iPandah

A nutshell

2010-07-07T00:35:00.004+01:00

Here's some news, in a nutshell.

- I AM allergic to my new vegan friendly natural face products. *SIGH

- I bought an awesomeasaurus 80s CD for £5.00.

- I Introduced Ozzy to a tiny ginger kitten. Ozzy LOVED it, the kitten HATED him and growled. This upset Ozzy who then sat whimpering and looking miserable.

- Gremlins is on telly, it hasn't been for a while so this IS news.

- Someone has FINALLY put Lindsay Lohan in prison.

- The weather in Honolulu is currently 30°C.

- I think the new Flake advert is so un-Flakey that it doesn't work properly.

- My allergies are SO bad that not only am I ill all day with them, they keep me up all night too.

- I am going to an 80s fancy dress party in a couple of weeks and am so stuck for ideas that I've decided I might go as that Flashdance woman even though I've never seen Flashdance.

- My shopping is coming at 11am tomorrow and will be delivered by Richard in the Lemon van.

So, there we have it. What a wonderful world.

Friday night's alright

2010-07-02T20:12:00.006+01:00

I am currently watching 'Star Trek' on Anytime waiting for Hefty to come home with a Japanese take-away. He popped home briefly to see me, then had to pop out as he'd arranged an evening out with some of his chums. He very kindly offered to bring me some goodies back from the restaurant where they're meeting, so I am eagerly awaiting Vegan Teriyaki and Tofu Steak. Never had the Tofu Steak before, but he recommends it as a starter. The Teriyaki is awesome though, so I'm most grateful for this happening.

He also brought home a beach ball which he got free with a drink at work. I am very pleased with this beach ball, as I played with it for about ten minutes before realising that I'd played with it for about ten minutes. When I blew it up, Ozzy barked. When I started chucking it about, he ran away. I shouldn't be surprised by this, as every night when we've gone to bed, he suddenly notices the lampshade on the ceiling, and spends five minutes looking up, circling it, and growl-barking at it. I mean, it's been there for two years, we don't move it, but it just goes to show that a dog's memory is limited. We have the mini one in the bedroom, and the huge one downstairs, but he never notices the huge one. My brother has also frequently been mesmerised by our lampshades though, so I'm putting it down to some kind of weird hypnotic thing that only affects those of limited memory capacity. I feel obliged to put a picture up of the shade now, as I fear I've built it up too much and am portraying something incredible (it's nice, but it's not incredible, it's just...Habitatty).

So, the gist of it is, I'm on my own again, and have managed to spout a load of nonsense about a beach ball and a lampshade. I could also tell you that I inadvertantly got chocolate oat milk in my eye, and that I spent half an hour trying to book a holiday on the Virgin website using three different browsers. They all failed, so I'm mighty pissed off, cos I've now had to order a brochure just to find out what's available. But, I did discover from reading my copy of 'Rock & Roam' (that's the Virgin Frequent Flyers Club magazine, it's a wonder I manage to be a FF when their shonky website doesn't even work) that there's a pretty cool new ride in Las Vegas (one of my intended destinations during the holiday I tried to book) called 'SkyJump.' It's basically a controlled freefall, so I'd get to do a sort of sky dive, which I've always wanted to do, but never done because my friend's brother did one and his parachute didn't open :0( (sad, and a really good reason not to do one). It would seem Vegas are trying to open more rides there, to diversify from the whole casino thing. I'm pleased about this, as I said I'd go to Vegas because Hefty really wants to go, but I'm not overly enthusiastic about it. I know loads of people who've been and said there really is loads to do other than casinos (I literally have NO interest in casinos, so much so, every time I've written that, I've put casions), but I've yet to be convinced. I know there's a Blue Man Group there though, and as we always go to see the one in Florida, I'm betting that's a good show.

I can tell you that the SkyJump ride is the only ride I'd consider. If you look at the other 'Thrills' on the site, you'll see how bat-shit scary they are! OMG Scary! I'm scared of heights, I can't go on high rides, but I did abseil once and liked it. This is why I think I'll be okay on SkyJump, but somehow, being in a vehicle and falling from a great height is a lot scarier than just me falling....that really doesn't make a lot of sense does it? Oh well, it's the truth!

Okay, I'm sleepy now, and there's no sign of my Vegan Teriyaki. I think more oat milk is in order, even if it ends up in my eye.

Oh dear

2010-07-01T23:04:00.002+01:00

So I thought I'd sorted out the whole 'school friends being weird and not being real friends' thing in my head. Now, I think some OTHER friends have something against me. What is it that I'm doing that is offending so many people? I try to be a good person, I try to communicate with people, try to meet up, remember birthdays etc. I try to listen, help, I'm a sympathetic, caring person, where am I going wrong? I really don't get it, but I feel that Twitter and Facebook don't help, as I'm not entirely sure if I'm just being paranoid or not. This latest development is very odd though, and came about after I looked around my Twitter account to see if it was working properly. Normally, I would just ask, but in this instance, I can literally think of NOTHING that I might have done, so I'm going to put it down to paranoia for the time being. It's not unlike me to over-analyse things so I shall stay calm and see what happens.

Am still perplexed though, as things are starting to add up in my head, whilst not really adding up at all.

Hmmm.

Good Things

2010-07-01T19:11:00.003+01:00

Well, today I managed to buy three pairs of shorts and some cropped trousers. Result! Also got some more leggings, though there was a distinct lack of decent tops anywhere. Was also hoping for a new cardigan, but couldn't find what I was after. Think I'll be okay waiting on the cardigan front though, as there'll be more around Autumn (which starts at the end of July in the shops for some reason). I HATE clothes shopping, so aside from the whole trying on thing (the part I REALLY hate), it wasn't too traumatic. Quick and painless! Also stumbled upon a new skincare range, which is all natural and free from animal ingredients and such. I've tried to buy this type of product before, and really struggled. Because my skin is SO sensitive, dry and allergy prone, it doesn't matter how natural something is, I seem to have a reaction. Have always bought online before though, this range was in Boots! It's called 'Good Things' and I have to say, it's all fruity smelling and lovely. Going to try it out shortly! It's aimed at young skin, teens and 20+, but the lady who made it all (Alice Hart-Davis - I'm trying to find out if she's anything to do with the LEGEND that is Adam Hart-Davis) says you can use it if you're older. I'm only 30, so I'm thinking I'm skimming the edge of my 20s, and as I get IDd a lot, I must look quite young. I wouldn't say I have old skin anyway, as I've never been one for tanning particularly (not deliberate tanning anyway), and I don't smoke or drink, so I'm crossing my fingers that this'll do the job!

Was also taken aback at how many bikinis there are about! As I don't spend much time clothes shopping, I don't really notice what's in the shops, so it was only when I looked for them I realised how much choice there was! Bikini MADNESS. Was also taken aback by woman in Accessorize who had a basket FULL of stuff. And she was saying to her friend 'God Jules, you can just never have too much jewellery!.' I didn't hear what her friend said, but I thought about how much jewellery I have. I have my wedding rings (that's two) and a Tiffany bracelet that Hefty bought me for our first Christmas together. That's pretty much it! At this point, I started off on some kind of Karl Pilkingtonesque quest for knowledge, and started looking at how much jewellery women were wearing as I walked about. I think the woman was right, for some people, you never can have too much, and wearing as much of it as possible seems the norm in some cases. One woman had these MASSIVE earrings on that looked a bit like those elaborate doorbells you get at country houses, where there's a big metal cat or horse above the bell pull. All I could think about with her was, 'If we were having a fight, I'd go straight for those.' Isn't it strange though? How different we all are? It's literally not something I ever think about, I don't even have my ears pierced or anything. Yet just about every woman I saw had a fair bit on. I'll stick with my minimalist look, it's just not my thing really, and I think if I wore any, I'd just fiddle with it all the time and end up taking it off. I like watches, I guess I have a fair few of those, but even then, I don't wear them all the time. I tried to buy a funky looking Henry Holland one, but the claspy thing was nigh on impossible to open, so I couldn't try it on. Reckoned the only way to open it was the Hulk Smash way, which would be a waste of money.

So that was my afternoon. If I'm shopping for fun I like homeware and gadgets. I didn't look at either of these things today, disappointing.

An aside. I didn't order enough oat milk this week, and I've nearly finished it all (which means a trip out to a real supermarket).

Another aside. I don't think I've ever seen a single cool person on 'The Crystal Maze.' Except maybe Richard O'Brien, and I'm not sure why I think he's cool, he wrote that 'Rocky Horror' thing didn't he? I though that was utter gash.

A third aside. I hid lots of people on the Facebook news feed thing yesterday, and today, I realised how little goes on on that place. Though every person whose feed I did see, made me smile, which reaffirms my belief that having a sort out of friends is good for the soul.

Jolly holidays

2010-07-01T10:54:00.004+01:00

Today, I had planned to go holiday shopping. I need stuff for my jollies and I'll need to buy it now cos they don't sell that kind of thing in October. But, I only just woke up and I feel like ASS. But then Hefty essentially made me feel obliged to do it, as he transferred money about and stuff, so I feel bad that he did that despite being criminally busy (not actually in a criminal way, he's not a gangster). He's been working 12-14 hour days this week, I don't know how he does it. He also gets up at the crack of knacker to fit in going to the gym! It makes me tired just thinking about it, but he says he enjoys the gym, and he's happy putting in the hours cos he does it for me. The man is a SAINT.

Anyway, yesterday, I sort of started holiday shopping by buying a guide book (don't try and look inside, it won't work unless you go to Amazon where I nicked the picture from), which should arrive shortly (hooray for Amazon Prime!). I'm not usually one for guide books, first and only one I've ever had was a Venice one that I got when me and Hefty went on our first holiday there seven or so years ago. But, it's a long plane journey (eleven hours to LA, five and a bit to Hawaii) so I thought it might be useful to swat up. Also, I haven't been there since I was thirteen, and I'm pretty sure it's changed! There's a Wet 'n' Wild now for a start! Hefty was going to hire a car for a couple of days so we could explore the island a bit, so I thought it'd be proactive to at least come up with somewhere to go!

Looked in to the iPad thing, if I bought it in the US I'd save £150. But, I can't bear the thought of leaving the packaging behind so I'll be a schmuck and just pay the full amount.

Anyway, once my book arrives, I shall have to go forth and buy shorts.

R.I.P Bonnie

2010-06-30T23:00:00.000+01:00

An aside.

It's 7 years today since my first doggy Bonnie died.

Still miss you my little friend x

iFAILS and iWINS!

2010-06-30T20:22:00.004+01:00

So today I reached a decision. Recently, I have worked out who my friends are. It's not tricky, friendship is a two-way thing and if you're not going to make the effort then I'm not either. If you don't want to be my friend because you don't like who I am or what I do, that's fine, but either say so, or just naff off. Don't linger out of some sense of propriety.

In other news, I have decided to get a Blackberry when my contract runs out in a couple of months, and get rid of my now USELESS iPhone. What I will do, is get an iPad so that I've still got a cool touchy screeny thing to play with. My phone really has become unbearable since I did the new update. If I open my text inbox, it takes about five seconds for anything to happen. Same if I try and open a text. It also keeps freezing, turning itself off, and the contact list randomly opens for no reason. I had just under an hour's conversation this evening and despite charging my phone this afternoon, I had to charge it again whilst still on the phone because I got the 'Low battery' warning. Utter crap. I have a lot of friends who I consider to be Apple newbies, and they're horrified that I could consider giving it up. Fact is, I've been using Apple products for twenty years, and I've never had a problem before. I have come to expect a certain standard, and I'm just not getting it, so I'm going to get something else. Okay, they're not losing out cos I'll get an iPad, but I'm not happy with them, because they were one of very few constants in my life. Apple have always been the brand I can trust. This iPhone fail has put them on shaky ground with me, though I don't anticipate any other product failures, I think it's simply the bad design of the iPhone. I've never understood why things are where they are on it, and having fiddled around with some other phones, the BlackBerry just came out on top. I like that it's fat, and a nice shape to hold. I like the way it works, and everything on it seems to be more thought out in terms of usability. Okay, I know it's lacking in some of the more flashy apps, but I'm not precious about phones, all I ever want in a phone is something I like that works. I got an iPhone because I'm an Apple user, I'm not into the status aspect of it. If it was the most unpopular phone ever but worked awesomely, I'd have it. The fact it's now shit annoys me, and as the new one is also crap, I feel a trade in is my best option.

I'd just like to say how much I'm enjoying 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand.' Initially, I complained that there wasn't enough fighting because they seemed too busy trying to fit boobs into every scene. Well, thankfully, they've cut back on the boobs a bit, and the fighting has increased tenfold. I already know what happens (I hate surprises to the point I have to know the entire plot of anything before I watch it, or I can't bear it!), and I'm excited about it. I love the imagery, the gore, the whole spadoopa! I also love 'Justified,' and not just because it has Timothy Olyphant in it. It's just a ruddy good programme about a US Marshal that's hidden amongst the bajillion random Channel Five channels floating around. I enjoy it every week, it's up there with 'The Mentalist' for me. Have enjoyed the new BBC Three series 'Mongrels' too, though I now need to have me a fat cat called marion. I don't watch a lot of TV, along with the odd 'Midsomer Murders,' this is pretty much it. I don't watch any of the popular stuff that people are always talking about, I'm really not down with the kids, but I'm fine with that.

That is in fact the lesson I have learnt as I've been thinking about the whole friends thing recently. I'm pretty much ill all the time, I'll never have a career, I have a lot of free time, but I'm happy doing either nothing or reading/listening to random interesting stuff. I don't feel the need to improve myself, I know I have no real skills, I don't need to find something I'm good at. All I do, is sleep (a lot), read, listen to the radio, watch a bit of TV, see a select few people here and there, sing in a band, keep the house clean and tidy, look after the Mr when he comes home, and look after my dog every day. I think I do these things reasonably well, and I'm happy with that. I appear to have lost a lot of friends who don't understand why I have no ambitions, why I'm not out socialising all the time, why I'm not out and about on mini-breaks or days out, why I've not had any kids like they have. But, I still have a few (and it is a few, but Id rather have a couple of really good friends than loads of faux friends) friends left who don't care about any of this. They are just my friends and that is it. They don't expect me to do anything other than be their friend back. If I want to moan about something, they listen, if they want to moan about something, I listen. It's not complicated at all, but I think it takes a long time to realise who your true friends are, and though I will never understand how some of the other ones work, at least I know which ones I can always rely on.

I wouldn't describe myself as a life-loving happy person, I would say I'm content. I seem to have a lot of bad luck so I tend to have bouts of miserableness. To some, mine is probably a waste of a life, but it is exactly that, MINE. It's my life to waste if I want, if you don't like it, I don't care. Ultimately, I'm FINE with that. Frankly, aside from the health thing, I wouldn't swap with anyone. I am a contented non-achiever for which I make no apologies.

*Note in response to image. It's goodbye actually...

Pawcakes & Seways

2010-06-26T17:12:00.004+01:00

So yesterday was our wedding anniversary. We made pancakes for breakfast, and Hefty made one in the shape of a paw!

Then we headed out to York, dropping Ozzy off on the way. The weather was alright yesterday, quite warm, and when we got there we decided to head straight to the Jorvik Centre. This folks, is a Viking centre, all about....Vikings! There's stuff to look at and a ride thing where you sit in a boothy thing that floats round a Viking village. It's alright, but it STINKS, because they pump air into it that is supposed to be the same as it was back then. Let me tell you, HORRIBLE, and it makes you feel sick after a while. Anyway we did that, then wandered around looking for somewhere to go for lunch.

We ended up going to a place called 'Betty's,' which is really famous in Yorkshire. It's a tea room type place, they do the whole afternoon tea as well as proper food, but they also have a shop that sells baked goods and chocolate. It's a real tourist trap in these parts, people rave about it all the time. I've been loads of times, I think it's pretty good, but it's overrated, one of those places people go to cos everybody else does. Hefty hasn't been which is why we went. And it was okay, we had a decent lunch, but I can still think of places I'd rather go.

After that, we meandered round the shops a bit, and then ended up deciding to just go home. We were going to look round the Minster, but you have to pay to go in and though we're the least tight people in the world, it was a rip off, so we didn't bother. I'd wanted to go to the York Dungeon but it was getting on for 4pm, and you don't really want to stay too late as the traffic gets so bad round there that you never get out. So we went home.

We thought we might go into Leeds for dinner, to our favourite Japanese restaurant, but on the way home we were so tired we decided to just call at M&S and pick up some nibbley food instead. It wasn't nice enough to sit outside when we got home so we ended up catching up on TV! I feel responsible for the non-event of a day, as it was my bright idea, but Hefty had a nice time (beats work) and was happy enough. We normally go to the Trafford Centre for our anniversary (just cos there's nothing to do round here and it was something we started doing), and I wish we had. It's easier to make a proper day out there cos there's a lot more shops, ones we don't have easy access to here, and lots of places to eat and stuff. FAIL on my part. Next year I'll know better. I'm sure most people try and go away or something, but whenever we go away for a day or two, it always ends up being more hassle than it's worth, and we wish we'd not bothered, which is why we started down the shopping centre route (we both excel at shopping). Meh. Never mind.

Today has been uneventful, we tried to sit in the sun for a while after we'd picked Ozzy up, but the cloud kept coming over and spoiling it, so we ended up back inside. I decided to start looking at holiday activities for when we go in October, and discovered some random things. We're off to Hawaii, so I found this website called Go Hawaii and had initially planned to look up helicopter tours, cos Hefty really wants to do one. Unfortunately, Hefty's many years of weight-lifting has backfired for the first time. There's a weight limit on helicopters, and unless we go up one at a time, I'll have to lose four stone before then to accommodate Hefty's bulk. Rubbish! There are plane tours but they also involve mini buses and an itinerary as such, which neither of us were keen on. You can go on a regular minibus tour which we might consider, but I stumbled across a section called 'Segway Tours.' That's right! You can do a plethora of island tours on a Segway! Both of us are WELL up for that so it's just a matter of picking which tours we want to do! One of the pictures on the site made me laugh, it's such an odd sight:

Not planning on doing a whole lot that holiday, but it's nice to do the odd thing here and there. I haven't been for sooo long, so I'm excited to see how it's changed.

Last night (just remembered), I had to endure watching Glastonbury coverage. I try to be open-minded about music but I rarely see anyone there who I like the sound of. I like a lot of different stuff, not just Metal, but it seems they really put a lot of filler on at Glasto. The first thing we saw was a rapper type called Dizzy Rascal, who MURDERED 'Smells like teen spirit' by Nirvana. It's got to be one of the easiest songs to play on a guitar, but his guitarist chopped through the riff whilst he rapped some shit over the top of it. AWFUL. Then there was some nondescript bloke with a guitar and a drummer whose name I can't even remember (by the way, I'm probably not spelling any of these people's names properly, but I don't care about them enough to look up the correct versions), then the dullest band in the world, who had sounded good from the intro. Vampire Weekend, I thought that sounded promising, but they were hammering out boring, predictable crap that sounded like it had been ripped off from a whole host of other crap people. I left the room at that point, decided tidying the kitchen was preferable. I then went to bed, but Hefty came upstairs not long after that and put it on upstairs! Some band called Hot Chip were on, and I think I thought they were okay, but I was in the ensuite at that point so didn't hear them properly. But then this bint called Ellie Golding was on and totally freaked me out! I know I'm not down with the kids, all of these people are probably really popular somewhere, but she had the weirdest voice I've heard for a long time, I can't describe it, she just sang really oddly. Also, she had the pointiest nose and chin, and looked like the Wicked Witch of the West (but not green)! We started paying close attention when she was singing cos Hefty said her nose seemed to be moving of its own accord. Oh the hilarity. We turned off after that cos I couldn't bear it anymore. On the positive side though, in the unlikely event I recall any of these people in the future, I will at least know to avoid them! WIN!

Right, I'm off. Ciao!

And thus my eyes did bleed...

2010-06-24T20:52:00.006+01:00

Today I saw this image and it made me chuckle. I love the juvenility of the 'poke her face' comment. I'm a comedy simpleton, but I'm okay with that.

I just made an anniversary cake, which was an impulse decision to say the least. Never made one before, we didn't even have a wedding cake for Pete's sake, but I had some time to kill and thought, 'CAKE.' It's a dairy free cake, and I've never made it before, but it looks okay now it's outta the oven. The taste test will commence tomorrow, and I'll let you know if it was any cop. I'm currently deciding if I should garishly decorate it or keep it simple. I think garish, may as well push the boat out ey?

Hefty is currently making his way home from Dahn Sarf, as he has tomorrow off! He'll probably get back about 11.30pm, but it'll take less time than it normally does on a Friday afternoon. We're going to York for the day, as he's not really been round it for years, and though I used to work there, I've never done any of the touristy things like the Dungeon and Jorvik Centre, so we thought it'd be an interesting day out. My friend has an awesome coffee shop there too, in an 800 year old building under a bridge! So we thought we'd pop in on her and say howdy.

Today, I saw something HIDEOUS. Anyone who knows me will know that I hate BMWs, because they're generally driven by the chav scum of the earth, and none of these people are familiar with the Highway Code, so consequently are more likely to cause accidents and induce road rage amongst the rest of us. Well, not only do I hate them, I hate the design of them, because if you go back over the decades, some of them are alright looking, even if they're owned by twats, but that redesign thing that happened how ever many years ago, means that they now offend my eyes as well as my very being.
I'm going to start by saying that the Z4, is a ridiculous looking car. I'm trying to think of a creative way to describe it, but really, the only words that come to mind are 'ugly as fuck.' When it comes to the 1 series I think Jeremy Clarkson hit the nail on the head when he said it looked like a bread van with the sides kicked in. Most apt. But, the 6 series invokes something in me when I see it that is so much more powerful than the others. Quite simply, it is a MONSTROSITY. I think you have to see one of these beasts in the flesh to appreciate just how ugly it is, but as if that weren't bad enough, they made a convertible one, which is SO hideously designed, that the back window is the size of a letter box, but with less appeal (at least a letter box has a purpose). So today, not only did I see a 6 series, not only was it a convertible, but......(wait for it)....the scrotey owner had put England flags on it! Yes, those awful chavtastic England flags that are usually confined to the likes of a Mondeo or really old Fiesta, were actually sidled into the back windows of a Bavarian cockroach. NASTY. I was quite taken aback and sort of tripped over my feet a bit. Luckily, Ozzy, my new hero, decided that that very moment, he really needed to relieve himself, and subsequently did so right next to it. If I was less responsible, I would have quite happily left the little steaming pile there, in a sort of 'Yeah, that's what we think of you and your shit car' sort of way. But, inevitably, the chav would have had to head back to his Burberry Headquarters, and someone else might have stepped in it.

