Matthew's had an Accident!

My poor Matt had a fall yesterday. He was riding his bicycle down a steep hill and his coat got caught in the front wheel. It stopped the bike, and he went over the handlebars into a lamp post. He has five stitches above his top lip, eight stitches inside his mouth and seven under his chin. His right cheek is one big friction burn and his right arm is grazed from his elbow to his wrist. He looks like he's done a few rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson! I've brought him home for a few days to be mothered. He's very subdued and feeling sorry for himself right now.
I hate seeing my kids in pain, no matter how old they get and I wish I could take the pain away for him. You never stop worrying about them, even after they've flown the nest but we have to cut the apron strings at some point. You have to let them fly and spread their wings and trust they will soar high.
But when they do fall, mum will always be there to take the strain, kiss the pain away and make it seem a little less hard to bear.

W is for Weddings

I love weddings. I've had two of my own, have been a bridesmaid seven times and attended more than I can remember. I love wedding dresses, the big white frothy ones, the slinky, stylish ones, the short flirty ones. I love them all. I love watching weddings and seeing the bride all happy and the bridesmaids all glammed up. I love the bouquets, the wedding cakes and even listening to the speeches. Weddings are about happiness, joy and beauty so that's probably why I like them so much! I'm pretty much a romantic, as you may have guessed.
But I know a pretty wedding doesn't guarantee a solid, happy marriage, that comes from hard work, give and take and a reality check now and then. But if we can keep in mind the happiness of our wedding day, the joy we felt to be starting on life's journey together, the pleasure of choosing to be with that one person for all time, if we stop and remember that when times are rough and rocky then maybe we would see less divorce and seperation.

Trip to London

My sister, Cindy and niece, Sarah

I went to London for three days last week. I know , I know , I should have written about it earlier but I'm a bad blogger!
Anyway, I went with my lovely sister and niece for a girlie trip. We went down on the train and spent two nights there. Our first night we went to see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. The show was excellent. We had seats in the first balcony, second row up so could see everything perfectly. The music, the costumes, the sets, everything was so wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
We stayed in a nice hotel in Bayswater and had breakfast included. It was continenal style but sufficient. Our only full day was spent touring London on the Hop On Hop Off bus. You buy a ticket and the bus goes all round London stopping off at different places where you can get off, look around and then catch the next bus. They run about every 15 mins so we never waited long and got to see all the sights. There is a tour guide who tells you all sorts of fascinating facts about the city.
We went into Leicester Square that night, intending going to the pictures but saw crowds of people behind barriers. When we got there it was a premiere for the film, Leatherheads, starring George Clooney and Rene Zellweiger. We missed George but got to see Rene up close. We stood for so long we missed the start of any films so went to Pizza Hut to finish the night off and got totally stuffed!

Me and Sarah

We really enjoyed our trip and have decided to save up and go again next year.

Rene Zelleweiger

V is for Voluptuous

I love that word, voluptuous. It conveys beauty. It conjures up those rubanesque paintings of scantily clad, beautiful, large ladies that adorn all the best gallery walls. In their time, big was beautiful and to be celebrated, not to be ashamed of.
I'm now taking a leaf from that book and will celebrate my size, make the best of my size, be loud and proud of my size. No more moaning, I'm accepting the fact I'm larger than life and will henceforth be VOLUPTUOUS.
Pass the chocolate box, I'm diving in!

Snow for Easter

We had snow on Easter Sunday. Our first snowfall this year and it lasted all of three hours! Not that I'm complaining because I hate snow. I hate walking in it and driving in it. The only way to enjoy it is from the window, while tucked up in front of a warm fire.
But snow at Easter just doesn't seem right somehow. Snow at Christmas is right. We haven't had snow at Christmas for so many years and although I hate it, it's the one time when it should appear. To get the real feel of Christmas, we should wake up to a snowy landscape with big flakes falling past the window. The morning should be spent opening presents then snowballing or sledging before dinner.
Easter is about spring and flowers and baby lambs. Easter morning should be sunny and bright with daffodills in the garden. I know Easter is early this year but even so, by the end of March we're looking forward to the end of winter not a replay!

U is for Unladylike!

I've never been accused of being a lady and here are some of the reasons why:
I have never let a man believe that he is better than me. I believe all men and women are equal and deserve the same opportunities in life, love and career. And I don't believe in waiting on a man, hand and foot.
I love to flirt, openly. I have, on occasion, worn my skirts to high and my neckline to low. I am not a social wallflower. Give me a daft game or a karaoke mike over polite conversation, any day, I like being noticed in a crowd.
My boys were all taught to cook, clean, wash and iron. They love and respect me but have sometimes feared me. As the only woman, I ruled the roost in this henhouse. But we had fun times too, playing games, getting dirty, running around, singing songs, dancing to the music.
I can hold my own in an argument, with man or woman. I have frightened a few into backing down, once or twice. Failing that I have always found turning on the waterworks gets you out of many difficult situations.
I can shout as loud as a navvy and (used) to swear like a trooper.
So you see, no ladylike behaviour from me!
But I don't see that as a bad thing. I've had some riotous times and some cringe worthy moments which all add up to a life well lived. And this means that I will continue to go skidding into old age as any self respecting non-lady should do, with total and utter abandon!

We had an Earthquake!

At one o'clock yesterday morning we had an earthquake!
A loud rumbling woke me up and as I did I felt the bed shaking. I nudged John, who was asleep, and he just grunted and turned over. I went back to sleep, wondering if I'd imagined it. When we got up John said he hadn't heard or felt anything so I really did start to believe I'd dreamed everything. As I was driving John to work at dinnertime we were listening to the radio and they were talking about the earthquake. Mystery solved! I wasn't dreaming, the bed had been shaking.
The epicentre was in Market Rasen which is about 20 miles away from us and it registered 5.2 on the Reichter Scale. No wonder the bed moved!
It was the talk of the day for everybody as we don't usually experience earthquakes here in Scunthorpe.