HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Automatic Or Manual?

Driving has been quite a hot topic in our house this weekend as my daughter now has her car. All 3 of my kids can drive that leaves myself and partner the odd ones out, as neither of us can drive.

We both go through phases of wanting to learn but then something else seems to come along and take priority.

I would actually prefer to drive an automatic car as opposed to one with manual gears. My daughters is a manual and it seems most people I talk to prefer the manual cars.

I wonder why this is, in these days of computerisation and automation why oh why do people still choose to drive a manual when it's obvious an automatic is going to that bit easier??

If you are a driver please tell me what you prefer, what you actually drive and why!

Just Makes Me Wanna Get Up And Dance

Just listening to music with iTunes on random when this track played... reminded me of the brilliantly funny video that goes with it. You Tube is wonderful, a couple of clicks and here it is - enjoy!

Sophie Ellis Bextor - Murder On The Dance Floor

A New Car In The Family

My youngest daughter (19) bought her first car today. It's a 2002 Vauxhall Corsa. She's worked hard and saved hard for it so I'm rather proud of her.


Of course being a Mum it raises up worries for her safety but I know I must hold them back and be happy for her. No more struggling on and off trains back and forth from uni.

I know her sister (24) is probably a bit pee'd off as she's not been able to save for hers yet. Her time will come no doubt.

I really should learn to drive myself, the older I get the more afraid I get..

(The image above is NOT her actual car)

The Too Short Haircut

I got my haircut yesterday as planned. Not that it particularly went to plan, I told the guy to take off 1 inch, but he's taken off a lot more than that. It's a bit too short now...

I really do not enjoy getting my hair done, apart from the massage whilst my hair is being washed and conditioned. What made it worse is when I realised I had been assigned an almost non English speaking hairdresser..

When the hair is all wet and piled up on top of the head it's very difficult to see quite how much is being chopped off and to imagine what it will look like when dried.

That's the next thing I'm not keen on, the flouncy way they always blow dry it.

But when I arrived at work I was pleasantly surprised by all the compliments I received.

Have to wash it tomorrow and see if I can make it look good, stretch it a bit - or at least make it look OK.

Please BUMP Me!

I just joined MillionRSS

It's probably just another useless blog promotion site but you know me, love to try just about anything!

So now I'd like to ask you to vote for me by clicking the "BUMP Lady Banana" in the right sidebar. Or by going to the MillionRSS Page and Bumping me there - thank you :)

You don't have to join anything or sign up for anything, it's easy - why not add your own feed as well!

Thanks Mark!

Creative Blogger Award

I am honoured to have been chosen to receive the Creative Blogger Award.. By Mee mOe from When Life Becomes A Book

Thank you very much Mee mOe :)

Now the difficult part is choosing one creative blogging friend to pass this onto as just about all the blogs I read deserve it!

So I have chosen Boatwoman at A Boatwoman's Diary

I find her blog fascinating as she tells the stories about living on the water. A life which I can dream about, being away from the hustle and bustle, the pushing and shoving of London. I'm not sure I could live on a Narrow Boat as it really is narrow, but it's a great insight to a different lifestyle!

Back To Work :(

I was back to work today, bright and early at 8:30 am.. well early, not so sure about the bright. It was barely light as I walked along and there were so few people around and not a lot of traffic, I began to feel I must have the wrong day!

There were a lot of problems at work but the patients for once were not part of it. Patientwise it was surprisingly quiet considering the clinic had been closed for 2 and half days!

We had no heating at all until lunchtime and a fire alarm which was somehow stuck on despite all efforts to get it turned off we had to endure the ear piercing screeching sound for several hours!

By early afternoon I was feeling not quite myself... overly tired and achey.. probably caused by the cold and abuse on the ears for so long. I'm particularly sensitive to loud sounds as I suffer from slight hyperacusis.

I was so glad to get home and relax this evening. My partner is still on holiday so he cooked a lovely veggie curry.. just what I needed to warm me up!

I've rarely had to work the day after Boxing Day, it's weird coming home to the Christmas Tree still up, but yet it's all kind of over - won't be long before that gets taken down!

At least I have only a half day tomorrow then 2 more days off...

If I get up in time I might go get my hair cut - wahhh I hate the hairdressers...

Addiction To Shopping - Not Me..

I cannot believe how so many shops are now opening on Boxing Day. Both of my daughters who do shop work when on uni hols are working today. One in Oxford Street and one in Brent Cross.

I think this is part of what spoils the Christmas feeling for me. When I was younger the shops would be closed for several days so you really did have to stock up with food and you really did have to find other things to do than go shopping. It was reported on the news and by my girl who started work at 8:30 this morning that there were long queues outside many of the shops. How materialistic our lives have become! You wont catch me out shopping on a Boxing Day!

