So, we've reached the last day of the school holidays and it hasn't been too bad at all! Today was pleasantly busy and it was great to have Sophie in to help in the kitchen.
Keith has a very bad cold at the moment and when he dropped Sophie off at work he looked completely fed up. I'm hoping to resist getting one this winter - that would be a bonus! On the way home we called into the Co-Op at Brixworth to buy dinner. I'm trying to cut out as much sugar as possible at the moment and I really had difficulty buying a stir fry sauce to go with the chicken and vegetables we were having for dinner. There's been a lot of news about the amount of sugar we consume and it's hidden in so many foods these days. In the end I bought a Teriyaki marinade and as soon as we got home I cut the chicken up and let it marinate for an hour.
Mikey was back to Army Cadets tonight so while Keith took him I cooked dinner and I have to say it was a success! Both Keith and Sophie were very appreciative so that was good!
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Monday, 6 January 2014
Most depressing day?
Today, according to the newspaper, was supposed to be the most depressing day of the year! The combination of bad weather, people going back to work, Christmas debt and feeling fat and unhealthy after all the festivities was supposed to make people feel really low. I have to admit, I've been feeling a bit miserable over the last few days, but I try and give myself a strict talking to, especially when you read about the terrible misfortunes that afflict other people.
Today started off beautifully sunny but on the way home to collect Sophie to take her back to work with me, the sky darkened and we had a sudden downpour. There has been no mention of snow on the horizon, just lots of wind and rain with lots of the country affected by flooding.
We weren't too busy at work so Sophie and I managed to escape to the gym. It was very busy indeed (lots of people deciding to lose weight after Christmas!) but we took it easy tonight as we hadn't done a proper workout for over two weeks!
Today started off beautifully sunny but on the way home to collect Sophie to take her back to work with me, the sky darkened and we had a sudden downpour. There has been no mention of snow on the horizon, just lots of wind and rain with lots of the country affected by flooding.
We weren't too busy at work so Sophie and I managed to escape to the gym. It was very busy indeed (lots of people deciding to lose weight after Christmas!) but we took it easy tonight as we hadn't done a proper workout for over two weeks!
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Sunday shopping
This morning, Mum, Sophie, Mikey and I went over to Milton Keynes to do some shopping. Mikey had to come with us as I was taking a jacket back to River Island for him and there's no way I was going to attempt to pick out clothes for him now he's a sulky teenager!
We had lunch first in Caffe Italia and then we hit the shops - Sophie went off to New Look while Mikey, Mum and me had a browse around River Island. Mikey didn't see anything he liked so we gave up and met Sophie outside M&S where I treated myself to some new knickers and Sophie became grumpier and grumpier as she tried on bras!
By now we were all a bit fed up but on the way back to the car we called into Schuh where Mikey saw a pair of black Converse trainers. He decided he wanted them (and of course they weren't in the sale!) so after trying them on, he bought them with the money from the jacket. One satisfied son!
Back home it was time for a slice of my delicious Christmas cake (I know I don't sound modest but it really is very moist and fruity!) and a cup of tea and the onslaught of girls who were coming around to get ready with Sophie for their big night out! Upstairs it sounded like we were hosting a party for baby elephants as they all got ready and when they came down at 8.30pm they looked gorgeous.
I dropped them off (thankfully the torrential rain and strong winds had stopped) and went home to while away the hours until it was time to pick them up again. By 11pm Sophie had called me, which was an hour earlier than I'd expected and Keith and I drove into town to collect Sophie, her friend Danni and Danni's boyfriend, Fran.
Sophie talked non-stop the whole way home but seemed to have had a good time!
We had lunch first in Caffe Italia and then we hit the shops - Sophie went off to New Look while Mikey, Mum and me had a browse around River Island. Mikey didn't see anything he liked so we gave up and met Sophie outside M&S where I treated myself to some new knickers and Sophie became grumpier and grumpier as she tried on bras!
