone and everything, but then nanna only comes once a fortnight or even less so how would she know.
(she'll be here this weekend)
And Saturday saw granddad and his wife come to take daughter out for the day. We've had problems with communication with them in the past and it seems its still going on.
Daughter told them she wanted to go see the animals in the park, which they did but they took her to the playcentre first and I would have thought that they would have taken her to the park first, but I guess that's neither here nor there really in the whole scheme of things.
What I did find interesting was that on Sunday I took the kids to the shops and daughter started getting nasty about me holding her reins (there's no way she's walking by herself as she would run into the road), and it got me thinking, it always seems to happen after they've been.
Fair enough she won't need them going from their car to the playcentre, but what are they doing in the park...
So I asked our daughter and apparently they don't use the reins but a wrist strap that the wife bought and I adamantly refused to let her use it on our child.. (see wrist strap post)
Now I know kids get confused and she might have got it all wrong and misunderstood what I was asking her, but I'm not totally sure on that because the wife was really put out by my not wanting her to use them.
But if it turns out they have been then maybe they will have to spend the day at our house in future.
And hubby and I will have to take her to these places on weekdays instead.

Potty Training Update

2009-03-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well were getting there, slowly but surely.
She's 7 goes away from winning the cuddly toy!
Although I have added the incentive of extra bonus points for a poop she still prefers not to even try.
And she's even been in the toilet once. And we haven't had any accidents for a few days which is great because I've ran out of floor cleaner so hopefully she won't pee on the floor until I remember to buy it.

How do they do it??

2009-03-02T11:56:00.000-08:00

How does everyone manage to get so much done while I'm left floundering about and scratching my head (better time management you say....Yeah your probably right)
But what I mean is if I try to drop the requisite numbers on entrecard, I don't get anything else done. If I actually get some art work done nothing gets done on the pc.
Although with my new found information on ACEO's I have managed to do some work on those whilst putting the kids to bed but its only the initial Biro or pencil sketch that needs painting afterwards, but that's a definite saving of some time once they're asleep. But it can be a struggle if our daughter is feeling a little bit naughty and decides that I'm not really using the pencils etc. and she wants them.
And I need to buy a marker or a stupidly small paintbrush for the more fiddly pictures, because the ones I've got just don't cut it. And it doesn't matter if I've just bought them or how pricey they are the bristles ALWAYS start to deviate from the initial shape and blob paint all over where I really don't want it to go.
So how do you manage it all, the work and all the social networking/ promotions stuff and painting so little and finely because I want to know!

ACEO's

2009-02-25T11:54:00.000-08:00

I finally found out exactly what they are thanks to
Pat's Encaustics - Art in the Wax
and I am so very excited by them, now I really can't wait for Friday because I'm going to buy a new cutting tool too so I can cut out the little 2.5" x 3.5" card and get my paint and sketch on. I have far too much going on in my head and will be glad to get it down on the cards as well as a few new greetings cards and paintings, oh yeah I'm going all out on Friday, just hope I can carry it all back with the kids in tow. We're using the ultra light Quinny pushchair with no underneath for storage as our Graco died a horrible, horrible death. (And I miss it like crazy, think daughter does too as there's no riding on the roof of this pushchair).

W.T.F!

2009-02-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

Ok so yesterday hubby had to nip into town to get some stuff so I said our daughter could watch some cartoons, bored out of my mind with playhouse Disney (its good but on all the time), and noticed that Something Special was on on the CBeebies channel, she loves it so I popped it on. During the segment between shows I noticed that they had new presenters.
They were both playing a dressing up game and kept getting it muddled up and our 2 year old loved it and thought it was hilarious.
It wasn't until hubby came home that it was brought to my attention that there's apparently a one armed lady working on the show and that she was causing an uproar because she "might" be scaring people's children.
I mean come on...
Yeah I noticed she only had one arm and yes our daughter probably noticed it too, but was she scared? No.
Did Cerrie Burnell give her nightmares? No.
Would I not want my children watching it because it may bring up uncomfortable questions? No.
What does it matter that she only has one arm, she was great at presenting, she entertained our kids, and at the end of the day isn't that what its all about.

