Journeys Are My Diary

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Monthly Round-up – February 2017

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Watching: This month I watched Maze Runner, Sharknado 4, Anastasia, Sing, Batman Lego Movie and Green Lantern. I also watched Bitten, Helix and started Riverdale. As usual there was Dance Moms, Bones, New Girl, Big Bang Theory, Grimm, Blindspot, Casualty, Holby City, Let It Shine, Suits, Jane the Virgin and of course The Walking Dead started again.
Sewing & Making (for Closet Geek): February has been crazy busy with orders but seems to have gone in spurts. I listed Moana ears and bows in the store on January 30th and so that caused the first wave of crazy. February 1st was also the last day for my 2K giveaway box, but I also launched a new monthly giveaway later in the month which was Beauty and the Beast themed (not to mention a loop giveaway I had been participating in finished too). I fiddled with some new bows, got some of Megan’s artwork printed on postcards, tried out some candle designs and generally ploughed my way through orders. I made a duvet cover and pillowcase, then bunting to match. I tried to work on new ideas for dresses but never seemed to find time – but decided to look for boy models, so I might list boys clothes. All in all, it was hectic and that’s not even mentioning when I sewed my finger!

And in other news…
– This month we have definitely spent more time being sociable. One night we had our friends Jon and Becka around for games and ended up staying up till 3.30 in the morning. Another night we have Jon and Becka, plus Nat and Dan around for dinner and though Chris headed to bed early, we went well past midnight.
– Amy and I booked to go to Beauty and the Beast afternoon tea at The Kensington Hotel in London. It’s not till May but I’m already looking forward to it.
– Lily chopped her hair short! The decision came out of nowhere and luckily she hasn’t regretted it since but I couldn’t believe she actually decided to go through with it.


– Valentine’s Day happened! The night before, Chris and I had a M&S Valentine’s Meal because it was our one night without the girls in the week. Valentine’s Day itself I spent the day with the girls and my mum, playing board games. Then when Chris got home we all exchanged gifts (that’s a sort of new tradition we have now) and then we headed out for some food and the cinema to see Batman Lego movie.


– I treated myself to a new lipstick and nail polish from the L’Oreal Beauty and the Beast range. I had to order from Amazon Italy but I actually had some euros left on my travel card so it worked out well. The Beast lipstick that I picked is perfect, but I haven’t tried out the blue polish yet. Hopefully I’ll do a review!
– For Galentine’s Day I sent Amy and Liv a gift, plus gave Nat something when she came around later that week. In return Amy sent me a Gaston Pop Funko and I love him.
– I booked to go away for my birthday weekend and I’m so pleased I have. I’m desperate to get back to the Harry Potter Studios, especially now they have the Forbidden Forest though a bit sad Chris might not be able to come. I’m still hoping to throw a murder mystery the night before we go away though.
– Lily and I worked on and off on her chocolate project, largely through half term. When Pippa’s birthday came around I used everything I’d learnt about making ganache and baked an amazing (even if I do say so myself) chocolate cake for her.
– I reformatted my laptop as it was dying fast and I honestly thought I would need to buy a new one. However it seems much better and much faster now so hopefully I can last out a little longer!
– Got a letter from Megan’s school, commending her on her hard work (this is the second one I’ve had since September. She’s also up to 16 certificates, which she needs 10 merits for each (so 160 merits in total!).
– Finally came Pancake Day and in true form we had pancakes for both dinner and dessert. We had stuffed pancakes with chicken, followed by sweet pancakes with various toppings.

Looking forward to in March:
– Can’t really think what March has planned to be honest but I know it’s a fairly hectic month. There is Lily’s birthday to begin with, followed by Amy’s, followed by Chris’ and then finally Mother’s Day. Lily has a school trip and a school play in March, plus her chocolate project is due so I imagine that will make things even busier.
– Amy is coming to visit for the weekend of 17th-19th. I haven’t seen her since we went to DLP so it will be nice to catch up. We’re also seeing the new Beauty and the Beast movie which I’m excited but nervous about.
– As I mentioned, Chris’ birthday is this month and we’re going out for dinner with friends and then doing an Escape the Room game. I’m quite excited about that too but I have to admit I’m worried it will be creepy!

Week 22 – Monday Round-up

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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.

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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.

