We had a fire in our home recently (Monday 9th July) which is why i vanished from the online world & then came back some weeks later but less often & much less actively.

It started around 9:30am in an upstairs bedroom while myself & 3 of my sons (aged 10, 9 & 1) were downstairs in the home.  Before i say anything else i'd like to straight away say that we are all just fine... 

I could go into huge detail here, but i will try for a short version of events!  Basically i heard the alarm before seeing/smelling any smoke & when looking up my stairway I saw that smoke filled the top third of the space up there.  After ensuring the boys were safe, i asked that they stay together by the front door while i checked it out.  I ducked low as smoke continued to fill the upstairs, but i could not find a fire, nor could i figure out which room the smoke was coming from as it seemed to roll in all directions.  If my children werent downstairs i would have searched again but i didnt want them to worry - i went to them, grabbed the phone & called the firebrigade we left the building.

They were at my home in maybe 3 minutes, but fire is fast.  I knew it was bad when i one of the firefighters asked me if the smallest upstairs room was a bedroom or a study - they went into my house & came out black.  I would say i was scared, or upset but i was just fine, my mind already thinking of where we can stay that night, as i called my husband & Mum & asked a neighbours teenager to take my eldest 2 to the park to get them away.  (I was in shock.)

Anyway, the fire started & stayed in my 9 year olds bedroom when a TV/video combi short circuted.  His room was gutted, theres not even plaster on the walls.  The rest of the upstairs didnt fair much better, plastic melted: TVs in other bedrooms, toys, dvds, even the extractor fans warped & fell from the bathroom celings while the blinds in my ensuite wilted like a dead flower.  Then there is the smoke - it gets into/onto every single little thing & that blackness just doesnt wash off.  I never knew that it can get into closed draws/waldrobes/toyboxes!  Did you?

It was clear we couldnt simply clean up & move back in - we stayed with various family members while humbily accepting donations of everything from story books to clothes to toothbrushes.  A week later i finally cried - we moved into a rental house - i say move but there was precious little to actually move & thats what got me.  I can handle no clothes, i can even handle no home, but i cant handle my boys not having their toys, gadgets & the teddy bears that theyve had since they were born.

We had 3 battery operated smoke alarms & they were all in working order.  Maybe the TV/video combi was switched on, maybe it was on standby or switched off (my son cant  remember, but he thinks he did use it that morning) - either way something went very wrong with it & it was less than 2 years old & mounted perfectly safely on a wall bracket.

GET SMOKE ALARMS
GET SEVERAL
BOTH ELECTRIC & BATTERY POWERED
ENSURE THEY ARE IN WORKING ORDER
BUT REMEMBER
SMOKE ALARMS DONT PREVENT FIRE
THEY SIMPLY LET YOU KNOW IF ONE OCCOURS
REMAIN CAUTIOUS

73% seems quite reasonable to me...

I will have to remind Mr Tracy of this the next time he disagrees with me. LOL.

You Are 73% Peaceful

You are a very peaceful person. All is good in your world, no matter what's going on. Occasionally you let your problems get to you, but you generally remain upbeat. Your inner strength is inspirational - much more so than you may realize.

This is like me at home - no other females in the house.  Tee hee.

Click Here to get this from pYzam.com!

Ummmmm, i dont know which part to be most amazed at.  Not minding if he stayed out all night has gotta be a good one, as has the wonderous idea of taking off his shoes while speaking in soothing tones...  Because of course, this will all provide me with immense personal satifaction.  LMAO

Whats your favorite bit?

For 400 years the people of Britian have celebrated the anniversary of the failed attempt to blow up the houses of parliament, kill King James & wipe out the goverment.  November 5th is now known as Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night, or Guy Fawlks Day after the man that started all of this...

A little history
Queen Elizabeth 1st made several laws against the Roman Catholics.  As such many were forced to practice their religion in secret, were forced to attend Protestant churches & were even fined.  It was hoped that King James would revoke these laws when he took the throne - he did not.

In 1605 a band of 13 men decided that drastic action was needed.  Their plan...  To blow up the houses of Parliament, killing the King & anyone with him.  The leader of these men was called Robert Catesby.  He was joined by John Wright, Christopher Wright, Thomas Winter, Robert Winter, Robert Keyes, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Ambrose Rookwood, Thomas Bates, and Guy Fawkes.

