This will just be a short entry, although I will probably edit it later on in order to write more - it took me slightly longer than I had anticipated to get myself set up as a member!  The reason I have decided to start keeping a journal is that I really want to start writing again, and this is a (relatively!) easy way to ease into it.  That's the intention anyway.  Well, I'll have to go for now as I have 5 minutes before I have to be out of here, but I shall return!  *Stalks off, flinging cloak over face*

Hmm, wonder what happened to the font I chose - and why is this one so big?!

Have not had as much time as I would have liked to come on here and do a bit more blogging, so shall have to keep the rest of my outpourings for another day.

TTFN

Hopefully I have some time now to do another entry here.  I'm starting to cringe at the title I've given this blog - 'scribblings' would probably be more appropriate then 'scribings'!  Pretentious, moi! :0)  Busy weekend - well, Saturday was anyway, when I donned my SuperChauffer cloak and mask and drove hither and yon around the countryside, dropping off and picking up offspring and friends, and fitting in some out-of-the-ordinary shopping in between times.  By that I mean not the boring grocery shopping that I have to keep doing, 'cos people keep EATING the food, imagine that.  No, this shopping was for things like a birthday present, beach/surf shoes (yes, I know summer has now passed us by, very stealthily I might add, but bodyboarding is no respecter of seasons), some crystals for someone who's having a tough time just now, and a big box of local cider for me!  Yum, yum. X0) (No I didn't drink it all at once, most of it is still there, in the fridge)

Sunday was slightly less outward bound, but hair-pullingly frustrating.  All I wanted to do was get ONE picture from the many on my digital camera, change it to sepia, and print it off.  So why, I ask the demons of the computer realm, did it take me all afternoon and half the evening?  Technology can be a wonderful thing if it does as it's told (or as you THINK you've told it), but the biggest irritation imaginable when it goes wrong.

I should. perhaps, say at this point that I do not intend for everything in this blog to be 100% truthful and accurate about my life.  Occasionally I  will be indulging in some wish-fulfillment writing, sometimes in plain old fictional writing.  As I said in my first entry, I really want to get back to (fictional) writing again, which I used to do quite a lot when I was (considerably!) younger, but it petered out into the occasional poem to mark special occasions, but even that has now fallen by the wayside.  I have so many wonderful ideas I want to get down on paper, but just don't know where to start, so, as established writers so often advise, "if you want to be a writer, then WRITE", I am 'just writing' to get back into the swing of it.

I had intended to keep this blog a complete secret from my friends, family and iVillage contacts, and to that end I set up a new email address and a new registration with iVillage.  However, one of my work colleagues/friends used my computer to check her emails and, of course it was with the same network I had registered my new email address with and the name was still there.  I thought I had logged out completely, but obviously not - that'll teach me.  She knows there are only three of us who use that PC and as she knows the email addresses that myself and the other bloke use, she recognised that this was a new address and guessed it was mine.  I don't think she goes on to iVillage, but if she/you does/do - and if you recognise the name, please don't let on this is me!  Did you follow all that?  Good, 'cos there will be a quiz later!

I am a happier bunny now than I was this time last week.  I am in the process of trying get fit and lose some weight (well, quite a lot actually).  I've been doing really well, eating healthily, losing weight regularly and have started back at karate, which I haven't been to for a couple of years.  However, we were away for the weekend last week and I ate stuff I wouldn't normally choose now, but which was all that was on offer, and even though I was on my feet and doing quite a bit of walking over the whole weekend I still put some weight back on.  Even when we came home I struggled to get back 'into the zone' as far as food was concerned and really thought I was going to have gained again.  But I weighed myself yesterday, and I had actually lost 3 lbs!  So I can now stop beating myself up and get back into health.  I realise that some people get heartily sick of those who go on interminably about their battle with the bulge, and will not be mentioning mine TOO often, I promise.  However, after having struggled for so many years with a steadily increasing weight and waistline and having been to a couple of slimming clubs and not got on very well, to now find that I CAN be healthy and lose weight ON MY OWN without relying on someone else telling me what to do, and praising me or otherwise, is a wonderful feeling that I intend to hold on to for some time to come.  But, as I said, I am doing it by and for myself, so will not necessarily be putting to much about it out here in public view.

Right, I've had the world and his wife traipsing through here in the last half hour or so, lunch break or not, and have got tired of minimising this screen every time, so I shall sign off now and possibly pop back on again later.

Doesn't time fly when you're too busy to notice whether you're having fun or not?  I'm hoping to have a few minutes ....... (a few less now after that pointless phone call!) ....... (and fixing that printer/computer fault) ....... to spare to do another entry here.  Typical, sit down for 5 minutes and everyone wants you!  We've got a busy day coming up tomorrow at work, so there's been a lot of extra things to be organised, as a result I've had little or no time at work - lunchtimes included! - to go online, and we are dog-sitting for the next two weeks, so time at home has been overfilled now too.  Having said that, we took advantage of the lovely weather on Sunday and took the temporary dog for a loooooooong walk around countryside haunts from my partner's childhood (many moons ago!) and it was lovely to see how the offspring had just as much fun running down the hills and fishing in the stream.  I took (far too many) photographs, playing with my camera's colour settings, and got some beautiful shots, even if I do say so myself!  Some great black and white ones - very arty - and some colour.  I might actually print some off for framing they're that good!

