Random song lyrics above but I’m currently sitting in the sun in my Auntie’s conservatory on her computer listening to some tunes on Grooveshark and that was what was playing when I started writing this post… so as my rules dictate, that is to be the post title! “Forever in Blue Jeans” – Neil Diamond…

Well… (shit! just leant back in my chair (not realizing it was a fancy chair that has fancy leaning back capabilities) and thought I was about to go ass over kite haha!)… today (Saturday 13th June) was one of the best days I’ve had since I’ve been up here in Newcastle!  I had a wee sleep in til about 9am then got my packed lunch and flask of coffee ready (Mum would be so proud she’s had that influence over me!) and, after a visit from Uncle Ali and Cousin Suzy, I headed off on my long-anticipated day out in the car!

Originally I had intended to go to Wallington because I Googled ’squirrels UK’ and saw on the National Trust website that this old country house there had made an effort to conserve the red squirrel population and there was a walk you could do to maybe see some… and since it’s been ages since I’ve seen a proper real-life squirrel (last time was when I was in Std 4 at primary school and we lived in the UK for 4 months and I saw one down in London) I thought I’d give it a whirl!  Unfortunately, when I drove the 50 mins to Wallington it was being bombarded with cyclists etc for some kind of ‘meet’ so looked way to busy for a quiet squirrel hunt haha! The drive there was lovely though so it was in no way a wasted journey – just getting out in the car was enough for me! 

I was driving on from Wallington when I came to an intersection that had a sign for Kielder Castle and Forest – 22 miles… and my impulsiveness (yes DJ I gave in to it this time!) made me turn in the opposite direction of home and go exploring. Hell I had just filled up the car with petrol so why not! I had researched Kielder as a place to go because it also had squirrels & an amazing forest and lake but thought it would be for another day cos it was quite far away… turns out it was for today!! So I had a lovely long drive through the English countryside – off the beaten track where a lot of times I had to slow down when another car was coming in the opposite direction because the road was so narrow! I loved it – meandering along (obviously at an Audi TT speed!) with the top down enjoying the sights. The landscape is kinda similar to NZ in that it’s so open with rolling hills etc but there’s normally a stone fence on the roadside, compared with the No 8 wire fences we have back home haha! 

So I got up to Kielder and parked the car and found a vacant picnic table to have my packed lunch and it was utter bliss! Took some photos so I’ll upload them tonight and update this too. Didn’t manage to see any squirrels but there’s always next time!

There was multiple giggle opportunities along the way… some English village names are just plain odd! Example: Donkleywood… Kirkwhelpington… Otterburn… I love it!! Got some pics of signs with the names on them but half the time there’s no place to stop and take a photo so I miss out but always have a laugh cos they’re just so random!

“In other news….” (channelling Alison Mau from TV One News) my temp contract with Northumbria University was extended for another month after the minimum two months was up last week (couldn’t believe I’d been there that long!) so that’s good! It could have been extended for two months but with Mum, Vicky, John and Hayley coming over late July/early August I wasn’t too sure if I would be able to commit to it so it’s just another month at this stage but it looks like I could be there for longer. I’m working with some brilliant people in the Research, Regional and European Affairs department… although one of the older dudes I deal with constantly refers to me as ‘The Aussie’ when I’ve told him before, with exaggerated OMG’ness, that I’m NOT an Australian! But last week he comes in and says some remark about how my team got played out of the Twenty20 Cricket tournament… THAT WAS AUSTRALIA NOT NEW ZEALAND YOU DORK!! 

OH and it’s my birthday in 12 days…. as of the 25th of June I will be 28 years of age… bring it!!!

laters Dudes & Dudettes,

Rossco xx

Haha now I have no clue who came up with this genius quote but I likey it a lot!

