365 Day Photo Challenge - 23 / 365

23 / 365 - On a rare autmunal sunny afternoon, where Jacob had the day off school, we took a trip out to town, where Jacob enjoyed scaring the pigeons, eating ice cream and following me around the shops!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 22 / 365

22 / 365 - Well, I had the fright of my life yesterday when I was doing 50mph on an A road, when the tyre on my car decided to have a massive puncture in it and packed up!  Seeing as I have only been driving 6 weeks, I was not prepared for such a travesty!  When I rang for help, no one answered, (because they were all at work!), I had to ring the school as I was about to pick my son up, and even had a police car escort me to a safe place as I was sat at a main set of traffic lights!  Within 45 minutes the breakdown recovery arrived and changed the tyre and I was OK in the end!  Poor car, I've ruined it and its only my second month of driving it!!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 21 / 365

21 / 365 - Todays picture is of jacob completing his very first home work!  Its the jewish new year this week so he had to do a collage that represents it, which incuded dipping an apple in honey and blowing a Ram's horn.  After a few tears of frustration, jacob managed to complete his homework with great success!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 20 / 365

20 / 365 - What a contrast! Mummy not feeling well and grumpy first thing in the morning, whilst Jacob is as cheery as anything, waiting to go to school!



Day Zero Project - Kiss at the Top of the London Eye!

Warning: may contain actual photographic evidence of kissing!
  My biggest task so far on the Day Zero Project was completed this weekend, to kiss at the top of the London Eye!

  The biggest challenge was not to go on the wheel, however.  It was more of the fact that I had to get my fiance on the wheel as he has a massive fear of heights!!  Poor man wanted me to complete this challenge but it involved him facing his biggest fear!



Walking towards the big wheel, the boys seem quite calm in this picture!!

It looks extraodinarily high from below so I tried to prepare Dean!  He seemed suprisingly calm when he got into the pod but it wasnt until we started moving (which you can hardly feel by the way!) that the nerves kicked and he was an utter mess!!

Not even half way up and this is the ground below!  I got a touch of vertigo but it was not as bad as Deans who couldnt leave the seat for fear of fainting!

Me and Jacob enjoyed the "flight" anyway, checking out the views and Jacob was great at pointing out Big Ben!

View from above of the glorious City of London

So as we reached the top of the Millenium Wheel, I was so busy taking photos of the magnificent view, that I almost forgot to do what I came here for! 



Yes, I managed to prize my fiance away from holdng his head in his hands, to steal a kiss at the top of the London Eye!  Apologies for the photographic evidence but needs must!

So even thought this was my challenge for the Day Zero Project, my very brave fiance wears an award around his neck for helping me achieve it, and getting over his fear, even though he says he still isnt over it!
I leave you with the rest of the amazing views we had the pleasure of seeing on this bright sunny day.











Listography - Celebrities Id Like To Go For a Beer With

Yet another great choice that Kate Takes 5 has chosen, and I have to try very hard not to be predictable! My own challenge with this weeks Top five is not to pick all the celebrities I fancy as that defeats the object, and not to pick the celebrities I may have mentioned before in my blog like David Tennant and Madonna!!  So here is my less than predictable list, with a nice cold beer in hand!



1: Billie Piper - this woman fascinates me!  I loved her music (shameful!) and was astonished she could act so brilliantly in Doctor Who, so a conversation with her over a beer would make an interesting afternoon!  I would ask her what she was thinking marrying Chris Evans!

2:  Lee Evans - Probably wouldnt get much conversation out of him as he would be acting the fool and I would be too busy laughing at his stupidity, but would make for a good guest after three or four pints!



3: Alan Rickman - oh this man!  One of my favourite actors, his voice captivates me and I feel I could listen to him all day!  Plus, I sercretly fancy him, but now its a secret no more! 

4:  Davina Mccall - I have met her actually, I was in the audience for Big Brothers Big Mouth!  And she is every bit as lovely in real life.  However, she is also the ideal woman to have a beer with, my other half says I remind him of her, so its probably her tom-boyish ways!  I would ask her what it was like to kiss David Tennant on Comic Relief!!

5:  Russell T Davies - the man who brought Doctor Who back to our screens!  The things I would ask this man would need to be put in a separate blog as there are so many questions!  What a genius this man is, and may he continue to write some more excellent tv programmes.

Now, excuse me Mr Barman....hic......Id like another pint please!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 18 / 365 & 19 / 365

18 / 365 - Jacob managed to indulge in a huge ice cream dessert whilst we went for lunch at Frankies & Bennys!

19 / 365 -  Oh dear, we found out tha Jacob has Stigmatism in both eyes so was prescribed glasses.  Poor little mite, but he was great doing all the tests in the opticians and picked out his own glasses, doesnt he look cute?!!



Phew - TGI Friday!!

I finally have found the time to write a short blog post!  This time last week I did not know whether I was coming or going because I had lost my job, but this week I have been working full time at two jobs!
  I have been a Nursery Assistant at my sons school since May and it is very fulfilling and hectic.  September came and I didnt have as many hours as last term because there were less children, but due to Ofsted paying a visit and a teacher off sick, I have worked there everyday this week.
  I then found out I got the job at Toby Carvey!  A new one has opened up in my local town centre, just below my last work place at Outback so you could say it was perfect timing!  Tonight is my third shift and although I am only hosting at the moment, Im lookin forward to serving again and earning more money!