By now we were all a bit fed up but on the way back to the car we called into Schuh where Mikey saw a pair of black Converse trainers. He decided he wanted them (and of course they weren't in the sale!) so after trying them on, he bought them with the money from the jacket. One satisfied son!
Back home it was time for a slice of my delicious Christmas cake (I know I don't sound modest but it really is very moist and fruity!) and a cup of tea and the onslaught of girls who were coming around to get ready with Sophie for their big night out! Upstairs it sounded like we were hosting a party for baby elephants as they all got ready and when they came down at 8.30pm they looked gorgeous.
I dropped them off (thankfully the torrential rain and strong winds had stopped) and went home to while away the hours until it was time to pick them up again. By 11pm Sophie had called me, which was an hour earlier than I'd expected and Keith and I drove into town to collect Sophie, her friend Danni and Danni's boyfriend, Fran.
Sophie talked non-stop the whole way home but seemed to have had a good time!
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Let's build an Ark!
Today the weather has been atrocious - it hasn't stopped raining all day and the wind has been really cold. Not a nice day to be out and about!
But that's what Sophie and I had to do as we had a hair appointment at 9am followed swiftly by a visit to the nail salon. We splashed our way over to the hairdressers and we were out much quicker than I thought we'd be. It meant we could dash home just in time to meet Keith who'd been to Tesco to do our weekly shop. I helped him put the shopping away, made coffee and toasted crumpets and then it was off into town.
The plan was for me to sit and wait while Sophie had her acrylic nails removed but there was nowhere to sit in the salon so I decided to head for the gym and sit and have a coffee there. It was much more relaxing, especially as I had my Kindle with me! I spent a very pleasant hour sitting in the cafe and chortling to myself while reading Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island. The gym was very busy, with lots of families swimming and having lunch and the car park was almost full!
Sophie called me when she was ready to go home so I collected her and we spent the afternoon doing very little (I did make a Pavlova at the children's request). Keith had planned on going to see a local football team in action, but because of the weather the match was cancelled!
But that's what Sophie and I had to do as we had a hair appointment at 9am followed swiftly by a visit to the nail salon. We splashed our way over to the hairdressers and we were out much quicker than I thought we'd be. It meant we could dash home just in time to meet Keith who'd been to Tesco to do our weekly shop. I helped him put the shopping away, made coffee and toasted crumpets and then it was off into town.
The plan was for me to sit and wait while Sophie had her acrylic nails removed but there was nowhere to sit in the salon so I decided to head for the gym and sit and have a coffee there. It was much more relaxing, especially as I had my Kindle with me! I spent a very pleasant hour sitting in the cafe and chortling to myself while reading Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island. The gym was very busy, with lots of families swimming and having lunch and the car park was almost full!
Sophie called me when she was ready to go home so I collected her and we spent the afternoon doing very little (I did make a Pavlova at the children's request). Keith had planned on going to see a local football team in action, but because of the weather the match was cancelled!
Friday, 3 January 2014
Frantic Friday!
I knew it was going to be a very busy day at work today within the first half an hour of opening! We were swamped with customers and we also had three parties going on during the day to add to the mayhem!
As we were so busy we were all roped into help and I spent most of the day either serving customers or clearing tables. I also had the lovely job of unblocking a toilet which in the end I gave to my Dad who cleared it by putting roads down the loo! What a great thing to do! Especially when we had crowds of people wanting to use the facilities!
Sophie was shopping with her friend Danni in town and twice Keith called in to see if I could take him home in my car but each time he saw how busy we were and drove himself back! At 4pm he came to collect me and we drove into town to pick up the girls. Sophie was very relieved that she'd managed to get herself an outfit for her party on Sunday - a black pencil skirt, blue satin top and very high blue velvet shoes. When we got home and she tried them on, she did look lovely.
After taking Keith to the pub (no gym for us tonight) I sat and spent a very enjoyable hour watching the original film of Great Expectations. It was the highlight of my day!
As we were so busy we were all roped into help and I spent most of the day either serving customers or clearing tables. I also had the lovely job of unblocking a toilet which in the end I gave to my Dad who cleared it by putting roads down the loo! What a great thing to do! Especially when we had crowds of people wanting to use the facilities!