The other day, I saw a chav in Sainsbury's wearing denim hotpants, and they only half covered her arse. Why? Why would you wear those to Sainsbury's?

Anyway, I have two episodes of 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand' to watch so I'm going to do that. Laters!

iP

Glastonbury and Cheese

2010-06-23T12:16:00.003+01:00

I really am baffled by the Glastonbury ticket process. It's one of those things I've always fancied doing (though I'd have to think of a way around the camping, I DO NOT camp), but I don't get why you buy your tickets six months before you even know who's playing. My friend said to me, "It's the experience, and there'll always be someone you want to see." Well, every year I look at the line up to see if I wish I'd bothered, and every year I'm glad I didn't! This year is particularly bad. I know I mainly like Metal, but I'm very open-minded and like lots of different music, but it seems to me that the place is full of crap and distinctly average bands. So what would I be going for? The catering supplies and stalls. Great. WELL worth £200.

So it's three and a half months til my holiday. Not that long says Hefty, FEELS like it. He and I have an entirely different view on these things. He thinks three months is nothing and will fly by, I see it is THREE WHOLE MONTHS (and two weeks) and it drags. He will probably be excited about a month before, whereas it'll be a couple of days before for me as I have no patience. If it's not happening immediately, I can't get excited about it. My Dad is the same. The folks went on a cruise yesterday, neither of them wanted to go (?) but as they'd never done it before they thought they should have a go. A cruise is also a pretty good way of seeing lots of different places that might be faffy to sort out by any other means. So they're seeing Rome, Venice and Florence over a few days, which I suppose is easier. Can't remember where else they're going, but I'm guessing it'll all be around that sort of area. My Mum was washing and sorting out packing two weeks ago, my Dad only started thinking it'd be nice to go on holiday on Monday. At least I know where I get it from. (Tim: Whilst I remember, please can you email me that little cut-out of you to take with me? Want to make sure I get you in on some good photo opps!)

Nice weather again today! Am going to walk Ozzy before the England match malarkey kicks off. I don't support England, I'm Republic of Ireland all the way, but as I like football, and the England team consist of players who used to play for West Ham, I'll give it a go. They've obviously not played great so far, but as I'm not emotionally attached, I can shrug it off. I am, however, pissed off with France! Not only did they deny us a place in the World Cup thanks to Henry's handball (which he ADMITTED and STILL we weren't allowed a replay!!), they don't even want to be there! Moaning bastards. So we'll see if England can pull their fingers out and play a decent game of football.

I was telling Hefty how Frank Lampard has the highest IQ in football (around the 150 mark), and he told me how, in contrast, Steven Gerrard probably had the lowest, as he heard him talking on the radio. Apparently, he was asked what his favourite kind of cheese was, to which he replied, "melted." It's almost a Karl Pilkingtonesque kind of GENIUS. But KP will always be better.

Random fact of the day: Saw a top in Harvey Nichols that was called 'Fatal Top.' Needless to say, didn't try it on.

I'm offski!

Cards, phones, flab.

2010-06-22T16:15:00.002+01:00

Got a card! It'll do, still not amazing though. Bah!

Just trying to work out how much an iPhone 4 will cost me. I reckon, on my current contract, I'll have to pay £179.00 for the handset, though the tariff chart is a little confusing so I could be wrong. Also, not entirely sure if data limit is per month or not. If it is, I think I'll be okay, if not, I'm buggered. Why can't they put something straightforward up? Easy to read? That would be TOO easy I suppose.

In other news, somebody told me I should watch a video of Daisy Lowe on YouTube. Apparently, she's a model. For a model, she's kinda fat and flabby. Normal I guess, but I don't want to see 'normal' dancing around in underwear, that's what stick insects are for.

2010-06-22T11:30:00.003+01:00

So, today is a lovely sunny day and I feel lousy. I've not had much sleep, despite being WELL tired. I'm tired all the time at the moment, but I either sleep excessively, or not at all. MOST annoying! Meh. Anyway....

Am going to take young Oswald for a walk, then head out to a nearby retail park to try and pick up some supplies, and an anniversary card. As of Friday, me and Hefty will have been married for six years, but every year, I am unable to find a card for him that isn't utter shit. I don't get it. I don't like to generalise, but I would say more often than not, women put more effort into card buying than men. Hefty isn't like this, but I know plenty of men who don't really give two hoots, and just pick the first thing they see. I like to browse and make an informed decision. BUT, cards for husbands are naff. Cards for wives are great, even amazing in some instances. Sometimes, you see a nice card for a wife, but in the same range, the card makers haven't even bothered to make one for husbands. Thus, I have been all over trying to find something. I went to boutiquey card shops, normal ones, NOTHING. I thought about making one (done that before due to this issue), but I'm not very good at card making, so I'd like to buy a nice one really. I even braved the shit-hole city centre (it's a horrible place, it's always full of scrotes AND fashion victims, very rarely anything inbetween this. This is what happens when you put Harvey Nichols near a load of nasty kebab shops) and came back empty handed. Looked online too. FAIL. So I've reached the point where I'll just have to find the best that I can, though I ain't happy about it!!

As it is a nice day, at least I can utilise the roof function on my car, though whenever I put it down, I always seem to come back with half a tree in the back seat. Bucket seats collect debris like nobody's business, I'm sure I didn't have to hoover out my Beetle as much as I do this one. Still, not exactly a hardship is it?!

Got band practice tonight, so I can't be out all afternoon, will have to get in a snooze before I head out. Why do I sleep better during the day? Madness.

An aside: Just seen smallest box of cornflakes EVER on 'Heartbeat.' It's the same size as a box of 'Grape Nuts.' More madness.

So....

2010-06-22T09:42:00.002+01:00

....I'm pretty sure I stopped blogging properly when I got entangled in Facebook. Recently, Facebook has done nothing but piss me off, as it doesn't work properly, continuously deletes and loses my posts/photos etc. and I don't feel I can write what I want on there anymore. I have opinions on things and put them on my page, which I believe I'm entitled to do, but with this comes a barrage of snotty remarks from people who don't agree, or people just plain telling you that you're wrong (wrong? Your opinion is wrong?!). So I've sort of given it up, and thought I'd see if my blogging creativity upped as a result. I'll still Tweet (Twitter is something that doesn't require as much commitment) but hey, I've always been able to say what I want on here, so I'm hoping it'll be a cathartic experience!

Am off to get a shower now, as have had little to no sleep and am hoping it will revive me. Then, I might start a new post!

WOOT.

Pandahs need maps or they get lost...

2009-09-01T12:11:00.004+01:00

I am at a point in my life where I feel I haven't really done anything with it, so I must decide on something worthwhile to avoid reaching the same point in another 30 years. Oh yes, 30, I am approaching 30, and that is where all this has come from. It's not that I'm particularly bothered about being 30, but it's one of those 'landmark' ages where you feel the need to assess everything you've done.

My assessment? EPIC FAIL.

I'm going to have a good think and attempt to sort myself out.

It could happen.

I could do with a map.

Oh yeah, that Blog thing....

2009-08-09T12:03:00.002+01:00

Well, I have realised what's going on here. I keep forgetting I have a blog. Actually forgetting, and then every now and then I think, 'Oh yeah, I should write something.'
Today, I had this same thought, and started pondering as to why I keep forgetting, or if I do remember, thinking I have nothing of interest to say. The conclusion I have come to is this: Facebook.

Facebook (and Twitter to some extent) has become my outlet for all thoughtage. The jaunty 'Status update' is now where I voice all my opinions, crazy-ass ideas, and general randomery. Once I've got all this stuff off my chest, it's gone, forgotten, dealt with. Whereas before I would be enraged or pleased about something and feel a compelling urge to get on the old blog and waffle on about it, now, I've already done it in brief summary format. Madness.

I feel like a bit of a twat for not realising this sooner, but hey, I've not had a great year so far, so it's unsurprising that the brain box isn't up to full speed. But what to do about it? I've become too reliant on FB now, and it's far too easy to provide an edited highlight of events to which I can elaborate on further as the comments roll in. I think what has essentially happened here, is that I have become lazy.

Clearly, I need to have a word with myself and sort this out, but in the meantime, my most recent news will have to be delivered in a selection of character-limited points. Sorry.

- This week I fell down the stairs and buggered my arm whilst acquiring a few well placed grazes and bruises.

- I got food poisoning from Nando's which was deeply unpleasant.

- Whilst having to use my other arm to compensate for the buggered one, I managed to revive a reccurring, deep-seated injury and have now buggered the other one (which is in a sling).

- We're going to Wales for the weekend on Friday for my cousin's wedding, which I'm rather excited about. Their invitations were Marmite jars with the relevant info on the labels and inside, so I'm expecting all kinds of wonderment.

That may be it......I shall have to confer with Facebook to check........eugh, I'm so ashamed.......

*attempts to get ass in gear*

iP

Banding about

2009-05-25T00:34:00.003+01:00

Well, I can safely say that I was pretty much ill for the whole of last week. My gym quest isn't going so well, I managed Monday and Tuesday before experiencing a horrible 'pulled muscle' feeling in my stomach on Tuesday afternoon, whereby I had trouble walking!!!! I can't imagine how I did this, I go on the treadmill, cross-trainer, bike and stepper, no funny weights or lifting, it's utterly bizarre. Anyway, I'm going to keep at my 90 minute routine, but I'm going to be gentler I think, just in case. I have recovered from it now, but as tomorrow is a BH, Hefty and I are going to do something, so I'll make it up another time.

I did go to Ming and Francoise's on Wednesday night. I can never remember what we do when I go round, but there is always some kind of hilarity involved, and this week I seem to think it involved large nipples and Emos. Hmm. My memory really is rubbish these days, I don't understand. Long term stuff is fine, birthdays, anniversaries etc, all good, but ask me what I did the previous day and I'll look at you blankly.

I do remember that last night I went to my friend's (and the guitarist in my band) gig, which was mind-blowingly awesome! My bass player is also in the band, and it's a Prince tribute band called EndorphinMachine

I'm not really into Prince, I like some stuff but on the whole, it's not noisy enough for me, but I know how good my band-mates are, and Hefty has seen them before and sings their praises (not literally!), so I was looking forward to going! I was not disappointed!! I'm probably not the best person to write a review of a tribute band to an artist whose work I don't know a lot about and am not really in to, but I can honestly say, it was AMAZING! They're a 10 piece band, they even have a brass section, and it's just incredible to listen to. I've linked to their MySpace page but it doesn't do them justice, they're definitely a LIVE band. They played for 2 and half hours, and I thoroughly enjoyed it all! My drummer was there too, and we were stood around getting all sentimental saying 'Can you believe we're in a band with them' (at which point we would gesture towards the guitarist and bass player! It was frackin great! Hurrah for bands!! Trouble is, I really want to gig now, but we have nothing planned at the mo!!!

Right, am gonna sign off, I don't have much more news than this (that I can remember) and Hefty is snoring like a motherchuffer, which means it's time to go to sleep!!

Ciao for now!

Atchoo

2009-05-16T00:25:00.003+01:00

Well, today was semi-productive, but only semi for one reason alone. I've got a bloody cold! I really am flipping from one illness to the next at the moment, it's beyond funny.

Because of this, I never made it to the gym, because I barely had the energy to get up the stairs with the shopping. Then I had to dash out again to meet my friend, then when I got home I had that thing where your eyes are all sore, tired, and overly wet, so I just tried to rest inbetween wiping my infernally runny nose. Boo.

I managed to make my cheescakes though, four mini ones for lunch tomorrow, one uber-one for dinner. Let's hope it's nice, we're going to be eating a lot of it tomorrow! I have also opted to make BBQ chicken pizzas, a garlic bread, and a ricotta and pancetta pasta bake, so by the time we get to my parents, we'll be full enough to make it through dinner. Does that make sense to anyone? Probably not, let me explain.....

It's not an interesting tale, but any member of my family will tell you that if you go to my folks' house, all that's ever in the cupboards is Weetabix, Vitamins (hundreds of em), and Aloe Vera juice. In the fridge, you will find skimmed milk, some form of sliced meat, and a cholesterol lowering buttery spread of some kind. Meals are meagre, and it's very rare you leave there feeling full. I might be surprised, I should give them the benefit of the doubt....

I should try and go to sleep, it's kinda late and I have to be up early to tidy and stuff. I do hate being ill, mainly cos that's all I seem to do at the moment!

Oh well. Nighty night night.

iP

*another great picture, who knew sneezing images on Google could be so entertaining?

Busy-ness

2009-05-15T08:21:00.004+01:00

Yawn.

Am rather tired today, must be all this exercise. Managed to do another 90 mins yesterday, and will do so again this afternoon. Got to drop Hefty off at work and head to a real live supermarket for some supplies this morning, cos we've got someone coming round tomorrow. He's the guitarist in my band but we're both friends with him, in fact Hefty knew him first as they worked together. He's coming round so to watch wrestling! An afternoon of wrestlemania and smackdown or whatever, I'm not really familiar with the terminology, but he and Hefty like it so I'm going to do some cookin and turn it into an event. I also need to make a cheesecake cos we're going to my parent's house for dinner tomorrow evening and I offered to provide pudding. I'm making a fudge cheesecake (not chocolate fudge, just fudge) which should be nice (in theory).

I'm also meeting my friend for lunch, so I've got rather a lot to fit in! Sadly, it's chucking it down again today, I'm looking forward to this hot dry Summer we've been promised. We've had some nice days so far though, and I've managed to get a bit of a tan just on my face from having the roof down on my car!!! Bit of a random tan that one, like I've been hung upside down and dipped in something, cos it stops just below my shoulders!

Ooh had a mini-band practice last night actually, and have added 'Zero' by Smashing Pumpkins and 'Livin' on a Prayer' to our set list! Oh the hilarity, I'm angling for 'The Final Countdown' now...... :0)

Right, best get on!

Toodle oo!

*I have no idea who the people in the picture are, but I like the fact that one of them is doing a crazy-ass jump and the other has bitchin hair.

Gym Bunny

2009-05-13T19:16:00.003+01:00

So I went to the gym today and did my first session. All in all I did:

5 mins warm-up on the bike
25 mins power-walking on treadmill
5 mins running on treadmill (hey I'm easing myself in!)
15 mins on crosstrainer
40 mins walking on treadmill

So, 90 minutes all in all, which I'm pretty happy with. The only thing I was disappointed with was that there are TVs in some of the machines but not the treadmills. I would have spent longer on there if there'd been a TV, not that I wasn't on there for a while, but watching Diagnosis Murder with no sound and subtitles wasn't as much fun. I managed to watch Doctors on the crosstrainer, but it's not my favourite machine (these ones are different to the one we have at home) and I couldn't do the DM time on it. Oh well! Got some good stuff on my iPod so I'll have to adapt. I'm not going to be there at that sort of a time most days anyway I reckon, as my plan is to go on my way back from dropping Hefty off at work, which would normally be about 11am. As long as I can get a couple of hours in every day I'll be happy enough. It was nice to get back into it and I really enjoyed it actually. I have to be gentle with the running as I have asthma that's triggered by exercise, so I can't currently do anything too intensive. I don't think you need to anyway per se, power-walking definitely gets you working, but I'd like to build up my asthma resistance so I can jog around the village when I'm at home. So 5 minutes sounds crap but for me is really good!

Still have to walk Ozzy but the weather is against us at present. Can't go til Hefty gets back from work anyway, he's doing some kind of computer-fandanglery, no idea what.

My parents have invited us for dinner on Saturday which is bizarre but nice. We were supposed to be going to an antiques place during the day but it's off so it's compensation!

Anyway, Hefty has called, best go, ciao!

Star Trek - Go and see it, NOW!

2009-05-12T22:50:00.004+01:00

OHMYGOD! So, Star Trek is the BEST film EVER! I was captivated, mesmerised, thoroughly awesomed out the whole time! I want to see it again and again and again! Truly, it exceeded all my expectations, and I was expecting something pretty darn good! I can't discuss it much without giving it away, but I think one of my favourite things about it was that unlike some remakes, references to the original aren't thrown in in a clanging hit you in the face kind of way. They're there, but there's not millions of them, and they're done well, so well, that if you aren't a fan and you go see it, you're not going to feel you've missed something. But then if you are a fan, you go 'Ah, cool' and smile more!

All round bitchiness people, go see it!!!

*for some reason, you can't get a decent picture of the new peeps when you Google it, which is really weird frankly, but hey. So I just stuck with the original chaps!

Silk and Steel

2009-05-11T08:49:00.003+01:00

Has anyone seen that advert for Robinson's Be Natural? With the bird? I love it! It makes me happy to think of lickle birds having all that stuff in their lickle homes!

I just made two key purchases from Amazon, 100 Hits of the 80s and Legends by 5 Star.

Bit random for 8am on a Monday morning you might think, but for some utterly bizarre reason, because I got up to accept my Ocado delivery, I stayed up (don't usually) and am sat watching 'The 80s at 8' on VH1. It was on when I turned the TV on and 5 Star were playing (Can't Wait Another Minute), and I remembered how much I LOVED 5 Star as a child! And as I sang along I realised the chances of me still having the tapes of their albums anywhere was slim to none, and I don't have a tape player anyway, so I went on Amazon.

I love Amazon, especially because I have Amazon Prime which means I get it the next day, however little I have purchased. They messed up with it last week which was annoying, but that's the first time it has happened to me so I'll forgive them on this occasion. Anyhoo, 5 Star, the 3CD boxed set was £4.98, bargain! And because I liked some of the other stuff playing on this show, I decided to invest in a good 80s comp whilst I was at it. 5 CDs, 100 hits (as the title suggests), £6.98. I'm happy with that!

Off to look at a gym today. We have an in-house gym (wow, I made that sound posh), but it caters more for Hefty's Arnie regime, and there's not a great deal of CV equipment. Plus, if I do venture in, Ozzy gets in the way due to his nosey nature and natural capacity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There's a couple of gyms near me, but the nearest is a JJB Sports one (I had no idea they weren't just a shop!), and I had a butchers on the t'internet and it seemed pretty good. The best bit is, I can just pay monthly, it's not that expensive, and I don't have to sign an annual contract or anything. Plus, it's cheaper because I can choose Off-Peak hours - hurrah! So I'm going to go and have a proper look on my way back from dropping Hefty off, so I can see if it's any good. Hopefully it is, then I can go on the way back from dropping Hefty off every day, yay!

Right, best get ready, toodle oo!

Scurvy Dog

2009-05-10T20:54:00.004+01:00

Goodness, I thought I'd last blogged on Thursday, goes to show how crap my sense of time/space is!

So, what have I been up to. Hmm. Well, not a lot! Hefty was away on Wednesday, he went to St Albans (muchos fun for him) to do his computer fandanglery gubbins, so it was just me and the Ozster. We mainly slept and watched Poirot from what I can recall. I'm not really very well at the moment, various things, so I've been trying to rest, and though I do do some stuff, I have trouble remembering cos my brain is a little out of order at the moment. I know I baked cupcakes, and that I saw SuperSaz, and that I spent today in bed cos I felt a bit low. No idea what I did yesterday, which is bizarre. My long term memory is really good, but recently I have had great trouble remembering things I did the previous day.

I really need to go back to the doctors and sort out my medication, but not only is it impossible to get in, once you do, they're not really very helpful! I remember when I went through a horrendous period of insomnia a few months ago, and when I went to the docs for help, he said he didn't believe in sleeping tablets, I needed to eat more fruit. THANKS! He was pretty crap generally, and told me off for not going back sooner to sort out some of my other meds, but what's the point?! They're shit! I need to go really, and when I do, and inevitably get bollocked for leaving it so long, I feel that this time I am just going to say:

- Getting an appointment (or trying) is usually more stressful than whatever problems I'm having
- When I do come, nobody seems to read my file and I have to list my history
- If I don't feel my medication is working, I get told to try it for 2 more weeks and come back - what's the point if it hasn't been working for 6 months? What's another 2 weeks going to do?
- I'm bipolar, STOP offering me counselling! I have nothing to discuss, I just need better drugs!!!

See, just writing all that has got me feeling very tense, and that's why I hate going. I always feel like they don't believe there's anything wrong with me which is why they don't want to help me. Grrr.

Anyhoo, I'll shut up about it, it's not very interesting to read and it's making me feel worse!!!

Hoping to go and see Star Trek this week, can't wait!! Not sure when we'll manage it but as long as we do it'll be all good!

In other news, my friend is having a Pirate BBQ Birthday Party in June, and because we can take Ozzy, I'm working on making him a wickedace 'Scurvy Dog' costume! Am struggling to buy a costume for him (if I lived in America it wouldn't be a problem) which is why I'll have to make one, but he's only little and it'll be a nice little project for m, something to keep me occupied. I'll post pictures when I have some!

Not much more to report today, mainly cos I can't remember anything! So I shall sign off!

Ciao for now!

iP

*Sigh

2009-05-05T21:28:00.003+01:00

Eugh, BBQ NOT a success, it went out, Hefty was furious and is gonna buy a gas one, and we suspect the bit of food I did eat was partially raw cos I've been helluvva poorly sick :0(

Hefty and I both feel crap in point of fact, though he seems to have a fever of some kind (NOT swine flu before anyone suggests it!).

He has to go to St Albans tomorrow too, boo :0( Double boo actually, as the work he has to do starts at 6pm so he has to stay overnight :0( So me and Oswaldius will have to chill on our own. I might actually watch TV (shock horror), but I'm not holding my breath.

