A Surprisingly Good Weekend!

It's only Sunday afternoon and already I'm shattered from yet another busy weekend! Now, if I'm honest I'd been partly looking forward to, and partly dreading this weekend - as some of it was WAY outside of my comfort zone, but I've ended up having a lovely time! Hopefully it's been a weekend to remember for Simon and Gemma, the Stag and Hen who we were celebrating with.


Saturday morning started early, we were out of the house for 8.45am to drive to Combat Paintball in Thetford. Now, I am of the more cuddly and comfortable flavour than most, and I shall be honest and say I wasn't particularly looking forward to this part of the day. I don't really do cold, wet, muddy, overally, shooty, outdoorsy type things. Walking Bayleigh is about as adventurous as I tend to get! However, Gemma and Simon are very good friends, and this was their Hen and Stag day so I pulled on my "Fuck it, let's get stuck in" head and went for it.


The safety brief was fun, the fighting talk was hilarious, getting kitted out was a task all of it's own. I still wasn't expecting to enjoy paintballing, merely get through it.....but once that gun was in my hand, it was a different story!!! It's amazing how much you get into it, team spirits were high and we were all really up for having fun and I honestly enjoyed every moment. One of the Hen's had even added to the  experience by bringing home made cakes with her! I had made the decision to get stuck in and never regretted it. I even felt a bit upset that we had to leave before the last game to get home for Bayleigh. I ended that part of the day with soaking, freezing feet, covered in mud and forest, a bruise to be proud of on my arm and a strange urge to have another go sooner rather than later! :)


The evening was spent at Gemm's (for the girlies) and out on the town (for the lads) and fun nights were had by both parties, us festooned with flower garlands, surrounded by palm trees and supping on cocktails whilst putting the world to rights - the boys by doing Manly Grr things, namely having a dinner consisting of many, many meat products, much beer and a visit to a couple of "Gentleman's Establishments" which seems to be de rigour for any self respecting Stag Night these days! 


I'm so glad that I bit the bullet and shoved myself out of my comfort zone, the part of the day I wasn't looking forward to ended up being the part I enjoyed the most! 


Another rather wonderful surprise was had this afternoon. West Ham started today rock bottom of the Premiership, and with a game against Liverpool this afternoon...no-one expected us to do anything except lose, and lose royally. However, West Ham had one of those days that us poor fans hope for each weekend, a day where we played wonderful football, the players had fire in their bellies and determination in their eyes and they turned over the Scousers, not just a win, a well deserved win, and a final score of 3-1. A weekend I'll remember for a long time, and for once, for all the right reasons :)

The girlies ready for PaintBall, The Manly Stag, The Hawaiian Hen Night and my reminder of the day!

Noms!

I do like to eat some odd stuff sometimes :o)


Last night Hague made a delish chilli, and he made a LOT of it! We couldn't eat it all, and so some was saved. For today's dinner I decided to buttify said Chilli (which was complete with the rice it was served with originally) with a bit of grated cheese. Hague informed me this was "mucky" (said in the delicious way only a YorkshireMan can say it) as it had the rice in.....not the fact I was making sarnies out of chilli and cheese, oh no, just the fact the rice was mixed in with the chilli!


A Facebook status survey declared this as Nomz, and I must say it was delicious. There is something so wrong it's right about spicy food eaten cold (did I mention it was cold chilli? lol)


Sometimes a girl just knows what she likes! ;o)


This was followed up by today's discovery of utter deliciousness.....Yeo Valley Lemon Curd Yoghurt. Now, I'm not one for OMGing all over the place, but....OMG it was bloody gorgeous, if you like yoghurt and lemony things, go and buy some. No, seriously, next time you are near a shop, buy some! You won't regret it I promise!!

Weighing Up My Options

I really do need to lose weight – I was planning on going back to Slimming World just after Christmas, but never got round to it, then it was February, then Valentine’s Day, and yet here we are, the 22nd of February, and still I am eating whatever I want and avoiding the scales like the plague :o(

When I DO put my mind to it, I can lose weight with the best of them. When following Slimming World before I lost close to 7 stone, but have since gained all of that back, with interest! So as you can see, my need to lose weight is not a case of “Oh I’m so fat, if only I could lose 7lbs” I really do need to lose significant amounts. I am classed as morbidly obese, and currently, I am the biggest I have ever been. This is not a good state of affairs at all, and for the first time ever, I am feeling that weight. I am hideously unfit, and get out of puff exerting the smallest amounts of effort to do the simplest of things, I ache and am not liking my reflection in the mirror. All of my gorgeous clothes are hanging in the closet, too small for me to wear.

This is all my fault, no-one else is to blame. There is no underlying issue, bar my love of foods and drink that are bad for me! Only I can do something about this, and I need to get myself into the right frame of mind. Recently, the more I’ve been thinking about what I need to do, the more I’ve been pondering which system to return to, either Slimming World or Tesco Diets.

