Photo - My Lucky Angel...

My colleague at work is a firm believer that we are all chosen by an

Angel who guides and protects us.

She carved me this Angel Pendant in the hope that my Angel will lend me a hand. :)

Diary - August 20th to 26th 2010

Diary – 20th to 26th August

This week has been about three things…
1. Watching young dancers Stepping it up… 3D Style,
2. Keeping my baby girl away from all those randy boys,
3. Realising that being back at work full time is knackering.

I love the fact that when I go for my hair cut I always beat my hairdresser there. My hairdresser is great, blonde in every sense of the word, and always makes my hair look super shiny and super lovely but her timekeeping is hilariously and notoriously unpredictable.

This Saturday she had me done and dusted in time to head with my friend over to our local Odeon cinema. Step Up 3D was the day’s choice but not before we stopped at the Pizza Hut next door. They now do MY pizza!!! It’s like I designed it! Melted goats cheese, mixed whole olives, cherry tomatoes and sweet caramelised onions, topped with fresh rocket. This is exactly what I choose when I order the make-your-own! And now they call it the Caprino. I feel so special. Though obviously I know it wasn’t made specifically for me, but a girl can be delusional once in a while, ha ha.

Step Up 3D was great. It’s not an Oscar winning film, no offence meant, but it was enjoyable and visual stunning. Not quite sure why the Camp Rock chick was in it but other than that all the characters fit and worked well with each other. No real eye candy for me but I can appreciate why others might have found the lead a little tasty. I’m glad I saw it if only to round off the trilogy. I did mourn the absence of Channing Tatum but as Dear John is out next week I am determined to get my fix.

Poor Rohan was at the fullest part of her season this week, poor love. She doesn’t really make a mess but she gets clingy and whiny and won’t let me out of her sight. As she thinks that she is above me in our Pack, fair play to her, she treats me like I am her baby. Like if I am out of the room for too long she comes to find me or if I cough / sneeze / take a deep breath, she looks at me to make sure I’m not dying. She has so much built up energy now as we haven’t really wanted to take her for her usual off the lead walk. The next time we take her to the Moor she is going to go crazy. :)

The working week has been tiring. I only had a week and a half off but it is amazing how quickly your body adjusts to lazing about and not being sat in an office chair. Most of the managers are still off work this week so the drama hasn’t really started yet. The fun will no doubt begin next week with the on set of students and a new build. Alas.

Next week… I think the in laws might be coming for a visit?

MOTW - Michael Cudlitz

This week's MOTW is an actor who you would want on your side if you ever found yourself in a hairy situation and needed a bit of brawn to save the day.

blog.zap2it.com

I first saw Michael Cudlitz as Sgt. Denver 'Bull' Randleman in the award winning 'Band of Brothers'. Something about the portrayal of this character caught my attention, as even though MC is a big bull like figure, he was able to add sensitivity to his size and make Bull Denver Randleman one of my favourite soldiers on the show.

It was only years later, after watching this box set many times over with my husband that I started to spot Mr. Cudlitz in other roles.

Roles that I least expected:
- Cole in 'D3: The Mighty Ducks'
- Bob in 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer'

And then roles that I did expect:
- Rick Phillips in '24'
- Colonel Ryan in 'Over There'
- Voice Over for the 'Call of Duty' computer games.

And of course the show which I am currently loving him in, 'Southland'. As Officer John Cooper, MC is on top brawn form pulling me back every week as more character flaws and strengths are revealed.

So... what do you think, is he worthy of the MOTW status? Who would be your choice?

Photo - Tasty toppings...

As I mentioned last week, I have developed a misguided taste for baking.

I am really bad at it but am willing to practice, practice, practice.

So while I was purchasing some flour and sugar and what not, I came across these.

How fantastic are they! Now I can't wait to make some lopsided,  un-risen buns. :)

Photo - Double glazed sleepy sun...

This is the latest sleepy Rohan picture.

