I dont know what happened but I did post an entry. Sometimes our computers here are just terrible!
I am worried that when I change jobs (going back the place I am currently on secondment from) I wont be able to blog any more as they stop access to this site from work. And our home computer also goes through my work server so it is disaster! We will have to get a new pc or i will have to post from someone else's place or something. Anyway that isnt for a little while yet but thought I should warn you all!
John Peel dying has got a lot of entries on blogs, but none for his home truths on Radio 4 which i LOVE! I happened to listen to his last ever one- he said there would be a break as he was going off on holiday. I will really miss that show.
I have to say that it is great to have inherited a sister- I didnt have one before I got married but now I do! She cooked me a lovely meal last night as we thought about whether her and her (recently engaged!) fiance and Simon and me are going to go skiing next year. Of course we spent far more time discussing the wedding than the skiing but that was all par for the course. She is going to have something very different from my wedding which I think is excellent as she will feel that it is completely her day and will escape comparisons with mine....None of us can really afford/ justify it - us with the new house/ car and them with a wedding to sort out- but who cares as it will be great fun ! I am currently trying to push to go to North America as I have never skied there and I reckon it will be far nicer than Europe - but I'm almost certain the the costs will prove prohibitive and we'll end up back in good old France !
Simon took me to Hotel Du Vin Winchester for the weekend. It was amazing. I've never stayed in one before but now want to go to every single one in the country! The food was fantastic and the atmosphere in the Bistro restaurant was just great. And our room was lovely. We looked around Winchester on saturday and did lots of shopping! Then went for a really long walk on Sunday morning - it was so mild it was ridiculous for the time of year- I almost wanted a t-shirt! It was a wonderful birthday pressie. I think we will try to go once a year for our anniversary to a different one each time or something- really very good.
The influence of putting something on the blog makes me feel accountable! So despite totally not feeling up to it I went to investigate joining our local gym. They had a lot of technical problems and I arrived at the same time as about 100 people for various classes but we got there in the end. I have to do the induction thing (the same wherever you go!) but I am sure I can learn from it anyway.... The people were so nice! I love this living out of London thing -everyone is just so much friendlier!
So off for my birthday pressie weekend this weekend to Winchester. I cant wait ! A weekend with no decorating ! Sounds a bit reckless to me....
to find another gym. Havent been to one since we moved. Feeling a bit like a jam doughnut - ie a bit stuffed! Definitely need to do some exercise, even if it is just to feel a bit healthier. There is a local one run by the council which I am going to give a try (rather a contrast to our old private one in the old place but cant justify paying these private gym fees each month...)
So that is my job for this evening. LEt's hope I manage to get round to it!
I am feeling a bit down about that woman who got kidnapped in Iraq. I wont go into a debate on the whole war thing but for someone who had been dedicating her life to assisting the country to be taken hostage is just awful. I will be really praying for her. This world could be very depressing indeed if we thought about all the bad stuff going on.
Which is why it is good to hear stories about people's children and positive experiences on these blogs as well as the bad. I actually feel so privileged at the moment- I guess I am appreciating all that I have and realising that I shouldnt take it for granted. So many people are worse off, even in my own city of London.
Why am I being so deep? Dont know- just that woman being taken hostage has really influenced me somehow. If only there was something we could do except just praying...
Not long til the Americans get the chance to get rid of Mr Bush (except they wont take the opportunity, I'm almost certain, especially with Mr Bush's brother in charge of things in Florida again where lots of funny business is carrying on once again. it is just unbelievable that any sane person would ever vote for him in my view!).....
I have decided that if I have children I am going to mention the idea of plumbing/ electrician to them. We are in need of the services of these people for our new house but they are impossible to get! And equally impossible to afford! It really is a great skill to have - if i was in any way practically minded i'd consider doing it myself. These people can choose when/where to work and almost what they want to charge! It is a miracle if you can persuade one of them to come around your house to have a look at what needs to be done so you are therefore almost obliged to pay them to do whatever needs doing, no matter what they are charging! University is over-rated anyway. The only thing I learned there is how to pass an exam and a few things about independent living (which was great!) but I certainly dont remember any of the substance of what I was taught all these years later...
