End of a summer

So I’ve beaten my last record – only 6 weeks since my last post! What a quick 6 weeks it has been.
Coldplay at Hampden park was good fun – although not as good as the SECC. Our housewarming/late 30th celebration was just perfect. Around 25 folk came throughout the course of the day and evening which was very manageable and our house stayed in one piece! The night ended with singstar and guitar playing so I’m glad we bought a detached house!
Then there was our holiday. Well, I could talk for hours about how great a holiday it was. It was even better than our honeymoon! Here is a quick synopsis –
*Arrived in San Francisco, dropped bags off at Holiday Inn and went for a wander and a beer, checking out the seals along Fisherman’s Wharf. Fell asleep by about 8pm so never managed dinner!
*Had a breakfast burrito and hired bikes and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge to a little town called Saussilito. It was a glorious sunny day and we’re both sure we passed Ben Stiller on his bike. Went for dinner at The Stinking Rose where every menu item is laced with garlic – including the ice cream – yum!
*Walked around the Wharf to the most squinty road in the world, had drinks at the Cannery, went to Ghiradellis chocolate, ate clam chowder from a sourdough bread bowl and got a boat to Alcatraz for a night tour of the prison, spooky.
*Flew to Las Vegas and checked into The Venetian. I have never seen a hotel as special. We had THREE TVs in our room! We took a wander up the strip in the balmy air (past the card clickers trying to sell callgirls!) and had a few very large beers – which you can carry with you wherever you want – along the strip, into bars etc.
*Took a wee plane to the Grand Canyon and saw the sunrise over the Canyon. We really wish now that we had also taken a helicopter ride into the canyon but it was still very special nonetheless. We were the first people to step foot on the Canyon that day and it was the most surreal experience ever. Ross didn’t like the plane ride and has since told me that those types of planes are over 30 years old and have a terrible accident record...! That night we went our separate ways to our friends hen and stag nights. Ross ended up in Hooters (quelle suprise) and the girls ended up at drag queen bingo (uh-huh).
*On Wednesday we walked the strip from end to end taking in a bit of shopping, drinking, eating, hotel wandering, gambling, roller coasting and a photo in front of the vegas sign. I would have liked to have explored more of the hotels as we only managed to wander through The Venetian, Palazzo, Stratosphere and Caesars Palace. I would have liked to have seen the inside of Paris, New York New York, Circus Circus, Luxor, Bellagio and Mandalay Bay. At night I had the best steak I have ever tasted.
*The next day was our friend Isla and Zain’s wedding day. It was an amazing day, starting with the ceremony at sunset at the Valley of Fire, an amazing meal at the Bali Hai Golf Club followed by partying at the Venetian until 5.30am (including strip the willows in the corridors with live piper – until we got told off by security!).
*Before we knew it, it was time to head back to San Fran after an ‘all you can eat’ breakfast buffet in Treasure Island. As you can see I ate and ate and ate in America – Mexican, Italian, Chinese in Chinatown, American, Steaks etc – the food is soooo good.
*This time we stayed at the Hilton which was pretty noisy and a bit disappointing after the Venetian but we didn't spend much time in it! We shopped til we dropped at Bloomingdales, Macy's, Victoria's Secret and Forever 21 (love that shop). I bought a heap of Benefit make up, 3 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes and lots of work clothes. The weather had turned a bit colder but that didn't stop the partygoers at the Love Festival in their tutus and minis. one guy had nothing on except for a hat! To bring the holiday of a lifetime to a close we went to see Wicked at the Orpheum Theatre. It was amazing and I cried!
*In fact, apart from holidays we haven’t really eaten out this month except for a work lunch in the Radisson (not bad), a work dinner in Andiamo (very nice), room service in Birmingham (grim), Frankie and Benny’s in the airport (terrible service) and a celebratory cheap lunch deal in Red Chillies in Glasgow (very good value, tasty and the perfect amount for lunch).
Three days after returning from holiday, with body clock still all over the shop, I went to Birmingham for a Principles of Change Management course. It was hard work studying all night and drinking litres of red bull, but I got through it and passed with 93.3%!
Other stuff happening since have been a leaving do at work, Alison’s 30th (happy birthday!) and a performance for Cancer Research in Giffnock. I sung You Must Love Me and One Day More. We’re performing again at the Victoria Hospital next week. Finally, I have also been promoted on a permanent basis so I am now a proper Programme Manager (after 18 months of doing the job!) Hoorah! I will certainly be celebrating this weekend at our Halloween party.
Sending a big woop to Aileen and a big thanks for letting me come and see the 4D scan in Edinburgh – amazing! x

I'm Back!

