Happy Birthday Baby Sis!

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Dear Nikki

Happy Birthday to YOOOOOU!

Missing you tons, Pickle! Have a fabulous day, and don't get too drunk in Egypt! I know you were out drinking tonight, so hopefully your hangover isn't too bad!

Another pic of the tree...

I bought myself an external flash for my D-SLR camera, and have been practicing with the lighting and bouncing the flash off different things to get the desired effect.

I used my flash diffuser properly and bounced the flash off my mirror, which meant it bounced onto our back wall and then at the tree.

I'm loving this whole photography thing and can't wait to start my university course in May! Wooo!

Eden Rose

A good friend of mine had a baby recently, Eden Rose. She's about 7 weeks old now so I thought it was time to say hello!

Eden is such a cutie!! I fed her a little whilst Kirsty made a drink, and after Kir changed her, I walked around trying to get her to sleep! It did work, and the position in which she fell asleep was adorable! She was on my shoulder with her arms spread open...Her head was to the side and her little mouth was open wide!

Kirsty has done a great job, and her and Andy produced such a beautiful little thing! I can't wait to go visit again now!!

The tree is safe...For now!!

The tree is safe for now, but with this hooligan around, the question is for how long?

The cats have actually been really good this year. They have played with a few of the branches once or twice, and had a sniff at a couple of the dangling ornaments. Nothing major!

I'm getting excited from Christmas day, I have bought the kitties lots of things to open! Wooo!

So that Yum-yum doesn't feel left out, here's a pic of her too!

The tree is up

Today we put up our Christmas tree.

This year, we bought more furniture, so figuring out where to put a 6 foot tree was kind of difficult!

We decided to move the armchair a little further forward and put the tree behind it. We managed to put the tree right against the wall and pull most of the branches to the front. The only branches that go right round are those from the middle to the top.

We also put up a little candle thing on the window sill, which I will have to get a photograph of. I think our tree looks pretty classy this year!

As usual, we've sticked with the angel theme!

Some more pics from The Birdcage!

Some pics of the drag Queens from The Birdcage! They were very, very funny!

Ang's Hen Party

So I thought I'd share a few photographs taken on Saturday night at The Birdcage in Manchester. As you probably know, my sister-in-law gets married on the 30th, so we had the hen party on Saturday!

It was a fun night, and I took Rebecca for company. I didn't really know anybody, but I think I loosened up a bit after a malibu & coke and a 3-pint pitcher of cocktail!

I ended up buying a cheapie point & shoot camera to take. I was planning on taking the SLR, but I knew I'd be having a drink & didn't trust myself with it in the heart of Manchester!

This is Rebecca & I after the 3-pint pitcher of cocktail!

Debby (sister-in-law) & Rebecca (close friend)


Debby & Me in Lloyds bar. I don't care much for this picture, and my perfectly strait hair looks fluffy on the top - Ugh! 2 hours of straightening for it to look fluffy!

Angela, the beautiful bride to be! She's here with a friend, whose name I don't know - Oops!

What to wear on Saturday?!

So it's my SIL's hen party on Saturday night, and I have absolutely no idea what to wear

I went shopping today for an outfit and came back with more-festive-than usual underwear and 2 pairs of earrings. Not even half an outfit!

I'm struggling! So I think the best way to settle the problem is to decide on the earrings. I'll then have to dig through my wardrobe to find something that matches. Here are the choices:

Some pics from today...

First of all, here is Bryn. He hates having his photograph taken, and all the ones I have of him are awful, because he's barking! I got him almost snoozing today! Wooo!

Next is my little model, Megan! She loves having her picture taken, much to Bryn's disgust! She will stay still for hours and pose!

I didn't really get her in any cute poses today, but this will do!

Now we have Elvis. I opened up his cage and was worrying about being able to get him back in again! We had luck today by just telling him!

Here he's eating a monkey nut!

Finally, my Dad! He hates pics too, but I sneekily snapped him! HA! Take THAT, Dad!

Todays Trip!

I went to visit my neice & nephew today. The laborious drive in the rain and fog was worth it though!

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, Thomas had fallen asleep, so he was in bed, and Emily
had just got out of the bath, so we didn't get to see them much...But still, it was nice!

