This week has been a good one for films, and still my Alan Rickman fest continues, thus the reason for not having time to update my blog no doubt. On Wednesday night Lynne and I went to see the vigilante movie 'The Brave One' starring Jodie Foster. It was a much better film than I was expecting, and Jodie does a fantastic job. It does have a pretty obvious in plotline and I thought the ending was a bit of a cop out. However, I would still recommend it if you have a spare evening.
Another film which I really enjoyed was the offbeat comedy 'The Search for John Gissing' which finally arrived from the US. It is entertaining, very funny and well worth watching just to see Alan Rickman dancing like a complete nutter at the end. There is more dancing in the outtakes as well. Unfortunately, not readily accessible as it is only available direct from the director and star Mike Binder, the price of postage is likely to put off most people from seeing it (unless you can borrow it from someone). However, rumour has it that due to its underground popularity Mike wants to remake a revised version of the movie under a new title for general release and is hoping that Alan will once again take on the role of John Gissing. We shall see, it would be good to see it finding a general release - if only Nobel Son would get one I'd be even happier!
No sign of 'Dark Harbor' yet, but I did get 'Judas Kiss' which is a crime thriller set in New Orleans with Alan and Emma Thompson taking the starring roles. Quite enjoyable in a low budget sort of way, with the chance to see Alan and Emma doing very dodgy southern American accents, and of course a chance for me to soak up the New Orleans scenery.
Finally this week I saw Rasputin the HBO bio pic. Alan gives yet another first class performance as the enigmatic and strange monk, creating a tortured and brilliant character, at turns mesmerising and enthralling at others disgusting and creepy. Definitely another one to recommend.
I'm still waiting for Stardust - everything I've seen about it tells me I'll love it, but before that arrives at the cinema in a couple of weeks we're going to see Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent in 'When was the Last Time you saw your Father?' which I've also heard good things about. Below is the trailer for Stardust and also for Sweeney Todd - no need for me to repeat how excited I am about that I'm sure!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Alexandra Palace Review
Well it's taken me a little longer than intended (lack of time as usual) but here's a review of our recent weekend at the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show at Alexandra Palace. It was a busy weekend but we did lots of good stuff, bought some great stuff and had a lovely Chinese meal as well.
Saturday started with an early start and a train ride to Charing Cross. I soon met Shazzer and we made our way (complete with big heavy bags) to Ally Pally, stopping en route for a much needed cuppa and bacon roll (nope my diet was definitely NOT in effect this weekend). Pausing only to drop off our bags at the cloakroom we headed into the main hall for some shopping or browsing in my case as I was definitely not shopping. We stopped for a quick drink in the attached pub (the smallest white wine & soda in the world, ½ pt of lager and 2 bottles of water cost £8!) and then it was soon time for us to head off to our first workshops. Shazzer had picked the sakura pens class, Twinkle Twinkle during which they decorated a card. I did the Vintage Elegance class which was a collage stamping class during which I also made the rather nice card above, although disappointingly there was nothing given away, which I thought was a little harsh considering the price of the workshops. The shop running the workshop did sell very nice stamps and they were a decent price, but there wasn’t even a discount for having taken part in the class. Back to the main hall for some more browsing, trying to find inspiration (and a fireworks stamp) for Shazzer’s November ATC swap. Several ideas later and the ATCs had changed (as they are wont to do). I then broke my no buying rule when I spotted this magnificent stamp that ‘I just had to have’. Obviously I was immediately attracted by the fleur de lis background pattern, although the whole stamp is just gorgeous. However, I was feeling slightly virtuous because it was about the only thing I bought that day.
Next was the water colouring workshop with Gina from Sir Stampalot. This class was interesting but also disappointing. Yet again there was nothing given away apart from the actual card that was made. It was during this workshop that I realised that my attention span (assuming I am actually busy) is about 30 minutes. In this class it was about 5 minutes. This stemmed from two problems. Firstly, instead of having 1 set of paints etc. between 2 they made it 1 between 3. This meant that at some point there was always someone not doing anything as it was impossible for all 3 people to reach and use the paints at the same time. It also left the person in the middle worrying that the water was going to end up all over their work every time the tub moved backwards and forwards. On top of this the class was so large that not everyone could see the demonstration properly. Now water colouring has never been one of my strong suits and having to keep stopping and waiting for the other person to finish before I could have a go quickly began to affect my work. Boredom makes me slapdash and being slapdash means I make mistakes. Once I make mistakes I then get annoyed because of the mistakes and lose all interest in what I’m doing. So here’s my imperfect card with the water stains round the fairy lights that shouldn’t be there. However, I was really pleased with how well the lambs turned out! I should also mention here that to recreate that card would have cost a heck of a lot of money – there were 5 stamps involved which would have cost well over £25 alone. Then there was the cost of the Marvy La Plume’s (if I didn’t already have them). Although there was a slight discount given if you bought the stamps I didn’t feel that was much recompense for the price of the class.
Back to the shopping hall for one finally sweep, where we tracked down some rather snazzy glue and embossing pens before we finally made our way across Alexandra Park to Muswell Hill where we were spending the night. I have to admit I thought that Muswill Hill sounded like a dodgy area, a bit run down and possibly dangerous. It is of course actually the home of many famous people and far from being run down is a select area full of shops like space nk and all those bijou little boutiques. The hotel was serviceable, although extremely warm as the heating seemed to be on permanently and Shazzer and I soon found our room (which was of course right at the top!) After a cup of tea, a bottle of bubbly and much stroking of stash we made our way out to find food. Stopping en-route in Sainsbury’s where we bought more wine (which we didn’t drink in the end honestly) I bought a wig (don't ask) and Shazzer bought some olives, we eventually decided on Yien Chinese Restaurant (mainly cos it was the first place we hit and we were starving). It was a very nice place and we had a lovely set meal with lots of wine, although disappointingly we weren’t given our starters on a bridge (it was one of those places that has the themed plates) although we did get the carrot carved into the shape of a bird.
After a night spent with very little sleep due to the noise out on the road (we were on a major junction – and NO Shazzer I did not sing Oasis’ Wonderwall in my sleep, that was definitely your dream) we made our way back to Ally Pally for the second day of fun (not so much shopping as we had workshops all day). We headed straight for the glitter stall where I could have spent a fortune. Instead I spent a fiver and got a lot of lovely dark glitters – black, midnight blue, deep red as well as some more wintery colours which may be destined for Christmas cards if I ever get round to making them.
Soon it was off to our first workshop of the day ‘Festive Fun’ which was card making with a stencil. The stencil we had was for a gift box and we’d soon both made a very impressive looking Christmas cards with it. And better still, we got to keep the stencil (which would have cost £4.99). Unfortunately, due to a mix up between shop and organisers the class was only 30 minutes long instead of the hour it should have been, but we felt that it was the best class that we’d had so far. Of course some people are never satisfied and several people complained to the organisers that the class was too short but we decided to compliment them instead. After a quick visit to the shop to get another stencil – a tree shaped one this time (I was sold after seeing the lovely flower fairy birthday card they had made with it) we were back to the workshops.
The next workshop was My Fav Thing by Banana Frog and I personally found this class probably more disappointing than all the rest. We were given a cute little tag book to decorate and were given stamps, felt, shrink plastic and embossing powder to create a Christmas themed book. I wasn’t keen on the snowflake stamps, hated the felt and disliked the effect of the shrink plastic, so my attention wandered badly. I did colour the pages of the book and I did emboss one of the pages. The rest of the stuff I discarded. There were absolutely no freebies with this class, not even a technique sheet and neither were we offered a discount on future purchases. We made our way down to Mei Flower where I bought a few little bits and bobs for some cards. We’d been trying to get there all weekend as it sold lots of unusual little things.
Then we were onto Christmas Pearl Delight with Blonde Moments. I have to say I really enjoyed this class. The idea was to make Christmas tags using papers, embossing and painting with pigments. There was loads to do and it kept my attention for the full hour, actually the painting took me that long. Of course the scrummy new papers helped, and although they didn’t give away anything they did offer a 10% discount which Shazzer and I felt we had to take advantage of. I bought mini pads of the Blonde Moments including the new Christmas ones and some lovely purple pigment which I used in the class.
Finally it was time for the final class of the day and the exhibition, Hitting the Bottle. This was an alcohol inks class producing a collaged canvas. Not really my cup of tea to be honest, and the colours weren’t to my taste, but it was a fun thing to do and once again kept me busy for the whole hour. We were also given the stamp set that we’d used – probably the best freebie of the weekend. So then it was all over and we just had to make our way home. My personal view was that it was a good weekend, although at £10 each some of the workshops should have provided a bit more in the way of freebies. Not sure I would rush to the next one, but if I go again I’ll definitely drive there. Lugging heavy bags around was a chore and the journey home for me was a complete nightmare, and there appeared to be plenty of parking.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Clown and Jiggler on Tour!
Well here I am playing catch up again. I really don’t know where the time goes. I think only a day or so has gone by and then I realise I haven’t updated for a week.
I have this weekend off from the pub (yippee!) and I’m finally going to do a bit of crafting for the first time in ages. With the exception of a few (generally late) birthday cards I have done nothing in the way of scrapbooking or the like since the last cyber crop. However, this weekend Shazzer and I (along with Missy and Fluzzie) are heading to Alexander Palace for the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show. I am expecting a laughter filled weekend, full of classes, drinking and shopping – not necessarily in that order (although I am NOT buying anything – I have FAR too much stash already!)
Unsurprisingly, Shazzer and I picked almost all the same classes, so on Saturday we’re doing Twinkle Twinkle (her) & Vintage Elegance (me) and a water colouring class. On Sunday we’re doing Festive Fun, My Favourite Thing, Christmas Pearl Delight and Hitting the Bottle. We had originally expected to do 3 classes each day but the one we wanted on Saturday was full so we had to switch to Sunday. I am really looking forward to the weekend especially as it’s been far too long since I last saw Shazzer.
UKS is 5 years old and is of course celebrating by holding a cyber crop (I haven’t checked the forum out properly yet but I’m sure it’s next weekend). The theme is (as if there could be any doubt) Birthday party and so the teams are related in some way. As usual there are 4 teams, the jiggly jellies, the clowns & balloons, the party puddings and the completely crackers. Also as usual Shazzer and I ended up on completely different teams – she’s a clown and I’m a jiggler, hence the title of today’s post.
I am sure cyber crop madness will follow shortly, although I may have to resort to some real life scrapping as I still haven’t managed to sort out Publisher since I tinkered with my computer a few weeks ago (I really MUST learn to stop doing that). I desperately want to do some digi scrapping as I now have hundreds (quite literally) of fantastic photos from my sisters wedding since she kindly sent me all of Gerard’s and the official photographers photos and I find it so much easier, quicker and tidier to do it digi. Of course if I go for the real life scrapping then I suppose at least I’ll use up some of that massive pile of stash which is threatening to completely engulf the lounge and have a chance to fill one of the many scrapbook albums I’ve been hoarding *LOL*
I want to recommend the film ‘Snow Cake’ starring (yep I bet you’d already guessed) Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver. So desperate was I to get my hands on this film I ended up with a Polish copy and it took me some 20 minutes to work out how to turn off the subtitles. It was definitely worth the trouble. Sigourney gives a fantastic performance as a high functioning autistic woman and Alan is lovely as Alex the traumatized driver of a car which killed her daughter. The film is by turns sad, funny, poignant and yet never overwhelms. Definitely a recommendation from me for what must be one of Rickman’s best films yet. I was also lucky enough to find on the internet Anthony Minghella’s ‘Play’ which was part of the ‘Beckett on Film’ set. This was an odd little piece also starring Juliet Stevenson and Kristen Scott Thomas as urn people, which I actually strangely rather enjoyed. I am now waiting for ‘Dark Harbor’ and ‘The Search for John Gissing’ which are both winging their way to me from the US and ‘Judas Kiss’ which is on it’s way from Holland.
