Wednesday 15 December 2010

Happiness

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Monday 13 December 2010

Who?

That's me!

Sab x
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Wednesday 8 December 2010

What are they teaching these kids?

Today's homework was hilarious (in a it's-either-laugh-or-cry way). From a list, G had to choose an appropriate word to go into each sentence on a worksheet. All fine and well, until I saw the sentences. Who makes these things up?! Do they go through various bits of literature and just grab sentences at random? Or did someone sit down and think: "Hmm, homework for 10 year-olds... I'm sure I could cobble something together..?" I mean come on!

This one looks like it's from a romance novel...Or maybe one of the twilight books.









And this one is just horrifying!


















Apart from the fact that it was all rather odd, it's also quite worrying. Yes, I understand that the kids need to learn basic grammar and vocab and whatever this is supposed to teach them. But can we not also expose them to good writing (or at least normal/not about killing peoples' husbands writing) while we're at it? I don't expect everyone to share my passion for reading, writing and all the other glorious stuff that goes with languages, but wouldn't school be a good place to try and awaken at least a little bit of interest in it?
I don't know. All I know is this particular piece of homework is definitely up there in terms of ridiculousness...

sab x

Monday 29 November 2010

Quote of the day













Thank you The Internet for keeping me entertained when I have nothing to do of an evening.

sab x

Sunday 21 November 2010

Mr King is in the house

That book I was looking for, I found it. Turns out it was in a drawer. The same drawer I'd looked in at least twice, but there it was! Halfway through it now and I have a feeling Mr King will keep me up half the night.
Oh, the joy of reading a book where every page isn't a struggle!
(When I've finished this one it's back to the last 60 or so pages about the fascinating life of Alexander and the strange and unfamiliar feeling of having to force myself to read...)

Sab x
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here's something odd...

That Stephen King book I was reading but put on hold to focus on the most difficult to read book in the world about Alexander the great, can't find it anywhere. I'm beginning to think I've imagined the whole thing, maybe confused it with the last King book I read and just made it up in my head that one of the books I'd ordered was a King. Because all the other ones are in a neat "unread" pile next to my bed along with some "must finish" ones. This is all very confusing...
Maybe I got a bit carried away when I was clearing out my stuff and it accidentally got given to a charity shop? Which would be a tragedy.
I'm hoping it was just tidied away somewhere but I feel like I've looked everywhere.
The search continues...

Sab x
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Thursday 18 November 2010

Shoe lust

I have yet again been caught in the autumn/winter merry-go-round of trying to find a pair of nice looking, comfy, practical winter boots.
My problem i two-fold. 1. I always get this image in my head of what I want them to look like and I'm very particular. This year I want some sort of biker style boots, but not too clunky and not too many straps and whatnot (or chains, or buckles). I don't want any bling on them (and a shiny buckle is bling to me) or for them to be to flashy. But I still want them to be stylish and not just plain, boring boots. 2. I have skinny legs. Or at least the calf bit. And I know I'm not the only one but I can't for the life of me figure out how others do it... Most of the boots I've found and liked are huge on my legs. And, no, I don't want really tight-fitting ones. And, yes, I know that slightly large is kind of the style. I just want to be able to wear them with leggings or maybe a skirt without looking like both my legs could fit in them.
Since all the shops I've been to (and I've been to a few) don't have anything that ticks enough boxes on my rather long list, I've been trawling the net. And look what I found today! Ok, they are not really what I'm looking for and they are a bit out of my price range, but they have pockets! I love pockets! I have actually been thinking about how great it would be to have boots with pockets on them...
Ok, I have a confession to make: I'm a pocket-holic. I can't resist them. If I see a dress or a skirt with pockets, I have to have it! I think that's how I've ended up with so many skirts and dresses for someone who never really wears skirts or dresses.
Anyway, I'm off to dream of boots with pockets now!

sab x

Wednesday 17 November 2010

caramel mocha

Waiting at London Victoria for the boss to drop off G so I can take him to school. Their train was delayed then cancelled so I got myself a mickey mouse coffee (from Costa though so that's ok) and connected myself to krispy kreme's WiFi... Hanging around at train stations is not so bad if you have a couple of quid for coffee and a flashy phone.

Sab x
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Friday 12 November 2010

here we go again

For the last month and a half or so the tendonitis in my right wrist has been so much better and I had a sneaking suspicion why. Now that the dad is back from France and I'm back to ironing all his shirts again, it's gotten worse again thus confirming my suspicions.
Guess that's the end of my dream of one day being a housewife!
(That last bit was a joke, in case anyone didn't get that...)

Sab x
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Thursday 11 November 2010

That's alright...

...The dishwasher fairy will take care of that. I wouldn't expect a couple of builders to know how to put a cup in the dishwasher anyway.
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Tuesday 9 November 2010

What a voice



One of my favourite songs sung by an amazing singer. Sends shivers down my spine.

When I was little I used to play the trumpet and I seem to remember playing this (or I could just be making this up). I have loved it ever since.

odd socks

G has taken to carrying socks around in his pockets. He gets back from school and suddenly there's a random sock on the sofa or table or wherever. I'll ask him: G, where did this sock come from? Oh, it was in my pocket.
Odd does not even begin to describe this boy. Maybe that's why we get along so well...
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Wednesday 3 November 2010

Easily amused

                                                                         Jo Brand

                                                                      John Sergeant

Separated at birth?

Sab x

Steve the builder

We have builders doing some work here at the mo. I hate having builders round the house. It's impossible to keep the house clean and tidy, they walk around in their dirty workboots, drink endless cups of tea and coffee and then just leave everything on the counter, leave the toilet seat up, don't push the chairs in after they've sat at the table and just generally make a mess for me to sort out. And all I can do is smile and ask if they'd like some biscuits with their tea... So now I'm hiding upstairs and playing with my new phone, which btw I love!


Gonna download some apps now...

Sab x
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Tuesday 2 November 2010

testing

123
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Thursday 7 October 2010

Eek

According to my stats thingy, a whole bunch of people viewed my blog yesterday. A lot more than usual...
This means one of two things:
1. My stat counter's gone mad.
2. A lot of new people have, somehow, found my blog.

The second option has kinda given me a bit of writers block.
So, today, I'm just going to give you this:



I love the idea that Mary gets to be a horse! It's so sweet.
Go Mary!

sab x

Monday 4 October 2010

a life-altering day

Ok, that's maybe an exageration, but...
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of getting my lip pierced!

It's been a year of piercings and tattoos, although not as much as I'd have wanted as I realise I need to pace myself a bit. I'm only planning on getting 3/4 tats (as I'd at some point like to get a proper grown-up job) so if I get them all now the fun will be over too quickly.
Thinking of getting another piercing soon though.

sab x

You're a headcase with a smile

My head feels like it's filled with treacle.
I also feel kinda like I have a brain freeze.
You know like in the summer, when you get a mocha frappuccino with  whipped cream and because you're so hot you drink it really quickly and suddenly your head feels like it's filled with shards of glass?
So basically my head feels like it's filled with treacle and shards of glass.
Hmm...