So, juggling two jobs this week has been a big challenge as Im still recovering from school holidays and the transition from one to job to another has not been entirely smooth because of the circumstances!
  But hopefully, I can settle in nicely next week and enjoy my routine more.
Im exhausted but I refuse to moan because I am fortunate to have two jobs, where some people have none, and although both help me to "just scrape by" I am so grateful to be in work.

365 Day Photo Challenge - 17 / 365

17 / 365 - Caught my little man playing football in the playground at school today! Not the best of pictures but he was so busy running around I couldnt catch him!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 16 / 365

16 / 365 - Popped round my parents house today, only to find my 2 brothers playing on the Xbox!  Charming!  Although, I cant moan, they made me a sandwich to keep me quiet!



7 Random Things About Me That You Never Knew!!



My wonderful friend, http://kate-howard.blogspot.com/2011/09/thanks-for-award.html tagged me in this link up so here goes, 7 wonderful things you never knew about moi!

1:  I have walked on Glaciers, Volcanoes, behind Waterfalls, been cave and gorge walking, seen Geysers shoot up, and all before I turned 18!

2:  My fears not only include arachnophobia, but I have an irrational fear of viaducts/archways, (which my closest friends know about!), kitchen knives and men in hooded cloaks, "a la Scream!"

3:  I still enjoy colouring in!  And not with pencils or crayons, but proper felt tip pens!  I love pattern books, detailed books and colour by number books!  I dont care, its therapeutic, relaxing and nothing more pleasurable than seeing the finished piece!

4:  Im a Fatist!  Please dont hate me for this but the day and age we live in now, I cannot get my head round how we have become so obese!  At what point do we not realise that we have became so large that its embarrassing?!!  And there is nothing worse than seeing a disgustingly large person with tight clothes on, ordering in McDonalds! 

5:  I used to be a goth/lesbian!!  LOL, i went through this crazy stage in my early twenties of dressing like a man, big gothic trousers with unflattering t-shirts, and being generally moody!  And at the same time, I fancied loads of girls and had some fun!  What a strange thing to look back on as Im far from that now.  I mean, I still love heavy metal, I just dont have the image any more!  And, I am happily settled with my man! ugh!

6:  Ive been married, divorced, widowed, lived in a womens refuge, lost my home, rebuilt my life and now have everything I have ever wanted and more!

7:  My dream jobs would be:

Retail - Paperchase / Waterstones
Restaurant - TGI Fridays!
Career - writer / journalist / party entertainer
As a child - air hostess

Phew that was hard!

I now nominate YOU to give it a go and let us into things that people never knew about you!!

Leftover Chocolate, My Son Lying and the Giggling Mummy!!

My son is such a good boy, its hard to write about him as he does not give me any material to write with! Except for the othr day, when he told his first BIG lie!!
  Part of it was my fault, I was tired, hungry and not thinking straight.  Well, thats my excuse for leaving the big, fat Aero bar lying around!  I shoved down my greedy mouth at least half the bar the night before and in my tired state, left the other cubes of chocolate on the window seal.
  Now,the rest of the story comes from my dear fiance who woke up to find an empty packet, and remembered I had not eaten it all.  You can see where this going, but its not the fact that Jacob ate my remaining 3 rows of milky chocolate first thing in the morning before breakfast.  Its the fact that he chose to lie about it, saying my brother, (who had baby sat the night before) had eaten it!  I ate the bar after my brother left, and Jacob being an only child, did not have anyone else to blame it on!!
  Ooh, how I laughed!
I had to be the adult  here however, and explain to him how its wrong to lie, (which he knew as his cheeky face beamed even harder at me!) and how its wrong to not ask if he wanted it!  Both of which I dont condone, but I still giggled my head off afterwards!

  So, if thats the worst thing my son will ever do, I cant really moan, and completely saw the funny side.  I must keep an eye on where I leave my snacks next time, bad parenting!!



365 Day Photo Challene - 15 / 365

15 / 365 - Jacob is a big fan of gameshow, The Chase, hosted by Bradley Walsh!  Its on at 5pm every day and a tv highlight for after school!! He loves guessing the multiple choice answers and giving himself points when he gets them right!  Beats Cbeebies!!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 14 / 365

14 / 365 - Seeing Lee Evans @ Wembley Arena on his Roadrunner tour, he was brilliantly hilarious as always and put on a fabulous show!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 12 / 365 and 13 / 365

12 / 365 - my two men, off out on our trip to London!

13 / 365 - a rare family photo. taken at a friends 1st birthday party.



Listography - Things that Make My House a Home

This week,the listography is being hosted by Kates friend, MotherPorridge and another exciting theme that I can get my blogging mind into.  I love my home, and ironically, Ill be moving in the next few months.  But, in the last four years, I have built it up to become the home that represents me, with its quirky and defining ways.  So here are my top 5 things that make my house a home:

1 -  My kooky toaster! - When I moved in, a was a bit of a collector of froggy items, and this was one of my favourite purchases, from a shop called Octopus. It still sits in my kitchen and it still works!

