I may have developed psychic powers. I wanted to be up for the second match of the U.S. Open night session but decided that I’d better get some sleep first, but obviously there was no way of knowing how long the first match was going to take. So I made an educated guess, set the alarm for the appropriate time … and,as I put the telly on, the first point of the first game of the second match’d just been played. Absolutely perfect timing. That was really very weird indeed. Luckily it only lasted an hour and 40 minutes so I was back in bed by quarter to four and so am feeling a lot less sleepy than I might’ve been!

Actually, I think that there may be something spooky happening in the house generally. One of yesterday’s socks was on the spare room bed this morning. It must have climbed out of the linen basket by itself and gone for a walk. There is no other explanation. Unless maybe I took a diversion into the spare room to draw the curtains (the bed’s by the window) yesterday evening whilst taking yesterday’s stuff from my bedroom to the linen basket (in the bathroom) and dropped it, but why would I decide to draw the curtains whilst carrying the dirty washing? Furthermore, I was getting something from the back of one of the cupboards when I noticed that there were five bottles of de-icer there. There should be one in the house and one in the car. Possibly two in the house if I over-bought due to the weather forecast being overly pessimistic earlier in the year … but five? They must be breeding. It’s very odd.

Pretty pleased with the Champions’ League draw. We’re away to Celtic on Bonfire Night: I’m not sure if that’s some sort of omen or not LOL. And, hooray, it’s Friday, and I was very good and did most of the housework last night, so I just need to go to Tesco, pay the paper bill and change the bedding, and do a bit of washing and ironing, and then I’m free for the weekend .

And finally, for some strange reason my thoughts seem to be turning to Christmas, even though it’s still August (not that it feels like August!). I think it’s because The Pogues’ve just announced that they’re doing a concert in Manchester in December. To which I will not be going because it’s £29.50 a ticket, but I seem to’ve had Fairytale of New York on the brain ever since.

I will shut up now.

Due to a (hopefully temporary) complete mental aberration I have just deleted the last 10 comments in my LJ when what I meant to do was delete the messages in my inbox telling me that the comments had arrived! Profuse apologies to anyone whose comment I've deleted - I really didn't mean to!

I have seen the perfect Christmas present! A genuine pre-Revolution Faberge egg from St Petersburg is up for auction. I have always, always wanted one. Sadly it is expected to go for around £9 million, so I think I'm just going to have to keep wanting ...

It is absolutely gorgeous today, albeit very cold. I got a lovely view of the Pennines on my way to the doctor's for my booster vaccination this morning. Just a shame that the forecast for tomorrow is horrible! Oh well.

OK, am I organised - *worries*? Washing up to date. Ironing up to date. Car filled up. Going to Tesco straight after work. Will try to get most of the cleaning done tonight (but there is a lot on telly so may have to finish it on Sunday). Must must must go to the gym on Sunday though). Posted Mum and Dad's tax returns. Posted Institute declaration of CPD compliance thingywhat. Got the directions to Dawn's house. Must put my passport out ready to show it at the border crossing near junction 22 - OK, OK, prehistoric joke :-). Er, OK, I think I am sort of organised!

Hope that everyone going to the Belfast Gather has a lovely time, and looking forward to meeting everyone who's going to the Leeds Gather. If anyone sees a somewhat overweight personage with messy dark brown hair (I'm having it cut next week!) wandering/driving around Morley looking lost, then please rescue me LOL!

That was a complete and utter disgrace!

Maybe I could apply for Steve McClaren's job when he resigns/is sacked/is locked up in the Tower of London's darkest dungeon (the last possibility actually seems fairly likely given the look on Prince William's face!). I've always fancied being manager of England. And I really couldn't do any worse.

And the finals are in Austria and Switzerland.

Very upset :-(.

Going to read an Abbey book in the bath now.

( Hereford )

Thankfully I only have a day and a bit left in the Office of Doom before going to Hereford - got the dentist tomorrow morning and a course Thursday afternoon. This morning, 2 people had an argument over who was going to get to brew up first, and one of them grabbed the box of teabags, stalked off down the corridor with it, and said that she wasn't taking it back to the kitchen unless she was allowed to go first! Get me out of here, please ...

On a more cheerful note, I have finished reading The Chalet School Christmas Storybook, which was absolutely lovely. It was particularly nice that some of the stories were about characters who don't get as much "coverage" as they might in the EBD books.

