All creatures, great and small

So, I was walking along the road by my office en route to the post office during lunch yesterday, minding my own business, listening to Sergio Mendes on my trusty ipod, enjoying the searing heat although being slightly annoyed coz I had a black top on (bad fashion choice in such temperatures!), I walked past the lifeguard station and admired the bronzed bodies clad in their yellow t-shirts and tight red shorts...mmmm.... not really, they're all old men! ANYHOOP where was I? Oh yeh, so I walked past the lifeguard station (Very Baywatch - but this IS New Brighton!) and almost trod on the cutest little snail!!! I managed to avoid him and walked on, when I was struck with the thought 'what if someone else treads on him, I should move him' and then I thought 'Ok, if he's still there when I get back I'll move him' and then I thought how bad I would feel if I came back and he's been squashed and I could have done something about it. At this point, I kid you not, my eyes filled with tears at the thought of the snail being squashed, such was my sense of responsibility!

Obviously, by the time I had thought all this (bearing in mind it was so hot and one's brain thinks slower in the heat!!) I'd practically got to the Post Office! Yet, I was sooooooo convicted about this snail and worried about him I turned around and walked all the way back to where he was, picked him up, had a little chat with him and then placed him safely on a garden wall in the shade where there were plants and greenery so he would be ok. Then I had to go all the way back to the blinkin' Post Office. And THEN on the way back, I walked past my snail again and he was still sitting on the wall but had slithered (?) crawled (?) into a more shady bit so he wouldn't cook in the heat!

Clever snail, and a nice little lunch time adventure, allbeit with a slightly unnecessary overly emotional response!!

Right, I'm off to that London for the weekend, ciao bellas xxxxx

Introducing......

ABBI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(she's the one with the luscious locks NOT holding a can of Foster's...other lager brands are available...)

I thought it was high time I blogged about 10 reasons why I love Abbi, simply because she happens to be one of the world's best kept secrets. For those of you lucky enough to know or have met her, you are blessed indeed. And for those of you who haven't...read on. So here it is, 10 reasons why I *heart* Abbi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#1 - She was the chief co-conspirator and author of the now infamous 'Year of Naughtiness'!

#2 - We have been through thick and thin together - climbing mountains, the American summer, JT's chunky legs and death-defying LURVE, puking on planes, being drunk as Lords, arguments, fallings out, petty jealousies, makings up, streaking of hair with bleach, me trashing her room simply because it was too tidy, the list is endless...and yet in spite of all this, and actually now that I think about it because of all of this, we have a tried and tested, truly beautiful friendship that has stood the test of time and will last a lifetime. Like any relationship we have to work at it and sometimes we're pants at it BUT deep down, the love is there.

#3 - Abbi is truly the epitome of 'nice'. Now, some people think that word is crap, but to me it describes Abbi perfectly. Don't think this gal's all wet blanket - no siree. She's NICE. She listens to me and makes me feel super-important. She remembers little details that make you feel a million dollars. She has a way of offering a straight-down-the-line challenge in the nicest possible way that leaves you feeling loved and yet ass-whupped!

#4 - Her alter ego is named Bella. Mine is Liberty, and together with Heidi we've had many adventures. Tenereefee has been a particular favourite of mine...remember the Dog Poo Dessert Abbers??!!

#5 - She is really 'of another time' - specifically Jane Austen times where life was all 'Country Living' Magazine and serene, blissful and perfect. Her romantic soul sometimes gets naffed off in real life, but underneath she truly is all about dresses and ringlets.

#6 - She smoked 'Apple Tea' through a bong in Prague and still insists it was nothing dodgy. 'Nuff said.

#7 - She has a hardcore work ethic. She understands what it means to work your ass off and play damn hard too. All on the same day. Whilst wearing high heels. On cobblestones. Together, she and I single-handedly mounted a 400 strong children's Parade from St. George's Hall in Liverpool through the city to the steps of the Museum. All 400 kids were dressed as creatures made from recycled garbage. It was the 1st Annual GLitter Fesitval whereupon Liverpool sparkled. Straight after that we had a quick change Superman stylee, (not in a phone box, although very nearly almost!), and went straight to a Sugababes gig @ the Royal Court and from there to the post-GLitter wrap party, complete with 10 foot Trannys on stilts. Nice. It was a FABBALUS day and one in which we crammed an entire month's social calendar into 24 hours.

