Many many changes have been made in my life lately and this blog has suffered immensely which drives me mad - Other people can maintain blogs so why can't I? *wonders to herself*
I am currently in South Carolina for a week and upon my return I will shortly thereafter be traveling to Amsterdam for 10 days!
However, This blog will - WILL - be updated and on a regular basis upon my return.
Tomorrow I leave for yet ANOTHER trip! I'm heading off Down Under to the glorious land of New Zea :-)
Even though I have had plenty of time to prepare for this trip do you think I'm anywhere near ready? I'm packed but have lots to do around the house to make it livable for the people I'm leaving behind even though it will be a complete tip when I get back.
Yesterday while out at dinner I broke a tooth. It hurts.
I tried to call my dentist and when I got voice-mail that told me to "hit 5 if this is an emergency" I HIT 5 and was THEN told that I had pressed an incorrect number. You can clearly see how my pain level increased!
I searched the internet for emergency dentists but it turns out that you will only be seen on an emergency basis if you are already a client. Thus I have been in complete pain, agony, misery, torment and tenderness the whole weekend.
I am leaving for the airport tomorrow morning at 10:30 am and will be at the dentist as soon as they open to get this mess fixed.
I am excited for this trip. I will be amongst the first in the world to celebrate New Years Eve, I will get to meet my niece for the first time, I will be traveling around and sightseeing and taking pictures and I will get to see my brothers again.
Oh, and did I mention that it is Summer over there? Oh yes!
*shakes head* I am just so glad that I don't live there anymore and have to worry about my kids being attacked on top of all the other things there are to worry about!
Tomorrow my middle child Daniel turns 18. I say ‘child’ but shake my head at what that means in this day and age.
Once he turns 18 he no longer – legally – has to listen to me any more, or pay attention to my rules and can move out if he wants. He is able to enlist in the armed forces and has! He has just under 6 months of school left and for him they are the longest 6 months of his life. I find myself being strict with him about his curfew, his attitude and just general day to day things and he always shakes his head and smiles at me in a condescending manner…….
I worry about him on a day to day basis as I do ALL the kids – even Nick who is almost 20 and I know that this won’t change even if they were years older. I guess that’s a mother’s lot in life!
Then I think about what I was doing at his age – and then my hair really starts to turn grey! In fact it shouldn’t even be allowed, this comparing lark. At 17 I was working overseas, and had been drinking for a couple of years (on a social basis only you understand) and didn’t have a curfew. I had left school at 16 and had been working in a boring office for a boring company and needed a change hence the ‘overseas’ work.
What a difference. American teens and UK teens. Life here is so different and I will NEVER regret moving to the States and bringing the kids with me. I read the UK news on BBC and Daily Mail websites and every other story is about teenagers causing trouble, stabbings, fighting, attacks, drugs, ASBOS (whatever they are) and it frightens the living crap out of me! I know not every child in the UK is like this but as a single parent, mine probably had more chance of heading down that path……* The towns that I have lived in here in America may have had the same problems but they weren’t in the news and we never heard anything of them….. I think two big differences that may help teens make better choices and live better lives are the fact that they stay in school until they are 18/19. High school! Also, they are allowed to drive at an earlier age. (Georgia got her temps at 15 and a half and is now a fully fledged driver.) This gives them some advantage to being more responsible. Again, not every kid is a good kid and many make mistakes but for those that DO make mistakes there are certainly lots of programs out there to help get them back on the right path.
Anyway, getting back to the point, I am finding it VERY hard to let Dan be himself and go off and be an 18 year old without freaking out and thinking of him as my baby. *sighs* I have Georgia to go through with this next. But then again, she will always be the baby of the family! :-)
*Not that single parents make BAD parents – I certainly didn’t and I know many that are great parents….
So today was my Naturalization Ceremony! It was AWESOME. It took us an HOUR to get downtown from Mentor on the Lake what with the snow and we were running like idiots to get to the court house on time for 8:00 am......
Luckily lots of other people were running late so that was good.
