I've ordered 3 PTerry books on Amazon, and the first one should be knocking at the door this morning! Agghhh! The agony of anticipation!

I hope they didn't try to deliver while i was sleeping....I just couldn't bear it!

Have returned from the land of smiles and tropical sun and beautiful beaches to the world of endless emails and marking... Why do holidays have to end?

Anyway the trip was great, involving getting very wet on an elephant, a nasty ping pong show and days of lying on the beach. I will try to get photos arranged but don't hold your breath I never did get the photos from the wedding together so the honeymoon may take a while...

So how's everyone else doing?

I've never heard the Isle of Wight described so generously and it sounds like you even included a trip to Blackpool

He he... welcome back. As you can probably see, the boards are still fairly quiet, even Kat is reduced to posting only once a day.

Welcome back Aussie dudette... *glares at Joc*

I've been eye-balled in a lot more threatening ways than that.

Huh! Amateurs!

Be careful, Joc, I have a loaded cat and I'm not afraid to use it!

Heads for the hills*, covering face with clawproof skin care cream

*Realizing that the one thing worse than an unexploded cat is a Vorpal Bunny!

I have given up cigarettes. Again. We'll see how long for.

Stay strong. My sis had been a smoker since she was 13, and stopped overnight when she was 25. Overnight seems to be the only thing that works - she never touched a cigarette again, despite living around 2 heavy smokers, and no one else I know who permanently stopped tried anything else but stopping overnight, either.
She gained a few pounds but lost them half a year later, when her metabolism had recovered and she didn't have to compensate the habit anymore.

Spiky, welcome back. You'll find it no surprise that I found your CD in my car trunk. I don't know why this happened - You'll get it soon. *shame*

We were at the Onion Festival (traditional market in this city, three days, a few million tourists, a lot of onion braids, food, craft, trade, etc) which would ave been fun if my daughter hadn't been completely heartbroken over loosing her beloved plush pony somehwere in the crowd. She cried so much over it a few grown ups we asked if they'd found it around their stands got all teary eyed in sympathy. I don't have too much hope we'll see it again... And hunting for it, we lost her balloon, too. Hey, for a four year old girl, these are serious losses!

Hi All.

Good luck Maze. The hubby started his 'how much I saved from quitting smoking' 5 years ago. He still has it and periodically proudly announces some huge figure. Put it this way on the money he saved from smokinh we bought a house, went on holiday and have a dog. Its not all bad.

Hsong, I'm waiting with baited breath. ALthough if it accidently ends up in suface mail I'll die of suufication but them's the breaks. But at least I won't be smelling all them onions. As to your daughter that upside of being 4 is that all losses are forgotten as quickly as the devastation was felt.

I'm getting a "jogging dog" soon... I don't know which other word to choose...
Ihe thing is, I love long walks, and dogs (but we can't have dogs, landlord and beloved, slightly dog damaged cat won't have it).
But especially in the really lonely areas, I am easily spooked. I'm not the type for rambling clubs, though. So, I asked the nearest animal shelter if they knew some dogs who need a few extra miles and a bit attention each week, so I could give them that in exchange for the dog's company. No exchange of money involved, of course. Now, I'll get to walk a few dogs until they're tired, and I don't feel alone on my mile longs walks! Yay! All are happy. Top contestant right now is a 7 month old boxer lady. I grew up with boxers and I'm smitten with the idea.

Hey, well done you !!

That's a great idea Hsing, a benifit t you and to the dogs. That's so sweet.

So yesterday Ethan was born, my oldest nephew's first boy. you might recognize him from the ultrasound picture from a while back, and my mom sent a couple new pics of the older kids, the big news there is 5 monthold Celina has her first tooth. She has really been getting going on becoming a little kid lately, the other day on the way to town she and her brother had a squealing contest, want to make a bet that stops being cute real soon? The picture of her sleeping was taken this morning.

Congrats on the new arrivals, Tamyra And the pics are wicked adorable!

Hsing, that's an absolutely awesome idea! If we had a dog-shelter within walking distance, I would totally steal it. Come to think of it, our street is full of dog-owning families, maybe I can offer my services as a stand-in dog walker.

Mazekin - good luck! If you miss cigarettes the way I miss ham and sausage, I totally feel for you! (I cope by reading and munching on something, ANYTHING in order to keep both the brain and the mouth distracted)