Friday - Yay

Hello!

Well, Andy had the day off today - so that means I get the day off and don't have to feel guilty about not stripping wallpaper off!!  So - I drove to Tesco - and went for a run - around the park run route.  According to my watch I did 5km in 32.35 - then carried on for another 1km.  A few weeks ago - I'd have been really happy with this time - but I can't seem to break through it and get quicker.  I wasn't on best form to be honest - hip still bugging me and have that blister on my foot.

Park run is tomorrow and I'm going to have the same problems.....but I'm going to try!  I then went in Tesco for a few bits - sweating!!

Since then all I have done is lounge in the bath and chat to Lissa on messenger!

Oh I should mention that last night was probably the first time I have ever beat Andy at pool - I've won games - but last night I won the most games! I've definitely got a bit better.  He wants revenge tonight! I am now typing one-handed as Merky is paddy-pawing on my hand and licking me!

Andy brought me a Prosecco with vodka and elderflower - its yummy but I think it is a ploy because I get rubbish at pool when I get squiffy!

Thursday 3rd may 2018

Hi Lissa - hehehe - only person that reads this - apart from me in a few years time when this might seem interesting!

I feel in a good mood today - maybe because the sun is out!  Got up as soon as I woke up - because I knew the gardeners would be here and I didn't want Chloe knocking on the door needing to pee - and me answering the door in my dressing gown again!

I went out and chatted with her, I really like her and we always end up laughing.  She is the kind of person I'd like as a friend - but I'd be a bit weird saying - will you be my friend?  I should take a leaf out of Yvonne's book - she sees someone she'd like as a friend and manages to squeeze herself into their life (which is a good thing - not a criticism - not that I think she'd ever read this LOL).  However, Chloe was talking to me about going to Yoga - Katie louise Yoga (I need to look it up), she goes on a Tuesday night.  When I did my back in a couple of months ago the osteopathe said I should take up yoga because all I do is running.  As I am struggling to walk with pain in my hips so I might give it a go.  I ran 5.6km on the running machine last night and really struggled with various bits that hurt - although mainly my hips.  In the evenings after I have run - if I sit down for a bit, when I get up I'm like a 90 year old shuffling around.

So - the only thing I HAVE to do today is to get the kittens to the vets for their next injection. That is at 2.30pm.  I have also told Andy I'll get him some lunch ready at 12.30 - he has exactly half an hour free for lunch and has calls and stuff back-to-back the rest of the day.  So I might go out before hand and get a few bits in.

So tough day ahead lol.  At the moment I am sat at the kitchen island, writing this and listening to/singing to Sam Smith.  However, I can't live with myself if I don't do something useful so I might go and do some washing, put some washing away, change the bedding etc.

Question....

Me and my daughter both write a blog and we can see that some people are reading them - which is nice.  However, apart from me reading hers and her reading mine - we are not aware of any other people who read it!  I am curious to know who you are! OR....is there is just some trawling software or something....

Please say Hi!

Wednesday 2nd May 2018

So....I'm not going to speak about the stupid utility bills today.  Trying to put it behind me and just go from here!

As I did not get the asbestos sorted yesterday - I have to do that today.  I want to get the rest off the walls - properly bagged up and taken to the tip (which will cost me about £75 to dispose of).  Then its done!!

Then I want to get the house all clean and tidy and sort something nice out for food because Andy is back tonight.  I am really struggling to come up with ideas for food lately.  How do people do it? To think of something nice that they can be bothered to cook?  I go through phases of cooking curries from scratch and they are really healthy - but I get fed up of them really quickly.

I'll have to have a scan through recipes and see if I can find inspiration.

This weekend there is some kind of biker festival on in Paignton and Andy and Paul really want to go and have lots of fun and listen to live bands.  I am really not sure what I want to do because I am not particularly interested in bands that I don't know...and don't really want to spend all day drinking and eating crap - well that bit does appeal to me but I'm trying to be good!

