As I Suspected!....

No, nothing drastic, just 2006 is looking rather alot like I thought it was going to!!

Can't even stop for proper blog tonight, but can't not blog for over a month!! So, highlights at this stage:
Mark and I are going to get a house together late this year! Girls are already planning the colour of their bedrooms. Predictably, Louisa wants 'lavendar' aka purple, Becca wants a 'darkish lightish sort of pink'. Also, Lou wants to know whether she is allowed to stick things all over the walls. To date she has a cork board with Daniel Carter (ABs no. 10) on it - and no, he isn't her heart throb, she likes sticking pin tacks in him!! Suspect she tortures him because she knows I think he is a bit yummy - although she hasn't started sticking pins in Mark yet, so who knows! House plan is not till the end of the year because Mark has to sell his place first and I sort of feel like I want one thing properly finished before starting the next....!
Girls are now back at school. Lou got the teacher she wanted, Mrs Bowerman; Becca got the teacher I wanted - Mrs Cross (who isn't!) - and she seems very happy with her too! Both have been suffering from "Start-of-term-itis" which has meant that they are both very pleased to be back at school, but are also extremely tired and very very narky with each other and with me. Last night I discovered that Becca's extreme case had been excacerbated by the fact that, for the last 3 weeks she has been reading - after lights out!!!! Not quite sure for how long, but the severity of the attack probably means that she was under the covers with her torch for a good while!
Activities have all restarted also. Lou is now a Girl Guide and Becs is still Brownieing. Lou has decided that she is going to continue with her flute for a while, and gymnastics is back too. Netball doesn't happen in Term 1 so Wednesdays are still relatively uncluttered and I am enjoying that for a wee while.
AND.......... I have started my activity!! Last Monday I started my Graduate Diploma in Career Development. So far nothing major, but am acutely aware of the fact that I finished my degree 20 years ago! I confess to being somewhat concerned about doing essays again, and am rather confused to discover that I am expected to write a study journal. The idea is that you start by entering where you are in relation to your chosen subject as you begin your course and then write down all the developments in your thinking, understanding etc so that you become a 'reflective' rather than a 'reactive' practitioner. I am given to understand that they don't want navel gazing, but rather are anticipating some sort of ideological epiphany!! Maybe I should do it in blog form!!

Since writing the last line, I have been away studying! Tomorrow is my class and our homework last week was to do a whole wadge of reading. I have read fairly steadily, but with no great urgency, through the week, thinking that I would polish off the last couple of pages this evening - only to discover that the last couple of pages actually entailed 48 pages of fairly detailed theory and a number of 'activities' encouraging us to germinate our fledgling personal theories on careers and career practice! Suffice it to say it is now gone midnight and I have learnt a lesson which I should really have learnt in 1983, 1984, 5 and 6 - namely, don't leave your homework till the night before it's due in!! Next week I have to hand in an account of my own 'career' to date which should be quite interesting (!) and 3 weeks later I have to hand in a report on 3 other peoples 'career stories' having interviewed them! What was I thinking!!!!!!

Anyway, what else? The John mess continues (as in my "As I suspected" title...). Everything escalated dramatically a few weeks back and now, having suggested to John that maybe we were both overreacting a tad and maybe, for our own sanity and for the sake of the girls we should call a cease fire, I am waiting to hear from his solicitor about going to court to sort out the money!!! Fortunately, it is all very black and white and whilst I will be taking advice from my own solicitor, it is unlikely anyone will take his case to court.
It seems to me, that at the moment we are both getting very entangled in the 'who did what to whom' type of scenario. I am hoping that next time I see John, things are calm enough to suggest to him that we try and focus on the fact that we actually each gave each other our beautiful girls - and for that alone, perhaps we should have a little more care for each other. Not sure it will have any effect, but the thought of 30 - 40 years of wrangling, is too scary for words.

Also, I am still fat.

Those who have never yet got their Christmas cards yet - I apologise, I honestly had all good intentions, they are still by the phone, and there is still a vague possibility that between career epiphanies and homework, I may yet get to write them.

Currently Mark's brother, also a John, and his wife Terri are over from the UK. Rather coincidentally both Mark's brothers (kiwis) live just outside Sevenoaks, about 10 miles from Green St Green! (small world!) (plus can't remember if I mentioned that Mark's Mum was from Guernsey? Which makes me wonder about the whole past life thing and what on earth the Channel Islands connection is to me?!!) Back to the brother, he's been taking Terri (Londoner) on a bit of a Tiki tour round Taupo, Rotorua, the Coramandel and Bay of Islands and catching up with family on the way - think he is kidnapping Mark on Wednesday and I'm not expecting to see him again till Sunday!
Meantime, the girls are on countdown for the arrival of Josh and Meggie. And I confess that I am also quite excited (29 days!). As part of the itinary we are having a little jaunt down to Wellington which I am really looking forward to. Not been before and about time I had!

Still haven't got digital camera - mess with John means that finances have been slightly buggered so that Christmas money has been temporarily diverted - am hoping that will change very soon! (speaking of which, must get road tax that expired last Wednesday! - was pleasantly surprised that car passed it's WOF / MOT almost first time!!) Once camera'd up, Mark and all of Birkenhead will be posted in these pages!

OHHHHHHHH - and biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggg news! I BEAT MARK AT SCRABBLE!! Only by 3 very marginal points and I think I may have invented a new word, but then he had invented one the day before so he has been gracious in accepting defeat and now I just have to beat him with legitimate words. For the record, while 'Unawares' is a word, 'Awares' is not! but it did fit very nicely onto a triple word score with the S on the red square, thus very large score!

Soph is good. Shopped with her yesterday for Bridesmaid dress for a wedding she is at in England next month.

No, Mark and I aren't getting married, ever! But hope to live in sin for many years to come. Figure the bit of paper didn't actually mean very much in the end.

Grace is lovely. Sarah and Matthew and their girls are also good and have been beseiged with visitors for months. What with that, work and yummy fella, haven't seen half as much of them as usual, but am hoping that will revert back to normal soon.

Oh and new job, busy but good. At present juggling new job, old job, training new girl on old job, extra old job and training other new girl and a bit of frazzling in the middle - otherwise, going well!

apologies for the slightly disorganised flow of things - brain ready for bed as are aching old bones.

huge hugs xxxx