Journeys Are My Diary

Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!

May Round-up

by Leave a Comment

may

Watching: Once Upon a Time (still watching with Lily and Megan, but also finished Season 5), Suits (5), Jane the Virgin (1-2), GAME OF THRONES (we watch it ASAP on Monday morning since it records at 2am), the usual weekly episodes of Arrow, Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, The 100 etc etc. Walt Before Mickey, Maleficent, Star Trek Into Darkness, Super 8,
Reading: Six Lies, Kingdom Keepers: Disney at Dawn, A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale, Fated, Wait for Me.
Sewing & Making (for Closet Geek): Ears!! It’s been all about the Ears this month after being featured on Sarah’s instagram. I’ve also made two Rapunzel dresses, a Pinocchio dress, an Alice in Wonderland dress and apron, a Briar Rose dress, a Wendy dress, a Woody dress, plus loads of bows and Tangled bunting. There was also an adult Briar Rose dress, a Beauty and the Beast skirt (again for Sarah) and made alterations to Lottie’s Dumbo skirt (and made her some ears too).

And in other news…
– Amy came to visit for the first weekend in May and it was SO nice because I hadn’t seen her since the beginning of March!
– Megan took her SATs (and got ill during them) but fingers crossed she still did well.
– Got the girls into several more food options including homemade turkey burgers.
– Chris bought me 221B Baker Street board game and we played and it was very reminiscent of my youth!
– We went to Paris for the weekend as a family, with my mum and sister too. We weren’t there long but I got to go up the Eiffel Tower which is something I’ve always wanted to do AND we went to DLP. You can read about it in my Travel Diary.
– It was my birthday. I turned 37! It wasn’t too bad though as I got some nice gifts and spent the day with family and friends.
– Disney Lego figures were released at the beginning of the month and I managed to collect them all. There were a few swaps involved and I did buy the last two I needed of Ebay!
– Tried to be healthy, failed. Tried to be healthy, failed. Tried to be healthy, failed…
– Bought a laser cutting machine but didn’t get it set up :(

Looking forward to in June:
– Going to Paris again. I have my regrets about booking it (it turned out so expensive and it’s 4 days away from Chris and the kids) but overall I’m looking forward to it.
– Sadly, nothing else. Hopefully some free time for myself. Maybe set my laser cutting machine up. Hopefully crack screen printing. Nice weather maybe?

My 37th Birthday

by Leave a Comment

On the whole I avoid putting the actual age I am, on my blog. It’s not that it particularly bothers me (turning 30 never did) but I have to admit that inching closer to 40 does somehow make me feel old. However I’m sucking it up this year and trying to embrace it – and I’m going to let you know what a great birthday I had!

For a start, it was a Saturday (May 28th). Amy and Olivia came down to visit for the weekend, Chris was off work and even Amy’s O.H. was coming to spend the day with us! Though technically my birthday had started at midnight where Amy and I were still up and sitting in the dinning room, we soon headed to bed and started again properly in the morning. Chris sadly woke me at 7am when he got up and though I had hoped for a lie-in, it wasn’t to be! I got up and was greeted by many “happy birthday”s and Amy kindly made me a cup of tea! I sat down on the sofa to open cards and gifts from them all, which was really lovely.

Photo 28-05-2016, 10 21 09

Photo 28-05-2016, 10 21 17

Photo 28-05-2016, 10 25 39

44164

The girls got me the Evil Queen from Snow White, in hag form. This is a Disney Tradition that I’ve been after for a while and I’m not sure why as she’s ugly as hell, but I love it regardless! Chris got me Seven Dwarves on a Log – again another Disney Tradition that I have loved for literally as long as I can remember. It was always far too expensive to consider getting but now it’s mine, yay! Finally Amy and Liv got me a box of goodies, including an Ursula decoration, Regina in Pop Funko, an art print of Belle and the Beast and a Tinker Bell scarf (I put it on straight away, so forgot to photograph it). There was also a limited edition print that Amy had found in a charity shop, which is literally amazing!