I think it's a combination of sleeping late 4 days in a row but actually on average not getting many hours of sleep each night. That's my diagnosis.
I haven't been sleeping well lately. A couple of times each week or so I get a decent nights sleep, but mostly it's the usual: can't fall asleep and when I finally do I wake up several times in the night. To top it off I have, for some reason, started waking up around an hour before I have to get up in the morning. Which sucks. Because you know that if you eventually manage to get back to sleep your alarm will go off straight away, making it even more difficult to get up.

I have no idea what's brought on this current bout of insomnia. But it's exhausting. I'm very tempted right now to have a nap but I'm fighting it because I know it will only make it worse. So instead I'm going to read about Alexander the great.

Sab x

Sunday 3 October 2010

one thing you can do

I'm going to make a butterfly. Or maybe a few.
I'm making them for the butterfly project.
The Holocaust Museum Houston are collecting handmade butterflies for  an exhibition to remember the 1.5 million children who died in the holocaust.

I think you should make one too.

sab x

Yeah, thanks for the advice!

I hate things like this.

Thank you msn for telling me about the "10 surprising traits that scupper girls' chances"



I especially like number 8: Shyness
 
Confidence (not arrogance) is the one quality that scores more points than any other in the dating game.

Because if you're shy or lacking in confidence, what you really need is a list of all the things that are wrong about you. 

The only thing they missed out is the be yourself! which is usually the last bit of advice on these things.
So I guess they're not being hypocritical about the whole thing. Gotta give 'em that at least!

sab x



Wednesday 29 September 2010

Happy days

Whoever found my blog using the search keywords Something to cheer me up, I hope it did the job!

sab x

Tuesday 28 September 2010

(insert pithy title here)

I'm still here!
I haven't stopped writing this blog and gone over to my Swedish one!
In fact, that one hasn't had any posts lately either.

I've just been a bit busy.
Working, nursing hangovers, the usual.

And most of my spare time has been spent in the company of Alexander the Great.
See, I have a bit of a fascination with ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt etc. Ancient civilisations really.
And Alexander the Great I find very interesting.
So, one of the books I ordered was a biography of him. (I also rather ambitiously bought the Iliad)
Oh yeah, the books actually arrived on the Monday, so I guess amazon was just trying not to get my hopes up. Now I love them again!
I started off by reading the Alexander book and a Stephen King one in tandem (as I usually do) but soon realised that Alexander needed my full attention*. I'm not sure I like this book... The "story" is good and it's very informative, but it's written in a very annoying way. It's not that it's too academic, I don't have a problem with that, it's just that it's very difficult to find, and follow, some sort of thread... The author sees to be going round in circles and sometimes manages to write himself into corners that seem difficult to get out of.
I find myself, sometimes, having to re-read portions several times to get it to make sense.
But, I haven't finished the book and, you never know, it might get better. I'm persevering in any case!
I want, no need, to know more about this fascinating dude!

So, I'll be spending a lot of time in Macedonia in the near future (and I guess the past?).
And, if you're lucky, you might get a review of the book once I've finished it!

sab x

* The first time in history, I think, that I've had a brand spanking King book and chosen to read something else! And probably the only time it'll ever happen...

Friday 24 September 2010

quickie

I feel one of those weekends coming up. You know the ones I mean, where you need a day or two to rest up after. Not that it's going to be that busy, just not sure how much sleep I'll get.
Going out with sis tonight. Early start then running round Ally Pally tomorrow*. Then even earlier start on Sunday to see my friend run a half marathon, meeting the boys at Waterloo station at 8 am!
I was hoping to get the last of my stuff sorted out and my room finally tidied up this weekend, but have a feeling that won't be happening.
Off to work in a min. Needed to wash my hair so just had a shower. I hate showering before work on Fridays. Ok, maybe not hate, it just feels so pointless as I'm now going to spend 4 hours cleaning, at the end of which I won't exactly be so fresh and so clean (to quote Outkast). But ho hum...

Have a good weekend all!

sab x

* Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show. Going to try to not buy too much. Def not too many papers as I already have loads and planning to go through it all next week and give a bunch of stuff away. Planning on just getting a few stamps and inks and stuff. Maybe some sprays. Who knows!

Monday 20 September 2010

Little experiment

Ok, so I've created a blog in Swedish. I'll still post on this one as well, I just feel like having a Swedish blog as well...
For now it's just an experiment.
We'll see how it goes.

Anyways it's here if you want to check it out!

Spanx!
sab x

Don't count your chickens and all that

Seems I did last night.
No one got majority in the election.
The Sweden Democrats got 20 seats in parliament.
It's a precarious situation.

I really have no words.
I'm sad, angry, ashamed.
I feel like I don't recognise my own country anymore.
Someone posted a comment on a blog that the feeling is similar to what you might feel if you've just found out you were adopted.
To me it feels like I've just found out that what I have, my entire life, thought was a horse turns out to be a cow. Or what I always thought was yellow is, in fact, green.
I guess I should have been prepared, but I just thought Sweden would snap out of it and come to their senses.

This doesn't feel very coherent. And neither, I have a feeling, was my post last night.
So I'm going to link to a blog post that pretty much says what I feel. In a way that I apparently can't.
It is in Swedish but I'm sure clever people can use google translate or something. I don't know.
My brain feels like treacle.

Today I'm wearing black.
It's a day of mourning.

sab x

Sunday 19 September 2010

Election day in Sweden

Been watching it on telly.
I feel like crying.
Not only are "the alliance" ie the conservative coalition winning, but the nationalist party The sweden democrats (or as I like to call them the Neo Nazi Party) will have seats in parliament.
I guess the only good thing is that it looks like the alliance will have a majority. And yes I do hate them, but if they didn't they might be forced to work with the racist idiots. And that is not something we want.

Tonight, for the first time, I'm actually ashamed to be swedish.
Ashamed to come from a country where nearly 6% will vote for a nationalist party...

What happened to solidarity, equality and plain old being a good person?!
I'm losing my faith in humanity.

sab x

Saturday 18 September 2010

Diary of a bookworm

The other day I accidentally ordered 6 books from Amazon and apart from freaking out a bit (What the hell happened?! Why did I order so many?! Am I really going to read the Iliad?!) I am quite looking forward to receiving them. I chose the free super saver delivery which according to the website takes 3-5 business days. Amazon are usually quite quick I find and, after having just spent a good amount on the books, I didn't feel like paying for delivery.
So, I just checked my order on the website and it says "Dispatching soon". Now I'm confused. The details state I ordered them on the 16th, they are all in stock and dispatch is estimated for the 20th. I'm sorry, but why does it take that long to put some books in a box and send them off? Four days?! That's 1 1/2 books per day being picked of shelves/out of boxes/whatever storage system they use.
And, yes, I know 2 of those days are the weekend but still! The order was placed on a Thursday, so lets say 2 days and they should have been sent today. And yes post still gets picked up and delivered on Saturdays in this country.
And if they're not going to send your stuff straight away they should tell you. 3-5 business days has all of a sudden turned in to an estimated delivery of 23 Sep - 27 Sep.
I'm not quite sure what this indignation is supposed to achieve. I think I just want to whinge...
I'm annoyed that's all.
I was looking forward to getting my teeth into some of those books next week. Now it turns out I may have a bit of a wait on my hands.

sab x

Sunday 12 September 2010

A few things

The previous post took me ages to write 'cause I kept accidentally deleting the pictures. And then the thing went all weird on my and I couldn't arrange it the way I wanted.

