So Norovirus.........we meet again..........

.....and yet again its taken my little princess

Exactly the same symptoms............exactly the same way

She was first poorly Sunday night whilst I was in work......

Then when I got home at 10pm she was sleeping soundly.
At 11pm when I went to bed I could hear her coughing, 2 minutes later she was sick
Brought her into our bed, 10 minutes of sound sleep, followed by coughing, then her crying, so we quickly moved her and sure as the sun rises, she was sick again.

Sunday night/Monday morning saw a blur of sickness, coughing, crying and me and her spending the night on the sofa.
At 5.30am when the dog did his usual howling trick I could have quite happily drop kicked him into the garden and left him there........but I'm not that mean.

Yesterday was full of mummy cuddles so I did nothing productive at all but I have found out that Mabel is very mummsie in her way. Everywhere Holly went yesterday, Mabel went. Holly slept, Mabel slept, Holly ate, Mabel ate........and so forth. Her and Holly are very close since the day we brought Mabel home, she would sit wrapping her up in blankets, just sit next to her bed and stroke her and she would sit hand feeding her dry biscuits (which we tried our best to deter her from doing) but it has obviously not gone unnoticed by Mabel.

Here is a few photos of Holly and Nurse Mabel yesterday

As I type this Holly is sat on my lap wrapped in her favourite blankie (the pink one in above photos), she's been up maybe 45 minutes with a very unwelcome dirty nappy, had a few mouthfuls of cereal and is now subdued possibly about to fall asleep again, Mabel is curled up right next to me......under Holly's feet. She's still a bit warm but her temperature is no where near what it was yesterday.

Ben bless him has been good as gold.......so I think a packet or two of his favourite stickers may be in order when Im next in work. He also brought me a gorgeous daffodil plant that he planted himself in school with the Marie Curie Pots of Care programme.....so it is now sitting happily on the front room windowsill

Which reminds me, two things happened in work Sunday, the first was I had these two videos sent to me from Owen

Id call that progress with the dogs. I should add that Mabel we think is starting to stop bleeding but we are aware that she still is fertile afterwards which is why they are still separated by the gate in the first video.

Bruno and Mabel progress...... :-)

We both do not want to add to the doggy population either which is why the dogs have supervised contact when the kids aren't around (mainly when Ben is around but Holly's is in bed because she is a little whirlwind and tends to want to play and winds them both up) or are separated at the minute. Plus for those who don't know Mabel's story please check my February blogs, she was meant to go in for neutering last week but because she came into season and we are unsure of her medical history and exact age we were advised to leave her have this one as it may have been her first, either way she is being neutered ASAP as the vets will not touch Bruno because he is 12 years old and has seizures.

Second bit of Sunday good news is there is a supervisors position going in work, my workmate Chris (who is already a supervisor) has hinted that two people are being taken on to cover it and whilst a workmate Luke is hoping for one, the other is two shifts I already do.....and I worked with our main boss on Sunday as there was no available cover and according to Chris who saw him yesterday he was singing my praises. I am considering applying for it but realise I am not as trained up as some others in the shop but I know how to lock the shop up (besides banking the notes) and the code to alarm the door. Other than that I know how to do everything else. My hours would go from 12 to 17 so I would qualify then for working tax credit and my hourly wage would go from £6.20 to £7.80. so all round it would help us out immensely.........it would also help with my future CVs if I have training etc I'm just not sure I want to be supervisor in the shop because the amount of grief we get occassionally is unreal and we are due to have extended hours soon too.

Things to think about I guess..........

Today mainly will consist of baby cuddles, Ive just enjoyed a bacon sandwich for breakfast and Im hoping if she does go for a proper nap later on that I can get out and clean the rabbits out as with the torrential rain last week and the cold weather and baby being ill they are in desperate need of cleaning out.

I also got rid of a fair few bits yesterday with the council. The spare hutch has now gone so I have space on top of it that Im hoping will be a good place to put my cloche and seedlings - its in the sun trap and sheltered all round and no bunnies can eat it.

