A moment of weakness?

JML ads get right up my nose! They're right up there with that dreadful Glade ad (incidentally the badges are selling like hot cakes); who the heck is Paul and, quite frankly, the little snot is welcome to go as far as I'm concerned.
However, in a moment of weakness that I can only put down to my bitter disappointment at the lack of eggs coming from my 3-taking-the-piss-soon-to-be-spit-roast chickens and failure to recover from a retching fit (chicken poop is evil) that left me in tears for the 5 miles to Focus, not only did I buy a bright green tub of Doktor Power but also a Magic Carpet!
As I already own a Pedegg obviously I'm a low involvement processing marketing dream!

I've lost a minute!

For reasons that have been lost in the deep, dark, murky sludge of my brain I keep my digital clocks 6 minutes fast. I have one by my side of the bed and there's the one in my car.

Now, while we were settling down in bed to watch Flash Forward on Monday night (how gorgeous is Joseph Fiennes??), I noticed the Channel 5 clock was now 7 minutes behind mine. Odd!

Then, yesterday, while I was driving up to Bolton there was a time check on the radio and my clock in the car was 7 minutes fast!

How weird is that?? Have I lost a minute somewhere in the last week? Can digital clocks simultaneously jump forward? Maybe I was abducted by aliens, or maybe time in my bedroom and car are parallel universes that have slipped through the Rift...maybe I watch too much Dr Who?

Still, it's very odd!

He's not getting up!

I had put aside 3 days this week to work on my accounts. I lost one day last week when I offered to accompany Himself to a funeral in Bristol on Wednesday. So, left with 2 days I planned...
An extra hour in bed this morning to get stuck into the new Dan Brown, then a gentle gathering of receipts and invoices before moving downstairs to boot up my new Notebook.

Cute...innit?

Hopefully fortified by a Double Chocca Mocha and a slice of toast with cashew nut butter (tried it yet...OMG it's delicious) I could tackle my new Sage Accounting programme (that's why I needed 3 days!!!). A break around 10ish to nip across the road to the garden centre for a birthday pressie, then head down, full tilt for the rest of the day and Thursday.

HOWEVER! As I staggered to the bathroom in the dark this morning I thought 'How odd' (I did!) U-oh, the first stirrings of panic, is He not getting up? He's not dead, I'm sure He's not dead,I felt him shuffling about in bed...back to peer at the LED alarm, 05.48, is He not getting up????

'Alright love?' I asked ( is He not getting up?) 'Poorly!' He said (bugga, He's not getting up).

Now I feel guilty, cos he really is full of a nasty cold and he will stay in bed (he isn't a martyr when he's ill) but I'm a motherer - I can't help it . I need to supply warm tea, toast (no cashew nut butter though), paracetamol, comfort & sympathy, check his fevered brow and generally make him feel desperate to go back to work! I'll feel guilty if I get sucked into work & forget he's there so I'll not get stuck in as much as I should and then feel equally guilty for not focusing! Deep eh?

Anyhoo, I'm going to give it a go. He's pretty hot on Sage so at least I've a captive advisor if I'm really stuck and I do love having him at home...honest I do! HONEST!

September Newsletter

I'm constantly mystified by the ratio of work achieved to time available. (Actually, I'm constantly mystified by life in general, but there's only so much space in this newsletter!) Summer is, traditionally, a quite time for us. Students are away from campus, foreign places & holidays beckon for some and the weather draws us -hopefully- outdoors. It's a time when we, here at The Stroppy Cow, should be taking stock, re-charging our batteries & getting all the admin up to date. There should be time for all those little things that get left for 'when its quieter'. But that's not how it happens...why? I've got the time? Sure, batteries are recharged (thank you, glorious Northumberland), but is my office tidy? Have I reorganised my storage? Are my old files deleted?

Nope! Hey ho, I guess it'll get done when I'm up to my eyes in it!
Hope you had a wonderful summer!

