MY CRAZY FAMILY!

So you think your little brother is annoying? Don't wan't to be an only child? Ha! lets compete....

Round 1... Parents: Mum, Dad, Ivo and Jo (Step parents)

Mum and Ivo

Dad

Jo

Round 2 Siblings: Cloe,Stacey*,James*, Kerry,Nathan*, Rosy*,Kip,Chris*,Puff and Billy

* these are step siblings.

....and all in age order!

My Big sister Cloe

Kerry

Kip - she has mental issues!

Puff - not her real name, but she is allergic to clothes!

...and Billy not sure what went wrong here!

and that brings me onto the little rascals of the family: My neice and nephew!

Cameron - He's obviously a genius!

and his little sister Cyra! Don't be fooled by the cuteness!

And last but not least My better-half? Joe and our Puppy Sascha. Mum also has Jaja but i have no pics :-[

Can you tell which is which lol?

And that is my big massive family! So if you think you have problems because your sister nicked your hairbrush - then think again lol.

Everyone asks me all the time if we get a long - the truthful answer is 'when it counts - yes!'. In general we may all argue over silly things like who ate the last of the butter and didn't tell anyone? where is the hairbrush? stop facebook raping me! etc but when we need each other to help and be supportive then yes!

They are crazy and loud and sometimes scary!! but I love every single one of them!

McFly

So I have a confession to make! I am Clare ... I am 22 and I am a McFly addict!

Well I thought I was until I heard about the fan that has seen 100 of their shows! Now that is an addict.

To be honest though who couldn't like McFly? They are 4 good looking guys, who write their own songs and play their own instruments! I'll admit I am a late bloomer to the McFly 'Pioneers' as their 'above the noise' album was the first of theirs that I have purchased. Although I enjoyed some of their older, more classic songs like 'Its all about you', 'Obviously' and a personal favourite 'Transylvania!' I never felt the urge to buy the albums... and then I heard shine a light and fell in love with the song! Next thing you know I have watched the McFly Celebrity Juice special on you tube and purchased their 'Nowhere left to run' DVD that goes with their 'above the noise' album.

My message? I have been reading many reviews of the band and playing stalker on twitter and I can honestly say that I don't think that they get the reputation they deserve! When you mention McFly to most people our age they react by laughing at you or just ignoring you completely. My boyfriend actually tried to remind me how old I was when I bought the album. But if you are a 'pioneer' then you will know that McFly's fan base is actually quite mature as they have grown up with the band. And when you listen to their new album you can see that after many bad hairstyles and a few cheesey pop hits they have also matured. Their album mixes many genres of music from their poppy and cheeky 'If You See Kate' to their more mellow song 'I need a woman'.
And if you need more encouragement then heres a little story for you...

Joe is 22 and is a self-acclaimed connoisseur of music and has albums ranging from Jay-Z to Bob dylan! He is  also my 'better' half. When he heard the album (without realising the artist) he looked over to me and as he took in the variety of different songs he simply asked "who is this?". And on hearing my answer? He replied ... "No way!...Shut up!.....Stop Lying" along with various obscenities when I persisted.

So it just goes to show that you shouldn't knock it until you have tried it! The 'nowhere left to run' film, made me laugh hysterically and I only hope that was the expected reaction as although I admire their music, their acting skills leave much to be desired. Though if you are a Harry fan then you may want to indulge! I did!

And the members of the band? Tom, Danny, Harry and Dougie, you can follow them all on twitter and you can now see them in their own TV series on Channel 5*! Unfortunately the show is only half an hour and there will only be six parts.

So when you have some spare time why not google them and find out more for yourself! I have included some pictures so you can see which one is your favourite lol. Oh and a link to see them stripping down to their underwear. So if you are already a fan ... enjoy, and if you aren't then why not see what all the fuss is about and support a home-grown genuine rock band! Unlike some of the "boy-bands" that can't dance, can barely sing and everyone else writes music for them!

... and if those pictures weren't enough then Click Here.

Until next time......

Clarey

Bluebell Walk

So this morning I went along to Maidstone with my good friend Sarah and completed Bluebell walk.

Bluebell walk is an 8.5 mile walk through the Harrietsham area in Kent. It is run by volunteers and with donations from local companies for the day to provide the walkers with food and drink.

It requires an £8 entry fee and then all the other money is raised by asking your beloved friends and family to sponsor you. Gift aid is optional and you can sponsor one total sum or you can sponsor per mile.

The good news is that after 2 hours and some very heavy and tired legs (I speak only for myself) we completed the walk! We were then treated to a lovely ploughmans lunch and then we had a sneaky ice cream (with 2 flakes) to congratulate ourselves.

The weather held off for us as it did for the royal weddind which we were extremley grateful for as there were many hills! I'm clumsy enough on my own without adding a ton of water to any surface that i'm trying to walk on.

All in all it was a lovely morning and well worth getting up early for - it didn't even seem that we were doing a charity walk - apart from the hundreds of other people that were waiting for us to tumble as we climbed over many stiles.

And the charity we were raising money for?...

The Heart of Kent Hospice:

"The Heart of Kent Hospice is a registered charity specialising in palliative care for the people of Maidstone, Kent and the surrounding local communities. Our specialist team offers skilled care, comfort, compassion and hope to people facing the challenge of terminal illness.
At any one time we support up to 350 patients, plus their families and carers. As a charity the services we offer are free of charge. However, this does mean that of the £3.6m that it currently costs per year to provide our care, we have to raise over £2.5m ourselves from the community that we serve"

For more information about how to join in on any other hospice adventures or to donate please follow the link below.

