Run out

I've run out of blog inspiration, again!

It must be the lack of booze I think.

A pic though, from a walk around Docklands at the weekend:



and more inspired blogging to follow soon, promise!

Yeehaa... I'm back.

Two bottles of wine and a packet of crisps.

And yes, it's Monday.

And yes, I'm going to have a hangover tomorrow.

And yes, I did just fall asleep on the DLR and had to change at Cutty Sark to get back on the right side of the river.

But still, I had Moeker to accompany me home, so what more could a girl want....

Relaxing

Have found myself some relaxing time... although it did mean letting Na down and missing the first film night, which I'm not happy about, but I was in desperate need of doing some washing.

Anyway, have had some hilarious moments this weekend, Friday night was a cracker, with Marty and Rish. And don't worry, it's all Secret ;-)

Had a fab time at Pete and Helen's housewarming on Saturday too, and then a most relaxing walk in the fresh air of Trent Park today. And then of course the long drive home - but even that was ok because I managed to get in the slip stream of a fast BMW and cruise most of the way home following him! And there was the most beautiful sunset, but of course I couldn't get any photos because I was driving.

And I decided on balance that the pink all over was a bit too much, and have gone for a hybrid pink/purple look instead. Any thoughts?

Vegas Baby

Na and I booked to go to Las Vegas for Easter weekend on Monday - and now I'm very very excited. So, imagine my glee when I realised that Ocean's Eleven is on ITV tonight... as it featured very heavily the Bellagio, which just happens to be where we're staying!

So, I'm watching it right now, with a big bowl of Ben and Jerrys and a big bowl of ice cream, having just finished a steak and dauphinoise potato dinner... perfect. Apart, that is, from the fact that I'm still working.

Generally, I see my job as a challenge, and encompass the long hours as part of that. It has however been just that little bit on the silly side recently, and I can only hope that once I've got a major event out of the way next week, things will be on the whole calmer... hopefully.

Bring on the Bellagio. Great pic of the fountains here.

And yes, the Blog has gone pink. Fancied a change for the new year, but I don't actually want it this pink - will play with the colours at some point. What do you think - too pink? Should it stay, should it go?? Annoyingly though I forgot to save the code for the template for the bits down the side, so it'll take me some time to get that back too.

Seeds

Have had a great 'late Christmas' weekend with the girlies, just what I needed at the end of a hard week. My liver isn't too amused with me now though! Will need to give it a rest for a bit I think - well, until next Friday anyway!

There will be some photos, but I can't get them from camera to computer at the moment for some reason... so more soon!

Happy looking at the lights

Naomi is currently passed out on my bed. But given it's 6'6" I reckon they'll be room for me.
She's currently trying to work out how the pretty lights from Habitat are staying on the wall. I've tried to explain it's about the nails, but she's not getting it, and is in fact now snoring in time with Stephen. That cannot be good.

Lost

2005 has gone, and with it seems to have gone my creative blog ablility, I just can't think of anything interesting/funny/thoughtful to write. Although I have just got home from work after 10pm for the fourth night in a row, so that might have something to do with it!

I'm sure my inspiration will come back. In the meantime, you can have a laugh by checking out new photos here and a wonderful story about a pigeon here.

Oh, and the only newsworthy thing I can think of is that one of my best mates got engaged on New Year's Eve, and I'm going to be head bridesmaid at the wedding on 30th September. Cool.

Fabulous

Someone told me today that they think I'm doing a fabulous job in my new role. I'm not so convinced. But, I am happy to accept an opinion which I trust. Most of the time I rely on instinct, intuition, and a little bit of luck, and it seems to be standing me in good stead so far!

Anyway, tonight I have been here and here with Richelle. Just because it's Friday. I love Fridays. And the best thing is, I can have a big fat lie in tomorrow. Yeah Baby!

Que?

Usually I would resist commenting on such things, but I just can't hold this one back...

George Galloway on Celebrity Big Brother... WTF!?!

Oopps, and another...

9. Complete the BBC Big Read Top 100 book list (which I've already been attempting for the past two years, I'm 45 books in!)

And another...

8. Spend more time exploring London

An actual list

I've reflected on the new year's resolution thing since yesterday, and I think I actually have enough to make a list...

1. Learn to play the sax
2. Learn to speak Italian again
3. Watch more films
4. Try to get less injuries
5. Make a good attempt at the ITEX walk
6. Do as much travelling as possible
7. Get more sleep

Seven seems a nice number. And I think there is a good chance that I'll be able to have a good go at all of them - come back on the 31st December to find out how I've done!

Happy New Year!

So, welcome to 2006!

This was going to be a long post, peppered with pictures from my Flickr site of our wonderful weekend in Cornwall... but I've typed it out twice, and lost it twice, once due to my incompetence, and once due to Blogger misbehaving! So, I've kinda lost enthusiasm for it now!

However, there are lots of pics on Flick (link on the left, the pretty link technology code doesn't want to work today either!).

I had a truly fantastic weekend and a wonderful new year - thank you, Steve, Steve, Alex, Marty, Richelle, Sally, and Naomi, but especially thank you to Helen and Pete, for coming up with the idea in the first place, and for sharing their special bolt hole with us.

I hope that 2006 and brings lots of fun, merriment and good times.

I've decided (with the help of Steve D, hee hee) that my new year's resolution will be to start learning to play the saxophone. Just got to get one now!

