The Coastal run - a day in the sun.

Been a busy weekend. Saturday we took the boys shopping for new trainers - Jamie needed some new ones for poolside, and Tom needed 2 new pairs, one for every day kicking about, and a proper pair of running shoes for Running club. Sports Direct has a fantastic sale on at the mo (got 2 new pairs of Crocs for Tom there last week) so we headed there first thing. After dropping Jamie back at home around lunch time (he was off to a BBQ at 2pm), the rest of us then went to see Nana, and to Asda to get a few supplies for the picnic needed on Sunday. Then the rest of Saturday afternoon into evening I cooked a couple of Quiches and made some pasta salad for Sunday tea, and prepared a pretend BBQ for Me, Pete and Tom. Tom's friend Jack stayed for tea and the boys ate in the garden in the lovely sunshine. Then we had company for a few hours, Baps and Jac were up North for a family do, and came round to see us for a bit too. We drank lots of Pimms and had a good natter, but still managed a reasonably early night as Pete was running a half marathon the next day and we had to be up and out very early!

Sunday morning we were on the road to Alnmouth by 7.30am. Good job Pimms doesn't give me a hangover. We arrived and parked up at 8.15 and Pete went off to catch the club bus to the start of the race (The Coastal Run starts in Beadnell and ends in Alnmouth on the beach, and they run along - or as near to as possible - the beach the whole way) and Tom and I went for an early morning stroll along the beach till the shops opened so we could by a bucket and spade to play in the sand! We came across this impressive piece of driftwood on the beach.


I asked Tom to stand next to it for scale, and then asked him to pose for me, so he did a 'magazine shoot' pose with moody face and everything - a model in the making! Right after I clicked for this shot he collapsed into fits of giggles so maybe not.


At 9am we walked up the main street and found a shop that sold buckets and spades, then hit the beach for a couple of hours fun in the sand. The day was really warming up by then, and I dug myself a relaxing seat while Tom variously built sandcastles, dug to Australia and paddled in the sea.


We headed back to the car at 11am as we were starving, and ate some of the picnic, before heading back to the beach to wait by the finish line at 11.40 - the race started at 10.30am and the first runners were expected at the finish at about 11.40ish.


Pete finished in 26th place (out of about 1500) and was second Blyth runner home, in 1h 29m. Not his best time but there was a strong headwind and all the runners were slower than predicted because of that, and the extra water on the beach. Thomas wasn't at the finish as he had found 3 girls to chat to and so completely missed his dad coming in. He's such a flirt.


Once Pete had cooled off and changed out of his wet running gear (the beach was very wet this year with the tide and they had lots of water to run through) we finished off the picnic and headed back home. By this point the fresh air and late night and Pimms were taking their toll and I went to bed for a couple of hours to catch up on my sleep! Pete - who had just run 13 and a bit miles after all - was also quite tired!!! and after a soak in the bath, dozed off on the sofa while watching TV. I was very pleased I'd prepared tea the day before so we had a delicious feast when Jamie arrived home from work before heading off for a bath (me and Tom) and to bed for an early night - all of us, even Tom was asleep before 9.30pm. I missed BB on both Saturday night and Sunday night, and also the F1 GP so will have to catch up online!

#BB10 Friday round up

The thing about not blogging for a while is that I miss out on getting down my thoughts on the housemates, nominations, evictions and tasks. So purely for myself (and any BB fans reading), this is a quick précis of the past few weeks and my Friday run down (which I was supposed to be doing every Friday - but didn't) I have been tweeting lots of BB stuff, so I can look back on that to see how my feelings and thoughts have changed at least.

Previous evictions:
After Cairon (never in doubt) it was Angel and Halfwit, and Angel went - again there was never really any doubt, I felt Angel was a little too odd and way to fragile to be in that house. Next it was Halfwit and Sree up for eviction, and Sree went. Again never any doubt on the outside at least, Sree was a pain in the bum!

