Party Time!

It was my brother Jon's 40th birthday and he had a really great party at the weekend.

It was a day full of surprises for him and you can read all about the gift I gave him here.

I think the biggest surprise for him was that our brother Jamie flew back from Thailand to celebrate with us. 

We haven't seen him for over a year and managed to keep him hidden for a couple of days before the party.  As he walked up to Jon you could see by the look on Jon's face that it just didn't register straight away who it was, Jon was over the moon though.

The sun had managed to show its head which was great because it was a garden party complete with a hog roast!

Here's the stampede for the hog roast:

And the lovely finishing touches:

Really cute wooden cutlery.

And fun serviettes.

My plate! It was amazing.

Jon's wife Lisa did a great job with the decorating:

My brother through the ages :)

My sister Jemma did a great job with the cake:

Although it did look a bit like an inferno when the candles were lit!

But with the help of the kids he managed to blow them all out :)

My sister Jessica bought him a Lordship :)

The kids were so well behaved

And had a great night playing in the garden

While the adults enjoyed the food and drink :)

The sun went down and the lanterns came on

It was a great opportunity to get my brothers and sisters to get together and have a photo taken with mum:

From left to right: Jemma, Jessica, Jamie, Mum, Jon and me!

Me and my sisters (not sure why I didn't have one with my brothers)

My mum with her youngest son and eldest grandson

Me with my best friend

And Sara

Me and Sara became friends when we were about 8, since then she has been friends with all of us and my mum and dad have always said she's like another daughter to them.  To quote someone from the party "every home should have a Sara" and it's true!

Finally the thank you for coming speech.

It was a really great night, Lisa had been so thoughtful in her preparations and I know that made it such a special celebration for my brother.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Precious Penny

It's that time of the month again, it's Story Telling Sunday over at Sian's!

I've known for weeks what my story will be and I can't wait to share it! So without further ado here is my precious:

It's a penny ring, made from an old penny! A penny that has been carefully molded into a ring so that all of the original markings remain, not melted and re stamped but manoeuvred into shape, amazing!

My dad gave it to me 25 years ago and told me how a friend of his had made it from an old penny. I look at it and think of my dad and remember the exact moment he gave it to me, where we were sitting, what the weather was like and what he told me about it.  Well, I remembered everything apart from the name of the person who made it, a friend of his whose name escapes me.

Granted, it's somewhat crude but I love it and I've kept it safe for all of these years.

Even though it's far too big for me. 

I recently took it over to show my mum, hoping she could fill in some blanks but, it turns out, she has never seen the ring before!

The one big thing I do remember is that it was made when my brother, Jon, was born.  Now my brother was born 40 years ago tomorrow so this little ring has been around for a while but it seems I'm the only living person who knew it existed.

It's was Jon's birthday party yesterday and I knew in a heartbeat exactly what his present would be, after all, it was made to celebrate his birth!  It was very emotional telling him the story of the ring when I gave it to him and gave him, in effect, a gift from his dad who had passed away 5 years ago.

I think know he loved it though. I also know it will be well looked after by him and I also know that sharing it with him and showing the rest of the family this little ring has made it all the more precious.

Now it's your turn, head over to Sian's and let's hear your story.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

A Sunny Bank Holiday!

This weekend has been so lovely, it was made even better by a visit from Paul.




He hasn't been here for months because I much prefer going to see him and be beside the seaside :)
My friend Sarah had her annual BBQ.




Here she is modelling her ketchup and mustard dispenser gun!
We had a great time and, as the sun went down, we had this to keep us warm.




Us bingo girls felt Sarah was testing out loyalty by having the BBQ on a bingo night!




Here are Wendy and Lin our bingo buddies :)
Yesterday the sun was still shining so we spent the afternoon in the garden.




Me with my coffee




Him with his dreams :)
And before I knew it he was gone again :(
Oh well, the sun is still shining so I'm heading outside with my boy




Aren't sunny Bank Holidays the best?
I hope you've had a great weekend.
Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Week Six

I'm still working on my version of Project Life.  The photos I'm currently scrapping are from the winter and, considering the state of the weather here at the moment, I really don't feel like I'm that far behind! 