Then there are those who couldn't even wait till Boxing Day, seems thousands were shopping online yesterday! What a lot of crazy shopoholics. I know there are bargains to be had, but still, I value a rest from it all!

Not to forget, years ago the sales didn't even begin until the 1st January. I can remember it being a big event, getting out early on the 1st!

Kwout, An Easy Way To Post Screen Shots

via kwout

I discovered this clever KWOUT on the above page. It's a tool which cuts out a part of any web page so you can add to your blog or even Flickr quickly and easily.
Just add the bookmarklet to your browser, click it when you are on any page you wish to quote, in a few moments a screenshot will appear, you then highlight the area you wish and click cut out..it then generates the code for you to copy and paste, or if you have chosen to upload to Flickr it authorises and uploads in a flash! very nice :)

I used Kwout to add all the the screenshots in this post.

via kwout

So That Was Christmas

Well all that fuss and bother and now it's all over with.. Thank Goodness!

The big day was just myself, partner and my 2 daughters.

After having to "encourage" one of the girls to get out of bed in the morning, (how things have changed since she was little) we opened presents. Then as myself and partner prepared dinner they sat around watching TV, which seemed to be typically boring.

I told them dinner would be ready for 2pm so could they please be ready and dressed by then... well one was, but one wasn't so we ate without her as she disappeared into her room and didn't respond when called, which wasn't ideal but she has to learn the world does not revolve around her and when dinner was ready it was ready. We'd already had the hassle of getting her reluctantly out of her bed.

The afternoon was quiet, mostly watching TV, which again wasn't up to much so I put the computer on and had a little browse around.

I did enjoy watching Shrek 2 although I do have it on DVD but it's such a lovely film. I will watch Shrek 3 later today as I got it as a Christmas pressie!

Phoned my son in Dubai - I do like the cheap calls through Skype, very reasonable! he had spent the day snowboarding! YES snowboarding in Dubai... they were cooking roast beef and about to open their presents. I imagine he had the best Christmas over there, a lot more exciting than being here at home with the TV on!

This morning I felt the need for a little physical exercise after all the munching and sitting about yesterday, so I went out for a little ride around on my bike. Much nicer weather than we had yesterday - that was one wet, dull, grey Christmas day.

Better make the most of today as I'm back to work tomorrow 8:30am... booo hooo

Merry Glittery Christmas

Wishing all my readers old and new and their families a lovely, peaceful Christmas, whatever you do, where ever you are I hope it's the way YOU want it to be!

Recent Comments Widget

Just added a widget which shows recent comments in the right hand sidebar...

I like this - don't know why, but I do..

If you'd like one also, you can get it from madtomato.

(for blogger users)

Food Shopping And Fog

I feel a bit better today, enough to go and do the final food shop. Along with a million other people all acting crazy with trolleys overflowing as if the shops closing for 2 months not 2 days!

I normally buy a frozen turkey and let it thaw out over the next 2 days, but not this year, Sainsbury didn't have any at all and when I asked was told none were expected. So now we have a small fresh one which I'm sure will be even nicer!

Brussel sprouts are in very short supply it seems as well, as all they had were a few bags of rather manky looking ones. I heard this may be due to the awful wet summer and floods spoiling the crops. We found a bag of frozen ones, they'll do.

We don't have a car so walking home I began to feel a bit worn out and started feeling the cold penetrating my coat. There has been a heavy thick fog here all day and this has made the 2c feel even colder and damper.

I took a few snaps while I was out - it's been too long since I had a good old photography session!

I'm Doing A Good Impression Of Rudolph

Been indoors all day today, in fact I'm still in my nightclothes and its after 4pm.

The reason, I have a rotten cold and my nose is redder than Rudolphs. Got some Kleenex balsam tissues which are helping a bit.

My partner went out for a while to get a few bits but I thought it wise to stay in the warm, plus the fact I feel a little weak.

So it's been a good excuse to sit and scour the internet without a single touch of guilt over the housework etc that I should be doing! Luvverley!!!

Just hope I'm up to the final food shop tomorrow! I'll have to force myself whatever happens really as it's just about the last chance we'll get..

Think I'll have a nice shower now.. maybe back later if anything interesting comes my way!

'Appy Bloomin' Christmas

Before going to work today I wasn't feeling great so just sat around on the computer watching YouTube videos. I watched such a sweet cartoon, Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas, which I know has been around for years but it was my first time.

I was going to embed it here but that's not possible, if you'd like to watch it, all 3 parts of it, I have put them in a playlist which you can connect to HERE!

Prescriptions And Anonymous Lunatics

Well, I do have a cold, but being a woman I intend to plod on.. hehehe

I went to work and hope to also go tomorrow. If I don't, I'm sure some would think I was bunking as it's my last working day! Have to see what the morning brings..

I'm lucky, I have Christmas Eve off work. We are still open but the place will run the bare minimum of staff. That's my biggest excitement of Christmas, having days off!!

