Back to health

Over Christmas I've changed my eating, and drinking, and sleeping and moving habits quite a lot. Some (no surprises) have increased, others have decreased.


(if one celebration is a bite of a regular bar basic maths suggests I have eaten 7mars bars, 4snickers, at least 12 milky ways and a huge, cinema sized bar of galaxy)

Tuesday I didn't leave the house at all, not even to put rubbish out or feed the birds. It's been lovely, and cosy, and relaxing; the kind of space rarely found in my busily modern do-it-all life. Now the freaky dreams have started (waiting two hours whilst my old music teacher loads an elf train onto the school bus and I can't ring for a lift home because the school's 'beautiful people' have my phone charger?!) a clear sign its time for fruit, water (that hasn't been turned into wine) and to actually leave the house and do exercise (I know, its a day early to be talking about this).

I'm not planning 'resolutions'. Many many years ago my resolution was not to make resolutions any more, and its the only one I've ever kept. The creative dreaming is a wake up call that its time to get back to normal. Like the lovely March sisters I need structure, I revel in it. I love to plan and organise, in fact it does me good to practice going with the flow for a while. But "you gotta have a plan" so this morning I got up, had a healthy breakfast, did some house work and am now being productive (yes, blogging counts). Hopefully it'll be enough to make the dreams stop.

Bandwaggony post about 2010/2011 to come, in which I break down the five year plan (garden, not world domination, worry not). Bet you're wondering already, there'll be pictures!

Quiet day in

Today is grey. There has been drizzle and no sunshine, the ground looks soggy and sorry for itself and inside seems much nicer. There were parts of my part of the world being freezing cold that I didn't like, but at least it was pretty...



So I have had a relaxing, cosy inside day so far. A late get up, bimbling with pressies, reading the internet, wobbling on the Wii board trying to learn yoga




(i have a routine!)

And then some scribbling and sketching




We haven't been to the shops, and I agree with Rach (over at www.placidly.com) that time spent enjoying company with friends and family is much better value.

Tomorrow we're going to see the voyage of the dawntreader. My inner child is excited already! Gratitude is due to the BBC for showing the first two films round Christmas (lion, witch&wardrobe and prince caspian). So now they are all fresh in my mind and seeing them got me excited in anticipation.

Christmas prep

We've been working hard to get the house ready for Christmas. This morning I've prepared the dining room...

Does it look ready for6 people and3 border collies? Notice I've left as much room as I can between the table and chairs since excited dogs need space!

Also, here is tree number 2...


This afternoon I'm planning to tidy the rest of the place, make up the spare 'oom and then carve out some time to think about God, what with him being the reason Christmas happens. After that narnia is on the tv and all together today's turning into a lovely Christmas eve.

Ps. Yes, those decorations are *real* branches and ivy from the garden. They had snow on them and snow is *very* cold when it drops on you out of a tree, fills your hair and goes down the back of your neck! (wash my hands and face in snow! Snow snow snow!)

Tis the season

Mince pies for breakfast!

Christmas!

I finally got the decorate, and its so sparkly!




Now just the rest if the house to tidy

Christmas!

I've *finally* decorated, and its so sparkly!






now just the rest of the house to tidy!

Cold and snow and ICE

I don't like to whinge about 6inches of snow and a touch of shiver because in a lot of the world that's *nothing*. Round here its starting to become the norm as well, and I actually like snow. I love the delightful crunch of stepping into it, and being the first person to walk in it makes me laugh inside. It's my own personal moonwalk.
Right now though I am not happy about the 8inch high sheet of ice on the *inside* of my bedroom window, or that the bath water wouldn't drain until I poured extra hot down because the pipes were freezing up.
I'm going to make porridge and tea. Warmth!

cold and snow and ICE!

Kitchen!

There are worksurfaces, there are cupboards, there are doors, on the cupboards...

there are still little bits of things to finish off, but since I've got things in the cupboards and I cooked a whole meal in there this evening to my mind it.is.done!

I will organise some before and after pics for you all to have a look at, hopefully in the next few days.

Next it will be the living room, which we've just emptied so the plasterer can work in there tomorrow.

In other news, work keeps getting in the way of my quest to acquire christmas spirit. I'm working on a solution. As a collegue said recently, it's too late to marry a rich man. Thankfully I married one who is rich is every essential area so loadsa money is an extra that we dont miss.

time for snuggly warm bed, in my new slippers that were my bonus bran tub work christmas buffet gift. No pics, but my toes are toasty atm :)

Shiver!

Andy and I have been away since yesterday, staying at my aunt and uncle's house. In a burst of eco-consiousness I turned the heating onto standby, so it would only kick in if the pipes were going to freeze. I set it so it would come back on properly at about 10am today to make the house warm for when we got back. Or so I thought I did.





It turns out that I haven't quite mastered the timer system on the (fairly) new boiler yet and the heating didnt come on before we came back. The radiators had just been on though when we arrived home, because the temperature *inside* our house had fallen to less than 10 degrees.





After three hours of full blast heating the general temperature is up to 16 degrees...I've lit lots of candles, so at least it *looks* warm!





We were visiting my aunt and uncle to catch up with them, which we try to do at least every couple of months. They had also offered to do us a photoshoot, as they are photographers (amongst many talents and business ventures). They have a lovely warm house, including a studio at the back of the living room and we spent an enjoyable few hours pretending to be models.





