Caledonia

I'm heading over to Ayrshire tomorrow to stay in my parent's caravan so won't have access to the internet for a week. Egads! I'm taking my laptop anyway and my iPod Touch so may sneak on if I find a wifi hotspot. So, today I have to make sure everything is charged up and my iPod is loaded with my music. I'm taking The Sims with me and plenty books to keep me occupied. The previous times I've been to the caravan, it has rained non-stop and I'm preparing myself for anything. Right now, it is pouring with rain and windy. So like winter! At least the new caravan has double glazing and heating if we need it. I've been promised visits to historical areas so expect reports when I come back. I'm even going to the Ayrshire Flower Show at the weekend. I sneeze just thinking about it but it is happening on the Rozelle estate so I will put up with the itchy eyes to see that. Catch you all in a week!

I had a really hectic weekend so it is a good job I'm off for two weeks otherwise I would've been dragging my heels at work. We got back quite late from the Tattoo on Friday night and as usual I couldn't fall asleep straight away so I watched the first episode of The Tudors S2. I have a love-hate relationship with this show because the historical inaccuracies annoy me to death so I have to kinda watch it without thinking too much.

I still got up quite early in the morning. I guess I'm too used to getting up for work. My nephews and are niece were staying over on Saturday night so I decided to take them to see Wall E in the afternoon. I don't go to the cinema very often because it is so expensive but I don't often get the chance to take the kids anywhere. The film was actually quite good, although I was starting to get bored by the end. The kids really enjoyed it though so that was more important to me.

Afterwards, I took them to McDonalds which is alien territory to me since I'm a vegetarian. Normally, it would be last place I'd take them because I'm not a big fan of fast food but we were short of time and it was the best solution. They are such fussy eaters though and it drives me insane. I ordered their Happy Meals but nothing for myself because I know their vegburgers are cooked in the same fat as the meat burgers.

By the time we got home, the late night was catching up with me and I really had no energy for much of anything. The kids kept themselves amused while I chilled out on the couch with a growing headache. I am so tired of these headaches but there's not a lot I can do about the weather. I actually went to bed at the same time as the kids which they thought was funny. I never really got into a proper sleep though because I automatically start listening out for them. They were quite restless sleepers when they were babies so I guess old habits die hard. They are also early risers which is so not a good thing on a Sunday morning.

I had a good time with them though but it is always great to give them back to their parents!

What would make you question a friendship?
Submitted by stueykins

Finding out someone has been talking behind my back. I have real trust issues when it comes to friendship because I've been treated badly in the past

I seem to have abandoned this poor wee blog! Maybe I should it add it to ping.fm.

Originally published at yours-truly.net. You can comment here or there.

On 31 August 1997, Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris and the world lost one of its brightest stars. Diana wasn't a saint and she knew how to manipulate the media to her advantage, the picture of her sitting alone in front of the Taj Mahal being a prime example. However, she was also a kind-hearted woman who did a lot of work for charity and was a great ambassador for Britain. That is how she should be remembered.

We've had ten years of conspiracy theories and endless book releases from her so-called friends. We've had ten years of the People's Princess and the Queen of Hearts crap. We've had ten years of post-mortems of the crash. We've had ten years of Camilla bashing, the only person who actually retained her dignity.

Frankly, I'm tired of it. Does anyone even remember Mother Theresa died that week too?

Originally published at yours-truly.net. You can comment here or there.

I've had the week off work and was determined to fill in trips to Edinburgh and other places but as usual I've achieved pretty much nothing. I get like that sometimes. I'm sure if I didn't have a job, I'd spend the rest of my life hiding in my house. I'm not one of these adventure types who seize life with both hands and never let go. I live my life more quietly and I'm pretty much a loner. It's not that I don't want to do things or am too lazy to do them, I just seem to get into this lethargic state of mind which means it's pretty hard to motivate myself. I really should adopt Scarlett O'Hara's famous phrase: "Tomorrow is another day" for my blog. That seems to be how I see life! Add in a dose of insomnia and pre-menstrual blues and that sums up my week.

So, today, I was determined to get out of the house and use my shiny new Historic Scotland Friends card by visiting Edinburgh Castle. It seemed doomed to fail from the start! The first train was cancelled completely and I had to wait another half hour for the next one which was actually fourteen minutes late! I really wanted to be at the castle in time for the One O' Clock salute and just made it by the skin of my teeth! The Fringe is over and the Festival ends on Saturday so there weren't many performers on the streets but the place was over flowing with tourists. Of course, the castle's dominant position over the city means it's uphill all the way and my calves were burning with pain by the time I got up to the esplanade! I was wearing my trainers which are very comfy but so flat when you have a high instep!

The castle was brimming as well but luckily, I don't have to queue for tickets since I'm a Priority visitor! I must say I quite like walking passed the queues with a smug grin on my face! Yes, peasants, Lady C is visiting! I had my trusty camera with me of course so you can look forward to some piccies soon.

