I'm still here!

(image from www.xray2000.co.uk)

Everything is going really well. I have done 5 weeks of hard study and next week I get to go and have fun at my hospital. Although I think the reality will be boring induction tutorials and perhaps not much hands on practice. I think I will have to be patient for that.

I (with my tutorial group) got to do an x-ray today. We have an old donated skeleton, covered in fabric that we can x-ray and we worked together to get it ready for an ankle. I pressed the buttons for a lateral x-ray and we didn't do "too" badly. We missed the heel, wasted space, and probably cause the skeleton undue pain, but hey ho!

Unfortunately for my blog, I find I have so little emotional and intellectual energy by the end of the evening, the most I can do is keep up to date with emails and watch reruns of Sex and the City. By Fridays I am exhausted, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I am having lots of fun and thoroughly enjoy going off to uni 3/4 times a week.

I think we, as a family, are still getting to grips with our new life. I am finding it hard to summon the energy to get day to day jobs done, but I'm sure that will get easier. Its now just over 3 years since I last did a full day's work, so it was always going to take some getting used to!

The children are fine. I hardly see them during the week, but they are very happy and enjoying their time at nursery. I do miss them, but nowhere near as much as I thought, and as much as I should!! I always knew I wasn't cut out to be a SAHM for too long! Overall I think we'll all be happier, although there will always be a little guilt!

I'll try not to keep it so long next time. I need to put up some new pics of the children and our new living room.

Tireder than a tired thing in tiredville... but happy

It has been TOO long since I last worked more than 6 hours in one go. My eyes are tired, my body is exhausted and for the first time in 4 years, my exhaustion is not caused by my offspring!

In fact, I am yet to actually do any work, but I am soooooooooooooooo tired. I've got the 8.17 train twice in a row, and I get one just before 9 tomorrow. I forgot what early starts were like.

Not that I am complaining though. So far, everything has gone very well. Everyone has been very very friendly, and the conversations have flowed. I haven't got too lost. Even though I am usually pretty good at finding my bearings, but the building we have been in so far is SO confusing! I've been following people, in the vain hope they know what they are doing. It doesn't always work though as we ALL ended up in the wrong room this afternoon.

Mostly we're being talked at this week. Its all a little dull, and I should think most of us know what we are being told, but its a good chance to get to know everyone. I think because we are all not only concentrating on the talks and being nice to people, we are all exhausted.

Tomorrow is a quieter day. I don't have to be in until 10, and then, after a tutorial on our online resources (or such like) I get fitted for my uniform. I have to wear a tunic, and then black trousers. I don't have to wear regulation trousers, so that, believe me, is a bonus! Drainpipes anyone!?

Then I am going to pop over to the Union to see what freshers freebies I can get. No chance of a booze up as I am probably picking up Oscar tomorrow, and a drunken look is NOT a good one, on my first pick up!

I shall probably read this back and realise that none of it makes any sense, but I am too tired to care! Roll on Friday and some wine. Although I may well need to be prodded every few minutes! he he

New start on Monday

Eeeeeek!

I don't think it has really and truly sunk in that I am all but a student again. I have to present myself to an "ice-breaking" session at University on Monday at 9.30 and then my new life starts. Although I'll be doing student life without too much debt (she says hopefully) with nicer clothes, nicer food, nicer house and with a lot more determination. It is a strange experience to buy University books without worrying about whether I'll have enough for food (or beer and fags, more honestly)

Obviously my life as a mum and wife carries on, and I think the hardest bit is going to be juggling all the parts of my life to keep us all happy. Mummy's guilt is there, bubbling away, but I do know that the children are settling in well at Nursery, and Nursery School, and so I can relax while I am at classes.

My timetable looks quite sparse for now, with sometimes only 9 hours of classtime, but I am not going to be too cocky. I expect I am going to have to do some serious work on my own and I think I might be expected to meet up with coursemates regularly. However, it looks like I have Mondays off, which is fabulous. It makes trips away so much easier, at least until Christmas.

