Took the dogs to the vet for their annual check up and boosters. that is one booster each and booster for kennel cough as well (as they go into kennels while we are away).

Now our previous dog used to come with us everywhere. Where we went he came too, course we never went abroad and it was always to a seaside town because he loved the sea and he loved playing with the kids or going on long walks through the countryside.

However oneof our dogs gets quite car sick and taking two dogs on holiday is not feasible. After losing out beloved dog, I really didn't want another one because nothing could replace Gaz in my affections, but hubby and the kids begged and pleaded and due to some cock up with one of the kennels we ended up with two dogs. Yes they are great, I love them dearly, but they aren't the type of dogs I wanted, they are definately the boys and Nig's dogs.

So we consider ourselves pretty responsible dog owners and they are treated like dogs. They aren't allowed on the furniture, they aren't allowed in the kitchen when I am in there, not allowed to jump at people and not allowed to lick people's faces. We always clear up after them when they are out, nothing worse than people who let their dogs crap and don't clear it up.

So being responsible we take the dogs for their annual check up and boosters. They are quite happy to go into the vet, wagging tails and greeting anyone who will pay any attention to them.

Greyhounds are notorious for having bad teeth. They are fed on slops and muzzled when they are training. Our grey is no exception to this and despite brushing his teeth, giving him plenty of dental chew sticks and other such niceities his teeth are bad. How bad was revealed when the vet took a look at them. Poor thing has an abcess and his gum is receeding. I know he has lost two teeth this year, but we were told to expect that, greys do tend to lose their teeth.

So he is on antibiotics for the abcess and when we come back from holiday he will have to be booked in with the doggy dentist to see if they can save the remainder of his teeth.

I come out a lot poorer than I went in with a bill for over £100, £40 of which was the antibiotics!!!!

Credit card has certainly taken a bashing this month!

Now to look for his documents to see if dentistry is covered by his pet insurance!

1308 page views 114 visitors

hmm my turn for the funny stats lol

Not getting very far with the cleaning, youngest keeps getting in my way and demanding attention!

Where is my eldest child when I need him to supervise his brother lol!!!

Aggghhhhh

Obesity 'contagious', experts say

Having a friend, sibling or spouse who is overweight raises a person's risk of being obese too, US researchers say.
They said data on more than 12,000 people suggested the risk was increased by 57% if a friend was obese, by 40% if a sibling was and 37% if a spouse was.
They argued this showed social factors, such as the body sizes of other people, were important in developing obesity.
Experts said the New England Journal of Medicine study was not conclusive as other hidden factors could be to blame.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, in San Diego, looked at data collected over 32 years as part of a heart study.
Participants gave personal information, including their body mass index, and the names of friends who could be contacted.

'Causal relationship'
The authors were able to map social connections including both friends and family members.
The effects were generally larger between people of the same sex.
And their analysis suggested that the links could not be solely attributed to similarities in lifestyle and environment, for example the impact of friends existed even where friends lived in different regions.
Author Professor Nicholas Christakis said: "It's not that obese or non-obese people simply find other similar people to hang out with.
"Rather, there is a direct, causal relationship. What appears to be happening is that a person becoming obese most likely causes a change of norms about what counts as an appropriate body size.
"People come to think that it is OK to be bigger since those around them are bigger, and this sensibility spreads."
Moral support
Dr Richard Suzman, director of the National Institute of Aging's Behavioral and Social Research Programme, said the finding could have important implications.
He said: "This seminal study breaks important new ground in showing how social networks may amplify other factors and help account for the dramatic increase in obesity across the [US] population."
Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of charity Weight Concern, said it was no surprise that people who are obese tended to be friends with others who were obese, but that the fact that the link was more important between friends than siblings was "very interesting".
He said this suggested that social factors were even more important than physical ones in obesity.
He added that, on the positive side, if overweight people had friends who were obese, they could offer moral support to help each other lose weight.

'Speculation'
But Professor Andrew Hill, of the University of Leeds, said it was purely speculation to suggest that people's body images change because their friends become obese.
And he said it was important not to forget things which are known as key factors in obesity, such as diet and exercise.
"The statistics may be meaningful, but in real life this is not very helpful to people who are overweight.
"We don't have an understanding of what is really causing the relationship - it might be very complicated."

Well that is alright then.

My nose is peeling, an even worse look than it being burned!!

The sun is shining brightly again, all is right with the world.

Or it would be if I didn't have stomach cramps, and hayfever!

Ah well, can't have everything going smoothly I suppose that is too much to expect.

