52 Weeks of Happy #8/52

So this week has mainly involved clearing out and getting ready.

Hubby and I had the week off and we spent it (trying to) chill right out and preparing the spare room (difficult to manage BOTH! It seemed we could have one or the other at a time but they didnt happen simultaneously). We have got rid of SO much stuff I've lost track of what we've kept and what has gone. If he had his way a LOT more stuff would have been culled but part of me has to keep hold of it. I've found all sorts of random things in the clear out, 21st birthday cards, 'good luck in your year out' cards, 'congratulations on graduating' cards, 'thank you for teaching me' cards, soft toys from children I've taught, board games, jigsaw puzzles. All sorts of stuff. And most of it has gone. Our house is tiny and as babies come with more than their fair share of 'stuff' we have to make room for it all.

So it's gone.

Therefore my 4 things relate closely to this difficult and stressful process.

1. a cleared room!

2. a freshly painted ceiling (the people before had had it plastered but not painted it properly so the paint had peeled. What a pain.)

3. a new cot - an eBay bargain that turns into a toddler bed when they're big enough.

4. a tidied up blog! I decided that the pink was making me feel a bit yucky and lots of other blogs have gone for the white background recently so I thought I'd jump on that bandwagon!

I'm sorry there are no photos. I'm like a beached whale on the sofa already and just dreading the next few months. :(

Maybe more photos in the future.
xxxx

52 Weeks of Happy 7/52

I missed week 6. Sorry. I've been exhausted and work has been busy. It always seems to get crazy at school in the run up to a holiday. Why is that???

I love my job, really I do but it's such hard work. I really can't wait to go on maternity leave and look towards something a little different.

I'm not really feeling the blog right now. I struggle with regular weekly posts and don't really feel like I know where I'm going with the it at the moment. I started it as a way of chronicling what I'm making but it never ends up looking as good as I'd hope or imagine. There are so many amazing looking and inspiring blogs out there that I guess I just feel like the poor relation. I never remember to carry my camera with me. And when I do, I feel a bit stupid taking photos of random things. Does anyone else get that?

Has anyone got any advice for improving the look of the blog or interest of my posts?? I'm not really sure where to go next.



Here we go....Another week, another 4 things..... with no photos. I'm determined that as I'm off work this week I'll be better prepared for my post this week.

1. 20 week scan. (despite being 24 weeks) (this was actually last week but I'm kind of writing about the last fortnight. Is that cheating??)

2. Shrove Tuesday. We made pancakes at guides. It was a floury, eggy, battery mess but they loved it.

3. Lunch with my family for my mum's birthday. I dont think my brother can go out for a meal without having far too much to drink but he is such fun entertainment. I love him!!!

4. The spare room is 99% clear!!! But now I'm a bit worried about the ceiling collapsing under the weight of the stuff in the loft !

52 Weeks of Happy 5/52

Gosh another week already.

I have been super busy at work this week and hubby has been away on business AGAIN. :(

But he's home again now! :)

Here are my 4 moments of Happy for the 52 Weeks of Happy post this week.


1. The first came last weekend. Hubby and I went into town to discover that the local produce market was on so bought a load of meat from the local farm annd some bread from the bakery so I treated myself to one of these beauties......... a custard slice!!! YUMMY!! (and yes I was halfway through before I thought to take a photo! )

2. Hubby came home AGAIN. and isn't going anywhere til now til July!

3. This little beauty was finished this week:

4. Date Night with Hubby tonight. We RARELY go out for dinner so I figured that as he'd been away we should make an effort. And as stuffed and immobile as I now am, I'm really pleased we went. It was lovely to be away from the TV, laptops, iPads and knitting and to just chat about everything and nothing.

Hope you've had some moments of happy too. xxx

52 Weeks of Happy 4/52

Lots has made me happy this week.

1) Not the snow so much as it took me over 4 hours to do the 15 miles home from work on Friday. (I had to do a huge detour to avoid some of the insane hills round here as cars werent getting up or down them. I have never been on such a stressful or scary journey in my life. I will NEVER do it again.) Or even playing in it as my hubby has me under you're-pregnant-dont-even-think-of-going-out-and-slipping-over house arrest. But the views from my bedroom window have been fantastic.

2) Starting some knitting projects for my baby. I've loved making things for friends' babies but this is different. I dont want this to turn into a baby blog but I'm sure you know that babies and pregnancy take up your EVERY thought and action. I'm working on a simple blanket I can use in the buggy or car seat and a 'Hooded Carrying Bag' from The Ultimate Book of Baby Knits by Debbie Bliss.

