My Life's Ingredients

Have you seen the new blinkie on my sidebar? The wonderful Katharina Fei of "Whiff of Joy" and her team will be providing a crafty Advent Calendar. I LOVE her stamps - only got into them late this year ... and have to admit it's mostly Elizabeth Bell's stamps I like. They have put the Magnolia Stamps into the background now. ;) Anyway - have a looksie at Katharina's Blog - she's giving away a surprise package!! :)

I don't know... somehow I am a little out of sync with everything right now. Maybe it's the news about my job, maybe it's just me being generally not prepared whatsoever. And maybe it's the quick trip to York the weekend including first Advent. Or maybe it's me trying to get some studying in to get prepped for the preparation practical weekend for the Exam (most likely beginning/mid January). I haven't got the Xmas decos down from the loft. I haven't got our advent wreath out, the first candle therefore wasn't lit yet. Do I like it? NO - Not at all! :( . And it seems it's every year the same, Christmas is just creeping up at me ... that so doesn't work out with the advent time I had when I was a kid!! I'll be doing a to-do list for this week, which will include about 3-4 hours studying every day plus other things. Today my brain wasn't functioning for studying ... the cold is back with a vengeance, but this time we step away from

Yes ... you could have guessed so... I know... ;) I haven't lasted long with Shimelle's class "Blogging for Scrapbookers". Typical, eh? Somehow life's always getting in the way when I do online classes for crafts ... same with Jessica Sprague's "Holidays in Hand" class. But I intend to catch up with both on my own time ... and considering my current situation I will have some more time in about 2 weeks time ... first I have to get some studying done and then we're off to visit my family for a few days. ANYWAY!!!! ;) In line of the "Blogging for Scrapbookers" class there have been lots of "Blog Trains" popping up. Blog trains are effectively themed entries which are leading you from one blog to another. They are also called "Blog Hops". I've joined one of those "trains" and we (a group of 12 of Shimelle's Students of the "BfS" class) will set up a blog train on 1 December 2009 whe

Got into work, was pulled aside by deputy head of department (neither HoD or team manager in) and told that my temp contract (usually renewed every 3 months and already running for 2.5 years) ending this Friday is not going to be renewed!!! Had to wait for confirmation by phone from TM because he tried everything to get our contracts extended. It's all temps from my team (and others in Customer Service), but I am the only one whose contract finishes end of the month, while theirs is on the 11th December.  Totally shocked and angry and annoyed at me crying about the news all day on and off.  Tomorrow is my last day (as I am only working 2 days/week) and then I am out of a job.  Plans and bigger rant to follow tomorrow ... I am knackered due to crying and headaches from the crying.  Just HAD to add to my "out of office" notice:  SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH!!!

Still feeling "gunky" ... all that mucus in my nose and throat does NOT make me feel like wanting to do anything. Couple of snags from the weekend: Broke the screen of my small camera somehow (has a crack and therefore LCD screen is broken) and the Clansmen @ Mavericks game was called off due to the heavy rain this week... :( Won't see my Clan until 13th now. :o We had a good turnout at the Wolves Rookie Day though (50 guys!) and lots of athletes, too. From this Sunday we're going to have 3 Sundays of "Football School" - i.e. teaching the fundamentals of American Football. Let's hope that lots of the Rookies will come back and join the Wolfpack! :) Junior training was good, too - they have been waiting desperately for training, I assume - we had 12 kids down (10 returning and 2 rookies) with a couple of guys not able to make it. Things are looking up there for the Wolfcubs... ;) Went to see the inlaws after training & shopping and it was go

