Newcastle Photographer and Content Creator, Mandy Charlton, Always on a quest for adventure, often seen on buses, trains and planes. On a quest to be happier and healthier. Lives in Newcastle with her 3 cats, Iris, Maggie and Arthur. Loves good vibes, musicals and cakes. Full time professional wedding photographer in the north east of england alongside content creator on Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Finally!
I've been trying to get new photos for the wall of Iain for quite some time but given that he hates the camera and either hides of does cheesy grins it was never going to be the easiest task, finally though I got a great set of shots when we were at the park earlier this week, I shared one on my photoblog the other day and this was the other really great one, when you get a proper smile from him he really does light up the world. Iain is a totally joy of a child, he's had so much to cope with but he's come through it all admirably and I am so proud of him, I hope in years to come when he's checking out my blog he can see just how much we love him and remember how happy he's made us all.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Jumpers for Puppies
Yes it's true, Fiyero is truly a pampered pooch and rightly so for all the joy he's brought us, thats much more than can be said for Windows Vista!
Windows Vista + Photoshop = blinkin nightmare! It's taken all day just to get the thing re-installed and working, oh and if you like using the Adobe Bridge then don't bother with Vista because on my system atleast it's totally incompatible. I have to say I can cope without the bridge so long as I have my other bits and pieces so I'll not complain too much and hopefully when CS3 comes out I'll pay the upgrade fee, I noted today that it was only $199 which when converted to the pound isn't that much, better than paying the $649 for a new version!
Oh and I've also just bought Elements 5 which makes a great add on, I really love some of the photo effects like the one up above, it's far far far easier to use than CS2 so if you want some decent editing software and you are Photoshop phobic then Elements is the one you want, plus you can pick it up really cheap with the exchange rate, I got it for just under £30 which is £39.99 off the RRP, Bargain!!
So it's the weekend and for us that means a bit of R&R, it seems to have been a crazy week and it's mostly passed in a blur, I think we're off out on Sunday for a whole day of family fun, not entirely sure where as it depends on the weather but it's been requested that we either go somewhere with animals or to an aquarium so you know, I guess thats what we'll do!
OOh had some brilliant news this week, Iain has had all his Special Educational Needs lessons cancelled as he's been signed off for being too clever, Way to go Iain!!
Happy Friday Everyone
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Sleepy Puppy!
Thought I had to share this photograph really as it's so darned cute, I took it a couple of days ago just as Fiyero was tootling off to sleep, bless his little fluffy paws!
So yesterday I went to buy a new laptop to be greeted by several techy males telling me how Windows vista would wreck my business and how I should get an XP machine except they don't sell them anymore other than through their business section and they just happen to be a couple of hundred quid more expensive than the swanky Vista model that I wanted. I remained unpeturbed, stuck to my guns and in the back of my mind was thinking "good old Bil Gates wouldn't lket me down would he???"
So a couple of hours later and I had it all set up and ready to go, I have everything on this laptop I had on my old one except Vista is so much better, yes the laptop is much better specs but you can definetly tell the difference between Vista and XP, in my opinion Vista is just a whole lot more sensible and a lot more like a MAC, I'm a definite fan already and I would advise you if you go to the computer store and they tell you not to get Vista (presumably they get less commission for it) don't listen to them everything will be fine, my software is all fine, my printer is fine, my camera is fine, even blinkin Flock is fine and thats still very much in Beta!
Oh and Napster comes as standard, so within minutes my Napster subscription was transferred although I have to rebuild the library but that shouldn't take too long and on this laptop I'm definetly not having any of hubbys music, he can have it on his laptop!!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
One is not amused!
Elphaba has always been the more friendly of our two cats, she's the one who sits on my desk, comes for cuddles when I'm feeling low and follows me around the house, she's never really grown up from being a playful kitten, however since Fiyero arrived she's stating her obvious dissatisfaction and has been running off every time we try and touch her, yes one is not amused, surprising as Fiyero and Elphaba were more than just good friends in Wicked!!
Monday, March 26, 2007
They're Happy, We're Happy, everyone is happy!
