Well That's Just Terrific

I'm moving!

2011-08-04T20:55:00.001+01:00

Dear all, please could you update your bookmarks and re-follow the new version of this blog at http://louisefranksdesigns.com/theblog/. Instructions and a new blog post can be found here.

Getting to know me

2011-08-02T16:08:00.002+01:00

I mentioned recently that I'd like to have you all get to know me better. Now I know that I don't live local to most (if any) of my readers so I figured a good way to do this was for you guys to leave a comment with a question. I'm away on a business trip for a few days but will gladly answer them when I get back.

Ask me anything...life...family...work...travels...hobbies....my thoughts...anything...

I'm moving soon

2011-08-01T22:30:00.003+01:00

Dear all, this is just advanced warning that I will soon be moving this blog to Wordpress. You will need to re-follow the blog (as I'm using a different widget) and change your bookmarks as I will not be setting up a re-direction.

The new site address will be posted soon.

Thanks

Happy Yorkshire Day

2011-08-01T12:27:00.002+01:00

Did you know that today is Yorkshire day?

The government reorganised England's county boundaries in 1974 and, following this, a number of concerned people set up county groups to lobby for the return of their traditional heritage. One of these groups was the Yorkshire Ridings Society.

It was in one of these groups (in the East Riding village of Market weighton) that led to the idea of having a day to celebrate all things Yorkshire and to promotoe our heritage and history. Hence, Yorkshire day was born. The date chosen for Yorkshire day was 1st August and it has been celebrated anually since 1975 (the year I was born).

{Yorkshire's flag}

The reason that August 1st was chosen was because on 1st August 1759, soldiers from yorkshire picked white roses from bushes near the battlefields at Minden (Germany) as a tribute to their falled comrades. The white rose is still the symbol for Yorkshire and appears on our county flag.

I am what many call an "honourary Yorksirewoman" because I wasn't born in Yorkshire. I was actually born in Lancashire, the county next door, usually referred to as "the opposition" because of the long running Wars of the Roses that occurred in the 1400's. However, next year I will have lived here for as long as I have lived in Lancashire. I wonder if that then makes me a fully-fledged yorkshire woman?

I love living in Yorkshire. When I first moved here in 1993, I was immediately struck by how friendly and open Yorkshire people are. As time has gone on, I have felt proud to belong to this county of friendly, welcoming people, fabulous rolling hills and of course, the inventors of the Yorkshire Pudding!

I may tell you some more useless useful facts about Yorkshire in the future if you're interested, but for now I will leave you with some pictures taken in my "home" county of Yorkshire.

{taken at Scarborough}

{one of the many rolling hills}

{taken at Filey}

{taken at Yorkshire Sculpture Park}

{taken at Wentworth Castle & Gardens}

I hope you enjoyed today's history and geography lesson. it was nice to share somehting with you about where I live and why I love my new adopted home so much! :)

Gosh my posts are getting even more random!

2011-07-31T15:40:00.000+01:00

I have always struggled to understand what people are saying. The amount of times I have to ask people to repeat themselves is just phenomenal. Seriously, I have had (or been sent for) so many hearing tests over the years and yet I say the same thing every.single.time. It isn't the VOLUME that is the problem! The volume is fine. It is WHAT people are saying that is the problem. The way I explain it is that if feels like my brain has to translate everything into "Louise-speak" before I can understand it. It's like I know the person is speaking to me in English but it just doesn't make sense! Eventually I catch on. Now I know it sounds funny but this difficulty understanding voices makes it difficult in things like lectures at university, meetings at work and such. In fact I now dread meetings at work, especially when somebody unfamiliar is there (eventually I do learn to "tune in" to people) or when it's a teleconference. I have mentioned this difficulty to loads of people over the years and have always been met with a blank look.

You know that look? The one that suggests I'm barking mad?

And then I stumble over this article on the BBC website and it's like "aha!". The article suggests that many people with dyslexia also struggle to understand spoken voices. In my case I'd even say that I struggle more with spoken voices that reading language. Well why did nobody tell me this earlier - I thought I was nuts...or deaf LOL.

So next time I say "pardon" to you please speak clearly, not louder :)

De-stressing my life!

2011-07-30T06:54:00.000+01:00

Recently, I have made no secret of the fact that I have felt stressed and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work and deadlines my life. I have deadlines for work, deadlines for domestic stuff, deadlines for my blog designs, deadlines for my digiscrapping kit designs...In fact, I’m pretty sure that if I looked hard enough, I’d find that I had deadlines for deadlines! The trouble with deadlines is that you seem to spend a lot of mental energy remembering them and (in my case) a lot of mental energy stressing over meeting the deadline.

With soaring stress levels, it was clear that some deadlines had to go! So, I reluctantly closed (indefinitely) to all custom blog designs and decided not to do tutorial Tuesday and Freebie Friday any more. I still plan on posting tutorials and freebies, but on days that I decide I’ll post them...whatever day of the week that may be. I already feel liberated!

I’m still wondering what to do with my wonderful creative team at Adorible digital Designs. I have had a strict release schedule for ages and I know my CT members preferred that as it allowed them to plan. However, all it’s doing now is getting me stressed and I’ve realised that the deadlines need to go. I just need to find a way of releasing kits without deadlines. Hmmm..

I can’t tell you how much less stressed I am by reducing the number of deadlines in my life! Unfortunately, I have a stressful week coming up at work as I’m away on a business trip and there’s a lot of my performance being measured on it. No pressure then!

Has anyone else taken any positive steps to reduce the stress in their life? I’d be interested to know what you did. Don’t forget that if Blogger won’t let you comment you can leave an anonymous comment or use the name/url function.

More random musings

2011-07-29T11:33:00.002+01:00

Well yesterday was the funeral and it was pretty much as you’d expect I suppose. My sister in law raised an interesting point that funerals are strange things really. Think about it...the person dies...you grieve...and then in the following days the grief gets a little more bearable...then like 10-14 days later you have the funeral and by that point you’re pretty much doing your best to move on and managing reasonably ok...then you have the funeral and it’s like...WHAM!!! Suddenly you’re back at the beginning, taken back to the most grief stricken point and having to start the grieving process again.

When you put it that way it does seem almost barbaric to put yourself through that. But yet I don’t know of a suitable alternative other than trying to get the funeral as closed to the memorial service as possible...which over here is pretty much 10-14 days. I rest my case.

For me the most difficult thing about FIL’s death is that he wasn’t a Christian (in fact he probably bordered more on being an atheist) so I find that hard to resolve. I prayed right up to the very end that in his final moments of lucidity he found God. Very few people in Andy’s family (and my own) are Christian and it does make dealing with death so much more difficult. I mean if the person who died was a Christian at least I could get some comfort from the fact that the person was in heaven.

Onto other things, I am off to the Isle of White on a business trip for 3 days next week so will be out of action most of next week. I already have a backlog of emails to respond to, but I’m simply refusing to stress about it :)

The age of innocence gone forever?

2011-07-25T17:38:00.000+01:00

One of the things I liked when I went to Norway recently was the way that it had an old fashioned charm about it. The people were the most open and friendly people I have ever met in my life, people threw litter in the bin, people seemed more polite and caring and everything just seemed so...innocent. In many villages we were told that people don't need to lock their doors at night!

And now this maniac Anders Breivik has gone on a killing spree...is this the end of innocence in Norway? Has he spoilt it for everyone? How many generations of parents will feel vulnerable sending their children to summer camp now? I think the consequences of this will be far reaching and to be felt for a very long time. It's so sad. My heart goes out to everyone who lost somebody, or was injured or had to witness it. May you and your loved ones find peace once again in your beautiful country.

Norway - a country of beautiful scenery and warm, welcoming people...except Anders Breivik of course

Positive post

2011-07-25T09:38:00.001+01:00

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I've been finding it really hard to stay positive recently. I was already suffering a lack of energy before becoming completely exhausted making 130 mile trips to the hospital every day to see Andy's dad. However, I am determined to find positive things in all experiences, even the bad ones. So here's some things that my recent experiences have taught me.

1. I married into a wonderful family - a family who welcomed me with open arms and who treat me like their own daughter
2. Many of you know how I'm bit of a workaholic and how I'm always on the go. I love life and feel like I'm missing out when I don't cram in as much as possible. But this week I have realised that actually doing less will allow me to get MORE out of the things that I do do.
3. I have some wonderful readers at my blog design blog, Adori Graphics. When I recently published that I was stopping custom services for the foreseeable future I expected a bunch of hate mail - but ended up with so many messages of support it was very heart-warming.
4. I actually like peppers - anyone who knows me in real life will laugh at this one because I would almost fake death to avoid eating a pepper. I have discovered that if only lightly cooked I quite like them LOL. And most importantly...
5. I have always had a good relationship with God but with each bad thing that happens I end up being drawn closer to him. As much as I've had a horrible couple of weeks I feel that my relationship with God is stronger than ever because of it.

What good things happened to you this week?

And now for something completely random

2011-07-21T20:14:00.003+01:00

Thanks to all for your kind comments. I have read every one of them and appreciate all of my precious readers.

Today's blog post is kind of random - just a few thoughts and observations, as well as a little news.

My lovely father in law

Rest in peace

Shopping
I'm still gathering ideas for my new office/study as I'll be starting my course in a few weeks. I desperately need a bigger desk and somewhere cosy where I can study in peace. I've decided to go with a calming natural theme and have got a good idea what I'll be getting now. You can check out my ideas at Pinterest.

I just love this big desk - plenty of room for my docking station and everything else that usually clutters up my (much smaller) desk.

In the 4 years that we've lived here we haven't decorated a single room and now we're getting desperate. Our hallway is painted eggshell magnolia and is soooooo badly stained it's not funny. I mean who decorates a hallway in eggshell paint? Anyway, I have some original paintings to hang on the wall and just bought this great shoe storage thing today at Ikea. Cute isn't it?

I'll post some pics when we're done - just need to find some lighting now.

New car
Andy picked up a new car last week. It's a Honda Civic and very space-agey. The voice activated stuff is getting a little irritating though as it's basically impossible to remember all of those commands. Thankfully it is Andy's car and so I don't need to learn how to operate it. If you have one I'd be interested to know what you think of it and what kind of problems you've had with it.

Hospital funny
Ok well we didn't have much to laugh at this week but we did get a laugh at this...

£1 coin operated wheelchairs at the Scunthorpe General Hospital. I have seen it all now! Does hospital management think they're running a supermarket? I mean...really?!

Cruise ports
Just a note to let you know that I'll finish posting vacation pics shortly. Next stop was Geirangerfjord I believe!

Tough decisions
I have been making some tough decisions about the future of my blogging and designs. I simply cannot keep up with what I have been doing over the last 18 months so regrettably, something is going to have to go....maybe not permanently, but at least in the short term. I'll post more about this later. In the meantime please be patient with my slower responses to email as I have quite a backlog now due to events of the last couple of weeks plus the vacation. I'm about a month behind right now!

Ok well that WAS kind of random but hey ho....

R.I.P FIL

2011-07-19T19:30:00.001+01:00

Just a quick update to let you know that we lost Andy's dad this afternoon. He went very quickly once his heart medication was stopped, with absolutely no awareness of what was going on. I am so grateful that he could die in ICU where there was some (albeit limited) control over when he would die because we live 65 miles away from the hospital and we really wanted to be there when he died. Ernest died at 2.15pm surrounded by those who he loved and who loved him very much.

Thanks to all for your prayers and support :)

I want to get off

2011-07-18T22:59:00.000+01:00

I really want OFF this emotional roller coaster. I have had my fill now.

Some important decisions were made today which indicate that the end is near for my dear FIL. I have been expecting this if I'm completely honest but it makes it no easier. Today my brave MIL made the decision that none of us want to make - to not resuscitate my FIL. Please pray for her as she is distraught at this and says she feels like a murderer. Of course we have all told her it was a brave decision, that FIL would not have wanted to spend the rest of his life in a chair or bed (he was soooo active) and that we would ALL Have done the same thing. But she is tortured by her decision and I just don't know what else to say to comfort her.

Tomorrow morning the doctors will be turning off the ventilator. Not long after my FIL will (most likely, barring a miracle...which I haven't given up on) pass away...blissfully unaware of what's going on. Andy says he knows it is in God's hands and he is prepared for whatever happens next.

If I'm truthful, the longer that FIL has been sedated & ventilated, the more I have been worried that we've done the right thing. Yesterday I began to worry that we'd acted selfishly by pulling my FIL this far.

So tomorrow please pray for peace for all of our family.

PS: I will be taking a short break from blogging while I spend time with the family this week. Please understand that I may not reply to your emails and comments etc straight away.

The waiting game

2011-07-16T18:43:00.002+01:00

Nothing major to report regarding the FIL situation really. He's had a few issues but he's no longer deteriorating and it's really a case of waiting...and then of course we see if he wakes up and whether he can control his own airway etc. At this stage they aren't sure if he's having seizures. From what I just saw of them the seizures don't look typical (they're focal, but too regular compared to what I've seen before...and they seem to be in synch with the inspiration trigger on his vent....very weird!). Even the ICU nurse wasn't 100% convinced they were true seizures but he's been started on seizure meds anyway. His liver function is a bit off and his blood pressure a bit low but neither are particularly worrying just yet. They'll try waking him up again tomorrow or Monday and if he can't maintain his own airway and/or he still has no cough reflex then they'll do a tracheostomy on Monday/Tuesday.

Despite him not deteriorating any further, the (possible) seizures and lack of cough reflex are worrying as both imply severe brain damage. Clearly I'm praying that it's temporary and that he has a good recovery. I know it's in God's hands and that whatever happens I trust in him. But I can't tell you how sad I'll be if we lose him or if he has seriously impaired function for the rest of his life. We have all tried so hard to keep him alive...the doctors...the nurses....us (pushing the doctors for treatment etc)...but I wonder is it in FIL's best interests or is it our own selfishness because none of us want to lose this precious man? I just pray that the doctors hear God's guidance. That's all we can do for now.

So now, we continue waiting...

