Well, it seems like a better day today, we may even venture into the garden today and do a bit of tidying. The dandelions are beginning to take over again. I have been living in a lurgy filled house for the past week and a half. Both Xander and Kell have been poorly with flu/cold/cough but fortunately I have managed to avoid getting it. Xander had the week off nursery so he has been climbing the walls to get out a bit the last couple of days and driving us nuts, hence the need to get into the garden today, I just hope the weather holds.
Asda has been taken care of and lunch is currently in progress =) Xander is watching The Lion King while he eats his tomato soup. He already knows it pretty much word for word.
Work is going ok, I’m still working my days off. However, the change is job has been a good one. The new duty is much easier and although there is a lot of company mail to take care of in the morning, when we are out on the street its much better than the old job I had with all those stairs. The earlier start hasn’t been a problem either, so all in all I’m pretty happy with my eventual choice.
Next week (from the 7th May) I am on holiday and we are going to visit Kell’s mum and stepdad down the road in Blyth for a couple of days. When we get back we really must go and visit my mum and dad aswell as its been too long since our last visit because of work and other stuff so an email will be getting sent today to organise something.
Well anyway, I better go and finish up my lunch and get outside before it rains. Stay tuned for more Eurovision blog posts from me in the coming days and weeks. The contest itself is now only a month away and the excitement is building =)
Thats us back from Asda and for once, Xander was perfect all the way round! No misbehaving or whingeing or anything, bliss!. Anyway, the cupboards are all well stocked again for another week and its nearly lunchtime =)
Work has been interesting this week. I started on my new duty in the city centre and its good. Although most of the week my colleague and I have been late in finishing, the jobs themselves are not too bad and I think they are workable on the street, it’s just in the office that is difficult to get ready. With the companies I deliver to getting a real stack of mail everyday to get them all ready for the time we are supposed to be leaving is hard at the moment, but hopefully once the management has sorted out the problems with the indoor mail sorting, then we should be able to get out at a good time. Fingers crossed anyway.
We had intended to go out into the garden today and do a little more work on it, but it’s so damn cold. It also looks as if it is going to rain some more this afternoon, so we have decided against venturing outside again today, so I think perhaps a film will be on the cards on the sofa before I settle myself down to watch the Chelsea FA Cup semi final on the TV at the stupidest time of 6pm. Who on earth thought that was a good idea? Hopefully we can get the desired result and at least have the chance of some silverware this season.
Xander is just advancing so much week after week. He goes back to nursery this Tuesday after their two week Easter holiday and I think he will be pleased to get back to it. He spelled his own name out today after typing it in a Word document. It took him a while to find the letters on the keyboard, but once he had it on the screen he sounded out each letter in turn before announcing his name proudly. Also, we are pleased to say that his latest stammering episode has disappeared and he has come out of it again. He is also happy about it aswell because it was really beginning to upset him through frustration, but all is well again.
Smurfin’ The Web has had a great week and all my readers have been enjoying my A-Z Blog Challenge posts. I started off on the movie franchise theme, but have switched it to bands and songs that I enjoy and that has been a lot more fun to write about. I have also been visiting some of the other bloggers that are taking part and have found some interesting subjects and posts. It’s a break day today though so I’ll be back with “N” on Monday so I hope you’ll all come and have a look then.
Anyway, lunch is here. Have a good weekend folks =)
Its Easter everyone, so Happy Hairy Guy Locked In A Cave Day! and just for the record… demographically speaking, he wouldn’t have been a white guy, he would’ve been middle eastern, but let’s not split hairs shall we? So Xander was up very early today, but he went back to playing very quietly in his room which he is pretty good at when asked to do so in the mornings. I do manage to get some of lie-in at least, being up much later than I normally am for work is kind of a lie-in isn’t it? Normally Xander will just play with his cars or read a book until we get him, such a change from when he was up a stupid o’clock and wouldn’t go back to his room. He is just so grown up these days, loving nursery still.
