27.11.08

Bleugh!


Bleugh is exactly how I feel. I don't have a cold but I have a MASSIVE headache and I just feel really sick all the time, like travel sickness. My limbs are really heavy and ache and I just want to sleep! Not good, I hate feeling sick; I would rather have a sore throat or a runny nose! I think that there are a lot of bugs flying round at the moment; my poor sister has been really poorly and I rang my best friend last night and she sounded awful with a cold and had taken the day of work which is her first in four years so must be bad. Bring on the weekend!

24.11.08

Bonnie Scotland!

I have had such a lovely weekend! It was Mr S' Dad's 65th Birthday celebrations so he decided to do it in style and took 16 of us to Gleneagles in Scotland. I have never been to Scotland before but I will definitely be going back, it was so beautiful and we had a really good time!





We flew to Edinburgh airport early on Satuday morning and then we had just over an hours drive to Gleneagles as it is in the middle of nowhere but I really didn't mind the drive as the scenery was amazing; vast open spaces and rolling hills and it was a really clear sunny day (a very cold sunny day though!). We pulled up and it is a massive building set in acres of grounds and obviously the world famous golf course! We received such a warm welcome from the staff who sat us by the fire whilst they organised our rooms and collected our luggage and then we had a little tour as it is a pretty big place. Mr S and I were then shown to our room and it was just stunning! I think it is the best hotel room that I have ever stayed in; the bed was huge and we had a sitting room as well which led to a balcony overlooking the gorgeous scenery. There was an open fireplace in the room which made it so, so cosy and inviting and the bathroom was also perfect! So once we had unpacked we all went and had some lunch in the bar and several glasses of champagne and off we all went for a walk. We had to wrap up really warm but it was worth it as the air is so fresh and we all soon had very rosy cheeks, although that could be due to the champagne!




After our walk we went to the spa area and they have this big pool that starts inside the building and then you can swim through a small door into an outer courtyard area and it is heated so as long as you everything apart from your head underwater you can still be nice and warm! After all of this I was quite sleepy so Mr S and I went back to our room and I had a snooze and he watched the rugby!




I eventually woke up to a disgruntled Mr S due to the England rugby score and deposited myself in the bath and made use of the free bubbles provided on the side! Once we were all dressed up we went back downstairs and met up with the others who by now were all looking very relaxed! Mr S' dad had hired a private room which was perfect, just the right size with a beautifully laid dining table with flowers and candles! He had also organised a piper who played as everyone came in and then throughout the evening! He was such a nice man, had to pose for many a photograph whilst playing the bagpipes! We had a lovely meal with everybody having haggis between their starter and main course! I was a bit nervous about this as I had not had it before but it was gorgeous, I would definitely have it again. The piper does a ceremony called addressing the haggis where he recites a Robert Burns poem with all the actions whilst he is cutting it up and then you all eat it with a large glass of whiskey! We climbed into bed in the early hours of the morning and I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

When we woke up in the morning, I opened the curtains and everywhere was covered with snow; I know that I am 26 but I still get REALLY excited when it snows! Mr S and I went down to breakfast which included more haggis and then 11 of us went off to do our activity that was planned. Mr S and I had picked to go clay pigeon shooting with his mum and dad; I was really nervous about this as I have never done it before and I thought that with my co-ordination and timing that I would be really bad at it. However, we all really enjoyed it and I was quite good; we had a really good instructor who made everyone really relaxed and gave us all alot of help. More than anything I just enjoyed being outside in the snow, we were quite high up on the shooting range and you could just see more and more of the scenery. After this we had another big lunch (diet for me this week!) then had a little walk and then then it was back to the airport to fly home! I would definitely like to go back there in the future; it was one of the best places that I have ever been to and I would definitely like to go back and see more of Scotland.












17.11.08

Why can't puppies come already house trained?


Aaaaarrrggggghhhhh Alfie has been a nightmare today, it is like he has forgotten EVERYTHING! We are trying to train him to go the toilet outside and we were doing really well but that all went out of the window today! He has had about 8 wees on the kitchen floor despite being put outside regularly. It is as though he just can't be bothered today- it is very frustrating as you feel like you are getting somewhere and then it is back to square one! I want him to be trained as quickly as possible as I am having to work in the kitchen at the moment which is pretty annoying but there is no way he is ready to be let loose on the carpets yet!

16.11.08

Weekend roundup!
























