31/05/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

Well sorry to be boring but we have had another nice weekend and another exciting development in the world of bumpiness!

First the weekend - Bryan spent it with his cousin Ray and their mate Gary.  I believe drink, pizza, xbox/PS3 and Star Trek movie were the main ingredients of the weekend.  Meanwhile I took the excuse to nip down and visit my parents’ for a wee trip.  My photos from the trip are available on Flickr, just click here.  My favourite picture is probably this one of a red squirrel:

I spent the weekend watching him/her and the family eating nuts, running across the garden and playing together.  A couple of times I tried to creep up for a photo but gravel and heavy pregnant footsteps aren’t a good cover!

I must admit to watching Britain’s Got Talent this past week, and made Dad have it on in the kitchen whilst he tried to do Saturday night’s guests as I wanted to see the final.  I was supporting Julian Smith so was a bit disappointed he only got third but hopefully we’ll see more of him anyway.  I did think the winners were absolutely amazing as well.  Mum was supporting the Scottish lady so was disappointed she only got second but I didn’t see that refusing to smile was much of a talent….each to their own!!

I got two lovely surprises when I got to my parent’s place - neither of them could wait to give me…presents!!  Mum had found a lovely baby sleeping bag with “Rufus the Bear” on it, rather fitting as our first Gordon Setter was called Rufus!  And then they had seen in a shop a lovely baby swing, which was something I’d mentioned wanting a baby seat or swing.  Mum said it was too early to buy stuff for bump but Dad insisted that it might not be there nearer the time so they had to get it right then!  He was so proud of it and had it set up swinging and singing with a teddy in the seat to demonstrate when I walked in!!!  Think they might be excited about their first (and let’s face it, I’m an only child and not likely to do this again) and probably only grandchild!

And lastly, what was the exciting development?  Well I could say that my parents now have wi-fi in the hotel so I was able to Twitter from the garden, the kitchen and my room quite merrily!

But actually, the truth is, that this morning the baby moved, and I was able to watch it!!  Yes my bump was wiggling!  It was quite a bizarre experience but I guess I’ll need to get used to it now its started!!  All references to Aliens will be happily ignored so dinna start!!

Tonight I went into town and met my friends Jenny and Rob for dinner and a catch up at Pizza Express.  Bryan was invited but had eaten enough pizza, and not had enough sleep, over the weekend so took a rain check!

Hope you’re enjoying the sun too, and not being as silly as me - walk on Aberdeen beach on Friday and got sunburnt bit under chin, drive to Trossachs and back and got one sun burnt arm.  Oops!

Posted in Baby!, Animals, Music, Trips out | 1 Comment »

03/05/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

April was a busy month, went to the theatre to do reviews three times for a start.  Saw Measure for Measure which was quite hard viewing as I’m not used to listening to Shakespearean speak.  It was also really long and pregnant ladies like me do need to pee occassionally so I was wiggling lots by the end!  Then there was the bizarre Interiors.  Lastly was After Mary Rose, will add the link once my review goes online!  Added 4th May.

I was out at the theatre 4 days in a row this week, once for Mary Rose and 3 times for the wonderful Carmen and the bizarre but captivating Lying, Cheating, Stealing by the Scottish Ballet.  This time I was able to watch the take a class as well, quite interesting to see the dancers just being themselves - and to see them doing the splits - just to stretch themselves!!  The show was amazing, I loved the costumes and the dancing.  LCS had music by Icebreaker which gave fantastic opportunities for the dancers to show off their choreography to the full but I don’t think I could have sat and listened to the album! 

As I was helping out I got to go back stage and see some of the gorgeous costumes close up.  One night I left at the same time as one of the amazing dancers as well, William Smith, and got all star struck and tongue tied.  Just like a teenager with a crush!  On Saturday between watching them take a class and do the Matinee I sat in the sun in the park and saw quite a lot of them coming and going which thrilled me, yes I’m easily pleased.  Was quite bemused to only see them eating or drinking two things - coffee and cigerettes!  Hmm, what happened to “my body is a temple”?!