We had a chat with Zoe & Steve and talked about Ang & Gary's wedding which is coming up next month, and Zoe & Steve's wedding, which is in January. They're getting married in Florida, and having a reception in Llandudno, which should be fun!

I did take my camera along, but since the kids were tired, I didn't end up taking any photographs! Oops! I think Des & I will take the kids out in a couple of weeks. Maybe to the aquarium, or just a day trip to Blackpool or something to see the illuminations. I'll take a ton of pictures then!

In the meantime...you can't miss out on the beauty of these kids...so here's a couple of pics from a few months ago. Thomas is above, Emily is below!

I'll miss you, Dougie =*(

Okay...The only picture I have of him is from Halloween, so it will have to do!

Today I said goodbye to Dougie, and it was one of the hardest things I've had to do all year! I managed to hold back the tears, but the throat lump was there!

Dougie left the bank to work with the community. He will do a fabulous job, and our loss is the communities gain! I will see him again, so it wasn't a forever goodbye, but still...It was really hard.

I bought a canvas off Dougie so I could always remember him. He does brilliant abstract paintings, and painted some that would look perfect in my lounge. If I could have afforded it, I would have bought them all!

Here's a picture of the canvas on my wall. It's perfect...Looks AWESOME!

Missing Megan...

...Because she's so still, and good to practice photography on! I might have to take a trip to my parents house this weekend so I can practice some more!

The kitchen

This is my attempt at covering up the 'kitty damage'...Can you see the broken blinds in the background?!

It was a quick fix that will have to do for now, because our next investment will be new carpets throughout the house, then a new boiler, and finally a new bathroom suite. The blinds are the last things in our line of priorities right now!

Here's a closer view of the cover up!

Why do they have to be so cute?

Cats, that is! My two are complete nightmares at times...but just one look from them makes you forgive them!

Today, for example...I had just cleaned the lounge. I hoovered EVERYWHERE and even pulled out the sofas. The little buggers decided to dig the plant in the corner! Mud all over the cream carpet! Yuk!

Next I got to work on the kitchen. We have a large window and people can see in, so we bought some blinds. They're really boring and plain, but do their job. I wiped them down today along with the window sill. They were sparkling! Next thing there's a crack whilst I'm loading the dishwasher. Tigger snapped a fe of the blinds at the edges! Aaaarrrggghhh!

I was about to go crazy, and I raised my voice in a "OMG YOU LITTLE SHITS!" kind of way...they both just looked at me! I ran over to try and scare them into jumping off the window sill...nope!

Des got home from work and they had dug at the plant again...He said "Urgh...who did this?!" and both cats shot upstairs! Heh!

What on earth will I be like when I have kids? Yes, I know I can't shout and be scary or sound mad...I'm going to be a right pushover!

They're so cute though...How can I be mad at such pretty little things?

I *NEED* a Change

Well, I think I do anyway!

I've worked for smile for 2 and a half years now, and I'm not going anywhere. When I first started at the bank it was an 80% service role, with 20% sales. In the short(ish) space of time I've been there, it's gone to 10% service 90% sales.

Now I really don't mind doing sales, as long as it's through service and it will benefit somebody. It just seems kind of like we're being bullied into selling these days. If you don't hit your targets after 3 months, you're out the door!

I'm thinking of completing an application form for the place Rachel has started work at. Apparently it's an insurance firm. It's 24 hours, so I'd be able to get myself more convenient hours, and it's about the same commute each day.

I miss Rachel. Smile just isn't the same without her!!

*Note: Please excuse the sorry ass pictures - they were taken using my phone at Rachels leaving meal*

Sooooooo Mad...

With all the money I got for my 21st birthday, and after raiding one of my savings acounts I bought a 3-piece suite. It arrived in September and is so comfy!

Well this weekend, Tigger & Yum-yum decided to use all 3 items of furniture as scratching posts! It's not like they don't have their own...there's a big scratcher in the kitchen, one in the lounge (you can kind of see it in the top left of the photo) and another in the bedroom.

The scratches and nicks aren't too bad, and you can't tell unless you rub your hand along each side of the sofa. I'm still furious though!

The cats? Eh, they don't care...Look...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I decided I wanted a pumpkin today, so off shopping I went. I tried Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and finally Asda. All I could find was this tiny little thing for 74p. Everyone told me that because of the bad weather, the pumpkins hadn't grown properly this year...Grrr at the wonderful Great British weather!