The last diet I followed was the Tesco one, I really enjoyed it. It was something different for me, and could make it fit in quite easily with the lifestyle I lead as it was basically calorie based. I enjoyed the foods and lost weight on it, I crashed off of it in a huge way when Dan was in hospital, and never managed to get myself back on track. This might have been down to the fact that I didn’t physically go to a class each week, so it was easier to ignore the texts urging me to weigh in, but on the other hand, if I’m honest, I would have just as easily missing Slimming World classes as well.

Slimming World on the other hand, is comfortable for me, I know the system inside out and know I can lose weight on it as well. I can always eat when I’m hungry and adore the free foods such as pasta, potatoes and rice. The one downfall of Slimming World is that I get stuck into a rut and get bored with eating the same meals over and over again.

After re-reading what I’ve just written, I think I am leaning towards Tesco, it forces me to eat different foods, and if I’m honest, also forces me into varying my diet.

I have a Hen Night this weekend, but after that, nothing to stop me getting back on track for 4 weeks. I could quite easily lose half a stone in that time, even a stone if I’m lucky. So what is stopping me? Nothing whatsoever, except me of course….

TFI Friday!

That was a looooong week! My body clock is all over the place, I'm so tired I can barely think, and I feel like my feet haven't touched the ground in days!


I've been working odd shifts this week, starting off with a night shift on Monday and I've been gradually been moving back round to days - this sounds okay, but in reality it's whacked my body clock totally out of sync. I struggle anyway with fitting into a normal routine as I suffer from something called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. This is a sleep disorder where your internal body clock is significantly delayed. What this means is that my natural pattern for sleep (when left to my own devices) is to fall asleep around 4-5am and wake up around 8 hours later between 12 and 1pm. 


DSPS isn't about being lazy, it can be a real problem to live with. It's like living with constant jet lag. The world works on a 9-5 day, and most people fit into the normal sleep patterns of dropping off between 10-11pm and waking around 7am. Imagine having to wake up 5 hours early, every single day - and then trying to be a productive member of society! Or trying desperately to get yourself some sleep when you're feeling wide awake at 1am, 2am, 3am....watching the clock get closer and closer to the time of the alarm whilst you are still wide awake. 


Sometimes at work, I have to go in on an early shift, this starts at 5.45am. For me, this is like asking me to work right through the time my body is desperate to sleep and I struggle ridiculous amounts. I'm lucky, most of the time I start work at 11, which, whilst this still means I'm up "early" it's not overly early and I can get through the weeks.


This is probably why I love my weekends so very much, I can feel comfortable and awake, I can leave the alarm off and wake up when my body is ready to be awake, and stay up until I'm genuinely tired. One blessing is that Hague is the same, so there is no problem with one of us wanting to go to bed early whilst the other is a Night Owl....is that reason 79088304022 for me loving him so much?? lol!

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is one of those strange days during the year when emotions are thrust upon you by virtue of the date. Today we should all declare our deep feelings to our loved ones so they know that they are adored and appreciated.

To be honest, it’s always seemed a bit hokey to me, why should the 14th of February be the day when I decide to tell my other half that I love them? Why should the giving of love tokens be dictated by the splashes of red and pink festooned around every shop?

I think love, lust and passion should be spontaneous, the urge to buy a surprise gift, or to cover someone in a bombardment of kisses should be driven by feelings not a calendar. Personally if Dan decides on some random day to buy me a bunch of flowers as he knew they would make me smile, that means a million times more to me than if he had bought some today, just because he felt he should.

I tell Dan I love him every, single day – and he does the same. I never leave the house without giving him a kiss, and never go to sleep without a kiss either. I catch his eye and grin during the evening, and he will come up and give me a hug if I’m in the kitchen. We do little things for each other every day that show our feelings, this to me is the key to showing someone you love them! Don’t get me wrong, grand gestures are always fun, but are way more fun when they’re impromptu and totally unexpected!

Life should be surprising – so I shall have my Valentine’s Day in a million little ways every single day, and I shall have the flowers, chocolates and sweet sentiments on the day they are appropriate for whatever reason…..and I shall love My Daniel more and more on each and every one of those days.

18 Again!

Well that's what I'm telling everyone :) Thursday was my 36th birthday, so I feel fully justified in saying I'm 18 again lol!


As always I had the day off work, I never work on my birthday - it's the one day of the year I want to have a lie in and do whatever takes my fancy, and as it was a Thursday, I took Friday as well :)


We didn't have much planned, and after I had my hair prettyfied we pretty much had a relaxing day...with presents and cards, chilling out together and watching some films. Friday was busier, as I don't need much of an excuse to play with the new camera we took a trip to a local zoo (thank you Tesco Rewards) and spent a lovely few hours wandering around the practically empty zoo, taking pictures and enjoying the animals, it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, and even the weather was kind!

After a wander around the shops in the afternoon, and picking up a couple more bits for the living room, the evening was spent with a couple of drinks and some films - perfect!

