Boo - hoo

I really dislike this month.  I always feel down in January, I tried so hard not to let it get to me but this year it's hit me hard.

Really feeling down in the dumps.  Seems so much is going on in my world, some good, some bad.  Could so easily lock myself in a dark room and stay there until the Spring.

So sorry for the lack of posts.

Just need to find something good to focus on.  Meant to start diet/exercise regime this month but so far nothing has been achieved.  I feel totally useless as a mother, wife and a friend.

Hoping to feel a bit perkier and more positive soon.

Take care

Sue x x x

In the blink of an eye.....

Well, there it was - Christmas 2010.  Didn't it go quick!

We had a lovely quiet Christmas this year.  The children even stayed in their PJ's for the day - what a bad mother I am!  My son turned 10 on Boxing day also.

We hit the sales on Boxing day but to be honest there was not a lot of bargains to be had in store,  most bargains were on line this year.  Large orders have been placed with the Body Shop, Boots and also a few bits from M&S.  This means that I have covered many birthdays next year for a fraction of the price.

I'm not really one to make new year resolutions (mainly 'cos I can't seem to keep them :-) but I do intend to eat more healthily and do more exercise - I have a new shiny exercise bike waiting for me to use too.

I hope you are all keeping well and enjoyed Christmas.

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy 2011

Sue x x x

Yep, Labradors can loose it too....

We all have nick-names in our office.  Each of us in named after a breed of dog.  I'm a Labrador - playful, fun loving, all heart - soft as s**t.  My colleagues are a Poodle and a Pit-bull.  We are very similar in temperament to the breed of dog we are likened too.  Our line manager is a Mongrel - stand still too long and he'd be on your leg!

Today, I lost it though.  I lost it big time with a customer services assistant on the telephone.  I'd been holding on for nearly 25 min's to speak to his department.  I ordered an item in good faith from his company at the price advertised on the Internet but when it arrived it came in at a higher pre-sale price.  I tried to sort the problem out yesterday, again holding on for 25 minutes but was told to call back again today, this I did.  I was not willing to pay the higher price and had proof that it was at a lower price when I ordered it but he was having none of it and to be frank, nor was I. He implied that I was lying. That was it, I told him exactly what he could do with his order and asked him to arrange collection.

Isn't it funny how all of a sudden the mood can change and he was suddenly able to honour the reduced price.  He blamed the computer, I blamed his company.

It has not been the best start to the day today.  Sainsburys came with my grocery order.  I had ordered a turkey crown big enough to feed 6-7 people, they had run out of stock and sent a crown to feed 3 - 5 people instead.  It was so small that I thought the delivery guy was having a joke with me at first ! My brussel sprouts were out of date and looking very sorry for themselves too.  So I had to brave Tesco's - not the best place to be 3 days before Christmas.  It was manic.

As a pre Christmas treat for the little darlings we are off to the pantomime this evening to see Aladdin.

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x x x

Holidays are coming.........

I'm still here, just about. It's  been a very busy time at work, with me staying up to home time most days and then rushing off to collect my children and not getting home till well after 4pm each day after leaving the house around 8.15am makes it a long day for me.  I don't have a lunch break either so it's full on at work.  I'm not ashamed to say that most evenings I have a little nap after I've fed the kids to re-charge my batteries.  I'm not handling this cold weather to well either, I feel cold at the best of times so this is a real challenge for me.  It's been stressful at home too as hubby has been working double shifts since the end of November and only having Sundays off too means he is not around in the mornings to help out and not getting home till 10.30pm each day....so I'm feeling a bit like a single parent at the moment.

Christmas is creeping up on us fast isn't it?  We are just about ready for it in the 'Smiff' household and very much looking forward to breaking up from school and work next Friday.

Again, it looks like it is just going to us for Christmas & Boxing Day lunch as the in-laws can't be arsed have made other plans and my Dad has decided to stay home alone again this year.  He says that although he really enjoys spending the time with us it breaks his heart having to go home to an empty house afterwards - it's been 6 years since my Mum passed away.  I would love him to come to us but if that is what he wants to do then I'm not going to force him. We will probably pop round and see him on Boxing Day.

I can't believe that my baby boy is going to be 10 years old on Boxing Day - double digits! 

I've really enjoyed reading all the posts on your blogs, I'm sorry that mine has been so quiet recently.

I'm due to have another blood test in the next week or so, and I wouldn't be surprised if my thyroid is playing up again as how I feel at the moment is if I could hibernate I really would.  I could sleep for England.

Hope you are all keeping well.  Have a lovely weekend.

Sue x x x

Amazing......

They say that the ones with the least give the most don't they.  This has been proven true today. At work we had a non-uniform day for Children in Need.  We asked the children to bring in a silver coin in exchange for not wearing their school uniform. Most of our families are on a low income, many are single parent households and over a third of the total children in our school are on free school meals.  Money is tight in most households, especially leading up to Christmas. Even so we managed to collect £170 for the charity today.  How amazing is that!

The children are starting to get excited now, Christmas will be knocking on our doors before we know it.  My son's birthday is on Boxing Day too!  This year I've been very lazy and opted to buy many presents on-line.  As we both work during the day, I'm lucky enough to have my Dad living locally so I arrange to get my parcels delivered to him!  Dad is on his own now and gets very lonely.  You know, he loves having all the deliveries turning up at his door as he gets to speak to someone.  Some of the drivers he's on first name terms with and they stand and talk for ages with him.  Bless him.

Only 4 weeks left at work till we break up, where has the time gone.  It seems as if the older you get the fast the year goes doesn't it.  Although the children disagree - they say it drags!

Have a lovely weekend.

Sue x x x x

Puts things into prospective....

Some local children have just been put into care of foster parents.  Which, in its self is a sad thing to happen.  To be taken away from your parents must be very traumatic and distressing.

But not always.

Apparently, when asked how they got on on their first night away from their mum.  Their eyes lit up as they explained that they had a cup of tea at tea time, no in fact they had 2 cups.  Then they had sausages,
mash and baked beans for tea followed by a yogurt for pudding.  They went shopping in ASDA for new clothes....for the first time. They had a bath. They had clean beds to sleep in.

Little things most children would take for granted.

If you could have seen the smiles on their clean little faces it would have broken your heart too.

Sue x x x

Tick, tock......

I tell you, I'm not too impressed with this clocks going back and forward malarkey.  I hate the dark evenings, it makes me just want to curl up in bed under the duvet!

We had a lovely week away last week...in fact that's a big fat lie.  It was bloody awful.  It was cold, wet and gloomy. I came down with yet another cold and sore throat...which I am still trying to shake off.  3 lots of our friends have now fallen out - so you could cut the atmosphere with a knife.  We are playing piggy in the middle again and I'm sick of it.  We've shut the caravan up now for the season and hope that maybe things will calm down by next March as it could be a very interesting 2011.

The kids won again and last weekend I relented and we are now the proud owner of a new hamster - a little girl called Poppy.  They have promised me that they will help to clean her cage out as it makes me very wheezy....so we will see.  I have purchased some throw away face masks....just in case.

Feeling a bit down in the dumps at the moment, so I don't really have a lot to share with you.  Hope you are all keeping well and had a good Halloween.

Hope your week is going well.

Take care.

Sue x x x