There were roughly 250+ people in the room and the people who were there for me took over a full row! The people who were being sworn in were asked to go to the front and sign paperwork and we received a nice letter from the President, the Governor and the Senators. Then the judge came in at about 9:15 and gave a nice speech about how America isn't a 'melting pot' but more of a 'stew'........ You had to have been there! LOL
A friend of mine had told me that at a ceremony he had been to the judge gave people the opportunity to come to the front and give some kind of speech about what the whole ceremony meant to them. I didn't have anything prepared really, but everyone who was there for me urged me to say something. I went to the front of the room, thanked everyone for being there for me (cried a bit) and gave a short speech. Then I sat down. I was the only person who got up to say anything.
Then we were sworn in "Raise your right hand ........" etc., and Bob's your Uncle it was over and done with! We were handed our certificates and it was over. It was a really REALLY nice ceremony and I'm so happy that I had people there for me - and I wish the ones that couldn't get there for weather/work reasons could have been there but I understand completely. Michelle took LOADS of photographs and one person made a video of the whole thing so I'm sure Michelle will make that available as and when.....
What a great great day! Someone came up to me afterward and thanked me for saying what I said and that it mean A LOT to them.......
When I was handed my certificate I was told "Welcome Home....."
As if the day so far wasn't good enough, I came home to find a video that was sent by my best friend Michael and a few other friends!
It made me cry! Thank you EVERYONE! Really, THANK YOU!
Yesterday afternoon as I was tidying the house for my party this weekend, I came across a bunch of old VHS videos. Not THOSE kind of videos - I don't have any of those lying around for just anyone to see at all. One of those videos was labeled "Brenda's 40th birthday" - Brenda being my mum. This video was made 17 years ago!
I gathered the kids around, shoved the cassette into the recorder and we settled in.
Hhhhhmmmmmm.
About that.
Here are a few notes I made to myself while watching it;
LMAO of at my younger brother Richard trying to dance and chat up the laydeees...
I miss going to the pub and having a good old party and dance and drinking and laughing and chilling with my mates and my parents.
I'm glad my kids are seeing this (both my parents have passed away and they got to see my dad who died 17 years ago who they never got to know).
But the two most interesting things I came away with after watching this video?
Well, first of all, I remember the party and I mostly remember thinking my mum was old. There. I said it. I thought she was old. Then a bolt of lightening bit me in the arse as I realised that "Hang on a minute, I'm going to be THAT old next year! HOLY CRAP!!!!!" I am the kind of person that jokes about getting older but I could care less how old I am really. I mean, worrying isn't going to make me any younger is it? No, so why stress? I don't. But I immediately started comparing myself to my mum and wondered if she felt the same as I do at my age? Did she think that age is just a number? Did she think that deep down inside she was a spring chicken? Luckily my kids told me that I don't act THAT old..........*
The second interesting thing that hit me didn't really spring to mind until this afternoon. Yesterday would have been her 57th birthday. How strange that I found the video the DAY of her birthday. Once I told the kids that they both laughed and thought she must have had something to do with it......
I've been thinking a lot recently about my life and the people in it. The people I like, the people I love and the people that I have a STRONG dislikation* for. This got me thinking about grudges that I hold and it wasn't until I started thinking about these people that I realized just how many grudges there are! There are loads it turns out.
I used my amazing superhuman skills Googled 'grudge' and ooh, holding grudges is pretty bad for you apparently. In fact, I think the definition "Grudge : Holding a grudge for someone shows emotional imbalance" pretty much nails it.
A grudge is defined as "resentment strong enough to justify retaliation". Everyone has, at some time or other, been hurt deeply by someone close. Bitterness about the person or situation leads to a grudge. Personal injustice ignites resentment in heart, which turns into a grudge. Since grudge is a form of resentment, a person who bears grudge may become revengeful. Instead of focusing on what he needs to solve a problem, for instance, he may spend most of his time thinking of ways to get back at whom he resents. This can be dangerous for there is a possibility of injuries.