Blogger spellcheck says pea coat is two separate words but on the gap website it says peacoat. So I'm going with that.

Last night I watched all four episodes of Amish: world's squarest teenagers on 4oD. They were so sweet and naive and innocent. And oh my goodness, completely clueless! I just kind of wanted to look after them. You know, make a nice little bed in a shoebox and feel the bits of cookies and pet them. Especially Becky, she was my favourite.

I'm eating peanut M&M's.

Now I'm going to watch Clash of the Titans.

I have no life...

sab x

cold desert

Browsing in Topshop today I came across this jacket. Now, I'm not really allowed to buy things at the mo 'cause that would kinda defeat the whole clearing-out-my-stuff thing I'm in the middle of. But I would like a new autumn/early winter jacket or something. (you know what I mean!) So I was sort of considering this, not too seriously mind - it wasn't cheap, when I noticed a tag that said something along the lines of "Avoid contact with water". I can't remember the exact wording but it sounded like water was a definite no-no. So I turned to a sales person and asked what it meant. She said "it means you can't get it wet" to which I replied "Does that mean rain and stuff as well?" She said she wasn't sure but a bit of rain should be fine, as long as it didn't get soaked.
I'm sorry, but this is Britain. Where, you know, it tends to rain a bit. Any coat you wear in autumn is bound to get wet. Often. And soaked at least a few times. Just the other day I got soaked to my skin in a torrential downpour even though I had an umbrella...
So, I'm not so sure about this jacket anymore. Methinks some more research into the whole rain matter is called for before making any decisions.


I've also found an adorable peacoat in gap that, in a moment of madness, I almost bought. Madness because it's 70-odd quid and I didn't even know I wanted a peacoat until I saw it...
It's terribly cute though and if I was the type of person who spent that kind of money on coats I might only wear a few times I'd buy it. I, however, only really do that with shoes. I'd spend 60/70 smackeroonies on a pair of shoes without batting an eyelid. And they're rarely the sensible kind or, you know, shoes you'd wear regularly. It's usually heels. And I don't wear heals a lot. Only when I go out. And that is something I haven't been doing a lot lately, but that's a whole other story...






I was very good today though. Even though I spent a couple of hours at Westfield (ugh), I managed to resist my urge to buy every cute pair of high heeled shoes I saw. Instead I just got a Stephen King book, a book about crochet and two craft magazines. I had to buy something!
I'm sure there are support groups for people like me...

sab x

Wednesday 8 September 2010

The Swedish Neo-nazi party

Apologies to those of my readers who don't speak/understand Swedish. This is an ad for a Swedish party running in the general election. They are called Sverigedemokraterna (The Sweden Democrats) and are pretty right wing.




The countdown is the national budget. The person on the left is handling the budget for pensions, the person on the right is handling the budget for immigration. As the budget countdown goes lower and lower two emergency brakes drop down from the ceiling. One with the word pensions, the other with the word immigration. Who will make it there first? The immigrants (to pull the pensions one) or the OAP (to pull the immigration one)?

This is a rough translation of what the voice over is saying:

All politics are about priorities. Now you have a choice. On the 19th of September you can choose between an immigration brake or a pension brake.

Basically the message is "who do you want to spend your hard earned money on, cute little ole' ladies or burqa wearing muslims and all their children?!"

How is one supposed to react to this? Laugh or cry? I laughed. Because it's so crude. And vulgar. And rubbish. I mean, the voice over woman sounds like she might have an IQ of about 5. And really, little ole' lady with a walking aid?! Women wearing burqas and pushing buggies?! A race to get the money?! Not really into subtlety are they?
I'll admit, it also scares me a little bit. Maybe even a whole lot. Because the fact of the matter is it looks like these people might actually get the 4% needed to get into the Swedish parliament... A very frightening thought indeed.
Enough to make you afraid of the dark...

sab x

(This post might be slightly rambling and incoherent. I just wanted to put it up before I forget or lose my momentum. I might go back and change it later. Or I might just leave it as it is.)

Saturday 4 September 2010

Tonight...

...I'm hanging with sis. We're going to watch a movie, eat crisps&dip (Sweden style) and hang.
Looking forward to that.

I'm starving and there's no food in the house so I'm off to Costa to sit down with my book and enjoy a decaf mocha and panini.
Then it's back to the sorting! Can't wait...

Laters
sab x

Sisyphus pt.2

I've been tidying and rummaging and sorting for a good few hours now.
I've got a bin bag full of stuff for the charity shops and a bunch of stuff I'm undecided about.
At this point I've a good mind to just chuck the lot! I want to declutter a bit but it's proving difficult.
I live in a (fairly good sized it must be said) single bedroom. Or maybe it's a box room I'm, I'm not sure. And when I say live in, I mean live in. Due to various unforeseen circumstances I am now a live-in nanny. I went from having a flat (shared with my sister) to living in a flat share to just living in a room. And all my accumulated stuff has to live here with me. I wasn't supposed to be a live-in so my room is actually the oldest daughter's room and a lot of her stuff is still in here. Hence, I have nowhere to put my stuff.
I am also somewhat of a hoarder so I have a lot of stuff. I'm always buying books and, being me, I want to keep them after I've read them. I now have 2 storage boxes full of books sitting on my floor...
I have tons of clothes, most of which I never wear, and they don't all fit in my wardrobe.
There's CDs, DVDs, magazines, stuff and tat.
Most of this lives in various boxes, bags and/or piles that just get moved around the room.
I feel like a dog chasing it's tail... I keep deciding to have a sort through and get rid of some stuff and organise the rest but half way through I get sick of it, start despairing and give up. I've never been good at finishing things at the best of times.
Today I have been ruthless when going through my stuff. I keep finding things I've completely forgotten I have and thinking "oh, this might be good to have/come in handy..." and then I tell myself: No, you didn't miss it before and you won't miss it later. If I didn't even know I had it, it obviously wasn't that important!
I'm hoping I'll at least get some sort of order this time though, before I lose my mind completely!

I want to have a nice space to live in and I keep thinking that if my room wasn't such a mess I wouldn't feel so apathetic about everything else...

Here's hoping!
sab x

Friday 3 September 2010

One more thing...

And then I'm going to bed because yes, I have no life and am sitting at home blogging and listening to music on a Friday night and also, I'm old, have had a hell of a week and can hardly keep my eyes open.

