Saturday 28 August 2010

Photohunt - framed

Loch Maree and the lower slopes of Slioch framed by a fallen tree.

Thursday 26 August 2010

Ipod with a mind of it's own.

My ipod, which is predominantly full of fast upbeat songs I listen to at the gym,  (on shuffle) chose to play the following tunes in succession as I walked to work today.




followed by.....



and....



then.....



Do you think it has moods....?

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Carn Aosda and the Cairnwell

On Sunday the BF and I climbed 2 of the easiest Munros (over 3000ft) possible.
The summit of Cairnwell is ugly......


....but the views are beautiful........




Sunday 22 August 2010

Another Birthday



No.1 pride and joy was 16 yesterday.
I have no idea where the last 16 years have gone.
His arrival was less traumatic than that of his little brother, but was by no means easy.
After 42 hours of labour he was eventually delivered by Kiellands forceps. I'll spare you the gorey details, but it meant a long recovery time for me, although thankfully he was fighting fit from the start.
Just after he started school, he was diagnosed with dyspraxia. This affects his coordination, particularly fine motor skills, and planning skills.
Primary school was hard going due to the inability or unwillingness, of some teachers to make any allowance whatsoever for this. After careful consideration, we decided to send him to a small private school for his secondary years. This has proved to be the best decision ever. He has thrived in the calm atmosphere and small class sizes, and this month he got the results of his first major exams (Intermediate 2's and Standard Grades - about equivalent to GCSEs I believe). 5As, 2Bs and a credit level for the Standard Grade!
At his 5th form interview last week, his head of year informed us that 3 of these As were band 1, which means above 80%. I am immensely proud of him.
But the love of his life is rugby.
Turning 16 on Saturday meant he moved up an age group, from under 16s to under 18s. Quite a daunting move.
Saturday was also the first preseason friendly match. He was delighted to be picked for the starting line up and played 2/3rds of the game which they won 22-15. An ideal birthday for him!

Here he is with his brother, entertaining his little cousin during the summer holidays -


......and doing what he loves most .........

Saturday 21 August 2010

Photohunt - Numerical

The clock at Grand Central Station, New York.



Thursday 19 August 2010

Sunflowers

Inspired by van Gogh.......?

Wednesday 18 August 2010

Festival fun

On Saturday we had a day of immersion in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
It was a great day with some fabulously entertaining music, dancing and comedy like this -
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8134641250228273157#

Saturday 14 August 2010

Photohunt - Orange

I was spoilt for choice with this one.
I've always made myself chose just one pictue for photohunt, but since No.2 P&J's football team play in bright orange I had to include a picture of them as well as this sunset reflected orange in the sea at Cavtat.

This is the team lifting up their coach after winning the league this year. His hair is naturally that colour, though some have suggested he just dyes it to match the team colours!

Friday 13 August 2010

State of mind.

I woke up this morning feeling pretty pissed off.
This was due to the cumulative effect of a number of little things (mostly self-inflicted):
I had a little too much to drink last night, not enough to induce a hangover, but just enough that I didn't feel my usual bright and breezy self this morning,
I got a letter containing a thinly veiled threat from my ex husband solicitor yesterday,
I realised today was the end of my, admittedly long, summer holidays,
And also there were a number of jobs I had been determined to tackle over the summer that still remain untouched.
All of these things and others too trivial to mention, combined to subdue my mood.
So I wasn't really feeling up to my usual Friday morning visit to the gym.
However, I forced myself out of bed and down to the leisure centre.
15 minutes on the exercise bike, 5km run (27m 30s), 10 mins on the stepper, and finally 10 mins of weights and stretches = completely knackered and pouring with sweat!
Not a pretty sight!
But the end result was worth it, my mood has completely changed. I came home, phoned my solicitor, showered, chatted to the kids and had a coffee and a banana and now I'm full of beans (well banana and coffee actually) and ready to attack some of those unfinished jobs.
And best of all, 2lbs lighter on the scales than last Friday!

Wednesday 11 August 2010

(Re) organisation

I finally completed the clearing out and moving round that I mentioned starting weeks ago (When the music stops......)
It sounds a bit like colonic irrigation when put like that, and now I think about it, it was - though a bit less messy!
The kids are both pleased with their new locations and I now have a study with a view.


In the process we took around 9 bin bags of rubbish to the tip, 3 boxes of books are waiting to go to the charity shop,


and a very large container of lego is waiting to be picked up by a friend for her little boy.


When clearing the study I shredded enough old bills and documents to almost fill my paper recycling bin, and despite severe provocation I resisted the temptation to shred several important documents belonging to my ex!
Why am I so reasonable, I ask myself?

Tuesday 10 August 2010

The return of Alice Cooper

I've just watched Alice Cooper on BBC breakfast news.
A slightly bizzare experience.
He is auditioning people to appear in a halloween show with him, and looking for individuals who are "as freaky as possible".
Any takers?!!


A couple of interesting facts about the man - he has a golf handicap of 2, and has been married for 34 years!
Not sure if that makes him go up or down in my estimations.

Saturday 7 August 2010

Photohunt - colourful

A balloon seller in Cavtat, Croatia.

Thursday 5 August 2010

Results Day

Exam results came out today.
Both my no.1 P & J and BF's daughter waiting for results (Intermediate 2s and one standard grade for him, Highers for her).
I had to go to work this morning to do interviews, but I waited with baited breath.
By 12 noon, still no news.
Home from work around 12.30pm and I find the post on the mat.......
he drags himself downstairs -
YEAH! 5 'A's, 2 'B's and a 2 for the standard grade (equivalent to a lower A I think).
What a relief!!!

...........about an hour later a text.....
4 'A's and 1 'B' for her.
Everyone happy.

Relaxing with a G & T while the kids cook dinner :-))))))

Beach Art

Monday 2 August 2010

Sunday 1 August 2010

One to one time

The best thing about no.2 pride-and-joy being in Italy for the last few days has been the chance for some exclusive time with no.1 pride-and-joy.
We decided that it wasn't on for the baby of the family to have all the fun, so we popped down to London for a couple of days.

South Bank, Covent Garden, Toy Story 3, Portobello Market, Lion King stage show (courtesy of my VERY generous BF), St Pauls Cathedral, Millenium Bridge and finally Covent Garden again.



A whirlwind tour and great fun. No. 1 doesn't get as many mentions as No. 2, but he is great company and probably the most laid back 15 year old on the planet.

Photohunt - public


Public transport, San Francisco style.