... in which I feel warm and fuzzy

Hi bbs :)

I'm still in my jammies and basking in post-Christmas glow. What a good time for an update (says I).

Christmas was awesome, as was Boxing Day. John and I were up fairly early on Christmas Day, we swapped pressies and then cooked a huge fry up... om nom nom. We digested that for a little while before wrapping the last few presents and heading over to my parents. My aunt and uncle are visiting from Cyprus and my brother was home from uni so it was a lovely gathering, and dinner was delicious.

And then (still digesting) we went to visit John's parents where we collected about 20 chocolate oranges from various people, among some other fabulous presents. And then came charades and board games, which brought some priceless quotes...

Kerry: What is a female rabbit called?
John: Well, it's not "bunny"...
Brian: Yeah, because Bugs was a boy


Me and Kerry: What are the 7 deadly sins?
John: Rape


Brian: If the penis piercing is called a Prince Albert, what is the corresponding piercing on a female called?
Megan: CLIT!


Ian: Lee Evans is the worst thing to happen to the world.
Brian: What about Adolf??

... to name a few.


Gaming was bloody brilliant. And then exhausted, with about 6 huge bags of presents and chocolatey goodies we headed home.


Boxing day was a lovely chilled out affair for us. We enjoyed the 50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments, which caused lots of heated discussion, obviously :) followed by the new Lee Evans stand up which was hilarious. And then we ended the day with dinner and series 1 of TOWIE, which admittedly was much more up my street than John's, but he does enjoy the stupidity of it.


And now we have to find room for all our new goodies, which gives us an excuse to do a clear out of all the things we don't need. Looking at my wish-list from one of my previous posts, I can say with no surprise that I did not get a Louis Vuitton bag, or an Alfa Romeo, or Gary Barlow (although a Take That calendar and the tour DVD are good substitutes!) but I was lucky enough to get the Professor Layton game. Now... come on snow days! I'd like to postpone going back to work for at least an extra week :)

...in which I feel really festive

Happy Christmas Eve to everyone.

I began today with a Krispy Kreme and a coffee. The rest of the day involved wrapping tonnes of presents, watching Christmas movies and taking the cats for a walk on their new leads.


You heard.


They loved it.

And with that, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas :)

...in which there are no good excuses

Oh dear, almost two months since my last post.

I was just having a little moment. A "wow, I've finished all my Christmas shopping" moment, when it suddenly occurred to me that success in the Christmas preparation department meant I now had time to write a blog post.

I'm on my Christmas holidays at the moment, which have been blissful so far. They've involved watching Sex and the City (lots), eating biscuits (also lots), drinking tea (you get the idea), wrapping presents, snuggling with cats, watching Christmas movies (saving all the best ones for Christmas Eve) and generally getting organised. The last of my shopping was done today. Hoo-ray.

A combination of work and police training has left me exhausted for the past couple of months but I'm enjoying it... well, I'm enjoying one of them, probably not hard to guess which one is more fun.

I'd love to say that our place is decorated to the hilt, as per previous years. However this is our first Christmas with The Naughtiest Cats in the World living with us. Our Christmas tree is apparently a) a climbing frame and b) a chew toy. Any baubles that were placed on it disappeared within a couple of hours. I'm trying to be annoyed but right now both of the buggers are sleeping next to me and look like little angels... so it's tricky.

Before I go and get back to either watching cop shows, or playing Forza, here's a selfish indulgent list of all the things I want for Christmas;

1. Louis Vuitton prettiness
http://www.louisvuitton.co.uk/front/#/eng_GB/Collections/Women/Handbags/products/Speedy-25-MONOGRAM-M41528

2. Professor Layton (hoping for some snow days to go along with this for uninterrupted gaming)
http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=-1;6;-1;-1;41&sku=372597&_tag.WT.ac=nintendo+ds+%2F+dsi-LHTMN-Top+10+Best+Sellers-372597

3. Gary Barlow
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l70o7d0KLs1qd9210o1_400.jpg

4. A beast-like car that looks like it's going "grrrr" instead of looking like it is smiling
http://www.carsphoto.net/wp-content/uploads/pictures/alfa-romeo-159-photos-6913.jpg



So, even with the intention to blog again before Christmas, I think it's safer to wish y'all a Merry Christmas here and now. Hope it's full of health ad happiness and wonderful people and gorgeous food
xxxxxx

... in which I plan plan plan

I'd love to pretend that my lack of updates has been down to my life being so full of exciting, lovely events that I haven't physically been able to find time to blog.

Sadly, it's mostly down to Megaflu. The build up to it took about a week, where I felt generally a bit rubbish and didn't have my usual massive appetite. Then came a day where I felt mostly fine, and went off to a fantastic, extravagant wedding with John and destroyed my feet with Evil Shoes. And the next day... Megaflu.

I took two days off work, drank tea, ate soup, cuddled cats and rested lots. It didn't help, so I went back to work, which didn't help me even more but lessened the guilt I was feeling at leaving my students unsupported.

On Saturday, Alice and I hung out whilst our other halves were having Man Weekend. We started off with a Thai massage, which was interesting as it was my first massage. It felt a bit rough at the time but my back and shoulders are loving it now. Coffee, lunch and brownies followed that, before an impromptu mini shopping trip.

