Happy New Year!

Hi everyone. Did you all have a great Christmas? I do hope so.

Mine was lovely. It was nice to spend time with the family and have a few days off from the television and computers. Even Emily managed to stay off her laptop for a whole day (no mean feat I promise you!!). The children were delighted with their presents - all total surprises. We played games - card and board although Pictionary promised more than it delivered!

Can you guess what I got? Here's a little sneaky peak.



Not only did I get a Cath Kidston mug . . .



Look at all the other fabulous goodies that I got, including my beloved Cath Kidston bag and the complete Season One of Glee - I am a lucky girl indeed! I also got a Robbie Williams CD and calender and a Robert Pattison calender, as well as some chocolates.

We have been quite busy since the Christmas weekend. Emily has been revising for her mock exams which happen as soon as she goes back to school. Edward has had a large amount of homework to complete (and he hasn't finished it all yet eeek!). Mark and I have tackled our bedroom, sorting out all of our clothes and generally decluttering. We have filled bin bags full of rubbish and have two huge piles of clothes to take to the charity shop. Whilst it has not been the most thrilling of jobs, there is quite a feeling of satisfaction, particularly as we can now see the floor and get into our wardrobes!!!

And so today is New Year's Eve. Where has the year gone? It seems to have flown by in a flash. I haven't planned any New Year's Resolutions yet - I know I want to push myself a little bit more with my crafting - mini books are something I want to make more of. I want to give my blog a bit of a face lift - make it a bit more colourful. I want to get a bit more exercise and be a bit healthier (we'll see how that one goes!!). And that's it for now.

I would like to take a moment to wish you all a very Happy New Year. Thank you for spending time with me this year and I hope you continue to visit in 2011.

M x

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and I hope that the New Year brings you health and happiness.

Love

Michelle x

Christmas bits and bobs

Today is the start of my Christmas holidays - what a joy to wake up on and a Monday morning and not have to go to work.

I was overwhelmed with gifts from the children I work with, as well as some lovely home made cards. They are such a lovely bunch of kids, I'm very lucky.

My Dream Blanket is coming on a treat. I'm really enjoying making it, and half the fun is deciding what colour should come next (I always defer to Emily - she is my Artistic Director after all!). I have 32 colours in total (couldn't choose, so bought loads!!), and size wise, it's a perfect size for my double bed. Emily has asked me to make her one next, but she wants to limit it to about six colours and have more rows per colour.

We decorated our house for Christmas yesterday and now we feel nice and festive. Emily took some lovely photos of the tree, and both the children went a bit mad putting tinsel everywhere. I don't mind because it was lovely that they were so involved and excited.

Why is when you don't have to get up early, you are always awake at a ridiculous hour. I was awake before 7am and up and dressed by 8am. As the children were still asleep I thought I would be a little bit self indulgent and watch my Eclipse DVD which came two weeks ago and I haven't had a chance to watch. I really enjoyed it (again!!) - a great start to the day!

I've also managed to make my parents' Christmas card (sorry Mum and Dad if you're reading this). I didn't really leave it to the last minute, but my Mum has seen all the cards I made so I couldn't send them one of those. Anyway it's done now!

Have a great day.

M x

Questions questions . . .

I love these festive questionnaires - I've spotted them on a few blogs over the last couple of days, such as here (Chickens in my Kitchen), here (Little Tin Bird) and here (Just Me) and wanted to join in the fun. Have a go, go on, I dare you!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Definitely wrapping paper. I try to have a colour scheme each year - this year is green, blue and silver (never gold), with matching ribbon and bows. As much as I do like gift bags, there are too many presents at Christmas and I would spend a fortune!

2. Real tree or artificial?

In a perfect world, a real tree as you can't beat the smell, but sadly not in the Frecklepuss household. We have a very lovely artificial one without the mess of dropping pine needles.

3. When do you put up the tree?

We always put our tree up the weekend before Christmas. It would drive me mad having it up from the beginning of December. By the time the children and I have broken up from school I can start to look forward to Christmas and enjoy the decorations.

4.When do you take the tree down?

Always on 12th night, never before. Some traditions need to be observed!

5. Favourite gift received as a child.

One of the presents I remember most was a pogo stick I received from my mum and dad when I was 9 or 10 - it took me ages to master it!

6.Hardest person to buy for.

Mother-in-Law without a doubt! It's not that she's difficult - just boring. It's either slippers, a cardigan, a jigsaw puzzle or Cadbury's chocolate. This year we have pushed the boat out and bought her a dressing gown - hope she likes it!

7. Easiest person to buy for.

My daughter Emily. It's hard to stop buying for her as I am always seeing things that she would like. Edward's pretty easy too - Xbox games and plenty of books. He's harder for stocking fillers though.

8. Post or email Christmas cards.

Definitely post. I am a passionate card maker - wouldn't dream of using email. Prefer the personal approach.

9. Favourite Christmas film.

Whilst not strictly a Christmas film, my favourite film to watch at this time of year is Meet Me in St Louis, guaranteed to make me cry every time - particularly when the little girl is smashing down the snow angels - it's a must.

10. When do you start Christmas shopping?

Bits and bobs start trickling in around November, but serious shopping starts at the beginning of December. Have done most of mine online this year as I abhor shopping.

