Random Question...

If you won just a small amount of money, and you were told you had to spend it on yourself, what would you do with it? (Not enough for a new car, holiday etc, and it has to be for YOU.)

For me, I'd go to an expensive hairdresser, and see what they could do for me (I'm never happy with my hair!), and I'd have some bras especially made for me (I can never find any to fit)! LOL

Book snobbery?

Here we go again - according to a member of my book forum, if you like The DaVinci Code, you don't appreciate 'well written' books.. or words to that effect.

I can't properly describe the tone of certain posts, so the thread is here, if anyone is interested in reading.

This one book seems to have raised the old issues of 'book snobbery' - I keep coming across people who believe that if you're an intelligent person, you don't waste your time reading thrillers, horrors etc. It seems that reading books by authors that most people haven't heard of is a sign of how clever you are. In fact, it's an attitude that's actually quite insulting.

Personally, I read for enjoyment, and I choose books that interest me. If that happens to be a thriller, then so be it. I don't believe it's a measure of my intelligence.

Dressing up...

Every now and again, Bethany's school comes up with the bright idea of letting the children dress up for the day.

The first time I came across this, they'd been learning about pirates, and on the last day of term, they were asked to dress as a pirate. After some panicking, we bought some short trousers and a baggy stripy t-shirt in a second hand shop, a bandana in the market, and an eye patch in ebay. She actually looked pretty good, and I breathed a sigh of relief that that was over with!

Then came the next note.. for World Book Day, they were to dress up as a character from a book. And this time we only had a couple of days notice! After much hair-pulling, I finally had a brainwave.. she put on her blue top, wrapped herself up in a couple of bandages, and was Mr Bump!

Of course, nearly every girl was Snow White, Sleeping Beauty or similar, but my daughter doesn't own girlie dressing up! She does own spiderman / power rangers etc, which alot of the boys actually DID wear. But as far as I'm concerned, that wasn't really the idea. Ok, so spiderman may be in a comic, but not the kind of literature they'd be reading!

Anyway.. now it's happening again. This time they've been learning about castles, so the suggestion is a prince or princess, knight or dragon. Once again, that's most of the girls sorted out.. apart from Bethany.

On Saturday we went into town, as I was sure I'd seen a cheap knight's outfit in one of the shops. But no.. the closest was a king's outfit.. 12 pounds for a cape and crown!! So.. panic time again!

In the end, I picked up a gold-coloured disposable tablecloth - it's a wipe-clean one, so it's not as destructable as it sounds! Beth chose some star stickers, and a couple of parcel bows that she liked. We then needed the stationary shop to find some decent card for the crown.

After many hours, and trial and error, we now have a cape and crown. Teamed up with a baggy white blouse, and some shiny paper as a sash, I think we've managed a pretty decent outfit....

Eurovision - The Winner

A rock band.. dressed as monsters!? That was hilarious! What has happened to the world when The Eurovision is won by a rock song, and not by a mediocre pop song or ballad? Next year's entries should be interesting..... :)

Eurovision

Ok, I admit it.. I like the Eurovision Song Contest! I love watching the different entries, and laughing at alot of them, and Terry Wogan's comments add to the whole experience.

I've watched for many years.. I cheered when Bucks Fizz won, and laughed when Jemini earned 'nul points'. (I actually went on to be a Bucks Fizz fan for a while, but you'll have to let me off.. I was only young!)

It's not a serious contest, but one to be watched with a sense of fun. The voting is so political anyway, and we don't seem to be very popular.. but it's still fun to take part.

As for this years entry, I'm not sure what I think. At first glance, it seems a very unusual entry.. but it's very catchy, and very well done. It was certainly more polished than dear old Jemini, and it actually looked as if it had come straight from a modern musical. But is it what the Eurovision Song Contest is looking for? Something tells me no.

Last Night's Viewing

After watching 2 programs last night, the word that came to mind was 'compromise'!

The 1st program was 'Honey We're Killing the Kids', and this week was a single parent struggling to bring up his son. This child, aged 9, lived on junk food, spent all of his time in front of the TV, and stayed up far too late.

Obviously big changes were needed, and on the whole, things went well. But what annoyed me was the swing from one extreme to another. For example, the only thing he was now allowed for breakfast was proper porridge or museli.. which of course he point blank refused. Whilst, of course, crisps and sweets aren't the best breakfast, pushing to this extreme means no food at all. Ready Brek and Weetabix are decent enough filling foods, and more likely to be accepted. Don't you think?