Weather is shite today, I generally feel ill and miserable, and most people I know do too. Roll on Summer I say, I need cheering up!

iP

Death of a Tomato

2009-05-03T17:03:00.005+01:00

Well, had a bit of an event today. Went to Harvey Nichols yesterday and bought some Daylesford Organic Ketchup because we're having a barbecue today. This is what it looks like for anyone who doesn't know:

So, I opened it at lunchtime cos I was going to have a bit with some pasta - EPIC FAIL! As you can see, the lid is one of those poppy Grolsch cork things and despite being such a little bottle, the top popped out with such force, it pretty much exploded all over me! I was a bit shocked, but wiped myself down and got rid of the splatters on the floor. Then I noticed it had gone on the walls so I cleaned that too. Then, as something caught the corner of my eye, I spotted the mess on the ceiling! Good god! Dexter would have had a field day with this one, it literally looked like a murder scene. The more I cleaned (and Hefty cleaned too, we needed to act quickly so it wouldn't stain), the more I found! It was a ruddy nightmare! So we're thinking of suing HN for the inconvenience of it all. Why the hell not? They can afford it!

That's pretty much my news for today, we haven't done anything, I'm still in recovery and Hefty needs a rest.

West Ham won 1-0 yesterday, we're 7th, which is really good for us. Yay for the Hammers!

BBQ in process of being lit, ciao for now.

iP

Books and shoes

2009-05-01T22:14:00.006+01:00

Well, despite saying I needed to get on with reading the two books I already have on the go, and so not having time to get through the Twilight books as well, I only went and bought another ruddy one today! I bought this:

It's a factual fictiony story (if that makes sense) based on a real murder that happened in 1860. And, according to the back cover, an 'unimaginably gruesome murder' at that. I'm about 10 pages in so can't tell you much about it other than:

a) I like it so far
b) It had a Richard & Judy Book Club sticker on the front when it came

R&J, that's good enough for me!

In other news, Ozzy is now on Twitter! The settings bit is playing up and so he can't get his picture up yet which is a bit rubbish. It keeps saying something about 'Twitter is stressed out about this at the moment so the function has been temporarily disabled.' Bizarre. Anyway, if you want to follow him he's @OzzleBozzle

I still haven't watched Dexter or written any of my book, instead I continued with the mad cleaning. There is nothing left to be cleaned in my house now, all three floors are spotless and tidy. This is good news, but Ozzy brought some bark in from the garden earlier and made a right mess chewing it in the lounge, at which point I told him off and got the dustpan and brush. Hope I'm not going to be one of those mental OCD types, like Monk!!!

I heard about these trainers called MBTs that are supposed to help your posture and rid you of your thunder thighs and such. They aint cheap and when I scouted around, they do look a bit Spice Girls meets Special Bus, so I avoided them. Now, Skechers have made their own version, and though they still look a bit orthopaedic, because they're Skechers, I'm thinking I could get away with it, cos they just look like big trainers. Not sure.....? Any thoughts?

Here are the MBTs:

And here are the Skechers:

The reviews I've found (there aren't loads) seem to be positive so I'm very tempted but I was thinking of getting this tiny Mulberry bag I saw so I'm not sure. Part of me thinks I really don't need another Mulberry bag, especially a small one (where will I put all my crap?!) but I do like it. Decisions decisions! Look at me, shoes & handbags, how very un-iPandah-ish! Must be all this cleaning, it's sent me snooker loopy!

:0)

Doing my bit

2009-04-30T15:43:00.002+01:00

Well, I successfully did some washing, and cleaned the uber messy utility room. It's now spanky clean and beautiful. I also vacuumed the stairs, that was pretty tiring, three storey houses are all well and good until you have to clean them. In fact, that pretty much wore me out, and as I am now very schnuffly from all the dust, I have come to bed, to start watching Dexter.

I also made it to the Post Office to send off three parcels, so I'm feeling quite productive, though it was hard work, as I'm suffering very badly at the moment with my anxiety. Sometimes I get outside and freak out, and though I didn't do this today, when I was in the PO, some mega chav came in speaking really loudly (and chavily) on his phone, and it scared the bejesus out of me. Still, made it back in one piece (I can walk to it) so it's all good. Will walk Ozzy later on when Hefty gets home, for one thing the weather has been crappy, but also, at this time, there are a lot of school kids hanging about and that also makes me anxious!!!

I'm a nut-bar! Medically confirmed though so I shouldn't be surprised.

Just found this anyway, and thought it was worth posting:

What a marvellous excuse to keep shopping, I'll certainly try and do my bit :0)

Right, my eyes are so sore I can hardly see, so I'll sign off. MIght not make it through Dexter actually, if I can't see then I can't watch! I'll never get round to this......

Thursday Ramblings

2009-04-30T09:03:00.005+01:00

Last night I went to Ming and Francoise's house for dinner and a film. The film in question was 'Twilight,' which I still haven't made my mind up about. We spent a lot of the film shouting 'Get on with it!' and looking confused at some of the mega randomness going on. I half wondered if I needed to watch it again to 'get it,' but I've now come to the conclusion that it's the concept that appeals to me, so really I should just buy the books.

I really need to watch series 2 of Dexter because 3 is currently showing and we've been Sky+ing it. Agh! That means I need to put a whole day aside and just sit and watch it! It's not that I don't have a whole day (or all the days) to do this, it's just one of the reasons I'm so crap at watching TV is that I have to be in the mood, and I'm very often not. I can pick up a book any time and just start reading, but watching something is a real chore. I know I'll enjoy it once I've got going, but I'm struggling with the 'getting going' part.

Yesterday, I was uber pro-active and successfully organised our study. This was a major task, as although we have the main components of a study (book cases, filing cabinets), we have thus far failed to do any kind of filing. Small piles of post turn into big piles of post, and with nowhere to put them (without effort being involved), they invariably get stuffed into a bag and re-stuffed in a cupboard. SO, I decided enough was enough, and I was gonna do me a cull! Seven (yes SEVEN) hours later, all our post was filed and nicely put away. All envelopes (because if we know it's a bank statement we don't bother opening it) in the recycling bin, along with the junk mail, and the shredding box is now full of stuff to shred (funnily enough)! I can keep on top of it now that I have drawers to put things in, so I really feel quite pleased with myself :0)

Today I might try and get some Dexter in, but I also wanted to have a good clean of the house. However, I'm also trying to write a book, and I really need to get on with it, as I have an outline, a title, characters, plot, but so far, one paragraph. I think I tried too hard to write it, as in, I was trying to write what would be the finished version, but I have now realised that really, I just need to write lots and lots and then I can go back and change stuff. Blimey, seems like I have a lot to do today.

The weather is pretty miserable here today, rainy and grey, most depressing. But, I guess it means I can do all of the above without thinking I'm missing out on the funshine.

I'm sat in bed as I write this, large mug of filter coffee, Ozzy at my side, it's all good, but I feel the need to mention a phenomenon that has become apparent. For some reason, Ozzy smells like digestives. Mainly his paws, but when he moves, a whiff drifts my way. I've noticed this throughout his lifespan, and have no idea why this should be. However, there's something rather comforting about it, so it's all good by me.

Right, it's nearly 9.30am, best get up, will need to take Hefty to work shortly, and then on with my 'To Do' list.

Toodle.

Top Tip

2009-04-28T12:32:00.002+01:00

Sometimes, tips appear near the top of my Gmail account. They're mostly a load of tosh, but I saw this one today and thought it was a bloomin good idea! So I decided to share it!

Genius.

Slight return

2009-04-28T10:19:00.007+01:00

Well hot diggity. The SHAME. I haven't blogged since January! There are no acts of apology big enough to redeem myself on this one, but I think it's pretty clear I lost my blogging mojo. I want to call it 'blo-jo', but that sounds far too much like something else so we'll stick to the original phrase.

I did a lot of thinking last night, and that's why I decided to get back on here and slap some words down. I went through a period of not writing because I believed I had nothing to say, certainly nothing interesting, and who would care anyway? Then I realised that that's not necessarily the purpose of a blog, and it's not why I started one all those years ago. It was a place for me to air my thoughts, adventures, general ramblings etc. and keep track of them for future reference, hopefully so I can look back through the archives and exclaim 'Oh yes! I had forgotten about that!" and other acknowledging statements. Obviously it's pretty darn cool if people do read it and comment, but I need to force myself to do it for my own sanity, for recently, that is something I have been lacking.

So, I'm going to ease myself back into it by talking about two recent acquisitions that have been very welcome additions to the Pandah Palace, DVD boxed sets of Poirot and Columbo.

I'm a big fan of boxed sets, I love the packaging (even if it's crap), I love the feeling that you've got em all there, and mainly I like them because I am utterly rubbish at watching TV. I might see something advertised and decide it's worth a watch, but then I forget, or I see the first part and miss the rest. RUBBISH! We recently got Sky again which has helped with this because I have set up series links for the two programmes I watch, CSI: New York, and The Mentalist (a new show that I FORCED myself to get into because I thought I'd like it, and I do!). However, most of the other things I like to watch and have missed, are now in my collection as boxed sets, which means I can watch em when I like, and it works a helluvva lot better than me trying to remember anything! My favourite boxed sets that I have watched in their entirety but still dip into because I love them so much are:

Murder She Wrote
Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection (the Jeremy Brett one)
The Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes Collection
Tru Calling
Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)
Pushing Daisies
The Tudors

Now, I had been looking at the Poirot BS for YEARS, but it was always mega expensive, and all the others I have were the result of clever internet shopping and continual price checking:

- Murder She Wrote was actually a gift from Hefty for Easter last year so we'll ignore this one!

- Sherlock Holmes should have been £149.99 and for some bizarre reason, HMV had it up one day for £39.99 so I pounced! It quickly went back up to £114.99 which leads me to wonder if it was an error, but what do I care, it cost me 40 squids!

- The Basil Rathbone SH Collection was a Christmas present from Hefty, but by all accounts, it had randomly been dramatically reduced, so it's all good!

- Tru Calling, possibly my most successful bargain. Was around thirty punds on all the main sites for ages, then one day Amazon had it on there for £6.97! £6.97???!!! Bat-shit insane I say, but once again, I pounced!

- I bought Randall & Hopkirk (the original, not the shitty Vic & Bob one) before I went into hospital last October. It wasn't that much of a bargain, about £30 again, but I pictured days of boredom whilst I recovered and cos it was my favourite show as a child, I couldn't resist. As it turned out, I was SO ill that I never watched any of in hospital, but when I eventually got out, I made up for it!

- Pushing Daisies was £11.98, which I think is pretty good, though I pre-ordered series two for about £18, but I love it so much I'm prepared to bare the increase!

- The Tudors was craftily marketed. To buy series one was £7.98, to buy series two was £13.98. To buy series one and two in the same set was £17.98. Clearly, not a huge saving, but a saving nonetheless, and more convenient because there's a lot less packaging to contend with and it's all in the same box. SOLD.

I'm currently contemplating the 'Maid Marian and her Merry Men' set, it's on Amazon for £28.98, the complete set, very tempting, but I'm scanning the other sites in case a Summer Sale pops up and it drops. It's not that I'm tight, far from it (as anyone who knows me and my shopping habits will testify), but sometimes you feel like you're being ripped off, and my random checks on other sites soon turned the art of DVD price comparing into a sport. And when you bag a bargain, it's very satisfying!

Anyhoo, I love Poirot, always have, but it never seemed to drop in price so I had begun to think it would never be part of my collection. Then, when Good Friday rolled around and the Pandah Palace Easter celebrations began, there amongst my other giftages was 'Poirot: The Complete Collection'. Good old Hefty! And what a boxed set it is! It's glossy and shiny, fabulously packaged, and even has the most recently televised episodes in! I have pretty much made my way through it all, but I've also watched a fair few episodes again, I really do love it that much!

Now, I don't mind Columbo, I used to hate it but have grown to appreciate it over recent years, but Hefty loves it. So, when it appeared on Amazon for £35.00 (the full set again) he felt it was too bargainous to miss! So, we have also been watching that and I have to say, I have rather enjoyed it! I still find Peter Falk kinda creepy, he looks like he needs a ruddy good wash, but there's no denying it, Columbo is a genius, and I have taken great pleasure in seeing the smug looks wiped off more than a few famous faces (including Shatner Tim!).

So there you have it, a lengthy discussion about DVD boxed sets. Citin ey?!!

I'm going to watch some more Tudors soon, Hefty is working from home today which is always nice. I'm not very well at the moment so spending a lot of time in bed sleeping and just chilling really. I'd like to get back in to reading, I have a couple of books on the go, 'Sovereign' by C.J Sansom, I loved the first two books he wrote, all part of the same series, and 'Dexter in the Dark' by Jeff Lindsay, again, I've read the others, this is the latest one. Got a headache at the moment though, so I need to get off here and be text free for a wee while!

Ciao for now people, nice seeing you again.

iP

Dolly Pandah

2009-01-13T03:33:00.004Z

The sleeping tablets worked a treat the other night! However, I felt helluvva groggy the next day, and as my supply was limited, I haven't bothered since. Thus, I am still Tyler Durden for the time being.

So, tonight (this morning) I found a doll that looks like me on t'interweb. I am very pleased AND excited about this, because for once, she's not a sex doll, she's a classy lady :0) Check out my cute headscarf, I am a woman who picnics and has one of those new-fangled refrigerator thingys. Bitchin!

I would like a proper doll of me to have and hold. I guess I do look sorta dolly, so it'd be nice to see a lickle me in the flesh (plastic) so to speak. The Supergirl doll also looks like me, so I guess I could order one of those. Hmmm. See now I'm wondering if that makes me weird?

Well I'll have a good think about it and see!

I need to set up a businessy blog for my burgeoning career, and am going with Wordpress, but can't think of a name. I feel it should be Pandah related like erm, PandahMonium? But not sure. Hmm.

Looks like hmm is my new word for this evening (morning).

Hmmmmm - iP

Stats and weird things women do

2009-01-08T21:15:00.004Z

Today, I noticed my blog productivity over the years, and spotted the rather obvious decline:

116 in 2006
98 in 2007
43 in 2008
2 in 2009 (including this)

Okay, not sure 2009 counts, we are only 8 days in, but I decided to keep my stats up to date nonetheless! Anyhoo, this is something I feel I should remedy, though I'm concerned that my life isn't interesting enough to do this. Solution? I need to make my life more interesting. Still not sure how to do this, but am thinking that my newish job might help. Have been dabbling in some marketing, copywriting, online stuff etc. and have amassed an array of invitations to random events. Next week, I'm off to a bar launch, so that might be worth writing about. Hmm, but that could be it. I need to think up some more stuff to do. This is harder than I thought. Hmm....

In other news, it came to my attention today that some girls wax their arms, something I find most odd. I have had it explained to me, and I am unlikely to get it because I myself am blonde, so I don't notice how hairy my arms are, but I can't help thinking how painful it must be. Not very interesting but there you go.

Good lord, it's probably better when I don't blog at all, what on earth am I on about? I clearly need to get back into the swing of things sooner rather than later so I develop some kind of flow. *shudders at ridiculousness of self

I have some sleeping tablets to take now which apparently work, so I'll report back tomorrow if they did or not. Fingers crossed.

Over and out.

P.S. Couldn't find a picture of an arm being waxed so er, well, I just went with the wax!

Hmmmm-ness

2009-01-08T04:45:00.004Z

My god, I totally lost my blogging mojo. I didn't realise how long it was since I last wrote anything, and now I know, I wish I'd never looked!

The dregs of 2008 were pretty shitty to be honest, and I didn't feel like doing an awful lot in general, let alone getting on here to scribble it all down. I had a horrendous hospital experience where I thought I was going to die, and actually saw someone else pop their clogs instead, and then took aaaaaages to recover, mentally and physically.

I can honestly say, I could have happily skipped Christmas, as I didn't feel in the least bit festive (not like me), so much so, the decorations (which normally go up from 1st Dec and come down midnight on 6th Jan) didn't even get up til the 10th or something ridiculous. Despite the fact Waitrose started selling the good Egg Nog that I usually have to import from the US, thus meaning I could get as much as I wanted, when I wanted, instead of having to be organised and order enough for the whole month, it was all I could do to crack it open. In fact, there's still a tin of it left in the cupboard, and half a jugful that was decanted about a week ago (really should pour that away). The funeral I went to on Christmas Eve didn't do much to lift my spirits, and I'm ashamed to say, that despite my attempts, I was a total Scrooge this Christmas (though in a slightly less tight way).

I am unmotivated people, UTTERLY. I am currently going through one of my insomnia phases, something I also did a lot of last October and November. If I could use the time productively and be all creative and stuff, I'm sure it'd be pretty radical, but I just feel uninspired and unmotivated. I have now been up since 3am (my body's current favourite time to wake up), but only went to bed at 1am, so I anticipate another day of feeling and looking both rough and sick! Last night, I tried sleeping tablets, which, unbelievably, kept me WIDE AWAKE til 5am! Which is worse than usual! I at least get a couple of hours in before my brain wakes up, so this was ridiculous! Thought because of this, I'd sleep better tonight, but it clearly wasn't to be.

Meh.

God this sounds like such a moany depressing rant. Apologies. Still, if you can't write what you feel on your own blog then where can you do it. I'll try and be more positive, witty and generally amusing (I'm sure I used to be) from now on, though I guess the total lack of sleepage isn't helping any.

I can't even think of a picture to put up, which is most uncharacteristic. Hmmm, well, I'm currently reading Watchmen, so I may as well stick that up, as I think it's a pretty good cover.

Right.

*slaps self round face with slippers in an attempt to extract some positivity and optimism!

I'm going to see if I can find a DVD to put on that might make me sleeeeeeepy. All attempts have failed so far this week, but I keep searching for the one that can send me off into the Dreamzone. It could happen.

iP

Spooky....

2008-09-28T22:55:00.004+01:00

Does anyone remember the Moog from Will o' the Wisp?

Well tonight, he made a reappearance in my courgette...............

....................................................................................................................................................

Cool ey? Much better than finding Jesus in there!

iP and Moog the Courgette

No, you can't die of insomnia

2008-09-26T19:55:00.008+01:00

Lately, my insomnia has reached new heights and I don't even bother going to bed now, until ridiculous am. I figured it would be more productive to just get on t'interweb for a few hours, rather than spending two hours in bed, tossing, turning, deciding what's left on my iPod to listen to etc. I'm worried about getting into a bad pattern, which will ultimately worsen the whole thing. But I'm not doing much about it. I found some Nytol the other day and took that, but it just made me feel kind of drunk, but not sleepy drunk. I need to sort it out really, and plan to use this time to effectively research sleeping aids. You'd think I'd have thought of that before now, but I haven't. I tell you what though, I've found out some random stuff on my nightly internet trawls:

- The first ever film clip filmed, was made by some French dude who lived in Leeds near Roundhay Park (Michael Jackson performed at Roundhay park to give you an idea of scale and venue type, though it is an actual park, all very bizarre). Anyway, this French dude, and all the people in the film, ALL died in mysterious circumstances. Weird ey? I actually spent a long time reading about this but am trying to provide edited highlights so as not to bore those of you who CAN sleep.

- Abraham Lincoln was well interesting! He was 6'4" which was gigantic in those days, and was born in a one-room log cabin to two farmers (male and female obviously, nothing Brokebackish going on there). They were totally uneducated but moved around a fair bit to escape harsh conditions. Then, Abe's mum died of Milk Sickness (see below). Some other stuff happened, and then he was shot. Again, I'm skimming here.

- Milk Sickness, ever heard of it? Well, it's also known as 'tremetol poisoning or in animals as trembles, and is characterized by trembling, vomiting, and severe intestinal pain that affects individuals who eat dairy products or meat from a cow that has fed on white snakeroot. Although highly rare today, milk sickness claimed thousands of lives in the early 19th century.' I copied the info off Wikipedia, as my re-writing it would have just been confusing!

- Bruce Campbell (who is my god), starred in a Starbucks campaign called 'The Way I See It', which involved famous people spouting ideas about stuff on the sides of the cups. Bruce's contribution was:

The Way I See It #65: If you're worried about getting a job--or keeping one--start a company of your own. By doing so, you'll reap the rewards of your hard work and you'll only get fired if you fail. This is the land of opportunity. Live in it.

I like the simplicity of his view, but am not sure it's always that easy!!

I found a shed load of other crap too, but I can't put it all on here. I have also watched a couple of DVDs, listened to music, and joined lots of random groups on Facebook. Ooh, and I've read Tim's Blog lots too, which entertained me more than any of this other gubbins. Laughing hysterically in the middle of the night seems so much more enjoyable than it does in the middle of the day for some reason. Maybe it's just sleep deprivation that makes you feel funny, who knows?!!

Hefty drew my attention to this today, a story on BBC News about two sisters from Sweden who, upon being caught on camera walking down the central reservation of the M6, decided to make a run for it! I can only recommend that you watch the video! There's nothing gory on it, it's just maniacal!!!

A couple of Swedish meatballs

I don't think I've ever posted so many photos and links before, I'm not sure what's come over me. Maybe the insomnia has unleashed some kind of creative genius in me! Then again, it really is only a few pictures and a couple of links.

Last week, I did something slightly bonkers, I signed up for World of Warcraft. No really. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and because Padical is a Level 70 Dwarf Priest (that's effing amazing apparently), I thought I'd be in good hands. He sent me a link and off I went. God I was bad, I mean, REALLY bad. People immediately tried to fight with me because I was an easy kill. Kind of unfair I thought, but it's common in WoW. I spent a few hours trying to kill stuff, then left because I felt overwhelmed, confused, and a failure! I have yet to go back, I am too scared! Isn't that rubbish? At least it was a free trial, I haven't paid for it or anything. I've never been very into computer games, I got to about Level 4 on Mario! Ha! How bad is that! I lose interest if I can't do something. I feel I should venture back in to the World, but whether I will, I do not know.....

Right, I'm offski!