It's true, this little bundle has brought so much joy to our collective lives already, he's found a place in our hearts, I just wish that he would sleep through the night, as I've never had a puppy before paul didn't bother to mention that puppies are much like babies in that they don't sleep through the night, the demand constant attention and the poo and wee mostly everywhere they can!I'm just thankful that I haven't started decorating the livingroom or bought the new carpet yet, thank goodness for indecision eh?!
Actually he seems to have mastered the puppy pads so it shouldn't be too long until he's toilet trained, it's just that at the moment he's too teeny to hop up and down the stairs so we kind of have puppy pads in every room of the house at the moment! LOL
Looby is looking after him today and giving him 3 kazillion percent attention, she's off nursery as she's hhad a temperature although some calpol seems to have done the trick, she's currently sitting in a rather large and posh wicker basket which we bought from Ilva yesterday, we're using it as a doggy bed because it doesn't look out of place in our bedroom and matches the other Ilva wicker basket we have, oh and then I bought another one for the magazines in the livingroom too. I wubs Ilva!!
Have no idea what this week will bring but remember I'm available for blog design and photo editing all week as well as the standard photography work so if you think I could be of use to you, email me :)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Meet Fiyero
So as you may have gathered we have a puppy! LOL
He's called Fiyero and he's a six week old lakeland cross fell terrier, he's super cute and just a little bit teeny and he's fitting right in! The cats are not really sure what to make of him and he's actually giving poor Elphie a bit of a run for her money. We bought the cats red diamond studded collars today but I don't think we managed to persuade them that having Fiyero is a good thing just yet although they did appreciate the puppy food satchet and goats milk, you would think we didn't give them their own specialist food LOL!
The kids adore the new arrival, especially Looby who has wanted a doggy since the first time she ever saw one i think.
We're happy, puppy is happy, Kitties are sort of happy, kids are happy Happy Days!
Introducing Fiyero
Friday, March 23, 2007
A good end to the week.
Well I have to say that this week has ended far better than it began, at the start of the week my head was swimming with just what I was going to do in the future, I have too much spare time and since Lyn sadly had to scale down Happy Scrapper due to health reasons I've had even more spare time.
Thankfully it seems I have found the answer - ahh yes well it's only really been the last couple of days that people are finding out that not only am I a portrait photographer but I'm doing photo editing and blog design too.
By the way if you're interested in the photo editing just email me with the photos and tell me what you need, I do cosmetic stuff such as spot, blemish and wrinkle removal and I also do black and white conversion, colour popping and high key, I can do other stuff too but thats the basic, I can do any number of photos and I aim to turn them around in the quickest possible time, however as we do have busy lives it could be 1-7 days, in the case of a client earlier today, my turnaround time was a mere couple of hours. Again if you're interested email me and we'll discuss!
For blog design you're looking at approximately the same time scale depending on your requirements but plenty of email contact ensures you receive the blog template you want.
You can pay me in craft products or cash via paypal depending on the size of the job and of course the joy of all this enterprise is that it can be done remotely so even if you on yonder side of the world I can still perform these services!!
Happy weekend everyone and remember as lovely old geordies say "Shy Bairns Get Nee Sweeties"
Thankfully it seems I have found the answer - ahh yes well it's only really been the last couple of days that people are finding out that not only am I a portrait photographer but I'm doing photo editing and blog design too.
By the way if you're interested in the photo editing just email me with the photos and tell me what you need, I do cosmetic stuff such as spot, blemish and wrinkle removal and I also do black and white conversion, colour popping and high key, I can do other stuff too but thats the basic, I can do any number of photos and I aim to turn them around in the quickest possible time, however as we do have busy lives it could be 1-7 days, in the case of a client earlier today, my turnaround time was a mere couple of hours. Again if you're interested email me and we'll discuss!
For blog design you're looking at approximately the same time scale depending on your requirements but plenty of email contact ensures you receive the blog template you want.
You can pay me in craft products or cash via paypal depending on the size of the job and of course the joy of all this enterprise is that it can be done remotely so even if you on yonder side of the world I can still perform these services!!
Happy weekend everyone and remember as lovely old geordies say "Shy Bairns Get Nee Sweeties"
Thursday, March 22, 2007
So I was thinking....