How come it seems to be nice on friday and monday and not so nice in between? actually i do remember some sunshine yesterday so i am just being a bit silly. we were too busy doing stuff indoors though to get out and enjoy it- which is a shame. i said that we need to be less focussed on household tasks and more focussed on enjoying the weekends! i think we will be in future. this coming weekend i have my weekend treat birthday present and i am really looking forward to it!
we had a totally wasted trip to ikea this saturday. whatever made us decide to go on a saturday i will never know- it was a mistake we wont repeat in a hurry! they didnt have what we wanted in stock though so we will have to go back at some other point (probably before we get our new car when long flat-packed bookcases wont go in any more!) to collect our stuff. we have mentally spent a lot of money, even if the funds are still sitting in our bank account!
but the gorgeous tables which we bought in greenwich on my birthday have now been 'dealt with' (they are very rustic and needed some sanding down and something attached to the bottoms so they wouldnt mess up our newly cleaned carpet!) and are sitting looking wonderful in our newly decorated lounge. We had both sets of parents over helping us have lunch and drink tea (one heard the others were over and were round like a shot!) and re-arranging the furniture in the lounge and upstairs. we had the bed built in the spare room as we had guests staying on saturday night (some friends came for dinner and to watch a film...)
yesterday involved meeting some new people from the area at church and at a housegroup in the evening (a vicar lives directly opposite us and invited us along). ended up having lots in common with one couple in particular who know some people i know very well... what a small world it is. also did jobs and spent time with my brother who came over to see the updated house!
I am particularly pleased with the mess I made of my last post. It demonstrates quite convincingly what a techno-retard I am. But at least I am trying!
I have spent a productive but tiring week in Edinburgh with work. I really do love that city. The weather was wonderful- crisp, cold, clear days showing the City off at its very best. The people are just so great- i love their dry sense of humour and really feel that I fit in there very well! It was horrible to be away from Simon for three nights though I have to say. He was a real star and did loads on the house (too much though he is soooo exhausted now!) to surprise me when I came home. It is looking great. I love our lounge and the first spare bedroom- making real progress....
This weekend Simon is doing a helicopter ride over London with my brother and Dad tomorrow morning and then we are actually going to spend an evening relaxing with my friends Richard and Chris tomorrow night.
Sunday maybe we'll start decorating another room- who knows!
I have been trying to put a link to the new car we bought at the weekend! And I have written the text for the post so many times that I cant be bothered to do it again! But we bought one. It isnt my choice of colour (or car) but it makes Simon really really happy so I guess that makes me happy indirectly. I am not too bothered about these things
Will try and post a link when I get some time to spend faffing around with it even more!
We ordered a new http://pilot.alfa-approved-cars.co.uk/Acl-vfc/vfc/alfa/index.aspx">car at the weekend. I think might even be the one - it is certainly very similar. I wanted grey but as Simon preferred the black and they couldnt find a grey one with leather (which we both wanted- and which he thought might take months to find) we went for this one. I wanted a parking sensor fitted - big cars and me arent too well acquainted at this stage- so we need to wait for 3 weeks before we can collect it. I cant say I am too excited but it is making Simon the happiest person on the planet at the moment which is important!
I didnt stop! We both didnt stop! I spent 5 hours cooking on Friday night so I could manage to feed all the bodies that were coming round at the weekend to help us with stuff (Simon's parents and Rachel on Saturday and my parents and Alex on sunday). Everyone was total stars, doing painting or helping with stuff like ironing and cleaning the bathroom. I couldnt believe how generous people were with their time. We are all exhausted. It isnt what I needed before a v tough week at work but there we are! At least our lounge and one of the spare bedrooms (I love saying that!) is v v nearly done now so we can make them habitable and reduce the strain on the rest of the house. We might have somewhere to sit down and relax soon! It does look really very good I have to say. Mum is being a total love and coming over today to steam clean our carpets too! We are just so lucky. I do appreciate them - I dont think I used to enough but now I do. Separating the parents meant they got more work done individually too as last weekend too much wine got drunk and too much gossiping took place !
Off to Edinburgh after today until Thursday evening so next post wont be til Friday.