Potty Training Day 2

2009-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:00

Oh it started so well today, she peed on the floor then used the potty, then on the floor again and then in the potty again so we were evenly matched on her attempts to use the potty to her just not realising, then it all went downhill after that...But at least she managed to use it twice again today, tomorrow will be interesting as its playgroup in the morning so I'm wondering if she's going to try and go there.
But we decided that she has to use the potty 19 times in total for the upsy daisy doll, so its like a pound a go, and that's 4 attempts down so she hasn't got long to go now.
Plus Nanna's not coming until Saturday now so that gives us an extra day without too many disruptions.
And it also means I don't have to rush going to buy my paint on Friday yippee!

Potty Training

2009-02-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

Well since xmas we've been trying to potty train our daughter, she's 4 months away from her 3rd birthday and so far we've been a little lazy but today we stepped it up a gear and oh my life! I've spent most of the day elbow deep in tinkle.
We have 2 incentives for her actually getting on the potty.
1) An upsy daisy dress up doll she saw when we were grocery shopping in asda last week
and
2) Nanna's bringing Easter eggs on Friday, (if she thinks they'll make it until April she's just a little crazy)
She seems to grasp the concept that once she's reached a specified number of times using the potty she will get the doll.
Does the bribery work....Not so much hehe, although she has managed to use it twice and there was six other failed attempts along the way so hopefully the ratio will improve.
One thing though when I was trying to tell her that she needs to sit on it before she thinks she's going to tinkle, I'm not sure if she understood what I was going on about or that she really doesn't know that she needs to go until its all over the floor.
So I'm going to research it just to see, I know it's not a huge thing to be worried about but Hubby has the impression that she needs to be potty trained by September for starting at the local nursery so I better go have a looksie...

Art Books For Sale

2009-02-22T11:48:00.000-08:00

So far I've only managed to do one its 20 pages long and its full of digital images, you can either download the ebook or buy a paperback copy for your coffee table the choice is yours!
There's also a lost sticker set for anyone who's interested...
You can find them here:
Gemma Stothard's Qoop Store

Granddad's been and Gone

2009-02-21T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well today was a little easier than normal the wife didn't come with granddad for his visit so hubby had to go out with him and our daughter, don't think granddad would have coped by himself.
It was good for me because it meant hubby could pick up the nappies we desperately needed, saving me a trip to the shops, I could watch what I wanted on the TV for a change, son and I partook in a little bit of rocking out to the Kerrang music channel.
Also it meant I could get a little housework done, i really don't like doing it when everyone else is about, under my feet or making me feel jealous because they're playing video games....Not that I get this choice very often. But the stairs look wonderful now, I lost the special attachment for the dust buster so had to do it with the dustpan and brush...At least my arms got a work out if nothing else.
And even better granddad paid for the nappies so we have a little more cash now than we thought we would have.(If the wife was with them he doesn't usually pay for stuff) But they do take our daughter out once a fortnight so I am grateful for that.

Grandparents Day is almost upon us again

2009-02-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

Has it only been a fortnight since granddad and his wife came to visit, it seems to have flown by but then we have had grandma and nanna come to visit (not together) and then we had the gas man checking the fire and boiler for their yearly check-up, (ok so I tidied and cleaned both the kitchen and the living room to perfection for the Tuesday gas man visit and the house is trashed again, the kids bedroom and the bathroom are the only rooms to have missed the hurricane).
And we had a family outing to asda the other day too, that was a good day its not often hubby comes out with me and the kids it made a very nice change and I picked up some exercise books for writing notes in and also odd hours by Dean Koontz, so it was very worthwhile, don't worry hubby only spent just over £3 on those so I wasn't breaking his wallet straps.
Plus I even won some cash on the bingo last night so I can pay the electric bill and a little spare to buy some art supplies, which is good as I found some landscape pictures on the net from my home town of Wainfleet and am very excited about doing some of them on canvas.
I am going to do a couple using paint.net first, just to see if my idea will work, but I think it will.
I've also been looking at Photofuse canvas making kits, wondering if the family would appreciate them and will it be good value for money.

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T11:43:00.000-08:00

So have you had or having a nice valentines day?
Ours has been different to say the least.

I mean I know not to expect anything too romantic and crazy as we have 2 small children so anything we do do will involve them in some way or another. But then we remembered that Nanna i.e. the Mother In Law was coming for a visit today.

So my first job was to get myself and the kids dressed and out to the shops to buy milk as we'd ran out last night, and Nanna always has at least one cup of coffee whilst she's here. And then there's all the tidying to be done before she gets here so she doesn't fall over all the kids stuff.