Her Grandmother made her a little window blanket to sit on

and now that is all she does.

What a little sweatheart she is. :) x

Diary - August 13th to 19th 2010

Diary – 13th to 19th August

This week has been about three things…
1. Phasing myself back into work with half days and afternoon naps,
2. Watching more and more of The OC and loving it,
3. Realising that my good intentions of reading my library books have failed.

Friday afternoon involved a wee shopping trip to Huddersfield to try and get some birthday ideas. I failed but I did manage to find a new handbag after months of haphazardly looking. It’s not green but its ugly enough to keep me entertained and interested. I might see if someone wants to wrap it up for my birthday then at least the idea of the shopping trip wasn’t a complete bust. In the evening I met up with the husband and the parents and we went to the Toby Carvery to stuff our faces with a roast dinner and ice cream pudding. Delicious.

We decided on Sunday morning to go and take a look at the Fertility Centre in Manchester. It was only thirty or so miles away and didn’t take much longer to get to than the Leeds Hospital did. It looks lovely, a white stately building and after doing a bit of research it seems like the place to go if you want to get pregnant. It’s going to cost us thousands of pounds though but hopefully it will work and we will have a little monster this time next year. October is going to be our next session… fingers crossed.

On the way back from Manchester we called into the near by shopping centre to have a look for some birthday ideas, after my failed attempt on Friday. This ‘Trafford Centre’ is huge, the eating area is designed like a big cruise ship with loads of restaurants and cafés around the edge of it. We had a lovely lunch then wandered around the shops but I felt that there were way too many posh clothes shops and not enough fun stuff. Kieran got the new Iphone 4 though so he was happy, ha ha.

Tuesday morning saw me back at work, though only for one department so I was able to finish at lunch time and have the afternoon at home. We decided to bake, did the Mother and I. We ended up with forty eight buns and one cake. I posted pictures on the day so scroll down to have a look. I would love to be good at cooking or baking but I fear I just don’t have the imagination or taste buds for it.

On my last afternoon off I popped into see my friend and her little boy George. He is growing really quick and is the spitting image of both of his parents. We played on the rug, talked to Harry the Rabbit, laughed at the hot tub and had a lovely cup of tea. I should really go and visit them more often… it’s just so hard. :(

Rohan also had her fur cut this week. When we went to pick her up we could hear her barking away from the front of the shop. They had put her in a dog cage while she waited for us to arrive and she didn’t like it. Poor love; she does look gorgeous though, more like a little girl dog with her trimmed ears and beard.

Next week… I have no plans but to try and not let a full working week get to me.

MOTW - Benedict Cumberbatch

Growing up my Mother would always make me watch 'The Hound of The Baskervilles', the version starring Ian Richardson as Sherlock and with Martin Shaw (her favourite) as the American. While this is a very tenuous link to this week's MOTW it leads me in by stating that, due to my childhood, I am always intrigued to watch other actors than Ian (my favourite, RIP) take on the mighty Holmes.

sherlocking.org

When I heard that the BBC were broadcasting a modern day SH I shuddered (modern day? really?) but knew I would be watching it anyway. Then I found out the lead was to be played by a chap called Benedict Cumberbatch and knew that with a name like that he would not disappoint.

And he didn't.

His Holmes was fast paced, ironically witty, self-absorbed, single minded, bemusing and just as Sir Arthur would have wished him to be (I hope) to bring an excellent character to a modern audience.

Benedict, with his interesting features and gangly frame, stole pretty much every scene in an infuriating poor old Watson type of way. I will definitely be tuning in for a second series!

As well as solving crimes he can also be seen getting amazingly into character in:
- 'The Other Boleyn Girl' as William Carey
- 'Atonement' as Paul Marshall
- 'Starter For 10' as Patrick Watts

So... what do you think, is he worthy of the MOTW status? Who would be your choice?

Photo - 12oz of this and 12oz of that...

Today me and my mother made some buns.

We are not the best bakers and anything we make always looks a little 'special'.