This last week has been so manically busy, everyone seems to think, "Oww the Dr's will be closed for 2 days next week, lets go make a visit!" or they have suddenly realised they wont have quite enough medication and request an urgent prescription! I swear I have done 100's almost everyday this past week. Anyone would think we are closing for 2 months not 2 days!

This evening whilst reading comments here on this blog I was rather shocked by a VERY VERY long nonsensical ranting of what I can only describe as lunacy.. needless to say it was an anonymous commenter and I have deleted it.

So for the foreseeable I have disabled anonymous comments. I've not yet turned on word verification or moderation - will see if any more such nonsense appears.

Fed Up With Cooking

I know I've not posted that much about myself the last few days. Mainly because not that much has been going on.

The biggest thing is my two daughters are now home from uni for the Christmas break which is nice.

Hmmm nice.. is that a good word to describe them being home... shouldn't it be wonderful.. I think so, wonderful is a much better word.

There are however one or two things that I find difficult when they are home again, that's the noise, being woken up at all hours as they return from clubs and parties (not happened yet, but it will) and the cooking.

The cooking is probably the worse. One is a vegetarian and the other is totally intolerant of dairy products, so making meals that suit everyone can be quite a challenge. I've recently become used to it being just myself and my partner (who eats almost anything lol) But now I feel befuddled and confused again in the kitchen. Also not helped by the fact they are frequently not home at cooking time, then they don't answer their mobiles so how am I supposed to know if they want feeding that day or not!

Then they get upset coming home an hour or so after we have eaten to find nothing there...

I'm not the most enthusiastic cook and this makes me want to give up altogether!

Plus the minor fact, it's not cheap feeding and keeping two extras for up to 3 or 4 months (ie summer hols) I know, I shouldn't complain but it's a fact, food and fuel etc does not come cheap!

Anyway, must stop complaining, they are my wonderful, beautiful little girls and my world would be quite empty without them! Just wish my son was home as well.

Anyway, good news is - 2 more working days then not back till Thursday 27th.. Yay!

Pity I'm feeling the start of a cold...

Are You Naughty Or Nice?

Take the Naughty or Nice Quiz at QuizRocket.com!

Three Wise Women

This was sent to me in an email today - just thought I'd share..

Click pic if you'd like to see it bigger..

Rearrange The Letters

Something I was sent in email today - I've not worked them out to see if all correct, but it sure looks like it at first glance!

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM


PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z'S

A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
I'M A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE


AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

The Golden Rose Award

I have received this lovely award from my blogging friend Lone Chatelaine - thank you, it's much appreciated :)

I would like to pass this award on to Jo, my Boatwoman friend.. Her daily posts about her life on a narrow boat never fail to fascinate me..

Birth Month Personality Meme

I've been tagged by Tee at Spilt Milk to do this little meme..

The Rules for this meme are:


1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.
2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below).
3. Pick your month of birth (see below).
4. Highlight the traits that apply to you.
5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them.
6. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!


But ya know me I may not always stick to the rules.. so I'm once again not going to tag anyone but leave an open invitation for anyone to do this, it's quite an easy one but I know you're all busy at this time of year!

Well my month is January..

THE MONTHLY FLAVOURS, WHICH ARE YOU?

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

Remember Knots Landing?

I spotted a post about Joan Van Ark on A Welsh View and at first glance I didn't recognise her. Not because of the awful plastic surgery I might add.. Then I remembered she had been in Knots Landing!

That was my absolute favourite daytime viewing, back in the day when my kids were young! I'd watch it after doing my housework, then dash off to collect them from school.

Change The Look Of Firefox

I read about Firefox Personas in a couple of places today and thought I'd give it a try.

Personas are a fast easy fun way to change the appearance of the Firefox browser (which is the browser I always use)with just a mouse click.

You need to download the add-on HERE, install, then re-start the browser. Then you should see the little fox in the bottom left of your browser. Click and pick!

To be honest I'm not that keen on some of the looks as I find it more difficult to find the buttons (I have a lot of them) with all the fancy designs but it's fun trying them out!

I Have Treasure!

Siani from Siani's Pot Pourri has passed this award on to me - thanks Siani much appreciated :)




I would like to pass it on to the following:

Tee at Spilt Milk Blog

Mee mOe at When Life becomes A Book

It's always difficult to choose as all the blogs I read are treasures!

Pviewr For Flickr And Picasa

If you're like me and enjoy browsing Flickr or Picasa photos then you might like this viewer..

It's called Pviewr and it's easy, fast and very lovely to use.

You can view by username or tag, you can view comments and notes on each photo and then there are links to the original..

Glow In The Dark Cats

I cannot believe this is true.. I find this totally DISGUSTING.


