Dear CSA...

I hope you're having a nice day dealing with nothing whatsoever, at least that's what seems to be your occupation seeing as despite receiving 5 wage slips and 4 phone calls you have still failed to carry out a proper assessment on Dan's wages.

Now, I appreciate that it's very complicated when wages change to SSP, after all this is a payment administered by a government agency....oh wait...but surely when you're in possession of wage slips you could just pop onto your own website to work out the payments? Or is that too hard?

I appreciate it's much easier to just use a random number generator, or a bingo machine to decide what payments should be for any given month, or indeed to use some kind of anagram of this weeks lottery numbers to decide on arrears, but as you took the time and (probably quite high) expense to set up an online calculator, perhaps you should indeed try that, at least then payments may bear some resemblance to the actual figures expected by both parents?

Anyway, I can't spend all day chatting, with you allowing Dan the humungous wage this month of £296 a girl just has to go and spend, spend, spend!

Much Love,

MinxyMissK

/sarcasm....

You Know You've Made It When....

Rumours of your death send Facebook and Twitter into furious action! I mentioned yesterday about The Norwich Puppet Man, and how rumours were flying around that he had died of a heart attack yesterday. Well, thankfully they were just rumours and he is alive and well....and earlier on today was actually the most popular news story on our local news site! The Puppet Man Lives!

It did bring a smile to my face to know he'll be around to wave his puppets about for a bit longer I must admit!


In slightly more worrying news, the bruise that mysteriously appeared overnight on Saturday seems to be getting steadily bigger, blacker and more swollen, so I popped to the Doctors this afternoon. He doesn't think it's anything to worry about, but I have to have some blood tests tomorrow just to rule out anything sinister. What with that, and the imminent end of my lens loan (which I have appreciated so much) today hasn't been the greatest of days, but as always at the end of the evening, things don't look too bad - it is nearly Wednesday and I'm only working a 4 day week, we are heading for London on Friday for a weekend with friends, and this evening has been spent watching a couple of good, but wildly different films, Evolution and The Book of Eli.  Hmmmm I can be really irritatingly chirpy sometimes can't I? ;o) 

Springing into Summer!

I'm in a lovely mood today! I had a fabulous weekend, attending a friends Hen Night. It was my first girlie night in way too long and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, had plenty to drink, did plenty of dancing and got to meet some lovely people during the evening!


Hen Night Fun....

Sunday was most definitely spent trying to stay awake, I was knackered after a hugely late night, the clocks going forward and not much sleep so slinked off to bed at 9pm....unheard of for me!


Monday...well it's Monday isn't it, it never fills me with much enthusiasm, and today was no different until I left work - to sunlight! I left at 6pm and it was still beautiful and bright outside, blue skies and sunny! It was a lovely surprise, and it lifted my mood immediately :o) It's always nice to feel yourself filling with an utterly positive sense of wellbeing and it just got better and better as I got closer to home. Even stopping at Asda wasn't a chore as it was a chance to grab today's photo for my 365, and a couple of other lovely shots.


Today's Gorgeous Evening...

What's not to love about an evening that looks like that?? The only sad blot on the day is the rumour flying around the internet about The Norwich Puppet Man. He's a legend around these parts and a sad rumour is doing the rounds that he has died this evening, we've not managed to find anything solid one way or the other, but I'm guessing we'll know one way or the other over the next few days.


If you doubt his legendary status, he even has his own Wiki Page! Hopefully it's just a rumour and the man, his stereo and his puppets have another Summer of entertaining ahead of them.

Blogging Fail!

I really am slacking in this blogging lark! It seems to be weekends and nothing else at the moment lol!


Life just seems to be hectic right now, all week is spent at work and then our weekends are non-stop! We have one free weekend between now and Easter! I have no idea where this social life has come from, but I'm not complaining!


We have weekends with friends, hen nights (that'll be just me...), weddings, contact visits, you name it, we have it coming up!