Finally just wanted to say a quick Happy 40th Birthday to my mate Andrew. We’re off to the pub to celebrate later so I’m sure he’ll be having a good day!
I have this weekend off from the pub (yippee!) and I’m finally going to do a bit of crafting for the first time in ages. With the exception of a few (generally late) birthday cards I have done nothing in the way of scrapbooking or the like since the last cyber crop. However, this weekend Shazzer and I (along with Missy and Fluzzie) are heading to Alexander Palace for the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show. I am expecting a laughter filled weekend, full of classes, drinking and shopping – not necessarily in that order (although I am NOT buying anything – I have FAR too much stash already!)
Unsurprisingly, Shazzer and I picked almost all the same classes, so on Saturday we’re doing Twinkle Twinkle (her) & Vintage Elegance (me) and a water colouring class. On Sunday we’re doing Festive Fun, My Favourite Thing, Christmas Pearl Delight and Hitting the Bottle. We had originally expected to do 3 classes each day but the one we wanted on Saturday was full so we had to switch to Sunday. I am really looking forward to the weekend especially as it’s been far too long since I last saw Shazzer.
UKS is 5 years old and is of course celebrating by holding a cyber crop (I haven’t checked the forum out properly yet but I’m sure it’s next weekend). The theme is (as if there could be any doubt) Birthday party and so the teams are related in some way. As usual there are 4 teams, the jiggly jellies, the clowns & balloons, the party puddings and the completely crackers. Also as usual Shazzer and I ended up on completely different teams – she’s a clown and I’m a jiggler, hence the title of today’s post.
I am sure cyber crop madness will follow shortly, although I may have to resort to some real life scrapping as I still haven’t managed to sort out Publisher since I tinkered with my computer a few weeks ago (I really MUST learn to stop doing that). I desperately want to do some digi scrapping as I now have hundreds (quite literally) of fantastic photos from my sisters wedding since she kindly sent me all of Gerard’s and the official photographers photos and I find it so much easier, quicker and tidier to do it digi. Of course if I go for the real life scrapping then I suppose at least I’ll use up some of that massive pile of stash which is threatening to completely engulf the lounge and have a chance to fill one of the many scrapbook albums I’ve been hoarding *LOL*
I want to recommend the film ‘Snow Cake’ starring (yep I bet you’d already guessed) Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver. So desperate was I to get my hands on this film I ended up with a Polish copy and it took me some 20 minutes to work out how to turn off the subtitles. It was definitely worth the trouble. Sigourney gives a fantastic performance as a high functioning autistic woman and Alan is lovely as Alex the traumatized driver of a car which killed her daughter. The film is by turns sad, funny, poignant and yet never overwhelms. Definitely a recommendation from me for what must be one of Rickman’s best films yet. I was also lucky enough to find on the internet Anthony Minghella’s ‘Play’ which was part of the ‘Beckett on Film’ set. This was an odd little piece also starring Juliet Stevenson and Kristen Scott Thomas as urn people, which I actually strangely rather enjoyed. I am now waiting for ‘Dark Harbor’ and ‘The Search for John Gissing’ which are both winging their way to me from the US and ‘Judas Kiss’ which is on it’s way from Holland.
Finally just wanted to say a quick Happy 40th Birthday to my mate Andrew. We’re off to the pub to celebrate later so I’m sure he’ll be having a good day!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
More Films
So my week has again revolved around films. Lynne and I went to see 'Atonement' on Wednesday evening and I can honestly say I was disappointed. I found it a very tedious and worthy film, with very little plot and what there was of it was pretty confusing. Gratuitous WW2 scenes really didn't help and I found myself sighing several times throughout the evening, which did seem to go very slowly. The last time I saw a film this bad was 'Meet Joe Black' - I am pretty sure that Lynne would agree and knows where I'm coming from on that. Sorry I definitely wouldn't recommend this one.
Also VERY disappointing to me was seeing the trailer for the Dark is Rising film. I previously mentioned how I loved the Dark is Rising sequence books - in fact I think I would have to admit to loving them MORE than Harry Potter and have been a devoted follower for the last 30 odd years. Like HP, the books are quintessentially British stories, made up by wonderful mixture of modern storytelling interwoven with Arthurian, Merlin, Lost Land and other legends - a true battle of the dark and light. I and I am sure many thousands of other readers have always thought that they would make for a fantastic series of films on a par with HP or LOTR. Unfortunately, the film soon to be released is not it. Having completely ignored the first book in the series 'Under Sea and Over Stone' they have moved onto the second story 'The Dark Is Rising'. Of course in true Hollywood style they have renamed it 'The Seeker: Dark is Rising' and changed the setting from Britain to the US. They have completely changed the alliances of the characters, have completely changed the plot, and for some strange reason have (completely mis)cast Ian McShane as Merriman. From what I can see from the trailer very little of the original story appears to be intact. Obviously I should boycott the film as it is so different from the books I know and love. Of course in reality I am sure I will end up seeing it at some point, and will just have to try and forget that it is associated with some of the best children's fiction ever written and take it on face value as just a film.
On a better note I also saw two new (for me) Alan Rickman films - 'Mesmer' which was a pretty good biography on Franz Anton Mesmer (just imagine how mesmerising Alan can be) and a fantastic film called 'Something the Lord Made' which was about the work of Dr Alfred Blalock and Dr Vivien Thomas on blue babies. This was a real tearjerker and so well acted, not just by Alan but also by Mos Def, the other main protagonist. I am now looking forward to getting 'The Search for John Gissing' which has finally made it onto international video release.
Also VERY disappointing to me was seeing the trailer for the Dark is Rising film. I previously mentioned how I loved the Dark is Rising sequence books - in fact I think I would have to admit to loving them MORE than Harry Potter and have been a devoted follower for the last 30 odd years. Like HP, the books are quintessentially British stories, made up by wonderful mixture of modern storytelling interwoven with Arthurian, Merlin, Lost Land and other legends - a true battle of the dark and light. I and I am sure many thousands of other readers have always thought that they would make for a fantastic series of films on a par with HP or LOTR. Unfortunately, the film soon to be released is not it. Having completely ignored the first book in the series 'Under Sea and Over Stone' they have moved onto the second story 'The Dark Is Rising'. Of course in true Hollywood style they have renamed it 'The Seeker: Dark is Rising' and changed the setting from Britain to the US. They have completely changed the alliances of the characters, have completely changed the plot, and for some strange reason have (completely mis)cast Ian McShane as Merriman. From what I can see from the trailer very little of the original story appears to be intact. Obviously I should boycott the film as it is so different from the books I know and love. Of course in reality I am sure I will end up seeing it at some point, and will just have to try and forget that it is associated with some of the best children's fiction ever written and take it on face value as just a film.
On a better note I also saw two new (for me) Alan Rickman films - 'Mesmer' which was a pretty good biography on Franz Anton Mesmer (just imagine how mesmerising Alan can be) and a fantastic film called 'Something the Lord Made' which was about the work of Dr Alfred Blalock and Dr Vivien Thomas on blue babies. This was a real tearjerker and so well acted, not just by Alan but also by Mos Def, the other main protagonist. I am now looking forward to getting 'The Search for John Gissing' which has finally made it onto international video release.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
A filmic weekend
So my Alan Rickman appreciation continues. This weekend I have watched 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves', 'Love Actually' again (my excuse is that Andrea hadn't seen it), 'Barchester Chronicles', the fabulously funny 'Galaxy Quest' and a strange and unsettling (although rather good I thought) little film called 'Closet Land'. I've found out that the eagerly anticipated operatic version of 'Sweeney Todd' starring Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter is due to be released on my birthday so at least I know what I'll be doing that day!
In fact there are several films out during the next few months that I am really looking forward to seeing - firstly 'Atonement' which is out this week. I am excitedly awaiting the release of the first of the 'Dark is Rising' films finally (I have loved these books for so many years and always thought they would make great films) on 12th October. This is followed by Neil Gaiman's 'Stardust' on the 19th October and finally the 'The Golden Compass' the first part of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (completely awesome books) on 7th December.
In fact there are several films out during the next few months that I am really looking forward to seeing - firstly 'Atonement' which is out this week. I am excitedly awaiting the release of the first of the 'Dark is Rising' films finally (I have loved these books for so many years and always thought they would make great films) on 12th October. This is followed by Neil Gaiman's 'Stardust' on the 19th October and finally the 'The Golden Compass' the first part of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (completely awesome books) on 7th December.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Kiefer vs Alan
Although Kiefer is obviously my first love (and I really enjoyed watcing him in 'The Sentinel' last weekend), at the moment he is having serious competition from Alan Rickman. I am still working through my Snape addiction with the fanfic on Occlumency and rewatching the Harry Potter films stirred up the need to see more of him. So I started with Love Actually. Then I dug out my well watched copy of 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' which is without doubt one of the finest love films ever made and sobbed my way through it (like I always do). I followed this up with 'Sense and Sensibility' which is always a pleasure to watch, as much for Hugh Grant looking uncomfortable in period costume as for the gorgeous Colonel Brandon. I also finally saw 'An Awfully Big Adventure' which was a strangely beautiful and tragic film (yes yet more tears). Tonight I watched 'Dogma' which is a truly funny film (no tears for a change).
Whilst checking out all things Rickman I found this video for the song 'In Demand' by Texas. I had never seen this before but then I'm not really a Texas fan. However, I can watch this video again and again. Just how sexy is that man?
Whilst checking out all things Rickman I found this video for the song 'In Demand' by Texas. I had never seen this before but then I'm not really a Texas fan. However, I can watch this video again and again. Just how sexy is that man?
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Grrrr to the NHS
Feeling a bit cheesed off with the NHS today. Since the day I got back from holiday I have been having a problem with my right hand. The little finger has permanent pins and needles which stretch down the length of my hand, through my wrist and a pain runs up to my elbow. To begin with I assumed that I had somehow managed to trap a nerve whilst carrying my luggage and that it would soon get back to normal. A week or so passed and there was no sign of it getting better, in fact if anything it was getting worse to the stage where the part of my hand that tingles is also quite numb. Of course I kept convincing myself that it would improve but the pins and needles have started to spread to the next finger. On top of this I now find it hard to use the hand for many everyday things (a pain being right handed). Turning the key in the door or car is a major effort and even holding things is difficult. Add to that the fact that sometimes it is just downright achy and painful. It has got to the stage where I have to wear a wrist support to stop the pain and to give me a little extra help with things like opening doors. I even had to wear it to work at the pub as I was having trouble carrying glasses without it.
Finally I stopped being pig headed and decided to go and see the doctor. To be honest I kept putting it off because it seemed such a stupid thing to see him about, but the increase in pain and lack of mobility goaded me into action.
So yesterday morning I phoned the doctors to make an appointment. Now obviously i didn't expect to get to see my doctor as he is very popular and gets booked up well in advance, although sometimes one can get lucky. However, the receptionist immediately told me that there were no appointments for that day at all (apparently the child population of Walderslade all went sick on the first day back to school) and that the next routine appointment she could give me would be for Wednesday 12th September - yep you heard right a week away!
I did enquire about seeing my doctor but was told there was a 5 week wait to see him. So I have booked the appointment for the 12th and have to hope that it doesn't get any worse in the meantime. Of course I could always phone the doctors every morning at 8.30am between now and then and see if I can get an earlier appointment, but that seems like a lot of hard work for little reward.
