Ah crap - I was going to write a nice long entry being as I havent blogged in a week, But my hubby has announced he is home tonight so I now have to run around like an idiot pretending to be the good little housewife that I am not.

We had a "discussion" on the weekend on how easy it is to be a housewife. According to the world of man there is....' no way I can say that I come home from dropping the kids off and clean all day until I pick them up' The world of woman replies 'Well duh no I do stop occasionally to have a pee and some food if thats ok'
He replies 'I am just saying you have it pretty easy' GOBSMACKED And yes he is still currently breathing despite me wanting to rip him to pieces.

Sooo its a race against the clock to prove my worth - so far in the last hour I have washed and dried the dishes, bribed the kids to clean the lounge, stuffed a load in the wash machine and tumble drier and had a quick dash around with the duster.

Now I have to prepare a tantalising meal for two with a tin of harlicot beans, quark (whatever the hell that is) and some tinned tomatos. Damn diet classes for not making more realistic meals for me to make. Wish me luck cos if it tastes shit my name will be mud.

Of course thats on top of everything else I have had to do today which I wont go into and this is now turning into a long post/rant ....sorry... blame pmt!!!

Promise to blog again tomorrow and answer the tag from Rhea.

The door on the car completely packed in on Friday and wouldnt stay shut, even if you got out and kicked the crap out of it. I mean car doors are there to stop you falling out whilst going around roundabouts - all except mine which wants to kill me.

So now after much argueing with a totally uninterested husband - I mean arnt men supposed to know how to fix this shit? You think he would be interested in me falling out of a car going at 50mph - It would hurt right?

His solution was to tie my door to the back door so now they stay closed but Ethan and I have to climb in the passenger side to get in. And thats not so easy. I am going to make no further comments on my husbands ability to repair cars.

The travelling fair was in town this weekend, and I promised the kids we would go on Saturday or Sunday. Only problem was it rained, Now this wasnt just any rain, this was torrential monsoon thunder and lightening overflow your guttering rain. Unsurprisingly the fair stayed shut. My life, consequently, was a living hell all weekend. Its all my fault that it rained - bet you didnt know I had total control over the weather.

Worst of all the fair packed up Monday morning and went on its way without the kids having paid a visit and how guilty do I feel? They get everything I can possibly provide them, which is more than alot of kids and yet I still feel guilty for not taking them to the fair.

On Friday Joanna's school has a teacher training day (but Ethan's playgroup doesnt)so we are having (according to Joanna) a girly day. I can tell this is going to be expensive. I just know she will use the emotional blackmail "mummy you didnt take us to the fair so can I have...." line.

How was I ever going to find it in this?


How am I supposed to find it in this? 

I looked for nearly half an hour this morning. It's Wednesday and library book day for Joanna. Look at that darkened pit though, How can a five year old that spends so much time making sure she looks beautiful have a bedroom like that?


Two hours later 

Now isnt that much better, more fitting for a beautifl little girl. A whole bag full of rubbish, 5 odd socks, a mouldy sandwhich and more hidden writing on the wall (please note if you are ever going to deny that you wrote on the wall you really shouldnt write your own name!!).. later and I finally find the damn book.


Finally - the library book. 

Too late of course. but ah well nevermind she does love the story. Can you believe I only cleaned that room a week ago? And more to the point that she has supposedly cleaned it three times since then.

I dont want to sound sexist here, But I only ask my husband to do one job around the house - Mow the lawn. I dont think its much to ask. I have been known to lay laminate flooring, paint bedrooms, mastic the conservatory roof and repair vcr's during the time he is away.

Why then is it that he assumes me as lazy when I ask him to do this one task. Am I lazy when I wash and iron his clothes? Am I lazy when I when I cook him food, de-flea the cat, wash the dishes, change the beds, and everything else that goes along with not only being mum but also being dad whilst he is away all week. He says "weekend is my time" I say "Mine too - but wait housework doesnt take time off"

The lawn did get mowed but unfortunately the strimmer got viciously dismantled when the cable broke for the 7th time. RIP strimmer.

Despite strimmers untimely death, we managed to have a good weekend, We ate lots (And I mean lots) Played hard (football in newly mown garden) And watched lots of tv (Rented the Incredibles film) The weather has been lovely and the weekend was enjoyed by all - here is some proof.


Ice cream is soooo good 

A week of weirdness consists of

Watching a mother at the school panic because she has to find a goldfish by 3pm that looks exactly like her daughters beloved Nemo who got eaten by the cat the night before.

