Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sundays are THE best. I love having an entire day to relax and potter around doing as I please. I wish I could have a Lazy Sunday every week!

Why does Gizmo cat always decide to snooze in my bed

when I'm about to change the sheets?!

Can't beat a nice cup of tea on a Sunday morning...

Books and slanket... bliss.

Giz snoozing in his favourite spot on the rug - so cute!

Ronan O'Gara. I think he is FIT.

The only reason I watched the rugby today, tbh...

Dinner. Stew and dumplings from the slow-cooker.

Three dumplings because I am a pig :)

I love my bed.

How have you spent your Sunday?

xx

Sad swollen chipmunk cheeks...

**Depressing (and a bit gory) blog post lovelies!!**

I'm feeling really glum today, and rather sorry for myself if I'm honest. Last year's depression aside, I'm generally very good at looking on the bright side of things and painting on a smile. But today....

I went into hospital on Thursday to have an impacted lower wisdom tooth removed by local anaesthetic and I'm in AGONY. I had to stop the surgeon twice because of a searing pain in my jaw and I soon discovered why.

Part of my jaw bone came away with the root of the tooth. I was told beforehand that this can happen, so I know it's not that serious because the bone will re-grow in a few weeks, but add to that 4 gum stitches and owww my gosh it hurts.

It was already bruised by the time I got to my Aunty Jennie's house 30 mins after leaving hospital (I stayed with my Aunt and Uncle that night - so pleased I did as I was going to come home until she told me that she didn't want me to be on my own) and after a rubbish night's sleep I woke up yesterday morning with a mahoooosive chipmunk cheek which literally looked as though it was housing a golf ball.

I was totally spoiled by my lovely aunt though and spent a really nice day yesterday helping her look after my cousin's two little ones. I came home to Gizmo cat yesterday evening and was so tired that I pretty much went straight to bed.

I thought that the chipmunk cheek was looking much better today until my neighbour saw me through the window - from across the road - and ran straight over to see if I was ok. Eeeek!

Anyhoo, am dosed up with painkillers that are not really working because I can still feel the stitches pulling. *sad face*

It took me 45 mins to eat some mashed potato and spaghetti hoops earlier too... I long for some nice solid food and to be able to open my mouth wide enough to actually eat it!

I'm also dreading work on Monday. I really don't want to go and sit on a reception desk and talk to people all day looking and feeling like this, but the bosses I work for hate people being off sick, and if they can drag themselves in with severed limbs (ok slight exaggeration here) then they expect us to do the same.

I'm sorry for bleating on about what most would probably consider to be a minor and trivial ailment (which it is, really) but feeling poorly and in so much pain always seems so much worse when you live on your own, and I just had to let it all out somewhere, you know?

And even Gizmo seems to know not to nuzzle up to me, so no cat cuddles either!

On the upside - see, I always have to try and turn my frown upside down! - Mr Postman has recently delivered my very first tiny MAC make up order aaaand some very cool books from Amazon, both parcels made me very happy indeed and I'll be blogging about my loot soon!

Once again apologies for this pitiful display of self indulgent wallowing. I hope that you are all well and enjoying your weekend :)

xxxx

(photo from weheartit)

Shopping makes me smile!

Hello! I hope that you are all well and the sun shone for you this weekend!

I thought that I'd let you have a peek at some of my recent purchases... btw I really hate the word "haul". Does anybody else find that the word "haul" to describe a shopping spree really makes them cringe?!

I don't splurge that often to be honest, but I think that these beauties are worth the wait!

I'm sorry if you're sick of hearing about this next product, yes I know it's everywhere but it's new to me and I'm excited :)

First, the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows that I purchased online from Debenhams. I must have timed it just right because it was out of stock when I checked my order status the following day.

I'm a sucker for anything Alice-like at the moment, so I love the teapots, cups and swallows on the packaging! The inner packaging is just as beautiful, with flowers, rabbits and deer ambling round the eyeshadows... yes you guessed it, I'm a sucker for pretty packaging full-stop! **hmmm, must have a Benefit fix soon methinks**

Alice in her Wonderland is revealed when you lift the lid... I think this is soo cute!

I love, love, LOVE this product!!! I'm more of a neutrals kind of girl, and being a bit of a magpie I am not adverse to a bit of glitter, so was really happy with the selection in this palette.

The stronger colours are really beautiful though so I can definitely see myself experimenting with these - it'd be criminal not to!

