Not so ordinary!

I know I haven't posted since Tuesday - the past four days have been exceptionally busy - even for me!! Wednesday started off with a 7am phone call from Adam's dad, Ray, to say my sister in law had had her baby boy at last. He was 12 days late and we were eagerly awaiting his arrival. He was a bonny weight of 9lbs 4 and his name is Logan. I can't wait to see him and give him a cuddle.

Adorable!

Then on the way to work the bus had to make a massive detour due to an accident.  The bus driver was initially told to turn right at an island which he did only to be told to go the other way! The driver took a left turn to get back onto the main road only to be trapped in a narrow road with no chance of turning around and the only exit through a no entry sign! As you can imagine, the driver was not best pleased and his language was a bit ripe but he had no choice but to go down the 'no entry' road. The bus garage must be able to tell where their buses are (via gps I assume) as it was only about a minute before they came on the radio to ask what the driver was playing at!! I eventually got to work half an hour later than usual.  I used to get really anxious when I got delayed on public transport, but I have learned to accept there is nothing I can do about at and now manage to stay calm.  I still get stressed when I'm driving and delayed though so still have a way to go!

Then after work I met Adam for our Anniversary meal at the Ming Moon.  I don't think there were many more dishes for a dinner menu than lunch but there was live music courtesy of a lady playing on the very grand, grand piano!

A not very flattering picture, but hey ho, I'm not one of these people who take endless selfies, so don't have the experience to make it good. 

I think that's a long enough post for tonight, so will try and link Thursday's outing with tomorrow's. Intriguing eh?!

An ordinary day

Today has not been particularly exciting, just a short meeting at the local primary school academy where I am now Chair of the board of Governors, then a quick drive to a local retail park to pick up some more threads for my latest project.  I'm stitching  this one on 16 count aida as the design is a little larger than the others.  I wish I had started it with a single strand rather than two as it's not an easy design to do.  I estimate it will take me about a week to complete.
On my way home from Hobbycraft, I couldn't resist dropping in to Rebekah's for a while.  It was lovely to see her and Pandora (Panda) and it meant that at least Bekah could eat her lunch in peace whilst I entertained Panda.  She asked me for a kiss today too!
I am thoroughly enjoying being Nannymoo, and find it difficult to say goodbye when I leave, especially when she cries! She is starting to assert herself and I can see Rebekah will have her hands full as she grows, though Bekah has a much stronger personality than me and will stand no nonsense!

24 years

Today is our 24th wedding anniversary and Adam has to work :-(. I miss him every day when he's at work, but especially today.  I know I am incredibly blessed to have such a strong and loving marriage, I have seen many marriages break up around me and each one makes me sad, and very thankful for ours.  Rebekah and Sean have offered to have the girls for a few hours on Wednesday night so Adam and I can go out for a meal after work.  We've booked a table at Ming Moon, a buffet style Chinese restaurant we've taken the family to a couple of times.  We've always gone for lunch before so it will be interesting to see what other dishes are available for dinner.

I'm back (yet again!)

After 3 very busy years, I figure it's about time I started blogging again.  So much has happened, I have enough material to fill this blog for quite some time without running out of things to say!

I have recently been having a bit of a clear out and found a pile of very old cross stitch magazines, some dating back to 1991 (before my kids were born!). I also found a bag of COMPLETED cross stitch designs, including a very large Lord's Prayer which I can only assume I couldn't afford to have framed - nothing new there then!  I also found lots of squares stitched with Disney characters that I had intended to make into cushions for my girls.  Anyway, finding all these has rekindled my love of cross stitch and I have been continuing stitching the Disney squares.  I have about 24 completed and am going to make them into a blanket for my daughter Elizabeth, I just need to learn how to quilt!  Over the next few days I am going to post pictures of the squares I've finished.  Here's Pinocchio who I finished last night.

Where did the years go?!

Where have the past 18 years gone? My darling eldest daughter, Rebekah, at the tender age of 18, got married today. She was the most beautiful bride imaginable and she looked so happy. I wish her and her new husband, Sean, a very long, happy and loving marriage where every burden is shared, no secrets are kept from one another and compromise is never one sided. If she is even half as happy as me and her Dad have been and still are, she will have been truly blessed.

For a look at the photos I took, including some truly awful ones of me...sorry (!), please follow this link


I've uploaded everything except the blurry ones so you may have to sift through the dross!!

Updating

No photo today, just a general news update.

It seems as though we go through phases when we may as well move into one or other of the NHS's facilities, and this week has definitely been one of those! Adam has had two hospital appointments to test for suspected sleep apnoea plus an emergency dentist visit as he has developed an abscess. I've visited the doctors five times in two weeks for various tests. The results of which are:

Blood pressure - relatively stable, but needs regular monitoring
Cholesterol - down from last test 4 years ago but still needs to drop .6 of a unit
Potassium - up, but not sure why
Blood sugar - now 'borderline' diabetic, have to be checked again in 6 months
Kidney function - fine, that's what I went to the GP for in the first place!
Weight - up, but I didn't need the doc to tell me that lol.

My weight has increased as direct result of having three out of the six of us with different dietary needs. One Coeliac and two lactose intolerant, one of which is also a vegetarian who doesn't eat vegetables! Just a simple meal of spaghetti bolognese requires a pan of mince, a pan of quorn, one standard spaghetti pan and another with gluten free spaghetti. Plus, if we want cheese on top, that's another two types! It's no wonder that once it comes to feeding myself, I grab the easiest and usually most unhealthy, food.

Elizabeth has also been to the out-of-hours doctor as she has tonsillitis yet again. Doctors refuse to take her tonsils out unless she has it 6-8 times a year. She gets it about twice a year, and ends up missing school, which brings down her attendance levels and results in a warning letter from the Authority! How they expect her to go to school feeling totally lousy and drugged up to the eyeballs, I don't know.

Been scrapping again!

I had a sudden urge to be creative this afternoon, and amazingly managed to complete two layouts in four hours. Might not seem quick, but believe me, it is! I usually spend several hours just looking at a blank piece of cardstock wondering where to start but today, I jumped right in. Let's hope it lasts! I have joined a new team on UK Scrappers and this has helped to give me motivation as I can participate in the weekly challenges again. Here's one of the layouts I finished today: