Quick Wednesday ramblings

Good afternoon! Just a quick update here today. Diet going fine. Fitness class this morning was a killer. The munchkin’s movement class this afternoon wasn’t a lot better. I’m certainly going to ache tomorrow. Mr H is shattered, and he’s not even going to get much rest this weekend which my nephew’s baptism. We’re driving up oon Sunday morning for the service and then staying over for another party on the Monday afternoon. He’s only going to have Saturday as any downtime. He has agreed to me ordering in the shopping this week, it’ll be one less thing he needs to do on Saturday. It does mean I can have a very nice browse through the Ocado (more expensive, but better quality than the others – plus I have a discount voucher) website though! Mr H was too tired to think about the campsite last night hopefully tonight otherwise it’ll be Friday as one or other of us will be at church tomorrow evening for the Ascension day service. Having been out all day I now have to catch up on the housework…fun! So I’m off, will try and stop by some blogs later. Bye!

 

New day…new outlook

Hello!

I pulled myself together after writing all that yesterday. Sometimes I just need an outlet to vent and that’s what this blog is for me, I don’t keep a diary/journal other than this and I really didn’t want to take all my frustration out on Mr H when he got home.

I’m having another go at following the Slimming World ideas at home. I’ve printed out a food diary which is stuck to the fridge, so far (ok, so it’s just over 24 hours) I’ve filled it all in and I’m keep on track. Mr H has agreed to help me as much as he can. He’s accepted that if he’s late home from work I may have eaten and he’ll have to fend for himself and he’s agreed that spending more money on the food shopping is ok if it’s going to help us eat more healthily.

I’m glad he’s not the only one who leaves things around for someone else to clear up, thanks Chrisb, that did help me feel a bit better. Mr H does claim he usually does it and forgets occasionally…but I’d say it was the other way around! The house is still better than it has been, and I can get it how I want it just a little bit at a time.

I’ve had another campsite suggestion sent to me via Twitter (thanks zooarchaeologist!), I love the look of it and will be talking to Mr H about it tonight. Who knows, we may actually manage to book something by this weekend! (I’ll have jinxed it now by saying that….)

Well, I’m going to go and have a little bit of down time before cooking the munchkin’s dinner. Bye!

 

Aaaargh!

Stop reading here unless you can face a huge whinge/moan…..

I weighed myself this morning…I weigh more now than I did at the start of the year. Back in February I said that I wanted to lose weight for my nephew’s baptism….well that’s on Sunday…and I haven’t. So unless I wear a very padded bra my tummy is going to look big. I just don’t know what to do now to keep myself motivated and focussed. Every time I feel tired/low /bored/(insert any other emotion here) I find myself reaching for cake/chocolate/anything full of calories. Over on Suburban Mum’s blog there has been a suggestion in the comments of a group of bloggers starting a weight loss blog. I love the idea, any accountability/support has to be good at the moment.

My tendonitis has also had another flare up at the moment. Out of the past 6 weeks more than 2 have been spent with my wrist strapped up and pain when I type/do housework/push the buggy… It’s not really helping my mood, or my weight since the munchkin is still too small to walk far (and too slow to help any weight loss) and I can’t do any of the exercises at the fitness class which involve putting weight through my wrist.

The house is looking more and more like a tip. Mr H is not really helping either. Every morning before work he makes his lunch then leaves me all the rubbish (ham packets, pepper/tomato cores/ grape stems/crumbs etc) to clear up, he always leaves his glass/mug in the bedroom from the night before and he never puts any of his paperwork/post away. I know it sounds pathetic, but I’ve been working really hard to try and get the house under control and he’s just not helping. Even though he says he loves having the surfaces clear in the kitchen and having space on the dining table he’s just doesn’t seem willing to help keep them clear.

We still haven’t got much further with the campsite hunting. Suburban Mum’s suggestion looks really good, but sadly it’s a bit too far. We can’t switch our church commitments so we won’t be able to leave until lunchtime. Anglesey is a good 5 hours from here on a good run, and that’s without counting toilet stops for the munchkin. Grrr… back to the drawing board. We’ll come up with somewhere, at least we’re not going in school holidays so there shouldn’t be too much difficulty booking a site as long as we do it fairly soon.

