Monday 27 February 2012

Day 58 - Mist

After struggling with yesterday's word, i knew exactly what i was going to do for "mist", even if we dont have any here in the west midlands...

I was very very tempted to be literal and show you all what "mist" in german means, but i think that may have been a bit over the top.. so, instead, i had to create my own "mist"




Sunday 26 February 2012

Day 57 - Light


Oh my, today's word has caused me headaches and i almost flew into a full blown panic attack as i still hadnt taken my photo by 9pm!! Light... such a little word, so many opportunities, yet none struck me.

I suppose that stems from the fact that a few years ago i took a REALLY nice photo.. ill show you all in a bit, and i was trying to think of something equally brilliant.. alas that was not going to happen! The mood ive been in in the last few days can best be described as a "non mood" ... i havent been in the mood for anything, everything feels "wrong" and "off" and i just could not come up with anything that was worth taking pictures off. Until the lights went out! The kitchen fittings were my saviours.. they make a pretty pattern on the ceiling when they are turned on, so, encouraged by my first find, i went in search of other light sources in the house! I didnt even have to go too far.. the living room provided me with 2 lights, Leo's basking lamp and the newly aquired corner lamp.. and, as i took a photo of corner lamp 1, i felt it would only be fair to also feature corner lamp 2 (which used to be corner lamp 1 until i relocated it to the dining room to give Neppy some light)... so, here are my Lights




Saturday 25 February 2012

Day 56 - Saturday

I have patiently waited for the inevitable rain up until now, but so far, we are blessed with clear blue skies and not a cloud (let alone a rain cloud) in sight, so i had to resort to the other choice word: SATURDAY

Ahhh the weekend, a double edged sword in this house... i like the lie ins, i like the being lazy, i even like having the kids around, mostly at least. The problem with the weekend starts the minute no1 daughter gets bored and goes on a mission to find entertainment, this entertainment usually involves some kind of warfare. Other kids play sports, play on their games consoles, read, draw or do any other of 1000 hobbies... no1 daughter's hobby is to start fights! or so it seems, dh preempted today's boredom and took her for a quick trot around town and she came back quite tired and subdued, pretty much like Cooper, take him for a long gallop across the field and you get hours of peace out of him.

Anyway, while dh and no1 daughter trundled around town, i made our customary weekend muffins.. they normally last only about 5 minutes, but this weekend i went to town (well not really, just metaphorically) and made 3 different flavoured batches, chocolate, hazelnut/almond and plain vanilla! It should take my lot a little more than 5 minutes to devour all those!

We used to have ridiculously structured weekends, mainly dominated by no1 son's football matches, luckily he has lost all interest in playing the beautiful game and just watches it nowadays.

Friday 24 February 2012

Day 55 - Clouding your sky

I am quite tempted to go all deeply emotional on you all, but i spare both you and me with that, so i have taken today's word very literally (which i tend to be anyway according to the df = dear family)

When i first went out this morning, i should have taken a photo of the glorious blue sky i was greeted with but that would have been contrary to the word for today, "luckily" for me, my worries were all taken care off by the time i was on my way back and there were plenty of clouds in the sky. It is quite windy, so the skyscape (??? i think im getting good at making up words) is constantly changing, about 5 minutes ago it looked like this:


Thursday 23 February 2012

Day 54 - In the detail

Today's word should have been an easy one for me.. as i am apparently a "stickler for details", i wouldnt say so i just like things to be done PROPERLY first time round and that usually entails paying attention to detail.

I can also get myself all hung up in the details... forget the big picture, if theres a tiny something that is not quite SO, i can get utterly upset. It is somewhat ridiculous at times, but what can i say, thats just me.