Right best be off, mummy cuddles and Mr Tumble are calling

x

Time to finish.....(all these things).....Ive started

I'm a hypocrite

I am usually the one nagging Owen because he takes things apart and never rebuilds them, or makes all these plans and never follows them, or starts things but never finishes them......

until yesterday when I realised I am no better.

I was tidying round, 'potching' as we call it - putting little things away that had clearly been left waiting for me to do such a chore.....and kept coming across little things that I kept thinking to myself ' I must do that.......I must watch that.......I must finish reading that'.

So in the end I made a list of the things I haven't finished and shamefully it looks something like this

Things to finish reading
Valentinos Rossi's book
Janni Kowalskis book
The Kite Runner - won it but havent actually started reading it
Long Way Down - again I have it but havent started reading it

Cross Stitches
Shamefully I have had a tiger cub one since I was 12 and its still not finished and even worse is it needs literally about 30 stitches in the same colour and outlining to be complete.
A daffodil tablecloth I brought to give to my nan for her birthday (that was yesterday) and its got maybe one flower sewn on it.

Films To See
I have had Michael Jacksons film I borrowed off a friend before Xmas and never watched
SeaBiscuit - I've never managed to see the whole film
Willow - brought the DVD and haven't watched it (was a favourite as a child though)

Decorating
need to make a plan of attack
need to decide colours
list of things to get for each room (wardrobes etc)

Gardening
Plan for the garden
Clean/Clear the garden of junk
Start seeds
seperate spider plant seedlings for friends

Plans to start on
Kennels for dogs in May/July. We are going to see my dad for the night in May and away to my grandparents for two nights in July so need to book them in kennels because no family members can watch them.

and would you believe the bottom of that list said 'find a hobby'........think I have plenty to keep me occupied for a while though!

Besides that nothing much else is going on in the 'Seilam' (that's welsh for madhouse). Mabel seems to be coming out of season and made me and Owen jump yesterday because we brought Bruno in and he was sat on the sofa with me, and suddenly she shot off the sofa with Owen over to where we were. Owen did say as well that Bruno was later sat with him and she came over to get on the sofa with them of her own accord so I think she is getting there slowly. We have also discovered that neither dog likes the spray bottle technique and just having it in the room is enough to deter any naughty behaviour or growling on Miss Mabel's part so we are using that method at the minute rather than telling them off or scolding them etc

Oh yeah and Owen has sprained his ankle messing about in work jumping off palets.

Also Bruno has taken to howling at 5.30am.....not sure if its because he wants out, because he's a bit jealous or if there is something wrong but once we have been down and seen him he is OK hence him being back in the living room when we are all here. Just have to be careful with the kids in the living room and the two dogs so I tend to wait until Holly goes for a nap at 11 and then he comes in because Ben will listen and sit nicely with one dog but Holly runs between the two and winds them both up.

Also confirmed Mabel is very much a mummy's girl.

Right, best be off, breakfast to make and then I think I'm going to make a start on seed sowing. Also think I will take a book to work with me to read on my dinner break, now just need to decide which one.

Have a good sunday all

Sammy
x

Local Shop Offers (March 20th - April 9th)

Anyway, Ive decided to do a new piece on my blog, since I work in a little supermarket that has bigger branches all over the UK and what not - I figure that not many people know deals and if you don't tend to go shopping very often to save money then you wont know so I thought Id post the deals our little shop has on because it will be the same in most shops and on a Thursday I can update with out weekend specials - its usually two products that are reduced but the offer only lasts the weekend.

Anyway the offers this week (from March 20th - April 9th) are

* Large Unfatted Beef - WAS £10.59 per kilo, DOWN TO £5.29 per kilo
* British Boneless Pork Leg - WAS £7.19 per kilo, DOWN TO £3.59 per kilo
* Coop British Hams (theres a selection) - Any 2 for £4
*Coop chicken drumsticks/thighs - WAS £5 a pack, DOWN TO £2.50
*Coop smoked Salmon - WAS £6.50, DOWN TO £3.50
* 4 salmon fillets - WAS £8, DOWN TO £4

