Biorhythms

Gary posted a link to an online biorhythms site on his Garrulus Grommeler blog, so I followed it and was intrigued by my results. Everything's in a low cycle for me, which seems about right because I feel like utter rubbish today!

Boys And Their Toys

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Simon has taken over the television in the living room. Normally I can't get him to get his ass out of his chair in front of the computer, but now he has a new digital satellite system!

We've had Sky Digital ever since I moved in with him in December 2000. This is a different satellite system that allows him to pick up a couple thousand more channels.

What baffles me is that most of the good channels are encrypted, and we already get them through Sky. Out of the channels that aren't encrypted, only a few are English language channels.

So we are the proud owners of a satellite system that opens the doors to other cultures, if we could only figure out what they're saying. It's back to the German lessons for me ...

Crossing the Line?

Most of the news today has been in relation to raids on suspected hide-outs of the failed suicide bombers from last week, but one of the newscasters mentioned that ABC News in the US has published photos of the first bomb attacks on London on the 7th of July. These photos include scenes of where so many people died in train carriages.

It got me thinking. The British media hadn't, to that point, shown any of those pictures, and I assumed it was out of respect for the families. Now that ABC has shown them, they are showing up on television here, too.

But I wonder: if this attack had happened in America, would the American media have shown the pictures?

My personal opinion is that there are some things that should be left out of the news, like the scenes of where so many died in a terrorist attack. By showing the devastation, it's giving the terrorists what they want.

What a Day

I can tell the kids are off school for the summer holidays. I'm already ready for them to go back to school! Countdown to September ...

This morning I woke the boys up before I went to my Weight Watchers meeting. While I was in the meeting, I sent Simon a text message asking if they were up. Of course they weren't. When I got home at 10.50, they were just getting out of bed. Idle gits.

I wanted to go for a nice walk and start doing a little jogging. Putting back on half a pound in the last week has motivated me to get off my ass and try harder this week. Ricky was game for going with me, and at the last minute, Jack decided he was going too. Big mistake. We only made it around the lake/big pond one time, when I had intended to do it twice because Jack's legs hurt, his back hurt, he was tired, he wanted me to go get the car ... In other words, he was bored. Ricky was great at jogging though, especially since we walked for a bit, power walked for a bit, then jogged for a few minutes, and repeated the process.

I nearly blew up when I got home and asked Simon if he was going to work. It's been a lovely day today, perfect for selling ice cream, and we're getting short on cash now that the rent has been paid and our second-to-last car payment has gone out of the bank. No, he was staying home today so he could install his new satellite system. I didn't blow up though. I just told him he needed to get his priorities straight.

And Simon had the neighbour next door (the one who wants to strangle my dog) come help him install the motor on the satellite dish because that's what he does for a living, so he has the tall ladders. He only did a half-assed job though. No wonder he never seems to last five minutes with any one company. And I hope he doesn't read my blog, or I'm in trouble.

Now the boys are trying to kill each other. Oh, don't you just love school holidays?

Tuesday Weigh In -- End of Week 3

No change. Actually, I put a few ounces on, but fortunately my counter doesn't take those into account, so I'm going to motivate myself by saying I had no change!



I know where I went wrong. I sat on my back side for 7 days instead of walking and doing yoga like I'd done the two weeks before. Time to get my ass off the chair!

Some People Have A Nerve

There are just some people in this world who will never be pleased. Today, I realised that my next door neighbour is one of them. He gripes and complains about everything and is never pleased with anything.

Today he was complaining to Simon that on Friday night he heard our dog bark. His comment was, "I want to strangle your dog. You had to put him in the bedroom next to my kids when he was barking at midnight".

We put him there? No, he ran up there when we got home and went up stairs, and as soon as he started barking, we got him out of there and downstairs as fast as possible.

And that was rich, coming from him. Every single day he's screaming at the top of his lungs at his wife and kids, telling them all to shut up. If it's not him, it's the kids crying and screaming in the middle of the night -- in the bedroom next to ours! I've lost count of the number of times he has woken me up by screaming at his crying son and daughter to shut up.

So, forgive me, but I don't feel sorry for the dog annoying him. A bit of payback is a good thing.

