Getting to the bottom of it...

So, for the last three weeks Mr A and I have been trying to work out why our energy bills are so high, especially the electricity!
So, we went all mental on turning stuff off and making sure nothing was left on. Meter readings still high, bills still high :/
So after many helpful phone calls to british gas we decided the best thing to do was to take matters into our own hands. As a result we are having two prepayment meters fitted so that we can top it up ourselves and hopefully manage our energy much better as a result.
Mr A has also bought an energy monitor. I'm in two minds about it. One, it helps us track exactly what we are using and where, on the other hand, we're now obsessed!!

So, we ran it last night and we discovered that somehow overnight with everything turned off we've managed to use ten pence an hour. The mind boggles.
So I've spent most of this morning messing about turning things on and off and reading the monitor. We did get a little surprise though. We've discovered the television downstairs in the pub is wired into our supply!! >.< Have spoken to my landlord about it, he said that when the electrics were done for that he expressly said that it shouldn't go into the supply for the flat above. He's going to get someone out to re route it for us. That's not quite all of it though, something somewhere is still using money over night so Mr A is going to do some more tests tonight while I'm at work. Currently trying to get on top of the washing and battling indigestion at the same time. It's weird, I never get indigestion, I had it for most of yesterday, had breakfast this morning and now I've got it again!

On friday night I actually managed to go out!! *go me, go me*. This might sound surprising, but most friday nights I get stuck on a sleep in shift, but last friday I managed to finish at 9pm!! Destination pub it was, had a lovely couple of hours with Mr A and his dad, made me realise I must make more time for the people I care about, I don't see much of him anymore, mostly because I'm working and before Mr A moved in I was a regular at his house anyhow.

I'm a little annoyed this morning, because I have somehow managed to lose a packet of sewing needles for my cross stitch. I've looked all round my stitchy corner and they can't be found anywhere. They have just disappeared on me. I still maintain that this house has a poltergeist. An Avenged sevenfold/cross stitch loving poltergeist. He/she or it is probably moshing away whilst stitching a HAED!

right, thats all for now, time to go get indigestion remedy!!

WIP update 20/7011

Hi again, another week has gone by without me posting!! I'm finally making headway on my hedgehog. I'm sorely tempted to go and buy my variations thread that I need for another part of the design, but I've told myself I can't have them until I've finished the hedgehog!

This has been a learning curve for me, and I have to pick my stitchy time, usually I can stitch anywhere in any kind of light, but with two different colours in the needle I find it easier to do in daylight.

I've been quite busy this week working, and also trying to sort out my bills with british gas, because they are silly high. I've found out we have to buy a new microwave this weekend.

anyway, here's an updated pic!!

thanks for looking, see you soon!!

good morning!!

Well, it's been a week since I updated on here. Unfortunately, I don't have much news on the cross stitch front, I'm lucky if I'm managing ten stitches at a time at the moment with this tweeding. I am determined to finish that section though because I just know that if I go onto a different bit I'm going to forget where I was on that bit and it will all go wrong. The episode with the well is a case in point, I've learned my lesson!

All in all, I'm doing pretty good, I've slowed right down at work thanks to having a good chat with my boss. I've picked up six hours extra on top of what I've already got and that's all fine with me, I'm being very mindful of what hours I take on, finally after nine years in this game I've learned my limits, just a shame I had to get into such a tizz to realise it!!
I had a text yesterday asking if I could cover a late shift tomorrow, I politely declined due to the fact that I'm doing an afternoon and a sleep today and it would mean coming back in later on tomorrow, which for my body clock is a no no!!
They were fine with it, how can they not be? I'm finally asserting my right to say no and not feel guilty about it.

So I'm working today and then I have tomorrow and friday off, I think tomorrow I'm going to go out and get the threads missing for my project and treat myself to some proper embroidery scissors, might also have a look round the shops.

