Dead Phone And SLOW Internet

Came home this evening to find my landline is as dead as a dodo, and even worse my internet is grindingly S-L-O-W.

It's taking ages to do anything so I'm not going to be able to do a lot.

I have reported the line problem to British Telecom through their website. I got a message saying they will attend to it on 2nd May and may need access to the house. MAY need access is not good enough, I have to go to work and cannot take a day off on the off chance they MAY need to come in... They need to give me a time and date and stick to it.

Anyway, have to see what happens on the 2nd..

If you don't see me around as much you'll know why, using the net right now is like the bad old days of dial up!

My Daily Routine

Liza wants to know my daily routine so she tagged me:



What time do you usually wake up?
Either 6:30 or 7:30 depending on what time I'm working that day.

What’s the first thing you do?
Eat breakfast

Breakfast?
A big bowl of cereal and a cup of tea.

Do you go to work/school?
Work

Do you like it?
I'd prefer to be a lady of leisure, but it pays the bills.

If you stay at home, what do you do all day?
Well, weekends only that is - and I spend too much time online

When’s lunch and what you eatin’?
We only get 30 mins lunch break, so it's usually a quick sandwich.

What time do you get home from work/school?
Depends on what time I started that day but the latest is about 7pm

What do you do?
I'm a Healthcare Assistant in a GP surgery, sometimes known as Nursing Assistant

Dinner: When and what?
Usually between 7:30 - 8pm, and I do try to have a wide variety of dishes.

What do you do to unwind?
Blogging, reading, and watching TV.

What is your favourite part of the day?
Evenings, just after dinner.

Who’s your favourite person to interact with?
My partner and (when they are here) my (grown up) children

When’s bedtime?
Between 10pm and 11pm

Who’s bedtime with?
My partner

I would like to tag:

Mee mOe
Anita
Tina
Awake In Rochester

Busy Baking Bears

I was looking through the list of recent visitors and came across a blog all written in Arabic - I have no idea what it was about but I absolutely loved this little animation and had to pinch it, isn't it so cute!

Monday - Again...

Don't know why I hate Mondays so much as I only work a few hours, in fact the worse days for me are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, they are long and extremely hectic..

Maybe it's because I spend so long looking forward to the weekend then in the blink of an eye it's over and it's Monday again.. Seem to be wishing my life away...

However, I won't be so fed up next Monday as it's a Bank Holiday!

Trying BlogUpp

I was going to say I've joined BlogUpp but that would be misleading as you don't have to join to join in.

BlogUpp is another way of finding new blogs and new blogs finding you, so I thought I'd give it a go. It's very easy to set up you just go HERE

Type in your blog address, a little code is generated which you can add to your sidebar. Easy peasy - read more about it HERE

I must admit I've not done much reading about it myself, just jumped right on in as I usually do. Will have to wait and see if anything happens now.

As it's not a site you actually join I don't think there is any way of checking who's found you via their widget, but it's worth a few weeks trial. Maybe visitors from there would show up in Google Analytics or something..

Nearly forgot, you can see the widgety thing in the left sidebar, a little way down..

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Thug :: Thief
2. Slurp :: Rude
3. Alley :: Back
4. Sweater vest :: Clothes
5. Targeted :: Shot
6. Snazzy :: Colourful
7. Oy! :: You!
8. Jury duty :: Boring
9. Low fat :: Yogurt
10. Responsibility :: Headache

Play along HERE!

Blogger Word Verification - Wahhh!

Is it just me or are others finding the word verification more and more difficult to read lately?

They are distorted, squashed up, over lapping and almost impossible to make out. It's getting really annoying having to wait for a new one to be generated everytime I get it wrong only to find the new one is just as illegible!

I know none of us want spam but at this rate people will give up commenting!

Back To Ealing

Yesterday the weather was lovely, the warmest day of the year so far. So not to waste the opportunity of getting out and enjoying it my partner (Rob) and I went to Ealing in West London.

There's nothing particularly special about Ealing but I wanted to go back and visit as it was where I had lived for a while back in the late 70's, not long after I had first come to live in London from Oxfordshire.

Considering how many years ago that was, so little had changed!

We walked in to Walpole Park and sat in the wonderfully warm sun admiring the beautifully colourful flowers and just enjoying the peace. (I must be old! lol)

It was a nice day, the edge taken off a little though by the fact I had a persistent headache the whole time.. Will these hormones ever leave me in peace!

