we dream so we don't have to be apart

My Little Black Book

2009-01-02T22:17:00.003+01:00

Today I received this little black book

and look what it contains

50p off vouchers for every day of January

Month 6 Newsletter

2008-12-29T13:38:00.006+01:00

Dear Lucy

Now you are 6 months and you have moved into your own bedroom and started solid foods.

So far you like sleeping in your cot at night, it's not a strange room for you because you have had your naps in there since you outgrew your moses basket.

This past month you suddenly learnt to sit up, to start with you could only sit up without help at babysign classes on a Friday, I excitedly got home and started trying to get you to show of your new skill only for you to fall over, but three days later you figured it out at home and stayed sitting long enough to take a photo. Then you perfected the skill while in Northern Ireland for Christmas.

You also celebrated our wedding anniversary by getting your first tooth. You then seemed to be fast getting your next one but it still hasn't arrived yet.

Christmas was a wee bit much for you with all the excitement and presents and people and you found the day very tiring, especially since Santa's reindeer's hooves woke you at 5am on Christmas morning (I suppose you were preparing us for future years).

This is the end of 2008 and I really enjoyed the past 6 months getting to know you and I'm looking forward to watching you grow and learn more and more in 2009.

Love Mummy

Our First Christmas

2008-12-25T20:27:00.000+01:00

Today was our first Christmas as a family. Lucy enjoyed the day but was a little overwelmed by it all, with new sights and sounds. She got lots of fab presents and got to spend the whole service in church. I will add some photos when we get back home as I have no way of putting my photos onto my new macbook!!!

only one more sleep

2008-12-24T21:26:00.002+01:00

It's only one more sleep till Christmas!!! I'm very excited, I've just seen the pile of presents that are sitting waiting for me and I'm intrigued to know whats inside.

oops

2008-12-23T20:38:00.002+01:00

So its now tuesday and I appear to have missed Saturday, Sunday and Monday oops. I do have exuses like travelling across England Scotland and the Irish Sea, catching up with friends and family and having to borrow my parents computer. Today should be Bad decision Tuesday but I don't have any way of transferring my old photos onto mum's laptop so it will just have to be cancelled this week.

Today's excitment

2008-12-19T23:03:00.003+01:00

This morning I was loading the cats into the boot of the car and their cat carrier broke releasing the captives. It was just how I imagined a jail break to be, with both prisoners running in different directions. I was then left wondering which one to go after first, tough choice when two huge cats with very little common sense or co-ordination who have hardly ever been outside in their entire lives ( I can probably count the number of occasions on my two hands) are running around in the street.

This was the first time I ever regretted our choice of names for the cats, I was standing in the middle of the road shouting Merlin! Amadeus! Merlin! Amadeus! Luckily no-one passed in the time I was running around.

Amadeus made it as far as our back garden, tried to climb the wall of the house, failed when gravity and lack of grip took hold and then I grabbed him and put him back in the car. Merlin however had ventured further, I was concerned he had headed to the house with the rottweiler, but fortunately for me he was only in our neighbour's front garden. Although the new sights and smells were too much fun, and I couldn't tempt him to come back over the fence so I had to go into the garden and crawl under the conifer trees to grab him. Got them loaded back into the car and then finally left the house 20 minutes late.

Four Years Ago

2008-12-18T10:01:00.002+01:00

Happy anniversary Andrew

xxxx

Pet Rocks

2008-12-17T09:45:00.003+01:00

Last night, in an attempt to declutter our house, we were discussing what could be removed from the living room and the two rocks sitting on our hearth got mentioned. I suggested that maybe we could move our pet rocks to the garden, Andrew looked agast and said he was rather fond of his. I replied that I was also rather fond of mine.

When I began to think about it I realised I had had my pet rock for over 10 years. It went London with me, for my gap year, and then spent four years with me at university before coming to live on the hearth here. I even remember when I found it, I was walking with some friends through Broadlands (I think) in Carrick heading to the Doherty's house for a Holiday Bible Club planing meeting.

Its stange the things we pick up on life's journey and just don't want to put down.

Bad decision Tuesday # 3 denim

2008-12-16T23:59:00.000+01:00

You may wonder how denim can be a bad decision - but take a look at the photo, this much denim is a very bad decision.

- Stonewash jeans
- Stonewash levi jacket
- and a stonewash bag made from an old pair of stonewash jeans

Are you spotting a theme here?

The redeeming decisions in the photo include my necklace and that I'm not the person wearing the huge summer mission t-shirt.

I'm not even sure my white crop top is a bad decision (although I wouldn't wear it now) I had a very flat tummy back in 1997, and it shows that my skin has a hint of colour and is not pure white after 2.5 weeks in France.

A photo-story for Monday

2008-12-15T21:22:00.005+01:00

Christmas Spirit

2008-12-14T16:01:00.000+01:00

I have been seriously lacking in the Christmas spirit this year, but it has been gradually returning with the help of a carol service with Lucy and her friends, listening to carols on Songs of Praise (yes I am officially old) and finally with the watching of Miracle on 34th Street. It tugged on the heart strings when Santa Claus started to sign to the little deaf girl, and how the little girl ended the film believing in santa.

