you know when a habit has got bad when dilly-dog goes and sits by the fridge at 9pm for your evening snack on cheese ;)

you know its time for a cup of tea whenever you think of it.

you know you have drunk too much when you break your toe and in the morning can't remember how.

you know you are getting old when you look at teenagers and think sh*t, I could be your mother

you know its Summer when the flipflops come out.

you know its time for bed when there is no one else around!

you know you have bought too much wool when you have more than the shop ... well nearly ;)

you know you are British when you don't really understand why anyone would want to drink iced tea when you could have a lovely cup of *hot* tea like and normal person ;)

you know you are a geek when you have more email addresses than pairs of shoes!


you know you need another pair of earrings when ... well, when ever you see a pair you like really !!

Do you know anything?

I am starting this up as an meme and hope you join in ...
These are the rules:

1. Post 10 things you know (you can use the subjects I have or make up your own).
2. Link up your post here :: MariaintheWood :: and it would be great if you could leave a comment too.
3. Tag 5 bloggers to keep this going.


Have fun, and if you don't have a blog but would like to share some stuff you know, please comment below ... and please support others who have entered buy reading theirs too!

To start off I am going to tag:
Hollybirdbeads
Rainbow Days
Riamelin
Samantha and her 2 little girls
Trinket Box

I am looking forward to reading them :)

This months challenge was to make something for the JUBILEE ... and this is what I made ... I cheated a little and used a kit from a magazine :/

If you would like to join in and link up, please pop over to our FRIENDSHIP VIGNETTES blog ... next weeks theme is ROAD.

We also have a GIVEAWAY on at the moment ... every time you join us and link up in the next 5 weeks you are in with a chance to win some goodies!

I used to live in the country ... in the depths of Cornwall where the only way out was lots of windy roads and high hedges ... as I learnt to drive there I actually prefer those kinda roads than big busy ones!

I had a little car ... she was my 2nd little car ... my first was a little pale blue corsa, but this little car was special ... she was my dream car and I loved her lots ... look how sweet she was ...


I remember going to the show room to order her, Tina came with me and I picked out all I wanted ... heated seats (oh yeah!) sunroof etc .... I had to wait a couple of months for her to arrive, but she was worth it ....... I loved her :)

When I moved near to Brighton, to a town ... I sold her ... I was very sad to see her go but it had to be done.

Now I am back in the country ... well the edge of a town, in the country ... so not as stuck out in the sticks as I was, but you know ... still not that easy to get anywhere.

Its a long way off, but I am thinking of getting a little car again ... I would love another mini ... but don't think that will be in my price range ... I spied this one on Pinterest ... what do you think! ;) haha


What are you dreaming about at the moment??

I have been really run down the last few weeks and dieting has just gone out the window (I know, nothing new there) but I have been reading a lot of blogs that mention green smoothies and how great they taste not to mention how much energy they give you blaa blaa blaa ... and so I thought it was high time I tried one!

I of course, decided to go for it while walking back from work on Saturday, so called into the supermarket and looked up the recipe on my phone. I couldn't find the one I wanted, but found another so had to go for that.

I made it on Sunday morning and you know what, it was rather de-lish!
couldn't taste the spinach at all! ;)

If you would like to try it, this is the recipe ::

Green Monster Spinach Smoothie
Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 frozen sliced banana
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup 0% Vanilla Chobani Greek yogurt
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (or other kind of milk)
4 cups baby spinach (or more, or less)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

This recipe is from America so I just used fat free Greek yogurt and Alpro Almond milk.
You do need to remember to slice a banana, pop it in a little bag and then put it in the freezer the night before you want to make one.

I have since bought a book for a couple of quid on my iPad full of recipes and can't wait to try some of them ... there are some that are specifically for weight loss, healthy hair, clearing skin/completion, energy etc ... I feel like I need all of them at the moment!

A lot from the book do not have any of the yogurt or milk in them and are mostly fruit and vegetables, but for one I just found quickly on my phone in the supermarket, I am loving it.

You can have them instead of breakfast/a meal or just as a healthy drink. I am not always the best at eating breakfast so the couple of days I have had them for breakfast and they are quite filling.

I would love to hear of any you have tried and did they help you in any way? or let me know if you try this one and what you think of it! x

we moaned about the rain ........ well it was a lot of rain ... but look ... the garden liked it!
I have been looking through the photos on my phone, and I seem to have a lot of my nephew and nieces eating ... so just cos its rather random, I thought I would show you some!

aren't they cute!
anyway, hope you have all had a lovely weekend! x

Dilly-dog had her stitches out this morning and apart from not being allowed to run free in the field & have a more sedate-lead-walk along the road she is pretty much back to normal :)


Isn't she scrumptious ... I love her sooooooo ;)
I am also really pleased that she goes running into the vets with her tail wagging, so she has not got bad memories there x


It has been a weird few weeks and so I just wanted to share with you my favourite app on my iPad at moment, that has helped me relax before I go to sleep at night. Its called PuzzlePlus and I got it about 6 weeks ago ... first I got the art version as I didn't realise there was the original one that had a lot more choice of puzzles to do.


There is a choice of how many pieces you want so even my 9 year old niece, Kara spent many happy hours playing on it when they came to stay a few weeks ago. (she wasn't well, bless her, and just wanted to curl up on the sofa)


She mostly did cute animal ones, but because I first got the art version, the first ones I did were Van Gough ones.


This is the one I am now doing ... its in the Fairytale collection :)


My dad is also pretty addicted. After I got it, he got it for his iPad too and now has it on his computer as well.