I had been a bit unhappy at work so I went in to see a fairly senior person about the way i am being treated. They took a few weeks to think about it and then came back to me personally to tell me they were giving me a (small) pay rise to try to send me the message that they want me and want me to stay working for the organisation. As it is such a big place the way they always do the pay rises is at the same time each year in a very structured way. So it is extremely remarkable that they have agreed to do this (I didnt explicitly ask for more money) - he even told me that he has never before agreed to do such a thing. So I celebrated yesterday by having both scampi and chips and pizza in one day. I have been so so so sos good recently and i have given up alcohol for 3 months (between my 30th and Christmas) to help me lose weight and I felt that was a good enough excuse to do some celebrating! Feeling quite happy about it to be honest! A minor victory....
The weekend involves lots of painting(well for lots of other people and cooking for me whilst i try to meet their numerous dietary needs and requirements!). And test driving a car because I have a husband obsessed with getting a new one !
Our friends Debbie and Robbie came over to see our new house last night. Robbie is a builder and expressed great and good things about our house which pleased us! He also made lots of useful suggestions about what we can do with it which will make a big difference to us. It is good. I just had to cook a meal (not easy whilst doing a tour of the house!) and ask lots of questions. He is a very modest man but I think he is excellent at what he does. And his cousin lives in the area who might know good plumbers, electricians etc which is what we are looking for !
I guess I am talking too much about my house- but that is all that is on my mind at the moment, apart from work and I dont want to bore people with that!
Off out to see a friend tonight- havent seen her place since she moved in 2 years ago so it shows i have been rather rubbish! Be nice to catch up with her.
Feeling guilty for saying I am tired- reckon those with small children really know the meaning of that word. and yet they somehow have to carry on regardless. i take my hats off to you all...
I dont know how she does it (I would like to do the same) but my friend Lisa has attached me to a list of blogs on her own one to make it easy for people to go and be nosy about other peoples' lives. It means that I have been following the lives of a couple of people that I have never met (and have no idea how Lisa has them on her own blogroll!). I guess mine isnt interesting enough or funny enough for people who dont know me to look at- but it might mean I get a few more hits randomly, from time to time!
Still living out of cardboard boxes and I was rather stupid this morning and got off the train I should have been on after rushing to the train station- I thought it wasnt the right train! I hadnt been up long and clearly my brain was following me into today. I then had a very frustrating journey to work indeed. The thing about where we have moved to is that the trains are totally fine when you get the one you want but there are lots of other ones that are of no use to anyone (well, maybe someone but not me- who wants to go to Victoria in the mornings, I ask you!). So I had a long and tedious journey in. I am not coming in that little bit later again- it was totally packed. Ridiculous. I will stick to coming in at a crazy early hour so then I can leave early and miss all the nasty commuters!
Work is still ragingly busy, which is unusual for me. I'm off to Edinburgh for a good proportion of next week so need to sort everything out before I go....
I am doing something that is pretty much unheard of for me. Working really really hard! This is quite a novelty and despite nearly breaking down in tears on my HOD this morning when all the IT systems went wrong, i am quite enjoying it!
No more news apart from that though ! The journey in from the new house is still OK and I still love it there !
not quite as tired as all my friends with babies must be but we are getting up v early to make the early train into work so it is taking it out of me a little bit to be honest. shame when my best hours are given to my job rather than myself, but never mind!
Made the journey into work from the new house this morning for the first time. It was fine! Thank goodness. Managed to get a seat (and therefore some sleep!) on the train and it felt really nice to travel in with Simon. I will get some pictures of the house taken by someone with a digital camera soon so you can all see it! It is lovely. We have been so blessed by help from family- every member of our family has given up lots of time to do painting or helping in some other way and we nearly have a totally re-decorated lounge already! It is light and airy and really quite a nice size- the whole house is bigger than I remember. I am quite enjoying being a domesticated lady- it was rather horrible to have to leave it to come to work today!
Anyway no more news really- we have been busy deciding which blinds to buy for the lounge and which colour paint to do various rooms. We then need to decide which expensive room (ie kitchen or bathroom or sep shower!) to improve most quickly! It is not going to be a cheap few months I suspect....
