Nightmare

Had a horrible nightmare last night. i dreamt that i was hacking this man's head off with a pen knife (can't remember why but I 'm sure dream Gina had her reasons) when I woke to find myself making stabbing motions with my hand to my throat. I got wierded out by that and had to get up to put the light on so I could check there were no monsters in the room and so could go back to sleep.

Books

I have started reading Barbara Nadel's Inspector Ikmen series. I had heard of Barabra Nadel as she lives in Essex, there was a profile of her in a local paper. She writes police procedurals set in Turkey. That didn't appeal to me but I saw one of her books in the library and decided to give it a go. thats why I love libraries so much - I tend to be much more adventurous in my reading when its free. that's how I discovered authors like Charlaine Harris, M C Beaton - you don't tend to find their books in local shops. Anyhow - i loved her book -Balthazzer's Daughter ( i know i've spelt that wrong) and I have just finished Harem. I found I couldn't put the books down. the characters are vivid, intersting and funny. i have never been to Turkey but she really made the place come alive for me. She is a very good, original writer.
On Friday Steve and I went to the Riga to see a REM tribute band called Stipe. they were brilliant! Steve even got up and danced!!! both decided to make an effort to see more local live music.

Diamonds

Steve and I went shopping today- and I came home with a diamond ring! How extravagant is that! I have been looking for a ring for my little finger for years and I have never seen one I liked. This is a 2 diamond twist on a yellow and white gold band. It was second hand and it was under £100- I'm calling it an early Christmas present. I' m trying not to feel guilty about it - whenever I spend money I worry. And I can afford it, its not like I slapped it on a credit card. I have a troublesome relationship to money - I worry about money a lot. I worry that I will be penniless in my old age. I try to be more relaxed about it - Steve and I are both workers , we're sensible - but I am haunted by buyer's remorse. So now I'm making a mental trade off- ok i won't have any takeways this month. Lets see how long that lasts ( and the stupid thing is I can afford the takeaways and the ring - I'm on a budget but the ring wasn't that expensive). So now I'm thingking - I bought a cheap ring BIG DEAL! thus spoiling the enjoyment of the much mentioned bleeding ring. And if I hadn't got the ring i would be typing now saying how much I regretted not getting it.

beauty

Steve reckons love is thinking about that person all the time. I don't know- seems a bit stalkerish to me.
had a lovely weekend. Dad and I babysat the boys. Mum was out at a bowls do, Angela and dave were at a birthday party. We watched "walking with dinosaurs" with Aaron matching the dinosurs in his dinosaurs book. when i put the boys to bed they wanted Babar the Elephant. What a load of old cobblers that story was!Then Dad and I watched the boxing -what a fight that was.

When I arrived at Angela's for my babysitting duties, she was moaning about how fat/awfull she looked. There is something very irritating about a good looking woman moaning about her appearance like that. Then Julie (really nice girl) came in and she started going on about how awfull she looked. Stressful start to the evening, really. made mental note never to go about my appearence like that as I now realise how irritating it is. At one point Joe shouted:you both look beautiful!

Love

i was stumbling on the interweb and the title - what do we mean by love - caught my eye. The sub headings were sexual love, family love and love for friends. I think love is wanting the best for someone, and helping them. But then how do you define what is best for them and who are you to judge? Is love having pure intentions? But haven't we all got our best interests at heart? Is anyone really selfless?

Penny

Reread my blog entry for 'a night out'- when I was writing that I was seething. I know it sounds terrible but I could have quite happily have taken penny back to the dog refuge. ok i know I've got 2 dogs and had did I know it was penny...well Penny is the only one who jumps up at the door and she is the highly strung one. To be blunt if there is havoc it is caused by Pen. She is also the most loving, gentle dog and is very easy to walk on the lead. penny is only a problem when she panics - then she can be a very destructive dog. last firework season she manged to chew of part of the hall wall off - there was plaster and blood all over the place. We've ended up muzzling her for her own protection when we go out. i think muzzling is something the owner minds more than the dog. But what can you do? A dog is for life and all that.
Another i noticed when the police came round- that it is true they are getting younger- and there is something about a man in uniform. perhaps I should get Steve down the fancy dress shop!
Steve was doing a pod cast with his American friend Mark tonight. They talk about the Grand Prix. I could hear them both laughing ( steve was upstairs, I was downstairs) i never realised motor racing could be so humourous.

Reiki

Went round Claire's after work for a Reiki session. Came out feeling as if I was walking on air. I wish i had kept a note of how many sessions I have had, because this one was so good. Felt really peaceful. Like I said before you would think to works but it does. Clicky shoulder feels not clicky.

A night out

The atmosphere in the house is subdued today. Steve and I went out last night- Steve went for meal with friends and I went round my sister's. We both had a really nice time and Steve picked me up on the way home. This was a good thing, that we both came home together. As Steve parked the car in the garage, I unlocked the door. I unlocked the mortice lock first and then the yale key. The door wouldn't budge. I was a bit pissed, so I thought it was me (althoughtI wasn't that pissed.) Steve then tried. The door wasn't having any of. Now Penny does leap up at the door and somehow she must have knocked the latch on. We couldn't get in round the back as the key was left in the back door. Luckily there is a police station down the road so we walked round there. The police were really nice- but they couldn't get in either, so they ended up smashing the little window in the door and sticking their arm in to unlock it. glass was everywhere. What a night mare! We were so fed up - what are the chances of a dog hitting the latch anyway? A crumby end to a nice evening. the lesson we have learnt is not to leave the key in the back door, so if it does happen again we can get in through the back.

