Frustrations and Ten on Tuesday

1. One of the frustrations of having CFS is a fairly obvious one, not being able to do things ! My lovely husband is off work, my daughter is at a fairly easy stage, sleeps at night, 2 hours in the day and will play on her own for much of the time as long as there is someone around to interact with every so often. So really, these next few weeks there should be lots of opportunity to spend time together, but also get some of those nagging jobs done around the house. Our house is clean as we have a cleaner, but there are about 8 months worth of jobs, you know the sorting, deep cleaning, organising kind. I am a bit sad, in that I quite like housework, and enjoy making things tidy and organised ( in my own home anyway !) But with limited energy these things just don't get done. Now, I know the reality is that if I was well I would probably need to work while my husband was off work, and there would be other things to do, but sometimes I just wish I had an hours energy to get in our garage ( which for all I know there could be people squatting in) and give it a good sort out !
I always choose to use my energy on quality time with my family over doing too many non essential jobs, I am definitely NOT an obsessive cleaner/tidier. And I am glad I have got this balance. I know my  happiness and my relationships are better for this choice, but sometimes I would like to clean the skirting boards, hoover behind the sofa, and put all my Little tykes clothes into age related storage containers, rather than literally shoving them in a cupboard which now resembles a jumble sale.


Moan over. Sorry to moan, but today is a moaning day........


2. We have lost one of Little Tyke's cute little trainers, after a month of looking for it we have concluded it got left on the roof of the car and then was driven off without, and is now squashed on a roadside somewhere. :(


3. VERY much looking forward to our little caravan/camping trip next week. Although hadn't quite realised that we are set to leave just as the opening ceremony of the olympics will be on. Hoping to find a place to watch it .....wishful thinking ? Maybe.


4. We have got olympic fever in our house, all we need are some tickets, and some energy and money to go to London and it would be complete. But we shall watch from our longue/caravan, and cheer on our sportsmen and women - COME ON TEAM GB !

5. This week some of our best friends are leaving to relocate to another city. We have known them for about 12 years, and they were partly how my husband and I met.....aaaaaaahhhhhh. I had a little cry last night at the fact that this chapter of living in the same city is over. Yes we'll always be friends, and there will be visiting and holidays together, but it will be different. Good friends like that are hard to come by and take years of time, love and sometimes effort to build. They will leave a big gap in our weekly lives :(


6.  I watched the documentary about Amy Winehouse last night, It was from the perspective of an intimate gig she did in Ireland. It was fascinating, and made me realise even more how talented she was. There was an interview with her in 2006, I guess before the disease which is addiction took over her life, she was so very passionate about music, some of her Jazz heroes are women I too admire and love to here sing. Check out this amazing lady and her stunning voice. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but there is something about a woman with such a strong, and soulful voice that I can't help but sit back, be quiet and listen to.






I was never a fan of the song 'rehab', but really do love the album 'back to black' and would have loved to see how Amy's musical contribution to this country would have progressed had she still been with us.


7. There really is some crap on TV isn't there. Just saying.




8. Do you ever wonder how deodorant came to be invented ? I presume people had smelt bad for years and years and body odour was just part of life. At what point did someone decide it was unacceptable and start the long string of events which lead to us using deodorant ? Not something I spend huge amounts of time pondering. But it is weird how many things we all just do and use, which someone somewhere must have perpetuated.




9. We had a tasty cheesey chickeny pastay thing for tea last night, with enough for tea or lunch today. Only went and left it out all night, on a warm summers evening. Boooooooo had to put it in the bin. I hate it when that happens. On a usual temperature day in this country I'd just heat it thoroughly and eat it anyway, but the lovely warmth has arrived and with it must come more strict food standards ! 




10. Can't think of a ten..... sorry. 

A day to remember.

Ok, so today I have more glamour to report than the usual tales of either tiredness or toddler times. This past week end I left on the 14.22 from liverpool, to spend the weekend with my sister and Mum at a SPA... yes, a spa, you heard me correctly. There was soft music, jacuzzis, lots of places just to lie around and general poshness in every corner ! We went here, to Eden hall. A really top quality day spa nestled in the Nottinghamshire countryside. I was expecting it to be lovely, but it really did exceed my expectations. It's rare for me to go out for a full day, I am like a one year old who needs a good chuck of rest if not sleep in the middle of the day, so most day trips are usually scaled down to an afternoon. But this my friends, was just the place for one with limited energy, there was a whole room where people just went to sleep !! I fitted right in :) 


The food was exquisite, I'm not massively accustomed to fine dining. Like most of us, if we do eat out- Pizza express or ZiZi is usually as posh as it gets. But the food was like the sort you see on the telly ! It was a little odd being waited on and eating such beautiful cuisine in an oak panelled room, all whilst wearing a dressing gown with a slightly damp swimming costume underneath, but it kind of added to the wonder of it all.


