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.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
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.
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