The colours are all duplicates of shadows released by Urban Decay in earlier palettes and/or the two previous Book of Shadows collections, but they have been suitably chosen and re-named for this launch. Luckily I don't own any other UD shadows, liners or UDPP (I usually use ELF's primer) so this was definitely a win-win purchase for me! I'm really impressed with the quality and pigmentation of these too... I can't believe I'd never tried a UD shadow before!

Next, a few little gems that caught my eye in Accessorize:

Ha, can't you just tell that I was still loving teapots and cups?!
An impulse buy, yes, but all is not lost.
I used to love cross stitching (I credit it for helping me to stop smoking) but haven't picked up a needle for.... ooh... five years I'd guess. I've been thinking about digging out some kits and patterns and giving it a whirl again - and I could make these stickers look lovely on some hand-stitched cards!

Another Alice-themed treasure. I think this is adorable!

I'm going to give it to my Mum as part of her Mother's Day present because I know she'll love it... oops, I hope you're not reading this Mum!

This was my first little treat - how cute! I like that it can be used as a bag charm as well as a keyring.

I almost came out with lots of teacup and watch pendants, but restrained myself and eventually chose this because it made me smile every time I looked at it. Definitely the best reason for a purchase!

However THIS is my absolute favourite Accessorize buy:

This made me laugh when I saw it because it's so me!! I love sweets and puddings...

and look, a teapot and cup! Hehe! This practically leapt into my basket all by itself!

And lastly, here is my beautiful Gizmo cat enjoying a snooze in the sunshine today... he never fails to make me smile!

Have a good week my lovelies! xx

Loving & Loathing... 01.03.10

A couple of weeks ago I tweeted about starting these posts. I love reading other people's "Up & Down" lists so thought I'd finally join the crowd and jot down mine!

Loving...

Gizmo cat.

Call me sad but I love this little fella so much, aww! I'm biased but I think Giz is beautiful. He never used to be a lap-cat at all but he's mellowing in his old age and is now really affectionate, he's so sweet :)

The Urban Decay limited edition "Alice In Wonderland" Book Of Shadows.

Alice In Wonderland was one of my favourite books as a child and when I saw the UD palette with the cute pop-up and Alice-inspired shadow names I knew I had to get one! I ordered mine from the Debenhams website last week and Mr Postman should deliver it tomorrow. I have to admit that I am very excited about it. Also looking forward to the movie... I'm going to see it in 3D!

Lazy Sundays.
I love waking up knowing that the day is mine to spend as I choose, and it doesn't happen too often so I make the most of it when it does.... chilling on the sofa reading a good book with endless cups of tea or watching a good movie snuggled up with Gizmo cat is bliss. Thumbs up for sofa days!

The end of February.
I'm not one to wish my life away but I've always hated February. It's always cold and dark, and spring seems such a long way off... but with March comes the extra summertime hour, yippee!

Loathing...

Emoticons.

:)   :D  :(   ;)   :'(  XD

I use emoticons soooo much and it drives me mad. I didn't jump on the bandwagon for ages (because they annoyed me!) but I can't compose a text these days without automatically popping in a smiley or sad face... must, must, must make a concentrated effort to stop!

Stupid drivers.
Now this is forever THE pet peeve of mine. I am the most placid person you could ever meet but put me behind the wheel of a car and WOAH!!! I turn into the most evil tempered, shouting woman - driving definitely brings out the worst in me! Top driving related hates (in no particular order)

1. Ignorance of speed limits. Although I spend half of my time shouting at other drivers, I consider myself to be a safe driver and I abide by speed limits. I've lost five friends to car accidents so I loathe speeding drivers and people who take stupid selfish risks and overtake into oncoming traffic. Nine times out of ten you catch up with them again so what's the point?!

I also cannot ABIDE those drivers who trundle along doing 40mph on a 60mph road - or even worse - those who do not go above 50mph even though they have modern cars capable of at least twice that. These same drivers then seem to find the accelerator when entering a 30 or 40 mph zone and zoom off doing at least 10mph over the limit!!!

2. People who don't indicate. Especially on roundabouts. Many is the time I've sat there screeching "You ********!!!!!! I could have gone then!!!!"

3. People who hog the middle lane of the Motorway!!!

Mondays.

