wagwaan?

And we're off!

Well, I'm not packed yet, but I have spent the weekend catching up at work, so that I don't have too much to come back to (none of us get cover when we are away), cleaning, ironing and getting my Euros etc sorted out. Now all I have to do is go back to the office to print out our online boarding card (am not linked to printer on OH's laptop) and then pack and get an early night. We get the 7am coach to Heathrow for our 9am flight. And then we have lunch in Paris before getting the train at 3pm to Caen, where my sister will pick us up; then it's straight off to the rehab hospital to see my mum. Can't wait.  As it is, I think we'll only see her every other day because of all her rehab, but that means we get a proper holiday on the other days! Plenty to do and see, but the forecast for the first 3 days is rain. Oh well! It's sod's law!

Thank you for your sweet comments. I am so thrilled to have the new job (although my GP has not replied with a medical report yet, he has told me there is nothing wrong with me now anyway). The occupational health people at the new job have said they've never refused a job on the grounds of health before - so I have handed in my notice at work and I officially leave on 29th August.  My boss has been telling people he's leaving too, and although I think he's joking, he seems pretty serious about it. The hospital is going down the drain fast, and it's just too sad :(   I think he'll retire from the NHS and just do private work until he retires for good.

Well, must rush. Have a lovely holiday everyone!  I'll probably check in from my mum's laptop so I hope to check up on all your blogs. See ya!

Nearly the holidays

Well, what a few weeks it's been!  I am due to start at my new job on 30th August, so I have to resign by tomorrow, but the new place have to pass me fit first, and if I don't pass the medical questionnaire I don't get the job.... I am slightly on tenterhooks here, until I know I've got it. I had so much time of for stress (work-related I might add) that it looks bad on my record. Hopefully, the info I have given them will show them that my health is now back to normal. Fingers crossed eh?

And even more news from France: the very day after we heard Mummy had a place in Courseulles the hospital told us she could leave hospital the next day and go straight to rehab!  It's much further away but oh so much better for her!!  The place is very specialised in stroke and brain injury rehab, and it looks so fantastic. Take a peek here.  Mel and Caro settled her in yesterday. She has a large, single room, with 3 windows she can actually open and feel the breeze; a large (shared) en-suite bathroom with special wheelchair so she can have a shower every morning, after weeks of bed baths; her own physio, speech therapist and occupational therapist - everything she needs, including a special pool!  The staff seem very nice and all came and introduced themselves. The speech therapist even speaks good English apparently.  First of all she is due to have a 3-week assessment period and if she doesn't make any progress, then she will go to the place in Courseulles, but if she does progress as we hope, then she will stay there and go from strength to strength. This is beyond our wildest dreams!

And the third bit of news (that I was expecting as things come in threes LOL) is that today, a patient I have become friendly with and who has had two miscarriages came to say that she is 6 weeks pregnant and there seems to be no reason for things not to go well. She is a bit tentative about the whole thing, but I think with all the good news I have been having, it must be a sign!!!

So, just today and tomorrow (and probably a load of work at the weekend to make sure I leave nothing outstanding), and we are off on our holiday. Yay!!!!!!

And now for the good news!

Yay!  Life seems to be going my way (fingers crossed though). First, I GOT OFFERED THE JOB that I had been interviewed for :)   I was jumping for joy when I heard. The money is good, there is an annual bonus, the commute isn't bad, and the offices are fantastic. The people seem quite nice too ;)   Anyway, I just have to pass a medical questionnaire as I was off with stress last year - and then hopefully I start 30th August.  Yippeeeeeee!  Maybe life will start being less stressful.  Watch this space.

And today I found out that my mum is going to be well enough to leave hospital (after 2 1/2 months) next week and we also found out this week that she has a place at the local nursing home we were hoping for - probably thanks to the intervention of her very sweet General Practitioner. We are all so happy as it seems a lovely place with French windows that open on to lawns and trees etc, a sea breeze, her own room where she can have her own TV and DVD player for example, AND the dog can come visit!!  I hope to be settling her in on Tuesday (Claire and I fly over on Monday).

Isn't it nice when a plan comes together?

YAAAAAAY!