Oh and hubby and I gave each other a Valentines card. ( He bought me 2 Keri Arthur-Riley Jenson Guardian novels a few days ago and said I could have them early)

He didn't know what he wanted so he's got some cash to buy himself a book or add on for his webpage or whatever he likes really.
Anyway that done and then daughter and hubby had to go meet Nanna in town (she is able to come straight here on the bus by herself as she's done it before, but she wanted meeting), which was fine as son was asleep so I got a few more bits done without daughter running around my legs and taking out what I've already put away.

So halfway through washing the pots they roll in and wake son up, well he was asleep in pushchair behind the front door so can hardly blame them for that. Daughter got a nurses outfit which once on she spilt banana milkshake down so more washing for me woohoo!!, she also got s peppa pig towel and some ducks for the bath, but the ducks she can share with our son.

Have noticed a pattern whenever Nanna comes one week son gets loads and daughter gets hardly anything and then the opposite happens the next time she comes.

Was wondering if the thought had occurred to her that it was Valentines day or not and she did mention with a disgusted look on her face how much mush was in the shops because of Valentines day. ( Brain into overdrive wondering if she knew it was today or not and if so did she put me in the camp that it means nothing and I wouldn't care about her being here, or was she playing the territorial mother towards her precious son and wanted to sabotage even our most lame attempts at a nice Valentines day)
Who knows....All I know that is after this little rant I will give as little thought to the potential craziness of the M.I.L.

So if you have an equally strange Valentines or even a toe curling horrid one I would love to hear it....

Now to order take out and have a bit of a relax!

My Alternative Valentine

2009-02-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

So if like me your fed up with all the adverts promoting ballads and love songs galore, plus I don't really enjoy listening to a lot of them, and in my opinion when you listen to the lyrics most of them are about loss and make you feel sorry for yourself.

Now personally whether you have a partner or not the last thing you need is to wallow in self pity on a happy day about love for your partner, family etc. so I put together a more upbeat alternative version to the usual valentines mush.

Dental Appointment...

2009-02-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

Well that's hubbys dental appointments done now, he had one tooth out a fortnight ago and was meant to have three out today but came away with only having two out, a wisdom and the accompanying molaral on the bottom left hand side. They both got stitched so hopefully he won't have any problems with bleeding. But with having them stitched it will take three weeks for them to disappear.

I went with him to town because he doesn't like the injections and he was a bit worried about it but he was fine with me going to tesco's for some shopping which was very liberating not to have the kids in tow, (my mum came to sit with them while we were out), I don't get to do a lot without them so even just shopping for a few groceries was very strange but I managed to get everything I meant to which usually doesn't happen with the kids there...

The kids are still full of cold too so it was good that they didn't come because as soon as we got to the bus stop it started to snow, its stopped now so I'm betting that our trip out to the local shops in the morning will be nice and icy for us. Although it is amusing watching our daughter slide around on the iced over puddles, she looks like the roller skating spider from Harry Potter.

Now I've just got to print off some valentine images for daughter to colour in and make some cards for daddy and brother and whoever else she decides on making them for.

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors.

2009-02-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

I find it strange that for two consecutive Mondays I've had to take one of the kids to the doctors.
It's a little more strange that both kids had something wrong with their eyes. Son had sticky eye and daughter has an abrasion on hers.
But what makes it totally bizarre is the fact that the only snow we've had here that has settled has both been on Sunday night/ early hours of Monday morning, so we get to walk in the slushy icy remnants all the way to the doctors.
It's supposed to snow again tonight but I don't need to take anyone to the doctors tomorrow (touch wood).
It is raining though at the minute so I might have to go somewhere tomorrow with the nice fresh black ice under foot.

One Dragon's Dream...

2009-02-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

I've just read this children's book to our daughter to help her go to sleep, read it about 12 times until she finally fell asleep.
It made a nice change to the usual menagerie of story books that I have to get off the shelves, also by the tenth read through I had it memorised.
It's by Peter Pavey, and our version was published in 1979. (I've just had a look on amazon.co.uk and its only for sale through third party sellers at about £20 - £30 so when my mum bought it for £3.95 back in the day she was getting a pretty good bargain.)
And not only is it a great bedtime story its fantastic for helping kids learn to count too, as each page is numbered one to ten throughout the story and each corresponding page there are lots of things to count and find, a bit like where's wally but with amazing illustration.