2: All things bright and pink! - although my obsession with pink was over the top when I first moved in, thats not the case any more. This is the remaining pink item I have left in my home and I have been known for concealing the entrance to my kitchen with different quirky curtains, mostly which people have caught themselves on,or been strangled by!

3: My Cd collection - with over 300 albums, I will never stop buying the compact disc! I have dragged most of these albums with me from home to home, and yet Ill be doing it again!  They are my most prized possesion, and if I had time, they would be the first objects I would rescue in a fire!





4: My Memorable Themed Parties! - these are part of my home, as wherever I look is a reminder of the fun I have had here with my friends, from the coke stains on the ceiling (dont ask!), to the photos of the good times.  I havent held a party here in over a year so Im due one more but Ive just had my carpets cleaned!

5: My Sons bedroom - well, this is what it looked like when I first moved in!  All his toys dumped in boxes and a make shift table for his remaining teddies! Four years later, he has aquired a bookshelf, toy boxes, posters and double the amount of toys!!

So, thats what sums up my home at the moment but it will definetely change in the next year.  To read others listographys on this theme, please visit Mother Porridge.





365 Day Photo Challenge - 11 / 365

11 / 365 - having a last minute play time before the weekend sets in, after school hours!!



Its Moving Time! / I Hate Change!!



After a very stressful week which involved me losing my job, I have now been informed that I have to begin bidding for a new property this week.  This takes up to six weeks with the council, and if I dont win  get a home at the end of the 6 weeks, I then receive a place automatically which I have to take!  Its all a bit stressful but I knew my contract was coming to an end this year so it was inevitable.  Its just it couldnt have a happened at a more crazy time!
  I hate change, you see.  Not change that I have created, like a new bed, or change of hair colour.  Change that is out of my control, meaning that I have to pick up the pieces and change my whole routine just because someone else says so!!
  Someone else this week said that I shouldn't return to work because its closed.
  Someone else this week said that I am not getting paid for last weeks work because my place of work went into liquidtion.
  Someone else this week said that I need to change my routine that I have worked hard to perfect over two years because it doesnt fit in with losing my job.
  Someone else this week called me to say I now have 6 weeks to bid for a new home, even though I dont want to move!!

Ugh, I always tell my son that there are things in life we dont want to do but we have to anyway.  So, I am trying to listen to my own preaching ways which gets me through each problem.  I know that everything will fall into place eventually, I just have to get over the hurdles first.

In the next few weeks leading up to me moving, I have to clean the flat, paint the flat, pack my belongings, panic and stress!!
  I have had the best times in the four years that I have lived here and I wiill never forget them!!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 10 / 365

10 / 365 - My Outback badges that I earnt whilst working for the company.  I am very proud of my achievements, in order to earn badges we took part in mini games between staff such as most helpful server, or who sells the most that evening.  Now that I no longer work there, these will take prize position somewhere in view so I can be reminded of the good times!!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 9 / 365

9 / 365 -  Todays picture comes live from our living room! It was in the news today that parents do not spend quality time with their children any more so I wanted to prove this wrong and purposefully played with Jacob, which is rare for me!! He built this beautiful fort whilst I sat and watched but did the mummy thing by cracking jokes and making him laugh!



The Gallery - A Happy Memory

This weeks Gallery theme has come at the right time.  It was only yesterday that I found out I had been made redundant (without the redundancy money!) so I need something to perk me up right now!!

The happy memory I have chosen is last July, where I took my son and fiance on their first holiday abroad to Ibiza and this is where I was proposed to!

Ah, happy memories, and a week I will never forget, where I could share my dreams with the love of my life, and begin our adventures towards being together forever.

Thanks to Sticky Fingers for a beautiful theme this week.

My Goodbye Message.....

Today, I found out that the company I worked for Outback Steakhouse, went into liquidation.  I had only been working there one and a half years but for ten years I knew at least someone who worked there!  I have many happy times as well as bad, but I am really gutted that I don't have a job to go to.



After being in retail for ten years, working my way up to management, I took the job of my dreams (in retail anyway!) which was at Virgin Megastore.  Here, I met my fiance, and my best friends, and had the time of my life, being so passionate about music.  This company changed their name to Zavvi and then also went into liquidation!  Im jinxed!

I was then on income support, (due to a family crisis) for about two years and I really dont want to go back to that.  My job at Outback helped me chase my dreams.  So, ok, it was not my ideal job, but the money was great and it helped pay for things that I have always wanted. 
  Its not all about the money, my confidence shot back up, having been previously knocked out of me, and my social life expanded.  I met some crazy people, and some bitchy people but it was all part of the job and for once I was older than most of the staff!!

So, I know I am gutted and feel like Ill never work again, but I have to see it as a positive thing.  The beginning of a new chapter and all that, and Im sure Ill find somewhere else that will take my crazy hours and hyper personality!

Outback - so long, and thanks for the memories.............

Me behind the bar on Halloween