As a contrast to my theatre trips this week I also went to the cinema with my friend Gill and her two children.  We went to a preview of Coraline which was really good!  Wee four year old Daniel summed it up at the end by saying “it was very good but I don’t want the DVD as it was Scary!”  I loved it lots and probably will need the DVD although not sure if it’ll be as good at home when you don’t have the amazing 3D aspect!

Other than being cultural, I have been slowly growing.  Yes baby bump has now appeared, as I did previously blog.  I will be 18 weeks tomorrow and it started to appear 2 weeks ago.  I thought I would be able to wear my old size 14 clothes for quite some time but apparently not!  So have done some shopping and now have enough maternity clothes to keep me covered!  this week coming I have my second mid wife appointment and my first ante natal class so it will be quite exciting!  I have already learnt one thing - its antE natal, not antI natal.  I sent out a communication to all the members at work with the wrong spelling.  Oops.  For those who don’t know anti is against something and ante is before something.  Once pregnant you should not be anti natal.  Unfortunately spelling has never been my strength!

I am now trying to calm my social life down ready for the baby coming and stuff.  May’s diary is a lot less hectic than April’s, and I did lots of fun stuff in April so I have lots of happy memories to keep me going!  I had my birthday; Bryan and I’s trip to Edinburgh; the theatre trips; a visit from our friend Gary and the Robertsons when I got to change my first nappy; some meals out with different friends; a visit from my Aunt Kathleen, Uncle John and cousin Claire to see the house; Claire stayed over and we walked round Perwinnes Moss, played Wii, had pizza, went to the ice cream van, and had lunch and shopping trip to town!  I did my last waitressing job until baby’s old enough to leave, I was quite useless as I got tired far too quickly, I just have no energy anymore so won’t be working again.  Will miss the teamwork of it though, the caterers I work for have a lovely team, so I will look forward to going back next year sometime!

I had a weekend with my lovely pal Jennie, down in Edinburgh.  We did a lot of chatting and sofa worshipping.  Also some shopping, we met our friend Lorna in Loopy Lorna’s Tea House (no relation!) which had the scariest toilet but very yummy cakes!  Photos on my flickr page, along with some other photos from the weekend!  There’s also photos of Jennie and I’s attempt to make some easter bunnies, the kit was for age 5+ but I think there must have been an upper age limit as we didn’t seem to do very well…  Was exhausted by the time I got the train home, even though we tried not to do anything that would tire me out!  Silly lack of energy!  When I got home I had to make lots of fuss of the cats as it was actually Benson and George’s 2nd birthday that Sunday - my wee boys are growing up!

So that’s me up to date!  Hope all is well with you and yours too!

Posted in Baby!, Theatre reviews, Animals, body issues | 1 Comment »

11/04/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

Finally, Bryan and I got a week of work, well I did, he could still only get 3 days bless him!  We went down to Edinburgh for the 3 days.  To make up for not getting our wedding anniversary night in a nice hotel I booked us into The Scotsman Hotel, which was lovely.  The staff were so caring and attentive, the room was lovely, and breakfast was.. well as I was told on check in - award winning!  I fell in love with the bathroom, it had a huge bath with shower attachment if you needed it plus a separate shower cubicle with multi jets (although I wasn’t sure mini bump would like those).  There was even a night light under the sink so you could see the doorway in the dark and then it was light enough in the bathroom to have a pee or whatever without turning the main light on and waking yourself up - genius!

Whilst in Edinburgh we managed to meet up with a different lady each night for dinner - I’m so kind to Bryan!  Hee hee!  We saw Jennie the first night at the Albannach which is a pub Bryan and I used to eat in quite regularly.  Then we met Lyndsay the next night at Grape, she’s now back in the country planning her wedding after 2 years in Australia with Kieron so we had a lot of catching up to do! 