I had some good news yesterday. Ages ago I had an account with sky when I lived in my other house. Long story short, I moved house and they couldn't fit sky, so I cancelled telephone and sky TV and kept the broadband and paid it off til the end of the contract. When I'd finished paying at the beginning of this year I duly cancelled it and then thought nothing of it.
I got home yesterday morning to find a letter from them saying that due to a systems error I was due a refund and I had to ring them to arrange it. So I rang them to find out what was going on and realised it was my old account!! Which should have been closed six months ago 0-o. So, I'm due a refund of £153.33 which should arrive in my bank next week!! Just as well really, because after this month my wages are going to dip cos I'm not pulling in as many hours!!

At some point on my days off I want to go and see a friend and also do some more on my NVQ, I'm getting lazy!!

quick update on my cross stitch....

Well, at the moment, my cross stitch is slower than a snail drinking red bull... :/

Even so, here's a pic of what I've done so far. Ed hedgehog is starting to come to life slowly, the only problem is, that tweeding is a bit of a pain because it's little tiny blocks of colour, and rather than change my thread all the time and get in a muddle, I've started with darks. I find I can't do a lot of it, two threads in the needle of a similar colour makes my eyes go funny.

I have to go back into work in a bit, which is slightly annoying!!
Then I won't have any time to stitch tomorrow because I have a training course and then work again, still it should be fairly peaceful, just the regulars in!!

Anyhow, here's my pic, and thanks for looking.

Doctor, doctor.

So, off I trotted to the doctors this morning. Told him that basically I've had no energy since February, and even though I was regularly doing 48 hour weeks through May I had two weeks off and still no luck.

He sent me off to the hospital to get bloods done, have had the full works so now I've got to wait until I hear back from them, if at all. These days they don't call you if they don't find anything, which I think is rather annoying. So if I've heard nothing this time next week am going to give them a bell.
Then he sent me off to Holland and Barrett for some vitamin D. Apparently that's the only vitamin that your body doesn't make, and with England being so crap on the sunshine scale, it's quite a common deficiency to have. So, I have to take one of those every day for the rest of my life, unless I decide to emigrate to Florida!!
Told him about my cycle being all out of whack and generally a bit strange, he's had me tested for a thyroid deficiency, that was one of the first things I came across when I was trying to find out why my cycle was a bit weird, especially as I'm knackered all the time and my once lovely nails absolutely refuse to grow any more! Hopefully the vitamin D will sort that out!

I'm in two minds, one part of me wants it to come back all clear, but that then doesn't explain why I feel like an old lady, when the doc said that the peak of physical health is reached at 28!

At least if it came back with something I'd know what I was dealing with, could kinda go 'ahh, so that's why then.' Atm, I just feel like people think I'm a wuss!!

Have done no stitching today, between Dr's, hospital, and getting on the bus that went the long way home, I havent' had time. I also managed to fall asleep when I got back >.< Then I went to the opticians for my contact lens check (all fine, so at least SOMETHING is working properly atm) and then I nipped into the supermarket to get some bits and bobs. Am off now, need to turn oven on for dinner!! We are having chicken that you cook in the bag with spices, and what Mr A calls 'sexy rice' :)

some good, some bad...

Went to the dentist today and got a bit of a shock. She did lots of poking about, took lots of x-rays and praised me on my good oral hygiene routine (go me). Then she said that three of my wisdom teeth have got to come out and I have to have two fillings in the tooth next to the left one, because that's going so rotten it's affecting the one next to it.

I have to go back and have the fillings done next week, fortunately I'm not in any pain with it so that's good. Not looking forward to going under to get these teeth pulled, and not looking forward to feeling like my face has been stepped on by a draught horse!! Unfortunately it has to be done, the other way (leave it alone) involves a lot of pain, and as someone who's had monster toothache before, never again.

