Steven님의 프로필Men cheered, women faint...사진블로그리스트기타  |  도구 도움말 |
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11월 9일 Hey all time for an updateSo its been a long time since we last added some information to the site this is due to the large amount of things that have happened in the past few months.
Mainly the new addition to the family Master Tyler James Balmforth. Tyler was born on the 29th June 2008 at a healthy 8lb 9oz. Pictures will follow soon. Helen has started working again. Still with the Nhs but in a new department. I am still in the prison service and doing well. At least i think i am
 We have been away and taken Tyler on his first holiday but since he is not even a year old we decided it would be unfair to take him on a plane so we had a nice week in cornwall, again pictures will follow.
Off to manchester tomorrow to watch WWE Raw live might even get on tv. lol.
We are moving house again but this time we are getting out of rental and moving into a home with are name on it, or atleast it will have in 30 years of payments.
Not much else to report but Helen may come on to add more info soon.  3월 19일 Anniversary March 2008
CATCHING UP!!
We've been very busy the last few months! Moving house and changing jobs in Dec 07, and, of course levelling up on WOW as much as possible at all other times!
However, with Steve's Passing out into the Prison Service at the end of February, and our trip to Rome to celebrate our 1st Wedding Anniversary in March, we have some great pictures, so we thought we'd add them to our site so all those who live far away can check up our adventures and see how we're getting on!
From some of the pictures, you can see how Helen is growing, with her bump now very obviously showing. She's now six months on and feeling fine most of the time. having a few "Heffalump" moments but nothing that a nice sit down with a cup of tea won't fix!
Steve is now an Officer in the Prisons, and loving every minute of it. Training meant spending 6 out of the 8 weeks in January and February living in a hotel in Wandsworth, but it was all worth it in the end. It's taken a while to get here but at least now he's in now ~ the only way is up!!
TRIP TO ROME!
To celebrate Steve's job, and of course our 1st Anniversary, we flew out to Rome on Thursday 13th March for a ROME-antic 2 night stay. Once in town on Thursday afternoon, first stop was a cafe right next to the Colosseum, for a litre of beer and a pizza! Could you get any more Roman!?!? We then dropped our bags off at the hotel and had a rest before heading back into town for dinner at a little cafe and a night time visit to St Peter's! Friday was a long day; we headed into town on the bus, then stumbled upon the Piazza Navona, a touristy square with cafes all around it and fountains and street traders. A short walk from here was the Pantheon, and then the Trevi Fountain! The big museum was next, where we tried to find the loo, only to discover it was on the roof......!?! What a cruel trick to play, especially with Helen in her condition... Still the views were fantastic ;) We then headed back to the colosseum for lunch, and took a tour inside it. And got a silly picture with a Centurion, too! After this we headed over to the Forum and spent a few hours exploring this huge and classically Roman site. It was a real eye-opener and made you appreciate their genius in building. At the end of the day we had blisters on our blisters, but it was worth it!
We had another nice walk into the Piazza Navona for dinner that evening, and then had an ice cream on the way back to the bus stop.
Another late start to the final day of our trip, Saturday morning was a bit overcast and we headed off into the back streets to check out the markets and little shops hidden away from the main routes. We ended up walking along the River Tiber for a short while, and checked out the little island in the middle, something we shall investigate further on our next trip.
We wandered past a couple of monuments, the names of which have escaped us for the moment, and had a look at the old race track, the Circus Maximus, which is a huge flat field now.
Up another HUGE great hill to the top of the Piazza del Camidoglio, and back down the other side for a coffee and a cake. We took another slow stroll down towards the Colosseum, for our daily drink and lunch within view of the great building.
After lunch, we popped back to a bar in Piazza Navona to watch the rugby, Scotland playing Italy, with some Scots in an Italian pub! We then watched the start of the England/Ireland game, which we went on to win, thank goodness. We headed back to the airport after a nice meal, then flew home to a dreary, wet and cold England!
We can’t wait to go back!!!
Check out the pics, more to be added soon!
H & S
7월 16일 Star Wars at ExCelHi there,
Long time no blog!
Well, we've been up to fun and games recently, so I thought I'd fill you in!