Week 9 – Monday Round-up

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Another great week this week, despite the kids being back to school! And since I have a lot to do today, a quickie run down today. Monday to Friday was school and work for everyone (except me of course). The girls had singing stars after school on Monday, went to their dad’s on Tuesday and had a school disco on Thursday. Other than that, our evenings were spent doing Disney tasks or just chilling out.

In the day times, I didn’t get up to much either. Monday I did the weekly shopping and finished off Amy’s Ariel dress. Tuesday I struggled massively with my diet and it resulted in a huge takeaway bomb that evening! Wednesday I spent a large amount of time blogging, specifically sorting out my new Florida 2015 series. On Thursday I spent the whole day working on my Florida Planner. It went from pretty much empty to almost completed! In the evening Nat came around, because she was also picking Megan up from the disco for me, so I could get home and put Lily to bed!

I don’t think I did an awful lot on Friday but Saturday the girls and I were tasked with babysitting my best friend Nat’s youngest son Harry. We had to be out of the house early anyway, as Chris had his driving theory test, so we picked Harry up straight afterwards. We needed to go into Lincoln though so parked up the car and headed to Clintons (to buy some Tsum Tsum’s). Chris let us know almost immediately that he was done and had passed his test! Anyway we did some wandering around the shops and then headed back to the car. We got home and looked after Harry for majority of the day. Nat came along late afternoon and picked him up and after that the girls and I just chilled out. Chris and I spent some of the evening watching TV before heading to bed as I was exhausted.

Finally was Sunday and this was a great big day to relax but also get all the things done I needed to do. I managed to finish Megan’s Buzz dress and also put the zip and hem Amy’s dress. I also got on top of several of my blog posts for this coming week. In the evening Megan and I started on Lily’s cake and hopefully its going to be amazing!

Its going to be a busy week so fingers crossed everything goes to plan. Sorry for the short post but unfortunately I really do have other more important things to do and get on with!

Week 4 – Monday Round-up

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It’s been a pretty good week. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but its definitely felt it. Perhaps every week just feels better now that I’m not working! Anyway, its been a regular sort of a week – with everyone at school and at work. Monday was normal – Chris out of the door by 7.30am and me and the girls on our way to school by 8.30am. After dropping the kids off, I headed back to Gainsborough and got the weekly shop out of the way. It was probably about 11am when I got home and then I proceeded to tidy up and get some things listed on Ebay. Majority of the day was spent on my computer, until I went to pick the kids up from school. We came home and the girls went for a bath, before getting out and having dinner. Afterwards they played on Disneyland Adventures together, until bedtime. I cooked Chris Shepherd’s Pie for dinner and made sure that was ready when he got back. I spent the evening writing a blog post and then watching TV, right up until heading to bed.

Tuesday was pretty much the same start, except that I headed straight home after dropping off the girls. I listed a few more things on Ebay and then I went up to my room to sort through some t-shirts and came up with the idea of T-shirt Tuesday. I also decided to work on some t-shirts as projects, stitching them into dresses perhaps. Anyway, it was a productive sort of a day until about lunch time when I started to get a really bad stomach ache. In the end I sat on the sofa for a while with the hope it would go and when it didn’t, I went for a bath. Sadly that didn’t help much either but once I got out, I got into my PJs and just waited for Chris or the girls to come home. When the kids got back I read a bedtime story to them and Chris came home just as we were taking our group picture, so he joined in! Luckily there was still Shepherd’s Pie left for Chris to have for dinner as I wasn’t up to making anything, but I did try to get some more work done on Olivia’s dress and Chris kept me company by playing on the Xbox.

In the middle of the night, I was awake feeling unwell. I ended up playing endless Tsum Tsum and Frozen Freefall for about 3 hours, before finally falling asleep on the sofa. I woke just before my alarm went off at 7am and before I knew it, Chris was coming downstairs. Kindly he made me a cup of tea before leaving for work and the girls got ready while I just lay on the sofa. However I ended up getting ready and taking the kids to school. After that I had to call at my mum’s to drop off Megan’s iPad and help her update her SatNav. I was there till gone midday, before heading back to Gainborough, popping to Boyes for t-shirt material and then heading home. After getting some lunch, I started to work on my t-shirt. There was exciting post in the form of my Memory Maker from Disney World and then I FaceTime’d with my friend in New York, to open a belated Christmas present that he sent. At the end of the call I was beginning to feel a bit worse for wear again. I curled up on the sofa again and that was the end of my productive day. As the girls were at mum’s, I didn’t need to turn out for them so I just waited for Chris to get home. As he knew I wasn’t feeling very well, he came back with a bunch of flowers again – this time pink roses.

