Now you see, this is what happens to me with diaries..

It ends up that I haven't written for nine days and each of those days I have actually been on line, so why not I don't know.

Have had a good nine days - lost six pounds altogether, had a fabulous night out at OCA with Lisa, Sarah and Collette, really enjoyed that. Good if wierd week at school, Y2 child attacked a supply teacher yesterday and has been temporarily excluded, which was really strange.

Mum is here with Tony, Mike and I are going out to OCA (I should get a discount) with Gary and Kath tonight, so Alfie is in his element. I want him to see a lot of mum whilst he's still an only grandchild, I think he might resent sharing his beloved Mamar with someone else.

We might be going to Edinburgh to meet up with Mike's friends Liz and Edgar from the USA in a fortnight - we don't hve long to organise it but it would be really good if we could, I've never been and I love it!

A gifted teacher

Is what the woman from the LEA called me today. To say that I am proud would be an understatement, everything went so well. For my feedback, she basically said that she had no targets or anything to give me, and that everything went really really well. She said the above to the Head and told the Deputy Head that if I wasn't on a permenant contract I ought to be. The kids were great, I have to say that I was pretty great myself and very calm, although sweaty and anxious inside and feel as though a weight has been lifted.

I am hoping that I will have a great weight loss tomorrow, it's (hopefully) looking good for it.

We got the nursery funding for this term! Yay!

Going out for dinner with Sarah, Colette and Lisa tomorrow at OCA, which I am really looking forward to, muyst have a salad or similar though.

Tired but can't seem to stop watching Celeb BB

Alfie is being particularly fab at the moment, we got some photos developed and there are some wonderful ones of him. I have to say, I look rather good on them all too, I can really see my loss, even since Alfie's birthday which are the last ones we had developed, mid I have lost a stone and a half since then!

Nearly the weekend, I will pay Mike good money to let me have a lie in one of the mornings...

I must be a real blogger

“...because I have stolen this from another blogger: kara, who stole it from poppy, both of whom are friends of mine, neither of whom probably know that I read their blogs

My Stuff (based on a recurring Vanity Fair feature):
Grooming Products
Shampoo: John Frieda Brilliant Brunette shampoo and conditioner in Espresso to chocolate
Moisturizer: at the moment, just Simple
Cologne: Clinique's Aromatic Elyxir
Razor : Gilette Venus
Toothpaste: Macleans whitening
Electronics
Cell phone : a two year old Nokia that plays the SATC theme tune
Computer : an ACER laptop that comes free with my job

My Godson is here!

James Robert George Walton was born this morning at 7.30am, weighing 7lb 80z and he is absolutely gorgeous, I went to see him tonight at the hospital. When I peeped around the corner she was just looking at him in his crib and then she looked at me and we both burst into tears and had a good cry and a hug, it was lovely. She seems to have done really well, quite an easy birth although she had to have a ventouse delivery in the end. She did say "never again" though. I'm not sure how long she'll be in though, she wants to get breast feeding established.

He made me feel very broody.

Good day at school, I explained to the children that I was waiting for a baby to be born, and they were really excited, I showed them that I was putting my mobile on the table and that I wouldn't normally do that, and then about five minutes later the text message thing went off and all 25 of them gasped and couldn't wait for me to tell them the news, it was one of my lovely moments.

Had a practice of my lesson for Thursday and I have decided to do something simpler. The lesson went well and I enjoyed it, they did too, but there is too much potential for mistakes and I really want to impress. Numeracy it is then.

First day of the skip today and we have chucked out loads of stuff, which as MIke says is cathartic. We sensibly stopped mid afternoon, so tackling the rest tomorrow.

One of the things that I found was my diary from my first year at Uni - 1991. It was quite bizarre to read really, it made me remember what a great life I had then, I really think it was one of the happiest years of my life, carefree and enjoying myself, despite being in love with my friend Gav, who I am still friends with today. In fact reading between the lines of my diary I wonder if he maybe had feelings for me too? I felt sad for the friends that I have lost touch with from those times, but then I suppose we wouldn't have lost touch if we weren't supposed to. I still have quite a few mates from Uni - Nicola, Gail, Gav, Michaela, Caz, H who I am in regular contact with and a few others who I see sporadically. What a great time though. Sigh.

No sign of Nic's baby yet.
Stayed the same on Friday so sticking to 24 points a day, no crap and going to the gym twice to see if I can kick start my loss.

The LEA are coming ot watch me teach on Thursday. Ugh...

My bloody car is going to cost a fortune and it will be sometime next week when I get it back, I can't believe it!!!!

I am really hoping that I am going to have lost that 2lb that I have put on, but I would like to have lost more really. I have been pretty good really, if I stick to 20 pts today (I might not make it) then i will be dead on for the week, I've drunk my water and been swimming (once). If I eat all my points today (24) then I'll only be 3.5 over for the week, so even that isn't bad. But then, will Christmas and holiday catch up with me??

Skip coming this weekend so I hope that we will get a load of crap cleared out and be all nice and tidy for next week. The LEA are coming into observe me teach on Thursday next week, which I am not looking forward to. I have decided to teach a music/literacy lesson that is going to be a bit tricky, I hope that I have not bitten off more than I can chew!

Blah...

Feeling better. A still waking up too early, not getting up just lying in bed singing or telling himself a story...loudly.

Sister grumpy with me on the phone yesterday, but she says it is just tiredness.

New TV doesn't work and M's laptop has packed up. At least with my car that is our three now.

Had a lovely swim with Sarah tonight, I enjoyed it. Hoping for a good loss on Friday, really hoping.

I'm so boring!

Sore sore throat

When will I be well again? I seem to have been snotty, then earachey and catarhh-y and now sore throat-y for weeks! Not poorly enough to be off nd in bed mind, just enough to feel grumpy and under the weather...

