emily at beSottied.com

Squeeeeeeeal! I’ve just booked tickets to see the Goo Goo Dolls in Newcastle in July.

Laura is coming along with me this time. I didn’t kidnap John Rzeznik in Newcastle in 2006, I didn’t quite manage it in Manchester in 2007… but Newcastle 2008? Third time lucky!

(PS: That was a joke. I’m not really going to try to kidnap the man. Though if he’s wearing Converse sneakers instead of those things he normally has on, I may have to reconsider.)

Laura and I have just got home from a jaunt to the ice rink for a spot of skating. I did fall smack on my backside, but only near the end when I got too clever and tried to spin around. I managed it once and should have left it at that.

I’ve got new rubber windscreen wiper things for Muriel, but I need it to stop raining for just five minutes before I go outside to fit them.

Must dash to make myself a bit more presentable. I’m off to a concert thingy tonight… it’s a bit shameful, really, so I don’t think I’ll tell you what it is….

Hello, hello, and happy four-day-weekend to anyone who’s lucky enough to be enjoying one.

I feel like I’ve finally caught up on my sleep after getting back from holiday almost a week ago. It normally doesn’t take more than a day for my body clock to right itself, but for some reason I insisted on waking up at 4:20 am all week. Still, my early mornings meant I was getting in to work for 7 am, so at least I’ve built up some flexi time.

Mutti’s suitcase finally decided to come home on Tuesday afternoon. Apparently it had enjoyed a delightful jaunt to Glasgow before being flown home to Newcastle, but nevermind. It was still intact and merrily full of holiday goods, so no harm done.

People are all over the place because of the Bank Holiday. Laura is dotting around Scotland visiting family and Janine is at Center Parcs avec her husband and children (how very dare she).

Laura and I are meant to be going for a Wild And Crazy© night out tomorrow, but her mutti has had an accident up in Scotland (nothing too serious) so we may have to rearrange. I’m currently texting Natalie to see if we can be bothered to get ourselves sorted out for a little rendezvous tonight.

On to my rebellious little PC! It’s well and truly broken and so I’ve ordered a new base unit from Dell. I’m told it should be delivered in approximately three years’ time.

I opted for XP instead of Vista (and they charged me extra for that! Extra! For an old operating system!) having decided to dampen down my Mac lust. As much as I’d like a Mac, for ease of use (or rather, for Mutti’s ease of use), I opted for another PC. I’ve got MS Office on disc and wouldn’t really want to have to buy it for Mac. I also like Paint Shop Pro, which doesn’t work on Mac. Once I’ve taken delivery of the new PC I intend to wow you with my stunning holiday snaps.

I’m feeling the pressure to do something productive with my long weekend. Mutti and I went to a nearby village/town/thing yesterday to have a poke about, only it started hailing after we’d only been there for about ten minutes. We piled back into the car and, like the 21st Century sell-outs we are, made our way to an indoor shopping centre. Sorry, struggling local businesses, but it’s just too cold outside!

I got some really nice purple patent slingbacks from Next, and a supply of boring essentials - shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste - from Boots. All a bit dull, really, but we’re being told to expect mucho snow tomorrow so I need to save up all of my non-outdoor activities for then.

I’m considering a new look for beSottied, too. I know it’s only been back up for about five minutes, and I hardly have any visitors, but I’ve had some flashes of inspiration recently and am keen to have another crack at the layout, especially once I have a super-fast computer that won’t combust when I draw a bezier curve.

I’m also flitting from place to place picking up and setting down my knitting needles. I’m working on a design (only very simple, and hush-hush at the moment) but can’t seem to just sit down and get it done. I’m thinking about too many things at once! I bought fabric to make another Amy Butler Swing Bag ages ago (August, I think) and am contemplating grappling with Mr Sewing Machine tomorrow.

Hah! Look out for my next post, by which time I will have accomplished none of this. I will merely write “Watched some old X Files today. Loving that 1993 style it’s got going on. Where’s my duvet?”.

Right-o, I’m going for a quick jaunt to the shops but I’ve just got in from a bike ride and am all muddy, so I’ll have to go and hose myself down first!

EDIT: It’s snowing *glee*

Bonsoir!

We arrived home from Dubai this afternoon, a little bit late because it was so foggy at the airport this morning (last night? yesterday?). We had a very good time and hopefully I’ll post some photographs soon. Mutti’s suitcase, however, had such a jolly time in the UAE it did not want to come home to the UK. It’s still living it up with its luggage buddies at Dubai International. Emirates assure us they’ll ship Mutti’s belongings over on the next Dubai-Newcastle flight, which lands tomorrow morning. Sorry to spoil your fun, Mr Suitcase. PS, bring a wooly hat - it’s cold!

I say “I’ll hopefully post some photographs soon” because my PC has decided to Not Work. My hard drive won’t even switch on. It’s definitely plugged in, the socket is working, I’ve checked the fuse and my monitor is fine, so I’m totally stumped. I’ll have to converse with an IT wizard at work tomorrow.

Uch, work tomorrow! I like work, really I do, but I haven’t unpacked yet, my back hurts and I’m four hours ahead of time (which actually doesn’t feel that bad at the moment, but I’m not sure how I’ll feel in the morning!). I’m planning to start early, jaunt to the marketing meeting at a local housing development tomorrow (great way to get back in to things), see what else is in store for me at the office, then scarper early and meet Laura at my local restaurant/pub/whatever for a nice dinner.

