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Topic: Friday Five!  (Read 407989 times)

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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7440 on: November 22, 2019, 06:18:07 PM »
Happy Friday!

JFKimberly, glad you're feeling a bit better!  Nan, hope you got some tasty noms.  ksand24, sounds like your heart knows the answer.
Good news about the job jimbo?   elee27, enjoy the reindeer, they're amazing! (Have you gone up the mountain to see them? That's really fun!).  Eh127929, hopefully good about the job? 

1.) I've been a few hours train journey from home interviewing candidates to join the IMechE as Incorporated or Chartered Engineers.  Been an interesting day!  Long and knackered now though, left at 5:30am and finally on a train back home. Will get home about 8pm.   [smiley=smart.gif]

2.) Some worrying news from home, has me chewing my fingernails. [smiley=dizzy2.gif]

3.) Great brass band Autumn concert last night. Played very well!  Orchestra rehearsal tomorrow morning for a Christmas concert on the 7th December.  I don't really think I like playing in an orchestra much, too many strings for my liking.   :o ;)

4.)  Chaperoning the junior brass band on Sunday as they go off to compete in the Scottish Nation Youth Brass Band Championships.  I hope they do well!  [smiley=clover.gif]

5.) Time to catch up on Masterchef, when I finally get home. At least hubby is making dinner and will have a cold beer ready for me [smiley=love.gif]
I've never gotten food on my underpants!
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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7441 on: November 23, 2019, 10:52:50 AM »
elee27, enjoy the reindeer, they're amazing! (Have you gone up the mountain to see them? That's really fun!).
Not yet! We only had time to quickly see them in the paddocks when we were down but plan to go see them on the mountain in the spring. It’s great because they apply the price we already paid for the paddocks to our tickets to go up the mountain!
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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7442 on: November 29, 2019, 11:24:30 AM »
FRIDAY!  FRIDAY!  FRIDAY!

1.  I'm off sick for the 2nd time this week.  Technically working.  Seeing the quacks at noon.  PRAYING they'll give me an antibiotic.  Horrible horrible chest cold that has now settled in my ear and feels like it's going to explode.  I've always had very bad ears so I know they need to treat this and not make me "ride it out any longer".  I have been suffering for a good two weeks now.

2.  I managed to get Ricky Gervais tickets after a VERY long battle with Ticketmaster this morning.  Ended up not being through Ticketmaster.  Had a colleague duck out of a meeting to call me to explain the mystery way to get them.  But done!  My husband will be thrilled (Christmas gift).  What he doesn't know is that it's not his main gift as I got Seinfeld tickets for when we are in Florida in February!  But you can never see too many comedy shows!

3.  Didn't do anything for Thanksgiving.  It's always the hardest holiday for me.  I have too much on to attend a meetup, let alone host one this year which just adds to the suckiness.

4.  Had my daughter's parent's evening the other night.  All good.  Asked about behaviour, "well, she's very chatty."  followed by "I've moved her seat 3 times and it doesn't matter who I sit her next to, she chats.  She talks to everyone."  No idea where that came from.  LOL.  Her teacher is American and I love it!

5.  We've appointed an architect who will start a survey, etc., in January!  Eeeks!  Extension might *actually* happen.


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7443 on: November 29, 2019, 11:55:21 AM »
Sorry to hear you're not feeling well - hope your appointment goes well! 🤞🏻

My five for this week:
  • Made a small Thanksgiving dinner for me and my husband last night - it's by far my favourite US holiday so it was hard to be away for it. Definitely missed my mom's cooking!
  • A few of our friends are arriving today and staying for the weekend. My husband and I met when we were teaching in Germany and they're a few of the people we met during our year there - aka some of the only people who knew us both before we knew each other! It should be a fun couple of days.
  • Driving test take 2 is booked for Wednesday and I'm hoping I pass this time. 😂 Mostly because I'm tired of giving them my money!
  • Finally got an official update on work. The woman I'm covering for (maternity cover) is coming back at the end of January rather than next month. This means that I'll have 2 more paychecks and will get paid while we're in the US for Christmas since I have unused holiday time. Tbh I didn't even think about holidays because they're so flexible with my part-time schedule already that I haven't needed to take any!
  • Only downside to the work news is that I'll definitely be moving down to Glasgow a few months before my husband so that I can start a new job and he can finish out the school year up here. I'm lucky in that I can stay at my MIL's for free (and she's rarely there anyway) but I'm not looking forward to living apart (again).