#8 - When she was little she thought when a congregation collectively said 'Thanks be to God' after a reading had been done, that they were actually saying, 'Thanks Peter God'. Now I cannot say those words in church without thinking of mini Abbi thinking God's first name was Peter!

#9 - On holiday we both had a different bikini for each day we were there, hence the now infamous 'bikini of the day' photographs! AND Abbi managed to tan the letter 'S' on her stomach.

#10 - She is destined to go so far in life and be so happy. And sometimes she doesn't know this and it's hard. BUT one day she will look back on the tough times and be all 'OMG all my dreams HAVE come true' and there will be MUCHo rejoicing.

And that's Abbi....I could actually keep going to about 100 things I love about her...but this will suffice for now. She is SIMPLY AMAZING.

Thought it was about time....

...I updated this blog. Don't really have anything to say though which is something of a problem. Would hate to be accused of blogging just for the sake of it. That would, in effect, be tantamount to spamming one's own blog!

I have mostly been a bookworm of late. Over the past 3 weeks I have read:
- Mum's at home - can't remember author
- If I were you - Julia Llewelyn
- Lifeguard - James Patterson
- Psychopath - Keith Ablow
- Fourth of July - James Patterson
- Second Chance - James Patterson
- Blindsighted - Karin Slaughter
- No place like home - Mary Higgins Clarke
- Honeymoon - James Patterson
- The Society - Michael somebody or other
- We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver

Frankly it's a wonder I get anything done! My most favouritest have been We need to talk about kevin, an epistolary novel about a mother writing to her estranged husband after their son kills 7 of his classmates. Very Clever, won the Orange award. AND No place like home which was a thriller. I seem to be in the missle of a 'murder and mayhem' read-a-thon, but I balance it out with a nice chick-lit easyread.

I like the thrillers but, like my mother, I invariably spot whodunnit very early on and ruin it for myself.

Maybes Lizzie should write a book...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

GOD BLESS 3 for 2 book offers! WOOT WOOT!

Is blogging over?

Well, is it??!!

Scally chunes

Rant: What is it with kids on their way to school playing the most obNOXIOUS 'music' aloud on their mp3 player phones. Gah, it's AWFUL! It ruins my trip to the seaside each morning where my office is. Boo to scally kids and their chuffing mp3 player phones. Who wants to hear that in the morning? Even in the glorious sunshine I am STILL not a morning person. No siree bob.

Tra luvs xxx

Once Upon a Time....

There was a Canadian called Colin who met a FABBALUS laydee from Norway called Solveig. They moved to Norway and had a little boy called Daniel(pictured with his dad...the guy in the linen on the right is John Linen, pay no attention to him!).....he really is the cutest little boy and Colin and Solveig are some very favourite people of ours. (Plus Colin was pretty pissed off I hadn't blogged about their visit to Bebington at Easter and PLUS we kinda need to keep 'em sweet so we can go stay with them in Norway!) HAHA!!!

SO, lovely Atkinson family - we love you guys and miss you - hope all's well in the land of......what's Norway the land of???

Mrs Paskar!!

Susan and Michael finally tied the knot in a rather luxurious ceremony and 4 day party in Maui, Hawaii! (Well, they DO live in LA!!!!) Here's the happy bride - CONGRATS Paskars, bring on September's luau party!!! Woot woot!

Affairs of the heart

So, did anyone see the new 'Mindshock' programme last night? ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING! It was about heart transplant patients who, after receiving their new hearts, reported profound personality changes, strange dreams where they dream they're another person, changes in food preferences, music, unexplained new talents and a whole host of stuff that has led some big deal heart specialists to become convinced that the heart is way more than just a pump. They've discovered neurons within the heart which means it has the ability to 'remember' how to function, and so, as one Doctor put it, who are we to say that all that we are in terms of memory happens from the neck up. The heart has long been symbolic of love and cherished times - who's to say it can't do a helluva lot more than we know?!

There was one lady who dreamt she was a guy called Tim L and she was riding a motorcycle to get beers and mexican food - because of the strict confidentiality policy surrounding donors and receipients there was no way she could have known that her donor was none other than Tim Leightman, and avid motorcycle fan whose favourite food was Mexican washed down with a coupla beers.