Finally I stopped being pig headed and decided to go and see the doctor. To be honest I kept putting it off because it seemed such a stupid thing to see him about, but the increase in pain and lack of mobility goaded me into action.
So yesterday morning I phoned the doctors to make an appointment. Now obviously i didn't expect to get to see my doctor as he is very popular and gets booked up well in advance, although sometimes one can get lucky. However, the receptionist immediately told me that there were no appointments for that day at all (apparently the child population of Walderslade all went sick on the first day back to school) and that the next routine appointment she could give me would be for Wednesday 12th September - yep you heard right a week away!
I did enquire about seeing my doctor but was told there was a 5 week wait to see him. So I have booked the appointment for the 12th and have to hope that it doesn't get any worse in the meantime. Of course I could always phone the doctors every morning at 8.30am between now and then and see if I can get an earlier appointment, but that seems like a lot of hard work for little reward.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Frustrating Times
I am currently very frustrated with my brain. For years I've had a great memory, I rarely needed a diary and had little trouble recalling events that had happened days, weeks, months or even years before. This is no longer the case. I don't know when it began (I've forgotten?) but I can no longer remember things. If they aren't written in my diary they don't happen. Worse still if I forget to look in my diary, then even if they're written down they still don't happen - I have missed hairdressing appointments, even a doctors appointment once and every single birthday that I should be celebrating.
I always mean to be organised and get the birthday cards sent and then something happens and I completely forget there are birthdays until its too late and I've missed them.
This week I've missed 3 - Anna, Am and my dad (I caught Fi's but only by a fluke). So happy belated birthday to all of you. Cards are on their way (or may have even arrived by now). The only solace I can offer is that you're not alone. Everyone else I know has received their cards late this year too.
Of course to add to the frustration technology is letting me down too. OK so I missed sending the birthday card on time - not a problem I can e-mail one. It's instant(ish) and will at least arrive on the birthday. Apparently not. From messages I have received the e-card never arrived, and now I find I am having huge problems with my e-mail account and can't send any replies to discover if the card has finally arrived.
Dad I really hope that you got your e-card, and hopefully Andrea will give you your real card soon too.
I always mean to be organised and get the birthday cards sent and then something happens and I completely forget there are birthdays until its too late and I've missed them.
This week I've missed 3 - Anna, Am and my dad (I caught Fi's but only by a fluke). So happy belated birthday to all of you. Cards are on their way (or may have even arrived by now). The only solace I can offer is that you're not alone. Everyone else I know has received their cards late this year too.
Of course to add to the frustration technology is letting me down too. OK so I missed sending the birthday card on time - not a problem I can e-mail one. It's instant(ish) and will at least arrive on the birthday. Apparently not. From messages I have received the e-card never arrived, and now I find I am having huge problems with my e-mail account and can't send any replies to discover if the card has finally arrived.
Dad I really hope that you got your e-card, and hopefully Andrea will give you your real card soon too.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Holiday Memories
So I've finally made a start on recording my Italian holiday. The link is in the list if anyone is interested. I expect it will take a while and hopefully I'll get some more wedding photos before I get to that bit.
Thought I'd better get on with it tonight as I had an unexpected free evening as the pub is closed for redecoration for a few days. I have a staff meeting/party to attend there tomorrow evening and am meeting Lisa on Wednesday, with the grand reopening on Thursday evening, so it is likely to be the weekend before I next get a chance to update.
Thought I'd better get on with it tonight as I had an unexpected free evening as the pub is closed for redecoration for a few days. I have a staff meeting/party to attend there tomorrow evening and am meeting Lisa on Wednesday, with the grand reopening on Thursday evening, so it is likely to be the weekend before I next get a chance to update.
Monday, August 13, 2007
It's that update time again ...
Well I thought I’d better write something on here as it’s been so long since I’ve posted.
I kept meaning to post, but somehow never had the time. First, planning then getting ready for my holiday and the wedding in Italy , then I got rather upset with a comment that I had been left anonymously on Facebook which left me not wanting to post on the internet at all and then of course the holiday itself.
Immediately after receiving the text I posted an R.I.P. message for Hope on Facebook, followed by a comment in my status bar that I was upset over the death of Kate’s baby. Someone kindly left me an anonymous message telling me that they hoped that I wasn’t grieving over a real baby as it was crass to do so on Facebook. The tone of the message was not very pleasant. This really annoyed and upset me and left me not wanting to post anywhere for a few days. However, I have now calmed down again and am ready to inflict my views upon the world once more.
The Holiday
So on to the holiday and wedding. I have decided to start another blog (yep sorry, another one) to detail the events and as a place where I can showcase all the wedding pictures (my sister looked completely stunning as you will see) when I get them. Unfortunately I lost my camera on the last day of my holiday so I have no pictures of my own to share (and believe me I’m completely gutted about it), but I am hoping to get pictures from other attendees and hopefully should have loads to share when they all get back from their respective holidays. I will be aiming to complete the whole thing in the next few weeks, unlike the New Orleans holiday which I am aware that I haven’t touched for a zillion years. Hopefully I can finally get that finished in the next few weeks too – I just need to find time to translate my hastily written shorthand.
On the first day of my holiday, Mrs H3 text me to ask if I wanted a ticket to see My Chemical Romance who are playing at O2 in November. Bliddy stupid question if you ask me! Of course I jumped at the chance, so hopefully will soon be on a countdown to see them again. But my next countdown is for the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show at Alexandra Palace which Shazzer (possibly Am) and I are going to on 29th & 30th September.
Fantastic Fiction
Finally, I have been spending some time catching up on fan fiction since finishing the Harry Potter books and especially on the Sycophant Hex/Occlumency site which deals mainly with stories relating to the wonderful Severus Snape. If you’re a Snape fan (or even just a HP fan in general) I recommend you check it out as it has some wonderful stories on there. Be warned that you will end up wasting entirely too much time on there though!
I kept meaning to post, but somehow never had the time. First, planning then getting ready for my holiday and the wedding in Italy , then I got rather upset with a comment that I had been left anonymously on Facebook which left me not wanting to post on the internet at all and then of course the holiday itself.
Sadness
My dear friend Kate went into labour much earlier than she should have done and at 22.10pm on 23rd July 2007 she gave birth to a daughter, Hope, who only weighed 2lbs. Unfortunately, her lungs were too small to cope and she very sadly passed away after half an hour. I send my love and thoughts (a bit belatedly admittedly) to Kate and Paul.Immediately after receiving the text I posted an R.I.P. message for Hope on Facebook, followed by a comment in my status bar that I was upset over the death of Kate’s baby. Someone kindly left me an anonymous message telling me that they hoped that I wasn’t grieving over a real baby as it was crass to do so on Facebook. The tone of the message was not very pleasant. This really annoyed and upset me and left me not wanting to post anywhere for a few days. However, I have now calmed down again and am ready to inflict my views upon the world once more.
The Holiday
So on to the holiday and wedding. I have decided to start another blog (yep sorry, another one) to detail the events and as a place where I can showcase all the wedding pictures (my sister looked completely stunning as you will see) when I get them. Unfortunately I lost my camera on the last day of my holiday so I have no pictures of my own to share (and believe me I’m completely gutted about it), but I am hoping to get pictures from other attendees and hopefully should have loads to share when they all get back from their respective holidays. I will be aiming to complete the whole thing in the next few weeks, unlike the New Orleans holiday which I am aware that I haven’t touched for a zillion years. Hopefully I can finally get that finished in the next few weeks too – I just need to find time to translate my hastily written shorthand.
On the first day of my holiday, Mrs H3 text me to ask if I wanted a ticket to see My Chemical Romance who are playing at O2 in November. Bliddy stupid question if you ask me! Of course I jumped at the chance, so hopefully will soon be on a countdown to see them again. But my next countdown is for the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show at Alexandra Palace which Shazzer (possibly Am) and I are going to on 29th & 30th September.
Fantastic Fiction
Finally, I have been spending some time catching up on fan fiction since finishing the Harry Potter books and especially on the Sycophant Hex/Occlumency site which deals mainly with stories relating to the wonderful Severus Snape. If you’re a Snape fan (or even just a HP fan in general) I recommend you check it out as it has some wonderful stories on there. Be warned that you will end up wasting entirely too much time on there though!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Harry Potter Weekend 2
So it's all over, the last book has been read and digested and I've sobbed over the deaths of (ssshhhh you don't really think I'd give away the plot do you). Anyone who knows me well will have a good idea of who may have died as I am feeling inconsolable. It didn't take as long to read as I was expecting and I did really enjoy it, although feel a little let down and very sad that it's all over.
Mrs H3 and I had a good evening at Bluewater last night. We went for a nice meal in De:Alto and then queued with all the other nutters for Waterstones to open at 12:01. We took part in quizzes, raffles and got scars painted on our faces, had balloon swords and hats made and generally got a bit hyperactive on the haribo sweets that were being freely dished out to all and sundry. Hopefully some photos will follow when Mrs H3 sends them to me.
The weird thing is that I have the urge to curl up in bed and read it all over again, except of course I have other things to do, like Phil's 40th birthday party. I have the day off tomorrow too so maybe I'll reread then.
Mrs H3 and I had a good evening at Bluewater last night. We went for a nice meal in De:Alto and then queued with all the other nutters for Waterstones to open at 12:01. We took part in quizzes, raffles and got scars painted on our faces, had balloon swords and hats made and generally got a bit hyperactive on the haribo sweets that were being freely dished out to all and sundry. Hopefully some photos will follow when Mrs H3 sends them to me.
The weird thing is that I have the urge to curl up in bed and read it all over again, except of course I have other things to do, like Phil's 40th birthday party. I have the day off tomorrow too so maybe I'll reread then.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Countdown
My life is full of things I'm counting down to at the moment:
Only 3 days till I find out who lives in Harry Potter 7;
Only 14 days till I fly out to Italy;
Only 17 days till Jo and Paul get married;
and just to upset everyone
Only 159 days till Christmas!
Only 3 days till I find out who lives in Harry Potter 7;
Only 14 days till I fly out to Italy;
Only 17 days till Jo and Paul get married;
and just to upset everyone
Only 159 days till Christmas!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Harry Potter Weekend 1
So this weekend saw the release of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film. When we booked the tickets the release date was Friday, so Lynne and I booked our usual day off to see the film, do a bit of shopping and have a meal, but they changed the date to Thursday and of course I couldn't wait a whole day (yes I know I'm sad, you don't have to tell me), so I had to go and see it on Thursday morning as well.
We started our retail therapy day in Debenham's at Lakeside (as my friend Am suggested that it might be a good place to find a dress for the wedding) and after trying on half a dozen lovely dresses - I was delighted to find that a size 22 fit perfectly, my fears of still being a 24 completely unfounded - found a gorgeous dress by John Rocha which was a halter neck in cream with black flower pattern on it. I went to the till where I was informed that my card had been declined. I couldn’t understand why this was (I had bought some knives from the same place only about 40 minutes before), so ran over to the Abbey (which was luckily across the way) where I was told that the link system had gone down and my chip had been locked. All I needed do was unlock the pin and all would be well. The woman made it sound like it was obvious that was what had happened – although I’d never heard of it before, so I unlocked my pin and off I went back to queue for the till. Nope my card was declined again. The woman at the till phoned Visa, who gave her a telephone number for me to call and she kindly let me use their telephone to do this.