Later on came 'Wife Swap', and of course the 2 extremes were once again chosen! On the one hand, you had a family that spoilt their kids, both with gifts and food. But on the other, you had a strict family.. not a calm strictness, either, but with lots of yelling, and not alot of space for fun and relaxation.

Of course both families felt they were in the right, whereas a blending of both strictness and fun would have helped both of them. Again, a little compromise.

Just as a side point, 2 bits in particualar upset me. In one of the families, both parents work in the family cafe. During school holidays, the children (aged roughly 4, 8 and 11 I believe) were expected to help out in the cafe.. then sit in the car after their chores were done. The sight of those 3 children just sitting in the car was heartbreaking.

In the other family, the dad took his 2 sons to a pub or social club every Saturday evening. At 11pm, his 6 year old (yes, I said 6!) was obviously overtired and upset. The swapped wife insisted that he went home, and the dad just couldn't see what the problem was!

The more I see on these programs, and the more I read the news, I'm beginning to think that you should have to take classes and exams, and get a licence before even thinking about having children!!

Dr Who

There has been some discussion on Invicta radio about Dr Who. The 2 breakfast DJs don't like the program, and wanted to know what it was that made it so popular.

The listeners came up with some good reasons...
a) Nostalgia - the adults watching it now remember watching it when they were young, and so it therefore has some nostalgic magic,
b) Family viewing - it's something that parents and kids can sit down together to watch,
c) Escapism - speaks for itself really, and
d) David Tennant - he's sexy, and a good actor.

Personally, the only one I can really agree with is the escapism angle - it is one of those programs you can just get lost in for an hour. As for the others, although I was aware of Dr Who, and especially the Daleks, I didn't really watch it as a child. I can't share it with Bethany, because although she really likes it, it does seem to scare her, and cause nightmares. :(

As for David Tennant, although I can see a certain sexiness about him, I'm not keen on him as The Doctor. I enjoyed Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor.. he seemed to portray more emotions, and he had a better relationship with Rose.

Unfortunately, the DJs decided to give it another try this weekend. I say unfortunately, because I wasn't impressed by the Cyberman, or the storyline, so it may have been that they chose the wrong week to watch!

So what do you think.. do you enjoy it, or do you not 'get it'? How are you finding David Tennant.. is he your Dr Who, or do you prefer one of the older ones?

It continues...

It appears yesterday's topic has had many people talking.. it's been discussed in various forums, and blogged by other people.

As an update, it appears that the boy is now going to be charged with rape, something that everyone seems to agree should happen. It's also been hinted that social services are going to get more involved in the 12 year old's case.

Some have even suggested that the mother of the 12 year old should have all her children removed from her. I guess she has endangered her child.. she has allowed her to smoke and drink since she was NINE, and she allows her to go out to situations where she can have sex. Nowhere is it suggested that this is an 'out of control' child that the mother can't handle.. she seems to encourage her activities, and seems proud of her.

The sad thing is, I believe that this isn't as isolated as we hope. In my job, I came across many 14 - 16 year olds drinking too much, and having sex at parties.. I'm sure there are some younger ones out there too. Whatever happened to just being a child?

What were you doing at 11?

I think this is the saddest thing I've heard for a while..
Pregnant at 11

In case the article gets moved, this is a young girl that found herself pregnant at 11. Even sadder is that it happened after she got drunk and lost her virginity to a 15 year old boy.

Why on earth was an 11 year old girl in a position where she could get drunk and get pregnant? And why did she feel the need?

When I was 11, my mum knew where I was all the time, I hadn't thought about alcohol, and I certainly hadn't thought about sex! I was busy settling into secondary school, making friends, and talking about pop groups and football!

We didn't start having 'proper' parties until we were about 13, and there was always an adult presence. And nothing stronger to drink than cola!

What sort of upbringing has this child had?

In the article, she talks about taking her baby swimming, and for walks in the park. She knows how to give it a bottle, and how to change a nappy. However, every parent reading this knows that there is so much more to bringing up a child.. and I doubt she's ready for that at 12 - she's still a child herself, for goodness sake! And she can't rely on her own mum for help.. she's hardly done a good job with her own child!

I'm sorry if I sound judgemental, but this sort of situation makes me feel sad and angry. Seeing the kind of upbringing this child must have had herself, and the life she leads, I see little future for a baby.. and I see history repeating itself. Children are a gift, and we have a responsibilty to bring them up well - and in my eyes, this child's mother has failed.

Yay - Sunshine!

A friend pointed out that my last 2 posts were both rants, so today is different..

The sky is blue, the sun is out, and it's a gorgeous day!!

That's all! :D

Things that make you go 'Grr'!