Housework

Yesterday I sliced lengthways 2 aubergines and slowly roasted them. When they were all nice and soft I drizzled feta cheese over them. they were delish- will definately cook that again. As a vegetarian I'm always trying to think of exciting things to do with vegetables.
Did the housework this morning - as soon as I'm rich enough I'm going to get a cleaner. not having to clean ( and not having to nag Steve to do his share- altho i don't have to nag so much now) would really improve the quality of my life. because I'm so strict about doing the housework is only (only!) takes 2 hours-but I could be doing fun things instead. Fun things for me would be:
reading the paper, gardening, walking the dogs, watching telly, blogging. Cleaning is boring. I think that is why I always make myself do it on Saturday morning - if I didn't force myself to do it at a set time, I know I wouldn't bother.
Spoke to Aaron on the phone last night. He was telling me about Jackson Pollock - they are doing him at school. I was impressed by that- I didn't learn about artists when I was 6. At the end of the call Aaron said 'see you gina' and it got me right there. I think its true the older you get the more emotional you get. When i was 14 I saw ET and I laughed - when I saw it a couple of years ago, I cried. I cried when Kelly Holmes won the 2 gold medals and when Zara Phillips won the World Championship.

Seasons changing

Steve made me laugh at loud tonight, and he wasn't trying to be funny. he told me that he was going to bed early as the change of season tires him. WTF??? I must that use that line in a story..

End Of Course

I have posted my final assignment today. That's it, I 've finished all my course work for A215 Creative Writing. Feel a bit flat now - although it will be nice to be able to write just what Iwant. The course started in February and it has dominated my free time. Just have to wait for my mark now. Although as I'm not doing it as part of a degree (that's right I'm doing it for fun) I shouldn't worry too much.
Went to the supermarket after work to get some bits and pieces. It was full of nutters having arguements on their mobile phones. I had wanted to get some aubergines but they had sold out. Grrr. I had a silent cashier-he didn't tell me how much my bill was, that I could enter my pin now or ask me if I wanted to use my nectar card. I quite liked the silent cashier, but I have a feeling he won't be staying in the job for long.

The Shame

Getting very near the OU deadline and am getting writer's remorse. Writer's remorse is when you realise what you have written is rubbish and you shouldn't be on the course anyway. posted a word count query to the conference - it didn't seem to work - so rather than be patient -(because I need to know the answer NOW) i posted it again. then I got post remorse and tried to delete one of the posts( and thought I had) - only to find both posts have been printed AND THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME. What a dum dum I am.

I bought some potatoes last week and instead of putting them in the fridge put them in a cupboard. I read somewhere it is better to do that. Took them out today and they are sprouting - i have vague idea that sprouting potatoes are not good for you, so threw them out. Steve wanted to cook them anyway, but told him that life is too short to eat something and then waiting to see if if it gives you a tummy ache. So we're having spag bol instead.

Back at Work

I was right. Work were pleased to see me, busy, busy , busy. At least the day goes nice and quick- if anything too quickly. When I got home I tinkered with my OU assignment. It is the last one of the course and has to be in by Friday noon. It will be odd when the course finishes, i'm beginning to suspect OU can be addictive.

Meeting my friend Claire for lunch tomorrow. Claire is a Reikei master. Reikei is one of those things that shouldn't work but it does. When Claire was training she asked me if I would be her Guinea Pig. I didn't give her any special instructions because: a. i didn't want to pressure her and b. I wasn't sure if I believed in it. Imagine my amazement, what I think of as my clicky shoulder-didn't click any more. ( when I move my arms windmill fashion my right shoulder clicks). My body always feels relaxed and more in balance after one of Claire's sessions. Claire is also an authority on Buffy and Angel so it is nice to geek out over lunch.

Cooked chilli tonight. Stupidly touched my nose after cutting the chillis and my left nostril has tingled ever since.

Well after all the sweat of setting up the blog settings and the photo ( I do have a slight headache from the setting up the photo) I thought I had better type an entry.

Sooo why I have set up a blog? Well I'm just coming to the end of a Creative Writing course and I thought this would be a good way to ensure I carry on writing. This is the secomd Open University Creative Writing course I have done. I did stage one last year and whilst waiting for the second level course I wrote stories for my nephews. However Joe and Aaron are far too sophisticated for their Auntie's scribblings now. ('I did like your stories but I find then baby-ish now.') Also a lot of OU students keep blogs and I enjoyed reading those.

A bit about my background- i have a younger sister, Angela who is married to Dave. They are the proud parents of Joe and Aaron. Their disposable income seems to be spent on Lego and Doctor Who stuff. My Dad took early retirement , much to my Mum's fury about 10 years ago. My Mum still works, she fits her job around playing bowls. I've been married to Steve for 7 years, i may be biased but he is lovely and very good looking. We're have got two retired greyhounds as pets - and as soon as I can face posting photos again- I'll post photos of them. (i'm sure that I 'll get used to it.)

Just had two weeks off work. We didn't go away on holiday, but it has been so nicehaving time to toodle instead of the usual rushing around. Back to work tomorrow, one good thing about working for an over worked team is that they are always pleased to see you.