Royal wedding

Having said for the last few weeks that I was bored of hearing about the royal wedding, it was quite a surprise to wake up this morning and actually wish I had gone into central London to soak up the atmosphere of it all. Michael was certainly surprised by my complete change of opinion – but with all the excitement on the TV and radio, it just made me think about how happy I was on my own wedding morning and suddenly there I was feeling excited and happy for the royal couple and wanting to watch it all on TV.

Church craft club

One of the things I love about the craft group at my church is the chance just to sit down for a couple of hours with a cup of tea and be sociable with the other ladies from church. It is just so relaxing to sit and work on a craft project whilst chatting away and know that if you get a bit stuck on something, there is always someone else there who can help you out. Plus there’s also the opportunity to try and learn different craft techniques as everyone has different skills that they bring to the group.

Another evening with friends

We seem to be doing quite a lot of socialising with friends and family at the moment which is great. Tonight we were out for a meal at the local all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I love all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurants – unlimited amounts of crispy duck pancakes – yummy! Although these days, the amount of Chinese food I can eat has reduced somewhat so I can’t quite take as much advantage of it as I used to. But even if I had to ease off on the duck pancakes, it was still good to spend an evening with friends.

Olympic ticket application grumbles

It’s been a bit last minute, but we have put in our application for Olympic Games tickets. I can’t say I’m impressed with the application system. We’ve applied for more tickets than we want (on the basis that we’re unlikely to get them all) but whilst the payment for any tickets we’ve managed to get will be taken between 10 May and 10 June, we may not actually find out what we’ve got until 24 June, so we have to assume we will have to pay for them all (ouch!) Plus you can only pay by Visa which is annoying.

The joys of the 4-day weekend

Weekends always seem to go by so fast – particularly as it often seems that either Michael or I end up working for part of the weekend and then there seems to be very little time left to try and tackle things around the house. For once though, both of us had managed to keep the whole of the Easter weekend fairly free which meant not only did we manage to move forward on the various tasks we had planned, but we also managed to have plenty of time to relax, spend time with friends and family and enjoy the break.

Kevin's 50th birthday party

Another beautiful day and another family gathering – this time we were heading off to spend the evening with my family and celebrate my big brother Kevin’s 50th birthday. Unfortunately one of my brothers was unable to make it to the party which was a shame because otherwise we would have managed to get all nine of us together (which doesn’t happen very often – the last time was my dad’s funeral so would have been nice to get together for a happier occasion) but I got to catch up with my other siblings and a few of my nephews and nieces.

Family barbecue

The beautiful Bank Holiday weather provided the perfect excuse to have a family barbecue and an afternoon with Michael’s parents, aunt, cousin and her baby twins Seren and Siân, who are now eight months old and starting to crawl and take a lot more interest in everything that is going on around them (hair and sunglasses seem to be quite appealing!) I find it particularly interesting to watch how Michael’s family interact with small children (the twins are the first babies in 30 years) especially now that there will be another addition to the family in a few months’ time!

CTU walk of witness

I usually end up working on Good Friday but for once this year, I had the day free and so was able to go on the local Churches Together Walk of Witness. It was a beautiful sunny morning and around 200 people from various churches across the town took part in the walk. We walked through the town centre, carrying a cross, and stopping at various points in the town to read extracts from the Easter story, to pray for people in the town and local area and to sing songs relating to the events of the first Good Friday.

Mini midwife in the making?

Antenatal visits when there are older siblings are just magical sometimes, particularly when the older child is around the age of 2 or 3. They generally are quite fascinated by everything that is going on. It is so funny when I have just listened to the baby’s heartbeat with the Doppler and then the older sibling lies down and lifts up their top wanting me to listen to their tummy too! My niece Ebony used to pick up my Pinards stethoscope and put it against my sister’s bump to try and listen to the baby’s heartbeat before Erin was born.

SPD

A trip to the chiropractor today has confirmed what I already suspected – I have got SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction) and therefore have been advised to give up tap dancing as this is likely to make it worse. I had hoped to continue with tap for a bit longer but I also know how disabling SPD can be when it is severe. Hopefully by getting it picked up early, I can stop it getting much worse later on. On the plus side, other things to avoid include hoovering – looks like my lovely hubby is going to have to do it instead!

Happy birthday, Erin!

