tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92025402012-01-27T11:18:50.395ZAliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.comBlogger4281100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-5378444695616376232012-01-27T11:16:00.002Z2012-01-27T11:18:50.405Z

Spankcracker is still dead. But I'm temporarily blogging over here if anyone is interested.

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-59046075615871778572011-11-30T19:30:00.004Z2011-11-30T19:43:55.194Z

This year was easier than previous years. Once I get in the right mindset and start keeping track of my ideas it isn't actually that difficult.My favourite posts this November are:My quince treeSaturday morning in the Team Green householdYour wish is my commandAnd now for the bad news ... this blog's days are numbered. I will never do NaBloPoMo again here, and I will most likely be deleting the

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-16742300627125195322011-11-29T21:52:00.001Z2011-11-29T21:57:46.690Z

Two things happened this week that made me feel old. 1.  I was in the gym last night and caught the tail end of a conversation between two girls in their early twenties. One was moaning about her housemate.  The other one said, "Is she old?" and the first one said, "Yeah, thirty or something?" and the other one said, "Eww... gross". 2. On my way home from Cubs I was talking to our 18-year-old

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-54536729549250515182011-11-28T16:28:00.000Z2011-11-28T16:46:12.267Z

Lately I've been working really hard to get super-turbo-fit before Christmas. My gym program is so brutal that smoking isn't really an option at the moment. It's not even crossed my mind.Here's a handy calendar:Tonight I'm going to my Monday night session at the gym. It's called Party Fit and it involves circuit training around ten stations - lunges, squats, weights, press-ups and various

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-21755034297603983002011-11-27T20:40:00.004Z2011-11-27T20:56:30.978Z

The game "Yellow Car" was first introduced to us by one of Isabel's friends. His knowledge of the exact rules was a bit woolly but basically it's a counting game in which you get one point for seeing a yellow car, one point for a Mini and one point for a convertible. And a million points for a car with jigsaw puzzle pieces on it.I soon realised this was a totally unfair points system, as Minis

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-75567982042842410342011-11-26T16:27:00.003Z2011-11-26T16:33:20.409Z

Sorry this isn't much of a post, I've had a busy day! Cub training, followed by the gym, followed by going out for dinner in a little while. So it's just haircut pics I'm afraid!AFTER:And this one was taken immediately after Mattgreen took a sneaky photo of my tits*:* which has now been DELETED Mattgreen :P

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-39098604021696596122011-11-25T16:48:00.003Z2011-11-25T16:53:23.557Z

Today I spent three hours at the hairdresser.I was going to show you the before and after pictures, but I look hideous in every "after" picture I've tried to take. They aren't fit for the internet.I think I need natural light so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.For now, here is the BEFORE:

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-49470811916693255222011-11-24T20:27:00.003Z2011-11-24T20:43:43.737Z

Recently it was Izzy's birthday and she had a few friends over for some party games.One of the games I came up with was the one where you give each child a word and sit them all in a circle. Then you read them a story and every time their word is mentioned, they have to get up and dash around the circle and sit down again. Quite a pointless game really, but kids like it.Anyway, I was trying to

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-5826232994700036582011-11-23T21:55:00.006Z2011-11-23T22:12:40.930Z

Once upon a time, long ago, in a lifetime far far away, I bought this fridge magnet from a service station on the way to a Magic: The Gathering tournament.When you press the red button, you get either this response: Or this one: This has entertained all my friends, my child, my friends' children and all other visitors to our various houses for over a decade. Mattgreen even had to change

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-5149389497936634942011-11-22T18:00:00.004Z2011-11-22T18:15:41.973Z

Today I went to the dentist. I've got a phobia of dentists and I have to go to the next town to see a special guy who deals with anxious patients.I knew today's appointment wasn't going to go well because I've been finding gritty bits of broken filling in my mouth for a while now. As predicted, two of my fillings have cracked/broken and need to be replaced. Bugger.I discussed the various

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-32585734296054241112011-11-21T21:54:00.003Z2011-11-21T22:00:42.898Z

Isabel came hurtling into the bathroom this morning, wailing.Me: What's up?Izzy: (stroppily) I haven't got any tissues, I need a tissue!I pass her some bog roll.Izzy: I haven't had any tissues in my bedroom FOR MONTHS!Me: Have you written "tissues" on the shopping list?Izzy: (rudely) NO, why would I?Me: Because if you write things on there, I will buy them...?Mattgreen: (from bottom of the stairs

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-91718181746852186582011-11-19T22:56:00.006Z2011-11-20T17:18:29.103Z

This might be a terrible idea, and I've wrestled with it for months now, but today I'm going to talk about my religion.Since the beginning of this year I've been attending the local Unitarian church.First off, I could never be involved in any religion that didn't accept that all people are equal. Unitarians are one of the few religions which allow openly LGBT members to be ordained ministers and

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-42814592111738686692011-11-19T10:46:00.003Z2011-11-19T11:10:45.601Z

Mattgreen has gone away for the weekend. So last night, once Izzy was in bed, I just noodled around on Facebook and reading blogs for a while. It was about 11.30pm, I'd turned off the computer and was thinking about going to bed when Ludo started making snuffley woof sounds. She does this a lot, usually when she hears something outside. I told her to be quiet.Then she made a louder, yelpier

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-77900337620920817042011-11-18T20:18:00.005Z2011-11-18T21:24:49.180Z

Today I went to the library to get out some bagpipe music. We're having a Scotland evening at Cubs in a couple of weeks (to mark St. Andrew's Day) so I wanted to get an appropriate soundtrack.We're going to eat Scotch pancakes, play mini highland games, the Cubs can wear a kilt if they have one, we're going to get them to design their own tartan on squared paper, etc. I love all that shit.

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-84587349978085999752011-11-17T20:30:00.000Z2011-11-17T21:06:58.315Z

Further to yesterday's post, I found a totally awesome article about minimalism called A Day in the Future. I showed it to Mattgreen who thought it was really well-written.Near the end, it says:I often marvel at the thought of the unimaginable value someone two hundred years ago could get out of a random box of somebody’s neglected junk.That reminded me of my first ever mobile phone. I was an

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-71487250017267011152011-11-16T18:54:00.002Z2011-11-16T20:18:47.772Z

Today I have made a big decision.Unfortunately I can't talk about that yet. What I can talk about instead is CLUTTER. One of my new year's resolutions was to be better with money. I didn't realise at the time, but what I actually wanted was to own less stuff. Mattgreen and I have been gradually getting rid of things, but it's an incredibly slow process. I intend to become even more ruthless

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-28149791914533344052011-11-15T22:19:00.007Z2011-11-15T22:33:27.307Z

Today I had to go to Brighton for work. I decided to go early so I could do a bit of shopping and had a lovely morning meandering round the shops without a child trailing around behind me, picking up inappropriate things and shouting "WHAT'S THIS?"After that I went down to the seafront and decided to get some chips and eat them on the beach (screw the diet). It was a cold but bright day and the

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-69532379101526777792011-11-14T20:51:00.006Z2011-11-14T21:07:32.748Z

This is what we had for dinner tonight. It's called Quick Chili and it's from Nigella Express. I'd never had much success with chilli before I found this recipe. I've probably made it half a dozen times and every time it's been gorgeous. It only takes about ten minutes to prep too!I've de-snobbified the recipe for you as it's full of Nigella's usual, "visit your local artisan herb-collector

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-66202691215786308522011-11-13T18:07:00.003Z2011-11-13T18:20:21.937Z

It's not going well. So, as of tomorrow, I'm trying not to smoke for the 873498575th time. Sigh.To be fair, all the stressy shit going on at work has not made things easy. Also, we had visitors who smoke, which causes my willpower to dip to an all-time low.But! We've got a few clear weeks in the diary including various occasions where smoking would be a pain the arse (non-smoking visitors, a

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-17773635732767653022011-11-12T09:20:00.003Z2011-11-12T09:39:46.918Z

This morning was the first Saturday I've been able to have a lie-in for weeks. We're usually really busy so it's a huge luxury to not have anything planned.At 8.15am, the dulcet sounds of next door's scaffolders clanking poles and banging around woke me up. I lay in bed. Me: Mattgreen, can you hear that clanging?Mattgreen: (grumpily) Yeah. What time is it?Me: 8.17. A. M.Mattgreen:

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-12857373749753459772011-11-11T22:06:00.003Z2011-11-11T22:26:25.336Z

Lately I've been going to the gym a lot. Yesterday I saw my Personal Trainer. He is a very nice lad but does seem to have a somewhat sadistic streak.Yesterday I did something called TRX, which is basically a sort of rope/lashing affair which you tie to some piece of equipment and then use your own body weight to exercise with. I did push-ups whilst dangling in mid-air, rowing while leaning

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-40417132665569068232011-11-10T16:39:00.003Z2011-11-10T16:51:35.463Z

1. Our car passed it's MOT today! It had a full service, and nothing extra needed doing. This is despite the fact a weird light came on a few weeks ago. I looked it up and it said "TAKE STRAIGHT TO YOUR TOYOTA DEALER" so I phoned Mattgreen and he said, "DO NOTHING" and then the light went off again and nothing bad has happened. Also, the brakes were making a horrible squeaking sound this

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-15861648925266446412011-11-09T21:03:00.001Z2011-11-09T21:19:01.344Z

On the way to work this morning, I spent a happy ten minutes hoping I would get ill. To me, being ill involves getting a free day off, snuggling on the sofa with a hot water bottle, being waited on hand and foot by Mattgreen, watching crappy telly and having super-luxurious daytime naps, and not having to be arsed to cook dinner or go to the gym. Being ill is like being on holiday, only better,

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-44030178364101001262011-11-08T21:10:00.003Z2011-11-08T21:16:40.973Z

Earlier this year, Gordy and Will sent us the following postcard from their hols:It amused me greatly at the time and it's been stuck on our dishwasher ever since. Tonight Isabel was looking at it and she said, "Can I connect the dots?" I then had to try to explain why it would somehow lose its amusement value if the dots were actually connected. The joke is in the absence of the lines.Turns

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-6764667232375398062011-11-07T21:36:00.002Z2011-11-07T22:03:24.559Z

Today I found out that the Olympic Torch is not coming to our town. I told Mattgreen as soon as he got home from work. He dropped his bag, shouted, "OH NO!" and collapsed on the sofa dramatically.Mattgreen is not that interested in the Olympic Games.I've got tickets for second round tennis at Wimbledon, which I suspect will be very much like going to Wimbledon and not really at all like going

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-26036169913139520302011-11-06T20:59:00.006Z2011-11-06T21:13:09.497Z

This is a story Mattgreen told me a couple of weeks ago when he got home from work, and it was so funny I decided to save it.Mattgreen, as you probably know, works with insects. Sometimes people from other institutions or other parts of the company come to visit and tour the lab. On this particular day, Mattgreen had a visit from the bubbly, enthusiastic social media girls from the Marketing

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-80558070305385576992011-11-05T17:19:00.006Z2011-11-05T17:48:04.599Z

Mattgreen and I spent most of this year turning our garden into a beautiful circular design. The central feature of the garden is my quince tree, which was a gift from Mattgreen for our "Wood" wedding anniversary (5 years).We had friends visiting yesterday and they asked what the story was behind the quince tree. Years ago, I had a beloved friend who lived in an amazing house in Silverstone.

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-56527223162570559172011-11-04T16:07:00.002Z2011-11-04T16:19:28.194Z

Our dog, Ludo, will be five next year. She's going a bit grey around the muzzle and she's definitely a bit of a grouchy old lady. It's sometimes a bit of an effort for her to haul herself up into the car and she's growing increasingly lazy, if that's even possible.Estrela Mountain Dogs usually only live to be about ten. My colleague's 14-year-old dog passed away this week so I've been thinking

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-26868542972041063152011-11-03T21:47:00.002Z2011-11-03T21:51:05.973Z

Today I was in Sainsburys and they were doing a promotion on Baileys. They had the new biscotti flavour - I'd seen it on Facebook and thought it looked nice so I tried some.It is a rare day that I don't like alcohol, especially free alcohol.It's even rarer that an item of food or drink is too sweet for me.It's unheard of for me not to finish a tiny sample-size drink, even if I'm not that

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-67507586663948980102011-11-02T19:06:00.003Z2011-11-02T21:38:51.862Z

Tonight I've been making our Christmas cake. I've branched out to a new Nigella recipe (shock horror!) for a change so fingers crossed it will be edible. I've been drinking wine whilst baking it, so better also cross my fingers that all critical ingredients are included.And if they're not, it will be pudding for a few days and then I'll make another one. So fuck it.After a truly awful few days

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-29500565376801388342011-11-01T17:02:00.003Z2011-11-01T17:14:00.039Z

I'm currently on one of my health kicks. This is partly because I have to wear a swimsuit and throw myself off cliffs in February, and partly because I've got some personal training vouchers that needed using up, and partly because I'm ALWAYS on some kind of health kick.Anyway after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I think I've finally identified why I struggle to lose weight and struggle

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-66948468199355713912011-10-30T18:54:00.004Z2011-10-30T19:24:14.184Z

Hello, long-lost readers!It's that time of year again. Unfortunately I'm having a pretty shitty time at the moment:We have no heating and have not done for a fortnight;My beloved computer is broken beyond repair (I'm writing this on work's laptop) so I have no access to iTunes or to my photos, which is a pain in the arse;This week I will find out whether or not I still have a job - work have

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-14808773360413239032011-09-17T20:49:00.002Z2011-09-17T20:56:29.998Z

We are driving. In front of us is a VW Polo.Mattgreen: I've always liked Polos. If I could only ever have one car for the rest of my life, it'd be a Volkswagon Polo.Me: I'd have a Mazda MX5.Mattgreen: (makes vomiting sounds) Me: (ignoring him) Hmm... although it wouldn't be very convenient if I wanted to go to the tip. I'd just have to hire a car for that.Mattgreen: Aha! (triumphantly) But if

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-71829465969946131742011-09-14T20:37:00.006Z2011-09-14T20:50:53.428Z

I've just had to turn my computer back on so that I could pull my previous blog post, hopefully before many people saw it as it was a self-pitying rant of epic proportions. I just needed to get a grip and put things into perspective. In the previous post I mentioned my "massive boring list of tedious chores". I glanced at this list earlier. It includes:Pick up dry cleaningPay vet

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-54088713927408409302011-08-24T20:22:00.003Z2011-08-24T20:41:01.767Z

Sorry about my somewhat obtuse last post. I'm fine, really! Basically, I didn't want to discuss what happened without talking about the background, and the background is complicated. It's to do with spirituality which is not an easy topic to discuss, especially not in the essentially one-sided medium of a blog. Also, it's such a personal thing that I feel rather exposed talking about it on

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-86754307188737188312011-08-22T19:50:00.003Z2011-08-22T20:01:51.846Z

I've spent most of this evening getting all my old vinyl records out of their sleeves and looking at them. They still smell the way records always do, sort of dusty, and they still look all sleek and shiny and it still feels kind of magical to pull them out of their sleeves. They still sound gritty and raw and like REAL MUSIC. Unfortunately I haven't owned a record player in about ten years so

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-84400444167789510312011-08-21T21:37:00.005Z2011-08-21T21:48:53.426Z

One of Mattgreen's many endearing habits is to change the names of household items to make them sound more macho. For example, when he got some random espadrilles from TK Maxx, and I laughingly called them his sandals, he insisted that no, these were not sandals: These, my friends, are MANdles. The name has stuck and become a normal noun in our house, e.g. "Where are your mandles?" or "Can I

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-74739528505221254322011-08-01T08:21:00.001Z2011-08-01T08:22:19.241Z

Probably everyone in the world has seen this already, but I hadn't and I think it's fab!(Sorry for only posting videos and not actual content lately. Won't be long till November eh?)