Why is that I some people choose to spend time on holding a grudge rather than just getting on with their own lives? What happened in my life that made me such a mean person? A person that will just "never let it lie"? I KNOW that this is one thing that people notice about me. George often laughs at how I refuse to give in, how I just always have to win, how I'm never going to forget. How did I become this person? How did I go from being the Andrea that didn't give a shit and was just a care-free person to the 'vengeful-grudge-holding bitch' I am today?
I thought about it, while researching again, Googling, and I came across the 12 step program that people suffering from addiction use as their 'mantra' I suppose. I guess my grudge-holding is a form of addiction depending on how you look at it.
I'm not a religious person so all the God related steps went right out of the window (Ooooh, do I hold a grudge against God? Don't think so......) and then I got to steps 8 and 9.
Step 8.
Make a list of all persons we have harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all.
OK. I can do the list thingy, that's a piece of piss, but just how far back do I go? All the way back to when Philippa Edwards stole the main part in the nativity play at primary school (Yes, I am that much of a grudge holder) or just back to when my boyfriend cheated on me? Then, once that loooooong list is made, I have to think about whether I am willing to make amends. But how do you do that? Is an apology for holding a grudge enough? Half of the people probably don't even know I HOLD a grudge never mind think badly of them.....
Step 9
Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
See, I think this is my 'get out of jail free' card in this one. 'except when to do so would injure them or others'. There are some people that I hold such HUGE grudges for that the mere sight of them makes me want to throttle the living crap out of them.
Really. I know. That's bad.
So, once I've made this loooooong list, I should go through it and strike out the names of those who belong on another list. A list to be hidden in case the police come a-lookin' (just kidding.....).
So, thus far, I have a list and beside each name, is the reason I hold a grudge. Then I have to find a way of contacting these people to right the wrong.
This is where my internal struggles start. You see, I am holding a grudge for a reason. If an ex cheated on me several times, why should I call him to 'let go....' ? I guess because it makes me a better person? It makes me a bigger person ? Forgiving? I read somewhere that "Releasing this grudge through forgiveness will result in a brand new surge of emotional and physical energy. It is difficult, if not impossible, to forgive an offense. Therefore, when we cannot forget an offense, we can choose not to dwell on it. We cannot fully erase the memory banks of our mind but we do have the power to refuse to think on past injustices, once forgiven."
I guess then, that over the next few days, in preparation of this grudge-purge, I should free my mind, not dwell and just LET IT GO.
LET.
IT.
GO.
I'm told that the best way to forget is to improve our behavior and circumstances until we feel safe enough to let go of bitter memories. If someone has upset us in the past, we should try to work out some kind of agreement with the person so you can feel reasonably sure it will not happen again. Easier said than done.
I have thought long and hard about this over the past few days and I am willing to take baby steps with this. There are still people who I wouldn't spit on if they were on fire say hello to, but other people I have deep vengeful feelings for**, well, I should try to fix that. I'll let you know how it goes.
*yep. Made up word. **Yes, I am aware that people probably feel the same about me too.
Tonight, George and I will be enjoying a short* drinking game.
Basically, the rules are simple and as follows:
Tonight, during the Republican National Convention, every time John McCain utters that patronizing** phrase "My friends..............." take a shot of whatever liquor you like.
That's it. You think you won't get drunk within the first 20 minutes?
Hic!
p.s. I shall be raising my shot-glass to Obama with each and every "My friends....." that comes along! :-)
*short because he says it so often. ** can you tell I don't like him?
On Friday afternoon I received a letter in the mail from the INS (who are now known as USCIS - United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and I thought to myself "Is this IT?" My letter of acceptance? My interview and test date? The thing I've been waiting for now for a couple of years?
My heart was a-flutter and my palms began to sweat.......
Nervously, I trembled as I tore open the letter, my eyes catching the now well-known look of the green heavily-watermarked Immigration letter.....
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and started to read.