Well, thanks to my stupid wrist it’s taken me 2 hours on and off to get this typed so I’m going to give up my whinge there. Hopefully I’ll be back tomorrow in a better mood….

 

One lurgy after another!

No sooner to I start to get over the cold I’ve had, and the munchkin begin to perk up from the cold she’s had, we get to last night and find that Mr H has yet another bug. This time a bit of a tummy one. It’s just been one thing after another with him. He’s not been properly well since February, he’s been fighting off the cold I’ve just had for the last 2 1/2 weeks and now this. He wasn’t helped by a long day at work on Tuesday, a meeting scheduled to last from 3-3:30 went on until 6:30 and it was at the office over 2 hours from home, on the other side of London. He worked from home yesterday (a bit less pressure than the office and a slave to make meals and drinks!) but was shattered anyway by 5.

Roll on nice summer weather. I’m sure that being able to spend more time out in the sunshine will help us all. I know that when Mr H can go out for regular rides on his bikes he feels a lot better (as long as he doesn’t fall off – last week’s trick while fording a river on his first ride in 7/8 weeks). We’ll be able to take the bikes away with us more easily now as well. The new car has mounting points inside it so that we can strap the bikes inside the car and they’ll be secure without us needing to surround them with bags etc. Hopefully that’ll encourage us to go riding as a family more as well, I can count on 2 hands the number of times we have used the trailer we bought for the munchkin in August 2006! I know that riding more will definitely do me good, the only real exercise I get is the fitness class on a Wednesday (which I couldn’t even go to yesterday thanks to the cold).

I was quite grateful that Mr H was home yesterday. As I was cooking lunch the munchkin grabbed some papers from the dining table and in the process managed to tip a full glass of squash over my new laptop! I was not impressed, and nor was Mr H when the juice spread over the table and also got his work laptop and phone. Thankfully Mr H was able to dry out the laptops (though my TV card is still out and drying). The fact that the battery was low and turned itself off just after the soaking did not help my worry. All seems fine now but I guess we’ll see over the next couple of days.

On another note, maybe while Mr H is home today we’ll manage to narrow down where we want to go camping in June (and confirm the date, church commitments are proving difficult to work around). So far the criteria includes decent showers/toilets (my request), fairly near good mountain bike trails (his request) and nice countryside nearby (for both of us). Does anyone know of any good campsites or have any suggestions of areas to go to? I know it’s a bit of a long shot, but hey, I can’t lose anything! We’re not really bothered where we go at the moment, though the North of Scotland is a bit too far this time!

Well, that’s the end of my slightly muddled catch up for today, time to go and get some housework done! Bye!

 

‘Home’ again!

Firstly an apology…I didn’t mean to make you homesick missbliss! Your part of the country is gorgeous. I’ve had a couple of weekends away down there in the past and it’s lovely. I think the hospitable northerners thing very much depends on which part you go to and whether it’s a very urban area or not. I’ve noticed the people are definitely less friendly in the city centres. There is a lovely deciduous woodland a five minute walk from my parents’ house (they didn’t even know it was there when they bought the house). That sort of tree is lovely to be around, and crunching through the fallen leaves in the autumn and winter – hope that thought doesn’t make you more homesick!

The Shrink – we were in Ilkley on Saturday! It’s not too far away from my folks and a lovely place for a wander (and a big lunch in the Cow and Calf!)

Mumof4 – looks like it! Eh up lass! Not that my accent’s that broad, though it gets broader for a week or so after I’ve been back for a bit.

Driving over the hills to Ilkley really made me think that I belong there. Mr H and I could sell our house down here and buy a gorgeous Yorkshire stone house (with bigger bedrooms) for less money. Sadly though we’d then possibly struggle to move back down here should Mr H’s job require it. There aren’t many companies that do his kind of work in the area so relocating there could be a gamble. Who knows though, there’s a chance he’ll be made redundant again at the end of the year and we’ll probably be job hunting again. I know he likes the area (having grown up about 10 miles from me) it’s just the job security and housing thing putting him off. I certainly feel a lot more at home there, and still think of the area as my home. Coming back down here always makes me feel rather sad.

