Got my course results for my Law Course and I passed (which is good) but looking a the results for my ECA was a bit of a shock!
6 Just achieved and 2 Not Quite Achieved
Not really a happy bunny with that given that my TMA's were mostly 'Achieved' <:o(

I had a glance at the FAQ and they sorted answered my question 'Why' but left me on a downer as I can't get any further feedback.

Then just for funzies I looked a the online forum for my two current courses and saw that some of the students are already on their 2nd TMA when I have yet to send in my first! I know everyone works at different paces but now I just feel very small.

Gonna have a cup of tea and maybe a biscuit....or the whole pack.

Last weekend I finished all my christmas cards and wrote them all out. I put up the Christmas tree and the decorations, and then put the ceiling decorations up again as they all took turns to fall down! I went to pilates (it hurts) and there was only a few of the normal class and 4 newbies, three of whom has lower back problems so our instructor focused on exercises for the lower back (again yes it hurt). For a change wth the newbies I felt like more like one of the experienced members of class rather than the pleb at the back who can barely do half of the exercises!

This eveing I have typed up my first TMA for the Introducing Enviorment course. I'm gonna get Hayley to have a glance over it and then submit it in. Tomorrow evening is my next tutorial with my Understanding Society tutor and then I'll be typing up that TMA on wednesday. Won't be doing anything thursday evening as its my monthly cards making class. (woohoo!)

I am therefore quietly satisfied with the progress I have made over theweekend and will do this week.

Kaye and I went to Bath last weekend to visit the Christmas market and indulge in some christmas shopping. Sadly by the day we drove to Bath my shopping money had already been halved by an unexpected bunny dental bill 6 days earlier. (Rats!) Nonetheless I decided to take it as a challenge...except the weather decided to take a pot shot at us as well! It was wet everywhere on sunday but it was positively torrential in Bath. I ended up having to buy a new umbrella, a new waterproof (temporary) handbag and a multi-pack of socks! We were soaked through twice, got lost repeatedly (Kaye can tell you exactly how many times we went around 1 particular block) and yet still had a good time. Even though the weather was foul the market was packed out and I was glad we stayed overnight as monday morning it was very quiet and I picked up bits I had seen but not been able to get too.

On the way out we had an early start and after having got lost in Oxford (please don't ask) we decided to stop at a MacDonalds and get the sat nav out. Kaye said she was starving but personally I wasn't that hungry.... until I looked at the menu. Kayes says she's never seen anyone inhale a MacDonald Bacon bap meal before! I was going back for more hash browns until they said they would charge 75p per hash brown! (Daylight bloody robbery!)

On the way back the sat nav froze and gave us a bit of a panic attack saying that we still had 2hrs of driving to go when actually we only had 1. Then Kaye's fuel tank beebed and she almost went into meltdown trying to get to a petrol station in time, narrowly missing the smash up on the roundabout 5min earlier! The rush was because I had to be home by 4 on monday cos I was booked in for the flu jab. My practice nurse asked if I had been called for the swine flu jab...I crossed my fingers hopefully and said 'not yet, will I need it?' to which she replied (almost gleefully) 'You're on our list!'
*Bugger*

There was light amusement in the Doctors as a young (harrassed) mum came back in with her daughter and annouced to the receptionist 'Ok, we'll try again, I've calmed her down.' You would have thought the poor kid was being murdered the screaming that came out of that room! She came out all red faced, tears streaming, sucking her thumb while mum apologised...again.... to the nurse. The girls friend sitting with her mum a few seats away leaned over and said, very loudly, 'What a baby! I didn't hurt me!' proudly showing off her flu jab plaster!

Ahh bless!

Sight....if I couldn't read I'd go crazy.

I've been out of the loop these last three weeks really. Honestly? I've been really busy at work and fighting with an intermittant internet connection at home.

Three weeks ago I spent 5 days in Scotland stay with my Dad and his partner Mo which was nice. Dad took me out an about and i've climbed the 241 steps of the Wallace monument (nearly didn't come down again), went to Stirling castle and Edinburgh castle. I was there for the 1'oclock firing of the gun in Edinburgh which was very loud. We went o see the Falkirk wheel which was interesting and a bit fun! We briefly went to Loch Lomand but it was raining and misty. it was all good. I have photos if I ever get around to putting them on my PC and uploading them. (For example...the photos from York in May are still on my camera)

Back at work, things are very busy and I'm currently involved in a lot of 'additional' projects. I think I've had 1 day in the last 2 week where I've not had a meeting of some description. Its been a lot of days of bitty work and interupptions which does get frustrating but there are rewards! I won in the monthly nominations for the 2nd month in a row (its a little embaressing) 2nd place again but another £30 in vouchers.

