Purple Dragon

I have a pal in New Orleans.

Keep her and her family in your thoughts, please.

Walking thru the car park today on my way to the butchers, I suddenly realised that I will never be beautiful. No one will ever double-take me as I walk down the street. Photographers will not reach for their cameras. I will never be on the cover of a magazine.

Weirdly, I'm rather okay with that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I desperately need inspiration in the kitchen. My family are languishing under a pile of hated fish fingers. I'm so bored that I can't be bothered to cook.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 'friend from the past' has done it again. Remember that girl I bored you all with last year, who appeared (again) out of the woodwork, mailed a couple of times, then disappeared (again)? Well, she just did it again. I am so mad at myself for replying to her (again). When will I ever learn?

Eejit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone I know is in surgery today. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, oh, oh!! I synchronised my Blackberry to my PC today. I buggered it up the first time I did it, and ended up with duplicate entries, but then I sorted it all out, and now my Outlook address book is in synch with my Blackberry one. I think I might have put my appointments across as well, but as I don't know where to look for them on my phone, I can't tell for sure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I need to get back to the gym. I feel like the Michelin man - remember him? I know that the phrase is in common usage, but I wonder how many folk remember the actual image of him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bought a Halti collar for my dalmatian today. He is a right bugger to walk on the lead. He just will not behave, and pulls till he chokes. I was in the vets getting his kennel cough the other evening ,so he can go into kennels next week when we are away, and one of the other customers recommended this collar thing. It doesnt go round their neck so much as round the nose, and when you pull the lead, his head twists round to put the dog into a submissive pose. Apparently, it doesn't take them long to learn to walk properly, and then they can go onto a 'proper' collar. Doesn't hurt the dog either, which is a benefit. He'll hate it, though. He so wants to be 'top dog' in the pack, and although he will obey Himself, he wants to be senior to me, and tries it on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sitting on the wall outside school this afternoon waiting for the sprogs to emerge.

No3Child launched herself at me, flung herself between me and the other Mum I was blethering to, and over the back of the wall. I grabbed her before she totalled her face on the other side, but she decided it would be a fab idea to give herself extra leverage by pushing with her foot on the top of the wall, so I twisted to keep a hold of her, and pretty much overbalanced myself too. The other mum grabbed me to stop me falling and landing on the child.

Unfortunately, twisting made my ribs twist as well, and I almost passed out with the pain. I feel like I have cracked a rib. I know I haven't, but I feel like it.

I ubscribe to The Ecologist magazine.

Okay, I know it is supposed to open our eyes to the world ecology and what is affecting it, but - my god! - it is all doom and gloom. I'm only up to page 10 and I'm depressed.

Happy anniversary, SMinchins!

1. Are you married or single?

Married.

2. Do you have brothers and sisters?

1 sister.

3. Are they older or younger than you?

She is older than me by 2.5 years.

4. Have you ever met a famous person?

Yeah, but I can't remember who. Doh.

5. What countries have you visited?

England, Scotland (where I live now), Eire, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, Russia (briefly), Pakistan (briefly)

6. What do you do on Sundays?

Nothing regular apart from make Himself ready for work the following week.

7. What kind of people do you not like?

Those who think they are better than everyone else.

8. Who has had the most influence in your life?

There are a lot of influences, but no one in particular

9. Would you like to be famous?

Hmm, I'd like to be rich, and if that brought fame ...

10. How many different towns or cities have you lived in?

Slough, Great Missenden (several times), Prestwood (several times), High Wycombe (twice), Elizabeth Downs (twice), Leighton Buzzard (twice), Aylesbury (twice), Cubbfield, Steeple Claydon, Milton Keynes, Alloa (three times), Coalsnaughton, Culross, Kincardine-on-Forth, current village (that will remain nameless, thank you ) So - 15 places.

11. Which do you prefer, sunrises or sunsets?

Sunrises come over the back of our house and sunsets over the front, so you get two totally different views, and I couldn't possibly choose!

12. What was the last book you read?

I re-read The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett, because I wanted something simple and amusing to read.

13. What's your favorite food?

I have, regrettably, a sweet tooth

14. Do you live in a house or an apartment/flat or other?

House

15. How tall are you?

5'4

16. What are your hobbies?

Reading, blogging, my dogs

17. What's something you do well?

Rest

18. Which sports do you like to watch/play?

I watch gymnastics but I'm not really a sports fan on the telly

19. Are you a 'morning' or 'night' person?

I can't get up early and I can't stay up late, so take your pick.