I still get the Sunday Night Blues! I used to hate Sunday nights when I was at school and still do. Don't get me wrong, I like my job and I'm fine when I get there, but I never want the weekend to end. That's probably why I always seem to update my blog at stupid-o-clock on a Sunday night.... eke the weekend out as much as possible!! Let's not even mention the Monday morning alarm. Urgh.

What are your current loves/hates?

xx

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot

Help!!!

I am currently being bombarded by fireworks!! Well, not me personally, but my house is sitting directly beneath a gigantic display courtesy of some people in the next street. I've been hanging (quite procariously!!) out of my bedroom window trying to get some photos...

I don't like the fact that I can hear spent firework carcasses landing on my roof or hurtling headlong into my garden. That also makes it a bit of a danger mission actually, trying to take photos peering up into the sky while burning particles shower down all around - eeek!

I also don't like the fact that Gizmo cat is terrified, poor baby. I've had one of those "Feliway" cat calming diffusers plugged in all week, but because it rained on Guy Fawkes Night and last night, there weren't many fireworks and Giz was ok. Now, he is refusing to move from his spot behind the settee (he has made sure that he is sitting over the hot radiator pipe though, he's not daft) and his HUGE eyes are darting over the ceiling, trying to decipher where the horrible noises are coming from.

Gizmo cat was 10 on Guy Fawkes Day... I can't believe it's been almost 10 years since that tiny, terrified bundle came into my life. At least I have something to thank The Ex for. And obviously I got custody of the furry little fella too :)

I hope that you are all enjoying the fireworks this weekend - be safe guys! (You, my lovely readers I mean - Guys are most certainly NOT safe hehe!)

xx

30th July - 2nd August 2009: Day 1 - Road Trip!!

As you have probably guessed I've made it safely home from my travels! I missed Blogger, how silly I know, but I did! Am really looking forward to catching up with everyone's posts :)

As for my recent travels, wow, what an amazing experience from start to finish... I don't think I've laughed so much or felt so insanely HAPPY for months - some of my favourite people ever all together makes a very happy me!

I've decided to break the weekend down into different posts as otherwise there would be just too much for anyone to read ;)

Firstly, Gizmo cat was a very good boy when I took him to the Cattery last Wednesday and I got him into his travelling basket without any fuss. Actually I was a bit sneaky and managed to disguise the procedure by scooping him up and giving him a big cuddle, then carried him into the kitchen while he was blissfully purring and just popped him into the basket. It took him a couple of seconds to realise where he was, by which time the lid was down and securely fastened! Result - no stressed cat and no stressed me!

Thursday. I was up at 6am and due to my good preparation the night before I was soon ready for Jen and Adrian to pick me up at 7am. They were running a wee bit late and arrived at 7:20am. Why is it that when you are given a time for something people are always stupidly early or running late?! It's no biggie, I wasn't annoyed as these things do happen... just mildly irked I suppose as I HATE waiting! Oh well, at least I was ready :)

Then we were off. It was a lovely sunny morning and everything went well until we got caught in traffic on the M11 past Cambridge, and then we hit traffic again on the M25. There was an accident on the opposite carriageway which resulted in 16 mile tailbacks, and then people on our carriageway were inevitably "rubbernecking" which caused jams for us, but after about 30 minutes we were on our way again.

It didn't take long to reach Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel, and there was time to buy some drinks and magazines etc before we were called to start boarding, yay! (Inevitably we had already eaten our packed lunches and most of the sweets!!)

It was VERY strange crossing the French border while still firmly on English soil!

Boarding!!

This is a bit of a strange observation, but we were all surprised that the crossing was not as smooth as we were expecting. It was just like a normal train track (duhhh!) and bumpy in places - we were all expecting a super smooth ride, especially as we weren't aware that we were even moving until we looked out of the window! It was pretty cool too when the announcement came that we were exactly half way under the Channel between the UK and France :)

Leaving the Channel Tunnel in France presented us with our biggest problem of the whole trip. We got right royally lost. Yes, on the very first roundabout to exit onto the French road network!

We quickly learnt that the French roadsign system was total and utter pants. Never have I been anywhere so confusing. We needed to get to Brussels via Calais but two exits on opposite sides of the roundabout contradicted each other - the road numbers were the same on both so which one to take??!! Our travel directions were no help so after going round and round a few times we decided to take the one with the biggest [no local route] sign, hoping that it would be the one pointing tourists in the right direction... WRONG.