We did get some good news while we were up north. On Thursday the little rat who robbed my parents had his pre trial hearing (the trial was due to start next Monday) and changed his plea! He pleaded guilty to robbery, burglary and aggravated burglary as well as escaping from custody (he climbed over the dock when in court in August). He’s been sentenced to 6 years. As well as targeting my parents he also robbed an elderly lady in a nearby road. It’s a huge relief as Dad would not have coped well with the trial. The police man liasing with my parents called round on Friday morning to tell them the news and warn them it may be in the paper – it was the headline on the front page of the local evening paper!

Dad’s definitely a little worse than when I last saw him. He got a lot more fixated on doing things of finding out information than he has previously, but otherwise seemed not too bad. Mum said he’d had a good weekend though. Dad’s being seen by a new consultant in the little local hospital and they’re trying to work out exactly what’s wrong with him. From what I can gather from Mum he’s not quite fitting in the pattern for vascular dementia alone and may have a frontal lobe problem as well. The doctors also think Dad may be clinically depressed. Hopefully though the doctors will be able to work out soon what’s wrong and that’ll give Mum (at least) a little bit of certainty.

I need to go and finish unpacking all the things we brought back (including a lovely dolls cot and toy kitchen things for the munchkin). I hopefully be back later (or maybe tomorrow)  with some pictures from the weekend.

—————–

Just a quick response to mumof4 in the comments. The stone houses are fab to heat as the walls are so thick they stay quite warm (once they get warm). Particularly if it’s a terraced house as there’s not far for the heat to go sideways. My parents have one and I hjave always dreamed of having my own.

 

Thirty six hours to go!

And I still haven’t packed or done all the tidying. I have however done all the shopping and washed all the clothes we might need. Tomorrow’s job is the packing and cleaning.

I have also changed my blog template. I’ve not played with it much, but I have put a photo of my own at the top, so its a bit more personal. Still simple, but a bit more colourful than before.

I’m hoping to find the time tomorrow to post a proper Merry Christmas, but if I don’t have time, I hope you all have a peaceful and happy Christmas.

 

In 3 days time…

…I will (hopefully) have landed in Scotland ready to start our Christmas holiday!

Which means I have less than 3 days to finsh buying presents (the munchkin’s stocking, last bits for Mr H’s siblings and their other halves, final bits for Mr H), wash (and dry) all clothes we want to take with us, pack, sort the munchkins toys, find the timers so that the Christmas lights will work in the window while we’re away (so as not to make it glaringly obvious to the local grotbags that the house is unoccupied) and tidy the bomb site that has appeared in the kitchen diner.

Ummm….right….so why am I sat here? Because I’m still sneezing something chronic and absolutely shattered doing the slightest little thing. I’m just psyching myself to get up and get going on what I need to do.

Right….Hannah…get yourself in gear….and GO!

 

Where does the time go?

The weekend at Mum and Dad’s flew by. We had a lovely time though the munchkin didn’t sleep brilliantly (though she did the night we spent at the Christmas party) so we’ve come home quite tired.

I posted my ornament for Julie’s ornament exchange on Monday while we were there so now I’m going to be keeping a close eye on a certain blog to see when it arrives. Mum (Alison on the list) is also taking part so I’ll post about her swap here when she gets it.

In other news, Mr H has had a job offer. A very good salary for his age and experience in a town that’s just about commutable from here. However if he signs a contract now (before he gets the offical redundancy notice – due in early January) he will lose out on the redundancy payout so we’re hoping they’ll be willing to wait as the payout will make a huge difference to us. There’s still a slim chance he’ll be able to stay on where he is, but I think that’s looking more unlikely.

My gran has also given us a very very nice offer. She’s not happy with Mr H driving all the way up to the north of Scotland for Christmas so has offered to pay for flights for us to put her mind at rest. The cheapest we can find these is £420 (about $850)! It’s very generous of her and we’re very grateful. I wasn’t entirely happy about us driving all the way and Mr H has agreed that flying is more sensible. We’re just hunting out a travel cot and car seat up there to borrow, otherwise we’ll buy a seat and put the travel cot in the hold of the plane.

I’ve just opened up my bloglines and discovered 345 (!) unread posts so I think if/when the munchkin sleeps that will be my afternoon taken up (once I’ve started catching up on the washing after being away). I’m off now to sort our lunches out and then hope she’ll sleep.