And then I will start the bikini diet!

Hurrah, je suis all packed for our little jaunt to the UAE tomorrow. Actually, I’m frightfully well organised and my suitcase is half-empty.

Ooo, see how I automatically said “half-empty”? Are suitcases like glasses? Should I have said “half-full?”

Negative or nay, the suitcase is half-empty. I’m a bit worried that I’ve forgotten something, but have checked that I’ve packed bikinis, sun lotion, shoes, sunglasses, books, 8 zillion pairs of knickers (I’ve inherited a neurosis about packing knickers from Mutti), make-up and the most crucial item of all… my tweezers.

Without my tweezers I’ll rapidly turn into a character worthy of Sesame Street. No foolin’, a few days without my Tweezermans and you’ll find me living in a trash can on Sheikh Zayed Road and spending wild and crazy nights out with Bert, Ernie and their stripy pyjamas.

I put off my packing for long enough. Jill decided to give us all a good torturing at the stables tonight and we did mucho work without stirrups. I was riding Tiffany who is very good but quite whizzy and strong, so I’m expecting to ache in the morning!

I called into Janine’s after riding and she kindly donated a stack of quality publications (eg InStyle and Grazia) which I’m planning to peruse later while polishing my poor, neglected nails.

I checked Mutti, Helen and I in earlier on Emirates.com. The house is tidy and has been cleaned from top to bottom, so the burglars can find exactly what they’re after, and the squatters will have a luxurious stay. We’re all set!

I’m now relaxing on the chaise watching the car-crash wonder of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA, or America, or whatever they call it. At 11 o’ clock I’m going to indulge in a bit of The Big Bang Theory on E4+1, then maybe round the evening off with a bit of Family Guy.

Bertie’s battery is upstairs charging and once I get into my memory card’s packaging I’ll load it up and I’m good to go. I’ll take a stack of photos but I’ll have to wait until I get home until I can post them.

Toodle-pip, friends and colleagues! x

Gadzooks! I have finished Wisp an astounding two days early!

Well, actually it’s one day later than I said it would be, but it’s two days before I go on holiday and that sounds much more impressive.

I bought the buttons I needed to finish off and stitched them on earlier. I’ve just un-pinned my masterpiece from the state-of-the-art blocking facility in my knitting suite (old beach towel on the dining room table). Sorry about the photo quality, but my fellow Brits will understand about the general lack of daylight we endure at this time of year.

At this point I have to say hello to Ben because his text guilted me into fixing beSottied. In fact, I believe his words were “Sort it out, you slacker”. Thanks, mate. Still reading, or has all of this knitting/lack of scantily dressed ladies put you off??

Har har. Anyway, Helen and I were meant to be meeting Mutti tonight for dinner at the tapas bar as a late Mother’s Day celebration, but it turns out the restaurant is closed on Mondays so we’ve had to postpone it. Take a gander at the roses we bought for her:

Aren’t the colours lovely? We’ve got them in a big cracked-glass vase on the hearth and they look gorgeous. Though normally, tulips are my favourite (enter gratuitous tulip photo from meine bedroom):

Because we had to cancel our dining arrangements I took the opportunity to finish work a little bit early to go button shopping, and I was the first to arrive home tonight.

As soon as I pulled onto the drive I thought “Emily, you fool, you did not pick up your housekey this morning, did you?”. Instead of thinking “No, Brain, I did not, how very right you always are!” I proceeded to empty my handbag all over my front passenger seat, losing approximately three lipglosses in Muriel’s Mysterious Black Hole (aka the space between my seat and the handbrake/gearstick console thingy. Why do they make those so that no finger or implement, no matter how pointed, hooked or slender, will fit in the gap?). I checked the door pockets and the glovebox, even though the only things I keep in there are Muriel’s guidebook and a packet of baby wipes (a seagull pooed on me once when I was driving with the lid off).

And so, locked out of my house and with my ever-ready wellies in the boot, I thought “Let us petit-pois our way back up the motorway to the service station to the JET WASH!!!”

You may not call it the jet wash, nor even the Jet Wash. It may only be referred to as the JET WASH!!!

The JET WASH!!! is brilliant. Instead of an automatic car wash, where you are left vulnerable and hoping and praying that one of those big ol’ stripy brushes doesn’t come lurching in through your soft-top, you put your coins in a little slot then choose from either:

a) a brush on a big stick
b) a miniature water-cannon on a big stick

and various wash settings with which to blast your vehicle. I ♥ it mucho because I can use the gentle spray all over Mu, then avoid her roof when I switch on the Super High Pressure Rinse That Takes Your Arm Off And Makes Your Hand Ache. It is a very masculine way to wash your car. You can feel your ladylike gait gradually becoming a cocksure stride as your time with those big sticks ticks by.

And so I donned my wellies (which are flowery beauties from Joules and must’ve looked stunning with my work clothes) and blasted my little Mu clean. I even checked her tyre pressures afterwards! What a considerate and knowledgeable car owner I am.

As I was crouching down to pump up Mu’s tyres with the automatic airhose thingy, two guys in a white van pulled on to the forecourt. The passenger witnessed my actions with what I hope was reverence, possibly thinking something along the lines of “Cor, what a considerate and knowledgeable car owner that girl is. And such stunning wellies, too. I bet they’re from Joules.”

Most likely he was thinking “I bet she doesn’t even know how to drive, wielding that hose like that. Also, I could quite fancy a Double Decker.”