Diary Entry

1.11 am God what a day! I planned on doing so much, and because I didn't sleep well, I ended up overlaying this morning. I eventually managed to wake myself up and drag Braden to IKEA -- Yippee! I've had an IKEA fix! -- but the wardrobes I wanted were out of stock. I got the next best thing, though I have a feeling that two aren't going to fit in the space in their room. Well, if I take one back, it will give me an excuse to do some more shopping there!

I bought some cool stuff, too. I got a glass lamp to go on my desk so I can study here instead of the coffee table (this chair is more comfy than the floor). Simon asked why I bought it when I have a desk lamp, and I said that I bought that desk lamp when my desk was upstairs. Now it's in the living room and I wanted something a bit classier. Besides, it was only £4. Let's see, I also got a pitcher to replace the one Simon broke, some green glass vases like the pink ones I have in my bedroom, new pillows for all the kids, the two wardrobes, a rug for the boys' room, a poster and frame for their room (a car one to fit in with their new theme), a new shower curtain, a milk frother for my coffee (which is SO cool!), Swedish meatballs, Swedish hotdogs and Swedish potato and meat hash of some kind. I think that's it. I wish I could win the lottery so I could go totally IKEA mad! Actually, if I won the lottery, I'd go to Sweden to do some shopping!

When I got home from IKEA, I was about to get started on getting their old chest of drawers and wardrobes out of there when Simon said he needed to go buy some bits for the new kitchen sink he's been putting in (his dad gave us their old one, which is in better shape than the one we had), so I tagged along to get the paint for the boys' room. Blue for Braden and Ricky, green for Jack.

When I got home from B&Q, I managed to take apart the chest of drawers and wardrobes while Malorie dragged them down stairs one piece at a time. By the time I got the steamer and found a scraper to start taking the wall paper off, it was after midnight. Oh, I also made a late night trip to Tesco for some Domestos and other bits.

The boys' room is a disaster area. The landing is a disaster area because I've had to shift stuff onto there that needs going into the attic. The kitchen is a disaster area because Simon's had to move stuff around to put the new sink in. The living room isn't bad, and my bedroom still looks great.

Now I'm wrecked and ready for some sleep, but I'm on the couch tonight because Simon hasn't slept well lately, and if I'm not there for him to worry about keeping awake, he might rest easier. I sleep better on the couch a lot of times anyway because Simon pushes me off the bed every single night, and once I'm asleep so I can't kick him off, the dog gets up by my feet and crowds me as well.

Ricky must be turning into a chat addict. I can't get on the computer without him striking up a conversation with me. Bless him, he said he wanted to cry because he was missing me so bad, but I told him that he didn't need to worry because his dad is going to drop him off here later today. He was happy with that.

Over 2000 Hits!

I've only just noticed, I've had 2005 hits on this blog since I installed the counter! Wow, that's great! I hope you all keep coming back!

Decorating Time

When I moved in with Simon in December 2000, the first room we decorated was the boys' room. Back then they were 2, 3, 9 and 10. INow they're 7, 8, 13 and 14, so it's about time to do it all over again!

The Thomas the Tank Engine curtains have already come down, and they've voted on paint colours for the walls, so here's what the next few days have in store for me:

1. Sort out the toyboxes. All the kids' toys (mostly the little two monsters' toys) are in red plastic boxes under Braden's bed. Most of them they've outgrown, so it's time to weed through them all and give the baby toys to charity. I do this about once a year.

2. Sort out their clothes. They've outgrown a lot of things. Braden says he's already bagged up the clothes that don't fit him anymore, so those can go to charity, too.

3. Break apart the old chest of drawers and wardrobes. They're history. The new wardrobes have drawers built into them.

4. Strip the wallpaper from the part of the room where the new wardrobes are going. I don't want to put up the new ones and then have to pull them away from the walls to paint behind them. That doesn't make sense!

5. Go buy the paint. They boys have voted: Ricky and Braden want blue, Jack wants green, Daniel doesn't seem to care. So, the side of the room where Ricky and Braden's bunkbeds are will be blue, and the side with Jack and Daniel's bunkbeds will be blue.

6. Paint that part of the room.

7. Put together the storage unit I bought at IKEA. All the little toys are going into that.

8. Go pick up the new wardrobes from IKEA before the sale ends or they run out. Fingers crossed!

9. Hem the new curtains I bought several months ago but didn't want to put up until I had painted.

10. Convince the boys to keep their room tidy!

Diary Entry

8.48 pm Another weird day. I hate when I don't have a routine. I went to bed early last night so I could get up and head out for the library today. At 4.00 am, the dog woke me up by sitting at the side of the bed crying. I thought he wanted to go outside for a crap, so I got up and came downstairs. Simon was still up, so Mitch evidently didn't want to go out because Simon could have let him out. After that I couldn't get back to a sound sleep. Even Simon noticed I tossed and turned.

Then Simon woke me up at 8.00 this morning talking in his sleep. He told me that he wanted to take a picture of his wardrobe. He informed me it wasn't for him, it was for "the group". When he talks in his sleep, he says the nuttiest things. Makes me wonder what he dreams about.

I came downstairs and did a bit of playing on the computer for a while, then thought I'd lay down on the couch for an hour before getting dressed. That was at 10.00. I woke up at about 1.30 pm! It was after 3.00 before I actually made it to the library.

I finally got to chat to Pete this afternoon before I left. I thought he'd either forgotten me or I'd done something to offend him because he hadn't chatted to me in ages. He's been busy recording, he says. Not that I don't believe him, I do. The last couple of songs he's sent me have been absolutely brilliant.

My criminological theory paper is about half written. Not bad to say it's not due for about a month. I need to finish it so I can get started on my criminal justice paper. It counts 100% for that module.

11.53 pm I've put aside the theory paper for now. I've over-researched the topic, and now I've got too much going around my head to make it coherent. I've started organising the stuff I already have for my crim justice systems paper. I'm planning on doing a lot of decorating tomorrow -- the boys room needs it badly. It was the first room we did when I moved in here, and now that the little guys are older and Braden's almost 15, it needs an overhaul. The net curtains are most definitely coming down. I liked nets when I first moved to England because they were so, well, English. Now they're old fashioned and impractical, so the new curtains I bought them at Ikea a few months ago are going to go up. I haven't put them up yet because I need to paint in there. I think I'll make a list of what I'm going to do on my Scrambled Mind blog.

Diary Entry

3.34 pm I didn't sleep very well again last night. I finally dropped off at about 3.00 am, but not long after I rolled over and looked beside my pillow. The dog had his head laid there, and it scared the shit out of me. It took me ages to drop back off, and then I woke up at 7.30 wide awake! I ended up stretched out on the couch staring out the window at the fog. At 10.30 I was on the phone to Inland Revenue, trying to figure out where my Tax Credits that should have gone into the bank last week were. At 11.00 I dropped off again, only to have Malorie wake me up at 1.00 to ask what she could have to eat. I sent her to the shop to get some bread and milk, and at 1.30 Braden woke me up by shouting at Malorie for being greedy. She'd eaten nearly half the loaf of bread. When I asked her why, she said she'd had two slices of toast for breakfast and four for lunch. This was all at one sitting, mind. I informed her that it doesn't qualify as breakfast if she not only eats it at 1.3o pm, but follows it immediately with her lunch.

Boy do I have a headache!

Just too cute! 

Diary Entry

7.06 pm I can't believe how late I slept today! No, I didn't just wake up, I've been up several hours, but I didn't intend to sleep as long as I did. I have too much to do! I have some replacement candles orders to make up. As soon as Simon finished cleaning his office (yes, insert *shock* here) I'm going to move my books into the kitchen so I can keep an eye on the boiling wax. It's the only way I'm going to make myself do it. Besides, my back is starting to really ache from doing my studying on the bed and sitting at the coffee table. My desk is just too small to spread all my books on though. Even with the laptop there's not a whole lot of room.

The research for the crim theory paper is going well. I think I've got some good ideas that I'm hoping will keep my first!

Braden has impressed me today. He's wearing these rubber bracelet things, and I asked him what they were supposed to stand for. He said, "Anti-racism". That's my son! He drives me nuts, but he does make me proud! At least he's developing a political awareness, so he's a lot like me at that age. I don't know if Malorie could even tell me who the Prime Minster is, but that's not down to intelligence. She's just not interested in politics and has no political awareness.

On the other hand, I've been wanting to bash Braden and Daniel's heads together today. They have been winding Malorie up something chronic. Even Simon made the comment that they're being twats to her today. He's usually on their side.

Happy Birthday to the Parents!

This is the big weekend in our family when my mum and dad both have their birthdays. My mum's was on Friday, and I won't divulge her age because it's not nice to do that to a lady. No one can say my mum isn't a lady either!

But my dad is 60 today!

So have a very happy birthday, Daddy!


P.S. I'm from Texas. I don't know about other southern states, but Texas girls call their dads Daddy all their lives.

Diary Entry

4.33 pm The time changed last night, so I can't believe it's already 4.33! Saying that, I didn't get to sleep until 3.00 am, the dog woke me up at 4.00 am, then Simon woke me up at 6.30 am, when I got up and did some blogging, some laundry, etc. I went back up to bed at about 9.00 and then got up at 1.30 pm! Boy, do I feel lazy! I haven't really had that much sleep though. I need a regular schedule, that's for sure.

I've got the goop on my hair to colour it. "Sandalwood", the box says. It's a lighter brown than my natural colour, so we'll just have to see how it turns out. I have to wait another 20 minutes before rinsing it out. Later I'm going to highlight it. Watch it turn out weird, with green streaks or something like that. That would be just my luck!

Braden actually set his alarm clock to wake him at 8.00 this morning. He definitely doesn't get that from his mother!