Then my two OU courses have kicked off. I've doing the first chapters of work tomorrow and looking at the questions. Plus I have my first tutorials next week. Here's weirdness...I'm on my 3rd & 4th courses and again I have two female tutors. 4 courses, 4 female tutors...and its not like they are particularly what you would considers 'female' subjects.

I can hear attempts at fireworks in the rain outside and its annoying. lots of popping which echos followed by damp squipy noises. Tomorrow night I'm off to Hayley's for dinner. She has a pumpkin left over from Halloween and she has some recipes that I salivated at and kinda got invited over! I will come baring a bottle of wine in return though!

To be fair this entry really doesn't do the last few weeks justice, especially the week in scotland. I'm just very down after loosing Pepsi so suddenly and be honest a little down with life in general. I suspect its to do with the darking of the days and the grey weather.

Pepsi died yesterday.

She was a bit off her food on sunday but took the recovery mixture well and seemed bright enough, so I decided against taking her to the emergency vets. Monday morning she was very subdued and was starting to shake. I whisked her down for an 8am emergency appointment. She seemed too weak to stand properly. The vet thought she was weak because she was in discomfort from her tummy troubles and gave her some jabs to move her guts along and a painkiller. Two hours later she just stopped breathing in mums arms. That shocked everyone, even the vet.

How could I not know it was something more serious? Should have taken her to the vets on sunday.

The worst thing is I've been so busy these last couple of weeks that we hadn't had our usual t.v. talks, where she would sit on my lap watching t.v. chattering her teeth at the programme.

That'll hurt for a long time

1) I have signed up for my next two OU courses! I'm being brave trying two different subjects at the same time...it could be interesting!

2) I actually did some work today cos our phone system broke (Ha ha, totally not guilty)

3) I only have 4 working day until my week off!!

Weeeee...*spins on chair* .....

*wishes hadn't spun on chair....dizzy now*

My productivity at work this week is going to be s**t.
Monday I think I actually may have done some work.
Tuesday I was at the dentist and had several meetings, one of which got moved to an hour earlier and no-one told me or my manager....
Wednesday I was in a training course all day
Thursday I had more meetings and played catch-up with the post from wednesday which no-one had done.
Friday? I got yanked away into yet another training sessions unexpectedly and did little work again!

Thanks to the unexpected round of training I accidentally left a friend at lunch sitting in the cafe on her own as I had no access to my e-mail and couldn't see that she had replied to my earlier e-mail inviting her to lunch! (Totally embarressing)

Next week?
Monday I'm going to have to battle the post again as NO-ONE will have done it today AND I'm back in further training.
Wednesday I have yet another training session & another round of meetings
Thursday I'm at the dentist
And friday I have to get all my monthly one to one paperwork sorted cos I'm off the next week and the meeting is the monday I'm back!

Head...Desk...OW

Thank God for the weekend...even if it does bucket down with rain the whole time.

So I've seen my dentist, had my mouth X-rayed from several angles and the verdict?
No idea what was causing the pain!

I have no: Cavities (Thank you!)
                  Holes
                  Infection
                  jaw movement
                  bone movement
Oh! And my wisdom teeth are coming through nicely!

Yes, my front teeth have moved a bit, but that is apparently natural. So i was either imagining it or there is a mystery out there. We're going to play the wait and see game. The pain hasn't been back since last week but its still a little uncomfortable. I get to go back next week for another check-up and a hyginist visit which is always fun cos she manages to 'click' my crown when she does her scary flossing.

Other than that life is meandering along nicely. I only have 8 more days at work until my week off (Woohoo).I've half finished a dozen christmas cards, i just need to mount and stick bits together and find some christmassy ribbon.
Agghh! and thebig thing I have to do is shift money around so I can pay for my next OU course(s). The closing date is the 16th so I really need to pull my finger out and get sorted.

Opps. Talking of pulling a finger out....Its 7.40 and I'm still sitting in my PJ's with my make-up half on and my hair yet to be straightened

Bit of a busy weekend. I did some gardening on saturday but gave up when the wind was blowing the leaves off the trees faster than I could bag them. I did remove half of the white wash off the greenhouse busy need to go back with a stiffer brush to remove the rest. I cleared off half my vegi patch and and LOT of weeds. I also finally remembered to fill up the bird feeders. Need to make sure I do that regually as the weather gets colder.

I had to buy a new toaster on saturday as our old one died spectactually with a flash of yellow light. (Step away from the toaster....switch the power off) Thats off to the tip soon as the filament is bent. I have my suspisons regarding my brother, a knife and a stubbon slice of thick toast... but nothing I can prove.