Right, ok so this will be a shorter update than usual because I’m really just filling a 20min space of time where if I didn’t have something to do I would be found drooling fast asleep on my keyboard… and that’s just asking for someone to take a photo and plaster it all over Facebook now isn’t it! Can’t have that…

Super excited because we are mere days away from it being my birthday month! which basically means I am legally allowed to constantly go on about the fact that I’m turning 28 (!) Not only that but doing it in the UK!  This time last year I was in a totally different space and after a few birthdays of looking back and it being the same it’s quite exciting to look back and reflect.

What have I been getting up to over the past few weeks? Um this past Monday was a bank holiday here in the Britain that is Great and it was a gorgeous day up here in Newcastle (25deg from memory) so I tagged along with my auntie Marcia and cousin Neil and the 3 kids to Beamish Museum – an open air museum of olden day times basically. So cool to ride the tram round and I loved all the olden day signs and sweeties! Took a few pics so I’ll endeavour to put them online at some point over the weekend (translation: probably in two weeks time!)

Other than that I’ve been keeping a low profile in order to save a few ££ for when Mum, John, Hayley and Vicky come over in a couple of months!

Oh while I remember – classic 3yr old Findlay O’Brien response  to his 7yr old sister Ellen:   

ELLEN - ”Findlay stop putting your leg on me”       FINDLAY - ”But I love you”

hehehehehe coming out of a 3yr old’s mouth that was just the cutest!  Also another moment where he’d pounced on me in my room and demanded to watch Robin Hood… “I like you Manda”  to which I burst out laughing and he giggled “Why you laughing Manda… I not funny”  and in his cutesy wee voice it just made me laugh that much harder! He’s an adorable wee munchkin that you can’t stay mad at for very long that’s for sure.

YAY that’s 15 mins taken up so I’m on the home straight now… Plans for this weekend? Nothing major as yet – just the usual puppy training class on Sun morning with my cousin and then yummmmy Sunday lunch made by my auntie followed by a nana nap!  A bit confused as to the fact that NZ is having Queens Birthday long weekend this weekend and yet the Brits don’t seem to think her birthday is worth having a day off! Ludicrous….

Anyways must dash – places to explore…  people to confuse with my accent…

Until next time Kids xxx

“What makes life worth living? To be born with the gift of laughter and sense that the world is mad.” –Searamouche

“Often it is the most deserving people who cannot help loving those who destroy them.” –Herman Hesse

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” –Victor Hugo

“Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you–not because they are nice, but because you are.” –Unknown

“If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.” –Sheryl Crow

Well those are some of the more memorable quotes I’ve found when stumbling round the vast Internet over the last few weeks (started this post about 2 weeks ago…)

Things have been ticking over quite nicely here in Newcastle – my week-day routine has been carved in stone just like home…

6.15 – Get woken up by Cousin Lynn (who’s away in Spain this week so I’ve been left to my own devices…)  Curse the early morning a few times before propelling myself outta bed…..

7.00 – Feed Jesse and give her her jab of insulin… lately she’s been a wee minx when it comes to this and hides from me.

7.11- Catch the bus (if it’s on time which is NEVER) to Newcastle Haymarket – tunes plugged into my ears to cut myself off from any possible communication from fellow bus-goers haha.  Lately my fav song has been Lily Allen’s – “F**k you” – not generally a fan of hers but that song cracks me up every time. Also The Feelers have been featuring a lot lately which is odd.

7.40 – Arrive Haymarket (if it’s on time which is NEVER) and avoid eye contact with the Greggs bakery – very hard to do when tummy rumbling!  Walk to the Uni, normally stopping at Boots to get the meal deal for lunch if i’ve been too lazy to make it the night before… sometimes stop at the Lloyds bank cash machine to check how much ££ I don’t have – on a Fri morning the queue is massive…. pay day!

8.00 – Get to the Uni and make my first coffee of the day before starting work! Onto black coffee at the mo and me likey!

1.00 – Go sit outside and perv on the young, cute Uni boys while eating my lunch and/or reading my book.