EDIT: Forgot to add that I've officially booked/paid for our renewal of vows ceremony for 2021! 🎉
Spouse visa received: 30 November 2018
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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7444 on: November 29, 2019, 02:51:31 PM »
KF, so sorry you're unwell... but Ricky Gervais!  I hope it's a fantastic show!

Elee, yay for paychecks over Christmas.  Sorry you'll be moving before your husband... but at least it's temporary.  Have a lovely trip 'home' at Christmas.  :)

My five:

1. I am well and truly well.  I am still a bit more susceptible to asthma right now, and I'm soooo weak, but I'm not actively sick.

2.  I have done the washing up a few times in the last few days, and I don't even mind it.  I'm just happy that I am able to do the washing up again.

3.  I decided pasta would be a good dinner two nights ago, so I made some.  The initial kneading of the dough was a bit harder than I remembered, and I had a moment of regret that I'd started the project, but once I got the flour and egg together and reasonably smooth, I let it rest for a good long time then used the pasta press to finish it off.  I rolled, folded, and re-rolled that dough so many times.  It was beautiful pasta.  I made farfalle again, because I'm a one-trick pony.  Thankfully, just having the pasta made and drying was enough for my husband... he made a sauce when he got home and we played Red Dead Redemption while it simmered for a bit.

4.  We didn't do anything at all for Thanksgiving because my husband had been sick (three weeks ago), and then I was really sick for a couple of weeks, and then we were just trying to do basic things to keep us in food.  When I placed the click&collect order for Asda last Friday, I mentioned Thanksgiving to my husband, knowing full well he would have to do all of the work (and this includes "roasting" our turkey breast joint outside in the pizza oven), so it was up to him... he said "probably not..." and I couldn't argue.  But then yesterday came and we were both all, "I miss roast dinners..."  Turkey gravy would've been so nice. :(

5.  One day, we will have an oven.
9/1/2013 - "fiancée" (marriage) visa issued
4/6/2013 - married (certificate issued same-day)
5/6/2013 - FLR(M)#1 in person -- approved!
8/1/2016 - FLR(M)#2 by post -- approved!
8/5/2018 - ILR in person -- approved!
22/11/2018 - Citizenship (online, with NDRS+JCAP) -- approved!
14/12/2018 - I became a British citizen.  :)


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7445 on: November 29, 2019, 02:58:48 PM »
KFDancer, I'm sorry you're not well  :\\\'( :\\\'(
 elee27, Sorry you're needing to move sooner than hubby, but hopefully it won't be too long
JFKimberly, I'm really glad you're feeling better!!!

Friday!

1.) On my way home from Switzerland, 1 flight down, 1 to go, sitting in T5 with 4 hours to go until I go home  [smiley=freak.gif]

2.) Playing a Christmas light's turn on tomorrow, with a temperature of of -1C forecast for that time.  Brrrr.... Here comes Christmas music season....   [smiley=antlers.gif] [smiley=elf.gif]

3.) Have a rehearsal tomorrow morning, seeing a concert Sunday afternoon that my friend is playing in, and have a committee meeting Sunday night. Gonna be shattered, especially given that I land at 9:30ish tonight.   [smiley=sleeping2.gif]

4.) Managed to find some lovely dairy free Swiss chocolate. Hubby is going to be really happy come Christmas day (He can have 1 now as a coming home pressie)!  [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

5.) Got to Skype the family yesterday. That was lovely  [smiley=smitten.gif] [smiley=smitten.gif]
I've never gotten food on my underpants!
Work permit (2007) to British Citizen (2014)
You're stuck with me!


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7446 on: November 29, 2019, 05:44:16 PM »
Sorry you're not well, KFDancer :( - hope you f eel better soon :).
elee27 - fingers crossed for your driving test :). And that's good news about the extra payslips.
JFKimberly, glad you are feeling better now :).
phatbeetle - hope the rest of your journey home goes well... and yeah, unfortunately, we're in an Artic northerly airflow for the next few days, so it's gonna be cold :(.

My Friday Five:

1. I decided not to go to South Africa in the end and have applied for a refund of the flight. I'm also going to go ahead with the travel insurance claim to get the full amount back

2. Since I still had my train to Heathrow and hotel booked for next weekend, I decided to book a week away somewhere else instead, as I've been really tired and stressed lately and need a break away from the UK.

