Happy Birthday LMD

LMD is 4 today:)

She was very good and waited until 7 to get up. It was on the dot of 7 though, and I had gone out last night....

She's very pleased with her birthday so far - she ripped open all her presents in double quick time (with a little help from LMB), barely stopping to allow me to tell her who they were from, and certainly not long enough to actually listen!

Now she's wandering around the house taking photo's of anything & everything!

Off shopping to spend her birthday money once the big ones are at school.

Up and down

I was feeling quite happy today. Everyone at work was moaning about how far away pay pay seemed to be this month (it always is in january), but I've just realised we've spent nearly a year in the black!!!!, I've got the money to pay off this years holiday to Butlins (not exciting, but comparitively cheap, and the kids love it), the interest rates have fallen so far that we actually have a disposable income each month. Bring on the recession;-)

I was working in the Construction Dept. today, which I thought was going to be devastatingly boring, but lucky me, I got the Health & Safety unit, which was quite fanscinating. No really, it was, if you like that kind of thing, which I do LOL!

But then I came home, and heard the news:(

2 babies dead, and 10 others needing surgery. 1 carer killed as she tried to save them, and two more in hospital.

I'm lost for words. but not tears.

Cynical, moi?

Israel declares ceasefire in Gaza.

Amazing, just three days before the US president changes, and less than a month before their own general elections. Who's have thought it eh?

But more interestingly, the UN have finally (allbeit a tad late for several thousend Gazan's) decided that maybe Israel were acting a little bit illegally in some aspects of this invasion, and are "investigating"

Magic!

It's been a busy week of 1sts for me.

Yesterday was my first day totally on my own at the CAB. It was a busy day, and I saw four clients and survived all of them:) I think I did OK, most went away happy anyway - in fact one even specifically asked if they could see me next time (as she would have to come back in a couple of weeks) - which was nice. I actually feel very relieved that I've done it properly now, and ready to take on whatever comes through the doors next week.

Today I did my first session teaching 1st aid at the kids school. I had half of Mstr A's class, including Mstr A. I was really pleased with how it went. My timings worked out perfectly, and I'm fairly certain they all enjoyed it, and learned something useful. Teacher & kids all thanked me at the end, which was also nice. I used my new magic whiteboard. it was fantastic. I'm very pleased with it. I saw the Dragons Den it was on, and remember being totally smitten with the idea & yelling at the idiot dragon who "couldn't see why anyone would want to use that rather than a proper whiteboard". Obviously he doesn't attend presentations in scout huts, school halls or people's front rooms! All of which are fairly standard for me!

I've got a peads course starting at the weekend. I've re-written my session plan to fit the new manual, which has been written for the new syllabus (which isn't in yet, but why teach something that is going out, when you can teach something that is coming in!). I've also completely revamped my powerpoint presentation, so I hope it goes down well! Had a bit of a technical panic when the light projector I intended to borrow did not exist any more! But have managed to source one to borrow this weekend, and have bought a second hand one for future use, as professional prresentation is becoming more and more important, and if I really want to keep doing this, I'm going to need more than a whiteboard and a few handouts. I really love teaching first aid. Today reminded me again how much. But I really don't like all the networking & marketing that goes along with being self employed:( Ho Hum. I s'pose I'll stick to doing bits and pieces on the side then..... Although, maybe I'll get something out of the school sessions. hmmmmmm.

What a story!

It's the birthday of Insulin today - something that has, without doubt, saved millions of lives in it's 87 years, including Aggies:) It's an amazing story:

On January 11, 1922, Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old diabetic who lay dying at the Toronto General Hospital, was given the first injection of insulin. However, the extract was so impure that Thompson suffered a severe allergic reaction, and further injections were canceled. Over the next 12 days, Collip worked day and night to improve the ox-pancreas extract, and a second dose injected on the 23rd. This was completely successful, not only in not having obvious side-effects, but in completely eliminating the glycosuria sign of diabetes.

Children dying from diabetic keto-acidosis were kept in large wards, often with 50 or more patients in a ward, mostly comatose. Grieving family members were often in attendance, awaiting the (until then, inevitable) death. In one of medicine's more dramatic moments Banting, Best and Collip went from bed to bed, injecting an entire ward with the new purified extract. Before they had reached the last dying child, the first few were awakening from their coma, to the joyous exclamations of their families.

Wow - imagine being one of those parents!

Will I never learn?

hmmmm, When I finally made it to Christmas, and saw the end of the fostering course, the NAS EArlybird course and my CAB training,, I thought that I might finally find a bit of time to sort myself out, have some me time occasionally and also to get on with my college course.

But, lets be honest, I'm not really too good at me time:)

Obviously 3 days a week are taken up with work. I have to do at least one day a week at CAB, and am hoping to try to get some phone work in on occasional Thursdays too when I am a bit more practised (we're only open for phone advice on Thursdays). I need at least 1 full day a week for collecge course really, if I've got any hope of getting it all done in time for the exam. The first aid teaching is picking up again a little bit, as the regulations will be changing this October and people are trying to get courses in before they cost even more:) So my weekends are starting to get booked up. Plus Mstr A asked if I could teach him some first aid, and I thought it would be a nice idea to offer it to the school - so I am booked in to teach kids at school for a morning a week most weeks through to the summer. With re-enactment season just round the corner, and the pre-season work already starting, I'm quickly running out of time.......

my week

Well, I seem to be getting very lax in posting again:(

Oh well, what's been going on?