4.30 – Escape from work and walk back up to the Haymarket (this time avoiding eye contact with all the clothes shops on Northumberland Street!) To get to the Haymarket I have to walk through Marks & Spencers – which has proved my downfall many a time but I’m getting pretty good at keeping eyes straight forward focused on the door and just power walking through the temptation!

4.55 – Get the 363 bus home with the usual crowd – it’s funny how you see the same people everyday…

5.35 – Arrive home and change into trackies and jandals – oh how I love my jandals!

Um what else to report…. Oh I’m having some visitors from NZ hopefully coming over July / August! My Mum, brother John, John’s missus Hayley and our family friend Vicky are coming over.  One of the reasons is so my Mum can sort my Grandad out as he’s showing signs of early-Dementia, so I’ve been visiting him most weeks since I’ve been here to keep an eye on him and update Mum.  He lives alone so it may be time to bite the bullet and see about moving him into a home but Mum will sort that when she gets here – I can’t wait to see everyone! Never thought I’d see anyone from home this soon after getting here but it’s brilliant – wish my Dad was coming too but hopefully he’ll come next year.  Also, Vicky’s looking to get a house swap sorted between her house in Lyttelton and Italy….. Italy!!!  Here’s hoping it works out cos it means a brilliant holiday for us all and it’s on my list of places to ‘do’.

My Auntie surprised me the other day by asking if I wanted to go to Disneyworld in Paris with her, her son, his wife and their kids!  Her treat! I was flabbergasted and had the biggest smile on my face haha. Nothing has been planned yet but here’s hoping it happens cos it’d be amazing…

My Auntie went to Spain for a couple of weeks at the beginning of the month so I got the use of her car for that time – I was in heaven! I really really really miss driving my car and it was brilliant to get out and about. I went up to the country house and estate of Cragside one Saturday, then to Blyth another day to take photos of the wind turbines – don’t ask me why but I love watching them…  to see some pics of my travels here’s where to go:  http://amandajaneross.smugmug.com/

Well that’s about all for now…

Take care kids!

Manda xxxx

Right well I’ve been meaning to do this post for like a month cos I’ve been noticing a lot of little things that are different in the UK compared with NZ… obviously there was gonna be differences but sometimes they are things that are surprising (well to me anyways haha) so I’m gonna note a few down now and then add to it as new things crop up…

1. They use liquid twink here… when I posed the question of correction tape I got a blank look!
2. The traffic lights flash from red, to red + orange before changing to green. I think you can drive when it’s flashing but I’m not sure.
3. They have massive roundabouts with traffic lights around them which are bloody confusing if you have no clue where you are going – you HAVE to be in the right lane at the start or you’re f**ked basically. (I found this out last night when out driving my Aunties car)
4. People in the North-East are way more conversational compared with the South of England – people smile at you up here and in the shops they make conversation (espeically if you have a Kiwi accent!)
5. They don’t use clippies in the offices… this is outrageous.
6. McDonalds don’t sell Frozen Cokes… to be honest I don’t know how I’ve survived! Oh and in my opinion the fast food here is not as nice as NZ – KFC/McDonalds/BK etc. But they do have McFlurrys!!
7. In Newcastle instead of suburbs they can have kind of like wee villages that are connected by a windy road with foliage/grass right up to the roadside so it feels like you’re in the middle of the countryside but you’re not cos you’re back in the thick of things 2 secs later – this is really weird to get used to!
8. The money! Geeeez this is the thing that irks me the most – NZ is way better in this regard as here you end up having so much useless change of copper it’s ridiculous! They have 1,2,5,10,20 & 50pence coins as well as £1 and £2 then the notes start at £5. 
9. They don’t call them ’EFTPOS cards’ here - it’s called a Debit card and you don’t swipe it on the machine. It’s got a micro-chip on one end that you stick in the machine and put in your pin then wait for it to tell you to take it out. (I’m constantly forgetting to take it back out haha.)  
10. Supermarkets and chemists are more specialised than NZ – places like Boots and Superdrug are chemists but are more like mini-supermarkets minus the food. Supermarkets are MASSIVE but as in NZ there is differing levels of budgetness haha. Oh and most supermarkets sell clothes and books etc so they end up being like a supermarket/Warehouse.
11. Marks & Spencers is brilliant and only sells it’s own brand of food (hence why it’s the most expensive) you can pretty much buy anything and everything in ‘Marksies’ – clothes, furniture, electrical items then go to the supermarket and get your groceries and pay for it in the one place. They sometimes also have a restaurant or cafe. They have the yummiest food – low cal chocolate mousse is my absolute FAV as are the grapes. Expensive but the food lasts longer.
12. Dinner = lunchtime and Tea = Dinner which has confused me many a time.
13. 90% of people drive a manual car which means an automatic car is a damn sight more expensive.
14. There are heaps heaps heaps more European cars compared with NZ (obviously, cos we’re closer to Europe!) but this does take some getting used to! Specially when a Japanese car is mentioned in high regard haha!  That would never happen back home…