As it’s been almost 3 months since I last wrote I suppose I’ll have to do another ‘3 months in a nutshell post’ (my wrists are getting slapped by Eilidh and Reena). Where to start ..?
· On a trip to the hairdressers my whole tooth fell out when I was eating a toffee. I’m never eating another toffee again.
· I then had to go out for dinner and a wedding dance the same night so I decided to drink lots to hide my embarrassment!
· Places I’ve eaten out in the last couple of months include The Grill on the Corner (not worth the price), Fifi and Ally (a bit pretentious), Piccolino (good food but drank too many liquers), Esca (tasted nice at the time but ended up throwing up during the night), Tusk (slow service but good fish and chips in newspaper), Bread and Butter (tasty pizza), 29 (lovely food if a bit posh), Piccolo Mondo (always good), one up (just had a cocktail as their bar bites weren’t ready in time), Arta (disappointing food but liked the good value bubbly), Wagamamma (not as good as usual), Andiamo (a lovely Italian near our new house) and every take away possible (from Chinese to pizza to Indian to Italian to chippie to salad boxes to munchies boxes!)
· Our partying lifestyle has been much quieter than usual due to house renovations and spending literally £1000’s of pounds every week. However we still managed to go to Ross’s mum Irma’s retirement do at their house, my pal Claire’s 30th in the Lansdowne (lovely nibbles), Ross’s auntie and uncle Claire and Jim’s wedding anniversary at their house, Trev and Steph’s leaving do at Arta and a family party in Dingwall as my cousin was over from Texas. Not bad really!
· We got the keys for our house on 10th July and moved in on 23rd Aug so in the space of 6 weeks we turned a shell into a lovely home with the help of tilers, plasterers, electricians, painters, joiners, roofers, plumbers and family members helping us out. We hit a bombshell a couple of weeks in when we discovered the whole house needed rewired so we’ll be paying off debts for a long time to come! We do however have lovely neighbours, a gorgeous manageable garden and a proper grown up house so it’s all good! Here is a before and after picture of our dining room!
· Pampering wise I’ve managed to squeeze in 2 massages, not enough trips to the gym and a spa day in Inverness to treat my pals Aileen and Sarah for their 30ths. Aileen is due to give birth in January and Sarah is looking a million dollars after a health kick so they are both in good form. The same weekend all the boys went to the Open Championship – my Christmas present to them all last year – so much beer was drunk and Ross slept through most of it...
· My travels recently have included 2 trips up North, 4 trips to Birmingham, 2 trips to Carlisle and a day trip to Newcastle. I cannot wait for some proper travelling in just over a week’s time when we fly business class (woop!) to San Francisco for our holidays. We’ve already booked a night tour of Alcatraz, Grand Canyon helicopter flight and tickets to see Wicked (double woop!) in addition to our friends Isla and Zain’s wedding and hen/stag nights in Vegas – bring it on!
· My 30th birthday passed uneventfully which I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad about. I certainly don’t feel any different although I did buy some overnight wrinkle cream! Ross took me on a trip to Pitlochry and my family were all there to surprise me! Here is a pic of Ross with our niece Baileigh. I got some lovely gifts like house stuff, pictures, wine, jewellery, spa days and a lovely Radley wallet from Ross. We also went to my favourite champagne bar Vronis on my birthday for a bottle of bubbly!
· Rehearsals are now underway for my next show Kiss Me Kate in March at Eastwood Theatre in Giffnock. I have decided not to audition for any role as I want to relax and enjoy this show with no pressure to learn lines or complex dances – although the first dance we are learning isn’t exactly easy!
· Two of my friends had babies recently – Iona and Pete had a wee girl Gracie and they are settling well into family life. Sarah and John had a wee boy Rhys who arrived 7 weeks early! All are fine and Rhys is now home with mummy and daddy.
· We’ve had a few visitors in to see the house already – Claire, Eilidh, Mer, Mum, Dad, Donna, Neil, Richard – and my sis Carrie is coming to stay tonight before picking up some friends from the airport tomorrow morning.
· I’m looking forward to a bit of Coldplay at Hampden tomorrow – my first concert/gig in weeks because we’ve been so busy. I even missed Proms in the Park this year which is always a favourite. I have however bought tickets for Les Mis in May next year and West Side Story in October.
· Next on the agenda is planning Donna’s hen night which is already semi organised although I’m not giving anything away in case you are reading this Donna ;o)
· That’s it for now, I’ll report back with some photos and stuff when I return from my hols. Look forward to seeing you all at the new pad either this weekend or in the next few months xx