It's been cold, windy and wet which is very similar to the weather we were having back at the beginning of February:

Week six was very quiet so only one page.

1. We had an unexpected afternoon off of work because the computers weren't working.
2. I finally took a picture of the artwork Maddie draws on my office whiteboard!
3. We spent a lot of time chilling and snuggled in front of the fire.
4. The dogs wouldn't let me forget it was dinner time!
5. My handsome Alfie :)
6. I had nice food, naughty food and very naughty food.  It was the crop birthday and we had a lovely cake.
7. A picture of us both wearing our glasses, it doesn't happen often because mine are just for VDU work.

So all in all a very quiet and boring week but still worth the effort of getting it in my album.

I have started week seven and I guess I'd better get a wiggle on and get it finished :)

Hope you're having a great week.

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

Onwards and Upwards!

Welcome to my post for Jennifer's Onwards and Upwards Blog Hop!


 If you comment on all of the posts as you travel round the blog hop and then return to Jennifer's to let her know that you've completed it then you are in with the chance to win this amazing prize:

 Glitz Designs Colour Me Happy and Simple Stories 24/7, worth over £25!  All entries must be received by Monday 13th May at 10:59 pm BST.

Now Jennifer's word of the year is PROGRESS and that got me to thinking about how I have progressed with my scrapping.

I started scrapping in November 2004.  I was inspired to scrap by a page I'd seen in a card making magazine.  I remember the layout so clearly, it was a girl's birthday party at a bowling alley and the cardstock was red, which went really well with the bright colours of the bowling balls.  I wanted to try but didn't have a clue where to start so I cut paper and got my glue and photos and gradually started to build a unhealthy large amount of albums.

My pages now are full of patterned papers.


Wow I even use patterned paper for the background, something we didn't do 9 years ago!

I love masks and mists.


Sometimes I love to fill the whole page.


And I definitely like to see lots of journalling in my own handwriting...now!


It wasn't always like that though and even now I find myself wishing my layouts could look as good as some of the layouts I see when I'm blog reading.  When I see really great layouts I like to look back on the creators work, I go back to their first blog post to see how they have progressed since starting, it can be a great learning tool.

Now, I didn't have a blog when I first started but I have been stupid brave and had a little dig around in my albums.  Although I don't scrap in order I do file my layouts in order so it's a good job I have a fantastic memory and know that this is my first ever layout:


A double page of Maddie's first day at nursery and very heavily inspired by the first layout I had seen in that mag.

This layout is the first ever challenge I took part in over on UKScrappers:


I think I've progressed a bit over the years don't you? :)

Your next stop on the hop is with Jenny.

If you lose your way then here's a list of all of the blogs:
Jennifer
Rinda
Meghann
Louise
Lisa-Jane
Julie
Jo S
ME
Jenny
Jacky
Fay
Daphne
Abi
Jennifer

Good luck and thank you for stopping by
Jo xx

Makes Me Sad/Makes Me Happy

Top o' the morning to you!

We've been having a fantastic spell of weather here but strong winds are forecast today, maybe Mary Poppins is on the horizon :)

Well here's what's been making me sad this week:


That mean Alfie went for Pippy so I've had to let Paul have her back for a while, yes I know she's his dog but I loves her too :(

But look at what's made me happy:


Meeting up with online friends in real life and having a great time on the beach :)

What happy things have wiped out the sad in your life this week?

Thanks for stopping by and please pop in tomorrow for the chance to win a great prize!

Have a great day
Jo xx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Makes Me Sad/Makes Me Happy

Can't believe a week has gone by already!

Without any further ado here's what makes me sad:


Maddie is not well! She never gets sick and hasn't been to the Dr's in over 12 years so she's not coping well :(

This is what makes me happy:


My new tin that totally reflects the gorgeous weather we're having at the moment.

What's been making you happy this week?

Thanks for stopping by
Jo xx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone