Sunday 29 March 2009

...and the lights go out...

...no, not for Earth Hour.

The race is on!

What happened to Barrichello?

Button in front by miles...

Heidfeld with a puncture.

Barichello caused a little bit of fuss at the first corner - carbon fibre all over the place and poor old Mark Webber lost his front wing.

Kovalainen is out with a very broken looking car.

Button is already 4.4 secs ahead on Lap 3.

**time for me to have a look at the onboard camera screens on the BBC**

Onboard camera is sticking with Hamiltwunt at the moment so I'll pass on that.

Not as many retirements as I thought there'd be by this point! (Certainly not as many as last year!)

Rosberg just scampered past Kimi, then Barrichello tried it and clipped him.

Kimi in the pits - puncture?

Rosberg now menacing Kubica who is all over the back of Massa.

Pit stops have started - Ferrari and MacLaren have both now used their soft tires - hopefully this will give Ferrari an advantage at the end.

Rosberg had a pitstop problem that held the poor boy up. But it meant we got to watch a lovely pass on him by Kimi.

Button is miles in front!

Nakajima into the wall - safety car.... poor Button!

That whole thing with the safety car was a bit of a screw up, they let it go after Button so the whole field had to go past it! Now Button will be stuck behind it for ages... and the debris/car seems to have been shifted already!

The safety car has been out for ages with the track clear, very frustrating!

Massa keeps locking up. Brundle - "His tyres will look like a 50p piece soon"

Piquet takes the first corner sideways and slides right to the back of the very wide gravel trap!

Hamilton passes Glock very easily...again!

33 laps to go BTW.

Have got the perfect setup now - TV showing main feed, PC showing the onboard streams. Lovely jubbly.

20 laps to go, things have quietened down for the moment, but the last pit stops are all starting...

Hamilton comes out of the pits and decides to try and squeeze Massa off the track straight away. Kimi bumps into the wall...but keeps going.

Fisichella up to 8th!

Eeep!

Button had a pit stop problem, can't tell if he got enough fuel, but he got out in front of Vettel.

Drat it, Massa is out. His car was sounding very very ill.

Barrichello pits and comes out behind Rosberg, then a couple of laps later sticks in a fabulous pass.

Glock is trying to take people out as he tries to pass them - apart from Hamilton of course.

Hamilton is up to 7th. Anthony says - "It pains me to say it, but he's driven a good race."

Holy crap.

Kubica and Vettel duking it out.

Kubica takes Vettel out then hits the wall himself.

Poor Vettel.

Hurrah for Button! Hurrah for Barrichello! (unless anything breaks)

*********************

So just as last year, it's the British national anthem. But this time it's for a driver who has really earned it.

w00t!!!

No chance of going back to bed as I did last year, partly cos the race was later, partly cos I'm too fucking hyper!

*chequered flag*

Good morning...

...Australia.

Yup, I'm awake again. But this morning doesn't seem so bad since the clocks changed this morning. Instead of getting up at 5am, it was 6am!

I am going to blog this just like last year, well, not just like last year, I'm going to put the whole lot in one post and update as I go - that way nobody reads the last bit first!

Once again the clever buggers at the BBC are doing text updates, and the fact that Twitter has taken off this year means that I've also got Tweetag to keep an eye on (and find some new tweeps through).

It's now 40 minutes to race start...time to get everything organised - no ad breaks to get extra drinks in!

Saturday 28 March 2009

I got up at...

...4.45am this morning.

Ok, so the qualifying didn't actually start until 6am, but the first showing of the new titles was at 5am and I couldn't miss them.

I am very, very glad that ITV aren't doing the coverage this season.

Partly because this mornings results would have completely stumped James Allen.

Yes, there is a British driver on pole.














But it's not the Hamiltwunt...he's 15th on the grid after a terrible Q1 and then his gearbox giving out.













Thank you Jenson.

You've had so much crap over the last two years with people saying you were a has-been. Even real F1 fans were starting to worry.

Now just get rid of that manky beard!

Monday 23 March 2009

I didn't cook...

...Cheese and Corn Pudding or Ragout of Venison with Wild Mushrooms or Creamy Tarragon Chicken this weekend. I didn't cook Beef Wellington either.

Instead we had roast pork with roast potatoes and parsnips. Lovely. Not photogenic though, sorry.

As well as that we also broke a world record - "Shortest Amount of Time Spent in Ikea and Actually Managing to Buy What You Wanted".

This is a picture of my old desk back when I'd just moved into this house (note hideous rental curtains and the evil pinkness of my uncovered armchair).



This was OK back when I first got it, but now it was just annoying. The top was all warped, the whole thing wobbled like hell whenever you typed and the chair wouldn't fit under it properly meaning that you couldn't actually get close in.

So I have been hunting for desks and failing to find one that I liked. Then some clever person posted a link to Ikea Hacker on Twitter and there I got a few ideas.

Then I went on the Ikea website and plotted and planned. I had to do lots of this so that Anthony would think a trip to Ikea was actually a good idea.

We went on Sunday morning and got there about 10.30...we left an hour later. (They open for browsing at 10 and for sales at 11, there were only about 20 cars in the car park when we got there and no dawdling people AT ALL).

That hour saw us locate the table top, table legs, shelf and kitchen cabinet legs that we needed. It also included the obligatory hot dog and trip to the food shop for pink mushrooms and a bag of Daim bars.

Sunday afternoon was spent creating a masterpiece (hence the no faff roast for dinner).

May I present for your viewing pleasure, my new desk.



(Note lovely cream curtains, throw disguised armchair and also new blue rug to try and protect the hideously cheap carpet from dying under the chair castors).

All solid pine which has made the living room smell absolutely lovely.

It's also made me much more confident about creating the desk space I will have one day when we actually own a place and can build proper fixed-to-the-wall things.

Wednesday 18 March 2009

Call me nosy...

...but I always like looking at what the person in front of me is buying.

In the corner shop just now the man in front of me bought 8 cans of Strongbow, 4 bottles of Blossom Hill red wine (couldn't see the type) and a pack of Bernard Matthews Turkey burgers. "Oh and 10 Benson's, actually mate, make it 20".

Intriguing.

Mind you, the guy behind me must have been slightly puzzled at my purchases.

One large tub of Johnson's cotton buds and a packet of Viscount biscuits (14 for the price of 7).

Plus the £10 of gas and £20 of electric that I'd actually gone in there for.

We do actually need the cotton buds, but the Viscounts were an impulse buy.

Tuesday 17 March 2009

I have always been...

...domestically challenged.

My house is a mess, I loathe washing up and when I think about cooking properly I tend to come over a little faint.

I just don't have a very tidy life. When I do try to have a tidy life, or when someone tries to help me have a tidy life, things I need tend to vanish. (Like the sewing threads we spent 15 minutes looking for last night that had vanished after Anthony cleared up the living room) (they turned up behind the radiator...neither of us knows how they got there).

One of the things I am determined to do (apart from buy a dishwasher) is to cook actual proper meals. Not that I live on microwave rubbish, but it is mostly whack-it-in-the-oven-and-forget-about-it food.

So today (after drooling over it for four months) I finally bought this book.



I had intended to buy it post-Christmas (when it was half price) with some of my Christmas/Birthday vouchers (that I never got - wahhh!) but couldn't. But since with my discount it was only £16.75 I decided that I'd waited long enough. (and yes, it is still cheaper on Amazon and on Waterstones.com but buying it from my store helps to pay my wages).

So now I am trying to decide what I should cook on Sunday...

Cheese and Corn Pudding?
Ragout of Venison with Wild Mushrooms?
Creamy Tarragon Chicken?

Or I could always try the dish I talked about with Anthony during our first ever MSN chat...Beef Wellington.

Probably not

I love the fact it has all the basic dishes in, as well as some fancier ones that it makes sound easy. I love the DVD that comes with it containing step-by-step techniques on everything from chopping herbs, to cooking pasta, to making caramel, to gutting and boning fish. (and they're all in the back of the book too).

I especially love the shopping list book that comes with it. Pocket-sized and containing the ingredients and serving sizes for every single recipe. It's gone straight into my bag and will be perfect for the inevitable time when I haven't thought out what to cook and we're in the supermarket looking for something for dinner.

