Early bird catches the bargains

Well that was the plan and for once the day went reasonably to plan. Getting up at 7.30 on a Saturday is not my idea of fun. But it worked. Had the weeks shop done and back indoors by 10.30. Why we did it Saturday instead of Friday was because of Kristie getting an extra 10% on her discount card over the weekend because of Sainsburys 140th anniversary. Saved us a bit of money as usual. Is it me or is the food better quality in Sainsburys than ASDA and Tesco? We used to shop at both at different times and the fresh food in them seems not to last as long. I tend to get nearly everything from one place and just pick up odds and ends when necessary at other shops.

Did the garden today. Hurt my knee mowing the lawn. Not a good sign especially as we are walking around all day tomorrow. I hope Ryan likes his day out. He has been out today with Kristie and spent his birthday money. He got loads for his money including two Pokemon DVD's and a Nintendog Husky. That boy loves dogs. He would have a real one if he could I'm sure.

Had a BBQ this evening which was nice and served up with loads of salad. I currently have a gammon joint in the slo cooker for tomorrow when we get back from our outing which we will have with salad and new potatoes. Definitely yummy. I am trying to menu plan again now I am working. Got Sweet potato and spinach curry one night this week. Sounds odd but looks nice. I have loads of things to try out on the family this month. Including home made ice cream, chicken and seafood paella, sticky chicken and a whole load more. I like trying new ideas but I am not the worlds greatest cook so I just try and if they work then we do them again.

I think this will be a short one as I am about to fall asleep at the keyboard............night all

The end of the week as we know it...........

Well I got told today that my long term contract runs until April next year and could go beyond that if they do not move our department. If it does we may well get offered permanent contracts. I am enjoying it even though some of the work is repetitive, it is not as pressured as working in a claims environment. We still have targets to reach and the like but it is a nice team to work in and everyone gets on with everyone else. My end of week one review was good so I am happy.

All in all its been a quite eventful week what with Speedway and the new job and Ryan's birthday. The Bank Holiday weekend is going to be very busy. Him indoors is on about the garden and getting the gazebo up. Also should have a BBQ as the weekend weather is supposed to be good apart from Monday.

Its half term next week so Tim is on holiday with Ryan and I have to work while Kristie has to work and go to college. I'll have some time off in the summer holidays though when we can go out for days. Not sure what they are doing but I dare say they will go kite flying at some point even though the fair is down at Baiter. I am looking forward to hearing what Ryan has done with his Dad. I might get him to write a diary.

I am sat here waiting for Kristie to come in from work. What time that will be is anybody's guess as she is supposed to finish at 10.30 but never gets in til a lot later. Still it keeps her out of trouble and earns her good money for what she does.

Oh well I shall update with the Bank Holiday fun tomorrow night. Now I need a cup of tea.................

Oooo now I did not expect that...............x 2

After watching the Speedway last night I commented on how I had never been to a Grand Prix before and if he wanted ideas for my birthday then I would like to go to Cardiff for the British GP which is 2 weeks after my birthday. So low and behold tonight he has only been and gone and ordered tickets for all 4 of us to go. Woo Hoo can I do a happy dance? That has seriously made my day. I am so looking forward to it but it is going to be a very long day. Its about a three and a half hour drive each way and the meeting starts at 5pm so although it should be finished at a reasonable time it means we still will not get home til about one in the morning. Oh I really am happy about it. It means the world to me.

Work is going really well still and we have been offered overtime from next week. I am pleased with the way things are going and two agencies called me today about work. One was an agency that I registered with a week or so ago and the other sent me for an interview for a company in Verwood when I first became out of work but they turned me down but gave a very good feedback and now they have had another post come up and they want to talk to me again. I have said I would but I am happy doing what I am doing and don't feel pressured at all where as I was before.

The music thing at work is interesting. Talking to some of those who do listen while they work opened my eyes to a bit more of the music world. They listen to anything from Lady Gaga to metal to trance and a lot more besides. Think I'll stick to Jack Johnson and maybe some Appo podcasts. Want to hear the new Green Day CD once him indoors has sorted it out.