Ciao for now!

iP

The Travelling Blogger*

2008-09-17T13:00:00.005+01:00

Well my GB book has arrived! I have yet to open it, but I know I haven't ordered anything else from Amazon! I actually need to get on with some guitar playing, because there is now a need for me to do some crunching......

On Sunday, our rehearsal was most triumphant! Down with the Sickness was storming, much to the surprise of us all! But it was also semi-decided that perhaps we didn't need another band member after all. I can't remember what I have written about the band on here, but when we first formed, the original plan was to have a 50/50 split vocally between me and and a guy called Mike, but Mike left after the first rehearsal cos he got a job in London. So then I did all the singing, but Padical (the guitarist and founder) was still on the look out for someone else. He then decided an extra guitarist would be good too so he looked for someone who could do both. He found someone who we all met a couple of times, but then Padical decided that he wanted me to do most of the vocals, then on Sunday, after the guy left (we've only met him, he's not played with us yet) everyone decided that it might be best if we just stayed as we were, because we work really well together, and bringing someone in at this stage might mess up the dynamic. Also, because I pulled off Sickness and Beautiful People, it is the general consensus that I can pretty much sing anything! Yay! I think that means I am loved.........!! :0) Also though, if the new guy only had a bit of singing to do, and not that much guitar stuff, it would be kind of shitty on him. It's not really fair to expect someone to only join in for a few songs out of 40!! So, Padical said that perhaps I could do the filler bits, which I'm going to have a bloody good go at!!! Slightly scared, but up for the challenge! Also, it makes me look cool! Check me out, I've turned into an egomaniac, clearly I was born to be a rock star!!!! :0)

Going to see Scars on Broadway with Ming on Sunday. I'm not a System of a Down fan really, I like the odd song but I can take them or leave them, but SOB is a band with SOAD members Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan in it. He lent me the album and I listened to half of the first song and thought, 'Ooh no.' Since then however, I have listened to the whole album about 4 times, and I actually do like them after all! So we're off to see them, which I'm excited about cos I've not been to a gig for ages.

Recently I have been listening to Curve, and I really like them. I got the Greatest Hits album off Padical, but I'm eager to borrow the rest of the albums because they were one of those bands I always thought I should listen to, but never did. I do remember going into HMV about ten years ago and picking up Come Clean. But it was £18.99 (remember when CDs cos that much?!!) and at the time, I only had a Saturday job, which paid £20.00 per week, and I wasn't willing to give up that much poundage to take a risk on a band I'd never heard. Instead I saved up my money and bought Death to the Pixies on Limited Edition 10 inch Vinyl, which I have NEVER played! Ha! How ridiculous of me, I am guilty of so many random acts that I always look back and think, what did I do that for?!!

I am writing this from the living room of my next-door neighbour's house. She, well, they, there are two of them! THEY are having some fitted wardrobes put it, but are both doctors and have difficulty getting time off. I sometimes sit here and house-sit whilst they have people in, which suits me fine, nice to get out! Anyway, as we live in a mews townhouse thingy, and their lounge is directly adjacent to ours, I figured that my MacBook would probably work here, and I'm delighted to say that it does!!! Alas, I can also hear Ozzy barking, which is terrible! I never knew the little punk was so noisy when I went out!! Actually, it's not that bad, he only does it when people walk through the field behind our house, and he does that when I'm in anyway so it's probably not as bad as I thought. It's not even that loud either, I'm just being paranoid!

Right, speaking of young Oswald, it's time I nipped back to check on him. And shut him up!

:0) iP

* Clearly I haven't travelled very far, but I have travelled none the less!

Inspire me

2008-09-13T12:26:00.005+01:00

I am about to order Garageband for Dummies, which I hope will help my understanding of it dramatically. I've also worked out what accessories I need (I think), but I'm going to wait til the book arrives just to make sure.

I've spent the morning listening to Mer de Noms, which is my favourite A Perfect Circle album, trying to feel inspired....and I do feel that way to a certain extent, but I'd like to know what I'm doing technically before I start faffing about with stuff. On top of this, I have a rehearsal with the other band tomorrow, and I really need to learn some songs I'm not familiar with. A couple of the new ones aren't songs I particularly like, so it's hard work. Having to listen to something that grates on you over and over is painful, and feels like some kind of torture!!! I'm sure that sounds ridiculous, but I'm not one of these people who can just listen to anything and not be bothered by it. Still, managing to sneak in some Disturbed and Korn might balance out my mind a bit (I hope!).

Paying a visit to the hairdressers today, my hair desperately needs dying. Blonde roots with dark brown hair look truly hideous!! I was going to put a picture up, but I just opened Photo Booth and they looked even worse than I realised, so I decided not to bother!

Haven't posted any football news for a while (probably because nobody cares!) but I'm quite impresses that the Hammers have managed to lose a manager and shirt sponsor all in the space of two weeks. To be honest, I never liked Curbishley anyway, I didn't want him so good riddance! I would have preferred Paolo di Canio to Zola (an ex-Chelsea player FFS?!) but as Chelsea players go, I don't mind him. Not sure what sort of a manager he'll be, but I guess we'll find out! Never liked XL as a sponsor, think it looks stupid and I haven't bought a shirt for ages because of that. I think my fave sponsors were Dr Martens, it looked cool and I like Doc Martens! Not sure who we'll get next, I just hope it's not crap! Apple would be my dream! But unlikely I know. The website reckons we'll find out next week, fingers crossed!!!!

Right, must go, Ozzy is outside barking his head off at nothing (business as usual) and I don't want to get arrested for noise pollution.

Toodle the Oo!

iP

Nothing interesting

2008-09-12T15:39:00.007+01:00

Well now, I have a fair few new songs to learn for the band, and some of them have been rather surprising. For a start, Down with the Sickness was thrown into the mix, which made me attempt to sneak a cheeky Korn song in there (well they are my favourites). I managed to score a hit with Here to Stay, and then Land of Confusion (the Disturbed version) and Beautiful People came into it, which led us all down a very sordid path of death and destruction....so, I am UBER excited!!! It has been suggested that the freaky shouting bit in the middle of Sickness is left out, which I don't suppose is the end of the world, but other than that I am delighted to be singing my favourite songs! The other set list we had was substantial but inoffensive, so it's nice to have some edgy alternatives to throw in there. Yay!!!

Recently, I have been doing NOTHING of interest, which won't surprise anyone. I've mainly been trying to learn new songs, and sort out some of my own because I desperately want to make some original music. Ideally, I'd like an originals band, but I'm not sure how to go about it, so my initial plan was to just plough some stuff into Garageband and see what happened. I bought a new guitar (pictured at top) but I have never used Garageband so I don't know what to do with it, and I haven't actually put it on my Mac yet either, it's still in the study somewhere with the rest of the iLife Appley goodness. Progress = SLOW.

Yesterday, I went to see my friend as she had a baby at the end of July, and I needed to have a nosy at the little fella. He was very cute, and we decided to go out for lunch to the nearby village. It was all good, until we tried to leave. EPIC FAIL! Her power-steering broke, we couldn't move the car, and this warning alarm kept coming on. We had to phone the breakdown people, and explain that we had a 6 week old baby in the car, hoping they'd rush. No such luck, 2 hours later they rolled up and reset it all by unplugging the battery! FFS!! We managed to keep baby happy and reasonably quiet, but I have to say, as someone who doesn't sit in pubs very often, it felt like a lifetime spending three hours in there. The staff were very nice, and kept the juice and coffee flowing, but I started to flag after a while, and my eyes were hurting. The RAC dude drove us back to her house, in the car so he could see what happened. Nothing happened. Typical. Then the RAC dude said he was going to walk back to the pub car-park cos he didn't think it was that far. We did, but I didn't want to give him a lift back cos he was a bit strange, and there was no point my friend doing it. Her husband was happy to drop him off when he got home, but he wasn't back at that point so off the guy went. Random! When I was finally on the drive home, I saw the coppers pull over a car with this little old couple in it. I can't imagine what they did, but I imagined them to be foul-mouthed heathens, like Betty White in Lake Placid (thanks for reminding me of her recently Timbo!).

What else have I done/seen? Hmm. Not a lot.

I'm going to go and have some Rice Krispies.

Does anyone else think this is wrong?

2008-09-06T21:00:00.001+01:00

This is really very strange....

SPUK

I'm not sure if it's the concept or choice of colours that disturbs me most...

For the benefit of Tim Part 2

2008-09-06T10:45:00.001+01:00

I'm seeing it now. Though obviously you're not scary looking like this dude!

For the benefit of Tim

2008-09-06T10:39:00.002+01:00

See, it looks like hair, and even though I dye my blonde hair brown, if I were to dye it back, this is a rather fetching shade to aim for!

Sigh

2008-08-03T14:45:00.003+01:00

Okay, so I've been away again, and this is why:

- I now look after my niece every Tuesday, from 8am til 5.30pm - it's a LOOOOONG day!!

- I've had a couple of band rehearsals and really needed to learn some songs - this takes hours!

- I've been ill again, it sucks, but it happens.

- I randomly got asked by my friend to be a food critic for Food & Drink magazine, so I spent lots of time panicking, and then researching restaurants, before doing my first one, and then fretting in case what I'd written was rubbish. I'm doing restaurant number two on Thursday!

- I've been reading the Dexter books, AND watching series one of the programme.

- I've been trying to cook stuff, which, though it has worked out well so far, has proved time consuming, chopping is a laborious but necessary task.

And that's pretty much it, aside from the usual daily duties I perform, of cleaning, washing, looking after Ozzy etc. Ooh, I also went to the dentist, and am delighted to report that I'm still able to perform the old 'zero fillings' hand sign from the old Colgate adverts (circa 1980s).

So there you go.

And today, I went to see The Dark Knight. It was an utter farce to begin with. They dropped the film or something, so we had to wait an extra fifteen minutes for them to put it on, and then when they did, the first three minutes were without sound. Let me tell you, I have always been obsessed with Batman films/programmes (and Batman), I have loved them all (except Batman and Robin, I have standards), and certainly in the instance of Batman films, the beginning is VERY important to me. I NEED that build up, so to watch the bit where Batman is propelled through dark flames (it's at the very beginning, I'm not spoiling anything here) with no sound, meant I didn't get off to a good start, and I felt slightly cheated. I now have to see it again JUST for that bit, which probably makes me seem ridiculous. Anyway, I have been very excited about this film for a long time, because I loved Batman Begins.

You know what? I rather liked it, it was pretty good, there's no doubt that Heath Ledger was frikkin awesome, but I think I need to see it again, because I came away, still feeling slightly cheated. I'm not sure if it's the psychology behind missing the beginning that has done this to me, but I just don't feel right. I expected to come away with a feeling of 'Oh my god! That was wickedace, I must see it at least three more times!' And I can't stress enough, that I really DID like it, but I must have missed something because as I say, I just feel like it was lacking. My initial problems seem to be:

- I found the plot to be a bit predictable. I'm not going to give anything away, but the twists weren't twisty to me, and I had several eye rolling moments where I knew what was going to happen and wasn't surprised when it did.

- I feel like there wasn't enough fighting, I can only remember a couple of fight scenes, which to me, is not enough, but if there were more than that then I should spot them second time round.

- Harvey Dent annoyed me all the way through it.

- I'm not sure Batman was actually in it that much? Again, when I watch it second time round I shall pay attention to this, but I can't recall him putting in a lot of appearances.

- I'm looking forward to Bruce Wayne's mansion being rebuilt, because a Batman film without a Batcave, just isn't cricket for me. I've spent years trying to convince Hefty that we should build our own Batcave, and I don't want to see all my hard work undone just because some dude thinks the floor of an office building will suffice. Similarly, however corny, I expect to see bats at some point. Real flying bats. I don't know, it's a symbolic thing.

- The overall flow just didn't flow to me. I felt there were many unresolved things that just made it all a bit messy, and they weren't important enough to ever come up in any future films.

So again, I MUST STRESS!! I really did LIKE it, I did! I just need to see it again because I didn't love it, and I feel like I've missed something. Incidentally, I didn't think it was too long, I didn't even notice, so I'm not completely evil.

There you have it then. I have probably just opened myself up for being the most hated person in the world, but I needed to get this off my chest because it's really bothering me. I'm not going to apologise, it's not my fault! Maybe when I see it again I shall return and write a whole different post, but for now, it is what it is folks.

I'm off to watch Batman and Batman Begins now, I need to restore my faith in my favourite hero (after Hefty of course).

I can be found hiding in the co-ordinates of D2 on page 33 of the AA Road Atlas. Send your firing squads there, and I'll try to make it easy for them.

iP :0(

Ozfest

2008-07-22T19:37:00.002+01:00

Okay, I know I posted ten photos and a video of Ozzy, just four posts ago, but I have this new one, and I just love it so much that I simply had to thrust it into the ether.

Gotta love the fluffy little fella!

:0)

In the night garden....(well, in the garden, at night)

2008-07-22T14:34:00.003+01:00

Last night, we had a visitor in the garden of Pandah Palace. Young Ozzy discovered our new guest, and they were obviously having a good old chinwag cos we couldn't get him back inside! He then helped himself to what was left of Ozzy's dinner, before bidding us farewell and shuffling off to sit behind the hose reel.

I'd love to say we got a picture, but alas, we didn't, so this is the best I could do!

That's about as much news as I have I think? Ooh, though I do have another band rehearsal on Sunday, yay!

Which reminds me, I need to practice!!!

iP

A ha!

2008-07-20T22:55:00.000+01:00

Hefty solved it, it's to do with tags. We downloaded Acorn - yay!

WALKTALK

2008-07-19T19:48:00.003+01:00

Okay, so today I participated in something called WALKTALK.

When the London bombings happened, the last person to be pulled out was a lady called Gill Hicks, who lost both her legs in the attack, but still managed to walk down the aisle 6 months later. She really is an amazing woman, unbelievable, and I got involved because my friend Kimberley helped organise the event. The idea behind it is that Gill and her husband are going to walk from Leeds to London in a month, and people can join in along the way, but they must talk as well as walk. It's about people who would never normally meet or mix, just talking to each other as equals. Gill's philosophy is that there's too much of a 'Them' and 'Us' society these days, and perhaps if people communicated a bit better, there wouldn't be so much hatred and misunderstanding. The first part of the walk, which was launched today, ended up in a place called Beeston, and it's actually the place where the bomber came from. I'm not normally sentimental or anything like that, but I thought that was quite profound. I can't imagine being in a terrorist attack (and I hope I never am) or losing my legs, but then reaching out to the community that raised the guy, well I just couldn't do it. It was very poignant, and as I don't normally do anything like this, I actually felt quite proud to be involved. I know it's corny, but I did, so there. It's going on for the next month anyway, they'll be working their way down the country, which again, I mean, she's got prosthetic legs, I only walked 5 miles and I'm knackered!!! Here's the link to the website anyway if anyone's interested:

WALKTALK

When we reached Beeston, we had lunch, and then Colin Jackson appeared out of nowhere (just like the shopkeeper in Mr Benn), because he's been following the initiative on Sunday LIVE, a programme on BBC1 (think it's on at 10am tomorrow). I didn't speak to him, but I noticed he had some nasty tracksuit bottoms on. Still, that's not really important! See, I had a moment of compassion and now I've slipped back into my evil ways....
Anyway, we then let a load of balloons into the sky, which looked really cool! And then everyone went on to the next bit of the walk, where there was a picnic going on, but me and Kimbers headed off. It was really interesting though, and I did talk to loads of people who I would never talk to normally. I discovered how dull I was, as I didn't think that saying I was a Lady of Leisure would be a particularly good barrier-breaking conversation topic, so I just told people what I used to do, and let's face it, accounts isn't a talking point in any social situation! But it was still pretty cool, even if I am not!

Right, have to go, dinner has arrived!

Ciao for now peeps!

iP

I'm now recovering from doing the most exercise I've done all year, by having Chinese food and watching Dexter.

Photomographs

2008-07-19T18:57:00.010+01:00

So, I thought it was about time I posted some more photos before I move onto the serious business of writing about what I've been up to.

Firstly, for the benefit of Tim, these are the best shots I could manage of Ozzy in his cat tent. They're naff quality (camera phones, tsk) but will have to do:

And here are some more gratuitous Ozzy shots.

These are a couple of shots of Ozzy assuming his favourite lying down position. I'd have to dislocate both my hips to achieve anything like this:

These are random pictures of cuteness, the pink bandage he got from the vets, and an arty shot involving a Habitat garden chair!

This is me having a bath, or rather, taking a photo of Ozzy whilst in the bath! He comes to have a nosey at what I'm up to, and then spends ten minutes just walking sideways along the bath (in this position), and squeaking because he can't get in!

And this is a video clip of him being clipped by the groomer. He waves at people as they go past, as if to say, "Help me, I don't like being clean!"

And this is something I saw today in Leeds City Centre - a place I don't frequent - a real-life proper Mini, glued (or possibly something stronger) to a billboard. Crazy!

I did have a rotated picture of it, but Blogger NEVER uses these versions, so my pictures always come out squiffy! Any ideas Tim? Surely you have to rotate pictures sometimes, it can't just be me?!!

Here's another one. I pulled into the Junction 27 retail park (a distinguished place) to go to Boots and Costa Coffee (the Starbucks is in Borders and has a separate and ridiculously small car park), and spotted this ostentatiously decorated Fiat Punto:

God how annoying!! ROTATE, ROTATE!!! Anyway, in case you can't see, it's a delightful bottle green shade, with neon pink stars all over it. My immediate thought was, 'This is the kind of random shit Tim would take a photo of, so I must do the same.' And as if by magic, a red Mini pulled up in the spot next to mine. A sign! He wasn't in it, but that's not the point!!!

So there you go. Random photos and ramblings. And as this is all very random, I feel now is as good a time as any to say that I'm watching Cadfael on ITV3 and Johnny Lee Miller's in it. Whatever happened to him?

Right. Now I shall move on to the blogging...

Nightmare

2008-07-18T12:12:00.001+01:00

We had no Internet yesterday, ALL day, can you imagine?!!

Oh hell. BRB.

News and Reviews

2008-07-15T16:20:00.004+01:00

Well it looks like my new blogging average is about once a month, impressive....not. Best make the best of it then!

I have now decided to split my posts up into sections under little headlines, so they're more flowing and readable, as opposed to the usual amount of incoherent nonsense. It'll still be slightly chaotic, I've decided to dispense with any kind of time-line of events, and just spout off what's gone on, in no particular order. So, it's probably going to end up like a text version of the camera work in Cloverfield, but with less nausea (maybe).

Dexter
Dexter has become my new obsession. It started off because I saw an advert for the TV show and liked the music. I didn't really pay any attention to what the programme was about, until one day, it was on, and Hefty said "It's supposed to be really good that series." Well, I immediately Googled and Wikipediaed it and decided that it was right up my street, having, as I do, an obsession with murder/crime/stuff like that, though not in an 'inspired to kill' kind of way. So, first port of call was to read the books, as I like to be a purist about these things. I ordered 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter' and, because we now have the totally awesome Amazon Prime thing going on, it arrived the next day. And I pretty much read it in a day. SOLD. I passed it on to Hefty who prefers reading O'Reilly books normally, or so it seems, and he also read it in a day. So, straight onto the DVD rental site went I, and managed to procure Disc 1 within about 3 days. When it arrived, although I should have waited for Heft, I sat and watched it all, and LOVED it. So, I went back on to Amazon Prime, ordered 'Dearly Devoted Dexter', and then went to Play USA to buy the complete series (cos it was £17.99 on there and 30 squids everywhere else). Brilliant! I've watched half of the series so far, twice, I sat through it again with Hefty, and I really do love it. Am halfway through the second book too and I also really like that. So I'm entertained out at the moment, which is nice, because as I'm waiting for new BSG to come on (even though I have a feeling I'll be sorely disappointed, maybe even horrified like I was with the ending of series 3) I currently don't have anything to watch. Hurrah.

Ozzy
On Sunday, Ozzy found and ate half a bunch of grapes, the little swine! Luckily, Hefty caught him in the act and we managed to get him in at the emergency vets. He was in overnight where they made him sick (didn't have to pump his stomach thankfully) and had him on a drip. Phew! In case you didn't know, grapes and raisins are extremely poisonous to dogs and cats, worse than chocolate, and they can die within a couple of days from renal failure if you don't act quickly. Scary! Apparently, not a lot of people know that (why am I suddenly thinking about Michael Caine?) so the vet was very pleased. I went to pick him up yesterday and he was sporting a neon pink bandage on his front leg, cos they'd run out of blue! He looked like an 80s dog, it was very cool. Anyway, he seemed okay when he got home, but today he's been very jumpy and squeaky, so I took him back to the vets (thank god for pet insurance). It would seem he's got a rash on the spot where they took blood samples from him, so we've got some cream! She reckoned he was also feeling sorry for himself because he's a moody dog, so I've left him to it. He's been in his little cat tent for most of the day, sleeping (or maybe plotting to take over the world Tim), and generally looking miserable. I feel bad, but he won't come out so there's not much I can do. Sigh.

