More drama, sore shins, and zombie cupcakes!

Thats drama as in performances - not real life ;-)

Tuesday was end of term for A's Inverness drama class, with a 15 min show for parents. I really enjoyed this one - the humour was quite dark, with some quirky little touches. But A has decided not to go back after the summer. She's enjoyed the class in some ways, but I think she feels a bit old for it - its for 9 -12 yr olds, and is mostly 9 and 10 yr olds. The other drama group she's in is for 12 - 16 yr olds and she fits in much more easily and happily there. She did ask if she could go up to the older group but was told she'd have to wait until she's 13, so that means 2 more terms in the younger group.
On Wednesday we went to see one of our HE friends perform with her musical theatre group, which was lots of fun. I was amazed at how tight the performances were, the kids must have worked really hard.
And on Thursday A went to see a drama show at the school she'll be going to, which some of her friends were in. She said she enjoyed it and may join that group (which would make up for leaving the Inverness group!)

I didn't go to the show at the school, as it was my first night at the running club. There was a woman I know in the beginners group, which made it easier as we ran together. I really enjoyed running with a group, more than I thought I would. It was great having someone else to time keep, and I felt it was just the right level for me. BUT - my shins started hurting again after the run, and are feeling really sore today - AAAARRGGH!!! This is SO frustrating! This is what happened before - just when I started getting somewhere and increasing my running times the shins flared up. I'm feeling very despondent about it, as all I want to do is get out there and RUN! But all the advice about shin splints says "stop running" :-( I'm thinking about going to see a sports physio I know, maybe she will be able to help.

I've not heard about the job yet. I phoned to check and apparently there is a backlog, so I just have to be patient...

Thought I should put some photos in to brighten up this post, so here you go:

I'm very pleased with how my fruit is coming on, although I did chase a blackbird away from my blackcurrants earlier, so will have to pick them soon I think!

We had a shopping trip today, and along with all the school-related items I bought (this school malarky is proving expensive!!) we found this wonderful book - combining my love of cake and horror - perfect :D It contains such marvels as:

Shattered Glass

Blood-stained Brains

And my personal favourite -

Bleeding Hearts

YUM!!!!

Whoooosh....another week gone!

Well, week and a half since my last post actually :-/

So, first the sad news: A's remaining guinea pig - Fred - had to be put down. Apparently he had a rather large tumour, and at six and a half was getting on a bit. He is now buried next to his brother - Ginger - in granny's garden.

RIP Freddie

On the HE front, things have been going very smoothly :-)

American history has been quite a theme for the last few weeks. We're still working our way through this book, currently looking at the American Revolution. We're also getting towards the end of To Kill A Mockingbird (which we seem to have taken ages to read) and I have the film version and a documentary about the book recorded and ready to watch. All providing much material for some very interesting discussions!

A has also developed an interest in manga graphic novels, which she has been devouring, and doing her own manga-style sketches too. We recently got questioned - with a look of suspicion - on whether the graphic novel we were getting out of the library on my home educator's card was "for studying purposes?" which I thought was a bit weird. How can a book not be educational?
I really appreciate the fact that we get a HE card - I think its great that the library recognise us in this way - but it seems a little strange that they now want to put restrictions on what is and isn't suitable "for studying purposes". Anyway, I smiled and replied "yes", and we got the book.

On the work front, I feel like I'm putting loads of time and effort in, but there seems to be very little to show for it. Yet! Hopefully this groundwork and gathering of info/updating of skills will pay off in the not too distant future.
What I'm planning to do is get more research/admin type work coming in, so have been on some workshops and signed up for a couple of courses to help me on my way with this.
What I urgently need to do is set up a website. I've been procrastinating on this for ages - I know its essential, and apparently quite easy to do, but (typically for me) I became a bit obsessed about 'getting it right'. I looked at loads of different sources for advice and got thoroughly confused about the best approach to take. So, for fear of getting it wrong and appearing unprofessional, I did nothing.
Thankfully I think I've found exactly the guidance I need through business gateway who offer lots of free resources for the self employed (including workshops on website building), so at last I feel like I'm getting somewhere.

A is off to a sleepover party tonight, so I will have the house to myself. After being forced to watch the comic relief stuff until 1am this morning, it will be lovely to have control of the TV. I'm planning a night of watching horror films in the dark, to see how terrified I can make myself. Such fun.

hello! hello! hello!

