No Life?

Found this in a Cafepress search and just thought it had to be blogged today......

Party time

Today was the first Birthday party of my gorgeous little niece. It will be her actual birthday on Monday (Halloween)

My sister's best friend from school(call her Z) was there along with her hubby, Daughter and nephew. Also her sister (call her T) came along with her son and daughter. My sister and T used to share a house years ago but it all went pear shaped and they haven't been on the best of terms for the past few years so I think a few bridges were being built. T's little girl although almost 2 years old still isn't walking...She gets around everywhere on her backside. I am wondering if there is an element of mental disability. She was very ill when she was born and it was touch and go at one point whether she would live at all. It does seem odd though to me that her mum isn't concerned about her abilities. I was very thrilled though that after about half an hour of them being there, she got down off the sofa and took about four steps to my out-stretched arms. She grabbed hold of my thumbs and stayed with me for about an hour. Sometimes she would just stand there, sometimes she would stretch a leg out to try and kick the balloon and we even played swinging about for a while. She was lovely. She has the cutest face you could ever see and the most gorgeous eyes. As my sister says, she doesn't have to smile at you for her eyes to twinkle she just has that glint in her eye the whole time. She wasn't very happy when I had my niece sit on my knee but I managed to play with both of them for a while.

My niece was having a ball. She wasn't very well and had been quite miserable to start with but when she realised everyone was giving her so much attention (and presents) she was milking it for all it's worth. Later on when all the other children had gone she was in her element.

Once all the other kiddies had gone home, it was adult time and the booze was out in force. I had been so pre-occupied with the kids being away that I had totally forgotten to buy any alcohol. I wasn't bothered though as I am not a big drinker...People kept offering me some of their drink but I wasn't feeling it to be honest. I could enjoy a party perfectly well without getting drunk although no one could understand that...I was happy enough.

By around midnight I was Yawning for England. Then I realised I had forgotten to bring taxi fair with me so my sister had to lend me some money. We got back here about 12.30 I think although now the clocks have just gone back so I am already confused

They're back!!!

Well my babies arrived back home at around 4.30pm yesterday. DS was totally spent up and DD brought about £50 home with her. I was all ready for the stories and excited chatter but they were all too knackered. Unfortunately DD isn't well. She has a really bad cough and was really dopey.
They seemed to have had a good time anyway. I got some pressies....A gorgeous candle that is scented of Tiramisu...I don't usually like to burn my candles but I might just have to give into this one as it smells divine just in it's wrapper. I got another candle set of Rose scented things and a gorgeous keyring woth my name on. DD won lots of keyrings out of the 2p pusher machines so I also got a hologram keyring with The Hulk on LOL!!!!

I will probably get all the stories as the week goes on as they always remember stuff at weird moments.....

That's what I'm talking about!!

2 more DVDs that I have watched in my little Movie fest are Hitch starring Will Smith and Hellraiser : Deader. A little more to my taste, the ROMCOM and Horror genres

Hitch...I have loved Will Smith from right back as far as The Fresh Prince in the Eighties. He has come on leaps and bounds (literally in some parts) since then. My fave movie so far has been I,Robot but Hitch is a bit of a shift from the Action Man to the romantic comedy lead role. I loved it. It really made me laugh in parts and yes I did shed a tear at the happy ending (I always cry at weddings) I could definitely watch again and most probably will....maybe even before the kids return home tomorrow ;-)

Hellraiser...I have been a big Horror fan since I was 13 years Old. My first love being Nightmare on Elm street and the wonderful Wes Craven. Clive Barker is right up there with Wes (and SK of course) in the Horror writing stakes. I have loved all the Hellraiser movies but the first is obviously always the best. I have them all in my collection and have seen the first film umpteen times. Clive Barker is also responsible for the much more blood thirsty Candyman movies.
I don't think that Deader is the best of the series although I may just have to watch again to catch the odd details that I missed first time around. Do we have smelly vision yet? cos I swear I could actually smell it when Amy was in dead Marla's apartment!


