Badminton: Must Try Harder

Rob, Jen and I went to play badminton on Monday afternoon. I was dreadful, particularly considering I used to play every week for a period of about 6 months while I was in Manchester. Jen and I played in a team against Rob, and he still beat us 4 times. Jen and I played two games against each other and won one each, then Rob and I played and I got trounced, and Jen and Rob played and Jen got trounced, although that was only to be expected. I wish I were better at it because I really enjoy badminton... I'll have to find someone to play with down here.

We left my parents' this morning, but not quite as early as we had planned because we had to turn round and go back for my handbag, which I'd left behind. At least it was only 7 miles into the 300-mile journey... Then I directed us the wrong way off the motorway so we had a 10-mile detour, then the sat nav took us a longer way home because traffic on the A34 was awful. Rob's getting a new car tomorrow so he had put just enough diesel in it to get us home, but because we'd had to do 45 extra miles we had to stop and put a little bit more in the tank to get us home.

Not So Active This Christmas

I just read my post from this time last year and was amazed at how much exercise we did over Christmas! This year, not so much. We went to the gym once in Manchester and once in the Lakes on Christmas Eve, then we played squash on Boxing Day, so that's three lots of exercise in the last week, compared to six lots in the same period last year. A decidedly more sedate pace this year, and it was great.

The casino night on Tuesday was really good - we lost all our 'money' on the blackjack table, but we definitely looked the business in our black tie get-up (no pictures I'm afraid - I remembered to take the camera but didn't remember to use it). There was a set of treasure hunt questions left in our room, so we went round Ambleside on Christmas Eve, doing the treasure hunt as we went. It was a great way to see a bit more of Ambleside - it isn't exactly a huge town, but we don't often get to wander round the back streets. After dinner we went to Midnight Mass at St Mary's Church in Ambleside.

The plan on Christmas Day was to go for breakfast, go on the Christmas Morning walk, have lunch, then open our presents in the afternoon. But we were both really tired and not all that bothered for going on the walk this year, so we stayed in and opened our presents in the morning instead. I did really well, particularly considering I told Rob I didn't need anything this year. Among other things, we both got new pyjamas for Christmas, and we put them on after lunch and spent the rest of the day watching DVDs from bed. Very relaxing :).

Yesterday evening the hotel put on a quiz after dinner, which we sucked at. We were lulled into a false sense of security with the picture round, which they gave out at the beginning and which was collected in at the end after the other 5 rounds have been answered. We knew all 10 of the pictures, but unfortunately the other rounds weren't anywhere near as easy and our strong finish wasn't enough to make up for our appalling showing in the other rounds :(. Good fun though.

We drove to my parents' house this morning and had Christmas again - turkey for lunch, then presents this afternoon. Again, I did really well: all I asked for was an iron (exciting, I know) but I got that and lots more. Mum got a cornet - see Jen's blog for a picture of Mum's first attempt to play it. Keep practising, Mum!

That's More Like It

Southampton to Manchester in 3 hours 45 minutes (not counting a 1-hour stop in Birmingham on the way) - that's much better than the 6 hours it took us to do the same 240-mile journey last Christmas.

We got here around lunchtime on Sunday and in the early afternoon we went to see Grandad, who's been in hospital for the past couple of weeks. They're hoping that he'll be discharged in time for Christmas. Rob bought him The Lord of the Rings trilogy on CD, which he loved, and which will help pass the time while he's in hospital.

After we left the hospital we went back to Rob's parents' and his sister and her kids came round in the early evening. I asked Rob's niece, Leah, if she would like to be my bridesmaid, and after careful consideration she said she would.

Yesterday we spent all day in Manchester, shopping - it was busy but not crazy. Rob decided that seeing as he didn't have his suit (again, very embarrassed and sorry) and seeing as he was intending to buy a tuxedo in the next couple of months anyway, he would buy one now then he could wear it tonight at the hotel's casino night in the Lakes. He bought the tuxedo from Selfridges and whilst the jacket fitted perfectly, the corresponding trousers were a bit big - they needed an inch off the leg and 2 inches off the waist. The guy in Selfridges pointed us in the direction of the tailor/alterations shop they use which is just down the road and they did all the alterations in 90 minutes, which we were amazed at, particularly as the place was packed with people wanting last-minute alterations to Christmas outfits. We could only imagine the kind of sweat shop they were running out the back to get all the clothes altered on time...

This morning Rob's Dad had to take their cat to be put down, which was really sad. She was a stray when Sharen took her in and the vet reckoned she was about 6 at the time, which would make her 14 now. She had a series of seizures in the space of about 20 minutes this morning, which was very sad to watch as there was nothing we could do to help her, so they took her to the vet and he put her to sleep.

We're going for lunch with the guys from Cake in a little while, then we're heading straight off to Ambleside after that.

Merry Christmas!

Early-Onset Dementia Strikes Again

I pride myself on my long-term memory: names, dates, facts and figures, birthdays, anniversaries and so on; plus I'm definitely more of a help than a hinderance on a pub quiz team, even if I do say so myself. But ask me where I left my keys and I've got no idea. I am SO forgetful when it comes to short-term stuff like remembering to make an appointment at the hairdressers, or to take my lunch into work, or even what it was I went upstairs for.