Today has been another relaxing one, with a bit of a lie in, and some playing with my new lens (yep, I have well and truly caught the bug) and soon we shall be making our way to my Sister's for the evening, always fun!

I know I'm too old really to still get excited about birthdays, but I do. It may seem childish to some, but you know what? I like presents, birthday cake, birthday treats and being special for the day. I like the reflective and optimistic feeling of the end and start of a year in my life. My only real problem with birthdays is the age thing lol.....I'm not entirely sure how the hell I'm 36 years old, I don't feel it, and surely by now I should have grown up? Surely the adult-ness should have kicked in by now? Perhaps it's just totally passed me by, I certainly hope so!

Happy Birthday to Me! :)

The "Official" Birthday Portrait ;)

Roller Coaster Ride!

That's what life seems like at the moment, never a nice, steady kind of life. It's wonderful highs and horrible lows, one after another. It's enough to make you seasick!
We've been so busy recently, work, travelling and seeing friends and family. Our feet don't seem to have touched the ground in the last few weeks, so I am definitely looking forward to the next few days...


It's my birthday tomorrow, so I have a couple of days away from work - and birthday surprises to look forward to! I'm also having my hair done, and popping to Lush in the evening for a party! I'm happy with the little things like that, and as long as I can spend time with Hague I'm happy really!

February?

Already? How has that happened? Just 33 days into the year, and already a couple of the targets I set myself haven't even got off the ground, but one.....my 365 project, has really taken me by surprise! I am OBSESSED! Every day I am consumed by the need to take a photo, and have already found myself frustrated by the limitations of my little Nikon, so a DSLR is waiting in the wings (just waiting on a CF card).


I am thinking more and more about the composition of my photos, always wanting to take the best picture I can, in a way which will be a reminder of the day at the end of the year. I'm so glad I decided to do this, and it has quickly become a huge part of my life. I'm tracking the year on The 365 Project and the community there is amazing, so helpful and friendly, in fact I think I'm spending more time on there than Book of the Face now! Something which would have been unimaginable a few weeks ago!


The weight loss and fitness haven't got off the ground yet, a combination of flu and being skint have meant that I've not yet been able to get started, but am planning on returning to Slimming World on February 14th, a Valentine gift to myself of sorts :o)


2011 has already been a rollercoaster ride, continuing the usual MitcHague life of ups and downs...but it's been one with some lovely fulfilling moments so far, here's to the next 11 months!

Busy!

It seems to have been a very busy few days! I was desperate for the week to end, it seemed to drag on forever and it was a relief when work finished!


We had a quiet night on Friday, although it was nearly 9pm by the time the shopping was done and we had a chance to sit down! 


We had to be up early on Saturday to go and pick up a sofa from some friends of my sister - they're moving and wanted new furniture, so we are having their old one! Anything is better than the old, falling to bits furniture we were using so the donation was gratefully received! My wonderful Dad hired a van and we dumped the old and picked up the new on Saturday morning. The rest of the afternoon was spent sorting out where everything would go. It's a stop gap really, but has certainly given us a bit of breathing space when it comes to saving for a new sofa :o)


Saturday evening was great fun. Some old friends travelled up from London and we had a lovely evening of drink, chat and Chinese. Just simply catching up with Chris and Anna is always lovely and I'm sure it won't be long before we make the return journey down to London....armed with my new DSLR of course!!!!


Speaking of which, Chris brought a lens with him for me to borrow so I could finally play with the camera! He also gave me a few hints and tips about how to use it, as it's a big old change from my little Nikon Coolpix, and there is a hell of a lot more to consider when taking photographs with this one - but it's a learning curve I can't wait to start!


Today has been a lazy one. Hague has lost his voice, and has been reduced to a very quiet little squeak, but is being very good natured about the new range of nicknames I have imposed upon him, including Mighty Mouse and Captain Squeak, yes I really am that mature lol! We're both shattered, so I think tonight will be an early one, with hopefully plenty of sleep before we return to the work rat race for 5 long days!


End of an era...

The start of a new one!

Another Birthday!

Today it was the turn of Bayleigh Boo! I had in fact forgotten this when I went to work, but was swiftly reminded of it by Hague - as Bayleigh has her own FB account it had popped up on his profile!


It was nice to get home to spoil her, although today at work wasn't bad at all by normal standards, with a wedding invitation received and some freebies given out - but it's always nice to clock out and head home. Now, normally this takes me around 35-40 minutes, and the last stretch is an 8 mile road which is one long, straight single carriageway, with a 60 mph limit and just one easy bend, a nice easy drive. Not today though, as happens more often than it should today it was shut - an accident meant it was shut for around 3 hours, meaning I had to divert through all the villages from Acle to Caister, adding around 10 minutes to my journey :o(


I did eventually get home though, and Boo has been spoiled rotten, with cheese on her dinner, another lamb shank bone from Sunday's dinner, mini sausages and a Jumbone - heaven on earth to a Basset Hound! She's been allowed on the settee as well! 


