It's not even the new year and the tennis is already back...

Is the whinge that I'm hearing from my Dad. 'Tis not my fault, 'tis not the tennis player's fault. It's just the way it is. And it's on, because I like to watch the tennis.

Principessa had a lovely mood on today. She was so good while we were at the bookshop and coffeeshop. Grandand left us in the coffeeshop to have our drinks, so it was just Principessa and me, and it was soooo nice having mummy-daughter time while we were out. That doesn't happen too often because if Principessa decides she doesn't want to be good, I am unable to get the wheelchair moving fast enough to catch her. But it was lovely, and I am very contented this afternoon.

I have been working on a story and character outline for a story that has been niggling at the back of my head for about the last year and a half. I've started doing some proper research for it and it is feeing more and more interesting to me. I'm just having problems with the characters at the moment. I need to think more about their motivations.

The LRRH short story has also opened up some new possibilities. The character seems to have piqued my interest, so I think I might like to do some more writing with her, but also the background for the story seems to have fitted into an idea I began scribbling down last year. It may lead to some more short stories for other chararcters in that world. Woohoo!

I think I will have to transcribe the NaNo story onto computer soon, just to get back into the plot. It might help me work through some of the plot demons that are currently possessing me. I am still unsure how to work my way out of my literary prison, the dynamite device is eluding me. Harrumph!

Apart from all the writing stuff, I've still got to do a lot of work on the OU stuff. I think I might have to start sitting down at night and working through some of it. I have got to write a short essay pretty soon, though I am not too worried about that. I am more worried about the second assignment, as it is covering art, poetry and philosophy. Having never studied art or philosophy, I am a bit dubious about how I will handle it. But we'll see how it goes.

So, I am going now to write out some sort of time plan so I can fit everything into the day! I think I may have to start having early mornings, or just continue having late nights. I'll have to have a go at both to find out what time of day I am most productive.

Just one last thing;

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

The horror of bedtime.

I hate it. I really do. Taking Principessa to bed last night was completely draining and horrifying. She decided she wanted to go to sleep in Nanny's bed, but when Nanny left her room, Principessa had to go to. So Nanny told her she couldn't sleep in her room. I then then tried to take Principessa into our room, but to no avail. Cue the kick-off. Out comes the tears and the tizzyfit, and me shouting (I hate shouting at her), and the refusal to go to bed.

Nanny comes back, and Principessa squeezes past me (I am stood still on the landing, worried that Principessa might just push me over the banister to get what she wants. Yeah, she's only three, but I'm not good with balance.). Nanny then changes her mind and allows Principessa to sleep in her room. So not impressed. Things like that only teach her that if she can't get what she wants from me, she only has to go cry to Nanny. Fantastic, not. Pah! And then, this morning, Principessa tells me she doesn't need me and doesn't want me, all because I didn't put CBeebies on when she demanded it. I am so not looking forward to more days like this.

I have been looking through and trying to do some of the exercises in the prep material for the OU course. Hmmm. I'm not sure if I will do well on this, but I can only try. I am still trying to get my head around the workload of the actual course. I have to try and devise a plan so I can fit things in and around Principessa. She doesn't start school again until February, and I am just hoping that she settles in this time around. To be perfectly honest, I'm not counting on it happening.

I think I have finally finished editing my LRRH story. I think it has changed greatly from the first draft. I am feeling quite proud of it, and was thinking of submitting it to a publisher for inclusion in an anthology. Maybe I'll just submit it to a magazine instead. I think I'd feel more comfortable with submitting to a magazine first. I need to get some submission experience before I go for anthologies. Anyway, we'll see. I enjoyed writing the story, regardless.

I have had some more ideas bombarding me, this time for a sci-fi story. I'm thinking that I might be able to integrate some of these crazy dreams I have been having recently into the storyline. I just have to go and do some research into Victorian society.

I might just ressurect the NaNo story. I feel it needs revisiting for a while.

Happy Holiday!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Have a fantastic time, and may all your wishes come true.

I'm off to wrap pressies.

Brain is in subconscious overdrive.

I like sleeping. Lots. But not when my mind is playing funny tricks on me (even when these tricks could be used in a story.).

The last two nights, I have been having the strangest of strange dreams. The dream the night before last wasn't too bad, it was a chase and hide dream, so for the most part whoever I was sat back in a hiding place watching the action. And interesting action it was too, with super-fast martial arty blokes with swords...

But last night, a totally different chase type dream all together. Whoever I was happened to be on the run. It was tense and dangerous, and when it woke me up I was breathing shallow, hoarse breaths (like it was actually me legging it) and my heart was pumping like it never has in my chest. (Okay, I lie. It pumped like that a few months ago when I had another dream where I had been eviscerated by some weird alien. Well, I never said my dreams were sane!) Not only was my heart thumping and my chest hurting, but blood was hammering out some tribal beat in my head. It all made me feel quite afraid. I had to wake myself up fully before I had the chance to go back to sleep, so worried was I that I would close my eyes and the dream continue.

It only makes me think that my muse wants me to start a new story. There are some intriguing ideas appearing in the dreams of late, but by God, do they hurt!

Goal achieved!

Yay! Woohoo! I've finally broken the duck!

I have finished my LRRH short story. I can't actually believe it! It's the first piece of writing, apart from poems, that I have completed since I was in school. I feel good! I finally feel like I've achieved something. Now all I have to do is work out my plot angsts for what was the NaNo story and get going again with that.

*Sigh*

Oh, on other things, Principessa insisted on writing a letter to Grandand the other night before she went to sleep. Here it is.

Dear Grandand,
I wanted to give you a postcard.
Gently and Doctor are lost.
I love you lots and lots, Grandand.
Captain DJ jumps up and down.
Captain DJ gets her feet stuck.
Nina doing handstanding.
Mister Maker sits down to read his book.
Charlie and Lola scratch their heads.
Captain DJ is so really tired.
Captain DJ is drinking her bottle o' tea.
Principessa wants to be a mouth.
Captain DJ is fixing all of his walls.
Captain DJ is clapping her hands.
Captain DJ is brushing her teeth.
Principessa is eating her dinner.
Mummy needs to help Principessa.
Principessa is going to the hospital.
Principessa is so really tired.
We having a bath, splashing.
Principessa is going to do painting.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Principessa loves Nanny lots and lots.
Principessa is doing the spiders.
Can you tell a note for Mr. Tumble?
Mr. Tumble is sliding up the bed.
Mr. Tumble is swimming on the beach.
Principessa is doing the shadow.
Principessa loves Mummy too.
Captain DJ jumped off the bed and hurt her back.
Lots of love, Principessa xxxxxxx
(C) Principessa 2007

The Golden Compass.

********SPOILERS**********

I don't see what all the fuss is about. Having read the books and enjoyed them immensely, I thought the film, despite a few key omissions, was good. Yeah, good. Not great, but good. I feel that for the sake of possibly a half hour extra, with some attention being paid to the important little details, this film could have been a masterpiece.

For instance, the fact that Lyra is an habitual liar was hardly touched upon, so when she spun her fib about being Iorek's demon to Ragnar, the Ice Bear King, it lost some of its impact. This lie was important as Lyra was lying 'for the good', but due to the fact that her lying hadn't been much touched upon earlier in the film it gave a key moment in the storyline a very lack-lustre, put in as an afterthought, feeling.

Another point that got my goat was that not enough emphasis was placed on the fear of the Gobblers. There was hardly a mention of the Gobblers, even though this was a very important plot device.

At the start of the film, and the introduction of Lord Asriel, I feel another important plot device was missing. In the book, during his presentation about Dust, he shows the board a skull that has had holes drilled into it. This device of trepanning is important further along into the story and would be part of the second film.

But anyway, apart from this, I thought the film was more or less faithful to the book. The CGI effect for Lyra reading the alethiometer was overused and detracted from the film a little, though it was a good idea. I was very happy that enough screen time had been devoted to the fight between Iorek and Ragnar, as this was a turning point for Iorek. The fight between the Gyptians and the Samoyed guards a Bolvangar was also given the screen time it was owed.

I had been reading reviews and some mentioned that the last few chapters had been omitted. I can see why this was done, and the film was ended at a logical point, but if they had gone that little bit further I am sure they could have ended it on more of a cliffhanger.

That all being said, I think that the makers have made a suitable on-screen representation of Philip Pullman's 'Northern Lights'. I can understand some of the omissions in the story for the purpose of making the film, and at least the producers and screenwriters didn't just rip pages out of the book and deem them suitable enough as I fear was the case with Christopher Paolini's 'Eragon'.

Christmas is coming...

But at least I only have one pressie to wrap up. Well, one pressie that I can get my hands on. I'm hoping Principessa's and Gaz's pressies get here before Christmas. I am kind of losing hope for Gaz's pressie. Ho hum!

We still have to get a tree. I have no idea where the tree was put away last year (yeah, a plastic tree :( No smell of pine and the great outdoors here.), or the deccos, for that matter. So it's a new tree this year. About time too, I say, because the tree we have has been making it's yearly appearance now for at least the last 10 years.