The gunpowder plot
They smuggled 36 barrels of gunpowder in to the cellars of the houses of Parliament with the intent to ignite it on the 5th of November when the king & those in goverment would be in attendence.

Guy Fawlks, having formulated the plan, layed in wait for the moment he would ignite the trail of gunpowder that would start the explosion.  However, it is said that one of the 13 upon hearing that many innocents would also perish, decided to write to a friend of his within the parliament & warn him to stay away from the location on that day.

Armed with this information, the houses of parliament were searched & Guy Fawlks was found.  He was captured & tortured in order to learn the identies of the other men involved & they were all executed. 

King James, in celebration of his survival ordered that the people of England continue to have great bonfires on the anniversary of this occasion - we are still celebrating 400 years later.

We not only light bonfires - fireworks are let off, hot food & drink is consumed, & effigies of 'Guy' are burned.  Although the effegies were of the Pope for the 1st 200 years & of course the fireworks get more & more spectacular as the years go by as bonfires less so. 

Another tradition that is continued is that Royalty only visit the Houses of Parliament but once a year & on this day the cellars are searched before they enter.  This is ceremonial in nature rather than from the fear of threat & is done using the light of an old-fashoned candle-lamp.

In the days leading up to bonfire night, children make effigies of 'Guy' out of old clothes stuffed with cardboard & newspapers, so thats its easy to burn.  They dress him & draw on a face then stand outside shops to attract the attention of kindly adults who will give them money - traditionally a *penny* - as a reward for their hard work which was then spent on treats. 

This is where we get the saying 'A penny for the guy?'. 

Traditional foods
Flame cooked foods are, of course, very popular-

Baked potatos
Sausages
Burgers
Chestnuts
Marshmellows

As are varous soups, stews, pies & chilli.

Popular sweets include treacle & ginger loaf & toffee apples

All washed down with hot spiced cider or mulled wine

Follow the Fireworks Code

~ When buying fireworks, make sure they comply with BS 7114 and are clearly marked for their intended use "Indoor, Garden or Display"

~ Keep fireworks in a sealed box or tin

~ Use them one at a time, replacing the lid immediately

~ NEVER put fireworks in your pocket

~ Read the instructions carefully, using a torch or hand lamp NEVER use a naked flame

~ Light fireworks at arms length using a taper or a firework lighter

~ Stand well back and NEVER return to a firework after it has been lit, it could explode in your face

~ Ensure that all children watching fireworks are well supervised

~ NEVER throw fireworks

~ Keep all pets and animals indoors

Enjoy a *safe* interactive virtual firework display here>>> Fireworks 

Well, it seems i am to be moving house again next year - i am still wondering whether it will really happen, but here it goes.

We moved house last year as our family grew & we needed something bigger & we also wanted the kids somewhere nicer.  Having done that we have been slowley going about the task of makign this home *our own* but, of course, decorating costs money so we kinda came to a halt there.  Lets just say that its a work in progress.  LOL.

Anyywa, out of bordom, curiosity or somthing, Mr Tracy applied for a job abroad - the big surprise is that after going for several interviews he got the darn job!  Its an 18 month contract across the Atlantic, in America.  After such time we will return home & carry on with our lives.

Weve accepted the job offer & plan on letting out our home so that weve got it to come back to, but WOW, this is a big deal for us.  Heck, i still visit with my extended family every week & am gonna miss them like crazy.  Not just my Mum, but Aunties, Uncles, Cousins & my Grandad.  However i know that i would regret it if i didnt do it do i guess if i can cope with a 10 hour plane journey with the 4 children, i can cope with 18 months away from my family.

Fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong & that the job offer isnt withdrawn.

As you may remember - i dont do new years resolutions...  I do spring ones, because in the spring its soooo much easier to make changes as nature lends a helping hand by warming up & changing alongside you!

Here are my spring resolutions:
1) Lose 42 LBS & be skinny again
2) Limit my computer time
3) Get out more often - at least 3 times midweek
4) Decorate more of the house
5) Think of different things to do with the kids

Im late in revewing them as i usually do that in June - but better late then never!
1) Ive lost 12 LBS - its been a struggle as ive tended to lose 4 one week, put on 3 the next, then lose 2 & put it back on again...  And all this from the woman who up until 3 years ago would struggle to keep her weight up!  LOL!