Finding out that my son is a potential jedi after watching him beat the crap out of his gran and aunty at the same time with a light saber. They will have some bruises tomorrow.

Me kicking crap out of the car door today after not being able to get the door open - Yes this after not being able to keep them shut!!

Celebrating my Dads birthday with a cake (Even though he doesnt do birthdays or cake) because my daughter kept asking why he didnt have one. And I wont even talk about the candles.

Dashing out at 4.30pm on a Monday to post a Cinderella light up jiggly pen to an ebayer who absolutely, definately has to have one by Thursday!!!!!!!!

It being Tuesday and I am not skint, the house is clean and I have actually been to the gym.

And of course finally that it is Tuesday and this is the second blog entry of the week, I had better do something quick or I may actually pass for being organised.

Hello all - Yes I am still alive.

The last week and a half has been so busy.

Friday 30th - Driver side door on the car decides to start voluntarily throwing itself open - even when locked. This major problem forces us to hire a car to go on our trip to Milton Keynes.

Sat and Sun 1st and 2nd - After getting up at 3am sat we got to Milton Keynes without getting lost in any major way and met, Corin Nemec (Stargate), (Christian Coulson (Harry Potter), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Sean Astin (Lotr), John Rhys Davies(lotr) Bernard Hill (Lotr) Alexis Denisof (buffy) James Marsters (buffy) and Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy) Phew Ooo and big shopping centre too - My credit card loved this place.


Sean Astin 

It was very tiring, but lots of fun.

Mon 3rd - Gary and I decide after the cars recent misbehaviour that its time for us to part company and spend the day looking at cars and then argueing over it which one to buy - Result = no new car

Tue, Wed and Thur - Oh shit, Essays, crap I forgot, I had to write two of them. Spent these three days educating myself and writing up essays on scientific progress in the 17th and 18th centuries and Darwin.

Fri - Oh shit again - No clean bowls - better do some washing up, No clean knickers either - I guess I should do the laundry.

Sat and Sun - Gary is home and the debate about a new car continues. My head hurts when I think about this now.

Tomorrow and Tuesday will be spent continuing to sort this house out - I am exausted just thinking about it.

Ok so I know its already a day late but I am still here. Children are stressing me out, the chores are undone and the chocolate was really nice. Yes I ate chocolate - I have been stressed this week, not only am I suffering from a really really bad case of pms, I have had a 3000 word essay dues in on Freud (Yes I know - Not easy stuff) Result = Chocolate, weigh in meant 1lb on, Hmmmmm not amused but saw it coming. Jilly you owe me a fiver!!!!

So sorry to all my daily reads, I will visit and catch up on all your blogs I promissssse.

I have another two history essays due in by next Wednesday which means I dont get to spend much time playing yahoo pool (One of my new obsessions)

On the bright side I am going to be unbelievably sad this weekend and travel to Milton Keynes with my sisters to Collectormania Reason why I want to go
1. No kids 2. Sean Astin 3. No hubby 4. Its in the middle of a huge shopping centre 5. Theres bound to be a pub somewhere 6. No kids or hubby.

I think I have made my point :) Have a great day all

Why is there always someone in this world that makes you feel inferior or makes all the effort in the world to try and make you feel that way?

Today we had a Sunday dinner with the in laws and Garys (hubby) brother and his family. Garys brother goes out of his way to highlight what he has and we dont. We usually do our best to avoid such family dinners, However after dodging it for nearly 18 months its about time we made the effort especially knowing what it means to my mother in law seeing her two sons together.

So I knew what to expect right? So why did I paint my nails, put on three types of face cream, and spend over half an hour making sure that my daughters hair was perfect? I really dont know.

So the brother in law and family turn up in a brand new car and then asked us why we hadnt bothered changing ours in the last two years.

He then proceeded to insult the amount of grey in Garys hair (despite the fact that even though he is only 2 years older than Gary, lost all his hair about 5 years ago)
Garys reply was "I can dye mine - Yours will never grow back"

Then it was how much do you earn? Then where are you going on holiday this year we just got back from Cuba. Then how did you two have such beautful kids? And finally How much do you weigh?

I mean why do they need to know - We dont speak to them from one year to the next. Families eh? They are never easy.

Aims for this week, 1 Go to gym three times (yes I joined a gym YEY me!!) 2 Blog every two days (Ms Mac where do you find the time to blog so much??) 3. Write at least two of the three essays I have due in.

There are many things in my life I dont understand. If you know any answers please let me know. Here are the whys ....