We managed to go on the first sunny day our great british isle has seen for a long time, so sitting in the hot tub sunken into the deck overlooking the beautiful garden, with sunshine gently warming the skin, well, it was bliss really.


And I got to go with my Mum and Sister, thankfully there were quite a lot of people there, so our hilarity and clumsiness went largely unnoticed. We laughed, talked, talked some more, relaxed, had a manicure and ate tasty morsels all day long. What could be better........


................Certainly a day to remember. ( and unless they suddenly half the price of a day there, one we won't be repeating for a while ! )

Safari times

The end of term is finally here, hooray, Daddy's home. The last ten days have been a bit of a slog, just been very tired and I've not had as much help as normal, which has made the end of term all the more welcome.


My brother was visiting this week, well actually he still is. As I sit in bed and type this, he is hurtling down a slide in an indoor play centre with our little tyke. Wonderful.


We took a brief trip to the safari park near our house yesterday. The beauty of having a season ticket it you can just pop in without having to spend ages there to 'get your money's worth' !


Little tyke loves the safari drive now, she has always been interested but is now at the age where she knows the names of the animals, and what she likes to look out for. Rhinos seem to be a hit, and the deer this time too. Of course sitting in the front on my knee while we go round is also part of the fun.

Check out the size of this guy, you wouldn't want him to charge at your car let me tell you.

Of course the obligatory ride on the merry go round had to take place. Uncle Sam had the pleasure of riding shot gun this time......

And the lesser spotted Uncle Sam, a rare sighting at the safari park, he only shows his face on special occasions. He's a handsome fella.

And can you see the evidence of clear skies, yes my friends, it was WARM and SUNNY yesterday for about 5 hours - *breathes sighs of relief and joy*

Two....on Tuesday

Just a brief entry this week. Not feeling on top form, so just popping in to say a quick 'hi' !

1. This was the view from our sitting room window at some point at the weekend. Stunning sky..........

When looking at a friends blog earlier, I realised that she too has captured the sky on what must have been the same night. It's a far better photo, so hop over to apartyofseven to see just how lovely it was ! And with probably a few less masts and streetlights in the picture ;)




2. We have had a steady stream of my family visiting us at weekends for the past month. It's been wonderful, and today is our last installment with my youngest brother Sam. My sister was here last weekend, need to get taking some photos really to remember these times with. Been a bit 'slow to snap' over last few weeks. I am really fortunate to have 2 wonderful brothers and 1 brilliant sister, I hope when my little tyke gets a sibling one day, they get on as well as we do. ( maybe us living in different parts of the country is a help ?! )




Hoping you have had a good week ? If you write a blog and do a '10' on tuesday, be sure to post the link in the comments below !

Water

I did have something vaguely interesting to write today, and now I've come to write I realise that I have forgotten that interesting things exist, and can only think about how much it's raining. 


I was going to post a photo of the rain, but instead I'm posting this......

We have had some sunny days friends, and they were nice. I'm sure there will be a few more before October hits us..........SURE I tell you. 

See it snap it love it

Bit late in the day with this week's entry.....things have been a little crazy in Deane land lately.

This week's theme is 'Nature' I have SO many photos on this topic I could pick, most of them fairly average. But the thing about taking photos of nature, is even if it's a pants photo, the subject always speaks for itself and makes up for a bit of poor photography ! 


So I choose this photo.........

I took this after a little trip to buy some new flowers for the garden, we were just on our way home and Little tyke's wellies were on the roof of the car after a day playing in 'nature' by a river. A happy day, I am at my happiest when there has been fun outside with pretty flowers and family by the river.

Ten on Thursday

Ten 

on Thursday.

Better late than never.

1. Yesterday we gave our little cherub of loveliness some time with her nappy off in the garden, she proceeded to wee like a tom cat marking her territory, in various places around the garden. This adds to my evidence that toddlers are gross.


2. Had a bit of sunshine yesterday so that was nice.......but more would be welcome.


3. We took a trip to Farmer Teds yesterday with some lovely friends of ours. After taking out a small mortgage to pay to get in, I found that my attire of wellies and a raincoat was a bit out of place when it was infact sunny, and there were concrete paths everywhere ! ( oooops) To be honest it was probably a bit of an ambitious trip for me and I'm definitely paying for it today, but we had fun, and sometimes you've gotta give these things a go ey. Little tyke had a meltdown in the animal sheds cos she just wanted to go on the slide and swings - should've just gone to the park maybe???? A helicopter did fly overhead though, which was of course the highlight of her day !