Also, I'm going to watch more films, and try to get less feebish injuries!

Chilled

So, I'm about to leave Jersey for a quick visit to London (and work) and then off again to Cornwall - weather permitting that is!!

I've blogged before about being in Jersey, leaving it, and my confusion about having two homes, and all that applies again. Apart from last time, it was warm and sunny, and now, it's wet and cold.

Still, I'm very much looking forward to New Year in Cornwall. Where I'll cook up some fantastic new year's resolutions and then post them on here to amuse you all!

Oh I do love to be beside the sea side...

Happy Boxing Day. I hope all (few) of my readers have had a good Christmas and that you are looking forward to an excellent new year.

December has been a slightly philosophical blogging month for me, perhaps not conveying the joys and highlights of the festive month as much as I should have done, and concentrating on the stresses and traumas too much!

Ah well. A post on my new year's resolutions for 2006 will follow. In the meantime, I've had a great and relaxing Christmas, although it has taken me a long time to wind down!

Instinct

Mad, bad, busy week...

Happy that I've been out three times drinking and not had a single hangover, but my week has been very dominated by work, and there's a whole lot more of that to come!

I can't think of a useful and entertaining blog entry, so I'm going to stop now. I am going to leave you with a few pictures though. I've seen a few cats this weekend, and they were all in a photogenic mood...









and finally, as I'm starting to feel just a tiny bit Christmassy...



More on Flickr, as usual

White Tie And Cognac

Sometimes I wonder how I ended up here. I have a great job that I truly enjoy, despite the traumas, and sometimes I end up in the most fantastic situations at the most fantastic events and thank my lucky stars that I am where I am. If the 18 year old me could have had an insight in to where I would be now, she would be truly shocked.

Geekery

Thanks to Ginger Rich I've added a bit of geekery here, including a site meter (hidden right at the bottom of the page) and the very cool Flickr flash badge, which shows off a nice selection of my fab (and usually drunken) photos.

Nice

Cheers Rich. I'll buy you an ice cream sometime ;-)

Seven

Seven lists of seven things...

I found this here. Jo would probably be puzzled about how I came to find her site, and I’m not sure either, but I’ve been reading it for a while and find it very interesting…

So:

Seven things to do before I die

1. Buy a house
2. Get a Masters
3. Visit Madagascar and/or Mauritius
4. Spend at least 6 weeks travelling in America
5. Have children
6. Complete the ITEX walk
7. Learn to scuba dive

Seven things I cannot do

1. Dance
2. Play a musical instrument (although I am still vowing to learn to play the sax)
3. Sing
4. Play any sport which involves balls
5. Touch my toes
6. Jump and tap my heels together a la Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz
7. Drink whiskey, tequila or Aftershock without being very sick

Seven things that would attract me to my spouse if I had one

1. Nice legs (the bandy thing)
2. Nice hands
3. Nice eyes
4. A nice smile
5. A good sense of humour
6. Being a ‘foodie’
7. Being loving and caring and thoughtful, especially in times of need

Seven things I say most often

1. Exactly
2. Well, quite
3. Cool
4. Rubbish
5. Thank you
6. Hang on…
7. (I’m a bit stuck now… this is the kind of thing that I don’t notice, but others will – any suggestions?)

Seven books (or series or authors) I love

1. Goodnight Mr Tom
2. John Grisham
3. Harry Potter
4. Tony Parsons
5. Catherine Alliot
6. Auto biographies and biographies, generally
7. Bridget Jones (I love the films, but the books are better)

Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would watch over and over if I had the time - I’m expanding this to include TV series)

1. Four Weddings and a Funeral
2. Love Actually
3. The Lion King
4. Shawshank Redemption
5. This Life
6. Friends
7. Jonathon Creek

Seven people I want to join in, too

1. Tania
2. Rich
3. Naomi
4. The Midlander
5. Steve
6. Marty
7. Kev

When life goes on

I’ve been working on this post for some time, which is unusual for me, because usually I start up Blogger, write what I’m thinking down, spell check it, and that’s it (apart from when I’m drunk, when I usually miss the spellcheck out, but the magic ‘you can spell and be coherent when you’re drunk’ fairy seems to sort it out anyway!)

I often ponder how different people cope with the challenges that life throws at them. Some just get on with it, some crumble, some get very bitter, some become hysterical or come to rely on drink or drugs. I can’t work out what distinguishes which way each person will go. I also can’t work out how some people are consistently ‘copers’ and some are not.

I’ve faced a reasonable amount of times where I’ve needed to ‘just cope’ in my life, particularly recently but also in various phases, especially in my teens. I think there is something about your natural outlook and make up which makes you resilient (or not) to the little, and rather more than little, challenges.

I’m a coper… but I do wobble. And how do I cope with the wobbles? How do I cope with coping? Maybe I’m too inclined to rely on a drop of the hard stuff at the moment – but this wasn’t always the way. And I seek comfort in the fact that the hard stuff is always accompanied by good company. I’m naturally a fairly closed person. It takes a lot to get out of me how I really feel about something. I’m bubbly, bouncy and generally not fazed by much. I’m more or less unflappable in a crisis. You really have to push me to get me angry, upset or emotional. But doesn’t that mean that all those feelings, which naturally exist, are therefore suppressed inside me?