Heartbreaker

Well, after Tuesday's good news (thanks for all your kind comments ladies!) I've been on a real downer today :-( One of our little girls at work is moving to Bath (which isn't in Rome, contrary to my colleague's belief!!?!) and today was her last day. Now, I'm very used to children leaving for pastures new, but A is a very special girl and I will miss her soooooo much. Her Mum too - they are such a wonderful family. I know we're not supposed to get too attached to the children and we're not supposed to have 'favourites', but it's very hard not to when certain children can light up your life in a way others don't. I am in the process of making her a memory book and wasn't expecting her to leave for another couple of weeks, so I hope her Mum remembers to send us her new address so that I can send it on. Her mum bought prezzies for all the staff - bottles of vino for everyone, then some of us had special presents. She whispered in my ear that I shouldn't open mine in front of the others as it was even more 'special' - oo-er! I waited until I got home and I had £20 Monsoon vouchers (yum!) and a beautiful pair of earrings -turquoise and (I'm hoping) cubic zirconia in gold settings (!)they're lovely - very vintage-y. I'll post a piccie when I can take one in natural light. I'm just blown away at the thoughtfulness and generosity shown by them, but I know that we meant a lot to the family and Mum really didn't want to leave...

However, the one thing that caught my eye was the card she had made us... They had used copious amounts of patterned paper and I'm sure it was from DCVW, but I don't know where from as I don't own it and I would if I'd seen it as it was lush!! I was dying to ask her, but thought it may be a little crass as we were all blubbing at the time!

So, my little 'Sha', I hope you, Mummy, Daddy and Bella are all very happy in your new house and that the people at your new nursery love you just as much as we do...And if they don't, let me know and I'll come and sort them out xxx

ETA: Here are the gorgeous earrings - please excuse the fluff, but that's what you get in a house with two moulting buns. 'Tis not called 'Fluffy Stuff' for nowt!

Here I Go Again

... Up that career ladder! I had confirmation today that as of next month, I will be third-in-charge at work - woohoo!! Of course, this is a very serious business and a position of great responsibility, but, more importantly, I get a lovely pay rise! Not a hoooge amount, but it's better than a kick in the teeth... One of my staff had her 3 month end-of-probation review today and I said that she was lucky - I haven't had one yet and I've been there for 7 months. My boss pointed out that I haven't had one as I've been promoted twice in those months and haven't actually been in one position long enough to have a review....

You Spin Me Round

Mmmmm.... spag bol! Don'tcha just lurve it? We always have spag bol at the weekend if J's here - it's one of the only things he'll eat *rolls eyes* As you can see from the piccie, he quite enjoys it! I'm a tad annoyed today though, as I've somehow managed to get sauce splashes all over my lovely new pink top that I bought only yesterday...

Nothing much else to report at the moment, I'm sorry to say; all is quiet in the life of Fluffy Stuff. I've had one of those weird days where not a lot gets done and the time goes far too quickly. Watched the match and am rather chuffed about the England score, but we aint 'alf gotta raise our game for the quarter final!

Forever Young

Lythan challenged her readers to dig back into the depths of their minds and blog about their earliest memories. I have a pretty good long-term memory and can remember lots about my childhood, such as holidays with my family - pouring soapy water on the ground to encourage worms to come to the surface for my grandad to fish with, finding an injured pigeon while on holiday at Freshwater East, watching the Mexico World Cup and Bet Lynch going up in flames (not together, I hasten to add!) while on holiday in Salcombe in 1986....

I have very fond memories of the garden in my parents' old house. We moved when I was just 5, so I was very young. I remember sitting on the swing, going higher and higher and feeling like I was going to fly over the roof of the house! I remember making 'mixtures' with my friend Pauline, using dirt, lilac blossoms and anything else we could find to put in our plastic saucepans. I vividly remember trying to impress the older boy next door and his mates (remember, I was under 5!) by tying a poor worm in a knot - they were suitably grossed out! I remember the day I moved house, going to school from one place and going home to the new house and realising that the boy who had put his hand up in assembly that day to answer a question was now my next door neighbour. We were partners in crime for a few years after and I remember the time he threw up over a book I had just made.... I remember the day my best friend A moved to our road and started our school and we've been best buds ever since.

