Little bits of time

At the moment it's proving difficult to find a really good chunk of time, with which I can achieve some good stuff. I haven't blogged about the Stag Do, which I really wanted to do, because I've been waiting for a good couple of free hours. Nothing doing. So I might just have to not really blog about the Stag Do - that's kind of good though, since what happens on a stag do is supposed to stay on the stag do. I would be breaking the rules if I told all, of course. Mind you, the worst of it (and there was really nothing that was awful - everything was really great) is there for all to see on Facebook! Literally, eh Gary? No photos of the lap dancing club, naturally, because I didn't get to go in (sadly :( ) and cameras are not allowed in there anyway.

And the other reason I won't be blogging about the stag do is that the memories are starting to fade already. A few days after the weekend I found that I was still able to recall almost every detail of the two days and nights with perfect clarity. But the memories are getting patchy now. No doubt I could remember most of it if I sat down and put my mind to it, but really, I can't be bothered! So I'll just tell you that there was much alcohol consumed, plenty of hilarity and chatting about complete nonsense, and a very pleasant lack of hangover :D Also, quad biking is the best laugh, and I would very much like to do that again - it was so funny, jolting up and down these bumpy tracks through Sherwood Forest, trusting that the quad bike wouldn't topple over when we drove it down near vertical little drops. Very, very funny. I drove the whole course with a big grin on my face, and if anyone had been close enough to me they would have heard hysterical little giggles escaping on the bumpiest bits :) Paintballing is also awesome. I was very proud of my mega-bruises, and spent the week after showing anyone who stood still next to me for any length of time. The biggest bruise was on the back of my left upper arm - it was a whopper, and possibly the biggest bruise I have ever seen. My cousin Stephen did it, at quite close range. I laughed my head off, after I'd run screaming to safety :) I was quite covered in bruises, on my legs particularly - just as I'd hoped. I didn't want to be bruiseless, because that would have meant that I'd hidden like a girly girl and hadn't participated properly :) We loved paintballing so much that when I saw a stall, serendipitously, in Lancaster last weekend I jumped at the chance to book some cheap tickets (shared them with Phil, who was a fellow stag - even more serendipitous that I saw him in town as I was talking to the paintballing representative!). £27 off each ticket - can't say no to a deal like that!!!

Here are me boys :) Handsome fellas, one and all :) Not Noomski though, of course, he's a minger.

See, minger. We look alike though, so I guess I'm a minger too - certainly am in this photo!

The latter end of Saturday evening, after many beers and many Jåger Bombs (sorry, can't find the right 'a' that's got two dots over it!). A lovely photo of us four cousins - must print a copy for my grandma, she'll be very proud! Actually, it's really very nice that Jason and Stephen here have come to join me and Noomski - Noomski and I have been the only two grown up cousins for a long time now, and it was nice to welcome these two new adults to our little gang :D I guess the others will be grown up too in no time - *violent judder* - time is passing far too quickly :|

One of my lesser bruises - shot by my cousin Jason, on purpose.

My biggest bruise - it got darker and more dramatic than this. Good eh? :) It's still there, a week and a half later - just yellow though, and not very visible. It's sad to see it go :(

Male bonding stuff rocks, and I would like to do much more :) Mind you, it's not just male stuff - my friend Catherine's hen weekend was just as awesome, because we went to GoApe, and had a fantastic time. It's not really to do with maleness or femaleness is it? It's just to do with awesome people :) The past few years I've met some really incredible people, and I hope it continues.

I had a bit of a post-stag-weekend downer for a few days after Nottingham (Nottingham is a lovely place, and I'd love to visit it again some time). I'm fine now.