The evening was spent with Chris, snuggled up in front of the tv. We headed to bed fairly early as I’d obviously lost a lot of sleep the night before. I slept incredibly soundly and since Chris was at work in the morning and the kids weren’t there, I managed to sleep on until 11.30am. When I did get up, I was feeling better again. I had parcels to wrap, in order to post and it was a rush to get organised and get out of the house. I had to call at the Post Office and then at my mum’s, all before picking the girls up from school. When we got home, it was time to make dinner – Turkey and Bacon Hotpot for Chris and I, along with whatever the kids had. I then cracked on with Olivia’s cake, baking and decorating for majority of the evening – mostly with Megan’s help, at least until she had to go to bed. Eventually I had to call it a night and head to bed myself.

On Friday the girls and I got up and dressed, Chris headed out to work. I had numerous jobs to get done that morning including post office, shopping, parcel collection etc. Once all those things were done I had to head home and get some things around the house done. I had some lunch and finished off Olivia’s dress, all before heading out to pick up Amy and Liv. After letting Olivia open her birthday presents and see the cake, we settled in for the rest of the day – the girls picking to watch Peter Pan as their Disney task for the day. For dinner I made all three girls some fish fingers and chips, before eventually it was time for Olivia to go to bed. Chris arrived home from work and I made Spicy Chicken pasta for me, Chris and Amy and not long after that, Megan and Lily headed to bed too. Chris went upstairs to play on his computer and Amy and I spent the whole evening planning our Florida trip. By about midnight we were all knackered and headed to bed.

On Saturday morning, it was hard to get a lie-in. I heard the girls get up and while they were all very quiet, I heard noises every now and again, stirring me from sleep. In the end I got up and though we’d originally had a few things planned for the day, we actually did very little. The three girls dressed up in Disney fancy dress and for majority of the day they occupied themselves with various things. Amy and I spent the majority of the day just hanging out and chatting, while Chris spent time on his computer as well as going for his driving lesson. In the evening I made pizza for the girls and Boozy Beef with mushrooms (and rice) for me, Chris and Amy. Again Chris spent the evening on his computer and while Amy and I had intended to watch a movie, we never actually got around to it.

On Sunday morning, I slept a little longer but not much. The morning was fairly lazy, especially knowing Amy and Olivia were leaving at lunch time. We drove them to the train station and saw them off, popping to Asda afterwards as the girls had asked for a sandwich. We headed back home and when we got there we settled down to watch Alice in Wonderland. After that the girls had a bath and then had dinner. Once they were done, Lily played on the Xbox for a while and Megan did some blogging. When Lily was in bed, Megan went on the Xbox and she played on that till bed time too. Once they were both in bed, I tried to actually get some stuff done, but didn’t really get that far. I went for a bath and Chris kept me company, eventually swapping and having a bath himself. I went to read my book and when he got out, we both watched TV until heading to bed.

Like I said, it was a good week but for no particular reason. It was lovely to have Amy stay for the weekend, even if it does make the weekend go by so fast. Already into the next week of course and so far its been a little strange. Fingers crossed for some normality come tomorrow but I’ll let you know next week!

Disney Countdown – Days 72 to 66

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countdown

Monday (72) – Jan 19th – Play a Disney Game
Tuesday (71) – Jan 20th – Read a Disney book
Wednesday (70) – Jan 21st – Make Disney themed food
Thursday (69) – Jan 22nd – Make or Draw something Disney
Friday (68) – Jan 23rd – Watch a random Disney movie (Peter Pan)
Saturday (67) – Jan 24th – Dress up Disney
Sunday (66) – Jan 25th– Watch Alice in Wonderland

Right now I’m sat with the girls, watching Alice in Wonderland. It’s that time of the week that I round up our Disney tasks, meaning we’re yet another week nearer to Florida. As of today we’re 9 and a half weeks and I still can’t really believe it!