Strike a pose, it's the beautiful people!

and would you like to see my wedding dress?

We had a really lovely time, were made to feel relaxed and helped to enjoy ourselves as neither of us are keen about having our pictures taken generally. There are loads of beautiful pictures that look amazingly pretty and capture little glimpses of our personalities. I know that Trish and Bill are happy to do informal photoshoots during evenings and weekends, so if any of you are interested let me know and I can put you in touch to talk to them about details and charges.

Trish and Bill are going to come for christmas at our house as well now. So it will be the two of us, my parents, their dog, Trish and Bill and their two dogs. Six people, three dogs, half renovated house.

I'm actually quite excited about it. I may be crazy but a whole house full of family, hectic movement, warm lovely food and fairy lights seems a great idea to me.

Now I need to go and work with Andy to make it happen!

New Shoes!

cosy toes!

Once again, from my favourite place to get all the basics...M&S.

Though they did let me down on the coat front, a total lack of waistlines. Next has some potential...although they dont seem to be on their website.

I'm not a massive shopper, it just happens that my everyday boots and winter coat have run out at the same time, and at the same time as our lovely weather has turned super-chilly.

In other news, I have had a lovely weekend hanging out with some of my best friends, and have another one planned for this saturday. I am not vibing the whole going to work every day thing right now, I want to be really into it because I do actually like the majority of my job.

Only a few weeks until I have nearly two weeks booked off (otherwise known as christmas) well, looking forward to it is an understatement!

Happy Birthday to....

Little Miss Possibilitea!

Due to the ongoing lack of kitchen I raided a lovely little cake shop in town and decked out my own Tea room thusly...



Then the wonderful company arrived....

Tea was drunk, cakes were eaten (including the biggest scones in the world...we eat and eat and eat until it'scone! - go on you want to laugh, you know it)

Then time for singing....

and sparklers!

In conclusion, we have proven (scientifically no less) that it is possible to drink your own body weight in tea and it does you no harm at all. And when you add in wonderful company it does you good!

Tonight is definately one for staying inside, snuggling down and seeking warming things.

I also want to start making the cupboards for the new kitchen. It's a toss up between the sofa with a blanket and flat pack furniture upstairs.

a quiet sunday afternoon, a gazillion craft ideas from the internet, yummy tea and CSI on the telly.

Lovely x

Blogger Reading Group - round one

I read Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, Bond's first mission. Although for me it was more like Bond's 101st mission. Having so much previous knowledge and existing ideas about a character did make for a different reading experience. Once I got into the story I managed to focus on the written characterisation rather than the film versions, although I continued to picture Bond as Sean Connery many years ago. On a few occasions Bond actually had my face, I tend to really get into stories and my imagination likes to keep the main role for itself.

The writing style did lend itself to taking the lead role yourself, but with Bond's at times sterotypically dated attitudes (especially to women) it jarred at times. I did wonder how much Ian Fleming was reflecting the general attitudes of the time, how much it reflected his personal opinions or whether he was exaggerating it a little to suit the character - Mr Bigshotspyman.

It's the usual adventure spy fare, possibly made famous by Ian Fleming - my knowledge of the genre is weak and I'm sorry to say I haven't done any background research for this 'review'. Bond is sent on a mission to bring down a mid-level badguy by out-gambling him (can't see that being a method of choice in these newly austere times, but Bond convinces M, M convinces the treasury and they hand over multiple millions of francs for him to play with). The plot gets a little bit complicated when badguy's bosses try to kill Bond first (dash unfair I say), and there are some explosions and the CIA pretending to be radio salesmen. Along the way Bond manages to fall in lust with a lovely lady, although this time he thinks it may actually be love. He still doesn't understand why women must get themselves involved in complicated international man-type things though and despairs of her on a regular basis before being blinded by her stunning beauty again.

Then comes the kidnap, double crossing, car chases and a touch of torture, topped off with a visit from a top-secret communist anti-spy agency, who also want to kill Bond. All this Bond of course survives, with his suave air intact, even if his heart (and some other body parts) are a bit bruised.

It was enjoyable light reading, but a plot it's hard to talk about without giving too much away. A plot that is different to the Daniel Craig Bond film as well. One of the interesting thigns about reading was noticing the differences between literary Bond, in his original (and very first) form, and the fleshed out version, developed by 40+ years of film franchise and re-writes. He has been softened up, at least in some respects (I think he now keeps his opinions about womens' capabilities a bit quieter, and seems to have realised their great potential thanks mainly to Judy Dench). The core 'Bond-ness' remains though; I recognised the Bond(s) of film fame in the man in this book, and enjoyed reading his adventure.

Make sure you check out the rest of the reading group too, they'll be listed over at go placidly.

still kitchen-less

but enjoying a beautiful sunny autumn day. Though atm I'm sitting in the small bedroom - because it feels like the only sane place in the house. The kitchen does not exist. The dining room is pretneding to be a kitchen, and also has a sofa in it. Our bedroom is somewhere under several piles of clothes, and the junk room is called that for a reason.

However, yeterday I spent a chunk of time really really sorting out the small bedroom, and it is now lovely and tidy and accessorised. The first finished room in the house.

It makes me feel calm and happy to sit in it. I don't have to be doing anything, I can just sit and look and be. Be content. And ignore the rest of the house.