New Blog Link

I came across a blog written by a familiar name: David Duchovny. He's one of my favourite actors ("The X-Files", "Evolution") and now he's turned to directing, so I've added the link to the list of Blogs I've Noticed in the sidebar. It's pretty interesting.

Diary Entry

3.19 pm Simon had a rough night last night. He barely slept until the wee hours of the morning. I ended up coming downstairs early this morning to let the dog out, then I watched telly for a bit and fell asleep on the couch for an hour or so. I still feel wiped out, but I think it has more to do with tiring my eyes out from all the reading I'm doing because I don't feel physically tired, just sleepy.

More goofy dreams last night though. I was at the Renault headquarters with Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli. It must be last year's dream since Trulli moved to Toyota at the end of last season. Anyway, I was having coffee with them, playing video games with them, and chatting about where we lived and our families. Really strange. No car driving. Then I went on a sort of archaeological hunt in a swamp or something like that, digging up parts of a Victorian house that look a lot like the dolls house I started on last year.

I'm about to do my first German lesson. We'll have to see how well I do. I seem to do well with languages, apart from the fact I think my accent makes me sound daft when I speak any language, including English. I just don't like my voice. Still, I'm doing it so I can listen to German television.

My mate Pete sent me this pic of the view from his mom's house a while back, and since he's there now for the Easter holidays, I had a look because I so wish I were on holiday in Australia! Am I jealous? You bet! 

Diary Entry

12.44 pm Poor Ricky! I took the boys to their dad's this morning/afternoon (right at noon, actually), and he was sitting in the back seat crying. I asked him why, and he said because he was going to miss me. I told him that he can ring me whenever he wants to if he's missing me, or even if he's not missing me. And poor Jack! When I turned around to give Ricky a hug, I accidentally bopped Jack in the jaw. He was okay though.

It's cloudy, but it's a nice day, so I tried to convince Simon that we should go to the country park a couple of miles from here to take the dog for a nice walk around the lakes. I got this, "Right now?" He says he feels like shit. Maybe if he got off the computer and went for a walk he would feel better, but I can't convince him of that.

11.40 pm Let's see, I've studied, had a nap for an hour, and studied some more. I've also taken the dog for a run. Well, obviously that was earlier when it was still daylight. The dog was absolutely knackered when we got back. Then again, so was I, and I didn't do nearly as much running as he did!

Earlier when I was thinking of how lovely the weather is turning and how nice it is to get out and walk around without having to bundle up like an Eskimo, I was thinking of the last full day I was in Brussels. I don't think I blogged much about that afternoon out when I got back from the trip because by that point I was in a lot of pain from the abcess. But today I was thinking about how much fun it was when we were out shopping and the snow was really coming down. I really felt exhilarated. At one point, my boot came untied, and the shoestring was all wet and yucky from the snow, and when I stopped to tie it, Pete actually bent down and tied it for me. I can't remember a man ever doing that for me before. It was really sweet.

I usually hate the cold, but I absolutely loved walking through the snow. We had a really good time. I even pointed out the wide screen television screens in one department store window that was showing a fashion show where the models were all wearing lingerie. I offered to leave Pete and Dan there and come back for them on the way back to the hotel, but they managed to pry themselves away -- eventually. I think they were cold.

We did our souvenir shopping that day. I bought t-shirts for the boys, a scarf for Malorie, and lots of chocolates -- yes, the chocolates I ended up needed all the dental work after eating! Dan was trying to pick out things for his wife and son. We made two trips into a communist propaganda shop so he could try to decide which Che Guevara shirt to get his son. Evidently those are really cool with teens. He also found some lovely scarves and was trying to decide which to get his wife, so I was asked for a bit of advice on that. He finally decided on two of them. I hope she liked them because I thought they were gorgeous!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the same cafe where we'd had cappuccinos with Kay and Kerry earlier. We were starving, and they stopped serving, but the owner heated up some tomato soup for us. It was gorgeous!

Anyway, I wanted to get that in before I forgot about it. When I was thinking about walking with the snow falling, I couldn't help but smile. I really hope I go on the trip next year and have as good a time as I did this year!

Oh No, Not "Dallas: The Movie"!

This is one series I never thought I would see remade into a big-screen Hollywood production: "Dallas", the television series that was practically synonymous with the 1980s. I still have nightmares about Sue Ellen's accent and shoulder pads.

For someone from Texas, and from Dallas County, at that, this is a flashback to stereotypes. The first time I ever set foot in England, I was asked repeatedly if I had ever met J.R. and if I lived near Southfork. (I didn't live too far away, actually. My youngest sister's wedding was in a little country church just down the road from the real Southfork.) Most people don't realise that after the first couple of years, it was mostly filmed in California. It definitely wasn't filmed in Dallas. That area is as flat as a pancake, so the mountains in the background were a dead giveaway.

The most authentic thing about the original series was Larry Hagman, who is a real-life Native Texan. To qualify as a "Native Texan", you have to have been born in the state. Moving there at a very young age doesn't qualify you. Therefore, my son Ricky qualifies as a Native Texan because he was born in Richardson despite the fact that he moved to England when he was six months old and speaks with an English accent. George W. Bush, on the other hand, is not a Native Texan. He might have a Texas drawl and a ranch, but he was born outside the Texas borders, so he doesn't count. Thank goodness for that.

Still, the "Dallas" movie should be interesting, to say the least. The writer has promised that it will be more like the television series "on acid". And he's promised there's no Bobby Ewing shower scene.

Things I Learned This Week

1. The blue lotus was the Egyptian's "Viagra". It has a lot of the same properties as ginko biloba, expanding blood flow, so both plants are good for promoting memory, relieving migraines, and, ummmmmm, acting like Viagra.

2. There is no such concept in English law as "armed robbery". The media uses the term a lot, but there's no such charge in England and Wales. (I'm not sure about Scotland because I'm not studying Scottish law.)

3. British reporters haven't got a clue about the geography of Texas. Okay, I don't know why they would. I didn't know much about UK geography when I moved over here. While I'm saddened to hear about the loss of life at the BP refinery, I couldn't help but laugh at the descriptions of where it happened. Evidently Galveston is now part of Houston. That's funny. I always thought Galveston was an island. It actually happened in Texas City, which is southeast of Houston. At least they've straightened that out on the news now.


Photo from DallasNews.com

4. British reporters can't pronounce "Houston" correctly. It's not "Who - stun". It's "Hugh - stun". And the Brits used to laugh at me when I pronounced "Worcester" wrong.

5. Stick with your own homemade chili. I won't give details. If you have the stomach to read the story, click here.

6. There are multiple definitions of "battered women". See my post from a couple of days ago.

7. They don't make royal wedding memorabilia like they used to. Considering the bride and groom, and how there are still things floating around from Charles' first wedding in 1981, I'm not surprised. It still is interesting to compare this low-key wedding to the State occasion when he married Diana. Tea towels are one of the biggest sellers, but most of the usual stuff that comes out on such occasions won't be available this time. With just two months between the announcement and the actual wedding, there just wasn't time for Wedgewood to come up with something worthy of its prestigious name. Source: BBCNews.com.



8. This is not a good weekend to do any driving in the UK. Thank heavens I'm staying home! There are an expected 17 million vehicles hitting the road this weekend for the Easter holidays. It's supposed to be a record. And I'm glad I wasn't sitting on the M4 this morning. A syrup tanker spilled it's cargo on the road, leaving traffic backed up for 10 miles. Source: BBCNews.com.

9. Kate Winslet is my kind of woman! And I don't mean that in a lesbian kind of way. I mean that I think it's great how she comes out with down-to-earth statements like, "My stomach is all crinkly and my boobs, they're like the ears off a dog."

10. The Inland Revenue is not my friend. My tax credits should have gone in today. It's a Bank Holiday. Usually that means they go in a day early. Instead, I have no money. That sucks.

11. In Italy, sexual deprivation is grounds for a wife to divorce her husband. Poor woman had to go without it for seven years because her hubby decided to "punish" her. Source: Reuters.

Diary Entry

1.07 pm I'm blogging a bit earlier than I have been lately. I've just had my head so wrapped up in my assignments that I haven't had spare thoughts to blog about. I decided to do my best to blog today anyway.

I think Jamie's having the same kind of mess with these assignments as I am because he said in an email last night that it was a "fuckin nightmare". I agree. I've got so many books on the go I've had to sit down and start a proper outline so I don't get lost in all the info. I've got to do these things in a more organised manner from the start, but I just go off on tangents all the time. That's me. A mental tangent master.

Another weird dream last night. I was trying to find one of my tutors at uni, and the building was so big, and he'd recently moved his office, so I kept going through strange rooms decorated with Victorian furnishings and up and down multiple staircases. I finally found him lecturing, so I sat in on his lecture, and he kept staring at me. I kept blushing. The lecture ended, and I had to run across campus to my next lecture, but I found myself turning around and going back to his office. I don't know what was about to happen because right then Simon's mobile rang and woke me up. Damn!

Jack woke me up bright and early this morning, too. His dad swung by here so Jack could grab his RSVP slip to a birthday party he's been invited to. They break up for the Easter holidays today, so it was the last chance to give it to the little girl who's having the party.

Simon's sat on his computer -- as usual! I don't think he ever comes off it anymore. We were supposed to be spring cleaning this week, but so far I'm the only one who's done anything. He has put clothes into the washer and loaded the dishwasher a couple of times. I might go on strike until he decides to help me.

Pete sent me a new song, but I haven't chatted to him in a couple of days. The last time I did, he mentioned some kind of 16 year plan he's got, but I haven't got a clue what he's on about. I'm intrigued now though.