"Your fingerprint card (FD-258) on file with the USCIS has expired. In order for the USCIS to continue processing your application, it will be necessary to have your fingerprints re-taken"
Fuck it. I'm just going to cut off all my fingers and mail them so that the next time the card expires, they can save the postage and hassle and just go into my file and do it right there and then. You know, so as not to WASTE ANYMORE GOD-DAMNED TIME!!!!!!! You know what Mr Fingerprint expert at the USCIS? Try SPEEDING UP MY APPLICATION PROCESS and maybe my fingerprints won't expire!!!!!!
I ask you, have you ever heard anything more fucking ridiculous? Fingerprints expiring! *shakes head and rolls eyes all dramatic-like*
This will now be the third time in two years I have had to go downtown and be fingerprinted. SIX times since I moved to the US.
George was so incensed he wrote a letter to two Senators and a Governor! (on the advice of my Immigration lawyer). THAT was awesome.
But hey ho............ it's not like I have a life to live, a job to work wherein I can pay taxes to a Government that doesn't seem to want me as it's citizen but is more than happy to accept my money, or other stuff that can't be put on hold so I can take all sodding day to go downtown, wait hours in line and be RE-fingerprinted!
So, anything made you mad lately? Like, Immigration-style mad? Take a seat and tell me all about it.............................
Oh, and apologies for the swearing, but really, I'm THAT mad! Here is a picture you may be familiar with in which I complain again..........
It's been a bit crazy here in the Knapp household what with injuries and work and photography etc., so I decided to take the night off and have some fun. A friend and I got tickets to see Rod Stewart ~ I know, I know, Rod Stewart.
Turns out that Bryan Adams was warming up for him so that made it doubly delicious! The concert was at the Blossom Arena which for those of you that don't know, is an outdoor pavillion. Half the arena is under cover, the other half is open air and on a hill. Well, the weather has been nice lately so we bought the outdoor tickets ~ considerably cheaper too!
Anyway, just as Bryan Adams was finishing his awesome set (totally buying his new album btw), the skies opened and we were hit with a torrential downpour that didn't stop until we headed home! It was lots of fun though and we danced and we sang and we fell in love with Rod all over again.... I HAVE to say though that even though he is knocking on in years, Rod gives good concert! Here is a snippet of the fun we had (the laughter comes as we are ironically standing in the cold rain):
Other than that, bugger all is going on ~ either that or I'm too busy to notice. We are getting a new roof today if that is of any interest to anyone!
Back at ya later......
Oh, here is one of my favorite pictures that I took recently!
A month or so, a very close friend of mine who I have known for almost 20 years called me with some exciting news. For this post, I shall call her Jane. Jane lives in Ireland.
Now, Jane is about 41 years old and has known all her life that she was adopted at birth. Jane has had a fantastic life and her parents? Two of the sweetest, nicest people on the face of the planet - and trust me, I know A LOT of nice people and these two beat the lot of them. They also adopted another child - a boy. Jane's mum passed away about two years ago but her dad walks around having the health of a teenager ~ not bad for a 92 year old!
Jane has never shown any interest in wanting to know anything about her birth parents, but after recently having a baby of her own, I think the need to know SOMETHING about them became almost an obsession if only for the health history for her daughter.
So, after a lot of thought and deep soul searching (which involved the decision NOT to tell her dad due to his age etc.,) Jane completed all the forms necessary to have the Social Services put her information 'out there'. Basically she gave the information about herself that she knew and then had to sit back and wait for the details to be matched to whomever had given her up for adoption - if in fact they were searching for her.
A big IF.
Three weeks later, the social worker called and arranged a meeting between Jane and a counselor to make sure that Jane was prepared emotionally for whatever ~ if anything ~ was going to come her way.
Two weeks later Jane received a phone-call asking to meet the social worker. They had some information and wanted to discuss it with her.
The time came for the meeting and Jane sat down, anticipating receiving just a name and scant details of how she became adopted. The social worker then said to her;
"Jane, I have been a social worker for over 30 years and this is the first time I have ever had a case like this."
She then pulled out a very old HUGE folder, sealed and ready to be opened by the daughter that was given up for adoption those 41 years earlier. Jane's mother had left this information should Jane ever wish to find out more about her birth.
