Unexpected pleasures....

My laptop has suddenly STOPPED having the weird display issues it was having before.  (Display would be garbled and frozen and I'd have to turn it clear off to reset.)  Don't know if it's coincidence, but I stopped having the problem after the last update from microsoft.  Although....about the same time I started using a little laptop stand and it's not been getting nearly so hot.  Maybe it was overheating before? 

Ach well, whatever the reason, it's still a pleasure! 

Thought we would surprise Jessica Friday morning by getting her presents out and we filled some birthday balloons plus we've been hiding the birthday cards she got in the post. So when she gets up in the morning Surprise!! Definitely an unexpected surprise for her in the morning 

Lucky girl!  Happy Birthday, Jessica! <--- as close to a mermaid smiley as I could find

Hehehe...at least for the moment, the UP thread is as long as the IA thread! 

Taking my car in to get repaired after the air conditioning suddenly stopped working a few days ago. I was so worried when I was told depending on what it was it could cost up to 1,000 if it were something major! Turns out it was a fuse under the hood that cost $1.00  With labor it cost me $23 but who cares at that point! Next time I'll change my own fuse.. wow that was a good phone call though!!

Total aside here...but does anyone else remember the gobstoppers you used to be able to get that alternated layers of really hot cinnamon with really strong peppermint?  This was probably 25 years ago.  I don't think they made them for very long, but I loved those!!!

YES!  YUM....I used to have to take breaks from it and hold it my fingers. Then they'd get sticky and usually red. 

My UP
Had the Dr. give me a thumbs up to run this weekend!  The swelling is gone and it's that sore.  As long as I go easy and ice as soon as I get in, I should be back on track.  I tried a little jog last night with the dog and it seemed okay   Unfortunately, I'm going to miss the First Annual NYC Half-Marathon next weekend, but I'm more focused on the Marathon in November anyway.

Alicia - That is SO sweet!  She's going to be psyched!

Taking my car in to get repaired after the air conditioning suddenly stopped working a few days ago. I was so worried when I was told depending on what it was it could cost up to 1,000 if it were something major! Turns out it was a fuse under the hood that cost $1.00  With labor it cost me $23 but who cares at that point! Next time I'll change my own fuse.. wow that was a good phone call though!!

Yay!  Reminds me...my a former boyfriend had a manual SLR camera that he said was broken and I wanted to learn photography.  He said that if I had it fixed he would let me use it.  I took it to a camera store....turned out all it needed was a battery!  Total cost to repair was $2.50!  AND he pulled a disappearing trick between the time he gave me the camera and the time I took it in for repair...so now I own a Nikon!  It's gonna' love life in Edinburgh...

(Alicia....the room looks GREAT!  Hope Jessica has a fantastic birthday! )

Woke up to find that one of my flatmates left flowers and a luvley note outside my door to cheer me up. 

Happy Birthday to Jessica too!

It happens so frequently these days, that i can hardly call it 'unexpected', but when my Tesco delivery comes, i almost always end up with extra stuff that i didnt pay for!

Yesterday's delivery yielded a jar of sweet & sour sauce (which i gave to my work colleague, cos i dont like it) and a big bag of about 10 courgettes!

Going to go and look for some interesting courgette recipes so i can use these up at the weekend!

Not unexpected but definitely a pleasure..  I have a lovely husband!   

Getting a letter in the post today saying I have a placement!   

Found the charger for my mobile!   (The passport, on the other hand, is proving a bit more problematic... )

Silly little thing, but makes me embarrassingly happy.....

I missed the interest free grace period on a credit card by one day.  I wrote to complain (even though I kind of realized what happened) and they credited nearly $50 to my account! Man, it really pays to write/call/harrass these people. 

Got accepted for a new credit card with reasonable interest rates after getting turned down by a couple of other banks. I shouldn't be opening a new account, but at least now I can pay the walk-in rate for my ILR without worrying how we'll pay the bills too!!

i've been wanting to learn German (i did it in junior high, so i have the barest of basics, but nothing more...) and today a leaflet came through the door announcing that the local language school (5 minutes walk from my house) are going to be offering German in the spring!   Evenings, Saturdays, and even 'immersion weekends'!   I'm really excited!

Bamberg, here i come! 

i've been wanting to learn German (i did it in junior high, so i have the barest of basics, but nothing more...) and today a leaflet came through the door announcing that the local language school (5 minutes walk from my house) are going to be offering German in the spring!   Evenings, Saturdays, and even 'immersion weekends'!   I'm really excited!

Bamberg, here i come! 

Brunnen getan Q-G!!