That maybe I would do a short course in web design, I have now taught myself enough of the basics to get along fine and since I'm getting there with my HTML and CSS and am also pretty nifty with photoshop I don't think it would prove to be too much of a challenge and I reckon it's one of those things which could end up bringing in some extra pennies and with three children they would come in mighty handy.
I'm already thinking of designing some blogger templates although thats more about it being fun and a learning curve more than anything else. If you like my template and you fancy having something custom designed for your blog why not email me (column at the side --->>>>) and we'll see together what we can sort out, I can always be bribed with the promise of a few scrapping goodies in exchange for setting up blogs and designing templates.
Don't get me wrong I love being a photographer but there's absolutely nothing wrong with having even more strings to ones bows. You know the best bit of all this is that up until a few years ago I thought that I wasn't very good at anything and of pretty much no use to anyone and now I see that was all just part of damaged me. I know now that I'm pretty darned good at lots of things and I can turn my hand to just abot anything I set my mind to, doesn't stop me doubting my abilities of course but hey I'm still recovering! LOL
Ooh did I mention that I can also edit photos?!!! Looks like I might just be in demand sometime soon!!
I'm already thinking of designing some blogger templates although thats more about it being fun and a learning curve more than anything else. If you like my template and you fancy having something custom designed for your blog why not email me (column at the side --->>>>) and we'll see together what we can sort out, I can always be bribed with the promise of a few scrapping goodies in exchange for setting up blogs and designing templates.
Don't get me wrong I love being a photographer but there's absolutely nothing wrong with having even more strings to ones bows. You know the best bit of all this is that up until a few years ago I thought that I wasn't very good at anything and of pretty much no use to anyone and now I see that was all just part of damaged me. I know now that I'm pretty darned good at lots of things and I can turn my hand to just abot anything I set my mind to, doesn't stop me doubting my abilities of course but hey I'm still recovering! LOL
Ooh did I mention that I can also edit photos?!!! Looks like I might just be in demand sometime soon!!
OOh Lovely, what do you think?
So after much boredom, I thought I would try and change my template and boy did I change it, I downloaded a pink flower template and then after deciding I really wasn't a group of pink tulips I got to work on the HTML, very slowly it has to be said but I'm quite pleased with it now, just have to change my profile picture and I'm pretty much done, Hurrah for me learning new skills eh?!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Wooo Wooo Woooooooo, Woo wooo Woooo......
Thats the reason that pandemonium has just broken out in our house, the very first look at the new series of Dr Who, yes season three begins on the 31st of March, to get all excited and see the trailer click HERE
To show how excited we are i thought I should share a Christmas photo, this is the one in which Iain got very excited to see a dalek had been left by the big man in the white coat.
On a personal note, David Tennant, Phwoarrrrrrr, say no more ;)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Spirit
A layout created yesterday, I really love this though it's quite simple, I often find though that the best things are easy!!, I also invented a whole new mini book format last night, if you want to see that then go over to my photoblog and start learning how to make a butterfly book and if you're wondering why it's not shown here, well to be honest it's because I put it on the wrong blog and I haven't the energy to move it! LOL
You know we do lots of fun things over at my forum the Craft Kingdom, come along, join in, have fun and meet other crafty individuals, you never know you might just have the best time of your life and the best thing of all is that it's all free! We're currently open to all manner of crafts and we also cover the joys of taking photographs for pleasure and enjoying documenting the moment, you don't have to be David Bailey and you can even join in with your humble camera phone!!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Finally, a making moment!
Yes i've finally had some making moments over the weekend and particularly this morning, there was a challenge on the Design Collective (link is the blinkie on the side) to create a layout using 13 things so this was the result and chuffed to bits I am with it considering I haven't scrapped in nearly 3 weeks. The pink card was made using a Heidi Swapp mask and will go into my emergency friendship cards and the other 1 is 1 of 3 for the children for Easter, Rusty Pickles Chocolate bunny paper provided the inspiration for those. Hopefully this is the start of a crafting period!!
The Diet Begins.....