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-14103143904295537742011-07-17T18:53:00.004Z2011-07-17T18:58:30.117Z

70 Millions by Hold Your Horses!I'm not really that great at recognising art but I've seen quite a few of these paintings. The song is bloody fab too. I am definitely turning into a Person Who Likes Folk Music.

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-55674713497479130032011-06-26T20:49:00.004Z2011-06-26T21:14:22.497Z

As a teenager, I was a massive music fan and an obsessive CD collector. I spent all my money in Our Price and HMV and ordering obscure indie music from catalogues. I ended up with over 400 CDs which I carted from one house to the next. When Mattgreen and I moved in together, we merged our collections. We sold the duplicates. The rest we carted from one house to the next until finally,

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-80040767826783043612011-06-24T16:53:00.003Z2011-06-24T17:00:59.828Z

This morning, at the breakfast table.Izzy: Can I enter that competition to design a school meal?Me: (looking at entry form) It says it has to contain carbohydrates, protein, fruit or veg AND dairy. And the ingredients should come from Sussex. That could be tricky.Izzy: What carbohydrates come from Sussex?Me: Potatoes? And grain I guess... for bread.Izzy: I know! Couldn't you just have boiled

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-3694144988831851812011-06-22T14:54:00.002Z2011-06-22T14:59:28.271Z

Tuesday night. I am at Cubs, talking to one of our Young Leaders. He is explaining that in order to get his Queen's-Platinum-Forceful-Handshake-And-A-Clap-On-The-Back (or somesuch), he needs to help the Cubs earn one of their badges.Me: Which badge is it?YL: It's the one with a panda on it.Me: Which one is that?YL: Errr... I think it's the Naturist badge.Me: (laughing) That would be

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-72325786958973736582011-06-19T14:37:00.005Z2011-06-19T14:48:10.424Z

Last week we were watching Isabel doing country dancing. She came over between songs and asked if she could have a drink. She looked in the bag but it wasn't there. "I filled it up but I forgot to put it in the bag," she moaned. "Oh well, nevermind," I said. She then turned to another girl who was standing nearby drinking her drink. "I forgot my drink," Izzy said sadly, "I'm soooo thirsty,

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-27660559296171292632011-06-15T19:30:00.003Z2011-06-15T19:39:47.302Z

Hello.Remember me? I'm that person who sometimes writes my blog every day. Sometimes every week. Sometimes not for ages. Sorry about that.The last few weeks has been a punishing regime. First I was stressing about going camping, to the point where I couldn't sleep and was grinding my teeth. Then we went camping. The next day, I went to visit my parents for a few days. The day after that,

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-51446462884786075402011-05-14T18:49:00.006Z2011-05-15T08:59:14.941Z

Here is a question one of my friends posted on Facebook:Why, when you are in your 20s and earlier, do you just breeze through life unpeturbed by events in the world but as you get older you take them on board more - what is it that changes?My FB reply was as follows:I think you grow out being self-absorbed. When I was young I was more interested in boyfriends and parties than tax. Having children

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-73254789746312391402011-05-13T20:07:00.002Z2011-05-13T20:10:31.665Z

Here's the postcard we sent to the dog from the seaside:FRONT:BACK:

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-58412863465763656152011-05-09T22:05:00.004Z2011-05-09T22:15:16.396Z

Last night, Mattgreen and I, talking about how we're running out of space on Sky+.Me: And we've got 47 bajillion episodes of Pokemon, and House has just started again. Mattgreen: Hmm...Me: And the Apprentice starts again on Tuesday.Mattgreen: (sings the theme tune) Dum de dum de dum de dum deeee... dum te dum te deeeee!Me: It's going to be great!(Mattgreen loathes and despises The Apprentice,

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-73789602081532975952011-05-05T13:15:00.005Z2011-05-05T13:21:59.570Z

As my birthday was just a few days after Lee-Anne and I returned from Madrid, she bought me some CDs to improve my Spanish for our next trip. I have been doing them in the car and it is hilarious.

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-38923586007949676372011-05-02T21:22:00.004Z2011-05-02T21:30:11.397Z

The day: YesterdayThe scene: Mattgreen and I are walking along the pebble beach, Isabel is walking behind us climbing over the groynes and leaping down from them.Izzy: Ow!(Mattgreen and I carry on walking)Izzy: (loudly and pointedly) Ow!Mattgreen: Keep saying 'ow' like that and I might upgrade my level of sympathy from 'minimal' to 'not quite enough to help you'.Later that day...Mattgreen picks

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-29631642734085022662011-04-30T19:55:00.000Z2011-04-30T19:40:25.229Z

Yesterday I was going to a Royal Wedding party. I asked Mattgreen to put the TV on but I couldn't stay to watch it as I had to get ready upstairs.Mattgreen: You missed the streaker! Right the way down the Mall!Me: No! You're joking!Mattgreen: It's certainly a chilly morning...Me: Ha, ha.(two minutes passes)Mattgreen: Oh, you wouldn't believe what's just happened!Me: What, what!Mattgreen: A

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-10836774607213536552011-04-27T20:19:00.003Z2011-04-27T21:38:57.803Z

In case you haven't noticed, next week the UK is having a referendum. Some people think First Past The Post is unfair, because say the vote was split 30/30/40, the person with 40% would end up winning. Whiners say that because they got less than 50% of the total vote, they aren't the "choice of the people". I'm not convinced, as after all this is how you win most games. You don't have to get