After this we sat around for a while relaxing, but the kids started to get hungry so I put on some breakfast. We had freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat, along with margarine, nutella and chocolate/peanut butter spread. We actually didn’t even manage it all which was a surprise between six of us.

Photo 28-05-2016, 09 47 17indexEveryone went off their separate ways then, to get dressed, to have another cup of tea etc. My mum arrived around lunch time to give me her gift and then Amy’s O.H. arrived too. After a while we headed out to Nottingham with the plan to play mini-golf but it actually turned out that we went shopping and ate at Five Guys. We headed home, got the girls to bed and then my friend Nat and her O.H. came around. We spent the evening chatting, laughing and drinking wine until about 1am.

While it maybe doesn’t sound like the most spectacular of birthdays, the evening was everything and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thankfully its a whole year now until the next one but I’m glad this one turned out pretty great.

A birthday to plan!

by Leave a Comment

As you may or may not know, May is the month of my birthday. For whatever reason I have always loved May, even though there’s never much happening. As a sort of birthday trip, we’re all heading to Paris for the weekend of 20th-23rd, but I’m yet to plan anything for my birthday itself. Previously I’ve visited the Harry Potter Studios, had a Murder Mystery, visited the cinema (Maleficent, Tomorrowland, Pitch Perfect 2) or even gone out for dinner. This year, I’ve started to weigh up my options!

A Quiet Night In

celebrate

It’s quite likely that my two best friends are available to come over in the evening, so one plan is definitely a quiet night in. Though we’ve previously had large parties, played either board games or held a murder mystery, the only people I really need to spend my birthday with are my immediate family and my two best friends. Since the girls will be in bed during the evening, a takeaway pizza from Dominos, drinking some sparkling wine (a bottle or two) and perhaps even Cards Against Humanity, sounds like a pretty amazing way to spend a birthday evening. I’m not even too bothered if there is cake or not!

A Stay at The Wizard Chambers

Photo Credit: Georgian Hotel

 

As a family and even as a couple, we often stay away for a night or two in a hotel. For the most part we’re talking Travelodge or Premier Inn, but sometimes somewhere a little nicer. My dream stay would be in the Harry Potter style rooms, at The Georgian Hotel – in either the Wizarding Chambers or the Enchanting Chambers. To be honest I would be happy to visit the Harry Potter Studios again too and make a full wizarding weekend of it – especially since they have a Platform 9 3/4 now and they’re opening up Privet Drive for my birthday weekend. In fact, if the new theatre show (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) was out by then, I would do that too.

A Trip to the Theatre or Cinema

As you might have seen from the last option, I love going to the theatre. Last year, the weekend before my birthday, we went to see Phantom of the Opera. This year I would have loved to see Harry Potter, or even Aladdin (which opens just after my birthday). Sadly the theatre is a little out of my price range right now, so the cinema is more likely. With Captain America: Civil War just out and X-Men: Apocalypse coming out soon, I’m sure there is something we could find to watch.  Alice Through the Looking Glass is also out which would be great for taking the kids.

There are lots of other things I would like to do but to be honest, heading to Paris and also Disneyland just before my birthday, is really the best treat I could ask for. I’m sure I’ll be spending the day with everyone that matters and that’s the main thing!

Birthday List Countdown – One Month to Go!

by 2 Comments

Today marks one month until my birthday and I thought I would celebrate by sharing a few bits and pieces I would love to receive! Over the next month you might see one or two more of these, as and when I find other things I like. However for now, these are my (off the) top (of my head) items.

Birthday Wishlist - Disney Style

 

It’s probably no great surprise, that everything on my list is Disney. That’s not to say it’s the only thing I like, but its one of the few I’m passionate enough to want to own or collect. Another amusing thing about my list is that it’s pretty much half villains and half Beauty and the Beast!