My grand plan (and it's cunning too) is to try and cook something every Sunday. It'll be for Sunday lunch on 3 of them, and then something quicker and easier on the Sunday that I work. This way I can still have a sense of achievement after one of those Sundays where we don't go out and just flake out and watch the Grand Prix/Numbers/CSI / play WoW / sew.

I shall even try and take a picture of my weekly dish, possibly even with Anthony's flash camera!

Friday 13 March 2009

It's been...

...a very strange two weeks.

Center Parcs was bloody brilliant. Lots of chilling out in the spa, lots of reading, far too much wine consumed on a couple of occasions - thoroughly good fun.

Anthony spent quite a lot of time playing with his new fancy camera, Brychan liberated Paris (Blazing Angels on the Wii), Emily had an argument with Professor Layton ("I put in 5 AGES ago and it told me it was wrong, BLOODY GAME!") and Mum got us all hooked on Tyrrell's crisps.

This week I have had a migraine. And that's about it. It started as a headache on Monday afternoon and progressed on Wednesday to me not being able to see out of my left eye and being sent home from work. Yesterday I slept pretty much all day and then today I've alternated between dozing on the sofa and sharing various woes with my lovely Twitter peeps.

The only thing that's been a constant for both weeks was an attack of the green eyed monster.

Well not really a monster, more a stab in the heart and lots of tears kind of monster.

The only problem with going to Center Parcs when it's not a school holiday is the other people who take that opportunity. Like the 17 million couples with babies/toddlers who seemed to make up the rest of the guests there. Oh there were a few older couples there too...but they all seemed to be there with their kids and grandchildren.

Babies are bloody everywhere at the moment and it's really bloody hard.

I was supposed to have had a doctors appointment last Tuesday to discuss my miscarriage. About a week after I got the original letter I got another one to say they had to change the appointment to April instead. At the time I was just glad that I was getting seen, now I'm sad that this means no baby for me in 2009.

I am looking after myself though. Any blogs I've been reading that have unbelievably adorable new babies on I have deleted from Google reader (not you Keris, for some reason reading about Joe is ok), I'm trying to avoid the updates on Facebook from the 8-9 old school friends who are either expecting or have just produced, and I've been avoiding watching anything on TV that could get to me.

CSI:NY clobbered me though. I knew there was an episode coming up where Lindsay told Danny she was pregnant, I didn't expect her to whip out an ultrasound photo to prove it.

My brain seems determined to protect me by making me feel that it didn't really happen. Same as with my dad I guess. Silly coping mechanisms. The one thing I wish I had done was get the ultrasound photo. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it would be proof that I got to that point for the first time.

Gonna stop now cos none of this is making any sense. Thank you for listening.

Thursday 5 March 2009

Timed Meme...

...No. 2.

(I've answered these for the day I did it (last Wednesday) rather than guessing the future!)

1. How old will you be in five years? 35

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? Day off so no people just the cats.

3. How tall are you? 5'11"

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks? CENTER PARCS!!!!

5. What’s the last movie you saw? The Brothers Grimm

6. Who was the last person you called? Emily

7. Who was the last person to call you? Anthony

8. What was the last text message you received? "They said a flower couldn't signify love, the Rose managed it. They said a plant couldn't survive without water, the Cactus managed it. They said a vegetable couldn't read text messages...Well Done! I'm sooo proud of you my little cabbage!"

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail? Don't think I've ever had one on this phone!

10. Do you prefer to call or text? Call

11. Have you ever had drink come out your nose? yes

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? Other.

13. When is the last time you saw your mum? September (ridiculous I know)

14. What color are your eyes? Grey Blue

15. What time did you wake up today? 0948

16. What are you wearing right now? black skirt, lemon jumper

17. What is your favorite Christmas song? Gaudette

18. Where is your favorite place to be? with Anthony

19. Where is your least favorite place to be? Wolverhampton on a Saturday

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? New Zealand

21. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? living in a messy house full of books.

22. Do you tan or burn? burn then tan

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? I used to have a very strange dream about dinosaurs.