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-36643468847120924262011-04-25T11:21:00.003Z2011-04-25T11:23:55.112Z

I am making quesadillas in the kitchen.Me: Oh bugger! I haven't got any sour cream!Mattgreen: Oh no! Middle-class food crisis!Me: (seriously) No, I really need it.Mattgreen: Yeah, it's like insulin to me dear.Me: I'll have to use crème fraiche instead...Mattgreen: (rolls eyes)

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-56621062951441197782011-04-20T20:29:00.003Z2011-04-20T20:34:14.768Z

Last night I finally applied for my Olympics tickets. I've been umming and ahhing for ages but it is all done. How exciting! I've applied for 23 tickets in six different sports, fingers crossed we get ONE of them.Isabel is actually quite keen to go and see some of the more crazy stuff. Mattgreen really only wants the fencing. And if I win all the tennis tickets I applied for then we will be

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-47839967599373047962011-04-17T18:03:00.004Z2011-04-17T18:28:04.371Z

Yesterday was my birthday. It was great. I had coffee in bed and opened my presents. Virtually all my cards had shoes or cakes on them. Mattgreen managed to completely surprise me, which is always difficult because I'm so nosey, and got me an iPhone. I've wanted an iPhone since the dawn of time, but as I'm on PAYG due to low usage, they are completely excessively expensive and the cost really

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-89569411311624833512011-04-14T08:04:00.000Z2011-04-14T08:04:00.431Z

A couple of days before Lee-Anne and I went to Madrid, I had a look on Trip Advisor to see what there was to do, and I noticed that the #7 Best Thing To Do in Madrid was something called GoCar.Intrigued, I mentioned it to Lee-Anne, who said, "THAT LOOKS AMAZING! LET'S DO IT!" so we booked it.It is essentially a teeny tiny yellow convertible, with a sat nav that shouts directions and fascinating

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-37118967795450180152011-04-13T19:16:00.011Z2011-04-13T20:01:09.901Z

Last weekend I went to Madrid with Lee-Anne for a long weekend. It was partly a pre-birthday celebration, partly to make up for not going on a proper holiday this year and partly just to go for a girly long weekend, to catch up and have fun.It was hot hot hot: 26-27 degrees most days. I need not have brought my denim jacket, poncho and fleece *sigh* My gym kit also lay idle and unused the

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-26964886042884168992011-04-05T22:15:00.001Z2011-04-05T22:21:01.653Z

Mattgreen and I have unanimously decided: Never again!Next time I fancy doing a crazy diet, I'm going to cut out just alcohol and sugar. Basically I worked out fairly quickly that I could still eat meringue, ice cream, Haribo, Opal Fruits, Crème caramel and various other items that can hardly be considered health foods. Giving up wheat was pointless and painful, with no real benefit. Giving up

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-65501426312222693322011-03-26T20:21:00.004Z2011-03-26T20:41:10.626Z

Today I had butternut squash risotto, usually one of my favourite meals. Made without the use of wine or parmesan, it suddenly lost its appeal. Grim.Mattgreen has gone away to visit our friends in Leeds for the weekend. If it was me going, I would've abandoned the diet without a moment's hesitation. Sadly, in order to avoid monstrous hypocrisy, I therefore had to grant Mattgreen a three-day

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-47070417920860272912011-03-16T21:37:00.004Z2011-03-16T21:53:54.168Z

Thought I should post an update on crazy diet. It's been two weeks now and I have lost a grand total of:............................................ half a pound!Hmm. Not great. I've been eating loads of nuts and dried fruit so maybe that's why. But probably it's because my diet was actually pretty healthy before. If I'd eaten nothing but takeaways and cake and full fat Coke and beer before

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-67350318580593762372011-03-10T12:27:00.002Z2011-03-10T12:37:28.190Z

Our local newspaper amuses Mattgreen and I greatly. Where we used to live, the paper was full of news of stabbings and muggings and burglaries. Here in leafy Sussex, there is precious little to keep the reporters busy.So we end up with gems like the article in this week's rag complaining about those green cabinets that BT put up to store their cables in. According to the paper: "The

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-57287762111979526032011-03-07T17:00:00.003Z2011-03-07T17:05:38.935Z

This morning, Ludo was being her usual naughty self. We were on her walk and she had wandered off into the field to chow down on a tasty cow poopsicle.I called her, she ignored me. I called her again, she kept scoffing.Eventually I got to the metal gate and shouted, "If you don't come now I'm going without you," as if she was a misbehaving small child. Ludo just stood there. If she could

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-48779480891410254552011-03-05T21:49:00.003Z2011-03-05T22:08:20.169Z

... well, quite a lot more than you might think!Things that are allowed:Fish (all)Low fat dairy products, e.g. skimmed milk, low fat yoghurt, eggsRice/cous cous/quinoaAll fruit and vegetablesOat-based cereals including porridge and granolaRice cakes/oat cakes/RyvitaQuornBeans, lentils, etc.Nuts and seedsCoffee, tea, juices, smoothies, diet CokeWhen you read through that list, it's really not that

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-31903619447739773162011-03-04T21:32:00.002Z2011-03-04T21:37:09.703Z

Mattgreen and I have been on crazy diet for two days.Today I went shopping and managed to spend £128 on a week's food without buying any meat or alcohol. I did buy an obscene quantity of dried fruit and nuts though. And £18 worth of salmon. And a new mascara :)Hopefully all these things will make the next few weeks pretty easy. So far the food side of it isn't a problem. I like the things I