Jane delved into this folder which was so full of information it took her almost 2 and a half hours (and 2 packs of tissues) to get through it.
She found out she had been born and baptized Linda Geraldine.
She found out that her mother was called Bridgette.
She found out she had two older brothers (now 61 and 58) and an older sister (now 55).
She found out her mother was 42 when she gave birth to her (Jane had imagined her to be a 16 or 17 year old).
She found out that she had lived with her mother in a 'mother and child' home for three months before being given up for adoption.
She found out that her mother couldn't cope with her, at her age and having the three other kids.
She found out so much more in those two and a half hours than she had ever dreamed she would.
She read all this information, written in her mothers handwriting, and every time her mother mentioned her daughter, she would write "my daughter, Linda Geraldine....". Every sheet of paper was signed.
The last page states that "I have been faithfully promised that my daughter, Linda Geraldine will be given to a loving family, will want for nothing and will receive the love that she deserves. I have been promised this."
Her mother was married to a man and they had the three children and then her husband died. The two sons were sent to live with his parents and the daughter (who had learning disabilities) went to live with her grandparents on her mothers side. Then 15 years later, her mother became pregnant and thus begins the story of Jane's life.
Now, as I told you at the start of this post, Jane lives in Ireland. If you know anything of Irish history, you will know that unwed mothers back in those days - no matter what the age - used to be shipped off by the Catholic Church to work as laborers in institutions known as Magdalene Asylums. Click here for a brief history on that. Jane was very concerned that her mother may have endured that but was told that whilst she WAS in a similar kind of institution, it wasn't quite so horrid.
The social worker asked Jane if she wanted them to find out if her mother was still alive (she would be around 83 by now) and Jane said yes. If she WAS alive however but didn't want Jane to contact her, Jane was absolutely fine with that - I mean it was very obvious to everyone that Jane was a loved child regardless of the adoption. If her birth mother however was dead, the social worker said she would give Jane the details of where she was buried so she could go to her grave.
Jane was also asked if she wanted them to contact her siblings and Jane said that if they knew about her then yes, but if not, she felt that at their age it would be too much and she would rather just leave it.
Jane left that meeting so full of emotion and pride and love and admiration for her birth mother that even now, a few weeks after this all happened, it is still sinking in.
Which takes me back to her adoptive parents. These two people did EXACTLY what her mother had hoped and dreamed of for her daughter without even being told this. They gave Jane so much love and life, they gave her life and I know that I will always love them for this. They truly are remarkable people.
They had told Jane that they had adopted her when they went to the hospital and looked at a room full of newborn babies and she looked so sickly and so needing the love of someone, anyone, that they immediately chose her and fell in love with her.
Obviously Jane now knows this to be not the case but that doesn't diminish ANY of the love she has for them, it only magnifies it as she knows that they were making her feel loved and cherished and special.
Recently, things have been really miserable around here with sicknesses and whatnot, so I thought it was time I posted about something uplifting. Something that makes me feel good inside. Makes me feel happy.
This does. I hope it made you feel happy too.
I don't have any photographs this post BUT I AM posting this video that I found on YouTube. I imagine it is what Jane's mother was thinking when she spent her last minutes with her....... Just close your eyes while listening to it.
As you know I had to go to the hospital for my 'head problem', well, it STILL isn't sorted out and I have a follow-up appointment at the doctors tomorrow. The doctor had better do SOMETHING because I simply can't keep feeling dizzy, nauseous and just flat out crappy all the time. Nope. No can do.
Anyway, early Monday morning, just as George was on his way to work, some guy rear-ended him (and not THAT kind of rear-ending!!!!!!) at 65 mph and he crashed his car. The car was totaled, every air-bag deployed, and George was promptly rushed to the ER by ambulance. Don't worry - as I know you were, he is fine. He has severe bruising, whiplash and is in a lot of pain but he lived and WILL live.