But this batch turned out really well. So it is with pride that I post...

Uncooked but still tasty. :)

And voila.

We did eventually cover them in chocolate...

but that was diasterous so I will not shatter the illusion.

Question: 20

What is so great about this IPhone 4?

Diary - August 6th to 12th 2010

Diary – 6th to 12th August

This week has been about three things…
1. Discovering that having faith in medicine is naïve indeed,
2. Finally purchasing Kieran something for his birthday,
3. Enjoying a routine all week that did not involve going to work!

Whoop whoop! A week off work and boy didn’t Friday drag like hell. Isn’t that always the case? The holiday whooshes by at warp speed yet the days before hand seem to take forever to be over with? I was determined this week to do very little and I managed to do just that, so I apologise now as this diary is not going to be particularly stimulating.

Saturday I wandered around the town centre with Kieran. We went to the pub for lunch which was lovely, then we tried every jewellers we could find to see if they would be able to fix his watches. Yes he has more than one that is broken; I just don’t know what he does with them, ha ha. We also looked at various Netbooks but I am still undecided on if this is what I want for my birthday. The laptop I have works fine and still has a lot of life left in it but I do like the idea of something much smaller to take in the car, to the library, to the coffee shop… but would it be a waste of money? Aren’t I all about the questions today! :) We also stopped off at Millets were I got three pairs of little trainer shoes for £15. What a bargain, I might put photos on here if I can make them look all artfully shoe-like.

After the rest of the weekend was spent being lazy and gluttonous it was time for me and the, ever roped in, Mother to decorate my bathroom. We are a dab hand at hanging the wallpaper meaning we had it finished in just over three hours. I have posted photos so you will have to view them. It doesn’t look much different, the wallpaper is a little more blue but it just doesn’t look as tired now. I must admit that refreshing the house is also making me feel refreshed and that can’t be a bad thing, right?

Tuesday saw our follow up appointment at Assisted Conception, the first since our failed IVF attempt. The results they had informed us that there was no attempt by the embryos to implant. It wasn’t surprising really when the gynaecologist discovered that the two put back in were very poor quality. It’s infuriating! Why didn’t Leeds just leave it and not bother with the implantation? Why present us with false hope and be stupid enough to potentially develop an abnormal foetus? Now, I will love any child I have but it just seems irresponsible to start a life that might not even make it through a pregnancy. Dr HM was not impressed either and we got the distinct impression that Manchester is their preferred Infertility Centre. I am so torn! We definitely want a second go but… do I move clinics?

While I have been on holiday I have had a little spare time to watch some television. I came across The OC Season 1 whilst I was trawling through the TV on Demand that Virgin has to offer. I haven’t watched this show since, at least, 2004! So I started watching and I think I love it even more the second time around. Ben McKenzie is delicious in his brooding and good old Adam Brody is fabulous as the ‘comic relief’. After a quick Google I learnt that there are four seasons… I will have to see about collecting the box sets just to get my fill of angst and tangled love triangles. Oh to live in that pool house. :)

All other hours this week have flown by, I really can not account for them but they haven’t been spent at a desk so I really don’t care. I am relaxed and de-stressed, at last.

Next week… I really need to decide what I want for my birthday.

Photo - Grace and Jack

As you know, Kieran has been restoring our Landrover 90 back to her former glory.

She now has finished paintwork and a Union Jack on the roof.

What do you think? Stunning, huh? :)

Photo - Tired looking bathroom... no more!

Moving on from decorating the kitchen I decided to rope my mother in to helping give our bathroom a bit of a make over. It hasn't had anything done to it for about six years so needed a tidy up.

As you can see it just looks a little worn out. So we got to work...

