tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22507974467136302822024-02-07T16:26:30.509-08:00My Family & Other AnimalsRamblings about kids, cats, knitting, trying to get my house clean (& me organised) & the occasional bit of Wicca!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-25035341948939209682013-01-19T02:55:00.000-08:002013-01-19T02:55:27.457-08:00SnowSo, here we are again - it's January, it's snowing & the entire country's gone mad as if this were a complete novelty...<br />
<br />
Hellooooo? I'm pretty sure that winter happens every year in the UK - you know, freezing temperatures, ice & snow? Yet every winter, people seem to be surprised by it..... And I wouldn't mind so much, but in most places it's not even that deep!! (Yes, there are places where it really is bad, so if you happen to live in one of those places, fair enough, but the rest of Britain, come on!!)<br />
<br />
Round here, the weather reports have been warning us for the past week that it's coming- even down to the day it was expected to arrive & it's been pretty much the sole topic of conversation (even down to people lying about it snowing - apparently my village had snow before everyone else!!) yet did the council bother going out to grit? Nope.... So when the snow arrived as expected, the roads weren't the greatest to drive on.... (and we're only talking about an inch or so of snow - not feet!!!)<br />
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And strangely, while I can understand people panic-buying food, I really can't get my head round panic-buying petrol!!! I went to buy petrol the other night (cos otherwise I wouldn't have got home) and the petrol station was full!! Surely if you think the snow's going to be bad then you're not going to be going anywhere anyway?)<br />
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People are strange!<br />
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Anyway - if you're a fan of snow - go enjoy playing in it; if you're like me & much prefer looking at it (for a brief period of time) than being out in it, stay warm!!<br />
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Have a good weekend everyone xxmyzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-33229495866011685982013-01-14T04:08:00.000-08:002013-01-14T04:08:03.395-08:00It's Monday!Good morning! How are we all?<br />
<br />
I'm fine & dandy, thank you - even more so because unlike the majority of the country, my little corner of the world is snow-free! Yay!<br />
Mind you, having said that - I've seen pics up on Facebook & there actually doesn't seem to be that much about - just a light dusting in most places. Enough for chaos to start threatening of course ;p<br />
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Tell you what - I'm loving this being child-free during the day malarky - home by 8.45 (would have been sooner but I went to pay the paper bill) & my to-do list completed by 11.30! (of course it is a different story when I'm working an early shift - but then I just shift my to do list to the afternoon & resign myself to the fact it'll take longer cos I've got my little cherubs "helping" or not!)<br />
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So today, other than paying the paper bill I've done the following<br />
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Dishwasher emptied, filter cleaned, dishwasher back on<br />
Load of laundry washed & drying as I type<br />
Kitchen worktop cleared<br />
Living room tidied & swept<br />
Bathroom tidied & rubbish removed<br />
Bathroom windows & window sills cleaned<br />
Bathroom mirror cleaned<br />
Bath & basin cleaned (& the plughole cleared of hair - yuck)<br />
Toilet & tiles round the toilet cleaned.<br />
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Lunchtime now & omelette calling me! Work later, then I'm going to wash the shower curtain when I get in from work.<br />
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Have a lovely day people & stay warm! xxmyzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-15404692297952436582013-01-09T14:12:00.002-08:002013-01-09T14:12:37.867-08:00My baby isn't a baby anymoreMy youngest little cherub (ok - that's a slight exaggeration!) starts school full-time tomorrow.<br />
I've been reminding him for the past week that he didn't go back today when his brothers went back, but, yep, this morning we had a moment which nearly ended in temper tantrum when I took his brothers to school but he stayed at home with Daddy.....<br />
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End of one era, start of another - will my house finally be tidy?<br />
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Speaking of tidy, today I've managed to <br />
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Declutter/polish my dresser<br />
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<br />
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Clear/clean the sofa (it's a magnet for so much rubbish!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After (the piles in front have come from between the seats - yuk!)<br />
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Tidy the area in front of the cd shelves<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
Clear the mantlepiece.<br />
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Tomorrow, I aim to <br />
<br />
Do the normal day-to-day stuff (make beds, empty dishwasher, wipe over worktop)<br />
Clear, sweep & mop the downstairs floor<br />
Clear & organise the shelf unit in the kitchen<br />
Pay the rent, council tax & catalogue bill<br />
<br />
I may also have to organise a repair on my oven (or even a new cooker) as mine seems to have exploded today...... (taking out half the electricity supply with it!)<br />
<br />
Then I think I'll give myself a day off on Friday!<br />