Sunday I went to Pilates at my gym for the first time. It was nice, I enjoyed it and it was a bit hard work. I got home and promptly fell asleep for 2 hours! My legs were a bit sore but nothing major. I woke up this morning when my alarm went off for swimming and my abs and back said 'You REALLY thought yesterday was a good idea didn't you?' It hurt to laugh... and sneeze! Feels better now but still a bit sore. Obviously I have a lot of work to do. I'll swim tomorrow morning (hopefully) and loosen the muscles up again.

Tomorrow is looking to be a beast of a day. I have two audios to attend, a dentist appointment and a couple of project meetings. All in all my manager thinks I might have time do do maybe 2 hours work!  I get to leave the office at 11.30 catch a train, walk to the dentist (Pray they're not running late) get a train back to the office and hopefully get some lunch in there somewhere!

Speaking of beasts....the bunnies had their claws done again yesterday. 11 cranky bunnies all complaining about having their nails done when I pay someone to do virtually the same thing to me. They had treats but obiously that wasn't good enough....

I'm still tired so I leave it there. Plus I'm worried about tomorrow.

My reminder for the yearly checkup pops through the post a couple of weeks ago and I reluctantly make the appointment. Mostly I'm petrified of another round of fillings which are going to cost me. On thursday last week my teeth suddenly react to a cup of tea. Don't like that idea. Over the weekend I aviod hot drinks but the pain/tingles move until on monday it is centred around my lower jaw. Its uncomfortable but not too painful so I ignore it. By tuesday its very uncomfortable and painful. Wednesday I cave in and book an emergency appointment....for tues 06/10 at 12.15. Great 6 days to wait and a trip home from the office by train that will write off my lunch hour.

Today? Nothing! A few tingles but no pain.

Therory? Its a wisdom tooth at the back. I think where it is pushing through at the bottom it is pushing my front teeth out of line. Two of them have started to overlap (this being where the worst of the pain was)

Best case scenario: I get referred to have my wisdom teeth out free on the NHS.
Worst case? Its multiple fillings and gonna cost me a fortune.

I'm worrying now and annoyed.

1. Finished my essay (Hurrah!)
2. Got my nephew's Birthday present
3. Wrapped Helen's Birthday present
4. Finished 1 of my christmas card cross-stitches & started the next.
5. Broke a nail (bugger)

The heading says its all. This week is really busy at work mostly because a major system went up the proverbial creek yesterday and we're all now playing catch-up. What makes it harder is that some members ofthe team really aren't pulling their weight. It has been noted and I will be bringing certain people up in my monthly meeting with my manager on friday. I don't like doing it because it feel at bit like tattle telling but when their actions affect my work and the teams productivity then someone's got to say something.

I've finished my essay and am now just playing around with my answer a bit following my conversation with my tutor on monday. I'm drooling over the thought of my next two courses and the path i have planned towards an open degree.

I have beena good girl and been swimming twice this week, tomorrow will make 3. But I've also been a really bad girl with the sheer amount of crap I have eaten in the last three days. A cow grazing on grass doesn't have a patch on me right now. <:o( Its the stress, I know it is and I'll stop. I can't let it become another bad habit.

Nice things...I had a nice craftys day with Hayley on saturday. I bought some bits from loobi's and made 7 cards. 1 birthday card for a friend and the basic bits for 6 christmas cards. I just need to do the finishing touches. I've even done a bit more cross-stitch. The really impressive thing I did at the weekend mind you was the tidying. As I went looking for all my crafty supplies for saturday i opened a lot of boxes and looked in a lot of drawers so sunday i decided to sort them all. The thing is though that once you start it turns into something of an avalanche that you can't stop until it runs out. I have another huge bag of shredding. I've re-arranged and discovered another half dozen cross-stitches to do and found mum's missing passport that she gave to me for safe keeping some 12 months ago!

I also had dinner with my Dad and his partner on friday which was nice.Planned som eof the things they'd like to show me in scotland when I go up there next month. Looking forward to the break and relaxing a bit!

*sigh*

I have 'homework' to do from work. I ought to stop procrastinating and get on with it!

So I knuckled down on sunday and after 5 torturous hours I have a basic essay of 905 words, just 5 words over the absolute minimum. Obviously this is going to required some editing and amendment. I'm sure I can fit at least another 50 words in there. Just gonna leave it until tomorrow night to let it settle and really look at it with a clear mind.

Its grey outside and threatening rain.
Its dark at 8!

and I'm cold.

I am suppose to be typing my essay but it not really happening. So far today I've made lots of excuses to avoid it and got to the point where when I actually have sat down to write it...I  can't.

Stupid.