When it was actually time to get up, Kell and Xander went through to the living room to see if the Easter Bunny had been for a visit. I heard Xander exclaim that there was a trail of eggs. Just some little tiny ones, but he thought it was great, especially when he discovered the golden bunny on the window. Not only that, but there were a couple of other presents for him aswell, a Thomas The Tank booklight, because he loves to read a book in his bed with a torch. He always falls asleep with it on, but I don’t mind him reading a book. He also got a Harry Potter wand so he can do his magic spells and his first set of dominoes, we shall have to play that later on.
As for the rest of us? another day in paradise. I was going to be going into work, but my new van partner isn’t going to be on the new job yet so it wasn’t worth going in to sort things out ready for Tuesday. What else is on the menu for today then. A trip to Duthie Park is planned after lunch. It’s not the best of weather today, it looks kind of wet so I think it’ll be a walk through the Winter Gardens instead.
I said goodbye to my old delivery yesterday. After roughly 5 years on it (with a few short periods away from it) I had made some friends with the customers and it was a lovely quiet area of berdeen where no-one hassled you. I shall mis it a bit, but I won’t miss the amount of stairs I had on half of it. Where I am going there are much less stairs to climb, but I will have a lot more letters that require signatures as I have a lot of compaines on my new delivery. Of course, the upside to that is that at least I know I will get rid of them =) Hopefully it won’t take me too long to get the hang of it.
I should really do some more decorating, it’s still unfinished from where I left off last time, but I should have more days off with the new job, well that is what we are led to believe anyway. So hopefully I will be able to get on with some more of it soon. Once we have got some new curtains for the living room, I will post a pic of the finished room, we haven’t found any that we like yet. Anyway, Asda is calling us once more, time to go and get some food for the week. We better stock up on the carrots and houmus that Xander has suddenly developed a liking for. Enjoy your week everyone =) Here is Xander with his haul of eggs for this year, he looks pretty chuffed, lol.
It’s a lovely day. The sun is shining and it looks like its going to be sunny all day. So it would certainly appear to be the start of spring. Our clocks go forward next week an hour, so we lose some sleep
The only problem with the start of spring is that the garden needs to get done and grass starts to grow. I haven’t been very good over the past year with it but this year I am determined to make it a little nicer. Kell wants to put a raised bed for some vegetables in this year, so I guess I will have my work cut out. Finding the time to do this of course will be fun due to work.
Speaking of work, we are now in the middle of a resign, meaning that all the walks go in a hat and starting with the most senior postman, the jobs are picked one by one. Coming in at number 79 is me. For once, I actually do have options and will hopefully have something by Tuesday when the guy running it will be back after his long weekend. I have my eye on one or two jobs. The thing with this resign is that because of the split in driver and walking duties, obviously a walking postie who isn’t assessed to drive a van cannot sign for a driving duty, so I am in with a very good chance of getting the job that I want which would be great (I think). We shall see and I’ll keep you updated on this next week when the decision is made.
Xander was very good this morning, I had intended to give Kell a lie-in for Mother’s Day and was just about to get up when boyo comes through and decides to pick out my clothes for me. Shirt, jeans, then socks, pants to match (lol) they both have red on, then my jeans. The funny thing was that he then proceeded to hang them on the handles of the chest of drawers ready for me. Very funny and Kell was giggling aswell which basically woke her up properly. He did give her a very nice card the other day that he made at nursery and there was another to give her today. So happy Mother’s Day to all, I hope mine got her card =)
Right, I can’t sit around here all day, Asda to go to, but first I will find Xander some clothes to wear. Have a great weekend folks. See you all next week and there will be more Eurovision and movie madness in between times.
Well guess what? Yep you’re right, I was working all week again. That’s now since November last year I have worked my day off through the week, lol. It was pretty busy this week with one bulk mail or another including the council tax bills for this year. I have actually looked through the little book just now and found something interesting as regards to what our council spends the money on.