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myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-26889010855350451582013-01-09T09:36:00.000-08:002013-01-09T09:36:56.420-08:00Some before & after pics!<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
OK - some before & after pictures from the past couple of days..... The kitchen looks so much better!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen worktop before<br />
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Kitchen worktop/sink area before<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen worktop/sink area after<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sink/window-sill before<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under sink before<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Under sink after<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top of fridge & freezer before<br />
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myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-24389956365551077702013-01-07T14:35:00.000-08:002013-01-07T14:35:16.392-08:00Worlds quickest game of monopoly...Monopoly out & set up, youngest child has temper tantrum, youngest child has warning, youngest child rolls dice, I move our piece, youngest child has another temper tantrum, monopoly put away!!!<br />
<br />
It took longer to get it set up than the time we spent "playing" it!!<br />
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Anyway, yesterdays to do list is all completed other than cleaning the kitchen window, which I'll move to another day.<br />
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I'll put pics up as soon as I can (they're all ready to go - but blogspots being daft!)<br />
<br />
<br />
Tomorrow, I have to admit I'm not very likely to get anything done as I never seem to get anything done when me & him are both off work together (well, he's off, I don't start till 3). Although he is taking the boys to the hairdresser at some point so we'll see what we see.<br />
<br />
So, to do....<br />
<span id="goog_1677748685"></span><span id="goog_1677748686"></span><br />
Change beds (inc turning mattresses)<br />
Take rubbish out of bedrooms<br />
Declutter top of drawers<br />
Tidy bedside drawers<br />
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Doesn't sound a lot - but there are 5 beds to change plus you haven't seen the state of my bedroom! It's going to take several sessions in there!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-49235390684295161202013-01-06T09:56:00.001-08:002013-01-06T09:56:23.294-08:00Happy New YearHello - I'm back! I know, I know - you haven't missed me! But I'm back anyway. (And I hope you've all managed to find me seeing as how I've changed my URL)<br />
<br />
Hope you've all had a lovely Yule/Christmas & a great New Year.<br />
<br />
It's tidy-up time after the festivities here in the Draper household. And boy does it need it.... I've been under the weather the past few weeks & if I haven't had to go to work I haven't been out of my onesie, never mind tidying..... It's been as much as I could do to sort the dishwasher out.<br />
<br />
But thankfully I feel a lot better today, if still slightly fuzzy (& touch wood I'm actually on the mend as there's been a few times I've thought I was getting better only to be worse the next day...)<br />
I have to admit to not doing a great deal other than 2 loads of laundry & the dishwasher but at least I'm dressed today! It's a start!<br />
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The place really is a disgrace - my lovely <a href="http://grannieannie2.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Mammy</a> would have had words when I was a teenager (& not pleasant ones either!) so I really really need to get off my butt.<br />
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Thankfully the kids go back to school next Weds/Thurs (depending on the child) - they seem to have been off forever! And my little Nikki starts full-time! So that gives me chance to a) start using the Alethea Austin stretch DVD that I bought off my dance teacher & b) make some progress (hopefully) on this place.<br />
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I'm also hoping to actually blog a lot more often - partly because (theoretically) I'll have more time & partly because I know I was a lot better at pulling my finger out & getting on with housework when I was involved with forum-land - specifically the Flylady forum... mainly because I was "answering" to someone!<br />
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So I figure if I start posting on here what I hope to achieve the following day, then when I come to do that days post, I can update where I've got up to before posting my next days to-do list (if that makes sense?)<br />
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And if anyone wants to start joining in by adding their to-do lists, then feel free!<br />
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So here's tomorrow's vague plan of action<br />
<br />
Work<br />
Find Nikki's lunchbox (it's somewhere in my bedroom - I may need to call for a search party!)<br />
Clear the rubbish off the kitchen worktop<br />
Clean microwave<br />
Wipe over kitchen cupboard doors<br />
Clear out under sink cupboard<br />
Clean kitchen window<br />
Tidy top of fridge & freezer.<br />
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I may even have a play about with the layout on here!<br />
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Over to you - what do you have planned for tomorrow?myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-48736022254510639182012-09-16T10:31:00.000-07:002012-09-16T10:31:20.911-07:00Back to schoolSo the kids have been back at school for a week & a half...<br />
That means time for cleaning. (Sod spring-cleaning - the house needs a good clear out after the summer holidays way more than in the spring!)<br />
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Where to start though? EVERYWHERE is an absolute pit.... I am soooo overwhelmed with it all.<br />