This weeks nominations: Halfwit AGAIN (5 in a row - new BB record beating Paul Clark's 4) and Marcus, team dumb at last seemed to realise they could get a target out against Freddie - and turned on Marcus. It would have undoubtedly been Marcus leaving this evening if not for Big Brother intervening and punishing Charlie, Dogface and Kris for talking about nominations. They were given a chance and told to remain completely silent till a certain time or they would face the public vote. None of them grasped the concept of remaining silent and so all 3 join Marcus and Freddie in the vote for eviction. Obviously this changes things a lot! I think it will be Kris leaving. I hope it will be Kris leaving. I want it to be Kris leaving. I need to see the smug look wiped off his face when it dawns on him he isn't liked for his behaviour in the house. He is an entirely distasteful young man and I hope he learns some lessons from it, but I seriously doubt his ego will let him. It made me howl with laughter this week when one of his reasons for nominating Siavash was that 'he needs taking down a peg or 2'. Erm - hello? you who have an ego the size of the West Midlands think Siavash is up himself??? deary deary me. Kris has made a belated attempt to tolerate Freddie this week out of desperation as he has realised he may not look too good. He persuaded Freddie to shave his head and then dressed him up as a Kris clone. Freddie looked fab - and whatever the plan was, it was Freddie that came out of it looking good, and Kris and Charlie who came off worse, Charlie especially as he had shaved his head only minutes before Freddie and not a single person made a fuss of him like they did the Fredster so he strutted round pouting like a 2 year old and giving Kris evil looks. Jealous much Charlie? oh yes!

And speaking of Charlie - if it can't be Kris (please god let it be Kris) then I want it to be Charlie. Need to take out one of team dumb/smug/nasty whatever you want to call them. Need them to feel vulnerable, it will shake them up a bit.

My current feelings about each housemate:

Charlie - irritating, whining, drama queen.

Dogface - still haven't seen much of the real Sophie - maybe there isn't anything else and she really is that shallow and simple? but until she's free of Kris we wont actually know!

Halfwit - Freddie is a gem of a housemate. I can fully understand that he could be hell to live with - but he is class entertainment and the way Team Dumb treat him is absolutely unacceptable, and this is why Freddie is one of the faves. I do think he has the ability to ruin his chances if he gets too cocky - he needs to watch after tonight when he is saved for the 5th time. He gave a quite spectacular performance during last nights all in argument in the bedroom, and for that classic piece of TV I am forever grateful.

Karly - I liked Karly - I don't now. I'm sad about this.

Kris - eurgh. Worst kind of bloke, stirs the pot with anyone and everyone, lets his 'big' mates fight the resulting battles and picks on perceived weaker people for kicks. Cut his tatty mop off and he's just another skinny weasely snake in the grass. GET KRIS OUT!!

Lisa - I wanted to like Lisa - but I'm afraid I don't at all. She's a controlling conniving vicious auld hag who acts like a 2 year old and screams and shouts and throws a tantrum if she doesn't get her own way or is challenged on her behaviour. Not pretty to watch.

Marcus - I can't decide what I feel about Marcus. He has some common sense, he's quite loyal to his friends in there, he understands the game and he plays it well and he is an asset to the current house and a much needed ally for Halfwit and Siavash, but he just isn't a very nice person with all his constant references to various bits of the female anatomy and sex, his posturing and posing, and I find him very lewd and crass and a bit of an arse. I think while he is balancing the house, I like him being in there, but if that reason is gone (i.e. if Freddie and Siavash are voted out and the balance shifts again) then bye bye Marcus and I wont miss him.

Noirin - I liked Noirin - yes she's a flirt and she's got herself into situations she can't handle because of it, but I liked her. Until last nights highlights that is - and then she 'fed Siavash to the wolves' as Marcus said to Freddie. What is up with the girl?? she has some serious issues - she realises the other group don't like Marcus, she's backed the wrong horse, she used Marcus to get her out of the Sree situation and landed herself right back in another situation that she doesn't care for and cant get out of without looking a bitch. Now she's trying to curry favour with Team Dumb before they start lumping her in with Marcus, Siavash and Freddie and nominating her. Siavash was indeed her friend, and now he is not. Your loss girlie!

Rodrigo - what can you say? he's really rather sweet, he's funny and his fighting with Charlie was hilarious for all the wrong reasons, but great entertainment.

