NaBloPoMo 2008

NaBloPoMo 2008 starts on November the 1st - that's tomorrow right? Better start stock-piling posts then. Or paying people to write them for me!!

Questions, more and more questions

There's questions to answer over at That's my answer! Here's a taster of my questions today ~ go on over there and answer them why don't you ;o)

Autumn days ~ Autumn has really hit hard this week.. Yes we’ve had gold/russet leaves for weeks now but yesterday morning we had cars covered in frost and a friend 100 miles up the road had the first flakes of snow yesterday evening. I love to look at the leaves, hear them crunch under my feet and then retreat inside to the warmth of the fire-side. So, tell us, what do you like about autumn?

Hit snooze and rolled over ~ When was the last time you overslept? Were you late for anything important?

Raindrops on roses ~ Whiskers on kittens. Not for me thanks, I prefer, hibiscus blooms and the first star in the sky. So, tell us, a la Julie Andrews, what are your favourite things?

Spuds! ~ How do you cook your potatoes? Roast? Boiled? Baked? What’s your favourite way?

SCD Gossip

Oh ... I forgot to mention - Wayne and Stuart (who I went out with on Saturday night) are friend's with Ian Waite's brother James and ... get this ... Camilla is a bitch. Fancy that? I had her down for all sweetness and light ;o)

James and Cherie for the title please.

The duck has quacked

So, here's a post to stop anymore ... it's either shut her up or we'll be making a vat of orange sauce and really finishing her off!! ;o)

So, Saturday night's ambitiousness* ... "2 gay men, an occupational therapist and her Coldstream Guards bandsman** husband " - piece of cake. Our evening out was a huge success, we had a fantastic time. I drove to Bethan and Phil's in Hounslow and we caught 2 buses to get to Twickenham - only time I've been there before was to watch the rugger - where we met Stuart and his partner Wayne in a little Thai*** restaurant.

So, a little background history; Stuart, Bethan and I went to comprehensive school together in Gorseinon nr Swansea. We left six form in 1987 and whilst Bethan and I have kept in touch over the years (Christmas cards, birthday cards, hen nights and the odd lunch "in town") neither of us have seen Stuart since. 21 years. How nervous was I on Saturday morning? Just because ... would we all find anything to talk about? Would the three of us get on as well as we did in school? Would Beth's husband and Stuart's partner feel left out****? Well I needn't have worried at all - other than a quiet moment or two at the very beginning you'd have needed gags to keep us quiet. We had a riot ... ended up back at Beth and Phil's ... eventually got to bed at 3am - including changing the clocks!

Can't wait (tentative plans already in place) to get together again.

* Kenny's words not mine :o)
** Ok Leilani, Phil is a soldier, he's in the Coldstream Guards ... he currently plays the bass drum (guitar and bass guitar when performing in concerts/at functions) for the marching band and does all the ceremonial duties like Changing the Guards at Buckingham Palace and other state ceremonial events across London.
*** The bistro was full, my fish cakes and beef Pad Thai were delicious.
**** Let's not even get me started on why I neglected to take my "little social misfit" along for the drive!!

Unconscious Mutterings #300

#300!

Wow week #300!

Congratulations to you Patricia ... a meme 300 weeks old, 5 yrs and 40 weeks old.

On t'Internet every Sunday for the last 5yrs and 40 weeks!!!

Thanks so much for sharing your Unconscious Mutterings with me a time or two ;o)

Laquet

I say ... and you think ... ?

Contemplate :: think
In the house :: home
Classical :: music
Quest :: search
Best friend :: Kev
1991 :: Swansea
Never will :: smoke again
Fool :: raspberry
Unhappy :: sometimes
Best man :: Steve

Want to mutter? Associate new words with given words? Go here, have YOUR say!

Grabbing bloggy love with 2 hands

La bella-Stella has honoured me with a I *heart* your blog award. I'm touched - I *heart* her blog too ... go and read her now! There is of course a price to pay for this award ~ a one word meme ... not too taxing at all.

Where is your mobile phone? downstairs
Where is your significant other? bathroom
Your hair colour? mottled
Your mother? Spain
Your father? funny
Your favourite thing? puppies
Your dream last night? beach
Your dream goal? happy
The room you're in? office
Your hobby? t'Internet
Your fear? spiders
Where do you want to be in 6 years? France
Where were you last night? Harvester
What you're not? skinny
One of your wish-list items? iPhone
Where you grew up? Swansea
The last thing you did? bath
What are you wearing? jammies
Your TV? off
Your pets? none
Your computer? on
Your mood? content
Missing someone? mum
Your car? red
Something you're not wearing? shoes
Favourite shop? Pier
Your summer? French
Love someone? yes
Your favourite colour? lilac
When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
Last time you cried? Tuesday

So now to pass the love on throughout the blogosphere ... I am awarding it to the Fizzter because it'll get her to post *wiggles eyebrows*, to Miss AV herself ... go and see the pictures of penguins and South African beaches - divine, to FatBoyFat because he makes me laugh out loud and finally to photografi whose photographic trip around the Christchurch area I have been loving.