New wallpaper, a fresh coat of paint and voila. :)

Next on the agenda is replacing the flooring, getting a new side for the bath (the bath is hidden from view in these pictures - to the right), painting the medicine cabinet and generally keeping it tidy. I would also like a silly toilet seat but Kieran said NO!, ha ha. :)

MOTW - Jay Baruchel

During the mad film fest that ended up being the last seven days we had the pleasure of watching the exceedingly entertaining 'She's Out of My League' starring the equally entertaining Jay Baruchel. The film was funny, Jay in turn was hilarious to watch, but this is not why this young (yeah another one younger than I) Canadian has gained MOTW status.

www.collider.com

No, it is his ability to, once watched, pop up absolutely everywhere!

- Almost Famous - We watched this after SOOML and there he was looking about 12 years old, despite actually being 18, and appearing as geeky and gangly as ever.

- The Sorcerer's Apprentice - I then turned on the television to see him in an advert for his latest offering. A geeky and gangly chap trying to avoid the magical advances of a suspicious looking Nicolas Cage.

- Radio 1 - Then Sunday morning my radio alarm clock kicked in to life and I realised that it was Jay being interviewed, and seemingly he is charming and hilariously amusing in real life. Bless him.

But even though I was now confident that I must have seen Jay Baruchel in an abundance of formats I still had this feeling that I had seen him somewhere before... seen him in a uniform... with the help of IMDb I figured it out. Jay Baruchel is none other than Joey Motorola of Night at the Museum 2 fame. It would appear I knew him before I knew of him, if that makes any sense. And if I remember correctly, as Joey I thought he was pretty cute... geek must be my type. :)

So... what do you think, is he worthy of the MOTW status? Who would be your choice?

Zen - While the puppy sleeps...

10 songs played to my ears while the furry offspring snoozes beside me...

1. Britney Spears - Let Me Be
2. Jessica Andrews - I Don't Like Anyone
3. Frank Sinatra - Saturday Night (Is The Loneliness Night Of The Week)
4. Gavin Degraw - Against All Odds
5. Maroon 5 - Sweetest Goodbye
6. Lemar - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
7. Michelle Branch - Till I Get Over You
8. Sister Hazel - Fortress
9. The Calling - For You (Acoustic)
10. Texas - I'll See It Through

Musings - Odd Socks

My phone is a touch screen, a lovely Samsung, and as I know my own limitations when it comes to keeping my mobile phones scratch free, as well as the dangerous internal state of my handbag, I like to keep it wrapped nicely in an Ipod sock.

'Why not just get a normal phone case?' I hear you ask. Well, because my socks come in a variety of colours, are machine washable and above all Rohan loves to run off with them so there is entertainment value too.

I am currently in the process of changing my colour. I started with pink and moved on to blue so it is decision time on what I am going to pick next.

What do you think? Orange ?

Photo - Look what I can do...

It is amazing the things that you can find on the Internet.

This week I found the instructions on how to make an Origami Lotus Flower.

After a couple of trial and errors I made this...

It doesn't look like much but I am really proud of myself ha ha. :)

Diary - July 30th to August 5th 2010

Diary – 30th July to 5th August

This week has been about three things…
1. Pitying the fools who don’t go to see The A Team at their local cinema,
2. Stocking up at the Library in anticipation of my days off,
3. Trying to survive without the presence of my husband for the first time in 8 years!

For weeks we have been tempted by the adverts; every time we have been to the cinema we have been presented with the Orange collaboration of tomfoolery but finally on Friday night… we saw ‘The A Team’. Doo dee doo doo, doo doo doo. (You get the drift). And it was fantastic. Everything about it stayed true to the original television series but at the same time it had the ability to modernise and even laugh at itself. The amount of well placed and dry humoured slapstick meant that everyone stayed entertained throughout. The castings were well placed as was the always welcome addition of Brian Bloom, an actor I have followed since my early teens. This is definitely a film to see on the big screen but be warned, it’s loud! :)

Saturday was spent in town. Two hours in the library choosing books to read on my break and then dress shopping for my friend. While wandering around, I overheard a conversation in WHSmiths regarding CDs and how this store no longer stock them. Halifax officially has no music shops other than those selling second hand copies. It’s depressing. Actually its more depressing that we don’t have a book shop but if I was to start listing all the things we don’t have this would turn out to be the longest blog diary in history.