I think the Christmas spirit has finally returned to me.

Classics

2008-12-13T17:33:00.000+01:00

Recently I have started to feel like my reading is becoming a bit bleugh (I use bleugh because I can't think of an appropriate word).

I think I should read some classics, but I need some suggestions.

My Little Pudding

2008-12-12T20:01:00.002+01:00

This morning I spent the day with an adorable, cuddlable little Christmas Pudding. I don't like Christmas puddings but this one was lovely.

life imitating art

2008-12-11T22:29:00.002+01:00

Yesterday evening reminded me of a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, but on the off chance that Bill Waterson reads my blog I decided that I wouldn't photograph the strip to put on my blog and would just describe it.

Calvin : I'm thinking of a number between one and seven hundred billion. Try to guess it.
Hobbes : Eleven
Calvin : Nope. Guess again.
Hobbes : Six million and four.
Calvin : Nope. Guess again.

Hobbes looks unimpressed

Calvin : What's the matter, don't you like games??

I was quite glad to find it on page 416 of my Calvin and Hobbes collection, and I didn''t have to look through all 1453 pages of cartoons.

Woo Hoo

2008-12-10T13:16:00.000+01:00

I'm very excited because on the 3rd of July I will be seeing Blur in Hyde Park.

Woo Hoo

Bad Decision Tuesday # 2

2008-12-09T21:16:00.003+01:00

Well this one is so bad I can't even think of a way to describe it succintly for the title. It is the annual photo my nana took of me every summer and I'm not quite sure when the picture was taken, but I would guess summer 1993 or 1994 (which would make me 12 or 13). I base this guess on the length of my hair, the thickness of my fringe and the glasses.

Well I think the entire ensemble is a catalogue of bad decisions, the flowery dungarees and the white body (yes it is a body - you know a leotard type thing that has poppers under the crotch) are both from Tammy Girl (I know its just called Tammy, but back then it was Tammy Girl) Strangely the dungarees give me enormous hips which I'm pretty sure I didn't have back then, I don't appear to have done anything with my hair and the fringe is attrocious, prior to that I had a really thick fringe but when I started grammar school I grew out half of it to make it a thinner fringe which is what you can see in the picture. In 1995 I made a good decision which was to get rid of the fringe completely. Even now when I go to the hairdressers I always say I don't want a fringe.

And finally the glasses, what can I say, everyone who is short sighted must have had the same problem. You get your eyes tested and then you choose new glasses but because you can't see you have to trust the opinion of your mum and the optician trying to sell the frames. Two weeks later when the glasses are ready you try them on and you actually see what you look like, but by that time its too late. (I now always wear my contacts when choosing new glasses.)

Pampered

2008-12-08T19:40:00.002+01:00

Today I have been pampered and it was lovely.

Andrew and Lucy bought me a gift voucher for a spa as my birthday present and today I cashed it in. I had a Thalgo Thalgomince LC24 Contouring Wrap.

I got exfoliated and massaged and wrapped up in foil. I even had a head massage while I was wrapped in foil.

The massage was very vigorous and I do wonder if I'll have any bruises tomorrow (it was slightly strange to pay someone to beat me up.

The only thing that ruined it slightly was I didn't put enough money on the parking in the car and to prevent getting a ticket I had to ask the girl massaging me to pass me my phone so I could text andrew. I then left the spa and started sprinting to get to the car before a traffic warden.

To Blame

2008-12-07T22:24:00.002+01:00

I feel I may be to blame for the snowy weather we had last week. About two weeks ago I announced that I wanted to emmigrate to somewhere with proper seasons - hot summer and cold winter not English bleugh.

One week later we suddenly have snow and quite a lot of it.

Exhausted

2008-12-06T20:59:00.000+01:00

I'm tired

That Christmas Feeling

2008-12-05T21:40:00.002+01:00

Andrew announced a few weeks ago that it now felt like Christmas because he had seen the coke advert.

Then a week later he announced that it now felt like Christmas now he had heard Fairy tale in New York.

(I kindly pointed out after the second comment that it had already felt like Christmas when he had seen the coke advert)

However I haven't really had that Christmas feeling yet, our tree is being put up, I've been singing carols for weeks, and the Christmas shopping is done, but somehow it doesn't really feel Christmasy yet. Maybe its time for me to remember the true meaning of this time of year rather than the commercial and secular trappings that are associated with it.

Snowy Day

2008-12-04T22:33:00.004+01:00

Its been very snowy lately, most days we have woken up to find a thin layer of snow that then quickly melted during the morning, however today snow was falling when I got up at 7 and didn't stop till after lunch. This snow falling on top of the compacted snow from the previous day made driving quite difficult, luckily I didn't have to go out this morning but tomorrow I do so if it snows again tonight or the ridges of snow and gullies of slush in the road has frozen I think I will be getting the bus.