4. The 'Thomas the tank engine love' is snowballing in our house............we have succumbed to the more modern version of Thomas from time to time (still not as good as Ringo though ) This week Diesel is the favourite.........? The mind boggles at what goes through that little head of hers.


5. I really like listening to the Jo Whiley show on radio 2, I often have a little snooze towards the end of it, and then wake up when there is this weird organ music playing. It's the show that comes on after Jo's show has ended, but lets just say it's a surreal experience when you went to sleep to some Imelda May and wake up to some crazy guy playing a fairground organ.


6. Playdough creation........

7. The flowers are coming out to play.........

8. I have had my eye on a lovely dress from Boden for Willow's birthday, it's gone in the sale - good. They don't have any of her size left - bad :( 


9. Summer holidays are only 4 days away, then 6 weeks of having Daddy at home will be upon us. Have I mentioned before how great my husband is ? Well he is, and I can't wait for him to be home with his big strong man arms to hand....... He even makes me cups of tea. It's the simple things ey ;)  


10. I was pondering this week how blessed I am to have so many wonderful people help me out to make life more pleasant. So for that and them, I am thankful.

A few questions

...I'm not an avid watcher of wimbledon, but do like to dip my toe in the tennis pond now and again. This year I have watched more than normal, and thus, have a few questions.............


1. How do those fairly senior looking ladies and gentlemen standing at the back manage to bend their knees to look at the lines for SO long. Are there special 'watching the lines ' exercises one does for such a task ?


2. The noises they make - why ?


3. Where do the balls go after the tournament is over ? I hope they don't get thrown out, that would be bad.


4. Is there anyway we could get the players to wear different colours, so you can tell who's who on the ariel type shots ? Please, it would make viewing easier.


5. The scoring system, where do I start......15 - 30, yes that step makes sense, but then we go to 40, now my maths tells me we should hop to either 45, or 60. But certainly not 40.........I just don't get it. And then, there's Deuce, that is just silly.


6. Why can't everyone who plays tennis have a ball girl or boy to help ? I distinctly remember my teenage attempts at playing being very arduous at the amount of time spent chasing balls. ( yes I have just re read this and realised how it sounded....the truth about my teenage years is quite different )


Answers on a postcard please.....

Ten on Tuesday

Haven't been around since last tuesday it would seem. Sorry about that, or maybe not, the last thing you want to do is read a blog post that someone felt the 'ought' to write. So yes, not sure what this week's ten will consist of, it's been one of those weeks where I can't recall what we've done. But I shall start and see where we end up......

1. During her lunchtime sleep today ( please Lord may she still be doing this right until she starts school....) The little tyke was telling her teddy off, it was really sweet. Maybe reflects a bit of the stage she's at right now. I clearly say she's done something naughty more than I realise. And as for her instructions to 'sit down there Peppa', that's another story.


2. So yes I am going to talk about it, RAIN. I am usually very complementary about british weather as I don't think it's always as bad as people make out. But this past month, how crap can it get ?  I like the heat, but can manage without it, but the rain......pah.


3. Is it just me, or does anyone else find that as soon as they leave the house they just kind of haemorrhage money. I am fairly careful with money, but at present it just seems to fly out of our bank like it's going out of fashion.


4. Maybe this next point is partly to blame for the above problem. As a lady with larger feet than average ( size 9 ) sometimes it can be tricky to get shoes that you like. So when I see a pair reduced that I like, AND in my size, I tend to just buy them without too much regard for the bank balance.  This week I got a pair of black heals for £7 reduced from £38....not bad at all.

5. We went on a trip to a nearby park recently with some friends. My little Tyke is fairly attached to her kids, and just captured this little moment of them together.......

6. Turns our there are more tasty Gluten free products that I'd realised. You can even buy gluten free fish fingers, which I did, then realised that I haven't actually eaten a fish finger for years. It's weird what you do when on a restrictive diet !


7. My lovely Husbando took some kids from his school away on an outdoor type 2 day trip last week, I was a little jealous as I quite like things like that. But when he told me that some of the kids were up in the night vomitting everywhere, including over each other, have to say, the jealousy faded.

8. I have been reading a Blog about using the manual setting on dslr, really enjoying trying to learn a few new tricks. Has made me want to buy a new lens that is better at close ups though. Some great little tutorials have really helped out my very basic knowledge of what my camera does.




9. The little carseat is never redundant in our house, believe it or not she can still squeeze in it. A great place for a little snack !

10. Playdough is popular in most houses with small kids, and ours is no exception. A great post breakfast activity. ( a quick tip, crayola also make a play dough, but it's no good at all- stick with the 'real' stuff) 

I give you a 'fish' 

I think a few of the ten on tuesday gang have dwindles slightly, but think you'll find a great 10 over on 
Lucy's blog and maybe Sarah's