Big clean

Since I've been working in London Steve does the majority of the cleaning. Which is fantastic. But on Saturday mornings I run the place over with a duster. Give the kitchen a quick wipe down. I may clean the fish tank.
Today as well as those jobs I bleached the thingy that you put in your kitchen drawer and store your cutlery in. What is that called?*A cutlery holder? I was shocked by how manky it was. The Robbos must have excellent immune systems. We do keep the house clean-honest! , but some things just get over looked. As I had all the cutlery out I bleached them as well, and in a fit bleaching also added the mugs.
Then in a cleaning frenzy I pulled out our big bed and cleaned away all the dust bunnies. I say dust bunnies but dust monsters is more like it.
Now I don't need to do all this. Steve polishes and vacuums during the week and if I asked him to do bleach the cutlery and mugs he would. I think cleaning the house for me, is like Tommy peeing up against stuff on our walks. I'm marking my territory.

*A cutlery tray. It is called a cutlery tray. I was making a cup of tea and it suddenly came to me.

Facebook friends

This Facebook thing can you make you feel well left out. All my Facebook friends are real friends. That is I know them in the real not virtual world. There is one girl who I consider a good friend. We don't meet up that much, but I thought it was because we're both busy doing the stuff you have to do making a living, blah blah blah. Now, thanks to Facebook I realise she rarely returns calls, meets up because she is too busy going out with all her other friends. So I now I consider her a good friend I used to have.
Still I shouldn't feel too bad. My mum hasn't even got round to accepting Angela ( my sister, her daughter) as a friend yet. That is just harsh!

Yikes.

I was reading Duma Key. I was all alone in the house. It was dark. I had got to the bit where Edgar sees the little twin girls on the stairs. I should I say Edgar sees the little dead twin girls ...and I heard children's voices at the front door. I nearly wet myself before I remembered that the Little Dudes were due round.
Stephen King - you write some scary sh!t!

Romance

I was reading the Most Romantic Film Moments on 'tinternet and was amazed to see that Shrek wasn't on there. The bit where Shrek tells Princess Fiona she is beautiful, being tears to my eyes every time. He doesn't say "you are beautiful to me" which would imply , yeah you're big and green but I like you. He simply says she is beautiful. *happy sigh*

Whoops!

As I was polishing - the speaker fell off the stand and banged against the plug socket and now the plug socket is hanging off the wall. Sh!t and double sh!t. I'm going to have a husband with the hump when he gets in.

Question.

We went round our friends last night. I asked them if they would rather be a vampire or a werewolf. And they did not think it was an odd question and had an answer straight away. They would rather be vampires. Maddie wondered why I'd rather be awerewolf -all that hair! I suppose vampires are sexier, but I still stick by my choice.

Vampires and Werewolves.

We were watching Underworld last night. Well I was watching it and Steve was playing on his DS.
"What would you rather me a werewolf or a vampire?" I asked.
Steve actually looks up from his game and stares at me "I don't know". Steve said it as if that is the most stupid question he has ever been asked.
"You don't know?" I suppose that is the difference between a Buffy fan and a non Buffster.
Well I'd rather be a werewolf. Because a. I like dogs and wolves; b. In The OtherWorld series werewolves have super fast metabolisms and can eat loads; and c. I find the blood thing with vampires a bit icky. Really I'd like to be a Were greyhound, but I don't think that they exist.
I felt a bit sorry for Michael Sheen who was it. He and Kate Beckinsale used to be a couple, but she went off with the director. Imagine you're both got in a job in the same film, and you're thinking "Oooh that will be good, spending more time together" and she runs off with the Director. I mean I could be wrong, Michael might have been going off Kate anyway.

10 years

The Robbos have been married 10 years today. I think that has been the fastest 10 years of my life. We celebrated by having a v. delish lunch at an Italian restaurant.
Even better, Mum came out of hospital today, after her eye operation. We popped into see her and she looked surprisingly well. When she had the operation before (about 5 years ago) she looked like she had been punched in the face. Today her eye looked a bit swollen. The wonders of modern medicine.

I always said that Tommy was a tiny Greyhound.

Your Ideal Pet is a Little Dog

You're both high strung, hyper, and cute. You're one of the few people who can get away with carrying your little dog in a little bag.

What's Your Ideal Pet?

Ha! ha! ha!

Mum had an operation today. She had it under local. I was talking to her tonight and she was laughing uproariously at all my jokes. I told my sister that I thought she was high. Angela said that Mum has seemed normal to her. Could it be that I am funnier than I think I am?

Brrr and Hmmm

Brrr - Today is been the first day I've been out since Sunday as I was laid low with a tummy bug. Good job the people at work know me - because to ring in sick when London has come to a standstill with snow is a tad whiffy. Like my bathroom was, but we won't go into that. Feel loads better but am shattered.

Hmmm - agreeing to disagree. There's this bloke that me and my friend both know. And he is a very clever sex pest. By clever I mean, he does/says something and it totally wrong foots you . You're left thinking - have I taken this the wrong way ? Have I imagined that? After this happened to me twice I thought - oh no you don't sunshine and I have avoided him ever since. My friend says that apart from that he is a nice bloke. Buttocks to that, I say. I think he uses his nice bloke persona to lull you into letting your guard down. She just can't see it.

