Friday Quicktakes

1. I got a tat!!! But, before half of you get all excited and the other half recoil in horror, it was only a temporary one. You see, the idea of getting one is still very much in my head, but I'm a chicken, and a scaredy cat, and not at all sure that I'm ready to grow a pair and get the real deal just yet...if ever. So I wanted to test the water and see how I liked it, safe in the knowledge that it would wear off in a few short days.

It came in a pack of about 10, but I chose the stars for the back of my neck because I was off to a formal last week (first time in 20 years-more on this later) and was getting my hair put up. Loverboy put it on the night before, with strict instructions to make sure it was central, et voila- frump to badass in one easy step!

And I gotta tell you, I liked it! I'd even go as far as to say that I felt slightly empowered, but do I love it enough to bite the bullet and get inked ?....Hmmmm,  not sure yet, but in the meantime, I'm away to put a  butterfly stamp on my hip!

2. At the aforementioned formal, I learned something that I could never, ever, have suspected in my wildest dreams. The actual words uttered to me were 'Men in Sinn Fein read your blog!'
Shut the front door!! My mouth fell open because, quite simply, how does one respond to such a momentous disclosure?

 Now, obvs, I was immediately dying to ask her for specifics, or was she speaking in code?  Did she just discreetly wink at me, or was I tipsier than I'd realised?  Was she actually saying that Gerry Adams and Martin Mc Guiness, caught up on my latest posts while on a comfort break in Stormont?

I think it's fair to say that on several levels, men in Sinn Fein wouldn't be my most obvious demographic.....or so I thought.  But let's briefly assume that they are and run with it. Well what of the other political parties? The Ulster Unionists, The Alliance party? The SDLP? Who knows, maybe even men in the DUP read it too, and they're just comment-shy ? Think outta the box, peeps- could this blog could be what finally brings Northern Ireland politics together? What makes them say, hey, how about we just agree to differ on this boring old issue and catch up the latest post over a beer? Is that a Nobel Peace Prize I'm smelling... ...international recognition.....a movie deal? *eyes glazing over* Well, a girl can dream but back in the real world,


3. I ordered toilet rolls this week....on Groupon! Who knew? There was me thinking  it was just mini breaks and gel nails, unaware that thrillingly, you can get 45 rolls of 4 ply fragranced rolls for £12.95 on there too!

Well, I don't mind telling you it made MY day, because that's a pretty amazing deal by anyone's standards. And we go through a LOT of loo roll around here, of both the fragranced and non fragranced varieties. I even took the time to share  my canny bargain with like minded purchasers on Facebook. But caught up in all the heady excitement  I neglected to read the terms and conditions- Yes, shipping was free, Alas No, we don't bother shipping to Northern Ireland.

Now this isn't the first time I've encountered this issue- its a fairly common  irritating downside of living here in Northern Ireland, and I DO hate to miss a bargain.
But what's MUCH more annoying is the way they phrase it-'Shipping to the mainland only'. Puh-leez! As far as I'm concerned we're ON the mainland right here, with perfectly good and well established shipping and postal routes between here and England in place, thanks very much.
Did I perhaps mention how much it annoys me? Even more than people who say 'hubby' and 'anyhoo' in everyday conversation, and that's saying something. (BTW, if you hear of any good toilet roll deals here in God's own country, do keep me in the loop!)


4.Booster Seat Boogie-Love love love this song! Makes me feel young, hopeful, happy and in love. (FYI-here's a wee rudey bit in the middle, just sayin'!)
Happy Friday lovelies xxx

Monday Matters

Monday morning, and I've got myself a stinker of a cold so don't come anywhere near me in case you catch it. My uncle once advised to 'feed a cold and starve a flu', which despite having no medical basis whatsoever, conveniently justified the huge plates of buttered toast in front of 'Going for Gold'. Unfortunately though, today is my 5:2 fast day...and here's a fun fact for you- Lemsip has actual calories which therefore must be counted, which is just wrong.

Anyway, moving on from the pity party, tomorrow's October- can you believe it? Especially after that glorious balmy weekend we just enjoyed, and so much for my annual autumnal wardrobe clear out a few weeks ago-sure,the t shirts were hoked out all over again!

This weeks busy for me- I'm starting New Stuff. Stuff that I couldn't do before I had ALL five children at school, and to quote Roald Dahl's Enormous Crocodile, (I've clearly been at home with children for far too long), 'I've got secret plans and clever tricks'.
Which isn't entirely true, but I've always wanted to say that, and actually, as it happens, this week I'm starting a  writing class, AND, (slightly more scarily), a two year course exploring faith and spirituality. I know! Who knew?