I have had a really good weekend; my sister and her husband came to stay in the Shire on Friday night and went home this morning after breakfast. We had a lovely meal on Friday night at the new Carluccios restaurant that has opened in town; we all love Italian food so there were no complaints! On Saturday we slowly woke up and had breakfast then my sister and I went to have our hair cut and coloured. I really love going to have my hair done and it has taken me ages to find a hairdresser that I like but she is lovely and the salon is nice and they do hot chocolate and love hearts- what more could a girl ask for! We deposited the men in the pub so that they could watch the rugby and we took ourselves off into town for some retail therapy. I rarely get to go shopping with anyone other than Mr S so my sister helped me spend some more of my birthday vouchers on a dress for next weekend. Saturday night was very chilled out after a busy day, watched X factor and ate trifle! I am so glad that Daniel has gone; he's a lovely man but he was never going to win and it didn't seem fair that better singers were being voted off over him.


Today I have been REALLY lazy; we took Alfie for a walk this morning in the park and then gave him a bath. Through the power of BT vision I watched the first in the series of Jane Eyre that was on last year. I was reading the book when it was on so I had not wanted to spoil it by finidng out what happens before I had got to it in the book. It is a really good production though and made me want to read a good old classic so I have got my copy of Tess of the D'Urbervilles out which I have been meaning to read for ages. I didn't do any Hardy during my English degree for some reason so I am hoping that he is somebody that I will like as I know some people say that he is too heavy going.


So as you can see I have had a good weekend; I still don't feel 100% though. I feel like I am kind of on the outside looking in a lot of the time because I have so much on my mind. Maybe I will just get used to that or maybe it will change and gradually things will feel normal again. I am so lucky to have such supportive family and friends and I do truly appreciate that but I am starting to realise that it is down to me to change the way I feel and move on with life.

14.11.08

My first award!


Well this brightened up my day, Smilingsal over at Book Critiques gave me a Bookworm Award and tagged me in the following Meme:
Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following there.

The book closest to me is Things I want my Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble which is what I am currently reading and page 56 goes as follows:

Behind him people were dancing. The music was a skilfull mix of the songs that reminded them of their youth- in all its abandoned, gilded freedom, while convincing them that they still had it. Not so loud it forbade conversation, or so quiet that it permitted abstinence. Like everything else it was perfect. She felt a wave of gratitude wash over her. She was so lucky.
I am really enjoying this book and it was a present from one of my best friends so even better! Thank you to Smilingsal for my award, I am going to have to think of 5 people to pass this on to.

Let the weekend begin!

I am REALLY looking forward to this weekend! My sister and her husband are coming to stay tonight and are stopping until Sunday!! It will be like a little mini holiday!! The ladies are going to get their hair done tomorrow and shopping and the gentleman will be watching the rugby in the pub and drinking lots of beer! Good stuff!!

13.11.08

Why Buy?


I’ve asked, in the past, about whether you more often buy your books, or get them from libraries. What I want to know today, is, WHY BUY?
Even if you are a die-hard fan of the public library system, I’m betting you have at least ONE permanent resident of your bookshelves in your house. I’m betting that no real book-lover can go through life without owning at least one book. So … why that one? What made you buy the books that you actually own, even though your usual preference is to borrow and return them?
If you usually buy your books, tell me why. Why buy instead of borrow? Why shell out your hard-earned dollars for something you could get for free?

I LOVE books! I have used libraries in the past but even then when I have borrowed something and really enjoyed it I will go out and buy a copy! As I have said before our house is full of books, they are in nearly every room of the house, including the bathroom. I think that I like to own them so that I can go back to them whenever I want and also share them with other people, I couldn't really do that with library books. I'm not fussy about the book being brand new either, I buy a lot from the lovely second hand book shop at the top of my road although I will never turn down a brand new, shiny copy of something! I do buy books and then think that I will probably not read it again so I make really good use of a website called Readitswapit where you can list your unwanted books and people can browse and say which one they would like then you can read their list and see if there is something you would like to swap it for. I have found so many lovely books this way and all it costs is the postage! Embarrassingly as well; I think that I don't use libraries as I am too forgetful and don't take my books back on time so then I get a fine and may as well have bought the book anyway!

Hot Chocolate


We went back to see Mr S' parents last night for some food and they are having quite a stressful time at the moment and they know that we aren't too good too so they were telling us about something that a friend of theirs from America had sent them.


