Ok this is for whitehousemom, who is currently struggling to find a name for her unborn child.

At work today I was updating the details of all the babies born in the last month.  I came across one, from a Chinese family.  It was still listed as Baby Chen, despite being over a month old. 

I asked the Health Visitor if he knew what they’d called the baby, and he told me that they haven’t actually named him yet.  Apparently, it is Chinese custom for the baby NOT to be named for a good few months, and then the mother’s parents get to choose the name!!

So this kid is still just called “Baby”.  I felt very sad for him, going through his first few months nameless.  How weird is that?  Do they give him a number or something, to distinguish him from his siblings??

And fancy having to let your family choose the name?  What if they pick something you hate??  Ugh doesn’t bear thinking about. 

Anyway, I thought I would share that with you.  So whitehousemom , if you are still struggling in September, there is always that option to fall back on!!

Paint garden fence - CHECK!  One fence, repainted, not once but twice, in lovely Woodland Green.  The absent fmd worked very hard on getting it all done and only managed to get it in his eye once.  Result.

Weed patio and remove 4 years worth of mould - CHECK!  Another winner.  Managed to  empty the garden of all potted flora and fauna, sweep, tidy AND remove the horrid layer of mould and moss growing everywhere.  Back breaking work but satisfying. 

Jetwash patio without drowning self of injuring feet - CHECK!  Yet again, something else we managed to get done.  And although a lot of fun, OMG jet washing is filthy, mucky work.  We were both covered in a layer of mud spatter from the knee down.  Also, I was only allowed to actually use the jetwash on 3 occasions, to clean about 3 slabs, and was left with the crappy job of sweeping the water and crud away.  Obviously, jetwashing comes under 'men's work' and isn't something that we weak females can be allowed to undertake unsupervised.  *loud snorting noise*

Put willow screening on side gates to create ‘sunny, private area for growing vegetables’ - SEMI CHECK - well, we loolked at the willow, but didn't buy any.  And sorted the area out bye put some of excess plants there for when we actually purchase it... so I suppose we sort of started it.  Better than nothing.

Paint wood and metalwork - FAIL!!  Oops forgot all about this one.  Maybe next Bank Holiday.

Prune monstrous climbing hydrangea, currently smothering the garage - FAIL!  It's about to bloom so it would be cruel.  My excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Weed & feed the lawn - FAIL! Ummm soon I promise.  I MOWED the lawn, what more do you want?

Repot christmas tree! - SEMI CHECK - i actually purchased a pot to put it in, but didn't get around to doing it.  This weekend I promise, Oh Christmas Tree.


Baby Update:

I bring news!  Little Sister has now seen the Consultant at the Hospital, who decided that moving the sprog was not a good idea, for various reasons.  He also said that there is very little chance of her being able to deliver naturally at this point.  The upshot is that they have booked her in for a C Section next Friday - 24th April.   So ichabod will be brought into the world in just over a week!  Sister and Mother are relieved.  I am excited and a little trepidatious as I have NO idea how to deal with a newborn, let alone hold one.  They're so FLOPPY and delicate.  And I am notoriously clumsy and heavy handed.  What if I drop her?  Egads, it's a minefield.

Holiday news:

As fmd 's Significant Age Birthday draws ever closer, I am starting to think about our trip away.   As he didn't really want to celebrate in the traditional way, we decided to go away with our friends, and have hired a cottage in Wales. 

Clicky here to see where we're going

It looks nice doesn't it?  AND it has a hot tub on site!  Can't wait to try that out.  Hoping for nice weather, as stripping down to your smalls in May in Wales COULD be a rather chilly experience.  But we'll see.  I'm sure after a bottle of wine my friend and I won't much care anyway!

We are planning to do lots of walking, possibly going up Snowdonia (on the train, don't panic, there won't be cramp-ons and mountaineering involved), and take a trip to Portmeirion amongst other things.  We go on the 2nd May, so at least know the baby will be here before we go.  I was worried I was going to miss it!