Tuesday morning, through to late Thursday, Kieran was away down south with his work. This meant that it was me and Rohan all to ourselves. It’s the first time in 8 years of living here that I have spent such an amount of time in the house without adult supervision. It was strange, I missed him loads, I filled my time to the hilt in an effort to make the time fly. It failed; I just ended up being super efficient. It’s odd that I can’t settle on my own anymore; damn husband getting me used to him being around. Guess I will have to keep him. Over these days I was also alone in the office at work which meant that I felt I hadn’t talked to anyone for weeks. I felt silent but I know all the words are stored up somewhere waiting to get out. We did okay though, the pooch and I. We blogged, we cooked, we watched old re-runs of She-Ra and even learnt how to make an Origami Lotus Flower out of a square of flexible (after much trial and error) paper. It was fun. Without the crazy influence of her Daddy, Rohan was much calmer and less ‘Argggggggghhhhhhh’. Thank heaven; I don’t think I could have coped with a Border Terroriser on my own, ha ha.

Also, out of vegetating and trying to make the time fly there have also been an abundance of films watched in the Redmond house this week:
- She’s Out of My League (8/10)
- Inglorious Basterds. (2/10)
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (6/10)
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief (7/10)
- It’s Complicated (7/10)
- Pandorum (6/10)
- Public Enemies (4/10)
- Almost Famous (8/10)
- Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (7/10)
- Because I Said So (7/10)
- 10 Things I Hate About You (6/10)

Next week… I’m on holiday, whoop whoop… well from work anyway. I just need the relaxation time.

Photo - This is Grog.

When I was younger my parents would always find ways to make me giggle. One of the silliest things was the talking hand. They would make a loose fist, draw eyes on their index finger, then using the thumb to create a mouth they would make their hand talk.

Now that my Father is older and has the odd false tooth, attached to a small pallet, he can make the talking hand much more sinister. :)

Needless to say the results are hilarious; this is Grog. Yeah, we named it! 

Even though I am shortly turning 30 I still love it.

Photo - Rohan Multi-tasking.

With Kieran being away, Rohan has been looking after me. She won't leave me alone.

This is her sat on my knee while I work on the laptop.

She is watching '10 Things I Hate About You'. :)

MOTW - Ben Foster

This week my MOTW is a young actor (I say young because he is a whole month younger than me, ha ha) who has taken on some excellent and gritty roles since he first appeared on the acting scene. His MOTW status worthiness came from his portrayal of an astronaut who wakes up on a stranded spaceship with no memory, no crew and no idea who or what is on board. The actor is Ben Foster and the film is Pandorum.

Now usually this wouldn't be my kind of film, in fact it was Kieran watching it while I typed but it drew my attention. Ben drew my attention with his ability to always go the extra mile with the characters he plays.

His other gritty appearances include:
- Spacker Dave in 'The Punisher'
- Charlie Prince in '3:10 to Yuma'
- The Stranger in '30 Days of Night'

He was also the Angel in the X-Men movie Last Stand, a role that saw his usually red hair bleached for a more angelic look to match his new wings. He looked buff and blonde and while I can appreciate the buff I do prefer it when Ben is a little more ginger and a little more gruff. His younger brother Jon Foster, while taller and potentially more handsome, just doesn't have that 'something' that the elder Foster has. Whatever it is... it's MOTW material.

So... what do you think, is he worthy of the MOTW status? Who would be your choice?

Photo - Lonely Dinner

My husband is away with work for a couple of days this week,

so me and the Rohan are having to look out for ourselves.

Without the presence of a meat demanding chap

 we were able to have a delicious chicken salad.

Yum. :)

Photo - Trees that lead me...

Here are the trees that lead me slowly up the path to work.

This morning they are calm and green yet only a month ago the branches were laden heavy with blossom.