To cut a long story short we realised that we were heading down towards Paris rather than making our way across to Belgium, and finding somewhere to exit the motorway proved a problem too, especially as we ended up paying several toll charges to get back onto the right road! An hour later we ended up right back where we started...

In the middle, the green dome of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels

Flanders fields

Tea dilemma somewhere in Belgium: we were desperate for a nice cup of tea but of course no British tea was to be found at roadside service stations. Jenny solved the problem by getting some teabags from the car! They still charged us 2.99 Euros each for a cup of boiling water though...

Filling up with diesel was amusing as we didn't realise that you have to pre-pay in Belgium. All three of us were out of the car trying to figure what was wrong with the pump haha! Very good idea, I think, as it solves the problem of fuel theft and plus you don't have to search for change if you go over 20.00 :D

We then drove through the bottom of Holland (which took 22 minutes!) and into Germany. Holland was very strange. We live in an area called The Fens and have grown up knowing that the Dutch drained the Fens in the 1600's, but actually seeing Holland was surreal as it was exactly like being at home. Crazy, crazy similarity!

We realised that the 8pm eta was somewhat optimistic thanks to our "detour" in France and stopped at another service station in Germany to eat from the Burger King outlet before preparing ourselves for the long drive to the Stuttgart area.

Rhine Valley, Germany: I loved this. A solitary white Church on a HUGE hillside. (I've cropped the photo) The cross is just about visible on the summit. Beautiful scene.

The German leg of the journey went pretty quickly considering that it was the longest part by far. The Autobahn system was brilliant and put British roads to shame. It was a little disconcerting at first as there was no strict speed limit (they have suggested limits for wet and dry conditions) and some very nice cars sped past us like F1 cars!! Speaking of F1, we drove past the Nurburgring and Hockenheimring!

We were completely blown away by the beauty of the Rhine Valley. Absolutely stunning. I shall never forget it. We amused ourselves by wondering if a place called Ludwigshafen actually existed? We had seen this place signposted ever since we crossed the German border and hours later we still hadn't passed it!! [it does exist, I just googled it haha!]

Sunset in Germany :)

It was only really when darkness fell that we started feeling a little fed up and tired. Luckily we were about an hour away from our destination by this point, although strange roads in darkness always seem never ending.

We eventually left the Autobahn and made for the small town where Louise and Gerhard live, and I was pleased that I could remember some of the streets from my visit last year. We finally reached our Hotel, the delightful Hotel Schober, and received a wonderful warm welcome from one of the lady proprieters (two sisters run the Hotel) who had been very concerned as we were so late... our 8pm arrival had turned into a 10:45pm check-in!

If you are looking for a nice, friendly hotel in Germany, look no further! It was great, although a travel kettle is highly recommended for dedicated tea drinkers :)

11:45pm and bed. Sleep was difficult despite exhaustion as it was soooo hot and humid, and nerves were beginning to jangle somewhat! Next installment: wedding!!!!

Road trip countdown!!

I'm so excited at the moment as I got the all clear today to travel to my best friend Louise's wedding in Germany on Thursday!!

Lou moved to Europe whilst studying for her MA and has settled near Stuttgart with her wonderful fiance Gerhard. Lou is so fluent in German that she now has to think of the English equivalent. Wouldn't it be amazing to be so proficient in another language? I went over to stay with them last year and was so embarrassed by my broken schoolgirl German that I vowed to learn more... that lasted all of three weeks and I've forgotten it all again now apart from the basics - oh dear!

Lou and Gerhard make a fantastic couple and I'm so pleased that they found each other. Lou jokes that it is an added bonus that Gerhard LOVES Little Britain and Gavin & Stacey haha! He really seems to "get" and love the British sense of humour - a match made in heaven!

Anyway, I am pleased to announce that Lou and Gerhard have asked me to translate the service into English so that Lou's friends and family can keep track. I have promised her that I will refrain from any Vicar of Dibley antics (we love that show!) and I just hope that I will manage to get through it without crying... I never used to cry at weddings but have needed a truckload of tissues in recent years - fingers crossed!

It will be VERY strange though, because I have to stand next to the Registrar and repeat her address, and I will actually say that they "are lawfully husband and wife". A bit of a responsibility but I'm so honoured that they asked me!! I'm sure I'll never repeat the experience.

