Over the christmas period a very close friend of mine had a suspected mini stroke which scared the life out of me.

Being close to her while she was going through it was so scary and you feel absolutely useless.

After laughing through our tears in the hospital she has had no ill effects from her experience thank goodness.

We had decided to do this so we can raise money for this charity because you never know when it might be you who needs them.

http://www.stroke.org.uk/fundraising/fundraising_events/manchester_2.html

http://www.justgiving.com/Victoria-King1

I can’t wait to conquer this 90 foot wall

Social networking sites such as these have many different functions whether it’s media sharing, friendship, expression, opinion or even online marketing.

Once we put ourselves out there in the wonderful world of the www we automatically put ourselves up for public opinion. Whether that opinion is thought or written, we have no control over the fact that it will be had.

Over the last few weeks I have seen a trend of people getting themselves quite upset about this, and disagreeing with other peoples public opinion.

On all these sites, once you post something/anything, you open yourself up to negative criticism for even the most innocent of comments. We can’t honestly expect everyone to agree with everything we say and to love everything about us.

I have had it all on my twitter, Re: my appearance, twitpics, my life and my thoughts. Good, bad and downright ugly! People will cast aspersions on all that we share. It’s the nature of the humans unfortunately.

Lets be honest. Who amongst us isn’t judgemental about one thing or another?? I can admit I am. Anyone who has seen a tweet with the words ‘Katie Price or Kerry Katona’ will know that. You have to be almost saintly not to be.

Don’t get me wrong I am not condoning this for a moment or saying that we should tolerate it in any way, but we also should never be afraid to express our own opinion. We are all entitled to one.

There will always be people in our normal non-electronic lives who take it upon themselves to make us angry, treat us unfairly or try to knock us down. These are the things that we have to meet head on and deal with day to day, but on here that is not the case. 

Social networking websites have been very clever and given us all the power to unfollow, delete, block and ultimately protect ourselves. So since we have been given these tools we have to start using them more to rid ourselves of what it is that upsets us and move on. Instant wipeout, sayonara asshole!

I don’t believe that a retaliation mentality or shaming is the way to go about dealing with it.

We also have to remember that we don’t really know any of these people however much we see their written words on a daily basis. So can we really be shocked  by anything that is written by them.

For all the information that we receive gratefully, we have to acknowledge that some crap is going to float in as well.

Stay safe, have fun and tweet ya later.

Please feel free to leave your opinion (if i dont like it i will delete it later) lol

I hear your voice inside my head

Every word we ever said

Laughter, Tears

And all lifes fears

Big or small

We shared them all

My memories I hold so dear

I hate that ‘Goodnight’ was my last word to hear

From childhood to forever

Our bond has been cast

Whether heaven or Earth

Our friendship will last

Drop by, now and then

I’ll know you’re there

You’ll see my smile if you stop and stare

That glint in my eye

Is a memory of you

It’s mine to hold

Forever and True

Til I see you again

Sleep well my friend xx

I have had these two plants for 2 weeks now and they are still alive.

I am going to do my best to help them to thrive.  I am going to grow a tomato. I have bought pots of various sizes and even and the sticks to hold up the tomato plant.  I even got plant food.  None of this planning will mean that I will be successful but I will try.  I will keep you updated.

I remember her very first day of school when she was 4.  Walking her to her little class in her brand new green school jumper, grey skirt and her first pair of school shoes.  I smiled as she hung up her new coat on her peg with her name already there waiting for her. She has always been a social bunny so she couldnt have been more excited as we entered that room full of kids, some of which she is still friends with today. 

Just like everything she does, she threw herself straight into it and gave me a wave before disappearing into the class. I don’t think she even noticed me leaving, which is what you hope for, but secretly cry over.  I think those 3 hours a day of her first week may have been the longest of my life.  It took me a long time to figure out that I had that time to myself to enjoy, not just to sit and wait for her to come home.  I learnt very quickly though that this would be the first  of many times that she she would grow more independent of me.

Now she has only a few days left of school and is making plans to make her mark in the world.  Before she can do that though she has some very important milestones to complete.

We have revising and exams to contend with before the fun can start. I spent all of last week being spoken to in Spanish and listening to the huffing and puffing as she tried desperately to take it all in. Her understanding of the language is good and she thinks she did well.  She has such a direct career path is her mind that she forgets sometimes that she has to do well at these things to get to the next things.  I keep reminding her that its just a few weeks and its all over.