Won't be sitting here all day and blogging in between chatting to various people on MSN. Thanks to those that I did chat with yesterday, made me feel a lot happier especially after having a conversation with a friend that was feeling a little down.

Today I am going to blitz the house. I will give it a good clean and then set to on the conservatory where Nig seems to have dumped half of his tools that he doesn't need on the van right now. Not having that, I need my sewing room back lol!

Have a good day everyone

hugs xx

As I am really annoyed with this blog.

There I am posting a comment, or at least trying to, on Adamantixx post. Hit the send button and get the following message:

Cannot post comment, please correct these errors:

* Validation code is incorrect.
* Validation code is incorrect.
* Please fill in the name field
* Please fill in the email field

[Back to comment editing]

Now you usually get this if you haven't signed in, so I go back to check And I am signed in. There is nowhere to put a validation code and no where to put my email or name. I AM SIGNED IN! so after several attempts I give up and go to another blog where I am logged out and must sign in!

Come back to my own blog and I have to sign in again.

This is really driving me mental now

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bugs bite ha ha

Far away in the tropical waters of the Caribbean, two
prawns were swimming around in the sea, one called
Justin and the other called Christian.

The prawns were constantly being harassed and
threatened by sharks that inhabited the area. Finally
one day Justin said to Christian, “I'm fed up with
being a prawn; I wish I was a shark, and then I
wouldn't have any worries about being eaten.”

A large mysterious cod appeared and said, “Your wish
is granted.” Lo and behold, Justin turned into a
shark. Horrified, Christian immediately swam away,
afraid of being eaten by his old friend. Time passed
(as it invariably does) and Justin found life as a
shark boring and lonely. All his old friends simply
swam away whenever he came close to them. Justin
didn't realize that his new menacing appearance was
the cause of his sad plight. While swimming alone one
day he saw the mysterious cod again and he thought
perhaps the mysterious fish could change him back into
a prawn. He approached the cod and begged to be
changed back, and, lo and behold, he found himself
turned back into a prawn.

With tears of joy in his tiny little eyes Justin swam
back to his friends and bought them all a cocktail.
Looking around the gathering at the reef he realized
he couldn't see his old pal. “Where's Christian?” he
asked. “He's at home, still distraught that his best
friend changed sides to the enemy and became a shark,”
came the reply.

Eager to put things right again and end the mutual
pain and torture, He set off to Christian's abode. As
he opened the coral gate, memories came flooding back.
He banged on the door and shouted: “It's me, Justin
your old friend, come out and see me again.” Christian
replied, “No way man, you'll eat me. You're now shark,
the enemy, and I'll not be tricked into being your
dinner.” Justin cried back “No, I'm not. That was the
old me. I've changed.........I've found Cod. I'm a
Prawn again Christian

Nig popped in to see my mum today as he was only working round the corner. She was busy tending to Nan so he had a chat with sister and her partner. He says Nan isn't looking too good.

She took to her bed 2 weeks ago and hasn't moved since. The Occupational health team have now given her a Ripple mattress so she won't get bedsores, and a hospital bed - one that moves up and down so that it is easier for the careworkers - which means that there isn't anywhere to sit apart from one chair in the living room, makes it a bit difficult if we all go down to see her then.

kitchen is very tiny and there is no other room.

I fear mum may be getting depressed about all this, in fact I know she is struggling to look after Nan but she is not going to give in and consider putting Nan in a home, even for respite care.

Not sure what to do, hell there is nothing I can do Mum has to make the decision. All I can do is be here on the other end of the phone when it gets to much for her.

"He came to know the pleasures of women when he was bred to the finest stock"

Oh great, Nig is watching Conan the Barbarian again for the millionth time

I was doing garden work last weekend and my wife was about to take a shower. I realised that I couldn't find the rake. I yelled up to my wife, "Where is the rake?"

She couldn't hear me and she shouted back, "What?" I pointed to my eye, then I pointed to my knee and made a raking motion.

Still my wife wasn't sure and said "What?"

I repeated the gestures. "Eye - Kneed - The Rake."

My wife replied that she understands and signals back. She first points to her eye, next she points to her left breast, then she points to her bum, and finally to her crotch.

Well, there is no way in hell I could even come close to that one.

Exasperated, I went upstairs and asked her, "What the hell was that?

