To Andrew

Happy 2nd Anniversary

with love and hugs

Kirstinxxxxx

Saturday 9th December - Christmas Dinner

6.20 -turkey in over

6.35 - potatoes on hob

7.05 - potatoes in oven

8.00 - pudding on hob
- soup on hob

8.15 - stuffing in oven
- sausages in oven
- potatoes on hob

8.20 - carrots and cauliflower in steamer

8.25 - brocolli in steaner

8.30 - serve soup

8.35 - turkey out

8.40 - peas on hob

8.45 - serve turkey

9.30 - pudding

well apart from forgetting to turn on the steamer and forgetting to put the stuffing in the oven, a sucessful Christmas dinner. Okay so it was a few weeks early but it was nice. And the first time I've cooked for 9!

I think I can wear my domestic goddess apron with pride.

I purposely try not to write about work but.....

I love my new job!

A little worrying

It gets a little worrying when starbucks staff recognise you on the metro and have a conversation with you.

I'm back!

So I'm back from New York and despite having two days of sitting in the house doing not much before going to Glasgow I couldn't really think ok anything to write. The in the small hours of Friday morning, while trying to fall asleep I thought of a wonderfully eloquent piece to blog about New York and thought it all out and decided to blog it on Friday morning before going to Glasgow.

Today while driving home from Glasgow I remembered that I had planned to blog the wonderfully eloquent piece on Friday morning, but can not remember anything about it other than

1. It was wonderfully eloquent (as I have already said a few times)
2. It was about New York.

So that will teach me to stay in bed rather than getting up and blogging the moment inspiration hits me!

my leaving lunch

My leaving lunch was planned for Friday

Unfortunately I was unable to go to work on Friday because I was given eye drops to dilate my pupils and was unable to drive for the rest of the day.

So all my lovely colleagues went out for my leaving lunch - without me!!!

Found it!!!!

Good news

It was on the window sill in the study

Along with the letters for the hospital that I needed on Tuesday and Friday last week but couldn't find! and my degree certificate.

I can go to New York on Friday after all.

Its not in.....

The master bedroom

The intrays on the desk in the study

The folder with important things like Andrew's passport and my out of date passport

The spare bedroom

My boxes of junk that I keep meaning to sort out containing things like payslips

The living room

The dining room

The kitchen

On top of the hifi in the study among Andrew's newspaper cuttings

Well Catherine....... It looks like you might be going to New York alone.......

if I can't find my passport!!!!

Leaving Work

The silly people in my office decided to organise my leaving do without intially consulting me.

Luckily yesterday someone decided to check that I was free on the date that they had all pencilled in - I'm not,I reminded them that I would be flying to New York the day before.

Its a good job they didn't decide to have it as a surprise party, I wouldn't have been there.

Silly people.

2 Weeks to go

Would it be sad to start my travel diary now?

Dear Kitchens Direct

STOP CALLING ME!!!!!

I don't know where you got my number

STOP CALLING ME!!!!

Like a scene from the Godfather

Last week at work I was filling a bucket with soil from my boxes of soil sitting outside the building. I was scooping the soil into my buckets when I spotted some whiskers!!!!!! Cue Kirstin Panic!! Only a momentary panic though, I emptied out my soil and went inside to wash my hands and then found someone to dispose of the animal with whiskers. He moved around the soil and found a freshly killed rabbits head!!!!

It felt like I was in the Godfather (Ok so the rabbit head wasn't in my bed and it wasn't my prized race-rabbit but if still freaked me a little)

I have been assured that it shouldn't been seen as a threat but it was probably a fox storing food.

Introducing.....

Tarquin

He has requested that the writing of the post is orange to match his fur.

Tarquin is our new pet tiger! We bought him in Durham on Saturday and thought he could be a guard tiger, but so far has been cowering upstairs while we've been out.

willing the clock to move

Oh today has dragged so much, the clock seems to be slowing down - but less than 20mins to go till home time.

Now that I'm in my last month here I'm back to the problem I had when I didn't know if my contract was being extended - not enough work to do - so I'm back to doing everything slowly.

But its almost time to go home - 15 mins

Shoe shopping

At the weekend I was shoe shopping, well to be more correct winter boot shopping.

But I think my my legs have shrunk since I last tried to buy knee high boots.

I tried on this pair (top row second from left - directly below the word boots) but my legs were about 2inches too short, and I noticed when they were on the shelf that the size seven was about 2inches longer in the leg than the size 5 next to it. Since when has having size 7 feet meant you are tall.