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AND I'd like to have the little boys room, the stairs & preferably the living room decorated before christmas... (which would of course explain the bizarre yellow squares all over the stair walls!)<br />
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And speaking of christmas - it's time to start thinking about that too.... so far I've got as far as putting together a spreadsheet of who to send cards/presents to...<br />
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Ah well - will come back to you when I've got myself a bit more organised!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-88300777874187804512012-06-25T13:38:00.002-07:002012-06-25T13:38:55.698-07:00Mud, glorious mud....I know it's been over 2 weeks since Download, but I figure we've established by now that I'm a bit of a lazy mare when it comes to keeping my blog up to date....<br />
<br />
So, how did my first camping experience since I was a teenager go?<br />
<br />
Well, as the title suggests it was a flaming mudbath....<br />
Tramping through 6 inch deep mud for over a mile from the carpark to the campsite is really not fun - especially when it's flowing like a mud river.... mmmmm, nice! We were quite lucky that our particular patch was uphill - there were people who'd been there for a couple of days who were on lower ground & therefore literally camping in a quagmire....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our boots!<br />
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And losing the tent at the end of the night was really really not fun - stumbling round in the dark for 2 hours or so is enough to make you want to tear your hair out..... Although, judging by the amount of people in the same situation as us, it wasn't entirely our fault. In fact I'd go as far as to blame whoever it was who decided that closing off the original route that everyone in our sector had taken in favour of making us go across the actual race-track was a good idea - complete threw us all...</div>
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(after this fiasco & the state that the track was being left, they didn't do that again...)</div>
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Not sure I'm ever going to do it again - if I do I'll be paying the small fortune to camp in the exclusive area where you can park your car next to your tent!!</div>
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But the music made it all worthwhile (& the guest area beer tent - discovering the Velvet Elvis cocktail was an absolute epiphany!!)</div>
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We did manage to miss a couple of bands through getting confused over stages but once we'd figured out what we were doing/where we were going, it was all good.</div>
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I'm not going to go through them all, other than to say Little Angels were as fantastic as they ever were, but Slash & Metallica were disappointing....</div>
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And here's the pics!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Angels</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with Spike from the Quireboys</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyla</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sebastian Bach<br />
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And just to show you that it didn't rain all weekend..... </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me & himself - no idea who the randoms are!!</td></tr>
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</div>myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-70322938487665726192012-06-05T04:32:00.002-07:002012-06-05T04:32:36.128-07:00Tempus FugitSo, I thought I'd just write a quick post before I go off to Download....<br />
Then I realised that it's been a month since I last updated - a whole month!! (not that anyone cares - it's not as if I'm hysterically funny like Stickhead at Slightly South of Sanity; or informative like the organising blog ladies)<br />
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Just shows how boring my life is that in the last month, nothing of note has happened... Just my usual gripes about other drivers (who probably have the same gripes about my driving); kids being, well, kids; work; trying to get my house tidy (I have blitzed the kitchen so it actually looks like a kitchen rather than the tip it was...)<br />
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I did go to a workshop by the fantastic Pantera Blacksmith yesterday (& now I ache all over & have my ordinary class tonight, ouch) The woman is a legend in the world of pole-dance - I'm so glad I got the chance to meet her. I sooo hope I get to do another workshop with her at some point in the future...<br />
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But other than that, it's been same ol' same ol' for me...<br />
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But as I may have already mentioned - I am off to Download. Here's hoping it's not raining.....myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-85797823100438901642012-05-05T11:49:00.000-07:002012-05-05T11:49:00.880-07:00oh for goodness sake - more asbestos....You may or not remember the asbestos saga (hold on, didn't I start my last post like that?!)<br />
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To bring you up to speed, we pulled down a fence at the back of the garden last year thinking it was just screening general rubbish (which of course shouldn't have been there in the first place, but hey) only to find sheets of asbestos. It then took much to-ing & fro-ing to get the council to admit responsibility & come & remove said asbestos & rubbish....<br />
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Now when they did finally come, they said they were only allowed to remove the surface rubbish, they weren't allowed to dig... Annoying, but fair enough.<br />