James is on half days which is what's making it difficult to find good pockets of writing time. Mind you, that's a rubbish excuse for not getting my final chapters drafted - I can usually only concentrate for a couple of hours at the most anyway, lol. What a fraud I am. Never believe a word I say, because I'm usually lying to myself :| I've really got plenty of time, but I just always click on my Facebook button, or my blog button, or my Hub button first. Very naughty. Look at me now, blogging away, wasting this little bit of time that I have. There are two little boys, zonked out on the couch (not sleeping, but watching telly with their heads lolling), exhausted as kids always are in September. Might as well make the most of their lack of energy and enjoy a bit of relaxation time myself :)) (- that smiley face has a double chin, because I'm getting fat with the lack of exercise and the increase in consumption of brioches! I'll get into my bikini in Barbados, it just won't look very nice!)

Well, I'll just pop off and write a letter that's been waiting for a month. Laters.

Catching up.

Ahhhhhh. Lovely. Two children at nursery, one sitting on the sofa with a big pad of drawing paper and large supply of freshly sharpened pencils, a cup of tea within easy reach, a fully charged laptop and novel-writing equipment at the ready. Perfect. I've missed this - just sitting in peace and quiet (I say peace and quiet, I'm tuning out the sound of 'Dogtanian and the Muskehounds' on the TV - but it's nice to be busy working alongside Thomas all the same). It seems like I haven't blogged, or worked on my book for such a long time - it's been a whole week since I wrote anything of length. I do like to do different things from time to time, but it's good to get back into my routine of mumming and writing.

This weekend was great - Go Ape was very good. It was a shame that the difficult section of the course had been taken out - those were the bits I had been looking forward to - I was going to challenge

myself to take the hardest routes. But it was still lots of fun, and we have many, many photos and videos. The video clip I love the best is the one of me on the Tarzan Swing, and the scream that comes out of my mouth completely involuntarily is very funny! It's so loud! I had no idea that I could scream like that.

The party in the evening was nice too - not going to dwell on that too much though, as I drank two full bottles of wine and can't remember everything. I did say when I gave up drinking that I would drink at the Beer Festival, and on my birthday. No shame - everyone's had nights when they've made a prat of themselves. It's in the past now, and I'm moving on! :) One very positive thing to come from such a terrible hangover is that I'm definitely sure that giving up drinking is the right thing to do - I don't want to drink anymore, it's just stupid.

I was completely ruined on my birthday, on Monday - I was not expecting the most amazing present that Kev got me. My very own electric guitar?? Oh yes, my very own. It's just beautiful, and sounds so nice. I'm really not very good at all yet, but it does take rather a long time to become a maestro! I can play about ten chords, and my changes are getting a little faster now. But I still can't change between two chords without looking - oh, yes, I can change between an Aminor and an E without looking, but that's probably the easiest. I asked Noomski what sort of things he could play at the end of his first year, and he showed me some basic chord changes. I was pretty encouraged by that, as it didn't sound too fast or too complicated. But I'm enjoying playing the guitar a lot - it's much easier to pick up than the piano. It takes years to be able to sound impressive on the piano, but the guitar can sound impressive very quickly. Or maybe I'm easily impressed! Well, whatever. I love it. But I have no aspirations to fame and fortune with the guitar, ha ha - no, don't even want to be in a little band. I just play it for me. It's wonderful to have my own now.

Well, that was our weekend. Well, actually, we packed in quite a bit more as well - a trip to Barton Grange garden centre to see some birds of prey (that was actually very disappointing, as the bird handlers were very disorganised and seemed to be annoyed that there were so many people there to see their birds!). And yesterday we took the boys out to the park for a well-deserved Run Around. We took bikes, a frizbee, the stomp rocket and a football. We climbed trees (Noomski and I had been missing the heights, had to get up a tree and feel the wind in our hair again!), rolled around on the grass getting muddy, and breathed the fresh air in very deeply. It was very refreshing. I should try to remember to get out in the fresh air every day if the kiddies are going crazy over these holidays - we stay in the house too much. It's always the same at this time of year - we stay in a bit in the winter, and get a bit fat and lazy, and forget that there's air and exercise to be had.

The sun's out, it's warming up, and I'm feeling very alive today. Happy Wednesday everyone!