Despite all this experience "in the details" department, i could not think of anything worth while taking a photo of though, until i had one of my AHA moments (you are all getting used to those by now, right?) and i found one area, where my attention to detail is rather lacking. I have a tendency to take things apart, pc cases, laptops, tvs, radios, bascially anything and everything thats got a screw does get unscrewed at some point in its lifetime... and i learnt something during those processes!!! The manufacturers use way more tiny little screws than the device actually NEEDS.. i have in the past considered bundling up all the spare parts that are not essential to the running of a gadget and ask for a partial refund! As a result, we have accumulated quite a collection of teeny tiny screws and washers and plugs and wotnots. Here is a small sample of the redundant metal bits:


Tuesday 21 February 2012

Day 52 - Sky High

Now i must admit i was intrigued by this word, and had quite a few ideas.. one being a rather wishful remembrance from my uni days, where many a weekend we could best be described as being skyhigh :D

We have lots of trees around us, especially along the canals and in the urban forest, so my initial thought was to catch a beautiful BIG birds nest we see every morning on the school run, but, as usual, the day had a different idea and i think i would have caused some serious road rage had i stopped to take a photo of a tree... maybe we need some kind of sticker or badge "caution vehicle may stop unannounced serious 365+1 addict on board" or some such thing..

Anyway, with that idea also squashed, i contemplated some other possibilities.... like conquering my total fear of heights and climbing up on the step ladder to take a photo, but i figured that to most people that would not necessarily classify as SKY high.. high but not quite THAT high... so, back to square one...

With all the little people back at school and the dear husband in a "funny" mood, i was on my own with this one.. and stayed that way only dear son 2 came to the rescue late in the afternoon. And what a fun couple of hours our skyhigh adventure turned out to be!!!!! On the way into town, i spotted the art gallery as a possible subject for skyhigh.. i must admit, ive walked past it plenty of times, but never set foot in it.. we were discussing the "skyhigh" prompt and dear son 2 says.. "Oh you know you can go out right on the top of the gallery" ummm cool, but ME being up SKY high?? this child is as scared of anything higher than platform shoes than i am, and hed been to the top of the building... in an elevator (that has windows that nobody mentioned to me until it was too late) lets just say, our trip to the art gallery turned into a white knuckle ride for me... fortunately the elevator doesnt mess about and zips you up there quicker than any camera lense can take a shot!! I must admit, i stayed firmly behind 6" thick security glass and did not venture out onto the balcony (which looked far too dodgy if you ask me) but we got a beautiful look across town! We took the tamer flights of stairs on our way down and explored the different levels a bit more.. what a giggle we had, greeted witn quite a few "ssshhhs" and "tsks" and funny looks until the "helpful" security guard thought we were lost and kindly showed us the stairs :D

Here is how SKY high we were today:



Monday 20 February 2012

Day 51 - Fragile

A very interesting word today, with so many different ways to interpret... the fun thing about this challenge is that the entire family is starting to join in with "whats the word for today then" being uttered by them all. They are all very eager to find subjects that dont require their participation, i wonder if im being set up here.. hmmmm

I kind of surprised myself though, i was having visions of trying to capture photos of open heart surgery (to show fragile hearts are) or come up with some other deep and meaningful post, instead, the first thing that popped into my mind was EGGS... i purposefully strutted into the kitchen to capture the glory that is our special free range eggs just discover that they were all gone!!! now, how is THAT for fragile?? so, i needed a new victim.. and my mood was not the best after the failed attempt of completing the challenge before midday, never mind midnight. In a last ditch effort to save my mood, i suggested we start painting the hallway... now that certainly caused something FRAGILE.. the mood in this house was in fact so fragile, it was brittle... all that over a pair of trainers the (usual) dear husband could not locate and blamed the perceived disposal of said trainers on me, which in turn caused my already fragile mood to disintegrate completely! especially when i had not disposed of said trainers.. anyway, as a matter of revenge i took a photo of the (usual) dear husband painting the corner (in a very fragile mood)

All is good now again though and the effort was well worth it :) just need to finish off the gloss tomorrow and we will have a new, improved and decluttered hallway


Sunday 19 February 2012

Day 50 -Fashion

Look at us... we have all managed to stick with the challenge for FIFTY whole days!! Now that is something to celebrate! Dont worry, no deep dark secrets to be had from me today :) just a straight forward photo to the word prompt "fashion"...