1. Why do I still get excited about getting mail even though I only ever get bills?

2. Why does Weetabix go so hard on the breakfast bowls if you dont wash it off right away?

3. Why are men so damn irrational?

4. Why doesnt salad taste as good as chocolate?

5. Why is it the more channels you have on your tv the less there is on?

6. Why is it I always see things I like whilst window shopping but even the same stuff isnt half as appealing when I have money?

7. Why does grass grow so quickly and yet the seeds I planted (following the instructions exactly) wont grow at all?

8. Why do the takeaways either laugh or simply dont deliver when I tell them I live in Springfield

And here are the hows...

9. How can kids make so much mess brushing their teeth?

10. How can you put a stone on in 6 weeks but losing it takes 6 months

11. How come after 13 years I still cant remember my inlaws birthdays

12. How come my life is soo boring that I really can think about nothing better to blog about (Dont take the piss in the comments ;) !!!!)

You ever had one of those days where everything goes your way?? Well Monday was like that for me I am happy to say. Kids went back to school (neither I or them could wait) I found out I had more money than I thought and I started to feel a bit more positive about my diet.

I LOST 7LBS (please no jokes about where I lost it!!!!) So have been all happy smiley.

My mum called me on Tuesday, She had decided to confess that she had called in sick and I was the excuse. Apparently my car had broken down and she had to help me out. When I went to pick the kids up from school what happened - Hand break cable snaps with a huge clonk. I was not impressed its the first time anything ever happened whilst I have been driving it (in 3 years) Amazing coincidence or curse?

Hubby was home last night, now usually this would be a good thing but last night I wasnt in the mood to tolerate men - You know what I mean right? ( Btw I am sure it works the other way around as well) He wasnt the slightist bit interested in all the healthy food I had bought for my diet and phoned for takeaway. He nagged and nagged and nagged until I agreed to have something - Salad in a pitta bread.

Now why is it that men moan that you dont look like Angelina Jolie but are always trying to get you to pig out. Which is it - Make your damn minds up. Ok sorry rant over. I will remain strong :)

Some pictures of Llanelli now for Tammi - Sorry you have waited so long. Will take some more I promise.


My local Asda 


Llanelli town 


Llanelli Scarlets 


Town hall 

7 days and counting - Yes that I have managed to stay that long on a diet is truely amazing. I am going to weigh on Wednesday and if I havent suffered enough to lose 5lbs then I am gonna smash the scales to bits. Still feel fat and still feel shitty.

The chidren are back in school tomorrow after a fortnight off which means I have to get my lazy arse out of bed at 7am, The peace during the day will be worth it though. How did my house stand up to the kids being home?

Well Joanna decided to blow dry her own hair and forgot to switch the dryer off - The result was she burnt her bedroom carpet. Looks like it has minature crop circles in it - Hmmmm havent showed that one to hubby yet.

She also decided it would be fun to decorate her bedroom walls with body glitter that I was stupid enough to buy her. My theory on all this is that its her bedroom and as long as I can get in there twice a week to get her dirty clothes then all is ok with the world.

Ethan hasnt been so bad, I mean apart from the toothpaste and the cat incident ( I wont go into details)

Gary remains occupied with his new love DAF (his truck) and me .... well I am just muddling along trying to avoid most things I can squirm my way out of, like Visiting the optician, getting my overdue smear test and finally writing my three overdue essays. I so want to eat a huge bar of chocolate right now.

Note to self : Get your act together and wise up

Is it me or is everyone obsessed with something. Husband has had to go back on the road because we struggle on his lower pay. So he has a nice new truck to do this in. Now honestly you would swear this truck was actually living the way he talks about "her" He has big plans for "her" he wants to get more flashy lights for "her" and of course he needs some new stickers and mats too.

Meantime daughter has developed a fascination with vanity, where she gets this from I have no idea as I am by no means vain. She changes clothes about five times a day and always has her disney princess make up on along with her one and only real necklace. On watching 101 dalmations this week she now wants to know everything about fur coats and I simply cannot answer enough questions (yes even the morbid ones) I could not believe it when she asked a lady in town who was wearing a fur coat if she was Cruella De Vil.

The boy although only three is not without his own little obsession - Small toy cars. Last count he has over 200. Every time he is asked what he wants for birthdays, days out - Anything that involves a little treat - Its cars. He loves them and takes them everywhere with him. yes all 200 :(

My mum is obsessed with Ebay, My dad with music, One of my sisters loves Stargate and the other spends every waking moment acting.