So this is why I don't buy magazines

On the train last night, someone had left a woman's magazine. It has been ages since I read a one of those, the celebrity gossip I can get off the Internet and I found the life style articles just made me feel not good enough. Any way in this magazine I was reading that were hyping up a new diet - a day on/day off diet. On your on days you can consume 500 calories and on your off days 2000 calories. They based their weight loss predictions on a 5foot 7 woman who weighed 10 stone.
Now I know why I don't read such silly magazines. For starters a 5 foot 7 woman who weighs 10 stone does not need to go on a diet. When I was 10 stone (all those years ago) I was a size 12. And as to 500 calories a day - that is beyond starvation - you might as well skip food that day. And when your body thinks it is going through a famine it holds on to the fat for dear life.
I think it is irresponsible, magazines printing rubbish like that.

Facebook

Since my sister has got Face book, I've been a little more active on my Face book page. Really it is just lazy blogging: Gina is glad to be home! Gina is waiting for the washing to finish! Gina is waiting for the takeaway to be delivered!Gina should get a life!
I've also installed Stumble - and am busy reading other blogs and neglecting my own. There are a LOT of cooking blogs aren't there?

Pets and fiction

There is a review of tips for budding writers type book in the paper today. One of the tips is that pets shouldn't have a higher profile than a chair. I disagree. One of my pet peeves (see what I'm doing there) is having a pet being mentioned and then not doing any thing with it.
For example Karin Slaughter's Grant County series. The hero Sara has 2 greyhounds. They are mentioned and that's it. What is the point of them? Sara never worries about having to go home to feed the dogs, or letting them out. There is no emotional connection. In fact I can't even remember their names.
Abby Cooper in Victoria Laurie's Psychic Eye series has a dachshund. Eggy is well loved and is part of the story. Not a big part, but I can see why she has the dog.
The best writer to use pets in books is Sara Paretsky . Vic's love for peppy and Mitch shines through and it deals with the downside of owning a dog. ie you to walk them, even when you don't feel like it.

Property porn

I live a short stroll from the sea. Why doesn't my house look like this?
Property porn is my shameful weakness.

Friday!

It was the Little Dudes's birthdays this week. They had a joint birthday tea last night. Amongst their many presents they got MP3 players. Steve showed then up to download some toons. I was impressed with their music choices - they both really like David Bowie. The Littlest Dude was walking around, listening to his player, playing air guitar. He thought he was sooo cool. I remember thinking that I was cool when I was in to Blondie. I was probably about the same age as he is now.
As I have to get up v. early during the week, I don't normally go out during the week. This was bought home to me when I realised I couldn't remember the last time I didn't change my bed on a Thursday night.(Don't panic everyone, its ok, I've done it tonight!) But how regimented is that? Must make more of an effort to go out on a school night.

My New PC

My old computer started to stand like an airplane about to take off. Steve tried ot fix it, buut it was an old computer. Steve sorted out the spare computer for me (yes, we have spare computers at Robbo World) but it took ages to bring anything up. Now I 've got a new (to me) PC and it is brilliant. Quiet and quick. I've been sorting out my book marks and thought I'd write a blog to celebrate. I've even updated my Facebook status for the first time ever.
Mmnn Facebook. I was horrified when I went on to my home page and saw all these old drinks requests and stuff that I haven't accepted because I didn't know that they were there. It all seems bit of a faff.

False memory

We had friends round on Saturday and Steve was telling them about the time his Dad locked his car keys in the car. I've heard this story before but started to pay closer attention when Steve mentioned me being there. I wasn't! I didn't know him then! Steve took some convincing, he was sure that I had been there.
It reminds me of the time I was certain that we had watched the Doctor Who film with Paul McGann as the Doctor, together. Steve swore blind we hadn't. I had to look it up on the Internet Movie database to realise he was right(for a change). We hadn't met then.
It is like a weird false memory couple syndrome thingy.

Just a thought

It has been pretty nippy lately. We managed to keep the house nice and toasty warm. It made me wonder how people who live in converted barns, or have open plan living manage to keep their places warn when it is below zero outside. It must be an expensive nightmare. I think the Victorians and Edwardians got it right: lots of big-enough rooms carpeted and curtained rather than large 'spaces' with wooden floors and huge uncurtained windows.

My favourite things

I've been thinking that they are little luxuries that help me get through life. Not that I have a hard life at all, but there are a few things that make my life more pleasant.
Bath oil or bath foam. A bath with out bubbles just isn't the same.
Candles. In these dark long nights, it is nice to get in from work and light the candles. I find the glow relaxing and forgiving. the gentle glow hides the dust!
A good book to lose myself in. At the moment Kim Harrison's All Hallows series is going it for me.
Tommy -when I get home there is all ways someone literally jumping for joy that I am home.
Steve -at least there is one other person that laughs at my jokes.