On a more fun note, the girls are all planning their prom. The beautiful one has picked her dress and it arrived the other day. I am biased but she looks amazing and its perfect.  The Limo is booked and they are all happy with the choice. I wanted them to pick the pink disco theme limo but they went for the white classy one.  Now we just have the matching shoes, bag, hair, make-up and jewellery to pick out!

They are all filling out other peoples leavers books with the memories they have and the reminiscing has been a lot of fun for them. To look back and see how much they have done together and how much they have changed, has made her laugh a lot.

I don’t doubt for a second that she is going to go out and achieve everything she wants from her life.  She is determined, intelligent, confident and quite frankly stubborn. She is the pride and joy of my life and my greatest achievement.  As adults we have to recognise and remember that as children we only have the memories that we were given and created by our parents, good or bad.  Good memories for me as a child very rarely involved any kind of parental figure but are of the good friends that I had and still have. The bad and most frequent ones come out of jealousy and disappointment. I spent so much of my childhood watching my other friends have a life and wondering why I wasnt thought enough of, or planned enough for, or even considered.  I feel like I missed out on so many memories and experiences that should have come my way.  I promised myself a long time ago that when the time came for the beautiful one to make those memories, to plan these things and to have that fun, I would be ready willing and able to make them come true for her.  

Her life is so full of things to do, whether its planning the next concert, or a day trip out or a sleepover with her friends, I have the pleasure of seeing her smile and laugh a lot.  Her head is being filled with as many fun memories as she can fit in and there are so many more to come.

I work hard, save hard and plan ahead.  I hope I have done enough so that one day when she is older and she looks back on her life and the start she had, as humble as it is, was the best she could have had.

I am very lucky to have an American/Canadian Mother to celebrate this day with.

An amazingly special woman that I love dearly.

Although we have never met, our friendship has grown over the years to a comforting place that I never want to leave.

Our chats are often monumental and our laughs are always real.  Her wisdom and experience are sent to me with love and received with gratitude.

I hope you know how special you are to me, how much I love you and how grateful I am that you have become so much a part of my life.

Thank you

Happy Mothers Day x

No scars to hide

No baggage left here

To push to the side

I stand here alone – Perfect and still

But for the hole in my heart

Only you can fill

Its been a good week, College is going well. We are getting closer to D-Day when we will take our exam and see if we have learnt anything. I am doing practice papers along side a few others in the class that are ready for it.

In the exam you have an hour to complete it which is a lot of time considering that we are averaging 3 practice papers per hour in class. It means that you can literally think clearly about every button you press, so hopefully the exam isn’t going to be a problem. I did 4 practice papers last week, passed 3 and failed 1. I was so mad and frustrated with myself because I forgot a basic thing on the third paper that I have never missed before. I don’t know if I got cocky or just failed to see it, either way,  I did another one and passed. I have the processes and paths down now I just have to remember to read, concentrate and recheck everything before moving onto the next page.

I am definitely going back to college in September to do as many subjects as I can. I get free education because I still receive benefit top up for the beautiful one, but that ends in 2 years when she turns 18 so I have to fit in as much as I can in that time.

I will do Level 2 Computerised Accounts, AAT Book Keeping and Accounts, and Introduction to Management.

Being there is just so good for my soul, I enjoy learning new things and it is such a great feeling when I come out of the class and I have achieved what they want me to learn.

As I didn’t get the job at work I know that my bosses are concerned that I will leave them, especially since I am learning new skills. The can see that I am determined to better myself and my position. The good thing is that they seem very keen to keep me. I love the company and the people and ideally would want to stay with them for a long time but the truth is, in 2 years time the beautiful is going to go on her merry way and I will need a full time job. Financially and for my sanity. Whilst I still have her at home, working part time works perfectly for us. I have the time to look after her and the financial benefits of a job so we are both happy. I am going enjoy things as they are for now but this time next year if I am still in my same position at work I will have to make some decisions to better my/our future.

Since the beautiful one made a Lemon Drizzle cake for my friend at work, all the girls in the departments have been making lemon drizzle cakes themselves because it was so delicious. We have had cake every single day this week, I swear all us girls are going to go up a dress size before the month is out. My building needs no excuse for cake, whether its a birthday, an anniversary or just for fun. I can honestly say that all the cakes have been delicious but ours was still the best.