Wrist Straps for Kids

2009-02-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

O.K. so I'm probably not the only parent that worries about their child's safety especially when they're out for the day with grandparents etc. But earlier when granddad and his wife came to take daughter out for the day, the wife mentioned that she already bought one of the wrist straps for our daughter so they don't have to use the reins on her when they go to the park. Now I must have been talking in a different language about how I personally don't think they're very safe, it's just a personal opinion granted, hubby feels the same, and yet the look of utter contempt and disgust at my not wanting them to use the wrist strap was priceless. I forgot to even mention the comfort factor which has only just occurred to me. But either way I thought I was talking sense and not sounding like a crazy hysterical woman, but then I've just had a look at prices online so that could be why I got the look, as they cost between £4/£5 where she bought them from....So maybe she should have asked first and I just hope she kept the receipt...

What Have I Been Doing?

2009-02-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

Not enough if you ask hubby hehe
And it does feel like that, seems I have done absolutely nothing...
Although that's only a half truth I have been doing some things like get dressed, the pots, ironing etc but art wise hmmmm....
Well I figured out how to print off 6x4s without getting a 3 sided border so should be adding some prints in a week or so to etsy, also half way through some more greetings cards...
Also started doing some alphabet colouring pages based on Harry Potter, coming along slowly but getting there...
I've also been honing my digital scrapbooking skills which is very difficult so super kudos to everyone out there that does it.
I've also started knitting my xmas jumpers for the kids, well I've done 6 rows on the back so far but its only February and its still a start.
Hubby had his first tooth out with little trouble but I'm going to have to be there next Thursday to hold his hand because he's having three out and he really doesn't like injections. So we've booked my mum to come over and look after the kids while we go...

Lost and Teeth

2009-01-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

part 1) Lost

So I finally got to watch the first 2 episodes of season 5 and woo its very good, kept mentioning bits to hubby, who just kept giving me the look like I was boring him senseless...but then he does have other things on his mind which brings me to

part 2) Teeth

So hubby's first appointment with the dentist is tomorrow, this will be the first of 2 in a fortnight, this one he's hopefully having 1 tooth out then in a fortnight he'll have another 3 out, he's not looking forward to it as he's a bit nervous.

Personally I go to the dentist for some quality me time so they could take as many teeth as they want I could sit there all day long...Think I might just well be mildly insane...

I'm also supposed to be hardcore cleaning for the royal.....I mean Mother In Law visit on Saturday, well I spent all of 2 hours of Lost last night ironing and there's still a bit to do and I've done some cleaning and tidying in the kitchen...I couldn't remember the last time I could see my P.C. desk and forgot it was a lovely shade of grey....

Hidden Forces at Work

2009-01-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

So far I have managed to miss the premiere of season 5 on sky one, mainly because I was late putting daughter to sleep and also wanted to see if hubby remembered it was on, he remembered at 11.30 pm so if I had used the multistart tool i would have missed the first half hour...

And then tonight daughter has only just fallen asleep so I've already missed the first hour so theres no point in my watching it tonight...

There's still tomorrow night and if I miss that I can hopefully watch it on Saturday night before the next episode on Sunday...

Although Nanna is coming to visit on Saturday so hoping that I'll get to watch tomorrow because daughters sleeping pattern always goes a bit nuts with relatives coming...

Early Night???

2009-01-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

Well last night I thought I'd take the night off from everything internet related and get some much needed sleep, so I went to bed just after both kids were asleep thinking...

"Yay I'll get at least 4 hours sleep because the kids don't wake up until at least 10pm"

WRONG!!!

As soon as I got into bed so started what was going to go onto be at least 6/7 trips out of bed to see to him before the usual 10pm, but then he had just caught a cold so I can't really blame him. But I couldn't believe it and now tonight son has been up once since putting him to bed about 5.30. Oh its such a pain in the bottom I can tell you.

Getting to Grips with Photobucket

2009-01-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

Seems at the minute there's always some other site I need to be joining to be able to post images in different places.
Now not only do I have Flickr, but Twitpic and Photobucket too, I'm amazed I have time for anything else with all this. Entrecard has had to take a backseat as I try and juggle everything else that seems to have to fill my time, who says social networking is easy is telling fibs....