It's all a load of rubbish....

Before wheelie bins, we all had just one small dustbin.  It was collected once a week.  Was rarely full.  A cheery binman would greet you with a 'good morning' as he came round the side of your house to collect the dustbin.  If you had extra bags he would take them without asking.  He knew your name and would always put the dustbin back to where he'd collected it and the front gate was always shut behind him.

My how things have changed.

We now have half of our front garden taken up with 3 humongous wheelie bins. 

Green for household waste
Blue for recycling
Brown for garden waste and food scraps

Blue and green get collected on alternate weeks, brown is collected every week.

If you don't put your bins outside on the street they will not come into your front garden to collect.  If you put them out too early you could get fined!

If the lid doesn't close properly then they will not collect at all, nor will they collect if you put the wrong type of waste in the wrong bin.  I had a fall out with one of our refuse collectors a few years back as an empty pringle tube ended up in the wrong bin and he wouldn't empty it.  I even made hubby chase after them with the bin to get them to empty it but no joy.  But they still have the cheek to knock for a bonus at Christmas.

Today as I was dragging the brown bin back to our house after finding it discarded in the street, it felt rather heavy.  I look inside to see why and I am greeted with about 6 inches deep of old food scraps....even the de-frosted peas have come back to haunt me! 

So I get a spade from the garden and carefully remove the contents (which I have to say was also full of hundreds of wriggling maggots).  Armed with a bottle of domestos and hot water I squirt in the bleach and pour in the hot water.  I don't know how I managed to do it but I must have had the bin a bit tilted as as soon as the water hit the base of the bin it shot back up the other side and smacked me in the face.

I was not a happy chappie I can tell you.  How I didn't vomit I do not know.

We have a man that will clean them for £3.50 each but up till now I've been too cheap to sign up for it.  After today, I might just give him a call.

Sue x

One step forward, two steps back...

A couple of months ago we looked at our finances to see what we could do to release more money each month from our wages.  We did a lot of shuffling around and managed to secure enough for our part of the yearly caravan site fees/rates/insurance etc that's due in November.  Now, this money has been in my bank account for around a month, sitting there very nicely, minding its own business with not a care in the world.

We decided that although we have enough in the bank to pay for the caravan we would still keep saving the money each month as we had been so perhaps (just perhaps) we might we able to have a holiday abroad next year....OMG!

So, as you do, I've been looking in all the holiday brochures to see what takes my fancy and in my mind I even packed the suitcases...at least 5 times each!

Last night hubby just about makes it home from work before his car conks out on him, luckily at the top of our road...phew.

His car is an old run-around that he's had for 4 years.  It's an N reg Mondeo and drinks like a fish.  Each MOT it always cost's around £300 to get it to pass......but better the devil you know (his words not mine).  Bearing in mind it cost £300 to buy back in '06.

We've had a mechanic have a quick look over it and there were many tuts and sighs and we reckon it could cost around £400 to get it better if not more......until it's next MOT in October when it will probably be another 300 smackeroos to get it to pass.

Now, a family friend, who is a mechanic, is selling his car as he recently lost his licence.  So hubby is in a quandary now. 

We are going to see the car tonight.. It's a dark green BMW, 316i compact.  Similar to the one I had many years ago (which I never wanted to sell in the first place).  It's in perfect condition (would be wouldn't it). I think I know what's going to happen...........

Bye, bye savings.  Bye, bye holiday abroad next year!

In case you're wondering, hubby is still suffering. It's beyond a joke now.  I got some real funny looks off the neighbours the other day as I was emptying bags of frozen peas into the wheelie bin. Hopefully our week away next week will help him to put this sorry saga behind us.

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x

Roll on Friday....

Well, he's still alive....only just though!

Yes, as I predicted it's been a very difficult few days.  He took to his bed for most of it and has been in a lot of pain and discomfort.

I swear I never want to see another bag of frozen peas again in my life!

Every 10 minutes I have had to check his bits to advise on the status of the swelling and bruising as he was too scared to look himself!

He was convinced he had an infection so trotted off to the docs today, to be given the all clear! Hopefully he'll be back at work tomorrow as he has a course to attend.

I always thought he had a low pain threshold, I can honestly say it's been confirmed and it is in fact on the floor.

So yes, he has made a grand job of making me feel really guilty for putting him through this and I will be pleased when we can put this sorry saga behind us.

Hope you week is going well The weatherman says it's going to be Hot, Hot, Hot...so I guess that's a kiss of death and it's bound be raining the weekend.

Sue x

Howdy Partner....

What a day.

Our appointment was at 11.35am, so we leave home at around 10am and arrive there for 11.15am so we are nice an early.  The clinic said they were running about 30 mins late so we should go and have a coffee and come back at 12 noon.  The clinic is about a 5 minute walk from Euston Station, just off of the the Euston Road.  We find a lovely little Brazilian coffee shop that has some 'To Die For'  pineapple upside down cake that was absolutely delicious...for some reason hubby didn't fancy any.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, hubby's knees were knocking.

We go back for 11.45 and we are told that they are still running behind.  Hubby's eye's are fixed on the front door.  His name gets called around 12.30. 