Unfortunately, the 'other guy' wasn't insured. Of course he wasn't! He was given a citation for reckless driving and will be appearing in court this Thursday where he will also be charged for driving without insurance. He called George on Friday to 'ask how he was' and to see if there was anything he could do and to also cry and ask George not to press charges. He told George that he had lost his car as he can't afford to have it repaired and that he was going to lose his job etc., etc.,
Yeah, well, it sucks to be you! George could have died, or been severely injured and you want us to worry about your job? I feel for the guy but really, if you can afford to work and own a car you should have to be able to have insurance. Bloody Hell, we don't have Safe Auto for nothing you know!
Other car-crash related phone calls have also been received from Laywers! I swear, the accident happened on Monday and by Tuesday we had gotten five phone calls and 6 letters in the mail. This was the next day! I wish other people worked half as fast at getting in touch with us..... They do send out some pretty fridge magnets though!
Aside from all this hospital/medical related stuff sod all else is happening. We can't drive, we can't go out anywhere and are pretty much stuck at home until we are both on the mend so there is nothing to report. We did however finally manage to get our hands on a Wii ~ courtesy of Michael in Chicago, so that has alleviated A LOT of the boredom.
Anyway, that's about it from this end. Hopefully once we are 'fixed', there will be exciting and interesting news from this corner of Ohio!
We got back from vacation late Friday evening and let me tell you, each person had a 'Top Ten' list of things they were most looking forward to after being away for two whole weeks. It was fun, and I'm sure I'll mention bits and bobs about it sooner or later but for now, I'm just glad to be home.
I came home with some kind of 'head' thing going on. It started on the Wednesday prior to our returning and got steadily worse but after the whole fiasco of my broken ankle, I was hardly going to see a Dr. over in the U.K. about head pain and have a Dr. (or janitor as the case could very well have been) tell me "Oh, it's just a headache" when in actuality, it could have been a tumor or worse.
It is probably nothing more than an inner ear problem but after puking several times and falling over many more, I had to go see my own Dr. first thing Saturday morning. The Dr. then told me that "out of all the people that come in with similar symptoms, you are by far the worst" I had to go to the ER for a CAT scan STAT! (He did! he said it with an apostrophe at the end!!!!!!) We are still waiting for the results however, I'm sure by the lack of communication it can't be anything too alarming. Either that or I'm gonna drop right where I'm at and if that IS the case, it was nice knowing you all.................
I am STILL very dizzy and constantly trying to walk in a straight line but ending up leaning against the wall hanging on for dear life. I'm not throwing up anymore though so that's nice. The Dr. gave me a prescription for both the dizziness (side effects may include nausea - HUH!) and for the nausea (side effects may include Dizziness - I SHIT YOU NOT!!!!) so we shall see how I feel over the next couple of days.
Anyway, I came back to lots of mail - majority of it junk mail but one envelope was rather intriguing.
It was from the Department of Public Safety - oo-er......... Suffice to say that one line in the letter states;
"Therefore, after much consideration, we are recalling the license plate character combination VAH JJ"
This line was preceded by lots of "Obscene" and "Offensive Combination" and such like wording. So there you have it. They finally got me after two years. Now I just have to think of something to replace this with for when I call them and they ask what I want the new plates to be. Right now though my head isn't on right so I'm not worrying about it. I'll probably call them next week.
While I was away we had limited internet access and before the trip I remember thinking "How will I ever survive?" No really, I was in withdrawal, suffering from the old D.T.'s, scratching at the bit, REALLY REALLY worrying whether the internet world would survive without me and vice-versa.
Hhhhmmmmmm yeah, about that. I received 189 e-mails four of which were actually important-ish and relevant. The others, not so much. My Cell phone received 105 messages while I was gone, and the majority of those weren't important really. On those rare occasions where I COULD check the internet, I basically checked e-mail, the odd Gossip Blog, of course blogs that friends have and Flickr but that was it. News-wise bugger all happened that was of any relevance.