Yesterday morning, after G had been packed off for his first day back at school, I'd washed my hair and had breakfast with a side of Stephen King, I offered to help my boss fix the wardrobe that had fallen apart the night before.
My boss, the dad, has recently retired. This is driving me nuts. Not only because I'm used to having the house to myself during the day and he keeps popping round corners and doorways saying "Sabina?" and scaring the shit out of me. But also because I've realised that he's not someone I enjoy spending a lot of time with. He's quite full of himself, very condescending and clearly doesn't understand how to run a household. Luckily he's going on a month-long course in a few weeks then starting his new job. Yay!

The wardrobe in question wasn't really broken. Just the door had come off. The very heavy door. Which I now found myself holding while my boss tried to slide the damn thing back on. And crushing my fingers. After a failed attempt where the door popped back off he started to fiddle with the tiny screws, managed to drop one and then couldn't find it. Clearly frustrated he turned to me and said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "got any more bright ideas?!"
Huh?!
Yes, how 'bout you don't lose the screws? Or maybe, I don't know, listen to me.
After finally finding the screw (on a shelf he kept telling me not to look on 'cause he'd seen it fall and it couldn't possibly be there) I took charge of the situation. I told him very clearly what to do and how. Ideally he should have been holding the door and I'd have done the fiddly stuff but he's got a bad back and if he would have thrown it out again that would just have made my life worse.

We finally got the door back on and he, of course took all the credit for it.
"That's what I was saying to do all along" kind of thing.
Well, last time I offer to help with something.

And he keeps saying "good girl" to me all the time. Just randomly. For like putting the milk away. As if I was a bit slow and needed constant encouragement. In a very patronising way.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'll still have my sanity by the time he goes off for his course!

sab x



A few things

1. Getting dressed this morning I decided to wear these tights even though they're full of ladders going up and down the legs. Partly because I'm punk and partly because I love these tights. Admit it, you are all thinking "what a rebel!" and "I wish I could be cool like her!"

2. A couple of weeks ago I wore this skirt for the first time in ages. The other day when I took it out of the washing machine it looked tiny.
"I'm sure it used to bigger that this" I thought to myself looking for the care label. Ah, hand wash only. That might be the problem. Luckily it's one of those "one size fits all" jobby so even though it's lost some elasticity I can still squeeze into it. It's been a while since I shrunk something in the wash and I guess it's lucky it was a skirt since I rarely wear them (but can't seem to stop buying them) so it's unlikely to actually have an effect on my life...

3. This evening I'm munching o Strawberry "liquorice". Being Swedish things like strawberry/raspberry/insert-fruit-flavour-here liquorice annoy me. It isn't liquorice unless it tastes of liquorice! Preferably it should be salty, but that's just my preference really. And I am a bit of a liquorice connoisseur...

4. I still have no idea what's going to happen with this blog. Or even, really, what's happening at the mo'.

sab x

Thursday 2 September 2010

on food

This week my food has had a bit of an Asian theme...
Monday evening, every blog I read seemed to mention sushi, which obviously meant I got a huge craving for the stuff. After dreaming about it all night I decided to have it for lunch the following day! I went to our local Hare & Tortoise at the lunch crowd beating 11.30 (I was too excited to wait any longer!) and got myself a 12 piece vegetarian sushi box. I obviously didn't eat it straight away, just knowing it was there for me when it was time for lunch calmed my cravings somewhat...

Yesterday my local Thai shop finally had some kimchi in stock. For those of you who don't know, kimchi is a Korean side dish that is really yummy. I've only tried a few different varieties and the one I usually get (can't remember the name and not going down to the kitchen to check) is some type of cabbage and quite spicy. Look it up if you're interested and try it if you're so inclined!

And if that wasn't enough I've been snacking on these babies all week:


They are little "fun filled biscuit treats". I got exactly the ones in the picture - chocolate, strawberry and something called "creamy milk filling" which mostly just tasted sweet. But in a good way, ya know!

sab x

Monday 30 August 2010

...

You know how you're reading/talking about one thing and that leads to another thing which leads to something else etc?
I guess that's how I have come to spend most of the afternoon reading about so called "honour killings" online.
I'm sure I have a lot of opinions on the matter but mostly I just think it's sad...
When I was a teenager in Umea a young girl was killed by her brother and cousin. It happened not too far from where we lived. My brother had kind of hung around with the brother for a short while but I don't think they were very close and I don't think they were still friends when it happened. I might be wrong however, I had all but forgotten about this until today when I unexpectedly ended up reading about the subject. I remember it was all quite horrible when it happened. There was some kind of march in her memory, candles and stuff. Some of my friends had known her and went to the funeral.
It was kind of a shock that someone you'd met and talked to and even hung out with once or twice (a bunch of us went to some football match once and he was with us) had actually murdered someone.
Like I said, it's sad. I remember the mum (in some interview or something) saying that she'd lost two children, her daughter and her son.

And I know it's a tricky subject. A lot of words like culture! religion! integration! immigration! equality! are thrown around. People on blogs and message board, in articles and editorials getting riled up and angry, shouting and arguing.
And sure, I think it's an important debate to have. Solutions need to be found, solutions that work for, if not everyone, at least the majority. But I really can't bring myself to have an opinion.
Because it's people killing people. Family members killing family members. People you're supposed to love and care for, not hurt. And that just makes me sad.

I don't think today is a good day for me to be reading about these things. But then again, what day would be a good one?

I got nothing

sab x

I'm blue daba-di daba-do

I'm not going to blog today.
I'm feeling a bit down and don't really want an emo blog.
Besides I need to go back to the Sisyphean task of tidying up my room.

see y'all
sab x

Sunday 29 August 2010

The heck?!

I've been ignoring my hotmail for a couple of days.
Mainly because I've noticed on my little msn today thing that the inbox was full of spam...
Today I decided to do something about it and when I open hotmail this is what I see:

Not only is it 99% spam (which I kind of guessed) but there seems to be two of every message.
98 new emails in all!
Now I've noticed recently that hotmail looks different and since I'm not a big fan of change, I don't like it. But I'm wondering if this updated version, or whatever they're calling it, has screwed up my junkmail filter settings because I used to have one of the strictest settings and only ever got a few each day. As far as I can tell it's either a. that, b. the spammers have gone psycho crazy, or c. "new" hotmail sucks.

Eagle eyed readers will also see in the picture that my hotmail is in Swedish. This is something that's been bugging me for a while. I don't know how it happened! When I moved to London I had another hotmail address but that got hacked or something and pretty much stopped working so I got a new one. Whilst living in London. And at no point did I tick some sort of box or whatnot saying I'm Swedish and therefore want my hotmail to be. So why is it?! Are they psychic?!

Oh well...
Now that I've tidied up my inbox I'm going to have a cup of tea, then get cracking on tidying up my room.
Good times!