Principessa is all happy again. She can watch her already extensive DVD collection now that the DVD player has been sorted out. Something went wrong with the original one, it just stopped playing the discs. I think Principessa night have overworked the poor thing! Anyway, Grandand took it back to the shop and they gave us a new one. When we put the new one on, we could hear the audio, but there was no picture. We tried switching buttons around and blah blah blah, but nothing would reinstate the picture. Grandand took that one back the other day, they gave him a replacement, and now Principessa has turned into a girl with DVDs in her eyes. She was so excited this morning when she realised she could come downstairs and watch Shaun the Sheep and Charlie and Lola.

I think I'm going to have to buckle down and do some OU stuff now. I will get all worried and frustrated and disappointed with myself if I don't give it a go. I am still feeling all intimidated though.

You gotta love Bruce!

So, I wouldn't normally advertise an aftershave, but it's Bruce, and he's singing Duran Duran's Hungry Like The Wolf.

Fantastic!

And they say about the Acropolis where the Parthenon is...

Well, that doesn't really matter. What matters is that QI is a fantastic show, and only on QI would you have Jimmy Carr and Bill Bailey make Stephen Fry break down in laughter by singing "And they say about the Acropolis where the Parthenon is..." after he had a block with speaking. 'Twas great! But after watching the outtakes, it only confirmed that I still want to live in Johnny Vegas's head.







Okay, this isn't the outtakes, but still.

PANIC!!!

Sorry for the three exclamation marks, but 'tis how I feel. I received the first half of my OU course today, and just looking at it scares me. I am in a state of panic, depression, hap-hazard failure, and disappointment. Disappointed that I am already letting it get to me before the course has even started. I'm not even through the first week of the prep material. ARGH!

I think I need to be beaten around the head with a kipper, or something of the like. Why do I do these things to myself? It's not even started yet, and already I am not giving myself a chance to ease myself in. Talk about dumb. If I just shut my internal dialogue and think about this logically I might get somewhere. But no, I look at the materials and fold. Bah!

On writing... The LRRH story seems to be going okay. I'm quite surprised that it is. It is good that a little bit of inspiration has edged its way into my mulchy brain. I still haven't done much with the NaNo story since December, though I might have a little bit of movement in my thinking for that one. I've also been thinking a lot about my kid's story, and there might be a little more writing on that one too. Woohoo!

Well, back to the tippy-tapping on LRRH.

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Brrr! Shiver...

It's bloody cold! Okay, I know it's probably not as cold here as it is in other places in the world, but for here, and for me, it's bloody freezing! I have to say though, it's the first morning I've got up (thank you Principessa, I had I lie in until about 9.30am) and there has still been ice on the road. BRRRRRRR! I know I'd complain, but I just wish we had some snow, then it would be worth being cold.

Nanny is downstairs at the moment, as Principessa has kicked Nanny out of her room so she can watch the TV. She is such a little miss! She was very lovely this morning, getting up on the chair on the landing so that she could give me a hug a and a kiss. When I went into Nanny's room, she jumped up on Nanny's bed so she could continue with the hugging. Aw, she is so sweet! I just hope she gets out of this phase of calling things 'bloody'. (She shouts at her books; 'Get up there, you bloody books,' she will say.)

I am still stalled with my story. I think I need my starter motor kicked! I've not stopped writing completely though. I've started writing a short story, the first since I was about 16 years old. Long time ago! I am having a go at writing an updated version of Little Red Riding Hood. So far, I think it is going well. But I think I realised what one of my writing problems is while pondering on words for the new story. My brain works faster than my hands, and I continually mull things around, even when I'm not writing, so I can almost write the whole story in my head way before I write it on paper. This causes my head to think that the story is done, causing me then to stall. I don't exactly know how I am going to get around this, but I will have to work something out.

Feeling like a fraud.

I am banging my head against a brick wall. I have completely stalled with the writing. I think I have managed about 370 words over the last 10 days. Awful! I really need to have a guaranteed couple of hours to myself to work through the mulch that is the story, and unstick my feet from the boggy ground. Ho hum!

I am getting more and more anxious about the OU course. I'm worried that I wont have the time to do it, that the bits I do do will be horrendous, basically that I'll be crap at the course full stop. Can you tell my confidence is shot at the moment? Yeah? Damn, I thought I was hiding it well.

Principessa has been learning some new nursery rhymes lately. Nanny taught her Little Miss Muffet and Little Jack Horner. Well, Little Jack Horner changed his name to Captain DJ, and he doesn't pull plums out of pies. No, he pulls out bananas, apples and grapes. She is also insisting on singing 'Bluest skies', otherwise known as Sweet Child O' Mine by G'n'R, late at night. She's a funny little girl, she calls me Mummy Alligator or Mummy Crocodile ever since I taught her how to say 'See you later, alligator. In a while, crocodile.'

Improve your vocab and earn rice.

Have a look. Go to freerice.com. Have fun learning new words, while earning grains of rice for charity.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Finally! I have started breaking through my block. It wasn't so much a problem with the writing, but a problem with the plot.

I knew I needed something to happen for something else to work later on in the story. Now, I've just moved from the story of the two main characters to the proper introduction of the antagonist, but something wasn't working. (Lots of somethings here, I know!) This, I am sure, is the reason for becoming stuck. Last night, as I sat in bed vegging out in front of the TV, something clicked. I think it might have been the fairy of inspiration bashing me over the head with the Twisty-Turny-Stick-Of-Twisty-Turny-Plotting. *Phew* I thought I was going to be obsessing about it for ever! So, I think that this might be significant enough to pull me through and get me writing frequently again.

The weather has been so bad lately that I haven't been able to take Principessa out. We need to go and buy some paper for her to scribble on, as the walls have been taking a battering due to the lack of paper. Argh! I also need to buy some pads for me.

I will have to start having a look through the preparatory material for my OU course. Yes, it's here! I am starting to worry though, I am feeling like I have bitten off more than I can chew with it. But, if I don't at least try, then I must be stupid!

I am not so worried about Christmas, however, as I have more or less everything done. Pressies have been bought. Pressies have been wrapped. Pressies for everyone, that is, but Principessa. She changes her mind so often that I am waiting for the 20th to go out and buy her stuff. I think I will be buying a wooden castle for her because she talks about castles so much. I will also get her some characters too, Prince and Princess, Wizard and Dragon etc. I am sure that the Night Garden characters will be living there though!

Autosports Awards.

Last night, Dad and I did what we always do on a Tuesday; we watched Spooks, but made time to watch the second episode on BBC3. When that had finished, I happened to turn over and catch the end of the Autosports Awards (didn't even know they had awards!). I'm glad I did, as Lewis Hamilton was there, scooping all the awards.

To begin, he won Rookie of the Year for his rookie year in F1. But then he won the next two awards, Best British Competition Driver and Best International Competition Driver. Fantastic as that was, I enjoyed the presentation of the awards by Viviane Senna more. Aw, he was so star struck! You could see he was getting all emotional when she compared him to her brother, Ayrton Senna. It was good to see. Made me smile, it did.

I still haven't picked up pen and paper. My brain was mulching last night, however, on how to continue the story, so I think I may try and break my writing dam today. I am feeling a bit better about it, so today is as good a day as any (or, as my fingers tried to type, as food a day as any).

But first, I must build a 'car-sle' with Principessa.

Momentum halted!

Well, the feeling of 'WooHoo' at reaching 10,000 words has been followed with the massive deflation of momentum, 'Whump'. The brain has flat-lined, the hand is refusing to do any work, citing writer's cramp, and there is a general feeling of blahness. Hmph.

I was feeling so good at the end of the month, but now I feel like a crumpled up piece of paper. Argh! I want to write, but I can't bring myself to do any. I'm wondering if I should just give myself a little break, but at the same time, I can't stop thinking about the story (Grrr, Principessa, you're letting the warm out again!) and working on some little twists. Maybe I should just take a break and let these ideas percolate in the Giant Coffepot of Thoughts and Plot Things, and pick up a pen later in the week.

I think the added pressure of filling out stupid amounts of forms has also deadened the writing process. Forms for the Open Uni, forms for the DSA, forms for tests of resources. Too many forms. The thought of a pen a paper puts me into Fear of Forms shock!

I think I need more sleep and a brain that feels less like squished cotton wool. (I hope the trip to the bookshop with Principessa this afternoon will help with this.)

Objective accomplished.

Yay! I did it! It is a small victory, but the word count for November ended at 10,070 words. Now I've just got to keep it going though December. All I need to do now is to cut the days I slack off. I know, I only slacked off for 5 days last month, but if I had written 300 words per day on those days, I would have reached 11,500 words. Ah poo!

I think I need to break the TV in my bedroom again. I ended up vegging out in front of it last night, instead of sleeping or doing something more productive. I don't think I would have been able to do anything though, Principessa had pounded my brain to mush by refusing to go to sleep until around 11.00pm. She just had to play Oopsy-Daisy and Tombly-boos slide on Mummy's matress! But still, even though she was being a pain, she was still cute.

