Ribena from a cut crystal tumbler

Today marks our one week anniversary of being married. I have spent the whole day in my pajamas and dressing gown writing our thank you notes. I still have a few more to do, but I have broken the back of them now, and figured it was time to chill out for five minutes.

One of the gifts we have been given is a beautiful set of six lead crystal highball glasses. They really are stunning, but I have spent the last week thinking that they would end up being put into storage for twenty years until we have a dining table, in a dining room, with adult guests for dinner and no young children in the vicinity. Maybe even twenty five years.

Chris just came back from Tesco with bags full of value crisps, reduced cheese and BOGOF frozen peas, and I made a joke about us hoping to one day have a dining table to go with the glasses. We laughed and decided to grab a drink each. Chris opened the glass cupboard, and asked me which glass I wanted, and I made a decision. Having these glasses is great, but pretty pointless unless we use them, at least occasionally. So we washed a couple of the glasses, and we are now drinking beer and squash from stunning crystal tumblers.

Classy!

The car blew up....

but thanks to a bit of bodging by Mr SC and our lovely neighbours S and J, it is at least back home. It remains to be decided whether we will replace the engine or just scrap it. The main thing is that I got himself back home safely after the almighty implosion/oil fountain on the motorway.

Last night we had a fairly big house spider on the fireplace. I wish they didn't like living in houses so much, as I would happily evict them all if it was possible. They certainly don't pay rent, and some of them are definitely big enough to! I hate spider season.

In other news, I must must must finish our wedding invites this weekend, then I can print the innards and send them out. My friends are asking for details.

Finally, I need to find out why food supposedly reaches your stomach in seven seconds, but the feedback response of fullness takes twenty minutes. Hhhhmmmm.

12 Weeks

How can it be that we only have 12 weeks 'til we get married? We got engaged sometime around March 2008. I'm not sure exactly when as I am not really a remember the date kind of girl. Mr SC would have given notice the next day and married me two weeks later if I would have agreed, but I told him that I wanted to be engaged for a long while first. We picked November 2009 pretty soon, although we did end up moving the date forward a bit.

We went out on the little motorbike for a ride today. Went to an English Heretics site near us and enjoyed just exploring and watching kids play in the grounds. The sun was gorgeous and it was so lovely to just relax in each other's company. Having two day weekends again feels amazing!

We drove into town, and then as we came back I got to thinking about the day I moved in with Mr SC. He had driven his cavalier back from my parents and I had driven Rudolph with tinsel around her bumper the whole way. I remember as we headed up the M1 there had been a highway patrol car ahead of us and I had refused to overtake it in case I got in trouble for the tinsel. Finally we came to the road from town to our village, and as Mr SC had been living in our house for a month on his own, he knew the road far better than I did. I followed him and looked forward to knowing the area as well as he did.

I'm not sure I could ever contemplate living anywhere else now.

Sleeping in your own bed.

There is something so nice about coming home. After spending an extended weekend with my in-laws, its lovely to be sitting on our own sofa and just relaxing. Not that I don't relax with my in-laws, but it is a different kind of relaxing. 

Today I was making our bed while Mr SC had a bath. He came upstairs after and moaned that the t-shirts we had ordered for his new business were too small. I looked at the label, and pointed out that it was the small one I had ordered for me, and maybe he should try the XL ones I had ordered for him. Interesting that....

Trepidation

Mr SC is a mechanic. Not just by trade, but also by habit. He loves playing with engines and fixing vehicles. I love watching him head out to the garage to play with whichever of our vehicles needs tweaking. Sometimes it is simple, and he just needs the odd drink to keep him from getting dehydrated in his concentration. Other times, bolts shear, bodge jobs from previous owners are difficult to fathom, and he has to sit back and work out how to achieve what is needed. Sometimes the air is blue and his hands are battered by the time it is done.