6.47 pm For heaven's sake, Simon's stretched out on the couch, moaning about his headache. When I have a headache, even a migraine, I'm supposed to keep going, but does he? Nooooooo! He keeps telling everyone to shut up. If he stayed off the computer for a while, it might help. Or if he wore his glasses. I've been told again that we have to get stuff done around the house. Like I've been sat on my arse doing nothing.

Enough ranting now. I got some hair colouring today, so this weekend I'm going to try to go a lighter shade of brown. I also won a highlighting kit from Garnier that came in the post yesterday, so I can highlight after I colour. I hope it looks good. At least with it being the Easter holidays and then reading week, I have time to fix it if it goes wrong. Not that I want it to go wrong though!

I wish Malorie would stop shouting. She thinks she the mum around here, thanks to being a teenager. The rest of us are stupid, I guess.

I did do something funny last night to Simon, and I can't believe that he fell for it! I put my hand on top of his head and started rubbing my fingers on his scalp and asked "Do you know what this is?" He said no. "It's a brain sucker. Do you know what it's doing?" He said no again. "It's starving." He called me a bitch.

I wish I could take off to lectures and seminars again. I miss them already since it means I'm stuck in most of the time now!

9.34 pm Streeeeeeeeeessssssssss! I wish the kids would stop fighting with each other. Ricky's just decided to go punch Jack while Jack was on the stairs, so they both ended up falling down.

Simon put a shelf up.

I feel an ulcer coming on.

12.00 am Less stressful now. The kids are all asleep, and Simon's back on his computer. I offered to cook him some dinner earlier, but he didn't want to eat. Then when I asked him if the dog had been fed, he complained that the dog had been fed, but he hadn't. You know, I just can't win. I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but I know I'm not. Still, I've been made to feel worse than this.

I wish I didn't have to take the boys to their dad's tomorrow. I know I complain about them being loud and fighting, but I think all parents do that. The ones I know do it, anyway. We want to throttle them when they're around, and we miss them terribly when they're gone.

I do wish I had somewhere to disappear to to get my studying done though. Somewhere quiet with no interruptions. It's a shame we sold the caravan. I could have hidden in there with my books. That would have been ideal. Oh well.

The Battered Woman

I've been doing some research into domestic violence because it's the topic I've chosen for my criminological theory paper this year and my dissertation next year. For this year's paper, I needed to find a working definition of what a "battered woman" is, and the one I've chosen stunned me. So that maybe it will help someone, somewhere, I decided to post what I've found here.

Legal definitions of wife or partner abuse, in most cases, focus only on assaultive acts that lead to visible injury. Mental health professionals often use the word abuse to include a number of assaultive and nonassaultive, but injurious, acts perpetrated by adults toward other adults or by adults toward children ... The term violence most often refers to all forms of physical aggression, while the term abuse refers to those physical and non-physical acts that cause physical and emotional injury.

Although much as been written in the field of interpersonal violence, particularly in the last decade, relatively few definitions of the term battering exist. Existing definitions differ in terms of the variety, frequency, and severity of assaultive behavior. Some definitions focus solely on the physical assaultive act ... Walker (1979), on the other hand, defines a battered woman as one "who is repeatedly subjected to any forceful physical or psychological behavior by a man in order to coerce her to do something he wants her to do without any concern for her rights" (p. xv).

Ganley (1981b) outlines four forms of battering: (1) physical, (2) sexual, (3) destruction of property and pets, and (4) psychological. Physical battering, the most obvious form, includes all assaults directed by the perpetrator against the victim's body. It includes a range of behavior from less severe acts, such as spitting, pinching, and slapping, to more severe assaults, including choking, punching, and stabbing. Sexual violence involves physical attacks on the victim's breasts or genitals, coerced sexual activity accompanied by threats of violence, or sexual assault or rape. Violence against objects or pets constitutes violence towards the person emotionally and also serves to remind the victim of the potential for violence against her. Psychological battering is carried out with emotional or psychological weapons and includes such behaviors as threats of violence, suicide threats, controlling sleeping and eating, threats to take or harm children, and forcing degrading behavior.

Richard A. Stordeur and Richard Stille (1989) Ending Men's Violence Against Their Partners: One Road to Peace. London: Sage Publications, p. 19-20.

So this is what my dog is thinking ... 

My Musical Mood

I've moved my video to the sidebar and shrunk it.

Diary Entry

8.27 pm I sit down to type, and Malorie does it again. She wants to take Mitch for a "five minute walk". In other words, there are boys outside she wants to chase.

Oops, dinner's ready!

9.00 pm I didn't do much today, apart from spend the afternoon and evening in the library researching my crim theory assignment. I don't even have the energy to blog properly.

Diary Entry

7.54 pm What a crap day! The weather is crap, and everyone around here is acting stupid. Simon told me yesterday that we were going to get a start on spring cleaning the house today. So what did I do after I took the boys to school? I got started on our bedroom. I stopped after a while to take a break, then mentioned something to Simon about doing some studying upstairs. I didn't say when, but he snapped, "I thought you were cleaning our bedroom?" I went upstairs and finished it. What was he doing the whole time? Either playing on his computer or stretched out on the couch watching television. He's "stressed". But he did tell me that I would help him clean the cupboard under the stairs this week. In other words, I'll get to do it. He was also going to see about putting in a sink his dad gave him yesterday. Our kitchen sink is knackered. He's not lifted a finger to do that either.

The kids have all been playing up. Even Braden. He was just trying to get Jack into trouble by saying "Jack was sneaking those cookies". I asked him when because I'd sent Jack to bed, and he said "about half an hour ago". Malorie has inherited my pink jumper because someone didn't pay attention and put it in the drier. It'll never fit me again, unless I shrink.

So since Simon is stressed, now I'm stressed, too. At least I managed to get that tooth re-filled today without him numbing me up or drilling more.

The story of my life ... 

Diary Entry

8.46 pm Another boring day. I did find out I'm getting a new car this week. Okay, new for me anyway, and newer than the car I'm driving. It's a Ford Escort. Coke's been trying to sell it for ages but the guy never brought him the money, so he says he'll sell it to me instead. I really need it because my Rover, as much as I love it, is knackered.

I didn't do Tesco online this week because Simon's debit card was eaten by a cash machine this week. It wasn't his fault. It was a naughty cash machine. Tesco doesn't take my kind of debit card, even though it's on the same account as Simon's. Stupid. I wish I'd been able to order online, it saves me a fortune! When I go in, I see too many things I like. Granted, I needed a new pair of jeans, and at Tesco they were only £10, but I couldn't resist the top I saw. There were several I liked, but I got the cheapest one. For now anyway.

I've felt rough all day today, and I think it's down to this horrible period I'm having. It's like the ones I was having last year that the doctor ended up sending me to hospital for tests, but at least now I know it's all hormonal and nothing sinister. I'll bet some good exercise will help, so that's another reason to hurry up and join the gym at uni!

It feels weird not having lectures and seminars to go to this week!

Diary Entry

6.00 pm I drank too much last night, then came in and stayed up to watch final qualifying for the Malaysian GP. I slept for two hours before watching the race live. I wish I could say I got a good "night's" sleep after the race finished, but the dog kept waking me up!

The race was good, even if Webber missed out on his first podium when he and Fisichella took each other out. DC is doing great, considering it's a fledgling team. I'm well impressed.

Diary Entry

12.25 pm Yep, it's the last day of uni before getting two weeks off for Easter and then a third week away from lectures and seminars for Reading Week. And did I go to uni today? Nope. Why not? General lethargy, headache, cramps, toothache ... Spring fever + PMT + lost filling.

I'm still in shock that I found out about a relative's death by checking the Dallas Morning News obituaries. (I blogged about it on Scrambled Mind so I'll just link to that post for all the details.) I don't think I'm actually shocked about Joy dying because she would have been 80 years old this year, the same as my grandmother. I'm shocked because of finding out when I haven't even looked at the obituaries on that site for at least six months!

9.24 pm I tried to have a nap this evening so I can watch qualifying in the wee hours of the morning, but I just couldn't manage to drop off. I'm feeling a little bit sick to my stomach, maybe from not taking any painkillers. I have a need to go out tomorrow night with Shell, and I can't do that while taking codeine!

It has been absolutely gorgeous weather today! I took Mitch for a nice run on the fields. He was so worn out when we got home he flopped on his bed panting, but he was obviously happy.

Diary Entry

1.19 pm I had some really weird dreams last night. I was in Brussels again, and I wanted "Dan" to go with me to see the Tower of London. Why the Tower of London was in Brussels, I don't know. That's typical of my dreams though. Anyway, he didn't want to wake up to go. I did a lot of wandering around the hotel, and even went into the wrong room to try to wake him up. At one point I could hear him making noises in his sleep (in the dream my room was across the hall from his), so I went in and covered him up because he was freezing. Very strange dream.

Then in the second dream, I was sitting in the uni canteen with one of my crim theory lecturers, and he had brought his lunch with him: a salad and three corned beef sandwiches with either grape jam or cranberry sauce on them. He left to go do something, and I ended up eating his sandwiches, then had to hide from him so he didn't shout at me.

I got up at 4.00 to watch F1 practice and qualifying 1 on German television, but ended up taping it while I dozed off and on. The replay on British telly is just starting.

7.58 pm I'm ready and just sitting around waiting for Allan and Shell. They've "convinced" Simon to go as well, but he doesn't really want to, so he's moping at me. It's only Brim, for heaven's sake! Braden says I look nice, but I had to drag out of Simon how he thought I looked, and I got the standard, "Uh huh". I put on the top I bought off a market stall in Brussels. The last time I wore this -- in fact, the only other time I've worn it -- "Dan" suddenly looked at me during dinner and said, "You're wearing a black bra". I shouldn't have bent over.

New Year's Goals Revisited

Let's see how I'm doing. The original post is here.

1. Get on top of the debt. It's slow going, but I think I'm getting there! At least I haven't really added to my debt while bringing what I have down. I think that qualifies.

