BLOG NUMBER 2 - see I said I'd keep it up!!

So - what have we been up to this weekend well.....

Friday night I went out for dinner with some of the girls from work to celebrate our move from our old crumbly HQ to our brand spanky shiny new HQ! Our old building had a lot of character but the Speech and Language Therapy department had been there for 35 years so it was time for a change! I discovered that, as a breed, SLTs are hoarders!! The amount of rubbish I binned / recycled / sent to charity! Seriously - our previous Boss (whose shoes I jumped into when she retired!) really was a major hoarder and I found exam papers from 1967, minutes of meetings from 1974 and newspaper clippings from 1978! So, there was plenty to sort and get rid of though it was fascinating to see how the department has changed and grown over the last 30 years. Although I'm in a smaller room now than I was, I have more space cos I have less stuff! So, dinner was nice - I drove the Ingleby Barwick crew as I wasn't up to drinking having just had a cold - they got nice and merry though!

Saturday night Nick and I took Lauren and her new lovely boyfriend Brenton (Brent) out for dinner :o) We went to TGI Friday's, ate steak, drank a couple of beers and had a great time. It was the first time we'd properly met him so it was quite a big night! Anne and Jim (Nick's parents) were up on Saturday so they babysat whilst we were out. Brent and Lauren seem very well matched - he's short and cute too!!!!!!!! It was great fun and hopefully now he knows us he will be happy just to drop by so we expect to see more of him - and he still has to pass the test of the girls..... da da daaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!! ;o)

Saturday evening before we went out, Caitlin and I went to church in Yarm with Anne and Jim - a real proper old church which was nice for a change (rather than a school hall where Mass is held in Ingleby Barwick). Father reminded us that its Lent starting tomorrow so the big decision since Saturday is what to give up this year?!?!?! Last year was chocolate (always tough!) so I think this year should be alcohol though the thought of no wine for 40 days is VERY scary!! I've done it before so I'm (pretty) sure I can do it - I'll decide for sure later today!! Caitlin isn't giving anything up but she's going to try to do a whole bunch of good deeds and has some ideas in a little book of good things to do every day in Lent. Lauren is giving up chocolate - and we'd love Izzy to give up waking in the night but that's a bit doubtful ;o)

Pancake day today so I'll be whipping up some pancakes with lemon and cinnamon sugar (a Mauritius treat that we all love!) for tea - hope you all have a lovely Pancake Day.... I'd love your comments on what you're giving up for Lent this year and any support on my attempt to give up wine would be greatly appreciated! **UPDATE - some photos of the girls enjoying their pancakes - hope you all enjoyed yours :) **







Anne and Jim took Caitlin and Lauren to watch Charlotte's Web yesterday whilst Nick and I were at work and they thoroughly enjoyed that. Caitlin's off all week for half term so we plan a trip to the Metro centre tomorrow for shopping and fun in Metro land (indoor amusement park with a roller coaster for those who don't know!). On Thursday Izzy is home from nursery so we're going bowling with Caitlin's best friend Olivia and Olivia's Mum and brother. Friday we're off to Centre Parks in the Lake District so I'll have lots to blog next week :o)

Love to you all - keep the comments coming!

Nikki xxxx