...

So much has happened since the last post... Where to start?

The biggest news is that Junior and his lovely girlfriend had their baby a few weeks ago. A lovely little boy, who is possibly the cutest baby I've seen. Everyone is excited and delighted and all those other things you are when something like this happens.

I finally went to red my e-mails after a loooong time, and there was another nice surprise:
My friend in Finland had sent me a post with the latest news and a couple of lovely pics of her and the baby-belly. Awww... :)

And then there's me. I haven't been doing much lately; just going to work, coming home and going to work in the other place, and then sleeping.
The woman I've been taking care of was taken to the hospital, and I'm going to have a meeting with her sister to discuss possibly going in as more of a full-time carer. We'll see.

Oh, and I'm loving Options hot chocolate at the moment. :) (under 40 calories per portion= great!)

Patter of little paws

I've been babysitting two quite hairy babies since Tuesday. Himself's parents are away, and our help was needed with the dogs. Today is the last day, and I don't want to leave the dogs!

The newer addition to the family just landed on their doorstep one day over two years ago and stayed. We all believe he must've been treated badly in his previous home. Poor fella is scared of lights, noises and isn't too fond of strangers either. For some reason he liked me straight away, and we've been great buddies ever since.

I started teaching him all the tricks in Finnish a little while ago, and he already knows that istu means "sit", maahan means "down" and he also shakes my hand when I say either Hei! (Hi!) or tassu (paw). I was talking to my dad and laughed, that the dog is the only person who understands me. In all fairness though, I sometimes use little bits of bread or other treats when teaching the dog, and Himself gets nothing (except for praise) when he learns a new word... So I can't really blame him.

Maybe I'll make some lasagne for the next teaching sesson.
Have to go and have breakfast. And talk to the doggies.
(Also have to pay the rent, try to get hold of the estate agent, sign the new contract and do another ten or so washes... But don't want to think about it. :) )

"One planning permission for our future, please!"

This is the last week of lectures for the better half. And it makes me think what is going to happen next.

Are we going to go back to the days when he had no structure to his days and planning anything was a nightmare? Is it going to be calls about gigs in the middle of a dinner? Struggling to pay the rent?

OR

Is he going to put his tribute band idea into action and start practising? Get a job and start working towards the things we've been talking about?

I've been asking him, and he doesn't seem to be ready to answer yet. So I'll just leave him be and wait and see. In any case, I'd rather see him doing random jobs he wants to do, than working in a supermarket and hating every day of it.

He probably thinks I'm silly. I can't help it, I kinda want to plan the bigger things even just a little bit in advance. And I can't plan if he doesn't, so...

Enough of this! I'll put on some tunes and start cooking.

Dream competitions and slowly starting Saturdays

I must say this is one of the nicer mornings.
We slept for ten hours, woke up refreshed and for once it wasn't raining outside.
When we get the chance to wake up at the same time, we usually exchange dreams. I was preggers in my dream (I have those dreams quite often), so Himself wins the Strangest Dream category. He dreamt that Mark Chapman was after him and his family.

I enjoyed Himself's guitar playing with my morning tea. Then he lost his audience to the world of Blogger and started reading a book about Beatles' gear, while listening to... The Beatles. I wonder if that does any good to the Chapman -dreams?

There's some gigs going in a newly re-opened pub in town. I was way too tired go out yesterday, but thankfully it looks like the lads are getting more work in there. I'll be a good girlfriend the next time...
I read this book called The WAG's diary by Alison Kervin a while ago, and it actually popped into my head last night as I was waiting for my better half to come home. I think someone should write a guidebook to the girlfriends of musicians as well...

Anyway, I better go and get some veggies for the curry.
Can't wait for my day off on Tuesday!

"I think you're up to something"

That's what Himself said to me today, when I very innocently inquired if he's going to college tomorrow. And, of course, he is right. I am indeed up to something.

It's his birthday on Thursday. And I came up with an idea a while ago, but didn't have time to do anything about it in the past few weeks. So I've been running around the town today, spent numerous hours in the internet and made a few calls. And I'm not even finished yet.

