wagwaan?

Milestone

I don't think I realised I had this hanging over my head, until I felt the relief today: my boss called me in and asked me to shut the door - and told me that he was very happy with my work and was pleased to make me a permanent member of staff. Yay!  I did a six month trial period, the longest ever, and he is pleased with me.  Knowing that he'd had a succession of personal assistants was in the back of my mind all the time.  Everyone who has ever talked to me about it has applauded me and said that I am doing a fab job, but until the six months were up nothing was for certain. I'm in a great place, both mentally and metaphorically speaking :)   Slightly dampened by the fact that the payroll woman deducted twice as much as she was supposed to off my pay, but we'll get that sorted.

Claire also had a great day. The day before yesterday she won an item on ebay that she had coveted for over a year: a Sidekick II.  The bidding got quite intense at the end and she was very clever about how she played it (me? I'm clueless on these things). I let her go slightly over the amount she had planned to spend, but yesterday she got an extra couple of hours' work at for Dr C, so that'll cover it.  The guy we bought it from popped it in the post immediately, and it arrived today. She is thrilled! They are more common in America than here, though, so I'd never heard of them until she started going on about it.

Oh and someone else is happy too: Lyle's eye is completely better now. It was quite puffy and streaming wet for a few days, but now he's fine. The relief!

That's all I can think of for the mo - toodle pip!

I crave the white space...

Just trying to update my blog-look. I crave white at the moment, and when i preview it's white, but then when I open it it's still the old look. So bear with me while I practice. Plus, I have to create a new banner. Chaque chose en son temps.

Scrapping again

What do you give the man who has everything?  It was Wayne's birthday yesterday, and I had planned on giving him something like an experience present, you know, like race driving or paintballing. In the end though we just went for lunch at this new Italian restaurant we found. Of course, any outing like this turns into a research project and this time was no exception. Our town is undergoing quite a redevelopment at the moment, and the edge of the high street is where a lot of buildings have been requisitioned and are being pulled down. The restaurant where we ate is just before this part of town and the owner was able telling us all about the plans, and the fact that there will be about 4 restaurant units in the redevelopment. Wayne's ears pricked up because he and a partner are looking at doing a restaurant project, the partner having sold his restaurant and being keen to do a new one with Wayne.  We got great service and the owner was very chatty and helped us choose what to eat. I just wanted steak, as I never eat red meat at home (apart from mince in bolognese!), and he said he'd bought some nice fillet the night before and recommended it. OMG! I can't remember the last time I ate such a tasty piece of meat. It was literally melting in my mouth. The restaurant is nothing much to look at from the outside, but the food was great and well priced. We shall definitely be going back there. 

Meanwhile, my nieces and my niece's fiancé had arrived and Claire phoned to say that they were in Caffe Nero. We went to meet them and said goodbye to Wayne (who had a night out with the lads planned), then to Katy (my goddaughter) and  went home. My goddaughter's boyfriend is at Sandhurst (where Princes Harry and William trained) and there is a big do this weekend, so she went off to stay with a friend who lives quite near there. Gemma and Stephen stayed with us, and it was so nice to just hang out and chat. Stephen is a keen photographer so he and Claire hit it off right away!  Gemma gave Claire her old PC as she has bought a new laptop. It's sitting here waiting for Claire to set it up later. That way I can keep Wayne's laptop for myself (thanks darling!) and we won't have to share any more.

In the evening they needed petrol so we all piled into the car to go to the all-night Tesco, giggling that it was such an exciting way to spend a Saturday night!  Our Tesco has an in-store Krispy Kreme factory and as they had never tasted them we just had to buy a box, of course...

The mattress in the background isn't too great a look - I can't wait to have an extra bedroom! We are thinking of doing a loft extension this year, and we'll be able to have visitors more often LOL.

This morning they left early to meet up with Katy and spend the day at Sandhurst. I foolishly went back to bed to "read" - and ended up falling asleep again. When I finally woke up I got creative and did a couple of layouts with pictures Claire had taken of us. I find myself drawn to simple, airy layouts where less is more... I don't really follow fashions :)    Both layouts are on Basic Grey Phresh and Phunky papers, with fuzzy stickers that I got free with a magazine; a rub on swirl on one of them, rub on stitches on another, and some Heidi Swapp journalling spots among other things.

