On the box

For the past few weeks I’ve been watching Twin Peaks series two and it has been wonderful! As a teenager of the 90s I watched both series’s (grammar??) in my bedroom on the old portable TV that I had been given by my Nan. Push buttons and no remote control. Last year I got series one on DVD but series two is only available in the States, well it was last time I checked on Amazon. Then last month I discovered that the Horror channel was showing the whole of series two so I set up the Sky box to record series two and since then I have been gradually watching them. Unfortunately my husband isn’t that keen on it, I think he just doesn’t get it, though there are parts that I just don’t get either but that is what makes it so good and different. There is just so much rubbish on TV these days – I dislike soap operas and all these music competitions but with the genius of Sky+ I can tape the programmes that I like and watch them at a more convenient time (all the odd stuff from BBC 2 and BBC 4).

I’m now bored with writing about TV – dull at is it so lets have a recap on what I’ve been doing lately. Well, I’ve not been out the house much lately – part anxiety, part snow but today was much better. A quick trip out to see some friends very briefly helped and after that I took the dog for a walk over the fields that back on to road next to ours. Admittedly it looked lovely over there but I’m thinking now that I left it a bit late in the afternoon to go over there on my own as dusk was falling. Still I like to think that I live in a safe area. Tomorrow will be busy and I really need to get my act together. Ironing needs to be done. Packing for new year trip needs to done. Cranberry Relish needs to be made and I would like to make ginger snaps for my family as a gift. Tidying up the house would be nice as well and of course I have some work to do in the morning. I’m trying not to stress about it all. A good nights sleep would help but I’m not counting on that much!

It’s Friday

It doesn’t feel like a Friday to me though. The days are blurring into one very long day and not really a happy long day. It has just been one of those weeks and I’m sure going to the dentist on a Monday morning didn’t start it off well (even with perfect teeth, said the dentist). The nerves just got to me and I had to spend the rest of the day trying to get over it. Tuesday was a good day. I can’t remember what Wednesday was like so it must have been an okay day. Yesterday, was a very stressful day or I just made it a stressful day. School run and kid sitting duties were fine but I spent the whole of the day worrying about it. Today, was a tiring, fuzzy head day after a night of not much sleep, odd dreams (one about going on a date with a famous comedian, and no, it wasn’t Michael McIntyre) and then foolishly falling back to sleep at around 7am and waking up at 10am. I didn’t feel any better for catching up on my sleep and I always kick myself for wasting time in the day. I had such great plans for today – make peppermint bark, bake a cake, purchase the ‘secret Santa’ gift for New Year and finishing gift tagging the last two Christmas presents.

Nothing got done. I just about managed to take the dog for a walk and get some basic food shopping, though I couldn’t believe I forgot deodorant which was on the shopping list and the reason for going to the shops in the first place. I’m blaming hormones, too much anxiety flowing through my system, low self-esteem and Christmas. Hey ho, life goes on. In other news, my husband keeps nagging me about getting a full-time job or as I like to put it some more work that I can do at home. Maybe selling homemade drawstring bags is the way to go but I’m not really sure I would enjoy that as much as a job than just making a few now and again as gifts. Today, I had to dive into the CSS of my boss’s WordPress blog to see if I could get bullets to show up. With a bit of help from Google and actually remembering some CSS learnings from a few years ago I solved the problem but only to be scuppered by not having the permission to make changes on the site. Luckily, a quick email to the person who runs the site means the changes will be made soon and my CSS detection was correct. After this, it made me think about doing a course in HTML/CSS again but this time in real life and not as a virtual course. It is either that or pottery. Pottery is another thing I was learning a few years ago until sad circumstances stopped that class. Jeez, I just don’t know but if I did a course then at least I would get out the house. Happy Friday everyone!

Hello

My poor forgotten blog. Nothing written in days and I’m too tired to write much tonight. I don’t normally do ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ but maybe for 2011 it will be to write more often. Everyday, like I did in the old days. I have more time to do that now but not enough inspiration on what to write about without talking about food or cleaning all the time. However, I’m still here and I promise to write more soon. Hey, it might even be tomorrow.