20. What is your motto?

If it ain't broke, don't fit it

Christ, I'm fucking BORED

I am toying with taking a correspondence course in aromatherapy.
It's £250.
That's a lot of pennies.
Should I; shouldn't I?
Do I have the TIME?
Have too many brain cells died of BOREDOM to even achieve the qualification?

I'M BOREDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Bollocks.

I'm away to my bed.

'Nite.

No2Child got the results from the dance exams she took at the end of the last session.

She got Highly Commended for all three

We are all chuffed to bits with her

Well, it is lunchtime on the first day back at school for two of my three. The litt'lun doesn't start back till next week, and then only part time. She doesn't go every day till September.

My day, so far, has been full.

Got up, bathed, fed kids and dogs, packed lunches, dressed small sprog and self, drove kids to school, offended acquaintance at school gate , nagged No2Child's new teacher to ensure drug administration is adhered to strictly , found out why almost-pal is back from New Life In Spain (she's up the duff) , dropped recycling at tip, paid a bill at the bank, collected a parcel from the post office, tried to buy No1Child a new lunchbox (having destroyed his old one in the washing machine and not realising until this morning ), booked appointment for No3Child to have her hair repaired, two loads of laundry, emptied bins, cleaned office and both downstairs halls (including woodwork), made and ate lunch.

Right - off to get No3Child's hair repaired.

Ta-ta!

more cat pictures

Rachel just cut her hair.

She had the most beautiful hair. It has never been cut since she was born, nearly 4 years ago, and it was waist-length and naturally hung in ringlets.

Everybody commented on how beautiful it was.

And she just cut a chunk out of the side.

I'm gutted. I can barely stand to look at her.

The bowl of my casserole dish decided to part company with the bottom, mid casserole.

Bugger

Hmm, I'm feeling dead sorry for myself this weekend.

I took the sprogs horse riding on Friday morning, and I didn't dress properly. The wind was howling across the school like a banshee, and I was directly in its line of fire. I was freezing. So, when I get too cold, my chest plays up.

I've been whacking the NSAIDS down my throat as suitable intervals, but they just aren't doing the trick. Took painkillers today, which is something I don't like to do. I hate putting too many pills down my neck. Not good for you in the long run.

My lower right rib is swollen, and my bra is pressing on it from above, but I can't go braless because that makes the whole front of me sore. I need support when my chest is like this, even though I don't have all that much to support! Ordinarily my bras fit properly, but because of the swelling, they are too tight.

My upper chest is painful too, and I can't take a deep breath. I feel like I am starving of air. My shouders ache and my lower neck too.

I felt so much better this morning, after such a good night sleep, but the pain soon kicked in. Had a bath to hope the heat would soothe it, and it did - while I was in there.

I am so fed up with feeling like this. The winter is soon upon us, and I am dreading it. I can't bear to think I may end up housebound because of the cold.

Pfft! Stupid stupid stupid. I hate not being in full control of my body.

My son had an infectious wart on his finger. He's had it for what seems like months and we have had this stuff from the Dr that we had to put on every day.

Would it descrease in size? Would it hell.

Anyway, I read somewhere about putting a dab of tea tree oil on it. I did, and after one - yep - one!! - application, the wart is gone.

I couldn't believe it. What a fantastic result, after putting this flippin poisonous chemmical on his finger every damn day for months and doing gods know what to his system.

Well, I've had a fairly relaxing day today.

Took the kids along to their gymnastics and trampolining this afternoon. Today was the last day of that one, thank goodness - 3 hours to find something entertaining for the one who wasn't doing it. Actually, she was quite good.

Bought myself a new purse. Originally I thought it was white with red spots, but now I realise it is a very pale lilac with red spots. That's fine. It's dead cute. Not like the sensible black brick I was using!

The problem I have with a purse is that I need loads and loads of card spaces. I have the need for - wait for it! - 19 card spaces! Yeah, that's what I thought when I counted them. I reckon I could minimise that if I put some in with others, but why bother?

I need spaces for 3 library cards; Laura's school bus pass; video shop in the village; gym membership; National Insurance Number card (does anyone on the planet have one of these apart from me??); Woolworths gift card (can probably get rid of that - I think it's empty); Rosicrucian Order membership card; Matalan membership card; Orange top up card - I don't even use that phone anymore!; RAC membership; Tesco clubard; Co-op clubcard; drivers licence; Nectar card; Boots advantage card; credit card; debit card. Oh, and Hoodles loyalty card.

