39 And Counting....

Farewell 39 And Counting.....

2009-05-19T22:00:00.001+01:00

..... Hello Forty Not Out! Thatgirl39 is all grown up (kind of), so it's time to flee the 39 And Counting nest and migrate to a more sophisticated abode (kind of)!

Here is where I cut my blog teeth and there have been so many things that have made it a blast... I have loved, loved, loved all of it. I fear that now I am officially old there is a higher risk of repeating myself; in fact I think I just did because I know I got similarly gushy about blogging here!

I do however have to mention a few names because without them I would never have snorted so much wine and coffee out of my nose or had to be literally prised from the Mac hot seat by Other Half so many times!

Tara over at Sticky Fingers is my long lost English twin sister. I swear if we ever met it would be like looking in a mirror and I just know we could wile away many happy days watching brat pack movies, drooling over McDreamy, playing with Benefit make up and scoffing cupcakes. Of course the kids would have to get on and entertain themselves!

YM over at Diary of A Yummy Mummy in Boston is my American baby sister that I never knew about until last summer. I should have known because I could feel some sort of missing piece in my soul... of my Louboutins! This shoe loving, fashion obsessed, gossip reading, coffee drinking babe brings a sparkly ray of sunshine to my dull days.

Actually... thinking about it if I won the lottery and took Tara and YM shopping we could clean out any major city between us in half an hour!

Then there's my lovely Auntie Gwen whom I want to be just like when I grow up! She is the coolest Auntie you'll ever have and I reckon she could dance on her high heels much longer than me!

And not forgetting all my regular reads who I'm taking with me in my blogroll suitcase:

Lucy and I

Notsupermum

Confused Take That Fan

Nappy Valley

Not Enough Mud

Flower Fairies and Fairy Cakes

Mom/Mum

Maternal Tales

Home Office Mum and More To Life Than Laundry

You make me feel like I'm catching up with old friends whenever I stop by, so in lieu of cupcakes I'm sending out multiple web hugs to all of you! Please come and stop by the new place to say Hi.

There are tons of other great blogs that I read and comment on and will continue to do so as long as they keep on writing. I'm going to be making a concerted effort to find some more via all of your blogrolls too so apologies in advance if you catch me snooping!

So.... what are you waiting for? Come on.... follow me to Forty Not Out...... go on.. you know you want to..... CLICK!

Oh What A Night!! (Part Two - The One With Slightly Less Sophistication!)

2009-05-17T20:26:00.003+01:00

Not Quite So Sophisticated After The Speech!

After the champagne had been polished off and sugar highs from the cupcakes kicked in, everyone started to let their hair down on the dance floor. I remember asking the DJ to play Untouchable by Girls Aloud and demanding that two of my girls get on and strut their funky stuff with me to get things moving!

The Girls!

Cupcake and balloon posing lead to some interesting photo opportunities and by midnight there were a few pairs of heels being discarded to allow for safer navigation of the dance floor! Mine were so high that I was quite proud of lasting until just gone 12.00am. My toes had gone numb so I didn't care how many "God you look really little now" comments I had... blood flow to the extremities is far more important.

Not What The Cupcakes Were Intended For!

Other Half In The Zero Zone!

My Bro And D Getting In On The Act

I think I did my usual round of "I really love you guys... no seriously... I really DO LOVE YOU" speeches to my nearest and dearest people but they know what I'm like so that's OK!

Just before 1.00am the stragglers, (us, D & S, Mr and Mrs Cousin It and my bro and his wife) decided to call it a day. We accosted the doorman on the way out who was an American ex basketball player therefore possessed sudden undeniable cool factor before bundling into taxis.

I remember a fleeting thought of "Oohh... I feel so Carrie Bradshaw.. hic" as I walked barefoot into the hotel bar trailing six helium balloons behind me. I suspect that the differences between Carrie and I go far deeper than knowing when to STOP DRINKING but that kind of clarity only comes with the morning light!

And so to bed at 3.00am, feeling, as my friend Banana says... very broken! I think drinking a litre and a half of Evian was the thing that helped me get up without feeling totally hideous... that and the handful of almonds eaten before the champagne fest even commenced. Seriously... try it... it does work! I was able to partake of breakfast before S and I went off for an aromatherapy massage in the hotel spa to assist with the detox process.

I saved my pressies until Saturday morning... seeing them piled up on the dining table on Friday was agony but I managed some restraint! I was such a lucky Thatgirl and felt totally spoilt to receive, amongst other things, an original Vogue magazine from May 1969, a years subscription to Vogue, a Links of London Sweetie bracelet, nine bottles of champagne including two vintages, some Clarins, Estee Lauder, White Company and Space NK goodies and vouchers for Selfridges, Next and Hobbs.

So... with all this and the promise of Manolo's hanging in the air for the London trip next weekend, I can honestly say my fortieth has been the best birthday ever! But without my husband, daughter, brother, brother in law, cousin and best friends in the world it wouldn't have been anywhere near so special. Celebrating with loved ones is the best gift a girl can have!

Oh What A Night!! (Part One - The One With All The Sophistication)!

2009-05-16T17:30:00.023+01:00

My balloons... before everyone started wearing the zero!

Where do I start? I guess a good place would be in the hotel room, with a glass of Veuve, our good friends D and S who arrived looking respectively dapper and beautiful and presented me with this beautiful book!

A quick taxi ride to the venue to the venue provided the first of many SATC-esque moments! S noted that actually getting me in the taxi in The Dress was like "pushing a creme puff through a keyhole"!

The creme puff in all it's glory!

The room was fantastic, filled with twinkling tea lights and silver and black balloons floated from the ceiling. This provided many SATC valentines day dinner scene moments as they attached themselves to my guests at various points in the evening!

As more and more people arrived I got more and more excited and a couple of very happy hours passed far too quickly as I caught up with so many dear friends and family folk. The ladies all looked gorgeous in their various party and cocktail dresses and the men were all very James Bond in DJ's!

The cupcakes provided by The Divine Miss C from Sponge Cupcake Boutique were an absolute hit both in terms of looks and taste! I did a quick impromptu thank you speech beside the sugary tower which hopefully was not too garbled. I seem to remember becoming very closely acquainted with the champagne after that and things probably became a little more blurry!

The Divine Cupcakes!

For the less sophisticated part of the evening, come back soon!

I'm Done Counting!

2009-05-16T08:23:00.003+01:00

6.30am.... Small Child climbs into bed with us...

"Mummy!"

"Hhhmmm..."

"Is it your real birthday now instead of your pretend party?"

"Yes"

"Good....then can I have one of your cupcakes later on?"

It's here.... I am Forty!!! I will be back later on with party details but right now, presents await!

Red Carpet Ready

2009-05-13T16:00:00.002+01:00

I admit that I've always taken my time to get ready for going out, I'd like to say that it just takes me longer these days due to extra effort that's needed to achieve an acceptable state of glam but I've always been this way.... never was a step out of the shower and be ready in five minutes woman! When I was a single gal my old colleagues used to constantly rip the what-not out of me about taking an afternoon off to go home and preen for very special events. Even standard Friday girls nights warranted a 4.00 pm office escape at the very least.

It was never the actual coiffing and grooming itself but more about taking my time and enjoying the whole shebang. There was usually loud music, a glass or three of wine and a gaggle of girls in my flat to add to the proceedings.

These days, on the (far fewer) occasions of a parental evening out sans bebe, I have learnt to master the art of looking presentable in a much shorter space of time. You know the drill - squeeze in a shower when you can, blow dry your hair if you're lucky, maybe once in a blue moon get to straighten it whilst a Small Child hangs off your left leg. I do confess to sometimes employing the cheating tactic of putting on Lazy Town which guarantees at least ten minutes of uninterrupted make up and nail polish time.

But none of those short cuts for me here tomorrow people... I am going all out to be Red Carpet Ready! Prep began in earnest at least a week ago and has involved some of these:

Smelling like a biscuit thanks to fake tan applications.

Doing the ironing and building Lego houses whilst wearing high heels. Technically the Lego has nothing to do with the party but Small Child begged me to build one whilst I was wobbling round the living room breaking in the event shoes!

Extra tricep dips, lunges, sit ups and anything else that might bring about a firming quality.

No carbs after 5.00 pm for the last three days (stops me looking 4 months pregnant)!

Mass exfoliation followed by buffing, polishing and copious amounts of body lotion lavishing.

And tomorrow morning... ooh I cant wait! Having dropped off Small Child at preschool I am off for a facial, manicure and deluxe pedicure followed by a flit back home to pick up Other Half, the bags and a sneaky bottle of Veuve to take down to the hotel.

As Rachel Zoe says, if you can't create your own red carpet moment once in a while to take you away from the hum drum of life then what's the point? Whilst I don't agree with all her suggestions and tips from Style A to Zoe, this one I will do my best to uphold tomorrow night. In which case I'd better only have one glass before we get to the party!

Super Furry Animals

2009-05-12T22:27:00.008+01:00

Slight change of pace from all the party talk I know but.....I smell a rat! Actually I didn't smell him... I saw him bloody sunbathing on our deck. After imparting this information to Other Half, the only thing I actually can now smell is the onion-like fragrance of the natural rat deterrent powder liberally sprinkled about the garden. The stench is supposed to make them pack their rat bags and leave pronto...it doesn't work but it has put me off onions!

We've now had two visits from a very pleasant pest control chap from the council, who by the way, is possibly the tallest man I have ever seen. I wondered if he got the job because he's able to intimidate them into leaving with his giant stature? If that's the case then Ratty Ratterson must have a rather large set of kahunas cos he's still hanging with his homeys, possibly wearing a rat hoodie and swearing at passing field mice, despite the tasty poison-laced food that was left for him. The Tall Guy is due back this Thursday but will be getting his rat progress report via a note due to the impending celebrations. No rat is going to make me late for my own party!

Thinking about it, this is might be karma as a result of the now infamous rodent debacle from my childhood. Having rescued a mouse from the neighbours cat, I was firmly instructed to "put a bloody lid on that box" before MM went out that night. I forgot and it escaped, much to hers, my but not my little brothers horror. We presumed it had made like Elvis and left the building as nothing was ever seen or heard of it again..... until the midnight saucepan clanging incident some weeks later. Despite hastily shoving the neighbours cat in the kitchen and shutting the door, more clanging was heard the following night.

I knew I was in real trouble later in the wee small hours when MM yelled at me to "get in here now!". On arriving in her bedroom, I found her standing in the middle of their bed, hysterically pointing at the wiggling curtain whilst ringing my father who was on night shift. Needless to say by the time he got home there was no sign of the errant mouse and I was in deep Doo Doo!

As I sleepily went to the fridge the next morning to put away the milk used to make a conciliatory cup of tea, I caught sight of a pair of legs hanging down from some pipe housing. Having taken my turn to scream "Get here now", my father reassured me to stop panicking as it was clearly dead. Well you would be too if you'd crawled up between two hot water pipes, split your difference and got stuck there until the water heater came on in the morning! As dad's do, he fetched a pair of pliers to pull it out.... and it kept on coming, and coming...... and coming.

The mouse that I had rescued some weeks earlier turned out to be a baby rat; a rat that enjoyed it's childhood in our house and proceeded to grow to extreme proportions. This also explained why the dog had been getting thinner - small wonder when we discovered the pile of biscuits and food that had been stored away behind the dishwasher. Can you even begin to imagine how popular I was for a long time after that little lot?

No rats have been harmed in the making of this blog post..... yet!

Blogiversary!

2009-05-08T01:23:00.015+01:00

Just like the Queen of England I have two birthdays - there's the small matter of turning forty on May 16th but today, 39 And Counting is officially one year old! Here was I, one year ago, greener than Kermit The Frog, a newbie to the blogosphere and without a clue what 39 And Counting would be. The only thing I did know was that it was time to satisfy a burning desire to write and seeing as a book was a little on the big side of huge for my mushy brain, a blog seemed like the ideal solution.

For the past year I have subjected you all to stuff that moves me, irks me, makes me ponder, makes me pull a face like this (think yourself lucky you can't see me), all with a pinch of parenthood, shoe lust and a clothing obsession that would put Victoria Beckham to shame, thrown in.

In my first year I have made the best bloggy friends and read some stuff that has made me both laugh so much a little bit of pee came out and cry like I just broke a pair of Louboutins. Oh yeah... that did actually happen.

Who knew that you can end up feeling like part of a community just by baring your innermost thoughts and hitting enter? I never imagined how much fun you can have with the commenting, the tagging and don't even get me started on my first award (more pee)!

It's fueled my dreams of writing, of being "discovered" and of making people sit up and take notice. Whilst I know that, in the real world, the chances of that happening are about as likely as Karl Lagerfeld making a dress for me, it's taught me to be passionate about something that is mine alone. And when I have seen the big time happen for bloggers, I get so excited for them it just makes me want to... well... pee.... again!

No matter where it does or doesn't go, I absolutely love this blogging lark and have no intention of ever shutting up... there's just so much more to say, even with 136 posts under my belt! One thing I do hope is that I get to meet some of my favourite bloggers in person one day... you know who you are! Without you this would never have been the journey it has been so far and I can't wait to experience millions more happy hours glued to the Mac. (Sorry Other Half!)

I know that I can't remain 39 And Counting forever so a blog plan is afoot to allow me to warble on without appearing to be in denial of my true age.... watch this space soon! At this point in any celebration it would be usual to crack open a bottle of Veuve but seeing as I have an important event to attend next Thursday, I'll have to be content with talking about it as opposed to quaffing it. Let me leave you with this quote from Madame Lily Bollinger herself:

"I only drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I am thirsty".

Now that was a woman after my own heart - Happy Blogiversary 39 And Counting!

A Tale Of Two Shopping Trips

2009-05-05T20:26:00.021+01:00

Given the choice of scenario a) or b)... which would you choose?

(Heaven!)

A pre-arranged Monday with all appropriate children being appropriately looked after, the promise of a girly lunch, a trip to Space NK (yes, yes, yes!) and as much wandering up and down, in and out of shops as that days chosen heels will allow.

The day dawned early but not bright. My friend and fellow shopping addict E, thought I might call and cancel... as if! When has a bit of rain ever put me off a child free retail therapy day? Having fought the urge to go with the wedge sandals because they are high enough to get you over the puddles but provide enough comfort for even the most exhaustive of trips, I went all sensible and wore some that would actually keep my feet dry.

No such sensibility for the jacket; I refused to wear a raincoat as my Gap jacket would look much nicer with the New York jeans reserved for special shopping occasions and anyway... I had an umbrella and of course the rain wouldn't last all day. It did. The umbrella didn't. I got out of the car, it blew inside out and went permanently lopsided which provided a convenient path for the water to run either down inside the collar of my jacket, into my handbag or directly onto E, depending on which way I turned it!

But you know what, none of that mattered. Due to the good girly company, purchases in Space NK (see here, here and here), a bargain pair of black gladiator sandals from H & M and a strawberry cupcake and skinny latte from Starbucks; no amount of wet clothes, sore feet or stupid pink spotty handbag sized but useless umbrellas would have ruined my day! Plus... this trip was nothing like the one below!

(A Bargain!)

A sunny Saturday and Thatgirl, Small Child and Other Half set off to their local shopping mecca in search of kiddy vitamins, lunch, new sportswear for me and some good old fashioned family quality time! Vitamins successfully tracked down in Boots, lunch inhaled at Caffe Nero without any tantrums, spillages or major breakdowns and suitable sports wear that covers all necessary parts located, I stood in line to pay at M & S.

How nice think I, to stand in a queue without a small person hanging off my leg demanding that something be wiped/bought/eaten, at the same time basking in the brief sense of freedom bought about by the fact that Other Half is on duty. So it's OK for me to just vacantly stare at all the knickers whilst letting my mind wander off elsewhere. At this point it might be worthwhile explaining that the queue was shorter at the underwear department cash desk, hence all the knicker gazing!

Having added a pack of M & S's finest seamless, no VPL under garments to my basket and completed the transaction with the nice sales lady, I wandered back to rejoin my small but perfectly formed brood.

Beside a shop dummy attired in something far more sexy and come hither than I have just purchased, is stood my husband, looking at me in a somewhat helpless fashion, shrugging his shoulders. Beside him is my daughter, tee shirt lifted to flash her entire top half, dancing around and repeatedly chanting "Boobies, Belly, Minnie...la la la la"!

Apparently she had been told by an assistant to stop wheeling around on her scooter in the shop, because "those were the rules". Having asked Daddy what rules were and why couldn't they be broken, she decided to break one of my old favourites; never, ever, ever dance around flashing your bits in the lingerie department.

Overall, I think I probably enjoyed scenario b) as much as a), just for very different reasons!

Bloggin' Hell! Where Has The Time Gone?

2009-04-30T22:00:00.004+01:00

I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I last posted; it's a good job I'm not Catholic cos I reckon I'd be seriously bad at the whole confession lark! And for someone who generally has a fair bit to confess to I imagine I would end up being banished to hell pretty quickly.

Anyhoo, I'm not in hell but alive and well.... how the devil are you and what have you been up to? Any of it worthy of confession?

Following the bedroom decoration/wardrobe building project ( x 2 ), there have been many sorting, editing, tidying and rearranging sub-project deadlines to meet. Anyone would think spring had sprung! In order to allow Other Half time and space to work his DIY magic, Small Child and I have had some girly days together which have, in turn, allowed me to ruminate on both the agony and ecstasy of motherhood. We then despatched him off to the golf course one Sunday as a thank you and a much needed chance for some Him Time.

He's also managed to get Small Child interested in the Grand Prix, so much so that he can watch some of it without too many demands for Dora, Diego or Chuggington. She pops into the kitchen at regular intervals to tell me who's on pole position, who's crashed into who or who is driving with the new go faster turbo boost thingy! I'm so impressed with Other Half's involvement technique that has bought him some alone time with the remote although I'm not sure I could get away with selling her Gossip Girl in the same way!

And then there's the whole countdown to no longer being 39 And Counting which is, after all, how this blog began nearly a year ago! Two weeks today till the party, two weeks and two days till the actual big Four Zero and three weeks and one day to the London trip, sans enfant! If I said I was knee deep in party plans I'd be exaggerating slightly as most of it is being handled by the very nice lady at the venue. Invite chasing is done, final numbers are ready, hairdresser who can come to the hotel is booked, a suitable up do has been trialled, The Dress has been fitted and cupcakes are ordered. Damn I'm good!

Now I just need to find a way to ensure that non of the guests go down with swine flu! Over zealous media coverage aside, I'm more worried about it than I care to admit. Even more so now that I am a parent but apart from following guidelines as and when they're issued, I can't do much about it.

Ho hum.... better go and check that there's no pork products amongst the canapes......

Would You Jump?