Keeping it short tonight. Its a long weekend so who knows what we will get up to.

Following on from

last night, I got my wild card prediction for the British Speedway Grand Prix right. I said either Edward Kennett or Tai Woffinden and well they both had a good night. Chris Harris a deserving winner though and Eddie did really well to get to Cardiff. I have dropped huge hints tonight about going to Cardiff for the British GP for my birthday present. Whether it will happen or not I have no idea. On the subject of speedway, we have a new local team called the Bournemouth Buccaneers and they have their first home National League meeting tomorrow night. Against the King's Lynn Barracudas (used to be at Boston). The best thing of all is that entry to it is free as its their first one. Guess we will go down and see it. I haven't been to speedway for a good 3 years so its about time I went again. I watch it on Telly most weeks and most of the GP's. I wish I could afford to go every week but for the whole family to go would cost in the region of £60.00 and that is without drinks or food. I miss the old days like going to Poole every week with my best friend, going on away trips and getting home at silly o'clock in the morning. Going to World Finals in Germany and Bradford in the 1980's before they changed it to the GP system, going to the old White City stadium in London for assorted World Team Cup finals, ticker tape (made out of an old phone book pinched by someone from a phone box) at Eastbourne, oh and the old Halifax circuit, Sausage and chips at Watford Gap services at one in the morning with Rock band The Moody Blues.............I could go on but it would get boring...............

Feel reasonably happy today. Nothing major has happened and my mood for once is fairly upbeat. The day got better as it went on. Work was good. Worked 8.30 til 4.30 and doing the same again tomorrow. I like it that way as it means I can get home at a sensible time and not have to think about tea straight away.

The diet is not going as well as I would like it to, I gained a pound over the last two weeks. Not surprised as I was off work last week between jobs and I tend to eat more when I am at home. The new magazine has a load of fabulous recipes to try this time so if they work I may post them on here. A lot of them have a sort of Caribbean feel to them or are good Summer recipes.

Not much else to tell today so I'll leave it at that.

Trusting People and more about me..................

Well another day has come and gone and there is not really a lot to tell. Work went well apart from when the system crashed (server is in Northampton) and I sort of conquered the escalator but time will tell. Tried one of their chicken salads today in the canteen and it was really nice. I also found out that the girl I work with is off to America for two weeks in two weeks time so it means I need to get to know the other people a bit quicker than I thought I would have to. I am very wary of people until I get to know them and find it hard to trust people which is why I only have a handful of real friends. Those close to me are the only people I trust and respect. The other thing with me is I either like a person or I hate them. There is no middle ground. And I am also pretty accurate in my opinion of people and rarely get it wrong which I why when I do trusting those around me becomes more important than ever.

I was sat here and remembered that they told us to lessen the boredom we can take in mp3 players to listen to while we work. Then realised mine needs charging. I love music. I can listen to almost anything except Jazz and Country music. I like Rock mostly but also think that some R 'n' B and modern Punk is quite good. My favorite at the moment is Kings Of Leon CD Only By The Night which I can listen to all the time. Well that and The Ting Tings We Started Nothing. I find Jack Johnson relaxing especially In Between Dreams and Brush Fire Fairy Tales. Definitely work related music. I think that if I blast my ears out with AC/DC or The Foo Fighters the boss won't be very happy.

Sleep is another issue. Its either all or nothing and more often than not it is nothing or very little anyway. I don't know why or if it has something to do with the depression. Some days I feel I could sleep all day other days I am so energetic that I feel as if I could run a marathon. I just wish I could switch off completely and sleep properly for once.

More random stuff tomorrow after Speedway's British Final. I think that the Wild Card for the Gand Prix series will be Edward Kennett or Tai Woffinden but I would love to see Joe Screen upset the apple cart and qualify.