* King Edward 1.5kg bag - £1.50
* Coop Parsnips / Carrots - 50% Free
* Leaf Salad - £1.60 - BOGOF

* Utterly butterly - WAS £1.95, DOWN TO £1
* 8 Warburton Rolls - £1
* Garlic Baguette Triple Pack - £1
* Pilgrims Choice Cheese - £4.49 - BOGOF
* Coop Gala Apples Bag - Save 50p - £1.75
* Coop Mandarins - £1.50

Now I should just add that from experience the store tends to overstock on these things which can mean a lot of them get reduced down to ridiculously cheap prices. Personally our store doesn't get a lot of the big meat joints in the reduction bin at night time but chicken and salmon don't tend to sell well here but with the 75% we are recommended to reduce them by you could take home 4 salmon fillets for £1 potentially or the chicken drumsticks for 65p. Veg always tends to get left along with bread as well in our shop.

I will update and let you know the weekend offers as well soon.

Hope thats helped someone

Reality check today.......

Today has been somewhat eventful.

This time two years ago......
* Owen got his eye appointment times reduced down to every 6 months after having gone blind in one eye nearly 5 years ago now.
* My sister was about to under go surgery for Cervical Cancer.
* I had just gotten clear results from a suspicious smear test (sorry boys if too much information)
* My nan discovered she had Non Hodgkins Lymphoma
* I was depressed being stuck in a little damp rotten flat because the Health Visitor kept bullying us.

 Fast forward 2 years.....
* Owen doesnt have to see the eye surgeon anymore but just has to go back if something is bugging him
* My sister had her all clear
* My nan is in remission and just had her first all clear blood test
*We moved house
* No more health visitor

I cannot begin to tell you how much it feels like we've come on just counting the small victories.......

Speaking of victories too

I have been through my seeds today ready to start planting tomorrow.

So far I have

* 2 cress hedgehogs for the kids to grow one each

* 3000 cress seeds (curled)

* 400 Peas seeds (early onward)

* 460 Radish seeds (sparkler 3)

* 5 cucumber seeds (telepathy f1)

* 40 tomato seeds (cherry)

* 10 tomato seeds (tumbling tom red)

* 3200 carrot seeds ( autumn king 2)

* 1000 lettuce seeds (salad bowl mixed)

* 250 spring onion seeds (wilko brand)

* 450 spring onion seeds (white Lisbon)

* 5 seed potatoes (Charlotte)

* Wilko pepper pot (sweet California wonder)

 I don't have an outside space to start them growing so I will be setting up the cloche tomorrow, and I have cleared the dining table (we don't use it) to start the seeds off on as most of them can either go outside straight away or they need to be started and replanted outside so I will put most of them in the cloche and then will get the raised bed ready for when it is time to plant on but other things need to be a bit more sheltered inside like the tomatoes for a while so they can stay on the dining table or on the windowsill. 

I have also brought today some very sweet Easter cupcake cases - some larger ones and then a very sweet set of 150 mini cupcake cases. My daughter has a very sweet tooth (like her mother) so I think I will try and make her some mini cupcakes so she still has some but she wont need to have a full sized cake. I did discover little rolls in Tesco the other day that are the right size for her - I was previously giving her a whole roll and found she ate half and I was binning half or feeding it to the dogs but these small rolls there is no waste and they cost the same as the ones we usually buy - just I get 12 in a packet now instead of 6. 

I will make sure to post pictures tomorrow of our planting session. Until then I hope you are all enjoying the weather and I will speak to you tomorrow. 

Sam

x

Would you Adam and Eve it?..........

Evening all.

Well I have finally recovered from the Rugby on the weekend......

Never been so proud fair play and loved every second of the game. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of unity it brings to even the smallest villages. Our village and town were no exception, every pub was packed, every restaurant had the match on, every cabbie had the sports network on reporting on the game.......Rugby in Wales is most definitely like a religion, even little old ladies on the bus with me were discussing the team. Amazing just amazing.

Weirdly I have been sat looking at mostly gardening stuff today and if you have read my blog before you may remember I was wondering about using a building suppliers bag as a grow bag......well actually my friend Mandy answered that for me.......