Then I tried on a nice pair of fly boots but they had an extremely high heel. They were quite tight around the front of my foot but as I walked my heels were too loose, and they were too high at my knee.

Then I tried on a few more pairs all of which came too high to my knee - have my legs shrunk or something.

I am now considering this pair, I saw them in dune but didn't try them on.

How come for years I have never had a problem finding shoes and suddenly none fit. I think a trip to the metro centre may be needed.

Kirstin's Quest For Curls!

Hmmm maybe curls isn't quite the right word, but it sounds better than nice loose waves for the alliteration in the title, although I maybe should have written it Kirstin's Kwest for Kurls.

Anyway, as some of you know - those with curly hair - Catherine, Steph and Esther - I have been quizzing you on how to make my hair work in its natural waves - rather than straightning th life out of it with my GHDs. My main reason for this is myGHDs won't work properly in New York.

The answers I have received have been to put on product on my hair and scrunch dry/diffuse it. So today for the first time I tried and well the result is interesting.

I used Frizz Ease Dream Curls - Curl perfector which according to the bottle Transforms wilted waves & curls into sexy swerves, curves & spirals.

Well I wouldn't say my hair had been transformed into swerves curves or spirals. At most it has managed to for loose waves but the shorter layers didn't really do anything so I had to tie them back into a ponytail.

Any suggestions for how to manage my waves would be greatly appreciated.

Breaking news

Yay!!!

After months (or is it years) of being miserable in my job, and five failed job interviews I have been offered a new job as the Education and Events Officer in Darlington.

Today I had to break the news to Groundwork that despite their "cough" extremenly "cough" generous "cough cough" payrise and extension of my contract for another year, I would be leaving for a well paid, permanent job.

Then after breaking the news they started discussing where and when they should advertise my job to find my replacement - hello I haven't even handed in my notice yet!

Starbucks

Starbucks in Glasgow made the mistake of selling me out of date sandwiches. So I sent a polite email to Starbucks on Monday afternoon informing them of their mistake.

I received a reply on Tuesday morning asking which store had made such a silly mistake and that they would inform the store that they needed to be more careful. And that they would like to send me some vouchers as an apology.

So yesterday I arrived home from work to discover £10 of Starbucks vouchers had arrived in the post!!!

Hmm very tempted to go to Team Valley tonight for a mocha!
(well its been almost 48hrs since I last visited Starbucks)

A big special thanks to ........

REBECCA

Thankyou so much for managing to sort out my flights home from New York, without having to make me pay 100pounds (yes my pound sign is still on holiday)

I now don't have to dash from Heathrow to Gatwick in the 3 hours between landing and departure. Although really it would only be 2 hours since I have to check in 1hour before departure.

Luckily for me (and Catherine) Rebecca (and whoever Catherine spoke to at the STA call centre) phoned American Airlines and got us onto the BA flight from Heathrow because the flight we were actually booked on didn't seem to exist.

Thanks Rebecca!!!!!!

Fish

we got goldfish!

they are called sherbet and barley

sherbet is a lemon goldfish

and barley is an orange goldfish

A moment of clarity

I like it when things suddenly become clear and begin to make sense.

I had a moment like that last night when watching a tv program.

At the start of the program a song was playing about little boxes made of ticky-tacky. And suddenly everything became clear.

Years earlier the youth pastor of my church, Jonie, would talk about little boxes made of ticky-tacky and all look the same. I always thought it was just an obscure youth pastor reference. I never realised it actually came from a song.

Here's the song

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky,
Little boxes, little boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All go to the university,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
And there's doctors and there's lawyers
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf-course,
And drink their Martini dry,
And they all have pretty children,
And the children go to school.
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
And they all get put in boxes
And they all come out the same.

And the boys go into business,
And marry, and raise a family,
And they all get put in boxes,
Little boxes, all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they're all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same.

And its only now that the point Jonie was making (or at least the point I think he was making) becomes clear.

You have to laugh

Running

As some of you know I started running a few weeks ago, well actually eight weeks ago, it started off with running 2mins and then walking 4mins, which to be honest I struggled with but kept going.

I'm now up to running 10mins and walking 2mins! I'm quite impressed by this, but last night Andrew decided to come with me and he managed it!

Its not fair, it has taken me 8 weeks to get up to running for 10mins without collapsing and Andrew can do it the first time he goes running

hmph

Silly computer

My work computer has decided to be very silly, it has lost its pound sign!!! How does a computer manage to loose a pound sign. Instead of a pound I have a #

It has also decided to swap @ and " which has caused a number of problems in sending emails

A few other symbols have swapped too

But the pound sign has vanished

Thursday Morning Fun

After only four hours sleep we had fun negotiating Newcastle Airport on Thursday morning, although it reaqlly wasn't the chaos that the Newcastle Chronicle was reporting.