Case in point: The hotel we are going to for Christmas is having a relatively formal dinner on Tuesday evening and I have bought a beautiful LBD to wear (photo to follow, probably - providing I remember to take my camera), so Rob decided he would take his new suit. Except I took it to the dry cleaners inside Sainsbury's about a month ago and forgot to pick it up. It wasn't until he mentioned he wanted to take his suit that I got that awful sinking feeling, realising that the drop-off receipt was still in my wallet.

I'm so annoyed with myself. Rob has been very forgiving and told me it doesn't matter and he will just wear something else, but I still feel so stupid - I was only at Sainsbury's this evening, I could have picked it up; but by the time I remembered, it had closed, and we're leaving early tomorrow morning.

I think I'm going to have to carry a notebook around with me all the time, to write things down as I think of them, then cross them off the list when they're done.

Going up to Manchester tomorrow morning - I don't think the weather or the traffic will be anything like as bad as it was this time last year - to stay with Rob's parents for two nights, then four nights in the Lake District, then three nights at my parents' place, returning home in time for New Year.

One of my orders from Amazon didn't turn up in time, despite the fact that the delivery estimate was last Thursday. Sorry Jen, you'll have to wait till the next time I see you for that present!

Sadly the Best Show on TV Right Now

I just watched Peter Kay's Britain's got the Pop Factor... and possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice and it was brilliant - it summed up reality TV shows perfectly for me (although why they're called 'reality' is beyond me - what's real or everyday about prancing around on a stage and letting people who don't know you pass judgment?). The inane interviews; the sob stories; the ridiculously long pauses before the results are read out; the cheesy lines uttered by judges who take themselves far too seriously; the fact that each act performs for 3 minutes but the show is padded out with 20 minutes of build-up; the stupid amounts of money people pay the phone companies to vote for their favourites, yet they won't pick up the phone and pledge the same amount of money when it comes to things that actually matter like Children in Need or Comic Relief; the hysteria that surrounds the winner for all of three weeks, then they lose their 'fame' as quickly as they found it...

If you haven't seen it before, check out Geraldine's winning performance, which had me in stitches: -



I linked through on YouTube from this video to a clip of the X-Factor final from last Saturday night, and both shows looked as ridiculous as each other - the only difference being that the Peter Kay show knew it...

Change of Heart

Since I moved out of my parents' house, I've never really put up Christmas decorations, because I've never spent Christmas at home. This year, however, I had a real urge to put up a tree, so I went out today and bought one. It had to go in the conservatory because there's no room in the lounge, so before I went to buy it I made sure that the electric heater on the wall in the conservatory actually works - if it hadn't, there wouldn't have been much point putting up a tree at all because it's freezing in there in the winter. We can still see it from the lounge, so that's nice, and I'm really pleased with the way it's turned out. And yes, those boxes on the right really are all our DVDs and CDs, still unpacked from when we moved in 18 months ago... As soon as we get something to put them in, we'll unpack them.

I was going to buy the tree yesterday after work but my legs still weren't functioning very well, so I waited till this morning and hoped I'd get a bit better overnight, which I did. Today I feel slightly more achy than I usually do the day after a hard gym session - but my gym session was 3 days ago now! At least today I don't have to scooch down the stairs on my backside or spend a couple of minutes working out the best way to get up off the sofa...

The Bath Didn't Help

I mean, it was nice - very nice, in fact; nicer than I expected and I'm going to have another one tonight because it's warmer than sitting downstairs - but it didn't help with the post-gym aches, which got worse overnight to the point that I'm walking like John Wayne today because my quad muscles don't work. When I wanted to roll over in bed last night I actually had to hold the edge of the bed and pull myself over, because I couldn't push with my legs. Plus I had to use the lift at work to go up one floor because I'm not currently able to use the stairs. Standing up and sitting down are proving a bit of a problem too.

My shoulders, lower back, sides, abs and arms are also aching, which means I can't laugh, cough, sneeze, lift anything heavy, bend down etc.

Sigh.

Nothing Works

Killer PT session this morning. We did squats until I couldn't walk, then crunches until I couldn't breathe, then boxing and press-ups until I couldn't lift my arms.

You know when you do some hard exercise - gym, gardening, whatever - and think 'I'm going to feel this in my muscles tomorrow...'? Well, no Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness for me today - more like Instant Onset. My muscles were already hurting before I even left the gym. I got in the shower at home and could barely hold my arms above my head long enough to wash my hair, and putting on my mascara afterwards was hilarious - I couldn't get my arm to stop shaking. I had to remind myself to get up from my desk every 30 minutes or so, so I wouldn't seize up entirely, and I did loads of stretches throughout the day in the hope that it would help.

I'm going for a bath. Yep, it's that serious.

Half-Way Already

I noticed today that my wedding countdown ticker says there are 200 days to go until our wedding. I then worked out (via the wonder that is www.timeanddate.com) that it's exactly 200 days since we got engaged, which means that half the time between getting engaged and getting married has already passed. That was quick...