Can't be arsed!

I think I have caught can't be arsed itus off Suzy this week. I've been looking at everyone else's photo's for HS:MS but really can't be arsed to get the camera out and take my own pictures. And to be honest who really wanted to see yet another shot of me yesterday, anyway. I sure didn't. I did get the urge to take photographs last night but the light is not that good at 2am so I resisted the urge, turned over and went back to sleep instead.
I haven't just been sitting on my bum all week I have actually been really busy but have had some fun too. On Tuesday I went to visit a new friend that I made here on the Internet which was kinda exciting. I found her by complete accident a few weeks back when I was nosing round other peoples blogs. Mima takes the most amazing macro photos so I just had to leave a comment. After reading my comments she got in touch with me and it turns out that she lives about 15 minutes walk from my house (if I walk quick). I went round to her house to visit her last week and we got on really well and giggled for most of the afternoon. We seem to have a lot in common and we are the same age too so hopefully it's the start of a long friendship. We are planning for me to visit her again this week sometime which I am really looking forward to.
My darling husband is shouting me so I will have to love you and leave you.

Rach
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HS:MS - Stamp

To make an impression.
A small token that ensures carriage of mail.
To make a noise with ones foot.

This is stamp in my space today. It's a bit hectic round here at the moment so I am just doing the prompts as and when I get the time.

Rach
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HS:MS - Dog

Man's best friend.

I thought this would be easy as we have 2 best friends here, how wrong could I have been. Bilbo is a black border collie and is totally unphotogenic as he is just one colour but at least he sits still so I managed to get a reasonably interesting shot of this mass of black.

Twig is gorgeous looking but I am sure he has ADHD as he can't sit still for more than 2 seconds. Every time we go for a walk he gets lost as he just runs and runs in any direction he can. Yesterday we lost him for 30 minutes in the local woods to eventually find him chasing rabbits in the fields. I tried for about 20 minutes to get a pic of him but my camera has been licked to death by this dog so I had to resort to photographing him through the baby gate hence the fuzz to the right of the picture (I think it's the gate it could be dog slobber) but it was the only way I could get a picture of him. I will try to sneak up on him later when he has a brief nap to get a better shot. Update - still trying to sneak up on him but no go as he jumps on top of me everytime I get near.

The final shot is of the boys just after we found Twig yesterday.

Rach

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HS:MS - SPS : 22.09.07

Self Portrait Saturday again - I swear it comes round quicker each week!

I took this last night while I was watching "The Hills Have Eyes" which was a total gore fest! These are the most comfortable slipper socks ever! Edited to say: I bought the socks from Primark yesterday for £2 and the PJ trousers were from Primark for £4 - as you can see I am a big spender with expensive taste!!!

Rach
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HS:MS - Stare

To look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something.

This picture shows Matt and Pete staring at the QE2 this afternoon in Liverpool - Kyle was there too but I kicked him off the picture as he kept pulling stupid faces instead of staring as instructed! The boys school had an inset day today so Pete took the day off too and we drove up to Splash World in Southport, through torrential rain, for the morning. We then did a little bit of shopping in Primark where I got the cutest slipper socks ever and just a few other bits and pieces. After my spot of retail therapy we decided to travel home via Liverpool so that we could stop and see the QE2 while it was docked there. This boat is HUGE and there were so many people there it was amazing. We did get a couple of pics of the boat but they are not very good as we only had the little camera, the pictures were into the sun and it was so bloody big we couldn't get it all in!

