Dolly's Dreamings

Prompt 5

 

Ladies I am so thrilled you are enjoyingt his so much.

There are some great things to come as well. I started off easy LOL.

 

Anyway - I know you are all keen to get on so we are moving on to other things this week and for the next three weeks.

Once again the only thing I ask, just to satisfy me, is that if you download the prompt you just drop a comment in below. Not much to ask for a year long free class eh!

Now, being the mistress of indecisive, I have completed 2 pages this week. I can see my album is going to get huge because there are a few weeks coming up when I have made two pages.

 

I will share the second one later in the week, but here is one of my pages for this week.

I hope you enjoy the prompt.

Do let me know.

 

 

Hamworthy Park

It snowed a little last night - just a little and it didn't lay, but we woke to such an awesome morning. Frosty, bitterly cold and so bright and sunny and wonderful.

It was too good to miss so we went on another walk with my camera.

Jakki had told me how nice hamworthy Park in Poole was looking and so we headed off down there.

It was wonderful. It was so clear out to the Purbecks and across Furzey Island and Green Island. The brightly painted beach huts looked fabulous  in the sunshine and there were loads of fishermen.

The bizare thing is that one way it was clear and bright and the other way, looking into the sun, was quite hazy and made for some wonderful silhouette photographs. Two looks on the same day.

We also played ont he adult equipment int he adventure playground which was fun until I hurt my back!  My own fault. Will I never learn!

Here are some of the photos from the walk. I am almost finished scrapping them but am so cold even with the heating full on I am off to have a hot bath to warm me through!.

 

 

My quote for today - and for tomorrow - is

 

Today isn't over yet, but already I am thankful for

 

• A beautiful home town by the ocean
• My new makeup which arrived
• My new photos (I do them every stone) and I can see the difference.

Not the best end to the week

I don't deal with mess.

I don't deal with upheaval.

I don't deal with change.

I'm a problem!!!!

Today our wonderful site manager brought me a new filing cabinet. I only asked for one on Tuesday and he went out and purchased a top of the range lush 4 drawer brown and cream job to match my existing cabinet. He is a sweetie and I feel very bad for him about the ensuing problems.

To site it, we had to move a bookcase from one side of the door to the other and then slot the cabinet in next to the other one.

Problem.

Bookcase was a cheap MFI job. Overloaded. Back broken. Try to move it - falling apart.

Empty said bookcase (It is big) and put books and files and papers and years of dross everywhere in my office.

Problem.

Bookcase  is screwed to filing cabinet. Empty filing cabinet of drawers (by now no room to put anything - including me)

Problem.

Meetings scheduled in my office. Move meetings.

Problem.

Site manager called away on an emergency. Room left in chaos.

Problem.

I don't deal well with it!

Anyway - he has just phoned to say it is all sorted out now so I am going back to put everything away nicely. I feel so sorry for him. he was just doing a really nice thing and it turned into a nightmare for him.

Anyway - it is Friday and - apart from sorting the room out - it is the weekend and i am off.

This is a second page I made with Dawn's fab Anything Goes kit. My little man.

My quote for today is

and Oh Boy do I know that feeling!

Today I am thankful for

• Ken - who is an absolute sweetie and when he retires I will miss him so much.
• My new filing cabinet
• My darling husband who said blow the diet - he is taking me out to dinner as I have earned it!
• My wonderful clean house - thanks to Nigel

Feeling more confident

I made a page this week reflecting a little of how I have felt lately.

I have never been blessed with a lot of confidence and am filled with self-doubt about most things, but especially about my appearance.

Since losing weight I have a little more confidence and was brave enough to suggest jakki took a new photo for the website at school. The existing picture was truly awful and my picture had to be there ont he page with the message from the headmistress.

So Jakki took a new picture and not only is it on the website but I even scrapped it for my making of Me book.

I used a brand new, very lush kit by Dawn Inskip called Anything Goes.

It is a fab kit and I recommend it to you.

I have a funny to share today - another e mail that made me giggle and I just MIGHT follow the advice!

My kind of Doctor, if only it were true!

