January 31st Caffeine-free FAIL!

So I decided that I'd better move to decaff tea as well as coffee...

No palpitations, which is goood, but...  24 hours on and staying awake in Year 9 geography was even harder than usual, not to mention the splitting headache I was developing.  I'd forgotten the joys of caffeine withdrawal!

So I succumbed to a Costa Coffee mocha on the way home, washed down by a cup of (caffeinated) tea and a couple of Neurofen when I got home.  Normality restored. 

Maybe cutting down on caffeine will be enough...

(The USA Quidditch League mug is a gift from my dear friend Rheta.)

January 30th Apple Day

 Apple Day only in our house.  Lydia was bored and declared it Apple Day.  She bobbed for apples (doing it without the blindfold was apparently too easy).

 

Then she made toffee apple wedges.

Finally, she planted an apple pip and called it Geoffrey.  I don't have a picture of that.

January 29th Lydia in a box

This is the box Mike's new back-friendly chair came in.  I did take a picture of him sitting on the chair, but that was boring.

January 28th Something I love

As suggested by Charity.

This is the picture my sister painted for my mum and dad that hung in their living room for years.  Di didn't want it after Mum died, so I claimed it.

January 27th Lydia and her alien

Which she has made for the forthcoming Alien Society of Leicester party.  It's going in a pass the parcel.  (The Alien Society consists of Lydia and two of her friends.)

January 26th Starbucks after work

Extravagant, but one of my treats.  I needed it today!

January 25th Maria on Mike's laptop

Maria has been home since after the JLS concert on Sunday night.  She goes back to Manchester tomorrow, and with work and school and her social life, we haven't seen much of her.  So here's a photo to prove she was here.

January 24th Sleeping lions at Brownies

Just about the only way to get them to be quiet for more than a minute.

January 23rd Rainbows preparation

The bottles in the background are not mine!  They are props from the video Lydia was making with her friends Bethanne and Grace.  The bag from Hotel Chocolat is mine however!

January 22nd Lunch with my sister in Birmingham

Not impressed by Birmingham itself - from what I saw it hasn't improved since the last time I was there 20+ years ago.  But Di and I got some paperwork done, and had a very nice lunch together.

January 21st Lydia's turn to cook

January 20th Helen cooking the tea...

...and dancing.

January 19th - Lydia and her new guitar

January 18th From the bus stop

I spend a ridiculous amount of time at the bus stop opposite school waiting for buses into town.  The sky behind the school was very pretty this evening, and the school itself is less ugly than usual in silhouette.

January 17th Friends of Guiding meeting

16th January Lydia baking

Making fudge.

And biscuits for the Guide party

Icing biscuits.  I had to post all of them because of the wonderful faces she was pulling.

January 15th The clock tower

In Leicester city centre.  I went into town and spent far too much money.

January 14th Friday night takeaway

AKA Mum's too lazy to cook.

January 13th Craft group in the church hall

January 12th Brownie planning meeting

Involving food as usual!

January 11th Lydia after Guides

Being as slow as she possibly can be going to bed.

January 10th Helen revising for her biology exam.

January 9th Maria and her luggage

Maria is going back to Manchester university today.  Good thing Mike is taking her in the car as she has about three times as much stuff as she came home with.
We will miss her!

January 8th - At The Panto...

...with the Brownies.

Oh yes we were!

January 7th - Face Mask

Free with my empty black pots from Lush.  Lydia said it made me look like a "mouldy apple"!

January 6th The End of Christmas

All packed away for another year.

January 5th Back to Work

Humberstone Gate at 7.30am.  This makes it look darker than it really was, but it definitely wasn't light!

January 4th - the escalator in Primark

We went into town to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but Lydia and I had to go to Primark afterwards.  Because there is an unwritten law that Lydia needs to go there every time she is in town.

Do you like her snazzy shoes?

January 3rd - What we bought at Palmer's Garden Centre

The fridge magnet says: "Because I'm your mother, that's why".

January 1st and 2nd

January 2nd - Lydia having a "little" moment and cuddling with Daddy while he does his geneology and she watches the truly dreadful "Primeval" on TV.

January 1st - So this is our New Year meal.  Maria was sort of dancing.  You can't really see her black eye in this - a result of the night before's partying - which is probably just as well.