OK I admit I have been rubbish at blogging recently and I will continue to be rubbish over the festivities. It is just such a busy time of year. Last week passed really quickly even though Ross was away. I met up with my opera pals for lunch at Rogano so had a lovely big bowl of mussels, mmm! On Tuesday I was in Newcastle all day on business so finally managed to finish my book on the train - disappointing ending, I really hate that. On Wednesday night I went to Donna and Neil's for dinner in return for helping her wrap presents for every one of her pupils! I can't remember my teachers ever being that generous! On Thursday we had our team Christmas lunch at Ta'Paellya but I still managed spin class and a sauna after work so was chuffed with that! Ross came back Friday night so we spent a lovely weekend together. We went to the Mussel Inn for lunch on Saturday and I bought a bottle of champagne as I PASSED MY MANAGEMENT COURSE!!! I got the results online so was really pleased with a 75% overall grade. In fact Ross and I ended up drinking 3 bottles of champagne that night plus wine and beers so I can't remember much about the X Factor final!!
This week has been just as busy and I can't believe it's the 21st already! On Tuesday Ross and I went to see another house. We were the first viewers so made the most of the opportunity. We really like it so might think about putting in an offer - very exciting! I won't say too much about it right now because I don't want to jinx anything but watch this space!
On Wednesday it was my work Christmas party. It was a Bond theme night so everyone made a real effort to get glammed up. I went as Xenia Onatopp from Goldeneye although I got changed half way through the night as my catsuit was a bit hot and sticky!! After several cocktails I took to the floor for a karaoke version of Mustang Sally and then my pal Craig and I did a ropey rendition of Fairytale of New York - hilarious!
No more news really. I think I am coming down with a bad cold - typical - so I am going home to bed early tonight whilst Ross is out with his pals for Christmas drinks. I hope everyone is enjoying the festive season and look forward to catching up with you all over Xmas or in the New Year. xx

My blogs have now become weekly blogs - probably just as well considering I had no chat last week whatsoever!
I had my usual hospital appointment on Tuesday - those who know me know what this is about and put it this way, it ain't pleasant! When I arrived the place was mobbed and I had to wait a while because the guy before me had started bleeding internally so had to be admitted, nice.
On Thursday we went to see another house, this one required "substantial modernisation" which didn't scare us because we have plenty of tradesmen contacts and quite liked the idea of doing a place up to our own spec and taste. Plus it was in a lovely area with a huge garden and very close to transport links. However substantial modernisation turned out to mean new walls, new kitchen, new bathroom, new windows, new floors, new wiring and complete redecoration. Plus there were 3 property developers there at the same time as us so we knew we didn't have a chance. Anyhow, we thought we might be cheered up by a performance of 'urban opera' later that night in the ABC. Ross must think I'm crazy sometimes because I drag him along to the most unusual gigs going - but I like being exposed to different cultural experiences - and this was certainly that!
On Friday we met up with Ross's friend Gary and his wife Allison. We went to Cafe Mao for dinner then a few drinks in a lovely new bar in Merchant City called Citation then on to Tiger Tiger to finish the night off. It was lovely catching up with them as we hadn't properly had the chance to do that since our wedding and since they had a little boy earlier this year. However I definitely over-indulged on the alcohol, especially the horrendous shots that Ross bought us.
Not surprisingly Saturday was a sore head day. I thought that a McDonald's strawberry milkshake would save me but they didn't have any left so I had to make do with Irn Bru! It was a rotten day on Saturday - it poured rain all day and was completely miserable. But we forced ourselves to go into town for a bit of Christmas shopping! At night time we went to my friend Annemarie and her husband Jim's for dinner with my pals Alex and John. It was a lovely night (much more civilised than Friday!) - we had italian food, chocolate cake and a delicious dessert wine before I played magic tricks with her daughters!
I felt much better on Sunday so we made the most of the day by putting up our Christmas decorations! We also had a lovely cosy lunch at The Wheatsheaf - our favourite pub grub in the area - which was nice 'us' time because Ross is away to the Phillipines all this week.
So yet again, I have to fill my week with lunches, dinners, shopping and drinking. Hardship!
My sister Carrie is enjoying herself in Mexico at the moment but I want to say a belated Happy Birthday last week, can't wait to see you at New Year xx