The other exciting news is that we are having a change from flying and have decided to make an occasion of it and are driving there - my first ever road trip!!! If anything it will be cheaper than flying. I am travelling with my friend Jen and her partner Adrian but won't be helping with the driving as they have a manual car and I can only drive an automatic. My important job is to supply sweets to keep up morale :)

We are leaving at 7am on Thursday morning to beat most of the M25 traffic and have to be at Folkestone for 10am to catch the Chunnel. I have never been on it before (trying not to think how unnatural it will be to travel under the English Channel).

After arriving at Calais we will then proceed through France, Belgium and The Netherlands before reaching Germany, and then we stay on the Autobahn for hours... and hours... and hours....

Providing we don't get too lost, we should reach our hotel by 8pm on Thursday night. Not bad, considering we will have been in 5 countries in one day!

There are quite a few of us heading over to Germany but aside from our friends Lucy and Martyn and their boys, we are the only ones who are going on a big road adventure. Martyn has family in Northern Germany and they are leaving the UK tomorrow to break their journey there.

I plan to be SUCH a tourist and will no doubt take zillions of photos of various random landmarks along the way (note to self: save some of the memory card for the actual wedding day!!)

The wedding is at 11am on Friday morning, followed by photos at a local Schloss, a champagne wedding breakfast and then the actual wedding reception which begins at 4pm. From then on in it is an all-nighter finishing at 6am. Not sure if I will see the night through - it's been a few years!! Oh, and it is also German tradition to have a free bar at a wedding. With this in mind I will DEFINITELY not be seeing 6am!!!

Most of Saturday will be spent resting, and then we are all heading into the local town for a beer festival called Gockles Fest (Roast Chicken Festival). I kid you not. They had a Raddish Festival while I was there! Perhaps we should embrace some of their community spirit and have jolly gatherings like that here too!

Then on Sunday, we leave after breakfast to catch the 4pm Chunnel crossing. I'm sure it'll be a weekend to remember. So excited!!!

I have tomorrow off work as Annual Leave so will pack then. Have to get Gizmo cat to the Cattery for 4pm so am already bracing myself for the inevitable chase/coercing/begging to get him into his basket. Then for the inevitable peeling-claws-from-top-of cage-where-cat-is-hanging-on manoeuvre! Poor Gizmo cat. I will spoil him when he comes home :)

One question: Why on earth is travel insurance so expensive if you have a health condition? Declaring my CP cost an additional £12 even though I am not on medication for this and neither do I experience any consequential health problems. I don't even use any walking aids but just happen to walk with a slightly different gait. It seems unfair but I guess that's life...

xx

Fury from the skies!!!

outside my house this afternoon

We have just had an almighty thunderstorm here, crashing and flashing for the past hour! Poor Gizmo cat was fast asleep in his bed and ran to me in the sitting room crying and wide-eyed, poor little thing... though some tasty treats soon took his mind off it!

I have always had a lifelong battle with storms. One of my earliest memories is of my Nan (who was also scared of storms) rushing around covering up mirrors and opening windows "so that the thunderbolt can escape". Of course, I don't blame my dear Nan for my fear of storms but it is nice to know that other people get frightened of them too!

Storm anxiety for me is actually more like a phobia. My heart races, I can't catch my breath, I shake, experience feelings of fight-or-flight and generally feel very, very frightened. Irrationally, I convince myself that lightning will always find ME. Silly really but I can't help it. One term for the phobia is Astraphobia, which makes me smile because it sounds like I'm terrified of Vauxhall Astra's!

I would LOVE to be able to sit and watch a storm, as the drama of crashing thunder and the beautiful lightning show is quite something. Night time viewing has always been a no-no as the lightning freaks me out and my idea of hell is being woken in the middle of the night by a storm!

I even tried watching the storm just now as the lightning was still vivid in daylight, but I chickened out after a big flash and crash... oh well, one day!

It does infuriate me though as ironically I have always been interested in anything to do with the weather. When my friend Lisa and I went to New York we LOVED the Weather Channel. Why can't we have one here in the UK?!

I particuarly like tornadoes. Well, I say "like". To say that I find them fascinating is probably a better description. Obviously I feel sorry for the death and devastation that they cause every year, but I think that they are visually stunning.

I would really love to go storm chasing in the US but the combined problem of my storm phobia and CP means that I wouldn't be able to run quickly to the chase vehicles, so I'll never be able to go. I do enjoy watching tv documentaries on storm chasing and have found some amazing photos on the net. What a true GEEK I am!

There's always something awesome about the power of Mother Nature. However technologically advanced we may be, Mother Nature always has the last word.

xx