Outside the sun is shining, although it is mighty cold. There are pheasants grazing on the winter crop in the field (ten of them!) and the occasional wood pigeon flapping past. With the mixtureof green, red, gold on the trees against the blue skies its a satisfying view.

Not much else to do today (ignoring the whole house) until we go to Hubster's cousin's house for his birthday gathering. (loving the new nickname suggestion for him post-wedding, thank you clever friend)We were lazy last night as well, internet wanderings and TV watching and pure chillage. I think we've both needed it, i definately throughoughly enjoyed it.

I have a new driving license but got distracted from the rest of the list (especially the filing) by a kitchen re-design. Though actually hubby is doing most of the ripping out and destruction, so I feel a little bit left out but far less dusty than I would have.

Apart from that, September has floated away and the days have turned into October; a bit like a puff of smoke, drifting off before I feel I've noticed it properly.

So I realised it would be a good thing if I updated here, or anywhere, and made some kind of connection to let y'all know I AM OK. Not buried under plaster and other bits of broken kitchen, or frozen or soaked or anything else bad (renovating can be tricksy).

I'm thinking of new projects, especially sewing ones. Inspiration hasn't struck yet, and I want something I can really get into and be keen about. The search will go on.

Last news for the evening...after Christmas I'm going to be learning how to rock climb! (the safe, indoor, with ropes kind)

blatant cross-postage this evening

of things I need to arrange... (and apologies, as I to try to avoid pure copy and paste, but as you'll realise by the end I need to go and make some wine fizzy and wrestle the living room back from under a drift of paper)

an organised filing system (random heaps will not do)
working sound on our computer
the bank to recognise that I have got married and therefore am known by a different name
a passport photo before my driving license expires
a white wine spritzer

my immediate plan is to acquire the last and drink it while working on the first.

I already feel a sense of achievement because I *finally* got round to ringing up the bank to reactivate my online banking (which has been out of action since June...)

but for now fizzy wine and piles of papers!

p.s. we ripped the kitchen out last night. Pictures once I find the cable for the camera.

It doesn't end with the wedding

We've just spent nearly three hours looking at our wedding pictures, picking out which ones we will consider for entry into the album. And this wasn't even the first run-through. We've both done preliminary explorations of the 1500 pictures (1500!).

Ever heard of 'too much of a good thing'?

The thing is that our photographer is also a teacher, and he'd quite like to get the whole thing sorted before he goes back to school on September 1st. He's the lucky one who just had 6 weeks off to play with photographs!
We are lucky though, there are lots of lovely photographs of almost all of the people who are important to us, sharing our celebration.

not an in-depth update this evening. I need to keep moving so I get-things-done. If I stay still too long I really might fall back to sleep. The bedroom is totally off limits, because the bed is there, soft and cosy and calling to me.

This morning I had full blown monday-itis. Everything seemed to take far too much effort, and the bed was calling. Being in Liverpool for work meant I couldn't hear it any more, but now I'm home again the thought of crawling back in is in my mind again.

Wish me luck - I need to iron, tidy, wash up, make lunch for tomorrow, sort out my internet banking - so I feel sane and in control of life again. And then I may sleep.

We've ordered our new kitchen and bathroom. This is exciting, but leaves me desperately trying to resist the urge to take a sledge hammer to the old ones. I am very much a 'do-now' kind of girl. So it's a good job that it's actually quite tricky to rip out cupboards that have been built in since approximately 1950!

Many boxes of new things arrive a week on Saturday, so that is when the fun will begin.

For now I am giving in to my 'do-now' nature and drafting the new training package we need to develop for work, as I know I 'won't be feeling it' by the time I get chance to concentrate on it in work time. The curse of a mildly creative nature (I can use the time I 'earn' to take a flexi Friday afternoon off!).

so far this weekend...

luxurious bath on Friday night; candles, bubbles, relaxing pamper = no bubbles and staining the bath yellow/ Only a minor inconvenience as...

trip to B&Q about the kitchen (see below) = replacing the bath, as there's no way to fit a shower to the bizarrely shaped original taps.

tidying out the kitchen = realising the funny smell is actually the cupboards. We now have to rip them out and fit new ones. The kitchen plan was to repaint the walls and enjoy the (original!)50's cupboards.

appointment at the jewellers about my wedding ring = two hours extra in town and loss of Saturday afternoon

it's now 10 o'clock, and I'm not quite sure where the time has gone. Apart from my bullet points - o- woe it's actually been an alright day. Hopefully tomorrow will be good too, as my folks are coming over.

Things I love Thursday

Inspired by my lovely friend at goplacidly...

This week I love...

• white wine spritzers,
• two days off timetable at work,
• getting breathing space on the train(being on a course meant I didn't have to drive),
  
• Andy,
• swimming and being the first one in the pool,
• unexpected texts from far away friends
  
• the hydrangea that's come into flower outside the living room window,
• the smell of the hand cream I found buried in the bathroom when I was tidying up

Dr Who, where are you?

I *need* to borrow your time machine.

There are only 24 hours in each day and it's not long enough.

Help please x

I've been spending a chunk of time this evening wandering around the internet. I have an increasing list of blogs bookmarked, and tend to glut on them. One of my weaknesses, that keeps me online for hours, and leads me down all kinds of rabbit holes is link posts. Gala darling has linked to some illustrations where the artist has drawn out the spam email he gets. Some of them are a bit nothingy but a couple made me laugh. For example...