Ooooh I'm tired today... My so-called 'quiet' weekend before the festive period didn't quite turn out as planned!
It was a busy week to begin with - opera committee meeting on Monday night, recruitment and selection training on Tuesday and Business Process Re-engineering(!) workshop in Birmingham on Wednesday. We were due to meet up with Ross's pal Gary and his wife Allison on Friday night but they couldn't get a babysitter so Ross and I stayed in and ate burgers instead!
On Saturday we planned a quiet one, a bit of shopping and lunch in town followed by a night on the couch watching TV. However Ross's best man David came to visit with his girlfriend Abby so our civilised lunch turned into a four in the morning extravangaza! After the bedlum of fighting through frantic Christmas shoppers it was nice to relax and have a bite to eat at The Restaurant in Princes Square. It used to be our favourite restaurant Etain but has been renamed and rebranded, although the food was still lovely (pity about the slow service). After that we had a wander round the Christmas market in Merchant Square where I bought a few bits and pieces and Ross bought me a lovely handmade bracelet. More food and drinks were then consumed in Bar Square where we made a group decision to leave the car at home and go out to see my friend George's band The Side play at Capitol on Sauchiehall Street. They were really good as usual and it was nice to see a few folks from Dingwall (even though they were very drunk and picked me up and threw me about!) We should have gone home afterwards but Donna and Neil persuaded us to go for a couple in The Box and of course this is where we ended up dancing and drinking until the wee hours!
Sunday was a bit of a mess trying to recover but we managed a trip to Gourock for lunch at Ross's folks and then viewed a house at night time (nice but didn't set the heather alight). We've seen a house that needs work done in the Shawlands area so we will hopefully get to see it this week sometime.
The only other news is that my dad and I are organising a Hogmanay Ceilidh Dance in the British Legion in Dingwall. It's only £10 a ticket which includes stovies and a dram so let me know if you fancy it! x

I do try really hard to keep my blog updated but it's easier said than done! Last week was a very busy and exciting one for me. Ross was working away in Finland so I filled my days with work, gym and socialising!
On Tuesday night I went for dinner with my friend Rachael who is now Director of a well known arts organisation in Glasgow. Rachael and I have a lot in common but mostly we spend our time eating, drinking bubbly and bitching about the world in general. We had lovely mussels in the Mussel Inn and I tried squid for the first time. Hmm, it was OK but the thought put me off more than anything else! Afterwards we went to Vronis for sparkly stuff but we managed to get home at a sensible hour as it was a school night after all (although the dancing was becoming more and more tempting as the night went on!).
On Wednesday Ross returned just in time to go and see a house for sale. I really liked the house - it was a cottage in the middle of the city, very unique and right up my street. However Ross wasn't keen on the area or the parking situation so that was a no-go.
I had been looking forward to Thursday night for several months because Donna and I had tickets for TAKE THAT!! Yes, I hadn't seen my boys perform since I was about 14 so it was a joy dancing and screaming like mad women over 4 middle aged men! To top it off we then bumped into Billy Boyd as we were walking out of the SECC. Donna was going crazy (silently) and was too scared to say anything but I walked right up to him and asked if I could take his photo with Donna!
Before I knew it, it was Friday and I finished work early to go to the bank for a meeting with a mortgage advisor. How easy is it to get loans for things?? The amount of money they offered us was insane - we wouldn't have a life if we agreed to that much! Afterwards I joined my work colleagues at The Golf Lounge for a mini-work tournament. I had a surprisingly good time whacking golf balls into a screen and was even more surprised when I won the 'best female score' prize! We left fairly promptly when my boss decided to replace one of the golf balls with a joke ball filled with talcum powder - oops! Ross and I then snuck off to one of our favourite eateries Wagamamma for some japanese food to soak up the alcohol consumed.
On Saturday I did very little during the day then went to get my hair put up for my do at night time. It was the final centenary celebration of my opera club - a dinner and cabaret at House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park. It was a lovely night, helped along by the good company, singing, entertaining, nice food and free flowing wine! Ross was delighted to get another chance to don his new kilt and I wore my long ivory and gold cruise dress which very rarely gets an outing these days. In fact the last time I wore it was to a charity ball that I went to with my friends Isla and Zain and they've been in Oz for a year!
I was glad to relax on Sunday and all I did was go for a nice long walk, eat pizza, go to the supermarket, bathe and watch TV, Fab! I've also started reading again and am getting into a book called Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult which is challenging my thoughts on religion and suspending belief. It's great having time to do stuff!

I'm slipping up with my blog writing but there just isn't enough hours in the day! No major news from last week - I enjoyed my Pilates, Synergize and Swiss ball classes but I'll have to get back to the higher impact, sweaty stuff this week!
On Thursday we went to view another house but it wasn't a patch on the first one we viewed (hence why it was £50,000 cheaper!). It needed a bit of work done and it was miles from the nearest train station. I've got it really easy at the moment with a 10 min bus ride to work but I refuse to sit 50 mins on a bus to get to work!
On Friday I went for a few drinks with the folks from work which was good but I didn't stay too late because I had to tidy the house for Ross's folks coming on Saturday. Thankfully Ross had made some lovely broccoli and stilton soup so lunch was sorted!
On Saturday I went to see The Producers with Ross's mum and Ross went to the pub to watch the football with his dad. The show was quite good, better than I expected, but I found Joe Pasquale's voice irritating (and he couldn't sing for peanuts!) but the rest of the cast were very good. I was itching to get out though to hear the Scotland score and was jumping around like a maddie when I heard we scored. Every pub was hoaching, you couldn't get in the door!