Of course I took some photos which you are very welcome to view

My Penpal, Judy Ludermann

When I was growing up I loved to write letters to people, to anyone, so my Dad set me up, through an advert in a paper he used to read, with a penpal, her name was Judy Ludermann.

I was about 12 or 13 and she was probably about 15 or 16, it's difficult to remember. Mostly all I remember is her name, and that she lived somewhere in Chicago US. We wrote to each other for a little while but ran out of things to say.

She was a great fan of David Cassidy, which at the tender age of 12 I didn't quite understand - I was very innocent and quite sheltered at the time.

She sent me a photo which I kept for years, not of herself but of deep deep snow outside her house. We never had snow like that so I was very impressed.

I wonder what happened to her, I wonder if she has any memory of me...

Oh Dear... Not Sure I Like This One..

You Are 44% Bipolar

You're a bit moody, and at times, your moods can be a bit extreme. It's up to you to decide if you're simply dramatic... or slightly bipolar.

Are You Bipolar?

Should I Shave The Cat?

I've just spent a lot of time and energy hoovering and dusting and most of the mess is cat fur from my visitor.

I guess it's the time of year for shedding a lot more fur, getting rid of the thick winter coat but it's no joke, it's everywhere! I can't imagine what it would be like for those who have several cats.

Well I was thinking, would it not be a good idea just to shave her completely then only the summer coat would grow back? Save all this messy moulting?

OK, now before I get hammered for this I am only joking, but it is an idea? no? lol

Shopping Makes Me Feel So "Wrong"

Went to Oxford Street after work to have a look around a couple of shops, particularly Marks & Spencer as I still have vouchers to spend from Christmas.

I tried on a few things, and actually bought a few tops and a skirt, luckily they have a 90 day returns policy so I still might change my mind.

I hate buying clothes as I always feel I look so "wrong" and ugly in the dreadful lighting they have in the fitting rooms. My boobs, bum and belly are too big, and out of proportion, my legs are too short and my skin.. well it looks gross.

Why oh why do they not have more flattering lighting I do not know. When I look in the mirror in the toilet at work I look surprisingly great, so it is possible to create an illusion and you'd think a shop trying to convince women to buy clothes would want to make it as beautiful an experience as possible!

After shopping I met my partner and we ate in Garfunkels, which was nice, no washing up!

But all that after a full day's work is just about my limit, I am sooo knackered it's ridiculous..

Anyway, just going to try on my new clothes again before I go to sleep..

The Six Things - Again!

I've been tagged by Lisa C to:

"Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks about yourself"

Right: So here's the rules-

*Link the person who tagged you.
*Mention the rules in your blog.
*The fun part ~ Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks about yourself.
*Tag 6 other bloggers and link them.
*Leave a comment letting them know you tagged them and that's it!

Well like Lisa I have also done this before and I'm going to copy her and link back to the last time I did it - she's not the only one who can cheat! LOL

My SIX THINGS!!!


Now I'm breaking just about all of the rules because I'm not even tagging anyone directly, I'd like the first 6 commenter's to do this one.. LOL

No one will comment now!

Wordless Wednesday

My Favourite Visitor

The Love Dress

This joke was sent to me today, made me smile, thought I'd share:


A woman stopped by, unannounced, at her son's
house.

She knocked on the door then immediately
walked in. She was shocked to see her
daughter-in-law lying on the couch, totally
naked.

Soft music was playing, and the aroma of
perfume filled the room.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'I'm waiting for Justin to come home from
work.' The daughter-in-law answered.

'But you're naked!' the mother-in-law exclaimed.

'This is my love dress,' the daughter-in-law
explained.

'Love dress? But you're naked!'

'Justin loves me to wear this dress,' she
explained.

'Every time he sees me in this
dress, he instantly becomes romantic and ravages
me for hours.'

The mother-in-law left.

When she got home she undressed, showered, put on her best perfume,
dimmed the lights, put on a romantic CD, and lay
on the couch waiting for her husband to arrive.

Finally, her husband came home. He walked in
and saw her lying there so provocatively.

' What are you doing?' he asked.

'This is my love dress,' she whispered,
sensually.

'Needs ironing,' he said, 'What's for dinner?

E For Excellent!

I have received this most Excellent award from Posh Totty - thank you!


I am supposed to follow the rules and pass this on to 10 more Excellent blogs, but I'm going to be a bit rebellious and break that rule by saying I pass it on to ALL my Excellent readers!




If it weren't for you all, I'd probably have given up blogging by now!