On top of that, I've decided to polish up my vocal chords and try and make a little cash singing at weddings and funerals. Which isn't really new for me- I've been singing at them for years on and off, mostly for family and friends. The difference is that I've never sought them out before, and that's mainly been down to a)a lack of time and b)a shed load of nerves.

So, I'd been half considering a few lessons to help with my confidence and tighten up certain key  pieces, when last week I spotted a Groupon deal, bought it on the spot and my first singing lesson in twenty years is this week as well. No pressure then. Oh, and despite feeling like a bit of a grim reaper, I stuck my name in the church bulletin stating my availability for funerals, but no luck as yet.....that actually sounds bad but you know what I mean!

In case you're wondering, with all this talk of change afoot, I've put the tattoo idea on the back burner for now. Honestly, I had no idea it would be such a polarising topic when I put it on the blog, and it certainly led to a lively discussion on Facebook - everyone has VERY definite opinions on the matter! I really loved hearing them all too, but I can't deny that it gave me a leetle bit of a speed wobble about the whole idea!

 Now, that may be because I hadn't thought it through properly, and was therefore somewhat undecided in the first place (in which case the wobble's a good thing) .... or it could be that, in general, I have a tendency to doubt the validity of my own decisions in the face of adversity (which isn't such a good thing when you think about it.)

Either way though, I shall think deep thoughts and decide ...just not right now. Because right now, my nose is running and my eyes are scratchy and my head is fuzzy and I'm going to go throw caution to the winds  and treat myself to that Lemsip and sod the 5:2. Peace out lovelies xx

Tattoo Anyone?

My lovelies, I've something to share with you and I don't quite know how to say it so I'm just going to say it really fast - I'MTHINKINGABOUTGETTINGATATTOO! Thinking about it, haven't completely decided yet but seriously considering it. I know what you're thinking, and yes, I'm getting a distinct whiff of midlife crisis about the whole idea myself, but is that a reason NOT to do it?

Because this isn't something that I wish I'd done when I was younger- Oh No! I was the goody two shoes who wouldn't even get her ears pierced twice, never mind get a tattoo and I remember saying, with all the sweeping arrogance of my twenties  'Oh no! Imagine getting it now and then going off it. Or worse, being eighty and ancient and all wrinkly with a tat!'

Now though, and (only just !) past the midway to eighty point, I think 'Feck it! I don't care if I'm eighty with a wrinkly tattoo.' Frankly, I think I'd just be happy to still be around and I rather suspect my concerns would be more about being healthy, living a good life and loving my family, rather than worrying what others thought of Granny's tramp stamp.

Anyway, the cheeky, bold and utterly thran part of me (yep, it's there!) might even be inclined to flaunt it on occasion, just for my own amusement you understand, at the chiropractor's office for example, or the bridge club or even in the Classic department in Marks and Spencer's. Who knows? And one might even argue, that it would hint at a life lived fully... chances taken.... being comfortable in ones own skin?

 First, of course there's the very important decisions of what to get and where to get it, and this is where I'm a bit stuck.  I thought about getting it on my upper arm, but there's NO WAY I'm drawing more attention to the bingo wings - I need arm spanx for those bad boys, not a tattoo.

So I thought for about a microsecond about getting one on my hip or my stomach, but only when hell freezes over would I allow a tattoo artist anywhere near my 'zone'....and anyway, I'm blessed to have acquired a few 'natural' tattoos there thanks to five big babies.

Are you sure????

And as for doing a Cheryl Cole- puh-leez! I mean, what's the point when no one would ever get to see it? (Loverboy doesn't count.) For goodness sake, I couldn't even see it myself without a full length mirror and I'm fairly certain it would cost an arm and a leg to get my (rather more ample than Cheryl's) derrière  covered with roses.

Sooooo, so far I've narrowed it down to three body parts-the back of my neck (which you'd only see when my hair's up), my ankle or my inner wrist. I'm thinking fairly small and discreet- no giant spider webs, reptiles or anchors. Oh, and definitely no writing in languages I don't understand, which always seems a leetle bit pretentious, and anyway it could be list of groceries on there and I wouldn't know the difference.

I kinda like it!

I think my problem is, knowing what I don't want but not what I do, but I'm pretty certain my lifelong love affair with leopard print or shoes isn't likely to wane anytime soon, so that seems like a good bet? I may even combine the two?

 Or perhaps something more meaningful- like a few inspiring words or one with a family oriented theme? Or maybe I'm just over thinking it and a butterfly or a star or a cute little dolphin would be just the ticket.

So there you are, Peeps, I've put it out there and now I'd really love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the matter-for or against, I don't mind! And as long as it doesn't include my birth date in Arabic, a Chinese proverb or a dripping bleeding heart, I'm open to any and all suggestions as well.
Laters lovelies, Emx