Fatigue

My mind is numb from the past couple of days. Mostly it's because I'm absolutely wrecked from getting up in the wee hours of the morning yesterday so we could hit the road to Gatwick by 3.30 am. We weren't far off that goal, once Simon got his butt in gear!

It was an uneventful drive down. We didn't even have much traffic to deal with on the M25 around London, which can sometimes be known as Britain's largest car park.

It took us five minutes to wait in the queue and get Malorie and Braden checked in. Then it was off to McDonald's for a bit of breakfast while we waited for their gate to be announced on the departure screen.

Up to this point, things were going smoothly. I even managed to work out how many points it would be on Weight Watchers for a plain toasted bagel and a small tub of Philadelphia Light.

But a little while later, as Simon and I were buying him a cup of tea and myself a cappuccino (skimmed milk, of course), the fire alarms started ringing in our area. My instinct was to rush back to Malorie and Braden, though I practically had to drag Simon, who wasn't in a rush to do anything. Fortunately it was only a couple of minutes before announcements were made that there was no danger in our area. My heart rate went up, but otherwise no damage done.

Malorie and Braden made it through the departure lounge to their gate, so Simon and I headed off to the car. I used to wait until their plane actually took off, but now I just make sure they get to the gate by ringing one of them on their mobile phone, and I give them plenty of change to call me on my mobile if there's a problem comes up like a delayed flight.

But as soon as Simon and I walked into the multi-story car park, we could see the air was thick with smoke. Well, I could see it. Simon didn't have his glasses on, and since he smokes, I don't know that he could recognise the smell of a skunk, let alone smoke. We looked around but couldn't find the source, so we left.

When we were back on the M25, we debated on whether we should ring and see if Ricky and Jack's dad could pick them up from school so we could do a bit of sight-seeing in London. We're always saying we're going to do it, but we never do. This time, we didn't do it once again, and instead we decided that when we go back to Gatwick to pick Malorie and Braden up, we'll take the exit marked for Hampton Court Palace and do some sight-seeing there.

The main reason we didn't go into central London this time? I didn't have my camera.

The trip north on the M1 was as uneventful as the trip south had been, only by the time we got back to Derbyshire, my knees ached and I needed to walk around, so we pulled into one of the motorway services. That's when it happened:

I blew my diet.

I thought I had done a good job of picking something out to eat. It was a pasta salad with fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes and pine nuts. I worked out the Weight Watchers points before I bought it, but when I was halfway through it, I realised I'd forgotten to work the points out for the whole salad! There went a huge chunk of my allowance for the day out the window.

Back on the motorway, I changed the channel on the radio to the Sheffield station I prefer listening to (Simon likes the Chesterfield station, but I cringe at half the DJs they employ so try to avoid it) in time to hear the words on a breaking news bulletin "smoke ... explosion ... London".

I panicked. The radio station didn't elaborate, choosing instead to play a couple more songs. I worried that the smoke we'd smelled at Gatwick had been from something more serious than we originally thought. Fortunately Simon took over the driving when we stopped, so I frantically pushed the buttons on the radio until I found a channel giving details on the possible terrorist attacks on the London underground.

I can't say I was happy with the news, but I was happy that it was nothing to do with Gatwick Airport, Malorie and Braden. I was also glad to hear that the bombs in London seemed to have malfunctioned, and no one was killed.

The news also helped me come to a decision. I'd been hoping to take Ricky and Jack to London to the Tower of London this summer, but that trip is now cancelled. If it were me going alone, I'd say screw the terrorists, but I won't risk my kids.

I tried to get some rest today, but there was just too much to do, and Simon and I spent most of the day out shopping. Now I have to be his personal chauffeur and taxi Simon and Allan out on their binge drinking night. Maybe I should hand them some change as they get out of the car and point them to a bus timetable!

Late Night Trip

It's the annual summer trip to Gatwick Airport to take Malorie and Braden. The middle of the night ... Yuck. Fortunately I don't have to go by myself this time. I've managed to convince Simon to go too, but he's cranky!

Determination

I have goals set out for myself. In the past, some of my goals have gone by the wayside when I've become discouraged or bored. Not this time. I've got to change my way of thinking and get these done right!