3. So, I am now going to Orlando for the week instead (I've been wanting to go back to Orlando for many years)! It was actually a much more reasonable price than I was expecting, booked through Virgin Holidays, with flights, 7 nights, car hire and 7 days in the Disney Parks :). (On the negative side, my parents made me feel a bit guilty for going to Florida instead of SA, saying my brother was disappointed and that I shouldn't mention Orlando to him in case he gets upset... even though last week they were all like, "oh, he's flexible, he doesn't mind what you decide to do").

4. It's a busy weekend for me - work Christmas meal this evening, early Christmas with my family tomorrow, and a Christmas meet-up in London with friends on Sunday!

5. Unfortunately, I just found out that I have to work the night shift tonight after all - I was supposed to be on-call overnight (leaving me free to go to the meal) and then I was going to head in for a couple of hours early tomorrow morning (about 5am) to prep the day's forecast, and then drive to my parents' house later in the morning, but sadly the pilots decided to fly in tonight, which means the airfield is staying open and I have to work (then sleep in the morning, and not drive back home until the afternoon). Luckily, I've managed to sort it so I can go to the Xmas meal for the first half an hour or so and then take away my food to eat later at work :).


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7447 on: December 06, 2019, 09:21:44 AM »
Happy Friday!!!

1.) Playing a Christmas lights turn on tonight with the brass band.  [smiley=elf.gif]

2.) Playing a Christmas concert tomorrow night with a local orchestra, which should be lovely  [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

3.) Supposed to be off Monday and Tuesday, (just to be off) but I have so.much.to.do. in  new job. So I'm not sure if I will take them off.   ???

4.) I have a total itch to bake. LIke craving it.  I hate baking. WTF is this coming from? [smiley=help.gif]

5.) We put my long haired Peruvian fluffpot guinea pig down yesterday because he was riddled with kidney stones and in a great deal of pain. The only way to remove them is with surgery, but he had them all in the urethras as well as the bladder and it was really risky surgery for him.  Poor wee mite.  I miss my little buddy.  :\\\'(
I've never gotten food on my underpants!
Work permit (2007) to British Citizen (2014)
You're stuck with me!


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7448 on: December 06, 2019, 09:42:59 AM »
5.) We put my long haired Peruvian fluffpot guinea pig down yesterday because he was riddled with kidney stones and in a great deal of pain. The only way to remove them is with surgery, but he had them all in the urethras as well as the bladder and it was really risky surgery for him.  Poor wee mite.  I miss my little buddy.  :\\\'(

So sorry PB. :\\\'(  RIP little piggy.


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7449 on: December 06, 2019, 10:20:59 AM »
Happy Friday!!!

5.) We put my long haired Peruvian fluffpot guinea pig down yesterday because he was riddled with kidney stones and in a great deal of pain. The only way to remove them is with surgery, but he had them all in the urethras as well as the bladder and it was really risky surgery for him.  Poor wee mite.  I miss my little buddy.  :\\\'(

So sorry about the guinea pig :((


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7450 on: December 06, 2019, 10:22:21 AM »
So sorry to hear about your guinea pig PB. :(

My five for this week:
  • Passed my driving test on Wednesday!!
  • I'm going down to Edinburgh for a job interview on Tuesday (for a position in Glasgow) - sounds like a good fit and would be great to have something full-time + commit us fully to moving down next summer.
  • No visitors this weekend and nothing on the schedule for Sunday...I can't wait!
  • 2 weeks until we're both off for Christmas and get to drive down to visit our family in Glasgow before flying to the US.
  • It's horrible outside but my favourite curry is in the slow cooker and will be ready for me when I get home from work. ;D
Spouse visa received: 30 November 2018
Arrived in the UK: 27 December 2018

FLR(M)
Application submitted: 4 August 2021 (super priority)
Biometrics: 15 August 2021
Decision: 16 August 2021 - approved!

ILR
Application submitted: 14 December 2023 (super priority)
Biometrics: 17 December 2023
Decision: 18 December 2023 - approved!


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7451 on: December 06, 2019, 10:40:37 AM »
Yay we made it to Friday!!

1. We’re headed to Dorset tonight to do Christmas with the in-laws. I love Dorset but hate spending nights at the in-laws

2. Our daughter has been crazy into Christmas this year and I love it! Not sure if it’s because we’re going to America this year or what but it’s brightened my day every day this week.

3. Pregnancy insomnia? Is that a thing as definitely suffering from not sleeping through the nights. I get up around three and start making lunches for the day because I just can’t sleep.