But as everyone knows it was short lived and we were robbed in the last seconds. Enough said on that. At least the Italian restaurant we went to for dinner was quiet, and the waiters weren't rubbing our noses in it! Donna and Neil popped round to get changed before hitting the town. I was tempted to go with them (as Ross was in bed drunk by this point!) but decided to save my money instead - plus I didn't want to be having to find my way home from the west end alone!
On Sunday we viewed another house which was even worse, we're really not having much luck but we are quite rightly being fussy about what we want! Ross then took me to the golf range which was really good fun. I'm seriously thinking about getting lessons before going to the States in March. Sunday night was a quiet one spending quality time with Ross before he left for Finland. I chatted to a few folks on MSN (you know who I mean - hope you are doing OK!) then curled up on the couch to watch 21grams. However my mum phoned so I decided to give the film a miss and watched Ewan Macgregor's Long Way Down instead. It was fascinating - basically he is riding on a motorbike from Scotland to Cape Town so you can imagine it was pretty amazing. It's just so refeshing to see a celeb getting down and dirty. I was then going to head to bed but a programme came on about Bulgarian children in institutions which I was compelled to watch. It was perhaps the most disturbing documentary I have ever seen. I can't believe that a country which is part of the EU can treat children so badly. They were malnourished and had no stimulation whatsoever so they just sat naked on pottys all day and rocked. Unbelievable. I have since donated money to Unicef because I found it so harrowing. You can sign a petition here - http://www.tbact.org/root.aspx?pointerid=3773acbb514248069099b93f4140d1d1
I received some good news on Monday though when I heard I had won a staff competition. We had to describe a living landmark which was important to us so I said the Hector Macdonald monument in Dingwall. The monument is a 100ft tower built in memory of local military hero Sir Hector MacDonald in 1907. It is memorable in an ironic way for me because the monument is in the middle of a cemetery (therefore you might not think it is an entirely appropriate 'living' landmark!). However when I was younger my friend got leukaemia and a few of us decided to raise money for leukaemia research by spending the night in the tower on Friday 13th! It was the coldest night of the year, with several inches of snow and the tower windows had no glass in them. However we wrapped up in sleeping bags and the whole community rallied round and sent us their support (some even brought us hot soup and bacon rolls!) and we made it through the night without panic or hypothermia getting the better of us. We raised hundreds of pounds for a worthy cause and, best of all, my friend made a full recovery. So, we all lived to tell the tale!

After the nightmare of cars and money last week I decided to forget about it and enjoy myself this weekend! On Friday Ross and I went up to Dingwall. We decided to leave it until later to drive up in order to miss rush hour (not good with dodgy brakes!) however we almost didn't make it out of the car park because the battery was dead! Some silly plonker (Ross) left the interior light on by mistake and, as we don't use that car much, it sapped all the battery life out of it! Thankfully our friend Trevor saved the day and brought over 2 pals who knew how to jump start a car without jump leads (it's quite easy to do so I learned).
On Friday night we caught up with mum, dad, Donna and Neil and on Saturday morning I played with Xander when the brakes were getting fitted on the car. Ross got an 'erotic haircut' as he calls them - he is convinced that hairdressers in Dingwall are taught to thrust their chests into poor unsuspecting blokes when giving them a haircut! I never heard Ross complaining.
On Saturday afternoon we headed to Aviemore and got checked into the chalet before I took Xander swimming. Luckily I used to be a lifeguard and a swimming teacher because Xander was fearless! He loves the water and was jumping in and splashing about with no armbands on! At night Ross and I had a lovely quiet night in watching X Factor and the like.
On Sunday we drove to Craigellachie to visit Ross's best man David who has just bought a fab new house there, we were very jealous! Then we went shopping for winter clothes in Aviemore and bumped into a few folks we knew from Dingwall. I managed to persuade Ross to go for a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room before we headed to a lovely Italian for dinner and off to Glenmore Forest for the highlight of the weekend. I booked tickets for 'Between Two Worlds' which was described as "a night-time forest journey into a hidden world that will captivate your imagination. Light and sound reveal the mystery and beauty of the historic Glenmore Forest and bring its ancient legends to life." It really was beautiful and made me proud to come from the Highlands. We had taken Monday off work so grabbed the opportunity to explore more of Strathspey by going for a walk. It was an amazing blue sky clear day so we managed to drive all the way back down to Glasgow with the roof off. I had to be back earlier than planned because of an opera club committee meeting but was glad I went as we were all given a bottle of champagne for our hard work this year!

Well the RSNO was fantastic, particularly their last piece which was the theme tune from Star Wars - sounds great played live! I must go to their next concert which is songs from the films. Claire and I grabbed a quick bowl of soup in Dinos (a Glasgow institution) and the waiters were hilarious. They kept calling us beautiful and asking for our phone numbers! All banter of course and complimenting a lady is always a good way to ensure a tip!
On Thursday we packed our tiny suitcases for the weekend. We are taking the MR2 up to Dingwall and Aviemore because the brakes need fixed and we have a contact up there. It ties in nicely with my folks timeshare in Aviemore so we'll get a couple of nights in the chalet with lots of walking and swimming (maybe even cycling!). However can I just say - don't ever have 2 cars in a 2 person household or change your name when you get married! In the last week we have had to fork out over £1000 to get the brakes fixed, MOT, tax, service, insurance renewed, petrol and get my name changed on my passport! I can't believe you have to pay £72 to change your name on your passport (even more annoying when I still had 9 years left on it).
Anyway the other exciting news today is that Glasgow have won the bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014! Hoorah!
Here is a wee photo of my brother at the finishing line of the New York marathon - Well done!