Well yes this is true! My 6 weeks or so of being an unemployed bum will come to an end this Thursday at 10am as this is when I’m due to report for training at my new job at Northumbria University! I’ll be an Admin Assistant in the Research, Regional and European Affairs Dept. Here’s a link of the location if ya wanna go have a squiz haha move the camera round to find the blue door and that’s where I’m working….

I’m kinda being thrown in the deep end cos I’ll have Thursday to have some training and then it’s Easter Weekend and then the next week the two ladies who I’m working with are away for two days! so I’ll be the only office lady there! haha I think I got the job because when they told me this I was like “That’s not a problem, I would be able to manage”…. me and my big mouth!!! haha but it’s going to be good hopefully.

Bought myself a bus pass today for a month so I’m gonna be a daily bus chick for the next two months which is the duration of the temp contract.

Well tomorrow is my last day of freedom for two months and I’m spending it with my 3 angelic young cousins, two older cousins and my auntie at Alnwick Castle & Gardens…. (pronounced Anneck... bloody Brits!) which should be brilliant – providing the weather plays ball and it isn’t pouring down like it was on Sunday night!

Anyways…. that’s another update out – and the next one will probably be tomorrow night if I get some lovely sun-filled photos of the castle and gardens….. or it’ll be a photo of a frazzled Rossco after dealing with all the kids stuck inside cos of the rain!!! Time will tell haha.

Laters,

Manda xxxxx

Man this update is well overdue that’s for sure!

For the first time since I left 54 days ago I had a massive bout of homesickness yesterday (Sunday). It was gonna happen sooner or later but the fact that Saturday had been a helluva shit day did not help – my three cousins stayed on Fri night and ALL day Saturday and were playing up quite a bit… right from 5am when they started to wake up! Now I had come back from the Club at midnight and had had a few bourbons so was not in the mood to be woken up at that hour that’s for sure! Yeah so Saturday was exhausting and Sunday was recovery day where I just think my sugar levels and mood was really low so I was in a POOR ME state. Mum rang at 8pm and it as all I could do to hold back the tears as I just wanted to be back home, but I managed to control myself til I got off the phone (soz Mum for the shit phone call haha!) and then I went and had a bit of a cry to get it out of my system. Sometimes that’s all it takes I find and I woke up this morning (Monday) feeling better about things.