One chap, a British guy, who was essentially barely literate by his own admisison, suddenly pst-transplant began writing stunning prose and poetry and using words he had never heard of before.

Coincidence? Or something more......

Kinda made me think that if my heart were transplanted into someone else, what personality traits would they take on? What memories would they receive? Would the recipient suddenly develop a scouse accent and a penchant for shoes and cocktails? Or would it be something more, something deeper.

When we declare our love for Jesus, the significance of the heart takes on a deeper meaning. The old is gone, the new has come. That's what I'd want someone who got my heart to experience...that unspeakable joy that is knowing the God of the Universe.

Paul (Wenham, not the Bible guy) once prayed that he wanted his heart to be so soft that when God touches it He leaves His fingerprint there. That image has always stayed with me. It captures perfectly how I want my heart to be.

Metaphorically speaking, I suppose we're all working toward the ultimate heart transplant, to love Jesus and one another as we should, as we were intended. What a great day that will be!

Over and out!

Food coma

It may interest you to know that my dear husband, whilst I was out with the gals last night, managed to consume a Bigger Big Mac, Large fries, large sprite, McChicken Sandwich and another large fries, washed down with 2 bags of crisps and a bumper bag of Minstrels.

GOOD LORD!!!!! *shocked*

And this is the guy who when I first met him would only eat chips, mars bars and full fat milk.

Here's to morbid obesity.... (just kidding! )

Fun fun fun with fabbalus gals!

Hier soir I was fortunate enough to dine and wine avec two of the nicest, most funnest, godliest gals that ever lived. They know who they are, but in case you don't their names are Rikes and Sally D! They rock.
We laughed and caught up and reminisced and plotted (Rikes, that's while you were getting the Bailey's lattes - bring on the hen do!! Hee hee) and shared Jesus stories that have happened in our lives recently to inspire us and whip us up. These gals challenge me to the very core of my being, without being pious, without judging, without being up-their-own-bums-special-needs-Christians….PTL!!

It was so good to hang out with the girlies in the sumptuous and classy Alma de Cuba in Liverpool (www.alma-de-cuba.co.uk ) for good food, good vino and GREAT TIMES!
Rikes, Sal, you're so special to me, so awesome to catch up and share in your lives a little bit. Thanks for inspiring me and for coming all the way over here…roll on our July hot date - woot woot! LOVE YOU!!!!

Pinch-a-pic!

I nicked this off of Cazmo's blog (sorry honey pie, hope u don't mind) It is just SUCH a cute picture and features some of the people who made my time in Manchester great. AND the Whitemans were in my dream last night - how weird is that?! It's so awesome to see some of the gang PLUS various offspring - freaks me out slightly but that's the way of the world....look how grown up they all are!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU (SOME OF THE) MANCLAND POSSE!!!!!! Cate took the photo.....love how Penny has hold of Charis by the t-shirt! SO CUTE!

In other news, we FINALLY have the wedding book back- those of you who don't live near enough to see it just yet can view it here http://www.pictureweddings.co.uk/html/albumpreview14.html

And finally, spare a thought for me tomorrow...I'll be at my first CSMT meeting which is all the big wigs from Children's Services AND I have to do a presentation AND I found out about it at approximately 17:05 ce soir. ROTTERS! So obviously I'm blogging rather than working......ARGH!

I *heart* Hanny

And here's the top 10 reasons why:

#1 She genuinely believes she can do anything she sets her mind to - I too suffer from this syndrome.
#2 She was the first to own pink stilettos.
#3 She's a Disney Classics gal at heart.
#4 She is THE bestest, most animated storyteller I have ever met - where you are actually sucked into the story - living it, loving it and laughing it in the manner of Mary Poppins and the children being sucked into Bert's chalk paintings.
#5 She was a fantabulous bridesmaid and so helpful and lovely and amazingto me on the day and leading up to being married AND planning the hen do!! She'gets' me.
#6 She coined the phrase 'He's being a DICK' and got away with it.
#7 She is particularly adept at getting into adventures and mischief wherever she goes.
#8 We share a love of cocktails, champagne, Albert Dock, living the high life, partying, dancing and what it means to be a true Sex and the City gal!
#9 We have had many crazy adventures and projects together - and will have many more...
#10 She knows the words to EVERY song ever.

And that's Hanny! I *heart* her!