This week we started off with “play a disney game”. As we’d already played a board game the day before, the girls picked an Xbox game, but surprisingly not Disney Infinity. This time its actually Disneyland Adventures which is a Kinnect game which allows the girls to walk around Disneyland Paris. They love it and spent all evening on it – not to mention several other evenings too. On Tuesday the girls were with their dad but when they came home we had to read Disney. We enjoyed yet another chapter of Never Girls, still on the second book. On Wednesday the girls were staying at my mum’s so I’d agreed to tackle Disney themed food by myself. This was largely because I had Olivia’s cake to make and it was going to be Toy Story themed. Sadly I wasn’t very well and didn’t actually manage to make a start on it to the next day. Thursday was make something Disney and since I still had the cake to finish, Megan came to help me with it as doing her task. She helped with the Sheriff badge, the belt and just generally moral support. On Friday, Amy and Olivia arrived. We showed Olivia her finished cake and she seemed pretty pleased with it. We also had the task of watch a random Disney movie and the girls picked Peter Pan, which they all sat nicely to watch together. On Saturday it was dress up Disney (as you may have seen from my 52 Project photo) and all three girls had fun doing that too. In the afternoon they even did some Disney jigsaws, even though that was nothing to do with a task. Finally on Sunday, after Amy and Olivia had left, the girls and I settled down to watch Alice in Wonderland (that’s now). It’s been a good week and I find myself looking forward to whatever the next Disney task may be!

Olivia’s finished “Woody” cake

Megan’s Birthday

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I’m going to post later on today with my weekly round up but I felt like Megan’s birthday (and the celebrations generally) deserved a post of their own. Megan turned 10 last week and it feels like we were celebrating all week! The first sign of her birthday came on Saturday 6th, in the form of her birthday mystery party.

If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know I have been working on Megan’s party for quite some time. Not only did I agree to write her a murder mystery (without the murder) but I also ended up making four out of the eight costumes (four and a half if you count the costume my mum and I part shared). The first week in December was crazy busy – with the first 3-4 days being filled with writing the party and the rest being spent finishing off costumes that I’d been working on for weeks.

Though Lily’s didn’t quite get finished, Megan and Lily were young Anna and Elsa. I was pleased with their costumes and while I have a few additions to make, the girls were really happy to have “young” costumes, instead of the standard shop bought ones.

For Nat’s costume we had the great idea to do her costume part pink and part blue. It wasn’t quite how I pictured it but it turned out okay. Sadly Nat’s definitely didn’t get finished as it was missing sleeves, collar and the waist band. However it still gave the effect and I have promised I will finish it for her!

As Amy’s was the first I started, it was also the most finished. Missing only the collar piece, Amy’s dress for Snow White was otherwise complete. I was really pleased with it, especially the sleeves and I hope she was too!

Finally, my mum and I shared costumes. For Nat’s birthday, I had been the Evil Queen – knowing she would be the Evil Queen a week later for Megan’s. As such I was responsible for getting the cape, crown, balaclava etc. I didn’t really make any of it, except for ironing on white for the collar, to cover up the purple.

I didn’t get as much time to work on the food as I’d wanted – but we had a rough theme. There were Anna’s sandwiches, Anna and Elsa’s chocolate stack, Olaf”s carrot dip etc etc. Anything without a theme, feel under Sleeping Beauty’s bites. Megan asked if we could put blue food coloring in the lemonade and so that was our drink. As a “party bag” we bought Disney themed mugs for everyone (since everyone was a Disney character) and then placed a lottery scratch card in each. Sadly there was only one win and that was for £1. Megan’s Uncle Chris was nice enough to give it to Megan too.

The party went well and while it didn’t go quite as smoothly as I hoped, Megan and Lily enjoyed it and that was the main thing! That saw the end to Megan’s party, but certainly not the end to her celebrations.

On Thursday of last week, it was Megan’s actual birthday. Despite giving her free reign to wake me whenever she woke, it was only 6.45am when we got woken and we’re usually up at 7am anyway. Chris and I got Megan an electric keyboard, some Frozen loom bands, a Where’s Wally book and a Hidden Mickey’s book. Though it didn’t arrive until later in the day, we also got her a new set of headphones and a bag for her iPad. Lily bought Megan a Ravenclaw scarf and honestly she’s barely taken it off since.

As well as that, she got quite a lot of money from people, largely in dollars – ready for our Florida trip. I think at last check she had just over $200. On top of that she got a year’s membership to Movie Star Planet, a new dress, a novel, £20 for Next, £20 for Toys R Us, a board game and £10 in cash (I think that’s everything!!).

The day was spent at school and work but afterwards we all went out to Pizza Hut for a family meal. There was ten of us in total and actually it was really nice.

That saw the end of Megan’s birthday itself, but the celebrations still weren’t over!

On Friday night, Megan had her friend Katai over for a sleepover. Katai recently moved to Zambia, but she is back for Christmas. As such it was Megan’s one request, to have Katai over for the night and then spend the day with her on Saturday. The weekend started with popcorn, crisps, chicken strips, cheese bites and cherry coke, while watching movies. First we watched Enchanted and then The Game Plan. After that the girls went to bed. The next day we had a very chilled out morning and finally around lunch time I sent everyone upstairs to get dressed. God knows how, but it took them an hour to get ready and it was about 1.30pm before they were ready to go! We headed over to Lincoln with the plan to get dinner and then go bowling, but in the end it didn’t work out that way.

We went to a pub called Woodcocks for lunch and even though it was 2pm, the pub was still incredibly busy. It took an hour to get food and then because we ordered dessert too, it took almost two hours in total. When we eventually left, we went over to my mum’s for a little while, just so Megan could have longer with Katai. However we headed back after that, dropping off Katai on the way home. This officially saw the end to Megan’s birthday celebrations and now we’re moving on to Christmas! I can’t believe its only a week and a half away now!

Week 48 – Monday Round-up

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Once again I haven’t kept up with my round-up post this week, so I’m going to make it a quickie. As you’ll have seen, I haven’t been very active on my blog this week and that’s because I’m still super busy making costumes and writing a mystery party – not to mention organising the Murder Mystery party we had on Saturday just gone. I know this coming week will be just as crazy so I’m hoping to get some post scheduled and not neglect my blog quite so badly this week!

Monday to Friday was work and school for everyone and honesty it dragged so much. In someways I was thankful because it meant that having so much to do, I actually felt like I had time to do it, but at the same time a week of work seemed never ending! Not only that but I started to feel sick towards the end of the week and that made everything worse!

Megan was actually off ill on the Monday and Mum had to look after her for the day. This meant that Lily didn’t end up staying for Singing Stars after school – which was nice as we all got straight home. I spent the evening working on costumes (as I did most evenings this week) and of course catching up with X Factor and I’m a Celebrity. Lily had pizza for dinner and we got to use our new Slice Sabre which I have to admit is very amusing. It comes on promotional boxes of Chicago Town Pizza and there are two different versions. There is even a game to while away the hours, once you get bored of playing with the pizza slice itself!

By Tuesday Megan was back to school again and feeling a lot better. The kids were with their dad so I was home a little earlier than usual. I spent the evening doing more dress making – this time concentrating on Nat’s Aurora dress. Wednesday was Megan’s class assembly and I got permission to be in work half an hour later, in order to go. It was a very funny assembly based on I’m a Celebrity (but I’m a Criminal) and was all about past punishments through the ages. Sadly I had to head to work afterwards but the day did feel a little shorter at least. That evening I attempted to start on Nat’s birthday cake but sadly it all went a bit wrong and I sent the cake with Chris to work the next day!

The following day was Thursday and I had Parent’s Evening after school. Mum met me there to look after the kids and I had my appointments at 4.45 and 4.55. The kids are both doing great and not a single bad word was said about either of them. I was absolutely thrilled and a very proud mum. After Parent’s Evening, the girls and I headed to Nat’s because it was her birthday. I’d bought her some Harry Potter stuff which you’ll soon find in a Hot Topic Haul additional post! We stayed for about an hour before heading home and then I spent the evening re-trying to make cake. This time it was successful though so at least I knew I was on my way in the huge process that is cake making and decorating! While waiting for the cakes to cook, I started to print out the murder mystery, ready for Saturday. Unfortunately the printers (both of them) didn’t want to play and I gave up as a bad job. I decided that buying a new one (especially in Black Friday sales), was probably the best way to go!

Friday I was so pleased to see, but at the same time I knew I’d not got as much done on costumes as I’d wanted to. Megan and I sat together and picked out some ribbons to order on Ebay before school, but then we headed off – knowing the evening would be a busy one! After work I headed into town to get a new printer and unfortunately got caught in traffic. I called my mum to get the girls from school and it was a good job I did as I was almost an hour later picking them up from her house. With my new printer, we headed back home but then decided at the last minute to head to Tesco for some icing (for the cake). While there, we had the brainwave to shop for the following day’s party while we were there and racked up a shopping bill of over £100!

That evening I started to work on my cakes and Megan made a Little Red Riding Hood to top the cake with. I also set up my new printer and got the murder mystery all printed out – killing both my new cartridges. I headed to bed at a fairly reasonable time as I’d been feeling quite rough all day and didn’t want to feel bad the next day. Unfortunately my internal body clock had me awake at 8am the next day and so I figured I’d just get up and get on with things. My voice was terribly croaky but luckily I didn’t feel too ill in myself. I wrote a list of everything I needed to do that day and then proceeded to get dressed and pop to the Post Office for some parcels and then to Boyes for a few bits of material. After that the day flew by with party preparations, cooking, cleaning and tidying – and of course Amy arriving. Everything went fairly smoothly and at about 8.30pm our Murder Mystery began. It was a fun evening and I was glad to see everyone and catch up. I didn’t drink as I was worried about feeling worse the next day but I didn’t really mind or care. It was well past midnight by the time we all headed to bed though and sadly I was awake at 8am again the next morning.

Finally it was Sunday though and the end of a long week – if not, the start of another busy one. I officially lost my voice though and spent majority of the day whispering to everyone. Funny thing – when you whisper, its almost certain people will whisper back! The whole household was whispering all day. I spent majority of the morning watching I’m a Celebrity as we had 4 episodes to catch up on. However I then had to take Amy to the station and then girls and I popped to Argos back in Gainsborough afterwards. Though I had big plans for how I would be spending the afternoon, none of it got done. I spent majority of the afternoon helping the girls finish their top secret Disney Project (all will be revealed later) and watching more I’m a Celebrity and X Factor. Afterwards I had some dinner, then a bath and finally spent the evening blogging while Chris was on his X Box. I have so much to do but being so ill I knew I needed some time out for me. However that now means I have Monday-Thursday evenings to get this mystery party sorted, not to mention all the costumes finished. It’s going to be a stressful week but fingers crossed I’ll get it all done!

Week 42 – Monday Round-up

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Again, another repeat of my Sunday Round up, with a little more info – my weekly round up, for Monday!

This week has seen the end of week 42. I seriously can’t believe there are only 10 weeks of the year left. That said, I’m so so pleased to see the end of this week – its been both good and bad but mostly the end of my work week has been the landmark for this whole week. I now have two weeks off and while I have more planned for it than what is physically possible, I’m really looking forward to getting stuff done, as well as some down time.

Monday to Friday were work or school for everyone in the house. The girls were supposed to have Singing Stars on Monday after school, but at the very last minute it was cancelled. In a way I was pleased because it meant we got home earlier than expected. Chris was home not long after us too, so it was nice to spend the whole evening together. While I did do some online stuff and blogging, Chris and I also spent the evening watching the new first episode of Walking Dead and the first episode of Gotham too.

Tuesday the girls were with their dad so I was able to head straight home. Chris was off so it was nice to get some time with him, but I also had stuff I wanted to get on with. I did more blog stuff and then actually took a bath. When the girls were home, they unfortunately had to go straight to bed. Chris and I spent the evening together though I was on my computer and he did a mixture of Xbox and watching TV.

Wednesday I got an email about Disney on Ice for next year, I even mentioned it to the kids in the car on the way home. Then when I checked Facebook I saw that Amy was disappointed to not have one nearby to her, so I offered for her to come over for the weekend and we could go together. When I looked at the tickets, they were selling fast so I ended up pinching Chris’ credit card and booking our tickets! After that though I just spent the evening relaxing. My head was hurting quire a lot so I ended up sitting on the sofa and reading “Insurgent”.

Thursday I woke up feeling incredibly emotional for no real reason. I burst into tears several times before I even got to work. However overall it wasn’t a terrible day and I actually picked up a job application form for a new job I want to apply for. On top of that I had another relaxing evening where I actually finished off Insurgent – expect a book review soon!