Today I saw these two posts on a book forum:

"what are some fiction or non-fiction book that is sorta short n is interesting n like pulls u in? im in highschool 9th grade n this is for english. if u had to recommend a book wut wud it be that isnt too long."

"thanx! does any1 else hv any books n i cant read animal farm cuz i read it last yr n mice n men i cant read either cuz thats our summer reading. thanx tho"

I find it hard to believe that a high school student would really write like that, so I assume that he/she has spent too long sending texts on their mobile phone. And that's something that makes me go 'Grr'!

I understand the need to shorten words when texting.. you need to fill as little space as possible, and those keypads are quite restrictive. However, when you're at your pc, with a perfectly good keyboard in front of you, is it really necessary?!

I always found that most of the youngsters using MSN Spaces did this.. whole pages written in 'txt spk'. I didn't hang around long, and could be heard muttering about it for some time afterwards!

I have another gripe today - toddlers wandering around with juice in bottles! Do their parents not realise that they subjecting those poor little teeth to a constant sugar bombardment?!

When I worked in a day surgery unit, we had a theatre that the dental school used. Twice a week we had a massive list of toddlers and young children having to have a short anaesthetic so that they could have fillings or extractions. When they came in for their pre-assessments, a high percentage of these youngsters arrived with bottles of juice.. sometimes hanging out of their mouths. When we tried to talk to their parents about it, we were simply dismissed.

Adults, if you wish to destroy your own teeth, that's up to you, but please take care of your childrens.

So.. what makes you go 'Grr'?!

Argh!!

As some of you know, we have major long term roadworks going on around us. Most of the time it's been an annoyance, but a couple of times it's caused us real problems.

At one point Bethany had to stop Judo on a Wednesday evening, because the traffic was so bad, and we now have to leave a little bit earlier in the mornings.

This morning however, things are horrendous.. the traffic on the main dual-carriageway doesn't appear to be moving at all, and the cars approaching it were turning around, obviously fed up with the wait.

The way the roads are situated, I have 3 routes out - this morning, all 3 of them were blocked. I couldn't see movement, so we turned around and came home.

I called hubby, and even at 7:30, when he left, the traffic was crawling, so I don't know what's changed this morning. There was talk of an extra pair of traffic lights going up for a couple of weeks. If that's the case, and this is the effect, I might find myself taking my daughter to school at 7 in the morning!!

And the annoying thing is that my council tax is probably helping to fund this - instead, I think I should be getting a refund, as compensation for this stress!!

Do we have a sleepwalker?

A little while ago, I found Bethany almost out of her room, having dragged her duvet off her bed, and dragging it behind her. Last night it happened again.

Earlier in the night, I found her standing next to her bed, holding her pj bottoms in her hand, and crying. My 1st thought was that she'd had an 'accident', but she hadn't.

Then about 30 mins later, she was once again dragging her duvet out of room, and was at the top of the stairs.

Thinking back, some of the times that she appears in our room, she may not be awake, as she doesn't always respond.

Her Dad doesn't sleepwalk in the 'classic' sense, but he does do some strange things in his sleep sometimes!

Does anyone have experience of this.. any tips?

Was that summer?

On Wednesday we started to see some lovely weather, and the evening was gorgeous. Yesterday was a lovely warm sunny day, with temperatures hitting 75. Today, however, is cloudier and cooler, and we're expecting rain at the weekend. :(

Knowing British weather, I wonder if we have more nice weather coming our way, or if that was it? It's such a shame that you can't rely on the weather to be nice in the summer.. I've been on too many cool, wet holidays in the country! lol

As a quick update, little Louis has settled in just fine.. he loves sitting with us in the evenings, and is often on the bed during the night. He's been out in the garden, and seems quite happy to potter back here. Being a persian, he forever looks grumpy, but I'm sure he's happy really!

Hannah has also accepted him. I wouldn't say that they're best buddies, but they're getting on just fine. :)

Bad dreams...

Once again Bethany appears to be having 'vague' nightmares. She can never remember what she was dreaming about, but she wanders into our room mumbling about bad dreams, and if we send her back to her room, she sits there crying.

We were recording Dr Who, and watching it in the morning, but I'm giving up on that idea. On top of that, however, I think I need to restrict most 'adult' tv. On Saturday night, for example, she was watching a bit of casualty with us, and there was a fire, resulting in some bad burns. That night, she was in our room again!

I may also have to watch Amy. Last night she sat with me having her milk, and I was watching Dr Who. At 11:30pm, she was crying, and having to sit up with Daddy! I guess she takes in more than I realise!?

I guess it's time to restrict to The Tweenies?!! ;)