So, the winter sport season has started. I have been watching the biathlon and ski-jumping. Oh, and a little bit of skiing. I winced when I heard about what had happened to one of the guys who was among the favourites to win the Ski World Championships. His name is Aksel Lund Svindal, and during a training session on Friday he crashed, resulting in a broken nose and cheekbone, and a 13 cm long tear between his groin and rear. OUCH! That last injury does not sound good. I'm wincing now, just writing about it.

I think I should get back to writing. Principessa is pre-occupied with Nanny, so I have a little free time.

Approaching 10,000 words and the stupidness of PC

I'm nearly there! Just got about another 70 to write, and I'll have hit my goal! Yay me! I am feeling quite satisfied with myself for getting this far. Now I have to set my goal for December.

December writing goal: 10,000 words @ 325 words per day.

I think I may better this, as I am sure I could get about 500 words per day on most days. Let's hope I haven't jinxed myself by saying that!

Well, enough of my self-praise (it's not often I get to do that though!). I ended up watching a program called 'This Week' just before I went to bed last night. I wish I hadn't, as it stopped me going to sleep. It set my mind off.

The section of the program that I caught had singer Katie Melua talking about immigration and integration. Some of what she said was quite true . The English government (not really the rest of the UK) are stupidly aggressively politically correct (PC), causing the identity of England to be pulled out from under us. Just because the government do not want to offend other cultures, England has had to relinquish its culture. How dumb is that? The Irish, Scots and Welsh are fiercely proud of their culture and heritage, and they make a point of how important it is to them, but recent years have seen practices of the English almost outlawed. We are allowed to openly celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the Irish Saint's day, but the English have to fight to celebrate St. George's Day. It's seen as an insult for us to put the flag of St. George up, as we might offend other cultures. I see that as an offence against our own culture.

I remember when I was younger; it was not a crime for a school to put on a Nativity play. But now schools, and even workplaces and churches, are seen to be causing offence to other religions. Okay, so I am not particularly religious, but the Nativity used to be a big part of Christmas tradition, and contributed to some of the magic of Christmas when I was a child. How wrong is it to steal that tradition from our younger generation? We also used to celebrate Mayday with dances around a Maypole. I haven’t seen that practice for a long time. I haven’t seen a school fete around here for ages, another part of the Mayday celebration.

How can people who come to this country be expected to integrate into the society if there is nothing there for them to use as a starting point. Afternoon tea and scones is not enough of a start. What is the point of pussyfooting around people who enter our country, by respecting their culture, if we haven’t got a culture for them to respect? This country, even for all its good points, is a farce thanks to the government.

(By the way, I do not support the BNP, too extreme for me. I sit and shout at the TV, and that’s as far as my politics go. Well, and now here too.)

Blah!

Day 28: 542 words
Day 29: 299 words
Day 30: 84 words (so far)

Hehehehe

So the "Mind the gap" lady of the London Underground has been sacked for having a sense of humour and recording spoofs of announcments and putting them on her website. This spoof just made me laugh out loud!

boomp3.com

Other spoofs can be found here.

Money for scrap paper.

I had to go to the doctors last night to get a doctor's letter to confirm the LGMD, because the OU had sent me a form to apply for Disability Student's Allowance (DSA), even though I can't be bothered applying for it. What a farce! Five minutes to get my info up on the computer, scribble down a few words on a sheet of headed A5, cost; £10! Unbelievable! I wish I could earn a tenner for five minutes work.

On the subject of the OU, I have just got to sort out the last of this DSA form, confirm something on the registration form, and I'm all sorted to start in February. Kirsty came around yesterday, and we sorted out her form for financial support, asked for a new submission date as she had missed the first one because she is waiting for her passport. So at least she can do the OU course too. After all, it was Kirsty who suggested doing a course, and then we trawled through the site to see what was on offer. As we both want to improve our English, we have chosen to do a BA (Hons) Humanities and English Language. I'm looking forward to one of the last courses we will study as it is a creative writing course.

Well, I didn't write any more on the story last night. Instead I went to bed at 9.30pm. Principessa was still awake, so if I start going to bed earlier maybe she will start going to sleep earlier. I'm hoping it will get her into a pattern. I am continuing with getting up early and doing some writing before Principessa wakes up, though.

Day 28: 506 words (with more later, hopefully.)

Oh, so very tired.

I wish I hadn't asked my Dad to wake me this morning before he left for work. But I had to make sure I would get some writing done. I was quite pleased with what was written over the hour I could concentrate. Then I put the book down, snuggled back into bed and sort of drifted in and out of sleep for an hour before Principessa woke up smiling.

I think I should be on target for the 10,000 words this month. Over last night and this morning I scribbled down just under 1,100 words. So to reach 10,000 I have just over another 1,100 to do over the next three days. I'm feeling quite confident at the moment, but I'm sure that will change (it's inevitable when you are an optimistic pessimist!).

It's surprising where this story is taking me. When I was planning I knew I needed to have some way of introducing a plot device - at that time I didn't even know what the plot device was - and I was having some trouble. Last night, while writing, it just introduced itself with no prior warning! (Thinking about it, that is a lie. The plot device had previously been introduced, though I didn't know until last night that I would use it for this part of the story.) It sounds silly, as if I had no choice in the matter. I suppose I didn't. It was a necessary part of the story, and the story took care of itself, making sure that the things that were needed had been included.

I had always wondered about this phenomenon when reading how other writers described how some parts of a story just write themselves, of how a story could take on a life of its own. I was very suspicious of this, thinking that they were just working to a plan and making the writing process sound more fantastical than it is by saying such things. Now I realise why it hasn't happened to me sooner. I didn't believe in the intrinsic rules of writing, of trusting that the part of me that is my muse would take care of important little details such as plot devices if I just let it run free with the pen and paper. I'm glad it has happened, as it was something that I had to learn.

Day 26: 669 words
Day 27: 424 words (so far. I'll still do some more writing before I go to sleep tonight.)

Good news!

Yay me! I received a letter this afternoon informing me that I had qualified for a grant to cover the course fees for the first part of my Open Uni course. Woohoo! At least I don't have to worry about that now. Just have to send the registration confirmation off now.

Birthday and Opera

It was my birthday yesterday. I spent most of it feeling quite low, but that's just the aging process for you ;)

I went to my favourite restaurant, Sapporo Teppanyaki, for a meal. Ooohh, yum yum! I really love the food there. I had Ika Tempura (battered, deep fried squid), Maki sushi, duck in raspberry sauce with fried rice, vegetables and potatoes, and ice cream for dessert. Kayte told them it was my birthday, so they came out with drums and tambourines and a special birthday ice-cream 'cake' singing happy birthday. Much fun was had by all (especially when drinking the sake/pimms/ginger ale cocktail.)

On Saturday night I went to see 'Carmen'. It was the first time I have been to watch an opera, and I was quite impressed. The sets were good, the costumes were fantastic (the flamenco skirts were amazing, I wanted one!), and the music was great. The only problem I had was that at some points the orchestra was much louder than the singers, and the woman playing Carmen didn't have a fantastic voice. In parts she almost sounded like a pre-pubescent boy when his voice is breaking. The surtitles also helped me a bit, not knowing the language. Someone said that the surtitles distracted from the opera, but I didn't think they did, in fact, there were times I was totally enraptured by what as going on on the stage that I completely forgot to read what was on the surtitle screen. I think I may have to go and see another opera soon (Madame Butterfly, hopefully!)

Principessa has been a funny one lately. I bought two teddies, one for her and one for me, and you can take the wheat bag stomach out of them and warm them in the microwave. Principessa was quite impressed by that last night, but over Friday and Saturday, she has just been playing with the teddy. She called her ted Jack, and I called mine Frax, after one of the characters in my story. Well, Principessa has decided that Frax is the more cuddly, and has robbed him! Cheeky monkey.

She was in the car when Grandand picked us up last night. She was having fun with Uncle Gaz playing with her Lunar Jim slippers when she turned to Gaz and said:

"Nanny said she would take the scissors to Jim!"

I couldn't help but laugh at that! I told Nanny, and Nanny said she was a fibber!

Hmmm, NaNo. Not been going too well. I have decided that my goal is to get 10,000 words before the end of the month. So far I have around 7800 words, so I have to do 2200 words in the next four days. That's 550 words per day. Hmm, that's some work to do. At least it seems to be going somewhere now!

Day 23: 538 words
Day 24: 429 words
Day 25: 0 words

World's Worst Book Title.

This article tickled me - World's Worst Book Title - as it reminded me of something that happened when Principessa was younger.

Uncle Gaz and Grandand had been fixing her cot, lowering the matress slats so that she couldn't climb out. When they were finished, Gaz shouted to me "Do you want me to put Pooh in the cot?" Well, my confusion at this question resulted in the answer "Why would I want pooh in the cot?" Then I realised, Gaz had meant the Winnie the Pooh lullaby and night-light toy. Duh! Silly me!