While standing in the check-in queue we were told by an announcement that with immediate effect no passengers were allowed to carry hand luggage. Ok for the 40minutes from Newcastle to Belfast thats not a huge problem and we quickly stuffed our things into the suitcase.

Then we went to Starbucks and got a mocha and a bottle of water and proceeded to the huge queue to get airside.

I managed to drink my entire drink in the queue it was so long!!!

While standing in the long queue people from further back started walking forwards saying loudly "did they just call the stansted flight?" so everyone for the stansted flight started following them with us standing thinking "we're at the front of the queue and we didn't hear them calling the stansted flight so how on earth did you hear them call the stansted flight" but I'll know or future use that thats a good way of queue jumping!

Got to security and was told that I had to leave behind my SEALED bottle of water that I had bought in the airport I even had a receipt!!! and the reason I wasn't allowed it - well the security man wasn't allowed to tell me!!!! Now remember it was about 6am and no-one had any clue about what was going on because we hadn't seen the news! I personally didn't think it was an acceptable answer but didn't think I'd win the arguement.

Then at the scanning machine thing the women wanted to send us out of security because of Andrew's car key, but after negotiation she let us take the battery out and it was no longer electrical.

However, I do think the airport security made a big oversight in forgetting that watches are electrical!!!! I didn't see them taking anyones watches. And I'm sure watches have been used in the past to detonate bombs, but they allowed the watches on board but not newspapers. I haven't figured out what threat newspapers pose.

But after my previous post about looking forward to New York I'm still looking forward to New York just not the journey because 5 or 6 hours with out a Ipod or a book will be awful.

93!

Its 93 sleeps till I fly to New York, its ages away but I can't stop thinking about it, I've started writing a list of the shops I definately want to visit, and trying to think what Christmas presents I can buy everyone.

It feels like I'm wishing my life away but thinking about New York is one of the few things keeping me going at work each day as the boredom of the office and the temptation to write my resignation letter grows.

Superman Returns

I went to see superman returns and really the only good things about the film were Lois Lane's nice shoes, dress and coat!!!

Sorry Catherine but I really didn't like the film

My first lesson in Bengali

Yesterday I agreed to do a favour for a girl in work

Today I regretted agreeing!!!!

I agreed to go to South Shield Mosque (I didn't even know it existed) and get some forms filled in. Doesn't sound so difficult.

Well I found the mosque - It doesn't really look like a mosque so I'm not surpirsed that I didn't know it was there. I was armed with my forms, plenty of pens and Sarah (because she fancied a trip out of the office)

Well prayer time finished and suddenly I was surrounded my Bangladeshi men asking to fill in my form because they were doing the course. Ok I gave them a each a form.

About 10mins later the interpreter arrived saying oh not all of these people are doing the course

AAaaarrrggghghhh

We then spent the next hour inside the mosque with 4 men arguing in Bengali and occassionally speaking to me. Sarah and I just sat their while they argued and debated - at least that's what I think they were doing because my first lesson in Bengali only taught me one thing - I DON'T UNDERSTAND A WORD OF BENGALI!!!!

More lessons are obviously needed

Domestic Goddess!!!!

I think I am quickly reaching the rank of domestic goddess, what with my kitchen aid mixer and enjoyment of baking.

On Monday night I baked three dozen cupcakes - one dozen chocolate and two dozen vanilla.

I spent hours baking and decorating them, with pretty pastel coloured icing and little sugar flowers.

Unfortunately they were struggling to compete with the more traditional desserts that were also brought to the bbq last night!

And I forgot to take a photo of the cupcakes before they were eaten! Oh well I'll just have to make some more

pretty shoes and sore toes

I got new shoes last week (yes yet another pair) very very pretty red ballet pumps

But

WHY? OH WHY?

Does the prettiness of shoes have a direct correlation to the painfullness of them?

Kirstin's Irrational Fear # 1

Today at the Festival of Nature I had to briefly overcome my irrational fear # 1 which is

MORRIS DANCERS

three entered the marquee I was working in today, and were standing close by, they actually seemed like quite normal people, apart from the bells round their arms and their daft clothes.

I managed not to run out of the marquee screaming - although if they had started to dance I'm not sure what would have happened.