Yours truly
sab x

Saturday 28 August 2010

'tis the season

I've been jamming again! I started last week with an apple and greengage jelly which turned out yummy (and oh so pretty) and today I have made raspberry and peach jam.
The jelly came about because I found some windfall apples in the garden of the house I was looking after last week (the neighbours have an apple tree with a branch that hangs over the fence) and thought hmm, what can I do with these. Jelly of course. Because I only had a few and, lets face it, plain old apple jelly is a bit boring really I needed something else. Greengages seem to be in season now, at least there are loads of them in the shop, and I absolutely love them. I have been eating them by the truck loads the last couple of weeks and had some at home so I thought I'd chuck those in as well and just see if it worked. It did, beautifully so!
From what I understand apples contain a lot of pectin, you can make pectin stock from them to use instead of commercial pectin when making jam, so you'd think it'd be fairly easy to get apple jelly to set. I however only achieved a soft set, after boiling it for what seemed like hours. Maybe I'm not so good with jellies as the same thing happened to my apple and rose hip jelly last year. Now I don't mind a soft set jelly (and I'm not just saying that because that's the only kind I can make) because I just eat jelly on toast. I don't eat meat so I don't do the whole lamb and mint/pork and apple/beef and whatever thing. I'm also militantly opposed to mixing sweet and savoury. I don't want no freaking sultanas in my couscous or pineapple in my cottage cheese. If you're going to eat jelly with some sort of food you would probably want it properly set, but if you're putting it on some crusty white bread or a toasted crumpet jelly that has the consistency of slightly thick runny honey is perfect!

I also had the idea of making sweetmeats again. Last year I made apple and rose hip and it was scrumptious. This year I wanted to try something different and had the idea of using cherries. I wasn't sure if I should do just cherries or mix it with something else like apple (apple seems to me quite a neutral flavour, perfect for mixing with other stronger ones, but what do I know). Before I could decide however, and work out what technique to use, I realised my cherries didn't look too nice. So I just ate them before they could go off.
I'm not with this experiment though, I will make it! British cherries are in season so it'd be a shame not to make something with them.

Today I also found rhubarb in Sainsbury's. Granted it was dutch, but I've been quite upset to have missed rhubarb as I have a flavour combo I want to try. I was so desperate I was considering using tinned rhubarb even though that would be weird and feel like cheating (plus is that something that's done? does it work?). So rhubarb is also on the list.

Peach and raspberry jam will get a post of it's own. This one is starting to get a bit rambly! Also, I have 5 or 6 books to finish...

Toodles the Internet!
sab x

Monday 23 August 2010

Sweet like chocolate

Hello Blogosphere!
I'm back from my blogging hiatus, at least for now...

I'm not going to do the traditional "this is what I've been up to" thing, thought we'd just pretend I was never away.

I'm house sitting at the moment (for one of the families I work for) and as usual when I have to be alone in a big house I'm freaked out most of the time. The nights are the worst, I check and double (triple, quadruple) check all the doors etc before I set the alarm and go upstairs to bed, yet I still lay awake for ages thinking I can hear someone downstairs. And then of course I have to go and check, which freaks me out even more. You see, I can't just go downstairs and check, I have to check all the rooms on the way down as well. Otherwise I'll get it into my head that whoever was sneaking around downstairs is hiding in one of them! Then I have to turn the alarm off and check the ground floor (every nook and cranny) before going through the whole process of checking the doors, setting the alarm etc and then going back up to bed. It's exhausting. I did not get much sleep last night!

The one good thing about house sitting though, is that I have a whole big kitchen to myself! Yay!!!
So yesterday I baked. Well I say baked but it was more just mixing a bunch of stuff together and faffing about with melted chocolate for a while, but I don't know what the proper term for that is so I'm just going to go with baked.

I found a recipe for something called cookie balls completely by chance on a blog I stumbled across whilst blog-hopping. Hmm, sounds interesting, I thought. But, of course, being me I can't just follow a recipe without adding or changing something. So here's my version:

(I didn't really measure anything whilst making these, as there's no baking and nothing needs to rise etc I don't think it's that important as long as it tastes good. You can use as much or as little of anything to get it tasting just how you like it)

Ingredients:
1 packet of oreos
Cream cheese
Peanut butter (I used crunchy)
(icing sugar to taste)
dark chocolate

Method:

1.Blitz the cookies in a food processor until they're fine crumbs.
2.In a bowl, mix the cookie crumbs with cream cheese to a sort of paste. I didn't use the whole tub.
3. Add peanut butter to taste (I was a bit careful and used about 2 teaspoons but I think it could have done with a bit more).
4. (optional) When you've mixed in the peanut butter you might find that it's not sweet. As I like my sweets sweet, I just sprinkled on a bit of icing sugar and mixed that in. Just a tiny little bit though, you don't want it too sweet!
5. Stick the mixture in the freezer for a while to make it easier to work with.
6. Working quickly shape the cold cookie-cheese mixture into little balls. Put them back in the freezer for a little while.
7. Melt the chocolate.
8. Take the balls from the freezer and dip them in the chocolate.
9. Stick them in the fridge to set.
10. Eat and enjoy!

These are quite rich but absolutely delicious especially with a nice cup of earl grey tea!
I did find that mine are best when they're kept in the fridge and eaten cold, as they go quite squidgy when they're room temperature. The original recipe said that you might want to dip them in the chocolate twice and that might help. I didn't have enough chocolate for that though and I quite like them as they are now!

So yeah, even though there's no actual baking involved it is a little bit faffy and can take a while but it's worth it as they're so scrummy!
I'm sure there are lots of different variation on this and I'm definitely going to experiment a bit more with these. Why don't you try and add your favourite things and see how they turn out!

Sab x

Tuesday 15 June 2010

watching the world cup...

...in the company of the rest of the world!
Well, at least the tweeting ones.
That's what I've been doing. I mean the world cup is a big thing. For me at least.
And, I think, a few million others around the world.*

For me, most of the watching is done at home. Just me and the telly. And sometimes G, although he only seems interested in the England matches. (Yesterday when we I was babysitting and we were watching Italy v Paraguay he announced he was going downstairs to watch "normal telly".) If you're on Twitter though, you can watch it with everyone else in the world (who uses that particular site)! And that, I've discovered, is fun!
I hadn't realised this was something people do. But then I realised that some people in my timeline were tweeting whilst watching the footie. So I tried it and it was strangely rewarding.
It's got this community vibe going on. Kinda like watching the match down the pub. But in the privacy of your own home.
And anyone who knows me and how I watch football, knows why I don't like doing it in public.

I'm pleased to announce that so far I've not lost my mind (or found anymore grey hairs). It's still early on in the tournament though and if Italy don't buck up I'm not so sure I'll come out the other end with my sanity intact.

I've been looking forward to this world cup for weeks now, with equal amounts of excitement and dread. And as I watch the matches I keep asking myself: why do I keep putting myself through this?