And today is the first day of half term. Lovely!! I have lots to do but the little procrastinator inside me is telling me that none of it needs to be done today, so I'l be going with that advice for now, and dossing all day. Until I go to the gym with the girls. But that still falls under fun.

TTFN bbs, have a lovely day x

...in which I still feel too pale

And so ends another hectic, busy week. Made slightly better by all the freakin' sunshine we've had!

I'm seriously loving this little heatwave. Obviously, all the classrooms at work are sweltering, and my summer clothes had been put away but the upsides to the weather totally make up for things like that. I've spent my journeys home from work with my windows down pretending I'm on my way to the beach :) shame I didn't actually catch any more of a tan this week.

Last night was a hilarious meal/bowling extravaganza with John, Gem, Matt, Laura and Joe. A gorgeous dinner (which included yummy ribs) was followed by bowling lunacy, high fives, near-flashing and falling on the floor. A great night.



I also baked my first ever carrot cake (wuhu!). I tried a Greek recipe, because I knew that my parentals would be involved in the Tasting and Judging of it. Yesterday afternoon I set out all my ingredients and began.... and then realised my scales were broken. Horror set in before I decided to haphazardly guess most of the quantities. As a result I ended up with a delicious looking albeit flat cake, which my dad merrily took the piss out of, before asking for a rather large slice... in summary, it looks weird but tastes pretty nice, so I'm considering that a success!

Hope you all had a nice weekend, I'm gonna give The X Factor and Sexy Gary Barlow my full attention now :D

... in which I realise stuff

Ohmygosh, hello weekend *snugs the weekend*

What a week.

I mean. Bloody hell, what a week!!

Highlights have been;

- yoga
- going to Chelsea vs Fulham
- dinner at John's parents

Even going to the football was mildly stressful seeing as how we didn't manage to score during the game, and then didn't manage to score during extra time and had to resort to penalties. Thankfully we won on penalties by the skin of our teeth. My voice is still scratchy from chanting :)

I did something really nice the other week. I offered an olive branch (in the form of "Happy Birthday") to someone I hadn't spoken to for years. We were best friends at one point, before she did the worst thing that you could do to a friend, to me. And it felt nice, to be nice.

I came to the realisation the other day that there's only one person I can think of who I actively dislike, and that's down to their treatment of a good friend of mine. Even the people who've treated me badly.... there's no dislike there any more. And now I can understand why some people actively decide to not hold grudges. It feels good to let stuff go.

On that note, happy weekend bbs! I'm off to start making sausage hotpot, which I'm very excited about eating :)

... in which I am reem

Happy Weekend bbs!

And it is a happy weekend. My week was crazy busy, but in a good way. On Tuesday I yoga-ed and then ate pizza with Ann, where we swapped stories about making fools out of ourselves. It's always nice to know your friends are as silly as you are :)

On Wednesday it was zumba time avec Cat and Lisa. We zumba-ed and then.... went for dinner. Which is pretty much my routine whenever I exercise. And what?

The next evening was spent with John and my parentals, eating lush food and watching football. And worrying about my assessment looming on Friday.

So on Friday my mum kindly drove me to Hendon (despite the fact that I love driving and would have happily driven myself there... haha!) where I was fantastically early. But luckily soon I was joined by people, some of whom I'd met on my day 1 assessment. And then the day started with being measured for a uniform... I've never seen anything as surreal as my reflection wearing a stab vest and a police hat.

Then there was a medical examination, documentation checking, fingerprint taking (not with ink tho... boo) and a fitness test. Everyone in my group passed which was lovely :)

By the time I got home I was exhausted, so it was straight into the shower, and then into pyjamas and a sleeping bag, and onto the sofa where Sierra and Oscar kept me company until John arrived home. At one point I almost fell asleep and Sierra was curled up on me, but once he heard John's keys in the door he woke up pretty sharpish and kicked me quite brutally in the chest in his rush to meet John at the door.

Tonight brings a family meal, as a sort of "see ya later" for John's sisters who are off to uni in the next week or so.

Tomorrow Chelsea play United. My oldest friend, Manju is a massive Glory Hunter (I'm lucky she doesn't read this) and we're planning on watching it together. I hope we're still friends afterwards!

... in which I feel the burn

So to my complete shock (and delight) I woke up last Friday to discover that despite my horrific lurgy, I passed my interview, and I also have a date for Part II. Good times :)

The last days of the summer holidays weren't as packed and hectic as the weeks mentioned in my last post, and sadly, work soon followed. It's been lovely seeing everyone again (children included) but being short-staffed also means being over-worked and very tired, which hasn't been fun.

However there's been some fun inbetween the tiredness, zumba and dinner with Cat, Manju and Lisa, and a fun night in when Kerry and Paul came to visit us and came bearing pizza :)

NaNoWriMo is coming up... I really want to have another crack at it this year. It's damn procrastination that keeps getting in my way. I think coffee might be a helpful addition this year though.

Ttfn bbs xxxxx

... in which I breathe out a long week

Ugh, busy busy busy!!