So I made a decision. I am going to cut down my internet habit drastically. Checking e-mails only as and when. If it's important, people know how to reach me (as I say this I can hear my cell phone alerting me that I have a text - LOL). I took myself out of most of the groups I was in Flickr - many because I simply wasn't involved and others because the aggro was just too much and causing a strain in my life that I just don't need. I have to be more productive in other aspects of my life such as actually engaging in activities with my kids, doing more with my photography which is really kicking off and things like that. I will of course remain blogging seeing as I have got back into it again!
So there you have it, a change in my life both vehicular and internet wise (with a bit of health thrown in for good measure...... ) Not bad for missing two weeks don't you think?
Oh, my favorite pictures from the vacation? Here you go.
I shall be back shortly with fun and gruesome details about the vacation..........
Don't you ever get the feeling that if all is going to well, then a calamity is about to happen? I do ~ must be the inner pessimist in me!
I'm sitting here at 6:37 am. The dogs and cats have just been fed, I have a lovely hot cup of tea at my side, the house is quiet and everyone is still asleep. I am sitting in silence.
In less than three hours there will be utter chaos around me as all 6 of the kids (and George) will be asking me "Where did I put my ........" "Why won't this fit?" "Have you seen the......" and "Don't forget the passports....." and all SORTS of other things......
I have spent the past few days packing, adding important details to the itinerary, making sure passports are safe, catching up on last minute laundry and shopping, getting in a shift at work, and lots of other stuff. I've been doing this slowly, methodically and in a way that not one person has even noticed what I'm doing. Everything is done. They need not worry but they will......
But deep down inside though, I feel that I'm missing something. I've thought about it, looked for this 'something' and ran over every scenario in my head as to what it could be but to no avail. You know when I'll find out what this 'something' is? At the airport, 2 minutes before we fly......... Yeah, you know what I'm talking about :-)
Well, we shall see.
So, George and I are taking 6 kids (5 teenagers and an 11 year old) on vacation. To the UK first to see my relatives and have a party, then we all fly to Paris for 4 days ~ quite looking forward to that. Then we fly back to the UK - Leeds for the weekend - then we drive up the East coast towards Scotland..... George is looking forward to that more than anything I think. We are even staying on a farm! A B&B type farm. So long as I'm not up at the crack of dawn milking anything I'm down with that!
4 of the kids have never been to Europe before so I am really interested on what their take will be. Especially Leeds! We are going to throw in a bit of Culture too - Ooooh look at me!!!! After living in Leeds for 29 years it will be interesting to see if I find anything out that I didn't know before........ We are of course going to do the typical French touristy stuff - Eiffel, L'Ouvre, (George wants to take a trip to Omaha Beach)and in Scotland they are on the search for a Kilt-wearing bagpiper...... Leeds? We shall probably find graffiti and boarded up houses! LOL
So anyway, That's where we shall be for the next 2 weeks. I shall be intermittently blogging and posting pictures to my Flickr account so feel free to keep checking in.....
Adios, au revoir, ta ra...........
P.S. If you can believe this shit, Nick is watching the house for us!!! I KNOW! ~ wait. That must be the something that is going to bite me in the arse.
Do you have a facebook account? I do ~ 'gotta keep wiv da Kewl Kids n all dat'*
It's fun to play scrabulous, do fun quizzes and to catch up with all the gossip that is going on...... but every now and again, I just have to shake my head.
Facebook has this thing where you 'compare' your friends. Some of the things are quite ridiculous and you get to choose between two friends as to 'who is the most cuddly' 'most bestest friend to hang out with' and stuff like that.
THEN, after a while, you get an e-mail that informs you of your comparisons. Not what YOU have said about others, but what they have said about you!
Yes. Here is the screen grab of my e-mail!
It gives me such a warm feeling down deep to know that my 'weaknesses' are creativeness and likely to succeed. Really, get me some Horlicks STAT!
Luckily, I have thick skin (VERY thick in the soles of my feet region but that's another post another day.....) so I take this with a pinch of salt but you KNOW somewhere out there, shaking a fist to the heavens, someone is sobbing hysterically in a corner screaming "Why, Why don't they love me?"
