276: Review – September

Books

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs (started in August finished in September)

Films

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Did You Hear About The Morgans?
Hope Springs
Untouchable
Hop

Albums

Babel by Mumford and Sons
Our Version of Events by Emeli Sande.

The Month in Bullets

Family

My brother and his best friend did a sponsored 24-hour gaming marathon in aid of The Fountain. I stayed up until 2 am with them then curled up to sleep on my mum’s sofa. I then got up again at 8 am and they were shattered. Apparently, once we left my brother crashed out to sleep. I think it was out most of the day. I came home and slept from 9:30ish to 1 pm. Clearly, I needed it whether I knew I did or not!
Our Sidekick started Upper School. We had a bit of trauma about the uniform as the company who the school tells everyone to buy their uniform from had trouble with one of their suppliers and so I spent time going between the supplier and the school to try and find out what we were supposed to do about Our Sidekick not having all his uniform. Clearly, it’s not our fault but at the same time you do feels it’s your fault a bit.
Thankfully it was partially solved so that Our Sidekick could start school at least. The school had had a bunch of other calls from parents in the same position as us. They decided that nothing could be done about it and so they’d circulate a list of names round the Head of Year and Form Tutors explaining why certain students weren’t in full school uniform (This formed most of the conversation on the way to school on the first day!)
Our Sidekick seemed to struggle to settle for the first couple of days and then after Day Two he came home and declared that he had to do his homework so that he could get good GCSEs. Indeed!
Chris and I have continued our journey to become approved carers for Our Sidekick. We how our “Friends and Family Training” about halfway through September. However, Panel was postponed to October as there weren’t enough slots this month
First Incarnation service at church – was good fun eventually – also got to hang out with the group from OM which was good fun, especially comparing differences between the UK, South Korea, America, and Switzerland. Also talking about how welcoming and lovely Mummy Steph is.

Household

Clearly, I needed the sleep as I managed to clean the living room and kitchen when I got up and managed to clear the stairs of most of my stuff and organise the boy’s stuff into their own steps. It looks a whole bunch better already. I made a trip to the charity clothes bin and to the dump all in one week.

Health

My first ParkRun of September (and third overall) was a disaster. I was there in time to stretch which I did but something I did or didn’t do made my shins really really hurt. I managed to do one lap of the park then decided to call it quits and head home.

Church/Community

The Word Bookshop here in Bedford celebrated their first birthday – why am I telling you this? Because it’s ran by a lovely lady from my church and everyone gets a lovely warm welcome when they walk through the door. (And I just noticed that a bunch of the photos on the website were ones that I took!)

Other

I “stepped out the boat”. It’s become a bit of a phrase that when you step out in faith, you’re stepping out the boat. It took Peter a whole bunch of faith to step out of the boat and walk to Jesus. Well back in the middle of September, I stepped out the boat. I asked someone if they’d like me to prayer for them. I just pray and hope that it makes some kind of difference.

272: Fill In The Blanks Friday

Joining with Lauren from The Little Things We Do

1. My first memory is I remember being about three or four and climbing out of the dining room door (which used to lead directly into the garden. I tripped over my own feet or the door ledge and fell over and grazed up all my knee and I remember it bleeding quite a lot. I told Mum about this memory a few weeks back and she said that she didn’t remember it lol.

2. My first love was okay so I’m going to be awkward on this one. The first boyfriend that I had and told him I loved him was when I was about 15. So I guess my first love would be my Dad in a way. He’s amazing and so encouraging. He’d teach me about stuff in the garden and help me with my homework. A few weeks back we were at the Fountain talking about various bits and he turned round and said he was proud of me then gave me like a manly punch in the arm – which made me jump and I nearly fell off the chair I was sat on. I do know that my Parents are proud of me but sometimes it’s good to hear it right? I met Chris when I was 15 and although I fancied him and we did try the going out thing for a few months, it didn’t really work at first but he was my best friend for quite a few years and clearly it was meant to happen because look at us know! Married and Foster Parents to Our Sidekick (okay so we didn’t do parenting the “normal” way but he needed someone and we stepped up to the plate).

3. My very first favourite colour was pink. Well I presume that given that my bedroom was pink until I was about 13 or 14 but then again I’m not sure lol.