2009-04-17T22:00:00.003+01:00

Despite being a self confessed fashion addict I know I'm no Anna Wintour; most of the time I'm more vague than Vogue, but may I ask a question anyway? Really, what's with all the jumpsuits, play suits and even flying suits gracing the pages of my fashion reads? Grazia keeps telling me, Obama stylee, "Yes You Can.... Wear A Jumpsuit - We'll Show You How!" No, No, No! They come from the era of Farrah Fawcett flicks, Bungalow 8, Charlie’s Angels, gloopy red lip gloss, flares and Cinzano Bianco...... and that is where they should stay!

To quote Ms Simon, who I'm sure sported, frequented, looked like, wore or drank most of the above seventies paraphernalia, there are a few things that have that legit "Coming Around Again" factor. I’m all for a bit of retro inspired cool from any decade. Fifties style prom dress? Yes. Pussy bow blouse? Of course. Oversize sunnies? Good enough for Nicole, good enough for me. Eighties style peg trousers? Why not? I even mustered the courage to buy a pair from Next recently and with the right shoes, they actually enhance the good bits and skim over the bad. Bonus!

But jumpsuits? Seriously? There are some trends that should stay buried for a reason, never ever ever to be resurrected by some designer struggling for a new take on an old idea to send down his or her catwalk. It’s entirely possible that as a child of the seventies I may have been dressed in one of these things. I say possible as I’m not sure, but this may be the reason behind my recurring nightmare of being desperate to pee and wrestling with said garment only to lose the battle at the last second if you know what I mean!

Don't get me wrong, I am fully aware that some trends are only meant to be sported by nubile twenty somethings with honeyed limbs, long wavy hair and a catwalk stomp. Lets face it, these girls would look amazing in a sack but even on them, the jumpsuit is still a big no no as far as I'm concerned.

The full length version brings to mind the attire of a newborn who needs his or her nappy changing. And talking of visiting the ladies room, you’d better hope there is a way in to the crotch region or you'll wish you actually had opted for Pampers! Take the same garment, add in a few zips, manufacture it in khaki and voila, you can live the Top Gun dream all over again. As for the play suit…. isn’t that something that porn stars wear just before they are about to get down to the business of “making movies”? Or perhaps that’s just a hangover from the overriding image I was left with of Roller girl in Boogie Nights!

But hey ho... to truly love fashion is to love the good, the bad and the ugly and, despite it's bonkers mad side, for every micro trend there is one that is far more appealing to the mass market. Hands up who remembers the more wearable spawn of the jumpsuit, the body? This genius invention, courtesy of Donna Karen, was basically your average leotard with an easy access panel. The hassle of fiddling around with three poppers in your nether regions was far outweighed by the fact that it kept your tummy in check, you never had a drafty midriff and peek-a-boo thongs were unheard of!

Bloody hell... am I showing my age in this post or what?

Mean Girls

2009-04-15T12:08:00.012+01:00

One of the nagging fears that simmers beneath the surface of my normal, albeit slightly erratic train of thought lately, is for when Small Child starts school and the kind of world she will be opening herself up to.

Kids are so honest, open and direct to start with; pure and beautifully untainted by all the things that will inevitably plague them as they navigate the choppy waters that stretch from puberty to forty and beyond. I love how honest and accepting my girl is right now and like a million parents the world over, I’m not looking forward to witnessing the events that will bring cynicism, mistrust, disappointment and upset into her life.

Girls and indeed grown women, seem to have the jealous, catty, petty thing down to a fine art and I was wondering at exactly what age this starts. I know that it sure as hell still goes on now…… see here and here. And in case that left you in any doubt then you should read the dirt slinging, bitch fest comments left on Yummy Mummy’s recent post here! Seriously…… my jaw was on the table as I read the hurtful, nasty things that were said out of what I can only presume was jealousy, insecurity, or just plain spitefulness. Some simple advice to the venomous anon's out there....If you don't like a blog - stop reading it and write one of your own.

But all this jaw dropping disbelief has led me to digress. I was trying to fathom out my earliest memory of girls who had overnight, turned into hurtful little monsters. Sitting on a bench in junior school comes to mind when my friend asked me to sing her a song; when I finished she jumped up and said “Stop showing off, you can’t sing… that was rubbish”. This of course drew attention from the kids around us who started pointing and laughing; I think it was about then that I became shy and cautious and tried not to participate in anything that might draw attention to myself in a group situation. Teenage spots, trousers not narrow enough, lack of boyfriend and shoes not being stiletto heeled all bought unwanted attention and sometimes bullying in the years that followed.

Guess what Mean Girls, I’m just fine, you didn’t break me! Spots have been replaced with lines of wisdom, I have a range of jeans varying from skinny to wide legged and boyfriend schmoyfriend – try a husband! As for the shoes…. well I could whip your arse any day in the footwear stakes!

At my niece’s party over the weekend, I think Small Child may have got her first taste of what’s to come. It was at one of those play centre places – you know, the one that brings out my OPPS, meaning I cannot let her go off by herself but instead stand by and watch her climb to ridiculous heights or go down the slide with her!

I stood, coffee in hand, watching her fling herself at a large inflatable ball that was residing in a pool containing zillions of other tiny balls and some bigger girls. As she stood on the edge, ready for the first launch, the girls started pointing, whispering, and looking her up and down in all too familiar manner. They were no more than six or seven! One glanced at me and must have realised I was the over protective mother on sentry duty as she caught the look in my eye, nudged her accomplice and got on with the business of playing!

Confident that I’d averted a situation, I turned to talk to my brother. I tried not to be too proud, when turning back a minute later, I caught Small Child pinning one of them up against the side with the large inflatable ball!

Perhaps me and my girl will be different in that she will be able to stand up for herself and won’t let the Mean Girls get the better of her… I really hope so. Meanwhile I’ll be making sure I look after her shoe inheritance… just in case.

Mille-feuille.......

2009-04-12T20:10:00.006+01:00

.... is apparently French for "a thousand leaves". And also the name of a dessert mais non?

After having been describing my party dress in terms such as "Fru Fru, Flossy, Frothy, An Abundance Of Ruffles, You Know.... A Bit Like That Dress That Carrie Wore In The Paris Scene Right At The End Of The Series" I was pleased to learn that the official name for That Dress actually is The Mille-feuille Dress!

Where did I find this nugget of information? Why, in the official SATC The Movie book of course! So, according to Wikipedia I will be going to my 40th dressed as a custard slice - you can't get better than that!

4 x 2 = No Blog For 10 Days

2009-04-11T20:37:00.017+01:00

I know that a child's birthday is no excuse for a ten day absenteeism from blogging but that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

My baby girl turned four on 2nd April which, to summarise, involved a pink micro scooter, a trip to Monkey World, copious amounts of birthday cake and much over excitement.

This is us making our own monkey business

Then came the party on the Sunday which involved lots of scooting around, a whole other bunch of monkeys, bucket loads of birthday cake and tons more over excitement. In addition to that there were grandparents back to ours for grown up food, whom I have to say, required far more cleaning up after than the small monkeys at the Bounce and Play venue!

The candles got blown out before Happy Birthday was sung!

In between we had Cousin It, her man and little boy stay over for dinner followed by breakfast at the beach so it felt as if Thursday through Sunday was one long celebration! Seeing as I intend making my 40th festivities last at least two weeks, I have to say I'm mighty proud of Small Child's party fest efforts!

On top of that we've had the pre planning for our biannual Easter house decorating tradition (not intentional, it just happens that way), which we are now in the thick of.

So, after attending two kids parties today whilst Other Half was busy painting Small Child's room a very precise shade of marshmallow pink, I am now taking the opportunity to catch up!

Incidentally, I wish I had live web cam feed for, as I type, him, his brother and brother in law are having boys poker night. As Small Child is occupying the spare room due to the fresh paint in her room, my punishment is to sit at the dining table and endure comments about fetching beer, waitress service, roller skates etc etc! I think retiring early to bed is looking more appealing but first I have a date with some well earned red wine!

A Woman's Right To Shoes

2009-04-01T21:15:00.013+01:00

It’s been a while…. how long exactly I’m not sure but its definitely time for post all things shoe!

First and foremost to these babies in the picture. T’was first we met in Grazia a couple of weeks ago… I opened the first page and they there were, all suede, fringing and exquisite beauty. Very nice said I, but you and I will have to live our lives apart for I cannot justify another pair of credit crunch defying, designer heels right now.

But no, wait…. high street you say? Dune? They have a website? But you won’t match my party dress and if I had you I’d need to wear you very soon. Oooh… the London trip! The promise of dinner a la Gordon Ramsey at Claridges…. that DVF dress that would go so well with you…. Oh go on then!

If only my blog provider supplied a scratch and sniff widget (even though I’m sure it would come in for far too much abuse), because they even smell beautiful and I need to share this with you. Has anyone ever been institutionalised for shoe sniffing do you think?

But it’s not just me… I know a few of you out there will understand where I’m coming from (Tara, Yummy Mummy and Auntie Gwen to name but a few!).

And, I learned yesterday that my good friend S has just purchased her first pair of Louboutins! On the back of her important announcement there followed an over excited text exchange on the merits of these red soled works of art for the feet, ending with me checking them out on Net a Porter. Like me, she has taken to wearing them around the house. We say it’s to break them in before they are officially “outed” but we both know there’s far more to it than that!

S... do not wear your shoes whilst washing up... the Fairy Liquid may do dishes and be kind to hands but it does not mix with Louboutins!

Saturday Date Night

2009-03-31T19:32:00.012+01:00

Anyone in a relationship where kids are involved knows the importance of Date Night. We don’t make nearly enough time for this ritual as we should but this weekend we took ourselves off, sans bebe, to that most romantic of destinations…. Ikea!

I guess you could call it multi tasking… spending quality time alone together whilst improving the appearance, functionality and storage capacity of the home!

The news that the most wondrous of all Swedish stores was to open a branch in Southampton this year was met with mixed reviews in our household. Yes it would mean that we only had to travel for forty five minutes before we were able to stock up on church candles, tea lights and other delights but oh, the traffic! If you’ve ever sat in a queue approaching one of the London branches with the bright blue and yellow building colours taunting you from a distance, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

The fact that they were building it right next to West Quay, home of the mother ship John Lewis and other such retail-tastic destinations filled me with something akin to horror. There would be no more quick fix trips on preschool days or family friendly shop trawling Sundays unless we were willing to undergo a one hour traffic jam, eighteen chorus’s of “Are we nearly there yet?” and two parents ready to tear each others heads off!

So with some precision planning, having left enough time for the initial excited flurry of shoppers to fade away, we arranged for MM to have Small Child overnight. Having dropped her off at teatime we fled towards the city, hoping that everyone else would be fleeing in the opposite direction back toward their homes....... already full to the brim with Ikea bits and bobs.

Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? We glided around the store, holding hands and avoiding the screaming children, seeking out the items on our list. (Never go to Ikea without a list; it’s like going to the supermarket when you’re really hungry… you come out with all kinds of crap that you don’t need.)

High on value for money design and a sense of freedom, we then headed off to seek out pizza on the way home and whilst waiting for a table, actually found ourselves sitting in a bar having a drink on a Saturday night! Right on cue in crept the phrases “How short is her skirt?”, “God I feel old!” and “Small Child is not EVER leaving the house dressed like that!”

Still, a good time was had by all…. so good in fact that Other Half is making a return trip to blue and yellow land tonight after work. He has to return a chest of drawers that we picked up in the wrong colour – I blame it on all the over excitement!

Label Of Choice

2009-03-28T22:00:00.006Z

Who am I again? Why am I here? What is my purpose?

These are all simple yet valid questions that have been vying for space in my brain alongside the more mundane ones, such as where did I leave my keys, why has Small Child gone so quiet and what the hell can I get for dinner tonight?

I’m beginning to realize that the very reason these questions are seeping into the old grey matter is purely down to the fact that I have recently changed labels. Knowing me as you do you could be forgiven for thinking that I was referring to an upgrade from M&S to Moschino or French Connection to Fendi. Alas no…. it’s more about the change from being a part time working mum to one who stays at home.

There’s a funny thing that happens to me when people ask me the seemingly innocuous question of “So…what are you up to these days?” It’s never asked in a way that implies I am a less worthy being than the person doing the asking, but one that nevertheless, has the ability to get me searching for a justification.

I’ve come to realize that we live in a world where there seems to be an overwhelming need to label ourselves: working mother, single, stay at home mum, yummy mummy, married, divorced, redundant, shopaholic etc. With the exception of one, at some stage I’ve been (and in some cases, am still being), all of the above and some of them more than once! The thing is, our lives and circumstances change, sometimes at an alarming rate and just when you think you’re getting comfortable in your label of choice, it all turns on it’s head again.

The way that I am getting through this current identity crisis is to think of my life as a series of hats. Trust me, this is a rare occasion for me as my head is unfortunately just shy of the one size fits all mantra, meaning I never get to do hats!

I am wondering if I can make a success of being a stay at home mum or if at some stage, I will have to admit “earth mummy” failure and find some part time work. I know the underlying cause of this is my ingrained work ethic alongside the selfish need for daily adult interaction, but I also appreciate how lucky I am to be able to give the SAH Mum thing a go, so for now, that’s where you’ll find me. Doing my bit for motherhood, keeping the house in the best order it’s been in since Small Child came into the world, trying not to talk to myself too much, pondering the possible ways of ever make a living out of writing and aiming to try and give the smarter items in my wardrobe as many airings as possible.

Yeah…. that over dressed woman in heels, coffee in hand, pushing the trolley round the supermarket is me. If you didn’t know her you might look and think “Silly Moo… look at her… who does she think she is?!”

The truth is, she’s still trying to figure it out so be nice, don't judge and just smile back if she grins inanely at you.... she's not asking you to feel sorry for her, you just might be the first adult contact she's had all day!

This Is My Thursday

2009-03-26T09:36:00.007Z

Would you like a tiara with your toast madam?

In our house there's no such thing as overdressing for breakfast!

Its My Party And I'll Go Over The Top If I Want To

2009-03-24T20:37:00.005Z

It's something that I always suspected and am now absolutely certain of; I missed my vocation in life. I should be in event management!

The organisational high points of my glittering CV would be our wedding, the Hollywood themed send off party for my old finance team, numerous hen parties and the fact that I was a founder member of MOF. For those of you not in the know, and let's face it, unless you used to work in my old finance department you wouldn't have a clue, MOF stood for Ministry Of Fun. Seriously... stick with me on this one. We were a committee whose purpose was to figure out ways to inject a bit of fun into the workplace; not an easy task when you are surrounded by accountants, auditors and actuaries*. Gee.... what wacky kids we were before corporate mentality reared it's ugly head and stomped all over our team spirit with it's hobnail boots!

But back to the going over the top part of this post, there are two parties on my horizon - one 4th and one 40th! One is a Bounce and Play, the other is more of a Champagne, Canapes and Cupcakes affair. One requires that you take off your shoes, the other is black tie and will most definitely require some very glamorous shoes… for the female attendees that is!

The 4th is definitely the cheaper of the two and requires far less brain power to arrange. It's a small affair for small people and involves a leisure centre, some inflatables and organized games. Providing there’s plenty of opportunity for bouncing, consumption of sticky foodstuffs and party bags aplenty at the end, I think the majority of guests will leave satisfied and happy, not withstanding any hair pulling, eye poking or knee grazing incidents!

The 40th however has been fondly** christened “The Wedding – Part Two” by Other Half. And he has a point – all the critical elements are there! First came The Dress closely followed by shoes and bag, the venue, a guest list, invites and the excruciating choice between buffet or champagne and canapes. Then, as is often the case with a wedding, some optional extras began to creep in. Black and silver balloons floating on the ceiling, strategically placed tea light arrangements and don't tell him I said this but there's even talk of flowers... gulp.

As any party organiser worth her Scholl Party Feet Gel Cushions knows, there's also been the talk about what is not allowed. No phallic shaped cake complete with naff photo of me on it (anyone remember the episode of Friends with the bunny cake for Emma?), no banners with FORTY plastered all over them and no Come On Eileen on the dance floor. Nothing kills my dance vibe faster than Dexy’s Midnight Runners! Oh... and no hair pulling, eye poking or knee grazing incidents either.

I can slowly feel myself morphing into Monica and it's only a matter of time before you'll find me running around with a clipboard, headset, pile of of post it notes and high pitched, shouty voice. No doubt as the big day approaches you'll be hearing from me again on this matter so please accept my profound apologies in advance. It's not my fault.... I'm just at that age where I know what I want!

*Other Half is an actuary and would like to point out that he knows how to have fun. (He's right - he does.)

**Other Half says I should l use the term "fondly" in the loosest possible sense in this instance.

This Is My Thursday

2009-03-19T16:15:00.007Z

This is one of those times when I'm glad that I'm a stay at home mum at the moment.

It's also why I'm glad we live just a five minute drive from the beach. These early spring days, before the hordes of tourists arrive, are priceless.

A Healthy Dose Of Non Reality

2009-03-18T11:58:00.012Z

I’ve found a way to get the ironing done so much quicker – escapism TV! Nothing cuts through a pile of laundry faster than the little gems currently found on my new best friend, SkyPlus. Knowing that my obsessions of Gossip Girl, Brothers and Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money, Grey’s Anatomy, and Desperate Housewives are series linked, meaning I can watch them as and when, helps me to sleep at soundly at night. There is another recent addiction that is proving to be more than a fair substitute for the sadly missed Lipstick Jungle, The City… but more on that later.

Just my personal opinion here and no disrespect intended to anyone who feels differently but I don’t understand the attraction to the likes of Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale etc. The “Ay Up Chuck” worlds portrayed in these dismal little melodrama’s makes me want to…. well ….. up chuck actually! It’s slit your wrists TV at its worst. Why would you slop heaps of badly acted misery and gloom onto your plate when you could be presented with a gourmet arrangement of delicacies from the world of the beautiful, fickle and glamorous?

Lets face it, life has a few of its own mundane moments, tackling the ironing pile ranking right up there at number one. I would far rather let the antics of New York’s elite teen set ease out the creases on my shirts or let “Forever Ally” Calista Flockhart, the better with age Rob Lowe and the slightly unhinged Sally Field assist with pressing my trousers, than listen to another ear bleeding shout of “RICKYYYY” from that ginger one!

And so in my ongoing quest for more fantasy TV, I find myself glued to The City, starring Whitney Port of The Hills fame. I never saw the Los Angeles based escapades but have it on good authority from Grazia that they made excellent water cooler TV fodder. The new MTV series portrays a totally unrealistic turn of events that involve Whitney leaving L.A. and getting a job in New York working for Diane Von Furstenberg! I take it you no longer need to ask why I’m watching this?

It’s so obviously contrived, out of touch with the reality of living in New York if you’re a mere mortal and ever so slightly annoying in places due to the number of times the phrases “Like…. Totally” and “Oh My God” are uttered…. but nonetheless, I love it! It’s full of beautiful people, Olivia the NY socialite being the most beautiful of all, great Manhattan locations, and bucket loads of to die for fashion.

And if you fast forward the adverts, it’s a twenty minute, quick and dirty escape from the reality of ironing the sodding duvet cover… and that I would pay good money for!