The apps are free and come with lots of free jigsaws to do, but they also have some collections that cost, but once you have them you can do them as many times as you like .... oh and you can do lots of different puzzles at the same time, it saves where you are ....... its soooo good ;) .... speaking of which I am now off to bed and to finish my fairytale puzzle!

If you would like to join in and link up, please pop over to our FRIENDSHIP VIGNETTES blog ... next weeks theme is GLASS.

We also have a GIVEAWAY on at the moment ... every time you join us and link up in the next 6 weeks you are in with a chance to win some goodies!

I just got tagged by Samantha to share with you some of the 'why?' questions of my life. I remember my mum just used to say 'z' whenever she had too much of us asking 'why?' or should that be 'y?'

1. Post your whys – as few or as many as you like.
2. Link up your post over at Mummy Central, and it would be great if you could leave a comment too.
3. Tag 5 bloggers to keep this going.
4. If you’re not a blogger, leave your whys as a comment below. I'd love to read them.
5. Show your support by reading a few others and commenting on them.

So here are my whys:

I would like to tag:
Bex Hogan
Hummingbird Tales
Stacey's Scribblings
Trinket Box
Wishful Wonderings

I hope you will pop by their blogs and see what answers they are searching for!

I have found the perfect thing for me ... a vintage lace bobbin with the name MARIA stamped into it :)
my name wraps around it ... the spangle is also made of pretty colours ... very me colours .. what are the chances of that! I think I need to re-spangle it though as the wire isn't very secure, but I am going to keep those beads on it.
I am one happy lace maker :)

Please pop over to MissieLizzie's blog to see more great bargains and links to other MagpieMonday's.

I decided last week to make myself a timetable so that I could fit in all I want to do and make sure what needed to get done, gets done. I also decided that Sunday was going to be what it's meant to be ... a day of rest and doing what I want ... crafts for fun with no guilt that I should be working on something else.

So that's what this Sunday has been ... and as it has rained all day I spent the afternoon working on my June's Craft Challenge item ... its nearly done ... sorry can't show you yet!

After tea I felt I needed a change so had a little play and made some cards ...
... and a few for Christmas too ... (well the weather's cold enough!)
so what have you been up to this afternoon?

I would like to introduce you to ...

This hasn't been the best week ... lots has happened and I was going to do a post with just a list of words ... these words ... tired, confused, fed up, depressed, trapped, sad, sick, wet ..... you get the idea.

... but instead I am going to share with you 5 of my favourite things from this week ...

1. I have bought these gorgeous trugs for my Bygone Beach Days cards and mounted pictures. I am hoping to get to some fairs and things this summer to sell them.

2. My brother and sister-in-laws blog ... they are having the trip of a lifetime in New Zealand ... so jealous! But it is lovely to be able to see what they are seeing :)

3. My maxi dress from work ... I LOVE this dress ... it is so comfortable and easy to wear. I love the pretty ditsy flower material and the amount of different colour earrings I can wear with it :)

4. Jam on Toast ... this has been my snack of choice this week ... not the healthiest I know, but very yummy and I think I may just go and make myself some now ;)

5. Embroidery ... fun embroidery ... I have lots of little projects on the go ... my head is full of ideas ... watch this space!

What are you lovin' this week?

My dads 12 string ... listening to him play it is one of my oldest memories!

These are the ones I didn't pick ...

If you would like to join in and link up, please pop over to our FRIENDSHIP VIGNETTES blog ... next weeks theme is HEAT.

We also have a GIVEAWAY on at the moment ... every time you join us and link up in the next 7 weeks you are in with a chance to win some goodies!

see this dog ... the absolutely adorable cuter than cute dog ...
she had a little operation today ... she was spayed ... I know its an everyday job for the vets, but for me and dilly-dog its a big deal ...................... but she is fine ... it all went well ... she is home ............. she does smell weird ... but she is ok and I am one happy doggy-mummy.

As soon as she heard us arrive to pick her up she started whining for us and she seemed ok with her tail wagging ... she couldn't wait to get to the car to come home, but as soon I lifted her out of the car she just stood there in a total dazed state ... I think the journey home took any little energy she had. Since then she has been in a total daze ... it is funny watching her ... she sort of sways as she doesn't seem to have the energy to stand but not quite with-it enough to lie down ... so I have had to move her legs to make her lie  ....... she is so cute ;)
Her stitches are well bandaged up but as a precautionary measure the vet offered a cone or a t-shirt ...... I went for the t-shirt ... dilly has never worn anything before apart from silly things on her head like reindeer ears that stay on for about 3 mins. She was so groggy that she let me put on the t-shirt without  batting an eyelid! It has poppers at the end around her tail and back legs so there is no way she is getting to her stitches. It also seems so much more comfy than a cone.

I think she looks so adorable in it ... I am slightly worried that this may start off a 'dressing my doggy phase' ................... ooooh her tail just wagged for the first time since getting home ... I say wag ... it was a slight movement from left to right, nothing like the total mad highpowered wag she usually has!

I know it was silly to worry ... she is fine ... but I did ... she is my baby ... even if she does still smell funny ;)

I have had a lovely weekend with my sis-in-law, brother, gorgeous niece and crazy-pup who all came to stay for a few days :) It has been really lovely and I was very sorry to see them go yesterday.

I feel so inspired with lots of lovely ideas and projects for Maria's Little Owl ... I can't wait to get started ... I must make a note of them all while I remember them all! (sorry, can't share any yet)
I really must make myself a time table ... my time seems to get frittered away, and weeks are flying by ... I don't seem to be able to get on top of anything and there are so many things I want to do.
Do you like what I made yesterday? The little flower I made for Bex just before they left to go home, and the little owl is just for me :)
I also wanted to remind you that I have a GIVEAWAY on at the moment ...
I hope you will enter :)
Have a good week x