2. Make payments on time. I love online banking! I've not only been making my credit card payments on time, I've been making them when the bills come in!

3. Start the ball rolling to buy this house. This has stalled a bit while I work on number 1. It's not out of the question yet though!

4. Make the shop run at a profit. Okay, there's no shop anymore. BUT since we didn't stop the internet side of the business and have no overhead for the shop premises, I can say that chances are good that the business rather than the shop will run at a profit in the next few months.

5. Stop procrastinating with my studies. Definite improvement there! I seem to spend all my time studying. I have the added incentive now of wanting to get into that MSc programme after I graduate.

6. Keep in better touch with family and friends. Okay, because of the studies I seem to be slacking on this one. I'll try harder.

7. Finish decorating the places in the house I've started. Same here.

8. Keep the house tidier. I've tried to keep all my study materials in an organised fashion and keep going around with the duster. I need a bit more help from the rest of the family on this one now.

9. Have the occasional day off to do something frivilous. With all the studying, I'd forgotten this one!

10. Get back into photography. I have done a bit here. I even set up my Photographic Wanderings blog, and I took lots of great pics in Belgium. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'll try to get out more.

11. Lose weight! Well, I can't go to my high school reunion because they decided to have it in June rather than the more traditional time around Homecoming in the autumn, but I still plan on joining the gym on campus in a couple of weeks. I avoided the chocs in Belgium, though, as my teeth can testify, not as much as I should have.

12. Have a real holiday! No progress on this one yet.

13. Spend more mother-daughter time with Malorie. The studies are interfering with this one too, but I'm trying. When I can get her away from Braden's friends, that is!

14. Encourage my children to read more. Braden is resisting, but I have a little chart that Ricky and Jack can put stars on when they do things like finish their homework without being told off, do a chore around the house when asked to, or read to me from their school reading books. So far so good.

I Have GOT to Learn German

I've made my mind up. I am going to learn German. In 24 hours, I have twice been reminded of the fact that it would be more than useful to be a German speaker.

Yesterday in my criminological theory lecture, the lecturer, Matt, asked if any of us were planning on going into academics and lecturing after graduation. He already knew that I was so he pointed to me as he said it. Evidently, since a lot of theory is based in sociology, and there are several eminent publications that were originally written in German (I'm thinking Durkheim and Bech off the top of my head, let alone Marx), it is useful to be able to speak the language because things are often lost in the translation. That's an incentive to learn at least to read German.

Today I have been watching practice from the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. We are deprived in the UK. We have to rely on ITV for our Formula One coverage in English, but some of us are lucky enough to have analogue satellite dishes that pick up channels from mainland Europe and a few from the Middle East. German television covers every practice and qualifying session as well as the race. Unfortunately, while I can keep up with what's happening on the track, I can't follow the commentary. That's an incentive to learn to at least comprehend spoken German.

I don't fool myself into thinking I would ever be able to speak the language adequately. My French sounds horrible to my own ears because of my American accent, but it would be a third incentive to be able to speak at least a little bit of German so I can go on holiday in Germany and at least be able to ask where the toilet is!

Things I Learned This Week

My list of bits of information that were of interest (to me anyway) when I came across them this week:

1. Pizza is better at retaining DNA than chocolate when someone leaves a bite mark. Carrots, cheese and apples are good, too, but chicken wings and corn-on-the-cob aren't so great. I wonder if Gil Grissom knows this. (SkyNews.com)

2. Beheading is fatal. Okay, maybe that's not funny, but there's a reason why I say that. See my earlier post on a stupid local radio news reporter.

3. Green tea can inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Two to three cups a day even have enough of whatever chemical it is to make a difference in laboratory tests. (SkyNews.com)

4. Local government comes up with the dumbest names. For years local roundabouts have had their own names, and they're all based on landmarks or road names. In Rotherham there is the "Mushroom Roundabout". In Sheffield there are things like the "Bramall Lane Roundabout" near the Sheffield United football grounds (on Bramall Lane). In Chesterfield, there is the "Tesco Roundabout". But now they're even naming crossroads! I was driving into Chesterfield today and noticed that the main crossroads in Eckington, always referred to as "the main traffic lights in Eckington", are now the "ATCO Crossroads". ATCO? There's no ATCO, whatever that is, anywhere near there! What a stupid name.

5. Michael Jackson is really dead and has been replaced by a "creature". It says so on The Onion, so it must be true! They've evidently found the real Jacko's body, complete with single silver sequined glove, on the grounds of the Neverland Ranch!



6. Marmite scares young children. At least the latest Marmite commercial does. Advertising watchdogs have decided that, from the viewpoint of a three-year-old, seeing mummies and daddy's running in terror from a giant blob of the stuff is over the top. (BBCNews.com)



7. Condoms are allowed to have holes in them. There is an international standard that specifies how many holes they are allowed to have. (SkyNews.com)



8. Britney Spears has her own perfume. Oh dear god no, please tell me people don't actually buy the stuff ...

9. Checking the obituaries can sometimes freak you out. I've blogged about this separately so will spare you the details.

10. Indoor rowing competitions do not involve water. My friend Jamie said he was trying to enter one of these competitions for this weekend (he's a real "Renaissance Man"), and I asked what kind of building was big enough to house a river. It was a joke. Ha ha. I'm trying to lighten things up after number 9.

Freaky Happenings

I stayed home from uni today with a massive headache and toothache and general ickiness, and I've been flipping through different news websites looking for stuff to blog about. Little did I know ...

I don't check the news from my hometown very often, but today, lacking anything better to do, I had a look. Nothing there of any interest to me personally. So, while I was on the Dallas Morning News website, I, by a total fluke, clicked on the link to paid obituaries.

I found one of my relatives, my grandfather's cousin's wife Joy. Okay, I know that doesn't sound like it was a close relative, but if you knew my family, you'd know that even distant cousins related by marriage were close-ish relatives. In a big family, there are a lot of weddings, anniversary parties, funerals, etc., so you tend to keep in touch. I spent the first thirty years of my life in Texas with this big family, and I haven't forgotten anyone now that I live 5000 miles away, I hope.

My first instinct was to ring my parents, until I realised that it won't even be 6.00 am in Texas right now. I did the next best thing. I emailed the obituary to my dad so he can see it when he checks his email. I'm sure they already know about it because someone will have phoned my grandmother who will have phoned my mother.

It's just so freaky that the day I checked the obituaries for the first time in probably six months, if not longer, I find not only someone I know but someone I'm related to!

Diary Entry

7.37 pm I woke up with that rotten migraine this morning, so I didn't make it to uni until just before my 2.00 lecture. Still, I only missed one lecture that probably would have made the migraine worse anyway, and it was pretty much just a dull thud by the time I got there for 2.00. I stayed for my 5.00 seminar, and the tutor was late, so I figured I stuck around for nothing while he buggered off to the pub, but he showed up.

So, another boring day, but the weather has been gorgeous! I sat outside before the lecture just to soak up some sunshine, regardless of the wind blowing my hair all over the place. It's a good thing I've had it cut off or it would have been a real mess of tangles! I enjoyed that, but it was like an oven in that lecture room. I sat down at the front with Jamie, near the open door so there would be a chance of a breeze, and every time one blew past I couldn't help but think "Geez he smells good!" Then I'd catch myself and mentally make myself shut up. Still, nothing wrong with thinking that someone smells good.

Simon said the police came to the door. Some of our elderly neighbours (one of whom is the biggest gossip on the estate) had the Water Board call yesterday. Only they weren't really the Water Board. We don't know if they stole anything or not, but the police are definitely involved.

EU Gobbledegook

If anyone thinks that my studies are a breeze, and they wonder why I'm struggling to keep up with my law modules in particular, take a look at this example of a document from the European Union. I'm studying EU law this year. Here's proof that it's driving me bonkers!

EU NONSENSE UP FOR AWARD

An example of euro-gobbledegook has been accepted by the Plain English Campaign as a contender for one of the organisation's Golden Bull awards.

The offending article comes from a European Commission document entitled "EU Action Plan for Sustainable Forest Management".

One glance at the contents was enough to put the piece in contention for an award, and Plain English Campaign spokeswoman Ann Baslington-Davies said: "This is a truly horrible example of management jargon.

"There may be something of importance or interest hidden in all this nonsense but it's very well disguised."

The document states: "A participatory and collaborative approach to policy formulation and implementation is a pre-condition for good governance. There is a need to review and strengthen the consultation structures in forestry at Community and national level, in order to facilitate transparency in decision-making and a structured dialogue with all stakeholders.



"In providing a reference framework for forest-related policies, initiatives and actions, the EU Forestry Strategy has changed the way forest-related issues are discussed today. However, the changes in the policy context suggest that a more coherent and pro-active approach to governing the Union's forest resources is needed in the future.

"Such an approach should be based on a shared vision of the EU's forest sector and the challenges it faces at global, Community and national levels, and on a shared understanding of what forests and forestry can contribute to modern society. It should encompass a set of clear objectives that can provide a basis for regular monitoring and stocktaking, and bring together the thematic, horizontal and cross-sectoral policy initiatives at Community and national level in a structured framework to encourage better and more effective co-ordination and consultation, and promote the flow of information among the various actors concerned."

Ms Baslington-Davies said: "Our sympathies have to go to the poor translators who will have the difficult task of translating this into the 20 languages of the European Union. It makes little enough sense in English - I doubt it will read any better in another language."

Source: SkyNews.com

Diary Entry

7.35 pm I've spent most of the afternoon in bed with a migraine. It's not much better now, but I've got to sort kids out and do some studying, if possible.