Home sweet home

I've realised that writing a blog makes it seem like the weeks are passing in a flash! My aim was to write something every day but I simply don't have time because the days are going in so quickly! On Monday it was fireworks night. Now I'm not a big fan of fireworks (they're expensive, over too quickly, dangerous and scare animals) however I wasn't going to be a party pooper so I went for a walk with Ross up the hill at Queen's Park (he was the typical excited boy!) and actually I was pleasantly surprised. We had a panoramic view of Glasgow and there were fireworks erupting EVERYWHERE! It was almost as good as a couple of years ago when we watched the fireworks from our friends Isla and Zain's roof garden in the west end (except we had alcohol there and sparklers!).
On Tuesday I was going to go to Spin but my shoulder was still sore after my massage so I decided to stretch it out in Pilates class instead. I really am not flexible at all. Oh well. Tuesday night was very exciting as Ross and I went to see a house for sale! It was the first one we had requested to view so we went with high (but pragmatic!) hopes. We weren't disappointed. The house was lovely, very unique. It was a semi detached with garage, driveway, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, front and back garden and a cellar! Plus, one of the bedrooms was a huge coverted attic with ensuite and walk-in wardobe (WOW). However out hopes were soon dashed when we asked the owners what they were realistically looking to get for it, and it was almost 40% over the asking price so out with our price league. booo. I HATE the 'offers over' scandal that operates in Scotland. Why don't people just ask for the price they want???? So I went home a bit disappointed and Ross poured me a very large glass of wine. I wonder how many disappointments we will have before we get our ideal family home?
I managed circuits class on Wednesday which I was chuffed about and tonight I am going to see the RSNO play classic shorts. Hopefully that will help me relax!

Well I had a lovely weekend. It was so nice to have zero plans and just take things as they come - bliss! My massage on Friday was lovely - quite tough as it was a deep tissue massage but relaxing all the same. She worked mainly on my shoulders, neck and arms (never had my arms massaged before!) as I think I am getting RSI from sitting at a screen all day using a mouse. The soreness on the left side of my neck disappeared however it was replaced with a sore right shoulder as I was manipulated so hard on that side! Oh well. I spent a couple of hours browsing for old pals on Facebook and found a few old faces so it was nice to hear from them. My boy arrived back late Friday night after a delay in Paris. It was great seeing him and he brought me back a gorgeous Benetton handbag from Bulgaria - thanks Ross! He said it was a gift to celebrate 5 years together (on Halloween it was 5 years since we met on that plane - how time flies!).
On Saturday I was a bit of a wreck because I had sore shoulders after my massage and sore stomach muscles after core stability class but I still managed a bit of shopping (naturally). Ross and I went to Debenhams to spend some of our wedding vouchers. We bought a Royal Doulton bowl to match our set, Royal Doulton brandy glasses and flutes and we each treated ourselves to a new pillow. You may think this isn't very exciting but believe me, it is! I spent £60 (yes £60) on ONE pillow!! It is a special orthopaedic one which has memory foam and is fab for your neck! OK I admit I'm a sad married woman getting excited over a pillow but it is really is the most comfortable thing ever! Ross was happy with an anti-allergy pillow for a tenner but he is now very jealous of my purchase lol! We then bought some steaks from M & S for dinner and went to Tiger Tiger for a drink. Saturday night was full on terrible TV (but I love it!) with Strictly Come Dancing, X factor and some Diva-esque programme where I sat and slagged off beautiful woman like Myleene Klass much to Ross's amusement. Then he did his usual trick and asked if I wanted to lie on the couch where I promptly fell asleep and he watched Match of the Day in peace!
On Sunday we had another long lie, did the housework and the shopping and watched a bit of the New York marathon. My brother did really well - he ran it in just under 4 and a half hours, but said it was the hardest thing he has ever done (and he was in the Marines!). I'll hopefully speak to him today to congratulate him. I think they are off to see Wicked the musical tonight in New York - lucky beggars! On Sunday afternoon Ross and I went to the Golf Lounge which was really good fun. Basically you hit a ball into a computer screen and can play courses like St Andrews. I wasn't very good at all but it was enjoyable, and has made me want to get some golf lessons. Of course, I would need to go shopping for some outfits first! ;o)

