Books

Hello everyone, well this wasn't what I was going to post about but I've just finished this book & wanted to share it with you. You'll have to wait a bit longer to see my CK goodies.

As you know I did a post about the 1st Jennifer Worth book... Call the Midwife.... lots of you had read it & I wonder how many have read this?

Call the Midwife was in my book cupboard for months before I finally got around to reading it, I loved it so when Penny gave me this to read I couldn't wait. At the time I was reading another book......

Have you read it?
My friends mum lent it to me...... I'm not sure.... it was a bit fluffy for me. It took for ever to read..... in fact about 2 months which is a long time for me!! I was glad when I finished it so I could start on the next...... don't you just hate it when someone says 'read this book it great'.... well no it's not great, I must confess it was too happy for me....lol!!! OH always says I like doom & gloom things!

This book is excellent, I couldn't put it down at the end...some sad stories.
I love social history books, I find them fascinating, how times have changed & this was all in my parents life time. It does make me angry looking at some of the children today after reading this....... last night they were climbing over the roof of my doctors..... I could see them running over the roof & trying to smash windows. They aged from about 6 - 10 years old, they were jumping off & I was really hoping one would hurt himself...... god that makes me sound terrible!!
I called the police as they are supposed break up gangs.... there was about 20 of them.... I was told they were only children!!! I don't think so....more like animals! Where are they parents?
Would you let your 6 year old go out & play without knowing where they are?

Just before I go I wanted to tell you about the film I watched on Saturday night...... I'd taken the weekend off because The Pogues were playing at the Beautiful Days festival which is in Ottery St Mary..... about 15 mins from my parents house....but I couldn't get tickets. Sulking....me??? Oh yes!!
Anyway about the film..... it was The Wrestler..... Have you seen it??
We couldn't decide on a film we both liked & after hearing all the hype I thought we'd give it ago.
It's was really good, I can't stop thinking about it. No Victoria I'm not going to take on the role of this film....lol!!
I thought it was really moving & I really felt for him. Micky Rourke was excellent, which did surprise me. It may not be everyones cup of tea but I do recommend it. There was only a few bits I couldn't watch...hate violence, gives me nightmares!

Only 1 week to go before my holiday...... off next weekend to see The Men They Couldn't Hang..... I'm seeing them on Saturday & it's my birthday on Sunday. Funny thing is OH took me to see this band for my 18th birthday in London...... it'll be my 38th birthday next weekend..... still enjoying seeing them but can't keep up anymore :(

Back soon

Lovely day out

Hello everyone, first up thanks for all your lovely comments on my last post, they really cheered me up..... who needs scales to feel good?
I've done 10 sessions on the fitness coach so had to update my info, I was really impressed with the results....... you have a chart to see how well you're doing.... I was really pleased about the stomach crunches as I only did 4 in the first week now just 10 days later I did 25...yippee!!!!

Just have to mention that it was my mum's birthday on the 19th, it's also their wedding anniversary..... not sure how many years..... about 48???? I'm sure mum will let me know if I'm wrong!!
It's also my friend Charlie's wedding anniversary, it was 3 years ago........ I was a bridesmaid with Liv. Me in a dress???? Yes but it didn't last long....... I don't sit very lady like if you know what I mean so I couldn't wait to get back into my jeans!

This is my parents last year......

We went to Tiverton & had a trip on the horseboat then a meal after.
This was a very difficult day for me as I had a mad dash to the vets before heading off, Charlie was very ill at the time & I knew that it was only a matter of time before he left us.
I remember sitting on the boat trying to put on a brave face.
I can't believe it was a year ago, we lost Charlie September 10th...... how fast has that year gone?
I was speaking to a friend & I think she was shocked when I said I still have a little cry everyday for him :(


So what about my lovely day out??

Last friday I headed up to London to meet my friend Teresa..... we used to live in the same road in the early 90's & shared many a fun time. Teresa now lives in Lincoln with her husband.

Last year we decided to meet up at the Innocent village fete.....

No pictures of Teresa this year as I forgot...... she's having her first baby in 10 weeks so this will be the last year we meet alone.