What's in your wallet? LOL

I was talking to a pal of mine about the riding, telling her I have booked a lesson for the kids tomorrow morning, and she was telling me that she has a pony that she doesn't ride because it is kid sized, and that if I bought a saddle and bridle for it, then we can go there anytime we want to ride it!

What a fabulous offer! I couldn't believe it. So, if the kids like the riding tomorrow, then we can buy said saddle & bridle and give that wee pony some exercise!

Apparently there are hundreds of new words in this issue of the CHambers Dictionary. Here are the top 10 :

TOP TEN

ELECTROSMOG: Electromagnetic fields emitted by computers, mobile phones, etc, believed by some to be harmful to health

BLUE-ON-BLUE: Accidental firing on one's allies

IED: Improvised explosive device

BLU-RAY: A method of storing data on high-capacity compact discs using a blue laser

BOTNET: An automated program that runs on its own on infected computers and is used to cause widespread damage to computing systems

QUANTUM COMPUTER: Cutting-edge technology that uses quantum mechanics to perform operations on data

METAMATERIAL: Artificially created material having properties not found in nature

EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION: The covert transporting of individuals, especially terrorist suspects, to undisclosed destinations for the purpose of interrogation

HIPs: Home information pack, a set of documents containing details about a house

WAG: Wife or girlfriend of a professional sportsman

Well, I have decided the time has come for Laura to learn how to ride. I know her bro will be gutted, but I think it is something she can concentrate on. She isn't co-ordinated enough to be a hit at sports, even though she is enthusiastic. She is mad for horses though, so I reckon this will be her 'thing'.

Naturally, the temptation is to just rush out and buy a pony, but that probably isn't the best tactic! I will be the one who ends up looking after the darn thing, just like the dogs, and I don't think my health would manage to cope with mucking out stables.

So, the next idea is to buy a pony and put it into stables that are maintained by the stable staff. Get them to do the dirty work and we can keep the good stuff, like riding. Then we won't have to build fences or stables in the garden!

But - hang on! Where are the nearest stables? Oh, yes! About 4 miles along the road, and guess what? They provide riding lessons - and you don't even have to buy the pony! They do the feeding, grooming, mucking out, vets and farriers, and all we have to do is pile along a couple of times a week, jump on, learn to ride, stroke lots of lovely muzzles, get back in the car and bugger off.

Sounds like a plan to me !!

Hmm, quite fancy learning to ride properly myself ...

Still, it would be nice to have a horse of our very own.

Dear friends,

Russian troops have begun an invasion of Georgia, tens of thousands of civilian lives are at risk. Click below to support the call for a ceasefire:

The conflict in Georgia is spinning out of control. Russian troops have moved deep inside the country in what looks not far short of full-scale invasion, and tens of thousands of civilians are in danger, with many becoming refugees overnight.

Diplomats are scrambling to find a solution, and the European Union has proposed a ceasefire and withdrawal of all forces to their previous positions. China has also called for an "Olympic Truce", an ancient tradition that asks all countries to cease hostilities during the Olympic Games.

A humbled Georgia has agreed to the ceasefire, now French and Finnish foreign ministers are bringing the proposal to Moscow. In the next 48 hours, a massive global public outcry would show Russian and Georgian leaders that the world wants a ceasefire, and continuing the invasion would seriously damage Russia's international reputation. Click below to sign our emergency petition and then forward this email to your friends and family. We'll publicize the petition in the media and deliver it to the UN Security Council and Russian government:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/georgia_ceasefire_now

Russia and Georgia have a long history of tensions, but the recent hostilities were sparked over a small region called South Ossetia, which is seeking separation from Georgia. For years South Ossetia has had de facto autonomy, but after clashes between Ossete militia and Georgian troops, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered the army to occupy the small province. The Russian army immediately responded by driving the Georgian army out, bombing targets, attacking towns and taking control of large swathes of territory deep within Georgia.

History teaches us that small wars easily spark larger ones. Saakashvili has applied to join NATO, angering Russian Prime Minister Putin, who may be using the invasion to forcibly remove the Georgian leader from power. If Russia tries to remove a democratically elected President by force, the conflict could escalate dangerously, as Georgia is a close ally of the United States. The Georgian and South Ossetian people could become victims of a great global contest for power in the oil rich region.

Wars get more vicious and harder to end the longer they last. The best time to stop this one is right now -- let's act now, and help make a ceasefire the first step in a peaceful, negotiated solution to the root causes of conflict in this troubled region.