Today I had my first proper job interview at Northumbria Uni in the Finance Dept being an assistant to the PA to the Directors. I was referred by the temp agency but didn’t end up getting it as someone internal ended up getting it. I’m not too bothered about that one because it wasn’t the one that I wanted… last week I had three jobs put to me by Sarah at NRG (todays failure being one of them). Two of them were the same pay and similar roles but there was a third job in the HR dept of the Uni which really got me interested. 1-Because it was more money and 2-Because it sounded interesting and something I had never done before, being admin support to a hiring and firing dept. Alas I just had a call from Sarah@NRG to say that the Uni had put a freeze on the job as they may have someone internal who could cover. Now this pissed me off because I really want the job and I can see it being offered AFTER I’ve already taken another position but I guess thems the breaks and I’ll just have to deal. So as it stands I have an interview for the 2nd of the first two jobs tomorrow so I’ll wow them in that interview and hopefully get some money coming in.

Wednesday is to be spent at Alnwick Castle & Gardens with the 3 young cousins as well as my auntie and cousin. School holidays = lots of kids running round being irritating haha.  Will be sure to take my camera tho to catch the kids running through the water fountains.

Right so an update on what I’ve been doing over the last couple of weeks… the answer is a big fat nothing really. Well nothing springs to mind apart from the usual – going to the Club on a Friday night, going shopping with Auntie Marcia, going to one of the youngsters school show… High School Musical (The Primary School Version) – there’s two hours of my life I will never get back! God on the kids for giving it a go tho.

Well I have not a lot more to say other than…. well that’s it really!

Laters Dudes and Dudettes xx

This post is long over-due as ever since I arrived here last month I have been in stitches whenever I hang round with my wee cousin (‘once removed’ whatever the hell that means!) Findlay!   It helps that he’s honestly the cutest thing since things started being cute but some of the stuff that comes out of his wee mouth are just classic! Here’s a few examples…

1. Bamburgh Castle… Findlay gets a plastic sword at the gift shop that is damn near bigger than him and goes running down the path waving his sword yelling “Kill, Kill, Kill!!”. Coming from a wee fella it sounded hilarious plus the fact that his short wee legs can’t carry him that fast with the running hehe.

2. Bamburgh Castle – Homebound… Cousin Neil decides to make me almost wee my pants and ruin my mascara by getting Findlay to say “Truck me, Truck off and Truck you”… HILARIOUS when you realize that his TR’s come out as F’s hehehe. And the combination of his cute wee voice saying this with the look on his innocent face was ultimately something that had us giggling for ages!

3. His house... Grandma and I were babysitting all three of the younguns at their place one night and once we get inside from wherever the hell we had been he proudly announces he’s wee’d his pants… not unusual for a 2 year old I guess so Grandma pulls his pants down and sits him on her lap to put some new pants on – only to find he’s actually poo’d his pants and her jeans get covered! He thought it was hilarious! (Grandma did not…)

4. His house again… Grandma is getting the wee ratbag ready for bed so pulls his pants down to put his PJ’s on and he wastes no time in piddling on the floor! Then proudly announces “Look at me Grandma… I peeing!” hehehe. So Grandma rushes off to get a towel and he then decides to step in it! so I grab him up before he does but he’s given the puppy the idea and she tries to do the same thing! So Grandma comes back with the towel to find me standing there holding a wriggling Findlay and wriggling puppy!

5. Ellen’s dance show… Don’t ask me how but somehow Grandma, Auntie Lynn and Auntie Amanda get roped into taking the two boys, Matthew and Findlay, to their big sis’s afternoon dance show. All is going well in the packed theater until about half an hour before the end when Findlay waits for the quietest possible moment and announces “I WANT TO GO NOW” in his LOUDEST voice…. not once…. not twice…. but about 5 times! until Auntie Lynn tries to stop him by putting her hand over his mouth. Alas this does not stop the rant so Auntie Lynn and Amanda are forced to hoist the wee loudspeaker up and make haste out to the foyer before exploding into giggles. Findlay’s dead proud of course!

6. Nickname... Findlay affectionately refers to me as Poohead on most occasions – well actually it’s not just limited to me haha anybody can be called it!