Well... I am still not 100% ... that stupid lurgy is just stuck with me. Gunk in my throat and nose, but at least I don't have the facial pain from sinusitis. At least SOMETHING!! Got my (normal) flu jag on Tuesday, and the nurse booked me in for the Swine Flu jag next week Wednesday ... yep, I'm classified as "risk group person" due to my Asthma. And I kinda trust in those jags, so will go and get it, although lots of friends/acquaintances who had taken tamiflu said they felt horrible. Wonder if it's because they already HAD swine flu (or a very strong flu) and that aggravated it a bit, or if it was a side effect? But then ... others said they only had a very painful arm with bruise. Let's hope for the latter, eh? I've not done anything for the crop tomorrow ... IF I am going (depending on how I feel), I will only take the stamp swap thingies, my embossing powders, ink pads, heat gun and the Chinese Whispers. Travelling light. I will only st

Sitting here, still with my sinusitis, and am just feeling bleh! Decided against going to my 2nd Ceroc Class in Edinburgh because of the stuffy nose/head, and it's probably for the better, as I need to be fighting fit for a football-filled weekend (well... at least be OK to survive ... fighting fit at the moment is a bit much I think!!). DH is upstairs, sleeping ... his Miami Dolphins are playing this night (1:30am - 4:30am or so) and he has to go to work tomorrow... I'm staying up and see if I can watch at least half the game. ;) I've got lots to catch up with, am TOTALLY behind with Shimelle's class, and haven't started on Jessica Sprague's new free class, "Holidays in hand". Something I am probably going to catch up with tomorrow. As for the weekend ... (American) Football will be back in full force over the next month - The Edinburgh Wolves have their ROOKIE TRYOUT DAY on Saturday. Junior Wolves have their 1st training session before Xmas on Sunda

Yup... it's my DH's birthday, and I am sitting in bed, a box of tissues around (hope that's enough!) and feeling totally unhappy.     :( My cold with the nasty cough turned into sinusitis yesterday over the course of the day. :o  Haven't had sinusitis in a while, so it hit me quite hard, and I am totally annoyed that this happens on DH's birthday. He got his presents at least ... but that's about it. No traditional Birthday Muffin, can't go for meal out or to the cinema tonight as I am feeling totally crap. :(  Got that typical "cotton wool" head I tend to get with sinusitis. That stupid cold was on its way out last week, and I don't have a clue why/how it got back!! :( So ... feeling sorry for myself and for DH for not having a nice birthday.  :(

...and I am feeling crap and sorry for myself right now. Was up at 6:15am to drive DH and Scott to Waverley station (well... more likely drive the car back home) - went to Tesco on the way back to get some stuff for the cold, as I want to be at least in "working order" if not fit for tomorrow's game. Can't find my rotary cutter, and with me feeling "blah" I think I will give DH the current birthday gift for Xmas. Got other presents he can get on Monday. Oh ... just in case I cannae find my rotary cutter ... you think I can cut fabric with a pizza cutter? Its blade is sharp enough... ;) Might do some scrapping later, and I am definitely going to bake the 3rd batch of cheesecake brownies ... but probably doing some studying as well... if my brain actually lets me do that!! :o About to get a 2nd cuppa...

Just a quick note, as it's nearly time for bed again! :o Yep... I am behind ... I haven't done any of Shim's blog entries 3-8, haven't even read half of them. Been busy ... as you may be able to gather from the "To Do" list from Tuesday. Today I was at work, got some news about LTSB but am not sure how that affects me as a SW temp ... might not affect me, or I might not have a job in 2010. Who knows. Might just mean my plans of a career change/going to uni might come to fruitition earlier than planned and I just need to get my head around things. After work I took my shoes to get the heels sorted (and they'll be ready for CEROC tomorrow!! :) ), then went to Choc Soup to meet up with Aisha - had a fab hour and a bit with her again - she's off with Wombat to visit her family in Australia this weekend for a month. Discussed a couple of European holiday options for them for next year and have to remember to send her the links to different sites. ;) Got bac