We also managed to visit some shops and go to the cinema and see The Boat That Rocked - which I totally loved!  Ooh and I only took one photo our whole trip which was this cute wee guy…

On the Wednesday morning I slipped out of the room for an early morning swim in the hotel pool, which apparently isn’t a good idea for a dyhyrated pregnant lady.  I nearly passed out at breakfast and terrified one of the waitresses, but they gave me iced water and fussed over me lots, bless them!  Poor Bryan had to drive all the way home though with me watching for laybys in case I needed him to stop in a hurry!

So my last couple of days were spent on the sofa watching daytime tv and catching up with emails and paperwork with my feet up!  I did go to the theatre on Thursday night to see The Idiot Colony with Eilidh which was really good.  I also entered Benson in a cute cat comp so please go and vote for him now!!

Today we have friends coming for lunch so I’d better get washed, dressed and shopping! 

Happy Easter one and all!

Posted in Baby!, Theatre reviews, Animals, Trips out | 1 Comment »

15/03/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

Ok so I’ve been a bit blogless recently, I’m sorry!  Benson seems to be well on the mend although he still is a bit patchy on the fur front bless him.  He’s a lot happier since the operation and seems to have more energy again so that’s all great.  Now he’s off all the medication he doesn’t take up quite as much of our time either although he still needs lots of love and attention obviously, and its hard not to give it when he’s so darn cute!  Whilst he was away for his various hospital visits George has discovered the glory of cuddles as well, although he’s still quite shy about it and he jumps off when Benson comes in the room but it is nice to get lap warming sessions from each of them!

As my Benson worrying decreased it was replaced with my Mum.  She has been having issues for a while, it was thought to be her knee but was then realised to be her hip, which needed replaced.  She finally got the operation and it went really well, and she’s been making fab progress ever since!  It is a bit weird when your Mum phones you sounding all proud of herself because “I had a shower” or “I walked down one drive, along and up the other drive” but these are all steps along the road to recovery and they are each great achievements!  I went to visit last weekend once she was out of the hospital and she was “kind enough” to show me her staples, luckily I was allowed to leave the room on the Sunday when the district nurse came to remove them!  Although apparently it tickled more than hurt so I think that was quite a relief!

Anyway between the four of us, my parents and hubby and I haven’t enjoyed 2009 that much.  My parent’s gorgeous dog Budd was killed on the road, our house got broken into, Benson got so ill with cystitis we had to have his penis removed and then Mum had her hip operation.  We’re hoping that things can start looking up now and are trying to be optimistic about the future.

I have managed to get to my target weight and (far more importantly!) we have Ray and Nicole’s lovely news of the birth of their son Lucas to be happy about.  So here’s hoping I’ll be happier and more bloggy in the coming months!!  I never think its worth blogging/sharing when you’re all gloomy and dull, so if you haven’t had an email or a phone call for a while - that’s the reason!

So what else have we been up to?  Hmm not a lot really, I’ve been to the theatre doing reviews again.  I really enjoyed the romantic Brief Encounter but wasn’t quite so keen on Medea - so depressing!

Yesterday I spent most of the day with Nicole and the gorgeous Lucas who is eight weeks already!  He was a wee sweetie and slept a lot of the time so we had a jolly good girly gossip which was lovely!  Today Lydia is meeting us for a walk on the beach, it was a lovely sunny day yesterday when she suggested it but we could do with the exercise and it’ll be good to catch up with her so we’re still going!

Well I think that’s pretty up to date with my life.  Will try not to leave it so long before my next post!

Posted in Theatre reviews, Baby!, Animals, body issues, Trips out, General waffle | 1 Comment »

16/02/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

Ok, so on Saturday we drove to Edinburgh and brought Benson home from the vet hospital.  He is now a bit Poodle of Frankenstein.  That is he has various shaved bits, like a poodle, and a vicious looking scar, like Fr-yeah you get where I’m going huh?!  Unfortunately he also smells of the vets so his brother isn’t too welcoming, even after a seperation period where Benson got lots of cuddles to rub my scent on him!  Either that or George is scared of the cone helmet thing Benson has to wear to stop him licking his stitches.

Anyway he seems pleased to be home, is eating and peeing as he should do so fingers crossed he will heal up nicely and be much better now.  Please?  Here’s hoping for his sake, oh and our bank balance sake as we’ve used all the “credit” from our pet insurance now.  Yikes!