This is a photo of her poly tunnel on her allotment and she has said that they make good grow bags but I need to keep an eye that they don't dry out - I don't think I will have a problem with that in South Wales though somehow - hardly known for our tropical weather are we?

I do believe she has planted some mini shallots in hers here but I am thinking they would be good for planting thnks like carrots and leeks in that need the depth. I think also I will fold mine down like she has done otherwise they might be ridiculously deep and just a bit of a waste of compost

Between these and my potato bags I think I will have plenty of growing space - I think Owen has 3 possibly 4 spare in the front garden that I can use so now i just need to get a load of compost to fill them up. Have also taken delivery of my own compost bin but realise it will not be ready for this growing season.

Which leads me to ask - what worms are best? and can anyone recommend a good buyer please.

Now for the rest of tonight I am going to be looking up prices on the best compost rates.......plan my garden - decide where to put these bags although I think I will make them into a barrier down the bottom of the garden - from our littel conifer tree across the garden so it hides all of Owen's junk in the bottom of the garden but still leaves me a nice space to enjoy the grass with the kids in the summer.

Sounds like a plan.

Right off to plan my growing.

Sorry its only short today but I will be having a busy day tomorrow so will catch you all up then - and my boy has a headache and wants a cuddle :-( poor little squish - sure he will cheer up when the tooth fairy visits him tonight though.

x

Money trees anyone?

I wonder if there is likely to be a money tree invented/bred or created soon because I may be in need of one soon if all our bills keep going up?

Its not even normal bills - the gas and electric is fairly low - it could be lower but we are minimising it every year so its getting there - in a new house but the building itself is fairly old so we are still in the process of doing it up despite us being here two years - for example - only half the stairs are carpeted and we have no curtains in our bedroom yet (we have net curtains but no thick curtains), even that said the heating is rarely on and we don't have a bath only a shower so the gas usage is very low.

Had a letter from the council tax section today and our monthly payments are going up - from £107 up to  £112. OK so that's only £5 a month but that's still £55 a year extra payments (we get 1 council tax free month being in a council property) but our rent is going up to £89 a week from £86  (Owen pays this) but we were paying £420 a month as we were behind with rent so it will go down to somewhere around £360 and instead of paying water to the council we are now paying it to Welsh Water and I haven't yet had their monthly amount through although apparently I should know by the 22nd March according to their site.

Anyway one thing I can keep an eye on is the food budget. I went shopping late night in Tesco the other night and had 2 green peppers that should have been 80p each, or 2 for £1......instead the two I had were in the reduced stand for 25p......... I've since come home. de-seeded and chopped them up and put them in a tub in the fridge for Owen to use in his sandwiches. I've also done the same with a few less than perfect looking red onions which were 3 small for 25p in the fridge as well......needless to say they will be used now.

I did also get a packet of 6 chicken drumsticks that were reduced down to 50p which I put in the fridge and intended to use for last nights dinner, I came home from town yesterday though to find that the dog had been in the fridge and snaffled two of them and in the process tore the packet completely open and had taken two more to his bed - so chicken was off the menu last night and I have now been monitoring the dog constantly. At 12 years old.....he's hardly a spring chicken - pardon the pun - so need to make sure he's OK but I have read plenty about the RAW and BARF diet and apparently it is better that they were raw and not cooked.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting into the garden and planting though but we woke up with a ground covered in frost and still minus temperatures so I think I will have to wait a week longer. I have made a start to clear the garden a little bit though and will be getting rid of some rubbish and clutter from upstairs in the form of an exercise bike, an old cot bad, and junk from the gardens - front and back. Its due to be collected on the 25th so I need to put it all out on the Sunday before hand.

I have just realised too that Owen has some builders merchants sacks - like the big ones that gravel/sand come in (see picture)

I'm wondering if I found a way to support them if I could use those to line a raised bed with instead of lining if I can make a few drainage holes in the bottom.....?