Siavash - My current fave housemate. Although last night the alcohol fuelled his 'stupid' gene and caused him to be indiscreet with Noirin and has set himself up as an easy target for Team dumb next week. I still don't know if he was saying what he said based on fact or supposition, either way - he shouldn't have bothered! I love it that he said they are all dicks PMSL!!

A little test for Twitter....

Apologies for lack of posting recently -I have been busy with one thing and another and few things I could have blogged by just didn't - will catch up on it eventually.

Yesterday the July ATDML gallery went up, this month we had MME papers and ohhhhh they are yummy - lots of gorgeous things to see and make in there this month! I didn't participate in the June gallery, so have subs to share from then, but I don't think I shared my May ones yet - so here they are: 2 layouts and a 3x3 box frame using K&Co papers - the close-up of the inside of the box is a bit rubbish, sorry - the light was making it really difficult to get a sharp photo!





I have linked my blogs to my Twitter account using Twitterfeed so that when I blog it updates my Twitter.... been meaning to do it for a while but as I hadn't blogged for a while I hadn't got round to it!! - we were discussing it on a forum I'm a member of this morning so that gave me a kick up the behind to try it out - so fingers crossed this post will be updated to my Twitter profile within the hour...

Friday fever...

....Tom has it - although I do genuinely think he is tired and feeling off colour, I don't think he's particularly ill! He said this morning he felt sick, had a headache and didn't feel well, and he stayed in bed till well after 9 - and yes he did look quite poorly and pale and not too happy and I agreed he needed to stay home. However once he had that extra 2 hours sleep he seemed a lot brighter - although still pale, he no longer said he felt sick and ate toast. He is now dressed and upstairs relaxing and reading.... so yes I do think he may be feeling a bit tired as he certainly isn't his normal bouncy self - but possibly not ill! He had a busy day yesterday with double swimming and a netball tournament and then he played out in the street when he got home - and this comes on top of a long week helping to look after poorly Mammy and not getting his usual lie in and relax at the weekend because we had to go to the hospital both days for me to get my daily dressing change (worse again this weekend as my appointments are both before 9.30am!!). So I'm thinking he is just tired, and in need of a 'do nothing' day. Unfortunately for him - we have to go out. I must get a gift for my God daughter today and its her birthday tomorrow - I have got a small something already from a few weeks ago but having the abscess has stopped all the plans I had for shopping at the Metrocentre for both her gift, Fathers day and my Mams gift (its her birthday on Wednesday) and so I am today required to go into Blyth and find something. Fortunately Pete has taken care of Fathers day! and I have booked a Monday night trip to Ikea with my mam who wants a work lamp like mine (which is from Ikea and fitted with a daylight bulb).

I'm still not as active as I'd like, and I still can't sit and work very long, I have been trying and getting nowhere at all really - when you are uncomfortable and just thinking about how long till you can stand up again - it doesn't really make for a lot of creativity! Sitting at the PC desk is by far the most comfy place as I can perch and lean and use the mouse and only need to sit properly for typing, so there's not too much typing getting done, but a lot of browsing of the net!! The good news is that the wound is healing up correctly from the bottom first, and the various nurses are all saying they can't get as much packing in there as they could which is a good thing. Its possible after I'm assessed on Monday in the treatment room that they may stop the packing and just cover it and only have me in twice a week as I can replace a gauze dressing myself - that would be fab! I had my last home visit from the District Nurse today, into the access centre at Wansbeck tomorrow and Sunday (very early appointments but that's good really as it means I have all day free then) and after that it will be Treatment room in Blyth hospital whenever they need to see me - and only to Wansbeck if they think I need to have it dressed over a weekend - I'm hoping I wont after Monday. 2 weeks of daily home visits and 2 weekends to Wansbeck is quite enough now thank you! I'm very pleased its cooperating and healing up properly!!