Two Elderly Ladies

Mostly when I write about work it's to have a moan, well not today.

This morning 2 elderly ladies had appointments with me, both of them in their early 70's and both of them, it seemed rather lonely.

Usually, because of the nature of the job I call in the patients, get on with what ever is required and then send them on their way, and on to the next person. But today, something about these ladies, who were booked in one after the other made me want to take my time.

They were both very chatty, nattering on about their lives, how times had changed for them and how they (one in particular) were very alone.

I felt a deep sense of empathy with them, and I could easily have spent a lot longer with both or either of them - and I know why..

They both reminded me of how perhaps my Mum would have been if she had still been alive.

My Mum passed away 20 years ago at the young age of 52 and would have, like these ladies been in her early 70's now.

There is so much I miss about not having her around, I'd love to be able to sit and just have a natter with her, and today I think, not only did these elderly ladies enjoy and benefit from these extended chats, but I myself did as well.

Red Rose Award

From the bottom of
my heart I wanna say thank you
Liza for this beautiful
red rose award.
You made my day!


Red rose has number of thorns in it
when it pint your finger it hurts
Everyday in my life is just like red roses.
Sometimes life is not always bed of roses.
But life is great with God.

Now, it's my turn to share this red rose.
I am awarding the following persons

Anna

DrowseyMonkey

Iriegal

Beth Allen

Laura

Tammy

Lone Chatelaine

BetteJo

Pawhealer

Awake In Rochester

Skittles



Thank you my dear friends.
You are awarded with great appreciation.
See you around here as often
God Bless You!

Wirenode, Mobile Website Creator

Just added a button on the right sidebar with details of how to read this blog on the move, on a mobile phone/device. I've done this before but don't really know the value of it but I came across a new site today and thought I'd give it another go.

The site is Wirenode.com

The neat thing about this place is that you can add little pages, like an introduction to your blog. There are also ways of adding widgets and other stuff which I've not really had time to delve into yet.

Take a look at what you'd get on a mobile by clicking HERE

Why not mobilise your own blog?

A Gallon Of Petrol = $8.53

I was reading my friend Beth Allens blog yesterday and she was talking about the high cost of petrol over there in the US.

That got me thinking about what we are paying over here and how we compare.

I don't have a car so it doesn't affect me personally apart from the obvious costs passed on invisibly to us by other services, such as public transport and food prices, which must be affected as they are delivered to the stores etc etc...

Anyway, I set about working out what we pay here, and have quoted the comment I left on Beth's blog...

Remember, we buy our petrol in litres:


1 US gallon = 3.78541178 litre

1 litre of regular unleaded = £1.13

I did the sum of 1.13 x 3.78 = £4.27 per US gallon

Which converts to:

UK£ 4.27 = 8.532741 U.S. dollars

So we pay the equivalent of - $8.53 US dollars per US gallon.

Hope this makes sense and please feel free to correct my awful maths. All done with the help of Google :)

So, my US friends, we are having a tough time over here!

Sunny Sunday Re-Potting

I woke in a very odd mood today. Feeling I wanted to jump out of bed and have a massive clear out - make space and get rid of. Which is not really possible as I have a lot of "stuff" here which belongs to my son who currently lives and works in Dubai, and also of course my 2 daughters belongings as they are away at uni in term time.

I did a bit of clearing, in an effort to resolve this feeling. Then I felt overwhelming sad and miserable, the feeling of missing my kids being the focus of the now streaming tears.

I had a good cry, which in fact I believe did me good. Last week at work I felt like crying several times due to so many impending changes and stresses but I didn't so it was good to let go and have the tears in the privacy of my own home.

After having some lovely cheese and tomatoes on toast (made by my partner to cheer me up) I felt a bit better and we went out to a local garden/home store.

I bought some compost and plant pots as several of my plants were in desperate need of a little more growing space. So by the time we got home the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm to spend time out on the balcony re-potting.

They all look lovely now, the 5 cacti and a dwarf conifer tree, all standing proudly in the fresh new soil.

Silly me, I should have taken photo's - maybe tomorrow if I have time!

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Questioning :: Authority
2. Immunity :: Vaccines
3. Online dating :: Fun
4. Calcium :: Tablets
5. Dressing :: Up
6. Bucket :: Spade
7. Stain :: Remover
8. Advanced :: Level
9. Dramatic :: Acting
10. Self-medication :: Drugs


Play HERE

I'm A Concerned Realist

Just completed a rather long 11 page personal dna quiz which promises to reveal "Your True Self"

It was a lot of fun to do and has come out with some very interesting facts about me. Some which I completely agree with, some, well, I don't particularly like but I can see where they are coming from.