4. The first time I really felt like a “grown-up” was when erm I’m not sure I guess when I became responsible for another human being on a full-time basis (October last year when Our Sidekick came to live with us). You’d think that graduating from university, getting married or having a mortgage would have me feel grown up but clearly not lol.

5. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is pretend it is not morning and that I can go back to sleep usually it’s not – today made me nearly cry – I thought it was Saturday and was happy about a lie in only to realise that if it was Saturday why didn’t I remember going to the cinema with Libs? Oh dear it’s not Saturday it’s Friday and something about that super depressed me.

6. The first CD (cassette tape, record, etc…) I ever bought was I’m not sure if I bought it or if I was bought it but the first album I had was the Spice Girls on cassette tape (unless you count over killing my days cassette tape of The Eagles – I loved Hotel California!), about the same time I was given a bunch of blank tapes and would record songs off the radio to make my own mix tapes lol.

7. My first car was a dark blue Ford Fiesta, it had belonged to a boy racer before me so the stereo had been rewired and various other bits. It was great, until it started burning oil and then when it was really dying, my dad and I drove in convoy to the scrapyard and left it there to go to the car garage in the sky. My Dad was all ready for me to be really upset about it as it was my first car and things like that but I wasn’t. I then got my Yellow Fiat which I loved even more than my Fiesta lol.

271: Recently….

Reading I finished Awaken by Nina Soden last night – well this morning at like 1am when I should have been asleep but I couldn’t wait to find our what happened to Alee and that was that I had to finish it. If you like Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Diaries etc etc it’ll be up your street – give it a try. Next up I am either going to carry on with From Blah to Awe by Jenna Lucado Bishop or Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – then again Anna is hard work and I don’t think I’ve got the capacity to read it lol. Might just give up and see the film.

Watching Our Sidekick and I have started watching Man vs Food but Chris isn’t so chuffed with it so we watch it while he’s out and then tell Chris the shortened version about things like the Polish Boy from Cleveland and the Ghost Chilli Burger (I can’t remember where from though). A lot of the shows I watch are American so they’ve finished. 2 Broke Girls and New Girl finish this week I think, The Newsroom finished a week or so ago but I have only seen about half of the finale as it was deleted by mistake.

Listening to I’ve had a worship CD on in the car and then flick over to the radio on the school run and things like that. I am really liking I Will Wait by Mumford and Sons so I think I might download Babel at some point. I really loved Sigh No More.

Thinking about Life, the universe and everything else lol. There is so much going on at the moment, the drama last week is still kind of playing on my mind but doing my best to hand it over to God and tell him he’s got the reins not me, I’ve got an envelope at home with some information in that I need to sort out but part of me is bricking it because it’s kind of to do with the future.

Loving the fact that autumn is coming and I can wear my woolly hat. It’s not quite cold enough for a proper coat but it’s been really wet this week so I’m carrying my pac-a-mac with me as it can be folded up and clipped onto my bag. Also that my Mum knows me that well she texted me to see if I want to go and see Phantom of the Opera at MK Theatre in a few weeks (Erm yes, did you need to ask?!)

Looking forward to seeing my Mum’s pictures from London today, her and her best friend Kathy went to the London Eye today. One day I want to go on it. I’m looking forward to the Macmillan Big Coffee Morning tomorrow that my friend and her Mum are organising. Their coffee morning is at Ravensden Village Hall but you can find your local coffee mornings here. Macmillan Cancer Support were an amazing helping my friend’s Grandma and Grandad when her Grandad was diagnosed with cancer. I do Race for Life for Cancer Research UK as they research into treatments and things like that for people with cancer, then Macmillan look after the person, their families and their wellbeing. I read today that with £25 raised that pays for a Macmillan Nurse to spend an hour with a family. For £61 a Macmillan financial advisor can help with things like managing bills etc. while you’re sick and bits like that. £350ish means that a hall can be hired for a year for self-help and support groups to meet on a regular basis.

Making me happy crocheting, I stopped doing it a few months back as my hand kept cramping up – my little finger would get stiff and gradually my whole hand would go funny. I’m currently just working on a really big granny square! I had started a blanket with lots of squares – I think I am still going to use them but sew them together to create something individual. This big square might take the feature in the middle or I’ll change wool on the way round and it will look like a border to the original square.