Band
Had another band rehearsal last week, and I was initially a bit worried, because the male vocalist left cos he got a job in London, so that meant I suddenly became the lead singer! I wasn't nervous, it's really weird, and slightly corny, but it's just the best feeling in the world doing this, so I don't feel nervous, just excited. However, I was worried in case the rest of the band thought I was crap, cos I'd only done backing vocals so far. Luckily, it was a HUGE success!! I had learned all the songs, as you might expect, or so I thought. Apparently, none of the other singers in other bands they'd been in ever learned songs properly, they just half-heartedly attempted stuff. 1-0 to Pop Star Pandah. Also, I just sang really well, and everyone seemed really impressed, and told me I was awesome, which was even better! 2-0 to Pop Star Pandah. They could have been lying, but I really blasted out You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette (love it or hate it, it's a good song to sing if you're in a covers band), and when it finished, the lead guitarist and founder just laughed (in amazement, he explained), and said 'F*cking hell we need to do more songs like that." 3-0, game over. Yay!
They wanted to rehearse again on Friday, which I was well up for, but Hefty says Fridays are 'our night', and he doesn't want to sit in on his own. I was really disappointed, and am still a bit gutted, but I know what he means. However, I'm hoping that maybe the odd Friday, he won't mind, if I ask very nicely. It's the best night for everyone else which is just typical. Oh well. Sigh :0(

Film and TV
Today on iPlayer, I watched a programme that was on on BBC3 last night (I missed it obviously) called 'Sasha: Beauty Queen at 11'. It was very car crash, but one of the most entertaining things I've seen for ages. I'm sure it was callously edited, but that's not my fault, I can only judge what I saw. Basically, it was about this self-obsessed mother who'd wanted to be a model and failed, so decided to make her kids do it instead. Her main focus was her daughter Sasha, and it was actually really sad. This girl was talking about stuff, but she had no enthusiasm, there was no sparkle in her eyes, she was just empty, dead, talking about how she'd describe herself as 'Pretty, blonde, and dumb - I don't need brains.' She seemed to like some aspects of the stuff, but I think it was more to do with the attention she was getting from people, and not her Mum. Her Mum just pushed and pushed, threatened, belittled, god it was awful. I can only recommend that you get on iPlayer and watch it, because it's just unbelievable. Really sad, but thoroughly watchable, which probably means I'm sick in the head or something.
Have watched a few films recently too, and these are my thoughts:

No Country for Old Men - Cracking film, Spanish guy - well scary! WATCH!!!
Knocked Up - Would be better if the annoying, horrible, vapid, whiny women weren't in it, but as it's about a pregnancy, they have to be (well, one of them does).
Hallam Foe - Really interesting idea, likeable characters, bit sad, but I thought it was good, on a par with The Chumscrubber.
Superbad - Hilarious, I'm actually going to buy this, the 2 main characters were just brilliant. George Michael from Arrested Development is in it. Wickedgood!

Floors
We're currently having the floors I blogged about put down. Hooray! But that means I have to go, as Hefty's just got home.

Ciao for now.

Life etc.

2008-07-02T08:51:00.006+01:00

I'm going to dispense with the usual apologies and reasons why I haven't written anything for ages. I'm ill and busy, that's as much as I can be bothered to say!

Kitchen is all done, just needs a lick of paint and some shelves, pictures etc. Shower taps are a revelation, I wish I'd had one five years ago when I first started washing up. Garden is also pretty much done, we just need some plants. I tried to take pictures, well, I DID take pictures, but Hefty must have turned my MacBook Bluetooth off so I can't connect with my phone. I don't know the admin password or any of that malarkey he set up when we got it, so I'll have to wait til he gets up to ask him. Bah!

We've ordered flooring now which is jolly exciting. We went for this product called Karndean, which is essentially vinyl tiling, but it comes in many different effects and thicknesses. For the kitchen we're going for a Limestone Tile in 'Jersey' from the Art Select range (I don't know what any of that means but it sounds impressive):

And for the lounge and dining room, although Hefty wanted real wood, I managed to convince him of the practicalities of Karndean, and how new puppy + real wood might not be a winning combination, so we're having American Oak from the Da Vinci range:

To say it's not real wood, it's really amazing, because it looks very realistic and feels pretty woody too! Hefty was surprised by it, and I think the quality spoke for itself, so we should have it in the next couple of weeks! We ordered some sofa's too, and did rather well as Heal's were having a 50% off sale, so we essentially got two for the price of one!! Yay! They should arrive in six to eight weeks, which is the longest we've ever had to wait for a sofa (or anything actually) but it'll be worth it:

I was worried we'd have a generic looking lounge; wood floors, leather sofas, but once we get the gold curtains and Roman blind (currently being made, I hope!) it should actually look pretty wicked.

In other news, a fox got into my sister's garden and made a beeline for the rabbits!! They've managed to up the security and so far so good (!), but now, the Biz is obsessed with foxes. If she hears a noise in the house it's "Is that the fox?" But perhaps the most hilarious thing, is that because she's never actually seen the fox, she thinks it's the one my sister pointed out to her on TV as an example. The fox from the Foxy Bingo adverts!!! So Biz thinks a fox in a purple suit is getting in the garden! Oh how we laughed!! :0)

Going to have to get Barkbusters back, as young Oswald is being a royal pain in the ass! He's reverted back to being a little punk, so I'm relieved we paid for the lifetime policy!!! His fluffy little ass needs a good whooping! >:0(

Need to take him out actually, before the storms come (where oh where is Summer?!), so I'll have to scoot.

Let the hayfever commence, atchoooo!

Part 1 - Housey stuff

2008-06-14T18:06:00.005+01:00

Well, it's been quite a couple of weeks, I don't know where to start. Hmm....

I think I'll start with the house. We now have blinds up everywhere and curtains ordered for the lounge. We have bookcases in the study, and the kitchen units are in. You may recall the kitchen units being in quite a while ago, we were just waiting for the worktops to be made and delivered yesterday? Yesterday came and went, so Hefty called up Customer Services who said it would actually be NEXT Friday when they were coming. WTF??!! Needless to say, 'off' was kicked, big style. We WERE told 13th of June when the guys came to measure up, but the worktop company tried to say we made a mistake. Luckily, the kitchen fitter was there when they said it and also had the 13th down. He was due to come on Monday to finish everything off, and now has to come next week, which is a pain for him as he's got other stuff to do!! Those punks. Yet another complaint for the list of 'Things that have gone awry with our new kitchen.' It's the fact that they told us that date, and never contacted us to say otherwise, we're not effing psychic!! Hefty took the day off work too, because they said they'd need his help carrying the tops up the stairs. So he's going to bill them for a day's pay as that's what he's lost for no reason. I'm just really pissed off cos I'm SICK of having to use the utility room. Carrying stuff up and downstairs is a real pain in the ass, not to mention the fact we've not had any proper food for two weeks. Hefty made an executive decision; we can't live on microwave pasta and beans anymore. We're going to go out for dinner every night instead. Sounds good, but it'll probably result in horrendous weight gain, for me anyway. V annoying people!!!!!

The garden landscaping commences on Tuesday, so we ordered a BBQ and a table, chairs and parasol from Habitat. Ooh, and some groovy sun loungers. We got 20% off too, always a Brucie Bonus! The BBQ is awesome, we used it the other night even though it was freezing. It's a beast of a machine, but worth every penny!! Behold:

I now have brown hair agin which is good news! I feel much better, it always makes me feel more confident, and I don't get heckled in the street or patronised by people in shops. Yay for brown hair!!!

We're getting SKY soon, which we were originally getting because Hefty was going to get broadband from them, but he's not anymore so I'm not sure why we're still getting it. Anyway, B&O are coming to install it so that it's done properly, and not by SKY who are notoriously bad at that kind of thing. But, our local B&O shop have closed down, so they had a 25% off sale, and Hefty bought lots of things with silly names. I wish they'd just call stuff by its name, cos I don't have a clue what they're on about. For example, we have a new pilot (remote control, don't know why I call it a pilot but I do), and it's just called a Beo5. Why?!!! I can't work it anyway, it's touch screen or something, but it looks silly so I just use the other one.

Over-complicated if you ask me, but what do I know. We're getting some speakers and stuff too, but no doubt they won't be called that.

I have to go and pick Hefty up from work, I shall have to continue this later. Oh the anticipation....

Doh!

2008-06-03T22:52:00.002+01:00

I just watched The Chumscrubber again, and Hefty brought an error to my attention. In an earlier blog, I said it was like a cross between American Pie and Donnie Darko. I ACTUALLY meant American Beauty!! Good god! Bit of a difference. Clearly I am a tard. A hot table-wiping tard (for the benefit of Tim)!!!

:0)

Separated at birth?

2008-06-02T23:52:00.000+01:00

The Tunnel

2008-06-02T21:53:00.004+01:00

I've realised why Ozzy gets so dirty when he goes outside, today I found....the tunnel! Yes, that's right, young Ozmond has been digging himself a tunnel into next door's garden. Now, here are some things you should know about Ozzy:

- He can open bolts, he got into my sister's rabbit's hutch twice, and she definitely locked the door.
- We have used his old pen to fence off the dining room as all the kitchen stuff is in there, but no matter how we arrange it, he always manages to find a way through.
- He can jump over baby gates.
- He's exceptionally good at digging, on any surface.
- He loves cats.

Bearing these things in mind, it should come as no surprise that not only does he dig his tunnel, when he's finished, he moves a spare plant pot over it. Genius! He does love the cats next door, but they taunt him through the fence, so he obviously felt the need to take action. But I had no idea he was so close to achieving his goal. I almost feel bad for blocking it off, part of me wants him to succeed, but I really can't let him get next door, because:

a) They don't have a gate so he might get onto the street, and then work his way towards the road.
b) The cats'll have 'im.

So I moved the hose pipe reel over it, as well as some other plant pots. We're having the garden landscaped in a couple of weeks and it'll be made dog-proof then. But, despite my raining on his parade somewhat, I feel the need to congratulate him on his achievement. Well done Ozzy!

I'm currently watching 'This is England,' but it's quite hard going. It was okay at first, but the racism is really hard to watch, so I've turned over a couple of times, unable to watch. There's a Goth in it though, and she's a pretty good Goth at that. Speaking of which, I'm getting my hair dyed back to brown on Saturday, and I can't wait! I know my parents will moan, and a couple of other people will express their disgust, but it's just hair for Pete's sake! And I'm much happier with dark hair, I hate being blonde, natural colour or not. So sod em all!

Ooh it's got horrible again. God really horrible.

:'(

Filth

2008-06-01T20:01:00.003+01:00

After feeding Ozzy, I let him stay outside for half an hour as usual, and look what happened!! Look at the state of him?!!!! What the hell was he doing?!! Mentalist.

Stuff and nonsense

2008-06-01T17:51:00.004+01:00

I feel really sick today. Before now, I was laid flat out on the floor doing that 'Oh my god I'm going to die' thing. Now I am upright again, but still nauseous. Course, it's all in my head, so I don't know what I'm worrying about >:0(
With regards to the old doctor situation, last night, because Hefty's working these shifts at the mo and my nights are lonely (sob), I wrote a very long, very detailed letter of complaint. Edited highlights include paragraphs such as these:

"To be told that very real symptoms are all in your head is quite distressing, and yet again, I went away from the ENT department feeling angry and upset. I accept that maybe on paper they can't find anything, but is tact completely beyond these peoples' capabilities? If she'd said, 'I'm sorry, we've done all we can but can't find anything' I would have still been disappointed, but at least I wouldn't have felt like a liar. After four years of a debilitating illness that no-one can diagnose, to be told it's all in your head is just unacceptable. I don't need to be patronised or fobbed off, and frankly I don't appreciate it. There are so many posters up around hospitals saying that verbal abuse or bullying toward staff will not be tolerated, but it seems that Doctors can talk to people however they wish! "

"Not everybody expects to find a solution to their problems, but they do expect, and have a right, to be treated with dignity and respect. And perhaps a little understanding and sensitivity. I hope never to see these unpleasant and unprofessional people again, frankly, I'd rather continue to live with my illness, as my experience was both stressful and upsetting."

I can't imagine anyone will give a shit, but it makes me feel better, and I'll send it to as many people as I have to!

Young Ozzy has been a bit of a punk today. I had to reprimand him for jumping on the sofa (he's not allowed on the sofas) and chewing my Megatron. So now he's in a mood, and decided to hide in his tunnel, before skulking into his cat tent. He may be a fiend, but he's uber cute!

I watched Barbarella last night, always amusing, then Blade 2 was on Channel 4 so I watched that too. I want to watch The Chumscrubber again, so Hefty can see it, but I have to wait til he's not working nights, and I've no idea when that will be! I don't know if I mentioned it, but Hefty bought me the 'Murder, She Wrote' boxed set for Easter, of the first 5 series? Well, I've been watching it for the last few weeks and I'm now halfway through series 5. Which means I've watched a hell of a lot of JB Fletcher, though when I've finished, I'm pretty sure I'll start all over again! I need to finish watching Babylon 5 too though, and we've got Death Proof on the pile as well. So little time, so many DVDs!

When we were in the US, we went to see the Blue Man Group, who were spanktastic! I sort of knew who they were, but didn't really know what they did, so I went in to the show with an open mind. I wasn't disappointed! It's like a cross between music, art, comedy, it's all just completely random, but brilliant! Very clever, and entertaining, I can't wait to see them again. We bought their CD and DVD out there too, though the DVD is different to the show we saw. Here's a taster:

Blue Man Group

I hope the link works, I tried to post the video but I can't figure out how to do it. The instructions aren't very clear!

Well, got to feed Ozzle before he completely falls out with me.

TTFN

A brief encounter

2008-05-30T19:13:00.004+01:00

The Chumscrubber is such a good film! It deals with communication issues between parents and teenagers, America's reliance on prescription drugs to solve problems, and a video game. This probably sounds rather bleak and harrowing, but it's not. I'd describe it as a cross between American Pie and Donnie Darko. Jamie Bell is a stonking good actor, I'm going to watch some of his other films, he really blew me away. And that's about as much as I can say without giving too much away. What I can say, is that the soundtrack is also pretty good. There's not a huge amount of music in there, but what is in there is nifty stuff. Except for Placebo. I really don't like Placebo.

I also watched A Very Long Engagement today, which I also enjoyed. Initially I thought it was some kind of romantic comedy, so I put it off, but it aint! It's about a girl who's convinced her fiance didn't die in WWI, and her quest to find him based on some information told to her by an ex-soldier in hospital. She spends the film trying to unravel the mystery of him and the four other soldiers he was with at the time (they were all sentenced to death for self-mutilation). I'm sorry I put off watching it for so long. That'll teach me.

The kitchen is all done! Well, the units are, the worktop is due on the 13th June, and I can't wait! We've been using the espresso machine today though, which was super! It makes wickedace coffee, it's bean to cup, less hassle and mess all round! The froth wand is good too, often a challenge on home models. Yay for Siemens!! :0)

I'm just on me tod, Hefty on night 2 of his funny shifts. Need to practice some songs for the next band rehearsal though really so I think I'll do that! Am dying my hair back dark again next week and I can't wait!

Have a good weekend folks!

Holy freakin' moly!

2008-05-29T22:12:00.003+01:00

So my kitchen is coming along brilliantly! I can't believe it! Check it out!

Hefty's doing shifts of 3pm til 1am for the next week, starting from today, so it's just me and Ozmond. I'm just watching 'The Chumscrubber', which is pretty good so far. I did a massive clean of the house earlier then watched Transformers. I must have seen that film 20 times, but I really love it. So there.

Watch this space for film review....

A substantial list

2008-05-29T09:17:00.007+01:00

One of my friends asked me what we'd bought in America. I had to think about it, and then decided to compile a list on here, so if I get asked again (there's a distinct possibility, I still haven't seen a couple of my friends), I can print out the list, or, cut and paste it into an email, which is obviously very lazy, but there are some people who I speak to more via email. Also, it might be interesting to someone, and it'll be a nice reminder so that when we go back next year, I'll remember to pack less initially, so that we don't have to buy two extra cases again (oh yes, we had to buy two, and bearing in mind we went with two, that's 92kgs of stuff!). So here we go, in no particular order:

CDs

Korn - Untitled ~ how I love this album! It's a lot better than I thought, and tres cheap!
Paramore - Riot ~ not as good as the first one, but for £3.00 it seemed a bargain.
Adema - Kill the Headlights ~ my current favourite album, always on in my car, it rules!
Flight of the Conchords ~ this was Hefty's purchase, he seems to like it.

DVDs

Bender's Big Score ~ it's common knowledge that I love Futurama more than a lot of things. Well, I STILL do! It's super!
Death Proof ~ brilliant!
Grindhouse ~ haven't watched it yet, but am confident it will be as good as Death Proof.
Flight of the Conchords ~ another of Hefty's purchases. He loves it, I'm not quite sure. Some bits are funny, but I find it kind of depressing. Hmm....

Games

Grand Theft Auto Special Edition Boxed Set ~ Hefty's, I don't know much about GTA, other than it has a rockin' soundtrack, but I was very impressed with this. It came in a safety deposit box! And had some other cool stuff in it, but the best thing was, it cost £40.00! It did cost £150.00 over here, but has dropped to £69.99 - either way, a saving!!

Clothes

Well, I bought the following t-shirt from Virgin (the best Virgin in the world!) in Downtown Disney:

And I also bought another one by the same people, but I can't find a picture. But, imagine a cartoony blue mobile phone saying 'I'll text u later" to a cartoony blue old bakelite style phone with little pointy teeth, who responds with '?'. Amusement all round!

Having discovered the company's website whilst searching for the above pics, I discovered this, which I must have!

Anyway, I digress. I also bought a vintage looking Iron Man t-shirt (Iron Man being my favourite film of the year so far, we saw it on the day it came out and it ruled! Though I haven't seen I-J yet) and a ton of Roxy ones, varying styles.

Hefty bought out an Abercrombie & Fitch store, he now has t-shirts, polo shirts, jeans, thundercrackers, flip flops, aftershave, all kinds of gubbins!

I bought a couple of bags too, a Harajuku Girls one and a Juicy Couture number.

I also got some awesome new Vans! They sort of look like this, but there's not any paisley stuff on 'em!

Let's see, what else? Um.....ooh, I bought a stand for my DS Lite, so that if I'm playing something like Scrabble (which is pretty much all I play, despite having so many games), I can sit and look at it, rather than having the bother of holding it. God I really am lazy!

Hefty bought a new camera too, a Panasonic Lumix TZ5, which he says is awesome!

We bought a fair amount of gifts too, including a large Ariel doll for the Biz (Ariel from The Little Mermaid), and a ton of American chocolate and sweets. Hershey chocolate is rank apparently, but one of Hefty's friends loves it so we got him a fair amount.

We also bought some coffee, Mickey's Real Swell Coffee, which we've yet to try, but we liked the packaging and thought it'd look good in the new kitchen. Ours is blue, cos it's not decaff, but I couldn't find a pic.

And that's about all I can remember at the moment. Though I'm sure there's more than that. Well, if it comes to me, I'll be sure to note it down.

Le kitchen

2008-05-28T23:45:00.005+01:00

So here is the kitchen, before (entirely inadequate for a 4 bed house on 3 floors), and during. Can't wait for the after! I did rotate the last ones, but for some reason, Blogger will only put them up sideways. Meh. The last shot is the new stuff, it might look the same as the other, but it's not! One's crappy veneer, one's solid oak.

Time flies

2008-05-28T21:37:00.005+01:00

Forgive me bloggers, for I have sinned, it's 25 days since my last confession.

Well, actually, it's 25 days since I should have last confessed, but it's been a manic few weeks.

Firstly, Florida was excellent!! We really did have the best time ever! The weather was hot, the food was outstanding, and we shopped til we dropped! It was so good, and we miss it so much, that we're going back again next year for three weeks! Only 10 months and 20 days to go! According to my countdown timer widget anyway!

Since we returned, a number of things have kept me from my trusty blog:

- Ozzy's behaviour was horrendous whilst we were away, and he was so naughty when we got him back, we had to call a dog whisperer!

- We're currently having a new kitchen fitted and had to clear the house to make room for the units prior to fitting, and the contents of the old kitchen now that the new one is being fitted.

- I had to look after my niece a couple of times as my sister had to work unexpectedly.

- My singing lessons have been more challenging of late, and it's taken a lot of time to learn new songs (especially the Italian operatic numbers!) and practice them, as well as going to the lessons which takes nearly three hours including travelling.

- I've had my usual bouts of illness, which never helps.

- Our internet connection went all cockaskewy, and on the couple of occasions I was going to write something, I couldn't get on the flipping net!

- I had band rehearsals, fabulously exciting, but take up a whole day!

- Have been nipping back and forth to shops trying to get finishing touches for the house, nightmare!

So you see, it's all been rather chaotic, and I'm not really sure where the last month has gone!

So, the current news is that Ozzy is now a reformed character thanks to Janet from Barkbusters, and the kitchen is nearly in situ. The units will all be done by Friday, which is when the resin worktop people are coming to check their measurements are correct, and then we should get the actual worktops on 13th June. So, by the 15th June (my rough estimate), our kitchen should hopefully be all finished!! Hoorah!! I've taken some pictures, a sort of before and during (after pics coming soon!)
which I shall put up after this.

In other news, today I went for yet another appointment for my ongoing ear/sickness/dizziness problem, and as per usual, it was an utter waste of time. Apparently, because I've been ill for the past 4 years, I'm anxious, and this is what's making me ill, because there's nothing wrong with me, it's all in my head because I've been seeing so many doctors for the past 4 years. If I ignore it all and gain more confidence it'll all go away. Interesting theory, the concept of the chicken and the egg comes to mind, but as the doctor was clearly in no way sympathetic to my cause, I didn't bother arguing. I did try to point out that I HAD been ill initially, otherwise I wouldn't have gone to the doctors in the first place, and that I still AM ill, whether in my head or not, so she palmed me off with a leaflet on Acid Reflux, and told me to follow the advice contained within. Based upon said leaflet, I shall be abstaining from the following:

- Heavy smoking.

- Heavy drinking.

- Eating chocolate, pastry, fried food, Indian food, and drinking fizzy drinks.

- Wearing tight clothes like corsets.

- Lying on my back to go to sleep.

Oh hang on, I don't actually do/eat/drink/wear any of these things anyway. Interesting......maybe that's why I'm lacking any of the main symptoms; a hoarse voice, a cough, heartburn, a mucus-ridden throat....hmmmm.....

Maybe the doctor I saw is a specialist in the wrong area. As far as I can tell, she'd be far better suited to another part of the anatomy, one she can clearly talk a lot about.

An apology (again)

2008-04-18T23:46:00.002+01:00

I spend most of my time apologising on here lately. Mainly, for not writing anything for ages. I know I'm crap, but I've been really busy recently, and had lots going on, including some weird and depressing stuff. It's all been bizarre! Anyway, I meant to write a proper post today but time has, yet again, run away with me. So, I'm simply going to say that I'm going to Florida for two weeks tomorrow, and if I can get on t'interweb there, then I'll try and explain what's been going on. If not, I'll force myself to sit down and blog when I get back! I'm rather annoyed, I used to have nothing to do, now I'm busy all the time.