Stair Gate - The Scandalous Tale Of An Over Protective Parent

2009-03-16T11:20:00.012Z

About a month ago, whilst decorating and subsequently shifting furniture, we took off the top stair gate and decided that it was high time we left it that way. Small Child is almost four and whilst her bedroom door is the closest to the top of the stairs (poor planning which I now blame on pregnancy hormones), it doesn't mean that we need to leave it on until she reaches eighteen. On reflection, with thoughts of my attempts at teenage rebellion in mind, perhaps it should be left on until she’s twenty one!

Basking in my daylight hour bravery, I let Other Half stow it away in the attic both marveling at how much more open it made the landing seem and wondering how the hell we would ever get the indent out of the carpet. The twilight hours were a different story altogether.

Every night for the next week I lay in bed hanging on to the edge of sleep by a cotton wool thread, ready to jump out of my skin at the slightest hint of a noise. The noise that meant Small Child was about to wander sleepily from her room, be drawn by an invisible force towards the gaping chasm of the open stair way and for no sane reason, throw herself down it.

Of course this did not happen. Ever so slowly it began to dawn on me that never in three years had she even bumped into the damn thing but this was in fact just another symptom of over protective parent syndrome. Yes… my name is Thatgirl and I am an over protective parent.

How many times have I found myself saying Be Careful, Mind That …. (insert your dangerous object of your choice here), Don’t Run, Look Where You’re Going, Slow Down…. you get the picture. I hear myself repeating any combination of these thirty times a day, whilst glancing surreptitiously over my shoulder to check for the rolling eyes, raised eyebrows and tutting of nearby parents in recognition of the crazed, hyper anxious woman in their midst.

Just last night Small child and I had number seventeen in a long series of chats about dry night times and getting up to go the toilet as opposed to weeing in her pull ups then coming in to ask to go afterwards. Off I went to bed with visions of her trying to pull her jammies back on all alone in a dark bathroom, tripping over and knocking her teeth out on the toilet seat followed by a midnight flit to A & E. Of course, she was fine and this (seventeenth) time she actually managed it on her own and was the proud owner of a pair of bone dry Pampers this morning!

I think every parent feels this way to some degree and I think my special talent for it probably stems from her rocky start into the world that bought with it so much angst and worry. But she’s growing up and so am I.

I’m learning to let go, little by little which I figure is good practice for the years to come…. because boy do I need the practice!

Enduring Love

2009-03-11T21:08:00.006Z

To My Little Girl,

I'm sure you must think that I use the expressions "Driving me up the wall", "Tearing my hair out" and "This is your last warning" all too often. But if you're ever in doubt of how I really feel, this post is for you.

I study you when you don't know it and one of my favourite pastimes is to watch you absent-mindedly pulling the satin edge of your Moo Cow blanket back and forth through your fingers. You've done it since you were eight months old and I never tire of watching you do it.

All is instantly forgiven when you offer me a hug and kiss to "make it better" because I told you I'm tired from you waking me in the middle of the night.

I literally puff up with pride when we're having one of our conversations where you listen intently to every word. I swear I can almost see the cogs in your head going round as you struggle to recall a word you learnt recently and then your sense of achievement is plastered across your face as you see my grin that confirms you are a genius!

One of the best images that I store of you is the one where you're sat in the bath and you turn to me with a smile on your face, in the midst of one of your imaginary games. Your cheeks are all rosy, your hair is plastered in tendrils around your face and I can properly see your eyes dancing because you're not wearing your glasses.

You make me realise how quickly you learn when I see you mouthing along with the words to Moon River, one of your three "must have" bedtime songs. I once told you that it was from my favourite film and now you always refer to it as the Breakfast At Tiffany's song. After this you insist that I sing Away In A Manger even though it's not Christmas anymore and I oblige because I can't resist you when you look up at me with those big blue eyes.

In the early hours when you've come in and dragged Daddy off to the bathroom cos you "need a wee", I listen to you whispering to him about all kinds of important things that plague the mind of a nearly four year old in the middle of the night. Then I prop myself up on my pillow to watch your sleepy silhouette go padding back past our door to your room.

Next month you'll be four years old and this autumn you start school. Being a mum is one of the hardest things I've ever done but it's also one of the most rewarding. I know we're only just starting our journey together and there's a whole load of stuff we've yet to experience but I can't believe how far we've come.

Let Them Eat Cupcakes

2009-03-06T21:21:00.018Z

If you asked me to name two things that spring to mind when I think of Sex And The City, which as you know I do at least ten times a minute, I would have to say shoes and cupcakes. With that in mind there now follows a shameless plug for a very good friend of mine, closely followed by a bit of gratuitous shoe porn!

In past days of singledom, my friend who shall be known from here on in as Miss C, would often accompany me on a Saturday night jaunt to our particular city where we would indulge in many vodka/Red Bulls, a spot of dancing and maybe a smidgen of boy chatting up. We would invariably share a taxi home to our separate abodes but then reconvene the following day to (and these were our very words) "Mong on the sofa, eat shit food and watch T4". Yep... that's where the Dawson's Creek obsession comes from.

Now we are both married, sensible(!) and looking for that fulfilling career that will allow us to indulge our creative side whilst maintaining some flexibility. Whilst I have had to admit to myself that I possibly will not find my vocation as a personal shopper in this life, Miss C has forged right ahead and launched her own cupcake business!

If you're a frosting, frothy, sweetie loving kinda gal (or guy), prepare to click and drool at Sponge Cupcake Boutique! At this point Miss C delivers within a ten mile radius of her base but I think she may be set for world domination in the cupcake stakes so watch this sugary space. And if you happen to be one of my readers who I bamboozled to read this blog when it was in it's infancy and live in or near my old home town, then please indulge your sweet tooth Miss C style!

If the cupcakes haven't made you salivate enough then may I suggest you follow my tenuous post title link and feast your eyes on these pair of Marie Antoinette Louboutins at £3,975 a pop. A tad over most mere mortals budget I fear, but they are a work of art and there were only 36 pairs made..... although I don't think even I could find anything to wear with these babies....

But they still make me sigh........

This Is My Thursday... Again

2009-03-05T18:16:00.011Z

God... this is starting to feel like Groundhog Day! I fully intended to post on days other than those called Thursday but it just so happens that the Thatgirl household is a hot bed of germ warfare! Small Child came home last week with the obligatory February runny nose and cough but apart from a couple of disturbed nights and some extra whinging, she survived relatively unscathed.

How come the grown up version of the germ managed to mutate so much so that Other Half has a hideous cough and cold that has lasted five days and I have a chest infection?

I was at first welded to the bed but then managed to graduate to the sofa with a blanky, some strawberry liquorice laces and my box set of Dawson's Creek. Having gone through several truck loads of ibuprofen and paracetamol I gave in and went to see the village doctor yesterday who, by the way, looks like he's just stepped off the set of Peak Practice. He prodded, listened, examined and prescribed rest and some antibiotics so large that I wasn't entirely sure which orifice they should be placed in. I was somewhat relieved to read "Take with water three times a day" on the enclosed leaflet!

My voice is starting to come back, much to Other Half and Small Child's disappointment I suspect, only I now sound like Bonny Tyler after she's sung Total Eclipse Of The Heart seventy three times, smoked ninety fags and downed a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Hope you are all well and I will try to be less germy and more bloggy next week!

This Is My Thursday

2009-02-26T16:51:00.004Z

Well..... I thought it was all going very nicely today. A good nights sleep was had by all, we got out of the house without too many tantrums and then met up with Other Half and an old friend for a lovely lunch.

Old friend does not have children yet but I think he might aspire to one day in the not too distant future. Pity he wasn't here whilst I stood in the kitchen chopping up a melon just now. I think the conversation went something like this but forgive me if it's not word for word as I'm still a little traumatised.

Small Child: "Mummy I need a wee"

Me: "Off you go upstairs then and give me a shout if you need me"

Small Child: "OK"

Long pause....

Small Child: "Mummy......"

Me: "Yes?"

Small Child: "There's something really heavy in my pants"

The nappy days weren't that long ago but I'll tell you this much....I really don't miss them!

Don't Sit On Me, I'm Not A Sofa!

2009-02-24T15:35:00.014Z

Seeing as my invite to The Oscars obviously got lost in the post, I was glad to receive this lovely award from Notsupermum! She must have known that I had my Versace number all lined up only to see Marisa Tomei wearing it on the night!

I'm just glad I didn't go now... there's nothing worse than turning up only to find some Hollywood A Lister has got the same outfit on! I also saved myself the embarrassment of sitting on Beyonce... I mean I love Beyonce but seriously, why would you dress as a sofa?

Now I know that I should include text and leave comments on all my intended recipients blogs etc but I only have a 45 second slot for my acceptance speech so I'll just reel 'em off below. Some are old friends and some are new but if you hear your name called please feel free to put this heart shaped Oscar in your sidebar!

Motherhood, The Final Frontier

A special mention goes to Home Office Mum over at her new home of There's More To Life Than Laundry. She gets this award for being ever so brave, slightly crazy and totally awe inspiring... she will be sailing the UK to Brazil leg of the Clipper Round the World Race! She needs your support so get on over there, read her adventures and stick her logo on your blog if you like.

Finally, I'd also like to give this award to Mickey Rourke for being kooky enough to wear a picture of his dead chihuahua to the Oscars. Hhmmm..... I can honestly say I preferred his Nine And A Half Weeks look!

This Is My Thursday

2009-02-19T22:48:00.011Z

I don't know if I'll maybe start up a new version of Wordless Wednesday with this but I thought it was worth sharing anyway. Until Small Child starts school in September, Tuesdays and Thursdays are "Me and Her" days! Some are good, some are bad depending on her mood but they are always eventful!

This is what happens if you lie in until 8.30 in our house...

How was your Thursday? Less soft toys I hope.

Here's Why....

2009-02-18T15:30:00.011Z

..... we drank Veuve Clicquot on Valentine's Day.

A long time ago when I bought my flat, having read about Veuve Clicquot in Cosmopolitan (my bible of those days!), I decided to treat myself and put a bottle in my new fridge. My fridge, my flat and my champagne... boy did I feel like a proper grown up! From that day on, if I had an occasion to drink champagne and a choice of which one, the stylish, vivid orange label won every time.

The day before my 34th birthday Other Half ordered me to pack a bag, include some smart clothes and bundled me into the car, informing me that he had arranged with my boss for me to have a couple of days off. Cue much childish excitement and prodding questions from me that no doubt included "Where are we going?", "How will I know when we're there?" and "Are we there yet?"

Whilst texting friends about the magical mystery tour I was on I managed to miss all the channel tunnel signs and so our arrival there was the first surprise. After a three hour drive on the other side that included me also missing a Welcome To The Champagne Region sign, the next surprise was our arrival at the beautiful Chateau d'Etoges. This was it... the most fantastic birthday surprise ever...or so I thought.

The next day we set off to the town of Epernay to look at the famous champagne houses and I was agog as we strolled past Moet Et Chandon, Perrier Jouet and Pol Roger to name but a few. This was followed by a picnic above some vineyards where Other Half informed me that we had an "appointment" at 3.00! I don't know if it was the excitement brought about by the imparting of this information or the liquid consumed with lunch but I suddenly had the very unromantic urge to pee! Seeing as we were lacking the necessary facilities, our sophisticated day took a temporary downturn as I did the deed behind the makeshift curtain of the picnic blanket. I'm not sure whose land we were on at the time but it is entirely possible that 2003 may not be a good vintage for a particular brand!

After another much shorter mystery trip you can imagine the over excitement in the car as I spotted the orange flags blowing in the breeze... a surprise tour of the champagne caves of Veuve Clicquot!

For a reason still unbeknown to me at that point, as the other tourists were taken off in groups, we ended up with our own private guide who led us down what felt like hundreds of steps under ground. We walked past walls, carved out by hand, where rack upon rack of bottles languished, waiting their turn to unleash the bubbles that would mark an occasion for someone somewhere. The informative tour twisted and turned until we rounded a corner where the biggest surprise of all was waiting.

A candlelit table for two, deep underground, upon which a bottle of 1985 vintage and two orange tissue paper wrapped presents waited. The guide opened the bottle, poured two glasses, wrapped her orange shawl around my shoulders and said she would return to collect us later. I sat down quite unable to take in this latest surprise, laughing and questioning my wonderful boyfriend about how on earth he had managed to lay this on for my birthday.

And then it happened.... the moment that I'd only daydreamed about, wondering how and when it might take place, but never in all those wildest imaginings ever thinking that it would be as incredible as this. He got up, walked around the table, got down on one knee, said Marry Me and presented me with the most beautiful ring.

I cried, he cried and a couple of passing tourists who accidentally stumbled upon our secret location pointed and took photos! It turned out he had rung ahead some weeks before, booked a tour and asked if there was somewhere at the end that he could propose to his girlfriend who happened to love Veuve Clicquot! The rest they had organised, including the presents of a necklace and pair of cuff links.... and all for the price of the tour tickets, five euros each!

So now you know why I love that orange label so much and why it will be the only thing I drink on my 40th birthday!

Handbags At Dawn

2009-02-10T18:30:00.000Z

What is it with all the criticism of women..... by other women? I can't open a magazine or newspaper lately without having to witness yet another scathing attack on a female by a female! Seriously ladies, have we still not left the hair pulling and name calling behind?

I for one couldn't wait to get the hell out of my school playground due to the amount of bitching and cat fighting that existed. At least in those days it was only because you had on knee socks as opposed to ankle ones or your hair wasn't sprayed and backcombed in the right direction!

It seems we now judge each other on what kind of mum we are, whether we are a mum or not, blogging about being a mum, blogging full stop, being too fat, being too skinny, returning to work, staying at home and just about everything else in between. Why are we always pitting ourselves against each other and looking down our noses if we happen to disagree with another woman's choices? I personally feel lucky that we live in an era where we have so many options... and with the added bonus of writing about them in cyberspace! So poke that in your hard drive Carol Midgley and Rachel Cooke! And thanks to fellow bloggers, Nappy Valley Girl and Dotterel for bringing the above articles to my attention; although Ms Cooke might be amazed that I actually have enough brain capacity to read them seeing as I own a Bugaboo!

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate thought provoking journalism and freedom of speech as much as the next person and realise that articles such as these above make good tabloid fodder. But if we keep on going in this direction, they'll have us slogging it out in a paddling pool full of mud next; though I'm pretty sure there are some who might be willing to pay good money to see that!

So if nobody minds, I'm going to get down off my high horse (cos I'm getting a bit saddle sore!), take my average sized arse off to bath my daughter who I sometimes blog about and then later I might read some more blogs written by women (and men), some of whom are not considered to be "proper writers" but who entertain me nonetheless.

And if you still wear knee high socks that's fine with me; in fact you are very on trend in a Carrie Bradshaw kind of way! See what I did there.... that's the sound of a woman complimenting another women!

Sisters Are Awardin' Themselves!

2009-02-04T18:03:00.011Z

In all my Keane-ness (sorry!) to write about my rock chick night at the concert I forgot I hadn't yet posted this award from lovely Notsupermum!

Since starting 39 And Counting I have made some lovely blog friends and as you will know from previous rants, I will soon be proving that some of them are indeed the long lost sisters that I never knew I had! In true blog award thingamy wotsit rules, in order to accept this I must nominate ten others who deserve to be honoured in this way.

I have received and bestowed a couple of awards recently and so may be duplicating here so please forgive me if I am bestowing more bling on you.... but if you're anything like me, you can never have too many shiny, pretty things! Here's to following blogettes! Please keep on writing so I can keep on reading!

Notsupermum (rule breaking I know but right back at ya babe!)

Confused Take That Fan

Tara at Sticky Fingers (Rule breaking again - Tara makes eleven but please don't ask me to give out a sisterhood award and not give one to Tara!!) Do you like Keane Tara? You can still be my sister even if the answer's no.

Thank you to all of you wonderful writers who make me laugh, cry, think, scratch my chin in wonderment or just roll about on the floor whilst spraying my coffee everywhere! You don't have to post or forward it on if you don't want to as I know the awards season has been generous this year. I will be happy if you just want to revel in it!

By the way..... did I mention I saw Keane last night?

Peachy Keane

2009-02-04T15:35:00.014Z

How old do you have to be before it is considered passe to stand at the front of a concert, staring wide eyed up at the band with adulation, completely caught up in the moment and waving your arms in the air with frantic abandon? I suspect the answer is "You're never too old", and even if there is a numerical limit attached to this conundrum, I shall not pay any attention to it!

Other Half and I went to see Keane last night and, as we said goodbye to Mother In Law who was babysitting, we joked that we would probably be the oldest ones down in the mosh pit. Yep... after my fifty minute wait to get through to ticket sales last year, in a fit of delayed teenage abandon, I plumped for standing tickets - it was either that or the sheer euphoria at hearing a human voice as opposed to a computer telling me I was 36th in the queue, that made me loose all sense of reason!

As we walked into the auditorium, once I'd gotten over my excitement at realising that we were only third row back from the stage, I took comfort in the fact that we appeared to be considerably younger than a number of fans and would even go as far to say that we fitted in! I also silently awarded myself some fashion kudos for the carefully chosen lace up boots over skinny jeans and two thin layers on the top half, one being for peeling off later! Before you think I am kidding myself that I can still "groupie" with the rest of them, please don't forget that due to a little thing called childbirth, I had to preplan a specific time to stop drinking water that afternoon and then squeeze in as many loo visits as possible before taking our place down at the front! I do know my limits people.

Keane.... what can I say? I love you!!! You were fantastic, talented and put on the most amazing live show I have ever seen. We were totally caught up in the euphoria of it and as Other Half wisely said later, if only you could bottle that feeling up and store it away, to be poured out later, a bit at a time, when you need it! The band clearly love playing live and I have never before seen that come across so much in a performance. Let it be stated for the record that lead vocalist Tom Chaplin was very easy on the eye and has officially knocked McDreamy off the top spot on my laminated Top Five!

Let it also be stated that that is my sole excuse for pushing my way forward to make hand contact with him when he got up on the barrier and leaned out into the audience! Tsk..... and me being nearly forty and all.... disgraceful behaviour! But I shan't be washing my hand for a while!

Photo Tag

2009-01-28T11:20:00.012Z

I liked this game of photo tag from Notsupermum and so decided to join in.... but I had to bend the rules a little! Before you all send me to the cyber naughty corner let me explain why.

The rules:

Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures

Pick the 4th picture in that folder

Explain the picture

Tag 4 people to do the same

I couldn't use the 4th photo as it was of a relative (who shall remain nameless) and had just given birth that morning! I don't think she'd thank me much - not that she knows I have a blog, or even what a blog is I fear. She was also one of the folk mentioned in my Judgemental post so I'm not going there!

Anyhoo... enough wriggling out of that and here's the 44th one instead!