Argh, can't believe I'm dieting but since the Dr at the hospital advised that I really should be 2 stone lighter i thought I would listen to his advice rather than stare death in the face as I watched my liver turn to fatty gel! The funy thing is though as this is the part that I'm pissed at (yes i'm swearing but with reason) he failed to give me any credit for the fact that i used to be a size 20 and that the only reason I am a 16 is because I gave up smoking and had a hysterectomy (gosh I'm so bad!!!) yes no credit for either of the above. I did laugh when he said that I would feel so much better for it as I feel more well than I have ever in my entire life, we go walking almost every weekend and I can even skip along with Looby and Abigail. If it weren't for the pesky pangs in my liver and the fact that blood tests tell me that all is not well in that area I would have told him where to stick his diet but for the sake of my health I am listening and acting accordingly.
So this morning alone I must have lost half a stone as not only did I have a bowl of sawdust and woodchip shavings for breakfast but I also skipped briefly with Looby and at one point we even ran, well I am now obviously already a size smaller and no doubt by the end of the week I'll be a mere shadow of my former self!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
I am Spiderman, hmmmm could be??????
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Lack of goings on!
This cake is probably the most exciting thing to happen in our house at the moment! I made it yesterday whilst hubby had a snooze, thing is that the children have been out at various places all weekend and so hubby and I really haven't done a lot and subsequently haven't taken any photos, hubby tends to object when I keep pointing the camera in his face, still I did manage to capture todays POTD on Don't Pose which imho is a bit of a cracker!!
So nothing to report really, spent an exhorbitant amount of money in Sainsburys this morning but isn't that always the way, we now seem to have enough food to last a month and can barely shut the fridge door but you can bet by friday that it will need restocking again!
Happy Mothers day to all those lovely yummy mummy friends of mine. I received a little bunch of flowers from Looby, a bar of chocolate truffle from Iain and a vanilla scented candle from Abigail, we don't really beleive in huge gestures in our house, we simply mark occasions with something meaningful. Anyway I loved it all, all three had signed the card, even Looby and that made me melt!
So as we speak dear reader Hubby is watching the Australian grand-prix season and you know in my eyes that means spring has arrived although all the snow forecast over the next 48hrs or so might just wrangle with that!
This week - well nothing really planned as yet but in The Charlton household you can always rely on an impromptu adventure occuring! :D
Friday, March 16, 2007
The Royal Camera (phone)
So you love to blog and you love photography, the next step you might take is to get a photoblog, well thats just what this Friendly Royal Mail man has done. He doesn't claim to be a genius photographer and indeed this is his own completely unique and sometimes wacky perspective on the world through the eyes of his humble camera phone. I think what is great is that it's about the love of recording the sites he sees rather than worrying about the art of photography itself. He's always had a pretty unique veiw of the world and I have to say that I'm popping this in my blogroll as from today and will celebrate the fact that it's there just because we all get a little bogged down by thinking our photos aren't great or worrying what other people think of them so I say yay to the freedom of 1 man, a postal round and a camera phone!! Go over the Royal Camera and say HI!!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Aah thats better...
Yes thats right listen to my friend here, he knows what I'm talking about!!
We went off to the park this afternoon after school, first evening it's been really nice enough to do that this year, Saltwell park just outside of Gateshead is such a lovely park, particularly since all the renovations to restore it to it's former glory, anyway we spend lots of time there but this evening was the first time we had managed to squeeze it in on a school day so Spring must be here mustn't it! It certainly feels like it, I saw plenty of daffodils just beginning to bloom and had the joy of watching a couple of busy squirrels as they went about their work, sadly though i had my long lens on and no tripod so no photos of them today.
I did though as per usual get just one or two of the children, they were particularly taken with some stone sculptures which now reside in the park and as I took this one of Iain and was processing it tonight I was thinking just what a brilliant boy I have, he's such a nice person and always helpful and loving, he's such a grown up these days and I'm so proud of him, If you're wondering that text was added in photoshop, I think suits him!!
So much gamboling and larking about took place and the girls had lots and lots of fun, they did seem a little on the tantrummy side though, Abigail seen here when she was in a slightly better mood had the biggest tantrum in the world on the way to the park and the whole of the journey going there and then Looby decided to reciprocate and had the biggest tantrum in the world on the way out of the park and most of the journey home, I suspect they were both very tired little girls tonight though I can't be sure why that could be, anyway they both had a half past seven bed time this evening and lets hope thats all the tantrums out of the way for a while as they can be quite exhausting, I'm sure that you parents will know what I am talking about!!