Last week covered a meal out for John's birthday, taking the boys to the vets to get neutered (bless!), John's actual birthday, 3 separate trips to the gym to do zumba, one night out to the Slug & Lettuce with Cat, Manju and Lisa, lunch with Rekha, another night out to the slug with Ann, Manju, Nas, Alex, Tasha, Jo and Jemma, a visit from the landlady to replace our washing machine, a big night out to celebrate John's birthday and a sleepover at Lisa's house.

Had enough??? It sounds exhausting but it was a lovely (albeit busy) week. Here's some highlights from John's party :)






This week has been different... it's involved John having the lurgy and staying off work, and then me catching the lurgy the day before a really important interview. Guh, I was so bad that my aim for the day went from "ACING MY INTERVIEW AND WRITTEN EXAM" to "not vomiting" :( the lurgy disbanded my interview nerves, which I didn't want because I know that nerves spur me on to do well. Now I have to wait two weeks to find out how I did.

I went to see The Inbetweeners last night with Manju and Cat.... absolutely hilarious! Can't wait to see it again.... friend :)

Ok ttfn bbs, I have crispy shredded chilli beef waiting for me x

... in which I may procrastinate for a change

Ah I was so sure I wouldn't fall prey to post-holiday blues... and yet here I am longing for Cypriot food.

So the past couple of days have been fun. Yesterday Cat and I went to the gym for a middle of the day Zumba class, thinking it would be like our regular evening class.

Wrong.

We stumbled into old-lady Zumba which was completely boring and hilarious at the same time. But we stuck it out and then rewarded ourselves with lunch :)

Today I woke up fairly early, waved John (whose birthday it is, woo hoo!) off to work before taking Sierra and Oscar to the vets to be neutered. Poor things ... they were also due to be micro-chipped as well. Due to the anesthetic they needed to be starved from 8pm last night which they were pretty unhappy with. So much so that when John and I went to bed they continually head-butted the bedroom door in protest.... which is still a better reaction than I had when I had to starve before my operation :)

So after I'd left them at the vets I met Cat and Lisa at the gym to try and do some normal Zumba... which we managed (yay!) before having celebratory jacket potatoes. On nom nom.....

Now I'm home, feeling weird because there aren't cats here, but trying to make the most of their absence and do a lot of cleaning... hence the blog :) ahhh, I get to pick them up in about an hour. I just spoke to the vet (who called me Mrs. Hailstone) who told me they were curled up together sleeping it off.

Right.... time to actually clean. After my cup of tea. TTFN!

... in which I try to catch up

So Cyprus was lovely. All except the absolutely ridiculous heat. And the rolling powercuts over the island.

It was great to see family and friends, including cute new additions that I hadn't met before :) and the food! Oh, the food was amazing, as per usual. We spent a few nights in Nicosia with family before heading the Paralimni (where the beeeeach lives) where John and I stayed in our super retro beach house. Our Duran Duran gig was unfortunately cancelled so we spent that spare time lounging and eating more lovely food.

It's nice to be home, I missed my bed, I missed the boys, I missed my friends, and I missed the feeling of not melting.

I didn't expect to come home to find hundreds of scumbag degenerates ruining London though. These riots have given me the rage, big time. I wish I was a police officer now.

Ok, now time to unpack. I've been putting it off because I've been glued to BBC news...

... in which I return

I'm home!

And my house is a mess and our washing machine has died and we have no food in and our suitcases haven't been unpacked.

But oh boy it is good to be home. My bed felt glorious last night.

Proper blog soon, when a sense of order is restored.

... in which the excitement mounts

I have a list about a mile long of things I need to be doing right now, in preparation for holiday. So blogging is the way to go, obviously :)

I'm starting to feel devastated about leaving Sierra and Oscar. They literally get lovelier every day, and 10 days is a long time to not see them. They are in good hands though. John's sister and her boyfriend will be moving in to house-sit and look after the buggers; so essentially they have a paramedic and a police officer keeping them company. They'll be fine.

This time tomorrow John and I will be chilling (!) at the airport, Cyprus will be beckoning. I'm so bloody excited, hence to totally incoherent blog. Yay!

I leave you with this question... do you believe that it's good to keep your friends close and enemies closer?

Ttfn bbs, take care and stuff :)

... in which I make a lazy blog

I can't explain why I felt like doing one of these posts for the first time in years, but I do.


1. How old will you be in five years?
29

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
John, mum, Kathy, Brian, Kerry, Ian

3. How tall are you?
5'4"

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
Going to Cyprus, summer holidays from work, going on a drive-along with Brian

5. What’s the last movie you saw?
I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II today

6. Who was the last person you called?
Ann

7. Who was the last person to text you?
My mum


8. What was the last text message you received?
"Yeah I will send you the email with all the info on it"

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail?
John

10. Do you prefer to call or text?
Texting for convenience

11. What were you doing at 12am last night?
Watching Dumb and Dumber :)

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced?
Married

13. When is the last time you saw your mom?
Today

14. What color are your eyes?
Hazel/brown

15. What time did you wake up today?
About half 10

16. What are you wearing right now?
Black leggings and a flowery dress

17. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie and Bing Crosby

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
My home

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
Er, hospital

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
Australia

21. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years?
Geographically, I really don't know

