So close but yet so far....

Well, I had hoped to be posting to say - Yippee, I've finished work for 6 whole weeks BUT I will have to go into the office for a couple of hours in the morning to 'mop up' so I can then leave with a clear head and enjoy the summer.  I was even at my desk for just after 7.30 this morning, how's that for commitment....or should I be committed?  If it wasn't for the fact that I really love my job I wouldn't bother going in tomorrow but I need to ensure I leave my in tray empty and that my desk is clean and tidy for the start of the new school year in September....which will come all too quick.

The boy's school doesn't finish until tomorrow (much to his disgust), DD is half way through her 1st week off and actually managed to have a wash and get dressed today....so things are looking up.  She still thinks that the purpose of 'Impulse' body spray is to save you having to wash your smelly pits.  I'm sure this will change when she gets her first real boyfriend - and not the cyber boyfriends that she has at the moment.

We will be off to our caravan static holiday home tomorrow evening.  I am hoping the good weather stays with us.  I am sure it will as long as Lou over at archers at the larches keeps that bloody tent up!

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x x

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTQD0weUTF8

Down to Earth - Peter Gabriel (Wall-e)

One of my all time favorite films.  I love this song, hope you enjoy it too - make sure you listen till the end!

Sue x x

This week, we 'ave mostly been eating....

Yes, it's that dreaded time again.  It's that job that you keep putting off. No more excuses.  I've defrosted the freezer.

I really hate this job. We are lucky enough to have 2 freezers, one is a fridge/freezer (this one is frost free!) and the other is a tall upright one in the conservatory. I managed to condense the two on Wednesday (the draws are full to the brim) so I could switch off the larger one completely until after the summer holidays.

My mind must be elsewhere at the moment as I switched it off, left the door open and totally forgot about it till later that evening - when I noticed that the cat's food bowls were floating.  I didn't even put a tray underneath it to catch the water....D'oh.  Water everywhere!  Took me ages to clean it all up.

We have been eating some right concoctions for our tea this week, mainly accompanied with oven chips as I found a humongous bag that I forgot I brought - but hey, waste not want not!

We had a late night at work last Thursday as we had our yearly Oscars Night.  Every child get at least one award/trophy for an accomplishment over the year. We had to do it in stages this year.  Foundation had theirs in the afternoon during the school day as it's too late for the little ones to stay up.  Then at 6 pm we had Key Stage 1, followed by Key Stage 2 at 7.30. Parents are greeted with drinks and nibbles before they take their seats in the hall.  Again, it was a great success.  We even had a professional photographer present so the parents could have a lovely keepsake of their little darlings in their Sunday best!  I tell you, we all struggled  on Friday as it was hard work.

So, now we are on the final countdown....3 more days at work and then nearly 6 weeks off....yippee.

The boy is busy planning how we will fill our days.  DD has already broken up, she finished yesterday.  She hasn't even bothered to get dressed today....oh, to be a teenager again . We plan to spend around 4 of the weeks at our caravan over the holidays (weather permitting), I will need a couple of weeks at home as I've a list as long as my arm that I need to do around the house - all those little jobs that you never find time to do at the weekends.  Then before we know it it will be September and so the school year starts all over again.

Thanks to the school and his first sex education lesson this week, the boy has  learnt a new word.....Penis.  He keeps repeating it over and over again. We have always called his member a Pee-Wee.  He likes this new word for it and feels compelled to share it to the world. 
Have a lovely weekend.

Sue x x

Well, they do say things come in 3's....

It's not a good week for DD.  First off she had her mobile stolen from her school bag at her school sports day.  She never usually takes it in to school because they have a tendency to get pinched but her sports day was off site at a local sports field and they were unsure what time it was going to finish (depending on the weather) so this is why she took it in.  She was never more then a few feet away from her bag.  Normally she would have taken in an old spare phone from home but that morning we were running late and she didn't have chance to change over the sim card.  So we had to get her account frozen and now await a replacement card which is taking forever to arrive. 

The other night she decided to make popcorn - but not in the popcorn maker we have. No, that would be too easy.  She decided to use a saucepan on very high heat.  So high in fact that it burnt off some of the non-stick coating.  Now, the coating stuck to the corn.  She decided to change pans and use one of my newer stainless steel ones.  The popcorn still wouldn't pop - again on very high heat.  Instead the non-stick coating stuck fast to the bottom of the stainless steal pan. End result - no popcorn and 2 pans in the bin.

Then she got a message on FB to say someone (she didn't know) had found her Oyster card (travel card).  She thought it was at home but in fact she had dropped it by the bus stop in town a few days before.  A grandad picked it up and gave it to his granddaughter who basically tracked my daughter down to return it to her. 

Like you probably do after reading this, I felt a bit uncomfortable with the idea of the girl being able to track DD down so easily.  But she lives near to my DD's school and as the Oyster card has her picture on it, she showed it to her neighbour who recognised my daughter and so she searched for her on FB.  So, we popped over to her house to collect it and say thank you for going out of her way to find the owner. It would have cost £10 for a replacement, so she was very lucky.

It's been a very hectic week so far at work, and it will only get worse!  Roll on the end of term! 