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you, so the next time you use your Facebook and begin comparing, think of me that someone, crying, feeling sad and lonely.....
By the way, in the "The Whole New Me" department? I am doing awesomely. While I may still think bad things about people that PISS ME OFF, I keep the thoughts to myself and simply ignore the people (or at the most, banter with small talk and keep it to a minimum). It's actually working out quite well! Who knew?!!!
In other news, LOTS going on and we are busy busy busy..........
Photography wise, things are going great. I did a LONG photo shoot yesterday and it was so much fun - I could only HOPE that all shoots are like this in the future.......
Family-wise, we are all getting ready for our trip to Europe next week. The kids started packing three weeks ago and have since re-packed about 8 times. I will TOTALLY have to check the bags though coz I know they'll be packing swimsuits etc., forgetting it's bloody England and France we are going to! The only swimming they'll do in England is if it rains - which as you KNOW, it does!
In Entertainment news - I CANNOT get this song out of my head.
Did you ever have a song that, inexplicably just remains in your head from the minute you wake up to the minute yo go to bed? That one is the one right now. Last week it was Xanadu and the week before it was a George Formby Classic - "When I'm cleaning windows" so, don't give up on me yet. Comment with a song that is getting on your nerves now and maybe THAT could be new one!
and that my friends is about it for this post. Shit to do, and places to go and people to....... oh whatever. I'll be back before you know it!
Oh, before I forget, my favorite pics..... (you can click on them to take you to my Flickr account to see the rest)
* If there is one thing that bloody well drives me mad is when kids text like this. Actually, strike that, when they send an E-MAIL like that! WTF?** You have a keyboard in front of you and it takes hardly any time at all to actually spell THAT instead of DAT? There is only one bloody letter difference!!!!!!
** Notes the irony of using WTF and LOL ~ so don't bother starting to compose that e-mail berating me.
Recently, in a bizarre "lets-get-healthy" phase, George and I bought ourselves a new bike each. Granted, mine isn't a ten speed racer, nor could I climb mountains with it strapped to my back ~ as one oddly but frequently sees in new car/credit card commercials. Nope, mine is just Old Skool and blue! I did want one of those little silver bells with a trigger to pull when you need to ring it but alas, it's THAT Old Skool it doesn't have one..... I just have to holler "Coming through" whenever I pass walkers.....
Anyway, surprisingly, I am getting a lot of use from it. At first I was feeling pretty daunted about getting back on a bike as it's been oh, a few years since I last rode one, but then I remembered that old saying, "It's just like riding a bike...." Or was that a saying about sex? Either way, I got on the bike and was a biking queen!
It's interesting the things you see when you are out on a bike and not just stuck in front of the TV! For instance, we have a park just by us and it has a lake etc., which is all nice and pretty but we have always driven there, looked at the ducks and swans, taken a couple of pictures then gone home. When I rode my bike there, I was driving through a completely different way, through trees, through peace and quiet, through packs of deer (though I'm sure there is a technical name for that, like herd, or clatch or throng or whatever......) I recently took a video of part of the park for you. Just listen to the birds.......
Beautiful!
So, getting back to my title.
Ever since I was young, there have been two things I've always wanted to be able to do with my bike. Ride hands free and do wheelies.
Now, I know, I know, I'm thirty *cough* years old and far too old to be doing this and quite frankly, I'm way too scared to even give it a go! I did try once to go hands free but I ended up with the grill of a Ford Escort embedded in my right calf and enough asphalt in my backside to pave the M52. It was not good. To see how I may have looked, check out this footage and just picture me bouncing instead...... Seriously, I traveled that far! So, with that in mind, you can imagine my horror at even thinking about it again or doing a wheelie!
But, still, it is something I have always wanted to do, and sometimes, when I'm riding on my own, in a deserted place, I let go of the handlebars for just a smidge, close my eyes, feel the adrenaline rush and try to feel the wind blowing through my hair.
Then just as quickly open them and pedal home to change my knickers.
So what do you wish you could do that you could when you were younger?