I stood carving my pumpkin in my parents kitchen, with my Dad hovering behind me! He was saying "Nooo...Claire, don't cut it that way!" and "Oh My God! You're scaring me with that knife!". I could understand if I was a kid, but come on...I'm a grown woman!!

I wasn't able to do any really cool designs like I wanted to because the pumpkin was so little. I ended up with just a boring traditional type pumpkin! Oh well...It was fun, I guess!

I also found out today that Nikki is going to Egypt on the 11th of November instead of the 25th, so I'm a little pissed I won;t get to spend much time with her due to work commitments. Work really is a pain in the arse!

Freebies

I love freebies, don't you?

Today whilst shopping in Tesco, I bought 4 things that came with freebies! I bought some PG Tips for the free Monkey, 2 jars of Nescafe, each with a free mug, and some persil so I could get Mr. Strong!

I wouldn't mind but I don't drink PG Tips, nor do I use Persil washing powder! But, hey, I wanted the bloody freebies!

Now comes the question of what I'm going to do with my freebies. No doubt the mugs will be used on a regular basis...but Monkey & Mr. Strong? I have enough stuffed toys to sink a ship already!

I was considering putting Mr. Strong in my car, but he'd only serve as a distraction, and he's so soft I'd want to be touching him constantly...Monkey I guess could go to work, but so many people have Monkey's on their desk! Decisions, decisions...They'll probably end up given to the cats to play with!

I'm in love...

...With my new hoover! Call me sad, but when you have your own home, you'll understand!!

We had a really cool Phillips hoover that just rode around the lounge. It was cool and just picked everything up. Unfortunately it died a few months ago after Des dropped it from the top of the stairs - Oops! It's been picking up very little since.

We decided to go for the Dyson, since it has a 5 year guarantee and looks pretty groovy! It's also the allergy one, which is good for whem my Mum comes round as she has pretty bad asthma.

I made excuse after excuse to get it, mostly because I liked the glittery purple! Still, it picks up brilliantly and looks cute!

How sad is it to get excited about a hoover? Heh!

I'm Jealous...

...Of Nikkis tan! She returned from Portugal yesterday and believes she is pale! I'v never in my 21 years of living on this earth seen such a dark tan!

My camera flash doesn't do the tan justice. I wasn't using my flash diffuser at the time, so she does look a little paler...But her tan is still awesome! I'm jealous!

A new lens!

I got a new lens for my camera this weekend. I was a little shocked at the price of £249.99, but I wanted the telephoto zoom, which is what I got!

I was snap happy for a good few hours! Ended up with lots of pics of my sister!

I had a play on photoshop with the above pic. It was my first attempt at colour selection. I know it isn't perfect, but I'm learning (I think)!

It's Official - I'm an idiot!

I feel like such a loser, but I don't care...Just look at the damage I did falling over! I wasn't even drunk!!

We decided to go visit Des' parents last weekend as they have just got back from a 2-week trip to Greece. I said goodbye to MIL, and spun round to say goodbyr to FIL, and what do you know...I'm on the floor!

I didn't realise their porch step was wet and slippery and I slipped down it like a nutter! I ended up lying in their garden for about half an hour as I was in so much bloody pain!

We took a trip to the hospital in Llandudno, and they diagnosed a sprain (possibly small hairline fracture). I stupidly decided to drive the 130-ish miles home, but I really wish I hadn't!

We're now a week later and the bruising is still awful. The swelling is still there and the pain is just unbearable most of the day.

Yes...I know - I'm a complete idiot!

Introducing Speedy!

After many months of searching for the perfect car...I finally found it! Speedy, the Vauxhall Astra!

I planned on getting a brand new peugeot 207 in red. That plan died on its arse when I talked to my insurance company who wanted an extra £1,000 a year! I pay my insurance upfront, and spending £9,800 on a car meant that there was no way I could afford the insurance too! I wasn't financing it!

My Dad took me to have a look at this little beauty. Des wanted an Astra, whereas I was dead set on a peugeot. I soon changed my mind when I sat in the driving seat!

I'm so excited about taking my Mum out for a road trip tomorrow! I think we'll go shopping, although I'm still mastering parking in it! Woooo!