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So, as per my last post, the weather's finally nice enough (occasionally!) to let us get out there & start sorting out the extra bit of garden we gained by removing the fence. We already found a load of junk last week...<br />
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Today, not only did we find a ton of junk buried out there (& a toad!) but yep - more fecking asbestos....<br />
Guess that's more emails being fired off to the council....<br />
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Mind you, we've also found bones..... a couple of ribs & either a hip or shoulder socket.... I'm pretty sure they're not human but if we find a jaw bone I'll let you know!!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-85999357039085777292012-04-24T12:04:00.000-07:002012-04-24T12:04:44.627-07:00Sorting the gardenYou may or may not remember me posting about finding a load of crap at the back of the garden just after we moved in last year (& the resultant battle to get the council to come & remove it).<br />
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Well, we did eventually get them to come & shift it - however, although they took the asbestos & the surface rubbish, they were apparently not allowed to remove anything under the surface, even though sheets of corrugated metal could be seen sticking out from under the soil...<br />
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I've finally got round to getting out there to start sorting it this afternoon - my good god.....<br />
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In one small section we've removed half a barrel (well & truely rusted away - I wouldn't be surprised if it had been whole when it was buried), several sheets of said corrugated metal, loads of bricks & a scary amount of broken glass (it looks like at least one flaming window's been buried out there...) There was also an external tv aerial and the door from a kitchen cabinet.... (oh & we found a toad as well!!)<br />
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Why would anyone bury that stuff, rather than take it to the tip or getting the council to come & take it away??<br />
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No wonder they'd put a fence in front of it.....<br />
<br />myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-71307127757574906732012-04-04T14:13:00.001-07:002012-04-04T14:13:57.461-07:00Catching up...I might have been full of the joys of spring last time we met, but golly gosh,it's bloody cold today!!<br />
And what have I been up to since last time? Well, whilst other people across the country were panic-buying fuel, I was panic-washing laundry.... yep, that's right. During that brief but glorious hot spell that we had, I was catching up on all my winter build-up of clothes. 3 loads per day I was getting done. Which I know sounds a hell of a lot, but there are 6 of us remember & I don't possess a tumble dryer, so during winter &/or wet weather, I can't actually do a lot of washing, cos I've got to wait for it all to be dried on clothes horses/radiators...<br />
The only problem with doing all this washing is that now I've got nowhere to put anything!!<br />
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But I'm glad I did get pretty much all caught up cos we've gone back to winter. Snowing in fact! Thankfully not as bad as Scotland & Northumbria, but still!!!<br />
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What else have I been doing? DS3 turned 5 on April Fools Day (explains an awful lot about him, that does!) so I've been making mountains of cupcakes for his party that he had.. (delicious, even if I do say so myself!)<br />
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And due to the problem of lack of clothing storage, I've started decluttering it all... I now have mounds of clothes to take to nursery & a shedload of nappies to sell and Freecycle....<br />
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hohum, what an exciting life I lead!!!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-33623159228820638972012-03-25T11:58:00.000-07:002012-03-25T11:58:19.001-07:00Full of the joys of spring!!The weather's been glorious here - I've had FOUR loads of washing out today!! <br />
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It's inspired me to start sorting out the back bit of the garden (which was clearly used as a dumping ground by previous occupants but we finally got the council to come & clear the majority of the junk...). It's going to need a lot of work doing to it, but a little every (dry) day should hopefully soon see it right for at least planting some annual flowers in...<br />
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I've also just about finished the big boys' bedroom - I promise I'll put some pics up just as soon as I've got the coving put up!<br />
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And being full of the joys of spring, I'm ready to crack on with my habithacking....<br />
I looked at my spreadsheet just now to see where I'm up to & coincidentally, the next step is to start customising the routines - which is just what I figured I'd blog about today anyway!! Seeing as how 2 steps ago was to add in a half-assed housecleaning hour (or half-hour as I'm hoping to make it!) & the habithacker does hers on a Monday... Now that doesn't work for me for a variety of reasons. So I thought that I'd do it on a Wednesday, as I've got to get rid of all the rubbish on a Wednesday anyway to put out for the binmen on a Thursday. Then I realised that I just don't have the time on a Wednesday... Plus I like to change the bedding at the weekend...<br />
