Thoroughly disappointed

I've been so sick the last week, and I still am. I really shouldn't be out of bed. Whenever I lean forward, I'm sick, it's that simple. I know I have a family that loves me, but in truth. I'm really disappointed in how little has been done while I've been ill.

• bins have not been emptied,
• plates and bowls have been left to stagnate (at one point we completely ran out of bowls)
• the floor has not been hoovered
• the laundry has not been done
• rubbish has been left on the floor
• toys/books/paperwork has not been put away
• food has been left out of surfaces

It's disgusting, and I'm finally seeing how much I'm taken for granted.

Stash Busting Christmas Presents

Christmas presents??? In July??? Well, yes. In fact, I started purchasing my presents in the January sales. I buy a little something every month and then when December hits and everyone else is running around in a blind panic and digging deep holes of debt, I sit back and concentrate on the mess that's my home, readying it for the flock of family and uninvited guests that will drop in.

This year I want to make more gifts because it means that I can combine two things I love. Crafting and gift-giving. That and the fact that my husband went in the loft ad came down down exasperated at the amount of crafting goods I've got up there. It's time to de-stash and make use of what I've accumulated. It might even clear some of the mess around here too.

Thus far I've crocheted two scarves, and made two cowls by tunisian crochet (a craft that was quick to learn, but also quick to get quite boring), I'm knitting a cowl (http://www.madelinetosh.com/patterns-honey-cowl.html) and I'm also working on some bunting for one of my new niece's bedrooms and a cushion both from http://attic24.typepad.com/.

I'll add pics in the near future. It's just at the minute, I'm in a mess.

My Food Buddy

Over the years, it has been increasingly difficult to feed my husband and my daughter. Both are fussy eaters and they seem to like and dislike the same sorts of things:

• cheese (the stinkier the better)
• burgers
• bacon
• funky pickles and sauces, etc.

They don't particularly like many things that I like, including, but not limited to:

• fish
• chicken
• carrots
• brown or seeded breads
• asparagus
• rice
• potatoes
• quiche
• deep pan pizza

The list goes on and on and on and on. I have however, noticed that my toddler son does like all these things are more besides. He's a great eater. Everything I enjoy he's happy to partake in. I have a food buddy. So now, it's two types of bread bought in with the groceries. We get pasta AND rice, green beans AND asparagus. So many good things are to come, and I have someone to enjoy them with. Up until now, I've just not bothered because I didn't want to cook separately just for myself. Now I don't have to. I'm so pleased.

Set Adrift on a Memory's Mess

Growing up, I remember a lady who used to look after me named Miss Lou. All I can tell you about her is she had the smoothest chocolate skin that enveloped a slight, and seemingly, frail frame. She was soft spoken, but instantly respected. There was something about her gentleness that let you know that when she told you something, it was for your own good.

I was thinking about her today and remembered that she would make the most glorious deserts for us, and BAM! I was hit with a hankering for Peach Cobbler. I wrangled the toddler into the newly fixed, but continually dirty car, and set off for Tescos. Lo and Behold, punnets of fresh peaches reduced to 45p.

I got on home and set about gathering together all the things I needed. (No easy feat, considering that in my already untidy home, I am having the kitchen renovated. We are extending into what used to be the garage - question is, am I getting more space to tidy away my mountains of nonsense, or am I just gaining space to make mess - time will tell). On every surface in the kitchen I can see screws, tools and dust from tiles and/or mix-yourself adhesive. I was not going to be deterred, I had newly received American measuring cups and the internet to guide me. I searched through drawers and boxes until I had all my equipment and then went to the master bedroom to gather the flour, sugar and vanilla extract (yeah, I know! but when we cleared out the old cupboards, I needed somewhere to put the groceries).

Anyhoo - to cut a long and sticky story short, I achieved something that resembled Miss Lou's Peach Cobbler's distant cousin. I needed more cobbler and little less sugar in my peaches, it wasn't pretty looking either, but man, I baked homemade desert. I have to ask myself, will my regular shop bought bread and butter pudding feel I'm cheating on it, if finally, I've achieved desert by my own fair hand????

Why 'Please Excuse The Mess'?

Just like any other mother out there, I constantly feel like I'm in a mess. There's popcorn on the floor, school bags on the sofa, toys underfoot and last week's mail sitting unopened on the telephone table. All this with the exception of last week's mail has occurred in the two hours since school finished.

My blog is called 'Please Excuse The Mess' because I say it, so very, very frequently.

'The Mess', I suppose, is also a metaphor for so many other things. The strained childhood I somehow survived, the state of my finances, the state of my career, my hair, and the inside of my car. It's like this where ever I go, and here I am.