Friday was finally the end of my work and I was so pleased. I called briefly at my mum’s after school and she came up to see the girls at school with me, as she was leaving for holiday that day. When the girls and I got home we went to pick up parcels – I received 2 “My Little Box”s, of which I will be reviewing later in the week. Megan and I also started to make a cake for Chris’ Gran, as it was her 90th birthday and we planned to go around the next day. In the evening I had hoped to sew but got distracted by online shopping. I won’t even tell you what I bought…

Saturday I got up and decorated the cake for Chris’ Gran, then did a little work on my computer before finally settling down to do some sewing. In the end though we headed out to Chris’ Gran’s fairly early, staying there for about an hour before coming home and having lunch. After lunch Chris had to head to work and I went back to sewing. When I ran out of material though, the girls and I headed into town for some more. We ended up having a little bit of a wander and then I bought them a notebook each and McDonalds for dinner. Then when we got home I went back to sewing and before long I was joined by both of them to sit at the table and write stories. Eventually Lily went to bed and not long after Nat arrived. I finally got around to making myself dinner and then Megan went to bed leaving Nat and I to chat. The whole evening flew by and it didn’t feel like we covered anywhere near enough topics, but it was midnight by the time she left! When Chris got home I made him open his “My Geek Box” which had arrived during the day – I’ll be blogging about that later in the week too.

Sunday I was really hoping for a lie in but it was not to be. I got up and went straight to sew, but as the girls both came to join me, to write more, it didn’t really end up being that constructive. In the end Megan and I went to watch Saturday night’s X Factor and when that was done we all agreed we’d got out and get the weekly shopping done. We headed first to Aldi and then to Morrisons, before coming home and actually getting lunch. After that I decided to knock sewing on the head for a while and instead settled down to watch TV and get loads of blogging sorted for the week. I ended up watching Casualty, followed by The Apprentice, followed by three episodes of Doctor Who. We had pizza for dinner and the girls had a bath and after they went to bed I finally went back to my sewing. Chris was home earlier than normal as its a Sunday and we spent the evening together before heading to bed.

Mum’s Tiramisu Cake

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Do you know that I’ve been meaning to post about this cake since April, when Mum had her birthday? I guess I’ve just made so many cakes in between that I never got around to it. Anyway, with last week’s GBBO having the theme of cakes, its spurred me on to actually get this posted about.

My mum is not a fan of icing on cakes. She doesn’t want something decorated with a geeky theme or thousands of sweets. Instead when I asked her what kind of cake she would like, all she requested was fresh cream. However this was my mum and I wanted to make her something special. So the more and more I thought about it, the more I knew I wanted to make it something she would love. As her favourite dessert is Tiramisu, I had the brainwave to make a sort of Tiramisu Cake – and this is what I came up with.

Tiramisu Birthday Cake

Cake:
2 packets of sponge cake mix
1 tsp instant coffee powder/granules
60ml coffee
1 tbsp coffee liqueur
Filling:
1 container of mascarpone cheese (approx 250g)
120g icing sugar
2 tbsp coffee liqueur
Frosting:
500ml double cream
60g icing sugar
2 tbsp coffee liqueur
Decorate:
a Flake, cocoa powder, grated chocolate etc.

Now if you read the ingredients before you read the instructions, you might be gasping that my recipe features two packets of sponge cake mix. I don’t want to lie to you.. this is what I used. They were about 20p from Tesco and saved so much extra hassle! However if you really want to make the sponge mix yourself, there is nothing stopping you. You’d need enough mix for 3, 9 inch tins.

1. Make up the cake mix, according to the instructions. Divide the mixture into thirds, two of which can go straight into the cake tins (greased/lined, 9 inch tins) and the other should remain in a bowl. Add the instant coffee to the last lot of cake mixture. Stir and then add to the final cake tin.

2. Bake in a preheated oven (180°C ish, Gas Mark 4/5) for approximately 20 minutes – until the cakes are cooked. Leave to cool, turning out onto a cooling rack after 10 minutes or so.

3. While the cakes are cooling, you can do three things.
– In a small bowl or cup, mix the 60ml coffee (i.e. filter coffee, or coffee made up from instant powder) and 1 tbsp of coffee liqueur – set to one side.
– In a slightly larger bowl, mix the mascarpone, 120g icing sugar and 2 tbsp coffee liqueur. Whisk until smooth and slightly thicker (preferably with an electric whisk). Refrigerate once done. This is the filling.
– In another bowl, add the double cream, 60g icing sugar and 2 tbsp coffee liqueur. Whisk until stiff (preferably with an electric whisk). This is the topping. Take about 8 tbsp of this mixture and add to the filling mixture. Refrigerate once done.

