Yesterday Sophie was 15 and it hardly seems any time since she was a tiny baby. Where have the years gone? I managed to see her open her presents and cards before I left for work. It's the end of the payroll year so I was busy sorting all that out, in between running down to the kitchen to help serve and wash up. As the weather wasn't too nice (cloudy and damp) we were busy which was a good thing!
Poor Sophie had to work after school and she wasn't too happy about it, I can tell you. However, she had her friend Susie with her and when they were all finished we headed home to get ready for a meal out at The Mandarin Buffet in Northampton which is where Sophie wanted to celebrate her birthday.
We had a good meal and it wasn't as packed as the last time we went, but it was still noisy and reminded me very much of a large hotel's buffet dining room. The children had a great time choosing what they wanted to eat and Mikey ended up with his shirt decorated in chocolate from the fountain...honestly!!
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Monday, 4 April 2011
Ouch!
This afternoon Sophie, Mikey and me had an appointment with the dentist. Normally, I'm OK about going but today it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Firstly, there were no spaces in the car park, then the children decided to wind each other up. As soon as I picked up a magazine to read, we were called in and Sophie stood there thumbs flicking over the keypad on her new phone, which drove me mad! Thank goodness she won't be taking the bloomin' thing on holiday!
The two children were seen to and then it was my turn. My dentist always gives me a scale and polish but today the Nurse stuck the sucker thing right into my mouth and I just knew I was going to gag, which I did. Ever since I had the children, I've been very funny about cleaning my teeth and I still have to be careful about having the toothbrush in my mouth otherwise I feel sick. It was a trigger for my morning sickness and after eleven years, nothing has changed!
I got up very thankfully from the dentist's chair, eyes streaming, but with nice clean gnashers!
The two children were seen to and then it was my turn. My dentist always gives me a scale and polish but today the Nurse stuck the sucker thing right into my mouth and I just knew I was going to gag, which I did. Ever since I had the children, I've been very funny about cleaning my teeth and I still have to be careful about having the toothbrush in my mouth otherwise I feel sick. It was a trigger for my morning sickness and after eleven years, nothing has changed!
I got up very thankfully from the dentist's chair, eyes streaming, but with nice clean gnashers!
Tapas meal photos
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| Tomatoes stuffed with a spicy egg mixture |
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| Prawns wrapped in bacon and garlic bread topped with mushrooms |
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| Patatas bravas with paprika sauce |
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| Tortilla with onions and chorizo |
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| Sophie in mum's wedding dress |
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Mothering Sunday
I didn't have a lie-in this morning but I did have some beautiful flowers, chocolates and the new Adele album, which made my day. Keith made me a pancake for breakfast and then we had a lazy morning doing very little. At lunchtime, Sophie and I headed off to Milton Keynes again, to take back Keith's shorts and to buy a few last minute bits. Rather than take the M1 I drove the scenic route via Newport Pagnell and it made a lovely change.
I bought Keith another pair of shorts - he looked ridiculous in the other ones as they were too long and reminded me of Don Estelle in It Ain't Half Hot Mum - and a tee-shirt. I treated myself to some holiday knickers and then we went and had a YooMoo to celebrate Mother's Day.
I took an even longer scenic route on the way home, turning off the main road to Newport Pagnell and driving through Tyringham, Filgrave and Olney. The countryside was stunning and as the weather was a bit changeable it just added to the beauty. Again, I wished I had my camera with me.
Today has been the first day in years that I haven't spent with my mum who went down to Kent with dad to see nan. As we have rather a lot on in the next few weeks we decided to stay at home but they are calling in on their way back so I bought a bottle of Cava to celebrate!
I bought Keith another pair of shorts - he looked ridiculous in the other ones as they were too long and reminded me of Don Estelle in It Ain't Half Hot Mum - and a tee-shirt. I treated myself to some holiday knickers and then we went and had a YooMoo to celebrate Mother's Day.
I took an even longer scenic route on the way home, turning off the main road to Newport Pagnell and driving through Tyringham, Filgrave and Olney. The countryside was stunning and as the weather was a bit changeable it just added to the beauty. Again, I wished I had my camera with me.
Today has been the first day in years that I haven't spent with my mum who went down to Kent with dad to see nan. As we have rather a lot on in the next few weeks we decided to stay at home but they are calling in on their way back so I bought a bottle of Cava to celebrate!
Tapas evening
Last night the four of us walked up to Mum and Dad's house for dinner. Dad had spent all day cooking tapas dishes for us and we were really looking forward to a Saturday night out and a good dinner. The evening sky was beautiful, lots of vapour trails, pink-tinged clouds and the sun slowly setting. The village was looking lovely with lots of daffodils, purple aubretia and blossom on the trees.
When we arrived at mum and dad's we had a glass of Sangria and munched on nibbles before the main event. My dad loves cooking and told us he'd been in the kitchen all day preparing the meal for us and the smells wafting around were certainly very good!
For starters Dad had cooked tiger prawns wrapped in bacon, tomatoes stuffed with a delicious spicy egg mayonnaise sauce, garlic bread topped with mushrooms and grilled chicken strips. The prawns were gorgeous and I managed to convince the children to try them. Mikey said he loved them so we'll see if he has them again on holiday but Sophie wasn't as keen. Still, at least she tried them!
For the main course, Dad cooked spare ribs, meatballs in a tomato sauce, patatas bravas (cubed fried potatoes served with a hot paprika sauce) and a spicy chorizo and onion tortilla. There was so much food! We washed it all down with a white wine from Spain (Airen grape) and a lovely Rioja.
Before dessert Mikey, Dad and Keith went upstairs to fly the model aeroplane on Dad's computer programme. Needless to say Mikey did much better than me as I crashed it seconds after take-off every time! Sophie amused herself by trying on some of my mum's dresses - a beautiful purple ball-gown that she wore on her 25th Wedding Anniversary, the dress my mum wore at my wedding and mum's wedding dress itself. All three fitted perfectly and Keith was rendered speechless when he saw her in them. The wedding dress was especially beautiful - a heavy satin dress with lots of creamy embroidery and a long train. Although it was from 1966 Sophie could easily get away with wearing it today, with just a new veil. I think Keith was a bit misty-eyed by it all! I took lots more pictures but I've had trouble uploading them onto the laptop but I'll try and post them tomorrow.
After dessert of tiramisu and trifle we waddled off home under a sky full of stars. It was so good to be able to walk home and it did go a little way to walk off some of the food!
When we arrived at mum and dad's we had a glass of Sangria and munched on nibbles before the main event. My dad loves cooking and told us he'd been in the kitchen all day preparing the meal for us and the smells wafting around were certainly very good!
For starters Dad had cooked tiger prawns wrapped in bacon, tomatoes stuffed with a delicious spicy egg mayonnaise sauce, garlic bread topped with mushrooms and grilled chicken strips. The prawns were gorgeous and I managed to convince the children to try them. Mikey said he loved them so we'll see if he has them again on holiday but Sophie wasn't as keen. Still, at least she tried them!
For the main course, Dad cooked spare ribs, meatballs in a tomato sauce, patatas bravas (cubed fried potatoes served with a hot paprika sauce) and a spicy chorizo and onion tortilla. There was so much food! We washed it all down with a white wine from Spain (Airen grape) and a lovely Rioja.
Before dessert Mikey, Dad and Keith went upstairs to fly the model aeroplane on Dad's computer programme. Needless to say Mikey did much better than me as I crashed it seconds after take-off every time! Sophie amused herself by trying on some of my mum's dresses - a beautiful purple ball-gown that she wore on her 25th Wedding Anniversary, the dress my mum wore at my wedding and mum's wedding dress itself. All three fitted perfectly and Keith was rendered speechless when he saw her in them. The wedding dress was especially beautiful - a heavy satin dress with lots of creamy embroidery and a long train. Although it was from 1966 Sophie could easily get away with wearing it today, with just a new veil. I think Keith was a bit misty-eyed by it all! I took lots more pictures but I've had trouble uploading them onto the laptop but I'll try and post them tomorrow.
After dessert of tiramisu and trifle we waddled off home under a sky full of stars. It was so good to be able to walk home and it did go a little way to walk off some of the food!
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Getting lost...
This morning we set off early for Wellingborough as DPD had tried to deliver Sophie's laptop yesterday, while we were out shopping. We looked up the address on Google maps and had a vague idea of where it was. We were fine until we reached the industrial estate and became completely lost! We saw numerous DPD vans about so it was a mite frustrating. Sophie had no idea we were going to pick up her laptop and kept whining in the back about being murdered because the area did look a bit dodgy! Even when we found the depot, we still couldn't find our way to the main office! A bit of signage would not go amiss, methinks!
Of course, Sophie was delighted to get her beloved laptop back and to celebrate we went to MacDonald's for breakfast. Despite nearly being mown down on the way out of the car-park, we had a good time. Back home, the laptop worked perfectly so all is well. I'm so pleased it's been repaired and sent back to us before the holiday and I will be sending a thank-you letter to Mr Wilson at HP (the big cheese) for the prompt service. Maybe he should train all his staff in the Complaints Department a bit better so customers would not have to trouble him in the future!
I spent a rather boring hour sorting out all the phone chargers and other miscellaneous electrical items that were stuffed into one of our drawers. Most of them had got themselves into a tangled mess and it had got to the point where the drawer wouldn't close properly because a lead would be hanging out of it if you tried to ram it shut. I found about eight phone chargers (half of them obsolete), adaptors, USB cables and other nameless bits of tangled wire and shoved them all into a box to put in the garage. I also found my old camera and after putting a couple of batteries in, it miraculously worked again! The last time I tried it was dead so maybe my luck is changing and things will start working again if I leave them long enough!
I also had a stern word with Sophie about her new phone. Much against my better judgement, I have taken out a contract on a new Blackberry for her, which includes "unlimited" texts. I had a very good online chat with a Vodafone representative when I ordered it for her last week and I asked what unlimited meant. I found out it was 3000 texts a month and I was sure that not even she could exceed that. Keith and I worked it out that she would be able to send around 100 texts a day and to our horror we found out that yesterday, after getting her mitts on it after school, she had sent 100 by 9pm last night... I have warned her that if she exceeds that and I get a large bill I will confiscate it and keep the phone for myself and that she'll spend a long time working to pay me back. The agreement is that she will contribute to the monthly contract price from her wages and I think she gets the message now. Woe betide her if she doesn't!
Of course, Sophie was delighted to get her beloved laptop back and to celebrate we went to MacDonald's for breakfast. Despite nearly being mown down on the way out of the car-park, we had a good time. Back home, the laptop worked perfectly so all is well. I'm so pleased it's been repaired and sent back to us before the holiday and I will be sending a thank-you letter to Mr Wilson at HP (the big cheese) for the prompt service. Maybe he should train all his staff in the Complaints Department a bit better so customers would not have to trouble him in the future!
I spent a rather boring hour sorting out all the phone chargers and other miscellaneous electrical items that were stuffed into one of our drawers. Most of them had got themselves into a tangled mess and it had got to the point where the drawer wouldn't close properly because a lead would be hanging out of it if you tried to ram it shut. I found about eight phone chargers (half of them obsolete), adaptors, USB cables and other nameless bits of tangled wire and shoved them all into a box to put in the garage. I also found my old camera and after putting a couple of batteries in, it miraculously worked again! The last time I tried it was dead so maybe my luck is changing and things will start working again if I leave them long enough!
I also had a stern word with Sophie about her new phone. Much against my better judgement, I have taken out a contract on a new Blackberry for her, which includes "unlimited" texts. I had a very good online chat with a Vodafone representative when I ordered it for her last week and I asked what unlimited meant. I found out it was 3000 texts a month and I was sure that not even she could exceed that. Keith and I worked it out that she would be able to send around 100 texts a day and to our horror we found out that yesterday, after getting her mitts on it after school, she had sent 100 by 9pm last night... I have warned her that if she exceeds that and I get a large bill I will confiscate it and keep the phone for myself and that she'll spend a long time working to pay me back. The agreement is that she will contribute to the monthly contract price from her wages and I think she gets the message now. Woe betide her if she doesn't!
Friday, 1 April 2011
New month
Last night's meal at Dangs, the Vietnamese restaurant in Northampton, was great. The seating area was downstairs in the cellar, which I found a bit claustrophobic at first, but I got used to it. We were given a bowl of prawn crackers to munch on while we looked at the menu, which wasn't extensive but for me this is a good sign that the food is being freshly prepared.
Three of us ordered the same starter - seared scallops on a bed of spinach and fried leeks with garlic. Our other friend ordered fishcakes, which looked delicious. We were given chopsticks to eat with, something I found a bit hard with the scallops and greens! The scallops were cooked beautifully and we agreed that we could have done with four (instead of three) and less greenstuff!
Amazingly, the same three of us ordered the Vietnamese chicken curry which was probably the most delicious curry I've ever eaten. It was served with a bowl of gorgeous fried rice and was pretty hot (in my opinion - one of my friends pronounced it mild), but very flavoursome with a lovely thick sauce and chunks of tender chicken, potatoes, onions and chilli. I will definitely be going back for more! The service was friendly and efficient and the place was pleasantly busy but not packed so it was a lovely night and the four of us were the last to leave, such was the gossip!