My first goal is to get down to 10 and a half stone (133 pounds). I'm pushing 40, and if I don't lose the weight and keep it off, it's only going to get harder. So far so good. I've lost half a stone (7 pounds is half a stone, though I've actually lost 7.5 pounds) in the past two weeks. That's a good start. The first week I lost a lot of weight, but two pounds this week is excellent because they say that if you lose at that rate, you're more likely to keep the weight off.

Part of my determination came from being glad that I didn't attend my high school's 20 year reunion. I was so skinny back in school! When I graduated at 18, I weighed 6 stone 11 pounds (95 pounds), and I had a 19 inch waist. While there's no way on earth I want to ever be that skinny again, I want to be slim. I've had four kids so I've earned some "battle scars", and I like the saying that I'm built for comfort, not for speed. But I don't want to be fat anymore.

My second goal is to graduate next year from university with a first class degree. Right now I'm on the borderline between a 2:1 and a 2:2. A 2:1 might be good enough for Prince William, but he doesn't have to find a job. I can still get a first if I try my hardest. It won't be easy, not when you consider I have those four kids and a fifth at the weekends, and when I have a hubby who is more of a computer addict than I am.

I didn't get the highest honours when I graduated from university the first time around, but I was at the top of the class. I know I can do it. It's going to mean some long hours in the library while the kids are at school and in bed and little social life, but I'll make up for it after I graduate with a proper holiday, a good job and, hopefuly, a career I love.

Tuesday Weigh In

I know I didn't post last week's weight loss until Friday, but that's only because I couldn't find a little slider/scale thing. I'll post this on Tuesdays from now on.



I'm thrilled because I've lost two pounds this week! That means I've lost just over half a stone altogether!

Book List

I've had a real book reading weekend! I started Jeffrey Deaver's "The Bone Collector" on Friday. I stopped reading it yesterday afternoon after my excursion to Tesco to buy "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". I finished that one this morning (don't worry, I won't tell you what happens!), and then I went back to the first book and finished it. I've just moved on to the second of Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series, "The Coffin Dancer".

All this reading despite the fact the kids are all home and none will behave. Malorie is grounded for swearing in front of her little brothers. I made Ricky and Jack come in because Jack got stuck up a tree. Oh, and we had an interesting scene when the police came and arrested our new neighbour (a woman with a baby and a toddler) across the street from us. There was a couple with a teenage girl standing outside, and the girl had a cloth held to her nose, so I'm guessing they accused the woman of assault.

I've also been doing laundry, watching motorsports on television, and shouting at Simon over the television when we was watching films. He always claims I must be deaf when I listen to music in the car; I say he must be deaf because he has to have the television full blast when he watches it. It wouldn't be half as bad if he didn't insist on watching movies where half the cast has machine guns and the other half has explosives!

Back to the book!

No Harry Potter Today

I'm not pleased with Amazon.co.uk. I ordered my copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" when they first offered it for pre-ordering. The money went out of my account last Saturday. Yesterday, I received an email from them saying it had been despatched.

No book.

My neighbour, who ordered her copy earlier this week, received her copy. The kids have made sure I know it with a "Lynn's got her Harry Potter book and you don't" every five minutes.

I'm actually not all that disappointed. It's a book; it's not going to spoil over night. It will be the same book if it arrives Monday that it would have been had it arrived today. I'm halfway through "The Bone Collector" anyway.

Now, disappointment to me would be having my car break down on the way to a Formula One Grand Prix. I'm just annoyed at Amazon.

P.S. Okay, I'll admit it. I want to read what happens before someone tells me and ruins it for me, so I went to Tesco and bought a copy. When the one from Amazon shows up, it's going back.

And why did Tesco advertise that you could get it for half-price if you pre-ordered a copy? I walked in this afternoon and got mine for £7.97, which is less than half the £16.99 cover price.

My Weight Loss

Thanks to "Percy's World" for passing this on to me! You're a star!

Well, I couldn't find an online weight chart to show my progress, so here's one I made at home! I figured one way to encourage my weight loss was to "name and shame" myself by making public just how high the needle goes up on the scales when I step on them! Hopefully the blue line at the top will keep going down, and the pink line at the bottom will keep going up! To see a larger view of the chart, just click on it. 

Who Comes Up With This Stuff?