I hope you can see that ok. I like the idea of removing the power of annoyance these emails have by ridiculing them, especially with this pleasing line-drawn style. The whole collection is here.

The reason I've been enjoying the internet this evening is that the world cup has arrived. A and I only have one TV that's set up enough to work so vegetating wasn't an option. I'm glad really, as I dislike the faintly disappointed feeling I get after a whole evening of channel surfing. I can get it about the internet as well, but this evening I have tried to be an active surfer rather than be dragged along by the flow of the information super highway.

The posts at whitehottruth have been interesting me and sparking some potentially deep thoughts. I'm not an entrepreneur, and don't have any great dreams of becoming a business person, but I find a lot of the things she says make me stop and think. And in a life as hectic as mine feels at the moment that's a powerful thing. There is wisdom that can be applied to a lot of situations in the pages of her blog. I wonder about the e-book, but haven't been convinced enough that I would follow through and commit to it enough to make it worth the money.

I have a habit of dabbling with these kinds of self improvement things but not pushing through with them enough. I have an aversion to worksheets; maybe I'm secretly afraid of when I might find out about myself. Obviously I have a a lot of Hoff to give (can't find the Hoffarmations on the internet, so no link to that delight for you) but I have a sneaking suspicion that if I started really examining myself I might find out that the things that are really meaningful to me and that I'm really good at are actually things I don't value as highly as I should cognitively.

As a 'modern woman' I've picked up on the idea that to be really succeeding you need to be all things. Powerful, organised, funny, confident, business-like, career minded, ready to have kids at any second and be able to cope whilst complaining because that's expected too. And that's before you consider the expectations of society generally that are applied to all people by default, as expressed in the attitudes of TV, magazines etc etc (though why they should be I don't know, and have realised I could not face the psychological dissection and debate of any kind of course type thing about the subject). Look out for number one but don't forget that society's falling apart. What about me. Be a success (at what we all consider to be successful). Be yourself but not too much.

Be yourself, but not too much. That's resonating with me at the moment. About the wedding..."it's your day" but you can't possibly want that! what about what Joe, Grandpa, all the neighbours will think. And everybody's so focused on one day. What about the rest of our lives? That's what this is all supposed to be the gateway to. Celebrating the beginning, helping us to set off in style, with the support of the people who love us and who we love. Anything that helps everyone to slow down and remember that has got to be a good thing. Time to think, to plan, to imagine. What is my life going to look life after this lifechanging event. Our life. How is the focus going to be different now it's shared. But there's the DJ crisis to solve, the RSVPs to chase, the flowers and cars to debate.

They don't matter. They are window dressing. A and I will be there, thankfully most of the people we care about are able to be there, to start the rest of our lives together.

Pulling the whole thing together has helped us to practice some together-skills that will be very important as life goes on. Never agreeing to anything without checking is probably the biggest. Not even expressing vague interest (as that's taken as yes in our families, and is why we ended up with 5 different types of tea lights and a panic over rings).

There has been stress, tears, frantic phone calls, and it is not done yet, but I think so far overall the benefits of being engaged and planning a wedding are winning the race. Though it has been close at times.

By the way, my dress? not window dressing. Possibly the only time in a woman's life nowadays when she can focus on finding an outfit that makes her feel amazing with absolutely no guilt and not worry that anyone will *dare* say anything negative. Mine I could have bought an alright second hand car with the money, but I really don't mind. It's one stereotype I'm glad to say I have found to be true.

Have you kept up with my train of thought tirade this evening? I fear I am not reader friendly, but there is plenty in there to inwardly digest if you feel so inclined.

In other news...

I've had a few lurgy-free weeks but now I have a cough. I'm acting like this is a mystery illness but one of my friends at work pointed out that even if I don't feel it right this second I'm probably quite stressed. She's probably referring to the just moved house, wedding in less than four weeks, working an extra shift a week state of my life. Or maybe there's something else I haven't noticed :P

A and I are trying to keep life as close to normal as we can. I have had a lovely weekend of relaxing, but also being productive. It started on Friday when I made the sensible decision that another day of writing reports in the (open plan) office would not be productive - or good for my mental health. So I didn't go in. I'm making that sound all rebel-rebel when it really isn't as work owe me enough hours for nearly three days off.

So instead of a stuffy day in a cloying open plan office I went out for a lovely countryside lunch with my folks and then took the dog for a walk around Pennington flash, which is a nature reserve just a few miles up the road from where we live.

[source]

Then home for tea with A when he got in from work. I made an incredibly yummy spring risotto and everyone seemed to enjoy it (asparagus, pea and leek - aparapeek!).

On Saturday A and I went into town to open a joint bank account. It makes me feel incredibly grown up, but also like a child playing make believe who is about to be found out.What if one day the rest of the world realises that some days I really am still a teenager inside, one who simply wears a fairly effective grown-up-costume most days?

In fact Saturday had already started for me before the trip to the bank. I had got up at a reasonable hour, put a wash on, done some gentle yoga type exercise and tidied the living room (the grown-up costume in action). After the bank we got the shopping from the market and then took the wedding decorations to the florists and finalised all that with her. Then in the evening A's folks came over, and fell in love with the Wii fit. They really did seem very impressed, though I think his mum may have been happier without an audience. They're going to borrow it whilst A and I are away next month, and I worry we may have trouble getting it back!

