Casual Dress Down Day...

But even a dress down day has to have added sparkle and today was no exception.

Yes the trusty jeans, heels and a sparkly top.

Just the thing for a casual work day.

X x

Scrub A Dub Dub......

To help put a smile on Ashleigh's face I have made one of her body scrubs.

Chocolate body scrub. 

All natural, thrifty and it smells divine.

I took olive oil, chocolate powder and sugar;

Poured in a cup full of sugar;

Added the chocolate powder;

And gradually mixed in the olive oil.

Not only does it smell divine but its nice and gentle on your skin making it feel baby soft.

For me I made a lemon scrub.

A little harsher as its made with sea salt but again very simple to do.

Take olive oil, sea salt and lemon juice;

Mix in the olive oil and add the lemon juice.

They make your skin feel fabulous and baby soft.

So what home made beauty items do you make?

X x

Feeling Girly....

Today I felt like dressing girly and nothing feels more girly than a swirling skirt in my opinion.

I swished all day and although I love the feel of this skirt and the colour I know deep down it makes me look like a square!

(The shape that is, not as in a bore!)

But you know what?

Thats not going to stop me!

X x

Its The Good Life Once Again....

In more ways than one!

So what to do on a typical crappy bank holiday?

Yes of course we went allotmenting.

(Just call me Barbara!)

Empty space where the early potatoes have been dug out.

Mange tout are almost finished, but runner beans are still thriving.

 It's looking very different now.

Tomatoes are finally turning red.

And the cucumbers have gone crazy.

And I must admit a few hours digging and weeding is such good therapy, plus it's free which is even better!

Yummy courgettes.

And to add to it I always come home with masses of goodies.

What I forgot to photo where the two carrier bags full of runner beans.

My freezer is full of them!

We also popped in to see aVW camper van too.
And whilst it was nice it wasn't quite what we wanted so the search continues.

So how did you spend your bank holiday?

Isn't it typical that today is glorious sunshine?!

X x

A Picture Is Worth A Thousands Words....

After a stressful week this smile is a refreshing change.

Ashleigh and her first car.

(More on this to follow)

You will notice its not the white one we had first planned as that one fell through.

But this one is stunning, even I'm jealous!

X x

And Finally All Is Calm.....

We finally recieved the email we were waiting for yesterday to say that Ashleigh could indeed study her AS levels at 6th form and between you and me it has been a stressful wait for the confirmation.  

Yesterday also saw us attend Ashleigh's show case for the challenge. 

Not too sure what the different presentations were all about but it did show just how much all the youngsters had enjoyed it. 

Now I have a shed load of washing once more. 

Let's hope the sun makes an appearance to dry it. 

X x

Who Would Want To Be A Teenager?!!

Today my youngest, like many others got her GCSE results.

And whilst they weren't quite what she would have liked, they were far from disastrous.

But the stress they caused has been awful.

She missed getting her 6th form place by 0.03 of a point!

All due to them placing her for a spanish exam we specifically told them not too!

(in which case she was well over the points. Typical)

So we had a hour and a half of uncertainty of her place. And although she has places at three other colleges should she want them, her heart was set on staying on to 6th form.

After a long chat with the headmaster, deputy head, head of year and head of sciences a provisional place has been granted subject to one more senior tutors agreement.

(keep your fingers crossed and say lots of prayer for her please)

So at least for now all the tears have been dried and a smile is back in place and she has returned to the challenge a little happier.

I can't remember being this stressed for my own results!

A very large glass of wine will be making an appearance tonight I feel!

If you have or your child has had results today I do hope all has gone well.

It was shocking how many A* students got Bs and Cs.

X x

Counting Down The Hours Till R Day....

Yes Ashleigh has her GCSE results tomorrow and like many teenagers she's apprehensive to say the least.

All her challenge group have gone for a pre result meal this evening to help settle the nerves and I shall collect her at 9am tomorrow so she can fetch hers.

No matter if they are good or bad I can say I will be proud of her.

She has worked as hard as she can towards them.

So for any teenagers in the same position,

X x

Charity Shopping....

Now if I pass a charity shop in a new town I just have to pop in to see what is on offer and yesterday was no exception.

The first one I popped into was selling things as ridiculously high prices and I didn't see anyone spending any money at all.

