35 days til Christmas!

I did hope that life would get calmer after all my shows were finised - but not so!
I had a very funny night out with the girls to The Stand comedy club after a nice (but not amazing) meal at The Lansdowne in the West End. Most of the jokes at the comedy club are not repeatable on a public website but I would highly recommend it for a different night out.
Since I last wrote Ross has been away to Africa, London and is shortly going to Athens. It's not been easy, particularly because these are his last trips away so there are lots of parties to attend...
I have been doing my usual and filling the evenings with dinners out and various nights of entertainment. I've had lunch at Rogano (disappointing), dinner at Wagamama (excellent), dinner at the Griffin (more pot noodle flavour sauce - yum!) and ate Crocodile at Khublai Khans (enjoyable but I had to forget the episode of I'm a Celebrity I watched the night before!). I also went to see the Slava Snow Show which was recommended by a friend. It was the most bizarre show ever! It was aimed at older children and involved clowns doing funny and sad acts on stage and then the most amazing snow storm inside the theatre, followed by huge inflatable balls being thrown about the auditorium. It's very hard to describe but definitely worth going to see if you can get a ticket in the stalls.
I am also very excited at future nights out including Take That tickets (scream!!!!), various concerts at Celtic Connections in January (my pal Julie Fowlis is playing with a fantastic band called La Boutinne Souriante), Boogie Nights tonight at the Kings and Dick Whittington panto in December (oh yes it is).
I'm getting on very well with my Christmas shopping - I've thought of a great idea to solve the "what do I buy my dad/brother/brother-in-law" question but it's a secret! I did my annual trip to Livingston designer outlet (where I usually buy more for me than anyone else!) plus a fairly successful trip to Silverburn - although I am struggling to find anywhere nice for maternity clothes for my sis - anyone got any ideas?? She sent me through a 3D scan of the baby - it is the strangest and most amazing thing I have ever seen!
The weekend before last Donna, Neil, Ross and I went to my folk's chalet in Aviemore which was good fun. We played table tennis and went swimming and sauna-ing before heading back to the chalet for fajitas and X Factor (I can't believe Laura got voted off...). The next day we caught up with Richard and Xander and my folks before getting the train back to Glasgow and heading straight for my show auditions. I think I did OK although I don't want any speaking lines because my London accent was shocking! I have since heard that I got in so am really chuffed about that!
This weekend is our rehearsing away weekend where we all go to Crianlarich, rehearse all day and get drunk at night - sounds fun! But, we all have to do a performance in front of everyone (called a 'virgin piece') so Donna and I are going to sing a Gaelic medley.
A very drunken night was had last Saturday at our friend Trevor and Steph's house. Trevor made a lovely dinner and made sure our glasses were never empty. Thankfully we only live 1 street away so we stumbled home and crashed into bed!
Can I just say - I was astounded recently to find out how much a wash and blow dry costs in Glasgow! The cheapest I could find was £25!! All I wanted was a shampoo and blow dry!! I eventually went to Mcmillan's in the Merchant City who were very reasonable and I even got a glass of wine thrown in!
Anyway sending get well soon messages to my friend David who was in hospital recently for an op, and my pal Alex who is also unwell.
If anyone has any ideas for Hogmanay let me know! xx

Pimps and pregnancies!

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I have been neglecting my duties! It has been THE busiest month ever and it doesn't seem to be lightening up in the run up to Christmas. I have something on every weekend until the festivities and most week days also!
OK what's happened since I last wrote. Well, my first show went really well and I loved every minute of performing and dancing. I lost a few pounds with all the high energy and nerves but it was all worthwhile!
However the biggest shock of the week was my big sis announcing she is pregnant! I wondered why she was keeping her jacket on the whole time and feeling sick! She is due in April and I'm really excited about her and her hubby moving back to Scotland in February.
We had a great party up North when the whole family were home. It was planned to be a Disney fancy dress party but it didn't really happen until half the guests turned up dressed up so we all felt we ought to dress up too. I particularly liked Ross's pimp outfit!
After the parties were all over it was straight back into rehearsals for my next show - Oklahoma! Thanks to everyone who came along especially my granny who came all the way from Dingwall by herself on the bus. It certainly wasn't without drama - during the fight scene between the two principal characters one of them made contact with the other and broke his nose live on stage! We all heard it crack and there was blood all over the stage and people's costumes!
Since I last wrote Ross has been to Sweden and Johannesburg. However the good news is that he has a new job! Yes he starts with Scottish Enterprise in January so I can't wait to see more of him and travel on the bus together to work - lol!
I've eaten out at a few nice restaurants since I last wrote including Piccolo Mondo (an old favourite), Rogano (slightly disappointing), Barca (have been meaning to try for ages and was impressed by the value), Mulberry St (delicious macaroni), Red Onion (pretty rubbish), The Griffin (excellent pub grub - spicy chicken tastes like curry pot noodle, mmm!) and Fusion in Gourock (delicious monkfish and scallops!).
It's been busy busy at work just now with mid year reviews and prep for our programme on ITV in November. I also filled up my evenings when Ross was away with gym trips (body attack is excellent!), rehearsals for my next show (Boogie Nights in March 09!) and a concert by the Swingle Singers who are an amazing 8 piece group who use only their voices for all the sounds, vocals and instruments! Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbO70Vp6Jc&feature=related to hear them.
I have also started my mentoring with a 3rd year pupil in a south side secondary school. She seems really nice and I hope we have a good relationship.
Last weekend was a bit of a drunken one with a work night out to Bread and Butter (nice place) on Friday night and a boozy night in on Saturday night. Eilidh, Donna and Clare came round for some X Factor and Singstar fun and delicious Bay Breeze cocktails and banana liquer hot chocolate - yum! I apologise to my wee sis as I was very hungover at her dress fitting on Saturday but the exciting news is that I think she has chosen THE one!
Sending happy 30th birthday wishes to Isla, happy birthday and congrats to Paul who passed his police exams and get well soon to my dad who has just had an op on his knee. L xx