PS: I will continue working on designs in progress, respond to emails and continue blogging by next weekend. Please allow me some time to be with my family right now :)

Quick update

2011-07-15T16:05:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update for those awaiting news of my FIL (thanks for your concern & emails by the way). He is now sedated and on a ventilator and is going for a repeat brain scan this afternoon. This most likely means a sudden deterioration in his condition but I won't know more until we get to the hospital this evening - presuming we're not called in before then. I think now is the time to make sure that hubby understands what to expect when we get there - I think he's in for a shock. I'm sure I'll be shocked and I know what to expect. Please continue to pray for us. If it isn't God's will that he's healed then I understand that, I just don't want him to suffer and I don't want peace for the family. It feels like I'm living a nightmare myself - and it's not even my own father.

Now in ICU

2011-07-14T21:31:00.000+01:00

I feel far too tired at the moment to even go into the problems we've been having with lack of communication, lack of medical care and the hospital acting against suggested clinical guidelines with respect to my father in law's care. When Andy went to the hospital last night he made it clear that we knew they were breaking guidelines and that we were looking for answers as to why. When Andy came home last night we were all concerned that the ward staff hadn't noticed that his dad had deteriorated and didn't really seem to be doing much. We were all frustrated and angry at the way he was being treated. The original plan was for Andy and I to meet the doctors on Friday afternoon and find out what was going on. Anyway, his dad had other ideas, as we were about to find out.

We got THE phone call at 10am this morning - the one where you're told to dash to the hospital. Not good news this morning as Andy's dad had deteriorated a lot overnight and was now unresponsive. The hospital where he was at were transferring him to a hospital which had better facilities so we were told to go straight to the new hospital.

When we got there he doctor spoke to us as soon as our feet landed on the ward. We explained our issues with the previous hospital and asked him to be honest...good or bad news we just wanted answers. And then we pulled out the "nurse card". Normally I don't use it because I remember how intimidating it used to be when I was looking after doctors and nurses. But what I was really meaning was "don't pull the wool over our eyes or treat us like idiots because I understand every word you're saying".

After that things seemed to happen really quickly, he got the brain scan that he needed (which confirmed a brain infarct - stroke) and the doctors quickly got a plan together. I asked them to add chest physio to his treatment plan (and oh boy did he sound BETTER after it!) and asked them to start him on IV fluids because he's not drunk in well over 24 hours. Sure enough they sorted it out, much to our relief.

He was later transferred to ICU - although I think he was actually looking a little better by that point. However he is still very, very sick and we're not sure which way things are going to go. The general consensus at this point is that he had a stroke and aspirated, giving him aspiration pneumonia and septicaemia. He's got a long way to go and it breaks my heart to see this active, independent man lying so helpless in ICU.

So, tonight I'll be praying for God to continue to guide the doctors towards the right treatment. I have confidence that the doctors are doing everything they can (no thanks to the previous hospital) and so now we wait.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers x

Trying to keep busy

2011-07-13T17:52:00.000+01:00

Sometimes the more you know, the more difficult things are. Being a trained nurse it can be difficult to not take over in family health-emergency related issues. I find it frustrating that all I get are garbled half-correct (and sometimes wildly inaccurate) messages from people. I understand medical speak...it's familiar...and it is descriptive and meaningful and leaves me in no doubt as to a person's condition....however bad that might be. But when all you're getting are messages which suggest that people are ok and then one contradicting it saying that everything is NOT ok...and then you get a message asking who they should complain too.....ugh! It makes me want to drive over there and take over. Yet (frustratingly) I am sat here, very worried, very confused and trying to make sense of euphemisms and other people's confusion. Andy got a rather worrying text message from his brother this afternoon so Andy left straight for the hospital and couldn't pick me up as he didn't want to delay (not knowing if time was of the essence or not). So I'm trying to keep busy and praying to God that he is actually ok (relatively speaking).

And of course how do I support my husband who is (potentially) about to lose his father?

Prayers and thoughts needed

2011-07-12T22:50:00.003+01:00

From left to right: father in law, me, hubby, mother in law

My father in law suffered (we think) a stroke this morning and is in hospital. We've just got home from work and chores and it's now 10.30pm so we can't go visit now. My mother in law was very unclear as to how sick my father in law is so poor hubby has no idea what to expect when he gets to the hospital tomorrow. Hubby is quite phobic of hospitals and normally I have to prepare him by explaining what he's likely to see before he even gets there. Anyway, please pray that my father in law isn't suffering and that he makes a good recovery. He has always been very independent and will not be a happy bunny if others are having to help him out with things *sigh*.

The good things

2011-07-12T10:48:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I shared a little personal stuff about me and one of the things that I struggle with. I find it difficult to be very open on my blog and difficult to talk about my feelings and whatever is in my heart but I’d really like to change that. I do hope not to disappoint too many of you or offend etc but I need my blog to be a place where I feel I can vent and be honest. If you happen to disagree with what I say, that’s fine, but please don’t post nasty or hurtful comments. That’s my only request :)

Ok here’s another snippet about me.....I’ve always been bit of a pessimist – you know a glass is half empty kind of person. I’m aware that this sometimes drags other people down with me (including me) and so today I’m going to focus on the good things in an effort to be more positive.

5 good things which happened in the last 24 hours
1. the roads were really quiet coming to work. I don’t like heavy traffic so this was a pleasant start to the day.
2. a colleague went above and beyond to help me – that’s always appreciated.
3. I managed to find a parking space at work which wasn’t in a deep puddle or other cruddy area of the car park
4. cuddled on the settee with hubby
5. had a phone call from my sister

I could easy triple that by writing 15 negative things but I will refrain LOL

What good things happened to you today? Share them in a comment :)
(If Blogger won’t let you comment you can comment using the name/url option or even anonymous but remember to leave your name so i can respond if needed).

Thanks & about comments

2011-07-11T18:34:00.002+01:00

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who have emailed me to express your understanding and to offer me the chance to talk. The truth is that I find it very difficult to talk about my feelings in public and I find it difficult to offer more than just a glimpse into the real me - but I am trying to change that and I appreciate your support.

Some of you have said you tried to comment but you couldn't get it to work. Unfortunately Blogger comments (all over Blogger - not just mine) are still not working properly for all people. You can however leave a comment by selecting to leave a comment as name/url or even anonymous (just write your profile name or name in the post so I know it's you).

In time I'd like to share more, but out of respect for my family I don't feel that I can share too much information here on the blog, especially in depth details regarding why I have a self esteem issue in the first place. I know that many of you will understand this. Your understanding and patience means a lot to me and in some ways I'm relieved (yet saddened) that some of you do struggle as much as I do.

Beating low self esteem

2011-07-11T13:12:00.004+01:00

I have spoken to very few of my readers in real life, consequently many of you don't know about the struggle that I've had with poor self esteem over the years. We're not just talking about feeling a bit low in confidence here, but something which is much, much more disabling. So, I bought a book on beating low self esteem. The book covers things like reasons for low self esteem, why we behave as we do (when we have low self esteem) and sets a framework for climbing out of the rut. I've only had a quick flick through so far and have only just started reading it properly. So far I have discovered that:

1. previous situations lead to poor self esteem - it may be one bad situation, multiple bad situations (of any magnitude) or just not enough good situations
2. these situations lead us to make a conclusion about ourselves which is wrong or biased - these conclusions are called "the bottom line"
3. at some point in time those conclusions were understandable and made perfect sense - especially if you were a child and had limited understanding anyway
4. people with low self esteem are always on the lookout for situations which confirm their bottom line or conclusion - this is known in many circles as hypervigilence - or reading too much into things I call it.
5. people with low self esteem often "tune out" to positive things, which makes it even harder to feel positive
6. people with low self esteem often have negative predictions- basically "what if" questions like "what if I do x and y happens". People get annoyed with me about this all the time - my mum often tells me to stop putting barriers in my way.
7. these negative predictions lead to anxiety and to people setting up unhelpful coping mechanisms which are helpful in the short term, but in the long term just lead to more anxiety and reinforce the bottom line.

Some of my bottom lines (biased conclusions about myself) are:
1. I am worthless
2. I am unlovable
3. Nobody will like me no matter what I do
4. It will never be perfect enough
5. I am a bad person

Some coping mechanisms based on these would be:
1. In a group situation, let everyone have their say first because nobody really wants to hear what I say anyway.
2. Don't bother making new friends because once people get to know me they won't like me anyway
3. Don't bother trying because it will never be perfect enough- if I do try, work myself do death getting it perfect

It's easy to see now that when I was a child, these were perfectly logical conclusions based on the feedback that I was getting. But now that I'm older they hold me back. At work I am told that I'm too quiet and don't contribute enough in meetings. I find it difficult to make friends because I'm so scared of rejection. The list just goes on and, for the sake of my sanity, the has to stop!

I can't even put into words how empowering it is to finally understand why I behave as I do and why I have such poor self esteem. I feel like now, more than ever, I can actually do something about it. It isn't just a personality trait, it something that I learned due to past situations, and it's possible that I can set up new ways of thinking and finally find the confidence and self-appreciation and self-loving that I've always dreamed of!

Welcome to Olden!

2011-07-10T11:23:00.001+01:00

Olden is a village situated the mouth of the Oldeelva River in the Oldedalen valley along the Nordfjord in Norway. About 500 people live in this village, which is only 3/4km in size.

When we arrived at this port I was immediately struck by how picturesque the place was. Here we were on top of a river, surrounded by steep, tall, green hills and typical Norwegian architecture. It truly is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to and this memory will stay with me for a long time. Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice - blame the photographer ugh!

View from the top of the ship. The village centre is situated in the top third of the image. Notice how the ship docks right at the side of the road.

Closer view of the village centre.

We took a trip at this port because, when we looked at the port on Google Earth at home, it was clear that there wasn't really much here. We did enjoy our trip (which was essentially just a sightseeing tour) but to be honest, we really could have made a full day out of just plodding about looking at the buildings and taking photos etc.

The trip that we took was a cruise down Oldavatnet Lake on a small boat. It was a nice trip (though cold on the lake) but the best bit was the drive through the small villages on the way to the lake. We passed some beautiful places like these...

Opposite side of the fjord

Oldavatnet Lake

From the lake we could see a glacier (Briksadalsbreen), which is essentially a "finger" of a much larger glacier and was really quite amazing. The glacier looked quite small, but this is the middle of summer here and apparently the size of the glacier depends on not just the temperature but the amount of rain too. Apparently, the season has been a little drier here than usual.

Briksadalsbreen (glacier)

After the lake trip we drove back through the outskirts of Olden before arriving at the village centre where the shops are (not many I hasten to add!). The centre was beautiful and had a cute little church which was built in 1759.

Towards the village centre

Old village church

Sailing back out past Olden we past some other pretty towns, like this one here...

Cute town which we passed on the way back through the fjord.

And of course we took a couple of pics of ourselves - the trouble with couples holidays though is that you always come back with a ton of pics of you both separately! The first one is me (obviously) and the second one was Andy which was taken outside at....midnight!

A rare image - it's not often that this gal posts pics of herself - especially not of her body!

Andy - outside at midnight!

Ok, that's your whistle stop tour of Olden. Next stop...Trondheim.

Next port of call....Bergen

2011-07-06T09:46:00.000+01:00

Our next port of call was Bergen. Bergen is located on the south west coast of Norway and (we were told) is the second largest city in Norway. In 1217 it even replaced Trondheim as the country's capital - the capital now is Oslo - and has been since 1299 according to our tour guide.

Bergen - photo captured from the viewing platform at the top of the funicular railway

Around 1100 the city became important for the trade of dried cod which came from the north Norwegian coast. Later on (in about the 14th/15th century) it became an important trade center for the whole of Norway, with much of the trade being carried out from the old quayside (Bryggen), which is still there today. On the day that we went to the Bryggen there was a huge market going on with people trading much more than dried fish :)

We started our trip at the city park where out shuttle bus dropped us off. The park has a large (man made?) lake with a fountain and is really pretty. There was lots of seating around so we vegged out for a bit a just took in the view.

Bergen's city park

After that we went to the old Bryggen and walked/sat around there for a while doing my favourite activity "people-watching". It was fun to see what the locals were doing and what they were eating etc...basically grabbing a snap shot of their life. This is what the Bryggen looks like today...

The Bryggen (old quayside) at Bergen


I even managed to sneak a pic of hubs - I do have pics of me too but they're in hubby's camera

We spent some time here looking around the old quayside and then made our way to the funicular railway. This railway (called the Fløibanen) runs up the Fløyen mountain and provides the best views of the whole of the Bergen region. The view from the viewing platform (320m above sea level) is absolutely stunning and is used in many of the tourist brochures that you will see around. The first picture that I added to this post was taken from up there. The cost was 70Kr each (which is about £7.50 or US$11) for a return trip and the railway cars leave every 10-15 minutes carrying about 40 passengers at a time - the cars and station have good access too and there was good provision for wheelchair users. This is a must see if you go to Bergen!

After that we just had a nosey around town and came across one of these (sheesh they get everywhere I tell you!). I loved how the building blends into the other historic buildings around it, much like they did with the McD's in York (England).

Mc D's.....you must never be more than a couple of miles from one. We didn't go in by the way.

We only got a few hours in Bergen but it was enough to get a good idea about what the place looked like and what people do here. The trip out of Bergen takes you back through the fjord (if you're on a ship!) and gives you some more spectacular views. I just loved the colourful buildings here.

Further up the fjord

That was pretty much our visit to Bergen, check back in a few days for tales of our next port of call...Olden. Olden was my (joint) favourite port of call :)

Back from Norway

2011-07-05T18:26:00.001+01:00

Thanks to everyone to emailed me wishing me a great trip to Norway. We had a fabulous time and some wonderful weather. Who would believe that you could get sunburnt in the Arctic Circle? It was about 12-13 degrees (Celsius) most of the time we were away but the sun must have been very strong! I'll know for next time...

I'm really tired right now - have spent much of the afternoon paying bills and doing chores. Have also managed to come back with a (hopefully mild) recurrence of the health problems I had over Christmas. What a bummer...wasn't the best end to the holiday really. Am watching and waiting to see what develops and am hopeful that I won't need more surgery. If I do disappear of the radar for a few days in the next couple of weeks, you know where I'll be LOL.

I'll share some pics of the ports of call with you later, but wanted to just share a few of the ship and our journey out of England first.


I don't know what this building is called but we passed it on the way out of England and I thought it looked pretty.

I've passed these old forts from WWII in the English Channel before when I was working on the Isle of White and I thought they were interesting. I'm surprised they're still there really - for one thing they're a bit macabre and another thing, surely they're a risk to shipping?