Friday already and it's been a quick and very busy week! As Ross was in Bulgaria I filled my evenings with activities and events - like the social animal that I am! ;o)
On Tuesday night I planned to stay in all night and bathe for as long as possible however my brother texted me in the afternoon saying "what's for dinner tomorrow night?". Then I realised that he was coming to visit with his wife Diane on Wednesday. I had always known he was flying to America on Thursday but I thought his flight was around lunchtime so didn't think I would see him (he lives up North and has a wee boy Xander so leaving him with granny and granda wasn't easy!). But, turns out their flight was 5.45am so they came to stay with me Wednesday night. So, Tuesday was spent tidying up and going to the shops for supplies (and in fact no beers were drunk because Richard is off the booze in preparation for running the New York Marathon on Sunday for children with leukeamia - go Rich!). However I managed a quick relaxing bath which was great.
On Wednesday I headed straight from work to the Royal Concert Hall for the RSNO Halloween Classics concert. I was helping to sell raffles so put my witches hat on to join in the occasion - there were some great outfits!
On Thursday I was quite tired from being up late and getting up in the middle of night seeing Richard and Diane off (I made them get a taxi to the aiport though!) however I still managed Spin class (after getting an injection!) and headed out at night to see my friend George's band The Side play at a pub called The Box on Sauchiehall Street. They were really good, much better than the other 3 forgetful bands that played. George is a brilliant pianist/keyboardist and I'll never forget his grand piano playing until 4am on the night of my wedding! My wee sis Donna and pals Clare and Katie came over to my flat before we headed out I got a FAB belated wedding gift from them - a magnetic notice board with lots of photos all over it of Ross and I from when we were babies - aaahhh! I love personal presents like that, they hold so many memories! All in all a great night, I'll post some photos and a video on bebo later.
Oh and I also joined facebook this week. I swore I wasn't going to join yet another online social network site but my nosiness got the better of me so I'll be doing some digging for people tonight before Ross gets home! My other achievement this week was getting my necklace engraved which I've been meaning to do for ages. Ross got me a beautiful Gucci chain with dog tags on it for a wedding present so I had it engraved with our wedding date on, cheesy but nice!
So today I'm a bit beat but still managed my core stability class at lunchtime and can't wait to go for a massage after work - yippee! Ross and I are planning our last quiet weekend of the year - we're staying in ALL weekend and doing nothing - bliss!

New shoes and new hair!

My fab shoes and hair! He he, I'm such a girl!

Well, that's show week over for another year. I really enjoyed being back on the stage again and the show received lots of positive feedback from audience members, including my mum who had never seen a Glasgow Light Opera Club show before so she was very impressed. There weren't any major hiccups although one night the set nearly ended up in the pit because it wasn't secured properly and the stage is raked so it starting slipping down towards the audience! I was probably most nervous on the Thursday night because I had 11 folks from my work in to see me. I kept having nightmares that I would drop the lead role when I had to pick her up in her chair to do the wedding dance! Thankfully, everything went smoothly and I'm really looking forward to next year's performance of Oklahoma! I realised this week that my parents are bonkers because my mum sent me a photo text of my dad on the roof of our house wearing a hat and a fake beard holding my violin! Obviously they now need to entertain themselves somehow - I thought his fiddler on the roof impression was hilarious!
Other than the show there isn't much else news this week. I had taken half days every morning to have a lie in so I used that opportunity to go out more than I would normally! On Thursday night I went to the Baby Grande for drinks with mum and Donna then I went out dancing with the folks from GLOC at O'Neills and then a pub called The Box. I realised as soon as I went in that the pub used to be The Blob Shop, which brought me back to my student days partying on Sauchiehall Street. On Friday night after the show we held a gala reception in the theatre to celebrate our centenary. As I am on the committee I had to mingle and chat to folks like the Lord Provost (who was there with a bodyguard because he had his chains on!). On Saturday my friends Iona and Pete came down from Aberdeen and I caught up with Ross's folks who went to the matinee show. Iona, Pete and Ross then met me after the evening show to head to the aftershow party in the west end (I'm still waiting for someone to send me flowers to the stage door but I'm guessing I'll have to wait forever!). The aftershow party was good fun. It was mostly a ceilidh with a lovely buffet and very cheap bar (a pint was £1.20!) But it was a horrible stormy night so we struggled to get a taxi and didn't get home until after 3am, technically only 2am though because the clocks went back.

On Sunday we went to Ashton Lane to see what was happening at the Beer Festival. Answer - nothing. I think everything must have been rained off because there was no farmers market or street performers or music, booo. Ross and I saw the guys off then walked home (via a couple of pubs of course!) and enjoyed a well deserved night on the couch watching Fight Club (I had forgotten how good that movie is).
I was looking forward to this week because I have no rehearsals, no shows and no studying so I was going to spend time with my new husband. However, typically he now has to work away for most of the week so I have to find things to keep me occupied! It shouldn't be difficult and I'm planning a pamper night, a night at the orchestra and a gig (my friend George's band is playing in The Box on Thursday night). Well, you didn't honestly expect me to sit in and relax now did you??!

Hooray, the exam is over so no more studying! Friday went OK I think. It was a lovely sunny blue skies morning so I walked over to Hampden with Claire which helped clear the head. The exam lasted 3 hours, and apart from my wedding day, it was the quickest 3 hours of my life! We had to choose 3 case studies from the 6 in the question paper and answer 2 questions on each case study. I think I wrote about 16 pages of A4 in the time allowed so my hand was killing me by the end! The questions I answered were about culture change, financial controls, gross profit margins, leadership, customer relationships and information management. I did the best I could and felt positive afterwards however I am now starting to doubt myself and waiting until December for the results is going to be a killer!
Immediately after the exam I went to the pub to celebrate with 4 colleagues who also did the course. But, because I hadn't had a drink for 2 weeks the thought of drinking didn't appeal at all - but of course I managed! We had a few drinks in Battlefield (The Mission and Buddha) before I walked home for a nice relaxing bath. At night time Ross and I caught up with about 10 or so folks from my work at the dug racing in Shawfield. It was a good laugh even though I didn't win one single race... Mind you, I just picked the ones who had the best names (or the one which had just pooped before the race - they say that's a good sign!).
On Saturday I had a long lie while Ross took my car to get serviced (thanks Ross!) then we walked over to my friend Eilidh's to give her tickets for my upcoming show. The walk took about half an hour and we used it as an opportunity to check out some nice houses in the area. We really want to move house soon, and seeing Eilidh's lovely house confirmed this. We really want our own garden and space for a dining area (and ideally a walk in wardrobe!). Donna popped over to ours in the afternoon with a copy of the local paper Ross-Shire Journal as our wedding photo was in it. Then we went through our wedding album mock up and chose the final photos we wanted. Hopefully we should get it in time for Christmas.