After meeting from the train it was straight down to business....... meeting at Baker St we headed off to the shops..... can you guess where??? Oh yes I went again....... I'll save the goodies for another day because there's a few photo's on this post.

After shopping we stopped for a cup of tea in Marylebone high street to watch the world go by before jumping in a taxi to the zoo.......!!!!!

First stop the tigers..............

This was the best picture I had because the tigers are in a glass box so when you get home you realise all the pictures you have have reflexions of another people...... damn those people for getting in my way!!! But my look how big his head is??

We went to see the Meer cats.......

hello...... behind you.......

Thank you....... everytime I took a photo he turned his head....naughty meer cat.

Next the lions...... ok so there's a lot of photo's of these!

We were so lucky as we didn't know 2 cubs had been born in June, it was lovely watching the mum wash & play with them.

So here goes.....

Enough for you???

Look at the keeper of the gate???

We did have a chuckle at this one....... aren't giraffes funny animals?

We only had a few hours together before heading back home...... it was a lovely day, here's to next year!

Back soon

Birthday challenge

This was me on Monday morning.......

As you're aware I've been trying to loose weight for a while now, I was hoping I would be at my target weight for my birthday in 2 weeks time.
Over the last 3 years I've lost, what I thought, over 3 stone...yippee!!!
I must admit I wasn't sure how as I've not stopped eating all the yummy naughty things but since I've moved to the new house the weight has just fallen off because I was being careful. I've been using the same scales for the last 8 years so it gotta be true......!!

So yesterday I weighed in & after doing my fitness trainer on my wii for the last week I was very pleased to see I'd lost 6 pounds!!!

OH spotted the scales & pointed out that I couldn't possibly be that light... yes I know...how rude!
He suggested that I weighed myself on the old scales in the bathroom... I was so confident that I dashed up the stairs only to find
................. wait for it...................

I was 4.... yes that's 4................stone heavier then I thought.


Oh my god............... I felt so sad!
Anyway I still thought it was wrong so I got a very early bus to work & stopped off at the weighing machine...... a little bit better, only 3 stone heavier!

What a great way to start the week..lol!
So you may have guessed the challenge is off... unless I cut off all my limbs I'm never going to loose 3 stone in 2 weeks!

I know I've lost weight because I'm now wearing clothes I haven't been able to get into for the last 3 years & also everyone keeps telling me how slim I look.

That's the only thing that's keeping me going..... can you imagine how much I weighed before???
I'm not giving up...I'm just not going to worry about weighing myself so often.
I'm planning to use the weighing machine every month to keep track but that's it. I'm still going to do the fitness programme & hey there's always next birthday....boo hoo..... sorry just wiping my eyes!!!
Maybe I'll just have to face facts that I will be a lardy all my life :(

Be back with some cheery news soon

Another busy week......

Hello everyone, yet another week has flown by...... it's been a busy week here in sunny Exeter.

The week started with a lovely surprise, I won Sam's giveaway a few weeks ago & couldn't believe my luck when this arrived for me......

Fantastic isn't it??? I love it..... I've never been able to draw, my sister can but it's not something I've mastered...... I think Sam is a very talented lady don't you??

Attached to the parcel was another little parcel....what could it be???

How lucky was I????
The box of Maltesers is empty in this photo...lol!!
A CK travel purse & some lovely hand cream. Inside the purse was a pocket mirror & 3 beautiful homemade badges.
I felt very spoilt by this...thank you soon much Sam.....sorry it took so long to do this post.

I've been a very lucky girl because the week before I received this crochet flower brooch from Rose.

I mentioned this in my last post but the photo didn't come out so I had to try again.

I was off on Tuesday & headed out for the day. Me & OH spent the morning doing cleaning jobs while the sun was shinning so at midday we thought sod this & headed off to the horse racing at Newton abbot.
This is the view from the train window......

This train journey always reminds me how lucky we are to live in beautiful Devon. I didn't win any money but OH had a very good day.

I just had to show you this photo....

We brought a new printer & the box was left on the landing waiting for one of us to remember to bring in down to be recycled!! Well Nanny has decided to make it his new bed!!!
He sleeps there all the time now & I've even put a towel on it to make it more comfortable.