With hope,

Ricken, Iain, Veronique, Graziela, Brett, Paul, Pascal, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

PS - here are some links for more information on this conflict, and a link to learn more about Avaaz campaigns:

For more information about Avaaz campaigns:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

For more background on the conflict in Georgia:
International Crisis Group: “War in Georgia” --
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5623&l=1
BBC: “Georgia-Russia Conflict” -- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/europe/2008/georgia_russia_conflict/default.stm
Financial Times: “Russia is forfeiting its world standing” --
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/90c9bd3c-6805-11dd-8d3b-0000779fd18c.html

The European Union proposes a ceasefire:
Moscow Times: “Europe takes lead in bid to resolve conflict” --
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/369718.htm
IHT: “ Europe taking a diplomatic approach to Caucasus conflict” --
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/11/europe/diplo.php

------------------------------

ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages!

Yesterday, No2Child had one of her pals round to play. I asked the playmate how old she was, and when her birthday would be. She is a couple of weeks older than No2Child. Amazingly, she is way smaller! Just slightly bigger than No3Child. Who is two years younger.

I know people might think than the playmate was small for her age, but it is exactly the opposite. No2Child is big for her age - always has been. I've always blamed it on the steroids she had up to the age of two, but looking at No3Child, who never had steroids, I guess I was wrong about that. When No2Child was in the hospital last year, they thought they had her birth year wrong - they thought she was a year older than she was.

I guess I breed big girls

I have a sore chest. The weather is cold, and it always sets it off. The drugs aren't working or if they are, then I am glad I am not in as much pain as I could be in.

I also have really bad pins and needles in my right leg. Just started for no reason at all. Ouch!

I'm off to bed.

Nite xx

Does anyone know the difference (apart from the obvious) between real diamonds and created diamonds? I know cubic zirconias didn't last - their sparkle died and some got 'misty', but do created diamonds last?

Incidentally, my nails are a bloody mess.

Last night, I took a pizza out of the freezer, caught the thumb nail on my left hand, and off it pinged. Well, half of it. I had to torture the other half off myself. Then, this morning, whisking the water round in the bath and the other thumb came off. Didn't even hit it. That one was easy to get off. I have filed the other 8 down to manageable levels and I don't look like a Chinese Geisha anymore (not really my look, anyway ) but I'm kinda happy to have my thumbs back. I hadn't realised how much I use them!

Just watched this on the telly while I was doing the ironing. The one with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon.

Oh, it was good!

At the end

"..but, Jo, my hands are empty"

she puts her hand in his

"Not any more"

Oh, god, SO romantic! I was in tears.

I went this morning and got gel nail extensions. My nails were a mess - splitting, breaking and generally looking awful. A pal of mine got hers done and they looked nice, so I decided to get mine done as well.

The lassie who done them is fairly new at her job, but she has done a fine job. A couple of nails look obviously false, but the rest are fine. The problem I have is going from no nails to long nails. At least if you grow them yourself you have a chance to get used to them, but this way - sudden nails!

I just stabbed my daughter, for example

Typing is a challenge. Instead of using my fingertips I am using a combination of nailtips and finger pads. I am making remarkably few mistakes as well!

Might file a couple down though - the ones that look freakishly long

This is so worth doing!

I feel compelled to write to you about this as it is a grassroots campaign and needs everyone’s help to succeed

We all know and love Bob Marley’s song 'One Love'...

Imagine this, the whole world singing those legendary lyrics, all at the same time, on September 21st 2008 – to raise awareness of The UN sanctioned International Day of Peace.

This is the huge goal that we are trying to achieve by a grassroots campaign – but we need your help as we only ever have power in numbers.

So how can you help?

Well, you can forward this email to as little or as many people as you’d like, not because you’ll receive good or bad luck, but because you want to...

AND

You can visit the website, to keep updated: www.oneloveformusic.com, sign up for the blog, or hear from the founders and to see how you can spend 5 minutes of each of your weeks helping.

AND

If you are a member of facebook, join the following group and pledge your support, also share with your friends:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56698225095

We received over 6000 posts within the first 10 days, it’s obviously resonating, so let’s keep it up.

AND

If you are a member of myspace, please join the following group and pledge your support, again share with friends:

http://www.myspace.com/onelove4peace

If you aren’t a member of these sites but want to have your vote registered then maybe you’d like to sign the petition:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/0n370v3/petition.html

One of the best things you could do would be to pass this email onto as many of your friends as possible so that people know about it. The sooner you do it, the sooner we can have 1 billion people sending a message of love out to the rest of the world, which as you may know, is yet, undiscovered territory.