It's fairly simple, but typical me, there is a slight complication. My teeth and my jaw are really, really small.
(no jokes about my big mouth please, and the amount of talking I do)
Apparently there's a nerve that goes down the side of your face which gives you sensation around your lips and mouth.
according to the dentist, most people have a 1% chance of losing sensation after the procedure, which can be temporary, say, a few weeks to a few months, however some people can lose it for up to 1 to 3 years and may never get it back.

In my case this is knocked up slightly by the fact that according to the full x ray I had (massive machine that looked like something out of a sci fi movie), said nerve is wrapped around my bottom left wisdom tooth.
Dentist said I have a 10-15% chance of that nerve being damaged during the op, she couldn't say how bad the numbness would be, but she did say that if the nerve is damaged the loss of sensation will be permanent.
She did say that the surgeon might well break that tooth into little bits and take it out slowly to try and avoid damage but there's no guarantee.
I tell you what, if it does happen, kissing will never be the same again!! :(

So, I've been referred to the hospital, I'm just waiting for a letter to come through now for the appointment, and I'll be honest, for once in my life I'm petrified!! I don't mind doctors/dentists as a rule, but this is a bit different.

I'm going to make sure I book 2 days off work to get this sorted, Mr A is coming with me to the hospital, and he will be there when I wake up so I should be alright.


Wednesday I have docs, time for me to find out why I'm so wiped all the time!! Not doing very well atm am i?

On the flip side, I have managed to pick up my cross stitch again today, am off to do a bit more now while I watch the soaps, if I can stay awake long enough!!

Lets hope this week is better!!

Well, last week was waay too stressful for my liking. Unfortunately over the weekend we lost two rats, both within 24 hours. Needless to say I wasn't much in the mood for anything.
Thankfully it's over, and we still have four others, we are busy now trying to get my two to get on with the babies, in the hope that eventually they'll all be able to live together!! It didn't go too bad last night, I've seen intro's go a lot worse!

I finally managed to finish the roof on the well of 'Make a wish' I have a picture to upload.
Have to go back to work today, got another day off tomorrow and then I have to nip back in for a meeting, so not too bad.

I'm not even half way done with this project and I'm already thinking about what I can do next. There are lots of small ideas in my cross stitch magazines, there are some baby-themed letters and numbers which I'd like to stitch and maybe just keep in a box, to make into cards or something, or just because they are cute designs, and I think it'd be nice to do something small after this one!!

Here's a pic of my progress so far.

I watched an interesting programme on assisted suicide, it's something I've always been in two minds about...Human beings have reasoning etc, yet a lot of the time when people come to the end of their life there appears to be a lot of suffering involved. However, if it's an animal, as hard as the decision may be, as responsible and loving owners we understand that we eventually have to make that call. Why should we not be able to make that decision for ourselves, when we feel the time is right? Currently it's illegal in this country and carries a prison sentence. But if you knew you had a terminal illness and you were going to be in a lot of pain at the end, wouldn't you want to go quietly and peacefully at a time of your choosing? I like to think I would, but I don't know if I'd have the courage to hasten things and leave everyone behind. I certainly couldn't help someone else do it, I guess that just shows that I'm as selfish as most people. My dad always had an interesting point. He'd say that when people cried at funerals, they weren't crying for the person that's died, they were crying for themselves. At first I didn't quite get what he meant, and he explained it like this. He said 'what's the point, that person has died and is free of any pain or suffering they had on this earth, it should be celebrated that the person had a good life and is now at peace.'

It took me a long time to understand that, but in my previous job caring for the elderly at the end of their life, I eventually began to see what he meant. Obviously, it never got easier when someone you'd cared for passed away, but I did eventually begin to find a small sense of the positive when someone passed away. The fact that often, they were very old, and had the chance to get married, have children and grand-children, to live a long and relatively happy life.
One thing I noticed, a lot of old people don't fear it. I think you get to a certain age and you just realise that of course this life isn't forever.

I find it far more upsetting when a child or someone in the prime of their life dies, because they haven't had a chance to live yet.