He hates surprise birthday parties, so I decided to be nice and not organize one. Nothing was said about other types of surprises though, so...
I've developed a little dance I do every time his big day is mentioned. And if that's not enough to drive him nuts, my evil laugh will probably do the trick.

I think I'd better stop writing, or I'll ruin the surprise. I'm gonna put my feet up, put the laptop on my belly (to cure the tummy-freeze I got from eating a large 99 in about 30 seconds) and do some serious blog-reading.

Magical Monday

It's been so nice to have the day off today, after five days of work.

I slept in, spent some time in my jammies and had a brunch of noodles. (I know, aren't I posh... :D)
Found a mat for the bathroom while shopping, which was something I was supposed to do months ago. (The builders managed to loose the previous one while they were putting in the shower.)

I also talked to my friend on messenger. She's going to go and mind a baby as a part of her studies later on this week and was telling me about her plans for a new hometown after graduation. After that I talked to my Dad on Skype. We had our weekly chat about life and were both that little bit happier afterwards.

I finally had time to cook a proper meal, so I made some lamb couscous and let it simmer for ages. Himself was happy to have a meal waiting when he came home tired and grumpy. This Monday had been far from magical for him, with the stress from the college and a punctured tyre on the way home, so it was nice to be able to cheer him up a bit.

I've been reading Meg Cabot's "Size 12 is not fat" today.

So today has been filled with all the things I love most; My friends and family, reading and music. And of course good food, and people with whom to enjoy it.

Finally some me-time

Progress report from last post: Himself and I are friends again.
I don't do mad for long periods at a time. We talked (which is to say I talked and he listened like a good man he is) and after letting out some steam I was fine again. Kind of. And that's good enough.

The reason I have some time for myself is that Himself is gigging tonight.
I got home after ten and was too tired to go anywhere, so I sat on the sofa with a book, some chocolate and the good old laptop.
It's been nice just to relax and let the thoughts run circles in my head, without saying a word to anyone. I've had time to listen to all my favourite songs, read without interruptions and even dance a bit on the way to the cupboard (to get more chocolate).

My brain is not in gear at all, so I'll just continue my pyjama party for one until Himself gets home. Working again tomorrow, off Monday. Can't wait.

*Now playing: Scissor Sisters - Laura*

Like cat, like owner

My cat Cleo has turned into a grumpy old lady.
She never really liked kids, she despises dogs (especially the small kind) and at the sight of visitors she escapes faster you can say cat.
With age these traits have become even more defined. Sauna is her hideout of choice, because the main sources of noise are usually in the livingroom or in the kitchen. She sits there on her little throne and thinks about important things, and is usually left alone.
This time, however, the people in her life decided that a picture of her with the wedding wreath would be a good idea. She tolerates my dad's silly ideas quite patiently, because she knows the interruption is only going to last for a little while. The picture was taken and she continued her meditation.

Today I'm wishing I'd have a little hideout as well.
Himself's friend stayed over last night, and they managed to wake me up before 8. Which is about 4 hours before my morning.
So I've been even more confused today than I'd usually be.
I needed to go to the estate agent's today, because the things we went to sort out for over two weeks ago still haven't been fixed. The door was locked, and that was something my sleepy brain couldn't understand. So I kept pushing it like an idiot, finally stopping when I noticed the funny looks passers-by were giving me.

I understood it must've been lunch hour, and went to do my foodshopping.
Which took ages, because I was distracted by everything. (I still notice shiny things, no matter how tired or grumpy!)
Got the veggies, was supposed to go back to the office, but ended up in e2 Music instead. Cheered myself up with Kung Fu Panda (€8, less than half of the usual price) and Garbage collection CD for €5. After that I finally got where I was supposed to go.

Garbage is playing and I'm escaping into my imaginary world. So in a way I found a hideout for a while. (Until 5 o'clock anyway)
Maybe I should call Cleo and ask for a copy of "Tips On How To Keep People Out Of Your Territory"