Doom and Gloom

Now then, is it just me or does there seem to be more than the usual amount of utterly heartbreaking tragically bad news around at the moment? It seems as if the sunshine and summery vibes we're experiencing are inversely proportionate to the darkness of occurrences and people in this world.
I can't fathom it. 'Dismay' describes what I'm feeling. It's as if nothing bad can happen when it's so magically sunny outside. I realise that's such a Disney attitude but somehow the contrast seems all the more pronounced.
Now that The Metro has reached these far-flung shores, I'm reading it daily on the commute to and from work - maybe that's why I'm more aware, but in amidst all the Rooney foot hoo haa there are some awful, shocking, depraved and tragic things happening in the world.
Sorry to be on a downer on a Friday!

bugger

The inevitable has happened. And after I made such a song and dance about not getting into it this year too. Dammit! Yes people, I am now hooked on the curse that is Big Brother's house of freaks! OH-MY-GAH what's WRONG with these people?! Out and out fave is Nikki - absolutely fascinated by her. On Sunday whilst nursing the Hangover from Hades AND Hell, I sat in front of the telly ALL DAY. Not only a shocking waste of time, but it also meant that I got a TV headache! I haven't splodged in front of the goggle box for a marathon sit-in like that for YEARS! Even though my head hurt (Curse of the Cocktail, I blame Chris Murphy) I really rather enjoyed myself.....but never again. I am not drinking any alcohol for a week now, since clearly I cannot be trusted with it. Hurrah for Peppermint tea!

Right, time for pilates...laters xxxx

Phases

Ok, so I dunno whether it's the summer approaching or a hankering for yesteryear but I have found myself travelling down the road of reminiscence lately, and particularly watching the early seasons of Sex and the City. Please don't laugh. It represents a time in my life where I was so carefree and self-indulgent - a fact which I quite freely admit! I've re-watched Seasons 1 and 2 to date and every so often I catch a glimpse of how my life has been shaped by this show - this may sound mad, but the spirit behind the lives of these fictional 4 women I find awesome and fascinating and utterly desirable. Yes I know it's rude and full of things 'people don't talk about' but OMG how refreshing! Desperate Housewives doesn't even come close. I recall the nights in with the gals @ the granny flat - Abs, Hann & Anna, sucked into a world of glamourous New York where you can wear dresses all the time and go out for cocktails - thus began our love affair with cocktails at the Dock! We saw the show as educational, an easy way we could find out answers to the questions we were all afraid to ask! Those were the months of Rose wine and cosy girl times. Now we're all married I kinda miss that. It's not the same!

I also find myself giggling at how Carrie Bradshaw has shaped my fashion sense over the years...every so often there is a scene where she'll be wearing an outfit or toting a bag or accessory that I scoured shops all over Liverpool to find lookee-likees - from the horseshoe necklace to full circular skirts, to high high heels, to a big white Fulton umbrella, to 50's tea length dresses and ballet dancer buns, to clutch purses, to ponchos and so much more. Funny how we (or maybe just me??) are shaped by popular culture. I won't ever forget those days and how much fun it was to dress up and go drink champagne. Right, that's it, I'm invoking the days of yore, rallying the gals and getting our asses out on the town. Pronto!

Have a Cosmopolitan on me!!

Jamie Oliver triumphs again!

So, last night the Kennaughs & Stoff and Sarah ventured to the Walls for good food, good wine and GREAT company (even if we do say so ourselves)!! Luce kicked off the proceedings with a fabulous Bruschetta and a bouteille de Beringer (pink and fizzy - YUM!) and I followed it with a 5-hour slow roast beef with veggies, red wine gravy and crusty bread for dunking. I was very nervous for it to work and be tasty, not least because Lucy's nickname is 'Gordo' after Gordon Ramsay!! She is such a talented chef I was worried the main course wouldn't work. But work it did - Praise the Lord for Jamie Oliver! We all agreed it was yummy. Then after a long rest and trying not to slip into a food coma, we partook of Sarah's AWESOME chocolate/blueberry Pavlova - WOWEE it was gorgeous! After dinner it was coffee and sophisticated conversation (for the girls - the boys practiced their WWE moves on one another) (*rolls eyes*) A really great night with wonderful friends and one that we need to repeat more often - thanks guys for coming over, you're fabulous!