Anyway, tomorrow after school the kids will be planting up their hedgehogs and I will be spending the day putting together the cloche that will go outside for the veggies to get started in. I do have a window in the kitchen that I can start some seedlings off with - it gets plenty fo sunshine so should be a good growing starter point. Also the dining table is pretty clear so I should be able to get a fair bit going on there too if I can clear it and put a cover over it for the soil.

Im hoping I can use an old shed we have dismantled in the garden too to make a raised bed with - I quite fancy a deep bed so I can grow some carrots in it as well. I do have several of these potato growing bags in the garden as well that I could really do with emptying - I lost interest last year and the drop was growing well so I was gutted to lose them all but I think I will try with them again this year. That way between peas, carrots, potatoes, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, cress and spring onions we have most of our veg covered. I havent been outside to check on my blueberry bush though so I will have to see how that is fairing.

I think I also need to wait until the wet weather comes back and get outside and find a few worms to put in the compost bin - it has had a bit of a refill lately with me cleaning out the rabbits so I think a few more worms might be needed to hurry it along.

Apart from that I am in work tonight so I will have an easy night, not quite sure what else I will get done today - I may research raised beds :-)

Hope your all havign a productive day and Im looking forward to the weekend for the Wales Vs England match - Cymru Am Byth!

Love
Sammy
x x x x x

What a Day........and its only 12.49!

Well

I decided this morning to give growing my own another go.
Sadly last year my greenhouse took a battering with the delightful Welsh weather and all the fun that living on top of a mountain near the coast brings so I have had to spend on a smaller new growing space.

£11 for a cloche set in Wilkinson's but it should do the job nicely.

I did try last year but went a bit 'gun ho' and tried to grow everything , which ultimately wasnt great because I quite frankly lost interest when the bad weather hit and then it all went to pot fairly quickly.

This year I have decided to be sensible and focus on a few things well rather than lots of things badly.

So I have brought myself
Cloche ~ £11
Seed trays ~ £1.25 for 3
Seed Tray Trays ~ £1.50 for 3
A window tray propergator with lid ~ £2.50
A kitchen garden pot (sweet bell peppers) ~ £1.25
Cucumber seeds ~ £1.60
Tumbling Toms ~ £1.60
Lettuce leaves ~ 98p
Spring Onions ~ 80p
Peas ~ £1
Cress seeds ~ £1.59

All in all costing £25.07

I already have a giant bag of compost though out the back that Owen got me from CountryWide and he works down the road from it so hopefully I will manage to get over there at some point to check out what they have got in there.

I brought the cress for the kids - Ben is fascinated by nature and wants to grow something so him and Holly cna both grow Cress - I also found these little hedgehog growing kits in B&M for 89p so have brought them one each as well

A fair bit of the veg we have brought we will eat and use. In the summer months too my mother in law tends to invite us over for BBQs quite a bit so at least this year I should be able to provide the salad for them and she is also a keen salad eater - but she has wild rhubarb and an abundance of strawberries that we can exchange between us which is nice.

In other news - Mabel is in heat so her and Bruno are in separate rooms at the minute. I hate the idea of dogs being intentionally bred for a profit and am a big supporter of rescue centres. I just don't understand why people would willingly add to the dog population when there are so many lovely dogs needing homes already. I just cant understand it. She is still a bit grumpy with Bruno (understandable at the minute though) but we have realised its only when he is near her seat, when he is on the other sofa with me, and she comes over to see him they are fine, and they will touch noses, he will sit on the sofa and she sits on the floor nicely with about a foot space between them but still no attacks or anything which is very good news for us........still going slow and steady. (should reiterate that we do allow Bruno in the living room in the evening but only when Owen and Me are both home, he sits on one sofa with one dog and I sit on the other sofa with the other dog)