Thursday already?

Where has the week gone? It's Thursday already and I've got nothing for you - nada, rien because all I've done is work. Parent's evening, governing body meetings, meetings with the Education Welfare Officer and stroppy Slovakian parents who are about to be taken to court over their children's non attendance. Looking forward to a peaceful weekend (but I'm going out for dinner with 2 gay men, an occupational therapist and her Coldstream Guards bandsman* husband for dinner on Saturday) and a week at home next week - hurrah for half term. I'd like to be going to France but my inconsiderate parents have buggered off to Spain for a holiday - how dare they eh?!? Only joking mother ;o)

So other than telling you about the new questions over at That's my answer! that's me done for the day ~ have fun whilst I'm out won't you! So this morning it's all about bathrooms and cars and sausages and seven lettered words - go over and answer them why don't you!

* Yes, I believe he's leaving his busby at home - Stuart will be gutted

Unconscious Mutterings #299

I say ... and you think ... ?

Magical :: mystery tour
Shrimp :: cocktail
Project Runway :: models
Economy :: crash
Porch :: rocking chair
State of affairs :: dreadful
.com :: YouTube
Fifty cents :: half a dollar
Ripping :: yarns
Bull :: in a china shop

Do some muttering of your own and tell them about it here.

It's dawned

I've just realised. It's dawned on me.

As of this morning - I've lost over 50 lbs!!!

HELL YES :o)

Questions, more and more questions

There's questions to answer over at That's my answer! Here's a taster of my questions today ~ go on over there and answer them why don't you ;o)

Shop ’til you drop ~ Are you go shopping today? What are you going to get? Are you doing the eco-thing … i.e. will you take your own carrier bags?

Everything but the kitchen sink ~ In my handbag (purse) I always have my digital camera, the front of the car stereo, my purse (wallet) and cheque-book, paracetemol or aspirin, keys to the school and my car keys, lipstick, body spray, mobile phone, spare contact lenses & a hairbrush. So, tell us, what’s in your handbag? Is yours minimalist or is there everything BUT the kitchen sink?

Hands that do dishes ~ mine have been doing dishes and are feeling a little dry this morning. I’ve slapped on some hand-cream - hope that sorts them out! So, what do you do for chapped hands? Got any advice for me on getting them smooth and gorgeous soon … other than “don’t wash anymore dishes”?

Word association ~ Someone says miserable and I think … sad, cold, hungry. So, tell us, what 3 words do you think of when I say miserable?

A little bit of catch up

Good morning all :o)

Well a good night's sleep cured all my ails after the day before yesterday's big pile of poo, but I just ran out of time to post then - I spent my lunchtime on Tuesday in the dinner hall and on the playground ... I carried* one 6 yr old out of the lunch hall. She'd been given a cheese roll** ... you know where the top of the bread has grated cheese sprinkled on it before it's baked ... for lunch and didn't want it. School policy is that uneaten food goes home - so parents know what the child has eaten/likes/dislikes etc. L wasn't happy with this and flung said cheese roll across the hall and told me to "fuck off!" when I asked her to retrieve it! 6 yrs old! Fuck off to a teacher?! My mother would have skinned me alive. She then threw her yogurt - which was open, the lunch bag, the plastic box and the flask! So ... after three verbal warnings, out she came! After time out and an apology we hugged and made up.

Then at about 2:30 a little lad decided he'd had enough of class, ran out of the door, through the hall, down the stairs, he hit the exit button ran across the playground, scrambled through the railings*** and pegged it up the road. Two of our male teaching assistants and a teacher followed at a gallop but of course had to get through the KS2 building and weren't quite as fleet of foot as little J. They eventually found him walking along a local dual carriageway on his way to London apparently - to see Gordon, to tell him that the teachers at his school were not doing their jobs properly - I swear to god that's what he said!! This was his second escape of the week. New fencing was erected on Tuesday evening - welcome to the jail everyone.