Covered in swarf, with various mucky rags and clothes that need a really hot wash, he will wander back up the hill to the house and give me a hug with a look of satisfaction on his face before he jumps in a muscle-salts bath. He will tell me in detail everything he did, and patiently answer my stupid questions. Then we can both relax, knowing we have achieved something. (You didn't think I just sat back bored while he was busy, did you?) It is great to see him enjoy having earned his relaxing time. 

Today is Mr SC's last day at his current job. As of 4.30 today, he will be a self employed mechanic. We have not yet got a lot of work lined up, so there is a fair amount of handing out of business cards to be done over the next few days and weeks. Might put an ad in the local paper. Most of all will have my fingers crossed that it all works out.

Watch where you are going!

Today I was sat at the traffic lights on my way home. Two girls were crossing, followed by a guy on a bike. He must have decided to be a bad-ass and cycle around the island to get where he was going quicker. Which would have been fine, but he spent more time looking at the girls than where he was going, and damn near faceplanted when his front wheel hit the island kerb. What a way to increase your street cred. I nearly missed my green light I was laughing so hard.

Tomorrow I need to:

-get chocolate, fountains, dippy bits, plates, skewers, signs and tablecloths organised for the chocolate fountain I am running on Sunday at our village fair.

-get signs and airflow balls organised for the golf game that Mr SC is running on Sunday.

-try to design our wedding invites.

-get some laundry done.

-plant the last of my tomatoes.

-bake some cookies. Mmmm.

Shattered

I have just got back from a 160 mile round trip to drop off a motorcycle we have sold. Last night I went to the pub after brownies as we have now broken up for the summer. I spent the weekend on Pack Holiday with 20 brownies not from my pack, at a beautiful house on the North Yorkshire Moors.

To say that I am tired is an understatement.

I picked up my wedding ring from the jewellers yesterday, and it is very lovely. Fits perfectly, far too snug to have to worry about it accidentally coming off my finger. I have also been in touch with the hotel/restaurant we are planning on having our reception in, and the registry office. I wish booking things was more straightforward. 

Would I be asking too much of my reception venue that they allow us a choice of meals for 26 guests, provided we pre-order? I wouldn't think it impossible, but it seems to be an issue. I really don't want to have to dictate what 26 people eat, it just seems wrong.

Anyway, I must get bathed quickly and get to bed. Night x

That which we call a rose...

I nearly missed my little brother's birthday. Today begins that strange time of year where there is only one year between us, until my Birthday when all of a sudden I am two years older than him again. 

I was talking to my Mum the other morning about making decisions on changing my name or not. Obviously, tradition dictates that I should be taking Mr SC's surname once we are married, but I have to admit that I am not sure. While I like the idea of us sharing a surname, I disagree with the convention that it should be his name. Why not my name, or pick a new name we both like?Perhaps I would feel less disinclined if I were to take his name for convenience, rather than because he will not even discuss changing his name. Why should I have to go to the trouble and effort when he won't even consider compromising. (Stop being so contentious SC.)

Back to the point. I was telling my mum, that I do not know who Mrs SC X is. She doesn't exist yet, and her future existence relies on Miss SC Y not existing anymore. How could I not be SC Y? I've been SC Y for a quarter of a century. I guess that Mr SC's refusal to contemplate becoming Mr SC Y or even Mr SC Z, just sticks in my throat. It makes me feel like he doesn't care how changing my name might be making me feel. OK I give up on trying to not be upset by this. Let's just agree that at this point in time, I am heading for being a Ms SC, unless Mr SC's attitude changes!

What a mess of a post. I may come back to this.

The kids are alright

I never expected to be getting married. I have very strong memories of the numerous occasions as a kid that I saw kissing on TV and would cry out that it was "Disgusting! I'm never doing that! Boys are ikky!" Of course, my parents would smile at me and tell me that they would remind me of that in a few years time. At which I would protest all the more. 