Today, thanks to a very special person (don't know if he reads this but he'll know who he is) I BOUGHT OUR TICKETS!  We leave on 1st August and come home on 14th. I was supposed to have annual leave from 5th till 18th but work'll just have to lump it!  I'll tell them I had to fit in around my family, which is true, as they know I'm going to take care of Mummy.   I can NOT wait!  Firstly, to see my mum and see for myself the progress she is making, and secondly to actually have a summer holiday in Bernieres. We couldn't afford it last year and we couldn't really this year, except for a helping hand.  I need to make it the most holiday-like I can for Claire's sake. 

Otherwise, today we have been researching T-shirt printing for Claire, who has had designs for t-shirts sitting around for ages and ages. Her cousin is one step ahead of her, as he has already got his selling in the top "rock" store in Paris!  His top seller is one he designed on Claire's PC when they came over to visit last year LOL    He has also given some to bands when he's gone to gigs, the most famous being Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters!  Wow, he's going to go far that lad ;) 

We also spent a few pounds on some funky flip flops for the beach from Primark. Mine were £1.50 and Claire got one blue pair for £1 and one with platform soles for £3. We really pushed the boat out this time.... Mine are the third pair, with hibiscus pattern, and they are the most comfortable pair of flip flops I have EVER worn. I don't usually even WEAR flip flops so that was £1.50 well spent LOL  Their bright colours make me happy :)     Oh, and we watched Blue Crush (again) on video, and Claire asked me to do her hair in sort of half cornrows, inspired by the surfing atmosphere.  I tried my best. I haven't done it for ages.... The photo's not brilliant but I think she looks cool.

TGIF

Friday at last!  I think I'll have to take a leaf out of Adrienne's book and prepare meals in advance so I can relax in the evenings.  Tonight Wayne is still here, and I did a quick bolognese type sauce and rice for dinner, then we had yummy choc cake with custard. Mmmmm!  You'll note the lack of vegetables. Oh well - IT'S FRIDAY!!! It's Big Brother eviction night and I SWORE I would not get dragged into it but I can't help wanting to know what's happening next. And yet I get SO annoyed by their STUPID behaviour.  Oh dear!!! LOL

Mummy seems to be doing well, although today the report was that she didn't seem particularly sociable. On the other hand she is actually getting proper food (after a fashion) and had some bread today. Probably baguette, of course, being a staple of the French diet!   I'm getting our tickets very soon and I can't WAIT!

Nearly the weekend...

This week really seems to be dragging by! Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that I am really on tenterhooks about the job interview next week. I am also not sleeping enough...  This morning, although I do love working for Dr C, my first thought on waking was "I can't go in today! I must SLEEEEEEEEP". Also, they are digging up the road in front of our house to upgrade the gas network, and the contractors start mighty early. Not a good thing, being woken by diggers and Irish workmen shouting at each other!

Last night was a late night, partly because Claire was out at the cinema and didn't get back to Watford Met till 11.15pm. She was with a couple of boys from her party, but she is a bit shy and doesn't know them that well, so she didn't like to ask if they could walk her home from the station!  Instead, good old mum went out at 11pm to walk the half mile or whatever it is to the Met, and back again with Claire. If I had a car this would be a LOT easier!  I was hoping Wayne and Claire would manage to coordinate their trips back from London, but no, Wayne got home at 10.45pm, and we hadn't heard from Claire by then, so we didn't know she was following behind - typical!  At least she enjoyed herself, and it got her out of the house for a bit. 

I'm dying to do some scrapping - I really MUST organise myself better. As it is, when I get home I'm pretty bushed, and then it's time to cook dinner. By the time that's over, there is not enough light in my bedroom, where my scrap table is at the moment. This old house was rewired by someone who thought one plug per bedroom would suffice!  If I want to scrap any other time than in full daylight, I shall have to buy another lamp AND an extension lead so that I can actually see what I'm doing LOL

Continuing to get good news from France. Trying to convince Wayne to join us on holiday, which I think he might do, but he has lots of projects on at the moment and won't commit. Ha! Commitment!  That's a toughie.....  Nah, he's a darling and he IS committed, but he doesn't like planning ahead, so getting him to pin down a day to book the tickets is always a bit of a rollercoaster ride. I'm used to it by now!