Here I am in 2003, feeling very domesticated and grown up, helping to prepare our Christmas dinner in our "only just finished in time" kitchen - hence the bare plastered walls!

It was such an exciting time - first Christmas living together, we were engaged, knee deep in wedding plans and it was the first meal we cooked in the new oven... gulp! If you look closely, somewhere in amongst the sprouts there's a glass of Veuve Cliquot - a Christmas tradition chez Thatgirl; it must be consumed whilst cooking dinner! And if you look closely at the apron it'll really make your eyes go funny - or perhaps that's the Veuve!

And so to my 4 tagee's: Step up Yummy Mummy in Boston, Tara at Sticky Fingers, Auntie Gwen and Mom/Mum! Look forward to seeing your pictures and reading the stories!

Inspiration

2009-01-26T13:10:00.002Z

The last few days spent watching Obama's inauguration and the surging hope and optimism of the American people has left me feeling inspired, energised and enthusiastic... and I'm British and have a lot to learn about American politics!

The more I hear about him, the more I want to find out; I've taken to scouring the BBC and Times websites with my post breakfast coffee as opposed to lurking on Net A Porter, Celebrity Baby Scoop or Who What Wear Daily! We purchased both his books yesterday and after a week of talking about him, Small Child can now pronounce his name properly - for a while there he was known as Caramak Bama!

I think she's taken on board my obsession! She constantly asked to see pictures of his two daughters and liked the coats that they wore for the ceremony; she asked me who the lady was that he was dancing with at one of the inauguration balls and even sat on my lap to watch his first presidential speech - in full! I'm glad that she's shown an interest and I admit to fueling the fire this week, after all, it is one of the better moments that will make up her grasp of modern history.

Feel free to admire the U.S. Lego flag that I made for her; trust me, this was a seriously good effort for me as I don't have a huge amount of creative flair when it comes to Lego. I guess that doesn't really go with their ethos of there being no limit except that of your imagination! But she loves it even if it doesn't correctly show the number of states and isn't very practical to wave about!

Past Tense

2009-01-18T22:30:00.001Z

I apologize if you thought you were in for a witty, sharp, punchy little number of a post, after all there must be one due along soon... but not today! Happenings this weekend have left me puzzled, thoughtful and if I'm honest, a little perplexed so the blog has to bear the brunt of it; I guess that at least lets Other Half off the hook anyway!

Towards the end of the summer I wrote that I had made contact with a friend from years past, someone who I considered to be more like a sister - we were two peas from a pod in lots of ways but very different in others that possibly only surfaced later. The reconnection was as a result of some late night, drunken Friends Reunited surfing - note to self - delete membership instantly and do not succumb in the future - it serves no useful purpose other than to perhaps indulge in some fond, bittersweet memories.

A wise person, or maybe a tipsy and philosophical me person, once said that the past is in the past for a good reason and there it should stay. Anyway, having received an enthusiastic response from my past, we arranged to meet in September. Due to a last minute child issue on her part the meeting was cancelled so a few months, texts and a Christmas later, we had arranged to meet up today. We got to six o clock yesterday evening and were arranging time and place etc when out of the blue I got a text saying that she'd changed her mind and felt it best that we didn't meet.

To say I was surprised would be a bit of an untruth; every time Other Half had asked me if I was looking forward to seeing her, my response was "Yes, if it actually happens" so I think I knew right from the start how it would end... or not even get off the ground.

I don't have the inclination to go into too much detail, nor feel that I should, but it led me to remember why I quietly snuck out of the friendship some six years ago. Meetings were cancelled, everything became slightly erratic and I ended up feeling like I was quite frankly nothing but a pain in the arse. Which perhaps I was..... perhaps I was too needy of our friendship; after all we shared many major life events between us - marriages, divorces, unwanted pregnancy, death of a parent, realisation that a parent wishes to remain absent; not to mention the many disastrous romantic entanglements. Perhaps it all took its toll and we had nothing left to give in the end. A sentence that you only expect to apply to a relationship but nonetheless one that seems to fit in this instance.

So whilst I accept that, in this case, the past will remain firmly where it is, I do feel a tinge of sadness that we maybe lost a chance to share some better stuff at a time when our lives had finally come into land in a less turbulent place. But then perhaps hers hasn't so I'm not judging... as I said, I'm just puzzled, thoughtful and a little perplexed.

Just So You Know... This Is Not A Date

2009-01-13T22:00:00.007Z

Such are the immortal words uttered by Other Half just over six years ago, having agreed to go for dinner upon receiving my email which simply contained those other immortal words... "I miss us". I can't remember if he said it in his response, over the phone, on the night, or all three but such was the underlying tone that it could have been in capital letters, bold and very large font!

Having agreed to go to his local gastro pub and been informed that I could "stay over if you want but you'll be in THE SPARE ROOM", off I set from my flat in the city to his house he'd bought on the edge of the forest. Don't be fooled by the jaunty, casual tone... none of it was being undertaken very lightly by either party.

I was sick with nerves, anticipation and stomach twisting fear that he would tell me that hell would freeze over before he'd take me back. He was in full on defensive mode, an air of distance about him that I'd seen too many times when we'd bumped into each other at the office and there was that set of his jaw that tells you exactly what he's thinking without him having to say one word. I should add at this point that this was all very much as it should have been, seeing as I'd broken his heart in ways I only later found out; revelations that made me cry for the pain I'd caused him with the simple statement of "It's just not the right time for me".

Following his precise directions to the house he'd bought after we split up eighteen months previously, I arrived, still not knowing what words of wisdom I was going to follow up the now infamous email with.

After a quick tour of his pad that included the very definite pointing out of "here's my room and here's THE SPARE ROOM where you'll be sleeping", we walked to the pub, both of us gagging for that first drink that might quieten our jangling nerves. I was also hoping it would soften his demeanor and give me the confidence to tell him that I loved him, that I'd made a huge mistake in letting him go and to ask him if we could try again; all of this without babbling, begging or sobbing into my starter.

As it turned out I think we possibly covered every other issue under the sun before he finally came out with "So what's this all about then?" Seeing as he'd already made it abundantly clear that this definitely wasn't a date, I had no choice but to get on and try and put my innermost feelings into words. I don't remember exactly what I said except it was honest, from the heart and accompanied by a huge sense of relief at laying my cards on the table, knowing that I'd find out one way or the other whether he would be in my future.

Well.... both you and I know how it turned out! Although... I will say that nothing was really resolved that night and we didn't officially declare that we were back on full force, until one week, numerous texts and a Chinese Take Out/Red Wine With Lots Of Snogging On My Sofa night later!

I will also say that the non-date did end with me sleeping in THE SPARE ROOM, despite the fact that a lot of courage inducing alcohol was consumed and I was allowed a cuddle on the sofa as we listened to Nora Jones, albeit one with me pretty much kept at arms length!

My forgiving, gentle, loving Other Half now regularly teases me that one day, he will tell Small Child how her strumpet mother, who callously and without thought had previously dumped him, then tried to seduce him by kissing him on the neck whilst standing at the top of stairs saying goodnight!

Sorry babe.... this is my blog therefore I get to have the last word! I went to kiss you on the cheek and you turned away, leaving me with my lips attached firmly to somewhere in the region of your neck area! So, as non-dates go, I'd say it ended pretty well and if I'd have told you then that six years later we'd be married with a daughter, I dread to think what your response would have been!

Butterflies In My Inbox!

2009-01-09T13:00:00.014Z

"Blogs who receive this award are "exceedingly charming," says it's authors. This award is a fine one because it focuses not on the glory and fanfare of blogging, but in the PROXIMITY to one another through this online-world. "This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY--nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into into the body of their award."

Whilst spending yesterday evening drinking wine with Other Half, (a practice which has been relegated to only Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights now - seriously - this is me cutting down!), this award fluttered into my inbox courtesy of the lovely Confused Take That Fan!

Having read the words that accompanied it, I was more than happy to accept this pretty thing, complete with butterflies, and will give it all the love and attention that pretty things deserve! This includes following my instructions to pass it onto eight other bloggers, some of whom I know have already been nominated but I would still like to echo the sentiment from me! Besides, I think I may actually be secretly related to a couple of them!

Long Lost Twin, Tara at Sticky Fingers. I love the way she writes and it is scary how much we have in common! There will come a point when I'm just going to have to sit MM down and come out and ask her if there's a twin sister she neglected to tell me about!

Same goes for Long Lost Sister aka Yummy Mummy from Boston, MA. Now I know the likelihood of us also being sisters might be a tad far fetched but I believe it to be true. I also believe that Candace Bushnell is our other sister! (Do you think that now I've acknowledged YM as my sis, she'll let me borrow these new Louboutin's when she gets them?)

Not Enough Mud also has to step up for this one! I have been hooked on her blog lately and she makes me laugh loads! This is the new Squidgy-Gate - don't miss an episode!

For her contribution to my favourite cause, poo humour, I would like to bestow this on Home Office Mum. She is so funny and you have to read this post, unless of course you don't do poo humour.... or are eating. Which I was at the time but I still laughed until my lunch came out of my nose!

I have given an award to Lucy And I before but you can never have too many! Whenever I feel like a stressed out mother, which is pretty often, I just flit on over to Lucy's and get my serenity back. Lucy's mum is the epitome of calm, her writing is lovely, Lucy is gorgeous and the photographs are always fantastic. Small Child now plonks herself onto my lap and asks to "go see what Lucy's doing"! The award is sent with a whole bundle of luck for the imminent arrival of Lucy's little sister!

I can't remember how I found Stiletto Mom but I'm glad I did. She is so sharp and made me both laugh and cry in her 100th post. One of my new must reads.

The Button is Back! I cottoned on to Flower Fairies and Fairy Cakes, just as Elsie was leaving, that's me...always the last to catch onto to a good thing! But Yay! She's back and with a Baby Button on the way too. So glad you're back, please don't go again!

And I know that Confused Take That Fan gave this to me but I would like to give the award in return because she is fab! Apart from the obvious Take That and McDreamy obsession we are so on the same wavelength and hopefully she will bail me out if I ever get arrested for stalking Howard!

And if you're all free on May 14th, can get babysitters where appropriate, happen to be down this way or indeed in the UK and are looking for an excuse to get your posh frocks out; please come to my party to help me celebrate being 39 and counting no longer!

Farewell Kitten

2009-01-05T21:00:00.011Z

Today, whilst vacuuming any item in the house that stood still, which was pretty much everything seeing as Small Child was back to preschool and Other Half returned to the world of work, I decided to finally throw away what remained of my eight year old Benefit Kitten. I truly adore Benefit products as they appeal to my kitsch, girly side and will find any excuse to snaffle something up if I walk past one of their counters!

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this particular product, it's a cutesy looking box containing a powder puff filled with fine glitter shimmer. You gently pat it onto any exposed toned and tanned parts before venturing off out to wow your captive audience!

Not only do I have fewer tanned and toned parts that I wish to expose these days but there seems to be a severe lack of social occasion where I have an excuse to get them out! And rather than highlight them, you'll more likely find me checking them for excess wobble, strapping them down, sucking them in or just covering them up. So, as I cleared all my paraphernalia off the dressing table in preparation for a good going over with the Dyson, (life doesn't get anymore exciting than this on a Monday let me tell you!), I tried to think when I might last have used it. Apart from applying liberally for a friends seventies themed fancy dress 40th birthday party in November, I realised that I'd last "puffed with abandon" on our wedding day nearly five years ago!

To misquote Britney, which I'm sure happens a lot, I'm not a girl but definitely a woman; a woman who has to face up to the fact that she can no longer justify this sort of thing gathering dust amongst her vast array of beauty junk. Lets face it; the woman who used to do quite a good impersonation of a sex kitten has turned into a cat, albeit one who can still sometimes scrub up in order to pass for something resembling feline as opposed to plain old mangy!

And I'm glad that my time of nights out on the tiles have been replaced by nights indoors, curled up on the sofa next to my very own Tom cat! Whilst I still like to get glammed up when we venture out together, I no longer feel I have to sprinkle on the glitter; especially as it rubbed off all over his dinner suit when we got together at the office Christmas party all those years ago! Hhhmm.... perhaps that fairy dust did have magical powers after all!

Dear Mr Lagerfeld

2009-01-02T11:00:00.012Z

I very much hope you enjoyed your Christmas and New Year celebrations and wondered if you could take time out of your busy schedule to assist me?

Since commencing my countdown to becoming forty I have felt a compulsion to devour copious amounts of fashion literary gems such as The Little Black Book of Style, Style A to Zoe and V.B.'s That Extra Half an Inch to name but a few. This is alongside my monthly dietary staples of In-Style, Marie Claire, Grazia and the odd Vogue or Tatler.

I wouldn't say this behaviour is anything out of the ordinary for me but I feel as if I am being swept along on some kind of mission with the ultimate aim of achieving true style greatness. You, more than anybody know what I'm referring to; those style icons who possess that certain Je Ne Sais Quoi. For me they would include Audrey Hepburn, Carla Bruni, Jacqueline Onassis, Christy Turlington, and of course Coco Chanel who so wisely quipped "Fashion fades - style is eternal".

I feel like am on the path to Life, Part Two and am determined to end up more Lauren Hutton and less Bet Lynch!

So, taking Nina Garcia's advice I have started to follow the "style icon" rules:

Invest in the basics

Realise the utmost importance of shoes

Never under estimate the power of accessories

Edit your wardrobe

The shoe thing I definitely mastered years ago; with accessories, I have to say I'm still learning but am proving to be a willing pupil and the editing is going well. I have taken several critical glances through my wardrobes and continue to weed out the mistakes, disasters and clothes I have kept purely for sentimental reasons, making more room for my basics and of course, for any future investment purchases!

Here's where you come in, because I'm sure you're beginning to wonder why I'm taking up so much of your valuable time.

According to Ms Garcia the basics must include:

Good white shirt - tick. Two of those!

Well fitting jeans - tick. Two pairs of 7 For all Mankind safely stashed away.

Trench coat - tick. Not a Burberry but a very good imitation courtesy of Hobbs.

Killer heels - definitely a gold star! Collection includes a pair of Louboutins and Choo's.

Little Back Dress - ah .... that would be a resounding no.

The LBD issue is starting to keep me awake at night! You yourself have said "One is never over - or under dressed with a little black dress". But can I find one that would go from day to night and screams understated chic? Can I heck!

So, in case you were wondering what to get me for my 40th, as head of the house of Chanel, who better than your good self to furnish me with the ultimate style staple? Perhaps, lurking somewhere amongst your collections you might have one going spare? I'm sure you don't have many models or A list pals who wear a UK size 12 (US 10, Europe 40) that still haven't yet found their dream LBD? Vintage would of course also be gladly accepted.

Fondest Regards

ThatGirl39 x

All Things Weird And Wonderful!

2008-12-30T18:00:00.003Z

Or in my case, just plain weird! Some time ago now, lovely Tara over at Sticky Fingers tagged me. She had multiple tags (lucky lady!) and so being the renegade that she is, decided to make up her own rules. Seeing as I am easily lead astray, I too will now blatantly flout the rules and do my own thing!

We were on a seven's theme but I'm beginning to wonder if there are actually seven strange things you don't already know about me; I guess that's the danger of baring all via the wonder web on a regular basis!

So here's a few random bits....

I hate, hate, hate sellotape on my fingernails; for me this could easily pass as a form of torture! If I worked for MI5 (which I don't by the way), you'd have no trouble getting state secrets out of me if you applied a little of the demon stuff on my nails and threatened to rip it off!

I nearly drowned when I was seven. Thinking back, I do wonder what on earth possessed MM to let me play in the river when a) she can't swim and b) she was heavily pregnant with my brother! But it was the seventies so I guess they had a bit of a hippy attitude to child safety in those days. Anyhoo, I fell down a large hole and went under several times, watching all kinds of crap (and I do mean crap), floating around under the water with me. If I shut my eyes I can still picture it and hear the roar of the water, alternated with the sight of MM screaming hysterically on the river bank as I resurfaced - brrgghh. Some older kid pulled me out and I got a bag of marbles for not crying!

Back on the torture theme, I hate buttering toast or the feel and sound of an emery board on my nails - it gives me goosebumps and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. For me it is the equivalent of fingernails scraping down a blackboard or whatever the politically correct version of one of those is called these days. Both of these facts are quite annoying as I love eating toast and getting a manicure, though obviously not at the same time.

Aubergines, I have decided, are fruits of the devil - hideous purple objects that quite frankly remind me of an internal organ. So moussaka can prove to be a bit of a gamble for me. I quite like it and if the freakish things are chopped up within an inch of their miserable lives then that's fine. But if I lift that top layer and come face to face with a huge slice of squidgy yuk-ness then you wont see me for dust. And don't even get me started on ratatouille!

I was nearly born prematurely in a Cliff Richard concert. That would explain a few things I guess!

Tea has to be made the soft Southern way for me. Milk in first, with tea bag and only then can you pour in the water but make sure it's whipped out before it gets a chance to mingle too much. Other Half calls it builder's tea. I prefer to call it high maintenance.

I periodically do this thing where I think I must fold my ear over on its itself when I'm asleep and eventually wake up in absolute agony cos I've cut all the circulation off. OMG it hurts when the feeling comes back and I end up writhing about in agony, biting the duvet so as to keep from screaming out loud! My ears are a perfectly normal size but I do have a big head (apparently) so I'm guessing that the sheer weight of it must be the problem! If this happens to anyone else, please tell me so I don't feel alone in my freakishness!

Will you look at that... I have seven! But I think I'll stop there for fear of frightening you off for good!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

2008-12-24T16:02:00.010Z

Why would I be blogging on Christmas Eve you might ask? Well.... the last visitors have just left, Small Child is surrounded by new Lego and Other Half is joining in, building all manner of technical stuff so I thought why not?

I have a snowball beside me, complete with a shot of Bacardi in it for extra Christmas warmth, the candles are lit, everything that possibly needed doing is done which satisfies my inner control freak immensely and Polar Express is on. It's official, Christmas has arrived!

I hope all of you lovely people out in Blogland, many of whom I have come to think of as friends, have a wonderful Christmas and get to spend some time with your loved ones, relaxing and just taking it all in. I love Christmas.... so much so that Other Half has a serious worry that my head is going to explode with all the excitement anytime now! But I wouldn't be loving it half as much if I wasn't spending it with my two fellow musketeers; so whilst we will be enjoying beautiful gifts and wonderful food tomorrow, I know that the best presents are sat right there next to me.

A Merry Christmas to all.... and to all a goodnight!

Please Hold.. We'll Be Reconnecting You Shortly...

2008-12-17T22:28:00.019Z

God Damn it! I've been such a bad blogger recently but once again I'll take the cop out option and blame it on stuff that is clearly out of my control! Being the self confessed control freak that I am, (trust me, there aren't many things that manage to escape the domain of Thatgirl's organised little world), there are few things that send me off track. But these following little blighters have taken over....

Shopping/Wrapping/Card Writing demands of the festive season.