The writing didn't go according to plan last night. I did have it in my head that I would write after Principessa went to sleep. Unfortunately, I fell asleep too. Bugger! So now I have loads to catch up on today. But now the problems arise as I can't seem to get my head into writing mode (apart from writing this, however. Writing a blog post isn't a problem!), and the words are scratching themselves, like a metal glove down a blackboard, from my brain. Hmph!

Day 22: 82 words (said I didn't do too well yesterday.)

Run ragged!

Yawn. Feeling slightly tired today.

Principessa is being difficult this morning. She woke up so nicely, and we had a lovely 10 minute hug before things started going iffy. Then the computer rage began. I think she is slightly addicted. She is, at present, playing on the Night Garden game on the CBeebies website.

I had a letter from the hospital yesterday. I needed to make a follow-up appointment for the sleep tests. Eeps. I am hoping that it is just to say that things are still where they were last year, and that they will keep monitoring me on a yearly basis. Anyway, I called up to make the appointment, and the earliest date they had was April! I'm hoping that means I'm okay.

The NaNo writing is going quite well, if slowly. (Wow, that's not what I originally wanted to write! I think my muse took over there while I was yawning and typing at the same time!) I am still worried that what I am writing isn't good, but I am shutting down the inner critic and just putting one word after another.

Day 20: 283 words
Day 21: 429 words.

(Ooo, just found this band on the net. I quite like 'em. There is a kind of ethereal quality to their music. This song, however, is a cover. )

30 Days Of Night.

Well. Hmmm. What to say? I'm not actually sure if I liked this, as it left me with a strange sense of unfinished-ness and nothingness. Hmmm.

******SPOILERS*********

So, the film was bleak. In all respects. The setting was bleak and the outlook was bleak. Set in the frozen wastes of Alaska, the town shuts down for 30 days of night. Many of the town’s inhabitants up and move out during this time citing reasons such as "You know I can't live without sunlight", leaving the few who can brave out the darkness.

Enter strange blokie who leads the vampires to the town. He is mysterious, as we never know who he is. He is annoying, as he speaks in this horrible voice that reminded me of Adam Sandler doing his stupid kid voice in Little Nicky.

The main characters of the film are the town sheriff and the lone fire officer, who doesn't quite make it to the airport in time to leave the sun-forsaken town. Oh, and these two are no longer in a relationship (plot device to give a bit of tension. Laura said that in the graphic novel they were still together). These two apprehend strange blokie in the town tavern, and take him back to the police house to put him in his cell, where he starts ranting on about how 'they' are coming, and they are coming for him.

'They', of course, are the vampires. But not your regular loner vampires. No, these are pack animals, complete with alpha male and female (the alpha male bloke looked like one of the kids presenters on CBeebies!) leaders. Another thing about them, they seemed more zombie-like than vampire-like. The only likeness to vampires they had was their pointy teeth and their aversion to sunlight. They spoke a strange language of what sounded like Russian mixed with various clicks and clacks. I'm not sure this added to the film or not. In the area of vampire creation, the only way not to turn a victim was to decapitate them, and a scratch could turn a victim just as easily as a bite could. Hmmm.

Well, after the introduction, it all goes a bit Stephen King. You know the pretence, a small core of characters trying to find a way to outwit the bad guys. They find somewhere to hole up, but they know they will have to move to get supplies and keep the bad guys guessing as to their whereabouts. Cue bad guys finding a lone member of the community and using her as bait. When it doesn't work, the vamps, who really enjoy playing with their foods and are very messy eaters, chow down on the girl, leaving an opportunity for the hero to take a quick run to see what is going on. He bumps into another member of the community who has been hiding under buildings, tries to help him, and then discovers that he has been turned. Here is where the hero finds that taking an axe to the neck works wonders. The vamps find the body not long after and are now aware that their next meal now knows how to defend themselves.

Now things start happening. The group move out during a huge blizzard, stop off at the shop to stock up, and end up having to kill a little girl who has been turned. Then they hole up at the police house where strange blokie has now disappeared after the vamps visit earlier during the film. Another group member has been infected and asks to be killed rather than being allowed to live forever (wishful thinking there, as hero cop wields an axe now, and has vampire lumberjack tendencies). This is where the outcast of the town gets his martyrdom. He jumps into a snowplough (or something like that, it has a what looks like a huge chainsaw on its front.) and using that and a shotgun ploughs (no pun intended) through a fair few of these mangy vamps. He bursts into the local hotel, gets out of the plough with a box of dynamite and tells the vamps they ain't gonna eat him. He drops a flare in the dynamite 'KABANG', but guess what? IT doesn't kill him. But the vamps don't eat him anyway, preferring instead, to step on his head. If the vamps are so hungry, why?

So a bit of to and fro-ing goes on, a bright idea of using Grandma's pot growing UV lights dispatches alpha female, and most of the group move to the power plant. A vamp follows a straggler to the plant, infects said straggler after a big fight including some of the other group members, and is killed in a big machine. The hero gets his lumberjack craze back on and hacks the infected blokes head off (why, when he could have just been tipped into vamp eating machine?), then decides he must inject himself with some vamp blood as the only way to save the village. (Hm, after re-reading that, he would not have been able to harvest vamp blood if the body had been tipped into vamp eating machine. Duh! Silly me!)

Meanwhile, top dog vamp (TDV) is worried that after spending time making people believe that vamps are just a bad dream, they are about to be outed as real. They break the oil pipeline that runs through the town, setting the spilled oil on fire.

Newly infected hero (NIH) now goes out to stand against evil vamps, and has a one on one punch up with TDV. NIH kills TDV, and the other vamps just disappear. NIH goes off to watch the sunrise with separated girlfriend; turns to dust and bits of him float away. The end.

Which, to me, was a very non-ending ending. I don't know, I still can't work out if I liked it or not. There just seemed to be something missing that would have made it a good film. It might have been the uses of the main characters separation as a way of introducing tension, if the story in the novel was good enough, why change it? It could have been the un-vampire like vampires, and the way they shook their heads when chowing down (if they were actually eating the victims it might be understandable, but as they only have a thirst?). Maybe it was the whole biting thing. Traditional vampires bite not only for food, but also as a way of reproducing. This was completely overlooked when it became apparent that just a scratch could turn a victim, thus turning vampires into simple monsters with none of the gothic sensuality. I suppose it's another way of highlighting terrorism. Ah well.

Give me traditional vampires any day.

Cybernation avoided!

So, I got to the hospital, fully expecting to have all the electro-stickers done, and they handed me the little finger monitor. Yay, but ow! The finger monitor is so much easier to handle, having a finger clip and a little computer on a wrist strap, but it is equally as awkward as the larger machine to sleep with. I kept worrying that I might switch the machine off accidentally by leaning on it. Argh! By about 6am the nail on my little finger was hurting where the finger clip pressed against it. I should try to get an engineering degree and work on machines that make it more comfortable to do sleep studies with! Now I just have to wait for the results.

I would like to thank Joe at CPAP.co.uk for sending me an e-mail about other mask options if it does transpire that I have sleep apnoea.

Tonight, I will have a much more enjoyable experience (I hope!)as it is the rearranged day for my cinema trip with Laura to see 30 Days Of Night. I know it is a vampire film, and I know it is based on the graphic novels of the same title, but I don't know what to expect from it. I've not read the graphic novels, and I have not seen much about the film (I have purposefully not looked it up. I think I annoyed Laura when we went to see Eragon by tutting and shaking my head at the complete mess they made of that film), so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I will report back tomorrow.

Onto NaNo matters. My inner critic has reared its ugly head again. I am worried that everything I am writing is utter poop. I am still writing, but my head is telling me "What's the point? It's no good!" I am trying to stifle the little bugger, to put a pillow over its little critical face and smoother it, but it keeps popping up! I have invested in a course by Holly Lisle called How To Beat Writers Block to help me beat this little voice into submission. When I get a spare quiet hour I shall work through the course.

Day 19: 604 words.

Don't you just hate those moments...

When someone walks up to you and starts talking to you, but you don't remember whom that person is? That happened to me yesterday. I had been to ASDA with Grandand and Principessa, and just as we were leaving this woman walks up to me and asks me how I am. Argh, mind blank, cogs working, and I'm sure she could see the ticker-tape flicking in my eyes of non-recognition. It's bad enough that I didn't remember who she was, but I felt even more ignorant because I was having trouble speaking as I was choking on my cough! Why didn't Lemony Snickett forewarn me about these unfortunate events!

This morning wasn't much fun either. I don't know why I do it, but when I sleep I slide down the bed, and this makes it harder for me to sit up when I wake up. Well, I got stuck this morning to the point of tiredness and panic. This, in turn, woke Principessa up, and she got all upset.

"Where are you going, babe?" I asked her as she jumped up and started getting off the bed.

"To get Nanny to help you, Mummy."