OOh I nearly forgot - I finally bought an EasiYo yoghurt maker from Lakeland recently and yesterday we tried the Vanilla Custard flavour. Y U M!! It's like a pudding more than a yoghurt. Very tasty :)   

TGIF

Fridays seem to come round faster and faster - not that I'm complaining, you understand, but I don't really know where this week went.  Today I did manage to negotiate a 6-month repayment plan to pay back what they overpaid me. I think it's still going to be a bit difficult, but at least it's not 1 or 3 months like the payroll girl suggested. I wonder what kind of money she must be on to think that I can forego a couple of grand in one month. The mind boggles!

I had yet another trip to the emergency eye dept today, to get some drops for my eye. This time the "episcleritis" formed a little nodule on the eye which was frankly disgusting and I wasn't going to let that get any worse.  I am now the proud owner of an orange card that enables me to just drop in whenever I have a problem, because the Government, in their wisdom, have made it impossible for the hospital to see non-referred patients. Nowadays, if you have an eye problem you have to go to your GP, who knows nothing about eye complaints, and s/he does a referral letter to the "emergency eye clinic" where you duly go and sit and wait in a queue to be seen. Oh yes, I can really see how that makes things better for the patients!  Honestly, don't get me started on the ridiculous guidelines that this Government have brought in for the NHS; and I have voted Labour in the past, so it's not just political sour grapes...

Talking of eyes, tonight I noticed that Lyle only had one eye open, and there was a funny, oily-kind of smell coming from his fur. I don't know where he's been or what he's rubbed his face against, but it stinks and it obviously stings.  I have rinsed it out with cool, boiled water (that made him jump a mile!), and he gradually seems to be opening his eye a bit. Fingers crossed that he'll be ok by morning or it's a trip to the vet's for him.  And I really don't want to do that because my nieces are coming for the day - haven't seen them for ages, so it'll be lovely.

Oh well, more tomorrow :)

Grrrr

The Universe gives with one hand.... and then taketh away!   That bonus I got? Turns out it's "an error". Nice. I now have a slight problem to sort out. I'm sure it'll be fine eventually but what a shock!

Anyway, some more photos from our holiday. These are of us and our friends in their Parisian "appartement" ;)

 

Tonight I watched "Child in a Million" on Channel 5 - a very interesting programme from a series on children with rare illnesses being treated at GOSH.  The first little girl, who was 4, was such a character and I was thrilled to see her cancer op and subsequent histology had been encouraging. What a shock then to hear that the cancer came back and she died at the end of 2006!  I sobbed.  Puts my little problems right in the shade. RIP Molly.

On a happier note, my birthday present from the birthday swap arrived today - lots of gorgeous Lindt chocolate, some ribbons, a tin to alter, and a gorgeous 6x6 book, hand decorated by Daisy, my "swappee". What a happy way to start my day at 7.30am!

So, after all that emotion today, I'll be glad to flop into bed - if I can tear myself away from Desperate Housewives....

Home again

What a wonderful week!  I didn't want to leave my mum, but it's good to be home.  We had such a fantastic stay, in a way just like old times... We drove back to Paris yesterday, and Claire was filming away on the motorway and in Paris - wot a laff eh?  I'll put links here, but one of the videos of driving through Paris is about 6 minutes long and yuk I hate my voice - it is so deep and I sound like a toff! It's because I grew up abroad and have an expat's accent. Plus, I really need to go on a diet - thanks for filming the double chin from the side Claire!!

We got to Paris and dropped the car off at my sister's, who luckily lives round the corner from some old friends where we used to live too.  We went round to their place, and had tea (yummy galette des rois) and had a good old chinwag. Claire and this little girl were friends in Maternelle (pre-school), i.e. they were THREE years old!  We have kept in touch ever since, and I really get on well with her mum.  Unfortunately, they have been going through a tough patch themselves, seeing as the mum lost a third brother to lung cancer last year. What with her problems and me with my mum's illness, we hadn't spoken in ages, but I wanted to see her when I discovered we'd be coming through Paris on our way back. It was fantastic to see them again, and both girls got on fine, even though they'd both worried they'd have nothing to say to each other.  Funnily enough, they both dye their hair black and use straighteners - teenagers the world over, eh?  (not trying to be cryptic, but don't want my pages to come up if you Google their names, and as one of them is a rare Breton name, I won't mention it here!)