I then spent 7 minutes in a queue before finally getting through to (yep you guessed it) an Indian call centre. They informed me that my card had been suspended after some suspicious transactions (this brought back memories of my last day in New Orleans when they did exactly the same thing, yet again without any warning). They reeled off a few and some I recognized, some I didn’t, but I was having trouble understanding what he was saying – and as I pointed out, because I wasn’t at home, but in the middle of a department store, I couldn’t remember without looking them up. At this the man told me that he felt the activity was suspicious and he’d cancelled my card and I would now have to wait for a new one to come through after the account was checked. I asked how I was supposed to pay for my dress. He said I couldn’t using my card, but that if I went to my local Abbey branch with my passport I would be able to draw out some money. I tried to point out that I was nowhere near my local branch, and neither do I take my passport shopping with me, but to no avail. My card was cancelled and there was nothing he or I could do. I was furious!
As it had taken so long to sort this I had to leave the dress in Debenham’s, because we needed to get over to Bluewater for the film. After the film had finished I went to Abbey to see if there was anything I could do to get some money. Luckily they were very helpful and so I withdrew enough money to get an outfit, plus food shopping for the week etc. So we then wandered around Bluewater, trying on dresses in every possible shop. Disappointingly, Monsoon only had 1 dress in a size 22 in the whole shop, and although Lynne told me it looked nice I really hated the colour so that was a no go. In Ann Harvey I actually fitted into a size 20 dress (although a bit too tight across the tummy, and there’s no way I’m wearing pants of steel in the Italian heat) and I bought a new swimsuit which was in the sale, and is really flattering. One thing I had noticed with all the outfits I’d tried on (and with most of the clothes I've got from ebay recently) was that the bust didn’t fit quite right so I went to Leia and had a fitting for a new bra. I had changed much more than I had realised and a new bra made a world of difference. I bought 2 bras and 2 pairs of matching knickers (in pale pink/pale blue and cerise – I know I should have got sensible black, but it was so nice to have a choice of colours for a change) and headed off back on my dress crusade.
I ended up in Marks & Spencer where I found a beautiful dress, but of course sod’s law was that they had every size (from 8 – 28) except for a 22. I tried on the 24 and it fit pretty well, although a bit loose around the bust. I found a lovely organza hat which went perfectly (and packs flat – perfect for traveling!) and as soon as I saw it all on I knew it was the right dress for me. I bought the 24 as it was the only one in stock, but have ordered a 22 which will be in store for next Thursday so I can try that on and choose the one which is the best fit – I’m thinking the 22 should fit perfectly round the bust. Now I just have to find some sandals or something to wear with it – not sure I have anything suitable atm as I don’t really wear strappy sandals and Jo has (understandably) forbidden me from wearing Birkenstocks or fit flops
We finally got finished shopping about 9.20pm and then headed off to De:Alto for a lovely meal (see diet blog for details) and a chance to sit and relax after our hectic day. All in all a fantastic day.
And the film? Well it was OK. Firstly, it's a bit weird that the longest book in the series has been made into the shortest film. Yes, the book was a bit of a filler, but the film has hacked the story that was in it to bits. Loads of stuff is missing, and what is in there has been considerably changed (and not necessarily for the better). However, it is still an enjoyable film in the way all HP films are, just as long as you forget about the book (best to make sure you haven't just reread it before you see the film), and of course yet again darker than the film before it. I didn't think that it wrung the emotion the way that the book did though, although really none of the films ever have. It was good to see favourite characters making a reappearance and has now really got me desperately waiting for the the final book next weekend.
Of course, not content to wait for the postman (the wait for the previous 2 books being far too traumatic) Mrs H3 and I have preordered the book from Waterstones at Bluewater and are going to be spending Friday night there waiting for the doors to open at 12.01. Of course once I have my book I will be completely incommunicado until I have finished the last page (and finished the sobbing - which could take some time).
We started our retail therapy day in Debenham's at Lakeside (as my friend Am suggested that it might be a good place to find a dress for the wedding) and after trying on half a dozen lovely dresses - I was delighted to find that a size 22 fit perfectly, my fears of still being a 24 completely unfounded - found a gorgeous dress by John Rocha which was a halter neck in cream with black flower pattern on it. I went to the till where I was informed that my card had been declined. I couldn’t understand why this was (I had bought some knives from the same place only about 40 minutes before), so ran over to the Abbey (which was luckily across the way) where I was told that the link system had gone down and my chip had been locked. All I needed do was unlock the pin and all would be well. The woman made it sound like it was obvious that was what had happened – although I’d never heard of it before, so I unlocked my pin and off I went back to queue for the till. Nope my card was declined again. The woman at the till phoned Visa, who gave her a telephone number for me to call and she kindly let me use their telephone to do this.
I then spent 7 minutes in a queue before finally getting through to (yep you guessed it) an Indian call centre. They informed me that my card had been suspended after some suspicious transactions (this brought back memories of my last day in New Orleans when they did exactly the same thing, yet again without any warning). They reeled off a few and some I recognized, some I didn’t, but I was having trouble understanding what he was saying – and as I pointed out, because I wasn’t at home, but in the middle of a department store, I couldn’t remember without looking them up. At this the man told me that he felt the activity was suspicious and he’d cancelled my card and I would now have to wait for a new one to come through after the account was checked. I asked how I was supposed to pay for my dress. He said I couldn’t using my card, but that if I went to my local Abbey branch with my passport I would be able to draw out some money. I tried to point out that I was nowhere near my local branch, and neither do I take my passport shopping with me, but to no avail. My card was cancelled and there was nothing he or I could do. I was furious!
As it had taken so long to sort this I had to leave the dress in Debenham’s, because we needed to get over to Bluewater for the film. After the film had finished I went to Abbey to see if there was anything I could do to get some money. Luckily they were very helpful and so I withdrew enough money to get an outfit, plus food shopping for the week etc. So we then wandered around Bluewater, trying on dresses in every possible shop. Disappointingly, Monsoon only had 1 dress in a size 22 in the whole shop, and although Lynne told me it looked nice I really hated the colour so that was a no go. In Ann Harvey I actually fitted into a size 20 dress (although a bit too tight across the tummy, and there’s no way I’m wearing pants of steel in the Italian heat) and I bought a new swimsuit which was in the sale, and is really flattering. One thing I had noticed with all the outfits I’d tried on (and with most of the clothes I've got from ebay recently) was that the bust didn’t fit quite right so I went to Leia and had a fitting for a new bra. I had changed much more than I had realised and a new bra made a world of difference. I bought 2 bras and 2 pairs of matching knickers (in pale pink/pale blue and cerise – I know I should have got sensible black, but it was so nice to have a choice of colours for a change) and headed off back on my dress crusade.
I ended up in Marks & Spencer where I found a beautiful dress, but of course sod’s law was that they had every size (from 8 – 28) except for a 22. I tried on the 24 and it fit pretty well, although a bit loose around the bust. I found a lovely organza hat which went perfectly (and packs flat – perfect for traveling!) and as soon as I saw it all on I knew it was the right dress for me. I bought the 24 as it was the only one in stock, but have ordered a 22 which will be in store for next Thursday so I can try that on and choose the one which is the best fit – I’m thinking the 22 should fit perfectly round the bust. Now I just have to find some sandals or something to wear with it – not sure I have anything suitable atm as I don’t really wear strappy sandals and Jo has (understandably) forbidden me from wearing Birkenstocks or fit flops
We finally got finished shopping about 9.20pm and then headed off to De:Alto for a lovely meal (see diet blog for details) and a chance to sit and relax after our hectic day. All in all a fantastic day.
And the film? Well it was OK. Firstly, it's a bit weird that the longest book in the series has been made into the shortest film. Yes, the book was a bit of a filler, but the film has hacked the story that was in it to bits. Loads of stuff is missing, and what is in there has been considerably changed (and not necessarily for the better). However, it is still an enjoyable film in the way all HP films are, just as long as you forget about the book (best to make sure you haven't just reread it before you see the film), and of course yet again darker than the film before it. I didn't think that it wrung the emotion the way that the book did though, although really none of the films ever have. It was good to see favourite characters making a reappearance and has now really got me desperately waiting for the the final book next weekend.
Of course, not content to wait for the postman (the wait for the previous 2 books being far too traumatic) Mrs H3 and I have preordered the book from Waterstones at Bluewater and are going to be spending Friday night there waiting for the doors to open at 12.01. Of course once I have my book I will be completely incommunicado until I have finished the last page (and finished the sobbing - which could take some time).
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A Bit Late ...
I meant to post this video from My Chemical Romance for their latest single 'Teenagers' earlier, but due to my bad memory and lack of time, completely forgot. Still, better late than never ... enjoy!
Nice to see the lads on T in the Park at the weekend - shame they didn't show much of their set, but hopefully it was all recorded and it'll be shown at some point during the future.
Nice to see the lads on T in the Park at the weekend - shame they didn't show much of their set, but hopefully it was all recorded and it'll be shown at some point during the future.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Birthday Parties
Amazingly it was Aiden’s 2nd birthday (already) last Monday and so we had a party for him on Sunday. He was aware that something was going on, but wasn’t quite sure what, until he realised that the presents people were bringing were for him. He also got to blow out the candles on his cake (3 times as he enjoyed it so much) and I managed to get a couple of cute pictures of him. The weather stayed good for the party and a relaxing time was had by all. This was followed by Kim’s 50th birthday on Tuesday, which we helped her celebrate at her new local. A good evening, but a tiring one with a very late night.
Scrapbooking
Yep I’ve actually done some. I know, a miracle, especially with the little amount of time I’ve had, but the weekend before last there was a cyber crop at Scrapstars, and whilst I didn’t really have time to take part, I thought I’d at least try to get 1 of the classes done. The result is below.
The photo was one of the ones taken of the sinful sisters on our trip to the Ritz back in August 2005 (once again can’t believe how the time has flown) and uses papers from a collection by Dana Zarling and flowers by Melany Violette.
Getting into the swing of things, I then went on to do another LO, which had nothing to do with the cyber crop, but was inspired by the overlay by Jason Gaylor that I found while I was looking for elements for the previous LO. This photo is of statues by Lily Sawtell (who also did the Kiss statue that I scrapped during the Mad Hatters cybercrop). The papers are by fotosusu.
You never know I might just take up this scrapping lark as a real hobby!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
The Muse (best) Concert (in the world … ever!)
I really wanted to give a review of the Muse concert and didn’t have time to do it justice. Now it was weeks ago (gosh how quickly the time flies by) and it hardly seems that important any more.
However, I will say that now having seen them I fully understand why Muse win so many awards for being the best live band in the world – they truly deserve the accolade – they were totally awesome, without a shadow of a doubt the best band I’ve ever seen live. I was completely captivated from the minute they emerged to the strains of ‘Dance of the Knights’ by Prokofiev from which they thundered into the fantastic ‘Knights of Cydonia’ to the last strains of ‘Take a Bow’. The stage show was astounding, the visuals a treat, with lasers, lights, fantastic background pictures and even trapeze artists on giant balls moving across the stadium. It was a mixed set, capturing all the hits and I loved every single minute of it. My seat was directly opposite the stage and the acoustics weren’t great at times when the wind blew the wrong way, but I didn’t care. I had a perfect view of the whole stage and both giant screens without having to stand up for the whole concert – the first time that has ever been the case. I managed to get to the Stadium in time to see the end of the Biffy Clyro set, who seemed pretty good (good enough for me to download their album, although I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet) and was completely settled by the time My Chemical Romance came on. It was another fantastic set from them too. They were obviously really enjoying themselves and away from the constraints of the Black Parade tour were able to include a real mixture of old and new songs. As always a real treat watching them perform and I’m hoping that some friends of mine that went got some decent photos of Gerard and Bob.