I know she has absolutely no concept that today is her birthday, but it's always fun to make a day a little bit special, no matter how frivolous the reason! So....Happy Birthday to Boo! :o)


The Birthday Girl! Six today!

The Right Thing ≠ The Easy Path...

An odd day today. It is the day of the much awaited and once adjourned second directions hearing regarding Dan's contact with his children. The boys live in Barnsley, 185 miles away from us in Great Yarmouth, and as is usual, the hearing is at the court closest to them - so a long old drive and a long old day. 


Dan was in front of the judge for around 10 minutes, long enough for the judge to register his utter disgust for his interpretation of Dan's behaviour whilst he has been ill. As Dan put it he was "utterly reamed".


When he first got back to the car and told me, I was so annoyed at the judge, how dare he decide all this and lay blame where it wasn't due....however, Dan could  have done more to stay in contact whilst he was ill, and during the course of the 4 hour drive home we have taken many positives from today...


Yes Dan was ill, very ill with a ruptured appendix, a wound that re-opened and then further damage to the nerves in his back...however, that should not have stopped him picking up the phone to talk to his boys.


Yes, it's easier not to have to deal with his Ex, but she's not going anywhere anytime soon, so she shall be dealt with swiftly, politely, and strictly on topic.


Yes it's easier to act like a victim, and blame others - but facing up to things gives a real sense of achievement, and looking into the eyes of someone you love and knowing they are proud of you is worth fighting for.


The boys deserve a Dad they can look up to - and I truly believe that today is the turning point. Today is the day when Dan will really push towards being that man, for the ones he loves. Sometimes you do need to take a good, hard look at yourself to realise who you are and what you want. I truly believe today was that day for Dan.


Perhaps now he'll learn to listen to his wonderful, all knowing girlfriend ;o) 

At Bleeding Last!

I'm finally feeling better! I'm still a bit sniffly and sneezey but the aching has finally gone, and although I'm still very tired, I know I'm on the mend, it's a wonderful feeling!


It's been a weird old week, starting as it did with me grumping massively over the flu and ending with Dan back at work and me in the house alone!! Now that may not sound like an extraordinary occurrence but it is to me. Except for when Dan was in hospital (when the only time I was here I was sleeping) I've not been alone here for years!


I've made the most of it with a looooong delicious soak in the bath, enjoying a little treat of some Hot Butter Fudge bubbles which just smell gorgeous and now I'm just relaxing and watching cookery programmes :o) Simple pleasures!


We are still waiting for the return of Mutley's ashes. We'll be looking after him until Lee and Tina are back in the country, when they'll decide whether to scatter him somewhere he loved or take him back to Singapore with them. It's still hard to think that he's gone, and has really hit home to me how hard it is to say goodbye to a pet. I will be beyond devastated when anything happens to Bayleigh :o(


All in all it's been a bit of a stressful week, Dan returning to work wasn't without it's issues, as it's been so long (September) since he's worked, and as he was going back to a different placement, it was an anxious day. This placement is a lot quieter than his first one, but...he's training up and this will give him experience with working with older people in a care environment. 


Adding to the stress has been a lovely letter from the CSA - due to their own incompetence they haven't taken money from his wages for two months. Apparently this is somehow Dan's fault....got to love dealing with government agencies! We have no idea why it's taken them two months to inform him that they've been unable to take his payments from his wages, and as for the fact that they've passed on false personal information to his ex wife......infuriating isn't the word!! Still, wage slips are on the way, so perhaps they'll sort it out before Christmas.....


In other, much happier news, at 9.30pm tonight, Dan will finish work and the weekend can begin! I think I'm finally feeling well enough for a little drink tonight, and as I'm planning on (finally) returning to Slimming World on Monday this may be the last chance for a big drink for a while! Next week will be stressful as well with a court appearance about the boys pending, so a relaxing weekend will be very welcome!


Oh...and I *may* have bought myself a DSLR camera.....I've been thoroughly enjoying my 365 and can't wait to start playing with my first "proper" camera :o)


A DSLR effort (with Lee's camera) of Lee and Bayleigh!

Enough Already!

Eurgghhh! Just eurgghhhh! I am STILL ill, my attempts to return to work today were thwarted when I visited my GP to get my certificate for my absence. She said I shouldn't be going back until I was more fully recovered, so signed me off for another week.


I am bored, I am sick of feeling so tired and aching everywhere. If I try and do anything it wipes me of all energy and makes me need to sleep for hours. I'm sleeping for 12-14 hours a night and am still shattered.


All I want is to feel better, to get back to work, to be able to get my butt to Slimming World and start losing weight and to start taking some interesting pictures for my 365!


Flu...you suck, big time, please sod off and leave me alone :(

Goodbye Mutley

Despite the inevitability of yesterday, it was still a very hard day. 