At night time Ross had booked a table at Cafe Gandolphi to celebrate exams being over so it was lovely to relax and eat good food (sea bass, mmm) and drink pink champagne (double mmm). We caught up with Donna and Neil afterwards for a couple of drinks in Merchant Square but were home by midnight because 2 heavy nights of drinking after being off the booze had caught up with us!
Sunday was cleaning day then I had the first rehearsal for Fiddler in the theatre which was good. All in all a lovely weekend and a hige weight lifted off my shoulders in prep for the big week ahead!

3 days to go until my exam! I haven't written any updates until today because I had nothing to write (and still don't really!). I had THE most boring weekend of my year (perhaps even my life) spending all day Saturday and Sunday studying constantly. I managed to revise practically the whole course, with Ross testing me on my knowledge, so I just hope most if not all of it sticks in my brain until Friday!
Thankfully I managed to take a break on Saturday to watch some of Strictly Come Dancing and then Moulin Rouge. Strictly was OK, I think Ross enjoyed it more as it was ladies night so Kelly Brook was performing in scantily clad gear! Then my sister arrived with Neil and a mate after being at the Scotland game (another fantastic result, well done boys!) They weren't as drunk as I thought they would be but they were saving themselves for a heavy night out on the town! As I was still sober I dropped them back to Neil's flat to get ready for their partying.
My highlight of the night was watching Moulin Rouge. Now, I knew it had won awards and was directed by Baz Luhrmann therefore I suspected it might have it's 'way out' moments but I certainly wasn't prepared for what I got! The surreal versions of The Sound of Music and Like a Virgin are definitely not everyone's cup of tea and I almost felt drunk watching it!
Anyway, it was good to wake up on Sunday without a hangover. Ross also felt the same and got stuck into some housework and DIY. He fixed the bulb in the fridge that had blown almost 4 years ago - my constant nagging paid off - but I think he felt he deserved a medal for his achievement! ;o) Opera rehearsal followed on Sunday night so it was good to air the lungs a bit.
Monday was a non eventful day, in work early to study, study at lunchtime and study at night. What joys. I did also manage to pop to the shops to get a pair of costume style shoes for my show next week. The proper dance boutiques charge about £35 for these babies but I got a pair for a tenner- it pays to shop around!! However I realised when I got home that I have no space left in my wardrobe for shoes. I guessed I owned about 35 pairs of shoes so decided to count them. Eek, I have 60 pairs of shoes!!!! Is that excessive for a girl? Note, that doesn't include flip flips or slippers but does include boots, sandals and trainers (that's alright then!). I'm almost looking forward to having some spare time after the exam and show to tidy out my shoe cupboard!! Here is a photo of one of my favourite pairs of shoes - 5 inch heels from my fave shoe shop Aldo. Ross bought them - he has good taste!! xx

Friday night and I’m sitting in, stone cold sober, having a break from the studying. It was the first Friday in ages that I wasn’t running out of work at 5pm shouting ‘bring on the weekend!’. One more week of slog and it will all be over (and I will no longer moan here about the pressures of studying!) No major news to update really. In fact the most exciting thing that happened yesterday was the story of 2000 chickens escaping from a lorry overturning on the M80 (near Stirling) causing traffic chaos and resulting in the road being closed for 9 hours! You can imagine the jokes since…
My wee sis Donna has been on my blog and pointed out that I didn’t mention the fantastic hen weekend she organised for me in July – oops! I promise it wasn’t because I was trying to erase it from my mind! It was a BRILLIANT weekend spent in Glasgow on the Friday night (with a naked butler serving champagne in my flat!) and in Edinburgh on the Saturday where I was forced to dress up as a hen (literally). It was hugely mortifying as it was 3pm in the afternoon on Princes St in Edinburgh… But it was a total hoot as the photos here and on my bebo site prove!
I went for lunch today with my friend John so that I could give him his tickets to see my show. We went to Piccolo Mondo (where I had my bridesmaids dinner) and it was delicious! My only faux-pas was having a chocolate pecan brownie – not usually a faux-pas you might say, however I returned to the office to find that our director had arranged bubbly and posh cake for the whole office to say well done for our hard work the week before last. We had gone to a nursery to help them make a play garden so we had to dig up turf all day long! But it was better than sitting at a desk and I gave my bum a right good work out!
Right, time to get back to motivation theories and change management, zzzzzzzzzzzz!