Inspiration from Freckled Italian and Sometimes Sweet

269: Romans 8:1

Last week was bad, it started Monday with one message, then by Wednesday it was a splattering of text messages, by Friday I’d left it and was getting on with what I had to do, by Saturday morning I was almost crippled by what was sent to me in a FB message.

We don’t need details here. Just that things were said, my self-esteem crashed through the floor and virtually into the earth’s crust and I didn’t want to get out of bed.

Don’t ask me what happened other than seeing a message pop up of FB that a friend was ill and so she couldn’t help at The Fountain and the same friend texted me to apologise that Chris would have to work all day now because she was ill. I said these things happen – it’s not like you choose to be ill (MMM! I think I’ll have a cold today!)

Anyhoo so a combination of things including Our Sidekick being far too excited about life for 9am on a Saturday morning got me out of bed. I ended up helping out at The Fountain and having a good time. I then walked back to the car with my Mum and we grabbed some dinner for her and Dad on the way. I went out with JD and her friend and had an awesome evening watching Belleville Rendez-Vous at the Cycling Outside Cinema which was EPIC!

Following the preach at church, I went to the front to get prayed for and pulled faces at the drummer – it shouldn’t have put him off but he got all distracted and missed a beat which made me laugh (it’s always good to have a laugh when you start taking things too seriously!). I got prayed for (mentioned in yesterday’s post) and cried lots but they were good tears.

And this verse at the top came up. I think I let those words have power over me. I’ve been questioning all week if I’m a good friend and if standing up for what I believe in is the right thing. If I should not stand up for what I believe in so that my friend is happy. But then again my friend would understand why I am standing up for my beliefs and how hard it is and it wasn’t taken lightly as a decision but I did it.

Anyway! This is a new week, let’s get on with it rather than rehash and replay the past. Hard I know but I have no condemnation because I am in Christ – it’s not the easy route but it’s leading somewhere amazing.

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268: Dear Monday

Joining with Megan from Happy Day.

Dear Chores, having spent probably about 8 or more hours this weekend doing various forms of you I’d really like some time off to recover.

Dear Lemon Curd, for ages I didn’t think I’d be able to make you by myself and yet somehow with a tiny bit of text message coaching from my Mum I managed to do it. In fact we tried Orange Curd as well which is more like a citrus curd as you still put a lemon in it.

Homemade Lemon Curd

Dear Chris, the above adventure in Orange Curd wouldn’t have happened without you suggesting it. Also I’d have probably not made the lemon curd had you not decided that we needed fruit on the way home. So thank you 🙂

Dear JD, I don’t think I explained the whole story but the fact that I was allowed to invade your outing on Saturday made me feel super spesh. So much has been going on this last week that I’m so blessed that I have friends like you. Thank you again. Merci mon Amis 😀

Dear Mini Fairy, yesterday you celebrated your birthday – how is it that you’re another year older? It’s feels like last week when I came to your dedication and your Momma asked me to be your Fairy Godmother. Next you’ll be packing up for uni! (Haha! Just kidding!)

Dear Tubi, how exactly are you old enough to be going away to uni in the next week. Then again how are you even old enough to come to the pub tomorrow for a “see you soon” drink. I remember holding you as a baby, helping you learn to walk, practice random spellings on a Tuesday sat at Grandma’s kitchen table. Anyway! Have an amazing time at university. Two things, don’t get too drunk in freshers week and find yourself a church early on in term – chances are they are adopting students and you’ll get free lunches (oh and make good friends etc!)

Dear Mr W, MC, and SS, thank you for praying for me in church yesterday. I thought I’d get one of you and then all three of you gathered round me and prayed for me it was epic! Especially when I was all a bit tearful and couldn’t really spit out what I wanted to say but somehow you all still managed to decode it which was awesome, thank you.

Dear Mummy V, Yesterday when I was being prayed for I had my eyes closed and was “looking” at the floor. I had my hands out in front of me with tears streaming down my face, I felt this hand in mine accompanied by some tissues. I kinda didn’t know it was you as I hadn’t seen you but then knew it was you in a way, it sounds kind of silly but I almost felt it was you.

Dear CJ, (because he gets two letters a la Today’s Letters) I swear you do enough dreaming for the both of us sometimes. I think you start with an idea and then think “What can I add to this to make it more crazy?”. So yeah, what’s the next plan?

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