I had to pop into town this evening as I needed to return a couple of items to Debenhams.  Now, I had every intention of going to the returns desk, getting a refund and coming straight home.  I even repeated the mantra in my head in the car on the way - I will not spend any money today. But I happened to catch sight of the up to 70% off sign. Sigh.  Yes, I had to have a mooch and see what they were giving away didn't I - or not!  Now, I live mostly in black.  Always have done.  But I was suddenly overwhelmed with a yearning for colour and caught sight on a lovely dark pink rain jacket with a spotty lining that I just had to have...and the next thing I knew I was walking out of the store with it in a bag!  Unfortunately it was only reduced by 30% but nevertheless still a bargain.

Obviously I was meant to buy this jacket.  As I put my foot out of the door the skys opened.  How's that for a sign!

So much for the refund, I had to pay extra on top too....oh well, never mind!

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x x x

JAKATTA - The other world

For those of you feeling a little stressed out there at the moment, have a listen to this.

Sue x

Feeling hot, hot, hot..........

Another hot weekend here in London.  Hubby took the boy to Legoland at Windsor on Saturday for the day - for a bit of male bonding.  He said it was packed. He usually works on a Saturday but decided he needed a day off.  He's not one to stay in on his day off and was a bit miffed by my plans of tidying up the garden, housework and ironing - as if I do all of this by choice (he still believes the beds change themselves each week!)  So he was persuaded offered to take the boy out.  Darling daughter went to see Eclipse at the cinema in the afternoon with her chums....so it was just me and the cat all day.....lovely.

On Sunday we had planned to go to a local school's fate but in the end we decided to stay home, chillax and have a barbecue.

At the moment the heat is getting the blame for pretty much everything. 
Hubby says he feels exhausted all the time - must be the heat. 
Sky box keeps making Dalek sounds when people speak - again, must be the heat.  The hooks that are stuck on my window surround that hold up my nets in the living room keep coming unstuck- most definitely the heat. 
Me being very touchy and irritable all the time - the heat? No, that's just my bloody hormones being all over the place again!

You can tell it's near the end of term as the children at work are struggling - I signed in around 25 late this morning - nearly all of them claiming that they over slept!  Boy, do I know that feeling.

Have a good week.

Sue x x

I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat.....

The only trouble with the good weather is lots of cut knees and banged heads.  I always seem to spend most of the morning break in the medical room putting plasters on grazed knees and dishing out large amounts of TLC...and don't start me on the banged heads.  They could be the only child in the playground and they'd still manage to bang their head!! And it's always the same children...they think it's funny now.  I swear they hear me coming up the corridor with my cuppa and think lets scupper her tea break.  Bless their little bloodied cotton soaks.

Jake has found a new place to have a cat nap:

Bless him.  I had taken the spare car seat out of the car as we needed the room in the boot and now he's decided it's his new bed.

Although, when the weather is nicer he does prefer to sleep here:

He's a cheeky boy, as soon as you vacate a chair - he's there!

The weather has become a bit overcast the last couple of days, although it's still muggy.  It's all my fault as I put the paddling pool back up on Monday, sorry about that.

We are off to see Alice in Wonderland tomorrow eveing as a little treat for the sprogs at a local theatre.

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x

You can ring my bell................................

Another weekend over with...not that I'm counting but I do only have 12 days left at work before I break up for 6 whole weeks.......Yipppppppeeeeee!!!

On Saturday we drove 300 miles on a round trip to visit my BIL who is living here at the moment.  It's in a lovely part of the country with glorious views of the surrounding countryside - just a shame that he can't enjoy them.

As always, when going through the metal detector the alarm goes off with a loud shrill when I pass through it.  This is because of the wires in my bra.  Thankfully this time my 9 year old son decided to keep schtum and not say for a joke "She's got something in her knickers".  He'd been warned of the severe consequences that would happen to him (loss of Xbox for a week and probable death) if he did.  Last time I had to have a very intimate hand search to prove that I wasn't trying to smuggle something in.  I would say I can laugh about it now but I can't and still have nightmares about the whole sorry saga!

Yesterday we popped to the local shopping centre as I needed to buy a new top for the upcoming Oscars Night that is held at work at the end of the school year.  Debenhams have got their Blue Cross sale on - haven't they always got a sale on or is it me? Mind you, I was well chuffed as I managed to bag 10 pairs on knickers reduced from £5 a pair to £1.

You see I've got hubby sussed.  Basically like all men he doesn't like it when I go out spending his well earned cash.  But as long as I come back with a new pair of undies .....he couldn't give a toss what I've spent - works everytime!

I order a lot on line as I don't really enjoy shopping for clothes as I have to drag the boy around with me and he's only interested in Game or The Disney Store followed by a visit to Burger King.  It's strange but I noticed that some items I brought online a few days before in their sale were not sale items in the store - how wrong is that.

It's got a lot cooler this evening thankfully.  The garden could really do with a good soaking so I'm doing my rain dance as we speak.

Darling daughter has had an inset day from school today - which cost me a tenner as she went out with her friends for the day.  I'd have thought the school would have cancelled it as they recently hit us with the news that they are closing the school on the 16th - a week earlier then planned.  This is because in the borough I live they have changed the age that the children go up to High School.  Up til now they stayed in Middle School until the end of Yr7 but as from Sept they leave after Yr6.  This means instead of the usual 300 children starting in September the school will have 600.  Parking is a nightmare around the school - and it's only going to get worse. So they need this extra week to prepare for the onslaught.

Whilst typing this I've manged to eat a large bag of bacon crispies (Frazzles).  I now feel quite sick.  I know not to eat them as they tend to repeat on me - and will do for the rest of the evening but sadly this didn't stop me.

Have a good week.

Sue x x x