I dont hold out much hope this time

Its that time again to apply to be a world book night giver.

As I was successful last year I dont hold out much hope of being a giver again, but I thought I might as well apply anyway ;o)

The books I have gone for are...

Short Stories by Roald Dahl

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronvitch

Confessions of a GP by Dr Benjamin Daniels

I will find out if I was lucky in February...

spring has finally come

Yesterday we had a really nice warm sunny day ;o)

And today and Thursday look to be more of the same ;o)

One of the other Mums said about meeting today for lunch in the park...

...so I have already packed a picnic rug and have to check the suncream (that I bought last year) to see if it still in date.

Oh and bring the world book night books that I have saved for them ;o)

registered all twenty

I have spent this morning (in between feeding, changing and dressing Evie) registering all twenty world book night copies of Treasure Island on bookcrossing ;o)

me booty be ready to collect ;o)

I have just had an e-mail from World Booknight saying that my copies of Treasure Island are ready to collect ;o)

As World Booknight have decided not to issue tracking codes this year then I will have to register them on bookcrossing myself!

stair climbing

On Friday I was getting my lunch out of the fridge and out of the corner of my eye I could see Evie  by the stairs and then she managed to lift her knee onto the stair and pull her other leg up ;o)

Like any good Mum would do I got the camera out and videod motion pictured her going up here and here I bet you thought that I was going to say about getting out the safety gates didnt you?

Well we now have safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs ;o)

I did tell her that she couldnt go up the stairs unless me or James are with her but I dont think that she understood me...

I was checking through my e-mails this morning and there was a world book night e-mail asking me where I want to pick my books up from so I have chosen the library as I am pretty sure that if I had chosen Waterstones then I would have had to collect them from upstairs.

shiver me timbers

After I got rejected last year I didnt hold out much hope for this year but I registered anyway...

And touch my loot, feel my boot I have been selected to give out Treasure Island ;o)

I know that my Mum will want a copy, and I am going to save a copy for Evie too...

...so I have to work out who to give the other 17 to ;o)

another try

I had an e-mail on Friday saying that you can register to be a giver for 2013 world book night.

So I have given it another try...

...the books that I have gone for are

Treasure Island

The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency

The Island

And interestingly enough a Graphic Novel has been included in the lineup ;o)

hee hee if it wasnt weird enough my Mum reading a football book last year we will have to see what she thinks of Judge Dredds antics ;o)

I wasnt picked last year so fingers crossed...

from ginger to grey

no not my hair colour but my reading material ;o)

I have just finished Chris Evans biography that James picked up as a bookcrossing book from Starbucks, that reminds me I will have to decide where to release it ;o)

And I have just started reading Fifty Shades of Grey LOL I am now on page 5 and I havent got to any of the "good bits" yet ;o)

clearly mothers arent light enough readers

You remember how I applied to World Book Night?

Well after a lot of chasing I was finally told that my application had been rejected!

Basically on the 27th February e-mails were supposed to go out to everyone saying whether you were successful or not...

Neither me or James were told either way...

James wasnt too bothered but I e-mailed them as I wanted to know...

First of all I was told that they couldnt immediately find my application, so was asked to let them know again what my choices were and when I did my application.

All I can say is thank goodness for my blog as I hadnt kept my e-mail saying thanks for your submission.

So I let them know and they then said that they thought that they had found my application and to tell them my address and the reason why I said that I should become a giver.  And to whom (Mark Kermode will appreciate me using the correct use of English ;o)) I would be giving the books.

So I let them know the reason (as far as I could remember) and that I would be giving them to Mothers in the Mother & Baby groups that I attend.

Then it all went quiet for a couple of weeks and a few days ago I was finally told that my application was rejected!

registering for WBN 2012

Last year James was chosen to be a giver for World Book Night...

The book he gave out was Agent Zigzag.  I have still to read it and am going to do so when I start my Maternity Leave ;o)

...so this year I decided to register too thus doubling our chances of being picked ;o)

You have to give a choice of three books that you would  like to give out and I have gone for these...

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Someone Like You by Roald Dahl

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

So hopefully I will be chosen ;o).

My UK based friends should register too if you fancy giving out some books.

