Bubble Wrap & Writing

I have been very brave and dropped my first born off at the airport at 8am this morning without shedding a single tear as he had told me that he was dreading me getting upset (I'm not really good at 'goodbyes'). I then drove to work and thankfully was so busy, as usual, that the day flew. I've written a bit, started reading a new book as I think I'm in the wrong mood for The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy and could think of nothing whatsoever to blog about.

Until I checked my emails... and found this and bizarre though it may be, it suited my miserable-though-pretending-to-be-fine mood and away I went. I now feel much better although R thinks I've gone a little more deranged than usual.

I can also tell you that I finally finished with the red pen yesterdy and now only need to make the corrections on the computer. I even have my envelope ready and waiting to send the darn thing off to NWS, so had better stop blogging and get on with it.

Secret Lives

I've just finished The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and what an incredible writer she is, and am now going to start The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill. I've been looking forward to reading this for a while and once I've finished my 100 words, I shall poddle off to my room and start reading.

Today I had a lovely lunch with family at The Oyster Box Restaurant, a new restaurant run by the owners of the Jersey Pottery and based in St Brelade's Bay. I've been rushing around like a mad woman for days now and although I wasn't sure I could manage to fit in a lunch, it turned out to be an excellent idea and the children and I enjoyed it very much.

Later J and I spent two hours packing his rucksack. I ended up feeling like I'd done a workout at the gym. Okay, it has been years since I've actually walked into a gym so I probably don't have a clue what it really feels like but suffice to say that I'm now physically drained and relieved that we've finally managed to fit everything he needs into the damn thing. I also managed to put it on but nearly tipped over backwards and here was I bemoaning the weight of my handbag.

S and I have just watched Dr Who and I'm miserable that David Tenant is going to morph (or whatever it's called) into some other actor. Drat, I liked him too. I've set the machine to tape next week's episode in case I miss it.

Blimey, I've just seen the time and need to go and do my 100 words. Have a lovely weekend.

Heaven is a Packet of Maltesers

I'm plowing my way through a packet of Maltesers, a box would have been better. They're perfectly cooled and straight from the fridge just as I like them. Why? Because I'm all stressy and trying not to be and as I don't smoke (gave up nearly six years ago) I need something to calm me. Yes, I know it isn't clever to comfort oneself with chocolate but I can't help myself today.

I've spent the afternoon going through a four page list to check off everything that J needs for his trip. I honestly thought we had everything but now find that we have several bits that still need to be bought and so J will have to race into town tomorrow morning. We have a family lunch to go to then it will be back home to pack enough equipment to cover half his floor space in his bedroom into a rucksack. No idea how this is going to happen and as I'm not Samantha from Bewitched (showing my age here) I fear it will take a bit of planning bearing in mind that they have to leave a quarter of the space in the rucksack for food? How? Nay, where is this space going to come from?

Can you tell that I've never camped before, well apart from three days at Reading Rock Festival years ago when a crowd of us went over and I was told in no uncertain terms that I wasn't allowed to join them ever again. Well, how was I supposed to know that the water in the large plastic container was for drinking only. Did they honestly expect me not to wash before getting dressed? Did no one care that it was imperative that I applied my makeup before trotting out into a crowd of over 80,000people? Obviously not.

I've not done any editing at all today. Tomorrow, when I've collected S at 11 from a sleep-over, family at 12.20 to go to lunch, packed, then dropped J at his dad's, maybe, just maybe I'll have a second to get through a couple of pages. R is off to Guernsey for the day with m-i-l as they are going to visit her relatives and take a bonnet and bloomers (don't ask) to the museum. Oh, I feel a need for more chocolate and I don't have any left.

Happy Birthday J xxx

It's J's 17th birthday today. "Oh no," I hear the populus of the island cry. "Not another lunatic driving on our roads." He has been in the UK for the past three days looking at universities and so far when I asked him if he had thought of any that he might prefer, he replied that yes he had. Not a little surprised at him having thought of something before he had to, I asked how he had come to that conclusion. "It was easy. Apparently at ??? they have a ratio of four female students to every bloke." I give up.

I have to collect him in a short while from the airport, race back home to open gifts/cards and then take him to his dad's house where he and S are staying the night. I can't believe my baby boy is 17 already. When did I blink and miss him growing up. He's taller than me and knows so much, but he's lovely and funny.