Saturday 14th was spent at the ExCel Exhibition Centre in London, chasing (but not catching ...) Wookies and chatting up Stormtroopers!
We met up with Lynda and Richard there, and they brought the two boys, Thomas and Aidan.
The day was spent getting lost in the crowds, browsing through over-priced toy stalls, and seeing who could get the best piccies of Darth Maul! (Helen won!)
We didn't get to meet the big stars of the movie, mainly due to the exhorbitant prices for signatures, and also because of the THREE HOURS WAIT for an autograph from Mark Hamill.
Despite this, there were some good stalls of memorabila, and we chatted with a few Star Wars nutters and saw some very interesting outifts too!!
Very recommended, but only if you're really "into"all that stuff, I can imagine how bored some people may have got if not a fan of the movies.
PICS HAVE NOW BEEN POSTED, SO CHECK OUT THE ALBUM ABOVE!!
Love Helen and Steve xxx 5월 30일 Honeymoon Pictures Posted ~ at last!!Ok, ok, so it's a couple of months late, but for anyone wanting to see what we saw on our honeymoon, please feel free to stare at the pics above for about 20 minutes!
Yes, I know, there are lots of them, but you can skip all the "sandy desert with pyramid" ones and just look at how great the resort was!
If we get enough interest, we might even put some captions on there so you can tell what you're looking at!
Let us know what you think,
H&S 5월 21일 Weekend GigHad a great weekend, still suffering to be honest!
Went to a gig at a local pub, the band consists of friends of ours, and we managed to squeeze about ten of the loyal fans (or should that be "roadies") into our tiny flat after the gig for drinks and laughs! They're all fantastic people, check them out the link below to hear some songs by Lahayna, and give them as much support as possible ~ their single is out in November!!!
Got to sleep about half four in the morning, and had to get up 6 hours later to drive up to Harlow to see my sister Lyn and treat her to a discount on decorating stuff at Wilkinson's! Both of us had tremendous headaches, and definitely not enough sleep, so apologies to Lyn if we weren't the best company, but it was nice to see Lyn cheerful again ~ Good luck with the bedroom, sounds like a mammoth task, but it'll all be worth it in the end!!
Got home after our trip, and went straight back to bed, waking up very late and having dinner at about 11pm!!
Up early again today, the washing machine has now been fixed, so that's my day planned out... catching up on a weeks worth of laundry!!
Next weekend we have the Air Show at Southend seafront, which we'll be attending with great enthusiasm, as always!!
S&H xxx 4월 23일 March 11th ~ the Story of The Big Day!!!So, the weekend of March 11th turned out to be the sunniest weekend of 2007 so far!! The weather couldn't have been better for our wedding, and the sun shone all day.
Steve was at his Uncle's that morning, did some last minute shopping and sunbathed before heading to the venue. Steve had to go the venue a bit earlier due to an unexpected problem with the CD with Helen's entrance music on it. The night before the wedding, Steve, his dad and uncle stayed up in to the we hours of the moring playing poker and eating finger food which was just what he needed to keep his thoughts from wondering. When he went to bed that night, checked that he still had the rings, honeymoon tickets, money, etc at least 4 times then finally went to sleep. He woke up with no nerves that he can remember, not until he put on the suit he was to marry in. Then the guts started acting up like a butterfly garden just opened in his stomach.
Helen woke up very early indeed, after having a relaxing evening at home. And after some housework and TWO HOURS at the hairdresser, headed off to Friern Manor with Claire and Kaye with plenty of time to spare. Despite this, there was still a mad rush to get ready, with people still half clothed when the photographer turned up! Still, Helen had managed to be laced into her dress with not so much as a millimetre to spare! The bridemaids looked fantastic, in their green themed outfits, and the page boy was very handsome indeed! Lots of posing and smiling went on... and that was just the start of it!!!
The sun shone through the french windows as the ceremony went ahead! We couldn't believe how beautiful the place looked, especially as it had been a building site in December and the rooms were very different when we decided to book it!