While I’m not going to explain each and every thing (the list is done on Polyvore so if you click on each item it will tell you where to get it from), I will explain some bits. For a start the Beauty and the Beast traditions ornaments. These Mrs Potts, Cogsworth and Lumiere are all new and I love them all. As you can tell, Beauty and the Beast is my favourite so I would love these to join my collection. The “Belle” necklace is because “Bel” is what I go by so I would actually love this for a duel reason and the cushion, makeup bags etc are just because I like them.

For the villains side, I would really love Regina to add to my Pop Funkos (but I’m pretty sure Lily knows this so fingers crossed this year), also I have the Evil Queen in small but I would like her in the regular size. There are loads of other Funkos I like though so its hard to pick. The Ursula cover book, is the third in a series that I have the other two of. The villains bag I’ve wanted for ages and the colouring book is pretty new and I haven’t spotted it before. Recently I treated myself to the QoH plush and I seriously regret not getting Ursula when she was in store – so connected to that is this old hag plush which I don’t think is technically Disney but I’d like her. Finally that leaves a book called Never Never that’s been on my wishlist for ages (but is still too expensive to buy myself) and some DVDs which I’m still missing from my collection.

I’ll be keeping an eye on other things over the next month so keep any eye out!

Week 22 – Monday Round-up

by Leave a Comment

Hello, me again! It’s Monday round-up time again. A fab week this week, largely because it was filled with birthday celebrations, but also because it was both bank holiday weekend and half term, so loads of family/kids time! After a weekend away, Monday kicked off with a bank holiday day. The girls were both going to their dad, so Chris and I drove over to Lincoln to meet their dad at McDonalds and do the passover. We missed McDonalds breakfast sadly but after dropping off the kids we instead headed over to get Starbucks coffee and then wander around some stores together. I ended up buying a sewing book and a very early stocking filler gift for my mum! Chris bought us some new bedding for our bed. Chris and I then headed home and I spent the day relaxing and watching TV, while he made quiche! We didn’t really do an awful lot useful (except change the bedding and soft furnishings of course) but it was nice to spend time together without the kids around.

Next morning, Chris was at work early so I got a bit of a lay-in and then went to pick the girls up from their dad. On the way back we went to do the weekly shop and also picked up some food for my birthday murder mystery at the weekend. We came home and really just chilled out (same as most days to be honest) but it was nice having nothing to do for the first time so far in the half term break. On Tuesday night I convinced my two best friends into getting a tattoo with me on my birthday. I sorted out pics of what they wanted and contacted a tattoo artist for prices. I booked our appointment and got everything sorted.

Wednesday was a lovely day, spent completely at home. During the majority of the day, I worked on a new business idea, texting back and forth with Amy and doing research on the internet. I also spent some time working on and thinking about my blog. However in the afternoon I actually did some DIY in the house, with the help of the girls, laying some lino in the doorway. I was fairly impressed with how it turned out and the girls were so helpful, also helping me tidy and hoover around downstairs. I spent the evening having a bath and enjoying a new bubble bar called Big Bang which I’d bought from Lush at the weekend.

The next day was MY BIRTHDAY! It started off early as Chris had to go to work, then the girls brought me breakfast in bed which was lovely. Eventually we got up and went downstairs, the two of them having a bath while I relaxed and spent some time online. Once the girls were out of the bath, I got them dressed, straightened my hair and did my makeup. We then headed out to pick Amy up from the station, popped back home briefly and then went out to my mum’s for lunch. Mum made steak sandwiches with onions and mushrooms, she even got a cake. My sister was there so it was nice to see them both on my birthday. Afterwards we headed to Lincoln and to the cinema to see Tomorrowland. This was my main birthday treat and event, spent with Amy and the kids.

