Blueberry Hill Blog: 01/01/2011

Sunday, January 16, 2011

What Happened to Last Week?!

Birthday Girl!

Already January is flying by.

We went to our niece's 5th birthday party yesterday which was fun. Martha had a fab time with playing pass the parcel and looking at all the toys and eating cake. All the family were there so it was good to catch up.

We got home and put Martha to bed and then we were so tired that we were in bed at 9pm too - such a rock and roll night!

Sunday, January 09, 2011

MK's Great Grandpa

I love that Martha has a great-grandpa. We went to see him when we were on our way to Mike's parents in Yorkshire and it was great to see him looking so well. Martha loved all his tigers and made "raaahhh" noises all the way home and said "mamps nice" lots of times. She hasn't seen him for over 6 months so it was so good to make this trip again.

Emma Bridgewater

One of my favourite things this holiday was that we went to Emma Bridgewater pottery up in Stoke on Trent. It was sale day and we had been out with friends arriving at the pottery later than planned (sat nav led us a merry dance!) and it was 4.55pm when we got there. It closed at 5.30. For the first ten minutes I just felt in total panic not knowing where to start then I got my act together and bought (quite) a few bits....2 more pasta bowls, a birds jug and a robin and bunny baby mug. It's amazing how fast you can spend quite a lot of money in very little time just because the store is closing. I was really pleased with my choices - just wished we had more time to look at the pottery. The cafe was nice and we got a gingerbread man for Martha to make the journey home a little sweeter.

Can't wait to go back someday soon. . . . . . .

Sledging

On Christmas Eve we bought a sledge for Martha and the next morning while I was cooking dinner and we were listening to Radio 4 Christmas carols Mike took Martha out in the garden. She was a bit unsure about the sledge when the going got rough so she requested that Dolly came with her and that seemed to help!

It was just fab to have a white Christmas in 2010 and to be able to do this.

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

An exciting Saturday - it's called "work"

I do love, love my work. From being in banking for a long time to escaping to work for myself it has been like a breath of fresh air. Now I work part-time and I'm self employed.

I am a Phoenix Trader selling a range of stationery items, mainly cards, which are designed by talented artists and 'Made in the UK' - this is very unusual in the card world these days. I sell via brochures and at some events like school fairs and summer fetes and at playgroups and I do mail order too. I also have a wonderful team of traders who have joined me along the way and that's really motivating.

The flexibility of my work means I can be a stay-at-home mum and my earnings pay for family holidays and also some investments. An extra bonus of course is that I love what I do!!

The company was set up by a group of women who planned it round their kitchen table as they were fed up spending a fortune on cards and wrap for their kids' parties - they all invested £10 and did a print run of cards and doubled their money. They re-invested and did it again and kept doing that. Five years down the line they became a limited company and so on until here they are now a fabulous company with impeccable ethics and great customer service to the customers and also to the traders.

In over 6 years of being a Trader I have yet to find something that I don't like about the company.

So this weekend is one of the real highlights of my year - a conference on Saturday, talks and workshops and networking and dinner to follow with likeminded Phoenixxy people. I always come away buoyed up and super-enthused for the year ahead and having had a simply lovely time. What's more this year the location is on my doorstep so I can fall out of bed and get their easily I hope.

Cannot wait!!!!! Three more sleeps :)

A January Challenge

At Christmas I seemed to shop and plan food as if we were planning dinners for ten each evening, which we weren't of course. We had a few friends round at times but much less this year actually as we went away midweek and for Hogmanay. I spend lots and now have cupboards full of things we don't normally eat - quince paste to go with manchengo cheese, and many, many Belgian waffles - they always look so nice! I had to buy our actual Christmas dinner last minute as my freezer is jam-packed.

My January challenge to myself was to only shop once a week via Abel and Cole and to live out of the freezer with no extra visits to a shop or supermarket. Partly this was to enable me to commence on my new year's resolution :: to label everything in my freezer ( I live an exciting life!) If I clear out the freezer and sort out the "unknowns" then I can start to label everything in a grown-up sort of way!

So it's January 5th and I have already been to Waitrose and spent £30 mainly on things for my little one but I did also buy frozen fruit for making myself smoothies and some custard for Mike and also some bargains of veg and some rocket salad. I feel it was justified! I have now done my weekly Abel and Cole order and I'm hoping that next week I can get by on what we have...we will see!

Autumn 2010

Autumn was full of wonderful activities and as busy as summer I think - we enjoyed everything enormously and the anticipation of Christmas was great too. Martha seemed to love it all even although she didn't realise what it was all about.

New Year was spent at my inlaws home in Yorkshire and now we are home to roost, to de-clutter, to sort out files, update accounts records (ugh!) find homes for new toys, remove some to a charity shop, make soup and start thinking about planting veggies, catch up on books, have friends to dinner before the spring holidays all start again. What fun!

We wonder what 2011 will bring and we hope to meet the challenges gracefully.

Christmas - a visit to Santa, a trip to Thomas Land and a playgroup party - amazing fun!

Walking along the towpath at Lowsonford.

Halloween fun - I do like this time of year!

A trip to Hidcote.

Apple Day at Hidcote - fab fresh juice!

Martha's first crayons!

A rose at Snowshill

We celebrated my Dad's birthday at Snowshill Manor.

Four years married and off to Leamington to celebrate!

Martha and Daddy go to Dad's Breakfast and the Pumpkin Party!

I take a trip with Martha to Bournemouth to see a good friend

A whistlestop visit to the Russell-Cotes gallery.

Our holiday in Italy - we take a day trip to Milano.

We walked on the rooftop of the duomo - I have wanted to do that for a while.

My mum's al fresco birthday lunch. We ate under the gazebo, hot-tubbed and had cake. It was a blissful day in glorious sunshine.

Happy Birthday Granny!

Our friends and neighbours came and ate cake for Macmillan and donated generously.

Martha started to walk at 16 months - everything changed again!

Is it over?!

I've been thinking for a while that my blogging has come to an end. I do still read many other blogs but have chosen to do other things rather than blog myself. I started blogging in 2006 and in many ways it would be a shame to end this now as it has been a good record of our life (the main reason I started to blog) so I have decided I will give it another whirl and see how it goes.

So for now a round up of summer photos from 2010.......