What a lucky girl I am ................

Sadly, I will be another year older on Saturday, and for my birthday my dear friend Leit has given me my very own Bubsbear who has been lovingly made by Abby over at mutteringsfromthemoor

which was totally unexpected and very naughty of her...but isn't he just so sweet!

Leit and her family are emigrating to Australia over the Easter hols, she was born there and they have now decided that it would be a better life for their young family over there. I will be very sorry to see her go as she has the same wicked sense of humour as me...probably why we get on so well. I will miss them loads but I am pleased for them as they really deserve this fresh start as she has not had an easy time of it over the last few years thanks to the badly bodged C section she received from a top London hospital.

 

I will not be around for a while as we are having a well earned break and will even be leaving our laptop at home...which is going to be really strange as this is the first time we've been seperated!

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter,

Sue x x

It's time for some Dear......letters

Dear Milkman,

I am very sorry that I have had to cancel my milk deliveries with you today. 
Yes, I do appreciate that it is a difficult time for dairy farmers at the moment.
But, delivering milk after 8.30 in the morning is no help to anybody...especially those who have to go out to work resulting in it being left outside all day. When I signed up for home delivery you said that it would be at the same price as the supermarkets i.e. £1.50 for the large plastic carton....but you omitted to tell me that your large carton is in fact only 2 litres whereas the supermarkets are 2.2 litres. Maybe if your lazy milkman got out of his pit a bit earlier then I would not have to go back to getting my milk from Mr T or Mr S?

Trust me, I am not a nice person to be around first thing without a cup of tea inside of me.

Thank you

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Dearest Husband,

I am sorry that you feel that the service at home is deteriorating.  Last night whilst in bed you decided that you wanted to have cornflakes for supper.  So downstairs you went only to return in a few minutes later with a peanut butter sarnie in hand to say that you were really pissed off.  Apparently there were not any cornflakes left and you didn't fancy rice crispies.  As you know, I very rarely eat cereal so I wouldn't have been aware that we had run out.  However, if you had put the empty box beside the bin that may just have alerted me to the situation...but no, as with the orange juice, milk, ketchup, jam, bubble bath, shaving foam, toothpaste and countless other items YOU decided to leave an empty box on the shelf....perhaps you have learnt your lesson now.

Your loving wife x

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Dear Daughters High School,

Thank you very much for the weekly newsletter. By chance I happened to notice on the back page bottom right hand corner, in very small print, a paragraph to say that the back entrance to my daughter's school would be closed as from Monday. I appreciate your reasons for doing this is for site security and therefore the safety of the children. However, did no one stop to think about the implications of doing this? The main entrance to the school is on a busy road, which is a bus route with no parking. At present there are 1500 pupils in the school which will rise to 1800 in September.

It was absolutely bloody bedlam on Monday morning. It is a wonder that no one got hurt.....by this I mean my daughter. She was in a complete frenzy as she actually thought she was going to marked late (something that has never happened to her before) because I got sandwiched between 2 buses as the traffic was not going anywhere. My stress levels where sky high. Luckily, I watched the professionals in the 70's and got her in..... just in the nick of time.

I sense that only a few parents spotted the 'snipit' on the back page (or couldn't be arsed to read it) as children were trying to kick the back gate open or climb over it.

Next time you have something really important to tell us, it might be a good idea to put it on the front page...IN BIG BOLD LETTERS, just a thought.

A Disgruntled Parent

I'm so happy.....

It really is a pain when the children become to old to go to the creche at the shopping centres.  This means you have to drag them around with you which makes shopping no fun at all and you end up spending a fortune on a load of crap you didn't go out to buy.

However, today we have had a brainwave.

Today, we deposited the children at the cinema to watch Alice In Wonderland, stocked them up with drinks and snacks, I saw them to their seats and we had 2 whole hours to ourselves...and it was bloody heaven!  My oldest is 14 in the summer and is quite capable of looking after her little brother (as long as she's paid!) whilst they watch the film. She has her mobile with her (and an inhaler for him if needed) and we can be back to the cinema if needed in about 5 mins as it is in the centre of the shops.

