Hmph!

So......

I know, have been too engrossed in the minutiae of ordinary life and now I am paying for it. School runs, coffee mornings, work, business etc etc. Missed all my blogs I regularly read and comment on but promise to make amends very soon.

Driving is still fun. I have driven up and down the M1 a couple of times on my own as Lopes tends to chatter and might be a tad distracting. Had great fun. Oh, have also reversed into a stationery junk truck, but thankfully not on the motorway. Slight prang in the rear of the car but the junk truck escaped unscathed. I have been told to expect a couple more prangs. Will be installing the gadget that beeps to warn of impending bumps. Already have a speed camera one as I am still a bit speedy. Wonder why I am always in a hurry!

All this talk about the credit crunch is worrying but in my house has been cause for amusement. Lopes brought down a box of cereal and renamed it credit crunch. This was after some friends and I were talking about it last night and I said in a positive confession, "We do not have credit crunch in this house" My daughter sought to prove me wrong :)

Overall mood for me is general disenchantment. A bit peeved at the mo with things happening around me and hoping the legendary Kemi Snap does not appear. It is never pretty and has only happened once before. Hmm. Sounds ominous eh?

Back to driving. Off again on aforementioned motorway with Lopes this time. Wish me luck.

So any gist for me? How have you all been? Calabar gal has upped and left.

First day at school

Hopped out of bed at 6.45am, mixed the batter for pancakes as decreed by Lopes, mooched about a bit, made pancakes and then woke Lopes up. Quick shower, dress up and bribe Lopes with promises of treats to get her to eat her breakfast and then hopped into the car. Turned back, ran back inside to get glasses without which I am an even bigger hazard and zoom off to school. Missed the turn, turned round and sat in even more traffic and finally made it to school.

I wondered why some children and mums were sniffling and waved happily at Lopes and went back home. Then collapsed into a heap on the sofa and had a good cry! Off to bed, pick up just after noon as it's a half day.

Confessions of a Mad Driver

I am absolutely loving the freedom driving gives me and I earnestly urge anyone out there who can't drive to get a move on. I confess to being an absolute prat for not driving earlier on and letting my irrational fear hold me to ransom. So I have driven everywhere on my own and with Lopes and even braved the motorway where I overtook a friend who I accused of driving too slowly! Before journeys with Lopes, I say extra prayers. I cannot promise not to wax lyrical about driving so apologies for the boredom my blog will no doubt cause. I now think of my life Before Driving (BD) and After Driving (AD)


A trip I made on Monday will be used to show the massive difference it has made.

BD.
Take Bus to station. Take Taxi to friend's house and ask driver to wait while I drop Lopes off and then take me to work. Fret about the needless amount of money spent. Finish work, take bus to station, get Taxi to friend's house, pick up Lopes, take taxi back to station and take bus home. Get so cross that I have spent over £35 on taxis and get home and eat loads of comfort food. Estimated time spent in transit. 2 hours


AD.
Drive to friend's house, get lost on the way and stop to key in address into Sat Nav. Realise that it is impossible to remember old directions or places I have been driven to at least one hundred times. (Note to self. Key in all addresses into Sat Nav memory) Drop Lopes off, drive to work, park in my newly alloted parking space, get lost in the multistorey car pack, (who thought it was clever to put the exit on level 3 instead of level 1??). Leave work, pick Lopes up and head home. Estimated time spent in transit. 30 minutes


Lopes starts school tomorrow. And so we decided to go and pick up all the little bits I had forgotten, get the car washed and go to lunch at Lopes' favourite chinese restaurant. In my rush, I left the keys inside the house and closed the door. Hot footed it to my inlaws who have a spare key, offering prayers and making promises to God after forgetting to slow down for a speed camera, picked up the spare key and then rushed back home. Found out to my utter consternation that the keys were on the inside of the door and so I could not open the door with the key outside. So what have I learnt today.... I can break into my own house with a spanner and file and brute force and long distance breaking and entering instructions from BabaLopes :) Now I need an alarm system!

PS, Huge bruise on my posterior. I guess weight loss has melted away some of the excess and so trying to bash the door down with my backside is now a thing of the past!

Home Alone :)

Home Alone Diary.

Dropped Lopes at my sister's place on Tuesday evening after a mad dash day which started with my last driving lesson before my test on Thursday. Had to take Lopes with me as my childcare plans were thrown awry by good GSCE results for my niece. She decided to go for a party weekend. (Congrats to ZR and DD for excellent results)

So came back home and sat in the very untidy sitting room as we left in a rush. Caught up on phone calls and had dinner with an alcoholic drink and watched all the CSIs and Law and order. Fell asleep with my cordless headphones on. You must understand that I do not drink most times and never at home unless it's kind of social and never, ever when home with Lopes as I am the world's cheapest drunk and get inebriated by the vapours alone!

Woke up on Wednesday morning when the newspaper boy delivered the papers and actually read it from cover to cover for the first time in ages. Had a slice toast in bed complete with crumbs and then went back to bed. And then did absolutely nothing all day.

I think every Mum needs to declare one week a year, Mum Home Alone Week. Great to recharge batteries and just regroup before you start running on empty.