We didn't have quite so much fun yesterday. Pete has to see the Kidney doc, Dominic, every 4 months or so when he gets the results of his 24 hour urine and blood tests. These tell us if his kidneys are still stable or if they are deteriorating. The best we have got in the last 9 years is 30% and the worst is 19% which is when we had to have a dialysis councillor woman come to the house and go for transplant assessments etc. After 9 years of this up and downing we, and Dominic, are now used to it and don't panic if it does a drop as the next time it could very well be back up to 30%. This doesn't mean that I cope with the day well as I still pace, worry and think of nothing else until he gets in. For the last year I haven't been to the appointments with him as I suffer badly from White Coat Syndrome, so much so I can be sick before I get to the hospital, my hands sweat and my teeth chatter uncontrollably which everyone else finds hilarious. Anyway I have decided not to put myself through it again until I have too. Yesterday Pete was told that his kidneys are stable so that was good news. The not so good news is that his iron levels are to cock so he has to go back on the weekly Epo injections again, it all gets very confusing as he has some iron levels that are far too high and some that are far too low, the epo will use up the too high iron to make blood that Pete desperately needs and this in turn will mean that he can have more iron infusions which will make the low iron higher - as I said very confusing. The main thing is his kidneys are still doing their job so YAY!

Don't know if I'm going to get a chance to do SPS tomorrow as we have my great nephew coming over for the night and he's bound to keep us busy. As well as dropping Martyn off Sal, our niece, is also bringing us her 2 baby bearded dragons to babysit for 2 weeks while they go on holiday. I swear that this house is going to end up with zoo sign outside before too long.

Sorry about all the waffle.

Rach

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HS:MS - Quirky

Something characterised by the peculiar or unexpected.

I have a multitude of quirkiness in my house so I had lots to choose from today. I ended up choosing the scary mask that lives in my living room next to my quirky furry see through curtains (the circles are furry). We used to have great fun with this mask when the kids were younger. On Halloween we used to take turns putting it on with a black cloak and waiting for the doorbell to ring. We lost count at the amount of kids who almost plopped their pants on our doorstep! We got our kids screaming in fright a few times too - like I said great fun!!

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Rach

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HS:MS - Hang

To suspend, be suspended or dangle.

I knew what I was going to take a photo of when I went upstairs for a shower and saw the sunlight streaming through the blinds in our bedroom. This is where my necklaces live, hanging off a candle holder. All I have done to it is cropped it and added the word.

Rach
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HS:MS - Us

You and me!

Bit difficult this one seeing as I am all on my lonesome until tonight so this is a little cheat as I have obviously not taken the kids out of school this morning to go to Alton Towers to ride on "Air". This was us in the early summer when we took Claire, my cousin, out for the day.



I have officially turned into a domestic goddess over the last week. My house is all spick and span (ish) and I have even started baking! I must admit the baking is mainly due to the boys mithering me to let them bake - like I'd let them loose in my kitchen on their own. Matt did bake the biscuits by himself with me peering over his shoulder every so often and Kyle did the cakes mainly by himself with just a bit of help. I of course got roped in to be the taste tester, it's a nasty job but someone has to do it, and I am pleased to report they were both delicious.

DOUGHNUT CUPCAKES

Each cake is worth 5 weight watchers points if you use the same ingredients as mine. They are muffin size so you could always make more smaller ones instead to lower the points.

200g softened butter (I used lurpak lighter)
200g sugar (I used silver spoon light)
2 eggs, plus 1 yolk
300g self raising flour
100ml milk (I used semi-skimmed)
1/2tsp baking powder
12 tsp strawberry jam (I used low sugar jam)
sugar for the top

Heat the oven to 180c/fan160c/gas 4. Tip the softened butter, sugar, eggs, flour, milk and baking powder into a large bowl. Beat together until a smooth soft batter.
Line a 12 hole tray with muffin cases and fill them two-thirds full with the batter. Spoon in 1 tsp jam into a dip in the middle and cover with another tbsp of batter. Bake for 25 minutes.
Brush a little melted butter over each cake and sprinkle with sugar, serve. Will keep for up to 2 days in an airtight container or they can be frozen.

SIMPLE JAMMY BISCUITS

Makes 12 biscuits and each biscuit is worth 3 weight watchers points, and they are quite big.

200g self raising flour
100g caster sugar
100g butter (lurpak lighter)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp low sugar strawberry jam

Heat the oven to 190c/fan170c/gas 5. Rub the flour, sugar and butter together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough egg to bring the mixture together to form a stiff dough.
Flour your hands and shape the dough into a tube, about 5cm in diameter. Cut into 2cm thick slices and place on a large baking sheet.
Make a small indentation in each slice and drop 1 tsp of jam in the centre. Bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly risen and golden.