I had a free sample of the most recent torture device come in the post this week: Veet Short Hair Wax Strips. They've been advertising "Are you a wax virgin?" for months now, and, never having tried waxing before, I requested a sample.

Bloody hell ...

All the girls who say "Oooooo!" when they wax on the advert are definitely actresses. My response was "Oh shit!"

Who comes up with this stuff? It hurt almost as bad as the epilator my sister-in-law Lisa gave me back in the early 1990s! I'll go back to the old fashioned yet painless shaving gel and ladies razor!

Looking For ???

Okay, I'm sure I've seen one out there somewhere ... Does anyone know where I can find a (free) graphic thing to put in my sidebar to show the progress on my weight loss? I'm 99% sure that I saw one on someone else's blog months and months ago, back before I realised just how large my ass had grown over the winter, and now it's bugging me because I'd love to have one on mine! I've been scanning back over blogs I haven't visited in months, but no luck.

Help?

My Tarot Card

I am The Hierophant The Hierophant often represents learning with experts or knowledgeable teachers. This card also stands for institutions and their values. The Hierophant is a symbol of the need to conform to rules or fixed situations. His appearance in a reading can show that you are struggling with a force that is not innovative, free-spirited or individual. Groups can be enriching or stifling, depending on circumstances. Sometimes we need to follow a program or embrace tradition, other times, we need to trust ourselves. For a full description of your card and other goodies, please visit LearnTarot.com

What tarot card are you? Enter your birthdate. Month: Day: Year:

Weight Watchers: End of Week 1

Ahhh, a woman on the internet blogging about her diet. What a novelty, right? Well, what can I say? I've got to blog about something.

I started Weight Watchers last Tuesday and went to my second meeting today. For the first time I've been able to weigh myself accurately because my scales at home, while they're cute and from IKEA, are absolutely rubbish.

So, how'd I do?

I've lost five and a half pounds!

Spot Melinda!

See if you can spot me in this pic! No, I'm not the bald guy, and I'm not the man with the moustache! 

Countdown to Harry Potter Six!

Amazon says they are preparing my book for despatch, and they have taken the money out of my bank account via my debit card. Harry Potter 6 will be here soon! In fact, it should be here the end of this week -- 16 July! The kids all know they can't get their hands on it until I finish with it. They're not too worried about that because I read the fifth book in one day.

How's this for a coincidence? It's getting close to payday, so there was very little money in the account on Friday. I bought some food for the weekend, leaving a balance of £11.74 in there. On Saturday, guess how much came out of the account for the book? You guessed it. £11.74 (that includes postage). One more item in Morrison's, and it would have totally messed up my order!

Mark Webber Party!

I never did post my pictures of one of my two favourite drivers, Mark Webber! I went to his Supporters Club party Thursday night, and he was just the nicest guy you could hope to meet.


Mark answering questions:




He's holding the card I made him!!!!!!


I took this just as Kate asked him who he thought was going to win the Ashes! (You can guess his answer!) And that's Dave standing nice to him -- he's also a great guy!



Kate, Swifty and Angela


Thanks for a great evening, Dave and Jackie!

Relief!

When I was a university student Texas A&M University -- Commerce, I participated three times in the study abroad programme to London, once when I was an undergraduate and twice when I was a graduate student. It was a brilliant (and addictive!) programme, and I was able to do things like go on a field trip to Normandy and follow a lecturer from Sandhurst Military Academy up a hill covered in corn to decide how to defend it from the German Army (that was a course on World War II); I was able to ask Tony Banks, a Labour MP and later Minister for Sport, who he liked more, Bill Clinton or John Major; I was able to go behind the scenes to see the medieval stained glass of Canterbury Cathedral being restored as part of an Art History course; I sat at Lords Cricket Ground and watched a game I didn't understand but couldn't help but enjoy as part of a Sociology course.

When the terrorist attacks on London happened Thursday, I didn't know if those students, and my favourite professors from TAMU -- Commerce, were in London yet. Thank heavens my father saw this article in the Dallas Morning News and passed on the link to the online version!

After London attacks, students ask: Stay or go?
Some in study program reconsider plans; others nervously head overseas

07:41 AM CDT on Friday, July 8, 2005

By KRYSTLE FERNANDEZ / The Dallas Morning News

Katie Williams was planning to leave for her "trip of a lifetime."

