Working this morning at 6.30am and then Tash came down at 7.45am and suggested going out for a run.
Couldn’t really turn it down after the fuss I made yesterday about my weight…we only ran two miles but both of us were blowing! I didn’t add it to Run-Keeper as I was concerned about the speed I’d run, will be so slow!
Nice to get one under my belt but need to progress now
Whilst Jack was carving out the pumpkin for Halloween today Tasha asked him about visiting Father Christmas this year and whether he still wanted to go and visit him…
“Yes of course I do”
Coming from a 11 year old who’s at Secondary School now that was a bit of a surprise and we exchanged knowing glances as if to say he’s still not quite as grown up as we think he is. Bless him. In saying that, it’s nice for us that we can still take him along, Charlotte and Lewis have just about grown out of that by now…
Just clearing up some files off my laptop and found a Word document that contains the following text…I remember when she was a sweet little girl...of course she still is!
THIRTEEN stone, thirteen!!!! Count them, 182 pounds…
I have never been so heavy in all my life, couldn’t believe my eyes when I stood on the scales. Mind you, I shouldn’t have been so surprised, the spare tyre is looking more like a tractor than a car tyre so I’ve been avoiding the mirror recently.
So, it’s the diet and exercise for me in earnest to get down to 11 3/4 again, just in time for Xmas??? Watch this space…large space!
With a bit of a hangover this morning we went to work on some of the outstanding tasks to get my business up and running so we have done the following:
1. Made the url live so that it directs to the proper website now – Dark Enterprise
2. Created a logo that we can use now:
3. Set up the invoice documentation
4. Organised the documents for recording information and online
5. Created business cards using the newly created logo – can’t wait to get these through the post and start handing them out!
All I need to do now is be good at my job and make it a success…!!!
What’s that?
At the Red Lion they have some friends who meet once a month and dress up as pirates – the full monty, it’s incredible the level of commitment they have gone to so as to be pirates. Anyway, they make a good party and as it was Halloween suggested that theme – pirates and vampires (and ghouls etc)
So we went along as usual and had too much to drink and had a good evening.
So…what’s the state of play?
I’ve been made redundant and after various considerations I am going self-employed and intending to work with existing customers to cover admin, projects and SPIRIT. After some initial set backs I now have the following:
1. One day a week with a customer to carry out email campaigns and the like – 12 month contract
2. Projects with another existing customer who has a lot of work in the pipeline to discuss with me – ad hoc
3. Couple of days a week with a third customer – 6 month contract
4. Brand new venture with Jim Austin’s company who do Financial Services, need to get up to speed with their the Finance area but they’re interested in me working with them after I did a training demo and interview on Monday – ad hoc
Needless to say I am absolutely delighted by this turn of events, can’t be happier, in fact, I am a little concerned that I will have too much work…ah well, if it means late nights and weekend work then so be it. Hopefully putting this into print isn’t going to cause a collapse in the promised work but all in all very, very excited for what the future holds…
Mum’s coming round later for my birthday so might open something more fizzy than lager tonight!
Watch this space!
I was 44 this year and had a good day, got up early and helped with the paper round and then the kids gave me their presents. Usual things so that was nice, smellies and Thornton’s toffee and Lovehearts! It’s an accepted tradition that’s what I get and I love that to be fair, I will still expect those from my grand-children!
I then worked in the morning but kept checking Facebook and loads and loads of people were sending messages so that was flattering, didn’t get much work done. Went down to meet Tash in Little Clarendon Street at 1.00pm and we went to Strada Italian restaurant and that was lovely. Got some olives and I had pasta with sausage and she had a fantastic looking pizza, which I’d had that instead if truth be told…ah well…and she didn’t offer me any!
Back home for 3.00pm and Mum came round and more presents and a very generous cheque, doesn’t need to do that any more but she does. Blew out my candles and that and then she was gone round to Grandma’s.
We have Mum and that coming up for dinner on Friday night so we popped ou
We have been so in control of games and this was one of those matches where everything went completely pear-shaped and we ended up losing 4-1. No idea where that result came from, not a good way to spend my birthday I have to say. Had a quick drink afterwards and then came home and caught up with a couple of programmes on TV.
At this time in my life I love watching a couple of series and these include the following…Boardwalk Empire, Grimm, True Blood, Game of Thrones and Hunted. It seems there’s always something on the planner, I didn’t get to bed until 12.30am…got distracted!!!
All in all though, a lovely birthday and I really enjoyed it, except for the rubbish football!!!