I'm doing a Demonstration on Sunday at the Blyth Isabella crop which Im looking forward to, but may have to do standing up all the way through..... LOL

Tonight is eviction night on BB - and if the online polls and bookies are correct - wont they all get a shock when Cairon is evicted and not Halfwit. Mwahahahahaha! My Friday thoughts and feeling about the housemates (and this changes like the wind at the mo and could be completely different tomorrow morning):

Lisa - hmmm - I go from disliking her intensely (after that ridiculous display with Freddie last eviction night and then her altercation with Marcus - she was so childish!) to liking her a lot - watching last night how she advised Sree sensibly about Noirin - I liked that.
Sree - Urgh - he is creeping me out - please nom and evict him!
Karly - I LIKE Karly - she is normal, she's got a great accent (hink?? think does have a T in it!!) and from very near where my mate Rachel lives. I have a soft spot for Karly.
Kris - yes he's very pretty and has nice hair, but he is also quite a nice person and quite normal too. A plus point! He has time to turn into another bit of a dick though.
Charlie - hmmm. He's a Geordie - I want to like him - but this week he has irritated me - especially with that daft display when nominating.... so at the mo he is not high on my list of 'likes'.
Angel - send her home the woman is mentally unstable. Really.
Dogface - quite sweet, quiet, unassuming and ordinary! a surprise, and I like her also.
Halfwit - Freddie irritates me sooooooooooooo much - and yet I LOVE him! keep him in - I believe he is now fave to win and I can see why - with Freddie there as whipping boy for the housemates yet him having the public backing he could go all the way - but I'm concerned that they are not being very nice to him in there and I hope he doesn't change because of that. 9 nominations.... that's a heck of a kick in the teeth for him.
Marcus - at first I thought he was a dick. Then I thought he was ok. now I KNOW he is a dick. But he generates some amusing moments.
Cairon - little boy with a big ego. And way too aggressive. Going home boy!
Noirin - hmmm. I like her but she needs to be so much tougher with clingon Sree. Give it to him straight!
Rodrigo - sweet, gentle, funny, honourable and not had much camera time yet - I'm sure he has much more of a personality but we have yet to really see much of him.
Siavash - this is the biggest surprise. I had my fingers over my eyes watching his Launch night VT and entry into the house, was sure he would make me want to switch off - and yet I'm liking him more and more each day. There's time for him to live up to first impressions yet though! When his partner in crime Cairon is evicted tonight (see how confident I am?? LOL) he could have a turn for the worse...

I am gutted Saffia walked out before Sophia was evicted and didn't have time to appreciate how different the house would been for her - but we move on.....

Plodding along...

Gingerly sitting at PC with several cushions to help!! Its actualy more comfy sitting here (or at my desk) then on the sofa - if I'm on the sofa I have to lounge sideways, which is a little boring as theres nothing much on TV during the day (apart from Neighbours and home and away of course), I certainly cant scrap or surf the net from there and also makes drinking a cuppa a little difficult and I'm not that much of an invalid that I am resorting to a straw yet...

Anyway - you may or may not have noticed I have a new blog - its just for SU! stuff, so I can point my customers to there to see examples of products, recipes on things we have made in workshops, special offers, news updates etc, though I do intend to still upload everything here too. As this blog is for everything thats going on in my life (recently including stuff about sore bottoms!!) I figured a separate one for on my business cards was a good idea!!

So yesterday I decided to make myself some business cards. I have been meaning to get some printed for a while and not got round to it, and then I thought - why not make some?? I have everything I need: Publisher, card, a printer and some handy stamps! So here they are (with address and phone number smudged or blocked out of course):





The white ones too the longest time but were still quite quick considering. I designed the text in Publisher and printed 10 per A4 sheet, then cut into strips, and rolled the Stampin' around wheels on the blank edge (Its beautiful jumbo and fast flowers standard). Quite effective with the coloured card (all from the Bold Brights colour family) and black ink. The white ones I decided to change some of the printed text to a colour, and paint the flowers to match. I used an Aqua painter and watercolour wonder crayons in various colours from the Earth elements set. I'm pleased with the results, and it certainly took my mind of my 'problem' for a couple of hours!