It has probably become apparent why I wasn't so impressed with Closer as it definitely isn't really my thing ;-)

Closer...Good for insomniacs...

Decided to have a DVD fest this afternoon but have just watched what felt like the longest movie in history.
Closer - Starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman.
It might have been worth watching just for the Eye Candy (Jude & Clive) but I have to say it was excruciating. I can't actually remember the film starting. I was waiting for some kind of plot line to emerge but it never did. I can't even put an answer to the question "What was it all about?"
This is the IMDB listing and this is Sony Pictures dedicated page.

If you haven't seen it yet then please don't buy it. Borrow it or rent it and make sure you have lots of Popcorn/crisps/chocolate or ice cream to pass the time!!

AARGH!!

Just remembered I should have gone to feed my sister's cat today!!!
I would leave it till tomorrow only I hate to think of him sat outside crying...Looks like it is a change to my big planned evening (Yeah Right!!)

Bed Heads

Just had to Blog this as it gave me a well-needed laugh this morning.
I don't think I will be brave enough to post pictures of my own bed head but please take a look as it will have you chuckling!!!

All alone

Well I have just seen my family off for the week.
DD & DS have gone off on a holiday with my 2 sisters, brother-in-law, Niece and Nephew. They are off to Cleethorpes until Friday. DS was very emotional this morning which is quite weird as he never got upset when he went off to camp for 2 weeks. It is the first time that DD has been away from me and she was really excited about it.
It doesn't feel so odd at the moment as it is as if they have gone off to school....It will be weird tonight though when I am here all alone.

Got back about an hour ago. It was an interesting morning to say the least. Lots of haggling and lots of people wanting something for nothing. On the big things that I expected to get knocked down on they would just give me a dirty look and walk away when I told them how much yet on the smaller stuff that I felt like I was giving away they would want for nothing. Like a watch that I asked £1 for they offered me 40p so we settled on 75p...I definitely didn't give on the boys coat from Next. I asked 50p for it and this woman wanted to give me 10p...I told her where to go!!!!

I made about £40 altogether which isn't a fortune but it is more money than I took and i came home with less junk than I went with too.

Hope I can do it again sometime soon anyway :)

Very dark outside

OK Here I am, It's 5am and I am up and about!!!

Off to the Car boot this morning to try and get rid of some junk and gain some cash. I have promised myself that I am NOT going to look round the stalls so I will not be buying anything else to bring home!!!!

Free CD

A month or so ago I did a survey for Songpeople.com that was on behalf of Virgin Radio. They often put you into a draw for a free CD but (Even though I have already won 1 CD before) I never expect to win.
Well, this morning I recieved A cd in a Plain white sleeve Virgin Radio Sessions. It contains live sessions from Oasis, Texas and David Gray to name but 3. It is signed by someone too but probably only Virgin radio presenters.

Have you ever..........

.......Gone to a shop to buy Conditioner and then when you got home found you bought shampoo by mistake???

This is about the 3rd time I have done it....I swear it was Conditioner when i picked it up...and why is it always when I have completely run out of Conditioner???

......And while we are at it, Why is Conditioner more expensive than Shampoo but only lasts half as long??????

Simon from Blue

Just heard Simon Webbe's new single on the radio...So, they still not bothered to try and hide the fact that he can't sing.
I think he is really setting out to take the P*SS out of the youngsters that buys his records. How can he seriously stand up there and not be embarrassed?????

LOST!!!

Is it Locke's Fantasy? Is John Locke the key to the whole thing? Boone and Shannon...Didn't see that one coming......Can Jin really speak English too??

I haven't been gripped like this to a show in ages (Last season of 4400) Just when you think you have it sussed....they throw another scenario at you.

Dd is really into House and she always says she hates having to wait for next week for the next episode...Well I know exactly how she feels...Very tempted to go and download the rest of the series......NOW!!!