She replies, (scroll down…)

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

Eye - Left Tit - Behind - The Bush

1st woman: Hi! My name is Wanda
2nd woman: Hi! My name is Sylvia. How'd you die?
1st woman: I froze to death.
2nd woman: How horrible!
1st woman: It wasn't so bad. After I quit shaking from the cold, I began to get warm and sleepy, and finally died a peaceful death. What about you?
2nd woman: I died of a massive heart attack. I suspected that my husband was cheating, so I came home early to catch him in the act. Instead, I found him all by himself in the den watching TV.
1st woman: So, what happened?
2nd woman: I was so sure there was another woman there somewhere that I started running all over the house looking. I ran up into the attic and searched, and down into the basement. Then I went through every closet and checked under the beds. I kept this up until I had looked everywhere, and I finally became so exhausted that I just keeled over with a heart attack & died.
1st woman: Too bad you didn't look in the freezer. We'd both still be alive.

disappeared while my back was turned?

and why does this stupid thing keep logging me out all the time, it is driving me mad!!!!

blog.co.uk please sort it out, getting fed up having to keep signing in all the time to here and to my friends blogs!!!!!!

Simon had a dig to do today.

He turned up at summer school to find that most of his friends were doing some computing work and his teacher asked him if he would like to do a dig instead with another student, so he said yes.

After almost a days dig he has unearthed a few Roman coins and what looks like part of a leather sandal so he is well chuffed.

Then as he was retuning to base, he noticed that some old bikes were being dismantled and put into a skip, one of which had a lovely seat on which is very padded, so he brought the seat home.

It is now on his bike ready for me to ride, on the promise that when I get my own bike I can have the seat.

Bless him

So be warned

School trousers for eldest son (waist size 28ins, inside leg 32ins)x2
School trousers for youngest child x 2
School jumper for youngest child x2
underwear for eldest
underwear for youngest

Oh good now have school uniforms all I have to do is put their names inside that can be done later. Oh just remembered youngest needs a new school coat! Could do with a couple extra jumpers but have to order them from the school as they have the school badge on now, no more getting away with cheap grey jumpers from Asda!

Eldest is in last year of school, so only replacing trousers for now, they were difficult to get - thank heavens for Primark who actually do 28in waist trousers! he only has a 26ins waist and is nearly 6ft tall!!

Fortunately both children have white shirts that fit so don't have to worry about that too much.

Just shoes to get really and will leave that until I next get paid, anyway it is better no chance of them growing out of them before the start of school in September!

Tell me what do children do with their underwear? I know youngest can never find pants because they never end up in the wash, just under his bed until either myself or his father has a fit about it, but when sorting out the ironing basket the other day so that they could take anything that didn't need to be ironed straight upstairs, I came across pants for eldest child that had age 11-12 in them - he is 15 !!!! Asked him how he still got into them to be told that they still fit! - hence buying some today for him, can't send the lad out in pants that say 11-12 years, whatever would the hospital think if he got run over (as my mother would say)

So school shop just about over for another year. Feels strange having a child that is in his last year at school, I don't feel that old, I am still in my 20s in my head lol

It was lovely this morning as the alarm went off, knowing that i didn't have to go into work. Of course, hubby had to swear and spoil it because the traffic report told him that getting to the office was going to be a nightmare as part of the M25 had been closed off due to a lorry spreading its entire load of glass bottles across the road.

So after he sorted out an alternative route, made his adorable wife (my words not his) a cup of tea, he heads out with my road map to battle his way into work.

Kids are upstairs, one is supposed to be showering and getting ready to be dropped off at summer school, the other is just supposed to be getting washed and dressed, though I have a feeling this isn't happening hmm shall do the cruel mother act in a minute and disconnect his DVD as no doubt he will be watching one in his room - Madagascar I think by the sound of it!!

The sun is shining. Plans include having to pop to the shops, pay some more money into the account and go and get some food for the week, though I am a little loath to do this for reasons I documented yesterday. I will at some point sit in the garden and soak up the rays of the sunshine, under the now erected gazebo, and stitch I think, though I really think I should at least vacuum the living room first

It is on days like this I miss being by the sea, sitting in the garden is not the same

Have a good day

hugs xx

Watching Bon Jovi on telly this evening, on VH1 Classic.

Pure heaven

As AJ has already done this, I will apologise for knicking his idea.

Right, after CJ's top 100 movies as voted for by us I thought I'd try a little something, here is the list but modified for me, italics mean a movie I've seen, bold are movies I own on VHS or DVD.