3) A Christmas present that got sent back for a different size arrived this week. You have to watch Big Bang Theory to know what Bazinga! is but by chance hubby bought this for me and I bought him a matching tshirt. I love it and it hides my big fat pregnant tummy!

4) My new boiler! It has taken over a week and resulted in a few nights at my mum's and dust EVERYWHERE. But we now have a fully installed and working brand new boiler. My house is the lovely cosy sanctuary it used to be again and trust me, in this weather I couldnt be happier!

In other news, hubby got home from Hong Kong on Friday, just before the AWFUL snow fall :)
And a good friend of our has given us a load of baby stuff she's finished with including a gorgeous moses basket and Baby Bjorn (have you seen how expensive they are new?!?!?!)

So all in all, a very good Week Of Happy :)

I hope you've all had a happy week too
Nicky
x

52 Weeks of Happy 3/52

My hubby is still away so this week has been a bit of a struggle. Pathetic I know but I hate it when he's away. He's been gone a fortnight now but he's back tomorrow!!! :)

Despite that, here are my 4 happy moments of the week. There have been some, honest. It's not all doom and gloom.

1) This order arrived from Deramores at the weekend. I CAN NOT wait to get started on a massive granny blanket with it. I'm thinking something along the lines of Lucy's Big Blanket over at Attic24.
Hmmmm. Time will tell. I need to prioritise.

2) I am half way to being a mummy today! Yep, I'm 20 weeks pregnant. This was our 12 week scan.

3) It was my birthday yesterday. A subdued affair due to number 2 but some lovely pressies and cards. These arrived from my hubby who is currrently away on business in Hong Kong.

4) My elephant.
It's NEARLY there. There are so many seams to sew (and boy they are fiddly).

52 Weeks of Happy 2/52

This week has seen some changes round here.
I started back at work yesterday and my hubby is in Hong Kong again on business. :(

But I seem to have nearly failed at just the second Week of Happy.
Rubbish.

I have completely failed to take any photos at all during the week and have just had to rush round talking these photos in rubbish light. I think I need to charge up my little digital compact and carry that around with me all the time instead of relying on the SLR that is just completly impractical for everyday lugging about.

I can TELL you about 4 things that have made me happy but I dont have 4 photos. FAIL!!!

1. Lovely friends offering to cook me dinner while my hubby is away so that I dont have to eat these all week:

2. Clearing out the spare room.
(yes, that is a dinosaur eating a Stormtrooper)

3. Treating myself to a haircut, eyebrow wax and getting the car cleaned (it's the little things)
(I dont have a photo of this, but really, do you need to see any of these???)


4. This gorgeous little earring stand was made by my dad's best bud. A bespoke piece made specially for me. I LOVE it.

(I'm also a little happier with my photos thanks to Jacquie's post. Still a long way to go tho!)

I hope you have all had 4 moment of happy this week
Nicky
xxx

52 Weeks of Happy- 1/52

Wow. Aren't I posting a lot at the moment??? Can you tell that it's still the school holidays and I'm not back at work yet???

I am loving having unlimited blogging time (I say unlimited, I'm kidding myself. I have SO much to do before the new term starts, I have lessons to plan, a whole term of Guide meetings to organise, Guide accounts to sort out, blah blah blah :(  but where would the fun be in that??? so here I am :) )

I've done a lot of surfing round blogs and it's that time of year when everyone is starting new threads and there have been a few that have caught my eye. I've been following Jacquie at Bunny Mummy's blog for a while. I love her bright photography (that is really something i need to work on this year) and her colourful crochet. She posted on Thursday about a post she'd read over at Jen's blog Little Birdie  about her idea of 52 Weeks of Happy. And then I saw this post on Yarn Round Hook who also produces some pretty incredible crochet and whose Christmas star design I took into school just before Christmas. It kept the children quiet for ages. I owe her BIG time!

So here is the idea (cribbed slightly from Little Birdie's explanation) Every Tuesday you post 4 things from the previous week that have made you happy. Simple.

I know it's not Tuesday but I dont want to start on week 2. So here are my 4 things from this week:

 

 

 

 

 

1) My Christmas tree and my handmade decorations. I'm enjoying them for as long as I can!

2) Lovely daffodils that my mum bought me yesterday. Makes me feel that Spring is on its way!

3) My fingernails. Ok, I know this sounds crazy but I hate it when my nails are all short and broken. They are lovely and long at the moment and I love them. (It wont last!)

4) My delivery of baby yarn and knitting books. I can't wait to get going with it when I've finished my elephant. (you can see more about that here and here)

So that's it. Next week it will be shorter and even more simple. Promise.

Enjoy your week and I hope you find some simple happiness along the way.
Nicky x