So I finally figured, the best thing for me is to split it up - so now I'm doing some on Wednesday, some at the weekend but most of it on a Thursday (when I have the most time). And that's going to work best for me, so I should actually DO it - which is the important bit about this whole getting organised malarky - making things work for YOU, not just doing what some book or website tells you to do....<br />
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Onwards & upwards!<br />
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<br />myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-91168169087413247122012-03-21T14:16:00.001-07:002012-03-21T14:16:20.496-07:00I am my only octopuss....Hello lovely readers. It's been a while due to my extremely bad habit of procastinating....<br />
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Anyway, as some of you might know, I do the odd bit of pole-dancing (& by odd, I mean odd!!! My lovely teacher Jamie shows myself & my classmate moves, & we do them COMPLETELY differently to her!!! )<br />
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So Rhi & I went to watch Jamie & one of her other students perform last week. And they were fantastic... Nicola was totally inspiring & motivating, she was so good & if I'm going to get anywhere near that standard I really REALLY need to practice more.... (I've been good tonight & had a bit of a session but by bit, I mean 1 song... oops! It is the song I'll be performing to at the showcase next month so not too bad I guess..)<br />
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Anyway, we were talking to Nic afterwards & other than nagging us about practicing more often, she showed us a tattoo she's had done to motivate herself. "I am my only obstacle" So true, so very true. The only person stopping me being as good as her is me.<br />
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So I really, honestly will be practicing a whole lot more often. I don't want to be my only octopuss....myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-38033937382945859272012-03-10T11:55:00.003-08:002012-03-10T11:55:34.317-08:00Children are strangenow while I'm pretty sure there are stranger out there than mine, (please tell me there are!!) on the weird front mine are up there with the best of them.<br />
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Take today for example... My delightful darlings are playing at being waiters and DS1 had taken an order for roast octopus from me (ok, that might be a little hint at where they get their strangeness from!)<br />
DS2 piped up that he wanted a roast octopus & salad sandwich.... All good, right? <br />
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Cue a couple of minutes later when DS2 is sobbing uncontrollably... I ask him what's wrong, only to find out he's this upset because DS1 didn't put octopus in his sandwich...... How he can tell these things from an imaginary plate, I have absolutely no idea, but DS1 had to correct the error!!!<br />
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They get nuttier!!!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-12023145903139383102012-02-28T11:24:00.001-08:002012-02-28T11:24:02.331-08:00Penny Pinching MamaWell, as you know, I'm attempting to organise my life. And that includes my finances. Which aren't in the best shape in the world. They could be worse but they could also be a lot better. <br />
Now, according to <a href="http://www.creditexpert.co.uk/">www.creditexpert.co.uk</a> my credit rating is "fair" but I'd love for it to be "good". Which means getting rid of the debt.<br />
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So in a moment of serendipity, I came across the <a href="http://www.livingonadime.com/" target="_blank">Penny Pinching Mama.</a> This lady has some fab tips for cutting costs, living on a budget & shifting the debt. <br />
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And for the next couple of hours she's running a competition to win a copy of her book "how to save money & get rid of debt" simply by going to <a href="http://www.livingonadime.com/free-giveaway-penny-pinching-mama" target="_blank">her blog post here</a> <br />
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All you need to do is comment on the blog post by the end of 28th February & you've got a chance of winning!<br />
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Good luck guys!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-90071867214377997982012-02-16T08:25:00.000-08:002012-02-16T08:25:25.182-08:00Unclean, Unclean.....Beware, for I have man-flu!! Which is typical (& more than a tad annoying) seeing as how I'm off work this week....<br />
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Littlest son has also been ill - horrid hacking/barking cough, listless & totally not himself... Last time he was like this, I ended up feeling like I do now - horrid cough, sneezing constantly, sore eyes, aching all over, freezing cold & absolutely no energy.... the rest of the house remained perfectly healthy..... hmmmm!!<br />
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Anyway, illness aside, we've been decorating this week. The biggest 2 boys bedroom to be precise. So far, we've only managed to strip the walls & fill in the holes but it's a start. And not bad when you consider we've been up to see family & also spent the day in Swansea yesterday, so we've really only had 2 days....<br />
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The house is a goddamn tip again tho.... (not that it was actually tidy but at least 2 of the downstairs rooms looked reasonable.) I have managed to keep polishing my original place (living room floor) but that's a tad difficult as we have no vacuum cleaner at the moment. The shit spots have regathered shit and the dining room table (which had become an extension of the place polishing) is also covered in crap.... I blame having everyone round... honestly, it's nothing to do with my own laziness...<br />