After the cinema, mum came to pick the kids up as Amy, Nat and I were going to get a tattoo. A little while ago I posted on Twice the Mum about wanting another tattoo and that it would be Disney themed. Shortly after the post I made a decision to have one of the ones I’d picked out in that post. I then decided it would be great if I had it done on my birthday. Knowing both Amy and Nat were wanting tattoos as well, I convinced them both into getting one that day. Amy and I headed down to the tattoo studio and met up with Nat, going in together. Amy went first as she was nervous – it was her first tattoo and she was obviously worried. Luckily it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as she’d thought. I went next, my Beauty and the Beast tattoo already being printed out and ready to go. It took much longer than my last tattoo (though still not long) and hurt a little more. I was quite proud of myself for being okay with it, since I’m awful with pain too. Finally Nat went last and after about an hour, we were all done.

Nat gave Amy and I a lift down the road and then we walked the rest of the way back to my car. Chris had finished work by that point and so met us there. We picked the kids up from my mum, popped via the storage unit for the murder mystery decorations and then headed home. The girls got ready for bed and I ordered takeaway. Nat came round after a little while and Amy, Nat and I spent the evening hanging out until eventually heading to bed.

Friday was a fairly busy day, starting with food shopping for my murder mystery that night and then cooking and tidying the house. At 4pm we headed out, dropping the kids with my mum and then going on to the cinema, where Amy and I met up with Nat again – this time to see Pitch Perfect 2 (it was awesome). Nat and I always go to the cinema together, as I’m sure you know, and since Amy was down and child-free it seemed like a good idea to cram it all in. Once the movie finished however we all rushed to go our separate ways as we still had a murder mystery to get ready for.

When Amy and I got back to my house, we quickly set the table and put some of the food into the oven. We then went to get changed, people arriving every now and again. By 9pm everyone was here and we settled in for photos, eating and then the murder mystery. It was a fun evening, even though the murder mysteries are fairly dull, and I was so glad I decided last minute to have the party. It was well past midnight by the time everyone headed off and we all went to bed. In addition, Nat wrote about Thursday and Friday in her blog post today.

As Amy was leaving early in the morning, I got up a bit earlier than I might have, just to make sure I said goodbye. Chris and I had a cup of tea and then he left for work not that long after either. I spent the morning still in my PJs, waiting for mum to bring the kids home. She stopped for lunch so we all sat down and enjoyed salt and pepper tiger bread sandwiches, followed by cake. Mum stopped for a while into the afternoon and eventually headed off. At that point none of us felt like doing anything so we just hung out, not doing much, though I did work on my new business idea. Chris came home eventually and we watched some TV together before heading off to bed.

Finally it was Sunday and the end of half term, sadly. We made the most of one more day of doing nothing, though I did work on a new website/business idea which is still in progress and can be found at www.ClosetGeek.co.uk On top of that I sorted out washing, tidied the dining room etc. In the afternoon the girls did their homework and I worked on a cosplay outfit for Amy – ordering a pattern and, later in the evening, ordering some material. Around teatime, Chris, the girls and I all watched The Emperor’s New Groove and ordered takeaway. We then watched Wolverine. Once the girls were both in bed, Chris took a bath and I watched some TV. After he was out of the bath, we watched some TV together and then headed to bed.

cglogo_c
It was a good week, lovely to spent time with the girls and Chris, but also because Amy came over and I got time with Nat too. A night with my friends was just what was needed and all in all it was a good birthday week and a week off school. Looking forward to what the coming week brings as I have a lot of stuff planned for my new site.

My Birthday Part 3 – Natural Porn Killers Murder Mystery (NSFW!)

by 4 Comments

I want to start this post by saying that this whole event was definitely not suitable for children and this post is possibly not safe for work!

For my birthday Murder Mystery, I hosted “Natural Porn Killers” a Pirate Porno themed game. We were kindly gifted this game, from a company called Merry Murder. We had previously done their “Pungent Pumpkin Poisoner” (which is free to download by the way!) and thoroughly enjoyed it, so we were thrilled to try something else.

As it was my birthday, and therefore needed to be awesome, I was excited at the thought of dressing up like pirates. We had done it once before, almost two years ago, and I was ready to crack out my knee-high boots and pirate hat again! Not only that, but we got to dress like sexy pirates (read: slutty probably). I immediate began to plan, wanting everything to be perfect!