I am somewhat upset with Bruno at the minute as well. I brought a nice pack of chicken drumsticks today which I intended to herb/spice up and cook for tea and owen was going to take the leftovers to work wel I cma home from shopping to find Bruno had been in the fridge, ripped open the new packet and helped himself to 2 possibly 3 (cant remember for the life of me how many were in the pack) que much frantic-ness from me - especially since I cancelled Bruno's insurance policy the other day to add Mabel so both dogs were covered and it has another 5 days before it starts. but after some research I have read about the BARF and the RAW food diet dogs can eat which includes chicken bones and apparently that they were raw is a good thing as they are softer and easier to chew, most that may happen (touch wood) is that he may have an upset belly for a day or two.........lets keep fingers crossed that this is the case.
Also suggested to Owen that when we brought Mabel home my boss gave me a box of Bakers Meaty Meals ball things, which we tried her on and she wouldn't eat them so we gave them to Bruno to try just to use them up as I didn't want to waste them and they have a laxative effect on him since he is an older doggy - so we finished the box last night but I'm wondering whether to go and buy another box and feed him a few to help things pass through smoothly if that makes sense.
Should also add I now have a baby lock on the fridge as well.

Right so on that note Im off now to find something else for dinner and let him out for a bit.

Talk soon and I'll be back later with an update.

Sammy
x x x x

gyda chariad ar sul y Mamau! (Happy Mothers Day!)

''gyda chariad ar sul y Mamau'' (With Love On Mothering Sunday)

or for my English counterparts

Happy Mothers Day all and I hope you have all had a nice day and been very spoilt

For my mothers day I got a beautiful hand picked bracelet from my little boy and little girl and handmade cards. Owen forgot it was Mothers Day and will be taking me down to work so he can pick up chocolates and a card for his mum before going to visit her. He is useless with dates fair play.

Now most mummy's today would be relaxing ~ I, however spent the day cleaning the house to the standard that Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie would be proud.

Only room left to finish now before the health visitor visits is the living room and to do the dishes in the kitchen - but I'll do them when I get home tonight because no doubt they will multiply by the time I get home, then its just to clean/sweep/mop the floors in the morning and make sure Owen moves the half rebuilt engine in the living room!

Do have this very bizarre feeling though that I have done all this work, cleaning , scrubbing and decluttering - and you watch - I bet she wont even leave the living room but this will be counted as my spring clean so will just need to keep on top of it from now on.

Right sorry its only short for today but I hope you have a lovely day and I will post again tomorrow but for now I need to go and get ready for work :-(

Have a good day

x

Right, lets try this again

Evening All,

I realise it has been nearly two weeks since my last post so I have a fair bit to fill you in on

The dogs - well they can tolerate being in the same room together, and have been about a foot apart so they are getting better but she will still growl if she is in her bed and feels like Bruno is too close. Bruno just wants to play and be friends but I'm hoping she might settle a bit more once she is neutered. Owen did suggest getting a muzzle for her and just letting her and Bruno acclimatise that way without the fear of teeth being involved on her part - Bruno I can safely say 99.9% never shown any form of aggression in the 8 years I have had him. None the less they would still be supervised at all times but I get the feeling she has been the smaller dog in a house or attacked at some point and that's why she feels the need to protect her safe zone.

I did speak to a rescue though who have put me in touch with a man who fostered a very dog aggressive Staffordshire terrier for them to the point she would attack their other dogs, the end result after hard work and dedication is her and the other 3 dogs he fosters are all sat nicely with their treats and playing together - so it is do-able - I just need to persevere. This is as close as we have them, and there was an initial disapproving growl but once they settle there is nothing and they will both sleep happily. Just persistence and reassurance I think but I'm happy with this at the minute.

We did take them for a walk 'Up The Bwlch' which is a big mountain behind our house (in case you wonder its pronounced BULLK) with both dogs and Holly, we decided to let Mabel off lead and keep Bruno on and she was fine toddling along with her little coat on and was approaching Bruno happily and even barged him out the way on two occasions  then on the way home we swapped and put Mabel on lead and Bruno off lead, and they were fine and she was pulling to go after him but as soon as he went towards her face she growled, Owen wasn't watching what he was doing and panicked and yanked her up her up by her collar and lead...... didn't help but they were ok after that. Made for a nice walk - cant wait until they can both be off lead together but for their own safety we aren't pushing it at the minute - slow and steady wins the race - and besides she isn't neutered yet and I am under no circumstances having puppies so its separate bedrooms for the two of them unless we are with them. Still you sometimes forget how pretty your own little bit of the world is so thought Id share some with you.