Also, I have a dilemma.  The Significant Age Birthday isn't until 4th May.  Being a lovely wifelet I have purchased my ageing husband a brand new, shiny IPHONE as  special present.  Now, said IPHONE is arriving this Friday.  He knows it's coming.  My question is this:  Should I give it to him NOW or make him wait nearly 2 more weeks and give it to him actually on his birthday, but which time we will be halfway up a mountain with nothing but sheep for company?  

Whaddya think LJers?


 

Been trying to think of something interesting to write about, and have come up empty. Again. *Sigh*.

Instead, I realised I had about a million little things in my head, that separately would bore the pants of even the most stoic blogger, but all together may just create something worth reading. Or not. Depends on your point of view I guess.

I even resorted to scanning the interwibble, looking for ideas. For starters, I didn’t realise there are so many blogs out there. My god, there must be an awful lot of people with time on their hands. Also, a lot of it is absolute rubbish. And I mean, rubbish. Who writes this stuff? And more to the point, who reads it??

I did find this blog, courtesy of a friend, which if you follow the tv show 24, as I do, you will find very amusing.

blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/24/

ANYway.

To start, my weird dream last night. I was on a world tour, using a convertible mini as my mode of transport. Obviously. But it was a clever one, because you could use it on land AND in water. Good eh?

So I was floating around the ocean in this mini convertible. And then, someone, not sure who, decided that it would be a really good idea to divide the world into two separate halves. So there would be an East and a West.

Everyone was given a number and then we were split according to some bizarre criteria and I was in charge of making sure that every single person on the planet, moved from the country they lived in to the ‘right’ side of the world! I was a little stressed to say the least.

I remember having crazy thoughts that how would people from the frozen north be able to live in Africa? Anyway, not much happened after that, apart from some more zooming around in my aquatic mini and me worrying about not being able to get everyone to move.

Weird, and strangely depressing.

Random pictures:

Had an Planning Day for work on Tuesday and we went to the local Holiday Inn to use their conference facilities. It was down by the canal so we had a fab view out on some canal boats and water birds. I spent most of afternoon gazing out of the window watching a cormorant swimming around and diving into the murky water looking for fish! Very relaxing.

We all stuffed ourselves with the free lunch and then were faced with this for afternoon tea:

Is that not the biggest plate of scones, jam and cream that you’ve ever seen?? I felt very sick afterwards.

My bread disaster:

This is what happens when you put three times the correct amount of sugar into a recipe for fruit loaf! It didn’t rise , was totally stodgy and weighed a tonne. Not recommended.

Easter weekend jobs:

Yay for two Bank Holidays. No yay for all the jobs that need doing while we’re off:

Paint garden fence
Weed patio and remove 4 years worth of mould
Jetwash patio without drowning self of injuring feet
Put willow screening on side gates to create ‘sunny, private area for growing vegetables’
Paint wood and metalwork
Prune monstrous climbing hydrangea, currently smothering the garage
Weed & feed the lawn
Repot christmas tree!
Fill and sand hole in living room wall AGAIN
Get a picture for the bedroom wall – after all, we only decorated in September..
Clean inside of all windows as layer of grime is starting to become offensive

If we manage to get half of these done I’ll be happy (and amazed). Watch this space!

Baby update:

Little Sister is suitably flump-like and starting to get uncomfortable. She has approx 3.5 weeks left and the baby STILL hasn’t moved. She is currently laying in an oblique breech position, which is basically, sideways. No body parts are engaged where they should be. They are going to try and get her to move, but if not, she will have to have the C Section. I know she isn’t looking forward to the birth, in whatever form, it takes, but one thing’s for sure, Ichabod is coming out, one way or the other!!


And lastly, a picture of one of The Evil duo who are currently in disgrace after peeing on the draining board (including a plastic food container and a carrier bag) and later in the day, for jumping on the mantlepiece and smashing a glass candle dish.  Monsters I tell you!

mostly_irish

mostly_irish

Purple (obviously)

Anyone who knows me will have noted that I have, ermm, a bit of a purple fetish. OK OK a BIG purple fetish. I’m not sure when it started exactly, but for as long as I can remember I have been drawn to all things purple. I just love it. I would paint every room in my house in various shades of violet, purple and mauve if I thought I could get away with it!