Lee arrived safe and sound with us, and managed to get a few hours with Mutley. Even the appearance of his Dad wasn't enough to really perk him up though, and sadly it just seemed as if Mutley knew it was his time.


He was a very sweet dog, he liked nothing more than snuggling into his crate and the  occasional fussing. Yesterday all he wanted was for someone to be there with him, just stroking him and talking to him, and we were there with him until the end.


The vets were lovely, giving us time with him, and making it as calm as possible, but many, many tears were shed for a dog who was definitely part of the family, and to Lee a dear, close friend who had seen him through thick and thin over the last 13 years. It will be a hard few days as we come to terms with the house without him


Mutley - you have left a huge gap in our lives, and I will never forget the time you spent with us.

A Long Night

I'm still suffering from flu, but that's the least of my worries at the moment. A post or two ago I described our little menagerie of animals, and today Mutley isn't well :(


Mutley's Dad is en-route from Singapore as I type, and we shall be staying up all night to ensure he is as comfortable as possible. He has descended quite quickly in the last 24 hours, and much as I hope he will be okay I'm really not sure how good the outcome will be for him. He's 13 and his age has been showing in recent months with him becoming more and more unsteady on his legs.


All I want is for him to be as comfortable as we can make him tonight, and for him to still be with us in the morning when Lee arrives.....not that much to ask for. I hope beyond hope that he will be okay, but until he sees the vet in the morning, we just won't know.


Not a good day, and it will be a long hard night....


Mutters

Zeitgeist

Today has mostly been supremely unproductive, I'm still feeling awful - in fact worse than I have since last week, and as such have barely had the energy to move from the sofa, let alone doing anything interesting or exciting.....so I found myself meandering through Facebook (for a change..lol). 


One of my friends, Lisa, posted on her status that she had watched Zeitgeist, and recommended that her friends watch it as well. This is a film that I have been planning to watch for ages, in fact Hague had already downloaded it for me months (if not years) ago. Seeing her status reminded me, and I finally bothered my arse to get onto the website and watch it.


Watch Zeitgeist Here....

I found it utterly intriguing - it contained many, many things that myself and Hague find ourself pondering and discussing over and over again. The Paganistic roots of Christianity are no surprise to me, being a Pagan it's something I'm well aware of, but to see the extent of the crossover I found interesting, and as I'm interested in theology in general, it will probably be something I study in more detail.


The second part of the film concerns September 11th 2001. Now, I'm sure everyone is aware of the multitude of conspiracy theories regarding that day and the aftermath, and whilst before I accepted there were oddities about the day, and certainly a cover up of sorts, I refused to believe that a government would sanction action of that level on their own countrymen and women for their own ends, but Zeitgeist throws up many questions on so much surrounding that day, that again I will read further about. The thing I liked most was that the facts were simply presented, you are left to come to your own conclusions regarding the information.


The final part of the film discusses the power of money and wealth, and the level to which our economies and commerce are warped and corrupted by banks, and the further pursuit of the few for ever increasing riches and power - and the subtle direction towards war as a business enterprise.


The film opened my eyes to a few things, but it didn't preach, it presented facts, and encouraged me to go on, explore, question and research the world around me and the growth of our Big Brother society. To keep my eyes and mind open, and value the world and people around me.


The final message was not one of uprising, protest and war, it was one of hope, of love and of the power of intelligence and curiosity. One of the final quotes spoke to me in bounds....


"When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, the World will know Peace" - Sri Chinmoy Ghose.


Whatever your views, give the film a go - if you take nothing else away, the message of Love is one we can all appreciate.

Regular Check Up

On my challenges that is! We're now 9 days into the New Year, so a good a time as any to have a bit of an update!


A minor spanner in the works appeared in the form of getting ill last week with either a really nasty cold, or a dose of flu. I certainly felt as rough as hell and pretty much slept my way through Thursday and Friday! I'm still not feeling great now, but should be okay to go back to work tomorrow. However, it's meant that not a lot has been achieved for some of my challenges....


Going well....is the Project 365, a photo has been taken every day and I'm still really enjoying the challenge. I've also found a website where you can chronicle your project (My 365 Project) and have really enjoyed browsing through other projects and getting to know some people on there in the last few days.


Going as well as can be....are the Trust and Money challenges, no significant issues with either at the moment! Well, the money is there to pay the bills - but that's it, but that's nothing new lol! I suppose I can put the Photography challenge in here as well, as I've decided against the Photoshop course for now, as I can buy the Dummies book for £15, and shall see how I get on with that first!


Not going anywhere yet....are the Losing Weight and Fitness challenges. I've had to wait for payday to join Slimming World, which will be on Monday. I'll be signing up for 12 weeks, so no excuses! The fitness one has been thwarted by me feeling rough, but I will certainly get myself into a routine once I'm back to something resembling health!


Things are going pretty much as expected so far I suppose, I'm looking forward to started at Slimming World tomorrow, and shall be setting up a ticker as soon as I get back. I do need support when losing weight, so feel free to kick me up the arse through comments lol!