A whole lotta of Christmas stuff

With just over two weeks until Christmas Day I’ve been busy getting everything done and dusted. At least, trying to get everything done. I always have good intentions to get everything done before December but every year I’m doing something a week before the big day. I’m sure this is why I dislike it so much. Admittedly, getting ready for this year hasn’t been as bad as past years – I think last year was pretty shit. Being at home as helped tons though it also means I have tried to make more stuff like fabric bags. I’m pleased that all the cards were written a few weeks ago and I posted them all yesterday except for one to Denmark. Just keep putting off queuing up at the Post Office for a few hours. All the gifts have been purchased and nearly all of them have been wrapped and gift tagged. Yes, I know I was trying to do a no-waste Christmas but I’m using up all the left-over wrap and ribbons/tags from last year.

Things left to do are sew some bias-tape for the drawstring bags, finish wrapping the last of the presents, fill the stockings and make Christmas puddings, mincemeat and chutneys. Extras for the making are Peppermint Bark, Stollen (hopefully), fudge, chocolate truffles and cranberry relish. Then, of course, we are away straight after Boxing Day for a week so I would like to make some food to take with us like cheese and onion pasties and Cornish pasties for the meat eaters. I kind of wish we were away for the whole of Christmas or just at home but that won’t happen soon unless we move far far away. Chocolate and a few drinks will make it all good anyhow – that is the plan.

Snow. Slush. Rain. Create.

I was going to write about the snow (I had actually started this post yesterday but never finished it) and how it had snowed for 3 days on a row but it is now raining. Slush is now taking its place. So, what do I write about now? Well, I’m still thinking about starting a second blog. More of a filing system of a blog so I can house all my creative instructions and recipes that I use. I have found recently that I’ve got a ton of bookmarks that don’t work anymore – recipes deleted or moved and creative projects that have vanished in to the blue nowhere. This way I can write up the recipes and log my creations with photos so in the future if I feel like making something again I have an easy place to find them. Sure, I could use Google Documents for this and I sure do for a lot of things but I feel with a blog I will make me keep it more up-to-date.

Making it more of a project, something I can really get my teeth in to. Maybe this way, instead of harping on about liking a more creative way of making money, the new blog might give me an idea of what my passion is in the art and design world. Of course, I could go back in to window dressing or Visual Merchandiser as the role is called now but it has been almost two decades since I trained at college to do that. Also, I need to be a bit more disciplined in spending my time being creative, even if it for 30 minutes a day and maybe not be such a perfectionist. That is my main problem with sewing – I will make something and then pick at it for flaws (many of which friends say they can’t see) and spend a good amount of time unpicking stitches. The fear of being mediocre at most things puts me off from starting but I guess I won’t know until I do start. Putting pen to paper is what it is really all about…

An update

Hello World! It has been ages since I have written a real post and it sure does feel like it. The ‘Photo of the day’ project was fun but still there were days when I couldn’t be bothered or just couldn’t find a good enough photo to post. Now, I’m back to writing with the occasional photo. Woowho, I can hear the crowds cry… maybe not. So, the month of November went pass quickly and now it is 1st December with Christmas truly approaching fast. What has been happening? Well, I’m still working part-time at home, partially for my old company a few hours a day and for my old boss, who is now a self-employed consultant. I’m earning about a third of what I was before I left full-time employment but actually feel richer. Okay, the savings aren’t top up as much as they were but I’m not paying for travel and there is no need to buy breakfast or lunch. No longer am I tempted by the shops near the office. Though online shopping is a bit of a curse. Maybe I just feel richer because I’m no longer part of the rat race.

As much as I’m enjoying this new career path (not really sure I would call it a career) I need to find some other work to top it up. This is mainly at the request of my husband, though I’m not sure on how I’m going to fit anymore work in, especially when there is housework and cooking to do. In other news, I’m getting out more and the anxiety seems to get better. I’ve mostly done this by learning a small but quick breathing exercise for when I’m out and about plus distraction techniques which I’m learning from a book I have. I’m still on the waiting list (I rang them last week to check) for some Cognitive Behaviour Therapy – it has been a year now! Ho hum. The pup is getting bigger and we are both enjoying our daily walks over the park. It actually feels like the walks are helping me with my anxiety and I may have lost a tiny amount of weight as well. I think that is it for an update and not one mention of snow! I’m saving that for future posts.