There is life other than that which revolves around Benson, pills and pees.  I did go to the theatre last week to see The Miser and wrote a review about it.

Also in one of our wedding anniversary cards my Aunt had included some photocopies of some old family photos, one of which is my Great Great Granmother wearing the brooch that was stolen from our house last month.  I love old photos so thought I would share them with you.  My Grandad is the gentleman with the donkey, I love and miss him tons.

Old family photos

Posted in Theatre reviews, Animals, General waffle | 1 Comment »

13/02/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

This morning I had a call from the vets, Benson is progressing very well, his wound looks good and he seems to be really enjoying peeing and doing it lots!!  We’ve arranged to collect him at noon tomorrow - hurrah!!

So I get to spend Valentine’s Day evening with my 3 boys on the sofa, all being well!  Bit different than the wedding anniversary treat we had booked for ourselves of D,B&B at a lovely looking hotel in town but after this week, it will just be nice for the 4 of us to be together to be honest.

Have a good weekend and happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted in Animals, General waffle | 1 Comment »

12/02/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

I’ve not blogged for ages, sorry but things haven’t been great.  Our house was burgled, our cat has been ill, we’ve been struggling through snow etc etc.  Am going to try and get back on track now though.  But first, must report on poorly pussy! 

Ok, so story so far, Benson has been ill on and off from November with cystitis.  When he was at the vets over Christmas it was announced to be chronic cystitis.  He appeared to be doing well after that but he took bad again following the weekend.  We took him to the vets on Monday night and they couldn’t get the cathether in to clear the blockage this time.

So we ended up rushing him to the Dick Vets in Edinburgh on Tuesday afternoon. 

They tried a couple of things to help him but in the end they had to take the horrible big step of removing his penis as this is the bit that keeps blocking.

Anyway this morning’s report is that he is doing really well, wound looks perfect.  He peed by himself 3 times during night.  He has been licking the wound so has a collar on but has just been having cuddles in kennel and is comfortable and happy.  So they will start him on antibotics today and see how he goes.  Only bad thing is he hasn’t eaten but they aren’t worried about that considering what they did to him yesterday, they will be tempting him with lovely things today.  He should ready to come home Saturday as things stand at the moment.

There can be complications with the surgery but when the surgeon called yesterday after doing the surgery she was very pleased with how it went so hopefully he will heal up well.

He will still have cystitis and need medication for the rest of his life probably but it should be more manageable now.

Thanks so much to those of you who have supported us through the last few days, it hasn’t been easy but we’re now able to look forward to getting our boy home again.

Posted in Animals | 1 Comment »

03/01/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

Well, many of us spend our lives looking at calendars, or deciding which celebrity or cute beastie we want to look at for the next year.  Few of us get the chance to actually be on one of those calendars.  Today I am happy to announce that I have made that amazing leap and can now be enjoyed for 31 days in December 2009 by whoever may wish to.  And don’t worry - my eyes won’t follow you round the room.  Nay!  For my face ain’t on it - just my BUM!  My Dad will be so proud, or something.  Do not worry, I have not turned to seedy means to make money to cover Benson’s vet bills (although that may come soon!), nope I am just guilty of having fun online.  And yes, that is my work’s library in the photo - but it was lunchtime, honest guv!  Anyway if you want to hear the full story of how this happened you need to venture to Kevin Yezbick’s blog, which is also where you can download it if you want to share in the joy!

Whilst I’m here I will update on Benson as he was at the vet’s for a check up this morning.  He seems to be doing ok so we now start to reduce the amount of medication he’s taking.  If this goes well we reduce further and further, if not we have to get him back to the vets and increase it again, or try the one last drug that might help.  If non of that works there is one more option but its a bit severe and we hope not to have to go down that path.  Basically he has chronic cystitis and there’s no cure for that.  It’s not as bad for girl cats as it is for boy cats as it can cause the willy to block (this has already happened twice to Benson) and then they need a cathether to empty it out and it can be dangerous as if it doesn’t get treated quickly it can lead to renal failure - ie death - ie very undesirable.  So the severe option is to give him a sex change - cut off his willy and then it can’t block.  Ouch.  There are other complications so we’re hoping not to need this but it is something to bear in mind, bless him.  We were thinking we might consider letting him outside to see if that helps but from what the vet says it won’t help the condition much, whilst adding in the possibility of being hit by a car or being out when he gets blocked and us not knowing and so he doesn’t get treated. 