"No! Don't wake Nanny up. It's very early in the morning and Nanny will get mad if we wake her up now."

"Don't worry Mummy, I'll help you."

Awww, she is so sweet. Principessa's offer of help buoyed me up, so I told her not to worry and to go back to sleep. I managed to get myself sitting up, finally, and Principessa got all upset again.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to get Nanny."

"Nanny is still asleep. It's okay now. I don't need help, I'm all sorted."

"Okay, I must go back to sleep now."

If only... She gave me a big cuddle to make sure I was okay, and then we talk about Petey the bear that had spent the night downstairs. Then more talk, a little bit of playing and a little bit of crying, before she went back to sleep - about an hour and a half later. I was glad of the extra sleep. By the time I woke again Principessa had snuggled right underneath the duvet, so if you didn't know she was there you wouldn't know she was there, and appeared to have gone into hibernation. Three years old and impossible to wake up!

Later on today I am off to the hospital to have sensor stickers placed on my face, neck, chest, legs and arms. They are being put there so I can do a sleep study tonight. Just before I go to bed, I attach wires to the stickers and jack myself into a little computer that tests my breathing, blood pressure and blood gases while I sleep. This is to make sure that I don't stop breathing while I am asleep. If I do stop breathing, it is to monitor the number of times I stop breathing per hour. If I stop fifteen times or more per hour, then I am considered to suffer with sleep apnoea. This means I have to use a CPAP machine. Not fun. I can't stand having things put over my face; it sends me into a panic. I don't know what I'd do of I had to use one of the elephant CPAP masks. I just hope the remnants of this cold don't push me over the fifteen times mark. Last year when this was done I had stopped breathing 13 times per hour.

On to the NaNo. I have finally started to introduce the main characters of the story. Phew! I thought I was never going to get there! Now for the main haul of the story. I am hoping it will go as smoothly as the last 5000 words have gone. (Yipes, if I was doing the full NaNo, to be on target I would have had to have written 30,000 words by now. I feel like such a slacker!)

Day 17: 414 words
Day 18: 0 words (Was so tired I just went to sleep last night. Will work hard today!)

Bloody snot!

And not in the Michael Caine sense. Actual, horrible, runny, bloody snot. It's been like that for the past three days. I think this cold is having a bad effect on my sinuses. Poop. And I can't get to the docs until Tuesday. Double poop.

It's only 11.10am, and already Principessa has had a full on strop. Grandand had brought the pebble painting kit in after putting it in the car last night. (It was taken from Principessa last night after she had continued to try and play with it after being told we would paint the pebbles today.) Principessa had come downstairs and found the kit and had taken it upstairs into Nanny's room. Both Nanny and I had told her not to open the box as Auntie Lindsay wanted to come round and spend time with her painting the pebbles, but this wasn't what Principessa wanted to hear. She proceeded to open the box, take out the blue paint, open it and spill it on Nanny's duvet. Not only was Principessa in a strop after Nanny took the paint and kit off her, but Nanny was in a strop too! Argh! All this and I'm stuck on the loo! So I had to explain to Principessa why, while sat on the loo, Nanny was so upset with her and why her pebble kit had been taken off her. Talk about toilet training!

Anyway, enough about bloody snot and toilet enforcement! Principessa has been quite good since her strop, sat, for the most part, quietly watching Night Garden on the old laptop. She has just gone upstairs to see Nanny, and has left me trapped in my seat, blocking me in with her table. Thanks, Principessa.

Day 16: 516 words

The frustrations of shopping with a three year old.

Argh! That's just for starters.

I promised Principessa a trip to the bookshop today with the added motivation of picking up the last of my Christmas pressies. She's been pretty good with going shopping of late, so I thought it wouldn't be any problem. What's that phrase about not counting chickens?

First we went to Boots. Christmas is the time for smellies, after all! So I bought the last few adult pressies, and a hat and mitten set for Principessa. But she happened to find a bag of Christmas choccies that she absolutely had to have, then went on to try and pick up the 'sweet' looking smellies. It was hell trying to get her to put them down. Then when we got to the till she tried to pick up a few bags of crisps and a pack or two of Smints. Grrrr! Then the chocolates... We had to rip the label off the bag because she wouldn't part with them. Pain!

Next to the bookshop. On the trip up to the back of the store we passed a watercolour painting kit. Oh, it was so necessary for her to have them. I ended up having to compromise with her to stop her having a tizzy in the shop by buying a pebble painting kit. Up to the kids books finally, and she sat and thumbed her way through all the 'In The Night Garden' books. But once she had 'read' through them she didn't want to take any home. Thank God! Problem was, she found a Charlie and Lola activity set that she has only had bought for her twice already. Familiarity breeds contempt where spending £7.99 on something that gets thrown away after it has no more use (sticker books really have no point except for the five minutes they are actually useful!) occurs.

So now we have finished looking at the books, so I pick up a mythology book, one of the 'Ology' series (the one that includes 'Dragonology' and 'Pirateology'. I think these books are fantastic.), and down to the magazines to buy a writers mag. To the tills, and that's where the trouble starts. I really hate the till queue trap. You know what I mean. The horrible little shelves alongside the line of the queue where they put things that they think may be exactly-what-you-need-and-can't-do-without-but-only-realise-you-need-and-can't
-do-without-until-you're-in-the-queue. Well, it has a world of things that Principessa needs-and-can't-do-without! So it's tizzys galore when we hit the queue, exactly the thing I don't-need-and-can-do-without. We finally get out of the queue, pay for the stuff, and head off up to the coffee shop. More tizzys to follow, but I can't be bothered going into them!

Out of the bookshop/coffeshop, and off to HMV. "Mummy, we have to go to HMV to buy a new DVD of Night Garden." Well, I had promised her about two weeks ago that the next time we went shopping. We got that DVD without much trouble. Phew.

Then to the Early Learning Centre to buy the last Christmas pressie. We don't have too much trouble here, there is plenty to keep Principessa occupied. But therein lies the problem, so much to do, too little time to do it in. We go to pay for the pressie, but Principessa knows when you pay, you leave. Stink is kicked up. Not enough people on the tills. Waiting in line for way too long. Principessa runs off and finds a chalkboard to draw on, but also finds paints and tries to open them. Noooooo! I send Grandand off to sort Principessa out, but while he is off the till becomes free and I can't push my chair with one hand whilst holding stuff in the other hand. This is the one flaw of a self-propelling wheelchair. A lovely woman standing behind me helps by pushing me to the till, so I pay, Grandand comes and pushes me from the tills and to the exit, but Principessa doesn't want to leave. I have to threaten to take the Night Garden DVD back to HMV if she doesn't come with me. Luckily enough that works. We leave the shops, and not a minute too soon!

Finally home, and tizzyfits continue. There's a problem with the DVD player, so there is no Night Garden. Then Grandand almost crashes the computer, so I have to argue with Grandand to push the table over to me so I can fix it. It's bad enough having to calm Principessa down, but trying to get past a Grandand's stubbornness, that is something else entirely! I fix the computer and all is fine for while.

On the plus point, when I got home from the shops - parcels galore! All the stuff I had bought from Ebay before the postal strike had arrived (books, books, and more books). Whoop-de-bleeding-do! About time too. But, phew, I'm glad it's all here and that none of it was lost.

Now I must go, as the tizzyfit mistress is off again. She has been told to leave the pebble kit alone until tomorrow, but all must be had now.

Day 15: 304 words
Day 16: 100 words so far.

Who needs a title anyway?

'Tis the best I can do this morning!

This evil cold had me up at stupid o'clock this morning. You know when you get that horrible tickle in the back of your throat that forces you to cough? Well, that's the stage this cold is at. And it's not exactly a tickle neither. It's more an irritant on the the left side of my tonsils that jumps and waves "Gotcha!" on near enough every breath. Grrrrr. At least the snot is not as free flowing as it has been the last few days.

One good thing came out of being up early. It was wonderfully quiet so I wrote some more. It's so much easier to write when everyone else is asleep, there is no incessant noise from TV's, DVD players or computers. Absolute bliss. And the little bit of writing I did do released my mind from working allowing me to go back to sleep. Bonus!

Day 13: 0 words
Day 14: 586 words
Day 15: 250 words (so far)

Five things I did today.

1: Cooked a lovely beef and vegetable miso soup for lunch.
2: Played 'Oopsie-Daisy is a wicked witch and the Tombly-boos must be saved' with Principessa.
3: Played 'Oopsie-Daisy is sad and must lie down on the Doctor's couch and have some psychotherapy' with Principessa.
4: Did a little bit of writing (about 180 words).
5: Paid some money off the credit card bill.

Yes, Oopsie-Daisy has featured a lot, though they were the names I gave to the games. But the actions were all Principessa's. It was also her who said that Oopsie-Daisy was sad and laid her down on a little couch while sitting the Doctor down on the chair next to the couch!