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-28816566021116711392011-03-02T20:55:00.002Z2011-03-02T21:04:34.053Z

My birthday (also known as Christmas in April) is next month. I have already got four celebratory occasions planned for it, and all of them involve eating and drinking.Therefore I've decided to go on a diet. I don't really need to lose weight, but I figure if I lose some now, I will look fabulous for my birthday and afterwards I won't feel all fat and bloated because I will've just regained

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-41441581465430473902011-02-27T21:01:00.002Z2011-02-27T21:09:09.154Z

I was at the gym today and I saw this video:I've seen it before and it never fails to make my jaw drop."I don't even know you and I don't care [...] let's have sex"!Direct and to the point I suppose. The video is a perv's paradise as well. I wonder what her mum thinks. I know this makes me sound incredibly old, but how the hell do you ring your Mum and say, "I'm doing this song, it's called '

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-43890791732710941852011-02-16T14:06:00.002Z2011-02-16T14:16:45.587Z

Sorry I haven't been posting that much. Now that 2010 is over and I no longer have to adhere to last year's new year's resolutions, I'm back to being insanely busy.This afternoon, I need to prepare a presentation for work on Monday and take Izzy to swimming lessons and plan our menu for the week. Tonight I'm babysitting for a neighbour and going to the gym, tomorrow I am doing food shopping and

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-25338840213256029112011-02-12T21:44:00.005Z2011-02-12T22:01:00.349Z

Today I went to the woods with Mattgreen, Isabel and Ludo.As we were walking along, I was telling Matt and Izzy how you can buy a bit of woodland, and how I'd love to do that, and have an acre or two of wood at the bottom of our garden, and build a treehouse and a have a hammock hanging between the trees, and string up fairy lights and have bonfires and sing-songs in the winter, and champagne and

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-27182687722320765572011-02-10T11:30:00.004Z2011-02-10T11:46:18.784Z

Recently at Cubs we had an aerobics lesson. It was great fun and (most of) the kids really enjoyed it. At the end of the class we handed out some leaflets from the instructor advertising her kids classes. She'd done the session for nothing so it was the least we could do. Just as Cubs was coming to a close, I overheard a couple of the boys giggling and whispering. They were saying that one

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-83726581092845747302011-01-31T21:36:00.004Z2011-01-31T22:04:13.464Z

This was originally posted on Facebook in response to a request, but I thought it was interesting enough to repost here:Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen singers you've heard that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. 1. Isabel Monteiro from Drugstore2. Thom Yorke from Radiohead3. Patrick Duff from Strangelove4. Karen Carpenter

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-72069191390668995392011-01-29T13:57:00.008Z2011-01-29T14:30:53.904Z

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I've been busy. I got invested as a Cub Scout leader... I went to London to eat, look at art, drink wine (and sit on a fake Vespa)...I won a competition to make sushi with a Michelin-starred chef...and I finally found spiritual meaning. But that's another post!Yesterday I went to Leatherhead to do some more food testing. I never know what I'm going to be

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-89817720543354948242011-01-13T21:03:00.002Z2011-01-13T21:11:52.080Z

I've just been looking at my Life List - a list of things I want to do in my lifetime which is so crazily "out there" that I've never posted it to my blog. Lots of the things I want to do require finance, to the point where I'm looking at my list and sighing and thinking, I can't do ANY of this. And then I remembered that this week I have bought both a set of martini glasses and a new pair of

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-50584799935130325142011-01-09T20:03:00.000Z2011-01-09T20:07:05.731Z

Sorry for the extended delay. I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment. I feel like I'm on the cusp of a great discovery, but I don't know quite what it is yet. I've got a lot going on at the moment and for some reason I've been resisting posting my resolutions. Usually I'm quite clear about them but this year it's been really tough to choose.1. Be better with money - shop less, spend

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-46946966133644777092011-01-07T22:53:00.006Z2011-01-07T23:03:22.895Z

Mattgreen was telling me that he walked into the lab at work today, and Jeremy Vine was on the radio. He was talking about some new police initiative to take down the number plates of kerb-crawlers in red light areas. A caller had rung in to say that he thought that was really unfair as it unfairly and maliciously persecuted people who were lost. Mattgreen added incredulously, "People who were

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-68438513394061496522011-01-06T22:19:00.004Z2011-01-06T22:51:11.707Z

Izzy brought home a letter from the school yesterday detailing their latest fundraising idea. Apparently they are having a professional photographer come into school on a weekend to take 'relaxed beautiful and contemporary portraits at a fraction of high street prices'.I hate professional photographers with a passion. Izzy has never been to one except for her school pictures, which I often

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-11042116915296319002011-01-01T17:11:00.010Z2011-01-01T21:37:02.025Z

Two posts in one day! Oh my, dear reader, I am spoiling you! Ha ha.Without further ado, here's how I got on with my 2010 ones:1. Be less busyOverall, I would say I was slightly less busy in 2010 than in 2009. I'd guess we reduced our weekend commitments by 15% or so. I tried really hard to avoid filling every possible second of my free time. I managed to keep occasional free weekends between

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-1836266682858790912011-01-01T16:00:00.002Z2011-01-01T16:10:08.577Z