Being on reception is a no brainer job, I know that, but I have some of the best laughs sat at my very huge desk. I met Tom Jones and Donald Sutherland last week. Was I star struck you ask? No, they were just clients with interesting famous names. Tom Jones arrived half an hour early and we spent the whole time talking about ordinary people we knew with famous names, when wouldn’t you believe it Donald Sutherland turned up for a separate meeting in the building. I could barely contain my laughter and excitement, I thought the co-incidence was beautifully timed. It is quite surprising how many names we came up with, and we both new a Paul Daniels. Those poor bigwigs upstairs making all that money and having all that stress just wish they had as much fun as me!

I also got invited to my first party at work. My manager is getting married in November and her hen do is booked for October. I was on the guest list for invitations which made me smile, you know you have made an impression somewhere when you get invited to a social occasion outside of the office. I can’t wait. I’m sure there will be nights out before then, but it was still a good feeling.

We are so busy at work that I have still not finished my book. I am loving it when I can pick it up, and its really getting to the good bit. I must do less next week so I can get to the end.

I haven’t been reading at home at all lately as the seasons new TV programmes are keeping my interest most nights.

Prison Break is back on and I can’t get enough of that. Wentworth Miller is so good in his role, and that fact that he is yummy just adds to the excitement.

Fringe is also brilliant, it is complete escapism wrapped up in reality and I love it. Every week the stories get more and more bizarre. I am glued to the screen.

I am a huge CSI fanatic, but I have to say I am not loving Laurence Fishbourne taking over from William Peterson. I am going to give him a chance I hope he comes into his own and stops trying to emulate the fabulous Gil Grissom.

Right, have to get back to my day job and stop tinkling on the laptop. I have a full day ahead of mass cooking for the freezer, cleaning and washing. Peace is broken, reality beckons.

Jason Robinson returns to coach Sale Sharks

Next season he will become head coach at Sale Sharks, where he played for seven seasons until 2007, having found that he missed the day-to-day involvement of rugby. His last competitive game was his second World Cup final in 2007, his 51st appearance for his country.

In the meantime, Robinson, 34, has been an ambassador for the Lions and working on his farm near Lancaster, along with the small matter of raising six children. But having spent eight years in rugby league with Wigan before joining Sale, the rhythms of life developed over 15 seasons as a professional player have not faded away as he had expected.

He has been an increasingly regular spectator at Edgeley Park and Kingsley Jones, the Sale director of rugby, has now persuaded him that his hairline will not necessarily suffer from a full-time return to the game.

“It is fantastic news for the club that Jason has agreed to join,” Jones said. “He is renowned for his enthusiasm and drive and is a proven winner. He also has great mentoring skills, which will prove invaluable in his work with senior and academy players.”

Oh happy days, all is right with the world once again.

As I was in a big funk last week I decided that I would do some sprucing up at home to cheer me up. So I have been trawling round DIY shops all day with Ems trying to find the perfect wallpaper and paint for the kitchen. It is at that awful stage where even when you clean it fully it still seems grubby, and I am not about to sugar soap anything. Painting Yes, scrubbing No!

I had a clear idea in my mind what I wanted when I set out this morning but after more than a few hours on my feet I found that that vision was going to have to change slightly. I am just going to do the main feature wall with this paper and get some paint that matches for the other walls. Easy peasy.

The shops are full of big print flock flowery paper which isn’t really going to go in the kitchen. I did find one that was a compromise but was happy once I got home and tried the sample on the wall.   My little brother is going to come down next weekend and do the wallpapering so I have a week to get the painting done. What was I thinking!

We spent so many hours walking around the DIY shops that we both felt we deserved to pop into the clothes shops as a reward   I only bought 2 tops and some much needed flip flops which I think was very reserved of me. Every girl needs a little spruce up herself  now and again.  After the shopping we went back to Ems and collapsed on her sofa for an hour only getting up for more tea. Now I am at home and all the jobs that I usually do on a saturday are looking at me and I cant be bothered to do any of them.

Tomorrow will be a day of mass cooking for the freezer, cleaning washing and general mummy work. Huh, I need a cleaner. Although, I already get enough stick off my friends for having a gardener so they would really jump on me if I got a cleaner!

I am looking forward to ‘Britain’s got talent’ tonight, to see who the star of the show will be this week. Susan Boyle is already being tipped as the winner but I’m sure there are a few acts out there who might just give her a run for her money.

The beautiful will be home from work in a minute and full of the joys of her day, so better enjoy the peace for half an hour with some ‘Usher’.