Fashion and me are really two worlds colliding, always have been, always will be. I have always been opposed to fashion fads, and rather did my own thing (much to the dismay of my poor mother who had to put up with a goth).. the only time i insist on being in with the "hip and trendy crowd" is where my gizmos and gadgets are concerned! i cannot stand not having the latest, fastest, shiniest electronic thing, where my wardrobe is concerned however, not a single solitary fashionable thing to be found.

I do however love Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis (almost as much as apple)... and it seems that even almost 200 years later these fabulous items of clothing will not be relegated to being "unfashionable".. yup, i live in them, they are comfortable, hardwearing, survived toddlers, tweens, teens and puppies... they forgive the fact that your tshirt may not necessarily colour match, they make you forget you are even dressed and good to just run out of the door! so, here is a small sample of my beloved JEANS

Saturday 18 February 2012

Day 49 - Domestic





I have actually managed to keep my kitchen clean and tidy!! The decluttering challenge really is paying off... look at my lovely domestic goddesque like kitchen:


Friday 17 February 2012

Day 48 - abstract

What an interesting word today.... i am quite an abstract thinker... or so i am told!! but i wont torture you all with pictures of me!! i will give you all lots of warning before that kind of horror will be inflicted on you! I had a look around the house and my most favourite abstract picture is featured in two rooms.. the hallway (where it is a full blown a1 print) and a smaller section of it in my kitchen.. see if you can figure out WHY i like it so much ;) Then i came across my very first zentangles.. i think those qualify as abstract too. The plan is to make enough to put on a canvass.. but somehow the zentangling has taken a backseat at the moment. Must get back into it, as it really calms me down and helps me to refocus.

Thursday 16 February 2012

Day 47 - Inside your handbag

I really loved today's word, i had planned to include a shot like this in my 2012 journal anyway. It was a bit daunting to show you all what kind of clutter i cart around with me on a regular basis.. the only thing not in there at the moment is my ereader as that was charging when i took the photo and i generally only take it to places where i know ill be waiting. So, here is a rundown of the contents of my Mary Poppins bag:
1 matching inside bag with my essential supplies like more chapsticks, more hand sanitizer etc.
1 packet of tissues
1 handsanitizer spray bottle
1 mint flavoured breath freshener
1 hairbrush
1 doodle i did while waiting somewhere or other
4 receipts for various gifts
1 stick of gum
1 pen holder
1 notepad
1 camera (my "old" one, you just never know when it will come in handy)
1 iphone
I was quite pleased to see that there wasnt anything in there i dont use or need :) must all be part of this new and decluttered me!!

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Day 46 - Bloom

Luckily i won't have to cheat for today and repost a photo of my single rose from yesterday, because i am married to the greatest guy ever! He seriously cannot go into a shop and not come out with something for me... even when we said NO presents, he still manages to get a way around it... Anyway, today's story should be quite funny :) DH came back on monday from buying a valentine's card (and the naughty presents) for me, but also had a separate bunch of flowers for me. Im not really a flower kind of girl, i manage to kill them just by looking at them, but lately i seem to have developed a knack for keeping one bunch in the hallway alive. So, yesterday he presents me with my single rose and says sheepishly.. the woman i bought these from gave me a RIGHT look. Apparently when he bought the flowers, she asked him "do you want them wrapped together or individually", of course, he said.. individually.. she then glared at him and went "RIGHTEEEOOOHHH then SIR, i wont EVEN ask".. now my poor hubby is an extremely shy and loyal guy, he went bright red and mumbled.. "no theyre BOTH for my wife, honestly" but somehow he got the impression that this lady didnt buy into it, as the reception he got from there on in was quite cool and reserved. What makes it worse is that we bought my wedding flowers and every other bunch of important flowers from this shop, so she knows us both quite well :D i am kind of tempted to buy MIL a bunch of flowers to take next week just so i have an excuse to go in and hear the lady's side of the story :D :D Here is a quick snap of the "other" flowers...