What wasn’t so great was trying to get home after the show. Wembley Park tube station was closed for some reason and so I (and about 70,000 other people) had to walk a mile to the next nearest station. It took so long that I only just managed to catch my last train home with minutes to spare. I finally got home just after 1.30am, and then remembered the workshop I was doing that day. If I’d been more organised I should have arranged to stay in London for the night, but I’d left all the stuff I needed for the workshop at home. As it was I was completely shattered when I finally got to work at the pub in the evening, and unfortunately had a workshop the following day so didn’t even get a lie in on Tuesday.
However, I will say that now having seen them I fully understand why Muse win so many awards for being the best live band in the world – they truly deserve the accolade – they were totally awesome, without a shadow of a doubt the best band I’ve ever seen live. I was completely captivated from the minute they emerged to the strains of ‘Dance of the Knights’ by Prokofiev from which they thundered into the fantastic ‘Knights of Cydonia’ to the last strains of ‘Take a Bow’. The stage show was astounding, the visuals a treat, with lasers, lights, fantastic background pictures and even trapeze artists on giant balls moving across the stadium. It was a mixed set, capturing all the hits and I loved every single minute of it. My seat was directly opposite the stage and the acoustics weren’t great at times when the wind blew the wrong way, but I didn’t care. I had a perfect view of the whole stage and both giant screens without having to stand up for the whole concert – the first time that has ever been the case. I managed to get to the Stadium in time to see the end of the Biffy Clyro set, who seemed pretty good (good enough for me to download their album, although I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet) and was completely settled by the time My Chemical Romance came on. It was another fantastic set from them too. They were obviously really enjoying themselves and away from the constraints of the Black Parade tour were able to include a real mixture of old and new songs. As always a real treat watching them perform and I’m hoping that some friends of mine that went got some decent photos of Gerard and Bob.
What wasn’t so great was trying to get home after the show. Wembley Park tube station was closed for some reason and so I (and about 70,000 other people) had to walk a mile to the next nearest station. It took so long that I only just managed to catch my last train home with minutes to spare. I finally got home just after 1.30am, and then remembered the workshop I was doing that day. If I’d been more organised I should have arranged to stay in London for the night, but I’d left all the stuff I needed for the workshop at home. As it was I was completely shattered when I finally got to work at the pub in the evening, and unfortunately had a workshop the following day so didn’t even get a lie in on Tuesday.
Only me …
Blimey it’s been so long since I’ve posted here that you probably all think I’ve died or something. Of course I haven’t, I’ve just been really busy with work etc. and had no time to blog properly. I’ve just realised how long this post is going to be so have decided to split it into more manageable chunks. So read on ...
Sunday, June 17, 2007
MCR & Muse Here I Come
Very excited today as my ticket for the Muse concert at Wembley turned up yesterday morning. Only another 7 1/2 hours and I'll be seeing MCR again ... can't wait!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Ok so they’re not 100% perfect ...
… but they’re pretty damn close! I have to admit that my plantar fasciitis was hurting by the end of Monday. However as I’d been wearing the fitflops from 5.15am till 2.30am the following day (yes it was a very long day), and they’d been to London, down 6 flights of stairs (twice), up and down the pub cellar stairs about 20 times plus the general walking around that working at the pub entails and an hour’s shopping in Asda, it’s not really a big surprise that the pain came back as I had definitely overdone it. However, the pain wasn’t as bad as it has been and I wore them almost all day yesterday and the pain seems to be easing slowly. Unfortunately it meant I couldn’t do a full 30 minutes on the glider because of the pain, but hopefully I can catch up tonight as the pain seems to have eased considerably.
Talking of the glider, I need to contact QVC as the pulse monitor lead has broken. Obviously this doesn’t stop me using the machine, but I can’t keep track of my pulse now and as that was one of the big selling points of the machine it seems a bit stupid to put up with it not working, especially when I’ve only had it a month. Hopefully there shouldn’t be any difficulty getting it replaced.
At the moment I am really excited as I managed to get a ticket to see Muse at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night. I’m especially stoked as My Chemical Romance are supporting (to be honest although I love Muse I wasn't bothered about getting a ticket till I found out MCR were going to be there) and I got an excellent seat at a very good price (I just hope the ticket arrives in time – I asked for it to be sent to the pub just to be on the safe side). Actually, there are a few people from the pub going. I think it’s going to be amazing – apparently 90,000 people will be there.
Talking of the glider, I need to contact QVC as the pulse monitor lead has broken. Obviously this doesn’t stop me using the machine, but I can’t keep track of my pulse now and as that was one of the big selling points of the machine it seems a bit stupid to put up with it not working, especially when I’ve only had it a month. Hopefully there shouldn’t be any difficulty getting it replaced.
At the moment I am really excited as I managed to get a ticket to see Muse at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night. I’m especially stoked as My Chemical Romance are supporting (to be honest although I love Muse I wasn't bothered about getting a ticket till I found out MCR were going to be there) and I got an excellent seat at a very good price (I just hope the ticket arrives in time – I asked for it to be sent to the pub just to be on the safe side). Actually, there are a few people from the pub going. I think it’s going to be amazing – apparently 90,000 people will be there.
Monday, June 11, 2007
I'm in Love ...
... with my fitflops!
I have been wearing them constantly since I got them on Wednesday night (even around the house) and my feet are loving them. Remarkably, not only has the plantar fasciitis pain stopped completely, but so have all the arthritic aches and pains as well. It is very strange to realise that for the first time in about 15 years I have no pain in my feet whatsoever (Mrs H3 can attest to how badly I was limping on Wednesday evening). I was even able to do 30 minutes on the glider without stopping at all the other day as wearing the trainers after the fitflops, there was no pain.
They have been through the tests: 2 days wearing them at the pub - I am usually left pretty much crippled by the end of each session - this week, no pain at all, not on either day, nor at the end of the weekend. I have worn them to work today and as long as I can get through the rest of the day, and this evening's shift then I'll be able to pronounce them as being perfect.
Certainly, I am pleased enough with the results so far to think that I shall need to consider getting a pair of MBTs in the Autumn. They may be expensive and look horrid, but if they relieve my feet of the pain in the same way as the fitflops have then it will be worth it.
I have been wearing them constantly since I got them on Wednesday night (even around the house) and my feet are loving them. Remarkably, not only has the plantar fasciitis pain stopped completely, but so have all the arthritic aches and pains as well. It is very strange to realise that for the first time in about 15 years I have no pain in my feet whatsoever (Mrs H3 can attest to how badly I was limping on Wednesday evening). I was even able to do 30 minutes on the glider without stopping at all the other day as wearing the trainers after the fitflops, there was no pain.
They have been through the tests: 2 days wearing them at the pub - I am usually left pretty much crippled by the end of each session - this week, no pain at all, not on either day, nor at the end of the weekend. I have worn them to work today and as long as I can get through the rest of the day, and this evening's shift then I'll be able to pronounce them as being perfect.
Certainly, I am pleased enough with the results so far to think that I shall need to consider getting a pair of MBTs in the Autumn. They may be expensive and look horrid, but if they relieve my feet of the pain in the same way as the fitflops have then it will be worth it.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
A Good Evening and A Treat
Last night I went for a meal with Mrs H3. It was really good to see her as it's been a while. We went to De:Alto which turned out to be pretty IPD friendly, and had a lovely meal (although no garlic bread or dessert). I also bought myself a pair of fit flops.
Since my plantar fasciitis has started getting worse again (even my Birkenstocks aren't working) I have been looking for a pair of shoes that would help to ease the pain as I desperately don't want to end up having to go to the hospital for injections again (I can still vividly remember how much that hurt from last time). I was considering getting some MBTs which I had read can help, but at £135 a pair they are an expensive investment if they don't work. Instead, I decided to give the fit flops a try. Apparently they work the same way as MBTs but only cost £36 and don't look anywhere near as ugly. They look pretty much like normal flip flops, but with a wedge, and like MBTs they mimic the effect of walking barefoot and make you stand straighter and work out your legs and bum as you walk in them. So far I have only worn them indoors, but they do seem to have eased the pain in my feet somewhat and so far aren't uncomfortable on my muscles either. If they work well I shall consider investing in MBTs later in the year when the weather gets too bad for sandals.
Since my plantar fasciitis has started getting worse again (even my Birkenstocks aren't working) I have been looking for a pair of shoes that would help to ease the pain as I desperately don't want to end up having to go to the hospital for injections again (I can still vividly remember how much that hurt from last time). I was considering getting some MBTs which I had read can help, but at £135 a pair they are an expensive investment if they don't work. Instead, I decided to give the fit flops a try. Apparently they work the same way as MBTs but only cost £36 and don't look anywhere near as ugly. They look pretty much like normal flip flops, but with a wedge, and like MBTs they mimic the effect of walking barefoot and make you stand straighter and work out your legs and bum as you walk in them. So far I have only worn them indoors, but they do seem to have eased the pain in my feet somewhat and so far aren't uncomfortable on my muscles either. If they work well I shall consider investing in MBTs later in the year when the weather gets too bad for sandals.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Been a bit lax ...
... with keeping this blog up-to-date, mainly because I haven't done much.
So, a quick round up of my life. For those that don't know, I was offered the chance of a job in Iraq for 6 months - absolutely bucketloads of dosh, but (obviously) loads of grief and possibly quite dangerous (although as I was told no civilian has actually died out there yet). So although the money was damn attractive (and it really was a very substantial sum), I decided that for the sake of the world it would be better if I didn't take it (I mean I don't want to end up increasing hostilities and that would have been quite a possibility if I went). However, I have seen another job on promotion in London that I am considering applying for if I can get my competences sorted ... or maybe I should still consider the Falkland Islands - not as much money as Iraq, but not as dangerous either.
Sorting is still going on. I have boxes of stuff all over the place. Hopefully another week will see me finished with the actual sorting and then I just need to get my arse in gear and find some time to take photos of everything and get measurements so I can start my e-bay selling career. Mark & Jac at the pub are convinced that I am moving home because of the number of empty boxes I've had off them to store stuff in!
My handbag and the clothes from e-bay arrived. The handbag is more stunning in real life than in the photo - I am seriously in love with it, and so has been just about everyone else who has seen it! The clothes have all been great so far, and so I've bought a few more items, which I'm just waiting to arrive.
Last week Lynne and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End. Was a little apprehensive as the only comment I'd generally had from people was that it was long and as I didn't think POTC2 was much good. However, pleased to report that POTC3 is much better than the 2nd one, although still not as good as the original. Also I didn't think it seemed that long. I think my next cinema venture is due to be Ocean's 13 with Andrew, if he ever gets his act together. Then of course it's Harry Potter.
Birmingham City Football Club have released their new strip for next season. I have always said if they were promoted (well done boys!) that I would buy a new shirt (the last one being bought the last time they got promoted). Unfortunately, just as last time, the new strip is awful, but unlike last time I really can't bring myself to buy it. Ah well, sure I can get another season out of the top I have.
So, a quick round up of my life. For those that don't know, I was offered the chance of a job in Iraq for 6 months - absolutely bucketloads of dosh, but (obviously) loads of grief and possibly quite dangerous (although as I was told no civilian has actually died out there yet). So although the money was damn attractive (and it really was a very substantial sum), I decided that for the sake of the world it would be better if I didn't take it (I mean I don't want to end up increasing hostilities and that would have been quite a possibility if I went). However, I have seen another job on promotion in London that I am considering applying for if I can get my competences sorted ... or maybe I should still consider the Falkland Islands - not as much money as Iraq, but not as dangerous either.