This meant we had a delicious latte at Costa coffee and a piece of lush carrot cake too, we were not rushed, we didn't have to go to the toilet every 10 mins and we had adult conversation with no mention of Ben 10 or the Simpsons.

Then we had a mooch around the shops - not the Disney Shop or the Toy Shop, proper shops and had no demands for Mcdonalds...until they came out of the cinema that is!

I think we shall be doing this on a regular basis now.  Now on to other matters.

I've been tagged by by Susie over at new day new lesson and Magic Mummy over at The Diary of a Frugal Family to tell you all about my 10 favorite things. 

So with out further a do....here goes:

1)  My Children - I had my children quite late in life
(30 when my first was born) and to be honest I never really thought of myself as being all that maternal so it wasn't a priority to me until my late 20's.  But I have to say I'd be lost without them and I love them to bits.

2)  Chocolate - need I say more....... just can't live without it!

3)  My Cat Jake - He's such a gem, he really is.  We got him the year before my daughter was born so he'll be 15 in the summer.  He's like a little old man now as his joints are a bit stiff for him at times.  He's become quite vocal and he gets so happy when he's purring that he dribbles everywhere!

4)  Our Caravan - Now I was never up for this sort of thing when it was decided that we were going to buy one as I didn't do caravans. 

No, I just did 5 * hotels somewhere hot. 

But I have to say over the years it has grown on me, we've made some great friends and I can't wait for the new season to kick off at Easter. 

5)  Columbo  - Yes I know most of you would think of him as the old guy who smokes a cigar in a dirty old rain coat but to me he's god.  I like nothing more then to settle down on a Sunday afternoon and watch him on the TV...even though I've seen each episode a hundred times and I have them all on DVD.

6)  Money - Please don't think of me as being shallow but it's the stuff that makes the world go round and is very important to me. I'm happy when I have money in my purse, I worry a lot when I don't - simple as that.  

7)  Flowers - Yes I'm a sucker for a big bunch of flowers..my all time favorites are Stargazer lillies.  They smell heavenly and look beautiful.

8)  Food - I like my food but then and again, who doesn't.  I like it when we do a barbecue and we all sit around the table helping ourselves to all the lovely grub that we've prepared - that's the only time the children are allowed to use their fingers to eat!

9) My Husband - We've been together for 26 years this April and married for 16 of them in September.  We've grown up together as we started going out together

as teenagers.  He's not just my husband, he's my best friend too.  (Thought I had better mention him just incase he reads my blog!)

10) A Roaring Coal fire - My Dad has been living in his house for 65 years, we all grew up in it and it still has a coal fire in the living room.  I have so many happy memories as a child sitting in front of the coal fire on a cold day playing with my dolls.  In the evening we would either make toast on a toasting fork or better still have chestnuts that were cooked on the coal shovel.

11) I know it should be 10 but I need to add one more....Music - I  love music, any kind really except heavy metal.  I have a varied selection on my ipod from classical to garage music.  I can't imagine life with out music.  The radio goes on from the moment I wake up and when we are home in the eveing there is usually a CD on in the lounge.  I find it really helps to lift my mood especially if it's been a stressful day.  We all like to have boogie in the living room too...it's especially funny when my hubby trys to copy my son's breakdancing! 

So, that's what makes me happy.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend my dear friends.

Sue  x x

For all us Mummies...

Happy Mothers day all my blogging Mummy friends.  I hope your little ones (or not so little ones) are looking after you today.  I was very lucky and had breakfast in bed made by my youngest and hubby...for the 1st time ever...and I liked it..lots!

As many of you know, my dear Mum passed away in 2004.  To this day I miss her dreadfully. 

I've never been totally honest as why she died with friends, I suppose it's because I'm embarrassed and annoyed. 

My Mum's demise came down to alcohol.  I can't even bring myself to say she was an alcoholic.

The funny thing is, all through my life she was always ill with one thing or another and even battled breast cancer and beat it.  But she was always convinced she was seriously ill with one thing or another.  She lived on her nerves and battled depression and agoraphobia. 

The irony is that she had a clean bill of health apart from a knackered liver all due to the dreaded drink....which she turned to in later years. She would have bottles of the stuff hidden all over the house.

Sometimes I get annoyed with myself for feeling angry with her for leaving us on these terms.