Right so today I decided to head up to the Angel of the North here in Newcastle and so I hopped online last night and planned my way out there via the bus and train. 10am this morning I was off and promptly got on the wrong freaken bus didn’t I! Which was totally retarded considering there were only two to get from outside my Aunties house haha. But me being me I overcame this minor lack of smarts and altered my plan – getting into Haymarket bus station in town and getting #21 The Angel bus which specifically goes right past the Angel of the North.

Sweet! so I’m on my way – loving the fact that the bus is a double-decker so I can sit up top and take pics on the 30min journey to the Angel (although my photos would’ve been better if I hadn’t sat on the side that had a big white splatter on the window in front of me but ah well).  I turn to my left and see something that I just HAD to get a photo of so I did my best to work it so I got it but the window was super dirty… hehe look Mum it’s the One Pound Shop!!

So as soon as I saw the Angel I started to make my way down to the bottom for an easy getaway… BIG mistake! I’m at the top of the windy stairs down and I’m two steps down when the lovely driver slammed on his frickin brakes for no reason… THANK GOD I had my hand on the rail otherwise I would’ve seriously gone head first down the stairs which would’ve been a) embarrassing as hell and b) possible brain/spinal damage. As it was my legs almost flew out from under me as I held on for dear life onto the rail with one hand haha.

Anyways… I managed to get off the bus without hurting the moronic driver and started the 5min walk (across a 4 lane motorway) to the Angel where there were roadworks to make a car park which made it hard to take a good photo from a distance bugger it!  Now the Angel of the North is massive! and it’s quite a weird experience to be near it cos of the wingspan and all but I promptly sat down on the base (it’s feet) exactly where Billy Connolly sat when he was doing his tour of the country hehe. Lame I know but I just had to!

So yeah that was my Angel of the North morning out! I’ve put some more photos up on online so click here and have a wee look…

http://amandajaneross.smugmug.com/gallery/7521113_3dUh6#485720076_7DGHf

Laters! xxx

Ok it’s Wed 4th Mar now and the cutie BT technician just left and concluded that it was the SKY box that messed up the phone line and broadband so when the SKY technician comes to fix it tomorrow we just gotta tell him to replace the SKY box and NOT plug it all back in cos otherwise the broadband will go down again haha.

Tue 3^rd March 2009

Well the past couple days have sucked majorly cos the broadband has been down at my Auntie Marcias – I reckon it’s cos of a power surge Sunday night because the SKY went down at the exact same time! BT have taken yesterday and today to come to the conclusion that there’s a fault on the line…. Uh duh! I coulda told ya that numnuts haha. So they’re sending a technician out tomorrow…. tomorrow! to fix it so here’s hoping it gets sorted. I’ll be dog-sitting again tomorrow cos it’s Wednesday and Marcia’s out at meetings and rounding up the kids etc. On the plus side the broadband being down meant that ComputerForce had to come out and try to fix it which meant cute-IT-guy was at the house for an hour or so hahaha he had the nicest eyes and longest eyelashes I’d ever seen! My Auntie agreed, as after he left she said “That price wasn’t bad…” to which I replied “I wouldn’t kick him outta bed either!” hahaha.

Anyways…. what have I been up to over the last few days since I last updated? Ummmmm well as I’m writing this in Word as I can’t get online I can’t quite remember when I last updated but I think the last post was about London? Ah well I’ll run with that…

Right, so since getting back from London on the Tue my days have been filled as followed:….

Wed 25^th – Dog-sitting Jesse (10yrs), Nina (1yr) and Poppy (3mth) at Daisy Cottage (Aunties place) and I took the chance to get my work finished up for my Auntie by spending most of the day on the comp and chatting to Amelia / Sarah! Pretty much a lazy day after the hustle and bustle of London.

Thu 26^th – Ummmm during the day I went to the Jobcentre with Marcia to see if I could get some jobseeker support and to do the weekly grocery shop at Sainsburys. Turns out I could get some monetary support so I rang the number the guy told me to when I got back to the house and answered a heap of questions which ultimately resulted in me having a meeting at the Jobcentre next Tue. Then I went out to the movies with my cousin Lynn and 3 of her friends at night – ‘He’s just not that into you’ which was ok but I wouldn’t rave about it.