Sorting is still going on. I have boxes of stuff all over the place. Hopefully another week will see me finished with the actual sorting and then I just need to get my arse in gear and find some time to take photos of everything and get measurements so I can start my e-bay selling career. Mark & Jac at the pub are convinced that I am moving home because of the number of empty boxes I've had off them to store stuff in!
My handbag and the clothes from e-bay arrived. The handbag is more stunning in real life than in the photo - I am seriously in love with it, and so has been just about everyone else who has seen it! The clothes have all been great so far, and so I've bought a few more items, which I'm just waiting to arrive.
Last week Lynne and I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End. Was a little apprehensive as the only comment I'd generally had from people was that it was long and as I didn't think POTC2 was much good. However, pleased to report that POTC3 is much better than the 2nd one, although still not as good as the original. Also I didn't think it seemed that long. I think my next cinema venture is due to be Ocean's 13 with Andrew, if he ever gets his act together. Then of course it's Harry Potter.
Birmingham City Football Club have released their new strip for next season. I have always said if they were promoted (well done boys!) that I would buy a new shirt (the last one being bought the last time they got promoted). Unfortunately, just as last time, the new strip is awful, but unlike last time I really can't bring myself to buy it. Ah well, sure I can get another season out of the top I have.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Retail Therapy
As a break from all the clearing I have been doing (yep it's still ongoing and I have bags of recycling stuff waiting for the right week to go out) I decided to have a trip to Bluewater on Saturday after I finished work. Predominently it was to go to Holland & Barrett, but I thought it would be nice to have a mooch, maybe look at some clothes, get a mini makeover etc. and something different from the usual weekend routine of working then going home to housework
I had a lovely makeover at the Benefit counter in House of Fraser and ended up buying their new foundation, 'Some Kind-a Gorgeous' which gives lovely light sheer coverage, evening out the skin tones without looking heavily made up. It's a lighter shade than 'You Rebel' so fits my skin tone better. I was also tempted by the '10' bronzer/highlighter, but managed to resist buying that, although I am now looking on e-bay. I do love their new packaging.
I had a lovely makeover at the Benefit counter in House of Fraser and ended up buying their new foundation, 'Some Kind-a Gorgeous' which gives lovely light sheer coverage, evening out the skin tones without looking heavily made up. It's a lighter shade than 'You Rebel' so fits my skin tone better. I was also tempted by the '10' bronzer/highlighter, but managed to resist buying that, although I am now looking on e-bay. I do love their new packaging.
I also bought another new mascara. I have been on the quest for the perfect mascara for as long as I've been wearing make up. I don't want much, just a mascara that is easy to apply, that makes my pale, stubby lashes look long, dark & sumptuous, but doesn't clump leaving all my eyelashes nicely separated and preferably beautifully curled. Now over the years I have found mascaras to give me extra long lashes (Bourgois Coup de Theatre), ones with a good curl (Mister Mascara's Japanese Curling Formula) and OK everyday coverage (Mister Mascara's Classic Lash and Benefit's rose scented mascara). However, I still find that they all go clumpy and make my lashes stick together rather than beautifully separated, with the exception of the Mister Mascara Classic Lash and that is no longer available or I wouldn't still be trying to get the last out of my 4 year old tube (yes I kow you're supposed to change it every 3 months but in reality who does?) Of course the best ones for everyday do nothing to make my lashes look longer. Enter the latest contender - L'Oreal's Telescopic Clean Definition mascara. According to the blurb (and the fantastic picture of Penelope Cruz with the most amazing lashes) the special new brush coats each lash individually and spreads them out giving amazing definition and good length, and luckily it was on special offer at Boots. Obviously as soon as I got home I just had to try it out. The verdict? Not entirely impressed on first application. It did make them seem a bit longer but that may just have been because they were dark enough to be seen. The outside lashes stuck together (although this may be the way I applied it rather than the mascara). Also the coverage wasn't clumpy but not as even as it could be - not the worst mascara I've ever had, but certainly my eyes looked nothing like Penelope's. They looked even worse when 30 minutes later I chopped an onion and ended up with big panda eyes!
Clothes wise the range was just as disappointing as the last time I went shopping and I was horrified to see that a basic black jersey mock wrap top (the only thing I could find that I'd even consider looking at) was £35 in Evans. Instead I've done some bidding on e-bay and managed to get half a dozen tops from there at about the same price as the one top would have cost me. If they fit, great, I have some nice new cheap clothes for a while (until they get too big), if they don't I'll stick them back on e-bay and get something else instead.
Oh I also bought a new handbag. I wasn't going to buy any more, but as soon as I saw this on QVC I fell completely in love with it and knew I just had to have it. Unfortunately I got outbid on e-bay for one, but then someone else offered me theirs. I ended up getting it for over 25% less than I would have paid for it in the shop or on QVC, so that officially counts as a bargain.
All I need to do now is get my act together with sorting out my books and cds and actually get some stuff onto ebay myself!
Chelsea Flower Show
Well didn't we get lucky with the weather this year? Rain on Monday, overcast on Tuesday, fantastic bright sunshine on Wednesday (the day we went) and progressively worse weather as the week ended. It was so hot that I ended up getting quite badly sunburnt (and got some interesting white marks as well!) but we had a fantastic time and did all the usual Chelsea 'stuff' - ice creams, fish & chips & bucketloads of Pimm's.
And of course we took photos ... hundreds of 'em. The link to my photo gallery is below, I will add a link to Lynne's gallery once I get it:
Expect yet more Flower Show inspired LO's soon!
This year's predominent theme was country garden, with almost all the gardens showing this sort of planting. The best of these was Chris Beardshaw's garden - Hidcote, which in parallel with Julian Dowle's 'From Darkness to Light' (2004 and still my favourite garden of all time), received only a Silver Gilt from the judges but won the people's award vote by over 10 times the vote of any other garden. No idea why the judges didn't give it the Gold and 'Best in Show' award that it so obviously deserved, but they obviously work to different criteria than those of us who just go along to look at and enjoy the gardens. Having said that, the garden that did win 'Best in Show' - '600 Days by Bradstone' was a stunning garden, and made a nice change from all the cottage garden planting, depicting as it did an astronauts life on Mars.
In the small garden category I think my favourite this year was the AOA Corporation's 'Garden of Clouds' featuring walls of moss. Very unusual and quite exquisite.
This year we were lucky enough to get to meet Chris Beardshaw (and his mum & dad) and Lorraine Kelly. We also saw Alan Titchmarsh getting ready for one of his pieces to camera (always a treat).
So roll on RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
It's that time again already
Yep Chelsea Flower Show is here again. Tomorrow Lynne and I will be spending a luxurious day, enjoying the beautiful weather (hurrah! so glad it's not going to rain like last year), enjoying the beautiful gardens and enjoying the Pimms. Expect a link to another couple of hundred pictures here soon!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Useless Fact No 1
Did you know an empty crisp box holds approximately 250 cds? Well, you do now. Told you it was a useless fact and one that I found out this weekend as I've been tranferring my cd singles onto the computer in readiness for getting rid of them (yep they're going as well if I can find enough cases - stupidly years ago I decided to save space by putting them in lots of discgear cases and discarding the boxes and now I need to reassemble but have nowhere near enough cases - in fact i suspect I shall have at least 1 more crisp box full by the time I've finished. I keep looking at the lounge and thinking it must be getting tidier, but it doesn't seem to be - surely at some point it must start looking better musn't it?
I was supposed to be treating myself to a pamper evening tonight, but have been too busy getting my food ready for tomorrow and now seems a bit late to start with all that. So I've settled down to watch the fantastic Derren Brown torturing some poor soul instead. Maybe tomorrow instead.
I was supposed to be treating myself to a pamper evening tonight, but have been too busy getting my food ready for tomorrow and now seems a bit late to start with all that. So I've settled down to watch the fantastic Derren Brown torturing some poor soul instead. Maybe tomorrow instead.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Camp but Fun!
I've just spent an exciting evening (okay maybe not that exciting) watching the Eurovision Song Contest - a bit novel for me as it was the first one for about 20 odd years that I've seen without the benefit of alcohol! I am a big fan of this programme and feel it provides the sort of quality entertainment all too often lacking on the TV these days. Of course the UK entry was absolutely dire and came second to last which was about what was deserved, as the Irish entry was considerably worse than ours and an eastern european country won, swamped as it was with entries from there, but good fun nonetheless with Terry Wogan totally on form. I was personally a little disappointed with the winner - it was quite dull and worthy, I preferred the Swedish entry which was camp 70s cod rock or the more gothic Finnish entry. I was supposed to be sorting through my cd singles while it was on, but instead ended up chatting with other people watching and then a conversation with Jo so no sorting completed. Why does clearing always seem like a good idea until you start doing it? *LOL*
Monday, May 07, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
So Depressing
Today I went shopping at Bluewater. I bought a few nice things, a few useful things and a couple of essential things. However, I felt very depressed when I went into Evans.
There was rack upon rack of dull, uninspiring and downright depressing clothes, some of them so bad I felt like I could cry. With the current fascination for early '70s dodgy smock tops and horrid shirred elastic dresses I felt like I was looking at the fashion pages of Jackie from about 1973! And everything seems to be in a nasty shade of brown - why?
Obviously in one way this is good as I'm not inspired to buy any clothes, but doesn't make my search for a decent outfit for the wedding any easier. I have to say that New Look, usually my little haven for cheap(ish) clothes shopping, was no better and I came away feeling quite depressed and realising that I really do need to lose a decent amount of weight in order to get any nice clothes - although at the moment that would be a challenge anywhere without wanting to look like a reject from the 1970s.
There was rack upon rack of dull, uninspiring and downright depressing clothes, some of them so bad I felt like I could cry. With the current fascination for early '70s dodgy smock tops and horrid shirred elastic dresses I felt like I was looking at the fashion pages of Jackie from about 1973! And everything seems to be in a nasty shade of brown - why?
Obviously in one way this is good as I'm not inspired to buy any clothes, but doesn't make my search for a decent outfit for the wedding any easier. I have to say that New Look, usually my little haven for cheap(ish) clothes shopping, was no better and I came away feeling quite depressed and realising that I really do need to lose a decent amount of weight in order to get any nice clothes - although at the moment that would be a challenge anywhere without wanting to look like a reject from the 1970s.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday's/Sunday Morning's Cybercrop output
Having realised that I wouldn't be able to take part on Sunday I decided the best course of action was to stay up as late as possible on Saturday and complete as much of the Saturday timeable as possible. A little hard at first as I had no enthusiasm, but finally got going about 10pm, and dropped into bed about 5am this morning.
Class 5 - Tea Party was a digi class so perfect for me anyway
Class 6 - Queen of Hearts
Next was challenge 4 - Cheshire cat
Class 9 was Box of Sweets. I had wanted to use this photo for ages but could never find the right LO for it. Making it a huge focal point was a great move I think.
This was the final class I managed class 11 - P is for Princess
Friday's Cybercrop Output
Here is the LO from the first class on Friday night - Ace in Our Hearts
This was followed by class 3 - Curious and Curiouser (I didn't do class 2 as it was a tag book and I couldn't be bothered to do real life scrapping as it would have meant getting it all out). This is a photo of my grandad who I never met.
This was followed by class 3 - Curious and Curiouser (I didn't do class 2 as it was a tag book and I couldn't be bothered to do real life scrapping as it would have meant getting it all out). This is a photo of my grandad who I never met. Then it was time for a challenge LO - this was called the Dormouse
And finally to complete Friday night challenge 2 was called Lost the Plot - and the only bit of real life crafting I did this weekend
So It's Over ...