I got my first choice hospital for Clinical Placements. I'm not going to name it here as I need to be very careful about confidentiality if I chose to talk about it here, so its easiest if I keep it quiet. I am so pleased though. It couldn't have gone better. Obviously, those who know me will find out all the (possibly gory) details as and when they happen!

My lovely new red schoolbag is ready, I have bought a pencil case, which is filled, and I have paper and text books. I now have to get through a week of induction, and then a one-week course designed for all Health care courses (aka dullsville 101) but then, it begins.

See you on the other side....




(which will probably be Monday, knowing me, I'll be too excited! he he)

More photos

These are my flower pictures. Unfortunately, there isn't much in flower right now, but the light yesterday was beautiful.

Geraniums, I want these in boxes on my windowsills, a la francaise!

This is a Hydrangea, I think. It is now my desktop I love it so much.
Ok, so technically not a flower, but it has good Bokeh, I think.
The colours here are so good.
my favourite. A close up of a flower I cannot identify! I have cropped this heavily.
Part of my anniversary flowers!
another close up, but I cocked it up, but getting some yellow in it!
This was so good, I uploaded it twice, whoops!
Another nice red flower.

Photos with a borrowed camera

Lindy has lent me her camera, so I can see if I want to buy it off her. I'm not sure if I'm going to have the time, since I'll be mostly taking photos of people's insides soon (YAY)

But, it is a BRILLIANT camera, and I am so happy with some of the photos I have taken (lots)

Our card reader is crap, I had to view the photos via Span's laptop, which was slow and laborious, so I managed to cut the photos down to my absolute favourites. I did take far too many, so that is a blessing really!! I have more from today to sort out, but I'll do them tomorrow I think!

I want to say a BIG Thank you to Lindy. It was a very generous gesture and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I also want to thank her for the rice pudding from ages ago! It was delicious!!!

These are my favourites.













More coming...

The gym (pronounced gime, to rhyme with time!)

For clarification see here. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=R4i8SpNgzA4

I can't even remember if I posted about this, but I, with Lindy, decided to start going to Aqua in order to shift a few pounds. I loved it, but found it wasn't really helping me lose anything. I also found the water cold, the showers hot, then cold, then hot etc, and for whatever reason, within 20 minutes of starting, I needed to go for a pee. Without fail. I didn't want to get out, so ended up being desperate by the end, and miserable. So it wasn't quite for me.

While bemoaning my lack of weight loss, Lindy suggested that maybe I needed to do more energetic exercise, so I have bitten the bullet and joined the gym part of the leisure centre.

I started about 5 weeks ago. I had an induction, which was rubbish. I paid nearly £12 for it, and it was 5 minutes. I was furious. However, I decided that rather than waste all that cash I would get on the machines. I was rubbish! I managed about 10 mins on the cross trainer, level 4, walked on the treadmill for roughly 10 mins and then scarpered home completely exhausted and embarrassed!

Fast forward to today and I managed 20 mins on level 9 cross training and then I ran (RAN, not WALKED) for 30 MINUTES. WITHOUT STOPPING. This comes from the girl who was convinced she could NEVER run. I did it at 7.3-7.6ish km/hr (according to the machines) Feck knows if they are accurate, but I supposedly covered 3.75kms in just over 30 minutes. That is 2.3301419709 miles. I am SO pleased with myself.

However, I have A LOT to do. There I am, turning redder than a red beetroot, with hair all over the place, sweaty and hot, and yet there are runners all around me, doing 10km/hr, hardly out of breath, hair immaculate, NOT red. Thankfully, I don't care what I look like at the gym (god knows why, it bothers me most of the time) The lady next to me was doing 12.5km/hr at one point.

My aim is to time a 5k run. Then I will enter in a Race for Life, if I keep it up. I always wanted to do one, but wanted to do it in a decent time. I've read that road running is a lot harder, and I really am not ready to face the general public on a run. (not to mention the propensity for injuries that joggers seem to get)

Anyway, I don't think I've lost any weight yet. Ironicall enough, all this extra movement makes you hungry you know! Thankfully I'm not overdoing it, but possibly not eating as well as I should. The exercise does alleviate the guilt when I eat something nice though. I've also stopped weighing myself. I'll wait a few weeks and see if its had an effect. I shall keep you informed! Although the large glass of red wine I am enjoying won't help will it?