Fri 27^th – I had a day at home today finishing up the extra pile of invoicing that I hadn’t realised I had to do haha. Had to be done by today as the VAT done by paid by the 28^th. Then at 5.30pm I went to visit my Grandad George who has been a bit sick of late with suspected early dementia. I was quite nervous about it to be honest as I hadn’t seen him for 5 years and was worried he wouldn’t recognise me! It was really sad to see his memory was going tho and over the time I was there (2hrs) he struggled a few times with saying weird things and not making much sense.

Sat 28^th – Well today I went into Newcastle centre with Auntie Marcia and Cousin Lynn to indulge in some retail therapy! Not that I could afford much of course cos I’m still an unemployed bum haha but I did develop a new addiction…. The Radley brand of wallets and bags! OMG I’m in love! They have their brand based around the wee Westie haha so I got the cheapest thing on the menu – a wee coin purse to start me off and when I’m working I’ll get a wallet and eventually a bag! My auntie got a bag but it was too rich for my blood…. The coin purse was £17.50, wallet about £60 and a bag would set ya back around £150 plus!!!! Something to aim towards anyways haha. We looked in John Lewis – brilliant, Marks & Spencers – awesome plus we had lunch there including a huge glass of NZ wine! And Fenwick – grand but very expensive! After all that shopping I was looking forward to a nice quiet night at home and it was all going to plan with everyone being out and about except me…. But then Cousin Neil decided to keep me company with the 3 kiddys and 2 dogs haha. It turned out to be quite nice to spend some quality time with him and the kids stayed over as we planned to go to Bamburgh Castle the next day. Oh and I got a bottle of Jack Daniels and had a few that night too haha. It was lovvverrly!

Sun 1^st March – I woke up at my usual late time and went with Neil, Ellen, Findlay, Nina and Poppy to Whitley Bay for a brisk walk (and throw and fetch session for Nina) brrrr it was chilly so we warmed up with a hot choc at the tearoom and Findlay confused the heck outta me by yelling “Bour bon Bour bon” and I’m like WTF? And it turned out to be a biscuit called a Bourbon Crème! Random… Then we headed back (Findlay with his trooooosers soaked cos he went in the puddles + Nina stinking of wet dog cos she went in the puddles too haha) and had a delicious cooked full Sunday lunch with the whole family! yorkshire puddings yummmmmmy haha and then we headed off to Bamburgh Castle!!! Cousin Neil indulged my first castle experience and it was awesome! It took us about 45min to get there with the kids constantly asking “Are we there yet!?” haha and they loved it once they were there, as did I! Although I was a bit miffed at the sign that said no photographing inside but Neil just said to hide my camera and do it anyway… not that I needed to be told cos I’m dodgy like that anyways! Awesome scenery inside and out but the best moment was after 3yr old Findlay got his plastic sword (to fight the dragons of course!) and was running round the castle screaming “Kill Kill Kill” at the top of his lungs! Hahaha it was hilarious – Neil was like “People must be wondering what kind of a father I am” haha classic! I spent up large at the wee shop as well buying the following… Bamburgh Castle pen, Bamburgh Castle notepad, Bamburgh Castle patch, Bamburgh Castle postcards x 6, Bamburgh Castle pencil case (which I converted into a makeup bag), a celtic ring and a rune necklace with my birth symbol! Oh and some wee stone things for Ellen cos she wanted some.

Mon 2^nd – Ummmmm on this day I slept in a bit longer than usual cos I was feeling a bit crook and then just mooched round the house really! Marcia went to a Bunnings-type shop that I forget the name of and got some storage boxes to hide all the kids toys away and that was pretty much the only time I left the house all day Brilliant!