Earthquake? Really?

Well I can't find anything about it anywhere but apparently there was a tiny earthquake here yesterday......

We sat here, DS at PC, Me on the sofa and DD on her chair. There was a noise like someone stamping there feet or banging a wall. At first I just blamed DS as he just can't sit still, he is always tapping or shuffling or fidgetting. He said it hadn't been him...I looked at him and he had his legs crossed on the chair.
So I went outside to see if it was the next-door neighbours banging or someone outside. I didn't see anything and didn't really think anything more of it.

Today DD came home saying that it was a mini-Earthquake.

I have googled and searched the local papers and found nothing at all so Who knows?........

Target setting

3 times a year we have to traipse up to school for target setting day. Basically for anyone without teenage kids, this is where the form tutor goes through their grades with you. They show you first at what grade they finished last term, what grade they are up to now and then what grade they are expected to reach by the next term (The target, if you will).
So the kids get the day off school and then we get an appointment to go up at some point during the day. Now this has always been quite easy before with only 1 child at the school but I knew that now they are both there, something would go wrong.

DS had an appointment for 2.15 and DD had one for 2.45...Plenty of time in between for getting from one classroom to the other......(you'd think wouldn't you)

I ended up in a bit of a rush as I had to go pick up DS first and I really hadn't given myself enough time...Anyway, we reached his allocated room with a couple of minutes to spare but to my dismay, the previous appointment was only just going in...So we waited....and waited...AND WAITED!!! Half an hour...When I was called in I only had a couple of minutes until my next appointment.
Well shouldn't have worried as they didn't have the data ready anyway....NOW WHAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF THAT???!!!!

The form tutor just told me that he was a good boy and didn't get into trouble and he has 100% attendance and was never late...Well I knew all that anyway. So I was in and out in 10 minutes (Apparently ds tells me that the girl in front was one of the naughty ones and is always late or not there so that is why she got a half an hour and we got 10 minutes)

DD's appointment was totally different. I have always liked her form tutor. He takes a great interest in all his pupils and is very enthusiastic. As she is in year 9 now I have gotten to know him quite well and he is always raving about DD.
He showed me the printout of her progress this year. She has reached or exceeded most of her targets (Those not reached are subjects that she doesn't particularly like but will most likely drop next year anyway) She is expected to get grade 6s or above in most of her SATs even achieving 7s in a couple of subjects.... I am very proud of her...As is her form tutor.

Thanks God I don't have to do that again until January though LOL

Son-less

It's been a weird old weekend.
Saturday DS went off with his Friend and his dad for a sleepover as he often does. I was expecting him back around 3pm on Sunday but I got a text message Sunday morning asking me if he could stay an extra night....Well I wasn't going to say No. It has been really weird without him all weekend though. Myself and DD seem to be spending a lot of time alone together just recently...It seems that when her brother isn't around she is totally lost too.

Of course as it is a Monday today I wouldn't normally let him stay over at a friend's house but it is Target setting day at school today so they don't have to go in.

I am going to fetch him at 1.30 to go up to school for our appointment.

Sports night

Interesting evening tonight. (After my little strop earlier)
My sister and her works netball team were in a little tournament at a leisure centre in the city. DS is staying over his friend's house so me and DD went along to watch.

It is a long time since I played netball (Played GK for my school team until I was about 15) so I had forgotten how exciting it can get and how physical it can be.

The tourny started at 7pm and my sister's first game was 7.15. As there were so many teams, each game was only 12 minutes long but there was a lot of play in that short time. Scores were very high

Unfortuantely Our team (as we came to affectionately call it ) lost the first 2 games but with each game they became more confident and played better. They won the last game 6-3 and I think they were very pleased with themselves....It wasn't enough though and they didn't get through to the finals.



It was 9.40pm by the time we left the centre so DD and I went to Maccy Dees and then got a cab home

I really enjoyed watching but not sure if I am quite up to re-starting my Netball career ;-)

Feeling ignored??