22. Do you tan or burn?
Tan, with some effort

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Big scary insects

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
Silly guessing games with John and his family

25. How many TVs do you have in your house?
One

26. How big is your bed?
Double

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
It depends how hot the room is

29. What color are your sheets?
Greeeeeeeen

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
Two

31. What is your favorite season?
Summer

32. What do you like about fall?
The colours and the fashion

33. What do you like about winter?
Christmas, snuggling up in big jumpers

34. What do you like about the summer?
Long days

35. What do you like about spring?
New flowers

36. How many states/provinces have you lived in?
Zero? Being a Londoner

37. What cities/towns have you lived in?
1

39. Are you a social person?
Yeah

40. What was the last thing you ate?
Lasagne

41. What is your favorite restaurant?
Il Portico

42. What is your favorite ice cream?
Cookie dough

43. What is your favorite dessert?
Um, almost anything. I'm not fussy. Cheesecake is a particular favourite though

44. What is your favorite kind of soup?
I like chickeny-mushroomy ones

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich?
I don't like jelly

46. Do you like Chinese food?
Hell to the yeah

47. Do you like coffee?
Yeah

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average?
About 8

49. What do you drink in the morning?
Lemon and green tea

50. What non-banking related card in your wallet is the most valuable to you?
Either my driving license or my Boots card

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Yeah :)

52. Do you know how to play poker?
People keep teaching me and I keep forgetting

53. Do you like to cuddle?
Yes

54. Have you ever been to Canada?
No

55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Yeah I think so

56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
At home

57. What do you miss about Pre-School, if anything?
I don't really remember it but I miss having no worries

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
My friend Marilena

59. Do you want kids?
One day

60. Do you speak any other languages?
A little French and Greek

61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
Noooo

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
None

63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
A pool

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seat?
Window. I thought I'd grow out of that one day, but not so far

65. Do you know how to dance?
No

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Clothes, make-up, shoes

67. Do you wear American Eagle Shirts?
No

68. What is your favorite TV show?
Friends/Sex and the City/Inbetweeners/Simpsons/Lost

69. Can you roll your tongue?
Yeah

70. Who is the funniest person you know?
I know lots of hilarious people :)

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
Some generic iPhone one

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
I think my mum does

74. What red object is closest to you right now?
Cat collar

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
Yeah, I like to go for a wander as I brush my teeth

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Closed

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
I'd rather be covered in bees

78. Do you flirt a lot?
Not a lot

79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
Haha, my initial reaction to this was "urgh", but if it was a non McD's nugget then BBQ sauce

80. What is your favorite food?
Um, that is so hard. I pretty much love all foods. I'll go with Greek food... nice an general

81. Can you change a lightbulb?
Yeah

82. Have you ever gotten grounded?
Not really

83. Have you ever run out of money?
Yes of course!

84. What is your usual bedtime?
Between 10 and 11

85. What was the last book you read?
Of Mice and Men

86. Do you read the newspaper?
When I get the chance

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
No

89. Do you watch Disney? (Or another Channel)
I was a Nickelodeon girl

90. Do you dance in public?
Yeah :)

91. What radio station did you last listen to?
London Greek Radio

92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you?
John and me

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper?
The time and place of a presentation I had to go to

94. What is your favorite candle scent?
Cinnamon

95. What is your favorite board game?
I like Articulate

97. When was the last time you attended church?
My cousin's wedding in 2008

98. Who was your favorite teacher in previous years?
It's hard to pick one favourite

99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent?
Four or five nights

100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you?
John :)

... in which I am overwhelmed by kitty wisdom

Oi oi!

So I'm now in Day 2 of my summer holidays and I'm having a washing day. This sounds boring, but (perhaps sadly) I'm enjoying it. I've got a little production line going on1,222222222222q

Excuse Sierra, he felt he needed to make a contribution :) what I was saying was that I get tonnes of clean, nice-smelling clothes out at the end of my production line. It feels good to be productive.

Bloody hell, it's hard to blog with cats climbing all over you. But they purr when they come near me which makes me feel guilty when I have to put them back on the floor. It's a very clever cat-ploy.

I went to see Bridesmaids last night with Cat and Lisa; it was absolutely hilarious. Definitely worth getting on DVD when it comes out. And afterwards we went for a scrummy Pizza Express dinner.

My oven timer has just gone off; I set it to remind me to spin my washing, but Sierra who was imitating a parrot up on my shoulder at the time, shot into the kitchen and waited by the oven door. He's got wise to the fact that oven time = nice-smelling food appearing.

Is it time for lunch yet? I feel like it might be time for lunch.

Au revoir bbs

... in which I breathe out my working week

Oh my, these past couple of weeks have been insane. I must have had a total memory lapse because I don't remember this time last year being so hectic... ergo I was expecting a relaxing last week at work which involved a lot of winding down.

Wrong.

With Arts Festivals, dance workshops, theatre trips, humanities days, retirement parties, interviews, birthday parties etc etc, I've hardly had time to scratch my head.

But anyway, our long-awaited last day of term swung by yesterday. It didn't feel like the summer holidays were upon us until we'd all settled ourselves down at the pub. A very surreal few days.

