Counting Your Blessings - Part 2

Today we are thanking whoever it was that invented the good old scanner. Without which I would not have had hours of fun the other night looking through 20-year-old photos, then scanning them and uploading to Facebook!

I don't care whatever anyone says, I loved how I looked back as a teenager and I'm thankful I had the stubborness to pursue it no matter what anyone said! I showed Emily these pics and she said 'Wow Mum, you looked cool. Can I dress like that when I'm 16?'. That's all the approval I need!

So today's blessing counting is for the ability to stick to your guns and the technology to relive it 20 years on!

Counting Your Blessings - Part 1

You know, we live in a crap world at the moment. The whole economy's gone down the pan and we're all going to be on bread and water soon, there's oil gushing out into the sea and they don't seem to be able to stop it, we've still got soldiers dying over in Afghanistan, and for god's sake we have bloody Jordan!

However, this week the Garlics is going to cheer everyone up by looking at the good things in life. No matter how bad things get we all have positives, things that make life worth living, so this week we're going to blooming well celebrate them!

Now, I wasn't exactly on the ball when they were dishing things out 36 years ago. Back of the queue for finances, slept in for health and got the complete wrong day for flat stomachs! However, I think I must have been bright and breezy and up at the crack of dawn when they dished out friends.

Obviously, the most important thing in anyone's life is family, nothing beats that. But family is the sort of unconditional love where you get stuck with each other warts and all. Friends takes a lot of work. So why do we bother? Well, to me, friends is what makes me work, they are my sanctuary, my salvation, what ultimately makes me me. When the kids are driving me up the wall, I NEED to get on the email to Marie and scream, my sanity depends on it! And when I'm feeling old I need to go to Ally Andbag's, have a glass of wine and dance around her living room to some good old 80s Lita Ford, remembering my youth! Friends make you function as a human being.

I'm so fortunate with my friends, I have quite a few. I've met them in various situations: through my kids, from years ago when I went out clubbing, from being fat! Something can just click in any situation and they get stuck with me for life!

Yesterday I had a group of friends round for a BBQ. These are the girls I used to work with at a company I left 6 years ago now. However, amidst all those 'oh yes, keep in touch won't you's that you get when you move on that never happen, these girls and I have stuck. It takes effort yes, we all now work in completely different places and had big changes in situation, but we still get together because we want to see each other, because we work well together.

So todays's blog is dedicated to all my wonderful friends. Thank you all for being part of my life and making me me!

Steward's Enquiry!

Well, you've got to love a tryer in life, and my son certainly tried at his first ever school sports day!

I was very excited to see this. I remember Emily's first sports day when she was in nursery, she looked so cute doing all the little events. Out trots Xander at the front of the line, holding Mrs Ainley's hand (at first I thought it was a priveledge, but as the afternoon progressed I realised it was more Mrs Ainley keeping an eye on him!). And pretty soon it was Xander's first race, a nice simple running race.

So, my son, apparently doesn't need to wait for whistles:

Ahem, well he won...

Next up was a jumping race...now keep that word 'JUMPING' in mind. Remember, we're JUMPING...




OK, by this point I'm very grateful it's a sunny day as I have a big hat and big sunglasses disguising me!

Next up, the 'balance a bean bag on your head' race. What could possibly go wrong with balancing a simple bean bag on one's head. All they had to do was remember to keep their hands by their sides...you guessed it:

So, imagine the cringing that went on inside me when they announced that next up was the egg & spoon race; that notorious cheat's paradise. You can sneakily balance it with your thumb, slyly stick a bit of chewing gum under it when no-one's looking...or quite simply just hold the spoon in one hand and the egg in the other:

So at my son's first ever sports day he won most of his races...but I now can't show my face in the playground ever again! May have to start calling him Zola not Xander!

Holidays - Credit Crunch Styleee!

So, this time last year we were busy packing to go here:

(***SNIFF*** Love that place!)

This year, er, not so much! Today's financial climate doesn't exactly bode well for yearly Carribbean holidays, but when you're given lemons, make lemonade! As regular readers to my blog will know, I am THE bargain queen; I love to sniff out a good deal. So when the holiday problem posed itself, I came up with a plan.