 

Flying Thursday

Another quick post here today. I’ve mainly spent the morning cuddling a snotty little munchkin (I think she’s just teething – again – or at least I hope so!), this afternoon, while the munchkin naps…., I need to pack our clothes for the weekend and sort out the presents and cards I need to take north.

In response to the commenters yesterday…I am hoping to get some rest while I’m at my parents, but I know that it’s all going to be rather non stop until at least Sunday afternoon. I’m due to arrive with my parents at about 1:30pm tomorrow (depending on the joys of rail travel here!), Mum and I need to do some shopping in the afternoon, then in the evening I need to wrap presents (there’s no point doing it before I travel with everything).

Saturday morning will be taken up with helping Mum at the church Christmas fair (and entertaining the munchkin….or stopping her trashing the other stalls), I’m going out for lunch with some of my old school friends before we have a wander around the old mill which is now an art gallery and restaurant with some (rather expensive) shops as well. In the evening the munchkin and I are going out for a girly sleepover/Christmas party with the school friends (we’re seeing some of the twice as one can’t come in the evening). The munchkin will have the spare room (and hopefully sleep fine) while we girls have the living room floor. Mum was going to baby sit the munchkin but she’s singing in an advent carol service in the morning and it’ll be too early to either pick me up or drop the munchkin off with us without waking everyone/getting lost trying to find my friend’s flat. We’re having the party this early in December because one of the girls is going out to Austrailia for Christmas with her boyfriend (lucky girl!), she’s hoping to meet up with another one of our group who emigrated to Melbourne last month.

On Sundays Mum and Dad always go out for lunch so the munchkin and I will join them for that before hopefully relaxing and not doing much for the rest of the day. The only thing planned on Monday is meeting another ‘old’ friend for coffee in the afternoon. Then on Tuesday morning my sister is going up (with my gorgeous nephew too of course) and we’ll be able to spend a couple of hours with them before our train home in the early afternoon.

It’s never particularly restful at Mum and Dad’s, especially now with Dad’s dementia, but Mum has said she’ll try and give me a lie in (she hears the munchkin from downstairs as soon as she wakes) on Monday and possibly Tuesday which would be bliss! I never sleep brilliantly when apart from Mr H at least for the first couple of nights, it’s so strange (and cold!) being in bed on my own, but maybe since I’m there for 4 nights I’ll be ok by Monday!

Anyway, I’ve got loads to do so I’m going to go. Hope you all have a good weekend.

 

The wanderer returns….again!

Hello!

Firstly, thank you to everyone who left me a comment after my last post. Secondly, sorry to anyone who’s been popping back to see if I’ve returned. You’ve probably all given up on me now, but hopefully I’ll be here for a while this time.

I’ve really missed blogging at times, it’s been a great way to get my thoughts straight in the past, but now that the munchkin’s God-mother has moved in with us I’ve had to be careful as she’d definitely recognise herself if she saw some of what I’d have typed. I’m just going to be very careful to type when she’s not in (or is holed up in her room).

It’s actually going ok with R staying here. We’re not treading on each other’s toes too much, she spends a lot of time in her room either applying for jobs, watching movies or using the internet. The only problem is with the munchkin. R constantly interfers if I’m telling the munchkin off about something or asking her to do something. Mr H and I are very careful not to undermine one another, but even if R’s in the next room she’ll sometimes call through. I can’t quite work out how to solve that one. Mr H didn’t know what I was talking about with it until last night when I was asking the munchkin to put her books away before bed and R kept butting in and repeating me. I’m going to have to say something at some point, but I don’t know what or how to say it.

Mr H and I are fine now, he was a bit of a prat, but we’ve moved past it. He took me (and the munchkin) away to Eastbourne for the weekend a fortnight ago and the time away and fresh air really helped us both. We did very little apart from sit on the sea front, a little bit of shopping, and eat Harry Ramsden’s fish and chips (yum!). He still suffers occasionally as a result of his post concussion syndrome and as we’ve been tired/busy lately some of the old symptoms have reared their heads (indecision, grumpiness, short temperedness). We’ve not got too much on over the next few weeks (assuming my sister doesn’t give birth) so hopefully we’ll get some more rest.

I’ll update more either over the weekend or next week, for now I’m going to say hello on a few of your blogs (I’m sorry, I’ve not even managed to look at those lately even). Take care.