Now that I’ve attended the Clansmen (Uni Football) Vets training camp, one training session, 2 scrimmages and my first game I am getting to know the Clan better and that’s nice. :) What suddenly hit me though, is the fact that I may not see all of them again next season … because some of them finish their degrees over summer. Huh! Granted, we have players coming and going with the Wolves (Senior Football) as well, usually the guys I get along great stay … we still have quite a quota from our affiliation season in 2002 and the first season in 2003 … believe it’s a total of 5? Cavey, Ali, Alan M, Allan P & Pete (only coaching from 2010 onwards). Situation with the Clan is worse though… While the Wolves players usually stay in Edinburgh or at least Scotland, these guys are from all over the place … the joys of a Residential Uni!! :o Feeling a bit like when I was fostering cats back in Germany … don’t get too attached to them – might have to “give them away” in between 1-4 year

I tend to have lots to do on days when I am not feeling too great - woke up with a nasty headache, but been beating it (well... currently it's beating me!) - managed 2 washes so far, emtpying the dishwasher, doing the washing up, some paperwork and the 3rd wash is currently running. Still have to do the following: Edit Clansmen photos Burn Clansmen photos CD Send confirmation letter & cheque to Sports Rehab for Practical Module V Check for First Aid Refresher Courses Book Church Hall for 2010 Scrapbooking Club Make appointment CHINESE WHISPER (no procrastinating on that one!!) Catch up on Shimelle's Class Order present for Big Sis' birthday And if I still have time ... Sort SB stuff Tidy study (which I suspect will be pushed to Friday!!) Just the usual then. ;)

Yes, I know - it's VERY early right now ... and I'll probably sleep until 12ish today... but I decided to watch the late night Football game Philadelphia Eagles v Dallas Cowboys. Why? You may ask? I am not sure ... just felt like it, and the fact that my Fantasy Football QB, McNabb, has quite a rollercoaster game again (interceptions, then coming back with scrambles and good passes, back to interception). Possibly that. :o I had a fabulous day yesterday, will post some info when I am more awake later today... ;) But here's the team photo of my 2nd team... ;) Introducing: The Stirling Clansmen 2009

From my Feedjit Widget I can see that there have been a couple of hits searching for photos of the Stirling Clansmen vs Clansmen Alumni scrimmage from last week... Now that Coach Orr got his copy and has posted most pics on Facebook I can post the photos here as well... ;) Enjoy!

I'm currently sitting on a lot of photos from the Edinburgh Wolves (that would be the team in the red on my blog header). To be precise it's 6 years worth of photos, on average times 10 games, plus a combine day, a rookie day, a team photo page, a coaches page, a staff page, awards nights, the odd training sessions, not to mention the approx. 3 x 4 tournaments from the Juniors (x 3 or 4 games each). For the last 3 years I've been promising the guys I'll get the photos scrapped, do the album ... but somehow I am stumped... Now I am thinking about doing some digi scrapping or at least Hybrid ... but I've never really done much digi scrapping apart from the awards for the last 2 years. So... how should I start? I had a look at Designer Digitals and found several brushes and stamps etc that I am most likely going to purchase. I'm not going to give up on traditional scrapping, but it's really a time issue now.. ;) The photos from the Stirling Clansmen (gr

2 days behind ... oops! But had 2 very busy days, with getting the house tidy enough for lots of friends coming over for the Wolves Game Day Team Meal yesterday evening for Bonfire Night. Got that sorted, went food shopping yesterday and also bought the last bits for DH's birthday pressie which I still have to do during my days off next week! :o  Should have enough time though. :) Managed to make 2 batches of cheesecake brownies (one for the Clansmen game on Sunday, and one for the Bonfire Night Party yesterday) and pasta salad - again for the Bonfire night. Had 5 people calling off but the house was still full, and we had lots of FUN, good food (everyone brought something - quite an interesting mix of dishes!!), very good company ... and we even managed to do a little brain storming on how to improve the gameday experience for our fans in 2010! And DH had fun setting off the fireworks ... first time in his life! :)  The garden shows a few signs from yesterday (there's