The dissertation topics for next year have been released along with the applications, and I'll bet I was the first person to hand mine in! They appeared at 11.55 on Blackboard, and by 12.30 my application was turned in. I've known what area I wanted to do it in since I applied to the university, and when I saw that that was one of the available topics, I didn't have to do any more thinking about it! So, my first choice is domestic violence in the criminology department, second is victims and crime in the criminology department, and third is sex offences, law and policy in the law department. The applications aren't due until the 6th of May, and most students probably won't even make that deadline, but there was no way I was going to risk missing out on one of my choices or forget that I needed to turn it in.

I did some shopping at Morrisons, picked the boys up from school, and came home. I was going to spend the day in the library but the migraine blew that idea out of the water.

Other than that, boring day. I'm still pissed off because of my filling falling out, and they can't get me in to replace it until next Tuesday.

12.13 am I had a quick chat with Pete earlier. He's not very well again, which probably explains why he just doesn't sound like himself. He's still goofy, but just seems a bit off with me. Probably the sickness.

Turns out I got the Easter holidays all mixed up. I'm off for the next two weeks for Easter, then the next week for reading week. I assumed that the kids were off for the next two weeks because Easter has always fallen on the Sunday in the middle of the holidays, but not this time. They've all got school next week. At least I'll still be off for reading week while they're out of school because Simon would probably be pulling his hair out (what's left of it) if he was stuck in on his own with the kids for five straight days.

Braden has not only outgrown his school trousers, he's split them so badly I can't stitch them back together! Simon's going to try to find his black trousers to loan him until I can get him some new ones. That kid is just growing too fast! His feet have just about split all his shoes, too! Why he couldn't wait just a couple more weeks until I get paid, I don't know. It always works this way.

I did some studying, but I'm tired and going to bed! I don't have a 9.00 seminar, and I already went to a tort lecture this week so I don't have to even be there until noon, but I need to get some work done, not to mention find a place to park that isn't out in the boonies!

Dissertation Info Available

I have more proof that I'm a geek. At noon today, the topic areas available and applications for next year's dissertation students were released. I don't have any choice in my degree programme. Dissertation isn't optional.

Not only was I downloading the info and application at noon, but I had the application handed in by 12.30! That might seem a bit rushed until you consider the fact that I've known what area I wanted to research since I first applied to the university. I was absolutely thrilled to see my topic listed!

So, my three choices, in order of preference, are:

1. Researching Domestic Violence in the Criminology department;
2. Researching Victims and Crime in the Criminology department; and
3. Researching Sex Offences, Law and Policy in the Law department.

I think I was the first person to hand it in. I think that makes me a geek.

Hooker Mum Strikes Again!

Some of you may remember my original post about "Hooker Mum". I have an update.

Hooker Mum has passed her driving test and has a new car. That's not the best of it. It's how she's adorned her new "baby". There are two signs in her rear window that defy belief. Of course, there's nothing that says "Child on Board" or anything like that. No. Hers say "Honk If You're Horny" and "Porn Star on Board". Very original, don't you think? I don't either.

Mind you, this is the car she has to taxi the kids to and from school. Do you think that she realises that the other kids can read and make fun of her kids? Do you think she realises that the other mums can read and make fun of her? Do you think she cares? I don't either.

Diary Entry

5.26 pm I don't bloody believe it! The filling I had put in yesterday has fallen out in little pieces! I was only eating a piece of pizza! It didn't even have hard stuff on it. It had mushrooms! It's a good thing it doesn't hurt, but it's a pain trying to make sure there's no food stuck in it.

Malorie is having a hissy fit. She and Braden both left early for school this morning without telling me, and I was only in the living room. I had trouble sleeping last night so I came down to sleep on the couch so I didn't wake Simon. On top of that, she was asked to put away some clothes, which she just dumped on the ironing board at the top of the stairs. All she had to do was put the clothes in the appropriate person's room. She didn't. She was reminded to do them, and she went in her room to play on her Gameboy and do her hair and make up. Then she asked if she could go out. I told her no because of her leaving early this morning and not putting those clothes away like she was told. So she went upstairs and started slamming doors. She got told off for that and wanted to know why she's treated like she never does anything around the house! I told her it wasn't that, it was her disregard for the rules, and I added that she will continue to be treated like a child until she learned to follow the rules. About that time her dad rang, and I thought, "Oh wonderful ..." but she refused to speak to him. I'm sure that impressed him.

6.01 pm Well, I have to say I'm in shock. Malorie came downstairs, and I asked her if she knew it was her father on the phone. She said yes. I commented that he's not going to be very impressed that she refused to speak to him, and she mumbled, "Well, it's about time". When I asked what was about time, she said, "That I refused to speak to him. He always makes me talk to the dog and only gives me useless advice on things he knows nothing about". I'm very glad to see that the teenage rebellion isn't directed just at me! Because I'm the one she's around most of the time, I get the brunt of it. I'm the "evil" parent and he's the "fun" parent. At least I can feel like it's nothing personal when she goes off on one now.

I ran into "Dan" in the canteen today and gave him the pictures I have of him and "Pete" from the train trip we took to Ypres. The last time I saw him, he had commented that he didn't have any pictures from the trip, so when I had some of the pictures I took with my digital camera printed, I had the three with him in them printed as well. It didn't cost me anything, and I thought it would be a nice gesture. Not towards getting him to give me a better grade, but just because I like to consider him a friend outside the classroom. Business first, friendship second. He asked if I'm going on the trip next year, and I said I was going to try. I really want to. Simon's not impressed with the idea, but it would definitely be the last time because I'll be in my last year (hopefully). I don't know whether grad students are allowed, but I won't mention that for now.

10.05 pm I've had answers back from Lisa today! That's really cool, considering she's the sister of one of my ex-husbands. Well, you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family. I think I'll leave it at that.

I can't pass this up! lol

Your name: Lisa
1. Where did we meet?: High School
2. Take a stab at my middle name: Kaye
3. How long have you known me?: almost 20 years
4. Do I smoke?: No
5. Do I believe in God?: Yes
6. What was your first impression of me upon meeting?: That you were sooo sweet! lol
7. What's my age?: 38
8. And my birthday?: in February
9. And my eye colour?: Blue
10.Do I have any siblings?: Yep
11.Have you ever been angry with me?: um, yep! lol
12. Have you ever been in love with me?: yep, in a sisterly way.
13.What's one of my favourite things to do?: write, study, taking pictures.
14.Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?: I can't remember that far back!
15. What's my favourite type of music?: Rock
16.What is the best feature about me?: Your smile :)
17.Am I shy or outgoing?: A good combination of both I'd say.
18.Would you say I am funny?: Totally!
19.Am I a rebel or do follow all the rules?: Follow the rules most of the time.
20.What are my special talents?: Intelligence!
21.Would you consider me a friend?: Yes
22.Have you ever seen me cry?: Yes
23.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?: Mel! lol
24.What's your favourite memory of me?: OMG too many to go thru. Lots of good times.
25.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring? A laptop.

Diary Entry

9.05 am I had an early night last night, only I couldn't get to sleep once I was in bed. No telling what time I finally dropped off, but I'm pretty sure I got a good eight hours. Apart from having to get up at 2.30 to let the dog out. I only vaguely remember that.

Up early, boys to school, dishwasher loaded. I got a new CSI DVD this morning in the post, so I'm going to do some research and watch this until time to go to the dentist. Yuck.

2.48 pm The dentist wasn't too bad this morning. The only problem was that the anaesthetic didn't take effect until after he was finished! It's just a good thing it was only a tiny bit of drilling and then replacing the filling I lost, otherwise I might have leapt out of that chair and hit the ceiling! Unfortunately I'm still numb now, four hours later. I couldn't even put my lipstick on properly!

It's Parent's Evening this afternoon (why it's called Parent's "Evening", I'll never know because it's always just after school lets out at 3.15!). Richard and I are sharing an appointment, so I'm sure that will be interesting. Then I'm off to uni for a seminar. It's not my regular seminar week for this one, but because we're off for three weeks for Easter and reading week, Liz wanted us to all come in tonight. Oh well, means I get the Monday after reading week off.

I've been making, wrapping and packaging candles most of the day, so not much studying going on here. But I did get an email saying that the list of topic area's for next year's dissertation will be available from Wednesday! I'm really excited about that!

6.54 pm Another reply to the questionnaire!

Your name: Doyle
1. Where did we meet?: NGHS site
2. Take a stab at my middle name: Kaye
3. How long have you known me?: a year?
4. Do I smoke?: no
5. Do I believe in God?:yes
6. What was your first impression of me upon meeting?: opinionated
7. What's my age?:38?
8. And my birthday?:dont remember
9. And my eye colour?:brown?
10.Do I have any siblings?: Not sure but if I guessed I would say no
11.Have you ever been angry with me?:no
12. Have you ever been in love with me?:no
13.What's one of my favourite things to do?:blog
14.Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?:welcome to the site
15. What's my favourite type of music?:classic rock
16.What is the best feature about me?:bruised bum LMAO
17.Am I shy or outgoing?:outgoing online anyway, sounds pretty outgoing from what I got out of your Brussels trip
18.Would you say I am funny?:ROFLMAO
19.Am I a rebel or do follow all the rules?: pretty much follow rules
20.What are my special talents?:dont know
21.Would you consider me a friend?:yes
22.Have you ever seen me cry?:no
23.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?:ummmmmmmm i'll be nice and let that one go
24.What's your favourite memory of me?: Getting into it with Patrick
25.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring?: Chocolate

He did pretty well apart from the eye colour and siblings!

I just got home from uni, anyway. No more crim theory seminars! Actually, that's one of the modules I enjoy, but it's a pain going when I don't have any other lectures or seminars that day. Turns out Jamie was in the group I had to go to tonight. That made it more interesting because at least he talks! He says he rambles, but I know I do so I don't mind. I don't think he's rambling anyway.