I love New Year's Eve. Loads of people hate it but as far as I'm concerned the trick is never go out. Have good friends round, play games, have a nice meal and drink lots. It will be fun and relaxed and whatever happens you're never disappointed.I'm not sure I can ever go back to going to rammed pubs and bars full of pissed people or parties full of idiots. Last night was pretty much

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-42401877230889836332010-12-28T19:50:00.004Z2010-12-28T19:54:24.956Z

Tonight, on the M25. It is wet and foggy and we are driving home. A vehicle on the hard shoulder suddenly starts flashing the lights on its roof and indicating to re-join the carriageway.Mattgreen: It's the police! Let them in.Alicey: It's not the police. It's just the traffic officers, look. I'm not letting them in. Mattgreen: Oh yeah.Alicey: If I was them, I'd take great pleasure in

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-80043732370051172042010-12-26T19:41:00.004Z2010-12-26T19:52:16.127Z

On Christmas Eve, we were visiting my parents and we drove through a little town where we lived when Izzy was a baby. There was a game shop there that Mattgreen used to frequent, which I called "Guinea Pig Games" because it had previously been a pet shop and they'd never quite managed to get rid of the smell.Mattgreen had mentioned this to some of his gaming chums and they'd all started calling

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-23821241528783971112010-12-22T19:43:00.006Z2010-12-22T19:53:31.391Z

As everyone knows, we already have a rare giant breed flock-guardian dog:There's another rare giant breed flock-guardian dog I've had my eye on for quite a while. It's called a Komondor. Because they're heavy and strong, I don't think I can wait until we retire to get one because I may not have the strength to control it.So the only option is to get it now, then it will live alongside Ludo, and

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-70256612557295724942010-12-19T12:10:00.004Z2010-12-19T12:22:29.707Z

Last night Team Green went to the Royal Albert Hall to see Carols by Candlelight. We were meant to be going by coach, but it was cancelled due to the snow. We could change our tickets, but then it clashed with something else, so we decided to risk it and drive.I was a bit very nervous about the drive. I googled "emergency car snow kit" and loaded the car with blankets, changes of clothes,

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-39696057039773743492010-12-17T22:15:00.003Z2010-12-17T22:24:50.506Z

Tonight I went to the little carol service in the street garden just down the road from us. I've been walking past the sign every day for the last fortnight and I thought it would be nice to go. I like singing, I like carols, what could go wrong?When I arrived and they gave me a glow stick with "Jesus is the Light of the World" written on it, I was slightly dubious. But it was great!

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-37878509261115381862010-12-12T19:24:00.002Z2010-12-12T19:27:29.871Z

Tonight, we had spicy beef mince tortillas for dinner. As I was getting the tortillas out, I dropped one on the floor. Ludo sniffed it, so I picked it up and handed it to Mattgreen while I got on with the dinner.Alicey: Add that to Ludo's bowl, would you?Mattgreen: (smirking) Sure.Alicey: Just rip it up into pieces and chuck it on top of her kibble.Mattgreen: But that wouldn't be any fun, would

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-79634327101103209962010-12-11T16:36:00.005Z2010-12-11T17:04:27.932Z

How to get a monstrous hangover1. Go to Christmas lunch with people from work2. When someone says, "Can I buy you a drink?" answer, "Yes please!"3. Repeat step 24. When you pick up Izzy from her friend's house, accept their offer of a drink. Decide not to have tea despite it only being 4pm, and have a glass of wine.5. When friend's husband tops up your wine, do not object.6. When you and friend

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-85387127465741786642010-12-09T21:29:00.003Z2010-12-09T21:34:02.248Z

On the way to work on the train today, I was reading an old copy of Waitrose Food Illustrated. I found an absolutely brilliant article by Sophie Dahl. It's a truly wonderful piece of writing that really draws you in and it's written in such a personal, intimate style. Love it. It makes me want to rush out and buy her book. In fact it's been on my wishlist for months already. I took a photo of

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-6002091549735487452010-12-08T23:25:00.003Z2010-12-08T23:38:00.463Z

I've just had a conversation with Mattgreen about the whole Wiki Leaks news story. He doesn't have a problem with Wiki Leaks, he reckons that the people who said stuff that got leaked are the ones responsible and they should just man up and face the music.I said, "But that's not very fair because when they said it, they never expected it to be read by a public audience". Mattgreen said, "Tough!

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-57443721468277260752010-12-06T21:00:00.001Z2010-12-06T21:31:00.758Z

My lovely husband, Mattgreen, has achieved one of his life goals: http://d13games.com/He's going to create a game or two or more with Kevan, who's one of my oldest friends. Kevan taught me to play Magic, so without him I would never have met Mattgreen, nor Gordy and Will or Phil, without whom my life would have been completely, unrecognisably different. Congratulations, Mattgreen and Kevan.