The Mad Hatters cybercrop has been and gone as quickly as it arrived (well with the exception of the after-crop party which is later this evening - need to get dinner made so I can decorate my hand for the final challenge) and from what I can see on the board my team THE CLUBS has won! Another frantic weekend (I really MUST take the weekend off next time) during which I managed to keep up on Friday night, caught up last night and completely missed today's activities. I managed to get 180 points on Friday night and by 5am this morning I had accrued 290 points which is a record for me. Several LOs of Kiefer this time, and plenty of other stuff too. I shall need to do separate posts for Friday and Saturday I think. But firstly, above is the pre-crop challenge layout that didn't make it into the competition - although maybe I'd have been better entering this one as the other one didn't get any votes (will post the other one tomorrow after the CC is finished properly.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Getting ready for the Cybercrop
To try and get myself in the mood for the imminent cybercrop I had a go at the pre-crop challenge last night which closes tomorrow. I ended up doing 2 LO's and I can't decide which one to enter (obviously can't post here yet, but I will once the weekend is over). The theme was 'Once Upon a Time' a fairytale title if ever I heard one. *LOL*
After a bad journey to work this morning (grrrrr to Ken Livingstone for closing the tidal flow of the Blackwall tunnel) I was so fed up by the time I got to work that I decided I need some 'me' time. So I'm taking Friday off so I can get myself sorted for the cc and then having Monday off too, just because I can - maybe I'll sleep all day or something.
Nothing else to report, my life has been decidedly boring and routine for the last few weeks. I need some excitement in my life, but don't know where to find it. Answers on a postcard please ...
After a bad journey to work this morning (grrrrr to Ken Livingstone for closing the tidal flow of the Blackwall tunnel) I was so fed up by the time I got to work that I decided I need some 'me' time. So I'm taking Friday off so I can get myself sorted for the cc and then having Monday off too, just because I can - maybe I'll sleep all day or something.
Nothing else to report, my life has been decidedly boring and routine for the last few weeks. I need some excitement in my life, but don't know where to find it. Answers on a postcard please ...
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Another LO
I had a go at Jen's 2nd sketch last night. I probably should have saved these pictures for the cybercrop but they fitted so perfectly and I'm sure I can use them again for any future LOs.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Perfect Timing
I'd just finished making my low carb lemon, lime & ginger cheesecake when my mate FP pointed out a challenge thread in the Mad Hatter Cybercrop. They wanted us to hold a tea party showing some lovely cakes we'd made and to make sure we didn't use old pics we had to include a playing card with our team on it. As it's a points scoring challenge I felt I had to take part, I mean it only needed a photo. So below is the result - Harrington teddy checking out the cheesecake. Unfortunately for him he only got to look at it - I got to eat it and it was absolutely scrummy!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
My take on the sketch
A few days ago I mentioned that my friend Jen had produced her first sketches. I decided it was high time that I got back into scrapping of some sort (in practice for the cybercrop if nothing else) and I really wanted to use the sketches, so did a LO with some of the photos that Lynne sent me from Andrea's Birthday Meal at the Indian. I was really pleased with the way that it came out - and the photos were great. The kit is Delighful Girl by Melany Violette. Hopefully, I'll have a go at the other one soon. A challenge has also been posted in the CC forum to make a planner using playing cards which I'm thinking I may have a go at over the weekend.
Killing time
You know how I love these quizzy things. Here's one that I found on Jen 2's blog so I've borrowed it. I'm sure she won't mind. I don't know where number 10 has gone!
Welcome to the 2007 edition of getting to know your friends.The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already. This is fun and we ALL need some fun in our lives!
1. What time did you get up this morning? 4:45am
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Hot Fuzz
4. What is your favorite TV show? House although I love CSI Miami, Cold Case and Bones as well. I'm a sucker for all those US crime shows!
5. What did you have for breakfast? Ham and Dairylea Cheese
6. What is your middle name? Don't have one
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Cajun and Creole
8. What foods do you dislike? Baked beans
9. Your favorite type of crisps? Not really a crisp person but marmite or worcester sauce
11. What kind of car do you drive? Tropical Green Daewoo Matiz
12. What are your favorite clothes? Good fitting jeans and nice tops
13. Where would you want to retire? New Orleans
14. Favorite time of day? Night
15. Where were you born? Maidstone, Kent
16. Pepsi or Coke? Diet Pepsi
17. Pedicure or manicure? Manicure
18. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Nope. Nothing interesting going on in my life at the moment
19. What did you want to be when you were little? Actress or a Princess
20. Been in a car accident? No
21. Favourite flower? Tulips and Gladioli
22. Favourite fast food restaurant? Pret a Manger
23. Bedtime? After midnight, much later at weekends!
24. Last person you went to dinner with? Lisa
25. What are you listening to right now? Imagine by John Lennon on 100 Greatest: The Ultimate Chart
26. What is your favorite colour? Purple
27. How many tattoos do you have? One
Welcome to the 2007 edition of getting to know your friends.The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already. This is fun and we ALL need some fun in our lives!
1. What time did you get up this morning? 4:45am
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Hot Fuzz
4. What is your favorite TV show? House although I love CSI Miami, Cold Case and Bones as well. I'm a sucker for all those US crime shows!
5. What did you have for breakfast? Ham and Dairylea Cheese
6. What is your middle name? Don't have one
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Cajun and Creole
8. What foods do you dislike? Baked beans
9. Your favorite type of crisps? Not really a crisp person but marmite or worcester sauce
11. What kind of car do you drive? Tropical Green Daewoo Matiz
12. What are your favorite clothes? Good fitting jeans and nice tops
13. Where would you want to retire? New Orleans
14. Favorite time of day? Night
15. Where were you born? Maidstone, Kent
16. Pepsi or Coke? Diet Pepsi
17. Pedicure or manicure? Manicure
18. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? Nope. Nothing interesting going on in my life at the moment
19. What did you want to be when you were little? Actress or a Princess
20. Been in a car accident? No
21. Favourite flower? Tulips and Gladioli
22. Favourite fast food restaurant? Pret a Manger
23. Bedtime? After midnight, much later at weekends!
24. Last person you went to dinner with? Lisa
25. What are you listening to right now? Imagine by John Lennon on 100 Greatest: The Ultimate Chart
26. What is your favorite colour? Purple
27. How many tattoos do you have? One
Friday, April 13, 2007
It's the weekend already!
Blimey how time flies. I can't believe that it's already over a week since I went to Jo's. Where does the time go?
Had a lovely meal with Mrs H3 at Pizza Express on Wednesday listening to the dulcit tones of the Rooster Boys (Mrs H especially loved them ;)) and making plans for our Harry Potter evening. My last trifolata pizza and garlic bread with cheese before the big day, the start of my new eating plan. All going OK at the moment, just hope it lasts.
I just have to quickly mention my friend Jen. She's a fantastic teacher, an excellent actress and singer and a complete whizz at scrapbooking and now she's creating her own sketches - check them out. Unfortunately she's on the Heart team for the cybercrop so her talent is going elsewhere - we could definitely do with her in Clubs. I can't wait to have a go at the sketches myself, it's been so long since I did any scrapping of any description its definitely about time for me to do some. Watch this space and you never know some may appear.
On the subject of cybercrop I have been busy scouring the net for some new pictures of Kiefer - I mean I can't not scrap him can I? Disappointingly few new ones that don't involve him holding a gun as Jack Bauer, but I have managed to track down a couple and of course can always use one of the many old ones I have if need be.
Had a lovely meal with Mrs H3 at Pizza Express on Wednesday listening to the dulcit tones of the Rooster Boys (Mrs H especially loved them ;)) and making plans for our Harry Potter evening. My last trifolata pizza and garlic bread with cheese before the big day, the start of my new eating plan. All going OK at the moment, just hope it lasts.
I just have to quickly mention my friend Jen. She's a fantastic teacher, an excellent actress and singer and a complete whizz at scrapbooking and now she's creating her own sketches - check them out. Unfortunately she's on the Heart team for the cybercrop so her talent is going elsewhere - we could definitely do with her in Clubs. I can't wait to have a go at the sketches myself, it's been so long since I did any scrapping of any description its definitely about time for me to do some. Watch this space and you never know some may appear.
On the subject of cybercrop I have been busy scouring the net for some new pictures of Kiefer - I mean I can't not scrap him can I? Disappointingly few new ones that don't involve him holding a gun as Jack Bauer, but I have managed to track down a couple and of course can always use one of the many old ones I have if need be.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Another Cybercrop
It’s cybercrop time on UKS again (blimey doesn’t time fly!). This time the theme is Mad Hatters (Alice in Wonderland) and I’m in the Clubs Team. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed to once again end up in a team with so few of my friends in. I’m not really getting much involved with it at the moment due to too many other things going on but I’m sure once the weekend starts I’ll get into the swing of it. Of course as usual I’ll be working so won't be able to do everything, and the big question is whether to paper scrap or digi scrap. I really enjoyed the paper scrapping that I did at the last crop and keep meaning to do more but just no time to do so. Mind you haven’t done any digiscrapping either *LOL*
I didn’t get a mystery kit this time – to be honest I wasn’t really bothered about doing that again and I missed the opportunity anyway with them selling out so quickly last night. I'm waiting to see what the pre-crop challenge is going to be to see whether to take part in that. At least I have my new printer now so I can finally print photos etc. again.
I didn’t get a mystery kit this time – to be honest I wasn’t really bothered about doing that again and I missed the opportunity anyway with them selling out so quickly last night. I'm waiting to see what the pre-crop challenge is going to be to see whether to take part in that. At least I have my new printer now so I can finally print photos etc. again.
The weekend munch!
At last I have a minute to myself to catch up. Everything seems to be go-go-go round here at the moment and all I seem to have done is eat and rush around. At least with the rushing around I’ve still managed to lose weight!
Had a really fantastic and successful weekend with mum and Jo (and the weather was fab too). Picked mum up at the airport on time (can you believe parking for 40 minutes was £3.90!), but ended up stuck in traffic on the M25 for an hour or so. Arrived at Jo’s just in time for a nice meal and a few glasses of wine at one of her local pubs (The Black Horse – definitely recommended) – I had salmon & crab tagliatelle with garlic bread and salad, Jo had chicken with cheese & bacon with vegetables and mum had the lasagne with garlic bread and salad. Had an early night and was up with the lark on Friday all ready to do battle with the bridal shops.
Unfortunately the first shop that Jo had arranged an appointment with didn’t bother to turn up and didn’t bother to contact Jo (and we couldn’t get hold of her), so after 20 minutes of standing outside the closed shop we gave up. To be honest I don’t think Jo would have liked any of the dresses anyway, but obviously it wasn’t a great start to the day, and left us at a bit of a loose end. We did visit another couple of bridal shops but they too were closed – the one in Reading was about the only shop closed that day! Eventually in frustration we gave up with wedding dress shopping and instead started looking for something for mum. I bought some new trousers and a new top; mum also bought several items, but couldn’t see anything she fancied wearing for the wedding. At 4pm we had an appointment at the Wedding Centre in Marlow (we had already phoned to check they were definitely open). I think by that time Jo was convinced that we wouldn’t find anything but mum, I and the lovely lady who helped with the fitting were certain we would find “the dress”.