Finally, I'm moving along with the editing and only have another 80-odd pages to go, which is a relief because I'm completely loving writing S&S, thanks to Helen and her brilliant 100 words a day.

A Meme (Editing Next - I Promise)

This Meme is from the lovely Helen

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Still living in the same house as my ex-husband and going through a divorce…(so glad that's over with).

Five things on your to-do list for today:
Buy J birthday cake
Do more editing (I promise, after this).
Write my Hundred Words A Day (Ditto)
Cook tuna & pasta for S and self
Fold yet more washing

What are three of your bad habits?
Impatience
Eating too much chocolate
Talking too much

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Write and adopt lots of animals that no one wants.

What are some snacks you enjoy?
Chocolate
Snack-o-jacks
Midget Gems

What were the last five books you read?
The Secret Life of Beas - Sue Monk Kidd
Nothing is Forever - June Tate
Burning Bright Tracy Chevalier
An Offer You Can't Refuse - Jill Mansell
The Outcast - Sadie Jones

What are five jobs you have had?
Client Officer, Trust Company
Commercial/Private Cleaning Company
Landscape Gardening Company
PA
The most useless waitress in the universe

Five places that you have lived?
Jersey (several places but it's so small that they were all nearby)
South Africa (several places, not so close to each other)
How dull, I don't have any more to add

I tag anyone who fancies a go at doing this and I'm going straight to the shed to get on with my editing.

Displacement Activities

Guess who couldn't put off being clipped any longer? Having dropped S at the bus and J at the airport, I then had the traumatic job of taking Grumpy for his clip. By the time he had dug in his heels and cried and I had picked him up, soothed him and let him wee all over the poor woman's herbacius (sp?) border, I left him to his fate and raced like a demon to work - 1 hour late.

At work the lovely filing ladies asked me how I was - I'm not known for my chirpy disposition on a Monday morning - and I surprised them by cheerfully telling them that I was in a good mood. After approximately half an hour, which was the time it took for my mood to blacken, they saw me once more and nodded in a sage-like way. "Never mind, love," said T. "You were happy for a bit." The work day worsened and after an exhausting day, I was able to go home.

Thank you for all the good wishes to R. He had his dentist appointment and is now on antibiotics too. My house is beginning to resemble a small chemist. He's still in pain and apparently if this doesn't sort it out the dentist will probably have to remove the tooth. R said he would rather not have teeth than the pain he's had over the past few days.

Since I've been home, I've done two loads of washing, completed my 100 words for the day, blogged for ages and emailed a few friends. I have yet to force myself to get on with this endless editing although I did forge ahead a bit over the weekend. Oh heck, here comes S wanting to know what's for supper. Oh well, another thing I can do to put it off for a bit longer.

Toothache, Tiresome Toes & Yet More Editing

Poor R is suffering horribly with a sore tooth. He's being brave and soldiering on despite having to wait until Monday afternoon for his appointment at the dentist. I hate pain of any sort (I say this as if anyone relishes it. Well, I suppose some people do but they are a little kooky to my way of thinking. Anyway I digress). I have dosed him up with pills, as I don't believe in suffering if you don't have to (never let it be said that I'm a martyr) and despite almost rattling whenever he moves, he's still in dreadful pain. Let's put it this way, he even said that he didn't hear me speak the other day when I was chattering away. He must be in a lot of pain if he can't hear my voice.

J goes away a week tomorrow and his toe is still not completely better, so he was forced (why do they think they can win over a mother who is in an anxious state) to go once more to the doctor. £30.50 per appointment, so expensive but at least the prescriptions are now free, unless you want maleria tablets or something out of the ordinary. So J is on another course of antibiotics. I don't mind painkillers but hate the thought of antibiotics and usually wouldn't send him twice but when J is going to spend a month in the heat and trekking 125kms whilst he's there, I feel that I have no choice. He also has a pain in his hip, but did he mention this whilst he was there? Of course not.

Well, if nothing else, this editing is helping me take my mind of the fact that J is about to set off, which is a relief because whenever I do think about it, I feel a bit of a panic rearing up inside. So at least I can be sure that I will be working on this damn editing to keep me occupied.

BTW m-i-l said she had a wonderful day yesterday, which was good to hear. I'm glad she enjoyed herself so much. She had phone calls from so many friends and said, "People kept phoning me and singing Happy Birthday down the phone but I had no idea who they were." She received beautiful flower arrangements and various gifts and loved the flags that R put up for her birthday.