Having a nice quiet weekend, beginning our sorting and decluttering, which is great for both of us, we are getting a skip next weekend or the weekend after to chuck it all away.

Up far too early with A, who appears to have forgotten how to lie in - although yesterday Mike got up with him and let me lie in until 10am which was bliss, and he did all the ironing, I think I have the perfect husband (nearly). Clare and Martin are dropping in later this morning so I will have to get him up earlier than that, although I will give him a bit of a lie in.

No baby news from Nic, spoke to her last night, I wonder if it will be this week? Clare is only four weeks to go too, but spoke to her briefly on Wed and she sounds a bit low, they have nothing prepared for the baby at all, which worries me, I got them three babygrows and three vests from ASDA yesterday to give them today. She said that they were going for a big shop on Monday so I hope that they get sorted! I was hyper organised when I had A so that kind of thing is anathema to me. I panicked that I wouldn't have everything I needed!

Can't wait for these babies to start to arrive (especially my niece/nephew in August/September!)

Ugh

My car is completely f****** - it has to go for a scan on Monday - a scan! It's not like a person! God only knows how much it is going to cost.

Really tired today, probably shouldn't have stayed up to watch Desperate Housewives, although it was really good - even Mike enjoyed it! I can't wait until next week's episode! I even liked Teri Hatcher in it.

Left messages for Nicola and Clare - neither of whom were there... I wonder if as we speak one or both of them are pushing???

Spoke to Viv too, she seems fine, a little nauseous, but OK.

Thought about baby names in church this morning...

Maybe Baby - on the eve of the Epiphany...

Had a really great day at school today. Every lesson I taught went well, and you can't ask for more than that. When I look back on the years I spent in a job that caused me so much stress and anxiety I can't believe that I stayed so long... I truly feel like I wasted a lot of my 20s being stressed and twisted up in my job. I will never do that again, it just isn't worth it.

I'm going to watch Desperate Housewives later as it is about time I got into a phenomenon at the opening of the gate - I was a late arrival to Friends, Big Brother, SATC, so I am determined to at least watch this one from the start.

Christmas deccos came down today - always a sad time but a refreshing time - the house looks tidy and spacious which is nice. Packing them up was a little poignant - can't help thinking what will have changed in life by the time that they come out of thier packaging again? Viv's baby will be here, I could even be pg myself...

No, that won't be the case, after all he's only said he'll think about it although that is a MAJOR breakthrough, and it won't be this year. We need a couple of years with no nursery fees and also I will be earning a lot more then too. Maybe we would be able to have some kind of different arrangement for childcare - a childminder or something, although I do prefer nursery as more formal and structured. Mike may be working more at home by then of course. Anyway, pipe dreams at the moment. I might not even manage to get pregnant again.

What a day!

Car completely conked out this morning which I didn't need on my first day back at work!

However, M has agreed to think about having another baby, which is a miracle!

First day back was ok, as I am full of a head cold, and feel a bit deaf, I wasn't myself (this was commented on) but not too bad!

Last day of the holidays

and I have had to spend most of it working, but feeling better about the oncoming term as I am now more organised. Hope I don't find it too hard to get back into the swing of things tomorrow, and that the kids are not too hyper!

Had a long chat with Nic this afternoon - she is excited/terrified about the baby, in theory only ten days to go. She does want me to go to the hospital after the baby is born, which is great, you never quite know whether you should be intruding or not. I cannot believe how many people are having a baby this year:

January: Nicola - best friend
February: Clare - oldest friend; Nerys - friend from PGCE; Jill - friend from NHS
April: Gail - close friend; H - friend from University; Lowri - sister in law; Lucy - NCT friend; Emma- husband's friend
July: Michaela - university friend; Debi - close friend
August: Viv - sister

Today we bought two boy presents and a girl present in Tesco today in advance of baby births - not stuff for the really close people - God knows what I'll get them for baby gifts!

You know how something can be a good idea sometimes

...and then in reality you suddenly realise that you simply don't have a clue what you're doing. In this case, my new years resolution to begin a Blog, fairly safe in the knowledge that I would never be technically capable of it, and guess what - I can do it. And now I am here. After spending FOREVER deciding on a name for it and even the site to host it at, which I will probably hate later on but who is inspired at this time of night??

Is this working?

Wow it works

I seem to have managed it! Yay me!

Okay, well time to start my blog!

My New Years' Resolutions:

1. Start (and maintain) a blog - I have always loved diaries but never find the time to write them - I am online everyday on my laptop however, so I am thinking that that would be easier.

2. Lose another stone and a half (21lbs if you are overseas) - so far I have lost 65 lbs (45 lbs with Weightwatchers, although I am doing it alone, i.e., not going to class or paying on line which makes me happy as I am not paying some great big money making corporation for the priviledge)

3. Iron out some of the problems in my marriage, of which more at another time - on the whole it's a great marriage, but there are some sticky parts.

4. Go back to the gym two/three times a week - I was doing well, but it had waned to once a week at the end of 2004.

5. To be the best teacher I can be - that's my job, I am new to the career, having moved from Healthcare in 2002.


In addition to the above I have the ongoing being a good mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend; trying to see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil especially at work, and to be as good a person as I can - they are not resolutions, but things I am trying to do all the time.


Got home from holiday at centreparcs today - had a great time, really good family holiday. The fabulous news is that my sister is pregnant, very early days but fantastic news!!!!! Really looking forward to being an auntie (twice this year as M's sister is also pregnant). It has given me lots to think about though as I feel incredibly jealous - I would love to have another one, despite knowing all the reasons not to. M is adamant that we're not, and we have had some serious conversations about it this week. I have no idea if he will change his mind.

I need to go and donate cash for the Tsunami disaster - just horrendous, horrendous,,,