And so today is the first day of my summer holidays, and so far I haven't been productive at all, so everything is going to plan! I plan to do an epic food shop later and clean up the constant mess the cats are making.

Plus, a holiday to Cyprus looms, not to mention wedding plans that need to be made. Both of these things involve making lists, which (perhaps sadly) I'm looking forward to making :)

Am off to the cinema tonight with Cat, Lisa and Manju to see Bridesmaids, although shamefully, I haven't seen Harry Potter yet. That comes with the weekend....

TTFFN bbs xxx

... in which I procrastinate

I promise I have a proper update coming soon ... RL is just totally hectic at the moment, but I finish work for the summer next week. Happy happy joy joy :)

... in which I tell a tale of extreme mopping

Hello bbs.

I feel bad for not blogging more often, but I've been so busy over the last week I've had no time to even scratch my head. But here I am now on a glorious weekend, with a little blogging time on my hands.

Oh, I love weekends :)

Last night, John and I came to the conclusion that our cats definitely have a bit of The Stupid in them. I was in the bathroom cleaning my face and having a conversation with John out in the hallway, when there is an almighty splash from behind me. As I turn round, Sierra leaps out of the toilet and splashes a considerable amount of toilet water over my legs. Nice.

As I'm explaining what happened to John, there is another splash and I catch Oscar flying out of the toilet too, also showering water everywhere. And naturally, both panicked, they ran all over the flat shaking themselves dry.

To summarise then; one cat bogwashed himself, got scared and ran away. The second one, seeing this, thinks "that looks like a good idea" and also bogwashes himself. He also got scared in the process and joined his brother in racing round the flat shaking bog water off himself.

Excellent.

Hope you're all having excellent weekends x

... in which I become betrothed

Happy weekend people.

So yesterday was mine and John's 3 year anniversary. I'd had a strange afternoon at work, and nearly got into an accident on the way home, but I opened the front door to hundreds of lit candles, our song playing and John holding a big bunch of flowers. And whilst I was still cooing over the flowers, he dropped to one knee and popped the question.

I of course said yes, and we spent a happy afternoon on the phone to friends and family to let them know the good news :)

We then hopped in a cab which took us to a restaurant where I had the most beautiful steak I've ever tasted. I'm not a big steak person, but this one was beyond amazing.

Today we went for a lovely lunch, and then let our boys out into the garden for the first time ever. I was a bag of nerves whereas John was of the opinion that they a) are too stupid to go very far* and b) love their house too much to go very far.

It turns out they did a tiny bit of rolling around in the sun before each "catching" a long bit of grass and taking it inside the house to play with. Phew. Enough shenanigans for one day!!

Anyway bbs, I'm off for Chinese food. Ttfn x

*Occasionally we wonder about the intelligence levels of our little kitties. However, it has no impact on how much we love them, in fact, we'd prefer stupid kitties as they're more fun :)

... in which I am covered in cats

My two little darlings are having one of their "mad half hours" and using me as a climbing frame, ergo writing this blog is a little tricky.

Monday came along after a busy weekend, and brought with it an important meeting in London that I had to get to, and also a confusing tube strike. Luckily, although the strike was confusing, it didn't affect me too much and I ended up being very early. Unfortunately the trains to take me back to work were less cooperative and I arrived back at the school totally shattered and not really in the mood to research zoo animals etc etc.

Luckily by the evening I was in the mood to dance, gossip and eat. Lucky because Monday is now zumba-night with Cat, Manju and Lisa. And zumba is always followed by a slap-up feast and a good natter :)

Tuesday brought with it a similar shattered feeling, but Tuesday is my yoga night! And despite the zumba-ache, I made myself go, and am feeling the benefits today.

Ahh, the babies are asleep on my feet now, so I can type with much more ease!

I'm extra-specially looking forward to Friday this week, because not only does it signal the arrival of a glorious weekend, but it is mine and John's 3 year anniversary. Which is very nice :)

I'm gasping for a cuppa so I'm loving and leaving y'all for now!

.. in which I am naught but lazy

After the last hectic weekend I am enjoying doing absolutely nothing today.

By "nothing" I mean, having kitty-cuddles, watching Friends, playing Plants vs Zombies and eating sweeties. Lush!

I met my uni friends last night for a hilarious catch up. We don't get to see each other very often and I forget just how much fun we have together :) fun last night included stealing a plant that I really really wanted for my house. We named him Boris, and I woke up this morning to find Oscar nibbling him!

Hope you're all having nice weekends bbs x

... in which I squeal a lot

Day 27: a song that makes you happy



It makes me feel Christmassy and warm and fuzzy :)

Day 28: a song that really annoys you

Anything by Chris Brown >.<

Day 29: a random song (just choose one!!)



Love it!

Day 30: Your favourite song (it's probably changes since day 1)



It hasn't changed :)

Right so here's a RL update that is overdue.

On Saturday morning, John and I woke up supah dupah early for a long road trip to the place known as Manchester. And when I say long I mean looooooooong. Three and a half hours long. Three and a half hours full of Take That albums long.

But that was the good part of the long... we arrived, checked in to our hotel and were straight out again to the City of Manchester stadium, which is actually a really nice ground.

So there we are, great seats, great view, hot dog, cup of tea. And then! Pet Shop Boys were out, singing awesome songs and generally being awesome. That was all very good fun.

And finally... Take bloody That!! My little inner fangirl died and went to man-band heaven. They were just stunning. The show was amazing, songs were fantastic, banter was funny. I couldn't fault a single thing. It made all the driving so worth it :) I'm still buzzing from it even now.

In keeping with the Take That theme, their song "Love Love" is on the soundtrack of the new X-Men film - WHICH IS AWESOME!!

John and I went to see it the weekend before last. I wasn't too excited beforehand about seeing it to be totally honest but I really enjoyed it from start to finish and I'm looking forward to watching it again.

This week I've done running, zumba and yoga, and also eaten my own bodyweight in food so I'm not feeling as healthy as I'd like. However, I went to the hospital today for an abscess check up, where they were very pleased with how it's healed. So I'm rather chuffed with that.

I've finished my 30 day song challenge (in slightly more than 30 days) so hopefully I can keep on top of the RL updates a little more now.

Ttfn bbs.

... in which I zzzzzz

Day 26: a song beginning with the word 'you'



For the second day in a row, my cats ate my sandwich while my back was turned :-/

I am so tired it's ridiculous, I'm high off coffee just to keep myself awake right now.

John is currently buying Duran Duran tickets :) yea boi.

... in which I am grateful

Day 25: a song beginning with the same letter as your last name



What a tune :) once, when working at Costa, Suzy and I managed to get about 5 of us dance across the kitchen Prince-Charming stylee. It was epic!

I planted peppers, tomatoes and radishes in my year 9 lesson today. We're ;earning about WWII and this was our section on rationing. It makes me want a veggie patch! Mind you, the cats would totes destroy something like that.

This morning, Oscar (who can now get onto kitchen counters) knocked over my baby sunflowers onto the kitchen floor. Whilst I was cleaning it up, I foolishly left my packed lunch out on the sofa, and by the time I had cleaned up the dirt mess in the kitchen, my sandwich had been unwrapped and nibbled by naughty cats.

Such is life :)

TTFN bbs.

... in which I feel on top of things

Day 24: a song beginning with the same letter as your first name



Good times!

TTFN

... in which I feel lucky

Day 21: the first song on your favourite album



Day 22: the last song on your favourite album



Day 23: a song by someone you hate



I don't actually hate Cheryl, in fact I used to think she was fab. I've just really, really gone off her recently. I still like this song though :)

In RL news.... Duran Duran have announced a tour date in Cyprus - and I'm there!! So lucky, and I'm so excited :D

... in which I think about a different career

Day 20: your BFF's favourite song



Yea :)

Watched X-Men First Class tonight. It was amazing! I want to be an X-Man.

... in which I feel nostalgic

Day 19: a song from your favourite film



Yea boi. I think I'ma go watch this now :)

... in which I go marching on

Day 17: The song you want to/ had your first dance to at your wedding



Day 18: a song you want played at your funeral



This one will probably change...

I ache so much today, I did my first zumba class last night. I loved it! But ohhhh, the ache.

I can't type much more, kitties are asleep on me, one on my arm :)

... in which I scrabble

Oh dear, I totes forgot to keep up my 30 day song challenge, so I'm gonna make up for it in one big post.

Day 8: a song that gets stuck in your head all the time



I do like a bit of P!nk :)

Day 9: a song by someone that inspires you



Predictable, but an amazing medley nonetheless

Day 10: a song that reminds you of a family member



This reminds me of my brother, Chris. Mainly because of one time he had to rescue drunk!me from a pub at 3am and blasted this song in his car on the way home :) good times

Day 11: a song that reminds you of a friend



This is mine and Ann's song :) we recreated the video once

Day 12: a song that reminds you of someone you hate



This is unfortunate because I used to adore Placebo, but an old "friend" really tainted them for me

Day 13: a song you can't help but like



I don't care what anyone says, this is a massive tune

Day 14: a strange song



Strange, but also a tune

Day 15: a song by the performer at the last concert you went to



It wasn't a "concert" but still....

Day 16: the last song you heard



Ohmygosh, I love this song to pieces


Right, that's ya lot. I gotta try and keep on top of this :)

TTFN

... in which I lament

Day 7: a song that you hate

Katy B - Lights On. I'm not gonna post a video for it.


Football overall today was very interesting, with all the relegation stuff. Chelsea were poor :( and now Carlo Ancelotti is gone, which I'm kinda sad about, but hopeful that whoever we get next year can inspire us to have an even better season.

Had my first night out last night since my surgery, and it was so much fun. Just hilarity coming at us from all directions. I'm still sticking with my no-drinking rule though. At some points I was a bit "oh, I would like a cocktail" but when I got home and didn't have to force down a pint of water and dry toast to ward of vomiting I was glad I stuck to my rules.

TTFN bbs, hope you had a nice weekend x

... in which I giggle

Day 6: a song that makes you laugh




So childish and wrong, but it does make me howl with laughter XD


Ttfn bbs

P.S. TAKE THAT TICKETS FOR JUNE OH YES!!!

... in which I welcome the weekend

Day 4: a song that makes you smile



TUUUUUUUUUUUNE :)


Day 5: a song that makes you cry



I literally can not bear to even listen to this song. It makes me unbearably sad.