Well... that's not the title of the prompt, but what I make of it. Was bad enough for me to find a topic to use for today's post ... just suddenly had writer's block after I read Shimelle's prompt! :o That happens from time to time. ;) But now to the topic at hand... I've never been the best at school ... managed to go onto a higher level at Secondary School/High School than advised, but then dropped out when it got towards the "Abitur" (A-levels), started a course in Radiology which I dropped out of after 5 months as well... My last course back in Germany was a diploma course for Bilingual Secretaries (or "Trilingual", as other countries apart from Germany seem to count their own language, too). I did finish that course (YAY) and went into the "working world" with the full intention to only do that for a couple of years, for the money, and then do another course to change profession to something I really want. What, I wasn't su

Mmmh... I've been dithering about signing up for the UKS Cyber Crop, knowing that I am in Stirling all day on the 15th. This morning I signed up however - DH will be down south in Doncaster on the Saturday for the BAFL Youth/Juniors meeting, so I can do some crafting/scrapping then... but will mainly work on finishing his birthday present I think. :) I was too late for the Mystery Kit, which in the past was the only kit I was purchasing for Cyber Crops anyway. So my main hope is that the Cyber Crop is going to kick start my scrapping mojo again... Theme this time is "WICKED" ... which is just funny, considering that I have seen WICKED just 1.5 weeks ago in London!! :D I've joined the group of TIN MEN! ;) Right ... mailbox just pinged and I see it's Shimelle's Day 2 prompt! :)

yup... I've got a full blown cold ... since Sunday. Was feeling crap then, was ok-ish yesterday, managed to do some housework etc, but this morning when I was trying to get up to go to work I just didn't feel right - I'm burning up (although the thermometer says my body temp is normal). Got a cough, but as bloody usual no chesty cough, which means it will stay up to 8 weeks. :( Sniffling about right now - very runny nose on Sunday, next to nothing on Monday ... right now it's back with a vengeance. So... that's pretty much in a nutshell ... I am going back to work tomorrow I hope. Currently reading through a couple of blogs of the girls over at Shimelle's new class "Blogging for Scrapbookers" - still have to do my Day 1 for it, but my brain is currently a bit muddled.

I've been blogging probably from around 2004 onwards - been platform hopping in the first 2 years but retuA bit mrned back to Blogger because it's a) free and b) easy to use (and now c) linked to Google ;) ). Shimelle's Class "Blogging for Scrapbookers" (think you can still sign up, just have a quick look!) was interesting for me as I do blog a lot and scrap as well... not as much though. She's giving us 3 options for the classes ... a) Little to no time - maybe a photo (doesn't have to be your own) and a short text b) A bit more time - take a good photo to document your story and a longer text c) Time to Play! - Scrap & Blog. ;) I.e. create a scrapbook page that documents the daily prompt, include the layout in the photo and blog From my experience I will be using all 3 options over the course of the class - there will be days where I have more time and can do a layout and on other days there will be no other option than option A! Howev

First year in UK that I wasn't either at home or in Orlando for Hallowe'en. We were invited to go to Nikki & Dave 2's Halloween bash with proper dressing up etc. :) That's why we only had 1 pumpkin this year, and I used it as an "Offering to the Football Gods" again... have been carving "Miami Dolphins" pumpkins for the last couple of years we've been at home (for DH - for me usually something witchy ;) ) :) So this is in the hope that the Dolphins will win against the Jets today. :) Nikki & Dave 2's party was fun, good to meet up with them, Billy & Anna, the other Dave (Nikki & Dave's flatmate), TD and Stuey again. :) Shame Nikki & Dave B had already plans to go to their Ceroc Halloween Party. Ah well. ;) Lots of fun, a bit of alcohol and all in all a good evening. :) Had my pumpkin with me and left it there in the end. Photos from the evening: Anna & Nikki And to my shame I realise I wasn't