I’m afraid the menu for the evening was fairly foul. Not that the food was bad, but sadly my crude imagination meant that naming everything was definitely a bit gross!

For starters we had Potato Four Skins (say it out loud and you’ll get it…). Basically four potato skins.

For mains I had bought some penis and boob pasta. Sadly it didn’t really keep its shape when it was cooked, but it tasted great. As the dish was boobs and penis together, the only thing that sprang to mind was a Tit Wank (sorry!!) and that lead to me placing it in a white sauce… hence mains was Tit Wank Pasta!

As well as that, we had a Tear and Share “Orgy” Garlic Bread, along with “Tossed” salad.

Finally, for dessert we had Blue Waffle (please don’t google this, don’t look and you’ll be happier that way!). Sadly its a joke that has been amoungst our friend group for a very long time and it was too funny to resist. Luckily the dessert was a lot nicer than it sounded.

As I’d originally planned to do “Naked Porncorn” for dessert, I still kept that there as a sort of after dessert option. I basically made plain popcorn and had salt options on the table, such as Bacon Salt, Tomato Ketchup Salt, Jalapeno Salt etc.

Not only that, but one of my best friends (Nat) made me a cake. Well technically she made me two cakes. In fact if you want to know more, you can view her post on Twice the Mum, where she discusses the cakes she made! However I did get a couple of pictures, of both my Boobs Cake and my Penis Cake!

On top of that I had made everyone “Sex on the Beach” cocktail for arrival, complete with penis straw and penis ice cube! Pirate decorations were easy to pick up (and we had some from before) as its technically a theme for children’s parties – haha! We had treasure chest napkins and pink pirate plates. There was a huge pirate flag hung on the wall, pirate bunting and even a seagull and parrot hanging from the ceiling!

It’s all the little details that really make the evening for me! Even though I know majority of people who attend don’t even notice, I like it and it makes me happy!

Anyway, the murder mystery itself was split into three rounds. My partner Chris took the role of Lieutenant Gulp, while another 6 of us took the roles of cast members from the current movie, Pleasure Island. I was Saggia Boobflesh, Amy was Frances Heaven, Nat was Wander Whoppers, Chris (my brother) was Rod Shafter, Adam was Bang Yurasov and our other friend Chris was Willy Droop. Our other friends, Erika and Tom, made up the Investigation panel along with my partner Chris who was in charge of the investigation!

With each round, we ate another course of the meal. There was a lot of information given – way more than some of the other Murder Mysteries we’ve done, but it was good and you always felt like you were in the know! Better yet, the host (or whoever is playing the Lieutenant) has flow charts for each round, making it much easier to keep track of who still needs to speak; reveal or ask something.

I adored my part and didn’t care one bit that I was some has-been porn star with saggy boobs! It was so much fun to dress up like pirates – not to mention we’re such a filthy minded group, that the porn element just made it all hilarious.

Natural Porn Killers was an absolute riot to play and I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Make sure you allow plenty of time though as the thoroughness of it all, means that the actual game is much longer than some of the more standard box set versions.
Thank you so much to Tim for letting us do this game and thank you to my amazing friends who made all aspects of my birthday amazing. I promise this is the last post about my birthday now but if you want to see the others they are “Part 1 – The Day Itself and Gifts” and “Part 2 – Harry Potter Studio Tours“. If you’d like to look through the rest of our murder mystery pictures from that evening, you can find them here!

Save

My Birthday Part 2 – Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour

by 3 Comments

I’ve been on the Harry Potter Studio Tour before and I loved it. However now the kids are into Harry Potter, I really wanted to go again! Since we really had nothing specific planned for my birthday, I’d decided I’d like to take the family there during May Half Term. As my mum wanted to go, we also bought her a ticket for her birthday in April. Amy has also wanted to go for some time now so I invited her and L.M. along for the day!

