I ended my evening by coming home and finding out that i had set my vid for the wrong time, so i missed the last episode of house, amd greys anatomy. I am so cross.

Anyway back to the Salsa. I enjoyed myself. It was good exercise, and i love to dance. I think i'm going to keep going and spend my 4 pounds on that instead of SW.

posted by small 4:05 PM

As i've put on two pounds i've decided to ditch SW and just head to a new salsa class that is apparently starting on the Vale tonight.

I watched Pompeii Live last night, which was quite enjoyable. The new painted statue head was really lovely. Peter Snow seemed an odd choice for presented, but i liked Edwina Silver. I taped it onto my Thommy, which is running out of room! I set it up to archive overnight, and programmed my dvd recorder to record overnight. This morning i got up and it had worked perfectly! There was 30 seconds of blank at the beginning, then it kicks in. I can't see the end until i finalise the disc, but i think it will be ok.

With going out tonight and tomorrow my Thommy is full up!

You know, i think i'm going to give myself tonight and tomorrow off from tmaing. I am well ahead, and i'm going to plan typing and editing what I have done so far on Saturday (making a start on my biblio), and then finishing off the remaining few hundred on Sunday and Monday. I only have around two hundred more words to write.

I'm nearly half way through block 4; it is so much more interesting to me. This potentially means i could start my next tma in two weeks; Roman family is definately going ot be one of my exam topics.

posted by small 4:22 PM

Slowly plugging my way through TMA04. I'll want to send it off this time next, and i have maybe 400 more words to write and then type up the essay. It's definately doable. I have the wedding Friday, so i won't be doing any writing then. I also have to visit my Grandma on Saturday, so I may do some typing rather than writing Saturday evening. It's plenty of time. I'm also ploughing my way through block 4 too. Much more interesting to me as it is more social than political history. As potentially i am going camping with Linds, i want to be in a good position for writing tma05. In theory the weekend after this tma is due in, i could start the short question answer for tma05, and think about planning my last essay. It's 2000 words, the longest yet. I can do it.

Looking back over my life there is so much that i wish i had done. I wish i had gone on a GAP year instead of going straight to university. I wish i had had the courage to go for ancient history and apply to Oxbridge. The boyfriends i wish i hadn't gone out with, as wasting my time with them meant that perhaps my soul mate was passed by and my chance for a family has now gone. I wish i could just dump my job and go and study.

posted by small 4:27 PM

Well, the slimming world plan has gone completely down the pan. I am so hungry all the time. Hungry for food, and the sort of hunger that comes from loneliness.

On the bright side. If i get a distinction for just one of my level 3 courses, i could end up with a First! How cool would that be? Likelihood is though that i will get a solid 2:1, which is no small achievement in itself.

I have run out of money completely. For the first time in a very long time i will be going overdrawn. I am going to have to be much stricter with myself. It doesn't help that when i am off work i get bored and lonely and then i shop. And eat out.

I'm reactiving my nationwide account, and i'm now going to use this for my beading and ebaying expenses. As i don't get any money going into this, when it's gone i simply can't be tempted to buy anything else.

I'm going to make Joolz's birthday present, so this will be cheap.

posted by small 9:27 AM

I weighed myself at home last night and was shocked to find that i was two pounds heavier than normal, despite being good. I think i'm being to flail...

Still I am being good today i still have 3.5 hours of work and temptation to go though). I will do as well as i can, and hope that i will maintain. I am going to aim to go on a 2km walk Thursday and Friday, as I have both of those off and it will be a good way to split up my day if i am tmaing, and then on Saturday and Sunday. As i know i can do it in 30 mins now this seems sensible.

My trip to the V and A seems to be curtailed! Still, i could think about doing it post-exam when the weather isn't so good and a day trip looking around something interesting appeals a lot.

Which reminds me, i spent my tesco clubcard vouchers and bought a season ticket to Thinktank. This means I can now just go and pay 1 pound at the planetarium. I did go there on my week off and it was chock full of kids. They were very noisy and even the person running the show had to tell them to be quiet or the show would be cancelled! Too much to do on my days off!

I have finished my short answer, so i now have another 1200 words to write on the main essay. As i have 17 days left, i feel that this is definately do-able.

posted by small 3:50 PM

Been off from work a whole week. A mixture of delight at not being at work, and then a bit of depression. I decided to use some my savings money (i was given a couple of small bonus payments by my client a few years ago, which i have hardly touched) to buy a cheap ex-display dvd recorder. So i started putting all my old videos onto DVD. It's going to take me a few more weeks, but it will mean more room and i want to declutter as far as possible. I'm still keeping my dvd player, and if the discs work on it (my player is 6 years old!), i will just swop it out, and then only archive things to disc once a month if need be.

I didn't spend my week off writing my tma. I rather knew i wouldn't. Although that said, I have made a start on it. I'm nearly done with the short answer, only another 100 words to go, but i'm floundering on the essay. Still, i will do my best. TMA05 looks much more to my taste. It's about bathing and social issues. Thinking about the exam, Rome city and people will have to be a sure fire revision block for me. Also 5th century athens, i would be an idiot not to after studying it in depth for last years course. Some parts of block 3 are interesting. Still, i haven't actually done block 4 yet, so you never know!

If i am strict and do 100 words a night, i can just about do it. I have two days off this week, so i am aiming to use those days for typing up what i have done so far, which should be the entire short question and maybe 1/3 of the essay. Still working under pressure is good. The exam only gives an hour to write an essay. I only have one day off, the 30th which is when i'm going to a wedding, but i hope that those two days off and weekends will mean i can make up for it.

