I'm baaaaaaaack !

Hello

When Neil asked me if I had given up blogging I realised that my posts have been less than regular

It has been a case of life getting in the way, in a very nice way of course - all the kids are home yayyyyyyy

I mentioned in my last post that Robbie was the first to arrive and quickly found himself a job to tide himself over the holidays, he is still working hard and doing lots of hours, he has finished the  training he was offered so will be getting a pay rise shortly. He survived last week which was the Charlestown Regatta and was his busiest week to date. We are beginning to notice a big difference in the amount of people visiting -  our sleepy little towns and villages are becoming increasingly busier with lots and lots of holiday makers enjoying all the joys of Cornwall, thankfully the weather has been kind with most days dry, sunny and warm.

Ben and Amy are also here now, and both working

Amy has got a job in the tea-rooms at the Lost Gardens of Heligan and absolutely loves it, she says the people she works with are all super friendly and helpful. She commented last week that she loves the general laid back nature and genuine friendliness the Cornish people have, and she gets lots of yummy treats to eat on her breaks

Ben is working at a seafood restaurant - Wreckers -  in Charlestown just across the road from where Robbie works, he also works similar hours so it has been easier for Neil to drop them off and pick them up at the same time

And last but not least AJ is working as a kitchen porter at The New Inn in Tywardreath, he has applied for an apprenticeship at the Eden Project but wanted to keep busy and earn himself some spends over the summer

And now for a little crafting update ( I found a few images on my computer of projects that I have not yet uploaded to my blog, so I will try and incorporate them into my next few blog posts)

My mum's birthday card from last month

I created an 8" x 8" card base, I extended the Nestabilities die to fit the card, matted and layered the patterned papers and added a punched border, using a Martha Stewart border punch

The flowers were created using a variety of Marianne dies ( the largest actually being a snowflake)

The butterflies are also a Martha Stewart punch

And next I have a page from my bullet journal last month

Each month I create a 'memories' page, a little reminder of the things that made me smile that month, I love that my bullet journal allows me to document what I want, how I want ( and I get to do lots of doodling)

And finally all our pets are super happy that we have a house full of knees to sit on, extra playmates and many more opportunities for spoiling

Sox alternates from being super sleepy and peaceful, knee hopping as each of us gets on with our daily activities to being ultra playful, taking a swipe at dangling dressing gown belts, laces, ear phone wires and generally anything that catches her attention

One full house = happy kids, happy pets and one very happy mum!

Love and family fun

Tracey

xxx

New addiction - Bullet journalling

Good morning

I am still here

Not fallen off the planet or been abducted by aliens

It's been a busy few weeks

Robbie is home from uni and has been job hunting whilst down here. He handed his CV's in at all the local pubs and ended up getting lots of job offers, four of them full time. He chose the Rashleigh Arms in Charlestown as they also offered lots of training with certificates at the end. He has been working there a fortnight now and loves it. It is an award winning restaurant, pub and B&B so the training is first class, the wages are good and the staff are lovely. They know he is going back to uni after the summer and are happy with the arrangements. If nothing else it will be a good addition to his CV

Mum and dad have just gone home after a fortnight here with us. We have been busy doing nothing more than eating, chatting, catching up and generally spending lots of time together, the best kind of time

I have been working hard on the garden, made some changes this year, dug a new border and started planting it up, I will post photos once it is looking a little less barren, all the plants are babies at the moment so it will take a good while for them to become established

We have been back to the Eden Project for another of their 'sessions', this time to see Lionel Ritchie, he was fantastic, so many hits and such a huge personality, he came across as very genuine and quite funny, a good night all round

Now for a little update on my crafting, cards and scrapbooking have taken a back seat to my new obsession - Bullet journalling

I will go into more depth about Bullet Journalling in another post, but as this one is already getting quite long I will leave you with some of the pages I completed in May

The bullet journals equivalent of a yearly calendar, I started journalling in May so my calendar doesn't run from January

Each month you create a monthly calendar, a place to note down important dates, anniversaries, appointments etc, I also add a little brain dump - somewhere to jot down things on my mind

You can also include pages that track things you have done throughout the year -  travels, books read, movies seen etc

And then you can make weekly and / or daily logs

Lists of things to do/ have done, daily tasks, thoughts etc

I started out doing a short to do list and a daily journal entry and also included some challenges but my bullet journal is evolving and I now have a slightly different, simpler set up, I will share my newer pages soon

I also track my water intake daily as I know I don't drink enough, the handy thing is, you can work out how much you have on average every day ( 2.5 glasses last month) and aim to do better the following month

This last page is one of the daily challenges that runs each month, the challenge runs on instagram and the theme is different each month, I absolutely love doing this kind of challenge

The ultimate goal of bullet journalling is to create a more ordered and organised life, simply and easily, less stress and more productivity

Well to be honest I really don't have any stress and being retired I can more or less do as I like when I like, but the downside of retirement is being slightly aimless. Days just blur from one into the next, but bullet journalling has helped me keep track of things I want to to do, I have a slightly more organised day and I am getting much more done as a result. I Don't think I am ever going to be one of those super organised people but hey ho I am extremely happy dancing to my own tune, and, if nothing else, I have a really pretty diary and an excuse to doodle and colour whenever I damn well like !

Love and little scribblings

Tracey 

xxx