Today has been a shopping day in Milton Keynes, something that Keith himself suggested. We usually have an annual trip when we go shopping together so this time it's come rather early in the year! Before we left Keith tried on all his holiday clothes, making the bedroom look an almighty mess with tee-shirts and shorts strewn everywhere. Most of them need a freshen up in the laundry and I'm glad I won't be the one doing it!
Before we hit the shops, we had breakfast at Caffe Italia and then I managed to persuade Keith to buy two pairs of swim shorts (one pair we will be taking back as they are just a bit too long...) and some deck shoes in M&S. I myself bought a new pair of sandals and two cotton short sleeve shirts so I was a bit more successful than last week!
We headed home and on the way stopped at the local garden centre to buy a voucher for mum as it's Mothers Day on Sunday. Our Wyevale now has a soft play area for children under 8 years and this might explain why we've been a bit quiet at work lately. Wyevale is a great place to shop, but it's rapidly turning into a department store rather than a garden centre and I have to admit to being a bit dismayed at this latest development. It was completely free for children to play and will no doubt attract the "yummy mummy" brigade, especially as the garden centre also has a Costa Coffee.
And talking of business, I have to mention the very sad demise of Oddbins which will go into Administration on Monday. I was always a big fan of Oddbins as they stocked wines that you wouldn't normally see in the large supermarket chains. Before I discovered Duncan's shop in Market Harborough, I would regularly visit the branches in Milton Keynes and Northampton, sadly both of which closed a few years ago, for special wines if I was going to a dinner party. Now it seems that there will be very few independent wine merchants left and I only hope someone will buy the business and make it the shop it once was.
Our indulgent day was rounded off by a trip to the hairdressers where Sophie and I had a trim. It was very relaxing to have my hair washed and fiddled about with!
Three of us ordered the same starter - seared scallops on a bed of spinach and fried leeks with garlic. Our other friend ordered fishcakes, which looked delicious. We were given chopsticks to eat with, something I found a bit hard with the scallops and greens! The scallops were cooked beautifully and we agreed that we could have done with four (instead of three) and less greenstuff!
Amazingly, the same three of us ordered the Vietnamese chicken curry which was probably the most delicious curry I've ever eaten. It was served with a bowl of gorgeous fried rice and was pretty hot (in my opinion - one of my friends pronounced it mild), but very flavoursome with a lovely thick sauce and chunks of tender chicken, potatoes, onions and chilli. I will definitely be going back for more! The service was friendly and efficient and the place was pleasantly busy but not packed so it was a lovely night and the four of us were the last to leave, such was the gossip!
Today has been a shopping day in Milton Keynes, something that Keith himself suggested. We usually have an annual trip when we go shopping together so this time it's come rather early in the year! Before we left Keith tried on all his holiday clothes, making the bedroom look an almighty mess with tee-shirts and shorts strewn everywhere. Most of them need a freshen up in the laundry and I'm glad I won't be the one doing it!
Before we hit the shops, we had breakfast at Caffe Italia and then I managed to persuade Keith to buy two pairs of swim shorts (one pair we will be taking back as they are just a bit too long...) and some deck shoes in M&S. I myself bought a new pair of sandals and two cotton short sleeve shirts so I was a bit more successful than last week!
We headed home and on the way stopped at the local garden centre to buy a voucher for mum as it's Mothers Day on Sunday. Our Wyevale now has a soft play area for children under 8 years and this might explain why we've been a bit quiet at work lately. Wyevale is a great place to shop, but it's rapidly turning into a department store rather than a garden centre and I have to admit to being a bit dismayed at this latest development. It was completely free for children to play and will no doubt attract the "yummy mummy" brigade, especially as the garden centre also has a Costa Coffee.
And talking of business, I have to mention the very sad demise of Oddbins which will go into Administration on Monday. I was always a big fan of Oddbins as they stocked wines that you wouldn't normally see in the large supermarket chains. Before I discovered Duncan's shop in Market Harborough, I would regularly visit the branches in Milton Keynes and Northampton, sadly both of which closed a few years ago, for special wines if I was going to a dinner party. Now it seems that there will be very few independent wine merchants left and I only hope someone will buy the business and make it the shop it once was.
Our indulgent day was rounded off by a trip to the hairdressers where Sophie and I had a trim. It was very relaxing to have my hair washed and fiddled about with!
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