What a night last night…it was Kerry’s 40th birthday celebration and we went to London with them, James and Melissa, Paul Cox and his wife Lindsay, Jason and Sharon Millar and Paul & Pauline. Started off at Paul’s house where we were picked up by a huge pink Limousine and then went round to Wayne’s so that was a surprise right from the start. Took some photos and the kids had a look around before setting off to London. That was fun and we had a few drinks an a bit of champagne along the route.
Dropped off at Regent street and then walked down the road to find a bar and had a few drinks before going to the Ice Bar (http://www.belowzerolondon.com) in which we were provided cloaks and went into the bar for 45 minutes in –5 degrees for cocktails. That was a great experience, but it did seem bloody cold!!!
Had a couple more in the bar once that was over and then walked round to Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant called the Maze Grill. (http://www.gordonramsay.com/mazegrill/) More drinks whilst we were waiting and unfortunately Wayne and Kerry had a an argument and the whole night completely soured, it was over his drinking and she’d asked him to slow down and then things just went completely pear-shaped. It was such a shame. We continued with the meal but really might just as well have gone home there and then because the atmosphere hanging over the table was awful.
Anyway, we went ahead with it and the food was lovely, I had the burger as it was the cheapest option there and some olives which both were excellent. There was the option of a steak for £80.00 which I would have loved to have tried, couple of people went for the £30.00 option. I enjoyed myself anyway and it was a laugh but in a bit of a forced manner to be honest, I think people were starting to tire as it was about midnight when we finished. We then called the limo and got a ride home, I was in charge of the music!
Stayed at Wayne’s in the spare room and a bit hungover in the morning
It was a great experience but it was ruined by Wayne at the end and the evening will be remembered for the wrong reasons sadly.
Would I do either again? Yes I think I would, definitely the food and perhaps the ice bar just as a new experience for a friend…
Where will it stop?!?!
I am writing a blog using Windows Live Writer which is posted to Blogger.com. I have a LinkedIn account, a Facebook Account, a personal Twitter account, because I am about to go freelance I now also have a business website and a business Twitter account. I also use Google Analytics to see the feeds to the websites and this blog…
I have now enrolled in Hootsuite and playing with that has been interesting and I can see the advantage of using this functionality. I have just set up an online CRM application to record all the communications and work I shall be carrying out for the business and I have my Google account to use for the online spreadsheet storage and most likely calendars and emails, although I have a personal BT email account, a business email account and a Gmail account as well as my work email account and then an iPhone that means I am accessible 24/7.
And guess what, when I was young…I used to use a simple diary and the local library!!!!
On Saturday morning I created an email to request sponsorship from local companies to get new kit for Jack’s team. I sent out abut 25 emails, just grabbed the addresses from websites and sent them off blindly.
Tash said I was wasting my time but within two hours someone had replied to say they’d be interested but would need to convince the partners of the firm and he’d let me know on Tuesday…today is Tuesday and I’d forgotten until I just received an email to say that they’re all interested and that they’d sponsor us.
How cool is that?!?! Now to sort out the kit order and see how much this will all come to!
Really pleased with that.
So that’s it then, we’ve sent Lewis’s application to UCAS for his attempt to get into University. He’s trying for Electrical Engineering in Loughborough, Cardiff, Plymouth, Nottingham and Coventry so hopefully he’ll get some offers for one or more of them. I think Loughborough will be out of his range but you never know and his exams might improve, he’s certainly working hard for them.
He deserves to get something so let’s wait and see…
Wow…travelling up to London this morning and thought I’d tidy up the voice memos I have made for this year…bad idea, how many?!?!
Haven’t got through half of them in an hour, I don’t think that’s the idea behind making them. It was interesting though to listen to my thoughts as I’ve been travelling to work, making promises to spend more time at home with the kids, plans for football training and moaning about my role and workload. I think I am in a much ‘better place’ right now having listened to the memos from February and May but it did reinforce things that I should be striving towards.
So hopefully this means more interaction and fun with my family, more exercise, less drinking, up earlier in the morning and better focus of my time at work. All very respectable ideas, just wondering how many will come to fruition…watch this space!
So, Charlotte has turned 16 and I think she’s had a birthday to remember!!! Friday night she went out with 4 friends to Joe’s cafe in Summertown for a meal and I went and picked them up at 7.45pm to come home to ‘watch videos’. Little did she know that a surprise party had been organised by Lewis and Rose and there were 20 friends all waiting in our back garden for her to return. She walked in and was obviously shocked, they’d done a fantastic job of keeping it quiet and she had no idea whatsoever. Cue loads of screaming and singing and shouting.