Despite the Registrar getting the words wrong, twice, everything went ahead fine, and everyone headed out to the patio area for photos, bucks fizz and strawberries while we had pictures taken on the deck. After what felt like 4 hours, the photographer finally finished up and we were allowed to sit down for a fantastic meal, the highlight of which was an absolutely enormous Baked Alaska for the top table, which could have fed, well, Alaska, I suppose!
Speeches and gifts went well, considering, and everyone adjorned back to the ceremony room for the disco!!
First dance... Frank Sinatra, For Once in My Life! (classic tune!)
Second dance... Louis Jordan, Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby! (unusual tune!)
3월 30일 Wedding Pictures UpdateHello again!!
Just a quickie to let you know we've popped some wedding pics on the site for you. See album below.
(Also check out the Wedding Links on the left for some other shots taken by Mr. B. Snr.!!! And our embarrasssing childhood photos!)
This is only a small selection from the ones taken, and we'll add more when they get forwarded to us from relatives, etc.
We'll put more info and photos of the honeymoon on when we have more time, but for now we're too busy getting back to normal!!!
Love Steve and Helen xxx 3월 24일 Honeymoon!!Hi Guys!!
Well, the Honeymoon is nearly over, and as the sun is hiding behind some cloud cover this morning, we're being very boring and playing on the p.c.s here at the resort!
The resort is the Coral Sea Resort in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt and we're in a room right on the edge of the beach and the Red Sea, and a minutes walk from the pool and Pool Bar, which has seen a lot of our custom this past two weeks! Food is great... if you eat meat, but vegetarians would find it difficult to make an interesting meal out of a selection of sauteed veg, french fries and salad!!
If you check out http://www.coralsearesorts.com/csor.html, the room in the picture is exactly like ours, and Room Service comes three times a day to make the bed in the morning, replace toiletries etc, then turn down the bed at night... which can be a bit annoying if you fancy staying in the room all day uninterrupted - if you know what I mean!!
We've been on day trips to Old Sharm Market, Luxor and Cairo, which we'll tell all about on our return, with many pictures!! And we've also been to Naama Bay in Sharm, where we experienced the true meaning of Egypt, by dining at TGI Fridays!!
Well, we've got two more days of heat and lazing around until we return to the UK on Monday evening, so we'd better not waste it on here, and we shall get down to the Pool Bar in case the barman wonders where we've disappeared to!!
Will catch up with more interesting stories next week, H & S xxx 3월 10일 Our Last Week of Singledom Draws to an End!So, with our wedding less than 20 hours away, I've just said goodbye to my fiance for the last time.
Next time I see him, I'll be heading down the aisle in a ridiculously pretty dress and a posh hair-do, and he'll be looking back in a rather sexy suit watching me!
How exciting!!
The last week has been a bit strange. I worked the Sunday shift and normal hours on Monday and Tuesday, had a hospital appointment on Wednesday, then had the rest of the week off, however Steve had to work all week up til Friday afternoon, but then he bunked off after lunch!!
We have managed to get everything sorted out with minimal fuss. There have been a few moments of stress for both of us, and we've snapped a few times, but nothing too bad in the end. I'm of the opinion now that every possible problem has already presented itself, and so we can relax in the knowledge that the worst has passed.
Speaking of which, the biggest worry was my dear old Ma!! Visiting from abroad for the wedding, she hadn't been here more than five days when, this past Monday, decides she wants to break something... and chooses her hip bone!! Fortunately, she's healed incredibly well and has been released from hospital already, and so shall be tottering around the venue with a walking stick and waltzing in her wheelchair like a good'un. Well done, Joan!!
Cheers go to everyone who have helped with the wedding; many donating essentials like invitations, cakes, flowers, paying for the dress and of course, lending us some money in order to get this little adventure on the road in the first place.
Also big thanks to Claire for her fantastic Hen Night, to Rich for planning not one but two successful Stag Dos, Mark for his moral support and Kaye for driving probably hundreds of miles in order to help getting everything sorted out in time!!
We will see all of these people tomorrow of course, but this will record our gratitude to all of the above, and also to those guests who have sent cheques, donated to the Wedding Voucher Account or given thoughtful gifts. We'll catch up with you all when we return from our honeymoon.
