Daylight Saving Sunday Afternoon

Whilst we were at Asda this avo. I had a text from Sally-Ann to see if we would like to take the boys to the beach at Godrevy, as the tide should give us plenty of beach.

And so we headed on back from Falmouth and picked Fred up, followed by Sally-Ann, Mike and Hamish, and headed over to the National Trust car park by the Godrevy cliffs.

The weather was perfect, and we were thrilled to see all of the seals, and their baby's on the beach below us - I tried counting, got to 76 and gave up, as some of them are out of view from this spot...

such a lovely day, could not go by without an ice-cream, and so with a little arm twisting (not) Mike treated us all to some lovely Cornish ices

and what were the seals doing during all of this indulgence - they were still sunning themselves in the cove!

A lovely afternoon,, but as we drive back home, the downside of daylight savings time hits us - it's 5.30pm and starting to get dark already - Boo!

An Update On My Dilema

The decision is made....

The static caravan is on the market, despite the ridiculously huge commission that is being asked to sell it for us.

NO - we are not having an RV, we are going for a touring caravan - the one thing I said I would never do, but have been surprisingly amazed by how good they are these days.

Fingers crossed, and I'll keep you all updated, as your comments have been a huge help.

Thanks for the comments, emails and telephone calls x

A Momentus Decision...

It's time for a break so Friday the 9th October ended with us finishing work at lunchtime and packing up the car with all of our cases and store cupboard foods.

As we head off to our BAH for a few days holiday, we know that this may possibly be the last time.

For the past 4 or 5 weeks we have been discussing the pro's and con's of selling our beautiful 2 bed static caravan, and swapping it for and RV....... Needless to say Paul is very much in favour and has wanted one for many years - I am not so convinced and, just know that my usage of diazapam, just to make a journey, will increase 10 fold. Not a happy thought!

We decided to drive up to Somerset via Exeter, as there is a large Motorhome dealership just off of the M5/A30 changeover junction. Their website revealed many lovely, albeit very old RV's, that would fall into our limited price range.

Upsettingly, once we arrived, it became apparent that the website had not been updated in the last FOREVER as there was nothing on their lot below £23k - more than double the price we are looking at.

We headed on up country towards Somerset with a dark cloud over us as we thought that maybe this would be a very swift change of heart, and we would stay put until we are no longer wanted in our current sited location......

Dilemma: Static caravans are allowed on site for 10 years, then they are considered too old and unattractive and you are asked to either part exchange them for a brand new version costing anything from £23k - £50k, or, alternatively, the site will remove the van and dispose of it for you..... Our van is 7 years old, but we extended out site contract to allow us to stay on site for 15 years......

At present, it is a very attractive holiday home, with inside porch, 2 bedrooms, reasonable sized kitchen, lounge room with TV, DVD, Video (yes I do still live in the dark ages), and Hi-Fi, and a dining area.

Having had a quote on what it would be worth to sell, we were very happy that it was exactly what we expected, meaning we would not lose too much on our initial investment, and that holidays have only cost a minimum for our time on site.

Horror: They will charge us 15% of the sale price to sell it for us!

WHY? we only paid 1.5% when we moved house!

I am now digging my heels in and want to stay put and get the total amount of years out of my BAH, but my friends and hubby suggest that doing this will mean the van depreciates more and will be worth less when we do sell it at a later date.

Yes this makes perfect sense,but I'm a stubborn bird and need to come to a decision myself, and then let them all say "We told you so" later - at the end of the day, I know they are all right, and that the van has to go now, so that we still have money in it to invest in the next holiday option..... It would just be nice, not to be taken advantage of by the holiday park - the money they will take off us, could be a chunk off of our mortgage, instead it means all monies received will have to be reinvested in a holiday home and nothing off of the mortgage..... GGGRRRRR!

We are now home and no further forward - Suggestions please.....

