A NEW CAREER

Hi all,

Busy month I have had!

Too tired to post photos today but will soon, I promise....!

I went back to the UK last month to take a fast track Beauty Diploma. I left all the children/animals/husband in my mothers capable hands and they were all fine.

I had a lovely time on my course and came back to Crete laden with all my equipment.

I have now started 'Mobile Beauty by Leonie' and this has been a busy first week. I am LOVING it and the feedback so far is great. My massage couch arrived today and is very nice so I have had fun fiddling with that.

Turned 37 on the 1st but it passed me by in a blur. Duncan is also going great guns and so all is well at the moment...

A little blip today; Dom fell over and needed another stitch to his forehead; bless him but he is a little patchwork quilt of a boy...

The other two are fine but waning abit now; need their annual 3 month break of sun, sea and sand....

So might post photos now or in next few days.....xx

AND FOR ANYONE IN CRETE WHO WOULD LIKE TO BOOK A BEAUTY TREAT (WAXING/TINTING/PERMING/FACIALS/MANICURE/PEDICURE....contact me via Brits in Crete Forum or leave a message on this blog. Ta!

Leonie x

DONKEY SANCTUARY ANATOLI

A very big thank you to Alistair and Suzanne who run the donkey sanctuary in Anatoli.
We had a lovely day.

A beautiful hours drive (despite Theo being horribly car sick!!) Wonderful donks, a lucky rabbit living in a converted bedframe, one noisy goat, assorted dogs and a tiny puppy who almost made it into my handbag.

The children loved their rides esp. Dominic who was entranced by his 'hooorsesss' as he calls them!

A new venture for Alistair and Suzanne this year is camping amongst the donkeys; so we have promised Ella and Theo a weekend stay complete with bangers and beans, ghost stories and a picnic ride out the following day; Dom will have to wait; I wouldn't dare sleep a wink with him in a tent!! Next year perhaps....
xx
Leonie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA 10 TODAY

Some piccies to share of Saturday night; Ella's birthday treat; Bowling...

And today, Ella's birthday; it was all Hannah Montana...

Check out my masterpiece; 3 solid hours of fun!! Not...but worth it as Ella loved it!!! Theo wants Ben 10...now where did I put my green food colouring...?!

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd post these great photos of Ella, Theo and Dominic, all dressed up and ready for Carnival.

Sadly no carnival in Neapoli this year (money worries everywhere!) but they had a lovely evening party at the school with a D.J. and bar-b-q.
Dominic really enjoyed it this year as he is old enough to get into the party spirit.

He was jigging about in the disco and helping himself to the lovely buffet; mostly off strangers plates!!!

No photos of Kite Day this year (see older posts for photos of last years). Theo wasn't very well with a cold so I stayed at home but Duncan took the other two plus sundry grandfolk (!) and they had a lovely time.

A BIG thank you to Des and Sally for the lovely kite.xxx

Also as a special treat for all my fans in cyberspace; a piccie of my (errmm! sorry, Theo's) guinea pig, Buddy....tipping the scales at a whopping 1.5 kilos....

Hope you are all well
Love Leonie

SAME OLD SAME OLD

Hi All
Nothing to report...weather quite nice considering the month; nothing like you guys in the UK are having (my heart bleeds for you!)

Lots of crochet projects on the go but nothing finished yet to wow you with!
Off to Jumbo (think Toys-r-us) for carnival costumes tommorow; God knows what the kids will end up with but I'll take some pictures to show you all.

Theo walked into a lampost today and has a wonderful egg size bruise on his head, poor love, plus a sore throat so might keep him at home tommorow.
I got a wonderful new (to me) sewing machine (thanks Jean!) so I am very happy; going to make some curtains soon...
Ella's new Ipod seems to have been lost in transit....Grrr! I see purchase number 3 coming up; I should have bought shares in Apple....AND Dom threw her Tamagotchi into my (full) mop bucket so thats another purchase for us Rothchilds (not).
But the happy house continues to be...happy and hope you are all too...
BTW Happy Birthday to my lovely niece Evie G who was 5 yesterday and good luck to my brother and his wife who will be welcoming their twins (boy/girl) into the world on Tuesday 17th. So sad I won't be there :( but will be thinking of them all.
xx Leonie

ELLA'S EGG-CELLENT ADVENTURES IN CROCHET

Ella has caught the crochet bug; she has carefully learnt the stitches and her first attempt has come out beautifully; more ostrich than chicken perhaps but hey! who cares! She is proud of it and I am proud of her.
xx Leonie
P.s. Wore my tank top out and got a order to make one for a neighbour!!

TERENCE TURTLE

May I introduce to you....Terence, the crochet Turtle.
He has so far resisted all kidnap attempts by various small terrorists lurking within my family who wish to whisk him away . He is MINE all MINE....!

TEA BAG TANK TOP

Woo Hoo!! Back to the Eighties for me.....
I proudly present my Tea Bag Tank Top!

TECHNOLOGICAL DISCOVERY

Brand new Ipod shuffles DO NOT survive a 50 degree economy wash.
It does not clean them.
It does not change them from metallic pink to bright white.
It does them exactly no good at all.
So don't do it.
Unlike me.
Today.
To Ella's.
The end.

THE OFFICE

Have just finished watching the last xmas special of The Office.
Oh My God!!!!!!!!!!!
When Dawn left the party and then she opened her present!!!!!!!!!
Then when she walked back in and kissed Tim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cry? OH YES and loved every soggy minute of it......
Sniff.
xx

SOME NEW DISCOVERIES....