Lord, best go, I have to be up in 5 hours.

iP

Pandah talks TV

2008-03-26T07:31:00.003Z

Has anyone been watching Bionic Woman? I can't decide whether I like it or not. I like the main girl, but Starbuck being in it is kind of ruining it for me. I think it's cos she was such an ass in the last series of Battlestar. As she's pretty much playing the same character, I keep wishing she'd naff off. I've heard reports slagging Michelle Ryan off and singing Katee Sackhoff's praises, but I have really warmed to MR, and I like her. I like her overall look too, but that's just down to my weird demi-goth thing. I think Eliza Dushku would have made a better nemesis, cos they look similar (thus looking like that Will guy had a 'type' to obsess over), and she's....erm that's it I think. She's good though! I love Tru Calling, and we all know she did a good job of being Faith. I don't know, I shall stick with it anyway, but KS is annoying me.

I also love Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour. Hilarious! It's proper laugh out loud stuff, like TV Burp. My favourite line so far is, 'When in Vegas, do as the Vegesians do.' If you've not seen it though, you'll not have a clue what I'm talking about, or why that line is funny!

We watched 1408 last week, which was okay, but the ending was a bit crap. We also watched The Business, which is quite old, but it was really good. My friend told me I wouldn't like it at all, but I did! So I'll ask her about that today, cos I don't understand what she's on about. Recently we've watched quite a few films, DVD rental is great, and has saved me a fortune. There's nothing worse than buying a DVD then finding it's shit. We saw Fantastic Four, which was really good, despite loads of people saying it was crap. Then we watched the second one, Rise of the Silver Surfer, which everyone said was brilliant, and we thought it was average. The Fountain was amazing, and even though I don't like Hugh Jackman, I thought it was a beautiful film. I was excited about Sunshine, but really struggled. I just didn't like any of the characters, and though visually it was cool, I was rather bored, and I'm not sure if I even saw the end or not. I went off at one point and came back, but I don't recall much. In fact, I can't really remember much about the film in general, but that's probably because I was bored. I wanted to love it, but didn't. I really want to see La Vie En Rose, it's on my list, so I hope I get it soon! And I need to see the new Rambo, but it's ages since we've been to the cinema cos of Ozzy.

The bloody Apprentice is coming back on again I see. Is it me, or is it just on ALL the time. I hate it! And Am sick of seeing clips, and a million repeats of it, or a highlights show. It really does my nut in, and I hate Sugar, he's a twat. Grrrr!

Ooh, rant over, bit of blog tourettes there.

Have a singing lesson tonight, have to practice the three numbers I've learned. I'm doing 'You oughta know' (Alanis Morissette), 'Misery Business' (Paramore) and 'I dreamed a dream (from some musical). They are all different songs that mean you have to do different things with your voice, and I'm struggling with Misery Business cos it's really hard to sing! If you didn't have to breathe it would be doable. Snaps to you Hayley Williams, I can't do it! Mind you, she had singing lessons, so I'm sure when I've had a few more (I've only had one) I'll be able to do it.

Right, best go, Hefty's getting up.

Cheer up Charlie, look at your hair!

2008-03-25T08:22:00.003Z

I had a moment of Wonka Inspiration whilst reading Sparky Malarkey and felt the need to post a picture of Charlie Bucket, from the original Willy Wonka film.

What great hair! The hair debate led to my inspiration by the way, for anyone who went to SparkyBlog and looked for Wonka stuff. I'm so vague sometimes.

Pandah-monium (in my head)

2008-03-25T07:03:00.008Z

This is my 228th post in nearly 2 years. That's poor isn't it? And it's a month since I last wrote anything. I'm not sure what happens to me, but sometimes I just can't seem to sit down and get on with writing something. It's not like I don't have anything to say, but I seem to lose my momentum after a few enthusiastic fits and starts. Since the beginning of 2008, which got off to a pretty crap start, I've felt a bit distant from myself, and think I must be having some sort of pre-30 crisis. Not sure why, I'm not bothered about being 30, and it's not for 2 years, but I can't think what else it is. Unless it's a post-25 crisis, but I can't even begin to get my head round that idea! I'm wondering if it isn't down to the arrival of Ozzy.

I'm sort of a parent now, and my previous life full of free time is gone, as I now spend all day taking him outside, playing with him, brushing him, feeding him, stopping him from doing stuff, and walking him. I can't spend a leisurely half-hour deciding what make-up look to go for, and whether to goth it up or play it down, I have to be darn quick, and slap on the red eyeshadow ASAP, pull on clothes whether they match my face or not, and get back downstairs before he stops howling! We're considering getting another dog, as Ozzy is a very clingy dog, and though it's a breed trait, it's very limiting. It's not that I want to go out foe hours on end, but if I just pop out for an hour or so, he's dreadfully upset when I get back. He's better than he was, but I have to put him in his pet carrier so he doesn't destroy anything, and if he needs the loo there's nowhere else to go! I wash his bedding a lot! I've left him just on the middle floor a couple of times, and he's been okay actually, but we haven't had a night out for so long, and I think it's starting to affect me. I'm not talking about clubbing or anything, but I miss not going to the cinema, or just out for dinner. We used to go out 3 or 4 times a week, and it just stopped altogether, which had made it harder to get used to. I think if we get him a friend, they can keep each other company, and we can maybe get out every now and then.

I think it's put me off having a child though. I feel a bit trapped, which is stupid because I don't work (which is great!), and am not tied into any dramatic domestic schedules. I just feel a bit like I'm losing myself a bit, and recently, I've realised how much I'd like to be more of a proper goth, but I can't because Hefty doesn't like that look AT ALL. Teetering on the edge of being a demi-goth is making me feel incomplete, and frustrated because I know I can't go any further. So I'm having an identity crisis as well as the other one! But I keep thinking, if this is what I feel like now, what would I be like with children? I think I'd be ten times worse, and am half-wondering if the reason I've got such bad Endometriosis, is that my body agrees!

I have joined a band though, and think this might be therapeutic. If I can goth it up on stage, then perhaps it will counteract my funny feelings of normality. It's just going to be covers and stuff, round pubs, but I reckon it'll be good experience, and will help my confidence.

Good god! I've had a right rant there! I should write something less depressing, for all our sakes!

So it's been Easter! I bought Hefty a dvd about the font 'Helvetica', a chicken egg cosy, and I baked him some flapjack in the shape of little chickens! I decorated the house up on Friday whilst he was still snoozing, and was delighted that it was sunny. Unfortunately, he forgot, so I didn't get anything. Not even a card (I'd got him one from me and one from Ozzle), and he felt bad. He's ordered me something but it's not really the same is it. It's not like he forgot an anniversary or anything, but I love Easter, and always make a big thing of it, and have done since we met, so he should know by now. I've not said this though, as he obviously did feel bad about it, and I don't think me going on at him would help anything. I was just a bit upset, cos I'd gone to so much effort. I'll let you know what he gets me anyway, when it eventually arrives!

I saw my folks on Friday, saw the BIz, my sister, and then came home to watch Murder She Wrote. Ooh, it was the Jonotron's 21st birthday on Friday! But he's in Australia, so we didn't get to celebrate. I ordered him a card from the Australian Moonpig, only to find out he'd moved from the address I sent it to :0( He says it'll come through on mail-redirection at some point, but I was doubly disappointed on Friday because of this. He had some kind of party in botanical gardens, all very random, have yet to hear how it went. On Saturday I raced around all day! Had to go to the farm shops (my new obsession), Hefty got his hair cut, I cleaned and tidied and made a Victoria Sponge Cake and a Lime Cheesecake. I don't know why I've capitalised the cakes, but I'm not going to change it. Hefty's parents came up on Sunday - hence the preparations - and they had lunch and dinner, so I was tidying up all day. They left at about 10.30pm, and I was asleep on my feet by that point. Yesterday, I didn't really do anything, just slept cos I was so tired.

Today, I think I'll do the same! Although I might have to go shopping at some point with my sister, as she's having a party on Thursday and I said I'd take her to Costco to look at party food. I can leave Ozzy with her dogs so it'll be cool.

On Thursday, I'm attending this:

Zombreeze

I'm going with my cousin, who's a proper goth, and we're basically just going to go as goths, cos that'll make us look a bit dead. If it gets in the GBoWR I'll be rather excited though! My claim to fame! It's doubly brilliant though as it means I can be a full goth for the afternoon, and Hefty can't say anything cos it's for a valid reason!!! Ha!

Right, Ozzy is pestering me, I shall have to go, he keeps trying to chew my ear.

I shall try to blog properly from now on, with regularity!

Ciao.

iP

Brief encounter

2008-02-25T18:47:00.000Z

Well, it was sunny today, hurrah! About time too, as it was a pretty abismal weekend weather wise. Hefty has been ill all week, and got considerably worse on Wednesday which ended up with him being in bed all weekend. Before the weekend began though, on Friday night we attempted to watch 'Smokin' Aces'. What an absolutely, undeniably APPALLING excuse for a film. Slow doesn't even begin to describe it. And then there's the mumbling, incomprehensible dialogue, not to mention the characters, whom, quite frankly, I didn't give a toss about. Also, it was penned as a dark comedy, hmm, not so much dark as smoggy, and comedy? Highly questionable!! It's one of those films where the trailer is better than the actual event. RUBBISH! Luckily, we also had 'Severance' to watch, and thankfully it saved the evening. It wasn't groundbreaking, but it was entertaining, easy to watch, and Danny Dyer was hilarious. Hurrah for 'Severance'!!!

Oh dear, I suddenly feel very sick. I must go.....eugh.....

Pondering

2008-02-20T03:37:00.002Z

Okay, so despite the time Blogger is going to print when I've done this, it's currently 03:37, and I haven't been to sleep yet. A wild night out partying with the posse? Niet. I just can't sleep. I was struggling anyway, but when Hefty got phoned at 00:30 to fix some kind of computery thing, that was it. I gave up and watched Tales of the Unexpected. Hefty returned an hour later, and I decided to just get up. So here I am.

It's very foggy outside, rather eerie, but I'm inside so it's not a huge issue for me.

Someone is finally coming to measure up for our new kitchen tomorrow! Well, tonight. Hopefully all will be well and we'll have some kind of idea when it'll be in. Roll on that day, I'm sick to death of living with the most impractical use of space ever. We're also having someone round on Saturday to look at landscaping the garden for us, so it's all go at the Pandah Palace!

That could quite possibly be the extent of my news. Which is pretty poor. Problem is, I've not done anything since I last blogged, so it makes it tricky.

Hmm. Well, I shall ponder on that thought, and try and think of something interesting to do, so that I can write about it. At the moment, I'd just like to go to sleep, but that's obviously not going to happen so I'll stick with me ponderin'.

Fame (sort of)

2008-02-17T20:37:00.003Z

Today was exciting, on our way to the local farm shop to stock up on veg, we stopped at the newsagent so Hefty could buy a paper. He bought the Observer, which is fine, though I prefer the Telegraph myself, but in the music bit there's a story about Goths, and there's loads of pictures of them. Naturally, being a Demi-Goth, I had to read it, and upon doing so, and scanning the plethora of Goths, I spotted my cousin amongst them!! I was very excited about this! She's in the national press for frak's sake - it's frikkin awesome!!!

Clearly, she's a full on proper Goth, which I'm not allowed to be, so I think that's why I find it so cool, cos she looks brill to me, and I know I'll never be able to do it. But after the wedding in April (the one in Florida when I'm a bridesmaid), I'm going to at least get dark hair back again, as being blonde sucks. Plus, now I've found a groovy hair-dressers near by, I won't have to do it myself! And they do colours like green and pink and stuff! Super!

Going to watch Blazing Saddles tonight, I've never seen it! But we bought all the DVDs we could think of the other day, and that was one of 'em. Still waiting for Weird Science though, it's out of stock! Boo :0(

Ciao!

My Gmail Spambox Mystery

2008-02-16T22:59:00.007Z

For some reason, I get emails like the following, every day in my Gmail spambox:

I'm not at all sure why they come to MY spambox, but it's got to the point now where I look forward to reading them, after all, these mystery spammers sure have a way with words.

Hmm.....*pauses for thought*

*decides there is no answer, and stops pausing and thinking*

In other news, I have to object to the HORRIFIC cover of an already BAD song on the new Jaguar advert. As if 'Hush' by Kula Shaker wasn't evil enough, some spanner has covered it. It reminds me of an 'Indie' tape I once bought. It was so cheap I thought it was a bargain, but when I got home, I realised it's cos no-one singing on it was in an actual band. Not one of consequence anyway. I woz robbed.

Anyway, just a brief post, felt the need to get these things off my chest. I'm off to watch Family Guy on BBC3.

G'bye!

Blogging along

2008-02-14T13:12:00.005Z

Well, thought it was about time I blogged again! I'm only going to say that things have been pretty crap recently, but hopefully it's all calming down, so I'll not go into it all, just look forward to bigger and better things!

So, first off, young Ozzy had his first hair cut on Tuesday. Below is the 'before' picture of his woolly highness:

And here is the 'after' one:

He looks all tiny again! He was very well behaved though, so at least that's one area I don't have to worry about!

Randomly, I had some Angel Delight the other day. For some reason, I'm not sure if I didn't see it on TV or something, I just felt the need, and when I discovered it was only 56p, I felt even more compelled to get some! I got butterscotch, which is pretty much the only flavour I can have, but it suits me! And I can honestly say, it was really nice! I'm not going to make a habit of it, it's probably uber bad for you, but I really enjoyed it, despite Hefty's claim of it being 'vile' after he'd nicked a spoonful. Yum yum say I! I thought this picture summed it up best, not least because I used the same bowl!

Valentine's Day today apparently, load of old tosh! Not into it myself, my parents never did it, and going to a girls school meant that I didn't grow up with it there either, and so now, I'm just not interested. Seems kind of tacky, but each to their own. Hefty always says it's better to make an effort everyday, and that it's an excuse for people who don't to do something nice. Here here!

Not sure I have a great deal else to say at the moment, but I'm back on the blogging bandwagon - and that's the main thing!

iP :0)

Munch and Puffs

2008-01-20T10:26:00.000Z

I discovered an exciting new cereal in Waitrose called Gorilla Munch, and not only does it taste like Corn Pops (remember those?), it's actually good for YOU and the environment. Oh, and the packaging is hilarious, behold:

What's also exciting, is that you can get Pandah Puffs! Though, UNfortunately, they aint at Waitrose :0(

The search continues....

Ouch!

2008-01-19T08:57:00.000Z

Yesterday, Ozzy was particularly hyper, and though I was trying to rest because I have somehow hurt my right shoulder (and the pain leaked into my neck and between my shoulders), I was having to pull him away from plants, coal, carpet etc. every 20 seconds, so I decided to brave the elements and walk him. Now, I normally take him round the village, but this time, I decided to drive to the local stately home and its grounds, as it's a good long walk, guaranteed to tire out the biggest of hounds!

So we got there, and it was raining, but it didn't faze me, or Ozzy, so we set off. It was all grand, until we got to the top of the hill we'd scaled, where the house is. I wanted to give him a good run, so I took him on to the grass, which was all fine, until I stumbled upon a boggy bit and slipped royally. I landed with a HUGE thud, right on my arse and skidded on said body part for about 2 metres. I was absolutely filthy, as you can imagine. But also, I'd put my arm down to break my fall (my left, as I'm left-handed), and felt the biggest judder run through my shoulder when I did. I had to sit there, in the mud, for about 5 minutes, as I thought I'd really hurt myself. However, sitting in cold, wet mud, isn't much fun anyway, but when it's soaked through to your pants, you have to think about getting up really. So I did, and realised it was okay, so we headed back to the car. Needless to say, by the time we got there, we were both caked in mud, and I had to sit on a puppy pad to protect my car seat!

I got in, and had to remove my trousers in the hall, and run upstairs to bath Ozzy. He was really dirty, and I tried to take a picture, but it hasn't really captured just how filthy he was. Anyway, I bathed him, then had a shower myself, and spent the rest of the afternoon asleep, because I was shattered, and in pain.

Well, I have woken up today, and OMG I am in PAIN, PAIN, PAIN!!! Now, I have 2 f*cked shoulders, my WHOLE neck hurts, and I feel sick! From the pain! I can barely move my left side, it's awful. I'm taking some Nurofen, but I think I'm going to have to go to the doctors to check I haven't done something more serious.

Ooh it's all one big adventure at the moment! By the way, I had flipped that picture of Ozzy, but for some reason, it'll only come up like that, so you might have to bend your neck to look at it (something I can't do!).

I've got to go to the hairdressers shortly, not my favourite place, well, I say that, I like the place, and the girl who does it, I just find sitting down for a couple of hours whilst someone fiddles with my hair, kind of boring. Luckily, I'm taking my DS with me, which should stave off the boredom. I'm just not looking forward to it cos I'm in pain! Oh well.

Anyway, have to go wake Hefty up so I can get ready (he'll need to dogsit).

Ciao for now.

iP

Oddness

2008-01-17T01:42:00.000Z

I can't sleep. It was my Grandpa's funeral today, and I feel strange. It's been an odd week all round, bit of a blur, and I'm not sure I've really taken it all in. There were two services, one for his wife and her family, and one for us. They refused to go to the burial because they don't believe in it and don't think he should be buried next to my Grandma, so we sat through this weird service thing first. The priest wasn't great, he stuttered a lot, kept fluffing his lines, it was an all-round mess of a service. I know this is going to sound really stupid, but Catholic funerals are so depressing. I've known other funerals where it's really been a celebration of the person's life, and it's been comforting. This one just seemed cold and sad, and the organ music was a bit over-done. I don't know, I prolly shouldn't be slagging it off, but it didn't help at all. Afterwards, we went to the graveyard for the burial, and that seemed a bit better somehow. It was slinging it down which sucked, but it was a bit more moving and personal. I don't know, I just feel strange. I don't think it's sunk in yet. This evening I was in the kitchen putting glasses away, and I realised that my Grandpa had bought them for us, and I started looking round and saw other things he'd got us, and I got quite upset. I sat on the kitchen floor and sobbed. Ozzy came and laid on my knee, licking my hand, bless him. Dogs really do pick up on things, it's amazing.

Young Ozzy had a better day than us, as he went to Ming's house! He was there for nearly six hours I think, and when we went to pick him up, he was casually strewn over Ming's sofa like he owned the place! He came away with a new toy too, a rattley ball, which he loves! So at least one of us had fun today. I owe Ming BIG TIME for this, he worked from home so he could do it, so I'm buying in the Angus Burgers for life!! Thanks Ming!!! :0)

We've nearly sorted out our new kitchen too, just have to go in and sign and then we're on our way. It's called Kelmscott Modern Oak, and it's from MFI. I tried to get a picture off the website but it wouldn't work. It's lovely though, and I can't wait, as then we'll have space for all our appliances, and get to buy new ones! I can finally get my KitchenAid Mixer to match my blender, and we're having a built in coffee machine, which will rule!

So that's my news so far. The Jonotron is coming to chillax at Pandah Palace tomorrow. Looking forward to that, though I don't know when he's going back to Oz, it might be the last time we do it for a while. We're going to watch DVDs, and eat Cheestrings and Frubes like we did when we were kids. Brilliant.

I just read 'Vortigern's Machine and The Great Sage of Wisdom'. It was alright. Good pics. Need to read my Love and Rockets books but haven't had time. Also need to watch Peep Show! So much to do.

If I could only get to sleep I might be able to get up tomorrow and do some of these things. I still feel odd though. So I'll keep watching 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.'

Sigh.

Sad news

2008-01-07T07:47:00.000Z

My grandpa died last night. Unfortunately, it's turned nasty. My mum found out second-hand from my auntie, who his wife had called along with everyone else except our family. None of us have been told directly, and when my mum called to speak to her, she wasn't allowed, and was spoken to like dirt. Her family told them they would sort everything out and my folks should just enjoy the rest of their holiday.

What's wrong with the world? I can't believe she wouldn't ring my mum. Or us. I wasn't involved in any of the mess yesterday, I could have been told. It's disgusting, and then for them to speak to my mum like that, it's horrendous. It makes me very angry, but it's so upsetting more than anything else. All because he wants to be buried, and buried with his first wife at that.

The only comfort I have is that when we left him yesterday, he was sleeping, and peaceful. We'd been there near the end at least.

I guess now the real fun begins.

FFS!

2008-01-06T17:05:00.000Z

My god. We're only 6 days in to 2008 and it's a shitter. where do I start? I think, bullet points would be an idea, as there's too much to rant about:

Ozzy has a displaced hip, and has to stay in his pet carrier for TWO WEEKS!! For a hyperactive puppy (and his owner), that's an effing long time. He will also have to have regular check ups and x-rays until he's fully grown, to make sure it doesn't affect the way his leg grows. Otherwise, he might end up deformed.

SuperSaz is out of hospital and staying with us, but no better. Hospital were useless. They told her one thing she had wrong with her but said it wasn't that and she'd need a CT scan. Then they said, oh actually it IS that, forget the CT scan. She's got to see how she is for a week and if no better go back. GREAT! Not at all a waste of everyone's effing time! She could have been cured by now if they'd made some kind of frakking effort! So I'm taking her to the docs tomorrow to try and sort it out.

My grandpa is very ill with terminal cancer, and though at home on a hospital bed, is apparently on his way out. It's horrible, but what's making it worse is that my step-grandma has made all these lies up about him and the situation, so that we're not really sure how he is. And, he's always said he wants to be buried with my grandma (she died nearly 30 years ago), and she's saying he's changed his mind, which he hasn't, and she had a HUGE argument with my sister and slagged her and my mum off! I just sort of stood there, it was awful. Basically, she doesn't believe in burial, but says if he wants to be buried, it should be on his own somewhere, cos she's looked after him for 20 years. But as she wants to be cremated I don't see the point even if she got her own way! But it isn't about her, it's what he wants, which she seems to be forgetting. Neither me or my sister think that shouting about it all when he's in the next room is good for his health though. But the nurses who came, went and discussed it all with him, and it's now written in his notes, so she can't keep spouting this rubbish. As we left, she had another shouting session and we left (me still keeping quiet), with my sister slamming the door. Then, we had to go back to my sister's and try and get hold of the folks to warn them about it all. Eventually my sister spoke to my Mum, who was uber angry, and will be ringing my step-grandma to put her straight, but it's all a bit crap, and going round there now is going to be very awkward. As if it isn't all depressing enough without her causing loads of trouble. And it turns out, she rung my auntie, who rung my sister, and was telling a completely different story and lying again saying my sister had just laid into her for no reason! Aaaagh!!!!