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-49782236320464460412010-12-03T21:16:00.003Z2010-12-03T21:25:58.338Z

This evening I decided to go to the gym. It's mega-snowy here and I've got a nasty sledging-related neck injury (caused by jerking my head round when someone shouted "watch out!" and pulling a muscle). So I thought I'd go and have a little run (without moving my head) and then go in the sauna to try and sort myself out.I put on my gym kit, two pairs of socks, my wellies, my furry bearstalker

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-28517448361555613182010-12-02T21:19:00.003Z2010-12-02T21:25:18.047Z

Yesterday morning, Izzy and I skipped downstairs to open our advent calendars before breakfast. Yesterday evening, when Mattgreen came home from work, I suddenly thought that maybe he was feeling left out. He's always said he's not bothered, but I thought I should check.Alicey: Mattgreen, are you REALLY okay with not having an advent calendar?Mattgreen: What, you mean the 24 ulcers of

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-3288264425046595442010-11-30T21:32:00.000Z2010-12-01T21:14:47.012Z

Tonight was our planned night hike for the Cubs.I knew it would be cold - it's been freezing here for a week - but it was also snowing. The hike was across farmland where I walk Ludo. It's very, very muddy over there at the moment, so extremely slippery even without the snow. And there's at least three kissing gates, one stile and two gates to climb over.I got a phone call and a text asking if

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-87304032476797759952010-11-29T20:58:00.005Z2010-11-29T21:32:03.321Z

Tonight I discovered that my blog has stats! I never realised that Blogger apparently records all my visitors. Sadly it only records the last few months, but nevertheless I have more readers now than ever before. HELLO NEW READERS! WHO ARE YOU?! Why are you not posting comments, dammit?! The answer is, it's probably just all my same old readers who are just looking a bit more often now that

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-33027928114495468322010-11-28T10:00:00.000Z2010-11-28T10:02:00.106Z

About a month ago I went to Leeds, and on the way home I was thinking about my New Year's Resolutions. I decided that in 2011 I would finally get round to sorting out my huge collection of food magazines. I wrote about this before but the situation hasn't improved in the interim.Anyway, I decided that waiting until January to start was a ridiculous idea so I got cracking straight away. I catch

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-11653154202043112102010-11-27T22:04:00.003Z2010-11-27T22:34:17.198Z

Well, I've avoided talking about X Factor on here so far, but I can't do it anymore.If you haven't seen Stephen Fry talking about Wagner yet, you must watch this:Brilliant!I thought his version of Creep was bloody fantastic tonight too. However, it is sort of beyond a joke now. It's time for him to go. I think people who are voting for him as a "two fingers up to Simon Cowell" gesture are a

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-13000202040829603122010-11-26T20:29:00.003Z2010-11-26T20:54:47.362Z

Today I was in Tesco and I saw this......so I bought it.Not quite channelling Kate.. and the Tesco version is considerably shorter (hence the jeans) and less nice than hers... but hey it was 20 times cheaper too!

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-58597536583249961612010-11-25T20:01:00.004Z2010-11-25T20:20:58.856Z

I ordered a book a few days ago that's been on my wishlist for months, called "Remind Me Who I Am, Again?"It's about a woman whose mother is suffering from dementia, and it describes beautifully their interactions and the way she feels about her mother's gradual decline. I wanted to read it because my grandmother had Alzheimers and I recall how much my mother was upset by it, and also because my

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-12205513458523290722010-11-24T18:37:00.004Z2010-11-24T18:42:40.439Z

Our new next-door-neighbour came round at the weekend. She's very nice and I like her. She had the (I thought endearing, Mattgreen thought annoying) habit of referring to astrology in every day sentences, such as, "My ex-husband couldn't sit still - typical Sagittarius!" or "I'm not keen on clutter because I'm a Libra".Today I was reading a website and this book was advertised at the foot of

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-50951114286410405842010-11-23T21:34:00.005Z2010-11-23T21:59:50.144Z

Sending out Christmas cards - when we got married, our Christmas card list doubled because all our relatives found out where we live... Christmas card writing now takes us a whole day, but I love it! I also love hanging all the ones we receive on little strings with tiny pegs.Buying a real Christmas tree, must be blue spruce, must be local, must be put up the first weekend in December.Put up the

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-92125385301809616032010-11-22T23:30:00.001Z2010-11-22T23:36:12.030Z

Mattgreen and I are in the lounge. The TV is switched on but the sound is on mute. I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! has just started.Mattgreen: Alicey, turn off the TV. If you leave it on you're encouraging them by giving them ratings!Alicey: Oh yeah. Sorry. I feel the same way about Chris Moyles, I won't even let the dog listen to his show in the mornings. She deserves better.

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-18288877945589832912010-11-21T20:33:00.012Z2010-11-21T21:17:35.259Z

I keep meaning to write a long and intelligent post, but sadly I'm always too busy and/or knackered. Tonight is no different, so instead I've got a cake retrospective for you:First birthday - not the best photo but it's a chocolate number one shape:Second birthday: Chocolate hedgehog.Third birthday and into princesses: the classic Barbie cake.Not bored of princesses yet, so this year: The

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-36132295475612654672010-11-20T17:11:00.002Z2010-11-20T17:21:07.232Z

Some of Matt's gamer friends are visiting today. They like some board games, but they're also into table-top games (the ones with grass and little figures you move around) and also roleplaying games (I think this is where one person tells a story and all the rest pretend to be characters. Sometimes there is dice-rolling involved). It's all a bit furry boots for me.(Years ago when I played Magic

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9202540.post-1971428431593863122010-11-19T21:29:00.003Z2010-11-19T22:05:33.382Z

Today I did a taste testing session at Leatherhead Food Research, a nutrition/consumer lab. I volunteered because I'm really interested in Food Science - in fact one day I'd quite like a career in that area - and I thought it would be fun.The testing took place in a large, light, airy room in silence. People weren't allowed to mess with their mobiles or talk so they had to just read a book or

Aliceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03172427792871979805noreply@blogger.com0