Someone, somewhere, probably on twitter, posted a link to this. They've compiled the tweets posted during the matches and illustrated with bubble looking things what was being said and at what point during the match.
I like this!
And if you watch the Italy one you'll see my tweets. Not my actual tweets of course. But for instance, me adding #ita to all my tweets for the duration of the match probably helped, in some small way, to keep the ita big throughout.

And another thing. G got a football magazine that had some face paints and world cup 2010 themed fake tattoos. After much negotiation I found myself the proud owner of two Italy tats and shared rights to the Green, white and red face paints. Now my only problem is, do I have faith that my darling Italy will go all the way and save it, but risk sitting there like and idiot with some unused fake tattoos when it's all over. Or do I use them in the group stages and risk watching the big you-know-what without tats? (also, feeling a bit of a traitor for not believing in gli azzuri)
It's a toughie!

sab x

* Fifa estimates an accumulative TV audience for the 2010 world cup of around 26 billion.

A common question?


Don't you just love it when you start typing something in to google and all these suggestions come up?
Sometimes I click on one just for fun. You can find some interesting stuff that way...

This one took me slightly by surprise. And it brings up some questions.
Is this something people google?
Do people really not know this?
Is google trying to tell me something?
What is the world coming to?

I for one am slightly worried.
But also amused!

sab x

Sunday 6 June 2010

woman at work

I'm trying to sort this blog out.
It ain't working.

I'm going to bed.

goodnight

sab x

Shameless begging!

Me and sis are doing Race For Life next Sunday.
We are doing it in memory of our step mum.

We would really appreciate any sponsorship!
Our fundraising page is here
and it will tell you a bit more.

Spanks muchly!

sab x

Monday 31 May 2010

the webs we spin

From twitter, via Stephen Fry, QI and Alan Davies
and with the help of YouTube I found myself here.

Some of my favourites:

Q. Name a dangerous race.
A. The Arabs

Q. Name something that flies that doesn't have an engine.
A. A bicycle with wings.

Q. Name something you might be allergic to.
A. Skiing

Q. Name a non-living object with legs.
A. Plant

And the piece de resistance:

Q. Name something you open other than a door.
A. Your bowels.

Cheerio
sab x

Thursday 27 May 2010

books, books, books

At this very moment, I have 4 unread books,
1 book I've started to read and 8 books on my amazon wish list.
And I'm still browsing...

My reading habits really are very erratic.
Like everything else I go through periods
where all I do is read.
Day and night...
And other periods where all I do is buy books.
Can't walk past the shop without picking up at least a couple.
And yet other periods where reading is the furthest thing
from my mind.

Right now I'm coming off a "buying every book in sight"
high and entering in to a reading all the time one.
And this is the overlap.

The book I've started is Hegemony or Survival
by Noam Chomsky.
And I'm considering purchasing a Stephen King to read alongside it.
I usually have a Stephen King on the go
and I usually read at least 2 books at the same time.

Aaanyway...
Not quite sure where I'm going with this
or even if it makes any sense
just feel like I need to get back into my blogging.
'Cause I guess that's another thing that's kinda all or nothing with me...

So now you know that, the Internet.
Off to buy some books now!

Toodles
sab x

Tuesday 18 May 2010

And another thing...

I'm of course assuming that everyone is
already thinking about what to get me for my birthday.

Well, let me help you out.
I want this!

Thanks!

sab x

Actually...

...thinking about it,
doing all three layers seems a bit excessive.
Unless it's for like a wedding or something.
Also, those are some huge slices,
not even I can eat that much cake in one go.

So I'm thinking 2 layers.
Also, won't be doing "yellow", "white" and "spiced" cakes.
Mainly 'cause I have no idea what they are.
I'm thinking vanilla and maybe lemon?
And for the pies, def apple.
Haven't decided on the other one yet...
And of course cream cheese frosting!

I'm getting all excited planning this now!
This goes into my "to make folder"
along with some interesting sounding jams
I'm planning on trying out this season!

KThanksByee

sab x

ZOMG



I'm going to have to try this.
Obviously I'd make all the stuff from scat ch.
No ready made pies or cake mix for me!

Sab x

Monday 17 May 2010

We are experiencing some difficulties...


...but hope to return to our scheduled programming shortly.

sab x

Saturday 24 April 2010

boosting my self esteem




I like how she throws a few "such as" into the mix.
It makes her sound so much more intellectual!

sab x

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Quote of the day*

"She hands me her cell phone, says it's my dad.
Man, this ain't my dad.
This is a cell phone."

Made me think of my mum.
It's the kind of thing she'd say.

Not really much one can say about it.
Except lol.

sab x



*may or may not be a recurrent feature.

Ok, it's late

I should be in bed.
And I have no life.

But.
I was trawling YouTube and I found this.
I laughed 'til I cried.
And coughed up a lung.

Enjoy!




It is of course fake.
But hilarious nevertheless.

Sleep tight The Internet

sab x

Monday 12 April 2010

Right at this moment...

...I have 9 tabs open on my browser,
listening to Billie Holiday
and reading texts from last night.

Just thought you should know that The Internet.

sab x

Orange and watermelon juice

Sounds like a good idea right?
Wrong!

Saw it in the shops and thought: yummy!
I like oranges.
I like watermelon.
I'm a bit of juice fiend.
(especially the mixed fruit kind)
So I bought it...

Had a taste then threw the carton in the bin.
Actually put it back in the fridge 'cause I hate wastage,
then I realised it will taste just as vile tomorrow so will just
stay in there 'til it goes off and then I'll throw it away.
So I threw it away.

Disappointment of the day.

sab x

Sunday 11 April 2010

the dangers of multitasking

As usual, this evening, my telly was on mute while
I was surfing the web and listening to music
I just looked up to see some sort of operation,
in glorious detail, on the screen.
I really need to stop doing this.
Not only is it bad for the environment, but also my mental health.
I now need to lie down for a while until this nausea passes.

:(######
(yes, that's a vomiting smilie)

sab x

Saturday 3 April 2010

Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

Hanging in bed watching My So Called Life
is a very productive way to spend a Saturday I've decided.

Boat race with sis later on.
But for now, Jordan Catalano calls...

sab x

Sunday 28 March 2010

gaga for, well, Gaga...

It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of Lady Gaga.
I like some of her songs and she's kind of fun.
She annoys me though and I can't really put my finger on why...
It has to do with her trying so hard to be "cool" and "different".
I can't bear pretension and pretentious people.
In my humble opinion, the uncoolest thing in the world is trying to be cool.

However, having finally caved in, I bought the latest Q magazine.*
The Gaga is on the cover and there's also a story/interview in the mag.
And after reading it I actually find myself respecting
(and dare I say admiring) her.
I found myself looking at her from a different perspective.

From the article:
"She's the world's only female pop icon
who deliberately presents herself as
significantly less attractive than she really is..."
And on the subject of her record label saying
"we need something beautiful",
when she proposed a shot of "a black haired Gaga crying blood"
as the artwork for The Fame Monster, she had this to say:
"... the last thing any young person needs is another
photograph of a woman rubbing her glistening tits,
enjoying life, because that's not how we fucking feel"
Word!

So, I'm reevaluating my opinion of her.
And left feeling very confused by Q mag.
I mean the reason I didn't want to buy it in the first place
was to do with them (however indirectly) sexually objectifying women.**
All this is very confusing.

That's really all I wanted to say!
Now I'm off to buy shoes.
With the weight of "Sabina's shoe fund" heavily on my shoulders.

Live long and prosper.
Sab x



*Long story which I started writing about when I was ill
but temporarily gave up on due to the fact that
I was unable to write coherent sentences or indeed make any sense.
I'm trying to finish it but finding it difficult picking up a train
of thought born in the throes of fever...

** See above ^

Saturday 27 March 2010

oops, I did it (yet) again

We've all been there.
It's a rainy Saturday.
The person you have plans with suddenly cancels.
You're sat there in your room watching telly
and idly googling stuff...

What to do?
The obvious thing is -
Get a tattoo!



Or maybe that's just me?
And how I roll.

Ink me up baby!
sab x

Friday 26 March 2010

Epic lawl



Dude at 0:58 - you rock my world!

sab x

Tuesday 23 March 2010

the kiss of life

What a beautiful name for something so clinical.
Artificial respiration

Things I am embracing:
my inner chav
sci-fi
the cooling of my heart
my own fallibility

Things that are embracing me:
music
darkness
the winter inside

I need someone to kiss me
and bring me back to life.


Sunday 21 March 2010

the good old days?



Going through your old texts and/or facebook/myspace messages
is not something I'd recommend.
At least not if you're anything like me...

I miss those days.
I had a life.
Places to go, things to do, people to see
and (to quote my sister) boys to seduce.
How did this happen?
How am I sat at home on a sunday
looking back on the good old days?
(ignoring the fact that I'm suffering from a fatal cold)

This was a mistake.
This is only bringing me down.
I was actually ok before this little trip down memory lane.
Feeling quite cheerful.
Way to sabotage yourself Sab!

I'm going to go be depressed now.

see ya on the flip side
sab x


Saturday 20 March 2010

Beddy bye-byes for me

I've been working on this long, serious
blog post about being a feminist
and liking music
and being pissed off.
And it doesn't make any sense.
My head feels like it's full of cotton wool.
I'm struggling, through a fog, to make any sense.

Is this what being stupid feels like?

So I ate half a burrito,
(yay for the new burrito place down the road)
took some more paracetamol, ibuprofen,
nasal spray and cough medicine
and now I'm going back to bed.

My angry post will have to wait.
I'll revisit/finish/rewrite it when I feel better.
I'm going to watch stupid videos on youtube for a while
then go to bed.

Y'all be good now.

sab x

Friday 19 March 2010

Woe is me and all that

I have actually taken the day off work today.
Achy, snotty, feverish, coughing up a lung.
That's me.

Oh, and I can't sleep.
The whole too hot/too cold thing
is throwing me of my game.
That and the need to blow my nose
every five minutes.
And when I do my head feels like
it's going to explode.
Also if I lean over.
Except then it feels like my face is going to fall off.

Boo hoo.

I've dosed myself up with paracetamol,
nasal spray and cough syrup.
I'm going to listen to some music and try to sleep.

And hope that I'll be well enough, by 6.30,
to go see G in his play.
I missed it last year and I'll be damned if I miss it again!

Whine, whinge, whine, whinge.

I want my mummy.
And recorded Lucky Luke episodes on the telly.
And tea with honey drunk through a straw.
On the sofa.

sniff
cough

sab x

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Sunday 14 March 2010

Ok, so this seems to be turning into a photo blog...


My theory is that the lip piercing is jealous 'cause
it's not the newest one anymore.
Hence it's punishing me by making my lip swell up.
Which wouldn't really be a problem
(I mean people pay god money for fat lips)
if it wasn't for the fact that it's only one side...

I have rinsed and cleaned with salt solution.
I have also taken some ibuprofen,
not for the pain but it's anti-inflammatory right?
I have no idea if that will help but it can't really hurt eh?!

Now to shower and meet up with sis to buy birthday
present for our dear mum.

sab x

p.s the new holes in my ear hurt.
When am I going to learn that altering the right side of
my body will hurt more than the left.
Seeing how I sleep on my right side...

p.p.s I have just realised that when I'm done with all
my body altering the majority of the work will be on my right side.
Only one tattoo planned for left side
(and that's one no one will see)
and one ear piercing.

p.p.p.s Hmmm

xx

Saturday 13 March 2010

Oop, I did it again...



'Cause that's just how I roll...

sab x

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Gaaahhh

I've spent all evening catching up on blogs.
Big Dave was at the laptop doctors for two days.
There is so much to read!
Also listening to music.
And youtubing.

I rely to much on my laptop.
It's such a big part of my life.
I'm not entirely sure it's healthy.
The other night I didn't know what to do
with myself.
Usually of an evening I have the telly
on and surf the interwebs.
If there's nothing interesting on I just
mute it 'til something better comes on.
(Oh my god, I'm environmentally unfriendly
AND totally dependent on my laptop!)
But the other night there was nothing on,
well nothing good anyway, so I didn't know what to do.
I ended up reading a book.
Beginning to end.
(Have I told you I'm a fast reader?
Whoosh and I'm done)
Now, don't get me wrong, I love reading.
But I prefer doing it because I feel like it.
Not from a lack of anything else to do.

This begs the question, how on earth did
I spend my evenings pre-Big Dave?
Did I actually have a life?
Like with actual socialising and stuff?
I don't think so....

Now I'm going to telephone my mum.
If I can find my phonecard...
Then off to the cinema with sis.
(look, socialising!!!)

Have a good night the Internet!
sab x

Saturday 6 March 2010

so...

I have realised that I'm a bit of
a sci-fi nerd.
Hmm...

Ho hum,
back to my supernatural marathon.

sab x

Friday 5 March 2010

On being a nanny

Had a little cuddle with my g-man tonight.
He's not a very cuddly boy.
So cuddles, when they happen, are special.
And they are only really cuddles in our little world.
He calls it keeping my legs warm.
It mainly involves me lounging on the sofa
and him leaning on my legs.
But it's nice.
It's the closest I get to cuddles with him.
And it's taken me five years to get to this point.

Maybe when I leave this job I'll even get a hug!

sab x

Tuesday 2 March 2010

Some people...

I am currently deep in an investigation
into "fandom", "fan-fiction" and "fan-wanking"
(it's fascinating stuff people!)
and I'm just...
it's like...
...wow
is all I can say.

Some people seriously need a reality check.

There are articles about the subject of fan(aticism)dom.
Articles angry at the original article.
Articles defending the original article.
Articles defending the subject.
And on it goes.
Until it takes on a life of it's own and is no longer even
remotely related to the original question/opinion/whatever.
I'm following one such discussion at the moment.
It's dizzying.
I have no idea what's going on any more.
And some people are actually a bit scary...
Generally it's hilarious though!