Going to the British Museum the day after the cut-off date for the TMA will be a really good way to finish it off! I'm hoping that whilst i am writing the tma, i can continue to study. Thank goodness the blocks are now on-line and i don't have to wait for deliveries.

I've had a good couple of weeks with SW - just one pound off losing half a stone. Unfortunately this week i have been very lax. I had a carvery meal Friday afternoon, With a night out at Castle Balti on Friday, and then left-overs from that on Saturday. And another meal out on Sunday. So i have to be extra good now i'm back at work. i want to get that half stone award this Thursday.

Speaking of things like that, i did the 2km walk around Brookvale Res, this time i did it in 32 minutes and 08 seconds! SO i am improving. According to the Walk 2000 literature from the council, i should be doing this in 18 minutes. I'm not up to that yet, but i'm going to try and improve.

posted by small 9:49 AM

I did it! Ok, so I was last, joint last with Aussie Lucy who kindly agreed to walk with me. I did it in 1 hour 25 minutes. I was so proud of myself. It may have taken me the same time to do one lap as it did formost people to do the entire race, but all that matters is that i took part and i completed it! We had a good reception to finish, with the DJ spotting us coming from a way off - and we waved to everyone who was still left. Two air cadet lads came up and escorted us back, and when we got to the end we did a run to finish and everyone cheered. The DJ came and asked our names, and people were telling us well done!

I honestly thought that it would take me about 2.5 hours, so it definately helps to walk with someone. I would like to improve and keep practicing fast walking, and do it again next year, and do it faster!

My legs and back are still today, and I have two large blisters on the bottoms of my feet, but it was worth it.

In the photo i'm wearing a white top with blue sleeves number 750 and i'm looking at the camera with a funny expression. The lady next to me in the shades is aussie Lucy.

posted by small 10:43 AM

Well tonight is the Race for Life. I am really nervous about it, and convinced it's going to take me about 2.5 hours to complete. If you are feeling generous, please sponsor me. It's a really good cause (Cancer Research), and my sponsorship is really motivating me to complete it, despite my nerves.

I need to start work on my next TMA. As of today, i have one month to go. I wanted to get through the block before i started on it, but after a few lazy weeks i'm now only a week ahead. I suppose i could just study for my entire week off. This would be both profitable and cheap.

posted by small 8:33 AM

Still struggling with SW. I get terribly hungry at work, and there are few choices here that are healthy. Tonight i'm going to do something with pasta and some quorn swedish-style balls.

I can't remember if i mentioned it, but i dyed my hair on Sunday. It's now a rather stranger pale ginger colour. oops.

The money situation is not looking good. I have 400 quid to last the entire month. And i really need the car to be serviced, as this morning i was convinced that it's starting to overheat again.

I have next week off, and i would like to do something. I haven't had a holiday, and i would like to go to London to visit the V and A. i'm trying to find out how i can make it as cheap a day as possible. If would have to go on the megabus and If i leave at quarter to 6 it's 6 quid. Of course i have to come back too, and thats at least another 6 quid. It takes so long to get there too. National express is no cheaper, or faster. Train is quicker but its 25 quid.

Maybe i shouldn't go at all. I hate struggling so much for money. I need to really look at what i am spending it on and stop myself from buying concert tickets and cds. These really mount up.

And of course beading. I enjoy it so much, but I have to stop buying so much. If mums friend, for whom i have made a bracelet and am making a necklace would pay me for them, this would help me break even a little.

posted by small 4:27 PM

I got too many blisters on my toes on Saturday, walking around Town, that it was too painful to go dancing. Had i known that they were going to the academy I would have worn my trainers. Oh well. I will know better next time.

Sunday i was sitting down watching the first episode of Spiral when i felt something on my leg like the prick of a needle. I thought that maybe it was one of my own needles and when the pain was a little less i lifted up my trouser leg. I cuold clearly see a puncture wound and blood below the skin, but i couldn't find a needle. Then i felt the pain again at the top of my leg. Ouch! Something was biting me i tore my trousers off and danced around, shook my trousers out. In my head i was thinking i can't see anything crawling on me, and i know that this isn't a flea bite. I eventually calmed down. My leg was going blotchy and red and two hard lumps formed. I smeared anti-histamine over the lumps and sat back down again. There crawling on the basket under my coffee table was a wasp.

I had been stung twice by a wasp.

Evil creature.

posted by small 3:56 PM

So, i rejoined SW last night. The consultant remembered me straight off. Oh dear. Still, I hope i last more than the two weeks i did last time. I think part of the problem is that there is no interaction in the group. The other group I belonged to seemed much more friendly. But the consultant left, and I floundered. I've got laughing cow to have on my jacket potato instead of cheese, and i'm going to start cooking again.

Just had a call from Julia Brown. Sadly she didn't get enough people to run tomorrows course, which is a great pity as i had a lovely time on the last course. She is still going ahead with the necklace course next Saturday, so i will look forward to that. she said that she might still give me the pattern, and I may have a go at trying it on my own.

This means i now have a free Saturday. I could meet up with Joolz in Town, i'll have to see.

And after buying beads off ebay, I coudl have just waited, but there you go.

posted by small 4:04 PM

I've decided to rejoin, for the 64,000th time, slimming world. My weight is just going up and up and i'm tired of it. I hate buying clothes because my old ones don't fit anymore. I want to go into top-shop and buy stuff. Ok maybe not top-shop, but at least Asda.

I listened to Speak for Yourself by Imogen Heap in the car on the way into work this morning. I really like it. It's a pity i got into it after she came to Birmingham, but there you go.

posted by small 4:42 PM