Most people (Andrew and Steph to name a few) find my irrational fear # 1 rather amusing, especially after Andrew practically had to drag me past the Morris Dancers in Durham, I was perfectly happy to walk an extra half mile to get back to the car avoiding the morris dancers (unfortunately Andrew wasn't)

Emotional Wreck!!!!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult has finally been knocked off the top spot in the list of Books that make Kirstin cry.

Last night My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson reached the number one spot on the list I was an emotional wreck as I finished the book.

Some of you may know that I am cold and heartless when I watch sad films, those of you who watched Titanic with me in the cinema will remember that I found the film hilarious, but strangely the rest of the cinema were all sobbing (and a few were pointing out the mistakes in the film, actually I did that too). And as we walked back to the Polleymobile after the film, I turned to Catherine and said "it would have been sadder if the lady had died at the end!" and Catherine replied "she did!!" oops I kinda missed that point of the film and thought it was a strange dream sequence at the end, (I'd probably been watching too much Sunset Beach at the time).

So anyway films rarely make me cry, but with books I can easily turn into an emotional wreck, like I have for the past few days while reading My Best Friend's Girl. It had me crying from near the start of the book and I had to keep holding the book higher and higher to hide my face so the rest of the room couldn't see I was crying. But I really enjoyed the book and would definately recommend it, but beware you'll need to read it in private if you don't like crying in front of people.

Vampires and Demons

Yesterday at Alnwick Garden I learnt a new way to escape from vampires and demons and I feel that for the good of mankind (or at least the 2 or 3 people who read this) I should pass on this knowledge.

You probably didn't know that vampires and demons have a compulsion to count poppy seeds, so you should always carry some poppy seeds with you just in case you should ever find yourself being pursued by a vampire or a demon. If you throw some of the poppy seeds on the ground the vampires and demons will immediately start counting them, and that should keep them busy till Buffy arrives to slay them and gives you the chance to escape.

New York New York

It is 119 sleeps till Catherine and I go to New York. We are booking are hotel tonight yay, I won't have to sleep on the streets for three nights.

Catherine has already planned what she is going to wear, hmm I haven't gone that far but I have been planning my tactical packing.

What is tactical packing? you may ask

Well..... I'm going to pack all my things inside my smallest suitcase and then pack my smallest suitcase into my medium suitcase. That means that when I buy lots of Christmas pressies and clothes and stuff I'll still have space.

My Birthday!!!

Wednesday was my 25th birthday - that feels too old.

Anyway Andrew and I went to London on Tuesday for a Marcus Miller concert, which I didn't really want to go to but the idea of the trip was sold to me as Tuesday night we'd go to the gig and then Wednesday we would do whatever I wanted to do as it was my birthday.

However

On Tuesday evening when Andrew asked had I thought of anything I wanted to do on Wednesday and I suggested the London eye (if it was a nice day), he decided to break the news to me that he had brought a broken bit of camera equipment with him to take to a camera fixing place!!!! so much for me getting to choose what to do on my birthday as cameras rarely feature in my idea of a good birthday. So we decided to go to the camera fixing place first. We got the tube to Vauxhall and then I spotted a Starbucks and sat there drinking my grande skinny no-whip mocha with my book while andrew got his flash gun fixed.

The monster in the corner

There's a monster in the corner of our living room, it's hiding just out of sight behind the armchair. We don't mind it sitting there, as long as it behaves. Its probably choosen that spot because it can read the books on the bookshelf and play monopoly without us noticing.

Unfortunately Nutmeg is not so pleased about the arrival of the monster in the corner, because previously it was her corner, her hiding place where she could sleep undisturbed for hours. But since the monster's arrival on Saturday night she hasn't been keen to go into the corner, she creeps around the chair very slowly ready to run if the monster attacks.

Its very tempting.....

Sitting on reception for the second day I am contemplating (yet again) how I should word my resignation. It is very tempting to write a resignation letter and list all the silly little reasons that are rapidly mounting up. I know, I know a resignation letter should be polite and professional but I have to admit it is tempting.

And I know I wouldn't even put words to paper, just in case that paper fell into the wrong hands and I accidently did resign, for the thought of being unemployed and having to figure out how to claim job seekers allowance is just as scarey as the prospect of being stuck in here for another month.

but people noticed Paul's haircut

How is it that I can get three inches off my hair, a change in parting, and highlights and no-one notices, but paul has his short hair cut slightly shorter and everyone has noticed.

Maybe i should put my invisibility to good use.

no-one noticed!!!!!

No-one in my work noticed my new haircut.