Most pleased as the annoying Sophia is up for eviction on Friday - sadly also so is Halfwit, and I have a feeling that he may just be the one to go as he is rather odd and I'm not sure the public will like him. He's living in a totally bizarre world all of his own creation where he is an avid supporter of some parts of the communist ideal, actively wants to live the 'commune' life, and yet he is somewhat well off and a member of the young conservatives and would like to stand as a Tory MP.... erm... yes. Conflict much?? Sophia on the other hand is a bloody annoying self righteous little madam but the public might just keep her for the edginess she's caused already. Me - I want her out! However being nominated might just make her reign herself in a little (or maybe she will blame it all on Saffia again and be even worse)

And next week can it be Sree going please - I've never seen such a pathetic mix of arrogance and total naivety. He's obviously an educated man, he isn't stupid, but he's so immature and unsure of life, and then he has this thing where by he thinks he is the centre of everyones world in there - he really really does, its ALL about him and not anyone elses experience at all. They all seem to think its a game plan, if it is its the crappest one I've ever seen! When asked in the diary room who he liked best so far, he completely turned it round in his head, and said that everyone was loving him. He thinks its ok to tell the girls they make him uncomfortable wearing their skimpy clothes, and expects them to change for him, because obviously he is way more important than they are, he behaves like a kid with the 'whole shut, you shut up' argument with Sophia at the table and then cries and whinges when she gets annoyed and swears at him - he does have a point mind, she was a bit vicious! - but he could have handled that so different instead of acting so wounded and hurt like anyone would really care that much, and then when Siavash tried to give him a little friendly (and good) advice to just chill, he said he didnt need any - because it would interfere with his little boy hurt act. .... he needs a wake up call in the form of nomination and eviction.

Arghhh. Im sucked in already!!

Unexpected stay...

Wasn't too good last week, not going to go into too much detail about it, but the condition is a Perianal abscess - don't look that up if you are at all squeamish! I went to see the Doctor on Thursday morning and was given antibiotics to try sort it first but told if it got more painful or I started to feel ill then I had to go to A&E and would be operated on. Well I managed till after a Workshop at a customers house on Saturday afternoon (I did NOT want to let her down as shes lovely!) before giving in and going off to the hospital. Spent Saturday night till Monday afternoon in there and had a small op under GA on Sunday morning. I now have to have the district nurse every day for several weeks!! to change the dressing and keep an eye on how its healing. I can walk ok and am much more comfortable (a cushion is most definitely required for hard chairs!!) and I'm not allowed to walk about *too* much as it will dislodge the dressing and hinder the healing although I am quite mobile (no long distances like walking to school for instance, but walking round the house and garden and supermarket are fine) plus driving is a little difficult so no more driving lessons for the next 2 weeks!! It was quite possibly the most painful thing I've ever had. Because of this, the consultant wants to investigate for other things, like Ulcerative Colitis and Crohns. I have had what my Doc has said was IBS for years and I've just put up with it - but this is a common occurrence in people with other conditions like those I mentioned so now they want to investigate properly.... oh joy! To be honest I am quite glad coz then they might be able to come up with something to HELP the pain I get and I might actually be a bit better....

So bring on the bum jokes - you have to laugh eh? LOL

I watched BB on Friday morning - too sore and tired to see all the launch show on Thursday night - thanks to those fab patientline TV's in hospital managed to see it all over the weekend too. I actually really enjoyed myself on Saturday night after being booked into the ward as I turned on the TV and found The Blues Brothers on! fab :D Anyway BB - well - there's some oddballs, some characters and some real weirdos in there - so same as usual then! I actually would have preferred Sophia to leave first over Beinazir - Sophia may be pint size but she's bloody irritating, I'd hate to live with her! Those squeals as she went in, her holier than thou attitude in the diary room, her irrational dislike of Saffia (who yeah may be a lot of things but did what anyone else would have by choosing herself first to do the task including miss self righteous Sophia) her reaction to them 'hiding' her drink, she is just winding me up! She isn't the only one though, but I'm not really disliking anyone yet - I really was turned off by Siavash when he first went in and thought I'd hate him but the friendship developing between him and Cairon is rather sweet and quite amusing to watch. Similarly with Angel and Marcus - didn't like them on launch night - am warming to them both a little. Time will tell though.... the rest are your usual bunch of BB contestants, token bimbo, token hot guy, token gay bloke, token gay woman this year too(both of whom who I really like, Lisa seems a real good character and Charlie is a Geordie - nuff said LOL) and then of course Rodrigo - what a sweetheart! Not sure about Sree yet - he just seems a bit Michael Jackson to me at the mo! Noirin I like, Karly I like, and Dogface (snigger) actually seems ok too. Kris is a nice bloke, quite refreshing. And then there's Freddie - oops I mean Halfwit..... hmmmm. I think he could be very entertaining! Have I covered them all? good! so thats my summers entertainment sorted then.....