A lazy start to Sunday was rudely interrupted when I realised there's a chunk missing from one of my back teeth :( I haven't had much luck with my teeth over the last few years, despite regular brushing and generally pretty good dental care, so this was another blow to be honest. I feel cheated, that somehow my tooth-caring efforts are not being rewarded. I have an appointment at the dentists' on Tuesday, presumably to have another filling packed into what's left of the tooth.

The rest of Sunday went according to plan. A and I had decided to try out a local park/nature reserve we'd found out about.

[source]

Sankey Valley park is a long linear park, along a disused and partly infilled canal. Some parts of it are really beautiful, and it runs pretty much alongside the local river as well. We took our (much neglected) bikes along about half of it (and back - it's *very* important to remember you need to get home again) and really enjoyed exploring. We've spotted some elder trees and embankments of berries that we have our eye on for the autumn. We'll just need to beat the kids and the birds to them.

It's a shame that we didn't know about this park sooner, as one of the access points is only a few minutes ride from our house. I guess it says something about our motivation, but also that perhaps the local council could be a little bolder in advertising what they have. It really was a gorgeous surprise to ride down through an industrial estate, and not to turn the corner onto a scubby towpath, along a rubbsh strewn old canal as I was expecting. To instead find myself riding across a rustic wooden lock, along a beautifully kept now walking/cycle path, past fishermen who actually had a hope of catching something other than a bike wheel (really big fish - honestly, it.was.this.big. - I saw them), seeing new wildlife every couple of minutes was stunningly refreshing. Maybe that's why the council keep quiet about it, to keep it safe.

Sunday evening was quiet, with only a hint of that Sunday evening depression that knowing there is work again in the morning brings. It seems I missed some excitement though. Whilst I was chilling out in the back garden, catching up on the news papers, sorting out my summer clothes and generally being domestic one of the factories by the motorway (a mile or so from us) was exploding. Apparently there was a very large fire at a paint factory, and lots of it exploded. Our houses are the last before the motorway and A's cousin (who lives down the road) watched the whole thing - it was huge, you couldn't miss it, etc. Somehow, despite being in the front bedroom, with a clear view of all these explosions, with the window open to hear the sirens, I did.

I feel that takes a particular skill. I must really have been focused on sorting out that wardrobe (it does look pretty amazing).

Hopefully I'll be here again with another proper update soon x

Our honeymoon...

...has arrived!
[source]

I'll be busy this evening unpacking and trying to put this giant up.

Who wants to share with me at Greenbelt?

Today I have mostly been...

Introducing my future in-laws to the Wii, and thereby providing an evening of entertainment for all involved. Unfortunately there aren't any pictures; Andy's hula-hooping could've been a youtube classic.

We've offered to lend them our console whilst we're away next month, and they seemed to enjoy playing it so much that I'm worried we won't get it back!

Wedding update

People I am the queen of organisation and getting things done. Just wait for the universe to come and bite me for writing that statement!

• Readings are (finally) picked
• as is music for the service
• which means that...Order of service is decided - just waiting for confirmation from the Minister that it isn't inadvertently heathen or just plain wrong.
• buffet menu is drafted
• cake visit is planned
• venue decoration is planned
• meeting florist for church and bouquets friday Pm
• dress fitting friday!
• shoes are bought

so need to:

• ring/meet venue florist about making up sample decorations
• actually visit cake lady and give her deposit
• ring caterers re:menu and final date for numbers
• start chasing those who haven't RSVPd (grr)
• sort out something (anything) for hair and makeup
  
• get more ideas for mood music for the afternoon tea - any ideas?

It's all coming along nicely :)

Seriously though, any ideas for chilled out summery afternoon tea type background music would be greatly appreciated (show tunes and glee soundtrack *totally* acceptable)

Six weeks and two days to sanity returning. Life is more than wedding plans, honest.
It actually is really. Last night Andy and I went out for tea. To the park...fish and chips on a quiet bench by a stream. Tonight I was working late, developing my career. My life is well rounded (and untidy, poor neglected house :P)

It is officially known as "being crazy busy"

And is a horrible condition that I have blindly stumbled into without even realising it.

• Yesterday - dress fitting (including racing out of work early and also paying for it- now v.poor and about to get poorer, see below)
• Today - car getting fixed and so I was on the train, and having to pay out more cash
  
• Tomorrow - boiler being replaced
• Thursday - still boiler, and lots of cleaning up to do
• Friday - the best weekend ever begins (which makes all the rest pale into insignificance). I don't want to put too much 'it must be amazing' pressure on the weekend plans, but I think the rules of physics clearly state that when all the cool kids are in the same place (for the first time in *years* greatness must happen or the universe will end.

Of course the good side to all this is...

• It's my wedding dress!
• My car works again, so I no longer have to lift the bonnet in every school car park before I leave.
  
• The new boiler means Ands and I will *both* be able to have a *proper* bath (that is, more than 2 1/2 inches deep and still actually hot) without sharing (eeeew, boy!) or waiting three hours inbetween.
• Everyone who's coming to stay will also be able to have hot water.
• All my best friends from all over are going to be in the same place, with me. All weekend.

