Today I got a surprise visit from my partners Nephew (he's the one in the white T shirt) who runs his own website company thingy! Don't ask me too many questions on that as I'm a wee bit clueless (no change there then). Anyway bless his little cotton socks I told him I was attempting to compile a blog and commented I so wanted to make separate boxes in my side bar, and he promptly logged on to my computer and showed me how!

He could have continued to blind me with the depths of HTML but he obviously noted the glazed look sneaking across my eyes and withdrew for now, but left an offer in the back of my mind that if I need anymore help, just ask and he'll see what he can do for me. I feel in awe!

And if you're wondering what on earth is going on in the photo... Well ahem... My partners family have a tradition that games MUST be played at Christmas time and the above is evidence of the same. This is the game where you have to put hat, scarf and gloves on, before attempting to eat a bar of chocolate with a knife and fork. (Hmmm maybe I should take this method up if I'm hoping to beat my chocolate addiction? No doubt the lack of luck in dice throwing, combined with the effort required to dress, cut and then eat may defer me from the task... Yeah right... I don't think so) In order to have the right to dress, you have to throw a six on a die, once that's achieved you head for the clothing and if someone else is wearing it you just rip it off 'em! Nice friendly game, obviously a non contact sport!

I have just learnt how to get some photo's onto the site. HTML is not easy! It took me four attempts to link it, yes I know I'm a numpty and can't follow instructions easily. Anyway, sorry the pictures in my side bar are dull, but hey it took ages for me to try it out. No doubt at some point in the future I will put others on. So for now bear with me (and its a huge bear, a great big grizzly one!)

I got sent 'The River Crossing' in an email along with a description that it should take about 10 minutes to do! Yeah right it took ages. So for all of you lot out there who want to while away a bit of time click on the link www.brandstrategy.co.za and select the fun and games bit. Its full of brain teasers and some totally inance free online games which help you loose yourself for a wee bit. But please have a go at the 'River Crossing' one, and leave me a comment so I know how long it took you! I can disclose it took me 17 minutes.

Cat with Attitude!

I'm sure you agree this cat is just oozing attitude. It belongs to a buddy of mine who for some reason believes this animal to be the most scrumptious being, I just cant see it to me its ewe...gly (ugly with extra inference on the U).

The start of the pain!

To give you some perspective of how come my back is shot to pieces here is a picture of what's left of the car after the nice Italian Lorry decided to squash it with me inside.

Yippee! I've bumbled about a bit and worked out how to put some links in! I feel so proud of myself, there have a pat on the back!

If you get a moment have a look at the link relating to the Author of Sins of the Father. I am doing a bit of crude advertising as I work with the partner of the author. Having had a wee sneak at the web page I see he intends to put regular short stories on the site so it will offer you a moment to while away some time. The book itself is in the final stages of publication and I've just ordered my copy from trusty old Amazon on www.amazon.co.uk

Obvioulsy I'll be able to get my copy signed, well there has to be some perks!

I’m feeling a wee bit sorry for myself today my arms hurt, my legs hurt, my hips hurt oh and my feet are sore, and the backs just the same as usual. Diazepam you are my friend! Okay I have to admit my current problems are self induced so no need to feel sympathetic, just in case the emotion passed over you.

For my birthday I was given a wonderful game for the PS2 with which to use the Eye Toy thingy, I was given some time ago. Well god knows what the neighbours thought if they walked past the house over the last couple of days.

Picture this, you walk past the house where people have just moved into the neighbourhood, and begin to ponder, “What are they like? Will they fit in etc?” And you are met with a major site for sore eyes. Namely two adult women jumping around waving arms, ducking, leaping, stretching, running on the spot and saluting! Oh my god what on earth are they doing? Actually I roared loads to myself at the thought of what others may think up to offer reasoning for our actions. Even now thinking about the images we must have portrayed brings a smile to my face.

All I can say is Eye Toy games rock! Ok you have to get over the self conscious moment of realising the lumpy doughnut on your own TV screen is in fact you. And also conquer the fact that you look a complete fool but once you get involved it becomes highly addictive and dare I say competitive. Well I say competitive but obviously as it’s my game then I always win, that’s just the rules!

The game we’ve got is Eye Toy play and you end up competing against each other in a series of events in an athletics/sporting vein or silly party games, basically anything that makes you forget you had any self respect as you launch into a series of arm waving and body movements. In fact the more movement you do the better! Flailing arms are super; you get mega bonus points when doing the virtual window washing game!

