Doesn't time fly when you're having fun......

Well, where did that time go I wonder.  Nearly 6 weeks off school/work will come to an end on Thursday but boy has it been fun.

On the whole we were very lucky with the weather - not bad for the UK!

Unfortunately I was laid up with a virus last week, which triggered a migraine and ended in blocked sinuses - oh yes, I really push the boat out when I am ill.  Thankfully all better now and fighting fit for the return to work.  I must admit I quite like the beginning of a new school year - with it's new challenges and new goals.

Trying to muddle through 2 weeks worth of washing is no fun at all I tell you.  Then I have all the ironing to look forward too....yuk.  We had considered getting a washing machine for our caravan next year but at the moment the site are being a bit of a pain and are demanding the removal of all outside storage boxes by your van by December.  This is a pain as we would have installed ours in our box.  So, we will wait and see if they follow this through.

It's sunny in London today so I'm hoping to get the grass cut and maybe cut the garden back as it's become really over run.  Already the nights are drawing in earlier and there is a nip in the air too.  When I was out shopping the other day Debenhams was getting it's Christmas department ready - a bit keen or what!

We are fast approaching the birthday of this blog too...it will be 1 year old on 11th September!

I look forward to catching up on all your posts over the next few days.

Sue x x x

Fun in the sun....................

I hope everyone is keeping well.  Sorry for the lack of posts but I've not had many opportunities to go on the lappy whilst we've been away as I seem to be last in the pecking order to use it out of hubby and 2 kids! And to be honest at the end of each day I've been to pissed tired to even try.

We came back to the van on Sunday and will stay till the Bank holiday. We've been really lucky with the weather though, in London they have had down pours most days but we've had mostly sun with a few clouds thrown in for good measure - any rain has been light and during the night, so we are more then happy.

DD turned 14 on Wednesday, so we ventured to Southend on Sea for the day and evening.  Didn't get back to the van till gone 11.  Bumped into a couple of  colleagues from work too - small world!

Well, hubby has just returned from his game of golf and dinner is just about cooked so I must dash.

Have a good weekend.

Sue x x x

Woof, woof..................

Got 'the dog' today, don't know why but I woke up with it.  Visited the hairdressers this morning and to be honest I'm not that impressed with the cut.  The stylist was a young slip of a girl and didn't seem to want to cut my hair the way I wanted it...yep, she pretty much had her own agenda.  So, I now have a haircut that is not to dis-similar to my sisters...the person that recommend her in the first place!   It's OK at the back but I still have too much hair on the sides and top....does this make sense?  Thankfully with the 50% off voucher, I only (ONLY she says) had to fork out £19.  I feel mean now as I didn't even giver her a tip, and that really is not like me at all. Anyhow, I guess I'll be visiting the hairdressers when I'm away over the next couple of weeks.  Hopefully, once I've put the hair dye on later today (to cover the grey) I will feel a bit perkier.

Weather is a bit grim at the mo, I don't think we will get much chance to wear our shorts when we are away.

As I'm typing this I think I've just realised what may have given me the said 'dog' feeling - I remember I braved the scales last night.....not good, not what I was expecting at all.  But then I am my own worst enemy for getting on them at the end of the day and also at the wrong time of the month.  Damage done now.  It didn't really help that afterwards I popped over to read Just Me's latest post.  Bless her, she's had a real rough time of it of late what with one thing and the other but she's managed to loose 2 stone on her weight watchers diet - way to go girl.

I have good intentions about loosing weight but they only seem to stay as intentions - this needs to change.

Today, I will carry on with the decorating, hubby has just gone to work and the kids are already asking what are we going to be doing this afternoon.  I've spent a fortune in the last couple of weeks trying to keep them entertained, so they've been given the news they really didn't want to hear - NOTHING AT ALL.

Thankfully, Little man's toe is a lot better now....phew.

Right, I'm off to find my paintbrush.

Sue x x x

Rain drops keep falling on my head.................

Where has the sun gone then....come on own up, whose nicked it then!  Although on a brighter note the grass is looking lush at the moment.

We made out 3rd visit to the Doctors this afternoon with little man.  His toe is still inflamed and very, very sore.  The Doc decided that it was the right time to puncture it and with a few squeezes out come lots of pus .... yuk.  It's still throbbing but we hope it will now greatly improve for him in time for our return visitto the van this coming weekend.

I too have been to the Docs this evening, to be told that I most likely have arthritis in my finger joint and that there is not a lot they can do about it....cheers.