It speaks to me and when I’m out shopping, it MAKES me buy stuff. I will automatically home in on something if it hits the purple spectrum, regardless of whether I actually like the item in question! This has lead to some unfortunate fashion faux pas in the past, but the less said about THOSE the better.

Also, purple is a royal colour, and as I am convinced that in a previous life I was someone wealthy, this all adds up.

If you doubt me, please see evidence below:


Purple Milk


Purple Hair


Purple Clothes


Purple House

I rest my case.

Piddle & Puke

Ahhh bless them. Piddle & Puke, for those not with the programme, are my two demented cats. They are possibly the most affectionate, loyal and utterly stupid creatures on the planet. They are nearly 4 years old now and still behave exactly as they did when they were kittens!

 
Baby Piddle                           Baby Puke

They are sisters, from the same litter, and we have had them since they were 6 weeks old. Their mother was a pure bred, pedigree cream Burmese with impeccable manners. Their father, the local tom cat who had his wicked way and did a runner. The resulting litter was an embarrassment to the owners, who were cat breeders. They gave us a choice from the litter of 6 and charged us £25 each. At the time we thought that was a bargain. Oh what little we knew!

Here’s what the Burmese cat society say about them:

Life with a Burmese Cat

'the distinctive quality of its coat, made for stroking ... its unique qualities of temperament ... it becomes an integral part of the family ... a Burmese kitten has as much personality as the members of the household it is joining ... each Burmese is an interesting individual ...

Burmese are intensely social animals and assume that they are fully accepted in all aspects of human family life ...The Burmese wants to help! ... Burmese do not like to feel neglected ... To entertain Burmese provide plenty of simply but amusing toys ... Burmese owners talk of the mad half-hour ... The need of Burmese cats for human company is immensely flattering and good for the ego ... These qualities of temperament and character are allied to a sophisticated beauty.'

*falls on the floor laughing*

So, I know they only got half the gene pool but really, do these cats bear any resemblance to the above?

• Yowls constantly when not in the presence of ‘mum’ or ‘dad’
• Only happy when being carried, or when asleep on a lap, preferably on their back legs, akimbo
  
• Drool constantly when stroked
• Cannot stand on own 4 feet for more than two minutes without rolling over, displaying belly and wanting a fuss
  
• Always hungry – will beg for food and steal if necessary
  
• Bores easily - all household items instantly become toys (ie wooden spoons (chewed), batteries, nail files, stones from decorative candle, pens all found ‘hidden’ under the sofa
  
• Bladder issues – insists on peeing in the sink, on the hob and in roasting trays if left unattended
  
• Refuses to use cat scratching post, preferring brand new stair carpet
  
• Projectile vomiting after eating too fast (and on occasions, reconsumption)
  
• Will come when called and follow people around like small dogs

Likes to play on the stairs while people are trying to traverse them
Has to have the last word

WAGs

A term used to describe ‘celebrity’ footballers’ significant others (ie Wives & Girlfriends) and something that I knew nothing about until recently. A new member of staff started working with me back in December and she is in fact, a fully fledged WAG.

To say I didn’t like the girl when she started would be an understatement. I HATE football and all that comes with it, especially the so-called ‘celebrity’ status that these people gain. WAGs are notorious for being slim, attractive and dim. The most awful and ‘famous’ of them all being Victoria Beckham. That lollypop headed freak REALLY winds me up! So the thought of having to work with one, in a confined space no less, filled me with horror.

Irritatingly, my WAG has shown herself to be intelligent, slim (ack), funny and, goddamn it, NICE! She stays out of my way and doesn’t try to push her authority which is great.

I still don’t like football, and I have more knowledge of it than I would like, but I am prepared to admit that probably, not all WAGs are vacuous air-heads. And yes, I like her. Much as I hate to admit it.