Coming soon:
Oh, I've had a lovely time buying new quirky gifts. They'll all be on the website by the end of the month but here's a sneak preview.

Owl phone charms

£2.99 each

60's Retro Shoppers
£9.99 each

Wonder Woman Shopping Bag

£12.99 each

New Badges
Halloween
It's that time of year again and, as well as the old favourites, we've added some new badges to our Halloween Collection.

Baby Monster set of 4 Halloween badges

£2.00

TV & Movie
Lots of demand for movie related badges with the fantastic choice we've had this summer at the cinema.

44mm Harry Potter Badge

£1.00

and get ready for the new Dr Who season...
Timelord badge

from 70p each

Hope to see you soon and, don't forget, we make custom badges too!

Fear of Flying Part 2

I hate flying. I've said it before.
I fly, but the desire to see strange exotic places is beginning to take second place to the certainty that I will drop from the sky. As I type this I can feel the need to dash to the loo, the familiar gut wrenching liquid mass that was once my insides is threatening to leave my, well, insides.

If it was just me, I wouldn't bother. I'd leave the UK by other means if I had to (although I am claustrophobic and the Channel Tunnel is a bit of a challenge and I do get seasick ....) I can't NOT go on holiday abroad and spoil it for every one else - can I?

We're off to the Algarve in just over a week with some great friends who have promised to ignore me as I go into melt down as the airport. I have a feeling that this is not out of respect for my privacy but more a case of 'avoiding the leper'. And who can blame them?

But I have a secret weapon this year. I have bought a hypnotherapy CD 'Overcome the Fear of Flying'. It promises a pleasant voice to guide me into a deep state of mental & physical relaxation. Mmmm not sure it's helping so far but I'm certainly sleeping like a baby at night!

I'm not susceptible to hypnosis. I've tried it before and it just gave me wind. But I do believe in the power of positive affirmations and if I can get myself under control I will cope.
So, I'm off to lie down, plug Glenn in & think positive thoughts of warm weather, glorious beaches, great company, yummy food & decent coffee. Wish me luck!

Here come the girls - I hope!

So, our main holidays are out of the way. The chicken run is (more or less) finished, just a last minute hey-there's-a-good-idea perch to put in and an OMG-how-are-they-supposed-to get-into-their-house ramp to fit (we forgot about that!!)

Those trousers look MUCH better from the front (honestly)

I've backed down on the Ex-Batts idea from my last posting. The 'could go wrongs' far outweigh the ethics as far as a newbie keeper like myself is concerned. However, the idea has not been shelved and I hope to add a couple once I'm confident with my ladies.

We intend collecting our girls on Sunday so watch this space.

Domesticity & Ex Batts

What a lovely morning! OK, the sun's not shining, it's 18*C, clammy, sticky and warm BUT it's very peaceful in the garden. I was up at stupid o'clock (05.30) as usual, making Himself some butties for lunch & sticking a potato in the microwave for mine, when I came over all domesticated!

Now this is a phenomenon that doesn't happen very often so I grabbed it by the horns, put all thoughts of leaping on the PC, once He'd tootled off on his way to Brum, out of my head and began sorting the washing. I slightly startled the chap from down the road, on his bike, on his way to work, by nipping out with the re-cycling in nowt but my jammies and turquoise Crocs. I didn't have my glasses on so ~ it never happened!

I know! Get a life!

Mmmm lovely!

However....I did decide that I would take some fruit to work and picked some fresh raspberries and strawberries from the garden, at which point I was hit by how peaceful it was and only the presence of my chooks would have made it perfect! I could picture them scratching away in their little run gently chuckling away to themselves.

Chicken Shack Phase 1

We're getting our Ex-Batts in August but I have to treat/paint the hen house first and Himself has big plans for extending the run. I must confess to being slightly nervous having bought a book and reading about what dreadful things they can get in terms of lice (yuk, yuk, yuk I hate stuff like that makes my skin crawl!) but, hey, I've had kids! Nuff said!