You are welcome to have a read:

My personalDNA Report

Mouse over the colours to see my traits!

Concerned Realist

Then maybe take the test yourself!

The Name Game

I wasn't tagged for this but found it at Beth & Cory's Mum, I liked it so I decided to do it anyway as it looked like fun!

The Name Game (rated PG 13)

1. Your rock star name (first pet, current car)....... Katie Bicycle (I don't have a car!)

2. Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe)...... Vanilla Boots

3. Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal).......... Green Cat

4. Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born)......Jane Oxford

5. Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name)...........Ban La (Sorry - just not comfortable with revealing last name)

6. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink)......Yellow Tea

7. NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers).......Herbert Leslie

8. Stripper name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)..........Versace Woman (But I have about 5 others I love!)

9. TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)........ Bee Birmingham

10. Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower).......Summer Rose

11. Cartoon name: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now)......Banana Jeans

12. Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)....... Oatibix Chestnut

13. "Adult Film" star name (first pet, first street where you lived)............ Katie Hailey

Not tagging anyone but if you do it let me know :)

England Stunk Today!

As I was pottering this morning I was listening to chat radio, people were phoning in to complain of a nasty smell in the air, loads of them, from many areas, not just London..

The met office are saying it's coming from Germany, Belgium and Holland as the farmers have been muck spreading and due to very strong Easterly winds we are getting the nasty whiffs floating over.

Yuck!!

Luckily I didn't smell it myself but my partner did as he went to work.

See story on BBC

What Am I Doing Here..

About to get ready for work I suddenly remembered something I needed to do online.

Put the computer on and realised the wireless connection was not working so had to restart the modem/router.

By the time I had things up and running I couldn't for the life of me remember what I had put it all on for!



This happens quite frequently and then I end up wasting time getting engrossed in other things only to suddenly realise I'm running very late, so quickly switch off.



THEN when it's too late I remember what it was I put it on for.

I'm sure the same will happen today!

What I'm Worth In Bed!

Found this funny one at Cyber Chocolate - just had to do it myself...

Powered By limobus


Now what's that in ££££'s ;)

Too Cold For April

You know how we always think the weather was better last year and it really wasn't we just feel it was? Well this year that feeling is right!

It has been really cold recently even though it has been very sunny at times, top temp today was 12c (54f) which is a lot cooler than last April.

I can prove it this time as I was looking back through my Flickr photos and saw this:

Taken on 14th April 2007 in Hyde Park - it was a wonderfully warm day as you can imagine by the flesh that is on display!

Ohhhh I'm so longing for some better weather!

Improve Your Vocabulary - Help The Hungry

I came across something I thought at first to be a little odd over at Awake In Rochester, but when I checked it out not only is it great fun but it's a great way to help those in the world suffering from hunger.

It's a game where you guess the meaning of words, for every word you get right 20 grains of rice are donated by the UN World Food Program. I know it sounds kind of fake really, how on earth us playing a little game can help I wondered?

Well I read this in the FAQ:

FreeRice is not sitting on a pile of rice―you are earning it 20 grains at a time. Here is how it works. When you play the game, advertisements appear on the bottom of your screen. The money generated by these advertisements is then used to buy the rice. So by playing, you generate the money that pays for the rice donated to hungry people.

So it worth taking a look, have a go, it's quite addictive, I managed 1160 grains in a very short time..

FreeRice

Worldwide Link Love

I've been tagged by Liza :)

~ start copying here ~

Join the Worldwide Link Love!
Benefits of Worldwide Link Love!

1. Make new friends around the world.
2. Feel the Link Love.
3. Gain new readers and subscribers.

Rules:

1. Copy from ~start copying here ~ to ~ end copying here ~ and paste it on your blog.
2. At the end of the list, put your name and the country your in, it doesn’t matter what’s your nationality just put the country where you are publishing your blog. Don’t forget to put links at your name.
3. If u have many blogs, you can link all of it, just make sure you post the same on each blog.
4. Tag eight (8) or more of your blog friends.
5. Tip for blogspot users: make sure you copy and paste the code in Compose mode.

Wanna join, and you can’t find your name on the list? Just leave a comment here.