Well, I'm off to relax now before the Big Day.
Love to you all, Helen xxx & Steven x
2월 23일 Two Weeks?? And still not stressing out!Well, it's just over two weeks now until the Big Day!
Things still to do....
Pay the photographer and email our songs to the DJ!
Complain to the florist that her quote for £150 was "a bit out"! (2mrw!)
Pick up our rings (2mrw)
Pick up honeymoon tickets (2mrw)
Get hairstyle sorted at hairdressers (this Monday!)
Pick up altered brides and bridesmaid dresses! (Monday!)
Get Steve a tan!!! (next two weeks)
Tell my Ma to stop worrying about her outfit for the wedding! (next week)
So as you can see, we're quite organised!
I'm sure there's some more stuff to sort out than this, but I can't think of any more at the moment!
It's almost scary that I'm not stressed yet. I'm kinda looking forward to the party and the holiday... our first real break together, apart from a few weekends away!
Oh, and of course, I am looking forward to being married to the love of my life! I wonder what will change for me (apart from my surname) when I return from the honeymoon... will anything be different!? We shall see!
Helen xxx 2월 11일 ONE MONTH TO GO!Bloody hell..... Where has the time gone? it has been so fast the last few months. (Well, everyone said it would...Hxx) But it is now only 4 weeks to the big day! In the last few days the money for the reception has been payed, Helen has had another fitting for her beautiful dress, and we have started talking to and booking up the D.J. (Please add comments to recommend any songs we should include!!) Oh and we just had the Hen and Stag parties!
All I can hope for is for the next month to go smoothly because this wedding is every thing to me... to us. Here's hoping.
I'm just thinking a month tomorrow were on the Honeymoon Baby WOOOOOOOOOOO!
Check out Helen's Hen Party on her site, http://liluthekitten1976.spaces.live.com!! 2월 9일 House UpdatesThis will be a quickie, as I was ever-so busy today, and have been up now for over 24 hours.
However, my sisters and I successfully filled our parents' new house with all the furniture and boxes we removed from the old place the middle of last week!! Kinda looks a mess at the moment, but, despite strict instructions to "not unpack anything!", I'm sure we can make it livable enough for them to return home to in March, even if it will still be full of boxes!
Also, I have finally posted some pics of the progress we have made in decorating the flat over the past 12 months. Everything is kinda how we want it now, except the bathroom, which just needs the fittings updating, and of course the bedroom, which will be our next big project! We're thinking ~ brown and blue!
Steve is on one of his Stag dos tonight, so I'm having an early one so I can get ready for my Hen Night tomorrow.
(Oh, and of course, I still need to book a florist for the wedding! Absolutely MUST do that soon!)
Will write again soon, Helenx 1월 26일 Steve at his happiest!Steve cleaned the car last weekend!
Isn't he a star?
Of course, it's a complete mess since it snowed, and grit from the road this week has attached itself to our nice shiny alloys, but at least the thought was there!
Hxxx 1월 22일 Wedding Update!Well, as promised, we thought we'd keep you all up to date with how the wedding is coming along.
We popped up to a wedding fayre on Sunday to see the jeweller providing our rings for us. We had a quick size check and confirmed our designs, and paid over the rest of the money we owed. (ouch!)
I also managed to get the ribbon at hobbycraft for the bridesmaid dresses, so it matches the colour of my Chief Bridesmaid Claire's dress and ties in nicely with the theme! While at hobbycraft, I also spotted some Easter Baskets then remembered that the girls had to hold something! Then, I had an idea ~ as it's getting close to Easter, how about an easter egg theme... after all, the shops are full of them! Steve quickly laid that idea to rest...
We also found out this weekend that our flower lady, Lyn, is not going to be able to come! Although we are sorry to hear that she cannot make it, it does kinda give us a problem in finding some nice bouquets in time for March 11th! I'm sure we'll manage, tho, as we know what we want and seven weeks is plenty of time ~ Isn't it?!?
Bearing in mind that there are only a few things we still have yet to plan, we are doing very well. Just running a bit tight on funds, but that is to be expected! I'm sure we'll find a way once we're home!