Apparently we spend, out of £451.6M a year, £22.992M on public roads and lighting. Ok, that’s obviously not enough then because our roads are simply full of potholes and temporary fixes. Secondly, we spend only £34.075M on the police and fire departments. That is definitely not enough. Our streets still have crime and although safer than a lot of places, Aberdeen still has its fair share of neds and idiots going around. I still have no idea what the £41.292M on “other services” is for. My biggest gripe here though is the massive £121.281M of our money that is being spent per year on Social Services. Now, this amount is second only to education. What on earth is wrong with our city that we need to spend such a hideous amount of money on social services? Are people that damaged here? I think its time to cut that money a little and give it to the more essential services such as roads, police, and fire, or indeed housing which is a major problem here in Aberdeen. Affordable housing is very difficult to come by and only £10.528M per year is spent on it. I would wager that if you gave affordable housing to people who needed a little bit of help in this area, you wouldn’t need to spend quite so much on their social service.
We had a little parents get together at Xander’s nursery school on Wednesday and it seems he is settling in very nicely. Although not taking part in a lot of activities at the moment, he has started to do a couple of things. He made a nice wand the other day and he showed us how he does his playdoh when he is there, so at least he is coming round to the idea of joining in with others now. He likes his teacher and while we were there it was “Miss Davis this” and “Miss Davis that”.
My wife is on a fitness kick and she is doing really well. She is being very enthusiastic about it and her determination is good to see, I’m very proud of what she has achieved so far and I am sure that there is more to come. You never know, it might rub off onto me, but I wouldn’t bet too much on that at the moment, work seems to be taking most of my time, hence why Operation Interior Decoration is still on hold with the hallway on partially painted. Keeping on top of everyday things is tiring enough just now, lol.
Right, I’m off to sort out the clean washing – a man’s work is never done Have a good weekend folks.
Its the 4th of March already! Where does the time go? Well its been a kind of business as usual week this week. I should be enjoying my long weekend off, but as usual I am working both my days off. I must be such a glutton for punishment, lol. Ah well I shouldn’t complain, its all pennies in the bank.
That is now two weeks since Xander started nursery school and we think he is still loving it. He doesn’t tell us much of what he has done on any particular day though which is a little frustrating, but there is a parents’ afternoon this Wednesday so we will be going along and finding out just what he has been up to during his time.
This week I also rediscovered a band that I used to love way back when – Danger Danger. I’ve been listening to them a LOT this week. A very underrated band that didn’t really strike it big here in the UK charts, but they had a big enough following to keep it going. If you’re interested in some classic 80s style rock, then check out their first album, Danger Danger and also their 4th album from 1998, Four The Hard Way.
On the movie front, we haven’t watched any this week, its been a week of catching up with TV shows. The one that I am enjoying the most just now is Person Of Interest. A truly unique show that is managing to keep it interesting with a few different story arcs going on at the same time. Its an easy concept to keep tabs on and I urge you to take a look at it if you get the chance.
As I write this, Xander’s mate Anderson has just arrived and they are now in his room tearing it apart very quickly no doubt. Takes ages to clean up, but not long to destroy again, lol. It’s all good fun for them though and burns off that mountains of energy that they seem to conjure up from thin air. Remember to check out my Eurovision blogs that there will be more of this week. I’ve had a quick look at some of the other countries’ entries and the more of them I see, the more confident I am that The Hump is going to do a good job for us this year. We shall see. Right stick the kettle on Missus!!
Another week passes in the Smurthwaite household and without a hitch. As usual I worked my day off, but it was a pretty easy day that one so no worries there. I’ve kinda got used to working 6 days now, it’ll feel strange when the overtime eventually runs out, but for now, it’s helping.
Next up, Xander completed his first week of nursery school and he LOVES it! He has already got a girlfriend! So far, he hasn’t spoken much of what he actually does at nursery, but I think that’s just because he’s taking it all in. Once he gets the hang of it, I think he’ll open up more about what he did that particular day and lets face it, communication has never been a problem for him, lol.