Worldwide Link Love! Participants:

1. Julia (Philippines)
2. Catherine (Malaysia)
3. shimumsy(u.s.a)
4. Mitch (Philippines)
5. Hailey (Philippines)
6. Sexymom (USA)
7. Liza (Philippines)
8. Sasha (Philippines)
9. Tere (Philippines)

10. Simply The Best
11. The World Wide Web Addict
12. My Daily Nourishment
13. My Euro Travel and Adventure
14. Euroangel Graffiti (Germany)

15. A Simple Life (Philippines)

16. Lady Banana (UK)

I would like to tag:

Anita

Bill

Iriegal

mee mOe

And anyone else who would like to take part!

Million Blog List

I'm # 333

Why not add yours!




Spotted at Beth Allen II

I Can Detect Goblins!

Lady Banana --

[noun]: A person with a sixth sense for detecting the presence of goblins

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Found at Adelaide Green Porridge Cafe

Can't Remember My Yahoo/Flickr Password :(

I'm feeling really angry with myself this evening as I've forgotten my Yahoo/Flickr password.

I'm (luckily) still logged in to Flickr as the browser remembers me, but I was wanting to sign up to something new and I need the password.

I was sent to the retrieve password site where you simply type in your date of birth and postal code... hmm simply.. NOT!

It didn't work and I think I know why, when I signed up for Yahoo many years ago I think I lied about my age and now I can't remember what I put so I'm stuck.

I have tried just about every which way, all the passwords I have ever used and none of them work. It's very annoying, I could scream.

I have sent a message to Flickr in the hope they can somehow re-set it for me or something. If not then I don't know what I'll do..

If anyone has any other ideas I'd be most grateful..

I know in future I will be making a little notebook of passwords, but then I bet I'll lose that as well...

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Silence :: Peace
   
2. Wall :: Brick
   
3. Killed :: Dead
   
4. Wishful :: Thinking
   
5. Poodle :: Pooch
   
6. Sullen :: Faced
   
7. Do not disturb :: Me
   
8. Philadelphia :: Cheese
   
9. Anticipation :: Waiting
   
10. Sidewalk :: Pavement

Go HERE if you'd like to play!

The Fabulous Dick And Fanny

I saw this a long time ago and came across it again today, so for fun thought I'd post it here!

This was also made into a video


For more of this Naughtiness visit Dick's House

Not suitable for children!

An Engineer's Guide To Cats

If you have a few minutes and love cats you may enjoy this video:

Exploring Portobello Road

Well, I did as planned, went out for a while.

My partner came with me, a little reluctantly though I may say. He's not really as adventurous as me.

I love to go out, exploring areas and corners of London that I've not been to before but he prefers to stay home at weekends as he's had a busy week. But me, even though I've also had a hectic week like to get out, "A change is as good as a rest"

So sometimes it's a bit difficult as I don't know many/any people who like to do as I do, so it's either drag him along or go by myself. I'm not too keen on going places by myself as I always feel - well I don't know, weird.

Do you feel comfortable going places alone?

Anyway, today we went to Portobello Road

It's only a short bus ride away and in all the years I have lived in London I had never been there.

It was interesting, but not necessarily my cup of tea as I'm not that excited by antiques, but I took a few photos and enjoyed being out - until it rained, hailed and blew a rather cold gale!

Entrecard - Not Worth The Hassle I Wonder..

Not sure about this Entrecard anymore now they changed the pricing system. Now seems to me only those who already have high profile blogs can benefit from it.

Your price is now linked to how many people want to advertise on your blog, so if you are a blog with a smallish readership then people are less likely to want to advertise on you and therefore you will not get a high price, so even when you do get advertisers the payback will be small.

I know we are supposed to drop, drop, drop all day so we can afford to advertise on the higher priced/profile blogs but some of us do not have time, energy or inclination to spend so much time dropping..

Well that's how it seems to me - a bit of a waste of time really.

I'm not giving up on it yet, but I'm certainly not going to push as hard as it seems we have to in order to succeed, I have much better things in life to do!

Now, if I have the wrong end of the stick, or there are other tactics worth looking into then please let me know!

Want To Get Out This Weekend

Another wet weekend ahead it seems - I am not happy..

I'm just dying to get out with my camera, take some photos and have an enjoyable time outside.

Have to wait and see what it's like in the morning, hopefully they've got it a bit wrong.

Get Off The Computer And Get Cleaning!

I must admit I do sometimes often neglect my home cleaning duties. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the week to work, cook, shop, blog, blog, blog etc and errmmm clean.

But apparently cleaning is good for our mental health so I'd better get off here and get on with it!



Well maybe not tonight...