Contracting the pre Christmas lurgy that seems obligatory when you have small people living with you (that would be kids, not elves).

Other Half deciding that he would be born on December 13th thereby necessitating that we interrupt festive celebrations to partake of a birthday celebration!

I haven't even responded to the tag from my bloggy mate, Tara at Sticky Fingers yet, but promise to do so in a later post entitled Weird & Wonderful. Clearly this is something designed to lure you back but quite frankly I wouldn't blame you if you said "Feck Off Blog Slacker!"

Anyhoo... back to this one...

Due to afore mentioned birthday celebration, here is where we spent our Sunday night, courtesy of the Hotel Du Vin...

... and it was truly heaven!

You know how life just sometimes gets in the way and you forget to take stock of what bought you to the one you love in the first place? (Yes, I see all parents nodding furiously!)

Well... we were lucky enough to get some re-connection time amongst all the festive mayhem that is Christmas this weekend just gone..... and boy did we need it!

We enjoyed a 3.00pm check in, a bottle of Veuve Cliquot in a double ended bath with bubbles, an amazing dinner and, best of all, each others company. I had the time to talk to my husband, laugh at the stupid things as only the two of us do and glance at him across the table and take a mental picture of the stuff that still makes my legs turn to jelly.

Then later, as we snuggled down to sleep in a bed that was nowhere near as good as our own, (cos we're old gits now!), I made sure I took a deep breath in, just to remember the smell of his skin.... and the moment.

.... Because reconnecting is what makes us remember how we got here and ultimately, makes the two of us better parents.

Back Again For The Carnival!

2008-12-09T19:57:00.007Z

Yep... just to prove it... two posts in one day. Actually this is in aid of the Best of British Mummy Bloggers carnival...read em, weep (or giggle) and vote for your favourite! The lovely Part Mummy Part Me invited me to submit a post last week so I was chuffed as nuts to take part. Click to PMPM's page and get voting!

Absent Blogger Back From Overhaul Gets Tagged

2008-12-09T15:50:00.023Z

Due to feeling and looking like 100 last week I decided to check into a spa and emerged looking like this......

Not bad huh? Some might say I now resemble Heidi Klum but I can't see it myself!

If truth be told I've been half busy and half lazy but have missed my cyber rambles and reads! So I shall make a pre New Years resolution, as I'm notoriously bad at keeping the usual ones, and vow to post more frequently from now on!

I should start by replying to my lovely taggers... Mom/Mum today and Tara at Sticky Fingers tomorrow! Especially as Tara has told me off for being a rubbish blogger! (She's right!) But that young lady is a fine one to talk - she went and changed all the tag rules so I might make up some of my own!

Today... Mom/Mum's Festive lucky Seven!

7 Things I Must Do Before My Parents Arrive

1. Actually no worries here....parents not crossing the ThatGirl threshold this yuletide season but instead we will all decamp to my brothers house for Boxing Day!

7 Things I've been Doing Instead Of Preparing For Christmas

1. Reading Grazia.

2. Watching Lipstick Jungle which is my new addiction - its Gossip Girl for grown ups. And can I just say that Brooke Shields looks even better with age!

3. Flitting about at The Clothes Show with my cousin and two best friends being totally girly and loving it!

4. Catching Small Child's cold and watching it develop into a cough that makes me sound as rough as a badgers arse!

5. Attending some pre Christmas social shenanigans with best friends whom I used to work with.

6. Shopping for a dress for said shenanigans - actually this turned out to be more of a saga involving a broken zip, store discount that refused to apply itself due to new VAT, a pair of control tights and me going out with my shoes on the wrong feet... yes really!

7. Continuing to deal with Devil, sorry, Small Child's testing behaviour in a composed and proper manner when all I want to do is throw myself on the floor and out-tantrum her!

7 Things I Can't Do This Christmas

1. Overeat - I will be going with mantra of a little bit of what you fancy - with the emphasis on the little.

2. I can't not watch my Christmas movie selection - The Holiday, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Family Man and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

3. I can't stop myself from getting ridiculously over excited about the whole thing and possibly imploding. I've been burning my White Company Winter candle, placing Mulled Wine air fresheners about the house, playing my Ally McBeal Christmas CD repeatedly and checking the use by dates of the brandy butter so that I can buy it as soon as possible without it going off!

4. Fall asleep after Christmas dinner in a happy drunken haze - does not compute when you have kids.

5. I refuse to let Small Child rip in to all the gifts she has amassed in one go - we've decided to spread them over a couple of days and a few at a time to ensure she enjoys them and takes it all in.

6. I can't resist cheese.

7. Due to number 6 I can't be totally inactive!

7 Christmas Wishes

1. Like Mom/Mum, to be a better mummy. I vow not to rise to the small things and just concentrate on the important stuff when it comes to discipline. I also vow to spend more time doing Small Child stuff on our days off rather than dragging her around getting jobs done.

2. I wish to fall asleep and wake up a size 8!

3. To be the proud owner of a pair of Manolo's in 2009! (If you say it enough times it will happen!)

4. To have enough spare time to get all the stuff done that we've been meaning to do for ages - redecorate Small Child's room, sort out wardrobe storage, print and frame some more photos etc etc. The list is endless.

5. That all those close to me remain happy, healthy and loved.

6. To follow the yellow brick road and get to Westfield!

7. That someone invents a non fat cheese that tastes like REAL CHEESE!

7 Things I Say As Christmas Approaches

1. No.... I don't know if the Grinch has a minny.... yes I know he's a boy who appears not to have a willy...and I don't know why he doesn't always wear clothes.

2. It's now only ** more sleeps to go

3. Those presents under the tree aren't for you, they're for other people and no you cant open them (this to Small Child and Other Half!)

4. No, you can't have another chocolate tree decoration/open another advent calender door/have another mince pie (this to Small Child and myself!)

5. More sherry please!

6. What's in the bag?

7. One year we will go somewhere where's there so much snow we can do snow angels!

7 Celebrities I'd Invite For Christmas Dinner

1. Jamie Oliver so he could cook it.

2. Patrick Dempsey - just for table decoration of course!

3. Jennifer Anniston so I could advise her to stay away from bad boys and tell her that I think she should be my new best friend.

4. Angelina Jolie - well.... I'd invite her in, give her a slap and then send her packing.

5. SJP and her shoe collection - I know Mom/Mum said the same but seriously... how could I not?

6. Cheryl Cole. I love, love, love this woman! I would try and convince her to dump the useless husband, get her to promise to come shopping with me and apologise for the fact the Other Half is drooling into his dinner!

7. Peppa Pig - Small Child would be over the moon!

7 Favourite Festive Foods (all of which I will of course be eating in moderation!!)

1. Smoked salmon and scrambled egg.

2. Baked gammon ham, cold with....

3. Pickled onions - the strongest smelliest ones you can buy!

4. Cheese

5. Champagne

6. Brandy butter

7. Cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon...hhmm....

7 Other Bloggers Who Can Play Festive Seven (if they have the time)!

1. Yummy Mummy

2. Confused Take That Fan

3. Notsupermum

4. Not Enough Mud

5. Gal In The City

6. Part Mummy Part Me

7. Lucy And I

There... I feel I have purged my blogger absenteeism for good..... I'm Back!

I Am 100

2008-12-02T19:41:00.010Z

This is my 100th post! Cue whooping, joyous celebration, popping of champagne corks etc.... you'd think wouldn't you? Erm.... no. I actually feel 100 at the moment and the stupid thing is I have no idea why! Perhaps it's down to an unexpected hormone rush as a prelude to an early onset of the menopause - can that happen at 39? Perhaps it's down to the vicious onslaught of temper tantrums from my three and three quarter year old Small Child this week? She has decided that it is not to her liking to do anything I ask her, tells me constantly I'm not her best friend and has taken to hitting me when I put her in the naughty corner for hitting me!

Perhaps it's just a bad reaction to all that exercise I did last week? You note that I say last week.... this weeks efforts have only included some dancing (and very bad karaoke) at one of my best friends 40th birthday parties and a full on Christmas shopping attack yesterday. In a most unlike me moment of common sense I even wore comfortable shoes and still got blisters after so much shop trawling!

Perhaps I'm being a grumpy scrooge and getting a pre Christmas Grinch attack - except I love this time of year and start embracing it full on festive mode on the 1st of December. I am that annoying variety of holiday cheer-meister who would bath in egg nog if she was allowed so that can't be it.

I have found myself avoiding Blogland all week and now I know why... all I've done is whinge! So I'm going to take my 100 year old, whiny arse off line now and hope that normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

Progress, Endorphins And An Over Inquisitive Dog!

2008-11-26T12:59:00.024Z

As I'm officially one week into the all new and improved super fit me, I went for another beach hike this morning after dropping Small Child off at preschool. In case you wondering if I'm playing hooky and exercising (or blogging!) whilst I should be working, I'm not... honest! My inventory typing skills are surplus to requirements at the moment as the busy lettings period is over for a while. So I feel really lucky to be able to invest some time in my BlogToFit project as well as being a proper housewife! There'll be no excuse for not being ready for Christmas this year - baked gammon ham with home made chutney anyone? Just kidding - Martha Stewart I ain't!

Anyway.... back to the beach. I drove to a different stretch this morning and made it a bit more challenging by walking beside the water. Hopping over big shingle piles, dodging waves and schlepping through soft oozy sand sure adds some extra effort into the walk I can tell you!

I bounced along enthusiastically for an hour, music on, smiling and saying good morning to all the passers by and dog walkers. This, together with the fresh air and endorphins had me in severe danger of breaking into a "Flashdance - What A Feelin'...." type episode at any second! Seriously... every time a euphoric dance track came on I had to clench my fists and keep my arms firmly by my sides to stop me from leaping up and down and dancing about on the shore like a demented, almost forty year old raver! Perish the thought... and without my leg warmers too!

And the dogs.. bless 'em! Having been bought up with them throughout my childhood I love dogs, I really do; however, this doesn't mean that Small Child will be experiencing the same I'm afraid. Being mildly house proud with tendencies towards Monica-ishness, we decided some years ago that she wouldn't be having any canine siblings. We've been through the wee all over the floor stage already, I like hair.... just not all over my furniture and the smell of wet woof permeating the air does not do it for me anymore. As it turns out, she's actually scared of dogs anyway so we don't feel we're depriving her too much!

But I was more than happy to greet all the four legged friends who came over to say hello to me this morning; the cute black lab pup who offered me his stick, the wiry haired mongrel who licked my hand and the over excited Springer Spaniel (is there any other kind?), who wanted me to throw his ball. Loved 'em all... apart from the brown Labrador who tried to greet me in the way that dogs often great each other.... nose to tail if you're not getting it! The faster I tried to walk away, the faster he followed, keen to exchange canine pleasantries! Still, perhaps the extra exertion was the reason why I'd shed 2lbs of muffin top this week when I jumped on the scales! I can highly recommend the running-away-from-over-friendly-dog workout!

Send In The Clowns

2008-11-23T21:30:00.003Z

Between you and me, I'd rather you didn't send them in; in fact I would much prefer it if you got them the hell away from me! They creep me out, they actually are not the cheery tokens of jollity they're made out to be and always have a menacing, maniacal look about them. Don't even get me started on Stephen King's "It" as I have never been able to steel myself to watch it. The film poster says it all for me!

So you can imagine my untold joy when Small Child was presented with yet another birthday party invite a few weeks ago with the word "clown" contained in the detail.

I did try and wriggle out of it by including today's date in a list of available visit slots sent to some friends but alas they didn't pick it and so off she and I went this afternoon with Other Half electing to stay in and do some DIY.

DIY Schmee-I-Why... trust me, I would have rather stayed in and hung curtains using my teeth with my hands tied behind my back than gone for some clown fun but sadly it was not to be. Instead I found myself hesitating on the front doorstep, my cheery departing wave belying the fear that was slowly beginning to snake it's way around my gut and tighten it's grip on my insides, all the while gee-ing Small Child along to build her up for some sugar-high induced excitement.

As I'd predicted, she started protesting the minute we got out of the car and all the talk of "Yoo-hoo, party on down with the the clown" swiftly evaporated and she started jumping up and down dementedly on the spot demanding to be carried. Hhmm...picked up the fear vibes perhaps?!

Just at the point he was due to arrive in his comedy car (yeah right Clown, you don't fool me - it's just a disguise like the vehicle driven in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by the child catcher), she decided she needed a poo! Definitely feeling the fear factor now!

By the time we surfaced from the ladies room, he was in full swing so she sat on my lap as near to back as possible, head half buried in my shoulder. If Other Half had been there it would have been ditto for me.

However things did improve, so much so that by the time he'd made her a balloon dog, she seemed to actually fall in love with him. She volunteered to take part in the magic tricks, walked up to him whilst he was in full flow and interrupted him just so she could show him her new shoes and then shared her sandwiches and crisps with him at tea time. That never happens - Small Child is like Joey - she doesn't share food! I could only put it down to the fact that he'd put her under his evil spell!

I, on the other hand, decided that clowns are like cats - they just know that you don't like them and so make a bee line for you on purpose. He came up behind me and put his arm around my shoulder during tea; seriously you have never seen me jump so high without anyone shouting "Free Choo's this way!" And then he took me by surprise by throwing something to me during one of his tricks - which I actually caught! Trust me, that never happens either - in true girly fashion, I always miss a catch and throw like a total spaz! He then got everyone to applaud my lucky break, leaving me slinking off, red faced to the nearest corner. I'm not sure who was more embarrassed, me or Small Child!

Weigh-Hey... It's Wednesday!

2008-11-19T13:00:00.009Z

... or as it's otherwise known chez That Girl, Cut The Crap & Add More Activity! Yes, I have decided to join my blog sister Tara and the two Dave's over at BlogToFit today. Click on over and have a read - it's inspiring and it's not even one week old yet!

Tara and I, being of a similar age have discovered that having kids later on in life has many advantages...but also one small disadvantage - things no longer "snap back" like they do in your twenties and early thirties! And seriously... snap back? That phrase must have been invented by the likes of Nicole Ritchie, Victoria Beckham et al who make a living out of being a clothes horse and can therefore employ a personal trainer, chef, nutritionist and a nanny who can look after the kids whilst they get snapping! The only thing snapping in this house is possibly some old knicker elastic but what the hey! I have conceded defeat that I now have to work a bit harder if I want to keep in shape and also that I'm never gonna make a living out of being a clothes horse..sniff.

Reading through their blog, I have decided that my approach will be to stop eating as much naughty stuff (cheese, red wine, things covered in cheese, red wine, cheese flavoured crisps, red wine... you get the picture) and add in some regular exercise. Nothing too drastic or anything that requires a degree in maths to work out calories/points/how many star jumps equals a biscuit with cheese on it. Maybe it's my age but I can't be arsed with all that and I want this to be a lasting change in lifestyle that will get me fit and healthy. Different things work for different people so I say go with whatever it takes but I'd lose interest in anything that doesn't allow enough brain space to think about shoes, bags and the latest Mac lip gloss shade.

With the Big Birthday approaching and The Dress hanging in our spare room, I have decided that it deserves to have its first outing with toned limbs as opposed to bingo wings, a pert bosom instead of a pair that have fallen down inside the bodice and some skinny malinky ankles! Obviously so that they can be adorned with a nice pair of Manolo's... Other Half... are you reading this?

In order to start my campaign and celebrate the fact that the only muffins for me from now on will be the (occasional) low fat, bran variety as opposed to one that sits atop my skinny jeans, I went to my local gym this morning...

Not bad huh? And it's free! I walked, very fast, for an hour in the sunshine with my i-pod on for motivation and despite the jelly knees at the end, I loved it! Will keep you posted as to how the new soon to be fit and healthy me is doing - wish me luck!

Late Night Reading....

2008-11-17T23:07:00.011Z

......... courtesy of A Confused Take That Fan. She found it at Times Online, where I can often be found browsing such profound-aties. (I know it's not a word - I just invented it but go with it) . Just read this ... it says it all for every generation, perhaps just reflecting or moving on to the next stage... a subject very close to my heart right now!

Farewell Rusk.....Hello Sticky Fingers!

2008-11-17T12:17:00.003Z

I nearly choked on my coffee this morning when I sneakily sat down to check in with some of my favourite blogs and discovered that one of them....shock, horror... was saying goodbye! The lovely Tara Cain over at Dawn Till Rusk would no longer be blogging there as she had left her job at Coventry Telegraph.

No...No...No.... this cannot be! Both her and I are convinced that we were separated at birth due to our shared love of shoes, shopping, Grey's Anatomy, Grazia and lots of other stuff that doesn't begin with S or G! Just as I was about to throw a complete girly strop and chuck all my lip glosses out of the make up bag, I read on to see that she is now going solo at Sticky Fingers! Praise be to Christian Louboutin and all the other shoe gods, for I can still get my daily dose of Tara!

Tara was my first fellow mummy in the UK to comment, the first (and now second) person to give me award and was the first to blogroll me which made me so excited that a little bit of pee almost came out! She has always been so supportive and encouraging of my ranting at 39 And Counting so I would like to say a huge thank you to her and send a great big giant hug to end all giant hugs! God... this feels just like when they aired the last episode of Sex And The City... except at least the movie has been released straight away which helps to numb the pain!

So...if you haven't visited yet, what are you waiting for...get on over to Sticky Fingers now!

Daddy's Girl

2008-11-15T17:15:00.007Z

I am sure there are many reasons why Daddy takes precedence over Mummy in the favouritism stakes, the most simple one being that he is a new face at the end of a long day. A whole day of the other face that has been saying "No" and "Stop that!" and "This is your last warning young lady!"

If Small Child could write a list, she might add these to it....

Because he lets me choose what I'm going to wear and never insists that it either matches or clashes just about enough to look trendy in a kooky kind of way.
He actively encourages me to run about naked after my bath with a pair of pull ups on my head going "Aarrgghhh!!!" really loud!
Because he's willing to lie prone on the floor, without flinching, all the while knowing full well that I am about to body splash him in a WWF style to make Hulk Hogan proud.
When he cuts my finger and toe nails he manages to do it without nicking my skin and sending me into a wailing fit. This also means I don't have to mention it again later on in public.
He does all the interesting jobs like cutting the grass and washing the car - this means that I can help and get really messy at the same time. There's only so much fun you can have wiping the bathroom tiles with a damp cloth.
He's really rubbish at hide and seek; he takes ages to find me and asks so many loud questions to try and find out where I am. Even though we've played it hundreds of times, he always forgets that I'm hiding in my bed and sits on it which makes me giggle. The other day it made me giggle so much that I pee'd all over the sheets; Mummy stopped the game after that and went off muttering about being a bloody washer woman.
He doesn't mind that I've become obsessed with his two Jeremy Clarkson books and lets me look at them, carry them everywhere I go and sometimes take them into preschool. I've even been known to be able to persuade him to read me a chapter or two at bedtime!
When he looks after me for the day he plays with me straight away and not in a minute after he's hung up the washing/finished this bit of ironing/blow dried his hair/put on his make up. Come to think of it he takes far less time to get ready than Mummy does!

