Cheesed off - Rant alert

I am not  a happy bunny today.  Not sure why but think it has something to do with this:-

• Snow.  Fed up with not being able to go about my normal business. Fed up with my routine being disrupted and getting nothing done. Fed up with the enforced loss of momentum on new year goals. 

• Baby making.  Went for first follicle track this morning.  It went fine, but the process is now not clear and requires me to liaise between scanning people and clinic on an almost daily basis.  Not only is this aggravation that I could do without, it is also hassle due to the clinic being very poor at anything admin related.  I have thus far put off phoning them but have to do it today :(

• Star Teething.  I feel really guilty about even suggesting that this could be contributing to my fed upness.  He is cutting two molars and has dry, red cheeks, an endlessly runny nose, three 'very loose' nappies a day that he tries his best to put his hand in whilst I am trying to clear up the debris, and a very sore bum that makes him cry when I wipe it :(  I feel so sorry for the poor little mite.  He's been like this for about 3 days now and do you know, he hasn't got whingy, he hasn't gone off of his food, and he hasn't stopped sleeping 12 hrs a night.  He's such a brave little soldier bless him, but I hate to see him in any kind of discomfort and know that he must be suffering. In the meantime I am constantly running around wiping his nose, applying cream to his cheeks and battling through nappy changes.  Surely, if he can put up with it all without getting fed up, I can ?

I must go in a mo and phone the clinic, but in the meantime a request for advice.  If you are a regular reader you will know that one of my new year goals (which I haven't even finished posting and we are nearly in the middle of Jan - Bah) was to learn to sew.  Step one was to retrieve my sewing machine form the shed.  I have done this but I fear that by the time I buy the missing foot pedal and cables, and the elecricity cable, and get it serviced it would be cheaper to but a new, or reconditioned one.  

So, my question is what features should I look for ?  I don't want to spend alot of money but I do want one that will serve me well whilst learning and beyond ?  I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

In the meantime, you know what I've gotta do...

Cheesed off - Rant alert

A very contentious rant about motherhood...

This is my writing workshop post and I really struggled, yet again, to think what to write.  Some of my ideas would have been too deep for the limited time I have available so I was left with this one.  Against my better judgement I have decided to go with it.  After all, I did make a comment on a post of Josie's that I am always candid on here, afront or please, so here I go...


First of all I must apologise for what I am about to say.  It is not my intention to insult anyone - it's not aimed specifically at you.  I also feel that I must explain that I am a fully paid up grumpy old woman of the highest order (see last weeks rant here), and hope that this will help me to be excused for all the offence I am about to cause...


I have often felt that mummy blogging is not something I should do, is not a community I truly belong to. I am generally not sentimental or in touch with my emotions you see, and this includes my feelings on motherhood.  Yes, I love my son, very much.  But that's it.  I did one post about it just in case anyone was thinking I was  a completely cold hearted bitch here but now I've done it, it's 'as you were'.


I get mightily fed up with hearing other mothers droning on about how wonderful their little ones are, how blessed we are to have them, how despite everything...the sleep deprivation, the endless, monotonous days,  the loss of self...they are so worth it.  How cute they are, how clever they are, how cheeky they are, and on, and on, and on...  And don't even get me started on the sanctimonious crowing about what fabulous mothers we all are.  How we all spend hours playing with the little darlings, and baking, and crafting and generally being all round good earth mothers, oh and 'you should have seen their little faces'.  Then starts all the reciprocating of perfect mummy stories, and mutual congratulations of jobs well done, and what prefect children we have.  Round and round we go in our perfect fluffy little world of motherhood and domestic bliss.


Just because I happen to have a child doesn't mean I will cease to exist in any sense other than being a mother.  My blog is for me, not him.  I try to cast off my mother status at any time other than when I am actually having to do some hands on mothering, and blogging is generally not one of those times.  


I think I will stick around as a mummy blogger.  In the real world I would have to endure coffee mornings and play dates and not be able to escape.  At least here, when it all gets too much I can just log off...and play with my son.


This post was written for Sleep is for the weak's Wednesday Writing Workshop, prompt number 5, 'Have a good rant. Go on! You know you want to...'



















  

A very contentious rant about motherhood...

An overdue rant about dumbing down...

This is a another subject that I am passionate about and I think that my feelings on the subject confirm my geriatric status.  It's the sort of thing that only seems to offend Grumpy Old Men & Women, and the younger generation appear to be the worst offenders.


The first subject of the rant is my beloved Strictly Come Dancing, and they have offended me on two counts.  Whilst it is nothing personal, and she does appear to be a very nice, fun person,  it does revolve around the appointment of Alesha Dixon as a judge.  Firstly, how exactly is she as qualified as Arlene Phillips to judge a dance competition?  She was a contestant herself not so long ago and is a popstar (of sorts) for goodness sake.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a big fan of Arlene's and I'm not jumping on the 'ageism' band wagon.  I don't care that she was replaced, but it was the quality of the replacement that upsets me.  If it had been Darcey Bussell then I would have had no complaint.  She is qualified to comment on and judge dancing...but a popstar ?!  My second gripe about this is if we assume for a moment that we can overlook the fact that Alesha is not a credible judge, what about her poor grasp of the English language? To hear comments like 'I fought you done really good' is like fingernails on a blackboard to me, and what sort of an example is it setting for the viewing public?    Sadly it's not just an isolated incident here and there.  Every time she opens her mouth to comment I can feel my toes curling in anticipation.  Unfortunately the arrival of Alesha Dixon has diminished the credibility of the show for me as they decided to forgo quality for the sake of a little garnish.


Moving on to my second subject this is also to do with the spoken word and, whilst widespread, seems particularly troublesome for anyone connected with football.  Tune in to MOTD and listen to pundits, commentators, managers and players all of whom appear to have the same affliction. Does 'they did fantastic' sound familiar ? Poor Fantastic, sounds painful !   They didn't 'do fantastic'.  Aaaarrrgggg ! Surely they did fantastically well.  I was shocked and dismayed to notice that it appears to have spread to The One Show, but then realised that the infection must have been carried from MOTD2 by Mr Adrian Chiles.  Are we already approaching  pandemic status ? Where will it all end, and is there any sign of a vaccine ?


I feel I must just state that I am not professing to be perfectly spoken, or write using perfect grammar but I do try.  I contend with a lack of sleep, lack of time and interference from Star to produce what I feel is an acceptable standard given my little exposure.  I do not have millions of people listening to me or reading my ramblings.  Those that do have an obligation to maintain the integrity of the English language.  Unless this happens I fear we will be unable to hold back the tide... and we will all be 'dumbed down'.


In the meantime, thank goodness for afternoon tea and cricket...

An overdue rant about dumbing down...