After all of that as you can imagine I was really quite glad to get home and then yesterday happened to me! We have three Slovakian lads in yr 6 (last yr of primary school, aged either 10 or 11) who see themselves very much as gangsters "ruling the roost." Two of them are currently on lunchtime exclusion because of fighting, swearing, intimidation of other children, racketeering**** and shouting at teachers and children. They returned to school 40 minutes late at the end of lunch-time yesterday, continued the swearing/posturing/shouting/threatening to the headteacher and I and refused to go into class. And then one of them tried to punch me. He rolled his sleeve up to show me his muscle and punched out at me. Luckily, some fight or flight instinct had me moving backwards quicker than I thought I could and a hand in front of my face. For the next hour (until his mother turned up - 5 day exclusion immediately) the behaviour continued, they told everyone who walked past that the head and I had hit them, lied about them and that they were going home to ring the police. Eventually M's mother and older brother arrived full of temper and shouting too ... 45 minutes of talk***** later they all left - I feel quite sorry for M as I fear he was going home to a beating but I am so happy that his class teacher has a week of peace and quite ahead of her.

Sometimes, I wonder why I do the job ... here's to a great Friday eh?

* I have a Team-Teach certificate and I then filled in my positive handling report before I went and had a good cry in the corner!

** Yum, lucky mare - I'd kill for one of those right now!

*** Skinny little tyke.

**** Not yet but soon I swear.

***** Older brother, a good kid, translated. Mum is at her wits end.

Help me Internet help me!

**UPDATE** The Mail on Sunday can't help me out with the recipe ... poof! Sheesh! Where next?

Last Christmas Tana Ramsay came up with a Cranberry Relish recipe in one of the Sunday magazines using a mixture of dried and fresh cranberries - bloody, bloody Simon threw the magazine out!!

Can you help Internet?

Unconscious Mutterings #298

I say ... and you think ... ?

Zoo :: animals
Neighborhood :: local area
Salute :: commanding officer
Immortality :: live for ever
Dominion :: rule
Rhonda :: Help me!
Parties :: celebration
Prince of Darkness :: Ozzy Osbourne
Garbage :: rubbish
Standard :: units of measurement

Do some muttering of your own and tell them about it here.

Less of me

I went to see the nurse on Wednesday afternoon, she was very pleased with me for a number of reasons *preens happily* obviously gold star material!

My cholesterol is down from 7.1 (hadn't admitted this to my mother - she wasn't best pleased) to 5.1 ~ woo hoo! Only 0.1 "whatevers" off normal!

My blood pressure was down to 132 over 82 - that's apparently "normal."

And I've lost 4 more kgs.

Oh and that 2 lbs has come off *does happy bunny twirl* now if I could just catch the dreaded lurgy that's doing the rounds I might loose some more!!

Join the "Bring Back Summer Campaign"

Looking through the office* window I can see another misty morning that reminds me so very strongly how far away summer is - it's cold, I'm wearing slippers and I'm wrapped in my dressing gown - though thankfully I haven't had to resort to putting the hood up. Yet! My hands, when they're not typing are wrapped around a cup of tea - my second - and I am considering going to find a pair of socks. I hate this weather, yeh ok Autumn looks pretty ... through the mist I can see golden leaves BUT it's just a taster of what's to come - a long cold, damp winter, with children cooped up inside the nursery. Bring back summer please. NOW!

* aka the pokey/3rd/back bedroom

Two-sday

What does a girl need to do to lose a pound around here? WW - keeping to my points and yet I've put on 2lbs!! 2 frigging lbs! My first thought is WTF? How? When? What did I do? When? I can't remember what's gone wrong? Especially to put on 2 pounds.

TWO!

Disappointed with myself. Worried about what the nurse is going to say tomorrow.

BUGGER!

The neverending list of notes to self

You've just had to throw your fried egg sandwich* away, yes, you were catching up on Tony and Alex - horrible case of a man who was fattening up and then eating his victims - bleugh ... NOTE TO SELF ... Don't try to eat breakfast whilst catching up on Wire in the Blood. It is grisly and gorey and it will make you feel pukey!

You need new bedroom curtains. You're going to drag Simon kicking and screaming to the Dockside shopping centre. He'll then have to be "cajoled" into putting them up ... NOTE TO SELF ... Get him to clean the windows first - he wont think about it! Better still - you clean them, they'll be done properly!

Blisters on the back of your feet are going to make wearing shoes impossible tomorrow. It'll be sandals and slippers for you - really good in the rain and very professional at a staff meeting ... NOTE TO SELF ... throw those trainers away - you've tried and tried to break them in, it's not happening, bin them.

* Spray fat, 1 egg, 2 slices nimble bread - 4 WW points!

Unconscious Mutterings #297

I say ... and you think ... ?

Insight :: knowledge
Irksome :: annoying
Maybe :: perhaps
Confirmation :: church
Bib :: pelican
Stop! :: "Stop right now, thank you very much, I need somebody with a human touch!"

Lobster :: shell
Boys :: zone
Fire away :: shoot
Give up :: no!

Go and do some unconscious muttering of your own here!