Also, some of these people don't seem to have the
same embarrassment threshold as the rest of us...
From the thread I'm currently reading:

"sure I write (fan fiction), but I draw the line at anything I'd
be embarrassed to actually discuss with them in person
should that ever come up when meeting them..."

Ok, seriously?

This is fun!
I urge you all to delve into this fascinating world!

Peace out
sab x

Monday 1 March 2010

Beautiful ladies!



I got this lady from a brilliant website
where you can find all sorts of vintage images etc.
Well worth a look if you're into that sort of stuff!

vintage resources

main page with links to various images
vintage ladies
where I found this particular one

sab x

ok...

Big Dave
(my laptop)
has been a bit iffy in one corner lately.
A bit squeaky and coming apart kind of iffy.
And what do you know, today a screw fell out...

I'm thinking I should take him to the laptop doctor.
It should be a fairly quick thing to fix right?
I mean, I don't know that I could live without him for too long.

Poor Big Dave!
At least he's not in pain, being an inanimate object and all.

Now, off to work I go.
(hey ho, hey ho)

sab x


Wednesday 24 February 2010

things that make you smile

I love this little boy.
I think he's my hero!




"Wahey!"

sab x

Saturday 20 February 2010

Does anyone actually read this blog?

I was just wondering.
I write.
Does anyone read?
Or is this just another waste of my time?

sun is shining, the weather is sweet

It's a glorious day.
Sun is shining.
Am I doing something today?

I can feel my heart beating in my head.
I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks.
Partly due to insomnia
but also kids' sleepovers and parents shouting
right outside my door.

Do I have to do something?
Just because it's sunny.
I mean it's not like people are lining up
'round the block to hang out.
It's not like I have a single place to go.
Or a single thing to do.

What if I just want to sleep?
Forever.
Hibernate 'til things start looking up.
Or buy a one-way ticket somewhere else.
Anywhere else.

I think I'll just go back to bed.
Wait for people to reply to my texts.
Or not.
As is so often the case.

Either way, I'm sick of trying.


au revoir simone





Thursday 18 February 2010

Sunday 14 February 2010

Reality check - on feeling sorry for yourself

I've been feeling sorry for myself all day.
I'm all alone boohoo.
I have no-one to spend valentine's day with boohoo.
etc etc

I came on here to blog about it.
Before I had a chance to hit the "new post" button
something in my reading list caught my eye.

For a while I've been following a blog
written by a mum who's 12-year old son
is dying of cancer.
The last few days have been really bad.
Today's post is entitled Inga Andetag Nu
roughly translated - No more breaths.

I don't feel sorry for myself anymore.
I mostly feel ashamed.

You can read the blog here:
Annas Anatomi
and if you feel so inclined, donate some money to
one of the collections she links to.

sab x

Tuesday 9 February 2010

Umm...

I'm watching a show on channel 4 called
One born every minute.
It's women giving birth...
I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to watch this.
I kinda had this idea that it would be all nice and
sweet and aww, look a baby.
But it's all pain and grunting and horribleness.
And babies of course.
And of course I know that childbirth is not fluffy
cotton candy and summer meadows ans pink roses.
It's bloody and messy and painful.
And things go wrong...

I'm not sure what I'm getting at.
Just I don't think this is helping
my fear of childbirth...

sab x

Thursday 4 February 2010

OMFG

There are actually videos on youtube
detailing how to use tampons...
Videos that people have made...

Hmmm

sab x

things

1. I chipped a nail yesterday, badly.
I don't think I've ever had a chip that large come off
without the nail breaking...
I had to get dressed really quickly as I'd woken up
just 5 mins before I'm supposed to be out the door with the minis.
At some point during that mad rush a chunk of acrylic,
a quarter of my nail, disappeared.
So today I went and had it fixed.
Actually I went yesterday after work but she was closed
and, say what you will about me, I learn form my mistakes.
No-one but Vanessa touches these babies!
So I went back today and she managed to squeeze me in.
And she wouldn't even take any money for it.
She really is a darling!

2. I'm doing an experiment.
Can't tell you what it's about as that would kinda ruin it.
All I can say is that it's day two and so far it's
going the way I thought it would.

3. I need to take action.
Don't know what kind, but some kind.
OK, so this one's sort of a work in progress.
I'll get back to you on it...

Sab x

Thursday 28 January 2010

Today's lesson

I hate my nails.
Ok, not my actual nails but rather the infill I had today.
I've had acrylic overlays on my nails for a couple of years now.
I love it, my nails look nice(ish) and they don't break.
(for those of you who don't know, acrylic overlay is
like fake nails only without the tip.
Just a layer of acrylic on top of my natural nails.)
Anyhow, I've been having them done at the same place, by the
same person (Vanessa) for ages.
And she rocks!She always does a great job
and her customer service is excellent. She's a doll.
Lately she's been really busy.
I don't know if more people are getting in on the
nail act or if everyone's just realised how brilliant she is.
The upshot of this is that I clearly need to start booking
appointments rather than just swing by when I want my nails done.
Today I didn't.
When I walked in Vanessa was busy and asked if I'd mind
if someone else did it.
Not wanting to be rude I said that would be fine.
Big mistake!
She was slow, didn't say a word to me in 1 1/2 hrs
and I had to point out a chip that she was just going to ignore.
And now they're rubbish!
I'm distressed.
What do I do?!
My nails are now going to be crap for two weeks.
I wanna cry!
Ok, not entirely true, but it's really annoying...

Today's lesson:
only Vanessa comes near my nails!
Oh, and book an appointment!

:(
sab x

P.s I decided that I was over blue, so I went with
purple today.
Now you know.

x

Saturday 23 January 2010

WTF?

I don't understand why blogger lets me
upload pics sometimes and not others?
I tried resizing some photos and that worked.
But only for a while...
Now it doesn't anymore.

I really want to show off my mini book!

Grrr

Tomorrow I'm off to the British Museum!
I'm hoping to be able to get a ticket for the last day
of Moctezuma - Aztec Ruler.
But if not, ho hum - there's plenty to look at!
In fact I'd better get myself to bed now,
as I'm planning an early start tomoz.
Got to get there early if I'm to have any chance!

Nighties!

sab x




Really?!



Every day for the last week (at least)!!!!
Seriously?
4 years ago (I'm guessing it's 4 since it's coming up again)
I wanted very much to watch the Olympic ice hockey final.
Did they show it?
In a manner of speaking yes, but not beginning to end
(I don't remember if it was live or not)
and they kept talking about other stuff.
There was no ice hockey talk in the studio in the breaks.
As soon as it finished they went to something else...

But bowls.
That we have to show all day every day.
Live!

Humph

sab x


(edit: I'm not sure BBC were actually the channel that
cocked up the ice hockey but, as they're the state funded one and they're
usually the ones that show these things*, I'm pretty sure it was them...)

*The Olympics, football world cup, bowls, darts etc