*snugs the weekend in the face*

TTFN

... in which I soldier on

Day 3: The first song you ever heard



I can't say for sure that this was the first I ever heard, but it was on of the first songs I was aware of

... in which I carry on

Day 2: The first song you heard by your favourite artist



I'm being a bit predictable... tomorrow should bring some variety.

... in which I attempt this again

30 DAY SONG CHALLENGE

Day 1: Your favourite song




...every time

... in which I heeeeal

Oh God, I feel like I'm going back in time. When I figure out exactly what this means I'll let you know.

My surgery wound (blerg) has almost healed up in the two weeks since my op. My nurse said she thought it would be more like 6 weeks of healing, so I'm pretty chuffed with that! And slightly baffled too, since I take much longer than most to heal after piercings. So yay :)

I was back to work properly today which was nice, but I'm getting itchy feet. I miss having a job that allows random time off, and I miss being able to go "oh I need some more cash this month, better do some more hours!"

I've also been dreaming about working at Costa quite a disturbing amount recently. I think it ties in with my job concern. I'll just have to settle for playing with my own coffee machine :)

TTFN

... in which I look on the bright side

I went back to work yesterday, having not been at work since April the 8th. Most of my time off was Easter holidays, but some was also surgery recovery.

It was really nice, if a little uncomfortable to drive again, was lovely to see everybody again, and just nice to be back into a routine. I got told off by a few people for being in work when I should be resting. The worst telling off came from our school librarian whose son has the same thing as me, and took 4 years to heal up! Talk about putting the fear up me.

I popped out for my doctors appointment, and then had a lovely afternoon in some of my favourite lessons. However, being in a practical DT lesson with hyper year 8 kids took it's toll on me and I got bumped about a bit.So my lovely (but horrified) boss ordered me to take the rest of the week off.

The plus points of this are that my work peeps are lovely and understanding, which is very important to me, and that I get to hang out with Sierra and Oscar for a few more days. They seem to grow in size and q2qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq0000----------iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuu

As if on cue, Oscar just appeared to give his opinion :) he likes my laptop coz it's warm. But like I was saying, they seem to get more personality each day.

I better go, Sierra just joined us! More nonsense may follow if he decides warm himself on my laptop.

TTFN

... in which I change my mind

... in which I feel short on wisdom

Post 113... also a special number for me.

Anywho, I bring you this blog from my sofa, where I am being used as a pillow by the gorgeous Sierra. He's like a tiny purring hot water bottle. I am so in love.

Yesterday, for the first time in two weeks I had my first social outing, which took place at John's mums house and involved wedding-watching, crisps, Haribo, banter and a massive lamb roast dinner. Soooo good!

The Royal Wedding was lovely, Kate looked stunning and obviously the fly past was awesome. Jolly good show.

I'll blog again when I can leave my house and actually have some adventures :)

OH! One last thing; if you are a Potter fan and haven't yet seen the new DH pt II trailer then WATCH IT! It will blow your socks off.

... in which I may reveal too much

For once, there's actually been a genuine reason for not blogging enough. I've been in hospital :(

This might be a bit TMI, but I figure there's no point sugar-coating things on my blog. Basically, I grew an abscess on my coccyx (tailbone). I did the same thing two years ago, it was excruciating, it popped, I got it packed and took antibiotics.

For some reason, this time round it was doubly painful. After a week of it being sore I managed to get antibiotics for it on Tuesday, but by the weekend it had worsened so John took me to A&E on Saturday to get it drained.

After hours and hours they took my blood (much to my horror) and had a look at it. Because I'm such a wuss and panicked about the blood test they also had to do an ECG. I got hooked up to a drip and plonked into a bed, and they decided I needed surgery on it.... tomorrow.

So John and I went home and were back at 8.30 the next day (Easter Sunday). The wait again was ridiculous, especially since I hadn't been able to eat or drink since the previous night. They hooked me up to a drip at about 4pm because I was dehydrated and miserable. Another few hours and they whisked me off for my first ever operation.

The general anesthetic was weeeird. I don't remember going to sleep but waking up was horrible. I was crying for a completely unknown reason and I felt sick. The panic of feeling sick and then the anti-emetic they injected me with sent my heart rate crazy so I had to stay in recovery for ages until I calmed down.

I was then sent back to my bed where I was offered tea and toast, which almost set me off crying again because there was nothing I wanted more at that moment than tea and toast.

John was then ushered home by the nurses and I was left to fend for myself. To be fair, every single person who dealt with me was lovely, it's just that as a first class wimp, I was still in shock from having surgery, and not keen on being left alone in a hospital. So I drank my tea and watched Meet the Parents to chill myself out :)

I had to have my blood pressure taken every half hour for a while, and then at 2am, 4am and 6am so I didn't get a lot of sleep. John came back to see me at 2pm and after a couple more hours I got sent home.

I now have to have the "wound" (I hate that they call it that) packed with gauze every day, because there is essentially just a hole there where they took the infection out. This is a pain because I can't drive at the mo, John isn't insured on Baby and my parents are out of the country. Luckily my in-laws are fabulous and have shuttled me around ever since.

