Sofa bonding

O is in training for a big tournament in his stupid sport. This means that he is out every evening (hoping he might take Saturday off). However it is kind of a blessing in disguise. January TV listings seem to have heard my lonely cries and come up with the business. So for most of January you'll find me bonding with the sofa watching any of the following:


The Good Wife
Hustle
CSI: New York
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Glee (although O watches this with me)
One Born Every Minute
NCIS
Brothers and Sisters


Yup I need to get a life - can anyone help me?

2010

What a year it has been.

January

Baby nephew was born

February

Our parent's met for the first time

March

My parents went to South Africa for three weeks. I've still not managed to look through all the photos that they took.

April

Two lovely ladies got married. Gaynor from Our Day by Design and Hockey one of my special women. I met a real life blogger in person and it wasn't that scary!

May

We both had our final single celebrations at our hen do and stag do. Catherine and Richard got married.

June

In June we filed our wedding notice and everything became much more real! I also travelled to London to do the Race4Life with my family.

July

WE GOT MARRIED - well come on it was a pretty big event this year.

August

We celebrated being engaged one year. I kept this blog going for a whole year. Another blog friend got married - Wellies' recaps are amazing.

September

We went on our first husband and wife holiday - I will get round to writing a recap soon.

October

Rebecca and James got married. #2 took a tumble (will do an update shortly - she is doing much better).

November

Anna married her Bean. I met some more lovely blog ladies.

December

The snow arrived. We went North for Christmas.

Who knows what next year might bring.

Hogmanay

(source)

I've got a bit of a soft spot for writing in the sand.

Happy 2011

Having spent Christmas with O's family we are heading south for Hogmanay to spend time and have a second Christmas with my family.

Jealous

Baby nephew was given a Cozy Coupe for Christmas.

I'm green with envy.

I spent so much of my childhood begging for one of these cars.

I would drag my Mum to the Early Learning Centre so I could play on theirs. 

I didn't attempt to get in this one and have a play - some dreams you just need to let go of.

Baby nephew LOVES the car.

Family Camper Van

My Mum-in-law gave me this tin of shortbread for Christmas. Only she cut up pictures of my family and stuck them to the windows so I didn't miss my family on Christmas day too much.

We had a fantastic Christmas, hope you all did too. 

(source)

My pretty

The cat lays claim to another bauble

if only it wasn't so cute to watch

Well my dears the Christmas madness has descended upon us all.

Pretty things are grabbing everyone's attention.

Tonight we bake cupcakes as our contribution to the food madness.

Hopefully the white stuff will stop falling from the sky because tomorrow we will make the long journey northwards to spend Christmas with O's parents. At least we'll have cupcakes to keep us going if the journey is too horrendous.

This will be my first Christmas away from my family. Although I will miss them I know that Christmas will be full of people, food and laughter - what more do you need?

I hope you all have a fantastic time

I'll be back after the madness

3 to 4

3am Thursday morning



I was awake, I was wide awake, I was listening to the wind blow rubbish around the street this kind of sums up the thoughts in my head:


I’m thirsty, I’m awake, it is 3am, I’m awake, I don’t want to go to work tomorrow, I’m awake, it is 3am, I have to go to work tomorrow, I’m thirsty, (roll over). It is windy, it hasn’t been windy for ages, why is it always windy on bin day, how many beer cans do my neighbours collect or is that the same one, I’m thirsty (arms over head). I’m awake, it is 3:15am, why did I marry such a noisy sleeper, I’m thirsty (lie on side), the Apprentice was good, that beer can is really noisy, I don’t want to go to work tomorrow, I need to wrap my Christmas presents, I don’t have enough Christmas cards, need to post the cards I’ve got, I’m thirsty (roll over). I’m awake, what the HELL is he dreaming about, someone go and pick that bloody can up, I’m awake, I’m thirsty (leg out of duvet). I want to be asleep, will it snow tomorrow, will I get to my Christmas party, I don’t want to go to the Christmas party, I want it to be Christmas holidays now, I’m tired, I’m thirsty (too cold limbs under duvet). Why am I so awake, I’ve been awake for hours, must be nearly getting up time, maybe I should wake him up, sounds like he is having a nightmare (lie on side), I’m thirsty.


O wakes up, feels around for his glasses and sticks his nose through the blind to look at the weather.


Me “what’s it doing?”


O “windy”


Me “you ok”


O “weird dreams”


Me “you sounded like you were being chased by a murderer”


O ………………..snore…………………


Me “humf”


The inner dialogue continues:


How can he get back to sleep so easily, why can’t I just fall asleep, thirsty (lie on front). Maybe I should get up for a drink, this would be a good blog post, this would be a dull blog post, what would the blog post look like, thirsty (lie on side). Fucking beer can, need to sleep, will be useless tomorrow, don’t want to go to work tomorrow, need to sort stuff out for Christmas, wonder if the owl/cat is back in, she’ll be scared of the wind, I’m thirsty, (roll over). Maybe I should get up and write this blog post, don’t want to disturb him, maybe should just disturb him, not fair that he can sleep and I can’t, really thirsty (arms over head), will look at phone.


So I catch up on twitter


Inner dialogue continues:


Arhhh I’ve burnt my retinas, someone should invent a less burny retina phone, shouldn’t have exposed my eyes to the light, should be asleep. Would like to be asleep, it is 4:10 how can it only be 4:10 I’ve been awake for hours, when I find who is responsible for that beer can, they’re going to need to buy me a beer, I’m thirsty………


…………………


…………………


………………..