I went back to work on Monday, which was particulalrly depressing as I was working for the "secretary eater" in the firm. To my knowledge he has gone through at least 5 secretaries since i started less than a year ago - all of whom have asked to be taken off him after various attempts at negotiation! He's been secretaryless for the past few months, so all of us centrals have had a go with him:) I personally have never had a real run in, but he is hard work. I can't really pinpoint why, and am not sure its his fault poor bloke (although some of it definitely), but his manner just makes you always feel that you haven't done a good enough job.......

Then, without pause I spent Wednesday doing my supervised interviews at the CAB. This meant that I had to get all my work signed off by my tutor (well nearly all - I had missed a couple of modules which I need to catch up during the next few weeks), then actually DO the real advising for whoever turned up that day, while being observed by my tutor to make sure I was safe to be let loose. I had a nice mix of clients actually - one with a housing issue, one with benefits and one with general assistance, and got a lovely report from my tutor, who said i had a "very reassuring manner". Wow! I didn't feel that self assured, but......

So now I am officially allowed to advise clients on my own, and am on the rota for one day each week! Gulp!

As promised to myself, I have finally got my college course out and started it properly. I wrote half an essay today, and will half the other half ready to be sent off this weekend. With nothing other than a book and an essay question to go on, I am not at all convinced it's any good, but that;s the problem with online learning:( I still don't see what I've paid for! i would have thought an email address for a tutor at least! Still, I have made myself a timetable, and am determined to stick to it for this module at least, since I've already paid. Whether i will carry on is another thing, and I am not at all sure atm.

My mother gave us some money for Xmas, and we are going to buy ourselves a nice new table with it. We want a good solid one, with room for all of us to sit at together again (Something we've not been able to do since LMD came out of the highchair) and strong enough for the kids to clamber up on safely and to hold whatever we might throw at it. That sort of things comes in at £500+ new, so we've been checking ebay, and today went off to a local auction to check out quality & prices. I don't think we'll have any problem getting what we want for a decent price. It's just a matter of waiting for the right one to turn up. I can understand how dangerous auctions can be though. Even I was tempted a couple of times (not enough to actually bid any money, obviously), and I am notoriously difficult to get money out of:) There were some surprises - the fullo set of encyclopeadia britannica (no longer availoable in paper form) did not sell, not even for £1, but the full 16 volumes of the Oxford History of Britain (stillaavailable, but pricey), which was VERY tempting, went for over £60! We were hoping to get that for £1, and the old scythe which has to be utterly useless to anyone, but still went for £20...... wierd.

And finally......

Beware of asking a 3 year old questions: Conversation between Aggie & LMD in a restuarant today;

LMD - "I'm drawing a picture of me. 1st you draw a circle, and then you put in the eyes....."
she draws some more random things
Aggie; "whats that you're drawing now?"
LMD, loudly, showing great enthusiasm, "That's my 'gina!"
as I crease up in laughter, "then you draw the legs and the ears and the cheeks"

Back to reality

It's been a long holiday season for me. i finished work on 23 Dec and only went back today! I have to admit that i haven't missed it at all, although the constant running around all over the place may have something to do with that:)



We had a nice Christmas day, fairly quiet. We stayed at home for the morning, and the kids got to open all their presents in peace. Santa bought each one of them a calender, a toothbrush, a bath scrubby, a book, a few sweets and a toy. They were over the moon - especially with the bath scrubbies - which were Shaun the Sheep ones:)


Then we packed everyone in the car and went off to Nanny A's for Christmas Lunch, and more pressies:) We were home in time for Dr Who, but I have resolved not to travel anywhere beyond walking distance on Christmas day from now on. Its not fair for the kids to be stuck in the car for hours, and tbh, they all felt sick by the end of the day, and needed to be in their own home! So I'll be doing it again next year:)


My mum came down on boxing day, with yet more presents - so much for my sensible present buying! They all have waaaay too much stuff again now!


We hung on here for the Crazie party, then went up to London for New Year. I briefly saw my sister H, as she was on her way home to Brighton, but missed big brother who was living the high life in the US with his wife (OK, her family are all there, and it was a cold bit of the US, so not my idea of the ideal hols!), and managed to fit in a visit to my dad, as well as the required playtime with cousin G (and sister S), which is the only reason the kids think we go to London. We also saw Mother Goose at Hackney Empire. Last time I went to the Empire was before the renovation, and I have to say they've done a good job of it. And at least it was a proper panto there, unlike the rubbish that seems to be put on everywhere over here at the moment. No Principle Boy, no Panto animal, not even a Dame in some of them! WTF? That's just a camp play, not a panto!


We also accompanied sister S to a New Years Party, and i met up with people that I haven't seen for a decade or so. It was wierd, but nice to see them again. Everyone has grown up! (well, nearly everyone lol). But I sooooo don't miss London:) But I have decided that I am going to make a concerted effort in 2009 (and beyond) to catch up with old friends and find people that i lost track of years ago. I think I had more in common with some of them now than I did then:)



I am not sorry to see the back of 2008. It was a very mixed year for me. The very best thing I can say, was that it wasn't 2007:) But there were some really low points, and few great highs. Roll on the heights of 2009!