My beautiful niece Erin is five years old today. I can hardly believe that five years have passed since I was there to welcome her into the world – having had the joy of being my twin sister’s midwife when Erin was born. Seeing a baby enter the world is always a miracle, but it is extra special when it is part of your family. I have been lucky enough to be there for the births of two of my nieces – I was also a birth partner for my twin sister when her first daughter Ebony was born. Happy birthday, Erin!

Tap exam results

Tap exam results are now in and I am pleased to report that I managed a score of 84 which I’m very happy about. Our new routines involve lots of stamps and drops which have made me realise why tap is considered ‘high impact’ exercise – I had to stop a few minutes before the end of the last class because my ligaments were really starting to ache. The advice I read about stopping at 16 weeks no longer seems so silly – am still planning to continue for a while longer but suspect I will be stopping sooner rather than later.

Team Floppy Throttle - less than 2 weeks to go

There are now just under two weeks to go until the 2011 Scumrun gets underway. My niece’s husband Chris and his friend Gareth will be taking part as ‘Team Floppy Throttle’, driving approximately 3000 miles across Europe in 4 days in ‘Juliette’, a 1994 Ford Escort purple cabriolet. They are raising money for Dreams Come True, a charity which works with terminally ill and seriously ill children, and are aiming to raise £1000 (so far they have raised £625). Further details are available from their blog (which is well worth a read) and any donations would be very much appreciated.

Musical tastes

The modern day version of the freak show is back on our screens – yes, Britain’s Got Talent is proving once again that for every person with genuine talent, there are a dozen others who are either deluded or just desperate for five minutes of fame. Still, it did give rise to a magical moment when I felt definite kicking from Sprout for the first time. I was slightly concerned that it was during the handbell accompaniment to ‘My Heart Will Go On’. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of appreciation for Celine Dion songs. Maybe Sprout’s musical education should start now…

Maternity wardrobe

Having siblings who have already had children is a bonus when it comes to my maternity wardrobe. I’ve now reached the stage where half my clothes don’t fit at all and the ones that do fit aren’t likely to do so for too much longer and have become a little uncomfortable. But thanks to my wonderful twin sister who seems to have bought several shops’ worth of clothes during her pregnancies, I now have a whole new wardrobe of clothes which hopefully should keep me going right up until Sprout’s arrival and beyond. It’s so nice to be comfortable again!

Off-putting advertising

I love Spring Harvest but there has been one annoying thing about it this year which seems to be much worse than in previous years and that is the amount of advertising. Virtually every workshop, lecture, Bible study session or worship session seems to be interrupted by someone plugging a book or CD or event. It’s not so bad when it’s actually relevant to the session but when it’s completely unrelated, it completely puts me off buying the product even if I would have been interested otherwise. The book/CD plugging has always happened but it used to be more subtle.

Creative zone

The theme for this year’s Spring Harvest is “Route 66” – Biblical direction for the road we travel. We have been exploring the analogy of the Bible as a sonnet, as a symphony, as a screenplay and as a streetmap. There have been various different sessions exploring the theme – discussion-based sessions, sessions which use media to illustrate the theme, sessions for those new to reading the Bible and creative sessions. Needless to say, I’ve been going to the creative sessions – the use of art and drama as a way of exploring various themes is definitely a style which works for me.

Taking time out

As much as I enjoy the Bible studies, workshops and worship celebrations, it is also nice to take some time out just to be alone, with a cup of hot chocolate, watching the world go by (not always easy to achieve when with a group of friends, particularly when you also tend to go to the same things!) I’m realising again this week that my decision to take a break from drama is definitely the right one – the drama workshop is usually on my ‘must do’ list but this year having time out for me instead was much more appealing.

The lure of the bookshop

Every time I go to Spring Harvest, I tell myself that I won’t come home with lots of new books and within a couple of days this resolution fails. The trouble is, the Skyline is generally the easiest place to meet up and generally the bookstand ends up being the meeting point. Plus the thirty minute gap between workshops is just enough time for another browse and there’s just such a good selection of books, several of which seem to be on special offer and before I know it, there I am at the till with another pile of books…

Off to Spring Harvest

Going to Spring Harvest seems to be a triennial thing for me. This hasn’t been intentional – I have wanted to go most years but my annual leave didn’t happen to be at the right time, or it clashed with rehearsing for and performing a show, or there was just some other reason why I didn’t end up going. For me, it’s a chance to go away and unwind for a few days, to spend time focusing on God (which all too often falls by the wayside on a day-to-day basis despite the good intentions) and to catch up with friends.