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Day 45 - candle

ok, so suzie says it's day 46 but i counted 45 so i am making it no. 45... Today is Valentine's day.. and really i should be on the sofa being all loved up and romantic with my husband, instead i find myself sneaking on here to add my daily entry. I had some lovely gifts today... TWO different perfumes (beyond paradise by estee lauder and safari by ralph lauren), the customary single red rose and the cutest card ever!!! you press a button and the stars in the sky twinkly.. i must try and get a picture and show you girls!!! i did get quite a nice shot of my rose though
I could really only think of one important picture of a candle, but i took it on the 3rd of may last year, to mark the anniversary of the loss of our baby... i dont mean to make any of you sad, and i have not shared this with anybody openly but it somehow feels right to include this photo in my 2012 journal. The day will come again this year, we will again remember the baby who never got to stay with us. So, im sharing my layout for baby leon with you all.
And for those of you who cant read the tiny print, the words to go with the candle are: What kind of place would heaven be with all its streets of gold, if all the souls, that dwell up there like yours and mine were old? How strange would heaven’s music sound when harps begin to ring, if children were not gathered round to help the angels sing. The children that God sends to us are only just a loan, He knows we need their sunshine to make the house a home. We need the inspiration of a baby’s blessed smile, He doesn’t say they’ve come to stay, just lends them for awhile. Sometimes it takes them years to do the work for which they come. Sometimes in just a month or tow our Father calls them home. I like to think some souls up there bear not one sinful scar. I love to think of heaven as a place where children are.

Another day 44 - Friendship

I blame it on the fact that i'm dyslexic!!! I seem to somehow have raced a day ahead of everyone else and now have TWO day 44s.. does that make this a 365+1+1 challenge for me???
Today was quite a fun word... at first i complained to my long suffering husband that i do not have ANY friends! I have to admit though that that is entirely my own fault, it is not for lack of invitations and others making an effort to coax me out of my house, it is my painful shyness that makes me come up with a million and twentytwo reasons why i can't possibly meet up with someone or have them over to my house (but thats my CHAOS and a whole different can of worms) or go to their houses. But, give me a computer or my iphone and i have a whole bunch of lovely friends right at my fingertips. I have "met" so many wonderful and supportive friends, complete strangers who were willing to give me a chance, to accept me for who i am.. a neurotic, chaotic, shy but loyal creature. Lisa and Anne88 are two very special people in my life right now, both of them have given me so much of their time, advice and friendship.. my life really would be emptier without them. And then there is the rest of you, who come over here day after day to leave nice comments, encourage me and are genuinely nice to me, without any strings attached.. just because you are all wonderful, giving people. I have reconnected with some of you I had lost touch with, that is another great thing about this challenge!! Maybe old friendships can be renewed... either way, i am thankful to have all f you as my FRIENDS and thank you for your FRIENDSHIP. Originally I was going to make a cloud with all your usernames on... but i was worried i might forget or overlook someone.. so i chose my 2 favourite subjects yet again for today's photo.. I had secretly been hoping of a shot with all three of my delightful children together.. but that was pushing the envelope a little too far and the war that followed my suggestion just had me throw up the white flag and dig out the blue helmet and flak jacket. Natty and Cooper however, are always happy to oblige and since we have taught him to "give a kiss" he is more than eager to show off his latest command. Tap your finger to your nose and say... "give me a kiss" and coopy will jump up and rub his nose against yours.. its quite sweet actually. Though at first it caused a lot of giggling when he took the "kiss" bit a little too literally :D but Natty is not afraid of a few germs so no harm was done.

Saturday 11 February 2012

Day 42 - Portrait

Today's prompt really only left me with one option, being that the two boys are "at that age" and hide whenever a camera is pointed their way and dh's reaction is pretty much the same.. so that leaves my ever willing DD to pose for a photo. We had quite a giggle this morning, me snapping away and trying to get "the shot" of her and it actually didnt happen until the camera battery gave up on us and i had to switch to my iphone! so, with all those carefully posed photos, i ended up choosing a quick snapshot i took of her when she was sitting across from me. I quite liked the slightly out of focus look on this photo, it gives it a dreamy, girly quality.. i was tempted to throw a bunch of filters at it, but decided that just a small adjustment of the hue was the best way to go with this one. And, just before i go, a big thank you to all of you who left such kind comments on yesterday's photo! i must admit, that it gave my quickly disappearing self confidence a huge boost..