Random Giraffe Facts

2008-12-03T21:39:00.003+01:00

As the newest addition to our household is Hopscotch the giraffe I found a fun website specially for him - random giraffe facts - so today's random giraffe fact is

When giraffes were first brought to Rome in 46 B.C., they were thought to be as big as a camel, with spots like a leopard. Although we've long since learned the giraffe is not a combination of these animals, the name scientific name camelopardalis stuck.

Bad Decision Tuesday # 1 How to ruin a nice dress

2008-12-02T20:40:00.006+01:00

I have decided to do a bad decision tuesday a la Nothing But Bonfires. I may come to regret this decision but I thought I would start with a gentle one.

In case you aren't sure I am the second girl from the left. This picture was taken December 1998, when I was 17. We are all dressed up with sparkles and feather boas for our school formal. You may look at the photo and wonder what the problem is, well I was so self concious in my pretty dress (a nice bias cut midnight blue velvet dress from whistles) that we bought on a shopping trip to London so that no-one had a dress like mine - I know there is a whistles in Belfast now but there wasn't in 1998 - that I hid it behind a large royalish blue scarf that I had borrowed from a friend (thank you Catherine). So the result in this photo (and many others from the night) is that I look like a really skinny girl in quite a boring royalish blue dress rather than how I should have looked which can be seen in the photo below.

Month 5 Newsletter

2008-12-01T17:25:00.004+01:00

Dear Lucy

Now you are 5 months old, and you seem to be growing up so so fast. You have started to reach and grab at things, but your lack of balance means you still need to be held.

You have also started to take a big interest in what we are eating and drinking, you watch us so carefully that I think you are plotting and one day will reach out and grab the chocolate / biscotti / coffee that we are just about to put in our mouths and gobble it up. Or possibly you're just watching us so you know what to do when I decide you are ready for something more interesting than milk.

While your daddy was away in London you worked out how to roll from your back to your front and then about a week later managed to roll the other way (although you still don't do it very often) now I regularly have to roll you back to your back when you get frustrated at being on your front.

You really enjoy being taken out for walks in your pram now as we changed it from the carrycot to the pushchair. I was supposed to wait till you are 6 months but after walking up 2 mornings in a row to find snow on the ground I decided it was time to get you all snug in the fleecy footmuff of the pushchair and you love it. You can see all round you and talk to me as we go out for walks and you can even sit with us in starbucks as we enjoy our drinks.

Two weeks ago a new friend arrived, and he goes everywhere with us. Where lucy goes so does hopsotch. Our cute yellow giraffe.

Love Mummy

xxx

My new game

2008-11-07T17:37:00.002+01:00

Today while driving home from baby sign I came up with a new car game which is far better than pub cricket (useless on motorways) and the game my parents and I played where you try to think of a word that contains the last 3 letters on an English registration in the order they appear (and preferably without other letters inbetween them) - can you tell that my parents are teachers. This game doesnt really work with Northern Irish registations which often contain a Z.

So my new game (which still needs a name) is far more fun, and its really simple, you can play it on your own although I'm sure it would be far more fun with other people in the car as Lucy doesn't really say much and is staring out the back window because she is too young to be forward facing. Ok so its simple you are driving along and you see the name of a company on the side (or back) of a lorry or van and you have to come up with what the company does based on its name.

Today I was driving behind Safe Strip UK.

I think it sells health and safety equipment to strippers!! things like non-slip stillettos, poles with good grip etc.

And one I regularly see on the motorways - Christian Salvesen - I think it supplies Christian Slaves.

See its a fun game, I'll have to try it out when I have company other than Lucy in the car. Let me know what companies you see on your travels.

Month 4 Newsletter

2008-11-04T10:21:00.004+01:00

Dear Lucy

You are now four months old! Woo Hoo we've survived another month!!

You have spent the past month trying to roll from your back onto your front, but you still haven't quite got there. About a week ago your daddy charged the video camera and left it sitting near your playmat so I could video you rolling if you rolled while he was at work, but we're still waiting and the video camera isn't there any more, looks like it got bored waiting.

We've been going to baby sign for a few weeks now and you love it, I'm not sure you're picking up any of the signs yet but you love the singing. So now I spend most of my days singing with you, and you seem to be joining in more and more. Its just slightly unfortunate for me that you like Christmas carols, its only October and we've been singing Hark the Herald Angels and Once in Royal David's City together on a daily basis.

Earlier this month you noticed the cats, and you laughed at them, you laughed at them so much you cried, a quick cuddle sorted that. Luckily the cats didn't take it personally that you were laughing at them and one of them will still patrol outside the bedroom door keeping you safe at night.

Each day I enjoy getting up early to see you smile (previously nothing but an early morning flight would get me out of bed before 7) but its nice to see your smiles in the morning, and I hope I will see more of them as you get older.