So this got me wondering what was my obsession - I didnt have to look very far did I ?? To my shame I must spend a good 40 - 50 hours online a week. Now if thats not obsessed I dont know what is. I surf anything - blogs, Ebay, msn groups. Is it actually possible to get bored of the internet?

I always have an image in my head of how the perfect family day out would go, where the kids behave, dont have tantrums, eat the food they are given and dont nag me reapeatedly for things I can't afford to buy them. Yesterday was the first time this has ever happened.We had an all round good day out at a farm/funfair park called Folly Farm. I didn't argue with hubby, he didn't drive like an idiot there or back and I didn't spend the day dying for a pee because I couldn't find a toilet.

Today however is a different story. You see whilst hubby and me slept in this morning our darling children decided it would be fun to get up early and sneak downstairs and empty the cupboards. In little over an hour they ate 5 packs of mini cheaddars, 3 packets of monster munch, 7 kinder bars, 8 packets of chewits, 2 packets of snack a jacks, 2 fortune cookies (dont ask) and 3 bars of chocolate. This went along with them getting into my make up box and plastering themselves in make up, Putting half a bottle of nail varnish in Ethans hair and also watering their teddy bears to see if they would grow.

This resulted in Gary shouting rather loudly and me spending alot of time cleaning. Hubby has banned me from getting them sweets or treats all week - Thats ok for him to say He doesnt have to put up with the shit I am gonna get for this. It's only 1.30pm and I cant wait until bedtime. I have another week left of the holidays and I wonder how I will keep sane. Why do teachers have to have so many holidays? Does boarding school cost alot? Ah ignore me I have a cold and I wanna have a tantrum too, plus I really have to start my diet this week because hubby says you can notice I have put on ALOT of weight. I know what you are thinking but no I havent killed him YET.

I am absolutely wrecked. In theory having a joint party for both your kids (even though there is nearly two months between their birthdays) is a good idea. The harsh reality is that you are heading for a nervous breakdown.

You see, I thought telling them I would cancel the party if they didn't behave was a smart idea. Reality was they make my life hell for the week leading up to it.

I thought giving Joanna her new shoes on the morning of her party would be a good idea - she could break them in a bit. Reality was she spent the entire day clonking about in them asking when she could put the rest of her party clothes on. Never have a birthday party at 4pm in the holidays.

I thought if Gary started extra early there would be no problem him getting home in time. Reality was that this just mean't to his boss he could fit more in. This situation ended with me threatening Gary with a horrible death if he was not back in time. He got home.

I thought asking family as well as the childrens friends would get the whole thing over in one go. Reality was they all came to the house early and I had to sit with my mother in law all the way through the party.

I thought that having the party at the local kids funpark was less hassle. Reality was that 20 kids running around screaming "We are free" repeatedly had to get told off by someone and guess who that was!

I thought this would also mean less mess at home. Reality was my house is a tip because they had bags of presents and got to bring the left over food home. Also why buy play doh and stickers for a present - Its just nasty.

You have a picture of things in your head of how things will go - why do they never go like that? Reality is harsh.

All in all though things went ok, kids enjoyed and I am £90 poorer. My darling daughter is 5 years old today. Happy Birthday Joanna.


Joanna - The birthday girl 


Ethan - Birthday boy 

And if it ever gets back to hubby that I posted this pic I will die the horrible death.


My man would kill me if he knew I was posting this. 

I have had such a busy week I wonder where I find the time to breathe. After fitting in two essays in, in a day (yes I know I shouldnt leave them till last minute but I do) Visiting family, having sisters down to stay, going out for a family meal as well as fitting in what seems like thousands of other things, Gary decides on Sunday it is take your wife to work day. Only problem with that is that he is a truck driver.

After having refused many many times and having watched him go to all the effort of finding a babysitter I really couldn't say no.

Soooo off we went early Sunday morning - Believe me when I say I would rather have been at home scoffing easter eggs.


The open Road 

We travelled from South to North Wales and back all in a day. Through some spectacular scenery.


Wild Wales 

And I tell you what we talked all the way there and back stopping only to pick up some drinks and chocolate (Yes thats my fault lol) He transports chipped wood and we delivered to a place that had mountains and mountains of the stuff.


Thats alot of wood chip 

I was impressed with myself and really adapted well to trucking life, I had my travel mug of tea, I got myself a yorkie and we even stopped in a truck stop for a truckers dinner lol.


Proper trucker now aint I? 

Had a brilliant day though - Got a rather sexy picture of hubby in all his work gear lol will show you all if you ask me nicely.