Passed half way of the week already - good in one aspect because it is the weekend soon but bad in another because the studying days left before my exam are rapidly slipping away! I had to give circuits at miss today which I regretted but I had to work through lunchtime in order to get my case study analysis done before emailing it round my colleagues by 5pm today.
To make it worse, Ross and I have decided to stay off the booze for 2 whole weeks!! It's only Wed and this is proving difficult already however I know the weekend will be the killer. We have decided to stay in all weekend so that I can study and we have less chance of breaking the no-alcohol rule. Annoyingly X Factor isn't on this weekend so I will just have to make do with Strictly Come Dancing instead! Plus, the TV guide says that Moulin Rouge is on on Saturday night which I haven't seen before so I'll give that a go.
Rehearsal last night was good, the show is really starting to come together. I really hope people enjoy it because I know a lot are put off by its religious connotations - but in fact it is powerful, funny and heartwarming! I have few friends coming to see the show including the White clan, my mum and sister, work colleagues, my recently engaged friends Pete and Iona (coming from Aberdeen) and my mates Reena, Eilidh and Steph.

Is it only Tuesday? I'm knackered already! Yesterday I was in work from 8am until almost 8pm fitting in a days work and 3 hours studying. Then I went straight home to do another 2 hours studying. At least I had piece and quiet as Ross was working away (Exeter I think but I can't keep up with his travels!). I'm starting to panic about the finance element of the exam - I can't seem to remember all the formulas and ratio calculations! I might have to try listening to them in my sleep and see if that works. Unless anyone else has any other ideas?
I went to the gym today - it was the first time I had been to Spin class in about 2 weeks but I felt my neck was up to it. There was a new instructor who looked like he was in the Marines so I was dreading it to begin with. However he was very good - really engaging and motivating (although tough at the same time!). But, he did keep making weird grunting noises that sounded more suited to the bedroom so I kept giggling! But I did feel great afterwards so all was good.
Tonight I have rehearsals for Fiddler but I will need to take my studying with me to work on in between scenes. The show is really starting to come together - I love the music: songs like 'If I were a rich man', 'sunrise sunset' and matchmaker, matchmaker'. I've managed to get some good publicity for the show in Glasgow papers and on First Glasgow busses so hopefully we'll sell enough tickets to break even.
Other news is that the boys in the office are going to take on the girls at computerised golf! Yes I am trying to get a few of the ladies to agree to a night at the Golf Lounge in Glasgow in November where you can play courses like St Andrews on a large computer screen. It's meant to be a laugh and there is a bar on site so all the ingredients are there for a top night. First I will need to get to the golf range with Ross to try and remember how to hit a golf ball! I do own a glove(!) but that's the extent of it! x

Monday morning already... oh well I had a nice weekend, albeit a quick one. I went to the hairdressers on Friday so I feel properly blonde again ;o) then I went for cocktails and some people watching in Royal Exchange Square followed by John's leaving do in a bar called Downtown. The bar was lively and loads of people from work came but the music was very cheesy. Ross came and met me and we went to the Thai Fountain for dinner - it was lovely! I had hot and spicy soup followed by a dish called Weeping Tiger (beef in a kinda rich soy sauce) and Ross had a red thai curry.
On Saturday I did a couple of hours studying in the morning then Ross and I went to meet our photographer at his studio in Linlithgow. We chose around 80 photos for our wedding album (not easy choosing from 665 photos!) so hopefully we will have it finished in time for Christmas as it gets made in Italy. It was lovely looking at the photos again, it brought back great memories from the day. After we finished there we headed to Livingston and I bought one or two things in the designer outlet centre. We were staying at the Travelodge next to the shopping centre because it was Ross's cousin Iain's 40th birthday party that night. We met up with Ross's mum, dad, auntie and uncle before heading to the party. Thankfully it wasn't a dressing up party (Iain's wife Susan had a fancy dress party for her 40th last year - I went as Wonder woman and Ross went as Elvis!). I was happy to be in bed for about 1.30am because I wanted to be fresh for studying on Sunday. Which is exactly what I did. I probably studied for about 4 hours on Sunday, fitting in a wee walk in the sunshine and a bath to relax me! Ross made lovely lentil and bacon soup and a beef casserole - he's turning into a right modern house husband these days! On Sunday night I rewarded myself by watching X Factor - I'm addicted! In fact I'm so sad I cried when the contestants had to go home and tell their familes they were in either in or booted out! So the weekend was over before I knew it. Tonight I'm supposed to be going to a committee meeting for my opera club however I've had to put in my apologies as I have too much studying to do. 11 days until the big exam... and counting... x

1 day until the weekend!