So we're only half way through the week..... I'll be back later to tell you what I did on my other day off.... it involves trains, shopping & animals. Also to keep you updated with my birthday challenge.... I've been doing the exercises all week so I'm hoping I see some results tomorrow morning... only 2 more weigh in's before the deadline.

Hope you're all enjoyed your weekend.

Lovely treat....

What do you think of my grapes???
Looking good huh? I'm really pleased, all I need now is some more lovely sunshine.
Wasn't it great this weekend? Hope you all enjoyed the sun... I had to work all weekend but I tried to make the most of it when I finished.

I've put the photo's on in the wrong order so please bear with me.

Thought I would show you my blanket......

Getting big now!
I haven't worked on this for a while...must get back to it soon.

Now here we go....my new treat.....

Great isn't it????

You may have seen it before...... I spotted it in one of Sal's photo's of Amanda lovely wears.
I've been looking for one for years....I always hoped I would find one at the bootie for a couple of pounds but no such luck.
So when I spotted it I just had to find out more..... thank you so much Sal for sorting it for me & Nich for bring it to my work........ however I was disappointed that it was in a bag... I wanted him to come skipping in with it...lol!!!

Now all I need is Toto & a pair of red slippers!!

But for the time being I'll find something to fill it with......

This will do to start.... can you spot some red, white & blue knitting in the corner?
This is part of my giveaway which I do hope to finish & get posted soon.

On Saturday I also treated myself to this....

I just couldn't bring myself to pay £70 for the wii fit board, I'd seen some fantastic reviews about this & at £9 in the sale I couldn't say no.
Has anyone got it?
It takes a while to sort out your profile as you have to put in your weight & measurements but it looks really good. My coach Maya thinks I should loose weight so that's my focus..... I've got a plan I need to stick to, 15 mins one day, 30 mins the next then a day off yippee!!
I've done it twice now & I can really feel it..... mine you if Maya tell me to 'feel the burn' one more time I think I might punch the TV!!!

Have a good week everyone.

Terribly British & being naughty...

Hello everyone, sorry I've not been about...more about that later.

Everyone was so keen to see what I treated myself to at the famous CK so I feel you may be disappointed!!

Here it is.......

Nice shadow there...sorry about that.
Once I'd laid it out I realised it was all terribly British!
The cowboy mug is for OH, he wanted a large mug for his coffee as he broke his last one, he said he wasn't fussy so could I just pop to poundland .....
Poundland I don't think so, it won't go with the kitchen!!!!...... with that I just got a shake of the head! Now the mug had to sit in the kitchen since Monday waiting for me to take the photo...men...they just don't understand!!

I love the EB beaker, I've seen this on a few blogs & really wanted one. I'm going to take it to work as I'm fed up of everyone using my plastic cup, now there is no mistake who this belongs to!
I'm loving the CK hankies this is my 3rd... I think I might wear this to work tomorrow as a little pick me up.

More garden photo's now........

This was my harvest on Tuesday...not much is it?
These are all my potatoes, they started to get blight so I thought it was best to pull them up now. I brought the plants from B&Q ....£5..... the most expensive potatoes I've ever brought!

Butternut squash has grown loads but no fruits as yet.....

I've heard they take a while to take off but once they do you can't stop them.
See the kale in the pot? The slugs have been having a field day, I seen some the size of small rodents.... yuk!!
I think this may be the last year growing veg as it's such a waste of money, I planted alot this year because they said it was going to be 'a BBQ summer' & look what happens? My peas have rotted & my potatoes & tomatoes have blight...how sad :(

Now I guess you want to know why I've been naughty?

Well I treated myself to a wii...... I've been wanting one for about 2 years but can't bring myself to spend that much. Last month I got another bonus...enough to buy it out right.... so I've been checking out the deals for the last 2 weeks but still haven't brought one.... I'm rubbish at making a decision!
OH decided enough is enough & brought it for us..... I only have to pay half...yippee!!! It arrived yesterday which so happen to be my day off.
I'm planning on getting the fit board, OH didn't get that deal, I went to look today & couldn't decide...... do you see a pattern?!!

So yesterday afternoon when I should have been doing jobs & blogging I was playing tennis!!!
If you don't hear from me for a bit you know what I'm doing!
I determined to get to that target weight for my birthday...only 8 pounds to go but only 3 weeks to do it..... tennis everyday me thinks!!