Paul is at the hospital tommorrow with his groin injury, he's seeing the sports injury people in the hope that they have an answer to just why it has gone on for so long and also of course the hope that they can put him right and he can get back to his beloved footie.
I'm going to the hospital on Thursday to see the dreaded liver specialist and I am dreading it, we already know that there is something wrong it's just a case of finding out exactly what it is. I have to say that over the last couple of months the pains in my liver have been getting more persistant and I am in the back of my mind quite worried, then again if it hadn't of been for those blood tests which told me there was something wrong I might have just assumed it was a muscular thing, well i mean I only really found out the location of my liver when I had the ultrasound scan LOL!!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Bleurgh!
Not really a lot more I can say about today, I've just been horribly ill, it's a continuation of the virus caught by being Newcastles latest interior designer! LOl I think I'm kidding myself with that one, I think I'll stick to photography it's far easier and a million times more enjoyable. I am wondering still which room should get the next makeover but I think I might invest in a few ideal home mags and wait for creative inspiration to strike. Thanks to all those who requested that i photograph my room immediately, well you know I think it's fabbo and to me it looks divine but at the risk of having you all chortle yourselves silly I think I'll leave that one for now!! Anyway I'm not really a "Stuff Portrait" type of person, I only made an exception so I could play show and tell with the fabulous bracelet from hubbinsworth!!
I have some new scrapping purchases on the way as we speak, I haven't splurged in the craft department for some considerable time but as all those gorgeous goodies from CHA winter are arriving on our shores I feel my paypal account emptying with speed, it can't be long before we're back to using our own money! LOL
Photo is obviously from stock as I haven't been anywhere or felt human today, it's from Blackpool and I love it!
I have some new scrapping purchases on the way as we speak, I haven't splurged in the craft department for some considerable time but as all those gorgeous goodies from CHA winter are arriving on our shores I feel my paypal account emptying with speed, it can't be long before we're back to using our own money! LOL
Photo is obviously from stock as I haven't been anywhere or felt human today, it's from Blackpool and I love it!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Debt Consolidation News
This is a sponsored post on behalf of Reveiw Me.
Debt Consolidation News is a helpful bloglike site for anyone who may be having financial troubles and looking for helpful and free advice, it's a nice clean layout and offers no nonsense advice to those who may be feeling somewhat stretched by debt and don't most of us feel like that at some time in our lives, I'm pretty sure everyone once in a while can find themselves in sticky financial situations with lots of costly questions and this is where Debt Consolidation News can be of help. I was drawn to an article talking about the perils of declaring yourself bankrupt for example. I know we constantly see adverts and TV programs suggesting that this might be the way to go but if you're thinking along these lines then I would suggest that you take a look at THIS article on the site. Hey the advice is free which is more than can be said for a lot of the companies we see being advertised every day on day time TV and you never know by reading just this one article you could save yourself hours of worry and maybe even some cash!
What debt consolidation news tries to do is offer hints tips and reveiws of just some of the advice for people who may be struggling at this present time, it's really as simple as this, read the article, it doesn't cost anything but a couple of minutes of time and in the long run think of the money you could save yourself from those companies who promise to do the same sort of things except they charge!
You have nothing to lose and lots to gain, reading this site may just give you freedom and relief to those who feel burdoned by money worries.
Debt Consolidation News is a helpful bloglike site for anyone who may be having financial troubles and looking for helpful and free advice, it's a nice clean layout and offers no nonsense advice to those who may be feeling somewhat stretched by debt and don't most of us feel like that at some time in our lives, I'm pretty sure everyone once in a while can find themselves in sticky financial situations with lots of costly questions and this is where Debt Consolidation News can be of help. I was drawn to an article talking about the perils of declaring yourself bankrupt for example. I know we constantly see adverts and TV programs suggesting that this might be the way to go but if you're thinking along these lines then I would suggest that you take a look at THIS article on the site. Hey the advice is free which is more than can be said for a lot of the companies we see being advertised every day on day time TV and you never know by reading just this one article you could save yourself hours of worry and maybe even some cash!