Sent text messages to several of my friends earlier today. Just thought that I hadn't heard from some of them for a while.

Have only had one reply in about 2 hours and now feeling neglected

I'll be OK

Had an exceedingly amazing night last night.

Last week my sister asked me if DS & DD like McFly. She had won a quiz at work for the Jeans for Genes day and the top prize was 2 tickets to see McFly in concert at the Nottingham Ice Arena.

So last night my other sister and I took them off on the train to Notts. I had butterflies and was feeling excited all day....It was almost as if I was going to the concert myself, I think I was even more excited than they were....Actually it probably wasn't excitement at all. This would be their first pop concert without me. I have taken them to see Alistair a couple of times and we went to Nottingham arena in 2003 for Xmas Xcess which was a big concert with about 12 different top artists (Singing to backing tracks mostly. So I was probably nervous about taking them and leaving them for the 3 hours.

By the time we got into Notts it was throwing it down (what was the point in standing in front of the mirror for all that time straightening my hair???) We got to the Arena and went to fetch the tickets. The time said starting at 7.30 but it was nearly that and the place was buzzing. We stood and watched as they went off through the barrier on their own...I wanted to go with them...It so wasn't fair.

After we had left them, we found a nice little pub not far from the Arena. I was absolutely starving so I was hoping we could get some chips or a burger or something. It was Curry night on a Wednesday so Curry it was then.
Chicken Curry and Rice plus a pint of Carling. Not bad for £3.95.
The Curry was so hot! I could have done with a pint of water not Lager. It was very nice but unlike our other sister with her asbestos mouth, we are not so good with really spicy foods. We got through it though and lived to tell the tale.

At 10pm I decided we should go back round so that we could be there when the kids came out. I didn't want them to get worried if they had to wait and Iwanted to make sure that we didn't miss each other. We got into the Arena foyer and the concert was still in full swing. There was lots of activity...I couldn't believe why kids would want to be hanging around outside when the boys were still playing....We managed to get quite a lot of glimpses of the big screen through the double doors as people were coming in and out and we could hear everything perfectly. We were stood there for half and hour and got to enjoy the whole of the encore. I wanted to be in there...did I say that? This was torture having to stand outside those doors.......

When it finally ended, we were a bit worried as there was some kind of firework display and all we could see through the big doors was fire.......All the magic of the Big screen it seems.....
All the kids (And they were mostly kids in there) came flooding out and we didn't have a long wait till we spotted DD & DS.

They had had a great time. They really enjoyed it and I was so pleased...Of course their ears were ringing so it wasn't easy getting any conversation out of them....They were buzzing though as we walked - In the pouring rain - back to the train station. On the road outside there was a bloke selling posters for £1 so I bought them 1 each...you always have to have something to commemorate your first big gig!!!

We got back home about midnight and straight to bed!!!

Bad communication

The housing association which I rent my house from (And have done for 11 years) has a community room on a neighbouring street. I had this great idea to get rid of some of the junk in my house.
I put together a plan to put on our own little family autumn fair. We could have tables set up to sell stuff, the kids could put together a few little games and we could do a refreshments stall selling coffee/tea/cakes etc...
So with the excitement of our little venture I phoned the housing office to find out about hiring the hall out. Unfortunately I was told that the woman in charge was away and would I please ring back the following week.......So I waited and rang back again but the woman in charge was with a client..So they took my number and I was told she would ring me back....So I waited a couple of days for her to ring back and she didn't. So I rang again. I explained what it was I wanted and was told that they don't actually deal with the hiring out at that office. So they gave me the number of the main office. I rang the main office and the woman I spoke to there didn't even know what I was talking about and told me to ring the other office. I explained that it was them who told me to ring....So, the main office gave me the number of the Caretaker who looks after the hall. I was sure to get some information from them.
I rang the Caretaker number and, yes, You guessed it...It was out of service.

Extremely frustrated I decided to give up.