For the last 3 weeks though, I have been dieting, I've been as good as gold, and have been rewarded with a loss of 13 and 1/2lbs over those 3 weeks. I'm really pleased, and am feeling really positive right now! The Wii Fit even came out of the box, and that is rather good fun, so I'm sure it will be coming out rather more frequently from now on, although it is rather disconcerting to see your little Mii bloat up when you get on the scales lol!


Some of the yummy meals I've been cooking :)

Onwards and downwards anyway, here's to a stone gone by this time next week - after all, how much damage can one little hen night do?

500!

That's how many page views this silly little blog has racked up :o)


I have no idea who is reading this, according to my stats, I am getting views from all over the world! 


So....this post is just to say thank you for reading - and I hope I haven't bored you too much! lol! :o)

I Refuse To Grow Up!

I am 36, but I shall fight "growing up" until the day I die! Today, me and Hague couldn't resist the gorgeous blue skies and sunshine so have spent most of the day out of the house, firstly taking Boo out for a walk, and then after the football we headed out. We had no particular purpose other than just having a wander along the sea front and into town.


We ended up spotting a dog coat, getting another addition to the retro gaming graveyard we seem to be cultivating and I got a new hat.....an Elmo hat :o)


It's been a lovely day, and it's only 7pm!


My epically fantastical hat of perfection!

Red Nose Day!

Times are hard, belts are tightening....but every 2 years it's time for Comic Relief, time to get Funny for Money :o)


Our red noses are purchased, we are watching the funnies on the TV and have donated via text to support Moyles! 52 hours on air!

So, if you can spare anything.....give them a call on 03457 910 910, or pop to the website www.rednoseday.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just a quick one to wish you all a Happy St. Paddy's Day! Any excuse for one of these..

Also, if you're in the UK - grab your phone, type Chris in a new text message and send it to 70011. Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave have been on air on Radio 1 for coming up to 38 hours to raise money for Comic Relief. Now, I appreciate that Moyles is like marmite.....but seriously....he's been on air for a day and a half, that's worth a quid of anyone's money! 

The Joy of Going With The Flow

It's been a lovely weekend, we were both off of work on Friday and enjoyed an impromptu day together. We took Boo out and had a wander up and down the sea front (with the camera of course) and made the most of the nice weather before having a quiet evening in front of the box, making our way slowly through the One Foot in The Grave box set.

Dan and The Boo

Dan saw his boys on Saturday which meant an early start, but he had a wonderful afternoon and I had a good read in the car. The journey to and from Barnsley was quite quick and as always us nattering away passed the time wonderfully. Dan's ex was polite and pleasant which is a fantastic development and we can only but hope that this is the start to a new chapter in the interactions between them, after all the boys don't need to see their parents at each others throats. I'll keep everything crossed that this is the shape of things to come!


After a long day we were planning a lovely, long, big fat lie in, but we were so shattered we were in bed before midnight and I was up and awake by 10am! Unheard of for me! As Dan had joked his way to getting another addition to the retro gaming collection we had a leisurely breakfast and then made our way to a local village, Martham to collect an original Playstation.


On our way we passed through Ormesby St.Michael, a small village a few miles away which sits on Rollesby Broad, after spotting how picturesque is was we decided to stop on the way back. The various wild fowl were happy to pose, and I got many pictures of Swans, Geese and Ducks - although they were probably disappointed that we didn't offer any bread in payment! 

The Ormesby St. Michael Village Sign

One of the Swans on the Broad

As the broad was next to a Garden Centre we popped in there for a browse and Hague was tempted by the aroma from the cafe, so we stopped there and he had a lovely lunch....with no less than 8 veg, that's some going, and probably more than he'd have in a whole week lol!


The FA Cup match this afternoon shall be glossed over as the only downer of such a lovely weekend, and as I type I have an evening to look forward to of a nice, hot soak in the bath and a film to wind down to. There is something so simple and satisfying about letting the day take you wherever it may - and I think we might just take the car out and explore the local villages a bit more often, especially now Spring is around the corner, and who knows what we might find??