Doctors, they're not like they used to be are they?  The one we saw today with my son who is actually our named Doctor (we belong to a practice so can see any of about 8 different Doctors) has really poor bedside manner.  I haven't seen him for ages and remarked so.  I then asked how his family were and said they must be all grown up know and enquired if he had become a Grandad yet.  He just about answered in grunts to my questions and hardly gave me any eye contact. I felt the consultation was rushed as he was bidding me farewell before my son was able to get his socks & shoes back on.  Is there really any need for this I ask?  We saw another of the partners on Friday and again I mentioned that I hadn't seen him for ages and told him I still hadn't forgiven him for diagnosing me with an under-active thyroid - we laughed about it and he replied "At least you get free prescriptions now!"  He then checked my son over and actually got down to his level and spoke directly to him - not through me.  I asked how his dog was doing as he often has Harvey (his dog) at the surgery - he said he was fine and Alex asked him questions about him and he took the time to show Alex a picture of him too, which I thought was really nice of him.  I made sure I didn't delay him any longer then I needed as I'm aware there are patients waiting to be seen.  We didn't feel rushed, he even asked how his asthma had been - to which I told him about the attack earlier in the week and he was genuinely concerned.

I know I shouldn't grumble as in some parts of the country you could be dead before you get an appointment.  We are very lucky in that respect, on the first 2 occasions my son needed to see a Doctor I called around 5pm each day and was able to literally go straight along to see the duty doctor.

I've been painting today.  On my never ending list of jobs to do before I go back to work was the job of painting the bathroom cabinet, shelves and towel rails.  They are currently pine coloured and will by tomorrow hopefully all be white!

Left the sun roof on the car open AGAIN last night = wet bottom today whilst driving!

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x x x

Still here....just about!

Isn't it funny how you never have to see the doctor for months and then all of a sudden you seem to be living in the surgery?  Well, this week we've been a couple of times with my son as he's managed to get an infection in his big toe.  First off when we went on Wednesday he was given a mild dose of anti-B's as a precaution and was told the infection would be gone within a day or so. By Friday eve the pain was too much for him so I managed to sneak him in to see a Doc just before closing time - he was very concerned by his red swollen toe that he now has 2 lots of anti-B's to take as well as some cream to rub on it 3 times a day.  It's now Sunday eve and to be honest he's still complaining and it doesn't look all that different to how it was on Friday so I reckon we could be going back tomorrow.

We had planned to go out today to Legoland but because of little man's predicament we called it off - shame really as it's been a lovely day here in London.

I too am off to the Docs on Tuesday eve, nothing major but I have a painful joint in one of my fingers that has been bothering me on and off for a few weeks now - so I guess I should have it looked at.  Whilst I'm there I will also get her to have a look at a lump I have on my head, it's been there for as long as I can remember but I've convinced myself that it's getting bigger so for peace of mind (and to keep hubby happy) I will let the doc cast her eye over it.

I've managed to catch up on a few of my jobs that I had on my list last week and am hoping to cross a few more off next week.

Tomorrow we will go and see my Dad as he needs a 'Thrupenny all off' (haircut but that's what he calls it!).  Tuesday we will have to wait for my DD's new mobile phone to arrive before we can go anywhere but hopefully we will be hitting Ikea at some stage that day.  Wednesday we have a hospital appointment for the boy, afterwards we are going to my friend's for lunch. 

Thursday I'm having my haircut and I'm risking a new hairdresser (recommended by my sis).  I've been going to my current one for 7 months and at £26 a time she's had a fair few quid from me.  The first couple of cuts were great and I was really happy.  She had just started up her own salon after 'leaving' her old job.  I appreciate that she's trying to build up her customer base but it bugs me when I am still waiting to have my haircut 40 minutes after my appointment time.  Then there have been a few other things that have annoyed me a tad -  I've been to her about 7 times and she never remembers my name, she always asks me what it is, even though I'm booked in her appointment diary - she still asks.  She now has a helper to wash your hair before she cuts.  The last time she really hurt my head as she was so rough and forceful (even made a point of rubbing the lump on my head and then pulling the hair aside to have a closer look!!)  I asked her to be a bit more gentle as my head was feeling a bit sensitive - she even had the cheek to ask me why!  Then to cap it all the hairdresser always thins my hair out with a pair of thinning scissors as my hair is very thick.  On this day she had a friend there who she constantly talked to in Iranian whilst she was cutting my hair, and she managed to thin my hair about a centimeter from the hair base and now I'm left with wisp's of hair floating all over the place as it grows back.  My sister's hairdresser is a bit more expensive then I've been paying but I have a 50% off voucher for my first visit - so fingers crossed, if not I'll be wearing my hat till it grows back!