Lewis stayed but Tash, Jack and I went to Paul Holden’s mum’s 90th birthday party down at Oxford City for a couple of hours which was really nice. We then went back to the house around 11.00pm and the place was rocking! No hassle or trouble just all the girls singing and dancing, a bit drunk, but nothing out of order and they were loving it. Slowly people were leaving but at 1.00am I have video of 17 of them crammed into Lewis’s bedroom, including Liam and Jack, singing. One of the neighbours complained but that was fine really and understandable and by about 1.30am they’d all gone home and Charlotte settled down.
We went out on Saturday night for a meal at the Kidlington pub we usually go to and then the next day she went off with Rose to Greece for a week’s holiday, how lucky is she?!?!? In saying that, she paid for it herself with the money she’s earning. She came back yesterday and loved every minute of it I am pleased to say.
She’s grown up into a lovely girl and we’re so very proud of her. Very pretty young thing who still knows where to draw the line and doesn’t drink (too much) or smoke, although she was on a moped in Greece which didn’t go down too well here at home!
She now wants me to take her out in our new car we’ve got, only to the Park & Ride so that she can start learning to drive in preparation for next year when she turns 17. In saying that, Lewis is now driving us around so that he becomes more accustomed to being on the road, it’s a bit nervy but he’s doing okay so far…
God only knows how long this is going to type up. This will just have to be a run through of all we’ve been up to since the last blog!
Olympics, I’ve just updated some posts I’d written ages ago, if only to record them in the blog. We were caught up in the interest and signed up for the Paralympics for the stadium and it was unbelievable. Saw David Weir win gold and the place was mad. Everything in the Olympic village was very, very good, they’d done such a fantastic job on it all. It was all quite a come-down once the games finished, but it was wonderful.
We then went on holiday to Egypt, Sharm El Sheikh, with Wayne, Kerry and the girls and had a great time. Very, very hot but not uncomfortable. It was an all inclusive holiday which isn’t like us at all but we loved it. So many memories but for me it had to be the scuba diving that was the highlight. Lewis and I took to it really well but Wayne unfortunately couldn’t get to grips with it so dropped out. But down under the sea in the aquarium-like water with the most colourful fish you could imagine was wonderful. There are no adjectives that my limited vocabulary can give it justice. We also had a drive out in the desert on quad bikes which was a great experience and the kids got a go at driving which they really enjoyed.
We went into Sharm one night and Jack & Charlotte got to go on a camel which they were dying to do. The place looked pretty good actually but no one wanted to stay out which was a shame. Had some laughs in the evening and we all had a go on the Shish pipes which was good. Staring up the stars and relaxing. Snorkelling during the day was excellent as well because the stretch of beach that we had was perfect for this and we could go and look at the fish as much as we wanted to. Food-wise it was all good and the choice was fine for everyone. I was sick for many days but just got on with it, I did miss one night being so ill but I tried my best not to let it affect anyone else. Definitely would like to go there again and have also got the interest in the scuba diving having done that now.
Forgot to mention, Lewis and Charlotte went off to a night club and didn’t get back in until 5.00am, Charlotte wasn’t sure about it and once she’d been persuaded to go it was her that was the one jumping in the pool that you weren’t supposed to go in and living it up! Party girl in the making here!!!
Summer holiday has been a bit wet this year, the kids have had a good time though so that’s important, plenty of parties, both Lewis and Charlotte are out nearly every weekend, late nights and Charlotte is becoming more of a party animal!
Kids went back to school and Jack has now started at Cherwell, scary! He’s settled in brilliantly and loves it. There are not enough hours in the day, he’s got into the football team and then does lots of activities after school like dodge ball, rugby and so on – he’s not got enough time for his karate and Taurus which is causing us problems and embarrassment.
I’ve missed loads off here, I can’t think for the life of me now all the things that we’ve been up to.
Oh, we’ve booked a skiing holiday for next February which I can’t wait for, should be good.
The hangover has started for the country, the Olympics finished on Sunday night with the closing ceremony and every feels a bit deflated and at a loose end now. The Olympics fortnight has been absolutely brilliant, so good for the country and a real surprise at the success of the team and the organisation – it’s been incredible.
On Sunday night the closing ceremony was basically a huge concert and as much as I enjoyed it the overall feeling is that it was a bit of a let down after the amazing opening ceremony and the quality of the performances of the athletes. I guess it depends on expectation though, I thought it was okay but at the same time I can see why it was criticised, if felt a bit messy and some of the acts just weren’t right.
It was good to see the Pet Shop Boys, the Spice Girls and Eric Idle was funny and hopefully it didn’t distract from the amazing fortnight, I don’t think it did.