And so to today, relaxing, looking for holidays on t'internet, watching the Monaco Grand Prix (Please God can we go there one day!) possibly venturing over to the Barnes' later on - Bank Holidays are where it's at!

Over and out xxx

PS - Happy Birthday Wen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hallelujah!

Today I handed in my Portfolio. Come July I will be an officially qualified counsellor. OH-MY-GAH! That thought is simultaneously enthralling and frightening! Seems like I've been working for sooooooooooooo long for this, and it's finally within sight. YAY! Not entirely sure how it'll pan out in terms of usage...I'm thinkin' maybe a Masters, part time obviously, whilst I am still working for the Local Authority.

Had my first impassioned work-rant at a rather high up dude t'other day. What I find so utterly frustrating is the lip-service that is paid to Children's Rights. People are all so 'Yes yes we're all about the kids' when really what they mean is 'Yes yes we're all about the kids up to a point but at the end of the day we don't really give a stuff about the rights of young people in the Care system and we don't care about communicating openly and honestly with them when decisions are being made about them that will affect their lives. Yes we recognise that BY LAW they have a right to be involved in decisions about their lives, but actually it gets in the way of us doing our job as the professionals we are' It's such bullshit.

My entire role revolves around a need to be transparent and to be able to openly communicate with and on behalf of the young people I represent. If 'professionals' are going to begin censoring what they say to young people via me then the role is obsolete and actually we haven't progressed at all in terms of how we involve young people and encourage them to engage in their own lives. The statistics for 'Looked After children' SUCK - in terms of achievement, mental health, education, employment, drugs, alcohol, crime, teenage pregnancy. At almost every turn they are a vulnerable demographic. So, why aren't we doing more?

Sometimes things just get my goat.

(Paulo is that enough about my 'real life' for ya??!! :)

The Maeve Binchy Code

Have been to see it. Quite good I thought, though it has been subjected to the 'great' and time-honoured American cinematic treatment of grossly over-explaining anything and everything that is significant and central to the plot. I appreciate that it's a difficult novel to dramatise (which may, peut-etre, beg the question why bother trying to at all!!), but Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon was tremendous in his over-enunciation of 'Fleur de Lise' and "'Neath ancient Roslin lies...' etc etc - just in case the Yanks didn't get it! Haha.

All in all a good film though, don't really see what the big Christian hoo-haa has been about, I reckon it's a well plausible theory! Not saying I think it's true or my faith has been shaken to the core or anything, just that it's a fantastic theory. (AND a GREAT book!!)

LOVED the Disney movie/Post-Modern-approach-to-faith ending 'What it comes down to Sophie is what you believe. Why couldn't Jesus have been a good man and a father?...' (I paraphrase but it was sommat like that, all soft focus and violins...) And as for the 'Nope, maybe I'll do better with the wine' bit, all I have to say is 'Gawd Bleyss Ameryica'!

BUT Paul Bettany was whoop-de-do brillo, dead evil and his eyes were especially good. Thought Audrey Tatou aka Amelie (GREAT film!) was great, and Tom Hanks was ok but not massively believable as Robert Langdon. Gandalf as Lee Teabing was ace.

Et voila my review!

My verdict: READ THE NOVEL!

When I grow up.....

....I wanna be just like Dr. Tanya Byron. Wowee, whatta gal! She is a true genius and spends her days sorting out problem parents who reckon that their KIDS are the ones with the issues! PAH!Thanks to Dr. T terms such as 'rapid return' and 'sliding in' have become commonplace. Parents around the globe are having their lives revolutionised by her interventions and I am hopelessly addicted to seeing what happens. I often find myself agreeing smugly with Dr. T and her expert observations, and then yelling at kids when I'm at work. Oopsie, my bad! But what I am so riveted by is how it's actually all common sense, and often all we need is someone who is impartial, independent and unconditional, who provides us with the right conditions for us to explore our behaviour and idiosyncrasies and ultimately to grow and change. Now, I know she's not God, but she's kind of like God in that we, as human beans, respond well to boundaries and being allowed to change when someone unconditional lets us....bit of a spacky analogy but hopefully you get what I mean. Dr. T is cool, God is cool. I've developed an addiction to 'House of Tiny Tearaways' and I'm supposed to be doing an essay.

See God? I need boundaries!

Over and out.

Little Ted being dead cute!!!

'Nuff said!!