Q: Doctor,  I've heard that  cardiovascular exercise can prolong life.  Is this true?   A: Your heart only good for so many beats, and that it...don't waste on exercise.  Everything wear out eventually.  Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster.  Want to live longer?  Take nap.   Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?   A: You must grasp logistical efficiency.  What does cow eat?   Hay and corn.  And what are these?   Vegetables.  So steak is nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system.  Need grain?  Eat chicken.  Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable).  And pork chop can give you 100% of recommended daily allowance of vegetable product. Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?   A:  No, not at all.  Wine made from fruit.  Brandy is distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way.  Beer also made of grain.  Bottom up! Q: How  can I calculate my body/fat ratio?   A: Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one.  If you have two bodies, your ratio two to one, etc. Q: What  are some of  the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?   A: Can't think of single one, sorry.  My philosophy is: No pain...good!   Q:  Aren't fried foods bad for you?   A:  YOU NOT LISTENING!  Food are fried these day in vegetable oil.  In fact, they permeated by it.  How could getting more vegetable be bad for you?!?   Q:  Will  sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?   A: Definitely not!  When you exercise muscle, it get bigger.  You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.   Q:  Is chocolate bad for me?   A:  Are you crazy?!?  HEL-LO-O!!  Cocoa bean!  Another vegetable!  It best feel-good food around! Q:  Is swimming good for your figure?   A:  If swimming good for your figure, explain whale to me.. Q:  Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?   A:  Hey!  'Round' is a shape!   Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

My quote for today is

Today I am thankful for

• laughter - it gets us through the toughest of times
• My desk top computer which is working ... unlike my laptop :(

An interview with a monster

This was my submission for ATF this time. It was not new - i made it a while ago, but it fit the theme of what book or magazine is your pet like very well.

I had such fun imagining what a cat magazine featuring Fiki would be like and what he might say in his interview.

(Since I made this Fiki was the star of a real life cat magazine. He had his own three page spread in CatWorld magazine in an article I wrote for them all about scrapbooking your pets. I have to say that is one of my proudest achievements. I have had dozens and dozens(I don't exaggerate .... I know it is over 150) of pages and projects and articles published over the years in scrap magazines but that one in catWorld means so much)

Anyway I digress.

Enjoy meeting my little monster. If you click on the image it should enlarge it so you can read it.

 

 

I have had a bad day today. I walked too far in shoes worn for vanity not comfort and my ankle is killing me. I had three members of staff off (and it looks set to get worse!) I had a 5 minute lunch break - good job I don't eat anymore - and went to a funeral for my old headmistress  and realised I really haven't changed as several of the members of staff still recognised me. I am nearly 50 for goodness sake. How could they still recognise me!

My quote for today is

Very very sound advice.

Today I am thankful for

• The fact I didn't have to waste my 5 minute lunchbreak by eating!
• The fact the new skirts I bought on line fit a treat
• The fact a part-time member of staff came in to do extra hours at very short notice and saved the day

 
 

Wii just have fun

I use my Wii almost every day. My Wii fit gets me moving and also checks my weight and at the weekend the band comes to town.  Nij and I sturt our stuff with me on the drums (didn't you just know I would do the one that needed sitting down) and Nij on the guitars. In alls eriousness I can play the guitar in real life - the real proper accoustic guitar - but can't play the Wii guitar for love nor money. However taking out all that pent up aggression on the drums is just perfection!

Nij bought me the Beatles band game for Christmas and we are loving it. having played Guitar Hero world tour all last year - and being so old that we didn't know many of the songs which were actually quite American biased - it is fab to bash out songs we know.

He also bought me Just Dance and boy does that do wonders for the keep fit!

The page I am sharing today is from when Chris and Sam came down to stay, complete with their steering wheels and we played Mario Kart - huge fun sober, totally chaotic after a few drinks.

It was a fun page to make with lots of circles to echo the wheels and I love the looks on their faces.

My quote for today was

It is another of the double quotes - one from each calendar - as I liked both of them.

Today I am thankful for

• Nij getting offered a little bit of part time work int he form of a one off project
• The lovely phonecall I had from my old teacher who taught me and inspired me

  

Denim dreams

Ok so I live in hope that I will get into smaller and smaller jeans and it seems to be working - though this second round of dieting is HARD - much harder than it was before Christmas. I am finding it a real struggle to be good.

But the wii said, even after garlic bread, pizza and chocolate fudge cake on Saturday and crumpets on Sunday, that I have still lost 1lb this weekend. I swear I breathed a sigh of relief.

This page celebrates a night I felt really good. It was at the start of novemeber and was the first time I wore the skinny jeans and actually felt good going out. I remember the feeling so well.