Sophie was shopping with her friend Danni in town and twice Keith called in to see if I could take him home in my car but each time he saw how busy we were and drove himself back! At 4pm he came to collect me and we drove into town to pick up the girls. Sophie was very relieved that she'd managed to get herself an outfit for her party on Sunday - a black pencil skirt, blue satin top and very high blue velvet shoes. When we got home and she tried them on, she did look lovely.
After taking Keith to the pub (no gym for us tonight) I sat and spent a very enjoyable hour watching the original film of Great Expectations. It was the highlight of my day!
Thursday, 2 January 2014
It's all over...
It was back to work today and a return to normality. I still can't believe that Christmas and New Year are over and it looks like we'll be rushing headlong into 2014, so nothing different there then!
I practised a recipe in the evening that I'm going to cook for some friends when they come around later this month. It was a chicken and chorizo tray bake and Keith said that they children wouldn't eat it, especially as I'd put in onions and peppers and lots of garlic! As a back-up he suggested that I put the leftover cottage pie in the oven as well, but when dinner was cooked, the children couldn't get enough of it! OK, they picked out the onions and the peppers, but they loved the juicy chicken thighs, the chorizo slices and the crispy potatoes! I have to say it was delicious and very easy to make.
Ha! Needless to say the cottage pie wasn't touched and I'll take it into work to feed my hungry birds!
I practised a recipe in the evening that I'm going to cook for some friends when they come around later this month. It was a chicken and chorizo tray bake and Keith said that they children wouldn't eat it, especially as I'd put in onions and peppers and lots of garlic! As a back-up he suggested that I put the leftover cottage pie in the oven as well, but when dinner was cooked, the children couldn't get enough of it! OK, they picked out the onions and the peppers, but they loved the juicy chicken thighs, the chorizo slices and the crispy potatoes! I have to say it was delicious and very easy to make.
Ha! Needless to say the cottage pie wasn't touched and I'll take it into work to feed my hungry birds!
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Cooped up!
Well, the New Year weather has been horrendous! We cancelled our annual trip to the Cotswolds as the rain was lashing down and the wind was blowing a gale! Plus, all three children (Sophie had her friend Danni staying over) were still in bed at 10am!
New Year's Eve was very enjoyable. We did all the normal stuff (dinner, washing up) and then Sue and Paul came over at almost 11pm with their dog, Bailey. We sat and sipped wine and then at midnight I cracked open the bottle of sparkling Vouvray that our friends had brought over and we all wished each other a Happy New Year. As we watched the fireworks in London we enjoyed a slice of my Christmas cake which was delicious, thank goodness!
It was a bit of a late night (I got to bed finally at about 2.30am) and then I was up again at around 8.30am, feeling a bit bleary but not as hungover as some New Year's Days! Sophie and Danni appeared when I was cooking breakfast but Mikey didn't surface until the afternoon.
As the weather was so bad we stayed put all day and I think most of our neighbours had the same idea! Not a day to go very far at all! In the evening we did venture over to Kettering as I'd booked a table at Nando's. We decided to give the restaurant another try but unfortunately we were let down again. Just after I'd written down everyone's choice of meal the waitress appeared and said that they had run out of potatoes, so no chips or mash! We just looked at her in amazement as how can such a major restaurant chain run out of such basic items? I'd forgotten that in Nando's you have to order your food at the counter and with this piece of news, we decided to abandon the restaurant and go elsewhere!
We decided on Frankie and Benny's but even here there were problems with the food - no burgers, pulled pork or the dish I wanted, chicken parmagiano! The waitress said it was because it was New Year's Day, but I'm sorry I didn't really buy it!
Anyway, we all found something on the menu that we wanted and we had an OK meal, although I think Mikey made the wrong choice with his pizza. Rather than have dessert in the restaurant we called into a nearby McDonald's and I bought three McFlurries to take home! Much better value!
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