wagwaan?

I think the mojo is coming back...

Last night I went up to "bed" earlier than usual, armed with various bits of paper, card, adhesive, my date stamp etc. I miss being creative, what with being out of the house for 12 hours every day. I saw on both Ali E's and Cathy Z's blogs that they are doing little daily bursts of "daily something", just quick little ten minute projects. So I got out my cards, the 6x4 inch ones I use to make notecards for my etsy shop, stamped the date on one, stuck my Proms ticket to it with pretty Heidi Swapp tape and scribbled a note about my evening out on Friday to hear Bruckner at the Royal Albert Hall.  Guess what?  Just as I was scribbling it I realised what was playing on Classic FM: the very same symphony no. 8!  Serendipity or what?  And to think I would never have even known what it was this time last week.... Now I just have to think of a way to store them. For the moment I put this one in a box that DD gave me, but it's not quite the right size. I think I just might alter a card index box, that will be just right I think....

Good news!

I got my new date for surgery today!  Big round of applause for the NHS, eh?  It's 26th September, which is both my boss's and my nephew's birthdays.  I had planned to have 24th off anyway, as I have a dental appointment bang in the middle of the day; and on 25th I have an early rheumatology appointment at the hospital near work, so all in all, that week is going to be one big Medi-fest LOL.  I'm quite glad this time it's a 7.30am admission, so I won't have time to get worked up all morning like I was last Thursday whilst waiting for the afternoon admission.
In other news... well, there is no other news, so I'm just off to finish my online grocery shopping and then I want an early night with a good book. See ya!

A little bit of craftiness

Yesterday was lovely.  DD went off to see her friend, and I had the house to myself. I actually got some scrapping done!  First off, I used a bit of the July Heidi Swapp kit and some green cardstock that nearly matches (well it looks ok in real life) for this picture of my mum's beach. I drew the "hibiscus" and cut it out freehand - doesn't look too bad actually, considering it was past 10.30pm at night!

Then I did a 12x12 of my mum's hands. I used a pale blue cardstock and some patterned paper I got free with a magazine, together with Heidi Swapp arrows and alphas, and a bit of ribbon that my mum gave me (because she totally gets the idea of scrapbooking!). I used a hole punch to make lots of little circles out of the patterned paper and stuck those in a big circle to highlight the hands.  I like how it all came out. And on both the layouts I used my French date stamp in the bottom corner.

And the good news for the day: I called my friend the oncology secretary at the hospital (how could I forget I actually knew someone in that department?) and she went to see the surgeon about the new date for my surgery. He confirmed that I'm on the list, that it must be done, but that (and this is the best bit) it's not that urgent that it can't wait a few weeks. Phew!  Anyway, it seems it will be at the end of the month, or at the latest early October.  All the staff now know who I am and are looking out for me. It's not what you know, it's WHO you know. LOL!

A couple of my current faves

That soundpedia dot com website is wicked.  I'm really enjoying listening to a variety of genres, and at the moment one of my absolute favourites is a song by Mae, who started off as Christian-rock but are now termed "emo". Apparently, they say they are Christian but don't like the label Christian-rock. Whatever they are, I have loved their music ever since DD found the acoustic version of "Giving it away" on radioblogclub dot com.  So here it is, Suspension by Mae (click here for a video).
Along the same lines is The Fray and their single How to save a life. Click here - it doesn't hurt that the video has clips from Grey's Anatomy in it!

By the way, if you right click and open those links in another window, you can enjoy the music while you continue to browse. Cool huh?

Carnival time

Don't you just LOVE Bank Holiday weekends?  The knowledge that you get an extra 24 hours to do just what you want, with no constraints?  I do!  Yesterday we went up to London to see the carnival so that DD could take two rolls of film for her summer project. I don't like crowds, so I don't exactly enjoy it as much as most people there, but the weather was fantastic and the music was great so I didn't have such a bad time!  Today is DD's best friend's birthday, exactly a week after her own, and she has gone off to meet her in town. She's taken the camera, so I still can't upload her birthday dinner pictures....
Now I'm catching up on my emails and doing some online grocery shopping while I wait for Wayne to come back from London. So, hope you are all having a nice bank holiday and are ready for putting nose to grindstone again in the morning. Peace out (I'm just so ghetto don't you know).

Thank goodness it's the weekend

What a week that was!  But it's over now, and I got invited to go to The Proms tonight, so I jumped at the chance to make up for what has been going on. The guy from our travel agency who has been totally flirting with me for like a year, emailed me this morning (forgetting I wasn't supposed to be in work) to invite me to listen to Bruckner's 8th at the Royal Albert Hall. Promenaders can get tickets from £5 if they are willing to stand/sit in the Arena area. The thing is, it gets terribly hot in there, and it can get quite crowded.  Still, it was a chance to hear some wonderful music and see a fantastic orchestra led by Bernard Haitink, so who cares if I was a little sweaty!  I really enjoyed it, and S introduced me to a bunch of other regulars who he knows. A very knowledgeable musical bunch. I can't quite believe it was my first ever Prom concert!  I watch them on TV, and I love the Last Night of course - who doesn't? - but I'd never actually been to one "in real life". So now I'm hooked.  And check out this website; the homepage has squiggles like the very latest in scrapbook design....
Anyway, I got home at about 10.30pm and flopped down in front of the TV while DD hogged the PC.  I watched a double bill of Extreme Makeover Home Edition and now I'm grabbing my chance to update the blog. I know I'll regret it in the morning!
Just wanted to finish by saying thank you for all the good wishes I've been getting. You are all lovely :)

News update :(

Just a quickie to say that it's a good job I phoned the hospital before I left home.... Surgery didn't happen!  I had thought about using my private medical insurance to have this procedure, so I phoned the Breast Clinic a few weeks ago to ask them if they could provide copies of my scan reports to a private consultant. They thought I'd said I was definitely going private and took me off the surgery list.  To say I was upset is an understatement. I was nearly hysterical, because I had got myself so psyched up for surgery today, to be told it wasn't happening and they couldn't tell me WHEN it would, well, it was just devastating.  I cried and went back to bed and slept for hours. Anyway, I'm feeling better now, and kicking myself that I didn't call them back when I found out my insurance wouldn't cover the whole cost - although why I would do that when I had a letter with the date etc is anyone's guest.  So there you have it.  I have to wait. Sorry! 

