It's all about me blog train

Well Good Morning to you! Have you come over to me from Denise's blog? Well she's known me for over 30 years now so I'm guessing she knows all about me. And of course, I may be able to verify or deny some of what she's told you about herself! Anyway how nice of you to get up so early and check out the blog train set up by Mel. I'm sure that over time I have revealed quite a few bits about myself in my blog postings but sometimes there are things that are glaringly obvious to yourself that you don't think to mention so ... may I now show you my autobiography.

Front side

Reverse side

So now to show you a few pages at a time and explain what each represents in my life. Me. Me. Me. It's all about Me ....

The front cover is pretty plain and simple, just the letter 'd' for Deb. That's me. So now let's move left to right ...
Then we have a picture of a cup cake. This is the kind of thing I consider a treat!
The next photo is of the desk in my study which is wear I do my scrapbooking. Ok. Ok. Don't look too closely at this one, it's there to show you how messy I am!
The next two pages show the new Jamie Oliver cook book and on the facing page is a pocket with a tag in it that explains how I love to buy new cook books. I have dozens!

My first quote is 'The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra'.
Then we have a picture of a beach. If I had a free afternoon - this is where I would love to spend a few hours. Just walking barefoot on the sand and if the sea is warm enough, maybe a little paddle in the shallow water.
We try to get over to my sister's holiday home in Portugal at least once a year, and the next picture is the view from the roof terrace. Let's just say I'll be seeing that view again next week - woohoo!!!
Did you ever wonder what kind of jewellry I like? Well, let's go shopping one day, we'll go to Links of London and maybe pop into Thomas Sabo to buy some new charms for my bracelet.
Favourite colours? Just look at the lovely pinks and lilacs in this bunch of flowers. Perfect.
Wow - we're half way through. Time to turn over the minibook and see the next side.

'Live for today. Learn from yesterday. Hope for tomorrow' A good quote I think.
The first scrapbook class I ever took was online at Shimelle.com and I like to think I've learnt a lot and improved since then. So I couldn't make a book about me without including a photo of me with the lady responsible could I?
I spend half my week at work so the next page is a picture of the school crest with the motto 'Sic itur ad astra' Reach for the stars.
Oh Hotel Chocolat. How I love your goodies. How weak I am in your presence. Even the sight of this photo makes me want to eat some chocolatey loveliness.

The next two pages work together. There is a picture of a bumble bee. I love bees, and worry about the news that their numbers are decreasing. Put me within 6" of a wasp and I am not happy until it is dead but I would never, ever harm a bee and I try to encourage them into the garden. In the envelope is a little note to that effect with the explanation that I was obviously destined to love bees as my full name, Deborah, means 'the bee'.
How cute is my little penguin? I had a phase of collecting penguin bits and bobs and this is my cutest one.
The page with the flower on is there as it shows how I am never happy with a page unless it has a bit of glitter, a flower or a butterfly on it.
The three little words that describe me are hidden under the flap of the page opposite the page of me in my favourite part of the house - the conservatory.

Phew! That's it. Now you know me inside out. Ready for some more? Who's next on the list of people? That would be Amy. Hang on a minute, we'll need our passports! I'll just get my handbag and I'll come along with you, I've always wanted to find out more about her!

I'm ready to go!

Well after worrying that I would need to come up with a very good reason why I wasn't able to complete my mini book for the blog hop (and believe me I had come up with some interesting ones) I'm all done. All finished. All photographed. All ready to share.

(my daughter looked at it and said 'it's good mum, but why have you put a J on the front?' It's a fancy 'd' for Deb - honest!)

And your starter for ten is ....

(that quote will be lost on anyone that didn't watch Bamber Gasgoine host University Challenge back in the day!)
Mel included me in her list of people that were asked a random set of questions and I've spent many a happy hour giving each my careful consideration. So to anyone that saw me apparently daydreaming while staring out the window at work yesterday - I wasn't daydreaming - I was thinking! ;-)

1. Where in the world did you spend your most memorable day ever, and what did you do?
Can I only have one? Because my wedding day was fabulous, but then I have the days my daughter and son were born and they were just amazing and so memorable. Oh, don't make me choose, that's so unfair!

2. What is your favourite time of year, and why?
Now you see, I'm torn. I love the summer - I love feeling warm and not having to take a cardigan or jacket out with me and I absolutely hate being cold. But I equally love the spring. It's a sign that good weather is hopefully round the corner and colour is appearing in the gardens and countryside. Hmm - OK, I'm going to go for round about now: May/June. Long days, balmy evenings and signs of nature's growth all around.

3. What is your favourite time of day, and why?
Mid morning on holiday, sun shining but not too hot. I'm warm, I'm comfortable on my sunlounger and all is well in the world.

4. What food would you find it very hard to do without?
Well, I probably use rice a lot when I'm cooking, either as a whole meal like risotto or jambalaya or as an accompaniment. But if we are talking sauces, it's sweet chilli dipping sauce.