Until next time ...

Clarey xxx

Click here for information on The Heart of Kent Hospice.

Dear Diary

NEW POST!
I have been thinking about what to write lately and I figured why not personalise it a bit more.

So as a sub blog I will add little diary post-its about things in my life and if you want more details you will have to continue reading or ask for more haha.

How to begin? well can't go wrong with an orgininal...

Dear Diary,

I have decided to start a diary/blog. For the first time in nearly all my life might I add.

I tried a secret diary once when I was about 12 but when you have 4 sisters and a brother that all live in the same house and decide to hunt through your bedroom to find your secret diary and then read it out loud to your siblings that can't read, you kind of give up on the diary idea.

So the 26th April brought me closer to getting over this horrible infection I have coursing through my chest, and since I wasn't sick today it was twice as good a day as yesterday.
Also got to go shopping - YAY- it was a small trip to Tescos but i got a few bits for the house to help keep it clean and tidy.
Highlight of my day was getting Gilmore Girls season 6 through the door today; 2 episodes down already! Going round mummy's and losing several games of cards and watching Glee with my lovely sister Kip.
Lowlight of my day was not being able to find my tweezers so am going to have to go into work tommorow mono-brow style.

So my lovely diary blog - until i find something semi-remotely interesting! - Enjoy :D

Clarey XxX

Spring Madness

So Easter is just around the corner and in every shop i walk past there are easter eggs stacked to the roof. My mouth starts watering and and i start dreaming of chocolate for a week!
But is it all just over-egg-xaggerated?

In my opinion no? i don't think we cultivate the true festiveness of easter in the UK. I know many people that see Easter as a day when they don't have to work so they go out clubbing for the bank holiday weekend instead.Others treats it as a family time, where we will have a nice sunday dinner followed by over indulging in chocolate and then watching a festive film. We will sporadically remind the younger children that they only have easter eggs because Jesus came back to life on this day and then the day is through.

But shouldn't we really celebrate this? Take USA for example and the effort they put in. They gather as communities and paint eggs and then hide them around the neighbour hood for easter egg hunts. In New Orleans they have Mardi Gras festival in celebration of Lent. Easter day in USA has also been a popular wedding day in the country. Many couples in USA tie nuptial knot on this day as this day is considered to be auspicious.
Yes they have the commercial side of Easter too where Easter eggs are sold by the wicker basket with soft toys and flowers, wrapped in reams of cellophane and a huge ribbon attached to the top - but it is cheaper in the USA too buy items like this.
When you have local supermarkets selling eggs in boxes for £1 it just makes more sense to buy them when our country is in such a penny piching state, but it doesn't mean that we can't celebrate Easter.

Although Easter is based on the christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter sunday, you don't have to be a christian to celebrate Easter. Easter's true meaning is the celebration of new life, the start of a new season and in general a fresh start for those who chose to accept it. So bring out those new year resolutions that you gave up on after a week, and give them another go. Why not take up a new hobby? or just enjoy the lovely weather and maybe paint some boiled eggs and hide them around the garden and watch the kids go crazy looking for them.

Or alternatively you can go and watch Hop. The new easter film featuring a misunderstood easter bunny who just wants to be a drummer! The film is Hilarious with Russell Brand's witty EB, and James Marsden's good-for-nothing but misunderstood Fred pairing up and trying to find their way in life. Alongside them we see an evil Easter chick and a loving Easter Bunny dad voiced by Hugh Laurie. The humour is suited to both adults and children and you don't have to pay the excessive fees for 3D either.

So i wish you all a happy - not to sickly - Easter!

Let me know what you got up to!

Clare

Traditional Easter Baskets that the USA often share.

Painted eggs to be hidden for the hunt.

The meaning of Easter..... A new start!

EB the misunderstood bunny who just wants to be a drummer!

The evil Carlos and EB's dad.

Fancy cooking a festive meal? Click here for some Easter recipes.

Mmmm Sorbet!

Dearest Blog reader,

So nice of you to start this journey with me. I hope that you find my random rants or intelligent ideas as captivatring as they often seem in my head.
This first blog i would like to dedicate to my friend Laura! For not so long ago my B-E-A-U-tiful friend created her own blog. bellalaurabella.blogspot.com. it inspired me to write about things i am also passionate about or even maybe educate others from my own crazy little world.
There is no  theme to this blog and all ideas and opinions are welcome!

So sorbet... unbelievably you find it in the ice cream section of most super markets! This should be forbidden - when i shop for ice-cream i despise nothing more than looking over and  seeing sorbet. It just sits there reminding me that i have an unused gym membership and an ever expanding waistline.
However today for the first time I picked up 2 tubs of sorbet. For me it was goodbye Ben and Jerry's delicious baked alaska, so-long chocolate fudge brown, adios to cookie dough and hello to my new buddies lemon and raspberry sorbet!
Thats right! The skinny inside of me has convinced me to give up all that induces endless sugar comas. Some people call it dieting - i call it lent! I'm not overly religious but after 13 pancakes i figured it wouldn't hurt to try.
My verdict : sorbet is nice! its not creamy, or marshmallowy and doesn't come with chocolate caramel chunks! but its sweet, sometimes tangy and best of all its basically fat free! It even comes in a tub so it looks like ice-cream.

feeling fruity? - try the recipe for a pomegranite cooler!

... and that ladies and gentleman was the first ever Manky Monkey blog