The downside to all this is the day after, when you discover that your energetic leaps to scale the virtual hurdles have left your legs feeling like lead the next day and that your arms no longer wish to raise. At least it made me feel slightly virtuous and less guilty when I reached for one of the peanut cookies I baked the next day (yes I do have a go at baking occasionally!)

Evidently I have now decided the PS2 is to be the source of my entrance back into the realms of physical fitness as a dance mat has appeared and I’m now tackling the whole coordination thing, with see thing on screen and stamp foot to where it tells you. I definitely do not have rhythm! I never asserted I did to be fair. I recall in the days when I used to go clubbing, that copious amounts of alcohol had to be consumed before I embarked upon the dance floor after which I was certain I could dance, albeit not in time with the music, mind you by this point I didn’t really care! I do however accept other viewing my attempts at dancing to be rather analogous to suffering a bodily fit, obviously I cannot see any similarities to that comparison, cause I am such a good dancer

At least my PS2 activities at home enable me to avoid trudging to the local gym to position myself next to skinny individuals who really shouldn’t be there and should instead be safely tucked up at home stuffing fattening foods into their malnourished bodies. Okay yeah I admit it I’m jealous!

I shall leave you now, as I need to reach for my heat pack in an effort to ease the cramp like pain in my legs and arms! Hey but it was wroth it, I haven’t laughed so much in ages. I must however remember to warm up and stretch and cool down and stretch after.. yeah right as if that's going to happen.

Pain Management!

Once again I’m awake when I should be sleeping all thanks to my back spasms, so here I am reaching for medication again followed by a chaser, namely a glass of milk. Well I am trying to ensure my stomach lining isn’t too messed up by the cocktail of pills! I just can’t seem to get comfortable today and no matter how much I try to shut the pain gate it keeps on opening! I would try to explain the whole pain gate theory but I’m not sure I could right now. Please note is a theory and its not one I’m totally at ease with as it seems flawed in some way. Here’s a link which you may find useful, it offers an explanation of sorts. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pain/PN00017

However as I’ve already mentioned I’m not too connected with the theory and funnily enough neither was my last physiotherapist (she’ll probably be my future physiotherapist but I had to take a break due to financial constraints). Its ethos is that your pain receptors never switch off and thus give you false readings, so although you feel pain your body isn’t suffering damage, as such all you need to do is ignore the pain and disassociate yourself. Yeah as if that’s easy when it feels like 1000 spikes stabbing in your back followed swiftly by a horse kicking it. Oh and did I mention the cramp? The dissociation is known as ‘shutting the pain gate’.

A lot of it is supposedly to do with your state of mind and whether you have the mental tenacity to climb over the pain and carry on. An analogy of an athlete running a marathon that hits the ‘wall’ and yet carries on. So thus your pain is purely a ‘wall’ and is not really damaging or affecting you.

So why do I think it’s a flawed theory? Well in my instance if my situation was due to misinformed pain receptors, why are my muscles constantly in spasm? Why do other pain receptors work fine and dandy, like when you stub your toe, god does that hurt and of course that pain subsides whilst my back pain remains? Why does the pain get progressively worse as the day goes on or if I do too much? And surely as you’d have to agree I wouldn’t give up my comfy mumfy bed for no particular reason now would I?

True Friendship is.........

This made me smile when I got sent this so I thought I'd drag it over here. This is a series of promises that really speak to true friendship:

When you are sad - I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the sorry bastard who made you sad.

When you are blue - I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

When you smile - I will know you've finally had sex.

When you are scared - I will rag on you about it every chance I get.

When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be and tell you to quit whining.

When you are confused - I will use little words when you are sick - stay the hell away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

When you fall - I will point and laugh at your clumsy arse.

Remember:
A good friend will help you move.
A really good friend will help you move a body.
Let me know if I ever need to bring a shovel.

Hello! Well this is my first entry on this blog site. My, am I getting into the swing of things by doing this? Who knows. I started out by joining up with my spaces via msn and ended up here by leaving a message on another's site.

I'm slowing getting to grips with all this stuff and I feel a wee bit lost I just hope I don't make a mucking fuddle of it all! As this is going to be my first entry on the site I don't want it to be too long in case I get it all wrong. So that's it from me for now.