The other day I was in the bath when the phone rang....When I got out the bath, I rang the number back and it was the housing office. Unfortunately though the woman had now left the office for the day so I gave them my number and she was supposed to ring me again yesterday.......She didn't!!!!

What is the point of all this?
Well....I didn't actually tell any of these people that I am a tenant so this is the kind of service they are giving to the general public. What is the point of having this facility if no one can ever use it because the staff at the association are so incompetent!!!!!

Burnt Chocolate

Sat here alone because DD has stormed off upstairs in a tantrum. The reason? Earlier DD and DS asked if they could make chocolate Cornflake cakes. There was a block of chocoloate in the cupboard and an abundance of Cornflakes and I was desperate for them to be used up. So of course I agreed.

A few minutes later I could sense the aroma of chocolate coming from the kitchen and DD came stomping in...They had burnt the chocolate and all the cakes are now ruined. Instead of putting the choc in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time to melt it...they had put it in for 3 minutes!!!! She took some money and went to the local supermarket to try and get some replacement cooking choc but it was closed.....

So now she has disappeared to her room saying how she can't do anything right and she is never going to make anything again etc......

A wonderful day

I have just spent a fantastic day looking after my(Nearly 1 year old) niece and (4 year old) nephew while my very lucky Sister and her hubby got to go to Old Trafford to watch England. The last time I looked after my niece was a total disaster as she wasn't in a good mood at all and I was sort of dreading it but this time was an absolute different story.
As soon as I went in the door She had a really big smile on her face. We had a ball, she was dancing and singing whenever any music came on the TV. She has a little book that she loves to look at that she sat on the floor with for absolutely ages. She played with the others building things with the bricks and when it was time to put them away she even helped with that.

My other sister arrived about 10am and we decided to go to the park. Just recently my niece hasn't been very friendly towards her other auntie. It is most likely because it is her that usually babysits so she associates seeing her with her mum and dad going out. This time though she was as happy to see her as she was me. She had a great time on the swings while my nephew was doing all the big boy stuff following DS round.

My niece fell asleep in the pushchair on the way home which meant I was able to get the lunches for everyone else but when she woke she had a whole different change of heart and from her behaviour you would have thought I was her mum and her other auntie was the baby-sitter. She wouldn't let me out of her site, Whenever I got up to leave the room she would start stressing and wouldn't have my sister near....I felt quite bad really as I don't see her nearly as much as my sister does.

The funniest thing was when me and DD went out for chips. My niece was crying as I went out the door and when we came back, as soon as I walked in she was crying and holding her arms out to me...She was a bit happier when I sat her in her chair and she got to share our chips.

Once she was tucked up in bed it gave me chance to spend a little quality time with my nephew. We did some colouring together and then a few games of connect four...Me carefully making sure he won as many games as he lost. I believe that although it is good to let them win, you have to teach the children about losing too.

My sister and hubby came home about 11pm...(England won by the way)

Excited little boy

DS has been jumping all over the room this morning as one of his designs has sold in my store......This One.....Only thing is now he thinks he is getting the $6 for it. Nowhere did I ever agree that he would get the money for the designs LOL

Motherhood

The one thing that has ever blighted my my experience of being a mum is when Children Puke. The words I dread the most have always been "Mum I've been sick"
So last night when I was happily watching "The Match" on TV, I heard DD come downstairs. I thought she was going to tell me to turn the tele down but instead she uttered those words..."Mum I've been sick in the toilet" Phew, At least it was in the toilet and not on the floor...or worst still in her bed...(As is usually the case with DS)
Luckily I didn't have to do any hideous clean up and DD wasn't sick again but it did mean I had company for the day at home.
I don't know if it is a misplaced sense of duty on my part, or just an easy excuse to get out of doing anything, but I never get anything done if one of my children is off sick. So i just sat and watched TV with her all day instead..(Oh and did a little work on here )

Absolutely disgusted at The Match this season...Why is there no Streaming??? Who on earth is voting? What are you thinking?? Gutted that Jim Alexander was sent off tonight...He is a much better keeper than Phil Tuffnell. Tuffnell isn't even taking it seriously and he is seriously PANTS!!!
I swear if they don't vote out Iwan Thomas tomorrow, there will be big tantrums!!!!!

