Bolt and a Ballet Exam..........

I am feeling alot better today ~ after spending almost the whole day in bed yesterday ~ I won't go into too many details (incase you are having your dinner ha ha !!) ~ but lets just say it was not nice.....thankfully it seems to be just a 24 hour bug and even more thankfully ~ my 2 little stars seem unaffected (for the moment ~ fingers crossed).

Since I felt back in the land of the living today ~ I decided to take the children for a suprise little treat (you will be glad to hear that I used my nest egg to pay for this!!) ~ I took them to Mcdonalds and then we went to see the film BOLT (see the picture above!!). We all really enjoyed it and laughed alot ~ just what we needed ~ the children had popcorn and fizzy drinks and icecream and sweets ~ ah well ~ I am sure that one day spent eating total junk will not kill them ~ and they will be back to healthy eating tomorrow. I did not partake in any of the treats or the Mcdonalds ~ not because I was being a diet saint ~ but because I still did not feel totally 100% and decided not to push things with junk ha ha !! I did not want to risk any bad effects happening while I was sitting in the cinema (tee hee!!).

Lauren had her Ballet exam this morning ~ she was soooo nervous (bless her little heart) and she spent alot of the day yesterday practising and bouncing around the place ~ I had a bedside ballet display while I lay there dying (tee hee ~ I am such a wimp!!). Her exams are all finished now and I think that she has done well ~ the principle of the school who was marking the exam came out after and mouthed to me "She is so beautiful" ~ so I take that as a good sign. We were in a major rush this morning and Laurens hair bun would just not go as planned ~ so I am afraid that there are no photos from today ~ but here are the pictures from just before we left for the Hiphop and Tap and Modern exams..........



I am getting better at the hair buns......and the frilly hair accessories always help to hide the not so perfect bits!!!!

Ready for the hip hop exam ~ looking all mean and moody ~ ready to dance her little heart out!

(this was the longest exam ~ 45 minutes).

All ready for Tap and Modern ~ the combined exams lasted an hour ~ but she seemed ok with it ~ although she did come out and say "that was hard!!"

My little dancing star!!

Thankfully we have another full year before the next round of exams ~ I am not sure how long we will have to wait for the results ~ they have to be sent off to be checked and marked ~ but I will keep you posted.

Next we have the dance show to get ready for ~ Lauren starts rehearsals for this next weekend and is excited to start learning the new dances and find out what costumes she will wear this year.

Not alot else to report ~ Hope your weekend is going well so far. XXX

OH NO!

I think that I have a bug!!!
I have been feeling queasy all day ~ it sort of comes and goes in waves.
The two children that I look after were both sick today and had to go home ~ so that may explain where it came from!!!!
I will have a day off work tomorrow ~ as the children have to stay away for 24 hours after being sick ~ so at least I can spend the day in bed if I need to (after I have dropped my 2 at school).

I am off to bed now with a cold flannel and my hot water bottle ~ yes I know ~ I feel hot and cold all at the same time!!??

I hope that it is only a 24 hour bug ~ I am sooooooo not good with being ill!! XX

Pancakes, Walking and another weigh in...

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday ~ also known as pancake day. Shrove Tuesday is the day preceeding the first day of Lent (the Christian season of fasting and prayer ). Pancake eating is associated with Shrove Tuesday as originally the making of pancakes used up ingredients such as eggs and fat, which are traditionally restricted during Lent.

Today is Ash wednesday ~ the first day of Lent. People usually give something up for Lent, I usually give up chocolate ~ but as I haven't eaten any for almost a year now ~ I won't be giving up anything ha ha !!!!!

Lauren wanted to make pancakes ~ so with a little help from me ~ she managed to rustle up some great pancakes ~ I don't think that they are half bad for a first attempt.

(The picture doesn't do them any justice ~ I promise!! There were 8 of them all together and Dan and Lauren finished the lot between them!).

Thought that I had better let you all know that I survived the walking DVD ~ so there is no need for the hunky firemen to be sent to save me (more's the pity ha ha !!)

Well, all I can say is that I would thoroughly recommend this DVD ~ it is simple (you just have to walk) ~ and I certainly felt like I had done something when I woke up this morning!
I have missed the power walking ~ and although the DVD is not quite the same as walking through the country side breathing in the fresh air and taking in the scenery ~ for the cold damp months like these ~ it will be a welcome substitute!!