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I'll kick-start it all again in a minute and in the meantime, in case you were interested in where I'd got up to on the Habithacking steps (before it all went pear-shaped), I've now begun my <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/bop/" target="_blank">Brain On Paper</a> (BOP); <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/customize-bop/" target="_blank">added to it</a> and learnt about the importance of <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/11-timer-household/" target="_blank">using a timer.</a><br />
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Next week, once the kids are back at school (& I'm back at work, boo) I'll start on the <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/d-day/" target="_blank">D-Day Delve</a> And boy does this place need it!!!<br />
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Hope you've all been enjoying half-term - see you next time!<br />myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-7658452008676049242012-02-05T07:27:00.000-08:002012-02-05T07:28:13.849-08:00At last, at long last!!I have been scouring Ebay/the local car dealers/free papers for a good couple of years, looking for a Volkswagon Caravelle....<br />
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I've wanted one for years... Firstly, so I could go to gigs knowing that all I had to do was chuck a mattress in the back on top of the seats & voila, a handy place to sleep (mind you, the fact that when I was going to all these gigs, I couldn't actually drive was just a small sticking point)<br />
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Secondly (& probably more importantly) I seem to have a miniature tribe of small boys.... I'm still not entirely sure where they actually came from.... Anyway, said small boys were getting a tad cramped in the back of the Zafira that we were transporting them in.... and there's nowhere to put the vast quantities of food needed to feed a small tribe in a Zafira once all the seats are up.... ignore the adverts - they lie I tell you....<br />
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Anyway, we've finally got one!!! I am so chuffed. Yes it's old but it's got virtually no mileage (unlike vans that were a good 10 years younger than ours with 200K + more mileage.....) and it's in really really good condition.<br />
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And the boot space!!! My good grief! We could do our shopping for several months & still have space to spare! And if we suddenly decide to move house (not that that's likely to happen, barring a lottery win) we could just take the back seats out & put stuff in the back - ok, it would take several runs but we wouldn't need to hire a van!<br />
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On the downside of course (there always is one, isn't there) I think it's going to cost us a bomb in fuel..... <br />
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But do I care at the moment? Nope!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-72870334336556107782012-01-28T12:09:00.000-08:002012-01-28T12:09:46.065-08:00Habithacking....Well, I promised that I'd get round to telling you about <a href="http://habithacker.com/">habithacker.com</a><br />
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I came across this lovely lady's site a couple of months ago & I have to tell you, I way prefer it to Flylady - only one email a day & she tells it like it is - a shitspot is a shitspot not a "hotspot"!!<br />
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And she's transforming me! You should see my living room - it only takes me 5 minutes these days to whizz round my living room, including vacuuming!! I'm not saying that it's immaculate, cos it's not, but I'm not going to be apologising for the state of it if someone calls unannounced!!<br />
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I will admit to you now, even though I've been subscribed for a couple of months (71 days to be precise) I'm actually only up to Day 7. This is because of the way my inner rebellious teenager works...<br />
I really really was trying to add a step a day, but then earlier things weren't getting done...<br />
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So I decided to start again at the beginning & add a new step only when I was into the habit of the earlier steps.... And that is working much better for me... I may not be doing everything every day, but step 1 (<a href="http://www.habithacker.com/polish-your-place/" target="_blank">"Polishing my place"</a>) is definitely ingrained now... In fact, I do that several times a day!! Even the monsters are getting pretty good at tidying the living room!! (My "place" if you're wondering is my living room floor...)<br />
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I also finally got round to putting the key rack up that I bought months back cos of this (day 3)<br />
And I'm getting pretty good at shovelling the shit (day 5)<br />
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BUUUT, I'm stuck on step 7 - putting clothes out for the next day before I go to bed.... I really want to move on, so my goal for this next week is to do this EVERY night.... including the boys (although uniform's not challenging to think about so no excuse there!)<br />
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Anyway, in case any of you want to follow along with me, here's the links to the steps so far...<br />
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Step 2 <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/shop-for-supplies/" target="_blank">Do your do</a> <br />
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Step 3 <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/regular-orderly/" target="_blank">Stash that key</a><br />
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Step 4 <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/polish-x-2/" target="_blank">Polish twice</a><br />