Also, I have a stinking cold, Hefty does, SuperSaz does, my sister does, and so does her husband!!! I feel HORRID! And am not sure how much more I can take!

So, that's why I've had enough! I'm tired, ill, pissed off, stressed, and waiting for the next thing to go wrong.

Hmph.

Happy New Year?

2008-01-01T10:19:00.000Z

Well, I had hoped to get a post in before the new year, but things haven't really gone according to plan. Where do I start?!

Ozzy has kept us busy, he's a hyperactive little fella and hard work, but thoroughly adorable. He's quite naughty, but it adds to the charm!

Christmas has gone too quickly as per usual. I had a nice birthday, though as it was the day after we got Ozzy, I was shattered, after a pretty sleepless night. I don't remember a great deal about it, I mean it was nearly a month ago now, but it was alright.
Hefty had a nice birthday too, I bought him the complete Sopranos boxed set and a wickedace Rocky dressing gown, which is essentially a dressing gown version of the silk ringside gown Rocky wears.

His folks came up too which was cool, it's always nice to see them. Then Christmas came and went! I got some cool stuff though:

Peep Show DVD boxed set
Special Edition Black Hawk Down (3 discs!)
Open All Hours Series 3 (I've only one more to get now!)
Two Love and Rockets Books: Maggie the Mechanic and Heartbreak Soup
A big Remy from Ratatouille toy
A cartridge with about 20 Nintendo DS games on it
Loads of Soap & Glory stuff
A Mr T mug
A breakfast set
Humble Pie - Gordon Ramsay's autobiography
A Mutts Gone Mad calendar
Cesar's Way - A book by the Dog Whisperer from Sky
Toys You Pestered Your Parents For book
Dark Chocolate Liqueur Chocolates (good old Step-Grandma, managed to buy a product with the two things I'm most allergic to in it)
Milky Bar Buttons
Thornton's White Chocolate Snowman

I'm sure there was other stuff, but I can't look because of the reason New Year was a bit of a washout. To begin with, SuperSaz was taken into hospital on Saturday with suspected Appendicitis, they've dawdled to say the least, and she's STILL in, not knowing what's wrong with her, when she can come out, or what they're doing for her. If it had been life-threatening she'd have probably died by now. Punks. She's still in pain but they can't do all the tests they need to do at once cos there's no-one to do them, so they're doing one every two days at the moment!!! It's well shit. So last night, we spent the evening in hospital with her, as she's on a ward on her own! There's no-one else at all! Just five empty beds! Not the best way to spend New Years Eve. I hate it anyway, as does she, but we were supposed to be spending it together at our house with a Chinese and a film. We left her at about half 10, cos my sister was dog-sitting Ozzy, as he doesn't like being on his own. I'm trying to get him used to it gradually, but leaving him for three hours wasn't an option, so we've been leaving him with her and her lot (Sophie, Sugar and Henry). Well, Ozzy's hyper anyway, and because there's only three weeks between him and Henry, they play like maniacs, and as we were leaving hospital, she rang to say they'd had to take him to the emergency vets cos he'd had an accident. He's pulled a ligament in his back leg, and can't walk at all. I have to keep him confined to his bed for the next two or three days cos he needs complete rest, which means I have to sit with him constantly otherwise he fidgets and starts yelping! We've got pain killers for him but he's really subdued. It's awful. I've had no sleep, I was up all night panicking about him, so am plying myself with coffee to stave off the tiredness and pounding headache. I told SuperSaz to stay with us when she comes out cos she lives on her own, and I want to look after her, so Hefty is getting the spare bedroom ready. But it feels like we're running a hospital! My sister's really upset cos she feels like it's her fault, but he's so hyper it could have happened anywhere, at any time. He's so full of it I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. It's typical it happened on New Years Eve though, the tablets cost £2.00 and the call-out charge was £85.00!! With VAT it's come out at one hundred squids!!!

So, not the best Christmas OR New Year really! Poor Ozmond, and SuperSaz!

I always hated January anyway, roll on February!

Hope everyone else had a better time, though it can't have been hard!

iP :0(

Ozzy

2007-12-02T17:48:00.000Z

This is my puppy Ozzy! He's so lovely, with his little whiny noises and general squeaking! He's also uber fluffy! He's currently lying spark out on the kitchen floor, bless him. He's been very good so far, I hope it lasts!

Henry

2007-11-30T18:10:00.000Z

This is Henry by the way. Let me tell you, there's nothing more wonderful than being attacked by a puppy that just wants to lick your face and nuzzle you! Whilst wagging his little tail and making squeaky noises!! It's the cutest thing ever! :0) I hope my puppy is as loving as this little guy!

December - The pros and cons

2007-11-30T15:59:00.000Z

Well, my friend came round for dinner the other night and it was lovely! Hefty was on form and made the best veggie mince lasagne ever! We're not veggies but she is, and we had to come up with something we'd all want to eat. Luckily, there's this lovely stuff which I think is just called Veggie Mince (they have it in Sainsbury's and Waitrose) and it tastes like meat, not like nasty Quorn which is rank! After she'd gone, I realised how much I like entertaining, so I might do more!

Went to my sister's today as she's been uber ill with flu and was too tired to get to mine. Plus, her boss seems to think she's not actually ill and though she blatantly is, she was worried she might call round like she did the other day. We had lattes and did some chatting before going to pick the Biz up from nursery. When we got there she was asleep, which never happens, and then we couldn't find her shoes and spent half an hour scouring the place. Then we found them in another child's tray and think she did it on purpose cos she never wants to leave. Then, she still didn't want to leave but we managed to bribe her out with the promise of cuddling Henry (my sister's new puppy) and listening to Phil Spector's Christmas Album in the car. It worked, then when we got home she had a massive strop and wouldn't stop screaming, crying, and shouting 'No!'. She can be a right little sod and I really feel for my sister as she's so run down, she's ill all the time at the moment and it stresses her out big time. I tell people about Biz and they say "You should do this" and "This will work" blah blah blah. Unless you have her with you, I don't think anyone can appreciate how difficult she is. She's so stubborn and strong willed, she just doesn't behave and doesn't care what you think of her. She's a punk! I reckon even Supernanny would be stumped on this one. Maybe I should call her and find out!

When I got home there was a stack of cards on the door mat! Getting very excited now, I have lots of cards and some presents and once the tree goes up tomorrow that'll be it! The best things about having a December birthday are:

- You get to have your presents under the Christmas tree, or if you're very special (like moi) you have your own birthday tree! Which is just a Christmas tree that goes in your bedroom and is only for birthday presents!

- You get to open your advent calendar on your birthday!

- Most people are in a good mood cos they like Christmas.

- There's loads of nice food in the shops - yum!

There are downsides too though:

- Finding a birthday cake isn't easy, shops seem to think that only Christmas happens in December and therefore people only want fruitcake (I hate fruitcake).

- Shops also think that people only want Christmas cards, and sometimes you get pretty crappy ones, but it IS the thought that counts, and not the person who buys you one's fault.

- The later your birthday is in December the worse it is. I'm okay cos the 3rd is early enough for people to only just be getting to grips with the festive season, but poor Hefty's is the 17th. He's never had a party cos the kids had all broken up from school and were too busy. Also, everyone has got to that "Aagh, it's a week til Christmas!" stressed stage, and are no longer in a good mood. Also, booking to go out for a meal is nigh on impossible.

- You have to wait a whole year for your birthday AND Christmas, so you don't have much mid-year excitement. Hefty and I remedied this by getting married on the 25th June, EXACTLY 6 months between then and Christmas, problem solved!

- You tend to get one present which is classed as a Birthday/Christmas present, rather than 2. Let's face it, having 2 to open is much better, and anything less is just laziness!!!!

- Your Mum says stuff like "Once your birthday's out of the way we can concentrate on getting sorted for Christmas." Maybe that's just my Mum. Frankly though, it's not nice to be told your birthday is essentially in the way of more important stuff.

That's all I can think of, but it's a substantial list!

Looking forward to Monday though, Hefty's got the day off, we'll have a puppy, and we're getting a new TV. Also, SuperSaz is coming round - yay!! Ooh, I've got a good birthday cake too, it's a SpongeBob one, I'll be sure to post a pic!

I am currently loving a band called Shiny Toy Guns, which is kind of electro pop stuff. I'm also loving New Young Pony Club, and CSS. I'm going to get their CDs when I get my allowance in a week, as I've been thinking about it for too long now! I'm really bad at buying music, I just forget what I like and don't seem to get round to it. I suppose it's cos I only really listen to it in my car, so once I'm out, that's it! Blank memory!

Right, I'm off to find a top cos I'm cold. Meeting my friend for lunch tomorrow then getting puppy on Sunday!! Let's hope he looks distinctive and I can think of a name!

iP

Forceps and other tales

2007-11-27T20:04:00.000Z

Well I've been busy again! I really should blog more often, with regular little snippets of information rather than mahoossive postings that look like too much effort to read! I shall do a brief summary and try harder in future:

1. Went on another mad cleaning frenzy last week, and discovered how much lovelier houses look when they have clean windows!

2. Saw my Grandpa who marvelled at my opening of the carton of Tropicana they'd struggled with all week.

3. Bought a new clock for our mantel piece - modern yet antiquey (I think so anyway).

4. Designed our new kitchen and got very excited, just need to save up a bit of money now!

5. Went out for dinner with some friends and had the nicest Hawaiian pizza I've had in AAGES.

That could be about it.......Ooh, I'm not sure if I blogged about my cousin's baby? Well, earlier in the year (I can't remember when), my cousin's girlfriend had a baby boy, and they called him 'River'. Hmm. So, now, my other cousin (his brother) and his girlfriend have also had a baby, and they've called him 'Blue.' So it just goes to show, being posh isn't good for you, or your children.

Today, Ming and I went to the Thackray Medical Museum, which was random, and wholly enjoyable. I now know what an iron lung does, how to amputate limbs, all about different types of medical instruments, and that no matter where you go, the gift shop is always full of tat. There were at least 3 groups of school kids in as well, and they were all mutants! They were all above 6 ft, even the girls, we felt like we were in Land of the Giants. There were also sections where they'd tried to recreate Victorian streets and houses, the kind where you walk through and everything stinks of shit. It was really good though, and we did lots of laughing. Especially in the limb section where they had a list of famous amputees. We only knew Heather Mills, but the others seemed to have actually achieved stuff, rather than just marrying a Beatle. Afterwards, we went to Burger King, mmmmm. It was a brill day, only marred by the headache I acquired just after I'd left Ming's house. Still it seems to have worn off now, probably thanks to the gel Ibruprofen (?) thingys I took.

Anyway, it's my birthday next Monday, that seems to have come round quickly! I'll be 28 - aagh! Getting the puppy on Sunday though, much more exciting! Still no name, nobody can agree, Hefty doesn't like Brillo, my Mum thinks he should have a good strong upper class name, it's a mare. I'm hoping he really looks like something or I'm buggered. Maybe I should ask my cousins, they seem to be quite good at coming up with unusual names

My friend's coming for dinner tomorrow night, she's lovely so I'm really looking forward to it :0)

So that's my news summed up. I shall try and be better, I just seem to start doing stuff and before I know it, time has run out!!

I'm rubbish.

iP

Never a pair

2007-11-21T13:51:00.000Z

Well well, I've got slack again! I'm still not fully recovered though so it's not solely due to laziness!!

So I'm still very tired and congested since having the flu thing. Hefty got me some Sudafed tablets yesterday, which were a revelation! You're not allowed to take more than 4 in any 24 hours though so I can't have anymore until tomorrow! Still, they've done a pretty good job so far so I'm not complaining!

Not sure I have much to say today.......ooh, I went into town on Friday and quite frankly, it was shit! There was nothing in the shops, and what was, was rubbish! I've never felt so un-Christmassy whilst Christmas shopping!! It was most disappointing, so I'm going to stick to online shopping from now on. I know it's still November and they might not have everything out yet, but WHY haven't they? It's not like most shops don't start Christmas in September anyway, why is this year different?!!!!

In other news, there's a phenomenon that has had me puzzled for quite some time now, and I'm not sure if it only happens in my part of the world. Does anyone else ever notice that the roadsides are strewn with shoes (never a pair), gloves (again, never two), and other articles of clothing that you can't make out? Today, I counted two boots (individual ones), a glove, and something which I couldn't make out but appeared to be made of wool. I see these things all the time, whichever part of this city I drive through. I just don't understand where they're coming from? It makes no sense? You can't just lose a shoe on a road, surely?!! It's all very odd anyway, but I wasn't sure if it only happened in Yorkshire.

We're going to design our new kitchen tonight, which will either be really exciting, or extremely boring. The one we got in this house is pretty poor, to say the least. Not only is it crap quality, there's hardly anything of it! We have a big kitchen, but they only put a couple of units in as they were selling it as a dining kitchen. Fair enough, but the dining bit is next to the dining room!! Talk about dining over load! It really is crap for a 4 bedroomed three storey house. We have 2 main cupboards (one of which is under the sink and so can only house under the sink style products), 2 thin shallow ones, and another wide but shallow one. Oh, and 2 drawers. Big frakking deal. When we first came into the house having not seen it, I cried with disappointment. We've complained numerous times but Persimmon are clearly not willing to do anything about it so we decided we'll just have to pay for a proper one ourselves. If we couldn't afford to do so I'd be mighty pissed off, and even though we can I'm mighty pissed off, but at least I don't have to live with it for much longer. We're just getting a quote tonight, as Hefty likes to pay in full for everything, he doesn't do credit, but at least we'll get an idea of when we can have it done. I really can't wait, as though I love my house, there's always been something missing, and it's always been the kitchen! Not having one is really depressing, as it feels like a really big bedsit at the moment, and it made Christmas last year a nightmare. There's hardly any workspace either so we can't both do kitcheny things at the same time which is annoying. I don't know how we've put up with it for so long, but thank gods it's not forever!

Next week I'm going out for the day with Ming, as he's on holiday. As we only do random things together, we've decided to visit the Thackray Medical Museum, which should be a mini adventure. They have a Victorian Amputation Exhibition section, can't wait!!!

Well, need to do some washing now, a Domestic Engineer's work is never done!

iP

Illdom

2007-11-15T20:12:00.000Z

Well, I don't know if illdom is a proper word but it would describe where I have been for the past week! I started with a sore throat last Wednesday, and by Thursday, I could barely swallow liquid, AND I'd started with a cold too! I don't normally get throat illnesses so it was most unpleasant, and I worry in case it spreads to my chest and aggravates my asthma. Colds I can deal with, but to get both has been horrendous!!!! I was really floored by the whole thing, and was bed-ridden for days, feeling like all the different medications I had acquired were doing nothing at all! When it finally did subside on Monday, I was left with a phenomenal amount of congestion, and I still can't get rid of it! I feel totally blocked up, and it's giving me a headache, so I think I'm going to have to invest in yet more medication to get rid of it! So I'm not amused, but it has made me paranoid about ever getting that ill again so I ordered a ton of fruit and veg this week and plan to consume it!

Tomorrow, I'm going in to town to start having a look at stuff for Christmas. Might get a few presents, in fact I'll have to get a lot cos my puppy will be coming to live at Pandah Palace on the 2nd of December! When he arrives, I'll pretty much have to stay in the house for a month or so, cos I can't leave him on his own, but he can't go out too much til he's had all his injections. I usually buy stuff from t'interweb, but because I don't work anymore, I thought I'd make the most of weekday shopping, and see if I can beat the crowds to some nice stuff. Hefty and I only really buy little things at Christmas, restricting ourselves to a budget of 50 squids, because we both have our birthdays in December (which we think are more important), and we spend lots of money all year round, so we treat Christmas as being mainly about eating, chilling out, watching TV, eating, and doing a bit of eating now and then. So, I only have to buy for my sister, her husband, the Biz, and a couple of friends! Brilliant! I'm going to the company Christmas party on the 11th (I think) and we'll be doing secret Santa, so I don't have to buy stuff for ALL my work chums either which is good. Also, they then don't feel like they have to buy for me, which would be a Brucie Bonus, as I don't give to receive, but people feel obliged. I hope I get some lovely things, and if I do, will be sure to share them with you! As in, what I bought, you can't have my presents!

So, as I mentioned, puppy is coming soon - very exciting!! I've bought a shed-load of stuff for him, it's like getting a new baby! He's going to be one spoiled pup! I'm waiting for the breeder to send me a photo of him, I hope it comes soon! Because I'll have to stay in for a month or so (apart from my Christmas party and a trip to the theatre to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), Hefty bought me my birthday present early. It's a spanky fab Mulberry handbag, with matching purse, and I love it! It gets harder to think of things you want when you get older, and because we buy a lot of stuff anyway, it doesn't help! But I really wanted this, so I'm well chuffed! As I'm getting the puppy the day before my birthday, I feel like I'm getting 2 presents - I'm a lucky Pandah! :0)

Looking forward to the return of The Mighty Boosh tonight, just wish they wouldn't put it on so late! 10.30pm?! I'll struggle to stay up but I'll have to cos it's on BBC3! Children in Need's on tomorrow, which essentially means there's nothing on TV so we'll have to watch a DVD. Friday night is the only night we really watch TV so it's annoying when the whole evening's entertainment gets pushed aside for utter crap. I know it's a charity thing, but I'd rather just donate some money than have to sit through newsreaders stripping and people like Westlife singing crapper songs than usual. Rubbish!

Anyway, dinner time! Ciao for now!

iP

P.S. I think I'm going to call my dog Brillo, cos he looks a bit like a Brillo pad! I think it's cute yet amusing! And original!

Puppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

2007-11-07T10:00:00.000Z

This is a quick post cos I'm really busy this week!

I'm getting my puppy on the 2nd December!!! Just in time for my birthday!!! Yay!!!

Very exciting! :0)

Pain, pain PAIN!

2007-11-01T20:10:00.000Z

Oh my gods! Last night was horrendous! We'd gone to bed after we got back from dinner, and were getting cosy watching an episode of Bab 5 (an AWESOME episode at that, there was some badass fighting and wickedace effects!) when I had this niggling pain in my left-hand side. Well, it niggled, and niggled, and by gods NIGGLED! Eventually, it got so bad, I was crying, shaking, sweating furiously with the unbelievable pain I was in! Hefty was freaking out at this point and was going to call an ambulance, but I'd been watching a programme about people who call the emergency services when they don't need them, and how it costs lives, so I didn't want him to. Instead, he called the NHS Helpline, and, well, got some help! I don't remember a lot about it, just that it seemed to go on for hours, and eventually some doctor rang us and I had to talk to him about stuff. He called or was calling the emergency doctor from our village for us, but then it went off!!! As if it had never been there!! I don't know what happened, but by that point I was so knackered I just went to sleep.

Got up this morning at about half eight, to take Hefty to work, then came back and went to sleep. I slept all day really, having the odd break for some food, and then watching a bit of a typical channel 5 afternoon movie, which had Bruce Boxleitner in it (random!) looking really old. Then I went to get Hefty and we picked Flexo up, who has been in the Suzuki Spa for 3 days now. They showed us loads of pictures of the oil leak, as well as some they'd took of another car where the owner had stuck sponges in the engine cos he'd said it was rattling or something. There was about 30 sponges, all under the bonnet! What a weirdo! Anyway, apparently my Swift is the first one they've had to have this problem, but it's a manufacturing thing, so I reckon they'll probably send a letter out asking people to check theirs for any sign of leaking, cos they're quite good like that. So his engine was completely stripped, cleaned, and he had a load of new things put in, so he's good as new again (even though he's only 1 anyway!).

Tonight I'm hoping for NO PAIN when we retire for another thrilling installment of B5. Not least because it was a really good episode that was marred somewhat by my moaning and pacing about. We'll be watching The Peter Serafinowicz Show first though, cos it's hilarious!! I never knew he was so amusing, and so good at impersonating people. We loved Look Around You but I've only ever seen him pop up in other programmes, like Spaced.

Tomorrow evening we're off to design our new kitchen - citing! And maybe watch Syriana, which arrived in the post about a week ago, but we've not got round to watching.

Well, dinner time, I'd best be off.

iP

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T21:34:00.000Z

Ah, you can't beat Mac-O-Lanterns on Halloween!! In that grand tradition of All Hallows Eve, Hefty and I went out for dinner. We're back now and off to bed to watch some Bab 5. I ache all over today, it's really weird, and painful. If I randomly poke different areas of skin, it hurts! Luckily, I still have some strong pain killers left over from when I was in hospital so I'm going to take them before I go to sleep.

I think it's tension, I've encountered bad drivers all day, and it's been quite stressful as I'm not in my own car. Poor Flexo had an oil leak so is in for 3 days while they fix him. So I'm in a jeep, which isn't at all sporty, and my ability to hoon around has been somewhat impaired.

Had a bit more of a play with Leopard today, it's really good! I'm still obsessed with the rollercoaster thing in Photo Booth but that's okay! The iPhone will arrive next week (with a free Playstation 3, random) so we're looking forward to trying it out and hooking up all our apps. Was moaning about The Gadget Show again today (yes, I'm still grumbling) to one of my chums, and he was telling me he has the Nokia they were making out to be so fabulous. Apparently, the battery life is shit, and he says for all the 'wonderful' things it apparently does, if it doesn't have the battery life to support it, what's the point? I like Nokias, and have one myself (a different one) but I have to agree. You'd think they'd give it a decent battery. It's a common complaint too, I read lots of forums about it today, seems really strange. Hopefully the iPhone's battery is plentiful! Though I'm sure it won't fail to disappoint. I worked out I've been a Mac user for 12 years now, and as I've loved everything they've ever put out so far, I'm thinking next week's going to be a blast!