What debt consolidation news tries to do is offer hints tips and reveiws of just some of the advice for people who may be struggling at this present time, it's really as simple as this, read the article, it doesn't cost anything but a couple of minutes of time and in the long run think of the money you could save yourself from those companies who promise to do the same sort of things except they charge!
You have nothing to lose and lots to gain, reading this site may just give you freedom and relief to those who feel burdoned by money worries.
Bling!
My hubby bought me this yesterday in a gorgeous little coffee shop full of treasures up in Rothbury, the coffee shop is a treasure trove of little vintage decor items and costume jewellery and I knew when I saw this it was destined to end up on my wrist, I have a bit of a thing for bracelets!
Thanks to same gorgeous hubby for yesterdays blog post, I have to admit that I have been pretty darned ill since last i blogged, I think as hubby said I inhaled just a few too many fumes when decorating our master bedroom, ooh and on that very subject I must say I achieved my goal, the vintage schreiber wardrobe and all the dark chocolate mixed in with the duck egg blue just looks sumptuous and in the end it kind of reminds me of a hotel room in Brighton in the 1920's, even if hubby did comment that he keeps sliding out of the chocolate satin bedding!! I got the most fabulous wicker picnic basket from ILVA (click to see it!!) and it's now the new home for all my knicky knacky Knoos!! Pauls undergarments are in some rather fabbo vintage hatboxes picked up from Ikea. Iain commented on how I had done a marvellous job it's just a pity that I have ended up so ill because of those darned gloss fumes and i must point out that is hubbys fault as he wouldn't let me buy satinwood!!
So after a bowl of soup in Rothbury and a walk to the park we had to come home and that was when I got put to bed, there I remained mostly sleeping and trying to breathe properly until this morning. I'm feeling sort of better yet still pretty yacky today but i feel the hearty lamb stew we have cooking in the oven might be just the thing to finally sort me out. I snapped this lovely photo if Abigail in the coffee shop, sorry for the lack of photos but with decorating and being ill I've taken less than 20 this whole week, never mind though i'm sure I'll make up for it soon. 1 more thing, I need to know which room to start decorating next, its either :- The bathroom, the sittingroom, the girls room or iains room, answers on the back of a box of Heidi Swapp Chipboard letters! mwahahahaha!!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Hubby Guest Post
So it's not often a do much writing in any of my own posts but i feel i owe it to the wife to make an effort on her blog.
Decorating of the bedroom is complete and might i say it looks fantastic, i only wish i could say i played some small part in it.
For those wondering where Mandy is, i can say she is suffering from a full on cold brought on i think from iritating her nose inhaling gloss fumes, i haven't worked out yet if she was sniffing them on purpose or not.
Anyway as Mandy normally puts a photo on her blog i feel it's my duty to continue the trend however i will be using my own camera and my own favorite subjects Mandy and Alcohol, enjoy.
Decorating of the bedroom is complete and might i say it looks fantastic, i only wish i could say i played some small part in it.
For those wondering where Mandy is, i can say she is suffering from a full on cold brought on i think from iritating her nose inhaling gloss fumes, i haven't worked out yet if she was sniffing them on purpose or not.
Anyway as Mandy normally puts a photo on her blog i feel it's my duty to continue the trend however i will be using my own camera and my own favorite subjects Mandy and Alcohol, enjoy.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Decorating...
Noooo, really? Yes actually I am and I can tell you if my new wardrobe doesn't arrive tommorrow there is going to be trouble, the blinkin thing was suppose to arrive with some burly men to carry it this afternoon between 1 and 3pm and it just didn't show up so I'm not a very happy bunny!
Oh yes if you haven't guessed it's the master bedroom that is getting a makeover, we're going Coastline and Chocolate brown, thats duck egg blue and brown although all the skirting is country beige which is sort of milk chocolate! Tommorrow I'm promised that the curtain pole, the bedding and the totally gorgeous taffeta silk chocolate brown curtains will arrive, OOh I'm thinking they're going to be heavenly and I just can't wait. We've lived without wardrobes for 2 years and the time and finances were just about right for us to actually have bedroom furniture, I'm wondering though if once it's done I'll ever come out again!