I always shop at Tesco, mainly for these. I see it as my way of gaining something back from a company who earn billions out of us every year and I even paid my tuition fees for my degree with them. Anyhoo, I sent off for some vouchers to Whipsnade Zoo so last week we headed down south. A quick stop to see Rob's Grandad on the way, then we booked in to a Travelodge on their £29 a night deals (FYI, go for Premier Inn's deal instead, much nicer). After staying there the night we headed to the local Tesco for some sandwiches and other pic-er-nic stuff (and to earn more points! ;) and then went to the zoo...FOR FREE!

Not sure this guy was impressed with us invading his space though:

After the zoo, we headed into London to stay for a few days with Rob's sister (thanks for having us Zo!). Zoe had to work the first day so we headed into 'the smoke' and did all the free sightseeing stuff it had to offer. We even got free sunshine!

For lunch, more Tesco vouchers, this time eating at Pizza Express, and blooming yummy it was too. The kids love PE as they get grown up 'Bambiccinos'!

More pics to come later, I need to do a slide show as there's so many.

So, when we got home I got to thinking about just what I'm going to do with those little angels of mine over the summer holidays; that's 6 very long weeks if you have nowhere to go! I looked at a caravan for a week - £750! :o I looked at our beloved Center Parcs - a 4 night break was £950! :o :o I'm sorry but there's absolutely no way I'm spending that much to stay in this country!

So, I did what I always said I'd never do, and went out and bought this:

That's right, we now own a tent; you know those bits of material with no bath, loo etc?!

Do you know what's even more disturbing? I've got a bit excited about it! Just this morning I was out buying tent peg mallets and camping toasters!

You can just picture the scene now can't you:

Watch this space....

Bachelor Of Wizardry

I got my official graduation picture through the other day. Not a bad pic actually, much better than my 1994 one!

Xander looked at it and said "Mummy, you are a wizard!". I like that, Louise Gillard - Bachelor of Wizardry!

Birthdays, Stars & Sunshine

I'd like to thank whoever ordered me this absolutely beautiful weather for my birthday, best present ever! We're in the middle of a heatwave here which means I've got to spend my birthday weekend basking in the sun.

First of all thank you to everyone for the cards, presents, texts, emails and Facebook messages; I'm a very lucky girl indeed! On Friday I got up and opened my pressies then me, Rob and Xander headed to my favourite place Costa for breakfast. Cake for breakfast, well if you can't on your birthday then when can you?! Then the boys left me to shop for the morning which was lovely; I don't get to shop much unless it's for food or kid's stuff, so having some pennies to spend on me was pure heaven! I got some lovely shoes and a bag to match and a couple of other bits. Then, when Rob had taken Xan to school he picked me up and we went to Nando's for lunch. Thanks to the weather we got to sit outside which was lovely. Then it was off to the pictures (Hot Tub Time Machine - a definate no-brainer but lots of 80s rock on the soundtrack for me!) before coming home for surf n turf on the BBQ.

I had a lovely surprise on my birthday too, when my son came home from school with this:

He got Star Of The Week and was chuffed to bits with himself. Mummy was very very proud!

Yesterday the sun was even hotter so we packed up a pic-er-nic and headed out for some quality sunshine. We had lots of lovely food:

And basked in the sunshine in beautiful surroundings:

Rob and the kids had a bit of a kick-about while I chilled in the sun:

We then went for a walk round the farm to see all the animals and found ourselves an escapee goat:

It did get a bit too toasty though so we headed home and got the paddling pool out, where the kids invented their own waterslide and practised their daredevil stunts:

So, we've woken up to another schorcher. However, the weather's going to break tomorrow so today will be spent taking full advantage of the yellow stuff before it goes into hiding for another 12 months! So, BBQ's out, suntan lotion is at the ready and most importantly, Mummy's sunlounger is out and ready to be chilled on! Well, I am a lot older now you know, I need to take it easy!

The (Not Completely) Blackbird

I've been meaning to blog about this little guy for a while now.

For the past couple of months, we've had a fairly rare visitor to our garden - a black & white blackbird. At first we thought he was just a fledgling who still had his baby feathers, but as the weeks have gone on he's grown and kept his colouring.

We've been feeding him and his friends every day and they sometimes sit on the decking waiting for their bread (think the word's got round that the cats are far too fat and lazy to go hunting birdies these days!).

So here he is, though a little blurry (he's a numble little monkey!):