However the second one was packed and had a queue at the till, as all the prices were reasonable.

Here are the few items I purchased:

A 50p Yoga DVD

A lace shirt, black top with sequin detail and a beautiful Oasis skirt

The detailing on the skirt is lovely and its a thick wool.
Unfortunately its a little too small for me so will be heading for eBay.

The black top will be fine for work.

And the girls are having a battle over who is going to have the lace top!

Black suit jacket (Dorothy Perkins), Linen jacket (Wallis) and brown leather sandals (Tesco)

 The suit jacket will be great as a spare for Ash for 6th form.

I am keeping the linen Jacket to use my self.

Sadly these are only a size 3 so they too will be heading for eBay.

Not a bad little haul I thought.

So what bargains have you bagged lately?

X x

A Rumble In The Jumble....

Last Saturday I went for a little rummage at out local jumble sale, seeing as I had to wait for Ashleigh to arrive home.

And what a lot of goodies I found:

I managed to get a fantastic quality rain mac for Ashleigh, which should mean she will stop stealing mine with a bit of luck!

A white blouse that she can use for 6th form.

A cream blouse that will be great for work, still with tags on!

A black Dorothy Perkins cord skirt and a M&S skirt, as well as a mans linen white shirt.(all destined for eBay)

A ladies dress, mans white shirt and ladies M&S skirt. (all to added to eBay).

A leopard print blouse which I shall be keeping.

And masses of baby clothes which may be of use to my niece, who is expecting her first baby.

All this and I only spent £5.

Bargain or what!

X x

And On The 7th Day He Rested.....

Don't worry I'm not about to quote scripture at you.

What I am referring to is the news if possible extended Sunday opening hours.

As you know I work in a retail environment and have in the past had to work Sundays.

But what I feel the government is missing is the fact that shop staff no longer want to.

Gone are the days of double pay on a Sunday and to implement it again would mean many more companies going bust.

And lets be fair is you have £20 to spend you will still only spend £20.

Extending hours will not make you spend more!

And that's not even thinking about family life.

For most families Sundays is the only day they spend as a family.

Yes of course it also impacts on faith.

So what's your thoughts on this topic?

X x 

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Firstly I must say a huge thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post.

Ashleigh is, as far as we are aware fit and healthy and will be arriving home tomorrow afternoon.

(See The Good!)

So how has my week been?

Well....

The Good

Baby girl comes home tomorrow 

and I will be very glad to see her after a very stressful phone call.

It's the weekend!

And I am so pleased to see it, cause I'm shattered!

The Bad

A very busy week at work

Don't get me wrong, I love what I do but it has been stressful this week.

And just no where near enough hours in the day to do all that I need to.

The Ugly

Receiving a scary voice mail 

Saying we need to contact them urgently about Ashleighs heart.

Thankfully she is fine but it scared me half to death.

Hope you had all had a better week than me.

Anything exciting happened?

X x

And Your Heart Begins To Tighten....

First thing this morning I received a voice mail which made my heart panic.

The challenge phoned to say they needed to speak urgently about Ashleigh.

As you know she suffers with her heart and I was really worried as to what was happening, however after a phone call it appeared she didn't want to do an overnight camping trip as she said her chest felt tight and she'd rather not risk it.

No knowing my daughter and her dislike for roughing it, (especially in this rain) I am not too sure this would be the true reason, but she knows her body best. Plus she's far to irreplaceable to risk it.

The joys of being a parent eh!

So now my heart has once more returned to its normal rhythm I shall continue with my day.

Meeting after meeting and then a long drive home.

Would someone like to remind my why I like my job so much?

X x

See you later Alligator...In a while crocodile.....

Yesterday saw Ashleigh leave for her challenge,

Of which her first week will be spent in the lake district.

She packed everything but the kitchen sink and to be fair I can't say I blame her as she will be spending most of everyday outside so needs plenty of clothes.

(and being a typical mom she has a case full of snacks too!)

She phoned Andy to say she arrived safely.

As for me I was yet again miles away from home and back in London.

The usual keycard

And a nice big double bed

Thankfully only for a night so will be able to sleep in my own bed tonight.

So it only called for a little bit of packing.

So out came the trust weekend bag.

So what excitement do you have planned for this week then?