3 months in a nutshell

So 3 months in a nutshell - here goes -
*Had a successful run of Boogie Nights at Eastwood Theatre. Missing rehearsals now but decided to have a break for the summer so not doing Anything Goes with GLOC but am doing Kiss me Kate with TSP probably next March.
*Rowed a boat up the Clyde for Comic Relief.
*Went to Dumfries, Galashiels, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Newcastle for work too many times to count..
*Was asked to be Change Champion for my office over the next 6 months.
*Went to my cousin Lynne's wedding at Eilean Donan Castle in Dornie - fab day.
*Went to my pal Reena's 30th celebrations in Gourock - another fab night.
*Ate out in too many places to remember - Fusion in Gourock, Cafe Mao, Gamba, Piccolo Mondo, Ikea(!), Red Poppy in Dingwall, Golspie Golf Club, Bank, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, The Oriental, Slug and Lettuce and Strada in Birmingham.
*Sadly my auntie Peggy died so went to Skye for her funeral
*In the same week however as this, and my cousin's wedding, I became an auntie again as my sister Carrie and her hubby Jeremy had a wee baby girl Baileigh who has heart shaped nostrils (aaahhh!)
*Saw a fantastic production of Chess at the Kings and Rent at G12 -oh and not forgetting Never Forget the Take That musical!
*Ordered our bridesmaid dresses for my sister Donna's wedding in December - lovely!
*Went to The Old Drovers to watch our friends run, yes, run half of the West Highland Way - 50 or so miles in 9 hours!
*Had a fun curry karaoke night at Ashoka with all my TSP pals
*Had some fun nights out for work dos, leaving nights etc - including dinner at David and Elaines, drunken night at Bar Buddha for Karen and Phil's leaving do, and a girlie night out to the Shed after cocktails at mine
*Had about 4 trips to the dentist to try and fix a niggly tooth - it's still sore and I haven't been able to eat on the right side of my mouth for 6 months now. Time to get root treatment...
*Had a manicure, 2 spray tans and 2 massages (not all at once)
*Took a flyer at my gym coming out of the showers and blacked out. 2 paramedics and a trip to the ambulance later I was ok (although my pride was hurt as, yes, I was naked when I slipped... mortifying!)
*Had a lovely weekend up North for my Uncle Ian's memorial golf tourament - Ross's team won so he was delighted!
*Sold our flat as mentioned before. It was a total nightmare as we had to pack and move out in under 48 hours! Thankfully my pal Eilidh's mum was our saviour so we are currently renting her flat in Croftfoot (with the best views in Glasgow!)
*BOUGHT A HOUSE!! Yes we took the plunge and bought a detached bungalow with loft conversion in Giffnock - woo hoo! We get the keys on 10 July but it needs a bit of work done before we can move in. Planning a joint housewarming/30th party in late August so watch this space!

*Went to my pals Alex and John's civil partnership in Sloans - great night ending up at a party until the morning!
*Caught up with my pal Clare and a few others we bumped into at the West End Festival
*Had a lovely catch up with Eilidh who came round for dinner and my pal Isla who I met for coffee in Edinburgh
*Booked holidays to San Fran and Vegas in late Sept/early Oct! No idea how we are going to afford it with the house renovations but hey ho!
*Went to see Take That at Hampden - scream!!!!!
*Flew to Paris for the weekend as Ross was working at the Paris airshow. Saw the Louvre, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer, Moulin Rouge, and Champs Elysees. Also went up the Eiffel Tower at mdnight and partied at La Fete de la Musique in the latin quarter all night!
Happy birthday and Father's Day to dad, happy birthday (belated) to Reena, my nephew Fergus and Sarah. Sending happy retirement wishes to my mum-in-law Irma and get well soon message to my granny who has just had a hip op at 89! Congratulations to Julie, Eilidh M and another pal (to be announced soon!) who are all due to have babies in Dec/Jan.
PHEW. I need a holiday ;o)

We've Moved!

Nursery Street is no more!
We have had to move out in 24 hours so it's all a bit frantic. Will be offline for a couple of weeks until I get the broadband sorted.
L xx

March into March!