The Menagerie

I am very much an animal person, I like having a pet around, am a vegetarian, and hate to see an animal suffering needlessly. This doesn’t mean that I am against meat-eaters, each to their own after all, it’s just my view. In Hague’s words, I’m a soppy cow when it comes to animals!

This has somehow led to us becoming the owners of what can only be described as The Menagerie over the last couple of years. Originally, in the times before Hague I had only one pet, my Basset Hound Bayleigh Boo (alternatively knows as The Boo, BooPig, WigglePuppy, PwincessPaddyPaws and a million variants thereof). I’ve had her since she was 10 weeks old in April 2005. She has a wonderful personality, is very stubborn, playful and jealous of anyone being around “her” Mummy. She likes to be the centre of everyone’s world, and will always try and make us giggle. She doesn’t just wag her tail, she wags her entire body! She can be utterly naughty and defiant as well if she thinks she can get away with it…..it other words, she’s a typical Basset! She also thinks she is a little lapdog despite weighing in at just under 5 stone, and is constantly trying to sneak up for cuddles with me on the sofa, thinking that Dan won’t notice the appearance of a ridiculously long dog taking up most of the seat! She owns the soppiest puppy eyes you’ve ever seen and for all intents and purposes is my baby….yes, I know that’s incredibly sad lol!

In July 2009 I got a phone call from a very old and dear friend, he was moving to Singapore with his lovely lady and was unable to take his Doberman with him due to his age. He had made plans for someone to take him in, but they fell through at the 11^th hour, so he made a desperate plea to us to take his 12 year old boy in – I shall refer you back to my opening paragraph to ensure the fact that we agreed to take him in is of no surprise to you!

Despite being much larger than The Boo, Mutley immediately moved himself to the bottom of the pack in the house. He obviously missed Lee desperately as he was very quiet to begin with, and we had issues with him settling. I think he has found a happy level now, he’s an old man, and he spends most of his time making his crate into a nice nest and snuggling up in it and sleeping. He has lost some of his bounce, but still has a good old wag of his little stump when he gets a treat for being a good boy :o)

Obviously 2 pretty large dogs weren’t quite enough for our house, as in the Autumn of 2009 Hague decided he needed more pets – and so the Gerbils arrived (for some reason pronounced with a hard G….don’t ask!). The new members of The Menagerie were named quite quickly, and as such, don’t particularly suit their personalities too well. We have JCB – named due to the fact that all he does is dig, and dig, and dig, and dig….he will also eat stuff in his cage, but digging is mainly what drives our little sandy coloured friend. The second of the Gerbily Little Dudes is TiggerPig, so named as all he did on the first day we had them was bounce around the cage like Tigger! He’s a brownish colour, and contrary to his name is actually much quieter than that. The last Gerbil is the bossiest one, woefully named Mousey as he barely showed his face for the first few days and was a pretty silvery grey, so we wrongly decided that he must be the quiet one….we couldn’t have been more wrong!! He bosses the other two around, always wants to be first to any food and is without doubt the leader of the tiny Gerbilly universe we have! I had owned a Hamster years ago, so wasn’t overly keen on the addition of more rodents, however, The Gerbils are way more fun, they are very nosy and at every noise or bit of movement a little head will pop up to see what’s going on! It’s like having a budget Meerkat commercial running constantly!

So, we’re now up to 5 pets and 2 people! Hague though is Cat People, and as you may have noticed, a cat flavoured pet was missing from The Menagerie. So we started to check various Freegle/Freecyle/Pet Charities for the perfect cat for us. They had to be used to dogs and litter trained, and we tried for a fair while until I randomly answered an ad for someone looking for a foster or permanent home for their PussyCat. After exchanging a few emails with Claire she decided that we sounded like the perfect home for her, and so we had our final addition – PussyCat, now more usually known as Flump. A tortoiseshell cat of unknown age, but totally dog savvy, litter trained, and who has slotted straight into the Random House of Mayhem that is the MitchHague residence! She enjoys nothing more than snuggling up on the settee and having cuddles, although she does get very vocal if her bowl gets to anything even vaguely resembling empty, again, she has a great little personality, and seems to revel in being allowed on the sofa when Bayleigh isn’t. In fact her interactions with Boo are highly amusing as Bayleigh has absolutely no idea what Flump is…..she keeps sniffing this weird looking dog thing with such intent, but seems to have no idea how to deal with her – poor thing!

Anyway….there you have it….an short introduction to The Menagerie, or How I’ve Suddenly Found Myself One Pet Away From Having My Own Zoo!

A Few Firsts!

Not all good ones! I've had to ring in for my first sick day of both the new year, and since my job became permanent. I felt rough yesterday, but despite an early night and tons of sleep I woke up this morning feeling even worse! I'm hoping it's not full blown flu, I really don't want to be ill like this, work is busy right now, and I just can't be off for any amount of time! I'm keeping myself full of paracetamol, orange juice and lemon and ginger tea, which will get me sorted nice and quickly with any luck!