Call us cheap but we always go for a cheap inside cabin. Our opinion has always been that it's just not worth splashing out for the amount of time that you spend in your cabin. However on this trip I must admit we did wish we'd splurged and gone for a balcony because there were lots of times we could have used it (normally you don't cruise so close to land so it's not worth it IMO, but we were SO close to the land that it would have been so much better of we had). Actually we did originally debate getting a balcony but when we saw that it was more than twice the cost, we decided to go on 2 cheaper cruises instead - one was last October to the Canaries and then this was the second.

Loved this little pool at the back of the ship but it got really busy so we went to the main pool which was actually much quieter.

This was one of the main pools on the ship. I loved the sculpture at the end of the pool...

Check out the lovely texture of the sculpture.

Ok, well join me on my next stop (hopefully tomorrow) which is Bergen - Norway's second largest city...and a beautiful one at that!

I'm still here but not for long!

2011-06-19T17:43:00.001+01:00

I've had a few emails asking why I'm not blogging so much lately. I am blogging, it's just that I'm blogging on my private blog as I have a lot of things that I don't want to share publicly. Andy and I are fine though...in fact we're off to Norway tomorrow...yay! Will catch up with you all in a couple of weeks :)

Why?

2011-05-31T23:25:00.002+01:00

I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes and wondering "why"? The reason is this news report here.

Warning - video contains some information which you may find distressing (in fact I hope you do...this needs to stop!).

The sad thing is that I am not surprised by this at all. Many of you know that I used to be a nurse before I changed careers and I saw this kind of thing go on all the time - albeit on a more subtle level. It's a disgrace - it was then too. And the worst thing is nobody is/was interested! I remember at one point I did some agency nursing which saw me working night shifts as the only qualified person in the care homes. One morning I walked past one resident's room to hear a shouting match going on (a one sided one at that). fearing for the resident's safety I entered the room to find one of the care assistants standing over the resident shouting at her....and I mean PROPER shouting. I made her leave the room and reported my concerns.....nobody was interested. Personally I was horrified and the next time I had to work with her I put her on mostly laundry duty so that she wouldn't be near the residents. I was terrified at the thought of leaving her with them - especially knowing that I'd be to blame being the person in charge.

I just don't get it - I honestly don't. These are people's family, people (adult) children, the most PRECIOUS "thing" in somebody's life. You bet I feel angry! You see it's a job to them (not ALL obviously) - they don't see the privileged position they are in, the way that they have access to people's lives like nobody else. One day I hope they realise before it's too late.

Wentworth Castle & Gardens

2011-05-29T18:30:00.000+01:00

When Andy and I were in Scotland we started thinking about all the great days out that were on our own door step. You know? We think nothing of driving a few hundred miles to go see a Scottish castle or public gardens - yet we have an abundance of things like that here in Yorkshire! So when we came home we decided to make a point of visiting some of Yorkshire's own attractions and began our quest to find cheap days out locally. Unfortunately we weren't able to make good use of any discounts as the best discounts (in fact the ONLY discounts I could find) were for families...which is usually the case here. Anyway...I'm digressing....

So today we arrived at Wentworth Castle & Gardens - a large estate which thanks to English Heritage is now mostly open to the public. The estate is 50 acres and is actually mainly open to the public free of charge (although you do have to pay £3 parking fees). However, we chose to pay £4.95 each which allowed us entry in to the Victorian flower garden and other landscaped & oriental gardens (an includes the parking fee too). Personally I did think it was a little on the expensive side, as with all English Heritage sites in my opinion, but I have no doubt that the maintenance charges on this place must be astronomical!

You can find out more about Wentworth Castle and gardens here, but the main thing to realise when you see the photos is that it isn't actually a defensive medieval castle (like you'd normally think of when you hear the word castle) so much as a large country house. Also, the castle like structure in the photos is actually a "folly" which is what rich people of the past used to build in order to show their wealth. Follies are all over the world but here in the UK they're (almost) on every street corner*

*Possibly a slight over exaggeration

Anyway, enjoy the pics of my little slice of Yorkshire :)

This beautiful Victorian conservatory is currently being restored

Victorian flower garden

views of Yorkshire

the old public road used to enter the estate here

some monument

a folly - built for the kids to play in!

grounds at the back of the folly

Lady Lucy's Walk - Lucy was one of the owner's children and was said to have died of a broken heart as she couldn't marry the person that she loved. She is said to haunt this lime tree walk...no we didn't see her.

A few more pics

2011-05-28T21:40:00.001+01:00

Here are a few more pics from Scotland...

the hotel


NOT the hotel :) Actually it's Inverary Castle!

Oh heck what have I done?

2011-05-24T19:12:00.001+01:00

Well I applied for course I mentioned in my previous post and today I found out I have been accepted onto it pending my references and proof of my previous degree result. So basically I am on the course! Oh heck what have I done? Help?!

So those plans I mentioned previously will need to be set in stone now. I know some people won't be happy but seriously I am not super human so I'm not even going to TRY and keep up with everything. I have learnt my lesson in the past and I refuse to make myself sick again. So starting after my trip to Norway next month I will be working a reduced schedule of work (note I said REDUCED not NON EXISTANT). I will still be doing all my usual activities but just less of it.

Anyway onto other things - I have a few more pics to share from my recent trip to Scotland...


Ok we all know I don't do photos so apologies for the stupid face! But I was told you wanted more pics of me...for some INSANE reason LOL. I've had my hair done since this pic though...

That's it for now but I'll share more later :)

I'm much more than a designer

2011-05-10T14:12:00.001+01:00

Those that know me well know that I’m not a full time designer but that I actually have a day job. I work as a metallurgist which is basically a an engineer who specialises in metals. The thing is I’m working in an area which I’m not actually qualified to work in. You see I have a degree in mechanical engineering not metallurgy or materials science which is what I need. Whilst this isn’t an issue on a day to day level as much of what I’ve learnt has been through experience - it IS sometimes an issue when I need to understand a specific bit of theory that would have been covered on a materials science or metallurgy course. I desperately want to fill the gaps in my knowledge because quite honestly it would make my job so much easier and a whole lot less stressful. So I have decided that I am going to look into going back to university to study for a Masters in a Materials/Metallurgy. I’ll be going to an open evening tomorrow at a university not too far from where we live and I hope to get a place on their course.

This is a big step for me. Being dyslexic and having a really poor short term memory means that learning (and especially remembering) anything is really difficult. I literally had to work a 60-70 hour week all the way through uni just to get through all the reading and re-reading to make sure that I’d remember stuff. Understanding I find is the easy bit – its the remembering it that seems impossible. I tend to only remember one instruction at a time and not even one complete sentence when I’m reading. By the time I get to the end of the sentence I have literally forgotten what I read at the beginning of it. Quite a nightmare when it comes to retaining information.

Of course I have had to have a think about what to do with the designs when I go back to uni because I basically have a full time job with that alone and I can’t possibly squeeze in blog designs, digiscrapping kit designs, “proper” work AND study into my day. And no I’m not even going to try LOL. So my plan is basically this:

Adori Graphics
Custom blog designs in vacations only
Tutorial Tuesdays will be kept up to date as Blogger make changes, but no new ones will be posted.
New premade templates will be posted “as and when” I have time
Freebie Friday templates will be posted monthly, apart from exam times (typically after Christmas and Easter)

Adorible Digital Designs
Instead of 2+ kit releases a month I will be working on 1 kit release every month and I will have to cut back some of my CT duties for my own CT (such as making layouts and stuff for the blog train). Other CT members will still be doing this, but I won’t be able to.

I hope that works. With a schedule as full as mine, every minute I can claw back will really help a ton!

Pics from Scotland

2011-05-06T12:11:00.022+01:00

Just a few for now I'm afraid. These were all taken on the first day in the hotel room. The hotel room decor wasn't our cup of tea but the room had fab views and was comfortable - we'd stay there again if we ever had reason to be in that area.

there was even a little sitting area to the side of the bedroom


and a very rare glimpse of me! I was surfing the net at the time...

More to follow! No more horrid pics of me I promise...or possibly one...maybe...

About that trip...

2011-05-05T11:59:00.004+01:00

I am feeling so refreshed after our trip to Scotland. I love the new, less grouchy me LOL.
It was fabulous to spend some quality time with my sister because for so many years we didn’t get on...and I mean that in the same way that potassium doesn’t get on with water. We were quite frankly an explosive mix! I won’t go into personal family stuff here out of respect for my family and their privacy, but let’s just say that I wasn’t a happy camper when I lived with my parents. My sister and I did nothing but bicker, but more so than the usual sibling rivalry I’d say. At the time, neither of us could understand the other siblings position and problems were just magnified by the fact that we were twins and everyone would compare us. FYI – if you have twin please (for the love of God) do NOT dress them in the same clothes and make sure they’re in different classes at school, or different schools. There is NOTHING more soul destroying than constantly being compared to your more talented, better looking, more gifted sibling!

Anyway, we both left home a few weeks after our 18th birthday – her to Scotland and I moved to a new county a 3 hour train journey away. I loved freedom and the opportunity to grow up to be who I wanted to be, but sadly my sister and I never did reconcile our differences until years later. Personally I think we’ve both missed out on an important part of each others lives, but we finally got our acts together in our thirties...better late than never.

We have been to Scotland every year since we made up and gradually we have been getting use to each other, although it was still a little like walking on eggshells sometimes. However, this vacation was different. This one was spent making new, happier memories and it was wonderful! There was lots of hugging, crying and poor hubby probably thought we’d gone mad at times, but it wasn’t strained at all and I really didn’t want to leave!

I’ll share some pics at the weekend :)

Sill on vacay - but here's some pics

2011-04-28T19:37:00.002+01:00

Just posted a couple of pics on Facebook...more later :)

And we're off!

2011-04-26T06:40:00.000+01:00

Suitcases packed...check
Cat sorted...check
Hotel booked...check
House sitter sorted...check

Well it looks like we're finally ready for our trip to Scotland! Remember this is our annual trip to see my sister? She lives about 6-7 hours away near Stirling - and is lucky enough to live nestled in rolling hills and beautiful fields. See here - this was taken on our last trip. Beautiful isn't it?

The eagled eyed among you will have noticed the Wallace monument on the top of the hill...well worth a trip if you're ever in the area, as is Stirling Castle.

Anyway, onto other things as we're only at Stirling for 2 days...we're actually staying near Loch Lomond...another beautiful place. This one was taken on last year's trip. Hard to deny that God produces the most beautiful handiwork isn't it?

So anyway, once I get back from this trip I'll be super busy as I'll be re-starting the blog designs, albeit with different conditions and in reduced numbers. I just can't keep up with the number of makeovers that I was doing in the past, but in some ways that's good - instead of getting a production line kind of layout, customers will be getting one that I've taken my time with and produced something that truly fits the individual and their needs. Quality over quantity I always say :)

May 11th is going to be a scary day for me too (in terms of commitments at least). A Masters has been on the cards for some time now, since I graduated with my last degree anyway. However I've been kind of non committal about the whole thing. I've wanted to study but been enjoying the designing too much, but basically I can't get out if it any longer! On11th May work are sending me to meet with tutors of a Masters course at university. Eeeeek! Places are very competitive so I'm not holding my breath, but if I do get on, then the designing is going to have to be confined to vacations :( Will cross that bridge if/when it comes to it. It's just scary thinking about how to free up the time and the finances to do it. It's not like work contribute much in terms of either of those and yet they reap the benefits....which kind of makes me wonder why they have so much leverage over me doing the course really. Once I'm finished I'll have about another £10K on top of my current £30K student loan....maybe that's the scary bit! You younger ones out there make sure you go to uni when Bank of Mum & Dad are paying for you cos it's sure expensive when you're paying for it yourself! LOL.

Ok well I'll see you all in a week!

Garden fun!

2011-04-17T17:02:00.000+01:00

Today was a fun day, it was our annual seeding of the patio planters LOL. I don't know about you but I love fresh salad veggies and I just adore proper home grown foods. Sadly I don't seem to have had much look growing my own veggies since we moved here a few years ago. One year we had too much rain, the next year too much wind and the year after a white fly infestation. I'm hoping for fourth time lucky!

So I bought these 2 cute planters for the patio and I've filled one with stripey tomatoes (tiger tomatoes), golden pearl tomatoes and marmande tomoatoes. The other one I've filled with little gem lettuce and mixed chilli peppers. This is about the sixth year I've grown chillies and only 1 year were they successful...not a great track record, but I'm optimistic that this year will give me a good crop. Wouldn't it be great if we got so many we could feed the neighbours too? I won't hold my breath for that one perhaps :)

new planter

I've also bought a chilli pepper plant too, so that I can have fresh chillies while I'm waiting for my new ones to grow. Just look at those juicy fruits!

I'm not sure you can see the tiny white flower on there, but those flowers eventually die and then the chilli grows from the centre of the flower. Good eh?

I also got some herbs for the kitchen and these cute delicate flowers for the wall along the front of the garden. I just hope the neighbourhood kids don't pull all the flower heads off!

Oh and look, I even made a new friend :)

So there you go, this explains my absence in blog land today. I'll keep you updated with my veggie progress :)

Still alive!

2011-04-16T23:15:00.000+01:00

Just in case you were wondering, I am still alive! I know I have been strangely absent from this blog recently but I have a really good excuse! Unfortunately it isn't because I've been resting...it's because I've been working harder than ever. I'm working 2 full time jobs at the moment...soon to be 3 (when the blog designs pick up again) so my life has become a juggling act yet again. Really need to sort those priorities out again before I get swamped!

At the moment I'm busy setting up my digiscrapping blog and forum - I'm almost done and should be back shortly :)

Oh so tired

2011-02-22T12:41:00.000Z

Despite not doing custom blog makeovers for 6 weeks now I have felt more tired than ever. I have no idea why I always feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends but I'm feeling just a little tired of always feeling tired now. It sucks.

I have been busily working away on some vector stock because I really needed to find a way to reduce the amount of time needed to cplete people's design projects. I just can't physically draw EVERYTHING from scratch any more, there just isn't enough hours in the day. So I have decided that when I eventually re-open my blog designs, I'm going to ask people to purchase image stock, like other designers do. Mine will work a little different though in that because I do some of my own image stock I can offer them cheaper - although I'll still be charging less money than other designers who produce good quality work. Something's got to give because I can't continue to grind myself away to earn £1 an hour.