Hmmmm feels like waking up, it is waking up, nooooooo refuse to wake up…………….


……………….


……………..


……………..


……………….


Beep beep beep beep beep.

How’s married life?

If O and I could get a £1 for every time we’ve been asked, “how’s married life?” we’d be loaded!

I’m sure I was guilty of doing it and for that I sincerely apologise.

Option 1

How’s married life?
Great, amazing, we’re so happy, thanks for asking.
Aww you’re still in the honeymoon period that’ll pass :)
F**k you

Option2

How’s married life?
It’s ok, just the same as normal really
Aww passed the honeymoon period already? :(
F**k you 

So how's married life? It is great I love my husband but it isn’t that much different to life before we got married. We still have to go to work (staring lovingly into each others eyes isn’t going to pay the bills and I hate to admit it but it does get a little dull after a while). We have to cook dinner (well he does) we have to clean the bathroom (well I do).

Still to be married folk I have some really bad news for you. Time does not stand still. You have this momentous day, you make these life altering promises to each other and yet time keeps going. Your guests will go to work on Monday, the postman will still deliver your credit card bill. I'm telling you it was a shock to me. I was expecting there to be a pause. Also you don't look any different either (this is starting to sound like losing your virginity). When you go and pay for the petrol the guy behind the desk will not understand why you are grinning like a mad thing - he really just wants you to pay and leave already. 

Married life is life but with extra jewellery, an extra sense of relationship security, an extra glow in my heart that he is my husband (don’t tell him that). The every now and again "wow we're married". A whole lot of extra paperwork (should have stuck with my own name).  Learning a new terminology – he is my husband not my partner or boyfriend and I’m his wife.

I had a fear that getting married would change us and perhaps it will with time. However, really I didn’t want our relationship to change that much because I wouldn’t have married him if I wanted something or someone different.

All of that aside – what is the right answer? Or what answer (not involving swearing) will make them shut up and go away?

*I first drafted this post when we'd been married for three months, the intensity of the questioning has reduced some so I not quite so angry and bitter as it might sound above. 

The week and a bit that was

You didn’t think you were going to get away without a post moaning about the weather did you. Oh foolish you, I’m in Scotland we’ve been dumped on from a great height – I therefore must moan. To be honest O and I have been lucky and have come off, so far, relatively unscathed.


Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin, it all started a week ago last Friday evening when we had a small snowfall, on the Saturday we had yet more snow and again on the Sunday. Sunday, O and I ventured out and walked to the shops to buy provisions for baking. We made Nana’s chocolate cake and Hummingbird bakery hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes (nomnomnomnom).

(if you kind of squint and tip you head to the side slightly you might be able to see a heart shaped hollow in the middle of the cupcake case)

On the Monday morning, O was rudely awakened at 6am by his boss, the member of their team who was on call had been trying to get to work since 3am. They were hoping that O, who technically lives the closest, would be able to get to work. During the winter part of O's job is to clear the car parks and footpaths of snow and ice. O headed off to work on his bike which to be fair was the only way he was getting to work other than walking – all trains were off and our car is technically a big sledge with wheels (as we discovered after far too many hairy moments in Jan/Feb). 


I finally dragged myself out of bed and trudged to the bus stop – at this point the emails from colleagues stuck in their homes had started to flood in. I can work quite happily – and often more productively from home. However I am the closest member of staff to the office so it was really my duty to at least try to get to the office – which I managed all too simply. I was the first through the door at 9:15 and proudly declared our office open, the glory of my achievement was slightly tarnished by the colleagues who made it in from much further afield. By 3pm that day though everyone had scurried home trying to get back before dark, the snow had started again. I took the executive decision to close the office and get my ass back to the warmth of home.


The week continued with O working ridiculously long hours and coming home like a zombie – I even had to cook two nights (this is unheard of). On Friday morning, just as we were about to start celebrating no snow in a 24 hour period, just as I was about to brave taking the car out it BLOODY STARTED AGAIN and kept coming. Friday night was O’s work Christmas night out which meant I had to deal with a very drunk and then very hungover husband. He didn’t eat again until 6:30pm on Saturday night which I think is the longest I’ve ever known him to go without food. Luckily my plans for Saturday had been cancelled or I’d have been a more annoyed with being kept awake most of the night. Saturday had meant to be a spa day to celebrate Hockey’s 30th birthday later this month. However, with the weather and lack of public transport we decided it was best to cancel.


Saturday was a right off in terms of being motivated to do anything and Sunday wasn’t much better – we managed to the shops to stock up and we ran a few errands. O, who is on call now, went to work to grit the paths. We’d managed 48 hours without snow and things were starting to look better – it wasn’t to last. Monday morning just as rush hour hit the snow was back, O had left for work at 6am so missed the worst of it. I got to the bus stop having slipped most of the way there (soft snow on sheet ice doesn’t make for easy walking) to discover that all the buses were being recalled to the depot. I was cold and wet, I wasn’t getting any glory for making it in to work so I trudged back home again – stuck the heating on full blast and a bowl of porridge in the microwave. I am so grateful that I didn’t need to go anywhere yesterday – the horror stories of hours upon hours being stuck on the motorway make me shiver at the thought.


My husband is obsessed with the weather forecast – I’ve stopped believing anything it says, however if it is to be believed then we are due to have a thaw on Thursday. Wonderfully at the moment the temperatures are dropping so low that the salt and grit doesn’t work – making attempting to get anywhere futile.

Bay tree

Dear Santa,


Please can I have a new bay tree for Christmas. I promise to take better care of the next one.


Thanks
R