It's a sad day!

Last night, what an end to the World Cup!  We were cheering France on, and I truly believe they were the better team, and then disaster struck.  Zidane was insulted (we believe) and he head-butted Materazzi in the chest.   We were so shocked - it's a terrible way to end a glittering career. I can only think it was the culmination of years of racism (Zidane is of North African origin - not French enough for some people)... but it in no way excuses what he did. Today I read this:

Italian defender Marco Materazzi has denied a report that he had called Zinedine Zidane a "dirty terrorist" seconds before the French captain head-butted him in Sunday's World Cup final.

"It is absolutely not true, I did not call him a terrorist. I'm ignorant. I don't even know what the word means," the Italian news agency Ansa quoted Materazzi as saying after the Italian team returned to Rome on Monday evening.  "The whole world saw what happened on live TV," he added.

Er, hello! He's pleading ignorance of the meaning of the word terrorist? How stupid can you get!  Whatever he DID say, Zidane wasn't having it, and I for one am terribly sad at the stupidity of men.  Turn the other cheek, people, it's only a game!

Other news: I got a call from the job agency: the Chief Exec is away travelling again but he wants to check out my references to speed things up. I am desperate to get this blinking job so I'm slightly on edge. I need to get it out of the way before I go to France to see Mummy in August. .... Fingers crossed (still).

Hectic!

Wow, how HOT has it been this week?  I finish every day drenched in sweat because it is so damn oppressive in our office - even more so when I spend time in Dr C's office, because at least we have a fan: he doesn't... The storm and rain have cleared the air outside, but not in our office. It's on an inside courtyard and once it heats up in May that's it until the Autumn :(   Another good thing if I get the job in London: the offices are air conditioned (although the Tube isn't....).

Today was absolutely manic, yesterday was manic, the day before yesterday was manic. I don't know how Dr C copes. At least last night we had a bit of light relief in the form of the France-Portugal match. That b*st*rd C.Ronaldo is a damn fine actor - flinging himself to the ground at every opportunity making it look like he was fouled. Domenech, the French manager, was a laugh the way he reacted to the "cinéma" as they call it in French.   So France is through to the World Cup Final this weekend. Yay!!   It's just a shame I won't be with my family in Normandy to watch it.

Mummy is doing reasonably well. She is back in Neurology (oh, did I already say? I forget!) and although she still has a bit of a tummy upset, she is doing a lot better. She is very weak though, so I hope she can get to a home soon where she can rest. Her speech is getting better all the time, so people visiting actually feel they can understand a lot more. Fingers crossed she will go from strength to strength now.

Still can't get online at home, and Claire is dead bored. She has even resorted to alphabetising her CD collection! What did we ever do before the Internet? The child is at a loss. She did get a book out of the Hospital library, but I'm not sure how much of it she has read.  She was invited to a party tonight, but it's really far away, and there is no way of her getting back late at night. Shame - but then she doesn't seem to be too upset! 

Can't wait to hear about a date for my interview. Fingers crossed!!!!

Just a quick one

Am not able to blog much, due to workload and not having the internet at home at the moment. Long story! Anyway, I am waiting to hear when my appointment is for my final interview. The agency have confirmed to me that I am officially "number 1" candidate in the eyes of HR, and that there are two of us shortlisted... Fingers crossed, my money problems may soon be a thing of the past. Not that I won't be sad to leave Dr C :(  Anyway, needs must and all that.

I was supposed to go to France this weekend for a family meeting about my mum's affairs. My brother said he'd pay, but by the time I was able to give him the go ahead the prices had gone up so much I thought (we both thought) it was not worth it. I know all my siblings have my mum's best interests at heart, and whatever they decide collectively, it'll be ok by me. I'll be the only one not there, though. Sad!  Mummy is doing quite well considering. She is back in Neurology, with the bleeding apparently under control. She is very, very weak, but her speech is improving, and she can read and understand letters and cards, and even, at the weekend, the newspaper to read the tennis results! Fab news, long may it continue!

Must rush, and thank you for your really sweet comments and positive vibes. They are greatly appreciated, I can tell you!!!