Erste Advent

Getting in the festive spirit

Spent the day at the Manchester Christmas with GO.  We got there earlyish and started with a slap up lunch at Nandos.  I do love a bit of chicken.  Then we had a wander around, eating and drinking our way around the stalls.  It definitely gets me in the festive spirit as well as the alcoholic spirit.  GO was his usual humbug self, but even he started to warm up by the time he'd consumed fresh out of the oven Gebrannte mandeln.

Clever Kiddies

We made £60 at the school Christmas Fayre, it was a lot but we were still third in the class who makes the most money win contest.  Still they are blooming cute and so easy to make.  Just a sock and rice.

We're in stage one

We filled in the registration of interest form on out ninth meetaversary, we thought it was symbolic.  We received noticed that we have been accepted onto stage one (there are two stages that you wait) on GO's birthday.  We have the same SW (social worker) as we had in July.  She is a lovely lady, very experienced, intease GO that she has a little crush on him.  Why not he is just getting yummier as the years go on.

We have a lot of work to do, the local authority want all of the checks to be completed by January 8th 2017.  We'll see....

Tis the season to be Murray

This is my Christmas 2014 Bucket list

1.      Decorate the House

2.     Bake and decorate Christmas biscuits 

3.     Watch Christmas movies with popcorn, snuggled under a blanket

4.     Kiss under the mistletoe

5.     Have dinner by candle light

6.     Have French toast for breakfast

7.     Go for a walk around the village and look at everybody's Christmas lights

8.     Have a decadent hot chocolate

9.     Go and watch a carol service

10.   Decorate the tree

11.    Donate food to the local food bank

12.   Make a gingerbread house

13.   Go to the Ballet/Pantomime

14.   Send Christmas cards

15.   Go ice skating

16.   Write a letter to Father Christmas

17.   Read the night before Christmas

18.   Eat a candy cane

19.   Make reindeer food

20.  Take a family photo with everyone in Christmas jumpers

21.   Visit the Manchester Christmas market

22.  Drink Gluhwein

23.  Visit the Piece Hall Christmas Market

24.  Sit by a real fire and toast marshmallows

A work in progress

I got myself a free set of dining room chairs, they were battered and needed a bit of TLC.  I will strip and varnish at some point but have recovered them in some fabulous fabric.  Looking good if I say so myself. 

Upside Down Rainbow

"Can you see it?  There it is!"  As my class oohed and ashed at the upside down rainbow I couldn't for the life of me see it.  All I could see was the sun, I was getting quite frustrated then I notice that everyone was looking above my head.  Then I saw it, an upside down rainbow, apparantly it's to down with light passing through ice crystals and is quite a commonish sight up north.  It even featured on the evening news (not my photo as people assumed but one from a parent who had also seen it).  My favourite moment was the whole class running to see it and one little girl took out the IPad, to capture a moment I thought.  "Oh, did you take a photo?"  "No, I'm doing a quiz!"

Lamplighters

I bobbed into town to pick up some groceries for breakfast.  I knew that something was happening in town, but as GO was at work I wasn't too bothered about it.  As I got closer though I noticed a few huge multicoloured cones peeking over the tips of the houses.  I might as well have a quick look, I thought to myself.  It was awesome, lots of paper hand made lanterns towering over seven foot tall.  

GO to the rescue, sort of....

My knight in shining armour came to pick me up from the station because, "it's not safe you walking around Manchester on your own" (he knows me well). Nobody told knighty or me that the station had two pigging exits! We spent an hour trying to find one another.  As my phone battery had died we couldn't communicate either.  I ended up walking around Manchester, talking to random strangers asking for directions, looking for a pay phone, borrowing their mobiles.  Finally after I accosted a passionate couple about whether there was a second exit he pulled up in front of me.  At least we know for next time....

Happy Birthday Papichen

So good to see papichen able to enjoy retirement after last years accident.  After years of working for others it's now time for him and Mamilein to have some fun together.

Hope you have a wonderful day full of fun and laughter and a chocolate or two.

Happy Birthday Papichen xxx

I am proud

I am a Soldiers daughter, and a Soldiers daughter is someone, who at one point in their life, left their family and friends to move around the country and abroad to support their father as he served his country. Regardless of personal political views, it is an honour to support those who serve their country, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact. I am so proud of my papichen and all of the people he served with.

Happy Birthday Ginger One

To my wonderful Hubby on his Birthday

Sometimes I am absent minded.

Sometimes I'm kind of cross.

Sometimes I do make out as if I think I am the boss.

Sometimes I shop too much and you get kind of worried.

Sometimes I'm just plain stubborn, if I think I'm being hurried.

Sometimes I act the Diva, sometimes I'm nutty too...

But there is one thing that I always am an that's in love with you!

Happy Birthday xxx

Happy Birthday Ginger One

To my wonderful Hubby on his Birthday

Sometimes I am absent minded.

Sometimes I'm kind of cross.

Sometimes I do make out as if I think I am the boss.

Sometimes I shop too much and you get kind of worried.

Sometimes I'm just plain stubborn, if I think I'm being hurried.

Sometimes I act the Diva, sometimes I'm nutty too...

But there is one thing that I always am an that's in love with you!

Happy Birthday xxx

That's a Cake?

I got a message from Mrs F asking me if GO was working at the weekend.  He was, I replied, curiosity piqued.  She was going to the international cake show in the Birmingham NEC and wondered if I wanted to join her.

 Why not?  I had always love EXPO's, and the freebies.  

I booked my train (it was the Oxford train) and settled down for the journey.  That was when I had my Home Alone moment, I ha left my iphone 4 at home.  Intake it with me to use to take photos as it has a mahoosive memory, unlike my 5C which takes lovely photos but after two it's full. Pants!!  If have to be careful and not take too many photos (if only I knew what I was about to see).

The exhibition hall was split into three sections and with our tickets we had access to the craft, christmas and cake exhibitions. 

I won't take many photos I thought, then I saw the cakes...

Adoption Forms

We answered the big questions on the adoption form on the way to Blackpool, I kept them as i thought they would make a lovely memory.

Why are you considering adoption at this point in your life?

GO: because I have now come to a point in my life where I have travelled the world, met lots of interesting people and have settled with someone I want to raise a family with.  

MrsM: I have always known that I wanted to adopt at some point in my life.  I knew I would never be able to conceive naturally and IVF is not something I wanted to do.  Why waste time and resources on a procedure that has no guaranty of success.  I spent my twenties travelling and finding out who I was as a person.  In my thirties I met Stuart an fell in love.  Now as I enter my forties the time is right for us to start and raise a family together.

Have you had any particular experience in our life that would.....

G.O. I travelled around Australia for a year.  I drove around on my own, I picked up people who travelled with me and some have become life Lon friends.

MrsM: as a forces child every 2/3 years I would leave the school/friends/places that had become a big part of my life and be expected to star again somewhere new.

  

This was part of my everyday life and at the time I thought nothing of it but looking back now I see that it was quite traumatic to leave what was familiar and have to start all over again.

What qualities do you think you can bring to adoption?

G.O I am a calm and considered person.  I don't make any rash decisions.

Honest, responsible, trustworthy, fun loving.

MrsM:  smart, positive, creative, determined, caring, adaptable