I'm gonna go make my dinner, carry on cross-stitching, have an early night and tackle it again tomorrow with a fresh mind.

I spent last saturday (as it was a fairly sunny day) in my garden, weeding, mowing, planting and generally tidying up after all the rain. I discovered a MONSTER of a marrow hiding under a leaf on my courgette plant and that my cucumber plants have been VERY happy in the rain. I dug up my french dwarf beans as they had gone right over and all the lettuce plants which were now 4 feet high.... Then I emptied my wooden compost bins (OMG, perfect compost) and then emptied all 4 of my plastic bins into the wooden bins to finish.
All very energetic.

Sunday I went with Kaye & Hayley to our craft day by the local shop Loobi crafts and had an absolute blast! We went around and made 6 different projects from ink distressing to shrink plastic flip flops! Very fun. I'm going to join Hayley at the regular card making evening (next one is next week) and might have a go at the scrapbooking on a saturday. I was in Hobbycraft on monday (against my will I assure you) and bought 6 new mini christmas cross-stitches (at gunpoint...honestly) for my cards this year. (When crafting you gotta think early about these things)

I've nearly finished my final essay for the OU Law course. It is drafted satisfactorily and I will be typing it up on saturday.

I've been swimming on monday and today but as kaye is taking me in on tues & thurs I didn't have time in the morning. I get to go again on friday and do another 40 laps. I don't have to take so many breathers now and I'm starting to feel fitter for it. Next is signing up for the yoga & pilates classes and sorting out my bike. I also need a new swimming costume. My current swimming togs are 6 years old!

Dom, after his week long incarceration in the house, has started limping again. This time his ankle/knee joint has swollen up and the vet is bemused. There is no break, no abcess nothing apart from a swollen joint. Only Dom. *rolls eyes*

London Midland graiously conceded to run a normal service yesterday and today which meant I not only made it work on time but actually was able to get in early and spare my feet any more running in heels.

I have swum 40 laps four mornings this week and actually feel better for it.

I have 3 new books to read and a busy weekend ahead.

Did I say looking forward? Dreading is probably more accurate. What could London Midland do to me today? How about a nice helping of signal failure in the Bletchley area. Second day in a row I have to run up to the office, which in heels isn't comfortable. Miss my train on the way home as I leave the office late an wait 20 min in the cold. Yes its cold again and raining. There's been a power cut at home and I've got to reset my alarm clock. *shrugs* It was running fast anyhow.

Must remember the raincoat tomorrow....

Hayley is on her main annual leave from work for two weeks which means I (sadly) must find alternative transportation. This week (as I was placed on 10-6 all week) is on the trains. It started on saturday when I went into MK for my spa afternoon, completely forgetting (of course) that as it was a bank holiday weekend London Midland are completely incapable of running any trains. Instead of a swift 13min journey was a 40min nightmare of sat nav issues and small bendy roads. There was also the additional delights of the elderly gentleman sitting nearby who hummed tunelessly the whole way, the whole 40min.

So on to today. I get to the station after an energetic morning (40 laps of the pool!) and all the south bound trains are delayed due to an incident involving the emergency services at the trackside. I smile smugly pick up my Times newspaper and go to catch my north bound service.

*Sigh* You know that saying about chickens and counting before hatching??

My train is delayed by 5min, then 10min, then 24min, and then 43min at which point I start to panic. Kaye is already at work i can't get a lift off her. I don't have the money for a taxi to MK and I only have 43p left on my mobile. Who do I call? Hayley and hope she is free? The office to say I'm gonna be really late? London Midland customer services to scream at them? I phone the office. Like everyone else on the platform...south and north. They're now cancelling trains. Depending on which annoucer you believe there is either too much smoke for the trains to pass or the emergency services have switched off the power to a section of the line. Knowing my luck its probably both.

Then everyone can hear the sound of an approaching train! Ears prick, everyone starts looking around there is an annoucement. 'The late running 08.42 service to....' everyone holds their breath '...Northampton'  *YES!!!* ' will be calling at...' The south bound platform passengers glare at us, you can hear the mutters of bollocks or sod it. I smile, fold away my paper and get on the train.

I'm still 5min late but better 5 than 50!
Not sure if I'm loooking forward to or dreading what London Midland will do tomorrow!

Besides exhorting money out of my parents to wash the dishes when the dishwasher broke down? ( Its AMAZING how many loads you can create from a simple meal when you're getting 50p a sink load) It would have to be the traditional paper round, followed by the saturday job in the local haberdashery shop.
Following that came the first full time job, three months as a sales assistant in Clinton Cards over the christmas period.
NEVER.....EVER.....AGAIN.....

Retail work is evil!