Love Mummy xxxx

Dear Gok

2008-10-22T09:32:00.003+01:00

I usually like your programmes however last night your new Gok's Miss Naked Beauty was atrocious.

Where did you find your collection of weird girls who are so insecure they can't look at themselves in a mirror without their make-up on, although I do wonder how they manage to put their make-up on in the first place. And it seems a tad daft to send a fully made up Mylene to talk to a girl who is in tears because someone might see them without make-up. I think it would be a great improvement to the show to have Mylene make-up-less as well.

I'm also a bit confused as to what you are looking for because your girls seem to be a bit of a mixture.

Is it someone very insecure who you can convince they are beautiful without their make-up?
Or is it someone who is already happy with their appearance whether they have make-up on or not?

You chucked out anyone who had had plastic surgery, then you made everyone remove their make-up, get rid of their piercings, but you didn't send home the girls who have coloured their hair.

Really if you want natural beauty you need to find someone who doesn't wear make-up, doesn't cut, colour or style their hair, and doesn't shave, but is happy with their appearance. But I don't think they would make a terribly good cover girl and with the prize being a years contract with a model agency I don't really think that person will win.

Best Wishes

K x

Month 3 Newsletter

2008-10-03T12:41:00.002+01:00

Dear Lucy

I had planned to write a month 1 and month 2 newsletter but somehow we got to month 3 without me writing anything so I thought I better get it done before its time for month 4!!!

You are a lovely beautiful little girl, full of burbles and smiles. You have even laughed - although only in Northern Ireland so your daddy hasn't heard you laugh yet. The third time you laughed it was at yellow, not a yellow object, just the colour yellow. You have really taken a liking to yellow and will smile at it everytime you see it, your uncle's t-shirt, the back of your cookery book.

In your three months you have met many different people and you have been on 5 easyjet flights. On your first flight when you were three weeks old there was a boy in the row in front of us who was on his second flight ever aged 17 (his first flight had been 2days earlier) and there you were on your first flight aged three weeks.

I've enjoyed these past three months getting to know you and I'm looking forward to the rest.

Love Mummy

The Problem With Blogs

2008-09-30T17:36:00.002+01:00

While chatting to an American women yesterday, I asked where in America she was from. She replied Chicago. I almost said "Oh I have a friend who lives there" before I realised that no I don't have a friend who lives there I just read a blog of someone who lives there.

Maybe its time to interact with real live humans rather than reading blogs.

Dear Coppermoon

2008-09-16T20:23:00.000+01:00

All is forgiven, thank you for my Matt and Nat Bag

shoes

2008-09-04T20:24:00.002+01:00

I have found the most amazing pair of shoes, so if anyone is feeling generous this Christmas (yes I know its only september) I wear a size 7 and they are by Christian Louboutin!

who'd've thought

2008-08-22T17:27:00.002+01:00

Who'd've thought that I could produce something as beautiful as this....

decisions decisions

2008-07-23T16:01:00.004+01:00

we are going to a wedding in a months time and i can't decide what to wear, i'm quite looking forward to going to the wedding and getting dressed up for the first time in months now that i fit into normal clothes again, and since i had to miss the last wedding i was invited to because at 38 weeks pregnant i really didn't have anything to wear.

i have a few options as to my attire for the day

1. black and white coast dress - worn to two weddings last year

2. blue and white karen millen dress - worn a few times on holiday in toronto

3. buy something new

lucy will be wearing this lovely monsoon dress,

so if anyone would like to help me make the decision please leave a comment, and no matter what dress i decide on i could also do with some help shopping for either a new dress or new accessories while i'm in northern ireland in august.

The nursery

2008-06-03T16:04:00.004+01:00

Here are some pictures of the nursery, just waiting for the furniture and baby to arrive! I surprised Andrew with my both my curtain making and painting skills! Unfortunately there was a small incident when the first pot of paint I opened exploded over the desk, computer and new carpet!!!! typically it was the bright red paint that I opened first.

you would think..

2008-06-03T16:01:00.002+01:00

that having finished work four weeks ago I would have plenty of time to blog, and well to be honest I probably do have plenty of time, just a huge lack of inspiration.

For Catherine

2008-05-24T12:55:00.003+01:00

I spotted these boyfriend jeans in next and thought they looked quite nice and I knew you were looking for a pair.

whoops forgot to rotate it. Sorry about the awful picture I had to take a photo of the next directory.

hmmm ideas needed

2008-05-03T21:31:00.003+01:00

i need some ideas for how to fill the next few weeks before the bump turns into a real baby

so far my plans include

fly to northern ireland
get hair done
see victoria square
fly back to newcastle
parentcraft classes
seth lakeman concert
a free concert at the sage

but that only takes me up to the end of may - I still have june to fill so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

fashion???

2008-04-16T16:34:00.003+01:00

While in Covent Garden on Monday I wandered into Oasis and spotted this dress (I was so horrified I had to take a picture)

Is this or is this not the summer dress of Carrick Model Primary School?