Enjoy!!!!

Rach
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HS:MS - SPS #4

It's that time of the week when I get to cringe and you get to laugh at a picture of me.

Not got much else to say this morning so I'll leave it sweet and simple.

Rach
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HS:MS - Curious

Eager to know or learn.


Just a flying visit! I've been very busy for the last couple of days and it's Matt's 14th birthday today so another full day. Luckily I took this before he went to school this morning, it's of him investigating his new remote controlled helicopter before it got tangled up in my hair. It's one of the only ones where you can see his face below all his hair!

Rach
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HS:MS - Cake

A soft, sweet food.

Not a very good prompt when your trying to loose weight!! There was no way I was going to bake or buy a cake as it would only call out to me all day and I'm not putting myself through that torture. Luckily we went to my Great Nephews 2nd birthday party yesterday and he had a cake - I didn't even eat a crumb of it. The shots didn't turn out that well coz I didn't notice the white chair behind him so I have to work out how to get rid of it in photoshop.

Rach
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HS:MS - S.P.S. #3

Self Portrait Saturday.

This has come round too quickly for my liking! Seeing as I bit the bullet and did all of me last week I will spare you that horror this week and just do part of me.

Quick blog this morning too as we are really busy moving furniture around and the house is a mess, I had to climb to get to the computer! I'm sure Pete's done it on purpose to keep me off here.

Rach

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HS:MS - Talk

To converse or communicate.

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This is how the boys talk - with their walky talkies.

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Yesterday was kinda eventful here again. After 8 long weeks I finally got my car back and it looks brand spanking new with it's nice shiny new paint job so I was really pleased. Unfortunately all was not as well as it first looked. Instead of replacing the scratched window in the drivers door they replaced the windscreen, which I'm not complaining about but the side window still needs doing, the drivers door bangs into the back door ever time you shut it, the rear view mirror shakes when you drive, there are dirty, I mean really dirty, hand prints on the inside roof and the drivers electric window doesn't go up on it's own when you press the button like all the others do. You'd think that after 8 weeks they would have got it right by now, wouldn't you? So yesterday I spent a couple of hours on the phone to various people trying to explain what was still wrong and arrange for the work to be done and then I had to arrange for the hire car to be picked up as the damage from the accident is now repaired and then arrange a courtesy car as I won't have a car because of the garages incompetence. Aaaarggghhh all this because of an idiot who got behind the wheel after a drink (or six). I will be so glad when this is all over. On the upside the car has still got it's full tank of petrol that I got just before the crash, it seems to be driving as well as it was before and all the scratches from the kids bikes have now gone!

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Pete tried to mend the TV and surprise, surprise couldn't so we were out last night TV hunting. We found the one we wanted so came home and looked it up on the Internet and have found it for exactly £200 less than the one in Curry's and it's delivered for free so I will be ordering that this morning.

Rach

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HS:MS - Feast

A large meal or a plentiful supply.

These bloody things are a real sore point in this house at the moment. You see a couple of days ago I went and bought a box of silent crickets in good faith - silent my arse! You wouldn't think that such small things were capable of making such a racket at all times of the day and night, don't these things ever sleep? In the picture they are being gut loaded with fish food and fruit and veggies (just out of shot) ready to be feed to the various reptiles of the house today, that'll shut the buggers up. So this is a picture of a feast having it's last feast!



Nothing can dampen my mood today including the TV that has been in pieces on the Living Room floor for the last 2 days and the noisy crickets. Apparently the bloke that gave us the dragon thinks I am good looking, a lot younger than I am and asked Pete how he'd managed to get me. To which Pete very kindly replied "She's a bit fat at the moment" - thanks a lot love!!

Rach
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HS:MS - Hold

To grasp, carry or support with your hands.

With the huge amount of slimies that I could photograph being held in this house I thought I would go in a completely different direction and hold a sweetie instead. Kyle has asked me to tell you all that he was made to do this and it was not because he wanted to - yeah right Kyle!