"cloning cats with the same diseases as humans could speed up efforts to find treatment and drugs by allowing scientists to study animals and conduct experiments that are not possible with human patients"

Someone tell me this is a joke...

Full story click the pic below.. and watch the CNN video..

Shame On You Marriot Hotel, Your Christmas Party Was Crap!

Woke up this morning feeling a little wobbly. The reason being last nights party.

It was the work Christmas party at the Marriot Hotel

Sounds very nice, looks very nice but the reality wasn't quite so nice.

It was called A Join A Party, which meant that there would be others from other offices/workplaces also there, which is fine, that's the norm. However what was not the norm was the fact that the 2 large tables we needed to accommodate our group were placed apart, in fact just about as apart as the room would allow. After having a word or few with the organisers we were told it could not be changed... hmmmm.

As we entered the dining room from the warm foyer we were all shocked at how icy cold it was as well as a draught coming from all sides. Yet again a few words with the organiser, only to be told, don't worry it'll soon warm up.. well, it didn't, not until much much later when we had a bit of a dance.

The food was already on display in large stainless steel containers on a table at the side, being kept warm by candles! another hmmmmmm

The starters were served eventually and were not all that nice, not enhanced by the fact we were all still very cold.

A lot later the lids were removed from the main course and we lined up to serve ourselves and guess what, it was cold... As if they thought candles and a freezing room was going to keep it warm. Some of us wanted to get the food warmed up but as we had made so many complaints we were thinking they'd probably spit in the food.

Needless to say a lot of food was wasted... The dessert came much much later.. and was supposed to be a lemon cheesecake, it was in fact more like a strange lemon curdy tart with a blob of unrecognisable brown stuff on the side...

After we'd eaten, the music livened up a bit and most of us got up (yep including myself) and had a bit of a boogie.. warmed up at last!

I had a couple of glasses of wine and as a person who rarely drinks wine, I woke up this morning about 5am feeling like death...

It's now 2pm and I'm feeling much better, note to self.... May as well give the alcohol a complete miss... my body really does NOT like even the smallest quantities..

So Marriot Hotel, expect a letter of complaint next week... for £42 a head you presented us with a really crap evening!!

Frosty Morning

A couple of photos taken this morning as I walked through the frosty park on the way to work...

Missing Cat - Now Back!

Regular readers may know I have a frequent furry visitor from next door. Until now, I've not set eyes on her since Monday and it's now Thursday and I really miss her.



WOW!!!!!!!! no one is going to believe this but as I typed that last full stop I heard her jump over the wall outside - it's wonderful to see her, but as usual she's gone right to the kitchen looking for nibbles, hehe..

She must have some kind of ESP..

Such a sweetie....

Just A Little Nutty

This award was passed onto me by Drowsey Monkey

More than a little appropriate some would say!


Thanks Drowsy, it's the best way to be, a little nutty!

Now who do I know that's also a little nutty???

Catching Up

Can you believe it, 2 whole days and no blogging! It's funny but it seems ages, probably just about the longest time away ever!

Tuesday evening was my partners birthday so we went out for a meal and then to the cinema to see the Golden Compass.

It wasn't a late night but later than my usual and it seems to have knocked me back as I've been tired ever since.

Last night I got home from work thinking of a nice early night after a bit of blogging. I had the early night but no blogging as after about 10 minutes of being online we lost the internet. I got hold of tech support at the isp and they said it was to do with BT and would be fixed by the morning, hopefully.

Well it's fine now, but I see I have so much catching up to do. Lot's of blogs to read and lots of spammish emails by the looks of things. Must be the time of year for it.

Tomorrow I doubt I will be posting either as it's the work Christmas Party... That's if there's anyone left who's going by then. People are dropping out like flies. It's almost the same every year, no one really likes going, we are a very unsociable bunch of people!

I Am The Cosmo Girl!!

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Thanks iriegal!

Aches and Pains

I woke up today with so many aches and pains, and a nasty spot thing on my eyelid which feels heavy and looks puffy. It's not a stye as it's too high up..I think I'll have to have the week off work for this.. LOL

After breakfast and a couple of cups of tea I was feeling a lot better, the sun was shining and all was well. I went out for a little while for some bits and pieces (thankfully no where too crowded) but felt overwhelmingly tired. I was then feeling like the weather which by then had turned decidedly grey, damp and miserable. So I was happy to get back in the warm.

Took a few pictures of a Christmas display in the shopping centre - the lovely Cinderella.

How We Survived In Days Gone By

This morning I read something that has not left my mind all day, and I feel compelled to add it here... It is so very true and makes me wonder what are we doing to the kids of today, how will they survive all the cotton wool!

I found it at my friend Pawhealers Blog - A Spiritual Dog Blog and I hope she doesn't mind me copying it here!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because,
WE WERE ALWAYS
OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer! s, no Internet or chat rooms.......
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who