Birthday Meal

OK, so it's not the greatest picture in the world of me, I'm in my glasses as I cannot wear my contact because of a sore eye and the angle makes me look fatter than I actually am, but this is the dress that Marg and Keith bought me for my birthday, and it's what I wore tonight for my meal out with Paul.

If you double click on the image, you can open it up and will just be able to make out the lovely earrings and necklace that Kelly bought me.

We ended up at Gwel-an-Mor a lovely chalet style restaurant, up on the cliffs in Portreath.

A truly lovely evening, finishing off a great day.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I'm 41.....

Am I sorry or upset about this? - absolutely not! - my 40th year was probably one of the most eventful years I've had so far, and I'm sure that it will continue into my 41st!

I awoke this morning to a very large present from Sally-Ann and Mike, that I had no idea about, and that Paul had kept very well hidden for them...... I am so thrilled! It was a lap top cushion for my lap so I can watch the tellie and blog to my hearts content, without my trusty little computer overheating - Thanks so much guys x

Paul, knew what I wanted, as for once in my married life I actually knew myself! I wanted a Pandora Bracelet - a new style of charm bracelet which has beads as charms instead of the traditional charms that I know of from my youth.

He bought me the bracelet, 2 clips to hold the charms in place and 2 charms - I chose a 'J' for obvious reasons and also a 'Sun, Moon and Stars' charm.

Karen and Dave have sent me some money so that I can get a couple of charms that I have seen at the silver centre (a starfish and a shell in reverence to my surfing and beach love)

When I arrived at work to spoiling continued. Alison bought me a Westies Calendar and some chocolate:

Then, another Alison arrived with some lovely jewellery for me, that I instantly knew would be a part of my Christmas Party outfit!

Sharon arrived next, and she'd bought me some lovely fluffy turquoise socks (to match my car LOL) a bookmark embroidery for me to do whilst I'm on holiday next week, of westie and scotties (very appropriate as we had a Scottie called Charlie, before we had Fred the Westie), and also from Sharon and Chris, a gift voucher for one of my favourite stores.



When Mandy came in she looked a little pensive and was not sure if she had done the right thing, she said..... I opened my gift to find card blanks and toppers - perfect for an avid crafter like me

and then to top it all, my wonderful friends bought a huge chocolate fudge cake covered in sprinkles - we all tucked into it at mid morning break - YUM!

and from Birmingham... Kelly sent me a parcel in the post - On opening it and just laughed - she knows me sooooo well bless her! It was a triple CD of all 80's music - every track of which I knew and could probably sing every word to(Tragic I know!), and also some beautiful silver earrings and necklace, which I obviously wore to work to show off, along with my bracelet from Paul.

All in all a wonderful day so far, and it's not over yet - we plan on going out for a meal when Paul finishes work tonight.

Thanks to all of my friends and family for such a special day xx

A Look Back over my 40th Year

As the last day of my 40th year slowly comes to a close, I have been thinking back over the last 12 months and all the things that I have achieved.

I am truly amazed at how living in Cornwall has transformed both me, and my lifestyle.

I have some amazing friends and work colleagues, that I would do anything to help if they asked, and I also know that these same people would be there for me in a heartbeat, if I were to ask.

I have achieved some firsts this year too - I have taken up a new fitness regime in the form of my pilates classes and I have overcome my fear of the sea and taken up body-boarding.

I've even been asked to be a bridesmaid for the first time ever (I know what you are saying - a soon to be 41 year old married bridesmaid is a little unorthodox, but it's for my wonderful cousin Nathan, and his bride to be Fabiana) I shall be wearing baby pink and travelling in a stretch limo (another first)..... all that to come June 2010!

This is the dress that Fabi is planning on putting me in.....

I have heard in the last week about 2 engagements, both of very good friends from Birmingham, and can't wait to see them soon, and wish them loads of love and happiness.

and so, despite the fact that I shall be 41 tomorrow, I feel blessed, for the life around me. The beautiful countryside, the wonderful friends and my gorgeous husband.

Roll on year 41, throw at me what you will - I'm ready!