That was before the bombs exploded.

The Texarkana, Texas, resident was one of about 30 college students bound for London on Thursday as part of a study-abroad program. But bombs ripped through that city, prompting some to reconsider their plans.

"A cloud has been put on it now," said Katie's mother, Carolyn. "You just don't know what could happen."

Mrs. Williams and her 21-year-old daughter drove to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport after hearing about the attacks and struggled all morning with the decision about whether Katie should make the trip. It rained as the two drove to the airport, and then, while on airport property, they had a minor car accident.

The Williamses thought it all might be a sign.

"I feel silly wondering about not going," Katie Williams said. "But at the same time, with the car accident and the ... [attacks] this morning, I don't know."

A few minutes later, they apparently decided. About 90 minutes before her 3:05 p.m. flight, the Louisiana State University student and her mother quietly slipped out of the terminal, telling others they needed time to think. The other students boarded the plane without her.

Kenneth Clinton, director of International Studies at Texas A&M-Commerce, came to the airport prepared to tell the students that they could back out of the month-long trip if they wanted to. King's College in London was offering a full refund.

"For many of these students, it's the first time they've been abroad," Dr. Clinton said. "For some, it's the first time they've even flown on a plane."

Mr. Clinton has been traveling to London with the program since 1983. He anticipated what members of the group would find when they arrived.

"There's a certain resolve among British people," Dr. Clinton said. "They'll respond to this very strongly."

He tried to keep things in perspective for the group.

"It's such a tragedy," he said. "We're thinking about our trip and our families are anxious, but their families [Londoners] are hurting."

Most of those going on the trip took a position like the mother of another student.

"You can't live under a rock," said Terry Robles, the mother of 25-year-old Isabel Robles, a student at A&M-Commerce. "It can happen anywhere."

Said her daughter: "It's kind of put a damper on things. I'm excited, but also a little nervous."

Not fellow A&M-Commerce student Bret Thompson, 21.

"Really, I'm just ... [angry]," Mr. Thompson said. "How can these people have such a lack of respect for life?"

He said that if anything, the bombings made him more determined to travel.

"I'm not going to let the events that happened stop me," Mr. Thompson said. "I'm not going to let these people's actions determine what I'm going to do."

As Mr. Thompson and the other students hustled through security, another group of anxious families gathered outside the open doors to the international gates.

Beth Wood stood, arms crossed and eyes wide as she peered into the corridor leading from customs. Her husband, Ethan, was returning from a business trip on a flight from London's Gatwick Airport that left about 10:30 a.m. London time Thursday.

She was awakened abruptly about 5:30 a.m. when her husband's brother called to tell her about the attacks.

She got up quickly to call the airline to make sure her husband had checked in. He had, but she still spent her morning on edge.

"I won't be really relieved until I see him," she said.

After a wait of almost 45 minutes, Mrs. Wood moved quickly through the crowd when she saw her husband.

"There he is," she said. They kissed quickly and rushed out the door holding hands.

Mr. Wood took a few subways and a train to get to Gatwick for his flight. He traveled through the city about 9 a.m. and knew nothing of the bombings occurring in other parts of the city.

"We had not a clue," he said. "We were at the airport for another hour and a half, and there was nothing on any television. We weren't told anything until we landed in Dallas.

"It's really sad. It's horrible. I still need to make sure everyone I know there is OK."

Dr Clinton was my favourite sociology professor when I was at the university, and since I minored in sociology, went on the British Studies Programme three times (in 1994, 1996 and 1997) and went to a student conference in New York with a group of students advised by Dr Clinon, I was very concerned that he and his students might have been caught up somewhere in the chaos or worse. It was a great relief to hear they were still in Dallas when it happened.

Jack's Unique Bowling Style

Jack's Unique Bowling Style
Originally uploaded by mkknowles.

Jack went to a bowling party today, and he was definitely the most unique as far as the flourishes he added to his approach and finish!

London Terrorist Attack

My heart goes out to the people who have been injured, or possibly worse, in the incident in London today that is looking more and more like a terrorist attack. I don't see how it could be an accident. The explosions along the Underground could have potentially been an accident if buses outside on the roads weren't exploding as well.