OK so it's the 9th March and I haven't written for over a month - slapped wrists for me! I am really looking forward to getting my days and nights back when my show is over - although I'll probably not know what to do with myself!
It's been a busy time since I last wrote firstly because my sister and her American husband moved back to Scotland from the States. So they spent a few days with us in Glasgow and we went baby shopping and went to a concert at the SECC after a nice meal at Yen the Teppanyaki restaurant. We then went up North for my folks 40th anniversary at The Ord Arms Hotel in Muir of Ord (where they held their wedding reception) which was lovely. My folks got a new puppy for their anniversary to fill the void left after Teegan. The new puppy is soooo cute! She is a labradoodle called Struie so you can imagine my folks house was bedlam with the whole family, my brothers two dogs, Struie and 2 babies!
I've been doing a fair amount of travel around Scotland in the last month - visiting Aberdeen, Ayr, Dalkeith with work and a quick trip to Greenock to visit my friend Reena who is going to New York next week (very jealous) and Murrayshall in Perth for dinner which was lovely. I ran a consultation session in work for people with multiple sensory impairments which was really interesting and reminded me just how lucky I am.
Rehearsals are gearing up for show week on 24th March - we had our rehearsal weekend in Crianlarich which was exhausting (14 hours rehearsing on the Sat!). I was designated driver this time so I was very well behaved and was one of the first to bed at 5am!
Ross and I had a lovely Valentine's night at Cafe Gandolphi in Merchant City. It's probably the only quality time we have spent just the two of us in the last month! I have also probably eaten out more times in the last few weeks than I have all year - Zorbas (a Greek place in Merchant City - delicious lamb), Buongiourno in Shawlands (definitely the best pizza in the south side), Soho in town (good value food but shocking service), Piccolo Mondo (think this one features in every write up I do!), Rumours (a lovely Malaysian cafe on Bath street that sells the weirdest drink ever - bubble tea!), The Arches (pretty basic burgers) and Caravelhas in Greenock (very tasty and good value). I also tried a chinese buffet which was surprisingly tasty - although I have never seen so much food in my life!
As if that wasn't enough for one month I also managed a wee theatre trip (Carousel) which was traditional but still enjoyable, two visits to Register House in Edinburgh to continue with Ross's family tree and help a friend with hers, a works night out to celebrate the end of our 'Big Thinking' consultation - aptly named 'Big Drinking', and a works leaving do for the first staff member I hired - sad days! Ross has been keeping himself busy with football, selling our cars (we're hopefully getting a new car this month!) and a trip tp the Scotland rugby game where he managed 14 hours solid drinking...
Last weekend my brother Richard, sister in law Diane and nephew Xander visited. We went to Xscape during the day - Richard snowboarded and Xander sledged. Xander experienced his first slush puppie, ride on an escalator, a bus, a taxi and the dodgems! Richard and Di then went to Alien Wars which is meant to be very scary so Ross and I are definitely going to go before it finishes at the end of the month.
We've also had a few more viewers at the flat so fingers crossed I'll be able to update with some better house news next month!
Happy 30th to my friends Reena and Sarah! Happy birthday to my dad and happy mothers day to my mam! Oh and a shout out to Aileen who is on the road to recovery after being in hospital. March is gonna be another busy month with shows, parties, hen nights and weddings. Do you hear me complaining??! x

February already!!

Hello chums

It's tempting snow outside again as I type but I'm wrapped up in my fleece with the heating on! I've taken a couple of days off to spend my time with my sister and her husband who just arrived from USA this morning but they're both jet lagged and fast asleep!

January was a nice month even though the weather was terrible. My folks visited early in the month to view a house that we really like. They both liked it although it needs a lot of work. However we do have a note of interest on our flat so I'm crossing all fingers and toes that it will be a good year house wise for us!

I had a couple of work trips this month to London and Birmingham which were fun. I like getting out of the office occasionally - plus I managed a wee trip to Selfridges ;o)

Of course January is Celtic Connections month so I took part in the torchlit parade to launch the festival and went to two concerts and the festival club seeing loads of excellent bands including La Bottine Souriante, Le Verd du Nord, Salsa Celtica, Battlefield Band, Michael McColdrick, Bruce Mcgregor, Duncan Chisholm, Iain McFarlane, Brian McAlpine and of course my good pal Julie Fowlis. Fantastic!

I've been trying to stick to my resolution of going to the gym three nights a week which I am just about managing along with 2 rehearsals a week so some days my bones are aching! Mind you I am still enjoying the good life eating out lots at places like Cafe Source (wonderful find), Wagamama (good), Piccolo Mondo (lovely again), Malmaison (good company and food but pricey) and Pulcinella (Italian nosh as you would expect!). I did manage to stay off the booze for a good few weeks in Jan but it didn't make me feel any different so I'm now back on again and loving it ;o)

I went to the optician to get my eyes tested - can't believe it's been over 2 years since I last got them tested but would you believe they are actually better than 2 years ago!! I still needed a new prescription though so I chose 2 totally new styles for a change.