Thursday dawned and off to the test. Jitters, jitters and even more jitters. 40 minutes later and I could kiss the very patient examiner. I passed. Off to upgrade car insurance and revel in the fact that I can drive my daughter to school for her first day. Thank you, God.

A whole month has passed. Where has the time gone??

So Mama Kemi arrived and brought sooooooo much food. Not too good for my weight update but I got to 88kgs and then ate fresh fish soup, ila asepo and more orisirisi. I feel the weight creeping back up and so have decided to hop back on the wagon. But then had moin moin and ogi for breakfast. A little of what you like is not bad for you, abi? Will not weigh myself again for a while, lest I eat more in fits of depression.

Statements/Questions I hear from MamaKemi almost everyday. What is Lopes going to eat? Has she had her protein, milk, snack ...

Do you have food in the freezer for your husband. What will he eat when he gets back

When I was raising children, we had a set routine. etc etc etc

And the list goes on. Might have to drink more brandy :)


Went shopping with my mum which cemented my hatred of shopping! Boy can my mum haggle. Went to her favourite fabric shop and got 3 5yd pieces of lace from £700 to £360 without blinking. I was cringing at the back of the shop trying to keep a straight face. We had fun though.

Lopes had 3 weeks of summer school and came away learning loads more words and her writing is great. Good feedback from the teachers but I hear she has a stubborn streak. The apple does not fall far from the tree. I was not a stubborn child but I am more than making up for it now :) We got our routine sorted so it'll be easy when she starts big school in 2 weeks. Note to self. Get out sewing kit and sew on name tags.

BabaLopes is still enjoying his sojourn in the land of Belge! I hate to admit that I do enjoy the solitude a bit too much. Lopes and I just get on with it and when I am asked if I miss him, the first answer is no. I do miss him but that does not define me or occupy my thoughts for long. Should the alarm bells start ringing?

Countdown to driving test underway. I am just a tad impatient at roundabouts and have been known to set off in a huff when cars are whizzing towards me. A lot of emergency braking by my instructor. I have told her to slap me next time but she has great restraint. Less than a week to go. Yikes. Just have to imagine the examiner in the buff and try not to crash into the cars for laughing.

So the very disjointed update from La Famiglia Lopes is done. Will be here next week to let you know how the test went. Better keep me in your good thoughts and prayers, else I will find you and put spiders in all your cereal boxes!

Why can't I think of a catchy title?

Lopes and I managed just fine without BabaLopes for the week but my mum called me everyday to check we were okay :) Not sure if absence makes the heart grow fonder but it's early days yet. The downside is the lack of good sleep. Since I am the only one at home, I feel I have to be able to hear if Lopes needs me, so I don't really sleep well. On Wednesday the driving instructor made me go home to bed after driving for an hour. So in the last week, I have spent all my money on taxis and so happy that the driving is coming along nicely. I just need to drive a bit more slowly and pay more attention to other road users. I blame my Nigerian pomposity, my attitude to other drivers is "Do you know who I am?"

I drew up a food timetable for Lopes as I sometimes run out of ideas and find we are eating the same things. It is an excellent idea, even if I say so myself. Means I can plan ahead and she gets to expand her food field for want of a better description.


Went to the shops today to shop for a dress for a wedding we are going to on Saturday and returned with one cake for Lopes' last day at nursery, a new pair of shoes for Lopes for school and some mini bagels for Lopes. Get the picture?? Nothing for me, not even a dress. Yikes what am I going to wear? We decided to have a meal at the shopping centre and Lopes spied the McDonalds sign and then the pizza hut sign. I decided that we needed to up the culture stakes so went to a grill like place where she could get wholesome burgers and I could get some low carb food. The homemade burger arrived and Lopes took one sniff of it and said "We are going to McDonalds next time" Serves me right. She could have had a happy meal with a fruit bags and I would have had my grilled chicken salad.

Weight update
Start 102ks
27 May 93kgs
26 June 92.8kgs
10 July 90kgs.
20 July 89kgs.

Slowing down now so I need to up the exercise.

So all in all, a good few days. Off to curl up in bed with the telephone. Thank God it only cost 0.5p a minute to call BabaLopes.

And so the theory test date came and went and then the date came again!

A great start to July.

BabaLopes has got a new occupation and will be off to working away during the week and home either every weekend or every forthnight. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Really happy as space can be a positive thing. Also this credit crunch is only palatable when served with luxury so all's well that ends's well.

Driving update.
I took my theory test about 6 years ago and then that test expired. Booked another one for the 20th of June but thought the date was the 21st and so I missed the test. Well, having swotted long and hard, I made my way to the test centre and on the way decided to read the back of the letter I was sent. Found out to my shock and horror that there was a hazard perception test introduced and I would have to watch 14 videos and click when I saw a developing hazard. Had enough time to offer many prayers. Went in and finished the test. 100% in the theory and 78% in the hazard perception. It seems my brain has remembered the days of yore when I was a hot chick. So practical test booked for..... Watch this space :)

Weight update

Start 102ks

27 May 93kgs

26 June 92.8kgs
10 July 90Kgs.

Getting better now. End of July target still 85kg. We'll see. Cut out all processed carbs and sugar. Still have slow release carbs and meat and veg. Yum. This is the lowest weight I have been for over 5 years!

Will leave you with my new favourite song. Ignore the video and just listen to the words. I am indeed a child of old age!