 and my favourite one that Im kind of proud of if Im honest being that I have a photographer boyfriend

Secondly, the health visitor is coming out Monday - I have had a slight saga with health visitors - my last one was horrible and seemed to have it in for me because I was a younger mum - honestly she turned up unannounced when Holly was 2 days old, Id been home a day after leaving 3 boys fending for themselves so you can imagine the state of a small 2 bedroomed flat then, I was still in my PJs and in the process of breast feeding when she turned up. Needless to say it didn't go well and she felt the urge to read me the riot act about if I was too young and incapable to get myself together with my second child then perhaps I should consider adoption. Anyway I barely went to the midwife clinic after that - think the last time Holly went was September 2011? but she has had all her inoculations etc. and the other midwife Paula came out to do Holly's two year check and she was lovely......anyway now that battleaxe has now left, they have a new one called Gemma apparently who wants to come out and introduce herself.....which in itself makes me nervous after the last ones antics so needless to say I have been in cleaning meltdown since.....only problem is I cant find anything else to clean now so I'm finding myself doing pointless and random little jobs, the only thing left to clean is the stairs which is all rubbish and the dining room table.....which I'll do tomorrow.

Thirdly, a bit of good news - the books to read list - I had an email last week saying Id won myself a copy of 'The Kite Runner' so that's a bonus - and I will get round to actually doing some reading at some point!

Fourthly, my supervisor who I have had for the last 8 years is leaving.........to become a funeral director. Its something she has always wanted to do and she has passed all her exams so she will be leaving soon. Shes been in the coop for the last 30 years and something she said hit home with me the other day.....she said 'I came here out of convenience, my children were in school, it was local, and was money coming in....but it wasn't what I wanted, just what I needed' and I think that is true of me at the minute - my job serves a purpose, its local, I have no travel fees, when both kids are in school I am 10 minutes from them if I need to get to them. I can drop them off, go to work, come home and pick them up straight away...........but I've always done shop work and its not something I really want to do. I'm a caring person, and I would love to either look into caring for either animals, or the elderly. So I think I will start looking into either part time jobs that involve caring for elderly people  or look to volunteer and see if the local nursing home has any need for volunteers purely so I can gain some experience. Holly doesn't start nursery until September so I can at least make a start on putting a CV together and looking for jobs......I don't want to be stuck behind a till forever.

Lastly but I suppose it goes with the previous comment or epiphany  but I would love to sponsor or adopt a child but in a weird way thanks to my work I have found something else. Its called 'Lend With Care'. The idea is that people in third world countries have found a business venture to help provide for their families but they need funding so you can donate money - the minimum is £15 (unless it states lower than that) and then you loan them the money, it has a repayment plan for you and once the person has gotten all donations for the amount they need ie if they need £100 and 6 people donate him £15 and one would donate £10 - then the loan is active, given to them to start their business venture, and then they have a repayment plan, which then pays you back your £15 and then you are free to donate it to someone else to help them.......which I thought was a good idea. The link is here if anyone wants to have a look.

Apart from that not much else has happened in the world of Sammy............we are all ok, well the kids and Owen are ok - I have white spots on my tonsils, a lovely sore throat and I'm convinced the heating isnt working despite Owen telling me the house is like a sauna............either way I'll muddle on as us mums do and I will be back tomorrow to share my musings.

Lots of Love

Sammy
x

p.s have also decided to give myself an inspirational quote each week, as something for me to ponder over and think about so this week it is the following....

PPS As I wrote this post Mabel was in the kitchen because she had been growling and snarling quite nastily to Bruno earlier tonight, we let her back in, she came over to the sofa me and Bruno were sitting on, Owen followed her. She jumped up and Bruno rolled over, she had a sniff of his boy bits, and at one point they even were nose to nose smelling each other - queue lots of praise but me and Owen are still being cautious. We just put Bruno outside for the toilet, left her in the living room and he is jumping at the gate so she's told him off with a little growl but still that was real progress for her so I'm happy.