I hope they catch the bastards who have done this. After the excitement yesterday of London being awarded the 2012 Olympics, it has suddenly become a city of horror and chaos.

Stuck in the Middle AGAIN!

Has someone passed a law that family members have to be hateful to each other, and no one bothered to tell me about it? That's what it has felt like in my house lately. It seems that if people aren't ignoring each other, they're sniping at each other. No, wait. Change that. They're sniping at me because they don't want to do it to each other's faces. They want them to overhear what's being said, but it's directed at me. Simon snipes, "I told so-and-so to do such-and-such and they haven't". I look blankly at him. Then whoever the so-and-so is snipes, "I didn't have a chance to because it was late and I was going to bed".

I'm getting it in the neck from my daughter because she has no spending money. I tell her that she isn't getting spending money because she isn't doing her chores. Of course then because she isn't getting spending money because she isn't doing her chores, she decides to go on strike and not do the chores to try and spite me.

That makes it worse with the rest of the family. The two little ones tell tales: "Malorie didn't do what you told her to!" The two bigger ones tell tales on each other. Simon tells tales on them all.

Okay, it's a rant, and that last sentence might be a bit of an exaggeration, but that's what it feels like. And they wonder why I turn into a bitch some days?

The Results Are In

They've posted results from university on the internet today. I can't say I'm overly impressed with how I did, but I know I put a lot of effort into my work.

Someone asked me recently what, in my experience, is the difference between going to university in the US and England. One of the things I told her was that the level of support you get from your faculty in the US is much higher. You aren't spoon-fed the answers, but you are given a lot more guidance in regards to what is expected of you.

Here, it's sink or swim. Sometimes you can find a sympathetic member of staff who will give you some help -- my criminal law tutor Dennis was brilliant for that, so it's my own fault I did so poorly in that module -- and sometimes you come across those who look at you as if you dropped off another planet if you ask for help.

I have one more year to go, and I have two options as far as my overall results. First year results are pass/fail and count 0% of the overall degree. Then the two options kick in: either year two counts 25% and year three 75%, or year three counts 100%. Fortunately they pick the one that favours the student.

There won't be much time for blogging once the new term starts in October, I'm afraid!

Def Leppard Pic

I finally found a picture of Def Leppard performing at Live 8!

There Is Hope For Us All ...

Sometimes I just have to have a good look at pictures of celebrities without their make-up on. Makes me feel like there's hope for me yet! Some of them look worse without make up than I do! (Pictures and captions from SkyNews.com)

Jordan before and after a trowel session.

Crikey. Lisa Kudrow shows just how valuable a good hairdresser really is - oh and a bit of decent lighting.

Yes, this is Melanie Griffith in both photos.

Renee Zellweger is definitely a star who benefits from a good barnet.

Ahhhhh, I feel better now!

The Maternal Instinct

I had a big shock today! Two girls came to the door and asked for my son Braden. That's not unusual, but usually the girls who fancy him are typical teens. These two girls looked like pros! The Maternal Instinct reared up in a major way, especially in regards to the blonde girl who actually asked for him. She practically had no top on, just some kind of knit vest-like thing on top of a bra that was definitely not doing its job. Her tits were practically naked!

I thought, "This girl dares to ask for my son?" I was horrified.

Fortunately, Braden wasn't home, and I told her so. She then asked for my step-son Daniel. I groaned to myself. I realised that this must be the girlfriend Malorie refers to as The Prostitute. I shouted to Daniel, told him who was outside, and watched him run around the house like a chicken with its head cut off because he had spent the afternoon with Malorie trying to give him a new hair style. The curling tongs hadn't improved his hair one bit.

I threw him my Mark Webber hat and went outside. It turns out the blonde isn't his girlfriend, thank heavens! The girl with him is. She wasn't as bad. Crop top, mini skirt, but all her bits were covered.

I'm still thinking, "Bloody hell, Daniel's only 14! These girls have got to be the same age!"

I'm usually very liberal, but I guess there are some of those Maternal Instincts that can't be overcome. When Braden came in, I told him that if he ever brings home a girlfriend that dresses like the blonde, he'll be grounded until he's 30!

Live 8

I really enjoyed watching the Live 8 concert! I didn't think I would, but I've been pretty much glued to it all evening. I've even registered with the Live 8 website, and I've put my virtual self into the march on Edinburgh.