So at the moment we just have to keep medicating him and see how he gets on.  Will keep you posted but in the meantime you might like to see the gorgeous new photos Bryan has taken with the lovely new camera lens he got for Christmas.  Newest ones are at the bottom.

Posted in Animals, body issues, General waffle | 1 Comment »

01/01/2009 by stupidgirl_no1.

Happy New Year!  Hurrah, 2008 is over and done with, lets move quickly on!

Didn’t get round to blogging for the last month, got tied up in preparation for Christmas - which suddenly loomed large!  Think I’m prepared now though, what?  Its over?  Oh well, guess its too late now then!

Benson has been keeping me occupied and away from blogging or organising myself for Christmas.  Poor wee guy actually spent whole of Christmas in the vetinary hospital.  It’s now confirmed he has chronic cystitis which means he will be ill for the rest of his life.  His bladder has now blocked twice - both times meaning several days in the hospital with a catheter and lots of drugs.  He’s now on a special diet and we’re looking for other ways to help him so we’re now growing trays of grass for him to eat, we bought a covered litter tray to give him privacy, his Aunty Nicole has given him a water fountain so he has fresh moving water which he is more likely to drink.  Might have to let him out but will see how he’s getting on at his next check up.  Obviously changing food and stuff affects George too but he’s being quite good about it all, just gets jealous when Benson gets his “special hugs” three times a day.  He doesn’t quite understand that we are just giving Benson drugs and that its not something he should be jealous of so we have to wrap him in a blanket and turn him upside down too!  Anyway if you have pets learn from our mistakes - if you take out cheap pet insurance it is only likely to cover the first year of any condition - this is bad if your cat then gets a chronic condition.  Luckily he’s covered so far but we’re well on the way to the maximum payout - yikes!

So what else did I do in December?  Well I took part in a criminal justice experiment that Robert Gordon University was running.  Obviously if I told you what it involved I would have to kill you but it was quite interesting to be part of!

I had a night out with Donna and Lydia who I went to France with in the summer.  It was to be a girly Christmas night out but for various reasons we ended up with just four of us.  That was actually lovely as there was only one new person who’s name I needed to remember and we could all hear each other talk over the table!  We had a nice dinner in Saigon’s and then went to a couple of bars before calling it a night.  I treated myself to a new dress for it - now that I’m down to a size 12 I was looking for an excuse for a new frock and a night out - and a 30% off voucher for Monsoon - seemed to suit!

Marianne, Donna, me and Lydia        New dress!

I was lucky enough to get asked to review this year’s Panto so I was able to take Donna and the two of us returned to our youth screaming “he’s behind you” etc!  It was a fab show with fireworks and Peter flying over our head, I really enjoyed it.

Still trying to get in the mood for Christmas preparation I went to see Four Christmasses, again with Donna and Lydia.  It was really good - but I still wasn’t kicked into Christmas mood!  Next it was down to Edinburgh for the Scottish Law Librarians Group Christmas Networking Meeting with Jenny.  We got the train down and back in the same afternoon, managing to fit in time for a go on the carousel and dinner at TGI Fridays whilst we were down there.

George the carousel horse!     Librarians can party too!

I was supposed to go to an enchanted forest thing with lights and music in Aboyne but that day Benson took ill again and I went to the vets instead of the forest.  We did make it to Ray and Nicole’s for Sunday lunch, possibly the last time I’d see them before the baby arrives - so exciting!  I spent the evening of the boy’s work night out with Nicole as well - and felt an elbow or knee moving in her belly - most surreal and amazing!  Still waiting for the baby to arrive, I’m at the stage of jumping whenever the phone goes - but then it is due TODAY!!  Exciting!