I made the page to go in my Making of Me album. Apologies for using the same photo twice on pages - it just goes to show how I felt then I guess. Plus I did make my Music page for prompt 4 several weeks ago (I am working quite a way ahead on 5210 and have just made my page for week 10 .... youhave such fun to come LOL)

Those jeans no longer fit me .... they are too loose to wear, so it is falling off bit by bit.

I was actually a little sad on Saturday as I wore my lovely black blingy jeans which looked so good before Christmas. I haven't worn them many times and they were terribly loose on Saturday. the good news was my BIL and SIL said I looked amazingly different. I thought they might not notice.

Thank you allf or the feedback on 5210 and the latest prompt. I am having so much fun doing this and it looks like people are enjoying it too.

My quote for today is

and that is very pertinent. It is something I ofetn tell the children but, in fairness, it is the parents who could do with remembering it at times.

Today I am thankful for

• the wisdom to deal with a potentially difficult situation
• The fact the Wii was kind to me
• A wonderful hubby to come home to every day.

 

52 in 10 Prompt 4

Hi again everyone.

I am so pleased people are enjoying this still.

I know a lot of youfelt that last week's prompt demanded a lot of thought, but I have seen some utterly gorgeous pages and art journal entries.

I am trying to comment on as many pages and blogs as I can but do forgive me if I miss some. It is term time and I do have very limited time I'm afraid.

This week is a lot of fun and shouldn't need such deep thought I guess. You could go completely fun or make it a meaningful serious page. I just hope you love it.

The download prompt is at the bottom of this post. Once again, if yoy do download please spare that 60 seconds just to pop a comment. I am loving spending the time making the classes but those comments make it so much nicer.

This is my page for this week's prompt.

The song, The Greatest Love of All, the proper George Benson version, has inspired and guided me for the past 30 years.  When times get tough - and let's face it, they often do in life, I try and live by the words of the song.

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

I beleive that, if you can look int he mirror at the end of each day and know that you have done nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to feel guilty about, and have stuck to your beliefs then you have had a good day.

 

My Craft Robo was a star for this layout - it cut the music score and the tiny letters so well ..... for a change!

 

Anyway - here is the prompt.

 

Walk 3

I ams till working on the 52 walks with my camera  album. I haven't made the album yet - must get to that this weekend, but we have done walk number 3 today and made the page to go with it.

This morning we headed off to Sandbanks. I laughed at Nij all bundled up as we left .... until I went outside. It was cold! So cold that the walk wasn't as long as we planned.

For those of you who don't know Sandbanks, this link might help. SANDBANKS. It is a beautiful peninsular and one of the most expensive pieces of land in the world with most properties in 7 figures. It is beautiful in the summer and although still freezing it was still beautiful today.

Anyway - here is my page of walk 3.

The middle picture at the bottom with the title Dual Aspect was a photo of a building sign. One of the things that is always going on in Sandbanks is that they are building. They buy the older properties, knock them down and rebuild them again. (some nicer than others) Some of the properties, like those being built behind this hoarding, have dual views looking over the harbour and Brownsea Island and the other way looking out over the ocean. We walked alongt he peninsular this morning.

I have had fun scrapping, making more pages for future 5210 prompts and just relaxing and chilling out.

My calendar quote today was

Today I am thankful for

• a nice brisk walk and warm gloves
• a knee that is much better
• the crumpet I had for lunch (I know, not allowed, I know!)

 

Little bit disappointing

OK so it is not the least bit disappointing that it is Friday .... that is fabulous.

But it is a little disappointingt hat i am in agony at the moment over my knee. Not my bad knee ... my other knee which has rarely been bad.

I have had good knees since losing 68 .... yes 68 .... pounds but today my right knee is so painful and ibuprofen isn't touching it. I thought I had seen the last of the bad knee syndrome ... seems not.

Today we had a mufti day at school to raise money for Haiti and it was all the suggestion of our reception pupils who wanted to help. I am so proud of all the children who donated pocket money etc and they have raised an incredible £600. How fabulous.

This is another page I have made with the new twitterpated kit by Dawn Inskip.

My quote for today is

Today I am thankful for

• working in a school with such wonderful children
• that weekends come very regularly
• a wonderfully clean house that i have just come home to

Have a fab weekend everyone.