4. I find out in a week if I’m having a boy or girl and I’m just so excited to see the baby again on a scan.

5. It’s our work Christmas party tonight. I chose not to go as it’s in Leith, and I couldn’t be bothered to make the journey but it is super quiet in the office today. Almost too quiet. Think it’s going to be a long day.


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7452 on: December 06, 2019, 10:52:08 AM »
PB, I'm so sorry about your little floofpuff.  :(  I'm glad you did the best thing for him so he isn't in pain, but I know it was hard.  It does sound like you'll be really busy, though, so that can help to keep your mind off of it.  Enjoy the concerts tonight and tomorrow... tomorrow's, especially, sounds lovely!

elee, congratulations!  You're a UK-licensed driver!  Enjoy your relaxing weekend and your upcoming trip to the US!  ... and tonight's slow-cooker curry.  :)

Eh!  We got the email from my FIL yesterday about how/when we'll do Christmas with them... every single time we visit they invite us to stay the night.  "It's no trouble, we have plenty of room."  I actually wouldn't mind too much on the nights when we've found it's half-ten and we haven't got on the road to go home yet, but my husband is adamantly opposed.  It's a 2-1/2 to 3-hour drive, and he'd rather do that than stay the night at his dad and step-mom's for one night.   What kind of office are you in...?  Can you play music?

My five:

1.  I ordered booze because it's that time of year (special offers!) and we were out of a few things.  I'm so excited that I put my ID card by the door in anticipation of the Amazon Logistics guy wanting to see it.  They usually get to ours around 5pm.

2.  I did the grocery shopping on Wednesday.  Three shops, with all the walking and lifting and carrying that that entails (I mean, I do use a trolley at each shop, but I still have to put things into the car, and then I have to bring them into the house when I get home).  As a bonus, I had an overstuffed carrier bag full of glass to be recycled, and I brought that to the collection point.  So, I'm well and truly well.

3.  My husband has a three day weekend again, and I bought all the indulgent food.  Plus booze.  I'm so excited!

4.  We've been watching Man in the High Castle this week.  One episode a night because my husband's on early starts, so we have had early nights.  I'm absolutely loving this season.  All of the foundation they spent the first three seasons laying has paid off... it's the first season where, right off the bat, I don't need a refresher to understand what's going on (and I read the book! ... a couple of decades ago).

5.  I finally made it to my doctor's surgery for a BP check with the nurse (after weeks of postponing due to illness).  I also asked for the results of my blood sugar test, cholesterol, and to see the kidney and liver function tests myself.  My "three month average" blood sugar thing (not the way it was measured in the US, I don't think) was "33", which is apparently smack dab in the middle of normal.  My cholesterol was "4.6" which is utterly meaningless to me, but she assured me it was healthy.  So, despite my completely altered diet, my reduction in activity level, and the fact I haven't been following my health as closely as I did in the US, I haven't done any significant damage since moving to the UK in 2013.  I am pleased and relieved.  Especially relieved.  I can carry on with my life of hedonism!
9/1/2013 - "fiancée" (marriage) visa issued
4/6/2013 - married (certificate issued same-day)
5/6/2013 - FLR(M)#1 in person -- approved!
8/1/2016 - FLR(M)#2 by post -- approved!
8/5/2018 - ILR in person -- approved!
22/11/2018 - Citizenship (online, with NDRS+JCAP) -- approved!
14/12/2018 - I became a British citizen.  :)


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7453 on: December 06, 2019, 12:02:36 PM »

  • Passed my driving test on Wednesday!!


Awesome! Congratulations!!!  ;D


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Re: Friday Five!
« Reply #7454 on: December 06, 2019, 12:14:52 PM »
PB, I'm sure you did the right thing for your guinea pig, but it's still sad to lose a pet.  :\\\'(

1.  All week long I have thought my work's Christmas party was tonight.  Looked out the ticket this morning and discovered it's tomorrow night!
2.  Spending the night at OH's tonight, with the hound.  He has got a shed-load of wine, and we'll get a takeaway.
3.  Next weekend we are off to Liverpool for a gig.  Yesterday i met the girl (from a local dog-sitting place) who will be looking after the hound -- she's lovely and im sure she will do a fine job, but i still hate leaving him.
4.  Went to Miller & Carter for dinner last night with a friend.  OMG-- the steaks were exquisite!
5.  Back to work on Monday after 2 great weeks off -- that's going to hurt!


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