Stampin' Up! June and July special.

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Bank Holiday in Bristol!

We left early Saturday morning and drove down to stay with friends in Clifton, Bristol. It was a scorcher of a day and the drive was hot and sticky but not too long and we arrived about 5pm. Jacqui got the Pimms on the go, we had a tour of the new house (very nice) and we ordered takeaway and chilled, chatted and caught up, and then watched a bit of TV and had an early night!

On Sunday it was Monaco GP, The BIG Newcastle match, and the start of the live semi finals of Britain's got talent - so we had a BBQ planned. It was a FABULOUS day, the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky and just a gentle breeze, so first thing we went up on the downs to play frisbee.



Baps and Jacs friends Ash and Steve came over - Steve is also a displaced Geordie and the boys were all geared up to watch footie. We ate a LOT of food, enjoyed the Grand Prix, didn't enjoy the footie, and had a good laugh at BGT, and went to bed full and not all together sober!

The weather forecast wasn't that good for Monday so we thought a day in Cheddar Gorge would be great as it didn't matter if it rained while we were in the caves - however when we got there it soon got out very sunny and warm and was way too nice to spend inside caves, so we played crazy golf, watched the duck race, browsed a few of the little shops and had ice cream before driving back to Bristol for a delicious Roast beef dinner and more Britain's got Talent.







On Tuesday Baps and Jac were back to work so we had a day to amuse ourselves and headed off to do some sight seeing in Bath. The forecast was again for rain, but it held off most of the day, we did get caught in a downpour while in Bath but we just wandered round inside the market by the Abbey till it stopped. Bath is a very beautiful place, I need to go back and spend more than just a couple of hours there so I can see everything! We wandered the streets and had Coffee in the Regency cafe in the Jane Austen Centre. There wasn't really time to do the Austen tour, or do the Roman baths, or the Bus Tour or walk along the river, or wander the shops - or anything but walk around and 'see' some of the city. Bath is on my list to 'do' a full day next time we're down there, as it all felt very rushed! We did take a little time out to watch a street performer do his show though, while we ate a sandwich for lunch.





After Bath we drove into the Cotswold's to Castle Combe - the most beautiful little village I think I've ever seen. The sun was shining again, everywhere was so green and the warm honey coloured Cotswold stone was gorgeous in the sunshine. We spent about an hour wandering round taking in the peace and quiet and the scenery, before heading back to Bristol for tea.





Tea on Tuesday evening was pizza and wedges followed by strawberries, and more wine, and an evening of BGT. Not such a good show on Tuesday evening, Sunday and Mondays were definitely better!

Wednesday morning it was time to head back North. We set off about 9.30am and drove up the West coast to Crosby to see Antony Gormleys 'Another Place'. It was incredibly windy, so bad my ears were really painful. The sand was blowing all over, the sea was rough and the tide was high, so we couldn't see more than a few of the statues - but it was interesting all the same! I would still like to see it on a day when the tide is out!




I spotted these Gulls all lined up on the marine lake on the way back to the car - the one nearest is giving me such a dirty look!


We eventually arrived home in Blyth around 7.30pm on Wednesday evening, and I bunged a load of washing in and the boys watched the Champions league final before we went off to bed. It was a lovely lovely weekend made extra special by the thoughtfulness of Baps and Jacqui who totally spoiled us with delicious food and rivers of Pimms and wine and wonderful company.

I think my fave photo from the weekend is this one - its in Castle Combe but you cant really tell, its a lovely photo of Tom and Pete together and neither is pulling a face or doing a fake smile or sulking and its just so nice to have a decent photo of the pair of them together!