Not quite the big 3-0
Published February 19, 2012 | 
So I turned 29 a couple of weeks back, and as usual with work and life in general getting in my way I’ve not blogged (in fact, my digital kit I’ve been working on hasn’t been touched in some time and I have been neglecting my CT work this month too, I am such a bad person!)
The point of this post was really to give myself a quick toot toot lol, as Cathy Zielske herself picked my above layout as one of the giveaway winners in her Type class so I’ve been especially excited. Even more so when I note that I started that layout right before bedtime on the final night of class (again, had been super busy!) and I nearly never got to do it and I’m so glad I did!
2011, a year in review
Published January 1, 2012 | 
(Paislee Press/Fei Fei’s Stuff “Montage” kit. Template from Cathy Zielske)
2011 was undoubtedly an awful over all, but there were some noteworthy moments. But onwards and upwards, because 2012 has GOT to be a good year for us!
December Daily
Published December 9, 2011 | 
“I have many fond memories of our fire at home during my childhood. Getting up in the mornings and racing Stewart for a prime spot next to the fire, in front of the TV, one sat behind the other.
But the most fondest of all was when dad used to push the sofa closer to the fire, so that to come in the front room you had to walk behind the sofa. Mum, Dad, Stewart & myself all used to sit on it together, watching TV.
While I remember the occasional Saturday night television in the winter, being cuddled up with my family, it also reminds me of Christmas.
I absolutely adored that time, all 4 of us together. I can recall that I’d often request the sofa being pushed forward because it was my favourite. A rare treat, and quality family time.
Cozy. Pure comfort”
Ok so I found a great new app (PicFrame) and had to use it to show you that I am indeed doing December Daily 
In fact there are days that I look at my page and I don’t like it, but the one above about fond memories of moving the sofa during the winter and the page I did yesterday I do like 
Yesterdays is a random letter to santa:
My silhouette/robo has been doing me proud, though I need a new mat (and to temporarily put a new blade on so I can get my gift boxes done!)
I shall be enjoying a long weekend (Monday off work, a-woo-hoo!) and basking in my “up-togetherness” as I have just one or two presents left to make and then I’m done. Well apart from getting presents for Gareth which he just decided the other day that he wants otherwise I would have got it before now
Really trying to be festive and in that Christmas mood. And to be in the moment and savour this time of year!
Time to think of Christmas
Published November 1, 2011 | 
I can’t get over the fact it’s November already. This time last year I was in Florida, at the Animal Kingdom if I remember right and we were attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that night (actual halloween had a premium cost to attend & we were worried about adjusting to the time zone as it’s 5 hours behind our time here in the UK, so we figured the final Halloween party was just as good though a day after halloween!)
Last night we had a nice peaceful one, I watched Simpsons Halloween specials marathon as I do every year, though I was missing my brother on the sofa with me. That was our tradition. We had no trick or treaters but then we never do, and we had our shopping delivered in which the delivery guy just had to tell us he didn’t want any sweets! (Speaking of which, we STILL have a bag of sweets from Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party from last year!!) I carved a Lightning McQueen pumpkin for Oliver as he loves Cars, and I was planning on one for myself but never got to it. Instead I made pumpkin cakes which I didn’t like myself but a few people were more than keen to gobble them up!
So now, though we technically have Bonfire/Guy Fawkes night on the 5th, I’m already planning Christmas because for us Brits it’s just a straight run to Christmas now (but I know the Americans are lucky enough to have Thanksgiving in just a matter of weeks)
I have been busy pinning away most evenings when I have the time, and it’s one of my favourite things to do, so much inspiration! Apart from the usual trip to Boots that isn’t entirely unselfish, it’s 3 for 2 on gifts and any points I collect goes on to little treats for myself I do plan on making quite a few handmade gifts this year.
My work colleagues will get some foodie based gift (choc peppermint creams, cupcakes or something along those lines) and I have plenty of crafty bits to make bath bombs, candles, soaps, bubble bath, shower gel, etc to make for family… So I have plenty of ideas! In fact I may be a little overwhelmed on ideas & am just trying to think of the best gifts for individual family members.