The writing has taken a knock again. Principessa didn't go to sleep until about midnight last night, so I was so knackered and washed out from this cold that I just went to sleep. I didn't do any writing yesterday daytime because I was playing with Principessa and intermittently playing my Wii game. Poop! The slacking has begun. At lease today I have focussed on a different character and introduced a new character too. Woohoo! Will do word count tomorrow.

Night night, time for bed.

Death warmed up feels better than I do right now.

:( Still not well. Principessa is a little better. She still has the sniffles just before going to bed, transforming her into a tiny snoring, growling duvet monster. My poor babe.

The hardly temperate zone of yuckiness has put a stop to my plans of going to the cinema with Laura tonight. We were going to watch 30 Days Of Night, but now we're not. It will have to wait until next week. I hate having to cancel plans with Laura because she now has to travel all the way from Manchester. I really am sorry for canceling.

Gaz bought me my birthday pressie early, and it's so nice to be spoiled! He bought Metroid Prime 3 for the Wii. Whilst I am enjoying playing it, I get very frustrated with the game. Every now and then there will be a section that I really struggle with. Argh! It makes me so mad. And the Wii-mote also plays up a lot, which only adds to my frustrations. But I am muddling through.

I shall say "Hello" to Kleddie now I know he reads this. Hope Val gets well soon.

I managed to get somewhat back on track with the NaNo story last night. I am hoping that I can match the word count from last night with my efforts tonight. I will be most pleased with myself if I do. Here is the updated word count for yesterday.

Day 12: 546 words

Bleurgh!

Ill. Ill, ill, ill. 'Tis both Principessa and I. Bleurgh! Stuffed up with cold, noses like taps. If only snot was a saleabe commodity!

I think being stuck outside the Empire on Saturday night didn't help. Went to see Cats with Gaz, and it was very enjoyable. Nothing like I expected, though I couldn't help thinking of a stand up comedy show I saw a month or two ago, with this English comedian and his back-up musicians doing his Lloyd-Webber rendition inspired act. It really was very well observed! So really, I should have known what I was in for!

Principessa is becoming somewhat of a computer whizz. (Hang on, sneezing fit approaching...) I bought a USB (shouldn't that be an? It doesn't sound right though... an USB?) keyboard for the old laptop to access some of the files that were on it. So now that I have a way of making it work (can you just see me with a spotlight shining into the laptop's screen saying 'I have ways of making you work"?) Principessa has been able to use it. Gaz got a USB mouse that is just about Principessa hand-sized, so now she knows how to go online, Nanny bookmarked Stage6 for her and some Night Garden and Tom and Jerry on Google video so she can go straight to the things she likes. She sits at her table, watching Dr Seuss stories, while opening up paint files and drawing! She also knows how to get Notepad up is she wants to type random letters!

On the NaNo front, I am so behind with words now. Didn't do any on Saturday, Principessa was still awake when I got home from the theatre. Didn't do any yesterday, I was feeling so washed out. Haven 't done too much today, I will buckle down after Principessa goes to sleep.

I am still surprised at how this story is turning out. It is nothing like what I had planned in my head when I started plotting out. I still haven't got to introducing the main characters!

Day 8: 368 words
Day 9: 298 words
Day 10: 0 words
Day 11: 0 words
Day 12: 168 words (so far)

From the mouths of babes.

Principessa had one of those nights last night. For some reason she was too wired to sleep, so it was after 10.30pm before she actually got into bed. Even then it was my bed. She was chat, chat, chatting away, about nothing in particular. Finally I engaged in the conversation instead of telling her that she needed to be quiet and go to sleep. So we were having a little talk and then she says to me:

"Mummy, how am I supposed to go to sleep if you're talking to me?"

I couldn't help but laugh. So I lay down and gave her a hug and said goodnight. She was quiet for about a minute before her chattering started again.

"How are you supposed to go to sleep if you're talking to me?" I asked her.

"I'm sleep-talking," was her reply.

You couldn't make it up! Well, I suppose you could, but it's so much better when it isn't! I love the night-time ramblings of a three year old!

Today we have had a no television morning. Well, a mostly no TV morning. The cable has gone haywire again, and I can't change the channel. It is stuck on ITV. I can't even get behind the unit to turn the box off at the plug to reset it. None to pleased about that. I ended up sitting and taking half notice of Jeremy Kyle while Principessa sat and watched some Dr Seuss on Nanny's computer. Well, now I know one thing for sure, I DON'T like Jeremy Kyle. I don't think I have ever seen such an outright display of smug psychological bullying in my life! He really does think he is a god! He just baits and baits the guests (though some of them really are the scum of the earth, but still,) trying to get a rise out of them. Wouldn't it be good if one day one of them were to rise to the bait and just lamp him one. I'd pay good money to see that!

Time for the daily word count now, me thinks.

Day 7: 310 words.

Lights.

Firstly, didn't Liverpool Besikt-their-as! 8-0! What a score!

I was having a look through a few blogs today and I found the image below here.


Looking at it made me think of last year. Grandand and I had taken Principessa to the Catalyst museum, and just before we left we visited the gift shop (as you do). I bought a box of light sticks for Principessa to play with when we got home. As it was, Gaz, Kayte and I played with them too. Our light stick pictures are below. (Okay, I know they are not as twirly as the one above, but hey, we had fun!)






At the moment I am losing my mind watching CBeebies with Principessa. I wish she would just get a book for us to read! I can cope much better with the reading than the watching. Maybe we will build some castles later, if I can turn off the TV without someone having a tizzyfit.

I am quite surprised at how long the introduction of my NaNo is turning out to be. It seems important that it is this long, as some crucial events are happening. But the main characters of the story still haven't been introduced. I'm finding that quite strange! Amended word count for yesterday:

Day 6: 456 words

Pomp and circumstance.

Bonfire night would be good if it wasn't for the smell of melting plastic as idiots throw stolen bins on the fire. Yep, they had searched around and pinched bins from people’s gardens just to throw on the bommie. All three of Gaz's bins were pinched, and our green bin was also fated to become a molten pool of petrochemical muck. The smell cut through everything, and it was still stinking at about 3am last night. The one good thing was the free firework show, which I could watch from my chair. Why go out in the cold to see professional shows when the ones from peoples back gardens are just as good.

I sat and watched (I don't know why) the opening of Parliament this morning. It's the first time I have ever done that. What a load of rubbish! Okay, tradition is all well and good, and I am not averse to a little tradition myself, but talk about taking themselves seriously! Nothing new was put forward for the coming parliamentary year, it was all the same as previous years: fight terrorism, sort out housing, and fix education. Hah! That is relatively impossible. Most kids don't want to be in school, and with reforms in policing and corporal punishment kids no longer have respect for anyone, so how do the government propose to keep kids in education until they are at least 18 years old?

Talking about school, Principessa is no longer going to nursery. Well, at least not until next February. The school called yesterday after she went in, and half an hour after starting she had managed to get herself in such a state that the teachers could not calm her down. I had a long talk with one of her teachers and we agreed that she would not go back until February. If she doesn't settle then, she will not go back until next September. I am now looking into home schooling her. It might be the easiest (though harder for me) option.

I am still plodding on with the NaNo. I'm actually surprised I have stuck with it for nearly a week. Things have happened already in the story that I wasn't expecting, but I think it is sounding okay. Here are the updated word counts:

Day 5: 297 words
Day 6: 213 words (so far)

It's strange how you can go off a person.

So, as most people who know me know, I recently nominated a certain writer for a weblog award (mentioning no names, nah, bugger to that. 'Twas Neil Gaiman). Now, I know this may give the impression that I am a stalker (can you stalk in a wheelchair?), but I messaged aforementioned writer to inform him that I had nominated his journal as my way of appreciating his work. When the journal was selected as a finalist I messaged again to tell him, and to ask if he could direct the rest of his readership to the website so that maybe they could vote too. No response, no message on his journal. My mission then was to get peeps that would like to vote to vote. I left a message on his forum, and on a number of groups on facebook. I asked my friends to vote. I checked today to find he was about 200 points in the lead. So how irked was I after reading his journal today to see that someone else had also told him he had been nominated and that he was currently in the lead? Pah!

Okay, enough grrrrrr. I am still plodding along with my 'using the NaNo to get into good writerly habits, even though I am not participating' story. I'm going to have to do loads today whilst Principessa is at nursery. Here is the full word count for yesterday:

Day 4: 307 words

Moto

Valentino Rossi did ride in the Valencia GP, but had his hand strapped up in a big way as he has three fractured bones in his wrist. Ouch! Truthfully, I think they are completely silly to ride with injuries (another rider - can't remember who - was riding with suspected appendicitis), but I suppose it's up to them.

Anyway, Rossi was up for second place, but had to pull out of the race after his bike broke down (hmmm, just tried to spell broke 'browk'. For all intents and purposes, it still looks like a proper word!), so Dani Pedrosa ended up with the second place in the world rankings after finishing the race first.

Update on the NaNo:

Day 3: 337 words.
Day 4: 90 words (so far. Will do some more later.)