However, if I don't go and just stay here - then it will be the same as the rest of the week when Andy is working and I am here on my own.  We do have the cats to think about so we do have to come home at points.....I am not sure what Helen wants to do either....

I heard them talking about the Pirate festival - on one of the days over the weekend everybody dresses up as pirates - and just drinks and stuff! Weird or what? Guess it would be fun....oohh dilemma............

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So - all the asbestos is off, bagged up and is in the car with other rubbish.  I have paid £75 online so that I can dispose of it at the tip.  My only problem now is that the printer wont work and I need to take evidence....I might be able to do it from my phone....again dilemma - make the effort now or be lazy and wait until tomorrow...

I went our local shop and bought a pie and some carrot cake - about 2 minutes after I got home the pie and half the cake was gone! I was starving!!  I have to run today now cos that was way too many calories - but it is going to take ages until I don't feel so full of food!  It is now about 3 and a half hours since I ate all that food and I still feel full....guess I'm just going to ave to put up with it while i run. I don't know how much running I'll get done because if this blister on my foots starts to hurt I'll have to stop.  Only one way to find out......

Oh! So my brother Andrew and his wife Lorna are expecting another baby! He told Me, helen, Joanne, Antony and our cousin Clare in a group message today.  I know that me Helen and joanne already knew because Mum told us! hahahaha I can write this on here because I know none of them read it! Otherwise I'm in trouble!  So - the baby is due in November!  This will be their 2nd together but Andrew has twins from a previous relationship.  He has custody however, so they'll be a family of four children! Some people just don't know when to quit! lol

Tuesday 1st may 2018

Hi,

(only read this is you are prepared to be bored)

Well, a quiet start to the day...but I'm not happy!  Yesterday I got a letter from the Gas company saying that they need to check the meter reading as the bill is higher than expected! On the phone to them now - constantly on hold....the bill Jan-April is £1277.97, however, Nov to Jan was £250.  Trying to get them to explain this to me is impossible.  I was on hold for ages, so I could speak to somebody about the detail, and eventually the same person came back and said - yeah it is right, we will send out the bill.  I said - so why this, and why that etc. and she can't answer it! Wasn't that why I was on hold for ages so that I could discuss it???

Now I'm on hold again....

Either way we are going to owe a lot of money! So the upshot is - they have no record of the arrangement that they were calling me back to arrange a new tariff, and funnily enough they have no phone number on record for me.  We have to pay £1277.  Great our budget money is down by a lot!  So it seems, then when we have the heating on a lot it averages out at about £18 per day - plus whatever other charges they stick on.  Guess next winter we'll be investing in thermal underwear, jumpers and gloves!  I intend never to put the heating on again. Or use hot water!!

So, its now half one and I've done nothing other than mess about with gas/electric, call ppl, look for reference numbers, look for a cheaper supplier, and eat cheese and onion on toast!

-------------------------------

Okay the day got worse - decided to try and sort out my electricity supplier as I cannot get any details from my online account and they don't seem to be taking any notice of my meter readings....an hour later - I owe £1,040 - I have sent a long letter of complaint about how bad they have been...

REAL mansion problems.

Got renewal on home insurance via an email - taking the piss! So now sorted that out with another company.

What a crap, boring, expensive day that has done nothing but piss me off!!

I apologise if you have wasted any of your day reading this.  It's 4.30pm all I have done is this crap.  Hate being an adult sometimes.

Monday 30 April 2018

Monday morning.....Andy left for London just before 6am this morning and is not back until Wednesday evening.  He works so hard - I am so proud of him.  His job is so demanding.  Andy is the only person I know who works as hard as he does, is so dedicated and is intelligent and driven enough to do it!  I miss him when he is not here.  Just knowing he is in the house is better - knowing he is close....

So....today, I need to get on all my asbestos safety equipment on and get rid of this stuff once and for all!! I'm not sure I can do it in one go, but I need to try as I don't want to have to be getting in and out of the safety gear and possibly spreading asbestos dust around.  so...wellies, overalls, mask, gloves and goggles...special bags....get in there get it off the walls and bagged up and to the tip with it all (after paying over £12 a bag to get rid of it).