A good decision

I ended up helping backstage last night for Kiss Me Kate (as a gofer for the stage manager – no moving heavy scenery for me – just lots of running about making sure the cast are in the right places). It was nice to feel part of it (or as much as you can be as stage crew) but I didn’t miss being on stage which was slightly surprising. I haven’t missed rehearsals, the stress of preparing for a show, the annoying politics that are part of every am-dram group I’ve ever been involved in. Taking a break was the right decision.

Name and shame time

It’s name and shame time again. This time, my mini rant is about New Look clothes, or more specifically ordering clothes on their website. I ordered two maternity tops and paid extra for delivery between 7am and noon on 8 April and waited in. No show. At 12.15 I call New Look and my clothes haven’t even left the warehouse. So much for express delivery. Plus they can’t refund the extra I paid for express delivery – I have to call them back once the clothes arrive. Except I’m off to Spring Harvest and will probably now miss the delivery anyway.

Surprising my family

Sometimes it’s nice to take a trip home unexpectedly and surprise my family. On Thursdays, my mum and twin sister usually go shopping together and then my mum goes with my sister to the local infant school to pick up my nieces. She wasn’t expecting me to turn up there as well (although my twin sister knew I was coming home and kept it quiet!). Nor was one of my other sisters expecting me to walk through the door of the clothes shop where she works! I love surprising my family and being able to spend some time with them.

Farewell to Felix

The loss of a pet is always very sad, particularly when said pet has been part of the family for 17 years. Michael’s mum’s cat Felix died yesterday – she found him behind his favourite chair when she arrived home from the dress rehearsal – it was clear it had only happened minutes before and I like to think he went just as he saw her arrive home (he tended to sit on the top of that chair and watch for her coming home). He’d been frail for a while so it wasn’t completely unexpected but still very sad all the same.

Refocusing

Like a lot of women, I have a tendency to take on board and dwell on negative comments and sometimes dismiss compliments or not really believe them (e.g. “That piece you were playing sounded good” tends to meet with “Really? It was full of mistakes.”) I can sometimes fret for days about something bad someone has said, but the glow from a positive comment rarely lingers half as long. I guess negative comments tend to resonate more with our inner doubts and insecurities and therefore hit harder but the good things people say are just as likely to be true.

Spa day

Had a lovely day chillaxing at a spa thanks to birthday vouchers from my mother-in-law (yes, I know my birthday was 11 months ago – it’s taken me this long to get around to booking it!) I started off with a sleep retreat session (relaxation meditation session) then had a swim and another doze next to the pool (testing out another sleep relaxation treatment!) before having a head and neck massage and then a foot massage – sheer bliss! It was nice to go on my own (I find solitude relaxing) but not as nice as having a spa day with Michael.

Another op'nin', another show...

Kiss Me Kate opens at the Compass Theatre this week. I’m not really involved with this show (except for putting together the programme) but Michael is doing the sound design and so the only way I can really get to see anything of my husband this week is to spend half my evenings at the theatre. Being pregnant is a great reason not to be involved in moving set or anything like that so I’ve mostly spent the time sitting at the back of the theatre near the sound desk half-watching what’s going on on stage whilst knitting baby clothes.

The best laid plans...

Having discovered that the worship planning group at church was leading the Mother’s Day service, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get the young people at church involved in the service. The original plan was to put together a slideshow based on Proverbs 31 with photos of the ladies in the church doing everyday things that illustrated the reading. My group were going to take some photos of their mums which we could use. Unfortunately, this didn’t quite happen as planned – I was left searching my photo collection for enough photos to put together the slideshow myself!

Family time

First day of annual leave and off home for the day to catch up with family and to meet my beautiful new great-nephew Ryan – had a lovely cuddle with him for about an hour which he spent mostly sleeping, ignoring big brother Steven who was chattering away and piling toys on my lap. Also popped in for a cup of tea with my twin sister and then it was off to bingo with my mum and Auntie Pauline – lovely to have an evening out with them – would have been better if the caller had been calling the right numbers though!