Back again

2008-04-16T16:26:00.002+01:00

I was horrified to realise how long it had been since I last blogged so here I am back again.

While I was in London I was a bit bored in my hotel room so I took some bump pictures. here I am at 28 weeks and 2 days.

introducing.......

2008-02-25T21:50:00.002+01:00

Bump!!

It's cold

2008-02-23T10:50:00.002+01:00

half way there

2008-02-17T16:41:00.005+01:00

I have now passed the 20 week mark of my pregnancy which means there is less than 20 weeks till my birthday (oops I mean due date). I had my second scan and the baby is fine!! yay!

We haven't bought much for the baby yet
just some flipper slippers

and mum bought this lovely sign for the nursery door

confusing

2008-01-23T18:47:00.000+01:00

on monday i woke to hear this report on the radio one news, well infact i just heard coffee increases miscarriage risk and pregnant women should not have coffee. my thought was typical!!! i've just started drinking coffee again. then when i got to work and read the report it was only in the first 12 weeks and i more or less abstained in the first 12 weeks (although not by choice).

yesterday i read this report in the mail and it all became very confusing

monday i'm told not to drink coffee and on tuesday i'm told to drink more coffee!!!!!!

and the coffee smells good!!!

2008-01-17T17:03:00.000+01:00

Finally!!!!

after two months of feeling sick at even the thought of drinking a starbucks, i can drink coffee again. and i'm enjoying it. I am trying hard not to get addicted like before, but it smells and tastes good

i have to say during November and December I was shocked at how few people commented on or queried my sudden dislike ofstarbucks and how when they did they were satisfied with the excuse of "i had so many i have sickened myself of them" when really it was one of my food aversions brought on by early pregnancy.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-20T19:42:00.001+01:00

improvements in technology - or maybe not

2007-11-24T18:52:00.000+01:00

i can remember being told that in victorian times the toilets on trains were just holes that went straight down onto the tracks and you weren't allowed to use the toilet while at a station. well we are over 100 years since the end of victorian times and i had assumed that technology would have improved.

but on wednesday after i had arrived in king's cross and was walking down the platform to head for the tube i noticed a sign saying "please do not flush the train toilets when at a platform as they flush onto the tracks" and i was a bit shocked. i had thought that nowadays when you flushed a train toilet it would be stored somewhere and then discharged somewhere and taken to a sewage plant - but no it just goes onto the tracks!!!!

not a grinch

2007-11-21T09:37:00.000+01:00

I was planning a grinch like post but after some others beat me to it I decided that I would not be a grinch so

Yay its almost Christmas and the people behind us have already got their Christmas lights up!!!

yay!!!!

this time last year!

2007-11-10T18:39:00.000+01:00

this time last year...
i was full of excitement

this time last year...
i was boarding a plane in newcastle

this time last year...
i was ushing through heathrow

this time last year...
i was flying to new york

this time last year...
i was loving manhatten

this time last year...
i was with a good friend

this time last year...
i was surprised at the warmth

this time last year...
i was missing andrew

this time last year...
i was standing in line

this time last year...
i was drenched by the rain

this time last year...
i was enjoying the music

a sad sad day!

2007-10-30T17:06:00.000+01:00

today i had to say goodbye to my fiesta, and i'm quite surprised at how sad i was to leave it behind. now its not like i lovingly cared for, and washed it every week - to be honest i only washed it four times in the two years that i owned it.

we decided a few months ago to get rid of one car as we weren't using the two cars as much as we used to and it was probably my suggestion to get rid of the car because it will save us quite a bit each month not filling it with petrol, the monthly payments and insurance - but i was still sad to say goodbye to it. i felt like i was abandoning it up in north tyneside.

at the same time as abandoning my car i got to experience a car auction - lots of spides (and a few dodgy looking second hand car salesmen) looking at cars as they revved the engines. i think i was probably the best dressed person there and despite me feeling extremely out of place wandering through a car auction no-one else seemed to notice me - as i waslked in i was expecting everyone to turn and stare (i really didn't fit in - for three reasons 1 - i'm not a spide, 2- i'm not a dodgy second hand car sales man and 3- i was female) but strangely it didn't happen they were all too engrossed in the cars.

building anfield

2007-10-27T17:33:00.000+01:00

last week was andrew's birthday, and he requested an anfield birthday cake. i had already decided to bake him a football pitch cake so this confirmed that i had decided on the right cake. here is the result of the cake - complete with a liverpool football team!!!

you'll all be glad to know

2007-10-26T21:38:00.000+01:00

I found a coat!!!! and it's purple!!!!

(this was the best picture despite having a bit of the mantlepiece in the corner)

thankyou esther but... (#2)

2007-10-26T21:29:00.000+01:00

I don't like the collar

thankyou esther but....

2007-10-26T21:24:00.000+01:00

it has a belt and very shiny buttons

long cold winter

2007-10-20T20:13:00.000+01:00

i think it is going to be a long cold winter.....

i spent this afternoon trawling round the shops in newcastle looking for a winter coat and couldn't find one...

its mid october and i am still only wearing a fleece or jumper (plus a scarf) when i go out i'm not sure how much longer i'll last

any suggestions of nice coats would be greatly appreciated - especially in red!