Though I tour wasn’t booked till 3pm, we set off at just gone 10am. Its about a 3 hour journey down to Watford from here and we wanted to leave plenty of time. However we arrived about an hour early, which gave us plenty of time to have a look around, even check out the gift shop too.

Instead of bore you with loads of words, I’ll just give you the basics and some photos. I also don’t want to spoil the tour for anyone who might go themselves!

As you queue up to go on the tour, you are able to see the cupboard under the stairs, where Harry Potter first started off. After waiting for a while you are led into a room with TV screens and treated to a short of sorts, all about the movies. The real tour begins after that, with a cinematic experience and then a great “wow” factor. Finally you’re onto the sets and props and you can wander at your own pace. The Great Hall comes first, followed by a large lot containing loads of sets and props including the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore’s Office, Hagrid’s Hut and Gryffindor Common Room. Included in this section is also a “green screen” section where you can fly in the Ford Anglia or on a Broomstick. The experience itself is free but the photographs and film costs extra.

After that you head outside to the next lot, where you will find things like the Knight Bus, 4 Privet Drive and Hogwarts Bridge. You can also try actual Butterbeer here, one of only two places in the whole world (the other being Orlando).

Finally you head back inside to the last lot. Here you have a tour of all the prosthetics and models used in the movies. After that you move on to Diagon Alley. Next comes an area filled with scale models and drawings, before finally being taken into the last room and a large scale model of Hogwarts.

We were lucky that during half term it was also a special event called “Wand Week”. We each got badges for Wand Week on arrival, plus the Duelling Platform was an addition to The Great Hall, there were Deatheaters walking around the tour, plus there was actually a small area where you could learn how to use a wand properly. It was great to see something a little different, especially having been before.

As expected, you come out of the tour and into the Gift Shop. I had already told the girls I would buy them a wand each (£25 each) but anything else they wanted needed to be paid out of their money. Megan chose a chocolate frog and Lily chose a t-shirt. We also bought a copy of their photos flying a broomstick. Though I didn’t buy myself anything, I was treated to a new Gryffindor mug from Chris and a Deathly Hallows keyring from Amy.

Have you ever been to the Harry Potter Studio Tour?
Would you like to?

My Birthday Part 1 – The Day Itself and Gifts

by 3 Comments

As I’m sure you know (I’ve mentioned it enough times!) my birthday was last week. At the age of 35 though, birthdays really aren’t that big of a deal any more. However loved ones always seem to manage to make it special and I enjoyed my day.

In the morning I was woken by the girls – with 2 cards and a Disney Traditions ornament wrapped in beautiful travel paper.

After that, we got up and got breakfast. Chris surprised me with a card and gift, despite the fact I thought he hadn’t got me anything (he had promised to take me shopping instead!)

We had no plans for the morning, so I just let everyone do their own thing, rather than worry about completely trying to fill the day. The girls played on their computer, I started planing my brother’s murder mystery party and Chris sat next to me playing on his iPad. Nat sent me a funny e-card which had me in stitches because she’d accidentally sent a Father’s Day card, but it was soon followed with an actual e-birthday card. My sister emailed me over an Amazon gift voucher and when the post arrived, there was also a card from my parents-in-law and a £25 M&S voucher.

We had a snack lunch and then headed out in the car. We were originally going to head to Torksey Carboot Sale but sadly with the rain we soon ditched that idea. Instead we called into Party Planet for Chris to pick up some costume bits for my murder mystery party on Saturday. Making ourselves a little late, we rushed to park and headed to the Odeon. We were booked in for 14.40 showing of Maleficent and with popcorn in hand, we all enjoyed our movie (thanks to Orange Wednesday too!)

After the movie, we needed to put more money on the car parking (I didn’t have enough change before and the card machine wasn’t working!). We had a quick wander around town, put another ticket on the car and then headed into ASK where we were having dinner.