The Lost Continent

TLC is a virtual music venue in Second Life. I’ve been running it since June last year, and although it can be hard work, I really enjoy it. We had to move recently, to a new place in the cyberverse, which meant a complete rebuild. From scratch. Fortunately, I have some very talented, wonderful friends who helped me out. Without them I would have been screwed, frankly as I can’t so much as a rez a cube without deleting something! So they planned, re-modelled and re-built while I flitted around giving instructions and probably getting in the way.

The result is this:

 

Cool huh?

I’m not even sure how I got into all this – I think it was just hanging around shows when I first joined up over 2 years ago. I’ll blame gallo_nero  for that one as he was one of the first people I heard, and that made me want to stick around, and see what else SL had to offer.

I liked the fact that there were ‘live’ musicians performing all over the world, and that I got to hear some fantastic music from people I would never have heard otherwise. There are lots of other things you can do in this virtual world, but none of them have gripped me like the music scene. I’ve always loved music, but this gave me an outlet, a way to be more involved.

I have visited a lot of venues, and I know what makes a good one. But when I was given the opportunity to run one my first reaction was ‘no way’. But then it was like ‘well, how hard can it be?’…. so I gave it a go, and 9 months later we are still there. I don’t make any money, but then I never expected to. Most of the musicians are lovely, but some can be a royal pain in the arse. I guess people are just people no matter where they are. But if I can help promote just one independent musician, get their music out there and get people interested, then I think it’s worth the effort.

Gorgeous Velvet Dresses

Ooooh I just LOVE velvet dresses, especially purple ones! If I could get away with floating round in medieval style gowns, with flowing sleeves, and long trailing material every day, I would. Unfortunately they aren’t really practical for doing the weekly supermarket shop or cleaning up cat vomit.

My first, and favourite place to buy such creations is my namesake – the darkangel. If you haven’t checked them out before, do it now. Their stuff is amazing!

www.thedarkangel.co.uk/

They have THE most gorgeous, gothic, fantasy clothes ever. I bought my wedding dress (purple, naturally) from there, and I loved every second of wearing it. It was perfect, just like the day itself. In fact, I liked it so much I have since bought two more gowns – one in red and one in black. I would get the whole range if I thought I could get away with it. I also have one of their wonderful, long winter coats which I just adore wearing.

Whilst not really practical, their clothes are made to measure and feel amazing on. I feel every inch the medieval babe when I wear them. I just need more places TO wear them!! So if anyone is having a party, don’t forget my invite – these dresses NEED more outings!


So... anyone else want to play?  It's fun... and time wasting is always good!

I’ve been asked to co-facilitate a course at work. I’ve never done anything like this before and although I was pleased and flattered to be asked, I am now starting to panic. It starts in 2 weeks and I have no idea what I’m doing!

The course we are running is called the Freedom Programme and it is for women who have been the victims of Domestic Abuse, or who are still living in that situation. You can read more about it here:

http://www.freedomprogramme.co.uk/freedomprogramme/index.cfm

It is a fantastic course for women, to empower them and to give them the tools to avoid these kinds of dangerous, predatory men who destroy their lives.

I am excited to be doing it, but also terrified. Apparently my colleague thinks I will be good for the group and that I’ll be able to handle anything that is disclosed. Some of the things these women have been through don’t even bear thinking about, so I am expecting it to be quite a traumatic experience.

Thank God I am lucky enough never to have been in an abusive relationship. I think I’m a strong, calm person with a pretty good life experience. But how can I possibly put myself in their situation? I’m worried that I won’t be able to give anything to the sessions and that they will see me as a fraud. They’ll be thinking ‘what the hell is this woman doing here?’.

I have to read through the course book this weekend and then do some planning with my colleague. It’s a good thing to be involved in. And I am sure that it will open my eyes to just how awful some people’s lives are and make me appreciate just how lucky I am to have a loving, caring husband and family.

I just hope that I do it, and the women who attend, justice.

Wish me luck!