He did something funny this morning though, we always tell him that when he wakes up, he needs to go to the toilet then back to his room to play. So around 5-30am I hear him in the toilet and back to his room to switch his light on. However, he hasn’t realised that it is still very very early and that it’s not time to get up yet, that association hasn’t clicked in yet, so he was a bit upset when I told him he had to go back to sleep. On the positive side, by waking up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night himself, he has now taken the final step into being completely toilet trained and we’re very proud of him for doing that. Fortunately, Xander has been very good in this area and has done it with very little fuss. Happy days =)
Today, I am going to attempt to get all the dirt off my car. It hasn’t had a clean for ages and as it now looks like we are not going to get any snow this year, I think I’ll give the car a wash. This might take a while, lol. All that after lunch though, we are currently watching Aladdin while eating. Xander is liking it so far. It’s nice to have a few different films for a change. We played him the Tintin movie yesterday and he liked that, but he liked The Three Musketeers better, the 90s one with Charlie Sheen and Keifer Sutherland. Lots of action, swords and excitement; Xander is into that a lot at the moment.
Smurfin’ The Web has broken nearly all its records with reader numbers going through the roof over the past two weeks and continuing to rise. Thank you very much. There is much to come in the coming months so keep reading. My Eurovision series has started and you can check out any posts here as and when they are published. I hope you enjoy them and they persuade you in any small way to watch the song contest and give it the chance it deserves these days.
Right, I’m off to organise the cleaning of my car, wish me luck =) Have a good weekend and I’ll see you next week. I will leave you with a picture of Xander going into nursery school on his first day, just a cracking picture of happiness I think you’ll agree.
Good morning everyone! Sunday is here again and I can’t believe we are half way through February already. It’ll soon be Christmas again at this rate.
Well as you would expect, I worked my day off yet again this week. I think I now haven’t taken my day off through the week since about mid November last year, lol. Seems ridiculous doesn’t it, but if they keep asking, I’m not going to turn down a day’s pay that’s easily earned. Plus, it helps with the bills.
Off to ASDA again soon, pick up a few things and when we get back, I think its time the fish had their tank cleaned out. Its been a while since I last did it, but now that it no longer sits in the window the algae build up has been extremely slow this time around, making it much less of a chore to look after them.
The big news of the week though is that having accepted Xander’s nursery placement at Kittybrewster Primary School, they phoned to offer him a test day this coming Thursday! Very fast, I really didn’t expect it to come around like this, but what seems like 5 minutes since we took him home from the hospital, he is already going to nursery school! Phew, that didn’t take long did it? I think he’s looking forward to it and if he enjoys the test day, then I think he’ll be starting properly the following week. So he’s getting in early, basically a half-year early and once the current crop of kids move up to Primary 1, then Xander should be able to switch to a morning slot no problem which is great.
Here at Smurfin’ The Web, I have been continuing my Oscar series of blogs with a review of the movie Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close which I thought was magnificent so check out the review here. I have also made a small video to promote my participation in the A-Z Blog Challenge which starts in April. Basically for each day of April, I will be blogging about a particular subject, but each day will feature a post that starts with a different letter of the alphabet, so April 1st will be “A”, the 2nd “B” etc etc. It will be fun and will hopefully generate some traffic through my blog and I might find something I like from someone else aswell. Here is the video…
Well, I guess I should be getting going and finish getting dressed ready for the shops. I’d also like to wish one of our mum friends Jaye Donald a happy birthday for today. I know she reads this blog and I hope that your boys give you a great day today. Enjoy your Sunday folks, Look out for more from me through the week. Thanks for reading.
Time for a spot of lunch while I write. Hello everyone again. Another long week has passed and I’m starting to feel a little better. The ulcers on my tongue are disappearing thankfully and eating is now an easier task. I still have a bit of a sore throat though, but much easier to actually swallow my food now without it feeling like I’m eating a mitre saw.
Xander had his 3 and a half year check at the doctors this week. This was for his MMR booster injection and also another one that has loads of things in it. He was very brave and managed to get himself a nice prize of a new truck out of it, so not all bad. The health visitor also remarked that he was one of the most advanced speakers she’d heard for someone of his age. Something which we already knew but its nice for it to be mentioned, he does never shut up, lol. I am very proud of his vocabulary and his usage of language and I think it may be a subject he excels in at school when he goes.