I just thought you might like to know

2007-10-10T22:01:00.000+01:00

To the girl in the grey t-shirt we saw on Old Elvet on Saturday night, I thought I should tell you (because your so-called friends didn't) that YOU FORGOT YOUR JEANS!!!

cup-a-cake

2007-10-05T20:15:00.000+01:00

well done catherine, you are correct!!!! it is a cup-a-cake for holding individual cupcakes without wrecking the frosting!!! how fab is that!!!! The only small problem is my cupcakes appear to be slightly larger than the cupcakes it is designed to hold.

Forgotten

2007-10-04T22:55:00.000+01:00

the title of this post isn't actually in relation to the fact that i have not blogged in over a month!

in toronto in july I got very excited when i found this small blue plastic piece of kitchen equipment. i insisted that it was an essential bit of kitchen kit! You may ask what it is (which andrew did when i found it in williams and sonoma) but i think it might be more fun to let you guess.

That Friday Feeling

2007-10-04T18:46:00.000+01:00

today really felt like a friday

but it's not

its only thursday so i still have to go in to work tomorrow

Running achievements!!!

2007-08-22T21:19:00.000+01:00

I know others who read this blog are training for a half marathon and can run far further than me but I'm proud of myself for these two running achievements.

1. On Sunday I ran for 40mins and my distance was 4.5miles. (At 29mins 08secs my endorphins kicked in and I actually began to enjoy myself.)

2. The Sunday before I went for a short run and managed my best times for a mile
my first mile was in 8min!!!!!!!
my average speed per mile was 81/2mins!!!!!

I'm going running tomorrow after work (unless its a really hot day and then I'll leave it till Friday morning) so lets see what I manage then.

No I'm not Scottish / Welsh / Canadian / American - I'm NORTHERN IRISH

2007-08-22T21:14:00.000+01:00

Today I someone said to me

"Its obvious you're Scottish, but which area are you from?"

A few weeks ago when a friend arrived at the house the kids down the road said to him

"we don't know who lives there, but they're Welsh!"

A while ago when I had to show my passport as proof of id in my building society the cashier said

"Its a Canadian passport then?"

And years back when on my gap year I was asked

"you're not from these shores?"

I replied no (because well I'm not from England so technically not the shores in the country we were in at the time) and the next question was

"so what state are you from?"

Amadeus

2007-08-04T22:08:00.000+01:00

Merlin

2007-08-04T22:05:00.001+01:00

can't even escape it in canada

2007-07-27T16:27:00.000+01:00

my northern irish roots were obviously visible when i booked my holiday - i would be abroad over the 12th july even though i don't live in northern ireland anymore. imagine the shock we had in toronto when walking through downtown on saturday 14th july to discover this

your not exactly a looker yourself? are you?

2007-07-20T21:08:00.002+01:00

this conversation (although slightly one sided to be called a conversation maybe more of a monologue) overheard in a toronto restaurant last week made me giggle.

sitting at the table next to us were two old men, i'd be tempted to call them elderly but maybe not quite that old. anyway one of them - who looked like he was trying to model himself on peter stringfellow was talking about this fabulous old lady who had lots of plastic surgery and looked beautiful but had a fat an ugly daughter. in his opinion this fabulous old lady should disown the daughter for being fat and ugly!!!!!! i was sitting eating my meal wondering if he had looked in the mirror recently

I'm Back

2007-07-20T21:08:00.001+01:00

Well I think the title says it all

finally

2007-07-05T21:56:00.001+01:00

at long last

after 5 perfomances

and reading the online cliff notes

i understand the tempest!!!

after the 4th performance that i sat through confused i googled it to find out what was really going on

now i get it and have enjoyed 2 more performances

only 2 performances to go before toronto!!!!!

Spice Girls

2007-06-24T22:45:00.000+01:00

Apparently this was not meant to be an insult

While sitting with two of my female friends, Ben came over and said "this isn't meant to be an insult but.... you three and C remind me of the Spice Girls."

This lead to him being asked why? how was it not an insult? and did he want to borrow a shovel?

The European Monsoon, Meese and Snowflakes

2007-06-23T22:08:00.000+01:00

apparently this weird wet weather we are having is not unusual and happen every june and is known as the european monsoon. this monsoon brought a herd of meese to my house today.

i didn't have to work for my seventh day in a row because of the flooding and decided to bake meese and snowflakes - and they are very tasty

Danger Night....

2007-06-23T16:01:00.000+01:00

at the hopins

when i was invited to go to DANGER NIGHT at the hopins i had absolutely no idea what claire was talking about - after a few moments of claire repeating the phrase DANGER NIGHT at the hopins and me looking back at her blankly she explained its the fair in exhibition park. and the reason for it being DANGER NIGHT is because it was the first night - so everything might fall apart.