On Friday I'm off to the opticians for a check up.  I'm trying Boots this time as they seem to have some good deals on their frames.  Up til now I've only needed them for close up work like reading and on the computer but I think I may need to wear them for longer but we will see.

DD thinks I am having a mid-life crisis as I've taken to painting my toe nails in bright colours and am even wearing a toe ring...she keeps calling me a gypsy - cheeky little moo.  I could see me living on the road if I were able to get a motor home like the one that Glen Martin DDS has on his  show - it's bigger inside then a 3 bed semi with all the luxuries too but outside it's just like any ordinary motor home...a bit like a tardis I guess lol.

I see today yet another premier league footballer can't keep 'it' in his under pants, stupid man.  Don't they realise what they have to loose all for the sake of a night in the pit with another woman - and to add insult to injury he even had to pay her for her services......what a mug.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Sue x x x

That was a bit scary............

We had a scary time on Monday night.  My daughter woke us up around 2 a.m. to alert us that my son was struggling to breath because he was having an asthma attack.   He couldn't even talk.  He'd woken up feeling wheezy but couldn't find his inhaler as it had dropped on the floor.  Bless, him he didn't want to wake us so he thought he could calmly breathe through the attack.  It didn't work and he panicked as he couldn't get his breath.  Luckily, that night his sister decided to sleep in his room, so he was able to alert her.  I honestly thought we were going to have to take him to hospital as we struggled to control it with his puffers but we managed to in the end but it was very scary as you feel so helpless. 

I think it didn't help that we'd been away for a week and his bedroom door had been shut to keep the cat out.

So yesterday, as a precaution, I went on a shopping spree to Dunelm (bedding and home ware store) to buy him new anti allergy/dust mite pillows and duvet too.  We also steam cleaned his bedroom - including carpet and curtains too.  He was wheezy on and off throughout the day so we took things easy. 

He had a good sleep last night and is in fact still asleep - bless him.

I've had asthma since I was 13.  Started off with one chest infection after another from around the age of 9.  But in the 70's they didn't diagnose it willy-nilly like they do nowadays (seems easier just to send you away with an inhaler), I had to have various visits to hospital and chest clinics as they thought it was more serious.

So today, we plan to go to the cinema (Don't you just love Orange Wednesday's lol).  They've not decided what they are going to see yet but I suspect it will be Toy Story 3.

I have tons of ironing to do in readiness for our return trip to the van in 10 days time.

Take care

Sue x x x

Welcome home..........

Well, where did those 10 days go then???.  We had a lovely time away and did plenty of chill-axing!  As the weather was really nice we didn't bother to go to far from the caravan.  Most mornings were spent around the pool, followed by lunch - mostly the liquid type! The afternoons consisted of long walks, the odd bit of fishing and a few games of golf thrown in for good measure.....hubby not me!

Monday night the boys decided to be at one with nature and spent the night in their new tent:

Well, I say the night but they actually only managed to last out till around 4am - this was after numerous visits to the loo too.  They both decided that the outdoor life is not really for them and much preferred their nice soft comfy beds lol.

Wednesday was hubby's birthday so we popped into Colchester to see the new Shrek movie....such a funny film, and very sad in places too - had to wear my sun glasses on leaving to cover my red eyes...what a softy I am.  Hubby treated me to a new mobile phone - after all birthday's are for sharing aren't they?  In the evening we went out for a meal, so all in all a good day was had by all...including the birthday boy.

On Friday we took the foot ferry over to Brightlingsea - it collects us from the beach behind our caravan site and drops us off at the port in Brightlingsea, all for £3.00 and takes about 5 mins.  It would cost us much more in petrol if we were to drive to it.  This is an excellent place for crabbing.  If you've not done this before, you really should as it's great fun but just be careful the little blighters don't nip you with their claws!  You need a weighted line with a hook on near the bottom, place some bacon on the hook, drop it in the water and wait for the tug!

This one seems to have come off badly in the past as he only has 1 front claw!

                                                                   Our little retreat

So, we are now home for 2 weeks and I have a list as long as my arm that I intend to do around the house before we dash off for the last 2 weeks of the hols...and then it's back to school again.

Now, I'm not one to have my photo taken but DD must have caught me at a weak moment cos she got me, good and proper:

Have a good week.

Sue x x x