Parent's evening went pretty well. Jack's teacher said he's a regular Jumping Jack Flash and was named appropriately. He can't go long without flitting from one thing to another. If I hadn't seen how he can concentrate at home, I'd worry he had ADHA or something like that, but I know he doesn't. Ricky's teacher said he's improving, and I noticed that it's been a long time since he's complained about being bullied. His handwriting is still atrocious! I know mine was bad at that age, but Ricky has the makings of a doctor!

News Reporters Don't Always Use Their Brains

Sometimes I wonder why they hire people to be news reporters. This is a true story. I actually heard this news report on the radio this afternoon on my way to pick the kids up from school. It is a real news story.

The news reader said that an elderly man was beheaded in a busy street in London this morning, in full view of mums taking their kids to school and other people passing by. No one knows why it happened, she said. Then she gave some quotes from witnesses. It was her ending to the story that made me roll my eyes.

"The victim died."

You're joking? People die from being beheaded?

11.05 am I woke up about 15 minutes ago thinking it was afternoon. The kids were noisy enough for it to be afternoon, but they're just hyper, I guess.

Simon was up at 4.45 to go with Kev to the computer geek fair. Since he went to bed at 11.00 and I wasn't ready to go to sleep until 1.00, I slept on the couch so I wouldn't wake him. I still managed to wake up at 4.45, so guess who had to make him a cup of tea? Then I went up to bed, and it was nice having that big bed all to myself. Simon has a habit of either sleeping on my side of the bed with me, sleeping diagonally so his legs are scrunching me up, or sleeping with his arm across my pillow. Sometimes it's lovely to catch up on my sleep in a bed to myself!

I did have a really freaky dream. I was at the beach looking for old coins, and I decided to dig a big hole and see what was in it. I unearthed my caravan, but I could only crawl in through the hole because suddenly this wasn't at the beach but in the middle of a field next to a garage where my car was in for repairs! I had to get all of the stuff out of the caravan and into my car, which wasn't easy because it seemed that everything that had gone missing or that I used to own had appeared in this caravan: baby clothes, Tupperware, bank statements, etc. And I had to get it all out that day because they were going to pave over the car park. It was very vivid.

I've just had to tell Malorie off again. She got £5 for babysitting a couple of nights ago, and I sent her up to the top shop to the cash machine and to get some milk. She and Braden are supposed to be walking the dog down to the bottom shop to get some electric tokens. (There is no cash machine at the bottom shop, and they don't sell electric at the top shop. Convenient, eh?) I knew she was going to buy some junk while she was there -- money burns a hole in that girl's pocket -- so when she brought in the milk and ran upstairs, I asked her what kind of sweets she bought. She said, "Huh?" and then produced a flapjack out of her pocket. I told her to put it in the kitchen, and I got shouted at: "WHY?" How many times do I have to remind her that there is no eating upstairs? I've explained time and time again. I don't want food messes upstairs along with their other messes. Not to mention I don't want bugs or mice or anything up there as well. She's 16 and still can't comprehend the house rules.

11.45 am Ah ha! Just got a reply to the questionnaire from Roy, who started this to begin with!

1. Where did we meet?: silverstone at the dcsc bash with me looking at you and thinking errrrrrrrrr..lmao
2. Take a stab at my middle name: kirsty, karen, karina, karla,? lmao
3. How long have you known me?: over year and half thru dcsc since ss'04 in person :o)
4. Do I smoke?: yes/no/yes/yes/no lol .........
5. Do I believe in God?: i think you do
6. What was your first impression of me upon meeting?: you seemed really nice, friendly, easy to talk to and got a good friendly vibe from you, oh and attractive 'o)
7. What's my age?: 21 again never mention a womans age they say haha
8. And my birthday?: 7th february
9. And my eye colour?: blue
10.Do I have any siblings?: yes
11.Have you ever been angry with me?: no
12. Have you ever been in love with me?: who cant love you?? your wonderful but ''love?'' no sorry, and your taken anyway!...haha.. youare so loveable who can resist!
13.What's one of my favourite things to do?: drink and be merry lmao while watching f1
14.Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?: ''hello roy i'm melinda'' - at the bash
15. What's my favourite type of music?: rock and dance ? at a guess
16.What is the best feature about me?: your mind...............and your busty figure ..lol god did i just say that? lol
17.Am I shy or outgoing?: outgoing
18.Would you say I am funny?: yes! def. and even more once you get to know someone
19.Am I a rebel or do follow all the rules?: you follow the rules within a fine line heehee
20.What are my special talents?: you have too many! lol but , IT/motivation/f1 knowledge and being a friend are a few
21.Would you consider me a friend?: very much so. with lots of huggies and the odd kiss when i can get 'em in
22.Have you ever seen me cry?: no
23.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?: motivator
24.What's your favourite memory of me?: our first meet at the bash when you introduced yourself/ having fun at copse corner at ss..
25.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring?:
booze! attached to a batt operated sat. tv for f1 lol !!! lmao.... err not a clue.. maybe u would bring literature or a phone ?

1.53 pm Trying to get Jack to do his homework is harder than getting him to the dentist! (Speaking of which, I have to go to the dentist in the morning to have a filling replaced.) Ricky did his earlier. If I'd known he had homework, I would have made him do it Friday. Jack always puts his off to the last minute, but I've made him sit down and do it now. All he has to do is copy some words to practice his spelling and writing. He would rather do anything but!

3.53 pm Well, Simon's just had an interesting phone call. A woman asked for him, and when I said he wasn't here and asked if I could take a message, she said, "The house is looking a bit fucking scruffy" and put the phone down! Nice manners. It sounded like Daniel's mum voice wise, but her number usually comes up when she rings. This idiot had her number withheld. Could be the ex-wife. I didn't think it sounded like her voice, but there's no telling. I wonder if he's got a stalker.

I love my kids dearly, but there are sometimes I really wish for duct tape! They will not be quiet!

4.59 pm I am more stressed on Sunday evening than I was on Friday afternoon! I have spent today: 1) cleaning and dusting the living room, apart from my desk which I still need to do; 2) making a ton of candles and wax melts, finishing all but two orders; 3) doing laundry to that the kids have clean school uniforms for tomorrow; 4) studying and trying to do research; and 5) trying to keep the kids from killing each other or causing damage to the family home. I would rather be stuck in the library up to my eyeballs in homework than be this stressed because it's a different kind of stress, the kind I thrive on. Ricky and Jack are just plain doing my head in. I'm trying to do too much at once, I know, but there is just so much to do!

9.19 pm The house has calmed down a little bit, but Ricky and Jack are still refusing to go to sleep, so I'm still a bit stressed. Simon is home, but not helping much.

2.59 pm I managed to get a good night's sleep! I passed out on the couch around midnight last night, Simon woke me up and dragged me to bed just after 1.00 am, and I didn't wake up again until 9.30 this morning when the dog was begging to be let out. Why he didn't beg Malorie and Braden I don't know. They were both downstairs in the kitchen. After sorting the kids out, I passed out on the couch again for another hour. Boy, did I need that!

I got an email from Roy yesterday with another one of those questionnaire that are supposed to help you get to know each other, and I've had two replies, one from Simon and one from Lynn. I decided to put them on here because I want to keep a record of them, they're both so funny!

Your name:lynn

1. Where did we meet?:in the garden
2. Take a stab at my middle name:Kaye
3. How long have you known me?:Feels like a life time but in a good way
4. Do I smoke?:no
5. Do I believe in God?:errm maybe
6. What was your first impression of me upon meeting?:shy american huh never
7. What's my age?:38
8. And my birthday?:7th feb
9. And my eye colour?:grey blue
10.Do I have any siblings?:yup
11.Have you ever been angry with me?:not that i can remember
12. Have you ever been in love with me?:afraid not sorry
13.What's one of my favourite things to do?:blog
14.Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?:no
15. What's my favourite type of music?:rock
16.What is the best feature about me?:your ability to see good in everyone
17.Am I shy or outgoing?:a bit of both
18.Would you say I am funny?:hilarious
19.Am I a rebel or do follow all the rules?:rebel inside good girl on the outside
20.What are my special talents?:too many to list
21.Would you consider me a friend?:almost certainly
22.Have you ever seen me cry?:not that i can remenber
23.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?:Chocco (i have my reasons)
24.What's your favourite memory of me ?who are you again
25.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring?:CHOCOLATE

Simon added a question 26 to the list.

Your name: hubby

1. Where did we meet?: through your ex-husband
2. Take a stab at my middle name: kaye
3. How long have you known me?: 5 yrs
4. Do I smoke?: used too
5. Do I believe in God?: yes
6. What was your first impression of me upon meeting?: poor cow
7. What's my age?: 38
8. And my birthday?: feb 07
9. And my eye colour?: blue
10.Do I have any siblings?: yes
11.Have you ever been angry with me?:yeeeeeesss
12. Have you ever been in love with me?: yeeeeess
13.What's one of my favourite things to do?: sight seeing
14.Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?: take me upstairs and screw my brains out
15. What's my favourite type of music?:glam rock
16.What is the best feature about me?: loving
17.Am I shy or outgoing?: out going
18.Would you say I am funny?: yes in the head
19.Am I a rebel or do follow all the rules?: not a rebel
20.What are my special talents?: book clever
21.Would you consider me a friend?: yes
22.Have you ever seen me cry?: yes
23.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?: bitch
24.What's your favourite memory of me?: fireworks going off when we kissed
25.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring?: your laptop
26.if you could change one thing about me what would it be?: blowjob

If anyone else replies, I'll post that too.

3.59 pm I've had a reply from Shell now too! Very funny!