So I may be notably absent for a few days, for the best of reasons xxx

Sunny day saturday

If my rum cocktail in the sunshine has mango in it does it count as one of my five a day?
It already has extra benefit to my mental health because I've been slowly sipping it whilst sitting out on a rug under the shiny happy sun in my back garden.

Vehicular Update

Short version: I have my car and she goes (up hill as well as down). I've put off the big money work but she will need it :( poor poorly car.

Long Version:
I set off for the garage Monday morning (after a phone call on a terrible line to a man I couldnt really hear talking. He said something that sounded vaguely positive so i set off). Rosie was making some rather strange noises, not unlike someone rattling a bag of nails :( so I drove slowly and careful and didn't make any sudden movements. Which meant I missed the turning for the garage and as I was turing round realised that it felt like I was trying to steer a tank, that was full of cement.

I revised my prediction of what is wrong to definately the power steering, and handed her over to be inspected. The burly knight in greasy overalls rang back a couple of hours later. I still couldnt really hear him but there appeared to be options. Either patch or possibly top it up (very bad phone line) or pay him £235 and not have my car for two days. Top her up I said (though I didn't know with what, or why yet).

The leak is from the power steering rack, which after some google searching I can confirm has something to do with the power steering (again I have a tiny bit of car knowledge). The encylopedia of google also informed me that it can be much much more expensive to fix (though that also makes me nervous...why so cheap? will it actually be fixed or will he simply wrap duct tape round it and take my money yelling "sucker!". Then I feel bad for thinking badly of him, of society, of the universe etc etc etc)

So thank you all for your kind thoughts, prayers and postive vibes. I have been able to get back to work, and drive to my parents' so I won't have to miss a friend's funeral tomorrow (a bigger worry than work to be honest). My plan is to get the car properly fixed next week because I have an office day then. Until then my boot contains a handy bottle of power steering fluid (which is the same stuff they put in your car's gears...you learn something new!)

And in a change from our scheduled programming...

I am at home, when I should be at work. Some would relish this extra self-time, but I am far far far too busy at work and have no time left to reschedule the things I have had to cancel.

At about 7pm last night I was putting some laundry away when I glanced out of the window and saw a little cat hiding under my car. Or so I thought. When I looked closer I realised that cats aren't usually flat and shiny. So I took my puzzled self outside and stuck my finger in the shiny patch of glistening something that was oozing out from under my car.

First thing this morning I rang a local garage and got Rosie to limp down there, making some strange noises but going. They are going to check her over and ring me back as soon as they know what's going on. My money is on oil (level has dropped below the dip stick even though it was fine a week ago) and/or power steering fluid (it felt like driving a sleeping tank full of cement). Plus, both of those are shiny oily things that can leak out of a car. This is my level of car knowledge. Please please please don't be too expensive!

So I rang work, got them to cancel my morning appointments and have been getting back on top of the house work. Hopefully I'll know what's going on soon, so I can either go and pay for Rosie's release or leave her to be mended whilst I get the train to work (to catch up on paperwork all afternoon).

prayers and positive vibes greatly appreciated, thanks

Warning: Politics

I was beginning to feel hopeful for politics and the people of Britain after the reactions to the recent debates but I have been plunged back into despair (very Anne-like of me). I've just spent a ridiculously long time trawling many internet pages to find out which constituency I live in, who is running for parliament and who won the last election here (and by how much). It is not the party I hoped, and they won by far too much (about 16,000 votes). I live on the wrong side of the tracks, quite literally.
I'm now in a dilemma of strategy vs. ideology. What I need is to develop strong enough mind reading capabilities that I can tell what 22,000 other people are going to do, and develop them before May 6th.

I have a new dress!

and it is *so* pretty it makes me want to wear dresses all the time.

although it is orange, which I wasn't sure I could pull off. It seems I can.

The dress...



Thank you Marks and Spencers (but your pictures are *small*)

This is quite possibly a bad idea...

I have spent the last many hours in the company of some of my best people, have had curry and several glasses of wine and been listening to some frankly *terrible* wedding bands in an attempt to find entertainment.
To make up for this auditory assault we have run to seek solace in the sounds of delirious and jason mraz which has helped but the experience has obviously traumatised us as the discussion has now moved onto the death of the 'round poo wombat' and the evolutionary triumph of the square poo wombat. (quote of the week...reasons to go to Austrailia... "single men and wombat poo")

Normal service will be resumed on Monday xxx

progress report

the bathroom is nearly undercoated. I have entirely under estimated the amount of time it takes to strip a room of paper, prepare the walls and paint them. I gave myself the entire bank holiday weekend (apart from the visiting time) and we finished the undercoat last night. It's disheartening really; I'd built myself up to be super home maker and start making this place our own. The only expectations I'm failing are my own, but that's a habit I have. The feeling of failure when I miss a self-imposed target is pretty much the same as missing a real one. I need to work on chilling out about that really.
I did ring a lady about a wedding cake though. She sounded lovely, gave me some information and I'm to ring her back next week to talk details and arrange meeting up.
My head is a spinning to do list atm. I have until about 7:30pm to pack for the weekend (yay!), empty my boot of work things, check the oil in my car, make some dinner, tidy bedroom and living room, sort my laundry so it'll get done whilst I'm away, deliver some flowers to a friend from work who is poorly and get myself to aqua. Go go gadget Yen.

