… well, sort of. Realised yesterday that my wordpress install had gone weird on me, so with lots of help from Andy I managed to re-install and recover everything from the old blog. That said, it’s only using the basic theme(will change that later) and it appears to have made my gallery go t*ts up, so that’s next on the list of things to fix.
At least it works again now though :o)
Over the past few days, we’ve had Hazel, Peter and the boys down to visit. We had loads of fun, been to see Reading v QPR, went swimming, went ice skating (and came away with no major injuries!)
Then, last night, snow happened. This is what the garden looked like this morning
This morning, we found out that Toby is now famous on upsidedowndogs.com, you can see him here -> Toby :o)
Also, Si is now officially running the marathon. Sponsor him here -> http://www.justgiving.com/simonmaple
This week has been a week for me and Toby on our own …. Si has been out in South Africa for work!! Here’s a pic of him on his travels - apparently he had his face painted by some tribes people or other ->
He’s home soon - Toby and I can’t wait!!
Rant time…….. annoyed with Sky TV.
Firstly, even though we subscribe to the sports package, we are not allowed to have Sky Sports News unless we subscribe to the news channels. Even though it’s a free channel that you can pick up with freeview, we can’t have it.
Secondly, the number of football matches that are shown on Sky these days is far less than it was a couple of years ago. So, you’d think the price would drop accordingly, right? No, WRONG. You’re getting less matches you can watch (because of Setanta) but are still being charged the same for it.
And finally ……. this weekend saw the final episode in the new series of Gladiators on Sky One. They got some of the old Gladiators back to challenge the new ones (and some of them looked really old - that hair dye is fooling nobody Trojan) So, they’re competing against one another for charity, and the total prize money ….. *drumroll* ….. a stunning £10,000. That’s it. £10,000. That’s poor, considering the amount of money they’re screwing people out of every month.
Come on Sky - you can do better than that.
Hoooray, the new furniture arrives today!!! It seems like ages since we ordered it, but it’s finally coming. Hopefully now the lounge and dining room will be finished, and we can enjoy our two new rooms :o)
Last night we went to Festival Place for the first time. LOADS of shops! Lots of nice things to buy - luckily we came out with only a few bags, and that was all stuff we went there for, so not too bad a trip. When we got home, Toby had a good sleep in his bed, but when he got out, he yelped and couldn’t walk on his leg properly. He did after a few minutes, but yelped going up the stairs to bed. Si took him to the vets this morning, and he’s got to take pain killers and see how he is over the next few days, so no long walks for him :o( We can’t think how he’d have hurt himself laying asleep in his bed, so are hoping it was a dead leg or pins and needles and he’s pulled a muscle or something - his tail hasn’t stopped wagging though so he can’t be too bad ;o)
Finally, I’ve pulled my finger out and decided to write something! Quite a lot has happened since the last post …..
Still engaged to Si - wedding planning at the moment, all good fun :o)
I’ve changed teams at work - no longer working in WebSphere Application Server but now working on the CICS Transaction Gateway. I’m really enjoying the challenge of working on a different product with a new team and working on the mainframe.
We got a dog!! His name is Toby and he is a Lab crossed with a Springer - pictures are on my Facebook page. He’s very cute and always has the ability to make me and Simon laugh at his antics. Plus he’s helping us get fitter with all the walking we’re doing now.
The decorating of the house is coming along. Gone are the green and beige stripey living room walls, and our new sofas are now here (and very comfy). The dining room has been redecorated, and French doors fitted. We’re just waiting for all the furniture to be delivered, then that’s 2 of the biggest rooms in the house done :o)
We’ve just come back from a week’s holiday on the Norfolk Broads with my parents, my sister and her husband, and their two boys. It was a really good laugh - Toby especially liked swimming in the river (even if he wasn’t really meant to!) and Simon seems to have the knack for catching fish. Joe and Adam are both chubbers :o)
Think that’s about it for now. Another update soon - I won’t leave it as long between blogs this time ;o)
Yes, after ages of you all asking me to write one, I’ve taken the plunge and done it. Loads of news to catch up on….
Si took me to London for my birthday in June - we went to see Dirty Dancing at the theatre. Then the next day we went on the London Eye and on a river cruise. Also managed to go on a nice touristy open top bus ride, as well as going to see the lazy spongers at Buckingham Palace and visiting the first ever Hard Rock Cafe.
Did another Race for Life - much faster this year than last, even though I had no training and did no practice. Unless sitting on your bum counts as exercise, as I’ve done loads of that!
In August, we went over to America again for my last ever SHARE presentations - ended up visiting Chicago, San Diego(where SHARE was), Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Flagstaff. Had a great time - Si proposed to me after a plane ride and helicopter trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, whilst we were on a boat. Obviously I said yes :o)
Last weekend, I took Si away for the weekend. We went up to Birmingham to see Bill Bailey’s new tour (Tinselworm) - it was very funny! Then we had a quiet saturday before heading out for a massive all you can eat curry/chinese/italian/greek etc Then on sunday we went to Cadbury World and stuffed ourselves with chocolate! Yummmmm!
Things are finally starting to move on the house front now - Si’s is sold and the chain is now complete. Hopefully we’ll be moved by Christmas ;o) Stand by your phones - we might need some help with the move :o)
software price cut and fill estimating test
Don’t know why, just find it really funny :o)
So, time I blogged about easter weekend really. So, Si and I went up to Reading last Wednesday for Gav’s 30th birthday dinner. Ate loads of food, then spent Thursday playing with little Nicole. Then we had a busy Good Friday in Reading, before rushing into town on Saturday morning to buy a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Saturday afternoon was spent at Reading v Liverpool, and it was a good game. Then we headed over to Margate, for the Margate v Ramsgate Easter Monday clash. Cue lots of chants about pikeys, a rendition of “the wheels on your house go round and round” and a rather amusing “your mum sell’s lavender” - but more importantly a Margate win!!
Si and I then spent the next few days working from Mum and Dad’s, went out for a nice chinese with lizzie, ben and paul(mmmmmmmmmmduck), then headed out on Saturday to watch the Ramsgate match ….. where Chloe was the mascot!
All in all, a very good couple of weeks. Bit of a shame Si’s asthma flared up a bit, making him feel dodgy on friday, but he seems ok now. We even both managed a trip to the gym last night 
… we went to Wembley!! The new stadium is amazing - well worth a visit from anyone. The game we saw was a 6 goal ‘thriller’, it’s just a shame the Italians scored first, but everyone still had a great day out.
And it was good to see the England team walking out to ‘3 Lions’ :o)