Sunny - I mean stormy - Stornoway

Bit of a catch up as I have been out of action electronically for the last few weeks. My laptop had to be sent back to the manufacturers as it was so riddled with viruses - poor thing! So, since I last wrote we have had Iona and Pete's wedding - which was a fantastic day in glorious sunshine! We partied until 4am at the Drumossie in Inverness and I got to wear my vintage dress so I was a happy girl!
Ross has been on travels again - back to Bulgaria this time - whilst I was hard at work signing up to be a volunteer mentor. I have decided to mentor a pupil at a high school in Glasgow which should be a rewarding experience and will hopefully help the young person going forward in their life.
We also had another house viewer who seems quite interested but I am not getting my hopes up at all! We have had 11,000 hits on rightmove since the flat went up for sale - so it's really disappointing that nothing has come to fruition yet.
I've had quite a few days off in the last few weeks as I had loads of holidays to take. I went for a couple of girlie work nights out to Arta and November (plus I introduced them to Victoria's secret which is no longer a secret!).
We gave Connect Festival a miss (long story which I won't go in to!) but actually I didn't have any regrets because seemingly the site was like a bog - I have no desire to camp for 3 nights in a swamp, thank you very much! So, instead we went through to Edinburgh for a day out. We visited the parliament which I didn't like and had a nice lunch sitting outside in the sunshine. Harvey Nics was also frequented but I managed to hold back opening my purse (thankfully!). We ate out at Zizzi that night which is still one of my fave places to go as you can people watch in Princes Square to your heart's content (and the garlic bread with cheese and caramelised onions is divine!).
On the Sat night we went to a fundraiser night for my theatre group. It was a 70's Boogie Nights party so we all got dressed up and boogied to a cool band playing oldies! We also got the bus home, which was definitely a bad idea as we were mocked the whole way home!
The 7th Sept was Ross's big day as he was running the Glasgow half marathon. I was very proud of his efforts as he completed the run in a very respectable 1hr 49mins! My friends Isla, David, Paul, George and Phil were also running - well done to you all! Afterwards we had lunch in the Granary and dinner in Anarkali where I had a delicious spicy curry - even some of the boys couldn't handle it!
Last week Ross and I went to Stornoway (via Dingwall) on a part business - part pleasure trip. I visited a couple of projects applying for funding but spent the rest of the time exploring Lewis. We got the ferry across (fine on the way over but gale force 8 winds on the way back - thank god for travel sickness tablets!) and had a hire car to get around the island. We went to the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse and some lovely beaches as well as exploring the shops, arts centre and eating/drinking establishments in Stornoway itself. We had dinner in a Thai restaurant (yes, Thai on the Western Isles - fab!) and I had a delicious banana liquer hot chocolate in a trendy bar called HS1. It was a long drive back to Dingwall (helped by a stopover at my folks house for macaroni!) but it was worth the trip.
On Friday night we went for dinner at Sarti (very good) and went to see Evita at the theatre (also good but I still love the film the best). I got a lump in my throat when they did 'You Must Love Me' as that is the song I am singing solo in my show in a few weeks - aaah! On Saturday night we went to our friends Katie and Stefs leaving do - they are travelling the world and said goodbye in style at the Buff Club.
Phew, other than that I have been trying to be best bridesmaid of the year for my wee sis Donna who has set her date for 19th Dec 2009 in a mansion just outside Inverness! She has completely surprised me by turning into Bridezilla overnight (sorry Donz!) but it is great to be talking weddings again. We went to Roberta Buchan for a try on session on Saturday and she looked stunning in the dresses she tried on!
Right better go - off to for dinner tonight with Eilidh and Reena - my biggest blog fans !! lol ;o)

Catch up - sorry it's so out of date!

A good weekend was had last weekend when my brother and his wife visited from up North. Babies and dogs were left with my mum in Dingwall so it was a grown up weekend and the chance for them to get a lie-in for a change! We went shopping at Braehead and I bought far too much as usual (M & S are doing great work clothes at the moment and I bought lots of garish clothing for my show in October - bright pink legwarmers - nice!). We also went to Xscape which is my brother's idea of heaven under one roof and then went to the Imax to see The Dark Knight (again) which was equally good the second time round. The biggest disappointment of the weekend was the quality of food we experienced both at Xscape and even more so when we went for dinner at a well known Mexican restaurant in Merchant City (naming no names but half of us had to send our food back because it was cold). We went for a few drinks afterwards (couldn't get served in Arta so went to Bar 91 and Citation instead) then went back to mine for a game or seven of Mr and Mrs, which always ends up in arguments!! However Ross and I won so we must be doing something right! Saturday night was also our claim to fame as we were on Primetime TV in the audience of 'This Time Tomorrow' the lottery show hosted by Tess Daly. Admittedly it is one of the worst shows on TV but it was a laugh nonetheless!
On Sunday we went for one of my favourite dishes in central Scotland - chicken sizzler at Kip Marina in Inverkip - yum! At nightime I started blocking my solo piece for the Revue Show (now called The Best of Broadway) which doesn't involve much at all, other than looking distressed and staring into space! At rehearsal last night we learnt a new dance for All That Jazz which is very sexy and seductive, and we will be wearing leotards and fishnets - eek!
Work is trundling along OK, still very busy but not as bad as it was. We had our team away day this week at Castle Semple outdoor centre. Considering it has been raining SO much in Glasgow we actually had a really nice day to play team games in the sunshine and go cycling.
Tonight I am theatring again (but this time on the other side of the stage). I'm off to see Flashdance - bring on the lycra!
Best of luck to my pal Iona and her hubby to be Pete who are getting married on Saturday. I can't wait for the big day - vintage dress is getting donned!