Out here in the sticks, television programmes that are worth watching are few are far between; a friend lent us some dvd box sets and I am loving.....
Gavin and Stacey....I have watched series one and two and am gagging to know if Smithy finally gets together with Nessa.......
And (yes, yes all you guys in the UK have watched it for years no doubt but...)
The Office......How brill is this programme; we stayed up the last two nights watching episode after episode; its toe curling stuff; thank God I had my crochet on the go cos sometimes David Brent was SO bad I couldn't watch.
As for Gavin - well I'd rather be celibate for the rest of my life than have sex with him! Yuk Yuk Yuk.
I like Tim though; He reminds me so much of my brother!! He is so sweet and what a brilliant actor who plays him; last night there was a bit where Gavin and this computer geek are discussing KungFu etc and just looking at Tim as he listened to their utter crap! The look on his face as he eavesdropped from his desk; I was just in stitches....!
xx Leonie

CROCHET MARY JANE SLIPPER #1

TA DA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shoe sizes please.....
And NO sarcastic comments; I like them :)

xx Leonie

CROCHET MY NEW PASSION

I taught myself to crochet last month and after lots of granny squares, two hats (beanie) I have now made a bag..........Ta Da...Last night I made a slipper, tonight I will make the other one and then model them for you lucky people!!!!!!!
p.s. we are all fine!

MORE PHOTOS

My new haircut; last week!
Crazy river ride; Dom, Debbie, Grace, Nancy and Ella.
Dom in his pram 'I DON'T believe it' pose
Dom having a terrible two's...!!!! Cute Huh?
A lovely lovely picture of my three perfect children (proud mummy moment). Big kudos to the photographer; well done mum!

HOW LONG?!!!?

To anyone out there who hasn't yet given my blog up for dead; thank you - I'm back.

I cannot believe my last post was in June.

Simply far too much and far too little has happened for me to give a blow by blow account but the abbreviated version of my life recently is as below....

Pictures are; Ella dressed up in uniform (thank you Aunty Karen) for the WW2 rememberance march in the town square. Theo sulking without uniform as only year 4 and above get to march!

Dom with his toy of the moment; Mr potato head and Dom again, helping mummy bake a cake...and Daddy with his two boys....

July 08; My lovely brother and sister in law came to visit with their children...a good time was had by all; despite the fact it makes us miss them more....Mini Golf continued to hot up as the month progessed. Children all well. Duncan losing his sanity whilst playing mum 6 nights a week!

August 08; so very very busy at work; losing kilos every week and discovering lost calf muscles. Great!!! Other sister and brother in law visit Crete for the first time; again a lovely week and a brilliant trip to Aqua Plus...get out your bank loan though!! Dom was 2 and Theo became 6; my boys are growing up; sob!

September 08; Yippee! Kids back to school; Theo started proper primary school; big boy now! Racing around the playground chasing Ella who would have much rather played french skipping with her mates! Oh the perils of younger brothers!! Dominic all well and enjoying abit of one to one with mummy every morning....

October 08; finished work at the very end of this month. It was dragging on in the end I must admit. Dug out my knitting and sewing and 'spring cleaned' the house....

November 08; Spent all my summer earnings on Xmas presents and winter clothing. Had all my long hair cut off into a very fetching (or so I'm told!!) crop....Dom had all hospital appts for the six months; is doing fine. Theo and Ella making more and more friends and going round each others houses to play plus Ella has started Art classes in Neapoli so I am a 4x4 mum (so my mum reckons) but sadly without the 4x4.

My dad is moving house to be closer to us so he is painting the new place. Duncans dad moves to live in Crete tommorow; staying with us. Quite bizarre really but it really is becoming little Britain for us!! (NOT the tv series).

Have been doing lots more knitting etc. Spending more time with the kids but still managing the occasional boozy night out with Duncan and friends (have to show off that new hairdo and all my new clothes; shh! Don't tell my mum!!)

Very sad in the last week reading about this BabyP case in all the papers. Must admit to shedding plenty of tears for him. If only we had a magic wand....

Anyhow I hope to post more soon. Enjoy the photos....

xx Leonie

QUICK POST NUMBER THREE

Just had to share my lovely boy...........

QUICK POST NUMBER TWO

Theo had his last day at nursery last week; in Sept he will go to the 'big' school. He he is saying his part in the school play and with his lovely teacher of the last two years; Mrs Roula.

BTW Ella got ALL A grades in her end of year report! I am SO proud of her; clever clogs.xx

QUICK POST NUMBER ONE

Duncan celebrating his 40th birthday on 6th June.
Later we went out with friends, on a bar crawl until 5.30 am (no pictures available!!!)

ROYAL HALL GLAMOUR

Tonight we went to a party for one of Theo's classmates at a place called Royal Hall in Malia.
It is a huge complex high in the hills above Malia with the most amazing views of the coast and sea.
It has a vast ballroom for weddings etc and various eateries including outdoor bar areas. It has the biggest swimming pool we have ever seen; it is glam glam glam!

Sadly I did not get to investigate the spa or the restaurant but the children enjoyed the purpose built ballpark/soft play area complete with clown/minder. It was lovely; all the tables set up with party balloons etc and great buffet food all in silver tureens!

Even the lobby and the lifts were impressive (see photos) to us hillybillies from hicksville.

Theo says he wants his 6th birthday here and Ella wants her wedding reception in the ballroom.

GULP!!!