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Step 5 <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/break/" target="_blank">Take a break</a><br />
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Step 6 <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/shitspot-fix/" target="_blank">Shovel the shit</a><br />
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Step 7 <a href="http://www.habithacker.com/decide-on-duds/" target="_blank">What to wear?</a><br />
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And yes, I know, you can always sign up to get the emails yourself but if we can cheer each other on, then maybe we can finally get organised (ok, you're probably already living in a tidy haven, so maybe I can finally get organised!)<br />
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And if you did want to do the steps alongside me, then honestly, these first 7 steps are easy to do a step a day, so this time next week, you can be at the same stage as me.... (if you really want to be!)<br />
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And maybe I can put some pics up as well as we go along! *wonders if there's a way that you can share pics with me???*<br />
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Have fun everyone!<br />
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<br />myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-28374499335082733322012-01-18T13:28:00.000-08:002012-01-18T13:28:01.128-08:00So excited!!!So, me & my lovely husband were umming & ahhing over whether to go to Download this year or not.... (We've booked the time off work just in case of course!)<br />
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I've just been checking the latest band announcements on the Download Facebook page to find out that Little Angels are reforming for it!!!! I absolutely adore Little Angels & was heartbroken when they split (bizarrely I was actually more upset when they split than when my favourite band split up - but then, The Wildhearts do keep splitting & reforming so I guess that I never believe it when they announce a parting of the ways!!)<br />
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I now have a grin like the cheshire cat on my face... Am I going to Download? Oh I think so!myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-35136962265501635402012-01-11T11:48:00.000-08:002012-01-11T11:48:44.039-08:00Bye Bye Baby, Baby Goodbye....Sigh...<br />
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My youngest started school today... Only in the mornings, but still - school. Uniform & everything....<br />
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I'm not a happy Mammy today. He's still my baby - he even smells like a baby still if you get the right part of his neck... He can't possibly be big enough to go to school. He certainly doesn't look big enough... And we were stopped by so many people ahhing over him on the way in this morning!! <br />
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So that's it - no more baby. He'll grow up soooo quickly now.<br />
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Mind you - on the plus side, I'll get to drink a hot cup of coffee, & actually get my housework & Avon round done soooo much quicker! (not that I'm that fussed on the housework, but you know what I mean!)myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-74383548215510699982011-12-31T11:02:00.000-08:002011-12-31T11:03:44.711-08:00Goodbye 2011/Hello 2012!!Well, here we stand on the verge of a new year. The sun's gone down, so it's officially New Years Eve!<br />
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Highlights of 2011? Moving to this house & seeing Motley Crue again.<br />
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Plans/goals for 2012?<br />
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Firstly, I need to buy tickets to Download, as we've heard a rumour that Poison will be playing... If they are it'll probably be the only chance we'll have to go see them.....<br />
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I'd quite like to go see the Olympic Flame pass through town as well...<br />
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Goals-wise:<br />
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Have at least 4 rooms decorated by the end of the year. That gives me 3 months per room to strip & prepare the walls, then repaper (if necessary), paint, accessorise etc. If I stop procrastinating, that's more than easily do-able...<br />
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Get a lot more organised & Domestic Goddessy about the house... I say this every year, but I say it as a resolution, rather than a goal.... So as I've decided to set measurable (& hopefully attainable) goals I can break it down into steps on route to the holy grail of spick and span-ness... <br />
As I said in a previous post, I'm signed up to Habithacker (I promise I'll blog more about this in a very near post) & that does seem to be helping (having broken down the steps for me!!! )<br />
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As part of this becoming more organised thing, I aim to actually be organised & zen about next christmas. I say every year we're going to start getting sorted for it early so it's not a mad rush & every year we don't (other than getting veggies pre-prepared & in the freezer - & that's kind of ingrained in me after 30-odd years of it!!! so it doesn't count!) <br />
So I'm going to start a spreadsheet of what's needed, from pressies, to decorations, to food.<br />
I'll add on what we already have & tick off what we need as we get it.<br />
I'll start a plan of action with deadlines for when everything needs to be done... honest gov!!!!<br />
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Anyway - I promise to come & break these goals down and share them properly with you, but you need to share your goals for 2012 with me! Let's support each other to achieving them!<br />