Ooh after the Sunday lunch at R&N’s we popped into Bryan’s Dad for a wee visit.  As it turned out brother Lee was also there with his family so we got to see them all which was lovely.  Bryan took some lovely photos of them as well so that was cool, we don’t see our nieces and nephews a lot so it was really great to spend some time with them.

One more night out before Christmas was with Gill and her friends James and Corrie.  We had dinner in our local pub and then a few other folk (including Gill’s poorly hubby) joined us for a drink.  We all had a good natter and a laugh.

 Gill and Stuart - the couple we bought our house from - who’d have thought we’d end up as buddies?!

My work closes at 1pm on Christmas Eve and is shut until Monday 5th January so I’m having a lovely break.  We managed to see a few friends and family on 24th, Stephen and Lee popped by and then we went down to Reg’s.  Was nice to spend some time with him and Sasina, we chatted through Santa Clause 3 and ate chocs. 

Christmas Day was spent, just the two of us, as is our tradition.  It was a bit sad knowing that Benson was stuck in the hospital whilst we were all at home, George enjoyed all the attention though and loved being spoilt.  We put the tree up for the day so we could open our presents underneath it and George was quite bewitched by it.

George   

We got some lovely pressies between us as well - thanks to all contibutors!  This year’s lunch was to be goose, Bryan loves to do something different - and he did it very well!  There was lots of food and it was all gorgeous. 

Table laid out ready            Food all set out, roast goose

Boxing Day we left poor George all on his own and went to visit my parents for another lovely lunch - the traditional turkey this time!  It was lovely to see my parents - and to get more pressies obviously!

  Spending Christmas with my parents and hubby 

The next day we were able to collect Benson from the hospital and bring him home.  We’d had a problem after the first day because he smelt funny to his brother George and there was a lot of hissing and ignoring so this time we were careful to cuddle him lots in another room first so as to rub some of the hospital smell off.  It did take them a while to accept each other but it wasn’t as upsetting as last time.  We’d kept the wrapping paper for them to play with as they’d loved that last year but I think they are too old for such frolics now so they didn’t seem to enjoy it in the same way.

The last day of the year was spent: at work (Bryan), out for lunch with Gill and the kids (me)!  I also got my last competition win of the year in the post - a Carling t-shirt.  I expect I entered to win a fridge full of beer or something exciting but still, Bryan can never have too many tops! 

As for Hogmanay, well we just enjoyed having our family back together.  Benson is on a lot of medication so he sleeps a lot at the moment but we had a game with Bryan’s new remote control General Lee and all had lots of cuddles.  Bryan cooked haggis with mash potato and roast butternut squash for our dinner and we watched some tv and nattered the night away. 

I’ve been trying out Twitter an online communication tool, and was messing about on that during the evening.  I ended up getting involved in a Tweeplay which was quite fun and has been recorded on my Twitter friend’s blog.  Different but entertaining none the less!  I also took the following piccie for infobunny but I won’t bother explaining why as you really needed to be there to get it!

After midnight I went outside with a sparkler, inbetween trying to persuade the cats that the fireworks outside and on the tv wouldn’t hurt them.  We watched the fireworks and listened to the bells and bagpipes in Edinburgh.  Midnight on Hogmanay is the one time I miss our flat in Edinburgh - we used to be able to stand on our balcony and watch the fireworks whilst being able to see and hear the same fireworks close up on the tv - best way to do it - no crowds, no being jostled by foreigners, clean toilets, warmth and whatever food or drink you desire!

And so we’ve seen the back of 2008 - hurrah.  Here’s hoping that 2009 brings happy times for one and all.  Have a good ‘un!

Posted in Prizes, Theatre reviews, Animals, Trips out, General waffle | 1 Comment »

23/11/2008 by stupidgirl_no1.

No, I’ve not posted for a while.  Yes, I’m a bad little blogger.  No, I’m not going to make excuses for my evilness (although did I mention that Benson has been ill so we’ve been in and out of the vets?).  Yes, I will try and make it up to you now.