Another thing I’ve been excited thinking of is a different sort of Christmas album. I’ve done shimelle’s Journal Your Christmas on a few occasions, starting in 2006, but this year I want to try something a little different, & I hope to do Ali Edwards December Daily. I have my sights set on some American Crafts goodies… So that’s on my to buy/to do list this month
I have to admit I already have the xmas DVDs ready to watch, Snowed In is ready to play come 17th November, and I have been Oooo-ing over the adverts for Michael Buble’s new xmas album thinking that has to be added to my playlist!
You can check out my Pinterest boards as well for lots of inspiration & Christmas images to get you in the spirit
http://pinterest.com/mmmbisto/winter-christmas/
http://pinterest.com/mmmbisto/homemade-gifts/
http://pinterest.com/mmmbisto/things-to-make/
http://pinterest.com/mmmbisto/december-daily/
And just as exciting, coming up I have a Hanson concert this month! Wooo! Can’t wait to meet up with my mates :)
Posted in Crafts, Family, General, Scrapbooking | 
Christmas, home, life, Pinterest | 
Leave a comment2 announcements!
Published September 7, 2011 | Exciting news! I’m so happy, I am a creative team member for Ocean Wide Designs! Most of you may know this is something I really wanted to do, so i’m excited to be a part of the team So I look forward to sharing all the stuff I make with you all too!
Secondly, it’s official! Me & Gareth are heading back to Florida next year. We’ve had to make some big budget cuts, but with that, the car boots & the stuff we shall be selling on eBay along with the cleaning I do at work twice a week still (seemed silly to give that up, I really quite enjoy it!) we have worked out we can do it! So our once in a lifetime holiday & honeymoon has turned into a “we have the Disney bug and we HAVE to go back just once more!” holiday
Trip reports
Published August 31, 2011 | **QUICK MESSAGE** Fancy trying digital scrapbooking? Well there’s a giveaway of software at Katy’s Blog, go here: http://katy-itsmyworld.blogspot.com/2011/08/we-have-giveaway.html & comment for your chance to win! Spread the word
Now regular readers may know about my passion for journals & memory keeping, and as this weekend just gone myself & Gareth were reading trip reports, thoroughly enjoying them…
… And this afternoon it struck me. My very first trip report in 1993 aged just 10 years old was in a cupboard tucked away in a “holiday folder” along with a few momentos (see, I’ve been at this since a very early age, and I have to admit as I’m older I am enternally grateful to my young self for doing this!)
I plan on getting this scanned to share with you all, and yes it’s in comic sans but I was only young so I hope you forgive me! On our home computer we had some creative writing software aimed for kids & I loved it and the only thing I could think of writing at the time was about my very first holiday abroad.
Then I see the awful quality photos in the back and want to cry, and save this piece of my history, so I’m debating whether to re-write the trip reports I have and putting them into PDF so I can keep them on my phone to read or a mini book in their own rights :) My parents have the photos, but I can scan them in
And if you’re wondering where you can read these Disney Trip Reports, they are located on the forums of thedibb.co.uk but you need to be a member to view them
Hither & Thither link
Published August 16, 2011 | Just a quick one (to make three in a row, I know, what is this? Christmas?) I found a link on another blog, cannot for the life of me remember exactly but I’m guessing it was Kelly Purkey’s (whom I adore!) and it was for a blog called Hither & Tither. I particularly swooned over this post yesterday. What an amazing view & experience!
Now off for my evening Betty fix.
That chill in the air
Published August 15, 2011 | I think the reason I’m feeling a little restless lately is probably because there’s a bit of a chill in the air. Autumn is slowly on it’s way. But it’s august for pete’s sake! I’m most certainly a summer girl myself but it was probably the other year when I finally appreciated the beauty of autumn. All the back to school hype makes me happy with all the stationery & the prospect of getting some new trousers as I can fit it the kids clothes so I get them cheaper & think that, now I’m older, that this isn’t for the kids, it’s clearly for the adults lol. I only ever appreciated the back to school season when I was first going to college.