A man invites a group of 8 people to his house one cold evening for a cup of hot chocolate. These are a group of people from all walks of life, they all have different jobs and lifestyles. He sits them all down and places a tray of mugs in front of them. There are 12 mugs to choose from all of them different but 8 of the mugs are really beautiful, some are antique, fine porcelain; some have beautiful colours on them, whereas the other 4 are just plain white mugs. He tells them all to pick a mug while he goes to make the hot chocolate. When he comes back with the jug of hot chocolate he notices that they have all taken the beautiful mugs and only the 4 plain ones are left. He pours the hot chocolate out and then points this out to the group, most of them seem shocked and some embarrassed when they realise. The man goes on to say that it is interesting that they all came solely for hot chocolate yet they all carefully chose the mug that they would drink it from even though this does not alter the hot chocolate in any way. The man continues to explain that as an analogy, life is the hot chocolate and our jobs, life style and relationships are the cups. So sometimes we go for the really stressful job becuase it will give us more money and prestige but is it worth the negative strain that it can put on life. I know that this is quite a loose analogy but it does make you think that sometimes we need to take a step back and appreciate the simple things in life and even just life itself. I think that sometimes we are so busy trying to better ourselves that we are letting life pass us by without even realising it!

Right that is my lesson of the day over with, I may go and have a nice hot chocolate in the plainest mug that I can find!

11.11.08

Locked In



On the 20th floor of an abandoned East End tower block, Blaze (a Caribbean MC) and Riqi (a Bengali DJ) rip up the airwaves on a leading pirate station. Their last CD was a massive hit and they're all set to hit the big time with their first live set at Exile FM's birthday bash coming up. Then Zahida comes into their lives and cracks begin to appear in their friendship. When a local gangster asks Blaze for a serious favour, suddenly there's a choice to be made that could split their world wide open
Locked In is a gritty hard-hitting piece written by Fin Kennedy (winner of the 2006 Arts Council's John Whiting award). Developed in direct contact with young people, it portrays a diverse cross-cultural inner-city life and characters, underscored by a contemporary hip hop soundtrack.




Locked In is the name of the play we went to see last night, it only has 3 cast members and one of them is the boyfriend of a close friend. As I said yesterday we were a bit apprehensive but it was excellent; really entertaining but with a really strong and important message. The actors predominantly rap throughout the play and also dance as a way of expressing certain situations, the whole production was very clever. It confronts gun and knife crime and the way that relgion affects the way we live our lives and the choices we make. The production also goes into schools and you can see how the music and the style of acting makes it really accessible to younger people. Our friend's boyfriend was amazing as well, I felt bad for ever doubting him. He acted the part so, so well. He was rapping and body popping and had really good timing and then there is an extremely emotional scene towards the end and he was brilliant! After the play they had a question and answer session with the cast and the stage manager; they put a number up on stage which you could text your question to. I thought this was such a good idea as people do not want to ask in front of everyone else but loads of people texted questions and it was all very interesting. It really made me want to go to the theatre more; it didn't really cost much and it was really good plus it really made you think afterwards which is always a good thing isn't it?

10.11.08

All over the place

Nothing really went to plan this weekend! My sister and I were supposed to be having our hair done on Saturday morning and then all four of us were going to have some lunch but their car broke on Friday night so they had to cancel. Then on Sunday Mr S and I had planned to go to Victoria Park for the Remembrance Day Service at the war memorial but when we got up Alfie was really poorly so we had to make do with watching it on TV instead whilst taking it in turns to clean up Alfie's little presents! In some ways it probably did us good to have a quiet weekend as it meant that we both relaxed a bit. Everything has been rearranged for next weekend and my sister and her husband are coming to stay for the whole weekend which will be lovely!
I have read loads of my book this weekend and I am really enjoying it. I was a bit worried as I loved Elizabeth Noble's first book The Reading Group but then I haven't enjoyed the others, however, this one is really good and quite hard to put down!
We are going back to Birmingham this evening as our friend's boyfriend is an actor and he is in a play. We have never been to a play before where we know one of the cast, I think I will find it a bit odd. I said to Mr S as well that he must look like he is enjoying it even if he isn't as we don't want to offend anyone. Sounds like quite an interesting play anyway so we shall see!

6.11.08

The Credit Crunch


Deep, deep down,

In the cellar under the stairs,

Lives a large, four-eyed monster,

Covered in thick purple hairs.


The owners of the house,

Do not know he is there,

They should probably consider themselves lucky,

As any kind of monster in this day and age is rare.


Kids just aren't scared anymore,

They no longer check under the bed.

So this grizzly monster is in retirement,

And spends his time reading The Financial Times instead.


The news of late has not been good,

Reports of the credit crunch beginning to bite.

Monsters may need to go back to work,

As parents can't afford computer games and DVD's to entertain their little mite.


A life of scaring is not a bad one,

It does kids good to use thier head.

This monster is going to start doing his stretches,

So he can lie in wait under the bed.