4. When the sponges are cooled, you’re ready to assemble the cake. Place one plain sponge onto a serving plate, cake board etc. With a skewer or cocktail stick, poke holes at random intervals throughout the sponge. Carefully pour some of the coffee/liqueur mixture over the sponge, so that it soaks into the holes. Next, add a layer of filling mixture, then top with the coffee sponge layer. Add another layer of filling mixture and finally add the last plain sponge. Poke holes in the top sponge and pour the remaining coffee/liqueur mixture over the cake so it soaks into the holes.

It’s not pretty but you get the idea!

Your cake is basically made, so its now just a case of decorating it and making it look nice. Of course its pretty much up to you, what you do now, but this is what I did.

5. Taking the topping mixture, spread over the top of the cake and down the sides to smooth and neaten the look. While I had originally intended to completely cover the top and sides in the topping, I ended up deciding to leave some of the brown sponge showing as I thought it looked nice. Once you’re completely satisfied with the covering of your cake, sieve some cocoa powder over the top and/or sprinkle some grated chocolate or pieces of broken up Flake.

And that’s it, you’re done! An amazingly tasty, Tiramisu Cake.

Obviously if you’d prefer, you can make without the coffee liqueur and its just a fancier coffee cake. However as Tiramisu traditionally has alcohol in it, that’s why I went with the liqueur. At all stages, make sure you keep tasting. More icing sugar can be added for a sweeter taste or more coffee could be added for a stronger coffee flavour.

My mum loved it, as did everyone else who tried a piece. While its wickedly filled with calories, its great for a treat – especially a birthday. The recipe is so simple and can be easily adapted. Why not give it a try yourself?

Week 24 – Monday Round-up

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I’m going to try and make this quick as I have a lot to do tonight and its also GoT finale night!

This week has been a fairly steady sort of a week, with busy moments and quiet moments – overall feeling fairly normal. Monday to Friday has been a regular work/school week for everyone. I didn’t work any extra evenings and nothing spectacular happened! 

Monday the girls had an after school club. This is the first time that they have both been at something at the same time! It was really nice to have a bit of extra time after work and I ended up popping into town and having a potter around. Sadly there was a sudden flash rainstorm and everyone in town got soaked! There was even a cafe on the Waterside that got flooded! In addition to that, I found out the Iron Throne will be at Comic Con in a few weeks time and I have to admit I’m pretty excited by that! Monday was also my brother’s birthday though I didn’t see him that day. His party was Friday, but more about that in a moment!

Tuesday night I was baking cakes! As I mentioned it was my brother’s birthday on the Monday and his party on the Friday. I spent Tuesday and Thursday nights doing his cake! Wednesday the girls and I defrosted the freezer (that was fun!) and Thursday night I went shopping for party food. Thursday night was also a sort of crazy night, what with last minute changes to the Murder Mystery, a new costume needed for Megan (who was standing in for someone who couldn’t make it), shopping to help my brother out with his costume and booking flights to Florida (which sadly didn’t go as smoothly as I’d have hoped! However all in all, it gone done and I was glad for it.

Friday night was the Murder Mystery. I will be making a post all about it but it was basically a Superhero themed one. It was fantastic and everyone really enjoyed it. I’m glad we picked it!

Saturday was a day of part relaxing, part organising. Amy was here for the whole weekend so as well as making another cake (it was Harry’s birthday on Sunday) we also spent the time getting sorted for the Blog Meet! Sunday I finished off my cake, took Amy to the train station and then headed over to Nat’s for Harry birthday. Finally I spent the evening trying to catch up on about 3 days of online stuff, as well as more blog meet stuff! Sunday was also Father’s Day and while sadly my dad isn’t around to celebrate Father’s Day any more, he was definitely on my mind.

Every day was a great mail day! Amy and I are doing a Blog Meet this coming weekend and as the event draws nearer, we’ve been getting more and more stuff! Not only that but I treated myself to some new MAC lipstick, as well as buying the patterns for making my Comic Con costume. So those, along with my murder mystery costume, all arrived in the mail this week.

Not much else to report, but generally stuff is good. Well, except for the leaking toilet… but then when isn’t something going wrong in this house? Till next time!