Anywho, this lunch time I decided on a treat! I walked on over to Sainsburys cafe, as working in a small office with no cafeteria has it’s draw backs. Most of the time I am quite content sitting in my car, but today I needed the hustle & bustle. Another reason I am not entirely sure of, but although I was sat alone, I wasn’t alone exactly and just having people around chatting made me feel a little more comforted.
It was certainly a treat to get a nice hot meal for lunch!
Closely followed by reading Marie Claire, a magazine I would never ever normally buy. I’m a simply homemade girl, anything creative & scrapbooking oriented, and maybe on occasion I do pick up a food magazine for the husband and have a quick flick through myself. But never ever a woman’s magazine. Now, I’m starting to realise a few patterns here: Anne Hathaway is on the cover, the reason for buying it. I adore Anne, it started with Princess Diaries (irony being Hanson’s song was featured in the movie so I watched it for that reason and LOVED both films!) and I own quite a few of her films. One being: Devil Wears Prada. Can’t put my finger on why I like this film either. But I’m guessing it’s because it’s sort of Ugly Betty oriented and I have since become OBSESSED with watching Ugly Betty over again. And the swooning over New York. And the fawning over Gareth’s Next Catalogue (Yes. The Next catalogue is my husbands!) eyeing up clothes in it, which for me is quite unheard of because I’m not one for remotely caring what I look like or wear. But I know I need new clothes. I also heard about Anne’s new movie and apart from the Twilight films, I usually wait until a movie comes out on DVD, then I can either buy it (unlikely) or rent it (a little less unlikely) or wait for it to come out on TV one Christmas a few years later. But I want to go to the cinema and watch it. Husband goes to the cinema as much as he can, the last few months alone we’ve seen the new Transformers, Harry Potter and Thor to name but 3. This year for me, it’s Just Breaking Dawn & now One Day. Brain has been working over time lately, thinking over lots of stuff…
… And best of all, was looking out the view while I was doing it …
What I’ve been up to lately…
Published August 14, 2011 | So I’ve been up to all sorts these past few weeks…
My work colleague Paige turned 18, so we all turned it into a HUGE deal at work I made her that monstrosity of a cake. I thought I’d channel my inner Duff Goldman (Of Charm City Cakes/Ace of cakes) and figured I would make her a lovely cake, complete with edible glitter. Didn’t quite turn out the way I had hoped from the wonderous image I had in my head. Turns out cake decorating is blooming hard, and I need plenty more practise!
Completely back into Ugly Betty, and I have found a Youtube channel with ALL seasons on, so I am slowly making my way through them, and adoring Betty tons! Just love her!
The UK had riots… including our hometown. It was a crazy time, but peace seems to be somewhat restored.
While sorting through some bits and bobs, I found my old Mood ring. I had one that turned out to be a fake and never changed colours at all. Upset me hugely! Luckily my super dad bought me this one when I was younger, and now it just about fits on my ring finger (used to fit on my index finger back in the day!) I rarely wear it due to the whole “keep away from water” thing. As you can probably see my ring has a slight “flaw” which it was like that when I got it, but I love it anyway. I’m guessing that’s what the water does to it? I wouldn’t actually know, and I don’t particularly want to try neither! Anywho, I have been wearing this for a few days now and I’ve fallen in love with it all over again. I have bought myself a cheap one off ebay though, one that I’m not so scared of wearing and ruining (I mean, my dad bought me this ring, it was a lot of money back when he got it, and it means a heck of a lot to me, so much so that I’ve kept it safe in a box for years ) so I am excited about getting that one
I have even done 2 car boot sales. For those who are not familiar just what a car boot sale is exactly, people turn up to a big field as organised by a group (today’s was at a school, the previous one was at a race course), you park up put out some tables, put your stuff on it after paying an entrance fee, people turn up to buy your stuff. We spent hours sat in the boot of my dad’s car LOL, and today mum nearly fell asleep in it. It wasn’t remotely as brutal as the one we did 2 weeks ago at the Racecourse. Good Grief. We were there and set up, selling by 5.45AM. Yes, freaking AM! Yard sales isn’t something we do here in the UK, but I think if you lived on a main road, and had a decent front garden (both of which we lack, but would be good to do at my parents house!) it’s something I think we should do!
iPhone Love
Published July 14, 2011 | I cannot tell you how much I absolutely ADORE my iPhone. This thing has my entire life on it. To be honest I wasn’t all that interested in smartphones, as far as I was concerned as long as I could text and ring on it, what was the point in everything else.