Hubby is starting work at 4am in the morning meaning he has to get out of bed at 3.15am, some people don't even go to bed till that time so think of him fondly as you're snoozing the night away, and hubby if you're reading you work so hard to get us the things we need, want and desire and without you life just wouldn't be nice or even possible, we all love you more than words can ever tell you, even if you do pull funny faces whenever I point my camera in your direction :)
Monday, March 05, 2007
First Ever....
photograph of the whole Charlton clan together, can you beleive that?
I have to admit to feeling more than a little shaky as I entrusted my 350d to a total stranger but I figured that as we were in her carraige waiting to be pulled along by her horse she wasn't likely to pinch it or I would refuse to move! LOL So I'm discounting the fact that she wasn't best photographer in the world and I'm looking like a hamster crossed with Bella Emberg but it sure is nice to actually finally have 1 photograph featuring the whole of my gorgeous family, see they do exist after all, I'm not just making it up so I have something to scrapbook!
Thought I would take the opportunity to share more of my Blackpool pics, I took loads but when I edited them there were about 20 or so that I kept and will scrapbook, well I say that I'll scrapbook them but I haven't been very creative of late, I decided though that today was the day so I got all my work and chores out of the way first thing and what am I doing now????? Well I managed a card and I played with some chatterbox doodle genies which BTW are pretty fab, I bought them before christmas and have only just gotten round to taking them out of their packets, not something I plan to use every day but nice to do something with when you're feeling a little bored and slumpy like I have been recently!
I have big plans though, I am shortly to attempt a 1 woman redecoration of the entire house starting with the master bedroom which can't really be called that as all 3 of our bedrooms are the exact same dimensions, how anal was the person who designed that?? LOL
I have duck egg blue and brown picked out for the colourscheme, I think the walls will probably end up the blue colour because I have the same sort of colourscheme planned for the livingroom and i figure that one can take browny walls as its far bigger, I'm not planning on going too dark, I guess though you'll have to wait a while before you can see any results as 1 woman in a 3 storey house with a paint roller is going to take more than a little time!!
I'll leave you with that Happy Pleasure Beach piccy, doesn't it look warm and sunny, I have to add that we didn't even make it into the park owing to Paul having his trusty utility tool attatched to his keyring, it contains a teeny knife you see and they don't let you into the park if you have weapons. I don't think you could even manage to peel an apple with the darned thing but hey ho there you go, rules are rules and C'est la Vie!
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Blackpool
Firstly abject apologies and also thanks to all those lovely people who noticed that I hadn't updated my blog since Tuesday and wondered if I was Dead/Missing/abducted by aliens. I had a horrid week and thank goodness I have the most lovely gorgeous caring family or I don't think I would have made it to Sunday! The week culminated in a daytrip which was supposed to be to Fountains Abbey but due to some roadworks and a little fate brought us to the bright lights and gaudy colours of Blackpool.
Blackpool is one on it's own really, for my US buddies, it's on the North west coast of England and is a mecca of amusement arcades, theme park rides and all that is traditional about the good old british seaside, there really isn't another place like it in the world, I love it for the occasional daytrip but I don't think I could afford to spend a week there!! In fact at the rate my children like putting money in tuppence machines I couldn't afford to spend more than a day there!! It was one heck of a day though, we arrived around two-ish in the afternoon which wasn't bad considering hubby had been to work in the morning. The kids quickly set about destroying as much of our finances in the quickest space of time and of course they loved every minute of it. I think the highlight of the day for all of us though was having a horse and carraige ride along the sea front all the way from the pleasure beach to Blackpool tower at the other end, if you want my unique veiw from the ride then check out my photograph of the day over at Don't Pose. We certainly did have fun yesterday and we didn't get home until 10pm last night, the children slept most of the way back and still managed to drag me out of bed at 7am this morning, for all the many talents my children possess, staying in bed and giving mum a rest isn't one of them!! I'll leave you with one of my most favourite images of the day, Looby on Pauls shoulders just as dusk was falling, she had a wild old time although that poor Care Bear you see there got lost and to this moment we don't know quite where, lucky we won (for won read spent £50 trying to win!!) a couple of other soft toys along the way, Hubby even won me a Tigger cuddly, no one has won me a cuddly toy for years so I was chuffed to bits!! I really love my family, there may be only 5 of us but we have enough love for a whole planet between us, I am the luckiest girl in my universe!!
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