I could go on and on and on - I love reminiscing! However, I won't, as you're probably all asleep already! I have thought of a challenge of my own though:

You know that feeling you get when you swing on the swings, or when you go over a humpback bridge in the car a bit too fast, or the big drop on a rollercoaster? Well, when I was 3 or 4, I called this the 'gungles' - I still use it now. Have you ever 'invented' a word, or do you use odd words for things? Blog it and post a comment to let me know!

Hard Habit to Break

Please help me!! Last year, D unfortunately lost his sister to lung cancer, just a few days after we returned from our honeymoon :-( Susan was only 41 and left behind two beautiful children - totally bewildered but very brave. A couple of months later, D and I once again sat, whinging about how much weight we've put on and how neither of us has the motivation to lose any. I came up with the idea of a sponsored weight-loss, in aid of the Roy Castle Foundation and in memory of Susan. I thought that if people sponsored us, or made a small donation to the cause, that we would have to lose some weight. It worked!! Even with pesky old Christmas and all its chocolate-covered temptations getting in the way, we still managed to lose about 2 stones between us - fab, eh? Well, it would be, if we'd managed to keep it off....

So, I've decided that the time has come to renew our appeal. We didn't put all the weight back on, but if we don't amend our bad habits soon, we'll be back to square one. I've been feeling very lethargic of late and am cross with myself as I have a case choc-full of summer clothes that I can't get into. I am determined that I will lose some more weight this time, but I really need help to do this - I've tried going it alone and it just aint happening.

If you think you would like to help, please take a look at our appeal site for details. Hopefully, by the next Crafts By Carolyn meet in September, I would like to be at least a stone lighter, as well as fitter and generally healthier. It's for a fantastic cause too, so please, please help if you can!!

1,2,3...

Kathy, viz zeez challenges you are rilly spoiling us! Here is the latest....

1. What was your first pet and what was it's name?
Inky - a jet black guinea pig when I was 6 - aah, loved the fluffies even then!
2. Which Winnie the Pooh character are you? Pooh, Piglet? Eyeore? Or one of the others?
I think I am Eeyore, or maybe Pooh as I am always hunting for something to eat.
3. Aston Martin or Ferrari?
Astons every time!
4. Favourite crisps (potato chips) flavour?
Hmmm, I like loooots of crisps, but at the moment am partial to Nice 'n' Spicy Nik Naks.
5. Money no object sailing trip - where would you go?
Back to bed - I don't do boats....
6. Tea? coffee? or juice?
Tea - milk, no sugar please.
7. What's your favourite season?
Autumn - I love the colour of autumn and it's still quite warm and sometimes sunny.
8. Have you ever seen an eclipse?
Yes, a couple I think. I was on a train on the day of the big one - it was the 10.19 Wolverhampton to London Euston(!)
9.Would you rather hold a snake or a spider?
A snake, thanks, and I have held a few (and dated a few more!).
10.Which do you play? And which is your favourite? Chess, Monopoly, Backgammon, Scrabble
I played chess when I was young, never played backgammon, don't get Monopoly and Scrabble doesn't grab me either.
11. Do you do Sudoku?
How rude!
12. 3 favourite flowers?
Tulip, orchid and hibiscus.
13. What's you favourite in a box of chocs?
Cadbury's Heroes - all of them! They're all yummy and there's no manky coconut or coffee - yick!
14. How many handbags? none, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15 or more than that?
Erm, I wouldn't know where to start counting them *blushes*
15. How many different countries have you visited?
8, I think! Not as many as I would like....

If you're reading this and fancy answering, leave me a message so I can peep at your answers!

Broken Wings

So, in the true nature of 'Fluffy Stuff', today's blog features a real, live creature! Well, I thought it was dead when I first saw it, but then I noticed it's little sides going in and out and I got the heebie-jeebies as I realised just how close I had put my nose up to it. This, dear readers, is a pipistrelle bat and it was discovered on the fence around the play area in the playground at work. My colleague thought it was a lump of wood and was about to pick it up when she realised what it really was - eeeek!! It was absolutely teeny-tiny and gradually crept over the top of the fence on to the other side, but we have no idea why it was there in the first place and not doing the upside-down thang in a cave. Then again, I don't suppose there are too many caves in rural Solihull.... The nice man from the RSPCA came out (eventually, after getting lost) to move it, so I'm guessing it wasn't injured. It had probably just had a really good night on the lash and missed his last bus home...