Presents


What, if any, memorable or special book have you ever gotten as a present? Birthday or otherwise. What made it so notable? The person who gave it? The book itself? The “gift aura?”

I am very lucky in that people know how much I like reading so I often get books for presents. I love it when you can tell that people have really thought about whether a book is suitable for you rather than just picking something from the bestseller list!

The most special book that I have been given recently was from my beautiful sister and her husband- I think it is probably the most special non-fiction book that I have ever been given. I have a bit of a thing for the chef Marco Pierre-White, I personally think that the man is a genius and I find him quite easy on the eye as well. I think he is a bit like Marmite, you either love him or hate him. Anway I digress a bit, my sister bless her, found out that he was signing copies of his new recipe book in Selfridges! So she dutifully queued up and had lots of pictures taken (very,very jealous) and she told him that I was a bit down at the moment and he wrote a really lovely message in there. So really a lot of effort went into making it a really lovely present and a present that I will get alot of use out of too!

5.11.08

So much Noise!


Don't worry, this is not another rant about my noisey student neighbours! I drove back to Birmingham last night for dinner with my two best friends and thought it would be a good time to listen to the new Jennifer Hudson CD that I had for my birthday (Thanks Mrs L). With the traffic as it was I was in the car for about an hour and a half so I probably listened to it more than once and I gradually realised that I wasn't listening to anything as there was just far too much noise going in on in my head. I know that sounds weird but with everything that has happened recently I seem to constantly have something on my mind and as I pulled up at my friends house I had no idea what the albulm was like as I had not actually heard any of it. I realised that I am like this all the time; there were 4 of us having dinner last night and I noticed that I drift in and out of conversation as I start thinking about everything and then I don't really hear what is going on around me. As I got in the car to drive home I didn't bother putting the CD on and I drove home with my noisy thoughts instead. Don't worry I am not hearing voices or anything like that, I just feel like there is too much going on in my head at times and it can't cope with other things as well! Not really sure what to do about it as I really don't know when, if ever it will all stop.

4.11.08

Party Invitation


We took Alfie for his first trip to the vets last night so that he can go outside! They were so lovely, the actual vet seemed slightly mad and was giving him loads of fuss and didn't really talk to Mr S and I but we didn't mind as Alfie wasn't frightened at all due to getting so much attention! Then they gave us a big gift bag full of puppy stuff which was lovely and then the best bit was that they invited us to a puppy party!! I have never heard of these before but apparently when they get a few new puppies to the surgery they arrange a little party in the evening and you can bring your dog along to meet others and they give you loads of advice and tips! I thought Mr S would not be up for going as he doesn't really like things like that but he said that we should definitely go so it's been put in the diary!

3.11.08

The Weekends go too quickly!!

I have had such a lovely weekend with Mr S and Alfie. On Saturday we went into town and had a lovely Italian breakfast at Carluccios, as long as you didn't look out of the window you could pretend to be on holiday! Then I dragged Mr S round the shops to spend some of my birthday vouchers! As the Winter has arrived Mr S said that he needed some vests to keep him warm so off we went to good old Marks and Spencers and it was shocking, £15 for vests! They say that they have a climate control function built in so they keep you cool but surely the whole point of a vest is to keep you warm, very strange! Anway he wore one yesterday and said they were very effective, good job for that price!




Yesterday we went back to Birmingham for Sunday lunch with Mr S' parents and we took Alfie with us and they absolutely loved him. We were a bit worried as they have only recently lost their family dog so we thought it might be a bit upsetting for them but they couldn't stop playing with him. Mr S' Dad is a very big man and doesn't usually like little dogs but he had Alfie on his lap to watch the TV, this made him look like a slightly camp Bond villain but Alfie wasn't complaining!





Talking of Bond, we went to see Quantum of Solace in the afternoon and I really enjoyed it; I don't think it was as good as Casino Royale but still excellent. Lots of action scenes and I really love how he has made it darker and more character based. I know that people say it should be more light hearted but I would rather watch this then a cheesy Roger Moore Bond any day!




Finished Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix on Friday night and I think that it was better the second time I read it. I think that Professor Umbridge is such a great creation of J.K. Rowling. She is such a good villian; her physical description alone is enough to make you dislike her but it is the vindictiveness that she shows that really made her into a villain for me. Rowling has created a character that I think really stirs the reader up as you become increasingly frustrated with this vile woman as she gains more and more power and influence.




Quite a busy week ahead, Alfie is going to have his final jab tonight so he will be able to go on walks later in the week so that should be very interesting; we need to find a collar small enough first of all!

All change here!

I have made the decision to stop doing written reviews on here for a little while. I shall keep this page open but for the time being I sha...