Stepping back in time; five months ago

This was the time I was potty training Principessa. I was having trouble getting her to use the potty, though I did finally work out what I needed to do. This happened after hours of trawling the net, looking at advice pages. The best piece of advice I found (after "Let the child get used to having a potty around, so they know what it is") was "Just stick with it, no matter how many times a nappy is asked for." Yeah, I know, kind of obvious. It isn't when you're doing it, the easy option is to just give in and put on the nappy. So I followed that advice and within three days she was potty trained. Even more amazing than that was she took to night-time trained two days later and was completely out of nappies a few days later (with a couple of little accidents, but not as many as I was expecting).

Anyway, the point of this post was to share this video. It nearly made me wet myself when I saw it, and as the subject is potty training, then it is quite apt for the post.

Slow, unconfident words.

So I have started the mini Nano, as I am not confident in my self to do the full NaNo yet. So the word counts so far are:

Day 1: 469 words
Day 2: 230 words

So I shall sit down later tonight and write some more, but this time I'll try not to over think what I am writing. Therein lies my problem. I need to switch off and write, rather than reread what I have already done and start making changes. I'm never going to get anywhere until I break this cycle. I have to get it in my head to just write, finish and leave it alone for a while. Maybe I might end up with something solid. Once I've got that far, maybe I'll learn something. *sigh*

On sports matters, 'tis the final Moto GP of the year. Rossi can't win, but he could get the runner up spot. That is if the crash he has had today in qualifying doesn't stop him, and if he can make his way through the field from about 16th place. If he can't do it, then Dani Pedrosa gets the second place. Ah well. Not an easy end to the season for the Doctor!

Anyhows. I couple of weeks ago I mentioned a web program called Sanctuary. Well, here is the first episode. Enjoy.

Ah well..

He gave it his best.

It's no go for Andy Murray in the top eight for the tennis masters series. It was exciting following the race this week though :D

Toilet Riser

I have this piece of machinery that reminds my brain-that-works-in-mysterious-ways of Ed209 from Robocop. This piece of machinery is to help me get on and off the toilet. Over the last few weeks the seat part became decidedly dodgy, making it feel like it would break down at any minute (no, it's malfunction was not telling me I had 20 seconds to comply). Well, a new riser was delivered this morning, but lo and behold if it doesn't work.

When I say it doesn't work... I mean we can't assemble the damn thing as the arm attachment rod has been put on backwards! Not good! It's times like these I really wish that I had an iron bladder. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I found out yesterday that my nomination for Neil Gaiman's journal was successful enough to take it to the final stages in the Weblog awards. Now all I have to do is rally some support and get people voting for it. I hope he wins!

Argh! Mini NaNo starts today!

Panic! Panic! Panic!

I feel like a headless chicken! I still have not managed to hash out the middle of my plot, and it is time to start writing! At least there I have managed to get something started. Only problem here is I am not sure how strong the start it, and I still don't really have a title. Poop!

Principessa woke up at 6.45ish this morning. My poor head! I hope I can concentrate later today when she goes to nursery. We had to play 'Keep Hammy warm' before coming downstairs. This consisted of wrapping Hammy (the squirrel from Over The Hedge) in a pink towel and then rocking him like a baby and calling him 'My little terror'. I don't know! Then Principessa started moaning for a bottle 'o' tea (relaxed parenting - she still gets comfort from a bottle, and I'm sure she'll grow out of it when she is ready), crying out "Oh woe is me"! Talk about a character!

Well, I will leave here with a little snippet of some of my NaNo attempt. This is the curse that happens in the first few paragraphs.

The fairest of friends,
The bitterest enemies.
By Bark: Bough and Trunk,
This is the Wyrd of the Trees
The heart of a Folk boy
You both seek to win.
To the victor; a husband.
To the loser; darkness within.
In two Lands - Buck and Folk
Always divided to be.
To leave, be cast down.
Withered wood shallst you be.
A Father's love
Returnst you here,
On the thirteenth day
Of her thirteenth year.
This Wyrd shallst reverse
By an apple; pure and white.
The truth of all things
Revealed in the light.
But a childs heartache
Is a Mother's cross.
A loving sacrifice
Is a family's loss.

(c) A. Tresidder 2007

Creating monsters

I am slowly, but surely ( I hope), working through the plot for the middle of my mini NaNoWriMo story. I've been flustering about what to do in the middle, like what I was going to call the creature that has just made it's presence known, but that has just fallen into place. I now have its name. I feel a bit disappointed now, because I know that this particular monster will not be part of the story for very long. Ho hum, maybe I'll try and find a different name and keep this monster for another story. Then again, maybe not.

Principessa is home today. Her nursery starts again tomorrow. So I will have to entice her to get some books out and we can do some reading. Okay, she may not be able to read yet (though I am sure she can. I was logging into facebook the other day and Principessa just happened to be sat on my knee. I've not mentioned facebook to her, or alerted her to the facebook logo, but as soon as she saw it she said, "Ooohh, facebook."), but she loves her books. And I need to drag her away from Tom and Jerry!

Still piddled off about the post. It is not back to normal yet, and I still haven't received some of the stuff I ordered just before the strike started and some things I ordered after it finished. Grrrrrr. If I had super powers....

Well, time for lunch.

Time to live on one level?

Today the occupational therapist came to see me. She had visited yesterday as we are exploring the option of having a through-floor lift installed as it's becoming decidedly dodgy for me to stand from the stair lift. Anyway, the engineer had a look around the house yesterday trying to site where the lift would go. A place was decided, but the next problem to arise was that the original problem of me standing from a seat had still not been addressed as the lift would include a seat. The engineer then had a look at the seat I have downstairs. The seat has a riser mechanism attached to it, that brings me to a standing position. That threw up further problems as both the OT and the engineer agreed that the lift may not be feasible. Poop.

So, the visit today included a surveyor. They came to look to see if the option of building an extension was a feasible one. It looks like it might be, and having a bedroom and bathroom built onto the back of the house. Well, I suppose it's better than what I have now.

On other news, I have now applied for my first course with the Open Uni. Kirst and I are on the list for the Feb 2008 start list for the introduction to Humanities course. Yay! I think I am quite looking forward to it!

Nobleism

Last night I went to the Empire to see Ross Noble. That man can't half make you laugh! The only thing is, even though I spent most of my time laughing my socks off, I felt like I'd been to see Derren Brown because I couldn't remember half of it when it finished! What I do remember is the show was being filmed and there were satellite link-ups to Vue cinemas across the country. I do remember a girl confessing to peeing in a bin because she was desperate and her mum was on the toilet. And I do remember the glass eye.... Yeah, it was a strange, but fun, night.



On other matters... I seemed to have stalled with my story. Again! I don't know what it is, beginnings and endings seem to be no problem. Getting from the beginning to the end, now, that's a different kettle of fish completely. I have no idea where my plotting takes a holiday, but middles are my mental block. I can't seem to get past it! I think I might need to put a nail in my head just to confine my train of thought. (And here is the bigger problem... I know what needs to go in the middle of this latest story, but I can't seem to put it down in a structured plot that would keep people interested in reading. Sucks, hey?)

Principessa is getting funnier by the day. She is her own stand up comedy show! Now, a few posts ago I mentioned about the 'Niamh, Destroyer of Worlds' quote. She has now expanded on the quote. The second part of the quote came into being after Nanny had told her off for playing with the stove. Nanny had told her that if she played with the stove and turned it on, the stove would get hot and blow up. To this I said:

"Well, you keep telling her she is destroyer of worlds. The addendum to that is 'One cooker at a time'."

So now, when you ask Principessa her name she says:

"Niamh, Destroyer of Worlds! One cooker at a time!"

She picks things up so quickly!

Things I hadn't thought about.

I was reading about what made children in fairy stories heroic yesterday, only to realise a hole in the plan of the story I am plotting out for the NaNo. Oh poo! I kept myeslf awake last night by thinking of how I was going to fill the gap in my story. I am still thinking. At least through that thinking I have worked out two new incidental characters and their introduction to the story, so that's good, at least. I shall work on the ideas more today if Grandand takes Principessa to the park.

Yay! The post is now being delivered. So far, I have received the DVDs of series one of 'Heroes'. Woohoo! Still waiting for my books and comics though. And the USB keyboard. I am hoping that I can use that on the old laptop to access files and folders that are, at present, locked into it.

Well, back to the plants and plot.

Change.

I hate it when TV programs change the film that it is filmed on. I can see the difference instantly, and a lot of the time it totally distracts me from the program. The sharpness of the picture completely throws me. I know it sounds silly, but it does.

I remember the first time it happened. Red Dwarf, series 7. The first episode. I never watched another episode after it. Okay, part of the reason was that I didn't think it worked well with only Doug Naylor writing it, but the change of film really put me off. I hated it.