I had the afternoon off work today ~ I finished at lunch time and then I spent the rest of the time until I collected my two from school ~ just tidying up and sorting out the washing and having a general clear up. I did sit and read a magazine and have a coffee ~ it was nice to relax a bit!!

I had my weigh in tonight and I am pleased to report another pound lost ~ total lost now is 5 stone and 8 pounds (78 pounds). I am going to try and lose a little bit more ~ but the end is in sight!! (YAY!!).

I have been rushing around this week as Lauren has had her dancing exams ~ on Monday she did her Tap and Modern and today was Hip Hop. On Saturday she has her Ballet Exam and then that is it finished for another year. I have taken some pictures of Lauren all ready for the dance exams (I am getting quite good at putting her hair in a bun ha ha !!), I will post them after she has done her last exam at the weekend.

Daniel is getting excited about his school trip to France. I know that he will be ok and have a great time ~ he is still brushing up on the French phrase book ~ so he should be ok!!

I am in television heaven tonight ~ Desperate Housewives is back on ~ so I had better be off before it starts ~ don't want to miss one juicy minute!!!!!

Walk away the pounds...

Received this in the post yesterday ~ a friend of mine swears by it ~ so I decided to order it from Amazon. As the weather has been awful of late (apart from one nice day on Saturday) ~ I haven't managed to get out power walking ~ or for that matter doing any exercise ~ and I have noticed that the weight loss has slowed as a result!!

So, I will be trying this out tonight ~ and if I am still able to walk to the laptop tomorrow ~ I will let you know how it went!! If you don't hear from me ~ it means I can't get off the sofa........ So please send help!! (Preferably a hunky fireman or two......to prise me out of the chair ha ha !!). xx

Here I go again.....

Well, it was bound to happen eventually!
The decorating bug has got hold of me again!
I started to decorate the livingroom last year ~ I got as far as painting one feature wall of the livingroom a sort of chocolate truffle colour ~ which looks great and I love it!
I then changed the curtains from a teracotta colour to a cream and chocolate pair ~ again ~ great!

Unfortunately I sort of stopped there ~ so there is still a teracotta border around the top of 3 walls which I have hated since about 2 seconds after I finshed putting it up (tee hee!), and the remaining three walls are still magnolia (very boring) ~ so I really want to get them painted too ~ no idea what colour ~ but there is a paint that I love called Biscuit (can't think why that appeals to me ha ha !) ~ which I think would go very well with the truffle colour (sounds like I have a bit of a food theme going on here!!!!!!). I also need to paint the ceiling in the livingroom (without falling off the ladder and breaking my neck tee hee!!). Then eventually I would love a brown leather sofa (now that I have the new car.......the sofa may have to wait just a wee while longer!).
But, it doesn't end there ~ although I am happy with the childrens bedroom which was not decorated that long ago and the kitchen ~ I am not sure if I like my bedroom still (was never sure of the lilac that i chose!) ~ and I decided that the peachy orangy colour that I have in the hall could do with being changed too ~ they sell paint that is extra tough ~ for areas that get alot of knocks and bangs ~ believe me ~ the hall way here gets lots of knocks on a daily basis and the paint is starting to look like it has seen better days!

I am off to the DIY store (again) tonight to get a paint card ~ so that when I am ready I can get the paint and get started ~ I think the livingroom will be first ~ I will aim to do one wall at a time ~ as with working and my 2 children ~ I only have the evenings and weekends to get the painting done!

I have also been looking at new bedroom and livingroom storage units ~ as this being a fairly new property ~ storage is something that is in short supply (especially when your daughter has so many clothes she gives posh spice a run for her money!!).

I will hopefully remember to take some before and after shots ~ although don't hold your breath on that one ~ my camera is a tiny bit tempremental at the moment (just like its owner tee hee!) ~ and chooses whether it feels like working or not ~ just as you are about to take the picture!!

I think that a new camera will have to be added to my 'wish list' together with the leather sofa.......and the new leather boots I saw yesterday.........and that new bag i'd like AND...............xx