Your name: MICHELLE

1. Where did we meet?:MY HOUSE
2. Take a stab at my middle name: KAYE
3. How long have you known me?: 3 YEARS
4. Do I smoke?: NO
5. Do I believe in God?:NO
6. What was your first impression of me upon meeting?: NICE WOMAN
7. What's my age?: 39 I THINK
8. And my birthday?: FEBRUARY
9. And my eye colour?: GREEN
10.Do I have any siblings?: TWINS SISTERS AND THEN ANOTHER SISTER
11.Have you ever been angry with me?: NO
12. Have you ever been in love with me?: NO
13.What's one of my favourite things to do?: WATCHING CSI LISTENING TO
DEF LEPPARD AND FORMULA ONE
14.Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?: NO
15. What's my favourite type of music?: ROCK
16.What is the best feature about me?: EYES
17.Am I shy or outgoing?: OUTGOING
18.Would you say I am funny?: YES
19.Am I a rebel or do follow all the rules?: REBEL
20.What are my special talents?: BRAIN POWER
21.Would you consider me a friend?: YES
22.Have you ever seen me cry?: YES
23.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?: ANORAK
24.What's your favourite memory of me?: OUR NIGHTS UP BRIM
25.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would
I bring?: PICTURE OF DAVID COUTHARD LOL

6.23 pm Ricky and Jack did a good job of picking up rubbish out of the front garden, and I gave them each a star on their treat chart for doing it, but now that they're in the house, they're driving me nuts again! Why they can't sit still for ten minutes, I'll never know. I wish I had a fraction of their energy. The living room, which is where I'm studying, is directly below their bedroom, and all I can hear is THUD, THUD, THUD! through the ceiling. It's almost as annoying as how loud Malorie had her music earlier!

8.37 pm Ahhhhh, for the moment anyway, there is peace! I know I've probably just jinxed myself by saying that. The boys are all in their room watching "Toy Story 2" on DVD, and Malorie is doing hair/makeup stuff in her room. Simon is off to bed soon since he has to get up at silly hours in the morning to go with a friend to a computer show.

I am really enjoying my research! I've always loved doing research, especially when it's a topic I like, and I like this one: criminological theory explaining violence against women. I might have to narrow that down to rape, but I might just manage the violence topic by defining it as rape, assault, domestic violence, etc.

9.07 pm I forgot to write about the ego boost I had on Thursday! After our last lecture and before we went to Northern General for that psychiatry lecture, we were sitting in the canteen having a drink when our crim theory lecturer, Matt, came and sat with us. Somehow the topic came around to students suing the university for various reasons, and I told him about the fall I had down the stairs just before the theory exam. I said I couldn't bring myself to sue the university because I got a first on the exam. I could see Jamie smiling, so I said, "Yes, I know. You scored two points higher than I did!" Matt looked at us and said, "You two both got firsts? Wow, I didn't know I was sitting with the cream of the crop! We only gave two firsts out of 170 students!" Talk about floating on clouds, I was thrilled to hear that!

10.55 pm They're all asleep! Wow, it's amazing how quiet the house is! Unfortunately, now that it's settled around here, I'm getting sleepy so I can't see me doing much more studying tonight. Typical.

12.10 am I am getting such a kick out of these answers! Everyone has made me laugh at at least one of their ideas of me, and all of them are so close I must not be very good at hiding my personality!

Carolyn knew I have blue eyes even though we've never met face-to-face (that we know of). That's freaky! And she's the second person to mention me taking a pic of DC onto a desert island!

Your name: carolyn wade

1. Where did we meet?: on the ng yahoo groups (although we did go to hs together but didn't know each other)
2. Take a stab at my middle name: kaye
3. How long have you known me?: a little over a year, i think
4. Do I smoke?: no
5. Do I believe in God?: yes
6. What was your first impression of me upon meeting?: i knew right away, we would be getting along just fine. =)
7. What's my age?: 38? (based on my turning 37 in june)
8. And my birthday?: i don't know =( (although, i could probably do a little research & find out)
9. And my eye colour?: i'm going with blue, based strictly on personality =)
10.Do I have any siblings?: yes, you have a sister named kim, that I know of
11.Have you ever been angry with me?: nope, and can't imagine that i ever would
12. Have you ever been in love with me?: oh, absolutely! (in the most platonic way!)
13.What's one of my favourite things to do?: shop at ikea!!!
14.Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?: no, but i'm sure it was in response to some crazy thing i said on the groups board
15. What's my favourite type of music?: death metal!! (oh, and 80's hairbands!)
16.What is the best feature about me?: i love it that you say what you mean & you aren't afraid to have an opinion (especially considering your previous marriage...)
17.Am I shy or outgoing?: a little of both but I bet you really enjoy yourself when you go pub-crawling!
18.Would you say I am funny?: yes
19.Am I a rebel or do follow all the rules?: you can go either way, i think
20.What are my special talents?: making really cute kids, juggling way more activities than i could ever manage, and shopping at ikea!!
21.Would you consider me a friend?: absolutely
22.Have you ever seen me cry?: no
23.If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?: dc-girl (hell, i don't know!!)
24.What's your favourite memory of me?: oh, they're all special!
25.If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring?: a life-size poster of dave coulthard (sp?)

12.53 am Oh thank heavens for that! My diligent studies have paid off, and I have just finished taking extensive notes from "Rape, Social Inequality and Levels of Violence" by Schwendinger and Schwendinger. That was one heck of a long article! But it had lots of info I can use in my theory essay, not to mention my dissertation next year (topic as of yet unconfirmed). Tomorrow I can move on to something else. Maybe "socialist feminist" explanations of violence towards women.

10 Things We Didn't Know Last Week

I found this on the BBC News website and thought it was a really interesting idea! I'll just list what they have this time, but if I can come up with some good ones, I might have my own list next week!

Snippets harvested from the week's news, chopped, sliced and diced for your weekend convenience.

1. Nelson lost half his right eyebrow in battle, as well as sight in his right eye.

2. A six-pack, in paramilitary punishment terms, allegedly involves being shot in the ankles, knees and elbows.

3. John Travolta says he hasn't drunk alcohol since getting drunk for the first time. "I drink water even with my lunch and dinner. Occasionally I drink some tea, but mostly I drink just water," he told a Serbian magazine.

4. Bill Wyman loves metal detecting and has found more than 300 coins, including a gold half-noble from 1361.

5. In America it's possible to subpoena a dog.

6. The 88-storey Shanghai Grand Hyatt Hotel has the world's longest laundry chute (according to the Economist newspaper).

7. On an average Saturday, 35,000 people will shop in Harrods (according to BBC Two's The Apprentice).

8. The mother of Gavin Arvizo, the boy Michael Jackson is accused of molesting, is now called Janet Jackson, after marrying Major Jay Jackson of the US Army.

9. The 71 million packets of biscuits sold annually by United Biscuits, owner of McVitie's, generate 127.8 tonnes of crumbs.

10. By country of birth, there were approximately 100,000 more Germans than Bangladeshis living in England and Wales, according to the 2001 census.

Source: BBCNews.com

Comic Relief Raises £37 Million

I didn't stay up all night to watch it, but the final total last night was £37 million for Comic Relief!

I hear I missed Robbie Williams being dressed up as a "laydee" in a "Little Britain" sketch. I'd have liked to have seen that!

Diary Entry

6.44 pm I made it to my lecture at 9.00 this morning (only just!), I made it to my criminology research seminar, and I have been studying. I've become very boring this week. My brain is so full of my studies that I can't even come up with something witty to put on my Scrambled Mind blog. My head is absolutely full of law and criminology. I'm starting to understand all these concepts and legal principles better, but it hasn't left much room for anything else! I haven't had time or energy to chat with anyone online. I've eaten, I've slept, I've studied, I've showered, and I've done it all repeatedly.

The only drama is Malorie, as usual. She neglected to tell me that, while I was at uni Wednesday evening, Simon grounded her for ignoring him. So when she got home from school today, she came to me to ask me if she could go out, and I said yes. Now she's grounded over the weekend. She had the nerve to ask if she could stay out the rest of the evening though, and then she stood on the doorstep chatting to Ryan and Tariq when she was supposed to be in the house grounded. I really do worry about her sometimes because no matter what I say or do, I don't seem to be able to teach her to follow the rules. I assume she's better at school because I don't hear anything to the contrary, and I'm sure I would have heard by now if there was a problem, so that's a relief. It must just be my rules at home that she ignores, and Simon usually only enforces my rules rather than imposing his on what I already had established for the kids.

8.49 pm Comic Relief is tonight, so I've been alternating between laughing and crying. Talk about a fund raising effort that puts you on an emotional rollercoaster! All the top British comedians are on it, and as soon as I'm laughing hysterically, they show a film of starving/abused children and I want to bawl my eyes out.

The kids all had non-uniform days where they had to pay to be allowed to wear something besides their everyday uniform. Ricky and Jack forgot to tell their dad, so he had to swing by here this morning to let them change into something besides their polo shirts and school sweatshirts.

I've had a few laughs this week because Jamie has taken to calling me Mindy. I used to be used to it because my dad has called me that all my life, and most of the people in the village where I lived up until I moved in with Simon all call me Mindy. Richard even has "Mindy" tattooed on his arm. But since I moved in with Simon, everyone has called me Mel instead. He hates "Mindy" because of Richard, but there are a lot of other people who call me that. Well, I don't mind it so he shouldn't either.

Technological Advantages

I have discovered there is one big advantage to the "cordless mouse". My hubby got one recently, along with a cordless keyboard.

I just went into his office, and since he wouldn't pay attention to me, I stole his mouse. I threatened to stick it in the fridge.

I can be such a bitch.

Comic Relief

It's the big television event "Comic Relief" to raise money for the poor, both in African countries and in the UK, so if you haven't already, please make a donation!

Idiots of the Week: The Legal People at McDonalds

Oh for Pete's sake! This is absolutely ridiculous.