The first takeaway of 2011 has also been ordered, mainly as neither Me or Hague have the energy to walk to the kitchen, let alone make hot food, as once again we've both got sick together, so much for being looked after and waited on hand and foot! O_o


Another first is that I have my first (and second!) follower on my blog! This is most definitely a good first, and it really has put a smile on my face. I mainly write this blog for me, but it's nice to know that people have had a look and are interested enough to follow it. *waves*


Perhaps I should up my game lol???


In other news, I'm 6 days into Project 365, and despite feeling awful still managed a picture that I like, which is my first food/beverage themed one! :o)

Back to Work

First day back at work today after 11 gorgeous days off. I couldn't have been in a less enthusiastic mood to be honest, but have to get myself back into the swing of things quickly.


We've got a busy few weeks coming up at work, but I can't seem to get myself in a positive frame of mind for any of it. It's at times like this that I am so jealous of people who have found jobs that they love. I can't think of anything more rewarding than going to work everyday with a feeling of anticipation about what the day will bring, and a desire to excel at something you truly enjoy.


I've had quite a few jobs over the years, but never anything I've really wanted to do, certainly nothing that has had me waking up full of enthusiasm about the day ahead. I think half the problem is that I'm not entirely sure what that job would be for me....I have quite a few things that interest me, photography, anything 50's/60's retro, family law, reading, cooking, and expanding my knowledge in things that I could never tire of learning about, such as space and religion. However, they don't really fit neatly into any sort of job. 


I think this is why I live for the weekends - it means I can do what I want to do, I'm not restricted and confined by a job, or by an early night, or by having to do anything. I'm free to do what I enjoy. 


Now, if someone has a job going that means I can get up late, take pictures of interesting retro items whilst reading about religion......give me a call ;)

They Think It's All Over :(

And it is now, all those wonderful days off, Christmas and New Year - all done and dusted. It's the evening before I have to go back to work and it's come around way too quickly for my liking!


As I've blogged before, Christmas was lovely, as was New Year, but I don't feel ready to go back yet - but I haven't won the lottery, so back I must go! It will be a busy few weeks at work up until my Birthday in February so the time should go quite quickly, but I'll miss the freedom of being at home. The simple pleasure of waking up and knowing that the whole day is yours to do whatever you want to do, such bliss!


I'm also on day 3 of Project 365, and am enjoying the challenge of finding something that will make an interesting photograph and will be a reminder of the day for me. For the first time, my camera will be coming into work with me as well - no opportunity shall be lost! :)


Tonight will be spent relaxing, trying to get myself in the mindset of going back to work, and the reality of getting up in the AM again! lol! Hague is also back to work as soon as his placement is sorted, so a back to earth with a bump moment for both of us! 

Challenges for 2011

I am not much of one for making resolutions, but I have set myself some challenges for the year ahead. Some are to improve my health, some are to improve me as a person, and some are just things I'd like to do - which I suppose covers most things that people resolve to change when the New Year comes around! So, in no particular order, here are my challenges for 2011.


Lose Weight
I think this has been a resolution of mine every year for as long as I can remember lol! As always though, I start January absolutely determined and shall be returning to my Slimming World class on Monday. I need the weekly weigh in to help keep me on track, and so have decided to go back to give myself a fighting chance. I have a hell of a lot to lose, so look out for the return of the ticker :)


Project 365
I am really excited about this one! My first picture is taken and I think this is one resolution I will find easy. I love taking pictures and this should encourage me to keep my camera on me at all times and enable me to take those pictures that I miss time and again due to not having it with me. I'm hoping that my photography will improve over the course of the year as well. At the end of the project I'll put all the pictures into a photobook as a record of 2011 for me.


Fitness
Now, I can lose weight with the best of them, over the years I've lost stone upon stone (but not kept it off) but I'm not so hot with the fitness side of things. I start off with good intentions but never keep it up. However this year I've been given a Wii Fit Plus for Christmas, so I am setting myself the challenge of getting it out at least 3 times a week. That's not a daunting amount, and as they say, Every Little Helps :)


Trust
This is a harder one to describe, and to measure I suppose. I need to have more faith in others, need to believe that if they say they will do something, they'll do it, and not worry about things that are not "my" problem. This is something I find hard, as I've blogged before, but I think I need to focus on it a bit more this year.


Money
Things are slightly better than they were, however, they could be better. I want to be more sensible with money, use it more wisely and try to get some savings together for emergencies. We have the money to do these, but we are terrible at talking each other into spending it!! We're both totally to blame for this, but I'm hoping to be a little more productive with cash in this coming year.


Photography
This fits in with Project 365. The local college runs a few photography courses and I want to attend two of them..."Improve Your Digital Photography" and "Introduction to Photoshop". They cost £74 each, which isn't too bad - so this should be another one that I should be able to achieve :) (Presuming the Money one goes well of course).


