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D has shaved his beard off!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently the weather is a bit too warm for a chin overcoat. Those of you who know D will know that he hasn't been near a shaver since his uncle's wedding at the end of November. So, his beard grew slowly but surely. It was an inch or so long. Various members of the family had mentioned a passing resemblance to Shaggy (from Scooby Doo).

Now 'tis no more. (Except that he couldn't be bothered to do the moustache bit).

Did you know they let blind people drive these days?

K & I were on our way to Asda this morning - the larder was empty and, as the weekend is upon us, it needed filling. We were travelling along Longfield Avenue, a wide road between Titchfield and Fareham, chatting about nothing in particular. There are a couple of gentle bends along Longfield, near Bishopsfield Road. Coming towards us was a car (on its own side of the road) which looked to be doing the speed limit of 30mph. Behind it was another car half on its side of the road and half on mine. This car's driver decided that all he had to do was get his offside wheels nearer to the white line but still on MY side of the road and all would be well - and Longfield Avenue is wide enough. I moved over towards the gutter just to be sure. The driver looked like he was totally fed up being stuck behind someone ONLY doing 30 and was trying to overtake.

OK, so starting your manoeuvre before you can see what's coming isn't very clever; neither is still having some of your car on the wrong side of the road when there is oncoming traffic. Wanting to overtake a driver doing the speed limit is not really very clever BUT doing all of this with not one but TWO police cars directly behind you certainly sets this guy up as a possible Darwin Awards winner (search for it - you'll be surprised at just how stupid people can be). Needless to say that both police cars put their blue lights on as they passed me. Coincidence? I don't think so, especially seeing as they didn't go tearing past the cars in front to get anywhere quick. I wish I could have found somewhere to park up and watch as they pulled him.

So far, so good

I've now done two Pampered Chef parties and earned myself £65. It doesn't sound much for 3 weeks work but when you realise that it was less than 8 hours work in total, the hourly rate is much more interesting - somewhere around £8 - £10 per hour. Certainly worth my while! June is already busy with 5 parties (but I can certainly squeeze in one or two more), and I've already started booking for July.

Today is a beautiful day. The kids are in town with friends, and A is at work, so the house is all mine - a rarity till September when both D & K are at college. So I'm sat at the computer listening to Bon Jovi and catching up on reading some blogs. I may even drag up Civ IV shortly. Oh, the decadence! I probably should point out that there are already 2 loads of washing on the line and all the paperwork from last night's party is dealt with, so I'm not being a lazy toad all day - though it does have its appeal.

Last Sunday friend E had a house-warming party. Her back garden has very little shade but some kind soul had brought along some umbrellas to act as parasols, so I borrowed one - not a perfect solution but better than nothing. I survived in short sleeves for a few hours until the rash started. I'm not downhearted about it this year, as spending 4 - 5 hours in direct sunshine is probably asking for trouble. However I am feeling quite smug about it as the rash didn't develop into full-blown red spots - it was more bumps in the skin. Now all I have to do is wait for them to clear off (up to two weeks from flare up).

The kids have finally spotted themselves a nice little earner - unfortunately it is me that is coughing up. They've twigged that voluntarily doing chores round the house and helping me with my PC stuff will probably trigger financial remuneration. D, in particular, has been most helpful in the last few days as he has too much month at the end of his allowance (as usual).

A is working hard but seems to have his hayfever under control (so far!). I've probably jinxed him now. We're making a slow but steady effort in sorting out the garage so that - GASP! - we can get to anything in it from the internal door instead of having to open the main door to get to the fuse box. Wonder if the local tip will start charging us business rates for all the clutter we're getting rid of.

How many managing directors?!

My wonderful darling husband is a managing director of his own limited company. It has worked well for us and given us a life that we might otherwise not have had. It enabled me to be a stay-at-home-mum - you know, one of those people who are envied and pitied in equal measure. I'd rather have your envy; you can stick your pity - hang it alongside your Prada suits and Gucci handbags.

Except ..... now I am a managaing director too!!!!!! I have my own business that is just getting started. Will it support us both in the future? Maybe. It won't be through lack of effort on my part. I just have to get the selling side organised, the paperwork is easy enough.

I adore The Pampered Chef. Once I've got my initial 6 parties done and dusted I can work as much or as little as I want (as long as I make £150 worth of sales every other month). The harder I work, the more I earn. And there's no limit to how high I can go. On Saturday I met someone within the organisation who earns £12,000 per MONTH!!!! And yes, she does earn it - doing parties, training talks, workshops, etc. I'm not sure I'd want quite that much work but I'd definitely settle for that amount per year.

If anyone wants to join me, let me know.

I have a job!!!!!

And I didn't need to attend an interview to get it. I've been trying to find paid employment since October last year. I've had 4 interviews and no success, out of upwards of 50 applications. Now I have one. Like I said, no interview, no competition for the coveted role, no set hours, no office politics and all the holidays I want. Sounds good, eh?!

What am I doing, I hear you ask. Well, last week I went out with friend A to a Pampered Chef party. Now I've been a fan of their Stoneware for a year or two, so I took the plunge and signed up to be a Kitchen Consultant. My kit arrives on Monday (my first official day) and my first party is on Wednesday, held here at Dark Corner Towers (those of you who know me know where that is). D is hosting it and I get to practice my patter and cooking skills.

I'm keeping away from the rings, wreaths and plaits for a while - need to get them sorted out before I let them loose on an unsuspecting public - but am game to try anything else. The rest of the household are salivating at the thoughts of having to 'road test' my efforts - it's a hard life they lead.

So, if there is anyone out there who is interested in Pampered Chef, wants to come to my party on Wednesday, wants a party of their own, or fancies being their own boss, get in touch. I'll be more than happy to see you.

My bad!

Apparently, my daughter hates me. This is not your typical teenage angst. My crime? Getting her interested in possibly studying AS Maths at college as well as her other choices. (You know how she is with decision-making).

K is on course to get an A at least at Maths GCSE, and this will be her best grade at this level. To me it seems a little strange to not go on and study something that you have an ability at. Admittedly, she is not as naturally intuitive as her brother.

Yesterday we were sat in a cafe having a toasted cheese and ham ciabatta sandwich each when I told her about such things as number theory, remainder theory, and group theory - and the attendant things like Cayley tables. These things are part of the Open University course MS221 and are a lot of fun. They can also elicit some swearing. Last night I was looking at Bletchley Park, a possible trip during half-term in May. They have some maths resources, looking at how maths is used in making, and breaking, codes - from genetic fingerprinting through encryption to how ISBN numbers are created for books. I showed it K and she is now working through the units (her choice). These units are aimed from KS2 (7 - 11 yrs) all the way to A-Level (18 yrs).

Hic!

Remember last August when I started some home-made wine? I've just bottled a gallon of tea wine and a gallon of 'fruit punch' - frozen fruit salad from a farm shop. Very nishe!!! (Because you just HAVE to sample, don't you).

Tomorrow I shall have a look at what is 'living' in the airing cupboard, see if it is salvagable, and start some more. If it takes 2 - 9 months to go from raw to ready I shall need to start some new stuff every couple of months or so. I will definitely be starting some more tea wine (9 months +) and some apple (from cartons, 2 months-ish). If the government are going to keep increasing alcohol duty then I'll just have to make my own permanently. Just don't let them up the tax on brewing supplies.