I'm glad she as all these reasons and hundreds more to be a Daddy's girl and I think I can see a George Banks in there in years to come!

Nostalgia Rules OK!

2008-11-09T15:50:00.017Z

You know how they say that you can take the girl out of the 80's but you can't take the 80's out of the girl? Well, it would appear that you can't take the 80's out of my younger brother either!

After the trip to try on and pick up The Dress yesterday afternoon, we hot footed it down to my brother's house for fireworks, winter warming food, kiddie play time closely followed by kiddie bedtime and winter warming alcohol!

My brother is seven years younger than me and as all kids do, we scrapped and fought our way through childhood, only to get on like a house on fire after I left home. Even the actual way in which I left home involved us having a sitcom scrappy sibling moment! At the age of eighteen, having had enough of being designated babysitter for my little bro whilst my mother went out on dates in search of The One, I decided enough was enough. Not of him you understand but of being put upon whilst I watched my teen years slipping away faster than a pair of roller boots down a very steep hill!

After one particularly nasty row, I stomped upstairs, filled three black bin liners with all my worldly goods and dragged them down the stairs with as much stealth as I could master. I had just opened the front door when the little bro dobbed me in, yelling "Mum, she's leaving and she's got three black rubbish bags full of stuff"!

I don't remember what happened immediately after but I do remember setting up camp at my best friend H's mum's house for the next couple of weeks which was only about ten doors down the hill! And I distinctly remember the letterbox flap opening several times with little bro's face poking through saying "Mum says you have to come home now... or else!" Looking back now I can laugh but I feel sad for what he must have felt about all that at the tender age of eleven; what makes me sadder is that I didn't consider the impact on him at the time. I was too caught up in my teenage angst to think about what my leaving might mean for his life.

I never went back except for two weeks after the first marriage came to a messy end and those two weeks turned out to be a huge mistake that left me running, funnily enough, back down the hill again, this time to a bedsit. It was only many years later when we were chowing down on Chinese food at his house and the conversation turned to "those times" that I started to understand what he dealt with. Now that we are both parents and have shared our innermost feelings about that era, we have formed an unbreakable bond and I don't think he knows how truly proud of him I am for building his own life on what were pretty shaky foundations.

Last night was a cheery testament to how much detail he remembers about my teen years! In advance of our get together he had downloaded a ton of 80's tunes that he remembers blaring out of my bedroom, half of which even I'd no recollection of! As the wine flowed and we all sat there in full on on pop quiz mode, he reeled off a load of anecdotes that I had completely forgotten about too. Coupled with the music which always has the power to bring back vivid memories, I was transported back to the time of fingerless gloves, Frankie Say Relax T shirts and my music centre with the graphic equalizer that I thought was the dog's danglies!

One of us may have left back then but she will always be there for him now if needs her.

She's The One

2008-11-07T13:53:00.015Z

Seeing as I'm almost at the halfway point of my countdown to becoming a Forever Forty, I have began to think about what I might wear to the party....

Oh who I am kidding? I fully admit that I started thinking about it this year on my 39th birthday and now I'm having "The Dress" dream so many times that it's starting to remind me of how I was right before I found my wedding dress!

I hadn't yet begun to imagine any detail and I didn't think for one minute that it would be a black dress - possibly because one of the other fashion fixations vying for space (!) in my head at the moment is my LBD quest! But more on that another time....

And so it came to pass that, yesterday, I took the opportunity of wandering into Monsoon whilst Small Child had unexpectedly fallen asleep in her push chair. I mean... who am I to pass up a bit of window shopping that isn't accompanied by the normal anthem* of "I wanna get out of the push chair/I'm hungry/I wanna go to the bookshop/I wanna wee/I'm bored/I'm three and a half and REALLY good this!" *Delete as applicable... or not!

In times gone by, I wouldn't have thought about shopping in Monsoon as I always associated it with "Dahling.... Have You Seen My Tiara?" type frocks or slightly hippy-dippy creations. However, since they bought in their Fusion line, I have made a few much loved and well worn purchases there, plus Accessorize calls out to me like a poolside Mojito in a heat wave!

So you see, I hadn't gone in there with the purpose of seeking out The Dress, but there it was on the first right hand side rail of the store - yep, that visual merchandising trick sure worked a treat on me! A beautiful, black satin fru-fru confection of frothiness that reminds me of the one Carrie wore whilst waiting for The Russian in her Parisian hotel suite. He stood her up by the way... what a waste of a dress!

I stroked it lovingly, sighed at it, wandered round the store trying to ignore it and then came back for more surreptitious fondling, only this time the store manager came over to add yet more oh-so-subtle sales techniques into the situation - trust me, she didn't need to, I was already smitten. Either that or she possibly had concerns that I was about to dribble on it and thought she'd better intervene! She encouraged me to try it on but I had to decline for fear of Other Half coming home that night to find me wearing it to do the washing up, muttering something about cost per wear again.

Having left the store I found I couldn't stop thinking about it and started seeing every passer by wearing my dress, even the men which was slightly disconcerting! What are the symptoms of being in love? Sweaty palms? Check! Heart pounding? Check! Constant feeling of Euphoria? Definitely! There was nothing left to do but confess all to Other Half when he came home and show him Flossy 40 Frock on the Internet to see what he thought.

He seemed fairly enthusiastic; well as enthusiastic a man can be about an inky, slinky Mille-feuille of a dress, so we're returning to the scene of the crime tomorrow to see if trying it on will prove that She's The One!

She will be mine... Oh yes.... she will be mine!

If Fairies Wore Shoes....

2008-11-05T19:24:00.012Z

... they would come in little boxes like this and be sparkly and gold just like these, although obviously smaller! These beauties are pretty darn high and they did render my feet somewhat uncomfortable by the end of the wedding to which I wore them! At one point I feared I'd lost them having kicked them off to dance, and then, due to a few glasses of bubbles, I couldn't remember where I'd left them. I think I managed to have at least four people looking for them at one point though I'm almost positive that none of them were as frantic about the missing footwear as I was!

But ignoring the shoes (and I never thought I'd hear myself utter those words)... don't you just love the little black box that arrived courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue, all the way from New York City? It contained the much blogged about replacement heel tips which I was very pleased to receive but, me being me, I was far more excited about the miniature shoe box with that infamous postal code on it! It contained no less than seven pairs of tips that mean my Louboutin's will live on for as long as I have the inclination to wear them, which right now is just about every day! Yes I know I can't wear them for food shopping, preschool runs or to feed the ducks but I'm busy trying to create some suitable alternatives in my social diary that will fit the bill! So far I have come up with Christmas party, Other Half's birthday dinner/hotel stay and my 40th bash next year.... any other ideas will definitely be considered! Cost per wear basis needs a little work here!

They say that good things come in small packages and any package with the postal code 10022-SHOE on it is definitely up there on my list!

P.S. Don't know about you but I'm impressed that I've gone three weeks without posting about shoes!

Great Expectations

2008-11-02T20:15:00.016Z

You remember that movie Sliding Doors where you get two scenario's playing out alongside each other? Well here is my interpretation for this evenings events! Gwyneth Paltrow would, of course, play me!

In My Head

Local pub in the village plays host to fireworks event courtesy of PTA of Small Child's future school. Myself, Other Half and Small Child all rug up in appropriate clothing and set off at dusk, happily chatting along the way with the expectation of an evening spent in the company of friendly village folk. We arrive to warming fire, good bonfire fare and the welcome light of the beer tent and look forward in anticipation to the gunpowder spectacular ahead. Rosy cheeked, we stand side by side oohh-ing and aahh-ing as the PTA does us proud with green, gold and silver sparkles that light up the night sky. I glance across at Other Half and he looks lovingly back at me and then down to Small Child as we both remember our third get-back-together-date on bonfire night six years ago with fireworks set to James Bond music. I remember the point at which he was stood behind me and Sheena Easton was crooning For Your Eyes Only in perfect synchronicity with diamond shattering explosions. It was then I realised that this was it... I loved him and was not going to let go this time. (That bit is in my head cos it did actually happen that way!)

Meanwhile... Back In The Real World...

Local pub in the village plays host to fireworks event courtesy of PTA of Small Child's future school. Myself, Other Half and Small Child all rug up in appropriate clothing and set off at dusk, Small Child finally happy after a day of whinging because Daddy caved and gave her a lolly from one of yesterdays party bags. (Yes, she had two parties in one day. Sugar high? Don't ask!) We have agreed to meet Village Friends there before fireworks start and are in plenty of time, so stroll along, all the while us prepping Small Child that the fireworks may be quite loud but very pretty etc.

Arrive to roaring bonfire and head straight for food. I blow healthy eating regime with cheese burger whilst Small Child happily munches on a hot dog, then yomp over to barn where beer and wine is served. As we join the queue for alcohol I am filled with happy thoughts as this is the place where we had her Welcome To The World Party; more happy thoughts follow as Other Half buys me a bag of roast chestnuts. We had these at Bond/Bonfire spectacular as I forced him to ride a rickety old Ferris wheel with me!

We manage to find the furthest spot away from launch pad and mission control due to the fact the Small Child is starting to protest... quite a lot! At this point I have a sneaking suspicion that it's all about to go arse about face!

Village Friends arrive and before we get a chance to say a proper hello, the fireworks begin.... and Small Child looses it in a spectacular fashion of her own! Chocolate buttons are offered, the hood on the push chair is put up in order to provide some additional sound proofing and it's pointed out the Under Two Year Old of Village Friends is not crying.... but all to no avail! Five more minutes of hysterical screaming followed by a smearing of snot and chocolate into the shoulder of my Hobbs jacket (aarrgghh!) as she tries to climb onto my head to escape, we decide to call it a day. I head off inside the pub to console her with crisps and relative silence and myself with a large Merlot whilst Other Half makes our apologies to Village Friends.

As she switches back to Normal Child and I sit calmly sipping my red, I wonder why she appeared to be the only child in the village who hated it. Then I remembered another little girl who always cried on Bonfire night for about the first seven years as her family did the back garden ritual of lighting the touch paper and standing well back...... yep, that would be me! I guess the seasonal bobbing apple never falls far from the tree after all!

Is It Just How The Cookie Crumbles?

2008-10-27T13:39:00.019Z

Saturday found me doing my best impression of Natural Born Mummy, baking Halloween shaped cookies with Small Child. As a hangover from my career days I congratulated myself on my multi tasking approach to this scenario. Not only was I doing something that I find totally alien, i.e. letting Small Child make a mess in the kitchen but I was also embracing a festival (albeit an American one that seems to be sneaking it's way further into our culture year upon year), in a very Natural Born Mummy fashion indeed!

In my opinion, and others have disagreed with me on this matter which is kind of comforting, I think I am officially missing the NBM gene. I try my hardest to be a good mum and most of the time I do a good job but here's the thing... lean in cos I'm going to whisper it...... it doesn't come naturally to me. I'm whispering because being an NBM is to the noughties what being a yuppy was to eighties. Only, the red braces have been replaced with slings that hold your child steadfast to your bosom, stiletto's have been superseded by Crocks, pads have slipped from your shoulders into your bra because everyone HAS to breast feed and heaven forbid if you are not at least a member of one mother and baby activity group that involves teaching your little one to sign/play an instrument/swim under water aged 2 weeks/crochet pot holders!

The more I read lately, the more I see the whole "You can be a working mum and have it all" concept being shunned for the option to stay at home and be a "Have it all/make it all/do it all Super Mum"! Don't get me wrong - I think we should choose to do whatever is right for us as individuals and bugger what anyone else thinks. Having tried both I much prefer my current mix of less work, more Small Child time. It's just that, like my cookies, I just crumble under the pressure sometimes! I really try and be Laid Back Mummy but find myself trying to retain vestiges of control that really aren't appropriate when you have kids!

I hate it when Small Child makes a mess! Art/cooking/creative stuff always has to be done in a controlled, supervised environment and leaves me hopping about like Monica at a cocktail party without drinks coasters! I'm sure you would have laughed if you'd seen the look on my face as I let her spoon the icing sugar into the Magimix and watched in despair as little clouds fluttered to the floor, via the worktop/stool/apron/my feet!

I lose my patience far more than I should when we get into those debates that only come with a three and a half year old girl who wants to do dolly steps to the bathroom when you're itching to get downstairs for a glass of post bedtime wine, put on both tights and socks at the same time or wear a fleece when its ninety degrees outside!

I really do try and suppress my inner control freak and pick my battles but Oh My God do I ever find it hard!

I know I'm not the first mother to admit to reading Grazia over the top of my child's head as she sits on my lap watching pre bedtime television or opening a bottle of wine at 5.00pm on a Sunday because I really need to numb the pain of numerous return trips to the naughty corner, but sometimes it sure does feel like it! If I were at Good Mummy School, my report card would read "Must try harder" and "Could do better". So I'm working on it but I'll never make Head Girl!

Although.... I do admit to feeling somewhat smug as the smell of chocolate cookies permeated the air in our house for a brief period on Saturday; that was until I accidentally doctored one of the cat shaped cookies by shoving it into a container with too much force and breaking off it's tail!

And needless to say, it was the inner NBM gene that made me photograph the best three cookies from the batch!

Things That Make You Go Hhmmm...

2008-10-15T18:13:00.012+01:00

Click these to see which kind of Hhmm you get!

Hhhmm... not sure how it will translate but we can all now be Carrie Bradshaw by shopping at Marks & Spencers!

Apparently whilst stocking up knickers, winter tights and prawn sandwiches, you will be able to channel your inner Carrie, Charlotte or Miranda and get yourself a slice of your very own Patricia Field apparel! I know it may not appeal to all but personally I can't wait. I have always been prone to a bit of fashion freakishness now and again!

Big news or maybe I've been asleep and you knew before me but Madonna and Guy Ritchie are officially getting divorced. Hhhmm... I think that, if it's true (and I've read it so many times in Grazia already!), that it's really sad. I am also amazed that with their life, high profile and constant press intrusion it didn't happen years ago.

John McCain and Sarah Palin. They make me go Hhhmm.... a lot. I don't profess to know a lot about American politics but from what I do know and see... those two make me uncomfortable and I really hope Obama gets in.

Shoes....Hhmmm! Look at these Dior babies from the movie of the year! I love them even though they would make me look more hooker than hottie Manhattan babe! But a woman can dream can't she?! Which leads very nicely onto Lipstick Jungle. This has more than filled the empty Gossip Girl void in my viewing selection. Brooke Shields has come a long way since Blue Lagoon... Hhmm... dig that curly hair!

And finally,who sang that bloody song "Things That Make You Go Hhmm.." anyway? Answers on a blog postcard please!

Once Upon A (Second) Time...

2008-10-13T22:31:00.012+01:00

It’s rare that real life echoes a fairy tale; especially one that comes good on the first attempt! I had to kiss a few frogs and have three serious relationships with lily pad dwelling amphibians before I found my handsome prince. Me being me, I even stupidly sent my prince away before I realised he was The One. But whoever said that the path to true love was a smooth one had obviously been at the “special” fairy toadstools!

As mentioned previously, one frog was a first husband who really shouldn’t have been allowed to leave the frogspawn pool, as he clearly wasn’t ready to interact with the human race. One was a good frog who taught me a lot and helped me grow into the rounded, (sometimes) levelheaded maiden I like to think I am now. Unfortunately we ended up being more like Hansel and Gretel than the happy king and queen so things came to a natural end. Although… his mum and I are still in touch and she is truly my real life fairy godmother! And then came the evil two timing, lecherous toad who really did deserve to be banished to a place far, far away where time should always forget. I never quite managed this but after I kicked him out, twice, he did feck off to Australia, which is a pretty good alternative as far as distance goes!

It was actually after evil toad hopped off that I sorted my life out, bought my first flat and quickly met Other Half – I’d admired him from afar at the office but to no avail as he was courting another princess at the time. Unbeknown to me, him and this particular princess were not all about happy endings either and it wasn’t until at the office Christmas lunch party that my lovely, match making friend J came running up to me to gleefully announce that she’d heard my office crush was newly single – as of three days ago!

Not one to waste any time I made a move – well… I am no strumpet, but seriously, I would’ve had to slap him around the face with a wet fish to make him realise I was flirting with him! To cut a long story short, we got together at the evening version of the above party a few days later and had an amazing couple of months before I got a huge attack of cold feet and ended it. Only later, when we got back together did I realise how much I’d hurt him and it makes me sad when I think about it to this day.

Fast forward to eighteen months later, me being essentially single apart from some random dates, a couple of very short term boyfriends and also having been working on some absent father, unhinged mother and evil toad issues, I finally had my epiphany. Other Half had been working in another building for a while and although we’d said brief, curt hellos at various office do’s, I hadn’t seen him properly for some time.

He walked in, on a Cowboy and Indian’s office fancy dress day no less, and I took one look at him and nearly hyperventilated when it hit me what I’d given up. (No – he wasn’t dressed as the Marlborough Man before you ask, although he might as well have been!)

I emailed him, he emailed back, we agreed to meet for a non-date (which would be a whole other blog post!), and a week later we knew this was it – here and now and never mind what happened before. Within four months we’d moved in, three months later we were engaged, (definitely another blog post) and married a year later with Small Child arriving less than a year after that! You can ask me how I knew he was the one after 33 years of searching and I could either list a million things or just resort to the classic fairy tale ending of "you just know".

Either way, I will be telling my little girl that you should always believe in happy endings… sometimes it just takes a while before you find yours.

Ouch...and... I Beg Your Pardon?!?

2008-10-09T22:46:00.011+01:00

It turns out The Freckle was not to be beaten into submission as I had hoped it would! Yesterday, I took it's dainty arse off to the dermatologist just to be sure that it was nubbin... I mean nothing! That one will only work for die hard Friends fans - sorry!

But... hooray ... it was declared that, as it was growing again (WTF is this thing I begin to ask myself at this point), they decided to lop it off! So, one large needle into the side of my nose, right near the bone, and the smell of burning flesh later - sorry if it's too graphic but I was there and you weren't - my little friend was gone and whisked off to be examined under the microscope with results promised in three weeks!

I ripped the plaster and dressing off this morning as it was driving me crazy; I could see the darn thing just under my lower lashes - only to see that what was causing the discomfort was not the removed object but the big lump where they'd jabbed in the local anesthetic! Oh well... two lumps are better than one!

As for the second part of today's post - classic conversation with Small Child in front of the local priory today. No - I haven't gone all religious on you... we just happened to be walking that route back from feeding the ducks.

SC - "Can I run over there by those stones?"

Me - "No you can't"

SC - "Why not?"

Me - (at this point I was sorely tempted to say "Because I said so" but I didn't - foolishly)

Me - "Because they are grave stones"... pause... wait for it .....

SC - "What are grave stones?"

