Rainy Sunday...

Yesterday was a bit of a washout, literally. It was pouring down.

Our outhouse has a few leak spots so out came the plastic pots to catch the drops.

Other than that it was a good day.

We played some of this..

and this..

had a little bit of this..

watched this..

scoffed this..

had a few of these..

I also made this..

I know, it doesn't look too impressive (and it was ironed at some point) but I did actually make a couple of them and one got used straightaway - they're handkerchiefs for Bucket jnr. He's now put in a request for a few more so I've got my fabric stash at the ready.

Overall a lovely Sunday. Sam xx

Photographs...

When I was younger I didn't mind my photo being taken but as I got older I tended to avoid them - I'm NOT photogenic. I don't think I look too bad it's just that I don't photograph well.

Over the years I've come to accept that I can't avoid the camera altogether and there are a few photos with me in them.

Last weekend Miss Bucket turned 9 and we organised a disco for her and some school friends. It went really well but I should have been a bit more worried when I noticed my MIL taking photos. Normally I take the photos (mainly so I can stay out of them).

I've now had a look at some of the pictures and..... yep, you guessed it.... NOT very flattering.

Most mums know that after having kids the stomach muscles aren't that 'good' anymore and if you don't make a big effort to suck it in you look like you're still pregnant. Well, I wasn't making an effort and there is a lovely side-on shot of me...EEEUUURRGHH!

And there's a lovely bum shot of me..... and another stunning shot of me mid-dance (with relaxing stomach muscles)...

I can't even delete them as I keep all birthday photos.

Next time, I'm taking the camera and I might have to look into some heavy-duty, don't let anything move underwear.
Sam xx

Saving money,coupons etc..

As you know, I like to save money where I can. As a stay at home mum with two kids and husband, every little helps.

I've mentioned my love of the extreme couponing (on last night - brilliant) and I've mentioned the Supersavvyme site.

Now I've found another one - BzzAgent.

I was sent this via email from Tesco and from what I've read so far you try out products, tell your friends and maybe give them some coupons and then write a review on Facebook/Blog/Twitter or even on their site just to let people know what you think.

You can also connect your Tesco clubcard to the site and get more clubcard points - WAHEY!!!

Sounds fairly easy.

I just thought I'd warn you let you know in case you look on here to see me spouting off about something that doesn't interest you. I won't be upset if you open up another page. Just remember that it is for a good cause (saving money), you may want to know about the product and .... you may be interested in joining so you can get some coupons and freebies too. Sam xx

The rain...

Bucket jnr: (looking out of the window) It's p**ing it down out there.

Me: (trying not to laugh) you don't say that, you say it's raining.

Bucket jnr: Why not? What does it mean?

Me: (giving up trying to convince him not to say it) Maybe the Angels up in the clouds are having a p**.

Bucket jnr: (giggling) It's good for Daddies seeds.

Me: And the ducks.

Miss Bucket enters,

Bucket jnr: (very serious) It's p**ing down but that's good for ducks and Daddies seeds. You know why?

Miss Bucket: (giggling) no why?

Bucket jnr: Because it's wet!


It's nearly 8am, I've only had one cup of coffee and it's the start of a school day.

I love my kids - they are soooo funny.

Sam xx

I've had to amend some of my wording on here as I noticed that the traffic on my blog had shot up and I didn't understand why until I looked at the traffic sources and a certain 'p' word was being looked up. Absolutely hilarious!!!!

On the telly...

I love my telly; I love the American sitcoms and the diet shows and the craft shows and shows that show peoples homes and how they manage them.

Mr Bucket does NOT care for these shows. He tends to like the more factual shows, history and architecture.

Although we both have a soft spot for Midsummer Murders and Poirot.

So imagine my surprise when he told me about a tv programme that he'd spotted and thought that I would love it AND he sat through it with me.

It was on Discovery Real Time and called Extreme Couponing - it was BRILLIANT!!

To my UK readers - you'll be gutted that we can't do this.
To my US readers - I'm sick with jealousy that we can't do this.

Basically the show is about ladies (haven't seen any men yet) that collect the mountains of coupons that they can get hold of and use them for their shopping, spending hardly any of their own money.