I've been feeling worried lately about hubby's job. He's on a 1 year contract and I don't know why but I have a feeling they won't be issuing another 1 year contract. I have no reason to think this, maybe I'm just getting cynical. I know that whatever happens God will provide for us, but still it's worrying. I think God and I might have a different idea of an acceptable standard of living...maybe I need to lower my sights LOL.*

Weight loss has been kind of static the last 3 weeks, but countless business lunches and social do's isn't helping. Agh!

*I'm saying this half tongue in cheek because I actually DON'T take my current standard of living for granted at all.

It's Christmaaaaaaas!

2011-02-05T09:00:00.000Z

Got the Christmas presents wrapped...got the food packed....car is loaded.....you know what this means?

It's Christmaaaaaaaaas!

Today we are going to my parents house to celebrate Christmas. It's a little late (long story) but I'm so excited. I love Christmas and I love family gatherings. I can't wait to see my dad who I haven't seen since June - he was working when my mum and sister came over on the day after Christmas.

I'm so so so excited...like a kid you might say LOL

Have a good day everyone :)

Uh-oh!

2011-02-04T13:22:00.000Z

I'm starting to feel that familiar run down feeling...the tiredness....the bad mood (because I'm tired)...the not sleeeping, despite being tired. I hate this, why does my body hate me so much? As soon as I do ANYTHING at all I just get so run down. I'm not whining (honestly), I'm just frustrated, this has been going on so long and I'm still getting no answers as to why my immue system is so rubbish.

Anyway, that's enough of that, I just HAD to get that off my chest!

This week has been a good week. I never managed to get to Weightwatchers this week, but I've started noticing little things that make me realise I'm on the right track. Things like, my lab coat at work doesn't just fasten, it fastens and leaves a couple of inches spare. this really is progress because that lab coat was made to measure and it fitted PERFECTLY....until the first time it was washed! The second time I wore it it was a good 4 inches smaller and looked like a second skin LOL. Now it's baggy and that makes me a happy woman!

I haven't got back on the treadmill yet as I'm leaving that for weekends, but I intend to go back again on Sunday - where I will try to beat my last session. As for other exercise, I've been finding small ways of increasing it, like parking further away in the car park at work, using the bathrooms that are further away from my desk and doing more housework etc. Hmmm....maybe that's why I feel so run down this week?

I haven't made any recipes that are interesting enough to share with you this week, but I'll be sure to share something in the next week or two as I have a few ideas :)

In other news, my family are celebrating Christmas tomorrow, since proper Christmas was a washout with me just having had surgery and still being unwell. I can't wait, I haven't seen my dad since September and I didn't really talk much with my mum and sister when I saw them on Boxing Day because I felt so rough. we all just sat there doing our own thing, me sleeping, Andy running round after everyone and my mum and sister doing their own thing. It was a real disappointment as Christmases in my family are usually a big family affair! I just hope Andy is better, because all we need is Christmas number 2 ruined by more sickness! I've sent him to the doctor this afternoon and I hope he doesn't chicken out this time.

Well, I'll catch up with you all over the weekend, I might even share some pics of the family Christmas :)

I'm a big fat liar

2011-02-02T21:07:00.001Z

I'm a big fat liar...or that's what it looks like! I had an appointment this evening to see the asthma specialist. My treatment was changed at the end of last year and I had to go back to report the results. Anyway, I gave them my results, which have actually been really good, the best in years...like peak flows of 450 (good for me). "Great, well show us what your made of then" she said. What did I blow? A pathetic 320.

"Better double your meds I think" was the end result.

Noooooooooooo! There's clearly something wrong with their equipment, I usually know when it's that low. Hmmmmm....I'm still undecided on whether I will in fact double the doses.

Hubby hasn't been well the last few days so I dragged him to the health centre with me. We got him registered and waited...and waited...and then he decided he felt better and didn't need to see the doctor after all. I gave him "the look" but clearly he wasn't changing his mind. We got home and what;s the first thing he does? Goes to the medicine cabinet because he doesn't feel well after all.

I give up! LOL

It's a first...well kind of...

2011-01-31T18:18:00.001Z

I have always made no secret of the fact that I'm not into exercise. It's not that I'm lazy, I just find exercise boring...and I hate that sweaty feeling that you get when you've been working out. Well, that and the fact that I'm stuck in a cycle of fat because I don't exercise and difficult to exercise because I'm fat. Anyway recently I decided to get out of my funk, quit whining and do something about my ever decreasing fitness levels.

Since getting sick in December I've lost 25 pounds, most of it through sickness originally, but then as my appetite came back i had to fight really hard to keep it off - before going for even more weight loss. 2 months later and I've lost 25 pounds now, so today I thought it was time that I embarked on an exercise plan. So, when I got home from work I went into the garage and dusted off my treadmill.

I'll be honest, my efforts were pathetic by most people's standards. But I did way better than I expected as I managed 15 minutes at a fair pace. So this evening I'm pleased because I'm seeing some pretty good results from my lifestyle changes now. My weight is down, my fitness is better, I'm sleeping better and my blood pressure is lower (though it was also within normal limits before too...surprisingly!).

I've also been trying to work exercise into my daily life by doing more housework. I'm loving having a cleaner more organised house, and I get the benefit of FREE exercise too.

For those of you who are busy people, how do you squeeze in a little extra activity? I'm not necessarily looking for organised activities like the gym and classes, but ways to just generally be more active. There must be other improvements I can make.

Must dash, dinner is about to burn!

Stuffed mushrooms are my new best friend!

2011-01-29T13:35:00.001Z

I wanted to do something a little different today and so I thought I'd share one of my favourite recipes with you. I love stuffed mushrooms, and this particular filling is tasty and easy. It's a great one for kids to help out with too.

I'm posting this because I've had a lot of emails this week about my weight loss and people asking what kind of diet foods I eat. The answer is I don't eat diet foods, I eat REAL food...normal food. It's just that I'm eating less of that...and more of the low energy density stuff...like fruit and veggies.

These ingredients fill 4 medium mushrooms.

Ingredients
20g fresh chopped parsley
50g pine nut kernals
25g fresh parmesan cheese shavings
50-100g soft goats cheese (depending on how you like it)
4tsp fresh breadcrumbs
4 field mushrooms or 2 large Portabello mushrooms
1 clove of garlic

This is the best kind of goats cheese to get as it keeps it's shape well and doesn't run all over the oven tray

Instructions

Dry fry the pine nut kernels

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms, put them (top side up) on an oven tray, prick with a skewer (or something sharp) and spray with olive oil. Put in the oven at 200 deg C for 5 minutes, then drain water from the tray, turn the mushrooms over and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the fresh parsley, garlic clove, Parmesan cheese and pine nut kernels to a food processor and blend until it looks "crumbly"

Once the mushrooms are cooked, divide the pesto between the mushrooms, top with the goats cheese and sprinkle 1tsp of breadcrumbs over each mushroom. Cook in the oven until browned on top and the cheese has melted a little.

I serve this with a side salad made from rocket, cucumber, vine ripened cherry tomatoes and grated carrot. Gotta have that grated carrot if you want to see in the dark :)

If you try it, let me know what you think!

A twist
Sometimes I save 1tsp of the pesto and the stalks from the mushrooms and fry it (with a spray of olive oil) 2 spring onions, 1tsp of pine nut kernels and a tiny bit of garlic. I then serve this on the side.

Time for a quick update...

2011-01-27T13:04:00.001Z

Hi folks, I just wanted to share a quick update because I've had a few emails asking for a progress update LOL.

My goals for 2011 (click the link in my sidebar to find out what this is all about)
I've now lost 2.5 inches off my waist and 25 pounds. I'm feeling fitter and have a bit more energy now, so I'm really pleased with that progress. In other news, I am still managing (just) to keep on top of my housework thanks to having a regular schedule. It takes me about half an hour a day and then a little longer at weekends...but I now have a house that looks more organised and feels more homely. Andy seems to be liking the new organisation too....and if you're reading this honey a little more help would be nice. Feel free to pick your chores from the list on the fridge :)

Health
My infection does seem to be clearing up with antibiotics this time...thus proving all of my doctors and the surgeons wrong. All of them said the antibiotics wouldn't work, because they NEVER work. So far I'm still proving them wrong :)

Work
I'm still working full time, still feeling under the weather but not bad enough to not be at work. That's good because I enjoy my job and miss it when I'm not here!

Family
My sister is now completely better, thanks to those who prayed for her a few weeks ago. She's back at work and sounds much better.

2011-01-23T09:46:00.001Z

Hubby and I went to his works Burns Night supper on Friday. We stayed in a hotel in Sheffield (where he works) and had a great slap up dinner in the evening, followed by a Celidh and free bar. The night was a real bargain...half price executive room...only £5 each for a 4 course meal...free drinks all night. What more could we ask for?

I don't drink so I just nursed my one diet coke for the evening but I think Andy was regretting the alcohol on Saturday morning. He was still over the limit when we woke up (and feeling dodgy) so we skipped breakfast and I had to drive his car home. Of course I got my own back when we got home by being as NOISY as possible. "Sorry dear what did you say?". "Oooooooh your head hurts because I'm vacuuming?". "Don't worry dear I'll be done after the other 10 rooms are done". LOL

I always try to get room pics BEFORE we trash the room but forgot this time. The pics doesn't show the ridiculously high ceiling. Gorgeous traditional styled room...with VERY creaky floorboards.

Ok that was the more upbeat post I was promising!

I have some news on the infection front...it isn't any worse today since yesterday (that I can tell) so hopefully the antibiotics might be working this time since I caught it early. I say *I* because the doctor was utterly useless and I basically had to diagnose myself and tell her what was wrong. Needless to say I won't be seeing her again if I can help it!

So...fingers crossed :)

It's back!

2011-01-22T14:03:00.000Z

Ugh! Despite my best efforts to boost my immune system, the infection I had before is back. I don't believe it. I honestly don't believe it. I've had so many antibiotics over the last 6 weeks that how can I possibly have ANY more bacteria within a mile of my body. Seriously. How? I am so hoping that these antibiotics work because I seriously don't relish the thought of more surgery. Hopefully it won't come to that, I guess I'm just pessimistic because antibiotics didn't work last time...and every doctor I've spoken to tells me they don't normally and the only answer is (usually) surgery.

So the plan now is take the antibiotics and - if they don't work - wait for the pain to get so bad that I'm screaming in agony and then go to A&E and be admitted to surgery.

Ok sorry to sound so negative, I'll try and write a more upbeat post later. I just wanted to update you because some people had emailed me asking for an update.

A familiar enemy

2011-01-20T08:10:00.000Z

I felt some familiar pain over night and have a sneaky suspicion that the problem I had before Christmas (the one that made me sick for sooooo long) is back. I'm at work (about to start the day job in 20 mins) and the pain is do-able for now but I'm going to ring the doctor today and see if I can get in to see the nice lady doctor I saw last time. Fingers crossed....

Please say a quick prayer for me because I really don't want a repeat experience of the whole drama that went on over Christmas.

If this IS back despite me doing just about everything I can to boost my immune system then I'll be quite upset. I might also need to take a step back from graphics and blogging (intensively) for a while so that I can recover properly. We'll see....I don't even know that it IS back yet. I'm just hoping not because the thought of surgery so soon after the last lot fills me with dread!

Tell us Tuesday

2011-01-18T19:33:00.000Z

My bloggy friend Ashley at Everything happens for a reason has restarted her Tell Us Tuesday slot where she asks a different question each week. This weeks question is "What is 1 thing you could not living without, if you were stranded on a desert island, what is that item and why?"

Hmmmm...well assuming that I'm on my own and we're talking about an object I think it would have to be a photo album of my family and friends. Of course I'd have my memories but nothing beats a good photo of the people you love!

To join in with Tell Us Tuesday click the button.

Officially fit :)

2011-01-17T20:05:00.000Z

Big news today, I was FINALLY officially signed back to work full time. No more half days...aka no more doing more work in less time! And less stress for me!

Phased returns to work are great if you're well supported but unfortunately sometimes people fail to understand the concept...meaning that you end up with the same amount of work as the rest of your team even though you're only there half the time. I now have a HUGE backlog to get through and looks like I'll be working from home some weekends to catch up...not good. Still it was a kind offer even though it didn't quite go as planned.

I've been suffering terrible insomnia over the last few weeks. I'm only getting max 3 hours a night and it's driving me nuts! Even with a good dose of Sominex (not taken EVERY night, just weekend to see if I can catch up on some sleep a little) - I still only get max 5 or 6 hours. Last night I finally dropped off after 3.30am...woke at 4.30am for the loo...was woken at 5.30am by Andy going to the loo and the alarm went off at 6.45am. It's insane! I feel all hyped up all the time like I'm on speed and I'm quite sure the cause is one of my new meds. I've had it before and I seem to remember it taking a couple of months to get used to it.

Well, must go catch up on some chores...have a nice evening people :)

Weight loss (or trying to) sucks

2011-01-16T15:57:00.001Z

On the bright side...
Today we went to Asda for groceries and as we were coming out of the store it was raining really heavy. We were parked at the furthest reaches of the car park and - not wanting to get wet - we sprinted to the far end of the car park and I was barely out of breath! Normally I'm a bit puffed out just pushing the trolley all the way down there. In fact I was beating Andy at one point! Now that's progress!

The not so bright side...
The rational side of me understands that 2 weeks ago I can't really have lost 16 pounds of fat in a week, but the irrational side of me is feeling a bit cheesed off that I haven't lost any weight since. Of course the rational side of me also understands that because most of that 16 pounds was probably fluid, I have to lose nearly 16 pounds of fat before I can start registering a loss.But that doesn't mean I have to like it!

Last week I stuck to the healthy eating plan and gained a pound. This week I've stuck to it and (just over half way through the week) I still haven't lost any more weight. It's getting soul destroying now!

Feeling stressed

2011-01-15T17:10:00.000Z

I'm not whinging honest, I just need to talk to my blog LOL.

I've been feeling so stressed over the last couple of days...at work and at home. At work I am doing more work (to clear the backlog from when I was off sick in Dec/Jan) in less time, since Occupation Health still don't think I'm fit enough to work full time. The trouble is that while I'm off work nobody is doing my work at work PLUS I'm still getting more work coming in while I'm not there. Phased returns to work are great if somebody is doing your work while your away - or even just stopping NEW work coming in - but that's not happening! I have to be reassessed on Monday and if Occupational Health still don't think I'm fit I'm going to tell that not to worry because I'll soon be off sick with a stress problem anyway. Sheesh, how can people expect you to do more work in less time? How can people expect you to meet the same deadlines as everyone else when you're working half as many hours? People just don't think! Grrrrr

At home I am fed up of doing everything and having hubby pull a face and have attitude when I ask him to do something. Today I have cleaned the upstairs bathroom, had a tidy up in every room of the house, changed the towels in the house, cleaned the kitchen (including cooker and microwave), emptied the dishwasher, made lunch and dinner, mopped the kitchen floor and hoovered and dusted the ground floor of the house - oh and taken the rubbish out. All I asked Andy to do was his regular chore (laundry), empty the dishwasher and mop the bathroom floor. I had attitude such that I felt like saying STUFF IT I'll do it on my own! He gets away with it in the week because I get home from work before him but at the weekend I think he should do his share!

And after all that I still have graphics to do - a HUGE pile of graphics which has been building up since I was sick in december.

Everything just seems to be building up today. And I am fed up of food preparation! It's ok trying to eat healthy but guess who ends up preparing it all?

End of rant. Feel free to vent yourself in the comments :)

What made me smile this week

2011-01-14T22:51:00.001Z

I don't know about you but I am sooooo glad this week is over with! To say I've only worked 3.5 days it feels sooooo much longer LOL.

Onto other things...today I wanted to have a little change of direction. We all know January can be a little depressing - it's cold, dark, wet and we're all suffering post-Christmas fatigue. But today I wanted to concentrate on the things which have made me smile this week. Feel free to join in in the comments section if you have something to share.

5 things that made me smile this week:
1. Working with a really awesome team (on the day job). My team are (mostly) supportive, approachable, helpful and interested in me as a person. We're a pretty diverse team of 12 people based in the UK and US and I honestly could not hope or wish for a better team. I don't see everything with rose coloured glasses - for I know all our faults (including mine) - but somehow we make it work and seem like fun too.
2. My energy levels have finally picked up and I'm feeling human again - relatively speaking LOL
3. I have made some positive changes in my life (more on those another day) and I am reaping the benefits of increased health and peace of mind...well apart from needing to see a physio about my sore ankle after my fall earlier in the week. But generally speaking things are looking up!
4. Finding out that my family will be having Christmas (take 2) in February...for those of us who celebrated it in body but not spirit the first time around LOL
5. Realising that after 10 1/2 years I still look forward to my hubby getting home from work every day. Every day I feel excited when I know he's on his way home and I have to consciously try and "tone it down" when he walks through the door, otherwise I think I'd look like bit of a nutter...plus I don't think he'd cope if I ran down the hallway and jump into his arms LOL.

A change in thinking?

2011-01-13T18:59:00.001Z

Normally when I've had a week where I've gained a pound - despite being good - I would have a "throw in the towel" attitude. You know that kind of self-defeating attitude where you just think "sod it - I've failed now so I might as well really fail".

So tonight I got home and found that dinner was ruined. I had set the slow cooker too high and my Caribbean chicken sauce was burnt and soupy. Andy took one look and suggested I just turn it into a soup. Fine, it was a good suggestion considering - and it saves me thinking what to make at the weekend for lunches. However it also left us in a position of me already making one meal and not wanting to make another.

By this point Andy was clearly fishing about in the take away menu drawer and was obviously hankering after a pizza. Straight away I'm thinking "damage limitation". I mean, I don't want to say no without looking into the possibilities, but I don't want to blow my points either. So I get the Eating Out guide out of the cupboard and had a look through the McDonalds menu (figuring our local burger place was probably similar points wise) and figured I could get a burger and chips and still have 6 points left over. Great we're both happy, Andy gets his take away and I get to keep within my points...though I am a little concerned about the salt as I try to keep my salt intake low...and I already had halloumi for lunch.

So, what do you think? Big fail? Or successful damage limitation? I honestly feel like it was a change in thinking.

Agh! (Goals for 2011 - update 2)

2011-01-12T22:46:00.003Z

Despite sticking to the WW plan pretty well and not going over my points I ended up gaining a pound. I'm not too concerned because I know that I couldn't really have lost 16 pounds of fat last week. The reality is that when we're sick we lose lots of weight but it goes right back on as soon as we start to eat (most of it's fluid). I've been really careful not to let it all go back on again so I'm a little cheesed off even though logically I knew it would happen. The rational side of me is pretty happy because a 1 pound gain still means that I'm 17 pounds lighter than I was at the middle of December. I think it might be better for me to record my weights monthly because any fluid changes will even out over the month. But have I got the willpower to be weighed monthly or will I lose focus? Is it worth the risk? Maybe I'll continue weekly weights after all. I would like a loss next week however small - at least that way I'm moving in the right direction!

Where would I go?

2011-01-12T11:47:00.001Z

My bloggy friend Ashley at Everything happens for a reason has restarted her Tell Us Tuesday slot where she asks a different question each week. This weeks question is "if you could go anywhere in the world where would you go"? Truth is there isn't a place per se- it's more of an experience that I'm looking for. I'd Iove to see the northern lights and they can be seen from many places in the far north. I guess for convenience sake I'd choose to see it somewhere in Europe such as the north of Norway. I'll be going to Norway in 5 months but sadly won't get to see the lights as it will be summer. You know what that means don't you? We just need to make a second trip there LOL.

To join in with Tell Us Tuesday click the button.

Christmas - take 2!

2011-01-11T16:11:00.001Z

I can’t believe it’s only Tuesday, does anyone else feel like it should be at least Thursday? I’ve had a fairly productive week at work so far, considering that I’ve only been there part time. It’s just as well too because I have quite a pile of work building up. I also have quite a pile of graphics building up too. I’m trying not to get stressed about all the work that’s building up, but I’m only human. I really need a proper break some time soon, so I’m going to stick with the plan of getting through my current waiting list and then taking some time off from custom work. I’ll try and coincide this with maybe a week off my day job too so that I can just chill out, make the graphics that *I* want to make and generally have some fun!

In other news, my family have decided to have Christmas again...in February! This year’s Christmas was a complete washout because many of the family had colds and snuffles and I spent most of it in bed with my own series of health problems. In the end my family came to us, but my dad couldn’t come because he was working, consequently, I haven’t seen my dad at all since before Christmas. It just didn’t seem like Christmas without him there. Generally, the entire family feels like this Christmas was a major let-down (and we’re always into Christmas in a big way in our house), so we’ve decided to do it all over again...turkey dinner...Christmas crackers...a small gift.....everything! I am sooooo excited to be able to join in with the celebrations and to see my dad too.

It never rains but it pours!

2011-01-10T19:27:00.000Z

Ugh! I am so fed up of pain! On the way home from work today I tripped over a bit of rubble in the car park and hurt both hands, cut both knees and think I've mildly (but it still hurts!) sprained my ankle. Of course that's nothing compared to the dent in my pride. I can't believe it, I nearly flattened my poor colleague too. I hate it when stuff like that happens, though I was touched that a couple of people rushed over to see that I was ok. Of course I told them I was fine and then hobbled to the car, sat there for a moment...and cried. I'm such a baby when it comes to pain!

In other news, I was reassessed by Occupational Health regarding getting back to full time work and I'm now one step nearer to being full time again...woo hoo! I'm allowed to do 2 full days and 3 half days this week. I need full time desperately, not for the money because I'm still being paid full rate, but my work is piling up and I have a shed load of stuff which wasn't urgent before I went off sick, but now people are pestering me for the results.

Talking of work, I have my performance review on Wednesday. I hate those things, mostly because I once worked somewhere where they were basically used as an excuse to shoot you down in a really bad way. Consequently my confidence suffered and eventually I felt like I was no good at my job. Now I realise that wasn't the case, but at the time it was a really big deal to me. I have a new supervisor now and already I can tell that she knows my strengths and weaknesses and she's got some good ideas to help me improve on the areas I find difficult...things like staying focused on long term projects. Most of my projects at work don't really have an end. As a result, I feel like I'm never accomplishing anything because nothing ever seems to end! We've discussed some ideas briefly today and she agreed that I need more discrete projects so that I can feel like I've actually closed something out and accomplished something. I'm feeling quite positive about this year's review.

Well, I'm going to love you and leave you there because dinner is almost ready and I need to take the bread out of the oven. Have a nice evening folks :)

Mundane ramblings

2011-01-09T16:08:00.001Z

I took my Christmas look down for Adori Graphics this afternoon and it just feels so stark and naked in there now. I have had a few people say they're missing the cute little Christmassy love birds already but, alas, it just looks strange having a Christmassy blog design at this time of year LOL. I have promised faithfully to have them return in time for Valentines and I've spent some time this afternoon thinking about what I can do for the Valentines design. I didn't get very far...inspiration was sadly lacking. It goes like that sometimes.

I have a million and one projects to do graphics wise, but no energy left to do them today. I just had too many other chores to do today (including grocery shopping and a trip to the pet store) , which sapped all of my energy :(

This is where we go grocery shopping. I hate this place with a passion but I guess grocery shopping is a necessary evil?!

I'm back at work again tomorrow after only being allowed to work afternoons last week. I have to be re-assessed by Occupational Health again tomorrow morning and then I'll find out what my hours are for next week. I'm hoping to be able to work 2 or 3 full days, if not back to full time. Really I still feel a bit tired and my wound still hurts and feels a bit hard and swollen, but I really need to get back to work full time because...well nobody is doing my work while I'm away! So, when I do finally get back full time I'm going to have a HUGE pile of work to do...work which instead of being low urgency will now be super urgent and I'll have people queueing up at my desk. Soooooo not fun!

Must dash, got an Irish stew in the slow cooker and I need to go check on it. Don't you just love slow cookers? I'm looking for new recipes if anyone knows any nice easy ones :)

Plans for tomorrow

2011-01-08T22:52:00.001Z

I spent much of today installing premade templates and drawing a vector for a family's blog makeover. After 8 hours I thought I'd earned a break, so I had a little "me" time in the bath...with some of my favourite honey and milk bubble bath...yummy :)

Tomorrow, I plan to write next week's posts for Adori Graphics, work on a few small graphics projects and load some graphics onto a test blog for one of my Adori Graphics customers. Then I plan to have some relaxation time with a few books that I got for Christmas. Sounds good...though first I need to go get the groceries...not my favourite job in the world, but necessary.

Tomorrow's plans involve a little reading :)

One of my new years resolutions was to keep a tidier and more organised house. So far I've done well, though I've noticed something....Andy seems to think he doesn't have to do housework any more. Instead of taking the opportunity to maybe do some of the jobs that we never really had time to do, he's just sitting back and doing nothing. Normally he's great in the house. I've just dropped a hint that he still needs to do chores, even if I am keeping on top of things better.

I also want to stop procrastinating as badly as I have been doing. Today when my car tax renewal form came in the post, I logged straight onto the internet and parted with my £200 for the coming year's car tax. Normally I'd put it off until 30th January at least. So, that's another improvement.

How are you doing with your new year's resolutions?

One extreme to the other

2011-01-07T15:11:00.001Z

For the last few weeks my appetite has been sooooo not there. Until yesterday when my stomach seemed to wake up and start demanding some food. I ate dinner (a nice healthy sausage casserole with veggies)...followed by a granary bagel (still hungry). An hour later I was STILL hungry and thinking that, quite frankly, this is ridiculous and I cannot possibly still be hungry I sent Andy to make me a cup of coffee. Half an hour later I raided the fridge and ate 3/4 of a chocolate orange. Then I felt sick...having forgotten that my eyes are way bigger than my belly at the moment.

Today I got up, did some cleaning and then tried to get into work in time for my 1pm start. However, the weather had other plans and my car couldn't get through the snow. After snaking about all over the road and my car coming to an eventual stop, I rolled it backwards down the hill and abandoned it on the road outside the house. I rang work and announced that I'd take the afternoon as holiday - and then not 10 minutes later the snow plough and gritter came past! So, I cracked on with a hybrid scrapbooking project for my soon-to-be-released Valentines themed digital scrapbooking kit and made a couple of layouts too, to add to the kit post.....and then it hit me....I'd forgotten to eat anything today! Argh!

No point eating now as it's only 2 hours until I get dinner, but seriously how can that happen? I have never in my entire life forgotten to eat!

What do you think of the hybrid project? It's a little bag of handmade valentines sweeties for Andy.

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A slow start to the week

2011-01-06T09:27:00.014Z

Well, I went back to work yesterday, just 3.5 hours in the afternoon and it went ok. I felt really tired by the time I cam home though so I'm hoping to sleep well tonight.

My manager made me go to Occupational Health on my return to see if I really was fit to return to work. I went with the offer of working 2 half days and then all day Friday - and back to full time next week. She heard about my surgery and complications and then looked shocked that I was back at work so soon. And why WAS I back so soon? Well evidently my GP thinks I'm fit for work, so I'm back at work. Then she told me people usually have 4-6 weeks off work after this surgery - and that's presuming no complications at all. Now I feel like my GP has given me a REALLY rough deal...is he trying to kill me LOL. Anyway, she has recommended to HR that I do half days this week and then go in on Monday morning for another assessment and to plan my hours for next week. It was quite a nice surprise to find an occupational health nurse who actually came up with a useful plan!

At least I have some reassurance that I can just ease back to work at my own pace, which is always a good thing following surgery when you're not quite sure what your limits are.

Goals for 2011 - update 1

2011-01-05T22:25:00.001Z

I posted my goals for 2011 earlier and now I can provide a little update on my progress so far. I've been working on these for a week and can proudly declare that I have made some small areas of progress already...woo hoo!

Goal 1. Eat healthier
I'm aiming for 3-4 portions of fruit & veg a day in the short term and 5 in the long term. My appetite still isn't back to normal but I'm doing my best to make sure that when I do eat, it is something of nutritional value. I'm managing to eat at least 1 meal a day now, often 2, and I'm probably eating about half of what I make. That IS actually progress as I wasn't even hungry most of the last 2 weeks. Now I feel hungry, but I just get full too quick. Still, it's progress.

2. Drink more - I never drink enough and reckon I must live in a constant state of dehydration
Actually I'm not doing so well with this one yet, but I'm still working on it.

3. Remember to take medication - ok, I've never had a great memory for taking medication but I'll do my best
I've been doing pretty good with this too, only 1 missed dose. But hey at least I'm getting my health back on track right?

4. Take a vitamin supplement every day - I know the jury is still out on whether they help or not, but I'm going to try anyway
Full marks for this one, altough I did nearly forget once.

5. Get 7 hours sleep a night - I've always found 8 hours a bit too much, but I should be able to manage 7
I'm in bed for 7 hours, does that count? I'm not getting 7 hours sleep for sure, but I've always found that hospital stays rearrange my sleep schedule for a while.

6. Pamper myself
Hmmmmm...not managed this one today, but I've been having a nice relaxing bath most other nights. I'd forgotten how nice it was to just chill out!

7. Learn to relax - maybe some meditation perhaps? Definitely, build some relaxation into every day
I guess this is closely linked to the above. Pampering is relaxing right?

8. Learn to reply more on God to sort out my worries
I have prayed for help with things that are worrying me and that does always make me feel better. It's just that sometimes I get bogged down with worry and forget that I can have help with it!

9. Make time to exercise - start with 30 minutes 3 times a week
Hmmm....not too good at this one either but then it's hard enough just breathing at the moment!

10. Lose weight - If I can successfully do the above then losing weight should be easier.
I've lost 16 pounds from middle December to now. Obviously it's down to illness rather than dieting, but I need to make sure that it doesn't go back on once the appetitie kicks in fully.

11. Keep a tidier house - do my chores every day and make sure I keep on top of things better.
I've been doing great at this, although it has helped working afternoons only!

Thinking ahead

2011-01-05T07:20:00.022Z

I'm not normally one to set new years resolutions because let's face it they never last. I am however going to set myself some small goals, which I'm going to work on.
1. Eat healthier - aim for 3-4 portions of fruit & veg a day in the short term and 5 in the long term
2. Drink more - I never drink enough and reckon I must live in a constant state of dehydration
3. Remember to take medication - ok, I've never had a great memory for taking medication but I'll do my best
4. Take a vitamin supplement every day - I know the jury is still out on whether they help or not, but I'm going to try anyway
5. Get 7 hours sleep a night - I've always found 8 hours a bit too much, but I should be able to manage 7
6. Pamper myself
7. Learn to relax - maybe some meditation perhaps? Definitely, build some relaxation into every day
8. Learn to reply more on God to sort out my worries
9. Make time to exercise - start with 30 minutes 3 times a week
10. Lose weight - If I can successfully do the above then losing weight should be easier.
11. Keep a tidier house - do my chores every day and make sure I keep on top of things better.

I'll update on my progress once a week on a Wednesday/Thursday.Just click the badge in my sidebar - the one which looks like this...

What are your goals for 2011?

Today is my first day back to work since I got sick the week before Christmas. I have instructions to go straight to Occupational Health to see if I'm fit for work and to see what they can do for me. I seriously doubt they can do ANYTHING for me, but I guess I'll turn up and wait to be told that. It's not that I'm cynical or anything, it's just that I've worked in Occupational Health for a stint when I was a nurse and I really, genuinely don't think there's anything they can help me with...not that my own doctor/nurse don't already have in hand anyway.

Thanks for the prayers

2011-01-04T10:54:00.001Z

Just wanted to thank those of you who were praying for my sister with me. She rang last night to say that she was feeling MUCH better. I can't believe how quickly her antibiotics kicked in. Whenever I have a chest infection it takes a good 3-4 days before I start improving. I'll admit to feeling a tad jealous LOL.

Onto other things, I'm back at work tomorrow and am in the progress of negotiating a staged return...meaning that I work reduced hours for the initial period. It's a good way of getting back into work when you're in that grey area where you're not sick enough to be off work completely, but you're still feeling a bit grotty and tired. I can do this by using holiday, but the company also does a program where you don't need to use your holiday days...but I'm still waiting for my manager to tell me how I do that. As long as I don't need to work 3 full days this week I'm not really bothered how it's done, since I can just use holiday anyway. It's not that I'm lazy, I'm just worried about overdoing it.

In other news, I've decided I should take a leaf out of my cat's book. I mean, how can you deny that this is one chilled out cat? LOL

How frustrating

2011-01-02T22:03:00.000Z

I thought I was getting better and we were desperate for food so we made a trip to Ada today for groceries. We didn't park too far from the store - only a couple of minutes walk with the trolley - but even so I was glad to reach the car. When we got home, we unpacked the shopping and I had a little tidy about while Andy went outside and chopped some trees. I was absolutely shattered and had to have a lie down. It's just starting to feel frustrating now because I really expected to be back to normal by now. I'm not the fittest person in the world normally, but I can manage a 2 minute walk without problems...usually. In other areas things have improved, like my temperature and, even though my chest still sounds crackly and I feel a bit washed out, my peak flows have been really good...normal actually (most of the time). I seem to be heading in the right direction at least...I just wish it was quicker!

I have no other news really except that my sister is now sick with a chest infection. She also has asthma and so its hitting her pretty hard too. I do hope she didn't get it from me! Please say a prayer for her too - she lives on her own, about 450 miles from me so I can't just go there to check up on her. I'm a bit worried about her as I've been hearing so many stories about the swine flu virus lately. I asked about having the swine flu jab last time I went to the doctor but was told I was too sick. I wonder if there's any point asking again when I go for my check up at the end of the month? Anyone know when the flu season is supposed to finish?

I've taken advantage of the fact that I'm pretty much confined to the house and have been busy working on a cute valentines digital scrapbooking kit. What do you think so far? I've made most of the papers, about half of the embellishments and I'm wondering about making alphas too. I love valentines day and think I'm going to use this kit to make a card for my hubby...now that I've bought a nice new printer in the sales (thanks to mum and dad).

Everything tastes weird

2011-01-01T11:48:00.000Z

Since I got sick I have noticed something odd...everything tastes weird. Not the best thing to happen when your appetite is in your boots anyway. I noticed it a few days ago. All of my old favourites just taste...odd. Pepsi just tastes of chemicals, the potatoes I ate for lunch yesterday also tasted of chemicals...everything just tastes "false" or like chemicals. It's not the kind of total lack of taste sensation that you get with a cold either. Things don't taste as good as I remember them tasting and eating seems to have become a chore because of it. Hopefully it's all connected with the recent chest infection and will sort itself out.

We went round to a friend's house last night to see in the new year with their family. It was nice to get out for a few hours after being couped up in the house for so long - and it was nice to spend new years eve with somebody. Normally it's just us 2 sat at home...

In other news, I've published a much reduced posting schedule at Adori Graphics for the next month. It's kind of killed me to do it, but I know that I need to do this for a month or so at least. Normally I must spend maybe 30 hours a month just writing posts for the blog, that's before I start making freebies. Anyway, I've hated having to cut back in this area but I know it's for the best. I'm going to draw people's attention to it today and just hope that people understand my need for more time away from the computer. On the bright side, there will be less posts on Adori Graphics, but maybe more posts on this blog as I may actually have a life on which to provide some updates LOL.

I can honestly say....

2010-12-30T18:01:00.005Z

still smiling...

After a period of reflection over the last couple of weeks, I can honestly admit that I am NOT in fact super human and can not in fact work 90-100 hour weeks any more...nope! Having scared my family once again (and myself this time) by how run down I have got in the run up to Christmas, I have had to have a difficult think about how best to proceed with my life. Something has got to give, I have GOT to learn to stop placing super human demands on my body....and I need to start looking after myself better too. Otherwise I'm just going to end up like the photo above, all over again. I can't do this any more, this lifestyle. I feel sad, but for a few months at least, my blogs are going to have to take a back seat while I get some tests run and take more time out to relax...properly. I will be making some announcements on my main blog shortly.

See that tired old looking woman in the pic?? Well that was me in the run up to Christmas (taken BEFORE I went downhill on Christmas eve). If I carry on with the lifestyle I have now, it's only a matter of time before I go back to that...and I can't do that to my family any more.

I will still be online and will be meeting my custom blog designs that are on order, but after that I'll be cutting things back for a while.

2010-12-05T16:59:00.001Z

Don't you just hate it when it gets to 5pm and you STILL haven't finished all your chores? Seriously I've been ordering shopping, cooking meals, getting the Christmas presents and other less exciting stuff. It's now 5pm and I am NEARLY done. Phew!

But anyway, that's small fry...just frustrating that's all. Something good DID happen this weekend as one of my designs has won a VERY prestigious award! Well ok, it's not *that* prestigious, but hey I'll take what I can LOL. I'll be sharing some details about that on Adori Graphics as soon as I get 2 minutes to type out a post.

I've been feeling really tired again lately and thinking I've simply taken on too much. Now I need to figure out how to cut back...again! Ugh! I always do this to myself...will I ever learn?

So, did anyone do anything fun this weekend? I'd love to hear and share in your excitement :)

More snow pics

2010-12-04T06:01:00.016Z

I took most of these in the car park at work...I'm always amazed by how different everything looks in the snow.

Why am I making such a fuss about the snow? Well apart from getting a LOT of it earlier this year (and of course this week) I haven't seen snow for 10 years...and I barely saw if for the 20 odd years before that!

view from my office

first day of the snow - just starting

Brass monkey weather

2010-12-03T09:06:00.000Z

Have you ever heard that expression? Brass monkey weather? It comes from the saying "cold enough to freeze the ba11s off a brass monkey". I have no ideas where it comes from and it IS kind of vulgar, but I do think it sums up today's weather perfectly!

-11deg Celcius (not sure what that is in "old money" for you older folk and non metric people)....I reckon that's cold enough!

Look at the temperature gauge - this was taken on the work run this morning

Don't you just hate it when....

2010-11-27T13:01:00.000Z

People leave snarky comments when an email will do
People just HAVE to be drama queens
People are rude to you
Other people blame YOU because THEY can't follow instructions!
You say good morning to somebody and they don't answer back
People just won't wait for you to pull out of a parking space before they try pulling INTO it
Things just don't work as they should...a la Skype! grrrr

What's annoyed you today?If you want to join in, feel free to take the image and post your own "don't you just hate it when....". Sometimes it's good to voice your frustrations!

I can hardly contain myself...

2010-11-21T00:03:00.000Z

A couple of months ago I instructed a blog buddy who owns a freelance business (AD Freelance) to do some "research" for me. I've had her looking into a few things related to some {top secret} site improvements at Adori Graphics and I simply can NOT wait for her to tell me her findings. I'll be honest, she has quite a task on her hands, but I know that she can do this. I can't wait to tell all of my readers about the new plans, how on earth am I going to keep my trap shut until I have the report and recommendations in my hand? LOL. I'll tell you some more about the plans on Adori Graphics later and also some more about what Amanda might be able to do for your blog too. I've simply been blown away by her ideas and feel so excited about getting Adori Graphics onto the next step.

I have a question for you today, if you could have somebody do some research for you (blogging/blog related) what would you have them do? I'm just looking for ideas for her next project LOL.

A visit from Royalty

2010-11-18T20:27:00.001Z

the Queen meets the staff

I've known about this for a while but for security reasons I couldn't mention this earlier...which is a laugh since it seems to have been general knowledge! The Queen visited hubby's workplace today to meet some of the workers. He said he was in "spitting distance" of the Queen (his words, not mine...though I'm not sure she'd have appreciated it) although he struggled to get some decent pics.

I had to laugh at some of the preparations that have gone on for this visit:

Nobody has been allowed to use the stairs for over 2 weeks in case they get them dirty. Apparently the Queen doesn't use lifts....I really had to laugh at this one because I have been to this building and it is huge. The first floor (where she was heading) is actually equivalent to the 6th floor the building is that tall. Even I struggled to make it up there without dying (I went there for a conference last year) so how would a nearly 90 year old manage? Needless to say she DID end up getting the lift....I wonder if it was as clean as the stairs LOL
The building was painted too - Andy remarked " I wonder if the Queen thinks the whole world smells of paint". I guess there's nothing like a visit from the Queen to motivate you into a little decorating.

on her way...

no sign of the corgies...

I have a confession...

2010-11-16T17:48:00.002Z

It seems that it was 8 years ago today that I was getting married.

9 years ago today I was PLANNING a wedding LOL.

Am I too concerned about the mistake? Nope - after all, Andy probably isn't going to notice ;)

9 years ago today....

2010-11-16T08:22:00.000Z

I was getting married...

We got married in a village called Snaith (where we were living at the time). The church was 1,000 years old (yes, you read that correctly) and the vicar was an absolute scream. He really made our day. The weather however was not so kind to us - even the photographer commented that it was the second-worst weather he's ever had at a wedding. Oh well, the day was lovely and couldn't have gone any better. Even if it had all gone pear-shaped, I'd still have been happy as all I wanted to do was marry my babe :)

Happy anniversary Andy.

More diet groan

2010-11-15T08:28:00.000Z

Diet number 5.000 started last Wednesday. 5 days in I have had a mini-binge on one occasion and yet still managed to stay within my points allowance....things are looking up! I'll let you know the progress when I go to WW on Wednesday.

I haven't eaten bread for a while - until my little "binge" yesterday. My guts were terrible all night. Lots of gurgling going on, lots of bellyache and (TMI maybe?) lots of wind...eek! Poor Hubby.

Was Hubby impressed? Nope.

Did I regret it? Yes.

Will I do it again? Probably.

Do we EVER learn?

Cruise update

2010-11-07T10:26:00.001Z

I really MUST try and update this blog at least once a week, it's looking very neglected. It's not that I don't remember to, I just never seem to get time to do it. That, and my life basically revolves around work and graphics...the average person isn't going to find my work interesting...and everyone already knows about my graphics through my Adori Graphics blog.

I do have a few small tid bits which I haven't posted about on my other blog. Things like my recent vacation which I haven't blogged about yet because my feet haven't touched the ground since I came home! We had a wonderful time though, with a few small negatives, but these were outweighed by the positive experience generally.

I thought this particular ship was well run and had excellent customer service. Us Brits are not known for good customer service (no tipping = no incentive for good service me thinks). But apart from a rocky start this ship seemed to run like clockwork, unlike the previous ship we'd been on.

My main complaints were:

Some elderly passengers who felt entitlement to the very air that you breathed and whined about everything...you know, the beach was too sandy, the water was too wet...that kind of thing.
Food - too arty farty and no choice for those of us with more conservative palates...goodness knows how the grumpy older folk got on with it.*
Stock replenishment - pretty dire at first, but seemed to improve after the first day or two.
Queues - we seemed to spend an awful amount of time queuing in this ship. I know us Brits love a good queue but this was ridiculous at times.

Things I loved:

The European ports much more than the Caribbean.
The unexpectedly mild weather
The fact it was less humid than the Caribbean (all our other cruises were there)
The fact that because it was less humid, my lungs didn't feel like they were wilting
The people we shared our table with
The customer service

The things I loved far outweighed the things I didn't like/enjoy. Look out over the next few weeks as I slowly add some pics and a little about each port that we went to.

*I honestly have nothing against elderly people, in fact I hope to be elderly myself one day. The thing I do object to is rudeness, lack of consideration and people who throw manners back in my face by being rude. Oh, and people who whine. It just happened that all of this came from elderly passengers. The kids, teens (mostly) and younger adults were all respectful and well behaved.

sooooo tired

2010-10-01T22:22:00.001+01:00

I feel burnout setting in again....I can't remember the last time I felt so tired...thank goodness it's only 2 weeks until we leave for our long-awaited holiday. I sooooo need this!

So what have I been up to since my last post? Well the main thing is that I formed a team at Adori Graphics because it's just NOT a one-person blog any more. It hasn't been for a long time really and now, looking back, I don't know why I put off the inevitable for so long really. I have a wonderful team now, but it's taken some training and effort and now I am..well...quite frankly...pooped!

I will try and update this blog with a proper post over the weekend and let you know more about our outings and what we've been doing.

Family holiday disasters

2010-07-30T12:36:00.001+01:00

They say you always remember bad things that happen to you. If that's the case, then me and Andy certainly have some memorable holidays.

First, there's the holiday where, as we were packing up to come home, the maid appeared in the doorway hurrying us along because she wanted to clean the apartment. We hurried along and on arriving back home, realised we had left ALL of my dirty washing in a laundry bag in the wardrobe. I'd bought a new wardrobe for the trip and the hotel never did respond to my email. I hope the maid enjoyed her new (albeit dirt and very smelly) clothes.

Oh and then there's the cruise that we went on in 2005...a fabulous trip to the Caribbean. We'd just got there and were unpacking the clothes. I'd put all of the clothes away and only had the t-shirts left to unpack. Andy passes me a stack of his t-shirts and I dutifully put them away in the wardrobe. "Ok, pass mine over" I said. "That's all of them" he said. Turns out he thought my t-shirts were his and had thought to himself as he was packing "I've got way too many t-shirts, better put some back" and basically left ALL of my t-shirts on the bed at home! I had to survive a 2 week holiday with the t-shirt that I was wearing, which was dirty - since I'd spilt my lunch down it on the plane - and a selection of his t-shirts. Thank goodness we're about the same size!

Ooooooh and here's one for you...we'd just arrived in Tenerife and was about to unpack the clothes...(there's a theme here, have you spotted it yet? LOL). I asked him to pass me the padlock key for the suitcase. At that moment, I remember leaving the key on the kitchen worktop and we had to get maintenance to break into out suitcase for us. For the return journey we bought some of those ones with the combination lock...and the lock mechanism failed so we had to break into the case when we got home too.

On our last cruise in November 2008, we were loading the suitcases into the car (on our way to the airport...yay!). It's 5pm and the shops are due to shut..and guess what? Our case falls apart and clothes start spewing onto the pavement. Eeeekkkk!!!! We had to dash to the shops to buy a new suitcase, on the way to the airport, and with the shops due to close...we met my mum and dad at the airport looking stressed and well ready for a holiday.

I'm just wondering what will happen this time LOL.

Talking of horrendous family trips, I was just reading this article on the BBC news website (so funny) and I especially liked this bit...

Particularly memorable was one journey to France aged six when a fellow passenger vomited on her leg on the ferry; with her clean clothes buried somewhere deep inside the family Land Rover, the senior Kennedys thought it wisest to clean her up at a public convenience when they reached the continent. Unfortunately, when they did so the young Emma managed to step into the squat toilet and cover herself in human effluent; she was so traumatised that she fainted and, as she recalls with a shudder, her parents then "had to wrap me in a bin bag, take me to a garage forecourt and hose me down".

Does anyone else have a funny holiday disaster?

Day trip!

2010-07-22T22:15:00.000+01:00

Today Andy & I went to Scarborough for the day. It's late and I'm tired now, but here's a few pics from the day :)


This is the main reason why I don't go to the beach much - too many people driving waaaaaaay below the speed limit - causing queues a mile long!

The harbour

The beach

Lots of these everywhere!

PS: If you follow my photography blog, you might recognise the third pic as being the one that I posted here - just taken a season later!

awesome timing

2010-07-19T21:56:00.003+01:00

I just posted this on the wrong blog by mistake - grrrrr

As you know, Andy lost his job 15 months ago now and to say we havestruggled sometimes has been an understatement. With the mortgageinsurance payments ending next month that was beginning to be a HUGEworry for us. But for the last couple of weeks, I have had this reallystrong feeling that everything was going to be ok. I'd had a talk withGod and vented my frustrations a week or so earlier, and then that'swhen this feeling and calm (in amongst a few moments of sheer panicbegan). In fact, I had so much faith in this feeling that I evenstarted to plan for the future (remember the study and my talk of aholiday?) - something I hadn't done for nearly 2 years, since the joblosses were announced. Over the last week or so this feeling has goteven stronger and FINALLY today Andy was offered a job!

Ialways knew this would happen in God's own time - and just in the nickof time too! To have this happen a month before we would have struggledto the point of actually making a mortgage payment is just proof in myeyes of the awesome powerful nature of God.

Ok, so I'm rambling, but I just can't get my head around the awesome timing. Suddenly everything makes sense :)

This exciting life I lead :)

2010-07-17T20:19:00.000+01:00

I have had such a productive day today, I've even surprised myself! I woke up at 8am and went to do the grocery shopping....joy of joys, doesn't everyone just hate that job? Much better to get it over and done with don't yah think? I called at the post office on my way home to post some parcels (website annoyingly sent the wrong item to what we ordered grrrrrrr) and then got comfy for a marathon graphics catch up session. After last week's fiasco, I had LOADS of work to catch up on.

So, I re-installed 4 blogs (after adding their graphics to their own Photobucket accounts) and then installed a gorgeous blog for a cake maker, which will be posted in my Portfolio tomorrow. Don't miss that one by the way because it is one of my all time faves! I then made a logo, a selection of headers for another customer. Last night I designed a business card and logo for the same cake maker. Phew!

Tomorrow, not really sure. I have an appointment with a Joyce Myers podcast at some point and maybe a little bible study, but I'll probably spend the rest of the day finishing off my new digital scrapbooking kit. I can't wait to release it. Sometimes I get way too excited about my graphics, it's just sad LOL.

Oh and I had a great idea for my birthday giveaway and I think people are going to really LOVE this one!

Well, nothing else is going on here really, so sorry it's kind of a work related post, but I hope somebody found it enlightening anyway. Anyone up to anything exciting this weekend?

Relationships in times of trouble

2010-07-13T12:33:00.000+01:00

I had an interesting conversation with my mum last night (erm, I don't think she reads this blog, but I don't think she's mind me mentioning it anyway). We were talking about relationships and how in the last 10 years mine and Andy's relationship has had many, many storms to weather. Seriously, I don't talk about everything on my blog, but our lives have basically been one catalogue of disasters since the day we met. She was asking how our latest troubles with Andy's unemployment (now at 15 months) had affected our relationship...I think she just wanted to know her big little girlie was happy...you know? I told her if anything it had STRENGTHENED our relationship, that we were more patient (most of the time) and more considerate and loving as a result. She seemed really surprised by that, which surprised me really. I always thought that most people would get closer during times of hardship, but mum said in her experience they tend to drift apart. I guess what I'm basically saying is that I think everything happens for a reason and that maybe God does know what he's doing after all...though I'd be quite happy if we could catch a break LOL.

I'd like to say I've been bored but...

2010-07-11T17:55:00.001+01:00

When my computer died a death on Friday night, I {almost} had a panic attack. I mean, I spend literally EVERY minute of my spare time making graphics, so the thought of having all this spare time was actually really scary. I didn't get a wink of sleep on Friday night, wondering how on earth I was going to break the news to people and whether they would understand the delay.

I needn't have worried as everyone was super-cool about it. I just hope that Dell get me up and running quickly, otherwise I'm kind of up the creek without a paddle. People won't be patient indefinitely I'm sure of that.

Anyway, I'd like to say I've been bored, but I've actually had a lovely weekend. I spent Saturday morning at a local store gathering more ideas for the study. I found a nice lamp, lightshade and curtains. We had a BBQ Saturday afternoon and then spent the rest of the day (until late a night) sat in the garden just talking. It was like re-discovering my husband again LOL. Today we just did the usual, but also made 3 meals for during the week - all meals that I can just throw in the slow cooker on my way to work :)

So, what do you think of these?

vase

side table

picture

caption

light shade

lamp - to go on the side table

cushion

curtains

Dreaming of decorating my study

2010-07-04T21:49:00.001+01:00

I've had a terrific week. Did anyone notice the sarcasm?

It all started earlier in the week when I was sent to work away with like 3 hours notice. I got back home yesterday and was happily unwinding by reading a few blogs...and then I noticed it....a big FAT notice on some other designer's blog about Photobucket's changes in their terms and conditions. I can't tell you how upset I am, my blog used to be within their terms and conditions...and I paid enough money for it for goodness sake! Now my blog falls outside of their terms of use and it's only a matter of time before I have to cough up a monthly rate for the image storage. The other designer is paying PER MONTH 20 times more than what she'd have paid in a year! If that happens to me, my blog will no longer exist because it just doesn't rake in that kind of money.

So I've spent 2 days drawing up a list of who needs what doing with their graphics. An action plan for 350 customers....now that's time consuming...booooooo. Oh anyway, I'm fed up just thinking about it...I wrote about it here anyway.

I cheered myself up by dragging myself around Ikea and looking for inspiration for my study. We've lived here 3 years and our house still doesn't feel like a home. When we moved in I was still a full time student and then after I finished uni Andy lost his job. So basically we've never had money to put our stamp on the house and I sooooooo want to live in a home...and feel settled. Does that make sense? I found a few things, most notably a sofa bed, a desk, a wall unit/storage thingy and a nice cushion. What do you think?

This sofa bed should go well with a neutral/green theme


I'm looking for some storage for all my books, files and other nonsense. I liked this because I can hide all my junk away and it will be easier to keep everything dust free too :)

I fell in love with the fabric on this cushion


I fell in love with this desk too but alas it won't match my theme (natural textures and colours). But I found a similar desk with a frosted glass top

The desk we'll probably get

Comfy looking?

Of course all we need is for Andy to get a job so we can pay for it...and that's a whole new depressing story. Gosh I'm happy today aren't I? Will try harder...promise :p

Boooo hooooo

2010-06-28T12:53:00.001+01:00

I have an update on the continuing Virgin saga, but I can't face it right now, so just assume that things are going from bad to worse! Last night I was so upset by the whole thing I couldn't help but bleep and just wanted to sit in a ball and cry. How pathetic is that? Virgin you have driven me to the brink of insanity and I am about to lose it. I have never known a company like it. I don't even blame the workers, the faults are obviously intrinsic to the system and won't be solved any time soon.

Other than the Virgin saga, I'm not sure I have much news. We spent much of the weekend out in the garden since the weather was soooo beautiful. That left me a little behind with my designs, but I still managed to load a few posts from the comfort of my garden chair :) I can't design outside because it means taking my not-very-portable laptop outside along with my graphics tablet and pen....it's all too much of a faff. Then there's the super-glossy (supposedly non-reflective) screen which reflects anything and everything.

Any other news? Well the diet is kind of steady at the moment - no gain and no loss, but it's been a rough few weeks and I'm actually grateful to have stayed the same considering what I've eaten. I've tried a new trick this week with the cooking and I'm hoping that helps. Instead of spending ALL Saturday morning and most of the afternoon cooking like I'd been doing recently, I've chopped all the meat, veggies and seasoning for each recipe and put it in the fridge in separate boxes. now all I need to do is put it in the slow cooker on the way out to work, and it's all done when I get home. Now, tell me that's not even EASIER than what I had been doing? This way the lazy cook can still eat a healthy, nutritious meal....woo hooo. The best thing is that the slow cooker doesn't make much heat, unlike cooking on the cooker or in the oven...perfect for the temperatures we've been having here lately.

Anyone else hate cooking? How do you deal with it?

Feelin hot hot hot

2010-06-22T10:10:00.012+01:00

Andy & I are BIG lovers of hot and spicy food...probably me more than him. We're always on the look out for really hot chili sauces and things and today we found a pretty decent one. We got some Louisiana Pepper sauces in jalepeno and habanero flavours and we were impressed by the heat, but seriously could have gone hotter LOL. We've been watching that Man Versus Food program where he eats all the really hot food and it's been giving us some ideas....particularly for a trip to Charleston SC which was featured on the program. There's a place there that does really REALLY hot food and has this challenge too...I gotta go LOL.

So, this is it....Louisiana Pepper sauce....burning the mouths of unsuspecting people since 1920 ;o)

Really, really tasty with chicken :)

Can I just say....

2010-06-21T08:13:00.000+01:00

I'm not looking forward to telephone conversation number 3 with Virgin this evening. That issue I wrote about here is still ongoing after me being told it would be sorted within 24 hours. I just don't think I can face it :(

I'm now changing my thoughts from "Laura from Virgin you SUCK" to "Virgin you SUCK". You know what, as much as I complained about Sky, at least their customer service was efficient and professional (even if the service wasn't). In 11 months and 3 days, I can switch back to Sky! Woo hoo!

Anyone else ever made a decision they regretted like this?

A weekend off

2010-06-20T23:31:00.000+01:00

I had a weekend off custom designs and had lots of fun with the family yesterday. We had a barbecue in the afternoon and then headed out to my uncle's 50th birthday party in the evening.We set off back home about 10.30pm because we were driving home and we live about 2 hours away from my folks. We got home just before midnight and can you believe it was just going dark! Gotta love summer evenings :)

Today I spent about 10 hours designing my new digital scrapbooking kit. It still needs about 10 more hours spending on it but I've been pleased with the progress so far. Tomorrow I'll be working on some custom designs and hopefully will shift that queue bit.

Ok, I'd better head off to bed now....at work at the crack of dawn...here's a pic of me & mum taken at the party. Its taken with my phone - which takes pretty naff pictures.

Day off...woo hoooooo!

2010-06-19T10:20:00.000+01:00

Those of you who follow my design blog will know that I have been busy converting my old style backgrounds and headers into the new style templates. The work that has been involved has just been...well quite frankly....ridiculous! I'm wondering what I've started and have, at times, totally regret ever starting it, but I will continue. This will be a great addition to my blog and will make it sooooo much easier for people to use my templates. Just in case you're interested, this is what is involved in making that switch to the new new downloadable templates.

load them onto a test blog
format the blog
make the extra bits (like post dividers) that I didn't already have
load all those extra bits onto a test blog
copy all the code
insert it into a Google Doc
take screenshots
format/crop the screenshot
upload to Photobucket
actually writing the post

...and then repeat for the Stretch version....it's taking about 4-6 hours per template AT LEAST. Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!

But today is my uncle's 50th birthday and I'm going to see my family and spend the day with them. We're not a very close (extended) family and I haven't seen some of them since my grandma's funeral 3 years ago. It will be nice to catch up. We'll be spending some time with my folks before we go to the party so I'm looking forward to that too.

I'm going to go enjoy my well earned day off now - talk later and have a nice day everyone.

Now I know why...

2010-06-16T23:15:00.000+01:00

For a long time now hubby & I have been putting off a move to a new telecoms provider knowing that (as everything seems to be these days) it would just be such a RIDICULOUS hassle to change. Well with the impending death of yet ANOTHER Sky box we finally had enough and looked into changing...after all our previous deal was years old and there MUST be something better out there.

Having made the move to from Sky to Virgin, I now know why we didn't bother. It was indeed a terrible hassle, for no real improvement in...well....ANYTHING. I keep hoping that once the teething problems are sorted then everything will be hunky dory, but after the conversation I had this evening with their customer service department, I can't really say I'm left with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

When we got the new telephone account, Virgin applied their answer-phone service to the line - not something we knew about, but no biggie as it should be easy to remove. So I rung their customer service and spoke to some lovely Scottish lady who pomised me it was taken care of but would take a couple of days. 2 weeks later it still isn't cancelled and, because we don't get alerted by a beep (or something) that anyone has left a message, we keep missing messages, which is a total pain with Andy getting calls every day about job interviews and things. So tonight, I decide to ring them back since 2 weeks is getting a bit silly.

Here is how the conversation went...
Virgin: Hello you're through to Virgin, my name is Laura, how can I help?
Me: Well 2 weeks ago I rang you and asked you to take the answer service off my phone. I was told it would take a couple of days, but it's still there. Could you switch it off please?
Virgin: What's your account number?
Me: I don't know it off the top of my head, but last time I rang you accessed my account via my phone number?
Virgin: What's your number then? ***think "abrupt" and "terse" here***
Me: 01234 567890
Virgin: What's your password?
Me: oh heck I don't remember giving you one. Erm......apple? ***I have no passwords like that really, incase you're wondering)
Virgin: No ***abrupt...again***
Me: ermmmm.....orange?
Virgin: No
Me: ***wondering just how long we're going to go on like this*** I can't remember, last time I rang I was given a prompt to remember it. There must be some other security questions you can ask?
Virgin: No
Me: No, really? No promts, but last time ***interrupted***
Virgin: I can't give you a prompt ***obviously getting VERY annoyed now, but seriously what are you supposed to do if you can't remember your password?***
Me: Oh...well last time when I rang the person seemed a lot more helpful ***said in a nice, calm voice, but go the point across I think ***
Virgin: CLUNK!

That was the sound of the phone being put down.

Really? I mean, was there any need for that? I wasn't even mad, crazy or angry...just....normal. So Laura McOldroyd from Virgin customer services (or whatever you said your name was)...you SUCK!

I promptly rang back on a different number, put in an official complaint and tried AGAIN to get the service removed. Hopefully all will be sorted this time because I obviously don't want to ring back! The guy was really helpful this time though and understood that I felt upset and that I shouldn't even have been having to ring back anyway. During his conversation he told me that our account hadn't even been activated and that we shouldn't even have been able to get TV, internet or phone! Seriously.....you kidding me? You want to give me any more problems because it's NOT like I'm regretting my decision already or anything....

Anyway, incase you missed it the first time, Laura from Virgin customer services....YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK!

Breathe.....

Dear...

2010-05-18T10:39:00.005+01:00

Time for another "Dear..." - the slot where I get things off my chest...good and bad :)

Dear 6 Sigma training...
I am sooooo glad to be done with your training. You know how I hate classrooms, and you know I was a grouchy little madam while I was training too, so no doubt you're glad to see the back of me too.
From your ex-student

Dear my blog followers...
You keep me sane - thank you for your interaction and support...with all my blogs.
Big hugs and kisses from little old me

Dear Gavin & Stacey...
You know you were my favourite TV show, why did you have to end? You know there is little else worth watching on TV.
From "Abandoned" of Yorkshire

Dear Lindsey,
I know I suck at being a sister sometimes, but I love you to bits and I hope you had a wonderful time in Atlanta & Washington. Have a safe trip home today!
Hugs, your big little sis

Dear Andy,
I'm bored, why do you need to sleep in so late on a weekend?
From your loving wife

Dear new manager at work,
I don't know who you are yet but I have a feeling I'll find out tomorrow. You'd better be kind and not start ruling me with an iron fist. I'm a hard worker and you won't need to check up on me all the time - if I have a problem, you'll be the first to know.
From your hard working minion.

Wordle

2010-05-16T10:39:00.001+01:00

Has anyone checked out Wordle yet? It's a fun site which lets you paste in your blog URL, which it then analyses and produces a picture of all of the words that have been used regularly on your blog. Pretty cool...

This useless blog snippet was brought to you by me...you can thank me later :)

Dear...

2010-05-05T12:06:00.000+01:00

I have seen something carried out on a few blogs now - some call it "dear so and so" some people have a "post it note Tuesday" or whatever...but basically it amounts to the same thing...getting things off your chest. I've decided that once a week, I'm going to do this too. It will be good to get things off my chest...and who knows you may even relate to it or be able to help :)

Dear Google word verification,
I hate you...you pop up too late (usually when I've just clicked to close the screen)...your characters are usually illegible...and you are every dyslexics worst nightmare I'm sure. Nuff said...
From ~~Lusoie~~ ~~Lsioue~~ Louise

Dear whatever political party wins this week's general election,
You'd better come up with some policies which actually HELP me this time instead of giving my money away to everyone else. I am fed up of paying my taxes so that people getting my money can save money every week towards THEIR family holiday...that I can't AFFORD to go on!
From a disgruntled and cynical voter

Dear God,
I'll be honest with you, I am struggling to understand why, after 13 months you are still putting my hubby through the unemployment thing. How you can sit on your cloud up there and watch him crumble each time yet more bad news comes in is beyond me. You bet I'm struggling to understand. You bet I feel angry.
From Disappointed of Yorkshire

Dear Job Centre Plus,
Why do you need to treat my hard working husband like he's the scum of the earth? Why do you not even know your own policies and don't stick to your word. Your inconsistencies and pure ineptness has cost my husband time, money and access to training...through no fault of his own. And why do you keep wanting to meet with him outside of appointment times, forcing him to pay MORE out of pocket expenses that we can little afford.
From Penniless of Yorkshire

Dear Security Man At Work,
I'm just wondering, do you deliberately go out of your way to be so unkind and unhelpful. Being told "same time as every day" when I ask you what time the staff car park is locked up is NOT helpful to me. If I knew what time you locked up at night I'd hardly be asking you...duuuurrrr.
From her in the Materials Lab

Well, I do feel a little better for that...I've obviously toned them down a bit LOL.

Woo Hoo!

2010-05-02T12:40:00.000+01:00

Before I go onto the woo hoo...I wondered if I should be changing the name of this blog to something more along the lines of weightloss, since this seems to have turned into my weight loss blog LOL. Ok, I'm only half serious...when anything majorly dramatic is going on in my life, I'll update this blog with a less weight loss oriented post :)

Well it's been 1 month since I started this weight loss journey...again...*sigh*, but it's not been as bad as I thought it would be. I must admit I'm still struggling for energy really badly, such that when I get home from the office I'm just too tired to stand there cooking a meal. Last week I really did struggle with the energy thing so didn't do quite as well as I could have, but I scraped a weight loss, so obviously I hadn't gone nuts or anything. This week has been much the same, so the weight loss probably won't be anything spectacular, but I'm just aiming for ANY loss EVERY week because I think losing consistently is more important that actual weight lost each week...if you get my drift.

So here's a quick summary of how things are looking after 1 month:
-weight...minus 9 pounds
-measurements...minus 2 inches off waist

Generally speaking, I'm finding that I can bend easier and I'm also much more coordinated too (kind of odd, but hey I'll roll with it...).

For anyone still following the diet saga...

2010-04-28T21:47:00.003+01:00

You will be pleased to know I'm still sticking with it and have lost 9 pounds now. It's been easier than I thought but this week was harder than the first 2 weeks. I'm starting to feel a little thinner but it will be a long time before I look any different...and a long time before I'll be posting any pics!

Week 2 diet update

2010-04-22T12:29:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update for those wondering if I've got so hungry I've eaten my own arms yet....lost 5 pounds this week...woo hoo! So that makes 7 pounds in total...and one happy woman LOL.

Every day this is getting a bit easier as new habits start to form - in fact, I've been surprised at how it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be...if you know what I mean. The trouble though is sticking to these things long term.

I usually deal with stress by eating...and I lead a very stressful life, so now I'm having to find new ways to deal with it. I haven't really come up with anything yet, except getting overly emotional and angry. So I guess, right now, I'm not really a woman who should be crossed LOL. Hopefully I will find new ways to deal with it soon enough, but one thing's for sure, I can't keep reaching for that loaf of bread every time I get stressed.

A dieter's best friend...

2010-04-18T17:38:00.000+01:00

Need I say more? LOL

So it's been 2 weeks today since I started trying to eat healthier and I have absolutely not the foggiest how I'm doing weight-wise LOL. Sure I get weighed but it's never on the same set of scales (so far) and my own at home are..well...dodgy....putting it bluntly. On Wednesday I will go back to WW though so will have my second reliable weight to compare it with. Last week I lost 2 pounds and must admit to feeling a little disappointed. It's just that with so much weight to lose and with it being the first week I really did expect more. I was in a funk about it but I'm over it now..just need to plod on and get on with it! I have no idea what I weigh but I do feel thinner already and I seem to be more comfortable, so I'll be surprised if I haven't lost anything. Anyway, I'll try and update on Wednesday.

Now...anyone wanna join me for a nice coffee?

Random news

2010-04-17T16:19:00.000+01:00

Life has been very busy here, hence the lack of pics from my recent trip to Bristol. I'm on a training course at work too which means that instead of just working a full time day job and a full time evening/weekend job, I'm also doing 40 hours a month training and 40 hours a month on a project which goes along with the training. When do I get time to sleep? I'm wondering that myself...

Anyway, the above might explain why my graphics blog (and my other blogs) have been sadly neglected lately, but I am still trying to keep things on schedule. I'm still getting through my designs, albeit slower than I'd have hoped...I simply can't keep up with demand at the moment...wait, that's a good thing, right?

My mum and dad are supposed to be going away on holiday tomorrow but it looks like flights in/out of the UK will still be cancelled by then. Poor things, they really need that holiday too...volcanoes suck...unless you're a geologist I guess.

Ok, well more random news later - just letting you know I'm still here and still trying to post tose photos from my recent-ish trip to Bristol!

A quick update

2010-04-04T00:27:00.000+01:00

Will post a better update tomorrow, but just wanted to quickly share what we've done on Saturday...before I collapse into bed LOL.

Today we visitied Brunel's ship, SS Great Britain and the Blue Reef Aquarium. More tomorrow about these, but here's a brief taster...I'm saving my good pics for the better update but here's a couple of nsaps...

Guess where I'm heading tonight?

2010-04-02T19:01:00.000+01:00

Guess where I'm heading tonight......

....yup, right across the road to the pub. I love weekends away....bliss :)

Woo Hoo....my 100th post!

2010-04-02T15:10:00.000+01:00

Welcome to my 100th post...on this blog LOL. I think my other blog must have 500-600 by now!

Well, my holiday has started and I'm currently on my way down to thesouth of England....yay!!! I've talked Andy into driving, whichleaves me free to answer emails and do some blogging. Typing, even as apassenger, takes some talent I can tell you. I'll fill you in more on our plans later but I just wanted to let you know I'm still witing on this blog and I plan to update it this weekend while I'm on my travels.

PS...we have some awful weather in front of us...typical! LOL

Well That's Just Terrific

I'm moving!

Getting to know me

I'm moving soon

Happy Yorkshire Day

Gosh my posts are getting even more random!

De-stressing my life!

More random musings

The age of innocence gone forever?

Positive post

And now for something completely random

R.I.P FIL

I want to get off

The waiting game

Quick update

Now in ICU

Trying to keep busy

Prayers and thoughts needed

The good things

Thanks & about comments

Beating low self esteem

Welcome to Olden!

Next port of call....Bergen

Back from Norway

I'm still here but not for long!

Why?

Wentworth Castle & Gardens

A few more pics

Oh heck what have I done?

I'm much more than a designer

Pics from Scotland

About that trip...

Sill on vacay - but here's some pics

And we're off!

Garden fun!

Still alive!

Oh so tired

It's Christmaaaaaaas!

Uh-oh!

I'm a big fat liar

It's a first...well kind of...

Stuffed mushrooms are my new best friend!

Time for a quick update...

It's back!

A familiar enemy

Tell us Tuesday

Officially fit :)

Weight loss (or trying to) sucks

Feeling stressed

What made me smile this week

A change in thinking?

Agh! (Goals for 2011 - update 2)

Where would I go?

Christmas - take 2!

It never rains but it pours!

Mundane ramblings

Plans for tomorrow

One extreme to the other

A slow start to the week

Goals for 2011 - update 1

Thinking ahead

Thanks for the prayers

How frustrating

Everything tastes weird

I can honestly say....

More snow pics

Brass monkey weather

Don't you just hate it when....

I can hardly contain myself...

A visit from Royalty

I have a confession...

9 years ago today....

More diet *groan*

Cruise update

sooooo tired

Family holiday disasters

Day trip!

awesome timing

This exciting life I lead :)

Relationships in times of trouble

More diet groan