Oh, and do you remember this little chap? Keep an eye on my blog for a chance to win him and other souvenirs I picked up today!

Originally published at yours-truly.net. You can comment here or there.

I've been on the Apple mailing list since buying my iPod a couple of years and as you would expect, I keep getting e-mails advertising their cool products. Recently, the number of e-mails seem to have risen since a lot of new products are on the way, including the new OS system. I am just waiting with baited breathe to see if they will be changing the MacBook Pro any time soon!

I've almost made my mind up to buy a MacBook Pro as soon as Leopard is released but here's my dilemma: I've never used a Mac in my life and every time I see a glowing review, I find an equally negative one. The whole thing just starts me doubting again. Having said, I've noticed a lot of the really excellent web designers out there seem to be using a Mac and some of their work is simply stunning.

I'd like some feedback, good or bad, in regard to swapping to a Mac.... Oh, and matt or glossy?

Originally published at yours-truly.net. You can comment here or there.

I find myself alone in the house for a week and every spider in the damn neighbourhood seems to be taking this as an invitation to move in. I was busy cleaning my bedroom on Monday being the Domestic Goddess that I am (and I use that term loosely) when a huge spider shot out from behind my DVD case which can't be moved since it is attached to the bloody wall. I stood there trembling for five minutes working on my plan of action before I decided the suck-it-up-with-the-hoover method had to be implemented because the scream-for-dad method is temporarily unavailable.

The ugly bugger shot up the hose on its own private roller coaster ride. Mission accomplished. I, on the other hand, am still a quivering wreck because I hate spiders with a passion and cannot have them anywhere in my vicinity.

What just happened? I head downstairs into the kitchen to get a drink and just miss standing on one of the biggest f**king spiders I've ever seen in my life! I nearly stood on it! With. My. Barefoot. I stood there, heart pounding in my ears and I swear to God it was laughing at me! It has eyes and that probably means it has teeth too! Once again, I have a dilemma. I can't just shut the door and leave it because I need to use the kitchen tomorrow... I don't need to be looking in every corner as I make my breakfast... There's no one else here... It'll be gone by the time I get the hoover out.... I see my saviour. A plastic bin which is duly placed over the monster and I vacate the vicinity.

So, I am in dire need of a strapping male who will dutifully dispose of spiders for me, starting with the one in the kitchen in the morning. Other duties will to be determined but cuddling and soothing massages are a definite possibility.

I don't need lectures on how you shouldn't kill them as they are living creatures but, damn, they invade my territory and they have to be prepared to pay the ultimate price. *shudders*

Originally published at yours-truly.net. You can comment here or there.

It's a long time since I've seen a film that actually made me feel something, most of the time I end up doing something else while the film plays away in the background. I remember seeing trailers for this movie, thinking it looked really interesting and I wasn't disappointed.

Cruise port: Stockholm

The film tells the true story of Erin Gruwell, a teacher who inspired a group of kids to see beyond their lives and to reach out for something more. The kids in her class were involved in gang culture in one way or another and all they knew was a life of violence. They hated anything or anyone not part of their group. Erin managed to break down the barriers of hatred by teaching them about the Holocaust and the ultimate gang of Europe - the Nazis. As the movie progresses, the barriers begin to drop as the kids learn to trust each other and they eventually become a family.

Inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank, the kids began to write their own diaries which were published in 1999. Erin fought to stay their teacher until graduation and then even followed them to college. They formed the Freedom Writers Foundation to repeat the process in other schools.

The film was just so inspiring, I often found myself in tears as the kids began to see beyond skin colour, accepting people for who they are, rather than what they are. The school system treated these kids so badly, refusing to even give them books because they felt they were too stupid to understand them or would waste them. Erin got two part time jobs to buy books for her kids and to take them out on day trips so they could see that their really was a world outside of the gangs.

This is what education should be about and it makes me sad that so many kids fall through the cracks in the system and never really find the beauty in knowledge.

Originally published at yours-truly.net. You can comment here or there.

You know how people always seem to dread Mondays? Well, in my case it has to be Wednesdays instead. There is something about Wednesdays that seems to make people call or visit more often. We know why we get more mail because it seems it takes postal workers until Tuesday night to recover from their rough weekends but that doesn't explain the upsurge in calls and visitors. Unless, of course, they are all getting past their hangovers too!

Seriously, I feel like my office is a giant pressure cooker, the steam rising each day, and sooner or later it is going to explode. We are under a serious amount of stress at the moment and I've seen quite a few people in tears over the past few days. I'm determined not to let it get to me but it is so hard to stay out of things when you see others struggling to juggle their loads. Oh, but I finally got my contract - two months late!

I bought #1 Nephew's birthday present today - he's going to be ten in Sept but I needed to get it sorted out before then. I bought myself a fabulous limited edition CD and DVD with Elvis's early concert performances so can't wait to play that.

Cruise port: Paris But No Hilton