The one I saw last night had one lady actually being owed money by the supermarket and she had to get more stuff just to bring her amount to $0. I really felt sorry for the cashier who had to wade through all the stuff, one girl was on the till for 2 hours with one woman and she had to clock off and someone else took over.

You should see the mountains of stuff they hoard have at their homes. It is unbelievable but in some strange way - I WANT TO DO THIS!!!

 Source: Google images

So today I went on the computer to see what coupons I could get hold of and found a pretty good site that I'd never heard of before - Supersavvyme. It's run by Proctor and Gamble so helpful coupons and if you join their Savvy Circle then you might trial products before they hit the shops. Every little helps and could be fun so I'm giving it a go. Sam xx

Long time, no see...

I haven't disappeared anywhere or completely logged off, it's just that I haven't had anything to share at the moment.

I haven't done any crafting recently - don't know why as I've seen lots of gorgeous things I want to make.

Maybe it's because it's half term with the kids and my kids are constantly 'full-on', the only spare time I get is when I wake up and catch up on the computer with my coffee and toast, and then in the evening when I'm so pooped I tend to pass out during my favourite shows and then wake up at the end with "what happened, what did I miss??"

I will share with you a few of my favourite blogs that I read:

Matt and Dennis at According to Matt are brilliant. They have amazing crafting skills and if you haven't yet looked on their site I thoroughly recommend it. They have some cool peg designs on there and their crocheting is stunning.

Michelle at Michelle made me is a crafting wunderkind, she can literally make crafts out of anything. At the moment she is making loads of things out of an old towel, one of those towels that are frayed and bleached and you have lurking in the back of the cupboard.

Lucy at Attic 24 is a blog that I might have mentioned before. Her blog is one of the first that I look at as she takes such lovely pictures - they always cheer me up and I don't think she's taken a bad one yet! She does such gorgeous crochet work and her hanging wall flower is definitely on my 'to-do' list that I'll eventually get round to.

Sarah at Annaboo's House is another crafting genius, she can turn her hand to most things crafty and her blog is really fun to read. Also, I've found that whenever I've left a comment (however small) she always replies. She sounds really nice and one of those people that you hope you'll run into and have a cuppa with just to natter.

There are some other blogs that I always read as I love to see what's going on in their world, sometimes it's not that different to what's going on in mine: Anne at Marmalade & Catmint, Emma at The Log Cabin and Frugal mum of 3. Their blogs are a great read and I consider them bloggy friends.

I will do some crafting of some sort or another soon, promise. Well...when I have 2 minutes to myself anyway. Sam xx

Happy Easter...

 Source: Google Images

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter.

We had a fairly quiet day (except for the occasional shouting by moi for everyone to keep quiet - I now have a croaky voice).

Starter

I won't say what time I had my starter.


Main Course

 A nice big haunch of venison just as it's going in the oven. We've had this sitting in the freezer for ages so thought about time to try it out.

We added the end of our home-grown leeks from last year. Tasted absolutely delicious and will be growing more this year.


Dessert

Oops, started a bit early...

Also made this but had to wait as it took 3 and 1/2 hours to bake.

 
I don't usually bother with a pretty ribbon tied round it as it's only seconds before this happens...

And then the kids notice and before you know it, there's not too much left. Sam xx

Toys...

My kids have waaaaayy too many.

I only realise this when it's time to sort them out and get rid of the rubbish. Usually I have a battle on my hands, but NOT today.

A couple of days ago I did my usual nagging request for Miss Bucket to sort her room out and she nicely asked for me to help her.

I was a bit in shock, mainly by two things:

1. She NEVER wants to tidy her room - loves it being a tip.

2. She's 8 going on 15 so I don't get nice requests very often. Don't get me wrong, she's a lovely, lovely girl but when she makes her mind up about something it can get a bit loud at times.

But today we tidied her room, it may still look a bit of a tip full to others but we know that it's a lot tidier.

Although to be honest, not a lot of her stuff has been thrown away as she has a little brother who, at this moment, is really enjoying his new toys - toys that he has been coveting for quite a while.

So now I'm off to tidy Bucket jnr's room and try to find a space for all the new toys he now has. Sam xx