Me - "Well... when people die, sometimes they choose to be buried and they might have a grave stone to mark the spot so we shouldn't run about over it out of respect" (At this point am thinking sh*t... why did I get into this?!?)

Me - "Now get back in the push chair and let me do the straps up"

SC - "Why?"

Me - "Cos if I bump you off the kerb with no straps you might fall out"

SC - "Will I die?"

Me - "No sweetheart - you wont die - I'm sure you'll live to be ancient - 100 even"

SC - "Just like you mummy"

Small Child In The City

2008-10-07T22:15:00.003+01:00

Saturday morning came around not bright but definitely early, as we set off to London for Small Child's first ever city break! Technically it was not the very first as she did accompany us to Barcelona as a foetus, though I doubt she would remember much! Other than perhaps how she temporarily put me off Spanish food... and I love Spanish food! Every time I got so much as a whiff of chorizo or smoked ham I wanted to throw up! Even more mortifying was that in a city of culture, great food and trendy eateries, my main mission of the weekend was to seek out a bloody McDonald's - god damn pregnancy hormones!

Anyway, back to London! Seeing as she'd been building up to the trip for weeks we had no worries about it not meeting her expectations; that's the beauty of being three I guess - far more easily pleased than her mother. Unless it involves shoe shopping, champagne or just shopping at some stage of the game, I would be setting myself up for a fall!

After a quick photo op with Big Ben, we wandered through St James' Park where she was enthralled with the inquisitive squirrels. Not so long ago she would have climbed up my leg if one had so much looked in her direction but not so now, my brave little Dr Dolittle! She was highly amused that they were willing to come so close and nearly burst with excitement when one tried to climb up into her push chair. Mind you she wasn't in it at the time, I think it may have been a different story if she was!

A quick taxi ride, (one of the things on her list of must do's) past Buckingham Palace bought the expected questions of "Where is the queen?", "Is that her house?", "Why can't we go in?" etc etc. One of the preschool ladies had the forethought to pre-empt this and said that if we didn't see her it would be because her madge-ness was probably taking a bath - go with whatever works I say and it did!

Onto Frankies in Knightsbridge for food.... great venue for a family lunch and then, once Small Child was napping due to far too much stimulation for one morning, we visited The Mother Ship... aka Harvey Nichols!! I was good and stayed within the boundaries of the cosmetics hall and actually only bought something I had gone in there for! At the risk of sounding like a complete beauty product junkie (which I am), I Love, Love, Love my new Eve Lom cleanser... it's only taken me thirty nine and a half years to find it but it was worth the wait!

Small Child then had her own shopping epiphany at Hamleys! "Mummy it's the Biggest Toy Shop in the World!" And her prize possession? A Bob The Builder phone... she's slept with it ever since!

The hotel room was excellent although the promised kids VIP pack took some tracking down so service not that great. This didn't matter as we choose to hole up in our family room which consisted of two separate sleeping areas, bathroom and kitchenette all in a minimalist, modern style. It had the added bonus of the two of us being able to crash in front of the TV with wine and M&S curry whilst Small Child slept soundly around the corner! (We know how to live!)

Sunday bought the rain so it was coffee on Regent street, a fruitless search in H & M for kiddies jeans to no avail, a new winter coat for me from Reiss, followed by lunch at John Lewis on Oxford Street. I think Other Half was secretly relieved that poor visibility meant that the London Eye was off the cards - not good with heights that one!

One taxi cab, a train ride, another taxi, (good old engineering works) and a car journey later, we were back home. It's good to go away but it's great being back home and now I just need to catch up in blog world... once I've caught up with work, washing and normal life in general!

Breaking All the Rules!

2008-10-03T19:45:00.003+01:00

Who says you can't mix vertical and horizontal stripes? I think Small Child demonstrates here that you can break the fashion rules and still be perfectly stylish! The chosen outfit was specially selected by her good self, for our open day visit to the village school that she'll attend next year.

I must admit I went along with some trepidation as my school days don't exactly hold the same happy, fluffy, secure memories that nursery and preschool have provided for our little girl so far.

I'm pleased to report that we were completely blown away by the environment, staff, happy atmosphere and year six pupils who showed us around. My... how things have changed! I don't ever remember being that confidant, eloquent and polite at the age of ten!

Small Child had been counting down the number of sleeps until the school visit and woke up full of beans.... at ...(fanfare please)... 8.45!!! Complete bonus on our sneaky mid week day off! She then informed us that she didn't want us to come to the school with her but to "leave me there on my own please", and when it was time to leave... she flatly refused! At some point during the proceedings her and Other Half disappeared; upon their return when asked where they'd got to, he leaned in and whispered "Biggus Dumpus" in my ear! After I'd recoiled in horror and shot him a "You Didn't?" look, he shook his head and gestured towards the culprit, seeming quite proud that his daughter had already made her mark in the school toilets!

Feeling completely buoyed up by a great day, we then snuck across the road to our local for a quick drink, bumping into the wedding coordinator from our reception venue who was also in there with his wife and same age daughter. This made me feel slightly less of a bad parent for going from school to pub for a sneaky afternoon half! I wonder if they would go for holding the PTA meetings there?

Precious Life

2008-10-01T19:35:00.015+01:00

A battle as to whether I write about this has been raging in my head all day but I'm hoping it will help me to eventually stop thinking about it if I do.

Yesterday I stopped behind a queue of about five cars in our village wondering what the hold up was. When I saw people running back down the street, two of them young girls in tears, I feared the worst as we were on the approach to the cross roads where the school children gather on their way home. A lady who had been near the front drove back down the line stopping to tell us that a child had been knocked over so we all started to turn around one by one. As I drove back the way we came, hearing the approaching sirens, I flagged down the oncoming traffic to tell them to stop and go back too, all the while, my little girl in the back asking questions that I didn't know how to answer.

The local radio news at seven this morning woke me confirming our worst fears that a twelve year old boy had been killed at the crossroads.

Before becoming a parent, I don't really remember how I responded to situations such as these. I'm now all too painfully aware of the sick, shaky feeling in my stomach every time I think about the parents who are left behind and how they ever find the strength to carry on after losing a child. I'm aware of how I want to cuddle my daughter to me every second of the day and tell myself that I must fight the urge to wrap her up in cotton wool when it comes to things like walking to school one day. I'm aware that I remember again the feelings I had two years ago when we were first on the scene when a little girl was knocked down and killed outside my mother in laws house.

Every parent hopes that they never have to think how they would react if it were them and every parent understands exactly what I'm talking about.

Equally, I'm sure that we have all at one time or another cursed the person in front of us who is sticking rigidly to the speed limit or taken our attention off the road for a split second to listen more carefully to what our kids are babbling about in the back. I know I have, but after placing a second bunch of flowers to mark the spot where a precious life has been lost, I vowed never to again.

Doctor Doctor....

2008-09-30T20:51:00.016+01:00

No... I did not pick the title just so I could post up a McDreamy picture but I know there's a lot of you out there who will be glad I did! Medical matters are afoot so read on and stop drooling!

A letter arrived this week informing me that Small Child's booster jabs are due; my first thought was... My god, that's come around so quick! Which was quickly followed by the second one... How the hell do you tell a three and a half year old to "Sit still darling whilst this very nice nurse sticks a needle in you"?

I still remember the guilt I felt when I took her for her first set of baby injections! That two second delay from the needle going in to the slight wobble of the bottom lip, just before the scream that accompanied the accusing look of "How could you let her do that to me Mummy?!?"

By the time we got to MMR at the age of fourteen months I was feeling a bit more capable but don't remember actually having to explain to her what was going to happen.

Now that we have in depth conversations about everything from courgettes to rainbows (yes really!), I don't anticipate being able to get her into the doctors surgery under false pretences nor feel that I should.

So I've decided honesty is the best policy and will be working myself up to the correct way of handling that one! Whilst I look for a two week slot in the calender where we're not up too much in case of the normal reaction of colds/temperatures etc, I will gratefully accept any tips on handling this little dilemma!

My other update is that my little friend who had taken up residence at the bridge of my nose has fecked off of its own accord!! My appointment for it's eviction came though and each day since it started to disappear before my very eyes! Perhaps I scared it into submission or maybe it was offended by my dedicated blog post.... now that's what I call alternative medicine! They still want me to go in so they can have a look but there's nothing there except a freckle and they're not having that!

OK.. you can go back up the page for one last look at him and then time to get on with what you were doing!

A Natural High

2008-09-28T19:23:00.011+01:00

Leafing through Grazia this week, I was shocked at the latest picture of Amy Winehouse. You never know a) the real story or b) what they might have done to the photograph to increase it's newsworthy factor but it's fairly obvious things look pretty bad in either case.

To find yourself being ravaged by drug abuse whether you're a rock star or an ordinary Joe is not a concept I can understand. Yes, I smoked a couple of "organic" cigarettes when I was a lot younger but not only was I way too chicken to try anything else, I wasn't remotely intrigued as to how it might feel to be out of control and at the mercy of some chemical that I'd never heard of yet alone could be sure was safe to mess with! I have always been of the mindset that life, for whatever reason, must feel pretty crap if you have to be off your head to get high.

But then I thought about my own addictions: love, shopping, fashion magazines, red wine and food... nothing illegal or life threatening there... but addictive all the same! Did my pulse race and palms get clammy today when I took these beautiful boots the till today? Hell Yes! When we take Small Child on her first London trip next weekend, will I be able to come out of Harvey Nichols without buying anything? I doubt it. Will I be watching every single episode of the new Candace Bushnell series, Lipstick Jungle? Hello... it's me you're reading! You know there will be red wine and a starter that has to accompany the main course and I know not everyone will get the same thrill as I do as when I open a brand new copy of In-Style and flick through the pages for the first time!

And don't even get me started on love! That must be why this afternoon, when I was stood in the kitchen with the sun streaming in, dinner cooking, a track by Passenger playing and yes, a glass of red on the side, listening to the sound of my husband and daughter playing in the garden... I swear my heart almost stopped there for a minute. I think we all have some sort of addiction, I think I'm just lucky that mine aren't of the headline grabbing variety.

Naked On A First Date?

2008-09-25T16:36:00.018+01:00

Small Child has been at the same nursery/pre-school for nearly three years - and today we got to go on our first play date! Always having been one to suss things out from the fringes before joining in, I haven't really felt comfortable enough to walk up to any of the mum's of Small Child's class mates, thrust my phone number in their hand and suggest a get together. If that's even how it's done?

This is not from some deep seated fear of rejection you understand... more that we seem to easily fill our time with things to do and places to go. With other friends and kids already gathered, I couldn't imagine fitting anymore junior social shenanigans into our hectic schedule!

In the past different names have been bandied about, mostly boys I might add, and a few party invites have been sent and reciprocated; other than that Small Child seems to have been content to draw a wide and varied social circle about her person. Conversations at said parties have been struck up with harassed fellow parents and there's even been times in the local supermarket when Small Child has piped up "Oh look there's so and so's mummy/daddy/granny", followed by some friendly chit chat. But I always think it might look a bit desperate, slightly stalker like even, if I then suggest we swap numbers and arrange to meet outside the confines of pre-school!

Having heard one little girls name mentioned increasingly often recently I did begin to wonder if it was time to put myself out there a bit and try and look a bit receptive during drop off and pick up times. Easier said than done when you have to be somewhere ten minutes ago and your first priority is to remove Small Child out from underneath your skirt without dragging the snot trail across the front if it! Or my personal favourite... when I would pick her up and she point blank refused to leave, hysterically clinging onto the fence/door frame/playhouse whilst all the other kids ran to their parent with open arms and a big smile. Thankfully that phase is over and I no longer feel like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

Anyway, it happened quite naturally in the end. One day last week as we were finishing lunch in the coffee shop, a lady came up to me and asked if I was Small Child's mum... as opposed to live in Au pair perhaps? Turns out she was Frequently Mentioned Little Girls Mum so I seized the moment and launched into how Small Child was always talking about her and how the pre-school staff say that they're inseparable etc. (All true by the way and not just a load of guff to help me make friends!) She was nodding along enthusiastically and seemed really nice so I asked if she wanted to swap numbers.... eeek! She seemed as keen as I was and left me a message a couple of days later inviting us over for coffee.

This left me thinking that maybe a lot of women feel this way and are unsure of how to make the first move towards striking up a conversation that might help to forge the friendships of their offspring? Anyway, we had a great afternoon...the two girls played happily upstairs (how grown up is that?), whilst we chatted over coffee and cookies with her little boy playing at our feet.

Hopefully she wasn't put off when, having decided we'd better make a move home, Small Child appeared at the top of the stairs completely naked apart from a pair of her new best friends pyjama shorts! I left, at least taking some comfort in the knowledge that she won't grow up with any of her mothers hesitant approach to life!

A Muffin In The Oven?

2008-09-23T19:38:00.014+01:00

Have you ever committed that ultimate faux pas and asked someone if they where pregnant only to have a scolding "NO" spat in your face? Or worse... just gone up to them, patted their tummy whilst winking and nodding in a knowing fashion? Obviously this one is best reserved for those you know and not a recommended congratulatory tactic for passing strangers! Worse still..... has anyone ever asked you if you where with child when actually you are not?

Well... this one happened to me on Saturday at Other Sister In Law's 30th birthday lunch! Having shared a pizza covered in chilli's, drank two glasses of red wine and then guzzled a Tia Maria coffee, I was asked this mother of all bloopers by OSIL's dad as we were leaving. In order to preserve my sanity and few remaining shreds of dignity, for the rest of the day I put it down to last seasons cocoon shaped dress that I was wearing.... I'm guessing that's why its last seasons shape!

But later on.... after some more wine over dinner at Cousin It's house I got to thinking. Was it the fashionable shape that deceived him or did he catch sight of the unrestrained muffin top that was lurking beneath, perhaps revealed by a gust of wind that wrapped the dress in closer? Goddamn wind! And goddamn me for not wearing Bridget pants!

Whatever the reason behind it, there was a pregnant pause (sorry) before MM pipes up "Ooh I wish.... if only.... chance would be a fine thing....blah blah blah...". To which me and my Bro (bless him), jointly responded "Pipe down woman.... you've already got four bloody grandchildren.. how many more do you want?".

Low fat muffin anyone?

You've Got The Love

2008-09-22T15:52:00.009+01:00

Actually I've got the love! My SATC The Movie DVD arrived complete with voucher that entitles me to go into Woolworths and collect my free LOVE key chain!! And here is the little gem in question! I'm not sure how long it will be before the gold paint wears off but for now I shall be taking the LOVE with me everywhere I go!

And I need to this week for Other Half is away as of this morning until Friday night and I hate it... I always feel like I've lost my right arm when he's away for any period of time. For someone who was once single, lived alone and was fiercely independent, I know I should be more than capable of existing for a few days sans husband without skulking about the house feeling all lonesome! I know that Small Child will be sick of the sight of just me by the time he comes home again - she loves it on the nights he gets in early enough to spend bath or bedtime with her. The hysterical giggles and madcap rumpus that quickly follows the sound of his key in the door is just what you need when she's supposed to be calming down for bed... but I wouldn't change it for the world!

Having had a dysfunctional, followed by no relationship with my own father, my heart swells when I see my two together; knowing that she will never grow up with the feeling that something, somewhere is missing is just the best.

So I'm off to pick her up from pre-school a bit earlier tonight so I can get some extra cuddles in before bedtime! I'll tell her they're from Daddy to her but I suspect they will be for my benefit too!

Random House

2008-09-19T13:32:00.017+01:00

Hooray.... it's Friday or Myday as I like to call it now! A day spent not working, not being Mummy but doing the food shopping, tidying up/cleaning/sorting stuff (inner Monica again), maybe a coffee and sometimes a bit of afternoon blogging! The afternoon blogging suits Other Half as it means he gets to talk to my face as opposed to my back on a Friday night!

And so to celebrate today's Myday, I will be answering notSupermum's random questions!

1. Which song is guaranteed to make you cry?

It has to be This Woman's Work by Kate Bush. I first saw it on a movie called She's Having A Baby which is essentially a John Hughes-esque comedy but with a very moving bit near the end. I think it starred Ally Sheedy and Kevin Bacon. (Shh Mrs Dawn Till Rusk... you know you love him really!) Anyway the song is so sad - listen to it after two glasses of wine if you dare!

2. What is your favourite waste of time?

Well I was going to say shopping but I don't consider that a waste of time at all! So it would have to be sitting in the coffee shop with stack of magazines and coffee on tap.

3. What was your most recent fashion mistake?

I think it might be a pair of boots I bought in Amsterdam whilst on Sister In Law's hen do. They're a bit retro (see picture) and when I tried them on in the shop they looked great with the linen dress I had on; the legs were a bit brown, courtesy of Clarins fakery, but they were brown. Since getting them home I can't find anything that looks good with them and the words "too old" keep whispering in my ear!

4. Desert island time: what would be your one beauty product to take with you?

Conditioner leapt to mind seeing as I look like a Tasmanian devil without it but I thought I could be resourceful in a Tom Hanks Castaway vibe and use the local coconut milk for that... and body lotion! So it would be sun screen, SPF 50. Premature wrinkles whilst stranded on a desert island are so last season!

5. Which CD are you playing ad nauseum?

That would be Madonna - Hard Candy. It's my WAKE UP music and Small Child loves to bop along to it on the way to pre-school! She even asks for it when we get in the car now and by the artist's proper name; she went around for months calling her McDonald! I know she has a country estate in Dorset and swanky pads in London and New York but does she have a farm?

Come Again?

2008-09-18T21:01:00.012+01:00

Or as they say in America.. Pardon me now? You know that I love America... NY in particular... and Tara... you're so right... if I moved there I would be destitute within one month due to frenzied shopping! No way for a mother to behave... but what a way to go!

But as usual, I digress! The point of this post (there is one... just stick with it), is that I love, love, love the difference in how we and our cousins across the pond say stuff! I have been reading a few great blogs recently, penned by Brits who have moved to the U.S and I know I have only just scratched the surface of these...(Mom/Mum, Expat Mum and Brit Out of Water I'm talking about you... are your ears burning?) These guys are actually living something I only daydream about and they may feel that my lighthearted ramblings about something that is potentially life changing and challenging are somewhat misplaced. But... seeing as the blogosphere is all about free speech I will continue to ramble unchecked!

It was this clip from my email in-box fashion obsession section, Who What Wear Daily, that set me off. If you can stick with it, it's the bit where the leather jacket is being modelled that made me smile.. on two counts. The first is that I never knew bum bags were back in (shame on me) but it's referred to here as a fanny pack! I'm sorry?.... it must be the Carry On movie style British humor coming out here but... fanny pack? What image does this conjure up in your head? In a strange way it makes me want to rush out and buy one... but I won't because I just forgot that I was 39 for a moment there!

And also... if any ex-pats or American citizens are reading this, please can you explain what bangs are? I mean I know of at least two types of bangs (!) but in particular I am vexed by the ones that relate specifically to hair.

