Belly Laughs

I’m trying to catch up on some of my magazine reading and have just read Woman’s Weekly Fiction Special from March – yes, you see how far behind I am!  As ever there were some wonderful stories in amongst the pages – especially from my favourites, Teresa Ashby, Wendy Clarke and Joanna Campbell. I also enjoyed the story by Linda Povey, who is part of an online writer’s group I used to be a member of.

But what really made me laugh out loud was Jane Wenham-Jones’ description of getting stuck in a dress she was trying on and having to call a friend to get her out of it.  What amused me most was not her predicament, but the fact that it took me back to a time when a similar thing happened to me.

Not long after my youngest was born, I was going to a wedding and needed a new dress.  I went into a shop, much posher than I would normally dream of entering, and saw a beautiful dress on a hanger.  Unfortunately for me the dress looked much nicer on the hanger than it did on me so I decided that it was a non-starter.  The only problem was when I tried to take it off, it had cleaved to me like a second skin and was not going anywhere.  My throat went dry, my heart started to beat faster and I could feel the sweat starting to slick as the seams on the dress stretched to the point of bursting.  I had visions of me ending up with a ripped dress and either having to sneak it back in the shop or having to buy it anyway.

Eventually, though, I did manage to get it off, and in one piece, and it was only then that I realised there was a zipper on the side which would have prevented me from doing the changing room work out!

Funnily enough, I haven’t been back to that shop since.

I've been tagged

The lovely  Teresa Ashby has tagged me - sorry Teresa, I've been a bit slack in replying to this.

The tag has the lucky 7 meme. It’s all about the number seven – lucky for some. The tagged-one has to turn to page 77 of their current work in progress, go to line 7 and copy out the next 7 lines, sentences or paragraphs. Then 7 more people must be tagged

I'm afraid page the lines 7-14 on page 77 weren't especially exciting, but this is only a rough first draft.

So here goes:

My reflection doesn’t please me at all.  Once upon a time, in days which are a blip in my memory, my stomach was flat.  Now, a roll of fat hangs over my Caesarean scar in a wobbly unattractive dollop.  But I can’t just blame it on the children. Somehow I’ve managed to add to the weight I gained carrying them and the result is a heavier more maternal figure than I’m happy with. I’m really going to have to do something to stop the rot before I turn into a complete dough ball. Exercise: something else to try and cram into my already packed day. There’s no point joining a gym; it would be a waste of money.  But an exercise DVD could be an option. I might just be able to find some time to do that when the children are asleep – if I’m not too knackered that is.

Not very exciting is it?  I don't know who to tag on this one so I'll just leave it open. If anyone wants to try this and leave a comment I'd be really interested to read them.

Well, now, I'm off to Tunisa in the wee small hours of the morning. Have spent the last week, shopping, washing, ironing and packing.  Now my head feels as though it's about to explode trying to remember who needs to take what and if there's anything I've forgotten.  Of course there will be.  One year I forgot to pack the chargers for the kid's DS's - I wasn't exactly a popular mummy that holiday I can tell you. I'm not the best of packers, I find it impossible to decide what to take and end up taking far too much and usually coming back with a suitcase full of clean clothes.  But strangely this year, I've managed to fit everything for the four of us into three suitcases, one of which is rather small.  This has left me with a feeling of dread because it doesn't feel right at all. Who knows, I may have finally got the hang of this holdiay lark but somehow I doubt it.  But if anyone moans this year I'm not going to apologise - they can do their own packing next time.

One thing I won't be forgetting to pack though is my Kindle (with its charger) my writing magazines, my notebook and plenty of pens.   Then if anyone does moan, I'll just stick my head in a book and ignore the lot of them.

Happy Easter everyone, hope you don't overdose too much on chocolate.

Oh and yes, I have remembered to pack the mini eggs for the Easter Bunny but don't tell the kids!

Linda

Ten Random Things

Hi all

Thanks to Teresa for the tag.  (Hope the link works). I don't think I've ever been tagged before so it's an honour.

So here goes - here are my ten random things:

1. I can't sing, dance or play a musical instrument so I'm banking on writing as "my special talent".

2. I believe in fate and that somewhere there is a masterplan for everyone (OCD kicking in again). But I am convinced that fate has played a part in keeping me away from a few potentially life threatening situations.

3. I love to cook but never find the time to experiment.

4. I am fascinated with history and have often wondered about reincarnation.  I would love to try out past life regression under hypnosis but am too chicken.

5.  I am completely hooked on Nescafe Mocha coffee sachets.

6. I have a tendancy to be a glass half empty type of person but am doing my best this year to see a glass half full.

7. My parents weren't exactly flush when  I was growing up and I'm grateful because it has taught me the value of money.  I would much rather save for something than to buy it on credit.

8.  This weekend my 12 year old niece had a sleeopover at my house.  I realised that I don't feel grown up enough to have sole responsiblity for someone who is as tall as me.

9.  I have always wanted to fly in a tiger moth aeroplane but like 4. above, I am far too chicken.

10.  I love blogland and all the people I have met here. 

Thanks Teresa for tagging me, I've enjoyed coming up with ten random things.

By the way "random" is the in word amongst my ten year old son and his friends at the moment. Everything is random!