Today I decided I missed driving (poor Baby hadn't been driven for 2 weeks!!) so I hopped in the car to take the kitties to the vets. It hurt, so I'm gonna have to stop again for a few more days.

Aaaaand that'll be it. I've got Oscar asleep and purring on my foot but I'm getting pins and needles so I have to move.

TTFN

... in which I make a monumental post

And my monumental, I'm referring to numbers, not content :) this is my 111th post. And my birthday is 11/1.

So yesterday John and I went to his cousin's wedding. It was all the way in Colchester, but luckily we'd managed to scrounge a lift from John's parents. The plan was to set our alarms for 7 and get picked up at half 9.

However, at 6.45 we got a phone call from John's mum saying our route had been blocked by an accident and time of departure would now be 8. Bugger. But it all worked out alright, after a frantic hour of getting ready and a couple of hours in the car, we were in Colchester, enjoying a lovely wedding :)

Food was great, atmosphere was great, John's family are awesome, the wedding was well organised and quirky, and our table won the wedding day quiz, woo hoo!

And when I say quirky, I mean our wedding meal was a choice of fish and chips or sausage and chips, and pudding was the arrival of an ice cream van. Can't say I'd ever seen that before! It was just a really lovely day.

Today we're taking it easy which involves endless cups of tea, stopping kittens destroying curtains and me playing Theme Hospital!

Happy weekend everybody!

... in which I *squeeee*

So Isleworth.... pffft!

Google told us it was 28 minutes away. My stupid stupid satnav took us the silliest way possible and got us caught in horrible traffic, and the journey ended up taking an hour and 45 minutes.

Worth it though :)

We picked out two gorgeous babies (boy and girl) and then thankfully had only a half hour drive back home, during which they fell asleep (and the satnav was shoved under a seat in total disgrace).


This is Oscar....








And Sierra














They are so adorable, but so much hard work, haha! Luckily they sleep a lot so my shoes do get a little break from being nibbled and throw around :)


In other news, Chelsea need to pulverise United tonight. Going to a family gathering to watch the match, which will be fun. More so if we win!

... in which I am excited

Oh gosh, the 30 day song challenge turned into an epic fail on my part. I might start it up again in the next few days and make a valiant attempt at actually finishing it!

Easter Holidays are here :) Friday was the sot of working day that I love. Everyone was buzzing and in a great mood, the kids were fantastic, the sun was out and team spirit was in abundance.

And now 2 glorious weeks off!

Today, John and I are taking a trip to Isleworth and hoping to return with two kitties. Very exciting! Watch this space for overly-cute pictures :)

... in which I take on a challenge

The 30 day song challenge to be precise.

Day 01 - your favourite song

... in which we catch up

Time to crack on with this blogging malarkey. Since I got home from work I have literally been unable to peel myself off the sofa and be productive, so I'm staying on the sofa but still trying to be productive.

On my last visit to my blog I had massive post-birthday blues and was still mourning the loss of Luke. Now, nearly two months on I've shaken off any birthday-related blues, but I still miss Luke terribly.

A cheerier pet-related piece of news is that John and I are planning to get a cat. We'll be getting him (or her) when my Easter holidays start so I can spend two weeks at home with him (or her!) to help with getting settled in. So yay!

Work is very up and down at the moment, I go from thinking I need a change of scenery to feeling like I couldn't bear to leave my students. They're all so fantastic in their own little ways :). End gushing.

I spent my half term break cleaning and organising the flat which has left us with tonnes more space than we had before, although I'm sure it'll all be taken up with cat toys very soon!

Okay, there goes all my thrilling news. I really do need to make use of my legs and go and do something productive now. I think I'll start with washing my hair, and end with making pancakes.

... in which I run to catch up

Well... it's been a mad mad week or so.

A week ago last Friday I had my birthday party. It was eventful, but to everybody who came and was merry and partied with me, I'm very thankful and I heart you. And I got cake :)

Due to the massive volume of strawberry daquaris that I consumed that night, I was very hungover on Saturday, and so the day was spent chilling out and watching Lost. Yep.

On Sunday, fully recovered, John and I took my parents to watch Chelsea vs Ipswich. It was my mum's first Chelsea game, so I was hoping they would score at least once and they didn't let us down. 7-0 baby!

Monday morning brought total heartbreak when I got up for work and found Luke, my budgie of 8 years, completely still on the bottom of his cage. I was so gutted, and I still am. The flat is so quiet without him, I miss him so much.

So... Tuesday was my birthday. And it was lovely. I got some beautiful cards, and some lovely presents, and loads of messages from loads of gorgeous people. Now I'm 24. I think it'll be a good year.

The rest of the week was uneventful until I was ill on Friday. Thankfully I recovered enough by Saturday to go and see Chelsea vs Blackburn where we won 2-0. Lovely!

And that brings me to today, a day of chilling, interspersed with cleaning.

Happy Weekend!

... in which I rectify some li'l mistakes

John read my previous post and reminded me that, as far as musical discoveries in 2010 go, Jason Derulo and One Direction (shutup) deserve an honourable mention.

Glee deserves one as being my new favourite TV show in 2010.

And my lovely iPoon 4 as the best thing I bought.

I really shouldn't have rushed my answers, eh? :)