First off, I just watched the final of Dirty Dancing, the time of your life.  Not usually one for that kind of show but I watched it one Sunday evening and have been hooked ever since!  I do of course love the movie and love watching good dancers so it does suit me rather well.  Am pleased to say that the guy I liked most the first week won, along with the Scottish lassie so hurrah for that!  Now just wondering how to persuade hubby that he wants to go on holiday here.

Since I last blogged Bryan and I had a week off work to do some decorating.  We hadn’t done any since we moved in and so it was “about time”.  If you want to see the “before” situation.  It was the hallway and the 3rd bedroom we decided to focus on and we did get them both done in the week.  Putting the cats in the cattery for the week was definately the way to go as that was one less thing to worry about and meant they didn’t have to put up with the paint smells, or get stuck to the walls!  We have both agreed that we are not fabulous painters, but at least its freshened up and we managed to sort a few issues at the same time so its certainly an improvement! 

I did take a night off to go to the theatre to review a play called Offshore, another night we went out for dinner and then to the cinema for Burn After Reading.  On the Friday night Bryan went to meet Ray and they had dinner and saw the new Bond movie, whilst I stayed home and cleaned the house ready for my friends Angela and Louise coming to visit the next day.  I took them to Haddo House for a Christmas Craft Fair, we had lunch in Ellon and then a walk on the beach at Newburgh before heading back to town for dinner and the Bond movie! 

 
The next day we did lunch and a few shops before they caught the train home.

Our newly decorated guest room was a bit better organised by its next inhabitants - my parents - came to visit.  I had an Italian evening arranged for work that I’d managed to persuade them, and Bryan, to attend.  Mum and Dad arrived in time for it and then stayed with us for 2 nights.  I took the following day off work so I could spend it with them and we went and had lunch with my Great Aunt Dorothy, her daughter Moira, and a family friend called Noreen. 

That evening Bryan cooked us dinner, after working all day bless him, and I got the whole evening to enjoy having my nearest and dearest under one roof.

We had Friday night last week in the pub with Hugh and Linda, which was my first time in our local, and I think I might be found in there again!  The Saturday night Nicole and Ray came for dinner and I was allowed to feel Bump Robertson kicking - which was totally amazing!  Not long now till we get to meet Master or Miss Bump either!  This weekend Bryan had Friday off and has been playing a horrid zombie killing game since I dropped him at Asda on my way to work!  Friday night was my work’s Annual Dinner so that was very stressful for me as organiser but it all seemed to go well and everyone I spoke to seemed to be having a good time.  Photos are on the website, bottom of the events page.  Not sure how I ended up in the photos, I’m supposed to stay the other side of the camera!!  Yesterday I had to get the silver candlesticks back to work from the venue.  I also met up with my friend Jo, and her family.  Amazing how quick the wee ones grow!  We went to a softplay thing which was a first time experience for me, I was just glad I didn’t drink at the dinner as I think those places could be torture with a hangover!!

I’ve finally got back into my Wii Fit exercise routine as well.  Have been enjoying loosing weight, especially when I realised that my size 14 clothes are too big!  Although I can’t afford a whole new wardrobe so have only bought a few size 12 things, am just going for the “baggy” look the rest of the time.  Amazing how much some of my trousers drag on the floor though!!!  Have entered a few competitions to win vouchers for clothes shops and have been watching out for mystery shopping opportunities in my favourite shops so I can get some free clothes that way!

So that brings us up to date, I’m sure there have been some random things I meant to blog but will add them in if I think of them.  Will try and get round to taking photos of our redecorated rooms at some point too.  Oh and I believe I’m supposed to shop for Christmas at some point.  Hmmmm, not got that far yet, although did update my Amazon wish list recently!  Bryan went through the Empire Top 500 and worked out which ones were missing from our collection.  I’ve seen 221 of them so got some watching to do, not that I really fancy all of them obviously! 

Right, now for Sunday evening washing up before an early night me thinks!  Have a good week y’all!

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