American and British might poke fun at the way the other phrases, pronounces or expresses themselves but I say Vive La Difference! If we were all the same it would be very boring and I for one would be packing my fanny off elsewhere in search of more stimulating, broad minded people!

P.S...I chased up my Louboutin heel tips from Saks in NY today via email as I was getting concerned that they hadn't arrived. A very nice manager sent me a reply almost instantly apologising that they hadn't yet been sent. After assuring me that they would be dispatched next week he said "Thank

you again for your patience and understanding! We look forward to

servicing you again in the New York Store!"

P.P.S...Oohh eer missus!

Snotty McSnotty From Snotville

2008-09-17T21:02:00.009+01:00

OK... I give in... Small Child wins! She has beaten me into submission by contracting her first cold of the season and waking every night at least twice, but mostly five times! And now, possibly due to sleep deprivation, I am sharing her germs. I have a head like a frozen pineapple and cannot breath through my nose at all.

I picked her up from pre-school tonight as she and her cohorts were charging around the playground at breakneck speed... lack of sleep obviously not effecting her then! She proceeded to skip to the car, looking at me as if to say " Come on woman... where's your stamina?" I asked her where she got all her energy from to which she replied "I don't know Mummy but you can have some of mine". If only!

Other Half was away in The Big Smoke last night so I foolishly got Carried away (literally) by my SATC box set and a bottle of Chianti. Bed at midnight, up at 1.00 a.m. to attend to snotty Small Child demanding a drink and a wee and just in case I hadn't got it the first time.... she repeated this at 4.00!

The repeat episode miffed me even more as I'd given her some Medi-Sed at 1.00 thinking that an added bonus of this might be a guaranteed interruption free sleep - Hah! It would seem that not even an elephant dart would do the trick these days! The fact that I also spilt the bloody stuff all down my legs as I tried to poor it in the half light did nothing to improve my mood. That and the fact that Other Half (who was snoozing away soundly in an Easy Hotel - I kid you not - somewhere in central London) had left his alarm set to go off at stupid 'o'clock!

Seriously - you have no idea how much I needed my cappuccino from the coffee gods at Caffe Nero this morning! I am off for an early night, only stopping on the wooden hill to Bedfordshire to pray to the gods of Please Make My Child Sleep Through The Night!

A Well Oiled Household

2008-09-15T18:41:00.008+01:00

I'm so enjoying being my own new breed of super hero... Flexi-Mummy! With my new working pattern we are definitely getting to spend more fun time together and for the most part, the house is running a little smoother and feels a bit less frantic!

I was feeling very smug in the manner of Brie from Desperate Housewives today as I decided that I would prepare the marinade for tonight's dinner during my lunch break! Ah the benefits of working from home! Nigella Lawson's Greek salad is on the menu tonight and the recipe requires that red onion is steeped in olive oil, red wine vinegar and oregano for a few hours beforehand... no problem.... or so I thought!

After having battled for 5 minutes with the lid of the vinegar that had fused itself to the bottle, I then managed to knock a quarter of a pint of Waitrose finest extra virgin olive oil all across the kitchen side! You'd be surprised at how quickly it can travel and how easily absorbed it is by one hand towel, one recipe book and a plastic chopping board. Despite it's thick appearance it can also travel surprisingly fast to the edge of the work top and trickle down the cupboard front onto the floor!

I don't think I've ever heard any chef utter the words "F**k A Duck" before, well maybe Gordon Ramsay, but I'm hoping that it might catch on in a kind of slummy mummy vibe! Having allotted half an hour for a break, 25 minutes of that was spent slip-sliding about with half a roll of kitchen towel and in the other five, I did manage to eat a sandwich with no further mishaps! Oh well, I'll leave the domestic goddess part to Nigella for now - but at least the entire book smells authentically of Greek salad and olive groves!

A Little Slice Of Holiday Time

2008-09-13T19:30:00.000+01:00

Talk about polar opposites - today couldn't have been more different to yesterday's outlook - both in terms of my disposition and the weather!

I sat here yesterday completely uninspired by the grey skies, constant rain and my persistent bad mood. The fact that I had a distinct lack of bloggy thoughts for the first time in four months did nothing to appease my unease. I put it down to hormones, tiredness (a lethal combination in itself!) and how crap I was feeling about doing a rubbish job of being a wife. Following a couple of weeks with some difficult family and job stuff, Other Half was feeling somewhat neglected as I channelled all my energies into leaving old job, getting new job, being a mum, the writing bug and all the other flotsam and jetsam that drift around in my head!

One and a half bottles of red, an order of Chinese food and a long, healthy discussion later, all was well again in the house of the Three Musketeers!

Today was a complete contrast starting with my gem of a Small Child sleeping in until 9.00... yes that's right people... 9 a bloody clock! The fact that spending two and a half hours in my PJ's finishing off an inventory for a six bedroom furnished house didn't even bother me, was testament to my new and improved mood! I began to wonder if Other Half had given me a frontal lobotomy during the night!

We then went into town and headed off for a late lunch. On autopilot to Starbucks we passed a tapas restaurant where people were seated outside in the afternoon sunshine. It was at the point that Other Half said he really fancied a beer, I thought why not? Having checked out the kids menu to make sure there was something that Small Child would be happy with, she then proceeded to help herself to our calamari, spicy chicken wings, tortilla and spinach salad!

I'm sure that one large followed by one small glass of red helped, but we sat there as chilled as if we were on holiday again!

High on wine, a tall latte, a mini shop-fest of Touche Eclat and candle from Space NK that smells of clean linen, I then declared that if Other Half ever got offered an actuary position in New York, he should take it and we should emigrate! Well..... we were in the travel section of the bookshop at the time and seeing the Lonely Planet Guide side by side with the Ultimate Shopping Guide to NYC just set me off! (Now there's a book I could have written!) Besides, Small Child does the best New Jersey accent so I'm sure she'd go down a storm stateside!

Two Heads Are Better Than One

2008-09-11T16:48:00.009+01:00

Having reached my late thirties and a state of acceptance about age, appearance and overall package, apart from having that mental list of "could do betters", I would have said that I was ready to face 40 head on. Well I was until yesterday!

Whilst pregnant with Small Child a little brown mark appeared on the side of my nose near my eye. Having waited patiently for nine months for it to disappear, presuming that it was another of those weird with-child side effects, I pointed my new friend out to the practice nurse and asked what it was. Skin tag was the answer and she suggested that I remove it with some sterilized tweezers! How odd I thought, I had no idea that medically approved self mutilation was alive and well in our village! Having done this (and I wouldn't recommend it), it became fairly inconspicuous until recently. First of all Small Child asked what was that thing on my face, followed by a more tactful version of the same question from Other Half. Closer inspection (yes.. definitely bigger and now bleeding a couple of times), made me think I should get my arse to the doctor!

One appointment and thorough full body inspection by the dermatologist yesterday bought the welcome news that it wasn't malignant but this was delivered with a nougat of info that did nothing to preserve my "I'm OK with getting older" mantra!

They think it's this thing that I can't pronounce but I'm sure he used the word sub-aquatic something or other! He'll be telling me I'll be forming bloody gills next! But the best part is they're usually only found on people aged sixty plus! Excellent - I'm not even forty yet and have been written off as prematurely aging old bag whose growing a new head! They are going to surgically remove it (thankfully!) and then examine it as it's apparently "unusual" on someone my age! I felt like Ross in Friends when he gets that thing on his butt that Phoebe's herbalist takes off by accident with his watch strap! Or maybe it's Chandlers Nubbin!

By the way, I was just glad that the doctor was no McDreamy; the full body inspection part totally threw me off - I wasn't even wearing good undies! Oh well.... I'm off to cut two eye holes in a brown paper bag until my friend and I part company!

Fall-ing Into You

2008-09-10T12:44:00.012+01:00

I love this time of year for so many different reasons. Being British I guess I should be whinging about the summer, or lack of it, but instead I will be embracing the next season with open arms and heart!

Other Half and I got back together during this season six years ago... and if you want to know more about the "back" together bit you'll have to come back another day for that story! The weather turning and the promise of crisp cold mornings always reminds me of that time when I fell into life-long love. (OK, not only am I using a Celine Dion song for the post title but now I'm starting to sound like her too!)

I love it when you can smell the cold in the air and kick up piles of leaves everywhere you walk; one of the many benefits of living on the edge of a forest! Now that we have Small Child the events associated with this time of the year; Halloween, fireworks and Christmas, all mean so much more. Apologies for the premature mention of the C word by the way, but I've already seen some chocolate reindeer lollies in M & S so I'm sure that others have been bandying it about before me!

And the clothes... ooohh I love winter clothes and not just because they hide a multitude of sins! Big jumpers, long cardigans, boots, scarves, woolly hats and gloves. I give it about two more weeks before I'm delving into our under bed storage bags to get it all out and do the seasonal wardrobe swap over. I learned from Trinny & Susannah that you should never store your jumpers alongside your bikini's - that was how I filled my weekends before becoming a parent!

Anyway, I woke up this morning thinking about donning lots of wool layers and going off in search of weekend walks that culminate in a pub with roaring log fire and some rosy cheeked locals.... and here I sit in an autumnal shade dress, opaque tights and riding boots...sweating my arse off cos the sun's just come out!

My Name Is ThatGirl & I'm A Fashion-a-holic!

2008-09-09T09:49:00.034+01:00

OK... just so you know, I'm fighting every instinct screaming away in the right side of my brain to write a post about New York Fashion Week. Its killing me! The beautiful images that have been deposited in Mac's (and my) memory courtesy of my daily Google fashion alert abound in my head day and night! It must be my inner Carrie Bradshaw, clawing her immaculately manicured way out from under the ironing pile to wax lyrical about Diane Von Furstenberg's floral rock goddess inspired dresses or our own and sometimes much maligned Victoria Beckham presenting her debut collection to a select few at the the Waldorf Astoria hotel. (Had a cocktail there by the way - very nice... especially the nuts!)

Whilst devouring four Grazia's, one In-style and a Marie Claire every month helps me have an idea of what's in and what's not, I don't profess to know what the next uber trend will be, nor could I hold my own in a room full of fashion journo's! But I would still kill for a ringside seat in one of the tents in Bryant Park, NYC right now! Can you imagine the smell of the Prada bags mingling with the aroma of expensive perfumes you can't buy in John Lewis, the flashbulbs popping as some A Lister in over sized sunnies lowers her pert bum onto the seat next to yours and the furious scribbling of editors denoting how these stunning outfits that you see adorning the gazelles stomping down the runway will translate into high street reality?

If this doesn't float your boat then I understand... not everyone can get hot under the collar about the latest style of...well... collar! But for those of you who know what I'm banging on about.... there's nothing better than a bit of fashion escapism now and again! As I've said before you've got to have a dream to help distract from the more mundane moments! If you do click through to read The Times article above about VB, I loved the dresses (my favourite shown here) and I really liked her quote at the end about the fact that she's been working on this for 34 years! I read her book "That Extra Half An Inch" and believe that she has. Whatever you think of her, you have to admire the girl for doing it... if I had her money and contacts I'd be doing it too... and she'd be blogging about me!

And there you go.... I got in an NYC Fashion Week post after all. See you at the next Fashion Rocks party!

Umbrella-ella-ella

2008-09-08T17:56:00.024+01:00

Seeing as all I have been doing all day is typing, I thought I may as well stretch the fingers to their limit and share with you Saturdays soggy sausage saga! Be still your beating hearts... my glamorous life is just too much some times!

On Saturday Miss T and her man invited us, two other great friends and respective kids over for a BBQ. When we scheduled it in four months ago we were hopeful that the weather would still be good. You can fall off off your chair on both counts - I know you should never presume that the weather will be BBQ friendly, and yes, I did say scheduled four months ago! Gone are the days of spontaneity now that kids tag along; booking it that far in advance is the only way to ensure that we get to see each other these days!

At first I wondered if Miss T was slightly crazy to invite a total of five kids and their parents over; the majority of which would definitely be hitting the bottle, but then I remembered that their house is still a work in progress so better sooner rather than later!

We arrived at the same time as the rain but were not deterred as everything was set up under a sheltered veranda... to which Miss T kept referring as her "covered area"! Cue many "Ooh Err Missus" remarks... well mostly from me actually!

All was going well, despite Small Child being on a pre-teatime downer meaning that sulk attacks were becoming more frequent the closer it got to BBQ lighting time. I've discovered it's much easier to cope with these by the way when you have a Saturday afternoon glass of red in your hand and are in the company of great friends!

And then disaster struck. Junior Daughter of Mrs L announced that her Nintendo DS game had gone down the gap in the decking.... and then burst into floods of tears! To add insult to injury, it was her younger brother who had deposited it there, albeit accidentally, and it was her favourite!

Up until now I've remained unfamiliar with the aforementioned gaming device but since someone pointed out that it is an extremely good distraction device, it has been duly noted and filed away under the More Relaxed Holiday section for future reference.

Mrs L offered comfort between utterances of "thirty bloody quid that cost", but it was Miss T's other half who saved the day. Not only did he rip up the decking but also provided entertainment for the younger audience in the form of the infamous "Aarrgghh... somethings got my arm" trick whilst he fished around in the cobwebbed nether regions underneath!

Once the kids had eaten their body weight in sausages, burgers and bread, the adults got to sit down to a feast of steak, prawns and healthy salad stuff thrown in for good measure... a great time was had by all.

More booze, a Nintendo Wii tournament and much hilarity at taking turns on the vibrating reclining chair later, we retired back to Mrs L's to tuck some very tired, assorted sized children into bed. Actually it was only 8.30 but it felt like midnight - the stamina definitely isn't there anymore! Somehow we did manage to stay up for a late night cheese, biscuits and port session... just to avoid looking like complete sad old gits you understand!

Almost Perfect

2008-09-06T09:56:00.011+01:00

The head is a little fuzzy this morning seeing as I had my very own awards after show party last night consisting of a bottle of Wolf Blass accompanied by ham, egg and chips (not just any old ham though - it was Waitrose free range, hand carved)! Whilst the nice lady on the deli counter was carving away and telling me all about it my prospective purchase, I stood with images of little packets of ham roaming free amongst the straw bales before an evil farmer rounded them up to take them to the place where all packets of ham don't want to be! And that was before the Wolf Blass!

I'm liking this new organised home life we are experiencing since the change in working routine! The house is clean, the fridge is stocked and the three of us have the weekend stretching out in front of us - bliss! The ironing pile is still threatening to breech the spare room door but I've decided that I refuse to be a total Stepford Wife! Besides... Stepford Wife would not be typing away in her PJ's whilst Small Child was glued to an up to date version of Magic Roundabout!

I must say I don't like this new version of the old classic... it looks like a computer game with its clever animation. Where is the stoned looking Dylan and the slightly un-hinged Zebedee of my childhood? MM told me once that I used to cry every time it finished! Mind you it's the same now with Grey's Anatomy!

Sniff....

2008-09-05T18:45:00.008+01:00

.... Blub .... Splutter... Where do I start? Someone pass me a tissue! I've been given an award! That lovely Tara at Dawn Till Rusk who, by the way, I'm starting to believe I might have been separated from at birth, has presented me with this lovely bloggy award!

I will skip the snot ridden Oscar style acceptance speech but I'm so chuffed!!

Those who read here know I am a huge fan of the Tara lady but I can often be found frequenting other blogs from time to time. I think Other Half may be planning on putting an end to my late night blog catch ups by booking me in for a surgical Mac removal very soon!

I would like to pass the baton of greatness onto some other bloggers who keep me entertained late at night (and therefore YSL's Touche Eclat in production!) As I said yesterday, being new to this tagging and awarding stuff, I am carefully following instructions as to what happens next! So with Tara's careful guidance I have gleaned this much:

1. Link back to the person who gave you the award

2. Nominate up to seven other fab bloggy folk and link to them

3. Leave them a comment telling them how much you love their work whilst trying not to look as if you're stalking them!

So ladies and gents.... my personal nominees are as follows..(drum roll please!)...

Coco's Tea Party - Such great pictures and fashion observations, done with humour and in bite-size pieces!

A Cup of Jo - this women is my hero...great blogger and writer in New York. Need I say more?

Of a Certain Age - I really like Karen's blog. She is a stylish lady in her forties and I read her blog for inspiration when I'm having a frump day.

I Love Lucy! That's Lucy and I - little Lucy is so cute and her mum is a very talented dressmaker. I bought an outfit for Small Child from here and she looks so cute in it I could eat her!

Another Tara - the name must be synonymous with great blogs! When Tara Met Blog was one of the first blogs I discovered and have remained a faithful follower ever since!

And there you have it.... now I really do have that Friday Feeling!

I'm "it"!

2008-09-04T21:45:00.010+01:00

Yes.....I am it! No I've not become an overnight "It" girl sensation nor have I gone off and got a job in I.T. I've been tagged by notSupermum ... yay...my first Tag! I've seen them happening in the blogosphere and watched from the fringes, but up until today, have remained a tag virgin! Unlike notSupermum I am not such a quick learner...especially after a couple of glasses of Shiraz of an evening! I searched on Blogger Help for tags but it talked about HTML and widgets etc. Hhmmm...ask me one on shoes or tantrums and I might be able to help you!

I know that HTML is a basic programming language and I copy/paste it to put widgets on my blog... and that ladies and gentlemen is the extent of my knowledge on the subject! I figure that when I'm rich and famous I will employ my own "Louise from St Louis" to run my website leaving me free to concentrate on the creative input!

But as NSM says.... it's basically a game of You're It... now that I can do! So forgive me if I've done this wrong but here goes!

1. Where Where You Ten Years Ago?

Approaching 30, living in a flat backing onto a river and train track (I got used to the noise surprisingly quickly!) and in a very bad relationship that was on/off at least twice before I finally kicked the useless MF into touch! (No prizes for guessing what those initials stand for!!)

2. What's on Your To Do List Today?

Oohh... lists! I love lists - I am Monica!

Wash Small Child's sheets; she spilled water on her spare ones.

Go and see my friend E and her two little-un's... and her new Carvela and Kurt Geiger shoes!

Do some sodding ironing before I can honestly say (for once) "I have nothing to wear"!

3. What If you Were A Billionaire?

I would be giving new Louis Vuitton bags to my friends to say thanks for putting up with me.

I would have paid off the mortgages for all immediate family and a couple of close friends who have been my family forever.

And right now as I'm typing this...I would be sipping a champagne cocktail at 60 Thompson in New York with Other Half and Small child - sigh!

4. Five Places You have Lived?

There have only been three and all in the south of England. Put number 3 into play and ask me again!

5. Three Bad Habits?

Red wine, shopping and procrastination when I'm suffering from lack of self confidence.

6. Snacks You Like?

Yes please! Salted popcorn, potato chipsticks and cheese.... Bad Bad Bad!

7. Who Will You Tag?

That's a toughie! But for now it will have to be... Yummy Mummy, Lucy & I and Confused Take That Fan

Did I get it right notSupermum?