(my life is more than to do lists...it just doesn't feel like it at the moment!)

manage this management

I've spent today on a time management course. It was suggested at a supervision session in work because I often feel harrassed and swamped by all the things I have to get done.

It had lots of useful little tips and tricks, and has made me think a lot about why I do things and what my attitude is. Overall though my conclusion is that I'm not too bad at managing my time really, so long as I stay motivated and proactive. What it has made me realise is that the main reason I get stressed at work is simply that there is far too much to do. And however well you manage a huge workload it will still be huge (it's something to do with physics). I'm not sure how realising this will help me day to day in work, since the workload can't realistically get any smaller, but at least I'm confident it's not me slacking.

I'd love to try out some of the strategies and plans from the course. Hopefully I will be able to soon, but for now I just don't have the time (!).

Acheivement list

simply to make me feel good about all the stuff I have been doing since 6pm last night.

• bought new car insurance
• planned budget for the house
• planned budget for myself
• organised the finances, money moved to the right places
  
• paid the phone bill
• updated the meter readings
• finally sorted out the living room, no more boxes!
• cleaned the bathroom
• tidied the hall, no more boxes!
• hoovered the hall, bathroom and living room
• washed the dishes
• finalised the invite address list - watch the letter box people, they're on their way
• sorted out the towels - sounds daft but they're all muddled up (hand, bath, dish etc) and it's been driving me nuts
• watched, and thoroughly enjoyed 'The Wedding Singer'
  
• slept for 7 hours
• remembered to move the clocks forward (except the timer switch, which won't let me do it, and it made my head hurt trying to work out how/if I needed to change the settings to make it fake-right)
• taken A for a lovely walk round Dunham Massey to see the spring flowers (so many, so pretty. We also saw several birds and other bits of nature).
• made a picnic lunch for the walk (in case you were wondering, yes it is still a bit early&cold to sit still outside)

Plan for the evening, cos I'm on a getting things done roll...

• make biscuits
• sort out the bedding - there are full sets that match in there somewhere I'm sure
• watch Glee
• iron something to wear for work tomorrow
• have dinner
• drink wine
• bath
• sleep

The house is gradually getting more sorted, only two rooms are full of boxes now. The back bedroom (eventually to be known as the library, but it needs more input before it's worthy of the title) has a path pushed through to the computer and the radiator (to dry clothes). The small bedroom is pretty much a wall of boxes still. All the books seem to be in there, and an empty bookcase in the back bedroom...typical moving logic.

We also need a filing system. My giant gift bag full of 'important things' is no longer up to the task. Unfortunately there isn't enough space to spread the papers out to sort them out, so the chaos continues for now.

But first, biscuits (and tea, of course)

Thanks lovely lady!

One of my bestest friends has given me an award!
I have a sneaking suspicion it's an attempt to kick me into updating more often (which seems to have worked, since there've been two since last night)

There are rules with this award, about linking to x-many other blogs you think are also beautiful and such. Unfortunately my baby steps in blog-land mean I don't regularly read enough yet, so the 'rule' will have to become more of a guideline for now.

So I will adapt the guidelines and tell you why go placidly is a super cool chick and beautiful lady, who I am glad to have as my friend and even gladder she keeps on agreeing to be mine too.

1. She is true to herself, even though she probably doesn't realise it. Sticking to what you believe, sometimes whilst you're still figuring out exactly what that is, takes a very impressive kind of personal strength.
2. She inspires me. By her well balanced and motivated outlook and by the way she'll notice just the right thing to make the day seem brighter or to make you think.
3. She has excellent taste; in all areas to be honest. I would trust her recommendation or advice about a show, a book, a new musician, and of course whether or not my bum really did look amazing in a particular outfit.

I could very easily go on, but 15 things might be enough to make her blush!

Thank you for my award lovely lady, I will do my best to write more often and let the world know what's going on.

P.S. wedding themed update/ponderance/essay/rant coming soon. (The statement "It's your day" is a tricksy lie designed to create stress and make you realise who your real friends are. Do you agree or disagree?)

The Yorkshire Dales

I'm back! we've had a lovely few days chilling out, eating good food, drinking tea, resisting the urge to buy up entire second hand bookshops and actually doing quite a lot of exercise. I didn't mean to, it just kind of happened. And most of it was fun.

Monday was book day
We spent the day exploring Sedburgh ("England's book town"), although a lot of it was still closed. I was convinced spring had sprung because the weather had seemed so lovely and bright and hopeful at home. It seems spring has yet to creep up to Yorkshire. There was some evidence in the valleys but apparently the force of new life is not strong enough yet to climb the mountainsides. Give it a little more time.
I got a couple of 'geeky' books about popular science (to add to the pile of half read 'thinking' type books I already have) and one claiming to introduce philosophy in an accessible way. From the things my friend who studied philosophy at Uni used to say I'm not sure such a thing is possible, but I would like to know more so thought it was worth a try.
I also got a few knickknacks to start off my spring swap package. Not books though, too heavy for the postage!