Between the ages of 11 and 16, I attended an all-girls school. For this and any number of other reasons, I was a bit of a late-starter when it came to boys. I didn't have my first kiss until I was 15, and it was quite the traumatic experience. It occurred in the early hours of the new millennium, with a somewhat drunk passerby and bore a stunning resemblance to my washing machine's wet cycle. Perhaps even the spin cycle would have been an improvement.

Undaunted, I told myself that it couldn't always be that awful. So began a string of boyfriends, from the unwashed to the unemployed through to the undesirable and unsuitable. Of course it wasn't all bad, but it was always transient. I never expected to still be with these boys six months later, let alone forever. I didn't feel that these relationships were ever going anywhere, although the feeling was almost never mutual. So I took a break from it all.

I spent a lot of time growing up, and did a bit of thinking about where my life was headed. I figured out that I enjoyed being single. That I never wanted to rely on someone else for me to get where I wanted to be. That if I had a kid, it would be as a single mum, and that it would still be just as rewarding if I planned it well. I became very comfortable with the idea of being single forever.

Two years passed, I had the beginnings of a career, had travelled solo and was in the process of buying a flat, when a friend cornered me in the middle of a game of last-man-standing at a camp. We were both under the influence of alcohol, weed, lots of sunshine and too many hours awake when he felt the time had come to ask me out. I turned him down as nicely as I could, which was quite an achievement at 4am.

A few months later, when I had had a chance to think, we were at another event together, with similar circumstances minus the sunshine! I had taken some inspiration from Dr Pepper, and figured that a fling wouldn't do me any harm. If it didn't work out, well he would just be another casualty in my world-destroying wake. Ha! 

So here I am, nearly three years on and less than four months from marrying the one person I can imagine growing old with. I can easily see us as grandparents, giving the grandkids home-made blue smarties (remind me to stockpile whatever that blue colouring is that was removed from smarties...) and then handing them back. I can see us really building a home together, instead of this somewhat student-like mess we currently live in. We already support each other through the hard times, and encourage each other to achieve what we dream of. Even the difficult bits make me really proud of us and the way we manage.

All this is to say that, sometimes ideals change. I never saw this as my future, but now I can't see it any other way. The flux capacitor is broken, and there is no going back to change the past. The hard times will still happen, but the good times will be that much better for someone to share them with. With risk comes reward. Wish us luck.

While Mr SC is away...

I will go and get on with some housework in a minute. Then I won't have to do so much on Saturday and can spend more time on sorting out our wedding invites.

But first, a quick note to remind me that work actually isn't too bad at the moment. I am busy all day, and it is great. It makes me want a complete change of job a bit less. That isn't to say that I wouldn't still give up my career in order to try my hand at teaching, or property development, or being a driving instructor, or a home-made frozen-meals business, or a craft supplies shop or a hundred other things I would like to try if only I didn't have to pay the bills. But at the moment, just today, I feel like I don't hate getting up and going to work more than I hate injections and canned baked beans at the same time with added custard.

Ouch

I shouldn't wear silly shoes. My crocs have left me with blisters today after traipsing around half of Manchester on a work trip. 

I am still quite tired after the sleepover at the weekend. Catching up on sleep always seems near impossible. I still look half asleep the whole time, and nearly did fall asleep on the train today.

Completed a few more rows of a blanket patch today. Need to step up my efforts, as I already have badges to sew on it once it is my camp blanket!

Last night, She said....

I am a rubbish blogger.

Thursday - Rock pub. Good night, saw Abandon Earth and Property of Dave. Enjoyed them both, although the other band were quite pants.

Friday - Stayed home to have new kitchen tap fitted and inspection from letting agent. Had barbeque here with K and D for dinner.

Saturday - Did not stop. Dropped 125 in for MOT, which it failed. Helped S with sheep. Found out my welly has a hole when I stepped in a water filled tractor rut. Bathed. Went to Brownie Giant Sleepover at indoor play barn. Played and crafted lots. Kept up til 2am. 