New Job and Phobias

First day in the new job and have been told that the contract is likely to go on until April next year at least. The department I am in was originally going to be moved to Northampton in April but is now staying indefinitely with a decision being made by March as to whether it is going to move and if so where to. It is basically secured data input and I cannot say any more than that. The people there are nice and they have a good staff restaurant which is good for the diet as they have a salad bar and deli bar which does low cal/fat lunches for about £1.50. The also do breakfasts but I think I will avoid them for the moment. We all take our breaks together too which is nice cos we get to know the team a bit better. Most of us are agency staff there. It is not bad at all. The only downside is when I leave the building. You can only go in and out by escalator. At the front of the building is a very large glass area. Now if there is one thing I have a phobia about (apart from a very severe one to do with snakes and also fire) it large areas of glass. In one job I had I refused to sit by the window as it ran floor to ceiling and was quite wide. Anyway getting back to today, it took me 10 minutes to get out of the building because of this flipping window. I think the security guy thought I was nuts. (He would not be far wrong to be honest) I ended up waiting until there was at least one other person who could go down in front of me before I got on the escalator. If there is someone in front of me there is no problem. Going up is not a problem either as you don't see the glass.

The phobia to do with snakes stems back to a family picnic in the New Forest as a child, when out for a walk from our picnic base with my sister and two friends I almost trod on an Adder. I have been terrified of snakes ever since and will not go in a reptile house at the zoo or even look at a picture of them or look at them on the TV. And as for the thought of holding one...........don't even go there. My friend Debs son has a pet snake and much as Ryan loved it I would not go anywhere near it when we visited them. The Fire phobia again is a bit odd. I could never light a match even at guide camp to light the fire and when I was younger my Mum put on an electric heater when we got back from a few days away one time and did not realise that some paper had fallen inside and it caught fire and it again terrified me. I still cannot light a match even now.

Today was also Ryan's birthday. He loves his Cube World blocks and also the Snoopy book and Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones stuff and the DS bits he got too. Ok we had a chocolate cake for his birthday cake which did not do the diet a lot of good but it was yummy and there is some left for tomorrow night. He also got a lot of money for his birthday and he says he wants to get family ski and snowboard for the Wii. I cannot believe he is 9 already. It seems like only yesterday he was coming home.

On the subject of the Wii, I really must get back into Wii Fit. I've not done it for ages and miss it in a sense. I stopped because I was exhausted after work all the time and had no energy. Now I work better hours I can try and concentrate on the things I love best. Hopefully the time factor will also help towards combatting the depression. There have been more up days than down days recently. There are a few issues I need to get my head round but things are starting to come together and that can only be good for me. The medication is fine and I feel as if I have reached a turning point now in my recovery.

Blooming weather

Well today was supposed to be the SEKA (South East Kiting Association) Event day at Lordshill. Decided that due to the fact the rain at 8.30 this morning was coming in the bedroom window horizontally that it was probably a non starter, which is a shame as its about the nearest they ever get to us here. It was really heavy rain and it did wake me up. But for the rest of the day the wind has been howling. And I mean howling. Its been so strong it has knocked over the garden furniture again.

We moved into this house 7 years ago today. I'll never forget it. It rained that day too. It was such a relief to move in the end so that the kids had their own rooms and that they had a big garden to play in. In the front you can probably get 4 or 5 cars if you wanted to. The back is about 40 foot long by about 30 foot wide. In retrospect the size of the garden did not matter as long as it was not shared like at the flat. I will never forget walking in here and saying it was finally ours.I'll post a picture sometime of what it looks like now. Still needs work doing to it. I keep saying we will do this or we will do that but we never have the time.

Been to see the Mother in Law today as well to pick up Ryan's cards. As usual she has something to moan about. The strange thing is that I get on better with her now than when the Father in Law was alive. Not sure why but I do. Also saw my great Nephew Elijah whilst we were there. He is two and he is absolutely stunning. I love his red/gold hair. Ryan had that when he was born then went blond and now is quite dark. I wish it had stayed red but then Kristie was white blond when she was born and is dark blond now.

Bit nervous about this job I am starting tomorrow if the truth be known. I am not sure what to expect apart from inputting info into a computer. I know they have a staff canteen on site but that is all. The money is not brilliant but its a job and it is bringing money in. I wish that the council would contact us regarding the posts that I have applied for through them. I just feel that working for them would be so right for me.

I hope the weather is better tomorrow. I hate the thought of starting a new job looking like a drowned rat.......