Now I wonder how on earth I got by without it. I keep my to do list on it, shopping list, calendar reminders, my e-mails, and every little idea gets put in the notes. My lunch times are filled with reading, listening to podcasts, pinning on pinterest and so much more. I love it.
So I thought I would share with you all my favourite apps:
Relaxing sounds: I have an old sound machine in my bedroom that I’ve had for years, and while I love it, I can’t have it going if my husband is in bed, so I found the Nature sounds (lite, so free) and I set the timer on it so I can fall asleep listening to waves wash up on the shore. It has some cool relaxing tunes as well which would be nice for a bit of meditation.
Ace Budget: Just fantastic. I have kept a budget forever, though most of the time it’s done by memory, and well my memory is awful. Though I’ve always managed before, this has helped beyond measure. For a while I had just expenses noted, but this month I have added income too, to make things easier to keep track of what’s in my bank account while on the go. It isn’t linked to your bank account, you just put your budget in, put in when you spend something, and it’s as simple as that.
P Tracker: An obvious app if you’re a girl. Enough said, but I wouldn’t be without mine after some health issues back last year and the inevitable questions from the doctor, and all I could answer was: “I don’t know”. Now I am tracking and it’ll be even handier for the time when I think about kids.
Day One: As much as I’ve loved my journal, I cannot carry it around with me all the time. Now, my journal is in my pocket
Instagram: Taking cute pictures & sharing them with friends. I adore this app and I love seeing everyone else’s photos.
Momento: This app is so cool, it takes all your feeds and pull them together, and you can add “memories” to it too. I figured this would be handy for my scrapbooking as I can go back to particular days and see pictures & notes from that day.
Hipstamatic: Very similar to Instagram, I used to have this on Gareth’s original iPhone and have started using it again
Nike Training Club: It’s free! I have every intention of getting around to doing a workout, but I think the whole concept is amazing. I WILL unlock Lea Michelle’s workout!
Nike +: They were giving this away free for a couple of days so I had to grab it. I will use it, honestly I will. But again, I love the concept of playing virtual tag etc.
LYRFREE: This I have used numerous times, mainly for walking though. When I go out during a lunch break I have put this on to see how far I’ve walked, how many steps, and how long it’s taken me and it also works for runs and bike rides too.
Waterlogged: I have used this, then I stopped but I know I should use it more. A great no frills way of tracking your water in take for the day. I know I really should drink more!
Calorie Count: Another awesome free ap, and another one of my good intention, which I will get around to using again. A great way to keep a track of what you eat on the go.
Kindle: Kindle! Enough said
iBooks: While I refused to download this for ages because I had the kindle, so why on earth would I need another book reader, I caved in and downloaded it anyway. Luckily while reading up on the iPhone user guide within iBooks, I realised you could view PDFs: and I had eBooks and eMags. Then began my love affair of magcloud.com and Ella Books on this app.
Get Glue: A friend of mine posted about a sticker she got, and then I was hooked. When I watch programs I check in as I would with foursquare and facebook, and I can earn real stickers.
Pinterest: Pinterest on my phone. Love. need I say more?
Magic Piano: I was a bit dubious of this to begin with. But it was free, and free is the best price to try something out. Now I LOVE it, and Gareth gets driven up the wall with me trying to play “under the sea” and “Zip A Dee Do Dah” badly on the piano. But practise makes perfect!
Labelbox: A cute little app to add labels to your photos
And that’s all my favourite main ones worth checking out, except for the obvious ones of course.
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