Last weekend I was persuaded to try some of Glasgow's finest bars whilst walking home from work. Well, it was certainly an experience! We had a great time in bars like The Sou'Western, Laurieston, Star Bar, Maxwell Rd and Kellys. Good wholesome fun!

On Saturday we went to a Burns Supper with the usual poetry, singing, haggis and drams. Ross and I were very well behaved though and were home by 11.30pm!

Things are busying up now with rehearsals so if anyone wants to come and see Boogie Nights from 24-28th March let me know!

Happy birthday to my friends Eilidh and Jane and my sister in law Diane. A very BIG happy ruby wedding anniversary to mum and dad - here's to the next 40 years!! xxx

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year to you all - if anyone is actually still out there reading this! I had a lovely Christmas and New Year - albeit a bit frantic. Thankfully my results came back just fine so I guess I must've just been run down and needing a break!
However I managed to pull myself together in time for the work Christmas party - Hollywood themed - which was good fun even though I wasn't my usual party self. I had a tan, pulled on a LBD and got my hair done (it is now v short!!) and managed a few french martinis and karaoke ;o)
Amy Macdonald at the Barrowlands was excellent - apart from the fact I got the date wrong and almost went a day early - oops!
Just before Christmas we went to view a house for the first time in weeks, mainly because we got a viewer for our flat which instilled some hope! I really liked it as did Ross although he doesn't know the area of Cathcart very well. We are going to go and see it again this weekend when my folks come to visit. The same night we went to Anarkali for dinner (excellent as always) and Zizzi for dinner on Christmas Eve (pretty disappointing). Town was dead on Christmas Eve - we couldn't believe it - so we were home before midnight to crack open some champagne!
Christmas Day was lovely - definitely the best Christmas I've had down in Gourock (last year I was dying with a bug!). Ross's Aunt Mhairi and Uncle Alan came round so we talked about topical issues, sung songs, played guitar, ate lots of food and drunk lots of bubbly!
Boxing day was a quiet one getting organised for heading up North on the 27th for our friend Derek's 50th birthday party in Dingwall. It was lovely catching up with family friends and watching the video montage they had put together for Derek's birthday (with my parents dressing up and doing a comedy sketch!).
Sunday 28th was our second Christmas dinner with the whole family (except my sis in America) followed by the usual quiz and Singstar fun. Everyone was really chuffed with their presents - I got all the boys a ticket to the final day at the Open Championships which they loved. I received some lovely presents also - a gucci necklace, gucci earrings, Alien perfume, Zebra print bag, shoes, CDs, make up, shirt, slippers, Radley passport holder, Skibo Castle golfwear and lots more. We did a lot of walking up North as the weather was beautiful - thick frost on the trees and fences glistened in the sunshine. We give granny her DVD player and set that up for her and I went shopping with my mum in temperatures of minus 8 degrees!
It was a slow drive back to Glasgow on Hogmanay as our windscreen washers were frozen the whole way and we couldn't see a blooming thing! But the night time made up for it as we had a lovely steak pie dinner with our pals David, Elaine, Alex and John, followed by taking in the bells with 200 folk at Bungo in the Bells (back lanes behind our house) and a 5am party at our friends Sarah and John's (wth Trevor, Steph, Russel and Louisa).
On New Years Day we had Ross's folks round for more steak pie and more champagne by which point my body was struggling to cope with the amount of alcohol consumption! I managed a couple more drinks over the weekend at my friend George's flat in Shawlands and then we went to The Bothy for lunch (very good for a G1 establishment). My New Year's resolutions are to walk up the 4 flights of stairs to work every day, stay off the booze until 24th Jan, get back to the gym regularly and eat more healthily. I have also made a promise to get back into my genealogy studies to finish off Ross's family tree! I sense January will be a busy month as I also have rehearsals for my next show (Boogie Nights 24th-28th March), two Burns Suppers and Celtic Connections concerts. I am also planning going to a cocktail night early Feb if anyone is up for it?
Both Ross and my wee sis Donna started their new jobs on Monday so I hope all goes well for them. It was very strange getting the bus to work with Ross and we keep tripping over each other in the mornings!
Anyway, happy birthday to my sister Carrie, mum-in-law Irma, my mum, pals Laura and Vicki and almost brother-in-law Neil who all had birthdays in December. An advance happy birthday to my brother Richard and granny in January (why do they all have birthdays during the 'skint' period?!!). Only a month until my sister arrives back from USA - can't wait! x