Armless Pianist Liu Wei - You're Beautiful

Happy Halloween

Depression

Musical Stairs

Very Clever

Some of the books I read this year.

These are a few of my favorite books from the last year....

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult or Anything by Jodi Picoult 
The Cruel Mother by Sian Busby 
Hannah's Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived by Maria Housden 
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 
Before I Die by Jenny Downham 
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold 
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble 
Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale 
The Cruel Mother: A Family Ghost Laid to Rest by Sian Busby 
Digging to America by Anne Tyler 
Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
Relentless by Simon Kernick 
Be Careful What You Wish for by Alexandra Potter 
Come Away with Me by Sara MacDonald 
If the Spirit Moves You: Love and Life After Death by Justine Picardie 
The Memory Stones by Kate O'Riordan 
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown 
The Girls by Lori Lansens 
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards 
Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson 
Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard 
The Island by Victoria Hislop 
Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly 
Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters 
The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde
My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson 
31 Songs by Nick Hornby 
Things My Mother Never Told Me by Blake Morrison 
Loving Him by Kate O'Riordan 
The Woman on the Bus by Pauline McLynn 
If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern 
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon 
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 

Susan Boyle on BGT - WOW

25 Random thngs about me.

1. I love being a Stay at Home Mum with my kids. Am grateful every day for the chance to spend my day with them.

2. I lived in Belgium 

3. Always wanted to be a singer ( I sing like a frog )

4. One of the rare people who actually liked school and would do it all over again.

5. Think the best sound in the whole world is my kids giggling.

6. Met my Husband via Yahoo Personals, he'd only been living across the street my whole life.

7. I believe in ghosts and have seen a few.

8. Hate Bananas - yuck

9. I've UK size 9 feet - thats an US 11 and a EU 43

10. I'm afraid of birds in a house. Don't like them flying about...gives me the creeps.

11. I was a Brownie, Girl Guide and Ranger.

12. Been on a safari in the Sahara Desert on a Camel...HOT!

13. I've got everything I always wanted. Husband & 2 Beautiful Kids

14. Would love to learn to fly.

15. I'm addicted to books and usually have 3 on the go at once

16. I've always drove Renault Cars, just love the comfort of them.

17. Want to grow old in Tuscany with my DH.

18. Miss teaching computers

19. Love Bruce Springsteen

20. Fell 100 feet of a mountain while skiing back in 2000, had to be rescued by the mountain rescue and airlifted home, I'm now disabled because of my spinal injuries.

21. Hate wearing shoes and kick them off as soon as I'm indoors

22. Would love to have another 2 kids, but have accepted that it ain't possible.

23. I'm addicted to my laptop and my online friends make my life a little brighter every day.

24. Family is the most important thing in my life, they're all that matter and will always come 1st.

25.Think this is my mantra - " I'm not bossy I just have better ideas"

Weird Death Notice in Local Paper...

Below is an extract from the Irish News for today 18th February.... bit spooky, considering my name is Maureen Breen and my husband is John Breen.....

BREEN John, February 17 2009 peacefully at Belfast City Hospital. Beloved father of John and Bobby, formerly of Scotch Street and latterly of 589 Antrim Road, Belfast. Remains will be removed from his late residence Thursday 19 at 11.30am for 12 noon Requiem Mass at St. Therese of Lisieux, Somerton Road, Belfast. Burial afterwards in Milltown Cemetery. Deeply regretted by his sons, daughters-in-law, grand-children, great grandchildren and entire family circle. Family flowers only, donations in lieu to Action Cancer.

BREEN (Craigavon) (nee Magee) February 17 2009 peacefully, Maureen beloved wife of the late Michael (Mickey) 309 Drumbeg North, and much loved mother of Lisa, Edward, Martina, Stephen, Paul, Linda, Francis and Thomas and the late Michael and Linda R.I.P. Funeral on Friday at 10.15am from her late residence to St. Anthony’s Church for 11.00am Requiem Mass. Interment afterwards in St. John’s Cemetery, Lylo. Our Lady of Lourdes pray for her. Very deeply regretted by her loving daughters, sons, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and the entire family circle.

Real story by a Man who was standing in a queue in Tesco's......

I have 2 dogs & I was buying a large bag of Winalot in Tesco and was standing in the queue at the till. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Winalot Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.
I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and the way that it works is to load your trouser pockets with Winalot nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the queue was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a guy who was behind her.

Horrified, she asked if I'd ended up in the hospital in that condition because I had been poisoned. I told her no, it was because I'd been sitting in the road licking my balls and a car hit me.I thought one guy was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard as he staggered out the door.

Stupid cow.........why else would I buy dog food??

I am the new year

I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page
in your book of time.

I am your next chance at the art of living.

I am your opportunity to practice what you
have learned about life during the last twelve months.

All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me,
waiting for you to search it out with more determination.

All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve
is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.

All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do,
all that you hoped but did not will,
all the faith that you claimed but did not have...
these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened
by the touch of a strong purpose.

I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance
to Him who said, "behold, I make all things new."

I am the new year.

Elf yourself 2008

James dancing in the rain.

An Irish Ghost Story

This story happened a while ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a big storm.The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stopped.John , desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door.... Only to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on. The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared out of nowhere through the window, and turned the wheel. John , paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.Shortly thereafter, John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road, so, gathering strength; he jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had.A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying... And wasn't drunk.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two other people walked in from the dark and stormy night. They, like John , were also soaked and out of breath. Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other.... 

Look Paddy....there's that fooking idiot that got in the car while we were pushing it!!!!'

Conjoined Twins, Abby & Brittany Hensel turn 16

I remember years ago seeing a feature of these girls when they were about 4 years old on 20/20 or 60 Minutes, or some show like that. This is just so interesting!