Friday 10 February 2012

Day 41 - Heart

When i woke up this morning, I was all set to give up on this blogging thing... then i saw the word for today "heart" and i knew immediately what i wanted to do! Two problems though, first, i needed something of dh's and secondly, it was too bright so i had to wait for night time to take my photo. I am actually very pleased with how my photo turned out.. i may have this blown up and put on a canvass!!
/div>

Day 40 - Compact

Today's word has me totally stumped im afraid... apart from the obvious compact mirror and camera, i have NO idea what to take a photo of! So here is a totally unrelated photo of Cooepr.. i suppose the way he has curled up makes him more compact than he actually is nowadays, its so cold, even the dog doesnt want to go out :D

Day 39 - Fence

This is a bad sign isnt it? Im at the stage in the challenge, where i'm "working" two days behind... it is one of those things for me, i see other people's beautiful photographs and feel that mine are lacking and unimaginative, so i lose heart and stop doing things. But, i made a resolution this year, that i would keep taking a photo a day, and i need to just remind myself, that i am doing this for ME and not any odd stranger (or friend) who may happen across my little corner of the net. I have been taking the photos, i have just not been publishing them.. but here is my "Fence" picture... according to the official definition of "fence" : A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary The cooper gate (also known as baby gate) is supposed to do just that.. restrict or prevent movement! however, with him being a rather boisterous Border Collie, he sees it as more of a challenge than a restriction and he has now learnt to just leap over the top.

Thursday 9 February 2012

Day 38 - Damage

Today's word gave me so many options, i could fill an entire book with examples of damage in this house. The kids alone are walking disaster zones and leave a trail of destruction behind them wherever they go. Then there is my own clumsiness that i could record and show you endless photos of things that i managed to break and damage by accident.. and my dh is not the most graceful of movers either and has a knack for knocking things off shelves, so all in all we have a rather good collection of damaged things. The boys favourite things to break are anything electrical, we have several xboxes and ps3s lying around the place, taken to bits because dh is "going to fix them real soon".. then there are all the computers and laptops that seem to be dropped off with us for some TLC and fixing. But, the thing that got to me the most last year was coping with the Cooper's teething and his innovative ways of relieving the pain of his big teeth coming through.. he literally ate the house and furniture. Luckily we seem to be through the worst of it now and at least the walls and structural parts of the house are safe again and we can start redecorating. The table and chairs are another story altogether! Here is an example of what a teething puppy, left unattended for 35 mintues, will do to skirting boards...

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Day 37 - Packaging

I did not cheat.. i DID take the photos yesterday... i say PHOTOS because, once again, making a choice is almost impossible. As soon as my mind settles on ONE thing, and i think ive got it for sure this time, i spot something else.. so this 366 challenge may as well turn into 36600 challenge where I'm concerned at the moment. Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Ive narrowed it down to two possible things.. either i can have a rant about these new fancy bubblewrap type sealed packages that manufacturers imprison our newly purchased goodies in.. You know the kind: you attack them with scissors, knives, screwdrivers and any other sharp object you can get your hands on and still the only pay off for your efforts is a trip to the first aid box to doctor the war wounds that were just inflicted upon you. I swear, they do it on purpose and use some alien superstrength NASA material for the packaging! After batteling with the bubble round this particular object for the better part of 30 minutes, i lulled it into a false sense of security and walked away in order to engage the help of the most destructive being in the house - The Cooper! His sharp teeth soon had the evil bubblewrapped punctured in several places. Victory!!

Or i can show you some yummy chocolate that never made it OUT of their packaging, because every time i go to bite their heads or tummies, or other body part, i feel guilty...

I know.. how about this, as i am writing this up late, a good punishment would be to have to include BOTH photos right?? Problem solved then, i dont need to choose one photo and you get to see both of my somewhat lacking photos!

Sunday 5 February 2012

Day 36 - Rubbish

The word for today is "rubbish" i think pretty much all my photos would qualify for this category, but rather than just putting a collection of duplicate rubbish photos, i took a photo of my box of random things. You know what they say, one (wo)man's rubbish is another's treasure! In this box i keep pretty labels, receipts, ribbons from clothes, pretty used stamps, anything that is too pretty to throw out and may come in handy some time!