Jo had said all along that she wanted a very plain dress, with minimal train and just wearing a simple flower in her hair – the first dress she tried on was the exact specification and looked beautiful, soon she had been convinced that a veil was the way to go and teamed with a tiara and the dress I have to admit to having a little tear in my eye as did mum. The second dress wasn’t anything special, but dress 3 was absolutely amazing, especially once the veil was on. After trying on several more dresses in various other styles including the dreaded meringue, it became very obvious that dress 3 was “the one”. It was obvious from the first time she tried it on that it was Jo’s favourite as she held herself differently, and I have to say that she really does look like a princess in it. Not the plain dress she had said though, instead a beautiful mermaid dress in ivory taffeta, with a pearl beaded bodice and a lovely big train. This is teamed with a full length veil covered in diamante and a tiara (still to be chosen). Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any pictures during the fitting and I’ve not been able to find the dress on the net, although in one way that is a good thing. No chance of people seeing it who shouldn’t and as I’ll have forgotten what it looked like by the wedding it will be a lovely surprise for all of us. Joyous at finding the dress we celebrated at Standlake’s other pub, The Bell with steak and chips all round and yet more wine.
On Saturday morning we visited Bicester Designer Village where we spent a few hours browsing round the shops, but not buying much (I managed to resist the £645 Jimmy Choo’s!) although I did get a bargain on L’Occitane hand cream. Eventually we’d finished there and decided that fed up with shopping we would go to Witney for a nice cream tea at one of the teashops there. It was another lovely meal (I ate so much nice food this weekend) so we decided to walk it off with a wander round the town. Mum had given up on the idea of finding an outfit for the wedding, so Jo and I lured her into Country Casuals where we proceeded to bombard her with dress ideas. Finally, we managed to get her to try some on and strangely yet again the 3rd dress she tried was the perfect one. The colour is a sort of turquoise and suited her perfectly. Shortly after, we had found matching shoes, handbag and hat and mum’s Mother of the Bride outfit was complete. Yet another successful mission and so once again we felt we ought to celebrate back at the Black Horse. The food was so nice that we had to have starters as well – I had a smoked salmon and crab parcel with salad, mum had wexford mushrooms and Jo had deep fried mushrooms. This was followed with fish pie for mum, lasagne for Jo and mushroom stroganoff for me.
Sunday morning and we were up and watching the Grand Prix before mum and I had to leave to get her back to the airport. It was amazing how quickly the weekend had gone and it was such a shame to have to come back. At least mum had the decency to leave the good weather here when she went home.
Yesterday was Andrea’s birthday – belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY matey! Last night we went for a meal at the Indian to celebrate – another excellent meal, although the service was diabolically slow. Tonight I am off to meet Mrs H3 for another meal (see I said I was doing nothing but eating) to celebrate belatedly her birthday from last week.
Had a really fantastic and successful weekend with mum and Jo (and the weather was fab too). Picked mum up at the airport on time (can you believe parking for 40 minutes was £3.90!), but ended up stuck in traffic on the M25 for an hour or so. Arrived at Jo’s just in time for a nice meal and a few glasses of wine at one of her local pubs (The Black Horse – definitely recommended) – I had salmon & crab tagliatelle with garlic bread and salad, Jo had chicken with cheese & bacon with vegetables and mum had the lasagne with garlic bread and salad. Had an early night and was up with the lark on Friday all ready to do battle with the bridal shops.
Unfortunately the first shop that Jo had arranged an appointment with didn’t bother to turn up and didn’t bother to contact Jo (and we couldn’t get hold of her), so after 20 minutes of standing outside the closed shop we gave up. To be honest I don’t think Jo would have liked any of the dresses anyway, but obviously it wasn’t a great start to the day, and left us at a bit of a loose end. We did visit another couple of bridal shops but they too were closed – the one in Reading was about the only shop closed that day! Eventually in frustration we gave up with wedding dress shopping and instead started looking for something for mum. I bought some new trousers and a new top; mum also bought several items, but couldn’t see anything she fancied wearing for the wedding. At 4pm we had an appointment at the Wedding Centre in Marlow (we had already phoned to check they were definitely open). I think by that time Jo was convinced that we wouldn’t find anything but mum, I and the lovely lady who helped with the fitting were certain we would find “the dress”.
Jo had said all along that she wanted a very plain dress, with minimal train and just wearing a simple flower in her hair – the first dress she tried on was the exact specification and looked beautiful, soon she had been convinced that a veil was the way to go and teamed with a tiara and the dress I have to admit to having a little tear in my eye as did mum. The second dress wasn’t anything special, but dress 3 was absolutely amazing, especially once the veil was on. After trying on several more dresses in various other styles including the dreaded meringue, it became very obvious that dress 3 was “the one”. It was obvious from the first time she tried it on that it was Jo’s favourite as she held herself differently, and I have to say that she really does look like a princess in it. Not the plain dress she had said though, instead a beautiful mermaid dress in ivory taffeta, with a pearl beaded bodice and a lovely big train. This is teamed with a full length veil covered in diamante and a tiara (still to be chosen). Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any pictures during the fitting and I’ve not been able to find the dress on the net, although in one way that is a good thing. No chance of people seeing it who shouldn’t and as I’ll have forgotten what it looked like by the wedding it will be a lovely surprise for all of us. Joyous at finding the dress we celebrated at Standlake’s other pub, The Bell with steak and chips all round and yet more wine.
On Saturday morning we visited Bicester Designer Village where we spent a few hours browsing round the shops, but not buying much (I managed to resist the £645 Jimmy Choo’s!) although I did get a bargain on L’Occitane hand cream. Eventually we’d finished there and decided that fed up with shopping we would go to Witney for a nice cream tea at one of the teashops there. It was another lovely meal (I ate so much nice food this weekend) so we decided to walk it off with a wander round the town. Mum had given up on the idea of finding an outfit for the wedding, so Jo and I lured her into Country Casuals where we proceeded to bombard her with dress ideas. Finally, we managed to get her to try some on and strangely yet again the 3rd dress she tried was the perfect one. The colour is a sort of turquoise and suited her perfectly. Shortly after, we had found matching shoes, handbag and hat and mum’s Mother of the Bride outfit was complete. Yet another successful mission and so once again we felt we ought to celebrate back at the Black Horse. The food was so nice that we had to have starters as well – I had a smoked salmon and crab parcel with salad, mum had wexford mushrooms and Jo had deep fried mushrooms. This was followed with fish pie for mum, lasagne for Jo and mushroom stroganoff for me.
Sunday morning and we were up and watching the Grand Prix before mum and I had to leave to get her back to the airport. It was amazing how quickly the weekend had gone and it was such a shame to have to come back. At least mum had the decency to leave the good weather here when she went home.
Yesterday was Andrea’s birthday – belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY matey! Last night we went for a meal at the Indian to celebrate – another excellent meal, although the service was diabolically slow. Tonight I am off to meet Mrs H3 for another meal (see I said I was doing nothing but eating) to celebrate belatedly her birthday from last week.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
MCR Rock!
So how was it? I can hear you all asking. Absolutely bloody fantastic is the answer. After a somewhat damp trip to Wembley, I met up with Anna (a fellow UKSer who was really lovely and a Blue October fan too!) and we made our way to our seats. The seats were pretty close to the stage so we had a fantastic view. I did take some photos but not sure how well they came out as it was on my phone and I can’t find them (I know I am rubbish with my phone). *LOL* MCR put on an amazing show, from the moment the lights went up to reveal Gerard lying on a hospital bed to the final strains of Helena at the end of the encore. The whole set was accompanied by explosions, flames, confetti and Gerard bouncing around the stage like a hyperactive and somewhat lunatic 10 year old. He must have been completely knackered by the end of it. I know I was shattered watching him – if only I could bounce around like that I’d be stick thin! Now that Gerard has dyed his hair black again I really don't fancy him so much. Yep, I know I’m alone in loving him blonde, but I really think he looks much cuter like that. Bob still looks great though ;)
For those that are interested in such things here’s the set list. They played the whole of Black Parade and then encored with some of their older, but well loved tracks. The album was played in order (as it should be as a concept album) unfortunately the BBC obviously hadn’t taken this onboard when they filmed the Radio 1 concert on Monday night and so it was rather jumbled. I still have the 3 hour Monday night concert to listen to when I get some time.
Set List
The End
Dead!
This is How I Disappear
The Sharpest Lives
Welcome to the Black Parade
I Don't Love You
House of Wolves
Cancer
Mama
Sleep
Teenagers
Disenchanted
Famous Last Words
I’m Not Okay (I Promise) (Encore)
The Ghost of You (Encore)
Helena (Encore)
On Friday the new landlord and landlady (Mark and Jackie) took over the pub. I was introduced to them on Saturday lunchtime when I went into work and have to admit that contrary to my initial impression of them on the short visit they made last month, they do seem very nice and are obviously very committed to turning the pub around. In fact Mark was already out clearing the rubbish when I arrived and Jackie and her sister have scrubbed everything they could lay their hands on. I also got the gossip about Gary. He was escorted off the premises, having been caught doing major fiddling so I don't suppose we’ll be seeing him again too soon. Obviously only time will tell whether they’ll be OK, but the atmosphere at the pub has improved and everything seems much more positive.
Tina and I decided to pay for Andrea to have a decent hair cut and colour for her birthday (next week). She’s lost so much weight (3 ½ stone) and is looking really good, but her hair was really letting her down as it was such a mess and so out-dated. Although very averse to the idea initially, we finally managed to get Marie round to her place last night and by the end of the evening she had gone from bad condition frizzy hair to slightly shorter but better condition straightened hair, with lovely dark red lo-lights throughout. We had expected floods of tears, but fortunately she loved the cut – so T and I aren’t in the bad books!
No update from me for a few days as tomorrow mum is arriving from Spain and we’re off to stay with Jo for the weekend. The plan is to find Jo a wedding dress, get an outfit for mum and generally have a bit of a girly weekend. Should be good!
For those that are interested in such things here’s the set list. They played the whole of Black Parade and then encored with some of their older, but well loved tracks. The album was played in order (as it should be as a concept album) unfortunately the BBC obviously hadn’t taken this onboard when they filmed the Radio 1 concert on Monday night and so it was rather jumbled. I still have the 3 hour Monday night concert to listen to when I get some time.
Set List
The End
Dead!
This is How I Disappear
The Sharpest Lives
Welcome to the Black Parade
I Don't Love You
House of Wolves
Cancer
Mama
Sleep
Teenagers
Disenchanted
Famous Last Words
I’m Not Okay (I Promise) (Encore)
The Ghost of You (Encore)
Helena (Encore)
On Friday the new landlord and landlady (Mark and Jackie) took over the pub. I was introduced to them on Saturday lunchtime when I went into work and have to admit that contrary to my initial impression of them on the short visit they made last month, they do seem very nice and are obviously very committed to turning the pub around. In fact Mark was already out clearing the rubbish when I arrived and Jackie and her sister have scrubbed everything they could lay their hands on. I also got the gossip about Gary. He was escorted off the premises, having been caught doing major fiddling so I don't suppose we’ll be seeing him again too soon. Obviously only time will tell whether they’ll be OK, but the atmosphere at the pub has improved and everything seems much more positive.
Tina and I decided to pay for Andrea to have a decent hair cut and colour for her birthday (next week). She’s lost so much weight (3 ½ stone) and is looking really good, but her hair was really letting her down as it was such a mess and so out-dated. Although very averse to the idea initially, we finally managed to get Marie round to her place last night and by the end of the evening she had gone from bad condition frizzy hair to slightly shorter but better condition straightened hair, with lovely dark red lo-lights throughout. We had expected floods of tears, but fortunately she loved the cut – so T and I aren’t in the bad books!
No update from me for a few days as tomorrow mum is arriving from Spain and we’re off to stay with Jo for the weekend. The plan is to find Jo a wedding dress, get an outfit for mum and generally have a bit of a girly weekend. Should be good!
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