Mum

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it.
Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.
Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.
Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of shag carpet.
Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.
Real Mothers sometimes ask "why me?" and get their answer when a little voice says, "because I love you best."
Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...
It is marked by the progression of Mama to Mommy to Mom.


For all the times
you gently picked me up
when I fell down,
for all the times
you traded me
a warm smile for a frown,
for all the times
you tied my shoe
and tucked me into bed,
or needed something
for yourself
but put me first instead...
For everything we've shared -
the dreams, the laughter
and the tears...
I love you with
a special love
that deepens through
the years.

Sarah-Jane 1st Year

Big Boobage - the curse

I was blessed/cursed (take your pick) with an ample endowment of boobage. Yup. Having big "boobs" ain't what it's cracked (pardon the pun) up to be. Ask any (honest) full-figured woman. I began getting breasts when I was 10 years of age and i'm turning 40 this year and they've only stopped growing. Sure, I got a lot of wolf whistles and I was proud of my curves, too; but still I wished I wasn't so top-heavy. Too often, it invited the wrong kind of attention, not to mention the backaches, ill-fitting bras, and self-consciousness that came along with them.

Oh, don't get me wrong; I am very grateful that I have them and that they're healthy, thank God. But after my kids were born my breasts just seemed to grow larger and heavier, and inevitably, started heading south fast. To add insult to injury, as time went on, I began to develop rashes underneath my breast area which quickly became yeast infections. This certainly was no fun! You see, large breasts can be really high maintenance! So much so that I seriously considered following a friends example and undergo breast reduction surgery myself. I even went so far as to see a surgeon and set the date for the operation; but I had to back out due to another medical condition at the last minute. Saved me £5500 though.

A major portion of women of all ages and walks of life struggle with large breasts. Struggle, you say? Yes, struggle. For many of us, the weight of the breasts causes sagging (as in my own case) which in turn can cause other problems like perspiration, rashes, and odor.

Women with large breasts encounter issues our smaller-breasted sisters simply don't have - finding a good, supportive bra probably is the least among those issues. Here are just a few more to consider:

Perspiration/Wetness: A bane for the large-breasted! Over time, the weight of the breasts and the inevitable effects of gravity cause perspiration to get trapped in the crevices underneath the breasts and upper ribcage area because of skin-on-skin contact. Definitely not sexy. Yes, wetness underneath the breasts is a constant concern for the big-busted and not reserved just for the summer months, either. Indoor heating systems and wearing layers of clothing during the winter can exacerbate the buildup of perspiration under the breasts even if it's freezing outside. Wearing a good support bra cannot always prevent this accumulation of perspiration; and forget about it with underwires. Unless the bra completely lifts the breasts and is made of quality, absorbent material, you will ultimately have that wetness problem. And with perspiration can come embarrassing,

Odor: You can try all kinds of powders and perfumes to combat this issue (I even know of some women who actually put deodorant underneath the breast area) but the best way to combat odor is to get rid of the wetness problem in the first place.

Rashes: This is nothing to take lightly. Rashes hurt! They're not just itchy; they burn and sting and can be very stinky (odorous and odious). Rashes can be caused by all types of inflammation, causing great discomfort and embarrassment. You should immediately see your doctor should a rash occur to rule out anything serious. Fortunately, most rashes that occur in women with large breasts aren't really serious but they sure as heck can be uncomfortable.

Many women are forced to use expensive prescription and over-the-counter creams, powders, lotions and pills - or resort to smelly "homemade" bathing solutions of vinegar and water - but these remedies - while offering initial relief - usually only mask the symptoms but do not address the causes of these conditions. As long as the breasts lay on top of the ribcage causing that skin-on-skin contact, no amount of cream, powder or lotion can be truly effective. And after awhile, they stop working altogether because the body starts building up an immunity to them.

I had to find a better solution. My doctor told me to wear a cotton bra; but finding a cotton bra that offers decent support in my 42L size is not a simple thing, almost fruitless (or more aptly, fruit-of-the-loom-less). While getting ready for bed one night, feeling miserable and itchy, as usual, I prepared to pull on my favorite nightwear - a big, baggy t-shirt - when I was hit with a sudden epiphany. After glancing at the tagless tag on the t-shirt that said 100% cotton, it dawned on me; the cotton should go under the breasts, not over them. I immediately cut up the t-shirt into strips and tucked one under my breasts, keeping it there throughout the night. The next morning the rash had disappeared. Now the idea of placing cotton cloth in and under areas prone to irritations is not new - nurses in healthcare facilities have long used this as a simple preventative remedy in the care of bedridden patients to help minimize rashes, bedsores, and other like conditions caused by skin rubbing against skin; but I'll tell you, it was new to me and a God-send! It was such a simple solution that instantly brought me real and lasting comfort!

Yes, from nursing mother to middle-age, women all over suffer at one time or another from skin-on-skin contact discomfort underneath the breasts whether from painful, burning rashes or uncomfortable perspiration build-up. You can do as I did and cut up your old t-shirts. Most of the rashes are fungal and need treatment by fungal cream, but there is no permanent solution.

Whether your breasts could put Dolly Parton to shame or are so perky they make the rest of us want to cry, the real key is acceptance - of yourself and the way God made you. That's what really counts. So after hating my boobs for the last 30 years I'm learning to accept them.

Devil in disguise

James 1st haircut

Well we finally had to get James curls cut, we're heading of to Portugal and he would have been too warm with all those curls. He sat like an angel and didn't move. I came away with an envelope full of curls. He still has a few left so hopefully they'll all grow back. Granny thinks he could have been doing with getting more of it!

Sarah-Jane 1st 6 months