11. Have you ever recycled a Christmas gift?

Oh yes! I'm sure most of us have a some point.

12 Favourite thing to eat at Christmas.

My mum's stuffing - divine!

13. Lights on the tree - coloured or clear?

Clear - I love the simplicity of white lights.

14. Favourite Christmas song.

I believe in Father Christmas - Greg Lake.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?

Definitely stay at home. Family come to us. We've always done it like this ever since we had the children.

16. Angel, star or ribbon on top of the tree?

Well that's a contentious issue in our house! Emily likes the angel and Edward prefers the star, so we alternate (and I take a photo as proof for the following year!!).

17. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Honestly! Christmas Day of course! It's not Christmas until then.

18. Most annoying thing about this time of year.

The fact that people want to celebrate Christmas from the 1st December - why? And while I'm having a mini rant, I hate adverts and magazines that go on and on about how to have a perfect Christmas - talk about heaping on the pressure! OK - I'm done now - sorry!

19. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Apart from the fact that I want us all to be fit, well and happy - I'd like a Cath Kidston bag (I know, I'm sorry if that sounds a bit shallow, but I'm only human! I wouldn't say no to the boxed set of Glee either).

20. Traditional colours (red and green) or other colours?

I like contemporary colours - pink, purple, blue and all with silver. I'm not a big fan of gold, red and green. But having said that, our decorations are a mish mash of things collected over the years and there is no colour theme. I like to buy a new decoration for each year - this year, some really bright coloured baubles.

I'd love to see your answers, so if you give it a go, don't forget to link back to me please.

Hope you are all coping with the snow. We have quite a lot in our corner of Hertfordshire. Take a lot of care. I'm not going out at all if I don't have to. Off to watch the Strictly final now, bye bye.

M x

It's been a while

Sorry for not being around much recently. The last two weeks of school life have been pretty manic and I have barely been able to draw breath. We always pack so much in, with three Christmas performances, staff panto, Christingle, Christmas parties etc, that sometimes it's hard to put on a happy face for the children, when all you feel like doing is staying at home and curling up under the duvet.

Anyway we got through to the end and I am relieved that we have broken up today. I haven't had much time or energy for crafting, although I have been crocheting my Dream Blanket when I have been able to stay awake! Hopefully a photo will follow shortly.

I am finally feeling a bit more festive, and am looking forward to a relaxed weekend where we can put up our decorations at a leisurely pace.

Be back soon.

M x

A Good Day

How are you all? Hope you are all taking care in the snow. We have been very fortunate and only had a mild dusting which has vanished after today's rain, but I know there are people who are a lot worse off.

Edward has been affected by the weather though, as he was supposed to go to Lille in France on his first school trip, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to all the snow in Kent and Northern France. He was very disappointed, but I was relieved as I have been worrying myself silly about it.

We went to see Spamalot at the theatre last night - us four, my parents and my niece. It was our Christmas present from my parents. We are real Monty Python fans (apart from my niece) and we really enjoyed it - the children were in stitches all the way through. Edward, particularly is a big fan of the Holy Grail and can recite great chunks of it! My niece, however, sat through the whole show without a smile, she never laughed and didn't even clap. She admitted at the interval that she just "didn't get it"! Her reaction was so funny.

Today has been so busy but really productive. We have finally been able to tackle Emily's room and make her new bed. We had to clear a lot of it and move most of the furniture around. Emily has been brilliant - really helpful, which is amazing as she has been suffering with Labrynthitis this week and feels dizzy a lot of the time. Her new bed is great and such an improvement on the high sleeper one that we have just taken down - just hope she sleeps better.

I had my second craft fair today, well a stall really at my school's Christmas Fair. I did so much better that the one I did two weeks ago - sold more flower brooches and snowflakes, as well as note cards and, well, more of everything really! Gave me such a boost.

Hope you have had a productive day too, if not, a restful one. I'm off to work on my Dream Blanket. Take care.

M x

Countdown to Christmas

Can you believe that it is the 1st December today? I don't know about you, but I am really struggling to get to grips with how close Christmas is - we have less than three weeks of term time now, and a packed three weeks at that.

I've been rushing about trying to get as much done as possible and consequently, am absolutely pooped! Internet shopping is a must - thank goodness for Amazon and Play! I made Mark take me shopping on Monday after work and managed to get lots achieved even though I can't stand shopping (sorry to all you professional shoppers, but I loathe it with a passion!!). I've even managed to get half a dozen presents wrapped.

Today was our whole school trip to the panto (not my favourite thing), but it was actually quite good. We went to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - one of the better productions I have been to. The children loved it and really got into the spirit of it even though a lot of the jokes went over their heads.



Still crocheting away at the Dream Blanket and will hopefully have something to show you soon. It's the only crafting I have been doing recently, as I can do it in front of the television. I do have an order for a personalised wedding card - one of my jobs for the weekend.

Well that's me done for now. I'm off to catch up on Kirstie's Homemade Home that I recorded last night - wonder what she is up to this time?

Cheerio

M x

P.S.Hope everyone is keeping safe in the snow. We are quite lucky and have only had a mild dusting. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get any more, as Edward is off to Lille on Saturday on a school trip to a French Christmas Market. Take care. x