Gobsmacked!

Today was my first weigh in. I was hoping for a loss, but the loss I've had this week is beyond anything I expected! I DID weigh in for the first time at night, but even taking that into consideration I'm proud of myself.


My loss this week is 9 and 1/2 lbs! Now, I know that I have a hell of a lot to lose, but even so I didn't expect a loss like that!


I'm feeling so fired up - so ready to keep going, and a loss like this can only help with my willpower!


Onwards and downwards! :)

The Rarest of Occurrences!

It's Monday, and it's been a fabulous day! How often does that happen? I had a lovely nights sleep, for once I didn't wake up during the night and woke up pretty refreshed....a rarity indeed! I had a shower, and drove Hague to work....and it was sunny! Yes, sunshine has appeared!


The drive to work was quick, I was there 20 minutes after I left Hague! I logged onto my computer, checked my emails....to find I'd won the work charity lottery! £155 will be winging it's way to me in the next week or so :o)


I was busy at work, so the day zoomed by, and my mood has remained chirpy all day long!


I started my diet today as well, so I'm full of wonderful optimism for the next few months as well, the fridge is full of lovely fresh food....

And my tummy is now full of a delicious dinner of Oven Baked Risotto! 

Shown pre-oven obviously lol! It makes a lovely change to eat real food, and I always enjoy the buzz of embarking on a diet. I have lots of small targets this time, and I hope by tracking my progress on my blog as well, it will give me a boost when I'm finding things hard, and keep me going when I'm struggling.


Weigh in is on Friday - so look out for my ticker starting to move! Let's hope I'm in for a Fabulous Friday to follow my Marvellous Monday! :o)

Friendship

I'm sure I'm the same as most people when it comes to friends. I have old, old friends from way back when. They make drift in and out of my life, but their friendship is valuable, and reliable.


Then there are new friends, as you get older, it seems harder to make true friends. I seem to have a multitude of acquaintances, but far fewer true friends that I have made in the last few years. It doesn't make their friendship any less valuable, just slightly more fragile without the strength of years to reinforce it. Although I love my newer friends just as much as my old ones, and several of them probably know more about me than older ones!


Sometimes big events happen in your life that filter friends out - I use the world loosely here, as a true friend doesn't skip out that easily. I've had one or two of those in my time, and don't mourn the loss of people who valued my friendship so lightly.


Then there are the best sort of friends, those that are there for you when you need them, be it for good or bad reasons. Those who you can be utterly comfortable with, be yourself with and look forward to seeing - whether the gap is a week or months. I think sometimes we place too little value on our friends, and let them drift away too easily, although the real ones never truly leave our lives.


Then of course, there is a best friend - the one person who knows you inside and out, knows your fears, hopes and dreams, your flaws. The person who would do anything for you, and you would walk over hot coals for. I'm lucky, mine is my boyfriend. Of course he has flaws, of course he angers me at times, but he loves me without judging me, he accepts the utter truth of me, the real me and looks at me with more passion in his eyes because of it. I support him and love him. I'm his best friend, and he is mine - and my life is all the richer for having him in it.

The Procrastination Has Ended!

Finally I have got off my ever increasing fat butt and signed up for Tesco Diets again! I return, tail between legs having gained about a zillion pounds since I fell off the plan in such spectacular style last September.


My Meal Plan is completed, my Shopping List sorted and I'm fired up and ready to go on Monday.


I'm better organised this time, my weigh in is on Friday, and my diet starts on Monday - I know the system, I know a lot of the recipes that I love already so there is no excuse.


The countdown ticker shall finally be returning, and I shall be diminishing before your very eyes (well, sort of, seeing as I am merely text upon a virtual page displayed on your screen, but you know what I mean...)


I have a major target, our holiday in August. I have 5 and half months to go so I should be able to shift quite a bit by then by sticking to the plan. Hague is behind me, I'm raring to go, so although the start has been much delayed, it is finally here!!


Feel free to verbally kick me up the arse as you see fit :)