Uni news! Time for change.

Everyone who reads this will know by now that I got an A in my Physics which means I'm off to University in a few weeks to study Diagnostic Radiography.

This is both exciting and absolutely terrifying. My worry level has increased ten-fold. I have NO idea what I will be doing in 3 weeks time. I have an induction timetable, of course, but beyond that, I know nothing. Scary, is not the word. I know it will be fine, I know I can do it all, but even so, I just want to get going now.

They have set a small assignment which needs to be handed in on the first day. Its quite daunting as I want to my best, but of course, it will probably be rubbish (as will everyone else's) as I have never written anything like it before! Thankfully, I'm enjoying reading about the topic for now! Long may that continue.

I expect my posts on this blog will become increasingly about my studies, although conversely I expect it will be my studies that stop me posting as much as I should. We'll see how it affects my blogging.

Jasmine starts full time nursery on Monday, so I feel like my time as a SAHM is almost over. I will have Oscar for a week on his own, but its not the same, is it? I feel very conflicted about it, but I know it is the right thing to do. Jas loves nursery, Oscar is ready for nursery school, and I need to start doing more things for me. Its a time of change for all of us. I suppose September is like that for a lot of us.

It feels good to be returning to normal, even though we don't really know what normal is going to be just yet!

Our August in Pictures

I've not really had much motivation to post. We've been keeping busy, so this is a pictoral guide to what we've been up to! I hope I don't forget anything!

We went to Baby Loves Disco at Urbis. I'm not sure the children were that impressed with it, although they did dance to start with!

The special lift there was Oscar's highlight.
These are the apples I managed to get off my tree this year. Within 20 minutes of this picture, OScar and Jasmine had nabbed them! Thankfully, I got another one and they are delicious!

Just another flower pic I was pleased with!
This was at Redhouse Farm. The first time! The barrel rides, as ever, were very very popular.
Noah liked the tractors And Caitlyn and Jas liked the sandpit.

Then, after Greenbelt (I didn't take the camera so Span could use it) we went fruit picking.

And we saw this pretty fabulous plane. On looking on Airliners.net, it is an Airbus Beluga, and was probably going to Chester.
The apples were lovely.
Apple train!
Then last weekend, we went to visit Teddy and co in Cambridgeshire. How quaint is this village square!?
We went on a walk to an orchard, grown as some kind of insect farm/sanctuary. Ironically, I didn't see a single insect, and the plums were divine. The weather was so hot, which is amazing, considering our summer, so walking in jeans was a bit of a mistake and I was boiling by the time I got back!!

They all fought over this chair. Jas, apparently, had possession at this point as the grin shows.
Oscar loved the plums. He has good taste, they were delicious.
Chloe and Max
I thought this was an apple tree ladder, but it is a swimming pool ladder. There was no swimming pool, so god knows why it was in the garden. Jas didn't care, she loved it. The climbing frame to nowhere.
Bacon butties for breakfast the following morning.

Redhouse farm, part 2. Barrel rides again

And Jas watching, as she refused to go on again!
My attempt at a photo of the two of them. On the haystack.
Then, today we went to the airport. It was nice when we got there, if windy and cold and exposed

Then it rained, so we had a car picnic.
Then there was a lot of excitement as this plane had fire engines following it. It was obviously a false alarm as they soon disappeared.
Then Lindy looked after Jas and Os while I ferried Byrney and co back to the station. It was sooo wet at this point!
And this was my parting shot. The sky was much greyer than it looks!

Photo catch up (see prev post first!)

The cake

Jas (and a sneaky one of Caitlyn!!)
Jas and Os were both taken with Caitlyn and Noah's buggy
A poor attempt at showing off the view at the golf club
The view from my cousin's B&B. What a way to wake up eh??


Can you spy the train?
My dad, just to get another one of the view!
L
The gang
L again
Cheesier than a brie and camembert sandwich
and again.
L so happy to be with his godfather....
Me, at the wedding.
The lovely couple.