I received a lovely crocheted brooch from Rose in the post last week.... thanks so much.
Sorry I haven't got a photo... it didn't come out.... phew I hear you say!! I know my photo's are rubbish, may be I should buy a camera with my next bonus.

Hope you've all had a great week, enjoy your weekend what ever you have planned.

Another week is over..... where do they go?
I can't believe it's August already.... only a few weeks til my birthday :) another year older...but at least you get presents!
Last week was very stressful at work so I was very glad it was over.... sometimes I wonder just how stressful working in a shop can be.... I mean I'm not risking my life or saving others so why does it get so stressful? I've worked in retail for nearly 20 years & the change in the consumer is unbelievable....... I've been verbal abused, threaten & called lower class.... but they always finish by saying 'so how much compensation will I get?'... the famous 'c' word... I'm sorry but do we live in America?

Anyway enough ranting about the general public..lol!
I was off Saturday & Sunday to go on a little trip. As I mentioned in my last posts me & OH made our way to London..... we used to go away together loads but over the last 3 years with my aging cats...(worse then children)...we have to go away separately as no one wants to look after them any more.... I'm sure you can work out why!
But this weekend we decided to risk it & head off together to see these.....

Not sure if you've heard of them..... they were around in the early 90's & on lots of kids TV...anyone remember 'Eggs & Bacon'?
Me & OH used to really like them & saw them play many a time..... after 16 years apart they played 2 gigs this summer...one in their home town of Liverpool & one in London at the Water Rats...more on that later.
Now if you haven't heard about them you can check out some video's here... remember that these were from the early 90's so it's a bit cheesy but the music is still as good today.

Saturday morning bright & early we set off to the big smoke.....me not so bright eyed & bushy tail as I had to work several late nights but after a few coffees I picked up a bit!
We arrived at lunch time & instead of heading straight to the hotel we had somewhere far more important to go to.....any guesses???
Yes we headed to Barker street tube.....why??
Well I had to go to CK's!!!
Thank goodness for pubs is all I can say..... after settling down OH with a newspaper & a pint I raced to Marylebone high street in record time..... didn't want to be too long or OH might have drunk himself silly!
I'll show you my goodies another day...they're still in my bag waiting to be unpacked.

It wasn't a relaxing shop as I've never seen it so busy, it was packed with tourists with arm loads of stuff. I didn't hang around just grabbed what I wanted & left.... I'm hoping to go back in 2 weeks time & have a proper shop.

So then on to the hotel..... this was near Kings cross in the middle of a council estate.....Nice!!
It's a 4* which we stayed in once before & it was ok, it's just down the road from the gig & was £100...cheaper then the west end where we normally stay.
The heavens opened as we tried to find it so 20mins later when we arrived we were not happy with our greeting.... after taking all the details the young lady on the desk told as that our £100 a night with no breakfast room was very small & had no air conditioning! She then went on to say she could up grade us for a discount price! This was not what we wanted to hear & I think we made ourselves very clear..... she then went on to explain that she could take a copy of our card so we could have breakfast at £17.95 EACH!!
No I think a sandwich will do from Sainsbury's love!

So after a short rest we headed back to Kings cross to find the venue.....has anyone ever been to the Water Rats? It's a bit small.
It was soooooo hot.... after 3 songs we left for some fresh air but OH couldn't face going back in so I went in alone. It had started to thin out at the back because everyone was walking out...one poor lady collapsed in the heat. I must admit the band was very good....just like the old days...however I'm 16 years older which is why I was struggling! OH is 10 years old then me so no wonder he found it hard going...lol!!!
45 mins later & I'd had enough.... I met OH in the pub across the road & I was soaked..... my hair looked like I'd just got out the shower...not a good look!

Yesterday saw us wake to lovely sunshine, we had an early train so headed back to Paddington before most people were up...I love London on a Sunday morning when no ones about.... so peaceful.

It was a great weekend, so nice to great away.... back to work today :(
I'm now running the store for 2 weeks so got to be on my best behavior.... no sneaking in with a hangover!

Hope you all had a great weekend, here's hoping the sun will show it's face this week