It seems strange now not having something to watch on the TV and get excited about, but we have our holiday and then the Paralympics to look forward to. So not all is lost!
This have been unbelievable! Team GB have been so successful and every day has been addictive TV and a feeling of being involved in the shared success is running through the whole country. Where to start??? The cycling has been stunning, Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Laura Trott, Jason Kenny and so many others making up the teams and they’ve absolutely wiped the floor with the opposition.
But it’s not just there, the Equestrian are winning gold for the first time in 50 odd years, Judo, Triathlon and of course Jess Ennis in the Heptathlon when on Saturday night she won, then Greg Rutherford won the Long Jump to be finished off by Mo Farah in the 10,000m which was a stunning performance. 3 gold medals in the space of about 45 minutes, 6 on the day!
The rowers too are pulling in the medals – it’s been very, very impressive and so intriguing, I can’t help but watch it on TV, or website or catch up on Twitter.
I’ve loved how interested Jack is in it, he won’t move from the telly and is constantly updating me with information about runners and events, it’s brilliant.
Unfortunately, it’s highlighting just how big I am! So I went out for a run this evening and did a load of exercise, won’t be in time for my holiday sadly!
Well, after about 7 years since the announcement of the awarding of the Olympics to London and constant press stories going on about all the problems it’s finally here. At last. Gold place!
Actually, I’m writing this on Day 4 and Gold hasn’t been won yet unfortunately but Team GB have done well in some of their competitions and to be fair, a lot of the previous days have been heats or not the events that we usually do well in. Rowing and Cycling to come. Yesterday we witnessed history though as the Men’s team Gymnasts won Bronzer in the most thrilling and amazing session which saw them briefly have Silver in their pockets until a Japan enquiry on the Pommel Horse edged us out…by a nose! Remarkable achievement all the same though.
So, I’ve jumped ahead of myself slightly. We were unfortunate not to get ay tickets for sessions, although don’t get me started on the number of empty seats visible, so we decided on still being involved by attending the Opening Ceremony concert in Hyde Park. What a brilliant day we had. Everyone has been told to stay out of London, so we hoped that would enable us to drive in with no bother which we did at around 2.30pm on Friday – sure enough – no traffic to talk of. Just as we were pulling into out car park, The Kasey’s were at the traffic lights and waved us down, we were meeting them anyway but that was perfect timing.
Spent the next two hours in the Lady Diana Memorial garden and then wandered down to Marble Arch where it was getting busy. Had a meal in Prezzo and then around 7.00pm went to the concert, not good news, the place was absolutely packed out with queues outside which were moving so damned slowly. I guessed right, it took us over an hour to get in and eventually at 8.10pm we got past three levels of security to see Duran Duran – they were wonderful! Really got the place going.
That was 9.00pm so the screens came on and we had a live link to the Opening Ceremony over at Stratford. Danny Boyle was the director and went through the history of the UK in terms of the Industrial Revolution to the present and it was absolutely spellbinding. It received criticism in the press or Twitter from various individuals who felt it was political or were just too stupid to understand what they were seeing, but the very vast majority of people watching it couldn’t fail to be impressed. Loved it! Some good humour, James Bond and although I am not a fan of Mr Bean his involvement was amusing and worth including for certain. Loads of great music and things that made you very proud.
At around 10.15pm the concert kicked back in and Stereophonics played for just under an hour in which Jack and I got close to the front which was cool, then it was back to more of the ceremony and then it was Snow Patrol’s turn to play and they were fantastic. Charlotte wanted to go to the front with me this time and Jack came along as well and it was lovely for the three of us to be right up there in amongst it. Very special.
Once they played their set it was after midnight and we switched back to the ceremony to see UK enter the arena and also the all important lighting of the flame. There has been so much speculation over who was going to be granted the honour, I think it’s fair to say the overwhelming favourite was Steve Redgrave, with Becks and Daly Thompson pushing close but what happened was a great twist. Becks, Thompson, Daly, ah bugger, some other famous Olympians from the past had nominated a teenager and future Olympic athlete to do it for them. And the torch was something else, petals of a metal flower that turn upwards and lit up…and then the fireworks closed it out. You could see the sky lighting up from where we were!
Paul McCartney then came on and that was the cue for everyone to make their way to the exits. We had a long 20 mins walk and then a wait in the car park for a useless attendant to sort things out but eventually got home at 2.45am, everyone shattered but what an amazing and unforgettable experience.
As I say, I’m writing this a couple of days later but it’s so fresh and the photos and videos that I will include will make the memories stick even more. Now’s just hoping for more medals from the athletes…
