And there's more!

Another box arrived to day with more freebies in, just over £238 worth this week. Fortunately I don't have to re-organise the kitchen yet again.

D is off to Explorer Camp tomorrow on the Isle of Wight. A has to have him and a friend down to the Red Funnel terminal in Southampton by 8.15am. Not too bad you might think, except tomorrow is the first day of Cowes Week and the ferry terminal is likely to be packed. Hence why A is taking him and not me.

K's back is slowly improving. She can get her hands behind the small of her back but still has trouble reaching up to brush her hair. She fell off a tyre swing and landed on her neck and shoulder. Fortunately we have an osteopath friend who could fit her in on Wednesday. She has a follow-up appointment for Tuesday morning as friend couldn't do a full treatment due to the pain level. K is being good and doing the exercises that were set.

I hit the meaning of life tomorrow - 42 to you non-Hitchikers people.

Oh, and the hot tub is back to full working order. It's so quiet. I'm sure it was never this quiet at all in the 6 years we've had it. I'll be in there later (again), watching the stars come out as the sun goes down, possibly with a glass of wine.

And you know what really got my goat today?! Yesterday was supposed to be THE day to get your washing done, and it gave us heavy showers. Today was supposed to be cloudy with showers, and we had lots of sun and some clouds. No rain whatsoever. Big deal, you might think. Well, I had plans to get the washing done yesterday and have been out all day today. So the laundry pile is still taking over the bathroom. And what's tomorrow's forecast - cloud and showers! HUH!!!!!!

Need a new kitchen

... to go with the new oven we needed last week, after the old one's thermostat threw a hissy fit and cremated a tray of brownies in 10 minutes flat. Seriously this Pampered Chef job is pretty good at giving us drones freebies. In the past two days I have had 2 boxes of stuff for free, currently totallying £178, all for hitting various sales targets in my first 8 weeks. And there's another box of freebies due because I did 4 or more parties in June.

Today I went through the kitchen sorting out what we never used from everything else - still got another couple of cupboards to do. Then I unpacked my 'work' bag into the small cupboard I'd managed to empty. Now all I need to do is find space for today's box AND the one I am expecting. And this is before I order the new stuff from the Autumn/Winter catalogue. Think I need to get earning so I can afford a brand new, redesigned, all whistles and bells kitchen with TONS of storage.

A keeps casting a critical eye on my stock and wants to know if I really need all the new stuff. Well, of course I need the new stuff. Got to have something to show the customers. I did offer to quit completely but he told me not to be silly. I think he enjoys the free stuff as much as I do.

Next on my list of 'want it now' perks is the Hamper. I earn it by having loads of parties and loads of sales in September and October. I wouldn't mind earning enough and getting 5 recruits by the end of February 2010 so I can go to Greece with A - all free and dead posh. Now that's a perk and a half!

Did I tell you I love my job!!!!!

Clever child part 1

Part 1 because AS/GCSE results come out towards the end of August.

D passed his driving theory test today! And once again I didn't see much evidence of revision. Next in line is the practical test - not sure when but he's not far off ready.

Then he can taxi himself to all his social events in the evening, as long as I'm not working.

It's not rocket science

Someone at A's workplace was moaning about how his wife's car is having trouble. It keeps cutting out and the manufacturer isn't being particularly good at getting to the root of the problem. A asked him if it was a ************ (no don't count the stars, they're a random amount) - I can't mention names as it is likely to leave me open to legal action (stupid as all I'm going to say is true and can be found by a search of the internet). His friend was astounded to hear that A knew that. A then explained our history with them.

My parents had one of their larger models pretty much from new - an M plate. They had issues with the car cutting out, thereby rendering the power-steering and power-brakes totally useless. It even happened at speed on a motorway. Many moons later I owned an estate (V plate), one size down from parents. Within months it started cutting out at slow speed, which is not a lot of fun when you are approaching a junction or a roundabout - and even less fun when you have your kids in the car with you. Our local dealer had the temerity to suggest it was the way I was driving it!!! I then pointed out that I can drive Ferraris on race tracks and Golf GTIs on off-road tracks, both with a certain flair beyond the average punter, so their excuse was pathetic. Well, they weren't my exact words but you get the gist. A ended up threatening to drive it through their plate glass showroom window unless they found out what was going on, as the fault wasn't leaving a message on the car's on-board computer. Within a couple of days the car stalled on their driver. I was SO pleased. Funnily enough it was fixed PDQ, except that they put the part on upside down and made a mess; I didn't find this out till this part needed replacing again. That's right, the fix is only temporary. It'll last for 11 - 18 months before needing replacing again.

Now, you'd think that a manufacturer of such popular renown would have got it sorted out, if not between M and V plates then at least from V to now. Apparently not as A's friend's wife's car (phew) is having the self-same issues. Obviously this manufacturer doesn't give a damn about us the customer.

If you really want to know which one I'm talking about, it was the car I had before the Merc (same colour but smaller). Still none the wiser, drop me an e-mail, especially if you are looking to change your car.

Swine Flu

My SIL has just been confirmed as having swine flu, having caught it from a co-worker last week. Fingers crossed (prayers, positive vibes - whatever floats your boat) that it doesn't pass on to other members of the family. Her daughter H has asthma and my Mum has heart issues (remnants of rheumatic fever from her childhood) so both are on the 'at greater risk' list.

Because of this we won't be going up to visit next week for our annual 'cheap' holiday. D is also asthmatic, though you wouldn't know it to see him, and therefore doesn't really need to catch it either.

My heart goes out to those who are losing loved ones to this virus. Not to belittle their loss, but more people die on this country's roads each day and we don't get our undies in a knot about that and start avoiding driving do we. Which brings me round to just what IS worth getting into a panic over. I dunno. I suppose driving (and it's inherent dangers) is an acceptable risk, something we accept whenever we turn the ignition key. It's a choice we make. However to be infected by a potentially fatal virus by someone who is 'toughing it out' is not something we can easily avoid. And I think that is the difference between the two - CHOICE!

So we choose not to get any closer to the virus than we strictly have to, and seeing as I had a particularly rotten bout of flu over Christmas I think I am justified in not wanting to feel that ill again for a year or ten.