1 Monty Python's life of Brian
2 Amelie
3 Dogma
4 Donnie Darko
5 Ocean's 11 (New Version)
6 Trainspotting
7 Withnail and I
8 V for Vendetta
9 Shrek
10 Star Wars
11 American Beauty
12 The Bourne Identity
13 The Sixth Sense
14 Monty Python and the Holy Grail
15 Serenity
16 Sliding Doors
17 Brokeback Mountain
18 The Truman Show
19 Anchorman
20 LOTR: Return of the King
21 Pulp Fiction
22 The Mummy
23 Shaun of the dead
24 Topsy Turvy
25 The Crow
26 The Usual Suspects
27 Alien
28 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
29 The Lady Vanishes
30 Grosse Point Blank
31 Breakfast at Tiffany's
32 Terminator 2
33 Chocolat
34 Saw
35 Blade Trinity
36 Down With Love
37 LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
38 Ferris Buellers day off
39 Hoodwinked
40 Just Like Heaven
41 Moulin Rouge
42 Pitch Black
43 Van Wilder: Party Liaison
44 LOTR: The Two Towers
45 Rain Man
46 Dirty Dancing
47 Empire of the Sun
48 Grease
49 Monsters Inc.
50 Shakespeare in Love
51 Monty Python and the Meaning of Life
52 Runaway Jury
53 Armageddon
54 Hero
55 Master and Commander
56 Walk the Line
57 2001: A Space Odyssey
58 Hercules Returns
59 Rebecca
60 Sleeper
61 The breakfast club
62 Back to the future
63 Batman Returns
64 Blade Runner (Directors Cut)
65 Deconstructing Harry
66 In and Out
67 Manhatten Murder Mystery
68 Shooting Fish
69 Star Trek iv: The Voyage Home
70 Some Like it Hot
71 Ten things I hate about you
72 L'Homme du Train
73 The Consequences of Love
74 Annie Hall
75 Knight's Tale
76Logan's Run
77 Sahara
78 The Passion of the Christ
79 Much Ado about nothing
80 The Sound of Music
81 Wizard of Oz
82 Educating Rita
83 Remains of the Day
84 Streetcar named Desire
85 The Cat and the Canary (Bob Hope)
86 The Shipping News
87 Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire
88 Coffee and Cigarettes
89 Sleepless in Seattle
90 The English Patient
91 The Net
92 Evolution
93 The Wedding Singer
94 Godfather part 2
95 Goodfellas
96 Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves
97 Bulletproof Monk
98 Casino
99 Fried Green Tomatoes at the whistle stop café
100 Hable con ella (Talk to her)

Fridays usually are spent food shopping.

I go with my shopping list an idea of what I have to buy, the essentials remain the same and I add to it.

Usually it is:

4x6pints full fat milk (yes you did read that right)
1x4 pint skimmed milk (alternate Fridays, it is only a two pint)
2 loaves white bread
1 loaf brown bread
fruit
veg
meat
sandwich essentials
fruit juice

to which I will add to this anything that may be needed that we have run out of, i.e. toilet rolls, spices, etc etc.

Every Friday I do this, then by tuesday I usually have to get more full fat milk, more bread.

Now the only people who drink full fat milk is hubby and the kids. I don't mind buying that much, they do drink a lot, yes, but by the time they have had their cereal in the morning, and the odd glass of milk and the amount that Nigel drinks keeps the milk industry alive and kicking I tell you. I have skimmed milk always have done. I would love to get them to drink that or semi skimmed and I have tried but they will not touch it, even if that is all I buy, murder would be commited, so I let them be.

So this Friday, I don't go shopping because I am in Suffolk on a mini blog meet. Friday morning there is 1 6pinter left in the fridge.

Saturday, no shopping because what with running around in town and goingout with a friend there wasn't a lot of time to do a full shop.

This morning there is barely enough for Nigels cuppa in the bottle.

So let me think about this for a minute. Two boys, one man drink milk. they all go to the fridge, take bottle out of the fridge, open up the bottle, pour a glass of milk out, put the lid back on the bottle, put it back in the fridge. Why the hell did it not occur to them that as there wasn't a lot they needed to go to the fricking shop and buy some?

Am I really the only person that can go shopping for Christ's sake!

Oh and to top it all was there any bread to make toast with this morning?

Noooooooo!

Makes me soooo mad, I am not the only one that lives here

It is over

His blogathon has come to an end.

Sleep well, and sweet dreams.

Hugs xxxx

Come on now, he is on the last stretch

Go Paddy! go Paddy! go Paddy

You are a star

http://bloggingforamy.blog.co.uk/

In case you fell asleep like I did http://bloggingforamy.blog.co.uk/2007/07/29/35_still_awake_just~2719445

He is still going, go and support him NOW!!!!!!