I've just had an e-mail from my sister pointing out that Christmas is only 6 weeks away and asking if I've got any idea what various people want. Erk - must get my head into the practicalities and stop daydreaming about mince pies and decorations!

Lost 1lb this week. OK, it's better than nothing, but it's been my best week in ages in terms of diet and exercise so I was really hoping for 2lbs minimum. Sadly I fear that the chances of losing 12lbs by Christmas, with a long weekend away, Christmas shopping (traditionally involving a gingerbread latte), a visit at some point to the Christmas markets in town (well there's no point going and not sampling the Gluhwein and Stollen!) etc are somewhat remote. Oh well. And why do the Sunday magazines insist on printing articles about smirking people who claim to've lost 10 stone in 10 months or whatever?!!

I did manage to go the gym today, and tried 2 new machines. I really need to get into the habit of going regularly, but I've got a busy couple of weeks coming up ... which I am already stressing about even though there's no point as I can't really do next week's washing etc now! Still, at least I went.

Other things done today:

1. Watched the Paris Open final, which went the wrong way :-(.
2. Finished the draft version of the Christmas drabble. It's not very good, but it's only meant to be a soppy Christmas thing because I love my drabble characters and want them all to have a lovely Christmas!
3. Checked directions to the FOCS meeting. I think I know where I'm going. Although I have no idea what one wears for a FOCS meeting. Especially in Timperley which can be a bit posh LOL. Even if it does always make me think of Frank Sidebottom. Whatever happened to Frank Sidebottom, incidentally? You never hear of him these days. Which has nothing whatsoever to do with FOCS. I do wish I could learn not to waffle so much!
4. More or less sorted out plans for Hereford.
5. Finished workings for Mum and Dad's tax returns. Just want to run the figures through the Office of Doom computer to check that it gets the same answers as me!

Things not done today:

1. Anything super-wonderful and life-changing.

I've lost 1lb this week, so I'm apparently still 1lb more than I apparently was 2 weeks ago, but at least things haven't got any worse. What are my chances of losing 13lbs by Christmas, bearing in mind that I've got a weekend away and various other things likely to involve food between now and then? Hmm.

I have been to the gym again:

Calories consumed on the way to the gym - 210 (had to go into the newsagent's to pay the paper bill, and Sunday is "off diet" day, and I hadn't had a Wispa since they reappeared ...)
Calories burned off on the exercise bike - 100 (18 minutes to burn off 100 calories! Huh!!)
Calories burned off on the walking machine - 75 (18 minutes - even worse than the bike!)
Calories burned off on the walking machine before working out how to get the calorie/timer display to function - approx. 10
Calories burned off wandering round the gym trying to find my way back to the ladies' changing rooms - approx. 5
Calories burned off walking to and from the gym - approx. 140
Net calories burned off - 120
Damage done to morale by seeing 3 stick-thin people coming out of the KFC on Bury New Road stuffing their faces with chips - considerable
Socialising done at the gym - cleaner asked me if it was OK to go and mop the floor in the ladies' changing rooms or if anyone was in there, and I replied that one person was in there.
Average description of other people in the gym - approx. 1 1/2 times my age and approx. 2/3 my size.

Oh well. Better than sitting in with the Sunday papers all day!!

Happy birthday katherine_b!

Today is my 3rd CBB anniversary! To celebrate the occasion, I have given in to temptation and ordered the CBB Christmas book! I've also signed up for the CBB Gather in Leeds - particularly looking forward to meeting the people on my f-list who are also going, and hoping that this time the weather does not put paid to things. *Ponders the chances of being rescued by a handsome single doctor (or even an ugly single doctor would do) in the case of being caught in a snowstorm on the top part of the M62.*

I've just bought tickets for a 1980s nostalgia concert at the MEN Arena in May, LOL. Performers include Rick Astley, Bananarama, Johnny Hates Jazz, Cutting Crew and Curiosity Killed The Cat. That set me thinking about the time a friend and I had a party and decided to make really cool invitations ourselves: we decorated them with pictures of Rick Astley and Brother Beyond (cut out of Just Seventeen and Smash Hits) and wrote "Be there or be square" at the bottom of them. And the time that everyone at school got obsessed with the C.K.T. Cat song "Name and Number" and kept singing it on the school bus. Oh dear!!

Ten million cheers for our footballers for beating Estonia and for our wonderful rugby union team for beating France - in Paris - and reaching the World Cup FINAL!!!