Tuesday was crazy vertical biking day
or it felt like at least. I used to ride a bike quite a lot as a teenager. It was a useful way to get places, and helped me get there quicker than walking and with less potential for ickyness than getting the bus.
Last year I had decided that it would be a good thing to do more exercise and that getting a bike would be a good way of making this happen. I got a bike, but it didnt happen. So at Christmas when A got a new bike he talked me into restarting the whole bike thing. My new new bike is red and white and black, and I got a helmet to match.
The plan to keep it interesting was to try some 'forest trails', so I looked up some places near our holiday spot and we set off to try out Gisburn forest. Yes, some forest trails, and also some crazy mad twisty paths made of logs over a swamp. They were obviously designed for actual moutainbikers rather than me, but it's quite tricky to get back off a trail of wood the width of a human being that is floating over a swamp. I wibbled and wobbled and walked my way through it, and didn't fall in. First achievement of the day.
Once I escaped the floating wood swamp a lot of the other paths were pretty good fun, especially the one were I got to be a human marble on wheels, weaving my way down a zig zag path between the trees. The whole forest seemed to be a really good mix of paths for walking, riding, and being crazy on if you were that way inclined.
Since I got through the trip without getting covered head to toe in mud or breaking anything I have decided I enjoy mountain biking.

I'll tell you about Wednesday (a hill, inside and out) and Thursday (more bikes) later. For now it is time for tea.

So true

Dear Future

Update

Life could be described as hectic. It would be a fair desciption of the last few months. (We've bought a house and the wedding is just over three months away.) The hat from the last post remains incomplete (and the person who's birthday it was made for is nearly three months older...oops).

I'm thankful that:

• it's starting to feel like spring...I didn't need my coat this afternoon
• we're going on holiday next week...a whole week of not working, country pubs, good food, walking, riding, afternoon tea and sleeping!
• I've had a whole evening to hang out with my parents, and mum and I get a whole day together tomorrow.
• my car is shiny...she got a full clean on tuesday and is all gleaming and shiny red, and also clean inside. it makes the world feel a better place when I walk out and see her.
• my friend has had her mortgage approved...it's exciting!

Do any of you start to feel more alive and upbeat when the sun starts to feel warm on your face each day? there's something about it that makes the world a more positive place (maybe its a subconsicous reaction to the feeling of vitamin D being formed in my body). Winter has felt too long and too cold this year, layers may be fashionable but I am fed up of them.

Once the internet is on at the new house I will try and get back into the habit of updating. Can anyone offer me some advice about how to upload photos...I'm going to have to find the cable in the mass of muddled cables I think. That way things will get a bit mroe interesting to look at here.

Hopefully speak again soon

there is a hat
picture to follow once I figure out how to get it off my phone and onto the internet

Crochet

...is going well so far. I have almost achieved a round, although it is quite uneven and lumpy. If you leave the glass on it then you can convince yourself its a coaster.

on to greater and flatter things!

String and snow

people (well, person..hi Rach!) get the award ready... I have mastered crochet! it's taken me 26 years and several very failed attempts but I can now make chain stitch *victory dances* it's going to be quite a while before I transfer this new found skill into hats and things though. Unfortunately anything more than chain stitch turns the wool into the aftermath of a kitten attack.

In other news it is still snowy, and the 'news' has turned into an extended weather report. I'm scared to try and get into work because of the icy roads and scary images in my head of spinning and sliding and gliding straight into oncoming articulated lorries (thank you bbc news). I was working up the courage to try and get in for 9am tomorrow as I have a full clinic booked when one of my friends (who works in the adjacent town - about three streets away) basically warned me off. Apparently she got a lift into work because she couldn't get out of her street, her office was shut at lunch time and all appointments cancelled, then she crept home and it was scary.

Of course it's highly likely that no-one will turn up anyway, because there are no buses in town, and sensible people are staying at home. But what will my boss say?(if she, or anyone else is even there) and the all-knowing-weather-people are predicting that there will be no thaw for at least a week. I can's stay at home forever, I have no child as an excuse. (Explanation; in English employment law you have the right to stay off work with pay and no negative implication to care for dependants. If you have no dependants the legal position is basically get your skis out and get on in, so I'm starting to worry that I'll have to repay the hours or take a pay cut - not sure that's fair).

So crochet celebration and work related snow worries. A mixed, but good enough day so far and an evening of knot making ahead of me. A hat is not beyond me, eventually.

"Keep breathing" is about right, I hadn't realised how long it's been since I was here. Life's been a backwards forwards always driving more people to visit hectic few weeks.
I frantically tried to create homemade pressies for my nearest and dearest...starting on the 19th December. Organisation is still not my strong point, but I'm working on it. I did get almost all of what I'd planned done though, and into the post. It felt like christmas miracle number one.

Today we've been having a snow day...England simply can't cope with a foot of snow, Rosie's stuck on the drive and I got to trample in snow, laugh at A cannonballing into the giant snowball he made, watch birds washing their hair and hands and face in snow...all the wintry stuff. We walked to town and I'm starting to ache in muscles I didn't know I had.

The forecast is not looking good for tomorrow either; ice on top of the snow, so I'll see how it goes. I could be working from home, which could be a much needed chance to get organised.

I've been reading a few blogs about getting organised, since it's an area that keeps coming up (we're planning to move house soon and all this *stuff* is not moving with us). They're probably old news in blog land but I've been soaking up the wisdom at three interesting blogs -

Art of Non-Conformity http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/
Zen Habits http://zenhabits.net/
The Happiness Project http://www.happiness-project.com/

time for hot chocolate and a bath right now...winter can be beaten by bubbles and candlelight, it can it can it can.

speak sooner, I promise x