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? Daws and Donal being bitchy

25. How many TVs do you have in your house? 2

26. How big is your bed? double

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer? desktop

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on? without

29. What color are your sheets? white

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? 2

31. What is your favourite season? summer

32. What do you like about autumn? the smell of woodsmoke

33. What do you like about winter? blue sky on frosty mornings

34. What do you like about summer? sunshine

35. What do you like about spring? the fact it's getting warmer again

36. How many countries have you lived in? 2

37. What cities/towns have you lived in? Awali/Stroud/Istead Rise/Billericay/Canterbury/Wolverhampton

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet? bare feet

39. Are you a social person? mostly, but if people get too much I want to hide!

40. What was the last thing you ate? Mini Kievs

41. What is your favourite restaurant? Cafe Champagne

42. What is your favourite ice cream? Phish Food

43. What is your favourite dessert? Phish Food

44. What is your favourite kind of soup? Chicken

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich? none

46. Do you like Chinese food? yes

47. Do you like coffee/tea? I like the Whittard's Fruit Tea, I hate normal tea, the smell of coffee makes me feel sick

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average? two maybe

49. What do you drink in the morning? smoothie!

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed? left side at home, otherwise usually the closest side to the door.

52. Do you know how to play poker? vaguely

53. Do you like to cuddle? yes

54. Have you ever been to Australia? no

55. Do you have an addictive personality? yes.

56. Do you eat out or at home more often? home

57. Do you still talk to your last ex? not the last one

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? nope

59. Do you want kids? yes

60. Do you speak any other languages? little bit of French/German, few words of Arabic/Russian, trying to learn Italian for September.

61. Have you ever gotten stitches? no (can't quite work out how!)

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? yes

63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool? pool

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats? window

65. Who did you copy this note from? Emily

66. Whats your relationship to them? lovely sister

67. What is your favorite thing to spend money on? books

68. What is your favorite TV show? arrrgggghhh....um....My So-Called Life/Being Human/CSI:NY/Buffy

69. Can you roll your tongue? Yes

70. Who is the funniest person you know? Donal

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? nope (the cats would eat them)

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone? Follow Me by Uncle Kracker

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little? nope

74. What red object is closest to you right now? tomato ketchup

75. do you use separate water to wash your hair? yup

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? no doors on it

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? a bear

78. Do you flirt a lot? yup, bad girl

79. Whats your favorite chat up line? want a drink?

80. What is your favorite food? chocolate

81. Can you change the oil on a car? If I have help and guidance from Anthony (or a book that tells me how to tell someone else how to do it)

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? Nope

83. Have you ever run out of petrol/diesel? Nope

84. What is your usual bedtime? I always try for 10ish...I usually fail

85. What was the last book you read? Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

86. Do you read the newspaper? sometimes at work

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? Cross Stitcher

89. Do you watch soap operas? nope

90. Do you go to the cinema often? Last time was Die Hard 4.0, before that was X-Men 3...so no!

91. What radio station did you last listen to? Radio 1

92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you? Emily and Brychan

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper? the details of a book for a customer

94. What is your favorite sports team? Leyton Orient

95. What is your favorite board game? Ludo

96. What song do you currently like? Hand In My Pocket - Alanis Morissette

97. When was the last time you attended church? Alf's dad's funeral.

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Stand And Be...

...Counted.

Timed Meme No. 1

1. Put your iPod (itunes) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!


IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
The Knowledge - I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Extraordinary Girl - Green Day

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - Mercury Rev

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Ridiculous - Bowling For Soup

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Frittering - Mercury Rev

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Comes Love - Joni Mitchell

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
4 + 20 - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

WHAT IS 2+2?
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Elton John

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
I'm Going Slightly Mad - Queen

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Ride Of The Valkyries - Wagner

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Take On Me - A-Ha

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Annual Rule Changes - I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Today I've Lost You - Take That

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
As I Come of Age - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Whiskey In The Jar - Thin Lizzy

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Wake Me Up (Before You Go-Go) - Wham!

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Unknown Legend - Neil Young

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Dear Jessie - Madonna

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Tiger Lily - The Bluetones

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Heard You Were Dead - The Bluetones

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
The Four Seasons: Spring - Vivaldi

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Nice Guys Finish Last - Green Day

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Beetlebum - Blur

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Polly - Nirvana

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Paddy McCarthy - The Corrs

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Simple Like The Truth - Darius

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Stand And Be Counted - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Very freaky. Some of them fit perfectly, others (like the Wham one) are simply very strange. Loving the fact that ISIHAC got itself in there.