It is less than three weeks until our respective hen and stag nights are due to happen! Not sure how well the planning of the Boys' do is coming along, but the Girls' are all planned and organised and I'm really looking forward to it!
Steve has his suit fitting on the 3rd March, I have my first dress fitting on the 5th, and we have a meeting with the venue on the 9th, it will be the start of a very hectic 2 months for us! Still, we're getting very excited and really, really can't wait!
Helen & Steve So Many Birthdays!This weekend appears to be the most popular for birthdays this year!
Thursday saw my niece Abi turn 6 years old ~ my God she's getting big!
Friday was the day Sarah Balmforth arrived into the world! Congrats to Sharon and Chris for producing another beauty!
And Saturday was good old Uncle Craig's 37th!! Yes 37! Ha!
*~*~*~*~HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES TO YOU ALL~*~*~*~*
Love from Steve & Helen xxx 1월 15일 My First BlogHi I'm Steve the other one in the photos. Well she has done it and made me do my first entry on the site, I have just added some new photos to the site 'Christmas 2006'. there a bit blurry but so was my vision at the time
 I have been asked to tell you a bit about our christmas. For the first time in as long as i can remember we did what we wanted this year it wan't dictated by the family and friends. So it was relaxing which normally is not a word you would associate with the season.
there wasn't to much of a build up to it this year we worked till the friday before and back to work the day after boxing day. fun. but the time we had we used wisely. the weekend before was ours so we took it slow popped out to see friends and family handing out cards for both christmas and the wedding just to save time and money.
Christmas eve: lazy night in with my dad (he's the one asleep in the photos!!) watched some TV and played Simpson's monopoly, thats it ~ fun though, despite Dad being a bit tiddly and winding us up all the time!
Christmas day: Again very lazy ~ my dad made breakfast, a full english! we sat around for a bit then popped down the pub for a quick drink. then my mum cooked dinner and more games Deal or no Deal, who's in the bag. Then we had a bit more relaxing in front of the telly. sounds nice huh?
Boxing day: Lazy morning a full english again which mum cooked then we went to Helens sisters for dinner more games and a relax.
I would go more indepth but that is pretty much it. I hope your's was just as relaxing.
Bye for now. 1월 9일 Trip to LondonOn 6th January, we attempted a nice peaceful trip to London; part of Steve's Xmas present was a boat trip down the Thames, after which a nice meal in a nice restaurant would have followed!
Well, to begin with, the day started off with torrential downpours, and by the time we got to Waterloo we both ended up getting soaked to the skin running from the underground station to the London Eye where the boat was due to depart! Sopping wet and freezing cold, the trip was beginning to look like a washout.....literally!!
However, within 5 minutes of the tour starting, the rain stopped and the clouds broke up to reveal a bright but chilly afternoon! We took a slow trip up to Tower Bridge and back, learning lots of interesting things about London that we didn't know before! (honestly!) And the sun setting as we returned to the Eye for disembarking really set off the evening! ~~ Check out the album for pics of the trip!~~
After the boat trip, we stopped off at the arcade above the aquarium, then quickly left before spending too much money! Then we wandered up to Waterloo Bridge and across to Westminster Station. A short trip to Leicester Square and we decided it was time for dinner....but where!?! We just couldn't make our minds up, so we had a walk around the Square, everywhere was packed; didn't fancy chinese so Soho was a miss; we wandered up to the nearest Walkabout...packed too! Off down Neal Street to Covent Garden, but couldn't get any inspiration there either and the Walkabout there was busy, of course. So, back towards where we started, and we eventually shared a bottle of wine and a nice meal at Garfunkel's opposite Leics Sq station..... 200 yards from where we began!!! Still, the walk improved our appetite!
So, from a wet and hectic start, our day out proved a success! Yay! 1월 3일 Congratulations to Craig and LizCongratulations to Uncle Craig and Auntie Liz at their baby news!
Pregnant at last! About time too!!
However, we don't think Craig realises he won't be able to cope with the mess in the house soon!!! And, yes, it will be messy....! Oh No!
Good Luck, and see you soon, Helen & Steve |
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