Have you noticed my lubberly new banner at the top of the page? (If not, why the hell not? Have you no eyes?!!) After struggling for what feels like forever with trying to do my own, I eventually admitted I am useless and contacted a very spesh lady for help. She knows who she is, but I won't make it public in case she wouldn't appreciate it - hehe!

If You Don't Know Me By Now (Part II)

I've been tagged by Kathy B, who was tagged by Jane, to blog 20 things about myself. This has proven to be something of a challenge, so I asked D for help. "Tell me something interesting about me darling", says I. "You're beautiful", says he. "You're not objective", I reply. "Your sh*t stinks", says he.... Great.... So, without the help of my beloved, here is what I have managed to scrape together for your perusal:

1. I will have been married for one whole year in September. (Although, based on the above conversation, who knows if we will make it to our second anniversary?)
2. I am a stepmother.
3. I'm left-handed, although I do many things with my right hand.
4. I used to be a size 22.
5. I am crap at remembering jokes, except for really rude ones occasionally.
6. I hate rude people who lack basic manners.
7. I don't 'do' late.
8. I have mottephobia (moths) and am emetophobic (fear of vomiting).
9. Touch wood, I've never had to stay in hospital.
10. I am very shy and lack self-confidence.
11. I don't eat lamb, just because I used to collect 'sheepy' things when I was younger and I couldn't bear eating them.
12. I am rubbish at taking criticism.
13. I hate it when the apostrophe is used inappropriately.
14. I think I have a cracking sense of humour, but sometimes an acid tongue.
15. I love my bunnies like children.
16. I am most comfy in big pants and abhor thongs.
17. I long to have children sooner rather than later.
18. I have a tattoo on my lower back and have been thinking about getting another...
19. I despise the words 'moist' and 'crevice', especially when used together....
20. I can't think of anything else - interesting or otherwise.

If you are reading this and haven't already done it - you must - I said so!

Mission

Kathy B set a challenge on the Crafts By Carolyn forum and on her blog - to make a card using a specified template, or 'recipe' as I like to call them. Now, for once in my very hectic life, I've had five minutes (okay, so it took me a bit longer than that!) to sit down and actually craft and here is the finished result....

Now, I know it looks really wonky, but it's just the way it was lying on the floor for the photo - honest! I love this style of card and it's very 'me' at this time in my crafting career - clean lines and purty colours - mmmm! I'm just chuffed to have actually made a card; I am seriously lacking in inspiration lately, so this challenge is just what I needed. I love using 'recipes' as it just gives you a gentle nudge in the right direction, but the important parts are left up to you to put together.

So, I've finally made my card for Father's Day on Sunday - thanks Kathy! Now all I need is a prezzie.... Anyone have a 'recipe' for that?

Cuddly Toy

Awwweeee!! Look at this little bundle of fluff...
His name is Mickey and he's currently residing in our back garden. No, I haven't gone and got another husbun for the princess - I don't think she's into polyrabbitgamy! I've liberated him from a miserable little life stuck in a teeny weeny stinky little hutch. Well, he might have been happy, but I don't know, cos he can't tell me. I got him from the Freeads - a lady not too far away was advertising him as 'free to a good home' and he was just calling out to be rescued... He's going to Hopper Haven at the weekend so that Louise can tend to his needs (plums off laddie!!) and then find him the perfect forever home. If he'd have been advertised just a couple of weeks earlier, maybe he could have stayed, but now we have the wonderful Radar, there's just no way. It was all very surreal, meeting this strange lady in a McDonalds car park at the half-way point between our houses. It felt very shady and illicit and I bet the other patrons wondered what we were up to when she pulled this hutch out of her boot! We could have been 'dealing' in Supreme Rabbit Mix...