Give ONE LOVE a chance on World Peace Day

09:21 GMT September 21st 2008

HELP CREATE MUSICAL HISTORY...

"One Love, One Heart, Let's get together and feel alright"

Call to action for every radio station on this planet to play Bob Marley's legendary song, ONE LOVE, at the same time.

"Hear the radio crying, (One Love!)
Hear the radio crying, (One Heart!)"

Feel the energy, be part of the phenomenon and do your bit for world peace.

"Let's get together and feel alright"

09:21 GMT September 21st 2008

“Be the change you want to see” - Gandhi

I'm tired.
I have a headache.
I am premenstrual.
I am cold.

I'm going to bed.
With my electric blanket on.

'nite.

I was really cold in bed last night. I didn't go till late as I had promised my older two a massage and some Reiki, and once Rachel was abed it was later than I anticipated. I am reading The Binding Chair just now (excellent book!) so I sat up in bed with a cuppa and my electric blanket on to take the chill off. Slept like a baby once I warmed up

Yesterday, the gardener came and cut the grass, which has left all the wee beasties accessible to the wee birdies. I have been watching some Willie Wagtails out the front by the pool. The baby one is sitting on the ground and the bigger one has been going hunting on the grass and coming back to feed it. The baby has been feeding herself as well, from the area she is sitting in, but Mum still has a lot of work to do! I was very surprised - I thought that all the babies were all grown up and fending for themselves by now. Perhaps this is a second clutch or something.

I have to go grocery shopping today. I am going to have a browse thru some cook books to see if I can't find anything a bit different to cook, and then buy the ingredients. I am so sick of the same old same old.

Yesterday afternoon I met with two pals and their kids. All the kids piled into the play area and we sat and blethered for a couple of hours. It was so nice. I have to stop swearing though. Afterwards I had a think back and realised they hadn't sworn once, and I can think of several times I did, even two 'fucks sakes'. Not good.

Oh, well, better get a shimmy on.

There is a competition being run by Virgin Vie to find a new model, but they don't want a catwalk model - they want a real person.

There are various age categories, but the women representing the 40+ catagory is seriously under represented, and I think there should be more women in that agegroup.

Here is a link to the (40+ part) comp : http://www.ilookfab.co.uk/category/40plus and I urge all the women who read my blog to enter - I can think of several women on here who I think would do well, and the prize is pretty cool too.

I recently held a Virvin Vie party at my house, and one of the things that caught my attention was the Honey & Orange Blossom Bath Brulee (brew-lay - for the men in our audience).

Oh. My. God. It is divine. It comes in a 375ml kilner jar and I have already used about 1/3 of it, in every bath or shower I have had since. My skin feels like silk, and it smells - oh, smells is such the wrong word! - the fragrance is almost good enough to eat!

Right - I'm away for my bath. See you some time ...

I was catching up on some blog reading tonight and there are three that have given me pause for thought.

The first was http://www.newness-of-life.com/ which was written by my friend Rachel. Where she stays is just now inundated with fire. It is quite scary to read about it, probably because she writes in such a matter of fact way. There is no "scream !!FIRE!!" about the whole thing. She has mentioned a couple of local folk who have lost everything while helping neighbours. One helping evacuate horses and a donkey, another cutting a firebreak so that his neighbours didn't also lose all their worldly goods. Local hero stuff, stuff I wish we still had. When did we all become so selfish?

The second was http://www.sirenvoices.blogspot.com/ which is written by 'Spence' (I don't know if that is an alias or not - I came across his blog by accident, read a little, and stayed). He is an ambulance driver, perhaps in the south of England. He talks about the shouts he gets. The loneliness of the callers makes my heart ache. Also the helplessness. People see a stranger in the street and don't know who to call to get help, so they call the ambulance service. The emptiness in people's lives makes me so sad.

The third was http://postsecret.blogspot.com/. There was nothing there that particularly resonated with me. And yet ...

My cat is sitting behind me purring.

Went to a pals house this morning. It was her son's birthday, but I didn't know until a while after we left. Bloody hell.

Bought the Filofax I have been yearning after for some weeks. It's perty. I'm very pleased with it, but I am struggling to write in it because the pages are so clean and white.

Been baking this afternoon. GF cakes for Lala, Fifi cakes for Rachel (packet ones - nice [not]), shortbread for the boy. He doesn't know it yet, but that is GF as well. Actually, that's the buzzer for the shortbread, so I'd better away, in case it burns.