I also want to run 10km as I didn't run on Friday - only did 5km on Saturday and didn't run yesterday.

Weight loss back down to 8lb after the weekend.  Seems to be a theme - get to 10lb loss during the week and end up back down to 8lb after the weekend.  So...I need to try harder! and stop ruining it at the weekend!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So - I got kitted up and got most of the asbestos off and bagged up (although not sealed yet) apart from a piece under where the sinks were because it is full of screws I can't get out.  Better to come back to it fresh, rather than try when I've just had enough.....

I had lunch, then took ages to get myself out for a run.  I wondered how I would get on because I wasn't really feeling it....

Straight away I was walking more often and didn't do as well as last time on the hills.  By 4km I was debating turning around and coming back - as it would be a shorter 8km run - but it meant coming back on the busy road - rather than the nice paths and country lanes I was almost at.  I could feel a blister on my foot (always the same place)....I kept going knowing I'd have more down-hill runs now rather than up-hill.  It was not easy....at about 8km, my other foot started hurting.  This happens when my feet get too hot - the ball of my foot/toes start to burn and it's really painful.  At 9km, I paused my watch and sat down on the grass and took my trainer off, massaged my foot and let it cool off.  When I stood up to carry on that foot was okay, but my blister on the other foot really hurt!. I managed because I was almost home.  Glad to be back - and still glad I did it!  28km ahead on my challenge and hopefully burnt some fat off from the weekend lol.

Might not be able to run on this for a few days....and my hip is hurting a bit too.....going to go and get in the bath me thinks.....

Saturday 28th April 2018

Morning,

Last night we managed to get the cat (Bitsy) off a little bird she had brought in - it was breathing heavily and looked broken - after a while it calmed down and seemed to straighten up a bit - so we took it outside - and it seemed to run off....

Later we managed to get a tiny tiny mouse off Bitsy - and we released that too!  When we got up this morning - it seemed they must have found the bird and brought it back in again - it was very dead this time - its feathers were everywhere.  It is such a shame and me and Andy are so soft fussing and worrying about these little creatures - trying to feed them before we let them go,  but Bitsy is just too good at catching them.  The kittens love it when she brings them in too - I just hope they are not as good as Bitsy at catching them when they start going out!

Anyway....I woke up at 7am...my alarm was set for 8am so I could get up and do the parkrun - and I didn't go to bed until 1am.  As I woke up early - I got up - Andy was already up.  I felt a little icky, but got ready and went and did the run.  It felt really hard starting off and I thought I was running slowly - and I must have read my watch wrong as it also seemed to say I was behind my normal time.  I managed to run all of it apart from stopping for about 3-4 seconds once.  As usual it all feels awful as I was going around but feels better the closer you get to the end.  Unlike last week I was able to speed up a little near the end - overtaking a girl that had been ahead of me the whole way.  As soon as I finish, instead of thinking this is awful - I think - That was Awesome! hehehe

I am waiting for my official time but according to my watch, it should be just under 33 minutes!  I did the Bushy Park 5km a few years ago and that was my fastest 5km ever at 32.32.  Still slow for most people - but that is now what I am aiming to beat.

Hope I'm not disappointed when the results come in....

So - time was 32.44 - so beat my time again - last week it was 33.22 - and later changed to 33.25. I thought after last week I'd struggle to beat it!  Lets hope I can do it again next week.  Ultimate goal is 30 minutes or under!

This is the half-way point....



This one is coming in at the end!

relief.........

Helen and Paul came around at about 6pm....and we had a great night as usual, catching up, playing pool and generally laughing!  Helen is on a downer about running - thinking she actually doesn't like it and might not run again.  This is because she went out and had a rubbish run that left her feeling pissed off at the end.  I'm trying to persuade her not to give up on it - she hasn't done it much and I think she is expecting too much too soon.  I don't want to lose my running buddy!!!