My mum and my brother joined us for dinner and we all had a lovely time. We shared a cheesy garlic bread to begin with, then each had pizza or pasta. Despite the fact my mum had already bought me my Stan Lee photo op ticket for London Film and Comic Con, she also bought me a couple of extra bits too which was really sweet. My brother not only forgot my card, but also asked me to buy my own present (what a difference between the two!). However my brother paid me back and his gift was a ticket to a Game of Thrones screening with cast panel at London Film and Comic Con.

Once everyone had finished dinner, we popped to Sainsburys and I treated myself to a book. We’d seen the trailer for “The Fault in Our Stars” in the cinema so I decided I’d like to read the book first. After that we headed home though and Nat called around to spent the evening with me. She treated me to Lush and Nail Polish bits, before finally surprising me with the Rainbow Roses that have been on my Wish List for over a year.

Not only did Nat (and her family) get me these beautiful gifts, she also bought me an individual cupcake! Nat was making my birthday cake, but not until the weekend when we had the party, so this was to suffice in the meantime.

As well as all these great gifts on the day, I also got a few more at other times. Before my birthday even happened, I got a bread shaped Lumiere and Mrs Potts, along with a box of Lush from work.

The day after my birthday, I got a surprise Lush parcel in the post, from Chris’ sister, Nikki.

Amy also arrived for a few days and brought with her gifts from Disneyland Paris, plus some new beauty buys to try out!

When we went to Harry Potter Studio on Friday, I was also spoilt by Chris and Amy. I’d been wanting to replace a Pygmy Puff keyring that I’d bought last time and had lost when my car was stolen, but sadly they don’t sell them any more. Instead I was surprised by a mug from Chris and a Deathly Hallows keyring (another keyring I lost when my keys were stolen) from Amy!

On the day of my party, I got a bottle of wine, shopping bag and some Lush from Chris (another Chris) and his family, MORE Lush and some Disney Villain Pop Characters that featured on my Wish List, from Jon, and two more Disney Traditions ornaments from Adam!

Even though this is a huge list of gifts, I feel like I might have missed something! I really hope not as I was so grateful for everything I got! I had a lovely birthday and as always it reminded me just how fab my family and friends are!

Week 22 – Monday Round-up

by 2 Comments

So its been a super busy week again this week but a really lovely one too! The whole week has really felt like an extended celebration for my birthday. At first it didn’t really seem like we were doing that much for it, but looking back at the week its been an almost every other day event!

Monday was officially the first day of half term, even though it already felt like we’d had a couple of days off by then. The girls were with their dad for a few days and so Chris and I managed somewhat of a lie-in. When we did get up though, it was straight to work. Despite originally having plans to spend the day at a Spa, instead we ended up spending the day doing DIY! It was lovely though and definitely worth it by the end of it. The dinning room was so much tidier, my shelves were up in the hallway and even the cupboard under the stairs had a sort out!

Chris was at work Tuesday and I had to pick the girls up from their dad. Finally it was also the day for our roof to be mended, almost 3 weeks after it had started leaking! Once I picked the girls up from their dad’s, we headed to the new Tesco in Lincoln. I’d been once before but they wanted to go so we had a wander around and purchased a few bits. We used one of the new scanner tills too and it was pretty awesome! When we got home, I’d promised the girls we’d paint finger nails, since we’d done toe nails on the previous Sunday. This took several hours and so the majority of the day was gone and we just chilled out for the rest of it!

The next day, Wednesday, was my 35th birthday. I woke up quite naturally at about 8am and waited for the kids to descend. When they did come in, they came with a gift and two very sweet cards. The gift was a Disney Traditions ornament to add to my collection – Rapunzel. We all got up and had some breakfast and a cup of tea. I actually then spent my morning planning my brother’s birthday mystery, which would take place in a couple of weeks. Eventually we had lunch and then set off out for the day. First thing we did was actually pop to Party Planet in Lincoln, so Chris could get a few bits for my party. After that we headed to the Odeon, to watch Maleficent at the cinema. (You can see my Maleficent Review here). Once the movie had finished, we took a quick wander around town and then headed to ASK for dinner at about 5.30pm. My mum and brother joined us and the six of us had a lovely meal. When we got home, Nat arrived for the evening and Chris disappeared off on his computer. I got some beautiful rainbow roses from her and her family, along with some Lush and nail bits. All in all, it was a lovely birthday day.