So there we have it, those are the challenges for myself for 2011, and the final one is to keep up this blog to both record my progress for all of them, and of course to witter on about general crap along a similar vein to last year! 

Backwards and Forwards

Well what else did you expect on New Years Eve? lol! 


2010 wasn't a good year for a multitude of reasons, in fact, I'd say it was probably one of the worst years I've had. A bold statement maybe, but sadly it's the truth. However, there were some wonderful moments during the year, and it will be those I will keep in mind. Dan finding a perfect job, me getting a promotion and the ever growing, ever changing nature of our relationship which just keeps getting better.


As I said, I'll be glad to see the back of this year, but it's years like this that make you a stronger, better person I think. When you get yourself through the hard times, it makes you enjoy the good times all the more, makes you take that little bit more out of each experience, just in case there is a pothole around the corner.


I'm feeling optimistic about next year, I have set myself a few challenges for the year ahead, I've already blogged about Project 365 and losing weight, but we are also saving for a sofa (exciting I know), I am planning to take a photography course and Dan will be heading back to work at last after his surgery. I don't normally like making resolutions, but the time feels right to pick myself up after 2010 and work on some positives :)


I hope that 2011 is a wonderful year for you all, and brings you whatever you wish for. Keep a positive attitude and don't let the bastards grind you down! Happy New Year! xx

Well That Was Christmas :)

And what a fabulous Christmas it's been so far :) I'm so glad I took Christmas Eve off, as we had a lovely day, and every day since has been good. I can't think of a single low point.
Minor frustrations have stayed just that!! Christmas Day was typical, lots of food, drink and presents with The Parentals. Jenna and Carys were adorable as usual, my parents were enormously generous with gifts and my Mum, as is customary, overcatered massively! I was really pleased that everyone liked their presents as well, we don't have a huge amount of spare cash, so couldn't spend fortunes, so bought personalised gifts for most - the photo calendars were a huge hit with my Sister and Mum, and my Nan seemed to love the photo of the four generations of our family that I had framed for her. Sometimes the simple presents are the best, and the reaction from everyone was well worth the time it took to put the calendars together for them. We even came home to no accidents from The Menagerie!


Boxing Day was in a similar vein, albeit without the roast dinner, but snacky foods which allowed us to graze all day. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with family over Christmas, and it was probably one of the best I can remember of recent years!


Since then we have been at home, Mum gave us a doggie bag on Boxing Day which has kept us in food since then, and we have been working our way through the Carry On box set Dan got for Christmas from my Parents. It's been lovely to be able to chill out together for a few days, having a few drinks and relaxing together, with nothing to do! Heaven!


I have a few things to get sorted in the next few days, a bit of a back to earth of sorts I suppose, but nothing too major, and Friday is the day when we are planning to hit the sales with our Christmas vouchers, and treat ourselves to lunch with more vouchers lol!


I suppose I'd better make the most of it.....I have decided to return to Slimming World on January 3rd, so keep an eye out for a new ticker, hopefully heading downwards all through 2011!


The Big Old List of "What We Got"
Wii Fit Plus
£220 towards our sofa fund
Lush Gift Box
Cinders Ballistics
Russell Brand's Book (well two of them...but these things happen at Christmas lol)
Raving Rabbids Game
West Ham vs Man U programme
2 Raving Rabbids figures
£50 in Love to Shop vouchers
Dinosaur Money Box
Necklace/Watch
Shortbread


PS3 F1 game
Carry On box set
The Expendables on Blu Ray
CK 1
Barnsley Shirt
T-shirt


Amazingly generous, and all greatly appreciated! :)

Christmas!

I'm all done :) It's midday on Christmas Eve and I am now ready. The family cards are written, the last present is wrapped, the shopping for the festive period is all done (and Asda wasn't even that busy), so I'm now able to relax and well and truly enjoy Christmas!


I love Christmas, not the religious aspect, as I'm not Christian, but the whole feeling that is seems to induce in people. Everyone seems smilier, kinder and more likely to do something nice for others. We came in from shopping to a text from Dan's ex asking if he'd like to talk to his youngest today as he was poorly yesterday, a small thing, but one which has really lifted Dan's spirits. What's not to love about a season that seems to bring out all that is good in people? I am now in happy tears after that call. To hear the boys so excited about Christmas and then to hear them singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas has made my Christmas, it was absolutely wonderful. All due to a simple, kind act - Christmas Spirit in action :o)


Today will be spent relaxing, watching the Christmassy fare on television before the huge blow out that Christmas Day will be. I can't wait to be bombarded with Jenna and Carys telling me all about what presents Father Christmas left for them, and playing with just about all of them over the course of the day!


Christmas at The Parentals is traditional, with Turkey, TV and way, way too much food - and I can't wait :)


I hope you all (whoever you may be) have a wonderful Festive Season, regardless of belief, religion or circumstance. Peace, Love and Goodwill to you all xx