So we went with some other friends as well and had good fun, but we all felt a bit out of place - we were all too old, had no toddlers with us and forgot to wear our velour tracksuits!

Midsummer's Night

2007-06-21T22:33:00.001+01:00

it was nice to be driving home from work at 9.50pm in daylight. i had just been watching an outdoor, promenading performance of a midsummer night's dream on midsummer's night.

homesickness

2007-06-20T22:15:00.000+01:00

its rare hat i feel homesick but today i got it bad. i was close to tears driving home from work missing the friends i had so much fun with last weekend and i probably won't see for quite some time, busy lives and a few hundred miles get in the way.

I'm not lost - just undiscovered

2007-06-19T22:50:00.000+01:00

On the way home from work in the car today the song (that I don't know the title of or the artiste) with the line "I'm not lost! Just undiscovered!" was playing on the radio. Every time I hear it it reminds me of a youth fellowship summer outing years ago....

We were all walking from Whitehead to Blackhead lighthouse. Catherine and I decided to take a short cut / alternative route to the lighthouse. After sitting at the lighthouse for quite some time the rest of the group never appeared so we headed back to Whitehead. On arrival at the carpark everyone laughed at us because we got lost - but Catherine and I kept insisting "we weren't lost! just they didn't know where we were! we knew exactly where we were.

Scary - Moi???

2007-06-18T21:30:00.000+01:00

I have never considered myself as a particularly scary person, but on Saturday night it transpired that I once was. Even now looking back I don't think I was any more scary or angry that any other teenager. But some people think I was.

On Saturday night while out for dinner with Mr and Mrs C I was being accused of having broken Mrs C's bath 8 years ago (back when Mrs C was Miss T). I have no memory of this event but according to them they (and another friend) had decided it would be funny to put me fully clothed in the bath and when Mr C put his foot on my head to push me into the bath I lost it!!!

My response to this was "well if that is what happened I'm not surprised I lost it"

and in allegedly losing it I allegedly broke the side of the bath.

I still have no memory of this incident (obviously too traumatic for my brain to cope with)

Then Mrs C said "you've got to admit you were kinda scary back then when you lost your temper"!!!!

I won

2007-06-17T21:35:00.000+01:00

Yay

I've managed to blog before Catherine and Esther today!!!!

We have to blog everyday from today till next Sunday and I have blogged first today!!!!

The pain of vanitiy

2007-05-21T21:24:00.000+01:00

On Friday night we were out at a ball and I wore my wedding shoes (well wedding strappy sandals) and they KILLED my feet.

I have worn these shoes four times in total
#1 wedding day - I wore them all day not a problem
#2 friend's hen night - not really any problems
#3 andrew's work ball - I fell down the stairs in them because I couldn't walk in them
#4 work ball on friday night - I could hardly walk, particularly when it came to walking across the gravel carpark to get to my car (oh I was glad I had brought my uggs to drive in!!!!!

I don't think I'll be wearing them again

Metamorphosis

2007-05-05T22:40:00.002+01:00

our back yard is slowly turning into a garden, we now have grass and the beginning of a rockery.

Bored

2007-05-05T22:40:00.001+01:00

Match of the day is on and I'm bored!!!

Amadeus

2007-04-22T19:07:00.000+01:00

The latest addition to our family was born today, although he won't come to live with us until the end of July. His name is Amadeus and he is a black and white Norwegian Forest Cat. He was only 12hrs old when we met him today.

Introducing

2007-04-21T19:47:00.000+01:00

Our new kitten, he doesn't have a name yet, suggestions welcomed.

The last kiss

2007-04-19T18:32:00.000+01:00

No-one told me it wasn't a romantic comedy....

Nutmeg

2007-04-12T18:50:00.000+01:00

Nutmeg died on Good Friday. The house is now very quiet without her.

That's not how we practised!

2007-04-02T21:30:00.000+01:00

Into riff x 2
Verse
Chorus
Verse
Chorus
Bridge
Bridge split - men sing bridge, women sing chorus
Bridge split no instruments

well that was how it was meant to go

however

Intro riff x 1
verse
chorus
verse
chorus
bridge
bridge split - men sing bridge women sing chorus
bridge - piano solo (singers standing in mute silence)

As I sat down I muttered to the trumpeter "that wasn't how we practised"

Juicy Moosey

2007-03-31T18:45:00.000+01:00

Guess where we were #2

2007-03-31T18:37:00.000+01:00

Here are the photos!

Where are we?

2007-03-31T18:18:00.000+01:00

Guess where we were on Thursday - here are the photos

language barrier

2007-03-31T17:07:00.000+01:00

When I went away for my course for a few weeks, I was exhaust when I arrived, then recovered during he week, but was exhausted again by the end of it.

On the first night I was sitting in the lounge with all the others on the course and two of them were chatting about the desserts they had eaten at dinner time, however I was struggling to understand the conversation, and I only knew they were talking about desserts because I heard the words "lemon sponge" but apart from that I couldn't understand any other words.