Let it Rock

Oooooh! Mmmmm! *Kel wilts into an unattractive heap on the floor* We went to see Bon Jovi last night!! It's the third time I've seen them live and, although it wasn't the best performance, it was still pretty bloody fab! The trouble with bands that have been so successful for so long is that they have a humungous back-catalogue of hits and it must be really tricky to know what to play and what to leave out. There were a couple of songs that didn't exactly set the crowd a-jumpin', but there were still plenty of classics to bounce to... Of course, JBJ could have sung nursery rhymes or the shipping forecast and I'd have still been in heaven! He is just soooooo scrummy! Now, on both of the forums I frequent daily, there are arguments as to whether you would or wouldn't ("Urgh! He's old enough to be my grandad!", "rrrrraaarrrr - i defo would - u know ?? " etc, etc) but, just for the record, I would! In a heartbeat. Without a doubt. And D knows it too - hehehe! Last night the poor lamb was suffering terribly with hayfever and his subsequent medication, but still pulled out all the stops and gave a cracking show. It was just a pity the atmosphere wasn't as good as other places I've seen, but I reckon that's because there seemed to be fewer real 'fans', if you know what I mean?

Also, if anyone's interested; if ever you fancy seeing a concert at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, either hire a helicopter to get in and out, or give it a miss! We went by train and taxi and that was no problem as we went early, but it took us TWO HOURS to get home - we live just 18 miles away.... My poor parents came to pick us up and are probably not speaking to us now!

And now, for something totally gratuitous, but completely necessary....


ETA: Thanks to the fabulous Rach for reminding me of the link to this fabby site where I found the video of the song we had as our 'first dance' at our wedding. Now you all have to listen to it while you're reading my blog - haha!

Music Video Codes - MySpace Codes - Funny Videos

Run Rabbit, Run Rabbit, Run, Run, Run...*

Ooh, I've spent a lovely afternoon in the garden with the bunsters, happily ensconced in their new run , which arrived yesterday. As you can see from the picture on the left, they were a little unsure of what was going on when they suddenly found themselves outside and surrounded by all this green stuff. They soon started sniffing around and then when they realised that - bonus!- the green stuff can be eaten, well, we were well away!

I think they really like the fact that they can properly run on the grass, instead of skidding around cartoon-style on the laminate floors in the house and Radar even did a couple of binkies - that funny jumpy-twisty thing that happy rabbits do. Beany, of course, wouldn't dare let us see she was having fun in such a manner.... Now, all we have to do is overcome the slight problem of their 'aeroplane-overhead phobia' Every time a plane flew over, they would stop what they were doing, heads up listening, then bolt into the carrier as fast as their furry little legs would carry them, where much thumping ensued from within. Just as they'd pluck up the courage to come back out, another bloody plane would come along. This could be something of a problem as we live under the flightpath of Birmingham Airport...

* I know, I know, you're all wondering exactly when in the 80s this was a chart-topper. I've been singing it all afternoon and it seemed too good a title to let go.....

Remember the Nights

I've just been for a yummy meal at Pizza Express (garlic dough balls anyone!!) with my friend P and an old friend from school. We worked out we haven't seen each other for about 7 years, so it was nice to catch up. Well, I say catch up - what we actually did was reminisce about our school days. We realised we're getting older now - eeeek! The things we used to get up to when we were 15 or so!! I would be horrified if I thought any teenage daughter of mine was doing the stuff we were, although times have changed even since then, I guess. We talked about all the fab house parties we went to, all the boys we snogged, how we blatantly lied to our parents about where we were going, who with and where we were stopping for the night... Once, after a particularly rowdy party, a group of us snuck off to the local tennis club, where one of the lads was a member and knew where the key was kept. We spent a very uncomfortable night sleeping on the hard wooden benches of the changing room and when I woke up in the morning, my contact lenses had dried up in my eyes and I couldn't open them... Of course, sneaking out was all the more difficult than getting in, given that it was now daylight...

I remember the highlight of my weekends was spending Friday and Saturday nights sitting on the benches at the Aston Triangle (on the Aston University campus), drinking from bottles of Thunderbird, 20/20 or really cheap cider that we had to ask our older male friends to buy as the shopkeeper knew we were all 15. When we plucked up the courage, we progressed to the nearby pub (The Pot of Beer!) and bricked it if ever there was a police raid - we frantically tried to work out what our birth dates would be if we were 18... Aah, those were the days....!