I know it probably wasn't the same kind of experience as being there in Hyde Park, but seeing the crowds, I can imagine what the queues for the toilet were like! There was one advantage however: they showed Def Leppard performing live in Philadelphia over the screens in London. I didn't get to see that. Instead, the BBC showed Jonathon Ross interviewing the Beeb's political editor. I could hear "Pour Some Sugar On Me" in the background. I wish I could have seen that performance!

Update at 1.22 am: Thank heavens! The BBC showed most of the US Live 8 concert following the end of the one in Hyde Park, including Def Leppard! Someone needs to tell Graham Norton, who introduced them, that they're not from Leeds -- they're from Sheffield! Well, three of the five are anyway.

Joe Elliott looks like he's put some weight on, but I don't care. He's still number one in my eyes!

A Chip Off the Ol' Block

My seven-year-old protege -- my youngest son Jack! 

Diet Progress

I have lost six pounds in the past 10 days! It's just a drop in the bucket, but at least the bucket isn't dry any more!

I've Had One of THOSE Days

I'm getting ready to go to bed and cry myself to sleep, but first I wanted to rant and rave here in Blogland. I've had one of those days. Everyone has them, it just feels like I'm not allowed the privilege.

First off, I have PMT. It happens to most women, usually monthly, but because I live in a male-dominated house, it's treated like "oh, she's off on one again". It's very rare that I have bitchy PMT. Ten months out of the year, I have cramps, migraine, and sore, ummmmm, well, tits to be frank. Two months out of the year, I have one day in that spell of PMT where I just feel on edge. It didn't help that I was wide awake and eating my breakfast while watching re-runs of "Diagnosis Murder" at 6.00 this morning.

Of course, today, everyone in my family was demanding something. Jack was home from school because of his black eye and related headache, but he was a little angel. That is, until he decided to go outside with no shoes on and hurt his foot. He cried and roared all afternoon because his foot was "broken". Funny, it was fine when he was out playing with his friend Cory, but as soon as I told him to come in, he was in agony.

Ricky just didn't shut up all afternoon. That child can talk for England. Half of it is gibberish, half of it is argumentative. He gives lovely cuddles in the midst of it all, but it still rattles the brain listening to it through a fog of PMT-induced bitchiness.

Malorie was typical Malorie. She's been grounded the past two days for being late coming home. So I had the Spanish Inquisition today: why was she grounded again? how long is she grounded for? does she still get her spending money? She also filled the house with nail varnish fumes. I couldn't figure out why -- I never make that much of a smell when I do my nails -- until I discovered that she and Jack had been painting pictures with her nail varnish! She also had to go outside (several times) to inform Braden's friends that she's grounded. I added another day to her punishment because it just got ridiculous.

Braden plays football on Fridays. I usually taxi him and his friends, but they at least ask me at some point in the week. Not this week. It was "I'm going out, I'll be back at 6.30 so you can take us to football." To be fair, when I told him that I might as well stamp "Taxi" on my forehead (as a part of the bitchy day), he said they'd take the bus to the leisure centre. They couldn't take the bus back because one of his friends refuses. He won't walk home either. And if everyone else says they're taking the bus or walking home, he won't go, and that leaves them one player short for six-a-side football. I said I'd pick them up at 10.00

The worst of it was overhearing Simon on the phone this morning with his friend Allan making plans to go out tonight. I could care less whether Simon goes out, as long as we have the money. But I heard him say, "I'll go out if my lovely wife will taxi". All day I waited for him to do one small thing: just ask me to taxi. That's it. That's all I wanted. I never got it. I was told that I needed to have his dinner ready when he came in from work.

So, I had to get the kids fed, sort Simon's dinner out, take him to pick Allan up, drop them off at the pub, come home and stop the kids from killing each other, go pick Braden and his friends up, come home and stop the kids from killing each other, go pick Simon and Allan up, come home and take a shower because it was too late to colour my hair -- something I've had planned for two days now.

When I tried to explain to Simon a little while ago why I am the way I am today, it didn't change anything or make it any easier. I got two statements from him: "You're going to make me feel guilty" and "Fine, I won't go out anymore". I apologised for being a bitch, and he just glared at me in silence.

He completely missed the point.