We got the bus up to the Eurostar and were in plenty of time to catch it. It was PACKED with people with skis etc. We were in the last seats right at the back of the last carriage and had an uneventful journey. The best bit was being picked up in a chauffeur driven Merc to go home, as I'd done a deal with the guy who does all the driving at work. Bliss :)

Right, in the wrong order - the first video is the shorter one, of us driving along the banks of the Seine, passing by the Ile de la Cite and the Ile St Louis in the centre of the Seine. Love it. Click here  (for the moment the second video won't load).  Oh, and by the way, the music in the background is by Canadian singer/songwriter Roch Voisine. The song is "Hélène" and you can see a beautiful version here:

This week is going so fast!

I can't believe it's already Thursday :(  Today the weather was absolutely beautiful, if a bit cold. I finally got a much needed haircut by my mum's usual hairdresser, and boy does it feel good LOL   So here are the photos I promised. First the snow at Watford station last week or whenever it was:

Then the patisseries we had for my birthday - just love French pastries...

Yesterday on the beach:

Grocery shopping today:

And the sky tonight:

Happy Valentine's from the Birthday Girl (from yesterday)

Just a quickie to say how wonderful it is to be at my mum's, WITH my mum! She is doing so well since she got out of hospital: she is pottering round her house, cooking, clearing out her cupboards, watching English TV, reading... all in all having just a fantastic time!  Today it was really like old times. Apart from her speech, which is still a bit difficult, she has come so far. She is walking really well and even using her right hand quite a bit. Today we had a sticky moment when she went to pay for groceries using her Mastercard because she had forgotten her PIN number. I used my card instead, but you could tell it shook her...  Little things like that and using the wrong words must be very frustrating for her, but she is taking it in her stride.

Yesterday I had a lovely birthday, just me and Claire and my mum. We had gorgeous patisseries for tea - I'll upload a picture another time :)

Hope you are all as happy as I am feeling!  Here's mummy and Claire on the beach today...  (omg is that really what I sound like???)

I'm on hooooolllliiiiiidaaaaaaaaaay!

Ok, so it's only a week off, but I'm so looking forward to it!  I still haven't packed, but I've been out all day traipsing all over town buying cat food, birthday presents, a Valentine's card and having my nails done.  I'm now sporting a full set of French manicured nails and they look so much better. My own nails are rather soft and they break easily. I also have psoriasis under the nails, which I hate... 

Wayne is here, giggling at Shrek with Claire, and I've ordered pizza, so we are going to have a lazy evening in front of the TV I think :)   

Not sure I will get online much at my mum's so I'll update my blog when I get back.  See ya!

Just another quickie!

What a long day.  Woke up to thick snow - not often we have that. Garden looked gorgeous - all the wintery mess hidden under such a clean white blanket :)   I decided not to hurry to work as the Tube was pretty badly disrupted. I got a train quite quickly but it stopped and started all the way, thick snow falling all the while. I nearly turned back, but I knew I had stuff to do. Good job I went in, because my boss needed me to do a Powerpoint presentation for a dinner tonight, to change his travel plans to avoid Stansted (that was closed), and all sorts of stuff. I didn't leave the office till after 6pm, by which time the Jubilee Line was disrupted again and I couldn't get on a train till 6.30!  At Finchley Road I discovered the Met Line was also severely disrupted. After sitting there waiting for a while, I realised that I could get back on the Jubilee as far as Wembley Park and that Met trains were leaving from there as they couldn't get any further into London and had to turn back (if you don't know London, ignore this paragraph!).

Otherwise, I'm desperate to get to my bed, but just one last little thought for my mum's last night in hospital tonight!  So exciting :)   Can't wait for Sunday.  Oh, except for the weekend works on the Met Line which will affect us...  Nite nite all.