Kyle enjoyed his first day at High School and it apparently all went smoothly, he wasn't impressed with the homework he was given though.

I am embarking on a new crafty pastime all thanks to Kirsty Wiseman. I could really do without any more distractions in my life but I really fancy trying digi scrapping so yesterday I bought a couple of kits from Weeds & Wildflower designs and as soon as I get the chance I am going to give it a go. At least it is cheaper and less messy than using actual glue and stuff and I don't have to find anywhere to store the results.

Ooh Ooh Ooh I just noticed this is my 100th post on my blog, well done me I thought I'd only manage to last a week at this blogging malarkey!

Rach

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HS:MS - Thoughtful

Absorbed in or involving thought.

Now the kids are back at school I will have to remember to look at the prompts before they leave the house. I really could have done with one of them this morning to use as a model but no the house is empty. Not really sure that reptiles think so a houseful of them doesn't help and there is NO WAY I am going to do a self portrait if I don't have to! Which left me with what I was being thoughtful over today. The first one is of what I can see while I sit here pondering what on earth I can take a photo of today.

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The second one is of Kyle ready for his first day of High School which should make him think and has definitely made me think - where have the last 11 years gone? The silly red joker smile round his face is where he thought, unbeknown to me, that it would be clever to have red milk not realising that the food colouring would stain his face. I was so tempted to not tell him and let him go to school with it still there but being the responsible parent I am it got scrubbed off. The face pulling is due to me taking pictures and is actually the most sensible one that I managed to get.

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Rach
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PETE'S DRAGON

This one is just for Elena who wanted to see the bearded dragon because she doesn't know what one looks like and she's got the dragon from the film Pete's Dragon in her head. So in honour of Elena we are going to rename him Elliot which is the name of the dragon in the film "Pete's Dragon" which is very apt as this one also belongs to Pete!

We have just found out that it is a little boy and he is about 8 months old. He is only tiny at the moment but will grow to be about 2.5 foot.

HS:MS - Fall

To move downwards rapidly.

I don't have any fall in my space today and I think it might be classed as child abuse if I trip the kids up just for a photograph. So I am going to cheat today with a couple of pictures I took 2 years ago at Niagara Falls.
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We got yet another addition to the family last night which was a bit unplanned. We have somehow managed to get a baby Bearded Dragon for free as a bloke from Pete's work didn't want it anymore, knew we had lizards and asked if we would have it. The idea was to pick it up and keep it until we could give it to our niece who was going to sell it on for us, but as things are we have all fallen in love with it. It hasn't been well looked after at all the vivarium was far too small, filthy, smelly, it had no light and no food. We have put it in a bigger house that is nice and clean, it now has everything it needs apart from the UV bulb which I will get today. We have no idea what sex it is at the moment but should find out today so we have called it a Unisex name "Puff" (the magic dragon who doesn't live by the sea). Pete's first suggestion was "Mary" which is my mother's name but somehow I don't think she would like being known as a bearded dragon.

It's the last day before the big return to school for Matt and start of High School for Kyle. So today will be spent shopping for packed lunch bits and pieces, getting bags ready and tiding bedrooms. Then tomorrow I can get back to my normal routine without any interuptions - YAY!

Rach
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HS:MS - Show Off Sunday No 2

I took this picture a couple of years ago on a dog walk. I love the colours in it as they just scream out summer and it's not been edited at all.

We had a great day yesterday at bowling and the pictures. I went to the pictures with the attitude that "Transformers" was a boy's film and I was going to hate it. How wrong could I have been I LOVED the film it was soooo good. How sad does that make me? It was so full of action from start to finish, it was funny and the story was actually quite good but the effects were totally amazing. I would highly recommend this film for anyone with boys as Kyle was literally sat on the edge of his seat throughout the film. Matt is a bit cool for the edge of seat thing now and spent the whole time in a teenage slouch position but he still really enjoyed the film, or so his grunts told us.

Rach
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