Thursday and Chris was back at work again. The girls and I had a nice relaxing day for the most part, though we did tidy their room, set it up ready for LM staying and then even sort out the attic for Amy coming. The rest of the time we just did our own thing and enjoyed a day of computer, ipad and tv. At about 6pm, Amy and LM arrived and there were more presents to open! Once the girls were in bed, Amy and I spent the whole evening catching up and looking for costumes for Comic Con. When Chris got home he left us to it, going straight on his computer. It was well past midnight before we headed to bed!

On Friday we were going to the Harry Potter Studios in Watford and everyone was excited. My mum arrived at 10am as we were going with her, traveling in her car. We headed straight off, stopping only for a toilet break at Little Chef… which turned into brunch/lunch. Being on a calorie control diet I’m restricting myself to 1200 a day and the breakfast I had was over 1100! However, it was well worth it and I’m sure I worked off a few calories walking around the studios. We arrived there early and since we had some time to spare, we had a wander around the gift shop first. At 3pm we headed into the tour and although I’d already been, I enjoyed it all over again! The girls got the chance to fly on a broomstick, I even treated them to a photo of it. We also bought them a wand each in the store. As well as that, we tried Butterbeer, took loads of photos and the girls even treated themselves to a few things – Lily picked a t-shirt and Megan picked a chocolate frog. Finally at gone 6pm, we headed home. We had a packed lunch which we hadn’t eaten, so ate that on the way home. Though we were late getting back, all three girls were very well behaved and it wasn’t long before they were tucked up in bed and we went back to catching up. Chris went on his computer, I started printing off the Murder Mystery stuff and Amy and I chatted the evening away.

Saturday was my Murder Mystery birthday party and although that wasn’t till 8pm, Murder Mysteries have a habit of dominating the day. Luckily it didn’t too much and we spent a lot of the day fairly calm. I did need to nip out for ink to continue printing though, but even after all my own murder mystery was printed out, I set about on the next one for my brother’s birthday, just to be ready in advance. However after lunch, Chris and I did a tip run, much needed since Bank Holiday Monday. Again though, I went back to printing for the afternoon and it wasn’t until after the girls left around 2.30pm, that I actually thought I should do some work for my own party. Though I will post about my murder mystery party, you should be warned that it will definitely be a not safe for work post! The game was called Natural Porn Killers and it was basically about a Porn Studio, making a movie called Pleasure Island – so we all got to dress up as Pirates. For once I was organised and ready on time, meaning I could actually shower, dress and do my make up without rushing. The whole evening was absolutely hilarious and I was so glad I picked such a risque theme.

We all managed a lie-in the next morning, which is always good when there is drinking involved! Luckily though no one had a hangover which made for a much nicer morning than the last murder mystery I did! At around 11.15am I had to turn out to get the kids from mum, but even when we got back, we just had a relaxed day. I made scrambled egg for everyone’s lunch, then finished off the printing for the next murder mystery (which by the way will be Superhero themed!). Afterwards I took Amy and LM to catch their train, came home and relaxed a bit, before finally taking Adam to meet his train. Everyone (except me) had chilli con carne for dinner and before we knew it, the girls were in bed and the evening was ours. Chris went on his Xbox and I went online, this ended my half term week!

I can’t honestly believe how fast this week has gone but also how nice its been as a whole. Though I don’t think I full appreciated days like Tuesday and Thursday where I did very little, it has been a relaxing week, as well as a busy one. I got loads of lovely presents and I intend to post fully about my birthday and gifts. I also plan to post about our day at Harry Potter Studios and my Natural Porn Killers murder mystery party!