Sunday - Up at 6.30 (got to make brownies super-tired) to play some more. Wash large glob of toothpaste out of small brownie's hair. Head home. Bath. Travel to Mr SC's Aunt and Uncle's house for Father's Day barbeque. Sleep in car on the way there and back. Early night.

Monday - Work. Brownies. Dinner. Blog (badly.) Early night?

Is it Friday yet?

Today I had a review at work, and I didn't get fired. That in itself is an achievement. I booked Friday off so that we can have a new kitchen tap fitted and have our rubbish letting agent do their inspection. I booked Mr SC's 125 in for an MOT on Saturday. At lunch I bought him a book about how to start his own business. He would love to (and be really great at) run his own motor garage, and I am behind him 100%. So we need to work out how to make it happen, as well as exactly what sort of garage he wants. Hopefully this book will help him sort his thoughts out.

Tonight I nearly burnt the potato waffles for dinner. I wish I had more time for cooking. At least I have been organised enough to make our lunches ready for tomorrow. Now I am just doing the final work on my little stuffed project, and hopefully it will be done tonight.

Can you tell I am really tired?

The mint with the hole

In the car passing the Nestle factory, and I am inhaling the thick chocolate smell while Mr SC drives. He tells me about the guy he currently works with that used to have a job in the factory. E was there the time that the polo machine jammed and then exploded. There were polos everywhere. I love this idea, like the pocket-watch in Alice in Wonderland that has springs and cogs exploding all over the place. Beautiful.

After scraping Mr SC out of bed this morning and cooking sausage and bacon rolls for breakfast, he was a sweetie and fixed my kitchen tap while I tidied up the conservatory. I fixed the tap last time, so I think he wanted to prove that he could do it just as well as I could. I think it helped that I had loosened all the nuts last time! 

I carried on tidying while he watched the Grand Prix, and then we made an emergency dash to Tesco, which I have been putting off for a couple of weeks. They had sweet williams, and my roses from the garden have died, so I popped a bunch in the trolley. Now, with food in the cupboard and a tidy conservatory, I can sit and craft the evening away. Perfect.

Italian night in.

Had my normal dull day of work; nothing interesting to report. Stopped on the way home to get some petrol and something to munch since I had skipped lunch, and walked out of Asda with an Italian feast for two. Munchy bread bits with stuffed peppers and mini pepperoni for starter, followed by fresh tortellini and sauce., along with a bottle of Chianti. Perhaps I should have found some fava beans...

Chippy tea, I want my chippy tea.

Another busy day, and not a lot of time to stop and smell the roses. My tomatoes are growing nicely and my newly planted fuchsia hasn't died yet. 

I stopped to pick up dinner from the chippy tonight. Guiding district meeting so no time to cook. Chips with salt and vinegar and ketchup and mayonnaise, mmmmmmm.

I need to get to bed as my brain is fried and I really need to get into work early tomorrow so that I don't get the sack. Joy.

Kitchen = Stupa

Yesterday got away with me in the end. I scrubbed the rest of the ceiling and the walls in my kitchen, and hung up the Nepalese prayer flags I bought. I did some gardening, planting on the tomatoes and watering my pots. Hung out some washing, and cooked pasta for dinner.

We watched Cloverfield on the big screen TV, and with the surround sound, it made me get into it even more than the first time I watched it. I still think that the characer Hud is a complete wanker, and that the alarms that go off in Beth's building are beyond annoying, but I love how the idea of having one single shot the whole way through really drags you in. I didn't like The Blair Witch Project's way of using that idea, it just felt too cheap and I got sick of seeing really tight close ups of faces. Cloverfield made me feel like I was part of the action.

This morning I am indulging my OCD a little. I hate having paperwork in the house, but I also hate the idea of being left without paperwork that I later need. I finally came up with a solution, and it is going to be a long project, but I will feel better about it. Scanning. I am embarking on a mission to scan all the paperwork I feel the need to keep. Then I can fit it all onto a memory stick and actually put books on my bookshelf instead of paper.