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Right now, I wish you all a Happy New Year! xxxmyzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-22228731594196373212011-12-24T11:11:00.000-08:002011-12-24T11:11:42.465-08:00Nadolig Llawen!!Merry Christmas, Yuletide Blessings!<br />
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Everything's done bar prepping the turkey which I'll do in a second & getting the pressies under the tree (which will wait till the boys have gone to sleep!!)<br />
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I do have a tiny bit of hat to finish but that won't take very long at all...<br />
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Hope you all have a lovely lovely time! xxx<br />
<br />myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-79056995079121620992011-12-14T12:08:00.000-08:002011-12-14T12:10:39.028-08:00A tale of two concerts...I know, I know - I'm not very good at this updating regularly malarky - but at least this time I have a genuine excuse/damn good reason!!<br />
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At the weekend, when I would normally have been posting witty & entertaining thoughts, I was instead in Manchester with my lovely friend from back in the day Woody & his slightly crazy (but very sweet) girlfriend. Now this wasn't just a social visit - we were in fact there to see the mighty Motley Crue!! (well, he lives in Manchester but you know what I mean!)<br />
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And yes, many memories from 20 years ago were dragged up over a whiskey (or 2) which I won't go into - except to say that they all seemed to revolve around drinking & debauchery!!! Ah - good times.<br />
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Anyway - the gig... (at this point I suppose I should point out that Def Leppard were headlining but that really is just a minor point).<br />
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Steel Panther opened & I really was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. And I still find myself humming "Community Property" to myself!!<br />
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As for Crue - they came, they saw, they ROCKED!! They were fantastic & I have no voice left to prove it (& by the way - this isn't a gig review, so don't expect one!!) Tommy brought over his rollercoaster drum kit - which looked absolutely amazing & I am so jealous of the girl who got to ride it with him! Mick Marrs looked healthier than he has in a long time, Vince was Vince & Nikki was the sexy beast that he always has been!! And they looked like they were really really enjoying themselves! (oh & it was Nikki's birthday so yes, a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday was sung by the crowd!)<br />
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I'm not going to go into Def Leppard - I wasn't impressed - I'm just glad I hadn't spent the money to go see them. Thousands disagreed but I just thought they were meh....<br />
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My feet are still killing me though but I'm not surprised considering the heels I was wearing!! I'll post some pics of the gig in a bit & I'll include a pic of the shoes!<br />
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Right - fast forward to todays concert. No rock chick moments today - just lots of Very Proud Mammy ones! Yes - it was the kids christmas concert (well, for 2 of them - one still isn't at school & the eldest one has his on Monday)<br />
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They were absolutely brilliant - Toby was an elf & had a speaking role - he was so clear (mind you he did shout his 2 lines!! I can't remember them both but one was "OK OK Sion Corn" <br />
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Brett was a shepherd & I think I was more nervous for him than I was for Toby because he's so shy bless him that I was worried that when it came to him saying his lines he was going to clam up... I needn't have worried because he was really clear with his lines too!!!<br />
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And the singing was beautiful (yes I'm a biased Mammy!) I'm so proud of my gorgeous boys & all the kids in Meithrin, reception & Years 1 & 2 - they all did fabulously.... <br />
(but damn these hormones that start the minute you give birth & make you well up at the slightest notice...)<br />
<br />myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2250797446713630282.post-15028631150015638452011-12-08T02:14:00.001-08:002011-12-08T02:23:35.507-08:00SnowHave you had any? None here, not a flurry, not a flake. Well, it tried on Tuesday for a whole 30 seconds & we've had some hailstones but as hailstones are just as likely to occur in June as December, they don't count....<br />
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So why the bleeding nora have I seen a snowplough today? Two in fact (although I suppose it could have been the same one coming back....) Do we really need a snowplough for rain & wind?<br />
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(And that's a point - why has there been hardly any wind on the school run, including a stretch of road known as Windy Hill - EXCEPT for my village? Driving out of the village & the car's being blown around. By the time I got to the next village (a whole 3 minutes away!) it had died down.... Same on the way back - once I started getting into the village the wind was back. Strange... But then we are at the top of a hill I suppose...)<br />
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Anyway - snow... are the council just panicking about the prospect of snow or are we in for a hard winter? <br />
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What do you think?myzzterrihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05205017210614807544noreply@blogger.com0