Thunderstorms and holidays, and palpitations

Mmmm. Can you smell that? There's newness in the air. It's thick with it today. Some days feel like that, don't they? It's not to do with that heavy and oppressive kind of atmosphere that comes before a storm though, you know, when people say 'ooh, it's close today' (- is that a high- or low-pressure weather system? I can never remember). No, that's not what it feels like at all, because there was a tremendous storm in the night and that cleared the air. It's still warm today, but it's not sticky anymore. But anyway, that's not what I mean. I mean that there's a feeling of potential lingering around here. When this feeling is in the air I frequently get butterflies in my tummy, and I get little palpitations, and I get a bit sweaty as well, and I feel quite nervous, but I have absolutely no idea what it is that I'm anticipating! Very strange. I often have days when I'm getting the kids ready for school and I have a grin on my face, and I'm in a heightened state of excitement, and then I realise that I don't know why I'm feeling like that. I do not know what is coming, but I'm sure something is.

Am I going a little nuts?

The storm woke us up in the night, and it was quite exciting. The rain was absolutely hammering on the windows, and I had to close them to keep out a little of the noise. And then, even with my eyes closed, I could tell there was lightning before I heard the thunder. It was unbelievably bright - I just wish it had arrived earlier in the evening so I could have watched it out of the window. But at 4am I thought it was probably best to try to get back to sleep. And the thunder was brilliant, he he! I love it. I could never really understand that scene in The Sound of Music, when all the kids have to be sung to because they're afraid of the storm, because I've always enjoyed a good show of thunder and lightning. It's exhilerating! I hope we get another storm soon - but during the day would be better so that I can watch it with the kids :) And possibly even go out for a play in it, if it's warm enough. They slept through it last night. Shame.

I have just booked a holiday this morning. We're going to stay in the middle of Alnwick in Northumberland. We stayed up that way a couple of summers ago, in a caravan in Berwick upon Tweed. Alnwick is where the 'A' is on this map. Berwick is a few miles above that. I didn't want to stay in a caravan again, as they were pretty grotty and smelled of old food. So I've booked a little terraced house for a fortnight. It's very small, but it's still bigger than a caravan. And it's right in the middle of the village of Alnwick, which I understand is very beautiful. We visited Alnwick Castle, and the Alnwick Garden last time, but didn't get chance to look at the village. We will feel like we know the area pretty well this time, so we'll be able to make the best of our fortnight and see all the things we didn't get to see when we visited before. I'm really looking forward to it - it's going to be so relaxing, but lots of fun too. The beach is only 3 or 4 miles away, and it's golden and clean and big and oooooooooooooh!

It's good to explore this area, as it's a place we could move to. After the Berwick holiday we all wanted to live up in the North East, we loved it so much. And there is a power station up there, so Kev could get a job relatively easily. There are not many places that I would move so readily to in this country, but the North East, close to Scotland, is one of them. Lovely people, incredible scenery, LOADS to do. And plenty of fascinating history: the whole region is dripping with stories from centuries past.

Eek! Can't wait. I think the booking of the holiday must account for most of the feeling of potential and excitement today.

But that's not wholly it - there's something else.

The release of Eclipse on the 9th of July? Quite possibly. If Sazzle gets the next two books of the Twilight Saga read, we're going to see Eclipse together. Mmmmmmmm - yummy, Edward!

Also, I've just seen the teaser trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I. Oh. My. Goodness. That looks awesome. Released in November. It could be that that's making me sweaty ...

Or perhaps I'm misinterpreting the palpitations and butterflies - perhaps they are caused by the feeling of motivation that I am experiencing right now. Perhaps at the back of my mind, constantly, is the fact that I'm well into the writing of the second half of my book, and that perhaps I only have one third of the first draft left to write! It could, indeed, be that. Cor! Still a lot of work to do though, even after I've got to the end. I will still have to go right back to the beginning and go through it with a fine toothed comb, not once, maybe not twice, but possibly three or four times. Mmm, satisfying :)

Well, lots of things in the air. I will get on and enjoy them, whatever they are. Afternoon, all.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Almost forgot - I've got a Stag Do to organise as well! Pants. Better get on with that as well.

Super Mum, where are you??

I've just realised today that I'm going to be on my own most of next week, with all three kiddies most of the time. Kev's been warning me that a little work trip is approaching, fast followed by a week of nights. It has only just dawned on me that it's next week! Idiot. I'm not worried about it at all - it's something I kind of look forward to. Nothing to do with Kev not being here - ha ha! No, but it's good to get organised. I usually find that, for some unfathomable reason, I turn into Super Mum when Kev spends any time away. The house is always very tidy, the kids are always well behaved, I always have an endless supply of patience, and the boys are always in bed by 7pm, well-fed, well-tired, and well-bedtime-storied. And then I usually get lots of my own stuff done in the evenings too. I don't know where Super Mum goes when Kev gets back - weird. Lazy and Shouty Mum comes back, he he. But anyway, next week will be lovely. We'll still see Kev a bit, before he goes off to sleep - oo-er, hope it's nice weather so that we can go out and not keep him awake with our raucousness.

Only got nine days of the holidays left, and I'd like to get out and do some fun stuff with the kids, because we've not done much in the past few days. I took them to the Stone Jetty at Morecambe yesterday afternoon, and that was great. It's funny that some stone benches and platforms can induce so much bounciness and hilarity in three small boys. All we did was walk up and down the jetty, but they had so much fun, it was lovely. My back had had it by the evening, from carrying them from bench to bench in turn, as they pretended to fly through the air, stretched out in various poses such as Superman and Ironman; it started to get very silly very quickly, as Matthew wanted to be carried across as a sheep, then a donkey, then a piece of cheese, a stick, and so on. It was very funny.

Productive day today? Nope. Had the morning all to myself, and spent it reading! Didn't even pick up a pen - just waited for Kev and Thomas to go off to golf, then rushed upstairs to snuggle up in the comfy chair in the bay window, in full glorious Spring sunshine, reading the second book of the Twilight Saga. Sad, so very sad. I've become a seventeen-year-old again :) Pah! Well, what's wrong with that, eh? I'm enjoying myself. And as soon as I've finished blogging I will unashamedly get back to my book, ner ner ne ner ner!

(I'm actually looking forward to finishing this little series of books so that I can get back to normal, and stop thinking about beautiful vampires!)

Well, I've nothing left to ramble about right now. So I'll be off. (Sometimes I wish I knew how to spell certain sounds so that I could write them in properly - like, how do you spell a whistling sound? Or a tut? Those kinds of spellings would come in handy sometimes, you know?)

Night.