D-Day

Well, the day is finally here.  I'm so glad my surgery was brought forward two weeks, but I'm dreading it. I know it's probably very silly, but I don't relish being put to sleep so someone can take a knife to my flesh.
Anyway, this week has been manic. Yesterday was especially bad and I think it's best if we completely write it off as a bad job.  The highlight of my day was a giggle that I had on the Tube in the morning. At one station, as I was dozing in my seat, I heard an announcement "When we say stand clear of the doors, that is exactly what we MEAN. Stand clear of the DOORS please".  Hee hee.  You know how when the buzzer goes and the doors start to shut there's always ONE person who tries to hop aboard? Well this guy obviously got a bit peeved.  He was polite, but firm. It made me smile, anyway!
I haven't had time to blog about DD's birthday, but we had a great time. First of all, her best friend came over on Sunday and we had a marathon girlie film session with popcorn/crisps/chocolate and pop. I woke her up on Monday morning to give her her present (a "Panic! at the disco" collectors' box set and a voucher for her to choose the West End show of her choice) before I went to work. In the evening we surprised her with a nice meal (Wayne's treat), the culmination of which was a big chocolate cake complete with huge sparkler and the staff banging saucepans and singing happy birthday.  The look on her face!  Took some great pictures, but they haven't been downloaded yet, so I can't post one here.  The weather that evening was lovely, if slightly chilly, but it's been pouring down for the rest of the time. What a wash-out this summer has been.  Luckily, they are forecasting nicer weather for the long weekend. We shall see, eh?

What a fabulous website!

Today I discovered the BEST music website. Better than Radioblogclub I think.  It's called soundpedia dot com and it's brilliant. I've found the most diverse range of music on it, including really old stuff, and if you are lucky, when you call up the record you want it comes up in a separate window with the lyrics at the same time, and you can save music into playlists... I'm just thrilled.
This is how eclectic my tastes are. On my playlists so far I have:
Captain Fantastic by Elton John (really old school stuff),
Theme One from Van der Graaf Generator
Emerson Lake and Palmer
India Arie
Kirk Whalum
Seal
and my current fave, Big girls don't cry by Fergie (who I actually disliked until this song!).
OMG the Van der Graff Generator one I remember setting the alarm very early for, something like 5 or 6 am, because it was the theme tune to Radio 1 or 2 back in the 70s. I just adored that piece of music, and listening to it now takes me RIGHT back to my bedroom in Val Guermantes. Steph - remember that????  They also have videos but I haven't had time to look at any yet.
Otherwise, it's official: DD and I are TOTAL GEEKS!  We watched the WHOLE of the Steve Jobs presentation of the iMac. Well, now I know what I'm spending my bonus on in January. If I get one, that is.   I totally need an iMac to help me if I'm going to pursue my dream of being a photographer, because the time you save with iPhoto is unbelievable. And DD wants one too, so I can see we'll have to think about it. What with that, the iPod and the iPhone - we're going to be a totally Apple household. Ha ha ha! 
Well, it's half one - I really should be in my bed.

It's Friiiiii-daaaaaaaaay!

Ouf! (as the French say), it's the end of the week. It's been a long one, because I'm waiting on my surgery next week, plus I knew I had to face the dentist yesterday, and it was weighing on my mind.  Originally, the dentist thought he was going to have to remove my back molar, and I was sitting in the waiting room dreading it - I've had wisdom teeth out before, I know it's not that pleasant!  In the event, though, the tooth had settled down so much since I last saw him that he really felt optimistic about saving it. So instead I had root canal. Not exactly a pleasant experience either, but at least I've still got a tooth - and eventually will be able to have a crown on it to secure it for good. I'm so glad THAT'S over! (although OH had it recently and warned me it might hurt for three days; so far it's woken me up at 4am, and throbbed a bit today, but it'll settle eventually. Plus I can already swill cold water round my mouth without hitting the roof in pain).
Anyhoo - I'm just happy to have a weekend ahead of me, so I can chill, get some scrapping done, design some cards that my colleague's ordered, and generally enjoy some creative time. Oh and make more cupcakes for DD's birthday on Monday. That's if they last that long!  We're not having a big party or anything, but she wants to have her best friend over on Sunday night, and I'm going to get some marshmallows and dipping chocolate, and maybe make some popcorn, and we'll watch a film on cable.  A girlie night in :)

Ooh I nearly forgot!  I sent my boss's chauffeur to pick up our Venture picture (well, my excuse is Knightsbridge is miles away and my boss is out of town all summer, so they are doing precious little work for their monthly fee! Plus, the owner needs to keep me sweet ha ha ha!) and here it is. I've put a copyright on it so it doesn't get nicked; there are some strange people in web-land. This one was completely free cos I won the session in a competition :)

I love it!  We already have the b&w one of the two of us from last year, so we went for something less obvious this time.  What a gorgeous profile my daughter has.