I sat in that waiting room all in all for 2 and a half hours, watching people come and go.  At least 4 girls came in to have abortions, I felt so sad for them.  One of the girls came with her mum, said very little as her Mum did all the talking, I could see the fear in her eyes, I really could.  One came with her boyfriend.  They didn't look a day over 18 and just sat there holding hands.  One came in a very smart business suit, on her own and kept looking at her watch as if she had a appointment that she needed to attend.  The last one, well lets just say I can guess what she she did for a living, her friend's mobile kept ringing and she was booking appointments for later tonight.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not against abortions if done for the right reasons.  I just hope that none of these girls regret their actions later in life.

So, around 1.30 a nurse comes to say that he's had it done but needs to rest for a while as he's a bit shaky.

He finally comes down the stairs at 2.10, looking as white as a sheet.

If anyone ever says that having a vasectomy is a piece of cake and that you could have it done in your lunch hour, they are a bloody liar.  Bless him, I thought he was going to pass out and he couldn't stop shaking.  Apparently he lost a lot of blood and needed stitches too.  Ahem. Obviously, after two C sections and surgery to remove a large cyst and ovary, I'm full of sympathy for him.

Oh, hold on he's shouting downstairs for some grapes....brb.

Right back again.  He's laid out of the bed with a big bag of frozen peas on his bits.  I had to buy them especially for him as I was not going to waste my petit pois.

I reckon he is going to be a bit demanding over the weekend.  The kids think the whole thing is hysterical.

Oh, hold on my mobile is ringing.  It's hubby calling from his sick bed asking if there is any chance of a cup of tea, some peanut M & M's and ibruprofen.  Brb.

Right, where was I.  Oh yes, as I was saying.  He's going to be a real pain in the arse this weekend....I can just see it now!

Sue x

Snip, snip, snip...

I understand why they make some packaging re-sealable, I really do.  Like pasta - if you don't re-seal it properly you could end up with a shower of dried pasta greeting you as you open the cupboard. That makes sense.

But...come on, why have they made the packet of Cadbury's Giant chocolate buttons re-sealable. It's a joke isn't it ?  I don't know anyone (including myself) who actually puts a half eaten packed back in the cupboard. 

Yet another migraine today.  I did get rather stressed with the children yesterday evening (note to self, never take them to Sainsbury's for a big food shop after school again) so this may have been the cause for it.  I need to sit down when my head is clear to see what is causing me to have them so frequently.  I know I am not the best eater in the world and often leave my evening meal too late and then don't feel like eating at all but the kids like to eat theirs around 5pm and it's too early for me.  It would be different if hubby was around in the evenings as I often can't be bothered to cook a proper meal for me and end up picking at food or just having toast.  I would love it if he worked normal hours and was home for 6pm but the shift he works on starts at 2pm and finishes at 10pm. I should be used to it by now as he's been doing these hours for the last 8 years.

So not a lot has been done in the house today.  I did make an attempt to sort out the draws where we keep our paperwork and have been shredding but the noise was not helping my head so I had to stop.

I've decided that I really do need to loose some weight.  I hope to be at least a stone and a half lighter by the summer holidays.  I'm not going to be too adventurous and hope to loose around 2lb a week.  So I've dusted off my running machine, put new batteries in the Wii fit in readiness and will see how I go.

The hubby is being very brave and has made the decision to have the 'snip' next Friday.  We have talked about him having it done on and off for the last few years but his dear friends have always talked him out of it.  But we have an appointment for next Friday at 11.30am to have the deed done.  Of course I shall be going with him not just to hold his hand but to make sure he does actually go through with it!  He's been told that for 24 hours afterwards he must not do a thing and be waited on hand and foot, so no change there then!

It's very strange but he seems to be under the impression that afterwards there will be a marked increase in his 'quota', well I won't break the bad news to him just yet....maybe next Saturday!

Sue x

It's raining men............

Well, it may as well have been with all the racket it was making as the rain fell on our caravan roof at the weekend! Yes, it was typical bank holiday weekend weather in the UK. 

The only good day was on Saturday - yes, that was the day I had a migraine and was tucked up in bed in a dark room....Grrrrrrr.

My hubby was very thoughtful though, yes indeed he was.  He ensured the children stayed out of the caravan by getting invited to a barbecue that our friends were having.  So he had no choice but to eat their food and drink their beer - just to be sociable of course..and it would have been extremely bad mannered to have said 'No' wouldn't it! Bless him, he really is all heart!  He staggered home all smiles to see how I was around 8pm feeling slightly worse for wear and slept like a new born baby that night.  Thankfully by that time my head was feeling much better.

At the minute I am experiencing a bit of 'Extention Envy'.  Our neighbours are having their loft converted like ours but of course it is bigger and better and to add insult to injury they have had an extension put on to it as well.  Our loft conversion is looking very sorry for its self now as it no longer stands proud above the rooftops.  The cowboys builders that are doing the work seem to be taking ages.  They are not very tidy either.  Everyday I come home from work there is more rubble in our garden.  It doesn't stop at rubble either, we also have slate roof tiles, pieces of wood, parts of PVC windows and lots of other crap too.  I used to knock next door and give it back to the builders but now I just sling it back into next doors garden at the end of each day. 

And of course with all the noise they are making in the daytime poor Jake is loosing out on valuable sleep, he is beginning to get bags under his eyes now!

Hope your week is going well.

Sue x

I'm too sexy for this blog..........

I'm confused.

How can Cheryl Cole be voted the Worlds Sexiest Woman.

Are they serious?  She's a bag of bones with no boobs for gods sake.

No wonder a lot of teenage girls have eating disorders. 

What is the world coming too.

Sue....climbing down from her soapbox!