:0)

The STUPID Show

2007-10-29T20:43:00.000Z

The Gadget Show REALLY annoys me a lot of the time. I think this is mainly due to the hideous Suzi Perry and the fact she's just ridiculous. It hasn't finished yet, but this week they're testing the iPhone, and what really got my goat was that she referred to the camera function on mobile phones as being 'the single most important function on a phone.'

Er, NO!!! It's a frakking phone!! We have these things called 'Cameras' (without the word 'phone' attached) for which that statement is applicable. They then slagged off the iPhone's photo ability because it wasn't taking good pictures in a really dark, seedy club in Barcelona. *Note* - the kind of people who are going to buy an iPhone aren't likely to be hanging round dark, seedy clubs in Barcelona, trying to take pictures of dark, seedy people.

FFS!!! Very annoying. Also, WHY are they testing it in Barcelona? And now they're doing some ridiculous navigation test. Bunch of frakking FUCKRONS!!!

I am so annoyed I feel like crying.

>:0(

BIG frakking disappointment

2007-10-27T23:51:00.000+01:00

Okay so we finally finished season 3 of Battlestar.

What a pile of SHIT! Where was the BRILLIANT, AWESOME ending that the internet has hinted at for so long?!! I have SO many issues with it that I'm actually REALLY angry!!!!

As part of 'Net-tiquette' I am obliged to write **SPOILERS BEGIN HERE** before I have my rant, so **SPOILERS BEGIN HERE**!!!!

- Part 1 of the 2 part ending episodes was boring as hell. It was OBVIOUS Baltar would get off and the Adamas' would be unhappy bunnies. PLUS, Apollo's little speech actually rang true with me, loads of horrible things HAVE happened and other people HAVE got off. Yes Baltar is an uber-prick, but is he really any worse than a lot of the others? And why did Anders sleep with that munter assistant of the President's? She's rank!

- Part 2, well, where do I begin? I have NO idea what the point of hearing 'All Along the Watchtower' was. It made no sense and was quite frankly really irritating. I found the bit near the end where all 4 were stood humming it to be just ridiculous. And yes, it was also OBVIOUS that Starbuck was alive and well, so I expected her to show up, but NOT looking like butter wouldn't melt with a whiny almost Northern tone going "Aiyaa Leeeee, s'alright, 'ave been t'Earth and am gonna take ya there."

You know what? I have absolutely NO idea what's going on, I am just plain confused. And extremely disappointed, cos I'm only going to watch season 4 now because I need to know what the frak is going on, NOT because I can't wait to see it.

>:0(

**SPOILERS END HERE** - though I am of the opinion they can't spoil the ending anymore than it's spoiled itself :0(

So I'm really upset, cos it was just crap, and I was expecting it to be so good. I'm going to have to go and watch some Babylon 5 now to redeem my belief in Sci-Fi entertainment.

Pah!

In other news, I was ill again, but then managed to tidy the study (at last), make more flapjack, and bake a fabulous big chocolatey cake for my sister's birthday tomorrow. We're going to an Autumnal event at a stately home to see seasonal baking, scarecrow making, pumpkin carving, and loads more stuff that I can't remember. We're also picnicking, but the weather looks horrendous, so it could be a challenge.

We now have Leopard, which is AWESOME!!!!! I'm loving the new background thing on Photobooth, especially the one where you can pretend you're on a rollercoaster! Stacks are a pretty cool function too, but that's about as far as I got, cos Hefty is installing it on EVERYTHING and playing with it.

My posting is all a bit disjointed today, sorry about that. Think it's cos I'm so tired....ZZZZzzzzzz.....and I'm still reeling from the BSG let down.

Well, as my writing has gone to pot and I'm knackered, I think I'll leave this be. Not all posts have to be works of literary genius (hurrah) so I'll leave this in the mess that it is.

Like BSG.

Sigh.

The wrinklypeeps aint lying

2007-10-23T08:18:00.000+01:00

I'm beginning to believe that spiel old people spout about having no time when they retire! I've not stopped! Well, I've been ill, but when I wasn't being ill I didn't stop!

I had another tidying spurt on Friday, and Hefty was very impressed when he got home. In fact, he's very impressed every day with my various antics. It makes everything seem so much more worthwhile, as a simple thing like cleaning the fridge really cheers him up! He's very appreciative, and I really like doing it, so I definitely have NO regrets about packing in work!

On Friday night, SuperSaz came over, and we ate badass steak, watched Have I Got News For You, Not Going Out, and then Rogue Trader - the Ewan McGregor film about Nick Leeson, not that consumer programme on BBC1!

On Saturday, we had a bit of a lie in then went to the glorious Bang & Olufsen shop, which is at the opposite side of Leeds to us but well worth the trip! Within ten minutes we were the proud owners of a Beocom 6000!

The handset looks white on this picture, but it's actually light grey. It comes in different colours but we liked this one the most, as black was too obvious and the other ones would have looked silly. It's really cool, as you can have as many handsets as you like (up to 8) as long as you have the base station, and you can name them all depending where you keep them. It doesn't have an answer facility, but it tells you if you have any missed calls and what number it was, and time etc. and you can programme in all your names and numbers using the iPod-esque wheel. AND, you can use it to turn the volume up on the TV if you can't find the remote!! How cool is that?!! Obviously you have to have a B&O TV, it won't work on anything!

So when we got home, we programmed in some numbers and fiddled with the ring tones (there's 8) and then sat admiring it.
Ooh, but before that, back in the shop, we also looked at the Beovision 6 - 26, which we're hopefully going to get in time for Christmas. It's a V.pretty TV and will look super in the bedroom. Plus, we can switch the remote that comes with it:

For the funky new one that they've put out! Which we'll do, because once you've got the first one, you can use it on all your B&O stuff, so we may as well have the spanky fab touch screen jobby:

But we're going to use the old B&O remote upstairs with the new TV, and keep the funky one to use downstairs with our current TV. Which I may as well post a picture of as I seem to have put everything else on here today! This is our Beovision Avant (or something?!):

So there, a veritable Beofest! Very exciting!

In other news, I saw an episode of The Hoobs the other day, and James Bolam was in it, as a 'Wrinklypeep', as opposed to a 'Tiddlypeep', for those who don't know that that's what the Hoobs call children. It was well random, he was sat in an armchair looking confused, as Iver and Groove tried to cheer him up. I've never seen anything like it! And I'm not sure if it actually happened, it was THAT weird. But, he didn't have ANYTHING to do, which leads me to think he isn't really retired, otherwise he'd be busy, like me.

We also went all over the place looking for a new kitchen, and settled on one from MFI, which I didn't expect. There's someone coming out to measure up this morning, but we're not getting one til after Christmas cos we like to pay for stuff outright, and it'll take Hefty a couple of months to save up for it, especially with us getting the new TV and stuff.

On Sunday, we got up really late, and then watched TV whilst I made a thank you card for all my work chums. Then we went out for dinner, came home and watched TV again (though I fell asleep).

Yesterday, I did some cleaning again, and baked blueberry muffins and flapjack. I picked Hefty up from work and we went to look at kitchens (more specifically the one we wanted, and we arranged fore-mentioned vist) and Habitat, where we bought some pillows and other bedding stuff.

Ooh, my Chillow arrived! It didn't help much last night though as I had a hideous night's sleep. I could go on but I've just realised what time it is! I've got to take Hefty to work! Plus, I've written an essay already!

I shall love you and leave you for now. G'bye!

iP

P.S. Tim, I reckon you'll be getting some post today! ;0)

Sleeeepy nonsense

2007-10-19T14:01:00.000+01:00

I'm not doing so well at this daily blogging malarkey am I? My first week of retirement I thought I'd be writing every day, but I've just been ill!! Which sucks! But then I remembered that's why I retired in the first place so I guess it was to be expected.

Cold has gone, was replaced yesterday by Uber-Headache Beast, with dizzy spells and a general feeling of crappity. Is crappity a word? I'm not sure, but I just wrote it and it looks and sounds good so I'm going to keep using it. CRAPPITY!

We saw Ratatouille on Wednesday night which was awesome!!! I now want to call my dog Remy, but I'm not sure it works, cos he won't be a blue rat.

Today I'm trying to get going again, and had a mad cleaning frenzy. The house looks great, but I'm now shattered and my eyes are all droopy. 'Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid' is on so I'm watching that as I write/drop off. It's such a cool film, and though it's brilliant, it's exactly the kind of film I find so comforting I fall asleep watching it.

Doesn't help that it's sunny and warm....ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I"m not impressed that Murder She Wrote isn't on, it's staple daytime TV viewing! I'm also not loving seeing Christmas adverts, I don't want to hear 'that' Slade song when it is Christmas, so I really don't want to hear it in October!!

I need to go and buy eggs. But I've got a headache again.

Crappity.

Pah!

2007-10-16T10:46:00.000+01:00

Well, it's day 2 of my new career as a House Goth, and not only is Murder She Wrote NOT on, I've got a stinking cold. I went on a cleaning rampage yesterday which was brill, but I wanted to finish off today, and I can't really cos I'm too ill. I have no energy and can't stop sneezing and blowing my nose :0( Was supposed to be seeing my sister and the Biz today but have had to cancel. Pah!

:0(

Retirement

2007-10-14T22:31:00.000+01:00

Well, my retirement on Friday was absolutely AWESOME!!! I literally spent all day talking to everyone I know, eating, and getting presents!! And let me tell you, I got some WICKEDACE presents!!!

- Funky rubber gloves
- Funky washing up brush
- 4 Milky Bars (big ones)
- Open All Hours DVD
- 2 Emus (let's not forget it was also Rod Hull Day on Friday!)
- The Complete Transformers Boxed Set
- Optimus Prime Voice Changing Helmet
- Delia Smith's How to Cook - Books 1, 2 and 3
- Anthea Turner's How to be a Perfect Housewife book

As well as a shed load of cards! Unbe-effing-lievable!! Check 'em out!

I really had no idea I was going to get all these brilliant things, I feel like my birthday has come early!!

It was a bit strange really, quite surreal, and I'm not sure it's sunk in yet that that's it, no more work!!! But I'm rather glad, cos I really am knackered!!! I had my leaving do on Thursday night, which involved me and 16 other people moseying on down to the city centre for a slap up Italian meal. I'm pleased to report that a super time was had by all, and despite there being so many of us, the food was excellent. I got home and into bed for midnight, then woke up at 4am (as stated in my previous blog), so just got up! Don't know how I saw the day out to be honest, though it took it's toll later that evening, when I fell asleep on the sofa and missed Have I Got News For You, Not Going Out, Q.I and I forgot to tape The Tudors. Blast! I only watch TV one sodding night of the week and I missed it all in one fowl swoop! (Is that the correct spelling/expression? I'm not sure, I just know there's a swoop involved.)

Rod Hull Day was fab though, and I'm delighted to say that the cake debacle was quickly rectified! The new and correct cake was a stonker!!! Look out below...................!

Obviously, the highlight was getting TWO Emus! My friend Starbar bought me one, and then so did JT, who was gutted when she found out that SB had got in first. She told me about it and I quickly put her straight. TWO Emus is much better than one!!! It's like a nest! In fact, I could probably do with a 3rd!!! This seemed to cheer her up so all was well!

Phew. I tell you, the day was a bit of a blur, but I remember getting home and trying out the OP helmet - or rather, fighting Hefty for it! - and having a Chinese takeaway, something we haven't done for ages.

So there. That's me, a lady of leisure. Tomorrow, I'm going to have a good clean! And maybe make some muffins! Ooh, and I'll have to watch Murder She Wrote!

I'm also waiting for the solution to my night-time problems (hopefully) to arrive. I have ordered a weird but wonderful thing called a 'Chillow,' which is guaranteed to help me cope with my night-time hot flushes. I don't know how it works, but as long as it does that'll be good enough for me!

This is the spec:

- Relieves discomfort from overheating in any part of the body
- Uses a unique cooling pad
- Gives you a lasting, cool and comforting sensation
- Helps to give you a superior sleep
- Allergy free
- Always ready for use whenever you need it
- Use it on any part of your body
- It is light it so can be taken abroad when traveling in hotter climates
- There is no other product on the market like it
- Doesn’t need refrigeration
- Always cool not cold, dry not wet and soft not hard

I'll let you know if it's any good, though I'm not sure why anyone not suffering from some kind of overheating problem would want one!

So that's me for now.

Over and out.

iP

Happy Rod Hull Day!!!!

2007-10-12T06:08:00.000+01:00

So today is Rod Hull Day!!!! It was my leaving do last night, I went to bed at 12am and woke up at 4am :0( So I decided to blog. Actually, I'm not really blogging, not properly, I just wanted to say Happy Rod Hull Day!! I'll write about my do later, I'm not quite with it at the mo.

Hope anyone out there celebrating the legend that is, Rod Hull, has a super day!!!!

I shall take photos today, and maybe put them up! I know I often threaten to put photos up but I'm a bit crap at it.

Ooh, and today is my last day at work! I am officially retiring at the ripe old age of 27!!

It's all a bit weird.......I think the look on Rod's face says it all....

May I just draw your attention to....

2007-10-10T20:47:00.000+01:00

....these quirky items!

At least that's my funeral sorted. I'm not much of a planner so it's good to know I'm partially organised in some areas.

Have just realised that tonight's postings have been death-themed. Hmmm. Sorry about that.

Disaster!

2007-10-10T20:30:00.000+01:00

Well, my Rod Hull Day preparations have had a 'spanner in the works' style moment. Went to Costco tonight, as I'd ordered one of their massive celebration cakes that you can personalise and choose a design for, for the bargain price of ten punds. I opted for pink balloons and the words 'Happy Rod Hull Day,' but WHAT'S THIS???!!!! I get to the bakery, they bring me my cake, and it's covered in big pink icing roses and a funereal style plaque! Okay yes, it has the words 'Happy Rod Hull Day' on it, but it looks like the kind of cake he should have had at his burial, NOT at all appropriate for the celebratory occasion that is Rod Hull Day!! So after some umming and ahhing, Hefty spoke to the baker man and told him it was WRONG! Luckily, the form I'd filled in was attached to it, so you could see they'd made an error. But they couldn't do it then and there, so I've got to go back tomorrow, and as it's my leaving do tomorrow evening, I'm going to have to do it at lunch time, which is uber annoying!! I hope they get it right tomorrow, or I'll be most upset. Also though, it's kind of embarrassing having to pick up and pay for a cake that says 'Happy Rod Hull Day' on it, but sending it back seems even worse!!1 What will they do with the one they messed up? They can't exactly put it out and sell it to someone else! Unless I'm not the only one who does this.....

Oh my gods! I just wrote a shed load of stuff, and blogger deleted it all and saved it!! Bastard!! I'm not writing that out again :0( That's really pissed me off, stupid thing!!!

FFS, I feel the need to go and kick something now >:0(

I'd written 2 more lengthy paragraphs, and good ones too! Pah!

Grumpy iP

Ramblings

2007-10-09T23:12:00.000+01:00

Well, the thought of giving up work on Friday has given me a renewed sense of blogvitality, and I just can't stop myself! Having all that free time means I might actually be a proper blogger again, with daily postings, and a chance to be part of a real blog-community again, like I used to be. How exciting!

Having just said that, I think my main item for today was the dog thing. Hmmm.

Well, I suppose I can say that we're progressing with BSG 3, currently watching episode 8, and we're on to Season 3 of Babylon 5, so we're still sci-fi party animals. I'm not quite understanding what's going on in BSG, one of the Cylons is dreaming, some bloke called Bulldog has appeared, it's all a bit weird, but hopefully I'll know what's happening by the end of it.....

....hmm, no, that episode didn't shed a great deal of light on much. And now there's a lot of boxing going on, and hazy Apollo/Starbuck love scenes. Personally, I think Starbuck's pretty lucky she ever got anywhere with Anders, she's no oil painting, and he's a damn fine looking fella. I think it's sad she's with him but fancies Apollo, and it's not fair on Dee either, and the fact I'm analysing it this much probably means something too. I've turned into a 3AM Girl, and I'm not even sure what one of those is?!! Not loving this episode though, hope it gets better........

I've just remembered I need to make a birthday card. Bugger.

Some models are right dogs....

2007-10-09T18:28:00.000+01:00

Well, here it is, the long awaited dog coat packaging with my sister's dog on it. It was a right faff to put up so in the end I had to do screen prints - rubbish!!

Model Factfile
Model: Sugar.
Breed: Maltese.
Hair Colour: White.
Age: 5.
Likes: Carrots, sleeping, Balamory.
Hates: Excercise, Jeremy Kyle, that 'I has Cheezeburger' or whatever it's called, website.

Genius

2007-10-09T07:30:00.000+01:00

Let me tell you about a genius product that has revolutionised my life - Lyon's Coffee Bags. That's right, coffee, in a bag!! Obviously there's nothing quite like the good stuff, and I do frequent the usual caffeine haunts just like anyone else, but sometimes when I'm at home, I just CAN'T be bothered to put on the filter machine, spark up the espresso beast, or deal with the mess of my cafetiere. THIS, is where coffee bags come in, because it's coffee, in a bag!!! It works along the same principal as a teabag, you just have to leave it a bit longer. It takes a bit of faffing at first to get the strength right, but when you do, it's as good as cafetiere coffee, but without the mess!!! And, as if all this weren't splendiferous enough, it only costs £1.99 for 18 of the buggers (from Waitrose anyway, they might be even cheaper elsewhere!!)!!! It really is JUST brilliant, coffee, in a bag!!!!!

So I suggest any caffeine-heads out there give them a whirl!!! It has been pointed out to me that instant coffee is a suitable alternative to fresh, but this is, quite frankly, blasphemy, as we all know it isn't, and it smells of tuna!!! I refuse to drink it, so Lyon's Coffee Bags are the way forward, cos I can't be the only one!!!

In other news, to celebrate my last day on Friday, we are (at last) having Rod Hull Day again. It doesn't seem that long ago since the last RHD, but it's been 14 months!!! Scary! So we'll all be thinking pink on Friday, and eating pink to boot! I have ordered a cake from Costco with pink balloons on it, and the words 'Happy Rod Hull Day' on it. I'd love to see their faces when they pick that order up. Utter confusion I should think!! I tried to link back to the last RHD for anyone who missed it, but the link thing aint working, so if you care that much, have a look under August 2006, it was the 4th and is right at the bottom of the archive page.

So there!

I'm off now, to have some coffee, in a bag!

Butters

2007-10-07T14:30:00.000+01:00

Well check out my bad self, I don't blog for a month and then when I do, I can't stop myself!!!

I just remembered that I had originally decided to get a dog and call him Butters, and I'm amazed I only just realised this!!! So I'm thinking Butters, is both cute, and cultured, it's a super name for a dog!

Yay the Butters!

Ooh and....

2007-10-07T10:15:00.000+01:00

....can I just say, Hefty is getting an iPhone in November which is SPLENDIFEROUS!!!! It comes with a free PS3, which is NOT so splendiferous, but hey. I suppose if they can't sell them, they may as well give them away.

I'm looking forward to having my picture taken so that it looks like I'm trapped in his phone, that's my new fave Maclication I reckon!

Does the hand in this picture freak anyone else out? It's really odd somehow?!!! Shudder.

Slight return

2007-10-07T09:47:00.000+01:00

At the risk of sounding like I've ripped off a Kirsty McColl song, there's a woman in my street who looks like Sylvia Plath. I think this is quite exciting, because I'm a big fan of SP, but I'm not sure I should tell her, as:

A) I don't know her that well, she's a neighbour at the far end of my L-shaped cul de sac.
B) She might not think that's a compliment, it's probably a bit like saying, 'You look like Kurt Cobain, before he shot himself."

Also, she's Australian, maybe she doesn't even know who Sylvia Plath is.

So it's been a while since I last blogged, my health has, as you might expect, gone to the dogs. This menopause thing is a right mare, and I'm up 4 to 6 times a night having hot flushes!! Thank the gods D-Day is finally nearly upon me - I 'retire' for want of a better phrase this Friday. About time!! This last 2 months has really dragged. I seriously need sleep too, but I now have an irrational fear of going through the REAL menopause, even though it might not be for 30 years!!! I'm sure I should be committed.

Am on to series 3 of Babylon 5, and it rules!! I still HATE Londo and wish I could be G'Kar's assistant, but I have to say I also really like Captain Sheridan. He's much better than Sinclair, I hope he stays!! We're progressing with BSG 3 too, though not as quickly as we would have liked. I'm pleased to report that the fat suit has come off Apollo, and he's now back to his original size and shape. I still think that it was the most pointless plot line EVER, as nobody else got fat, and it didn't seem to have any effect on anything?!!! But hey, he's back to how he was, hopefully he'll get in on some of the action from now on.

I have got a free National Geographic DVD with the paper this morning, it's about sharks. I'm liking this new free DVD and CD thing, it's got a lot better. And beats wall charts.

Puppy update: Still waiting for the birth of my impending new arrival, I can't wait!! My friend sent me a pic of hers and it's got me dead excited!

In other dog news, my sister's dog has done a spot of modelling, and is now on the packaging for a dog coat!! I have the artwork at work so will post it this week, it's cool! She got free coats for the dog that modelled and the other one. Maybe my dog could be a model. Then again, I don't go in for the whole dogs in clothes thing, so it wouldn't be much of a career option.

Has anyone seen that gorilla advert where he's drumming a long to a Phil Collins ad? Monkey folk creep me out but I rather like it. Have no idea what it's got to do with Dairy Milk though.

Right, gonna give this DVD a go I think, Hefty's still in the Dream Zone so it'll give me something to do.

Peace out people, keep on keepin on.

iP

9.9.99

2007-09-09T20:22:00.000+01:00

Ooh, just realised it's 8 years since my Grandpa died, today :0(

He did it in style though, well, picked a good date!

R.I.P Grandpa