My VERY Cute Nephew

The title says it all, this is my incredibly cute nephew. He is 8 months old and a real bruiser.

He is very well travelled. In fact he has just come back from Florida where he learnt how to crawl (I'm fairly sure he would have learnt how to crawl even if he hadn't been to Florida, but you know what I mean).

He almost never cries.

He laughs A LOT.

He has beautiful blonde curls in his hair.

He is sporting 2 brand new front teeth (he has 4 in total now - 2 up, 2 down).

He loves pulling your hair out.

He likes to pull Granddads glasses off his face.

He loves to dance, and has great rhythm.

There is so much more I could say about him, but I'll leave it at that for now.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I turn 34. I would love to give some inspirational speech about how it doesn't matter how old you are, it's what you do with your life that counts, but I don't buy in to all that.

I actually don't feel too bad about my birthday this year, 34 is a nothing age. I think next year will be tougher. I'm not looking forward to that one!

Anyway, for now I would just like to wish a big Happy Birthday to anyone who happens to share my birth date. Like Bono and (when he was alive) Sid Vicious, and apparently Homer Simpson! Who wouldn't want to share their birthday with Homer Simpson?

:o)

What is your definition of bullying?

It is election time here in the UK, and (as you might expect) this brings out a lot of emotion in people. Actually it's bringing out a side of someone I really didn't want to see.

I am a fairly opinionated person. I generally keep my opinions to myself as some of them are not very PC, and I have no wish to offend anyone. I believe that if someone wants my opinion they will ask for it. To force my opinions on to someone is (in my opinion) tantamount to bullying, particularly when the opinion is voiced in an aggressive fashion. However, it would appear that one of my friends does not share this view.

The various political parties have been taking part in a series of debates where the leaders of each party come together to argue why they are the best party to rule our country. This is the first time they have done this type of thing, although I am aware that this is common place in the US.

At the end of each debate there is a poll to see which party is in the lead and likely to receive the most votes on May 6th (election day). After last nights debate it was deemed that David Cameron (Conservative Leader) had performed the best. My friend responded to this on their Facebook status by saying (I've removed my friends name from this quote) "..... is wondering what retards YouGov have sampled?!". (YouGov are the online company who put the poll together), implying that only someone who is mentally challenged would vote Conservative.

This was just one of a series of comments and possibly doesn't sound like much to complain about, but I was shocked and disappointed by this. The use of the term "retard" is unnecessary at any time, and why does someone have to be so aggressive. Is it not possible to voice your opinion without offending and alienating people - in this instance, your friends? As far as I am concerned these are the words of a bully. This person is aggressively forcing their opinion on to their Facebook friends, and making their Conservative friends feel that they are wrong for having their own opinion.

I am so disappointed in my friend. I am shocked that they could behave like this and I now feel very differently towards them. Hopefully once the election is over we can put this behind us, but until then I shall keep my distance.

I feel better for venting. Thanks for listening. :)

Fast Food

When did fast food stop being fast? I just had the misfortune to go to a well known burger chain, and I was asked to go and wait in the lay-by because my food wasn't ready. The mere fact that this restaurant (I use that term loosely) even has waiting bays suggests they know they are not able to supply fast food. I have, on occasion, been asked to park up in one of the disabled parking spaces to wait for my food. Given that there are 3 waiting bays this means that I am, at best, 4th in the queue!

So, as I sit here nursing my chronic burger induced heartburn, I have to wonder why on earth I bother. The convenience has been removed from convenience food, and all I am left with is indigestion and a much lighter bank balance!

No more burgers for me thanks.

Happy Birthday Mum! xxx

Today is my mums birthday. Don't worry mum, I won't divulge your age.

This afternoon we all got together to celebrate/commiserate. Here are a few pictures:

Mum, Charlotte & Harry

Mum & Harry

Charlotte & Laura

Me & Charlotte

Charlotte

Happy Birthday Mum

Love you lots,

xxx

Visit From A Friend

On Tuesday our friend Clayton came to visit with us all the way from Glendale, Utah. We first met him when he was serving a mission in England in 1988. In 1990 my family and I went to stay with Clayton's family, but we haven't seen him since. It was so much fun to see him again after all these years.

Sadly we didn't have a lot of time with him, but we gave him a tour of our neck of the woods. Here are some of things we got up to:

Laura and I at Stockwood Park Classic Car Museum

Clayton and I inside The Priory Church of St Peter. It was at this church in 1533 that the marriage between King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon was annulled.

The Old Hunters Lodge. A 15th century house, now a country pub/restaurant.

Clayton and I outside The Priory Church of St Peter.

View from the Dunstable Downs.

It was so much fun to have Clayton stay with us. I just hope it isn't another 20 years before we see him again.

The Lovely Bones

I started reading The Lovely Bones back in December, and I finished reading it last week. The reason for this isn't that I'm an incredibly slow reader, it's that I found it a chore to get through.

I would sit down to read the book, open to the page I was at and start reading. Ten minutes later I would realise that, despite having routinely turned the pages, I hadn't actually read anything. I found myself wondering what I would have for dinner, or why hadn't the vacuum picked up that tiny speck of fluff on the carpet?

It isn't a bad book. In fact I can't really put my finger on what the problem was, but I really struggled with it.

I think I can sum the book up fairly quickly without giving too much away. I'm going to use bullet points because... well, because I like bullet points.

• There's a horrific murder (I seriously debated whether to carry on or not. I found it very uncomfortable to read)
• Then there is 250 (circa) pages of mourning (understandable, but very drawn out)
• Then it's suddenly 20 years down the line
• Then the book ends.

The ending felt very rushed in comparison to the rest of the book. It seemed as though the author suddenly realised she had exceeded her word limit, and needed to bring it to an end quickly.

So the question is would I recommend this book? Yes, I think I would. Don't ask me why, but I actually think it's probably worth a read. Just don't expect too much from it.