Well, dinner last night with mum and Donna was good, not exceptionally good, but still good. We ended up going to La Tasca because mum's bus was 45 mins late so we had to cancel our table at Arisaig. I love tapas because you get to try everyone's food and the atmosphere was great, particularly for a restaurant in Glasgow on a Wednesday night (when Celtic were playing). We've been getting some pretty good football results for Scottish teams recently which is pleasing my male colleagues! However they are not so impressed by the fact that I am doing pretty well in our fantasy football league (bring it on!).
I've been cracking on with my studying. For those who don't know I'm just about to finish a professional certificate in management with the Open University. I have 1 exam to go (19th Oct) so wish me luck! The course is all about people managment, change management, financial management, information management, quality management and marketing - exciting stuff....
Things annoying me at the moment - the weather: we had some glorious days at the end of Sept/beg Oct but now it has turned to torrential rain
My neck: either I have slept in a weird position or I have been injured in my circuits class but the top of my spine is aching! Time for a massage methinks!
Oh well, I will cheer myself up by think about holidays! Ross and I are planning a trip to Boston, Rhode Island, New York, LA and California (see pic) in early March to visit my big sis and celebrate her 1 year anniversary to the lovely Jeremy. Can't wait!
Think that's all for today. Off to my rehearsals tonight so hopefully ny neck will have eased by then! xx

Up and running

Hello again. thanks to everyone who checked out my blog. I got a few emails and comments back. You will notice one comment from my brother Richard reminding me about the 4am arm wrestling on Saturday night. I actually didn't want to mention this because my sister in law Diane beat me and I thought I was harder than her! ;o) Seemingly there is video evidence as well - damn!

Yesterday I had my usual hospital appointment. Those who know me well know what this entails and it isn't pleasant! Plus I missed the send off for my friend John who is leaving the Big Lottery Fund to work for Children in Need. One of the guys dressed up in a Pudsey suit - I believe it was hilarious! Oh well, I have his proper leaving doo on Friday night so look forward to that.

Yesterday evening I went to a rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof. My musical club 'Glasgow Light' are performing this show at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow from 23-27 October so please come along. You all know the songs - If I were a rich man etc etc! We have a big cast this year (see photo) so it should sound great!

OK time for my circuits class then I'm going to meet mum who is staying the night tonight so we'll probably get a bite to eat somewhere in the town. Ciao! x

The catch up

OK, so where do I start? I could go on for a very long time about the highlights of this year but that would bore you to tears so I will try to mention the key points only -
Ross 30th birthday - this was in April this year and it was a lot of fun. I devised a treasure hunt round Glasgow for Ross to follow and this involved going to the newly opened Kelvingrove museum, having a pint and a pie watching a play in Oran Mor, eating Tepenyaki and mussels (not at the same time), sunbathing in the Botanic Gardens (yes it was roasting in April) and going to see a live recording of a BBC radio comedy show. Then lots of friends and family came along to Vronis (our fave bar) to eat, drink and be merry. Thanks goes to Donna for using her primary teaching skills to display lots of drunken/bad photos of Ross in the pub!
The wedding - so I'll probably mention this event in many posts to come because it was such a great day. 250 of our closest friends and family came to the ceremony and meal in the Atholl Palace in Pitlochry and another 30 or so mates came at night to boogie at the ceilidh. The sun shone and everything (almost) went to plan. To top it off our good friend George played piano in the lounge until 4 in the morning before Ross and I retired to our turret suite as Mr and Mrs!
The honeymoon - we decided to opt for a slightly different trip than the usual Maldives or Barbados and instead flew to Naples before touring round round Ravello, Positano, Amalfi and Capri. It was amazing. I liked Anacapri best because it was a good mix of busy and quiet life. The hotel was fantastic, especially the infinity pool (and Dom Joly was lying sunbathing next to us!)

London trip – Ross got me a beautiful Gucci necklace for a wedding present however me being more unusual decided to opt for a long weekend in London as my gift to Ross. I knew that everyone is supposed to have a post wedding slump (which, by the way hasn’t happened yet) so I decided to book flights, accommodation and tickets to see his purple badness Prince in the new o2 millennium dome. Wow, what a gig! We went with Ross’s work mate George and his wife Gail so we had a right laugh getting lost on the tubes, dining in Canary Wharf, shopping in Oxford Street and going to see HM crown jewels at the Tower of London.
Xander’s 2nd birthday – I’m just back from a weekend up North in Dingwall for my wee nephew’s 2nd birthday. On Friday night I helped my dad out at a fundraising event in the National Hotel selling raffles. It was a swing band night to raise funds for the Puffin Hydrotherapy Pool. I ended up getting my picture taken for the local rag (groan). On Saturday it was lots of present opening for Xander. Ross and I got him a train set, car, animal finger puppets and some clothes. He got lots of presents but my favourite was probably the tool workbench he got from his granny and granda. Then on Saturday night I hit the town with the girls (Aileen, Sarah and Kim) and we went to Cactus Jacks, Lauders and Bakoo which was a laugh – especially the bit where Kim used her persuasive skills(!) to get us free tickets on the train up to Inverness! I think that’s probably enough for the moment. Time for a cup of tea (decaffeinated). x

Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone,

I've decided to set up my own blog after becoming hooked on reading my friends blogs. Now admittedly my friends have set up blogs because they are doing much more exciting things than me, like travelling the world etc however there have been so many little but notable things happening in my life in the last year or so I simply must write them down.

2007 has been the biggest and best year of my life (so far) with the highlight of course being my wedding to Ross in August. I hope those who were there had a great time, I know Ross and I did.

Anyway this is just an introductory post so I'll leave it as that. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine in Scotland on this bright October day! x