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 :)

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!