Its good to be back! Not that we didn't enjoy our holiday - we had a great time - but we arrived home yesterday morning to glorious sunshine, and it felt like the right place to be :o)

Bit of a quick photo catch up then:

Our lodge and all our bikes at Centre Parcs (Whinfell Forest)

First time at CP - loved it! Loads for us all to do, and although it was the busiest time of the year it didn't feel too crowded. Not cheap though!!

The kids did loads of activities, some together and some not, here are a few that A enjoyed:

Pony trekking

Archery

CSI (!)

We also did roller blading, badminton and pottery painting, and the boys got up to some more daring stuff like laser quest and quad biking. I enjoyed a bit of nordic walking, and a spa evening with my Mum - loved those steam rooms. And of course, there was plenty of swimming, unfortunately this resulted in A's blue streaks turning a weird kind of purpley-grey colour, but she wasn't too bothered. All in all, a fantastic week, AND we were all still talking to each other by the end of it!

>After that it was on down to my brother's for a bit of chill out time, and visiting a few relatives. I did a lot of reading, got through Robert Harris's Rome books - Imperium and Lustrum, and also finally got round to reading The_Wasp_Factory by Iain Banks. It was recommended to me years ago by a friend who said "its definitely your kind of book", not sure how to take that now I've read it, but I suppose she was right, as I did enjoy it.

>Next up was the big family wedding that A had been preparing for for about the last six months, very exciting! It was a fab day, and I felt surprisingly moved seeing my little cousin get hitched.

False nails were required for the occasion - very grown up

A having a boogie with the bride

Then after a few more days with my brother and his family, we boarded the Caledonian Sleeper and came home. First thing we did was head down to the beach and have a paddle :o))

Lovely books!

My books arrived! For my birthday my Mum gave me her card and told me to order a few books I was after from Amazon (sadly she did give me a limit). So, being a new (and extremely enthusiastic) convert to knitting I got Stitch_'n_bitch_nation, The_Knitter's_Bible, Anticraft, and Domiknitrix. I bought Happy_Hooker with a voucher my brother and his partner gave me, to aid me in my struggles with learning to crochet. That lot should keep me busy for a while :-)

We had a fantastic day yesterday, decided to have a day out in Inverness as we both had vouchers and birthday money burning a hole in our pockets. First we met up with Granny for lunch, she was through for a tutorial for her Scottish history course at the college. Then me and A spent a good couple of hours at Inverness_Museum_&_Art_Gallery, very enjoyable. For me it is the perfect size - we managed to get around everything, but by then were ready to go.
We then went off and got some shopping, we both got a nice top for ourselves. I managed to find yet another book: Italian_in_10_minutes_a_day, so we will be getting stuck into that from next week. And A bought another fashion sticker book (she's very keen on these).

Tonight we are having a girlie night in together, which will involve: chocolate; coke (for A); cider (for me); a DVD; more chocolate; pyjamas; blankets; cuddles; a bit more chocolate; lots of laughter :-))

Happy Girls

A has had a very social weekend! On Friday afternoon we went and picked up two of her friends from her old school. It was very weird driving up to the school again, but A got a lovely welcome. We actually got there a bit early and managed to disrupt the class as one of the boys spotted us out of the window, next thing you know there are a load of kids hanging out of the window calling to A. I think she quite enjoyed all the attention, and she didn't show any signs of wanting to be back there as a class member.

A few of us went off to Findhorn bay as the weather was magnificent, and we spent a couple of hours there. Then I took the three girls over to Nairn beach (see picture), then home to ours for a sleepover. They had a great time, and I got some peace and quiet, apart from them getting up and disturbing me with their giggling at about 6.30 on Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon A went off to another friend's house to play, and had a very happy time there too.

I had a very exciting night out on Saturday - went to see Orkestra_del_Sol in Drumnadrochit - a fantastic night!! It was all very last minute, my friend and I had seen them play before a few months ago, and said next time they play near us we will take the kids as they would love it. However, we never managed to get organised and book tickets for various reasons, so I didn't think we'd get there, but with about an hour or so to spare my friend rang and said she'd managed to get two free tickets from a friend who knows the drummer - so off we went! Unfortunately my friend's kids were with their Dad, and A was too knackered to come after her busy weekend, but the two of us had a great time - they really are a fantastic band, such fun. Next time we will definately take the kids.

Today we went off to spend our prize book tokens (the picture still hasn't been in the local paper - hopefully next week). A bought a Fairy_Fashion book, and an Usbourne Pirate_things_to_make_and_do activity book, and I got Yevgeny Zamyatin's We . Should keep us busy for a wee while.