2) Its been easy to limit my computer time as ive been out in the sunshine! (I do wish i had a laptop with me sometimes though!)  I even quit a group that i joined because it kept me at the computer too long - that took willpower! 

3) Again, i am out in the sunshine & have made a couple of friends locally too, so i visit them.  When the kids go back to school in September i intend on going to the gym twice a week & swimming once a week - i used to enjoy it & i miss it.

4) Ummm, weve decorated one more room, RJs bedroom - rooms that still need doing are 2 & a half more bedrooms, the hall & the downstairs toliet.  We also intend on renovationg the bathrooms & landscaping the garden, but not anytime soon - maybe not for a year or two.

5) Being in a new area its took me a while to learn what i can do with the kids, but ive found a few things:         Indoor playzone
                             Local outdoor paddling pool & play parks
                             Explore the local lake & woods
                             Swimming lessons & fun sessions in local pool
                             Ball games in the field
                             Ive also got a pool & trampoline for the garden
Theres the regular things like trips to the seaside, going to amusement parks, zoos, walks in the forest & visiting family/friends as well as our new thing; going crabbing - but its nice to find things that i dont have to travel to do!

I guess my revised resolutions are to keep up the good work - and try & lose more weight!

An older man marries a younger lady & they are very much in love.  However, no matter what the husband does sexually the woman never achieves orgasm.

 They decide to go for sex therapy...

I saw Bon Jovi last weekend!!!

Ive not been to a gig in over 10 years & loved every moment of it - I jumped up & down, clapped, screamed & sung (very out of tune) non stop for hours....

IT WAS FANTASTIC!

My Aunty Angie went too - she has some pictures of the event in her blog.  Check it out:

ibrendalee

Her work is great!  X X X X

Kinda stupid really, but hey,  it made me giggle...

Glittery texts by bigoo.ws

When i think of family - these are the people i think of.  I am lucky & proud to be part of a close extended family.  In this day & age where familys usually consist of parents & their kids many of my friends find it strange at first that i will see not only my Mum most days, but will also take time out to see my Auntys, Uncles & Cousins & Grandad regularly too.  We also always call our Auntys & Uncles by their correct title - something ive noticed doesnt always happen with my friends & their relatives.  As kids us cousins had the best of times together - some of my younger cousins age with my own children so theres still lots to do together...  One of my favorite things has to include a takeaway & a bottle of wine together, or going to see a show.

Hello Aunty Angie!    *Tracy waves*     I will see you at Aunty Cathys on Friday night.  xxxx

Im no plant expert -  but i know what i like!    (I hope ive got the names correct!)

Passionflower

     Passionflowers are a beautiful climbing plant - they so look so unique.  I especially love the fact that the vines spiral so it looks interesting whether in flower or not!

Cornflowers

         Cornflowers look so delicate, but the stems are very tough - like a thissle.  I dont like the look or the work involved with perfectly pruned gardens so love the wild look of this flower.

Bluebells

               Bluebells - a definate blue/purple theme here with my favorites!  Close up they are perfect little bells & from a distance a beautiful blue/purple blanket covering the wood floor. 

Spring has sprung - well...  Its SUPPOSED to have sprung, but seems that no-ones told the weather that as it seems to think its the season for April showers!

Anyway - its that time of year to make my resolutions (I dont make them at new year - they are much easier to stick to in the spring!)

Spring resolutions

1) Lose 38 LBS

2) Limit my computer time

3) Get out more often - at least 3 times midweek

4) Decorate more of the house

5) Think of different things to do with the kids

I feel that ive been in a rut since Liam was born (7 months ago) & to my dissapointment i managed to put on 14 lbs since he was born!  We moved house 6 months ago & although we got off to a good start with the decorating, we havent done anything for the last 3 months except play on the computer - so the plan is to turn it all around, go out more, have fun & re-discover the old me...  I know im in here somewhere!

I am going to Paris for a weekend at the very end of May with 3 of my Auntys & 2 cousins.  I wanna be able to say by then that ive made real progress with my goals - wish me luck!