A lawyer with the last name "McBratney" has sponsored an Irish rugby team in Brisbane, Australia. Because of this, the team has a shortened version of his name, "McBrat", on their shirts.

Do any of you see a problem with this? I don't. But McDonald's are beginning a legal action to make the team remove "McBrat" from their shirts. They say it's okay for them to wear the word on their shorts though.

McBrat. McDonalds. Yeah, I can see where people would get confused. NOT!

Source: SkyNews.com

I've Adopted David Coulthard

Okay, I wish I'd adopted David Coulthard ... But there's a site where you can "adopt" an F1 driver. It looks kind of old and out of date, but still an idea I'd like to see become reality!

ADOPT-A-DRIVER

Congratulations!
You are now the owner of your very own David Coulthard. I hope you will give him a good home!
Here are some tips for looking after him and keeping him happy -

1. His birthday is March 27th so don't forget to give him a present.
2. Make sure there is a lot of tea and water around for him to drink.
3. Stock up on pasta so he won't be hungry.
4. Get him some CDs of Queen, Phil Collins and Texas to keep him in a good mood.
5. Play golf and go running with him, and take him to the cinema.

Follow these guidelines and you should enjoy your driver for years to come :o)

Thanks for visiting the Girls F1 Page and I hope you come back soon!

Diary Entry

8.23 pm Another extremely long and tiring day with nothing much to report. I was at uni at 9.00 this morning, I finished at 3.00, and I went to a lecture at Northern General at 5.00. I've only just got home, and I'm absolutely wrecked!

I did have a good day, though. I enjoyed the psychology/psychiatry lecture, I had a discussion with Jamie on F1, and I did pretty well in my tort law seminar this morning. My studying is paying off, but I'm paying the price for it too. Oh well, it'll all be over in May, and then I'll have a break until September.

Malorie's been freaking out because "everyone" has been telling her she's ugly. I don't know who everyone is, but Braden is at the top of the list. I told her that they do it because they know it winds her up, and she should know the truth. She said, "Yeah, I'm ugly". She's not, she's gorgeous, but if I tell her that, it goes to her head.

Geez, boys are so much easier to raise ...

My Brain Hurts Again ...

I am such an "anorak", as my best mate Michelle puts it. (That would be "geek" in the US.) I didn't have to be at university until 5.00 this afternoon. Instead, I was there at 10.15. I spent all day diligently reading for my EU and tort law modules, then I went to the EU seminar and managed to look like I knew what I was talking about. That part was easy. We had a guest lecturer this week, and he was leading the seminar and was told to discuss a set of questions we did last week! I just looked at the notes I took, and voila! I was a genius. Okay, maybe not a genius, but at least I gave the impression I had a few brain cells working in the ol' noggin.

I've found a way to look like even more of an anorak as well. Tomorrow evening there is a lecture at one of the local hospitals that has to do with psychology, evil and crime. Guess how I'm spending my evening tomorrow? It has nothing to do with my university or my course. Not directly anyway. But it's relevant, it sounds interesting, and I'm going.

I have to make up for the party animal image I seem to have picked up after that trip to Brussels!

Diary Entry

6.52 pm Bloody hell ... I went into uni first thing this morning, even though I didn't have any classes until 5.00 this evening, and I spent all day studying. I'm absolutely knackered. I think my brain is fried. I'll have to blog later.

11.42 pm I spent most of the day at uni in the library going through EU law for the seminar this evening, only to find out that we were doing the same seminar questions we did last week because our guest lecturer from the Netherlands was expecting that set of questions. I also spent the day working on tort law but I'm not sure I've done the right set of questions and I'm even less sure I'll know what I'm talking about at 9.00 tomorrow morning.

I did look like I had half a brain in the EU seminar though. Because we had done it last week, I had the notes I took during that seminar, so I was able to look prepared. The lecturer even commented that I seemed to be the only one prepared, though to be honest we had all expected to do the other set of questions.

Still, I'm determined to get my grades up and keep them up (or just keep them up in the ones I'm already doing well in!), and today I made a good start. I've got to keep it up. Unfortunately, I'm going to spend my Easter holidays catching up because there's really not a whole lot of time before assignments are due and then it's exams!

I'm going to be a geek tomorrow night as well. There's a lecture on something like the psychology around "evil" (I don't remember the exact wording) at Northern General that I'm going to go to. That would qualify me as a real anorak, as Shell puts it!

Nothing exciting happened today, at least as far as I can remember. I napped on the couch, now I'm off to bed. Very thrilling.

The New Harry Potter Cover -- Revealed!

Not long to go now, folks! We've got the title, and now we've got the cover.



New Harry Potter Book Cover

This is the cover design for the next JK Rowling adventure - Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince.

The children's edition shows Harry and Professor Dumbledore surrounded by a circle of flames.

Dumbledore is tipped as one of the favourites to die in the sixth book, after Rowling said one of her characters would be killed off.

Author JK Rowling has completed Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince and publishers promise it will be the best yet.

The novel takes up the story of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when the young hero finds himself pitted against his evil nemesis, Lord Voldemort.

Rowling has refused to reveal who the Half-Blood Prince of the title is, although she has said it is neither Harry nor Voldemort.

And she has assured fans that Harry will definitely survive to the seventh and final book.

It hits the shops on July 16.

Source: SkyNews.com

Diary Entry

4.08 pm Boy, what a long day it's been! I made sure to get up this morning in plenty of time to have breakfast with the boys and have a shower before heading off to uni for my 10.00 lecture, and instead I spent most of my time rushing around trying to do things other people should have been doing! There are only two things that Malorie and Braden have been asked to do in the morning: they both are supposed to be sure that the dog is let out for a pee or crap, then Malorie is supposed to make Ricky and Jack's sandwiches and Braden is supposed to at least try to wake them up. Malorie and Braden insist on getting up at silly hours, and it takes ages to finally drag Ricky and Jack out of bed, so all he has to do it start the process for me. This morning when I came downstairs at 7.45, none of the above had been done and they were taking off for school. That's another rule around here. If they leave the house before 8.00, they're supposed to tell either me or Simon. It's for their own safety so if they go missing or don't show up at school, we know when exactly they left. I can't get that through their heads though. So this morning I spent 15 minutes dragging the boys out of bed, then had to make their sandwiches, then jump in the shower. Turns out the dog shit in the office, too.

My main concern was finding a place to park because there is no car park on campus, and all the side streets have been made restricted parking. I was lucky. I found a decent one that didn't mean a long hike. I know I need the exercise, but it's still a pain to park miles away from the building I need to go to.

I even managed to have a few minutes to fill in my options form for next year. I haven't had a choice of my courses so far for the first and second year, but I get to pick my two criminology modules for year three. I've picked "Victimology and Developments in Victim Policy" and "Criminal Justice Policy". At least I think I did. Suddenly I don't remember what I ticked for the second one, but there were two choices and I'm 99% sure that's what I chose.

I didn't realise how far behind I am in criminal law until I went to my lecture this afternoon! Fortunately I have the notes off the internet.

6.08 pm I have a mountain of studying, but I've been making candles since I got home. Hopefully I can get all my orders out for the weekend. I still have a ton to do. Too bad I don't have more metal bowls for melting the wax because then I could do four scents at a time instead of two, especially when the orders are for only one or two of each type. Wax melts take even longer because I only have one set of moulds. I must look on ebay to see if I can find more.

Simon seems to be feeling a bit better, but he's very contradictory today. He's complaining that he hasn't felt well enough to even make himself some lunch or go get a gas token so that house will warm up (he's been freezing all day instead, makes sense to me), but he told me to stay at uni and study if I needed to. Unfortunately I was half way home when I got that message. I just didn't want to push it because last night, when I mentioned that I was going to have to leave at 8.30 this morning, he said, "Oh, so that means I have to take your kids to school?" It was the "your kids" that I didn't like. On Sunday he wanted me to take Daniel home, but I never would have thought about saying, "You mean I have to take your son home?" If my kids and I are a burden, I'm not afraid to do it all on my own. I have before. But I think he's just cranky and internet-obsessed so he doesn't want to move from in front of the computer.

My abcessed tooth is feeling so much better today. I still have a big lump in the gums beneath it where the dentist had to inject to numb it yesterday, and that's a bit sore, but I think the infection is pretty much gone now. It's only a little bit tender. I even managed to chew something soft on that side of my mouth without pain, which I haven't been able to do in ages.

It was student elections at uni today, and I got a lolly and a toothbrush for voting. Ricky tried to steal my lolly, but I ate it myself. Hey, it was my vote!

9.59 pm I keep trying to make a start on my EU law studies, but no such luck. A new episode of "CSI" was just on, and I was glued to it. No surprise there. It's better than being obsessed by the soaps, at least to me. Simon tends to be the one who watches all the soaps rather than me, but I think it's more out of habit than the fact that he's actually paying attention. Now it's "CSI: Miami" on the telly, but it's one I've seen a couple of times so I might manage some studying.

I was thinking that it would be nice if Malorie and Braden help out in the morning, but Braden has Progress Review Day so he doesn't have to go in to school until his appointment with his form tutor in the afternoon, and I have to take Malorie to a sort of job conference in town. Thank goodness I'm not going to be in any rush to get to uni, but it still would be nice if someone helped out occasionally.

12.29 am Off to bed. I've managed to take notes on three (count 'em, three) cases for tort law. I should have spent less time watching the CSIs.

Simon's not happy with me because he doesn't get a lie in in the morning. I told him he gets a lie in Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I might get one Saturday and Sunday. I don't know what he needs a lie in for really though. He hasn't done anything but sit on his computer. He could have napped all day today if he'd wanted to. I wouldn't have said anything.

Okay, stop bitching about the hubby. It's getting boring, right? I can't help it. It's just in my nature to bitch lately.