5. What colour makes you feel happiest?
Aqua blue

6. What's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to you? (Or the most recent nice thing?)
That I am a really good friend who they know they can rely on

7. What's the nicest thing you've ever said to anyone else? (Or the most recent nice thing?)
Telling them how important they are to me and how my life is better for having them in it.

8. Who would be guest of honour at your dream dinner party?
I think that Stephen Fry would be fascinating, he's such a knowledgable man and has a great sense of humour. But I also think my girl friends would be pretty impressed if they arrived and found George Clooney at the table.

9. What's your favourite bird?
Does a penguin count as a bird?

10. What word or phrase do you find yourself over-using?
My family frequently comment on my latest 'in' words. I even have numbers I over use. They seem to think I exaggerate and apparently I often use the number 27 "I must have asked you 27 times to do that" etc. Once I realise I am using a phrase it seems I can't help myself. At the moment, the word 'clearly' seems to be cropping up. And a little while ago the phrase was 'this is true' and 'actually' I must be so annoying to live with sometimes. Clearly I must.

Coursework Deadlines

Working in a school office means that I have heard many reasons/excuses why students are late handing work in. Local buses are littered with coursework left behind, dogs up and down the county are at the vets having paper removed from them where they have started to chew on projects. Parents are busy safeguarding their home computer by installing passwords and then not telling the rest of the family the code they need to use to get on the computer to access their work. The number of memory sticks that wipe themselves clean - accidentally! There is definitely the need to research why printers break down the night before a coursework deadline. And someone really needs to invent a coffee cup that does not spill hot liquid over projects.
So I need to find a really good original thought for Mel as to why there are still two blank pages in my mini book. I have no dog, our only pets are koi carp in the garden pond and I'm not sure how I could implicate them into a story .... So, with that in mind, I am going to use my day off happily finishing off, adding glitter and colour and trying to find a way to photograph this project.
In the meantime, I thought I would share this video, don't be put off by the first 60 seconds, if you watch it through I'm sure you will be amazed!

Welcome to the world Sophie Ella

I have a new great-niece! I'm so excited! She arrived 4 days late (typical girl eh?) in the early hours of this morning. My niece's pregnancy has been a little fraught at times and having lost a baby last year, this little one is particularly special.
I can't hardly wait to visit her and have been out in town buying pink bits to take with me when I go. Photo to follow later!
Doesn't it take you back to when you were in hospital with your first newborn? Everything is so strange yet wonderful, this little person you have been carrying around for so long, suddenly there to love and to hold.
Happy days!

100 years of memories

Well the weather stayed lovely for the centenary celebrations yesterday, a gloriously sunny Hertfordshire afternoon, perfect 'School Fete' conditions, I was a little late arriving, so sadly missed being chosen for some of the sports day activities ;-)

However, I was in time for the staff v students tug of war. Not that I took part of course, well, someone had to take some pictures didn't they? Here's the 'before' lineup of the staff ...

and here's the after ...

I think we should have had someone a little more 'burly' as our anchor man but our head of 6th form did an admirable job. Sadly, youth won out even though they tried 'best of three' attempts!

Some of the memorabilia on show was fascinating and the display of uniforms through the ages was lovely. Gone are the days of straw boaters for the girls to wear in the summer! I was chatting to a lady who had found her mother in a photo dated 1926. Someone had made a note of all the members of the hockey team and she was listed there. She asked if I could take a photocopy of it as she was going to visit her that afternoon. Her mum is now 96 and living in a nursing home and I loved the thought of her daughter arriving with a photo from her past and them being able to chat and reminisce about her school days. I overheard women much older than myself saying how just walking past the Head's office still made them feel nervous and I am sure a lot of ladies in the area went home with happy memories in their minds.

Centenary milestones

The school that I work at is 100 years old this year. What changes those buildings have seen over the years! So today is a celebration day there and I am about to leave to participate in some of the activities they are laying on. Actually, my contribution will probably amount to buying a plate of 'hog roast' and watching others doing energetic things. Come to think of it, eating, drinking and watching is how I spent much of my own school years too; the more things change, the more they stay the same eh?!
This week they have had a different decade each day for school lunches, anybody for Spam fritters? How about semolina pudding? The teachers have been dressing according to the decade too and I am a little concerned about how many still had clothes from the 60s and 70s. The drama dept were magnificent in their neon disco clothes but it's a bit disconcerting to see the head of History in his white John Travolta suit.
They are organising things like old fashioned lessons through the decades, which has caused it's own problems in the science labs as health and safety was not a priority in the 20s and 30s! But I think the most fun thing will be the old fashioned sports day. Egg and spoon races, three legged sprints and sack racing to name a few. Last I heard they were trying to organise a 'tug of war' team ... at 5' 1" and quite a light weight, I'm not sure I will be top choice for anyone's team for that event!