More recently it has happened with Casualty. I only watch Casualty as it is Dad's favourite program, but this season introduced the new media it was being filmed on. It was the first time Dad also noted the change. I have to say, there was something about it that really grated on my nerves. Okay, so they had changed the set too, it was darker and it didn't suit the program (I've never seen a hospital painted in such dark and dreary colours), but the sharpness of the media also detracted from the atmosphere of the program. I finally worked out tonight what was griping me about it all. The old media leant to the 'grunginess', the feeling that a hospital has, and the backdrop was also much lighter and more reminiscent of a hospital. What griped were the mix of the new media and the use of the dark backdrop. The dark backdrop only made it seem more depressing and oppressing. It didn't add anything to the program, only detracted from it, taking the atmosphere that it had spent about 20 years building. It was just wrong.

Ah well, I was only saying a few posts ago that change happens and people should get on with it. Maybe I should take my own advice and not focus on it.

She is Principessa*, Destroyer of Worlds.

Well, that's what she told me when I asked Principessa what her name* was!

I took a break from the plotting yesterday, and it seems to be going that way today too. I might do some tonight after Principessa goes to bed. I think when I am writing the ideas fir the plot down I am writing 200 words per day. That's good seeing as that's the word count for the mini NaNoWriMo. I'm now looking forward to taking part in it.

Feeling rather peeved.

Yup. Very peeved off at the moment. I have bought things from Ebay and because of this stupid unofficial strike I am not receiving any of it. I am in a very hmph mood with the post. It's a good job I can phone the bank to get credit card balances and pull up catalogue bills online. Otherwise I would be having charges placed on my accounts. That would make me very angry.

I feel sorry for the people who depend on Royal Mail for work etc. Case and point; the CRB send out disclosures through Royal Mail. How are people who live in Liverpool feeling if they are depending on receiving a disclosure to secure their job? How many people are going to lose jobs because of it? Okay, so the RM workers are peeved about their hours changing, but hey, that's life. Other people have their hours changed too. It doesn't matter to them that other peoples lives are being disrupted and destroyed because of their pettiness. My life isn't dependent on RM, but I would be so mad if it were. I said to my Dad that I hoped they were having their pay suspended, but Dad pointed out that they would only earn it back in overtime that they will have to work to clear the backlog of mail. I don't think they should be paid overtime. After all, it is them causing the disruption in the first place.

Anyway, enough of my rant. I have been working hard on getting this story plot going. So far, so good. A few new characters have emerged, characters I hadn't been expecting. It feels strange plotting and not writing parts of the story as they come to me. Maybe it will help with training me to have a consistent train of thought while writing, instead of jumping from one scene to another and not writing linking bits in between.

Principessa is going back to nursery tomorrow. This nursery lark hasn't been all that successful as yet. I think she managed the stinted first week, then she was off ill for a week, then she went in the week after but only managed two half-half days and two full-half days, then she has been off for the last nine nursery days ill. I know I was bad with going to school and feigning illnesses, but I was at least in primary school by that time! Okay, Principessa has really been ill, but if it continues like this, week in, week off, then I might just think about keeping her home. We shall see.

Finding plots and programmes.

It's been a strange few days. Principessa went to the hospital again with Grandand on Saturday night after suffering with a fever for two and half days. Unfortuately, the doctor at the hospital was unable to examine her properly because she would launch into a tizzy when the doctor went near her. I think she might have an ear infection.

While Principessa was at the hospital I sat upstairs with Mum. She was online, looking at webcams in Canada. One of the cameras had been positioned on a bridge. Someone was in the middle of putting a banner onto the bridge with www.sanctuaryforall.com written across it. "Ooohh," we both said, "wonder what that is?" While we were waiting for the page to load the theories were mentioned. Mum thought it was probably for immigration, I thought it could be for an animal home. But no. We were both surprised when it led to a page relating to an online program called 'Sanctuary'. I've watched two episodes now, and it looks like it could turn into something good.

To further keep my mind off Principessa being at hospital, I started fleshing out characters and plot lines for my mini NaNoWriMo attempt. I still have no idea what the story is going to be called, but the preparations are starting to take the story somewhere I wasn't expecting. Just characters and ideas are making inventing the plot more interesting, if not more challenging. I'm not sure I am up to this challenge, but we shall see. Hopefully I shall have more of a concrete plan before November the 1st.

My Daemon

(Edited 20/10/07)
Okay, so it was a spider to begin with. Then the personality thing was changed and the demon changed with it. Ah well, a fox rather than a spider, that's okay by me.

Star Trek meets Cthulhu

Here I go, off on another geek speak.

So chuffed that Simon Pegg will be Scottie in the new Star Trek movie. What a great piece of casting. Just wondering now if he will go to speech lessons to find his inner Scotsman? Another great piece of casting is Zachary Quinto, otherwise known as Sylar in 'Heroes', as the young Spock. So far, I like the beginnings of this Star Trek film.

As for Cthulhu, I was giggling happily to myself when I found out that you could buy cuddly versions of the Great Old One. The one that tickled me the most was this one:

Santa Cthulhu

Now that is done with, normal news time.

Poor ikkle Principessa hasn't been well again. She came home from school yesterday and fell down with a temperature. She didn't get much sleep last night, though if she were in any pain she wouldn't tell me. She's still got a slight temperature today, but she's much better and bouncing about like a caged rubber ball. It's a good job that school was closed for a training day!

I have almost finished my Christmas Shopping! Woohoo! Just have to buy something for Mumbles and Nathaniel now. The only thing I have to worry about is buying birthday pressies for people whose birthdays are in the run up to Christmas.

Ah well, time to blubber with insanity as I have been perusing the Great Cthulhu's countenance for far too long now.... Blub, blub, blub!

I felt like such a heel.

Over the last four days, Principessa hasn't wanted to go to school. She cries continuously, demanding hugs, for half an hour before she leaves. Today she started as soon as she saw her clothes. I managed to calm her down enough to get her dressed but as soon as it was time to put her boots on she legged it upstairs to Nanny.

Uncle Gaz went upstairs to retrieve her, and took her boots up so that she could hug Nanny while he put them on her. She came downstairs with Gaz, but started her 'Oh woe is me' routine, dropping onto her knees and crying. Give her her due; she acted like a little trooper once her coat was on. She hugged Nanny and me, held onto Gaz's finger, and walked out of the door whimpering and sobbing. She didn't stop at all during the walk to school. When Gaz told me that, I felt so guilty. I felt like a bad Mum for sending her to nursery. I think if she carries on like this I might just stop her going. It's obviously causing her some trauma.

On the plus point for Principessa, she now has her own portable 7" DVD player. She doesn't know about it yet, as she is at nursery right now. I thought it was the best option as there isn't room for a DVD player on the downstairs TV and I am not letting her watch DVDs on the laptop any more. I hope it will be a nice surprise for her when she gets home.

I'm still feeling the loss of the old laptop. It had all the Japanese linguaphone discs copied onto it, so now I am unable to study Japanese until I am able to borrow the discs from J again. Grrr. I'll just have to sit down one night with my Kanji and Kana books and resume learning to read Japanese.

On the subject of Japanese, or Japanese culture, the fabulous Mr. Gaiman left a link to the Japanese art of Dorodango on his latest blog entry. I think I might want to try and make one. I think it's about time I went all Zen and reflective!

Well, it's time to start getting ready for the return of Principessa. TTFN!

The Legacy of the Mango Smoothie

It all began at 11.30am, Monday morning. I sat Principessa down to watch 'Charlie and Lola' while I sorted her lunch out. She followed me out to the kitchen, so I gave her a small beaker of mango smoothie. Happy, she goes back into the living room to resume her DVD watching.

Three minutes later I go into the living room with Principessa's lunch.

"No!" I said. "What have you done?"

"Oh no!" Principessa said. "I have to say sorry to Mummy."

There, on the table, my laptop sat. 'Charlie and Lola' still completely danced on the screen. The keyboard bathed silently in mango smoothie.

I have no idea how I kept my calm. I mopped up what I could from the surface of the keyboard. I had to dress Principessa for school, so I put the laptop down until she was dressed and off to school with her Uncle Gaz. Then I painstakingly removed each key to dry up as much of the smoothie as was humanly possible. Then I left it sitting upside down for 24 hours.

Tuesday afternoon, 1pm. I turn on the laptop. Woohoo I think, as the screen flicks on and the hard drive boots up. The password screen pops up. Tentatively I press the first key, hoping above hope that everything would be fine. Poop! No such luck.

Each time a key was depressed, three characters appeared in the password box. Each time the delete key was depressed one of two things happened. Either the cursor would jump over all of the characters already present and sit at the start of the password box or a new character would appear. Sugarplum fairies!

So I am typing this entry on my new pink laptop. It's good, sits better on my lap, but I miss my old laptop. I have lost all of my bookmarks, some programs I had downloaded online, and some photos of Principessa. Oh, and the kids story I had almost finished and other various bits and bobs of story ideas. So not happy about that. I can't believe that I would do that to myself, and not back them up on the pen drive. I have done with other my other story stuff.

So the morals of the story: Mango smoothie and laptops just don't mix.
Don't put your work on one hard drive. (Kinda like chickens, eggs and baskets, me thinks!)