So much for having some time to spare - I've had more interruptions since I logged on than I've had over the rest of the day.  I'm going to give it up as a bad job for just now and hope (hah!) that I might get some time at home later.

For the moment I am inhabiting a small, peaceful oasis of calm.  I don't expect to be here for very long, but I shall make the most of it.  Today has been quite chaotic so far - I didn't even manage to get dressed until 8.30am!  Before that, though, I had fed myself and offspring, put a washing on, made packed lunches, made tea for tonight (as will be seen further on, I don't expect to have time to do that later), washed dishes, sorted out school stuff and washed my hair.  After all that, then seeing offspring part-way to school, and getting stuck in a huge string of traffic behind a tractor (I'm not getting at tractor drivers, they have to work too) for about a quarter of my commute, which is normally on practically empty rural roads, I was only a minute late arriving at work.  I arrived at the same time as my boss, which is early for him!

Work has been busy too - big event on today, so lots of last-minute things to do - signage, trips to supermarket for last minute supplies, etc.  But things are underway and no longer require my input, so I shall hide in my office and hope the phone doesn't ring (again!).  At least with almost everyone else involved in the event, there shouldn't be anyone coming in to ask me to do anything.  A colleague produced a delicious buffet, so I had a plate of stuff from there for my lunch (as well as the sandwich I brought from home - and I wonder why I have/had a weight problem!  Well, no, I don't actually - I know full well!).

Before I came on here I was playing around making a signature for these posts - I hope it comes out well - and creating a Facebook entry for my new pseudonym.  I quite like having an alternate identity!  Not that I have any plans for its misuse (not heading for the singles circuit or anything like that, oh no, *shudder*), it's just like I have my OWN identity again, not someone else's child/parent/partner/whatever.  I do love having those roles, but it's nice to have a unique place too.  Hopefully I can be a bit freer about what I say, without worrying whether it will upset/annoy anyone I know, 'cos they won't know it's me!  (That's assuming they even stumble across this blog, which is quite unlikely)

Time will speed up again after I finish work.  Collect temporary dog from home, meet offspring from school, take dog on long walk of the day, back home, probably iron karate suit (although I'm not 100% sure I will be going this week), feed offspring snack, put pre-cooked tea in oven to heat through, take offspring to dance class (during which I have half an hour to share a coffee with a friend who also has offspring in dance class - bliss!), back home with literally 5 minutes to change for karate if I'm going, leaving offspring with partner to have their tea - I'll have mine after karate, if I go.  Looking back at this paragraph I'm sensing a lot of uncertainty towards the karate - can you tell?! :o)

I'll have to have a look at the TV pages - I don't watch much at all these days, but if there's something on which I could put up with this evening, I may pick up a bottle of wine for partner and me to share while we flake out in front of the goggle-box.  Mid-week drinking is also not something we do on a regular basis, but it might be quite nice today!

Well, people seem to be drifting by a bit more now, so it would appear that my oasis is disappearing just like that other icon of the desert, the mirage.  I will sign off for now, but will resume my scribing/scribblings at some (hopefully not-too-distant) point.

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Photos*]

I wonder if anyone ever reads these blogs?  Not that I mind one way or the other, I'm just curious (in more ways than one!).

Curious day at work too.  One colleague shattered because they had been up all night trying to find a lost cat, and one colleague who had been out celebrating the success of yesterday's event and hadn't been to bed either by all appearances.  Not sure when alcohol had last been taken before work, but I don't think it was very long!  That colleague is currently flaked out in a quiet room.  Just as well it has been a quiet day here today.

Never made it to karate yesterday, surprise, surprise.  Red wine and Lethal Weapon 2 - perfect veg out evening.  Bit calmer all round today as offspring at school for an extra 3/4 hour for drama club, so shall be walking the temp dog solo, then collecting offspring from school, then home to sort out tea - chili or lasagne, see how I feel when I get home.  Really can't be bothered today - with anything.  I would rather be going for a wander in the woods, or down by the beach, with a nice wee picnic, and enjoying this glorious autumnal weather.  I think autumn is my favourite season (but, then I say that about each season, when we're in it!), with all the beautiful colours appearing in the trees, and the air cooling down and freshening (I don't do too well in very hot weather), and the countdown to Christmas beginning (always enjoy picking presents for everyone).

I shall stop here as people have started milling round the office again, and I really should make sure I'm up-to-date before I head off.  Half day tomorrow, then the weekend, looking forward to both immensely.

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Photos*]