I Don't Like Mondays

Oooh, I had a really lovely weekend in Leeds - shame work gets in the way of weekends, isn't it? It was the most boring drive up there - all stop/start on the M1 and my MP3 player decided it wasn't going to play me any Kaiser Chiefs. However, once I eventually arrived, it was lovely to see Andrea again and catch up on some good old girly gossip. We ate yummy pizzas for tea and drank plenty of pink wine, getting us in the mood for a bit of Singstar. Turns out, I'm something of a Singstar hustler. I think I can actually sing! Reasonably in tune and in key!! I got quite a few top scores, much to Andrea's disgust! Great fun though...

On Saturday we decided we'd play at being grown-ups and went to visit Chatsworth House . If you've seen 'Pride and Prejudice' you may recognise it. It's absolutely beautiful and well worth a visit - even if just to go the farm bit to see the baby animals - so cute!! I was convinced no-one would notice me smuggling a lamb or even a baby guinea pig out, but Andrea thought I may be spotted... We also went to the cinema to see 'American Dreamz' (with a zee...) which was, quite frankly, crap! It was a bit like Footballers' Wives, in that, it was so bad it was funny. Definitely one to wait until it comes on terrestrial TV before you see it... We figured that it fit in with the two themes of our weekend - singing and Pride and Prejudice, which we watched on Sunday morning, while wearing our jammies and eating strawberry white chocolate - yum! And how scrummy is Matthew Macfadyen? Especially the bit in the rain when he tells Elizabeth he loves her.... Mmmmm!

So, we had a brill weekend and it was all over too soon. In a way it's nice that she lives further away as if she was still in Birmingham, we probably wouldn't do such nice stuff together or make as much of an effort, but I do miss her being around.

China Girl

I went to see the fabulous Miss Saigon last night. ( I know it's not China, but I'm trying to stick with the 80s song title theme!) If you haven't seen this show, you really, really, really need to go. I've only ever heard the score before and it makes me cry like a baby, so seeing it in living colour on stage was an amazing experience. I've only ever seen one show before and that wasn't a 'proper' one, but listened to loads and I do love them! I think I was a gay guy in a previous life. My secret ambition is to be in a production on stage. Of course, this will never happen, as I am painfully shy and can't even do karaoke for fear of making a tit of myself. I'm even worried about playing singstar with Andrea this weekend! On my own, I can sing with the best of them and dream of being Rizzo in Grease.... So, a great evening was had by me (and the parents, who paid for my ticket - thank you xxx), with only a tiny grumble; why are the seats at the Birmingham Hippodrome so bloody tiny? I spent all evening on one bum cheek as I had to turn to the side to squeeze my legs in and even now have dents in my knees! It didn't help that the rather large lady next to me had a touch of B.O too....

Today's piccie is of some lovely duckies that just landed in our back garden. I'm surprised we don't see more as we have a nature reserve at the end of the garden, but these are the first ducks I've seen. They flew away when Devil Cat appeared out of the long grass. Devil Cat is so named because it's black, snotty and scares the hell out of Beany if she's sitting by the back door.

Doctor Feelgood

So today I spent 4 hours in A&E... this totally freaked D out when I told him, but, thankfully, I was not the patient - I had to accompany a work colleague who had breathing difficulties (quit the ciggies love!). Aren't hospitals just the most boring places? I have never spent so much time just, well, waiting. First we waited in the A&E reception and she was seen after about 15 minutes. Great, I think. In and out in no time - fantastic! (Cue big Family Fortunes style "er eeeeeerrrrrr!") She spent at least an hour in a cubicle having various tests, leaving me in the waiting room, eavesdropping on other peoples' tales of woe. (Can you believe there were two small children brought in after drinking medicine?? I guess it's easy to judge when it's not your child...) Eventually I was called to go sit with her, which we did for about 15 minutes before going to Radiology... where we sat some more. After the X-ray, we went back to A&E to do more sitting before trotting off to the Medical Assessment Unit (so what was the first bit?), where we waited and waited and waited..... eventually, her Mom came and, thankfully, I was able to go back to work. I wouldn't have minded, but she and I hardly ever talk at work and I can think of better ways to spend a morning!! Ho hum, all in the line of duty, I guess.

One thing I did notice was a distinct lack of dishy docs. Now, I know I'm a married woman, but surely it's every female's right to be able to while away the waiting time by ogling some medical eye-candy? I think I need to start a campaign to get beefcake doctors and male nurses on the NHS menu!

Okay, time for a gratuitous piccie. The whole time I was typing this, Beany has been sitting on my lap and licking my arm (and pooing on my lap - always a sure thing if there's licking!), so here she is....

Aint she a cutie? Have to be going now as one of the best tv shows in the whole wide world is on shortly. I just loooove The Apprentice, mainly cos I like to see people fall on their arse when they think they are so good! Can't beat a bit of Schadenfreuder on a Wednesday evening!!

Funky Town

Yay!! May be off on an impromptu trip to Leeds to see bezzie mate this weekend! She's all alone and friendless as her hubby is on a stag weekend, (whatever happened to making it one night, just bar-crawling round your local town centre, getting a curry and waking up tied to a lampost with your eyebrows removed??) so I said I'll bob on up there to keep her company. Now, Leeds is a tres cool place to be - if you go out. I, on the other hand, don't do out. I like in. I don't know why - I never used to be like this, but pubs, bars and especially clubs freak the hell out of me. Stoopid really, as I usually end up having a good time if I find myself in one, but the thought of actually going makes me feel physically sick. I think I just feel so out of touch with 'the kids' nowadays! I mean, I'm only 29 for Pete's sake! But D and I just never go out - mainly due to the fact that we are skint all the time (and there aren't many places nearby that cater for fans of 80s hair rock!) I don't have many real friends either (quit with the violins!!) and the work girlies all go out in Solihull, which is far too much in taxi fayres for me to bother with.

So, I'm looking forward to seeing Andrea, and having a chilled night in with nice food, a couple of bottles of vino and perhaps a few rounds of Singstar on the PS2. We may go to the cinema, but there's kak-all on at the moment, so I don't know. Whatever I do, I won't be making an arse of myself in some club full of pre-pubescent 12 year-olds wearing hankies for clothes and ratted on WKD dancing to crap music, moaning that my feet hurt cos I'm not wearing my Crocs!!

Absolute Beginners

Wow. A blog. I'm sure my life is really not that interesting, but you know when you just need to write stuff down? I'm embarrassed to admit that I talk to myself all the time, so I'm hoping that if I come and write it down instead, I won't look like such a nutter....

I guess I'm just going to write random bits and bobs about me and the people around me. That'll be my hubby, D, my stepson, J, the rest of my (relatively normal) family and of course, my hamster Pickle and my baby, Beany Bunny.

At the moment, life is really just work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep..... you get the idea. My other passion is papercrafting, particularly card making and scrapbooking, so I guess I might put some of my stuff on here to brighten the page up! I'm a fiddler too. Not as in violin-playing; as in I like to mess about with stuff, so the layout etc of this blog may well change - and often.

Off to beddy-byes now... bloody early mornings!!