Still crying

Not really but my eye still really irritates and won't stop weeping.

How things change

I remember my first job interview.....1st April 1987. I bought a new outfit and new shoes. Got up at the crack of dawn to do my hair and make-up and got there about half an hour early. We all sat in this little room...silent and hardly looking at each other, waiting for our name to be called. When I did get in there, It was all I could do to say my name, my mouth was so dry. I had worked out lots of clever answers in my head but once in there, my mind went completely blank. It is a wonder I even got the job as I must have sounded a right idiot.

Today I went to my first job interview for 6 years as I have been staying at home. Of course, you might realise that as this is me, it wasn't all plain sailing. I got up and sent the kids off to school and then jumped in the tub for a quick bath (It's days like today I really wish I had a shower) I must have been so busy daydreaming that by the time I got out of the bath I only had 40 minutes to dry my hair, have breakfast, get ready and get into town. I burnt my tongue on my coffee, burnt my finger on the straighteners, I was sweating so much from the heat of the straighteners that my make-up was sliding off as I was trying hard to apply it and then the worst thing to happen I poked myself in the eye while I was trying to put my mascara on.
You have to know that I also attempted to wear high heels today too so it wasn't going to be a speedy walk into town.

Is it just me, or is it everyone that no matter how tight you are for time, everything seems to take twice the time?? The walk into town should take me 20 minutes but I just didn't seem to be getting anywhere.....My feet were killing already and of course the eye that I poked with the mascara wand was weeping. It must have looked like I was crying.

I arrived a few minutes late but not as late as some.
There were 15 of us in a room (Why was I the only one who seemed to have made an effort? I should have worn my trainers..At least my feet wouldn't still be throbbing now) and we started by being paired up to find out 10 things about each other. After we had done that exercise and read out are newly learned facts, we were split into groups of 3. We were sent to a table where there was a huge piece of paper, some old magazines and a picture of a fantasy couple. We had to make up names and lives for the couple and cut out pictures and stick them on the paper (This is an interview for a department store)
I would have embraced this task only the other 2 people I was grouped with weren't so enthusiastic. The man in the group didn't like any of my ideas...So I just cut out anything and let him do whatever he wanted....The other 2 groups were a lot more creative and imaginative.

Finally it was time for the actual one-to-one interview. The bloke that interviewed me was very nice. He had remembered the facts from the first task and was actually interested in me and what I had to say. I did find that on this occasion I found it hard to shut up. When you know someone is actually interested in what you have to say then you are much more comfortable about talking.

So now just got to wait and see what happens. It won't be the end of the world if I don't get it as I would like to get a few more interviews under my belt and see what else is out there for me :)

What to wear...

I think of all the t-shirt designs in my store. My favourite right now is this one. I think I might just order one for myself as they have a shopkeeper sale coming up.

Its called The serenity prayer and I have a very good friend to thank for bringing it to my attention...I couldn't let it go by without getting it on a t-shirt (As well as mousemats, mugs and magnets too.)

I have a very exciting and nerve-wracking week coming up so have to stop being so miserable and look forward......

Wishing I was 5 again

This week my Nan sent me these pictures. She had run into the photographer while in town and they had a good old chat and reminisce about the past and he remembered he still had these photos tooked away somewhere. So he took her address and sent them on to her. She in turn sent them on to me.

How great it was back then. I had a mum and a dad and not a care in the world. Everything was provided for me and i didn't have to think. All I had to do was go to school everyday. Of course we didn't get homework back in those days either like 5 year olds do today.

Isn't it funny how when we are young we can't wait to grow up and when we are all grown up, we wish we were children again.......