Speaking of which, after applying to his pre-school nurseries, we have received an offer from our third choice and we are on waiting lists for the other two. Unfortunately it is an afternoon slot which I am not so keen on. I would rather he went in the morning when he is more alert and ready to get up and go, but we shall see what happens, we still have a couple of days in which to decide yet.
Our new sofas have arrived! Nice and simple, charcoal in colour and this time fabric rather than leather. The go very nicely with the new room decoration and once we have completed the couple of things we still need to I shall post up pictures of how it is all looking. I’m very pleased with how it has turned out and I shall get onto the hallway soon. I have been working my days off and just haven’t been bothered during the evenings lately, but I’ll get there.
I shall be returning with a new Oscar blog later tonight when The Iron Lady gets the Smurfin’ The Web treatment. It is another film I have been looking forward to seeing as most of you know I am a big fan of political dramas, so this should be a nice big helping of that. Monday also brings you a Moveie Meme from me this week so hopefully you will have a look and take part.
Lastly, I shall mention a blog experience that I shall be participating in this year for the first time, The A-Z Challenge. During the month of April, I shall be blogging everyday on any subject, but each day the subject will begin with the appropriate letter of the alphabet, so April 1st will be “A”, the 2nd with be “B” and so on. It should be a fun thing to try out and might generate some good traffic through the blogs aswell. As of today, 495 blogs have signed up to take part. Thanks to Arlee Bird of Tossing It Out for organising this along with his team. Sign up for this here.
Hi guys and gals. Sunday again and time for another dose of Smurthwaite ramblings. I have been pretty lazy this week and Operation Interior Decoration has taken a back seat. Bad I know, but I’ll get back into it.
In truth, I’ve been catching up on some movies and I have been writing a series of Oscars blogs. I hope you have read them and liked them so far. If you havent check out the recent posts, or do a search on the right of this page.
I haven’t been feeling 100% this week and my throat is sore as hell. I just hope it sorts itself out soon so I can get back on track with some serious DIY again.
As far as Smurfin’ The Web goes, I wish to thank you all for reading once more and hope that you continue to follow the blogs that I write. Weekly figures are steady and I am on course for my best ever month. That’s great and its much appreciated. I never thought it would start taking off like it has. I know movies are popular and that my reviews are a “tell it like it is” view as someone put it last week, but this blog – Easy Like Sunday Morning – is proving to be my most visited. It seems that you like to know about my personal life and I am happy to share my week with you all.
Xander has been a great little boy – sorry, big boy (he always corrects me on this) this week and we started the process of applying to nursery schools for him. A scary thought because it has come around soo quickly. It just seems like five minutes since we were playing with him in his bouncer and watching him learn to walk. Now, he doesn’t stop running in the house (grrrr) and talking. He talks ALL the time! I think he takes after me, I can blabber total crap all morning at work, but lately Xander has been just having proper grown up conversations with us about going to school, and learning and teaches and I think he’s really looking forward to it. Hopefully he will get his first choice school and get in early if a place arises.
I saw a pretty cool music mashup last night and thought I’d share it with you. It’s a Queen megamix and I think it’s really well done. The video is nice aswell and remembering Freddie like this is great to see once in a while. Top job Robin Skouteris for mixing this.
I may have to stay up and watch the Superbowl now aswell. A clip came my way via Yahoo of all places, lol. It’s an exciting thought and it features Matthew Broderick. Could it be? The tiny clip of music at the end makes me think it could be, and also that it is 25 years since the original movie came out and although director John Hughes is now longer with us, is FerrisBueller making a return? If this is true, it could be the best kept secret in cinema history! We will find out on February 5th. So please, please, please let me get what I want. Enjoy!
Well, it seems like a better day today, we may even venture into the garden today and do a bit of tidying. The dandelions are beginning to take over again. I have been living in a lurgy filled house for the past week and a half. Both Xander and Kell have been poorly with flu/cold/cough but fortunately I have managed to avoid getting it. Xander had the week off nursery so he has been climbing the walls to get out a bit the last couple of days and driving us nuts, hence the need to get into the garden today, I just hope the weather holds.
Have a good weekend folks.