You see its like this..... I really was going to make the beef in puff pastry thing but ..... Wales won the grand slam rugby and... well it was very good and like most people in Wales I had to have a few drinks to celebrate.

I had every intention of making a perfect romantic evening meal however my laziness got in the way so I ended up making the following - Beef in satay sauce (very nice) Garlic mushrooms and yung chow fried rice. It was amazing - I am such a good cook.



The art of cooking 


OK OK maybe not. **Hangs head in shame**

I did however make a first class sunday dinner, all the trimmings and semolina to follow (havent had that in years) Everyone ate the lot which meant I was glowing with smug satisfaction all day - The car keys incident is all a distant memory now, with any luck this will be an incident free week (I have just jinxed myself now havent I?)

I havent burnt the house down yet - But its not looking good. This weekend I am preparing beef in puff pastry with steamed vegetables and some mushroom thing. I have bought all the spices and even figured out how to work the cooker. I still refuse to buy an apron. I will let you know how my culinary masterpiece goes.

On a different subject I am still trying to get hubby to buy me a new car but even my best "I love you" eyes arnt working. He says I dont look after the one I have and that I havent washed the car for so long the bird shit will never come off it. In my best efforts to persuede him I took the car to Tescos for a car wash. £5 to get it washed - What a rip off. (He was right though it didn't come off)

Soooooo I decided to vacumn it as well - How good am I??? However ..... What I did next will haunt me forever. After putting in my money and marvelling at the power of the hover I decided to start with the seats. But unfortunately for me thats where I had left my car keys. On immediately realising I frantically grabbed at them but alas had to watch them dissapear up the nozzle. Why the hell is it big enough to suck up my keys anyway eh?

I then had to suffer the embarressment of going into the Tescos petrol station and explaining my predicament. Between the cashiers fits of laughter they told me unsurprisingly it had never happened before. Thankfully I was able to recover my keys from the machine although they were a bit dusty. I have decided not to mention the incident to hubby.

Another Monday and another day of endless housewife crap. Husband has conluded that I must cook more to save money and have a healthier diet. Only problem is I cant cook - No I really cant. I got together with Gary 13 years ago and yet three years ago my mother in law bought me a basic cookbook for my birthday. It taught me how to boil an egg - Now dont get me wrong I am not totally shit in the kitchen - I just dont see myself as the apron wearing, bread baking, always got cookies on the go, kind of housewife.

So tomorrow I venture forth into that scarey place called the supermarket and will be buying lots of vegetables - other ingredients (unless its a sauce in a jar I am not too sure what ingredients are lol) and a damn good cookbook.

Now although I have visions of creating masterpiece meals that everyone looks forward to every day I have the feeling its going to be more of a case of everyone looking puzzled at the plate trying to suss out what it was.

I was planning on starting afresh on the diet anyways so I guess its not all bad. Perhaps I should now buy an apron as well.

YEY me!! I went to the gym today and am feeling super fit and healthy. Of course as one of the biggest people there (amoung all the rakes) the only thing I could do was see the funny side of things. Hence we spent most of the time giggling. I got alot of dirty looks from 'serious' gym goers.

Feel alot more cheerful :) I would love to join up there especially since students get a discount. But moneys not looking to rosy at the moment. Since Gary has stopped been away and earning good money things seem very tight. I wonder how everyone manages on a 'normal' wage. So question - should he stay home and be permanently broke or send him away so we can have the nicer things?

Ooo And should I secretly join the gym and tell him later?? lol If only I knew the answers!!!

If you cant see the pictures above its because msn are playing up and thats where I save my pics too. Please could you just take a second to tell me if you see the comment box below as a few people are telling me they are not seeing it and I dont know why :(

Ok I need to get my act together. I need a life coach. My friend is seeing one and she believes it is really helping her get through her divorce. There are many reasons why I need a life coach but I wont go into them. Lets just say not only has willpower done a runner, but energy and motivation decided to take a trip as well. Anyone been to a life coach?

I guess I never imagined when I was younger that I would spend all day every day planning what to cook for food that night and worrying about housework. But then I dont suppose many people do.

I have seen more vommit in the last week than I care to mention, Both children and myself have been ill. So that means tons of extra washing as well :(

There are little things that cheer me up though. Daughter Joanna caught Daddy having a sly cigarette on the weekend, she shouted at him loudly "Daddy I thought you gave up fagging" (Any americans I am not being sick or anything we British sometimes call a cigarette a fag - Although I have never heard of fagging lol)