Well done Paddy we are all proud of you

Cloudy outside, hoping it will clear up and we get some sun, getting used to having sun and not rain now lol!

Yesterday evening was lovely. I love going up and choosing my food, helping myself, a little bit of this a little bit of that, trying out new dishes, deciding what I do and don't like.

Then there is the company of a good friend where we can discuss our lives, our problems and sort the world out, put things to rights over a drink of diet coke, or in her case mineral water (we know how to live you know).

The drive home, a cup of tea, still talking, still laughing (well that is me as if those who have met me don't know that already) and discussion on our holiday next year and what we are going to do - we are going together again as we had a fab time last time we went.

Then home by 11.30 where I fell asleep on the sofa watching a film. Eldest son sent me to bed later on and I collapsed and slept through until 7 this morning, when I dragged son from his bed to get ready for swimming training and made a cup of tea for hubby who was taking him.

Blissfully quiet now, my time to catch up with posts, youngest having a bath and no doubt will play the playstation for a while to keep out of my way until I have had another cuppa and feel human again.

Oh isn't life fun!

Right need to get changed, put some make up on and make myself look pretty, or at least presentable!

Off to here http://www.thearoma.co.uk/ with a friend to catch up on gossip and news of what is happening in each of our worlds at the moment. Been so long since we have been out together to do this, I am sure we will be gone a while

Hope everyone is having a good evening, keep looking and giving support at
http://bloggingforamy.blog.co.uk/ and hopefully I will see you later

Hugs xx

To remain calm, to keep smiling, to ignore

BUT

If he calls me 'Rudolph' just one more time, I may just have to kill my husband.

Factor 50 I had on my face, nose and arms and my nose still got burnt!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Please give all your suppost to:

http://bloggingforamy.blog.co.uk/

Thank you

It was fun

It was hot

I got a burned nose

But the highlight was meeting some wonderful people from blogland, and in my most favourite place by the sea - what more could a girl want!!!

21/2 hours of driving with the lovely Louisa, pointing out which way I should be heading each time we saw the road name we should take. Poor girl the fact that she had to put up with my driving to get us there and back, listen the the ramblings of an 8 year old who doesn't make sense at the best of times, plus the music tape that was playing away, it is a wonder she doesn't decide to give me a clear berth in the future, but I have to say, she is very lovely, very quiet and not how I imagined her to be, BUT behind those sparkling eyes is a girl who you know can probably take on the best of them and a giggle that is infectious. Thanks for everything yesterday hun, I probably would have got lost without your willingness to direct!

So after meeting Smichen and her family, and of course the delectable Austin Lance, we headed off to the beach in search of sea, sand and sun.

The sun did shine, we had clouds, we had wind but it was reasonably warm. we played with the kids on the sand, we watched them as they took to the sea, we paddled (well Smichen and I did when we weren't being soaked by her adorable three year old) and we sat and talked.

Slowly everyone else began to arrive, we ate our picnic and then retired to the pub for a drink, before heading back to Smichen's holiday home and sat soaking up the last rays of the evening sun, chatting and snacking, laughing and joking before heading of on our own separate ways.

A perfect day.

I can't end this post without saying a thing or two though about the people I met.

Austin Lance - So funny, is not serious about anything, and showed concern about the noises my car makes (which didn't happen on the way home at all!). Oh and you get huge great big bear hugs off this man as a way of a greeting, which was nice and welcoming.

Molty - Great guy, felt so comfortable with him all the time and it did truly feel like I had known him forever. Air of mystery about him with his shades on, but when he takes them off he has gorgeous eyes. I was so pleased to meet him at last

Fatale - As she came over the dunes I knew immediately who she was and she was everything I imagined her to be. A very funny down to earth woman, she had me in stitches everytime and I am so glad she came, one person I have been wanting to meet all this time and I am so glad that I did at last. I hope that I will see her in the future as well, she is really a great person.

Maddogs - If you could have heard the discussions going on - he won't come, yes he will he is on his way..... and yes he appeared, and is really a great bloke, down to earth and easy to get on with. Highlight as everyone was taking pictures on their digital cameras, he gets out this massive one which had to be admired - now how do I tell hubby I want one too? So glad to have met you and yes we will definately be friends

Louisa as I have already mention, is great, has a glint in her eye and though she doesn't say much you just know that she is thinking it