I put it down to tiredness

A few days later I discovered they were both from north Wales and Welsh was their first language.

I was relieved to realise that I wasn't losing the ability to understand English.

woo hoo I'm back!

2007-03-24T23:48:00.000+01:00

Don't worry!! I am still alive

a week without internet access has left me unable to blog or post photos on Flickr

I returned yesterday to over 200 emails that I didn't read from the durham freecycle site, they still send me emails even though I tried to unsubscribe weeks ago. after I deleted them all I tried to unsubscribe again, and I haven't checked my emails since to see if it worked this time.

2007-03-17T23:54:00.000+01:00

I got a catalogue through the post during the week. I was a bit disappointed with the clothes in it, but one page particularly amused me...

I couldn't understand why they had put this dress in the catalogue, or why the buyer for the company still has a job.

The model wearing the dress looks like she's wearing a geometric print sack - so what on earth would any normal woman look like in it. here's the link

St Patricks Day

2007-03-17T23:50:00.000+01:00

Its St Patrick's Day today, not that you could have missed it living here in England.

Strangely enough the patron saint of Ireland gets more of a celebration here than their own saint - George (just in case you didn't know who the patron saint of England was) gets celebrated.

I walked passed O'Neils Irish Bar today at about 3.30 - there was a queue outside! with the bouncers saying they were full.

In Newcastle there was a St Patricks party going on at monument

The english seem to be becoming very american with their celebration of St Patricks Day, and unless Northern Ireland has changed since I last lived their I bet lots of English people would be disappointed at the lack of celebrations going on there.

tired tired tired

2007-03-17T23:48:00.000+01:00

I've spent most of this week in a little daze, I've been so busy its left meexhausted.

On Wednesday I managed to miss my junction on the motorway on my way to work, i've been driving the same route to work for the past four months!!! but yet I miss the junction.

Well its now the weekend and I've been enjoying being less busy!

Low Speed Police Chase

2007-03-17T23:39:00.000+01:00

a stolen jcb digger with a top speed of 20mph led 5 police cars and a helicopter in a 13mile chase. it stopped when it reached a dead end in the centre of darlington

I think the police might have been bored on the sunday afternoon and thats why the five cars and one helicopter were needed.

Hardy north east girl - not quite yet

2007-03-09T18:47:00.000+01:00

Yesterday while I was walking into town for my lunch break I had a slightly scary realisation that I was turning into a hardy north east girl!

Why?

Because I had left the office without my coat!!!

But when I was walking towards cafe nero I passed a girl who was just wearing jeans and a vest - I was wearing trousers, shirt and fleece jumper.

So I breathed a sigh of relief that I'm not yet a hardy north east girl

Lent

2007-03-02T23:34:00.001+01:00

Lent is officially over!!

Well to me it is!

I decided that it was pointless giving up chocolate, I wasn't suffering, and well I was a bit bored of trying to find other things to snack on. It did take me almost a day to decide to start eating chocolate again, I wasn't just succumbing to a craving, I contemplated it for a long time.

Up to date

2007-02-24T20:44:00.000+01:00

My flickr is now up to date with all my photos of the day!!!

Finally!

2007-02-24T18:54:00.000+01:00

I've finally figured out how to link my flickr photos to my blog yay!!!

Now you can check my photo a day, although I still have to upload quite a few.

2007-02-24T18:36:00.000+01:00

Kirstin standing holding a 4ft pole

Teenage boy sleazely "my stick's longer than that!"

Kirstin, looking bored and rolling eyes, "I seriously doubt that."

interesting

2007-01-31T23:04:00.000+01:00

I think thats the best way to describe the past few days

Bit Too Quiet

2007-01-28T21:35:00.000+01:00

I've been a bit too quiet on here recently, I haven't really had anything interesting to write about.... and then Thursday happened.....

At work on thursday afternoon I had been out planting trees (52 to be precise) and I went back to the office and immediately smelt smoke!!!! No-one else was in the building (but well there are only 5 of us based there anyway) and started searching for the fire. I couldn't find it so I went outside, found my boss and informed him. He also could smell smoke (it wasn't me going mad or anything). I wen outside to check the back yard and realised the smoke was coming through an air vent. Ran round to the public toilets and discovered a burning toilet roll!!!!!!! I then had to figure out how to put it out, so ended up flinging water across the toilets from the sink to the loo-roll until the fire was out.

I have also now updated my photos on flickr - I did take them each day I just didn't get round to uploading them

sale shopping

2007-01-02T22:01:00.000+01:00

I decided today I am really bad at sale shopping

I walked into Next in the Metro Centre and started looking at some nice clothes, and realised I had walked straight through the sale section and was looking at the clothes that were the new season stock.

Oh well

a photo a day!

2007-01-01T23:33:00.000+01:00

I've decided to try a take at least one photo every day for the rest of the year.

I'm going to put them all up on flickr and then I have to figure out how to link flickr to here

well here's my first photo