I even feel guilty if I have glass of wine at home as I'm scared I'll turn into her.

But nothing changes with the fact she was still my Mum and I miss her dreadfully and although I never said it to her face I loved her lots.

Have a great Mother Day.

Sue x

Still here..just about

Well, I'm still feeling yucky with this 'whatever it is' which has now decided to sit on my chest and aggravate my asthma..so because of this I had to cancel my Zumba class this evening as I didn't fancy exiting gym by ambulance. I'm sure I've not helped the situation by going into work each day but we're short staffed and my line manager is off with a tummy bug and we've got more interviews happening tomorrow for new teachers to start in September.

So, anyhow...I've been thinking. One of my colleagues at work is out on a second date tonight with a girl he was introduced to by a friend. The first date could have gone better as she was a bit shy but he's taking her out tonight to a golf range so they can hit a few balls and have some good conversation.

My how things have changed.

Back in my days (the early to mid 80's) it would have been the cinema...it would have been the Granada as it was a very old badly lit building and you'd have been on the back row...there would be very little talking and you'd probably not see much of the film...if any of it! A meal afterwards would have been in the Wimpy bar.....burger and chips freshly cooked and on a china plate....that was style and there would have been the Thompson Twins playing on the radio in the background....those were the days!

I'm lucky, as I met my hubby when I was 16..he was just 15 and still at school. I worked in the local newsagents and used to sell him his Eagle comic and he'd spend the rest of his pocket money on bazooka bubble gums and pink foam shrimps and play on the arcade games machine like Frogger and Space Invaders. I knew then that he was the one. He didn't though, that was the problem.

2 years it took me to woo him, 2 long bloody years! In which time I got myself in such a state over the fact that he didn't respond to my advances, stalked him most nights, started smoking and became anorexic thinking I must be too fat...which, of course I wasn't. By the time he started to realise he would be on to a good thing with me, I'd moved on to a lad called Mark. I think this was the kick up the backside my hubby needed as he begged me to go out with him and poor Mark lost out. On April 1st (yes, I know!) we've been together for 26 years.

Another of my work colleagues is going through a marriage break up, she's in her late 30's with 3 young children. I really don't envy her one bit and would not like to be starting over again....thank god for internet dating I say as all the Wimpy's have gone from round our way and at least you wouldn't have to sit at a bar and make small talk all night would you!

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x

Bless me...

I haven't been round much over the last few days as we've all been poorly with a virus, which is no fun at all.

The only good thing is that it's affected my taste buds, which means a poor appetite which means I might loose a pound or two.....till I start eating properly again!

The Zumba class was interesting...and very fast paced.  I managed to keep up the best I could, although near the end the instructor seemed to speed it up - which I wasn't expecting at all..and I lost my way BUT I thought as long as I keep moving it must be doing me good.....mustn't it?  There was lots of salsa type moves, hip twisting and dipping, arm swaying and with lots of ankle movements thrown in for good measure. I was quiet surprised that I didn't need to use my inhaler during the session, so I must be fitter then I thought.  So, I'm hoping to go back on Wednesday - if I'm feeling OK.

I can't really think of much else to write at the moment as my head still feels all fuzzy but give me a couple of days and I'm sure (hope) I'll be back to normal.

Have a good week peeps.

Sue x

A leopard never changes it's spots, or can it ?

Well, we are not the most active family in the exercise department I have to be honest with you.

But we are trying.

So, we now go swimming on Tuesday & Friday evening and most Sunday's.  Now, as a child I liked swimming but as I've got older I must admit I don't really enjoy it - I'd be Okay with it if you didn't have to get wet!  It's harder in the winter month's to motive yourself, when we are away at our caravan we do tend to do a lot of walking (mainly around the shops!) no, seriously we do go on lots of walks and cycle quite a bit too.

So, I've decided that I need to make more of an effort and have signed myself up for these, starting tomorrow evening :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlRPHHKJt7Q

It's called Zumba, a mix of aerobics and salsa dance... looks fun doesn't it?
Now, as an asthmatic, over weight and big busted 43 year old....this could be interesting.

So, if I'm not around on Thursday...you'll know why!

Wish me luck.

Sue x