Saturday 4 February 2012

Day 35 - liquid

This was another day i had a hard time choosing what might go with today's prompt AND be artistic, creative and photographic genius. I think im being over ambitious and just go back to basics :D not that i ever went beyond basics anyway.

Aftee trying out water, bottles of various liquids, the fish, the dog's water bowl, the fairy liquid and goodness knows what else, i settled for my favourite soft drink: Diet Coke Now you can all debate wether my glass is half full or half empty, but thats about as exciting as it gets im afraid.

Friday 3 February 2012

Day 34 - Interaction


When i saw this prompt this morning, i had some grande ideas... i should have known better than to expect my children (or animals for that matter) to cooperate willingly... i pleaded, begged, threatened, cajoled to get "the perfect photo" to no avail. Apparently tween girls and autistic boys dont mix well together when it comes to "interaction" (unless you count the fists that were flailing and feet that were at the ready to kick) needless to say, i eventually gave up on that idea and swiftly moved on to the dog as my next favourite target.

However, Cooper decided that interacting with the newly discovered stuffed toy was more fun than interacting with the human who provides his walks, entertainment and food... so i had to fall back on the predictable.. ME.

I dont do much interacting in real life, i am way too shy... but i have plenty of online friends that i interact with on a daily basis through the wonderful world of technology... texting, instant messaging, occasionally facebook, pinterest and online forums are all great places to get that social fix without having to worry about the hairdo, makeup, fashion...

I still couldn't quite make up my mind which photo to choose.. so here is my interaction and cooper's encounter with the teddy bear...


Thursday 2 February 2012

Day 33 - Button(s)

Oh dear, i am having one of those days.. i cant make up my mind about anything, ive had a pounding headache all day, im miserable and crabby... and i was ever so tempted to skip a day in my challenge! but my conscience won over, so i made an effort to finally come up with a photo for buttons...

I really, really wanted to take a photo of a panic button, but i couldnt summon the courage or energy to go out in search for one, then it crossed my mind that i could put a photo of CJ on here, as his nickname was "button" when he was little (he earnt his nickname because he used to hoover up chocolate buttons, if i laid a trail of buttons, he would follow it, picking each one up ever so carefully)... next was the obvious choice of finding any old button on clothes, or raiding the button box that has somehow filled up..

None of those really were the "right thing"... in the end, i spotted our collection of buttons... yes, it confuses me which buttons go with which appliance and i often find myself turning on the projector when im really wanting to watch a dvd.. or the stereo starts blasting the last song i listened to instead of me changing the channel.. what is even more infuriating is the fact that buttons have this tendency to just "disappear", poof gone... then the hunt begins, accompanied by many "who was the last to have the buttons" and "have you checked in the bathroom/kitchen/under the kids' beds/in the dog basket/under the sink/next door"...


Wednesday 1 February 2012

Day 32 - Accessory

So, here we are in February... whatever happened to January?? It is sooo cold here today, and apparently its set to get colder still at the weekend... i wouldnt mind so much if we had some lovely fluffy snow to go with the cold, but no such luck.

Anyway, today's word prompt is Accessory... this was a relatively easy one for me :) i say relative, because i still had to make a choice between my favourite gadget accessory or my favourite personal one.. the personal won out in the end, as i want to document some things about "ME" for the kids to look back on.

I only wear one piece of jewellery that has not left me since the day it was put on me.. i dont often wear jewellery, i find it gets in the way and i worry terribly that i might lose a valuable item, so it just adds stress for me. It is usually only for special occasions and nights out that i will put on more than this one thing. But my wedding band has not left my hand since the day my husband put on my finger (ok, once when we had had a spat.. but it was so horrible not having it, i had to put it back on).. we chose very plain, simple gold bands. My mum has saved my dad's wedding rings (yes, he had two) and we are hoping to have those made into wedding rings for us eventually.. but i may just be a touch too attached to my original wedding ring to want to swap it for another. So, here it is.. my wedding band, plain and simple, no diamonds or sparkly bits... just a perfect circle with no beginning and no end.. like my love for my husband.