No-one in my work has even been polite enough to say "your hair is nice" since they all knew I was going to the hairdresser even if they didn't like it or think it was any different.

Now I think the lack of long dark roots, loss of three inches in length, dramatic change from centre parting to the side (for the first time ever) and spiral layers created by Jimmy cannot be missed.

Oh well

maybe I've forgotten to take my invisbility cloak off.

Party in the park

On Sunday I was singing with the church music group at the Ponteland party in the park, its a kind of community festival but organised by the churches in Ponteland and they asked us to sing some contemporary worship at the start of the event.

Now I know that some of you reading this who have ever heard me attempting to sing happy birthday to anyone will be horrified to think that I was singing on stage, but those of you who have sung with me in choirs will know that I can sing (as long as I think no-one can hear me).

It was an absolutely gorgeous warm (no actually roasting) day on Sunday and I arrived for the festival and realised we all had individual mikes and that meant I might have to sing on my own for a soundcheck. Time to enter Kirstin panic mode (inwardly of course) I was a little concerned that if anyone heard me attempt to sing on my own that they would be having a quiet word with me that maybe singing on stage with a microphone might not be the best role for me in the group.

Anyway the instruments all got soundchecked and the other singers arrived and we had to go on stage for a soundcheck (more inward panic) and yes we did have to sing individually for the soundcheck and to make matters worse I was mike number 1!!!!!! which you got it meant I had to sing on my own FIRST!!!!!! Here's were the inward panic manifested itself as major giggling with me insisting that there was no way I was singing into the microphone on my own with no music. Everyone else protested that it'd be fine, and so I...................................................................



wussed out and said hello 1.. 2... 3... and that was my sound check!!!!

After that singing with everyone else was absolutely fine (I can sing with other people, I just can't sing on my own) We sang about 4 or 5 songs then had to leave the stage for a minister to open the festival. I was the first off the stage because as it was getting hotter and hotter on stage I was feeling rather odd, I think I might have been feeling faint but I don't really know because I've never fainted before, so I was very quick to leave the stage and sit down. Then we went on stage again and sand 3 more songs before going for lunch.

Dylan's Candy Bar

While browsing a New York guidebook I found www.dylanscandybar.com and think it is definately a place worth a visit when I'm in New York in November. The list of places is rapidly getting longer.

Nutmeg's second post

Hello again,

The computer has been left unattended so I thought I'd tell you to go and look at the infinite cat project www.infinitecat.com I am cat number 764 (I'm looking at a cat that looks very like me)

Meooowwww

Nutmeg's first post

meowww!

Kirstin has left the computer switched on so I thought I'd add a post to the blog she set up for me but keeps hogging and forgetting to let me post.

Today I have been a very busy cat, I have done some sleeping, I woke Kirstin at 9.00am to remind her that even though she is on holiday she does have to get up at some point. Then I did some more sleeping and then I attacked the pattern on the carpet. A very busy day for an elderly pussy cat. After this I'll probably go back to some sleeping.

Love from Nutmeg

(I hope you've noticed that my typing is very good for a cat)

Beautiful Shoes

Yesterday I was wondering round the metrocentre when suddenly a beautiful shoe started calling out to me, telling me I had to buy it and its other half. I was good and resisted (although regret it immensly) but I did visit the shoe three times during the three hours that I was in the metrocentre.

I spent most of my time in the metrocentre trying to justify buying the shoes, but unfortunately couldn't come up with a better reason than they are pretty, which to be honest most of the time that is as good a reason as any for buying new shoes but with my job contract ending in two weeks I didn't think it was adequate.

So for the time being I will continue to long for the beautiful shoes.

Khiels

I have been to Glasgow and now I have restocked my Kiehls Heat-protective silk straightening cream (thankyou Catherine for buying it as my Christmas present) I now have enough to last till I get to New York where every department store stocks Kiehls.

I love Kiehls as they always give you some freebies and in Glasgow they gave me quite generous bottles of shampoo and conditioner.

The mystery of the red paint?!?

Oh it feels so secret seven or famous five to have a title with the word mystery in it.

Well to explain, the mystery of the red paint is the large red scratch that has appeared on the side of my work vehicle. Now before you say anything about my bad driving it wasn't me. I hadn't driven the van in two weeks and then went out to it on Tuesday and discovered the large red scratch on the side, and its not a scratch that could be caused by someone driving into the van. Everyone in the office is denying it, a number of people have been blamed but no-one really knows who did it.

My first post

How exciting, my first post!!! I've just created this while sitting at home bored because we have decorators in plastering our study - at least it gave me a day off work.