There is US World Book Night too which will be on the same day as ours but the registration wont be until December.

twelve week scan

Our appointment was for 11am at Broomfield Hospital here in sunny Chelmsford (the word sunny really does make everywhere sound nicer ;o)).

We arrived at about 10.45 and James had a looksie in the charity shop (to see if he could find an cheap books to bookcross) he didnt find any.

So we made our way up to the fourth floor where the ultra sound scanning takes place, I tell the receptionist that I am here and sit down with my huge bottle of water (as I was told in the letter that I had received that I need to have a full bladder) and no sooner have we sat down do I get called in, my first thought was no I havent drank nearly enough (I needant have worried as I wasnt asked if I had a full bladder).

So I go through with the sonographer (and she sees all of my blood test forms) and asks me if I am having a downs test done? and she takes the appropriate form out of my hand...

So I get shown where to lie down (behind a screened area) and am told to pull my t-shirt up and my jogging bottoms down to my hips...

She puts the gel on my tummy and then starts to use the scanner she says that she can see a heartbeat (James is meanwhile looking around to where she is sitting and yells out to me "I can see the baby" ;o) The sonographer then turns on the monitor above where I am lying and shows us the baby...

She then starts reading out a load of measurements to the people on the other side of the curtain, and she says that she can see four limbs and a stomach ;o)

The baby seemed to be bouncing around (although James says that is where the scanner was moving rather than littlun bouncing), at one point he/she was even pointing to the fact that there were some feet at the end of the legs.

We were asked if we wanted a picture and we both said yes and the lady then showed us two of the best pictures (one being of littlun pointing) and we decided to go for both of them

I have heard previously that antenatal classes get booked up really quickly so I tried to book them up there and then but was thwarted because their booking didnt go that far ahead!

I then had to go for my blood tests...

...James went ahead of me and got me my number (delicatessant number style LOL I was very tempted to ask for 100 grammes of glazed ham ;o)).

The queue went very quickly and I got seen, I didnt look at how much blood was being taken or how many vials were being filled in case I went all woozy.

charity shop pilgrimage

Yesterday afternoon we went back into Chelmsford so that James could look in the charity shops (for cheap books) in the other end of town to where he works in the week.

So we headed to Moulsham Street and so began the pilgrimage...

Every shop that James went into the same assortment of weirdos came out...

There was the bloke who hadnt made it to the toilet in time, the traders with large carryall shopping bags, the old woman with her shopping trolley and the ones who clearly "arent playing with a full deck of cards".

...yes James was following them! Or was it that they knew where he was going so had decided to buy the cheap books before he had gotten to them?

I just waited outside in the shade because I truly hate charity shops.

When I thought we had finally finished James then saw a sign for a church book sale...

...Aaaaaarrrrggggghhhhh no!!!!!!!

I finally gave up and said that I wasnt going to do anymore walking so I plonked myself on a bench and waited for him to come back.

He said that there were thousands of books in there for 40p each but they werent categorized, and he didnt really have the willpower to look through them, and yes the church had its very own set of weirdos!

in place of the can of Tennents Super

James has been into bookcrossing of late, and has been searching out places to hide books for other bookcrossers to find (as opposed to members of the general public).

Anyhow on Saturday morning we decided to see if there were any suitable places in the grounds of Chelmsford Cathedral, and yes we did find the perfect looking vault )it was elevated above ground on four legs with a triangle bit where a book could easily be "hidden".

So yesterday lunchtime James goes to the Cathedral to place the book under the vault - he places his hand behind the triangle bit and feels a can that is filled with "something" eeeeuuuugggghhhh was his first thought then came "what has someone filled this with?". So he gingerly pulled out the can and saw that it is a can of Tennents Super he then inspected the can and saw that it was still unopened but was covered in thick dust (he surmised that someone had squirrelled it away for a "rainy day" but had forgotten about it as the BB date was March 2011).

So he placed the book in there and promptly threw the can in the bin.

LOL he is now worried that the wino will be back looking for his can of beer and will find the book and journal "what did you do with my can of beer? I was saving it for the Royal Wedding...

...no I cant be angry with you I love you really, you are my besht mate...

...WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY BEER?"